Dan Morain

After receiving multiple email invitations for amazing parties in the last few weeks from long-lost friends, only to discover they're phishing attempts, I will never open an online invitation. If anyone receives an online invitation from me, please know I would never send an online invitation.

One Adelanto detainee's decision to leave everything behind California will be the lesser for my friend's coerced decision to depart the United States, where he built a business, a family and a life.

This is a powerful and infuriating piec by David Freed. open.substack.com/pub/goldenst... h/t @marielgarza.bsky.social @paulthornton.bsky.social @goldenstateorg.bsky.social

Direct Relief Surpasses $2.2 Billion in Aid for Ukraine Direct Relief—one of the world’s largest providers of charitable medical aid—announced today that its support for Ukraine has exceeded $2.2 billion, underscoring both the urgency of the ongoing cri…

This: www.directrelief.org/2026/02/dire...

When @marielgarza.bsky.social writes a piece about trash, you *have* to read it.

Supreme Court won’t disturb new California congressional map It seemed unlikely the justices would block Democrats’ gerrymandering effort after they kept Texas’ Republican map in place.

This is a big deal: www.politico.com/news/2026/02...

What a cold night in Sacramento interviewing homeless people taught us We volunteered to count the unsheltered people in our community. Our conversations with those who agreed to talk touched our hearts and demonstrated why homelessness is so difficult to solve.

What we saw on a January evening volunteering for the Point-In-Time count of people living on the streets in Sacramento. www.golden-state.org/what-a-cold-... h/t @marielgarza.bsky.social @paulthornton.bsky.social

The man who built CalMatters into a respected, thriving California journalism institution Co-founder Dave Lesher turned CalMatters into one of California’s most influential newsrooms — and launched new tools to make your government transparent

Very cool piece about a news organization on the ascent, and the guy who started it—David Lesher. calmatters.org/inside-the-n...

My Visit to Muskogee, OK The small town Merle Haggard once sang about reflected what was going on in an ignored part the country. Almost 60 years later, it may still.

I love this slice of American life by Sam Quinones @samquinones.bsky.social posted on his Dreamland Substack. I think Merle would love it too. open.substack.com/pub/samquino...

Few California voters pay attention to the race for lieutenant governor. But Gray Davis and Gavin Newsom showed it can be a stepping stone to the governor's office. The Calif Teachers Assn and the Calif Federation of Teachers today endorsed lite guv candidate Josh Fryday.

No, Trump won’t be able to drill off California’s coast The administration wants new drilling off the 1,100-mile coastline. Fat chance: This is probably illegal and faces overwhelming backlash.

Smart analysis in the Golden State Report, @goldenstateorg.bsky.social, showing why Trump’s demand to drill offshore from California’s coast won’t happen. open.substack.com/pub/goldenst... An aside: Assemblyman Pete Wilson drove the drilling ban in 1969. Ronald Reagan was governor.

The Nonfiction Everyone Will Be Talking About in 2026

I don't think there has ever been the level of buzz for a politician's memoir as I'm seeing for Gavjn Newsom’s “Young Man In a Hurry." NYT: The Nonfiction Everyone Will Be Talking About in 2026 www.nytimes.com/2026/01/07/b... (I’ve preordered it.)

A year later, L.A. fire survivors are hopping mad and still want answers If you thought the one-year anniversary of the Altadena and Pacific Palisades fires was going to be all about unity and hope, you haven't been paying close attention.

Paul Thornton of The Golden State Report writes about the deep anger among survivors one year after the Altadena fire. open.substack.com/pub/goldenst...
H/t @paulthornton.bsky.social @goldenstateorg.bsky.social

Why The Purity of Methamphetamine Matters A new report emphasizes once again how pure the meth is coming from Mexico, making it especially devastating in terms of addiction, homelessness, and mental illness.

Sam Quinones, author Dreamland and Least of Us, reports the latest on the scourge that is high purity meth. Such an important story. The sources are notable. (Venezuela is not one). open.substack.com/pub/samquino...

