Journal of Alta California Winter 2017

“I like grit, I like love and death, I’m tired of irony. … I would rather give full vent to all human loves and disappointments, and take a chance on being corny, than die a smartass.” — Jim Harrison Much like the early newspaper printers of the Gold Rush, we live in a gilded information age, with countless outlets, voices and stories. Media today has become focused on immediacy, capitalizing on the speed, low cost and openness of the internet. But the Journal of Alta California strives to proceed at a slower pace — allowing our contributors some space, and time, to evaluate and experiment. Many of us have long sought a way to celebrate and explore the point of view of California and the West. Alta’s subject matter will…

During the period 1862-68, Mark Twain penned several letters for publications both from California and to California newspapers, including the original Alta California, the Territorial Enterprise and others. For about two of those years, he lived in California, mostly in San Francisco. Here is a sample of those letters: San Francisco is a city of startling events. Happy is the man whose destiny it is to gather them up and record them in a daily newspaper! —December 23, 1865 Letter to the Territorial Enterprise The multitude of pleasant things by which the people of San Francisco are surrounded are not talked of at all. No — they damn the wind, and they damn the dust, and they give all their attention to damning them well, and to all eternity. —June…

John Markoff After 29 years covering technology for the New York Times, John Markoff is at work on a biography of Stewart Brand, the man who created the Whole Earth Catalog. Alex Chee is the author of the novels “Edinburgh” and “The Queen of the Night.” He is a contributing editor at The New Republic, and an associate professor of English at Dartmouth College. Quinn Cummings is the author of three books and has written for the Wall Street Journal, the Atlantic and Time magazine, among others. She has entirely too many pets and will put salsa on nearly anything. Chris Hardy has been a staff photographer for the Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Examiner and San Francisco Chronicle. His photos have appeared in books and publications including Newsweek and…

After a half-century in California politics and too many wins and losses to count, Gov. Jerry Brown is nearing some kind of retirement. He will be a tough act to follow, but four Democratic politicians and two token Republicans are declared candidates, and there are a couple of other possibilities, making for a potentially crowded race. The size of the field is important because the more candidates there are, the fewer primary election votes it takes to advance to a November runoff in California’s “top-two” system. The prospects for an all-Democrat runoff are very high, given the lack of a viable Republican. As they strive for the finals, however, Democrats must cope with both the leftward drift of their party, driven by loathing for Donald Trump, and the ironic fact…

LT. GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM Odds: 3-2 Broke from the gate early with a hefty bankroll. Almost certain to make the runoff, but his embrace of Berniecrat causes could alienate moderate voters. TOM STEYER Odds: 8-1 The billionaire environmentalist seems to yearn for political office but hasn’t entered the race, even after investing a lot of face time, as well as money, in building his image. ANTONIO VILLARAIGOSA Odds: 3-1 Running a bit to Newsom’s right. Strong Latino support pushed him up in recent polls, but ho-hum record as Los Angeles mayor and squabbling with powerful unions could slow him down. ERIC GARCETTI Odds: 10-1 Los Angeles’ current mayor is another potential entrant but is unlikely to run for governor and, in some circles, is seen as a potential Democratic presidential…

I’ve told the story so many times while standing in front of orange trees and lemon trees and kumquat trees and persimmon trees in backyards and groves throughout Los Angeles County that it has started to sound apocryphal even to me. Now, on a mid-summer Saturday, I am telling it to a group ranging in age from maybe 6 to 65 at the meticulously maintained orange grove owned by the Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens in prosperous, picturesque San Marino. It is not yet 9 a.m. But the heat is already so brazen that steam is rising off a wide compost pile. Every person listening to me, volunteers all, appears eager to get to work anyway. The truncated version goes like this: In 2009, a man named Rick…