Good morning. It’s Monday, March 30.
- “No Kings” rallies draw large crowds across the state.
- San Francisco supervisor seeks absence for mental health.
- And an off-grid “college” rises near the Salton Sea.
Statewide
1.
“We are here to create change.”
Protesters filled streets and public squares in dozens of California cities under the banner of “No Kings” on Saturday in some of the largest protests in American history. Fueled by anger over the war in Iran and the immigration crackdown in the U.S., rallies drew robust crowds from the North State’s Crescent City to San Diego, including more than 100,000 people in both the Bay Area and greater Los Angeles. Police said they arrested more than 70 people in L.A., the majority of them charged with refusal to disperse. S.F. Chronicle | L.A. Times
- See pictures from Eureka, Sacramento, San Francisco, and San Diego.
2.
Kash Patel, the FBI director, moved to release old investigative files on ties between Rep. Eric Swalwell and a suspected Chinese spy as the Democratic congressman seeks to become California’s next governor, reports said. Swalwell called the effort a “smear” designed to derail his candidacy. “But Donald Trump and Kash Patel do not get to pick the next governor,” he said. The FBI’s inquiry into Swalwell led to no allegations of wrongdoing, and a Republican-led House ethics investigation into the matter took no action. Washington Post | N.Y. Times
3.
The cost of fertilizers has jumped more than 50%.
The average price of a gallon of diesel has surged more than $2.
And shipping costs to key markets have tripled.
In 2025, the Trump administration’s trade wars hammered California farmers, who saw the value of their exports to China fall by nearly two-thirds, according to one estimate. Now the Iran war is deepening their pain. Faith Parum, an agricultural economist, said everyone has a stake in the plight facing farmers. “Because it is a matter of national security and food security.” L.A. Times
4.
In 2024, Latino voters in California’s agricultural interior shifted toward Republicans, shocking Democratic leaders who believed the region would cement their power in the state. But there are signs now that support could be shifting away from the Republicans again as Latino voters fuel important wins for Democrats across the U.S. As the midterm elections approach, the New York Times wrote: “Control of Congress may well run through California’s Central Valley.”
- President Trump’s approval rating among Latino voters has fallen from 41% to 22%, a CNN poll found.
Northern California
5.
A San Francisco supervisor, Jackie Fielder, said she would take a leave of absence as she navigates “a mental health condition” that led her to check herself into a hospital late last week. Fielder, a democratic socialist who had been absent from City Hall for about two weeks, told a reporter on Friday that she was unwell and planned to resign, sending a shock wave through the city’s political establishment. By Sunday, she had backtracked, saying she planned to take time to “consider her options.” Mission Local
6.
Stockton is America’s “super-commuter” capital. An analysis found that the city roughly 80 miles east of San Francisco has the highest rate of commuters who travel at least 90 minutes to work — 9.2% — of any U.S. city with more than 200,000 residents. Modesto, just 30 minutes south of Stockton, ranks a close second. It’s no coincidence. Both cities offer relatively affordable housing but a shortage of higher-wage jobs, obliging workers to chase the lucrative paychecks in the Bay Area. S.F. Chronicle
7.
The columnist Ezra Klein spent a week in San Francisco interviewing people on the frontier of the artificial intelligence age and found that they are being changed by the technology. Researchers have identified what they call “cognitive surrender,” in which users adopt AI’s judgement as their own. The phenomenon is clearly real, Klein wrote, “and with it will come the atrophy of certain skills and capacities, or the absence of their development in the first place.” N.Y. Times
8.
On Saturday, around 250 people gathered at Ocean Beach in San Francisco and spent hours digging a giant hole in the sand. The Hole Party, as the recurring event is called, was organized by Anna Magruder. She said there are only two rules: Everyone is invited and the hole gets filled in. “When I first started it, I didn’t know if people were gonna go for it,” she said. “I would ask around and be like, ‘Does this sound stupid?’” SFGATE | S.F. Standard
Southern California
9.
“It was the cult of Cesar.”
In the days since allegations of sexual abuse by Cesar Chavez surfaced, former United Farm Workers members have shared stories of how the labor leader abused his moral authority and power. In dozens of interviews with the New York Times, men and women who lived at the organization’s compound in the Tehachapi Mountains said Chavez grew increasingly cultish, believing that he could influence others with his mind. His touch, he claimed, had the power to heal.
10.
They call it Mars College. A group with roots in Burning Man created an unorthodox educational experience within a cluster of plywood-and-metal structures on the edge of the Salton Sea. There’s no tuition, no grading, and no power grid. “But there are daily classes taught by anyone who has something to teach, ranging from the writers’ workshop, to the mathematical theory of shapes, to the proper way to install solar panels, to the creation of AI-inspired art,” the Guardian wrote.
11.
In 1922, the boxing promoter Sid Grauman debuted the world’s first truly ambitious cinema design with the Egyptian Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard. A few years later, he shifted his attention two blocks down the street, where he opened an even grander venue, the Chinese Theatre, featuring temple bells, pagodas, and artifacts shipped from China. In an age of streaming services, the restored theaters are beacons for the magic of gathering together to see films on the big screen. The Financial Times included both in a photo feature on the world’s 24 most breathtaking cinemas.
In case you missed it
12.
Here’s a quick catch-up on news you may have missed over the last week:
- Chad Bianco, the Riverside County sheriff who is running for governor, confiscated more ballot materials as part of an investigation into voter fraud. Local and state officials condemned the actions by Bianco, who has suggested that election fraud is rampant and Democrats are its beneficiaries. The Guardian
- In a landmark decision, a Los Angeles jury found Instagram and YouTube liable for designing addictive features that harmed a teenage girl. Both companies planned to appeal, but analysts said they could face a potential flood of similar lawsuits. The Atlantic
- USC canceled a gubernatorial debate just hours before it was to begin after facing criticism for including only white candidates. The university said its selection criteria was based strictly on polling and fundraising. L.A. Times
- The New York Times asked Gregory Bovino, the face of the Trump administration’s deportation crackdown, if he has any regrets as he prepares to retire from the Border Patrol. He said he did not go far enough.
- Also: Bill Cosby lost a sex assault case brought by a former Sausalito waitress; a judge halted the Trump administration’s designation of Anthropic as a supply-chain risk; and San Francisco restored eighth-grade algebra 12 years after dropping it over equity concerns.
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