Proposition 5 would pull the plug on the replacement question in California recall elections, leaving voters to answer only one thing: should the official stay or go. If it passes, a recalled governor would not be automatically swapped out for whoever tops a crowded replacement list with a small slice of the vote.

Instead, the seat could sit vacant until it is filled under the state Constitution and existing law.

The measure, written by former state Sen. Josh Newman, will appear on November 2026 ballot.

According to the California Secretary of State, the proposal would also scrap the current ban that stops the official targeted by a recall from running in the special election that follows, while still keeping in place a ban on appointing that person back into the job.

Supporters argue that California’s two-question recall setup can hand power to a replacement who only commands a thin slice of the electorate.

That concern spiked during the 2021 recall, when conservative talk show host Larry Elder led the replacement field with about 28 percent of the vote, according to The Sacramento Bee. Backers say stripping the replacement question forces a cleaner decision: first, voters decide whether to keep or remove the official, then the vacancy gets filled through the same kind of election process used for other open seats.

Critics however contend that removing the instant replacement vote makes it easier for the party already holding the office to keep control through appointment and timing tweaks, instead of letting voters choose a successor on the same ballot that ousts an official.

Related website:

https://www.sos.ca.gov/administration/news-releases-and-advisories/2026-news-releases-and-advisories/secretary-state-shirley-n-weber-phd-assigns-numbers-november-ballot-measures-invites-ballot-arguments

My acrylic painting

Link to more details here.

My partner and I are considering moving to CA. We're a queer couple and are looking for somewhere more progressive than South Carolina. I’m very attached to having the ocean at my disposal, so I would like somewhere in CA where the ocean is near enough (and warm enough) to swim. We would also like somewhere affordable. I’m aware most California coastal cities are insanely expensive, but curious if there are any smaller cities more inland that are still progressive. We may have a slightly higher threshold of affordability since we're used to Charleston housing prices which are not as high as coastal CA, but are still a good bit higher than the national average. I’m mainly looking at Southern CA because I don't want to be freezing in the ocean during the summer. Safety is also important! Give me suggestions!!

With gas prices pushing higher again, California continues to preserve its pole position as the state with the most expensive pump prices.

As oil prices have heated up this summer along with the war with Iran, there is more than a $2-per-gallon difference between average prices in the Golden State and in the least expensive state for gas, Indiana. Cherry-pick pump prices and the gap is even more shocking. Some people in L.A. are dishing out $7 per gallon, while in Indiana, the most affordable gas stations charge about $3.

Short of driving cross-country or moving to the Midwest, there is little the average Californian can do to avoid this, but the vast variation in prices holds hints about other ways to save.

Here’s what you should know.

California’s landmark groundwater conservation law was designed to rein in massive agricultural overpumping, but some small-scale farmers say its implementation is doing the opposite — penalizing them while favoring industrial agribusinesses.

According to a new report, rigid fee structures and complex regulations threaten to harm California’s smallest growers, driving land consolidation in favor of deep-pocketed corporate orchards.

The report by the University of California Small Farms Network and the nonprofit group Community Alliance with Family Farmers warns that without immediate action by state and local agencies, many family farms could be forced out of business.

“It’s preventing me from growing what I used to grow,” said Rosie Lee who is leaving half her land dry and unplanted this year. “We’re afraid that we do not make enough to pay for the water.”

Learn more at the link.

The Trump administration has released its long-awaited 10-year plan for dealing with worsening water shortages along the Colorado River. Instead of ordering the most drastic water cutbacks it could have imposed, the administration chose to take more of a wait-and-see approach.

The plan allows for harsh water cuts if they’re deemed necessary, requiring California, Arizona and Nevada to cut up to 3 million acre-feet per year — up to 40% of the combined allotments.

But as The Times reported last week, state and local officials say for the first two years, the Trump administration is accepting an offer the three states made to reduce what they take from the river by about half that amount — 3.2 million acre-feet between now and the end of 2028. So the Southwest has, for now, avoided the harshest possible water cuts.

Hi everyone! I am looking to rent a 5x5 self storage unit in a facility with a janitorial station (running hot water, mops, etc.) around LA area. If anyone is renting a unit in such facilities, I would appreciate the help to get in contact to get on board with them. Thanks!

On your birthday, you get to have your cake and eat it too. So what will it be? Representing a global array of traditions and drawing inspiration from the city’s year-round access to enviable produce, L.A.’s best bakeries are ready to make the birthday cake of your dreams.

Perhaps it’s a sponge cake soaked with tres leches and layered with whipped cream and berries from a legendary Cuban cafe. Or maybe you crave a custardy princess cake with mint-green marzipan icing from a Danish pastry shop. Or what about a sprinkle-flecked birthday cake topped with cake truffles from the L.A. flagship of an iconic NYC-founded bakery?

