California Governor Gavin Newsom has had a busy October, moving between storm preparation on the coast, a new public-safety initiative, and a series of decisions on employment and disability rights. The most urgent item came late in the month, when Newsom signed an executive order to protect the Pacific Coast Highway and coastal communities from storms linked to a looming El Niño. Here is what has happened, and why each decision matters.
Protecting the Pacific Coast Highway From El Niño Storms
On Tuesday 27 October, Newsom signed an executive order directing state agencies to prioritise preventative work on Highway 1, better known as the Pacific Coast Highway, before forecast El Niño storms arrive. The order was signed at Crystal Cove State Park in Newport Beach, where emergency repair work had recently closed part of the highway after a large crack formed in a cliff beneath the road between Newport Beach and Laguna Beach.
“Highway 1 is more than our nation’s most iconic roadway. It keeps our coastal economy moving,” Newsom said in a statement. “We know what repeated closures cost these communities, and we’re putting state agencies to work now to reduce the danger before storms hit.”
The immediate response involved a three-phase stabilisation plan. Caltrans secured $4 million in initial emergency funding, with crews first covering the fractured hillside with plastic tarps and sand barriers to stop rainwater worsening the damage — work that was completed on the Monday before the order. Next, crews planned to reinforce the base of the bluff with a rock-filled buttress and protective barriers to absorb wave energy, subject to approvals and tides, before engineers develop a longer-term stabilisation strategy. Traffic was diverted to one lane in each direction on the northbound side, and the highway itself had not collapsed.
The order followed a statewide El Niño emergency declaration Newsom proclaimed in September, with some forecasters warning the coming winter could be among the strongest on record. The governor’s office cited a Climate Central report estimating that weather-related disasters have caused $3.3 trillion in damage across the United States since 1980.
A New Interagency Public-Safety Effort
Days earlier, on 22 October, Newsom signed an executive order creating an interagency effort to promote community safety. The group will map existing state public-safety programmes, evaluate which are producing results, and deliver a data-driven blueprint covering prevention, deterrence, rehabilitation, and re-entry, along with victim services.
The governor’s office pointed to $546.8 million invested since 2019 in programmes including the California Violence Intervention and Prevention Program, and cited research linking Richmond’s Peacemaker Fellowship with a 61% reduction in fatal and nonfatal firearm assaults between 2010 and 2024. Statewide crime data for 2025 cited by the office showed declines in every major category compared with 2024, including homicide down 18.6%, robbery down 19.9%, property crime down 14.3%, and motor vehicle theft down 25.8%. Since Newsom took office, the office said, homicide is down 20%, robbery down 31%, property crime down 24%, and motor vehicle theft down 19%.
Disability Employment Awareness Month
On 21 October, Newsom issued a proclamation declaring October 2026 as Disability Employment Awareness Month, recognising the 4.7 million Californians living with disabilities. This year’s theme, “Celebrating Value and Talent”, highlights the contribution disabled Californians make as entrepreneurs, educators, public servants, and skilled workers.
The proclamation also warned that federal actions threatening essential services risk reversing progress for people with disabilities, and said California would continue investing in education, care, and opportunities supporting independence. It pointed to the administration’s Master Plan for Career Education, designed to give Californians of all backgrounds access to hands-on training for work.
Veto of the Undocumented Students Employment Bill
Newsom also vetoed Assembly Bill 713, a bill that would have allowed undocumented students to hold paid on-campus jobs. The veto, dated 20 September, was reported on 27 October. Newsom had vetoed a similar bill, AB 2586, in 2024, and said his concerns about the possible consequences had grown stronger.
In his veto statement, Newsom said a federal court must first weigh in on the novel legal theory behind the bill before California could put it into effect, since the bill would set a new precedent. Both the California State University and University of California systems had taken a neutral stance on the bill. The decision drew criticism from some supporters of undocumented students, who argued that leaving the question to the courts delays answers students need, while others said the governor’s caution was justified given the current federal climate.
Alongside these decisions, Newsom continued the routine work of governing, announcing a fresh round of appointments on 28 October to state boards including the California Veterinary Medical Board and the Board of Behavioral Sciences. For more news on public figures, visit the Celebrity Hub homepage.