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, Feb. 3.
- Forecasters say midwinter heat wave will last all week.
- Officials advance plan to kill all deer on Catalina Island.
- And travel magazine names the state’s 41 best Airbnbs.
Statewide
1.
“Valadao is in deep trouble.”
Rep. David Valadao’s Central Valley district has the highest Medicaid enrollment rate, at 64%, of any Republican seat in the country. Yet last year, the Republican cast a decisive vote for President Trump’s domestic policy megabill that cut more than $1 trillion from Medicaid and other health programs. With two Democratic rivals primed to exploit voters’ feelings of betrayal, Valadao now faces the unenviable task of explaining why, CalMatters reported.
- “People will die.” Health care experts urged California to help residents navigate the federal cuts. L.A. Times
2.
As frigid arctic air blasted the eastern U.S. over the weekend, Southern Californians enjoyed afternoon highs hovering around 80 degrees. Forecasters say the midwinter heat wave is expected to last through the end of the week, pushing temperatures as much as 20 degrees above normal. Wednesday and Thursday are expected to be the hottest, as Bay Area temperatures climb into the 70s and Southern California’s inland coast and valley areas flirt with highs close to 90 degrees, the National Weather Service said. L.A. Times | S.F. Chronicle
3.
A chic bungalow in Venice Beach.
An architectural stunner in Yucca Valley.
And a cabin hideaway in the redwoods near Mendocino.
Condé Nast Traveler named the 41 best Airbnbs in California, based on guest reviews, location, amenities, and other factors.
Northern California
4.
A Texas man sued a Sonoma County doctor on Sunday, accusing him of prescribing abortion pills to his girlfriend in violation of state law. It appears to be the first test of a new Texas law, dubbed the “bounty hunter law” by critics, that allows private citizens to sue abortion providers for up to $100,000. In January, Louisiana authorities sought to extradite the same doctor, Remy Coeytaux, on similar grounds. California rejected the request. Reuters | Texas Tribune
5.
A Healdsburg bakery stirred up some big feelings when it scolded customers for their so-so generosity at the tip jar. “I understand what it’s like to feel overlooked,” owner Melissa McGaughey wrote of her employees on Instagram on Jan. 22, urging patrons to “consider” the work that goes into pastries. The message didn’t go over well at a time when many Americans have grown fed up with so-called “tip creep.” “Berating the customers for not filling the wage gap that they are exploiting,” read one representative comment. “Real classy.” Press Democrat
6.
Nearly 40% of Stanford University undergraduates registered as having a disability this academic year. Elsa Johnson is one of them. Writing in The Times, she said students are simply responding to incentives, and claiming disability status gets you larger living quarters, extra time on tests, and even exemption from classroom discussions: “The truth is, the system is there to be gamed, and most students feel that if you’re not gaming it, you’re putting yourself at a disadvantage.”
Southern California
7.
An appeals court on Monday tossed the conviction of Dr. James Heaps, a former UCLA gynecologist who was found guilty in 2022 of sexually abusing female patients. During the trial, the foreperson complained in a note that one of the jurors “did not speak English sufficiently to deliberate and had already made up his mind,” the appeals panel said. But Heaps’ lawyer was never informed of the note. That “failure to notify,” the panel ruled, “amounted to a violation of the defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to counsel.” A lawyer for the victims called the reversal “an indictment of California’s criminal justice system.” L.A. Times | A.P.
8.
When San Diego’s City Council met last week, dozens of people showed up to oppose a council member’s proposal to tax some vacation homes, holding signs that read “Keep San Diego Affordable.” But they weren’t from San Diego, and they had little interest in the measure, which was voted down. They were paid protesters, bused in from Los Angeles to create the illusion of popular opinion. The campaign appeared to have Airbnb’s fingerprints all over it, Voice of San Diego reported.
9.
With weapons drawn, masked immigration agents chased a congregant who was selling tacos in front of a San Fernando church onto the grounds of the house of worship last Thursday, in a scene captured on video. During a news conference Monday, leaders of North Hills United Methodist Church accused the agents of desecrating a sacred space despite being asked not to enter. The vendor, Carlos Chavez, was said to be a father of three who helped children’s ministries. He was promptly deported to Mexico. City News Service | Fox 11
10.
Conservationists are moving forward with a controversial plan to kill roughly 2,000 deer with rifles on Catalina Island after the state gave its approval. Nearly a century after hunters introduced 18 nonnative deer to the island off the Southern California coast, thousands of the herbivores are now mowing through native plants, priming the landscape for wildfire, and depleting the food supply for other animals. Local animal lovers have passionately opposed the eradication plan, calling it inhumane. CBS LA | KTLA
11.
The attention spans of college students have become so wilted that even film majors can no longer sit through movies, according to interviews with 20 film professors. Akira Mizuta Lippit, a cinema professor at USC, said students reminded him of nicotine addicts going through withdrawal. He recently screened the 1974 Francis Ford Coppola classic “The Conversation,” instructing students to pay close attention to the prophetic final scene. The request proved too much for some students, who stared instead at their phones. The Atlantic
12.
The natural forces that make California disastrous to humans are also those that have allowed the state’s only native palm to exist. California fan palms, or Washingtonia filifera, thrive on fire and seismic upheaval, rising in desert groves where earthquake faults have provided passage for groundwater to reach the surface. Fires enhanced the survival of the palms by clearing out wood-boring insects and allowing new seedlings to sprout, James Cornett, a desert ecologist, told DESERT magazine. The result: more palms and sweeter, more abundant fruit.
- Visitors have described walking through a California fan palm oasis as “breathtaking, “surreal,” and “magical.” Here’s where to find them. 👉PBS SoCal
The California Sun, PO Box 6868, Los Osos, CA 93412
Get your daily dose of the Golden State.
We also have our own stories to tell.
The Sun helps you discover amazing journalism in California. But the news can be a bit grim. That’s why we write a couple stories every week that we think inspire awe — on historical wonders, innovative people, or beautiful photography.