Good morning. It’s Wednesday, Oct. 29.
- California rallies to help food stamp recipients.
- Judge disqualifies U.S. attorney in Los Angeles.
- And a fantastic new artwork in the Coachella Valley.
Statewide
1.
With days until California’s special election concludes, Republicans appear to have all but abandoned their campaign to counter the Democratic redistricting ballot measure. A CBS News poll released last week found that 62% of voters support Proposition 50. Democratic candidates, meanwhile, are already jockeying for position in anticipation of a political landscape redrawn in their favor. Paul Mitchell, a political data guru, said he’s been flooded with calls from would-be congressional candidates asking what he thinks of their chances. “I’m like, ‘Well, go for it!’” he said. N.Y. Times | Politico
2.
“There is no excuse.”
California and two dozen other states sued the Trump administration on Tuesday over the halting of food stamp benefits during the government shutdown. Roughly 5.5 million Californians rely on the program, known as SNAP, which provides on average around $187 a month. SNAP maintains reserves for emergencies, but the Trump administration declined to use them, setting up the first delay of the benefits since Congress made them permanent in the 1960s. N.Y. Times | Politico
- Communities across California have swung into action to help SNAP recipients. Bay Area restaurants offered free meals. San Francisco said it would cover the missed benefits of its residents. And food banks stocked up as the state rushed them millions of dollars in emergency support. KQED | S.F. Chronicle | L.A. Times
3.
For decades, the U.S. Forest Service banned its firefighters from wearing masks even as they got cancer in their 20s and developed heart disease in their 30s. To find out exactly how harmful the air becomes during blazes, New York Times reporters brought sensors to the Green fire, sparked by lightning in July in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. They tracked PM2.5, among the most lethal particles associated with smoke. “Readings above 225.5 micrograms per cubic meter are considered hazardous,” the Times wrote. “On the fire line, levels regularly exceeded 500.”
4.
Gov. Gavin Newsom has hired the former top U.S. prosecutor in Sacramento, Michele Beckwith, after she was abruptly fired by President Trump over the summer. Beckwith was marched out of her office on July 15 just hours after she informed a Border Patrol official that he was obligated to abide by the Constitution. She’s now serving as a deputy legal affairs secretary, providing legal counsel to the governor and state agencies. She said she’s looking forward to “a very interesting year.” N.Y. Times
5.
A new study by Yale University economists found that Tesla would have sold at least 1 million additional electric vehicles if not for CEO Elon Musk’s embrace of MAGA politics. In California, the plunge in Tesla registrations essentially derailed progress toward the state’s zero-emissions vehicle goals. The 2026 target, which required 35% of new car sales to be zero-emission, would have been met, the paper said, “had it not been for the Musk partisan effect.” Reuters | Gizmodo
6.
The law came for elected officials in two California cities on Tuesday. In San Leandro, prosecutors charged City Council member Bryan Azevedo with two felonies, accusing him of taking bribes from a company seeking lucrative contracts with the city. When FBI investigators asked Azevedo in January whether he accepted cash payments, he lied, prosecutors said. In Coachella, Mayor Steven A. Hernandez was arrested Tuesday on felony charges of perjury and conflict of interest. Details of the case were scarce. S.F. Chronicle | Desert Sun
Northern California
7.
OpenAI announced Tuesday that it had adopted a new for-profit structure, a controversial move that allows it to raise more money from investors and paves the way for what could be one of the biggest initial public offerings in history. Preceding the announcement was what the Wall Street Journal described as a “subtle threat.” About two weeks ago, CEO Sam Altman delivered a message to state Attorney General Rob Bonta, who was weighing whether to bless the company’s conversion: He really wanted OpenAI to stay in California. Wall Street Journal
8.
In September, Barnes & Noble bought a beloved Bay Area independent bookstore chain for $3.2 million after the company filed for bankruptcy. Yet Barnes & Noble is continuing to operate the acquired stores under their old names. Critics say the strategy exploits the cachet of indie brands to compete with other small booksellers: “It gets the benefit of the emotional connection readers have with their local mom-and-pop bookstores while leveraging the financial might of a company owned by Elliot Management, a hedge fund with $76 billion in assets.” S.F. Chronicle
Southern California
9.
A federal judge on Tuesday disqualified the Justice Department’s top prosecutor in Los Angeles, Bill Essayli, ruling that he had served “unlawfully” for months. The order by Judge J. Michael Seabright, an appointee of George W. Bush, amounted to a rebuke of the Trump administration’s attempts to handpick acting U.S. attorneys without seeking Senate confirmation. The practical effect of the decision may be limited as Essayli was allowed to revert to the role of the office’s top deputy. “Nothing is changing,” Essayli wrote after the ruling. N.Y. Times | A.P.
10.
Emmanuel Ruggiero, a Los Angeles software engineer, built a home on cheap land in Joshua Tree during the pandemic in hopes of cashing in on soaring vacation rental demand. He’s trying to sell it now for roughly $200,000 less than its initial appraised value. If he had put his money in stocks, Ruggiero said, “I probably would have made more.” The Los Angeles Times wrote about the rise and retrenchment of the short-term rental craze in the Southern California desert.
11.
Once a powerhouse, the Inglewood high school marching band had fallen on hard times. Financial difficulties cut into school programs; families fled the district; the pandemic hit. Then Joseph Jauregui was hired as band director in 2021. On his first day, just eight students showed up. He wanted to quit. Instead, Jauregui lobbied administrators for support, recruited players nonstop, and told the kids about the power of music to change lives. Within a few years, the marching band — now more than 120 students strong — was playing for national audiences. In 2024, every senior in the band was offered a scholarship. The Guardian
12.
Indio, in the Coachella Valley, has added a fantastic animation to a bridge that is powered by the movement of passing motorists. The artwork is a modern interpretation of the Victorian optical toy known as a zoetrope. In contrast to the moving film of on-screen animation, it is the viewer that moves, bringing a stationary sequence of drawings to life. The artist Hervey Garcia painted roughly 700 frames along the Fred Waring Bridge to create the effect of a Native American on horseback transforming into a bird. See it here. 👉 @hervey.garcia
Correction
An earlier version of this newsletter misstated the name of the Coachella mayor, who was arrested on Tuesday. He is Steven A. Hernandez, not Risseth Lora. Lora is a city spokesperson.
The California Sun, PO Box 6868, Los Osos, CA 93412
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