Newsom demands information from Trump after Border Patrol swarms outside governor’s news conference
LAT, JAMES QUEALLY: "Gov. Gavin Newsom filed a request Sunday seeking records from the Trump administration to explain why a phalanx of Border Patrol agents showed up outside a news conference held by leading California Democrats last week.
Newsom filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security asking for “all documents and records” related to the Aug. 14 Border Patrol operation in downtown Los Angeles, which took place outside the Japanese American National Museum in Little Tokyo. At the news conference, Newsom announced a campaign to seek voter approval to redraw California’s congressional maps to boost Democrats’ chances of retaking the House and stymieing Trump’s agenda in the 2026 midterm elections."
News Analysis: Newsom’s decision to fight fire with fire could have profound political consequences
LAT, JULIA WICK: "Deep in the badlands of defeat, Democrats have soul-searched about what went wrong last November, tinkered with a thousand-plus thinkpieces and desperately cast for a strategy to reboot their stalled-out party.
Amid the noise, California Gov. Gavin Newsom has recently championed an unlikely game plan: Forget the high road, fight fire with fire and embrace the very tactics that virtue-minded Democrats have long decried."
CA redistricting 101: how we got here and what’s next for a possible Nov. 4 vote
SacBee, KATE WOLFFE NICOLE NIXON and LIA RUSSELL: "In June, with an eye on the 2026 midterms, President Donald Trump’s administration began pressing Republicans in Texas to redraw congressional lines to shore up the GOP’s razor thin majority and elect five more Republicans to the House.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican but no staunch ally of the president, initially demurred at redrawing district lines at the request of a sitting president for political gain. Then the Department of Justice, led by former San Francisco attorney Harmeet Dhillon, weighed in, charging four Houston and Fort Worth districts currently held by Black and Latino Democrats with being unfairly drawn along racial lines. The Supreme Court is also set to hear a Louisiana redistricting case in October that could weaken parts of the Voting Rights Act, a major accomplishment of the Civil Rights era."
CA lawmakers face tight legislative deadline on redistricting, climate change
AP: "California Democrats are making a partisan push to draw new congressional districts and reshape the state’s U.S. House representation in their favor, but to pull it off, lawmakers returning to the Capitol on Monday face a tight deadline and must still win voters’ approval.
Limits on federal immigration raids and advancing racial justice efforts are also among the hundreds of proposals the Legislature will vote on before the session ends in September."
Trump pressures Zelenskyy ahead of high-stakes meeting
Politico, GISELLE RUHIYYIH EWING: "U.S. President Donald Trump put the onus on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to end the war with Russia ahead of their meeting in Washington on Monday — a stark contrast to the red carpet he rolled out days earlier for Russia’s leader Vladimir Putin.
Zelenskyy, accompanied by several European leaders, is visiting Washington for talks with Trump to discuss possible pathways to end the years-long war. Trump appeared to mark conditions for Monday’s talks in a Truth Social post late Sunday night, setting a potentially tense tone for the meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart."
Mapmaker Paul Mitchell on California’s emergency redistricting proposal (PODCAST)
Capitol Weekly, STAFF: "Governor Newsom and Democratic allies announced Thursday that they will propose a constitutional amendment — The Election Rigging Response Act — to counter Texas and other Red states’ mid-decade redistricting plans. Framing the proposal as a response to GOP efforts to Gerrymander and “rig” Texas’ elections next year in order to protect Republican control of congress, the proposal would replace California’s current congressional district maps with new maps to be used in the 2026, 2028 and 2030 elections. The California’s Citizens Redistricting Commission would resume mapmaking duties after the 2030 census.
Our guest today is California political data and redistricting whiz Paul Mitchell, who was tasked with coming up with the new maps just two weeks ago. Mitchell described the process of drawing the new maps, why the redistricting effort was necessary, and tells us which seats will see the most changes."
