Good morning. It’s Thursday, March 14.
- Giant sequoias in Britain outnumber those in California.
- Powerful winds expected to lash the state on Thursday.
- And one woman is said to net $8 million from retail theft.
Statewide
1.
Giant sequoias were first introduced to Britain as a status symbol on country estates in the mid 19th century. Today, they grace parks all over the country in numbers so abundant they outnumber sequoias in their native Sierra Nevada by a factor of six, a new study found. Britain’s roughly 500,000 redwoods are nowhere near the size of their ancient California counterparts, where some specimens are more than 3,000 years old, but researchers say they are growing at a healthy clip. BBC | Independent
2.
The National Weather Service warned that much of California would be lashed on Thursday by winds so powerful they are almost certain to topple trees and knock out power. Forecasters attributed the shift to a cold weather system bringing denser air into the Great Basin and sending winds toward low-pressure areas along the coast. The Inland Empire and surrounding areas could get the harshest blast, with gusts nearing 100 mph, forecasters said. Fox Weather | Accuweather
3.
In a fiery essay, Luke Winkie argued that the popularity of San Francisco’s Mission-style burrito is a tragedy because a far superior burrito hides in plain sight: San Diego’s “California burrito.”
“There is no filler in a California burrito, no chaff to artificially expand the dimensions. The only moisture-soaking agent in the recipe is a pile of french fries — yes, french fries — that are mixed up in the milieu until they become swollen and gummy. It’s a foodstuff that is both sinful and obscene. It tends to run around 1,100 calories.” Slate
Northern California
4.
Elon Musk abruptly called off a deal with Don Lemon for a new talk show on X after the former television anchor recorded an interview with the billionaire. The conversation was occasionally tense, Lemon said. When asked about hate speech on X, Musk, who calls himself a “free speech absolutist,” responded: “I don’t have to answer questions from reporters, Don.” At another point, Lemon pressed Musk about his ketamine use. After the interview, journalist Kara Swisher reported, Musk sent a terse text: “Contract terminated.” Washington Post | CNN
5.
The investigative team at NBC Bay Area analyzed a wave of new lawsuits alleging child sexual abuse in Northern California’s Catholic institutions. A few of the numbers: 1,600 claims; more than 200 clergy and lay employees who were never before publicly accused; six accused priests currently working in the archdiocese of San Francisco. Derek Lewis, 34, said an East Bay priest raped him dozens of times when he was just 8 years old. If he resisted, Lewis said, the priest warned that God would take the boy’s father, who was battling cancer. NBC Bay Area
- Watch the NBC report, “Reckoning.”
6.
For the owners of a row of townhomes along the Santa Cruz County coast, a big part of the neighborhood’s charm are the backyard patios that extend 37 feet toward the beach. But to their outrage, the Coastal Commission voted in December to fine the homeowners $4.7 million, accusing them of blocking access to what was in fact a public walkway. The county made the same argument. Now the homeowners association is locked in two costly court battles and vowing to fight to the bitter end. In January, in what some saw as a provocation, they put up a barricade sealing off the contested area. S.F. Chronicle
7.
On the Middle East debate in the Bay Area:
- Hundreds of protesters demanding a cease-fire in Gaza blocked security gates at San Francisco International Airport for several hours Wednesday morning, holding banners that read “Stop the World for Gaza” and “Stop Arming Israel.” KTVU
- A San Francisco County supervisor, Joel Engardio, introduced a resolution calling on his colleagues to quit making pronouncements on global affairs such as those in the Middle East, and turn their attention toward solving local problems. SF Standard
- On Monday, the Redwood City Council rejected a Gaza cease-fire resolution, drawing shouts of “shame.” The mayor said the measure was too divisive. Daily Journal | Redwood City Pulse
8.
Rep. Doug LaMalfa, a Republican from Butte County, appears to have found a hack to getting the full attention of the leader of the free world. Every year after the State of the Union, LaMalfa waits patiently toward the back of the room along an aisle that all presidents use to enter and exit. After President Biden’s speech last Thursday, the congressman cornered him for three minutes, making his pitch to force the U.S. Forest Service to speed up permits for harvesting timber. “We gotta cut some trees,” he told Biden. Within 12 hours administration officials were in touch with LaMalfa’s office to discuss the matter. Washington Post
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9.
“The greenhouse is a humid, tropical riot of reds, oranges, yellows, greens. I’ve stepped into another world. It smells sweet and wet, musty like a bedroom after sex.”
Tucked in Northern California wine country is the oldest and largest carnivorous plant nursery in the U.S. Sebastopol’s California Carnivores was founded in 1989, a time when insect-eating plant hobbyists were all but nonexistent. Today, the nursery cultivates hundreds of species, including California native sundews, bladderworts, and pitcher plants. After a recent visit, the writer Tove Danovich contemplated the deeper symbolism of plants that kill. Orion Magazine
- California Carnivores has a huge following on social media, where it posts videos of its most bewitching specimens. TikTok | Instagram
Southern California
10.
San Bernardino County’s sheriff on Wednesday defended two deputies involved in the fatal shooting of an autistic 15-year-old over the weekend that drew outrage over the use of lethal force. Family members had called 911, saying 15-year-old Ryan Gainer was attacking his sister and breaking windows. In newly released body camera footage, Gainer immediately charged a responding deputy while raising the bladed end of a gardening tool. The deputy shot as he retreated and a second deputy fired from a distance. Sheriff Shannon Dicus said they had seconds to react. “There are no magic words. We pay law enforcement officers to stop threats, to stop violence.” KABC | CNN
- Watch the full sheriff’s deputy video. 👉 YouTube
11.
Before a children’s soccer practice on a synthetic turf field in San Diego, an assistant coach swabbed the hands of three players. She did the same thing after practice ended 90 minutes later and shipped the samples to a lab that tested them for “forever chemicals,” also known as PFAS, a class of chemicals linked to a variety of health problems from high cholesterol to cancer. The results showed that two of the three players had more PFAS on their hands after practicing. The data was far from conclusive, but a researcher called them a “red flag” that more studies are needed. Washington Post
12.
How lucrative is retail theft? A CNBC investigation told the story of Michelle Mack, who is accused of running a retail crime empire from the comfort of her 4,500-square-foot Spanish-style mansion in suburban San Diego. Police said Mack, 53, employed around a dozen women to pilfer cosmetics from Ulta and Sephora stores for resale on Amazon. Between 2012 and 2023, she sold nearly $8 million in cosmetics through her storefront, earning rave reviews from customers for her low prices. CNBC
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