Open in browser | Forward to a friend
Good morning. It’s Wednesday, July 24.
A personal note: In the replies to my sick note last Thursday, two themes emerged. There appears to be a lot of Covid going around, and I have the world’s greatest readers. Thank you so much for your kind words. I wasn’t able to respond to each email, but I read them all. I’m feeling better and grateful for all of you. On to the news …
- Kamala Harris embraces contrast: prosecutor versus felon.
- Young woman falls to her death on rain-soaked Half Dome.
- And an outdoor lover’s 13 favorite California hikes.
Election 2024
1.
The Washington Post described it as “a remarkable closing of ranks.” Within 48 hours of President Biden’s announcement that he would not stand for reelection, Vice President Kamala Harris had collected enough delegate pledges to become the Democrats’ presumptive nominee. Some Republicans alleged “backroom” deal-making. But the claim has no basis, said Sen. Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut. “I understand people are skeptical these days,” he said, “but this was truly organic.” Wall Street Journal
- “The baton is in our hands.” Harris gave her first speech as the de facto nominee to deafening cheers in Wisconsin on Tuesday. N.Y. Times
2.
She has no biological children. *
“She was a DEI hire.” *
She “slept her way into politics.” *
Some lawmakers and commentators have outlined a preview of the rancorous lines of attack Harris can expect on the campaign trail. But racist and sexist remarks against a candidate who could become the first woman and first person of South Asian decent to win the White House could post new risks for Republicans. The Black community knows “DEI means n-word,” said James Lance Taylor, a professor of political science at the University of San Francisco. A.P. | Washington Post
3.
When Harris made her first presidential bid in 2020, progressive prosecutors had been elected in cities across the country. In that context, Harris’ record as a prosecutor in California was seen by many Democrats as insufficiently left-leaning. This time, a pendulum swing toward tougher attitudes on crime and public safety could make Harris’ background more of an asset, wrote Nicole Allan, former editor at The California Sunday Magazine. It also sets up a compelling contrast: the former prosecutor versus the recently convicted felon. N.Y. Times | Politico Magazine
4.
Other odds and ends:
- “We prayed for her, and she became vice president.” The mood was jubilant in the southern Indian village of Thulasendrapuram, once home to Harris’ maternal grandfather. AFP
- Harris now faces the first critical decision of her candidacy: picking a running mate. Here are likely contenders. 👉 N.Y. Times | Washington Post
- One new poll found Harris has a 2-percentage-point lead over former President Trump, within the margin of error. Another showed Trump with a 1-point lead, also with the margin of error. Politico | FiveThirtyEight
Statewide
5.
After years of benefiting from California in the form of billions of dollars in subsidies and a highly educated workforce, Elon Musk’s jilting of the state has left some bitter feelings. “I think Musk has made the calculation that he’s gotten all the benefits he’s likely to get out of the state and he’s moving on to the next one,” said Edward Niedermeyer, author of “Ludicrous: The Unvarnished Story of Tesla Motors.” “The state of California clearly thought that all its work bought loyalty but, instead, I think it bought a sense of entitlement.” L.A. Times
- Tesla sales are falling in California. Analysts suspect Musk’s combative politics may have something to do with sagging demand. Fortune
6.
Dunes that sing with the wind and turn soft pink at sunset, a cathedral of volcanic spires where the world’s largest land bird rules the skies, and an alpine desert where the oldest living things cling to barren slopes.
Emily Pennington, a veteran outdoor adventurer based in Los Angeles, listed her 13 all-time favorite California hikes. Outside magazine
Northern California
7.
A 20-year-old college student slipped and fell to her death as she was descending Yosemite’s Half Dome with her father on July 13. Jonathan Rohloff said he and his daughter, Grace, were on top of the popular peak when a rainstorm seemed to roll in out of nowhere. “I was like, ‘We have got to get down now,'” Rohloff recalled saying. As they made their way down the fixed cables, rain soaked the steep granite. “Dad, my shoes are so slippery,” Grace said at one point. Then she fell right past him, Rohloff said: “It happened so fast. I tried to reach my hand up, but she was already gone.” SFGATE
8.
Fresno County has some of the poorest residents in California. But until now, it had been overlooked in California’s growing basic income movement. On Monday, the first $500 payments went out to 150 families in the communities of Southwest Fresno and Huron. For Patricia Cail, it was almost too good to be true: She hadn’t even applied for the program. Her adult daughter had secretly put Cail’s name into the lottery. She was choked with emotion recalling the story during a news conference. “You all bless us,” she said. “This is a blessing.” Fresno Bee
9.
A decade ago, bear sightings in the Bay Area’s northern counties were rare. Then one night in the fall of 2016, a camera captured a mother and two cubs who appeared to be living in a state park in wine country. In the years since, black bears have climbed an oak in San Anselmo, wandered into a front yard in San Rafael, and ambled along a sidewalk in Larkspur. For the first time in history, black bears are moving into the North Bay, wrote Bay Nature.
Southern California
10.
While rhetoric on the border situation has intensified in the lead-up to the November election, crossings have sharply declined. In June, apprehensions totaled 83,000, official data showed, down from 117,000 in May. The figure last month was the lowest since January 2021, and the numbers in July are on track to be as low as 60,000. The shift has been attributed to actions by Mexico and President Biden. N.Y. Times
11.
The artists, skaters, musclemen, and vagabonds of Venice Beach make it a people-watching paradise. And then there are the dogs: bulldogs, danes, pugs, and poodles that embody the joy of the beach. The photographer Dotan Saguy made the canines the stars in his latest photo project, “Dogtown.” huck | Dotansaguy.com
In case you missed it
12.
A quick catch-up on headlines from the last five days or so:
- For nearly a week, rescuers tried desperately to locate a humpback whale entangled in a fishing rope off the Orange County coast. On Friday, they got close enough to finally cut the rope. “Everybody on the boat cheered,” said Justin Viezbicke, with NOAA Fisheries. LAist | L.A. Times
- A fast-moving fire that gutted six homes in Riverside over the weekend was sparked by fireworks, Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson said on Monday. She vowed to prosecute those responsible “to the fullest extent of the law.” NBC News | CNN
- The Silicon Valley billionaires trying to build a green city in Solano County pulled their November ballot initiative in a surprise move on Monday. “Our view was why run a close-call election?” said Jan Sramek, the CEO of California Forever. Bloomberg
- Mayor London Breed promised to launch a “very aggressive” crackdown on the city’s homeless encampments in August after a Supreme Court ruling gave its blessing to such sweeps. “The problem is not going to be solved by building more housing,” she said. S.F. Chronicle | SF Standard
- An analysis of new water-conservation mandates found that California’s hot, inland cities will face the steepest cuts. San Francisco, Monterey, and San Diego won’t have to make new cuts. Susanville will have to cut 44%; Merced 36%; and Bakersfield 39%. CalMatters
Get your California Sun T-shirts, phone cases, hoodies, hats, and totes!
Thanks for reading!
The California Sun is written by Mike McPhate, a former California correspondent for the New York Times.
Make a one-time contribution to the California Sun.
Give a subscription as a gift.
Get a California Sun mug, T-shirt, phone case, hat, or hoodie.
Forward this email to a friend.
Click here to stop delivery, and here to update your billing information. To change your email address please email me: mike@californiasun.co. (Note: Unsubscribing here does not cancel payments. To do that click here.)
The California Sun, PO Box 6868, Los Osos, CA 93412
Wake up to must-read news from around the Golden State delivered to your inbox each morning.