Good morning. It’s Friday, May 23.
- Senate Republicans kill California ban on gas cars.
- Six people presumed dead in San Diego plane crash.
- And some are skeptical of Sierra survival story.
Please note: The newsletter will be off Monday and Tuesday. Back in your inbox on Wednesday.
Statewide
1.
The U.S. Senate voted on Thursday to nullify California’s mandate to phase out gas-powered cars by 2035, killing one of the country’s most ambitious environmental policies. President Trump, a foe of clean energy, is expected to sign the measure. Standing behind a sign that read “Trump’s GOP is Making America Smoggy Again,” Gov. Gavin Newsom vowed on Thursday to take the battle to court. “This is not about electric vehicles,” he said. “This is about polluters being able to pollute more.” A.P. | N.Y. Times
2.
“Disastrous.”
“This cannot stand.”
“This is basically shutting down the industry.”
The sprawling tax-and-spending bill advanced in the Republican-led House on Thursday dealt a potentially fatal blow to the country’s rooftop solar industry. The budget package would wind down green-energy subsidies and change rules that could make it nearly impossible for many projects to qualify, reports said. Solar stocks plummeted on the development. The East Bay companies Complete Solaria and Enphase Energy both fell more than 15%; San Francisco’s SunRun slid 37%. Wall Street Journal | Reuters
- San Francisco Chronicle: Trump’s bill would have an outsize impact on Californians.
3.
In the Central Coast town of Cambria, there’s no traffic, no lines for restaurants, and relatively inexpensive hotel rooms. A mile-long boardwalk runs along a breathtaking stretch of coastline. What’s more, wrote U.S. News: “The small town’s Main Street is perfectly quaint; its colorful cottages and Tudor-style buildings house galleries, boutiques and wine-tasting rooms.” The magazine included Cambria in a new ranking of America’s 26 best underrated travel destinations. U.S. News
Northern California
4.
In recent years, the business partners Kenneth Mattson and Timothy LeFever bought up more than 120 properties in and around the wine country city of Sonoma. Then the empire crumbled in what one local publication called “an unbelievable ‘Ozark’-style drama.” Angry investors sued the partners, who in turn sued each other. On Thursday, Mattson was arrested and charged with fraud, money laundering, and obstruction of justice in what acting U.S. Attorney Patrick Robbins called “a classic Ponzi scheme.” S.F. Chronicle | Press Democrat
5.
Historians and local officials have called President Trump’s plan to reopen Alcatraz unnecessary, imprudent, and unworkable. But William Marshall, the director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, appears to be taking the directive seriously, recently dispatching “engineering teams” to assess the island. Marshall told Fox News the concrete prison could be replaced with “lighter-weight” materials. “We should be able to have a structure that maybe wouldn’t be as heavy,” he said. S.F. Chronicle
6.
Many Californians were relieved upon the rescue of Tiffany Slaton, a Georgia woman went missing for three weeks in the Sierra. After she recounted her ordeal, however, relief has given way to some skepticism. Mountaineers have questioned her phone problems, her report of an avalanche, and the extent of her injuries. “It doesn’t seem like a story you can really wrap your head around,” said Howie Schwartz, a Sierra guide. “Falling off a cliff, having to splint her leg. You don’t splint your leg unless your leg is broken and if your leg is broken, you’re not walking miles on it.” L.A. Times | KFSN
Southern California
7.
Six people were presumed dead after a private plane hurtled into a San Diego neighborhood of military housing early Thursday, authorities said. The crash carved a path of destruction that damaged 10 homes, mangled dozens of vehicles, and left eight people with minor injuries, officials said. The dead included employees of a music talent agency called Sound Talent Group, including the co-founder Dave Shapiro. Evidence suggested thick fog was a factor, experts said. One of the last things the pilot said was, “Doesn’t sound great, but we’ll give it a go.” S.D. Union-Tribune | NBC San Diego
- Doorbell video captured the fireball from the crash. 👉 NBC San Diego
8.
A former deputy mayor of Los Angeles, Brian K. Williams, agreed to plead guilty to fabricating a bomb threat against City Hall last year, federal prosecutors said on Thursday. Williams, whose portfolio was public safety, told officers on Oct. 3 that an unknown man had called his cell phone and said: “I’m tired of the city support of Israel, I have decided to place a bomb in City Hall.” Federal prosecutors did not suggest a motive. Williams now faces up to 10 years in federal prison. N.Y. Times | L.A. Times
9.
A former Irvine City Council member, Tammy Kim, was charged with 10 felonies, including perjury and voter fraud, Orange County’s district attorney announced on Thursday. The case against Kim involves allegations that she lied about her residency to be eligible to run in an open district. The charges carry a potential sentence of more than 11 years in prison. Kim declined to comment except to say that she intended to plead not guilty. Voice of OC | L.A. Times
10.
On this week’s California Sun Podcast, host Jeff Schechtman talks with Matthew Specktor, whose new memoir “The Golden Hour” tells the story of a bygone Hollywood. Specktor, the son of a legendary talent agent, talked about the enormous shift brought about by the arrival of streamers. “These are companies that are making something different,” he said. “They are making content, rather than film or television. That is sort of an extinction-level event for the movie business. … It changes everything.”
11.
A bear cub found motherless and crying in Los Padres National Forest was nursed back to health by animal rescuers dressed in bear costumes. The disguises were necessary to ensure the orphaned cub did not get attached to humans, said officials at the San Diego Humane Society. The goal is release him back into the wild in about a year. “Now, though, just over five weeks since he was rescued, the cub is thriving,” the Washington Post reported.
- See very adorable video of the bear cub. 👉 @sdhumanesociety
In case you missed it
12.
Five items that got big views over the past week:
- When MacKenzie Chung Fegan, a restaurant critic for the San Francisco Chronicle, went to The French Laundry for a meal, the renowned chef Thomas Keller pulled her aside and asked her to leave. That was just the start of the most extraordinary night of her career as a critic, Fegan wrote. S.F. Chronicle
- The advocacy group that represents California cities reacted with indignation after Gov. Gavin Newsom blamed local opposition for the state’s housing crisis. Meanwhile, Encinitas is openly trying to organize like-minded cities in an anti-housing insurgency, wrote columnist Sara Libby. S.F. Chronicle
- As the Supreme Court took up the question of birthright citizenship, the New York Times chronicled how a fringe interpretation of the 14th Amendment rose from the Claremont Institute, a conservative think tank in San Bernardino County.
- The scale of illegal dumping in Antelope Valley has gotten so extreme that CalRecycle said it amounted to an emergency that is degrading the environment, causing fires, and threatening safety. LAist visited three notorious dumping sites.
- Eric Topol, founder of the Scripps Research Translational Institute in La Jolla, set out 17 years ago to find out why some people age better than others. He was surprised to find that DNA did not seem to explain it. In his new book, “Super Agers,” Topol lays out the true keys to longevity. Washington Post
The California Sun, PO Box 6868, Los Osos, CA 93412
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