California Policy and Politics Thursday

Updating . . .

Park Fire near Chico grows to 45,000 acres; police arrest person connected to the blaze -- A 42-year-old Chico man was arrested Thursday by arson investigators in connection with a fast-moving wildfire that sparked northeast of Chico less than a day earlier and exploded overnight to more than 45,000 acres, sending huge plumes of smoke into the air and prompting evacuations as an urgent call for reinforcements ricocheted across the state. Jill Tucker, Jordan Parker, Anthony Edwards in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/25/24

Uber and Lyft Win California Ruling to Treat Drivers as Contractors -- Uber Technologies, Lyft and other companies that depend on gig workers scored a victory with California’s top court, affirming their independent-contractor model in the state, a decision that caps a yearslong legal battle over how their drivers should be classified. Preetika Rana in the Wall Street Journal$ Suhauna Hussain in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/25/24

‘No more excuses’: Gavin Newsom directs California cities to clear homeless encampments -- On Thursday morning, he issued an executive order directing state agencies and urging local governments to adopt policies to identify dangerous encampments and clear them after giving residents two days’ notice. Sophia Bollag in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Shawn Hubler in the New York Times$ Doug Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ Jeremy B. White Politico -- 7/25/24

Park Fire near Chico explodes to more than 45,000 acres, becoming largest in California this year -- A fast-moving wildfire that sparked northeast of Chico in Butte County Wednesday afternoon exploded overnight to more than 45,000 acres, prompting evacuations and sending huge plumes of smoke into the air. Jordan Parker, Anthony Edwards in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Joseph Serna in the Los Angeles Times$ Kelsey Ables in the Washington Post$ -- 7/25/24

Evacuations remain in place as firefighters battle 800-plus acre Grove fire for second day -- Firefighters are battling flames under hot, humid weather conditions, and a fire official said it was expected to burn "probably several days" Karen Kucher in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 7/25/24

S.F. Democratic Party gives sole endorsement to Mayor London Breed in mayoral race -- The San Francisco Democratic Party on Wednesday gave its sole endorsement to Mayor London Breed in the city’s hotly contested mayoral race, and backed moderate candidates for six open Board of Supervisors seats. Aldo Toledo in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/25/24

Newton: Latinos, renters and presidential politics could extend L.A.’s lurch to the political left -- The electorate — who votes and in what numbers — determines local races. LA, once an anchor of conservatism, now rests on the cutting edge of progressive politics. Jim Newton CalMatters -- 7/25/24

Nancy Pelosi endorses ultra-progressive San Francisco official, an Elon Musk foe -- The speaker emerita is backing Supervisor Dean Preston in a local race that has drawn the attention of other national figures. Dustin Gardiner Politico Aldo Toledo, J.D. Morris in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/25/24

Newsom marvels at Harris’ quick start: ‘I pity Donald Trump right now’ -- The California governor spoke publicly for the first time about supporting Kamala Harris after learning that Joe Biden had dropped out of the presidential campaign. Christopher Cadelago Politico Shawn Hubler in the New York Times$ -- 7/25/24

How California Democrats learned to stop worrying and love Kamala Harris -- The vice president has united her home state’s political class behind her and, for now, silenced the doubters. Melanie Mason Politico -- 7/25/24

Which Silicon Valley power players are jumping in to back Kamala Harris — and which are holding off -- Some deep-pocketed Silicon Valley donors who were ditching President Joe Biden’s campaign are coming into the fold now that Vice President Kamala Harris is likely to lead the Democratic ticket. Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/25/24

Public deference, private power: How Nancy Pelosi navigated the Biden withdrawal -- Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democratic juggernaut, navigated a careful, respectful line in her public approach to President Biden’s decision about whether to seek reelection. Seema Mehta in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/25/24

Netanyahu’s address divides California’s congressmembers, sparks protest -- Rep. Pelosi boycotts, Rep. Schiff attends and Rep. Gomez calls on Netanyahu to resign. Clara Harter in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 7/25/24

S.F. mayoral race: Mark Farrell’s opponents allege ‘money laundering’ with ballot measure funds -- Wealthy donors are pouring cash into a ballot measure committee controlled by San Francisco mayoral candidate Mark Farrell, and the committee is sharing expenses with the campaign, prompting foes to accuse him of skirting campaign finance limits and cozying up to Republicans. St. John Barned-Smith in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/25/24

