Why are A-list Hollywood stars trying to lure film productions to Texas?
LA Times, STACY PERMAN: "The opening scene unfolds onto a bird’s-eye view of a sedan making its way down a stretch of unmarked highway, as Woody Harrelson’s unmistakable drawl is heard off-camera. “You ever wonder if this industry of ours is just chasing its own tail?” he asks.
Matthew McConaughey, in his equally distinctive cadence, shoots back, “No, I don’t wonder. Restrictions, regulations, nickel and diming productions, political lectures,” before the camera pans in for a close-up of the actors."
How the nation’s first Asian American legal organization in S.F. is taking on Trump
Chronicle, JERRY WU: "The Asian Law Caucus office on Columbus Avenue in San Francisco sits a few blocks from where Wong Kim Ark — the man whose Supreme Court case cemented birthright citizenship for people born to foreign parents in the U.S. — grew up in the late 19th century.
Arriving at the corner building, not far from Wong’s childhood home in Chinatown, visitors — often immigrants seeking free legal services — will find a laminated sign on its office doors saying that federal immigration officers are prohibited from stepping inside the property."
Americans have made a U-turn on immigration since 2024 election
Politico, GISELLE RUHIYYIH: "Americans’ views of immigration have swung drastically upward in the past year, with a new poll showing record-high support for immigration amid President Donald Trump’s controversial mass deportation campaign.
A record 79 percent of American adults think immigration is good for the country, according to a new Gallup poll released Friday. And the number of Americans who want immigration reduced dropped sharply from 55 to 30 percent since last year’s poll."
Buffeted by change, California charter schools continue to grow amid scrutiny
EdSource, KATHRYN BARON: "California charter schools are having a strong year — at least by one metric: enrollment. As the state’s traditional public school population continues to decline, charter school enrollment has risen to nearly 728,000 students, accounting for 12.5% of all public school students across 1,280 campuses and independent study programs.
Most charter schools are also performing well academically. In the 2023-24 California School Dashboard, 16.5% of charter schools earned the highest performance rating, qualifying them for renewals of five to seven years. An additional 76.8% are eligible for five-year renewals, while just 6.7% face closure."
This is the rare bright spot in a tough Hollywood job market
LA Times, WENDY LEE and KAITLYN HUAMANI: "Toni Gray’s phone is blowing up these days. The head of production at Dhar Mann Studios, which makes shows for YouTube and other online platforms, said entertainment industry friends in Los Angeles had once held out before seeking work in the digital realm.
But now, with jobs few and far between at the legacy studios, they are reaching out “all the time” looking for opportunities at the Burbank-based studio, known for posting family-friendly dramas addressing topics like bullying."
California’s wind and solar projects face new federal hurdles
CalMatters, ALEJANDRO LAZO: "California’s drive to run its electric grid entirely on wind, solar and other clean sources of energy just got harder after President Donald Trump signed a sweeping new budget law.
The changes in federal tax incentives could affect the feasibility of new solar and wind projects as the state is counting on them to provide more electricity for Californians. A state law requires 100% of electricity to be powered by renewable, carbon-free sources by 2045, at the same time it’s moving to electrify cars and trucks."
Inland Empire ICE detainees include gardeners, students, fathers
Chronicle, DAN KOPF and ROLAND LI: "For years we’ve heard of the potential economic doom spiral circling San Francisco, where a massive city budget deficit fueled by remote work leads to poorer services and even more residents fleeing.
But another threat has been building in relative silence. The Bay Area is getting old fast, and it’s accelerating. Though aging is a global trend, the San Francisco metro area — which includes San Francisco, Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo and Marin counties — is already the third-oldest among 20 of the largest regions in the U.S., trailing only two places in Florida. And no other region is growing older at a quicker pace."
