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California Policy and Politics Monday
Democrats' redistricting win sparks a new party war in California -- When Zohran Mamdani’s lead media strategist slipped out of town and flew west to cut an ad for a little-known progressive in the heart of California’s Central Valley, he was opening a new front in the Democratic Party’s civil war. Blake Jones Politico -- 12/29/25
California has sued Trump 52 times this year. Here’s what those suits have accomplished -- With little prospect of fending off President Donald Trump’s agenda in Congress or at the ballot box, California has turned, once again, to the courts. With considerable success so far. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/29/25
Federal judge dismisses indictment against TikToker shot by ICE, citing constitutional violations -- Days before Carlitos Ricardo Parias was set to to go to trial for assault on a federal officer, a federal judge dismissed the case against him. The judge cited the deprivation of Parias’ access to counsel while held in ICE detention and the government’s failure to comply with discovery deadlines. Brittny Mejia in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/29/25
Trump’s immigration crackdown upended life in California. It continues as the new year begins -- President Trump focused on California first as his administration rolled out its crackdown on unauthorized immigration, sending the National Guard to Los Angeles and carrying out high profile raids throughout the state. Wendy Fry Calmatters -- 12/29/25
No deal, no defiance: UC's Trump fight grinds on, leaving UCLA in limbo -- School officials and the Trump administration have been at a standstill for months over $584 million in research grants. Eric He Politico -- 12/29/25
California has lost more than a quarter of its immigration judges this year -- California has lost at least 35 immigration judges since January, down from 132. At least 97 judges have been fired nationwide since President Trump took office, and about the same number have resigned or retired. Andrea Castillo in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/29/25
Federal defendants in Sacramento walked free. The reason: No paid lawyers -- The U.S. government failed to pay defense lawyers for months, leading Sacramento federal judges to dismiss or delay cases. Sharon Bernstein in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 12/29/25
Cats, guns and ICE: 7 new California laws in 2026 -- From bans on declawing cats and plastic grocery bags to new anti-discrimination protections for students and cheaper insulin, a raft of new California laws takes effect Jan. 1, with others rolling out through 2026. Grant Stringer in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 12/29/25
Wildfire
L.A. fire cleanups reports describe repeated violations, illegal dumping allegation -- Federal oversight reports allege that the main contractor hired to clean up the Eaton and Palisades fires may have illegally dumped toxic ash, reused contaminated soil and cut corners. Tony Briscoe in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/29/25
New law means home insurers can stop covering wildfires in Nevada. Could California follow suit? -- In many states, certain types of risks have gotten so costly that home insurers have stopped covering them altogether — in California, it’s earthquakes; in coastal Texas and Florida, it’s windstorms. A new law coming in 2026 will add wildfires in Nevada to that list. Megan Fan Munce in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/29/25
How Did This Family End Up Back in a Toxic House? -- A Times investigation has found that insurers are driving families into homes contaminated by smoke. Lab results show how one family was exposed to neurotoxins and carcinogens. Rukmini Callimachi and Blacki Migliozzi in the New York Times$ -- 12/29/25
A year later, Altadena fire survivors confront hard choices about housing -- Sell, rebuild or just wait? The residents of West Las Flores Drive embody the many different ways people say they are recovering from the catastrophe. N. Kirkpatrick, Reis Thebault, Alice Li and Janice Kai Chen in the Washington Post$ -- 12/29/25
What did California lawmakers talk about this year? These 10 bills sparked hours of debate -- Most bills in the California Legislature are barely talked about in public before lawmakers take action, often after secret negotiations with lobbyists. Ryan Sabalow Calmatters -- 12/29/25
Skelton: Reagan biographer Lou Cannon always played it straight and true -- Lou Cannon was a good friend and a daunting competitor. And he was a national treasure. The retired newspaper reporter and Ronald Reagan biographer died Dec. 19 at age 92 in hometown Santa Barbara from complications of a stroke. I use the words “national treasure” hesitantly because they smack of trite hyperbole. But they truly fit. George Skelton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/29/25
