Good morning. It’s Monday, Nov. 25.
Today’s edition: 13 items,
• | Trump presses for ways to go after California. |
• | Edward Gallagher case topples Navy secretary. |
• | And a storm gets ready to douse Thanksgiving plans. |
Statewide
1
Donald Trump addressed a rally in San Jose in 2016. He’s been fixated on policies that affect California.
Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images
President Trump isn’t known for diving into details of policy, with one notable exception: California. “Trump has attended meetings, asked detailed questions at briefings, and pressed aides to find ways to use policies to go after the most populous state in the union, according to three people familiar with the matter.” N.Y. Times
2
California’s legal marijuana industry is reeling. Numerous companies have announced layoffs, citing the challenges of burdensome taxes, complex regulations, and municipal bans on retailers. Then on Friday, California announced that it would increase taxes on marijuana businesses beginning Jan. 1. “People were gobsmacked,” a spokeswoman for a weed startup said. A.P. | Press Democrat
3
An expansive storm was poised to roll into Northern California by Tuesday, bringing significant rain and snow, then move into Southern California by midweek and last into Friday. The precipitation is a welcome relief after California’s abnormally dry autumn, but it also threatened to make a mess of holiday travel. Weather Channel | S.F. Chronicle
4
An astronaut on the International Space Station recently shared a couple of spectacular views of the Bay Area and San Diego Bay:
NASA
This image shows a flipped view — north is down, and south is up — of San Francisco, right, and Oakland, left. The large island is Treasure Island, where developers are gearing up to add 8,000 homes.
NASA
This one shows San Diego Bay — north is left, and south is right. Notice the colorful shapes to the right of the frame. That’s the South Bay Salt Works, a mining operation dating to the 1870s that was once the sole supplier of salt for Southern California. You can explore the area along a bike path that loops around the perimeter of the bay.
See larger images: Bay Area, San Diego Bay.
Northern California
5
Rep. Devin Nunes arrived for an impeachment inquiry hearing on Capitol Hill last week.
Andrew Harrer-Pool/Getty Images
Rep. Devin Nunes, the Central Valley Republican who has played the role of high-profile inquisitor during the impeachment hearings, is denying a report that he himself tried to dig up damaging information on former Vice President Joseph Biden in Ukraine. In a Fox News interview, Nunes declined to say whether he had met with a former Ukrainian prosecutor in 2018. He added, “I think you can understand that I can’t compete by trying to debate this out with the public media when 90 percent of the media are totally corrupt.” L.A. Times | N.Y. Times
The top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee said Nunes was likely to face an ethics inquiry. Politico
6
Juul said its e-cigarette was meant to provide a safer alternative to tobacco, yet it targeted young people — a group with historically low smoking rates. According to one study, 6 million adults were introduced to nicotine via e-cigarettes between 2016 and 2018. By the end of last year, the San Francisco company was worth more than Ford Motor Company. N.Y. Times
7
“It’s so senseless.”
Two boys, ages 11 and 14, were fatally shot while sitting in a van outside a Bay Area elementary school early Saturday, officials said. Family and friends gathered for a vigil in the Union City parking lot on Sunday. The father of one of the boys sat on a curb, head in hand, and stared at a memorial for more than an hour. Investigators hadn’t identified any suspects. S.F. Chronicle | Mercury News
8
The axe handover began with a stare-down at Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto on Saturday.
David Madison/Getty Images
They call it the Big Game, one of the most storied rivalries in sports. On Saturday, Cal won the 122nd edition, dethroning archnemesis Stanford for the first time in 10 years. That led to the student vs. student axe ceremony: There’s a handshake, a stare-down, a handover, and finally a maniacal celebration. David Lombardi/Twitter
Here’s a visual history of the Big Game. The Six Fifty
Southern California
9
Secretary of the Navy Richard Spencer tried to dissuade President Trump from dictating special treatment for a Navy SEAL.
Smith Collection/Getty Images
An extraordinary dispute over the fate of a San Diego Navy SEAL has now toppled the Navy’s top official. Defense Secretary Mark Esper demanded the resignation of Navy Secretary Richard Spencer over his handling of the case of Chief Petty Officer Edward Gallagher, who was convicted of posing with a corpse while in Iraq in 2017. Spencer had provoked President Trump’s ire by publicly disagreeing with his intervention in favor of Gallagher.
Spencer didn’t hold back in his resignation letter: “I no longer share the same understanding as the Commander in Chief who appointed me, in regards to the key principle of good order and discipline.” N.Y. Times | Washington Post
10
Centennial, a planned city, would add homes for 57,000 in the heart of wildfire country near Los Angeles. It’s been designed as an anti-wildfire fortress. But opponents say the project is the height of hubris. “If you were to create a top 5 list of the absolute dumbest places in the entire state of California to build a new large development — this would be on the list,” an ecologist said. Bloomberg
11
An internal audit found widespread mishandling of evidence by Orange County sheriff’s deputies, potentially threatening thousands of criminal cases. The county’s district attorney is demanding answers. In a letter to the sheriff, he wrote: “I appreciate your understanding that the conduct that you brought forward through your own investigative efforts, which I commend, has now created significant legal and constitutional obligations on my department.” Sacramento Bee
12
Edna Valley has among California’s longest growing seasons.
The Edna Valley wine region, just south of San Luis Obispo, is often overlooked. Yet its volcanic soils and cool ocean breezes help produce renowned pinot noirs and chardonnays. The wineries are the unpretentious sort where you’ll not only get to meet the winemaker, but the whole family. The S.F. Chronicle called Edna Valley the “California wine lovers’ biggest secret.” S.F. Chronicle | Road Trippers
California archive
13
Joe DiMaggio at Marilyn Monroe’s funeral on Aug. 8, 1962.
Bettman archive/Getty Images
Joe DiMaggio, born in the Bay Area on this day in 1914, was one of baseball’s greatest hitters, best known for his mythic 56-game hitting streak, a feat that has never come close to being matched.
His life off the field was illustrated by another pair of stats: 18,720 roses, and one broken heart.
DiMaggio married Marilyn Monroe, Hollywood starlet and former Artichoke Queen of Castroville, in 1954. The pairing of all-American icons seemed almost immediately doomed. By various accounts, DiMaggio wanted a stay-at-home wife, a role that Monroe was totally unsuited for. The marriage ended after nine months.
Roses sent by DiMaggio adorned Monroe’s crypt in 1982.
Bettman archive/Getty Images
DiMaggio never got over her. When she died of an overdose in 1962, he was shattered.
For the next 20 years, he had red roses delivered to her crypt in Los Angeles three times a week. On his death bed at the age of 84, DiMaggio’s last words, according to a close friend, were, “I’ll finally get to see Marilyn.” Vanity Fair | Vintage News
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