California
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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:
“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.”
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(Los Angeles Times photo illustration; Photos via AP Photo)
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Today’s great reads
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For your downtime
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)
Going out
And finally … from our archives
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LOS ANGELES – A routine internal monitoring sweep by the California Department of Motor Vehicles has flagged thousands of suspicious test results, prompting a massive recall of licensed drivers to testing centers.
The state agency has warned that anyone who fails to comply with the retesting directive will face immediate cancellation of their driving privileges.
What we know:
The California DMV sent letters to about 11,000 licensed drivers last month after identifying suspicious patterns in their written test results.
According to the agency, these irregularities were detected through routine internal monitoring and point to various methods used to circumvent the testing process.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: 11,000 CA drivers told to retake written test or lose licenses
The DMV has stated that the issue is entirely “test-taker related” and not the result of an internal technical glitch or the involvement of artificial intelligence.
To address the suspected fraud, several cases have already been referred to county district attorneys for criminal prosecution.
What we don’t know:
The DMV has not revealed the specific cheating methods used by the test-takers, nor have they disclosed the exact locations or dates of the flagged tests.
It’s unclear exactly how many of the 11,000 affected drivers have already completed their retests or how many licenses have been canceled so far.
What they’re saying:
A DMV spokesperson emphasized the importance of exam security in an email to City News Service: “The California DMV has identified irregularities in certain driver knowledge test results that may indicate instances of cheating.”
The spokesperson further explained, “Some individuals may have attempted to circumvent the testing process using various cheating methods.”
Addressing the root cause, the spokesperson added, “Nonetheless, these irregularities are test-taker-related and not the result of an internal DMV technical issue, or the involvement of artificial intelligence. Ensuring the integrity of the knowledge testing process is essential to public safety and to confirm that drivers understand California’s rules of the road.”
Regarding the lack of specific details on how the cheating occurred, the department stated, “DMV is not sharing additional information at this time, so as not to reveal investigative methods and protect the integrity of the investigative process.”
Sen. Tony Strickland (R-Huntington Beach), vice chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, recently sent a letter to DMV administrators expressing concerns about the situation.
On Tuesday, Strickland released a statement saying the DMV’s own letter to drivers created “confusion and unnecessary anxiety” among new license holders.
“The DMV is a state agency that serves millions of Californians, and they deserve clear communication along with timely information when something like this happens,” Strickland said. “I have heard from Californians who believe this language suggests the DMV is accusing them of cheating or engaging in misconduct during the examination process. Whether that is the Department’s intent or not, the wording of the notice has created confusion and unnecessary anxiety. In my letter, I requested additional information about what happened and the steps the department is taking to address the issue.”
What’s next:
The DMV will continue to monitor test results internally while working alongside county district attorneys on the active criminal referrals.
Drivers who received the letters must schedule and pass their exams before their individual 30-day deadlines expire to avoid losing their driving privileges.
What you can do:
If you received a letter from the DMV regarding testing irregularities, you must visit a local DMV office as soon as possible to retake your knowledge test.
Be sure to complete and pass the exam within the mandated 30-day window to prevent your driver’s license from being canceled.
The Source: This report is based on official statements and email correspondence provided by the California Department of Motor Vehicles to City News Service.
A now 33-year-old Northern California man, who was on the run in Mexico for five nearly five years, has been sentenced for the murder of his estranged wife’s boyfriend while the couple was sleeping in her apartment in 2017.
Arturo Hernandez was 25 when he learned that a man named Anthony Freas was in a relationship with his estranged wife. His calls to her after hearing about the situation went unanswered, according to investigators.
On Nov. 19, livid over the relationship, Hernandez went to the Regency Apartments in the 5900 block of Riza Avenue, where his wife lived. He broke into the apartment where the couple was sleeping, entered her bedroom and stabbed Freas multiple times before fleeing the scene, according to a news release from the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office.
Officers with the Sacramento Police Department responded to the apartment and found Freas suffering from at least one stab wound to the upper body. They began life-saving measures until paramedics arrived and rushed him to a hospital, where he later died.
Authorities launched a manhunt for Hernandez, who was considered armed and dangerous, The Sacramento Bee reported.
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Arturo Hernandez, 33, was sentenced for killing Anthony Freas while he was sleeping at his estranged wife’s Sacramento apartment on Nov. 19, 2026.(Justice4Anthony/Facebook) -
Arturo Hernandez broke into his estranged wife’s home at the Regency Apartments and killed her boyfriend while the couple was sleeping on Nov. 19, 2017. (Google)
It was later learned that he fled to Mexico, though it is unclear where he had been hiding or with whom.
