The state of policing in the IE: Killing teenagers, mismanaging jails and torturing innocent people

• May 30, 2024

Policing in the Inland Empire has been generating a lot of headlines for all the wrong reasons in recent months.

In April, after 18 months of stonewalling, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department finally released footage of the 2022 killing of 15-year-old Savannah Graziano. Graziano was gunned down as she followed orders from a deputy to approach him in broad daylight.

Thanks to the work of independent journalist Joey Scott and the First Amendment Coalition, we know now that Sheriff Shannon Dicus was plainly wrong when he said at the time of the killing, “Evidence suggests that Savannah Graziano was a participant in shooting at our deputies.”

Riverside County, meanwhile, made national news a couple of weeks back following  a New York Times investigation into the 2020 killing of Christopher Zumwalt in the county’s jail system.

“Video from inside a Southern California jail shows a violent confrontation in October 2020 in which 10 sheriff’s deputies burst into the cell of a man who was having delusions and resisting medical care, restrained him and repeatedly shocked him, leading to his death days later,” the Times reported.

The resulting lawsuit resulted in a $7.5 million settlement agreed to this past December by the county.

Sheriff Chad Bianco defended those responsible. It’s no wonder his sheriff’s department continues to accrue lawsuits related to jail deaths.

Most recent is the reporting by the Southern California News Group’s Tony Saavedra on the Fontana police department’s bizarre psychological torture of Thomas Perez Jr., who was forced into giving a false confession that he had killed his father. His father was in fact alive.

A U.S. district judge had ruled that “a reasonable juror could conclude that the detectives inflicted unconstitutional psychological torture on Perez,” who received a $900,000 settlement.

In a just society, those responsible for these gross injustices would be held directly liable for what they have done. Abusive officers would be fired with no great difficulty. And stories like those here would be a rarity, not a norm.

Alas, we are far from that. The pressure must be kept on law enforcement to improve. We will all lose if they don’t.

​ Orange County Register 

Southern California home prices hit record $760,000 with sales at 19-month high

• May 30, 2024

Southern California home prices hit a new high in April as homebuying ran at its fastest pace in 19 months.

The record $760,000 median selling price for the region comprising Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego and Ventura counties was up 2% from March and up 7% in a year, says a report by CoreLogic released Thursday, May 30.

The six-county region’s completed sales of 16,751 residences – existing and new houses, townhomes and condos – was a gain of 8% for the month and an 11% increase in a year. The sales tally was the highest since September 2022.

Yet this is no buying boom, historically speaking. Despite the jump in purchases, it was still the fifth-slowest selling April in data stretching back to 1988. And it’s 27% below the average April sales over the past 37 years.

Southern California homebuying has stagnated during the past two years as affordability challenges ballooned amid rising prices and costlier mortgage rates.

Remember, the Federal Reserve began raising the interest rates the central bank controls in March 2022. That month, the average 30-year mortgage rates was 3.76%. This April, the rate was 6.99%.

As a result, only 15% of Southern Californians had the financial muscle to pull off a home purchase in early 2024, according to California Association of Realtors estimates. Two years earlier, as the Fed was starting to act, local affordability was 24%.

Consider that a typical Southern California house hunter buying April’s median-priced home at current mortgages rates would have a $4,041 monthly loan payment, assuming a 20% down payment. Not only is that the third-highest payment on record, it’s up 26% in two years.

Home prices have remained stubbornly high because the relatively small group of qualified house hunters are bidding up prices from a thin supply of listings. Southern California had 2.6 months worth of homes for sale in April, according to Realtors’ supply data. That’s up from 2.5 months a year earlier but well below the 3.7-month average in pre-pandemic 2018-19.

By the slice

Think about where the biggest sales gains were within three Southern California homebuying niches.

Sales of newly constructed homes were up 18% in a year to 1,240. Builders’ median sales price was $645,500 – the cheapest of these three slices and down 8% in a year. That pricing helped builder’s share of the market grow to 7.4% of all Southern California sales versus 7% a year earlier.

