President Biden pardons his son, claiming Hunter Biden was unfairly prosecuted
LAT's MATT HAMILTON: "President Biden on Sunday issued a “full and unconditional” pardon to his son Hunter, who was convicted by a jury of illegally purchasing a handgun in Delaware and pleaded guilty to tax charges in Los Angeles.
Biden and his staff had repeatedly and publicly stated he would not pardon Hunter. The about-face came about two weeks before his son was set to be sentenced — and potentially face a prison term — from federal judges on both coasts."
Newsom tries to redefine the California-vs.-Trump narrative
LAT's TARYN LUNA: "Nearly two weeks after Gov. Gavin Newsom launched a special session to fund legal battles against the president-elect, the Democratic leader appeared to be trying to tone down and reframe the California-vs.-Trump narrative he set in motion.
“It’s not a resistance brand,” Newsom said in an interview with The Times. “It’s around pragmatism. It’s about preparedness. We would be fools not to get on top of this before January.”"
‘We are prepared to fight’: California lawmakers head into special session to combat Trump
The Chronicle's SOPHJIA BOLLAG, SHIRA STEIN: "California lawmakers start work Monday for the upcoming legislative session, and preparing for Donald Trump’s second presidency is at the top of their agenda.
The state Senate and Assembly will start both their regular two-year legislative session and a special session that Gov. Gavin Newsom called to prepare for the new president. Specifically, he’s asking lawmakers to approve up to $25 million in additional funding for Attorney General Rob Bonta to defend California policies in court against efforts promised by Trump to erode them."
Top Democrats say they won’t just ‘Trump-proof’ California — they’ll make it affordable again
CALMatters's ALEXEI KOSEFF: "The leaders of the state Legislature have a message for voters: We know you’re frustrated with how expensive California is — and we’re going to fix it.
After a painful election that sparked recriminations and soul-searching among Democrats across the country, state Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire and Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas are returning to Sacramento recommitted to addressing the affordability issues that appear to have pushed more voters toward the Republican Party in November."
Here are 21 new laws that Californians must start following in 2025
The Chronicle's SOPHIA BOLLAG, SARA LIBBY: "California lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom approved more than a thousand laws this year on topics ranging from environmental regulation to traffic rules.
Here’s a look at 21 laws that take effect next year that could affect the daily lives of Californians:"
California swung right this election. But not because more people voted for Trump
The Chronicle's ASEEM SHUKLA: "Like the rest of the nation, California swung right in 2024. But unlike some other places, there was little contribution from voters changing their votes from Democratic to Republican.
Instead, it’s mainly because Democratic voters seem to have stayed home."
The Micheli Minute, December 2, 2024
Capitol Weekly STAFF: "Lobbyist and McGeorge law professor Chris Micheli offers a quick look at what’s coming up this week under the Capitol Dome."
Prioritizing affordability while delivering California’s clean energy future (OP-ED)
ASHLEY ARAX & NEIL MATOUKA in Capitol Weekly: "As California looks to continue its bold leadership in climate action and clean energy development, we need new solutions that enable the state to meet its ambitious clean energy goals while keeping rates affordable for Californians.
Recent forecasts show that delivering on California’s goal of 100% zero-carbon electricity by 2045 will require quadrupling clean energy capacity alongside an enormous expansion in new transmission to reach regions around the state where the renewable energy is being made, such as the windy North Coast and the sunny Central Valley, to major cities."
Is the Supreme Court about to let red states ban hormone treatment for transgender teens?
LAT's DAVID G. SAVAGE: "The conservative Supreme Court is poised to leap into another culture-war battle between red states and blue states, this time involving medical rights of transgender teens and their parents.
Two years after the conservative majority overturned national abortion rights, the justices will hear arguments Wednesday over whether states may ban hormone treatment and puberty blockers for adolescents suffering from gender dysphoria."
With bird flu cases on the rise, staff at California lab say they are overworked and burned out
LAT's SUHAUNA HUSSAIN: "On a recent Friday morning, Alyssa Laxamana arrived at a laboratory on the UC Davis campus to continue California’s race against bird flu.
A note from her supervisor had alerted Laxamana that about 130 samples of cow milk and other dairy products were en route — a large but manageable workload. She got to work preparing the buffer solutions and other supplies she would need to test the samples for H5N1 influenza, the virus that causes the flu spreading through California’s cattle and poultry farms."
Going to church or ballet could count as treatment for S.F. welfare recipients under new program
The Chronicle's MAGGIE ANGST: "When San Francisco voters earlier this year mandated that welfare recipients struggling with addiction take part in treatment, they may have envisioned a residential program or structured outpatient counseling sessions.
