Good morning. It’s Wednesday, May 8.
- California helps lead the battery revolution.
- Berkeley schools chief to face antisemitism probe.
- And billionaire couple sues to raze Marilyn Monroe home.
Statewide
1.
The New York Times published a great feature on California’s leading role in the battery energy revolution. Three highlights:
- Since 2020, California has installed more giant batteries than anywhere in the world apart from China.
- The use of batteries to deliver solar power after dark appears to be cutting emissions from fossil fuels. In April, the state’s gas use fell to a seven-year low.
- For a few minutes one day last month, California batteries pumped out 7,046 megawatts of electricity, akin to the output from seven large nuclear reactors.
2.
California’s bee theft problem is getting out of control. Every year, farmers park pallets of bee hives in their orchards in the world’s largest pollination event. The hives, typically unguarded and valued at around $200 each, make easy targets for bee bandits. Last year, a record 2,300 hives were reported stolen, up nearly 80% from the prior year. That figure is poised to rise even higher in 2024. Rowdy Freeman, a Butte County sheriff’s deputy, said he has been left to battle the scourge alone. “It’s just me,” he said. “The state of California has done nothing to help.” Noema Magazine
3.
“It feels like the state lit the fuse to this bomb and is standing back to see what happens.”
Figures from the food industry were dismayed to learn last month that a new state law banning so-called “junk fees” would apply to surcharges at restaurants. But columnist Dan Walters argued that restaurateurs, like any business operator, should post prices that reflect the costs to operate. “Some are arguing, instead, that to attract customers they must mislead them with lowball prices,” he wrote. CalMatters
4.
Hipcamp, the popular booking site for private camping and glamping, released its 2024 list of the 20 “best all-around campgrounds” across the U.S. In the No. 3 spot: Finnon Lake Recreation Area, pictured above. Nestled in the Sierra foothills not far from Placerville, the lake was acquired by a local fire agency in 1997 as a water source in a deal that stipulated it be maintained for public recreation. Regulars say it’s a magical place, with spacious lakeside campsites, incredible views, and a 27-hole disc golf course. Hipcamp
- Hipcamp also recognized Diamond Gulch in Groveland, Finley Camp in Bodega Bay, Splitrock Farm and Retreat in Fallbrook, and Cosumnes River Ranch in Plymouth.
Northern California
5.
Today, Berkeley’s public schools superintendent, Enikia Ford Morthel, is scheduled to testify before a congressional committee as part of a Republican-led inquiry into campus antisemitism. Berkeley’s school community has long been known as a bastion of liberal thought, with families and teachers usually in sync on political and social matters. But Oct. 7 and its aftermath changed the equation. “There’s a definite fracture,” said one parent. “People who were just marching together for Black lives are now at each other’s throats.” N.Y. Times
- Watch the hearing, starting at 7:15 a.m. local time. YouTube
6.
In 2020, an elite high school in Mountain View forced out two students over a photo taken three years earlier, when the boys were 14, showing them with their faces painted dark green. The school saw it as blackface. The parents explained that it was acne medication, saying it was all a big misunderstanding. On Monday, the jury in a lawsuit against the school sided with the families, awarding them $1 million. Frank Hughes, the father of one of the boys, said the episode led him to move his family to Utah. Under the ruling, the school must also reimburse their moving costs. S.F. Chronicle | Daily Post
7.
OpenAI is developing a search engine for ChatGPT that would be able to crawl the web, potentially competing directly with Google, Bloomberg reported, citing an unnamed source. The feature would produce results that include images and text citing sources like Wikipedia entries and blog posts. If asked how to change a doorknob, for instance, the search results might include a diagram to illustrate the task. Sources told the The Verge that OpenAI has been trying to poach Google employees for a team that is working hard to ship the product soon. Bloomberg
8.
Montana’s Pekin Noodle Parlor, founded in 1909, is commonly known as America’s oldest continuously operating Chinese restaurant. But a hole-in-the wall Chinese restaurant outside Sacramento called the Chicago Cafe traces its origin to 1903. After a research effort, a UC Davis professor said he’s “fairly certain” the date is accurate. One piece of evidence: a 1940 report in the Woodland Daily Democrat. “For over 37 years,” it read, “the Chicago Restaurant has served Woodland well with the finest of foods at extremely low prices.” The Guardian
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Southern California
9.
UCLA authorities are embracing the detective tactics used in Jan. 6 investigations to identify dozens of people who attacked a pro-Palestinian encampment on campus last week. Following the FBI’s playbook, investigators are scanning hundreds of cellphone images from the melee on the night of April 30 and plan to use technology that matches them with others on the internet, putting names to faces. “It is shaping up to be perhaps the biggest case in the history of the UCLA Police Department,” the L.A. Times wrote.
10.
A billionaire couple is suing for the right to demolish Marilyn Monroe’s Los Angeles home. The Hollywood icon bought the house in 1962 and died there six months later after an apparent overdose. The phrase “Cursum Perficio” — Latin for “the journey ends here” — was adorned in tile on the front porch. Real estate heiress Brinah Milstein and her husband own the house next door and want to combine the two properties. In their lawsuit, they accuse city officials of acting unconstitutionally in their efforts to designate the home as a landmark. L.A. Times
- It’s not just Chris Pratt. America’s appetite for McMansions is devouring historic houses across the United States. Washington Post
11.
After months of training, Esteban Prado ran the fastest time at the OC Marathon on Sunday, finishing in 2 hours, 24 minutes, 54 seconds. But shortly after the race, he learned that he was not the winner. Race officials disqualified Prado for taking water from his father while running, violating a rule against receiving “unauthorized assistance.” Prado said he was unaware of the rule. He scoffed at the official winner, who informed race officials about the violation. “I know I won,” Prado said. KABC | USA Today
12.
A Monrovia homeowner captured video of a family of bears as they took a stroll through his backyard Monday afternoon. Rick Martinez said it’s not unusual to spot the occasional bear lumbering about the town in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. But this family included two little cubs who watched curiously as their mother took a dip in the pool. “We haven’t seen cubs that little before, and it was the cutest thing ever,” he said. NBC Los Angeles
- See Martinez’s video. 👉 @rickymartinez87
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