New push to limit concealed carry guns // The gospel of John Coltrane in S.F.

Good morning. It’s Thursday, Feb. 2.

California moves to limit where people can carry guns.
UC Davis students camp out in pursuit of housing leases.
And a church devoted to the gospel of John Coltrane.

Statewide

1.

Gov. Gavin Newsom spoke alongside state Senator Anthony Portantino in Sacramento on Wednesday. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

In June, the Supreme Court ruled that Americans have a constitutional right to carry firearms in public. On Wednesday, California moved to test the ruling as Democratic leaders announced legislation that would ban guns in numerous venues, including churches, libraries, zoos, amusement parks, playgrounds, and banks — even for people with concealed carry permits. “You don’t need a gun to go to Dodger Stadium or to your daughter’s AYSO soccer game,” said state Senator Anthony Portantino. A.P. | Mercury News

2.

After Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the country’s first statewide vaccine mandate for school children on Oct. 1, 2021, protesters gathered on the steps of the State Capitol and families organized a school walkout. Fifteen months later, state leaders appear to be abandoning the vaccine mandate, but without saying so. The silence has frustrated some school leaders. “Just say it,” said Lucerne Valley Unified Superintendent Peter Livingston. “If it’s over, just say it.” EdSource

3.

The Colorado River winds across the southwestern U.S. (Zoi Koraki/CC BY-NC 2.0)

A report on the Colorado River impasse by Grist, an environmental news outlet, included elegant graphics illustrating how deep proposed cuts would be for each of the seven states that draw from the river. Under a plan that all of the states except California have endorsed, California would lose the greatest volume of water in dry years, but Arizona would lose the largest share of its allocation, 44%, compared to California’s 32%. Grist

4.

☝️ The Los Angeles photographer Dan Bartlett captured a picture of a strange green object in the night sky from his cabin in June Lake in late December. The comet known as C/2022 E3 (ZTF) was discovered at San Diego County’s Palomar Observatory in March and has been growing brighter as it makes its the closest approach to Earth, a cool 26 million miles away, on Wednesday and Thursday. It’s not expected to be visible to the naked eye from California’s brightly lit cities. But it is out in the deserts and mountains and should remain so for the first half of February. Space.com | Wall Street Journal

See more of Bartlett’s comet photos. 👉 Astrobin.com

Northern California

5.

After the fatal shooting of a police officer in Selma on Tuesday, Fresno County’s district attorney, Lisa Smittcamp, lashed out at Gov. Gavin Newsom over prison reforms that have relaxed sentences for certain inmates. The suspect, officials said, was a gang member out on probation. What followed was a caustic exchange:

Smittcamp: Newsom and other state leaders have “the blood of this officer on their hands.”

Newsom: “She should blame herself. … She has the prosecutorial discretion. Ask her what she did in terms of prosecuting that case. I’m sick and tired of being lectured by her.”

Smittcamp: “He has no idea what he’s talking about. He has no clue how the superior courts in the state of California work. … Maybe if he would start listening to some of my lectures he wouldn’t make so many mistakes.” @MayraFrancoTV | GV Wire

● ●

Gonzalo Carrasco Jr. had been on the Selma force less than two years. (Selma Police Department)

The slain officer was identified as Gonzalo Carrasco Jr., whose girlfriend is pregnant with their child. Friends said he put service above self. KFSN

6.

Students have been camping overnight in the cold outside apartment complexes at UC Davis this month in hopes of obtaining coveted student housing leases for next year, a report said. Even eight months away from the fall quarter, many are failing. A first-year student said it shouldn’t be this hard: “This isn’t Berkeley, Santa Cruz, or Santa Barbara. It’s Davis.” Davis Vanguard

7.

Sacramento’s police department is getting an armored military vehicle — and critics are furious. On Tuesday, the City Council authorized the purchase of a $440,000 Rook, which law enforcement officials said they needed for hostage situations and barricaded suspects. Councilmember Katie Valenzuela voted no. “This is not a warzone,” she said. “This is our community.” CapRadio | ABC10

8.

A piece of Coltrane-inspired art from the St. John William Coltrane African Orthodox Church. (St. John William Coltrane African Orthodox Church)

There’s a church in San Francisco dedicated to the gospel of John Coltrane. Founded in 1969 in the city’s Fillmore District, the St. John Coltrane African Orthodox Church has the saxophone great as its officially canonized patron saint. A couple years ago, the arts writer M.H. Miller investigated the question, “why Coltrane?” He concluded, “If you allow yourself to hear Coltrane — really hear him — his music, like God or Buddha or Dharma or Allah, can, as [the playwright Amiri] Baraka describes it, ‘make you think a lot of weird and wonderful things.'” N.Y. Times Magazine | New Yorker

Southern California

9.

“It’s just shocking.”

Andra Bard, a 52-year-old in Santa Monica, is used to paying an average of about $68 a month for her gas bill. This week, she opened her January statement to find she owes $330, a 385% increase. Residents across Southern California have been experiencing similar shocks after wholesale natural gas prices spiked dramatically in the state, even as they fell nationally. Authorities have blamed cold temperatures, increased demand, and tighter supplies. Consumer groups are demanding an investigation. Bloomberg

10.

A real estate company wants to build the first Costco in South Los Angeles and add 800 apartment units built on top. About a quarter of the housing stock would be set aside for low-income tenants. Brenda Ashby, member of a local community group, welcomed the unusual idea in an area desperate for affordable housing. “This is truly a game changer for us,” she said. An online commenter jokingly asked if pneumatic tubes could installed between apartments and the food court. KTLA | L.A. Times

11.

Handlers worked with a sea lion off San Diego in 2007. (Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images)

For more than half a century, the U.S. Navy has been training bottlenose dolphins and California sea lions to locate underwater mines, recover submerged objects, and intercept rogue swimmers. With the rise of better technology, the animals at Naval Base Point Loma have become increasingly obsolete — at least as military assets. Now, the facility is pushing the frontiers of geriatric marine mammal medicine as it cares for dolphins in their 50s. N.Y. Times

12.

The Palm Springs tram rises more than a mile in elevation up sheer mountain. (Ron Niebrugge)

Southern Californians in search of snow can zig-zag their way up mountain roads or whisk in comfort to the top of the Mount San Jacinto in about 10 minutes. In summer months, the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway is a popular escape from the desert heat. Winter offers another sort of adventure in the snow. From the tramway’s mountain station, you can explore 50 miles of highland trails or kick back at Peaks Restaurant with all of the Coachella Valley at your feet. NBC Palm Springs | Palm Springs Life

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The California Sun is written by Mike McPhate, a former California correspondent for the New York Times.

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