Hernandez evaded law enforcement until July 2023, when he was arrested by Mexican authorities and FBI agents. He was later extradited back to Sacramento to stand trial.
On March 24, a jury found Hernandez guilty of second-degree murder and found true the allegation that he personally used a weapon during the attack.
More than three months later, on July 10, Judge Alyson Lewis sentenced him to 16 years to life in state prison.
An Idaho father is recovering at home after a near-fatal encounter with a rattlesnake during a vacation in Northern California that required a hospital’s entire supply of antivenom to keep him alive.
The encounter highlights a “concerning” surge in rattlesnake bites in California this year, state poison control officers said.
Chris Howarth, his wife Jenny and their three children were visiting his parents in Oroville near Chico last month when he was bitten twice by a western rattlesnake while working in the backyard, Chico-based Action News Now reported July 3.
Howarth’s wife immediately drove him to Oroville Hospital, where he began showing signs of a reaction to the venom, including trouble breathing.
One of the bites reached his vein, Howarth told SFGate, sending venom into his bloodstream.
Within 24 hours, Howarth received 18 vials of antivenom at the hospital. Three days later, his condition worsened with swelling in his legs, requiring infusions of plasma and platelets as well as additional antivenom.
By the fifth day, the hospital was completely out of antivenom, Howarth told Action News Now.
Howarth was then flown to Stanford Hospital in Palo Alto where he continued to receive antivenom for another six days before he was released 11 days after the bite.
In total, Howarth received 54 vials of antivenom – 36 at the Oroville hospital, 18 at Stanford – according to a GoFundMe campaign set up to help with medical expenses.
Launched on July 5, the campaign had generated $9,629 in donations as of Tuesday, July 14.
Howarth’s case is part of a surge in rattlesnake encounters in California this year, according to the California Poison Control System, which reported in May that it had already received nearly 80 calls related to rattlesnake encounters five months into the year, compared to an average 200 calls a year. Three of those encounters this year were fatal, which CPCS medical expert Dr. Rais Vohra called “deeply concerning” in a May news release. On average, the state sees one rattlesnake-related death a year, according to officials.
“The number of bites and fatalities this early in the year underscores the importance of awareness and prevention,” Dr. Vohra said.
Here are some tips from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to help you avoid coming face to face with a rattlesnake.
As the name implies, rattlesnakes are most commonly recognized by the distinct “ch ch ch” sound their rattles make. But, they don’t always use them. So, you can also identify them by their gray or light brown exterior and triangular shaped head. They usually range from 2 to 4 feet in length and easily camouflage to their surroundings.
When hiking, the Department of Fish and Wildlife recommends that people stay on well-used trails and avoid high grass, wear sturdy boots and loose-fitting long pants when walking through brushy, wild areas and avoid wearing flip-flops or sandals.
The department also recommends hikers check logs or rocks before sitting on them, and shake out sleeping bags before getting in.
Do not grab “sticks” in the water, as rattlesnakes can swim. Do not try to handle or touch a rattlesnake, even if they are dead.
Homeowners can prevent rattlesnakes from residing around their home by taking care of any rodent problems, cutting the grass and keeping doors and garages closed.
According to the Mayo Clinic, a bite from a venomous snake will cause severe burning pain at the bite site within 30 minutes. This can be followed by swelling and bruising at the wound and all the way up the arm or leg. Other signs and symptoms include nausea, labored breathing and a general sense of weakness, as well as an odd taste in the mouth.
If you or a companion are bitten by a rattlesnake, the Mayo Clinic recommends to do the following:
- Call 911 immediately and get to a hospital as quickly as possible.
- Minimize movement to slow the spread of venom through the bloodstream.
- Take off rings, watches, or tight clothing, as the affected limb will likely swell significantly.
- Keep the bite site even with or slightly below the level of the heart.
- For pets, contact a veterinarian immediately; many emergency clinics now stock specialized antivenom for dogs.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife also has a list of things to not do in the event of a snake bite:
- Do not apply ice or heat to the wound.
- Do not use a tourniquet or any constricting bands.
- Do not attempt to “suck out” the venom or cut the bite site.
- Do not consume alcohol or take aspirin.
As for the Howarth family, Jenny told SFGate they are grateful Chris is recovering and they want to use the experience to raise awareness of the dangers of rattlesnakes.
“We just want people to know how serious it can be,” Jenny said.
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