The Brief

WASHINGTON — Tears cascaded down Caleb Williams' face. The then-9 year old couldn't believe the mistake he made.

Williams was starting his first game at quarterback for the Bowie Bulldogs in Maryland. He'd previously played running back and linebacker in the three years leading up to this moment.

But after Mark McCain saw Williams throw a 40-yard pass on the dot ... as his team's third-string quarterback the season before, McCain, Russell Thomas and Carl Williams, Caleb's father, agreed to try the fourth grader at signal caller.

So here was Williams, in his first contest — a 7-v-7 game — and his first throw was an interception.

He attempted a 15-yard pass but made the wrong read. He disregarded what he saw the defense had set-up, and paid for it immediately.

"Since I was 4, when I lost, I cried," Williams told The Pivot Podcast. "One thing about me is my guys know I care ... and winning is the most important thing to me. ... There is a time and a place for it and understanding, even if it's raw emotion, and it comes out then and there, but being able to control it and hold it in until you get home."

His tears, the frustration with himself and that initial failure weren't for naught, though. In fact, those mistakes proved to be invaluable. This was the first pivotal moment in Williams' development at quarterback.

Southern California quarterback Caleb Williams throws a pass during the second half of the team's college football game against UCLA on Nov. 18, 2023, in Los Angeles.

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The legend begins

The second happened three years later. He was then playing for Bowie Elite, a youth football program. McCain, his new coach, benched Williams during the team's playoff game after he went the wrong direction on a handoff, fumbled a snap and didn't throw to the right places.

It was after that game when Williams, the presumptive No. 1-overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, flipped the switch and altered the trajectory of his career. It's also where Williams' legend actually begins.

"That really kind of started that; when he realized that it was deeper than just going out running routes and seeing who was open," McCain, who co-owns the Athletic Republic with Thomas and Carl Williams, told NPR. "It changed his vision of the game."

"There was a switch [between seventh and eighth grade] where that energy that he was taking – when he was upset with losing – the switch kind of made him, somehow [take] away the uncontrollable emotion. All of a sudden he didn't feel pressure anymore. He just kind of seized the moment."

Williams' path to the NFL Draft

The start of Williams' ascent doesn't begin with winning the starting job as a freshman at Gonzaga College High School in 2017.

Nor when he helped the Eagles erase a 20-point deficit and tossed a 53-yard Hail Mary to cap Gonzaga's improbable win in the 2018 Washington Catholic Athletic Conference final.

Caleb Williams of the USC Trojans speaks to the media during the 2024 NFL Draft Combine on March 01, 2024 in Indianapolis.

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Or when he led the Oklahoma Sooners to an unfathomable 55-48 comeback victory over Texas Longhorns in 2021 as a true freshman and playing only half of the contest.

These moments occurred because those first two experiences taught him exactly what it would take to master the position, and Williams hasn't looked back since those initial growing pains.

"I worked with the Baltimore Ravens, Ray Lewis, Ed Reed," McCain said. "None of them have that competitive drive that [William's] has. ... It's unmatched. He simply does not compute losing. He doesn't accept failure at all.

"Going into high school, he would want to watch film of the game right after. He didn't wanna wait until Monday or Tuesday or talk. He wanted to immediately...see the things that he could have done better and figure out how to do them better. ... That's really how he developed his game. Doing something, seeing himself doing it and working on that thing until [he] couldn't do it wrong. ... And then he'd keep building on it."

These are a few of the reasons NFL experts anticipate that when the Chicago Bears put in the selection for the opening pick on Thursday, William's name is the one that'll be read off the card.

Gonzaga quarterback Caleb Williams (18) rolls out against Good Counsel linebacker Jalen Green (10) during a high school game.

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Williams, 22, has shown an uncanny ability to not only elevate his game, no matter the circumstances, but also the players around him, too.

The latter part frequently contributed to Elijah Brook's decision to award Williams the most valuable player honor all four years he participated in his camp. The former coach at powerhouse DeMatha Catholic High School met Williams in fifth grade as one of his campers.

Williams' desire to lead, always go first – even as one of the youngest players – and penchant to absorb criticism stood out to Brooks, who now coaches running backs for Virginia Tech.

In due time, Brooks expected Williams to be a problem.

One coach's loss, another's gain

"He was a leader," Brooks said. "He was physically dominant. He was popular amongst the campers. From a very early age, he just separated himself from the pack as special. I'm a firm believer that some kids just have the 'it' factor, and it was easy to see that he had that at a very early age.

"To this day, that was probably my biggest recruiting loss."

And it worked out to be Randy Trivers' massive gain.

When his high school coach was asked how Williams got on his radar, Trivers responded with a better question.

"It's not so much as how did he get on your radar, as how could he not be on anybody's radar really?" Trivers said.

By the time Trivers met Williams, he was an advanced quarterback prospect. Williams expressed a desire to attend a high school with a strong football program and academics, but also where he would develop as an overall person.

Trivers never promised Williams the starting gig if he came to Gonzaga, but the 10-year coach of the Eagles did promise Williams would receive a fair opportunity to compete for it.

Caleb Williams (C), then a sophomore at Gonzaga College High School, stands with sports performance coach Mark McCain (L) and quarterback trainer Russell Thomas (R) at Athletic Republic in District Heights, Maryland in 2018.

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And that was all Williams ever needed – a shot.

Once Williams was finally on the team, Trivers observed how the freshman quickly bought into Gonzaga's motto of "Men for Others," and won over his new teammates with his work ethic, charisma and selflessness.

"'Men for Others,' it's like living a Christ-like life [and] doing things that are not necessarily for you and yourself, but for others," Trivers said. "So, living your best life for you, your family, your friends, your teammates, your classmates, your community."

Williams endeared himself to his new teammates, Trivers and former teammate Trey Jamison said. He was the first on the field, and the last to leave. Williams studied furiously. When a teammate made a mistake, Williams didn't shy away from him on the next play. Oftentimes, he showed his faith in them by going back to the player.

His teammates then rewarded him by lobbying for him to start.

Jamison, a linebacker for the U.S. Naval Academy, still incorporates a lesson Williams taught him when they were 14 years old. When one makes a mistake, use positive self-talk. Williams eliminated negative outbursts and emotional responses following the benching.

Instead, Jamison said, Williams was frequently heard saying, "C'mon, Caleb," after a bad play or refocusing by dribbling the football like a basketball off the turf.

"He got good at that, and it made me want to do that, too," Jamison said. "It definitely helps out. It's something I use to this day, if it's something with school, mentally, or to get through [something.]"

Even when Gonzaga faced a third-and-33, and Williams had to play the final minute of the game with an injured foot, he didn't waver.

Gonzaga College Eagles quarterback Caleb Williams looks to pass during the WCAC football game between Gonzaga and St. John's College at Paint Branch High School on November 4, 2017.

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Instead, he responded with a 50-yard completion and then an 11-yard touchdown. With just 29 seconds left, Gonzaga had its first lead. But it didn't last. Their opponent, DeMatha, scored on the ensuing kickoff.

What happened next spoke volumes to McCain about Williams' response.

"Russell was sitting right beside me, I said, 'He's about to be legendary.' I could see how cool he was," McCain said after seeing William's composure.

Remember that pass Williams threw at age 9, that was intercepted? Fool Williams once, shame on him. This time, Williams completed a 13-yard throw to set up the ensuing Hail Mary with four ticks left.

"The only thing I said to my offensive coordinator was get me in range," Williams told The Pivot Podcast. "Once I was in range, I felt like the game was over. ... It was the craziest game ever."

The rest was history. Williams heaved the ball to the back of the end zone. In between four defenders, his receiver caught the toss. On his 16th birthday, Williams threw three touchdowns, rushed for two more and even caught a touchdown – to help the Eagles win their first WCAC title since 2002.

Jamison couldn't watch. Trivers was nearly brought to tears.

"Those [referee's] hands go up, and I collapsed on the field right there," Trivers recalled.

Brooks said his heart dropped.

"That was my last high school game, so thank you, Caleb," Brooks said with a laugh. "I appreciate you for that."

That experience in the WCAC championship was a building block for Williams three years later. When former Sooners coach Lincoln Riley inserted him into the game facing a 35-17 deficit, Williams didn't wilt, because he'd been through the fire before.

Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams visited his high school alma mater Gonzaga to attend a pep rally to honor the USC quarterback for his award. Williams, center strikes a Heisman pose along with members of the student body in the school's gym on May 19, 2023 in Washington, DC.

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'The Caleb era has just begun'

"When they put him in, I said, 'The Caleb era has just begun. He's never coming back out, ever,'" McCain said. "And he went on to win that game."

Going to a program like the Sooners, with not only an incumbent, but one that has preseason-Heisman hype, too, and saying, "I can do this," takes a certain confidence. And that's what makes Williams unique.

While others kept tabs of where players at their position were committing, Williams didn't, McCain said. It wasn't a factor in his decision making at all. Williams wanted to be coached by Riley. When Riley became coach at the University of Southern California, Williams knew he had to go with him. So he transferred and never looked back.

Now, Williams gets to look forward to hearing his name called Thursday at the NFL Draft in Detroit.

"I am never shocked at anything he does," Brooks said. "I'm on record, he goes and wins MVP of the league or leads Chicago to a Super Bowl or what have you, it is not going to surprise me at all.

"Some people just have it, and they were born with it. And listen, he works tirelessly on his craft, so when you can combine all of those factors, that's what you get. So whether it is him leading a comeback at Oklahoma or him winning the Heisman or him getting drafted No. 1 or winning his high school championship on the Hail Mary, I ain't surprised at all."

Malibu is pushing back the next phase of its speed camera program along a deadly stretch of PCH to November. The 60-day warning period was originally set to start in November, where drivers going 11 or more miles per hour over the speed limit will get a warning instead of a fine.

The delay, the city says, is needed so adjustments can be made to camera installations.

Yesterday, a Nobu worker was killed about a block from the upscale Japanese restaurant on PCH. CBS LA reports that a juvenile had crashed into the employee's parked vehicle.

When fines start

Malibu officials announced the delay of the program's warning phase last week after a testing period in September recorded around 100,000 speeding violations in less than 10 days.

Enforcement at the 10 cameras along a 21-mile stretch of Pacific Coast Highway will start sometime after the end of the warning period. According to the city, violations will result in fines, but not driver’s license points or insurance penalties.

Why Malibu added speed cameras

Since 2010, traffic collisions on that part of PCH have killed more than 60 people, the city says. In 2023 alone, there were 220 reported crashes there, with 93 injuries and seven deaths — including four Pepperdine University students who were standing along PCH when a driver hit and killed them. The driver, who is charged with murder, is scheduled to stand trial beginning Dec. 1.

Following that incident, Malibu City Council declared a local emergency over dangerous conditions posed by reckless and speeding drivers.

In 2024, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed SB 1297 into law to allow Malibu to install the speed cameras

Looking to say adios to your lawn by sheet mulching or to add a protective layer to your flower beds? Good news, you don’t need to pay for mulch or woodchips. You can instead get them for free in Southern California. Here are a few different ways, depending on your flexibility - and muscle power.

Free mulch piles

Municipalities across the region offer free mulch.

City of L.A.: You can grab mulch anytime from one of its free mulch piles.

O.C.: You can schedule a pickup from a greenery/landfill

Other cities: see below (or check out your own city government’s page).

• Riverside County Department of Waste Resources 
• City of Rialto Free Compost & Mulch 
• Burrtec's Coachella Valley Composting Facility. It is located at 87011 Landfill Rd in Coachella. 
• City of Rancho Mirage Free Compost and Mulch Program 
• City of Ventura Free Compost and Mulch Program

Free mulch delivery

If you don’t want to go pick up the free mulch yourself, consider ChipDrop. It’s a service that connects arborists with gardeners to deliver free wood chips.

Beware: you may get a lot of mulch. Like, a lot.

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Connect with an arborist:

If you want to try to control the amount of mulch you get - or the date of delivery - you may want to consider talking to an individual arborist. They often end up with excess woodchips they need to get rid of, or take to the dump. If you call they might be happy to offload some for your garden.

Opponents of Proposition 40 have a message for voters: Don’t be fooled. The billionaire tax is a “Trojan horse” for new taxes on all Californians, ads proclaim. But is that true?

Tucked into the initiative is language granting the Legislature authority to amend the tax by a two-thirds vote “if the statute is consistent with and furthers the purposes of the 2026 Billionaire Tax Act.” Opponents argue lawmakers and a future governor could, with the stroke of a pen, expand the wealth tax to people with far less than $1 billion.

In a high-tax state, that argument could hold a lot of sway with voters.

Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West put Prop. 40 on the ballot; the initiative would levy a one-time, 5% tax on billionaire’s assets. The union rejects the premise of the ad. It says the tax is limited to billionaires and any legislative amendment would have to hew closely to that purpose. Dave Regan, president of SEIU-UHW, said opponents’ ads are pure scare tactics.

“The billionaire tax is a tax on billionaires. Period. If you’re not a billionaire, you don’t pay the tax,” Regan said in a statement to CalMatters.

Rob Lapsley, president of the California Business Roundtable, the group that paid for the ad, said the message was meant to highlight the policy implications of a wealth tax and the power Prop. 40 gives lawmakers.

“Californians deserve to understand those issues and what they could mean for taxpayers and the state’s economy,” Lapsley said in a statement.

A separate, billionaire-backed group opposed to Prop. 40 has also said the initiative “gives politicians the power to expand the tax to anyone.”

The truth lies somewhere in between.

California courts have given lawmakers real authority to amend laws created by ballot initiatives if the original text of the initiative permits it. However, that power is not unlimited and the measure includes language restricting future legislative changes, said Michael Colantuono, an attorney with expertise in state election law.

Opponents’ ads also don’t mention that Prop. 40 writes the tax into the state Constitution, not just state law, so expanding it would likely require another trip to the ballot.

Legislative authority

Legal experts agree that if Prop. 40 passes, lawmakers would be able to make certain amendments without taking it back to voters.

The state Constitution allows the Legislature to amend a ballot initiative without another vote if the initiative permits it. That’s a relatively common clause in ballot measures, and Prop. 40 includes it.

Megan Jones, a tax attorney at Holland & Knight, said proponents’ claims that the tax could never be changed are disingenuous.

“If it’s going to further the purposes, then they could,” Jones said.

For example, voters passed the Political Reform Act, which governs campaign finance and lobbying rules, in 1974 and lawmakers have amended it almost continually since.

Similarly, lawmakers have amended the Mental Health Services Act, a voter-approved 1% income tax on millionaires, 10 times since its passage in 2004. None of those amendments adjusted the tax rate. Most recently, lawmakers voted to substantially alter how the state spends mental health money and raise additional bond funds. Those changes went back to voters in 2024 as Proposition 1.

But there isn’t always a clear line for when voters need to approve changes, experts say.

“It is common for the Legislature to make amendments,” Colantuono said. “It is (also) common for there to be disputes about those amendments.”

‘Furthers the purposes of’

“Ultimately, it ends up in court,” said Chris Parker, a principal tax attorney at the firm Baker Tilly.

The California Supreme Court ruled in a 1995 case that the Legislature may amend voter-approved laws if the changes can be interpreted as furthering voters’ original goals “by any reasonable construction” — giving lawmakers broad latitude.

