Good morning. It’s Thursday, March 13.

• Gavin Newsom and Steve Bannon find common ground.
• How a math genius fell into Zizian ideology and violence.
• And a gorgeous walk in Lassen Volcanic National Park.

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Statewide

1.

California needs to borrow $3.4 billion to cover a surprise budget gap in the state’s Medicaid program, the Newsom administration told lawmakers on Wednesday. The shortfall comes after the state extended the coverage to all unauthorized immigrants in 2024, a cost initially projected at around $3 billion a year. That figure has now ballooned to more than $8 billion. The budget pressure could force reductions in benefits. “But let’s be clear,” said Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas. “We will not roll over and leave our immigrants behind.” State Republicans called the new borrowing “insane,” “unbelievable,” and “damning.” Politico | KCRA

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2.

The Trump administration’s gutting of the Education Department reverberated in California on Wednesday. The regional branch of the department Office for Civil Rights, in San Francisco, was already backlogged with investigations of reported discrimination in schools. It’s now being shuttered. Mass layoffs also created uncertainty about how — or whether — billions of federal dollars for California would be managed. “It forces millions of parents, especially parents of students with disabilities, to worry about whether their children will receive the services they need,” said Guillermo Mayer, the leader of a civil rights law firm. L.A. Times | S.F. Chronicle

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3.

When a Politico reporter asked Gov. Gavin Newsom whom he planned to invite onto his new podcast, the Democrat answered: ”Look at the lineup at CPAC.” We now know he was serious. The first three guests on “This is Gavin Newsom” have included Charlie Kirk, Michael Savage, and in an episode released Wednesday, Steve Bannon. The reaction among critics of President Trump appears decidedly mixed. Political commentator Chris Cillizza called the conversations “a very smart gambit.” Adam Kinzinger, a former Republican congressman, said he was “in shock at the stupidity.” The Hill | Deadline

• New York Times: “The tenor with Mr. Bannon was set early on, when Mr. Newsom did not push back on his guest’s repeated false claims that President Trump won the 2020 election.”

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4.

Californians who are dismayed by Elon Musk and trying to sell their Teslas are running into a problem: finding buyers as the brand’s resale value sinks. David Andreone, of Culver City, offered his Model 3 Tesla in late February for $35,000. His posts on social media generated a lot of comments, but no buyers. “I have never in my life bought or leased a car for political reasons,” Andreone said. “Now I feel like I want to get rid of one for political reasons. I’m just kind of shocked and appalled at what he’s doing.” L.A. Times

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Northern California

5.

When Alexander Leatham, a transgender woman linked to a cult-like Bay Area group, appeared in a Solano County courtroom last month on charges of impaling her landlord, she used the moment to protest. “This is a show trial to coordinate the genocide of transgender people,” she chanted over and over. The outburst was the latest in a long-running entanglement with the criminal justice system during which Leatham has disrupted court proceedings, called a judge “evil,” and made two escape attempts. Open Vallejo investigated how a once brilliant math student “spiraled into Zizian ideology and violence.”

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6.

A study found that 66% of technology workers in Silicon Valley are foreign born. Among the region’s tech workforce, 23% of employees came from India and 18% from China. Just 17% were born in California. “What we easily forget is that Silicon Valley is not an American phenomenon — it’s an international phenomenon,” said Russ Hancock, the CEO of think tank Joint Venture Silicon Valley, which conducted the survey. Mercury News

• Silicon Valley has long fiercely defended the H-1B program that brings skilled workers to the U.S. But some prominent tech figures are now pivoting away from the program. Semafor

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7.

Meta has come out swinging in response to a former employee’s explosive new memoir about her experience at the company. On Wednesday, Meta won a legal victory that temporarily blocks Sarah Wynn-Williams from promoting her book, “Careless People,” or making “disparaging” remarks about Meta until an arbitrator rules on whether she violated her contract. Meta has vehemently denied the claims in the book, including allegations that Mark Zuckerberg worked “hand in glove” with Beijing on a proposed censorship program in China. N.Y. Times | The Verge

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8.

In 2005, a director launched a quarter of a million colorful bouncy balls down a San Francisco street for a Sony television ad. The short film was a sensation, sweeping the advertising awards circuit. Some wondered if computer-generated imagery was involved. But every single ball was real. To pull it off, the film crew had to buy “every bouncy ball west of the Mississippi,” rig a launch system, and somehow talk the city into letting them do it. “I’ll never forget the first cannon shot,” said Patrick Ranahan, the location scout. “The absolute chaos theory took over.” SFGATE revisited San Francisco’s most unforgettable television ad.

• See the making of the Sony ad. 👉 YouTube

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9.

Outdoors journalist Ashley Harrell wrote about the most gorgeous sunrise walk in Lassen Volcanic National Park:

“Along the 1.8-mile trail around the water, butter-colored rabbitbrush was abundant at the flanks and several ducks were foraging in the shallows. Soaring ponderosa pines and distant volcanic peaks were silhouetted against a Creamsicle-and-cornflower sky. And best of all, I thought to myself as I strolled beside the gently lapping water, I’m the only human around.” SFGATE

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Southern California

10.

Republican Rep. David Valadao’s decision to vote for a budget resolution that would almost certainly cut Medicaid funding has scrambled the usual partisan lines back in his southern San Joaquin Valley district, where roughly two-thirds of residents rely on the program. Kelly Kulzer-Reyes serves people with Down syndrome in Bakersfield. “I know he is a good person,” she said of Valadao. “But the vote to move forward with the budget resolution was devastating to me. I’ve never been as scared as I am right now.” L.A. Times

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11.

The number of Southern Californians bailing on the U.S. has surged over the last couple months, a company that helps expats move to Italy said. They typically cite one or more of a few reasons: political anxiety, high living costs, or natural disasters. On Jan. 7, Linda Bernardi watched her dream home in Malibu burn. That was the final straw. She and her husband began the process of finding a permanent home in Italy. “I just want to be as far away from the madness of L.A. as possible,” she said. L.A. Times

• Two months after the wildfires, the burned lots of Altadena and Pacific Palisades are hitting the market as many property owners choose to forgo the costly rebuilding process. L.A. Times

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12.

It’s been called a “postmodern masterpiece,” a “monstrosity,” and a structure that appears “like so many middle fingers raised to its neighborhood.”

Completed in downtown Los Angeles in 1976, the Westin Bonaventure has elicited strong opinions — often oohs and aahs from the public and scorn from critics. It was designed by John Portman, the architect who popularized soaring atriums ringed by cascading of balconies. “Architecture should be a symphony,” he once told a reporter. In the case of the Bonaventure, the result was a structure that — love it or hate it — became an instant Los Angeles icon.

• The photographer Non Paratus published a nice series of pictures highlighting the Bonaventure’s geometric flourishes. 👉 Flickr

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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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