Alejandro Lazo

Trump administration's climate skepticism effort violated federal law, judge rules The administration staffed up a new group that published a report downplaying the severity of global warming. The EPA leaned on that report in its proposal to repeal the endangerment finding.

A judge ruled that the Trump administration's preposterously fake climate science panel violated federal law, flouting public meeting and open record requirements: www.latimes.com/environment/... via @hayleysmith.bsky.social

Trump canceled EV incentives. Newsom has a $200 million plan to make up for it A new proposal outlines California’s $200 million EV rebate plan, including who qualifies, how it works and how far the money could go.

California's instant EV rebates would require automakers to match state funds calmatters.org/environment/...

You Can’t Minimalist Your Way Out of Brando I saw A.C.T.’s Streetcar last night—a valiant, stripped-down, quasi–avant-garde attempt to find a version of A Streetcar Named Desire that might live outside the long shadow of the 1951 Kazan film.

mi primero substack: gauchoesque.substack.com/p/you-cant-m...

Wily coyote who swam to Alcatraz gets ‘much fatter’ on prison island diet Officials are monitoring if the canine is preying on the island’s seabirds.

Wily coyote who swam to Alcatraz gets ‘much fatter’ on prison island diet, living 'best life' sfstandard.com/2026/01/27/c...

love how we're treating this as a crime story

Here’s what California leaders said about latest Minneapolis killing Gov. Newsom said Trump officials overseeing his immigration agenda need to step down after federal officers kill a protester.

Here’s what California leaders said about latest Minneapolis killing via
@calmatters.org calmatters.org/newsletter/a...

California bills would cut red tape for balcony solar and heat pumps State Sen. Scott Wiener wants to tackle energy affordability by making it easier than ever for households to adopt increasingly popular clean-energy tech.

www.canarymedia.com/articles/sol...

Red-state Republicans seek climate ‘liability shield’ for fossil fuel industry If enacted, the Utah and Oklahoma measures would restrict litigation against oil companies over their role in the climate crisis.

Red-state Republicans seek climate ‘liability shield’ for fossil fuel industry grist.org/accountabili...

Kamala in La La Land After a year of letting go, the former vice president is inching back towards the political fray.

Kamala in La La Land politi.co/4sW7fuH

Opinion | Trump Is Obsessed With Oil. But Chinese Batteries Will Soon Run the World.

Trump Is Obsessed With Oil. But Chinese Batteries Will Soon Run the World. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/19/o...

Trump administration sues California over law keeping oil wells from homes, schools Senate Bill 1137 establishes a 3,200-foot minimum distance between new oil wells and homes, schools, hospitals, parks and other places where people live, work and gather.

The Trump administration is suing California to overturn a law banning new oil and gas drilling within 3,200 feet of homes, schools, playgrounds and hospitals: www.latimes.com/environment/... via @hayleysmith.bsky.social

Newsom's podcast sidekick: a single-use plastic water bottle Newsom has called for a future free of plastic waste, yet a single-use plastic bottle is usually by his side during his podcasts.

Asked about the presence of the plastic water bottle, Daniel Villaseñor, the governor’s deputy director of communications, had this response:

“Are you really writing a story this baseless or should we highlight this video for your editor?” www.latimes.com/environment/...

Feds plan to lease 1 million acres in California to oil, gas developers The federal government proposes allowing oil and gas drilling in the Golden State’s Pinnacles National Park, Mount Diablo State Park, Henry W. Coe State Park and Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve.

The Trump administration is planning 1 million acres of oil and gas leasing across southern and central California: www.courthousenews.com/feds-plan-to...

'We just want our lives back.' Maduro's gone, but what's next for 8 million Venezuelans who fled? Nicolás Maduro's downfall has stirred a mix of relief, fear and uncertainty among Venezuela’s vast diaspora, many of whom were forced into exile by repression and hardship and now face the question of...

Damián Suárez, an artist who left Venezuela in 2011, blames Maduro for what he sees as a “spiritual void” among those who fled the country.

“Our identity was shattered,” he said, comparing migrants with “plants ripped from their soil.”
@kate-linthicum.bsky.social
www.latimes.com/world-nation...

Clashing with the state, L.A. City moves to adopt lenient wildfire ‘Zone Zero’ regulations The L.A. City Council moved to adopt relatively lenient "Zone Zero" laws for homes in fire danger zones, measures that do not align with the plans that state agencies are working to enact.

