California Unveils AI Assistant

California unveiled AskCA, an AI-powered digital assistant that helps residents find state and local services, from job listings to disaster aid.

Gov. Gavin Newsom introduced the tool Wednesday as a single online front door built around life events like finding a job or starting a business. The prototype grew out of the state’s response to the January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires.

The Office of Data and Innovation built AskCA’s knowledge base with Anthropic’s Claude model, and residents can join the pilot now at ask.ca.gov.

The first live use comes Sept. 30, when CalHR launches an AI job-skills-matching feature that lets applicants upload a resume and see matching state roles. Officials said it won’t store personal information.

Fresno County Moves to Arm Prosecutors

Fresno County supervisors voted unanimously to let prosecutors and investigators carry firearms on county property weeks after a deputy district attorney was stabbed at Courthouse Park, but it needs a second Sept. 22 vote to take effect.

Participating employees must hold a concealed-carry permit and complete firearm requalification twice a year, and the county will add secure storage for weapons at courthouses and the DA’s office. District Attorney Lisa Smittcamp backed the move but called it only a partial fix.

Smittcamp, who says she receives about two death threats a month, pushed for greater scrutiny of mental health diversion for criminal suspects. The stabbed prosecutor has returned to work, and Sheriff John Zanoni said he is seeking funding to add deputies at Courthouse Park.

The accused attacker, Dustin Crawford, had his arraignment postponed a third time Wednesday amid questions about his mental health. He is due back in court Sept. 23.

Bay Area Honors 9/11’s Betty Ong

Twenty-five years after Betty Ong became the first person to report a 9/11 hijacking, her family and San Francisco’s Chinatown are honoring the flight attendant remembered as a hero.

Ong, a San Francisco native aboard American Airlines Flight 11, called the airline’s reservation desk to report a stabbing and a cockpit crew that was not responding. She stayed on the line for 23 minutes until the plane hit the World Trade Center’s North Tower at 8:46 a.m.

Her call helped authorities identify where the hijackers were seated. Six months later, part of her remains was found two blocks from the World Trade Center site, then cremated and interred in the family plot in Colma.

Ong grew up in Chinatown, where a recreation center she visited as a child was renamed the Betty Ann Ong Chinese Recreation Center in her honor. Her family also carries on her legacy through community programs and the Betty Ann Ong Foundation. “She did her duty and her professionalism showed,” her brother Harry Ong said.

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➤ Shasta County: UCLA’s Voting Rights Project asked the county grand jury to consider removing elections chief Clint Curtis before November, citing concerns including his questioning of the June primary after certifying its results. Curtis lost his own race for clerk-recorder in that election. (More)

➤ San Francisco: City leaders broke ground Wednesday on the long-planned redevelopment of Candlestick Park, the former home of the 49ers and Giants, into a waterfront neighborhood that could bring more than 7,000 homes and 100 acres of parks and open space. (More)

➤ Also San Francisco: The cost of a two-bedroom apartment has jumped nearly 25% from a year ago, with monthly rent now topping $6,100, according to rental marketplace Zumper. Mayor Daniel Lurie was expected to address the city’s high cost of living Thursday. (More)

➤ Sonoma County: The sheriff’s office asked the public to help find Mac Pham, 89, a Santa Rosa man with Alzheimer’s who was last seen Wednesday morning on Rodeo Lane. Pham, who speaks Vietnamese and very limited English, was carrying a gray backpack. (See Photo)

➤ Lake County: State wildlife officials confirmed a rare gray wolf sighting in the Mendocino National Forest, about 150 miles north of San Francisco. The lone, black-coated wolf was spotted unusually far west and may have already moved on. (See Photo)

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➤ Kern County: An 86-year-old woman sued the estate of labor leader Cesar Chavez in superior court, alleging he raped her in 1973 at a union compound near Bakersfield and that leaders covered it up. The Chavez Foundation said it is reviewing the complaint. (See Details)

➤ San Luis Obispo: Astronaut Victor Glover, who piloted NASA’s Artemis II flight around the moon this spring, has returned to his alma mater Cal Poly in a full-time leadership role, advising the university’s president on strategy and STEM growth. (More)

➤ Central Valley: The U.S. Forest Service will close 23 research facilities nationwide to reduce maintenance costs, including facilities in Fresno, Chico, and Hat Creek and certain outbuildings in Anderson. The agency said the closures will not end the affected research programs. (See Details)

➤ Santa Barbara: UC Santa Barbara dropped from No. 1 to No. 26 in Niche’s 2027 party-school ranking, a 25-spot slide that could be tied to a new Isla Vista noise ordinance and tougher weekend enforcement. Florida State took the top spot. (See Report)

