California is built on drama. There is nothing subtle about this place, and there never was. Our landscape is the result of a hundred million years of violent plate tectonics, lava flows, ancient glaciers, and the kind of patience only Mother Earth knows. What burst forth from the combining of these dramatic forces is unlike anyplace else on Earth, rich with the best the planet has to offer: mountains, coastlines, canyons, valleys, plains, deserts, burritos.

We’re home to the largest and oldest trees in the world and the highest and lowest points in the contiguous US (within 80 miles of each other, no less. Drama). Truly, California is the main character.

Today, California is America with the volume turned up. No other state matches our energy, cultural contributions, or natural beauty. We’re home to a global entertainment industry, a global tech industry, and an economy that nearly every country envies, as well as some of the most stunning landscapes not just in the US, but anywhere.

Sure, it’s loud and it’s crowded here, but California, both as a place and as an idea, is simply unrivaled. It’s why so many people want to come to visit and to live.

So, dip us in gold and call us superfans. We love it here, which is why we’re deliriously happy to bring you our first-ever California issue. With this issue, we wanted to delve into some of what’s happening outside our county lines and offer our readers a feeling of connection to a larger community of people who call California home. There’s so much to explore.

In these pages, we’re looking at our state at large (while staying anchored in SD, of course). First, we’re going surfing with women in Santa Barbara who picked up the sport later in life, then, we’re looking at a California crisis: Birth centers are closing due to regulatory red tape, leaving parents-to-be—especially low-income and minority mothers—with few options for where they can give birth.

We’re also climbing to the tops of California’s iconic palm trees and learning about a scientist’s mission to save them from being eaten alive, talking to the new lead singer of a truly quintessential SoCal band, traveling to a town determined to preserve its stargazing, taking a trip to Channel Islands National Park, and stepping inside an improbable opera house in the desert.

Plus, we’ve got a massive, stunning visual smorgasbord of some of California’s most underrated destinations. Get your bucket list out—you’re going to want to make some additions. And I hope you’re hungry, because we’re also hitting the hottest new restaurant in Hillcrest and shouting out some of our favorite food finds this month around SD. This magazine is packed like a California rush-hour freeway.

We had fun putting this together for you, and we hope you enjoy exploring our golden state with us. We’re lucky to call this place home.

Before David Peralta was a big-leaguer, before he won a Silver Slugger in his Age 30 Season in 2018, he was a minor league pitcher working through two shoulder surgeries in the Cardinals system.

He recalls knowing that he was on borrowed time when he was called into an office in Jupiter, Fla.

The reason: He was being released.

The date: May 5, 2009. (“I don’t like Cinco De Mayo,” Peralta said with a laugh.)

The person across from a then 21-year-old Peralta: Mike Shildt.

The Padres’ current manager cut his teeth in baseball in the Cardinals system, was running extended spring training at the time and it was his job to be the messenger when the front office decided to cut Peralta lose.

“It’s a funny story, but I don’t think he likes this story and I don’t like it either,” Peralta said, still chuckling.

“He was more strict and he was doing it right,” Peralta said of what he remembered of Shildt from those extended spring training days with the Cardinals. “When you’re dealing with young kids, I was what 19 years old, 20 years, you want to be strict because you want to educate this young generation to become big leaguers. So he was very strict.”

Because Peralta said he didn’t speak much English at the time, Shildt kept the release meeting short. Peralta went on to play independent ball as a hitter, caught on with the Diamondbacks and made his MLB debut in 2014.

Two weeks after joining the Padres, Peralta relayed the story to Shildt and the two laughed over very different paths from St. Louis to San Diego.

“What I remember about him is, first of all, he’s just a tremendous young man, just a really, really conscientious, hard worker, very dedicated, just everything that you’d want,” Shildt recalled. “You pull for all of them, but you’re pulling like heck for this guy. You saw how hard he worked.”

Fifteen years later, Shildt is still pulling for a 37-year-old Peralta as the two make their way back to St. Louis for a four-game series.

“You know how crazy the world is,” Peralta said, “how crazy baseball is that we’re back together in the big leagues. It’s been fun.”

Notable

• RHP Randy Vásquez will be recalled to start Monday’s game in St. Louis. He’ll replace RHP Lake Bachar, who was optioned after Sunday’s game after serving as bullpen coverage for a single game (Bachar did not pitch). The last remaining player from the Padres’ 2016 draft class, Bachar has a 4.12 ERA over 67⅔ innings this year at Triple-A El Paso. He’s been a reliever since returning from Tommy John surgery in 2022. Bachar briefly replaced RHP Logan Gillaspie, who was optioned to El Paso on Sunday morning after throwing 44 pitches in appearing in two of the previous three games.
• INF Matthew Batten cleared waivers and has been outrighted to El Paso.

A brush fire broke out in Santee on Sunday afternoon, sending smoke into the sky and worrying neighbors.

The fire began burning before 6 p.m. near the 9100 block of Willowgrove Avenue. The flames advanced slowly, though, and crews quickly got a handle on the fire.

Firefighters on the ground called for aid from the air, which arrived quickly and made water drops that quickly made the difference in halting the fire’s progress.

Firefighters will remain on scene mopping up hot spots till it’s safe to leave.

The fire was located in the nearby riverbed, according to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department, and moved away from homes in the area, which is why no evacuations were called for.