Engineer imports, Olympic anxiety and a 27-foot asparagus

This week, California’s inexorable gravitational pull on engineers is keeping the population in the green (barely), while its flagship university system prepares for an avalanche of federal attacks. Meanwhile, some game-changing affordable housing development provisions that have attracted broad-based bipartisan support for years slipped quietly into the GOP’s reconciliation bill. But wait, there’s more! L.A.'s Olympic prep is on shaky ground, Oakland is sprouting a 27-foot death bloom, and a podcast chronicles how a small-town girl from Tehama became crypto’s weirdest felon.

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Here we go…

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CALIFORNIA’S TOP IMPORT? ENGINEERS.

California’s population is growing again, but don’t thank the locals — thank immigrants like Nagendra Dhanakeerthi, a freshly imported CTO who landed, caffeinated, and clocked in within hours. The state’s modest 2024 rebound hinges almost entirely on global talent funneled through pricey visas and bureaucratic hoop-jumping. Net immigration topped 360,000 last year, accounting for nearly all of the state’s 0.6% population growth. Domestic outflow has slowed, and births still outpace deaths, but international immigration remains the main engine. With Trump’s immigration clampdown looming and H-1B applications already dropping, California’s fragile growth may soon face another politically induced contraction.

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🤫 Everything you should know

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🧑‍🎓 ⚖️ 🏛️ - UC YA IN COURT — It was only a matter of time: Trump’s Department of Justice is now training its sights on the country’s premier public university system: the University of California. Senior civil rights counsel Leo Terrell — a lifelong Democrat before going full-MAGA in 2020 — has vowed a barrage of lawsuits over alleged antisemitism — part of a broader crusade that’s already cost Harvard billions in federal funding. Terrell’s task force has singled out UCLA and UC Berkeley in addition to Harvard and six other U.S. campuses for investigations. The schools say they’re cooperating; DOJ says they’re stonewalling. What’s clear: antisemitism claims are now a potent political cudgel, and higher ed is the battleground. — LA Times

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🏃‍♂️ 🚉 💸 - OLYMPIC DREAMS HIT HURDLES — Los Angeles promised sunshine, sleek trains, and Olympic glory for 2028. Instead, it's got fires, a billion-dollar deficit, unfinished transit, and a mayor dodging political wildfires of her own. The $1B Olympic Village? Scrapped. Events? Relocated, some to Oklahoma. Car-free dream? Derailed. Federal support? At the mercy of Trump-era tensions. With soaring costs and thinning patience, L.A. may pull it off — but not without redefining “success” and possibly torching a few promises on the way there. — NY Times

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🏘️ 🏗️ 💰 - A HIDDEN WIN FOR HOUSING — Coverage of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” narrowly passed by House Republicans last week has centered on draconian cuts to Medicaid, SNAP and other safety net programs. And while those provisions would hit the Golden State hard (should they survive the Senate’s own legislative machinations), there are other aspects of the bill that quietly hold big wins for affordable housing construction. In a rare detour from austerity cosplay, House Republicans boosted the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit by 12.5%, slashed the bottleneck 50% bond test in half, and tossed rural and tribal projects a 30% sweetener. The price tag? $14 billion. Projected outcome? More than a million new affordable homes. — Bipartisan Policy Center

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🎧 🔊 🎧 - ON THE POD: TEHAMA’S MOST WANTED

It ain’t all walnuts and cattle ranches in Tehama County; they also grow crypto criminals. Before she was Razzlekhan, the self-styled “Crocodile of Wall Street,” Heather Morgan was just a small-town kid from Tehama, a sleepy little hamlet on the banks of the Sacramento River. How did she go from rural obscurity to global crypto infamy? Ridiculous Crime digs in. — Ridiculous Crime

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😳 😳 😳 - AN ASPARAGUS GROWS IN OAKLAND

"This big momma here? Yeah, we're just calling it the agave right now or the giant asparagus," Oakland resident Brion Spensieri told reporters when asked about his towering, internet-famous front-yard stalk. At nearly 27 feet, the name is appropriate for the plant, the Agave americana, especially being from the Asparagaceae family. The primordial behemoth is now in the macabre (but flowery!) stage of its life known as the “death bloom.” The once-in-a-lifetime flowering event will attract pollinators like bats, bees and hummingbirds. - KPIX

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🏃‍♂️ 💨 ✋ FAST FIVE

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1. 🚙 The other great California road trip: Highway 395. Wall Street Journal
2. 🫷 CA at risk as Trump comes for Chinese student visas. CalMatters
3. ⛴️ Bay Area transit ridership is surging, winning FTA plaudits. U.S. FTA
4. 😢 RIP Rocco, Klay Thompson’s beloved bulldog. SFGate‍
5. 👏 CA Lawmakers advance housing bills on suspense file day. Sac Bee