Good morning. It’s Monday, March 31.
- Protesters escalate movement targeting Tesla.
- Stanford nurses resort to sleeping in their vehicles.
- And Oakland’s Alysa Liu captures skating world title.
Statewide
1.
Crowds gathered outside Tesla showrooms across California on Saturday in what was described as the most widespread protest yet against Elon Musk’s purge of the U.S. government under President Trump. “Tesla Takedown” rallies were planned at more than 270 dealerships across the U.S., including locations from San Diego to suburban Sacramento and from the Monterey coast to the Central Valley. In Rocklin, hundreds of anti-Musk protesters were met by Trump supporters waving MAGA and DOGE flags, prompting some clashes captured by a Sacramento Bee photographer.
- The state’s Democratic lawmakers embraced another form of resistance: They announced plans to quit Musk’s X en masse. Politico
2.
A wildfire erupted near the Eastern Sierra town of Bishop on Sunday, a rare conflagration coming toward the end of California’s traditional rainy season. Driven by whipping winds that grounded firefighting aircraft, the Silver Fire spread rapidly across roughly 1,000 acres by early evening, officials said. Cal Fire ordered several communities to evacuate, citing “immediate threat to life.” While California as a whole received decent precipitation this season, it was lopsided toward the northern half of the state. L.A. Times | S.F. Chronicle
3.
A Paso Robles teenager who shows pigs at livestock competitions has become an internet sensation with her intense staring technique. It’s not a gimmick. In the “swine showmanship” category, handlers are evaluated in part on their focus and confidence. On social media, videos of Karis Dadson’s icy stare and stylish western wear have brought the niche sport to the masses while making her a surprising star. “She finds the whole thing very weird,” the New York Times reported.
Northern California
4.
The sheriff of a thinly populated county in the Sierra Nevada announced that he would summon federal immigration agents if he deems any undocumented immigrant in his jail to be “a serious threat.” Sheriff Gary Redman said people think he is a far-right-winger. “But I’m really not. I’m just a guy trying to do right by the county I love.” The San Francisco Chronicle spent time with the only California sheriff to openly vow to defy the state’s sanctuary law.
5.
A prominent San Francisco law practice is speaking out against President Trump’s retribution campaign against law firms. In a New York Times column, the senior partners at Keker, Van Nest & Peters urged other law firms to “find their courage” and stand up for the rule of law:
“Partners at big firms — who often earn millions a year — must be willing to take financial risks when the fate of our nation, the future of our profession and the rule of law itself is at stake.”
6.
Palo Alto, home of Stanford Health Care, is so expensive that the hospital’s nurses regularly sleep in their vehicles when on call. TJ Carella’s job requires him to be at the hospital in 30 minutes or less should a complication arise with a patient. But he lives an hour away in Pleasanton with his wife and three children. So several times a week Carella sleeps overnight in his sprinter van, which he’s outfitted with a cot and a small refrigerator. “On any given day, there’s a row of vans parked in the hospital parking lot,” he said. “A lot of nurses sleep in their cars.” S.F. Chronicle
7.
Oakland’s Alysa Liu became the first American woman to win the figure skating world championship in 19 years on Friday night. Not long after finishing sixth in the 2022 Beijing Winter Games, Liu quit figure skating at 16 years old, having fallen out of love with the sport. But a year ago, Liu felt drawn back to the ice. Now 19 and a student at UCLA, she delivered a flawless performance that seemed driven by a sense of destiny, sportswriters said. Washington Post | NBC Sports
- “If I wasn’t here watching, I don’t know if I would believe this.” Watch Liu’s spellbinding free skate routine. 👉 YouTube
8.
San Francisco hosted a cake picnic on Sunday with just one rule: No cake, no entry. All told, 1,387 cakes — lemon, Jell-O, caramel cookie butter, classic chocolate, and more — were arrayed on long tables on the lawn of the Legion of Honor museum. After photos were captured of the unsliced concoctions, guests were unleashed to collect slices in pastry boxes at will. “I didn’t know what to expect,” said Breanna Hampton, who wore a headband that said “Cake Wasted.” “But this is amazing.” S.F. Chronicle | N.Y. Times
Southern California
9.
The White House abruptly fired a federal prosecutor in Los Angeles on Friday in a highly unusual exercise of presidential power. No reason was given for the dismissal of Adam Schleifer, an assistant U.S. attorney and a registered Democrat. Carley Palmer, a former federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, called it “the most overtly political firing I’ve seen in my time at the Department of Justice.” Trump is said to be considering naming Assemblyman Bill Essayli, a Trump loyalist, as U.S. attorney in Los Angeles. N.Y. Times | L.A. Times
10.
Once overwhelmed by historic numbers of migrant crossings, the California-Mexico border is now nearly empty, the Los Angeles Times reported:
“Shelters that once received migrants have closed, makeshift camps where migrants waited for processing are barren, and nonprofits have begun shifting their services to established immigrants in the U.S. who are facing deportation, or migrants stuck in southern Mexico.”
11.
The actress Candy Clark, who played Debbie in “American Graffiti,” documented her journey through 1970s Hollywood through a series of Polaroid closeups of fellow actors before many of them became famous. She stowed away the pictures of Steven Spielberg, Carrie Fisher, Richard Dreyfuss, David Bowie, and others for decades. Now they have been gathered together for the first time in a new book that recalls, as one reviewer put it, the halcyon cultural moment when “an independent spirit flourished” in Los Angeles. New Yorker | N.Y. Times
In case you missed it
12.
A quick catch-up on headlines you may have missed from the past week:
- On Thursday, the Trump administration unleashed a barrage of actions targeting California. They included a challenge to the state’s ban on parental notification policies and an inquiry into whether universities are considering race in admissions. N.Y. Times
- On Friday, Gov. Gavin Newsom sharpened his critique of the Democratic party, calling its brand “toxic.” “People don’t think we make any damn sense,” he said. L.A. Times | N.Y. Times
- San Francisco, facing a $1 billion budget deficit, spent more than $600,000 on a women’s conference that lasted just eight hours, documents showed. It “spared no expense on food, flowers, lighting and drapes, a fashion show, a DJ, plane tickets, hotel stays, and speaker fees,” the San Francisco Standard reported.
- Democratic lawmakers faced seething anger at a series of town halls across the state. “When is the Democratic Party going to set aside its peacetime leaders and bring up some wartime leaders?” Darren Bly asked Rep. Ro Khanna. “Because that’s what we need.” KQED | Politico
- Also: Anaheim’s former mayor was sentenced to prison for corruption; the Bay Area genetic testing company 23andMe declared bankruptcy; updated fire maps showed that one in eight Californians now face extreme fire danger; and the wife of a slain Cal Fire captain was arrested in Mexico.
Correction
An earlier version of this newsletter misstated the location of a cake picnic in San Francisco. It took place at the Legion of Honor museum not Golden Gate Park.
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.
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.