California could get its first gasoline pipeline. Would that lower gas prices?
LAT, HAYLEY SMITH: "California has long been a “fuel island” — a state whose gasoline and diesel markets are isolated from the rest of the country — but that could soon end under a proposed plan to build the first-ever pipeline to bring refined products directly to the West Coast.
Known as the Western Gateway Pipeline, the project from oil major Phillips 66 and global pipeline giant Kinder Morgan would deliver gasoline, diesel and jet fuel to Arizona and California from as far east as Missouri by 2029. The companies are currently scoping out demand and seeking commitments from customers in what is known as an “open season.”"
How many Democrats is too many in the California governors race?
Chronicle, JOE GAROFOLI: "Even after one candidate dropped out of the California governor’s race this week, there remain nine major Democrats running.
Some think that is too many — and a few are even speculating that if the field remains unwieldy, it could create an epic divide that would allow two Republicans to advance to the general election in the nation’s bluest state."
Stephen Cloobeck drops out of California governor race, endorses Eric Swalwell
SacBee, NICOLE NIXON: "Stephen Cloobeck, a billionaire who made his fortune in the timeshare business, has dropped out of the race for California governor to endorse another candidate.
At the outset of his campaign, Cloobeck, a Democrat, said he decided to run after he spoke to the candidates who had announced for the seat, which is open in 2026 due to term limits. He said he felt none of them was qualified. “They don’t have solutions. They talk in word salad,” he told The Bee earlier this year."
Californians sharply divided along partisan lines about immigration raids, poll finds
LAT, SEEMA MEHTA/BRITTNY MEJIA: "California voters are sharply divided along partisan lines over the Trump administration’s immigration raids this year in Los Angeles and across the nation, according to a new poll.
Just over half of the state’s registered voters oppose federal efforts to reduce undocumented immigration, and 61% are against deporting everyone in the nation who doesn’t have legal status, according to a recent poll by UC Berkeley’s Possibility Lab released to The Times on Wednesday."
These were the top H-1B employers in 2025. How will Trump’s $100K visa fee affect them?
Chronicle, KO LYN CHEANG: "As the H-1B program for skilled foreign workers comes under fire from the Trump administration, data from the last fiscal year shows the nation’s biggest tech companies were the top employers of H-1B workers, displacing Indian consultancies that have historically hired large numbers of these foreign professionals.
For the first time since at least 2000, no Indian tech company was in the top four employers that sponsored new H-1B workers in the 2025 fiscal year, according to a new analysis by the National Foundation for American Policy, a pro-immigration public policy nonprofit."
He fled religious persecution in Turkey. Then he got a one-day notice for an ICE check-in
CALMatters, WENDY FRY: "A San Diego pedicab driver who fled Turkey after being tortured because of his religious beliefs is the latest among hundreds of people who have been arrested across California at routine immigration check-ins, according to advocates, his attorneys, and his wife.
Idris Demirtas, 25, sought asylum in El Paso in December 2022 and was legally paroled into the United States that same month. He was issued a five-year work permit. A biomed student in Turkey, Demirtas has no criminal history in his home country or the U.S., according to his wife and attorneys."
Why outrage is erupting over Trump plan to exclude nursing from ‘professional’ designation
LAT, DANIEL MILLER: "A coalition of nursing and other healthcare organizations are outraged over a Trump administration proposal that could limit access to federal loans for some students pursuing graduate degrees, because the government would no longer label their studies as “professional” programs.
Without such a U.S. Department of Education designation, students pursuing graduate degrees in nursing and at least seven other fields, including social work and education, would face tighter federal student loan limits."
Misinformation spreads as Trump moves to cut aid for some California students
CALMatters, ADAM ECHELMAN/MIKHAIL ZINSHTEYN: "Hours after the Trump administration sued California last week, threatening to end key benefits for students without legal status, Michelle was scrolling social media when she saw a video that made her panic.
The Trump administration is challenging California’s policy of providing in-state tuition, scholarships and subsidized loans to immigrants without legal status — including Michelle, an immigrant who is a community college student in San Mateo County. CalMatters has agreed to withhold her full name because she fears drawing attention to her legal status."
Celebrating a religious or cultural holiday that takes place on school days? Here’s what to know
EdSource, MALLIKA SESHADRI: "Students are wrapping up their semesters and slowly lapsing into holiday mode.
But, as some families come together to celebrate federal and state-recognized holidays, others participate in religious and cultural celebrations that take place on school days, raising questions about how to ensure students can participate in rituals and cultural celebrations while keeping up with their schoolwork."
Citing wildfires, LAFD requests 15% budget increase
LAT, NOAH GOLDBERG: "The Los Angeles Fire Department is requesting a budget of more than $1 billion for the coming year, arguing that the additional funding is necessary to be prepared for wildfires like the one that devastated Pacific Palisades in January.
The request, which represents a more than 15% increase over this year’s budget, includes money for 179 new firefighting recruits and a second crew dedicated to fighting wildfires, as well as helitanker services to battle fires from the air."
