Good morning. It’s Friday, March 7.
- Gov. Gavin Newsom’s trans comments jolt Democrats.
- San Jose mayor: jail homeless who refuse housing.
- And a tour of a modernist masterpiece by John Lautner.
Statewide
1.
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s newly voiced opposition to transgender girls and women competing in female sports delivered a jolt to the 2028 race, as some fellow Democratic leaders unloaded on the likely presidential contender on Thursday. Others, however, cited recent polling that shows a sizable majority of Democratic voters share Newsom’s perspective. “To moderates, Newsom was offering a lifeline for a party plagued by the culture wars and the polarizing politics of trans women in sports,” Politico wrote.
- “It is an issue of fairness.” Listen to Newsom’s remarks in conversation with the conservative activist Charlie Kirk (beginning around the 26-minute mark). 👉 Spotify
2.
A sampling of reactions to Newsom’s comments:
- California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus: “We woke up profoundly sickened and frustrated by these remarks.”
- Lori Lightfoot, the former Chicago mayor: “It’s disgusting.”
- Mother Jones writer Inae Oh: “Gavin Newsom’s MAGA drift is here.”
- Rep. Seth Moulton, Democrat of Massachusetts: “More and more are willing to say what they’ve probably always thought — and that’s a good thing.”
- A Democratic strategist in a swing state, speaking anonymously: “We just stepped too far out of the bounds and let the far left drive the narrative.”
- Politico’s Christopher Cadelago: “Democrats have to confront why they’re clinging to the losing side of an 80-20 issue. … Newsom knows this.”
3.
Two California Democrats were among 10 members of their party to join with Republicans in a House vote on Thursday to censure Texas Rep. Al Green for heckling President Trump during his address to Congress. Rep. Ami Bera, of Sacramento County, and Rep. Jim Costa, of the southern San Joaquin Valley, are both moderates. Bera said Green played into Trump’s hands by drawing unwanted attention. “We shouldn’t be talking about Al Green,” he said. “We should be talking about Donald Trump.” The progressive group Indivisible called the defections “cowardly.” KCRA | N.Y. Times
4.
Nearly 4,000 campsites across California’s 18 national forests could close this summer as a result of staff reductions and budget freezes, according to an internal U.S. Forest Service document. The agency confirmed that it has fired 2,000 employees, not including firefighters. Among the proposed closures is Kennedy Meadows Campground in Inyo National Forest, a crucial stop along the Pacific Crest Trail. Visitor centers could close in Lassen, Shasta-Trinity, Sequoia, and other national forests. N.Y. Times | S.F. Chronicle
- On Wednesday, the Sierra Club sued over firings of National Park Service and Forest Service workers, arguing that the action usurped congressional authority. Backpacker magazine
5.
On this week’s California Sun Podcast, host Jeff Schechtman talked with Gregory Weaver, a Fresnoland journalist who wrote recently about a land conservation program that has delivered a windfall to mega-farms. The 1965 Williamson Act was meant to protect family farms from suburban sprawl. It now subsidizes Wall Street investors with tax dollars that could otherwise pay for local schools or police departments. “It’s gone nearly unquestioned for decades,” Weaver said.
Northern California
6.
Last month San Jose opened a highly anticipated interim housing project, but roughly a third of the homeless people who were offered units refused to come indoors, Mayor Matt Mahan said on Thursday. So he wants the city to try a new tack: jail time for anyone who rebuffs offers of housing. “Homelessness can’t be a choice,” Mahan said of the planned ordinance. “I’m proposing that after three offers of shelter, we hold people accountable for turning their lives around.” L.A. Times | KQED
7.
After Fremont adopted a law prohibiting “aiding and abetting” homeless encampments on Feb. 11, critics portrayed the city as a national symbol of callousness toward the poor. City leaders were surprised by the ferocity of the backlash. Mayor Raj Salwan, a mild-mannered veterinarian, noted that Fremont has invested generously in helping the homeless: a 66-bed shelter, job training, teams that provide mental health care. “We’re not one of those cities that has run away from the issue. … We’ve always wanted to help tackle it and address it,” he said. L.A. Times
8.
