California

Readers share what they love about their part of the state.Dusk falling over the Borrego Badlands in Borrega Springs.Mario Tama/Getty ImagesOn a recent short drive from my home in San Francisco, I ended up in Petaluma, where I had as close to a perfect day as possible.I strolled through antique stores, stumbled across a delicious lunch spot and walked along the river that meanders through the historic Sonoma County town. On our way home, my boyfriend and I remarked on just how much wonder seemed to be in our backyards.That appears to be the case in much of California, if my inbox is any indication. Readers have been writing to me recently about what they love most in their part of the state — and why they stay in California despite the high cost of living and what can often feel like a steady drumbeat of natural disasters.You can email me your own California love letter to CAtoday@nytimes.com. I always enjoy reading these messages. I hope you do, too.Here are some examples, lightly edited:“Outside of California, people don’t know much about Davis, but I feel so lucky to live in this hidden gem. We loved bikes before we came, but living in the bicycle capital of America has totally changed us. I now bike everywhere — to work, to dinner, to my daughter’s activities — and the game changer is that I feel completely safe doing so. Throw in the quintessential college town with our farmers’ market, theaters, essential coffee shops, local book and record stores, and plenty of boba tea shops — all within an easy bike ride or walk — and you have a magical place.” — Kari Edison Watkins, Davis“When I was a little girl traveling with my parents from Seattle to Sonoma on Highway 101, I thought the Ukiah Valley and the next one south to Hopland had to be among the most beautiful places on earth. Now, 70 years later, I still think so. It’s hard to believe I am here.” — Leslie H. Smyth, Ukiah ValleyWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber?  More

It’s been delightful reading your emails about favorite stops, and seeing the state’s highways and landmarks through your eyes.The Marin County Civic Center in San Rafael.Marlena Sloss for The New York TimesDriving to Davis from the Bay Area on Interstate 80 last week, I spotted a cow jumping over the moon.More specifically, I saw the longstanding sign for the old Milk Farm restaurant in Dixon, which I’ve now learned, after poring over readers’ submissions about iconic roadside attractions, is a landmark for many travelers in the Sacramento area. Seeing it in person made me feel as if I was getting a peek into a whole new side of California that I had yet to explore.I wrote last week about popular roadside sights, like Pea Soup Andersen’s or the Harris Ranch, that can feel so personal to Californians, reminding us of old commutes or family road trips of long ago. It’s been a pleasure to read the emails you have sent in response, and to see the state’s highways and landmarks through your eyes.On that same trip to Davis, I pulled over at Ikeda’s, following the suggestion of one reader, David Hayashida, who wrote that the country market was his go-to stop when traveling from Greenbrae, where he lives, to Sacramento. He recommended the crumbly Dutch apple pie, and it did not disappoint.Here are some more suggestions that readers have sent, lightly edited:“A favorite landmark memory for our family is of the color-changing lighted pylons at the LAX gateway. Driving down Sepulveda Boulevard back when our sons were young, we would look ahead to the pylons and make a guessing game of what color combination the columns would be in by the time our car reached them.” — Kathy Tyrer, Santa Barbara“Whenever we are out exploring California on road trips and heading home, we are always thrilled to see the beautiful Placer County courthouse right by I-80 that signals we are almost home.” — Jan Foster, AuburnWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber?  More

