Good morning. It’s Monday, March 9.
- Governor plans ad campaign to fight California “myths.”
- Eileen Gu gets hero’s welcome at San Francisco parade.
- And a sensational photo finish at the L.A. Marathon.
Statewide
1.
Gov. Gavin Newsom is planning to spend $19 million in taxpayer funds on a national marketing effort to polish California’s image. The “California Brand Campaign” would dispel “myths driven by misinformation and political rhetoric,” according to the proposal. A Newsom spokesperson said the marketing would benefit businesses. Critics scoffed. The timing, as Newsom eyes a run for president, “says all you need to know,” said Steve Maviglio, a political consultant. “It’s about trying to prop up Newsom’s unfavorability as he runs around the country.” L.A. Times | FOX40 News
2.
As the war in Iran drives up oil prices, California is feeling the pain more acutely than any other state. Californians are accustomed to paying more for gas as a result of steep taxes and stricter environmental rules. Recent refinery closures have created further volatility, analysts said, forcing greater reliance on gas imported from the Middle East. On Monday, the price of gas in California hit an average of $5.20 a gallon, the highest in the nation, up 73 cents from a month ago. The national average is just $3.48 a gallon. L.A. Times | KABC
3.
Wealthy Californians have been buying luxury cars from local dealers but registering them in Montana to evade state taxes. On Friday, prosecutors announced charges against 14 people accused of using the so-called “Montana Loophole” for a cumulative savings of roughly $1.6 million in taxes on a McLaren, Porsche, Ferrari, and other vehicles. Some customers bragged in text messages, according to the complaint. “70k saved — I can’t believe the registration lasts for 5 years — that’s crazy. Stupid California,” one defendant wrote. S.F. Chronicle | Bloomberg
Northern California
4.
Country Joe McDonald, whose anti-Vietnam anthem “I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-to-Die Rag” became one of the most recognizable songs of the 1960s counterculture, died on Saturday at his home in Berkeley. McDonald led the psychedelic rock group Country Joe and the Fish, helping to shape the sound of Bay Area’s Summer of Love era. But it was his mock celebration of war at Woodstock, immortalized on film, that became his defining moment for many, culminating in the refrain: “Whoopee! We’re all gonna die!” McDonald was 84. N.Y. Times | S.F. Chronicle
- See McDonald’s Woodstock performance.
5.
The authorities shut down a North Coast motel after two women were found dead a week apart in the same room. Both cases at the Lamplighter Inn in Eureka, on Feb. 21 and 26, were initially reported as suspected drug overdoses, but police said they found no evidence to support that conclusion. Fire personnel, however, found elevated carbon monoxide inside the room after firefighters reported having symptoms consistent with the deadly odorless gas. The room had no carbon monoxide detector, they said. An investigation was ongoing. SFGATE | Lost Coast Outpost
6.
“She’s an inspiration.”
On social media, Eileen Gu has been called a traitor. In San Francisco’s Chinatown on Saturday, the freestyle skier who was born and raised in the Bay Area but chose to compete in the Olympics for China, enjoyed a hero’s welcome as she served as grand marshal of the Chinese New Year Parade. Gu, 22, in a red convertible and matching red dress, drew excited cheers from thousands of fans along the route, with no sign of the controversy surrounding her bid. S.F. Chronicle | A.P.
- Alysa Liu defended Gu in a new interview: “There’s no shame in going to where opportunity is.” N.Y. Times
Southern California
7.
“It is completely not normal.”
As the Trump administration seeks to arrest as many people as possible in its deportation crackdown, immigrant detainees are fighting back in court — and winning. Over the last year, the U.S. Southern District Court of California has received roughly 1,400 habeas corpus petitions in immigration-related cases — filings that compel the government to justify holding someone in custody. In the vast majority of cases, federal judges have found the detentions unlawful, a review found. S.D. Union-Tribune
8.
Activists have discovered more than 40 covert license plate readers along California highways near the Mexican border. The cameras, hidden by the Border Patrol in trailers and construction barrels, feed a surveillance network that logs the license plate of every passing motorist. Privacy groups say they are illegal. “They claim they might be looking for smugglers or they might be looking for cartel members, but that’s not who they’re collecting data on,” said Dave Maass, of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. “(The program) is primarily collecting data on people who live in the region.” CalMatters
- See a map of hidden license plate readers.
9.
A woman fired an assault-style rifle into the Los Angeles home of pop star Rihanna and her partner, rapper ASAP Rocky, on Sunday, with at least one round penetrating a wall of the mansion, a police source told the Los Angeles Times. Rihanna was home, but nobody was hurt, sources said. LAPD radio dispatch said the suspect fired at least 10 shots from a white Tesla across the street before speeding away. Police caught up with the vehicle in a mall parking lot, where they arrested the 30-year-old driver and recovered an assault rifle. The motive was unclear. L.A. Times | KABC
10.
Three months after declaring “I’m not quitting,” Rep. Darrell Issa, a Republican from suburban San Diego, said on Sunday that he is quitting after all rather than face a tough reelection fight in a redrawn district. “It’s the right time for a new chapter,” he said. Issa, 72, was among the wealthiest members of Congress, having made his fortune as a car-alarm mogul in the 1990s. First elected to the House in 2000, he served nine terms, becoming an antagonist of the Obama administration and a loyalist of President Trump. Last year, he nominated Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize. Politico | A.P.
11.
Nathan Martin, a high school cross-country coach from Jackson, Michigan, surged from behind to win the Los Angeles Marathon by a split second on Sunday, in the race’s closest finish ever. Martin, 36, said he could see the leader, Michael Kamau of Kenya, with about a mile left to run. “With 800 meters to go, I was thinking, ‘I’m catching him,'” he said. In the final push, Martin looked like a sprinter as he closed the gap, crossing the finish line 00.01 seconds ahead of Kamau, who collapsed on the ground before being carried away on a stretcher. O.C. Register | L.A. Times
- “Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Oh my gosh!” See Martin’s incredible finish.
- Citing the hot weather, marathon organizers said anyone who completed 18 miles would get a medal. Grumbling abounded. Runner’s World
12.
After three years of construction, the San Diego Zoo Safari Park opened a new Elephant Valley for its eight endangered African savannah elephants. The habitat is spread across 13 acres, double the size of the prior enclosure, with features designed to let the wrinkly giants behave as they might in the wild, including African grasses, rock formations, and watering holes for bathing and rolling in mud. A restaurant in the middle of the habitat lets guests spy on the elephants up close. S.D. Union-Tribune | KPBS
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