California Policy and Politics Friday

Why a chemical explosion in Orange County could be so catastrophic -- An “unprecedented” situation was taking hold in Orange County on Friday, as a chemical tank was at risk of exploding and releasing a highly toxic chemical that can cause severe respiratory distress and lead to hospitalization, officials said. An estimated 40,000 residents have been asked to evacuate, affecting portions of the cities of Garden Grove, Anaheim, Buena Park, Cypress, Stanton and Westminster. Disneyland is outside of the evacuation zone. Rong-Gong Lin II, Salvador Hernandez and Tony Briscoe in the Los Angeles Times$ Nathaniel Percy, Sydney Barragan and Ryanne Mena in the Orange County Register$ -- 5/22/26

Garden Grove chemical leak: Evacuations, closures, shelters -- A failing 34,000-gallon chemical tank in Garden Grove has triggered major evacuations across parts of Garden Grove, Cypress, Stanton and Anaheim, with officials unable to say when residents can safely return. Salvador Hernandez, Rong-Gong Lin II and Clara Harter in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/22/26

Major donor seeks $1 million refund as pro-Matt Mahan committee shuts down -- Less than two weeks before the June primary, one independent expenditure committee supporting San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan’s bid for governor has shuttered, and Netflix chairman Reed Hastings has requested a $1 million refund from another — a potential sign that financial support around his campaign is weakening. Grace Hase in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 5/22/26

Influencer files complaint against Steyer campaign, alleging violations -- A political influencer has filed a complaint against Tom Steyer’s campaign for governor, saying the committee failed to notify her of disclosure requirements, as required by law, when she was paid to meet with Steyer in March and later produced social media content from the meeting. Ben Wieder in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/22/26

The AI ads are fake. Spencer Pratt’s momentum isn’t -- The former reality-star's candidacy is sucking up oxygen in the race to lead the nation’s second-largest city. Liam Dillon Politico -- 5/22/26

California politics isn’t just left vs. right. Our analysis found a third extreme -- Earlier this month, the Chronicle published its guide to understanding the six groups that constitute California’s political geography — a schema showing that our communities don’t just lie along a left-right spectrum. How did we get to six? Our analysis itself says something about how the state’s politics work. Aseem Shukla and Nami Sumida in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/22/26

Workplace

More than 1,000 L.A. school employees expected to lose jobs, with bigger cuts ahead -- An updated “fiscal stability plan” outlines more than $3.6 billion in future cuts over the next three years: eliminating 6,000-plus positions, closing schools and imposing furloughs and benefit concessions on remaining staff. Union leaders and workers called the cuts unnecessary. Howard Blume in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/22/26

Another California tech company lays off thousands -- Mountain View-based Intuit, the maker of TurboTax, on Wednesday said it was laying off 17% of its workforce, or about 3,000 employees, as part of its restructuring to cut costs and invest in artificial intelligence. Nilesh Christopher in the Los Angeles Times$ George Avalos in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 5/22/26

After AI layoffs, Newsom orders state government to find ways to ease the pain -- In an AI executive order, the governor called on state officials to study everything from job subsidies to stock compensation policies to mitigate tech-driven layoffs. Khari Johnson Calmatters -- 5/22/26

Labor leaders see Newsom’s AI workforce EO as softer than advertised -- For some California union leaders, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s latest AI and labor-related executive order is a letdown, especially with months left in his final term. Christine Mui and Tyler Katzenberger Politico -- 5/22/26

Gas

Newsom's office warns Californians to avoid Chevron this holiday weekend, citing high gas prices -- California Gov. Gavin Newsom is in a spat with a major oil company over who is to blame for the state’s high gas prices, with the Democratic governor’s office urging drivers not to fill up at Chevron stations over Memorial Day weekend. Sophie Austin Associated Press -- 5/22/26

California bill moves to make cheaper alternative fuel available to more drivers -- California lawmakers want to make it easier for drivers to convert their cars to run on cheaper ethanol fuel. The state agency being bypassed has never once approved an E85 conversion kit in 17 years. Alejandro Lazo and Yue Stella Yu Calmatters -- 5/22/26

AI

Pressure from Silicon Valley helped block Trump’s expected order on AI -- The tech leaders who spoke with Trump, who included SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg, warned that the administration’s new vetting system could inhibit development of a technology at the heart of the U.S. economy, according to three people familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the private conversations. Cat Zakrzewski, Ian Duncan, Ellen Nakashima and Isaac Arnsdorf in the Washington Post$ -- 5/22/26

Climate

Older AC and fridge chemicals amp up climate change. Trump just rolled back limits on them -- President Trump on Thursday announced that grocery stories and air conditioning companies will be allowed to keep using high-polluting refrigerants for longer than they would have under a law he signed during his first administration. Blanca Begert in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/22/26

Wildfire

Feds declare Eaton fire was a cleanup success. Their testing shows otherwise -- Federal officials are hailing the Eaton fire cleanup as a success, even as new EPA soil tests show nearly one in five Altadena homes still exceed California’s residential lead standard. Unreleased data reviewed by The Times found some properties with lead nearly nine times the state limit, fueling residents’ fears. Tony Briscoe in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/22/26