Sales of another relative bargain – existing condos – were up 14% to 3,562. April’s median was $685,000, up 9% in a year.

And there was a 9% gain for the priciest slice – existing houses with 10,736 sold. April’s $840,000 median was up 11% in a year.

Counting counties

Prices in five of the six local counties reached all-time highs in April. All had price and sales gains for the month and the year. Here’s how they fared …

Orange: Record $1.2 million median was up 4% in a month and up 22% in a year. Sales of 2,282 were up 7% in a month and up 12% in a year. It was fifth-slowest April in the past 37 years. The typical buyer paying the median price gets an estimated $6,375 house payment, up 42% in two years.

San Diego: Record $880,000 median was up 2% in month, 9% in year. Sales of 2,667 – up 9% in a month, up 7% in a year. No. 4 slowest April. $4,679 payment, up 33% in two years.

Los Angeles: Record $865,000 median was up 3% in month, 8% in a year. Sales of 5,331 – up 9% in month, up 15% in year. No. 3 slowest April. $4,599 payment, up 25% in two years.

Ventura: Record $835,000 median was up 1% in month, 8% in year. Sales of 632 – up 20% in month, 7% in year. No. 2 slowest April. $4,440 payment, up 29% in two years.

Riverside: Record $585,000 median was up 2% in month, 7% in a year. Sales of 3,476 – up 6% in month, 14% in year. No. 17 slowest April. $3,110 payment, up 27% in two years.

San Bernardino: $489,000 median was up 0.4% in month, up 8% in year. Sales of 2,363 – up 6% in month, 6% in year. No. 10 slowest April. $2,600 payment, up 23% in two years.

Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at [email protected]

California concerns

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​ Orange County Register 

Pitchers have adjusted to Dodgers’ Andy Pages, so it’s his turn to counter

• May 30, 2024

NEW YORK — It was a sweet sixteen party for Andy Pages.

Promoted from Triple-A in mid-April, the Cuban-born outfielder was 22 for 65 (.339) with five doubles, four home runs, 12 RBIs and 14 runs scored in his first 16 major-league games. It was just the spark the Dodgers hoped would bring light to the darkness in the bottom half of their lineup.

Since then, though, Pages has been reminded that it’s just not that easy.

In his past 22 games through Wednesday, Pages has gone 12 for 80 (.150) with 31 strikeouts and only three extra-base hits (two doubles and one home run on a hanging slider from Cincinnati Reds right-hander Hunter Greene).

The more big-league pitchers have gotten to know Pages, the less successful he has been. But the 23-year-old says it’s not them, it’s him.

“I think they have been pitching me differently,” he said through an interpreter. “But I think it’s more that they see where I’m not making adjustments, where I’m making mistakes. They’re attacking those areas. But I think it’s more me not making the adjustments than what they’re doing to me.”

Opposing pitchers have been “pitching me in zones that I usually do pretty well in,” Pages said, identifying those as “middle-in, middle-down.”

“Those are pitches that are usually in my wheelhouse. But I’m missing those pitches and when they’re making mistakes in those zones. I should be able to hit those mistakes and I’m not right now.”

Mostly, though, pitchers have led Pages outside the most important zone – the strike zone. Pages’ chase rate has increased the longer he has been in the Dodgers’ lineup to the point that he is now swinging at almost 40% of the pitches he sees outside of the strike zone. (The major-league average is 28%.)

“I see him crowded more, a little bit more crowded,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of pitchers attacking Pages inside more often now. “I think they’re throwing him a lot more balls than strikes, which kind of speaks to his chase rate. There’s only one Vladimir Guerrero (Sr.) that I know – and I don’t think Andy even knows who that is – that could really cover balls outside the zone that well. At some point, you’ve got to cover the strike zone.”

James Outman was unable to make enough adjustments in his sophomore season and wound up back in Triple-A, opening a spot for Pages. Now it’s Pages’ turn to play the cat-and-mouse game with big-league pitchers.

