Good morning. It’s Monday, Aug. 14.
- Gray wolves show up in the southern Sierra Nevada.
- Gen Z-ers share stories of being unable to pay rent.
- And Mark Zuckerberg vs. Elon Musk fight appears over.
Statewide
1.
Gray wolves have shown up in the southern Sierra Nevada, making them the southernmost pack in California, wildlife officials confirmed on Friday. A report of a wolf sighting in the Sequoia National Forest near Tulare County on July 6 led officials to confirm the presence of at least five individuals through tracks and DNA samples. In 2011, an Oregon-born wolf became the first to be spotted in California in 87 years. In subsequent years, nearly 30 wolves across three packs were found roaming the northern reaches of the state. Visalia Times-Delta | A.P.
2.
Joseph Levin, 23, is spending 45% of his income on rent in Sacramento.
Lola Motley, also 23, shared a one-bedroom in San Francisco with three roommates, using the living room and kitchen as bedrooms.
Nikayla Jefferson, 26, moved in with her parents in San Diego. “I really can’t afford to do anything else right now,” she said.
Gen Z-ers, defined as people born between the late 1990s and early 2010s, are struggling to afford rent. Many don’t expect to ever own a home. The N.Y. Times asked young people across the country to share their stories.
3.
Valley fever, a fungal infection that is transmitted in dust, has long been associated with farming communities in the lower San Joaquin Valley. But a growing body of evidence suggests the disease, which is painful and incurable in severe cases, is moving north. The spread is consistent with predictions made by researchers, who have warned that extreme cycles of precipitation and dryness threaten to drive infections across the western U.S. S.F. Chronicle
4.
To conquer Mount Whitney, hikers contend with risks of altitude sickness, lightning, and even death. But you can ascend more than halfway up the tallest summit in the contiguous U.S. without ever stepping out of your car. The 30-minute drive from Owens Valley to Whitney Portal, just under 8,400 feet in elevation, is by itself an unforgettable thrill. Heading west out of Lone Pine, the two-lane road slices through the surreal boulder fields of the Alabama Hills then twirls up the side of the mountain as dazzling views spread out in every direction. See a great video tour of the drive. 👉 YouTube (~16 mins)
A few views:
Northern California
5.
In a front-page story, the Wall Street Journal explored the possibility that San Francisco will fall into a “doom loop,” in which one negative development triggers another, which in turn tiggers even more. Downtown San Francisco, the reporters noted, now trails nearly every other major urban center in economic health. “San Francisco is one of the cities I’d worry about the most,” said Arpit Gupta, an associate professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business. “The triggering effects are there.” Wall Street Journal
- While San Francisco is often equated with its most troubled neighborhoods, the city contains multitudes. Urban design critic John King highlighted six places that show the city’s richness. S.F. Chronicle
6.
Alameda County’s district attorney, Pamela Price, hired her boyfriend to a position in her office despite the appearance of nepotism and allegations that he extorted businesses in Richmond as part of a pay-to-play scheme. Antwon Cloird is earning a six-figure salary as a “senior program specialist.” LaDoris Cordell, a retired Santa Clara County judge, called the arrangement “problematic in every way I look at it.” “In public government, you don’t do this,” she said. “There’s no way in my view to justify this.” Mercury News
7.
One day after state regulators gave self-driving car companies permission to operate throughout San Francisco at all hours, about a dozen Cruise vehicles blocked two streets in the city’s lively North Beach district late Friday. The cars, parking lights flashing, remained motionless for about 20 minutes before moving on, witnesses said. On Sunday, Supervisor Aaron Peskin said city leaders would file a petition urging the state to reconsider its decision. “This is just the beginning,” he said. “It’s far from the end.” S.F. Chronicle
8.
Mark Zuckerberg accused Elon Musk of making excuses to avoid their proposed “cage fight” on Sunday, apparently putting an end to one the summer’s most inane storylines. “I think we can all agree Elon isn’t serious and it’s time to move on,” Zuckerberg wrote. He added a taunt: “If Elon ever gets serious about a real date and official event, he knows how to reach me.” Musk responded by calling Zuckerberg a “chicken.” The Verge | Washington Post
Southern California
9.
“I just shot my wife. I won’t be in tomorrow.”
Prosecutors laid out what they believe led Orange County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ferguson to shoot and kill his wife on Aug. 3. The couple had gotten into an argument over dinner at a restaurant, prosecutors said in a legal filing. The quarrel resumed at their home in Anaheim Hills, where Sheryl Ferguson said something to the effect of “why don’t you point a real gun at me?” according to the filing. Intoxicated, he pulled a Glock .40-caliber pistol and shot her in the chest, prosecutors said. He then texted his staff to let them know he wouldn’t be in the next morning. O.C. Register | L.A. Times
10.
A smash-and-grab mob ransacked a Nordstrom in the San Fernando Valley on Saturday, making off with up to $100,000 in merchandise just days after a similar robbery at a mall in Glendale, police said. Video of the midday robbery in Canoga Park spread widely online, drawing condemnation from political leaders including Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who called it “absolutely unacceptable.” A 2022 report by the National Retail Federation said Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Oakland had the highest organized retail crime rates in the country. L.A. Times | CBS Los Angeles
11.
In 2014, the singer Kesha publicly accused the producer known as Dr. Luke of having raped her in 2005. He denied it. The ensuing scandal raged for nearly a decade. The L.A. Times examined thousands of pages of case records, including witness interviews and therapists’ notes, for an in-depth report on what really happened. Katy Perry’s testimony stood out, wrote reporter Matt Hamilton. Kesha claimed that Dr. Luke raped Perry, but it wasn’t true. “He knows I’m a tiebreaker,” Perry said of Luke. “Because when I say that I wasn’t raped, because I was not, that mean’s that someone’s lying.” L.A. Times
12.
A Southern California water district has estimated that nearly 80 square miles of the grass planted at commercial and institutional sites in its service area are “nonfunctional,” meaning no one walks on it. The water needed to sustain so much turf amounts to nearly 98 billion gallons per year, or enough water to serve about 900,000 households. The L.A. Times editorial board said Californians need to stop pretending we live on a damp English estate in a Jane Austen novel: “We’re in 21st century California — increasingly arid but still paradise if we change our ways to be more in line with what nature offers.”
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