Three volunteers unload donated water bottles at Bike Oven as a Mutual Aid effort to get supplies to residents affected by the Eaton Fire, Jan. 10, 2025.
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JW Hendricks
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CalMatters
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Topline:
All the talk about attaching conditions to California’s federal disaster aid have placed the state’s Republican members of Congress in a quandary: Do they fight for speedy, unconditional relief dollars for wildfire victims in their home state? Or do they fall in line behind President Trump?
Why it matters: Blaming the fires on California’s liberal policies, President Donald Trump and GOP congressional leaders have proposed attaching assorted conditions to federal disaster aid— a move that, if taken seriously, threatens to delay recovery efforts.
The backstory: It’s hard to know how to interpret the unprecedented demands the president has issued to California in the past two weeks: He’s variously said that to get federal aid, the state must overhaul its water policies, change its forest management, end sanctuary protections for immigrants, and require people to show ID to vote. Yet when the cameras were rolling during his Friday visit to Los Angeles, he also promised a lot of help.
Read on... for more on how members of the state's GOP delegation are responding.
As swaths of Southern California burn, the state’s Republican members of Congress find themselves facing a dilemma.
The choice before members of the state’s GOP House delegation is a tricky one: Would they fight for unconditional aid to constituents in their home state but risk incurring the wrath of Trump, who has a reputation for rewarding loyalists and punishing those who cross him? Or would they side with their party’s president but risk criticism from future opponents that they didn’t rush to help a California in need?
How they resolve this could not only affect their own careers, but also influence Congress’ ability to carry out Trump’s agenda. The GOP holds a three-seat majority in the House — an advantage so slim that it takes only a few Republicans aligning with the other party to block any measure, including a conditional disaster relief package.
The delegation already is splintering. Rep. Young Kim — a swing district Republican representing fire-prone parts of Orange, San Bernardino and Riverside counties — decried talks of conditional aid as “playing politics with people’s livelihoods” and a “slap in the face” to wildfire victims and firefighters. As Trump toured Los Angeles on Friday, Kim said that while she believed the state had “a lot of problems,” those were “unrelated” to the distribution of federal aid.
But Rep. Tom McClintock, whose district in the Sierra mountains and foothills south of Lake Tahoe saw the state’s largest wildfire in 2022, adamantly agreed with the president on making the aid conditional, adding that federal agencies should distribute relief dollars directly to victims. And Rep. Darrell Issa, whose district bordering Mexico is battling wildfires now, told Trump at a Friday roundtable in Los Angeles that there must be conditions in the relief package to “prevent it or at least mitigate it from happening again.”
It’s hard to know how to interpret the unprecedented demands the president has issued to California in the past two weeks: He’s variously said that to get federal aid, the state must overhaul its water policies, change its forest management, end sanctuary protections for immigrants, and require people to show ID to vote. Yet when the cameras were rolling during his Friday visit to Los Angeles, he also promised a lot of help.
“We’re going to get it fixed — though we’ll get it permanently fixed so it can’t happen again,” Trump said of the wildfires while speaking to reporters after landing in Los Angeles Friday. That might be a daunting challenge, given that fire experts blame the infernos on climate and weather conditions.
Fire experts have repeatedly debunked the notion that the state’s water policies played a role in worsening the fires, and the vast majority of California’s forests actually are owned and managed by the federal government.
It also isn’t clear what conditions the House’s leader would consider attaching. House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, has discussed using disaster aid as leverage to get Democratic support for raising the debt ceiling, especially since the debt limit increase could enrage some fiscal hawks within the Republican Party. But House Democrats called Johnson’s approach a “nonstarter.”
Tying disaster relief funds to the debt ceiling is not new. In 2017, as part of the relief package to Hurricane Harvey victims, Trump agreed to Democrats’ request to put off the debt ceiling discussions for three months.
But separate from linking the aid to the debt ceiling, Johnson also seems open to forcing California to change its policies as a condition of receiving aid, similar to Trump’s threat.
At a Jan. 14 Politico event, Johnson initially said that “we don’t play politics with disaster aid.” But then he quickly blamed California policies for worsening the wildfires, arguing those policies must be “factored in with regard to the level of aid and whether there are conditions upon that, or safeguards, you might say.”
