Good morning. It’s Thursday, Jan. 25.
- Police agencies ignore law allowing noncitizen officers.
- Homeless caves discovered along banks of Tuolumne River.
- And six dead bodies found at crossroads in Mojave Desert.
Statewide
1.
Republican Assemblyman Vince Fong is former Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s chosen successor. But in December, California election officials barred him from running for Congress because he was already on the ballot for his state post. He sued and won. This week, California’s secretary of state, Shirley Weber, appealed that ruling, insisting that no one can run for two offices in the same election. Fong called the move a partisan ploy. “This is a dangerous interference in our election process and is clearly intended to disenfranchise Central Valley voters,” he said. Fresno Bee | San Joaquin Valley Sun
2.
Legislation intended to make roads safer would require that new California vehicles have speed governors that prevent drivers from going more than 10 mph over posted limits. The technology already exists. It’s just a matter of implementing it, said state Sen. Scott Wiener, who introduced the bill on Wednesday: “We have speed limits, and they exist for a reason.” Opposition is expected from the auto industry and those who see the mandate as government overreach. S.F. Chronicle | SF Standard
3.
On Jan. 1, 2023, California enacted a law that allows noncitizens to serve as police officers. A year later, an informal poll showed that only about a dozen officers have gotten jobs through the law, almost all of them hired by the LAPD. Despite recruiting crises, law enforcement agencies in San Francisco, Oakland, Bakersfield, Stockton, Riverside and Long Beach have hired no noncitizen officers. Some law enforcement leaders have voiced concerns about vetting. CalMatters
- University of California officials want to let undocumented students hold campus jobs. The Biden administration urged them to reconsider. Politico
Northern California
4.
Shasta County supervisors on Tuesday passed a resolution to allow concealed weapons in government buildings. Supervisor Patrick Jones, who runs a gun store in Redding, crafted the measure in defiance of a new state law that prohibits people from carrying concealed guns in most public places. How local law enforcement will interpret the overlapping measures is an open question. Shasta County’s sheriff has said he believes the state law is unconstitutional. Redding Record Searchlight | L.A. Times
5.
In 2022, San Francisco officials organized a party to celebrate plans to add a single public toilet in Noe Valley’s town square with a projected cost of $1.7 million and a construction timeline of more than two years. The episode became a symbol of the city’s dysfunction, mocked by opinion writers, late-night comedians, and politicians. Fifteen months later, Noe Valley still needs a toilet. “Why isn’t there a toilet here?” said Ted Weinstein, a literary agent who lives in Noe Valley. “I just don’t get it. Nobody does.” N.Y. Times
6.
“Fire in the hole, fire in the hole, fire in the hole.”
A key sequence of steps in removing dams along Northern California’s Klamath River involves tunneling into the base of the dams, stopping just short of punching through, then blasting the final concrete “plug” free with massive amounts of dynamite. On Tuesday, a video crew caught the pivotal moment as crews exploded a hole through Copco No. 1, the fourth and final dam to be removed along the river. Lost Coast Outpost | Oregon Public Broadcasting
- The world’s largest dam removal project is entering its final stretch. Smithsonian Magazine
7.
The Federal Trade Commission this week ordered Intuit, the Mountain Vew maker of TurboTax, to halt its deceptive advertising for “free” tax-filing software. For years, Intuit touted its product as “free, free, free.” But for most customers, it was not. Common tax circumstances, such as having unemployment income or property deductions, required filers to pay, commonly over $100. They often learned this only after having entered much of their tax information and did not want to start over. ProPublica
8.
A river cleanup crew found people living in eight elaborate cave dwellings carved into the banks of the Tuolumne River in Modesto over the weekend. The homes — complete with bedding, fireplaces, wall art, and built-in shelves — were hidden from view about 20 feet down an embankment. They have since been cleared out and sealed off behind yellow caution tape. CBS News
- See video of the cave dwellings. 👉 YouTube
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Southern California
9.
Six people were found shot dead at a remote dirt crossroads in the Mojave Desert late Tuesday, the authorities said. Deputies responding to a call for a welfare check found the grisly scene just off Highway 395 in the small desert community of El Mirage, located about 50 miles northeast of Los Angeles. TV helicopters captured video of two vehicles that appeared to be riddled with bullet holes. Officials offered no details on the victims, potential suspects, or what may have have precipitated the bloodshed. Fox 11 | A.P.
- Aerial video of the crime scene. 👉 YouTube
10.
On the “Barbie” snub discourse:
- Bette Midler: “This movie not only resonated deeply but also grossed a billion dollars. Yet, in a twist of irony, it was Ken who received the Oscar nomination. Everyone go re-watch Barbie tonight.”
- Hillary Clinton: “Greta & Margot, while it can sting to win the box office but not take home the gold, your millions of fans love you. You’re both so much more than Kenough.”
- Journalist Marianne Eloise: “this barbie thing is actually like some kind of mass hysteria/psychosis. it was nominated for eight oscars. it shouldn’t have been. many well-deserving women were nominated. you are being insane”
- N.Y. Times’ Pamela Paul: “You can dislike ‘Barbie’ without hating on women. Sometimes a movie is just a movie. And sometimes, alas, not a good one.”
- Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation: “hypothetically, if I was going to nominate a film about a badger, starring a badger, called ‘Badger,’ for best picture… I would also nominate the badger, right?”
11.
Created in 1975, San Diego’s Frozen Zoo was once a laboratory curiosity. Today, it is the world’s largest living biobank of endangered plant and animal DNA. Stored in tanks pressurized at minus 320 degrees Fahrenheit, the DNA can be thawed after decades for genome sequencing — or cloning. It sounds like science fiction, but not far from the lab a Przewalski’s horse foal named Ollie gallops around a private enclosure. He was created from a stallion’s DNA banked more than 40 years ago. Orion Magazine
12.
The colorful inhabitants of Slab City, a squatter settlement deep within the Sonoran Desert, have been a magnet for photographers for years. On his visit, the Canadian photographer Jean-François Bouchard chose instead to focus on the nearby trees, which to his eye evoked a metaphor for the slabbers’ cruel existence. Lonely and seemingly clinging to life, each is adorned with trash blown from the camp by the desert wind. They are somehow still beautiful. JFBbouchard.com | Dart Magazine
Correction
An earlier version of this newsletter misspelled the name of a river. It’s the Tuolumne River, not the Tuolomne River.
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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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