The Los Angeles City Council voted to start creating its own version of the "Zone Zero" wildfire regulations — a more lenient version that would allow more vegetation near homes than most state proposals. @nohaggerty.bsky.social reports: www.latimes.com/environment/...

S.F.’s unusual tool against drugs and disorder in the Tenderloin could expand to this neighborhood A curfew on corner stores in the Tenderloin could expand into San Francisco’s troubled SoMa neighborhood if city leaders approve a new proposal meant to cut crime and drug activity.

A curfew on corner stores: S.F.’s unusual tool against drugs and disorder in the Tenderloin could expand to this neighborhood www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/c...

Louisiana officials seek to extradite abortion provider from California Louisiana law enforcement officials allege California doctor mailed abortion pills to a woman in the southern state

Louisiana officials seek to extradite abortion provider from California www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...

Gavin Newsom moves to neutralize tax on billionaires The California governor has been vocal about his opposition to a ballot initiative targeting the state's ultrawealthy.

Gavin Newsom moves to neutralize tax on billionaires politi.co/49x4gjk via Politico

CalMatters wins the January Sidney Award for outstanding investigative journalism for Anat Rubin's article, “The WalMart of public defense: How justice gets sold to the lowest bidder in rural California.”

Trump Finally Found the One Thing That Could Cause Senate Republicans to Grow a Spine Trump wants to exert control over the central bank. That's a terrible idea.

Question: Is a country trending in a healthy direction if the head of its central bank releases an SOS message about the political persecution he’s suffering?

slate.com/news-and-pol...

Pretend you're running for Congress A first stab at how to talk about energy and climate in 2026

Bill McKibben seems to have cribbed Newsom's SOS line on energy costs, "what eggs were to 2024, electricity may be to 2026." open.substack.com/pub/billmcki...

Talk of California’s ‘billionaire tax’ sparks social media class war, threats of tech exodus While supporters suggest the proposed tax is needed to fund health care, critics call the ballot proposition an effort to “destroy tech in California.”

Talk of California’s ‘billionaire tax’ sparks social media class war, threats of tech exodus www.sfchronicle.com/california/a...

Alaska’s Peltola makes Senate run, boosting Democrats’ long-shot majority hopes The former congresswoman was recruited by Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-New York) in hopes of creating a competitive race in the GOP-leaning state.

Alaska’s Peltola makes Senate run, boosting Democrats’ long-shot majority hopes wapo.st/4bAnNBU

Why California is keeping this unusual solar plant running when both Trump and Biden wanted it closed The electricity it makes is expensive, its technology has been superseded, and it's incinerating thousands of birds mid-flight each year.

Why California is keeping this unusual solar plant running when both Trump and Biden wanted it closed www.latimes.com/environment/...

Opinion | Newsom's budget shows big revenue gain, but we've been down that path before The Newsom administration once overstated income by $165 billion over four years. Now Newsom has announced $42 billion in new revenues over three years.

Newsom's budget shows big revenue gain, but we've been down that path before. calmatters.org/commentary/2...

Life after Pelosi: congressional candidates square off for 1st time Supervisor Connie Chan, state Sen. Scott Wiener, and ex-AOC aide Saikat Chakrabarti make their cases for why they should be in Congress.

Life after Pelosi: SF House candidates square off for 1st time sfstandard.com/2026/01/08/s...

We All Thought It Was Going to Destroy Any Shared Reality. The Minneapolis ICE Killing Proves We Didn’t Need It. The tape clearly shows an ICE agent killing a woman who was no longer a threat, but MAGA can't see it.

slate.com/news-and-pol...

Opinion | Trump’s One Small Trick to Destroy American Democracy

"In Trump’s interpretation of the imperial presidency, practically any number of foreign endeavors can be transformed into a domestic affair. And all domestic activities can somehow be linked to foreign-menaced national security." www.nytimes.com/2026/01/09/o...

California is "not silent, not retreating," Newsom tells lawmakers in major speech The governor says California faces "an assault on our values" from Trump but vows the state will be "a beacon" offering a different narrative.

Follow our @calmatters.org coverage of Newsom's last State of the State. "Newsom casts California as a beacon for progress in final State of the State" calmatters.org/politics/202...

The U.S. Has Now Become a Rogue Nation - Legal Planet Trump's repudiation of the UN climate treaty may not block future US action, but it does express his contempt for international community.

The U.S. Has Now Become a Rogue Nation legal-planet.org/2026/01/08/t...