Good morning. It’s Friday, June 26.
- Ballot showdown is set on billionaire wealth tax.
- Accused Chico shooter flashes white-power gesture.
- And jury appears deadlocked in Palisades arson trial.
Statewide
1.
Californians will vote on a billionaire tax in November after a deadline to withdraw the ballot initiative came and went on Thursday, setting up a showdown that has deeply divided the state’s Democrats. Gov. Gavin Newsom has sided with Silicon Valley titans to oppose the one-time 5% levy on the grounds that it would ultimately weaken tax revenues if ultrawealthy residents flee the state. Yet a poll conducted in May found that 76% of Democratic voters support the tax, a result that pollster Mark Baldassare said reflected frustrations over affordability. Wall Street Journal | Bloomberg
2.
In October, industry leaders and both Republican and Democratic elected officials gathered to celebrate the groundbreaking of California’s first commercial carbon-capture project in the oil fields of Kern County. California leaders have embraced the idea of burying carbon pollution underground as a “critical pillar” of efforts to stem climate change. But a new investigation by ProPublica found that the potential of carbon capture has been overstated. “There is no conceivable way it can work,” the report said.
3.
In April 2023, the FBI found that an officer on the Delano police force, Rafael Silva, was threatening violence against transgender people on social media. One of his comments read, “You ain’t safe. We finna change your pronouns soon. Was/were.” Another read: “The only power you’ll see is the one from a barrel and a 9mm.” Yet Silva was not fired. Neither were more than 100 other California law enforcement officers found to have engaged in explicitly biased conduct between 2014 and 2024, a CalMatters investigation found.
4.
Anita Chabria, a Los Angeles Times columnist who condemns President Trump as an authoritarian menace, said she agrees with Assemblyman Carl DeMaio, one of California’s Trumpiest politicians. What brought them together? They both oppose a measure moving through the state Legislature that would allow public agencies to delay records requests they deem “improper” or “malicious.” As one freedom of information advocate warned, the bill would “make California stand out as the most secretive state in the country.” L.A. Times | CalMatters
Correction
Thursday’s newsletter misstated the locations of two restaurants newly starred by the Michelin Guide. Lucien is in San Diego’s La Jolla, not San Francisco; Seline is in Santa Monica, not Los Angeles.
Northern California
5.
Tensions boiled over on Thursday during the first City Council meeting in Avenal since three council members voted to defy a landslide recall election. Residents of the small Central Valley city shouted and waved signs that read, “Get out, not wanted.” At one point a council member said anyone who violated protocol would be ejected by police officers, who then approached the audience. Some residents confronted the officers, telling them they had no obligation to take orders from recalled council members. S.F. Chronicle
- See video from the meeting.
6.
The 18-year-old accused of fatally shooting two people at a public library in Chico on Monday flashed a hand gesture commonly associated with white-power movements during a court appearance in Oroville on Thursday. The authorities said Bradley Sayer was influenced by the 1999 Columbine High School massacre and posted a video of himself before the shooting saying he intended to shoot as many people as he could. S.F. Chronicle | Action News Now
7.
California Forever, the billionaire-backed group trying to build a city from scratch in Solano County, hired allies of Gov. Gavin Newsom as it seeks to fast-track the project. Darrell Steinberg and Bob Hertzberg, both former legislative leaders, have been pitching the governor on legislation that would skirt local control and expedite environmental review. Hertzberg described Newsom as “engaged.” Opponents say the development would add sprawl while sidelining local voices. “All of this has been happening in backrooms of Sacramento,” said Nate Huntington of Solano Together. CalMatters | S.F. Chronicle
8.
On this week’s California Sun Podcast, host Jeff Schechtman talks with Matthew Stepka, a Google veteran who founded one of the first internet cafes. Many people once believed in the mission of companies like Google, Stepka said: “You just felt you could solve almost any problem. You almost felt like there was a chance we could do anything.” He offered a personal account of why he hopes artificial intelligence might yet honor those California values.
Southern California
9.
After more than 13 hours of deliberations, a jury said on Thursday that it was unable to reach a unanimous verdict in the trial of Jonathan Rinderknecht, accused of setting what would become the deadliest wildfire in Los Angeles history. “We have people on both sides that are deadset,” read a note from the jury. Prosecutors portrayed Rinderknecht, 30, as a malcontent who used a lighter to start a fire near Pacific Palisades on New Year’s Day 2025 in revenge against the rich. His defense argued that the fire could have been sparked by fireworks. L.A. Times | KABC
10.
A week after a boy fleeing a dog attack drowned in a Kern County lake, the authorities said on Thursday that a manhunt had led to the capture of the dog owner, 68-year-old Kenneth Dobbins. According to witnesses, Dobbins was in California City’s Central Park with his three dogs — unleashed — on June 18 when the animals attacked the boy and an 8-year-old girl. The girl suffered serious injuries, while boy ran into a lake and never came up. When police went looking for Dobbins, he had fled, officials said. KBAK | NBC Los Angeles
11.
After years of debate and discussion, Glendale leaders this month approved plans for an ambitious pedestrian bridge across the Los Angeles River that would connect the city to neighboring Griffith Park. According to the plans, the $31-million S-shaped Garden River Bridge would stretch more than 300 feet and serve as a destination unto itself, a “floating park” with raised gardens, canopy structures, and seating areas. SFGATE
- See an animated rendering of the project.
In case you missed it
12.
Five items that got big views over the past week:
- In 1945, the LIFE photographer Walter Sanders journeyed out west to document the latest swimwear fashions, which had seen a radical transformation since the bathing gowns of a couple generations prior. Google Arts & Culture shared dozens of unpublished images from his photoshoot.
- In the 1970s, San Diego’s transportation department took mile-by-mile video of the city’s streets. Jon Keegan, a data reporter, pored over every frame and was stunned by the Wes Anderson-like vibe. Car colors dazzled in pastels, business names used to be “WAY more creative,” and strip clubs featuring “Go-go girls” abounded. Beautiful Public Data
- See a 10-minute time-lapse video.
- A grove of rare Torrey pines is completely burned over. Blackened hills surround a campground. Across a vast burn scar, poppies and grasses poke tentatively through the ground. A reporter and photographer took a tour of Santa Rosa Island after a wildfire spread across 40% of the island. Santa Barbara Independent
- Over two decades, Mollie Engelhart and her family built a vegan restaurant empire across California called Cafe Gratitude. Then they abandoned veganism, fled California to become cattle ranchers in Texas, and embraced MAHA ideals. Alta magazine visited Engelhart at her ranch.
- An ambitious proposal would create a giant web of trails linking 15 mountain towns in Northern California. When completed, it would open up new hiking and biking possibilities stretching from Truckee to Lassen Volcanic National Park. The San Francisco Chronicle published a map of the proposed “Lost Sierra Route.”
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