Kamala Harris will not run for Governor
Capitol Weekly, STAFF: "Former Vice President Kamala Harris ended speculation that she would run for governor of California with posts on social media this afternoon.
“In recent months I have given serious thought to asking the people of California for the privilege to serve as their Governor. I love this state, its people, and its promise. But, after deep reflection, I’ve decided that I will not run for Governor in this election,” she wrote."
READ MORE -- Kamala Harris will not run for California governor in 2026 -- CALMatters,ALEXEI KOSEFF
What’s next for Kamala Harris? It isn’t governor of California
SacBee, NICOLE NIXON and DAVID LIGHTMAN: "Kamala Harris won’t run for governor of California in 2026. The former vice president and U.S. Senator said Wednesday she plans to remain in the public eye, but she did not share specifics about her future plans. “For now, my leadership — and public service — will not be in elected office,” Harris said in a statement.
“I look forward to getting back out and listening to the American people, helping elect Democrats across the nation who will fight fearlessly, and sharing more details in the months ahead about my own plans.”
Nancy Pelosi appears to endorse a candidate for California governor after Kamala Harris bows out
The Chronicle, JOE GAROFOLI: "Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi appeared to endorse Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis for governor Wednesday during a CNN interview, hours after former Vice President Kamala Harris announced she wouldn’t run for governor next year.
“We have many great candidates, one in particular, Eleni Tsakopoulos, whom I support,” Pelosi said, referring to Kounalakis, a fellow San Franciscan, by her maiden name. Pelosi, who has raised more than $1 billion for Democrats over the past two decades. Kounalakis, her Pacific Heights neighbor, is the daughter of Sacramento developer Angelo Tsakopoulos, a longtime major Democratic donor who gave nearly $5 million to an independent committee supporting his daughter in her 2018 run for lieutenant governor. She is expected to be one of the best-funded candidates in the crowded field."
Newsom faces a tight timeline to redistrict California. Here are the roadblocks
The Chronicle, SOPHIA BOLLAG/JOE GAROFOLI: "To counter Texas redistricting, Gov. Gavin Newsom faces a tight timeline to convince lawmakers to act. But many won’t even say where they stand on the issue.
Newsom first raised the prospect of redrawing California’s congressional maps in favor of Democrats three weeks ago as Texas Gov. Greg Abbott moved to do the same in his state in favor of Republicans. But while Abbott has been able to move forward with his redistricting efforts unfettered, Newsom faces more roadblocks. In most states, including in Texas, state lawmakers approve congressional maps, giving politicians power to shape districts in favor of their own political parties. But California voters took that power away from the state Legislature in 2010 and handed it to an independent redistricting commission."
Gavin Newsom signs Sacramento Democrat’s controversial sex solicitation bill
SacBee, KATE WOLFFE: "Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 379 into law Wednesday, ending a battle that divided Democrats first in the Assembly, and then in the state Senate.
The law, which goes into effect Jan. 1, 2026, gives prosecutors new tools to crack down on people they believe are soliciting sex from minors or loitering with the intent to purchase sex."
Leftist lawmakers gather to answer a question: How to beat the global right?
LAT, KATE LINTHICUM: "In recent years, the far right has been remarkably organized, with leaders from far-flung countries sharing advisors, strategies and talking points.
The Conservative Political Action Conference, a gathering of right-wing activists and elected officials that started in the United States, has gone global, hosting mega-events in Brazil, Argentina and Hungary. Foreign leaders, including Argentina President Javier Milei and El Salvador President Nayib Bukele, have raced the stage at CPAC, slamming socialism, calling for tougher policies on crime and railing against all things “woke.”"
Trump is getting his way in his global trade war, like it or not
LAT, MICHAEL WILNER: "When President Trump rocked the economy with an unprecedented attack on global trade in April, the plan was dismissed as swaggering, capricious and unsustainable. Market meltdowns and price increases would teach the White House the true cost of its mistakes, economists warned.
Yet, four months later, Trump is largely getting his way, refashioning the global economic order around his long-standing worldview that the United States has been ripped off for decades — all before the economy can fully absorb the shock."
She had to fight for help with medical bills. A new California bill could make it easier
CALMatters, ANA B. IBRRA: "Sierra Freeman has a rare genetic disorder that makes her prone to aneurysms and has sent her to the hospital repeatedly.
In July 2022, the Stockton resident had surgeries to repair an aortic tear and a ruptured blood vessel in her brain and spent two months at Stanford Medical Center, which hosts one of the leading programs in connective tissue disorders like the one Freeman has."
California has the nation’s widest disparity in this educational metric
The Chronicle, JULIE ZHU: "San Jose and San Francisco rank among the top ten U.S. metro areas for the highest percentage of adults 25 and older with a bachelor’s degree—4th and 8th, respectively. At the same time, four other California metros are among the five least college-educated nationwide.
Nearly 60% of that population in the San Jose metro area holds a bachelor’s degree, the highest among major cities and lower only than three much smaller metros centered on college towns. San Francisco follows closely with nearly 55%, ahead of Boston but behind DC. In comparison, somewhat less than half of New York’s population has a bachelor’s degree. Los Angeles is even lower, at slightly below 40% — but that still places it near the top quarter of U.S. metro areas."
Thousands of California students attend schools in high fire danger zones // MAP OF ZONING \\
EdSource, MALLIKA SESHADRI: "As California faces increasingly destructive wildfires, schools should develop more preventative safety measures, experts say.
Roughly 6% of California public school students attend a campus located in high or very high Fire Hazard Severity Zones, an EdSource analysis of data from Cal Fire and the Office of the State Fire Marshal found."
Why one of the biggest earthquakes ever recorded caused so little damage
LAT, RONG-GONG LIN II/CLARA HARTER: "It was one of the largest earthquakes ever recorded, a magnitude 8.8 monster off the eastern coast of Russia.
Despite its remote location, the size of the quake immediately brought potential danger of tsunami to a significant swath of the globe, including Japan, Canada and the United States. Tsunami alerts quickly went out, covering millions of people, including the entire U.S. West Coast."
Crescent City’s fishermen boated into tsunami as waves rolled in
The Chronicle, SARA DINATALE: "When tsunami waves roll into Crescent City Harbor, the city’s fishermen head out.
The safety is in deeper water, explained fisherman Tim Potter, as he leaned against a railing overlooking the city’s harbor late Wednesday morning. By then, it was clear the city had been largely spared from the waves that sprung from a 8.8-magnitude earthquake in Russia."
OPINION: Gov. Newsom is suing me to build a multi-billion dollar train to nowhere
SacBee, SEAN P. DUFFY: "Gov. Gavin Newsom has no clue what functional government looks like. California just spent 16 years and $15 billion to develop a high-speed rail network that has yet to lay a single track and he’s still defending the project. In fact, he’s suing to protect this multi-billion-dollar train to nowhere.
Recently, as transportation secretary, I turned off the spigot of federal funding for California’s high-speed rail. This move saved taxpayers $4 billion, officially rescinded from what has become a humiliating emblem of government waste. In response, Newsom filed a lawsuit as if California hasn’t burned enough money already."
S.F.’s top-paid employee made $850K. Here’s what every city worker gets paid
The Chronicle, NAMI SUMIDA: "In San Francisco, a small group of police officers and sheriff’s deputies earn more than most city executives, with some making more than $750,000 in total compensation a year, largely due to enormous overtime earnings that doubled, and sometimes even tripled, their wages.
Of the roughly 770 city workers who made over $400,000 in compensation last year, 75% worked in the police, sheriff or fire departments — even though those agencies account for less than 20% of the city workforce."