In 2021, the state Supreme Court held that the Legislature appropriately amended Proposition 57, a criminal justice reform measure, by barring the transferring of minors under 16 to adult court. Justices cited the 1995 case, noting that “a strong presumption of constitutionality supports the Legislature’s acts.”

Still, the language of the proposition matters.

A few years earlier, in 2019, the Third District Court of Appeal held that a legislative attempt to allow public funding of political campaigns “directly conflicts with a primary purpose” of the Political Reform Act. Lawmakers responded by passing a new bill asking voters to weigh in directly — it appears on this year’s ballot as Proposition 4.

Judges look at two things, Coluantuono said: what reasonable voters thought they were approving, and whether later legislative changes helped that goal, or got in the way.

Certain provisions of Prop. 40 would make it difficult for lawmakers to expand the tax beyond billionaires. The 1995 case established that courts may weigh the language of a ballot measure, arguments printed in the voter guide, and historical context when deciding whether change is consistent with voter intent.

Prop. 40’s purpose and intent section says the measure is meant to support healthcare and education “by raising revenue from a one-time tax on billionaire wealth” — referencing billionaire wealth three times. The voter guide arguments similarly target “approximately 200 California billionaires.”

“They could probably adjust the structure of the tax in marginal ways, but what they couldn’t do is make it a more than a one-time tax, and they probably couldn’t lower the threshold on wealth,” Coluantuono said.

Opponents contend lawmakers could interpret the purpose of the act far more broadly, and a court would agree. They point to the first listed purpose of the initiative that says the tax is meant to “protect access to high quality, equitable health care, and to support funding for kindergarten through grade fourteen public education and food assistance programs.” Opponents also say the proposal gives the Legislature the authority to change all parts of the initiative, including the constitutional provisions.

“Prop 40’s findings and statement of purpose and intent were carefully crafted to ensure that

extending the tax to non-billionaires would be consistent with the measure,” said Kurt Oneto, a lawyer for the No on 40 campaign, in a statement.

Experts said the question would likely come down to how a court read the act’s purposes.

A separate concern: how do you prove wealth? 

Should Prop. 40 pass, it would create an entirely new tax structure in California — one that assigns a value to very wealthy people’s investments, public and private businesses, as well as personal property such as art or car collections.

Valuing something like a tech startup that hasn’t produced a product or gone public could prove especially difficult, Parker said.

“The excise tax that’s being proposed here is on potential,” he said. “The question then is, if we open the door to taxing potential, when does that stop?”

Lawmakers have periodically tried to pass wealth taxes, but the bills quickly stalled. This marks the first time voters will directly decide on one, making Prop. 40 a crucial test of how much appetite Californians have for his kind of tax structure. Jones said the bigger worry isn’t the tax itself, but other taxes that could follow.

“It’s a slippery slope,” she said.

Coluantuono said it would still be politically risky for lawmakers to try to implement a wealth tax on everyday Californians, but history shows temporary taxes have more than once become permanent.

“When we get a revenue stream in the government and we start spending it on services that people value… there’s tremendous political pressure to prevent the sunset,” he said.

Supported by the California Health Care Foundation (CHCF), which works to ensure that people have access to the care they need, when they need it, at a price they can afford. Visit www.chcf.org to learn more.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and her challenger, City Councilmember Nithya Raman, appeared at a South L.A. forum Saturday, where they agreed on some aspects of the city’s approach to reducing homelessness, but offered different ideas on addressing housing costs.

The two appeared separately in conversations with Brenda Verano of CALO News at A Place Called Home, a youth services community organization.

Bass went first, saying she grew up just 20 blocks south of the venue.

“South L.A. has been a big part of my life and what I have done,” said Bass, who in 1991 helped start Community Coalition, which fights for racial and economic justice in that part of the city.

Each candidate was asked how they would build trust in City Hall among Black and Latino residents in South L.A.

“Black and brown poor folks the most have been central in my administration and will continue to be so,” Bass said. “But to me, representation is not just about faces in a room. It's about collaborating on everything you're doing.”

Raman said the establishment “has taken the people of Los Angeles for granted.”

