Good morning. It’s Thursday, Oct. 22.
- California state workers hold first strike in 44 years.
- Agents knock on doors in search of noncitizen voters.
- And high school students push to rid classrooms of AI.
Statewide
1.
State workers gathered on picket lines across California on Wednesday in a one-day strike to protest what they say are unfair labor practices by the Newsom administration. It was their first statewide walkout in 44 years. The state government’s largest union, representing about 100,000 workers, was once on good terms with Gov. Gavin Newsom, making hefty donations to his campaigns. Relations soured after he demanded wage cuts to help shore up a budget crisis and called workers back to the office after they had grown accustomed to remote work during the pandemic. CalMatters | A.P.
2.
Armed Homeland Security agents have been going door to door in California and asking residents about their immigration and voter registration status. The operation is part of the Trump administration’s effort in the run-up to the midterms to find examples of noncitizen voting, a phenomenon that researchers have found to be vanishingly rare. A DHS spokesman said the agency is “restoring integrity to our election systems.” Wendy Weiser, of the Brennan Center for Justice, said the tactics seemed designed to intimidate voters rather than root out ineligible ones. CBS News | Newsweek
- Omar Muñoz, 72, whose predawn arrest on noncitizen voting charges was highlighted by federal prosecutors this week, denied having ever registered or voted in an interview late Tuesday. Fox 11
3.
Trevor Milton, founder of the truck maker Nikola Corp., boasted of creating the world’s first functional hydrogen-powered semi-truck. He told investors the company had more than 14,000 preorders. He said Nikola operated the largest hydrogen production facility in the Western Hemisphere. All of that was untrue, and Milton was indicted for fraud. Yet even after his criminal behavior was revealed, California paid Nikola $50 million for its trucks. Less than three years later, the company collapsed and most of its fleet was recalled. L.A. Times
4.
Californians have been broadly disappointed in the job of Gov. Gavin Newsom, with most rating his performance as “poor” or “fair,” a new Politico poll found. Just 36% approved of the job he’s done over the past eight years. Yet Xavier Becerra, the Democratic candidate for governor who has effusively praised Newsom, appears on track to win his seat by a wide margin. “The results,” Politico wrote, “suggest a disconnect between voters expressing desire for policy change, but picking a candidate more similar to the status quo.”
5.
Joe Garcia, who was sent away for murder in 2009, discovered an unexpected catalyst for personal change behind bars at Solano state prison: the music of Taylor Swift. When he first heard her hit “Everything Has Changed,” his mind was cast back to his own experience of falling in love before being incarcerated. “I had to fight back tears of exaltation and grief,” he recalled in an essay. The New Yorker produced a moving short documentary about an unlikely Taylor Swift fan’s search for redemption.
6.
In fire-prone parts of California, new safety rules require homeowners to create a 5-foot zone around their homes that is free of flammable vegetation. Julianna and Mark Hayes faced no such mandate where they live in Marin County. Still, they recently tore out their lush Japanese garden, with plans to add rocks, turf, and pavers in its place. “In the back of my husband’s mind is, ‘Let’s just get ahead of it,’” Juliana said. Across California, the Wall Street Journal reported, “the 5-foot buffer is rapidly morphing from an afterthought into a sought-after home feature.”
Northern California
7.
San Francisco now pays half the cost of child care for families making up to $325,000 a year. That households earning more than 3.5 times that of the country’s median should qualify for government aid is the latest sign of how the artificial intelligence boom has pushed the city’s cost of living to new extremes. John Marman, a therapist, and his wife, Natsumi Makiyama, a pediatric nurse, together earn $235,000 a year. They’ve become coupon clippers. “I don’t want to say we’re rationing, but we’re definitely thinking about not using too much,” Marman said. N.Y. Times
8.
Last month, Mark Zuckerberg gave Meta’s board an ultimatum: either protect him from California’s proposed billionaire tax or he would list his Palo Alto home for sale in a move that could create a public-relations crisis for the company. On Wednesday, regulatory filings revealed the deal that was struck. Zuckerberg, the world’s sixth-richest person with an estimated net worth of $247 billion, will get special shares that he can sell to cover a potential multibillion-dollar tax bill, without diluting his voting power at the firm. In return, he agreed to stay in California for the next eight years. N.Y. Times | Reuters
Southern California
9.
After a coyote attacked a toddler in a trendy Los Angeles neighborhood last Friday, doctors treated the boy, wildlife workers euthanized the animal, and residents traded recriminations. The coyote had been roaming Atwater Village for months, and some residents affectionately nicknamed him Wiley. At least one person was said to have fed the coyote. Other residents warned that the wild animal had been allowed to grow dangerously comfortable. On Wednesday, the L.A. Times reported that California wildlife officials are now planning to file a case alleging illegal feeding of wildlife.
10.
“Train tracks are getting blasted.”
Among the most arresting images from the ocean’s battering of Southern California’s coast in recent weeks was a viral video taken inside Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner showing a wave crashing against the window. Now a videographer has flown a drone along the coast-hugging train tracks in San Clemente, capturing the view from outside as waves splashed a passing train on Tuesday. YouTube/Skid Kids
- “These are scary times.” San Clemente, an idyllic surf town, is facing an existential crisis as its bluffs crumble and beaches recede. The Guardian | L.A. Times
11.
Simon Afram, a Swiss billionaire businessman, arrived in Hollywood with plans to make a movie financed by $45 million of his own money. Afram wrote “Fortitude,” a World War II thriller, and lured Nicolas Cage and Ben Kingsley to appear in it with huge money offers. A parade of setbacks followed, including snubs from major Hollywood distributors, the theft of a drive containing “Fortitude,” and legal brawls with Martin Scorsese and Netflix. The Wall Street Journal told a story of bravado, big money, and naiveté in Hollywood.
12.
“Who needs literacy and nuance and critical thinking anymore?”
In Long Beach, a campaign against the use of artificial intelligence in high school classrooms is being waged by an unlikely group: the students themselves. The group Anti-Generative AI Campaign, launched earlier this year, argues that AI is subverting the arts and robbing kids of the ability to think for themselves. Pretty much everyone is cheating with AI, students told the school board this month. Long Beach Post
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