Federal Housing Bill Becomes Law

The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act became law just after midnight Saturday, a bipartisan bundle of 56 federal tweaks, pilot programs, grants, and loans meant to spur homebuilding across California and the nation.

President Trump declined to sign the measure, saying he wanted Congress to pass a national voter ID proposal first. It became law without his signature because he chose not to veto it.

One provision could affect California’s priciest metros: Los Angeles and San Francisco could lose 10% of their Community Development Block Grant funding if they keep under-building and continue to see below-average housing construction, with the money routed to faster-building cities.

One California lawmaker wanted more. After Congress dropped a build-to-rent measure, state Sen. Aisha Wahab, D-Fremont, revived it as SB 880, which died in committee in June.

Supporters called it a milestone. “I think the last time Congress passed anything of this magnitude, many of you were not even alive … it is almost a once-in-a-lifetime event,” said Stephen Russell of the San Diego Housing Federation.

PG&E Agrees to $22M Fire Settlement

PG&E agreed to a proposed $22 million settlement over the 2022 Mosquito Fire in Placer County, without admitting liability.

Under the deal with state regulators, the utility would pay $21 million to the state general fund and $1 million for an independent review of its transmission inspection program.

The California Public Utilities Commission’s safety division found PG&E equipment violated a state rule setting strength and safety standards for power lines.

The settlement also resolves allegations that PG&E discarded a power pole after the fire that regulators said should have been kept as evidence.

The Mosquito Fire broke out near Oxbow Reservoir on Sept. 6, 2022, burned nearly 77,000 acres, and destroyed 78 structures. No one was injured.

Commissioners are set to vote on the settlement Aug. 13. PG&E said settling now lets it focus on reducing wildfire risk.

Livermore Startup Opens House of Fusion

A Livermore startup called Inertia has opened what it calls the House of Fusion, a facility aimed at turning fusion energy from a laboratory breakthrough into power for the grid.

The company plans to build what it describes as the world’s most powerful laser and manufacture fusion fuel targets that it says are more powerful than two Falcon rockets.

Inertia leased the former warehouse near where Greenville Road meets Interstate 580 last November and now operates the facility with about 50 employees, plus about 50 more at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory funded by Inertia.

The site builds on work at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, where researchers achieved a landmark fusion breakthrough. Co-Founder and Chief Scientist Annie Kritcher calls fusion energy clean, abundant, and cheap.

Inertia hopes to break ground on a gigawatt-scale fusion power plant by 2030 and start producing power five years later.

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➤ American Canyon: Daniel Lemas, 53, of Hayward allegedly took selfies while committing a $100,000 burglary at a business on Green Island Road, police said, and was arrested after deputies stopped his vehicle the next day. A second Hayward man was also arrested. (See Details)

➤ Silicon Valley: Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., said Israeli settlers detained him and other Americans during a visit to the West Bank, and that Israeli soldiers later arrived and continued the detention. The New York Times reported Khanna was prevented from leaving for about 90 minutes. (More)

➤ San Francisco: A hang glider crashed along the city’s coast Saturday and was rescued from the beach near the Fort Funston entrance, then taken to a trauma center by ambulance, the fire department said. (More)

➤ Mount Shasta: Dunlieh Infrastructure Group has been identified as the mystery developer exploring a data center near the former Crystal Geyser bottling plant. The proposal remains in the preliminary stages, with no formal application filed despite ongoing community opposition. (More)

➤ San Francisco: The Golden Star Radio neon sign glowed again in Chinatown on Friday after a community-funded restoration nearly 60 years in the making. Ron Tong’s family founded the nation’s first Chinese-language radio station in the 1930s and still owns the building. (Read Story)

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➤ Fresno County: CAL FIRE contained the 27-acre Mount Fire south of Millerton Lake on Saturday and warned that triple-digit heat and dry, windy conditions are increasing wildfire risk across Fresno County. No structures were threatened. (More)

➤ Frazier Park: A 4.2-magnitude earthquake struck about 1 mile southeast of Frazier Park in Kern County just after 3:30 a.m. Sunday, the U.S. Geological Survey said, triggering the ShakeAlert system. No injuries or damage were immediately reported. (More)

➤ San Joaquin Valley: About 450 sheep are grazing along the San Joaquin River to clear invasive vegetation from up to 180 acres, reducing wildfire risk and preparing the land for native trees, shrubs, and grasses this fall. It’s the first of several planned grazing projects with the San Joaquin River Conservancy. (More)

➤ Lemoore: More than 15 Valley mayors have backed Rep. Vince Fong, R-Bakersfield, in his push to home base F-35C Lightning II squadrons at Naval Air Station Lemoore, the Navy’s largest and only West Coast Master Jet Base. (More)

➤ Dinuba: Mayor Rachel Nerio-Guerrero says a $1 million federally funded water tank project, new housing, and a possible second fire station are among the city’s priorities as Dinuba plans for growth. (More)

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➤ Llano: The Summit Fire in the Antelope Valley had burned 2,690 acres and was 15% contained as of Sunday morning after firefighters stopped its forward progress. Evacuation orders and warnings remained in parts of Los Angeles County. (More)

➤ Los Angeles: Northbound Sepulveda Boulevard between Century Boulevard and 98th Street near LAX will be fully closed 1 a.m. Saturday, July 18, through 4:30 a.m. Sunday, July 19, as crews continue work on a new pedestrian bridge. Airport officials urged drivers headed to LAX to use alternate routes via Century Boulevard. (More)

