California isn’t “overregulated,” it turns out. It’s over-verbed. A new PPIC report says we’re only average on the number of business rules on our books, but first in the nation in the “shall/must/may not” micromanagement that turns entrepreneurship into the circle of hell that Dante missed. That helps explain why Texas keeps minting new companies while California keeps minting new forms. Meanwhile: one district becomes a landlord to keep teachers from fleeing, a judge swats down President Trump’s windmill ban, and Diablo Canyon gets a pragmatic extension — plus 12,000 acres of protected coastline.

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CONSTRAINTS ABOUND IN PPIC REPORT

California’s reputation as “Planet Regulation” isn’t totally wrong, it’s just miscalibrated. A fascinating new report by the Public Policy Institute of California finds the state has about 1,300 business regulations (roughly the national median), and the average firm is touched by only ~8 of them. But then comes the fine print: California leads the nation in “constraints” — the “shall”/”must”/”may not” verbs that turn rules into paperwork — about 420,000 statewide, or ~3,700 per typical business (median: 1,400). Unsurprisingly, constraints cluster in environmental, health, and industry/commerce rules. But big-city permitting — LA, San Diego and San Jose, in particular — runs especially high on the constraint tally too. That extra nagging shows up where it hurts: ~51,000 new businesses launched in 2022–23, about 1 start per 33 existing firms, lagging Texas (1 per 21) and even New York (1 per 30). Manufacturing is especially sluggish: ~2 starts per 100 manufacturers vs Texas’s 3–4. The brief notes regulation isn’t destiny — taxes, workforce, productivity, and local permits (about ~8 per city) also shape where startups dare to take their first breaths.

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🤫 Everything you should know

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🧑‍🏫  - IT TAKES A TEACHER VILLAGE — In California’s latest episode of “Teachers Can’t Afford to Live Where They Teach,” one school district is ditching recruitment posters for property deeds. The Monterey Peninsula Unified School District spent $35 million on a 64-unit apartment complex to rent below market rates to staff drowning in housing costs and commutes. It’s not exactly luxury, but it’s better than a four-housemate crash pad and 5 a.m. Prius rides. “If we don’t do anything, the cavalry is not coming,” said Superintendent PK Diffenbaugh. Teachers are grateful, but with hundreds applying and few units, it’s more lifeboat than lifeline. Throughout the state, educators continue to drown in eye-watering housing costs. — Wall Street Journal

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🌬️ - ANTI-WIND TRUMP DECREE BLOWN AWAY

A federal judge struck down the Trump administration’s sweeping ban on wind energy permits, calling it “arbitrary and capricious and contrary to law.” (But tell us how you really feel, Judge Saris!) The executive order had frozen nearly all federal leasing, derailing at least seven major offshore wind projects — including five off the California coast near Humboldt County and Morro Bay. California, aiming for 25 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2045, led a 17-state lawsuit arguing the move was an “existential threat” to clean energy progress. “The Trump Administration seems intent on raising costs on American families at every juncture,” said California AG Rob Bonta. The ruling restores momentum for the two wind projects, but does not restore the $427M grant to the Humboldt Bay Offshore Wind project that Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy rescinded in August. — Associated Press

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⚛️ - NUCLEAR WIN-WIN:  — California’s last nuclear plant just got a lease extension cleared by the Coastal Commission — and 12,000 acres of pristine coastline will be protected because of it. In a landmark deal, state regulators approved PG&E’s plan to keep Diablo Canyon running through at least 2030 in exchange for major land conservation along the San Luis Obispo coast. The plant provides nearly 9% of California’s electricity with zero emissions, giving the state breathing room as it scales up renewables. Critics grumbled, but as one commissioner put it: “This matters to generations that have yet to exist.” Clean power, conserved land, and a little long-term thinking. Who knew we could still multitask? — CalMatters

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🎙️ 💬 🎧 - ON THE POD: UNSUNG HEROINES

Unsung Heroines is LA’s history with the credit finally assigned correctly. Each episode drags a trailblazing woman out of the footnotes — activists, artists, community builders — and lets her speak. Interviews plus archival storytelling show how these exceptional women rewired the city’s culture and politics, while for decades, the textbooks looked the other way. — UNSUNG HEROINES

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⏱️ 🏘️ 💬  - THE HOUSING CRISIS EXPLAINED IN 101 SECONDS

Longtime subscribers know that we’re fans of UC Berkeley’s “101 in 101” series of short video explainers. Where else could you attain passing knowledge of computational folklore in the time it takes to move one car length on the 405? The most recent installment in the video series features Cal’s Ben Metcalf, managing director of the university’s Terner Center, who explains the housing crisis and breaks down the policies needed to make homes affordable again. — UC Berkeley

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🏃‍♂️ 💨 ✋ FAST FIVE

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1. 🌧️ Record rainfall brings ice age Death Valley lake back to life. LA Times
2. 🍄 CA officials warn about death cap mushrooms after poisoning outbreak. A.P.
3. 🪦 Legendary California-based starchitect Frank Ghery dies at 96. Architectural Digest
4. 💵 GoFundMe’s “Year-in-Help” finds California most generous state. GoFundMe
5. 👩‍⚖️ Federal judge demands Trump return control of CA National Guard to Newsom. Order