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California Policy and Politics Thursday
What Alex Padilla says Democrats should do about the Voting Rights Act ruling -- Sen. Alex Padilla was in the Library of Congress with several dozen other senators when their phones all buzzed with the news of the Supreme Court’s ruling on the Voting Rights Act. He was dismayed, but not shocked, to read the landmark law had been gutted. Melanie Mason Politico -- 4/30/26
Supreme Court ruling on voting won’t change California districts, but could hurt Democrats -- Wednesday’s Supreme Court ruling narrowing the Voting Rights Act undermines legal protections that have helped Latinos gain representation in politics, California Democrats and activists say. Nigel Duara and Maya C. Miller Calmatters -- 4/30/26
What the Supreme Court did to the Voting Rights Act -- Southern lawmakers can now draw congressional maps to break up minority voters, as the conservative majority continues to roll back decades-old civil rights protections. Amber Phillips in the Washington Post$ -- 4/30/26
Huntington Beach ordered to pay nearly $1 million in legal fees for ACLU lawsuit -- An Orange County Superior Court judge has ordered the city of Huntington Beach to pay nearly $1 million in legal fees, after it was sued for moving books deemed to contain sexual content to a restricted section of the library. Matt Szabo in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/30/26
Billionaire Tom Steyer wants to take on the rich in run for California governor -- “I’m the billionaire who wants to tax other billionaires,” he’s fond of saying, though he’s given only tenuous backing to a billionaires’ tax proposal likely to appear before California voters in November. Sophie Austin Associated Press -- 4/30/26
Candidate interview: Tom Steyer has never held office. Here’s why he says voters should trust him -- Billionaire Tom Steyer aims to succeed where other self-funding politicians before him have failed: using his personal fortune to win the most powerful job in California. Sophia Bollag in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/30/26
California billionaire tax proposal attracts 1.5 million signatures. Here’s what happens next -- The proposal would impose a one-time tax of up to 5% on taxpayers and trusts with assets valued at more than $1 billion, with some exclusions, such as property. Queenie Wong in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/30/26
Should California tax retirement accounts? Campaign wants voters to block any new efforts -- The effort, though, may have an impact on a dueling campaign to tax California’s billionaires to offset federal healthcare cuts. Kaitlyn Schallhorn in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 4/30/26
California’s race for secretary of state shows partisan divide over how to count ballots -- California’s top vote-counter, Secretary of State Shirley Weber, faces a challenge from Republican Don Wagner in the 2026 election. Yue Stella Yu Calmatters -- 4/30/26
California gubernatorial candidates divided over education funding and social issues -- Education is not a central issue in California’s crowded governor’s race, but the candidates addressing it offer sharply different visions, from expanding school funding and free college, to stricter teacher accountability and restrictions on transgender students in sports. Diana Lambert EdSource -- 4/30/26
Bay Area neighbors are turning their blocks into Trump resistance networks -- President Donald Trump’s most sustained resistance has been at the neighborhood level. Here’s what everyday Bay Area residents are building. Raheem Hosseini in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/30/26
Failed plane and bus trips: How ICE can’t bring back man wrongfully deported to Mexico -- The U.S. government had no trouble deporting Lazaro Romero León to Mexico in February, despite a California federal judge’s order that the Cuban national stay in this country. The problem now, government officials claim, is getting him back. Brittny Mejia in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/30/26
L.A. council member pushes plan to let noncitizens vote in city elections -- Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez wants to place a measure on the Nov. 3 ballot giving the council the power to let noncitizens vote in L.A.’s local elections. Backers say noncitizens already pay taxes and deserve representation. One opponent said the idea “undermines the whole concept of citizenship.” David Zahniser in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/30/26
Workplace
The prolonged Little Lake teachers strike takes on outsize, statewide significance -- The small Little Lake school district, which serves mainly low-income families in southeast Los Angeles County has become the setting for one of the longest teacher strikes in state history — reaching the the 10-day mark on Wednesday — as its 200-member union takes on significant issues straining districts throughout California. Howard Blume and Cierra Morgan in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/30/26
Marketplace
How tariffs and war are hurting California small businesses -- Higher prices hit small businesses — defined as those with fewer than 500 employees — harder than big ones, and some wonder how long they can survive. Levi Sumagaysay Calmatters -- 4/30/26
