California Policy and Politics Sunday

S.F. nanny released 12 hours after being seized by ICE agents -- A 66-year-old nanny who was seized by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers outside of her employer’s San Francisco home Friday morning was released 12 hours after exhaustive efforts by lawyers prompted a federal judge to intervene on her behalf, her attorney said. St. John Barned-Smith in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/15/26

‘Know your rights,’ but also ‘know your risks’: Experts weigh in on safety for ICE observers -- Ensure your phone is encrypted by keeping it locked. Law enforcement requires a warrant to seize or search your device. If they ask you to delete content from your phone, you have the right to refuse. Do not use face or fingerprint unlocking for your phone. Instead, use a passcode. Courts have been clear that law enforcement cannot force you to give your passcode without a warrant. Record without unlocking your phone — instead, simply open your camera app from your locked phone screen. Keep your phone on airplane mode to reduce the number of signals your phone emits and limit tracking. Kristen Taketa in the San Diego Union Tribune -- 2/15/26

More Than Ever, Videos Expose the Truth. And Cloud It, Too -- Is seeing still believing? Based on the evidence of the past week, it is hard to say. Charles Homans in the New York Times$ -- 2/15/26

 

California Supreme Court has had a vacancy for over three months. Here’s how it impacts cases -- As a result, one of the temporary justices — appointed by the governor to a lower court, but never nominated to the state’s highest court or reviewed for that court by a state confirmation panel — could cast the deciding vote on the validity of a California law or the legality of a death sentence. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/15/26

California’s billionaires pour cash into elections as big tech seeks new allies -- Gavin Newsom, California’s tech-friendly governor who’s been quick to veto legislation that cramps the sector’s unfettered growth, is reaching his term limit. That means Silicon Valley needs to find a new ally. The industry may have found its candidate in an upstart mayor from San Jose, Matt Mahan. Dara Kerr in the Guardian -- 2/15/26

Bass helped Raman win reelection. Now Raman wants to unseat her. Some call it ‘a betrayal’ -- Two years ago, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass went to Sherman Oaks to cut a quick campaign ad for a trusted ally: Councilmember Nithya Raman. Standing next to Bass, Raman looked into the camera and praised the mayor’s work on homelessness, saying she was “honored” to have her support. David Zahniser in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/15/26

Newsom says Trump’s attacks are bringing Europe together -- California Gov. Gavin Newsom handed his arch nemesis a backhanded compliment on Saturday, noting President Donald Trump’s attacks on Europe have united the continent in critical ways. Gregory Svirnovskiy Politico -- 2/15/26

The two separate lives of Gavin Newsom detailed in new memoir -- Gavin Newsom writes in his upcoming memoir about San Francisco’s highborn Getty family fitting him in Brioni suits “appropriate to meet a king” when he was 20 years old. Then he flew aboard their private “Jetty” to Spain for a royal princess’s debutante-style party. Back home, real life wasn’t as grand. Taryn Luna in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/15/26

Barabak: This district is key to control of the House. That’s about all people agree on -- Elizabeth H. paused recently outside the post office in this small, high-desert community, not far from where Easy Street meets Nonchalant Avenue. She felt neither easy nor nonchalant. Mark Z. Barabak in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/15/26

 

Factory-built housing hasn’t taken off in California yet, but this year might be different -- For decades engineers, architects, futurists, industrialists, investors and politicians have been pining for a better, faster and cheaper way to build homes. Ben Christopher Calmatters in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/15/26

A California county’s only hospital cleared a federal hurdle, but it still needs millions to reopen -- Congress restores critical access status for Glenn Medical Center, but the shuttered California hospital still needs $40-50 million to reopen. Ana B. Ibarra Calmatters -- 2/15/26

Workplace AI

Workers Are Afraid AI Will Take Their Jobs. They’re Missing the Bigger Danger -- Enterprise AI systems capture employee knowledge and work processes, potentially making workers more replaceable as their expertise becomes company property. Matthew Call in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 2/15/26

Cardrooms

California cardrooms anticipate thousands of layoffs as gambling rules change -- California’s $5.6 billion cardroom industry may be holding a losing hand. A few days before Christmas, California Attorney General Rob Bonta proposed new rules that would drastically alter how casinos run blackjack, baccarat, pai gow and other card games. Pat Maio in the LA Daily News -- 2/15/26

Also

The Tiny Lake Tahoe Enclave With Some of America’s Priciest Waterfront Homes -- Crystal Bay’s median list price of $14.9 million makes it one of the most expensive places to buy property in the U.S. Jessica Flint, Ryan Angel Meza in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 2/15/26

POTUS 47

The Economy May Have Stuck the Soft Landing. Nobody Wants to Jinx It -- Inflation is easing, jobs are holding up, and growth is solid. But declarations of victory feel premature. Nick Timiraos in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 2/15/26

If not for this one industry, the U.S. labor market would look a lot worse -- Nearly all of the jobs added to the U.S. economy in recent months have come from one industry: health care. Abha Bhattarai and Luis Melgar in the Washington Post$ -- 2/15/26

Trump claims victory on affordability as public anxieties persist -- But public attitudes about the economy have not risen to match the record-breaking stock market and expectations-beating inflation and jobs report, defining the challenge for the president’s party in November’s midterms. Isaac Arnsdorf and Natalie Allison in the Washington Post$ -- 2/15/26

Trump’s Relentless Self-Promotion Fosters an American Cult of Personality -- President Trump has engaged in a spree of self-aggrandizement unlike any of his predecessors, fostering a mythologized superhuman persona and making himself the inescapable force at home and around the world. Peter Baker in the New York Times$ -- 2/15/26

‘South Texas will never be red again’: Home builders warn GOP over Trump’s immigration raids -- Home builders are warning President Donald Trump that his aggressive immigration enforcement efforts are hurting their industry. They’re cautioning that Republican candidates could soon be hurt, too. Myah Ward and Megan Messerly Politico -- 2/15/26

Once the Americans Warned of the Russian Threat. Now, It’s the Europeans’ Turn -- In Munich, European leaders were also talking about “de-risking” from the United States, citing President Trump’s unpredictability. David E. Sanger in the New York Times$ -- 2/15/26

U.S. Deports Nine Migrants in Secret, Ignoring Legal Protections -- In a secret deportation arrangement, the Trump administration flew nine people, nearly all of whom had been granted U.S. court protections from being sent back to their home countries, to the African nation of Cameroon in January. Pranav Baskar and Hamed Aleaziz in the New York Times$ -- 2/15/26

Ex-watchdogs warn rush to give power to local police in immigration crackdown risks ‘threat to civil rights’ -- Homeland Security watchdogs who were forced out of their jobs warn that the Trump administration’s “alarming” rush to deputize hundreds of local police departments to enforce federal immigration law – while gutting independent oversight – risks “a threat to civil rights nationwide.” José Olivares in the Guardian -- 2/15/26