The Brief

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s funding plan for California schools violates the state’s constitution and could endanger school funding in years to come, according to a lawsuit filed today in Sacramento.

The California School Boards Association, which filed the suit, has been outspoken in its opposition to the plan since Newsom introduced his revised budget in May. The state already passed its budget and the lawsuit won’t affect money that’s already been allotted to schools, but the association hopes a judge will strike down what they described as Newsom’s “funding maneuver.”

The governor, trying to preserve funding for schools amid a tight economic climate, made up an $8.8 billion shortfall in the Proposition 98 school funding guarantee by borrowing from the state’s general fund.

“The manipulation … is unacceptable as it removes a funding safety net that has served schools for more than three decades and could be used by future governors and legislatures to avoid complying with the Proposition 98 funding guarantee,” association president Albert Gonzalez said.

Newsom’s office said the accounting move was not only legal, but saved schools from potential budget cuts.

“Because general fund revenues were significantly lower than estimated … the recalculated minimum guarantee for fiscal year 2022-23 is roughly $8.8 billion less than previously calculated,” Joe Stephenshaw, the state’s director of finance, wrote to legislative leaders in July. “To help address this decrease in the minimum guarantee without impacting school district and community college district budgets,” the budget shifts some spending sources.

Proposition 98, passed nearly 40 years ago, sets a minimum funding guarantee for California’s public schools. Based on a complex set of formulas, the guarantee is roughly 40% of the state’s budget, and pays for things such as teacher salaries and day-to-day operating expenses at the state’s 10,000 schools.

Newsom has invested heavily in schools during his stint as governor, funneling billions to programs like community schools, improved school meals, student mental health and other initiatives. He’s said that these programs are especially important as students recover from the pandemic, academically as well as emotionally.

California’s per-pupil spending, which used to be among the nation’s lowest, is now above average, according to the Public Policy Institute of California. In 2022-23, California spent $19,475 per student, counting revenue from all sources.

Overall, the education budget this year was $134 billion.

Schools are facing a precarious budget outlook, as federal pandemic relief money expires, absenteeism remains high and enrollment continues to drop in many parts of the state. California funds schools based on attendance, so fewer students in classrooms equals less revenue from the state.

Meanwhile, schools are trying to find money to maintain programs that have proven successful, such as academic tutoring, after-school programs and summer school. They’re also grappling with teacher shortages in some subjects, and raising salaries to attract and retain staff.

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders delivered a fiery warning to what he called the “billionaire class” at a rally Wednesday in Los Angeles in support of a tax initiative that would target California’s wealthiest residents.

“The billionaire class no longer sees itself as part of American society,” said the Vermont independent, who won the 2020 California Democratic presidential primary by 8 percentage points over former President Joe Biden. “They see themselves as something separate and apart, like the oligarchs of the 18th Century, the kings and the queens and the czars, they believe they have the divine right to rule and are no longer subject to democratic governance.”

The proposed November initiative would tax the 2025 net worth of billionaires residing in California by 5%, allowing them to pay off the tax over five years. The revenue would go into a special fund with 90% reserved for health care and 10% reserved for K-12 education.

Instead of targeting income, like most taxes, this one aims at individuals’ collected wealth.

“They’re saying there’s nothing you can do about it. Well, we’ve got some bad news for them, starting right here in California,” Sanders told the L.A. crowd.

He said California’s richest people are preparing to spend heavily to defeat the initiative, and voters should be ready for deceptive messaging.

“Their ads will not be saying, ‘We are billionaires, we want it all, please vote down this referendum,’” Sanders said to laughs from the crowd at The Wiltern theater. “What they are saying is, ‘If you stand up to us, we are gonna punish you.’”

Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West and St. John’s Community Health in Los Angeles, the sponsors of the proposal, are gathering signatures to place the measure on the ballot in November amid opposition from some other unions.

It’s also a risky proposition for Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is eyeing a 2028 presidential run and needs the support of the deep pockets in Silicon Valley, to whom he has been close for years. He and the leading Democrats who are running to replace him have come out against the tax as part of a larger opposition push expected to ramp up in the coming weeks. They argue that they support making wealthy people pay more, but this specific measure would drive billionaires out of California.

That pushback will now also include Republican U.S. Rep. Kevin Kiley, who pledged to introduce a bill this week in Congress that would prohibit any state from levying a tax retroactively on people who no longer live in the state.

Dr. Jackline Lasola, an obstetrician, said at the rally Wednesday that the tax would help maintain staffing in hospitals that could be affected by an estimated $30 billion in annual cuts to federal Medicaid funds, beginning in 2027.

“At a time when this administration is gutting our health care, our safety nets and our public services, we’re here to protect Californians,” Lasola said. “It’s time to tax the billionaires.”

Tom Morello, guitarist for Rage Against the Machine, played the band’s best-known song, “Killing In The Name Of,” but replaced the second half of a lyric: “Some of those who burn crosses / are the same that hold office.”

There’s little question that California could use the money. President Donald Trump’s sweeping tax reform and budget bill — the One Big Beautiful Bill Act — is projected to cut nearly $1 trillion from Medicaid over a decade.

