California Today: Readers share this year’s highlights (so far)

Big birthdays, new family members and spectacular adventures.

View in browser|nytimes.com June 12, 2024 By Soumya Karlamangla It's Wednesday. Big birthdays, new family members and spectacular adventures are among readers' best moments this year. Plus, mushroom hunters keep finding new fungi in the forests of California. Horsetail Fall glowing orange during the Firefall phenomenon at Yosemite National Park in 2023. Frederic J. Brown/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images My partner and I traveled to Austin, Texas, from the Bay Area in April to see the total solar eclipse that stretched across North America. Like many people around the world, we camped out to watch the silver-ringed orb glow in the sky. It was mind-bending and magical, and certainly one of the best parts of my year. Today, I'm sharing readers' highlights of 2024 so far as we approach the year's halfway point. Some wrote to us about big birthdays, others about new family members or spectacular adventures. Send your own tales to CAToday@nytimes.com. Here are some highlights, edited and condensed: "Two years ago, I started working as a substitute teacher in San Diego. Switching from three part-time jobs just to eke out a living to working full-time once again is allowing me time off in the summer so that I can recharge and refresh. I cannot remember a summer off since high school, and I intend to make the most of it. There is much porch-sitting and gelato-eating in my near future." — Barbara Lekes, San Diego "I made a trip to Yosemite in late February in hopes of seeing the Firefall. The first night ended up being OK, but I wasn't treated to the full show. I decided to roll the dice and stay another day, and hope that Mother Nature would deliver the goods. And deliver she did. I've seen countless photographs, but nothing compared to seeing it with my own eyes. Thousands of strangers coming together to witness something truly remarkable that only nature could provide — and something that could only be witnessed if the conditions were just right. " — Mark Chotiner, Thousand Oaks "A year ago, my family took an internet class on 'befriending death,' requested by my adult son. It opened family conversations on many forbidden topics: health, estate planning, money, running out of time and, of course, death. One result was that our adult children wanted to spend more time together in spite of living across the globe. So we celebrated two big birthdays on a Danube River cruise, experiencing the magic of exploring, concerts, history, dining and having two weeks of conversations. It was incredible. It ended with all of us wanting a new adventure, nearby or far away, in a couple of years." — Lori Silver, Carmel "My dad turned 100 in March. Born in Portland, raised in San Francisco, he has lived an entire century, through dizzying developments in technology, through a winnable world war, through lifesaving medical procedures unimaginable in his youth. One person embodying 100 years of history? Amazing." — Janet Galen, Menlo Park "2024 has been kind of a mixed bag so far with injury and illness in our family. But the greatest joy this year so far has been the birth of our ninth grandchild, Coco Clementine, in late April. She is healthy and sweet and oh so loved. She brings joy and hope for a positive future." — Jody Bomba, Lake Arrowhead We hope you've enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times. Mitsuko's back: Uchida conducted the Mahler Chamber Orchestra at the Ojai Music Festival. Adali Schell for The New York Times The rest of the news A federal appeals court ruled that California's laws prohibiting the sale of firearms and ammunition at fairgrounds and other state property were constitutional, The Los Angeles Times reports. Mushroom hunters can't stop finding mysterious fungi in the forests of California. A state bill that would have allowed local advisory boards to extend pandemic rules for meeting remotely failed to pass in the Legislature, CalMatters reports. In-N-Out Burger is raising its prices in response to the state's minimum wage increase for fast-food workers, KTLA reports. Southern California At the Ojai Music Festival, a star pianist kept the focus on young artists. The California philanthropist Rebecca Grossman was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison for the hit-and-run killings of two children in Los Angeles in 2020. The U.S. Air Force acknowledged that sonic booms from rockets at Vandenberg Space Base regularly rattled residents and wildlife along more than 100 miles of coastline, The Los Angeles Times reports. Central California Fresno's police chief, who is under investigation regarding an off-duty relationship, apologized to his officers in a memo, saying, "I own my mistakes," The Fresno Bee reports. The city has not disclosed the nature of the relationship. Northern California The Solano County Registrar of Voters certified that a group of billionaires who want to build a new city on pastureland northeast of San Francisco had collected enough signatures to put the proposal before local voters in November, The Los Angeles Times reports. The California attorney general's office said the decision by San Francisco's district attorney, Brooke Jenkins, not to criminally charge the security guard who killed Banko Brown was not an abuse of power, KQED reports. WHAT WE'RE EATING Julia Gartland for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Samantha Seneviratne. The Best Berry Cakes Start With These Two Tips Some berries are better suited to certain desserts. Here's how to make sure your seasonal fruit shines bright. By Clare de Boer And before you go, some good news The members of Melrose Leadership Academy's chapter of Youth vs. Apocalypse, a group focused on climate justice, successfully petitioned their school to use heat pumps instead of air-conditioning units, The Guardian reports. The students researched the effectiveness of heat pumps, which use electricity to both heat and cool, and presented their findings at community and school board meetings. They estimated the cost of the pumps, which reduce greenhouse gas emissions, to be about $5 million, a portion of a school district bond over $700 million. Thanks for reading. I'll be back tomorrow. — Soumya P.S. Here's today's Mini Crossword. Halina Bennet and Briana Scalia contributed to California Today. You can reach the team at CAtoday@nytimes.com. Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox. Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. You received this email because you signed up for California Today from The New York Times. To stop receiving California Today, unsubscribe. To opt out of other promotional emails from The Times, including those regarding The Athletic, manage your email settings. To opt out of updates and offers sent from The Athletic, submit a request. Subscribe to The TimesGet The New York Times app Connect with us on: Change Your EmailPrivacy PolicyContact UsCalifornia Notices The New York Times Company. 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018