Good morning. It’s Thursday, Oct. 16.
- Lonely California Republican pushes to reconvene House.
- San Francisco named as “next” target for National Guard.
- And a Marine’s father is deported in Southern California.
Statewide
1.
A California Republican has been showing up on Capitol Hill in a lonely act of protest against his party’s refusal to reconvene the House. Rep. Kevin Kiley, 40, is one of the few Republicans to argue that lawmakers should be at work negotiating a solution rather than at home casting blame. “We’re supposed to be here,” he told a reporter on Tuesday. The New York Times explained why Kiley might be inclined to behave like a lame duck with nothing to lose: If California’s congressional redistricting measure passes, he is almost certain to be drawn out of his seat.
2.
In California’s conservative far north, yards are dotted with both “No on 50” and “State of Jefferson” signs. Some residents hope the Proposition 50 redistricting fight could be the catalyst for the long-held dream of a breakaway State of Jefferson. Carol Madison leads a social services nonprofit in rural Modoc County, which could be forced to share a congressional district with wealthy, suburban Marin County. “We barely have a voice as it is, and Prop 50 would completely take that away from us,” she said. “I think the State of Jefferson is a great idea.” Bloomberg
3.
The Trump administration said on Wednesday that it was withholding $41 million in federal transportation funding for California over the state’s failure to enforce English-language proficiency requirements for truck drivers. In April, not long after designating English as the official language of the U.S., President Trump signed an executive order requiring that all truckers who fail to show English proficiency during inspections be ordered off the road. California, for the most part, has disregarded the order, reports said. A.P. | Reuters
4.
It’s understood that money goes further in Arkansas than California. The Tax Foundation provided a more granular look at the disparities across the U.S., mapping the purchasing power of $100 by metropolitan area. According to government data, nowhere is spending power weaker than in the core of the Bay Area, where $100 gets you goods and services worth only $84.82 compared to the national average. No place surveyed in California hits the $100 mark, but large stretches of the state come very close, including much of the Central Valley and Southern California’s Imperial Valley. Look up your county.
Northern California
5.
President Trump said on Wednesday that San Francisco was among the “next” targets for his campaign of troop mobilizations in American cities. “We’re going to have a surge of strong, good people, patriots, and they get to go in, they straighten it all out,” he said. Trump has portrayed the deployments as part of a crackdown on crime and San Francisco as a hub of a “war from within.” State senator Scott Wiener, who represents San Francisco, said the city “neither needs nor wants Trump’s personal army on our streets.” He added: “Bottom line: stay the hell out of San Francisco.” KQED | Politico
- San Francisco is one of America’s safest big cities, with a homicide rate lower than it’s been since the Eisenhower administration, data showed. Compare the homicide rates of U.S. cities. 👉 S.F. Chronicle
6.
The remote work revolution that accelerated during the pandemic is quickly losing its hold across the Bay Area, a new poll found. This year, 64% of employed respondents reported working fully in-person, up from 46% last year. “It’s a surprising result,” said Russell Hancock, CEO of Joint Venture Silicon Valley, a regional think tank that conducted the survey in August. “We have seen many employers say, ‘The game’s up, we need you back in the office.’” Mercury News
7.
In West Texas, OpenAI and Oracle are building a new gas-fired power plant.
In Memphis, xAI is using gas turbines to power massive data centers.
And in San Jose, Equinix is making its own power using fuel cells that convert natural gas into electricity.
With voracious electricity needs that far surpass what the electrical grid can provide, Silicon Valley’s artificial intelligence companies are driving an energy Wild West that is reshaping American power, the Wall Street Journal reported.
8.
Daniel Bacon and his wife relocated to the Grass Valley area after visiting several times during the pandemic. The Gold Rush-era settlement combines historic charm with small-town open-mindedness and stunning natural beauty in the heart of the Northern Sierra foothills. “There’s something about living here that grounds you,” Bacon said. “It feels like being on vacation except you never have to pack up and leave.” The New York Times published a lifestyle piece on the twin cities of Grass Valley and Nevada City.
9.
Reminders of California’s tectonic landscape tend to arrive in jolts, the sudden heart-pounding wobble of the floor beneath our feet. But tectonic motion is a near-constant in many towns straddling the state’s faults. Aseismic creep, as it’s known, is generally undetectable to the public but can cause as much as an inch of displacement per year. The science writer Rowena Forest, camera in hand, toured the off-kilter fences, sidewalks, and walls of Willits, in Mendocino County, where the Maacama fault is busily tearing the town apart. Cal Geographic
Southern California
10.
The father of a U.S. Marine was detained while visiting Camp Pendleton in September and later deported. Steve Rios, the Marine, said his parents came to the U.S. from Mexico more than 30 years ago and built a life washing cars and cleaning houses. It was their sacrifice that inspired him to join the service, he said: “It was just making them proud.” Asked for comment, Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said, “Criminal illegal aliens are not welcome in the U.S.” NBC San Diego | Newsweek
11.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors quietly cut a check for $2 million to the county’s chief executive officer, Fesia Davenport, after she complained about her “emotional distress” caused by a ballot campaign. The measure, which voters approved last November, made the CEO an elected position rather than one appointed by the board. It was designed to add accountability to the powerful post, but it also made Davenport’s job obsolete. Critics demanded to know why taxpayers were footing the bill for what they said amounted to hurt feelings. CBS News | LAist
12.
Astronomers, robotics engineers, and planetary scientists gathered on the USC campus last week for a three-day convention held by the Mars Society. Many in attendance were bonded by their urge to look up at the cosmos and wonder: When can I go? Andy Greco, a Boeing engineer who lives in Seattle, said he would take “a one-way ticket” to the red planet: “For so many of us dreamers, it’s been in our imaginations for so long, that actually doing it isn’t such reach in our minds.” N.Y. Times
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