The Brief

Gov. Gavin Newsom will deliver his final State of the State address on Thursday, capping seven years in which he oversaw an aggressive expansion of health care and early childhood education access in California, pushed the state’s progressive climate policies and — in a break from his predecessors — made reducing homelessness and increasing housing supply top state priorities.

In his speech, Newsom is expected to unveil his budget priorities for the year ahead. The address comes as Newsom continues to burnish his national reputation ahead of a possible presidential run in 2028, and as the state faces ongoing fiscal threats from both rising state costs and the Trump administration.

Jason Elliott, a longtime adviser to Newsom who left the administration last year but remains close to the governor, said this year will probably be more about finishing what Newsom started than rolling out new initiatives.

“Gov. Newsom, in order to feel satisfied with the job he did as governor, will want to see universal transitional kindergarten extended to every single eligible kid in California. He will want to see child care slots expanded to the level that he promised and promoted. He will want to see homeless encampment grants and Proposition 1 bond funding for homeless mental health housing be administered quickly,” he said.

“There’s a lot that he talked about over the last eight years that is not quite done that needs to get finished,” Elliott said, “and I would expect that his focus would be very much on completing those multi-year commitments that he made.”

While there are critics aplenty, as Newsom begins his final year in the governor’s office, he has managed to maintain relatively cozy relationships with business and labor leaders as well as other powerful interest groups in Sacramento.

Advocates for education and child care, affordable housing, health care, and the business community all cited major policy accomplishments that they are hoping to protect in the face of growing costs and shrinking revenues.

Leading on early childhood education

Among the governor’s biggest achievements, said longtime early childhood education advocate Scott Moore, was the creation of a new school grade for all 4-year-olds, transitional kindergarten, as well as the expansion of child care and preschool slots for low-income families.

“Unquestionably, he is the early childhood champion governor,” said Moore, who advised both Newsom and former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on state councils and is now CEO of Kidango, a nonprofit preschool organization that serves low-income families in the Bay Area.

The toddler room at Kidango Early Care & Education in San José on Dec. 11, 2024. (Juliana Yamada/KQED)Moore has worked in the field for a quarter-century and said the progress made just in the past few years has been staggering.

“Back then, we had about 50,000 or so children that got public-funded pre-K in the state of California. And now we have over 500,000. That’s a big difference. And most of that growth happened under Governor Newsom,” he said.

Health care expansion limited, holding the line on taxes

Health care advocates also give Newsom high marks for his aggressive expansion of coverage, including to immigrant communities. But they remain disappointed that last year — facing budget constraints and political pressure — Newsom and lawmakers moved to freeze new enrollments of undocumented adults in Medi-Cal, California’s Medicaid program.

Kiran Savage-Sangwan, executive director of the California Pan-Ethnic Health Network, which works to ensure all Californians have access to quality, affordable health care, said Newsom has made universal coverage a priority since day one.

“The first executive order that he signed immediately after being sworn in was to establish the Office of the Surgeon General … That really showed that he understood the connection between the conditions that poor communities are facing and health outcomes,” she said. “He has continued to tackle what we consider the twin issues of the rising and unsustainable cost of health care, and getting to universal health coverage for all Californians.”

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a successful 2024 mental health ballot initiative at Alvarado Hospital in San Diego on March 19, 2023. (Adriana Heldiz/The San Diego Union-Tribune via AP Pool)Savage-Sangwan also gave Newsom high marks for establishing an Office of HealthCare Affordability in 2022. But as he heads into his final year, she hopes he will reconsider limiting Medi-Cal for undocumented adults — especially as consumers confront President Donald Trump’s deep cuts to both Medicaid and Affordable Care Act subsidies.

“We’re hoping that this is gonna be a moment for the state of California to distinguish ourselves from what is happening at the national and federal levels,” she said. “We think that California has an opportunity to stand in contrast to that rather than bow down and continue that trajectory of taking health care from people.”

She urged Newsom to consider new revenue sources, something that the business community is staunchly opposed to and that Newsom has been generally unwilling to consider.

In fact, CalChamber CEO Jennifer Barrera said taxes are one area where Newsom and the business community have been in lockstep. This year, he has made clear his opposition to a proposed ballot measure being pushed by labor unions that would levy a one-time tax on billionaires.

“He has really drawn the line in the sand on tax policy. He has been the one who has been defending against tax increases for the past several years,” Barrera said.

