All of the must-read news about the Golden State in one place.
Hi, I’m Mike McPhate, a former California correspondent for the New York Times. I survey more than 100 news and social media sites daily, then send you a tightly crafted email with only the most informative and delightful bits.
Each weekday at about 6 a.m., you’ll get an email like this.
Good morning. It’s Tuesday, April 14.
- Eric Swalwell’s exit reshapes California governor’s race.
- Los Angeles schools strike called off at last moment.
- And a major April snowstorm revives Sierra ski resorts.
Statewide
1.
“Everybody thinks it’s up for grabs, because it is.”
California’s already unsettled race for governor has been scrambled further after sex abuse allegations made a pariah of Eric Swalwell, who had been the putative front-runner. Katie Porter and Tom Steyer appeared poised to absorb many of Swalwell’s supporters. But at least one analyst noted that Swalwell’s exit could create an opening for a centrist option, with Xavier Becerra, Antonio Villaraigosa, and Matt Mahan as likely aspirants. Looming in the background is the possibility that the two Republicans in the race could lock out the divided Democrats in the June primary. CalMatters | L.A. Times
- “I am deeply sorry.” Swalwell announced Monday that he would quit Congress. S.F. Chronicle | A.P.
2.
Federal fishery managers voted this week to allow salmon fishing off California for the first time since 2022 after a rebound in fish numbers. The long closure has devastated the state’s fishing industry, leading some to sell their boats and seek other work. Sarah Bates, who fishes commercially from San Francisco, said the limited salmon season would provide a boost. But she added: “In the bigger scheme of things, I’m pretty worried that we’re losing our coastal communities, and we’re losing our ability to deliver marine protein to the people of California.” L.A. Times | CalMatters
3.
“Winter isn’t over just yet.”
Mammoth Mountain said its ski season would extend through at least Memorial Day after nearly 4 feet of snow blanketed the Sierra in one of the biggest April snowstorms of the last 50 years. An exceptionally warm March shriveled the Sierra snowpack to its second-lowest level on record for the date on April 1. The new snowfall “will help a lot,” UC Berkeley’s Central Sierra Snow Lab said in a post. “We’ll see it melt and runoff into streams and reservoirs, re-moisten the soil and vegetation, and will delay vegetation drying out, which will help with fire season.” A.P. | Powder magazine
Northern California
4.
Roughly one-fifth of the gray whales that entered the San Francisco Bay between 2018 to 2025 died there, mostly after colliding with ships, a new study found. Josephine Slaathaug, the lead author, said the true portion could be close to half: “It’s really important to understand that these are just minimums that we were fully able to confirm.” The population of North American gray whales has fallen sharply over the past decade. Researchers speculate that they are increasingly drawn to the bay in search food as climate change disrupts traditional sources of prey. N.Y. Times
5.
The Texas man accused of firebombing the home of OpenAI’s Sam Altman carried an “anti-AI” manifesto with the names and addresses of board members, investors, and executives of artificial intelligence companies, court records revealed on Monday. The manifesto addressed Altman directly: “If by some miracle you live, then I would take this as a sign from the divine to redeem yourself.” Daniel Moreno-Gama, 20, was charged with attempted murder and arson, according to the criminal complaint. S.F. Chronicle | S.F. Standard
6.
One of Harmeet Dhillon’s first acts as head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division was to terminate a 2023 settlement to help install functioning sanitation in Lowndes County, Alabama — a poor, mostly Black area where raw sewage pooled in residents’ backyards and bathtubs. “The DOJ will no longer push ‘environmental justice’ as viewed through a distorting, DEI lens,” the former San Francisco lawyer declared.
The Atlantic spoke with more than a dozen current and former employees of the Civil Rights Division about the agency’s complete reshaping under Dhillon.
Southern California
7.
What would have been a historic strike was called off early Tuesday after Los Angeles public schools reached a tentative labor deal with a union representing custodians, bus drivers and other staff. The families of nearly 400,000 students had gone to bed Monday night not knowing whether campuses would be closed the next day. Details of the deal, announced around 2 a.m., weren’t immediately clear. Earlier agreements with teachers and principals guaranteed raises of nearly 14% and 12%, respectively. L.A. Times | Wall Street Journal
8.
In one area near a freeway ramp in San Diego, crews have cleared out homeless encampments 67 times in less than a year. But people keep returning. Some are resistant to help, but others have languished on waiting lists for shelter beds. “I tell them I’m disabled, I’m hurt, I need to leave the streets,” said Manuel Cazanas, 49. “Help me.” David Caron, 50, remarked on the pointlessness of the exercise. “It’s like they’re just hustling us around,” he said. “It’s like they’re moving cattle.” Voice of San Diego
9.
“The chute’s pull-door swung down, crashing onto [Christopher] Dennis’s throat. He struggled, hands and feet free of the ground — like Superman in flight, but all wrong. He couldn’t get traction on anything. The metal door cut into his skin and crushed his larynx; he couldn’t get air through. Dennis couldn’t breathe. He was asphyxiating, and he was alone. With his head still upside down, the blood ran out of his nose. His limbs ceased their frantic motions. Superman’s heart stopped. The endless traffic of Van Nuys Boulevard pulsed all night, indifferent.”
The Believer wrote about an entirely avoidable problem that is killing dozens of homeless people across the country.
10.
More than 1,000 writers, actors, and directors released a letter Monday opposing Paramount’s proposed takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery. Among the signers were Joaquin Phoenix, Bryan Cranston, Noah Wyle, Kristen Stewart, and Jane Fonda. The letter warned that the merging of two of Hollywood’s major studios would result in fewer opportunities for creators. It added: “Increasingly, a small number of powerful entities determine what gets made — and on what terms — leaving creators and independent businesses with fewer viable paths to sustain their work.” L.A. Times | N.Y. Times
11.
At 82, Annie Judis holds the Guinness World Record for oldest competitive rope skipper. A former model and actress, she became one of the first Black women to be featured as a centerfold in Playboy magazine. Nearly every morning, Judis jumps rope in the kitchen of her Beverly Hills mansion for her 187,000 Instagram followers. “You’re going to need that energy for the grandkids,” she reminds them. The New York Times profiled “the jump rope queen of Beverly Hills.”
12.
Marilyn Monroe would have turned 100 on June 1, and there are plans for exhibits, film screenings, and parties to celebrate the Hollywood icon. Palm Springs, home of the “Forever Marilyn” statue, is planning to gather hundreds of people dressed as the actress in an attempt to establish the world record for most “Marilyns” assembled. Britain’s National Portrait Gallery will exhibit images charting the life of one of the most photographed figures of the 20th century. See selections from the show, including pictures never before published. 👉 FAD magazine | PetaPixel
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