Good morning. It’s Thursday, Aug. 17.
- Tropical storm poised make rare landfall in California.
- Former Anaheim mayor to plead guilty to federal charges.
- And off-duty L.A. County deputy is fatally shot by police.
Statewide
1.
A tropical storm swirling off Mexico’s coast could make a rare direct hit to Southern California this weekend, delivering powerful winds, high surf, and torrential rain, forecasters said on Wednesday. Noting that the magnitude and track remained uncertain so far out, meteorologists projected the storm, named Hilary, would develop into a hurricane Thursday, then weaken to a tropical storm before touching down along California’s southern coast as early as Sunday evening. Some computer models suggested Hilary’s remnants could eventually reach as far as Northern California or even the Pacific Northwest. Weather Channel | Accuweather | L.A. Times
- Hilary’s projected path and timing 👉 @NWSLosAngeles
- Live tracker 👉 NOAA
2.
The luxury pet boarding chain Wag Hotels caters to wealthy pet owners from Silicon Valley to Hollywood, charging up to $160 a night for what it calls “4-star hotel service.” But a report by the San Francisco Chronicle uncovered gut-wrenching accusations of mistreatment at the boarding facilities. Pets were returned underweight and reeking like urine. A French bulldog had deep cuts and rotting flesh. Another dog’s paw pads were scraped off. Former workers backed up claims of neglect. S.F. Chronicle
3.
Unbridled logging in California’s coast redwood forests left a vast mess. Helicopter reseeding choked secondary forests; logging roads carved up the landscape; and contaminated creeks drove away the salmon, depriving the trees of fertilizer. A project called Redwoods Rising, which began in 2020, is trying to heal the damage to allow for future old-growth forests. It involves, to some consternation, the use of chain saws and prescribed fires. N.Y. Times
4.
In the 1990s, the Bay Area photographer Mimi Plumb encountered a band of semiwild horses while on a visit to a meadow high in the Sierra Nevada. She returned during several subsequent summers to photograph them sleeping, crossing rivers, and just hanging out. The portraits are now included in a new collection that Plumb described as “a meditation on the sublime of the untamed American landscape.” The Guardian
Northern California
5.
Affordable housing is often portrayed by critics as a form of blight. But three new buildings in San Francisco overturn that idea, wrote urban design critic John King. A development for the formerly homeless in Mission Bay lacks architectural pizzazz, he wrote, but includes bay views, a large courtyard, and a vegetable garden. “What counts is the humane care that extends through the building, enlarging the personal landscapes for people trying to rebuild their lives after years of struggling.” S.F. Chronicle
6.
As the Supreme Court’s ruling against affirmation action gave way to scrutiny of how many universities cater to wealthy students, one campus in particular has emerged as a model of egalitarianism: UC Berkeley. At campuses such as Harvard, Princeton, and Yale, one study found, students from the top 0.1% of income were more than twice as likely to gain admission. But Berkeley banned legacy and “VIP admissions” programs back in 1998. As a result, ultrawealthy students today are actually less likely to attend the flagship UC than average applicants with similar test scores. Berkeleyside | The Atlantic
7.
Goats have become frontline workers in California’s battle against dangerous wildfires. While targeted grazing is an age-old practice, California localities have increasingly turned to the voracious herbivores to clear the brush from hard-to-reach slopes that have helped fueled monster blazes in recent years. “There’s very little they won’t eat,” Michael Choi, owner of Fire Grazers Inc., told NPR. On Wednesday, Integrazers, a grazing company based near Sacramento, shared video of one of its herds on the way to work in Northern California. (Sound on). @integrazers
Southern California
8.
The former mayor of Anaheim agreed on Wednesday to plead guilty to federal charges in connection with an investigation into the sale of Angel Stadium, federal prosecutors announced. Harry Sidhu was accused of trying to use his influence over the deal to solicit a campaign donation from the Angels. “I am hoping to get at least a million,” he was secretly recorded saying. The charges include obstruction of justice, wire fraud, and lying to authorities. He faces up to 40 years in prison. Voice of OC | A.P.
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9.
Police officers fatally shot an off-duty Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy after they said he pointed a gun at them in Fontana on Wednesday, authorities said. The officers, responding to a report from a woman who said her husband opened fire in their house, encountered Deputy Alejandro Diaz, 45, on a nearby golf course. Video posted to social media showed the officers, guns drawn, approaching Diaz, then opening fire. “He grabbed the gun,” one person says. “What an idiot,” says another. Law enforcement sources said Diaz had suffered a mental health crisis. San Bernardino Sun | L.A. Times
10.
During the pandemic, homeless people in Los Angeles got rooms at the Mayfair Hotel through the federally funded initiative known as Project Roomkey. It was a wrenching period, according to correspondence obtained by the L.A. Times. In Room 406, emails showed, hotel staff found broken windows, a broken television, and a broken countertop. In Room 504, a resident spray-painted the shower curtain. Feces smeared the entry of Room 801. The city quietly paid the hotel’s owner $11.5 million to resolve damage claims. L.A. Times
11.
In 2002, Anita Busch, a reporter who had published unflattering articles on a prominent Hollywood figure, found what appeared to be a bullet hole in her windshield, along with a dead fish. “Stop,” a note read. An investigation led authorities to a private investigator named Anthony Pellicano, a fixer for rich and famous clients who would be accused of a litany of crimes in one of Hollywood’s biggest scandals in years. Now, 20 years later, Busch has revealed that she was brutally raped by two men in a dark parking garage in 2003. “There’s no doubt in my mind that it had to do with the whole Pellicano case,” she said. Hollywood Reporter | The Wrap
12.
Years ago, a group of surfers in Santa Barbara imagined what it would be like to surf on your feet, like a barefoot waterskier, with no surfboard. The result, with some help from green screen technology, was “Floater,” a short film that will make you want to believe. 👉 Vimeo (~3 mins)
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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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