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California Policy and Politics Sunday
With conditions worsening, how will the Orange County chemical crisis get resolved? -- The battle to keep a highly toxic chemical from exploding took a step backward Saturday. The temperature in a critically failing tank filled with a highly toxic chemical and at risk of exploding in Orange County is rising, not falling, officials said. Rong-Gong Lin II and Emily St. Martin in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/24/26
Why experts, emergency crews haven’t been able to find a solution to Garden Grove chemical threat -- Experts and emergency crews have been working for nearly two days to try and prevent a potentially catastrophic chemical spill or explosion at Garden Grove aerospace manufacturing facility, but have so far been unable to find a fix. Sean Emery in the LA Daily News -- 5/24/26
Explosion would cause significant damage around Garden Grove plant, blast zone map shows -- If the failing chemical tank in Orange County does explode, the aerospace plant where it sits and dozens of homes surrounding it could suffer severe damage, according to a map released by authorities Saturday. Areas within roughly 1,100 feet of the tank would suffer severe damage; and beyond that, areas within about 0.3 miles, moderate damage; and beyond that, areas within about 0.4 miles, light damage, from the blast. Rong-Gong Lin II and Sean Greene in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/24/26
Outrage, frustrations grow as residents await word on possible Garden Grove chemical blast find few answers -- Frustrations boiled over Saturday as displaced residents and community leaders awaiting the possible explosion of a chemical storage tank in Garden Grove demanded answers from public officials — and consequences for the company behind the potential disaster. Jason Henry, Sean Emery,Tony Saavedra and Victoria Le in the Orange County Register$ -- 5/24/26
How worried should you be about a Garden Grove chemical spill or explosion’s impact on your health? -- A potential explosion or chemical spill in Garden Grove involving the substance methyl methacrylate, or MMA, used in aerospace manufacturing, could cause serious harm to residents’ respiratory or nervous systems if they are exposed to it, experts said Friday, May 22. Sierra van der Brug and Andre Mouchard in the Orange County Register$ -- 5/24/26
What we know about GKN Aerospace, the firm at center of O.C. chemical leak -- The chemical leak that triggered evacuations across a swath of Orange County on Friday is located at GKN Aerospace, a manufacturing company based in the United Kingdom. Hannah Fry and Rong-Gong Lin II in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/24/26
‘Yes, this is an ad’: Steyer’s paid influencer blitz is roiling California’s governor race -- Last month, Carly Nelson, a Tampa, Florida-based influencer and social media consultant, made an unusual departure from her typical stream of fashion photos and motivational quotes by weighing in on California politics. Kate Talerico, Joaquin Palomino in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/24/26
Leaked files, ‘nuclear verdicts,’ bruising attacks: Inside the L.A. city attorney race -- City Atty. Hydee Feldstein Soto faces a tough reelection fight from challengers on opposite ends of the political spectrum. Sonja Sharp and James Queally in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/24/26
GOP governor hopefuls give closing arguments to Central Valley Republicans -- The rivals promised sweeping conservative overhauls — new dams, tougher crime policies, gutting environmental rules — as Central Valley voters, anxious over water and culture wars, weighed which Republican could win statewide. Nicole Nixon in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/24/26
Lopez: Spencer Pratt, please call me. You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into -- More than 30,000 people are waiting for their broken sidewalks to get fixed, but there’s no money. The mayor’s power is limited in Los Angeles, and the fixes aren’t as easy as we’d like them to be. Steve Lopez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/24/26
Shot after San Diego mosque attack, landscaper says he’s the ‘luckiest guy on the planet’ -- 'If not for my helmet, I would probably not be alive today,' 52-year-old Tafu Letuli said in a statement. Rob Nikolewski in the San Diego Union Tribune -- 5/24/26
‘Broad-based panic’: White House green card policy alarms Bay Area immigration advocates -- Bay Area immigration advocates expressed bewilderment and alarm after the Trump administration announced that people seeking green cards in the U.S. will soon be forced to return to their home countries to apply. Lucy Hodgman, St. John Barned-Smith in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/24/26
Los Angeles hotels are still waiting for a surge in demand from the World Cup -- Hotel rooms in Los Angeles and other FIFA World Cup host cities could sit empty, despite high expectations that the global sporting event would be a boon to the city. Caroline Petrow-Cohen in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/24/26
California cap-and-trade overhaul could slash funding for transit, housing and fire prevention -- Scores of agencies and advocates, from big-city mayors to housing departments to BART and Muni, are urging the California Air Resources Board to reject the updated “cap and trade” regulation, now called “cap and invest,” for fear of missing out on big money. The air board is scheduled to vote on the overhaul at its meeting next week. Kurtis Alexander in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/24/26