Johnson has given conflicting statements about conditional disaster aid before. First, at the Politico event, he said conditional aid would be a “brand-new idea.” But in a podcast interview with host Bari Weiss almost a week later, Johnson pointed to post-disaster rebuilding conditions placed on Louisiana following Hurricane Katrina in 2005. However, in that case, Congress approved the aid first and then passed a separate law to change state and local mitigation efforts, PolitiFact reported.
Regardless, what Trump has threatened may never materialize. Even if the U.S. House does attach strings to disaster relief, Democrats in the GOP-controlled Senate presumably could filibuster, essentially talking the bill to death. It takes 60 votes to cut off debate and there are only 53 Republicans senators, some of whom have their own qualms about making disaster assistance contingent on a state complying with federal terms.
“This is just noise,” said Doug Ose, a Republican who represented Sacramento in Congress from 1999 to 2005. “I don’t think the conditions are going to survive. …The Democrats in the Senate will do what they can do to make President Trump’s job difficult.”
‘Poking your head up makes you a target’
Nonetheless, the potential of a House vote has amped up the pressure on California Republicans.
Most members of the state’s GOP delegation appear to be simply ducking the question. When reached by CalMatters, most blamed state and local policies for the wildfires while stressing the importance of delivering aid. But they refused to say whether Washington should try to force the state to make policy changes in exchange for aid.
“Poking your head up makes you a target,” said Kim Nalder, a political science professor at California State University, Sacramento. “I can imagine the calculus being a lot about how much can you get done that’s not publicly visible, behind the scenes and quietly — without taking a stand that might get you in trouble.”
There’s just too much political gain to be had by demanding Gavin Newsom’s scalp on this.
— Former Republican Rep. Doug Ose
The fights over conditional aid showcase a lack of trust between a Republican-controlled federal government and a Democrat-dominated California, Ose said.
“There’s just an enormous amount of dislike for the political vibe that comes out of California,” he added. “There’s just too much political gain to be had by demanding Gavin Newsom’s scalp on this.”
The raging wildfires made California a tinderbox literally but also politically, as many California Republican delegation members joined in on blaming Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass for the wildfire response while demanding policy changes.
In an interview with conservative Newsmax, McClintock said he “absolutely” agreed with conditional federal aid to California.
“No federal aid should pass through the hands of Gavin Newsom or Karen Bass or their agencies,” he said. “They’ve proven themselves to be completely incompetent in managing public lands and completely incapable of making good decisions.”
Cathy Abernathy, former longtime aide to former Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, said Republicans should use this opportunity to force policy changes in California, even if it’s politically hard.
“It’s obviously easier for a member of Congress from one of the other 49 states to point out what’s wrong with California versus the ones … (whose) constituents have family and everybody else in these fire areas,” she said. “But at the same time, if I was them, I would say: ‘Hey, why did that happen? We are going to look at why it happened so it doesn’t happen again.’”
Young Kim, a Republican from a swing district in Orange County, described the idea of federal conditions on California for disaster aid as “playing politics with people’ livelihoods.” Photo By Bill Clark, CQ Roll Call via AP Images
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Bill Clark
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Most Republican members from California, while criticizing Newsom and Bass, wouldn’t explicitly say whether they want strings attached to the federal aid.
Rep. Doug LaMalfa, whose district sprawls across northeastern California, said on the House floor “nobody questions immediate help for the emergency phase” but stressed it is fair to demand accountability on the rebuilding process.
“We are helping people, and there will be help after, but it isn’t unreasonable to say: What does it take to put things back in a way that is going to be stronger and more resilient going forward, especially when we are talking about many, many billions?”
And Rep. Jay Obernolte, whose district covers just parts of eastern Los Angeles County, said he “strongly supports and anticipates” Congress to distribute relief dollars. But, he said, “the severity of these fires has been exacerbated by poor management at the state and local levels, and this should also be examined and addressed.”
Some members — often in more competitive districts — took a subtler tone.
Rep. David Valadao, a moderate Republican who in 2021 voted to impeach Trump, urged speedy disaster relief without mentioning any conditions. “The federal government must act quickly to save lives and homes, and once we know how much federal support California will require to rebuild, it is imperative we move as quickly as possible to deliver aid,” he said in a statement.