Data Centers
Big Tech blocks California data center rules, leaving only a study requirement -- A new law orders regulators to study the cost impacts of fast-growing, energy-hungry AI data centers. Lawmakers are expected to revisit tougher rules as utilities, advocates and tech groups battle over who pays for the grid upgrades. Alejandro Lazo Calmatters -- 12/29/25
PG&E transformer fire triggers another unplanned power outage in S.F. -- An unplanned Pacific Gas & Electric Co. outage left more than 11,000 customers without power after a transformer caught fire in San Francisco’s Richmond District on Sunday night. David Hernandez in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/29/25
San Onofre
Is there another option to get the nuclear waste out of San Onofre? -- The spent fuel held in more than 120 stainless steel canisters at the now-shuttered San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, lodged between the Pacific Ocean to the west and Interstate 5 on the east, has nowhere to go because the federal government has yet to find a permanent repository to send it. Rob Nikolewski in the San Diego Union Tribune$ -- 12/29/25
Homeless
Cities can’t punish outreach workers for helping homeless Californians under new law -- A new law going into effect Jan. 1, 2026 prevents cities from penalizing outreach workers who provide services such as legal aid or hand out blankets at encampments. Marisa Kendall Calmatters -- 12/29/25
New California law expands Newsom’s mental health court -- A California new law expands CARE Court, a mental health program championed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, to include some people diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Marisa Kendall Calmatters -- 12/29/25
Also
More than 1,000 leave their mark on S.F.’s first Rose Parade float in 48 years -- When Tara Dade heard there would be a San Francisco-themed float in the Rose Parade, she knew what action she’d have to take. She loaded up her husband and two kids and fought the weekend Christmas traffic from Oakland to San Francisco to join a float decorating party at Union Square. Sam Whiting in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/29/25
For the first time in two decades, it might rain on the Rose Parade -- Southern Californians mopping up from record-breaking rains over the Christmas holiday may be in for more wet weather to usher in the new year — including a high likelihood of rain on the Rose Parade. David Zahniser and Rong-Gong Lin II in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/29/25
Ski patroller injured in Mammoth Mountain avalanche dies of injuries -- “Cole Murphy, 30, was an experienced patroller with a deep passion for the mountains and love for his career,” the resort said in a statement. David Hernandez in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/29/25
Snowmobilers set off large avalanche in Sierra, burying one -- A large avalanche swept through a popular backcountry area in the Sierra north of Yosemite National Park on Saturday, fully burying one snowmobiler and triggering a multiagency rescue operation that airlifted the injured rider to a Reno trauma center, according to Mono County officials. Kate Talerico in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/29/25
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Trump and Zelensky Meet to Iron Out Peace Plan, but Deal Remains Elusive -- The U.S. president said after a meeting at Mar-a-Lago that a deal was “maybe very close.” But a joint U.S.-Ukraine proposal appeared unfinished, as Russia rejected several ideas. Aishvarya Kavi and Katie Rogers in the New York Times$ Isaac Arnsdorf, Siobhán O'Grady and Sammy Westfall in the Washington Post$ Will Weissert, Seung Min Kim and Elise Morton Associated Press -- 12/29/25
Trump Says the U.S. Struck a ‘Big Facility’ in Campaign Against Venezuela --The administration provided no details of what the president said was an attack last week linked to U.S. efforts to disrupt drug trafficking from Latin America. Tyler Pager and Julian E. Barnes in the New York Times$ -- 12/29/25
Justice Department Using Fraud Law to Target Companies on DEI -- Google and Verizon among those being investigated under novel interpretation of law applying to government contractors. Lydia Wheeler in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 12/29/25
How Vance brokered a truce between Trump and Musk -- JD Vance played a key role brokering a reconciliation between the president and his wealthiest supporter. But as Trump’s first year in office comes to a close, both he and his allies have learned hard lessons about Musk’s unusual influence. Elizabeth Dwoskin, Natalie Allison and Faiz Siddiqui in the Washington Post$ -- 12/29/25
