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California Policy and Politics Saturday
California issues landmark rules to improve home insurance market -- Landmark regulations intended to encourage insurers to write more policies in risky wildfire neighborhoods through the use of complex computer models were released Friday by the state. Laurence Darmiento in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/14/24
U.S. Supreme Court will decide if oil industry may sue to block California’s zero-emissions goal -- The Supreme Court opened the door Friday for a potential challenge to California’s long-standing authority to set stricter emissions limits for new vehicles, including its “zero emissions” goal for 2035. David G. Savage in the Los Angeles Times$ Alejandro Lazo CalMatters -- 12/14/24
California lawmakers want to cut red tape to ramp up clean energy but rural communities push back -- California Assemblymember Buffy Wicks is feeling a time crunch in California’s quest to combat climate change. So she’s trying to speed up renewable energy source construction and storage. Deborah Brennan CalMatters -- 12/14/24
Meta Urges California Attorney General to Stop OpenAI From Becoming For-Profit -- Mark Zuckerberg’s company is siding with Elon Musk in a fight against the developer of ChatGPT. Jessica Toonkel, Keach Hagey and Meghan Bobrowsky in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 12/14/24
Co-founder of California white supremacist group to be freed -- Robert Paul Rundo, co-founder of Rise Above Movement, an extremist group that brawled at political rallies in California, will be released after sentencing hearing. Brittny Mejia in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/14/24
California Rep. Nancy Pelosi hospitalized after an injury in Europe -- Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) was admitted to a hospital for evaluation after she was injured in a fall during an official engagement while traveling with a bipartisan congressional delegation in Luxembourg, according to her spokesperson. Andrea Castillo in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/14/24
Workplace
Amid intimidation claims, Wells Fargo investigators vote to unionize -- The move is the latest in a campaign to organize workers at the San Francisco bank, which is notable in an industry that historically has had low rates of unionization. Suhauna Hussain in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/14/24
Van Nuys landscaping company fined for ‘serious’ and ‘willful’ heat violations -- The company, Parkwood Landscape Maintenance, must pay $276,425 for failing to provide employees with access to water, shaded area and proper training on preventing heat-related illness, according to the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health, known as Cal/OSHA. Suhauna Hussain in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/14/24
Climate
Biden Administration Is Said to Allow California to Ban New Gas-Powered Cars -- California and 11 other states want to halt the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035. President-elect Donald Trump is expected to try to stop them. Coral Davenport in the New York Times$ -- 12/14/24
Street
San Diego Sheriff agrees to make all jails safer for people with disabilities -- The settlement partially resolves a lawsuit that accused San Diego County jails of failing to comply with federal standards. Kelly Davis in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 12/14/24
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The Week CEOs Bent the Knee to Trump -- Companies abandoned him after the Jan. 6, 2021, riot. Now, they are rushing to curry favor with the president-elect as he prepares to return to the White House. Brian Schwartz, Dana Mattioli and Rebecca Ballhaus in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 12/14/24
Tech billionaires Zuckerberg, Bezos and Altman help bankroll Trump’s inauguration. What to know -- Tech executives, attempting to ease tensions with President-elect Donald Trump, are opening up their wallets after the former president staged a historic return to the White House. Queenie Wong in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/14/24
Tim Cook Dines With Trump at Mar-a-Lago -- The chief executive of Apple is the latest in a series of technology executives who are traveling to Florida to meet with the president-elect. Theodore Schleifer and Tripp Mickle in the New York Times$ -- 12/14/24
RFK Jr. ally filed petition to revoke FDA approval for polio vaccine -- A lawyer affiliated with Kennedy petitioned the FDA in 2022 to revoke approval of the polio vaccine despite scientific studies showing its safety and efficacy. Rachel Roubein and Lauren Weber in the Washington Post$ -- 12/14/24
Polio survivor Mitch McConnell criticizes efforts to undermine vaccine -- The statement is the first time the Senate minority leader has publicly weighed in on the nomination process beyond acknowledging meeting with some of Trump’s picks for his administration. Maegan Vazquez in the Washington Post$ Sheryl Gay Stolberg in the New York Times$ -- 12/14/24