➤ Central California: International Observe the Moon Night events are planned Sept. 19, including telescope viewing in Mariposa, with an astronomy-and-movie night in Snelling the evening before. (See Details)

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➤ Brentwood: A roughly 25-acre brush fire broke out west of the 405 Freeway near the Getty Center on Wednesday, prompting evacuation warnings around Mount Saint Mary’s University and the Getty Center. (See Video)

➤ Dana Point: Nine oceanfront homes were red-tagged and seven yellow-tagged after surf from a distant hurricane battered the Capistrano Bay District. Crews trucked in boulders to rebuild the shoreline barrier, and one home was demolished. (More)

➤ Los Angeles: The FBI is searching Germany for fugitive former tech CEO Bernhard Eugen Fritsch, 65, who was convicted of defrauding investors and fled while awaiting sentencing. Authorities believe he is near Munich and are offering a $150,000 reward. (More)

➤ San Diego: The rodeo will return to Petco Park over Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend in January, with $750,000 in prizes, despite opposition from animal welfare advocates. Some sponsors pulled out of the 2026 event, and a horse died at the 2025 rodeo. (See Details)

➤ Aliso Viejo: Julie Hanway Molina, 56, the former treasurer of an Aliso Niguel High School football booster club, was arrested on a federal indictment charging four counts of wire fraud, accused of taking more than $400,000 and spending it on her mortgage and credit cards. (More)

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➤ Brock Purdy threw three touchdown passes to lead the San Francisco 49ers past the Los Angeles Rams 27-7 at Melbourne Cricket Ground in the NFL’s first game in Australia. (More)

➤ Barry Melrose, the former NHL coach and longtime ESPN analyst who guided the Los Angeles Kings to the 1993 Stanley Cup Final in his first season at the helm, died Wednesday at 70. (More)

➤ The Los Angeles Dodgers placed Shohei Ohtani on the 15-day injured list with right arm discomfort after he dealt with lingering soreness in his arm and left knee. He’s not expected back until the Dodgers host San Diego beginning Sept. 22. (More)

➤ Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry sold a San Francisco property for $11 million after buying it for $8.5 million in 2024 with plans to turn it into the headquarters of his Thirty Ink business. (More)

➤ Yesterday’s Results: NFL | US Open | MLB | NCAAF | Soccer | FIBA Basketball

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➤ A San Francisco AI researcher resigned from Anthropic, warning that it and rival OpenAI are racing to develop powerful AI without adequate safeguards. Jacob Coxon said the technology could eventually threaten human life. (See Details)

➤ Santa Barbara’s county wine district collected $1.1 million in its first year of a 1% tasting-room assessment, short of its $1.65 million target. A local winery is suing to overturn the mandatory fee or allow wineries to opt out, arguing it is unconstitutional. (See Details)

➤ Anchored Tiny Homes co-founder Austin Paulhus was arraigned on felony charges tied to the Sacramento-area company, which shut down after customers paid for small homes that were never completed. (See Details)

➤ Taco Bell is launching its first Live Más Open, a nine-hole golf tournament Nov. 2 at The Ranch at Laguna Beach. Fans can qualify through Topgolf events nationwide, with nine winners earning spots alongside celebrities, athletes, and creators. (See Details)

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➤ San Diego Bayfair, the powerboat festival on Mission Bay first held in 1964, returns Sept. 18-20 with races, live music, a classic car show, food vendors, and Coast Guard demonstrations. (See Photos)

➤ Ryan Gilhuly, a 21-year-old Tarzana native, has racked up hundreds of millions of views with bird’s-eye-view videos of his shifts at a Westlake Village bistro, filmed on Meta’s smart glasses. He started posting in June. (See Video)

➤ Meet Dill, a 5-month-old Virginia opossum recovering at the Sacramento Zoo after three months as an illegal pet, kept in a bathroom and fed dog food. Too tame to return to the wild, he’s training as an animal ambassador. (Read Story)

➤ Six Flags Magic Mountain has unveiled Thrill Glider, a new coaster opening in 2027 that will combine motorbike-style seating with a suspended ride. The 3,380-foot coaster will hit 50 mph, feature five inversions and 12 airtime moments, and is billed as the world’s first “Thrillglider.” (See Video)

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The following stories are featured exclusively on The Flyover Podcast—a daily show that gives you the most important headlines in under 15 minutes. 

➤ Dolly Parton reportedly saw her death coming, as new details have come out about how she felt in her final days. (Hear Details)

➤ A new four-hour Elon Musk documentary premiered, and Musk is already calling it a hit piece. (Hear Episode)

➤ A venture capitalist predicted a surprise global currency if an apocalypse happened, and it isn’t gold or cash. (Listen Now)

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In 1966, San Francisco’s Candlestick Park hosted the final paid concert of which legendary band’s touring career?

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