Good morning. It’s Wednesday, Oct. 1.
- President Trump to “straighten out” L.A. and San Francisco.
- Small Sierra town remains broken five years after wildfire.
- And an AI actress draws a fierce backlash in Hollywood.
Statewide
1.
The speech delivered by President Trump to top military leaders at Quantico on Tuesday included familiar talking points: Joe Biden’s autopen, “sleazebag” journalists, the Nobel Peace Prize Trump felt he deserved. Then, around minute 44, the president pitched the nation’s generals and admirals on an extraordinary proposal: U.S. cities, he said, should be “training grounds for our military.” Places like San Francisco and Los Angeles represent “a war from within,” he said. “They’re very unsafe places and we’re going to straighten them out one by one,” he said. N.Y. Times | Washington Post
2.
More than 150,000 federal employees in California could go without pay.
Airlines could face delays as unpaid TSA workers start calling in sick.
And many National Parks could remain open but without staff.
A government shutdown went into effect at 12:01 a.m. ET Wednesday after Democrats and Republicans prepared for a potentially lengthy standoff on funding. Here’s what Californians can expect. 👉 CalMatters | Sacramento Bee
3.
“Newsom owns this gas crisis.”
Last year, Gov. Gavin Newsom declared Big Oil a lying, manipulating profiteer and the “polluted heart” of the climate crisis. But his crusade against fossil fuels was perhaps more successful than he intended. California is now staring down a potential energy crisis as the industry pulls up stakes. In response, Newsom has undergone a remarkable shift, backing off of his attacks while unleashing the state’s biggest streamlining of oil permitting in decades. Bloomberg
Northern California
4.
“We are totally forgotten.”
Just 5% of homes have been rebuilt in Berry Creek in the five years since a wildfire roared through the small town in the Sierra foothills, killing 16 people and incinerating nearly all of the roughly 1,500 houses in the area. It’s by far the lowest rate of post-wildfire rebuilding across the state over the last eight years, an analysis found. While other disasters drew presidential visits and fundraising concerts, Berry Creek was left largely on its own. Hundreds of residents remain in RVs and trailers, while 80% of schoolchildren still sleep in temporary housing. L.A. Times
5.
“People don’t realize how important the ranches are to this community.”
When Point Reyes National Seashore announced a landmark deal with environmental groups to buy out the cape’s historic dairies in the interest of restoring native tule elk habitat, the community of ranch workers found their lives upended. In a short documentary titled “Leaving the Point,” filmmaker Michael Fearon told the story of what the ranch closures mean to the people who live in Point Reyes. L.A. Times/YouTube
6.
Sean Feucht, a California Christian evangelist who became a MAGA star, was accused by former associates of mismanaging the deluge of money that has poured into his ministry since 2020. According to the whistleblowers, Feucht has acquired numerous high-value properties around the country, including a house in Redding, a condo in Dana Point, and a 40-acre hunting property in Montana, while overworking and underpaying his staff. MinistryWatch, a nonprofit that grades Christian ministries on their financial accountability and transparency, gave Sean Feucht Ministries an F. A.P.
7.
The hustle culture known as “996” is taking hold in Silicon Valley. The numbers refer to a work schedule — 9 am to 9 pm, six days a week. Ara Kharazian, an economist, analyzed food and beverage purchases on corporate credit cards in San Francisco to see if the trend was just talk on tech message boards. He found a pronounced jump on Saturdays. “This is not happening nationally. Not in New York, Miami, Austin, or any other tech hub,” he said. “996 is only happening in San Francisco.” S.F. Standard | N.Y. Times
8.
A cottage industry of squatter removal specialists has grown out of California’s housing crisis, catering to property owners who hope to avoid intractable court battles. In Oakland, James Jacobs of ASAP Squatter Removal embraces an unsettling strategy: His team moves into homes and, if met with resistance, drives squatters out with swords. “We’re the only company that uses swords,” Jacobs said. “We love swords.” Oaklandside
Southern California
9.
A production studio’s introduction of an actress generated by artificial intelligence has been met by a wave of outrage in Hollywood. Tilly Norwood, a British-accented brunette dubbed Hollywood’s first “AI actor,” was featured in a viral video poking fun at the entertainment industry. On Tuesday, the Screen Actors Guild issued a statement: “SAG-AFTRA believes creativity is, and should remain, human-centered. The union is opposed to the replacement of human performers by synthetics.” Hollywood Reporter | Bloomberg
10.
A school district in Montecito announced a $7.5 million settlement in a lawsuit by two brothers, now 65 and 68 years old, who said a long-dead principal molested them in the 1970s. The payout amounts to roughly 40% of the district’s annual budget. The case was brought under a 2019 California law that relaxed the statute of limitations on such claims, triggering an avalanche of lawsuits. State lawmakers, hesitant to be seen as abandoning abuse victims, let a measure to reform the law go without a vote this year. EdSource
11.
The U.S. Department of Justice sued the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department on Tuesday, accusing it of delaying thousands of concealed-carry permit application decisions for “unreasonable” periods of time. According to the complaint, out of nearly 4,000 applications for new licenses received over 15 months, just two licenses were approved. The Sheriff’s Department disputed those figures but cited a “staffing crisis” that has hampered processing times. L.A. Times | Reuters
12.
The last Woolworth’s luncheonette in America, located on the ground floor of a Bakersfield mall, is close to reopening after years of restoration work. New owners took over the historic moderne building in 2021, stoking fears that the diner’s days could be numbered. Instead, they made it the centerpiece of a restoration effort they hope will bring new life to the downtown. A block party to celebrate the reopening is planned for Oct. 25. KERO | BakersfieldNow
- See recent video from inside the Woolworth’s.
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