California Policy and Politics Wednesday

Paramount’s threat to leave California ‘blackmail,’ says AG Bonta -- CEO David Ellison told executives that the move would involve HQ staff first and then a five-year plan to shift most of the film and TV studio’s jobs to a new home. Hannah Miller |Bloomberg in the LA Daily News Joe Flint in the Wall Street Journal$ Benjamin Mullin, Brooks Barnes and Lauren Hirsch in the New York Times$ Meg James in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/12/26

Newsom makes last-minute push to help California utilities facing wildfire bills -- In the final few weeks of his last legislative session as California governor, Gavin Newsom is asking lawmakers to help reduce how much profit-making utility companies must pay out after wildfires. Jeanne Kuang and Levi Sumagaysay in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/12/26

 

‘California’s coast is not for sale.’ State battles Trump plan to limit coastal oversight -- In a striking demonstration of support, hundreds of fired-up Californians rallied in Santa Monica to speak out against the Trump administration’s attempt to wrest local control over the state’s treasured coastline. Rosanna Xia in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/12/26

RFK Jr. and HUD secretary rip L.A. homeless agencies and endorse faith-based alternatives -- Two Trump cabinet secretaries visiting L.A. blast LAHSA, accusing it of mismanagement and corruption, and vow to withhold HUD dollars without accountability as a federal judge weighs suspending the regional homeless agency. Doug Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/12/26

ICE

ICE to outfit officers with gloves that can deliver electric shocks -- Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers may soon be outfitted with gloves that can deliver painful electric shocks intended to gain compliance from combative individuals. Ryan J. Foley Associated Press -- 8/12/26

Federal officer pulls gun in clash with protesters in downtown L.A. -- Authorities said they are investigating after two federal officers were assaulted in a clash with protesters outside a downtown L.A. federal building. One of the federal officers, identified as an employee of the Bureau of Prisons, was captured on video brandishing a gun during the incident. Brittny Mejia and Libor Jany in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/12/26

Meta

California and Meta are facing off in a blockbuster trial over kids’ social media addiction -- California and other states seeking more than $1 trillion in penalties and new constraints on the parent company of Facebook and Instagram will go to court Wednesday over allegations the social media giant knowingly designed its sites to be addictive to minors. Sophia Bollag in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/12/26

Lakers

Bob Iger, Joshua Kushner to buy Lakers from Mark Walter’s ownership group for $12 billion -- Less than a year after Dodgers owner Mark Walter bought the Lakers for a record-breaking sum, L.A.’s iconic NBA franchise is now being sold to Joshua Kushner and Bob Iger for at least $12 billion, sources familiar with the matter but not authorized to speak publicly confirmed to The Times, $2 billion more than the reported number when Walter bought the team in October from the Buss family. Thuc Nhi Nguyen in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/12/26

Oil

California energy regulator says he’s open to working with Trump on oil refineries -- The chair of the California Energy Commission acknowledged some “common cause” with the federal government on gas prices while calling its coastal energy policy “reckless.” Camille von Kaenel Politico -- 8/12/26

‘We are going to court’: California threatens legal action on Trump offshore wind cuts -- California is launching a probe into the Trump administration’s most recent move to scuttle the state’s nascent offshore wind industry. Noah Baustin Politico -- 8/12/26

 

Pelosi says Democrats can win 30 House seats, retake majority in November -- Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi said Tuesday her goal is to flip 30 U.S. House seats in the November midterms as part of an ambitious plan for Democrats to regain control of Congress and fight President Donald Trump in his last two years in office. Hannah Wiley in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/12/26

Steve Hilton slams AI leaders in their home state as he runs to lead it -- Steve Hilton says artificial intelligence founders have only themselves to blame for tanking public confidence in their industry, a striking indictment from the Republican running for California’s top office. Blake Jones Politico -- 8/12/26

Becerra, Hilton offer promises on AI, gas prices, healthcare — and starkly contrasting views -- Democrat Xavier Becerra and Republican Steve Hilton clashed in Sacramento, offering sweeping but thinly detailed agendas on healthcare, artificial intelligence, gas prices and taxes in California’s closely watched governor’s race. Seema Mehta and Nicole Nixon in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/12/26

