Hello, happy Tuesday. There are 13 days until Inauguration Day, and my vacation wasn’t long enough, folks.

But here we are. I hope your new year begins with joy and memory loss. While praising Monday’s peaceful certification of the election results, MAGA fanatics were adamant that the Jan. 6, 2021, riot was merely to confuse tourists wandering across the guide rope. We know that the same is true for people like you.

Meanwhile, back in California, Monday I saw another tradition, or a shortened version of it anyway. Governor Gavin Newsom releases preview light for next budgetscheduled for Friday. Typically, governors spend hours reviewing their entire spending plans penny-by-penny, using words like “fundamental” and “unprecedented.”

but, in jimmy carter In a final act of kindness, his funeral scuppered that plan, leaving Newsom (who is scheduled to fly to Washington, D.C. to attend) a brief summary of his spending proposals as part of a Central Valley press conference.

There were a few highlights. Most notably, he predicts no deficit. The state’s revenue increased by more than $16.5 billion, bringing the total budget to $322.2 billion. That’s a huge relief after two grueling years of operating in the red (though he still plans to draw from his rainy day fund to make the math work).

There will likely be months of debate before a final budget is passed in June, but let’s follow the flow of money.

Republicanization of the Democratic Party

Another big takeaway from Newsom’s budget is this. Democrats are trying hard to act more like Republicans without actually acting like Republicans — a clear setback in the wake of the president’s defeat.

Of course, that’s not an entirely new development. Anyone who listened to the governor last year knows that he has moved to the right on issues like crime and homelessness, especially as voters showed overwhelming support for Proposition 36, which passed in a healthy manner and rolled back some of the criminal justice reforms. You’ve probably heard of it.

For Newsom, the slide to the center was achieved Monday by avoiding the ambitious and focusing on the practical. This year’s budget theme, “Safe, Clean, Responsible California,” is all about basics.

To the people of LA, he will (again) double entertainment industry tax credits to about $750 million, restoring California’s competitiveness against long-time production hotspots like New York and Georgia. I promised. Oddly enough, he pointed out that the Apple+ show “Bad Monkey” recently returned from filming in Florida after receiving $20 million in incentives. And he exclaimed: led by Vince Vaughn “If you can get past the amputated arm, that’s a pretty good show,” Farce said.

In more general spending (and the kind of spending expected of a Democratic governor), he promised to fully fund transitional kindergarten, a longtime priority for Newsom. Free school meals. And access to before and after school programs, as well as summer school, has increased.

He also said the promise to create 500,000 apprenticeships (a route to well-paying jobs outside of university) is on track to outpace that number, with 624,895 such placements expected by 2029. He pointed out that it is expected that the creation of

but he is a democrat

Of course, Newsom, who was once a Biden campaign surrogate, couldn’t help but slam President-elect Donald Trump. Because, after all, he’s a Democrat.

“What we’re seeing in the next president is fire and anger,” Newsom said.

It remains to be seen how much of that will be translated into action. On his first day in office, President Trump promised several potential executive orders on immigration and proposed tough legislation including border issues, tax reform and energy policy.

Mr. Newsom asked Congress for $25 million in funding so the attorney general would have money on hand to fight Mr. Trump in court. During President Trump’s last term, the state of California filed more than 100 lawsuits against the Trump administration, many of which attacked the administration for circumventing process and law when it came to implementing his policies (at least partially successful).

No one knows what Trump will do this time, but I’d bet a dime a dozen that California will take him to court over and over again. So we will definitely be spending some money on it.

Because, as Mr. Newsom pointed out, Mr. Trump “may advocate authoritarian views, but he is not a dictator.”

still.

What else to read:

Must read: Congress certifies Trump victory without melodrama
Next up: Lack of wastewater testing hides bird flu problem in Central Valley
LA Times Feature: “Industry giant.” Inside the federal effort to break up Google

stay golden,
Anita Chhabria

PS: If you missed the Golden Globes, here are six of the best moments from LA Times insiders who were there.

Demi Moore at the Golden Globe Awards.

(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

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