There has been a lot of research on other ways to get hydrophobic behavior such as printing grooves onto things.

My take on the politics is that this issue is something that could get nationalized, like congestion pricing in NYC. [1] It's rumored that Newsom wants to run for president in 2028 so he's avoiding any policy which might be broadly unpopular nationwide [2] [3]

[1] People in NYC are seeing less congestion plus more cops in the subway, so they see some benefit from the policy, not just a cost.

[2] https://www.msnbc.com/top-stories/latest/gavin-newsom-trans-...

[3] Only about 20% of the public agrees with "Transgender girls should be allowed to participate in women's sports" https://www.ipsos.com/sites/default/files/ct/news/documents/...

Same with the straws. Instead of polypropylene they're now paper coated in pfas. The coating isn't perfect so the paper gets soggy and dissolves, making the user ingest pfas as well. Which is inert (the toxins are emitted during the production process) but can still accumulate in the body to questionable effect

Yeah this was not a good trade off. Though most cups (eg polarcup) were already pfas-coated paper so it's not a new problem.

And yes straws aren't really necessary but as someone with sensitive teeth they avoid pain in cold drinks. That's why I use them. McDonald's tried to simply stop serving them here (EU) but the backlash was too great.