APEC puts San Francisco in the spotlight

The spotlight is on San Francisco this week, hosting the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference, a high-profile summit of 21 Pacific Rim countries that is expected to bring as many as 30,000 people to the Bay Area.

San Francisco hasn’t hosted such a large gathering of world leaders since the signing of the United Nations Charter in 1945, and city officials hope the event will boost the city’s image.

The attention reached a peak on Wednesday when President Biden met with President Xi Jinping of China for the first time in a year. The closely watched rally drew protesters opposing the Chinese government and others supporting it. (There were also protests over climate change and the war in Gaza, and in any case One person was arrested on Wednesday.)

Biden and Xi actually met outside the city, in a grand house and garden in Woodside, about 30 miles south of downtown San Francisco. (You can read our full report of the meeting here.)

U.S. officials who planned the meeting sought a location that was less hectic than the City by the Bay, one that would show respect for Xi and isolate him from protesters. They settled on the Filoli estate, which, appropriately, crosses many squares on your California bingo card.

Filoli was built by a family that made its fortune during the California gold rush. It has been a filming location for several films and now serves as a wedding location for tech executives; the headquarters of Google, Apple and Meta are all within a 30-minute drive. (Read more about Filoli here.)

The rest of APEC will take place in San Francisco: the meetings will take place at the Moscone Center and President Biden will stay at the Fairmont Hotel on Nob Hill.

That’s a big deal for a city that has struggled more than most to recover from the pandemic, grappling with an exodus of technology workers and a tough public image with scenes of homelessness, drug use and petty crime.

Aaron Peskin, the president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, compared APEC to the Panama-Pacific International Exhibition, 1915a World’s Fair along the northern waterfront that he said heralded the city’s recovery after the devastating earthquake and fire of 1906.

In other words, he told my colleague Heather Knight, there is precedent that a major event can help San Francisco recover. “This is a huge opportunity, and we have planned this up to the mosquito’s brow,” Peskin said.

However, a few things have already gone slightly wrong. Although the city has tried vigorously to show international journalists a dazzling version of the city, a Czech journalist was robbed in the street on Sunday. Assailants wearing ski masks charged at him and his cameraman with guns, taking $18,000 worth of equipment, including a camera, lights and a tripod.

“They took my research, my time, my ideas,” said journalist Bohumil Vostal, a correspondent for a Czech public television channel. “That’s why I’m angry, you know?”

For more:

• Biden pressured Xi to crack down on Chinese companies helping produce fentanyl.

• The rise and fall of the world’s most successful joint venture.

Where we travel to

Today’s tip comes from David Hayashida, who lives in Greenbrae:

“Each year in late fall, I look forward to the annual return of coho salmon to spawn in Marin County’s Lagunitas Watershed. Coho salmon along the coasts of Central California and the San Francisco Bay Area are considered endangered, and the Lagunitas Watershed is critical to their survival.

Fortunately, increased rainfall in recent years, as well as habitat restoration and efforts by several organizations including the National Park Service, the Marin Municipal Water District, and especially the Salmon Protection and Watershed Network, have had a positive impact on the fish population. in the catchment area.

There are several places where you can observe coho salmon; my favorite is the Leo T. Cronin Fish Viewing Area in Lagunitas. The area features a half-mile trail along Lagunitas Creek, ideal for fish viewing. The trail is wide, mostly shaded, and ends at Peters Dam, which also serves as a spillway for Kent Lake above. On a cool and humid day in the quiet of the forest, it is a magical experience to watch endangered California coho salmon make their journey upstream and spawn in the creek.”

Tell us about your favorite places to visit in California. Email your suggestions to CAtoday@nytimes.com. We will share more in future editions of the newsletter.

Tell us

I think about the way Californians celebrate Thanksgiving. At the beach? With sourdough filling?

Email your Golden State Thanksgiving traditions to CAtoday@nytimes.com. Please include your full name and the city where you live.

And before you go: good news

California’s gold rush may conjure up images of the Old West—40-somethings flocking to the rugged landscape of Northern California in search of a glittering prize—but for some, the mining rush is still alive and well.

In central Southern California, a few hours’ drive from Los Angeles, where amateur mining already has a strong foothold in the culture, enthusiasm for the old-fashioned hobby has grown significantly this year and amateur prospectors are on the rise.

The journalist Amanda Ulrich reported for The Guardian last month one such group is a non-profit mining club called the Hi Desert Gold Diggers, which has been active for years. Excitement within California’s mining community has been particularly high this year, Ulrich writes, after a winter of record rains helped unearth gold hidden beneath the sand. Membership has grown recently: Hi Desert, which had about 50 people in its ranks a few years ago, has ballooned to 160 members, partly due to online interest.

New or old, it’s that same wonderful dream that keeps miners coming back. “Once I found my first piece of gold – it was just a few small pieces – that was all it took,” longtime club member Donald Perez told Ulrich. “I was addicted.”

Thank you for reading. I’ll come back tomorrow. — Soumya

PS Here it is today’s mini crossword.

Maia Coleman and Briana Scalia contributed to California Today. You can reach the team via CAtoday@nytimes.com.

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