Good morning. It’s Tuesday, May 6.
- California braces for 9% drop in international visitors.
- Three dead after suspected smuggling boat capsizes.
- And three architectural gems hit real estate market.
Statewide
1.
California tourism officials on Monday predicted a 9% drop in international visitors this year as a result of global anger over President Trump’s policies. Data from the state’s nonprofit tourism arm showed that California had already experienced a sharp year-over-year decline in nonresident arrivals in February and March. Boycotts against all things American have attracted increasing support across Canada and Europe in recent weeks. KQED | L.A. Times
2.
The White House has proposed a budget blueprint that would make deep cuts to federal housing aid that helps the poorest Americans cover the monthly costs of rent. In California, those funds are a lifeline for many tenants, advocates say. “You’d be looking at millions of people out on the street virtually overnight,” said Matt Schwartz, a California affordable-housing advocate. “There’s no way states could maintain the same level of assistance.” CalMatters
3.
In December, California’s Democratic lawmakers declared that this legislative session would be all about the “urgent” task of making California more affordable. Five months later, leaders still appear to be in the idea-pitching stage. A reporter asked Senate Pro Tem Mike McGuire about the holdup. “I have never been one to simply do something to get clicks or make headlines. I want substance and impact,” he said. “My philosophy is: Do it right, not fast.” CalMatters
4.
In the early 1800s, California’s forests and valleys were ruled by an estimated 10,000 grizzly bears. By the mid-1920s, the bears were all gone, hunted to extinction out of fear, then for sport and fur. But new research says they could return. “California still has plenty of space for one or more populations of grizzlies,” said Peter Alagona, who led a feasibility study. “I think that the question is really whether people are interested, engaged, excited, enthusiastic and willing to support this.” The Guardian
5.
Some daydreaming fodder from California’s real estate market:
- The owners of an 1881 Victorian in Sacramento’s historic Folsom district spent years on a meticulous rehabilitation. The Hyman House, pictured above, includes the original woodwork, marble fireplaces, and ornate chandeliers. Asking price: $1.7 million. Sacramento Bee
- Calvin Straub, who has been called the father of California post-and-beam architecture, created perhaps his finest achievement in Pasadena in 1958. The Wirick House has floor-to-ceiling windows and patios that blend into untamed forest. Yours for $2.75 million. dwell
- About 20 years ago, a couple discovered a dream property while kayaking the Kings River east of Fresno. They bought it and asked Arthur Dyson, an apprentice of Frank Lloyd Wright, to create a home that mirrored the shape of the hills. They just listed it for $2.3 million. Wall Street Journal | Fresno Bee
Northern California
6.
The Round Valley Indian Tribes sued Mendocino County and its sheriff last week, accusing law enforcement of conducting illegal raids on cannabis farms that “terrorized” the tribal community. “If he likes you, he cuts you slack,” Lester Marston, an attorney for the plaintiffs, told Law360. “But if he doesn’t like you, or your face is brown, then he sends his goon squad up.” Sheriff Matthew Kendall called that “a load of bullshit.” Illegal cannabis activity had grown so rampant, he said, the area was in danger of becoming “a Narco state.” SFGATE
7.
Artificial intelligence has gotten more powerful, but its hallucinations are getting worse, the New York Times reported:
“The newest and most powerful technologies — so-called reasoning systems from companies like OpenAI, Google, and the Chinese start-up DeepSeek — are generating more errors, not fewer. As their math skills have notably improved, their handle on facts has gotten shakier. It is not entirely clear why.”
8.
Asked where his proposal to reopen Alcatraz came from, President Trump said it was “just an idea I’ve had” before complaining about “radicalized judges.” A sampling of reactions to the plan:
- Jolene Babyak, an Alcatraz historian: “They used to say that it cost more money to put men in Alcatraz than it did to house them at the Waldorf Astoria … So you can imagine what the cost would be today.” Axios
- William Marshall III, Bureau of Prisons director: “USP Alcatraz has a rich history. We look forward to restoring this powerful symbol of law, order, and justice.” A.P.
- John Kostelnik, a federal prisons union leader, said the expenditure would be a slap in the face to underpaid prison guards: “They’re saying they’re gonna throw hundreds of millions of dollars at a symbol.” L.A. Times
- Matt Dorsey, a San Francisco supervisor: “I assume that reopening Alcatraz will take its place on a to-do list that currently includes annexing Canada, seizing Greenland, and turning the Gaza Strip an American beach resort.” S.F. Chronicle
- A woman touring the island on Monday: “We’re Canadian, we don’t really care.” Wall Street Journal
Southern California
9.
Three people drowned and several others were missing after a boat believed to be smuggling migrants capsized in heavy surf just north of San Diego Monday morning, authorities said. Four survivors were hospitalized and two others were arrested by border officers. While rescue crews searched the waters for an unknown number of missing individuals, the U.S. Coast Guard said some may have made it to shore. One of the dead was a 3-year-old, a source said. NBC7 | S.D. Union-Tribune
10.
Last week, a news report revealed that the president of the Los Angeles Fire Department union, Freddy Escobar, was collecting eye-popping paychecks even as he complained of firefighters being underfunded. On Monday, the controversy surrounding Escobar deepened as he and two other labor officers were suspended from their posts over $800,000 in credit card purchases that could not be accounted for. Escobar was said to have made 339 transactions in 2024 without submitting a single receipt. L.A. Times | KABC
11.
Los Angeles County declared a Hepatitis A outbreak on Monday after a sharp rise in the rate of infections since early 2024. Hepatitis A is a highly contagious viral disease that can lead to lasting liver damage or even death. Doctors say vaccination is the best defense. “We really have to get ahead of this,” said Dr. Prabhu Gounder, medical director of the county’s viral hepatitis unit. “Right now, what we’re seeing [are cases resulting from] exposure that happened seven weeks ago.” L.A. Times | LAist
12.
Shares in Netflix, Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Paramount fell 2% or more in early trading on Monday as President Trump’s planned 100% tariff on films produced overseas sent shudders through the movie industry. Analysts said the tariffs would be “beyond devastating” for Hollywood production hubs while also likely hitting consumers with higher prices. “Who wants this?” Variety wrote. “Not Hollywood. The theater business is struggling to return to pre-pandemic levels. The last thing it needs is a new tax on movie tickets.” Wall Street Journal
- “Nobody knows, and I don’t suspect we will for a while.” What the tariffs even mean remained deeply unclear. L.A. Times | Politico
Get your California Sun T-shirts, phone cases, hoodies, hats, and totes!
Thanks for reading!
The California Sun is written by Mike McPhate, a former California correspondent for the New York Times.
Make a one-time contribution to the California Sun.
Give a subscription as a gift.
Forward this email to a friend.
Click here to stop delivery, and here to update your billing information. To change your email address please email me: mike@californiasun.co. (Note: Unsubscribing here does not cancel payments. To do that click here.)
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.