Good morning. It’s Wednesday, Sept. 25.
- Kamala Harris’ alliance with Laurene Powell Jobs.
- Mark Zuckerberg tries to steer away from politics.
- And photos from the heyday of classic Hollywood.
Statewide
1.
Over the past 20 years, Silicon Valley’s wealthiest woman, Laurene Powell Jobs, has become a close confidante of Vice President Kamala Harris. People with insight into their bond say the friendship is genuine, built on shared politics, interest in art and culture, and their experiences as women in the spotlight. Powell Jobs, who played a key role in helping usher President Biden out of the race, is now positioned to have extraordinary influence in a potential Harris administration, the New York Times reported.
2.
The outcomes of six swing districts in California could determine the balance of power in the U.S. House of Representatives — and a new poll shows Democrats with a slight edge. The survey by researchers from three California universities found Democrats leading in four races, tied in one, and losing in another. “If the Democrats control the House in 2024, it’s probably because four or five of these districts flip,” said Christian Grose, the lead pollster. “It truly is so close that everything on the margins can make a difference.” Politico | KQED
3.
A Cal Fire employee arrested on suspicion of arson last week started out in the state’s inmate firefighter program after a felony DUI, records released on Tuesday showed. Robert Hernandez, 38, a fire apparatus engineer, was accused of starting five fires in Sonoma and Mendocino counties in August and September. In 2017, he began a six-year sentence for vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated. He was paroled in 2018 after serving as an inmate firefighter and pursued further training once on the outside. Politico
Northern California
4.
The California grape market is suffering the worst down cycle since the Great Recession after a shift in generational drinking habits led to a global glut of wine. As a result, grape growers who rely on demand from wineries during the late summer/early fall harvest are facing crushing losses. In Monterey County, Chardonnay grapes that typically go for as much as $1,600 a ton have sold for as little as $400. Lisa Graul, a grower of Napa Valley Cabernet, dropped her price from $9,500 per ton to $2,500. “Even that is negotiable,” she said. S.F. Chronicle
5.
Mark Zuckerberg was once open about his politics, sharing his views on immigration, social justice, and inequality. But he’s changed, people close to him say. In recent years, the Meta CEO has retreated from the progressive political work of his philanthropy. He has tried to repair his relationships with Republican officials, even talking to Donald Trump in one-on-one phone calls. Privately, he sees his personal politics as libertarian or “classic liberal,” insiders say. The New York Times wrote about how “Mark Zuckerberg is done with politics.”
6.
Caroline Ellison, the former girlfriend of fallen cryptocurrency mogul Sam Bankman-Fried, was sentenced Tuesday to two years in prison for her role in the $8 billion fraud at FTX. Ellison, 29, ran Alameda Research, the Bay Area hedge fund Bankman-Fried founded in 2017. Prosecutors had recommended no prison time because of her “extraordinary cooperation” in the case against Bankman-Fried. But U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan said that given the severity of the fraud, “a ‘get out of jail free’ card is not something I can see my way clear to.” Washington Post | A.P.
7.
Polygraphs are so unreliable that the federal government prohibits most private employers from using them. Courts have ruled them generally inadmissible. And researchers have said they amount to junk science. Yet Oakland’s City Council just agreed to spend $800,000 over the next six years to vet police candidates. Leonard Saxe, a psychologist at Brandeis University, helped debunk polygraphs back in the 1980s. “So in 2024,” he said, “it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense that they’re doing this.” Oaklandside
8.
As the A’s prepare to play their final game at the Oakland Coliseum on Thursday, the team’s owner John Fisher released a rare letter to fans on Monday. “We did our very best” to keep the A’s in Oakland, he wrote, but came up short. “And for that I am genuinely sorry.” The letter seemed to only inflame the anger of fans who blame Fisher for shopping the team to Las Vegas. “Not to be too crass,” wrote sports columnist Ann Killion, “but no one wants to hear from the murderer at the funeral.” S.F. Chronicle
- “This is a great work of fiction.” ABC7 sports anchor Larry Beil ripped up Fisher’s letter in a passionate reaction. 👉 YouTube (~4:45 mins)
Southern California
9.
A recent study found that three of the five American cities least prepared for a natural disaster are in Southern California, where wildfires this month have scorched nearly 200 square miles. Most residents, according to surveys, are themselves similarly blithe about disaster risks. It’s a confounding portrait, wrote Conor Friedersdorf: “Soon, all but those hardest hit by these fires will cease to think about them. The region’s pleasantness will lull most of us who haven’t yet been burned into forgetting the several imminent perils that confront our region.” The Atlantic
10.
The Filipino pastor Apollo Quiboloy told followers he was the son of God. He flew in private planes and bought up properties in the U.S., including in Calabasas, while his working-class congregants begged in the street. Girls would clean Quiboloy’s room, provide his meals, and engage in what prosecutors called “night duty”: sex with Quiboloy under threat of “eternal damnation.” The Los Angeles Times told the story of a self-proclaimed messiah whose alleged campaign of trafficking and child abuse stretched from the Philippines to Southern California.
11.
Jeffrey Ferguson, an Orange County Superior Court judge awaiting trial over the fatal shooting of his wife, was taken back into custody on Tuesday for violating bail terms against drinking alcohol. In court, Ferguson denied drinking even though an alcohol monitor on his ankle reported otherwise, infuriating Judge Eleanor Hunter. “I hate it when people lie to me,” she said. “I hate it.” Ferguson has acknowledged killing his wife on Aug. 3 but says it was accidental. Prosecutors say the shooting occurred after a night of drinking and quarreling. Courthouse News | A.P.
12.
Life magazine rose to prominence in midcentury America in parallel with the cultural ascendancy of classic Hollywood. A new two-volume coffee table book, “Life. Hollywood,” revisits the heyday of glamour and power with a mixture of celebrity portraiture and behind-the-scenes reportage as seen in the magazine. “As we sit firmly in the age of C.G.I., perched on the precipice of the A.I. era, these reminders of tactile Hollywood land in ways both exciting and heartbreaking,” wrote reviewer Gilbert Cruz. N.Y. Times | Wall Street Journal
- See 22 pictures from “Life. Hollywood.” 👉 Variety
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