California is estimated to lose roughly $30 billion in federal Medicaid funds annually as a result. The state’s Medi-Cal agency estimates 3.4 million people will lose coverage as a result of federal eligibility changes. The bulk of cuts won’t take effect until 2027, but states, including California, are already taking steps to shrink their health insurance programs for low-income and disabled individuals.

Opponents of the billionaire tax argue that its impacts won’t be felt for years, but the state budget will be hit from losing the income tax that the billionaires pay, which accounts for a significant portion of California’s revenue.

The opposition has coalesced around three proposed ballot measures designed to invalidate the proposed billionaire tax. One would forbid retroactive taxes, a second would prohibit any taxes that exclude revenues from their calculation and a third would exempt non-residents and part-time residents from a net-worth tax.

This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.

Immigrants who came to the U.S. as refugees could be detained within a year of arriving here under a new policy from the Department of Homeland Security.

Refugees must either get a green card within a year, or "present themselves to the agency" to avoid detention, according to a Feb. 18 memo from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The move marks yet another attempt from the Trump administration to further limit legal pathways to resettle in the United States. The administration last year set the lowest-ever cap for refugees it would admit into the U.S.

And USCIS later announced that it would re-review the status of everyone who had been admitted into the U.S. as a refugee under the Biden administration, essentially reopening those cases and risking the loss of legal refugee status.

"This policy is a transparent effort to detain and potentially deport thousands of people who are legally present in this country, people the U.S. government itself welcomed after years of extreme vetting," said Beth Oppenheim, CEO of HIAS, one of the resettlement organizations. "They were promised safety and the chance to rebuild their lives. Instead, DHS is now threatening them with arrest and indefinite detention."

The memo was filed as a part of documents submitted in a federal court case tied to refugees who were arrested in Minnesota. In it, USCIS Director Joseph Edlow and ICE acting Director Todd Lyons direct their agencies to "detain and inspect" refugees who do not "voluntarily return to DHS custody for inspection and examination" to be a legal permanent resident at the one-year mark of being in the country.

The policy rescinds prior guidance that did not treat the failure to apply for a green card as grounds for deportation. It also states that refugees may be placed in immigration detention while their application for a green card is being considered. The agency leaders say the new policy is needed to prevent immigration fraud, identify national security threats and vet people for criminal histories.

"This detain-and-inspect requirement ensures that refugees are re-vetted after one year, aligns post-admission vetting with that applied to other applicants for admission, and promotes public safety," the memo states.

DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the policy.

The new policy sent shockwaves through an already weakened refugee resettlement system. In the past 12 months, the Trump administration has cut off key funding to organizations that assist refugees resettling in the U.S., including services that help with green card and citizenship applications. Refugees are required to apply for permanent residence, or a green card, after they've been in the county for at least a year.

Refugee resettlement organizations estimate this new policy could impact tens of thousands of refugees, mostly those who entered during the Biden administration. After going through extensive vetting to arrive in the U.S., they will now fear they could be affected by delays in processing at USCIS.

Shawn VanDiver, president of the organization AfghanEvac, called the memo "a reckless reversal of long-standing policy" that treats refugee admission as conditional.

"It breaks faith with people the United States lawfully admitted and promised protection," he said.

Groups that work with refugees warn there are several reasons why refugees may not have adjusted status quickly after arriving in the U.S., including a complex immigration system and backlogs at USCIS itself.

In fiscal year 2025, 38,000 refugees were resettled into the U.S. For this fiscal year, the Trump administration set a historic low ceiling for refugee admissions of 7,500, with the priority for admission going to white South Africans.

The memo was filed in Minnesota federal court as a part of an ongoing lawsuit over the revetting, arrest and detention of refugees who have not yet received a green card. Last month, a federal judge ordered the release of refugees in Minnesota and granted a temporary pause on detentions, which he said had been made "without warrants or cause," while the case played out.

The arrests came after USCIS in January launched an investigation into 5,600 refugees in Minnesota, who had not yet received their green cards, and swiftly began referring cases to ICE.

Copyright 2026 NPR

Environmental organizations are launching a fundraiser to buy land in Big Bear Valley to prevent construction of a planned housing project some say would harm rare plants and wildlife in the area.

Friends of Big Bear Valley and the San Bernardino Mountains Land Trust are trying to raise $10 million by the end of July to purchase more than 62 acres of land pegged for Moon Camp. The project would include 50 lots for custom homes and a marina with 55 boat slips.

Instead, the organizations want the land to be placed under a permanent conservatorship. Officials say “Save Moon Camp” is the most ambitious fundraising effort in the history of Friends of Big Bear Valley.

Sandy Steers, the nonprofit’s late executive director, said last fall that Moon Camp would have a “severe detrimental impact” on the community’s plant life and wildlife, including bald eagles and San Bernardino flying squirrels.

Steers died last week, and Friends of Big Bear Valley said the fundraiser is now in her honor.

San Bernardino County officials voted to move forward with Moon Camp last fall, despite some community concerns about the project’s environmental impacts on the area.

