Good morning. It’s Wednesday, Feb. 26.
- Army Corp official is grilled over January dam releases.
- Border Patrol “went rogue” in Kern County migrant raid.
- And intimate photos of home life in 1960s West Oakland.
Statewide
1.
After cities began passing homeless camping bans across California last year, a handful of cases are now heading for trials that will test the legality of the crackdown. Kevin Little, a lawyer for a man arrested in Fresno, plans to call expert witnesses to testify about the biological necessity of sleeping. “This trial is a way to vindicate an innocent man,” he said, “but it’s also a way to show this ordinance shouldn’t be enforced, shouldn’t be prosecuted.” CalMatters
2.
Less than a week after warning that Medicaid cuts would pose “serious consequences” for his constituents, Republican Rep. David Valadao on Tuesday fell in line with his party to pass a budget plan that is expected to target Medicaid. In Valadao’s swing district in the San Joaquin Valley, 67% of residents are enrolled in Medicaid, the highest share of any House district in California. In a floor speech, he said he heard from “countless” constituents who cannot afford healthcare without Medicaid and vowed to oppose any final bill “that risks leaving them behind.” L.A. Times
3.
“I don’t know what happened to the water.”
“I don’t believe I have an answer to that.”
“I wouldn’t speculate.”
When the Army Corps of Engineers dumped stored irrigation water from two Tulare County reservoirs last month, it said the move was intended to bolster supplies for fighting wildfires — even though the fires in Los Angeles were by then contained, the city had plenty of water, and there was no plausible way to transport the released water to L.A. During an oversight hearing on Tuesday, Democratic Rep. Mike Levin asked Lt. General William H. Graham to explain what happened. Graham repeatedly claimed ignorance. SJV Water
- See video of exchange. 👉 YouTube
Northern California
4.
Two Bay Area acts were disinvited from the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., after President Trump appointed himself as chair. The San Francisco-based International Pride Orchestra and Oakland playwright Jonathan Spector’s “Eureka Day,” which pokes fun at anti-vaxxers, were among a number of shows removed from the lineup. Michael Roest, the orchestra’s founding artistic director, said they were “heartbroken.” Among the acts now being contemplated: Dolly Parton and a “huge celebration of the birth of Christ.” S.F. Chronicle | SFGATE
5.
On the night before the start of an Oakland murder trial in June 2024, the defense attorney on the case, Jennie Otis, said she got a call from then-District Attorney Pamela Price asking for her political support. Otis declined. Hours later, Price added an “enhancement” to the murder charge that could lead to a longer sentence. On Monday, a judge threw out the enhancement, saying it “just doesn’t pass the stink test,” and criticized Price, who was recalled in November, for refusing to explain her actions. Berkeley Scanner | S.F. Chronicle
6.
A Sikh temple in West Sacramento was part of a religious coalition that convinced a federal judge on Monday to block the Trump administration’s attempt to authorize immigration raids in houses of worship. Its its filing, the Sikhs explained their belief that the divine is present in all people — “whatever their religion, social identity, immigration status.” Judge Theodore D. Chuang granted an injunction on religious freedom grounds, while emphasizing that his analysis was tailored to houses of worship that explicitly welcome immigrants. KCRA | CBS Sacramento
7.
“Tesla has become a four-wheel billboard for the immolation of our democracy.”
“The pride and the good feeling I had driving in it is gone for me.”
“Every single time I get in, I think about it.”
Tesla sales are plunging as many car buyers recoil from CEO Elon Musk’s gleeful embrace of MAGA politics. In California, Tesla Model 3 sales fell 36% last year. In Europe, Tesla registrations plummeted 45% in January, compared to a year earlier. On Tuesday, Tesla’s stock was down 37% from its peak in mid-December. Bloomberg | SF Standard | N.Y. Times
- In San Francisco, the sidewalk outside the city’s lone Tesla dealership has become a center of anti-Musk resistance. SFGATE
8.
“I built a darkroom when I could have fixed up a kitchen.”
— Joanne Leonard
When Joanne Leonard moved to West Oakland in 1963, the fresh graduate of UC Berkeley chose the life of a photographer, bringing her camera into the homes of neighbors. The pictures were originally meant for a exhibition on technology in the home, focusing on objects like microwaves and can openers. Over time, Leonard’s intimate chronicles of home life in 1960s Oakland assumed a larger meaning that touched on themes of feminism and cultural upheaval. The Museum of Modern Art hosts an online gallery of 62 pictures from Leonard’s Oakland project.
Southern California
9.
An immigration raid in rural Kern County at the tail end of the Biden administration was conducted by a Border Patrol chief who “went rogue” without the knowledge of higher-ups, former officials told the Los Angeles Times. One of the officials said the move appeared intended to show the incoming administration “that that’s where their loyalties lay.” Immigrant advocates said the agents indiscriminately detained nearly 200 Latino day laborers and field hands, sending waves of fear through immigrant communities across California. L.A. Times
- New ICE data showed that 41% of the individuals detained in the first two weeks of February had no criminal history. NBC Los Angeles
10.
The Trump administration said on Tuesday that it created a registry for unauthorized immigrants to submit their home addresses and fingerprints or face jail time. “No alien will have an excuse for failure to comply with this law,” an announcement said. The move represented a dramatic escalation of President Trump’s effort to drive millions of such immigrants from the country. His message to people in the country illegally is clear, said Tricia McLaughlin, a Homeland Security spokeswoman: “Leave now.” N.Y. Times | L.A. Times
11.
A doorbell camera captured the Feb. 17 killing of a Cal Fire captain in San Diego County, showing her begging for her life days after telling her wife that she was ending their marriage, according to a warrant affidavit. The footage showed Rebecca Marodi running from Yolanda Marodi, her wife, the filing said. “Yolanda! Please! I don’t want to die!” Rebecca could be heard screaming, before appearing on camera with blood on her back. “You should have thought of that before,” responded Yolanda, whose vehicle later crossed into Mexico. L.A. Times | S.D. Union-Tribune
12.
Two years ago, Rudy Diaz began adding some of the country’s first electric heavy-duty trucks to his Long Beach company, Hight Logistics. He now boasts 20 electric trucks among his fleet of 75 tractor trailers. Such efforts were supposed to be the norm. But now President Trump is threatening stringent electrification rules. “The darkening landscape for such rules is a blow to businesses that have poured gobs of money and years of toil into California’s expected clean-energy transition for heavy-duty trucks,” wrote Bloomberg.
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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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