Here’s what could get more expensive in California under Trump’s sweeping tariffs
The Chronicle, SHIRA STEIN/RACHEL SWAN/MARIO CORTEZ/ESTHER MOBLEY: "President Donald Trump’s widespread tariffs could upend California agriculture and will likely lead to increased prices on cars, prescription drugs and even toilet paper, economists and industry experts said.
All countries will face 10% across-the-board tariffs, Trump announced at an event in the Rose Garden Wednesday. The 60 countries with the highest tariffs, currency manipulation and value-added taxes on the U.S. will face reciprocal tariffs. Key trade partners like China face a 34% tariff, European Union countries 20%, Vietnam 46% and Taiwan 32%."
READ MORE -- Even in O.C. Trump country, some worry about how tariffs will hit their pocketbooks -- LAT, HANNAH FRY; Markets plunge after Trump tariffs heighten chance of a broader trade war -- LAT, STAN CHOE
Trump seeks weak spots in sanctuary laws to break down California’s defenses
The Chronicle, RAHEEM HOSSEINI: "Unsatisfied with having an increasingly vast swath of the federal government and a coalition of willing red states at his disposal, President Donald Trump is trying old and new tactics to either coerce sanctuary states to get on board with his mass deportation agenda or neutralize their defenses.
The stakes for California go beyond its roughly 1.8 million undocumented residents."
Newsom says he can’t find fair solution for trans athletes: ‘We were trying to figure this out’
The Chronicle, SOPHIA BOLLAG: "After his comments on the issue last month spurred national debate, Gov. Gavin Newsom says he hasn’t been able to come up with a solution for how to fairly and compassionately allow transgender girls to participate in high school sports.
Newsom stoked speculation that he supported banning trans girls from playing on female sports teams last month, when he said on his podcast that allowing transgender girls to compete with cisgender girls was “deeply unfair.” His comments prompted calls from across the political spectrum, from his allies in the LGBT rights movement to Donald Trump’s education secretary, for him to clarify his stance and say whether he supported legislation moving through the Legislature to institute a ban."
READ MORE -- Gov. Gavin Newsom ‘did not pay attention’ to committee hearing on trans athletes -- Sac Bee, LIA RUSSELL
Gov. Gavin Newsom addresses return-to-work order. What did he say?
Sac Bee, WILLIAM MELHADO/STEPHEN HOBBS: "Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday made what appear to be his first public comments on his recent order calling state workers back to offices four days a week and suggested that it was about more than just collaboration and government efficiency.
He said he was also thinking about the “mom and pop” businesses, like sandwich shops, that are struggling to make ends meet."
A ‘missed opportunity’: Does Newsom’s plan to get Californians into better jobs do enough?
CALMatters, ADAM ECHELMAN: "California faces stark income inequality, its jobs are increasingly automated and the degrees from its state’s universities are no longer the asset they once were.
Gov. Gavin Newsom has a plan for all of it. Today at a press conference in Modesto, more than a year and a half after he first announced this initiative, he released the full Master Plan for Career Education, setting a new course for the state’s job training and education programs."
Mayor Lurie is planning a major shift in S.F. drug policy. Here’s what will change
The Chronicle, MAGGIE ANGST: "Mayor Daniel Lurie on Wednesday detailed plans to restrict the distribution of free drug paraphernalia in San Francisco, but it’s unclear whether the city and its nonprofit contractors have the capacity and resources to realize their new mandates.
Beginning April 30, city-funded nonprofits that provide drug users with safe consumption supplies, including clean needles, foil and pipes, will be required to first offer counseling and connections to treatment. The nonprofits will also be prohibited from handing out free smoking supplies — foil, pipes and straws — in public spaces like parks and sidewalks."
S.F. official under investigation sues city alleging whistleblower retaliation
The Chronicle, MICHAEL BARBA: "A top San Francisco official who was placed on leave by Mayor Daniel Lurie has filed a whistleblower retaliation lawsuit against the city, alleging she is the victim of a “calculated campaign to remove her from office” for reporting misconduct.
Kimberly Ellis, director of the San Francisco Department on the Status of Women, said in her lawsuit Tuesday that the city is investigating her for working on an outside political campaign and hiring vendors with whom she had prior personal relationships."
Former Sacramento city manager Howard Chan pays back money owed for legal fees
Sac Bee, MATHEW MIRANDA: "Former Sacramento City Manager Howard Chan has reimbursed the city for the thousands of dollars in legal fees used to negotiate his contract extension.
The repayment follows reporting by The Sacramento Bee that found Chan had spent $3,215 on a lawyer to help in negotiations to extend his contract and billed it as a personal expense. The city’s acting city manager Leyne Milstein ordered Chan to pay back the money following questions from The Bee."
Edison CEO: It’s ‘certainly possible’ utility sparked Eaton fire. But climate change made it worse
LAT, SAMMY ROTH: "Before sitting down with Pedro Pizarro, president and chief executive officer of Edison International, I gave some thought to how I would ask him about the Eaton fire.
Pizarro lives in Pasadena, not far from the charred remains of Altadena. His company’s biggest subsidiary — the utility Southern California Edison, which supplies electricity to 15 million people — has been accused in dozens of lawsuits of igniting the fire. Should I just straight-up ask him whether the deadly conflagration was Edison’s fault?"
