Newsletter: Essential California: What are you wearing to Burning Man?

Good morning. It is Wednesday, Sept. 2. A new survey suggests that the signature dish of California is fish tacos. Here's what else is happening in the Golden State:

TOP STORIES

L.A. is their place

Los Angeles will be the U.S. Olympic Committee's pick to bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics. The decision follows a tumultuous month for Olympic officials, who had initially selected Boston as the U.S. representative. The International Olympic Committee will make a final decision in 2017, with L.A. facing stiff competition from Paris, Rome and Hamburg, Germany. If selected, Los Angeles would become the second city to host three Olympic Games. "You can’t overemphasize the importance of experience. They've got strong venues. They've got incredibly strong public support," USOC Chief Executive Scott Blackmun said. Los Angeles Times

A legal win for inmates

Thousands of prison inmates will be moved out of solitary confinement under a legal settlement reached between the state and a core group of inmates who have been in isolation for a decade or more. Authorities will instead house those inmates in small, high-security units. Isolation had been a tool used by prison officials to control prison gangs. Los Angeles Times

FBI raid in Palm Springs

FBI agents served a criminal search warrant on Palm Springs City Hall on Tuesday. Agents also visited the home of Mayor Stephen Pougnet to recover documents. Details about the nature of the search were not immediately available other than an acknowledgment that the search was a joint effort with the Inland Empire Public Corruption Task Force. Los Angeles Times

DROUGHT

Disaster watch: Could California experience its own version of Hurricane Katrina? Under some scenarios, the levees that protect the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta could break in the event of an earthquake or a strong El Niño storm. What to do? "Patch and pray," said Robert Bea, professor emeritus of civil engineering at UC Berkeley. Wired

Conservation efforts: The drought has reached Orange County's largest jail. At the Theo Lacy complex, turf is being removed, low-flow toilets are getting installed, and inmates are getting new shower valves. For all their efforts, jail officials could cut water consumption by as much as 775,000 gallons per month. Orange County Register

Future shock: Coastal waters could rise as much as 4 feet by the end of the century. A video simulation shows what the West Coast could look like under that much water and more. Business Insider

L.A. AT LARGE

Eyes on El Paso: Is Los Angeles in danger of losing Korean American-owned garment businesses to Texas? A representative from El Paso is in town to tout that city's factory space, and later this month the Korean American Apparel Manufacturers Assn. will take a scouting trip there. Business owners cited increases in the minimum wage and stricter labor enforcement as reasons for considering moving. Los Angeles Times

Rising obligations: The L.A. Unified School District could pay even more in settlements to students who were believed to have been abused by two teachers at Miramonte Elementary. Settlements have already reached $169 million -- the most that the school district has paid in a case related to sexual misconduct. Los Angeles Times

Venice killing: The owner of the Cadillac Hotel is charged in the shooting death of a 26-year-old Venice man. A deputy district attorney said that although Sris Sinnathamby did not have the weapon in his hand, he did initiate the situation that led to the slaying of Jascent-Jamal Lee Warren. Sinnathamby has pleaded not guilty. Los Angeles Times

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Moving ahead on jails: The L.A. County Board of Supervisors reaffirmed its decision to spend $2 billion on two new jails. The board first made the decision last month, but the district attorney's office found that the vote violated the state's open-meetings law. Los Angeles Times

New GOP leadership: Assemblyman Chad Mayes (R-Yucca Valley) will be the new Republican leader in the state Assembly. When he takes over on Jan. 4, one of his focuses will be on the so-called innovation economy. In the meantime, Mayes will be working with incumbent Minority Leader Kristin Olsen on fundraising. Sacramento Bee

San Diego race: Encinitas Mayor Kristin Gaspar will run for the San Diego Board of Supervisors. She'll face incumbent Supervisor Dave Roberts and Escondido Mayor Sam Abed in the June primary. San Diego Union-Tribune

Ride-sharing advances: Sacramento International is the latest airport to allow Uber to pick up passengers at terminals. "Our customers have asked us and asked us and asked us to bring Uber to the airport," an airport spokeswoman said. Sacramento Bee

COURTS AND CRIME

Officers charged: Three San Bernardino County sheriff's deputies will face charges in the beating of a suspect who led authorities on a chase on horseback. The April 9 beating of Francis Jared Pusok was captured on video. Dist. Atty. Mike Ramos said his office reviewed that footage in deciding to pursue charges. Los Angeles Times

Suspected suicide: A violin teacher killed himself at his Los Angeles home as U.S. marshals were moving in with a warrant, authorities said. Christopher Ling was accused of sexually assaulting as many as 10 girls during the 1980s at the English music school where he taught. Los Angeles Times

Claim filed: The family of the slain 32-year-old woman in a high-profile case in which the suspect is an immigrant in the U.S. illegally has filed claims against city, county and federal agencies. The family of Kate Steinle believe that their daughter might still be alive had authorities honored a request from immigration officials to keep Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez in custody. Los Angeles Times

Under suspicion: Authorities are investigating whether an off-duty San Francisco police officer sexually assaulted a woman last month. A second officer is under investigation for possibly interfering with the initial investigation. According to a search warrant, a woman went to San Francisco General Hospital, complaining of injuries related to a sexual assault that had taken place five days before. She and the accused officer were acquaintances. NBC Bay Area

CALIFORNIA CULTURE

Tragic end: Toby Sheldon spent more than $100,000 in hair transplants and other procedures to make him look like pop singer Justin Bieber. That helped him gain notoriety but not the kind of fame he was looking for. Sheldon pursued songwriting and other ventures, but nothing worked. Last month, he was found dead in a motel room in the San Fernando Valley. Los Angeles Times

Fashion report: Burning Man may be a place for revelers to let themselves go, but when it comes to the fashion, there are plenty of dos and don'ts. "This year, holographic spandex onesies for men are big. For women, sparkling booty-shorts worn with nothing else are a perennial favorite." New York Times

Eccentric legacy: Car collectors are in Orange County for the auction of vintage cars owned by Gerald Willits, who died last year at 76. He left behind 69 cars, entirely unprotected from the elements, and a disputed estate possibly worth millions. Los Angeles Times

GOLDEN STATE PERSPECTIVES

More mobility, more problems: Congestion, we've been told, is the sign of a broken transportation system. But we've been told wrong, writes former New York City traffic commissioner Sam Schwartz. Rather, he says, "bad" traffic is a sign of a healthy economy, of greater interactions between people. This gets to the heart of the debate over L.A.'s new mobility plan: City planners are right, he says, to focus on improving access to transit and to take steps to slow traffic. Los Angeles Times

An end to solitary: California's practice of almost completely isolating certain prisoners for indeterminate periods bordered on torture, says The Times editorial board, which welcomes the state's ending of indefinite solitary confinement as a tool to compel gang members to talk. Los Angeles Times

CALIFORNIA ALMANAC

San Diego will be partly sunny with a high of 77 degrees. In Los Angeles, there will be areas of low clouds and 79 degrees. In Riverside, it will be partly sunny and 86 degrees. San Francisco will have low clouds and 70 degrees.

AND FINALLY

Today's California Memory comes from Manuel H. Carrera:

Reading the story of Juan Romero, the immigrant whose picture was taken as he cradled Robert Kennedy's head after he was shot at the Ambassador Hotel, brought back the memory of that night. RFK had also shaken my hand during his campaign. I was a UCLA student working for his campaign. Like Juan, I remember the firm handshake and warm smile he gave me. We both learned that night that hope can be taken away in a second.

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.