Good morning. It’s Wednesday, Oct. 12.
- California vows “complete eradication” of illegal pot grows.
- A vintage pair of Levi’s jeans sells at auction for $76,000.
- And L.A. City Council faces public fury over leaked audio.
Statewide
1.
California’s top law enforcement official announced Tuesday that the state will expand its seasonal approach to disrupting Illegal marijuana grows — which has historically lasted 90 days each summer — into a year-round campaign. Attorney General Rob Bonta noted that the black market dwarfs the legal one. “It’s upside down and our goal is complete eradication of the illegal market,” he said. A.P. | Sacramento Bee
2.
Under a new law, California motorists can now display digital license plates. The battery-powered plates, sold by a single vendor, offer a few advantages. You can program your own messages on the lower portion of the plate. Registration renewal can happen automatically — no sticker required. And if a vehicle is stolen, the word “STOLEN” can be displayed. ABC7 | Car and Driver
3.
The journalist Sara Harrison wrote movingly about her 97-year-old grandfather’s “death party” in California:
“For a brief moment, at my grandfather’s party, I got to slow down the inevitable, to be with the people I grew up with, in the place we held sacred and dear. Amid that joyful reverie, I had time to sober up and confront the simple reality that my grandfather wanted to die and that everything would change.” N.Y. Times Magazine
4.
An article on Elon Musk’s social life portrayed the world’s richest man as someone trying to live the teenage years he never had — without escaping his own insecurity. Rebecca Eisenberg, a Bay Area lawyer, recalled how Musk broken into a conversation she was having with Peter Thiel during a party in Bel Air. “I have two teenagers and four pets,” she said. “It seemed like Peter was the dominant dog, and Elon was trying to impress him.” N.Y. Times
Northern California
5.
Fresno County delivered a response to demands by federal and state authorities to rename the community of Squaw Valley: It is officially opposed. In a unanimous resolution on Tuesday, the board of supervisors said 87% of residents wanted to keep “squaw” in their town’s name despite its historic use as a slur for Indigenous women. Supervisor Steve Brandau said he would consult with lawyers about putting the name change to a ballot vote. Fresno Bee | KSEE
6.
California’s official fabric is denim, popularized in Gold Rush San Francisco by one of the state’s earliest entrepreneurs, Levi Strauss. On Oct. 1, a pair of Levi’s recovered from an abandoned mineshaft sold at auction for $76,000, making them among the priciest vintage jeans ever sold. They reveal an unseemly piece of the company’s history: Printed on a pocket is the phrase “The only kind made by white labor,” a slogan Levi’s adopted for some time after the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act. Wall Street Journal
7.
When California’s leading fall color connoisseur, John Poimiroo, argues that California is America’s premiere autumn destination — better even than New England — he likes to cite one place in particular: North Lake in the Eastern Sierra’s Bishop Creek Canyon. Max Comer captured stunning pictures, including the one above, on Sunday. California Fall Color
Southern California
8.
In a raucous Los Angeles City Council meeting on Tuesday, protesters furiously demanded the resignations of three council members over a recorded conversation that included racial slurs. Councilmember Nury Martinez was absent, having announced she was taking time off, while Councilmembers Gil Cedillo and Kevin de León were driven from the room by chants of “Leave!” Councilmember Mike Bonin, whose Black son was a target of Martinez’s invective, delivered an emotional speech. “These words, they cut and they stung,” he said. Then he addressed his colleagues directly: “First you must resign, and then ask for forgiveness.” L.A. Times | Courthouse News Service
9.
More developments in Los Angeles’ leaked audio scandal:
- In her leaked remarks, Martinez called Indigenous Oaxacans “little short dark people.” She added, “They’re ugly.” Oaxacan residents said the insults were painful but unsurprising. “I’m brown, I’m short, but I’m here in L.A.,” said Ivan Vasquez. “L.A. belongs to us. And we’re not going anywhere.” L.A. Times | LAist
- President Biden called for Martinez, Cedillo, and de León, all Democrats, to resign. The language on the recording was “appalling,” said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. Wall Street Journal
- The rot in Los Angeles goes much deeper than a few lawmakers, experts said. In the last year, one city leader reported to prison, and another admitted to bribery. Two others are facing trial. “I don’t think there’s been anything like this in city government since the ’30s and ’40s, the corruption heyday of Los Angeles,” said Zev Yaroslavsky, of UCLA. Politico
10.
Eric Kay, a former Los Angeles Angels employee, was sentenced on Tuesday to 22 years in prison for providing the opioids that killed the pitcher Tyler Skaggs in 2019. The trial included testimony from five major league players who said they got oxycodone pills from Kay. The sentencing judge said Kay, clad in an orange jumpsuit, displayed “a callousness and refusal to accept responsibility and even be remorseful for something that you caused.” A.P. | ESPN
11.
Riverside County officials released photos of the gear collected from the rock wall where the former NFL player Gavin Escobar and a climbing companion people fell to their deaths two weeks ago. It included webbing around a pine tree to which the climbers had anchored themselves before beginning to rappel down Tahquitz Rock. The webbing, old and bleached by sun exposure, broke a few feet into the descent, investigators believe. LAist
California archive
12.
Peer out to sea from the southernmost stretch of California coast, and you can catch a glimpse of four rocky isles. Many San Diegans are unaware of Mexico’s Islas Coronados, but their history and natural beauty are captivating. The rugged islands have attracted Mexican pirates, Russian otter hunters, Japanese fishermen, and American rumrunners.
In 1933, a San Diego lumber merchant partnered with a Mexican builder to open a casino and speakeasy on South Island. Al Capone, Errol Flynn, and Charlie Chaplin were said to have paid visits. Within a year, however, the U.S. had repealed Prohibition and Mexico banned gambling. The casino was doomed. About 10 years later, the captain of a U.S. Navy submarine chaser gave orders to shell the isles for target practice. The Mexican government angrily protested, and the officer was relieved of his command. His name: L. Ron Hubbard. S.D. Union-Tribune
A few months ago, some Spanish-speaking YouTubers toured the ruins of the casino. YouTube
Correction
An earlier version of this newsletter misstated how webbing was attached to a tree in a double fatality at Tahquitz Rock. Investigators believe the webbing had been attached by earlier climbers and left for others to use. It was not placed by the climbers who fell.
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The California Sun is written by Mike McPhate, a former California correspondent for the New York Times.
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