Trump tax bill details: Measure passed by House will have outsize impact for Californians
Chronicle, SHIRA STEIN: "Legislation that would blow a hole in California’s health care spending, disproportionately tax Californians and neuter the states’ ability to regulate artificial intelligence passed the House early Thursday morning.
The bill — the centerpiece of President Donald Trump’s second term — passed 215 to 214 after an all-night session of the House, which came after a 21-hour committee hearing that began at 1 a.m. in Washington Wednesday."
READ MORE -- House Republicans pass Trump’s big bill of tax breaks after all-night session -- LAT, LISA MASCARO/KEVIN FREKING/LEAH ASKARINAM
Google follows Newsom in reducing support for California local news
CALMatters, JEANNE KUANG: "Google will pay $5 million less than it promised to a fund intended to help struggling California news outlets stay afloat, less than a year after committing to pay $15 million.
The company will now pay $10 million into the initiative to fund local news which will be distributed among California news publishers, according to the office of Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, who has been involved in setting up the program."
Shirley Weber to seek reelection as California Secretary of State
Sac Bee, NICOLE NIXON: "Dr. Shirley Weber will seek reelection as California Secretary of State in 2026, she announced Thursday.
The Democrat was appointed to the role overseeing statewide elections in January 2021 after her predecessor, Alex Padilla, went to the U.S. Senate and later was elected to a full term. Previously, she spent 40 years teaching Africana Studies at San Diego State University and served eight years in the state Assembly."
Sen. Sabrina Cervantes cited for DUI while allegedly under the influence of a drug
CALMatters, RYAN SABALOW/JEANNE KUANG: "Sacramento police have accused a California state senator of driving under the influence of a drug following a Monday afternoon crash a few blocks from the Capitol that occurred less than an hour before she was supposed to be on the floor of the state Legislature.
CalMatters reviewed footage from a nearby office building’s security camera that appears to show Sen. Sabrina Cervantes, 37, wasn’t at fault in the crash that occurred around 1 p.m. Monday."
Medicaid rule proposal may deal a blow to California
LAT, MICHAEL WILNER: "How can Congress cut Medicaid without explicitly cutting Medicaid?
That has been a years-long dilemma facing fiscal conservatives in the Republican Party who have sought cuts to the country’s deficit-driving social safety net programs, including Medicaid, Social Security and Medicare, without generating political fallout from the tens of millions of Americans who will suffer the consequences."
Medi-Cal access to anti-obesity medications is essential to Californians’ health (OP-ED)
Capitol Weekly, JACKIE PEREZ: "The obesity epidemic has had its toll on America. With half-a-million deaths annually, millions more impacted by related complications, and hundreds of billions spent on treatment, the numbers paint a grim picture.
But the numbers alone don’t tell the complete story of the impact of this chronic disease. Particularly among minority and lower-income populations here in California, where the rates of obesity are higher compared to the rest of the population."
Fraud pushes California’s community colleges to consider an application fee. Is it worth it?
CALMatters, ADAM ECHELMAN: "Under scrutiny from state and federal lawmakers, California’s community colleges are trying to crack down on financial aid fraud. Scammers have increasingly infiltrated the state’s 116 community colleges, posing as students in an effort to steal financial aid from the state and federal government.
At a meeting Tuesday, the board that oversees California’s community colleges voted to require all students to verify their identity, which is currently optional for most applicants. The board also considered asking the Legislature for approval to charge students a nominal application fee — which many said should be no more than $10. But after more than two hours of debate, the board rejected that proposal and instead asked staff to “explore” a fee policy."
Another casualty of Trump research cuts? California students who want to be scientists
CALMatters, MIKHAIL ZINSHTEYN: "This spring, the National Institutes of Health quietly began terminating programs at scores of colleges that prepared promising undergraduate and graduate students for doctoral degrees in the sciences.
At least 24 University of California and California State University campuses lost training grants that provided their students with annual stipends of approximately $12,000 or more, as well as partial tuition waivers and travel funds to present research at science conferences. The number of affected programs is likely higher, as the NIH would not provide CalMatters a list of all the cancelled grants."
