Now House Republicans want it back."
Gavin Newsom signs $2.5 billion wildfire relief bill for Los Angeles cleanup, recovery
NICOLE NIXON and STEPHEN HOBBS, SacBee: "Gov. Gavin Newsom signed two bills providing $2.5 billion for wildfire cleanup and recovery in the Los Angeles area Thursday, hours after the package was approved by lawmakers.
“I want to thank everyone that cleared the deck, who didn’t play politics with this, that recognized that people are in need” Newsom said during a press conference in Pasadena. “This is about distilling a sense of hopefulness.”
Estimated cost of fire damage balloons to more than $250 billion
ROGER VINCENT, LA Times: "As raging wildfires continue to torment Southern California, estimates of the total economic loss have ballooned to more than $250 billion, making it one of the most costly natural disasters in U.S. history.
Early estimates by AccuWeather and JP Morgan put the damage in the $50-billion range, but the expected toll quickly rose to more than triple that amount as fires spread through neighborhoods in Altadena, Pacific Palisades and Malibu."
California disbanded state wildfire-fighting team last year. Would it have helped in LA?
LIA RUSSELL, SacBee: "California officials quietly disbanded a dedicated state wildfire-fighting team last year, less than three years after military leaders and Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Office of Emergency Services touted it as a key part of the state’s strategy for tackling California’s increasingly hotter and more prevalent wildfires.
Adjutant General Matthew Beevers, who leads the California Military Department, ordered a restructuring early last year of the State Guard’s Emergency Response Command."
How will Donald Trump’s anti-trans executive order affect Californians? ‘A lot of unknowns’
JENAVIEVE HATCH, SacBee: "Promises to ban federal funding on institutions that “promote gender ideology” provide little legal clarity, while guidelines for denying gender-affirming health care for transgender inmates, removing “nonbinary” and “other” genders from federal identification documents, and rolling back Biden-era resources for the trans community will have more immediate, tangible consequences, even in the state of California, a self-proclaimed sanctuary for the trans community.
“There are a lot of unknowns right now, which is where a lot of community fear is coming out,” said Alexis Sanchez, Deputy Chief Program Officer of Advocacy at the Sacramento LGBT Community Center in midtown."
News Analysis: Stakes are high for Newsom and California when Trump visits L.A. wildfires
TARYN LUNA, LA Times: "The visit gives the president an opportunity to show that during a disaster, he can rise above partisanship and name-calling to provide aid to Americans in need, regardless of whom they voted for in November.
The stakes are considerable for Newsom, who finds himself in a precarious position with his state on fire. The Democratic governor could end the day with a presidential example of acting like a level-headed leader capable of putting politics — and personal feelings — aside to help his state. Or, Newsom could walk away more vulnerable to criticism that his political gamesmanship and thirst for the national spotlight compromised his ability to deliver for Californians."
Newsom plans to crash Trump’s LA wildfire visit
CHRISTOPHER CADELAGO, Politico: "California Gov. Gavin Newsom said he had yet to hear from Donald Trump on the eve of the president’s planned tour of wildfire damage in Los Angeles on Friday.
Whether he’s invited or not, Newsom confirmed he’s planning to show up at the airport for a customary greeting."
Trump’s order won’t halt California’s offshore wind leases. But will it derail the industry?
JULIE CART, CalMatters: "President Donald Trump’s ban on new offshore wind leases won’t halt giant wind farms already planned off California’s coast, but industry officials say the policy shift is a blow to a renewable energy industry still working to gain a foothold.
Environmentalists say the moratorium amounts to “kneecapping” California’s offshore wind projects and puts an important source of clean energy in “mortal peril.” The Biden administration had promoted offshore wind as critical to providing cleaner power and reducing climate-warming greenhouse gases."
Trump’s bound for LA — threatening to withhold fire aid and keeping Newsom out of the loop
ALEXEI KOSEFF, CalMatters: "For days since President Donald Trump announced his intent to travel to Los Angeles to survey fire damage, a question has hung over his planned visit: Will Gov. Gavin Newsom be with him?
Tension between the newly reinstalled Republican president and California’s Democratic governor — longtime political nemeses who nevertheless routinely worked together on disaster recovery during Trump’s first term — exploded alongside the fires that have burned through Pacific Palisades, Altadena and other swaths of the Los Angeles region over the past two weeks. The clash has appeared to put federal support for California at risk, even as Newsom publicly offered an olive branch to Trump."
How much did the youth vote shift to the right in California?
JUNE HSU, CalMatters: "In November 2024, when President Donald Trump won 38.3% of the vote in California, this was 4 percentage points more than he won in 2020. It was a small shift to the right, owing to many factors among subgroups of voters. But what part did young voters play in it?
According to national exit polls, Trump made gains within the youth vote — generally categorized as voters ages 18-29 — in 2024 compared to 2020. Experts say reasons for this shift, both nationally and here in California, could range from fewer young people turning out to vote to changes in ideology."
Column: Natural disasters can destroy a politician’s carefully crafted career — or burnish it
GEORGE SKELTON, LA Times: "Former Vice President Kamala Harris took a wise step toward potentially running for governor in her first action after returning to California. She visited wildfire victims, volunteers and firefighters in Aldadena and helped distribute free meals to people burned out of their homes.
That doesn’t mean she’s running for anything. It’s highly unlikely Harris has decided whether to seek the governorship of her native state next year when Gov. Gavin Newsom is termed out."
Gavin Newsom Tones Down Anti-Trump Rhetoric—for Now
ELIZA COLLINS, Wall Street Journal: "California Gov. Gavin Newsom was hunkered down in a command center for a briefing on the Los Angeles fires last week when an aide asked about an unrelated topic: how to respond to a press inquiry about the state’s flags during President Trump’s inauguration.
Flags nationwide had been lowered following former President Jimmy Carter’s death, but House Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.) and GOP governors had ordered them to be temporarily raised to celebrate Trump’s swearing-in. Newsom responded in disbelief, questioning the issue’s relevance as historic fires raged."
Officials were warned of failing water system before Palisades fire. Fixes never happened
CONNOR SHEETS, LA Times: "Los Angeles County officials missed dozens of opportunities for water infrastructure improvements that experts say probably would have enabled firefighters to save more homes during the Palisades fire, public records show.
As crews battled the blaze, attempting to extinguish flames that burned huge swaths of L.A. County and killed at least 11 people, some hydrants ran dry. The lack of water has come under scrutiny since the wildfire broke out Jan. 7, with officials scrambling to explain why the 117-million-gallon Santa Ynez Reservoir was left empty for maintenance."
Refugees shut out of Sacramento region as Donald Trump order halts US resettlement
SHARON BERNSTEIN, SacBee: "The apartment was rented and decorated, schools found for the children and food had even been purchased for a special reunion meal, as Sacramento families prepared to welcome relatives set to arrive this week as refugees from Afghanistan and other foreign homelands.
Some may have even been at airports ready to board when an executive order from President Donald Trump abruptly shut down the U.S. refugee admissions program. And while the order banning most refugee admissions was not set to take effect until Monday, Sacramento-area resettlement agencies say the shutdown has already started."
S.F.’s Presidio singled out for massive cut under Republican budget plans
GREGORY THOMAS and SARA LIBBY, Chronicle: "Two years ago, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi hailed the arrival of $200 million from the federal government to rehabilitate San Francisco’s Presidio as a critical infusion that would “ensure the Presidio’s spectacular front window to the Bay is maintained.”
Now House Republicans want it back."