Good morning. It’s Monday, March 2.
- Celebrations in Los Angeles after ayatollah’s death.
- San Francisco Ballet cancels Kennedy Center shows.
- And avalanche survivors recount tragedy near Lake Tahoe.
Statewide
1.
“This is just a day that every Iranian has hoped and prayed for.”
Thousands of revelers poured onto the streets of West Los Angeles on Saturday and Sunday, waving flags, kissing pictures of President Trump, and wiping tears of joy over the news of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s killing. Some allowed themselves to imagine returning to Iran after years in exile in the L.A. region, home to the world’s largest Iranian diaspora. Celebrating with friends at Naab Cafe, Reza Khaleghian, 70, was euphoric. “This is the best time, ever, in my life,” he said. He pounded the table. “Next summer, I’m not going to Italy,” he said. “I’m going to Iran.” L.A. Times | N.Y. Times
- See photos of the celebrations. 👉 LAist
2.
Other developments on the war in Iran:
- In San Francisco, a few hundred people demonstrated against the U.S.-Israeli attacks. They lamented the deaths of civilians and chanted: “From the belly of the beast, hands off the Middle East.” Mission Local
- California’s Democratic leaders opposed the move to war without Congressional approval, even as subtle divisions emerged within the party. Gov. Gavin Newsom portrayed the attack as a misdirection from Trump’s unpopularity. “It stems from weakness masquerading as strength,” he said. Politico
- The Defense Department warned San Diego military bases to be on alert for potential attacks. The San Diego-based aircraft carrier, U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln, has played a significant role in the operations against Iran, reports said. S.D. Union-Tribune
3.
Nearly one in five property transfers in California last year was made through inheritance, a state record and roughly double the national share, a new analysis found. The situation reflects California’s soaring home prices in combination with Proposition 13, a 1978 tax law that made buying a new home more costly than staying put. In 2024, the typical homeowner tenure in Los Angeles was 19 years. Nationally, it was about 12. “In California,” the Wall Street Journal wrote, “about the only way to get a house is to inherit one.”
4.
Plans for the country’s largest solar installation are moving ahead in the San Joaquin Valley. The project would cover roughly 200 square miles of fallowed farmland on Fresno County’s west side, an area four times the size of San Francisco. Crucially, farmers squeezed by water scarcity have lined up behind the proposal. “If we had the water to do it, we would farm it,” says Ross Franson, president of Woolf Farming and Processing. “But the reality is, you don’t. You have to deal with the cards you’re dealt.” NPR
5.
Dozens of heat records fell across California on Friday and Saturday, inspiring people to share pictures of the summer-like weather on social media. Some standouts:
- A glorious day in San Diego.
- Biking along Santa Monica Beach.
- Soft sunlight over Los Angeles.
- Cherry blossoms in the Central Valley.
- Big Sur in resplendent green.
- A riot of wildflowers in Death Valley.
- Beach weather in San Francisco.
Northern California
6.
After weeks of mounting pressure, the San Francisco Ballet pulled out of its planned run of performances at the Kennedy Center this spring. A growing list of performers have canceled events at the venue following President Trump’s moves to remake the venerated cultural institution in his own image. The move by the renowned ballet company is the most prominent cancellation from the dance world. A spokeswoman for the Kennedy Center blamed “cancel culture.” S.F. Chronicle | N.Y. Times
7.
“Mr. Auzans looked up in time to see a wall of white dotted with strange blurs of color. In the moment before it reached him, he realized that the colors were the tumbling skis and clothing of the other skiers. He dove behind a dead tree for protection, but the snow was surging down the mountain like a raging river. It poured around the trunk, dragged him away and swallowed him in darkness.”
Two survivors of the deadliest avalanche in modern California history offered the first eyewitness telling of what happened. N.Y. Times
8.
“Everyone assumed he had done it.”
In early 2022, Jeremy Taylor, a highly regarded teacher at Oakland School for the Arts, learned that a former student had accused him of sexual abuse. His life fell apart quickly. Within a few months, he was fired, arrested, and charged with felony abuse, each development making headlines. The case against Taylor unraveled much more slowly and quietly. The San Francisco Chronicle wrote the troubling account of how a dubious investigation upended one teacher’s life.
9.
A price comparison of grocery stores in San Francisco found that Safeway is more expensive than Whole Foods. The San Francisco Chronicle analyzed the prices of 12 everyday grocery items at eight different stores. At Safeway, the basket of items cost $119.76. At Whole Foods, it was $114.47. Trader Joe’s was the cheapest by a wide margin, with a cost of $82.03. Even after tariff disruptions, prices fell slightly at Trader Joe’s compared to 2025, while they rose at nearly every other store.
10.
New murals of Alysa Liu in the Los Angeles area and Oakland have been delighting online audiences as pictures circulated on social media in recent days. Liu, who grew up in the East Bay and currently attends UCLA, has been a promoter of her hometown, frequently name-checking Oakland and the Bay Area. “For her to embrace Oakland is this new energy … It’s inspiration. Oakland needs that. America needs that right now,” said Steve Ha, a member of the Oakland group behind the latest Liu mural. N.Y. Times
- Like Liu, Eileen Gu was born and raised in the Bay Area. Both athletes have a parent from China. Both won gold in Milan. But they have drawn very different reactions in the U.S. and China. N.Y. Times
Southern California
11.
Los Angeles police are investigating the death of a 12-year-old at Reseda High School as a homicide after the girl’s family said she was hit in the head with a metal water bottle during a bullying incident. Elma Chuquipa, the girl’s mother, said her daughter had stepped in to defend her sister from a group of students on Feb. 17 when another 12-year-old threw the water bottle at her. Days later, she later suffered a “catastrophic” brain rupture and died. L.A. Times
12.
Much of Hollywood disdained the idea of Netflix getting its hands on one of the great old-line studios. Yet after Paramount emerged as the apparent victor in a bidding war for Warner Bros. last week, the mood in the industry was somber. The $111 billion deal means Paramount needs to find at least $6 billion in savings. “Down on the ground where people work every day, they know what’s coming. Fewer jobs. Tighter budgets. More consolidation,” wrote Sharon Waxman, the editor in chief of the Wrap. N.Y. Times
- The biggest obstacle left to Paramount’s takeover bid: California. State Attorney General Rob Bonta said he would conduct a “vigorous” review of the deal. Reuters | Deadline
Get your California Sun T-shirts, phone cases, hoodies, hats, and totes!
The California Sun, PO Box 6868, Los Osos, CA 93412
Wake up to must-read news from around the Golden State delivered to your inbox each morning.