Don't get me wrong: L.A.'s mountains are *gorgeous*. (But yeah, they've long had a trash problem, and it's a damn shame.)

You can also help support substance over sensationalism by urging your friends to sign up. It's free! www.golden-state.org If Substack is your jam, we're there too: goldenstatereport.substack.com

Welp, the Murdoch-owned @californiapost.bsky.social launched today. For anyone looking for the opposite of its cheap shot approach to state and LA issues, check out golden-state.org. It's independent and nonprofit, and brand new too. No billionaires are pulling the strings here.

Yosemite isn’t the only California treasure trashed by visitors open.substack.com/pub/goldenst...

The worst of the worst, right?

America, you in danger, girl

"election law and voting rights experts will be watching closely to see if the court applies similar reasoning [that it used in allowing Texas's gerrymandered maps] in the California case." If they don't, well seeya later democracy, it was nice knowing you www.nytimes.com/2026/01/20/u...

Just got my homeowners insurance renewal offer, and it's a doozy. Jumped 80%, but seeing as how much of Los Angeles went up in flames last year I guess I should feel grateful I didn't get non-renewed. Add health insurance hikes and the higher cost of everything, and I'm definitely poorer in 2026.

Color me surprised that developer Rick Caruso bowed out of the L.A.'s mayor race this year, but there's still time for more surprises.

Aha! Bruised ego. It's all starting to make sense now. wapo.st/4a0DeSK

😮

Mmmm. Pastries and universal health care.

It's no coincidence that a good portion of the startups leaders are ex-LATimesers, including myself and the other Golden State editors.

Much respect to Jim Rainey at the LA Times who wrote about the local news renaissance in L.A. and plugged @goldenstateorg.bsky.social, LAreported.org, LAmaterial.com and other news outlets that will likely compete with the LAT for attention and readership. www.latimes.com/california/n...

I'm a fan of the LA Pod, so I almost asked my colleague Mariel for her autograph after she spent an hour talking to @awalkerinla.bsky.social and @mikebonin.bsky.social

We have become one of those nations that Americans used to look upon with pity. That could never happen here, we thought, not in this enlightened, Democracy-loving country.

good to know. www.golden-state.org/no-trump-won...

This is not a full list (that would be a book) just some of the lowlights. www.golden-state.org/14-ways-fire...

The case against a $30 minimum wage in L.A. www.golden-state.org/the-case-aga...

Please allow me to rant for a minute. It's absurd that so many things—alarm clocks, fitness wearables, car features—require a separate subscription these days. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

LAPD used to be a model of providing the public granular data that showed residents where crime was happening in their neighborhoods. That data stopped updating nearly two years ago and there's no ETA for when it will become available again. www.golden-state.org/why-wont-the...

If you like "Yellowstone" you'll love this story by @sammyroth.bsky.social about a real-life powerful ranching family in Imperial County and the mysterious murder of one of its members. open.substack.com/pub/climatec...

MOCA's "MONUMENTS" exhibit is stunning, and lacking. The curators missed a golden opportunity by failing to include the Father Serra statue removed from Plaza Olvera by Indigenous activists in 2020, writes Oscar Garza.

The 2026 gubernatorial primary isn't likely to be as silly as the 2003 recall, but it's shaping to be more interesting than races in the last 20 years. Hooray for that. open.substack.com/pub/goldenst...

This shows the power and importance of local journalism: A reporter highlighted a problem - underaged ag workers - and it pressured authorities to act. @capitalandmain - capitalandmain.com/to-protect-u...

In a few weeks, Rose Parade viewers around the world will marvel at Pasadena's beauty -- but the city's school district just cut nearly $25 million from next year's budget. That reflects a broader threat to public education as families opt out of the system, writes @paulthornton.bsky.social.

Affordability is no "con job" when it comes to California's rental market. But when the option is freezing in Fargo, you hold on, writes Jane Ganahl in @goldenstateorg.bsky.social www.golden-state.org/retire-to-ar...

Says a man born into great wealth, and who appointed the richest cabinet in U.S. history (per Forbes). I bet none of them cringed when they saw their 2026 health care premium notifications.

An entire room full of powerful old white people smiling and laughing as the president dehumanizes black immigrants and the first black president. Just fucking pathetic.

California shut down its last coal plant last week and nobody even noticed, it made so little little difference. Meanwhile solar is up 17% and gas is down 17% from 2024. I have a few highlights... www.climatecoloredgoggles.com/p/ding-dong-...

For a book no one seems to like, it sure is getting a lot of attention.

Cover Reveal! “The Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley Fascism and the War on Democracy" arrives on August 4, 2026. How extremist tech billionaires are dismantling democracy to crown themselves as kings—and what we can do about it. Please pre-order! ➡️ www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Ne...

Can’t say I agree about not improving LAX — it’s a mess. But the author has a good point about air travel, and I enjoy fact-based arguments that challenge my assumptions. If that's your jam too, consider sending some of your #GivingTuesday dollars our way this year at givebutter.com/NY2Duo

My latest missive from California in @globeopinion.bsky.social

NEW: California is having its most wide-open governor’s race in decades. Why’s that? Billionaire Tom Steyer and Rep Eric Swalwell are the latest -- and maybe not the last -- candidates to jump into the contest. Like nature, political ambition abhors a vacuum. www.latimes.com/politics/sto...

Jesus Christ

Mexican entrepreneurship knows no limits… Behold the ICE officer piñata 🪅

This is super depressing for us old-school journalists. But it also has the uncomfortable ring of truth.

I have some thoughts about the N.Y. Post's expansion in California. open.substack.com/pub/goldenst...

Does Texas' new districts getting thrown out mean Prop. 50 -- sold as a tit-for-tat response to Texas -- is moot? Nope, because there is no actual triggering language in the CA law that voters passed on Nov. 4, writes @paulthornton.bsky.social

A former Palantir exec just published an extortion letter in the Washington Post: Democrats must fund tech oligarchs, abandon antitrust, and create 15 deregulated corporate zones—or “lose.” When I challenged her, she blocked me. Tech’s moral rot, exposed: www.thenerdreich.com/silicon-vall...

Huang could complicate Bass’ reelection bid, luring away left-of-center voters at a time when the mayor faces criticism over the Palisades fire, the budget and several other issues. The larger the pool of candidates, the more work Bass will have to do to avoid an expensive runoff campaign.

The writer says Nuzzi worked on the book while in a "self-imposed exile in Los Angeles." C'mon! This isn't some rural outpost -- L.A. is celebrity central and the hub of the freaking entertainment universe! People come here to be seen, not to hide. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/14/s...

A good read by @nataliekorach.bsky.social and @status.news. Murdoch's move into Los Angeles, in the works for months, was a big motivator for us to launch @goldenstateorg.bsky.social. Competition is healthy, but it shouldn't only be billionaire-backed media telling the California story.

Remember all that fanfare about California banning ultra-processed food from school lunches? Well, hurry up and wait. It will take about a decade for it to be fully implemented -- plenty of time for it to get watered down. www.golden-state.org/healthier-sc...

Hooray, ultra-processed foods will be off the menu in CA schools -- in 10 years, that is. Journalist Minerva Canto says that's too long and points to districts that have done it on their own in two years. www.golden-state.org/healthier-sc...