California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat who is considering a run for president as he approaches the end of his term, called for a national “billionaires’ tax” on Friday even as he fights another proposal targeting the wealthy in his home state.

Newsom also said the U.S. government should own a stake in artificial intelligence companies. His proposals, outlined in a Substack post, aligns him with the Democratic Party’s populist left, and he argued that urgent changes are needed to prevent the elite concentration of wealth and power from undermining democracy.

“It’s time for an economic reset for America,” Newsom wrote.

The governor announced his agenda a day after an influential health care union in California pledged to go forward with a ballot measure that would impose a one-time 5% tax on the assets of billionaires living in the state as of Jan. 1, 2026.

Newsom opposes that measure, as do many of the liberal interest groups that typically favor higher taxes. They fear it would drive billionaires out of California, eroding the state’s tax base over the long term for a one-time influx of cash. A technology mecca, California has more billionaires than any other state — a few hundred, by some estimates.

“You may not be able to pick up and move to Texas or Florida to shelter your income from taxation, but I promise you that billionaires can, and do,” Newsom wrote. “Wealth is movable, and it shops for the state with the lowest taxes. The fight belongs at the federal level, where this broken system was created in the first place.”

A minimum tax on large net worths

Newsom said the solution is a new national tax policy, rather than a state-by-state system. He proposed a minimum tax on anyone with a net worth above $100 million. He also wants to make it illegal for the wealthy to borrow against their stock portfolios to fund their luxury lifestyles tax free.

Newsom said there should be new rules for inheritance taxes, warning that “the transfer of wealth among the ultra-wealthy will lock in a permanent American aristocracy of inherited wealth.” And he wants to raise corporate tax rates to where they were before President Donald Trump’s first-term tax cut.

READ MORE: Sanders and Newsom clash over proposed tax on California’s billionaires

The need is especially urgent as artificial intelligence threatens to displace workers and further concentrate wealth, he wrote.

“We need to ensure every American owns a stake in the future being built by AI through a national public equity fund that takes a major stake in the new economy,” he wrote. “Simply, as artificial intelligence reshapes the country, every American should own a piece of the future it builds.”

Revenue generated by his proposals could be used to retrain workers, fund universal child care, make college free and increase funding for health care.

‘Money buys influence’

Newsom, who has drawn attention as one of Trump’s most high-profile political antagonists, is getting an early start on laying out a policy framework for his potential White House bid months before the midterm elections, which have typically marked the informal start of overt presidential campaigning.

WATCH: News Wrap: Newsom says Trump ordering DOJ to investigate him and wife

The embrace of a wealth tax by Newsom, a moderate on tax policy despite his liberal reputation, signals a notable shift in the political landscape since Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren struggled to get traction in her 2020 campaign, which she largely centered around a 2% levy wealth tax.

Newsom portrayed the nation’s tax code as a corrupt system built to help an elite few.

“Money buys influence, and influence rewrites the rules,” he wrote. “Those rewritten rules funnel even more wealth to the few. Under this weight, democracy itself starts to buckle.”

DENVER – The Colorado Avalanche Hockey Club announced today the team has signed defenseman Brett Kulak to a five-year contract extension through the 2030-31 season.

Kulak, 32, was originally acquired by the Avalanche in a trade with Pittsburgh on Feb. 24, 2026 and tallied three points (0g/3a) in 27 regular-season showings for Colorado over 19:08 of average time on ice per game. His 2025-26 regular season consisted of playing for the Edmonton Oilers and Penguins in addition to the Avalanche where he totaled 12 points (1g/11a) in 83 contests. Kulak was the only NHLer to skate in 83 games last season. Additionally, he dressed in his 600^th  career NHL contest on Nov. 15 at Carolina and notched his 100^th career assist on Dec. 30 vs. Carolina.