California Policy and Politics Sunday
Garofoli: Affordability? Abundance? Aspiration? As 2026 looms, which message will Democrats run with? -- Now, as the nation’s political attention turns toward the 2026 midterm elections that will determine whether President Donald Trump’s agenda will continue, there’s still no definitive sense of what the party should do next. Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/28/25
What to expect from the California governor race in 2026? -- While the campaign certainly hasn't lacked candidates, it has been missing star power. Could that change in the election year? Kaitlyn Schallhorn in the LA Daily News -- 12/28/25
PG&E outages: Backlash grows after thousands in S.F. lose power twice in a week -- Richmond and Sunset homes and businesses lost power for the second Saturday in a row, as Pacific Gas and Electric Co. faces mounting backlash and questions on the heels of the previous weekend’s sweeping blackout. Sara DiNatale in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/28/25
Tahoe digs out from snowstorm as Bay Area dries out after days of deluge -- After Christmas rainstorms, high gusts of wind, flood watches and tornado warnings, calm weather is forecast for the next few days in the Bay Area — while Tahoe is finally getting a snowy winter ski season. Elena Kadvany in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/28/25
A new view of two critical days that set the stage for the devastating Palisades fire -- An hour after midnight Jan. 1, as a small brush fire blazed across Topanga State Park, a California State Parks employee texted the Los Angeles Fire Department’s heavy equipment supervisor to find out if they were sending in bulldozers. “Heck no that area is full of endangered plants,” Capt. Richard Diede replied at 9:52 a.m, five hours after LAFD declared the fire contained. Jenny Jarvie and Alene Tchekmedyian in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/28/25
ICE shift in tactics leads to soaring number of at-large arrests, data shows -- The Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign has led to a significant change in strategy, as federal officers shift away from focusing on arresting immigrants already held in local jails to tracking them down on the streets and in communities, according to a Washington Post analysis of government data. Marianne LeVine, Emmanuel Martinez and Álvaro Valiño in the Washington Post$ -- 12/28/25
Housing
‘Dead’ to City Hall, but funded by the state: The high-stakes fight over a Los Angeles affordable housing project -- State investigators are threatening to cut the city’s access to billions of dollars in housing funds and strip it of some of its zoning authority in response to its denial of a proposal to build 120 low-income apartments on the land in Venice. Liam Dillon Politico -- 12/28/25
Little-known San Diego financing program has created two dozen apartment complexes across the city -- San Diego officials say they’re helping to solve the local housing crisis with a little-known “gap financing” program that has spurred nearly two dozen apartment complexes with more than 2,000 units across the city. David Garrick in the San Diego Union Tribune$ -- 12/28/25
Homeless
From Columbus Park camps to boutique hotel, San Jose’s homeless plan is tested -- Davis is among 256 of the 370 Columbus Park residents who took up the city’s offer in August to leave the encampment and move into one of five newly-leased motels, three modular home projects or a short-term, safe sleeping tent village. Where they all landed and how they are acclimating — and how neighbors are reacting — is a test of Mayor Matt Mahan’s ambitious and controversial effort to tackle homelessness in San Jose. Julia Prodis Sulek in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 12/28/25
This program gets homeless people into housing fast. Will it be one of the last? -- Amid a nationwide debate over homelessness spending, one man in East San Diego County just wanted a safe place to sleep. Blake Nelson in the San Diego Union Tribune$ -- 12/28/25
Marketplace
A ‘big reckoning’: Why a wave of prominent East Bay restaurants and bars closed in late 2025 -- Owners say there’s no single cause, but a maelstrom of familiar challenges, from tariffs and the looming possibility of a recession to post-pandemic shifts in customers’ dining and drinking habits to the increasingly impossible math of sustaining a small, independent business in the Bay Area. Elena Kadvany in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/28/25
Insurance
