Predator drones shift from border patrol to protest surveillance
LAT, STEVE FISHER: "When MQ-9 Predator drones flew over anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles this summer, it was the first time they had been dispatched to monitor demonstrations on U.S. soil since 2020, and their use reflects a change in how the government is choosing to deploy the aircraft once reserved for surveilling the border and war zones.
Previous news reports said the drones sent by the Department of Homeland Security conducted surveillance on the weekend of June 7 over thousands of protesters demonstrating against raids conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The Predators flew over Los Angeles for at least four more days, according to tracking experts who identified the flights through air traffic control tower communications and images of a Predator in flight."
F-bombs, regrets and a Willie Brown reference: Kamala Harris’ book is surprisingly dishy
CHRONICLE, JOE GAROFOLI: "Reading Kamala Harris soon-to-be-released memoir, “107 Days” of her historic presidential campaign is like traveling back to a time before our nation’s immigrants cowered in fear of being disappeared by masked federal agents, before free speech was in grave danger and vaccines weren’t treated like poisons.
Spoiler alert: In the end, she loses. And so does the world."
Gavin Newsom responds to Kamala Harris’ description of missed phone call after Biden bowed out
CHRONICLE, LUCY HODGMAN: "The day President Joe Biden dropped his reelection bid last July, a call from an unknown number came in on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s cellphone. He didn’t pick up.
The caller was his longtime friend and rival Vice President Kamala Harris, who had just become the front-runner for the Democratic nomination. “Hiking. Will call back,” Harris wrote in her notes, according to her forthcoming campaign memoir, “107 Days,” a copy of which was obtained by the Chronicle. She added in parentheses that “he never did.”"
Lara proposal targets a beleaguered Consumer Watchdog
CAPITOL WEEKLY, BRIAN JOSEPH: "Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara announced Friday proposed regulations that seek to strike at a financial model employed by Consumer Watchdog, the crusading consumer advocacy organization that has long faced criticism over money it makes by intervening in insurance rate-setting proceedings.
“Consumers are frustrated with hidden fees, especially when insurance costs are already exorbitant and unaffordable for many,” Lara said in a press release that went out at 1:38 p.m. Friday. “California’s insurance crisis demands tough decisions and accountability from everyone involved – insurance companies, intervenors, and the Department itself. To stabilize our market, we need a rate review system that delivers timely, fair, accurate, and through decisions, rather than one that gets bogged down in process or delays real solutions.”"
California’s tribes once again get lawmakers to attack a gambling competitor
CALMATTERS, RYAN SABALOW: "For the second straight year, casino-owning tribes persuaded lawmakers to pass legislation that directly attacks the tribes’ business competitors.
Earlier this month, the California Legislature approved Assembly Bill 831, which bans companies from offering certain types of online sweepstakes that the tribes see as a threat to their exclusive rights to gambling in California."
Trump ramps up retribution campaign with push for Bondi to pursue cases against his foes
LAT, MEG KINNARD: "Eight months into his second term, President Trump’s long-standing pledge to take on those he perceives as his political enemies has prompted debates over free speech, media censorship and political prosecutions.
Trump has escalated moves to consolidate power in his second administration and target those who have spoken out against him, including the suspension of late-night comedian Jimmy Kimmel’s show, Pentagon restrictions on reporters and an apparent public appeal to Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi to pursue legal cases against his adversaries."
Newsom signs laws to resist Trump’s immigration crackdown, including ban on masks for ICE agents
CALMATTERS, CAYLA MIHALOVICH/JEANNE KUANG: "Gov. Gavin Newsom today signed a set of bills meant to check the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration crackdown in California, including a first-in-the nation measure to prohibit officers from wearing masks and others that limit their access to schools and hospitals.
The new laws echo the “resistance” measures California adopted during the first administration, when it passed a so-called sanctuary law to limit local law enforcement from cooperating with immigration agents, among other policies."
H-1B visas: After worker chaos, Trump confirms $100K fee applies only to future
CHRONICLE, LUCY HODGMAN/ST. JOHN BARNED-SMITH: "Tech companies scrambled Saturday to bring workers on H-1B visas back to the United States immediately after a Friday night proclamation from President Donald Trump appeared to impose a $100,000 per year fee on all H-1B visa holders.
