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The 5.1-magnitude earthquake centered near Ojai, Calif., was unlikely to have caused serious damage. But residents in Los Angeles, 60 miles southeast of the epicenter, felt swaying that lasted long enough to take notice. A 3.5-magnitude earthquake often feels like a quick jolt, as if someone just bumped into your desk. The Ojai earthquake was slightly more significant than that and may have caused some minor cracking in walls, according to Jana Pursley, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey. Though the earthquake was felt in much of Santa Barbara County, just 15 miles from Ojai, there haven’t been reports of damage so far, said Jackie Ruiz, public information officer for the Santa Barbara County Office of Emergency Management.

Persons: Jana Pursley, haven’t, Jackie Ruiz Organizations: U.S . Geological Survey, Santa, Santa Barbara County, Emergency Management Locations: Oregon, Ojai, Calif, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara County, Santa Barbara

In the hunt to determine what caused the fire that consumed Lahaina, the focus has increasingly turned to Hawaii’s biggest power utility — and whether the company did enough to prevent a wildfire in the high winds that swept over Maui last week. Lawyers for Lahaina residents suing the utility, Hawaiian Electric, contend that its power equipment was not strong enough to withstand strong winds, and that the company should have shut down power before the winds came. Wildfire experts who have studied the catastrophic fires in California over the past two decades also see shortcomings in Hawaiian Electric’s actions. Nearly a week after the wildfire tore through the island town of Lahaina, state and local officials have not determined a cause for the blaze that killed at least 99 people. That is why utilities in California and other states have at times shut down power in recent years before strong winds arrive.

Organizations: Wildfire Locations: Lahaina, Maui, California, United States

London Breed sailed to victory as the mayor of San Francisco. Times were good; the pandemic had yet to happen. If homelessness and crime worried San Franciscans, few of them blamed her. Now San Francisco is reeling, its downtown plagued by fentanyl markets and tent camps, its employers straining to repopulate office buildings with a decidedly more remote labor force. More than 70 percent of voters have told pollsters that the city is on the wrong track, and some 66 percent disapprove of the mayor’s job performance.

Persons: London Breed, pollsters, Breed, Ahsha, Daniel Lurie, Levi Strauss Organizations: London, Times, San Francisco, Supervisors, San Locations: San Francisco, Francisco

☆ Mayor London Breed Discusses San Francisco’s Woes and What Lies Ahead
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Thomas Fuller | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

I’ve been in this city my whole life and I know what it’s capable of. Time and time again, San Francisco reinvents itself. Well before the current influx of tech workers, San Francisco was known for art and culture. Do you think San Francisco will ever be affordable again to artists and musicians? Part of what my legislation is doing is getting rid of those requirements which make absolutely no sense.

Persons: I’ve, Francisco reinvents, Francisco Locations: Francisco, San Francisco

☆ Westfield Gives Up San Francisco Mall, Signaling More Pain Ahead
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Jordyn Holman | Thomas Fuller | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

In San Francisco, Nordstrom said it would close its longtime store at San Francisco Centre in August, which will leave the mall 45 percent empty. Westfield isn’t the first mall owner to decide to leave a longtime downtown shopping center. Last year, Brookfield Property Partners relinquished Chicago’s Water Tower Place, the mall that anchors the Magnificent Mile, an upscale commercial district. More than half of the space in Water Tower Place is vacant, including an anchor store location that was a Macy until 2021, according to Cushman & Wakefield. Indeed, Westfield’s decision in San Francisco is part of a broader strategy by its parent company, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, to greatly reduce the number of malls it operates in the country.

Persons: Yasukochi, ” Banks, ” Mr, Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, REI, Macerich Organizations: San Francisco Centre, Hudson, Nike, Brookfield Property Partners, Macy, Cushman & Locations: San Francisco, New York, Manhattan —, Seattle, Portland, downtowns, Westfield, Cushman & Wakefield, United States

☆ An Amateur Sleuth Heads to the Sierra in Search of the Zodiac Killer’s Tracks
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Thomas Fuller | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Late last year, Fayçal Ziraoui, a French-Moroccan business consultant, was at his home in the Paris suburbs scrolling through satellite pictures of the Sierra Nevada when he came across an image that startled him. It looked to him like the symbol that the Zodiac killer used on his correspondence a half-century ago. In December, Ziraoui searched satellite images of the Sierra after believing that a postcard and a cipher sent by the Zodiac killer pointed to those coordinates. Ziraoui spent the winter counting down the days until the snow melted, and in mid-May, he flew to San Francisco. It’s a four-hour drive from the Bay Area, the last dozen miles on rough dirt roads blocked at times by the remnants of collapsed trees killed in the 2014 King fire.