ICE raids are leaving some L.A. cats and dogs homeless
LA Times, LILA SEIDMAN: "Federal immigration agents raided a Home Depot in Barstow last month and arrested a man who had his 3-year-old pit bull, Chuco, with him. A friend managed to grab Chuco from the scene and bring the dog back to the garage where he lives. Chuco’s owner was deported to Mexico the next day.
The SPAY(CE) Project, which spays and neuters dogs in underserved areas, put out a call on Instagram to help Chuco and an animal rescue group agreed to take him, but then went quiet. Meanwhile, the garage owner took Chuco to an undisclosed shelter."
Some in California want to regulate AI. Will Gavin Newsom do it?
SacBee, LIA RUSSELL: "Gov. Gavin Newsom is fond of saying, “as California goes, so goes the nation,” a maxim he applies to nearly everything from curbing school sales of foods with chemical dyes to calling for a constitutional convention for gun safety rules to now, using artificial intelligence to improve government.
The Legislature is considering a spate of bills that could put some guardrails on AI, a broad grouping of technology that can often replace or automate human tasks such as computer coding, driving, recognizing or replicating images and creating written transcripts from audio recordings."
Mono Lake has seen a shocking change. Experts trace it to a wet California winter
Chronicle, KURTIS ALEXANDER: "Every spring, tens of thousands of California gulls, some from the Bay Area, leave their home on the coast for a lengthy flight over the Sierra Nevada to summer at Mono Lake. There, the next generation of birds is born.
Last year, however, long-simmering problems with the gull population exploded into view. The number of chicks that hatched at Mono Lake dropped to its lowest level on record: just 324 birds, down from about 11,000 chicks the prior year, according to a new report by the research group Point Blue Conservation Science."
Details emerge about pot-farm immigration raid as worker dies
LA Times, DAKOTA SMITH, CHRISTOPHER GODDARD and JEANETTE MARANTOS: "Trump administration officials defended the aggressive campaign to find and deport unauthorized immigrants even as a cannabis farmworker was taken off life support two days after he plunged from a roof amid the mayhem of a Ventura County raid.
The death of Jaime Alanís Garcia, 57, announced Saturday by his family, comes amid a climate of increasing tension marked by weeks of militaristic raids, street protests and violent melees involving federal agents."
Home prices in these cities are now more expensive than in S.F.
Chronicle, CHRISTIAN LEONARD: "In 2015, San Francisco home prices were the eighth highest in the country among midsize and large cities with populations of at least 50,000 in 2024. Now, it’s not even in the top 15.
The city’s typical home value, including single-family homes and condominiums, was an estimated $1.3 million in May, according to data from real estate website Zillow. That’s hundreds of thousands of dollars more than the typical value of $1.08 million in May 2015. But the growth pales in comparison with that of many other California cities — including cities where homes were once more affordable than in San Francisco."
California ‘loophole’ helped man behind Esparto fireworks land explosives permits
SacBee, JAKE GOODRICK and DANIEL LEMPRES: "A fireworks executive and longtime pyrotechnician appears to have operated in the margins dividing local, state and federal agencies charged with permitting and regulating businesses dealing in explosives, before the deadly series of blasts that killed seven people July 1 at a fireworks facility in Esparto.
The company, Devastating Pyrotechnics, lacked the required local permits and also imported large amounts of raw chemicals known to be used to manufacture explosives, according to shipping and import records, which fireworks experts regarded as unusual given the company’s licenses as a wholesaler and public display company."
Trump administration eyes California for new oil and gas drilling — including Bay Area
Chronicle, KURTIS ALEXANDER: "The Trump administration has taken a first step toward opening more of California for oil and gas development, launching reviews of potential extraction in such mineral strongholds as Kern County as well as in less explored places like the Bay Area.
The federal government hasn’t issued a drilling lease in California for years, largely because of environmental hurdles. While oil and gas wells still operate under older leases in parts of the state, officials say their new reviews will address the standstill and could clear the way for fossil fuel companies to operate on additional federal lands. They say there’s the possibility for hundreds of new wells in the state."
