California Weekly Roundup: Jan. 7, 2026
CalMatters, EdSource, and Berkeleyside:
New California Laws In Effect For 2026
From expanded coverage for in vitro fertilization to preventing sex abuse in schools, here are some noteworthy 2026 laws in effect Jan. 1. (1/5)
VC Star:
Newsom Decries Court Ruling Overturning California Open-Carry Ban
A federal appeals court invalidated California’s open-carry ban. Gov. Gavin Newsom blasted the decision as “reckless” and warned it could “return California to the days of the Wild West.” (Ward, 1/3)
POLITICS
Los Angeles Times:
California Rep. Doug LaMalfa Dies, Further Narrowing GOP Margin In Congress
The Northern California congressman died at age 65 during emergency surgery at a Chico hospital, officials said. LaMalfa’s death puts the Republican majority in Congress in further jeopardy, with a margin of just two votes to secure passage of any bill along party lines. (Branson-Potts, Smith, Wilner and Serna, 1/6)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Will Newsom’s Final State Of The State Speech Focus On California’s Future Or His Own?
What Gov. Gavin Newsom says in his final State of the State speech Thursday will tell Californians a lot about his priorities for his last year in office. Will he focus on California’s future or his own? (Garofoli, 1/7)
CalMatters:
Newsom’s Final Year In Office Begins With An $18 Billion Deficit. How Will He Address It?
Gov. Gavin Newsom has not indicated whether he’ll consider cuts to Medi-Cal, the state’s primary health insurance program for low-income residents. But as the state’s most expensive program, it is an attractive target. (Yu, 1/6)
housing
KQED:
Youth Homelessness Is Declining In California. Funding Cuts Threaten Progress
A recent report found youth homelessness dropped 24% between 2019 and 2024 in California, thanks in large part to dedicated state funding. (Suliman, 1/5)
Berkeleyside:
CARE Court Was Created To Help California’s Toughest Homeless Cases. Why That’s Been So Hard
Gov. Gavin Newsom introduced CARE Court in 2022 in part as a way to bring people with serious mental illnesses off of California’s streets. He continues to tout it as part of his homelessness strategy, as recently as this month in a news release. (Kendall, 12/18)
The Appeal:
Salvation Army To Close The Depot Shelter For Homeless Families
The Salvation Army will close The Depot Family Crisis Center in Marysville after more than three decades providing the only shelter available to homeless families in Yuba and Sutter counties. (1/2)
Bay Area News Group:
San Jose Forges Path To Winning Over Neighbors In Sheltering Homeless
How the residents here in South San Jose turned from NIMBYs to YIMBYs offers a civics lesson in how good government, goodwill and trust can overcome objections. (Sulek, 1/5)
health industry
The Willits News:
Sutter Health Santa Rosa Begins Another Major Service Expansion Near Hospital
Sutter Health's latest major expansion in Sonoma County is a $10 million, 10,000 square-foot project that will see Sutter completely take over the three-story medical building at 34 Mark West Springs Road, near its hospital. (Espinoza, 1/2)
Modern Healthcare:
Kaiser-Backed Joint Venture Opens Second California PACE Center
A joint venture between Kaiser Permanente and healthcare investment firm Town Hall Ventures has launched a second integrated program for older adults in California. (Eastabrook, 1/6)
San Francisco Examiner:
Stanford Joins UCSF-Led Children’s Brain Cancer Research
A leading Bay Area children’s hospital has joined another in a group dedicated to eradicating children’s brain cancer and tumors. Stanford is now part of the Pediatric Neuro-Oncology Consortium alongside UCSF. (Gurevich, 12/29)
The San Diego Union-Tribune:
Does AI Belong In The Exam Room? Lawsuit Alleges Sharp Violated Patient Privacy.
