Good morning. It’s Wednesday, April 12.
- Wall Street turns California’s scarce water into profits.
- Move to name road after Cesar Chavez divides Fresno.
- And the best burritos in San Diego, L.A., and San Francisco.
Statewide
1.
“Deeper pockets, deeper wells.”
A journalistic investigation found that investors in New York, Toronto, Zurich, and other financial capitals have been depleting California’s groundwater to grow nuts that offer higher profits but require copious irrigation. Since 2010, six major investors have quadrupled their farmland in California to almost 120,000 acres. “Despite epochal drought, these companies have fueled the growth of permanent crops, disregarding some of the most basic principles of sustainable investing,” Bloomberg wrote.
2.
In October, California was so flush with cash it that sent $9.5 billion back to taxpayers. Six months later, the state’s nearly $100 billion surplus has morphed into a $22.5 billion deficit; a wave of layoffs has swept through the tech industry; and severe flooding has caused hundreds of millions of dollars in crop losses. “Through all this, one thing has remained constant: Many Californians say their biggest economic concern is housing costs,” the New York Times wrote.
3.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein announced in February that she would not seek reelection in 2024. But Democratic activists and left-leaning media outlets called for the 89-year-old to step down immediately Tuesday after reports that her absence as she recovers from shingles has made it harder to confirm President Biden’s judicial nominees. Jon Lovett, a former speechwriter for former President Obama, called the situation a “farce.” “She has to resign and more people should be calling on her to resign,” he said. S.F. Chronicle | The Hill
4.
In San Francisco, the famous Mission burrito includes rice, beans, guacamole, and pico de gallo inside a grilled tortilla. In Los Angeles, Chicano restaurants serve saucy, stew-filled bean-and-cheese burritos. In San Diego, they pack their burritos with french fries.
The food publication Eater published the ultimate guide to California burritos, including its nominations for the best burrito spots in each city.
5.
☝️ Just for fun, here are Massachusetts, West Virginia, Rhode Island, Vermont, South Carolina, Delaware, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Maryland, and New Jersey squeezed into California, created via Thetruesize.com.
And below are some numbers comparing California with all 10 states in aggregate.
- Population, as of the 2020 Census
States: 37.1 million
California: 39.5 million - 2022 GDP
States: $2.9 trillion
California: $3.6 trillion - Seats in the U.S. Senate
States: 20
California: 2
Northern California
6.
Officer No. 1: “I was bummed that beast was so fat cuz he didn’t bruise up very fast.”
Officer No. 2: “It never looks good on black guys. Just like jobs and responsibilities.”
An investigative report revealed dozens of racist texts between officers within the Antioch Police Department, with homophobic and anti-Black slurs traded even in front of superiors for years. About a fifth of the police force has been suspended since the FBI opened an investigation into allegations of misconduct last year. Mercury News
7.
Last month, Fresno’s City Council voted to rename a street after Cesar Chavez, the great labor leader. But on Tuesday, the county’s Board of Supervisors came out forcefully against the move, unanimously approving a resolution to oppose the renaming of the 10-mile roadway, which crosses areas under county jurisdiction. Supervisor Brian Pacheco said he could not condone “erasing one culture over another.” Marek Warszawski, a local columnist, called the resolution political theater. Fresno Bee
8.
Sacramento County officials have been housing foster kids in the cells of a former juvenile detention facility for six months, in violation of state law. A state agency ordered the county to get the kids out of the cells last fall, saying the jail-like setting threatened to “retraumatize” them. “Some foster youth have incarcerated parents or have been incarcerated themselves,” wrote Larry Fluharty, an ombudsperson in the state’s foster care agency. The county declined, citing a lack of alternatives. Sacramento Bee
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9.
Elizabeth Holmes, the disgraced founder of Theranos, will have to appeal her fraud conviction from behind bars after a judge declined to grant her bail late Monday. The decision by U.S. District Judge Edward Davila means Holmes, 39, will have to surrender to authorities on April 27 to begin her 11-year prison sentence. She’ll be separated from the two children she had leading up to her trial and after her conviction. A.P. | Bloomberg
Southern California
10.
On Oct. 17, 2017, a San Diego County sheriff’s deputy ticketed Susan Porter after she honked her horn in solidarity with protesters denouncing Rep. Darrell Issa in Vista. She sued, arguing that the beeps were protected speech. But last Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled against her, upholding a lower court decision that said the First Amendment does not protect Californians who honk their horns for any reason other than alerting people to danger. Her lawyer said they may take the case the Supreme Court. “People do this every day,” he said. Washington Post | Courthouse News
11.
The Biden administration on Tuesday proposed that California, Arizona, and Nevada evenly cut their water allotments from the depleted Colorado River by as much as a quarter. Spreading the reductions uniformly would hit California harder, particularly in the Imperial Valley growing region, because it receives the largest share of water based on a century-old compact. The government said it would prefer voluntarily cuts, but that it’s prepared to force the matter. Arizona and Nevada are both important swing states for President Biden. N.Y. Times | Wall Street Journal
12.
As San Diego lawmakers prepare to debate a controversial ordinance banning all homeless encampments within the city, Voice of San Diego published a beautifully done photo essay on the “faces of homelessness.” The photographer Ariana Drehsler spent months building trust with nine homeless people, who told her their hopes: getting teeth fixed, access to a restroom, freedom from addiction, and most of all a home. Voice of San Diego
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