How will the election impact your taxes? Californians could see a big changes
The Chronicle's KATHLEEN PENDER: "One of the most contentious problems our next president and Congress must tackle next year will be whether to extend the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the most sweeping tax bill since 1986. Virtually all of the bill’s provisions that affect individuals are set to expire after 2025, and its fate is likely to have an outsize effect on California taxpayers.
The TCJA passed in 2017, when Donald Trump was president and Republicans had majorities in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. No Democrats, including Kamala Harris, California’s junior senator at the time, voted for it. The bill reduced corporate and individual income tax rates and made radical changes in deductions and credits. "
The rest of the world, too, anxiously awaits U.S. election results
LAT's STAFF: "A Ukrainian graduate student, a Taiwanese travel agency manager, an industrial engineer in Mexico: None is a U.S. voter, but all believe that they and their respective countries have a big stake in the outcome of next week’s presidential election.
With the knife’s-edge electoral contest a week away, anxiety over whether Donald Trump could emerge the winner over Kamala Harris is running high in some parts of the world — places where a reprise of the former president’s old policies, or the new ones he has promised in his campaign, could land particularly hard."
Steve Bannon released from prison after serving contempt of Congress sentence
NBC News's RYAN J. REILLY, DAREH GREGORIAN: "The last time Steve Bannon was a free man, Joe Biden was the presumptive Democratic nominee for president.
Bannon, the right-wing podcast host and former Donald Trump campaign official, was released from federal Bureau of Prisons custody early Tuesday, with exactly one week to go until voters choose between his former boss and Vice President Kamala Harris on Election Day."
This California proposition is drawing the most campaign spending
CALMatters's JEREMIA KIMELMAN: "In 2022, two dueling sports betting propositions dominated fundraising for California’s ballot measures.
This year, it’s two propositions related to local rent control."
Kamala Harris to deliver closing argument at site of Trump’s pre-insurrection rally
LAT's NOAH BIERMAN: "Vice President Kamala Harris plans to deliver what advisors are calling a closing message Tuesday night, a week before election day, speaking from the same spot on the National Mall where former President Trump spoke before his allies cited his false election claims as they stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
The speech’s location underscores the Harris campaign’s belief that it has to remind voters that Trump has vowed to undertake a number of anti-democratic actions if he regains the presidency, including punishing “the enemy from within” using the courts and the military.""
Newsom’s film and TV tax credit boost could help Hollywood. Here are the pros and cons
LAT's RYAN FAUGHNDER: "Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposal to more than double the size of California’s film and television tax credit program won’t fix all of the Golden State’s problems when it comes to the stunning decline in entertainment production here.
But it does signal a significant — albeit belated — attempt to address one of the key factors that has driven much of Hollywood’s economy to regions with more generous government incentives."
The low carbon fuel standard energizes California’s EV future (OP-ED)
Capitol Weekly's ALAN HOFFMAN: "California is recognized the world over for its innovative spirit. So, it’s no surprise our state is playing a critical role in transitioning to cleaner, better transportation options like electric vehicles (EVs). The growth in sales of EVs over the last decade has been remarkable. EVs now make up nearly a quarter of all vehicles sold in California. The state’s ambitions and openness to new technologies are just a couple of the reasons why Rivian decided to put its headquarters right here in Orange County.
The EV landscape has never been more competitive, with newcomers like us and traditional car manufacturers producing a wide range of EVs. Importantly, this competitive market also ensures that the best vehicles will succeed. As a company, we support robust competition because we stand behind the quality and innovation that goes into making our products."
Special Episode: Health Care in CA, Panel 2 – Office of Health Care Affordability
Capitol Weekly: "This Special Episode of the Capitol Weekly Podcast was recorded live at Capitol Weekly’s conference HEALTH CARE IN CALIFORNIA, which was held in Sacramento on Thursday, October 3, 2024"
California voters could make it easier for cities to build fire stations and fix hospitals — right away
CALMatters's CAYLA MIHALOVICH: "One measure on California’s ballot would make it easier for local governments to build critical infrastructure and affordable housing with borrowed money. Proposition 5 would lower the percentage of votes needed for a bond to pass, from today’s two-thirds supermajority to a 55% majority.
