The shrinking of San Francisco and L.A. // UCLA students who live in their cars

Good morning. It’s Thursday, Aug. 10.

Forecast sees population loss in L.A. and San Francisco.
Dianne Feinstein is briefly hospitalized after fall.
And the UCLA students who live in their cars.

Statewide

1.

Faced with an affordability crisis, Montana established arguably the most pro-development, pro-housing set of policies of any state. It happened partly thanks to the state’s politics and small population, wrote Annie Lowrey: “Yet perhaps the biggest motivating factor — one mentioned by nearly every Montanan I spoke with — was California.” Lowrey told the story of how Montana became “the anti-California.” The Atlantic

2.

California’s great cities are shrinking. (Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“We see low births. We see low migration.”

Both Los Angeles and San Francisco could have significantly fewer people in 2060 than they did in 2020, according to new state projections. Los Angeles County may lose a staggering 1.7 million people by 2060, a 17% decline, the forecast predicted. In San Francisco, the population may inch up but likely not enough to compensate for the steep losses of the pandemic. The trend is flipped in surrounding counties such as Riverside, Contra Costa, and Sacramento, which are projected to see big gains. L.A. Times | S.F. Chronicle

3.

Young Californians aren’t having as much sex as their parents did. In 2011, UCLA’s California Health Interview Survey found that roughly 22% of Californians ages 18 to 30 reported having no sexual partners during the prior year. A decade later, that figure had climbed to 38%. Researchers cited several possible reasons, including technology, access to pornography, and an overall slower-motion process of growing up. L.A. Times | KFF Health News

4.

Columnist Emily Hoeven said the the real purpose of the proposed debate between Govs. Gavin Newsom and Ron DeSantis is to raise their name recognition, boost their TV screen time, and rile up their online audiences: “These fights, in other words, are not substantive. They are for the memes. They are for video clips and soundbites. They are for the page views and followers. They are theater. They are spectacle. … It doesn’t really matter whether the debate happens — the important thing is that they created the buzz.” S.F. Chronicle

Northern California

5.

“For the record, I’ve never given him a bounced check.”

“Yeah, because you haven’t paid at all!”

For three years, eviction lawsuits never numbered more than 100 a month in Alameda County. In June, after the county’s eviction moratorium lifted, there were 772. A single judge, Victoria Kolakowski, has been presiding over every one of the cases. A sticky note on her computer reads simply, “Breathe.” Oaklandside

6.

The Klamath River has been strangled for more than a century. (Bureau of Land Management)

Work is now underway to remove four dams along Northern California’s Klamath River in the largest such removal in U.S. history. But the demolition is in some ways the easy part. After the reservoirs are drained, workers will seek to restore the banks of the newly wild river. It will involve helicopter deliveries of thousands of trees and the planting of nearly 17 billion seeds. “Why not just let nature take its course? Well, nature didn’t take its course when dams got put in,” said Dave Meurer, a project leader. “We can’t pretend this gigantic change in the landscape has not happened.” A.P.

7.

Senator Dianne Feinstein was hospitalized on Tuesday after tripping over a chair in her kitchen in San Francisco, her office said. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer spoke with her Wednesday morning. “She said she suffered no injuries and briefly went to the hospital as a precaution,” he said. Feinstein, 90, has defended her ability to perform her job despite mounting health issues and signs of cognitive decline. Last week, she missed an event celebrating San Francisco’s first cable car trip due to a cough. S.F. Chronicle | A.P.

8.

Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park in Humboldt County, home to some of California’s most exquisite redwood wilderness, now has a new all-terrain wheelchair that visitors can use for free. The Action Trackchair operates like a tank, with treads that can climb over logs and batteries that last as long as 7 miles per charge. David Echt, pictured above, an avid hiker before being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, took the inaugural spin last week. “This chair gave me freedom I haven’t had for many years,” he said. Active NorCal

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Southern California

9.

Actor Josh Hooks cleaned an apartment. (Allison Zaucha/Washington Post via Getty Images)

Josh Hooks’ star was rising in Hollywood. He had landed parts in television shows and a Lifetime movie. He had a supportive agent. Then, 100 days ago as of Thursday, the strikes began. Now he’s cleaning windows for extra cash. “Despite the sparkle that is synonymous with Tinseltown, most of the actors working in America’s dream factory do not earn enough to live,” wrote Reis Thebault. “Instead, they take on side gigs, known bleakly as survival jobs, to fund their Hollywood hopes.” Washington Post

“We can’t pay our rent.” Here are the stories of four struggling actors. 👉 L.A. Times

10.

Many of Los Angeles’ vehicle dwellers see a certain romance in the lifestyle. They sing the praises of Priuses, which are relatively cheap and offer a hybrid battery that can power heat and AC overnight. They seek out BLM land, where parking is free and the sites are safe. And they commonly talk of a desire “to live free.” Yet the truth is many were forced into their cars by circumstance, wrote M. Nolan Gray: “The urge to roam is human. But roaming is a lot more romantic when it isn’t done out of desperation.” The Atlantic

11.

Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour has dominated the music world this summer. It’s also produced hotel and restaurant booms in the cities where she performs. A new report estimated that Swift’s six sold-out shows at the 70,240-seat SoFi Stadium in Inglewood would generate roughly $320 million for Los Angeles County in the form of earnings, tax revenue, and other economic benefits. All told, another survey estimated, the tour could generate as much as $5 billion, more than the GDP of dozens of countries. NBC Los Angeles | USA Today

12.

Clam chowder at El Pescador Fish Market, left, the Rady Shell at Jacobs Park, and La Jolla’s Salk Institute. (@elpescadorfishmarket; @sddiscover; Daithi Blair/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

A fish market with amazing clam chowder and ceviche; an open-air concert venue with a backdrop of dramatic sunsets; and the defining work of one of America’s greatest architects.

Local luminaries shared their favorite spots in San Diego that many visitors miss. 👉 Wall Street Journal

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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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