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Feb 08, 2024 View in browser   By Jeremy B. White The Oakland skyline is seen in March 2020. California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday he is sending prosecutors to Oakland to help crack down on rising crime in the city, where brazen, broad daylight robberies have been getting national attention. | AP DISH IT OUT: C’mon, let us know what you really think. Fill out our California PM Playbook reader survey and give us your unbridled thoughts on our newsletter and coverage in general. Be nice. Or not. Either way, we’ll take it under consideration. BREAK THE GLASS: Oakland’s crime issues are now California’s problem. Democratic state officials are sending reinforcements to the East Bay, looking to allay public concerns about safety that have elected officials on the defensive. Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a 120-officer California Highway Patrol deployment earlier this week. He and Attorney General Rob Bonta today dispatched prosecutors to help embattled Oakland District Attorney Pamela Price secure convictions. Price and Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao are navigating a precarious political moment — staring down recall drives largely fueled by frustration over bipping, carjackings and shootings. The closures of businesses, including the first-ever by an In-N-Out, have reinforced a sense that the city needs to act. Bonta told POLITICO that Thao and other local officials had asked the state for help. He noted that crime spikes in Oakland last year made the city an outlier as much of California saw decreases. “We’ve been talking about this for a long time,” he said. “This week’s announcements come after a great number of conversations happening simultaneously among different leaders that represent Oakland.” It’s not just Oakland, of course. Newsom has targeted the voter-galvanizing issue of property crime statewide by seeking a package of bills aimed at smash-and-grabs, retail theft and car burglaries. But the East Bay city's struggles could no longer be left to the locals. “The narrative around crime and lawlessness in Oakland is out of control and it clearly got the attention of both the governor and the attorney general,” said Justin Berton, a political consultant who worked for former Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf and lives in the city. “The national story about Oakland is horrific right now, so that’s going to rub off on Rob Bonta and Gavin Newsom, and clearly their offices decided ‘no more.’” IT’S THURSDAY AFTERNOON. This is 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 jwhite@politico.com or send a shout on X. DMs are open. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY State Senate President Pro Tempore Designate Mike McGuire, of Healdsburg, greets other lawmakers as he walks through the Senate Chambers at the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif., on Jan. 8, 2024. | Rich Pedroncelli/AP SENATE SHUFFLE:  New Senate President pro Tem Mike McGuire has announced his picks for top Senate leadership and committee appointments, including Lena Gonzalez for majority leader. McGuire chose Scott Wiener to head the influential Senate Budget Committee. The San Francisco Democrat will replace longtime Chair Nancy Skinner, who is termed out this year — and Skinner will take Wiener’s role leading the Housing committee. Anna Caballero will chair Appropriations. You can read more about McGuire’s reordering of power in the upper chamber in POLITICO Pro. — Dustin Gardiner and Lara Korte ON THE BEATS BAG IT: Three California lawmakers are introducing legislation to broaden the state’s nation-leading ban on plastic bags in stores. The two bills introduced by Democratic state Sens. Catherine Blakespear and Ben Allen and Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan are likely to prompt a fight with the plastics industry and fuel the debate over what counts as recyclable in California. California already has a first-in-the-nation ban on single-use plastic bags, but the 2015 law allows grocery and retail stores to continue offering thicker plastic bags at checkout if they are deemed reusable and recyclable. The identical bills, being introduced in both houses, would direct stores to stop offering plastic film bags altogether by Jan. 1, 2026. — Camille von Kaenel SIGNS OF LIFE: UC San Francisco and a nonprofit health system may be bringing Madera Community Hospital back to life — a year after it closed and forced people in the area to seek medical care outside the county. The hospital would reopen under a partnership involving UCSF and nonprofit Adventist Health. The two organizations are putting together a proposal to take over the operation, deal with the hospital's debt and resume services. The state has approved a $52 million loan to reopen the facility. The judge presiding over the hospital’s bankruptcy still must approve the proposal. State Sen. Anna Caballero, who represents the area, welcomed the development. “The complication has been that it isn’t just about opening a hospital, but ensuring we can provide sustainable, quality public health services to meet the needs of Madera residents,” she said. — Rachel Bluth  WHAT WE'RE READING TODAY DO NOT PASS GO: A federal judge rejected a bid by former Trump White House aide and San Diegan Peter Navarro to remain out of prison while he appeals his criminal conviction for defying a subpoena from the Jan. 6 select committee. (POLITICO) FAST TRACK: Progress on high-speed rail is increasingly evident in the Central Valley. (Los Angeles Times) PASSION PROJECT: An organization founded by actor Christian Bale has started construction on a housing project in the Antelope Valley that will enable siblings in the foster care system to live together instead of being forced apart. (Hollywood Reporter)   Follow us on Twitter POLITICO California @politicoca   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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