Good morning. It’s Wednesday, March 4.

• Weaker Democrats are urged to quit governor’s race.
• State lawmakers seek to soften nuclear moratorium.
• And San Diego hosts “the giddiest soccer fans in America.”

---

Statewide

1.

California’s Democratic Party has grown increasingly anxious about the possibility of being locked out of the election for governor. On Tuesday, Rusty Hicks, the party chair, released a rare open letter urging long-shot Democratic candidates to quit the contest, lest they split the June primary vote and allow two Republicans to advance to the general election. Tony Thurmond, a Democrat polling in the low single digits, all but accused Hicks of racism. The party leader, he said, “is essentially telling every candidate of color … to drop out.” Thurmond vowed to fight on. A.P. | L.A. Times

---

2.

Gov. Gavin Newsom likened Israel to an “apartheid state” on Tuesday. During a Los Angeles event promoting his memoir, the likely 2028 presidential contender was asked by Pod Save America host Jon Favreau whether the U.S. should reconsider military support for its Middle Eastern ally. Newsom responded: “It breaks my heart, because the current leadership in Israel is walking us down that path where I don’t think you have a choice about that consideration.” Politico

---

3.

Fifty years after California imposed a moratorium on new nuclear plants, a bipartisan group of state lawmakers is pushing an exemption for modern reactors. The move in one of the country’s most anti-nuclear states speaks to the technology’s remarkable return to the mainstream amid AI electricity demands and climate mandates. Charles Oppenheimer, whose grandfather helped create the atomic bomb, heads a nonprofit that promotes nuclear energy. “California’s late to the party,” he said, “but symbols count and as California goes, so goes the world.” Bloomberg

---

4.

To attend football games, plays, or dances, California high school students first had to plug their personal information into a ticketing platform called GoFan — which then sold their data to advertisers. On Tuesday, the state’s CalPrivacy agency announced a $1.1 million fine against PlayOn, the GoFan parent, over the privacy violations. “You couldn’t attend these events without showing your ticket, and you couldn’t show your ticket without being tracked for advertising,” said Michael Macko, CalPrivacy’s head of enforcement. CalMatters

---

5.

The 2026 wildflower bloom is already dazzling folks across California. The photographer Elliot McGucken arrived last week in Death Valley to find the park awash in yellows and purples. “It’s the best I’ve ever seen,” he told the San Francisco Chronicle. Others have reported outbreaks of color in the Carrizo Plain, Joshua Tree, and Borrego Springs. HipCamp, a camping website, created an interactive forecast map using observational data from past seasons to recommend where and when to catch the bloom.

---

Northern California

6.

Under the category of public officials behaving badly:

• A pair of school officials in a small district near Modesto were sentenced to prison Tuesday for embezzling roughly $1.5 million. Jeffrey Menge, a former assistant superintendent, used the public money to remodel his home and buy a Ferrari, among other luxury cars. Modesto Bee
• A former Lodi City Council member, Shakir Khan, was sentenced to three years in jail for election fraud and money laundering, prosecutors said on Tuesday. Investigators said they found 70 names on voter rolls registered to Khan’s home address. Lodi News-Sentinel | KCRA

---

7.

Rep. Ro Khanna, the Silicon Valley politician that tech’s power brokers helped lift to office in 2016, is now the politician that they want to cast out of Washington. Khanna, an ambitious 49-year-old Democrat, infuriated some erstwhile supporters in the valley in December when he voiced support for a proposed billionaire tax. On Tuesday, Ethan Agarwal, a 40-year-old tech entrepreneur, announced his bid to turn that anger into a June primary challenge. Some deep-pocketed executives see him as the anti-Khanna candidate. TechCrunch | S.F. Chronicle

---

8.

Sam Altman, the OpenAI CEO, defended himself after a fierce backlash over the San Francisco artificial intelligence company’s decision to allow the Pentagon to use its tools for classified work. Uninstalls of OpenAI’s ChatGPT app surged 295% the day after the deal was announced. During an all-hands meeting Tuesday, Altman said it had been an unpleasant few days: “To try so hard to do the right thing and get so absolutely like, personally crushed for it … is really painful.” Wall Street Journal

• Dean Ball, President Trump’s former AI adviser, cast the Pentagon’s repudiation of Anthropic in civilizational terms. “Essentially, the United States Secretary of War announced his intention to commit corporate murder: do business on our terms, or we will end your business.” The Atlantic

---

Southern California

9.

A 26-year-old mother was mauled to death by dogs on Feb. 27 in Big River, a small town on the western bank of the Colorado River in San Bernardino County, authorities said on Tuesday. Emily Panuco’s 5-year-old son had tried to pet a litter of puppies in a cardboard box at the home of Panuco’s mother when three adult dogs, including the puppies’ mother, set upon him. Panuco intervened, saving the boy, as she suffered fatal bites, officials said. Animal control euthanized the dogs; their breed was undisclosed. KTLA | Patch

---

10.

A Los Angeles voice actor has become an unlikely star with his “unhinged” radio ads for a law firm. Terrell “Lucky” John is the pitchman for TopDog Law, a personal injury firm, recording four commercials a week that air in cities across the country. “But to describe what John makes as just ‘commercials’ doesn’t quite capture what’s happening here,” wrote the Washington Post. “These are operatic sagas. Emotional journeys. Slightly unhinged poems.”

---

11.

Since welcoming a new Major League Soccer franchise last year, San Diego has become home to “the giddiest soccer fans in America.” The team made history in its maiden season, entering the playoffs atop the Western Conference standings before falling in the title match. Some say the passionate fan base deserves credit for fueling the squad’s momentum. The photographer Israel Castillo turned away from the action on the field, moving through the stands at Snapdragon Stadium for a project called “Among the Supporters.” Times San Diego

• See more from “Among the Supporters.”

---

12.

At the edge of Poison Canyon, between the military testing sites and a psychedelic dry lake, a jumble of rocky fish heads juts from the Mojave Desert floor. The painted outcropping off Highway 178 is believed to date back to the 1930s. While graffiti in natural places is usually seen as a scourge, the fish heads have been embraced as a quirky landmark. At one point, the lines were painted over with more earthy tones to blend with the surroundings. Irate locals restored the bright whites. Atlas Obscura | Roadside America

---

Get your California Sun T-shirts, phone cases, hoodies, hats, and totes!

---

The California Sun, PO Box 6868, Los Osos, CA 93412