GOP lawmaker Doug LaMalfa dies at 65 The Republican represented a rural northern California district.

Doug LaMalfa was always willing to talk and often had witty observations of the happenings in the Capitol. He helped ensure Paradise got its share of federal aid after the Camp Fire. www.politico.com/news/2026/01...

Federal appeals court strikes down California open-carry gun ban A federal appeals court ruled that California’s ban on openly carrying firearms in most counties is unconstitutional, citing Supreme Court precedent and historical tradition.

And then there is this. One thing California does not need. www.sfchronicle.com/california/a...

S.F., Oakland see fewest homicides since Cold War era Oakland saw its fewest homicides since 1967, and San Francisco’s were the lowest since 1954.

Dramatic decline in the number of homicides in San Francisco and Oakland. Still too many but it’s an important story that ought to get national attention. H/t @sfchronicle.com www.sfchronicle.com/crime/articl...

The Republican who emptied the asylums - Capitol Weekly Frank Lanterman won an assembly seat in 1950 with one goal: securing a steady water supply for his family’s land holdings and subdivisions in the Verdugo hills community of La Cañada outside Los Angel...

A note: one our most-read stories this year was actually published in 2024 - @danmorain.bsky.social's profile of Republican legislator Frank Lanterman who led the effort to transform how CA cared for people with severe mental illness
capitolweekly.net/the-republic...

Column: Reagan biographer Lou Cannon always played it straight and true Reagan biographer Lou Cannon always played it straight and true

One giant writes about another. George Skelton on Lou Cannon. I love the Dodgers game anecdote. www.latimes.com/california/n...

'The canary in the democracy mine is local journalism' | Vince Bzdek The threat to local journalism and the accountability it brings to government is one of the most important issues facing Colorado right now.

Local journalism matters. H/t @senatorglazer.bsky.social www.coloradopolitics.com/2025/12/27/t...

Robert Lindsey, Times Reporter and Reagan Ghostwriter, Dies at 90

I met Robert Lindsey when I was a young reporter covering federal courts in LA and later as a San Francisco-based reporter for the LA Times. He was a quiet and fiercely competitive journalist but took the time to talk with a rookie. The NYT obituary: www.nytimes.com/2025/12/25/b...

Lou Cannon Dies at 92; Journalist Chronicled Reagan as an Author

A true giant: Lou Cannon Dies at 92; Journalist Chronicled Reagan as an Author www.nytimes.com/2025/12/20/b...

Why I'm stoked about California's wide open 2026 governor race It may not rise to the level of absurdity of the 2003 recall, but the large cast of campaign characters suggests a pretty entertaining time leading up to the June primary. That's good for me, and for ...

Mariel Garza @marielgarza.bsky.social of the Golden State Report @goldenstateorg.bsky.social has a weird definition of fun. www.golden-state.org/why-im-stoke...

Crime in San Francisco is declining even faster than other cities. Will the trend continue? Crime decreases this year have beaten even last year’s historic lows in San Francisco. This data shows how much it’s fallen — and where it hasn’t.

The lede: “Crime in San Francisco just keeps falling and falling.” Wait. I thought it was a failed city. Whaddya know. www.sfchronicle.com/crime/articl...

Latest Public Policy Institute of California survey: Job approval of U.S. Supreme Court is 29% among California adults while 68% disapprove. SCOTUS's job approval was 57% in 2017, with 32% disapproving.
Heck of a job, CJ Roberts.
See Q-27: www.ppic.org/wp-content/u... h/t @ppicnotes.bsky.social

My father, for one.

Charles Norman Shay, Tribal Elder and World War II Hero, Dies at 101

What an incredible life this heroic man led. He was denied the right to vote and struggled to get adequate health care and yet gave so much: Charles Norman Shay, Tribal Elder and World War II Hero, Dies at 101 www.nytimes.com/2025/12/04/u...

Jane Ganahl’s essay speaks for many of us.
You get what you pay.

“Double tap” is the worst euphemism I’ve heard in a very long time. Call it what it is.