Trading Places

3 key voices have changed their tune on Newsom’s redistricting plan

The Chronicle, SOPHIA BOLLAG: "Shortly after Gov. Gavin Newsom first suggested retaliating against Texas’ efforts to redraw congressional maps to favor Republicans, California redistricting commissioner Sara Sadhwani threw cold water on the idea.

 “In this national context, I can understand the governor’s inclination to want to retaliate,” she told the Chronicle in a July 14 interview. “However, the people of California have made it clear at the ballot that the governor does not have that power.”

 CA120: Is Newsom mounting a turnaround?

Capitol Weekly, PAUL MITCHELL: "Looking at the last month, it seems Newsom is capturing attention with his new media strategy, and building momentum with his push for mid-decade redistricting. Of course, much of this excitement and enthusiasm has been online and in podcasts – both of which can be different than what is translating down to real California voters.

 To dig into this, we conducted a resurvey of voters who we had completed one of our polls earlier this year for other Capitol Weekly stories. In those surveys we found Newsom’s favorable ratings to be faltering, with a net negative fav/unfav of -5%, but in our most recent polling, conducted September 1-3, we see a significant pop back to favorable at +8%."

 Trump’s veterans housing plan in West L.A. advances behind a wall of secrecy

LAT, DOUG SMITH: "President Trump’s executive order calling for a National Center for Warrior Independence to house thousands of veterans in West Los Angeles has gained widespread support, including among his political opposition.

 But as a deadline approaches for an action plan to be submitted to the president, supporters of the order have become alarmed that potentially radical change for land donated as a home for disabled veterans more than a century ago is being drafted behind a wall of secrecy."

 Will California ban companies from charging vets to secure benefits? Some say it should

CALMatters, ADAM ASHTON: "The $1,102 Adan Montalvo gets every month in disability from the Department of Veterans Affairs makes a difference for him, but he regrets the price he paid for it.

 Montalvo was able to obtain the benefit after signing a contract with a private company that compiles medical evidence to help veterans establish disability claims. The process worked, and Montalvo began receiving the money some 52 years after he left the Army with a bad knee.

 9th Circuit overturns Alameda County law restricting observers from sideshows

The Chronicle, BOB EGELKO: "Alameda County is violating a reporter’s constitutional rights by prohibiting him and other spectators from standing within 200 feet of the automobile street stunts known as sideshows, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday.

 Sideshows, which originated in Oakland, feature drivers spinning their cars at intersections and “ghostriding,” or standing alongside or on top of a vehicle while it continues to roll. They have been banned in Oakland, San Francisco, San Jose and several other California communities, laws not affected by Thursday’s ruling."

 LAPD is assisting CHP in protecting Kamala Harris after Trump pulls Secret Service

LAT, RICHARD WINTON: "Los Angeles police Metropolitan Division officers, meant to be working crime-suppression assignments in hard-hit areas of the city, are instead providing security for former Vice President Kamala Harris, sources told The Times.

 The department is “assisting the California Highway Patrol in providing protective services for former Vice President Kamala Harris until an alternate plan is established,” said Jennifer Forkish, L.A. police communications director. “This temporary coordinated effort is in place to ensure that there is no lapse in security.”

 Joint rule suspensions in the daily files

Capitol Weekly, CHRIS MICHELI: "Did you know that the Assembly and Senate Daily Files actually list some rule suspensions (often referred to as “rule waivers”)? While the respective Daily Files contain calendars, tables of information, committee hearings, and legislative measures on the two Floors, they each contain one set of rule suspensions.

 In the Assembly Daily File, there is a page that is titled as follows:"

 Federal government sues California utility, alleging equipment sparked deadly wildfires

AP, JAMIE DING: "The federal government filed two lawsuits Thursday against Southern California Edison, alleging the utility's equipment sparked fires including January's Eaton Fire in the Los Angeles area, which destroyed more than 9,400 structures and killed 17 people.

 “The lawsuits filed today allege a troubling pattern of negligence resulting in death, destruction, and tens of millions of federal taxpayer dollars spent to clean up one utility company’s mistakes,” U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said at a news conference Thursday."

 S.F. Supervisor Engardio found in violation of open government rules ahead of recall election

The Chronicle, KO LYN CHEANG: "Supervisor Joel Engardio was found in violation Wednesday of the city’s open government rules for failing to provide a full record of his official calendar. The decision by the city’s Sunshine Ordinance Task Force comes less than two weeks before Engardio’s district decides whether to recall him from office. The matter was referred to the city’s Ethics Commission, which determines penalties for violations of the city’s Sunshine Ordinance that regulates government transparency.