Millions of birds migrate through the Golden State each year along the Pacific Flyway, which stretches from Alaska to the tip of South America.Waterfowl in flight at the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge last week.Jim Wilson/The New York TimesBlackbirds flit between reeds jutting out of the marshy waters. A bald eagle perches in a tree, far above clusters of bobbing ducks. In a mesmerizing display, hundreds of snowy white geese take flight in an undulating swarm that mottles the gray sky.This is the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, one of a number of spots in California for birds traveling along the Pacific Flyway, a migratory path that stretches from Alaska to the tip of South America. Millions of migratory birds, representing more than 100 species, visit or pass through the Golden State each year.“If you’re interested in migratory birds for any reason, California is the place to be,” John Eadie, who teaches conservation biology at the University of California, Davis, told me.The Pacific Flyway is one of four major North American avian migration routes, and California has been a major destination on the Flyway for thousands of years.Some experts estimate that at the start of the 20th century, 60 million birds were migrating to California’s wetlands each winter. The Central Valley was a hot spot. When the eminent ornithologist Frank Chapman visited Los Banos in 1903, he wrote, “I have never seen birds more abundant.”But that was before California drained more than 90 percent of its wetlands for agriculture and development, eliminating much of the habitat that the birds relied on. For example, a longtime destination for birds was Tulare Lake, once the largest body of fresh water west of the Mississippi. By the middle of the 20th century, the lake was all but gone, transformed into an empire of farms (at least until an exceptionally rainy winter comes along.)Signs at the wildlife refuge warn visitors to stay in their cars except in designated spots.Jim Wilson/The New York TimesDan Harris, left, and Dave Kramer viewed birds at the sanctuary through telescopic lenses.Jim Wilson/The New York TimesThe Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, which is just off Interstate 5 about 80 miles northwest of Sacramento, was created in the 1930s by flooding dry land to re-establish habitat for birds that would otherwise eat crops. The refuge typically provides a home for 250 species of birds each year, with as many as 500,000 migratory ducks and 250,000 geese visiting between November and January.Nat Seavy, director of migration science for the National Audubon Society’s Migratory Bird Initiative, told me that preserving places in California for birds to pass the winter is a complicated balancing act that must take into account water supplies, agriculture, other animals’ habitats and the needs of people.“The stewardship of birds kind of depends on everybody’s story along that flyway,” he said.Seavy pointed to the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area in Davis, a 16,600-acre haven for birds that was created in the late 1990s to serve two purposes: restoring wetland bird habitat and providing a flood plain for the Sacramento River. I visited the preserve recently, and saw ducks with emerald collars preening themselves and tiny long-legged shorebirds scuttling across the driving path.Rebecca Ryland, a longtime Davis resident, had set up an easel and watercolors that morning to paint the glistening wetlands. She told me that she had already seen two enormous flocks of geese swooping overhead, drawing visitors’ heads skyward.“It’s amazing,” said Ryland, who comes to the park daily. “Sometimes I just sort of say: ‘Take it easy. You have a long trip.’”A (not-at-all-comprehensive) list of places to see birds in California this winter:Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, about 80 miles northwest of Sacramento. This is a hot spot for waterfowl, and viewing is best between October and March.Gray Lodge Wildlife Area, about 40 miles south of Chico.Tijuana Estuary, about 15 miles south of San Diego. The estuary supports 370 species of birds, and guided bird walks are available.The Salton Sea, about 50 miles southeast of Palm Springs, is one of the most important Pacific Flyway stops. By January, the wings of more than 400 species of migrating birds form living clouds across crystal clear skies.Suisun Marsh, about 50 miles northeast of San Francisco, accounts for more than 10 percent of California’s remaining natural wetlands, and provides habitat to more than 220 bird species.If you read one story, make it thisA $1.7 million public toilet has come to symbolize red tape in San Francisco.Royce Hall, on the campus of U.C.L.A.Robyn Beck/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesThe rest of the newsThe Biden administration has pressed University of California officials to reconsider the university’s plan to allow thousands of young people without legal immigration status to hold campus jobs, Politico reports.Southern CaliforniaSan Bernardino County sheriff’s deputies found six human bodies at a dirt crossroads in the Mojave Desert.Jim Harbaugh, who coached Michigan to a national football championship in December, has agreed to become the head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers, The Athletic reports.Central CaliforniaCalifornia’s secretary of state asked a state appeals court to cancel a lower court’s ruling allowing Assemblyman Vince Fong, Republican of Bakersfield, to run for Congress in the March 5 primary, The Fresno Bee reports. Fong is already on the ballot as a candidate for re-election to his current office.Northern CaliforniaResearchers at U.C. San Francisco are using artificial intelligence to read medical scans, The San Francisco Chronicle reports.U.S. News & World Report has filed a federal lawsuit against San Francisco’s city attorney over his subpoenas regarding the company’s hospital-ranking process, The Los Angeles Times reports.What we’re recommendingA New York debut, but a deeply Los Angeles project.Tell usToday we’re asking about love: not whom you love but what you love about your corner of California.Email us a love letter to your California city, neighborhood or region — or to the Golden State as a whole — and we may share it in an upcoming newsletter. You can reach the team at CAtoday@nytimes.com.Kelsey Kiyota and Elliott Lin.Dmitri and Sandra PhotographyAnd before you go, some good newsLove hit Kelsey Kiyota and Elliott Lin like a high-speed car.The pair had been friends for six years when, in 2018, at a mutual friend’s party in San Francisco, they discovered their shared love for the “Fast and Furious” movie franchise. Sparks flew (and engines revved, and wheels turned).“This could be my shot,” Lin recalled thinking after the interaction. “This could be the one.”Lin was so struck by the connection that he asked Kiyota out after the party. A few months later, the two had their first date — over Korean barbecue in San Francisco — and bonded over more shared loves: food and restaurants.From there, the two fell in love over many meals, long hikes near Lake Tahoe and a trip to Kiyota’s family home in Colorado. Lin popped the question in January 2023, and the two began planning a wedding in Hawaii, where Kiyota has a family connection. The couple tied the knot there in a ceremony with friends and relatives this month.Thanks for reading. I’ll be back tomorrow. — SoumyaP.S. Here’s today’s Mini Crossword.Maia Coleman and Briana Scalia contributed to California Today. You can reach the team at CAtoday@nytimes.com.Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox. More

The company California Forever began collecting signatures last week for a ballot initiative that would essentially ask residents for permission to build.Solano County, the site of the proposed new city.Aaron Wojack for The New York TimesResidents of Rio Vista, an agricultural town of 10,000 near the edge of Solano County, have been captivated for most of the last six years by one question: Who was buying up all the farmland?It appeared to be a little-known company called Flannery Associates, which by last year had become the largest landowner in the county. Residents speculated on its purpose: Some thought it could be a cover for foreign spies; others believed it was a shell company acquiring property for a new Disneyland.But even after investigations by the county and federal agencies, nobody could learn anything about the company’s owners or true intentions.The veil lifted in August, when my colleague Erin Griffith and I revealed that the purchases were being directed by a former Goldman Sachs trader named Jan Sramek, who wanted to build a city of up to 400,000 people on what is now rolling yellow farmland, where families have raised sheep and cattle for generations.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber?  More