Good morning. It’s Tuesday, April 18.
- Republicans move to block Dianne Feinstein replacement.
- Federal court strikes down Berkeley’s natural gas ban.
- And euphoria in Sacramento as Kings just keep winning.
Statewide
1.
California has allocated more than $20 billion to alleviating homelessness since 2018, yet the crisis has only worsened. Now a bipartisan group of lawmakers is calling for an audit of that spending. It is no surprise that Republicans would demand answers from Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration, the homelessness reporter Marisa Kendal noted. But the involvement of Democrats, she said, “signals the politics have shifted.” CalMatters
2.
In Napa, John Boyett, 78, owes $67,000.
In Danville, Stephanie Brown-Myers, 71, owes $22,000.
And in Salinas, Ann Jaramillo, 73, owes $75,000.
They are among thousands of former California educators who were informed years after retirement that they must pay off hefty “overpayment debts” because officials miscalculated their pension benefits. “We used to plan trips,” said Jaramillo. “We’ve quit thinking about where we might go in the limited time we have left.” O.C. Register
3.
Senate Republicans are lining up to block a temporarily replacement for Sen. Dianne Feinstein on the Judiciary Committee, complicating Democratic efforts to confirm some of President Biden’s judicial nominees. Feinstein, 89, had asked for the substitute as she recuperates from a case of shingles that has kept her on the sidelines since February. Frustration over her absence has emboldened critics to demand her exit from politics. Politico | Bloomberg
4.
Latest dispatches from California’s wildflower bonanza:
- Table Mountain, just outside Oroville, is now nearing peak bloom, with shooting stars, Douglas’ violets, and blue lupines abounding. After the wet winter, the ancient lava flow offers the added bonus of several seasonal waterfalls. Action News Now
- “This is how we feed our souls.” The photographers Alana Celii and Daniel Dorsa got some gorgeous photos of the flower fields across Southern California. N.Y. Times
- And a few views from Central California’s Carrizo Plain since last Thursday. 👇
Northern California
5.
A federal appeals court on Monday struck down Berkeley’s first-in-the-nation ban on natural gas in new construction, saying the ordinance interferes with federal energy regulations. Approved in 2019, Berkeley’s measure drew cheers from environmental activists and set a blueprint for similar restrictions adopted in San Francisco, New York, Seattle, and dozens of other cities. The California Restaurant Association welcomed the new ruling. KQED | Wall Street Journal
6.
Faking it is over, the tech journalist Erin Griffith wrote in a sharp analysis of the mood shift in Silicon Vally. In recent months, startup founders have faced a chorus of charges, convictions, and sentences over accusations of fraud. Griffith argued that the funding downturn may have something to do with it. When the easy money dries up, she wrote, “everyone parrots the Warren Buffett proverb about finding out who is swimming naked when the tide goes out.” N.Y. Times
7.
The viral story of a Shasta County girl and her pet goat, named Cedar, got the Nicholas Kristof treatment: “Cedar is also a reminder that the bright line we draw between farm animals and our pet dogs and cats is an arbitrary one. … Abuse one animal, and you can be charged with a felony; abuse a million, and you have a business model.” N.Y. Times
8.
After missing the playoffs for a record 16 seasons, the Sacramento Kings just keep winning. On Monday, they beat the defending champion Golden State Warriors to take a 2-0 lead in their first-round playoff series. For a city punished by the pandemic and often overshadowed by California’s other great cities, the run by Sacramento’s only major sports team has sparked hope of a broader civic resurgence. “I have never seen this much excitement,” said Taylor Cummings, a fan. “I have never seen this much unity.” Washington Post
- See Sacramento “light the beam,” the victory ritual of shining an 1800-watt purple laser over the city. 👉 @thekingsherald
9.
While you were catching up on your shows, a lunatic named Jack Kuenzle skied to the summit of Mount Shasta and back in just under 2 hours and 31 minutes, a record. Kuenzle, a 27-year-old former Navy SEAL, has made a hobby of recording fastest known times — or F.K.T.s — a buzzy subculture in the outdoor-adventure world. In his trip report, Kuenzle said he very nearly turned back when he encountered “ripping wind” above 11,500 feet last Friday. “I have managed to find the worst possible sport to try and be a perfectionist,” he wrote. Snow Brains | @jackkuenzle
Southern California
10.
The number of officers in the Los Angeles Police Department has fallen to 9,103, down from more than 10,000 in 2019, officials reported last week. The total is projected to fall further this year as officers leaving the force outnumber those joining it. Mayor Karen Bass, who said she is “really worried” about the trend, plans to call for rebuilding the police force in her proposed budget on Tuesday. But she acknowledged facing tough odds: Two of the City Council’s newest members have called themselves police abolitionists. L.A. Times | LAist
- In her first State of the City speech Monday, Bass proposed spending a record $1.3 billion on homelessness in an effort to create “a new L.A.” L.A. Times | A.P.
11.
On Saturday, a 60-year-old man was painting over graffiti on the wall of an ice cream shop in Los Angeles when one of the gang members who had tagged the wall approached and opened fire, killing the man and wounding three others. Jamal Jackson, 24, admitted to the shooting, explaining that he was offended, police said. None of the victims had gang ties, police said. Jackson had been arrested numerous times on weapons, violence, and theft charges, records showed. He was out on probation. L.A. Times | Fox 11
12.
More than 100 years ago, a Danish artist named Francis Lawrence created a magnificently detailed, 6-foot-wide map of Los Angeles after walking the streets for 15 months to account for every single structure. Around the time of its publication in 1909, Los Angeles’s population had recently surpassed 300,000 — still less than that of San Francisco; the political establishment was largely under the thumb of oil and railroad barons; and crews had begun digging a channel bring water from the Owens River, some 250 miles away. Zoom in on the upper left corner of the map and you can make out a village of quaint homes and fruit orchards. That’s the future epicenter of the American film industry.
- See the full-sized map. 👉 Library of Congress
- Hollywood photos, before and after. 👉 Curbed
Thanks for reading!
The California Sun is written by Mike McPhate, a former California correspondent for the New York Times.
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