Good morning. It’s Friday, Oct. 10.
- Squatters and BASE jumpers run wild in Yosemite.
- L.A. County mulls state of emergency over ICE raids.
- And a look back at the unmatched style of Miles Davis.
Statewide
1.
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a number of new laws as he faces a Sunday deadline to act on any remaining bills passed by California’s Legislature. A roundup:
- The state will phase out so-called ultraprocessed foods in school meals under a pioneering law that inspired a rare instance of bipartisan agreement. Such foods — typically full of sugar, salt, and unhealthy fats — make up more than half of the calories U.S. children consume. Politico | N.Y. Times
- High school seniors who meet coursework requirements will now gain automatic admission to California State University campuses. A pilot program in Riverside County last year resulted in a 12% surge in enrollment. S.F. Chronicle
- Other laws approved by the governor will outlaw the declawing of cats, mandate a phonics-based reading curriculum in schools, and make the state’s medical-aid-in-dying act permanent. L.A. Times | EdSource | O.C. Register
2.
On this week’s California Sun Podcast, host Jeff Schechtman talked with Dina Gilio-Whitaker, author of the new book “Who Gets to Be Indian?” Gilio-Whitaker discussed how California became ground zero for Native American identity fraud. The phenomenon of falsely claiming Indian ancestry was well entrenched in early Hollywood before going national during the Civil Rights era, Gilio-Whitaker said. “Claiming a Native American identity becomes chic,” she said. “It becomes trendy and desirable.”
3.
Researchers have found that a visit to the desert can lower stress as much as time spent in green settings. One theory posits that it’s not so much the luxuriance of nature that acts on our psyche; it’s, at least in part, the beauty of the landscape that interrupts negative thought patterns, pulling us out of our heads. In Death Valley, the pull is especially strong in autumn — when the temperatures are mild, the skies are clear, and the park is uncrowded. NPS | Lonely Planet
Northern California
4.
A family of four found dead in their San Francisco home on Wednesday had been spiraling into financial trouble for years, public records revealed. The deceased were identified as Thomas Russell Ocheltree, 57, his wife, Paula Truong, 53, and their two children. Despite outward appearances of prosperity, the couple faced a string of business failures. Foreclosure proceedings and a lawsuit over credit card debt followed. Evan Bloom, who knew the couple, said he was bewildered by the news: “They were a completely warm, normal family from what I could see.” S.F. Standard | S.F. Chronicle
5.
Some analysts are worried that the $1 trillion artificial intelligence boom is being propped up by an increasingly complex web of circular business deals. Virtually every corner of the economy is at stake, wrote Bloomberg:
“Never before has so much money been spent so rapidly on a technology that, for all its potential, remains largely unproven as an avenue for profit-making. And often, these investments can be traced back to two leading firms: Nvidia and OpenAI.”
6.
“It’s like the Wild Wild West.”
With only one known wilderness ranger working in all of Yosemite National Park during the government shutdown, squatters are taking over campgrounds and BASE jumpers are making illegal leaps from the granite cliffs. “There are lots of people that truly believe they can do whatever they want because of the lack of rangers,” one park employee said. “They’ve told us.” SFGATE
Southern California
7.
The Board of Supervisors for Los Angeles County voted Tuesday to pursue an emergency declaration that would allow an eviction moratorium for families whose lives have been upended by the deportation crackdown. In a statement, Supervisor Janice Hahn said households were being robbed of breadwinners. They are “forcing people to choose between staying safe and staying housed,” she said. Kathryn Barger, the board chair, dissented, warning that landlords would be burdened “when it’s no fault of theirs.” L.A. Times | N.Y. Times
8.
San Diego County has one of the country’s highest concentrations of military, with roughly 117,000 service members. Even under normal circumstances, many stretch their dollars in the expensive region. They are now bracing for missed paychecks during the shutdown. “You don’t get to choose where you’re stationed,” noted Allison Glader with Feeding San Diego. She added: “You’re choosing between putting gas in the car, food on the table, or paying the electricity bill. One missing paycheck: that’s life-changing.” CalMatters
9.
A Riverside County woman was convicted of murder on Thursday after she administered silicone butt injections that gave a Malibu actress a fatal embolism. Libby Adame, 55, known as “the butt lady,” performed the unauthorized procedure despite being convicted of involuntary manslaughter in 2024 after another client died from an embolism. She faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison. KABC | City News Service
10.
As Miles Davis’s 100th birthday approaches, people are celebrating the trumpeter’s vast influence on music. But the man also had style. WSJ. Magazine got a look inside his personal archive in California — the first publication to be granted such access. Photographer Malick Bodian photographed his jackets and accessories on mannequins in a Hollywood studio. WSJ. Magazine
11.
If Palm Springs is a capital of midcentury modernism, Pasadena is a haven for the Craftsman. A reaction in part to gaudy Victorians, Craftsman homes embraced low-pitched roofs, earthy tones, wooden features, and spacious porches. Their popularity in the U.S. coincided with the rise of Pasadena itself, which quadrupled in population between 1900 and 1920. The Los Angeles Times told the story of how the L.A. suburb fell in love with Craftsman homes.
- Pasadena is celebrating Craftsman Week next week with tours and talks.
In case you missed it
12.
Five items that got big views over the past week:
- Dr. Fred Ramsdell, of San Francisco, likes to keep his phone in airplane mode while in nature. So he was oblivious to the news when his wife started shouting at their campsite in Montana. Ramsdell thought she’d seen a bear. “You just won the Nobel Prize!” she yelled. N.Y. Times
- Tired of swiping, Lisa Catalano plastered her face on Bay Area billboards along with a website address: MarryLisa.com. It has not gone as hoped. Many of the people who reached out did so only to ridicule her. S.F. Chronicle
- On a spit of land jutting into the San Francisco Bay, artists have transformed a former landfill into an anarchic sculpture garden. The S.F. Chronicle’s Peter Hartlaub paid a visit to the Albany Bulb and found a two-story “castle,” a rainbow archway made of nitrous oxide tanks, and an cement race track for marbles. S.F. Chronicle
- See the “Marble Run” in action.
- In 2023, Congress gave the U.S. Forest Service $274 million to protect the communities of Plumas National Forest from the next megafire. Two years later, all of the money has either been spent or spoken for. Yet less than 1% of the targeted landscape has been intentionally burned. Bay Nature/Plumas Sun
- After the Los Angeles River was encased in concrete in the 1930s, it came to be regarded as little more than a drainage ditch. But the river remains a place where life, and even beauty, finds a way. The photographer Mathew Scott has been documenting the people and places of the L.A. River. The Concrete River | MathewScott.com
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