Barrera also gave Newsom high marks for generally embracing fiscal restraint, for helping broker a huge deal between labor and business in 2024 related to labor protections and litigation, and for generally understanding the importance of the business community to the state’s economic health.

But there have been areas of sharp disagreement, Barrera noted, including around labor protections, environmental laws and oil and gas regulation.

“There’s always going to be those tough calls on some of these labor bills,” she said. “In the environment space, there was some legislation that we certainly would have preferred not be signed and are dealing with now.”

She cited laws limiting oil and gas operations and others requiring large companies to disclose climate emissions as among those challenges. One of the climate disclosure laws is on hold after a lawsuit by business groups.

Mixed reviews on housing, homelessness

Newsom also gets mixed reviews in one of his signature policy areas: housing and homelessness. Republican leaders in the state Legislature note that Newsom failed to deliver on his 2018 campaign promise to build 3.5 million new homes, and say it’s part of a larger pattern.

“Gov. Newsom has made big promises and launched endless new initiatives,” Assembly Republican Leader Heath Flora said in a prebuttal to Newsom’s speech. “But no matter what he says [today] Californians are paying more and getting less, because his policies keep driving up the cost of everyday life.”

California state Assemblymember Heath Flora in Sacramento on May 15, 2017 (Bert Johnson/KQED)But others say Newsom and the Democratic-led Legislature made big strides in increasing housing production and tackling homelessness through policies that will continue to pay dividends after he leaves office. Newsom also used the bully pulpit to bring the issue front and center, said Ray Pearl, executive director of the California Housing Consortium, which advocates for affordable housing.

Pearl noted that Newsom’s 2020 State of the State speech was entirely about housing and homelessness.

“With former governors, when they’d have a State of the State, we would look for anywhere where housing was mentioned,” he said. “I think more than anyone, he helped change the trajectory of the housing issue and made it a mainstream issue.”

Pearl said Newsom pushed unprecedented state investments in affordable housing by significantly increasing tax credits and other resources. He’s hopeful this year that the governor will support a proposed $10 billion affordable housing bond being considered by lawmakers.

As Newsom enters his final year and looks to a potential 2028 presidential run, those close to him know that the state’s shortcomings — and what Newsom did or didn’t do to address them — will be under a microscope.

Elliott, Newsom’s former adviser, said he believes the governor laid the groundwork over his two terms to fundamentally change the state’s trajectory, particularly around housing and homelessness.

“When you’ve got a problem that’s 40-plus years in the making, you don’t see overnight results. That’s frustrating to me. I know it’s frustrating for the governor. I know it’s frustrating to the average Californian,” he said. “What I’m saying is we’ve spent the last seven or eight years in this state putting the pieces in place to materially address all those problems.”

Some government funding streams for L.A. County’s public health system are drying up, and officials are turning to private philanthropy to fill the gap.

A new privately funded foundation launched Thursday to strengthen public health services after $50 million in federal, state and local funding cuts to the county’s Department of Public Health since early last year.

“It is really a hard day for our community when we have to ask for private donations to fund a public good, but unfortunately, we've lost too much money to not take this important step,” said Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer.

In February, the county’s Public Health Department closed seven clinics, with six remaining open. About half of the patients seen in those clinics are uninsured, according to county officials. The department also cut hundreds of staff positions.

Ferrer is on the board of the new foundation, The Fund for Advancing Public Health LA, which held its first meeting Thursday.

She said the fund will help the county maintain its basic public health infrastructure, including disease prevention, health promotion, environmental health, and emergency response efforts.

Other board members include several health insurance executives, as well as actors Sean Penn and Danny Trejo. Board member Saree Kayne of the R&S Kayne Foundation pledged $150,000 to the fund Thursday. Kayne said she hopes the donation encourages others to give.

The foundation aims to raise $2 million this year.

More cuts expected

L.A. County Supervisor Holly Mitchell said it’s crucial to have an alternative funding stream to protect services for the county's most vulnerable residents.

“We are saving public health,” Mitchell said. “This fund represents a new approach, one that brings together government philanthropy in the private sector to invest in community-based solutions, protect vulnerable populations, and strengthen our public health infrastructure.”

Officials say more public health cuts are coming, through the federal budget law known as the "Big Beautiful Bill," which slashes funding for Medi-Cal.

The county Department of Public Health anticipates losing up to $300 million in revenue over the next three years because of the federal budget bill and other potential funding freezes. Federal funding accounts for almost 50% of the public health budget, according to county officials.

