California Policy and Politics Tuesday

Kamala Harris picks Tim Walz for VP -- By choosing Walz, Harris is elevating a Midwestern governor, veteran and former schoolteacher to help shore up support among blue-collar, white voters in the Rust Belt. Eugene Daniels, Elena Schneider and Holly Otterbein Politico Erin Doherty, Andrew Solender Axios Hailey Branson-Potts in the Los Angeles Times$ John McCormick and Tarini Parti in the Wall Street Journal$ Reid J. Epstein in the New York Times$ -- 8/6/24

 

Neighbors fight flames as Edgehill fire consumes homes in San Bernardino; one person detained -- A fast-moving wildfire burned through a hillside community in San Bernardino on Monday afternoon, sending residents running and engulfing homes with black smoke and rippling, sky-high flames. Gina Ferazzi, Rosanna Xia and Hannah Fry in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/6/24

Park Fire still growing with containment at 30% as temperatures expected to hit triple-digits -- Recent favorable weather including residual rainfall moisture offered the 6,528 firefighters battling the blaze a brief respite, officials said. But forecasts of triple-digit temperatures, drier conditions and higher wind speeds are expected to increase fire activity into this week. Ari Plachta in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 8/6/24

California lawmakers got ticket freebies as they cracked down on Ticketmaster’s Taylor Swift debacle -- Ticketmaster’s troubled handling of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour prompted California lawmakers to spend months cracking down on the ticketing industry — while they enjoyed thousands of dollars worth of free tickets themselves from interest groups, a Politico analysis shows. Lara Korte Politico -- 8/6/24

AI Regulation Still in the Mix as California Legislature Returns to Session -- California legislators returned from summer recess on Monday, and among the bills they’re considering are several that, piece by piece, aim to regulate generative artificial intelligence. Rachael Myrow KQED -- 8/6/24

How California conservatives are fighting back -- Republican power in California has been waning for decades. The party hasn’t elected a candidate to statewide office since 2006, and it now represents a superminority in the Legislature. Alexei Koseff CalMatters -- 8/6/24

LA Council member Kevin de Leon’s ballot measure shell game -- Late last month, de León moved $550,000 from a war chest created to back a 2026 run for lieutenant governor to a newly formed Kevin de León Believing in a Better California Ballot Measure Committee. It’s all likely designed to help him win a tough race for another term on the Los Angeles City Council. Will McCarthy Politico -- 8/6/24

Orange County demands group linked to supervisor’s daughter return millions of dollars -- Orange County is demanding that a group linked to Supervisor Andrew Do’s daughter return millions of tax dollars after it failed to show it did the work it was hired to do. Salvador Hernandez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/6/24

Elon Musk moves X out of San Francisco. City leaders shrug -- After 18 years, Elon Musk will move X, formerly known as Twitter, out of San Francisco, according to Mayor London Breed’s office. The social media company has a long history with the city, but the billionaire entrepreneur, who acquired the platform in 2022, has often used it to bash the city’s progressive politics and homelessness crisis. Trisha Thadani in the Washington Post$ Kate Conger and Ryan Mac in the New York Times$ Roland Li in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/6/24

Google loses major antitrust case over search, declared a monopoly by judge -- In a major blow to Google, a federal judge on Monday ruled that the tech giant violated antitrust laws by illegally maintaining a monopoly on web searches. Samantha Masunaga in the Los Angeles Times$ Jan Wolfe and Miles Kruppa in the Wall Street Journal$-- 8/6/24

Using poker chips, OC Registrar of Voters randomly selects ballot argument for Anaheim school bond -- Pulling a poker chip out of a bag, the OC Registrar of Voters on Monday randomly selected which ballot argument against a $496 million Anaheim Union High School District bond measure will be printed in the information guide sent to voters for the November election. Michael Slaten in the Orange County Register -- 8/6/24

Walters: Texas scores a goal on California as Chevron moves headquarters to Houston -- The war between Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state’s once-immense oil industry entered a new phase a few days ago when Chevron, California’s oldest and best known producer of gasoline and other petroleum products, announced it was moving its corporate headquarters to Texas. Dan Walters CalMatters -- 8/6/24

California Power Bills

Why Californians Have Some of the Highest Power Bills in the U.S. -- Utilities are investing billions to upgrade infrastructure and build out green energy, passing budget-breaking costs to households; trying to keep the chocolate from melting. Phred Dvorak, Ariana Drehsler in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 8/6/24

Gavin Newsom has a plan to lower California electricity bills. Here’s what it would do -- Gov. Gavin Newsom is working on a legislative proposal to modestly lower electricity bills, especially in the short term, according to two sources familiar with the plan but unauthorized to discuss details. Ari Plachta in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 8/6/24

Top of the Ticket   Walz

Who Is Tim Walz, the Minnesota Governor Kamala Harris Picked to Be V.P.? -- Mr. Walz captured Democrats’ attention with his “weird” takedown of Republicans. Here’s a look at the new vice-presidential candidate. Neil Vigdor in the New York Times$ -- 8/6/24

Tim Walz Has Championed Climate as Governor -- Kamala Harris’s V.P. pick, known for his folksy persona and rural Midwestern roots, has elevated the issue of climate change in his state. Coral Davenport in the New York Times$ -- 8/6/24

