California Today: Want to Be Happy? Move to Santa Cruz

http://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/08/us/california-today-want-to-be-happy-move-to-santa-cruz.html

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Beaches, prosperity and an intellectual zest.

Maybe it’s no surprise that the Santa Cruz region was the highest-ranked metropolitan area in California in the latest Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index.

For the ranking, researchers conducted more than 350,000 phone interviews nationally in 2015 and 2016. People were asked about their cities, jobs, health and social lives.

California was well represented, with seven metropolitan areas among the top 25 of nearly 190 surveyed. The Santa Cruz area was No. 3 overall, followed by San Luis Obispo, No. 7, and Santa Barbara, No. 12.

Geographical gifts, it would appear, don’t hurt. All three are perched near the Pacific and graced by rolling hills. They are also home to highly regarded university campuses — Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, U.C. Santa Cruz and U.C. Santa Barbara.

Dan Witters, the survey’s research director, said Santa Cruzans ranked first in the nation on one question that is a powerful predictor of overall well-being: 76 percent said they “learn or do something interesting everyday.”

“That’s a real vanguard of high well-being cities,” he said, “and they knock it out of the park.”

So what California city ranked lowest? Chico, which was No. 183 in the nation, one notch above Flint, Mich.

Mr. Witters said Chicoans reported the highest rate of stress in the nation. “The negative emotions are really crummy in Chico,” he said.

Reached by phone, Chico’s mayor, Sean Morgan, bristled at the result. Chico, in the northern Sacramento Valley, offers a California State campus and the 3,670-acre Bidwell Park, he pointed out.

“And the world’s best beer is brewed here,” he added. “So those three things alone should move us into the top 10.”

Other tidbits from the study:

• Naples, Fla., was the No. 1-ranked city, followed by Barnstable Town, Mass., two places that also hug a coast.

• How California’s biggest cities lined up: San Diego, 22, San Francisco, 31, San Jose, 39, Los Angeles/Long Beach, 53, and Sacramento, 68.

• Inland cities clustered toward the bottom half of the ranking, with a notable exception: Visalia, which ranked 25th overall.

The agricultural town of about 130,000 people has a lot going for it: a year-round farmer’s market, a minor-league baseball team, a symphony.

“Visalia is very much one of those cities that, although we’re growing, it definitely feels like you’re part of the fabric of the community,” said Allison Mackey, a city spokeswoman.

Mayor Eric M. Garcetti was re-elected on Tuesday, defeating 10 little-known rivals, The Los Angeles Times reported. Incumbents in other elected offices across the city held leads as votes were being tallied.

Measure S, a fiercely contested initiative that would have curtailed larger real estate projects, appeared set for defeat, The Times reported. And a countywide sales tax increase to pay for homeless services appeared to earn the two-thirds majority needed to pass.

See more of the newspaper’s election coverage.

(Please note: We regularly highlight articles on news sites that have limited access for nonsubscribers.)

• Experts said millions of Californians would most likely lose coverage under a Republican plan to replace the Affordable Care Act. [Los Angeles Times]

• “This could have been prevented.” An immigrant charged in a crash that killed a Los Angeles woman was deported five times. [Los Angeles Daily News]

• San Bernardino leaders sent a letter to President Trump asking for help in fighting crime, including marijuana trafficking. It’s caused a backlash. [San Bernardino Sun]

• Sacramento is planning to equip its entire police force with body cameras. [Sacramento Bee]

• With WikiLeaks’ latest document dump, Silicon Valley is getting a blunt reminder of its contentious history with spy agencies. [The New York Times]

• Help wanted: Travis Kalanick, Uber’s C.E.O., is seeking a No. 2 executive. [The New York Times]

• Many Californians planned to join the “A Day Without a Woman” strike Wednesday to highlight pay inequality and other issues. [The Mercury News]

• San Francisco could soon have the most sweeping breast-feeding policy in the nation. [San Francisco Chronicle]

• Using satellite data, scientists created a map that shows the sinking of San Joaquin Valley as a result of groundwater pumping. [NASA]

• At 17, the Bay Area tennis phenom CiCi Bellis is by far the youngest player in the top 100. [The New York Times]

• President Trump met for an hour with TMZ’s Harvey Levin, in a session that wasn’t listed on the president’s public schedule. [The New York Times]

• The No. 1 podcast on iTunes posits that the fitness guru Richard Simmons has gone missing. [The Washington Post]

On a peak in the Hollywood Hills, a single pine tree stands against the horizon.

Craig Smith, a music producer in the Silver Lake neighborhood, shared a picture he captured at sunset while hiking in the area about a month ago.

Legend has it that the broccoli-shaped tree was the only one to survive a 2007 fire in the hillsides.

It became a symbol of endurance. Blank journals were left under the tree that filled up with messages from visitors — some plaintive (“I am longing for romance”), others inspirational (“Life is incredible, savor every second.”).

Somewhere along the way people began calling it the Wisdom Tree.

It has lately, to the annoyance of some, become a selfie destination. But for those who make the hike, it offers another delight — one of the best views of Los Angeles.

California Today goes live at 6 a.m. Pacific time weekdays. Tell us what you want to see: CAtoday@nytimes.com.

The California Today columnist, Mike McPhate, is a third-generation Californian — born outside Sacramento and raised in San Juan Capistrano. He lives in Davis. Follow him on Twitter.

California Today is edited by Julie Bloom, who grew up in Los Angeles and attended U.C. Berkeley.