Senate confirms Project 2025 architect Russell Vought to lead powerful White House budget office

• February 7, 2025

By STEPHEN GROVES

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate confirmed Russell Vought as White House budget director on Thursday night, putting an official who has planned the zealous expansion of President Donald Trump’s power into one of the most influential positions in the federal government.

Vought was confirmed on a party-line vote of 53-47. With the Senate chamber full, Democrats repeatedly tried to speak as they cast their “no” votes to give their reasons for voting against Vought, but they were gaveled down by Sen. Ashley Moody, a Florida Republican who was presiding over the chamber. She cited Senate rules that ban debate during votes.

The Thursday night vote came after Democrats had exhausted their only remaining tool to stonewall a nomination — holding the Senate floor throughout the previous night and day with a series of speeches where they warned Vought was Trump’s “most dangerous nominee.”

“Confirming the most radical nominee, who has the most extreme agenda, to the most important agency in Washington,” said Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer in a floor speech. “Triple-header of disaster for hardworking Americans.”

Vought’s return to the White House Office of Management and Budget, which he also helmed during Trump’s first term, puts him in a role that often goes under the public radar yet holds key power in implementing the president’s goals. The OMB acts as a nerve center for the White House, developing its budget, policy priorities and agency rule-making. Vought has already played an influential role in Trump’s effort to remake the federal government as one of the architects of Project 2025, a conservative blueprint for Trump’s second term.

The budget office is also already shaking up federal spending. It had issued a memo to freeze federal spending, sending schools, states and nonprofits into a panic before it was rescinded amid legal challenges.

In the Senate, Republicans have stayed in line to advance Vought’s nomination and argued that his mindset will be crucial to slashing federal spending and regulations.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune pushed for his confirmation this week, saying he “will have the chance to address two key economic issues — cutting burdensome government regulations and addressing excessive spending.”

Vought has often advanced a maximalist approach to conservative policy goals. After leaving the first Trump administration, he founded the Center for Renewing America, part of a constellation of Washington think tanks that have popped up to advance and develop Trump’s “Make America Great Again” agenda. From that position, Vought often counseled congressional Republicans to wage win-at-all-costs fights to cut federal programs and spending.

Writing in the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, Vought described the White House budget director’s job “as the best, most comprehensive approximation of the President’s mind.”

The OMB, he declared, “is a President’s air-traffic control system” and should be “involved in all aspects of the White House policy process,” becoming “powerful enough to override implementing agencies’ bureaucracies.”

During Trump’s first term, Vought pushed to reclassify tens of thousands of federal workers as political appointees, which could then enable mass dismissals.

Vought has also been a proponent of the president using “impoundment” to expand the executive branch’s control over federal spending.

When Congress passes appropriations to fulfill its Constitutional duties, it determines funding for government programs. But the impoundment legal theory holds that the president can decide not to spend that money on anything he deems unnecessary because Article II of the Constitution gives the president the role of executing the laws that Congress passes.

During confirmation hearings, Vought stressed that he would follow the law but avoided answering Democrats’ questions on whether he would withhold congressionally allotted aid for Ukraine.

Democrats charged that Vought’s responses amounted to an acknowledgment that he believes the president is above the law.

In response to questions from Republican lawmakers, Vought did preview potential budget proposals that would target cuts to discretionary social programs.

“The president ran on the issue of fiscal accountability, dealing with our inflation situation,” he said.

Vought has also unabashedly advanced “ Christian nationalism,” an idea rising in the GOP that the United States was founded as a Christian nation and the government should now be infused with Christianity.

In a 2021 opinion article, Vought wrote that Christian nationalism is “a commitment to an institutional separation between church and state, but not the separation of Christianity from its influence on government and society.”

​ Orange County Register 

With California EV sales stalled what happens to its landmark mandate?

• February 7, 2025

By Alejandro Lazo | CalMatters

After three straight years of strong growth, sales have stabilized in California, raising questions about whether the state will fail to meet its groundbreaking mandate banning sales of gas-powered vehicles.

About a quarter — 25.3% — of all new cars registered in California in 2024 were zero emissions, just slightly more than 25% in 2023, according to new California Energy Commission data. The flat sales follow several years of rapid growth — in 2020, only one in 13 cars sold was zero-emissions. Their share of California’s market is now three times larger than four years ago.

But the slowed pace of growth in the market puts the state’s climate and air pollution goals at risk. Under California’s mandate, approved in 2022, 35% of new 2026 car models sold by automakers must be zero emissions. That leaves considerable ground to make up as some 2026 models begin rolling out later this year.

The requirement ramps up to 68% for 2030 models, and in 2035, California’s rule bans all sales of gasoline-powered cars.

David Simpson, who owns three car dealerships in Orange County, said he is not seeing increased demand for electric cars. While the initial rollout of some models, such as the GMC Hummer EV, did well at first, the demand did not continue. Sales of the Chevrolet Equinox and Blazer EVs do alright, but aren’t strong, either, he said.

“The sales are declining,” Simpson said. “We’ve filled that gap of people who want those cars — and now they have them — and we’re not seeing a big, huge demand. I don’t see households going 100% EV.”

Dave Clegern, a spokesperson for the California Air Resources Board, which oversees the electric car mandates, said in an email that while sales of zero-emission vehicles in California are “less dramatic than in years past,” the flat sales occurred in the context of an overall plateauing of car sales last year.

Although the rules limit what automakers can sell, Californians are not required to buy electric cars. That means if consumer demand doesn’t increase, it could be a major black eye for Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has made electric cars a cornerstone of his agenda to fight climate change and clean the air. A spokesman for Newsom declined to comment.

The state mandate, however, has some flexibility, Clegern said. First of all, it’s a multi-year formula: Each manufacturer’s sales of 2026 zero-emission vehicles must be 35% of its total sales averaged for model years 2022 through 2024.

Manufacturers also can buy credits from automakers that have exceeded the target — companies that only sell electric models, such as Tesla or Rivian. To enforce compliance with California’s sales requirements, state officials could impose steep penalties of $20,000 per vehicle on manufacturers that fall short of quotas.

“Manufacturers may still be in compliance even if they do not achieve these specific sales volumes,” Clegern said.

Brian Maas, president of the California New Car Dealers Association, said  automakers could seek to avoid the fines by reducing the number of gas-powered cars they send to California dealers. He said that could leave fewer options for buyers, drive up prices and push some consumers to Nevada or Arizona to find the car they want, while others will hold on to their older, more polluting vehicles.

“We’re just not going to make the mandate as presently drafted” so automakers will have to take action, Maas said. “The most rational is to constrain inventory.”

The auto industry group Alliance for Automotive Innovation has been raising these concerns since at least December, when it published a memo entitled, “It’s gonna take a miracle: California and states with EV sales requirements.” The group warns the mandate could depress auto sales in California — as well as in other states that adopt its rules.

Last month, John Bozzella, the group’s chief executive, called California’s rules “by any measure not achievable” after President Donald Trump signed an executive order repealing federal rules promoting electric vehicles.

“There’s a saying in the auto business: You can’t get ahead of the customer,” Bozzella said.

The outgoing Biden administration’s U.S. Environmental Protection Agency granted California a waiver in December that allows the state to enforce its requirements phasing out new gas-powered cars. Many experts believe the Trump administration is likely to challenge the waiver through the courts.

Experts also anticipate that Trump could eliminate the $7,500 federal tax credit for zero-emission vehicle purchases, which would increase the cost of buying some electric cars. Newsom vowed last year to continue offering the incentive through state funding, although that promise came before Los Angeles faced devastating wildfires and the state released its fragile budget earlier this year.

Californians have purchased more than 2 million electric cars, leading the nation. The number has doubled in about two years.

But electric vehicle sales, which make up the majority of zero emission cars, grew by only 1.1% in 2024, with 378,910 sold compared to 374,668 in 2023. Plug-in hybrids, once considered a potential alternative to a purely electric model, remained relatively stable. And sales of hydrogen-powered cars all but collapsed last year, with sales plummeting to a meager 600 in 2024 from 3,119 in 2023.