Mitchell also led an effort to put a half-percent county sales tax increase to fund public health on the June ballot.

If approved by voters, that proposal, known as Measure ER, is expected to raise about $1 billion a year for county safety net health services, including about $100 million for the public health department.

Board members

The Fund for Advancing Public Health LA announced its founding board of directors, which includes:

• Dr. Barbara Ferrer, LA County Department of Public Health director
• Debbie I. Chang, Blue Shield of California Foundation CEO
• Sean Penn, actor and co-founder of Community Organized Relief Effort (CORE)
• Martha Santana-Chin, LA Care Health Plan CEO
• Saree Kayne, R&S Kayne Foundation CEO
• Danny Trejo, actor and restaurateur
• Jarrett Barrios, an executive at the American Red Cross
• Dr. Deborah Prothrow-Stith, Charles R. Drew University College of Medicine Dean
• Kristin McCowan, an executive at the Los Angeles Dodgers

The Rose Bowl in Pasadena may be a centenarian, but it’s holding up pretty well as it continues to host events on its way to a starring role in the LA28 Olympics.

But before it can host the soccer final, it needs fixes, especially to the infrastructure serving the bathrooms and drinking fountains. Fears of a toilet backup while in the world’s spotlight led Rep. Laura Friedman to seek federal funds for upgrades. On Thursday she announced she secured just over $1 million.

“Two years from now, athletes around the world are going to compete for gold right where we are standing. This is not the time to find out whether or not these pipes are up to the task,” Friedman said.

The planned work, she added, will lead to improved water flow capacity and water drainage, eliminating the risk of backups and emergency maintenance.

The funds came from the House of Representatives Interior and Environment subcommittee. The fixes, an official said, will be completed by the LA28 Olympics.

The funds, however, are a drop in the bucket when it comes to what’s needed to make needed improvements to the Pasadena venue.

Officials, including (left to right) Rose Bowl Legacy Foundation President Dedan Brozino, Deputy Fire Chief of the City of Pasadena Tim Sell, Congresswoman Laura Friedman, and Rose Bowl Stadium CEO Jens Weiden announced infrastructure funding for the 103-year old Rose Bowl.

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“Over the  next 20 years there's about $200 million that we need to put in and that's everything from updating light fixtures to updating gas, water, wastewater lines, etc.,” said Dedan Brozino,  president of the Rose Bowl Legacy Foundation, the nonprofit that supports the Rose Bowl stadium's preservation and enhancement.

Getting venues ready will be expensive

The money is a much-needed win at a time when elected officials in city, county, state and federal offices have been struggling to find the funds to get L.A.-area venues ready for the global Olympic stage in two years.

The entrance to a men's bathroom at the Rose Bowl.

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A $360 million proposal to spruce up asphalt in parking lots around Exposition Park won’t be done in time for the Olympics, as originally planned. Meanwhile, just up the street, there’s concern that a $2.6 billion expansion of the L.A. Convention Center, which is hosting Olympic wrestling, fencing and judo in 2028 won’t be ready for the Olympics.

Additionally, to save money, LA28 organizers moved Olympic diving to the Rose Bowl complex last year because it has two Olympic-sized pools, while the Exposition Park complex doesn't and would need expensive upgrades.

Topline:

About the chick: The chick hatched March 14. The zoo opened its Cape vulture enclosure in February 2025 after years of planning to encourage the birds to roost and nest, welcoming a new breeding pair that year. When it grows to be an adult, it’ll have a wingspan of 8 1/2 feet.

About the enclosure: The L.A. Zoo said it spent years developing the vulture habitat, which was designed to mimic the vultures’ natural environment in South Africa and nearby countries. Dominick Dorsa II, the zoo’s director of animal care, said in a statement the successful hatching is “a testament to the design and construction” of the habitat.

How to see the chick: You can’t for the time being. Zoo officials are keeping it away from visitors until the chick matures, though you can still see adult Cape vultures at the zoo’s enclosure.

Though visitors will have to wait until the chick matures to see it in the enclosure, you can still take in the impressive eight and a half foot wingspan of the adult Cape vultures.

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Courtesy Jamie Pham/L.A. Zoo

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What zoo officials are saying: “Welcoming a Cape vulture chick is a thrilling moment for our team and a beacon of hope for African vultures,” the L.A. Zoo’s curator of birds Rose Legato said in a statement. “Vultures are one of nature's most misunderstood marvels, and I cannot wait for our guests to eventually watch this chick grow and learn just how vital they are to our ecosystems.”

