Bear Essentials January 14th: INFERNO
January 14, 2025
INFERNO
By far the biggest story in California this week is the apocalyptic inferno consuming the Los Angeles area. By the time this newsletter hits your inbox, the devastation will have undoubtedly expanded dramatically, rendering any stories provided here irrelevant. In this dark hour, we at the NCC wish everyone directly impacted or threatened by the fires safety, good health and good luck.
🔥 HOW TO HELP
More than 2,000 homes and businesses have been destroyed. Major local landmarks reduced to ash. At least five people are dead and there will likely be more by the time of publication. The toll of the Los Angeles fires has already been immeasurable. Time Magazine has published a list of key ways to help impacted communities;
🤫 Everything (else) you should know
🏗️🏬🚄 - NEW SAN FRANCISCO MEGA PROJECT — Don’t you dare say people have stopped thinking big by the Bay. San Francisco’s 20-acre Caltrain railyards could morph into a dense transit hub anchored by an 850-foot tower — just taller than the Transamerica Pyramid — if plans to be submitted to the city this spring come to fruition. The plan, 10 years in the making, coincides awkwardly with soaring office vacancies but is framed as a 20-year bet on urban renewal. Centered on the current Caltrain terminus at King and 4th streets just steps away from both the SF Giants and Golden State Warriors stadiums, the project will ride on the back of the $8.25 billion downtown rail extension that would bring Caltrain into the heart of downtown San Francisco. Officials call it a “can’t miss” opportunity; skeptics note it’s a very big swing. But Fog City has hit plenty of balls out of the park in its history. Note the Golden Gate and Bay Bridges, the 1,070 ft Salesforce tower, and Barry Bonds. SF Chronicle
🤔📄☑️ - RETHINKING THE INITIATIVE PROCESS — Switzerland invented the referendum 150 years ago, but unlike California, where we are cursed to weigh in on kidney dialysis clinics every two years, the Swiss aren’t yet ready to scrap their initiative process. We grumble about special-interest domination and ballot overload, while the Swiss relish their opportunities to vote on pensions, cow horns, and climate laws. POLITICO’s Emily Schultheis offers some lessons from the land of Roger Federer on how to make the system more palatable: Issue elections every three months to spread out ballot measures, lower barriers for grassroots campaigns, legislative counterproposals to fine-tune initiatives, and a ban on TV political ads that keeps debates substantive. Swiss democracy builds trust, reduces polarization, and fosters consensus. California might take notes—if it can stomach voting a bit more often. POLITICO
🛢️🏖️🙅 - OFFSHORE OIL OUTLAWED…FOR NOW — President Biden’s recent ban on coastal drilling gives California another climate moment—but with a twist of déjà vu: Offshore oil exploration hasn’t actually been a thing here since the infamous 1969 Santa Barbara spill. The move simply locks in the status quo, barring new leases along the Pacific Coast. It’s a largely symbolic fight: drawing a line against fossil fuels in an age of climate emergency. It’s a legacy flex, but critics call it political theater. Ron Neal, the chairman of the offshore committee of the Independent Petroleum Association of America, an oil and gas trade group, called the ban “significant and catastrophic.” President-elect Trump told radio host Hugh Hewitt, “I’ll unban it immediately.” NY Times.
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🎧 🔊 🎧 ON THE POD: THE RAILROAD’S IMPACT ON CA FOOD CULTURE
A lot of California 4th graders learn about the transcontinental railroad, the “Big Four” tycoons, and the mostly Chinese laborers who laid tracks through the mountains. But some of this history is overlooked, like how the railroad, and its connection to food, shaped much of California’s story. Check out this fascinating dive into the state’s culinary traditions by California Foodways’ host, reporter and producer, Lisa Morehouse. California Foodways
🦦🚫🦀 Otters > Crabs
Never send a human to do an otter’s job. That’s the lesson from a recent study conducted by a team of researchers examining the management of invasive green crabs in California’s Elkhorn Slough. Humans have struggled in vain for the better part of 40 years to eradicate the pesky green arthropods, while a single sea otter has been found to consume upward of 1,000 of the aquatic invaders per year, according to the report. That’s 120,000 in Monterey Bay alone! All hail California’s cutest crab killing machines.
🎩🪄🎉 IMPACT REVEAL!
It’s what you’ve all been waiting for: The New California Coalition’s annual impact report. Dig in to see the strides we made in 2024 on a host of key issues, including housing production, middle income job growth, water and energy security, and homelessness.
👀 🌊🏄 That’s a big one!
Mavericks, the venerated Half Moon Bay surfing Mecca, has seen its share of big waves over the years, but perhaps none as eye-popping as the titanic wall of water surfed on December 23rd by Alo Slebir, a 23-year-old Santa Cruz construction worker. In case you missed it, check out this monster:
