Democrats pledge to tackle affordability // Mirrored cabin retreat near Sequoia National Park

Good morning. It’s Tuesday, Dec. 3.

State’s Democrats pledge to tackle affordability.
Business rivals fear new power of Elon Musk.
And a mirrored cabin retreat near Sequoia National Park.

Statewide

1.

Gov. Gavin Newsom appeared at the State Assembly in Sacramento on Monday. (Rich Pedroncelli/A.P.)

California Democrats kicked off their “Trump-proofing” special session on Monday by proposing a $25 million war chest to underwrite legal fights against the federal government. But after an election that forced soul-searching in the Democratic Party, lawmakers offered a concurrent pledge to try to make life more affordable in California. Politico described it as “a version of the ‘we feel your pain’ populist messaging” that Donald Trump and other Republicans used to secure a powerful trifecta in Washington. Politico | L.A. Times

Democrats still hold supermajorities in the Legislature. But Republicans flipped three seats, giving them hope that voter allegiances may be shifting. Courthouse News Service

2.

Many landlords are using a single company’s AI-powered software to help set rent prices, and California cities are moving to block the practice. RealPage uses an algorithm based on proprietary lease information that federal prosecutors have said enables landlords to collude to raise rents. San Francisco approved a ban targeting RealPage in July; San Diego and San Jose are now looking to do the same. CalMatters

3.

Valley Fever, a disease caused by an airborne fungus that thrives in arid soil, has long been associated with its traditional home in the San Joaquin Valley, where the illness got its name. But after years of sharply increasing infections, it’s becoming entrenched farther from California in places such as Southern Utah, where some doctors are encountering it for the first time. Katharine S. Walter, an epidemiologist, wrote about “the making of a new American epidemic.” Noema magazine

4.

Architects have long sought ways to integrate homes into nature. In recent years, they’ve embraced a way of making them all but invisible with mirrored facades, an innovation featured in one of California’s newest glamping destinations. Paradise Ranch, founded by a Danish photographer, is a glamping retreat with four mirrored cabins just outside Sequoia National Park’s southern entrance. The vibe is geared toward wellness, with cedar hot tubs, a sauna, and redwood “yoga decks.” Reviewers seem to love it. dwell | Condé Nast Traveler

Northern California

5.

People close to Elon Musk have said he despises OpenAI’s Sam Altman, a registered Democrat, even giving him his own Trump-style nickname: “Swindly Sam.” Other Musk rivals have included Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg. They have reason to worry, the Wall Street Journal writes: “The richest man in the world is poised to have significant influence not only over how his six companies, including X, Tesla and SpaceX, interact with the federal government … but also over how the new administration treats his rivals.”

6.

In California, bumper stickers roasting Elon Musk have become popular among Tesla owners. “I bought this before we knew Elon was crazy,” reads one. At the same time, some electric vehicle skeptics are giving Tesla a fresh look. After Musk’s MAGA embrace, Chas Tucker, a Utah real estate broker, bought a Model Y and moved his retirement funds into Tesla stock. “Rarely, if ever, does a brand as big as Tesla swing so completely from one end of the political spectrum to the other,” wrote Bloomberg.

7.

The Albany Bulb attracted a community of vagabonds and artists. (Thomas Hawk/CC BY-NC 2.0)

For decades, people have congregated at the Albany Bulb, a former landfill that evolved into an outdoor art park of garbage sculptures and graffiti on a tiny peninsula jutting into San Francisco Bay. Now a new report has found elevated levels of cancer-causing radiation at the site. The investigation followed reports that a former Richmond chemical plant dumped 11,000 tons of waste at the former landfill from 1960 to 1971. L.A. Times | S.F. Chronicle

8.

John Francis in a still from “Planetwalker.” (via Los Angeles Times)

On his 27th birthday in 1973, John Francis, a devoted environmentalist living in Inverness, decided to be silent for a day. One day became two, then a week. Francis didn’t talk again for 17 years. In that time, he painted, played his banjo, worked toward a Ph.D., and walked clear across the United States and back again. On Monday, the Los Angeles Times released a “Short Doc” on the remarkable life of John Francis called “Planetwalker.” YouTube (~30 mins)

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Southern California

9.

Ryan Kobayashi attended a rally to find his daughter in Los Angeles on Nov. 21. (Wally Skalij/L.A. Times via Getty Images)

Hannah Kobayashi, the Hawaiian woman who vanished during a layover at LAX on Nov. 8, crossed voluntarily into Mexico on foot, Los Angeles police said Monday. Kobayashi’s disappearance became a source of national intrigue, especially after her father killed himself on Nov. 24 after flying to Los Angeles to search for her. Police Chief Jim McDonnell said social media posts by Kobayashi suggested she sought to “step away from modern connectivity.” But he urged her to contact her family. “A simple message could reassure those she cares about,” he said. L.A. Times | A.P.

10.

Diversity plunged at many elite colleges after the U.S. Supreme Court banned affirmative action in 2023. But UCLA bucked the trend, enrolling record numbers of new Black and Latino students for fall 2024, data showed. Latinos comprised nearly 26% of the incoming class, higher than the share of white students, at 22%. Admissions professionals credited UCLA for its aggressive outreach efforts, even embedding admissions counselors at Los Angeles high schools. L.A. Times

11.

Jerry Schlesinger, 72, has only been sober for two years after a lifetime of addiction. “You’re not done until you’re done,” he said. Drug use wrecked his lungs and teeth and compromised his liver. Now he is finally thinking about his future, including a possible return to college. He’s been reintroducing himself to important people in his life, trying to make amends. “I’m grateful I don’t have to keep track of all the lies I’ve told everyone anymore,” he said. The Wall Street Journal wrote about entering old age as a drug-abuse survivor.

12.

A convicted murderer escaped from a prison van while being transported to a court appearance in Kern County on Monday, triggering a manhunt and warnings to the surrounding community, the authorities said. Cesar Hernandez, 34, has been serving a sentence of 25 years to life since 2019. He was wearing an orange inmate jumpsuit when he evaded law enforcement at the Delano courthouse and jumped a fence, officials said. Prison escapees, they added, are almost always recaptured. KGET | Patch

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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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