The summer’s most dangerous heat wave is set to broil SoCal, elevating fire and health risks
LA Times, GRACE TOOHEY: "The season’s most dangerous heat wave is expected to bake Southern California and much of the American Southwest this week, with triple-digit highs and elevated fire conditions set to begin Wednesday and last for several days.
Extreme heat and fire weather advisories have been issued for much of inland Southern California, with peak temperatures expected Thursday and Friday. Downtown Los Angeles is forecast to reach 94 degrees, while Woodland Hills could hit 108. Los Angeles County valleys and the Inland Empire probably will heat up to 104 degrees. Palm Springs could hit above 113 and Death Valley is bracing for 120 degrees, according to the National Weather Service."
California heat wave shaped by unlikely factor — the East Coast’s Hurricane Erin
Chronicle, GREG PORTER: "Hurricane Erin is spinning thousands of miles away in the Atlantic, where it will send large waves to the East Coast. But the storm’s impact will be felt all the way across the country as well: It is a key reason for California’s coming mid-week heat wave.
Tropical cyclones don’t just affect their immediate surroundings. Their sheer energy, released as heat and momentum into the upper atmosphere, can ripple across the hemisphere, altering the jet stream and shifting weather patterns far away. That’s the chain reaction happening now."
Republicans say they’ll fight against Newsom’s redistricting effort
SacBee, KATE WOLFE and DAVID LIGHTMAN: "Republicans on the state and national level have come out strong against California’s tit-for-tat redistricting war with Texas.
In a news conference held just moments after state Democratic lawmakers threw their support behind calling a special election in numbers that almost assure it will happen, state Republicans railed against the plan. “We should not abandon the principle of fair and independent redistricting here in California just for political expediency,” said Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher, R-Yuba City. California’s independent redistricting commission has been drawing congressional maps since 2010."
Gavin Newsom wants an election in a hurry on his gerrymander. Here’s what has to happen
CalMatters, MAYA C. MILLER: "Calling a statewide special election sounds simple in theory. But executing one with fewer than 75 days notice? As one California county election official put it, that’s a “herculean” effort.
California voting officials are scrambling behind the scenes to prepare for the special election Gov. Gavin Newsom wants this November on his proposal to redraw the state’s congressional districts. But to do so, Newsom needs voters to approve a ballot initiative in an off-year special election that the state has yet to officially approve and schedule."
To counter Texas, California lawmakers take up plan to redraw congressional districts
LA Times, SEEMA MEHTA and LAURA J. NELSON: "California Democrats on Monday kicked off the process to redraw the state’s congressional districts, an extraordinary action they said was necessary to neutralize efforts by President Trump and Texas Republicans to increase the number of GOP lawmakers in Congress.
If approved by state lawmakers this week, Californians will vote on the ballot measure, labeled Proposition 50, in a special election in November."
5 things to know about Gavin Newsom’s plan to redraw California’s election maps
CalMatters, ALEXEI KOSEFF: "The fight over redistricting is about to hit overdrive in California...
Republicans, who stand to lose more than half their seats in the state, decry the scheme as a self-serving power grab. But supporters, led by Gov. Gavin Newsom, contend they are saving democracy by stopping Trump from rigging the outcome of the 2026 midterms."
(OPINION) How will California’s congressional gerrymander attempt play out in the long run?
CalMatters, DAN WALTERS: "...Since no one can predict how all of this will turn out, the situation invites exploring potential scenarios.
For example, Newsom says California’s gerrymander would occur only if Texas does it first, but that’s not what Assembly Constitutional Amendment 8 actually says. The proposal would become operative, ACA 8 says, “only if Texas, Florida, or another state adopts a new congressional district map that takes effect after August 1, 2025, and before January 1, 2031, and such redistricting is not required by a federal court order.”
In other words, if the Texas or another red-state gerrymander does not occur for whatever reason, California’s could still be activated if any other state, including another blue state such as Illinois, also rearranges its districts. It’s a loophole big enough to drive a semi-truck through."
A new California law just snuck in a cap on HOA fines. Heres why that could be a problem
Chronicle, KATHLEEN PENDER: "A new California law that prohibits homeowners associations from charging members more than $100 per violation for breaking most HOA rules has people on both sides of the issue worrying about the unintended consequences, especially more disputes ending up in court.