The slower growth comes amid overall market sluggishness, with all auto sales in California dipping slightly last year to 1,752,030.

Loren McDonald, chief analyst for the charging app Paren, said a major contributor is a shift in consumer demographics.

The state’s market has moved beyond early electric car adopters — affluent, environmentally motivated buyers willing to overlook challenges like limited charging infrastructure and higher costs — and into the mainstream.

He said these new buyers, often from middle-income households or who live in apartment buildings without easy access to charging, are far less forgiving when it comes to electric cars. Concerns about range, broken chargers and upfront costs are deal breakers.

Tesla’s market dominance has exacerbated the issue. Many left-leaning California consumers, who were once loyal to Tesla, appear to have distanced themselves because of CEO Elon Musk’s controversial public persona and alliance with Trump.

As Tesla sales have softened, dropping 11% in California last year, the decline has disproportionately affected overall EV registration data in California because of the company’s significant market share, McDonald said.

Affordability remains a crucial hurdle, though McDonald sees signs of improvement. Automakers have ramped up production, leading to competitive pricing and aggressive lease deals—many under $400 per month.

But mainstream consumers are largely unaware that electric vehicles offer long-term savings in fuel and maintenance, McDonald said, adding that better education is needed to convince consumers to take the leap, especially as electric car prices increasingly approach parity with gas-powered vehicles.

McDonald remains optimistic about 2025. The market will benefit from new electric models priced under $50,000 and technological advancements, such as faster charging and vehicle-to-home power capabilities.

​ Orange County Register 

‘Voice of the CDC’ resumes publication, but experts worry about what they’re not hearing

• February 7, 2025

By MIKE STOBBE

NEW YORK (AP) — A federal scientific publication on Thursday returned from a forced two-week hiatus with two papers examining the health effects of wildfires in Hawaii and California.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention resumed the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, which the Trump administration suspended as part of a “pause” on regulations, guidance, announcements, press releases, social media posts and website posts.

The CDC has gradually restarted some communications and reports, but the silencing of MMWR, as it it known, prompted a chorus of concern from public health leaders and some legislators.

“Outbreaks are not contained because scientists are ordered to stop talking about them,” Sen. Dick Durbin, a Democrat from Illinois, said in a Wednesday night statement calling for the publication to be restarted.

MMWR issues typically run 20 to 25 pages and contain four or more reports about disease investigations, health trends or other public health developments. Thursday’s publication was slimmer than usual: just over eight pages, with two short reports.

Research on health effects of wildfires

One of the reports was about last year’s Maui wildfire. Researchers measured the blood of responding firefighters, looking for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. The manmade chemicals have been linked to cancer and other health problems.

Previous studies have shown firefighters have higher concentrations of some PFAS in their blood. Thousands of firefighters have sued manufacturers and companies that make firefighting gear and foam, seeking damages for their exposure.

The new study looked at about 180 firefighters and 80 other county employees. It found the firefighters’ blood had higher concentrations of some PFAS, but most were still at levels below a medical threshold that triggers the need for further testing. The researchers had no baseline measurements of the people in the study from before the 2023 fire, so it’s hard to know if blaze contributed, the authors acknowledged.

The second article looked at hospital emergency department visits during last month’s Los Angeles wildfires. It found visits decreased 9% over the first six days of the wildfires.

That’s consistent with other research that has shown declines in ER visits immediately after natural disasters. The drop may be due to evacuations that caused people to leave Los Angeles or to get medical care from places other than hospitals. Information from hospitals in surrounding counties was not included in the new report.

Journal has never taken two weeks off

Before the journal went on hiatus, the CDC was expected to soon publish articles about the bird flu outbreak. A CDC spokesperson didn’t say why the articles weren’t published this week but said they “are still in the pipeline.”

Dr. Tom Frieden, the CDC director during the Obama administration, said he was pleased to see the journal return but also concerned that it “doesn’t contain any reports on bird flu spreading in animals and people, the new strain of mpox spreading or other emerging health threats.”

Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, said he wants to see meatier issues that have the information that researchers, local health officials and others need “to make data-driven decisions.”

The MMWR has been called “the voice of the CDC.” Published weekly since 1961, it has for generations been the main way the agency recounted disease investigations, shared public health recommendations and conveyed other health information.

It had never taken a two-week break.

Typically released every Thursday, the journal has more than 147,000 electronic subscribers — a readership that’s mainly doctors, nurses, educators, researchers and public health scientists.

Articles often turn into news for the general public

A paper published in June 1981, about previously healthy gay Los Angeles men who came down with lung infections, turned out to be the first published report documenting the disease that came to be known as AIDS. In April 2009, the journal reported the first two cases of what became known as the H1N1 “swine flu” pandemic.

In 2020, during the first Trump administration, the MMWR became the focus of concerns about political interference with CDC’s scientific work. White House officials believed CDC scientists were undermining Trump by trying to make the COVID-19 pandemic appear worse than it was.

The journal’s editor at the time, Dr. Charlotte Kent, later told Congress that administration officials pressed her to delay publication of at least one article and told her to delete an email that showed political meddling.

“If political decisions determine which health threats to highlight, we’ll all be less safe,” said Frieden, president of Resolve to Save Lives, a not-for-profit organization that works on international public health issues. “I hope the new administration will see the value in CDC publishing information on health threats every week, without political interference.”

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

​ Orange County Register 

2 arrested in connection with man found dead in Anaheim motel room

• February 7, 2025

A homeless man and a 44-year-old man from Santa Ana were behind bars Thursday, Feb. 6 in connection with a man found dead inside a motel room in Anaheim.

Officers dispatched about 10:15 a.m. Monday to the Akua Motor Inn, 1018 E. Orangethorpe Ave., near Raymond Avenue, regarding a person found dead inside a room, located a 63-year-old man with “obvious signs of traumatic injury,” the Anaheim Police Department reported.

The man was pronounced dead at the scene. He was identified as Christopher David Craddick of Anaheim, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Coroner’s Office.

Detectives identified two suspects, whom they then arrested on suspicion of murder — Manuel Ramos, 44, of Santa Ana, and Matthew Kundred, 28, who is homeless.

It was unclear what led detectives to suspect Ramos and Kundred.

Anyone with any information regarding the death is urged to call Orange County Crime Stoppers at 855-847-6227.

​ Orange County Register 

Super Bowl: Eagles LB Zack Baun has been a game-wrecking bargain

• February 7, 2025

By DAN GELSTON AP Sports Writer

NEW ORLEANS — Jason Kelce stood on stage during a taping of his late-night talk show when he spotted his former boss and Eagles general manager Howie Roseman hanging out in the balcony.

Kelce turned the cameo into a Q&A and asked what every fan in Philadelphia – heck, everyone around the NFL – really wanted to know: “Did you know Zack Baun was going to be this good?”

Roseman, who built the franchise’s first Super Bowl championship team in 2017, took a flier on Baun and signed him to a modest $3.5 million, one-year deal in the offseason after four mostly forgettable years with the New Orleans Saints.

The goal, Baun would be serviceable on his prove-it deal and maybe play decent enough to find a fit on the defense, perhaps even play some special teams.

The Eagles’ payoff on Roseman’s gamble? Baun blossomed into a first-team All-Pro under veteran defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, and now the linebacker is set to enjoy a professional homecoming in New Orleans, this time trying to help the Eagles beat Kansas City in the Super Bowl.

So, c’mon Howie, did you really know?

“I went to him after he made first-team All-Pro, and I went to him and I congratulated him, and I said, ‘Man, you deserve this,’” Roseman said. “And he said, ‘Be honest, did you think there was any shot at this?’

“I said, ‘(heck) no,’” Roseman said to roaring laughter.

Hey, who can blame him? The 28-year-old Baun’s signing was barely a blip on the offseason transactions wire compared to more ballyhooed deals with running back Saquon Barkley – a smashing success – and linebacker Bryce Huff – a $51 million bust. The Saints took Baun in the third round of the 2020 draft and he did little to distinguish himself for a team well out of the NFL spotlight, with a combined 12 starts and 88 tackles over four seasons.

