| | | | |  | | By Ben Fox, Camille von Kaenel and Blake Jones | Presented by the Electric Trucks Now Campaign | HIGH SIERRA HANGOVER: We (mostly) broke out the Champagne this winter as the state was drenched with rain and the Sierra Nevada was hit with epic snowfall. Now comes the hangover. The snowpack that stores our water is at historic depth, the meltwater surging downstream to reservoirs that haven’t seen such bounty in years. It’s great for farmers and city dwellers alike. It’s great for skiers, snowboarders and white-water rafters. It’s great for salmon. Turns out, however, it may not be so great for one corner of the Central Valley. Parts of Kings, Tulare and Kern counties face the prospect of devastating floods from Tulare Lake — a body of water that reemerged this winter for the first time in decades. Once the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi River, Tulare Lake vanished as farmers diverted upstream flows. It’s been mostly a dry lakebed ever since, except after exceptionally wet and snowy winters. Like now. Tulare Lake is now larger than at any time in recent memory, and its waters are lapping at the top of earthen levees last reinforced in the 1980s with help from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. If the levees breach, floodwaters could overwhelm the town of Corcoran, the nearby state prison and surrounding communities.
|  Snow covers a roadway in the Sierra Nevada Mountains after yet another storm system brought heavy snowfall to higher elevations on March 30, 2023, near Mammoth Lakes, Calif. | Mario Tama/Getty Images |
The question now is what to do about it — and who’s going to pay for it.
Gov. Gavin Newsom will be in the area Tuesday, meeting with state and local officials faced with what is appearing to look like a slow-moving disaster. Kings County Supervisor Doug Verboon says he’s been waiting for the governor to visit. His message to Newsom is that the region needs money for flood protection, as well as more dams upstream to slow the rush of water. “We realize there's a lake bottom and the water is going to the lake bottom. It’s just that it may come down too fast, causing devastation,” Verboon said. Assemblymember Devon Mathis (R-Porterville) has been working with public and private funders to pay for the ongoing levee repairs, he said in an interview. “I think it's wrong if the state thinks they're off the hook,” Mathis said. “The state and the feds need to step up here and stop relying on private property owners to do this.” HAPPY MONDAY AFTERNOON! Welcome to the first 2023 edition of California Playbook PM, a POLITICO newsletter that serves as an afternoon temperature check of California politics and a look at what our policy reporters are watching. Got tips or suggestions? Shoot an email to bjones@politico.com or send a shout on Twitter. DMs are open!
| | A message from the Electric Trucks Now Campaign: CALIFORNIA MUST VOTE "YES" TO STOP DIESEL DEATH. More than 70 environmental justice, health, labor, business and clean air groups across California are calling on the Air Resources Board (CARB) to vote unanimously for the Advanced Clean Fleet ACF) standard. This historic vote will ultimately put an end to diesel death within a generation by gradually transitioning dirty diesel truck fleets to pollution-free technologies. Tell CARB to vote “YES” on the ACF! | | | |  | WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY | | PRIMED TO ORGANIZE: An Amazon contractor in Palmdale has voluntarily recognized a union formed by 84 drivers and dispatchers, marking the first time nationally that workers for the tech giant will operate under a labor contract. Battle-Tested Strategies, a shipping and logistics company, and representatives from Teamsters Local 396 announced today that they’ve reached a tentative agreement that includes pay raises and a boost in benefits. Amazon workers at a warehouse in New York voted to unionize last April, but contract negotiations are on hold as the company appeals a National Labor Relations Board decision that upheld the election results. — Alexander Nieves
| | | | PLAYBOOK MEET & GREET! We did it before and we're doing it again! Join California Playbook and POLITICO’s growing team in Sacramento at Smic’s Sip & Quip on Thursday, May 11, 2023, for an evening of cocktails and conversation. As POLITICO expands in California, we're convening our most influential readers in Sacramento and beyond. Swing by and have a cocktail on us—you never know who you might run into! Register here. | | | | | | | | LOW ON CHARGE — California recently marked a milestone when 1.5 million electric and hybrid vehicles were sold in the state, achieving a goal set by then-Gov. Jerry Brown in 2012. A sharp rise in ZEV sales starting in 2021 helped the state hit the target two years ahead of schedule. But the rise in sales, likely to accelerate due to new federal tax credits, comes with its own challenges: most notably, charging. California is behind schedule on its plan to build 250,000 public and shared private chargers by 2025, and now expects to meet that goal in 2026. Issues persist even among the 88,000 chargers that are available today, from increased demand for each