Good morning. It’s Tuesday, Oct. 14.
- Speeding cited in deadly Marin County car crash.
- Los Angeles Airport refuses to play Kristi Noem video.
- And Carmel agrees to take a step toward modernity.
Statewide
1.
Over the years, scientists have sought to illustrate the earth-shifting influence of groundwater overpumping in the Central Valley, known as subsidence, by marking the land’s former elevation on utility poles. Last Friday, irrigation district employees were making just such a display in Tulare County when a local farmer, Frank Fernandes, approached and told them to stop. Then he called the sheriff. “This was sabotage,” Fernandes later told a reporter. The clash reflected how deep fractures have become in a region facing state directives to reduce pumping. SJV Water
2.
On Monday, Gov. Gavin Newsom finished reviewing the bills sent to his desk during the 2025 legislative session, having signed 794 and vetoed 123, according to state Capitol reporter Eytan Wallace. Among his final moves:
- The governor acted on several artificial intelligence measures, vetoing new restrictions on children’s access to AI chatbots, while requiring protocols that shield minors from content that is sexually explicit or promotes self-harm. A.P. | SFGATE
- He approved a hefty pay increase for inmate firefighters, who have increasingly become a vital part of the state’s wildfire response. They’ll get the federal minimum of $7.25 an hour, up from roughly $1 an hour. CalMatters | L.A. Times
- He vetoed several reparations bills, including one that would have allowed colleges to give preferential admissions to descendants of slaves. Newsom said it was unnecessary because colleges already have the authority to consider such preferences. A.P. | Politico
3.
A September poll showed Sen. Alex Padilla badly trailing Katie Porter in hypothetical matchup for California governor. But Porter’s recent stumble during a contentious TV interview may have opened the starting gate for Padilla, who is still mulling whether to run, wrote columnist George Skelton: “If Padilla really longs for the job, he can stop dreaming and take advantage of a golden opportunity.” L.A. Times
- The political establishment in California has been desperately trying to get Padilla to jump into the race, wrote David Dayen in the American Prospect. After Porter’s viral video, they “saw their moment and pounced.”
Northern California
4.
After a horrific car crash along a winding two-lane road road in Marin County left four teenage girls dead in April, a 14-year-old survivor said they had been “run off the road” by an oncoming vehicle. But on Monday, a California Highway Patrol investigation concluded there was no evidence to support that claim. Instead, the 16-year-old driver, who survived, lost control while traveling at least 20 mph over the speed limit, officials said. They recommended that she face charges for manslaughter. S.F. Chronicle
5.
Hours after the Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff was quoted in the New York Times urging the deployment of National Guard troops to San Francisco, he called up the San Francisco Standard. He had a lot more to say, insisting that he had a keen grasp of the reality in San Francisco. “People are allowed to defecate on the streets,” he said. At the same time, he also acknowledged his evolving relationship with the city: Since around 2021, Benioff has lived, worked, and been registered to vote in Hawaii. S.F. Standard
- Salesforce announced on Monday that it would invest $15 billion to support AI innovation in San Francisco over the next five years. Wall Street Journal
6.
After months of impassioned debate, Carmel agreed to take a fateful step toward modernity: It’s going to start using street addresses. For more than a century, the town known for quaint cottages and white sand beaches eschewed home addresses to protect its village-like character. Houses were given names like “Green Door Cottage,” while mail was retrieved at the post office. But the City Council, which considered the burdens to emergency services, ultimately decided that address-free living had become incompatible with modern life. Monterey Herald | SFGATE
7.
When San Francisco installed the 710-ton Vaillancourt Fountain in a public plaza in 1971, a respected architectural writer spoke for many when he called it “incredibly ugly, brutal, pretentiously simple-minded and literally insipid concrete blocks.” But more than half a century later, the fountain has burrowed its way into San Francisco’s identity. That’s why people such as architecture critic John King want to save it from destruction. “It’s not a masterpiece,” King said, “but it captures a moment so distinctly and with such verve.” N.Y. Times
8.
A Santa Rosa engineer named Brandon Dawson clinched the top prize at the 52nd World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off in Half Moon Bay on Monday with a gourd weighing 2,346 pounds, equivalent to the weight of a small sedan or a large bison. Dawson said he brought his science background to the challenge of mastering the mix of water and sunlight. His prize winnings totaled $21,214. But he seemed especially thrilled about having his name engraved alongside past winners on the wall of the Cunha Country Store and Deli. “It means everything,” he said. Coastside News | A.P.
9.
Winning a Nobel Prize is great and all. But at UC Berkeley, the honor comes with an extraordinarily precious perk: lifetime dedicated parking on the overcrowded campus. The 10 parking spots, marked by bright blue signs, double as an unsubtle boast, regularly pointed out to visitors by tour guides. After the latest round of prizes, Berkeley now claims a whopping 28 Nobel Prize winners among its current and former faculty, up from 26. At this rate, the campus might need to think about a Nobel Prize parking lot. Atlas Obscura
Southern California
10.
Los Angeles Airport is among a handful of U.S. airports refusing a government request to play video of Kristi Noem, the Homeland Security chief, at security lines. In the video, Noem explains that operations have been disrupted by the government shutdown — and that Democrats in Congress are to blame. Airports have routinely played messages from Homeland Security on safety and flight procedures. But the overtly partisan tone of Noem’s video is unprecedented, industry experts said. Washington Post
11.
Blazes that firefighters thought had died only to come roaring back to life later have become increasingly common in California. The New York Times reported:
“Mark Hoffman, 71, was a lieutenant in the Oakland fire department when the so-called Tunnel fire swept through, destroying nearly 3,500 homes and killing 25 people. He thought of the fire recently, almost exactly 34 years later, after the authorities in Los Angeles attributed the Palisades fire to remnants of an earlier blaze that firefighters thought had been extinguished. ‘It was like, “Oh, no — that again,”‘ Mr. Hoffman said.”
12.
Apple orchards, Victorian architecture, and Mayberry-like charm.
Perched in the Cuyamaca Mountains east of San Diego, Julian is pretty anytime of year. But it reaches peak splendor in the fall, when the oaks and apple orchards turn red, gold, and yellow. Regulars say visitors should make sure not to miss the nearby gold mine tours and, of course, the apple pie, which abounds in restaurants along Main Street. Travel + Leisure | Secret Los Angeles
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