California has two settings right now: pouring concrete and filing forms about pouring concrete. Up in Solano, California Forever just signed a labor deal so massive it basically comes with its own hard hat — locking in union jobs and the kind of wages that will let builders live in the community they build. Down the coast, San Diego is doing the unthinkable: approving housing like it’s a normal function of government. Meanwhile, L.A. keeps perfecting its signature craft — turning housing into a discretionary art project with a nine-month review cycle. If you want the state’s purest expression of “we don’t build,” look no further than wildfire survivors spending a year fighting City Hall for the privilege of rebuilding their own homes… while San Francisco NIMBYs stage a full civic meltdown over some cool-looking apartments above a Safeway. Same state, same crisis, wildly different relationship with a shovel — and reality.

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NAILED IT: HISTORIC LABOR AGREEMENT SIGNED — California Forever just dropped a 40-year mic on the development world by signing the largest construction labor agreement in U.S. history. The pact — covering 70,000 acres of Solano County — guarantees union labor for everything from infrastructure to innovation hubs, ensuring that the next great American city won’t be built on gig economy fumes. CEO Jan Sramek called it “a historic partnership between American business and labor to build the next great American city.” Translation: good jobs, solid pay, and no more 90-minute death marches to work for local tradespeople. The numbers are meaty: 17,000 union construction jobs a year, $123K average compensation at full buildout, and $16 billion in tax revenue annually. Or as Steve McCall of Solano County Trades put it: “Our members don’t just work here — they’ll be able to afford a home here.” The middle class is getting a sequel, and Solano’s got top billing.

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🤫 Everything you should know

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🏗️  -  STAY CLASSY SAN DIEGO! — While L.A. buries housing in red tape and rent control, San Diego’s out here actually building stuff. Apartment construction is up 10% in San Diego, down 33% in L.A., and the contrast couldn’t be starker. Developers say it’s a tale of two cities: San Diego’s streamlined approvals, consistent planning, and lighter regulations make it build-friendly; L.A.’s discretionary chaos and new mansion tax send investors running. “L.A. has been redlined by the majority of the investment community,” said one developer. Meanwhile, San Diego quietly updates its codes, greenlights projects without drama, and adds housing near transit — radical stuff, apparently. It’s not Texas, but the political winds there have shifted: clear plans, fewer hoops, and no performative hand-wringing. Yes, developers still face high interest rates and pricey materials, but at least in San Diego, they aren’t treated like villains for wanting to build sorely needed apartments. L.A., take notes. Or don’t — San Diego’s fine with the edge.  — LA Times

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🤯 - PERMIT PURGATORY — A year after wildfires gutted Altadena and Pacific Palisades, recovery is looking less like a comeback and more like a bureaucratic endurance test. In Altadena, half the Black households were destroyed, small businesses are stuck in insurance hell, and owners are pleading for basic support — like waived permit fees — just to stay afloat. Meanwhile, in the Palisades, months of political stalling over who qualifies for permit relief finally cracked after condo residents packed City Hall and publicly shamed officials into action. Now, a revised plan could waive rebuilding fees for all property types — a big win, albeit one survivors had to drag out of the city, inch by painful inch. As one Palisades resident put it: “I would much rather have spent this past year healing and recovering... instead of having to battle various government offices for assistance.” Recovery, it seems, depends less on resilience and more on relentless advocacy. — CalMatters | LA Times

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🥴 - NIMBY FLIPOUT ON AISLE 415  — San Francisco’s Marina Safeway — once dubbed “Dateway” for its flirty produce aisle energy — is now ground zero in the city’s latest housing drama. Developer Align Real Estate quietly filed plans for a 25-story housing tower atop the storied supermarket, just before new zoning caps kicked in. Cue the pearl-clutching. Locals felt blindsided. “It was an underhanded thing to do,” sniffed the neighborhood association president. Align, meanwhile, shrugged: we're just playing by the rules — state rules, not yours. Their plan is part of a broader Safeway-to-housing campaign that would add 3,500 new units citywide. YIMBYs are thrilled. Old-guard residents, less so. “It’s a bit of a monstrosity,” said Tales of the City author Armistead Maupin. But with sky-high land costs, empty parking lots, and not a crane in sight, the days of standalone suburban-style grocery stores in urban cores may finally be expired. — Wall Street Journal

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🎙️ 💬 🎧 - ON THE POD: PUBLIC CEO REPORT

Local gov isn’t sexy—but it is where the real mess (and magic) happens. In The PublicCEO Report, Ryder Todd Smith corrals bureaucrats, wonks, and fixers for unscripted chats about policy, power plays, and municipal mayhem. No spin, no script—just the raw sausage-making of California local leadership. Dig in. — PublicCEO Report

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👴🏽 📜 ⌛  - THIS WEEK IN CALIFORNIA HISTORY

Image: ChatGPT

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• Jan 20, 1937 — Boca? Not Raton: While Florida was busy tanning, California’s other Boca hit -45°F—the coldest temperature in state history ever recorded. A strong reminder that even the Golden State occasionally dabbles in frostbite and irony.

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• Jan 21, 1910 — Paperwork with a View: Angel Island opens as the Ellis Island of the West, greeting Asian immigrants with a long stay, lots of questions, and very little hospitality. Scenic bay views not included in processing time.

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• Jan 22, 1984 — Think Different, Buy Beige: Apple drops its Orwellian Super Bowl ad and births a tech cult. Two days later, the Mac launches — and computing slowly transforms into a lifestyle brand powered by minimalism and dongle scarcity.

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• Jan 24, 1848 — Eureka-ish: James Marshall spots gold at Sutter’s Mill, casually triggering the most chaotic get-rich-quick scheme in U.S. history. By year’s end, California had more shovels, saloons, and pipe dreams than people who knew what they were doing.

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• Jan 24, 1770 — Oops, Found San Francisco: Portolá overshoots Monterey Bay, stumbles onto San Francisco Bay by accident, and then eats his own mules on the way back to San Diego. The Bay Area vibe was born: expensive, confusing, and requiring personal sacrifice.

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🏃‍♂️ 💨 ✋ FAST FIVE

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1. 👏 First Free Modular Home for Eaton Fire Survivors Arrives in Altadena. Pasadena Now
2. 🧑🏼‍🔬 Mahan: Billionaire tax would crash California innovation engine. SF Examiner
3. 🚈 LA Metro approves massive $25B underground rail line to bypass 405 Freeway. Fox11
4. 🎩 What to Know About California’s Proposed Tax on Billionaires NY Times
5. 🏘️ How $1.2 billion in California fees killed thousands of affordable homes. SF Chronicle