Chevron's breakup with California // Tesla owners threatened in Humboldt County

Good morning. It’s Tuesday, Feb. 11.

The story behind Chevron’s breakup with California.
Elon Musk leads $97.4 billion bid for OpenAI.
And Tesla owners are threatened in Humboldt County.

Statewide

1.

A federal judge on Monday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from slashing $4 billion of NIH funding after California and 21 other states argued that the cuts would gut research into treatments for cancer, Alzheimer’s, and other ailments. Michael Drake, the UC system president, noted that federal funds account for more than half of UC’s total research awards. “A cut this size is nothing short of catastrophic … This is not only an attack on science, but on America’s health writ large,” he said. N.Y. Times | L.A. Times

CalMatters is tracking California’s lawsuits against the Trump administration.

2.

Chevron’s El Segundo refinery. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images)

Chevron sank California’s first successful oil well in 1876, kicking off a boom that powered the state’s economy for more than a century. When the oil giant broke up with California last August, it delivered the message via text. Chevron said it would move to Texas, where the ecstatic Republican governor described the state as Chevron’s “true home.” Gov. Gavin Newsom responded in an online video accusing Big Oil of price-gouging consumers. The Wall Street Journal told the story “behind the oil industry’s biggest divorce: Chevron versus California.”

3.

In 2015, the typical California farmworker made about $20,500, performing hard and repetitive jobs that tend to attract few American-born citizens. Roughly half of the laborers are in the country illegally. As the threat of mass deportations looms over the California’s $60 billion agricultural industry, leaders from both industry and labor groups are reminding the Trump administration of the potential for economic havoc. CBS News visited a tomato farm in Dixon, where Gerardo Reyes, 71, said workers are afraid to come to work.

4.

Some proposed California’s Danish village of Solvang as a potential capital. (Mario Perez)

Danish citizens launched a tongue-in-cheek campaign to acquire California in a jab at President Trump’s repeated threats to seize Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark. As of late Tuesday, an online petition seeking the “Denmarkification” of California had collected nearly 200,000 signatures. It proposes a fundraising goal of $1 trillion. “Los Angeles? More like Løs Ångeles,” the petition reads. Californians reacting on Reddit seemed receptive to the idea. S.F. Chronicle | KTLA

Northern California

5.

A group of investors led by Elon Musk offered $97.4 billion for OpenAI, Musk’s lawyer said on Monday. Sam Altman, OpenAI’s CEO and a Musk adversary, mocked the unsolicited bid on X, offering instead to buy “Twitter” for $9.74 billion. “Swindler,” Musk replied. OpenAI is currently trying to close a fund-raising deal that would value the San Francisco artificial intelligence company at $300 billion, reports said. In an internal message, Altman told employees that Musk’s overture was designed to “weaken us.” N.Y. Times | Wall Street Journal

6.

Smoke rose from the Moss Landing facility on Jan. 17. (Nic Coury/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Residents have reported feeling ill after a battery-storage plant in Monterey County went up in flames and burned for days last month. Many are now worried that the fire polluted the air, soil, and water with toxins. Doctors have warned that inhaling high concentrations of heavy metals can cause profound health problems. Haakon Faste, 47, who lives 25 miles from the Moss Landing facility, said he and his wife experienced sore throats, headaches, and bloody noses. He likened the metallic taste in the air to “breathing acid.” N.Y. Times

7.

Over the past week, at least three Tesla owners in Arcata, home of Cal Poly Humboldt, found threatening notes on their vehicles. “No Nazis in America,” they read. “Tesla owners trade or sell before Feb. 12. After that it is open season.” A group identifying itself as Students Against Nazi Extremism sent a manifesto to a local news outlet taking credit for the fliers. It called Musk “an overt Nazi with a history of fascist, racist, misogynist and criminal behavior” and said Teslas would face physical damage in coming weeks. Lost Coast Outpost

8.

Mount Chipotle became more than just a pile of dirt. (Larry Townsend)

In the small Sierra foothills town of Oakhurst, a 20-foot-tall dirt pile sat neglected in the parking lot of a local Chipotle restaurant for at least a year. Then in early December, a local resident joked on Facebook about his intention to summit Mount Chipotle — “free solo.” The idea caught on. A national park-inspired sign was added to the mound. The view, proclaimed one overzealous young climber, is “almost better than Yosemite.” A nearby gift shop started carrying Mount Chipotle t-shirts. Even after the dirt was finally trucked away, the spirit of Mount Chipotle lived on. KVPR

Southern California

9.

Investors linked to a Connecticut real estate company have quietly bought up at least 117 acres of land within Joshua Tree National Park since 2021 while refusing to respond to questions about its plans. The backgrounds of the buyers, however, suggest that a commercial development could be planned for the property, known as an “inholding,” or private land established before the surrounding area became protected. A conservation group said it made a fair market offer for the parcel that was vastly outbid. Local residents are now fretting that the wildland will be despoiled. L.A. Times

10.

A wildfire tore through Bel-Air in 1961. (Los Angeles Public Library)

The Los Angeles Times recounted the history of deadly fires tearing through Los Angeles’ hillside developments. Each disaster, including the latest, has led some to question the wisdom of rebuilding on fire-prone ridges and canyons. “But the human impulse to rebuild, like the fires, is relentless,” the Times wrote. “Days after swaths of Pacific Palisades and Altadena were destroyed, Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass issued executive orders to expedite rebuilding by relaxing environmental and regulatory obstacles.”

11.

A Coachella Valley woman who has been ranting through a bullhorn in her backyard — yelling homophobic slurs, “Bye, bye Biden,” and “MAGA, MAGA, MAGA” — caused her neighborhood so much grief that 80 people showed up to a town hall meeting on Monday to seek relief from the authorities. “It is a horrible, horrible thing to live through,” said Michael Hayes, a neighbor who once sought a restraining order against the woman, Antoinette Coleman. A city spokesman said police cited Coleman for “maliciously disturbing others.” Desert Sun | KESQ

12.

During recent protests against President Trump’s immigration policies in Los Angeles, a man threw two books from an overpass at oncoming traffic on the 101 Freeway, the authorities said. Now prosecutors have charged Martin Torres, 42, with two felonies. While no one was hurt, the tossed objects could have been deadly, said District Attorney Nathan Hochman. “If you use a protest as a cover for criminal activity, know this — you will be caught, you will be prosecuted, and you will be held accountable,” he said. If convicted, Torres could get more than seven years in prison. L.A. Times | KTLA

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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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