General obligation bonds allow local governments to finance big projects, such as roads, libraries and parks. Over time, Californians pay them off by paying higher property taxes."
Capitol Spotlight: Katie Talbot, CA Department of Fish and Wildlife
Capitol Weekly's LISA RENNER: "What state government staff want and what reporters want is often not the same. But communications strategist Katie Talbot has found a way to work with both effectively.
What it comes down to is taking the time to get to know people. “It’s so cliche but the key to success in the Capitol is relationships,” she said."
College application deadlines are near. What you need to know
EdSource's MALLIKA SESHADRI: "College applications are open for the fall 2025 term, and deadlines are looming.
California’s two public university systems — the University of California (UC) and California State University (CSU) — provide the state’s students with 32 campuses to choose from."
As Musk seeks to launch tens of thousands of Starlink satellites, space researchers urge caution
LAT's NOAH HAGGERTY: "Over 100 space researchers signed a letter urging the federal government to perform an environmental review before allowing SpaceX to continue launching thousands of satellites for its internet service, Starlink.
The Federal Communications Commission has licensed Elon Musk’s company to launch nearly 12,000 satellites into space — more than double the number of non-SpaceX satellites orbiting Earth. SpaceX is asking the FCC to allow it to launch over 20,000 more." ,,,
S.F. has lost 45,000 jobs since 2019. These industries were hit the hardest
The Chronicle's ROLAND LI: "More than four years later, San Francisco is struggling to regain the jobs that were lost in the wake of the pandemic. The city, hit hard by remote work, tech layoffs and strict public health orders, had a labor force in the first quarter that was 7.3% below its 2019 levels, or more than 45,000 fewer jobs.
In contrast, the Bay Area as a whole was only 1% below 2019 levels. California saw a 3.5% gain, and the U.S. saw a 5.2% increase in jobs as of the first quarter, according to detailed data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics."
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposal to more than double the size of California’s film and television tax credit program won’t fix all of the Golden State’s problems when it comes to the stunning decline in entertainment production here.
But it does signal a significant — albeit belated — attempt to address one of the key factors that has driven much of Hollywood’s economy to regions with more generous government incentives.
California braces for first widespread rain and snow of the season
The Chronicle's GREG PORTER: "This week, California is set to experience its first widespread precipitation in months. From Wednesday through Saturday, a series of cold fronts will bring significant rain and snow, particularly across Northern California and the Sierra.
On Wednesday, a strengthening low-pressure system will move southward from the Gulf of Alaska toward California. A strong cold front attached to the storm will first push into Northern California on Wednesday, then sweep through the rest of the state late Wednesday and into early Thursday morning."
How Redondo Beach brought its homeless numbers to ‘functionally zero
LAT's DOUG SMITH: "In the morning, Lila Omura checked in on a woman on the beach who was kicked out of her shelter, again, because she wouldn’t shower. By noon she had comforted a raggedly dressed man outside a coffee shop who couldn’t stop crying and offered help to a woman on a bus bench who snapped back, “You need help more than I do.”
It was a predictably unpredictable morning for Omura, a housing navigator employed by the South Bay city and the field leader for an aggressive program to reduce homelessness on its streets to a bare minimum."
These cities could see big changes in rent control if Prop. 33 passes
CALMatters's FELICIA MELLO: "If Californians vote to approve a rent control measure on the ballot, thousands of Berkeley tenants could immediately see new limits on how much their landlords can raise their rent each year.
“Families who are living in units that aren’t right for them will have a chance to move without losing their affordability,” said Leah Simon-Weisberg, a longtime tenant lawyer and chair of the city’s rent board. “For some people, it will keep them housed.”"
