Good morning. It’s Wednesday, April 3.
- A California billionaire provided Donald Trump’s bond.
- Central Valley farmers turn to solar for new revenue.
- And survey names L.A. restaurant best in the country.
Statewide
1.
California is entering spring with a Sierra snowpack at 110% of the historic average for April 1, a benchmark date that informs runoff forecasts during dry warm months, water officials reported on Tuesday. Gov. Gavin Newsom strapped on snowshoes to attend a snow measurement south of Lake Tahoe, where winter storms left more than 5 feet of stacked snow. “You can take a deep breath this year, but don’t quadruple the amount of time in your shower,” he said. KQED | A.P.
- State reservoirs are brimming. See the levels. 👉 CalMatters
2.
The person who backed Donald Trump’s $175 million bond in his New York civil fraud case on Monday is a Southern California auto loan king named Don Hankey. Hankey, who made billions offering high-interest loans to customers with poor credit, said he supported the former president but politics had nothing to do with it. “I’d never met Donald Trump,” he said. “I’d never talked to him on the phone. I heard that he needed a loan or a bond, and this is what we do.” Washington Post | Forbes
3.
A Los Angeles restaurant that fuses Thai and Mexican influences was named the country’s best restaurant in a Food & Wine magazine survey based on votes from more than 180 food and travel writers. Chef Justin Pichetrungsi’s Anajak Thai has become a sensation with creative dishes — Ora King salmon tacos, kampachi tostadas, papaya salads — that attract lines stretching down the block. Also honored by the magazine was San Francisco’s Mister Jiu’s, which serves Chinese American classics. Food & Wine
Northern California
4.
California farmers planing for a future of abundant sun and limited groundwater are increasingly turning to solar. Stuart Woolf, who grows nuts and fruits in the San Joaquin Valley, has 1,225 acres of solar panels on his farm. He declined to say how much his operation is earning from leasing land for solar use. “But I can say the return per acre is better than most returns in farming,” he said. Better yet, unlike almonds, the panels require no water. Fresno Bee | Bloomberg
5.
On Tuesday, scientists aboard a decommissioned aircraft carrier in San Francisco Bay performed the first outdoor test of a machine designed to slow global warming by brightening clouds and bouncing the sun’s rays back into space. The radical approach envisions blasting sea salt aerosols into low-lying marine clouds from ships traversing the ocean. There are doubters. Karen Orenstein, a leading environmentalist, called solar radiation modification “an extraordinarily dangerous distraction.” N.Y. Times
6.
A profile of Ro Khanna, the Silicon Valley congressman who aspires to be the future of the Democratic Party, included a remarkable exchange between him and one of his old high school teachers:
“Khanna asked him what he thought about the rise of Trump.
“Perhaps Khanna was expecting his teacher to talk about the threat Trump poses to democracy. Instead, he revealed something Khanna didn’t know: Longo voted twice for Trump. … In 2017, his daughter and son were struck by a driver under the influence of heroin as they were standing on a sidewalk in New Jersey. Longo’s son spent months in intensive care, and his daughter, who was seven months pregnant, didn’t survive. Under state law, prosecutors couldn’t charge the driver with a double homicide because Longo’s granddaughter wasn’t born. The driver pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of vehicular homicide. He’s due to be released from prison next year.
“The tragedy hardened Longo’s views on crime and abortion. ‘I could not vote for President Biden,’ he said. Khanna sat quietly as Longo spoke.” The Atlantic
7.
Sundar Pichai, Google’s chief executive, has called artificial intelligence more profound than the invention of fire or electricity. The person he’s entrusted to lead the company’s push into AI is Demis Hassabis, a 47-year-old neuroscientist who was the second-best chess player in the world for his age group as a teenager. “I don’t get much sleep,” he told the Wall Street Journal.
8.
The U.S. Open Cup, America’s oldest ongoing soccer tournament, is open to all teams affiliated with U.S. Soccer, meaning professional teams often face amateur clubs. That was the case on March 19, when an amateur club owned by San Francisco’s taqueria El Farolito — a collection of construction workers, ride-hail drivers, and other weekend warriors — pulled off a stunning upset against the reserve squad of Major League Soccer’s Portland Timbers. On Tuesday, they repeated the miracle against another professional team, beating Central Valley Fuego FC. S.F. Chronicle | Soccer Bay Area
- “This dream, it just keeps building!” See the winning goal. 👉 @opencup
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Southern California
9.
Robert Dart, a successful lawyer and family man in Southern California, was 35 when the delusions started. After two years in the care of doctors and his mother, Dart stopped therapy and quit his medicines. He lost weight, paced his apartment complex in his underwear, and argued with himself about baseball and movies. “There is a slim chance that this is in fact satan, I can’t take that chance,” he wrote in a notebook. Reporter Julie Wernau told the tragic story of a lawyer who abandoned his family and career to follow the voices in his head. Wall Street Journal
10.
Los Angeles’ historic Japantown, one of just three remaining in the U.S., is struggling to stay alive. Suehiro, a 50-year-old Japanese restaurant, moved out in January. Little Tokyo Arts & Gifts got an eviction notice in December. Before that, Shabu Shabu House announced it was leaving. The departures can be traced to the opening of a new metro station that has driven up rents. “The very people that created the essence of what Little Tokyo is are being forced out to bring in a Starbucks, for instance,” said Kenji Suzuki, the owner of Suehiro. Bloomberg
11.
John Eastman, the Orange County lawyer who orchestrated a last-ditch bid to reverse Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss, can no longer practice law in California, according to an update on the State Bar of California’s website. The move came after a California judge recommended that Eastman be disbarred, citing “gross negligence,” “false statements,” and “a complete failure to understand the wrongfulness of his actions.” The final decision rests with the California Supreme Court. L.A. Magazine | New Republic
12.
California lilacs have painted the hills surrounding a lake 25 miles north of downtown San Diego in shades of brilliant purple. The photographer Vishwas Lokesh captured some fantastic shots of South Park Lake in San Marcos with his drone over the last week. “It’s like you’re in essential oil heaven,” he said of the fragrance. @shotbyvish | Fox 5
- Joshua Tree and surrounding areas are also exploding with wildflowers. Desertusa.com
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