AB 564 is a needed boost for California’s legal cannabis market (OP-ED)
Capitol Weekly, BRIAN CAMIRE: "California was an early pioneer in creating a legalized cannabis market. However, the establishment and maintenance of a stable market for the industry is a journey we are still on. San Francisco-based Assemblymember Matt Haney recognized the need to keep that journey on track. His bill, AB 564, provides a critical lifeline to licensed operators by freezing the cannabis excise tax at 15%.
This relief from AB 564 aims to ease the financial burdens on legal growers, distributors, and retailers. These are not faceless corporations; they are locally owned businesses that employ hardworking Californians. With more breathing room, they can continue to serve their markets, comply with safety and environmental standards, and innovate responsibly. Every shuttered business means lost jobs and less local investment, and lower tax revenues to help California communities that depend on the cannabis industry."
The tech company stocking up on Democrats as Silicon Valley turns right
Politico, CHRISTINE MUI and CHASE DiFELICIANTONIO: "Sam Altman, the driving force behind ChatGPT’s meteoric rise, is running a team of veteran political operatives, campaigning to secure his company OpenAI’s future. Only in this case, there’s no gray-at-the-temples candidate.
Instead, the billionaire CEO is in an existential race to remain at the top of the hypercompetitive artificial intelligence market, with rivals like Google, Meta, Anthropic and Elon Musk’s xAI gunning for the lead, at times dangling nine figures to poach top talent."
The Micheli Minute for August
Capitol Weekly, STAFF: "Lobbyist, professor, and author Chris Micheli offers a quick look at what’s coming up this week in Sacramento."
Russia is quietly churning out fake content posing as US news
Politico, DANA NICKEL: "A pro-Russian propaganda group is taking advantage of high-profile news events to spread disinformation, and it’s spoofing reputable organizations — including news outlets, nonprofits and government agencies — to do so.
According to misinformation tracker NewsGuard, the campaign — which has been tracked by Microsoft’s Threat Analysis Center as Storm-1679 since at least 2022 — takes advantage of high-profile events to pump out fabricated content from various publications, including ABC News, BBC and most recently POLITICO."
3 days. 65 miles. Epic horseback ride honors legendary Mexican outlaw Joaquin Murrieta
LAT, CLARA HARTER: "For three days and 65 miles, the riders will travel through the heat and dust of the Central Valley to honor a man from the Gold Rush era who, depending on the point of view, was either a freedom fighter or a ruthless criminal.
Their journey begins in Cantua Creek, a rural community in Fresno County, where California Rangers claimed to have shot and killed Joaquin Murrieta in 1853. As proof, they cut off his head and pickled it in a jar."
Vendor that provides telehealth services for LAUSD students reports data breach
EdSource, MALLIKA SESHADRI: "Kokomo Solutions, a technology vendor that provides Los Angeles Unified School District students with telehealth services and a tip line to report suspicious activity, has fallen prey to a data breach.
The company noticed “unusual activity on our computer network” on Dec. 11, 2024 — but did not file a data breach notice with the state until Aug. 5."
California’s self-own on wind and solar'
Politico, NOAH BAUSTIN: "A wind power farm in the mountains of far-Northern California was the first through the door of a new permit streamlining program that came with a lofty promise to renewable energy developers: Once a permit application was complete, the California Energy Commission would make a final ruling on the project within 270 days.
It’s been more than 650 days since Fountain Wind completed its application. But the agency still hasn’t made a final ruling, after fierce local opposition successfully derailed the permit review."
California weather shift: Heat, monsoon thunderstorms enter forecast
The Chronicle, ANTHONY EDWARDS: "After a breezy and cool weekend, California’s weather is about to undergo a big shift. “The most significant heat wave of the summer season, so far,” is expected to begin midweek and continue through the weekend, according to the National Weather Service.
Heat is predicted to peak Thursday through Saturday, but there’s a chance it lasts even longer. High temperatures are forecast to be 10 to 15 degrees above normal and flirt with record territory in the mountains, deserts and valleys. San Francisco should be spared from the worst of the heat, as is typical with August heat waves."