These California bills take aim at soaring ticket resale prices. But will they really help? -- Fed up with sky-high resale ticket markups? Two California bills aim to crack down on a market that many believe has spiraled out of control. But how much they’d actually help consumers remains an open question. Kathleen Pender in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/30/26
AI
Victims’ families sue OpenAI over school shooting that ChatGPT failed to flag -- In seven separate lawsuits filed Wednesday, lawyers said the artificial intelligence giant encouraged the shooter’s violent tendencies, then decided to protect its profits by remaining silent. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/30/26
Education
How Silicon Valley’s Brightest Parents Broke Their Own School -- Tech executives built the ‘it’ school for their gifted kids. Lawsuits, internal feuding and a breakaway followed. Zusha Elinson in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 4/30/26
Street
Will cameras actually curb speeding in L.A.? San Francisco offers a clue -- A year after the installation of speed cameras in San Francisco, drivers in the city are slowing down, data shows, and experts say the technology could have a similar effect once cameras are installed in Los Angeles. Karen Garcia in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/30/26
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Oil Hits Wartime High Above $120 a Barrel as Standoff Shows No End in Sight -- The longer the disruption to Middle East fuel supplies lasts, the risk grows that higher energy costs will feed into broader inflation that could dent economic growth. Gregory Schmidt and Joe Rennison in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 4/30/26
Economy picked up in early 2026, but inflation jumped, too -- The U.S. economy grew at a 2 percent pace in the first three months of the year, as higher investment and a rebound in government spending buoyed business activity while consumers showed signs of fatigue amid rising prices. David J. Lynch in the Washington Post$ -- 4/30/26
Supreme Court leans in favor of Trump’s bid to end protections for Syrian, Haitian migrants -- The Supreme Court’s conservative majority sounded ready Wednesday to rule that the Trump administration may end the temporary protection that has been granted to more than 1.3 million immigrants from troubled countries. David G. Savage in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/30/26
Cole Allen case reveals Secret Service failures that could have led to tragedy at D.C. gala -- However, according to a detailed accounting filed Wednesday by federal prosecutors in the criminal case against suspect Cole Tomas Allen, the performance of the nation’s preeminent protection agency was marred by inattentiveness and misfires and saved by “extraordinary good fortune” and the gunman falling to the ground. Kevin Rector and Richard Winton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/30/26
Prosecutors Say Suspect Planned Attack Weeks Before Press Gala -- Around 2 p.m. on April 6, officials say, Cole Tomas Allen opened the browser on his cellphone and searched: “white house correspondents dinner 2026.” Campbell Robertson in the New York Times$ -- 4/30/26
How Trump’s Proposed Arch Would Change D.C. -- The Times created a 3-D model of the 250-foot monument to show how it would affect a symbolic sightline. Junho Lee, Doug Mills, Karthik Patanjali, Anushka Patil and Charlie Smart in the New York Times$ -- 4/30/26
Amazon Discusses ‘Apprentice’ Reboot—With Don Jr. as a Potential Host -- First it bought the “Melania” documentary. Now Amazon AMZN 1.29%increase; green up pointing triangle is discussing a potential reboot of “The Apprentice,” the reality TV show that once starred Donald Trump and propelled him to national fame. Jessica Toonkel and Dana Mattioli in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 4/30/26
California Policy and Politics Wednesday
SCOTUS just struck another blow to the Voting Rights Act. What it means for California -- The Supreme Court severely restricted a federal law Wednesday that had allowed states to design voting districts that would favor candidates from racial minorities, another step in the court’s dismantling of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. The ruling’s impact on California, however, is uncertain. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/29/26
Becerra, Porter sharpen their pitches in first debate since Swalwell exited governor’s race -- The departure of ex-Rep. Eric Swalwell from the California governor’s race has inspired some of the remaining candidates to reshape their campaigns in ways that were visible Wednesday night in the first major debate since his exit. Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/29/26
Here’s who (we think) won the California gubernatorial debate -- Eight candidates for California governor shared a stage for 90 minutes Tuesday night at Pomona College, their second of three scheduled debates before the June 2 primary. Gustavo Arellano, Anita Chabria and Mark Z. Barabak in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/29/26
