Good morning. It’s Thursday, July 31.
- Kamala Harris extends the guessing game about her future.
- A fighter jet crashes in a field in the San Joaquin Valley.
- And Gilbert Arenas is arrested in illegal gambling probe.
Statewide
1.
Kamala Harris announced Wednesday that she would not run for California governor while leaving the door open to another White House run. “I don’t think running for president right now is her focus, but she’s not taking it off the table,” said Sean Clegg, a longtime Harris adviser. Her decision promised to shake up the 2026 governor’s race, which had been in a holding pattern, as donors and other possible candidates come off the sidelines. S.F. Chronicle | L.A. Times
- The L.A. Times’ Mark Z. Barabak: “Should Harris make a third try for the White House, it raises the intriguing possibility of facing her fellow Californian, Gov. Gavin Newsom.”
2.
Gov. Newsom signed an executive order on Wednesday outlining how California would work to lower suicide rates among young men and boys who he said are “suffering in silence” from the toll of loneliness and lack of opportunity. “It’s the latest move by Newsom, a likely 2028 presidential candidate, to explore how Democrats can better connect with young men since President Donald Trump’s reelection in November,” wrote political columnist Joe Garofoli. S.F. Chronicle | A.P.
3.
Antagonists are filing hundreds of liens against government officials and other power brokers in California, falsely alleging that they owe money or property, an investigation found. The filings cost just $5, but it can take thousands of dollars for victims to refute them. In an online tutorial last year, a real estate agent made no effort to disguise the purpose of the liens. “This is how we level the playing field,” she said. “We don’t sue government officials. We file liens that crush their credit until they cooperate.” L.A. Times
4.
The campground in Tuolumne Meadows, the stunning high country campground in Yosemite National Park, is set to reopen on Friday after a three-year, $26 million renovation. Crews rebuilt aging water and sewer systems; upgraded electrical equipment; and replaced every picnic table, fire ring, and food locker at 336 campsites. Some campers are said to prefer Tuolumne, with its peaceful and expansive meadows, over the more crowded Yosemite Valley. Santa Cruz Sentinel
Northern California
5.
A U.S. Navy jet crashed into an agricultural field about 5 miles from Naval Air Station Lemoore in the San Joaquin Valley on Wednesday evening after its pilot ejected to safety, officials said. The crash ignited a fire in the cotton field of Fresno County Supervisor Buddy Mendes, he said. “This is a minor deal,” he said. “This is just a scratch for them.” The plane was an F-35C, an aircraft carrier-based fighter jet that costs around $100 million. KSEE | KFSN
6.
“I was just fighting for a life worth living.”
In early July, Edin Reyes stopped to get breakfast on his way to work in Redwood City when three ICE agents descended on him. Reyes, 24, a father of two with an American wife, had been in the U.S. since childhood. Four days after his arrest, he was on a plane to Guatemala. Mission Local tracked the stories of dozens of people arrested by ICE in the San Francisco area since May.
- Flush with funding, the Department of Homeland Security is offering $50,000 signing bonuses for ICE recruits. Politico
7.
When Jerry Dyer was first elected mayor of Fresno in 2020, the local columnist Marek Warszawski doubted him. This Republican, evangelical Christian, and former police chief stood little chance of rising to the job of governing a majority Latino city where Democrats significantly outnumber Republicans, he reasoned. But he was wrong, Warszawski wrote this week. Dyer has been a leader of boundless energy and willingness to reach across the aisle. “He really is the mayor for everybody,” Tyler Maxwell, a Democratic councilman, told Warszawski. Fresno Bee
8.
In Markleeville, a community of fewer than 200 people deep in the Sierra Nevada, everyone knows everyone. The town is little more than an intersection, with a handful of eateries, motels, and a gas station. The library is the community hub, hosting story times for kids and weekly music jams. There’s really nothing out here, Meghan Wolff, head of the local Chamber of Commerce told a reporter: “Nothing.” That’s part of what makes it so special, SFGATE wrote.
9.
In 1968, Marcia and Bruce McDougal opened a live-in pottery school in Davenport on the Santa Cruz coast. For two decades, Big Creek Pottery, believed to be the first such school in the American West, trained more than a thousand students, including some of the world’s finest ceramicists. In a moving short documentary, Marcia McDougal reflected on the death of Bruce in 2019 and a house fire months later that she said was a sort of “kind favor,” allowing her to close a chapter of her life. Vimeo (~5 mins)
Southern California
10.
The former NBA star Gilbert Arenas was arrested Wednesday and charged with hosting high-stakes poker games at his Los Angeles mansion that included women hired to provide “companionship” for gamblers, federal prosecutors said. Five others were also charged in the alleged scheme, including a suspected organized crime figure from Israel. Arenas, 43, has been linked to gambling trouble before: In 2009, he and Wizards teammate Javaris Crittenton were accused of pulling guns on each other over a card game. A.P. | Courthouse News
11.
“Rich get richer, and poor get poorer. And that ain’t exactly right.”
“I’m grateful, but I would have done what I did — and I’ll do what I’m doing — regardless of whether it’s deemed worthy of mention or not.”
“In politics and in life, you don’t always get what you want, but you get what you get and you don’t get upset.”
Harrison Ford, 83, in typical fashion, gave a highly entertaining interview to Variety.
12.
Joshua Tree seems to be having a moment after newcomers drawn to the desert during the pandemic invested in a flurry of new shops, restaurants, and lodging options. In recent months, two new hotels opened at the edge of the national park, both of which emphasize tranquility for guests seeking an escape from the city. Reset is a newly built minimalist hotel with private patios and outdoor soaking tubs. Hotel Wren is a remake of a classic 1940s roadside lodge with rooms arranged around a saltwater pool and hot tub. N.Y. Times | AFAR
Scheduling note
The newsletter will be off all next week, returning Aug. 11.
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