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Tech billionaires postpone their plan for a new California city

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Tech billionaires postpone their plan for a new California city


Good morning. It’s Thursday, July 25. Here’s what you need to know to start your day.

Plans for a new California city are halted. Can trust be rebuilt?

A billionaires-backed plan to build a city from scratch in rural Solano County had been slated to go before the region’s voters in November.

But on Monday, county leaders and the initiative’s architect announced an agreement to pull it from the ballot.

The group, called California Forever, says it will now go through the usual multiyear process for would-be developments, which involves applying for necessary rezoning, conducting an environmental impact report and reaching a development agreement with the county.

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An artist’s rendering of a neighborhood. Backers who want to build a green city from scratch began with secretive land purchases in Solano County.

(Sitelab Urban Studio / CMG)

The county and aspiring developers framed the decision as a chance to pause and reset after years of secrecy and mistrust. But critics say the tech billionaires’ vision is an ill-conceived plan that would do more harm than good.

First, a refresher

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We first brought you the mysterious story of California Forever in August when a secretive limited liability company that spent about $800 million to purchase more than 52,000 acres in Solano County was revealed to be an ambitious project by Silicon Valley elites.

A rural landscape.

Proponents of the project used a limited liability company to buy up land from farmers in a vast swath of the county, stretching from Rio Vista, pictured, to the west, without telling anyone why.

(Godofredo A. Vásquez / Associated Press)

Their pitch: Build a new California city fueled by clean energy and filled with affordable housing and good-paying jobs. The plan is the brainchild of Jan Sramek, a former Goldman Sachs trader, who framed it as vital to boost California’s dismal housing supply and keep the state competitive as jobs and renewable energy move elsewhere.

Investors in the project include billionaire investor Michael Moritz, Emerson Collective founder Laurene Powell Jobs, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and venture capitalist Marc Andreessen.

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Once they were outed, the group changed its approach, initially dubbing its plan California Forever (with renderings that appeared to have been hastily created with artificial intelligence) before rebranding to the East Solano Plan. The group began gathering signatures to get a ballot measure before local voters in November that would change zoning rules, bypassing the typical process.

Streetcars run on a road between two lines of buildings.

An artist’s rendering of a neighborhood in a proposed city in Solano County.

(Sitelab Urban Studio)

Going that route “was a mistake,” Mitch Mashburn, chair of the Solano County Board of Supervisors, wrote in the joint statement. “This politicized the entire project, made it difficult for us and our staff to work with them, and forced everyone in our community to take sides.”

The group’s lack of transparency and accusations of heavy-handed tactics rubbed many politicians and residents the wrong way. They also sued farmers in federal court, which further incensed residents and elected leaders.

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Speaking during a Tuesday meeting, Solano County Supervisor Monica Brown said that California Forever “operated in bad faith” and that she “will never trust anything that they bring forward.”

“Go somewhere else,” Brown said. “There’s 57 other counties. They might want you and your money.”

Critics say the plan is the wrong approach

Local opposition to the project has been swift and vocal, with some noting it breaks the prime rule of real estate: location, location, location. Critics point to the lack of road infrastructure, access to water and public transit.

“It is a huge waste of private and public resources to develop a new city in this location,” said Sadie Wilson, director of planning and research at Greenbelt Alliance. The nonprofit advocates for climate resiliency in Bay Area counties and is part of the Solano Together Coalition.

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Waterways and farmlands.

An aerial rendering of where the planned community by California Forever would fit into Solano County.

(California Forever)

Members have been focused on getting accurate information to voters about the East Solano Plan, Wilson told me, but are also cultivating an “alternative vision” for prosperity in the region that doesn’t rely on billionaires.

Wilson said the plan “flies in the face” of both climate resiliency and housing goals, which would be better served by strategically expanding housing in existing cities. Building the schools, roads, sewer systems and other infrastructure to accommodate the more than 500,000 people California Forever hopes would live in its new city would cost a lot — both in dollars and emissions.

The county commissioned a consultant’s report for the project, which found that creating the necessary infrastructure would cost tens of billions and generate well over 2 billion new vehicle miles traveled (the state meanwhile is working to reduce how much Californians drive).

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What’s next?

In that joint statement, Sramek said his group will work with the county “to build a shared vision” and plans to “bring the full package back for approval in 2026.”

“We want to show that it’s possible to move faster in California,” he wrote in a statement.

“But we recognize now that it’s possible to reorder these steps without impacting our ambitious timeline.”

