Good morning. It’s Monday, Aug. 29.
- A plan to cover California canals with solar panels.
- Los Angeles transit ridership overtakes Bay Area.
- And renowned San Francisco photographer Fred Lyon dies.
California is testing an idea that could help solve two crises at once: covering water canals with solar panels. It’s never been done in the U.S., but India has been putting solar arrays atop its canals for years. If all goes to plan, California’s vast aqueduct system could help produce 13 gigawatts of renewable power annually, about half of the new capacity needed to meet the state’s decarbonization goals by 2030, while saving billion gallons of water from evaporating. Reuters
California’s fourth graders trail the nation in reading, and half of its third graders do not read at grade level. But unlike other states, California does not have a comprehensive literacy plan to address its reading crisis, nor has it signaled any intention to create one. “The problem is we’re still at the first stage of acknowledging there’s a problem,” said Todd Collins, a literacy advocate. EdSource
The Bay Area has long had more riders of buses and trains than Los Angeles. But over the last few years, that’s flipped. Even adjusting for population, L.A.’s per-capita transit ridership temporarily surpassed the Bay Area for the first time in at least two decades. “It’s a titanic shift starting in the depths of the pandemic that could remake California’s transit landscape.” Mercury News
The sculptor Jael Hoffman was born in Israel and lived in Berlin and Los Angeles before buying a 10-acre patch of desert off Highway 395 in the Eastern Sierra. She then set about transforming the property into an open-air sculpture garden for her colorful metal figures, set against a backdrop of mountain and stars. The public is welcome. The travel reporter John Bartell paid a visit. YouTube/ABC10 (~2 mins)
After decades of planning, a coalition of water agencies lined up money and approvals to build the first major reservoir in California in nearly half a century. The $4 billion lake in Colusa County known as Sites Reservoir, about 70 miles north of Sacramento, would send water as far away as the Bay Area and Los Angeles. But they’ve run into a problem: There may not be enough water. S.F. Chronicle
One day last month, temperatures all over the country pushed toward triple digits. In San Francisco, the high was 65. In a time of punishing heat waves, San Francisco tourism officials are considering a new marketing slogan that celebrates the city’s notorious summer chill — something along the lines of, “Come cool down.” N.Y. Times
Fred Lyon, a legendary San Francisco photographer, died last Monday. A Navy photographer during World War II, Lyon returned to San Francisco and built an incomparable record of his native city that spanned seven decades. Peter Fetterman, a gallery owner who represented Lyon, described his work as “a love poem to the city.” “He was one of the great humanist photographers,” Fetterman said. Lyon was 97. KQED
Fred Lyon’s images from San Francisco’s jazz-loving 1940s and ’50s. 👉 California Sun
The Buffalo Bills cut Matt Araiza on Saturday, two days after the star punter and two former teammates from San Diego State were accused in a lawsuit of gang-raping a 17-year-old girl last fall. Asked to explain the timing, general manager Brandon Beane said, “We were trying not to rush to judgment. Obviously, Matt’s version was different.” Zavier Leonard, another accused player, was removed from San Diego State’s roster on Saturday. The third player, Nowlin Ewaliko, left the team. ESPN | S.D. Union-Tribune
A renowned pedal steel guitarist in Bakersfield and his wife of 60 years were found dead with their vehicle on a remote desert road an hour outside of town on Aug. 21, the authorities said. Larry Petree, 88, was in the driver’s seat and Betty was leaning against the rear tire. The cause of death remains under investigation, but no foul play is suspected. A local report said the couple was believed to have run out of gas and noted that Petree had experienced episodes of disorientation. KGET | L.A. Times
Disneyland is attracting fewer visitors but making more money than ever thanks to a new strategy of higher prices, fewer freebies, and paid perks. In 2021, attendance at Disney’s U.S. parks fell by 17%. Per capita spending, however, grew by 17%. It’s “pure supply and demand,” a company spokeswoman said. “No different than airplanes, hotels, or cruise ships.” Lifelong Disney fans are not happy. Wall Street Journal
Julio Castro, a math teacher, commuted from his home in the Santa Clarita Valley to the school where he teaches in Los Angeles’ Pico-Robertson neighborhood by scooter and bus, traveling roughly two hours each way. Last Thursday, he showed up to a surprise at a school assembly: The students had bought him a car after secretly raising more than $30,000 over the summer. KABC | L.A. Times
For many fall lovers, the quaking aspen is the star of the season, with brilliant yellow leaves that shake and shimmer in the wind. They are virtually nonexistent in California outside of the Sierra and far northern ranges. But one lonely grove in the San Bernardino Mountains offers one of the prettiest fall displays in Southern California. The trees burned in 2014, but they are said to have returned even stronger. Believe it or not, the colors could start to turn as early as the next few weeks. TheTrailMaster.com | Hiker’s Way
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The California Sun is written by Mike McPhate, a former California correspondent for the New York Times.
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