California college students find creative solutions to manage graduation costs
EdSource, STAFF: "As college students across the state prepare to graduate, they are sometimes surprised by the costs associated with this rite of passage.
Besides the cost of regalia, graduating at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo also requires a $120 commencement fee, charged for each Cal Poly degree or credential program. Students at California State University, Dominguez Hills, will pay a $90 graduation application fee."
After L.A. wildfires, Edison faces blowback over proposed rate hike
LAT, CAROLINE PETROW-COHEN: "As Southern California Edison faces scrutiny over the role its equipment may have played in sparking the deadly Eaton fire, the utility giant is facing some pushback from ratepayers over plans to seek another increase in electricity rates.
The California Public Utilities Commission is expected to make a decision this summer on Edison’s request to raise rates by 10% in order to pay for wildfire mitigation and cover “reasonable costs of its operations, facilities [and] infrastructure,” the request filing said."
California’s extraordinary tree die-off may finally be easing
Chronicle, KURTIS ALEXANDER: "One of the largest tree die-offs in California history, which has turned evergreen forests into a bleak canvas of oranges and browns, appears to be subsiding after nearly a decade of wreckage.
New data from the U.S. Forest Service shows that the number of trees that perished in California last year hit a 10-year low. The 6.6 million trees counted as dead is still above normal, scientists say, but it marks a major letup in the run of drought, bugs and disease that’s decimated forests across the state. The epidemic peaked in 2016 with 62 million dead trees."
Feeling a chill? Here’s where Bay Area heat is getting swept away
Chronicle, GREG PORTER: "It will feel like a completely different season across parts of the Bay Area on Thursday. After temperatures soared to 90 degrees on Wednesday in the interior East Bay in places like Concord and Livermore, highs will tumble by as much as 15 to 20 degrees.
The culprit is a weak but impactful moisture-starved cold front sweeping through the region early Thursday. On paper, the front looks unremarkable. But it will flush out the warm inland air from the top down. That is, upper-air temperatures will drop first, capping how much surface warmth can build during the day. Concord, which topped 90 degrees on Wednesday, may struggle to break out of the mid-70s by Thursday afternoon."
California city named least affordable place in US to buy a home. Which one?
Sac Bee, SARAH LINN: "Looking for a new place to live? Nine of the 10 least affordable cities in the nation to buy a home are in California, according to a new WalletHub study.
The personal finance website recently ranked the most affordable cities for homebuyers in the United States in 2025, comparing 300 locations based on metrics ranging from housing costs to taxes and vacancy rates."
You’ll see a warning if you file a complaint against the LAPD. Does that chill free speech?
CALMatters, NIGEL DUARA: "In 1991, in the months after four Los Angeles Police Department officers were filmed beating motorist Rodney King, a number of California cities created easier pathways for the public to file complaints about police officers.
But the Legislature was concerned with “less ethical citizens (who would) maliciously file false allegations of misconduct against officers in an effort to punish them for simply doing their jobs,” according to a federal court decision years later."
S.F. homeless tents are dwindling. So why are encampment complaints rising?
Chronicle, MAGGIE ANGST/DANIELLE ECHEVERRIA: "Kevin Miller rarely deviates from his routine.
On an almost daily basis, the Lower Nob Hill resident walks around his neighborhood with his cell phone in hand and the city’s 311 app at the ready. He reports new graffiti, strewn garbage, illegally parked cars — and most commonly, people blocking sidewalks using illicit drugs or passed out in drug-induced stupors. He logs those strewn on the street under the category of ‘encampments’, because it’s the closest option in the app that fits."
Memorial Day weekend travel is expected to break records. Here’s what you need to know
LAT, SALVADOR HERNANDEZ: "Along with vacation necessities such as sunblock and a toothbrush, Southern Californians hoping to get away for Memorial Day weekend will also need to bring a hefty supply of patience to freeways and airports.
A record-breaking number of people across the country are opting to travel rather than stay in for the long weekend— the official kickoff to summer, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California, or AAA."