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“I think a little bit of it is just, throughout the baseball season, the ebbs and flows of it,” Pages said. “But I think a lot of it has to do with me not hitting the pitches I should be hitting which I’m not.

“I’ve been fouling off those balls because I’ve been getting under those pitches in that lower zone. So I’ve been trying to get my hands above those balls so that I’m not fouling them off.”

Roberts praised Pages for his composure, regardless of how things are going, and said he doesn’t see the rookie “pressing.”

“He’s in a slide,” Roberts said. “There’s more chase. He’s missing some pitches he should hit.  But I just believe in the (level) head. I really do. With a young player it’s hard to imagine things … linear and seamless. It hasn’t been that way. But he hasn’t given up on the defensive side. And I just think there’s more in there. So we’ll keep running him out there.”

For what it’s worth, Outman has gone 7 for 25 (.280) in his first eight games back in Triple-A with a double and a home run.

​ Orange County Register 

More eateries are coming to Ontario International Airport

• May 30, 2024

Ontario International Airport is in the midst of what it calls an aggressive rollout of food and beverage concessions in its two terminals.

The latest eatery to open is Mi Casa Cantina in Terminal 4. It’s a quick service restaurant that sports a Day of the Dead look and serves tacos, burritos, nachos and bowls in the $17-$20 range.

It is part of the airport’s year-old partnership with SSP America, which operates restaurants, bars and lounges in airports, train stations and other travel hubs.

Two other SSP concepts will reopen after renovation in June, according to representatives. Urban Crave, which serves burgers, hot dogs and breakfast burritos, is also in Terminal 4. A gastropub called Tap-n-Pour is in Terminal 2.

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The airport partnered with SSP America in 2023 after its contract with hospitality company Delaware North came to an end.

The Airport is at about 20% vacancies for its concession spaces, according to representatives.

Information: flyontario.com

​ Orange County Register 

Take a ride through Tiana’s Bayou Adventure coming to Disneyland

• May 30, 2024

Riders on Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will drop into a Mardi Gras party with Louis the alligator conducting a jazz band of audio-animatronic bayou critters when the transformation of the former Splash Mountain ride is complete later this year at Disneyland.

Walt Disney Imagineering offered a never-before-seen look at the on-ride experience inside Tiana’s Bayou Adventure during the latest episode of “We Call It Imagineering” on YouTube.

ALSO SEE: Will Disneyland use a virtual queue when Tiana’s Bayou Adventure opens?

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure opens on June 28 at Florida’s Magic Kingdom and in late 2024 at Disneyland in the former Splash Mountain attractions at both parks.

The latest episode of “We Call It Imagineering” focuses on the new attractions’s musical score by Grammy-winning musician PJ Morton who joined a group of Imagineers for a ride on Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. (Note: The Tiana’s Bayou Adventure segment of the show begins at the 16:15 minute mark of the video.)

Morton’s new song “Special Spice” with vocals by Princess Tiana voice actress Anika Noni Rose is prominently featured in the new attraction.

ALSO SEE: Disneyland to pump beignet smells into Tiana’s Bayou Adventure

The twin Tiana’s Bayou Adventure rides will tell an extension of the “Princess and the Frog” story that picks up after the final kiss between Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen. The new backstory for Splash Mountain will follow Tiana and Louis the trumpet-playing alligator as they prepare for their first Mardi Gras performance.

The ride’s backstory finds Tiana in need of a band for her bayou party and in search of a missing ingredient as she prepares to host a one-of-a-kind Mardi Gras celebration. As you might expect, that missing ingredient is you — the “Special Spice” she’s been looking for.

Concept art of the “Princess and the Frog” makeover of Splash Mountain, scheduled to open at Disneyland in 2024. (Courtesy of Disney)

ALSO SEE: Meet the 19 bayou critters moving into Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at Disneyland

A radio program playing in the queue of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will feature jazz versions of “Down in New Orleans” and “Ma Belle Evangeline” from the 2009 “Princess and the Frog” animated film. Throughout the broadcast, the radio host announces Tiana is looking for musicians to play at her Mardi Gras party tonight.

