Rough & Tumble

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California Policy and Politics Monday

FDA Walks Back Finding of Cyclospora Parasite -- Taylor Farms said that the Food and Drug Administration has apologized after the agency walked back an earlier statement that the parasite had been detected on a sample of its lettuce. The FDA on Sunday said it has yet to identify the presence of cyclospora on samples of lettuce from the company despite recent tests. Bowdeya Tweh in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 7/20/26

California is in a population slump. These 7 cities are booming anyway -- California’s stagnant population has been one of the state’s most dramatic and discussed post-pandemic developments. But a handful of cities have defied the trend, steadily expanding instead. J.K. Dineen, Roland Li, Christian Leonard, Danielle Echeverria, Sarah Ravani and Julie Johnson in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/20/26

More water pipes burst in Venice, Hollywood as Sunset Strip repairs enter Day 4 -- A section of Sunset Boulevard remained closed on Sunday because of last week’s destructive water main break, with officials saying they didn’t know when repairs to the 110-year-old pipe would be completed or the street reopened. Melody Petersen in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/20/26

Oregon’s wildfire outbreak exploded over the weekend. Could California see the same? -- A swarm of lightning-sparked wildfires across Oregon exploded in size over the weekend, turning dozens of new ignitions into one of the most significant fire outbreaks in the West this summer. Greg Porter in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/20/26

The Supreme Court has clawed back concealed-carry laws. Could switchblades be next? -- Now that the Supreme Court has overturned most state restrictions on carrying concealed firearms in public, the next target could be California’s ban on carrying switchblade knives, which open at the flick of a switch or the push of a button. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Lily Wright in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/20/26

Super El Niño charging ‘full steam ahead,’ potentially drenching California like never before -- This oceanic pattern, which typically alters global weather, has in the past been associated with intense California flooding, increased wildfire risk and generally reshaped seasons across the American West. For a state coming off its warmest winter on record, the stakes are enormous. Sean Macaday in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 7/20/26

Skelton: Californians sour on Newsom’s push to ban gas-powered cars -- Gov. Gavin Newsom will soon leave office without gaining the support of fellow Californians for his most ambitious climate project: the banning of new gas-burning car sales by 2035. George Skelton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/20/26

Workplace

4,500 Google Employees Demand Job Security Amid Big Tech Layoffs -- Google workers signed, sealed and delivered a petition to Google and Alphabet Inc. CEO Sundar Pichai on Thursday, asking for more protections against layoffs. Ella Jackson KQED -- 7/20/26

Bay Area and California both lost jobs in June, new report show -- For the second straight month, both the Bay Area and California lost thousands of jobs, according to June figures from the state Employment Development Department reported Friday. George Avalos in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 7/20/26

Amazon delivery contractors to close Bay Area operations, cut 176 jobs -- Two companies that deliver Amazon packages plan to close Bay Area operations in September, eliminating a combined 176 jobs, according to notices filed with California officials this month. Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/20/26

These AI-Native Companies Have Tiny Staffs and Fewer Bosses -- A new working paper found that AI-powered startups have about 25% fewer employees than comparable companies not built around AI capabilities. The study showed that AI startups had about 15% fewer entry-level workers, 15% fewer managers, and fewer rungs in the corporate ladder. Lindsay Ellis in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 7/20/26

Kaiser

Unhappy with Kaiser’s medical dispute process, some patients push for state reform -- Decades after a scathing 1997 court ruling, Kaiser Permanente’s private arbitration system is once again facing questions over whether its arbitration system is stacked against the interests of its members. Melody Petersen in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/20/26

Education

Oakland school closure raises statewide questions over charter renewals -- A state decision that will force an Oakland charter school to shutter has raised questions about vague standards and left charter advocates concerned that it could have far-reaching implications. Molly Gibbs in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 7/20/26

California reading scores are up, thanks to literacy investments. Can the state do more? -- It’s not quite the “Mississippi Miracle,” but California’s reading scores have been inching upwards since the state poured billions into changing the way students learn to read. Carolyn Jones Calmatters -- 7/20/26

Also

‘The Odyssey’ is Christopher Nolan’s biggest-ever global opening with $264.1-million debut -- The Universal Pictures film’s haul outperformed studio expectations of a $117-million domestic opening and set a record for the highest-grossing opening weekend for a live-action or R-rated film so far this year. Samantha Masunaga in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/20/26

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U.S. teeters on return to all-out war with Iran after more troops killed -- The military announced Sunday that a service member was killed in action in Iraq and another set of unidentified remains was found at the site of an Iranian missile attack in Jordan, U.S. Central Command said. Karen DeYoung, Tara Copp and Dan Lamothe in the Washington Post$ Erika Solomon in the New York Times$ -- 7/20/26

Jordan Becomes New Flashpoint in U.S.-Iran War as Troop Deaths Rise -- Iran has been stepping up its missile and drone attacks on U.S. forces in Jordan as it seeks to produce American casualties and deter Washington from escalating its test of wills with Tehran, current and former officials say. Michael R. Gordon in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 7/20/26

Trump loomed over the World Cup, up until the awkward trophy ceremony -- The president was loudly booed as he entered the field after Spain's win, waving to people as he made his way to the stage. Dan Merica, Rick Maese and Cat Zakrzewski in the Washington Post$ -- 7/20/26