A recent lawsuit filed in San Diego Superior Court alleges that Sharp HealthCare recorded conversations between doctors and their patients without written consent, using the information to document visits with an artificial intelligence program developed by a private company in Pittsburgh. (Sisson, 1/5)
The Bay Area Reporter:
HIV Expert Silverman Retires From AmfAR Board
Dr. Mervyn Silverman, a former San Francisco health director, has retired from the board of amfAR. He had served as a trustee for the national HIV/AIDS organization for 39 years. Silverman served as San Francisco’s health director from 1977 to 1985, and helped pioneer the U.S. response to the early AIDS epidemic. (Laird, 1/6)
Orange County Register:
OC Bomberos Provide Scholarship, Mentorship For Aspiring Firefighters And Emergency Responders
Gabriel Flores and Andrew Robles felt inspired to create a program that would help those interested in a career as a firefighter, EMT, or paramedic focus on their education without worrying about paying for tuition or supporting their loved ones financially. Bomberos is the Spanish word for firefighters. (Klick, 1/4)
HEALTH COSTS AND COVERAGE
Times of San Diego:
HHS To Freeze $10 Billion In Social Services Funding For California, 4 Other States
California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota and New York would lose access to billions in funding through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, the Child Care and Development Fund and the Social Services Block Grant program, a spokesperson for the White House Office of Management and Budget confirmed to NOTUS. (Brown and Fernandez, 1/6)
Bay Area News Group:
Trump Targets Funding For Child Care And Hospitals, Bay Area Dollars Fill Gaps
As the Trump administration moves to freeze billions in federal social services funding and advance deep cuts to health care and other programs, Bay Area counties are increasingly turning to local ballot measures to keep education, child care and medical services afloat. (Hunter and Stringer, 1/7)
The San Diego Union-Tribune:
Providers Brace For Medi-Cal Cuts: ‘We May Not Be Able To Serve Everybody’
Federal changes to Medicaid, called Medi-Cal in California, could add up to a nine-figure problem for San Diego medical providers. (Sisson, 1/5)
The Fresno Bee:
Fresno Unified Retirees Lose Access To Health Care Services
Thousands of retired Fresno Unified employees abruptly lost access to health care services from Community Medical Centers on New Year’s Day, and it’s unclear when the situation will be resolved. (Zhong, 1/6)
ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
The New York Times:
One Year After the Fires: Los Angeles Tries to Heal
After wildfires destroyed much of Altadena and Pacific Palisades, residents are struggling with how to move forward and who is to blame. (Hubler, Cowan and Jimenez, 1/7)
Santa Monica Daily Press:
UCLA Study: Santa Monica Wildland Firefighters Open To Respirator Use
Wildland firefighters are willing to wear respirators and other protective breathing equipment despite concerns the devices could hinder their ability to fight fires safely, according to new research from UCLA. (Alin, 1/2)
inewsource:
HOME SICK: Chronic Illness And Longing Define Life In The Tijuana River Valley
Inewsource interviewed 100 people in San Diego’s South Bay communities about how pollution from sewage spills is making some people sick. (Salata, 12/19)
inewsource:
HOME SICK: Tijuana River Stewards Say Cure For Pollution Crisis Lies Beyond Borders
Many environmental advocates from the U.S., Mexico and Kumeyaay nations are taking their own approaches to rehabilitating the river valley. (Salata, 12/19)
inewsource:
HOME SICK: Rancher Shares How Pollution In Tijuana River Changed His Life
Gabriel Uribe lived and worked in the valley for decades, but the stench from the river pushed him to live elsewhere. (Salata and Martinez Jr., 12/30)
public health
San Francisco Chronicle:
California, Other Western States Reject CDC Childhood Vaccine Rollback
Health officials in California, Oregon, Washington and Hawaii continue to endorse the same childhood vaccines that have long been part of U.S. public health policy — despite a move by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to significantly reduce the number of vaccinations routinely recommended for children. The CDC on Monday announced it is downgrading its recommendation that all children get vaccinated against the flu, hepatitis A, meningococcal disease, rotavirus and RSV. (Ho, 1/6)
The San Diego Union-Tribune:
San Diego Doctors Say Vaccination Changes Are Already Causing Confusion
The federal government’s decision Monday to remove six vaccines from the nation’s routine childhood vaccination schedule was immediately felt by San Diego County pediatricians on Tuesday as parents began asking questions about how the change would affect their children. (Sisson, 1/6)
Fox 5 San Diego:
Synthetic Psychedelics Found In TRE House Products
California health officials warn against consuming TRE House 'Magic Mushroom' products due to dangerous synthetic psychedelics. (Coakley, 1/3)
LAist:
An Anti-Smoking Billboard Is An LA New Year’s Mainstay. What Do Its Sponsors Think?