Riders will spot an audio-animatronic version of Tiana for the first time on the lift hill of the log flume ride. The Disney princess — dressed in adventure gear for our journey through the bayou — will appear to smile at riders as they pass by.

Concept art of a Mama Odie scene coming to Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at Disneyland and Walt Disney World. (Courtesy of Disney)

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The former Splash Mountain drop into the Briar Patch has been transformed with yellow and purple lighting to evoke a Mardi Gras vibe.

The finale scene will feature Tiana hosting a party at her Fleur du Bayou mansion with Louis the alligator conducting a jazz band of audio-animatronic bayou critters accompanied by Prince Naveen on ukulele and Prince Ralphie on drums.

A Mama Odie animatronic reminds riders the party wouldn’t be complete without you while “Special Spice” plays in the background.

​ Orange County Register 

More tiresome bills out of Sacramento

• May 30, 2024

Instead of working to close a remaining $27 billion budget gap for 2024-25, the Legislature is churning out more unneeded bills. Here are questionable bills passed that have passed their house of origin and await committee assignment in the other house.

Senate Bill 1047 is by state Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco. The title of the bill is needlessly complex. It’s called the Safe and Secure Innovation for Frontier Artificial Intelligence Models Act.

It would create a new state bureaucracy, the Department of Technology Within the Government Operations Agency. The Senate floor summary explains the bill will require developers to train AI models to “put appropriate safeguards and policies into place to prevent critical harms.”

Chamber of Progress, a tech company group, warns SB 1047 would force developers to “engage in speculative fiction about imagined threats of machines run amok,” like Skynet in the “Terminator” movies.

“SB 1047 forces developers operating in the real world to proactively mitigate against every conceivable harm — and many inconceivable ones — not just by the model itself, but subsequent third parties who make use of the model,” the Chamber of Progress explains.

While we understand the impulse to regulate what appears to be a potentially disruptive technology, we fear the overreach of short-sighted government officials will itself do more harm than good. AI should be approached thoughtfully and with restraint.

Creating bureaucracies based on hysteria is, on its face, a bad idea.

Assembly Bill 2236 is by Asm. Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, D-San Ramon. It would eliminate plastic bags in grocery stores by 2026, leaving shoppers with only paper bags or cloth bags brought from home. The author said the bill is needed to fight water pollution from plastics and, as the bags are made from petroleum, “Plastics are the next front in our fight against big oil.”

The American Recyclable Plastic Bag Alliance says AB 2236 would eliminate “the thick, recyclable plastic bags currently mandated” by state law and “significantly raise costs for working families” by forcing many to switch to more expensive bags, which often still entail the use of plastic.

Rather than continue to police plastic bags, the state should focus on more substantive problems.

Senate Bill 961 is also by Sen. Wiener. Starting in 2029, it would mandate, for 50% of all new cars, installing a “passive intelligent speed assistance system” in all new cars sold in the state. It would produce an annoying Big Brother beep if a car drove 10 mph or more above the posted speed limit. The systems would use GPS signals to spy on a car’s location, violating privacy rights. People could just buy non-beeping cars in other states, so the point of the bill isn’t clear beyond making it marginally more annoying to purchase and drive a car in California.

Assembly Bill 2226 is by Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi, D-Los Angeles. It would make kindergarten mandatory beginning in 2026. The Assembly Appropriations Committee pegs the cost as “unknown,” but potentially $100 million a year.

The state ought to improve low test scores in the current educational system before adding new educational mandates. Newsom vetoed a similar bill in 2022 because of the cost. He should do so again if it passes.

We recommend all these bills be rejected. If they pass, the governor should veto them.

​ Orange County Register 

15 fun free things to do in Southern California in June

• May 30, 2024

Why sit home staring at a screen when the world is full of free things to do?  Here’s a list of some good local ones for June 2024.

