California’s wildflower blooms are not so super right now. Here’s why

Good morning. It’s Tuesday, April 9. Here’s what you need to know to start your day.

• Wildflower blooms are less dazzling this season, particularly poppies.
• Californians are driving up Nevada housing prices. Trump could benefit.
• ‘Fat Ham’ at the Geffen Playhouse slathered barbecue sauce on ‘Hamlet” for a delicious comedy.
• And here’s today’s e-newspaper

California’s wildflower blooms are less than super this season

Winter showers can bring an abundance of spring wild flowers. But after another above-normal rainy season the flower forecast is

not as dazzling as flower gazers hoped for — especially compared to last spring. Blame the weather.

“It might seem counterintuitive,” Times reporter Lila Siedman explained . “Storm after storm has doused California, prompting wildflower fanatics earlier this year to cross their fingers for a superbloom. But more rain doesn’t mean more growth for every plant.”

Late-winter, early-spring rain and lingering cold, like we just experienced through March, aren’t a good combo for some native flowering plants, which “need Goldilocks conditions to thrive,” Lila noted — not too cold, not too hot. Our weather extremes give less dazzling grasses, plants and some invasive species an advantage.

That’s why the hillsides in the Antelope Valley, Lake Elsinore and Chino Hills State Park are currently lacking the orange luster of California poppies that can draw hordes of springtime visitors.

It was a similar issue last spring when I explored the hilly paths of the Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve. Yes, there were poppies, but many were dwarfed by fiddlenecks and other plants that surrounded and towered over them.

One colorful exception to the bloom bust this spring: Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, which has been bursting with wildflowers. But some blooms have already disappeared, according to the Anza Borrego Foundation.

More wildflowers could bloom soon in SoCal — if recent warmer temperatures stay more consistent into mid-April. But don’t expect a superbloom to blanket hills — or your Instagram feed — this season.

Still, there are some places to see wildflowers in California — and lots of resources to let you know about conditions so you can plan your trip.

Most notably: The Theodore Payne Foundation’s 2024 Wild Flower Hotline. You can call (818) 768-1802, Ext. 7, to get a rundown of wildflower conditions in Central and Southern California, delivered pleasantly by actor Joe Spano. Updates are released weekly on Fridays through June. The weekly report is also available online as a PDF.

The state’s Department of Parks and Recreation also has a page with bloom updates, though it appears to not be refreshed as regularly.

For those planning a trip to the abundant blooms in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, park officials published an interactive map showing some of the best viewing locations.

And if other bloom sites are too far, you may have better luck at LAX. Seriously.

Today’s top stories

(Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Housing affordability and the 2024 presidential election

• Many middle-class voters in Nevada and Arizona are struggling to rent, let alone purchase a home. Could housing prices in these two battleground states determine the presidential election’s outcome?
• Where President Biden, former President Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. stand on housing and homelessness.
• Your guide to the California Senate candidates’ views of housing and homelessness.

More politics

• Biden proposed new student-debt relief. Here’s who would benefit.
• Katie Porter is optimistic about the future of her congressional seat — and her career.
• Democrats book $27 million in ads in California congressional races.

Eclipse

• Monday’s solar eclipse thrilled crowds in California as it partly darkened a swath of the countryside.
• Photos: The solar eclipse drew crowds of viewers in L.A. area.

Highway 1 collapse

• Repairs on Big Sur’s collapsed Highway 1 start this week. No telling when they will end.
• It’s getting riskier to perch a road on the edge of the continent

The trial over Blaze Bernstein’s killing is starting

• O.C. prosecutors will try to prove Blaze Bernstein’s killing was a hate crime.
• Samuel Woodward, the orange county charged in the stabbing death, pleaded not guilty to the murder charge and denied the hate crime enhancement to the charge.
• Bernstein was found in a shallow grave in Borrego Park in 2018. He had been stabbed at least 20 times.

Restaurants

• Momofuku responds to chili crunch backlash: ‘We wanted a name we could own.’
• A downtown L.A. restaurant has added a security surcharge. Will a new ‘junk fee’ law change that?

Climate and environment

• Environmental and community groups are alarmed that a hazardous waste treatment facility in Santa Fe Springs, roughly 550 feet from the nearest homes, will receive a new permit despite past violations.
• As fish deaths increase at pumps, critics urge California agencies to improve protections.

More big stories

• A baby left to die on the 405 linked to shocking family violence as cops find mother, husband dead.
• Here’s why traffic around LAX could get a lot worse this week.
• Angels owner Arte Moreno removed from video after boos. But what about Shohei Ohtani?
• Antisemitic graffiti spotted in Santa Monica. One family tries to cover and turn it into art.
• Gas prices are on the rise. Here’s how to find the cheapest options.

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Commentary and opinions

• Anita Chabria: Even Trump knows Republicans have gone too far on abortion.
• Gustavo Arellano: Still seeking bargains at 99 Cent Only, shoppers lament its coming demise.
• Jonah Goldberg: The latest sign that Republicans are abandoning even their most deeply held principles.
• Sammy Roth: Hurry up with the electric cars, Disneyland. There’s no time to waste.

Today’s great reads

An Oregon tribe’s casino bid sparks furor over what land tribes can rightfully call home.The Coquille tribe wants to build a casino on the California border. Pushback from nearby tribes raises a question: Who gets to determine a tribe’s rightful homeland?

• The Black Keys on the L.A. hangout that led to their funky new album.
• A stairwell at Cartoon Network Studios captured 20 years of history. Now you can see it, too.
• The L.A. island that was home to seven decades of ‘lost communities.’
• This gorgeous Craftsman-inspired ADU in Hollywood was once a rickety garage.

How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com.

For your downtime

(Jeff Lorch)

Going out

• 🎭 “Fat Ham” at the Geffen Playhouse slathers barbecue sauce on “Hamlet” for delicious comedy.
• 🐋 The unmissable addition to Disneyland’s Star Tours ride? Space whales.
• 📚 🎉 Food and cookbook aficionados will have plenty to explore at this year’s Los Angeles Times Festival of Books on April 20 and 21. Come see us.

Staying in

• 📖 What Joan Didion’s broken Hollywood can teach us about our own?
• 🧑‍🍳 Here’s a recipe for marinated feta with spice-roasted tomatoes and grapefruit from the new Kismet cookbook.
• ✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and arcade games.

And finally ... a great photo of today’s solar eclipse

Show us your favorite place in California! We’re running low on submissions. Send us photos that scream California and we may feature them in an edition of Essential California.

Crowds with protective eyewear gathered at the California Science Center to view the partial solar eclipse on Monday.

(Al Seib / For The Times)

Today’s great photo is from freelance photographer Al Seib at the California Science Center, which captures the excitement students from Pearblossom Elementary in Littlerock, Calif., experienced while staring skyward to view the the partial solar eclipse on Monday. The next partial solar eclipse visible to Californians will be in 2029.

Have a great day, from the Essential California team

Ryan Fonseca, reporter
Defne Karabatur, fellow
Christian Orozco, assistant editor
Stephanie Chavez, deputy metro editor
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters

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