Good morning. It’s Friday, Sept. 20.
- Wildfires destroy two treasured fire lookouts.
- UCLA looks to stockpile weapons after protests.
- And Shohei Ohtani puts on a historic performance.
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Statewide
1.
Gov. Gavin Newsom blamed municipal leaders for the state’s affordability crisis on Thursday as he signed a package of housing bills, including measures to ease project approvals and penalize cities that fail to build. He called Huntington Beach “Exhibit A,” accusing the conservative-led city of adopting a “performative” approach to housing. “So what gives?” he said. “Time to do your job. Time to address the crisis of encampments on the streets in this state. And yes, I’m not going to back off from that.” CalMatters | Voice of OC
2.
Two historic lookout towers were destroyed by the outburst of wildfires across California this summer:
- McCarthy Point Fire Lookout, in Lassen National Forest, was overrun by the massive Park fire that erupted near Chico on July 24 before spreading north. Built in 1936, the post was commandeered to scan the skies for Axis bombers during World War II. In recent years, it served as a popular wilderness stay. KRCR | SFGATE
- Keller Peak Fire Lookout, the oldest remaining tower in the San Bernardino National Forest, was destroyed by the still-burning Line fire. It was still active, staffed by a corps of volunteers who had been looking forward to holding a 100-year anniversary celebration in 2026. “It’s a really heart-wrenching thing,” said lookout manager Shane Harris. San Bernardino Sun | Mountain News
Northern California
3.
A man who was sentenced to 21 months in prison for storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, is now an art teacher at a Christian school in Placer County. Tommy Allan didn’t wander into the Capitol. According to prosecutors, he climbed a rope dangling from the structure, then went through a fire door, recording video as he advanced. “You’re either with us or against us! Freedom or tyranny,” he said at one point. On the dais of the Senate chamber, Allan held an American flag alongside the so-called QAnon Shaman, pictured above. “Best day ever,” he texted later. Sacramento Bee
4.
As tech companies sharpen their focus on revenue growth, eschewing the moonshot projects of the past, the industry is experiencing a reset. Postings for software development jobs have fallen more than 30% since February 2020, according to Indeed. Since January, tech companies have shed around 137,000 jobs, according to Layoffs.fyi. “Many tech workers, too young to have endured the dot-com bubble burst in the early 2000s, now face for the first time what it’s like to hustle to find work,” the Wall Street Journal reported.
- In the latest round of layoffs, Cisco, IBM, and Advantest are cutting more than 1,000 jobs in the Bay Area. SiliconValley.com
5.
The Northern California campground known as Tish Tang is so hidden that even many locals are unaware of it. Owned by the Hoopa tribe, the campground’s 38 sites hug a bend in the Trinity River surrounded by gorgeous oak and madrone forest and abundant wildlife. Over the summer, the tribe used a state grant to add a hand-built sauna open to all campers. After visiting, the outdoors writer Ashley Harrell echoed the broad consensus of campground’s roughly 100 Google reviews: “pure magic.” SFGATE
6.
On this week’s California Sun Podcast, host Jeff Schechtman talked with the Berkeley author Elizabeth Rosner, whose new book “Third Ear” investigates the art of deep listening. Rosner argues that too many of us split our attention when in conversation with others: “What’s happening is you’re crowding out your deeper absorption of what’s being said, what’s being implied. … What about the tone? What about their body language? What about the pauses in between what they’re saying?”
Southern California
7.
The University of California Board of Regents on Thursday approved a UCLA police request to double its stockpile of pepper balls and sponge rounds, obtain eight more projectile launchers, and buy three new drones. The munitions buildup comes after raucous antiwar protests in the spring that led to dozens of injuries and hundreds of arrests. Protesters disrupted the meeting, chanting “UCPD, KKK, IOF you’re all the same.” They were surrounded by police in riot gear and removed from the room. Daily Bruin | CalMatters
8.
After the 13 Turpin siblings were rescued from ruthless captivity at a Riverside County home in 2018, the county placed the six youngest children with foster parents who had a history of abuse allegations. Over the next three years, lawsuits alleged, Marcelino Olguin and his wife Rosa beat the children with belts, forced them to eat their own vomit, and advised them on how they could kill themselves. On Thursday, Marcelino pleaded guilty to lewd acts on a child and injuring a child; Rosa admitted to child cruelty. Press-Enterprise
9.
Many residents whose homes have buckled on the sliding Palos Verdes Peninsula have no choice but to stay. They are still on the hook for mortgages even if their homes have become all but worthless. The power and gas have been cut at Nic and Alison Grillo’s home, forcing them to rely entirely on solar panels and a Tesla power wall. They cook with an REI camp stove. Nic, who works in medical-device sales, said they can’t afford to buy another house: “It’s scary. We are just taking it one day at a time.” Wall Street Journal
10.
Plexiglass barriers have become an increasingly common sight in store aisles, but a Rite Aid in Compton is taking the theft-deterrence strategy to a new extreme. It has locked up nearly all of its merchandise. To get at the makeup, laundry detergent, baby formula, chips, or any other item, you have to click a button that summons a clerk to come and open the case. Customers hate it. Rite Aid said it is applying “multi-layer product protection solutions that are regularly assessed.” KTLA | L.A. Times
11.
The Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani on Thursday became the first baseball player to ever clock 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a season — and he did it with one of the greatest single-game performances the sport has ever seen. Facing the Marlins in Miami, the two-way sensation went six for six at the plate, hitting three home runs. It was the first game in baseball history in which a player hit three homers and stole two bases. And the Dodgers still have a week to play. ESPN | L.A. Times
- “He is not human.” Watch Ohtani’s 50th home run and his 51st.
In case you missed it
12.
Five items that got big views over the past week:
- San Francisco once had a public swimming pool so large that it was patrolled by lifeguards in rowboats. Opened along the ocean in the summer of 1925, Fleishhacker Pool was said to be the biggest outdoor pool in the world, longer than a city block and more than twice the width of the Golden Gate Bridge roadway. California Sun
- An effort to build a new home for the Alameda Food Bank has been imperiled by a lawsuit filed under CEQA, the environmental law that critics say is often abused by NIMBYs. Plaintiff Tod Hickman, who owns a nearby winery, insisted that he supports the food bank. “This location is a historic parking lot,” he explained. KRON | Alameda Post
- An 11-year-old boy was running a corner lemonade stand in the city of Ramona when he darted inside to grab more cups. While he was gone, a man in a pickup truck pulled up, tossed aside the sign — which read, in part, “saving for a dirt bike” — put the table and chairs into the back of his truck, and drove off. NBC San Diego
- Three years ago, Kylie Robinson learned from San Francisco’s medical examiner that her father, James Robinson, had died from a drug overdose. She held a funeral, spread some of his ashes in Hawaii, and had his name tattooed on her arm. Then a family friend saw a familiar face on Market Street: It was James Robinson. S.F. Chronicle
- Columnist Liam Denning noted that a sizable portion of every PG&E bill pays for priorities aside from the provision of energy. “Politically,” he wrote, “it is easier to bury charges in electricity bills rather than raise taxes.” Bloomberg
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The California Sun is written by Mike McPhate, a former California correspondent for the New York Times.
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