California in Focus

(The Center Square) - A legislative committee has rejected a bipartisan bill to end a loophole in California’s mental health diversion program that allows mentally ill individuals charged with domestic violence, human trafficking or assault of a child under age 8 resulting in the child's death, to seek mental health treatment instead of facing criminal charges and prison time.  Support this podcas...

(The Center Square) — The cost of providing Medi-Cal to each illegal immigrant beneficiary is rising 10-15% per year, according to a new report from the state-funded Legislative Analyst’s Office. This means even if California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposal to stop new enrollment in Medi-Cal by illegal immigrants in 2026 is adopted, costs for the program’s existing approximately 1.7 million illegal i...

(The Center Square) - The San Francisco Unified School District delayed its plans to adopt “equity” grading at 14 schools after national, bipartisan backlash over the proposal to eliminate grading for attendance, punctuality, homework and quizzes, and grade only on a final exam that can be taken multiple times. The new scheme, promoted unilaterally by Superintendent Maria Su without vote from the...

(The Center Square) - The U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division announced it is investigating California for violating Title IX by allowing males to participate in female student sports. “Title IX exists to protect women and girls in education,” said Harmeet K. Dhillon, assistant attorney general for Civil Rights. “It is perverse to allow males to compete against girls, invade their p...

(The Center Square) – In April, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced his lawsuit against the Trump administration to block cuts to the AmeriCorps, while saying he supports California’s paid “service” program, in which individuals get paid for giving their time to provide “community service” such as “taking climate action.” Now, Newsom is scaling back his plans for the program’s growth as the sta...

(The Center Square) - U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune announced he is holding a vote to overturn California’s 2035 ban on the sale of new gas-powered cars, which has been adopted by 11 other states and the District of Columbia, making up 40% of the American market. The vote would also impact other California emissions rules approved in the last days of the Biden administration, including th...

(The Center Square) - A 17-state-and-territory coalition led by California, Washington and Colorado is suing the Trump administration to maintain access to $5 billion in EV charger funding passed by Congress in 2021 but put on hold by the current administration. A majority of the coalition, including lawsuit leaders California and Washington, has failed to build any chargers using $3.3 billion in...

(The Center Square) - California Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed a $7.5 billion federal film tax credit as part of an offer to work with the President Donald Trump’s administration to “Make America Film Again.” Just days before, Trump had threatened to place a 100% tariff on films made abroad, but has since walked back that option. “California built the film industry — and we’re ready to bring even...

(The Center Square) - A new analysis has found California gasoline prices could rise to $8.44 per gallon by the end of 2026 after the pending closure of two refineries — one-fifth of the state’s refining capacity — and the onset of new state regulations. California gas prices are the nation’s highest, at $4.78 per gallon for regular-grade gasoline Tuesday, per AAA.  Support this podcast: https://s...

(The Center Square) - Dozens of groups are urging Congress to overturn the Biden administration’s approval of California’s gas car ban, under which new gas-powered cars must be 100% zero-emission by 2035 and 35% for the model year 2026 vehicles already starting to arrive at dealers. The rules apply not only to California, but Washington, D.C. and the 11 other states that have signed on to adopt Ca...

(The Center Square) - California Board of Parole Hearings ordered the release of convicted child murderer Josue Herrera, who was found to have beaten his girlfriend’s 2-year-old son to death. While BPH claims Herrera has shown “remorse” and is “no longer” a “risk to public safety,” some officials questioned the decision, noting the gruesome circumstances of the toddler’s murder and the unfairness...

(The Center Square) - The California Legislative Analyst’s Office reports the state’s drug spending has doubled since 2018, with a quarter of the increase coming from weight loss drugs and an unknown portion from drugs for illegal immigrants. Drug spending for Medi-Cal, the state’s taxpayer-funded public health care program, has increased from approximately $4 billion in the 2018-2019 fiscal year...