Just for kicks, a Bay Area software engineer named Vincent Woo created a 3D model of San Francisco’s Sutro Tower that you can fly through and interact with. Woo said the exquisite detail of the project was achieved by mashing together thousands of drone photographs through a rendering technique called Gaussian splatting. It’s very cool. Explore it here. 👉 Vincentwoo.com
Southern California
9.
When Brandon Yates, 24, was locked up after a mental health crisis last year, San Diego County sheriff’s deputies put him in a cell with an inmate known for violent outbursts. That inmate, a lawsuit alleged, tortured and raped Yates, who pressed a panic button and screamed for help only to be ignored by deputies for more than an hour. When they finally checked on him, Yates was dead, his naked body staged like Jesus on the cross. Yates’ parents recently filed a lawsuit. “We’ve read cases,” said his mother, Andrea Carrier. “This is not an isolated incident.” Washington Post | CBS8
10.
A study found that 13% of turkey vultures in the Los Angeles area are testing positive for anticoagulant rodenticide. The poison works by causing excessive bleeding, often internally. Its presence in turkey vultures suggests that the chemical is permeating the food web. That’s despite California being the only state to ban anticoagulant rodenticides, with restrictions dating back to 2020. But there are loopholes: the agriculture industry and food producers are exempt. High Country News
11.
“I kind of think of it as the ‘Fallingwater‘ of the West Coast. It really is that significant.”
Silvertop, a home perched on a Los Angeles hillside, is considered one of the architect John Lautner’s modernist masterpieces. But it was never properly finished. The home was abandoned after eight years of work and sold in bankruptcy in 1974 to a couple who made it habitable and lived there for 40 years. Now the masterwork has undergone an extensive renovation that aimed to realize Lautner’s vision. The architect on the project gave a tour. YouTube (~7 mins)
In case you missed it
12.
Five items that got big views over the past week:
- When the San Diego Union-Tribune ran the picture above showing an accessory dwelling unit project in January, reader Greg Gillespie dashed off an angry letter. “I literally became nauseous looking at the photo,” he wrote. Now San Diego is rolling back its controversial ADU incentive. S.D. Union-Tribune | Axios
- President Trump said his tariffs were imposed as a consequence for illegal migration from Mexico. But the migrants are gone, the New York Times reported.
- When Stanford professor Dr. Bryant Lin was diagnosed with lung cancer last year, he estimated that the drug he was given would work for about two years. Instead of pulling back from work, he designed a course called “From Diagnosis to Dialogue: A Doctor’s Real-Time Battle With Cancer.” N.Y. Times
- In 2013, the artist Jack Pierson unveiled a sculpture of 14-foot-tall silver letters that spelled “THE END OF THE WORLD,” a riff on the Hollywood sign. Years later, the artwork found a fitting home in the Mojave Desert, where it assumed a fresh meaning: proof of a destination reached. Roadside America
- Columnist Matthew A. Winkler on how “California keeps making the U.S. great”: “Among the many superlatives that can be assigned to the Golden State, consider that there isn’t a major industry in any of the other 49 states that comes close to overtaking its California counterpart.” Bloomberg
Thanks for reading!
The California Sun is written by Mike McPhate, a former California correspondent for the New York Times.
Make a one-time contribution to the California Sun.
Give a subscription as a gift.
Get a California Sun mug, T-shirt, phone case, hat, or hoodie.
Forward this email to a friend.
Click here to stop delivery, and here to update your billing information. To change your email address please email me: mike@californiasun.co. (Note: Unsubscribing here does not cancel payments. To do that click here.)
The California Sun, PO Box 6868, Los Osos, CA 93412
Wake up to must-read news from around the Golden State delivered to your inbox each morning.