Conejo Valley Pop-Up Arts Festival, Thousand Oaks (June 1, 7, 8, 14, 15, 21, 22, 28, 29) : Enjoy 10 free arts and music events throughout the month on Fridays and Saturdays at different locations. Most start at 7 p.m. bapacthousandoaks.com/show-details/pop-up-arts-music-festival-2024

Discovery Days at Centennial Farm, Costa Mesa (Monday, June 3, 9 a.m. to noon): Fun things to do at this 3-acre demonstration farm, which is also open most days. On Discovery Days, volunteers are available for self-guided tours, kids can plant radishes, learn about baby chicks, see an oxen demonstration and view livestock. Reservations required for 10 or more people. Free parking. 88 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa  ocfair.com/centennialfarm 

The Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach has free admission on Sundays. (Photo by David Allen, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

Museum of Latin American Art (MoLAA), Long Beach (June 2, 9, 16, 23, 30: ): The museum is free every Sunday and always has interesting exhibits. Free docent-led tours are offered at 2 p.m. Sundays. Free advance tickets are recommended and can be booked online. Parking is free. 628 Alamitos Ave., Long Beach. molaa.org/visit

Mark Maggiori’s “Hold On to What Is Good” is part of the “Masters of the American West” annual exhibit and sale presented by the Autry Museum of the American West. This year the exhibit is online and opens on Feb. 27. (Photo courtesy of the Autry Museum of the American West)

Autry Museum of the American West, Los Angeles (June 4, 5, 11, 12, 18, 19, 25, 26):  The Autry is free every Tuesday and Wednesday from 1 to 4 p.m. but reservations are required and limited.. Parking is free, too. Learn about Native American and cowboy ways of life, using historical artifacts such as stagecoaches, serapes, beaded clothing, firearms, photos and more. 4700 Western Heritage Way, Los Angeles. theautry.org

Visitors are back enjoying the Norton Simon Museum on May 27, 2021. Three guests view ‘Woman with a Book’ by Pablo Picasso. (Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

Norton Simon Free First Fridays. Pasadena (June 7):. If you’ve never been to this marvelous art museum, you should go. It’s free monthly on the first Friday from 4 to 7 p.m. There’s a lot to see so I’d get there early. It showcases the immense collection of the late billionaire Norton Simon, including masterpieces of painting and sculpture by artists such as Picasso, Renoir, Raphael, Van Gogh and more. Free parking. 411 W. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena nortonsimon.org

Zimmerman Automobile Driving Museum, El Segundo (June 8): “Net Cruze Cars and Coffee.” Free admission. 9 a.m. to noon. The museum features original and custom cars from the 1930s to the 1950s. Coffee, pastries, food truck and raffle. Open to all. 610 Lairport St., El Segundo. automobiledrivingmuseum.org

Tide pool educator, Virginia Gregurek of the Laguna Ocean Foundation, shows off some kelp that washed ashore at Treasure Island Beach in Laguna Beach on Wednesday, April 24, 2019. Gregurek and other educators talk with beachgoers about the the sea life in and around the tide pools of the area.(Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

KelpFest 2024 Laguna Beach (June 8): Enjoy this festival on Main Beach hosted by Laguna Ocean Foundation and partners from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Music, activities, informational booths and more to celebrate World Oceans Day Note there’s also a guided tidepool walk at 9 a.m. starting at the Rivian South Coast Theater. lagunaoceanfoundation.org

An attendee walks past a K-rail mural during the art walk located in the Arts Colony in downtown Pomona on Saturday, Feb. 13, 2021. The art walk takes place on the second Saturday of every month. (Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Second Saturday ArtWalk, Pomona (June 8): This monthly event in the Pomona Arts Colony brings crowds to the streets as art studios, galleries, shops and more stay open late. 6-10 p.m. 119 W. 2nd St, Pomona. downtownpomona.org/events

