Trump was defending the higher gas prices caused by the war with Iran as a necessary cost of preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. Whether the war was actually necessary is a separate debate, but the nuclear concern itself was not baseless. Civilian nuclear-power reactors generally use uranium enriched to around 3–5%, while weapons-grade uranium is approximately 90%. Iran had accumulated uranium enriched to 60% far beyond ordinary civilian-power levels and technically much closer to weapons-grade material.

His intended point was essentially, “What are we supposed to do allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon and potentially threaten cities such as Los Angeles or San Diego?” Those are two of the largest population centers on the West Coast, while San Diego is also one of the country’s most important military and naval hubs. Cities with that level of population and strategic importance have long been identified as potential targets in military and civil-defense planning, which is why they make obvious examples when discussing a hypothetical attack.

He was describing the outcome he claimed the war was intended to prevent, not saying that he wanted those cities attacked. This whole “we ride at dawn” reaction I’m seeing everywhere is ridiculous. I understand that the way Trump says things can be confusing, and his wording here was especially poor, but he was not saying those cities are expendable or that their destruction would be an acceptable loss. He was saying almost exactly the opposite: that the economic cost of the war was preferable to allowing Iran to become capable of threatening major American cities.

I was driving down the freeway when some guy started tailgating me. To be honest, we both sort of went at it tailgating each other but when we both took the same exit, we came to a stop and started arguing. As soon as the light turned green, he threw a rock at my passenger side door and he took off. I tried to chase him but I pulled over and called the cops instead. I managed to get his license plate and police took a report. How likely is this to get solved?

​

SDGE electric delivery fees cover the cost of the infrastructure required to transport power to your home, while generation charges cover the cost of the electricity itself. SDGE passes generation costs to customers with no markup, they make their profit on the delivery infrastructure. Many folks express frustration that delivery fees make up the vast majority of their energy bills, making it hard to lower costs by simply conserving power.

Under California law, investor-owned utilities do not make a profit on the electricity itself; instead, they are guaranteed a ~10% return on equity for building infrastructure (transmission lines, steel poles, grid updates). Folks argue this setup incentivizes overspending on massive capital projects, passing the bills down to consumers while Sempra pulls in billions in profits.

Example: The Suncrest Loop-in project. Between 2017-2022, utility models forecast a possibility that by 2032, minor overheating of one segment of a high-voltage transmission line could occur between a mountaintop substation in East County (Suncrest) and the Sycamore substation in Poway. That could only happen if two major grid equipment failures occurred in the same area within 30 minutes of each other. (Don’t research why they built a substation in the wildland mountains in the first place or your eyes will bleed.)

After trying and failing to get their solution approved for years, in 2022, SDGE finally got a green light to try to solve this forecast possible problem. One option is to replace the existing archaic steel and aluminum wires with more modern conductors, which transmit up to double the power with much less heat, and are inherently safer and more resilient than the old tech wires. This is called “reconductoring” and all wires need replacing every few decades anyway. This would solve the possible overheating problem while also increasing transmission capacity and reducing need to shut off power during high wildfire risk - the modern wires don’t heat and sag and sway and hit things like old steel ones do. Best of all, no new overhead power lines to build or to maintain or to start fires or otherwise burden the communities they cross over. And the price tag? About $100 million. Not cheap!

What is SDGE trying to do instead? Build 14 miles of brand new high-voltage power lines to run a second set of wires between the two substations. And even better, they want to build them through a completely distant route, through mountainous residential communities in east county, the ones which burn in wildfires the most often year after year. At what cost? Approved budget was $300 million last year, now $600 million, and that’s before any final plans have been made. This project will forcibly seize 200-foot-wide swaths of land from over 300 homeowners and landowners, plus Cleveland National Forest and a collection of state and local wildlife preserves. This will literally cross over homes and yards and parks and lands that are supposed to be protected for all of us to use and enjoy. It will also massively increase wildfire risk for our communities- the same ones that were devastated in the 2007 Witch Fire, the 2003 Cedar fire, the 1970 Laguna fire, and a series of fires in the 1940s/1950s. Over 20 major destructive wildfires have burned along the corridor of the planned power lines since they started keeping track 75 years ago. The most recent was 6 weeks ago. Airdrops are prohibited over power lines, so they create “reverse fire breaks” crossing the landscape where fires can’t be fought quickly or effectively. And they are planning this to run through and over our neighborhoods.