Mashburn acknowledged Sramek for his understanding and optimism, but also issued him a challenge:

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“Use the Environmental Impact Report and Development Agreement process to prove to us how you’ll strengthen Travis AFB, how you’ll provide water, and how you will solve the transportation challenges. And show us the financial engineering that makes it possible to pay for billions of dollars of infrastructure, without increasing our taxes, and while delivering a net tax surplus to our county.”

California Forever’s decision to pull the ballot measure was “a major win” for the coalition, Wilson told me.

“They just backed out of this initiative because they knew they weren’t going to win,” she said, adding that she hopes the group will be more transparent about their endgame if they’re serious about mending things with county leaders and residents.

“It’s hard to come back from that lack of trust and that deception,” she said. But “this is certainly not over.”

Today’s top stories

A photo illustration of a man and two women.

(Los Angeles Times photo illustration; Photos via AP Photo)

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Kamala Harris

Homelessness

Extreme weather is on the move

The 2024 Summer Olympics start tomorrow!

Say hello to the Hydrogen Hub

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Pro-Palestinian campus protests

UCLA Fowler Museum’s stolen artifacts

More big stories

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Today’s great reads

A sitting woman.

Chris Kraus for Image.

(Arielle Bobb-Willis / For The Times)

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L.A. legend Chris Kraus is finding answers in her sleep, and she’s not looking back. Chris Kraus and Catherine Lacey, two writers of two generations, talk mixing genres, daily schedules and the critics.

Other great reads

How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com.

For your downtime

A man stands in a lush garden

Andrew Chaves, director of operations at Rancho Los Alamitos Historic Ranch and Gardens in Long Beach, stands next to a preformed pond that he and his wife, Amanda, dug into the ground.

(Jeanette Marantos/Los Angeles Times)

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Going out

And finally … from our archives

A Sports page shows articles and a big photo of cyclists.

On this day in history, Lance Armstrong finalized his seventh consecutive Tour de France win. He was later stripped of the titles.

Have a great day, from the Essential California team

Ryan Fonseca, reporter
Defne Karabatur, fellow
Andrew Campa, Sunday reporter
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor and Saturday reporter
Christian Orozco, assistant editor
Stephanie Chavez, deputy metro editor
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters

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Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on latimes.com.



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Republican governor candidate Chad Bianco says he’s the ‘antithesis to California state government’

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Republican governor candidate Chad Bianco says he’s the ‘antithesis to California state government’


We are counting down to the California governor’s race. Chad Bianco, the sheriff of Riverside County, is one of the two biggest names running on the Republican ticket.

In a one-on-one interview with Eyewitness News political reporter Josh Haskell, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco said, “I am the antithesis to California state government because I am going to take a nuclear bomb into that building and absolutely destroy everything that they do to us behind closed doors.”

Although he’s been elected by the voters twice, Bianco says he’s not a politician — which is why he believes his campaign for California governor is resonating, as reflected in the polls.

“President Trump, in one year, from 2025 when he took over, until now, did absolutely nothing to harm California. What’s harming California is 30 years of Democrat one-party rule that have created an environment here that no one can live in anymore. They’ve only been successful here in California because we vote D no matter what. You vote D or die. I mean, that’s it. Charles Manson would be elected in California if he was the only Democrat on the ballot,” Bianco said.

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Bianco isn’t the only conservative Republican running for governor, and according to polling, he’s neck-and-neck with former Fox News host Steve Hilton.

SEE ALSO: CA governor candidate Steve Hilton says ‘everybody supports’ Trump’s immigration policies

Leading in some polls in the wide-open California Governor’s race as the June primary creeps closer is Republican and former Fox News host Steve Hilton.

“Steve has no chance of winning in November. The Democrats know that I’m going to win in November, and so they have to do everything they can to keep me out of that,” Bianco said.

When asked about the affordability crisis in the state, Bianco said, “Almost the entire issue of affordability in California is because of regulation, excessive regulation imposed by government. Every single regulation can be signed away with the governor’s signature.”

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“It is a drug and alcohol addiction problem that, and a mental health problem,” he said about the homelessness crisis. “Every single bit of money that is going to these nonprofits that say ‘homeless,’ zero money. You’re getting absolutely nothing. I can’t tell you that we would end what we see in the homeless situation within a year, but I guarantee you we would never see it again after two years.”

