Good morning. It’s Tuesday, Aug. 23.
- Gov. Gavin Newsom rejects safe-injection site bill.
- Bias cases accuse Latino workers of anti-Black racism.
- And a powerful photo project on the Golden Gate Bridge.
Statewide
1.
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday vetoed a bill that would have allowed drug-injection sites in Los Angeles, Oakland, and San Francisco, saying it would bring “a world of unintended consequences.” In 2018, Newsom said he was “very, very open” to the approach, which proponents argue is less punitive and more effective in tackling addiction. But analysts noted the politically ambitious governor may now have other risks on his mind. The ads would write themselves, said Jessica Levinson, of Loyola Law School: “He becomes ‘Governor Heroin.'” N.Y. Times | Mercury News
A San Francisco official said the city may allow a drug consumption site anyway. S.F. Chronicle | SF Standard
2.
When California voters overwhelmingly approved a bill requiring roomier pig cages in 2018, hundreds of small farmers upgraded their operations, even as corporate producers held out. Four years later, the law has yet to be implemented. A California judge blocked enforcement until the rules are clarified and the U.S. Supreme Court could strike it down altogether after it hears a challenge from a pork industry group on Oct. 11. A.P.
3.
California collected 12% less in revenue than it expected in July, a shortfall attributed in part to a cooldown in Big Tech. Silicon Valley stalwarts like Apple, Meta, and Alphabet are slowing hiring, while Netflix, Lyft, and other companies have already been firing workers. Such cuts tend to hit California hard because of its dependence on high earners. With the stock market flagging, some analysts say the pain will worsen. Bloomberg | S.F. Business Times
4.
Researchers used high-resolution data to analyze erosion rates of every cliff along the entire California coast. The fastest collapsing cliffs were clustered between the Oregon border and Mendocino County, where coastal mountains plunge precipitously into the Pacific. Centerville Beach topped the list, with a retreat of nearly five feet per year between 2011 and 2016. Other hotspots: Martins Beach, Big Sur, and Palos Verdes Peninsula. L.A. Times | S.F. Chronicle
A few years ago, beachgoers captured rare video of a cliffside crumbling onto the shore at Centerville Beach. Lost Coast Outpost
Explore the erosion map. 👉 Scripps
Northern California
5.
A sawmill broke ground on the eastern side of Lake Tahoe last month that will be the largest new mill in the region in nearly a century. The project represents a stark turn from the trend of shuttering sawmills over the last century. A scientific consensus has shifted toward greater acceptance of logging in forests prone to massive wildfires. “There’s just such abundant evidence that if we do nothing, we’re going to lose it all,” said John Battles, a forest ecologist. Bloomberg
6.
The mayor of the Bay Area city of Antioch, Lamar Thorpe, revealed on Monday that roughly 10% of his city’s police force was being investigated for “crimes of moral turpitude.” The disclosure came five months after officials announced a probe of the police departments in Antioch and neighboring Pittsburg. Law enforcement sources said the allegations involved cocaine and steroids. Mercury News
7.
Apple has once again ordered its workers to spend more time in the office. And workers are once again resisting. After Apple ordered workers to start doing three days a week in the office starting Sept. 5, a group of employees began circulating a petition on Sunday. It said company leaders failed to appreciate how remote work has made them “happier and more productive.” Ars Technica | engadget
8.
Jake Ricker is a former bike messenger who has been photographing the Golden Gate Bridge with his Leica film camera nearly every day since 2017. While he began the project with artistic goals, he found a larger purpose as he encountered people on the bridge who were in despair, flirting with the edge. Ricker estimates that he’s helped save more than 60 lives. A series of his photos just won top prize in a street photography contest. LensCulture
See more of Ricker’s work. 👉 @jake_ricker
Southern California
9.
The two largest racial bias cases brought by the federal government in California in the last decade involve accusations of anti-Black racism by Latino workers at warehouses in the Inland Empire. Leon Simmons, a former warehouse worker in Ontario, said he heard racist taunts daily. “When they look you right in the eye and call you the N-word to your face, that’s dehumanizing,” he said. L.A. Times
10.
Those who attend street takeovers say they aren’t hurting anyone. But in the last eight months, at least six people have died during or near one of the illegal gatherings in Southern California. On Aug. 15, surveillance footage captured a group of people from a street takeover ransacking a 7-Eleven in Willowbrook. It happened an hour after another takeover where a teenager was shot to death. L.A. Times
Compton tried to stop street takeovers by installing raised dots in intersections. It hasn’t worked. Jalopnik
11.
Kim Kardashian’s San Fernando Valley home and adjacent lot together exceeded their water budget by roughly 232,000 gallons in June. For comparison, a typical American household uses about 9,000 gallons a month. She’s not the only California celebrity flouting drought restrictions: Kourtney Kardashian, Dwyane Wade, Sylvester Stallone, and Kevin Hart have all been issued “notices of exceedance,” meaning they have repeatedly surpassed 150% of their monthly water budgets. L.A. Times | USA Today
Today I learned
12.
How is it that California’s lanky palm trees don’t snap in the wind?
Of course, they occasionally do. But palms are more resilient than other trees thanks to adaptations honed in the tropics. They are not in fact true trees, but rather monocots, a type of flowering plant, making them more closely related to grasses and lilies than redwoods or oaks. Cut a palm open and you’ll find no wood, but rather fibrous strands embedded in spongy tissue that flexes under stress. When buffeted by powerful winds, the aerodynamic palms will simply lean with them, letting their canopies flap like a sail, then bounce right back to form. The Guardian | Live Science
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