It's Monday. California lawmakers sent a message this session. Plus, Marin County, once known for vaccine skeptics, now has one of the nation's highest Covid-19 vaccination rates. |
 | | Gov. Gavin Newsom at a bill signing event in San Francisco last week.Jim Wilson/The New York Times |
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With what had to be the weariest left hand in California, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday signed the last of nearly 1,000 bills he approved this year. |
As red states limit reproductive rights, California will now be, as the governor pledged, a "sanctuary" for women seeking abortions. As Republican leaders elsewhere block gender-affirming care for minors and ban discussion of L.G.B.T.Q. topics in classrooms, California will offer legal protections to transgender children. The state will extend tax breaks for movie production to bring Hollywood film shoots home from red states and offer bounties to individuals who sue makers and dealers of assault weapons and "ghost guns." |
Newsom's actions have invited speculation that he is eyeing a run for the White House. ("Not happening, no, no, not at all," Newsom said last month at the Texas Tribune Festival in Austin, where he made a cheerful appearance before a largely liberal audience, notably on Gov. Greg Abbott's home turf.) |
But they also have complicated his ability to govern. California still has deep veins of conservatism and right-leaning power centers in agribusiness and the oil industry, even if Democrats have a two-to-one edge over Republicans in voter registration. Elected officials who run statewide, like governors, usually find themselves hewing to the path that Jerry Brown used to compare to canoeing: paddle a little to the left, and then a little to the right. |
As Newsom was asking the nation to chart a course, full speed ahead, toward Democratic values in California, he was doing some paddling. |
Pushing from the left, meanwhile, were progressive legislators and unions. Pressured by the Biden administration, Newsom signed a bill removing an in-person voting obstacle that had long made it difficult for unions to organize farmworkers — a move that was vehemently opposed by California's agricultural industry. |
Organized labor had a good year in California. It won not only the farmworker fight, but also a state-run council to establish wages and working conditions for fast-food workers (though the industry is already trying to mount a referendum) and more generous benefits for low-income workers under the state's paid family leave program. |
Last week, as the signing wound down, it was California's hard blue line that left the strongest impression — the state IDs that will be offered to Californians regardless of immigration status; the bill to encourage sustainable burial options such as "human composting"; and the "pink tax" bill that will make it illegal for companies to price the same product differently for women than for men. |
The 997 bills Newsom signed reflect both the will of California's liberal majority and his own national campaign to contrast the values of red states and blue states, said Mark Baldassare, the president and chief executive of the Public Policy Institute of California. |
"I think generally the governor signaled that California is a strong blue state," Baldassare said. "He followed through on the things he talked about on the national stage." |
 | | Marin County has been known for liberal vaccine resistance, but residents are getting vaccinated for Covid-19 at a higher rate here than almost anywhere else in the nation.Jim Wilson/The New York Times |
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If you read one story, make it this |
 | | Jim Wilson, left, a photographer in The New York Times's San Francisco bureau, brings fire-resistant Nomex gear when he covers wildfires in California.Sarah Maslin Nir/The New York Times |
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- Wildfires: How New York Times journalists in California prepare to cover wildfires.
- Racist prank: A California high school has canceled the remainder of its football season after members of the team were filmed enacting a prank in which they appeared to "auction" off Black teammates, CNN reports.
- "Peach King": Didar Singh Bains, one of the most prominent American Sikh leaders who helped build Northern California's Sikh community, died on Sept. 13 in Yuba City at the age of 84, The Los Angeles Times reports.
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- Fire: A sailor charged with intentionally setting one of the worst noncombat fires in U.S. Navy history, which destroyed the $1.2 billion U.S.S. Bonhomme Richard in San Diego Bay, was found not guilty on all counts by a Navy judge.
- Shooting: A 34-year-old man was shot several times at a youth football game at Colony High School in Ontario, The Associated Press reports.
- Lawsuit: A captain of the Los Angeles Police Department was awarded $4 million by a Superior Court jury after complaining that management had ignored her requests to inform the department that a widely distributed photo of a topless woman resembling her was not her image, The Los Angeles Daily News reports.
- Free tuition: San Diego County education officials are paying $1 million for dozens of local early childhood teachers to get free higher education, The Los Angeles Times reports.
- Los Angeles mayor's race: The billionaire businessman Rick Caruso has cut into Representative Karen Bass's lead since August, but he still trails by double digits among those who are likeliest to vote, The Los Angeles Times reports.
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- Helicopter crash: A helicopter spun out of control and crashed in the front yard of a home in Fresno, injuring a pilot and a passenger, The Associated Press reports.
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- Stockton shootings: Rewards totaling $85,000 have been offered for information leading to an arrest in five fatal shootings in Stockton that investigators believe are related, The Associated Press reports.
- Bond measure: Berkeley leaders are asking voters to approve Measure L this fall, a $650 million bond that promises to repair the city's streets, build new affordable housing and improve wildfire safety, Berkeleyside reports.
- Car falls off cliff: A man was critically injured after his car plunged off a winding, cliffside road south of San Francisco and landed on a beach below, The Associated Press reports.
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 | | Jessica Emily Marx for The New York Times |
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 | | A custom designer tent at Costanoa Coastal Lodge & Camp.LIZ HAFALIA/San Francisco Chronicle via AP |
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Today's tip comes from Heidi Eisips, who recommends Costanoa. Heidi writes: |
"One of our favorite gems of a getaway is Costanoa, on the San Mateo County coast. A combination campground and lodge, it has something for everyone, from extremely affordable (campground and cabins) to more on the luxury end (lodge). The beach is just a short hike away across Highway 1, and you can round out your evening with a campfire and s'mores. Just up the road to the north are the quaint towns of Pescadero and San Gregorio (must visit the general store). And you can see the elephant seals just 3.8 miles to the south, at Año Nuevo State Park." |
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. |
It's officially fall. What do you love about the season in California? What are the best ways to enjoy fall in your corner of the state? |
 | | Vivian Chen Photography |
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And before you go, some good news |
Bradley Evans met Jobina Fortson when he knocked on the door of her dorm room at Howard University looking to use her printer. Eleven years later, they were married at a villa in Sonoma. |
The two started dating in college, but their relationship hit bumpy ground soon after their graduation. Fortson, who earned a bachelor's degree in journalism, relocated to Kentucky for an on-air reporting position. Evans, who received a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering, was hired at Goldman Sachs in New York, where he had interned. With him working traditional hours and her working weekends and often starting well before dawn, they had little time to connect. |
The couple split in 2015, though they never entirely lost touch. By 2016, they had gotten back together with a plan to live in the same city. Two years later, Evans relocated to the Bay Area for a job at Google, and Fortson moved to the area and began freelancing at the ABC station in San Francisco. In March 2020, the week that California locked down because of the pandemic, they moved in together. |
The couple married on Sept. 3 at the Chateau de Ninis, a French-inspired villa overlooking a panorama of vineyards. "It's been quite a journey," Evans said. "Jobina is loving, funny and extremely genuine, and after all these years, I can still find more reasons to love her." |
Thanks for starting your week with us. We'll be back tomorrow. |
Soumya Karlamangla and Briana Scalia contributed to California Today. You can reach the team at CAtoday@nytimes.com. |
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