Good morning. It’s Wednesday, April 10.
- Growing number of Latinos take hard stance on migrants.
- SpaceX’s satellite-internet devices help U.S. adversaries.
- And the “aggressive copycat culture” of Trader Joe’s.
Statewide
1.
In 1999, Xochilt Nuñez illegally crossed the border into California in search of a better life. Now 53 and still undocumented, she is a farmworker and a single mother of three. But she is frustrated by others trying to follow the path she took. “Right now, this immigration is out of control,” she said. “And now, they don’t come to work. They come to live from the system.” According to several polls, her feelings are shared by a growing number of Latinos — both native born and unauthorized — who are taking a hard stance against new waves of migrants. Sacramento Bee
2.
California spent $24 billion over last five fiscal years on programs to address homelessness; whether the enormous outlay has accomplished anything is anyone’s guess. That’s because the state has failed to track the spending or its results, according to a state audit released on Tuesday. Lawmakers called that lack of transparency “frightening” and a “wake-up call.” One called for freezing spending until the problem is fixed. CalMatters | A.P.
3.
Xavier Becerra, the health and human services secretary, is considering leaving the Biden administration after the November election to mount a bid for California governor, Politico reported on Tuesday. Becerra, a former state attorney general, earned a reputation in California as a tenacious antagonist of Donald Trump, filing more than 100 lawsuits against his administration. During an event in San Francisco on Tuesday he said, “I miss California.” He later smiled and nodded when someone yelled, “governor!” Politico
4.
Most labor money collected during the last legislative session: $641,800, Matt Haney, Democratic assemblymember from San Francisco
Most missed votes this legislative session: 812, Devon Mathis, Republican assemblymember from Visalia
Most words spoken this legislative session: 195,266, John Laird, Democratic state senator from Santa Cruz
CalMatters released a powerful artificial intelligence tool called “Digital Democracy” that lets you explore, among other things, every donation California’s 120 legislators have collected, every vote they’ve cast, and every word they’ve spoken in public hearings.
Northern California
5.
SpaceX’s satellite-internet devices, known as Starlink, are falling into the hands of American adversaries and accused war criminals — and the California company hasn’t shut them off, an investigation found. Russian volunteers boast on social media about supplying the terminals to troops in Ukraine, where Russian forces are advancing. In Sudan, a paramilitary group is using the technology for high-speed internet access, boosting their command capabilities and helping them recruit more fighters, officials said. Wall Street Journal
6.
An Oregon tribe is trying to build a casino in the city of Medford, a city about 30 miles north of the California border. Among their most ardent opponents is a coalition of Northern California tribes who want to thwart competition against their own casinos. The building proposal has exposed a bitter intertribal debate about what land Indigenous groups can rightfully call home, the L.A. Times wrote.
7.
Dozens of librarians protested outside San Francisco’s Main Library on Tuesday to demand that the city hire guards across the system’s 28 locations as the city’s homelessness and drug crises spill into their workplaces. “I am a librarian, I am a branch manager — I am not a policewoman, I am not a security guard,” said Nicole Germain, a branch manager. Oakland and San Jose librarians have also campaigned for tougher safety measures. KQED | S.F. Chronicle
8.
The Pacific Wren is among the tiniest birds, measuring roughly 4 inches from beak to tail. One of its favored homes is within the gargantuan habitat of Northern California’s coast redwoods. The photographer Ryan Hennessy ventured into Redwood National and State Parks for a project on one of the natural world’s charming contrasts in size. PetaPixel | RayHennessy.com
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Southern California
9.
What began as a couple’s quarrel on Monday ended in a shocking trail of violence with a man fatally stabbed, two children pushed out of a moving car, and a mother’s apparent suicide, officials said on Tuesday. Investigators believe Danielle Johnson, 34, killed her partner inside their Woodland Hills home before fleeing in an SUV and pushing her two daughters out of the car on the 405 Freeway, killing her 8-month old and wounding her 9-year-old. A half-hour later, officials said, Johnson drove into a tree at 100 miles per hour in Redondo Beach. L.A. Times | A.P.
10.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors this week approved an astounding $25 million to settle a lawsuit brought on behalf of a mentally disabled man, Isaias Cervantes, who was left paralyzed after being shot by a sheriff’s deputy 2021. Yet a sheriff’s department investigation concluded that deputies violated no policies, and a county “corrective action plan” identified nothing that should change. The L.A. Times editorial board wondered what’s to stop similar shootings — and subsequent payouts — from happening again.
11.
A California appeals court ruled on Tuesday that Assemblymember Vince Fong can run for two different legislative offices simultaneously, a first in state history. After former Speaker Kevin McCarthy abruptly announced his retirement in December, Fong jumped into the race for his seat despite having already filed for reelection to the Assembly. State election officials sought to remove Fong from the Congressional ballot, but the appellate judges appeared persuaded that the move would be undemocratic after the primary results were settled. Politico | A.P.
12.
In 2021, Trader Joe’s approached Chitra Agrawal, the owner of an Indian condiment company, about partnering on her pickles and chutneys. She provided samples and discussed pricing, but the Southern California grocery chain inexplicably went quiet. Months later, Trader Joe’s Garlic Achaar Sauce appeared on the store’s shelves, a product Agrawal denounced as “a cheap knock off” of her own garlic achaar. Reporter Adam Reiner wrote about an open secret in food business circles: Trader Joe’s has a “blatant and aggressive copycat culture.” TASTE
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