It's Monday. On this Valentine's Day, we're celebrating a special kind of love. Plus, a deep dive into a changing Inglewood. |
 | | The Great Highway in San Francisco.Beth Coller for The New York Times |
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In honor of Valentine's Day, we're talking about love. |
Not romantic love, but an equally real, possibly just-as-corny type of affection — for the state of California. |
Dozens of you wrote to me about why you love Carmel-by-the-Sea, Atascadero, Napa, Laguna Beach or the Golden State as a whole. As is appropriate for this holiday, your proclamations were sweet, passionate and largely unconcerned with our state's shortcomings. |
You told me: California might be burning, drying up, wildly expensive and slipping into the sea, but you adore it all the same. |
(P.S. So many of you wrote that I will keep sharing your submissions in the coming weeks. As always, you can reach me at CAToday@nytimes.com.) |
"I tried to move away from San Francisco during the pandemic, back to my hometown Baltimore. I made it one year and three months before the City by the Bay called me back. |
Every block of San Francisco holds some sort of beauty. Magical succulents, gorgeous hilltop views, colorful Victorians, and people, being themselves in whatever way they want to be. I have felt the most intense sense of belonging since I have returned. My heart will always be in San Francisco. I am in love with this city." — Ali Moss, San Francisco |
"Having grown up in Minnesota where winters are quite cold, I especially love winters here in Escondido. The clear blue sky, ridges of hills surrounding you and the warmth of the sun on your skin even with a cool 60 degree breeze. Add to that the sounds of all the birds and it is a magical morning. After 2 years of Covid, taking a deep breath is truly a pleasure I enjoy every day." — Mark Vaughan, Escondido |
"In 1964, my family moved to Hacienda Heights, and for the most part, I have been a Cali Girl ever since. Hacienda Heights is almost the perfect place to live. We're close to the beach and the mountains. On clear days, from the roof, we can see the snow-topped Big Bear. The freeway access is wonderful, although rush hour traffic has radically changed. |
I took my first freeway drive on the 57 freeway the day it opened to the public. There were no cars, so our drivers ed teacher let us go 65 m.p.h. What a thrill!" — Mari Turner, Hacienda Heights |
"The Golden State nourishes my soul/Her bounties both tactile and visual/ |
A state so bounteous with culture and spirit/ More than enough for just the residents in it/ |
Her sunshine pours, warm honey on skin/Feed upon her riches, from barbacoa to vin/ |
Patchwork quilts of flax and pine/ Deserts, mountains, shimmering coastline/ |
California, mi amor, will you be mine?" — Masahana Kato, Los Angeles |
"Though I am grateful to be studying in Europe this semester, I dread spending Valentine's Day without you, my dearest Berkeley. |
If there is one thing that this distance has made me realize, it is that nowhere in the world can outshine your indisputable strangeness. From the dinosaur man of Sproul Plaza, to the street artists on Durant, to the contrast between the $8 lattes and $1 tacos, no two days in Berkeley can be the same." — Jessica Blelloch, Madrid |
 | | Overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Big Sur.Jason Henry for The New York Times |
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I tried to leave you once. It was decades ago, and you'd put me in a funk for the same reasons you drive others away — the traffic, the cost of housing, and, for me, missing my family and a hometown I still adore. |
So I got into my car and headed for the coast. But before I reached Big Sur I realized why I had to stay. Where else in the world could I get in the car and, in hours, arrive at the white beaches of Carmel? The cobalt blue waters of Lake Tahoe? The neon mustard on the Kelly green hills of Napa? Even though your scope and intensity can drive me completely mad, you're the most gorgeous, complex state I know. I love your geography, your ambition and your open-minded, forward-thinking people, which I shall never take for granted. |
California, we have been through much together these past few years — fires, drought, Covid. And yet, those unfortunate developments have only made me fear losing you and intensified my appreciation. As I gaze out my window at the beauty of bare oaks against a cornflower winter sky, you, my dear, are my home. Even when you break my heart, I will always love you." — Lisa Wrenn, Walnut Creek |
 | | Hannah Buckman |
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If you read one story, make it this |
 | | Randy's Donuts has been a longstanding presence in Inglewood, a community in transition.Darnell Scott for The New York Times |
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- Super Bowl: Inglewood, the city that hosted the championship game, is celebrating its progress. But on the streets, stark disparities linger.Plus, read how the Rams' victory on Sunday validated its iconoclastic team-building approach. Or why a Times music critic deemed the halftime show "almost uniformly excellent."And finally, youth football has become less popular in Los Angeles over the years, but after this weekend, coaches hope that's about to change.
- Greenhouse gas emissions: How dairy farmers are cashing in on California's push for cleaner fuel, from NPR.
- Water demand: Southern California is negotiating the purchases of as much as 100,000 acre-feet of water from the Sacramento Valley, The Sacramento Bee reports.
- Vaccine mandate: State Democrats proposed a bill that would require all businesses to mandate employee Covid-19 vaccinations, The Associated Press reports.
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- Vaccines for law enforcement: As thousands of unvaccinated deputies face termination from the Los Angeles Police Department, the Kern County sheriff's office is making a recruiting pitch.
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 | | Kate Sears for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne. |
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Today's travel tip comes from Cynthia Nunn, a reader who lives in Santa Maria: |
"One of my favorite 'staycation' destinations is Cambria, located on the central coast. It's about 10 miles south of Hearst Castle (San Simeon) and is a gem of a small town. Lynn's Restaurant features the best pies on the West Coast. Hotel prices vary by season and it isn't cheap but there are several small inns that are worth the cost ($300+ per weeknight right on the beach). There are several hiking trails on or near the water. Cambria is not exactly the cultural hub of the West Coast but it is just a really nice small town to spend a three-day weekend exploring. I live about 50 miles south of Cambria, so it's been a favorite destination of mine for many decades." |
Tell us about your favorite places to visit in California. Email your suggestions to CAtoday@nytimes.com. We'll be sharing more in upcoming editions of the newsletter. |
 | | Jordan Colby, a researcher with the University of California, Davis, measuring baby salmon in a flooded rice field in Robbins earlier this month.Nathan Frandino/Reuters |
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And before you go, some good news |
At a time when environmentalists are often pitted against agribusiness in California's water wars, conservationists and farmers are uniting to protect salmon. |
Thanks for reading. I'll be back tomorrow. — Soumya |
Jonah Candelario, Lyna Bentahar and Mariel Wamsley contributed to California Today. You can reach the team at CAtoday@nytimes.com. |
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