Good morning. It’s Thursday, Sept. 25.
- Central Coast television newsroom shuts down abruptly.
- Fresno celebrates legal win over Trump administration.
- And a modernist masterpiece is offered in Pacific Palisades.
Statewide
1.
KION-TV, a television newsroom that has served Monterey County since 1969, abruptly shut down on Tuesday. News-Press & Gazette Company, the parent company based in Missouri, informed the newsroom that all 13 journalists and meteorologists were being let go immediately. Staffers said they were blindsided. “It’s going to change the landscape of news coverage in this area,” said outgoing managing editor Jeanette Bent. “It’s a disservice to this community and we’re all heartbroken.” Monterey County Now | KSBW
2.
During a climate forum hosted by the New York Times on Wednesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom lambasted President Trump’s recent remarks at the United Nations on global warming, which the president called the “greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world.” “What an abomination,” the governor said. “What an embarrassment. What a fraud.” Energy Secretary Chris Wright, a former fracking executive, took the stage after Newsom and said Trump should get the “hero of the climate” award. N.Y. Times | L.A. Times
3.
For years, Consumer Watchdog has been an irritant for Ricardo Lara, California’s insurance commissioner, accusing him of being too cozy with the industry. So when Lara proposed new rules last week that threaten the compensation collected by the advocacy group in battles over insurance rate increases, critics said it had the whiff of retaliation. “This is Trumpian,” said Jamie Court, president of Consumer Watchdog, noting that Lara’s term is ending next year. “He’s exacting his revenge.” CalMatters
4.
Yosemite was featured among the winners of the 2025 Natural Landscape Photography Awards. Scott Oller was honored for his submission of eight photos taken inside the park, including the Cathedral Range south of Tuolumne Meadows, pictured above. Its name was coined as a nod to the rapturous feeling one experiences in its presence. NLPA
- See more of Oller’s Yosemite photos.
Northern California
5.
In the 1980s and 90s, hundreds of homes were destroyed by flooding in the city of Roseville as torrential rain caused creeks to overflow in the Sacramento Valley. The city responded by undertaking a full-scale reimagining of how to protect itself from water, restricting development near waterways and creating recreation areas that double as natural flood mitigation. A quarter century later, Roseville has no problem with flooding, the Christian Science Monitor reported.
6.
Fresno leaders celebrated Wednesday after a federal judge’s ruling blocked the Trump administration from yanking more than $250 million in funding over references to “equity” and “environmental justice” in planning documents. Judge Richard Seeborg called the administration’s action — which targeted funding for police, housing, and an airport expansion — vague and unconstitutional. Councilmember Nick Richardson gloated during a news conference. “The message is clear,” he said. “Don’t fuck with Fresno.” Fresnoland | Fresno Bee
7.
Route 97, lacing through mountainous terrain in Siskiyou County, is one of Northern California’s deadliest highways for wildlife, killing more than 50 elk and deer in the five years ending in 2020. Officials are now hopeful that number will fall as crews put the finishing touches on a 140-foot-wide wildlife crossing, the latest in a growing network of such spans across the state. In time, vegetation will help blend the structure into the surrounding landscape. KRCR
8.
Kayakers rave about the beauty of coastal Mendocino’s Albion River, an emerald waterway with ospreys, otters, and soaring trees. Then there are the floating homes. Just up from the river’s mouth is the first of three ramshackle cabins anchored on platforms in the water. Their origins, as well as their code compliance, are murky. The homes date back as far as the 1970s, when the surrounding region was a hub of the back-to-the-land movement. It was around that time that a hippie fisherman named Dan Bolin built himself a cabin on the river where he would live for many years. Bolin died in 2020, but his home still stands, a sort of shrine to free-spiritedness with potted plants still blooming on the stoop.
- “It’s just hard to believe a place like this still exists in the world.” A kayaker got a close look at the floating homes. 👉 YouTube
Southern California
9.
Ismael Ayala-Uribe, 39, grew up in Orange County after being brought to the U.S. from Mexico when he was 4 years old. This week he died after falling sick at an ICE facility in Adelanto. Ayala-Uribe had been picked up during an Aug. 17 raid on a car wash where he worked. In custody, he developed a fever, his family said. On Thursday, staff flagged his condition as potentially life-threatening. But he was not taken to a hospital for three days. By 2:32 a.m. Monday morning, he was dead. His family didn’t know he had been taken to a hospital until police knocked on their door later that day. KABC | O.C. Register
10.
On Tuesday, Orange County leaders directed staff to cross-reference voter rolls with pet registration data to make sure no pets are registered to vote. The move came after a woman was charged this month with registering her dog to vote, then casting ballots for the pet in two elections. Some county supervisors raised the specter of widespread fraud; others portrayed the reaction to a single case of alleged fraud as overwrought. L.A. Times | O.C. Register
11.
The modernist master Richard Neutra contributed one residence to Southern California’s famed Case Study House Program, sponsored by Arts & Architecture magazine from 1945 to 1966. The Bailey House, in Pacific Palisades, was just listed for $10.5 million. According to the Neutra Institute, the architect was so exacting about the design that when the client wanted to paint the closet interiors white, Neutra threatened to remove his name from the project. Photos of the home by Julius Shulman became enduring symbols of California Modernism. artnet
- See pictures of the Bailey House. 👉 Spaces
12.
The Los Angeles artist Roberto Benavidez elevates the craft of piñata-making into high art. “It is just this innocuous kids’ party game to many,” he told the New York Times last year. “The piñata is so much more.” His ornate creations — formed from paper, glue, and wire — resemble birds and fantastical creatures and touch on themes of race, sin, and sexuality. An exhibit of Benavidez’s sculptures, titled “Bosch Beasts,” is now on display at Los Angeles’ Perrotin gallery through Oct. 18. This Is Colossal
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