Good morning. It’s Wednesday, April 29.
- Coastal Commission apologizes to Elon Musk over bias.
- FCC pressures ABC amid fight with Jimmy Kimmel.
- And teens are running through Scientology buildings.
Statewide
1.
“I thought we had rules here,” complained Antonio Villaraigosa.
“I thought I got to answer but apparently we’re just going to do this all night,” fumed Chad Bianco.
“This is worse than my teenagers at dinner,” said Katie Porter.
Eight candidates for California governor met at Pomona College Tuesday night for a debate that political writers described as “messy,” “combative,” and a “hot mess.” For roughly an hour and a half, the candidates talked over one another, traded barbs, and veered off topic. Mercury News | CalMatters
- Here are five takeaways from the debate. 👉 N.Y. Times
2.
During a meeting in the fall of 2024, the California Coastal Commission rejected a military request to allow more SpaceX launches from Vandenberg Space Force Base, citing in part Elon Musk’s role in spreading conspiracy theories on X. Now the agency is apologizing. In a settlement to a lawsuit brought by Musk, the commission’s regulators acknowledged their “political bias” and said their remarks were “irrelevant” and “improper.” “Commissioners apologize for these comments,” wrote vice chair Caryl Hart. Courthouse News | Noozhawk
3.
“As you drive north from Morro Bay, you may get the uneasy sense that the mountains and sea are only grudgingly allowing a road to pinch between them.”
A pair of travel journalists drove the Big Sur coast — 120 miles from Morro Bay to Carmel — with stops including Hearst Castle, Henry Miller Memorial Library, Nepenthe, and Pfeiffer Beach. Their trip report includes some fantastic photography. N.Y. Times
Northern California
4.
Elon Musk and Sam Altman, two men whose companies have a combined value of many trillions of dollars, are facing off this week in a lawsuit over whether OpenAI strayed from its mission to be a steward of artificial intelligence. During opening statements Tuesday, OpenAI lawyer William Savitt called the lawsuit a “pageant of hypocrisy.” He added: “We’re here because Mr. Musk didn’t get his way at OpenAI.” On the witness stand, Musk described the matter as “very simple.” “It’s not okay to steal a charity,” he said. Washington Post | The Atlantic
- Musk’s lawsuit reveals Silicon Valley as a place of all-encompassing greed, wrote the New York Times.
5.
Oakland’s airport will keep the name Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport, ending two years of litigation. In a settlement announced Tuesday, San Francisco agreed to drop its trademark lawsuit, which it filed in 2024 after the Port of Oakland sought to draw more passengers to the struggling airport by inserting “San Francisco Bay” in the name. For its part, Oakland agreed to never make “San Francisco” more prominent than “Oakland” in marketing materials. The rebranding, already in place since last summer, has not appeared to help with passenger numbers so far. Mercury News | N.Y. Times
6.
“The Bay Area’s perfect camping experience,” according to outdoors writer Gregory Thomas, is a little-known beach in Point Reyes National Seashore accessible only by kayak. The paddling requirement keeps crowds away, but Marshall Beach is worth the effort. At the cove on the western side of Tomales Bay, ospreys fly overhead, bioluminescence lights up the water, and campers huddle around fires on the sand. Afar magazine included Marshall Beach among its picks for the 14 best beach campgrounds in California.
- “A long paddle, an old hippie commune, and thousands of jellyfish.” Nick Roberts shared a nice trip report.
Southern California
7.
The Federal Communications Commission said on Tuesday that it is reviewing ABC’s broadcast licenses, a day after President Trump demanded late-night host Jimmy Kimmel’s firing from the network. The FCC’s filing makes no mention of Kimmel, who joked recently that Melania Trump has the glow of an “expectant widow,” but alleges instead that the diversity policies of network owner Disney may violate anti-discrimination rules. Free speech groups called the move a clear violation of the First Amendment. Semafor | NBC News
8.
Mom-and-pop businesses across Southern California — Mexican restaurants, ice cream shops, laundromats — are facing a barrage of lawsuits for minor violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The practice, which typically results in settlements of up to $25,000, has forced some owners to take second jobs or even close up shop altogether. The Los Angeles Times found that a single law firm is driving much of the litigation in Southern California. Over the past decade, Manning Law in Foothill Ranch has filed more than 9,000 disability lawsuits.
9.
For weeks, groups of giggling teenagers have been barging into the Hollywood properties of the Church of Scientology, sprinting through hallways and racing back out to the street. The trend, dubbed “speed running,” has been fueled by viral videos on TikTok. Some critics of Scientology have welcomed the pranks as a form of protest against an organization that has been accused of human trafficking, forced labor, and other misconduct. Church officials, unamused, are calling them “hate crimes.” L.A. Times
10.
Cole Allen, the Torrance man accused of trying to kill the president, was deeply Christian during his college years, serving co-leader of the Caltech Christian Fellowship. In a message sent before the attack, Allen appeared to cite biblical teachings to justify violence. Elizabeth Terlinden was a classmate and fellow Christian leader with Allen at Caltech. “I could see him dying for his beliefs,” she said. “I just couldn’t see him killing for them.” Washington Post
11.
For many years, Karla Bartley discounted the rents for tenants of her roughly 10 properties in a section of Long Beach. The affordable housing shaped the neighborhood, allowing renters to stay in homes they could never afford otherwise. But earlier this year, Bartley died at age 91. Almost all of her tenants received letters demanding they leave by the end of May. Among them is Dennis Anderson, 79. Surrounded by a lifetime of belongings, he said he was at a loss. “I don’t want to cause trouble,” he said. “I just don’t have any way to get out of here.” Long Beach Post
12.
“These children deserve to have the best of everything.”
Each year, a charitable group hosts a giveaway of prom dresses and tuxedos for hundreds of Los Angeles County high schoolers. At the 2026 event, held Saturday at the Sheraton Gateway Los Angeles Hotel, teenagers were all smiles as they tried out the formal wear and posed for pictures. The Los Angeles Times published a great photo essay.
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