Good morning. It’s Monday, Dec. 8.
- Tech elites start their own cities in “ultimate exit.”
- San Diego agrees to pay $30 million over police shooting.
- And Hollywood rages against planned Netflix-Warner deal.
Statewide
1.
Dozens of teachers flee the Monterey Peninsula school district each year, driven largely by the strain of making ends meet in the seaside enclave. To slow the exodus, the district became a landlord, paying $35 million for 64 apartments it will rent to teachers at reduced rates. The “teacher-village” concept, as it’s known, is growing in popularity nationwide, with California at its epicenter, the Wall Street Journal reported: “Statewide, school districts have created about 1,000 units, mostly since 2022. More than 1,800 additional units are in the pipeline from San Diego to San Jose.”
2.
For the first time, scientists are now tracking individual monarch butterflies — and you can too. The breakthrough is thanks to a New Jersey company that pioneered a solar-powered radio tag so tiny — just 60 milligrams — that a butterfly can carry it. The New York Times likened a tag-bearing migrator to a half-raisin carrying three uncooked grains of rice. Researchers are hoping to glean crucial insights on the poorly understood life cycle of the graceful orange butterflies, while monarch lovers can follow individual insects on a free app called Project Monarch. Mercury News
- In recent weeks, the monarchs have been migrating to coastal California trees for the winter. The mid-season population count appears fairly grim, the Xerces Society reported.
3.
A self-described Luddite turned to ChatGPT for therapy after her marriage of 16 years ended and most of her neighborhood in Malibu turned to ash. It was transformative, she wrote:
“Maybe I come across like a woo-woo, far-out flower child who’s fallen in love with an app. But for the first time in my life, I don’t care what others think. I care that I have been able to taper to a low dose of my antidepressant and am sleeping better than I have in years. Somehow, I found connection and calm in the last place I thought to look.” N.Y. Times
- The Atlantic writer Caitlin Flanagan reacted to the Times article on X: “If there were a devil, this is what he would do.”
Northern California
4.
A social worker at San Francisco General Hospital, 51-year-old Alberto Rangel, died on Saturday after being stabbed repeatedly in the neck by a patient earlier in the week, officials said. Hospital sources said staff members had repeatedly warned supervisors that the suspect, 34-year-old Wilfredo Tortolero Arriechi, could become violent. “This could have been avoided on so many fucking levels,” one witness to the attack said. “We knew three weeks ago about this patient.” Mission Local | S.F. Chronicle
- At a vigil on Sunday, Rangel was remembered by colleagues as “remarkable” and “compassionate.” CBS News | Mission Local
5.
After psychologists testified that San Francisco’s most notorious groper, Bill Gene Hobbs, had a serious mental disorder and posed “substantial danger” to others, a judge released him anyway. “Hopefully, he is telling us the truth, and he will take his medication,” he said. But Hobbs went right back to harassing women. In an editorial, the San Francisco Chronicle argued that the system is broken: “California law doesn’t just permit offenders with violent histories to be released from mental hospitals despite still being severely ill and potentially dangerous. In some cases, it requires this to happen.”
6.
California health officials issued a warning after an outbreak of wild mushroom poisonings in the Bay Area and Monterey County. The state poison control system confirmed 21 cases of amatoxin poisoning, including the death of one person and severe liver damage in several patients, likely caused by death cap mushrooms. The fungus first appeared in North America in the early 1900s and has become a constant menace in the Bay Area. They are said to be tasty and easily mistaken for edible mushrooms. There is no antidote for poisoning. A.P. | N.Y. Times
7.
For years, the entrepreneur Balaji Srinivasan has talked about wanting to establish a physical homeland for the tech elite, free from the constraints of “failing” U.S. institutions and democracy. What was a fringe concept has blossomed in 2025. By one count, there are now roughly 120 “start-up societies” in the works. Backers include Marc Andreessen, Sam Altman, and the Winklevoss twins. “They think they are the grand solutionists that can fix all the problems, but it’s so insular,” said Olivier Jutel, an expert in cyberlibertarianism. “But just because it’s stupid doesn’t mean it won’t inherit the Earth.” Financial Times
Southern California
8.
In the late 1800s, Altadena’s founder had a street leading to his house lined with deodar trees. Years later, a businessman had the idea to light the trees during the holidays. Christmas Tree Lane was born in 1920, a tradition that draws thousands of visitors each year. After the January wildfires, which spared the trees, the 2025 lighting ceremony on Saturday had special significance. There were tears, songs, and a moment of silence. One tree, just off the lane, was lit with 19 green lights representing those who died in the fire. See pictures and video. 👉 LAist | NBC News
9.
Frank Gehry died at his home in Santa Monica on Friday. Since establishing his architectural practice in Los Angeles in 1962, Gehry’s works stretched the boundaries of architecture and became landmarks around the world. His renovation of his Santa Monica bungalow in 1978 established his name in avant-garde architecture. In 1997, he became an international star for his undulating titanium-clad Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. And in 2003, he completed the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, pictured above, a crowning achievement. Along the way, he was awarded every major prize architecture has to offer, including the Pritzker Prize, the field’s highest honor. Gehry was 96. Architectural Digest | N.Y. Times
- An appreciation by Pulitzer-winning critic Philip Kennicott: “The famous architect left a legacy that transcends mere beauty. He made us restless for a better built environment.” Washington Post
- See Gehry’s 15 most significant buildings. 👉 dezeen
10.
In January, 16-year-old Konoa Wilson was at a San Diego train station when another teenager pointed a gun at him and fired. The bullets missed him, but as Wilson ran away he encountered a police officer who, almost instantly, fired his gun into Wilson’s back, killing him. On Friday, San Diego’s city attorney agreed to pay Wilson’s family $30 million. Reports said it could be the largest settlement of its kind in U.S. history, surpassing the payout to the family of George Floyd. S.D. Union-Tribune | N.Y. Times
11.
Many in Hollywood reacted with rage to news that Netflix had struck an $83 billion deal to acquire the Warner Bros. studio and HBO Max streaming business. Jane Fonda called it “an alarming escalation in a consolidation crisis that threatens the entire entertainment industry.” Michael O’Leary, chief executive of Cinema United, a trade organization, called the Netflix deal “an unprecedented threat” and vowed to fight it. Writers Guild of America said in a statement: “This merger must be blocked.” N.Y. Times
- President Trump said on Sunday that he will be “involved” in vetting the Netflix-Warner deal. “They have a very big market share,” he said. “When they have Warner Bros., that share goes up a lot. So, I don’t know.” Wall Street Journal | Washington Post
12.
In San Bernardino County’s semirural Reche Canyon, nonnative wild donkeys graze on front lawns, poop on sidewalks, and wander into traffic. When the authorities moved last year to relocate hundreds of the jackasses to Texas, they thought they were doing people a favor. Instead they faced a backlash. People started putting “We ♡ Our Donkeys” bumper stickers on their cars. Then someone started shooting arrows into the animals. The New York Times wrote about “one of the most donkey places in the country.”
Correction
An earlier version of this newsletter misstated when death caps first arrived in North America. First suspected sightings were reported at least as early as the early 1900s, not 1997.
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