The News Brief: February 2nd, 2025

Good morning!

Can you believe it’s barely February? These last two weeks felt like a year or more. There’s so much news these days that you may have missed a few developments. Your role as a reader in staying informed is crucial, and I’ll do my best to share some of the most interesting items. However, I would be lying if I didn’t admit I had difficulty picking a few out of all the articles this week.

If you’ve enjoyed these briefs and my long-form blogs, please subscribe and share them with a friend. I missed last week’s Wednesday blog, but We’ll get two this week to make up for it!

Here are some interesting articles and summaries to help catch up on last week's news, all of which directly impact our local community.

Bay Area News

We have a new District Attorney in Alameda County! The Alameda County Board of Supervisors selected Judge Ursula Jones Dickson in the third round of voting. DA Jones Dickson will serve until 2026, but she may run for the remainder of the term, which ends in 2028. Steve Tavares (East Bay Insiders) reported on the process in several articles. I’ve linked his most recent article below for more details on her appointment and plans for the county.

In San Francisco and San Jose, there have been reports of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity. SEIU Local 87 held a press conference in front of San Francisco City Hall on January 28th to speak out against the administration. Local 87 President Olga Miranda confirmed two reports of ICE agents in plain clothes attempting to enter office buildings in downtown San Francisco on the 24th. San Jose Mayor Mahan also confirmed ICE activity at a Target parking lot and has taken a middle-of-the-road rhetoric to explain their approach to keeping immigrant communities safe.

In other news, San Jose has appointed a city council member for District Three, representing downtown. In Suisun City, Solano County, the city is considering annexing land where the California Forever group has property. The group appears to be trying to entice local cities to annex their land, bypass the county Board of Supervisors, and get their project entitled and built. Suisun City Mayor Hernandez and City Manager Prebula have denied having conversations with CA Forever before the council vote to explore expanding the city’s sphere of influence (a step in annexing new land).

Federal News

On the evening of January 27th, 2025, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) sent a two-page memo “temporarily” pausing all financial assistance programs. Their footnote on assistance programs states, “2 CFR 200.1 defines Federal financial assistance to mean “[a]ssistance that recipients or sub-recipients receive or administer” in various forms, but this term does not include assistance provided directly to individuals.”

What exactly did this memo direct federal agencies to do? “Federal agencies must temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance, and other relevant agency activities that may be implicated by the executive orders, including, but not limited to, financial assistance for foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology, and the green new deal.”

Despite the OMB's claim that services like Medicaid would be unaffected, there were reports that Trump’s administration froze Medicaid payments because of the Federal Government funding pause. In addition to the funding pause, many non-profits have shared concerns about their ability to make crucial payments, such as rent, to continue providing services.

Locally, some impacted programs revolved around sea level rise, climate change adaptation, and other issues. The funding freeze could lead to delays in crucial projects and services, affecting our ability to address these pressing issues. While a federal court in Washington, D.C., has issued a temporary restraining order, it’s clear that this will not end the confusion. Funding issues will place many immediate services at risk and delay important long-term work to improve communities.

Tariffs are happening. Yesterday, Trump signed an order to add tariffs on Canada, China, and Mexico. The president claims the tariffs are necessary to “protect” Americans from the fentanyl and illegal immigration these three countries cause. Trump is imposing 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports while adding 10% to Chinese imports. Canadian energy imports, on the other hand, will be taxed at 10% rather than 25%. It’s unclear how this will help reduce inflation or the cost of living as tariffs increase the cost of goods to consumers. In response, Canada, China, and Mexico have directed their governments to impose similar tariffs on American Goods, increasing the likelihood of goods going up in cost.

CA Brief

Ever since the fires started in Los Angeles this year, Trump has been claiming that California's water policy is to blame. He believes we simply need to turn on some valves.  Just this Friday, the Army Corp of Engineers was ordered or decided to release from Kaweah and Success lakes in the San Joaquin Valley. The Army Corp of Engineers is now under the control of Defense Secretary Hegseth. Senator Padilla (D-CA) and Congress Member Costa (D-Fresno) sent the Hegseth letters asking questions about the water release because there appears to have been little to no coordination with local agencies, safety services, or farmers. Congress Member Costa noted little demand for additional water at this time of year, and low snowpacks could endanger the State’s water reserves.

The Visalia Times-Delta reported, “The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which manages Kaweah and Success lakes, said the water release was in response to President Trump’s Jan. 24 executive order to obtain more water to fight southern California wildfires.” According to officials in the Central Valley, the water that the Army Corp of Engineers released can not physically reach Los Angeles. The Tule River and the Kaweah River do not go to Los Angeles. They also stated that the flow level could have flooded the Central Valley at the same levels as the 2023 storms that caused damaging floods. 

Thank you for reading! The world is full of constantly evolving information, so I hope I was able to provide you with something useful. Please subscribe and share your thoughts in the comment section.

Until next time!

With regards,

Victor Flores
The Ramble