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Presented by Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment: Jeremy B. White and Lara Korte’s must-read briefing on politics and government in the Golden State | | | | |  | | By Lara Korte, Jeremy B. White, Matthew Brown and Ramon Castanos | Presented by Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment | THE BUZZ: Gov. Gavin Newsom nixed a plan for state-sanctioned drug use sites last year. Now, San Francisco officials are forging ahead without him. Mayor London Breed said Wednesday she’s working with Supervisor Hillary Ronen to overturn a city law that gets in the way of allowing non-profits to set up safe injection sites, where people can inject drugs in a hygienic environment, with clean needles, under the supervision of people trained to prevent overdoses. Breed and other San Francisco officials say they’re willing to move forward with privately funded sites, in spite of previous concerns that doing so could have federal consequences. To do that, the Board of Supervisors will have to overturn a 2020 city law that prohibits such overdose prevention programs — regardless of the funding source. For years California progressives have argued for safe injection sites, saying they save lives and prevent the spread of disease, but progress has been slow. After Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed a bill in 2018, lawmakers last year had pinned their hopes on Newsom. But no luck — the governor vetoed the bill by Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) that would’ve set up pilot programs in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Oakland, citing worries about “unintended consequences.” Now. San Francisco lawmakers are looking to New York as an example for saving lives. In 2021, the city became the first in the nation to establish the sites, which are funded privately and run by a nonprofit called OnPointNYC. Joined by the leader of the NYC nonprofit last week, Ronen implored to fellow city leaders to take action. “The Biden administration and the Newsom administration … are not going to throw San Franciscans in jail or cut off our federal funding because we’re saving lives and stopping open-air drug use,” she told city staffers, per the San Francisco Chronicle. The programs have taken on a new urgency in recent months as officials are confronted with the overwhelming effects of fentanyl on the drug market. Accidental overdose deaths in San Francisco fell in 2022, according to state data, but Breed noted in a statement that “Fentanyl is challenging us like never before.” Newsom himself has acknowledged the crisis, proposing state funding to put overdose reversal drugs in California schools. Ronen and Breed’s bill to overturn the 2020 restriction will go before the board on Tuesday. The mayor said in a statement the sites can be part of a “comprehensive strategy” to save lives and cut down on open-air drug use. BUENOS DÍAS, good Thursday morning. President Joe Biden will visit the Central Coast today to take stock of the aftermath from the nine atmospheric rivers that have pummeled the state this month. He’ll be joined by Newsom and FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell. Got a tip or story idea for California Playbook? Hit us up at jwhite@politico.com and lkorte@politico.com or follow us on Twitter @JeremyBWhite and @Lara_Korte.
| | | | A message from Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment: Californians are being ripped off by Big Oil at the gas pump. A price gouging penalty — or windfall profits cap — is sorely needed to protect Californians from greedy polluters. California already imposes a cap on profits for energy utilities that sell methane gas and electricity. We can cap profits on gasoline that protects consumers while ensuring reliable supplies. Governor Newsom and the California legislature must hold Big Oil accountable and pass a price gouging penalty. Learn more. | | | QUOTE OF THE DAY: “His lies caused regular people like Glen Littleton to lose millions and millions of dollars.” Attorney Nicholas Porritt in opening arguments Wednesday in a case against Elon Musk, where plaintiffs are seeking damages after a 2018 tweet from Musk about taking Tesla private caused investors to lose billions. TWEET OF THE DAY:
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@jarosenthal |
WHERE’S GAVIN? Surveying storm damage with the president on the Central Coast.
| | | | STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president’s ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today. | | | | | |  | TOP TALKERS | | A COMIC BOOK RIVALRY — “California vs. Florida, Newsom vs. DeSantis: Two Americas,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Noah Bierman: “The states are becoming two of the nation’s biggest ideological rivals. Superman has Bizarro, a powerful antagonist who resembles him from afar but has the opposite instincts. Florida and California have each other.” — “California sues companies over insulin prices, joining other states,” by The New York Times’ Benjamin Ryan: “With a population of 39 million, California has now become the largest state to sue the major companies on the insulin market, accusing them of illegally inflating the price of the treatment and spawning a financial and public health crisis.”
| | | | A message from Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment:   | | | | | CAMPAIGN MODE | | FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Democrat and LGBTQ veteran Joseph Rocha is running for the AD-76 seat set to be vacated by terming-out Assembly member Brian Maienschein. Rocha unsuccessfully ran against state Sen. Brian Jones in the tougher SD-40 last cycle. Rocha launches with endorsements lined up from state Sens. Susan Eggman, Scott Wiener and Caroline Menjivar and Assembly member Rick Chavez Zbur. BEN MEETS CONGRESS? — As mentioned in our Tweet of the Day, famous Hollywood actor Ben Savage, of “Boy Meets World” fame has entered the race for Rep. Adam Schiff’s seat in CA-30. Savage previously lost a race for West Hollywood City Council, garnering just 6.32 percent of the vote.