➤ La Jolla: San Diego plans to spray a bacterial odor treatment on the bluffs at La Jolla Cove, where bird and sea lion waste creates a persistent stench. The proposal is drawing pushback from environmental advocates, who warn the treatment could harm wildlife and nearby marine habitat. (More)

➤ Chula Vista: A jury found Larry Millete, 44, guilty of first-degree murder in the 2021 killing of his wife, Maya, a mother of three whose body has never been found. Prosecutors built the no-body case on circumstantial and digital evidence, arguing he killed her as their marriage unraveled and she sought a divorce. (More)

➤ Orange County: The California Highway Patrol arrested a motorcyclist caught riding faster than 130 mph on the 5 Freeway before continuing onto the 405 on the Fourth of July. (See Video)

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➤ 49ers minority owner Vinod Khosla and his wife, Neeru, are set to become the new owners of the Seattle Seahawks as part of a record $9.6 billion sale. (More)

➤ Dodgers closer Edwin Díaz began a minor league rehab assignment Saturday, striking out two in a scoreless inning for Class A Ontario. Recovering from elbow surgery, Díaz said he expects to need about three more rehab outings before returning. (More)

➤ Rams defensive end Myles Garrett sparked speculation about Aaron Donald’s future after posting a photo of Donald’s signed jersey on Instagram with the caption, “Unpacking.” Donald, who retired in 2024, was recently spotted working out at the Rams’ facility. (More)

➤ Yesterday’s Results: Wimbledon | MLB | WNBA | NASCAR | Golf

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➤ Harvard Discovers Why Diets Fail After 50. It’s not willpower—it’s your GLP-1. This “weight loss hormone” controls appetite and fat burning but declines with age. Now a breakthrough botanical can naturally boost your body’s own GLP-1 production in seconds daily—no costly injections or dangerous side effects required. (Learn More)

➤ Television City, the historic Fairfax District studio in Los Angeles, is expected to hit the market as owner Hackman Capital reportedly grapples with millions in debt amid mounting pressure on the local production industry. CBS sold the lot, home to The Price Is Right, in 2019. (See Details)

➤ Meta pulled its new Muse Image AI tool from Instagram on Friday, days after launch, amid a privacy backlash. The California company’s feature let users generate AI images and automatically opted them in, allowing their public content to be referenced. Meta said it “missed the mark.” (More)

➤ A Mediterranean-style estate in Montecito’s Riven Rock neighborhood is back on the market for $17.5 million, more than double the $7.1 million it sold for in June 2020. The 1.75-acre property is listed at $2,911 per square foot. (See Details)

➤ Federal officials reopened public land across eight Central California counties, from Fresno to Santa Barbara, to oil and gas leasing, though industry sources say drilling isn’t expected anytime soon. A first lease sale is expected by year’s end, with environmental groups and some Democrats opposed. (Read Story)

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The Next $435B Energy Empire Is Being Minted

In today’s dollars, John D. Rockefeller would be worth $435 billion. But “oil money” is old news, and what’s next might surprise investors in 2026: a $2.1 Trillion opportunity in “clean” coal.

Now is the “Rockefeller” moment for Frontieras as they reform coal into hydrogen, diesel, and other valuable commodities (just like Rockefeller did with oil). And they just broke ground for their flagship coal reformation plant. With a White House that favors domestic energy and the NASDAQ ticker FASF reserved, Frontieras is positioned for potential valuation impact. 

The company fully subscribed its first Reg A+ round by $25M. Now their offering has reopened at $9.01/share due to increasing investor demand.

Join 12K+ investors and become an early-stage shareholder in Frontieras today.

➤ Candy Land has come to life as an immersive pop-up cafe in San Diego’s Little Italy, where visitors walk a life-size version of the game’s board to King Candy’s Candy Castle. The city is the birthplace of the game, invented there in 1948 by San Diego schoolteacher Eleanor Abbott while she recovered from polio. It runs through October. (See Details)

➤ A roundup of eight of San Diego’s most scenic picnic spots includes the bluff-top views at Kate Sessions Park and Sunset Cliffs, the sprawling lawns and gardens of Balboa Park, and the family-friendly sand at La Jolla Shores. (See the Guide)

➤ Grateful Dead fans have a fall date in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, where the exhibit Forever Grateful, Golden Gate Park runs Sept. 5 through Oct. 25, kicking off with a free Labor Day weekend concert by Grahame Lesh and Friends, led by the son of bassist Phil Lesh. (More)

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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. Clicking the links will take you directly to these stories:

➤ Think the King’s English is the “original” English? Turns out the poshest accent in Britain is one of the newest, and the oldest sounds are hiding somewhere surprising. (Hear Where)

➤ Firefighters spent decades spraying a foam that saved lives, and now more than a dozen states are racing to destroy every last drop of it. (Hear Why)

➤ You can learn to spot an AI deepfake in about an hour, and the six telltale signs aren’t what you’d expect. (Hear How)

What’s the best game on The Price Is Right?

1. Plinko
2. Cliff Hangers
3. Spinning the Big Wheel
4. Punch-a-Bunch
5. I don’t like The Price Is Right
6. Other (reply to tell us)

Yesterday’s Results:

Did you watch the SpaceX Starlink Satellite launches?

1. No: 43%
2. Not interested: 29%
3. Yes: 28%

Before adopting the name the world knows them by, the Grateful Dead spent their first months in 1965 playing Bay Area bars and pizza parlors under a different name. What were they originally called?

Show me the answer