Want to comment publicly before the San Diego City Council? You may soon have to show up in person -- Critics say ending virtual public comment would silence the voices of those who can't attend meetings because of disability, work or family. David Garrick in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 7/25/24

Retired judge leading recall against Oakland mayor enters race to be city attorney -- Brenda Harbin-Forte says she’ll ease off Thao recall as attorney’s race heats up. Shomik Mukherjee in the East Bay Times$ -- 7/25/24

Arellano: The lawyer who thinks he can free street vendor activist Edin Enamorado -- Damon Alimouri stood out from his fellow defense attorneys, and not just for his colorful nickname, coined by fans who swooned over his clean-shaven face, tailored suits, shiny pompadour and oratorical skills. His passionate yet unpretentious style contrasted with the showboating of some of the other lawyers. Gustavo Arellano in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/25/24

AI

Proposed California law seeks to protect public from AI catastrophes -- The advent of artificial intelligence has inspired both hope in its problem-solving potential and fear of its devastating potential for misuse, with some 200 bills across the country proposing guardrails on the powerful emerging technology. Ryan Macasero in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 7/25/24

PG&E

PG&E profits soar, powered by increases in electricity and gas revenue -- Following huge jumps in monthly bills, utility titan's profits zoom by double-digits. George Avalos in the East Bay Times$ -- 7/25/24

Workplace

California’s long-awaited indoor heat standard has gone into effect. Here’s what to know -- More than a million workers laboring in warehouses, kitchens, laundry rooms and other hot indoor settings across California are now protected by new safety measures that went into effect on Tuesday. Suhauna Hussain in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/25/24

Insurance

California map shows where insurance nonrenewals for homes are the worst -- The tales of California homeowners losing their insurance are ubiquitous, stretching from rural Mariposa County to the middle of San Francisco. But which areas are facing the worst of California’s insurance crisis? Megan Fan Munce, Sriharsha Devulapalli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/25/24

California homeowners sue FAIR Plan, state’s insurer of last resort, over smoke damage coverage -- The class action case is being brought on behalf of more than 350,000 policyholders. Ethan Varian in the San Jose Mercury$ Stephen Hobbs in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 7/25/24

Housing

Ballot battles, lawsuits and a ticked off millionaire: What’s behind Eureka’s parking lot war? -- City officials in Eureka the plan to turn public parking lots into affordable housing would be easy. Now they’re facing a ballot measure campaign funded by one of the city’s richest men. Ben Christopher CalMatters -- 7/25/24

Walters: Eye-popping construction costs intensify California’s chronic housing shortage -- It’s not hyperbole to declare that California’s most serious economic, social and political issue is its chronic shortage of housing, particularly for families in the lower income brackets. Dan Walters CalMatters -- 7/25/24

Klamath

Huge California dam removal project ahead of schedule — with historic return of wildlife to follow -- The nation’s largest dam-removal project is moving along faster than planned, with the demolition work on the Klamath River, near the California-Oregon border, due to wrap up as soon as next month – and salmon expected to make their long-awaited return soon after. Kurtis Alexander in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/25/24

Water

Map shows where California ‘atmospheric thirst’ ramped up following historic July heat wave -- While California’s reservoirs are currently 116% of normal for this time of year, other signs of drought are quickly creeping in. The reason: July’s extreme heat. Jack Lee in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/25/24

Top of the Ticket

Obama to throw his full support behind Harris -- That endorsement could come as soon as Thursday, according to one of the people granted anonymity to speak about an endorsement that is not yet public. Eugene Daniels Politico -- 7/25/24

An online army rises, this time on Kamala Harris’s side -- A grassroots network of TikTok creators, energized by the new likely Democratic nominee, are using their skill at playful video collages to build Harris a viral political powerhouse from scratch. Drew Harwell, Taylor Lorenz, Justine McDaniel and María Luisa Paúl in the Washington Post$ -- 7/25/24

Trump and His Allies Adapt to a New Role: Fighting for Attention -- In the days since President Biden ended his re-election bid and passed the torch to Vice President Kamala Harris, Donald Trump’s campaign has been crowded out of the headlines. Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan in the New York Times$ -- 7/25/24

Republican attacks on Kamala Harris to get ‘as ugly and bigoted as they can’ -- Rightwing playbooks used in past election campaigns are being dusted off for an all-out assault on the vice-president. David Smith The Guardian -- 7/25/24

California, long a conservative foil, is a likely Trump target with Kamala Harris as rival -- State’s GOP party chairwoman says Harris has already ‘failed the Golden State'. Julia Prodis Sulek, Ethan Varian in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 7/25/24

