Good morning. It’s Wednesday, Aug. 3.
- Baseball broadcasting great Vin Scully dies at 94.
- Nancy Pelosi arrives to celebratory mood in Taiwan.
- And Los Angeles approves sweeping encampment ban.
Statewide
1.
The great Vin Scully died. The voice of Dodgers baseball for 67 years, Scully was beloved for his soothing delivery, deep knowledge of the game, and a way of turning play-by-play into something like poetry. A lowly base hit in his description was “a humble thing, but thine own.” After a tough loss, Scully would explain: “We met the enemy and they are us.” The columnist Bill Plaschke wrote on Tuesday: “He was the soundtrack of a city, the muse of millions, the voice of home.” Scully was 94. L.A. Times | Washington Post
One of Scully’s most memorable calls: Kirk Gibson’s bottom of the ninth at-bat during the 1988 World Series. 👉 YouTube
2.
Soon after Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s plane landed in Taipei on Tuesday, China announced plans for live-fire military drills and new trade restrictions on Taiwan. But the mood in Taiwan was celebratory. Supporters gathered at her hotel and Taipei’s tallest building lit up with the LED greetings “Welcome to TW” and “TW ❤️ US.” In an address Wednesday, the California Democrat said, “We will not abandon our commitment to Taiwan and we are proud of our enduring friendship.” N.Y. Times | Wall Street Journal
Bret Stephens: “The last thing we needed was Pelosi backing down from a bully.” N.Y. Times
3.
Much of the Bay Area reached or came close to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s target of 15% water conservation in June, new data showed. Marin cut its usage by 25%; San Jose was down 18%; and Santa Clara was down 15%. Southern Californians didn’t perform so well. The region stretching from Los Angeles to San Diego, comprising half of the state’s population, reduced its water use by just 6%. Mercury News | L.A. Times
4.
☝️ At Montana de Oro State Park near San Luis Obispo, the coastal rocks jut into the Pacific like fingers. The rock is Miguelito shale, ancient sea floor that was pushed above the water by colliding tectonic plates. Over time, the surf etched away the softer rock, leaving the harder ridges. For hikers along the shore, the colorful strata of exposed rock reveals a visual and tactile record of the past. It’s also just really pretty. California Through My Lens | hikespeak
Northern California
5.
The wildfire burning in Klamath National Forest since Friday wiped out a scenic river town near the Oregon border. There was no official count of destroyed structures, but locals said little more than a few homes still stood in the hamlet of Klamath River, home to 100 or so residents along a bend in the namesake river. On Tuesday, the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office said two more bodies were found at separate homes in the area, bringing the death toll to four. Record Searchlight | A.P.
6.
On June 24, according to a sheriff’s official, a Black cadet asked the president of San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors, Shamann Walton, to remove his belt to go through a metal detector at City Hall. Walton, who is Black, was said to reply: “It is N-words like you that looks like me that is always the problem.” Mayor London Breed called on Walton to apologize. Instead, he threatened to sue. He added: “I also believe the mayor should stick to commenting on all the corruption that has existed during her tenure.” S.F. Chronicle
Emare Butler, the cadet, spoke out Tuesday: “It’s rude and it’s disrespectful no matter what color you are.” SF Standard
7.
In 2021, San Francisco’s renowned Zuni Cafe made headlines with its decision to replace tips with a 20% surcharge that would be spread across the restaurant staff, joining a growing wage equity movement. A year later, while kitchen staff are earning better wages, the servers want their tips back, going as far as discussing a walkout. Owner Gilbert Pilgram has steadfastly refused. SFGATE | SFist
Southern California
8.
In a raucous meeting Tuesday, the Los Angeles City Council voted to sharply increase the amount of territory where sleeping and camping are prohibited. The new ordinance bans homeless encampments within 500 feet of all schools and daycare centers, bringing sites subject to enforcement from 200 to about 2,000. Audience members chanting “shut it down” had to be cleared from the chamber by police so the vote could be taken. L.A. Times | A.P.
9.
“He shot my arm off! He shot my arm off!”
Dramatic surveillance video showed how a quick-acting elderly convenience store owner opened fire on a masked man who entered the store pointing a rifle in Riverside County early Sunday. The suspect immediately ran screaming from Norco Market & Liquor. He and three other suspects were arrested at a nearby hospital, police said. CBS News | FOX 11
10.
San Clemente, a pocket of red in increasingly blue Orange County, is considering a proposal to make the city an abortion-free zone. The resolution explains that only God can begin or end a life. The City Council, it says, “hereby recognizes and declares the full humanity of the preborn child” and vows to defend the resolution “by all means within its power and authority.” Voice of OC
11.
By the fall of 2021, Gabriella Walsh had retired and yearned to travel: three months in Spain, one in Ireland, and few weeks in Chile or Australia. Then on Dec. 9, she went in for a routine mammogram and learned she had terminal cancer. Uninterested in life-extending treatment, she resolved to live to the fullest in her final months, then end her life through California’s aid-in-dying law. “My life, my body, my death,” she said. “It’s just my time.” L.A. Times
California archive
12.
Swim caps were once an essential part of women’s beachwear in California. During the Roaring Twenties, flappers redefined the look of the liberated woman, styling their hair in short “bobs” and “waves.” Swim caps kept hairdos from being ruined by contact with water. But they also provided opportunities for fashion. By the 1950s, when the LIFE magazine photographer Loomis Dean documented the trend in California, they had polka dots and flower petals. 👉 Google Arts & Culture | Vintage Everyday
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