California Policy and Politics Monday

Updating . . .

Billionaires’ utopia company California Forever scraps plan for ballot initiative in wake of damning report -- Days after a Solano County report slammed a plan backed by Silicon Valley billionaires to build a utopian new city from scratch near Fairfield, the company behind the “California Forever” project has scrapped the ballot initiative it was to put to county voters in November. Ethan Baron in the San Jose Mercury$ Conor Dougherty in the New York Times$ -- 7/22/24

Authorities saw gunman on roof 18 minutes before Trump stepped on stage, Secret Service chief admits -- In a stunning admission, the embattled director of the U.S. Secret Service said Monday that local authorities observed and photographed the man who shot at former President Trump 18 minutes before he took the stage at a rally in Pennsylvania. Richard Winton and Nathan Solis in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/22/24

‘Long-duration’ heat wave again cooking California, raising health and wildfire concerns -- July’s second major heat wave isn’t forecast to be as extreme as the last event, which set several all-time records for high temperatures. Nevertheless, the National Weather Service predicted that it will be a “long-duration heat wave,” which creates uniquely dangerous conditions — especially when temperatures barely drop at night. Grace Toohey in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/22/24

Devastating ransomware attack shuts down L.A. County courts -- The Los Angeles County Superior Court, the biggest trial court in the country, remained closed Monday as it sought to recover from a ransomware attack on its systems, officials said. Summer Lin in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/22/24

Democrats run the California Capitol. When the party backs a bill, lawmakers pay attention -- The California Democratic Party’s primary function is electing candidates. Lately, it’s become a lobbying powerhouse, taking positions on dozens of bills. The party usually gets its way. Ryan Sabalow CalMatters -- 7/22/24

California lawmakers continue push to regulate social media despite legal hurdles -- California lawmakers are pursuing legislation aimed at protecting children from the dangers of social media, one of many efforts around the country to confront what U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy and other public health experts say is a mental health emergency among young people. Mark Kreidler KFF Health News in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/22/24

One S.F. police officer made $456,000 in overtime alone amid a record overtime year -- As a sergeant at the San Francisco Police Department, Dennis Lai makes just under $180,000 a year, a salary comfortably above the city’s median income for a family of four. But that’s only a quarter of what he actually earned last fiscal year. Danielle Echeverria in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/22/24

Coronavirus in California keeps rising: Wastewater levels worse than last summer -- Coronavirus levels in California’s wastewater now exceed last summer’s peak, an indication of the rapid spread of the super-contagious new FLiRT strains. Rong-Gong Lin II in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/22/24

Rep. Ken Calvert has secured millions for his Riverside County district. Do his own properties benefit? -- Since Congress brought back the legislative process known as earmarking in 2022, few lawmakers have been as successful at securing funds for their district as Rep. Ken Calvert. Laura J. Nelson in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/22/24

An Unfinished Skyscraper Complex Covered With Graffiti Finds a Lifeline -- A Los Angeles developer is in talks to buy Oceanwide Plaza after its Chinese owner stopped work in 2019. Kate King in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 7/22/24

Wildfire

Hawarden fire burns structures, forces residents to flee in Riverside County -- A pair of fast-burning vegetation fires ignited Sunday in Riverside County, rapidly scorching hundreds of acres of brush, causing evacuations and reportedly burning several structures. Amy Hubbard in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/22/24

Progress on Ridge Fire in Lake and Colusa counties amid favorable weather -- The Ridge Fire, which started Saturday afternoon at Walker Ridge Road and Highway 20, held at more than 2,600 acres Sunday evening, according to Cal Fire. Favorable weather conditions and night operations helped crews make progress, bringing the containment to 15%, officials said. Jessica Flores in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/22/24

Education

Broken trust: Cal State is mending how it handles sexual discrimination cases -- Changes are underway one year after scathing audits showed how the California State University system failed to handle reports of sexual discrimination, harassment and assault in its Title IX offices. Elizabeth Wilson CalMatters -- 7/22/24

West Contra Costa sued over poor building conditions, teacher vacancies -- The lawsuit comes months after 48 complaints were filed. Monica Velez EdSource -- 7/22/24