Trump calls for ending daylight saving time. It’s ‘inconvenient,’ he says. -- “Daylight Saving Time is inconvenient, and very costly to our Nation,” the president-elect wrote, criticizing the century-old practice of shifting clocks twice per year. Dan Diamond in the Washington Post$ -- 12/14/24
Also
Dick Van Dyke rescued by neighbors in Malibu fire, reunited with lost cat -- Dick Van Dyke is celebrating his 99th birthday Friday with his wife and pets — including his beloved cat Bobo, who briefly went missing — thanks to neighbors who helped rescue the legendary screen and stage actor from his home this week as a wildfire swept through Malibu. Nathan Solis in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/14/24
Cats in L.A. County die after drinking recalled raw milk -- The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health said Thursday that it is investigating two possible cases of H5N1 bird flu in cats that consumed recalled raw milk from Raw Farm LLC. The animals have died. Susanne Rust in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/14/24
California Policy and Politics Friday
Pelosi injured and hospitalized during trip to Luxembourg -- House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi sustained an unspecified injury and was hospitalized during a congressional visit to Luxembourg, her office said Friday. Andrew Solender Axios Mary Clare Jalonick Associated Press -- 12/13/24
Daniel Lurie wants to declare a fentanyl emergency. Here’s why that might not be possible -- Incoming mayor Daniel Lurie announced a series of ambitious proposals to address the city’s drug crisis while on the campaign trail, but those plans will bump up against legal and fiscal constraints that will make them difficult to realize. Maggie Angst, J.D. Morris in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/13/24
After losing reelection, San Francisco mayor says she leaves office ‘a winner’ -- Mayor London Breed may have lost reelection, but after more than six years at the helm of one of America’s most iconic cities, she says she will leave office next month as a champion. Hannah Wiley in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/13/24
Jerry Brown speaks on the American Dream, Trump and more -- Jerry Brown, California’s longest-serving governor (1975-83, 2011-2019), had a lot to say Thursday. In an hour-long conversation hosted by the Public Policy Institute of California, Brown was typically blunt on a wide range of topics: Lynn La CalMatters -- 12/13/24
California lawmaker questioned in sprawling cannabis corruption investigation -- Documents made public by the U.S. attorney’s office last week allege that a public official who fits the profile of state Sen. Susan Rubio was part of sprawling cannabis bribery scheme when she served on the Baldwin Park City Council and campaigned for state office in 2018. Anabel Sosa in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/13/24
Authorities raid 45-ton, $100-million marijuana stash in San Bernardino County -- California regulations allow residents aged 21 and over to legally raise up to six cannabis plants at home for their personal use. Warehousing tens of thousands of pounds remains decidedly off-limits, though. Andrew J. Campa in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/13/24
Sources: San Francisco police identified Luigi Mangione 4 days before arrest in McDonald’s -- San Francisco police recognized the alleged killer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Midtown Manhattan as possibly being Luigi Mangione four days before the suspect’s high-profile arrest and contacted the FBI, two sources familiar with the matter told the Chronicle. Megan Cassidy, Michael Barba in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/13/24
California got millions to train workers in disaster relief, but it’s leaving money on table -- When disaster strikes, California gets federal funding to hire temporary workers to clean debris. But the jobs are tough, and some agencies struggle to manage the grants. Adam Echelman CalMatters -- 12/13/24
California just made a big bet on the future of electric vehicles -- California is embarking on a major expansion of its electric vehicle charging system, an effort to dramatically increase the number of places for drivers to plug in at a time when EV sales are growing faster than the country’s charging network. Anna Phillips in the Washington Post$ -- 12/13/24
Senate confirms Alameda County judge derided by Republicans for diversity advocacy -- Noël Wise, an Alameda County judge nominated to the federal court by President Joe Biden, has won Senate confirmation after withstanding Republican criticism over her writings, including a magazine article that described then-President Donald Trump’s judicial appointees as “overwhelmingly white and male.” Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/13/24
What’s next for Katie Porter? For now, it’s teaching and learning, she says -- The Irvine Democrat neither says she'll run for governor in 2026 nor rules out a bid. Kaitlyn Schallhorn in the Orange County Register -- 12/13/24
DMV apologizes for license plate that mocks Oct. 7 attack on Israel -- The California Department of Motor Vehicles issues an apology over a license plate that says “LOL” in reference to the Oct. 7 attack on Israel. Karen Garcia in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/13/24
