Good morning. It’s Thursday, June 18.
- Trump administration moves again to block wind projects.
- Anger mounts over police killing of Canoga Park dog.
- And the walker’s paradise that is West Hollywood.
Statewide
1.
The Trump administration made its latest move to block offshore wind development on Wednesday with the cancellation of four wind leases, including one off the coast of Morro Bay. The settlement provides a $765 million refund to the holder of the leases, Invenergy, which was said to view the deal as serving its immediate financial interests as the wind industry faces political hurdles. The Natural Resources Defense Council described the project’s collapse as senseless: “This administration is again wasting our tax dollars to pay companies not to produce power.” Reuters | Bloomberg
2.
It’s common in American elections for the leads of candidates to evaporate during vote counting. The difference in California is that the changes in fortune play out over days, instead of hours. Add the widely held distrust of elections, sown by President Trump, and it can all seem very fishy. The New York Times’ Upshot published some eye-opening graphics that show how candidates have flipped positions in elections across the country, to the advantage of both Democrats and Republicans.
- A proposed tax on billionaires in California officially qualified for the November ballot on Wednesday, setting up what’s expected to be a bruising fight. Politico
3.
The specter of criminal investigations once doomed campaigns. But after Gov. Gavin Newsom said he and his wife were under federal investigation on Monday, the most immediate question many people asked was not whether he did anything wrong, but what it would mean for his 2028 presidential bid. “At this point, it is safer to assume bad faith unless proven otherwise,” said Peter Zeidenberg, a former Justice Department prosecutor. “There have been countless examples of bad faith prosecutions in the past 18 months, and good reason to assume this is another.” Politico
4.
There’s an odd little stone building tucked into a deep canyon of the Eastern Sierra. Tuttle Creek Ashram was built by Franklin Merrell-Wolff, a Stanford mathematician who fled academia on a quest to slip the bonds of human consciousness. As the story goes, a mystic told him that the spiritual center of a country is its tallest mountain. Before Alaskan statehood, that was Mount Whitney. He built the ashram below the peak beginning in the late 1930s as a refuge for spiritual study. After Merrell-Wolff’s death in 1985, the Forest Service considered dynamiting the structure before deciding it had historical significance. Tuttle Creek Ashram lives on now as a hidden treasure for hikers. Modern Hiker shared a nice trip report.
- A 1940 film documented the ashram’s construction.
Northern California
5.
For more than a year, California’s state workers have fought fiercely against a return-to-office mandate by the governor, set to take effect on July 1. They’ve argued that the policy change is unfair, that it would waste taxpayer dollars, and that the environment would be harmed by increased commuting. But a pair of economists recently published a study that they said revealed an uncomfortable truth: “Despite its advantages,” they wrote, “remote work has significantly deepened Americans’ isolation and distress.” N.Y. Times
6.
On July 1, a new state law takes effect that prohibits schools from using Native American mascots or team names seen as derogatory. But some schools are using a provision in the law that allows exceptions if a local tribe provides its blessing. That’s how Sanger High School students are remaining the Apaches, and Clark Intermediate School, in Clovis, will retain its chieftain mascot. “Chieftains are noble leaders, and it’s a great day to be a chieftain,” a representative of the North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians wrote in his consent letter. Fresno Bee
7.
At the edge of a beach in San Francisco, there’s a sky-blue phone booth with a sign that reads, “Ocean Calling.” The old rotary telephone inside has no connection, yet people talk into it nonetheless. The phone, its creators say, is “a portal for speaking to lost loved ones through the wind and the waves.” Wynne Bamberg said she comes every few weeks to talk to her mother, who died in 2017. “It’s an intention,” she said. “I’m not doing the dishes. I’m not weeding the garden. I’m just here to talk to her.” CBS News Bay Area
Southern California
8.
A 40-year-old weapons systems officer who worked his dream job and “loved his family fiercely.”
A 41-year-old flight test engineer who had just started teaching his daughter to drive.
A 32-year-old father of two young boys who recently celebrated his fourth wedding anniversary.
Air Force officials on Wednesday released the identities of the eight people who died when a B-52 crashed at Edwards Air Force Base. “These airmen were more than coworkers. They were friends, mentors, teammates and valued members of our Edwards and Air Force family,” said Col. Thomas Tauer, commander of the 412th Test Wing. L.A. Times | CNN
9.
The June 13 killing of a sweet-looking dog named Jameson by Los Angeles police has now drawn reaction from the mayor and an outpouring of financial support for the family from the public. As of late Wednesday, a GoFundMe called “Justice for Jameson” had raised more than $186,000. In an Instagram post, Mayor Karen Bass said she had spoken to the chief of police to ensure an investigation is conducted. “We know that the devastating loss of Jameson will be felt by his family forever,” she said. The Guardian | NBC Log Angeles
10.
An Irvine dog trainer was convicted on Wednesday of killing 11 dogs in his care then lying to their owners about the deaths. Prosecutors said Kwong Chun Sit, owner of Happy K9 Academy, kept the dogs in small crates in a hot van, where they died of heat stroke. Rather than admit his deadly mistake, he had the animals cremated and sent nearly identical texts to the owners: “I’m so sorry to let you know that Miko passed away peacefully during the night while resting,” one read in part. Sit faces up to 13 years in prison. L.A. Times | KTLA
11.
For the first time in the modern era, the Los Angeles Times offered no local endorsements during the 2026 election cycle. L.A. Material got to the bottom of what happened. After the Times’ billionaire owner, Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, blocked a planned endorsement of Kamala Harris for president in 2024, the editorials editor resigned. Others on the board followed, and the final member retired last year. Soon-Shiong pledged to hire new writers, floating CNN’s conservative commentator Scott Jennings as a candidate. But he never did. Boardless, the Times went silent, without explanation.
12.
California, albeit massive, is a walker’s paradise. According to the popular walkability index Walk Score, the state is home to 34 cities that rate as “very walkable” or better. Florida, by comparison, has two. Texas: zero. The most walkable of all is West Hollywood, which, if not for three small cities huddled along the Hudson River across from Manhattan, would be the most walkable city in America. The Los Angeles Times wrote about the pleasures of a stroll along its sidewalks dotted with cafes, shops, and historic sites.
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