| | CALIFORNIA AND THE CAPITOL CORRIDOR | | TIME FOR REELS? — California Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones (R-San Diego) Wednesday announced he and his caucus will deactivate their TikTok accounts, citing worries about national security and the Chinese government. And Jones is urging Newsom to do the same. NOT OUT OF THE CLEAR — “California faces catastrophic flood dangers — and a need to invest billions in protection, by the Los Angeles Times’ Ian James: “Giant floods like those that inundated the Central Valley in 1861 and 1862 are part of California’s natural cycle, but the latest science shows that the coming megafloods, intensified by climate change, will be much bigger and more destructive than anything the state or the country has ever seen.” PRICEY REVIVAL — “High-speed rail to downtown S.F. is back on track — but the price tag keeps going up,” by the San Francisco Chronicle’s John King: “Five years after the debut of San Francisco’s grandiose transit center that features only buses and a rooftop park, regional transit agencies are gearing up to try to win the federal funding necessary to add rail service to the mix. That new effort includes a new price tag for the long-promised expansion — $6.7 billion, up from $5 billion in 2016.” — “Bay Area regulators look to impose sweeping ban on new natural gas water heaters, furnaces,” by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Dustin Gardiner: “The ban would apply to new construction and appliances that homeowners must replace, starting in 2027 for most water heaters and 2029 for furnaces. It would not apply to large water heaters, such as those in apartments and commercial buildings, until 2031.” — “A Sacramento non-profit pulled in millions to house the homeless. Did it lose its way?” by The Sacramento Bee’s Theresa Clift: “All three unhoused women thought their days on the streets were finally over when they scored rooms in houses from Sacramento Self-Help Housing, a nonprofit property manager that plays an outsized role in the city’s and county’s efforts to house the homeless. Instead, the three women lost their housing for different reasons: two over alleged rule violations, and one over a funding setback at the nonprofit organization.” FACT CHECK — “Newsom says 95 percent of Texans pay more than Californians in taxes. But is he correct?” by The Sacramento Bee’s David Lightman: “Asked to provide a source for the assertion, Newsom’s office cited a 2018 study by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a liberal-leaning group. But the group’s spokesman, Jon Whiten, told The Bee 'We do not compute a specific percentage of Californians who pay less/more tax than Texans.'”
| | BIDEN, HARRIS AND THE HILL | | DEAD END — “Va. Senate Democrats kill effort to repeal electric car rule,” by The Associated Press’ Sarah Rankin: “'The vote today shows that (Gov. Glenn) Youngkin-led attacks on Virginia’s bedrock climate laws are a dead end and that he should get on the side of making pollution progress and not stand against it,' said Walton Shepherd, Virginia policy director for the Natural Resources Defense Council.'” ON THE RISE — “The top Biden lawyer with his sights on Apple and Google,” by POLITICO’s Josh Sisco: In just over a year in office, Jonathan Kanter — one of the two most important players in Joe Biden’s efforts to rein in corporate power — has come after America’s biggest companies with force. As head of the more than 800-person antitrust division of the Department of Justice, Kanter blocked the world’s largest book publisher from buying a rival and took on the nation’s largest health insurer.
| | HOLLYWOODLAND | | — “Prosecutors to reveal if Alec Baldwin will be charged in 'Rust' shooting” by the Los Angeles Times’ Meg James and Anousha Sakoui: “First Judicial Dist. Atty. Mary Carmack-Altwies, along with special prosecutor Andrea Reeb, plan to issue a written statement Thursday morning, according to the district attorney’s office. A spokesperson for Carmack-Altwies declined to say who, if anyone, will be charged.”
| | MEDIA MATTERS | | — Linh Tat is taking over the Los Angeles City Hall beat for the Los Angeles Daily News — Good Day LA’s Tony McEwing announced his retirement
| | MIXTAPE | | — “Eagle delivers 2 eggs in California nest watched by web cam,” by The Associated Press. — “How the Street Vet came to care for homeless pets,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Salvador Hernandez. — “What we know about the California massacre that killed 6,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Grace Toohey and Ruben Vives.
— “A new California housing law has done little to encourage building, report says,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Hannah Wiley.
| | TRANSITIONS | | — Former Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf will be interim director of Emerge California, which works to recruit and train women to run for office. — Former Assembly member Suzette Martinez Valladares will be executive director of the youth organization LAPD Devonshire PALS
| | BIRTHDAYS | | Meta’s Caitlin Rush … Alexis Gay
| | | | A message from Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment: Californians are being ripped off by Big Oil at the gas pump. Last year, when Californians paid $6 a gallon for gas, $3 more than the national average, oil companies reported record high profits. A price gouging penalty — or windfall profits cap — is sorely needed to protect Californians from greedy polluters raising gasoline prices in the future. Under this type of regulation, oil refineries can still make profits but within reason so it doesn’t hurt consumers, especially low income and communities of color. Oil refineries should be limited in how much profit they can make to ensure Californians are protected from abnormally high gasoline prices. California can cap profits on gasoline that protects consumers while ensuring reliable supplies. Governor Newsom and the California legislature must hold Big Oil accountable and pass a price gouging penalty. Learn more. | | |
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