Good morning. It’s Wednesday, Sept. 16.
- “Insane” diesel prices squeeze California truckers.
- Berkeley starts clearing its last large homeless camp.
- And the state’s most underrated fall color show.
Statewide
1.
“It’s just really insane.”
Diesel prices climbed to a new record in California early Wednesday, reaching an average of $8.27 a gallon, according to AAA. That’s compared with around $5 a gallon before the Iran war. Diesel is a key part of the state’s economy, fueling trucks that move food and other goods. At six gas stations across the state, diesel prices can’t get worse — at least in theory. They were listing diesel for $9.99 a gallon, the highest figure the displays can handle. KGET | Bloomberg
2.
After the January 2025 fires in Los Angeles, insurers told some families they could return home even though their properties were contaminated by dangerous levels of carcinogens and neurotoxins. Those who sought help paying for cleanup were forced into protracted legal battles. Under pressure from wildfire survivors, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law on Tuesday that establishes the nation’s first standards for testing and remediating smoke-damaged homes — and requires insurers to pay for it. L.A. Times | KQED
3.
California’s high-speed rail agency routinely reimbursed consultants for improper expenses, including luxury flights and premium rideshares to restaurants and night clubs, according to a watchdog report released on Tuesday. In one case, a legal consultant billed the agency nearly $130,000 for flights in a single year. All told, the agency approved at least $685,000 in questionable payments. The report comes as the bullet train project is years behind schedule and billions of dollars over budget. CalMatters | Sacramento Bee
4.
Around 2005, Jon Harman, a medical-imaging specialist in the Bay Area, came across some NASA images of Mars that were enhanced to reveal extraordinary detail. An archaeology hobbyist, Harman became fascinated with the processing algorithm known as decorrelation stretch, which remaps colors to draw out faint intricacies. He built a program that could used on digital images of rock art. His app has since been used to reveal hidden figures and shapes from archaeological sites all over the world. PetaPixel told the story.
- See enhanced images from rock art sites along the American River, Tule River Reservation, and Donner Pass.
Northern California
5.
Berkeley began clearing its last large homeless camp on Tuesday after officials said it was necessary to halt the spread of a deadly rat-borne illness. Home to roughly 80 people, the encampment has been a source of contention for years. Its dismantling was stalled as the city battled a legal challenge from homeless advocates who sought accommodations for disabled residents. Sweeps often lead people to simply set up another camp nearby, an option that resident Elester Shelton was weighing on Tuesday. “I’ll probably stay by the railroad tracks,” he told a reporter. Berkeley Scanner | KGO
6.
As President Trump insists that apocalyptic warnings over artificial intelligence are a “hoax,” the response from lawmakers in Washington has taken an increasingly partisan tenor. Allies of the administration now appear to have landed on a messaging strategy, Politico reported on Tuesday: It’s Democratic hysteria. Speaker Mike Johnson likened the focus on AI to warnings about climate change. Attorney General Todd Blanche detected a conspiracy to influence the midterms. “I shouldn’t have to say that out loud,” he said. “Of course that’s what it is.”
- The people building and governing AI are falling into two camps: those calling for more regulation and those pushing to barrel full-speed ahead. The New York Times mapped the people driving the debate.
7.
About 15 years ago, Driscoll’s, the Watsonville blueberry giant, dispatched one of its experts to China with the goal of setting up operations there. It worked. By 2020, Driscoll’s was producing thousands of tons of blueberries for Chinese supermarkets. But as its fortunes grew, Chinese entrepreneurs built blueberry farms of their own, swiping Driscoll’s patent-protected blueberry varieties. A glut followed, causing berry prices to plummet. The Wall Street Journal chronicled Driscoll’s hard lesson in doing business in China.
8.
A fenced-off construction pit in downtown San Francisco may give rise to the city’s second-tallest skyscraper. Renderings released on Tuesday revealed the vision for a slim 910-foot office tower, dubbed Fifty at First, with an exterior of glass and crisscrossing steel. The project would amount to a major bet on San Francisco’s economic rebound at a time when office vacancy remains near historic highs. S.F. Chronicle
9.
California’s stoic redwoods forgo the colorful showboating of the fall. But the trees and plants surrounding them don’t. In mixed groves such as Calaveras Big Trees State Park, the dogwoods in particular add splashes of brilliant pink, red, and yellow around massive trunks that have stood thousands of years. Active NorCal called the park, only a few hours from the Bay Area, “California’s most underrated fall color show.”
- See Calaveras Big Trees pictures from last fall.
Southern California
10.
A NBC news helicopter fell out of the sky as it was covering a deadly bus crash in Los Angeles Tuesday night, killing reporter Eliana Moreno, pilot George Marciniw, and one unidentified person on the ground, reports said. Broadcasting live, NBC4 news anchor Colleen Williams became visibly emotional as she confirmed what happened. “We are going to take a couple of minutes to think about that, to process, and to regroup,” she said. It was unclear what caused the crash. KTLA | L.A. Times
- Zoey Tur, a veteran helicopter pilot, said video from the crash appeared to capture the sound of engine failure.
11.
The Justice Department on Tuesday announced the arrests of 12 people in the San Diego area accused of defrauding the government of more than $10 million by collecting childcare subsidies for fake day-care centers. The investigation, dubbed “Operation Cradle to Grift,” began shortly after conservative activists drew attention to alleged childcare fraud in the region. The department emphasized the foreign origins of the defendants, all of whom they said are legal U.S. residents originally from Central Asia, the Middle East, or Africa. S.D. Union-Tribune | A.P.
12.
Roughly 1,500 spectators packed the beach in Del Mar on Sunday to catch a glimpse of dogs surfing the waves. The Annual Surf Dog Surf-a-Thon, now in its 21st year, has become a celebrated event on the region’s social calendar. The purpose is to raise money for a local animal rescue. It also produces some amazing photos of the tail-wagging competitors, who by all accounts love it. See a gallery.
Get your California Sun T-shirts, phone cases, hoodies, hats, and totes!
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.