Street

Crime is rising at L.A. Metro. Is a new police force the answer? -- California public transit agencies are trying to lure back riders by improving safety. Metro’s decision to create its own public safety department is a major test. Jenna Peterson CalMatters -- 7/22/24

Golden Gate Bridge suicides drastically decline after barrier installation -- There has been an annual average of about 30 confirmed suicides at the Golden Gate Bridge over the last 20 years, but since the installation of a lifesaving barrier, that rate has significantly declined, officials said. Adrian Rodriguez in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 7/22/24

Top of the Ticket

Skelton: California’s Kamala Harris was the necessary choice but not the best candidate -- Please pardon me for being a skunk at the picnic where California Democrats are celebrating Vice President Kamala Harris’ expected ascension to replace President Biden as the party’s nominee to battle Donald Trump. George Skelton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/22/24

Pelosi endorses Harris, who gains quick support among leading Democrats -- Less than 24 hours after President Biden ended his reelection bid, a slew of Democratic leaders threw their support behind Vice President Kamala Harris — including her highly influential Bay Area colleague, San Francisco Rep. Nancy Pelosi. Faith E. Pinho, Seema Mehta and Noah Bierman in the Los Angeles Times$ Shira Stein in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/22/24

Biden Is Out of the Race. Trump Is Still Attacking Him -- IShortly after President Biden announced he was ending his re-election campaign, former President Donald J. Trump on Sunday afternoon posted on social media a forceful attack denouncing him. Over the next hours, he posted several more. Michael Gold in the New York Times$ -- 7/22/24

RFK Jr. sought job in a Trump White House as he weighed endorsing Trump -- The independent candidate suggested being given a senior job overseeing a portfolio of health and medical issues, an idea that the Trump campaign rejected. Josh Dawsey and Michael Scherer in the Washington Post$ -- 7/22/24

The remarkable contrast between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump -- On nearly every measure, the likely presidential opponents diverge. Philip Bump in the Washington Post$ -- 7/22/24

In Silicon Valley, Where Trump Made Inroads, Democrats Are Now Invigorated -- Elon Musk, Marc Andreessen and others have endorsed Donald J. Trump. But President Biden’s withdrawal has re-energized Democrats across the tech industry and may blunt that momentum. Erin Griffith in the New York Times$ -- 7/22/24

Why Biden finally quit -- For 23 days, President Joe Biden insisted on pushing forward with his reelection bid in the face of calls from Democratic lawmakers and donors for him to step aside. And then, almost on a dime, things changed. Eli Stokols, Jonathan Lemire, Elena Schneider and Sarah Ferris Politico -- 7/22/24

The Promise, and Risks, in Turning to Kamala Harris -- In a sprint of a race, Ms. Harris is poised to attack Donald Trump on his felonies and, in a 2024 twist, his age, but Republicans will be galvanized to fight her, too. Shane Goldmacher in the New York Times$ -- 7/22/24

How Kamala Harris Rose as a California Moderate -- In her home state of California, however, Vice President Kamala Harris has been viewed as center-left by California standards, an ambitious prosecutor with conventional values shaped as much by the state’s tough-on-crime 1990s as by the Bay Area’s progressive politics. Shawn Hubler in the New York Times$ -- 7/22/24

Democrats Donate More Than $50 Million Online After Biden’s Exit -- Sunday was the single biggest day for online Democratic donations in years — a significant show of enthusiasm after weeks of sluggish fund-raising. Shane Goldmacher in the New York Times$ -- 7/22/24

A presidential campaign is ‘a $2-billion startup.’ If she gets the nod, Harris has 3½ months -- They will be facing an opponent, former President Trump, who has been running since 2022, secured his party’s nomination in March and staged a highly choreographed convention last week. There’s “no template for it,” said David Axelrod, former President Obama’s lead strategist. Noah Bierman in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/22/24

GOP eyes legal challenges as Harris assumes control of Biden’s war chest -- The issue, involving tens of millions of dollars, could get tied up in the Federal Election Commission and then in court. Maeve Reston in the Washington Post$ -- 7/22/24

