California Policy and Politics Thursday

Trump picks Pam Bondi for AG after Matt Gaetz withdraws -- Donald Trump said he will nominate former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi as his attorney general, hours after his first pick for the role, former Rep. Matt Gaetz, withdrew from consideration for the position. Mia McCarthy Politico Sadie Gurman in the Wall Street Journal$ Michael Gold in the New York Times$ -- 11/21/24

Gaetz drops out -- Matt Gaetz announced Thursday he is withdrawing his name from consideration as President-elect Donald Trump's pick as attorney general, noting in a social media post that his nomination had become a distraction. Olivia Beavers Politico Noah Weiland in the New York Times$ Eric Tucker and Alanna Durkin Richer Associated Press Sadie Gurman in the Wall Street Journal$ Marianne LeVine in the Washington Post$ -- 11/21/24-- 11/21/24

Graphic details revealed in Monterey sexual assault claim against Pete Hegseth, Trump Cabinet pick -- A woman told Monterey police that Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for Defense secretary, took her phone, blocked her from leaving his hotel room and sexually assaulted her, according to a newly released police report. Clara Harter in the Los Angeles Times$ Matthias Gafni in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Lara Seligman, Vera Bergengruen and Nancy A. Youssef in the Wall Street Journal$ Sharon LaFraniere in the New York Times$ Danielle Paquette and Jonathan O'Connell in the Washington Post$ -- 11/21/24

California storm live updates: Rare high-risk warning for excessive rain issued for these areas -- The atmospheric river event bringing heavy rains and strong winds to California continues. Many of the same locations that were hit hard on Wednesday with rain and snow will see more heavy accumulations on Thursday, in particular, Humboldt and Siskiyou counties. In the Bay Area, the North Bay is likely to get drenched, with some risk of flooding. Aidin Vaziri, Jessica Flores, Greg Porter in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Rick Hurd in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 11/21/24

Gavin Newsom has a tough needle to thread: Oppose and appease Trump at the same time -- Three days after Donald Trump won another term as president, California Gov. Gavin Newsom described his plans to fight Trump’s agenda on a call with donors and political supporters. But even for that liberal audience, Newsom avoided saying directly that he would resist the incoming president. Sophia Bollag in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/21/24

California’s ‘Trump-proofing’ likely won’t include AI — at least not yet -- President-elect Trump has vowed to rescind an executive order that imposed AI safeguards, and could use tech to enable mass deportations. How far will California the other direction? Alex Shultz CalMatters -- 11/21/24

Jan. 6 defendants, including some from California, eagerly await Trump pardons -- Dempsey, of Van Nuys, was accused by federal prosecutors of being “one of the most violent rioters” and sentenced in August to 20 years in prison — one of the stiffest penalties to date — after pleading guilty to assaulting a law enforcement officer with a dangerous weapon and breaching the seat of Congress. Kevin Rector and Brittny Mejia in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/21/24

Christine Pelosi is part of a small army of ballot ‘curers’ in wildly close California House race -- On Wednesday afternoon, after a few days of volunteering in the Merced area, she was “staking out” a Modesto home with a colleague, hoping to connect with a voter whose ballot was rejected over a signature problem, she told the Chronicle. Molly Burke, Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/21/24

Early outlook suggests $2-billion California deficit, warns of federal changes under Trump -- The California Legislative Analyst’s Office reported Wednesday that Gov. Gavin Newsom and lawmakers could face a relatively small $2-billion budget deficit next year, but warned that the outlook looks worse in the future and does not account for changes under the incoming Trump administration. Taryn Luna in the Los Angeles Times$ Alexei Koseff in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Nicole Nixon in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/21/24

Walters: $165 billion revenue error continues to haunt California’s budget -- History will — or at least should — see a $165 billion error in revenue estimates as one of California’s most boneheaded political acts. It happened in 2022, as the state was emerging from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Dan Walters CalMatters -- 11/21/24

