Jerry Brown warned us about a lot on his way out the door in 2018: climate collapse, nuclear amnesia, capitalism’s dark side, and in typical California fashion, we half-listened. Just for fun, we revisited his exit interview for a sobering look at how far we have and haven’t come since then. Back in the here-and-now, this week’s slate of stories pings many of his interview’s high-notes: The feds are ghosting the state’s water infrastructure just as the climate crisis supercharges weather patterns, AI is juicing tax revenue without fixing our unfolding budget catastrophe, and L.A. is performing bureaucratic Cirque du Soleil to stall new housing laws. All this, plus a Summer of Love retrospective podcast and a UC-heavy Fast Five.

‍

Onward.

‍

18 BILLION  REASONS TO SCREAM

California just lucked into an $11 billion tax windfall, courtesy of a frothy AI stock surge fattening capital gains for the ultra-wealthy. Hooray, right? Well, kind of. Don’t be fooled — nearly every dollar is swallowed by constitutional mandates, and the state still faces an $18 billion deficit next year. (Is anyone else getting a little sick of this roller coaster?) The Legislative Analyst’s Office calls the budget “relatively weak,” warning the tech rally reeks more of speculative hype than actual economic growth. California’s heavy dependence on the top 1% has created a tax system that’s structurally unsound and acutely, operatically, boom-bust. The bottom line: we’re rich on paper, broke in practice, and flying into 2026 by the seat of our pants.

‍

<READ MORE>

‍

🤫 Everything you should know

‍

💧 - PPIC WATER REPORT: CA GHOSTED BY UNCLE SAM

California’s water challenges are escalating as federal agencies pull back from funding, slash staff, and eliminate data-sharing roles once vital to state water management. In its newest report, the Public Policy Institute of California Water Policy Center calls for urgent investment in research and infrastructure to replace what had formerly been the purview of the feds. The report identifies three key priorities: modern water accounting systems, sustainable water financing, and climate resilience strategies. With NASA’s Earth Science Division and NOAA’s research programs facing cuts of 27% and 20% respectively, the state must step in to maintain critical monitoring. The report warns: “Modernization will not be cheap or easy,” but failure to adapt could cost far more. — PPIC

‍

😡  - SB79 MEETS L.A. DELAY — Los Angeles didn’t want SB 79, the state’s bold new law legalizing dense housing near transit. Now that it’s here, the city’s pivoted to its favorite civic pastime: obstruction by paperwork. A new 26-page planning report mentions “delay” 68 times, mapping out every bureaucratic detour to stall the law’s July rollout, especially in single-family sanctuaries. City planners are crafting a “local alternative plan,” a euphemism-heavy workaround that lets L.A. sidestep the law’s full impact by redrawing development rules around transit hubs. Thanks to carve-outs for fire zones, historic sites, and “low resource” areas, much of the city can still be spared apartment buildings. Call it compliance by technicality and delay by design. The zoning games have begun. — Urbanize LA

‍

🤢 - PEAS & PFAS:  — California’s crops come with a side of forever chemicals, according to a new review of California department of pesticide regulation data. Between 2018 and 2023, farms drenched their fields with 15 million pounds of PFAS — aka “forever chemicals” — via pesticides on almonds, tomatoes, grapes, and more. These chemicals don’t decompose, but they do sneak into water, produce, and the bodies of mostly low-income immigrant farm workers. Despite their links to cancer and organ damage, PFAS are still generously approved by the EPA, especially under the current administration. — The Guardian

‍

We rely on word of mouth to expand our Bear Essentials community. If you know others who share our desire for common sense, pragmatic solutions to California’s biggest problems, please urge them to subscribe for free! Just send them here.

‍

🎙️ 💬 🎧 - ON THE POD: IF YOU’RE GOING TO SAN FRANCISCO

Fifty years ago, during a few short weeks in the summer of 1967, thousands of hippies descended on San Francisco. The small suburb of Haight-Ashbury became a centre for sexual freedom, freedom to experiment with mind blowing drugs, to debate social and economic utopias and freedom to listen to loud rock music. Marco Werman looks back at those hedonistic times through the music and recollections of people who were there 50 years ago. — BBC

‍

🕰️  🤔 🤨 - A LOOK BACK

‍

Sometimes, it’s worth a look back to see just how far we have — and haven’t — come. On his way out the door in December of 2018, Jerry Brown warned of climate disaster, nuclear complacency, capitalism’s occasional cruelty, and Democratic overreach. Much of it, soberingly, has come to pass — especially his prediction that a Trumpified Republican party would let Democrats drift leftward unchecked. But on housing? California has in many ways defied his pessimism. The very reforms he thought unlikely at best — zoning overhauls and changes to the longtime political third rail of CEQA — are now promising to reshape the landscape. Check out Brown’s 2018 exit interview for a quick reality check. — NPR

‍

🏃‍♂️ 💨 ✋ FAST FIVE

‍

1. 🧑‍🌾 A guerrilla gardener installed a pop-up wetland in the LA River. NPR
2. 🧬 Cal, Stanford & UCSF collaborate to create ChatGPT for DNA. California Magazine
3. 🧑‍⚖️ Judge orders Trump not to threaten UC funding. NY Times
4. 🤑 Comic found in San Francisco attic sells for record $9.1M. SFGate
5. 🧑‍🎓 UC Regents approve tuition hike amid Trump funding cuts.  LA Times

‍