The White House clarified in a post to X at midday Saturday that Trump’s proclamation will apply not to current visa holders, but to “future applicants in the February lottery who are currently outside the U.S.” It also will not impact the ability of current visa holders to travel in or out of the United States. The new rule took effect at 9:01 p.m. Pacific time Saturday — prompting an extraordinary effort to bring home workers who were caught overseas as confusion spread about who would be affected."
ICE offers big bucks — but California police officers prove tough to poach
LAT, SONJA SHARP/SANDRA MCDONALD/BRITTNY MEJIA: "In the push to expand as quickly as possible, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is aggressively wooing recruits with experience slapping handcuffs on suspects: sheriff’s deputies, state troopers and local cops.
The agency even shelled out for airtime during an NFL game with an ad explicitly targeting officers."
Pentagon steps up media restrictions, requiring approval before reporting even unclassified info
LAT, MORGAN LEE: "The Pentagon says it will require credentialed journalists at the military headquarters to sign a pledge to refrain from reporting information that has not been authorized for release — including unclassified information.
Journalists who don’t abide by the policy risk losing credentials that provide access to the Pentagon, under a 17-page memo distributed Friday that steps up media restrictions imposed by the administration of President Trump."
Trump praises Charlie Kirk as a ‘martyr’ for freedom at packed stadium memorial
LAT, JONATHAN J COOPER/EUGENE GARCIA/AAMERA MADHANI/MEG KINNARD: "President Trump praised Charlie Kirk as a “great American hero” and “martyr” for freedom as he and other prominent conservatives gathered Sunday to honor the slain political activist whose work they say they must now advance.
The memorial service for Kirk, whom Trump credits with playing a pivotal role in his 2024 election victory, drew tens of thousands of mourners, including Vice President JD Vance, other senior administration officials and young conservatives shaped by the 31-year-old firebrand."
The Micheli Minute, September 22, 2025
CAPITOL WEEKLY, STAFF: "Lobbyist, author and McGeorge law professor Chris Micheli offers a quick look at what’s coming up this week under the Capitol Dome."
California issues historic fine over lawyer’s ChatGPT fabrications
CALMATTERS, KHARI JOHNSON: "A California attorney must pay a $10,000 fine for filing a state court appeal full of fake quotations generated by the artificial intelligence tool ChatGPT.
The fine appears to be the largest issued over AI fabrications by a California court and came with a blistering opinion stating that 21 of 23 quotes from cases cited in the attorney’s opening brief were made up. It also noted that numerous out-of-state and federal courts have confronted attorneys for citing fake legal authority."
Hospital pricing abuse is squeezing Californian employers and workers (OP-ED)
Capitol Weekly, SHANE DESSELLE: "As a healthcare researcher and business owner in California, I’ve seen first-hand how rising health care costs impact business and bottom lines. I’m concerned by the upward trend of rising premiums and cost-sharing and the role that large hospital systems play in driving up these costs in our communities.
Despite cost containment efforts, such as prospective payments implemented by CMS, hospital pricing practices have continued to fuel healthcare inflation, destabilizing the system and shifting costs to employers and the commercially insured. As these large hospital systems continue to drive up healthcare costs in California and across the country, providing robust health benefits to the millions of working families covered by employer sponsored health plans could soon become financially unsustainable, according to survey data from the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions."
California faces steepest cuts as Trump ends diversity grants. How one college is faring
CALMATTERS, ADAM ECHELMAN: "In a few weeks, over 100 colleges and universities across California will lose access to essential funding for tutoring, academic counseling and other support services aimed at helping Black, Latino, Asian and Native American students succeed in college.
The change comes after the U.S. Department of Education said earlier this month that it was ending a grant program that supports “minority-serving institutions,” claiming that it illegally favors certain racial or ethnic groups."
What happens if you ignore a school crossing guard in California? Here’s the law
SAC BEE, ANGELA RODRIGUEZ: "Every school day, a crossing guard’s raised stop sign or whistle can mean the difference between order and chaos on busy streets.
Without them, drivers, cyclists and pedestrians must rely on their own judgment to decide when to stop or go."
School board member stipends haven’t changed in over 40 years. That could change with a new bill
EDSOURCE, EMMA GALLEGOS/MALLIKA SESHADRI: "There’s more to being a diligent school board member than attending a couple of meetings a month.
