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California Policy and Politics Monday
Rob Reiner, wife confirmed dead in homicide at Brentwood home; police interview family member -- Los Angeles police were investigating the deaths as a homicide after the bodies of Reiner, 78, and Michele Singer Reiner were found at the home in the 200 block of Chadbourne Avenue, police said. Richard Winton, Clara Harter, Grace Toohey, Christie D’Zurilla and David Zahniser in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/15/25
California Hires Former C.D.C. Officials Who Criticized Trump Administration -- A former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and a former chief medical officer of the agency will advise the state on public health issues. Laurel Rosenhall and Apoorva Mandavilli in the New York Times$ -- 12/15/25
4.0 quake centered in Sonoma County triggers alert, followed by aftershocks -- The fault was not immediately known, but the Rodgers Creek Fault is in the general vicinity. That fault runs under San Pablo Bay and north through central Sonoma County. Under San Pablo Bay, it becomes the better-known Hayward Fault. Kate Galbraith in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/15/25
Sen. Adam Schiff, a primary antagonist of President Donald Trump, marks one year in U.S. Senate -- The junior senator says he's 'proud' to be high on the president's enemy list as he highlights his work over the past 12 months. Linh Tat in the Orange County Register$ -- 12/15/25
Bay Area Jewish groups lighting menorahs to push away darkness of Australia attack -- “Nothing can shake us, nothing can uproot us from our tradition, from our faith, from our beliefs,” said Rabbi Moshe Langer, CEO of Chabad of San Francisco. He said Hanukkah celebrates the message that “just a little light pushes away a lot of darkness.” Anna Bauman in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Caelyn Pender, Robert Salonga in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 12/15/25
Authorities step up security at Hanukkah events around Southern California after Australia attack -- Authorities were providing extra patrols at Jewish facilities and Hanukkah events around Southern California on Sunday after a deadly attack in Australia killed as many as 16 people who were gathered at a beach to celebrate the first day of the Jewish holiday. The item is in the Orange County Register$ -- 12/15/25
Education
California schools that need foreign workers for teacher jobs can’t afford Trump’s new visa fee -- There is a new cost to hiring an international worker to fill a vital but otherwise vacant position in a California classroom: $100,000. Sophie Sullivan and Alina Ta CalMatters in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/15/25
Teens at top East Bay schools are building real-world tech that would challenge seasoned engineers -- His childhood hobby has led him to where the 18-year-old finds himself today: engineering autonomous drone software that could revolutionize how first responders handle emergencies in San Jose. Sarah Ravani in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/15/25
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Martin: America Needs a Tech Skeptic in the 2028 Race -- A long-shot 2028 run by Utah Gov. Spencer Cox could force tech and social media into the center of the presidential debate. Jonathan Martin Politico -- 12/15/25
California Policy and Politics Sunday
California’s role in shaping the fate of the Democratic Party and combating Trump on full display -- California’s potential to lead a national Democratic comeback was on full display as party leaders from across the country recently gathered in downtown Los Angeles. But is the party ready to bet on the Golden State? Seema Mehta and Dakota Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/14/25
Barabak: Is Newsom blazing a path to the White House? Running a fool’s errand? Let’s discuss -- Times columnist Mark Z. Barabak and veteran Democratic strategist Garry South debate the governor’s chances. Have times changed enough to end California Democrats’ presidential losing streak? Mark Z. Barabak in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/14/25
Times Investigation: Ex-Trump DOJ lawyers say ‘fraudulent’ UC antisemitism probes led them to quit -- Nine former Department of Justice attorneys assigned to investigate alleged antisemitism at the University of California described chaotic and rushed directives from the Trump administration and told The Times they felt pressured to conclude that campuses had violated the civil rights of Jewish students and staff. Jaweed Kaleem in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/14/25
LA Mayor Karen Bass launches re-election campaign with DTLA rally -- Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass formally began her campaign for re-election Saturday with a rally in downtown Los Angeles, promising to make the city safer and more affordable while positioning herself as a candidate who will take on the Trump administration. Jose Herrera City News Service in the LA Daily News -- 12/14/25
L.A. City Councilman John Lee violated gift laws on lavish Vegas jaunt, judge says -- Los Angeles City Councilman John Lee repeatedly violated the city’s gift laws in 2016 and 2017, accepting freebies during a lavish trip to Las Vegas and at multiple restaurants in L.A., a judge said in a filing released Friday. David Zahniser in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/14/25
Data centers for AI could nearly triple San José’s energy use. Who foots the bill? -- The county seat of Santa Clara is touting its partnership with Pacific Gas & Electric, claiming the city is “the West Coast’s premier destination for data center development.” The investor-owned utility now estimates it has enough capacity in its planning pipeline to push the city’s electricity use to almost three times its current peak. Alejandro Lazo Calmatters in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/14/25
CalRx
‘California’ brand insulin is hitting the market -- A five-pack of CalRx insulin will cost $55 in January, while a separate state law caps insurance co-pays. Grant Stringer in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 12/14/25
Street
He fought to protect his kids from California gangs. Then his son was killed at a birthday party -- Patrick Peterson gazed at the basketball trophies on his son’s dresser, blinking back tears. Connor Letourneau in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/14/25
Shootings by LAPD officers, and the violence they face, are up -- There were 43 shootings by officers in 2025 through Monday, Dec. 8, with 33 suspects struck by gunfire, according to the Los Angeles Police Department, and 26 last year for the comparable period. The item is in the LA Daily News -- 12/14/25
Also
The Chinese Billionaires Having Dozens of U.S.-Born Babies Via Surrogate -- Inside a closed Los Angeles courtroom, something wasn’t right. Clerks working for family court Judge Amy Pellman were reviewing routine surrogacy petitions when they spotted an unusual pattern: the same name, again and again. Katherine Long, Ben Foldy and Lingling Wei in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 12/14/25
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Trump administration races to finalize tariff payments — and hamstring possible refunds -- The Trump administration is racing to deposit the money it’s raised from tariffs into the U.S. Treasury, a tactic that could make it harder for companies to get refunds for duties the Supreme Court may strike down in the coming months. Ari Hawkins and Doug Palmer Politico -- 12/14/25
Thousands of carveouts and caveats are weakening Trump's emergency tariffs -- President Donald Trump promised that a wave of emergency tariffs on nearly every nation would restore “fair” trade and jump-start the economy. Eight months later, half of U.S. imports are avoiding those tariffs. Paroma Soni Politico -- 12/14/25
Trump Isn’t Certain His Economic Policies Will Translate to Midterm Wins -- In interview, he says his efforts to secure investments in the U.S. haven’t fully taken effect and ‘I cannot tell you how that’s going to equate to the voter’ Meridith McGraw in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 12/14/25
Trump leans into isolation as challenges mount at home -- The Trump administration, amid a series of foreign and domestic challenges, is redoubling its efforts to blame an array of outside forces for America’s problems and enact policies that block those influences from crossing U.S. borders. Naftali Bendavid in the Washington Post$ -- 12/14/25