Elon Musk forces Twitter to boost his tweets // Laguna Beach plans to ban balloons

Good morning. It’s Wednesday, Feb. 15.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein makes her retirement official.
Elon Musk has Twitter engineers prioritize his tweets.
And Laguna Beach moves to ban balloons in public.

Statewide

1.

Dianne Feinstein in 1971, when she served as the first woman on San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors. (Bettmann Archive/Getty Images)

Sen. Dianne Feinstein announced Tuesday that she would not seek reelection in 2024, capping one of California’s most storied political careers. “There are times for all things under the sun, and I think that will be the right time,” she told reporters. Feinstein, the oldest senator at the age of 89, had faced questions in recent years about her memory loss. Her exit clears the way for a furious succession battle. S.F. Chronicle | Politico

Meet the candidates vying to replace Feinstein. L.A. Times

The first female mayor of San Francisco. The 1994 assault weapons ban. The hug that enraged liberals. Here’s a look back at key moments in Feinstein’s career. 👉 N.Y. Times

2.

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday suspended environmental laws designed to protect salmon and other endangered fish in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Newsom faced condemnation from Central Valley farmers and legislators after January floodwaters surged into the San Francisco Bay. The new order allows for more water to be stored in reservoirs, reducing river flows while increasing the supply for crops. Doug Obegi, an environmental lawyer, said Newsom had sided “in favor of extinction in the Delta.” CalMatters

3.

Inside a Foster Farms facility in Livingston in 2021. (Direct Action Everywhere)

Two animal rights activists, Alexandra Paul and Alicia Santurio, are scheduled to go on trial next month on charges of misdemeanor theft for taking two chickens from a truck outside a Merced County slaughterhouse in 2021. They described their action not as a theft but as a rescue. In a column, Farhad Manjoo argued that the activists were on the right side of the issue, and possibly even the law. “It is just as illegal in California to mistreat a chicken at a slaughterhouse as a kitten in your house,” he wrote. N.Y. Times

Northern California

4.

After a Super Bowl tweet by Elon Musk got less engagement than one by President Biden, the Twitter CEO flew his private jet back to the Bay Area Sunday night and demanded answers from his team. A day later, Twitter users found their timelines overwhelmed with Musk’s posts. It was no accident, Platformer reported: “After Musk threatened to fire his remaining engineers, they built a system designed to ensure that Musk — and Musk alone — benefits from previously unheard-of promotion of his tweets to the entire user base.” Platformer

5.

A needle and a tourniquet on a street in San Francisco. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

A San Francisco supervisor introduced legislation Tuesday that would make it easier to deport fentanyl dealers who are in the country illegally. The proposal is expected to face resistance in a city where sanctuary protections have long been considered sacrosanct. Bill Hing, a professor of law and migration studies at the University of San Francisco, said the city “should not be in the business of facilitating the deportation of its residents.” S.F. Chronicle | KRON

6.

A Bay Area homeowner is trying to tear down his four-bedroom home and replace it with a 20-unit complex. The proposal in Los Altos Hills, a wooded Silicon Valley suburb, is among the first to invoke the so-called builder’s remedy, which allows developers to override local zoning laws in jurisdictions that fall out of compliance with state housing law. “There’s this option sitting in front of me to do something very different, and the town can’t say no,” said the homeowner, Sasha Zbrozek, 34. The Real Deal | Mercury News

7.

Six Rivers National Forest has more than 350 miles of wild and scenic rivers. (Noah Lang)

There’s a region just inland from Northern California’s redwood coast where the mountains soar, the rivers run unchecked, and the population is less dense than that of Montana. The Klamath basin is California at its wildest. The state’s tourism arm recommended a three-day road trip itinerary through the region, including a stop at a little-known cabin retreat that visitors have said is indescribably beautiful. Visit California

Tim Palmer wrote the book on California rivers. Here are his 8 favorite spots. 👉 California Sun

Southern California

8.

Laguna Beach is planning to ban balloons. The Orange County beach town crafted an ordinance that prohibits the flying or distribution of the birthday party staple on public property. Environmentalists despise balloons because they often end up snagged in trees or submerged in the ocean, where marine life mistakes it for food. “I’m super happy,” said Rich German, a local activist. “It looks like it will be the most aggressive balloon ban anywhere.” O.C. Register

9.

Culver City, a 5-square-mile city in Los Angeles County, voted Monday night to ban all camping in public places, a move officials said was designed to force the homeless into programs to help house them. Opponents said it would simply criminalize homelessness. “There will be a body count with taking away people’s tents,” said former Culver City Mayor Alex Fisch. L.A. Times | LAist

10.

In December, Huntington Beach proposed an ordinance that would exempt the city from the state’s builder’s remedy law. On Monday, California Attorney General Rob Bonta issued a warning: Abandon the ordinance or “we will hold you accountable.” On Tuesday, Huntington Beach Mayor Tony Strickland and other city leaders called a news conference to deliver their response: No. “Sacramento wants to urbanize Huntington Beach, and we’re going to fight it,” Strickland said. O.C. Register

11.

John Jaso, seen in 2016, left the game for a life of boating. (Dylan Buell/Getty Images)

In 2017, John Jaso, a dreadlocked 34-year-old who grew up in Humboldt County, walked away from Major League Baseball, potentially leaving millions of dollars on the table. “I have a sailboat,” he told reporters at the time, “so I just want to sail away.” Five years later, Jaso is still living his best life. He has sailed in the Gulf of Mexico and all over the Caribbean. He explored the Basque Country of northern Spain and drove a camper van around Australia and Indonesia. He doesn’t follow baseball anymore. N.Y. Times

12.

For her book “Edgy Architecture,” the design historian Agata Toromanoff researched homes built in the most impossible places around the world. She included the “slice and fold house,” a residence in Los Angeles that resembles a piece of folded origami sprawled across a steep hillside. See some photos. 👉 CNN | Dezeen

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