San Diego Mosque

Police Seized Guns From Home of Mosque Shooter After Alarming Behavior -- More than a year before Caleb Vazquez and a friend attacked a mosque in San Diego and killed three people, the police were so alarmed by Mr. Vazquez’s behavior that they secured a court order to confiscate his father’s guns. Orlando Mayorquín, Tim Arango and Chelsia Rose Marcius in the New York Times$ -- 5/22/26

San Diego mosque attack followed a familiar online script -- Recorded in the style of a first-person shooter game, the video appears to show the perspective of one of the gunmen who killed three people Monday at the Islamic Center of San Diego as he storms the mosque, opens fire and steps over a fallen body. At the video’s end, the camera records the gunman raising a pistol to his chin, then slumping forward in a torrent of blood. Drew Harwell in the Washington Post$ -- 5/22/26

The three men killed in San Diego shooting saved many others, ‘did not die in vain’ -- Meet the three men who sacrificed their lives to protect dozens of schoolchildren during an attempted mass shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego. Suhauna Hussain, Richard Winton and Hannah Fry in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/22/26

Family of teen behind mosque rampage breaks silence. ‘We condemn these hateful and violent actions.’ -- The parents of Caleb Vazquez, one of two teens who killed three people in a hate-fueled rampage at San Diego’s largest mosque this week, broke their silence Thursday, issuing a statement mourning the victims and condemning their son’s actions as those of “an immensely lost, troubled, and misguided soul.” Teri Figueroa in the San Diego Union Tribune -- 5/22/26

Homeless

More ‘rough sleepers’ on Hollywood streets as the city removes tents, bringing new challenges -- As Los Angeles clears encampments in Hollywood, tents are disappearing but more people are sleeping directly on sidewalks, exposing deep vulnerabilities, including for a pregnant newcomer and her ailing mother. Doug Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/22/26

Street

‘Insanity’: S.F. merchants say stolen-goods chaos continues despite new state law -- The scene that played out at the Mission’s 24th Street BART plaza Thursday afternoon has become all-too-familiar. Maggie Angst in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/22/26

Also

Walters: 18 years after California voters approved the bullet train, progress and finances are still stalled -- Construction of the 1,911-mile transcontinental railroad connecting California with the eastern half of the United States began in 1863, while the nation was engaged in a bloody civil war, and was completed six years later when its two legs were joined at Promontory Summit in Utah. Dan Walters Calmatters -- 5/22/26

It’s easier for Californians to escape data brokers following a CalMatters investigation -- CalMatters and The Markup showed how website code could make it harder for Californians to exercise their right to remove personal data. Now much of that code has disappeared. Colin Lecher Calmatters -- 5/22/26

SF treasure hunt ends after $10,001 prize found in Marin -- A weekslong treasure hunt in San Francisco has ended after a box of $10,001 in cash was discovered Tuesday. But in a final twist, the booty was found outside the city. The endeavor was dubbed “Buried Treasure, San Francisco,” but the clues never actually claimed the coins were within city limits. Gillian Mohney SFGate -- 5/22/26

POTUS 47

GOP senators balk at Trump’s $1.8-billion ‘anti-weaponization’ fund, force delay in key vote -- In a striking display of defiance, GOP senators abruptly derailed plans to vote on legislation to fund Trump’s immigration crackdown amid deep disagreements over security funding for a White House ballroom and a $1.8-billion fund to pay people who claim to have been politically persecuted. Ana Ceballos and Justine McDaniel in the Los Angeles Times$ Jordain Carney and Calen Razor Politico Megan Mineiro, Robert Jimison and Michael Gold in the New York Times$ -- 5/22/26

Trump Allies and Foes Jockey for Payouts From ‘Anti-Weaponization Fund’ -- As the Trump administration faces a barrage of bipartisan criticism for creating a payout system without precedent, potential applicants—who run the gamut from the most predictable to the least—are eyeing a piece of the pie. Brian Schwartz, C. Ryan Barber and Louise Radnofsky in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 5/22/26

House Republicans Pull Vote to Limit Trump’s Iran War Powers -- Democrats say GOP leaders were afraid the resolution would pass. Terell Wright, Olivia Beavers and Lindsay Wise in the Wall Street Journal$ Megan Mineiro, Robert Jimison and Michael Gold in the New York Times$ -- 5/22/26

Audit Immunity for Trump Family Puts I.R.S. in a Bind -- Federal law prohibits the Internal Revenue Service from halting an audit at the direction of the president or his aides. Andrew Duehren in the New York Times$ -- 5/22/26

Poll shows voter confidence in economy plummeting to a nearly 4-year low -- Concerns about rising costs are a problem for Republicans ahead of the midterm elections as Trump struggles to deliver on affordability pledges. Olivia George and Scott Clement in the Washington Post$ -- 5/22/26