Rep. Kevin Kiley, who won re-election by 10 points in November, advocated on the House floor for a federal inquiry into “political failures that enabled this catastrophe” but stressed that it should not “stand in the way of getting immediate relief to the victims.” On Friday, he clarified to KCRA that he would not support tying aid to policy changes unrelated to wildfires.
And Rep. Ken Calvert — the dean of the delegation who won re-election by just a three-point margin — said on social media that Californians deserve federal disaster aid “in the same manner as all Americans,” but added that “some federal policy changes may be needed to expedite rebuilding as well as improve future wildfire prevention.” Those policies, he said, are not conditions.
LaMalfa and Central Valley Rep. Vince Fong were the only two members of California’s GOP delegation who did not respond to CalMatters’ questions to clarify their positions.
All this stuff happens behind closed doors and their job will be to make sure aid can come.
— GOP consultant Jon Fleischman
The mindset among most of them is to avoid clarifying their stances “until they are forced to make a choice,” said Eric Schickler, political science professor and co-director of the Institute of Governmental Studies at the University of California-Berkeley.
“Trying to see if the politics clarify, see maybe leaders reach some sort of compromise so you never have to take that hard vote — for a lot of members that’s not courageous, but it makes political sense,” Schickler said.
But speaking up against Trump may not be costly for some, Ose said. The House majority is too narrow for the Republican Party to risk losing some incumbents in the next election cycle, and the losses could happen if those incumbents aren’t perceived to be catering to their constituents’ needs.
“They are going to cut slack for people like Calvert and Young Kim and others in California whose districts are critical to being able to implement the rest of the Trump agenda,” Ose said. “That gives people like Calvert and Kim negotiating leverage.”
Regardless of what those Republicans decide, however, they have no incentive to state their positions publicly, said GOP consultant Jon Fleischman.
“The objective for a Republican from California is to be in the discussion,” he said. “All this stuff happens behind closed doors and their job will be to make sure aid can come.”
That means their public statements may not be as important as they seem, Fleischman said.
“I think that the leadership, including the Speaker, gives plenty of latitude for members to say in the media whatever they need to say to stay in good stead with the people that will send them to Congress,” he said. “But I don’t think that what they say (into) a microphone is ultimately what’s going to influence what happens in the back rooms when determining how an aid package would be done and what would be in it.”
Elly Yu
reports on early childhood. From housing to health, she covers issues facing the youngest Angelenos and their families.
Published April 3, 2026 5:00 AM
Under a new law that went into effect this year, childcare providers are barred from asking about a child's or family member’s immigration status.
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Maria Gutierrez
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LAist
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Topline:
Under a new law that went into effect this year, childcare providers are barred from asking about a child's or family member’s immigration status.
What’s new: California Attorney General Rob Bonta provided guidance this week to childcare providers on new legal requirements to protect children and their families from immigration enforcement activities.
The backstory: Lawmakers passed AB 495 last year aimed at helping and protecting families in light of immigration enforcement, including allowing a broader definition of relatives to step in as a caregiver if a parent is detained.
The details: Under the new requirements, childcare centers have to regularly update a child’s emergency contact to make sure someone can be reached in the case of a parent being detained.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta provided guidance this week to childcare providers on new legal requirements to protect children and their families from immigration enforcement activities.
Under a new law that went into effect this year, childcare providers are not allowed to collect information about a child's or family member’s immigration status, unless necessary under state or federal law. Bonta’s office says there currently is no such requirement, though that could change with federal programs like Head Start.
“Childcare and preschool facilities should be safe and secure spaces so children can grow, learn and simply be children,” Bonta said in a statement.
His office says daycare centers also should not keep information about a formerly enrolled child longer than is required by state law.
The new law also requires facilities to inform the attorney general’s office and the state’s licensing agency if they get any requests for information from law enforcement related to immigration enforcement.
Facilities also must ask families to regularly update a child’s emergency contact information to make sure someone can be reached in case a parent is detained by federal immigration officials.
Warnings and advisories: Wind advisory, High Wind Advisory
What to expect: Partly cloudy skies, warmer weather and strong winds courtesy of the Santa Ana winds.
Read on ... for more details.
QUICK FACTS
Today’s weather: Partly cloudy
Beaches: Mid-70s
Mountains: Mid-60s to around 70 degrees
Inland: 75 to 81 degrees
Warnings and advisories: Wind advisory, High Wind Advisory
The Santa Ana winds are here to welcome us into the weekend, bringing warmer temperatures.
