Good morning. It’s Tuesday, July 15.
- Farmworkers plan strike over immigration raids.
- Animal rights activists target Trader Joe’s.
- And L.A. homeless numbers fall for second year.
Statewide
1.
After a judge ordered immigration agents to stop making indiscriminate arrests in the Los Angeles area last Friday, raids at Home Depots, car washes, and other places appeared to abruptly cease. On Monday, the Trump administration appealed the ruling, portraying it as judicial overreach that was “indefensible on every level.” Mohammad Tajsar, an ACLU attorney, responded: “It should tell you everything you need to know that the federal government is rushing to appeal an order that instructs them only to follow the Constitution.” L.A. Times
2.
A coalition of migrant groups on Monday announced a farmworker strike in response to immigration raids that have left California’s agricultural communities paralyzed by fear. “We are not machines. We are not criminals,” said organizer Flor Martinez Zaragoza. The strike is set to take place from Wednesday to Friday. United Farm Workers, California’s leading field worker organization, was not involved in the effort but told L.A. Taco that it “always supports workers deciding to take action.” KTLA | Border Report
- A strawberry picker in Oxnard: “You arrive home and the girls say, ‘Ay Mommy, you arrived and immigration didn’t take you.’ It is very sad to see that our children are worried.” Reuters
3.
Trader Joe’s has found itself in the crosshairs of an aggressive animal rights group over the chain’s association with a Petaluma poultry supplier. On July 2, an activist with Direct Action Everywhere, based in Berkeley, was arrested after gluing his hand to a chicken display at a Trader Joe’s in Pasadena. At other locations, activists have marched down store aisles chanting slogans and removing chicken from customers’ carts, the company said. This month, Trader Joe’s sought relief from a judge, asking in a lawsuit for the group’s members to be barred its stores. Press Democrat
Northern California
4.
In the race to develop artificial intelligence, water has become as critical to data centers as electricity. The facilities require enormous amounts of water to keep computers cool enough to function. Since Meta completed a data center in Newton County, Georgia, last year, it’s been guzzling around 500,000 gallons of water a day, or about 10% of the water used in the entire county. A New York Times investigation revealed how tech giant’s data centers are causing water taps to run dry.
5.
Dan Serafini, a former major league baseball player, was found guilty of murder and attempted murder in the 2021 execution-style shooting of his wife’s parents in the Lake Tahoe area. Robert Spohr, 70, died. His wife, Wendy Wood, survived but later took her own life. Serafini was motivated by money, prosecutors said. His wife, Erin Spohr, who had a strained relationship with her parents and defended Serafini throughout his trial, stood to inherit roughly $10 million upon her parents’ deaths. After the shooting, however, her mother cut her out of the estate. Sacramento Bee | KCRA
6.
A man murdered his 9-year-old son with a knife in San Jose park on Sunday, then summoned police in a 911 call before lunging at two officers who fatally shot him, the authorities said. The San Jose police chief, Paul Joseph, said in 30 years of service he’s never seen anything comparable: “These officers had no idea the frantic person on the phone was, in fact, the suspect himself, a deranged man who had murdered his own son, whose call for help was actually a twisted plan to force officers to shoot him, a final desperate and selfish act.” KQED | CBS News
7.
Andrew Kay reported from the 28th Annual OCD Conference in San Francisco. At one point, a group of attendees convened for a quest: to venture into the city’s seedy streets and face their phobias. They found a homeless man named Bo in a park and lined up before him. One by one, they walked up and handed him a quarter while shaking his hand. “One attendee approached, then froze before Bo in a stunned inertia as if he were a leper; the chaperone called out in daycare-ish tones, ‘Handshake, handshake! Can you do a handshake? There ya go.'” Harper’s Magazine
Southern California
8.
“Hurry, please.”
As fire surged into his Altadena neighborhood on Jan. 8, Anthony Mitchell Sr. called 911 twice — at 6:03 a.m. and 6:14 a.m. — seeking rescue for him and his son, both of them disabled. A relative called a third time, at 6:35 a.m. Minutes later, a dispatcher shared the address to deployed crews, saying Mitchell was “unable to get out, sees flames nearby.” The men died waiting. LAist reported on newly obtained 911 calls that show how emergency planning continues to leave people with disabilities behind.
9.
The homeless population declined in Los Angeles County for a second straight year, new survey data showed. In a count conducted in February, there were 4% fewer people living in shelters or on the streets than in 2024. The number of unsheltered people — those sleeping in cars, under bridges, and other places unfit for habitation — was down even more sharply, falling 9.5%. County leaders welcomed the progress, but Supervisor Lindsey Horvath offered a reality check. “At this pace,” she said, “it would take three centuries to end homelessness in Los Angeles County.” L.A. Times | N.Y. Times
10.
A Hollywood executive’s son charged with the murders of his wife and in-laws died by suicide in his Los Angeles jail cell, prosecutors said on Monday. The death of Samuel Haskell, 37, came two days before he was due for a preliminary hearing. On Nov. 7, 2023, Haskell asked day laborers to take bags from his Tarzana home that he said were filled with rocks, the workers said. When they looked inside, they found body parts. Nathan Hochman, the L.A. County district attorney, said Haskell never explained himself. “Haskell has taken that motive to the grave with him,” he said. ABC News | L.A. Times
11.
Some people are making a living racing remote-control cars. Ryan Cavalieri, a 38-year-old Huntington Beach native, is ranked among the top 25 racers in the world. Since nabbing his first national title at age 18, he has supported his wife and two daughters through RC racing. “I didn’t ever think of it as something I would still do now,” Cavalieri said. The L.A. Times paid a visit to the 26th annual Dirt Nitro Challenge in the Inland Empire, where grown men vie for RC stardom.
12.
Jean-Michel Basquiat, an artist often associated with the New York art scene, first came to Los Angeles in 1982, posting up at art dealer Larry Gagosian’s home on Market Street in Venice. He liked the city so much that he returned in 1983 and established his own studio. Art writers have speculated that the West Coast’s influence showed up in uncharacteristically colorful paintings by the artist in the early 1980s. Basquiat’s prolific Los Angeles period is now being showcased in a new book, “Made on Market Street.” Colossal
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.