In his first season in Philly, Baun was a finalist for the AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year award.

The Saints let him walk, but the Super Bowl is far from any type of revenge game for Baun to show up in his old stadium and show his former team and fans what they missed.

He took the fall for his shortcomings in New Orleans.

“Kind of getting in my own way,” Baun said. “I had great coaches, it was a great scheme. But I kind of blame myself for getting in my own way. I think just the new environment, the new coaching staff, the new people around me kind of gave me a new opportunity and a new perspective on my career.”

Baun got out of his head and into a fresh start in Philadelphia.

In New Orleans, Baun was primarily an edge defender who failed to crack the starting lineup and played only a handful of snaps each game. The Eagles moved Baun to inside linebacker and he instantly found new life under Fangio’s scheme that forced him into being a run stopper and pass rusher on the blitz. He had 151 total tackles, including 93 solo.

Take this assessment of Baun’s career from Fangio in May.

“He really didn’t play a whole lot of defense there, but he was inside some, more outside,” he said. “We think he can play inside, and I have not seen anything so far that says otherwise.”

Consider him a fast learner.

Baun was a smash hit straight out of the gate with 15 tackles in a season-opening win against Green Bay in Brazil. He even sealed the 34-29 win with a sack on the last play of the game.

He was a bit overshadowed in that one by the other new free agent in town. That Barkley guy scored three touchdowns.

Like Barkley, Baun never slowed down.

He had had 11 tackles and a sack in a win over Carolina. He forced a fumble in the third that set up a score, one of five turnovers for the Eagles, and had two tackles for losses in December against Washington. In Philadelphia’s playoff win against Green Bay, Baun was the first Eagles linebacker with an interception in a playoff game since DeMeco Ryans in 2014.

Baun went from a bargain-bin afterthought to a free-agent All-Pro linebacker in hot demand this offseason, sure to parlay his career year into long-term financial security.

Roseman has built a career on salary cap creativity and might need to summon all his experiences to find a way to keep Baun an Eagle. Back at his appearance at Kelce’s show, Roseman ended his story with Baun on a pointed note that the Eagles took a chance on him: “Please remember that when we do your contract.”

Baun could potentially end two tenures in New Orleans. But that’s a worry for another day for him – one he hopes comes with a Super Bowl ring.

“I don’t really want to get into the free agency,” he said. “We’re here for the Super Bowl. I’m focused on this team right now and I am where my feet are.”

​ Orange County Register 

Body cam video from Eaton fire shows Pasadena officers’ ‘Herculean effort’ to save residents

• February 7, 2025

When firefighters told Officer Adrian Woolford of a woman trapped as the Eaton fire spread rapidly, he ran towards her home.

Two of his fellow Pasadena Police Department officers, Chrystian Banuelos and Jonathan Bombardier, saw Woolford and quickly followed him in the smoke-choked darkness.

“I know that, if he was running, he was running in the direction of someone that needed help,” Banuelos said. “None of us had any questions about what our task was. Our task was to save lives. That was our purpose, and that was the only thing we were thinking about the entire day.”

Inside the house, they found two women who hadn’t escaped. Banuelos carried one of the women from the home, while Woolford gathered her wheelchair and other necessities.

Then Bombardier noticed the other woman hadn’t left with them. He went back inside to get her out.

Body-worn camera footage and photos released Thursday, Feb. 6 by the Pasadena Police Department showed the efforts of Woolford, Banuelos, Bombardier and other officers to evacuate residents as clouds of embers blew overhead and flames leaped to homes and businesses.

Officers banged on doors — and in at least one case broke down a door — to find and wake residents and get them to safety, the footage showed.

At Two Palms Care Center, a nursing home in the 2600 block of East Washington Boulevard in Altadena, Pasadena police officers rushed in the dark to awaken frightened, fragile patients, put masks on faces and quickly wheel them to safety before flames destroyed the facility.

