Good morning. It’s Thursday, Jan. 29.
- U.S. seeks apology from San Jose State over trans athlete.
- Los Angeles rents drop to their lowest level in four years.
- And Monterey County home is named House of the Year.
Statewide
1.
California’s Democratic legislators, enraged by what they call the excesses of President Trump’s deportation campaign, have responded with a flurry of bills. One would tax for-profit detention companies. Another would prohibit police from moonlighting as federal agents. Ávila Farías, an Assemblymember from Martinez, proposed that ICE agents be barred from working in public schools or California law enforcement. “When Californians interact with a peace officer or a teacher, they deserve to know that person respects the Constitution,” she said. S.F. Chronicle | CalMatters
2.
San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan is expected to announce a run for California governor on Thursday, sources told San Jose Inside. Mahan, a 43-year-old Democrat, has positioned himself as a pragmatist who is willing to challenge the left flank of his party on crime and homelessness. Politico said his potential bid for governor could upend a race that still lacks a clear front-runner. “Mahan has a story to tell as a local leader whose city has started to turn the tide,” the publication wrote.
Northern California
3.
After a nearly yearlong investigation, the U.S. Department of Education announced Wednesday that San Jose State University discriminated against women by letting a transgender athlete play on the women’s volleyball team. In a proposed resolution, the department said San Jose State could avoid penalties if it apologizes to the university’s female athletes, restores titles and records “misappropriated by male athletes,” and acknowledges “that the sex of a human — male or female — is unchangeable.” A.P. | L.A. Times
4.
Harmeet K. Dhillon, the conservative San Francisco lawyer who was recruited into the Trump administration, was featured in a remarkable lead in the New York Times this week:
“Late last month, a woman posted a photograph on social media of a purple hat she had knitted, while a black-and-white dog lounged on the carpet a few feet away. The cozy scene was accompanied by a single sentence: ‘This hat is an hour behind schedule thanks to influencer retards.’ The proud knitter, Harmeet K. Dhillon, is also the assistant attorney general overseeing the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. Her purview includes protecting the rights of people with intellectual disabilities.”
5.
When residents of the little community of Corral de Tierra in Monterey County discovered a wild gray fox with a corrugated pipe stuck around its neck, they sprang into action, setting traps around town. Over the course of a week, they caught and released fox after fox, while the injured one remained elusive. Then on Sunday, they finally got the creature and handed him over the local SPCA. The fox is now free of the pipe and recovering from infected wounds to his neck. The animal welfare group called the people of Corral de Tierra “heroes.” SFGATE
6.
Each year, the Wall Street Journal polls readers to determine their House of the Year. The 2025 winner is pictured above, a $4 million Tudor Revival cottage in Carmel Highlands. Built in 1925, the home was designed by Michael J. Murphy, a builder who was instrumental in giving the region its signature fairy tale aesthetic. Readers were charmed by its curved roof, English-style gardens, and windows facing the Pacific Ocean. The Journal published pictures.
Southern California
7.
“Finally, a renter’s market.”
Los Angeles rents dropped to their lowest level in four years in December, a small sign of hope in one of the costliest cities in the country for renters. The median rent fell to $2,167, down from an all-time high of $2,262 in 2022, according to data from Apartment List. The downturn was attributed to a burst of supply — 15,095 multifamily units were completed in 2025 — along with decreased demand as the county’s population shrank by 28,000. Curtailed immigration is thought to have played a role. L.A. Times
8.
After the Los Angeles wildfires, the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation raked in millions of dollars in donations intended to pay for training and equipment. This week, the charity acknowledged that $65,000 of those funds were quietly spent on a celebrity public relations firm, whose clients include Charlize Theron and Rihanna, to help LAFD leaders shape their messaging after a disaster that brought scrutiny of their missteps. Donors have reacted with outrage. L.A. Times
9.
Shirley Raines, who dedicated her life to passing out food, toiletries, and unconditional support to homeless people on the streets of Los Angeles, has died, her organization Beauty 2 The Streetz said on Wednesday. Raines harnessed social media, attracting millions of followers, to help change the narrative on homelessness. “It’s important you know that broken people are still very much useful,” she said in 2021 after being named CNN’s Hero of the Year. Raines was 58. The cause of death was not disclosed. Washington Post | A.P.
- “God is good! Look at you!” Watch Raines work her magic.
10.
A year ago, more than 70 people were living in tents along Buena Vista Creek in Oceanside. Their sprawling homeless encampment was deeply entrenched, dating to the early 2000s, with an entry gate, an unofficial mayor, and a makeshift shower. Today, the encampment is clear; plants and animals have returned; and 65 of the former residents are in long-term, stable housing. The Voice of San Diego wrote about a homeless program that’s actually working.
11.
At California City ICE Detention Facility, deep in the Mojave Desert, medical neglect is pervasive, detainees say. Medications are denied, appointments with doctors are drastically delayed, and medical staff are antagonistic toward patients. In a legal filing, detainees referred to the facility as a “torture chamber” and “hell on Earth.” The New Yorker wrote about how one detention center has “weaponized medical neglect to encourage self-deportations.”
12.
The Trump administration on Wednesday joined a lawsuit against the medical school at UCLA, accusing the university of a “systemically racist approach” to admissions that privileges Black and Latino applicants. In 2024, the government’s filing noted, incoming Hispanic students had a median Medical College Admission Test score of 506. For Asian American students, it was 515. The lawsuit singled out Jennifer Lucero, the medical school’s associate dean of admissions, alleging that she “routinely and openly” discussed using race in admission decisions. L.A. Times
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