Rural California, reliant on the Trump administration for jobs, braces for cuts
CALMatters, JEANNE KUANG: "Far from the halls of power in Washington, the forested hamlet of Mount Shasta has long tied its economic fate to a functioning federal government.
Yet even in a county where President Donald Trump’s cuts could hit the region’s economy hard, some are welcoming them. Nearly 60% of voters there supported the president."
Large-scale battery storage key to California’s clean energy future (OP-ED)
Capitol Weekly, ALEX JACKSON/SCOTT MURTISHAW: "California is at a crossroads in its pursuit of a cleaner, more resilient energy future. As the world’s fifth-largest economy and a leader in climate action, the state has set ambitious goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, eliminate fossil fuels, and transition to 100% clean energy by 2045. Achieving these goals requires more than just expanding solar and wind power, which are crucial sources of clean energy but aren’t always available.
That’s where large-scale battery storage comes in. Energy storage unlocks the full potential of renewables and ensures a reliable grid for every Californian. These batteries are revolutionizing how we think about energy by making intermittent renewable sources like solar and wind reliable, flexible, and available whenever we need them. Large-scale batteries store excess energy that’s generated when it’s sunny or windy, and discharge that energy when demand is high, but the sun isn’t shining or the wind isn’t blowing."
How Trump’s fight with California could harm poor students who rely on school meals
LAT, HOWARD BLUME: "The food day begins early for the poorest students in the Los Angeles Unified School District — with breakfast available before the start of class. Then there’s breakfast-for-all brought to the classroom, followed later by a snack, lunch, more snacks for after-school programs and sometimes a dinner sent home for the child.
It’s all free of charge."
Charts show UC admissions rates for every high school in California
The Chronicle, NAMI SUMIDA: "High school students are just now starting to hear back about college admissions decisions for the upcoming 2025-26 school year.
At the University of California, about 70% of in-state applicants receive acceptance letters to at least one of the nine undergraduate campuses. But while the majority of applicants are admitted to the system, it’s much harder to get into the most popular campuses, like UCLA and Berkeley, with an applicant’s likelihood of admission varying based on GPA and the high school from which they apply."
Here’s when California’s first heat wave of 2025 could hit
The Chronicle,. ANTHONY EDWARDS: "April began on a chilly, showery note across California, but a dramatic shift in spring weather is expected next week.
After a final Northern California rainmaker arrives Sunday night, a statewide warmup will begin Tuesday, evolving into a full-blown spring heat wave in parts of the Golden State by Wednesday. Temperatures could soar more than 20 degrees above average in some areas by Thursday and Friday."
Black L.A. social spaces flourished after George Floyd. 5 years later, will they survive?
LAT, KARLA MARIE SANFORD: "Tucked away on a quiet part of La Cienega Avenue in the Culver City Arts District, Black Image Center feels reminiscent of a collegiate Black student center. On a recent Tuesday, five people were gathered for the center’s daily community co-working series.
Laughter and casual conversation swam above the sound of the clicks of their laptops. But instead of a 100-page reading or an mind-boggling problem set, they were working on creative pursuits — editing a photography-forward zine, working on the treatment for a music video project, polishing a fashion journalism article — and consulting one another on them."
This part of Oakland has one of the biggest encampments. Here’s how council candidates want to fix it
The Chronicle, SARAH RAVANI: "Along a stretch of East 12th Street in East Oakland are more than a dozen makeshift pallet shelters and RVs and other vehicles. The area, also a hotspot for illegal dumping, is littered with massive piles of garbage that include a mattress and abandoned furniture that spill onto the street.
Oakland officials have long struggled to clear the site, which is one of the city’s largest encampments, in the San Antonio neighborhood along East 12th between 14th and 18th avenues, and nearby residents are frustrated with the blight, as well as public safety concerns, sex trafficking and crime in the area."
L.A. housing authority turning luxury Woodland Hills apartments into affordable housing
LAT, ANDREW KHOURI: "Just off the Topanga Canyon exit of the 101 Freeway sits a prime example of modern, luxury apartment living.
Built in 2020, the Clarendon Apartments in Woodland Hills feature poolside cabanas, a fire pit terrace and 24-hour community room with a kitchen and a billiard table. The apartments themselves are spacious — on average two-bedroom units top 1,000 square feet and go for more than $3,000 a month."
No more calling ‘shotgun?’ California could ban teens from riding in the front seat
CALMatters, RYAN SABALOW: "Calling “shotgun” to ride in the front seat may no longer be an option for small-sized California middle and high schoolers.
Citing crash statistics that show small-framed children, regardless of age, are disproportionately hurt in crashes when not in the back seat or using a booster seat, traffic safety advocates are pushing for a controversial bill that would ban teens up to 16 years old from sitting in the front seat if they’re not tall enough."
What about the bike lanes? Transit advocates say Metro project ignores city’s mobility plans
LAT, COLLEEN SHALBY: "When Los Angeles residents voted last year to implement the city’s nearly decade-old mobility plan, transportation safety advocates called it a win for Los Angeles’s pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists. Sidewalks would improve, traffic congestion would slow and bike lanes and bus lanes would be upgraded and built.
But the scope of Measure HLA — the citywide initiative to follow through on what L.A. City Council had adopted in 2015 — has been at the center of a recent debate between advocates and Metro after the transit agency moved forward on a project for the county’s busiest bus route without anticipated plans for new bike lanes."