California Policy and Politics Sunday

‘Complete 180’: How the DOJ has redefined its civil rights mission and targeted California -- It had for decades investigated police departments for using excessive force. Now it investigates police departments with excessive delays in approving gun permits. California has served as the division’s laboratory for all of these changes, or, as one former civil rights staffer put it, its “punching bag.” Ben Wieder in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/19/26

He Ran a Strip Club. Now He Wants to Build California’s Biggest Data Center -- Christopher Scurries was alarmed to learn last fall that California’s largest data center was being planned behind his home in this hot desert town. But when the high-school band director googled the man behind the $10 billion proposal—a land-use lawyer named Sebastian Rucci—he was perplexed. Zusha Elinson, John Francis Peters in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 7/19/26

She’s pushed to build more housing across California. Now there’s a NIMBY fight in her backyard -- Oakland Assembly Member Buffy Wicks has fought to build more housing across California for nearly a decade. Now there’s a NIMBY — “not in my backyard” — showdown in her own backyard. Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/19/26

‘Complete 180’: How the DOJ has redefined its civil rights mission and targeted California -- Led by California lawyer Harmeet Dhillon, the civil rights division has aggressively pursued California universities, prisons and law enforcement. Critics decry what they see as an ideological agenda, and the exodus of veteran attorneys. Ben Wieder in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/19/26

Three Bay Area colleges are now under a serious warning -- In the latest sign that colleges are struggling mightily to enroll students and stay afloat, three Bay Area colleges have been placed on “warning” by an accreditor this year — including Dominican University of California in San Rafael and St. Mary’s College in Moraga, which received the bad news this month. Nanette Asimov in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/19/26

Lopez: The doctor who helped save her is in another state, and telemedicine follow-up is prohibited -- California is one of about 30 states with tight restrictions on interstate telemedicine. Patients with cancer and various chronic diseases are affected. But so are students who attend college out of state and can’t check in with their doctors back home. Steve Lopez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/19/26

Protests and lawsuits: Activists climb pine amid showdown over Pasadena school district’s tree removals -- Two teenagers, aided by an arborist, climbed a 100-foot pine tree outside a Pasadena high school Saturday to dramatize a campaign to stop a soil remediation project calling for the removal of nearly 200 trees at several school campuses. Doug Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/19/26

Workplace

The biggest winners of the American economy fear they’re sinking fast -- Silicon Valley's shift to focus on AI is leading to layoffs and a challenging job market. The tech industry's AI race has created professional unease, and workers fear job automation. Experts suggest this trend may spread to other sectors and echo past industrial transformations. Tech stock shows growth, but many workers feel left behind. Elizabeth Dwoskin and Shira Ovide in the Washington Post$ -- 7/19/26

Widow of L.A. County sheriff’s deputy killed in grenade blast files wrongful death lawsuit -- The widow of an L.A. County sheriff’s deputy killed in a grenade blast last year sued the department this week, alleging a lack of proper training and ignored safety protocols led to the incident, which also caused the deaths of two other deputies. Andrew Khouri in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/19/26

Guns

California’s push to ban technology used for ‘ghost guns’ finds unlikely foe in Hollywood -- A proposed California bill would require 3-D printers to block the making of firearm parts, part of an effort by lawmakers to crack down on ghost guns. Movie special effects studios are among the groups opposing the legislation over concerns that overly broad restrictions would impede their work. Gavin J. Quinton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/19/26

Also

Barabak: Voodoo, exorcism and a killer at age 7. Meet Colorado’s Republican nominee for governor -- When Victor Marx was 3 years old, he was forced into a voodoo ritual involving a beheaded cat. At age 7, he killed a man. Or so Marx says. But he was not just a precocious child. Mark Z. Barabak in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/19/26

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The New Washington Temptation: Inside Information and a Prediction Market Account -- Alarm bells went off inside the White House Counsel’s Office earlier this year when anonymous Polymarket accounts first bet five-figure sums that President Trump and Iran would agree to an initial ceasefire by the end of April. Brian Schwartz and Philip Wegmann in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 7/19/26

See How Trump’s Truth Social Posts Move Stocks -- Milliseconds matter on Wall Street, and Truth Social wants to charge traders to get faster access to the president’s posts. Shradha Dinesh and James Benedict in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 7/19/26

MyPillow Founder Not Registered to Vote in State He Wants to Lead -- Mike Lindell, the chief executive of MyPillow and a leader of the election denial movement who was endorsed by President Trump for Minnesota governor this week, acknowledged that he is not registered to vote in the state he seeks to lead. Pooja Salhotra in the New York Times$ -- 7/19/26

Nearly half of Americans in poll say Supreme Court bases rulings on politics -- A majority of Americans disapprove of the job the court is doing, a Washington Post-Ipsos survey finds. Still, it fares better than the president or Congress. Julian Mark and Scott Clement in the Washington Post$ -- 7/19/26

Energized voters could be key to Democratic victories in midterms, poll finds -- A Washington Post-Ipsos poll finds voters favoring Democrats by three points among registered voters overall, but the margin grows among those who are most motivated to vote. Gregory S. Schneider and Scott Clement in the Washington Post$ -- 7/19/26