Good morning. It’s Tuesday, June 4.
- Triple-digit heat expected across valleys and deserts.
- California teachers embrace AI tools in grading.
- And San Bernardino County leaders push secession.
Statewide
1.
Temperatures are about to ramp up in California’s first major heat wave of 2024. Forecasters said the state’s Central Valley and southern deserts would see afternoon highs well into the 100s between Wednesday and Friday. Death Valley could hit 120. Communities from Calexico to Redding were under excessive heat warnings, the National Weather Service’s most severe alert. Accuweather | Fox Weather
- The latest temperature forecasts:
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See California’s best secret beaches and swimming holes.
2.
California teachers are increasingly using artificial intelligence to help grade student assignments. But the state’s educational authorities are not monitoring how the technology is being used. Jen Roberts, an English teacher who has embraced AI, said teachers spend way too many hours grading papers. “My job is to make sure you grow, and that you’re a healthy, happy, literate adult by the time you graduate from high school, and I will use any tool that helps me do that, and I’m not going to get hung up on the moral aspects of that,” she said. CalMatters
3.
Scott Wiener, a state lawmaker known for his housing and drug legalization efforts, has been positioning himself to win the powerful House seat held by former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, whenever it opens up. But he may face a formidable obstacle: Pelosi’s daughter, Christine Pelosi, is widely speculated to be eyeing the seat as well. “It’s very difficult for anybody to challenge the name Pelosi,” said former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown. “Nancy Pelosi is basically the foremost Democrat in this state.” Politico
4.
The N.Y. Times’ T Magazine convened a panel of experts to choose 25 images that have best captured the world since 1955. Two of their selections came from California: Blair Stapp’s 1968 portrait of Huey P. Newton seated in a rattan chair with a rifle and spear, above, an image that became synonymous with Oakland’s Black Panther Party; and Ed Ruscha’s 1966 “Every Building on the Sunset Strip,” which the magazine called “a kind of time travel” to a long-lost Los Angeles.
- Explore “12 Sunsets,” an online exhibition of Ruscha’s Sunset photos.
Northern California
5.
A massive fire ripped through an affordable housing complex under construction on the San Francisco Peninsula on Monday. Work on the $155 million North Fair Oaks development began in 2023 and was supposed to open by next year with 179 sorely needed units. The structure was a total loss, fire officials said. “It’s sickening,” said San Mateo County Supervisor Warren Slocum, who shepherded the project for years. “It’s a tragedy to see this go up in flames. I’m just heartbroken about this.” The origin of the blaze was under investigation. KTVU | Mercury News
- See video of the fire and aftermath. 👉 @janellewang
6.
Sam Altman, the OpenAI CEO, owns no stake in the artificial intelligence company and takes a yearly salary of just $65,000, saying he wants to avoid the corrupting temptations of wealth. But he manages a sprawling investment empire that includes companies benefiting from OpenAI’s success, putting him on both sides of deals. Altman controls 7.9% of Reddit, for example. When the two companies announced a data licensing deal last month, his stake in Reddit increased by $79 million. Wall Street Journal
7.
Before the pandemic, San Francisco’s storied Powell Street bustled with visitors and residents. “It was Times Square West,” said one building owner. Today, the retail corridor from Market Street to Union Square is lined with colorful “for lease” ads on every window. City officials have announced a $6 million plan to kick-start Powell’s recovery, including $4 million for street and sidewalk improvements. But stakeholders like Julie Taylor, a local broker, have doubts: “If it takes $1.5 million to build a toilet in Noe Valley, what are we going to do with $4 million over three blocks?” S.F. Chronicle
Southern California
8.
After Planned Parenthood signed a lease to open a clinic in the Inland Empire city of Fontana in 2022, anti-abortion advocates began to complain about the plans during City Council meetings. “Health care does not involve killing someone,” one speaker said. Then last July, the city changed the zoning rules, effectively blocking the clinic. Now Planned Parenthood is suing Fontana, accusing officials of hiding behind zoning law because they cannot legally deny the permit, “a plainly unconstitutional act.” CalMatters
9.
Early this year, a pack of “wolf-type” dogs terrorized a neighborhood in Shasta County, killing a dog, reports said. The animals were ultimately seized by authorities, condemning them to uncertain fates. Beautiful and intelligent, wolf-dog hybrids commonly attract owners who don’t appreciate the animal’s other traits: high energy, a love of late-night howling, and expert escape skills. Roughly 90% are euthanized by the age of 2. SFGATE profiled California’s only wolf hybrid sanctuary in Palmdale, where the rescuing goes both ways through therapy programs for at-risk groups.
10.
The leaders of a campaign in San Bernardino County to secede from the state of California and create a 51st state called “Empire” know that the idea sounds crazy. Even so, the proposal has drawn support from top politicians, including mayors and members of the Board of Supervisors. “I’m never going to be deterred based on other people’s beliefs,” said Jeff Burum, a leader of the statehood movement. “If you can see a path to get there, then for the betterment of mankind, you need to pursue it.” CalMatters
11.
The Southern California taco empire Rubio’s Coastal Grill abruptly closed 48 stores on Friday, about a third of its total franchises. The closings, coming a month after Red Lobster filed for bankruptcy, are the latest sign of distress in a restaurant industry squeezed by inflation and higher labor costs. In a statement, Rubio’s cited the “rising cost of doing business in California.” On April 1, California enacted a $20 an hour minimum wage for fast-food employees that industry leaders warned would force job cuts. L.A. Times | S.F. Chronicle
12.
In Margeaux Walter’s photographs of the Southern California desert, something is off. In one image, a voting booth is set against colored rocks in Mecca. In another, a lone juice bar mirrors the red-orange of the setting sun in Joshua Tree. The pictures are meant to speak to our disconnection from the natural world, reflecting what the critic Nathaniel Rich called “the weirdness of a planet behaving utterly unlike itself.” VQR | MargeauxWalter.com
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