California will try to maintain global trade despite Trump tariffs, Newsom says
LAT, JENNY JARVIE: "Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Friday that California will look for ways to expand trade and persuade international partners to exempt the state from global payback as President Trump’s sweeping round of tariffs have sent U.S. and global financial markets tumbling.
“Donald Trump’s tariffs do not represent all Americans,” Newsom said in a video posted Friday on the social media platform X. The 40 million residents of California, he said, live in “the tent pole of the US economy” that represents 14% of the nation’s GDP and is the fifth largest economy in the world."
LAT, STAN CHOE: "Stock markets worldwide are careening even lower Friday after China matched President Trump’s big raise in tariffs in an escalating trade war. Not even a better-than-expected report on the U.S. job market, which is usually the economic highlight of each month, was enough to stop the slide.
The S&P 500 was down 2.8% in early trading, coming off its worst day since COVID wrecked the global economy in 2020. The Dow Jones industrial average was down 1,049 points, or 2.6%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 3.2% lower."
In O.C., former Vice President Harris says she’ll stay politically active: ‘I’m not going anywhere’
LAT, SEEMA MEHTA: "In a rare appearance after her loss in November’s presidential election, former Vice President and potential gubernatorial candidate Kamala Harris on Thursday decried the rollback of fundamental rights under President Trump, urged people to prioritize self-care and pledged to remain active in the fight to safeguard constitutional protection.
“We can’t go out there and do battle if we don’t take care of ourselves and each other,” she said at a national conference of Black women, including business owners and politicians, at an oceanfront resort in Dana Point. “I’ll see you out there. I’m not going anywhere.”"
California Lobbying Laws: Questions and Answers
Capitol Weekly, CHRIS MICHELI: "What does “administrative action” mean? In general, it refers to the proposal, drafting, development, consideration, amendment, enactment, or defeat by any state agency of any rule, regulation, or other action in any ratemaking proceeding or any quasi-legislative proceeding.
What does “ratemaking proceeding” mean? For proceedings before the PUC, it is any proceeding in which it is reasonably foreseeable that a rate will be established."
The lifesaving power of plasma for patients in California (OP-ED)
Capitol Weekly, ANITA BRIKMAN: "As the President and CEO of the Plasma Protein Therapeutics Association, I hear many stories from patients and families who have personally experienced the power of plasma. Plasma, the liquid portion of blood flowing through our veins, carries thousands of unique proteins. Many of these proteins serve as the starting material for life-saving medicines that offer hope to those who need them most.
The proteins in plasma help the body function properly by controlling bleeding, fighting infections, protecting the lungs, regulating inflammation, and much more. For more than a century, plasma has been harnessed to create medicines that are essential for individuals living with complex health conditions, like primary immunodeficiencies, Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency, Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy (CIDP), and bleeding disorders. Those living with cancer may also depend on plasma proteins to manage issues like immunosuppression, infection risks, and clotting issues during treatment. Even complications during pregnancy, like Rhesus disease, are alleviated by plasma-derived medicines, protecting both mothers and babies."
California colleges report no financial aid delays so far but fear federal upheaval
EdSource, AMY DIPIERRO: "Financial aid staff at California’s colleges and universities have a cautiously optimistic message to share this spring — but are weighing contingencies in case massive restructuring and cuts at the U.S. Department of Education upend federal aid this summer and fall.
First, the good news. Federal aid for this spring term — like Pell Grants and work-study aid — has already been disbursed. Universities are processing files from the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, for next fall on schedule. And in turn, colleges are sending prospective students preview offers of grants and other support they are eligible to receive if they enroll."
Fight over phonics: Will California require the ‘science of reading’ in K-12 schools?
CALMatters, CAROLYN JONES: "Can you spell deja vu?
The battle over the best way to teach children how to read has re-erupted in the California Legislature, as dueling factions haggle over a bill that would mandate a phonics-based style of reading curriculum."
Elon Musk puts UC Davis in spotlight as protesters confront right-wing speaker
Sac Bee, ISHANI DESAI: "The UC Davis Police Department is investigating a clash Thursday between a conservative organization and protesters that saw tempers flare briefly into violence and drew millions of video views on social media within hours.
Brandon Tatum, a contributor with nonprofit Turning Point USA, was scheduled to speak Thursday in UC Davis’ Memorial Union Quad. The event was billed as a conversation to challenge “mainstream narratives and digging into the issues that shape our world,” according to the UC Davis chapter of Turning Point USA, a conservative organization with thousands of members across school campuses."
This Silicon Valley city has the highest coastal flood risk in California
The Chronicle, JACK LEE: "Redwood City has the highest risk for severe coastal floods of any California city, according to data released Wednesday by Climate Central. The science and communication nonprofit’s report finds over 22,000 people — 27% of the city’s total population — reside in an area at risk of a 100-year flood occurring in the next 25 years.
