Trump administration posts notice that no federal food aid will go out Nov. 1
AP, ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON: "The U.S. Department of Agriculture has posted a notice on its website saying federal food aid will not go out Nov. 1, raising the stakes for families nationwide as the government shutdown drags on.
The new notice comes after the Trump administration said it would not tap roughly $5 billion in contingency funds to keep benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly referred to as SNAP, flowing into November. That program helps about 1 in 8 Americans buy groceries."
Newsom, Harris both considering runs for president in 2028, a sign of California’s political clout
LAT, JENNY JARVIE: "In a sign of California’s rising status as a major hub of Democratic politics, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Sunday he’s considering a run for president in 2028 — just a day after the news that former Vice President Kamala Harris had made the same pronouncement.
Newsom, a Democrat who has become a nationally renowned figure this year pitching himself as a leader of the resistance to President Trump, acknowledged for the first time publicly that he is carefully weighing a 2028 presidential run."
Gavin Newsom cited 3 main reasons in his vetoes this year. Trump was one
CALMatters, RYAN SABALOW: "Sen. Anna Caballero is one of California’s most influential lawmakers, since she is in charge of a committee that decides in secret to kill hundreds of bills each year, often at the behest of the governor’s administration.
But even though Caballero is the powerful chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and regularly works with the governor’s team, Gov. Gavin Newsom still vetoed seven of her bills this year, the most of any lawmaker."
California gives Planned Parenthood $140 million boost to keep clinics open
CALMatters, KRISTEN HWANG: "After months of financial strain, Planned Parenthood will get a $140 million lifeline to offset losses it sustained after Congress in July cut funding for the health system, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Thursday.
The money will help Planned Parenthood keep 109 California clinics open. In a statement, Newsom said the move reflects the state’s continued commitment to abortion and reproductive health care."
Trump’s DOJ is sending election monitors to California with voting on Prop. 50 underway
CALMatters, MAYA C. MILLER: "The Trump administration’s Department of Justice will deploy election monitors to five California counties on Election Day, the department announced Friday, in what it describes as an effort to “ensure transparency, ballot security, and compliance with federal law.”
The news comes as voters are already casting ballots on Proposition 50, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposal to redraw the state’s congressional districts to favor Democrats. Early in-person voting is set to begin this weekend in many counties."
Trump, contradicting the California GOP, opposes early and mail-in voting in Prop. 50 election
LAT, SEEMA MEHTA: "President Trump urged California voters on Sunday not to cast mail-in ballots or vote early in the California election about redistricting — the direct opposite of the message from state GOP leaders.
Repeating his false claim that former President Biden beat him in 2020 because the election was rigged, Trump argued that the November special election about redistricting in California would be rigged, as would the 2026 midterm election to determine control of Congress."
Support for Prop. 50 rises to 57% in latest poll of likely voters
Sac Bee, KATE WOLFFE: "A new poll shows likely California voters are swinging further toward supporting Proposition 50 as Election Day draws nearer.
The Emerson College Poll asked 900 likely California voters last week whether they’d vote for Prop. 50, which re-draws California’s congressional maps in favor of Democrats to offset changes favoring Republicans in Texas."
Cash-strapped campaign against California’s Prop. 50 goes out with a whimper
Sac Bee, NICOLE NIXON: "In the crucial final days before voting ends on California’s redistricting ballot measure, the Republican-backed campaigns opposing Proposition 50 are just about out of cash to spend.
Together, the two main ‘No’ campaigns have about $2.3 million in the bank — not nearly enough to fund the kind of statewide ad blitz typically seen to turn out voters during the final campaign stretch. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s ‘Yes’ campaign has $37 million on-hand, according to campaign finance filings."
California Latinos take pride in casting ballots in person. ICE at polls could deter that
CALMatters, MAYA C. MILLER: "As in-person voting begins in California’s special election on redistricting, Gov. Gavin Newsom has repeatedly asserted that the Trump administration could send immigration agents to polling places in an attempt to intimidate voters and depress turnout.
The governor’s warnings, while unspecific, speak to what community leaders call real, palpable fears within some Latino communities that immigration agents could show up on Election Day. And ever since the Supreme Court greenlit using racial profiling in immigration stops, even U.S. citizens are scared they could be detained simply for being in the wrong place at the wrong time."
Sami Hamdi, British Muslim journalist, detained by ICE at SFO after visa revoked
Chronicle, CYNTHIA DIZIKES: "Sami Hamdi, a British Muslim journalist and political commentator, was detained by immigration authorities at San Francisco International Airport on Sunday, federal authorities said.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed that the State Department revoked Hamdi’s visa Friday and that he was being “placed in immigration proceedings.”"
