California Policy and Politics Wednesday

Updating . . .

Gov. Newsom declares emergency in California after CDC confirms severe case of bird flu in Louisiana -- Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency as the H5N1 bird flu virus moves from the Central valley to Southern California herds and federal officials confirmed flu in a Louisiana patient hospitalized with severe illness. Susanne Rust in the Los Angeles Times$ Catherine Ho in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/18/24

FBI agents search home of L.A. deputy mayor over City Hall bomb threat -- The agents searched the home of Brian Williams, who is deputy mayor for public safety, on Tuesday while looking into a bomb threat Williams “allegedly made against City Hall earlier this year,” said Zach Seidl, a spokesperson for Mayor Karen Bass. David Zahniser and Libor Jany in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/18/24

California’s fourth-largest home insurer to drop all condo, rental policies -- Liberty Mutual, California’s fourth-largest home insurer, is planning to exit the state’s condo and rental insurance markets in 2026. Megan Fan Munce in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/18/24

San Diego politicians want to block Trump deportations. The sheriff refuses, sparking immigration battle -- San Diego supervisors voted to restrict law enforcement’s cooperation with federal immigration officials, but Sheriff Kelly Martinez said she would not comply with the county policy. Salvador Hernandez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/18/24

Biden administration approves California electric car mandate -- The US EPA granted California’s waiver, which the incoming Trump administration is likely to try to overturn in the courts. The state’s zero-emission vehicle mandates have been the driving force behind California’s progress in cleaning up dangerous air pollutants. Alejandro Lazo CalMatters Alex Nieves and Debra Kahn Politico Maxine Joselow in the Washington Post$ Kurtis Alexander in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/18/24

‘This is not a funeral’: California votes for Harris in somber electoral college ceremony as Trump presidency looms -- At a somber electoral college ceremony at the state Capitol on Tuesday, electors who had hoped to be celebrating the historic presidency of a Democratic daughter of California cast their votes for Vice President Kamala Harris knowing that Republican Donald Trump will head to the White House next month instead. Mackenzie Mays in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/18/24

Josh Newman, recently ousted from state Senate, is already eyeing political comeback -- California's 34th state Senate district will be open in 2026. And it's already drawing big-name Democratic candidates, including the Fullerton Democrat. Kaitlyn Schallhorn in the Orange County Register -- 12/18/24

Women victimized in ‘rape club’ at California prison get record $116-million settlement -- In a staggering settlement, the federal government will pay $116 million to more than 100 women who said they were sexually abused by employees at a now-shuttered federal prison in Dublin that was dubbed the “rape club.” Richard Winton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/18/24

PG&E wins $15 billion loan from Biden administration to expand grid -- The conditional loan, announced Tuesday by the Biden administration, is intended to help the utility fund a slew of infrastructure projects to meet surging demand for electricity without raising customer rates or undercutting its spending on wildfire resilience. Kurtis Alexander in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/18/24

L.A. County gives probation chief emergency powers in effort to avoid Los Padrinos closure -- Some members of the L.A. County Board of Supervisors oppose closing Los Padrinos juvenile hall in Downey despite state oversight officials ordering it shut down due to lack of staffing an unsafe conditions for hundreds of youths housed there. Rebecca Ellis in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/18/24

‘Massive fraud’: Founders of California startup that promised minorities tech jobs sentenced -- The founders of Bitwise Industries, the largest startup to come out of the Central Valley before the company collapsed last year, were sentenced Tuesday to a combined 20 years in prison for wire fraud, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced. Maliya Ellis in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/18/24

Eggs

Avian flu outbreak drives California egg prices higher, strains supply in stores -- The recent outbreaks of avian flu at Central Valley poultry operations have become tangible to consumers: Egg prices have risen appreciably, and some grocery stores have begun to struggle with a choppier supply chain. Annika Merrilees in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 12/18/24

Mt Baldy

The feds closed Mt. Baldy to hiking until December 2025. Rebellion is brewing -- The U.S. Forest Service has closed all trails to Mt. Baldy’s peak until December 2025 to help the ecosystem recover from a fire. Hikers are defying the closures. Jack Dolan in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/18/24

Workplace

A comeback for California manufacturing? Trump 2.0 raises hopes — and some worries -- President-elect Trump has vowed that his return to the White House will bring about a resurgence of blue-collar work across the country. Don Lee in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/18/24

S.F. gig staffing company to pay $1 million to settle claims it deprived workers of benefits -- WorkWhile, a tech company which hires workers to fill empty shifts across industries from warehouse labor to food service, misclassified its workers as independent contractors instead of employees, Chiu’s office alleged in a lawsuit filed June 13 in San Francisco Superior Court. Maliya Ellis in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/18/24

Companies that mandate RTO see slower workforce growth, studies show -- Fresh analysis from Revelio Labs echoes research showing that office mandates cost companies hard-to-replace workers and hamper hiring. Taylor Telford in the Washington Post$ -- 12/18/24