Inspired by Jane Goodall, students build nurseries to reforest L.A.’s fire-scorched communities -- Students traumatized by the 2025 fires are cultivating campus nurseries to reforest Southern California’s fire-scarred landscapes, fulfilling an idea co-conceived by the late conservationist. Lila Seidman in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/24/26
Trump proposal to eliminate ‘roadless areas’ in forests draws ire among Southern Californians -- A 25-year-old rule keeping certain wilderness regions in the Angeles, other forests, roadless may be revoked, thereby inviting mining or logging operations. Steve Scauzillo in the LA Daily News -- 5/24/26
Yosemite traffic backs up as holiday weekend crowds test no-reservation policy -- Drivers visiting Yosemite National Park on Saturday ran into long delays at multiple entrances, and in some cases were directed to turn around as Memorial Day weekend crowds overwhelmed parking areas and roads into the park. Kate Talerico in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/24/26
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Trump’s Justice Department scrubs its website of news releases about Jan. 6 defendants -- The Department of Justice is acknowledging it has removed from its website news releases about criminal cases related to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot, calling the information about the prosecutions “partisan propaganda.”Eric Tucker Associated Press -- 5/24/26
Trump Is Setting His Sights on Restricting Legal Immigration -- After a year focused on immigrants here illegally, the Trump administration is now making it harder for legal migrants to stay in the country. It is a risky pivot. Hamed Aleaziz in the New York Times$ -- 5/24/26
This congressman's family was swept up in WWII Japanese detention. He sees a repeat in today's raids -- The congressman returned home last Fourth of July to startling stories in Southern California as immigration patrols swept through communities and one constituent told him about starting to carry a passport as proof of the right to be in the country. Lisa Mascaro Associated Press -- 5/24/26
California Policy and Politics Saturday
Trump says a deal with Iran and opening of Strait of Hormuz are ‘largely negotiated’ -- President Donald Trump said Saturday that a deal with Iran on the war, including opening the Strait of Hormuz, has been “largely negotiated” after calls with Israel and other allies in the region. Munir Ahmed, Samy Magdy, Darlene Superville Associated Press -- 5/23/26
40,000 people under evacuation orders for a chemical tank leak in Southern California -- Authorities in Southern California on Friday were racing to figure out how to prevent the explosion of a storage tank that has been leaking a hazardous chemical used to make plastic parts, as some 40,000 people were under evacuation orders in the area. Olga R. Rodriguez, Claire Rush, Hannah Schoenbaum Associated Press -- 5/22/26
Why is Orange County chemical tank crisis so hard to fix? -- A large, pressurized tank filled with a toxic chemical in Orange County is at risk of either exploding or leaking, and officials say their options are highly limited. Rong-Gong Lin II and Hannah Fry in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/23/26
What is methyl methacrylate, the substance at the center of a Garden Grove hazmat emergency? -- Craig Covey, incident commander from the Orange County Fire Authority, described it as a “highly toxic substance” that can “impact the respiratory system, cause skin irritation and eye irritation.” “The other concern we have is that it is extremely flammable in its current state, very reactive and can cause an explosion, which is why we have that hard perimeter in place,” he said. Sierra van der Brug, Andre Mouchard in the Orange County Register$ -- 5/23/26
Pratt raised nearly 10 times more in contributions than Bass in latest filing period -- Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt raised nearly 10 times more in contributions than Mayor Karen Bass in the latest campaign finance reporting period, new statements show. Pratt reported raising $2.72 million between April 19 and May 16, the statements show, compared with $283,000 for Bass. Connor Sheets and Sandhya Kambhampati in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/23/26
San Diego Islamic Center
Bullying, rejection, concerning behavior cited in documents linked to mosque shooting suspects -- A hazy portrait of the two teens behind Monday’s deadly rampage at San Diego’s largest mosque has emerged from snippets of personal grievances tucked within a hate-filled manifesto they purportedly wrote and court documents seeking to confiscate guns from one boy’s home a year before the attack. Teri Figueroa in the San Diego Union Tribune -- 5/23/26
Workplace
Labor leaders see Newsom’s AI workforce EO as softer than advertised -- For some California union leaders, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s latest AI and labor-related executive order is a letdown, especially with months left in his final term. Christine Mui and Tyler Katzenberger Politico -- 5/23/26
Bay Area, California both lose jobs in April -- Both the Bay Area and California lost jobs in April, but the South Bay remained a bright spot as the region wrestles with ongoing layoffs in the technology industry. Adjusted for seasonal volatility, the Bay Area shed 700 jobs last month, according to the latest figures from the state Employment Development Department. George Avalos in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 5/23/26
California takes major step toward banning deadly quartz countertop work -- California workplace safety officials moved Thursday toward a first-in-the-nation ban on fabrication and installation of quartz countertop materials, in a bid to halt a deadly epidemic among workers exposed to toxic dust from cutting, polishing and installing the popular kitchen and bathroom furnishing. Ethan Baron in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 5/23/26