Dense fog could linger in these parts of the Bay Area. Here’s what to expect
Chronicle, ANTHONY EDWARDS: "A remarkably stable weather pattern has taken hold of Northern California this week. A high-pressure system over the state has locked temperatures into a steady rhythm and trapped fog in the valleys.
The area of high pressure steers storms away from the region and results in light winds, allowing temperatures to plunge at night and dew to form, eventually turning into fog. Stagnant air has degraded air quality. The Bay Area Air Quality Management District issued its first Spare the Air alert of the season, which will be in effect Wednesday and Thursday."
Google nears $4 trillion value amid reports of potential deal with Meta
Chronicle, ROLAND LI: "Google’s parent company Alphabet is the latest tech giant closing in on a $4 trillion valuation, amid the artificial intelligence boom and a report of a potential chips deal with Meta.
The Mountain View search company’s shares were up 1.62% on Tuesday and nearly 70% this year, for a market capitalization of $3.9 trillion. The Information reported on Monday that Meta was considering Google’s AI chips for its 2027 data centers in a potential deal worth billions of dollars."
From Silicon Valley to Hollywood, why California’s job market is taking a hit
LAT, LAURENCE DARMIENTO: "California is among the world’s largest economies, but the engines that drive it haven’t been firing on all cylinders.
The state has been buffeted by a litany of layoffs this year from Hollywood to Silicon Valley — and beyond. Economists cite several explanations, including contraction in the entertainment industry, displacements caused by artificial intelligence and overall uncertainty in the national economy."
Wealthy California coastal city bans pickleball, saying it ‘turned into a madhouse’
LAT, HANNAH FRY: "The constant pop pop pop of the plastic ball was simply too much to take.
Kimberly Edwards, who lives near the tennis-turned-pickleball courts at Forest Hill Park in Carmel-by-the-Sea, could hear the resonant sound everywhere she turned — outside in her garden, even through her bedroom window."
How to travel safely if you’re in your 90s? Doctors’ tips hold lessons for everyone
Chronicle, ERIN ALLDAY: "Travel has always been important to Dr. Wynnelena Canio’s family. Her parents love to visit new places, especially around the holidays, and their wanderlust rubbed off on Canio.
So when a 91-year-old patient recently asked Canio, a geriatrician with Kaiser Permanente San Rafael, if it was still safe for her to travel to Europe, Canio immediately said yes. “As long as you bring your cane,” Canio told her with a chuckle. “There’s a lot of walking in Europe.” She advised comfortable shoes, too."
Brace yourselves, passengers: Thanksgiving air travel expected to hit 15-year high, FAA says
LAT, ANDREA FLORES: "Make sure to pack some patience in your carry-on.
This Thanksgiving holiday travel period is expected to be the busiest in 15 years, federal officials said, as Americans brush off the recent government shutdown that snarled air travel across the country."
Newsom sues over feds’ homeless housing cuts that target Sacramento programs
SacBee, THERESA CLIFT: "California Gov. Gavin Newsom Tuesday filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over announced cuts to a federal grant program that could cause 170,000 people to lose their housing across the country.
If the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development implements the change, Sacramento County stands to lose 1,037 housing units, currently home to about 1,431 people, said Kim Winters, a spokesperson for the nonprofit Sacramento Steps Forward, which administers the federal funding locally. Many residents in these units are disabled."
Is it much more expensive to live in Sacramento than other similar cities?
SacBee, DAVID LIGHTMAN: "People coming to the Sacramento area from similar-sized cities outside of California are likely to find it costs much more to maintain their standard of living.
Bankrate, an independent financial services firm, calculated that it would cost 26.4% more for food, housing and other essentials locally for someone moving from Arlington, Texas, a Dallas suburb similar in size to the California capital. It would cost 28.9% more for someone moving from Las Vegas and 6.6% more to move from Portland."
Bay Area considers easing gas appliance ban with new homeowner exemptions
Chronicle, JULIE JOHNSON: "Two years ago, Bay Area pollution regulators passed the strictest rules in the country aimed at phasing out two types of air-fouling appliances — water heaters and furnaces that use natural gas. But now they are considering softening the rules.
The Bay Area Air District’s pioneering anti-smog rules, passed in 2023, require that retailers stop selling natural gas models in 2027 for water heaters and 2029 for furnaces. The regulations included a caveat that the district should re-evaluate its timeline to determine whether alternative appliances — mostly electric heat pumps — were growing in both affordability and availability."
S.F. pushes planning code changes to speed up affordable housing development
Chronicle, JK DINEEN: "With Mayor Daniel Lurie’s family zoning plan headed for a committee vote next week, his administration is pushing to eliminate several hurdles that affordable housing developers say will make their projects more efficient and financially feasible.
The latest proposed changes would rewrite sections of the city’s planning code to give non-profit builders more flexibility in both what they do with ground floor space and make it easier and faster to generate revenue with temporary uses — such as surface parking — while waiting for the money needed to break ground on the housing."
