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| California Today: L.A. College Teams Up With a Former Student, Barack Obama | California Today: L.A. College Teams Up With a Former Student, Barack Obama |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Good morning. | Good morning. |
| (Want to get California Today by email? Here’s the sign-up.) | (Want to get California Today by email? Here’s the sign-up.) |
| Today’s introduction comes from our Los Angeles bureau chief, Adam Nagourney. | Today’s introduction comes from our Los Angeles bureau chief, Adam Nagourney. |
| It has long been one of the lesser-known facts about the life of Barack Obama. For all the talk about the former president and his Ivy alma maters — Columbia University and Harvard Law School — he actually spent the first two years of his higher education life, from 1979 to 1981, attending Occidental College in Los Angeles. | |
| For Occidental, or Oxy as it is known, Mr. Obama has long been its little-known claim to fame. That may be about to change for this 2,000-student private liberal arts college founded in 1887. | For Occidental, or Oxy as it is known, Mr. Obama has long been its little-known claim to fame. That may be about to change for this 2,000-student private liberal arts college founded in 1887. |
| Occidental is announcing on Wednesday the creation of the Barack Obama Scholars Program, a $40 million endowment intended to cover the $70,000 annual tab of tuition and board for 20 students a year. It will be aimed at providing four-year scholarships to veterans, community college transfers and those who are the first in their family to go to college. | Occidental is announcing on Wednesday the creation of the Barack Obama Scholars Program, a $40 million endowment intended to cover the $70,000 annual tab of tuition and board for 20 students a year. It will be aimed at providing four-year scholarships to veterans, community college transfers and those who are the first in their family to go to college. |
| “My years at Occidental College sparked my interest in social and political causes, and filled me with the idea that my voice could make a difference,” Mr. Obama said in a statement. He said he hoped this program would “train the next generation of leaders and active citizens, and fill them with the conviction that they too can change the world.” | “My years at Occidental College sparked my interest in social and political causes, and filled me with the idea that my voice could make a difference,” Mr. Obama said in a statement. He said he hoped this program would “train the next generation of leaders and active citizens, and fill them with the conviction that they too can change the world.” |
| The program has raised $7 million, enough to fund two scholarship, starting next fall. The goal is to create a big enough endowment to fund not only scholarships but post-graduation fellowships for students who head into low-paying fields. | The program has raised $7 million, enough to fund two scholarship, starting next fall. The goal is to create a big enough endowment to fund not only scholarships but post-graduation fellowships for students who head into low-paying fields. |
| Mr. Obama, who has been doing quite well financially since leaving the White House, has not yet written a check, but the president of Occidental, Jonathan Veitch, said the former president was high on his list of asks. | Mr. Obama, who has been doing quite well financially since leaving the White House, has not yet written a check, but the president of Occidental, Jonathan Veitch, said the former president was high on his list of asks. |
| “I am going all over the world asking people for money,” he said. “Why wouldn’t I ask him?” | “I am going all over the world asking people for money,” he said. “Why wouldn’t I ask him?” |
| “There are not many liberal arts colleges that educate a president,” Mr. Veitch said. “We are very proud of the fact and very proud of him. We thought this would be a great way to honor him and have our students emulate the values he represents.” | “There are not many liberal arts colleges that educate a president,” Mr. Veitch said. “We are very proud of the fact and very proud of him. We thought this would be a great way to honor him and have our students emulate the values he represents.” |
| (Please note: We regularly highlight articles on news sites that have limited access for nonsubscribers.) | (Please note: We regularly highlight articles on news sites that have limited access for nonsubscribers.) |
| • President Trump may set climate policy in Washington, but the nation’s most powerful environmental regulator is in California. [The New York Times] | • President Trump may set climate policy in Washington, but the nation’s most powerful environmental regulator is in California. [The New York Times] |
| • “Entitled drivers are getting in the way of California’s climate change efforts.” [Opinion | Los Angeles Times] | • “Entitled drivers are getting in the way of California’s climate change efforts.” [Opinion | Los Angeles Times] |
| • “The California G.O.P.’s last gasp” — a Democratic push to retake the House aims to wipe out some of the last vestiges of Republican power in the state. [CNN] | • “The California G.O.P.’s last gasp” — a Democratic push to retake the House aims to wipe out some of the last vestiges of Republican power in the state. [CNN] |
| • San Diego is battling its biggest hepatitis A outbreak in decades and critics say it could have been prevented. [San Diego Union-Tribune] | • San Diego is battling its biggest hepatitis A outbreak in decades and critics say it could have been prevented. [San Diego Union-Tribune] |
| • Insects and fungus are killing Los Angeles’s palm trees and the die-off is altering the city’s storied skyline. [Los Angeles Times] | • Insects and fungus are killing Los Angeles’s palm trees and the die-off is altering the city’s storied skyline. [Los Angeles Times] |