Biden issues a wistful first farewell in Oval Office speech -- The man who entered political life as one of the youngest U.S. senators in history is coming to terms with leaving as the nation’s oldest president in history. Matt Viser in the Washington Post$ Katie Rogers in the New York Times$ Eli Stokols and Lauren Egan Politico Annie Linskey in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 7/25/24

The Beginning of Biden’s Long Goodbye -- In a speech from the Oval Office, President Biden said it was time to “pass the torch to a new generation.” But he said nothing about his own age or capacity that led so many Democrats to desert him. Peter Baker in the New York Times$ -- 7/25/24

As Trump unloads on Harris, even his supporters see her gaining ground -- Even Donald Trump’s supporters sense he suddenly has a tougher race on his hands. Natalie Allison Politico Michael Gold in the New York Times$ -- 7/25/24

Harris taps Black sorority and fraternity ‘family’ for political power -- One of the vice president’s first events as Democrats’ apparent standard-bearer was with longtime supporters. Elena Schneider Politico -- 7/25/24

Trump’s Lawsuit Against ABC and Stephanopoulos Can Move Forward -- The lawsuit, filed in March, argued that ABC’s star anchor, George Stephanopoulos, defamed Mr. Trump by saying on the air numerous times, in a March 10 segment on “This Week,” that the former president had been found liable for raping the writer E. Jean Carroll. Michael M. Grynbaum in the New York Times$ -- 7/25/24

JD Vance Hits the Money Circuit After Joining Trump’s Ticket -- Presidential running mates are always responsible for bringing in cash, but Mr. Vance, who has old ties to Silicon Valley, appears to be leaning into the role heavily. Theodore Schleifer, Michael C. Bender and Rebecca Davis O’Brien in the New York Times$ -- 7/25/24

Guns

Judge blocks Biden administration’s ban on forced reset triggers -- A federal judge cited the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn a ban on bump-stock devices. Forced reset triggers allow semi-automatic weapons to fire faster. Daniel Wu in the Washington Post$ -- 7/25/24

Education

Biden immigration order could help thousands of California children -- Biden announced in June a new program that will allow undocumented immigrant spouses of U.S. citizens to apply for permanent residency without returning to their home countries, if they have lived in the U.S. for at least 10 years and have no criminal record. Zaidee Stavely EdSource -- 7/25/24

California high schools and students demand clarity about UC’s new math policies -- Many school counselors and students say they’re confused by a lack of detail on admission requirements. John Fensterwald | EdSource in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/25/24

Street

A Marine was beaten, then run over in Bellflower. A $20,000 reward is offered for information -- Two men beat Peter Chounthala, leaving him in the street before he was hit by a car, sheriff’s deputies say. Sandra McDonald in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/25/24

Environment

17 California condor chicks hatch at LA Zoo, breaking 27-year-old record -- The final chick of the season hatched in June and is thriving, according to the zoo. Each one will be a candidate for release back into the wild as part of the California Condor Recovery Program, administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The item is in the Orange County Register -- 7/25/24

Entangled humpback whale is finally freed off Dana Point -- The young whale was seen off Southern California, struggling, its tail flukes dangerously entangled in rope. The animal may have been injured for as long as half a year. Corinne Purtill in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/25/24

California and Hawaii lead charge against deep-sea mining of critical metals -- As the International Seabed Authority considers the future of deep-sea mining for battery metals, California and other states are seeking bans against mining. Susanne Rust in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/25/24

Climate

California will host a billion-dollar ‘hydrogen hub.’ What it means for our energy future -- In the race to decarbonize energy and fuel, the federal government is spending billions to create hydrogen economies. California will be one of several hydrogen hubs — here’s what that will mean. Russ Mitchell in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/25/24

Also

End of an era: Southwest Airlines will end open seating, introduce red-eye flights -- For the first time since it was founded more than half a century ago, Southwest Airlines will assign seats — a shift that will allow the low-fare, no-frills company to meet evolving customer preferences and charge more money for premium seats. Jenny Jarvie in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/25/24

A Cybertruck is added to the Irvine Police Department fleet. Don’t expect to see it on patrol -- The truck, which starts at just over $60,000, will be used solely for community outreach, said Sgt. Karie Davis, a spokesperson for the Irvine Police Department. “It’s not a patrol car,” she said in an email. “It will be used for community relations.” Salvador Hernandez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/25/24