Father of three Marines beaten by masked federal agents, set to be released from immigration facility
LA Times, NATHAN SOLIS: "The father of three U.S. Marines who was violently tackled and beaten by masked federal agents in Orange County is scheduled to be released on bond after spending 20 days in federal custody.
Narciso Barranco, an undocumented immigrant who has lived in the United States for decades, is married to a U.S. citizen and is father to two active-duty American Marines and one veteran, was ordered by an immigration judge Thursday to be released on a $3,000 bond, according to his family. He is expected to be released from a federal immigration facility in Adelanto in the next few days."
Trump calls California ‘a mess’ because of crime. Do the numbers back that up?
SacBee: ROSALIO AHUMADA: "During his 2024 campaign for his eventual second-term in office, President Donald Trump falsely claimed violent crime was higher under the Biden Administration.
He referred to rampant crime as one of the reasons “California is a mess.” Trump’s rhetoric against California has continued to escalate this summer as the president defends his administration’s decision to deploy masked immigration agents in tactical gear at workplaces, federal courthouses and other public areas in California to conduct immigration raids, including MacArthur Park in Los Angeles."
Summer split: Bay Area stays cool while much of the West burns
Chronicle, GREG PORTER: "After a short-lived heat wave that peaked Thursday, temperatures across the Bay Area slipped back below average over the weekend. It’s part of a broader cooling trend that’s been in place since the start of June. In cities such as San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose, average highs are running 3 to 6 degrees below normal, putting some locations on track for one of the five coolest June-July stretches on record.
One reason for the extended cool stretch? Ocean temperatures have been trending below average, which has amplified the region’s natural air conditioning effect. Those ocean temperatures should slowly rise as upwelling weakens over the next few weeks, but for now, the pattern remains hostile to big warmups as the upper-level flow has been too transient to support any large, sustained ridges of high pressure."
America’s Brain Drain Could Become the World’s Brain Gain
Wall Street Journal, CHRISTOPHER MIMS: "The U.S.’s dramatic research and funding cuts and changes to skilled-worker immigration policies threaten one of its greatest economic advantages: people-powered innovation. The rest of the world stands to benefit.
Since the end of World War II, federal funding has helped U.S. companies dominate the cutting edge of computing, space exploration and medicine, delivering an economic tailwind for the nation. It made the country a dream destination for aspiring researchers, engineers and entrepreneurs from around the world."
Public asked to help after deputies lose assault rifle. It may have fallen out of squad car
LA Times, MATT HAMILTON: "The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is investigating how an assault rifle went missing from — and potentially fell out of — the trunk of a squad car in South L.A.
Deputies first noticed the Colt M4 assault rifle was missing from the trunk of their squad car on Saturday night sometime between 10:30 and 11, according to a statement issued by the Sheriff’s Department."
UC Berkeley chancellor heads to D.C. for congressional grilling on campus antisemitism
LA Times: JAWEED KALEEM: "UC Berkeley’s top leader on Tuesday will face an influential congressional committee that is aligned with President Trump’s political goal of reshaping higher education by punishing campuses he sees both as bastions of leftist ideologies and as institutions that have tolerated anti-Jewish hate.
Chancellor Rich Lyons’ appearance marks a significant moment for the university, which is under multiple federal investigations over allegations it has violated the civil rights of Jewish students and faculty. The committee Lyons will face has grown from relative obscurity to one of the most rattling in the wake of U.S. campus protests over the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack in Israel and Israel’s war in Gaza."
Reparations bill, amid headwinds, could skirt California’s affirmative action ban
LA Times, SANDRA McDONALD: "With diversity programs under full assault by the Trump administration, California lawmakers are considering a measure that would allow state colleges to consider whether applicants are descendants of African Americans who were enslaved in the United States.
The bill, which would probably face a legal challenge if passed, is part of a package of 15 reparations bills supported by the California Legislative Black Caucus being considered in the current legislative session."