‘Charter’ cities are gaining popularity in California, but voters are worried about new taxes -- Over the last several decades, an increasing number of California cities have transitioned to “charter cities,” and many more could follow suit. The main obstacle? Recent elections show many residents don’t actually want that designation. Kota Suzuki in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/21/24

Daniel Lurie was raised in old money San Francisco. Can he be the city’s change agent? -- Mayor-elect Daniel Lurie ran as the “non-politician” who could hit reset at San Francisco City Hall. But even as a political newcomer, Lurie, scion of one of the city’s elite old-money families, is far from an outsider. Hannah Wiley in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/21/24

Berkeley’s next mayor is a City Hall outsider who promises ‘reset’ and unity -- Adena Ishii, a newcomer to city politics, was elected Berkeley’s next mayor — beating out two veterans of the city’s political scene, according to the latest results released Wednesday. Sarah Ravani in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/21/24

Former L.A. City Councilman Ridley-Thomas’ ultimate campaign: To clear his name -- The veteran politician seeks to have his conviction on graft charges overturned. On Thursday, his lawyers will argue before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Matt Hamilton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/21/24

Workplace

L.A. City Council postpones vote on wage hike for hotel and airport workers over tourism concerns -- The minimum wage for workers at larger hotels and LAX would rise to $30 an hour by 2028 under a proposal to be voted on by the L.A. City Council. Suhauna Hussain in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/21/24

Kaiser poised to downsize at Oakland HQ in another blow to downtown -- Kaiser Permanente, one of Oakland’s largest employers, plans to downsize its headquarters office space in another blow to the city’s downtown. Roland Li in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/21/24

Advance Auto Parts to close 14 Bay Area stores, slash jobs amid restructuring -- Advance Auto Parts, struggling with slumping sales and a $6 million loss in the third quarter, is substantially cutting back its operations in California, including the closure of 14 Bay Area stores and the elimination of 123 local jobs. Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/21/24

An Immigration Crackdown Risks Sapping Farms’ Vital Source of Labor -- Agriculture companies and laborers fear raids; 42% of crop farmhands aren’t legally authorized to work in U.S. Patrick Thomas in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 11/21/24

Musk, Ramaswamy Want Federal Workers in the Office Full Time. There’s a Hitch -- The move, aimed at thinning the civil-servant workforce, could come soon after Trump’s inauguration, a person close to the effort says. John McCormick and Te-Ping Chen in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 11/21/24

Campus

Conservative professors and students are suing California’s community colleges, and winning -- In numerous lawsuits, conservative professors and students allege that California’s community colleges are hindering their right to free speech under the First Amendment. Adam Echelman CalMatters -- 11/21/24

Nearly half of Muslim students at California universities say they have been harassed, survey finds -- A new report from the Council on Islamic Relations said that close to half of Muslim students surveyed at dozens of California campuses felt harassed or discriminated against because of their religion. Jaweed Kaleem in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/21/24

Cal State is trying to save its smallest campus by merging it with Cal Poly -- In a bid to forestall its financial disintegration, Cal Maritime, California’s smallest public university, is merging with one of the state’s most selective and financially stable universities, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Mikhail Zinshteyn and Jeremy Garza CalMatters -- 11/21/24

Classroom

California teachers are cursing Donald Trump in the classroom. Is it their right? -- Several Southern California teachers are facing disciplinary action after fervid anti-Trump outbursts made in the wake of the November election that rattled school communities and generated fierce debate over teachers’ rights to share their political views. Clara Harter in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/21/24

Homeless

Nearly half of L.A.’s record homelessness budget went unspent, city controller finds -- Los Angeles city Controller Kenneth Mejia reported that the city failed to spend nearly half of the $1.3 billion budgeted for homelessness in 2023-24. Doug Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/21/24

Housing

These L.A. tenants want to own their buildings. L.A. is collecting millions to help -- “Social housing” could soon expand across L.A. with significant help from Measure ULA, also known as the “mansion tax.” Prospective tenant-owners agree to keep housing costs affordable and not make a significant profit. Paloma Esquivel in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/21/24

