In California: Newsom on offense, a fight brews over solar and Burning Man comes to wine country
Plus: A fireworks cache explodes, killing two people in Ontario.
In California brings you top Golden State stories and commentary from across the Paste BN Network and beyond. Get it free, straight to your inbox. I'm Julie Makinen, California editor for the USA Today Network, bringing you Tuesday's headlines.
But first, a heartwarming tale: The San Luis Obispo Tribune reports that Phoenix the California condor — who survived a devastating wildfire — has now fathered an egg.
Newsom goes on offense vs. recall
Opponents of Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday will submit the last batch of signatures in their effort to trigger a recall election — and they are optimistic they have enough to succeed. While validation of those signatures won't come instantaneously, the governor has officially launched a campaign against the effort to oust him from office, and fellow Democrats are closing ranks to support him.
Since Newsom’s State of the State speech last week at Dodger Stadium that looked like an unofficial campaign kickoff, prominent Democrats across California and the nation have thrown their weight behind the governor and against the attempt to recall him, CalMatters reports. Their strategy in this deep-blue state that twice resoundingly rejected Republican former President Donald Trump is to portray the recall as a MAGA-inspired movement full of QAnon conspiracy theorists and anti-vaxxers — and try to unify Democrats against it.
Newsom himself has been on a TV blitz, appearing on "The View" and other shows. On MSNBC, he highlighted the Proud Boys and other white supremacist groups that took part in the January insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and that he believes are supporting the recall. “I’m taking it very seriously,” the governor said.
Have questions about the recall? Check out this handy Q&A from the Ventura County Star.
Newsom's message: Recall me and there goes Joe Biden's agenda, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Did you know Newsom isn't the only California politician facing a recall? The movement to recall three members on the Shasta County Board of Supervisors continues to heat up, and it was on full display at Tuesday’s meeting in downtown Redding. The Redding Record Searchlight captured the action as members of the public professed their Christian faith and talked about their patriotism and their stand against the tyrannical and treasonous state of California.
A taste of Burning Man in wine country
A growing array of imposing Burning Man sculptures are finding their way to the hillside perch of Paradise Ridge Winery in Santa Rosa, the Press-Democrat reports. The newest arrival to the Byck family’s incinerated and rebuilt winery is part of an intricate, towering wooden temple that was intended to be a major draw at Burning Man 2020 until the pandemic forced its cancellation.
Creators Laurence “Renzo” Verbeck and Sylvia Adrienne Lisse conceived the temple, “Empyrean,” as eight arms of a great star, with a flame at the center. The artists and a crew of helpers have erected two of the arms, facing each other like wings, on a promontory a short walk from Paradise Ridge Winery and its existing sculpture gardens, graced by a number of sculptures previously displayed at Burning Man.
“The end result is pretty spectacular,” said winery co-owner Rene Byck.
Will Burning Man happen this year? While the Burning Man Project has not committed to hosting an event this year, the organization is moving forward with plans for an event, according to a post last month on the nonprofit's online Burning Man Journal.
The San Francisco-based nonprofit canceled the event for the first time last year amid the pandemic. This year, the organizers project that they will have a final decision no later than the end of May, the Reno Gazette Journal says.
In a post-pandemic world — where every task, every familiar place feels a bit uncharted— Burning Man's 2021 event theme, "Terra Incognita," feels appropriate. The Latin term, commonly used in cartography, translates to "unknown land."
"This is an invitation to emerge from our collective isolation, to explore the unfamiliar contours of a changed world, and to reimagine ourselves, our community, and our culture in ways that might not have been possible before this period of plague and pause," wrote Stuart Mangrum, director of the Philosophical Center of Burning Man Project, on the online Burning Man Journal.
A fight is brewing over rooftop solar
Thinking of going solar? You might want to watch how this plays out: The California Public Utilities Commission plans this year to update the rules over how owners of rooftop solar systems are compensated when they plug into electrical grids. The debate looks to be a fierce one between the state's utilities and the solar industry, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
Monday marked the day the two sides — as well as other interested parties in the debate — had to turn in proposals to the commission concerning what's called "net energy metering" — selling your excess rooftop solar back to the grid.
Utilities in California have argued that net metering as currently written allows customers to use the grid 24/7 while effectively selling the power produced by their rooftop systems at the full retail rate.
The big three investor-owned utilities — San Diego Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas & Electric — turned in a joint proposal that looks to resolve their complaints that net energy metering results in a "cost-shift" that unfairly burdens customers who do not have solar installations. The California Solar and Storage Association says utilities have long pushed up infrastructure and transmission costs "in order to generate tremendous profits and payouts to shareholders" and cited the CPUC white paper that mentioned that under the system that guarantees power companies a rate of return, they "are inherently incentivized to make investments to drive an increase in their rate base and therefore, their profitability."
If you are thinking of a different kind of home improvement — an ADU, or accessory dwelling unit, also known as a "granny flat" — LAist has a look at cool designs preapproved by the city. I particularly like the one that looks like a flower!
Fireworks blast kills 2 in SoCal
Two people were killed when a large fireworks stash exploded Tuesday in inland Southern California, setting off a series of blasts that rocked the residential neighborhood and sent up a huge plume of smoke, authorities said. Authorities — including the FBI — are investigating the explosion of commercial-grade fireworks in Ontario, which is about 35 miles east of Los Angeles and 71 miles west of Palm Springs. About 50 firefighters worked to douse the flames three hours after the explosion.
In California is a roundup of news from across USA Today network newsrooms. Also contributing: Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, LAist, CalMatters, Associated Press, Santa Rosa Press-Democrat.