Good morning. It’s Wednesday, Aug. 24.
- A plan to power California with a wind farm in Wyoming.
- Record spending in battle over sports gambling market.
- And hostilities on the waves in Southern California.
Statewide
1.
The reclusive billionaire Phil Anschutz is building the nation’s largest wind farm in Wyoming cattle country. The state’s half-million residents don’t need all that energy, but California’s 40 million do. So Anschutz is also building a 732-mile power line across Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, and Nevada, to ship electricity here. The energy reporter Sammy Roth did a deep dive on the plan that could “forever change the American West.” L.A. Times
2.
“It’s a big market, on a global scale.”
California has the potential to become a multibillion-dollar sports gambling market, larger than any place in the world besides Britain. So it’s no mystery why Native American tribes and other interested parties have spent a staggering $364 million on two sports betting proposals on the November ballot. That’s nearly $160 million more than was raised for the previous record-holder, the 2020 proposition governing gig workers. Bloomberg
3.
Gov. Gavin Newsom made no attempt to negotiate the details of the bill he vetoed Monday that would have allowed supervised drug use in three California cities. Political reporter Jeremy B. White: “His veto has become the latest evidence of his national ambitions as he shows a wariness of swinging too far left and a willingness to anger the progressive wing of a party that helps keep him in office.” Politico
4.
Many Californians fleeing the state for Texas may be disappointed if they are hoping for lower taxes. A study by the Institute of Taxation and Economic Policy found that lower- and middle-income Texans pay more in state and local taxes than Californians. In a ranking of equitability in state taxation systems, Texas was second worst. California was the best. San Antonio Express-News
Northern California
5.
Peiter Zatko, the former head of security at Twitter, accused the company of making false statements about its security practices and lying to Elon Musk about fake accounts. The charges could strengthen Musk’s hand as he tries to walk away from his $44 billion deal to buy Twitter. His lawyers have already subpoenaed Zatko. In a statement, Twitter suggested Zatko was seeking revenge after being fired. Washington Post | N.Y. Times
6.
Paul Pelosi, husband of Speaker Nancy Pelosi, was sentenced to five days in jail on Tuesday after pleading guilty to drunk driving related to a May 28 crash in Napa County. He won’t go back to jail because of time served, conduct credits, and community service. Police officers said Pelosi, 82, slurred his speech and reeked of alcohol after his Porsche collided with an SUV near Yountville. A.P. | S.F. Chronicle
7.
A police officer from Marin County was captured on video appearing to drop off a homeless man in a neighborhood of San Francisco. According to a witness, the man started taking off his clothes and throwing rocks. San Francisco has long complained of other jurisdictions sending homeless people to the city. City Attorney David Chiu said his office was investigating. “Make no mistake. We will hold any jurisdiction accountable that is proven to engage in this behavior,” he said. ABC7 News | S.F. Chronicle
8.
“I called you to tell you, I’m gonna be transitioning. I’m fittin’ to become a man.”
“Oh, yo. That’s, that’s what you wanna do?”
A short film follows a Bay Area musician coming out as a transgender man to the people in his life. The DOC NYC festival awarded “Nasir” its Shorts Grand Jury Prize, praising the film’s “pathos and poetry.” Vimeo | L.A. Times
Southern California
9.
Carlsbad declared a state of emergency over bicycle and e-bike safety, citing a spike in collisions since 2019. The proclamation followed two fatalities this month involving an e-bike rider struck by a vehicle and a cyclist hit by a motorcyclist on the run from police. Local officials said soaring e-bike ridership, especially among young people, had contributed to “conditions of extreme peril.” City News Service | NBC 7
10.
The San Diego Zoo Safari Park announced the Aug. 6 birth of a male southern white rhino to a first-time mother, Livia. The birth was described as a hopeful step in the effort to save the northern white rhino, of which only two remain on earth. Livia may act as a surrogate mother for a northern white rhino embryo. The zoo shared video of her unnamed calf charging around his pen. @sandiegozoo | NBC San Diego
11.
There’s been a surge of reports of hostilities on the waves in Southern California in recent weeks:
- The authorities increased patrols in La Jolla after feuding surfers threw punches and a man was held underwater for what he estimated was about 30 seconds, police said. La Jolla Light
- In Malibu, video of a local realtor, Andy Lyon, smashing another surfer’s board with a rock was shared widely in surfing forums, where he was dubbed “the angriest man in surfing.” Lyon, 59, was fired from his job. He blamed “cancel culture.” The Inertia | Beach Grit
12.
“The vast desert felt as though it was all mine.”
Perusing a photographer’s images of abandoned homesteads in the Southern California desert, the journalist Melody Gutierrez spotted her childhood home. Her parents bought the 714-square-foot house along with the surrounding five acres for $19,000 in 1990. But to Gutierrez, then 9, “the vast desert felt as though it was all mine.” She wrote a touching account of revisiting the home. L.A. Times
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