Essential California

Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It’s Friday, Jan. 3. Julia Wick is on a New Year’s break, so today’s edition is once again brought to you by L.A. Times Deputy Managing Editor Shelby Grad. Ready or not, 2020 is here. “The sea will rise, the ground will shake, the fires will rage, the state will sue the Trump administration every Tuesday and sometimes on Thursday, some people will flee, others will arrive, the cost of housing will rise, the number of homeless people will grow, and the bullet train will not leave the station. Wait a minute, that was last year’s prediction.” That’s Times columnist Steve Lopez, reminding us that a new decade doesn’t necessarily mean much change. California is still facing a lot of problems, but also working hard to solve at least some of them. And yes, there are still the sparkling beaches, snow-capped mountains and cool winter sun. Lopez began 2020 on a guardedly optimistic note, despite the flood of stories labeling the state as unlivable and failing. “The NYT explained to us rubes that ‘at the heart of our state’s rot’ is ‘a failure to live sustainably.’ We are not without sin, but as I pass another electric car, look beyond a cluster of windmills and into the glare of solar farm reflections, huh?” [Read “California in 2020: Tackling our problems, ignoring the pundits, celebrating our strengths” by Steve Lopez in the Los Angeles Times] Here are more predictions on various issues affecting Californians. Gas: Prices in California might be a 2020 bright spot. Maybe. San Diego Union-Tribune Presidential race: California is a political gold mine. But we’ll probably feel left out again in 2020. CNN Silicon Valley: The collapse of unicorns. The rise of hearables. Wall Street Journal Real estate: Finally a cooling in our broiling housing market? Mercury News Lifestyle: “Drinking wine is an incredible way to make yoga fun. It’s about cultivating joy and community and letting your hair down.” Los Angeles Times Economy: A paradox in the Inland Empire. Closing malls, growing logistics facilities. Press-Enterprise Outlook: Can California be booming and busting at the same time? Mercury News Cars: California starts the decade as the undisputed master of auto innovation. Jalopnik Marijuana: The long-promised, much-stalled pot boom might begin in 2020. Or maybe not. SF Weekly Innovation: Will some of the big ideas that stalled in the teens soar in the ’20s? Los Angeles Times Disaster: California’s rough stretch of fires, blackouts and other calamities might produce one winner in 2020: generator manufacturers. Wall Street Journal