Good morning. It’s Wednesday, March 20.
- Bills aim to erode authority of Coastal Commission.
- Sacramento and Pasadena adopt Gaza cease-fire resolutions.
- And the 10 greatest national park camping experiences.
Statewide
1.
Since the formation of the California Coastal Commission in 1976, the state’s 840 miles of shoreline have been protected as a public resource, keeping at bay those developers who might remold it in the image of the Jersey Shore. But the state’s housing crisis has now led some Democratic lawmakers to propose a batch of bills that would erode the commission’s authority in order to allow more development. Kate Huckelbridge, the agency’s executive director, said she was “troubled” by the legislative trend. CalMatters
2.
A growing number of California communities have been banning needle exchange programs as part of a broader pushback against “harm reduction,” which encourages safer drug use to cut down on overdoses. But California is now fighting back. The state recently asked for a court order to block El Dorado County and its county seat, Placerville, from implementing needle exchange bans. The county’s district attorney responded with fury, accusing state leaders of “seeking to impose the normalization of hardcore drug use.” L.A. Times
3.
When the authorities uncovered a voter fraud scheme by a City Council candidate in a farming community near Stockton last year, they took pains to emphasize that it was a rare and isolated case. Shakir Khan, they said, was a “no party preference” voter with no connection to any broader plot. But that wasn’t enough to pacify a dedicated cohort of election skeptics who seized on the case to sow distrust in the voting process. It’s been a nightmare for Olivia Hale, San Joaquin County’s top elections official. “The narrative is continuing no matter what we do,” she said. L.A. Times
4.
Other election updates:
- San Joaquin Valley voters on Tuesday had the second of what will be four opportunities to cast ballots in the race for the seat vacated by former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, with a primary and runoff for both a full term and a partial year to serve out McCarthy’s current term. In both primaries, Republican Assembly member Vince Fong, McCarthy’s chosen successor, emerged with a commanding lead. Fresno Bee | A.P.
- The “parents’ rights” movement faced setbacks in Southern California as voters ousted two conservative school board trustees in the city of Orange and appeared to reject two other like-minded school board candidates in Glendale. LAist | CityWatch
5.
California developments related to the Mideast crisis:
- A Republican-led House committee on Tuesday opened an investigation into what it described as “pervasive antisemitism” at UC Berkeley and a “failure to protect Jewish students.” Berkeleyside | S.F. Chronicle
- Sacramento became latest California city to adopt a Gaza cease-fire resolution late Tuesday. The session was temporarily derailed by chanting protesters who refused orders to leave the chamber, leading to several arrests. Pasadena adopted a cease-fire resolution on Monday. Sacramento Bee | Pasadena Star-News
- More than 1,000 Hollywood actors and other creatives signed an open letter condemning Jonathan Glazer’s Oscars speech, during which the director drew a parallel between his Holocaust film “The Zone of Interest” and the conflict in Gaza. The letter said, in part: “[The speech] gives credence to the modern blood libel that fuels a growing anti-Jewish hatred.” Variety | Washington Post
Northern California
6.
Since 2017, a network of nonprofits in Silicon Valley has been giving out no-strings-attached stipends to struggling tenants in an effort to avert homelessness before it happens. Researchers who studied the program say it’s working: 81% of beneficiaries were less likely to experience homelessness within six months, they found. Advocates of the proactive aid model say it actually saves money. Chronically homeless residents can cost $85,000 annually in police, medical, and other services. “It makes the $6,000 it might take to stabilize a resident’s finances over several months look like a bargain,” Bloomberg wrote.
7.
Northern California’s Yurok Tribe will take ownership of 125 acres of its ancestral lands near the former logging town of Orick that will serve as a “welcoming visitor gateway” to Redwood National and State Parks, under a memorandum of understanding signed Tuesday. The deal makes the Yurok the first Native people to manage tribal land with the National Park Service. Rosie Clayburn, a tribal spokesperson, attributed the return of the parcel to the “sheer will” of the Yurok people. “We kind of don’t give up,” she said. A.P.
8.
Deep within Redwood National Park, along a meandering creek, a group of ancient coast redwoods soars well above 350 feet, including several specimens that are among the world’s top 10 tallest trees. With a backcountry permit, you can camp anywhere along the creek a quarter-mile from the grove, aptly named Tall Trees Grove. Its remoteness ensures that it’s never crowded. Backpacker magazine included Tall Trees in a list of the 10 greatest camping experiences across the entire national park system.
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Southern California
9.
Peter Navarro, the Southern California economist and one-time Democrat who wedged his way into former President Trump’s inner circle, reported to prison on Tuesday, making him the first senior Trump administration official to serve time over his role in the effort to subvert the results of the 2020 election. Navarro was sentenced to four months after defying a subpoena from the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot. In a hastily organized news conference on Tuesday, he said he had no regrets. N.Y. Times | Politico
10.
A Victorville pastor hired hit men to kill the man dating his daughter, the authorities said. Samuel Pasillas, a 47-year-old leader of a small Spanish-speaking church, paid almost $40,000 to two men who surveilled the boyfriend for weeks. On Oct. 21, a vehicle pulled up beside the boyfriend’s vehicle and unleashed a barrage of gunfire, police said. The victim, who was not identified, was hit but survived. KTLA | Victor Valley News
11.
After a fugitive doctor abandoned his mansion on a quiet cul-de-sac above Beverly Hills, an enterprising group of grifters slid in the door and began squatting in one of the most exclusive zip codes in America. They stayed for months and threw throbbing parties five nights a week, colored rave lights blinking from the windows. Neighbors were beside themselves. “‘Squatters have rights’ — okay, I get that they do, if they’re a family and they’re displaced,” one neighbor said. “But this is not your typical homeless person. This was a lifestyle play.” Curbed
12.
As an engineer in the 1970s, Gayle Noble was a pioneering computer engineer, collecting more than 50 patents. Now retired and living in Oceanside, she’s found her second calling as a practitioner of random acts of kindness. On most days, she can be found driving around delivering muffins, cookies, and other goodies to people working often thankless jobs — at the post office, UPS store, and Trader Joe’s. Her daughter described Noble’s approach as “aggressive kindness.” Most people are tentative about kindness, she explained. With Noble, it’s “No — you’re getting a cookie! You’re getting a muffin!” CBS News
Correction
Tuesday’s newsletter misspelled a Central Coast city. It’s Carpinteria, not Carpenteria.
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