| • A Ralphs grocery store told evacuees of a fire in the Santa Ana Mountains, “If you’re hungry, take anything you’d like.” [Orange County Register] | • A Ralphs grocery store told evacuees of a fire in the Santa Ana Mountains, “If you’re hungry, take anything you’d like.” [Orange County Register] |
| • When can you buy legal weed in California? Don’t hold your breath. [GreenState] | • When can you buy legal weed in California? Don’t hold your breath. [GreenState] |
| • ”It’s very rare to see mushrooms in this quantity.” The authorities seized nearly 700 pounds of psilocybin mushrooms from a house in Berkeley. [SFGate.com] | • ”It’s very rare to see mushrooms in this quantity.” The authorities seized nearly 700 pounds of psilocybin mushrooms from a house in Berkeley. [SFGate.com] |
| • Tony Bland, an assistant men’s basketball coach at U.S.C., was among 10 people charged in a major bribery investigation. [The New York Times] | • Tony Bland, an assistant men’s basketball coach at U.S.C., was among 10 people charged in a major bribery investigation. [The New York Times] |
| • The authorities arrested at least three people — including the left-wing activist Yvette Felarca — during a rally by a politically conservative group at U.C. Berkeley. [Berkeleyside] | • The authorities arrested at least three people — including the left-wing activist Yvette Felarca — during a rally by a politically conservative group at U.C. Berkeley. [Berkeleyside] |
| • The San Francisco Bay Area economy grew at nearly triple the national rate in 2016. [SFGate.com] | • The San Francisco Bay Area economy grew at nearly triple the national rate in 2016. [SFGate.com] |
| • The editorial head of a socialist website complained that Google is censoring the internet by curbing search traffic to his publication. [The New York Times] | • The editorial head of a socialist website complained that Google is censoring the internet by curbing search traffic to his publication. [The New York Times] |
| • “It is easily Hollywood’s hottest start-up.” Dreamscape Immersive is using virtual reality to transport people into cinematic storytelling. [The New York Times] | • “It is easily Hollywood’s hottest start-up.” Dreamscape Immersive is using virtual reality to transport people into cinematic storytelling. [The New York Times] |
| • Photos: An inside look at the battle over gentrification in Los Angeles’s Boyle Heights. [LA Weekly] | • Photos: An inside look at the battle over gentrification in Los Angeles’s Boyle Heights. [LA Weekly] |
| • What $7,000 rents you in San Francisco right now. [Curbed San Francisco] | • What $7,000 rents you in San Francisco right now. [Curbed San Francisco] |
| Mastodons, rhinoceroses and saber-toothed cats once roamed Southern California. | Mastodons, rhinoceroses and saber-toothed cats once roamed Southern California. |
| We know because of the bones and footprints they left behind in places like Rainbow Basin, in the Calico Mountains just north of Barstow. | We know because of the bones and footprints they left behind in places like Rainbow Basin, in the Calico Mountains just north of Barstow. |
| Administered by the Bureau of Land Management, the area owes its name to the pink, green, orange and brown sediments that form the basin’s walls. | Administered by the Bureau of Land Management, the area owes its name to the pink, green, orange and brown sediments that form the basin’s walls. |
| Over eons, tectonic forces and erosion have lifted the rock and exposed zigzagging strata, made colorful by differing stages of iron oxidation. | Over eons, tectonic forces and erosion have lifted the rock and exposed zigzagging strata, made colorful by differing stages of iron oxidation. |
| It’s a mecca for geologists. | It’s a mecca for geologists. |
| “It’s quite spectacular,” said Robert Hilburn, a Barstow paleontologist. “People come from all over the United States and sometimes all over the world.” | “It’s quite spectacular,” said Robert Hilburn, a Barstow paleontologist. “People come from all over the United States and sometimes all over the world.” |
| Rainbow Basin was once a lush marshland populated by a unique array of prehistoric animals whose fossils remain scattered across what is now a parched desert. | Rainbow Basin was once a lush marshland populated by a unique array of prehistoric animals whose fossils remain scattered across what is now a parched desert. |
| “Everything that you have on the African savanna today, they had here — except one,” said Mr. Hilburn, who is also vice president of the Mojave River Valley Museum. | “Everything that you have on the African savanna today, they had here — except one,” said Mr. Hilburn, who is also vice president of the Mojave River Valley Museum. |
| Which one? “No man,” he said. | Which one? “No man,” he said. |
| Rainbow Basin is accessible to visitors at the end of a long dirt road. You can walk miles of trails or stay at nearby campsite. | Rainbow Basin is accessible to visitors at the end of a long dirt road. You can walk miles of trails or stay at nearby campsite. |
| Frank Foster, a photographer based in Victor Valley, shared some images he captured this year at Rainbow Basin: | Frank Foster, a photographer based in Victor Valley, shared some images he captured this year at Rainbow Basin: |
| California Today goes live at 6 a.m. Pacific time weekdays. Tell us what you want to see: CAtoday@nytimes.com. | California Today goes live at 6 a.m. Pacific time weekdays. Tell us what you want to see: CAtoday@nytimes.com. |
| The California Today columnist, Mike McPhate, is a third-generation Californian — born outside Sacramento and raised in San Juan Capistrano. He lives in Los Osos. Follow him on Twitter. | The California Today columnist, Mike McPhate, is a third-generation Californian — born outside Sacramento and raised in San Juan Capistrano. He lives in Los Osos. Follow him on Twitter. |
| California Today is edited by Julie Bloom, who grew up in Los Angeles and graduated from U.C. Berkeley. | California Today is edited by Julie Bloom, who grew up in Los Angeles and graduated from U.C. Berkeley. |