About the species: Cape vultures are listed as a vulnerable species due to human activities and encroachment. According to the L.A. Zoo, African vultures are more closely related to eagles and hawks than vultures native to the Americas, like the zoo's California condors that hatched last year.

This story first appeared on The LA Local.

What should have been a celebration for formerly incarcerated youth completing a reentry program at the Boyle Heights Arts Conservatory (BHAC) last week instead ended with seven students and two staff members detained by the Los Angeles Police Department, according to witnesses. 

Now, nearly a week later, BHAC staff and city officials are demanding answers from the LAPD, with some accusing officers of racial profiling. 

According to the LAPD, officers observed a large group gathered on the corner of Cesar E. Chavez Avenue and Mott Street around 4:16 p.m. on March 26. Authorities then requested backup for what they described as “a large group surrounding officers,” LAPD Public Information Officer Tony Im said. 

The group, classified by police as an “aggressive gang group,” consisted of seven 18-year-old students from the BHAC’s Bridge Academy Movement (BAM) program and two BHAC staff members.

The BAM program pays formerly incarcerated youth to complete 200-250 hours in media and visual arts training to prepare them for creative careers. That day, students were set to showcase their work at the BAM program graduation for families and community members. 

Rene Weber, a teaching artist at the BHAC, had been with the students setting up for the ceremony minutes before the incident occurred. 

According to Weber, the students had gone to coffee across the street at Milpa Kitchen as they often did, when staff were alerted that they were being detained. 

Weber said he arrived to find students and a staff member pressed against the wall in handcuffs. 

Video from the scene, taken by a staff member at the BHAC, shows multiple officers surrounding the group. At one point, an officer orders a person to “get on the wall” and displays a stun gun.  

“No, none of that, these are kids right here,” the staff member replies.

Another staff member, Teotl Veliz, recorded a large police response.  

“I counted 12 cop cars, that’s at least 25 cops, and they had a helicopter,” Veliz said. “It was just so comedic, tragically comedic, that it was on their graduation day too.”

Officers established a perimeter with yellow tape along the side of Ashley’s Beauty Salon as local business owners and witnesses gathered around the students. 

“I was just incredibly disappointed in LAPD… because it became so apparent to everybody, all at the same time, that it was racial profiling and nothing else,” Veliz said.

Weber said officers gave shifting explanations for the stop at the scene, including blocking the sidewalk and possible underage vaping. After Weber told the officers that all of the students were 18, they said they would investigate whether the group had any gang affiliation. 

Police have not responded to questions about what led officers to believe that the group was gang-affiliated. 

Weber recalled pleading with the officers to let the group go and explaining to them that they worked across the street. Community members and local business owners also stepped in to vouch for the students. 

“Our job is to help them gain a new perspective on life,” Weber said. “They’re coming out of juvenile detention and they’re turning their lives around. We can do our part in keeping them off the streets and keeping them doing better but what does it mean if they’re going to be profiled and treated exactly the same way?” 

In total, seven 18-year-old students and two staff members were detained. BHAC staff said one student and one staff member were taken to Hollenbeck Community Police Station and released less than two hours later after advocacy from community members and Councilmember Ysabel Jurado.

The incident ultimately resulted in an infraction for smoking a cannabis e-vape on a public sidewalk, according to a photo of the infraction shared with the Beat. LAPD did not provide details about the people taken to Hollenbeck Station or the infraction. 

The graduation ceremony was cancelled that night and is expected to be rescheduled in April. 

“Graduation should be a moment of pride and possibility — not fear,” Jurado said in a statement. “I’m seeking answers about what occurred, and this underscores the need for stronger relationships between law enforcement and community organizations so moments like these are protected, not disrupted.”

Carmelita Ramirez‑Sanchez, the conservatory’s executive director, said she was grateful to the community and Jurado for advocating for the students’ release. Jurado met her at Hollenbeck Station within 20 minutes of being alerted to the incident, she said. 

“They had store owners, señoras, barbers, that ran out and were trying to explain to the police who our kids were,” Ramirez‑Sanchez said. 

Still, she said the incident tarnished what should have been a joyous celebration.

“I imagine that what this does is derail this entire idea that you can be an active participant in your own restorative growth,” she said.