But the nonprofit tapped to run the new city program says that treatment could also include more unorthodox approaches such as going to church or practicing ballet."
Confiscation. Calls home. Sealed pouches. Why schools struggle to ban cellphones
LAT's JAWEED KALEEM: "There’s little disagreement on what needs to be done: California schools must ban or restrict cellphones that disrupt learning.
A law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom mandates every school district in the state devise a plan for campus cellphone bans or restrictions by July 2026. But educators, who gathered recently with Newsom over the issue, say their biggest debate is over how to enforce limitations on a generation obsessed with their phones."
To expand appeal, California apprenticeships in construction trades offer child care support
EdSource's LARRY GORDON: "After bouncing around in several job paths, including retail sales, office receptionist and warehouse worker, Cindy Crisanto has begun a potentially lucrative career as a welder and ironworker — a field with very few women.
She made that switch with the aid of a new state apprenticeship program that provides child care funds during her on-the-job training, helping her to overcome an obstacle many women face in trying to enter the construction trades while also raising a family."
‘Public is going to be so impacted’: California’s national forests face huge staffing cuts
The Chronicle's KURTIS ALEXANDER: "For more than a decade, Joshua Kilgore has spent summers deep in the Sierra Nevada backcountry, building and maintaining trails.
The work is foundational for the U.S. Forest Service, which operates 16,000 miles of trails just in California. The job draws people, like Kilgore, with a unique and vital set of skills: knowledge of dry stone masonry, ability to wield heavy shovels in wilderness areas where mechanized tools are forbidden and willingness to live out of a tent — for a long time."
S.F. tech founder says 84-hour workweek approach is ‘because I’m San Franciscan’
The Chronicle's DAVID HERNANDEZ, JESS LANDER, MALIYA ELLIS: "San Francisco tech startup CEO Daksh Gupta sparked a heated debate when he posted to social media about his company’s controversial “no-work-life-balance” approach, in which employees work at least 84 hours a week, often more.
Though some criticized Gupta’s approach as exploitative, the startup founder said his philosophy attracts talented young people who are looking for an intense, high-stress work environment."
Landlords are using AI to raise rents — and California cities are leading the pushback
CALMatters's WENDY FRY: "If you’ve hunted for apartments recently and felt like all the rents were equally high, you’re not crazy: Many landlords now use a single company’s software — which uses an algorithm based on proprietary lease information — to help set rent prices.
Federal prosecutors say the practice amounts to “an unlawful information-sharing scheme” and some lawmakers throughout California are moving to curb it. San Diego’s city council president is the latest to do so, proposing to prevent local apartment owners from using the pricing software, which he maintains is driving up housing costs."
California homeowner made costly upgrades to satisfy his insurer. He still got dropped
The Chronicle's MEGAN FAN MUNCE: "Sonoma County homeowner Ed Wong found himself in a rare situation: He knew exactly what he needed to do to avoid getting dropped by his insurer.
The company had even given him a list."
He spent years awaiting trial for a crime California eliminated. It didn’t end there
The Chronicle's BOB EGELKO: "Neko Wilson spent more than nine years in jail, held without bail on death-penalty charges in Fresno County for helping to plan a robbery that proved to be fatal. Then a state law in 2018 eliminated his murder charge and Wilson was set free after pleading guilty to robbery — the first of about 1,000 inmates released so far under the law.
“It was unreal. It was tears,” he recalled. At dinner with family members that night, “I wanted something cold to drink — I hadn’t had anything cold in nine years — and I had a soda and it hurt my teeth.”"
Waymo’s ridership doubled in California. Here are how many people took robotaxi rides
The Chronicle's CHASE DIFELICIANTONIO, SRIHARSHA DEVULAPALLI: "The number of passengers using Waymo’s driverless ride-hailing service more than doubled in California during the three month period after the company opened up paid rides to the public.
The Alphabet-backed company carried just under 500,000 passengers throughout the state during August, compared to just over 200,000 passengers in May. The increase was the biggest month-over-month jump in Waymo’s robotaxi service since it began commercial operations in California last fall."
Sacramento didn’t invest much in road safety. It paid $21 million for car crash lawsuits
Sac Bee's ARIANE LANGE: "Sacramento officials agreed to pay $21 million in settlements after vehicle crashes on city streets from 2019 through 2023, a span during which the Department of Public Works repeatedly told the City Council that it lacked enough funding to achieve the council’s goals.
Most of the collisions that were settled — 17 of the 24 — occurred on streets the city had already identified as dangerous."