Good morning. It’s Wednesday, June 19.
- Movement to ban phones in schools gets major boost.
- Nvidia becomes the world’s most valuable company.
- And Giants legend Willie Mays dies at 93 in Palo Alto.
Statewide
1.
All of a sudden, the movement to remove cellphones from schools has kicked into high gear. Early Tuesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom revealed plans to severely restrict the use of phones in schools statewide. Hours later, school leaders in Los Angeles approved their own strict cellphone ban. Board President Jackie Goldberg recalled a recent visit to a high school where a group of students stared into their devices during lunch. She was horrified to discover they were messaging with each other rather than talking. “This is an addiction that is serious,” she said. L.A. Times | Politico
2.
The total area burned by wildfires in California to date is among the largest in three decades, an analysis found. From Jan. 1 to June 17, fires marched across more than 61,000 acres, an area equivalent to roughly two San Franciscos, the National Interagency Coordination Center said. In only three years since 1995 has the total for that period been higher. Experts noted that the landscape will only grow drier over the summer. “The bad news is I think that the back half of this season is going to be much more active,” said UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain. S.F. Chronicle
- See live fire map. 👉 Cal Fire
3.
A California regulator said on Tuesday that it fined Amazon $6 million for violations of a law designed to prevent warehouse workers from being pushed to unsafe extremes. The retail giant failed to provide written explanations of productivity quotas that apply to warehouse workers in Moreno Valley and Redlands, the commission said. During a news conference, employees described an opaque evaluation system that ratchets up pressure on them. “It’s maddening. … They treat us like one of their robots,” said Nannette Plascencia. Amazon denied the allegations. CalMatters | A.P.
4.
Blue states are on average more patriotic than red states, according to an analysis that weighed per capita metrics such as military enlistment, voter participation, and volunteerism. The report found that California is more patriotic than Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and other states that favor Republicans. That said, California fell short overall: It ranked 35th among states, dragged down by poor marks in volunteerism and the share of civilians in the military reserves. One bright spot: That state was No. 1 in history and civics education. Sacramento Bee
Northern California
5.
“If there was a guy born to play baseball, it was Willie Mays.”
— Ted Williams
Willie Mays died on Tuesday in Palo Alto. His brilliance at the plate and in the outfield for the Giants led many to call him the greatest all-around baseball player in history. Born in Jim Crow-era Alabama in 1931, Mays became the youngest Black player to reach the majors at age 20 and played 22 seasons, finishing his career with 660 home runs — then the third-most of all time — two National League MVP awards, and 12 Gold Gloves. But the ebullience of the Say Hey Kid, a nickname that referred to his warm greetings, elevated his stature beyond the game, making him one of America’s most beloved figures. Mays was 93. Washington Post | N.Y. Times
- Mays electrified baseball with an over-the-shoulder grab during the 1954 World Series that became known simply as “The Catch.” See it here.
6.
Nvidia is now the world’s most valuable company after a Tuesday rally sent the Santa Clara’s chipmaker’s market capitalization to $3.34 trillion, leapfrogging both Apple and Microsoft. Since its initial public offering in 1999, Nvidia has become the best performing stock of the last quarter-century, with a total return of 591,078%, Bloomberg wrote: “It’s a difficult number to comprehend and a testament, in part, to the financial mania brewing around artificial intelligence and how investors have come to see Nvidia — which makes the cutting-edge chips powering the technology — as the single-biggest winner of the boom.”
7.
Oakland’s mayor, Sheng Thao, will face a recall vote after the city clerk said on Tuesday that enough signatures had been gathered to put the question on the November ballot. The development makes Thao the second progressive city leader to face a potential ouster, along with District Attorney Pamela Price, as critics have blamed their policies for rising crime. “We have to stop the wound and then by stopping it we can work on healing it,” said Edward Escobar, a recall organizer. S.F. Chronicle | Oaklandside
8.
A 34-year-old man named Casey Goonan was arrested Monday in connection with a series of arson attacks at UC Berkeley that were claimed by pro-Palestinian activists. The firebombings coincided with a six-day protest called “Operation Campus Flood,” an apparent reference to “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood,” the name Hamas used for the Oct. 7 attacks. Goonan, who lives in his parents’ Pleasant Hill home, holds a doctorate of African American studies and has described himself as a “scholar-activist.” In online writings, he called the U.S. a “god-awful fascist hell hole.” Berkeley Scanner | SF Standard
Southern California
9.
The Venice Canals community, where multimillion-dollar homes perch above the water, has been shaken by unusually brutal attacks on two women outside one night in early April. Surveillance video captured part of the assault on Mary Klein, 55, showing a man dragging her body, sexually assaulting her, and kicking her in the head. She lost three teeth. Moments later, a second attack left a woman in a coma for weeks before she was taken off of life support. Anthony Jones, a homeless 29-year-old, was charged with forcible rape, murder, attempted murder, mayhem, torture, and sodomy by use of force. L.A. Times
10.
In late 2020, the Manhattan Beach electric carmaker Fisker was valued at $2.9 billion on optimism that it could mimic Tesla’s success. On Tuesday, it filed for bankruptcy. Fisker was the second electric startup to do so in the last year as demand for electric vehicles slowed. Sales of electric vehicles grew only 3.3% in the first quarter of the year, compared to 47% growth a year earlier. Two other California electric vehicle makers have also struggled. Rivian, in Irvine, saw its stock value halved in the last year. The Bay Area’s Lucid announced a major round of layoffs in May. SFGATE | L.A. Times
11.
Last year, Los Angeles inadvertently released the names and photos of undercover police officers to a journalist named Ben Camacho, who handed them over to an group called the Stop LAPD Spying Coalition, which put it all online. The city responded with a pair of lawsuits, one trying to claw the photos back and another seeking damages for officers harmed by the publication. Now the legal proceedings have ended with dual victories for Camacho and the nonprofit: The city agreed to drop one lawsuit and pay $300,000 in defense attorney fees, while a judge dismissed the second suit. “The media cannot be punished for publishing truthful information,” he said. Courthouse News
12.
The founder of the Oakley eyewear brand, James Jannard, just sold his Malibu home for $210 million, making it the priciest home sale in California history. The size of the oceanfront estate is virtually unrivaled in Malibu, spanning 9.5 acres with a vast courtyard and 15,000-square-foot Palladio-style main house. The deal was done quietly, with no public listing. The buyer hasn’t been disclosed. It delivered a fantastic profit for Jannard, who paid $75 million for the home in 2012. L.A. Times | TMZ
- Pictures of the home are scarce, but this site has some. 👉 Homes of the Rich
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