The 6-foot-1, 192-pound defenseman was in the lineup for all 13 Stanley Cup Playoff games for the Avalanche in 2026 and chipped in five points (1g/4a) and logged 20:38 of time on ice per game. The goal was his first with the Burgundy and Blue, regular season or postseason, and it came as the overtime-winner in Game 5 of the Second Round (May 13) to send the Avalanche to the Western Conference Final. It was the third time a defenseman scored a series clinching overtime goal in Avalanche/Nordiques history and the first since Sandis Ozolinsh (Game 6 of the 1996 Conference Semifinal) did it 30 years to the date prior to Kulak’s. Additionally, Kulak’s marker was the 10^th time an Avalanche/Nordiques skater sent the team to the next round with an overtime tally and the first instance since Artturi Lehkonen in Game 4 of the 2022 Western Conference Final (June 6, 2022). 

A native of Edmonton, Alberta, Kulak has registered 137 points (29g/108a) in 663 career regular-season games with Colorado, Pittsburgh, Edmonton, the Montreal Canadiens and Calgary Flames from 2014-26. The last 370 of those games have come consecutively and he enters 2026-27 with the ninth-longest active “Iron Man” streak in the NHL. The left-shot defenseman has also added 29 points (4g/25a) over 111 career Stanley Cup Playoff contests and has been a member of three teams that have made it to the Stanley Cup Final (2023-24 and 2024-25 Oilers, 2020-21 Canadiens). Kulak’s 111 playoff games lead all NHL defensemen since making his postseason debut in 2020 and are second among all skaters in that span behind only Corey Perry (126).

Originally drafted by the Flames in the fourth round (105^th overall) in the 2012 NHL Draft, Kulak appeared in 136 AHL games over parts of the 2012-19 campaigns (13g/41a). He was also a member of the then-ECHL Colorado Eagles for part of 2014-15. Prior to turning pro, Kulak played for the Western Hockey League’s Vancouver Giants from 2010-14 and amassed 128 points (35g/93a) in 216 regular-season contests.

For the 14th year, nonprofit Hawaii Island LGBTQ+ Pride will host a celebration of the LGBTQ+ community this Saturday in downtown Hilo, featuring a parade and festival.

The theme and slogan of this year’s festivities is “Strong Together, Proud Forever!” said HILGBTQ+ Vice President Phill Russell. He said the event’s planning committee chose the slogan to highlight the need to show resilience and strength amid the current political climate. The Trump administration has rolled back numerous protections for LGBTQ+ individuals.

“The LGBTQ+ community is facing a lot of challenges federally, and so it just becomes even more important for us to stand together,” Russell said. “We appreciate everyone in the community, all of our allies, everyone that steps up and helps uplift the LGBTQ+ community, calls out stigma and homophobia and transphobia when they see it, and looks out for our LGBTQ plus brothers and sisters here on the island.”

While he said the event has drawn some protesters in recent years, it is a small number compared to the 500 to 700 community members he estimates typically attend to celebrate and show support.

“Luckily, all the supporters in the love far outnumber the hate in the bigotry, so we’re able to kind of ignore that,” he said. “We are getting record-breaking crowds that increase every single year. Seeing all of the folks, the families — it’s very heartwarming.”

Russell said that he thinks having public events such as this one play a role in advancing LGBTQ+ rights and reducing hate and stigma.

“I feel like it’s important to keep Pride going, because the visibility matters … .,” he said. “It’s hard to hate someone for being gay when you generally like them, and you’re already friends with them, and you’ve been friends with them forever, or they’re your kid or they’re your auntie — so that kind of … breaks down those walls.”

While Pride events take place around the world throughout the month of June, Russell said the Hilo celebration is special, with a focus on being community-oriented and family-friendly.

“I’ve been told by so many people that come from other islands, from other events like, ‘wow, this is like the most wholesome, family-friendly Pride I’ve ever been to,” he said. “It’s that Hilo touch, that Big Island touch, that makes it what it is and all the people that come together to make it happen.”

This year’s parade will begin at 11 a.m. starting at Kamehameha Avenue and Ponahawai Street proceeding down Keawe Street, back to Kamehameha, and ending at the Mo‘oheau Bandstand, where the festival will kick off at noon.

The festivities will continue until 4:30 p.m., featuring drag and aerial arts performances, dozens of local vendors and info booths, food, a bounce-house, scavenger hunt for kids and live music.

“There’s a great lineup of bands and performers at the bandstand,” Russell said. “We want everyone to come out and dance, enjoy the day. It’s going to be beautiful.”

Email Grace Inez Adams at grace.adams@hawaiitribune-herald.com.