Good morning. It’s Wednesday, Feb. 1.
- A police officer is fatally shot in San Joaquin Valley.
- States fail to reach accord on Colorado River cuts.
- And nine surprisingly ancient marvels across California.
Statewide
1.
A police officer was fatally shot while patrolling in the San Joaquin Valley community of Selma on Tuesday. Authorities said someone in a neighborhood flagged down the officer, who was unidentified, and complained about a suspicious person in a yard. When the officer exited his vehicle, a little before noon, the person opened fire. Within 30 minutes, a 23-year-old suspect was arrested, the sheriff’s office said. In a statement, Fresno County District Attorney Lisa Smittcamp said the officer was a son of farmworkers and an expectant father. She called the gunman “an admitted gang member.” KFSN | Fresno Bee
2.
The seven states that rely on the shrinking Colorado River water had by the end of January to deliver a plan to restrict their water usage. At the last moment on Tuesday, six states submitted a proposal, presenting a unified front without California, the largest water user. California water districts had objected to a modeling formula that would have meant bigger cuts. Sources told CNN that California proposed cutting off Phoenix and Las Vegas before touching its agriculture supply. The impasse means federal officials could unilaterally impose cuts. CNN | L.A. Times
3.
Four oil companies with refineries in California — Chevron, Marathon Petroleum, Phillips 66, and Valero — each released annual earnings in recent days, setting records with combined profits of $74 billion in 2022. The eye-popping numbers provided an opening for Gov. Gavin Newsom, who issued a statement Tuesday accusing Big Oil of ripping off Californians. The timing is relevant. State legislators are now poised to hold hearings on a Newsom proposal to cap oil profits. Politico
4.
One of the country’s richest concentrations of Native American rock art.
A mountain tree that was more than 1,600 years old at the close of the Bronze Age.
A pair of boulders rubbed smooth by back-scratching Columbian mammoths.
Here’s a virtual trip to nine surprisingly ancient marvels across California. 👉 Atlas Obscura
Northern California
5.
In November, the progressive civil rights attorney Pamela Price eked out a victory in the race for Alameda County district attorney on pledges of criminal justice reform. On Tuesday, she followed up, announcing plans to reopen investigations into six fatal police shootings and two in-custody deaths under a newly formed accountability unit. Price spoke at a rally for Tyre Nichols on Sunday. She told the crowd that “it’s a new day” in Alameda County. Mercury News | Oaklandside
6.
Bay Area cities had until Tuesday to produce plans to meet the state’s demands for increased housing over the next years. Most will miss the deadline. Their noncompliance opens the way for the so-called “builder’s remedy,” allowing developers to obtain streamlined permits for buildings of any size and density — regardless of local opposition. Housing activists are all but giddy at the prospect. S.F. Chronicle | Courthouse News Service
7.
Many of the Silicon Valley’s most profitable companies have been laying off tens of thousands of employees since last year. But the tech columnist Brian Merchant said it has less to do with “economic realities” than the increased bargaining strength of tech employees. “Silicon Valley,” he wrote, “is moving to slash rising wages and bring an increasingly empowered workforce to heel.” L.A. Times
Many laid-off employees have gotten the news via email. Firing people this way serves one purpose, wrote Elizabeth Spiers: “letting managers off the hook.” N.Y. Times
8.
California became the first state to mandate school start times — no earlier than 8:30 a.m. for high schools and no earlier than 8 a.m. for middle schools — beginning in 2022. In a survey, 600 Modesto High School students shared their thoughts on the change: They hate it. Some 94% said they’ve been impacted negatively by the new start times. A majority said they get less sleep now because school lets out later, leaving precious little time for homework, sports, and other activities. Modesto Bee
Southern California
9.
“[Huu Can] Tran fired 42 rounds over several minutes. After he left, no one moved. Then, Tony said, someone turned on the light. The music stopped.”
A team of reporters interviewed six survivors of the mass shooting in Monterey Park to piece together a detailed chronicle of the horror that unfolded inside Star Ballroom Dance Studio on Lunar New Year’s Eve. The report uses powerful graphics to illustrate the seemingly interminable rampage. L.A. Times
10.
In one library book, a grown bear expresses affection for a baby seal. “When you grow up, let’s get married,” he says. Another book tells the love story of two high school boys. During a contentious Orange Unified school board meeting on Jan. 19, the books were offered as evidence that children were being exposed to inappropriate materials. The district superintendent, installed this month by a new conservative board majority, responded by suspending the entire virtual library. Some parents fear book banning will be next. O.C. Register
11.
“Times were good, gas was cheap, and the boulevard hummed with life.”
In the 1960s and ’70s, Van Nuys Boulevard was the apex of California’s car culture. Teenagers in souped-up Ford Mustangs, Chevy Camaros, and Pontiac GTOs cruised up and down a 3-mile stretch of the San Fernando Valley, making stops at Bob’s Big Boy and A&W Root Beer. Rick McCloskey’s black-and-white photo series “Van Nuys Blvd 1972” captured the heyday of the cruise nights before they vanished by the end of the 1970s. An appreciation. 👉 Lenscratch
12.
The large bluffs and pounding sea of Southern California make the coast prime sea cave country. Between Los Angeles and the Mexican border, rock cliffs are honeycombed with intricate arches, tunnels, and cavernous rooms. Winter, when tides are lower, is an ideal time to explore. Here are 10 great sea caves in Southern California. 👉 Californiabeaches.com
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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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