Good morning. It’s Thursday, Sept. 14.
- Cal State University system approves tuition hikes.
- Tribe regains ownership of land in southern Sierra.
- And three standout homes for under $1 million.
Statewide
1.
The Cal State University system, the nation’s largest public university system, voted Wednesday to hike tuition by 6% a year for the next five years to help narrow a $1.5 billion deficit. All told, the cost will rise from $5,742 now to $7,682 in 2028. The decision came two months after trustees voted to give pay hefty raises to campus presidents that pushed many of their salaries to more than $400,000 a year. Students expressed rage during hours of public testimony. “You watch your students sleep in cars from the comfort of your gated communities,” one said. CalMatters | A.P.
2.
State legislators sent Gov. Gavin Newsom a bill that would outlaw the use of drinking water to irrigate decorative grasses used in medians, at office parks, and in other common areas. It’s estimated that outdoor watering accounts for roughly half of total water use in Southern California’s cities and suburbs. Lawmakers said a move toward landscaping more suited to the climate was long overdue. “It’s a no-brainer,” said Assemblymember Laura Friedman. “It’s grass that you look at but never use for anything.” L.A. Times | CalMatters
Also advanced were measures to:
- allow more speed cameras;
- increase penalties for child sex traffickers;
- bolster the so-called right to repair;
- and lift the minimum wage for health care workers to $25 an hour.
3.
Jill Lepore wrote one of the best reviews of Walter Isaacson’s new biography of Elon Musk. In 2020, one of Musk’s children petitioned a California court for a name change, to Vivian Jenna Wilson, citing “Gender Identity and the fact that I no longer live with or wish to be related to my biological father in any way, shape or form.” Musk’s estrangement from his daughter is sad, Lepore wrote, “but of far greater consequence is his seeming estrangement from humanity itself.” New Yorker
4.
The Los Angeles oil painter Richard Oliver creates artworks outdoors that blend seamlessly into surrounding real world. Known as plein-air painting, the practice was advocated by 19th-century French Impressionists who left behind the four walls of the studio in search of the perfect vista. For Oliver, those might include the Santa Monica mountains, the Malibu coast, or Lake Piru, pictured above. See more of his work. 👉 My Modern Met | @richardjoliverpleinair
5.
The $1-million home has now become the norm across much of California. Here are three gems listed for well below that mark:
- An A-frame cabin in the San Bernardino Mountains has dark hues and a fire-engine red fireplace. Few walls were included to maximize its 948 square feet. Yours for $520,000. The Spaces | Realtor.com
- A pale-green cottage nestled along Topanga Canyon is tiny, but it has a separate guest house, it’s surrounded by nature, and it’s walking distance to an organic market. Asking price: $875,000. N.Y. Times
- A whimsical home converted out of a World War II landing craft floats in the dock in Sausalito, where Otis Redding once watched the ships roll in. It’s got a storybook exterior and a deck with waterfront views. Yours for $699,000. Sacramento Bee | Realtor.com
Northern California
6.
A rare congregation of more than a dozen top tech executives met in the same room on Capitol Hill Wednesday. The occasion was the A.I. Insight Forum and the participants included Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Sam Altman, and the leaders of Google, Microsoft, and Nvidia. Every one of the CEOs in the closed session raised their hands when asked if the government should intervene on artificial intelligence. “We all share the same incentives of getting this right,” Altman said after the meeting. Washington Post | N.Y. Times
7.
Sam Bankman-Fried has portrayed his parents, both renowned Stanford scholars, as spectators to the collapse of his cryptocurrency company FTX. But Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried opened doors and provided a halo effect for their son, who now faces charges of fraud, money laundering, and bribery. They also profited tremendously, netting $26 million in cash and real estate in 2022 alone. “Their reputations and connections were essential to FTX’s success,” Bloomberg Businessweek wrote in its latest cover story.
8.
With the bay lapping at San Francisco’s historic downtown waterfront, officials are making drastic plans to save precious sites. Elaine Forbes, executive director of the Port of San Francisco, said the Ferry Building may need to be lifted up to 7 feet by mid-century. The logistics are as yet unclear. But she said it will happen, no matter the cost or effort. “We’ve heard loud and clear everywhere: It’s to be saved,” she said. NPR
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Southern California
9.
“This heals old soul wounds for us.”
When a realtor listed more than 2,000 acres of ranching land near the southern Sierra’s Isabella Lake for $5 million, it was viewed as a development opportunity. Instead, the property has now been split between a conservation group and members of the Tübatulabal Tribe, marking the first time the tribe has owned ancestral homeland since it was grabbed by settlers in the 1800s. They plan to restore the area to its natural state, then open it to the public for fishing, hiking, and just being. Kern Valley Sun | Bakersfield Californian
10.
Christian High School in El Cajon was said to have forfeited a girls’ volleyball match on Tuesday because a player on the opposing team is gay. An anonymous source told a San Diego reporter that several athletes at Christian High, a private religious school that competes within the statewide California Interscholastic Federation, were “uncomfortable” playing against a lesbian. “It’s outrageous,” the person said. The Christian High principal, athletic director, and coach all declined to respond to the reporter’s phone and email messages. Times of San Diego
11.
A woman accused of setting fire to a Target store in Buena Park on Sept. 5 was trying to create a distraction so she could steal baby formula, police said. Cynthia Torres, 40, was arrested Tuesday. The fire, which engulfed racks of clothing and rose to the store’s ceiling, caused $1.5 million in damages, authorities said. L.A. Times | KABC
12.
Days after Drew Barrymore faced criticism for returning to work, Bill Maher announced Wednesday that he was resuming his HBO show “Real Time” without striking workers. It’s been five months, he said of the Hollywood strike. “The writers have important issues that I sympathize with, and hope they are addressed to their satisfaction, but they are not the only people with issues, problems, and concerns,” he said. Earlier, Maher called some of the demands from the Writers Guild of America “kooky.” The union said his decision was “disappointing.” Hollywood Reporter | Deadline
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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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