California leaders denounce Biden's pardon // Point Reyes tule elk to roam free

Good morning. It’s Wednesday, Dec. 4.

California leaders denounce President Biden’s pardon.
Park Service to let Point Reyes tule elk roam free.
And chaos grips San Francisco drug treatment program.

Statewide

1.

A month after election day, the Associated Press on Tuesday called the final undecided House contest for Democrat Adam Gray, who led Republican incumbent Rep. John Duarte by just 187 votes in their San Joaquin Valley district. “That’s how it goes,” Duarte told the Turlock Journal after conceding the race. The result means the Republicans are set to have 220 seats to the Democrats’ 215, barely above the 218 seats needed to control the chamber. Turlock Journal | L.A. Times

In other contests:
- Kevin McCarty, a former Democratic state lawmaker, narrowly beat a progressive rival in the race for mayor of Sacramento. Politico
- Conservative Shasta County will have its first openly transgender elected official after Bobbie Simpson clinched a seat on the Gateway Unified school board, according to unofficial results.

2.

Gov. Gavin Newsom defended President Biden after his presidential debate on June 27. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

On Tuesday, two of California’s most prominent Democrats — Gov. Gavin Newsom and Sen.-elect Adam Schiff — denounced President Biden’s decision to pardon his son Hunter Biden. Newsom said he understood the instinct to protect one’s son: “But I took the president at his word. So by definition, I’m disappointed.” The break with the outgoing president was notable for a governor who has been one of Biden’s most vocal defenders, even as others questioned his age and mental fitness. Politico | KQED

3.

For the last several years, Hunter Biden has lived in a string of rentals across Los Angeles and Malibu while under the looming threat of imprisonment for firearms and tax crimes. Paparazzi found him hiking with his wife, hanging out with Sean Penn, and recently taking his son to Disneyland. After his father’s pardon, his next act is unclear. Bobby Sager, a friend, said Hunter wants to make paintings or possibly venture into podcasting: “He’s an artist, he wants to do his art, and he wants to be somebody that’s really contributing to the welfare of society.” L.A. Times

4.

Nothing quite says Christmas in California like illuminated palm trees. In Dana Point, pictured above, they’ve perfected the candy-cane theme.

Visit California, the state’s tourism arm, rounded up the best holiday light displays in dozens of cities across California.

Northern California

5.

HealthRight 360, San Francisco’s largest publicly funded addiction treatment provider, promises a safe place to kick drugs. Yet between March 2023 and April 2024, four clients and one staff member fatally overdosed at its facilities, an investigation found. Instead of respite, insiders said, vulnerable people land in chaotic facilities, where drug use is rampant and living conditions are bleak. Jillian Hitch, 43, said she shot up in a bathroom every day during her two-week stay without anyone confronting her. “It was basically a flophouse,” she said. S.F. Chronicle

6.

Tule elk are found only in California. (Diane Diederich)

After years of fierce debate, nearly 2 miles of fencing that obstructs tule elk at Point Reyes National Seashore will be removed, the National Park Service announced on Monday. Activists say the fences erected to protect nearby cattle ranches have blocked access to water, contributing to deaths of the animals with majestic antlers. Albert Straus, founder of the Straus Family Creamery, has accused environmentalists of an ulterior motive: to drive the dairies from the cape altogether. S.F. Chronicle | Marin Independent Journal

7.

Marie Alvarado-Gil, a Northern California state legislator, keeps finding herself in the news for strange reasons. In August, she became the first Democratic state lawmaker to switch to the Republican party in 80 years. In September, a former chief of staff accused Alvarado-Gil of pressuring him into performing oral sex on her. In November, she responded by accusing him of being involved in an infamous 2001 murder. In the latest story, Alvarado-Gil drew bipartisan condemnation on Tuesday after she publicly called another lawmaker a “Grand Wizard,” invoking the Ku Klux Klan. Sacramento Bee | San Joaquin Valley Sun

8.

Around 2020, San Franciscans began to notice a shrill hum emanating from the Golden Gate Bridge every time the wind kicked up. It was reminiscent of “a science fiction film, right before something bad is about to happen,” as one resident described it. The sound was traced to newly installed sidewalk railing slats that had unwittingly transformed the span into a colossal wind instrument. Now, after years of investigation, engineers say they finally have a fix: tiny rubber clips that will break up the flow of air and stifle the vibrations for good. S.F. Chronicle

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9.

Walk around San Francisco long enough and you’ll stumble upon a tiny school of koi swimming up a wall or circling a potted plant. The guerrilla art is the brainchild of Jeremy Novy, who has painted more than 8,000 of the fish around the Bay Area since starting 2008. Why? “I stencil koi to create a kind of nature, zen moment in our urban landscape,” he told KQED. Everyone seems to love them.

Southern California

10.

In January, Mayor Todd Gloria announced a bold plan to wipe out homelessness in San Diego once and for all. San Diegans Together Tackling Homelessness would raise $370 million by the end of 2024, setting the stage for prevention programs and a 40-story affordable housing complex. Nearly a year later, the initiative has raised a mere $1.3 million. Its only expenditure: $2,400 on t-shirts. Eric Dargan, San Diego’s chief operating officer, said the city still stands behind the effort. “If we’re able to assist one person, then this initiative is a success,” he said. KPBS

11.

Nathan Hochman took the oath of office in Los Angeles on Tuesday. (Robert Gauthier/L.A. Times via Getty Images)

Nathan Hochman was sworn in as Los Angeles County district attorney by former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Tuesday. He immediately rescinded many of the progressive policies of his predecessor, George Gascón, paving the way for prosecutors to file more charges and seek longer sentences. In a new interview with CNN, Hochman vowed to pursue a “hard middle approach that doesn’t substitute one extreme policy … decarceration, with another extreme policy of mass incarceration.” L.A. Times | LAist

Washington Post editorial board: “Nonviolent ‘quality of life’ crimes must be taken seriously.”

12.

A Chinese national who came to California on a student visa in 2012 was sending weapons to North Korea for the purpose of a surprise attack on Seoul, federal authorities said on Tuesday. Shenghua Wen, 43, was arrested during a dramatic morning raid on his home in Ontario. Officials said Wen smuggled at least two shipments of weapons, ammunition, and other military items concealed in shipping containers out of Long Beach. “The significance of this arrest and discovery of this scheme cannot be overstated,” said Akil Davis, assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles field office. L.A. Times | A.P.

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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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