Land Grab Shock, Coachella Headliners, Sandberg's Meta Exit

Just reporting the facts.

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Centrist Chronicle
January 19, 2024

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Silicon Valley's leading figures are backing a company that recently disclosed its grand vision to transform a vast expanse of rural land between San Francisco and Sacramento into a new, walkable city home to at least 50,000 people. Among the supporters are LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, and philanthropist Laurene Powell Jobs.

California Forever, the company behind this initiative, has acquired 60,000 acres in Solano County for approximately $800 million over the past five years. Its plan involves developing 18,600 acres of this land into an urban area situated between Travis Air Force Base, the county's largest employer, and the smaller city of Rio Vista. The company has committed to investing $400 million to assist county locals in purchasing the first 20,000 homes within this new city and aims to generate 15,000 jobs offering salaries above the average. Additionally, the plan includes the creation of a buffer zone near the Air Force base to address potential concerns about impacting military operations.

However, longstanding county regulations that protect farmland from urban development present a significant hurdle. To override these protections, the project proponents must gather a minimum of 13,000 signatures to place the issue on the November ballot and then secure approval from voters.


The much-anticipated 2024 Coachella lineup was announced on Tuesday, January 16, featuring Tyler, the Creator, Doja Cat, and Lana Del Rey as the leading acts for this year's festival.

Lana Del Rey is set to perform on Friday, April 12 and 19, sharing the day with artists such as Peso Pluma, Lil Uzi Vert, Justice, Bizarrap, Deftones, ATEEZ, Everything Always, Peggy Gou, Young Miko, Sabrina Carpenter, and others. Tyler, the Creator will take center stage on Saturday, April 13 and 20, accompanied by Blur, Ice Spice, Gesaffelstein, Sublime, Jungle, Dom Dolla, Bleachers, Grimes, Jon Batiste, LE SSERAFIM, and more. Doja Cat will headline on Sunday, April 14 and 21, alongside a lineup including J Balvin, Jhené Aiko, Khruangbin, Carin León, John Summit, Lil Yachty, DJ Snake, LUDMILLA, the Rose, and other performers.


Broadcasted four months later than its usual schedule and amidst a particularly busy evening of television, the Emmy Awards experienced their lowest viewership to date.

The Fox network's airing of the awards show averaged just 4.3 million viewers, based on preliminary national ratings provided by Nielsen. This figure represents a 27 percent decline from the 2022 Emmys' previous record low of 5.92 million viewers on NBC. This year's viewership marks the fifth time in six years that the Emmys have seen a decline in their audience numbers.

Additionally, the ceremony recorded its worst performance ever in the key demographic of adults aged 18-49, with a rating of 0.85. This is a 22 percent decrease from the 1.09 rating in 2022. While the final ratings might see a slight increase, they are not expected to surpass last year's figures significantly.