Those meetings require preparation, research and one-on-one conversations with school leadership. There are school site visits. Many districts require regular board training. Sometimes there are spinoff committee meetings about parcel taxes or school nutrition. There’s also an expectation that board members attend events like football games, PTA meetings and retirement ceremonies. Meetings with parents and other constituents are a core part of the role, too."
Kindergarten is important, but illness, tears make chronic absenteeism a challenge
LAT, JENNY GOLD: "Many parents worry about “senioritis” causing their teenagers to cut class. But the students who miss the most days of school in California are kindergartners, according to a report released Monday.
While skipping out on Play-Doh and coloring might not sound serious, chronic absenteeism — defined as missing at least 10% of school days — in the early years can have long-term impacts on literacy, future educational success and social-emotional development."
The L.A. wildfire cleanup was fast. Residents eager to rebuild worry officials chose speed over safety
LAT, TONY BRISCOE/NOAH HAGGERTY/SANDHYA KAMBHAMPATI: "The devastation left in the wake of January’s Eaton and Palisades fires was unimaginable. The firestorms engulfed 59 square miles of Southern California — more than twice the size of Manhattan — transforming entire city blocks in Altadena and Pacific Palisades into corridors of ashes, twisted metal and skeletal trees.
Federal disaster officials rapidly deployed thousands of workers to gather up the wreckage across the burn scars. Armed with shovels and heavy construction equipment, crews quickly collected fire debris from rugged cliffsides, dusky shorelines and sprawling burnt-out neighborhoods. In a matter of months, they transformed the heaps of charred rubble into mostly vacant matchbox lots, ready for rebuilding."
California is squandering billions in clean energy potential (OP-ED)
CAPITOL WEEKLY, FEBY BOEDIARTO: "Environmental justice communities have long fought against dirty energy systems that poison their bodies and drain their wallets. Since winning equitable solar for renters in 2015 with AB 693, members of the California Environmental Justice Alliance have been dreaming of a clean energy future that puts frontline communities first. Community solar + storage is one steppingstone toward a larger vision for energy democracy, where local communities own and govern their clean energy resources.
Three years ago, the California Legislature passed AB 2316 with a clear mandate: build a community solar + storage program that delivers affordable, equitable, and clean energy to the Californians who need it most. But today, we are still waiting. Why?"
One of the Bay Area’s hottest days of 2025 may come just as fall begins
CHRONICLE, GREG PORTER: "Fall may arrive on the calendar at 11:19 a.m. Monday, but the Bay Area forecast has other ideas. Summer warmth will surge to start the week, with some of the hottest temperatures of the year possible Tuesday, before a midweek shift brings a shot at showers and thunderstorms.
The Bay Area will feel the heat Monday and Tuesday, with Tuesday having the potential to be the warmest day so far this year for San Francisco, which should see temperatures rise into the 80s East of Twin Peaks both days."
Summer now sticks around longer in California cities. How many more days of heat?
SAC BEE, BROOKE BAITINGER: ""While it might feel like summer flies right by, the season’s hot temperatures actually stick around longer in most major cities in the U.S., a new study found.
A new report by Climate Central, a nonprofit focusing on how changing climate affects people’s lives, found that summer’s high temperatures “are lingering later” by days and even weeks, depending on where you live."
4.3 magnitude earthquake centered in Berkeley jolts S.F. Bay Area awake
CHRONICLE, STAFF: "An earthquake of magnitude 4.3 jolted the San Francisco area awake shortly before 3 a.m. on Monday.
The earthquake was centered in Berkeley, near the University of California campus, according to the United States Geological Survey. An intense shake was felt widely."
Can one of L.A.’s tallest towers survive a huge quake? L.A. County won’t tell the public what its report found
LAT, RONG-GONG LIN II/REBECCA ELLIS: "Ever since the county of Los Angeles purchased one of downtown L.A.’s tallest skyscrapers, questions have mounted over whether the building could be vulnerable to major damage in the event of a massive earthquake.
County officials agreed to study the matter. But officials are now refusing to disclose a preliminary report that could shed light on the seismic safety question of whether the county should embark on costly retrofits to make it more reliable after a big earthquake."
