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 Thursday, April 30.
- OpenAI is sued over mass shooter’s ChatGPT use.
- Huntington Beach keeps losing culture war fights.
- And the legal battle over Marilyn Monroe’s L.A. home.
Statewide
1.
When charting the path of California’s bullet train through the Tehachapi Mountains, which divide the San Joaquin Valley from parts south, policymakers sought to avoid disrupting the Cesar Chavez National Monument. The price of the detour: nearly $1 billion. “Originally framed as an act of preservation and a concession to the farmerworkers’ movement, the rerouting has taken on a more fraught meaning,” wrote the San Francisco Chronicle. “It’s another stark example of how politics and threats of litigation have warped the state’s marquee transportation megaproject.”
2.
A pair of foil surfers riding off Carpinteria had a scare last weekend when a great white shark chased one of the men for several minutes. Hydrofoil surfers use underwater wings to float above the water, allowing them to travel for miles. At first, Ron Takeda thought a dolphin was behind him before his friend, who captured the drama on video, confirmed the terrifying reality. “Don’t fall!” he shouted. “Don’t stop!” “I knew I couldn’t even look back at it,” Takeda recalled later, adding: “I just blocked everything out.” KEYT | Santa Barbara Independent
3.
Route 66 is turning 100 this year. The storied highway established a link from Chicago to the West Coast and became a symbol of freedom for generations of Americans. During a spell of ennui in 2014, the Los Angeles photographer Hayley Eichenbaum took a monthlong solo trip along Route 66. The “wilting romanticism” of the highway enthralled her, she said, luring her back repeatedly over the years to come. Her ongoing series, “Mother Road,” focuses on the roadside architecture — neon lights, mom-and-pop motels, kitschy restaurants — which she’s likened to classic film sets. dezeen | Wallpaper
- See Eichenbaum’s “Mother Road” photos.
Northern California
4.
Families of seven victims of a mass shooting in rural Canada sued OpenAI on Wednesday, accusing the artificial intelligence giant of negligence for failing to tell the police about the shooter’s activity on ChatGPT. OpenAI banned the account of the shooter, Jesse Van Rootselaar, for discussion of gun violence, but took no further action, despite the urging of some employees to alert the Canadian authorities. Jay Edelson, a victims’ attorney, said he hoped the lawsuit would be a wake-up call: “[OpenAI] should not be trusted to have the most powerful consumer technology on the planet.” Wall Street Journal | NPR
5.
Rep. Jared Huffman, a Marin County Democrat, opened an inquiry this week into the Trump’s administration’s effort to block a dam removal project on the Eel River. Brooke Rollins, the agriculture secretary, recently promoted the potential acquisition of the dilapidated hydroelectric project by a water agency in Riverside County, more than 500 miles away. Among the unanswered questions is how that would even be possible, Huffman said: “They have told us almost nothing about a proposal for something that would be really extraordinary and controversial.” S.F. Chronicle | Press Democrat
6.
Some officials worried that Santa Cruz’s century-old wharf would never be rebuilt after enormous swells caused part of it to collapse into the sea in late 2024. But on Wednesday, a crowd gathered to celebrate the wharf’s reopening, just in time for summer, after a $1.3 million repair job. The refurbished structure is smaller than the one it replaced but is much stronger, with new decking, beams, and pilings angled for lateral support. Santa Cruz Sentinel | S.F. Chronicle
Southern California
7.
Prosecutors on Wednesday shared disturbing details about how they believe David Burke, the singer known as D4vd, killed 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez. On April 22, 2025, the night before Hernandez was likely killed, she argued with Burke and threatened to “end his career,” prosecutors said. Burke fatally stabbed the teen, then bought chainsaws, a body bag, and an inflatable pool on Amazon to dismember the body, prosecutors said. When Hernandez’s body was found months later, it was missing a finger that had been tattooed with Burke’s name, they said. L.A. Times | Courthouse News
8.
A judge this week ordered Huntington Beach to pay nearly $1 million in legal fees after the city was sued for moving children’s books with sexual themes to a separate section of the library. Huntington Beach’s City Council, a bastion of MAGA resistance in California, has made culture war issues a central focus. But it hasn’t been going well. Since Jan. 1, the city has lost court battles over state housing mandates, voter ID, and California’s sanctuary law, racking up millions in legal fees. LAist | L.A. Times
9.
When a Gothic-style Mormon temple rose beside the freeway in La Jolla in the early 1990s, its design stirred debate in architectural circles. Kay Kaiser, the architecture critic for the San Diego Union, said it looked like “Sleeping Beauty’s castle at Disneyland.” Over the years, the temple has become one of San Diego’s most recognizable landmarks. But few residents have ever had the chance to venture inside — until now. In June, the church is planning to host a two-week open house ahead of a rededication ceremony. They’re expecting hundreds of thousands of visitors. S.D. Union-Tribune
10.
Marilyn Monroe’s Los Angeles home is now a legal battleground. The city initially granted the owners permission to tear down the structure and replace it with a modern home before rescinding the permission and declaring it a historic landmark. As a result, the owners say, the property’s value has plummeted and so many trespassers are turning up that they had to hire private security. “These homeowners have a straightforward request: either let them use their own property or compensate them fairly for turning it into a public monument,” said their lawyer, J. David Breemer. Architectural Digest
11.
A Los Angeles estate with ties to Qatari royals has been listed for $400 million. That’s not only the country’s highest price tag, it’s more than $100 million higher than the record for a U.S. home sale: the roughly $240 million paid for a New York City apartment in 2019. The compound overlooking the Bel-Air Country Club has roughly 70,000 square feet of living space, 39 bedrooms, 8 acres of manicured grounds, and three swimming pools. The Wall Street Journal has the pictures.
12.
During the Hammer Museum’s “Made in L.A.” biennial last year, visitors had the chance to vote for their favorite artist. Earlier this year, the museum announced Greg Breda as the winner of the Public Recognition Award. The Los Angeles artist employs wide brushstrokes on synthetic silk to depict Black figures in quiet moments surrounded by the light and flora of Los Angeles. The exhibit’s curators called the works “luminous and reverent.”
- See more of Breda’s work.
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