Xavier Becerra wants to give Californians a free electricity ‘power hour’ -- The front-runner to become California’s next governor said he wants to give free electricity for part of the day to families struggling to cover their costs. Noah Baustin Politico -- 8/12/26

Xavier Becerra says California can still meet 2035 gas car sales goal -- California gubernatorial front-runner Xavier Becerra said Tuesday that he still believes the state can meet its goal of banning new gas car sales by 2035, after raising doubts about the climate target during his primary campaign. Alex Nieves Politico -- 8/12/26

Xavier Becerra: ‘We hardly have any’ AI regulations in California -- Xavier Becerra suggested Tuesday that California isn’t doing enough to regulate artificial intelligence and that he would aim to further rein in the technology if elected governor in November. Tyler Katzenberger Politico -- 8/12/26

Becerra vows to avoid ‘inflated’ campaign promises, but teases policy ideas -- Democrat Xavier Becerra won the June primary for governor vowing to fight for working families, but he offered relatively few specifics about how he’d govern. Ben Paviour in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 8/12/26

 

California billionaire tax’s chief backer: ‘This is now a national campaign’ -- “I think this is now a national campaign,” Dave Regan, the president of the powerful health care labor union SEIU-UHW, said at Politico's The California Agenda: Sacramento Summit. “We knew this was provocative, we knew it would touch a nerve, but we completely underestimated how much interest and attention it would generate.” Will McCarthy Politico -- 8/12/26

Google co-founder Sergey Brin spending more than $100 million fighting California wealth tax -- Google co-founder Sergey Brin has poured $102 million this year into Building a Better California, a group that’s funding two ballot measures that could block a billionaire tax, data from the California Secretary of State show. Queenie Wong in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/12/26

 

California US senator pushes for nationwide legal representation for immigrants -- Last week, U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff re-introduced federal legislation that would guarantee the right to legal representation for all people in deportation or legal immigration proceedings if they are unable to afford it. Mathew Miranda in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 8/12/26

Walters: How California’s primary election reflects the perils facing the national Democratic Party -- The state’s June primary election results reveal a corrosive factor is undermining the party’s future, according to the man who wrote the autopsy on Democratic losses in 2024, veteran political strategist Paul Rivera. Dan Walters Calmatters -- 8/12/26

 

California to phase out paraquat, a powerful weedkiller associated with serious health issues -- California will begin phasing out paraquat, a powerful weedkiller associated with birth defects, thyroid issues and other serious health problems. The California Department of Pesticide Regulation said this week all manufacturers of pesticide products containing the active ingredient have voluntarily agreed to withdraw the product from the market. Hayley Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/12/26

Taylor Farms recall expands as company pulls jalapeños from Trader Joe’s, Target, among others -- Taylor Farms has become the latest distributor to recall food products that contain jalapeños that are potentially contaminated with salmonella and linked to a larger multi-state bacterial outbreak that includes California. Karen Garcia in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/12/26

Wildfire

Big Sur was finally booming again. Then the Timber Fire shut Highway 1 -- Ignoring “NO PARKING” signs recently installed to curb a glut of tourists, visitors climbed out of their cars near Bixby Bridge on Tuesday morning to snap photos of a large plume of smoke settling over rolling green hills. Connor Letourneau in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/12/26

Timber Fire strands endangered condors as Big Sur evacuations expand -- Two endangered California condors recovering from lead poisoning were stranded Tuesday after the Timber Fire engulfed the only road to their remote sanctuary near Big Sur, preventing staff members from replenishing their food and water. Chris Hamilton and Caelyn Pender in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 8/12/26

Education

Is UC really admitting students who aren’t ready for college math? What data shows -- Those beliefs, however, are lacking data to back them up, according to independent and other UC researchers. What the numbers do show, they say, is that a large segment of students were not ready for college courses, including first-year calculus, well before the UC campuses ditched the admissions tests. Jill Tucker in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/12/26

