Good morning. It’s Tuesday, June 21.
• | Firefighters report widespread PTSD and suicidal thoughts. |
• | Million-dollar affordable housing units are now routine. |
• | And an obscure religious sect gains foothold inside Google. |
Statewide
1
California Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon on Monday announced a legislative inquiry into the cause of high gas prices, accusing oil companies of “ripping off” drivers. Republicans ridiculed the move, blaming Democrats for refusing to suspend the state’s 51-cent-per-gallon excise tax on gasoline. “We have the most expensive gas prices in the country by far,” said Assemblymember Kevin Kiley. “That’s not because oil companies are treating California differently than other states.” A.P. | L.A. Times
2
Cal Fire workers shared their struggles during a retreat in Desert Hot Springs on Feb. 25.
Ariana Drehsler/CalMatters
In an ambitious four-part series, CalMatters investigated what has been described as a crisis of PTSD and suicidal thoughts among California’s firefighters. Many of the quotes are jarring:
• | Mike Orton, a Cal Fire captain in Los Angeles County: “I would be willing to bet that there’s suicidal ideation in half of our employees right now, and half of them have a plan to do it.” |
• | Tony Martinez, a 29-year Cal Fire veteran in Napa County: “I tell my young firefighters: ‘Don’t work here.'” |
• | Ramesh Gune, a therapist who works with firefighters: “Mostly anger, that is what I see a lot. ‘I am not what I pretend to be.’ That’s the conflict. ‘I feel helpless.’ That sense of helplessness drives them crazy. They cannot save people. ‘I am not enough.’ They harbor that negative feeling constantly.” CalMatters |
3
“We know how long families have been waiting for this moment.”
California medical providers planned to start administering coronavirus vaccines to children under 5 years old as soon as today. The FDA’s expert advisory panel unanimously recommended the vaccines, saying the benefits outweigh any risks while the amount of virus in communities remains high. Yet parents have been reluctant to immunize their young children: Just 36% of Californians age 5 to 11 have been vaccinated, according to state figures. KQED
Find appointments at VaccineFinder.org or MyTurn.ca.gov.
4
A painting on the ceiling of Southern California’s Pinwheel Cave, left, and a datura flower.
Devlin Gandy, left; David Gordon
Today is the summer solstice, a day laden with significance since antiquity as a turning point of the year.
In 2002, archaeologists exploring a cave in the Wind Wolves Preserve south of Bakersfield first recorded an ancient painting of a red pinwheel. Later, tests of leaves and stems stuffed in the cave’s cracks suggested the inspiration for the artwork: They contained remains of the datura flower, a hallucinogenic plant that unfurls in the shape of a pinwheel. And there was one more revelation: During the summer solstice, the researchers found, a beam of sunlight sweeps across the painting. National Geographic
Northern California
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Several affordable housing projects in the Bay Area are costing more than $1 million per apartment to build, making them likely the costliest in the nation, a review found. The extraordinary expense of such projects has been blamed in part on rising prices for materials, but also stringent building standards and byzantine bureaucracy. A 2018 study found that 14% of the price tag for California’s affordable housing projects was made up of consulting fees and other administrative costs. L.A. Times
M. Nolan Gray, a housing researcher: “There’s absolutely no way we’re solving California’s housing crisis at these price points.”
6
Built in 1939, the Tower Theatre is the centerpiece of Fresno’s arts and entertainment district.
In 2020, it became public that an evangelical church was buying Fresno’s historic Tower Theatre, a pillar of the city’s most bohemian neighborhood. A bitter fight broke out as locals, the mayor, and Hollywood celebrities urged the church to consider another location, which it refused to do. The sale, however, was ultimately halted by a series of legal battles, and on Friday a judge cleared the way for a new buyer: the city of Fresno. San Joaquin Valley Sun
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An obscure religious sect based in the Sierra foothills has gained a foothold inside a business unit at Google. Founded in 1970, the Fellowship of Friends believes that higher consciousness is attainable through fine arts and culture. The presence of as many as 12 Fellowship members in the Google Developer Studio came to light when an employee sued, saying he was fired for complaining about the sect’s outsize influence. A reporter who looked into the story called it “definitely stranger than fiction.” N.Y. Times
8
In 1995, San Francisco planners envisioned an ambitious transit overhaul that would give the city the north-south rapid transit corridor it lacked. Some 27 years and more than $340 million later, dedicated rapid bus lanes opened along 2 miles of Van Ness Avenue on April 1. The Chronicle’s Ricardo Cano described the buses as “de-facto subways on wheels” that glide past traffic. A broadcaster interviewed passengers who reported saving 15 minutes each way. KPIX
S.F. Chronicle: Street sculptures along the route have turned the ride into “an event.” 👇
Ethan Kaplan/San Francisco Arts Commission
9
San Francisco celebrated the Warriors on Monday with a boisterous championship parade. A few scenes. 👇
Jordan Poole took a selfie with fans.
Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images
Otto Porter Jr., left, and Klay Thompson waved to fans.
Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images
Fans gave high fives to James Wiseman.
Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images
Stephen Curry, left, and Damion Lee.
Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images
Gary Payton II celebrated on the bus.
Michael Urakami/Getty Images
Market Street was blanketed in confetti.
Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images
Southern California
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Peter Navarro talked to reporters as he left federal court in Washington, D.C., on June 3.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images
In the 1990s, the California economist Peter Navarro was a Clinton supporter who criticized “the extreme right wing of the Republican Party.” He inveighed against Rush Limbaugh, Newt Gingrich, and Pete Wilson, whom he accused of exploiting “white male rage and anti-immigration fervor.” In 2022, Navarro is “a sad, whiny insurrectionist,” the columnist Mark Z. Barbarak wrote. Yet there is a through-line between the two Navarros, he noted: “a monumental self-regard, a bottomless hunger for attention … and an utter lack of grounding principles.” L.A. Times
11
Elon Musk’s transgender daughter filed a petition in a Los Angeles court to change her name from Xavier Musk to Vivian Jenna Wilson, citing her new gender identity and that “I no longer live with or wish to be related to my biological father in any way, shape or form.” Wilson — a twin born to Musk and his former wife, Canadian author Justine Wilson — made the request on April 18, the day after she turned 18. Musk has said he supports trans rights, while criticizing preferred pronouns as “an esthetic nightmare.” TMZ | Reuters
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California Office of Historic Preservation
☝️ These are actual homes.
An architect prone to whimsy built the boat houses of Encinitas in 1920 to look like vessels accidentally washed ashore. In 2019, they were added to the register of national historic landmarks, putting them in the same league as Hearst Castle and the cable cars of San Francisco. There are plans to convert them into a museum, but for the moment people live in them. Atlas Obscura | Encinitas Historical Society
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