Education
Silicon Valley to get its first two-year degree focused on AI --As artificial intelligence continues to make waves in higher education, changing the way students are learning and forcing educators to rethink traditional assessments amid cheating concerns, Silicon Valley is about to get its first two-year degree in AI. Molly Gibbs in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 5/23/26
Caltech could lose control of JPL for first time in decades -- The contract for management and operation of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory will be opened up to a competitive bidding process for the first time in its history, the space agency announced on Friday. Corinne Purtill in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/23/26
Yosemite
Full parking lots, gridlock traffic fill Yosemite Valley after reservations waved -- Over the past few weekends, social media lit up with complaints of 90-minute entry lines, overflowing parking lots and human traffic jams on hiking trails. Some park advocates say this is due to elimination of Yosemite’s reservation system by the Trump administration for 2026. Liliana Fannin in the Fresno Bee -- 5/23/26
Street
20 women sue over ‘weaponization of strip searches’ in S.F. jail -- Male guards at San Francisco’s jailhouse for women have repeatedly strip-searched inmates over the past year, probing their breasts and genitals without any legal justification or evidence of wrongdoing, 20 women are charging in a lawsuit. The suit seeks damages and a court injunction against future searches. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/23/26
Oakland police hit milestone that could end oversight tied to ‘Riders’ scandal -- A court monitor found that Oakland’s police force has for the first time achieved full compliance with reforms mandated by a federal court after a brutality scandal, according to a report obtained by the Chronicle, a major win for a department that has struggled under supervision for nearly 25 years. Sarah Ravani in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/23/26
Also
Sandy fire crew salvages family wedding ring amid Simi Valley ashes -- A Los Angeles Fire Department crew sifted through rubble on the property and found a wedding ring, along with other precious belongings, authorities said in a news release. A video shared on social media showed the firefighters from Engine 85 returning the ring to its owner. Alex Wigglesworth in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/23/26
Waymo suspends all freeway rides over safety -- Waymo said that it’s pausing its robotaxi services on freeways in the U.S. as it updates its software to improve performance around construction zones and flooded roads. Nilesh Christopher in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/23/26
California gets $27.5 million to find and replace toxic lead pipes that deliver water to homes -- California will get $27.5 million in federal funding to find and replace lead pipes that deliver water to homes, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced this week. Alex Wigglesworth in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/23/26
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The Week That Broke Trump’s Control Over Congress -- Republican senators are challenging President Trump’s $1.776 billion “anti-weaponization fund.” The dispute has paralyzed progress on a $70 billion multiyear package funding immigration enforcement, forcing a delay until next month. A Wall Street Journal poll found President Trump’s job approval at 41% in May, down from 45% in January, with 57% disapproving. Marianne LeVine, Ken Thomas, Lindsay Wise and Philip Wegmann in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 5/23/26
Defiant After Bad Week, Trump Pushes Ahead on Politically Unpopular Ideas -- By pretty much any estimation, President Trump has had a very bad week. Luke Broadwater in the New York Times$ -- 5/23/26
A tough week for Trump on Capitol Hill, as Republicans deal him setbacks -- During a chaotic week, Republican lawmakers began to flex their independence from the president. Riley Beggin, Anna Liss-Roy and Jarrell Dillard in the Washington Post$ -- 5/23/26
Lawsuit Argues Trump’s $1.8 Billion Fund Excludes Those He Targeted -- The constellation of individuals and groups involved claims to have suffered partisan attacks by the federal government under Trump, yet would not be compensated. Zach Montague in the New York Times$ -- 5/23/26
Poll shows voter confidence in economy plummeting to a nearly 4-year low -- Americans’ confidence in the economy has hit a nearly four-year low, according to a new poll, underscoring a growing problem for Republicans ahead of the midterm elections as President Donald Trump struggles to deliver on his campaign pledge to make life more affordable. Olivia George and Scott Clement in the Washington Post$ -- 5/23/26
NYT publisher calls out news outlets for ‘capitulation’ to Trump administration -- New York Times publisher AG Sulzberger slammed President Donald Trump’s incursions on press freedom and chastised the news outlets he accused of caving to White House pressure in a speech Thursday night. Gregory Svirnovskiy Politico -- 5/23/26
Green Card Seekers Must Leave U.S. to Apply, Trump Administration Says -- The change is likely to affect hundreds of thousands of people. It could also lead to more family separations as spouses or relatives wait for application decisions, immigration lawyers said. Madeleine Ngo and Albert Sun in the New York Times$ -- 5/23/26