Street

Three minors as young as 12 used semiautomatic guns to kill 53-year-old SoCal man, officials say -- Three teenagers have been charged in connection with shooting and killing 53-year-old man and injuring his father last month in East Bakersfield, according to authorities. Summer Lin in the New York Times$ -- 8/12/26

Also

A California Home that Rotates 320 Degrees Takes a Spin on the Market -- The circular house overlooking Highway 101 is one of seven homes on the site, which is listed for $3.3 million. Fred A. Bernstein in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 8/12/26

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Mike Lindell’s defeat is also Trump’s -- The former MyPillow CEO’s defeat in Minnesota’s GOP gubernatorial contest is the third loss by a Trump endorsee in the last two weeks. Andrew Howard Politico -- 8/12/26

Benign Inflation Data Offers Reprieve to Fed as It Weighs Rate Increase -- The latest Consumer Price Index report helped to reinforce the patient approach adopted by many officials at the Federal Reserve about raising rates, but it has not resolved the debate altogether. Colby Smith in the New York Times$ -- 8/12/26

 

California Policy and Politics Tuesday

Big Sur’s Timber Fire closes Highway 1, forces evacuations at Ventana, Nepenthe and Post Ranch Inn -- A fire that started Saturday night in steep, rugged terrain in Big Sur quadrupled in size Monday, prompting the evacuations of residents and visitors from luxury resorts including the Ventana Big Sur hotel and Post Ranch Inn, along with the Nepenthe restaurant and other popular tourist attractions. Paul Rogers, Sean Tubo in the San Jose Mercury$ Clara Harter in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/11/26

Californians Criticize Federal Efforts to Control the State’s Coast -- Environmentalists and others warned at a hearing on Monday that the Trump administration’s attempt to strip power from California’s coastal protection agency would endanger the shoreline. Livia Albeck-Ripka in the New York Times$ -- 8/11/26

 

Race to replace Pelosi enters the AI group chat -- The episode underscores how California candidates in both parties are rushing to the bleeding edge of generative AI, from cinematic deepfake-style attack ads to meme-ready political satire. Iris Kwok in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/11/26

Garofoli: How the Middle East became an issue in East Bay House race for Swalwell seat -- Improbably, the typically sleepy Tri-Valley just became a hotbed of American politics. Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/11/26

California Supreme Court says cities can’t add extra hurdles to tax refunds -- California cities can’t require taxpayers to navigate extra local procedures before seeking a tax refund in court, the California Supreme Court ruled Monday in a long-running lawsuit involving Marathon Petroleum, which operates the state’s largest refinery. Alejandro Lazo Calmatters -- 8/11/26

Walters: Is California’s slow road to high-speed rail worth chipping in $1 billion a year? -- California journalist Joe Mathews rode Morocco’s high-speed train recently and penned a fully justified and blistering comparison between what the North African nation achieved quickly and relatively inexpensively and California’s laughingstock bullet train project. Dan Walters Calmatters -- 8/11/26

Workplace

Spotify to label ‘AI personas’ and exclude AI music from personal recommendations -- In its latest effort to protect human creators from the flood of synthetic music, Spotify will soon require AI-generated identities to carry an “AI Persona” label while barring their tracks from users’ algorithmic mixes. Cerys Davies in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/11/26

Oil

An Oil Refiner That Fled California Is Back—With a Giant Pipeline From Texas -- California lost two big oil refineries in the past year, as well as much of the Asian fuel supplies that landed on its coast. Now, a pipeline from Texas is planned to help fill the gap—one that Gov. Gavin Newsom has embraced as the state faces the highest pump prices in the country. Collin Eaton in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 8/11/26

Housing

Almost nowhere in California is building enough, according to the state. Here’s why -- Every eight years, state housing regulators give cities and counties across California an especially dreaded homework assignment: Make a plan for a bunch of new homes. Ben Christopher Calmatters -- 8/11/26

Homeless

An accounting glitch caused nearly half of L.A.’s increase in the homeless count -- The revelation deepens scrutiny of L.A.’s homelessness bureaucracy, fueling calls at City Hall to strip funding from LAHSA and create a city-run homelessness agency. Doug Smith and David Zahniser in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/11/26

