| To celebrate the beginning of summer, I finally made it to Mossbrae Falls, one of northern California's most enchanting waterfalls. The falls sit on private land and are accessible by wading across the rushing Sacramento River or trespassing for more than a mile on active train tracks. |
| Folks in and around the city of Dunsmuir have been working unsuccessfully for years to figure out how to build a safe, legal trail to the falls. |
| The current routes have their perils. Tens of thousands of people opt for the train track route each year, but officials worry that the slow-moving freight trains that come through several times a day could kill somebody. Already, two people have been hit in the last few years. Both somehow survived. The river route is even more treacherous: A 66-year-old woman from Irvine died in May after water swept her away while she was trying to cross. |
A common cause on public lands |
| I'm not about to confess to a crime in the Los Angeles Times, so I won't say much about which route I chose. But once I arrived safely home, it occurred to me there was a certain irony that I had made my visit at a time when huge numbers of people across the political spectrum had suddenly found common cause on the issue of protecting public lands. |
| As my colleague Lila Seideman reported over the weekend, Utah Sen. Mike Lee pulled back his proposal to sell public lands out of the domestic policy proposal that the Senate is debating. |
| The measure would have mandated the sale of as much as 1.2 million acres of Bureau of Land Management properties in 11 Western states. It drew fierce opposition not just from environmentalists but also from Republican senators in Western states and from conservatives who hunt and embrace the outdoors,. |
| Among the acreage that could have been threatened, according to activists and local government officials, were areas near Lake Tahoe and Fallen Leaf Lake, as well as prime parcels near Big Sur, June Lake, and Mammoth Lakes. |
| "Completely devastated. Shocked." That is how El Dorado County Supervisor and former South Lake Tahoe City Councilmember Brooke Laine described her reaction to me about the proposal. |
| Laine, who was born and raised in the Tahoe basin, and raised her own children there, noted that more than 80% of the land in the area is publicly owned. Now that the immediate threat is past, she said she wondered whether California officials should do more to protect some of the state's wild and beautiful places to make sure such sales are "never on the table." |
A history of protecting natural wonders |
| California has long been at the forefront of protecting wilderness. Yellowstone was the country's first National Park, created in 1872. Even before that, California had proposed preserving land in what would become Yosemite National Park. (Back then they called it "Yo Semite.") |
| President Lincoln officially transferred the land to California —161 years ago as of Monday — on June 30, 1864. Although Yosemite was eventually deeded back to the federal system, other splendors followed into the state park system, including Point Lobos in Big Sur, Emerald Bay in Lake Tahoe and Big Basin Redwoods near Santa Cruz. |
| Mossbrae Falls, where curtains of mist cascade down mossy green cliffs into a sun-dappled river, is a fair contender in the beauty and wonder sweepstakes. |
| A visit there feels like stepping into a fairyland. But it wasn't until I was making my clandestine way back from the waterfall that I stopped to consider something else: We've all become so accustomed to the government making beautiful places available to us that we almost forgot that one of the greatest marvels of all is how many of these places are public. In a time of stark political divisions, people across the political spectrum agreed this summer that they should stay that way. And that feels like a wonder too. |
Today's top stories |
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| Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass gathers with faith leaders during a prayer vigil in Gloria Molina Grand Park in June to stand in support of community members facing immigration raids. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times) |
The Trump administration sues Mayor Karen Bass and L.A. City Council over its sanctuary policy |
- The lawsuit accuses sanctuary cities such as L.A. of hindering efforts to address a "crisis of illegal immigration."
- U.S. Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi said in a statement that L.A.'s sanctuary policies were directly responsible for days of chaotic — and sporadically violent — protests, which prompted Bass to issue a curfew in downtown L.A.
- Federal agents have descended upon Southern California in the last month, conducting immigration raids and arresting more than 1,600 immigrants.
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The Supreme Court turns down a claim from L.A. landlords over COVID evictions ban |
- Landlords say the ban on evictions took their private property in violation of the Constitution, causing them to lose millions in rent.
- The Supreme Court said Monday that it would not hear an appeal, following its precedent of rejecting claims that rent control laws were unconstitutional.
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California fire season is off to a furious start, and experts say it's just the beginning |
- Weather conditions last weekend weren't ripe for wildfire. Even still, several fires broke out across Riverside and San Bernardino counties, which experts say is an indication of the dry landscape.
- The Wolf fire in Riverside County is the largest with 2,413 acres burned. It is 30% contained as of this morning.
- Slightly falling temperatures in the Inland Empire and the deserts this week could help ease conditions for firefighters, but won't solve the problem with no rain in the forecast.
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What else is going on |
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Commentary and opinions |
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This morning's must reads |
| | | The restaurant industry has operated with a status quo of undocumented workers for decades. Now, owners and managers are grappling with how to protect their most vulnerable colleagues amid the ongoing ICE presence in the region. | | | |
Other must reads |
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| Keep up with California | Your support helps us deliver the news that matters most. Subscribe to the Los Angeles Times. | | | | | |
For your downtime |
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| Koreatown restaurant Jilli, from the team behind Chimmelier, serves modern Korean pub fare — such as chicken nurungji served as a kind of risotto — with a range of soju, makgeolli, yoju, beer and wine. (Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times) |
Going out |
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Staying in |
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And finally ... your photo of the day |
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| Los Angeles County Museum of Art Director Michael Govan leads a media tour on the first preview day for the new David Geffen Galleries building. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times) |
| Today's great photo is from Times photographer Allen J. Schaben at a preview of the new Los Angeles County Museum of Art building. It's slated to open to the public in April 2026. |
Have a great day, from the Essential California team |
| Diamy Wang, homepage intern
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew Campa, Sunday writer
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters |
| How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com. Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on latimes.com. |