That includes the famous bald eagles, Jackie and Shadow, who nest less than a mile away. The Moon Camp site can be seen from the eagles’ nest camera on a popular YouTube livestream, which is run by Friends of Big Bear Valley and followed by thousands of fans.

According to the nonprofit, the project would affect the bald eagles’ ability to raise chicks, and there is a “real possibility” Jackie and Shadow would leave the area altogether.

Jenny Voisard, the organization’s media manager, told LAist it’s a “moon shot to buy Moon Camp,” but it’s the most important thing the group's members and supporters could do for Big Bear Valley.

“And we're doing it for Jackie and Shadow,” she said, “because it will absolutely disrupt and devastate that area.”

The proposed project site can be seen from the nest livestream.

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The big picture

Friends of Big Bear Valley said Steers helped negotiate a signed agreement to buy Moon Camp from the property developer, RCK Properties Inc., with the San Bernardino Mountains Land Trust. Friends of Big Bear Valley said negotiating the deal was the "most important priority Steers had."

RCK Properties didn’t immediately respond to LAist’s request for comment.

If the groups raise $10 million by July 31, the acres will be placed under a permanent conservatorship.

The eventual goal is to have the land be protected under the U.S. Forest Service. The San Bernardino Mountains Land Trust has helped purchase hundreds of acres that were later added to the San Bernardino National Forest, according to the organization.

“We need everyone to be Jackie and Shadow's hero,” Voisard said, her voice cracking with emotion.

Donations should be made directly to SaveMoonCamp.org. The San Bernardino Mountains Land Trust kicked off the fundraiser with a $50,000 gift, Voisard added.

Voisard said donations of all sizes are welcome. Large gifts can expect special recognition from Friends of Big Bear Valley, she added.

Friends of Big Bear Valley is managing the fundraiser, and if it raises enough, the San Bernardino Mountains Land Trust would purchase the land for preservation.

Friends of Big Bear Valley will not receive any money in the effort, Voisard said.

The backstory

Moon Camp’s design in the unincorporated community of Fawnskin was first drafted decades ago, but the project has faced harsh criticism and legal challenges from Friends of Big Bear Valley and other environmental organizations.

Steers has argued Moon Camp would have a “severe detrimental impact” on the community’s plant life and wildlife. The project site is a foraging habitat for Big Bear’s famous feathered couple, their chicks and other bald eagles in the area, she said previously.

“ We're not trying to stop development or anything like that — we're trying to protect habitats,” Steers told LAist last September. “ We want this valley and the environment to maintain its integrity.”

The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the Moon Camp project in July 2020, according to a staff report, but it was challenged in court a month later.

The board voted unanimously again last September to approve parts of the project, with updates meant to address habitat and wildlife issues, according to the staff report.

Steers said before the board’s vote last fall that the San Bernardino Mountains Land Trust being able to purchase the land “would be ideal”

“Then the developer gets their money, and nothing has to be destroyed, and the land can be protected,” she said last September.

Sandy Steers, the late executive director of Friends of Big Bear Valley, spoke against the Moon Camp project during the the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors meeting in September 2025.

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You probably already knew that Diane Warren — the creative mind behind hit songs like “If I Could Turn Back Time” (Cher) and “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” (Aerosmith) — is one of the most successful songwriters of all time.

She’s an inductee into the Songwriting Hall of Fame, an honorary Oscar recipient and a Grammy and Emmy winner. According to the 2025 documentary, Diane Warren: Relentless — for which she’s nominated for another best original song Oscar (with “Dear Me,” her nominations now total 17) — she’s written songs for more than 450 recording artists, and her music catalog is valued at over a half-billion dollars.

The illuminating documentary about Warren’s life, love of music and approach to songwriting also explores her lesser known love: animals — from her own pets (like her late cat Mouse and parrot Buttwings) to the animals that live at her private sanctuary (fittingly named Mousebutt Rescue Ranch) in Malibu.

Warren also is vegan, or as she puts it, “pretty much 99.9% vegan,” to account for the possibility of something like an egg ending up in a pasta dish without her knowledge.

When Warren spoke with LAist host Julia Paskin about her latest Oscar nomination (as her birds Chicken and Charlie occasionally chirped from the other room), she also shared her favorite vegan restaurants in L.A.

Follow Your Heart

This Canoga Park cafe and market dates back to 1970 and Warren, who grew up in nearby Van Nuys, counts it as one of her favorite vegan restaurants.

Au Lac

Au Lac, Warren says, “which is a vegan Vietnamese restaurant in downtown L.A., [...] is kind of my favorite. It’s the best.”

For those in Orange County, the restaurant’s original outpost is located in Fountain Valley.

Pura Vita

Warren’s go-to spot for “great Italian”? Pura Vita in West Hollywood.

Vinh Loi Tofu

Vinh Loi in Reseda, which specializes in Southeast Asian cuisine, Warren says is really good for takeout. They also have a location in Cerritos.

Crossroads Kitchen

Warren also recommends Crossroads Kitchen (“I was there last night”), but she sometimes regrets her choices when she goes: “I eat way too much fried stuff.”

Julie Goes Green

“If you like pizza,” Warren says, Julie Goes Green has “the best vegan pizza in the city.”