Good morning. It’s Thursday, Nov. 13.
- Former Gavin Newsom aide faces corruption charges.
- Los Angeles leaders limit rent hikes in historic vote.
- And math skills plummet among UC San Diego freshmen.
Statewide
1.
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s former chief of staff, Dana Williamson, was arrested on federal corruption charges Wednesday, accused of stealing money from a campaign fund that belonged to Xavier Becerra, the former U.S. health secretary. The indictment, which stemmed from an investigation begun under the Biden administration, alleged that Williamson, 53, helped divert roughly $225,000 to enrich an associate between 2022 and 2024. During a brief court hearing in Sacramento on Wednesday, Williamson wiped tears with a cuffed hand. She pleaded not guilty. Sacramento Bee | N.Y. Times
2.
California revoked the commercial driver’s licenses of roughly 17,000 immigrants after an audit found that the expiration dates surpassed the holders’ legal residency, officials said. In August, Trump administration officials sought to blame Gov. Gavin Newsom after an unauthorized immigrant from Stockton was accused of causing a deadly crash in Florida. California had issued Harjinder Singh, 28, a commercial driver’s license. “After weeks of claiming they did nothing wrong, Gavin Newsom and California have been caught red-handed,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a statement Wednesday. FreightWaves | A.P.
3.
Gov. Gavin Newsom has been an undeniable star at the international climate talks in Belém, Brazil. The California Democrat has been swarmed by reporters and diplomats. Conference attendees shout: “Keep up the social media!” and “Go Gavin!” As Newsom rode an escalator, a bystander yelled: “The escalator’s not broken for you!” — a dig at President Trump, who recently encountered an escalator malfunction at the United Nations. Newsom grinned: “Oh, I like that.” Politico
4.
On Oct. 20, animal rescuers found a sea otter pup that had been separated from its mother in Morro Bay on the Central Coast. Members of the Marine Mammal Center recorded a clip of the pup’s cries then played it back over a bluetooth speaker in an attempt to beckon its mother. After about two hours, they saw a female otter following their boat around the bay. The pup was placed in the water, and within moments the mother had it in her arms. “I definitely cried a little bit,” said Shayla Zink, one of the rescuers. KSBY
- See video of the moment mom and baby reunited.
Northern California
5.
San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone has been an outspoken conservative voice in the famously liberal city. He has called gay marriage an “evil” plot. He denied communion to Nancy Pelosi over her support for abortion rights. This year, he accepted a role on President Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission. But he thinks the administration’s immigration crackdown has gone too far. On Wednesday, Cordileone joined American bishops in condemning “the indiscriminate mass deportation of people.” S.F. Chronicle
6.
Waymo announced Wednesday that its driverless taxis would start giving rides on freeways in San Francisco and Los Angeles for the first time. During a test ride on Monday, a Waymo stuck behind a distracted driver on the 101 showed it could outperform a human. Rachel Swan reports:
“So the Waymo car signaled and passed the truck on the left, providing a clear view to its driver-side window. Inside, the driver was steering with one hand and holding a cell phone to his ear with the other. He appeared not to notice that the car beside him had nobody at the wheel.” S.F. Chronicle
7.
A construction company working on a 14-story building at UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento decided to try to bring a little joy to two children’s hospitals facing the site. Crews placed two giant Waldo figures in the tower for the patients try to spot. Every few days, the figures are moved and the hunt repeats. The puzzle hasn’t distracted only the kids, said Sandra Meyers, a spokesperson for Shriners Children’s Northern California: “I often will stop in the parking lot and just take a peek in the morning to see if I can find him.” KCRA
Southern California
8.
In a historic vote, the Los Angeles City Council voted Wednesday to sharply lower the cap on rent increases across most of the city’s apartments. Under the new rules, landlords covered by rent stabilization laws — roughly three-quarters of the market — will be able to raise rents by no more than 4% each year. Currently, increases can be as high as 10%. Supporters hailed the move as a welcome response to the affordability crisis. Councilmember Bob Blumenfield voted no. “This sends the message: Do not build here,” he said. L.A. Times | LAist
9.
An internal report found that the number of incoming freshmen whose math skills fall below middle-school level has surged at UC San Diego in recent years. In 2020, 6% of first-year students were not ready for college math, the report said. This fall, the figure was 18%. The paper’s authors, from the UCSD Senate Admissions Working Group, called the trend “truly troubling” and cited grade inflation and the elimination of standardized testing as possible causes. Newsweek | Inside Higher Ed
10.
A landslide last year nearly split 82-year-old Sallie Reeves’ home in Rancho Palos Verde in two. A year later, she is living in the former garage. With no electricity or gas, she survives on solar panels and a propane-fueled generator. It’s not how Reeves pictured her golden years, but she’s not going anywhere. “I am happy here,” she said of the ocean-view property where she’s lived since 1982.
The Wall Street Journal checked in with retirees whose lives were upended by natural disasters and found one resource in abundance: resilience.
11.
In 1980, the photographer Janet Delaney, then 27, followed her father for a week as he sold beauty supplies to salons in Los Angeles. Her pictures ostensibly portrayed the grueling life of a salesman. For Delaney, looking back years later revealed another dimension of the project: the devotion of a father providing for his family. Bill Delaney started his life in an orphanage. After retiring, he was consumed by health problems and ultimately dementia. Janet Delaney writes:
“For five years my mom cared for him until, exhausted, she placed him in a nursing home. Fragile and shaken, he asked if she was sending him back to the orphanage. He died in 1999, just as his first great-grandson was born.” PhMuseum | Lenscratch
California archive
12.
In 2005, passengers watched the emergency landing of their own plane at Los Angeles International Airport live on their seat back televisions.
In September, the 20th anniversary of the JetBlue Flight 292 landing revived memories of the nationally televised drama that unfolded when the airliner’s front landing gear stuck sideways. The pilot deftly balanced the plane on its back wheels then gently lowered the nose, sending up flames when the front wheels finally touched the tarmac.
No one was hurt, and the pilot was praised for his grace under pressure.
The pilot, a North Carolinian named Scott Burke, then 46, refused to give media interviews. Then-Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa provided one of the few hints of Burke’s state of mind: “He joked that he was sorry he put the plane down 6 inches off the center line.”
Alexandra Jacobs, a New York journalist, was among the passengers. Twenty years later, in an interview with KTLA, she recalled the quiet panic, the smell of burning rubber, the reassurance of a kind stranger, and the euphoria of realizing she was not going to die. “It was amazing — just incredible,” Jacobs said. “Everyone applauded, and it felt like, ‘I’m in love again — with life.’”
- Watch the landing of JetBlue Flight 292. 👉 YouTube
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.