California Policy and Politics Monday

9th Circuit panel questions basis for feds’ request to block 20,000 California ballots -- In a rare Sunday hearing, a federal appeals court judge appointed by President Trump questioned how the Trump administration’s request to intervene in California’s ongoing midterm election in order to force state officials to set aside 20,000 ballots from voters whose citizenship it questions squares with the U.S. Constitution. Kevin Rector in the Los Angeles Times$ Josh Gerstein, Kyle Cheney and Lindsey Holden Politico -- 10/26/26

How the Proposed California Billionaire Tax Became a ‘Hot Mess’ for Democrats -- The idea seemed simple at first: a one-time tax on California’s billionaires to counter looming cuts to Medicaid. Instead, the proposed wealth tax has exposed deep divisions among Democrats and created strange bedfellows on both sides working to defeat or pass the proposal. Laura J. Nelson and Paul Kiernan in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 10/26/26

Gen Z has very different views on taxes than Boomers, but one generation votes more often -- Surveys show an age gap across the top issues on California’s ballot, including taxing billionaires and requiring IDs to vote. But while Gen Z makes up 30% of the state’s eligible voters, they are far less likely to vote than their counterparts age 55 and older. Dylan Arreola and Tom Nolan Calmatters -- 10/26/26

Who’s spending money on the California insurance commissioner race -- Jane Kim and Ben Allen have promised not to take insurance money, but an outside PAC supporting Allen has received industry donations. Levi Sumagaysay and Jeremia Kimelman Calmatters -- 10/26/26

Chabria: California votes. Trump’s Justice Department panics -- Trump’s lawyers begged the appeals court to take their flimsy case away from the judge who had already promised to rule on their requests on Tuesday. The judges did not seem impressed by the arguments, questioning more than once if they even had jurisdiction. Anita Chabria in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/26/26

Skelton: Need help deciding on the state ballot measures? Here are my recommendations -- You haven’t voted yet because the state propositions are too bewildering? I’m with you. There are too many for normal human consumption. But I’ve figured them all out at last. George Skelton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/26/26

Castellón: Making California’s Latino milestone count is the real work -- California is on the verge of something it has never seen. Robert Rivas leads the Assembly. Monique Limón leads the Senate. And Xavier Becerra is favored to beat Republican Steve Hilton for the governor’s office. If he wins, Latinos will hold all three of the state’s top offices at once, a first in California history. Daisy Castellón Capitol Weekly -- 10/26/26

Bass and Raman skirmish over treatment of small business. The Valley is a battleground -- Some San Fernando Valley business owners complain that Raman has been inattentive to their needs, and Bass has called Raman “contemptuous of her constituents.” The Raman camp says it listens to constituents and uses every available tool to fix their problems; a Studio City wine merchant says her office helped her navigate the web of licenses and permits. Itzel Luna in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/26/26

Experts question whether big-money campaigns backing Karen Bass are truly independent -- Solomon Rivera left a $272,000-a-year job advising Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass this year. Months later, he was helping her out in a different way: running Unidos Con Karen Bass, an outside campaign committee supporting her reelection. David Zahniser in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/26/26

‘Plans to die in office’: Bay Area congressman’s ex-aides protest challenger’s ads -- A coalition of seven former aides to Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, is demanding that challenger Eric Jones’ campaign remove an ad accusing the 75-year-old incumbent of saying he “plans to die in office.” Brooke Park in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/26/26

 

Can a Bernie Sanders-backed progressive flip the Central Valley’s House seat? -- On a sweltering afternoon last month, Reuben Neri Cardenas swept the front of his Bakersfield business on an otherwise quiet downtown block. Inside, rows of fedora hats, lowrider bike accessories and ’90s retro clothing sat untouched. Mathew Miranda in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 10/26/26

Rep. David Valadao talks Trump, immigration — and challenger Randy Villegas -- Valadao, 49, has won six of the past seven elections in California’s 22nd Congressional District, overcoming a Democratic registration advantage in the Central Valley. The district, which spans the southern San Joaquin Valley, is home to the state’s most competitive congressional race. Mathew Miranda in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 10/26/26

 

UCLA Health expansion raises costs and concerns --UCLA Health has grown to five hospitals and 300 clinics, with outpatient visits topping 4.2 million last year, as the public university system seeks to reach more Southern Californians. Economists warn that hospital consolidation can raise prices and insurance premiums without improving care; UCLA says its size has limited influence on costs. Melody Petersen in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/26/26

Starshield slowdown probe sought by Silicon Valley Democrats -- A trio of House Democrats representing Silicon Valley is demanding the White House launch an investigation into reports that SpaceX limited its military-grade version of Starlink satellite services to Ukrainians on the battlefield. Owen Dahlkamp Politico -- 10/26/26

ICE

Video of ICE arresting her at SFO went viral. Now she’s helping women she met while detained -- This San Francisco resident and Ukrainian immigrant, who was arrested by ICE at SFO, is raising money for legal fees and bonds with her artwork. Sara DiNatale in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/26/26

