Good morning. It’s Wednesday, April 15.
- Another woman accuses Eric Swalwell of raping her.
- Redlands debates pulling the Bible from school libraries.
- And bioluminescent worms dazzle in Long Beach lagoon.
Statewide
1.
Another woman accused Eric Swalwell of raping her on Tuesday. Lonna Drewes, a fashion executive, said had been friendly with Swalwell in 2018. The two had planned to attend a political event when he drugged her glass of wine, she believes, and took her to a hotel room. “He raped me and he choked me,” she said. Drewes did not report the episode to police, she said, but she wrote about it and discussed it with others. Swalwell said through a lawyer that the new accusations were a “calculated and transparent political hit job.” S.F. Chronicle | L.A. Times
- The New York Times’ Michelle Cottle: “Self-absorbed lawmakers fail to learn from the ruined careers of the past in part because those around them too often shrug off the whispers, red flags and glaringly bad behavior until some line gets crossed and scandal erupts.”
2.
On Feb. 8, a prominent Central Coast farming couple were found dead at a home in Cambria. After weeks of mystery surrounding the deaths of John and Kristen Ruskey, newly obtained coroner’s reports filled in some details. On the night before they died, the Ruskeys attended a party. At around 4:30 a.m., Kristen called 911 and told medics that John was having a “bad trip” on psychedelic mushrooms. But he refused care. Hours later, they were both found “pulseless.” The coroner attributed the deaths to accidental exposure to carbon monoxide, ruling out drug use as a factor. SFGATE | Santa Barbara Independent
3.
Writing in The Atlantic, Carolina A. Miranda noted that the 1965 Delano grape strike — an event that helped spark the modern farmworker movement in California — was not led by Cesar Chavez or the United Farm Workers. It was organized by a union made up primarily of Filipino workers. As Chavez monuments come down across California, Miranda argued against replacing his images with those of another labor leader. “It’s time for tributes to leave the great-man theory of history behind,” she wrote.
4.
Before Alex Honnold came along, Dean Potter was the king of Yosemite Valley. The legendary climber and BASE jumper pushed seemingly every boundary, in some cases harming his friendships and livelihood. Ultimately, one Saturday morning in 2015, it cost him his life when he died at age 43 in a wingsuit accident off Yosemite’s Taft Point. HBO just released a new docuseries on Potter, called “The Dark Wizard,” that uncovers a revelation about the climber: he may have been driven by mental illness. S.F. Chronicle | L.A. Times
Northern California
5.
After the firebomb attack on the home of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, White House AI adviser Sriram Krishnan went on X and laid blame on those spreading fears about the dangers of artificial intelligence. “The doomers need to take a serious look at what they have helped incite,” he wrote. More than a few people responded by pointing out that many AI leaders, including Altman himself, have suggested the technology could pose an existential threat. Washington Post
- Platformer’s Casey Newton: “OpenAI’s CEO is asking the public to lower the temperature on AI. But who turned it up in the first place?”
6.
Confronted with the dilemma of a dying century-old redwood outside Merced’s historic courthouse, county officials decided to use it as an opportunity for public art. Rather than remove the massive tree entirely, they hired a local wood carver to sculpt a bear out of its base. Tommy McCarty Jr. spent Monday and Tuesday getting the sculpture into shape and plans to work on the finishing details Wednesday. Locals were already gushing over its awesomeness. KFSN
- See video of McCarty at work.
7.
The travel publication Afar asked naturalist and guidebook author Obi Kaufmann to name some of California’s most inspiring and lesser-known landscapes. The most alluring hike of all, he said, is the long-distance Bigfoot Trail, which cuts across the Klamath Mountains:
“You pass through one area inside the Russian wilderness, which is one of the most magical spots on the planet. Scientists call this place the Miracle Mile because… there are 19 different [tree] species in this one square mile.”
Southern California
8.
James Heaps, a former UCLA gynecologist, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to sexually abusing five of his patients and was sentenced to 11 years in prison. The plea came after an appeals court tossed his conviction in February, ruling that he had not gotten a fair trial. A lawyer representing victims called the latest outcome “bittersweet” because many felt he deserved a longer sentence. “While no sentence can restore what was taken from me or from any survivor, this matters,” one former patient said. L.A. Times | A.P.
9.
The Bible will remain on Redlands school library shelves despite a formal complaint calling for its removal under a new policy that targets books touching on themes of violence or sex, the school board decided on Tuesday. After the controversial policy was adopted in August, the board removed Toni Morrison’s “The Bluest Eye” and Sapphire’s “Push.” During Tuesday’s hearing on the Bible, Michael Paisner, a parent, expressed a widely held view: “The one good thing about this challenge is that it lays bare your hypocrisy,” he said. Redland Daily Facts | CBS News
10.
Jacarandas, purple prima donnas of Los Angeles’ botanical landscape, are starting their show early. In recent days, sightings of blooms have circulated on social media, well ahead of the normal peak beginning in mid-May. Natives of South America, jacarandas divide opinion because of the sticky mess that fallen flowers leave on sidewalks and cars. Joshua Siskin, a gardening writer, scoffed at detractors of the trees, which in his view are the most breathtaking in L.A. “It’s almost like hating the sun because it can give you sunburn,” he wrote. WEHOonline
- Trees of LA shared pictures on Instagram.
11.
Photographers captured rare video of bioluminescent fireworms in a Long Beach lagoon late last week. The glow of the fireworms, bright green squiggles set against the inky black water, is created when females release their eggs, signaling to males to swim there and release their own gametes. Photographer Mark Girardeau said they looked like glow sticks come to life. “It’s something that is unlike anything else you’ve seen.” O.C. Register | KABC
- See videos. 👉 @patrickc_la | @markgirardeau
12.
The monumental works of the renowned sculptor Lauren Halsey have been exhibited in Venice, London, and New York. Her latest project is a homecoming. The sculpture park, dubbed “sister dreamer,” features sphinxes, soaring Egyptian-style columns, and a giant cube carved with references to the surrounding community in South Central Los Angeles, where Halsey grew up. She said her aim was to build something beautiful, open the gates, and see what happens. There are plans to host film screenings, jazz nights, and other happenings. Surface magazine | Cultured magazine
Get your California Sun T-shirts, phone cases, hoodies, hats, and totes!
The California Sun, PO Box 6868, Los Osos, CA 93412
Wake up to must-read news from around the Golden State delivered to your inbox each morning.