The brief provision was inserted hastily into a large budget trailer bill, AB 130, less than a week before it passed on June 30. It took effect immediately, giving HOA boards, advisers, members and lobbyists little time to weigh in or digest its application and impacts."
Thousands of Cal State students require housing. But can the university system meet the need?
LA Times, AMY DiPIERRO: "Dorm life at Sacramento State suited Sofia Gonzalez. Living on campus her first year, most classes were a 10-minute walk away — and most of her closest friends lived in the same residence hall. “Everything,” she said, was “right there.”
But this summer, as she prepared to start her sophomore year, friends who applied for university housing warned Gonzalez they had been placed on a wait list. Daunted by the limited supply of dorms and the cost of on-campus housing rent, Gonzalez opted to try the private market instead."
Potential pilot with San Jose State could bring big changes to Silicon Valley law school
EdSource, AMY DiPIERRO: "Does Silicon Valley need a public law school? That question is at the heart of a debate about the future of the state’s Master Plan for Higher Education and access to affordable legal education.
A bill in the California State Senate initially would have made it possible to merge a nonprofit private law school into San Jose State University, forming the city’s first public law school. The bill’s author, state Sen. Dave Cortese, is a graduate of the most likely candidate for such a partnership, Lincoln Law School of San Jose, which has recently faced enrollment and accreditation troubles."
White House gets key facts wrong as it blames California for 3 traffic deaths in Florida
Chronicle, SOPHIA BOLLAG and SARA DiNATALE: "The White House on Monday blamed California’s “sanctuary” policies for a fatal crash in Florida allegedly caused by an undocumented semitruck driver, even though the Trump administration acknowledged the driver had a federal work permit.
And while it’s true that California enabled immigrants without legal status to obtain driver’s licenses more than a decade ago, that law did not extend to commercial trucking licenses."
These are the worst freeways in Southern California: L.A. Times rankings
LA Times, TERRY CASTLEMAN and SHELBY GRAD: "Southern California is world famous for its love-hate relationship with freeways. From the annual Thanksgiving jam on the 405 to one-offs like 2011’s Carmageddon incident, L.A.’s roads are always a main character in the city’s story. We set out to rank these freeways and highways once and for all.
Though no metric is perfect, our approach combines some of the most important data points on freeways — average speed of cars, delays, lost productivity and fatalities — to approximate the worst and best stretches of road in Southern California. We also selected specific stretches of freeway to measure, and those may or may not line up with your commute. We used a year of data from 2022, which is the most recent available. For all these reasons, our rankings are subjective but they represent our best attempt to examine the freeway system."
Capitol Spotlight: Niesha Fritz, Lucas Public Affairs
Capitol Weekly, ACSHA LEMMA: "If there’s one word to describe Niesha Fritz, it is “indefatigable,” according to her former editor at the Sacramento Bee, Cathie Anderson.
Incapable of being fatigued is an apt description for Fritz, who recently left the California Capitol and joined consulting firm Lucas Public Affairs as its newest vice president."
Mortgage lender settles California case for $2.3 million in fines and refunds
SacBee, SHARON BERNSTEIN: "A former Texas mortgage company will stop doing business in California and pay $2.3 million in fines and homeowner refunds under a settlement announced Monday by state consumer protection officials.
Caliber Home Loans, which has since been absorbed into the Pennsylvania mortgage servicer Newrez, overcharged about 5,000 California borrowers for the interest that must be paid in advance of their first regular mortgage payments, the settlement agreement released by the California Department of Financial Protection & Innovation says."
Peralta district chancellor recommends merging Laney and Merritt colleges
EdSource: "Tammeil Gilkerson, the chancellor of the Peralta Community College District, has recommended to the district’s trustees that their two largest schools, Laney College and Merritt College, merge to become the “Oakland City College,” according to Laney College’s student newspaper, The Citizen, and the San Francisco Chronicle.
“It keeps our footprint and our areas that we serve,” Gilkerson told The Citizen. “The idea here is really thinking through what would it look like to prune, to grow three tremendous colleges that really could flourish in new ways.”