Health Care

California sets aside $250 million for public hospitals. Bay Area officials say it falls far short -- Faced with federal cuts that slashed billions annually from public healthcare, state legislators touted $250 million Monday in funding to help salvage California’s public hospital system. But Santa Clara County expects only $20 million to $30 million from this funding against a projected $1 billion loss, while other counties continue to grapple with the fallout from the cuts. Luis Melecio-Zambrano in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 8/11/26

Environment

Toxic site near South L.A. homes finally faces state cleanup order -- After decades of disputes that stalled enforcement, the current owner has agreed to extensive testing and a cleanup plan. The process could be costly and take years. Kori McNair in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/11/26

Education

Oakland school board rushed a parcel tax vote. Then the district missed the ballot deadline -- The Oakland school board decided in a hastily called meeting last week to put a parcel tax measure on the November ballot, but in an as yet unexplained twist, district officials didn’t submit the paperwork to Alameda County election officials by Friday’s deadline. Jill Tucker in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/11/26

LAUSD budget crisis remains severe, fiscal experts say, as district works to calm fears -- As LAUSD schools reopen, district leaders seek to calm fears over a looming budget crisis and thousands of future job cuts. County and state officials have backed off immediate intervention after finding LAUSD technically compliant with a budget deadline. Howard Blume in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/11/26

State rejects Sac City appeal, warns it may take direct oversight of SCUSD in future -- California’s state superintendent on Monday rejected an appeal by the Sacramento City Unified School District, while warning the Sacramento County Office of Education that the state could intervene if the county makes decisions that worsen the district’s financial problems. Chaewon Chung in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 8/11/26

This top Bay Area school district is limiting APs to curb student stress. Will it work? -- The move makes the city a test case in the region. But it raises the question of whether any rule can change a student’s mindset and cut stress when college admissions remain fierce. Sarah Ravani in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/11/26

Health education bill sent to Newsom’s desk after unanimous vote in Legislature -- Senate Bill 1133, the Ready to Learn, Ready for Health Act, would require the Instructional Quality Commission to consider including “evidence-based preventative health instruction” in California public school curricula. Sofia Williams in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 8/11/26

AI

Newsom to California agencies: Better prepare for artificial intelligence attacks -- The announcement comes a few weeks after leading companies OpenAI and Anthropic said that their models had hacked into other organizations on their own, which the Governor’s Office mentioned as part of the announcement. Stephen Hobbs in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 8/11/26

AI labs want to slow down risky model testing. It may be too late -- Some in the industry fear that pausing or pacing tests on advanced AI models would allow China to pull ahead at a critical moment in the technology’s development. Maggie Miller and Dana Nickel Politico -- 8/11/26

Robots That Walk and Talk Are Coming to Car Factories -- Now, most major automakers are betting that robots designed to resemble human beings, known as humanoids, will usher in a new wave of automation and efficiency. Equipped with artificial intelligence, they are expected to move around and do tasks now done by humans without any modifications to factories or heavy equipment. Jack Ewing in the New York Times$ -- 8/11/26

Street

A typo by San Francisco police led to a violent arrest of an innocent driver, officials say -- San Francisco officers smashed a driver’s window, dragged him to the pavement and pepper-sprayed his face after mistyping a license plate and wrongly flagging his car as stolen. Salvador Hernandez in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/11/26

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Contradicting public statements, Trump took secret flight from Turkey amid Iranian threat -- An Iranian assassination threat against President Donald Trump prompted an extraordinary operation last month in which he flew secretly from Turkey on an alternate military aircraft while the White House said he was aboard Air Force One, The Washington Post has learned. Dan Lamothe, John Hudson, Andrew Ba Tran and Joyce Sohyun Lee in the Washington Post$ Maggie Haberman, Eric Schmitt and Zolan Kanno-Youngs in the New York Times$ -- 8/11/26

Trump Wants to Move On From the Middle East. It’s Not Letting Him -- President Trump is eager to declare success in Iran and Gaza, but he is struggling to impose his will in either conflict. Anton Troianovski in the New York Times$ -- 8/11/26