charger to reliability problems when motorists pull up to a charging station. The frustrations received writerly treatment from the L.A. Times' deputy editorial page editor, Mariel Garza, who says she’s almost ready to trade in her EV for a gas-powered hybrid. — Wes Venteicher NO VICTORY ROYALE — The developers of Fortnite largely took an L in a yearslong joust with Apple today. Epic Games had accused the tech giant of creating an illegal monopoly by making its lucrative App Store the exclusive market for iPhone game downloads. But a federal appeals court affirmed a lower court’s ruling that Apple is not liable for its conduct related to the App Store under federal antitrust law, POLITICO’s Josh Sisco reports. The crux of Epic’s complaint was that developers are forced to use the App Store to sell software on iPhones, which funnels 30 percent of most purchases back to Apple. Epic kicked off the fight in the summer of 2020 when it bucked Apple’s rules by including a nonsanctioned payment option in its Fortnite app. Apple then booted Fortnite from the App Store, and Epic responded with its antitrust suit. Epic did score a minor W, though: The federal court struck down Apple's so-called anti-steering provisions, which block developers from informing their customers of cheaper prices outside of the App Store. And today’s ruling was far from the end of the battle. Epic will almost certainly appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, and the Justice Department is pursuing its own probe. That investigation could land in court later this year.
| | | | A message from the Electric Trucks Now Campaign:   | | | | | AROUND CALIFORNIA | | — “Bay Area home prices spike 17% as sellers pull back,” by The Mercury News’ Ethan Varian: Why are so few houses available? It all comes back to interest rates. Many homeowners who might otherwise be willing to sell had locked in mortgages before average interest rates spiked above 6% starting last year. Rates hadn’t been that high since 2008. And those potential sellers are now reluctant to give up their lower rates, often at around 3% or 4%. “Why would you sell at that rate?” asked Lafayette real estate agent Paddy Kehoe. “It’s free money.” — “Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s resignation wouldn’t fix the judges issue. Here’s why,” by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Shira Stein: The issue most often cited in calls for Feinstein to resign is the fact that her absence is preventing judicial nominees from confirmation by the slim Democratic majority. Still, Feinstein’s resignation wouldn’t be an automatic fix for approving judges without Republican support. “If they wanted to, the Republicans could block the appointment of a new Democrat to Judiciary, and that’s true whether Feinstein resigns her seat or not,” said Josh Chafetz, a professor of constitutional law and legislative procedure at Georgetown Law School.
| | | | GO INSIDE THE 2023 MILKEN INSTITUTE GLOBAL CONFERENCE: POLITICO is proud to partner with the Milken Institute to produce a special edition "Global Insider" newsletter featuring exclusive coverage, insider nuggets and unparalleled insights from the 2023 Global Conference, which will convene leaders in health, finance, politics, philanthropy and entertainment from April 30-May 3. This year’s theme, Advancing a Thriving World, will challenge and inspire attendees to lean into building an optimistic coalition capable of tackling the issues and inequities we collectively face. Don’t miss a thing — subscribe today for a front row seat. | | | | | | | MIXTAPE | | — “California lawmakers consider banning 'willful defiance' suspensions from schools,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Vanessa Arredondo. — “Cracks in California labor coalition raise hopes for YIMBY breakthrough on housing bill,” by CalMatters’ Ben Christopher. — “Protests, lawsuits and a dead rat: A wealthy California city's epic fight to block growth,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Jack Flemming. Compiled by Matthew Brown
| | A message from the Electric Trucks Now Campaign: POLLUTION-FREE TRUCK FLEETS = CLEANER AIR FOR EVERYONE. Six out of the top 10 cities in the nation for diesel soot exposure are located in California. The excessive exposure of this pollution to communities of color is one of the clearest examples of environmental racism. A “yes” vote by CARB members will help these residents live longer, healthier lives.
Supporting pollution-free truck technologies is also good for businesses and jobs. Fleets and truck owners will save money over the life of their trucks by cutting fuel and maintenance costs. Truck drivers will be given overdue labor protections to prevent exploitation through “misclassification.” And, stronger electric truck standards catalyze investment and market growth that support good clean economy jobs.
CARB has the opportunity to clean up our air, save businesses money, protect drivers and create good jobs. Tell them to vote “YES” on the ACF this week! | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Ottawa Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
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