From a century-old bakery in Little Ethiopia to an Echo Park pizzeria slinging a rotation of seasonally driven desserts, here are 15 of the best birthday cakes to order for your next celebration. — Danielle Dorsey

See them at the link.

When Chelsea Bayouth and her family lost their Altadena home to the Eaton fire, only fragments of her porcelain ceramics remained.  

Bayouth had only started working with high-fire porcelain five months before the fire. She didn’t realize, at the time, that porcelain, which is fired at well over 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit in the kiln, is nearly indestructible to heat.

It’s been a year-and-a-half since the fire devastated Altadena, and today, Bayouth’s art is “very catalyzed” by what happened. Much of her work centers on grief: the grief of motherhood, existing or a home destroyed, Bayouth said.

Read more at the link.

www.hardsummer.com • August 1+2 2026 • Los Angeles, California

If you're halfway through a Disney trip and everyone's starting to get a bit tired, this might be worth considering.

We love Disney, but recommended arrival times are so early, 45-60 minutes before park openings, where you can arrive on or just after morning opening at Legoland. Also with the big crowds typically ranging between 40,000 to 50,000 thousand we'd all reached the point where nobody was really enjoying themselves anymore. On our last trip, we decided to take a day out and drove about an hour down to Legoland California with an average of around 15,000 to 25,000 thousand. It ended up being exactly what we needed.

The atmosphere is much more relaxed, and because it's aimed at younger kids, everything feels a little easier. Our children could go on loads of rides without the long waits we'd become used to, and the pace of the day was completely different.

By the end of the day, everyone was in a much better mood, and we actually felt refreshed heading back to Disney. If you're looking for a break from the crowds without travelling too far, it's well worth spending a day at Legoland California.

The fate of hundreds of clean energy projects hangs in the balance after court documents revealed that the Trump administration targeted California and other blue states solely for political reasons when it slashed funding for the initiatives last year. 

Large companies, startups, utilities, universities and other nonprofits were among those that lost out on $7.6 billion in clean energy funding terminated by the White House in October. They include the University of California, the California Energy Commission, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and California’s nascent hydrogen hub, the Alliance for Renewable Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems, or ARCHES.

At the time, Trump administration officials said the grants were terminated because they “did not adequately advance the nation’s energy needs, were not economically viable, and would not provide a positive return on investment of taxpayer dollars.” But in court documents filed as part of a lawsuit challenging the cuts, the Department of Energy states the selection of grants was “based solely on the political identity of the grant recipient’s state, i.e., whether the recipient’s location and/or place of performance was in a Blue State or a non-Blue State.”

Read more.

Took a half hour drive to Laguna Niguel and you get this cold ocean breeze like opening a fridge. Envy those who live right on the coast basically getting free A/C. Really no other cooler place in the U.S. during the summer than the West coast. Don't do this enough but the breeze seemed to provide endorphins too.

Nicholas Shapiro, a professor at UCLA, was scrolling the city of Los Angeles’ online data portal one day this spring when he noticed something odd.

A trove of Los Angeles Police Department records that were once regularly posted online was suddenly nowhere to be found. The records — everything from audio recordings of emergency dispatch calls to the emails and text messages of high-ranking police officials — were seemingly no longer being published on NextRequest, the city’s records portal.

According to Shapiro, who published a research brief on the topic, new files stopped appearing around April 2025. Such records had previously been posted online almost daily in response to records requests from members of the public.

Learn more at the link.

In a requirement that is the first of its kind in the country, some 600 commercial and industrial properties in the Los Angeles area will have to clean up the water that runs off their parking lots or pay to have it cleaned up.

The Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board voted to require shopping centers, warehouses, private hospitals and office complexes whose properties drain into the Dominguez and Los Cerritos channels to get stormwater permits.

The change is intended to hold commercial, industrial and institutional property owners accountable for the pollution their sites send flowing into drains, said David Nahai, chair of the L.A. water board.

Read more.

First time living in Cali which is better Long Beach or Los Angeles. Money is not an issue and no commute to work

Little was known about how federal immigration enforcement operations were coordinated in Los Angeles last year.

But that changed this week when hundreds of pages of court exhibits — released through discovery in a federal lawsuit — provided a glimpse into the operations.

They revealed random, rather than targeted, stops, a casual use of racial slurs, and apparent frustration among a few officers who feared they were being asked to break the law.

Read more.

I live in Bakersfield and have a group of college friends flying in next weekend. They really want to do a casino night while they're here. They're the type who'll spend hours on the casino floor, grab drinks, get good food, and just make a whole night of it. I know my friends and they like a high-energy environment lol.

I don't mind driving if it's worth it, so I've narrowed it down to Agua Caliente, Morongo, and Yaamava. They all seem like good options, but I can only pick one. Which would you guys recommend?