Even the Stars Are Ill at Ease

"The more complicated answer is that these fires are an especially acute example of something climate scientists have been warning about for decades: compound climate disasters that, when they occur simultaneously, produce much more damage than they would individually. As the climate crisis escalates, the interdependent atmospheric, oceanic and ecological systems that constrain human civilization will lead to compounding and regime-shifting changes that are difficult to predict in advance. That idea formed a guiding theme of the Biden administration's 2023 national climate assessment."

Eric Holthaus at The Guardian writes that "[c]onditions for a January firestorm in Los Angeles have never existed in all of known history, until they now do."

Also at The Guardian, Oliver Wainwright argues that "[t]he city needs greater urban density, not more firebelt bungalows." (At CalMatters, Ben Christopher also questions how L.A. should or should not rebuild, as does Jerusalem Demsas at The Atlantic.)

And Adrian Daub looks to earlier L.A. writers like Mike Davis.

Dan Walters at the Ventura County Star considers the criticism of Gov. Gavin Newsom and Mayor Karen Bass.

And Mark Z. Barabak at the Los Angeles Times criticizes the critics.

"Elections Are Usually a Contest Between People"

"'That being said, we still have to do the people's business. … And there are other societal challenges that get pushed to the side, at least temporarily, while this recall issue is debated. So all I'm saying is once this election is over, I think people of good intentions in both Republican and Democrat parties ought to sit down and see if they can't agree to reduce the questions on the ballot to just one question.'"

Emily Hoeven at CalMatters interviews former governor Gray Davis about California's recall election.

David Edward Burke at Washington Monthly calls for an overhaul of the recall process.

And Steve Lopez at the Los Angeles Times says that the recall campaign has ignored California's biggest problem: income inequality.

"I Wish the Governor Would Have Won the Recall"

"But Newsom's team has spent time studying the race that sealed Davis's fate, searching for instructive lessons that might help their candidate avoid the pitfalls that doomed his predecessor."

At The Hill, Reid Wilson presents "[a]n oral history of the Gray Davis recall in California."

"I Don't Think the Progressives Could Have Anticipated a Situation Like This"

"Yet other political observers believe that a failed recall against Newsom could trigger a reconsideration of the law. Political experts in both parties caution that the drive against Newsom could become a much closer call if conditions turn against him before the vote—if there's a resurgence of the virus, extensive problems with the power grid or wildfires, or a wide-scale disruption to the reopening of schools in the fall, to name some examples. But if conditions remain steady or improve and the recall is resoundingly rejected, it may be possible to persuade both Democratic legislators and voters to back changes. 'You have to tighten up these procedures and processes to make sure this is not some frivolous alternative that Republicans are using to gain power in California because they can't win fair and square at the ballot box,' South told me."

Ronald Brownstein at The Atlantic discusses "The Trouble With the Gavin Newsom Recall."

And California State Senator Bob Hertzberg discusses the similar problem with the state referendum system.

"Do You Know Anyone as Dumb Blond as Me?"

"My slogans are 'Good Luck California' and 'I have the Key to California.' I'm going to be sitting on the key. In 2003 I set the pace and the pathway for people to run who were not just the gray-suited people. I'm this gorgeous blonde with big boobs and people saw that if Angelyne can run with that image, we can all do it and 500 people followed my lead. I've made a pathway for anyone who wants to run."

Chris Nichols at Los Angeles magazine interviews gubernatorial candidate Angelyne.

"Represents All That the President and His Base of Conservatives Despise"

"Republicans' messaging seen by millions of Americans in the RNC convention this week relies on 'the simple premise that under Democratic rule, California is a nice place to visit–but you wouldn't want to live there,' said Hoover Institution fellow Bill Whalen, who advised former Gov. Pete Wilson."

Carla Marinucci at Politico writes that for Donald Trump, "[t]he California-bashing has only just begun."

"A Potential Harbinger of a More Multicultural, More Progressive American Future"

"California has earned its reputation as the politically correct capital of Blue America, a heavily urban majority-minority coastal state where it's legal to smoke pot but illegal for retailers to provide plastic bags or cops to ask suspects their immigration status. Taxes are high, the first year of community college is free and driver's licenses have a third option for residents who don't identify as male or female. But while California has plenty of problems, from worsening wildfires to overpriced housing to that troubled bullet-train project that became the latest target of presidential mockery, there's one serious hitch in the GOP plan to make California a symbol of Democratic dysfunction and socialistic stagnation: It's basically thriving."

Michael Grunwald at Politico writes that "California is flourishing while pursuing the exact opposite of the policies Trump is pursuing in Washington."