California is bursting with cash, projecting a $97.5 billion budget surplus that is larger than any state has ever had. Yet it has the worst school transportation system in country, busing fewer than 9% of students. That places an enormous strain on families, especially in rural areas. Jeanne Bassett Fernandes, a school official in Sonoma County, said she suspects some kids stay home because their parents can't afford gas. "There’s a human cost to this," she said. L.A. Times

A total of 54,329 lightning events were recorded across California on Wednesday, the most in a single day since 2017. One bolt struck a woman, 52-year-old Antonia Mendoza Chavez, as she walked two dogs in the morning along the San Gabriel River in Pico Rivera, officials said. All three died. Wild weather in other parts of the state knocked out power in Pasadena, likely sparked fires along the Grapevine and near Fresno, and sank several boats in Tulare County's Kaweah Lake. CBS Los Angeles | L.A. Times

There's a trail along a river two hours north of Santa Rosa with 10 wooden bridges, a riotous fern canyon, towering redwoods, and a pygmy forest. Fern Canyon trail is the main artery through Van Damme State Park, a standout among California's 280 state parks. A travel magazine included Van Damme in a new roundup of the state's 15 best state parks. AFAR

San Francisco's school board voted to revive merit-based admissions at the city's top public high school Wednesday after the switch to a lottery system in 2021 fueled the recall of three commissioners. Critics of the merit system at Lowell High said it deepened racial disparities. But board member Lainie Motamedi, who sided with the majority in the 4-3 vote, said the district needed to meet the needs of all children. "There are no 'these kids, those kids'; these are all of our kids," she said. S.F. Chronicle | SF Standard

The board also reversed another pre-recall policy, nullifying a vote to cover a 1936 mural that includes images of slavery and dead Native Americans. S.F. Chronicle

The May 28 arrest of Paul Pelosi on suspicion of drunk driving in Napa Valley shined a light on the rarefied lifestyle he and his wife, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, enjoy among the vineyards. The Pelosis have two homes in California, a three-floor red brick townhouse in San Francisco, and a 17-acre gated estate in St. Helena. Former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown: "Everybody in San Francisco now has a Napa place. Everybody who can afford it." N.Y. Times

Sheryl Sandberg was once heralded as a feminist trailblazer. But in a post-mortem on her career, Caitlin Flanagan argued that the departing Facebook executive had her priorities wrong: "During her 14 years at the company, she’s done so much damage to our society that we may never recover. The simple truth is that you cannot simultaneously dedicate yourself to making untold fortunes for a giant corporation and to championing a social good." The Atlantic

The photographer Robert Gumpert on the stain of human suffering in a city of staggering wealth:

"We live in a mindset that everybody is responsible for themselves, and nobody else. And that’s why the unhoused are vilified. And it doesn’t matter about whether it’s San Francisco — L.A. isn’t any different, except they have about five or six times as many homeless. New York’s not different. Denver’s not different, you know, Phoenix — that’s the society we live in." The Guardian | S.F. Public Press

Officials are working on a policy to ban new gas stations in Los Angeles, the capital of American car culture. In March 2021, Petaluma became the first city to prohibit new gas stations, inspiring several others to pass similar measures. Los Angeles, where a policy could be in place by year's end, would be the largest city yet to impose a ban. "Our great and influential city, which grew up around the automobile, is the perfect place to figure out how to move off the gas-powered car," said Paul Koretz, a City Council member. The Guardian

When early returns in Los Angeles' mayoral primary showed the billionaire developer Rick Caruso leading Rep. Karen Bass, the pundits sounded off. Progressive reforms had been rejected, they said. Two weeks later, Bass has climbed from five percentage points down on election night to a seven-point lead. The lesson, election experts say, is that mail voting has carved up the electorate into distinct tranches, with late-arriving ballots reflecting the closing sentiments of the election. L.A. Times

More than six years after a terrorist attack at a government training event in San Bernardino, a memorial to the 14 lives lost opened to the public on Monday. It includes curving bronze-and-steel panels intended to evoke bulletproof vests along with engravings provided by the victims' families. In her mother's honor, Jolene Verdehyou Betbadal chose: "Pain is temporary. Love lasts forever." San Bernardino Sun | N.Y. Times

On Southern California's Santa Rosa Island, archaeologists have found entire Chumash villages, numerous graves, and the bones of pygmy mammoths. Human remains date to more than 13,000 years ago, the oldest to be discovered in North America. In a travel story, Alex Krowiak recommended you visit, not only for the gorgeous landscape but to connect to the continent's deep history and culture. National Geographic

There's a surf break in Newport Beach called the Wedge where waves steep and powerful break perilously close the shore, tossing even professionals like rag dolls. Spectators gather just to watch them get slammed. A surfing filmmaker cut together a reel of the gnarliest 50 wipeouts at the Wedge. Beefs TV/YouTube (14 mins)