From the Olympics to Oakland, California braces for Trump National Guard deployments
LAT, HANNAH FRY/DAKOTA SMITH/RICHARD WINTON/ANDREA CASTILLO: "President Trump’s decision to deploy hundreds of National Guard troops to Washington has California officials on high alert, with some worrying that he intends to activate federal forces in the Bay Area and Southern California, especially during the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Trump said that his use of the National Guard to fight crime could expand to other cities, and suggested that local police have been unable to do the job."
Are Trump’s tariffs driving up prices in California? What new numbers reveal
SacBee, DAVID LIGHTMAN: "The tariffs President Donald Trump has imposed and threatened have not sent most prices up wildly — at least not yet — according to a new report from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“The effects of U.S. tariffs continue to filter through the economy, but not as fast as expected earlier,” said Sung Won Sohn, president of SS Economics in Los Angeles, on Tuesday."
The Trump administration wants to squash clean energy. How bad will it be for California?
The Chronicle, JULIE JOHNSON: "Before President Donald Trump was elected for the second time, catastrophic wildfires sent electricity prices soaring and posed one of the biggest continuing threats to energy affordability in California.
Today, there’s another major factor. Since taking office, the Trump Administration has thrown up roadblocks for clean energy development at a time when electricity demand is rising. In nearly a dozen policy directives, the administration is ending subsidies and tax credits for wind and solar and adding regulatory hurdles that could slow new development."
Long-shot ballot initiative could have huge effect on California insurance
CALMattters, LEVI SUMAGAYSAY: "A proposed ballot initiative would drastically change the way property insurance is regulated in California by repealing a law voters passed almost four decades ago.
Proposition 103 has regulated home, auto and other types of property and casualty insurance in the state since 1988. It requires insurance companies to seek approval from an elected insurance commissioner to raise their premiums, and allows members of the public to object to rate increases."
Is ‘carrier of last resort’ on its way out?
Capitol Weekly, BRIAN JOSEPH: "Since 1996, California has required select telecommunications companies to offer basic, home telephone service to anyone who asks for it.
Lawmakers could take a major step toward changing that when they return to the Capitol on August 18th."
Auditor: California could save $225 million a year by letting state employees work remote
CALMatters, MAYA C. MILLER: "Gov. Gavin Newsom appears to have arbitrarily ordered workers back to the office without using specific rationale such as data on worker productivity, according to a newly released report from the California state auditor’s office.
The audit, which state legislators requested in May 2024 after the governor first ordered workers back to the office two days per week after they had been sent to work remotely during the COVID-19 lockdown, found that Newsom’s office failed to gather important information about departments’ office space needs and costs and did not use any data about state workers’ productivity to justify its in-office mandate."
Rep. Issa, ranked No. 3 richest member of Congress, discloses 2024 financial report
Times of San Diego, KEN STONE: "In February, Rep. Darrell Issa bemoaned the Trump administration’s “ban” on DEI.
The East County Republican said at D.C.’s Waldorf Astoria hotel: “I’m sorry, but in this town they’re no longer talking about DEI. DEI is past. It is verboten."
California, LA keeping Hollywood at home (OP-ED)
Capitol Weekly, ADRIN NAZARIAN/JOHN LEE: "Superman may have come to the rescue of the summer box office, but in Hollywood’s real-life cliffhanger, the state of California and the city of Los Angeles are stepping into the role of hero.
Facing fierce competition from other states offering generous annual incentives, and with AI barreling toward the industry like a runaway train, Gov. Gavin Newsom held a signing ceremony last month for new legislation that expands access to the state’s film and television tax credit, a resource the state has doubled to $750 million annually. The measure, which took effect immediately prior to the Independence Day holiday weekend sends a clear message: California is serious about keeping Hollywood right here at home."
Trump administration must restore hundreds of UCLA research grants, federal judge rules
LAT, JAWEED KALEEM: "A federal judge on Tuesday ordered the Trump administration to restore hundreds of suspended UCLA science research grants, affecting more than a third of awards totaling $584 million that the government abruptly froze late last month.
In her evening order, issued hours after a San Francisco court hearing, U.S. District Judge Rita F. Lin said the government’s slashing of UCLA funds violated her June ruling blocking science research grant terminations."
READ MORE -- Federal judge orders Trump administration to restore hundreds of UCLA research grants -- CALMatters, MIKHAIL ZINSHTEYN
Stanford preserves legacy admissions by pulling out of Cal Grant aid program
The Chronicle, NANETTE ASIMOV: "With three weeks to go before California’s ban on legacy admissions takes effect at private universities that receive state funding, Stanford has made a stunning decision: To preserve that perk, it’s pulling out of the Cal Grant program that benefits hundreds of low-income students at the pricey campus.
By declining Cal Grants, Stanford can continue giving admissions preference to hundreds of students who are related to alumni or whose relatives have given money to the university. The statewide ban on such legacy and donor-driven admissions takes effect Sept. 1 under Assembly Bill 1780, which was signed into law last year."