The fight against veteran homelessness in California (OP-ED)
Capitol Weekly, CRISTINA JOHNSON: "Every veteran deserves to have a stable home in the nation they have valiantly defended. Unfortunately, this is far from reality in California, where thousands of former service members continue to live without shelter. Even more concerning is that the same challenge also echoes across the country. While federal measures have successfully decreased the rate of veteran homelessness by over 55% since 2010, nearly 33,000 former service members are still affected because of skyrocketing housing costs and illnesses sustained during their years of service. Fortunately, the recent executive order establishing the National Center for Warrior Independence presents a vital opportunity to tackle this problem. By building housing units as well as streamlining healthcare access and other benefits, such an initiative will provide immediate relief to homeless veterans and pave a smoother path for their reintegration into civilian life.
The challenge of veteran homelessness in California
The struggle against veteran homelessness across the country—more so in California—continues to expose critical gaps between national progress and local reality. Currently, the state is home to over 1.3 million former service members, yet a large number of this occupational group still deals with housing insecurity. In fact, as of 2022, authorities have already reported almost 10,400 individuals who remain unsheltered. Sacramento County, in particular, stands out as one of the hardest-hit regions as it logged more than 400 unhoused veterans."
How much more money do UC alumni earn with graduate degrees? Here’s the data
Chronicle, HANNAH ZAKHARENKO: "Fifteen years after graduation, the average University of California bachelor’s degree holder earns about $125,000 a year. But students who go on to pursue a graduate degree make even more, especially in one standout field.
Medical school graduates see their earnings skyrocket above their fellow graduate school peers around the 10-year mark, when most finish residency programs and begin making a full salary. Fifteen years after completing their UC undergraduate degree, the average person who earned an M.D. makes around $318,000 a year."
Inside California’s high school of the future: It’s clean, no one cuts and biotech is a class
CALMatters, CAROLYN JONES: "At CART High near Fresno, there is no gum stuck to the floor. The saffron-yellow walls are unmarred by graffiti. Toting laptops, students file calmly down spacious, light-filled hallways to classes like biotechnology and digital marketing. There’s no fighting, no shouting, no bells. No one even cuts class.
It’s hard to believe CART High is a public high school. But in the future, this may be a model for every high school in California."
As California’s storm season begins, weather office short-staffing prompts fears
Chronicle, ANTHONY EDWARDS: "National Weather Service offices in California are scaling back operations ahead of the critical winter storm season, as federal cuts and staffing shortages take a toll.
The California-Nevada River Forecast Center, which is run by the weather service and provides water managers with critical data to prevent river flooding, is seeing cutbacks that could end up “limiting the state’s ability to track … dangerous shifts in weather,” Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office said last week."
California’s late-October warmup may stick around awhile. Here’s why
Chronicle, GREG PORTER: "California is closing October on a hot note, with the some of the month’s warmest weather arriving on Halloween week.
Heat advisories are up this week for coastal Southern California, where highs in the 80s and 90s will stretch from Orange County through San Diego. The Bay Area won’t match those extremes but will bask in several days of 70s and low 80s, warmth that will even reach the coast as the marine layer compresses, resulting in gorgeous weather Tuesday and Wednesday."
Bay Area booksellers fear losing business as chains buy indie stores, keep their old names
Chronicle, J.K. DINEEN: "Barnes & Noble CEO James Daunt says he bought the nine-store Bay Area Books Inc. for a simple reason: The company had filed for bankruptcy, and he didn’t want to see the bookstores close.
“It’s a mystery that, throughout my professional life, many many wonderful bookstores have gone out of business,” Daunt said. “Since I am in a position to do something about it, I do.”"
Sacramento County and its cities to talk homelessness in a new joint meeting
Sac Bee, EMMA HALL: "Sacramento County is organizing an all-day collaboration meeting Tuesday with the city of Sacramento and five other incorporated cities within the county to discuss the region’s approach to addressing homelessness.
Formally titled the County-City Collaboration on Homeless Services and Behavioral Health Meeting, the county and its city will be reviewing its progress in addressing homelessness, engagement with behavioral health and legal strategies. The meeting will also feature a countywide “visioning session,” which includes surveyed responses on homelessness from county and cities’ staff."
A Berkeley neighborhood spent years battling rats. Now it’s trying a compelling new tactic
Chronicle, LUCY HODGMAN: "Lynne-Rachel Altman had tried everything — poison, snap traps and a small army of house cats — but the rats in her South Berkeley home were unfazed.
Generations of rodents had been scrabbling around Altman’s attic since she was a child. Over the summer, she switched to a different tactic: birth control. It’s a newer method of rat management, but one that’s growing in popularity as a humane alternative to the messy business of traditional trapping."