California Policy and Politics Monday

‘Our own doing’: California Democrats try to figure out how to win elections again -- In the aftermath of Democrats’ widespread electoral failures last year, party activists in California who gathered for their annual convention this weekend struggled with balancing how to stick to their values while also reconnecting with voters who were traditionally part of their base — notably working-class Americans. Seema Mehta and Hannah Fry in the Los Angeles Times Nicole Nixon and Lia Russell in the Sacramento Bee -- 06/02/25

Young Democrats offer lessons for their leaders at party convention -- Young Californians were disillusioned with Democrats last November. The solution? A simple message, a focus on cost-of-living and progressive causes, and a reckoning with the party’s age problem, say young Democrats. Yue Stella Yu Calmatters -- 06/02/25

Garofoli: California governor candidates going anti-Newsom: ‘Never stepped foot in the French Laundry’-- Nearly all the Democrats running to replace California Gov. Gavin Newsom share a common trait: They are defining themselves as the anti-Newsom. Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 06/02/25

Barabak: Yelling, finger-pointing and cursing galore as California Democrats gather near Disneyland -- Thousands of party faithful gathered in Anaheim to sift the ashes of 2024 and plot Democrats’ way forward. There were nearly as many prescriptions as there were delegates inside the convention hall. Mark Z. Barabak in the Los Angeles Times -- 06/02/25

Party Activists in California Aren’t Sold on a Harris Run for Governor -- Kamala Harris did not appear in person at a California state Democratic convention, leaving delegates to wonder how seriously she is considering running and whether it would be wise. Laurel Rosenhall in the New York Times -- 06/02/25

As Kamala Harris weighs a run for governor, some Dems are moving on -- As hundreds of California Democrats gathered at their party’s convention this weekend, a half-dozen gubernatorial candidates hustled from room to room courting them. The main potential contender who could upend the race — Kamala Harris — was nowhere to be seen. Maeve Reston in the Washington Post -- 06/02/25

Skelton: Newsom insults California voters by not funding Proposition 36 -- This just seems wrong: Californians overwhelmingly approved an anti-crime ballot measure in November. But our governor strongly opposed the proposition. So he’s not funding it. Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic legislative leaders, however, are now under pressure to fund the measure in a new state budget that’s being negotiated and must pass the Legislature by June 15. George Skelton in the Los Angeles Times -- 06/02/25

Zombie bills: Why California lawmakers bring back legislation governors kill -- CalMatters found dozens of examples of previously vetoed legislation returning in subsequent years. A twice-killed bill about driverless trucks exemplifies why. Ryan Sabalow Calmatters -- 06/02/25

‘Modest’ psychedelic research bill dies in California Senate committee -- It’s the latest setback in a series of failures for psychedelic decriminalization, legalization and research plans in California. Grant Stringer in the San Jose Mercury -- 06/02/25

California AG says federal cuts are actually helping legal fight with Trump: ‘They can’t keep up’ -- Democratic attorneys general fighting the Trump administration on an array of policy issues are seizing on the widespread cuts and resignations of federal employees, an effort that may be coming back to bite the White House. Shira Stein in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 06/02/25

Despite pro-Trump past, trans state champ’s mom gives daughter unwavering support -- Nereyda Hernandez, the mother of transgender track and field athlete AB Hernandez, 16, who was recently crowned a California state champion in girls triple jump and high jump, told the Chronicle in an exclusive interview that she used to be a supporter of President Donald Trump Noah Furtado in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 06/02/25

Street

‘A night of tragedy’: A young officer who loved Dodgers, snowboarding killed in Baldwin Park shootout -- A young Baldwin Park police officer who loved the Dodgers and was an avid snowboarder was killed in a shooting late Saturday that also left a civilian dead and another officer injured. Grace Toohey, Richard Winton, Matthew Ormseth, Ruben Vives and Roger Vincent in the Los Angeles Times -- 06/02/25

Guns

Supreme Court turns away a 2nd Amendment challenge to blue-state bans on assault weapons -- Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh refused for now to cast the key fourth vote, which was needed for the Supreme Court to hear the case. The case tested the reach of the 2nd Amendment and its “right to keep and bear arms.” David G. Savage in the Los Angeles Times Adam Liptak in the New York Times -- 06/02/25

Climate

Could this major California city see mass ‘abandonment’? New risk model predicts just that -- The flood plains of Sacramento are a geologic world away from the more cinematic California of coastal crags and lofty peaks. Yet that sometimes overlooked region could be home to one of California’s great disasters waiting to happen, according to a February report from First Street, a prominent climate risk prediction firm. Aseem Shukla in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 06/02/25

CEQA

After half a century, California legislators on the verge of overhauling a landmark environmental law -- Long celebrated and derided, the California Environmental Quality Act is facing its strongest overhaul in generations. Buoyed by national criticism that the state can no longer build sufficient housing and public infrastructure, Gov. Gavin Newsom and lawmakers said now is the time for major changes. Liam Dillon in the Los Angeles Times -- 06/02/25

Workplace

Disney to cut hundreds of employees in latest round of layoffs -- Walt Disney Co. launched another deep round of layoffs on Monday, notifying several hundred Disney employees in the U.S. and abroad that their jobs were being eliminated amid an increasingly difficult economic environment for traditional television. Meg James in the Los Angeles Times -- 06/02/25