 Proponents of the recall election had alleged the supervisor for the Sunset District was “deliberately trying to cover up” a May 2024 meeting with a Great Highway Park advocate, Lucas Lux, by providing one of their volunteers, Richard Corriea, with a version of his official calendar that omitted the meeting."

 People can’t get COVID vaccines as cases surge. Anger is building against Trump

LAT, RONG-GONG LIN II: "Every year around this time, like clockwork, Marty Lazniarz would plan to get his regular COVID-19 vaccine — essential protection before heading out on a trip.

 But this year, trying to get his routine shot has been anything but."

 Trump and Senate billions of dollars apart on block grants for K-12

EdSource, THOMAS PEELE: "The Trump administration and the U.S. Senate are nearly $5 billion apart on grant funding for K-12 education nationally as fiscal year 2026 starts soon, the Learning Policy Institute is reporting in a blog post.

 The shortfall for California is reported to be more than $625 million, a decline of 72%."

 UC president warns of ‘enormous harm’ amid federal funding cuts

EdSource, MICHAEL BURKE: "The University of California is at risk of “enormous harm” because of the Trump administration’s funding cuts’ impact on the system, UC President James Milliken said in a letter this week to lawmakers that was first reported by the Los Angeles Times.

 So far, the Trump administration has suspended more than $500 million in grants to UCLA amid charges of antisemitism and has demanded a $1.2 billion settlement payment from UC."

 Dozens of lightning strike fires are burning across California. A warming climate could bring more, according to new study

CALMatters, RACHEL BECKER: "As dozens of wildfires burn across California after a remarkable outbreak of dry lightning, a new study warns that a warming planet could bring more lightning-sparked wildfires to the West in the coming decades. 

“These are the sort of events that can really allow the fire season to turn on a dime,” said John Abatzoglou, a professor of climatology at UC Merced and an author of the study."

 Most enduring and biggest iceberg breaks apart, with more splintering to come in its death spiral

LAT, SETH BORENSTEIN: "The world’s largest and most enduring iceberg is splintering into smaller pieces, to the point that it’s no longer the biggest chunk of ice floating in the oceans.

 The shrinking megaberg, known as A23A, is unlikely to survive through the end of November and may face a sudden and spectacular collapse like an avalanche of ice at sea, said University of Colorado ice scientist Ted Scambos."

 A ‘Roomba for the forest’ could be SoCal’s next wildfire weapon
LAT, NOAH HAGGERTY: ""The giant, remote-controlled vehicle — somewhere between a tractor trailer, a tank and a Zamboni in appearance — slowly rolled across the dry, brittle grass growing between the tangle of freeways making up the 101 and 23 interchange in Thousand Oaks.

Inside the beast, fire churned. And as it rolled over the land, that fire incinerated any brush it encountered, leaving only a thin smoke cloud billowing from the top of the machine, some flashes of orange and red from behind its metal skirt and, in its wake, a desolate, smoldering black line."

Bay Area’s oldest bookstore asks to be saved by Barnes & Noble
Chronicle, AIDIN VAZIRI: "Books Inc., the Bay Area’s oldest independent bookstore, is seeking bankruptcy court approval to be acquired by Barnes & Noble for $3.25 million, a deal that would allow the 174-year-old chain to continue operating under its name.

 California home insurer to drop 37,000 policies as part of nationwide withdrawal

The Chronicle, MEGAN FAN MUNCE: "An insurer is planning to drop 37,000 California customers as it exits the entire U.S. home insurance market — though a deal with an out-of-state insurer could keep the majority from losing coverage.

 Last month, QBE Insurance Corp. stopped writing new homeowners’ insurance policies in California in anticipation of its withdrawal, it informed the California Department of Insurance in a recent regulatory filing. As of April, the insurer had 37,774 home insurance customers in the state. They were set to be dropped over the next year after the insurer’s decision to “narrow its market focus.”

 Complaints about California’s hellishly hot prison cells have been mounting for years

CALMatters, JEANNE KUANG: "As climate change exacerbates the risks of extreme heat across California, the state’s prison officials plan to embark on a $38 million pilot program to figure out how to keep their prison cells cool.

 It comes after years of complaints from prisoners about dangerous temperatures during the state’s brutal summer heat waves, warnings by advocates that the problem will only get worse as the planet warms and the death of an incarcerated woman last year during California’s hottest month on record — which officials from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation insist was unrelated to the heat."

BART outage: No trains running due to systemwide issue

Chronicle, SHWANIKA NARAYAN: "BART halted all train service during peak commute hours Friday morning, disrupting thousands of riders and forcing them to scramble for last-minute alternatives.