Newsletter: Essential California: UCLA, UC Berkeley boost campus diversity

Good morning. It is Thursday, July 7. How is this for adorable? Video footage of new mountain lion kittens in the Santa Susana Mountains. Here’s what else is happening in the Golden State:

TOP STORIES

Diverse student body

UCLA and UC Berkeley, the flagship campuses of the University of California system, boosted admission offers to in-state residents as well as Latino and African American students, officials said. The news follows criticism that the UC system needed to diversify its elite campuses. “We are happy to welcome to the university so many more Californians, a diverse, high-achieving group of both freshman and transfer students,” said UC President Janet Napolitano. Los Angeles Times

Trust issues

In Oakland, efforts to help young victims of sex trafficking have been complicated by Oakland police officers’ involvement with one of the girls. “They were participating in the human trafficking of this girl. Passing her around from area to area, giving her breaks … they became the pimp,” said John Burris, a civil rights attorney. Some now question whether police will have problems gaining the trust of the victims they’re trying to help. Los Angeles Times

Construction boom?

A proposed $1.2-billion housing bond in the city of Los Angeles would set off a major construction initiative if passed by voters in November. City officials would have to buy up hundreds of parcels and then rent them for $1 a year to groups that develop permanent supportive housing. “The strategy could leave city officials facing the same obstacles that have bedeviled private real estate developers for years.” Los Angeles Times

DROUGHT AND CLIMATE

Bone dry: The last five years in downtown have been the driest since official record-keeping began 140 years ago. Since July 2011, downtown Los Angeles has had 38.79 inches of rainfall. “The phenomenal ongoing water conservation by state residents as we enter the hottest summer months clearly shows Californians understand we remain in stubborn drought conditions statewide and that saving water is just the smart thing to do,” said Water Board Chairwoman Felicia Marcus. Los Angeles Times

Climate change: California’s redwoods may be the new weapon in the fight against global warming. The trees “remove and store more carbon from the atmosphere per acre than any other forests.” One scientist at Humboldt State University believes that attribute may be more important than the tree’s lumber. Mercury News

Low levels: The water in Lake Mead has reached a historic low. “I think we’ve proven over the last 20 years that we can effectively work together to find solutions that really work. And as long as we continue to do that, the water war won’t happen,” said Tom Buschatzke, director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources. Los Angeles Times

L.A. AT LARGE

Lucrative discovery: Biotech firms are fighting over a cancer drug developed at UCLA. “The takeover battle shows how lucrative the market for new cancer treatments has become as companies charge prices that would be enough to buy a home in some areas of the country.” Los Angeles Times

Cheap flight: You’ll be nickeled and dimed on this $99 flight from Los Angeles to Iceland, but it’s probably worth it (even with that 12-hour delay). “Right now, I found a flight from LAX to Iceland and Paris and back again for less than what it costs to go from Burbank to Ohio. Iceland, I promise you, is much nicer than Cleveland.” Los Angeles Magazine

Historical homes: The Snow White Cottages in Los Feliz, built by Walt Disney for his animators, used to be charming and affordable. Now charm will cost $2,750 a month. (Here’s a brief history on the cottages.) Curbed LA

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Politician passes: The first woman to serve in the California Assembly and Senate died Wednesday at the age of 90. Marian Bergeson represented Newport Beach in the state Legislature and also served as the 1990 Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, an Orange County supervisor, a state education secretary, a member of the state Board of Education and an appointee to the state Transportation Commission. A retired legislative staffer said she was “very much the lady, but with an adventurous spirit.” Sacramento Bee

Null and void: Did you receive a ticket at Katella Avenue and Bloomfield Street in Los Alamitos? It may be invalid now that engineers have found the light switched from yellow to red faster than state law allows. The tickets from those red-light cameras can cost as much as $500 a pop. Orange County Register

Vaccine rules: Parents will no longer be able to opt out of vaccinating their children for religious reasons in California. Here’s how the new law will work when the school year rolls around in the fall. 89.3 KPCC

CRIME AND COURTS

Suspect wanted: Police are looking for a man who raped two women in West Los Angeles. The attacks took place on the same street in the Sawtelle area July 2 and July 4, officials said. The rapist is described as a “violent sexual predator.” Los Angeles Times

Tech attack: An Oakland man is accused of firebombing two Google Street View cars and shooting out the windows of a Google office. Raul Diaz told police he attacked the tech firm because Google “was watching him, and that made him upset,” according to a statement. Mercury News

Senseless beatings: A fourth homeless man was attacked in downtown San Diego on Wednesday and police believe the same assailant is behind the recent assaults. In this latest case, the man was beaten and set on fire. Victims in two of the attacks have died as a result of their injuries. “We consider him extremely dangerous. We need to have him removed from the community as soon as possible,” said San Diego Police Capt. David Nisleit. San Diego Union-Tribune

A homicide: The death of a 21-year-old sailor during a Navy SEAL training exercise was a homicide, according to the San Diego medical examiner. James Derek Lovelace died May 6 after he was repeatedly dunked underwater by an instructor. The medical report found “actions, or inactions, of the instructors and other individuals involved were excessive and directly contributed to the death.” San Diego Union-Tribune

CALIFORNIA CULTURE

Found in the desert: More than 450 bodies have been found in Imperial County since 1990. Authorities say 90% were undocumented immigrants crossing the border. “No other border county faces such a problematic combination of border crossings, deceptively deadly terrain and limited resources in its coroner’s office, which is responsible for identifying the deceased.” Desert Sun

Underground treasure: There are a lot of old ships buried under San Francisco’s Financial District. “As the ships collapsed, their timbers were mixed with dirt, rubble, ballast stones and whatever residents could find to create land where there was once water. Gradually the cove was filled in, and the abandoned vessels became a permanent part of the infrastructure.” SFGate

Outta here: Californians are flocking to the Pacific Northwest. Call it “Droughtlandia.” Pacific Standard

All aboard: Where’s Hyperloop when you need it? One man’s train journey from San Francisco to Los Angeles. BuzzFeed

Happy hour: Ever find yourself suffering from writer’s block? (We wouldn’t know anything about that…) How about mixing up a California Distraction to power through? LA Review of Books

CALIFORNIA ALMANAC

San Diego will have clouds and a high of 73 degrees. Los Angeles will have clouds and a high of 79. In Riverside, temperatures will reach 90 degrees as the clouds clear for sunshine. It will be cloudy and 65 in San Francisco. It’ll be sunny and 86 in Sacramento.

AND FINALLY

Today’s California Memory comes from Myles Omel:

“Over the years, I have traveled from one end of our state to the other many times, and I have been a witness to many great social, political and environmental changes, but none better than the changes that were made over the past 10 years to the what is now known as the Presidio National Park at the northern-most tip of the San Francisco peninsula. The landscaping improvements made to the recreational areas surrounding this former military fort and to the state highways connecting it to our city’s famous Golden Gate Bridge have been nothing short of spectacular.”

If you have a memory or story about the Golden State, share it with us. Send us an email to let us know what you love or fondly remember about our state. (Please keep your story to 100 words.)

Please let us know what we can do to make this newsletter more useful to you. Send comments, complaints and ideas to Alice Walton or Shelby Grad.