The winds will reach Point Mugu to the Santa Clarita Valley, down to Orange County and parts of the Inland Empire valleys and foothills east of the 5 Freeway.
Peak gusts are expected to reach 35 to 55 mph. The western San Gabriel Mountains, Highway 14 corridor, Santa Susana Mountains and the western Santa Monica Mountains are under a high wind warning until 6 p.m., when gusts could reach 65 mph.
As for temperatures, highs for L.A. County beaches will reach the upper 70s and up to the low 80s for inland areas.
Parts of Orange County and Coachella Valley will see temperatures in the mid- to upper 80s, with the warmest areas expected to reach 88 degrees.
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Jill Replogle
covers public corruption, debates over our voting system, culture war battles — and more.
Published April 3, 2026 5:00 AM
Green Cheek Beer Company in Costa Mesa is one of many local breweries that welcomes small humans and furry friends.
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Jill Replogle
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LAist
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Topline:
Getting together with friends at a bar or pub tends to get a lot harder when children and needy pets enter the mix. But Orange County has a solution — dog- and kid-friendly breweries.
Key ingredients: Spacious patios, a water bowl for the pooch, and food — either made onsite or, at the least, easy and quick to order and get delivered from somewhere else. Plus, of course, great beer from small, independent, local breweries.
Where to go: We have recommendations in Huntington Beach, Costa Mesa, and Fountain Valley.
Getting together with friends at a bar or pub tends to get a lot harder when children and needy pets enter the mix. One solution — Breweries! Beer gardens! Brewpubs!
Because parents (of kids and pets) want to go out, too — and not necessarily to a fast food restaurant with an indoor playground and no beer.
Thankfully, the Orange County suburbs where I live have gotten on board with my family- and pet-friendly craft brewery dreams. The key ingredients for me are spacious patios, a water bowl for the pooch, and food — either made onsite or, at the least, easy and quick to order and get delivered from somewhere else. Board and pub games are an added bonus.
Plus, of course, great beer from small, independent, local breweries. On the beer front, I was pleasantly surprised by the variety of beer I encountered on my self-arranged tour of breweries in the Costa Mesa-Huntington Beach area.
Gone are the dark, dank days of nothing but IPA (IYKYK); now, you can find everything from pickle-tinged blondes, to mild sours, to rich and creamy stouts. If you’re not a big beer fan, every place I visited also had their own craft-made hard seltzers on the menu, as well as some non-alcoholic beverages.
Here are some of my favorites:
Riip (Huntington Beach)
Riip in Huntington Beach has two spots with full kitchens specializing in pizza and a wide variety of IPAs and other beer styles.
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Riip has been a family favorite since the company opened its first tasting room in Sunset Beach in 2015, with board games and tables the kids could write on. They have since expanded a lot, with a pizzeria next door and another location near Fountain Valley, which also serves excellent pizza, and has a small arcade to keep the kiddos busy.
One thing they do especially well: For serious IPA drinkers, Riip is your place. They usually have at least half a dozen different IPAs on tap, along with a decent variety of other beers, lighter and darker.
This place is great for … dinner after the kids’ [insert sport] game. Also for date night.
Locations: 17236 Pacific Coast Highway; 19171 Magnolia Street #12, Huntington Beach Hours: Monday through Thurs, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
At Flashpoint Brewing Company in Huntington Beach, you can check out the brewing vats and other machinery up close while enjoying the results.
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Flashpoint Brewing Co. (Huntington Beach)
I only recently discovered Flashpoint, which opened in 2020 on an industrial street near Huntington Beach Central Park. I actually love this aspect of craft brewery taprooms: they’re often located outside of trendy food and retail areas because they need to be able to actually brew beer there as well as serve it.
Flashpoint has a big patio lit with fairy lights. The tall doors of their brewing area, and an adjacent room with the taps and more tables are rolled up during opening hours, giving it a spacious, indoor-outdoor feel.
One thing they do especially well: All the beers I tried were highly drinkable. In other words, not crazy hoppy or overly heavy on flavors. The nectarine sour was especially good, refreshing with just the right amount of tartness.
This place is great for … An early evening toast, watching the clouds turn pink.
