West
DOJ official fact-checks California Democrat after he falsely claims ICE mask ban is in effect
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A Department of Justice official took a jab at a California state senator on Friday after the lawmaker, a Democrat running to succeed retiring Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., erroneously claimed his state began enforcing a mask ban against federal immigration officers.
Jesus Osete, the No. 2 official in the DOJ Civil Rights Division, pointed out that Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration agreed in court to temporarily hold off on enforcing the ban while a lawsuit over it plays out.
Osete’s remark came in response to San Francisco-based state Sen. Scott Wiener, who posted a video Thursday boasting that the ban was active.
“That’s not what @CAgovernor told a federal judge, my man,” Osete wrote on X.
CALIFORNIA LAUNCHES MISCONDUCT PORTAL FOR REPORTING FEDERAL AGENTS DURING ICE DEPORTATION OPERATIONS
Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
The Trump administration sued California in November, arguing that two bills, including the No Secret Police Act introduced by Wiener, violated the Constitution’s supremacy clause, which says that when federal and state laws conflict with one another, federal laws win out.
U.S. federal agents working for Immigration and Customs Enforcement detain immigrants and asylum seekers reporting for immigration court proceedings in an immigration court in New York, N.Y., July 24, 2025. (Dominic Gwinn/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)
The No Secret Police Act attempted to bar ICE officers from wearing masks in certain circumstances after a series of high-profile immigration raids in the state that involved some officers fully concealing their faces with ski masks.
As part of the lawsuit, California officials agreed in December to hold off on enforcing the mask ban against ICE agents until the court could hear arguments in the case.
Wiener claimed the mask ban went into effect on Jan. 1 in a video he shared online, contradicting what California’s attorneys told the court.
NEWSOM ON COURTROOM COLLISION COURSE WITH TRUMP OVER ICE MASK BAN
State Sen. Scott Wiener of California (California Sen. Scott Wiener)
“It’s now illegal for ICE and other law enforcement to cover their faces in the state of California. Starting today, my new anti-masking law goes into effect,” Wiener said.
A federal judge is weighing whether to grant the Trump administration’s request for a preliminary injunction against the mask ban. But the briefing schedule stretches through next week, and a hearing on the matter is set for Jan. 12.
The judge could make a decision soon after the hearing, and if he were to rule in favor of California, the state could begin enforcing its ban at that point.
Bill Essayli, the first assistant U.S. attorney in central California, also chided Wiener for his claim that the state law was enforceable.
“This isn’t true. California has no authority to regulate federal agents. This state law violates the federal Supremacy Clause. … California has agreed to put the law on hold and not enforce its unconstitutional mask ban, which is designed to allow radical leftists to dox federal agents enforcing immigration laws,” Essayli said.
Wiener doubled down on his remarks in a statement to Fox News Digital, saying Essayli was a “clueless Trump Administration lackey” making a “meaningless royal decree.”
“While the agents of the state did agree to hold off on enforcing the law until the injunction hearing, the No Secret Police Act is still very much in effect, and ICE agents who appear masked in California are still subject to civil suits for violating the laws of our state,” Wiener said.
California attorneys have been fighting the lawsuit, arguing in court papers that “armed, masked individuals” carried out arrests of alleged illegal immigrants and, in doing so, “caused terror throughout California, with the public unsure whether they were interacting with legitimate law enforcement or impostors.”
The Trump administration’s lawsuit “ignores [the] careful balance of power between the federal and state governments, seeking to invalidate two California laws. … Each law exercises the State’s historic and long-established police power,” state attorneys wrote.
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San Francisco, CA
Equipment problem causes delays at BART’s Embarcadero station
An equipment problem caused delays at BART’s Embarcadero station in San Francisco on Sunday evening, according to authorities.
BART said an equipment problem on the tracks caused a 10-minute delay on the San Francisco Line in the Antioch, Dublin/Pleasanton Berryessa and Richmond directions.
This is a developing story. Details may change as more information becomes available. Stay tuned for updates.
Denver, CO
Long Before Messi Came to MLS, These Players Brought Soccer to Denver
The Local newsletter is your free, daily guide to life in Colorado. For locals, by locals.
In 1996, a group of strangers arrived in Denver with their cleats and a common goal: to build professional soccer in America from the pitch up. Two years earlier, the United States had hosted the FIFA World Cup, igniting a national fervor for the sport. That energy helped birth Major League Soccer, with the Colorado Rapids as one of its 10 founding clubs. Players from around the globe converged on what was then Mile High Stadium (where the Rapids played until the 2007 debut of Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City).
Thirty years later, the team has drawn stars, hoisted the 2010 MLS Cup, and earned a devoted local following. Ahead of the Rapids’ return to Empower Field at Mile High on April 18 for a special anniversary match against Inter Miami CF, we spoke with players from that first season about the mayhem and mirth that helped bring the world’s most popular sport to America.
Colorado Rapids History: The First MLS Season in Denver
“We literally went to a liquor store [on Federal Boulevard] in rush-hour traffic. We were outside with a table with banners, and we were waving Rapids flags. People would roll down their windows and ask ‘Who are the Rapids?’ as they’re stuck in traffic.” —Marcelo Balboa, center back, 1996–2002
“For the July 4 game, we had a massive crowd. We played the [New York/New Jersey] MetroStars, and it was like, Wow, to be able to play in front of over 20,000 people. The lower bowl was packed and loud.” —Denis Hamlett, defender, 1996
“We trained in the Westminster rec center. I remember the first month we were there, we would walk down the hill from the rec center. It was pretty much an open park…. There’d be people coming from the street to work out, and they [would] look at us like, ‘Are you guys a college team?’ ” —Chris Henderson, midfielder, 1996–1999 and 2002–2005
“After the first few games, we started realizing that people were staying after [for autographs]. Almost every game, I would walk off the field without a shirt and without my socks. Kids wanted socks.” —Balboa
“Being a guy who played on the national team and played in the two World Cups leading up to the league—we were always hoping and praying that we were finally going to be able to get a league in the United States…. So when we all got to the stadium and saw [so many] people there, we were like, ‘OK, we got something here.’ ” —Balboa
“We had a mascot called RapidMan [who would go] on all these appearances with us. His costume was like water inside a river. I remember him high-fiving the fans and taking photos with the players.” —Henderson
Tickets for the Colorado Rapids match at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 18, at Empower Field at Mile High start at $100.
Seattle, WA
WEST SEATTLE BIRDS: 8 views of our feathered neighbors
Thanks for continuing to send West Seattle bird photos! We’ve gathered a few for this gallery. Above, Dan Ciske‘s view of Brant in the sunset; below, Robin Sinner photographed them earlier in the day:
Robin also shared this photo of a Barrow’s Goldeneye:
Leucistic (“caramel”) Crows turn up in West Seattle from time to time – Mark Rhea photographed this one:

Here’s a more conventionally colored one, courtesy of K. Smith:
K. also sent this unidentified bird (do you recognize it?):
And we have more recent views of the baby Anna’s Hummingbirds that recently fledged at West Seattle Nursery (WSB sponsor) – from Suzanne Krom:
And from Jerry Simmons:

Again, huge thanks to everyone who shares photos, from birds to breaking news and beyond – westseattleblog@gmail.com or (when urgent) text 206-293-6302 – thank you!
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