Good morning. It’s Monday, April 10.
- Home loan program halted due to overwhelming demand.
- Border agents accused of sabotaging humanitarian aid.
- And San Diego Zoo welcomes adorable Amur leopard cubs.
Statewide
1.
On March 27, California kicked off a new program that provides loans of up to 20% of a home’s purchase price to first-time buyers. With $300 million allotted to the “California Dream For All Shared Appreciation Loan” program, it was supposed to last for months. But officials called it to a halt on Friday, after just two weeks, because of overwhelming demand. Analysts said the mad dash was a sign of the intense demand for affordable housing in California. L.A. Times | Washington Post
- Study: California has lowest rate of home ownership in America. KTLA
2.
In Mammoth Lakes, the snow is still 30 feet deep. Buildings groan under the weight. Slabs of ice plummet from rooftops with the force of falling pianos. And propane spewing from buried lines touches off explosions. “We’re afraid of all the ways we could die here on any given day,” said Stacy Bardfield, a resident of 47 years. “Will it be a roof caving in? A propane line blast? Fallen electric transmission lines?” L.A. Times
- California’s extremely wet winter, in maps. 👉 Washington Post
3.
Dispatches from the baby zoo animals beat:
- Safari West, a wildlife preserve in Santa Rosa, welcomed a rare southern white rhino calf on April 2. She weighed in at about 150 pounds and was up on her feet in no time, zoo officials said. Press Democrat | KRON
- The San Diego Zoo announced twins: two Amur leopard cubs. Critically endangered, the spotted big cats number fewer than 100 in the wild, according to the World Wildlife Fund. They can leap an astounding 10 feet high. CNN | @sandiegozoo
Northern California
4.
When police tried to pull over a 13-year-old who was joyriding in a stolen vehicle in the Sacramento suburb of Woodland, the boy fled and crashed into two other vehicles, killing a woman and injuring nine others, officials said. The slain victim, 43-year-old Tina Vital, was with two of her adult children and her 5-year-old granddaughter, all of whom were said to be severely injured. The 13-year-old, who was also injured, faces felony charges, police said. ABC10 | KCRA
5.
The New York Times dissected the free speech controversy at Stanford Law School on its front page Sunday. The piece highlighted defenders of Tirien Steinbach, an associate dean for diversity, equity, and inclusion who appeared to intervene on behalf of disruptive students during a speech by a conservative judge. “An administrator on the ground, in a room literally full of shouting people, got them to stop shouting and also insisted that they should listen to the speech,” said Julian Davis Mortenson, a law professor. N.Y. Times
6.
“We’re all in the middle of the street. It’s crazy.”
Twice a year, the rising sun aligns atop the Bay Bridge at one end of San Francisco’s undulating California Street. A huddle of photographers was ready early Saturday and Sunday for the phenomenon known as California Henge. See pictures. 👉 S.F. Chronicle | Instagram
Southern California
7.
Humanitarian workers who leave food and water along the U.S.-Mexico border to prevent deaths of migrants said Border Patrol admitted to destroying supplies at one of their drop sites. The incident happened just a couple weeks after eight people died trying to cross the border by boat. “It was so painful, and it was painful in a way that we didn’t know how to express,” said volunteer Emmet Daler Norris, 28. Customs and Border Protection said it was investigating. S.D. Union-Tribune
8.
After City Councilmember Kevin de León laughed along as a fellow lawmaker made racist remarks, Latino lawmakers rushed to demand that he resign. After former Councilmember Mark Ridley-Thomas was convicted on bribery and fraud charges, he was hailed by colleagues as a hero. Columnist Gustavo Arellano said some political observers have found it telling “that the court of public and political opinion has judged the Latino politician who hasn’t been charged with any crimes far harsher than the Black politician who was convicted of several.” L.A. Times
9.
A reporter spent hours riding around with DoorDash and Uber Eats drivers in Beverly Hills and the Pacific Palisades. Because the companies only pay a few dollars per trip, the workers rely on big tips. But in an industry where contactless delivery has dehumanized delivery drivers, wealthy customers often tip nothing at all. “It’s hard to fathom how people could have so much money,” said Brantley Bush, an Uber Eats driver, “and tip so little.” N.Y. Times
10.
A professor at Chapman University issued a challenge to students in his influencer marketing course: Get a million views on a TikTok video and he’ll cancel their final exam. Sylvie Bastardo, a sophomore in the back of the room, took out her iPhone and started filming. She later added a catchy tune and a caption: “My professor said if our class got a TikTok to 1 million likes he would cancel the final!! Please like!!!” It hit a million within 48 hours. N.Y. Times | KCAL
11.
At Donda Academy, Kanye West’s mysterious K-12 school in Chatsworth, teachers are only allowed to clean with “acid water and microfiber cloths” and students eat sushi — and only sushi — while sitting on the floor because there are no tables. Those were among the allegations in a new lawsuit by the only two Black female teachers at the school, who say they were fired after voicing concerns. L.A. Times
California curiosity
12.
There’s a church in Santa Rosa constructed entirely from the lumber of a single redwood that once stood 275 feet tall and 18 feet in diameter. The redwood used for The Church of One Tree, built in 1874, lived in a densely forested area along the Russian River known as Stumptown for all of the stumps left by the logging boom that helped build San Francisco. It was later renamed Guerneville.
In Shel Silverstein’s “The Giving Tree,” a tree gives and gives to a “boy” until she is reduced to only a stump. It’s been variously interpreted as a paean to sacrificial love or a warped tale of abuse. Yet even detractors acknowledge being moved by the story, wrote Anthony Ford in an essay that could also apply to the clear-cutting of California’s redwoods. That’s because the real power of the story is in its depiction of the passage of time and the attendant longing for what was. “Conceptually,” he wrote, “this is paradise lost.”
Get your California Sun T-shirts, phone cases, hoodies, and mugs.
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 the gift of the Sun.
Get a California Sun mug, T-shirt, phone case, or hoodie.
Forward this email to a friend.
Click here to stop delivery, and here to update your billing information or cancel your support.
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.