Climate

SoCal coast expected to be under siege for days from extreme sea levels -- Near-record or record-high sea levels are expected to bring multiple days of flooding along the Southern California coast this week, with the inundation beginning as soon as Monday morning when high tide rolls in. Rong-Gong Lin II in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/26/26

US is a big reason for the world losing ground in the fight against climate change, UN report says -- Losing more ground in the fight against climate change, humanity is heading for a hotter world than experts projected last year — and the United States is a big reason for that, a new United Nations report says. Seth Borenstein Associated Press -- 10/26/26

Workplace

Shake-ups and layoffs reveal a culture clash inside Netflix -- Netflix’s layoffs and executive shake-ups have exposed tensions between its Hollywood content operation and Silicon Valley technology teams over how best to expand the business and promote shows and movies on the platform. Wendy Lee, Meg James and Samantha Masunaga in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/26/26

Marketplace

California’s Potential Quartz Ban Pushes Contractors and Retailers to Alternatives -- Manufacturers and their customers are using materials made without the clouds of dust that have sickened workers in quartz-cutting shops. Rebecca Davis O’Brien in the New York Times$ -- 10/26/26

Education

Richard Barrera is a powerful school leader with ties to labor; will that help him win the state superintendent race? -- Supporters praise his diligence, his savvy knowledge of budgets and policies and his willingness to hear anyone out. Critics say the former labor organizer and leader is too close to unions that back his candidacy. John Fensterwald EdSource -- 10/26/26

Chino Valley Unified has a strong academic record. Can Sonja Shaw take credit? -- Superintendent of Instruction candidate Sonja Shaw promises to bring the Chino Valley Unified ‘blueprint’ for strong academic performance to the state. Shaw’s tenure on the board has been marked by issues such as banning pride flags and notifying parents of their child’s gender, which she said has cleared the way to focus on academic success. Emma Gallegos EdSource -- 10/26/26

AI

Anthropic files for potentially the biggest IPO ever even as CEO warns of risk to humanity from AI -- Artificial intelligence giant Anthropic filed papers Monday for what could be the biggest initial public offering of stock ever even as its top executive warns that advanced AI could pose an existential threat to humanity. Barbara Ortutay and Bernard Condon Associated Press Owen Dahlkamp and Sam Sutton Politico Mike Isaac, Erin Griffith, Lauren Hirsch and Sri Muppidi in the New York Times$ Gerrit De Vynck and Miriam Waldvogel in the Washington Post$ -- 10/26/26

Why So Many Shoppers Think Retailers Are Using AI to Jack Up Prices -- Nick Nadeau recently bought a hard drive through Walmart’s app—and got a bad feeling about its price. On Nadeau’s phone, Walmart listed the drive for $369. On his wife’s phone, however, the drive cost $110 less. Sarah Nassauer in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 10/26/26

What Should the Rules for A.I. Companies Actually Be? We Asked the Experts -- Artificial intelligence is alarming many of its human creators by leaping the guardrails designed to contain it. Emily Bazelon in the New York Times$ -- 10/26/26

Environent

Worrisome chemical found in Bay Area, Santa Cruz creeks -- Six years ago, scientists in the Pacific Northwest untangled a mystery about why salmon were dying in the region, often in astonishing numbers — with as many as 90% of the migrating adult coho salmon perishing in parts of Puget Sound. The culprit turned out to be a toxic chemical from tires washing into waterways. Kurtis Alexander in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/26/26

POTUS 47

In Islamophobic Rant, Trump Seeks to Stir Republican Base in Michigan -- President Trump turned to Islamophobic stereotypes to motivate Michigan Republicans on Sunday, claiming at a rally that Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic Senate nominee, if elected, would bring a wave of jihadists to the United States. David E. Sanger and Bayliss Wagner in the New York Times$ Cat Zakrzewski and Erin Cox in the Washington Post$ -- 10/26/26

In first midterm rallies, Obama assails Trump administration -- Former president Barack Obama returned to the campaign trail Saturday to blister his successor and deliver Democrats’ closing argument against Republicans. “We have never seen a president excel in straight-up grifting on your dime like this,” Obama said about President Donald Trump to a high school gym packed with thousands here. A chorus of boos quickly turned to chants of “vote! vote! vote!” Erin Cox and Cleve R. Wootson Jr. in the Washington Post$ -- 10/26/26

Trump’s Election Attacks Enter New Pre-emptive Phase -- A lawsuit by the Justice Department challenging a potential narrow loss by the GOP Senate incumbent in Alaska reflects a new tactic by the president to try to shape the election results. Zolan Kanno-Youngs in the New York Times$ -- 10/26/26

White House is sued again over media bans as press groups seek wider injunction -- The new lawsuit says that prohibitions like the ones aimed at CNN, MS NOW and Politico — which a judge has paused — violate the rights of ordinary citizens. Scott Nover in the Washington Post$ -- 10/26/26

Trump’s D.C. hotel is gone. Republicans still pay millions to his businesses -- A Post analysis found that Republican campaigns and political groups have spent nearly $3 million at Trump businesses since he returned to office, with spending shifting to Palm Beach, Florida. Meryl Kornfield and Kevin Crowe in the Washington Post$ -- 10/26/26