After a morning downpour cleared on a recent Saturday, I jumped in my car and headed north from my apartment in San Francisco.

The skies were blessedly blue as I drove through the towering red masts of the Golden Gate Bridge, where cyclists sped alongside me and bundled-up pedestrians peered down at the Pacific far below. Minutes later, I was soaring above the water again, this time driving east across the majestic Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, noticing its steel beams reflect the golden afternoon light and feeling dazzled by the blue-silver waves shimmering all around me.

For weeks, you’ve been writing to me about why you love California and what our state means to you. I moved to San Francisco from Los Angeles this year, and days like this one, with its aimless drive and unexpected beauty, are helping revitalize my love affair with California.

There’s so much bad news around us — this year alone we’ve reported on mass shootings, earthquakes and catastrophic floods — that I think it’s healthy, necessary even, to indulge some moments of brightness in this newsletter. Today I’m publishing your notes about why you love where you live in California, or the state as a whole.

Here’s some of what you shared, lightly edited:

“As someone who worked as a naturalist on whale watching vessels for many years, I loved bringing locals and travelers to the wonders just offshore of San Diego. We routinely saw staggeringly large groups of thousands of common dolphins leaping around the ship and tender exchanges between migrating gray whale mothers and calves. Every so often we would experience ‘lifetime moments’ — ones that most people will never forget. The sound of a blue whale’s tremendous exhale and inhale of breath stays with you. You can’t help squealing with glee as you are wholly present with the natural world.” — Caitlin Scully, San Diego

“Pasadena conjures images of the annual Rose Parade coupled with the N.C.A.A. football Rose Bowl game. But to me and my husband, this is simply home. Apart from charming neighborhoods, Pasadena is a walker’s paradise with plenty of beautiful little gardens for impromptu picnics. We are also home to the world-renowned California Institute of Technology, where great minds from all over the world learn and create the next technology that will make our world a better place. Indeed, our little corner in California is a paradise.” — Ruby Stern, Pasadena

“Since arriving from New Jersey in 1983, I have never considered leaving California. The variety of environments is like no other place in America, from Death Valley to the spectacular redwood forests and national parks. I am now retired on the beautiful Central Coast in the Santa Maria Valley. Even running errands here is fun while driving the peaceful two-lane roads through strawberry fields and world-class wineries.” — Julius Reuter, Guadalupe

“Unlike many Californians, I was born and raised here. Growing up in Los Angeles, I was privy to events that most people around the world come from afar to see — the Rose Parade, the Hollywood sign, the Lakers! No matter where I’ve been in the world, awe-struck by the beauty of other countries, there’s nothing like the feeling of flying into LAX and seeing my beautiful, sunny city buzzing with energy and colorful chaos.” — Susie Medina Salazar, Ventura

“When I was 21, I left my home in Toronto for a mountain biking vacation in the wild forests of the Trinity Alps, at the confluence of the Klamath and Trinity Rivers. I was supposed to stay for a week but found that I just could not leave, so I extended my trip another three weeks. I traveled down to the Bay Area on a Greyhound bus, chatting and listening the whole way with a University of California, Berkeley student working on a master’s degree in music composition. I found the people creative and progressive, and the landscapes inspiring. When it was time to go home I cried on the plane as I watched California disappear into the clouds, vowing to live there one day. Three years later, I got my chance. I applied for and won a job in San Francisco! I can still feel my excitement as I drove over the Bay Bridge into the city.” — Jodie Cook, San Clemente

• Email us your own California love letter at CAToday@nytimes.com.

The rest of the news

• Student discipline: An investigation by The Hechinger Report revealed California’s hidden exclusionary discipline practice of blocking students from attending their schools and pushing them onto new campuses or into smaller, alternative schools, The Los Angeles Times reports.

• Women’s soccer: The National Women’s Soccer League sold the rights to a new Bay Area franchise for $125 million, a record price.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

• Lesbian bars: The lesbian bar isn’t dead. It’s pouring orange wine in Los Angeles.

• Prison reform: A plan to decrease the jail population of Los Angeles was pulled by the board of supervisors, The Los Angeles Times reports.

• Homelessness: Law enforcement and the Los Angeles Metro are using loud classical music to drive away homeless people from Westlake/MacArthur Park station, The Los Angeles Times reports.

CENTRAL CALIFORNIA

• State lawmaker removed: Assemblywoman Jasmeet Bains of Bakersfield, the first Sikh woman of Indian origin elected to the California State Assembly, has been removed from a state committee, The Bakersfield Californian reports.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

• Clerk boycott: Two conservative federal appeals court judges said they would not hire future students at Stanford Law School as law clerks after a speech by another conservative jurist at the school was disrupted by student protesters last month, Reuters reports.

• Elections: Shasta County, a Republican stronghold in California, is getting rid of voting machines and will instead use paper ballots and count votes by hand, The Guardian reports.

• New flag order: The Arcata City Council unanimously voted to include an Earth flag atop the United States and California flags on all city flagpoles, raising constitutional questions, The North Coast Journal reports.

What we’re eating

One-pot vegetable biryani.

Where we’re traveling

Today’s tip comes from Marty Conoley, who lives in Santa Barbara. Marty recommends exploring the Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail:

“Between Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo, you can see the Vandenberg Space Force Base, Hollister Ranch, Point Conception, the Channel Islands, migrating gray whales, local wildlife and much more. For the price of a ticket, in the observation lounge car, Amtrak’s Coast Starlight train travels upon the trail and provides exclusive access to this landscape during daylight hours in either direction.”

Tell us about your favorite places to visit in California. Email your suggestions to CAtoday@nytimes.com. We’ll be sharing more in upcoming editions of the newsletter.

Tell us

After a rainy winter, spring has arrived in California. Whether it’s road trips, festivals, sunny afternoons or wildflower sightings, tell us your favorite part of spring in the Golden State.

Email us at CAToday@nytimes.com, and please include your name and the city where you live.

And before you go, some good news

This spring, California could have its first “superbloom” since 2019, thanks to the heavy rains, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The en masse blossom will include golden poppies — the California state flower — as well as desert dandelions, lupins, whispering bells and milkmaids.

Thanks for reading. I’ll be back tomorrow. — Soumya

P.S. Here’s today’s Mini Crossword.

Briana Scalia and Isabella Grullón Paz contributed to California Today. You can reach the team at CAtoday@nytimes.com.

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