Good morning. It’s Friday, Nov. 18.
- Nancy Pelosi ends historic run as top House Democrat.
- Biggest dam removal project in history set for Klamath.
- And vehicle collision with cadets is called deliberate.
Please note: The newsletter will be off next week. Enjoy your Thanksgiving holiday; delivery will resume Monday, Nov. 28.
Statewide
1.
Nancy Pelosi, the first woman to hold the House speakership and the face of the chamber’s Democrats for two decades, announced Thursday that she would relinquish her leadership role in the next Congress. In a carefully choreographed speech on the House floor, Pelosi said, “For me, the hour has come for a new generation to lead the Democratic caucus that I so deeply respect.” Some colleagues wiped tears. Recounting her record, Pelosi took a subtle jab at former President Trump, saying she “enjoyed working with three presidents.” Pelosi served under four presidents. Washington Post | N.Y. Times
The Clap. Ripping Trump’s Speech. Oval Office Showdown. Here are memorable moments from Pelosi’s tenure. 👉 N.Y. Times
2.
Other election 2022 updates:
- Rep. Katie Porter, a star of the Democrats’ progressive wing, barely hung on to her Orange County district seat after a tough challenge from Republican Scott Baugh, a former state legislator. With nearly all votes counted, her lead was only about 8,200 votes. A.P. | L.A. Times
- The board of supervisors also went blue in Orange County, with Democrats poised to take majority control for the first time in nearly 50 years. Katrina Foley, a Democrat who declared victory Thursday, said she was already working on a climate action plan. Voice of OC
3.
Prior to last week, California’s coronavirus cases had been on a steady decline since July. That trend has now officially reversed. While infection rates remain low, their sharp rise is similar to what California saw ahead of previous waves. In Los Angeles County, public health officials on Thursday revived a “strong” recommendation to mask up indoors in all public settings. S.F. Chronicle | L.A. Times
California coronavirus tracker. 👉 Covid19.ca.gov
Northern California
4.
U.S. regulators voted unanimously Thursday to allow demolition of four dams along Northern California’s Klamath River in what would be the nation’s largest dam removal project. A triumph for environmentalists and Indian tribes, the unshackling of hundreds of miles of the mighty Klamath is expected to trigger a revival of native flora and fauna. “The Klamath salmon are coming home,” Yurok Chairman Joseph James said after the vote. Sacramento Bee | A.P.
5.
The top trend worldwide on Twitter late Thursday was #RIPTwitter. Users were reacting to reports of mass departures from Twitter’s already depleted workforce after Elon Musk gave employees an ultimatum to work “extremely hardcore” or leave. As the site’s ability to keep operating became threatened, Musk made personal appeals to workers on Thursday. His pitch, in short: He knows how to win. If you want to win, join him. N.Y. Times | Washington Post
At SpaceX, another of Musk’s companies, nine workers were fired after a letter was circulated condemning Musk’s “harmful Twitter behavior.” N.Y. Times
6.
UC Berkeley School of Law said Thursday it would join with the law programs at Harvard and Yale in withdrawing from the U.S. News & World Report law-school ranking. Erwin Chemerinsky, the Berkeley Law dean, said U.S. News penalizes schools whose graduates pursue public interest careers and advanced degrees, while rewarding spending that drives up tuition. He’s complained to the publication for years, he said, “to no avail.” Wall Street Journal | Reuters
7.
Robert MacKimmie has been raising bees in San Francisco since 1996. His honey varieties conjure the experience of wine tasting.
“Bees that collect pollen from the sprawling groves of blue gum eucalyptus in Golden Gate Park often produce a honey with a rich and buttery taste, like a chardonnay or butterscotch. Potrero Hill honey has a ‘warmth and wildness’ with hints of anise, because of the wild fennel growing there. Telegraph Hill honey can have notes of citrus, on account all the lemon trees in the old Italian neighborhoods of North Beach.” SF Standard
Southern California
8.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said Thursday that investigators believe the driver who plowed into a group of jogging law enforcement cadets in Whittier made a “deliberate act.” The suspect, 22-year-old Nicholas Gutierrez, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder Wednesday, but then released Thursday night. A sheriff’s department spokesman said they had evidence but needed more time “to make sure it’s properly presented. L.A. Times | KABC
Video captured the moment of the crash. 👉 YouTube
9.
“I think it’s disgusting.”
When fliers circulated promoting the Christian Good News Club at an elementary school in the conservative community Tehachapi, some parents bristled. This week, a rival club got permission to use the same school cafeteria: the After School Satan Club. Other parents have now complained, but the district explained that it is bound by law not to discriminate based on viewpoint. BakersfieldNow | Tehachapi News
10.
On this week’s California Sun Podcast, host Jeff Schechtman chats with Stephen Galloway, dean of the Dodge College of Film and Media Arts at Chapman University. Galloway discussed how movie franchises have dwarfed everything else in film, how the streaming era has broken down the walls between classic cinema and television, and how inspired he is by the young people now coming into the business. “They are very unjaded, which is lovely,” he said.
11.
In Southern California, it seems there are always homes on the market once owned by celebrities. Agents play up the links, as if the seller’s stardust could settle on the lowly buyer. Whether celebrity homes command a premium is debatable, but they reliably impress just as properties. Now up for grabs:
- A futuristic home owned by Flea, of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, is seeking $8.8 million. Perched atop a hill in La Crescenta, it has a lap pool, movie pavilion, and unbelievable views. Architectural Digest got a tour. YouTube (~9:30 mins)
- Steve McQueen, the story goes, once tossed the mailbox of his Malibu beach home into the Pacific. The king of cool intended the glass-walled house to be a sanctuary from the hamster wheel of Hollywood. It’s yours for $17 million. Wall Street Journal
- Vin Scully lived in the sort of opulence befitting California royalty. The late Dodgers broadcaster’s French chateau-style home is massive: 11,615 square feet sprawled across a breathtaking 2 acres in the Santa Monica Mountains. Asking price is $15 million. Dirt
In case you missed it
12.
Five items that got big views over the past week:
- The New York Times produced an engrossing feature by architecture critic Michael Kimmelman on “remaking the river that made L.A.“
- Getting to the stretch of Lost Coast where the turquoise waters of the Mattole River spill into the Pacific requires a long, winding drive. But the reward, as Sunset Magazine once put it, is “too lovely to be believed.” Sonoma Magazine | BLM.gov
- A decade ago, a prison official at San Quentin found thousands of pictures showing life inside the prison from the 1940s to the 1980s. The photographer Nigel Poor curated selections of the most compelling images — from the the banal to the brutal. Take a dive at her website.
- Imprudent photo ops at Yosemite’s cliff edges have been a pastime since not long after photography was introduced to the park. A look back at Yosemite daredevils of yore. 👉 California Sun
- Malaika recently gave birth at a breeding facility in Sonoma County standing up, as giraffes do, letting her calf topple 6 feet onto the hard dirt. The newborn, Grace, shook it off and was up on her feet in under an hour. Press Democrat | Safari West
- See the birth. 👉 YouTube (~1 min)
Correction
Thursday’s newsletter provided a misleading account of how redwood fairy rings arise. While some redwoods in fairy rings can grow from seeds, genetic studies have shown that approximately nine in 10 are clones of a parent tree.
Thanks for reading!
The California Sun is written by Mike McPhate, a former California correspondent for the New York Times.
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