“The building’s on fire, man. We’ve got to go,” an officer told one patient before lifting him into a wheelchair.

Officers pushed some patients outside while they were still in their hospital beds. Police then commandeered Pasadena Transit buses to move patients out of the evacuation zone.

In the first hour that the disastrous wildfire spread with the help of strong, gusty winds, Pasadena police deployed 92 officers to evacuate residents before additional first responders arrived, officials said.

Other officers, like Banuelos and Bombardier, weren’t working but got the call about the fire and clocked in to help around 3 a.m.

The Eaton fire destroyed thousands of homes and other structures and killed at least 17 people, but without the efforts of his officers in its first hours, Pasadena Police Chief Gene Harris believes, hundreds more would have died.

“It was a Herculean effort that was undertaken at the snap of a finger,” Harris said, “and our folks really showed up and showed out.”

​ Orange County Register 

Super Bowl: Chiefs’ Kareem Hunt, Matt Araiza making the most of 2nd chances

• February 7, 2025

By DAVE SKRETTA AP Sports Writer

NEW ORLEANS — There were moments not long ago when Kareem Hunt wondered whether he’d ever carry a football in an NFL game again.

There were times when Matt Araiza wondered whether he would ever punt one.

Yet through a combination of need and want, the Chiefs provided both players with an opportunity to continue – if not fully restart – their professional careers. And now, the returns of Hunt and Araiza has reached a championship ending, with both trying to help Kansas City win an unprecedented third consecutive Super Bowl title on Sunday.

“It does feel a little bit like redemption, honestly,” Hunt told The Associated Press on Thursday, the final day of a whirlwind week of interviews and media obligations before the game against the Eagles. “Like it’s a blessing, and it’s meant to be.”

Hunt and Araiza’s stories are similar but different, filled with unimaginable highs and uncomfortable lows.

Hunt actually began his career in Kansas City, chosen in the same draft class as Patrick Mahomes, who quickly became one of his best friends. He ran for more than 1,300 yards as a rookie for a franchise only beginning its ascent in the NFL, earning a Pro Bowl nod and finishing second to Alvin Kamara in voting for AP Rookie of the Year.

The following season, with Mahomes the new starter, Hunt was helping the Chiefs barrel toward the playoffs when a video surfaced in November 2018 of him kicking a woman in the hallway of a Cleveland hotel. No charges were filed when the woman stopped cooperating with authorities, but the Chiefs moved swiftly to distance themselves from their star running back.

Hunt eventually signed with the Browns, where he served an eight-game suspension for violating the NFL’s personal-conduct policy. He went on to run for more than 2,200 yards over five years in a backfield rotation for the Browns.

Then this past offseason, Hunt had surgery to repair a sports hernia that hampered him much of last year. The procedure was successful, but it scared many teams away, and Hunt was left sitting on his couch when the season began. It was not until the Chiefs lost Isiah Pacheco to an injury that Hunt picked up the phone and called Kansas City coach Andy Reid.

The two had stayed in touch, even discussing Hunt’s past at Mahomes’ wedding, and Reid was willing to give him a chance.

“Andy, you know, has a big heart, and he sees the best in everybody,” Hunt said. “He knows me as a person. He knows everybody. Like, he’s more of a father figure to me. A role model. Somebody you can look up to. So, I think he loves giving out second chances because he believes in us. And he knows that, you know, we’re capable of handling things.”

In the case of Araiza, who earned the nickname “Punt God” with his booming kicks at San Diego State, the Chiefs were searching for a replacement for Tommy Townsend when they decide to look into the legal problems that had shelved his career.

Araiza had just appeared in a preseason game for Buffalo in 2022 when a lawsuit was filed by a woman alleging he was involved in a gang rape of her at an off-campus party the prior year. Araiza and other players named in the lawsuit claimed that their encounters with her were consensual, and after a month-long investigation, the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office said that December that it would not file criminal charges against him.

Araiza ultimately filed a defamation suit against the accuser in July 2023. The parties agreed to drop their lawsuits in December 2023 with neither side admitting to any wrongdoing and no money changing hands.

