Good morning. It’s Thursday, June 1.
- Oakland residents demand response to crime spike.
- Danny Masterson found guilty of raping two women.
- And La Jolla campaign seeks secession from San Diego.
Statewide
1.
State officials announced Wednesday that California would send $95 million to flood victims who are in the country illegally and unable to access aid from FEMA. The establishment of the fund, which amounts to about $4,500 per household, comes two months after Gov. Gavin Newsom pledged a “rapid response” for victims in Pajaro and other devastated towns. Luis Alejo, a Monterey County supervisor, said the word “rapid” should probably be dropped from the fund’s name, “because it doesn’t feel rapid.” CalMatters | KCRA
2.
Since 2021, water managers have been intentionally flooding two vineyards near Northern California’s Cosumnes River each rainy season. The idea is to allow the water to trickle into depleted groundwater basins, mimicking nature’s old pattern, to boost water supplies in dry times. Andrew Fisher, an earth sciences professor, said it’s the way of the future: “We’re at liftoff right now.” Within two to three decades, he said, such projects will be “all over the landscape.” Reuters
3.
California state lawmakers are debating a flurry of bills as a Friday deadline nears. A few notable measures:
- The state Senate approved legislation decriminalizing psychedelics over the objections of California district attorneys, who questioned their medical value. Supporters cited a growing body of research that has shown the potential of drugs such as ketamine and psilocybin to treat mental illness. KTLA
- The Assembly advanced a bill that would ban several chemical additives in food products, including a coloring agent common in candies. Critics, who call it the “Skittles ban,” have portrayed the measure as government overreach. Supporters say the chemicals are toxic and largely banned in Europe. Wall Street Journal | L.A. Times
- Over the last week, lawmakers passed 16 bills designed to stem the state’s fentanyl crisis. They would impose harsher prison sentences on drug dealers, require schools to carry the opioid antidote naloxone, and establish programs aimed at education and prevention. A.P.
4.
Ham radio is having a moment. In California, there are nearly 100,000 licensed amateur radio operators, often called “hams,” who communicate over the airwaves. That’s much more than there were in the 1980s, before the iPhone. Glenn Morrison, a ponytailed 75-year-old in Palm Springs, is president of the Desert Rats, a club dedicated to everything ham radio. “People aren’t prepared,” he said of the threat of calamity. “And they keep thinking, ‘Well, that’s not going to happen in my lifetime.’ And it may not, but you never know.” The Guardian
Northern California
5.
“How do you lead a city when you don’t look out your window?”
A public meeting over safety in Oakland Tuesday night drew a passionate crowd of hundreds who vented over a recent crime spike and accused city leaders of standing idly by. The owner of a pizzeria said his staff had been held at gunpoint four times in six years. A woman told a story of being beaten in front of her house. Another person called Oakland a “failed progressive utopia.” S.F. Chronicle | Berkeley Scanner
6.
Chesa Boudin, San Francisco’s recalled district attorney, said Wednesday that he would forgo another bid for office and instead serve as executive director of a new criminal justice center at UC Berkeley’s School of Law. In an op-ed, Boudin, 42, lamented setbacks to criminal justice reform, which he attributed to a “manufactured frenzy” over public safety. He described his new job as “long-term work” that will help shape litigation and train the next generation of lawyers and policymakers. SF Standard | A.P.
7.
Old Navy, H&M, Saks Off Fifth, Nordstrom, Gap, Banana Republic, Abercrombie and Fitch, Anthropologie, Uniqlo, DSW, Real Real, Athleta, Arc’teryx, Fog City News, Alexander Book Company, Office Depot, Marshalls, Crate & Barrel, Williams Sonoma.
Dozens of retailers have fled downtown San Francisco since the pandemic in what some have described as a “doom loop,” a self-reinforcing cycle of decline. Among the latest to announce its departure is Bask, a tapas place that served diners at the foot of the Transamerica Pyramid for 11 years. “It’s just not enough, financially, for us,” owner Sabrina Thillard said. S.F. Chronicle | The Guardian
- A poll showed that a third of small businesses in San Francisco were victims of crime at least twice in the last year. KRON | SFist
8.
At SafetyWing, a travel insurance company based in Palo Alto, all full-time employees earn the same salary — regardless of role or longevity. That includes the content writers, graphic designers, software engineers, and even the chief executive officer. The location of remote workers is also no factor. Employees in Indonesia and Thailand earn the same as those in Switzerland and Silicon Valley. “People often counter the policy with points about the different costs of living, but put simply, is it fair to pay someone who lives in a poorer part of town a lower salary?” said cofounder Sondre Rasch. “No.” WIRED
Southern California
9.
A Los Angeles jury on Wednesday convicted “That ’70s Show” star Danny Masterson of raping two women at his Hollywood Hills home in the early 2000s. His wife, Bijou Phillips, gasped when the verdict was read and sobbed as he was led away in handcuffs. One of the accusers, who Masterson knew as a fellow member of the Church of Scientology, said she felt a mix of emotions — “relief, exhaustion, strength, sadness.” Masterson, 47, faces up to 30 years to life in prison. A.P. | L.A. Times
10.
In August of 2021, San Diego news outlets ran a story about an officer said to have overdosed from fentanyl by simply touching the drug during a traffic stop. Numerous police departments across the country have reported similar cases. NPR interviewed medical experts to get to the bottom of what’s happening. “This has never happened,” said Dr. Ryan Marino, a toxicologist. “There has never been an overdose through skin contact or accidentally inhaling fentanyl.” NPR
11.
In La Jolla, movements to break off from San Diego and become a city of its own date back to the 1940s. But the latest effort appears more serious. Organizers have raised funds, hired a consultant to conduct a financial analysis, and drawn detailed boundary maps. This time, the idyllic cliffside community where the median home sells for $2 million also has an added motivation: to sidestep San Diego’s efforts to increase housing density. S.D. Union-Tribune
12.
Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez just paid about $61 million for a megamansion in Beverly Hills. It has 38,000 square feet of living space, 24 bathrooms, 15 fireplaces, parking for 80, a cinema, whiskey lounge, pickleball court, and boxing ring. See the pictures. 👉 Wall Street Journal | Dirt
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The California Sun is written by Mike McPhate, a former California correspondent for the New York Times.
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