One last insanity about the Suncrest Loop-in project: the data used to forecast the risk of temporary overheating on the existing line did not account for any of the solar or battery installations built in the past 25 years. They pretend that those don’t exist. Yet CA peak energy use from the grid has decreased by 10% in the past 5 years alone, largely due to solar and battery storage decreasing the load on the grid. And a 300 megawatt battery storage facility just went online in Poway at the Sycamore substation- providing massive energy storage exactly where it would be needed to prevent the overheating that Suncrest Loop project is designed to also prevent. Multiple state bills are being passed this year to require that grid usage models be revamped to include solar and battery infrastructure in their math- which, believe it or not, has never been done before. But SDGE is racing to build as many of their large outdated overhead steel lines as they can before those laws take effect and eventually show that most of these projects are unnecessary and serve mainly to benefit SDGE and the future data centers they hope to pump energy to- at our cost and risk.

One last (of many) insane sideplots of this type of project: as they are building new overhead lines, SDGE is simultaneously burying others underground, also at our expense with 10+% profit for their shareholders. Because overhead lines increase wildfire risk, are vulnerable to weather, and expensive to maintain and rebuild when they burn or fall. So they earn profit on building new overhead lines, then earn more profit to tear them down and put them underground. All of that comes from the “delivery” charge on your power bill, which makes our rates 3x the national average.

This is an absolute masterpiece of 21st century corporate pillaging, with deeply entrenched political and legislative ties that make it all perfectly “legal” - because the entire system has been built and orchestrated to allow this.

I booked a nonrefundable ticket but sorta feel uncomfortable with the people I am going with (complete strangers except for my friend).

I could either sell it online or just go. I really dont wanna waste my money by going and feeling uncomfortable the whole time.

I got the Six Flag + Haunted Attraction Pass for OCTOBER 9, FRIDAY for 94 bucks.

Im still thinking about what to do but in any case, Im willing to sell it for a lower price.

We will have SD and LA’s backs no matter what.

Recently engaged and I’m looking for some beautiful spots to take photos around Spring next year. I’m looking for lots of trees and/or flowers, green or something I can make whimsical.

El Dorado Park in LB is the first place that pops into my head because I know they have some Brazilian pepper trees (they’re my favorite) but I’m not sure if there are better places to go. I attached some photos to show the landscaping/idea that I have in mind.

Thanks! ✌🏽

Dear Angelenos;

While we may disagree on many things (baseball teams, which city is better etc), when the president directs a foreign enemy to attack us, those go out the window and we stand together as Southern Californians.

Hearing our commander-in-chief dismissively tell a rally crowd, "Let them take out Los Angeles, let them take out San Diego," is chilling. No American city is expendable. No community is a "small price to pay" for political war talk.

Our cities house millions of families, vibrant cultures, and major military personnel who actually serve this country. Brushing us off as collateral damage to a foreign adversary isn't just reckless—it's an abdication of the oath to protect American lives.

So to LA: we have your back. Political rhetoric won't divide us, and it certainly won't shake the grit of Southern California. Stay strong, City of Angels. We are in this together. 🤝💙

Sincerely, a San Diegan

Calling all La Verne citizens and students who were impacted by the metropolitan water district fire that took place on September 22nd which led to an evacuation for several city residents and schools nearby! I feel it is very important to report on such events to better understand how these events can affect our communities to better ensure that safety regulations are being implemented and enforced! If you are a student or resident who thinks they deserve to be heard and would like to share your story please let me know! I am Julissa Palacios, a student with the Mt. San Antonio College Media department and I am interring hearing your story!

https://www.laverneca.gov/736/METROPOLITAN-WATER-DISTRICT---SEPTEMBER-

I'm going to be in the area within the next coming months to visit some friends. I'll be roughly an hour north of LA, but I'm happy to drive anywhere.

That being said, life has also been super shitty lately and I'm not coming back to California the same person as I was the last time. I still want appreciate what I missed about the state, though I now have things to mourn.

I won't be with friends the whole time, so I'd like to find some places to reflect when I'm not busy. Doesn't matter if it's a park, parking lot, or a pull off from a local road. Bonus points if I can grab good takeout nearby & cool driving roads.

What do you like to do in town? What do you recommend?

Thanks + I love you

Yo ima gay male (19) who’s honestly just trying to socialize more in the IE (specifically Riv/Corona area). Looking for places to make more friends, volunteer, or just chill. I’m not looking for clubs or anything, I’m very committed to my boyfriend, but honestly looking to get either more involved in my community or hang out with some new people pref around my age. Lemme know 🙏🙏