Persons: Fayçal, Constant Méheut, Ziraoui Locations: French, Moroccan, Paris, Sierra Nevada, New York, San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, It’s, Bay

☆ US cities with military bases risk economic damage in debt ceiling fight
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Bryan Mena | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Washington, DC CNN —The United States could default on its debt in less than two weeks, and cities with a large military presence risk an economic firestorm if lawmakers don’t act. About a sixth of government spending goes toward national defense, a quarter of which is to pay military personnel, according to the Congressional Budget Office. If the United States can’t pay its national defense bills, cities with large military bases face a potentially massive fallout, encompassing missed payments, rising debt and a significant pullback in spending that would cut into local businesses’ bottom lines. That could further damage local economies grappling with financial market turbulence that could unfold even ahead of a possible default. Federal workers could get stuck pulling from their savings accounts or relying on credit to make everyday purchases, Mayo said.

☆ With Feinstein Ailing, Newsom’s Vow Looms Over Senate Race
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Thomas Fuller | Shane Goldmacher | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Two years ago, Gov. Gavin Newsom of California vowed on national television that if Senator Dianne Feinstein stepped down early, he would appoint a Black woman to replace her. It was a promise that was only theoretical at the time even though questions were already emerging about the fitness of Ms. Feinstein, who turns 90 next month, to serve out her term. But after Ms. Feinstein contracted shingles earlier this year, was homebound and then returned to Washington frailer than ever, the contingency plan has become far more pressing — and more politically complicated. Now, if a vacancy comes, Mr. Newsom would have to decide whether to elevate Ms. Lee over her white rivals or find a caretaker who would agree not to seek a full term in 2024, presuming he keeps his pledge.

☆ Feinstein Faces Growing Scrutiny, but Voters Are Still Divided on Her Fitness
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Thomas Fuller | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Voters interviewed in California on Thursday had mixed views on the meaning and consequences of fresh and troubling revelations about Ms. Feinstein’s condition. But they did not seem to share the sense of urgency expressed by some of the state’s political players, the politicians, donors and activists who were distressed over the possibility that Ms. Feinstein’s condition would slow the Democrats’ agenda and effectiveness in Washington. “As a voter, I’d hope she would be responsible and make the right choice whether to step down now or later,” said Ms. Dixon, who voted for Ms. Feinstein in 2018. Ms. Feinstein returned to the Capitol last week after missing more than two months because of her illness. The revelation has amplified calls for Ms. Feinstein’s resignation, especially among the most politically engaged.

☆ Ex-ByteDance Executive Accuses Company of ‘Lawlessness’
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Thomas Fuller | Sapna Maheshwari | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A former executive at ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns TikTok, has accused the technology giant of a “culture of lawlessness,” including stealing content from rival platforms Snapchat and Instagram in its early years, and called the company a “useful propaganda tool for the Chinese Communist Party.”The claims were part of a wrongful dismissal suit filed on Friday by Yintao Yu, who was the head of engineering for ByteDance’s U.S. operations from August 2017 to November 2018. The complaint, filed in San Francisco Superior Court, says Mr. Yu was fired because he raised concerns about a “worldwide scheme” to steal and profit from other companies’ intellectual property. Among the most striking claims in Mr. Yu’s lawsuit is that ByteDance’s offices in Beijing had a special unit of Chinese Communist Party members sometimes referred to as the Committee, which monitored the company’s apps, “guided how the company advanced core Communist values” and possessed a “death switch” that could turn off the Chinese apps entirely. “The Committee maintained supreme access to all the company data, even data stored in the United States,” the complaint said.

☆ In San Francisco, a Troubled Year at a Whole Foods Market Reflects a City’s Woes
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( Thomas Fuller | Sharon Lafraniere | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Police described theft as rampant at Whole Foods, with thieves walking out with armfuls of alcohol, at least at the start. Chief Scott said that plainclothes officers were sent there and security improved over time, but seemingly not enough for the company. Mr. Peterson could see the 2,000-unit Trinity apartments, the high-end complex that Whole Foods had hoped would be its customer base. Across the intersection, security guards stood sentry in front of the Orpheum Theater, where “Pretty Woman: The Musical” was playing. Mr. Peterson said he understood why Whole Foods had closed the store.

☆ Eureka! After California’s Heavy Rains, Gold Seekers Are Giddy.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Thomas Fuller | Jim Wilson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

WHY WE’RE HEREWe’re exploring how America defines itself one place at a time. In Northern California, prospectors are looking to strike gold after the winter storms, recalling a storied era in state history. April 22, 2023PLACERVILLE, Calif. — Albert Fausel spends his days at the family hardware store sorting through boxes of bolts and pacing the old, creaking floorboards to greet his loyal clientele. But on a recent sunny afternoon, he threw on his wet suit and diver’s mask and inserted himself face down in the shallow creek near his home. In just 20 minutes of rooting around the creek bed, Mr. Fausel had found about $100 worth of gold.

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