Walz Has Faced Criticism for His Response to George Floyd Protests -- Some believe that Gov. Tim Walz should have deployed the Minnesota National Guard sooner when riots broke out following the police murder of George Floyd. Mitch Smith in the New York Times$ -- 8/6/24

Harris

A Race at Warp Speed: For Harris, There Are Advantages in a Late Start -- This presidential campaign is playing out in fast forward. Strategists in both parties say speed is likely to benefit Vice President Kamala Harris. Adam Nagourney in the New York Times$ -- 8/6/24

Harris prepares to name running mate and launch multistate tour -- Vice President Harris holed up at her residence at the Naval Observatory on Monday to finalize the selection of her running mate, perhaps the biggest decision of her nascent campaign, as plans coalesced for the joint campaign swing that Democrats hope will generate excitement for the ticket this week. Patrick Svitek and Tyler Pager in the Washington Post$ -- 8/6/24

Cracks in Economy Pose Risk to Harris’s Momentum -- Recent economic turbulence threatens to reinforce voters’ view that the American economy is shaky, giving former President Donald Trump’s campaign a chance to shift onto stronger ground in his race against Vice President Kamala Harris. Annie Linskey and Alex Leary in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 8/6/24

Trump

Influencer gives Trump a Tesla, a Rolex … and a campaign finance violation? -- Video game streamer Adin Ross’s gifts worth tens of thousands may fall foul of fundraising law. Lauren Aratani The Guardian -- 8/6/24

Trump’s fusillade of falsehoods on debt and taxes -- In the space of two minutes, the fomer president misled on budget cuts, the national debt and the impact of his tax cut. Glenn Kessler in the Washington Post$ -- 8/6/24

As Trump fumes, Republicans wince at ‘public nervous breakdown’ -- Donald Trump spent Monday morning labeling the turmoil in the global financial markets the “Kamala Crash,” giving Republicans hope that he might turn his focus to an economic message. It didn’t last. Adam Wren, Natalie Allison, Olivia Beavers and Lisa Kashinsky Politico -- 8/6/24

Trump keeps attacking their spouses. Top GOPers keep supporting him anyway -- Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) is the latest to find a family member in Donald Trump’s crosshairs. Aaron Blake in the Washington Post$ -- 8/6/24

Jenna Ellis, Former Trump Lawyer, Will Cooperate in Arizona Election Fraud Case -- Ms. Ellis is the first of 18 defendants to reach a deal with prosecutors in a case that charges them with trying to overturn Arizona’s election results in 2020. Danny Hakim in the New York Times$ Yvonne Wingett Sanchez in the Washington Post$ Kyle Cheney Politico -- 8/6/24

Trump and His Allies Seize on Market Downturn to Attack Harris -- Economists blamed a variety of factors for Monday’s slide. But Donald Trump was trying to disrupt weeks of momentum for Vice President Kamala Harris and her party. Jim Tankersley, Jonathan Swan and Maggie Haberman in the New York Times$ -- 8/6/24

Vance

Usha Vance Defends JD Vance’s ‘Childless Cat Ladies’ Claim as a ‘Quip’ -- Usha Vance said in a Fox News interview that her husband, who is Donald J. Trump’s running mate, had been trying to make a “substantive” point through jest. Tim Balk in the New York Times$ -- 8/6/24

Vance Is Touring the Same Battleground States as Harris This Week -- The Republican vice-presidential nominee will hold events that overlap with the stops Vice President Kamala Harris has planned, sometimes even in the same city. Michael C. Bender in the New York Times$ -- 8/6/24

Education

California’s two biggest school districts botched AI deals. Here are lessons from their mistakes -- Educators can learn caution from AI mistakes in Los Angeles and San Diego. But they also face pressure to adopt the technology quickly. Khari Johnson CalMatters -- 8/6/24

Street

Federal prison leaders excoriated for ‘unconscionable’ conditions at shuttered FCI Dublin women’s prison -- A blistering report found an “unconscionable” pattern of derelict care and oversight at the FCI Dublin federal women’s prison and raised the alarm that similar problems may be plaguing other federal prisons across the nation. Jakob Rodgers in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 8/6/24

Environment

As California salmon population plummets, monster wildfire threatens spawning habitat -- The Park fire is burning along creeks that provide vital spawning habitat for California’s spring-run Chinook salmon. Biologists worry the fire will cause harm. Ian James in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/6/24

Also

Pelosi: ‘I was asking for a campaign that would win’ in talks with Biden -- Nancy Pelosi didn’t want President Joe Biden to step down, the former speaker told ABC News Monday morning. What she wanted, she explained, was “a campaign that would win.” Irie Sentner Politico -- 8/6/24

Dead Bear Cub Story Is Latest Twist in RFK Jr.’s Campaign -- Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says he left a dead bear cub in New York’s Central Park a decade ago and staged it to look as if it was hit by a cyclist, the latest development in the independent candidate’s long-shot campaign for the presidency. Joseph Pisani in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 8/6/24

New video shows world’s largest wildlife crossing starting to take form -- New aerial footage shows the Annenberg Wildlife Crossing starting to take form over the 101 Freeway in Agoura Hills. Rosanna Xia in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/6/24

Gigantic Marilyn Monroe statue in Palm Springs will be moved after uproar -- The 26-foot statue of the famed actress has drawn the ire of residents and critics alike. The mayor of Palm Springs announced recently that the Forever Marilyn statue will move to a city park. Terry Castleman in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/6/24