Top 12 reasons to ♥️ California on Valentine’s Day
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Feb 13, 2026

Top 12 reasons to ♥️ California on Valentine's Day

What you need to know: California celebrates this Valentine's Day weekend with things to love about the state!

SACRAMENTO – As this weekend is filled with love and appreciation, California celebrates Valentine's Day early with 12 reasons to fall in love with the Golden State. California is a love story written in every language, shaped by every background, enriched by every custom — the largest and most diverse state in the country — and all the more extraordinary because of its diversity.

This Valentine's Day, we're reminded that what makes California exceptional isn't just our innovation or our economic strength — it's our values. We believe in opportunity. We believe in inclusion. We believe in lifting people up. And that's exactly what California continues to do, year after year.

Governor Gavin Newsom

♥️ Feeding the nation AND the world

California is known as the "breadbasket of the world" and feeds the nation, with nearly half of the country's vegetables and over three-quarters of the country's fruits and nuts grown in our state. We're grateful for the dedicated farmers and farmworkers who keep food on our table and are growing – with love – the yummy food that keeps the world full.

This also includes the vast wine production from vineyards throughout the state – producing 81% of the nation's wine (and a perfect complement for a Valentine's Day meal!). 🍷

California agricultural exports totaled $23.8 billion in 2024, an increase of 6.1% from 2023. Our top commodities for export across the globe included almonds, pistachios, dairy and dairy products, wine, and walnuts – examples of  California's extensive agriculture industry.

♥️ Investments in our children

California continues to make meaningful investments in the well-being and future of our youth. Each day, nearly 6 million students — from transitional kindergarten through 12th grade — walk through the doors of almost 10,000 schools across our state, more than any other in the nation.

These schools are more than classrooms – they are transformative places where young people grow, build friendships, and feel supported. From providing access to transitional kindergarten for every four-year-old to increasing before, after, and summer school learning opportunities, to universal school meals, California is working to ensure that every child feels safe, nourished, and prepared to learn.

♥️Standing strong for women

In California, supporting women means making sure every woman and girl feels safe, respected, and supported in her daily life — at work, at home, and in her health care decisions. It means protecting the freedom to make personal choices, strengthening financial security, and ensuring opportunity is not limited by gender.

Through the First Partner's CA For All Women initiative and the new California Women's Health Advisory Council, the state is working to close gender wealth gaps and expand pathways to women's economic leadership.

California has also strengthened protections for reproductive freedom and patient privacy and delivered over $235 million in emergency funding to support Planned Parenthood following the Trump administration's Big Ugly Defund of reproductive health care providers, ensuring continued access to reproductive health services.

Together, these efforts reflect a simple commitment: that women in California deserve to feel protected, valued, and empowered to build secure futures for themselves and their families.

♥️ Highest ranking public universities

California is home to the best public university system in the world. Our University of California (UC) system is comprised of ten campuses — a testament to California's investments in higher education. Whether you found your soulmate or found your passion at UC, they are the best in the nation and a pipeline for research, talent, and tech that fuels the global economy.

Seven of the nine undergraduate UCs are in the top 25 ranking public universities in the U.S. are in California, with UC Berkeley and UCLA ranking as #1 and #2, respectively.

♥️ Stepping up to keep our communities safe

From record-breaking recruitment of our California Highway Patrol (CHP) officers, our K-9s sniffing out crime, and our state and local law enforcement entities working collaboratively, California remains committed and at the frontline of fighting crime throughout the state – to ensure our communities are safe.

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Recently, we fell in love with the four graduates of CHP's K-9 training program who are part of more than 50 active K-9 teams to increase public safety across the state. These paw-officers enforce paw and order, keeping harmful drugs off California's streets.

Earlier this month, Governor Newsom announced successful efforts by the CHP and the California National Guard to seize a record $506 million in illicit fentanyl at the border – saving countless Californians' lives.

We also recognize the commitment of our dedicated CHP crime suppression teams. These officers are saturating high-crime areas, holding repeat offenders accountable, and taking weapons and narcotics off the streets. These collaborative regional crime suppression teams have made 11,700 arrests, recovered more than 6,200 stolen vehicles, and seized nearly 500 illicit firearms since regional efforts began in 2024 — showing the power of proactive enforcement and strong partnerships.

And after our record $2.1 billion in state investments to increase public safety, crime is down in all categories.

♥️ Energy with heart

This Valentine's Day, California is not only spreading love — it's leading the nation in battery storage capacity, powering communities with clean energy and helping keep the lights on when the sun goes down.

Since the beginning of the Newsom administration, battery power has surged to nearly 17,000 megawatts and a 2,100%+ increase. These batteries capture clean energy during the day and deliver it when it's needed most — during peak demand, extreme heat, or after sunset — helping keep homes comfortable, businesses running, and communities safe.

This rapid growth reflects California's commitment to building a grid that families can rely on. By increasing energy storage, the state is improving reliability, reducing pollution, and ensuring Californians have dependable, affordable power when it matters most.

♥️ Falling for the Golden State

California isn't just a place to fall in love — it's a destination the world can't help but adore. As the top tourism state in the nation, California welcomed millions of visitors whose spending on hotels, dining, attractions, and experiences helped the Golden State break travel records, fuel local economies, and create jobs across the state.

