Good morning. It’s Thursday, Nov. 20.
- Poverty spikes in Bay Area land of tech billionaires.
- FBI worker says he was fired for displaying pride flag.
- And Lake Havasu City becomes magnet for Californians.
Statewide
1.
Tom Steyer, a restless San Francisco billionaire, announced Wednesday that he is running for California governor, casting himself as an outsider who would force corporations to “pay their fair share.” “The richest people in America think that they earned everything themselves,” the Democrat said in an announcement video. “Bullshit, man. That’s so ridiculous.” Steyer, 68, mounted a bid for president in 2020, spending more than $250 million of his own fortune and winning zero delegates. Politico | N.Y. Times
2.
California’s nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office said on Wednesday that the state is facing a $17.7 billion budget deficit amid sluggish job growth and flat consumer spending, posing a threat to the state’s progressive policies. The shortfall was partly offset by a boom in personal income tax collections driven by surging artificial intelligence stocks, the report said. But even that revenue stream could be in jeopardy, the analysts wrote: “It now appears time to take seriously the notion that the stock market has become overheated.” Bloomberg | A.P.
3.
“Winter has entered the chat.”
☝️ This was Mammoth Mountain on Tuesday after more than 2 feet of snow fell on the Sierra Nevada’s upper reaches since the weekend. California’s highest ski resort said it would kick off the season on Thursday, opening its gates at 8:30 a.m. Several other resorts in the Tahoe region and San Gabriel Mountains were aiming to open by Nov. 28. Powder Magazine | Los Angeles magazine
- See projected opening dates for California ski resorts. 👉 KGO | L.A. Times
Northern California
4.
For the first time in more than a decade, poverty is spiking in the Bay Area, an analysis found. In a land of tech billionaires, more than a million residents now live in poverty. Tazo Stuart-Riascos, 36, works by day at a retail job in San Francisco and does a night shift at a Trader Joe’s in the East Bay. “People aren’t surprised you’re working two jobs nowadays,” he said. “It’s this normal thing. You try to work your way out, but you’re actually working your way further in.” Washington Post
5.
The White House is preparing to issue an executive order directing the Justice Department to sue states with laws regulating artificial intelligence, several reports said on Wednesday. President Trump has frequently hosted leaders of AI companies who argue that unfettered development of the technology is crucial to national security. The order may test the limits of presidential power. Trump “has no power to issue a royal edict canceling state laws,” said state Sen. Scott Wiener, who authored a new AI safety law in California. Politico | Washington Post
6.
A 19-year-old student died after apparently drowning in a swimming pool during a fraternity house party in Berkeley last Friday, police said on Wednesday. No foul play was suspected, but the authorities were said to be weighing criminal charges related to the provision of alcohol to minors. Police officers said they observed overcrowding and heavy drinking at the house, which is popular among students because of the pool. Berkeley Scanner | S.F. Chronicle
7.
In 2019, Vallejo hired a new police chief with a mission to reform one of America’s deadliest police departments. Shawny Williams was Vallejo’s first Black police chief. He lasted three years. On Tuesday, Williams broke his silence, imposed by a non-disparagement agreement, about what caused his exit. During a deposition, he described facing a wave of anonymous threats and racism from within his own ranks. “There was racial animus,” he said, “retaliatory things that were happening that just made it unbearable.” Vallejo Sun
8.
Doctors have warned against using Artri Ajo King, a supplement advertised as a “natural remedy” for pain. The pills have been found to contain powerful hidden drugs. But the warnings are failing to penetrate San Francisco’s immigrant community, where Artri Ajo King has become commonplace among Latinos in physically demanding jobs. Gloria Caballero, 52, started taking them for knee pain. Not only did the pills relieve her pain, she woke up energized, she said. Then bruises appeared all over her body. El Tecolote
Southern California
9.
For years while working as a civilian cybertech assistant in the FBI’s Los Angeles field, David Maltinsky displayed near his desk a rainbow pride flag that had been gifted to him by one of his bosses. In June, he started classes at the FBI academy in Quantico, Virginia, pursuing a lifelong dream to become a federal agent. Then one evening in October, just three weeks from graduation, he was handed a letter signed by the bureau’s director, Kash Patel. Maltinsky was being “summarily dismissed,” it read, because of “political signage” at his work space in L.A. N.Y. Times
10.
Lake Havasu City, best known as a spring break spot along the Colorado River, has become an unexpected magnet for Californians seeking lower taxes and housing costs. In 2023, 5,358 Californians moved to Arizona’s Mojave County, home to Havasu, making it among the most popular destinations on a per capita basis. Amber Whitehead, who relocated from the Sierra foothills, said she found cheaper living and friendlier people. “I don’t want to talk it up too much, cause we don’t want a bunch of people moving in from California,” she said. L.A. Times
11.
Five years ago, 30 incoming freshmen at UC San Diego arrived with math skills below high-school level. Now the number is more than 900. Some have argued that plummeting math proficiency is no big deal because students can just use AI. Brian Conrad, a Stanford math professor, disagrees. “Who is going to trust somebody who got a degree in airline engineering who doesn’t know how to think through a problem without a computer telling them the answer?” he said. “The premise that foundational ideas don’t need to be learned anymore is a recipe for idiocracy.” The Atlantic
12.
When Republicans agreed to cut more than $1 trillion in federal health care spending to help offset tax cuts, some lawmakers worried that the changes would shutter rural hospitals. But a new analysis found that many of the hospitals most at risk look more like Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital in South Los Angeles, which sees more than 100,000 Medicaid patients in its emergency department each year. The hospital is preparing to lose 15% to 20% of its revenue. “There aren’t enough things for us to cut to make up for that loss,” said Dr. Elaine Batchlor, MLK’s chief executive. N.Y. Times
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