NOVEMBER 5, 2025
California voters have passed Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Prop. 50, which will tilt the state’s congressional districts toward Democrats in the 2026 election. Incumbents and challengers on both sides of the aisle are now scrambling to mark their turf. Opponents also haven’t given up. Just hours after polls closed, California Republicans announced a lawsuit challenging Prop. 50 on the grounds that it violates the 14th and 15th Amendments.
Read MoreOCTOBER 28, 2025
A proposal to ask Anaheim voters if the city should collect an entertainment tax has died with the City Council. The original proposal was to ask voters to consider ballot measures creating a 3% city tax on admission tickets to theme parks and sports and entertainment venues with a “capacity exceeding 20,000 people” and a parking tax of 10% on facilities with more than 1,500 spaces. But councilmembers were united in a clear stance against levying more taxes on tourists.
Read MoreOCTOBER 27, 2025
Under a proposed ballot initiative, California lawmakers who voted in favor of Proposition 50 could be barred from running for public office for up to 10 years after their current terms. Under the proposal, lawmakers would be prohibited from holding elective office for 10 years and from serving in appointive positions, as legislative staff, or in other specified state offices for five years. It will need 874,641 signatures to qualify for the November 2026 statewide ballot.
Read MoreOCTOBER 27, 2025
Last week, the Emerson College Poll asked likely California voters whether they’d vote for Prop. 50, which re-draws California’s congressional maps in favor of Democrats to offset changes favoring Republicans in Texas. 57% of voters said they’d support it—up from 51% in September. Meanwhile, 37% of voters said they would vote no, and another 6% were undecided. California residents until Nov. 4 to cast their ballots for Prop. 50.
Read MoreOCTOBER 27, 2025
This week, temperatures across much of the Los Angeles Basin and into the Santa Clarita Valley will be in the upper 80s and low 90s—10 to 15 degrees above normal for this time of year. The National Weather Service has issued a heat advisory from Tuesday morning through Wednesday evening. No red flag warnings have been issued yet, but both the Santa Clarita and San Fernando valley foothills will have elevated fire risks once the Santa Ana winds arrive.
Read MoreOCTOBER 26, 2025
In an interview with CBS News, Gov. Gavin Newsom said he would be “lying” if he denied plans to consider a presidential bid. Newsom has become a leading voice in the opposition to President Donald Trump, slamming the administration’s handling of issues such as National Guard deployments and immigration raids. He has also butted heads with Republicans over redistricting.
Read MoreOCTOBER 26, 2025
According to FlightAware, a flight-tracking website, there were more than 8,000 U.S. flight delays on Sunday, an increase from about 5,300 on Saturday. Due to staffing shortages, many air traffic controllers had been working mandatory overtime and six-day weeks even before the shutdown. Those same workers are now working without pay, and they’re scheduled to miss their first full paycheck this week.
Read MoreOCTOBER 24, 2025
Bay Area officials and residents remain on alert after Trump called off his plans for an aggressive immigration crackdown in San Francisco. The move came a day after the president sent about 100 federal agents to the area, prompting state and city leaders to denounce the potential deployment of federal troops in San Francisco. Trump cited discussions with San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie and tech leaders as reasons why he canceled the show-of-force.
Read MoreOCTOBER 23, 2025
The government shutdown has entered its fourth week, and its toll on travel continues to grow. Canceled or delayed flights have compounded an already critical shortage of air traffic controllers. National parks and museums have closed their doors. Hospitality, restaurants, and local businesses that depend on visitor spending are feeling the ripple effects. Hundreds of thousands of federal and travel-sector workers’ livelihoods are directly at risk.
Read MoreOCTOBER 21, 2025
California will become the first state in the nation requiring restaurants to list major food allergens on their menus starting in 2026. The new law applies to businesses with at least 20 locations, which will have to disclose ingredients including milk, eggs, shellfish, and tree nuts when they know—or reasonably should know—that they are in their products.