“That was a long process there,” Chiefs general manager Brett Veach acknowledged. “We go through the whole process with our entire intel and security team. When that came through there was pretty much a green light, and it was an opportunity for him. He probably should have been in the league maybe sooner than what he was.”

Araiza has rarely spoken about the case, preferring instead to move on with a career that was on the ropes. But he did admit in training camp that there were times he wondered whether he should begin pursuing another line of work.

“Honestly, it kept going back and forth in my mind,” he said, “but yeah, there was a lot of moments where I thought it was over.”

Turns out Hunt and Araiza were far from done.

Now, they have an opportunity to win a Super Bowl ring with a franchise that was willing to give them another chance.

“Just make sure that you keep your nose clean, right? That’s the important part,” Reid said, “and go play football. I think people deserve a second chance if they’ve done something to work on the first part of it.”

​ Orange County Register 

Palm Springs airport moves forward with $2.2 billion upgrade

• February 6, 2025

By Deborrah Brennan | CalMatters

Palm Springs International Airport is launching a $2.2 billion expansion, now that the Palm Springs City Council has approved a master plan for the project.

With its distinctive mid-century modern architecture and an airy, open design, the airport has been a city landmark since it opened in 1966. The master plan, approved Jan. 23, tries to preserve that character while adding new features and doubling the number of passengers per year.

“Our modernization efforts are about more than just improving infrastructure — it’s about creating an experience that embodies the unique spirit and hospitality of Palm Springs while supporting the continued growth of our economy and tourism industry,” Palm Springs Mayor Ron deHarte said.

The airport was built for about 1.5 million passengers per year, said airport spokesperson Jake Ingrassia. Passenger traffic jumped to 3.2 million in 2023 and 2024 and is expected to double to 6.4 million by 2042, as the region’s population and tourism industry expand, he said.

Palm Springs’ population grew 5% between 2021 and 2024, deHarte said, and tourism generates an estimated $9 billion per year in the Coachella Valley.

The airport master plan includes a slew of projects to accommodate the increased air traffic. The number of gates would nearly double from 18 to 32, and the airport would gain a north concourse, expand its baggage claim, build a rental car area and create a federal inspection station to accommodate the expansion of international routes.

Now the airport offers flights to and from Canadian airports that pre-process passengers traveling from the U.S., Ingrassia said. With the new station the airport could screen them itself.

“Getting a federal inspection station would allow us to be truly international by having that processing available here,” he said.

Those upgrades would make up the first phase of construction, estimated at $754 million. The second phase would add a south concourse, a rental car storage facility and airfield improvements, bringing the total cost to about $2.2 billion. Ingrassia said the final cost will depend on the design.

“We don’t want to see planes delayed on the tarmac, overcrowded terminals, or travelers frustrated by wait times,” deHarte said. “This project will deliver the experience our community and visitors deserve.”

Officials haven’t determined how to pay for it yet but could use private financing, federal grants or bond funding. The airport will do an environmental analysis over the next year and a half, begin construction in 2027 or 2028, and open the expanded terminals in the early 2030s, airport officials said.

“Investing in transportation infrastructure is key to attracting new businesses, creating jobs, and supporting tourism—vital components of our local economy,” said state Sen. Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh, who represents the Coachella Valley. “This plan reaffirms Palm Springs as a premier destination and strengthens our region’s role as an economic hub.”

Air traffic at regional airports has taken a dive since the pandemic, as major airlines pulled the smaller jets that often serviced those routes, in favor of larger planes destined for urban airports, NPR reported.

But regional airports seek to attract passengers by expanding international routes. Ontario International Airport aims to compete with LAX with a new international terminal and possible flights to Europe and Japan, the San Bernardino Sun reported.

Palm Springs International Airport is trying to up its game while preserving its history. The central terminal, designed by famed modernist architect Donald Wexler, is included in the National Register of Historical Places.

“The hope is that the airport will remain within the same mid-century modern style and keep that unique charm that people have come to love,” Ingrassia said. 

​ Orange County Register