(EDITORIAL): California, here we come: A new Post is racing to the rescue
NY Post: "Great news for the left coast: California. As the Golden State’s decline accelerates, the New York Post Media Group is launching The California Post to expose the causes of the rot.
Based in Los Angeles, our new edition will contain daily content in print and online, offering the same intrepid, level-headed, reader-focused journalism that’s made the New York Post so indispensable."
Schwarzenegger ready to fight Newsom on redistricting
Politico, WILL McCARTHY: "Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is ready to campaign against a partisan gerrymandering plan that current officeholder Gavin Newsom is hoping to place on the November ballot, according to a spokesperson.
“He calls gerrymandering evil, and he means that. He thinks it’s truly evil for politicians to take power from people,” said Schwarzenegger spokesperson Daniel Ketchell. “He’s opposed to what Texas is doing, and he’s opposed to the idea that California would race to the bottom to do the same thing.”
California is taking a victory lap over its Trump lawsuits. But SCOTUS still looms
Chronicle, BOB EGELKO: "Attorney General Rob Bonta and Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday hailed California’s multibillion-dollar victories in dozens of lawsuits against the Trump administration. But the referee, also known as the Supreme Court, is waiting in the wings.
“Every time the president breaks the law, my office stands ready to take him to court,” Bonta said Monday, heralding victories in most of the 37 lawsuits his office has filed since President Donald Trump took office in January. “No one is above the law, not even the president.”
Texas redistricting move would ‘trigger’ new California maps, Newsom says
LAT, MICHAEL WILNER/LAURA J. NELSON/SEEMA MEHTA/TARYN LUNA: "A last-ditch effort by California Democrats to redraw the state’s congressional map for the 2026 election, countering a similar push by Texas Republicans, is now up against the clock.
Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday that Democrats are moving forward with a plan to put a rare mid-decade redistricting plan before voters on Nov. 4. But state lawmakers will craft a “trigger,” he said, meaning California voters would only vote on the measure if Texas moved forward with its own plans to redraw Congressional boundaries to add five more Republican seats."
California home insurance: See insurers’ latest rates and ratings
The Chronicle, MEGAN FAN MUNCE/HANNA ZAKHATRNKO/EMMA STIEFEL: "Despite California’s insurance crisis, there are still more than 100 different state-regulated companies offering home insurance. This guide can help you research every single one of them.
The top 12 insurers — State Farm, Farmers, CSAA, Liberty Mutual, Mercury General, USAA, Allstate, Auto Club Enterprises, Travelers, American Family, Chubb and Nationwide — collect 85% of premiums statewide. But there are also dozens of smaller companies that make up the other 15% of the market. (The figures do not include the California FAIR Plan or non-regulated insurers.)"
Talking Solar and Alternative Energy with Brad Heavner of CALSSA (PODCAST)
CapWeekly, STAFF "Another jam-packed episode. We start with reaction to Kamala Harris’ bombshell announcement that she will not seek the governorship in 2026, effectively resetting the race, at least on the Dem side.
Next up, we welcome Brad Heavner who has stepped into big shoes as Executive Director of The California Solar & Storage Association (CALSSA), replacing longtime ED Bernadette Del Chiaro. Heavner has his job cut out for him; the transition comes at a crucial time for California’s solar industry, with rooftop solar facing headwinds from DC and Sacramento. And finally, we tell you Who Had the Worst Week in California Politics."
A new bill might finally make online protections work (OP-ED)
CapWeekly, VHAAN BHARDWAJ: "Like many teens, I used to roll my eyes at screen time limits, content restrictions, and the occasional social media “detox” imposed by the adults in my life. It felt invasive, outdated, and unnecessarily controlling. But as I’ve learned more about how Big Tech companies actually design their products, I’ve come to a very different conclusion: The real threat to teen autonomy isn’t digital restriction. It’s corporate manipulation.
With social media as bait, Big Tech capitalizes on my generation. It feeds on our vulnerability. It targets our insecurities. It profits off of the very nature of our youth—minds still developing, still forming the capacity for self-regulation and discernment."
Newsom directs agencies to tackle loneliness crisis among boys and young men
EdSource, VANI SANGANERIA: "Gov. Gavin Newsom has ordered statewide agencies to expand access to mental health support, along with educational and workforce opportunities, in response to what experts say is a growing crisis of loneliness and depression among boys and young men.
Newsom’s executive order, issued last week, aims to address rising rates of suicide, unemployment and gaps in educational achievement for men in their 20s and early 30s in California."
UCLA will negotiate with Trump over $339 million in medical and science grant freezes
LAT, JAWEED KALEEM: "Since federal agencies surprised UCLA by freezing roughly $339 million in research grants, faculty, graduate workers and students have sought out details on what the university — the first public higher education institution targeted by President Trump — will do.
Will UCLA challenge the federal government in court, negotiate and potentially pay a large fine or tap into emergency reserves to support researchers? With more than a third of its federal grant and contract funds frozen, will UCLA be forced to lay off employees, as Columbia, Harvard and other elite private universities did?"
Undeterred by tough restaurant times, students are lining up for this college culinary program
LAT, DANIEL MILLER: "It has been a brutal stretch for L.A. restaurants. Since 2023, hundreds of notable spots have shuttered amid escalating costs for food and labor, and a weakening economy.
More recently, the local scene has also been roiled by the January wildfires, which torched several restaurants, caused some to temporarily close and displaced workers. Then, this summer, federal immigration enforcement raids led many undocumented workers to leave their posts over fear of detainment."
California wine industry torn on Trump tariffs
CALMatters, LEVI SUMAGAYSAY: "Tariffs on European wine could be good or bad for California wine producers, depending on whom you ask.
Some American winemakers, restaurateurs and others are urging President Donald Trump to exclude wine from tariffs on goods from Europe, saying European wines are important to the health of domestic wines."
Grateful Dead concerts boost S.F.’s Haight-Ashbury merchants: ‘Biggest weekend for us of the year’
The Chronicle, ROLAND LI: "The massive, 60,000-person crowds celebrating the Grateful Dead’s 60th anniversary this past week were a major economic boost for the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood where the band spent many of its early years.
“All the Deadheads, they all want to come to the Haight,” said Robert Emmons, president of the Haight Ashbury Merchants Association. “This is definitely the biggest weekend for us of the year.”"
‘A piece of freedom’: How San Quentin prisoners brought world-class art inside its walls
CALMatters, JOE GARCIA: "About a month after I earned my parole and was released from High Desert State Prison in 2024, my buddy Kai Bannon called me from San Quentin through the institutional phone portal. My eyes welled with emotion at being on the other side of these monitored calls for the first time as a free person.
Kai co-founded San Quentin SkunkWorks — a nonprofit social innovation lab focused on introducing and testing moonshot reform ideas, and he and his inside team embarked on a series of community-oriented projects within the prison."
South Korea dismantles its propaganda loudspeakers on the border with North Korea
LAT, MAX KIM: "South Korea has begun dismantling loudspeakers that blare anti-North Korean propaganda across the border, as President Lee Jae Myung’s liberal administration seeks to mend fractured relations with Pyongyang.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the defense ministry said the removal was “a practical measure to ease inter-Korean tensions without impacting the military’s readiness posture.”"
