Good morning. It’s Wednesday, May 1.
- Pro-Israel counterprotesters attack encampment at UCLA.
- New state law will ban restaurant surcharges.
- And Michelin gives top honors to California hotels.
Campus protests
1.
Violent clashes erupted late Tuesday at UCLA as counterprotesters waving Israeli flags attacked a pro-Palestinian encampment, trying to tear down its barricades. Videos posted online showed combatants swinging sticks, fireworks exploding around the camp, all-out brawls between masked individuals, and people reeling from pepper spray. At least one man was taken away in an ambulance. For hours, police were nowhere to be seen, several reports said. Then, shortly before 3 a.m., a large phalanx of law enforcement finally began to move in, separating the rival groups.
The violence came after days of criticism against the university over the deteriorating situation on campus. Earlier on Tuesday, UCLA had declared the pro-Palestinian encampment illegal. Protest leaders, in response, said they weren’t going anywhere. Daily Bruin | KABC
- “God, there’s just so much chaos.” See video of the clashes unfolding from a news helicopter. 👉 CBS News
2.
Other campus protest developments:
- In a predawn raid Tuesday, roughly 100 police officers in riot gear cleared a Cal Poly Humboldt administrative building occupied by protesters, arresting 25 people. “What was occurring was not free expression or a protest,” the university said. “It was criminal activity.” Times-Standard | N.Y. Times
- While Republicans have been vociferous in their denunciations of the protests, California’s top Democrats have stayed silent. That’s understandable, said politics professor Jack Pitney: “If I were a Democratic party politician, I’d want to stay as far away from this as possible.” NBC Los Angeles
- “Jug of justice.” The jug used in office water coolers is being embraced as a symbol of the protest movement after video of a Cal Poly Humboldt protester hitting a police officer with a jug spread widely on social media. Hyperallergic
Statewide
3.
California is banning restaurant surcharges. The state attorney general’s office confirmed on Tuesday that a new California law banning junk fees will also apply to the increasingly widespread practice of adding service fees to restaurant bills, a source of irritation for many diners. The rule means restaurants will have to fold their rising costs into menu prices. A Bay Area restaurant industry leader predicted dire consequences: “We can’t pay the wages we’re paying now unless we dramatically increase prices and hope guests actually come in and pay those prices.” S.F. Chronicle | KCRA
- “I don’t trust prices anymore.” In a survey of Bay Area diners, 80% said they were eating out less. S.F. Chronicle
4.
California’s population rose last year for the first time since the pandemic began in 2020, new data showed. The population increased by 0.17% — or more than 67,000 people — between Jan. 1, 2023, and Jan. 1, 2024, when it reached 39.13 million people, according to estimates from the California Department of Finance. Analysts attributed the shift to a drop in mortality and a rebound in legal immigration. “We’re back, and we’re returning to a rate of steady, stable growth,” said H.D. Palmer, a department spokesman. L.A. Times | Bloomberg
5.
For about 30 years, a migrant farmworker kept meticulous records of his work on farms along the West coast: where he worked, how much money he earned, where that money went. The notes revealed his sacrifices, such as how he harvested wild cactus for food so he could send every dollar home. Now 80, he is back in Mexico, his spine bent by years of labor. His grandchildren, roughly college-aged, are making plans to enter medicine, dentistry, and the U.S. military. One of them, Xavier Martinez, is studying journalism at Stanford. He told the story of how his abuelo built generational wealth, penny by penny. L.A. Times
6.
The Michelin Guide, the world’s most widely recognized authority on fine dining, is now turning its attention to hotels. In a debut ranking unveiled last week, Michelin recognized 124 hotels nationwide, bestowing them with one, two, or three “keys.” Roughly half are in California, including seven out of 11 three-key recipients. Of those seven, three are within 35 miles of each other in Northern California’s wine country, including Auberge du Soleil, pictured above. SFGATE
- Explore the full list of California’s Michelin-rated hotels, including a handful with rooms listed for under $300 a night (curated here).
7.
Some doubt the existence of the green flash, the elusive flicker that appears to peel off top of the setting sun. Others cite legends of the flash granting special powers to those lucky enough to witness it. While evidence for that is scant, the celestial phenomenon is very real. The Bay Area meteorologist and photographer Jan Null, a green flash connoisseur, has a pile of photographs to prove it. KQED
Northern California
8.
The Silicon Valley-backed campaign to build a utopian city in rural Solano County said on Tuesday that it submitted enough signatures to put the issue before local voters in November. Jan Sramek, the former Goldman Sachs trader leading the campaign, said he’s heard from thousands of people who back the plan: “They are fed up with this malaise that’s plagued California for the last 20 years with this culture of saying no to everything that has made it increasingly impossible for working families to reach the California dream.” A.P. | Bloomberg
9.
During a congressional hearing on Wednesday, Republicans hoping to show that Covid-19 originated in a Chinese lab will rely on evidence uncovered by a tiny nonprofit in Oakland called U.S. Right to Know. Its leader, Gary Ruskin, is a disciple of consumer activist Ralph Nader who says he has merely followed the evidence and then publicized it. On proving Covid’s origins, Ruskin said: “We’ve come closer to that than I ever would have guessed.” Politico
10.
Two adults were charged with child abduction in the disappearance of Mint Butterfield, the 16-year-old child of Slack co-founder Stewart Butterfield. The teenager, whom officials said has a history of substance abuse, ran away from home in Bolinas on April 21 and was found a week later in the Tenderloin in the back of a van belonging to Christopher Dizefalo, a 26-year-old parking valet. He was charged with child abduction and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. The details of the other adult’s alleged involvement were not disclosed. SF Standard | S.F. Chronicle
Southern California
11.
“I’m tired of being messed with.”
After San Diego adopted an ordinance banning homeless encampments from favored sites like sidewalks and parks, city officials touted figures that showed a sharp drop-off in homeless people downtown. Less publicized has been the growing trend of homeless people flocking to the surrounding canyons and riverbanks — out of sight and out of mind. Reporters visited an island in the San Diego River, where tent dwellers have created a community surrounded by polluted water. It’s hard living, residents say, but the police don’t come around. iNewsource
12.
The La Jolla Playhouse played a starring role in the 2024 Tony nominations, as two shows that started their journey at the theater — “The Outsiders” and “Lempicka” — earned a combined 15 nominations. A third production by La Jolla resident Alicia Keys, “Hell’s Kitchen,” picked up 13 nominations. A.P./S.D. Union-Tribune
- Better known for its world-class beaches, San Diego is one of the country’s premier theater towns. The Playhouse and the Old Globe, in Balboa Park, have sent nearly 60 productions to Broadway since the 1980s. See what’s on the calendar. 👉Lajollaplayhouse.org | Theoldglobe.org
- See the full list of Tony Award nominations. Vulture
Correction
An earlier version of this newsletter misstated the location of The Old Globe Theater. It is in Balboa Park, not La Jolla.
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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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