As National Guard case moves through courts, Trump gains advantage
The Chronicle, BOB EGELKO: "President Donald Trump’s takeover of California’s National Guard to fend off immigration protesters in Los Angeles, halted briefly by a federal judge, is starting to climb up the judicial ladder, with a federal appeals court hearing scheduled Tuesday. And the higher it gets, the friendlier the territory would appear to be for Trump.
Thursday’s ruling by U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer of San Francisco that the president had exceeded his authority was “probably out of the mainstream” among current U.S. courts, said Anthony Ghiotto, a teaching professor at the University of Illinois College of Law and a former judge in the U.S. Air Force. Ghiotto said he agreed with Breyer’s decision, but doubted it would survive in a U.S. Supreme Court that has shielded Trump from criminal prosecution from official acts."
Tensions simmer as immigration raids continue across Southern California
LAT, STAFF: 'Raids continued over the weekend as massive ‘No Kings’ protests were held Saturday in opposition to President Trump’s policies. On Sunday in downtown Los Angeles, the scene was calm at curfew."
Trump directs ICE to expand deportations in Democratic-run cities
AP: "President Donald Trump on Sunday directed federal immigration officials to prioritize deportations from Democratic-run cities, a move that comes after large protests erupted in Los Angeles and other major cities against the Trump administration’s immigration policies.
Trump in a social media posting called on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials “to do all in their power to achieve the very important goal of delivering the single largest Mass Deportation Program in History.”"
Better know a CA gubernatorial candidate: Steve Hilton
Capitol Weekly, BRIAN JOSEPH: "Former Fox News host Steve Hilton, a Republican, seemingly knows the difficulty members of his own party have had in winning the California governor’s race. He told KCRA in April that his campaign is “non-partisan.”
Hilton, a British native, is a former advertising executive who served as a top advisor to former British Prime Minister David Cameron. But he became more familiar to Americans in his role hosting a show on Fox for six years."
The Micheli Minute, June 16, 2025
Capitol Weekly, STAFF: "Lobbyist and author Chris Micheli offers a quick look at what’s coming up this week in Sacramento."
Eaton fire damage costs could mean higher utility bills throughout California
LAT, MELODY PETERSEN: "More than 30 million Californians across the state could see their electric bills go up to pay for the devastating Eaton fire, as officials scramble to shore up a state wildfire fund that could be wiped out by damage claims.
One early estimate places fire losses from the Eaton fire at $24 billion to $45 billion. If Southern California Edison equipment is found to have sparked the blaze on Jan. 7, as dozens of lawsuits allege, the damage claims could quickly exhaust the state’s $21-billion wildfire fund."
More dental problems as you get older? Aging may not be the real reason
The Chronicle, CATHERINE HO: "Older people are living longer and keeping more of their teeth.
That’s good news — but it also means that seniors need to be more vigilant than ever about oral health."
Financial aid fraud is on the rise in California. How federal officials plan to crack down
CALMatters, ADAM ECHELMAN: "Faced with growing reports of fraud, the U.S. Department of Education will make it harder for certain students to access financial aid, including some who could see delays of weeks or even months before cash is disbursed.
This month the department announced it would begin a new “screening process” for all financial aid applicants starting this fall. While that process is developed, the department will require colleges to do additional vetting of applicants this summer, which will place more of a burden on California’s community colleges."
LAUSD agrees to fund $900 million to settle sexual assault lawsuits
EdSource, THOMAS PEELE/MALLIKA SESHADRI: "The Los Angeles Unified School District board has quietly approved borrowing nearly $900 million — including interest — to settle decades-old sexual assault cases involving former students.
And that will likely not be enough to settle all the claims the nation’s second-largest school district is facing under 2019 legislation that allows victims of abuse by school employees to seek damages for incidents dating back to the 1970s. District spokesperson Britt Vaughan would not say how many claims the district faces, the number that have been settled and what they have cost to date."
‘Happy, but tense’: LAUSD graduations continue safely amid regional ICE activity
EdSource, MALLIKA SESHADRI/BETTY MARQUEZ ROSALES: "Maywood Academy High School’s graduation Thursday was classic in a county where nearly half its population identifies as Latino.
Students decorated their caps with photos of loved ones and messages of gratitude to God and their immigrant families. A student’s rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” was met with cheers from the crowd; some graduates carried lavish bouquets of roses, commonly known as ramos buchones; their guest speaker was a prominent record label owner pivotal in the rise of corridos tumbados, a now-mainstream genre of Mexican American music with a stronghold in Los Angeles; some students’ stoles featured flags from both the United States as well as Mexico, El Salvador and Guatemala — their families’ home countries."
A federal judge weighs turning L.A. city’s homelessness programs over to a receiver
LAT, DOUG SMITH: "The question seemed simple enough: Was the witness’ use of the word “makeshift” merely shorthand for “makeshift shelter?”
But for defendant’s counsel it was a miscarriage of law: “Objection. Calls for legal conclusion. Calls for expert opinion. Relevance. Lacks foundation,” she interjected, prompting a weary, “Overruled,” from the judge."
Homelessness is top of mind for many Californians. Why does the proposed budget eliminate funding for it?
CALMatters, MARISA KENDALL: "State leaders have been talking a lot lately about cleaning up California’s homeless encampments and moving people indoors. But the tentative budget they’ve drawn up for the upcoming year has many asking: With what money?
Both Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Legislature have proposed gutting the state’s main source of homelessness funding in the 2025-26 budget, sending a wave of panic through the cities, counties and service providers that have been relying on that money for years. Now, those critics warn that thousands of Californians could end up back on the streets, undoing the tenuous progress the state has made in addressing the problem.
After years of falling, Oakland rents are finally rising again
The Chronicle, CHRISTIAN LEONARD: "Oakland rents are starting to creep back up after nearly three years of year-over-year declines.
The median asking rent for a one-bedroom home in Oakland, which saw both a surge in new rentals and a declining population during the pandemic, was an estimated $1,830 in May, according to data from Apartment List. That reflected a 4% increase from a year ago.
Has the Great Highway closure led to a traffic nightmare? This is the most complete data yet
The Chronicle, RACHEL SWAN/HARSHA DEVULAPALLI/KO LYN CHEANG/STEPHANIE ZHU: "On its face, the trade-off seemed simple. Close an iconic San Francisco road to create an oceanside park. Convert two miles of automobile thoroughfare into space for adults to jog and children to wobble on bicycles.
But opposition to the idea began simmering long before voters approved the permanent shutdown of Upper Great Highway last November. Skeptics feared the displaced traffic would clog adjacent streets, making it difficult to take kids to school or elderly family members to appointments. In a worst-case scenario, they warned, grueling traffic jams would choke a vast swath of the city’s west side.
Why do so many people outside California hate the Golden State?
Sacramento Bee, DAVID LIGHTMAN/NICOLE NIXON: "President Donald Trump mentioned California’s governor and Los Angeles’ mayor during a speech Tuesday and the crowd booed. What made this unusual is that the crowd was gathered at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, 2,556 miles away. The incident was a fresh example of a political strategy Republicans have used for years, one that Trump’s thrown into a higher gear: Bash California."