(The Center Square) - With Valero announcing the pending closure of one of its two remaining California refineries, the state will lose at least 18% of its current refining capacity by the end of 2026. Because California is an “energy island,” meeting demand for California and the parts of Nevada and Arizona that rely on its refineries will require costly imports of volatile fuel by emissions-heav...

(The Center Square) — California’s new U.S. attorney announced Tuesday he is investigating billions of dollars of homeless spending for fraud and corruption, and promised to arrest individuals found to have violated federal law. “California has spent more than $24 billion over the past five years to address homelessness,” said newly appointed U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli. “But officials have been un...

(The Center Square) - California legislators are demanding an audit of the taxpayer-funded Medi-Cal program for its cost overruns relating to its $9.5 billion spent this year on illegal immigrant health care and the resulting impact on citizens’ Medi-Cal care. Legislators say the governor’s administration has admitted that half of the state’s near doubling of Medi-Cal spending is from providing he...

(The Center Square) — California has lost 173,000 fully private sector jobs since January 2023, offset by a gain of 181,100 largely part-time government and government-supported jobs. Thirty-eight percent of these new government and government-supported jobs are from elderly or disabled individuals using state funds to pay household members and others minimum wage for part-time care and assistance...

(The Center Square) - Los Angeles is seeking a $1.9 billion state bailout after receiving $2.5 billion in state aid thus far. Los Angeles faces a $1 billion deficit due to spending vastly outpacing revenues — issues that predated the fire and which City Controller Kenneth Mejia has long said are making the city go “broke.” Much of that funding is set to go toward existing city issues, such as ball...

(The Center Square) - As Los Angeles officials demolished a beloved neighborhood treehouse, wildfire victims wondered when scarce local resources would be available to help clear out and approve permitting to rebuild their burned-down homes. Although the petition to save the 24-year-old, iconic, front-yard treehouse of "Simpsons" producer Rick Polozzi has collected nearly 7,000 signatures, the cit...

(The Center Square) - California is set to lose one of its nine remaining gasoline refineries by October, calling the security of its gasoline supplies into question. With much of Arizona and Nevada relying on California for gasoline, the closure could have a broad regional impact on prices for gasoline and other products created by the refinery such as diesel and jet fuel. Phillips 66 announced t...

(The Center Square) - San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan proposed making it a crime to refuse shelter three times within 18 months, with the goal of using the court system to push service-resistant homeless individuals into care. “Homelessness can’t be a choice, especially when over 200 people die on the streets each year,” said Mahan in a recent video statement. “Especially when we’re offering a safe, pri...

(The Center Square) - A California father was shocked when the bill for an ambulance for his daughter doubled after adding his insurance, which he says is because of a new state law that punishes him for having coverage. Social media star and California father Robby Witt recorded his heated call with a billing department after he added his insurance information to save money.  Support this podcast...

(The Center Square) - The California Legislative Analyst’s Office says the state has spent $37 billion on homelessness since 2019 and undercounts the homeless. It also urges delaying one of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s key programs until data proves its effectiveness. A 2023 UC San Francisco report found 34% of homeless individuals in California are not from California, meaning state taxpayers may have cov...

(The Center Square) - California Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered state employees to return to the office four days a week by July 1, 2025, noting that state offices’ custodial, janitorial, and maintenance staff — and much of the public —  are already working in person every day. The governor also ordered the state’s human resources department to make it easier for the state to hire former federal employ...

(The Center Square) - California lawmakers have proposed a bill restricting self-defense, mandating “retreat,” ending crime-stopping protections and limiting force to what’s “reasonably necessary.” Bystanders intervening to protect others or stop crimes could face higher legal risks. Someone like New York’s Daniel Penny, for instance, might face conviction for holding down a dangerous individual....

(The Center Square) - California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s $40 billion fire aid request to Congress masks pre-fire budget woes and primes billions for nongovernmental organizations — largely government-funded groups providing government-type services. Going into the new year, California’s largest cities, including Los Angeles, were already in weak fiscal shape. Los Angeles City Controller Kevin Mejia sa...