Location: 7302 Autopark Drive, Huntington Beach Hours: Monday through Thursday, 4 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.; Friday, 1 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.; Saturday, 12:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., Sunday, 12:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Green Cheek Beer Co. in Costa Mesa serves great beer and food, including shareable, snackable items like pad thai cauliflower.
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Green Cheek Beer Co. (Costa Mesa)
Green Cheek Beer Co. now has three locations in Orange County and one in Oceanside. Their Costa Mesa spot is conveniently located not far from the city’s Bark Park. So, naturally, after my pooch has fun, I deserve a cold one.
Green Cheek has a huge covered patio filled with long picnic tables. My dog, Ace, was very happy to find a bowl of water set out for their canine visitors, and lots of pets from the humans.
One thing they do especially well: Green Cheek makes great beer. But what I love most about their Costa Mesa spot is that you can soak up the alcohol with food, including smash burgers, tots, and pad thai cauliflower, from their good and reliably fast kitchen.
This place is great for … reading a book, or making a new friend! Their long picnic tables make it easy to opt in or out of the surrounding social scene.
Location: 2957 Randolph Avenue, Unit B, Costa Mesa Hours: Sunday through Wednesday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Thursday to Saturday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Bootlegger's Brewery outside the LAB Anti-Mall in Costa Mesa has a quiet patio for day drinking, and a lively trivia night scene.
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Bootlegger’s Brewery (Costa Mesa)
Within walking distance of Green Cheek is Bootlegger’s Brewery. Bootlegger’s started in Fullerton, and now also has tasting rooms in Costa Mesa and Redlands.
Their Costa Mesa spot is on the outskirts of the LAB Anti-Mall, a collection of small businesses and restaurants, at least one of which will deliver food to your table. A section of the parking lot has been turned into a nice outdoor patio with sun shades for daytime and heat lamps for chillier evening hours.
One thing they do especially well: Their Kosher Crusher pickle blonde ale. They debuted it last fall and it is seriously good — light, refreshing, and just a little bit zesty.
This place is great for … “working” on a Friday afternoon (I was not the only one there typing one-handed on my laptop with a beer in the other), and then inviting friends to join you for happy hour.
Location: 696 Randolph Avenue, Suite B, Costa Mesa Hours: Sunday through Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Thursday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 1 a.m.
There's an ambiance for everyone at Salty Bear Brewing Co. in Costa Mesa.
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Salty Bear Brewing Company
Salty Bear is part of The Camp, an uber-cool retail and restaurant complex also within walking distance of Green Cheek and Bootlegger’s (you can do a tasting tour!).
Salty Bear is worth a visit for the aesthetics alone. It has a great bar with midcentury tiling and dimpled red leather. The sprawling, leafy outdoor patio provides plenty of room for the kids to wander.
One thing they do especially well: Their Coastline Strawberry Blonde made me nostalgic for the fruity beers that got me hooked on craft beer in my 20s — but so much better.
This place is great for … Kickin’ it on the patio with friends, either listening to live music, or letting your kids practice performing on the teepee-themed outdoor stage.
Location: 2948 Randolph Avenue, C, Costa Mesa Hours: Monday through Wednesday, 3 p.m. to 9 p.m.; Thursday: 3 p.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday, noon to 11 p.m.; Saturday, noon to 10 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 8 p.m.
Aaron Schrank
has been on the ground, reporting on homelessness and other issues in L.A. for more than a decade.
Published April 2, 2026 4:23 PM
Supervisor Holly Mitchell, L.A. County Department of Public Health Director Dr. Barbara Ferrer, actor Danny Trejo and others gathered at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science in Wilmington.
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Aaron Schrank
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Topline:
A new private foundation called The Fund for Advancing Public Health LA launched Thursday, aiming to raise $2 million to shore up county health services this year. It comes after the Department of Public Health closed seven clinics following $50 million in funding cuts since early 2025.
Who's behind it: The foundation's board includes Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer, the CEOs of Blue Shield of California Foundation and LA Care Health Plan, actors Sean Penn and Danny Trejo and more. Board member Saree Kayne of the R&S Kayne Foundation pledged $150,000 at the launch. Ferrer acknowledged it's "a hard day" when a public agency has to turn to private donors to fund basic services.
Deeper cuts ahead: The federal "Big Beautiful Bill" slashes Medi-Cal funding, and the department anticipates losing up to $300 million over the next three years. Federal dollars account for nearly half the public health budget.
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.
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.