Will Trump’s ‘no tax on tips’ plan help or hurt restaurants? -- A federal proposal to eliminate income taxes on tips is dividing restaurants around the country, portending a potential boon for the industry’s more than two million tipped workers but a blow for their non-tipped counterparts. Elena Kadvany in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 06/02/25

Rep. Ro Khanna, local labor unions denounce federal layoffs -- Khanna says many workers are afraid to publicly talk about their situation. Stephanie Lam in the San Jose Mercury -- 06/02/25

HIV

Feds’ abrupt cutoff of HIV prevention funds threatens decades of progress, S.F. providers say -- Leaders in HIV care in San Francisco and across the country say their critical efforts to stop new infections are under attack by a Trump administration that already has cut several key federal programs and now appears to be withholding money meant to go specifically toward prevention. Erin Allday in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 06/02/25

Wildfire

Millions of Californians will need to change how they landscape their homes -- Californians living in fire-prone areas can expect to make radical changes to the landscaping surrounding their homes in the coming years. Impending state rules will focus on what's called Zone Zero, which is the defensible space that extends 5 feet from the outer walls of a house or from the edge of an attached wood deck. Julie Johnson and Stephanie Zhu in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 06/02/25

‘Crisis’: S.F. fire chief says city’s aging fleet could limit capacity to fight major blazes -- San Francisco’s aging and limited fleet of fire trucks and engines could restrict firefighters’ ability to quell the blazes that could rip through the city after a major earthquake, the city’s fire chief said. Maliya Ellis in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 06/02/25

Rooftop Solar

Groups head to CA Supreme Court, seeking to upend solar rules -- In a few days, three environmental groups — including one from San Diego — get their chance to try to persuade the California Supreme Court to overturn a controversial rooftop solar policy issued by the California Public Utilities Commission nearly three years ago. Rob Nikolewski in the San Diego Union Tribune -- 06/02/25

Education

Could phonics solve California’s reading crisis? Inside the push for sweeping changes -- California’s reading wars may finally be over. After decades of debate over how to teach reading, a new bill aims to use phonics to solve the state’s literacy crisis. Jenny Gold, Kate Sequeira, Allen J. Schaben in the Los Angeles Times -- 06/02/25

State’s school awards dinner at Disneyland comes with hefty price tag -- California schools that have significantly improved student achievement will be honored in a ceremony hosted by the California Department of Education at Disneyland on Friday, but the $500 per person ticket price has some superintendents fuming. Diana Lambert EdSource -- 06/02/25

At Cal State LA’s newest college campus in Chino, incarcerated men find a second chance -- An inaugural cohort of over 60 students will work towards their bachelor's degrees at a new, first-of-its-kind college campus inside the California Institution for Men in Chino. Victoria Ivie in the Orange County Register -- 06/02/25

POTUS 47

Trump and Allies Sell Domestic Policy Bill With Falsehoods -- President Trump has sought to assuage some lawmakers’ concerns over the bill’s price tag and cuts to Medicaid with inaccurate claims. Linda Qiu, Jamie Leventhal in the New York Times Glenn Kessler in the Washington Post -- 06/02/25

DHS removes list of 'sanctuary' cities after sheriffs push back on non-compliant label -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security removed a list of "sanctuary" states, cities and counties from its website following sharp criticism from a sheriffs' association that said a list of "non-compliant" sheriffs could severely damage the relationship between the Trump administration and law enforcement. Ted Hesson Reuters Ginger Adams Otis in the Wall Street Journal -- 06/02/25

Trump Aides Insist That Tariffs Will Remain, Even After Court Ruling -- One official said that the president is unlikely to delay his initial 90-day pause on some of his highest rates. Tony Romm and Alan Rappeport in the New York Times -- 06/02/25

Trump Amplifies Outlandish Robot Biden Conspiracy Theory -- President Trump reposted another user’s false claim that the former president had been “executed” in 2020 and replaced by a robotic clone. Zolan Kanno-Youngs in the New York Times -- 06/02/25

Musk and DOGE are a metaphor for early months of Trump’s administration -- Trump’s initial weeks have featured big promises, lots of drama, disruption, mistakes, directional shifts and business far from finished. Dan Balz in the Washington Post -- 06/02/25

Why Trump is really going after Harvard -- If the US’s oldest university bends the knee, the door to authoritarianism opens and democracy fades, experts warn. David Smith The Guardian -- 06/02/25

Can the ‘Abundance Agenda’ Save the Democrats? -- A raging political fad has taken over the Democratic Party, coalescing politicians, activists and rank-and-file partisans around an unlikely message: The government is broken. Molly Ball in the Wall Street Journal -- 06/02/25

Budget head Vought floats impoundment to sidestep Congress on DOGE cuts -- The White House is weighing options like impoundment to formalize DOGE's spending cuts without going through Congress, Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought said Sunday. Avery Lotz Axios -- 06/02/25

DOGE vowed to make government more ‘efficient’ — but it’s doing the opposite -- New procedures and requirements — some implemented in the name of improving operations — are slowing down federal agencies. Hannah Natanson in the Washington Post -- 06/02/25

Critics warn of loyalty test in new White House hiring guidelines -- New White House hiring guidelines sent out to federal agencies last week include what looks like a presidential loyalty test, say current and former federal employees and Trump administration critics. Emily Peck Axios -- 06/02/25