Good morning. It’s Friday, July 12.
- President Biden campaign tests Kamala Harris’ strength.
- Gavin Newsom sends police reinforcements to Oakland.
- And the first Sikh to take judicial oath in Fresno County.
Statewide
1.
President Biden’s campaign is quietly polling voters on the strength of Vice President Kamala Harris versus former President Donald J. Trump in a head-to-head contest. It’s believed to be the first time since the debate that Biden’s team has sought to measure a potential Harris candidacy, the New York Times reported: “The effort comes as some longtime aides and advisers to Mr. Biden are said to have become increasingly convinced that he will have to step aside from the campaign.”
- Rep. Scott Peters, of San Diego, became the latest Democrat to urge Biden to end his campaign. “We are on a losing course,” he said. See a tracker of public calls for Biden to drop out. 👉 Washington Post
2.
Atlantic staff writer Ross Andersen went to Death Valley to see what 129 degrees feels like:
“It is as though a clingy gargoyle made of flame has landed atop your head and neck. It wants only one thing, to bring you into thermal equilibrium with the desert. … The breeze only makes things worse, by blasting apart the thin and fragile atmosphere of cooled air that millions of your pores produce by sweating. Your heart hammers faster and faster. Your cognition starts to blur. Only eight minutes in, I looked down at my phone. It had shut down entirely.” The Atlantic
3.
For this week’s California Sun Podcast, host Jeff Schechtman talked with Sara Fenske Bahat, the former interim chief executive of San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. Bahat, who is Jewish, resigned from that role in March, citing antisemitism in the course of protests over the war in Gaza by a group of artists. Bahat said the crisis was a time of personal reflection and sleepless nights: “It was really difficult to move through the moment given the posture that lots of people had, which was to go quiet.”
Northern California
4.
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a quadrupling of state police shifts in Oakland, as he faces pressure to crack down on crime in California’s cities. Standing along police leaders during a news conference in Oakland, Newsom called out Alameda County’s progressive district attorney, Pamela Price, accusing her of rebuffing an offer of assistance from the state and noting that her office’s narcotics unit has no supervisor or personnel. Hours later, Price held her own news conference, where she said Newsom was “misinformed.” Mercury News | S.F. Chronicle
5.
A 54-year-old man was accused of fatally shooting his wife, 6-year-old son, and both of his wife’s parents at a home they all shared in Alameda late Wednesday, police said on Thursday. The suspect, identified as Shane Killian, a welder, also shot his 1-year-old boy, who was in critical condition, authorities said. No motive was disclosed, but police said the father-in-law spoke to officers before dying. “I’ll say this,” said Alameda police Chief Nishant Joshi. “These are the actions of a coward.” CBS News Bay Area | SFGATE
6.
In the days since an Australian businessman named Colin Bettles was found unconscious and hospitalized during a visit to San Francisco on July 4, stories have recounted sensational details in numerous Australian publications. Unknown assailants viciously attacked Bettles, 54, as he walked to his hotel, breaking his eye socket and making off with his wallet and phone, the reports said. But on Thursday, San Francisco police said video surveillance gave “no indication” that Bettles was assaulted or robbed. Not everyone was convinced. SFGATE | KRON
7.
Cal Poly Humboldt announced Thursday that its president, Tom Jackson Jr., would step down ahead of the fall semester, after he faced bitter criticism for summoning police to quell Gaza protests in the spring. The forested university on the North Coast became an unlikely symbol of the nationwide antiwar protests as students occupied a campus building for a week. Jackson offered no reason for his resignation. In a statement, he said his five years as president had been a gift. Eureka Times-Standard | North Coast Journal
8.
Raj Singh Badhesha, a former assistant city attorney in Fresno, was sworn in as a superior court judge on Thursday, making him the first Sikh judge in Fresno County and the first in the state to observe the practice of wearing a turban. More than 100 people from the Sikh community packed Fresno City Hall for the ceremony, erupting in cheers as he was pronounced “Judge Badhesha.” KSEE | KFSN
9.
“Siri, show me the most SF story ever written.” *
“Not all heroes wear…anything.” *
“San Francisco is back.” *
A nudist tackled a man who was attacking a tourist on the street in San Francisco’s Castro neighborhood on July 2, in a confrontation captured on video. A pair of bare-skinned men were out for a stroll when they saw Zero Triball, a local figure known for troublesome behavior, threaten to burn a tourist with a blowtorch; he then started throwing punches, according to witnesses. One of the nudists leapt into action, taking Triball to the pavement. The story spread online to delighted commentary. SF Standard
Southern California
10.
Los Angeles advanced a proposal to permanently close a half-mile section of one of the city’s major thoroughfares where it bisects a city park. The elimination of vehicles along Wilshire Boulevard in MacArthur Park has been portrayed as a potential watershed moment in the movement to reconsider the city’s devotion to cars. “It’s bold,” said Michael Schneider, a pedestrian advocate. “I love it. It’s probably the boldest closure of a major arterial in Los Angeles I’ve ever seen.” L.A. Times | Streetsblog LA
11.
DeeAnn Noland lives in a 6,000-square-foot Spanish-style villa with a swimming pool perched on 7 acres in the hills overlooking the city below. This dream mansion cost her $740,000 in 2015. The only catch: It’s in Hemet, once named one of America’s most miserable cities. The Los Angeles Times published a fascinating feature on the Angelenos who abandoned the big city to live like royalty in the desert.
In case you missed it
12.
Five items that got big views over the past week:
- Sacramento is a place of public art, striking architecture, brilliant autumns, the American River, and real diversity. Fermin Ramirez, a local photographer, posted a collection of pictures from the last couple years that doubled as an ode to the city. Reddit
- A hoarder in the San Fernando Valley transformed 6 acres of green space into an unlicensed dump filled with more than a hundred rusting vehicles. It’s been a nightmare for neighbors. Yet even after years of complaints, the local government has failed to address it. L.A. Times
- See a satellite view of the property.
- The whale watching group Gone Whale Watching captured some amazing drone footage of blue whales feeding off San Diego during their summer migration. See a highlight reel. 👉 YouTube (~4 mins)
- Last week, a 19-year-old mountain biker reported that he’d been attacked by a suspected mountain lion that launched out of a tree in Arroyo Grande. Wildlife officials collected DNA from the attack and sent it to a lab for testing. It was a house cat. The Tribune
- A new pedestrian bridge in the San Joaquin Valley was designed to evoke the curl of a lizard’s tail. The Wonder Bridge links a neighborhood with a park on the opposite side of Highway 46 in the farming town of Lost Hills. Architecture publications have gushed over the design. Architect’s Newspaper | designboom
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