The American Cancer Society says when it comes to raising awareness about lung cancer screening, the more the merrier. (Tidmarsh, 1/5)
The (Santa Clarita Valley) Signal:
Wegovy Lots Recalled After Hair Detected In A Prefilled Syringe
Multiple lots of weight-loss medication Wegovy were recalled by pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk because hair was found in a prefilled syringe, according to two notices published by the Food and Drug Administration last week. (Phillips, 1/5)
LGBTQ+
Los Angeles Times:
Teachers Have A Right To Tell Parents If Their Child Might Be LGBTQ+, Federal Judge Rules
School workers can alert parents if their child has questions about gender, but officials can't order staff to alert parents. It's a confusing new legal landscape. (Blume, 1/5)
Los Angeles Blade:
Law Expanding Mental Health Resources For LGBTQ+ Youth Has Gone Under Effect
Hate crimes targeting transgender, gender nonconforming, and other queer folks are on the rise in California. Amongst LGBTQ+ youth, mental health concerns are increasing. The Trevor Project found in a recent study that suicidal ideation amongst young LGBTQ+ people living in the U.S. rose from 41% to 47% in the last two years. (Song, 1/2)
Oaklandside:
They're Losing Health Care, Even In The Bay Area. Now Trans Youth And Their Families Are Getting Organized
Last August, an Oakland high school student named Eric began gender-affirming care, at Kaiser Permanente. He’d never thought about needing it before he hit puberty. But once that happened, he said it quickly felt necessary, even urgent, to “make sure my body was going on the same track as my brain.” (Kaplan, 12/19)
The Bay Area Reporter:
Grant Cuts To UCSF Research Into LGBT Health Send Chilling Message That ‘Studying Inequities Is Risky For Your Career’
According to the data shared by the UCSF Office of Research, 97 research grants amounting to $240 million were terminated by the Trump administration in the spring. Most of the terminated grants were related to trans health or DEI, said Dr. Harold Collard, UCSF vice chancellor of research. Turner’s project was one of them. (Mishra, 12/18)
other california news
EdSource:
California Scores Poorly In Children’s Health And Education, Report Card Finds
The state’s lack of progress in children’s health care — including failing grades in preventive screenings, birthing health for mothers, and preventing substance abuse — has created a major barrier for California students to succeed in school, according to the report. (Sanganeria, 1/7)
Berkeleyside:
Berkeley Food Pantry Set To Close After Merger With Berkeley Food Network Collapses
For 56 years, the Berkeley Food Pantry has been a lifeline for Berkeley and Albany residents facing food insecurity. Now, the service is set to end after failed merger negotiations. (Mumana, 12/22)
Manteca Bulletin:
Manteca Will Soon Be Down To 1 Dispensary
Nectar is closing its Manteca cannabis dispensary. (Wyatt, 12/31)
The San Diego Union-Tribune:
She Was In Withdrawal. He Was Schizophrenic. Both Died Of Neglect In Jail, Their Families Say In New Lawsuits.
The families of two people who died in San Diego jails last year have filed separate civil rights lawsuits in federal court — both accusing the Sheriff’s Office and its private medical contractors of systemic failures they say took the lives of Callen Lines and Corey Dean. (Davis, 1/7)