5 Takeaways From the Latest Debate in the California Governor’s Race -- The candidates felt pressure to differentiate themselves, with ballots going out to voters next week. The result was a more spirited battle than past debates. Laurel Rosenhall and Soumya Karlamangla in the New York Times$ -- 4/28/26
Candidates pitch preparation in disaster-prone California -- Moderators noted the surge in catastrophic wildfires across California in recent years due to climate change, along with the ever-present threat of earthquakes, and asked candidates how they would respond to future emergencies. Kevin Rector in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/29/26
California candidates for governor tangle in messy TV debate with mail ballots about to go out -- Eight candidates running to become governor of California lobbed heated criticism at each other Tuesday in a chaotic televised debate filled with interruptions, tense exchanges and verbal detours — even at times from moderators. Michael R. Blood, Sophie Austin Associated Press Grace Hase in the San Jose Mercury$ Linh Tat in the LA Daily News Jeanne Kuang Politico -- 4/29/26
Candidate interview: Steve Hilton vows to ‘scrap’ all California climate policies -- No Republican has won a statewide election in California since Arnold Schwarzenegger, buoyed by decades of international stardom, in 2006. Yet Steve Hilton, a Republican who’s never held elected office, has for months led most polls of the California governor’s race. Sophia Bollag in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/29/26
Billionaires, labor unions and pro-Israel donors are pumping millions of dollars into a North County congressional race -- The financial arms race comes as a recent poll sponsored by The San Diego Union-Tribune and KGTV suggests a wide-open race where one candidate, Republican Jim Desmond, holds a clear advantage over the others. Lucas Robinson in the San Diego Union Tribune -- 4/29/26
Mystery surrounds Cole Tomas Allen and D.C. attack -- Four days after Torrance teacher Cole Tomas Allen allegedly attacked the White House correspondents’ dinner in Washington, some facts are clear. Richard Winton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/29/26
Gavin Newsom wants to break up with Elon Musk. Tesla is making that difficult -- California has been trying to break up with Elon Musk for years. Now, in an unforeseen twist, his auto company could hold the keys to saving the state’s electric truck ambitions. Alex Nieves Politico -- 4/29/26
Pasadena clinic received $34 million in Medicare skin graft scam, court documents say -- Federal prosecutors seized more than $2 million from a Pasadena wound-care clinic bank account “suspected of scamming millions of dollars from Medicare” through reimbursements for skin grafts that patients allegedly never received, federal officials announced Tuesday. Richard Winton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/29/26
A GOP lawmaker sent up a flare about a California bill. A right-wing influencer answered the call -- A Bay Area lawmaker introduced a bill extending a state program to immigrant service providers facing threats under Trump 2.0. Her Republican colleague invited an alt-right influencer to attack. Raheem Hosseini in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/29/26
CA High-Speed Rail plan ‘lacks transparency’ on Central Valley station changes, LAO says -- A new analytical report prepared for state lawmakers has raised concerns that the California High-Speed Rail Authority omitted details about its intent to relocate its future Central Valley stations from the draft of its latest business plan, a document meant to help legislators make decisions about the project. Erik Galicia in the Fresno Bee -- 4/29/26
Add a $1 billion detour for California high-speed rail to Cesar Chavez’s legacy -- Add one more twist to the complicated legacy of disgraced civil rights icon Cesar Chavez: A reroute around his gravesite has inflated the cost of California’s high-speed rail project by nearly $1 billion. Rachel Swan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/29/26
Water
Congressman opens investigation into Trump administration’s involvement in California dam removal -- A Northern California member of Congress is opening an inquiry into the Trump administration’s bid to stop dam removal on the Eel River, citing potential legal, environmental, economic and water-supply problems. Kurtis Alexander in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/29/26
Workplace
Reality TV production continues to plummet in L.A. -- The total number of filming days for reality TV shows totaled 463 from January to March, down 33.7% compared with the fourth quarter of last year, according to new data from FilmLA, a nonprofit that tracks production in the greater L.A. area. Samantha Masunaga in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/29/26
Sacramento families navigate ‘nightmare’ childcare landscape -- New data shows one in six parents are leaving work and staying home specifically because outside care is too expensive. Savannah Kuchar KVIE Abridged -- 04/29/26
Marketplace