Schools to open with unprecedented protections for children and their parents amid ICE raids
LAT, HOWARD BLUME: "Los Angeles public schools are opening Thursday for the new academic year confronting an intense and historically unique moment: They will be operating in opposition to the federal government’s immigration raids and have set in motion aggressive moves to protect children and their immigrant parents.
School police and officers from several municipal forces will patrol near some 100 schools, setting up “safe zones” in heavily Latino neighborhoods, with a special concentration at high schools where older Latino students are walking to campus. Bus routes are being changed to better serve areas with immigrant families so children can get to school with less exposure to immigration agents."
California’s richest agricultural family is shuttering a farm the UFW sought to unionize
LAT, MELISSA GOMEZ: "One of California’s largest agricultural employers plans to close a Central Valley grape nursery by the end of the year after laying off hundreds of employees, including many supportive of a United Farm Workers effort to unionize the workforce.
Wonderful Co., owned by billionaires Stewart and Lynda Resnick, plans to shut down the majority of the nursery in Wasco, northwest of Bakersfield, and donate the farm to UC Davis, representatives for the company and the university confirmed this week."
Yosemite’s top official gives wide-ranging update on wait times, reservations
The Chronicle, LUCY HODGMAN: "Summer visitors flocking to Yosemite National Park can expect to hit the longest lines at the park’s southern gate, acting superintendent Ray McPadden said Tuesday in a wide-ranging update on park operations.
That gate, which is two miles from the hamlet of Fish Camp and is the park’s only south-facing entrance, draws visitors from the Los Angeles area. Yosemite’s second-busiest access point is the Big Oak Flat entrance, off Highway 120, McPadden said."
When it comes to watching shooting stars, California is your best bet, oddsmakers say
LAT, KAREN GARCIA: "When it comes to exploring the wonders of the night sky, sports betting touts are hardly considered astronomical authorities.
Perhaps that’s why a recent ranking by the betting website Action Network has some local astronomers scratching their heads over a decision to name California the best state in the nation to stargaze."
S.F. has higher return-to-office rate than Los Angeles
The Chronicle, ROLAND LI: "San Francisco’s return-to-office rate is gaining steam and jumped ahead of Los Angeles and Denver in July for the first time since the pandemic, according to new cell phone data from location tracking firm Placer.ai.
San Francisco office visits were down 34.2% in July compared to 2019, narrowly ahead of Los Angeles’ 34.6% and Denver’s 40% declines in the same period, data released Monday showed. San Francisco is still near the bottom for return to work — it’s far below nationwide office visits, which were 21.8% below 2019 levels in July."
S.F. nonprofit embroiled in Dream Keeper scandal warns of ‘complete shutdown’
The Chronicle, MICHAEL BARBA: "San Francisco’s effort to cut off a nonprofit from city funding for allegedly bribing a former city official is threatening the future of the organization’s programs for needy kids and their families in the Western Addition.
Attorneys for Collective Impact, the nonprofit embroiled in a scandal over its close ties to former San Francisco Human Rights Commission Executive Director Sheryl Davis, said in a legal filing Monday that the organization “anticipates a complete shutdown of its programs by October.”"
S.F. developer buys federal land in Silicon Valley, likely to build housing, retail
The Chronicle, JK DINEEN: "The developer responsible for the trendy Springline mixed used development in downtown Menlo Park is looking to replicate that success on a bigger scale about a mile away.
San Francisco developer Presidio Bay has closed on the $137 million acquisition of Rockaway Grove, an 18-acre campus previously occupied by U.S. Geological Survey. The seller was the U.S. General Services Administration, which oversees real estate owned by the federal government."
The dark side of California’s backyard ADU boom: How much do they ease the housing shortage?
LAT, TERRY CASTLEMAN: "With California facing a critical housing shortage, accessory dwelling units now account for a significant portion of the state’s meager growth in new homes, data reviewed by The Times show.
California has struggled to keep up with demand, increasing housing stock by only 0.84% in 2024, or 125,000 units. ADUs made up about one-fifth of those units, according to California Department of Finance data."
Contrary to Trump’s claims about crime in Oakland, the city saw a drop in violent crime
The Chronicle, DAVID HERNANDEZ: "Even as President Donald Trump portrays Oakland as a crime-plagued city, it recorded a significant drop in violent crime during the first half of the year, according to recently released police data.
The decline includes a 21% drop in homicides in the first six months of the year compared to the same period in 2024. Both violent crime and property crime decreased — by more than 25% combined — although the exact percentage changes for most crime categories were not yet known because of a lag in reporting, especially for property crime."
Jimmy Kimmel secures Italian citizenship in case he needs to escape Trump’s second term
LAT, ANTHONY SOLORZANO: "Jimmy Kimmel revealed he has his Italian passport ready, just in case.
During an interview with comedian Sarah Silverman on her podcast, the “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” host discussed how “much worse” the president’s second term has been for the country, without getting into specifics. He said he has obtained Italian citizenship as a result. Kimmel’s Italian heritage from his mother’s side gave him the option to double up his citizenship."