Good morning. It’s Monday, April 18.
• | California runs for a time on 97% renewable energy. |
• | Once-vast Tule Lake is poised to go dry by summer. |
• | And Minor White’s evocative pictures of postwar San Francisco. |
Statewide
1
A Santa Barbara billionaire named Dan O’Dowd is running for U.S. Senate — but not really. According to multiple sources, O’Dowd has no intention of trying to unseat incumbent Sen. Alex Padilla and has filed candidacy paperwork as part of a planned ad blitz aimed at taking down Elon Musk, a business rival. But some Democrats worry the campaign could resonate with voters, endangering Padilla. Politico
2
Wind turbines in Mojave.
Irfan Khan/L.A. Times via Getty Images
California hopes to have a carbon-free power grid within 25 years. It got a short glimpse of that possibility when the state’s main grid ran on more than 97% renewable energy on April 3. That broke a record of 96.4% set just a week earlier. “While these all-time highs are for a brief time, they solidly demonstrate the advances being made to reliably achieve California’s clean energy goals,” said Elliot Mainzer, president of the California Independent System Operator. Bloomberg
3
On the growing talk in Washington that Sen. Dianne Feinstein, 88, has become mentally unfit to serve:
• | Ruth Marcus in the Washington Post: “To the extent that there is differential treatment, the explanation might be less gender than ideology. Progressive Democrats long frustrated by Feinstein’s centrism are eager for a more liberal replacement.” |
• | David A. Graham in the Atlantic: “The question of what to make of senators like Feinstein, who have no desire to leave the Senate but whose ability to do the job is in doubt, is not new, but no one has come up with any good answers so far.” |
4
Conde Nast Traveler recommended a 5-mile jaunt up Lassen Peak.
Sky Rock Media
A playground of humongous boulders. A climb through dense forest to three glistening alpine lakes. And an island bustling with wildlife, including adorable, housecat-sized foxes.
Condé Nast Traveler gave its picks for the best hike in every U.S. national park, including nine in California.
Northern California
5
Once vast, Siskiyou County’s Tule Lake is expected to run completely dry by this summer, a historic first. It will hamper crops, deny migratory birds of their rest stop, and strand an untold number of fish on barren land. The crisis has prompted a frantic effort to capture and relocate endangered species to nearby holding ponds. S.F. Chronicle
6
Capt. Kevin Larson flew the heavily armed MQ-9 Reaper drone.
Bree Larson, via N.Y. Times
Capt. Kevin Larson was one of the best drone pilots in the U.S. Air Force. But he did not pick the targets, and sometimes they did not seem right. Once, he was ordered to kill everyone at the funeral of a suspected Al Qaeda member. The job left him haunted. After a drug arrest and court martial, Larson fled into the Mendocino County wilderness. Cornered, he recorded a video to his family: “I’m sorry. I won’t go to prison, so I’m going to end this. This was always the plan.” N.Y. Times (gift article)
7
Connerjack Oswalt, who has autism, was 16 years old when he went missing in the Northern California community of Clearlake on Sept. 28, 2019. He was found this month shivering outside a gas station in Utah. He wouldn’t give his name to deputies, but a finger scan led to Oswalt’s missing person’s case. A reunion with his parents followed. “There wasn’t a dry eye in the room,” said Summit County Sheriff Justin Martinez. CNN | FOX 13 News
8
“Elks’ Shoe Shine Parlor, 1535 1/2 Geary Boulevard, San Francisco,” 1948.
Minor White/Princeton University Art Museum
Minor White arrived in postwar San Francisco at a time of immense change. Between 1948 to 1953, the celebrated photographer set out to find the essence of the booming city, making hundreds of evocative black-and-white images — beggars, policemen, children playing, members of the upper class with their suits and smokes. See 31 photos of White’s San Francisco. 👉 California Sun
Southern California
9
In the Coachella Valley, water-intensive home developments and surf parks have won prompt approvals. Yet along the low-income eastern edge of the valley, largely Latino residents avoid showers and buy bottled water because the tap water is so toxic. U.S. Rep. Raul Ruiz, a medical doctor, said he had seen young patients with stunted growth and delayed cognitive development. “It infuriates me,” he said. “These injustices and these disparities, it infuriates me.” Desert Sun
10
The latest drought map showed San Diego County in better shape than the rest of California.
When Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order last month calling on regional agencies to aggressively conserve water, he included the caveat that actions be “locally-appropriate.” That came as a relief to officials in San Diego, which has spent years working to diversify water sources and cultivate habits of conservation, putting the area in a better position to withstand the drought. FOX 5 San Diego
11
Rep. Karen Bass spoke during a mayoral debate as Rick Caruso listened on the USC campus on March 22.
Genaro Molina/L.A. Times via Getty Images
A new poll has Rick Caruso, a developer and former Republican, neck and neck with Rep. Karen Bass in the race for Los Angeles mayor as crime and homelessness dominate the political discourse. Bass, a former community organizer, has responded to public angst with promises for hundreds more police officers on patrol. That’s put her at odds with some progressive allies. Politico
12
A home with a dated kitchen and one bathroom was listed for $1.2 million in South Pasadena. After a bidding war, it sold for $2.5 million. Paying over the asking price has now become standard in many California cities. But things have gotten absurd, wrote the columnist Steve Lopez: “There are deep fractures in the foundation when a nice community with good public schools is so rare that an open house becomes a mosh pit for high rollers.” L.A. Times
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