Marin wants to expand its second-biggest reservoir. The nearby town isn’t happy
The Chronicle, JERRY WU: "In 2001, Monica and Michael Seybold bought a home in Nicasio, less than a mile from a shimmering reservoir on the edge of the Marin ranching community.
Over time, hazards have become increasingly apparent. Most winters, heavy rainfall floods a creek that flows through their backyard toward the reservoir. Sediment buildup has caused the creek bed — and the water — to rise further, they said."
How this Bay Area city is battling a goose invasion — and 300 pounds of poop a day
The Chropnicle, CHRISTIAN LEONARD: "Welcome to Foster City, home to 24 parks and more than 160 acres of open space that collects some 300 pounds of goose poop a day.
Foster City has received national attention for its troubles with Canada geese. Each goose — the city estimates it has between 300 and 400 of them — can produce one or two pounds of droppings a day, turning a park into a minefield. The goose poop requires regular power washings and has contributed to high E. coli levels in parts of the local lagoon. During nesting season the birds can become aggressive, even chasing off small dogs and children."
‘A canary in the coal mine:’ California dogs increasingly exposed to tick-borne bacteria
LAT, LILA SEIDMAN: "Dog owners may need to be on alert for a disease many have never heard of — anaplasmosis, spread by the same tick that transmits Lyme disease.
Anaplasmosis can make dogs feverish or lethargic, turn their nose up at food and lose weight, but many show no sign of illness at all. In rare circumstances, though, dogs can bleed from the nose, have neck pain and suffer seizures."
Powell's speech this week could give housing a welcome boost
TheStreet, CHARLEY BLAINE: "The conventional wisdom will vote for the Federal Reserve Chairman's speech. It will offer a glimpse (but not a promise) into how the Fed might vote on its key interest rate at its September 16-17 meeting.
Powell's speech is set for 10 a.m. ET, a half-hour after the stock market opens, and you can be sure traders around the world will be listening. He will be speaking at an annual symposium organized by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City."
Vacation rentals could be banned in one of California’s top coastal destinations
The Chronicle, TARA DUGGAN: "A proposed ban on vacation rentals in Big Sur and a limit on the rentals in other parts of Monterey County moved closer to passage this past week
.
On Wednesday, the California Coastal Commission approved Monterey County’s plan to remove unhosted vacation rentals — when the guest rents out the entire home without a host present — from Big Sur and the Carmel Highlands, and to limit such rentals along other parts of the coast to 4% of the number of single family homes in the area."
Short-term home rentals are dropping in L.A. ‘The rules are too much’
LAT, JACK FLEMMING: "For the last four years, Katherine Taylor rented out her Westside guesthouse on Airbnb. She came to rely on the extra income at a time when it felt like everything was getting more expensive.
But this spring, she took the listing down."
Can a new chief fix one of the Bay Area’s most corrupt police departments?
The Chronicle, CONNOR LETOURNEAU: "As Joe Vigil inspected a gutted former retail space in one of Antioch’s highest-crime corridors, the newly appointed police chief let out an exasperated sigh.
That empty storefront at the center of Sycamore Square, a graffiti-tagged shopping center known for frequent shootings, was supposed to be reopening soon as the Antioch Police Department’s new satellite office. But, as Vigil surveyed the building’s interior in early July, he saw wires dangling where lights once hung, cracked floor tiles and dirty walls with white space outlining where a cash register once stood."
S.F. airport traffic is strong — but this metric is moving in the wrong direction
The Chronicle, DANIELLE ECHEVERRIA: "While national airport traffic declined slightly so far this year compared to last year, SFO is bucking that trend, a Chronicle analysis found.
Between January and May, the number of passengers who flew into U.S. airports decreased by about 2%, the Chronicle found. But the number of passengers flying into SFO increased by 6.5% over the same time."
