California Policy and Politics Saturday

Video shows ICE agent pointing handgun in face of North Hollywood bystander -- A federal immigration agent pulled out a handgun and pointed it just inches from the face of a bystander during an apparent operation in North Hollywood on Friday morning, according to video obtained by The Times. Salvador Hernandez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/31/26

 

Judge orders DOJ to stop threatening to prosecute election officials -- A federal judge on Friday ordered the Justice Department to stop threatening state and local election officials with criminal prosecution over their handling of disputes about voter qualifications. Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney Politico Glenn Thrush in the New York Times$ -- 10/31/26

9th Circuit again denies Trump administration request to block 20,000 California ballots -- A federal appeals court for the second time Friday denied a Trump administration request to block 20,000 ballots from California voters the administration alleges may be noncitizens — ruling that the administration had failed to show that “such extraordinary relief, during an ongoing election, is clearly required by law.” Kevin Rector and Brittny Mejia in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/31/26

Judge orders DOJ to hand over list of 20K alleged noncitizen voters to immigrant rights group -- A federal judge on Friday ordered the Department of Justice to quickly hand over a list of 20,000 alleged noncitizen California voters at the center of the Trump administration’s voter fraud claims to an immigrant rights group to ensure its accuracy. Hannah Wiley in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/31/26

 

Xavier Becerra sets sights on Trump — not Hilton — as gubernatorial race winds down -- Xavier Becerra, the Democratic candidate for California governor, had plenty of harsh words for President Donald Trump during a Friday campaign stop in San Francisco. But he was silent about the Republican rival he hopes to defeat in next week’s election. J.D. Morris, Sophia Bollag in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/31/26

Ro Khanna backs three challengers over Democratic House incumbents -- Rep. Ro Khanna broke with most California Democrats Friday by endorsing three younger, more progressive challengers over longtime incumbents. Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/31/26

California early voting is up 1 million over 2022. Who’s casting ballots? -- Californians have cast roughly 1 million more early votes in the midterm election than they did at this point in 2022, according to the election data firm PDI. Ben Paviour in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 10/31/26

Grudge rematch: Luna and Villanueva duel to lead nation’s largest sheriff’s department -- Whoever wins will be charged with a long list of priorities, including navigating tensions with the federal government over immigration enforcement and helping keep millions of people safe during the 2028 Olympic Games. Connor Sheets in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/31/26

Proposed billionaire tax could impact California sports teams -- Opponents warn professional sports teams owned by wealthy Californians could face higher costs, resulting in job losses, as well as increases to the cost of tickets, parking and concessions. Supporters argue billionaire team owners should pay their fair share after benefiting from Trump-era tax cuts. Seema Mehta in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/31/26

How California insurance commissioner candidates Jane Kim and Ben Allen measure up -- Two Democrats with differing approaches vie to regulate one of the biggest insurance markets in the world. Levi Sumagaysay Calmatters -- 10/31/26

Walters: California’s campaign drama entices political junkies, but serious issues get short shrift -- Few, if any, office seekers have even mentioned such serious issues as unstable water supplies, budget deficits, homelessness or rising living costs, much less offered voters clear-eyed approaches to them. Dan Walters Calmatters -- 10/31/26

Climate

High tides damage 114 structures in Huntington Beach. City warns of more flooding to come -- The water has receded, but officials warn late-November tides could be higher as Orange County cities brace for more flooding and potentially intense El Niño storms. Jack Flemming in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/31/26

SFO and OAK airports are at risk of El Niño floods. Here’s how they’re preparing -- The Bay Area’s two biggest airports are at risk of flooding during this year’s historically strong El Niño as the busy holiday season approaches, potentially disrupting the plans of millions of travelers. Roland Li in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/31/26

State fights Trump administration’s attempt to lift ban on disposable camping propane canisters -- California is going to court to defend its plan to prohibit sales of single-use propane canisters that fuel campers’ stoves, a ban that the Trump administration derides as part of the state’s “climate scam.” Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/31/26

Workplace

‘Incredibly painful day’: 2 San Francisco tech companies cut more than 100 jobs -- Front, a San Francisco software company that makes customer service and business communications tools, filed a notice with the California Employment Development Department showing 53 permanent layoffs at its San Francisco office on Tuesday. Dropbox, the cloud storage and file-sharing company, filed a notice Wednesday covering 57 permanent layoffs at its headquarters at 50 Hawthorne St. The cuts are scheduled to take effect Nov. 18. Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/31/26

California, SEIU Local 1000 state workers don’t reach deal in Friday’s mediation -- SEIU Local 1000 and the California Department of Human Resources met Friday for mediations. It was the first mediation session after the union went on strike last week. While pressure to avoid another walkout mounts, a deal wasn’t made. State and union officials are scheduled to meet again on Friday, Nov. 20. Corey Schmidt in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 10/31/26

Develop

California approved a rare hotel on the sand. It could transform this tiny beach town -- An oceanfront hotel coming to a small Central Coast town promises to finally clean up industrial debris that has lingered on the California beach for decades. Gregory Thomas in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/31/26

Also

California says no Dungeness crab for Thanksgiving or Christmas -- The setback, which is due to the threat of fishing gear to whales, halts next month’s scheduled launch of commercial boats for crab fishing in waters between the Oregon border and Santa Barbara County, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced on Friday. Kurtis Alexander in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/31/26

POTUS 47

Justice Dept. Confirms Alaska Inquiry Even as Its Focus Remains Unclear -- The Justice Department on Friday acknowledged that its investigation into Democrats who recruited a decoy candidate to run in the Alaska Senate race may never yield criminal charges, defending an inquiry that critics dismissed as a political stunt in the lead-up to Election Day. Anna Griffin and Glenn Thrush in the New York Times$ -- 10/31/26

Federal judge signals she may halt construction on Trump’s arch -- Judge Tanya S. Chutkan was skeptical of the Justice Department’s arguments, including on the project’s urgency. “What is the rush?” she asked. Dan Diamond in the Washington Post$ -- 10/31/26

How Trump Is Dismantling America’s Scientific Research Machine -- The system that has driven life-altering discoveries and helped make the United States a superpower is now under intense strain. Christopher Flavelle, Irena Hwang, Adam Sella, Alan Blinder, Sheryl Gay Stolberg, Benjamin Mueller and Michael C. Bender in the New York Times$ -- 10/31/26

Trump’s economic message on eve of midterms: It’s better than you think -- The president risks falling into the same trap that ensnared Joe Biden: asking voters to ignore their economic anxiety. Nancy Cook in the Washington Post$ -- 10/31/26