•In an Aug. 21 statement, U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla (D-California), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, commented on the recent passage of a package of bills allowing California voters to determine whether the state should temporarily redraw its congressional maps through 2030 to counter the Trump administration and Texas Republicans’ partisan redistricting. “The only reason we are in this situation is because Donald Trump demanded that the Texas governor and Legislature create five more Republican House seats, rigging the 2026 election before voting even begins. But California is ready to fight fire with fire,” Padilla stated. “Trump and Republicans know they can’t run on their damaging record of ripping health care coverage away from 15 million Americans and jacking up premiums simply to pay for tax cuts for billionaires, so they’re trying to gerrymander their way to cling to power. … Democrats will continue to push for national redistricting reform to ensure future redistricting is fair and nonpartisan in all 50 states.”
•U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff (D-California) sent a letter on Aug. 18 to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chair Brendan Carr that outlined “a series of concerns,” including those related to a $16 million settlement Paramount Global paid to President Donald Trump before the FCC’s July 24 approval of a merger between Paramount Global and Skydance Media. “The sequence of actions and statements leading up to and following the FCC’s merger approval, including Paramount’s $16 million settlement with President Trump just days before the FCC issued its approval, raises significant questions and alarm that the FCC—an independent regulatory agency—has become a vehicle for President Trump to exact personal retribution and undermine the freedom of the press,” Schiff wrote in the letter. “I am writing to clarify the [FCC’s] terms and conditions for approving the recent $8 billion merger between Paramount Global and Skydance Media, including any role played by President Trump or his associates in influencing the FCC’s actions. … Oversight by Congress is therefore imperative to assess the FCC’s actions and the circumstances surrounding the approval, which, if influenced by President Trump, would set a dangerous precedent of political interference in and corruption of the FCC’s merger approval process.”
•Gov. Gavin Newsom announced on Aug. 21 that California’s Sites Reservoir infrastructure project received a nearly $219 million funding increase from the California Water Commission to ensure the project moves forward as quickly as possible. The additional funding is needed as a result of added costs from delays—including inflation and expected construction cost increases, according to Newsom’s office. “We can’t wait to protect our state from water shortages—there are 40 million Californians depending on us. I am pleased to see the Sites Reservoir project move forward with additional funding and urge the Legislature to continue to make our state’s water future a priority,” Newsom said in an Aug. 21 statement. “Each day that we delay these projects costs our state more money. The Legislature has an opportunity to make history by fast-tracking critical water infrastructure that will ensure we are resilient against droughts and can continue delivering necessary water—a basic human right—to all Californians.” The Sites Reservoir project is a key component of the governor’s water strategy, according to Newsom’s office, and will capture water from the Sacramento River during wet seasons and store it for use during drier seasons—holding up to 1.5 million acre-feet of water, enough to supply more than 4.5 million homes for a year.
This article appears in Aug 28 – Sep 7, 2025.