California's tourism spending continued to grow in 2024, reaching a record-high of $157.3 billion in tourism spending throughout the state — an increase of 3% from 2023, another record-spending year.  This comes after news that California experienced a population increase for the second year in a row in 2025.

♥️ Love the planet. Power the future.

California's position as a global climate leader continues to drive innovation, create jobs, and deliver cleaner air for communities across the state.

State data shows California is adding clean energy capacity to the grid at a record pace, wind, and other renewable resources to strengthen grid reliability and cut emissions. The state has hit major clean energy milestones while investing more than $100 million in proven technologies to expand reliability and speed deployment.

California also continues to set clean energy records. In 2023, the state was powered by two-thirds clean energy, making it the largest economy in the world to achieve this level. California has also run on 100% clean electricity for part of the day almost every day last year (https://www.gov.ca.gov/2025/07/10/california-scores-more-clean-energy-records-9-in-10-days-this-year-partially-powered-by-100-clean-energy/).

♥️ Best state to work in

With strong policy on wages, worker protection and labor rights, we love California as much as California loves its workers!

A report last year declared California the #1 state for workers (https://www.gov.ca.gov/2025/09/01/happy-labor-day-california-is-1-for-workers-1-economy-in-the-nation/), with strong policies on wages, worker protections and labor rights – which make our communities, businesses, and families stronger.

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California creates substantially more businesses than other states, including Florida and Texas — leading to more jobs and opportunities for our workers. California is home to more than 4.2 million small businesses (https://advocacy.sba.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/California.pdf), representing 99.9 percent of all businesses in the state and employing 7 million people.

Strong unions and a strong and empowered workforce makes a strong economy, and supporting and protecting workers is a key component of California's success. It's why California's economic growth outpaces (https://www.gov.ca.gov/2025/09/01/happy-labor-day-california-is-1-for-workers-1-economy-in-the-nation/) all other large states.

♥️ CA is home to Hollywood

California is the entertainment capital of the world (https://www.gov.ca.gov/2025/03/26/investing-in-californias-creative-economy-governor-newsom-welcomes-vogue-world-event-to-hollywood/), and is advancing its creative economy, cultural expression, innovation and growth.

Since 2009, California's Film & Television Tax Credit Program has generated over $30.6 billion (https://www.gov.ca.gov/2025/12/17/lights-camera-action-governor-newsom-announces-28-new-films-coming-to-california-set-to-boost-local-economies/) in economic activity, supporting more than 228,000 cast and crew jobs (https://www.gov.ca.gov/2025/12/17/lights-camera-action-governor-newsom-announces-28-new-films-coming-to-california-set-to-boost-local-economies/) across the state. Last year, Governor Newsom announced a historic expansion of the program, more than doubling the tax credit from $333M to $750M, which is already ramping up new productions in television and film.

From Universal Pictures to Walt Disney Studios, California is home to some of our favorite film studios and producers. Whether you're watching alone (it's okay!) or with your loved ones, Hollywood continues to bring us new shows and movies every year!

♥️ Affordable health care

As the first and only state contracting for its own affordable insulin, the state has made CalRx® biosimilar insulin glargine pens for $11 (https://www.gov.ca.gov/2025/10/16/governor-newsom-announces-affordable-calrx-insulin-11-a-pen-will-soon-be-available-for-purchase/), available in California beginning last month. This launch marks a significant step in the state's ongoing effort to lower prescription drug prices and improve medication access for Californians.

This comes in addition to the affordable naloxone that will cost only $19 – a more than 50% cost decrease from the original market price. Since May 2024, the CalRx Naloxone Access Initiative (https://calrx.ca.gov/get-naloxone/) has saved California more than $40.9 million – and an additional $56 million indirectly, through estimated savings from partnerships with vendors committed to increasing access through lower prices. These savings help sustain the state's broader efforts to combat the opioid crisis and support prevention services, including the Naloxone Distribution Project, which distributes free naloxone to community organizations, first responders, and local agencies

♥️The nation's innovation hubs

Built by innovation, AI is already changing the world, and California remains committed to defining that future. The state is home to 33 of the world's 50 leading private AI companies (https://www.forbes.com/lists/ai50/), high-impact research and education institutions, and a quarter of the technology's patents and conference papers.

California has launched efforts to help the state take advantage of this emerging technology, while also creating nation-leading policy (https://www.gov.ca.gov/2025/09/29/governor-newsom-signs-sb-53-advancing-californias-world-leading-artificial-intelligence-industry/) to protect Californians, businesses, and workers.

California is implementing first-in-the-nation GenAI strategies (https://www.gov.ca.gov/2025/04/29/governor-newsom-deploys-first-in-the-nation-genai-technologies-to-improve-efficiency-in-state-government/) to improve state government and shape the future of ethical, transparent, and trustworthy GenAI deployment. By using this technology to solve statewide challenges from reducing traffic (https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-01-08/california-traffic-roads-safer-generative-ai-help) to addressing homelessness (https://www.gov.ca.gov/2024/09/05/governor-newsom-seeks-to-harness-the-power-of-genai-to-address-homelessness-other-challenges/), California continues to find the most efficient ways to support all Californians!

Press releases (https://www.gov.ca.gov/category/press-releases/), Recent news (https://www.gov.ca.gov/category/recent-news/)

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