Paramount wants FCC to approve increased foreign ownership in Warner Bros. Discovery deal -- Paramount Skydance has asked the Federal Communications Commission for permission to exceed foreign ownership rules for U.S. media companies to pave the way for its takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery. Meg James in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/29/26
Killion: Giants’ sale to Joshua Kushner stuns some fans, but the impact goes beyond politics -- The direct connection to the Trump family in bluest blue San Francisco has set off alarm bells with some Giants fans and employees, who have long been troubled by the actions of the team’s majority owner, Charles B. Johnson. Johnson pours millions of his money into right-wing politics. Ann Killion in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/29/26
Disney Cruise Line strikes groundbreaking agreement with San Diego that will deliver 1M passengers -- The multiyear pact will help boost the city’s cruise industry as it continues to rebound from the pandemic years. Lori Weisberg in the San Diego Union Tribune -- 4/29/26
Education
Assembly leaders redefine state superintendent’s role, demand more oversight -- Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan to shift control of the Department of Education from the state superintendent of public instruction to a new education commissioner under future governors’ authority passed its first test in the Legislature last week — but probably not the way Newsom expected. John Fensterwald EdSource -- 4/29/26
Street
One of the world’s most prolific cocaine traffickers is captured in San Diego, federal officials say -- Eugenio Dario Molina-Lopez, 61, also known as Dan Dario or Molis, is alleged to be the leader of Los Huistas, a drug-trafficking organization based in northwest Guatemala near the Mexican border, prosecutors said. He made his initial court appearance Thursday and pleaded not guilty. Cierra Morgan in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/29/26
AI Weapons
A.I. Bots Told Scientists How to Make Biological Weapons -- The virtual assistants have described in lucid, bullet-pointed detail how to buy raw genetic material, turn it into deadly weapons and deploy them in public spaces, the transcripts show. Some have even brainstormed ways to evade detection. Gabriel J.X. Dance in the New York Times$ -- 4/29/26
Also
Will a Los Angeles Megamansion Become America’s First $400 Million Home? -- The housing market for the uber-wealthy has reached a new stratosphere. Amid a flurry of $100 million and $200 million listings and sales, a California estate with ties to Qatari royals is hitting the market for $400 million. E.B. Solomont in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 4/29/26
‘Speed running’ Scientology: TikTok trend causes havoc, church alleges ‘hate crimes’ -- Viral videos of teens running through several buildings in Hollywood that belong to the Church of Scientology have racked up millions of views online in recent weeks. Church officials say the incidents are “hate crimes” and have called on Los Angeles police to make arrests. James Queally in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/29/26
John Seymour, Anaheim mayor and U.S. senator, dies at 88 -- John Seymour was the rare politician who didn’t mind harming his career if it meant doing right by his constituents. Gustavo Arellano in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/29/26
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Trump Tells Aides to Prepare for Extended Blockade of Iran -- The president prefers decisive victories, but none of the available options provides him with a swift exit from the conflict. Alexander Ward, Laurence Norman and Summer Said in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 4/29/26
US will issue commemorative passports with Trump’s picture for America’s 250th birthday -- The State Department said Tuesday that it is preparing a limited release of commemorative U.S. passports celebrating America’s 250th birthday that feature a picture of President Donald Trump, who would be the first living president to be featured in the travel document. Matthew Lee Associated Press -- 4/29/26
With Kimmel under fire, FCC moves to review ABC’s TV station licenses -- The Federal Communications Commission is considering an early review of the Walt Disney Co.’s broadcast TV licenses amid criticism of ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel’s provocative jokes ahead of the White House Correspondents’ Assn. dinner. Stephen Battaglio in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/29/26
James Comey indicted over 2025 seashell post -- A federal grand jury has indicted former FBI Director James Comey over an Instagram post featuring seashells arranged to spell “86 47,” a phrase President Donald Trump and his allies claimed represented a call for violence against Trump. Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein Politico -- 4/29/26
Justice Department legal argument for the White House ballroom reads like a Trump social media post -- The Justice Department is pressing for the dismissal of preservationists’ lawsuit over the planned $400 million White House ballroom after the shooting at Saturday’s media gala. But its latest court filing reads more like a Truth Social post from President Donald Trump than a document crafted by government lawyers. Michelle L. Price Associated Press -- 4/29/26