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art is free for all on the second Tuesday of the month and free to L.A. County residents every day after 3 p.m.. (Photo by Ed Crisostomo, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Los Angeles (June 11): The museum is free to all on the second Tuesday of the month, but also free for L.A. County residents every day after 3 p.m. The largest art museum complex on the West Coast, this collection includes everything from David Hockney paintings to ancient artifacts to free arts workshops. (Note that part of the museum is currently under construction.) Children 17 and under who live in L.A. County can sign up for the NexGen program, where they can get in free any day and bring one person with them. Bank of America cardholders get in free the first full weekend of every month. (Only the cardholder.) Paid parking is nearby, beware of street parking in the afternoon — you could be towed. 5905 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles lacma.org/tickets

The Zimmerman Automobile Driving Museum in El Segundo will have a free event featuring classic and custom cars on March 23. (Photo by Gil Castro-Petres, Contributing Photographer)

OC Parks Sunset Cinema at Craig Regional Park, Fullerton (June 7, 14): Activities begin at 6 p.m. movies start at sunset. Bring your chair and blanket. “Wonka” (2023) screens on June 7 and “The Little Rascals” (1994) is the feature on June 14. 3300 N. State College Blvd., Fullerton ocparks.com

Movie Night at the California Citrus State Park, Riverside (June 19): “Wonka” starts at sunset (8 p.m.) Bring your blankets and chairs. 3400 Dufferin Ave., Riverside. Get free tickets on EventBrite. citrusparkweddingandevents.com/end-of-summer-movie-night

Concerts at Craig Regional Park, Fullerton (June 20, 27). Live music under the stars on Thursday evenings. All ages. Bring a blanket and chair. Food trucks available. Sponsored by OC Parks. 6-8 p.m. Sweet and Tender Hooligans play June 20; Mariachi Divas perform June 27. 3300 N. State College Blvd., Fullerton ocparks.com

OC Parks Sunset Cinema at Carbon Canyon. Brea (June 21, 28): Movies start at sunset, preceded by other activities. “Migration” (2023) in on the bill for June 21. “Men in Black” (1997) screens June 28. 4442 Carbon Canyon Road, Brea ocparks.com

Venice SummerFest 2024 (June 22): Live music, classic cars, food trucks, art booths, yoga and more on Venice Boulevard in Mar Vista. Venice Boulevard will be closed between Centinela Avenue and Inglewood Boulevard for this free event. 12257 Venice Blvd., Los Angeles. Noon to 8 p.m. thevenicefest.com

Long Beach Municipal Band concerts (June 25-28): “Music to My Ears” theme. 6:30 p.m. start time. June 25 at Whaley Park (5620 E. Atherton St.), June 26 at Los Cerritos Park (3750 Del Mar Ave.), June 27 at Recreation Park (4900 E. 7th St.) and June 28  El Dorado Park West (2800 N. Studebaker Road). longbeach.gov/park/recreation-programs/programs-and-classes/municipal-band/

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​ Orange County Register 

Julia Hannafin struggled with novel ‘Cascade.’ Then the great white sharks came.

• May 30, 2024

Julia Hannafin didn’t initially set out to write a novel. 

When the Berkeley native began work on “Cascade,” out now from new independent press Great Place Books, it was envisioned as a short story. But after one page grew to 30, a friend suggested making the project longer. 

SEE ALSO: Sign up for our free Book Pages newsletter about bestsellers, authors and more

Hannafin, who uses they/she pronouns, was up for the challenge. They had previously worked as a staff writer on “The L Word: Generation Q,” the Showtime series that aired from 2019 to 2023, and as an assistant to screenwriter Eric Roth while he was writing the script for Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune.” 

Their debut novel follows Lydia, a woman who has recently lost her mother to a drug overdose. Reeling and unmoored, she takes a job tagging sharks off the Farallon Islands off the coast of San Francisco, and nurses an infatuation for her boss, Michael — the father of her ex-boyfriend Julian.

Hannafin answered questions about “Cascade” via Zoom from their home in Los Angeles. This interview has been condensed and edited for length and clarity.