“I’m running for mayor because I don’t want to ignore any part of this city,” she said. “I want to make sure we are people who know these communities not just in the mayor's office but across the many commissions, across the many departments that are designed to oversee these neighborhoods.”

How the candidates would work with LAPD 

Both vowed to expand pilot programs where unarmed social workers respond to certain non-emergency 911 calls instead of the police department.

“Law enforcement should not be dealing with homelessness and substance abuse and mental health,” Bass said. “Those are public health issues.”

But Bass said it's doubtful the police department’s budget will be cut before the 2028 Olympics. The mayor in the past has expressed support for growing the number of police officers.

Raman has said the department is about the right size. She expressed concern about the police department’s cooperation with ICE during recent federal immigration raids.

Raman also criticized the department for its crowd control tactics during protests around ICE facilities. Police used tear gas and rubber bullets against some protestors.

“This mayor did not speak out against those actions by LAPD, appointed a chief who has not met this moment, who said he would not enforce laws put in by the state to protect us,” Raman said.

Chief Jim McDonnell has previously said his department would not enforce California's state law banning federal immigration and law enforcement agents from wearing masks on duty. A federal appeals court in February blocked enforcement of the law.

Bass said if the judicial ban is lifted, she would order McDonnell to enforce the state law. The mayor also defended the department’s use of police officers for crowd control during ICE operations.

“If there is a crowd around an arrest, then LAPD is involved because we don’t want to have the federal government doing that,” she said.

Both say city should exit troubled homelessness agency

On the city’s response to homelessness, Bass called the current system “completely disfunctional” and called for a new system under the control of the city.

Currently, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority oversees the city’s delivery of homeless services. Numerous audits have found poor accounting of taxpayer money at the agency — which spent nearly $830 million in public funds last fiscal year.

The county has already pulled its funding from the agency in favor of standing up a new county-run Department of Homeless Services and Housing.

Bass said unhoused people are not getting enough care once they leave the streets.

“It is insufficient. They are not taken care of in terms of their health, education, etc. A new system would enable us to do that,” Bass said.

Raman has said she also supports leaving LAHSA and investing in a new homelessness bureau. She noted that street homelessness fell in her council district while numbers across the city went up, according to this year’s homeless count.

“In the past few years, this mayor has refused to audit our homelessness response,” Raman said. “I am very committed to doing that, and I'll request that audit on day one.”

Sharp divides on housing development, renter protections

On housing, Raman criticized the mayor’s opposition to building more densely in residential neighborhoods near transit centers. She said the result has been more building in the city’s poorer council districts, including the South L.A. district that hosted Saturday’s forum.

“Wealthier neighborhoods, less diverse neighborhoods, whiter neighborhoods have actually pushed back on affordable housing, on greater density,” Raman said.

More of the city, said Raman, should bear the burden of greater density.

“We need to build more housing in Los Angeles, but we need to build it across every single neighborhood,” Raman added.

Bass has said density doesn’t belong in some neighborhoods. She opposed a state law, SB 79, that will force cities to allow apartment buildings up to nine stories tall near rail transit stations.

Bass said her administration has fast-tracked new income-restricted housing. But she argued that certain development restrictions are necessary to prevent gentrification.

“We need housing, but we cannot displace Black and Brown people,” Bass said. “If you have housing that is just built anywhere and everywhere, they're coming for us.”

Raman also criticized Bass’ move to temporarily lift restrictions on short-term rentals in preparation for an influx of visitors during the 2028 Olympics.

“I want to make sure that this mayor’s push for deregulating short-term rental during this time, in ways that are harmful to renters, don’t go through,” Raman said. She said tenants could be displaced as landlords turn long-term rentals into short-term accommodations.

Airbnb and business groups back the proposal, saying it will fill a visitor lodging gap for the Olympics and that it would generate significant municipal revenue. Airbnb has put more than $4 million toward backing Bass and three other city candidates, according to the latest campaign finance reports.