This business model has changed how restaurants expand in the Bay Area
CHRONICLE, MARIO CORTEZ: "Each day at Flour + Water Pizza in North Beach, staff begin kneading dough at 7 a.m., preparing it for a slow fermentation process so that, in roughly 96 hours, it’s ready to be baked into thin pies topped with smoky eggplant and Calabrian chile or mushrooms over a white sauce.
Some dough balls will be tossed and cooked in the same kitchen, but many will travel down the Embarcadero to Flour + Water’s second pizza shop location, a splash hit away from the Giants’ Oracle Park at the Mission Rock development. More will eventually be headed to a forthcoming Oakland location, while others will be shaped, topped with pepperoni, then packed for retail sales at grocery stores."
The best way to save money as grocery prices spike? Make these easy shopping swaps
CHRONICLE, JESSICA ROY: "Feeling the pinch from your grocery bill? You’re not the only one.
Food prices have steadily risen this year, despite President Donald Trump’s campaign-trail promises to bring them down. The September Consumer Price Index report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed overall inflation up 2.9% in the past 12 months. Food prices are up 3.2%, with the category for meat, poultry, fish and eggs up 5.6% and eggs up 10.9%."
How this Oakland ZIP code became one of the weakest real estate markets in the country
CHRONICLE, CHRISTIAN LEONARD: "In another time, an Oakland condo overlooking Lake Merritt would have sparked a bidding war. Now, it can go a month and a half without finding a buyer.
It’s not hard to find an example. One 1,300-square-foot, two-bedroom condominium in Oakland’s 94612 ZIP code, located steps away from the lake, was listed on Aug. 7 for $670,000. After two weeks and no sale, the owner dropped the price to $650,000. Another two weeks, another $35,000 cut."
Sacramento is betting on tiny homes to address homeless crisis. Will it work?
SAC BEE, MATHEW MIRANDA: "Last month, Sacramento Mayor Kevin McCarty stood at the Roseville Road Campus — a shelter tucked along the edge of Del Paso Park — and declared the future of the city’s homeless strategy.
The shelter, which opened in January 2024, will soon expand by 135 new tiny homes. For years, Sacramento had sparsely used the structures to house homeless people and relied mostly on congregate shelters and its motel shelter program. Only about 13% of the city’s current shelter beds come from tiny homes."
Effort to curb Southern California rail yard pollution stalls under Trump
CAPITAL & MAIN, TWILIGHT GREENAWAY/MAISON TRAN: "When MaCarmen Gonzalez moved from Mexico to the city of San Bernardino, east of Los Angeles, two decades ago, she brought one of her two sons with her. Soon after, he began suffering from asthma, while the son who remained in Mexico stayed healthy. The contrast convinced Gonzalez that the air in her new community — which had become a major distribution hub for Amazon and other online retailers — was making people sick.
She began organizing with People’s Collective for Environmental Justice, a local environmental group, after seeing many of her friends fall ill with cancer — and in some cases — die from the disease. She attributed their illnesses to the unhealthy air. "
Which Bay Area bridges see the most traffic now — and what that says about the remote-work era
CHRONICLE, DANIELLE ECHEVERRIA: "In the era of unpredictable, seemingly permanent Bay Area traffic, the number of cars on Bay Area bridges is nearly back to pre-pandemic levels overall. But the differences between the bridges speak to a region that has been thoroughly reshaped by technology and inequality, with bridges serving Silicon Valley seeing the poorest recovery.
The Chronicle analyzed data from the Bay Area Metropolitan Transportation Commission and the Golden Gate Bridge Transportation District, which both keep a tally of how many cars pass through the toll booths on the eight bridges in the Bay Area."
‘Super bus,’ once intended to replace S.F.’s cable cars, back in service after 72 years
CHRONICLE, SAM WHITING: "As a lifelong Muni-obsessive, Alex Key, 22, has ridden on every line and every vehicle, from the cable car to the boat car. But before this weekend he’d never had the chance to ride the gas-powered, twin engine, 1947 bus that was intended to replace the cable car on the Powell Street line.
That bus, last survivor of a fleet of 10, had not roared its engines on the streets of San Francisco for 72 years before it was finally running and ready to take its place as an attraction at Muni Heritage Weekend. Key, who is studying transportation at City College, came from his home in the Outer Sunset to take its renaissance ride Saturday and was so moved by the historic experience that he came back to ride it again Sunday."