Could expiring health insurance subsidies be revived retroactively? -- Though enhanced subsidies for the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, policies are ending Wednesday, there’s a possibility Congress and President Donald Trump can apply them in 2026 so they wind up helping people all year. David Lightman in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 12/28/25
Health insurance costs spike for businesses, workers after pandemic -- In California, premiums for an average family’s employer-provided health plan rose 24% from 2022 to 2025, passing $28,000 a year. Grant Stringer in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 12/28/25
Education
State sets few rules for charter school oversight. A new report offers improvements -- California sets few, minimal requirements for charter school authorizers, leading to big variances in oversight quality. Kristen Taketa in the San Diego Union Tribune$ -- 12/28/25
The Hottest High Schools in Massachusetts Are Trade Schools -- With waiting lists in the thousands, the state’s vo-tech campuses are highly sought after, even attracting college-bound students. Roshan Fernandez in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 12/28/25
Workplace
Companies Are Outlining Plans for 2026. Hiring Isn’t One of Them -- Large employers indicate that they either want to maintain the size of their teams next year or let go of workers; ‘Everybody’s afraid for their jobs’ Chip Cutter in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 12/28/25
United Farm Workers has unionized eight farms under 2023 CA law -- Agricultural workers at eight California-based growers, packing houses and greenhouses have unionized since a 2023 state law made it easier for farmworkers to vote for union representation. Melissa Montalvo in the Fresno Bee -- 12/28/25
Wildfire
A return to a past Sierra wildfire to see the future of a recent one -- Twenty years after the 2002 McNally fire scorched the Sierra, the forest shows dramatic recovery. Dead trees and brush that appear barren actually provide crucial wildlife habitat, challenging assumptions about fire’s long-term impact Forest regeneration occurs over decades, and even centuries. Doug Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/28/25
Also
Chabria, Barabak: America tried something new in 2025. It’s not going well -- Is there a dumpster somewhere to torch and bury this year of bedlam, 2025? We near its end with equal amounts relief and trepidation. Surely we can’t be expected to endure another such tumultuous turn around the sun? Anita Chabria and Mark Z. Barabak in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/28/25
The 2028 Race Has Begun. Here’s Who’s Winning -- White House hopefuls in both parties are maneuvering for the post-Trump era. Here’s where they stand at the end of 2025. Bill Scher Politico -- 12/28/25
GOP coalescing behind Vance as Trump privately dismisses third-term run -- Turning Point USA plans to deploy representatives across Iowa’s 99 counties in the coming months to build the campaign infrastructure. It is the latest move in a quiet effort by some in Trump’s orbit to clear the field of viable competitors. Michael Wilner in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/28/25
Lawmakers sound the alarm on AI’s impact on children, jobs -- Some lawmakers are sounding the alarm about the impact of artificial intelligence on Americans, including children, as the technology becomes increasingly common. Cheyanne M. Daniels Politico -- 12/28/25
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What America Might Look Like With Zero Immigration -- The Trump administration’s efforts to reduce the foreign-born population are being felt in hospitals and soccer leagues and on Main Streets across the country, with hints of what’s to come. Lydia DePillis and Campbell Robertson in the New York Times$ -- 12/28/25
How Oil, Drugs and Immigration Fueled Trump’s Venezuela Campaign -- New details of deliberations show how aides with overlapping agendas drove the United States toward a militarized confrontation with Venezuela. Edward Wong, Tyler Pager, Charlie Savage, Julian E. Barnes and Maria Abi-Habib in the New York Times$ -- 12/28/25
Trump Remakes America as Leader of the Brand -- In attaching his name to buildings and programs while still president, Donald Trump is walking a path paved by conquerors and autocrats. Matthew Purdy in the New York Times$ -- 12/28/25
How Free DC became the face of the capital’s anti-Trump resistance -- On a frigid December night in Washington, nearly two dozen people were gathered in a downtown office building to learn how to turn one of the most routine civic obligations — jury duty — into an opportunity for political activism. Jenny Gathright in the Washington Post$ -- 12/28/25