When challenged on that prediction, pointing to how the state doesn’t have the facilities to treat the number of people living on our streets, Bianco responded, “We have been conditioned to believe that buildings take five years to build. It takes 90 days or less to build a house, but in California, it takes three to five years because the government won’t allow it. The regulations that are destroying this state are going to be removed with me as the governor.”

Bianco also said California jails shouldn’t have to play the role of treatment facilities.

Although he says he supports the Trump administration and wants the president’s endorsement, Bianco has been traveling the state — meeting not just with Republicans, but Democrats and independents as well. He says all of our state government officials have failed.

The primary election is June 2.

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No clear front-runner in race for California governor, new poll shows

A new poll shows there’s still no clear front-runner in the race to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Copyright © 2026 KABC Television, LLC. All rights reserved.



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PlayOn Sports fined $1.1 million by California watchdog over student data violations

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PlayOn Sports fined .1 million by California watchdog over student data violations


California’s privacy watchdog has ordered PlayOn Sports to pay a $1.10 million fine and change how it handles consumer data after finding the company’s practices violated state law in ways that affected students and schools in the state.

The California Privacy Protection Agency Board issued the decision following a settlement reached by CalPrivacy’s Enforcement Division.

The decision is the first by the board to address privacy violations involving students and California schools.

Schools across the country use PlayOn Sports’ GoFan platform to sell digital tickets to high school sporting events, theater performances, and homecoming and prom dances, with attendees presenting tickets at the door on their mobile phones.

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Schools also use PlayOn Sports’ platforms for other sports-related activities, including attending games, streaming them online, and looking up statistics about teams and players.

In California, about 1,400 schools contract with PlayOn Sports for these services.

[RELATED] X faces possible fines as EU probes Grok nonconsensual, sexualized deepfakes

GoFan is also the official ticketing platform for the California Interscholastic Federation, the governing body for high school sports.

According to the board’s decision, PlayOn Sports used tracking technologies to collect personal information and deliver targeted advertisements to ticketholders and others using its services.

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The company allegedly required Californians to click “agree” to tracking technologies before they could use their tickets or view PlayOn Sports websites, without providing a sufficient opt-out option.

“Students trying to go to prom or a high school football game shouldn’t have to leave their privacy rights at the door,” said Michael Macko, CalPrivacy’s head of enforcement. “You couldn’t attend these events without showing your ticket, and you couldn’t show your ticket without being tracked for advertising. California’s privacy law does not work that way. Businesses must ensure they offer lawful ways for Californians to opt-out, particularly with captive audiences.”

The decision also describes students as a uniquely vulnerable population and warns that targeted advertising systems can subject students to profiling that can follow them for years, expose them to manipulative or harmful content, and develop sensitive inferences about their lives.

Instead of providing its own opt-out method, PlayOn Sports directed students and other users to opt out through the Network Advertising Initiative and the Digital Advertising Alliance, which the decision said violated the company’s responsibility to provide its own way for consumers to opt out. The company also allegedly failed to recognize opt-out preference signals and did not provide Californians with sufficient notice of its privacy practices.

“We are committed to making it as easy as possible for all Californians — from high school students to older adults, and everyone in between — to make the choice of whether they want to be tracked or not,” said Tom Kemp, CalPrivacy’s executive director. “Californians can opt-out with covered businesses, and they can sign up for the newly launched DROP system to request that data brokers delete their personal information.”

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Beyond the $1.10 million fine, the board’s order requires PlayOn Sports to conduct risk assessments, provide disclosures that are easy to read and understand, and implement proper opt-out methods.

The order also requires the company to comply with California’s privacy law prohibiting the selling or sharing of personal information of consumers between 13 and 16 without their affirmative opt-in consent.



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California bill to bar police from taking second job with ICE advances in state Assembly

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California bill to bar police from taking second job with ICE advances in state Assembly


Wednesday, March 4, 2026 4:43AM

CA bill to keep police from moonlighting with ICE advances

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KABC) — A bill that would prevent police officers from moonlighting with federal immigration enforcement agencies, such as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, is advancing through the California State Assembly.

AB 1537 passed the State Assembly’s committee on public safety on Tuesday.

The bill also requires that officers report any offers for secondary employment related to immigration enforcement to their place of work.

Those failing to comply could face decertification as a peace officer in California.

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The bill was introduced by Assemblymember Isaac Bryan, whose district includes Mar Vista, Ladera Heights, Mid-Wilshire and parts of South Los Angeles.

Copyright © 2026 KABC Television, LLC. All rights reserved.



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