Good morning. It’s Monday, Oct. 6.
- Judge blocks California National Guard deployment.
- An ancient forest is wiped out after Sierra wildfire.
- And soaring gold prices inspire new prospectors.
Statewide
1.
President Trump began deploying members of the California National Guard to Portland early Sunday after a judge blocked him from using the Oregon National Guard a day earlier. But Judge Karin Immergut, incredulous, called an emergency hearing Sunday night and widened her order to cover any National Guard troops. Trump’s move, said Immergut, a Trump appointee, amounted to “direct contravention” of her original ruling.
In recent days, Trump has revived the fantastical language he employed in June, when he portrayed Los Angeles as a city on the brink of annihilation, to declare that Portland is “war-ravaged” and “burning to the ground.” Local residents, who were standing in brunch lines and cheering on the Portland Marathon on a bright Sunday morning, called the rhetoric laughable. N.Y. Times | A.P. | L.A. Times
2.
Voting opened statewide Monday on whether to redraw California’s congressional district to favor Democrats and potentially offset gerrymandering moves in Texas and elsewhere. The outcome of the Proposition 50 special election, concluding on Nov. 4, could determine control of the House in 2026 and whether Democrats will be able to blunt President Trump’s power during the second half of his term. Depending on the poll, support for the measure is overwhelming, solid, or just shy of 50%. A.P.
3.
Roughly two dozen California educators have faced discipline or termination over their comments on the killing of Charlie Kirk, a review found. With few exceptions, the targeted employees have been in more conservative counties, including Shasta, Tulare, Fresno, Mariposa, and Placer. Aaron Terr, of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, said a nationwide wave of actions against teachers has been “overwhelming.” “The boundaries of what can’t be said keep expanding,” he said. EdSource
4.
Last year, an ounce of gold was worth about $2,660. On Monday, it rose to a record $3,963. The surging prices have led to a revival of gold fever in California, as hobbyists pour into the Sierra foothills with pans and metal detectors to hunt for the yellow metal. Some amateur prospectors sell their finds right away. Others treat their gold like a “pension,” said Kevin Hoagland, of the Gold Prospectors Association of America. “I’ve been doing this for over 50 years now, and I still get excited,” he said. S.F. Chronicle
Northern California
5.
“All the trees are dead.”
An ancient forest of sugar and Jeffrey pines within the Sierra National Forest east of Fresno was almost entirely wiped out during a lightning-ignited wildfire last month, researchers said. Aside from the loss of big trees, the 3,000-acre forest, set aside in 1938 and named the Teakettle Experimental Forest, also served for generations as laboratory for ecological research. “That being lost is a tragedy to science,” said Scott Stephens, a professor of fire science at UC Berkeley. “You can’t recreate that.” S.F. Chronicle
6.
On July 15, the top U.S. prosecutor in Sacramento, Michele Beckwith, was abruptly fired and marched out of her office hours after she informed a Border Patrol official that he was obligated to comply with a court order. In a new interview, Beckwith said she didn’t want attention. “Other people are going through the same thing,” she said. “People are standing up and making it clear that their loyalty is and commitment is to the Constitution and the rule of law. I admire that courage.” Sacramento Bee
7.
Tired of swiping, Lisa Catalano, 42, took a radical approach to finding romance, plastering her smiling face on six giant Bay Area billboards along with a website address: MarryLisa.com. It has not gone as hoped. Many of the thousands of people who’ve reached out did so only to ridicule her. Some messages veered into misogyny or outright threats. Her decision to go public, Catalano said, has resulted in “some of the most horrific things I’ve ever read.” S.F. Chronicle
8.
Riley Walz, 23, is making his mark in San Francisco as a talented prankster. He affixed large signs on a vacant lot declaring “Coming 2026, Chick-fil-A,” horrifying neighbors. He posted placards outside a Louis Vuitton that read, “Notice: Stolen Goods Must Remain Under $950,” a reference to the cutoff between a misdemeanor and a felony. City officials were not amused by his most recent project: a map that tracks parking-control officers. “You have to follow through on your ideas because if you don’t, you might stop having them,” Walz said in a New York Times profile.
Southern California
9.
Learn4Life, one of California’s largest charter school networks, is paid hundreds of millions of dollars a year by the state’s taxpayers. But more than a dozen current and former employees said the schools are failing students, who meet with teachers as little as once a week. Executive pay at the nonprofit, meanwhile, has topped $600,000 a year. Greg Bordo, a Learn4Life attorney, bristled when a reporter sought comment. “It is not Learn4Life’s obligation to take the substantial amount of time necessary to respond to your lengthy list of questions,” he said. S.D. Union-Tribune
10.
The animator Brian Mainolfi started in Hollywood in the 1990s as an assistant to legendary Looney Tunes animator Chuck Jones. Mainolfi, 54, worked on Disney’s “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” and “Mulan,” and spent a decade on the animated sitcom “American Dad.” But since 2024, the only work he has found is teaching an animation class for $350 a week. “By the end of the year if I don’t have something, I’m going to have to apply to a big-box store or a grocery store or something,” he said. The Wall Street Journal wrote about Hollywood’s downward spiral.
11.
Because of the government shutdown, the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds and Navy Blue Angels were grounded during the annual Pacific Airshow in Huntington Beach over the weekend. Flying in their place? The Falcons of the British Royal Air Force and the Snowbirds of the Royal Canadian Air Force. “Thank God Canada is not the 51st state yet,” Kevin Elliott, the director of the Pacific Airshow, said ahead of the event, referring to President Trump’s threats to annex the northern neighbor. L.A. Times | N.Y. Times
12.
This summer, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art announced the acquisition of a monumental flower-covered sculpture by Jeff Koons. Four months later, the 37-foot-tall “Split-Rocker” — one-half rocking horse head and the other half toy dinosaur — is taking shape outside the museum. The sculpture will have a Californian palette, covered in roughly 45,000 perennials and succulents that thrive in the region’s mild climate, including dudleyas, sedums, and crassulas. Unframed | L.A. Times
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