Wolfpack

New ‘Diamond’ wolf pack discovered roaming 50 miles from Lake Tahoe -- A new pack of wolves has been confirmed in California’s Sierra Valley, a mountainous area about 50 miles north of Lake Tahoe in the vicinity of Plumas County, marking another step forward in the remarkable comeback of wolves. Kurtis Alexander in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/21/24

Water

California water agency considers spending $141 million on Delta tunnel project -- The powerful board of Southern California’s largest urban water supplier will soon vote on whether to continue funding a large share of preliminary planning work for the state’s proposed water tunnel in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. Ian James in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/21/24

Biden administration outlines options for addressing Colorado River water shortages -- Federal officials release a proposal outlining options for new, long-term rules for managing chronic water shortages from the overtapped Colorado River. Federal officials say the alternatives provide paths for seven Western states that have been at odds to move toward a consensus on how to address chronic water shortages. Ian James in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/21/24

Street

Shoplifter injured by police dog gets nearly $1-million settlement from Northern California city -- A woman injured by a police dog as she was being arrested for shoplifting in Northern California is getting a settlement of nearly $1 million. Salvador Hernandez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/21/24

She didn’t know she was pregnant. But a surprise birth wasn’t enough to loosen fentanyl’s grip -- Jessica DiDia was accustomed to her body feeling broken — her limbs swollen, her muscles aching. Maggie Angst, Catherine Ho, Gabrielle Lurie in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/21/24

Race

California lets defendants challenge racism in court. Few have succeeded -- A Garrison Project and CalMatters analysis of the Racial Justice Act found about a dozen successful cases in which judges took action on racial bias in the legal process. Sean Kevin Campbell CalMatters -- 11/21/24

Rivian

The plan for Irvine EV maker Rivian to emerge from its ‘awkward teenage years’ -- The company is wrestling with supply chain woes, consumers wary about spending and, now, potential changes in EV policy under a second Donald Trump administration. Queenie Wong and Laurence Darmiento in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/21/24

POTUS 47

The Trump Stock Euphoria Starts to Fade -- The rally has faded as Donald Trump fills out his cabinet and analysts grasp for policy details, particularly about the president-elect's tariff plans. Jack Pitcher in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 11/21/24

Federal Inquiry Traced Payments From Gaetz to Women -- A document prepared by federal investigators bolsters claims by women who say they were hired for sex by Matt Gaetz, President-elect Donald J. Trump’s choice for attorney general, who denies wrongdoing. Michael S. Schmidt in the New York Times$ -- 11/21/24

Trump picks people who worked on Project 2025 despite distancing himself -- Donald Trump has announced the choices for his administration after saying he had “no idea” who was involved with the policy blueprint coordinated by the conservative Heritage Foundation. Patrick Svitek in the Washington Post$ -- 11/21/24

Dr. Oz, Fox Hosts and a Star of ‘The Real World’ Join Trump’s Season 2 Cast -- The president-elect is rounding out his second administration with television stars. Michael M. Grynbaum in the New York Times$ -- 11/21/24

Trump’s education pick once incorrectly claimed to have education degree -- Linda McMahon, in a questionnaire for a 2009 post on a Connecticut state education board, incorrectly said she had a bachelor’s degree in education. Beth Reinhard, Aaron Schaffer and Laura Meckler in the Washington Post$ -- 11/21/24

Musk, Ramaswamy vow ‘mass head-count reductions’ in U.S. government -- The leaders of President-elect Donald Trump’s new DOGE panel have promised extensive cuts to federal regulation, spending and personnel. Jeff Stein, Jacob Bogage and Lisa Rein in the Washington Post$ -- 11/21/24

Dr. Oz, Tapped to Run Medicare, Has a Record of Promoting Health Misinformation -- The heart surgeon turned TV star has championed healthy lifestyle habits. But he’s also promoted sham diet pills and ineffective Covid-19 treatments. Dani Blum, Emily Schmall and Nina Agrawal in the New York Times$ -- 11/21/24