A new state bill could bring more accountability to homeless shelters in Santa Clara County. Assembly Bill 750 aims to provide more oversight of homeless shelters across the state by requiring local governments to inspect facilities and produce yearly reports on their conditions. The bill, introduced by Assemblymember Sharon Quirk-Silva, could also see California withhold funding...
San Jose school trustee enters race for California governor
San Jose is putting a hometown contender in the governor’s race. Just don’t expect the city’s political elite — or most people across the state — to recognize him. With the support of several Black community leaders, Mount Pleasant Elementary School District Trustee Derek Grasty declared his candidacy in the 2026 California governor’s race Monday...
California lawmaker doubts threats against Democrats are reviewed
After Attorney General Pam Bondi pledged to prosecute threats of violence against public officials, Rep. Eric Swalwell was furious. “This is rich,” Swalwell posted to X on Tuesday. “AG Bondi has REFUSED to prosecute MULTIPLE direct death threats against me and my family.” Swalwell’s post gained traction — so much so that Bondi called him to ask “what I...
Newsom says $750M in Bay Area public transit loans will be available
Gov. Gavin Newsom said earlier this month that $750 million in state loans to Bay Area transit agencies will be finalized before the end of the legislative session, after a deal reached in June to create the funding looked to be breaking down. BART, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, Alameda-Contra Costa Transit and Caltrain were...
California lawmakers torn on Trump ignoring Congress’ TikTok Law
More than a year after Congress passed a law to force TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell the app or else be banned from U.S. markets, the app is still up and running — and the White House is actively promoting it. The White House’s official TikTok account, created just over two weeks ago, has posted more...
Fired-up Newsom shares his pitch for a Democratic turnaround
An animated Gavin Newsom on Wednesday shared his pitch for how to turn around the Democrats’ brand and better oppose President Donald Trump’s administration, identifying the party’s ailments with a one-word diagnosis. “At the end of the day, to me, the essence of the challenges of the party is weakness,” the California governor told Politico...
California may lose fed funding for not enforcing trucker English rules
By David Fischer, Kate Payne, Morgan Lee and Eugene Johnson, AP writers California, Washington and New Mexico could lose millions of dollars of federal funding if they continue failing to enforce English language requirements for truckers, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Tuesday. An investigation launched after a deadly Florida crash involving a foreign truck driver who made...
California governor strikes back with new redistricting plan
Gov. Gavin Newsom officially began his push on Thursday for California voters to approve mid-decade redistricting in a special election later this year. Republicans are looking for ways to try to gain seats in Congress in a rare mid-decade redistricting shuffle ahead of the 2026 midterms, and Newsom has been a leading proponent of blue states pushing...
Trump’s efforts to end homeless camps put Newsom in political bind
As President Donald Trump tries to radically reduce the presence of homeless people on the streets of the District of Columbia, Democrats are grappling with how to respond given their party’s rightward shift on the issue. One of the highest-profile Democrats who has pushed his party in this direction is Gov. Gavin Newsom, who earlier...
Silicon Valley lawmakers want to decriminalize homelessness
As cities across California ban homeless encampments and Gov. Gavin Newsom encourages more sweeps, San Jose lawmakers are standing up against criminalizing homelessness. State Sen. Sasha Perez along with Assemblymembers Ash Kalra, Alex Lee and Matt Haney have co-authored a bill that would make it illegal for cities to prohibit organizations or people from helping...