Why Wells Fargo’s San Francisco downsizing is bad news for California banking -- The move follows mergers that have created the nation’s fourth largest bank, with employees scattered around the nation and an executive staff in New York. Laurence Darmiento in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/13/24
Los Angeles Times Owner Wades Deeper Into Opinion Section -- Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong’s public comments and actions, including recently blocking an editorial weighing in on President-elect Trump’s cabinet picks, have concerned many staff members. Katie Robertson in the New York Times$ -- 12/13/24
Workplace
San Francisco AI company CEO says ‘Stop Hiring Humans’ ads are a marketing success -- In San Francisco’s crowded tech scene, a new billboard campaign from AI company Artisan is turning heads and stirring controversy. Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/13/24
Wildfire
With bone-dry conditions, Southern California high fire danger could linger into the new year -- By this time of year, Southern California has usually recorded some measurable rainfall. Santa Ana winds, meanwhile, are typically dying down. But this December, neither is the case. Grace Toohey in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/13/24
Biden signs wildfire tax relief into law for Californians -- President Biden signed legislation Thursday that will exempt potentially thousands of California fire victims from having to pay federal income tax on settlement money received for a wildfire. Kurtis Alexander in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/13/24
Education
Oakland schools in crisis as district gets closer to running out of money: 'Dangerous path' -- By the end of the Oakland school board meeting Wednesday night, officials made it clear: The district is currently headed for insolvency and the political will to address overspending and declining enrollment has yet to materialize. Jill Tucker in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/13/24
Walters: UC Merced turns 20 years old yet remains California’s awkward stepchild -- The Legislature’s budget analyst, Gabe Petek, is marking the 20th anniversary of University of California’s Merced campus with an overview of how it has fared. Dan Walters CalMatters -- 12/13/24
Street
L.A. promised $30 million to people wronged by gang curfews. Why has only half been spent? -- The City of Los Angeles agreed to a $30 million settlement over anti-gang curfews, which a court ruled unfairly punished people based on their neighborhood or family ties. Libor Jany in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/13/24
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Trump Team Weighs Options, Including Airstrikes, to Stop Iran’s Nuclear Program -- President-elect Donald Trump is weighing options for stopping Iran from being able to build a nuclear weapon, including the possibility of preventive airstrikes, a move that would break with the longstanding policy of containing Tehran with diplomacy and sanctions. Alexander Ward and Laurence Norman in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 12/13/24
Kennedy’s Lawyer Has Asked the F.D.A. to Revoke Approval of the Polio Vaccine -- The lawyer helping Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pick federal health officials for the incoming Trump administration has petitioned the government to revoke its approval of the polio vaccine, which for decades has protected millions of people from a virus that can cause paralysis or death. Christina Jewett and Sheryl Gay Stolberg in the New York Times$ -- 12/13/24
Tech moguls court Trump with Mar-a-Lago meetings and $1 million donations -- Leaders at Amazon, Google and Meta are reaching out to the incoming president, who has previously blasted them in public remarks, lining up in an apparent attempt to gain favor. Caroline O'Donovan, Josh Dawsey and Leo Sands in the Washington Post$ -- 12/13/24
Donald Trump’s Perfect 1980s Day -- For a man who rose to fame in the gilded yuppie era of New York City, today’s ringing the bell to open the stock exchange, and being named Person of the Year by Time, must have a certain appeal. Joseph Bernstein in the New York Times$ -- 12/13/24
Trump Advisers Seek to Shrink or Eliminate Bank Regulators -- The Trump transition team has started to explore pathways to dramatically shrink, consolidate or even eliminate the top bank watchdogs in Washington. Gina Heeb in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 12/13/24
Spotlight on Kash Patel Gets Brighter After Wray’s FBI Resignation -- Senate Republicans have voiced support for Trump loyalist so far, but pivotal votes remain unclear. Sadie Gurman in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 12/13/24
Boeing Delays Mean Trump Won’t Fly on a New Air Force One -- President-elect Donald Trump didn’t get to fly on a new Air Force One during his first term. He likely won’t get to fly on a new presidential plane in his second term, either. Sharon Terlep, Andrew Tangel and Andrew Restuccia in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 12/13/24