A Harris-Trump race would pit ex-prosecutor vs. recently convicted felon -- The vice president leaned into her past as a prosecutor in attacking Trump in the 2020 primary. Will she do the same now? Ashley Parker in the Washington Post$ -- 7/22/24

What to know about the Democratic convention now that Biden’s out of race -- Although many Democrats quickly endorsed Vice President Harris, they must make a formal nomination through a virtual vote or an “open” convention in Chicago. Andrew Jeong and Niha Masih in the Washington Post$ -- 7/22/24

Gaza, abortion, immigration: where Kamala Harris stands on key issues -- The first Black person, the first person of South Asian descent and the first female vice-president in US history versus a white man. The oldest presidential candidate in US history versus someone almost 20 years younger than him. The property mogul who inherited a fortune from his father versus the daughter of a biologist and a university professor in economics, both of whom are immigrants. Helen Sullivan The Guardian -- 7/22/24

Gavin Newsom backs Kamala Harris, ending speculation that he would challenge her -- “With our democracy at stake and our future on the line, no one is better to prosecute the case against Donald Trump’s dark vision and guide our country in a healthier direction than America’s Vice President, @KamalaHarris,” Newsom wrote on X. Sophia Bollag in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Faith E. Pinho in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/22/24

California Democratic delegates prepare to back VP Kamala Harris at upcoming convention -- The California Democratic Party already is asking delegates to officially endorse her nomination at the Chicago convention. Kaitlyn Schallhorn in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 7/22/24

Can Kamala Harris unite Democrats? Here’s what’s working in her favor — and what’s not -- With the abrupt end to President Joe Biden’s presidential campaign, Vice President Kamala Harris could become the first Black and Indian American woman to lead a major party ticket. First, she must convince naysayers in her party that she has learned from her past mistakes and can unite voters behind her candidacy. Shira Stein, Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/22/24

Kamala Harris has a career of comebacks. She has 107 days to do it again -- Unprecedented battles are not new to Harris, who has defied expectations, for good and ill, since her earliest days in politics. Peter Jamison and Cleve R. Wootson Jr. in the Washington Post$ -- 7/22/24

What a Kamala Harris foreign policy could look like -- She would likely stay tough on Russia and China, and has rebuked Israel’s handling of aid into Gaza. Eric Bazail-Eimil, Joe Gould, Miles J. Herszenhorn and Phelim Kine Politico -- 7/22/24

Who could replace Harris as the next vice presidential candidate? Meet her potential choices -- Conventional wisdom suggests the choice of a swing state candidate would be wise, but such a pick is no guarantee the Democrats would carry the state. That thought could open the door to other politicians who have simply shown an ability to appeal to voters across the country’s sharp ideological divide. James Rainey in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/22/24

Some Black Voters Say They Wonder if a Black Woman Can Win -- In interviews, some Black voters expressed concern about whether Americans were ready to elect Kamala Harris, who has the backing of President Biden. Jeremy W. Peters and Clyde McGrady in the New York Times$ -- 7/22/24

Congressional Republicans call for Biden to resign -- “If Joe Biden is not fit to run for President, he is not fit to serve as President,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said in a statement. Mariana Alfaro, Marianna Sotomayor and Leigh Ann Caldwell in the Washington Post$ -- 7/22/24

Joe Manchin Says He ‘Not Going to be a Candidate for President’ -- Senator Joseph Manchin, independent of West Virginia, said on Monday that he would not launch his own presidential bid, a rapid shift in tone after a TV appearance earlier in the morning in which he appeared to be flirting with pursuit of the Democratic nomination. Jazmine Ulloa in the New York Times$ -- 7/22/24

Also

Drinkable exhaust makes a splash as hydrogen-powered ferry premieres on S.F. Bay -- Cookie Huss and Ed Simon boarded the 10:30 Sunday morning ferry at Fisherman’s Wharf and went straight to the back of the cabin, nearest the water fountain. They wanted to drink the cool, pure exhaust from the world’s first hydrogen cell commercial passenger ferry. Sam Whiting in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/22/24