The city, located in San Mateo county, is one of a number of California coastal and bayshore communities that face risks from damaging floods, particularly in the coming decades, as climate change causes sea levels to rise."
State orders Chiquita Canyon Landfill to take corrective measures or face fines
LAT, TONY BRISCOE: "A smoldering chemical reaction brewing deep inside the recently closed Chiquita Canyon Landfill in Castaic now threatens to consume an entire 160-acre canyon of buried waste, endangering a storage area for hazardous liquid waste, according to state officials.
The California Environmental Protection Agency and state Department of Toxic Substances Control say the situation poses “an imminent and substantial danger” to public health and the environment, and ordered the company to take corrective measures or face fines of up to $70,000 daily."
Warm Bay Area weather expected before rain returns. Here’s when showers could come back
The Chronicle, ANTHONY EDWARDS: "The first weekend of April is shaping up to be a gorgeous one in the Bay Area from a weather standpoint, with plenty of sunshine and mild temperatures.
Highs will generally be in the 60s at the coast and 70s inland, with Saturday and Sunday set to be the warmest days. Average early April highs range from 61 degrees in Half Moon Bay to 70 degrees in Vacaville. This weekend’s temperatures will be about 5 degrees above average in most Bay Area cities."
Veterans risked their lives for the U.S. Now they risk losing benefits thanks to Trump
The Chronicle, JOE GAROFOLI: "President Trump often proclaimed, “We love our vets,” on the campaign trail. But his professions are hypocritical and hollow: His actions as president hurt those who served this country in uniform — an honorable duty Trump spinelessly shirked and has privately mocked.
Activists will rally in San Francisco, Oakland and cities across the nation Saturday to protest Trump’s federal budget cuts, with many demonstrations highlighting the hardships military veterans will face as a result of Trump’s benefit rollbacks."
Should I touch my 401(k)? What to do as tariffs go up and the market drops
The Chronicle, JESSICA ROY: "President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” has come and gone. In a soon-to-be more economically isolated America, tariffs are going up and markets are already down.
On Thursday, the day after he announced sweeping global tariffs, Trump said the rollout is “going very well” and predicted “markets are going to boom.” By the close of trading, the Dow had plunged more than 1,600 points and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq suffered their worst losses since the pandemic crash of 2020."
How consumers can survive the Trump tariff turmoil without panicking
Sac Bee, DAVID LIGHTMAN: "Don’t panic.
Sure, thanks to the historic tariffs President Donald Trump imposed from the White House Wednesday, things sure look bleak for consumers — Thursday’s stock market plunge was the worst in nearly five years. Prices are likely to climb. Interest rates are likely to remain up."
Mayor Lurie’s ‘family zoning’ plan could reshape S.F. neighborhoods, add 36,000 new homes
The Chronicle, J.K. DINEEN: "San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie on Thursday is set to release a proposed rezoning that would allow taller buildings along transit routes from the Marina to the Sunset to the Richmond districts, changes he said will accommodate 36,000 new housing units while reshaping parts of the city that have seen little construction in the last 50 years.
“For too long San Francisco has treated new housing as something to be feared instead of something to be welcomed. For years we’ve made it easier to block new homes than to build them even as the cost of living soared and more people were pushed out,” Lurie told the Chronicle. “We want a city with more families, more workers, more dreamers. We want to build housing for the next generation of San Franciscans so kids who grow up here can have the same opportunity to raise their own children in this beautiful and special place.”"
San Francisco rents are finally going back up — at one of the fastest rates in the nation
The Chronicle, CHRISTIAN LEONARD: "After the past few years of declines, San Francisco rent prices are starting to climb again, with apartments that had emptied out during the pandemic filling back up.
The median asking price for a one-bedroom rental was about $2,810 a month as of this February, according to the most recent available data from listing service Apartment List. That was more than 5% higher than the $2,670 estimated in February 2024."
Back-to-back deadly police chase crashes rock Bay Area families
The Chronicle, ANNA BAUMAN/JENNIFER GOLLAN: "Michelle Perez drove to a nearby store on a recent Thursday evening to buy groceries for dinner with her boyfriend’s 6-year-old twin boys buckled in the back seat of her Toyota Corolla.
Perez said she glanced left while passing through a residential intersection at 105th Avenue and Pearmain Street in East Oakland. But there was no time to react to the Lexus SUV barreling toward her at 50 mph."
Russell Brand charged with multiple counts of rape and assault in the U.K.
LAT, JOSEPH SERNA/ALEXANDRA DEL ROSARIO: "British comedian Russell Brand has been charged with rape and assault by police in the U.K.
The 49-year-old actor, known for his work in R-rated comedies including “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and “Get Him to the Greek,” was charged with single counts of rape, indecent assault, oral rape and two counts of sexual assault, the Metropolitan Police Service announced in a statement."