Read MoreOCTOBER 11, 2025
Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a bill to expand and streamline the process to get people who are mentally ill and homeless into mental health treatment and housing. SB 27 would make it easier for criminal courts to refer someone to the CARE program and expand the criteria of the program from only people with a diagnosed schizophrenia spectrum disorder to also including people with bipolar disorder. The state’s Big City Mayors Coalition was in favor of the bill.
Read MoreOCTOBER 11, 2025
Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed several bills into law that have the potential to lessen the challenges surrounding restaurant operation throughout California. AB 592 preserves the temporary workaround to utilize parking lots and other designated areas as outdoor dining spaces. AB 671 has the potential to mitigate the often lengthy and costly process of reviewing restaurant building plans through self-certification checks.
Read MoreOCTOBER 10, 2025
Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a bill that will pave the way for more apartment buildings around major public transit stops in the state’s biggest metro areas. His sign-off on SB 79 means that apartment developers will soon be able to pack more homes into neighborhoods within half a mile of major rail, subway, and bus rapid transit stops, overriding local zoning restrictions and any possible objections of surrounding neighbors.
Read MoreOCTOBER 9, 2025
As of today, the U.S. has lost more than $1.8 billion in domestic travel spending as a result of the government shutdown, and that number is increasing with every passing second, as shown on U.S. Travel’s real-time cost ticker. “Travelers are facing longer TSA lines and flight delays. Airports are reducing flights and we’ve seen entire control towers go dark,” U.S. Travel CEO Geoff Freeman said in a statement.
Read MoreOCTOBER 7, 2025
At its developer conference last week, OpenAI launched apps within ChatGPT—built using a new Apps software development kit—and named Expedia and Booking.com among its first partners. The move effectively opens ChatGPT’s 800 million-user base to third-party developers, creating a new distribution channel for travel and a new way to plan and book travel for consumers. The company said Tripadvisor, Uber, and TheFork are set to have apps on the platform soon as well.
Read MoreOCTOBER 7, 2025
After Texas redrew its congressional map in an effort to add 5 Republican-controlled seats, California responded with Proposition 50. The plan would replace 6 of the 12 overwhelmingly Democratic districts—where Kamala Harris won with 30% to 40% margins in 2024—with districts that are still solidly Democratic but with relatively more Republican voters. The Democratic voters who used to be part of these districts would then be able to help make other districts Democratic.
Read MoreOCTOBER 1, 2025
U.S. Travel’s Fall 2025 Travel Forecast projects slower growth for travel in 2025, but higher growth rates in 2026 and beyond. Spending is buoyed by continued growth in domestic leisure travel despite economic concerns. International inbound travel is projected to decrease in 2025 for the first time since 2020, but to resume growth in 2026 driven by mega events such as the FIFA World Cup and America 250 celebrations.
Read MoreJULY 20, 2025
It should be a little easier for families to fly this summer, thanks to a new TSA campaign called “Families on the Fly.” The initiative aims to ease the airport screening process for families traveling with children while maintaining strong security measures. Perks of the program include dedicated family screening lanes at select airports, discounted TSA PreCheck enrollment for families, and exclusive TSA PreCheck lanes for military personnel and their families.
Read MoreJULY 18, 2025
A growing number of travelers are flocking to hotels with animal-centric activities. Locations like California’s Carmel Valley Ranch are bringing farm life to guests through thoughtfully curated experiences with a handful of breeds, such as goats, alpacas, and mini-cows. Meanwhile, the Brasada Ranch in Oregon is using Equine Assisted Learning (EAL) to have guests engage with horses as partners in personal development.
Read MoreJULY 18, 2025
Visitors to the U.S. will need to pay a “visa integrity fee,” according to a provision of the Trump administration’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The fee applies to all visitors who need nonimmigrant visas, which includes tourists, business travelers, and international students. The visa integrity fee will be at least $250, to be paid in addition to regular visa fees. Limited details about the requirement has resulted in challenges and unanswered questions regarding implementation.
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