Q: In the book’s acknowledgments, you write that Lydia has been with you for a while. How did she arrive to you?

I feel like all my writing starts with some sort of voice in a moment. I was writing about someone who was having this summer in the Bay before departing to these islands, looking at a researcher, starting to crash and fantasize over them. And as I kept writing that voice and this sort of wanting, I feel like she started to show up, and I learned what details that maybe started as closer to my own life weren’t actually hers. I think I’ve found her over time.

I started writing the book at the end of 2019. I thought it was a short story, so it was very brief. It was one page, then it was 30 pages. And the more I kept writing, the more she kept growing. My editors in particular really helped me make some choices about [making clear] who this person is, as opposed to what I am tempted to do often, which is stay in a sort of mysteriousness.

Q: You grew up in Berkeley, which is near the Farallons, right?

The Farallons are about 30 miles from San Francisco, so if you’re in the Berkeley Hills, up high, and it’s super clear, you can see them. They look like a series of triangles behind the Golden Gate Bridge on the horizon. I knew about them just from that. Then when I started to write about a researcher and had this sort of young person’s voice in my head, I talked to a cousin about it who’s a marine biologist, and she said, “I think you have your setting really close. I think you should set it on the Farallons. So it sent me on a research journey to learn way more about them than I ever knew.

I did ultimately go there on a whale-watching boat with my girlfriend. I was about to turn in a revision to my editors, and I hadn’t been there. All of what I knew about the islands was from reading and watching YouTube videos, and I had this fear all of a sudden: “What if I turn it in and there’s something essential that I get wrong?” There’s a whale-watching boat that you can go on. You don’t get to step onto the islands; the land itself is protected and restricted just to researchers, but you get pretty close within 20, 30 feet or so. And it didn’t break my image. It felt like I had been there before in my mind in some strange way.

Q: What kind of research did you do into shark tagging?

In the first draft of the book, they were researching seals, but I made a mistake. Seals are tagged on land, but I had them tagging seals on a boat, and I really wanted them to be on the water. So I thought, “How can I maintain this thing that I like about what I’ve written?” And the answer was sharks, which ended up being scarier and more dramatic and more thematic. I didn’t know anything about it, but there was an ecologist and biologist, Adam Rosenblatt, who helped me a lot in fleshing out what that looks like. He’s a scientist at the University of Northern Florida working with alligators, but he had been on some great white shark tagging expeditions. So I got to call him and ask him basic questions, and he really pointed me in some great directions. But the perspective that I have as a beginner, newcomer, outsider is actually really helpful, because Lydia only learns as much as she learns when she’s there. And so I felt in some ways very aligned with her perspective.

Q: How did you go about capturing the feelings of somebody who’s so beset by grief, and has this complex relationship that is obviously upended when her mom dies? Was it difficult to do that?

When I first started writing it, I didn’t know that the death was the driving force behind Lydia. That was a big thing that I had to learn about her; she was coming from this loss. And then what is that loss? What are the specificities? I grew up with two moms, and I lost one of them to breast cancer when I was 19. And so I think this feeling of being a young person, being really connected to your parents, but having a foot out the door into some kind of adulthood and then losing a parent is very familiar to me. 

Q: What do you think draws Lydia to this expedition? Is it the sharks themselves, or something else that she’s trying to find out there around the islands?

I think part of it is a sort of alternate family. She’s been close to Michael, this researcher, through her relationship with his son Julian. When that relationship ends, she has this opportunity to take his place. She has a feeling that she could find another way to exist in a family, and especially in a family of men, as opposed to the family of women that she’s come from. So the prospects of belonging in an entirely new way, not connected to any of the language that she had before, both in terms of gender and in terms of this wild island where you’re not going to have any of the comforts or routines you had before, that all goes into her seeking. I’m not sure she totally knows [that] when she is taking the leap, but I do think she knows she wants distraction and she wants something else.

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​ Orange County Register