Wildfire

Red flag warning issued as strong winds return, pose challenge for crews fighting Franklin fire -- Wide swaths of Los Angeles and Ventura counties are under a red flag warning until 6 p.m. Wednesday as Santa Ana winds whip back up, posing a challenge to crews trying to extinguish the Franklin fire in Malibu. Clara Harter in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/18/24

Water

Scientists are turning fog into water. Here's what it could mean for California -- Weiss and collaborators at Cal State Monterey Bay and San Francisco State are investigating just how much water they can seize from the mist. The amount the group is harvesting is modest, but the scientists are working with water districts, a housing developer and residents on experimental projects across the Bay Area. Hannah Hagemann in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/18/24

Housing

Affordable California cities to consider if you’re tired of Bay Area prices -- Even the “cheapest” areas in the state surpass the cost of living in most U.S. cities, according to new data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/18/24

Homeless

Walters: Billions of dollars later, California’s homeless crisis persists under Newsom -- When asked by pollsters, Californians repeatedly rate homelessness as one of their top concerns — and for good reason. Dan Walters CalMatters -- 12/18/24

Education

California wants to give degrees based on skills — not grades. It’s dividing this college -- California’s community colleges are experimenting with a new model, known as competency-based education, but at one school, it’s created a divide between faculty and college administrators. Adam Echelman CalMatters -- 12/18/24

Street

Did sheriff’s officials conspire to set up whistleblowing lieutenant? -- When L.A. County Sheriff’s Sgt. William Morris was investigating a criminal case against a fellow lieutenant based on a rumor, he kept running into a glaring problem: No one could tell him where the rumor had started. Alene Tchekmedyian and Keri Blakinger in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/18/24

Sacramento officials vow ‘fair’ approach as Prop. 36 theft punishments go into effect -- With California’s new law allowing harsher prosecution for retail theft going into effect on Wednesday, Sacramento County law enforcement officials promised a measured approach they say will stop perpetrators of organized crime while not targeting people who shoplift out of desperation and poverty. Sharon Bernstein in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 12/18/24

Troubled California teens gain protections under a new law championed by Paris Hilton -- Hilton, the latest celebrity to lobby the Legislature, persuaded it to pass a law that brings more transparency on the use of restraints and seclusion rooms. Lynn La CalMatters -- 12/18/24

S.F. drug overdoses tick up in November, but are still down 20% for the year overall -- Accidental drug overdose deaths in San Francisco ticked up in November compared with October, but are still down more than 20% for the year compared with 2023 — a potentially hopeful sign that the downward trend in overdose fatalities is continuing to hold. Catherine Ho in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/18/24

POTUS 47

Trump is already delivering on his promise to go after the press -- Many First Amendment advocates see the settlement as a capitulation by ABC that handed Trump both a lucrative victory and a legal roadmap. Josh Gerstein Politico -- 12/18/24

Disney’s Decision to Settle Trump Defamation Suit Prompts Backlash at ABC News --Disney’s decision to settle President-elect Donald Trump’s defamation lawsuit against ABC News was supposed to relieve the company of a major headache. Instead, it has set off an internal backlash. Joe Flint and Isabella Simonetti in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 12/18/24

Biden administration gas export report could upset Trump energy policy -- The Energy Department assessments homes in on the economic risks to warn that exporting more gas could raise domestic energy costs. Ben Lefebvre Politico -- 12/18/24

What’s Behind Masayoshi Son’s $100 Billion Pledge to Donald Trump -- Following through will require some combination of a massive fundraising effort, new debt or selling chunks of his company’s holdings to raise cash. Eliot Brown in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 12/18/24

How Pam Bondi boosted Trump’s election fraud claims in a key swing state -- In Pennsylvania in 2020, Trump’s pick for attorney general pushed baseless claims of widespread voting fraud. Beth Reinhard in the Washington Post$ -- 12/18/24

Elon Musk and SpaceX Face Federal Reviews After Violations of Security Reporting Rules -- Federal agencies have opened at least three reviews into whether the company and its leader complied with disclosure protocols intended to protect state secrets, people with knowledge of the matter said. Kirsten Grind, Eric Lipton and Sheera Frenkel in the New York Times$ -- 12/18/24

Elizabeth Warren asks Trump to set conflict-of-interest rules for Musk -- The letter from the Massachusetts senator comes as the tech tycoon has taken a prominent role inside Trump’s orbit. Michael Scherer in the Washington Post$ -- 12/18/24

A Weary Biden Heads for the Exit -- President Biden is pushing for his final priorities but has absented himself from speaking about President-elect Trump after saying he threatened democracy. Peter Baker and Zolan Kanno-Youngs in the New York Times$ -- 12/18/24

Also

Bing Crosby’s Home in the California Desert Lists for $13.5 Million -- John F. Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe were rumored to have rendezvoused at the Palm Desert house, which the current owners bought for around $3 million in 2012. Katherine Clarke in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 12/18/24