The Lakeside neighborhood of San Diego County’s East County on Oct. 24, 2025. Photo by Zoë Meyers for CalMatters
With one week to Election Day, the Yes on Proposition 50 campaign has far outraised its opponent, and support for the redistricting measure is slightly ahead in the latest polls. Early in-person voting has also opened up in some counties, though President Donald Trump is discouraging voters from early and mail-in voting — putting California Republicans who accept these voting methods in a bind.
If voters pass Prop. 50, one of California’s congressional districts that would undergo a notable change is the 48th District, writes CalMatters’ Nadia Lathan. Currently spanning an area in San Diego County known as East County, it includes rural regions such as Lakeside and Blossom Valley, and is represented by Republican U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa. Lakeside, for example, is 64% white and has a median household income of $103,000.
But to the southwest, East County also includes urban, Democratic-leaning cities, including El Cajon and La Mesa, which are represented by Democratic Rep. Sara Jacobs of the 51st District. La Mesa’s population is about half white and its median income is $90,000.
Under Prop. 50, these areas would merge. The 48th District would absorb more Latino voters, as well as more Democratic voters from the left-leaning city of Palm Springs. Republican voting power would likely weaken as a result, making incumbent Issa — who cruised through reelection in the last two elections — more vulnerable.
Fredrich Bahrke, a 65-year-old Lakeside resident: “I don’t like that they’re changing that and lumping us in the urban areas. It’s going to put us in a district with people with very different views in our area.”
Issa isn’t the only GOP congressmember who could find themselves newly disadvantaged: Rep. Kevin Kiley in California’s 3rd District would take in more voters under Prop. 50 who had been previously represented by his latest challenger, physician and former Democratic state Sen. Richard Pan.
🗓️CalMatters events in your community:
Sacramento: Join CalMatters and Capitol Impact on Nov. 7 for a watch party of the Health Matters: A Conversation with California’s Next Governor forum. Candidates for California’s next governor will respond directly to community voices about what matters most for health — from clean air and safe housing, to good jobs and strong families. Register.
San Jose: What will power California’s AI future? Join us Nov. 18 for a timely conversation on how California can balance the rapid rise of AI-driven data centers with its clean-energy goals. Register.
Other Stories You Should Know
LA considers hydrogen
A smoke stack at the Scattergood Generating Station in Los Angeles on March 17, 2022. Photo by Jay L. Clendenin, Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Los Angeles officials are deciding today whether to shift a 67-year-old electric generating plant to hydrogen-ready turbines, during a time when the Trump administration wants to rein in California’s clean-energy ambitions.
As CalMatters’ Alejandro Lazo explains, the Scattergood Generating Station is owned and operated by the L.A. Department of Water and Power. The department’s commissioners are considering an $800-million plan to retrofit the facility to burn hydrogen, a potentially cleaner fuel.
But burning hydrogen is costly, water-intensive and still requires oil and gas. Some critics of the plan view it as a gamble.
Alex Jasset, director of energy justice at Physicians for Social Responsibility Los Angeles: “We’re dumping a lot of our very limited resources for addressing the climate crisis into an inefficient, expensive option when we could be instead investing in cheaper, more scalable, more immediate benefits.”
Further complicating matters is the federal administration, which earlier this month nixed $1.2 billion in funding for California’s hydrogen hub, an initiative to boost renewable hydrogen projects, including Scattergood’s retrofit. The administration this summer also limited tax credits on clean hydrogen production.
High school, reimagined
Madelyn Quiroga at the Center for Advanced Research and Technology in Clovis on Oct. 6, 2025. Photo by Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters/CatchLight Local
For students struggling with the structure and rigidity of typical high school classes, a school like Fresno County’s CART High could be a boon, reports CalMatters’ Carolyn Jones.
Founded in 2000, the Center for Advanced Research and Technology allows students to choose an area of focus — including business, psychology or law and policy — and learn about the topic in three-hour “labs,” or classes. These classes are taught by a team of teachers who weave in other academic subjects, such as literature, that are relevant to the topic.
The 11th and 12th graders at CART spend half their day at their regular high school in either Clovis or Fresno Unified school districts, and half their day at CART. Students are selected by lottery.
Attendance at CART is nearly 100%, according to its principal, and more than 90% of its students scored at least “proficient” in standardized English test results. Its alternative approach could serve as a model for a wider state effort to reimagine the traditional high school format, which is partly based on the factory model of the early 20th century.
Madelyn Quiroga, a senior at CART: “At my other school, they just throw stuff at you and never really explain it. Here, they actually teach us. And it’s all stuff we actually want to know, so it sticks in your brain.”
And lastly: Getting your money back from the DMV
A vehicle auction at Bruffy’s Tow in Marina Del Rey on Feb. 18, 2025. Photo by J.W. Hendricks for CalMatters
Other things worth your time:
Six ways the shutdown is about to get worse // Politico
The CA election that could tip Congress // The Atlantic
U.S. transportation secretary says he will pull $160M from CA over noncitizen truck licenses // AP News
As CA’s storm season begins, weather office short-staffing prompts fears // San Francisco Chronicle
White House visa fee hike could weaken CA’s teacher pipeline // EdSource
Sora app’s hyperreal AI videos ignite online trust crisis as downloads surge // Los Angeles Times
British political journalist seized at SFO, sent to ICE detention center // The San Francisco Standard
For OC nonprofits that address hunger, a tough future could be starting now // The Orange County Register
Staffing issues trigger temporary ground stop at LAX // Los Angeles Times
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Lynn La is the newsletter writer for CalMatters, focusing on California’s top political, policy and Capitol stories every weekday. She produces and curates WhatMatters, CalMatters’ flagship daily newsletter…
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