Good morning. It’s Monday, June 22.
- Shasta County ends a five-year MAGA experiment.
- L.A. schools superintendent resigns amid FBI inquiry.
- And Hollywood has biggest box office run in years.
Statewide
1.
With demand for gold hitting record levels, a Canadian mining company is leading a new gold rush in the desert just a few miles from Death Valley. Since the project won federal approval in April, a “constant stream” of helicopters has ferried lumber and equipment to build rigs for exploratory drills. The next phase could involve transforming a place known for Joshua trees, piñon pines, and limestone boulders into an open-pit cyanide heap leach mine. Whether that happens is up to the mountains now, said Esther Fillingame, of the Paiute Shoshone Tribe: “Hopefully they don’t find anything.” The Guardian
2.
A bipartisan backlash against data centers has narrowed options for artificial intelligence startups and others racing to secure more computing power. But a project recently unveiled in the San Joaquin Valley suggests a potential answer. California Resources Corporation, the state’s largest oil company, wants to build a 600,000-square-foot data center on an oil field in western Kern County. “It’s part of a new trend in the AI boom,” Grist reports. “More developers are proposing to build data centers in or near active oil and gas fields.”
Northern California
3.
The June 2 primary election not only ousted Shasta County’s election-denying elections chief, it tilted the powerful Board of Supervisors back to the center-right, effectively ending a five-year MAGA experiment. “People have seen the result of a MAGA-led government, whether it’s on a national level or a local level,” said Mary Rickert, a former Republican board member. “They are seeing the consequences of putting people in positions they are not qualified [for].” S.F. Chronicle
4.
An ambitious proposal would create a giant web of trails linking 15 mountain towns in Northern California. When completed, it would open up new hiking and biking possibilities stretching from Truckee to Lassen Volcanic National Park, allowing people to go on multiday adventures with little more than a daypack, knowing that hot meals and hotel rooms await. The San Francisco Chronicle published a map of the proposed “Lost Sierra Route.”
5.
On Saturday, a man fell into a campground vault toilet in the Sierra foothills while trying to fish out a pair of sunglasses he had dropped into the non-flush tank for human waste. A Fresno County law enforcement official, Sergeant Chris Tullus, said the man was in the toilet at Shaver Lake’s Camp Edison for 10-15 minutes before rescuers were able to pull him out. Cal Fire employees then hosed him down. “He’ll be OK,” Tullus said. KSEE
- The outhouse toilet tumble seems to be turning into a recurring nightmare of the smartphone age. Outside
6.
A post alleging a lack of friendliness in the Bay Area struck a chord among locals on Reddit. “I’ve never lived somewhere that I’ve struggled so much socially,” the author wrote. “Not just making friends, but having basic human interactions.” Some reactions to the criticism were defensive. Others blamed tech transplants. But many people commiserated. “I’ve always said that I had more interactions with other parents in one trip to a park in Sacramento than a year on the peninsula,” one person wrote. Reddit
7.
“It’s the most beautiful community I’ve ever lived in in my life.”
There isn’t much in the way of amenities in Monte Rio. The scrappy town of roughly 1,000 people on a bend of the Russian River is anchored by a movie theater built from an old military Quonset hut and the pragmatic Bartlett’s Market. But the vacation destination is staging a comeback, reports the San Francisco Standard. The outlet highlighted the cafes, redwood hikes, and places to stay that make Monte Rio “its own kind of wonderland.”
Southern California
8.
Alberto Carvalho, the Los Angeles schools superintendent, resigned on Sunday night, nearly four months after FBI agents raided his home and office as part of what reports have said is an investigation into a failed AI chatbot venture by the district. Carvalho, a celebrated figure in education circles, has denied wrongdoing. In his resignation letter, he said he was leaving “because I believe our schools must remain focused on students and learning without distraction.” L.A. Times
9.
On Sunday, Los Angeles firefighters spent a fifth straight day battling a stubborn warehouse fire that has fouled surrounding neighborhoods with what air quality officials called “very unhealthy” pollution. The blaze has been challenging to contain because the Boyle Heights structure, which held more than 40,000 tons of frozen food, has insulated steel walls. Fire officials on Sunday cited significant progress but said full containment remained several days away. Michael Kleinman, a toxicologist, described the potential biohazard posed by the spoiling food as “something that’s really unprecedented.” L.A. Times | LAist
10.
The Los Angeles authorities released video on Friday of the June 13 police shooting of a woman’s dog that stoked widespread outrage. The footage shows the dog, a 2-year-old Saint Bernard doodle named Jameson, barking at the appearance of two officers at the door. “He’s not aggressive at all. I apologize,” owner Marie Marseille says. The dog then bolts toward an officer who draws his gun and fires four times. Jameson collapses and Marseille screams, “No!” Mayor Karen Bass called the video “disturbing and tragic.” L.A. Times | N.Y. Times
- The neighbor who called the police spoke to KABC. “I feel responsible for what happened,” she said. “I’m so sorry. … I thought I was doing the right thing.”
11.
Not long ago, it was considered an open question whether moviegoing would survive. Now Hollywood is enjoying its biggest box office since before the Covid pandemic. Over the weekend, Disney’s “Toy Story 5” opened to an estimated $312 million globally — the second-best debut for a Pixar animated film. It extends a hot streak that has included “Project Hail Mary,” “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” and “Backrooms,” lifting the domestic box office so far this year to an estimated $4.46 billion, the highest since 2019. Wall Street Journal | N.Y. Times
- Reviews for “Toy Story 5” — which tells the story of a tablet invading the world of Jessie, Woody, and Buzz Lightyear — have been overwhelmingly positive.
12.
Sunday was the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, and few places brought as much joy to the occasion as Santa Barbara. Since beginning as a small party in 1974, the annual Summer Solstice Parade has grown into one of the biggest events of the city’s social calendar, drawing tens of thousands of spectators. Held Saturday, this year’s event embraced an aquatic theme, with mermaids, bubbles, a water dragon, and vibrant colors everywhere. The Santa Barbara Independent got some fabulous pictures.
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