Newsletter: Essential California: New regulations for marijuana

Good morning. It is Saturday, Oct. 10. Here's what you don't want to miss this weekend:

TOP STORIES

Preparing for an earthquake: Los Angeles is now home to the nation's toughest seismic safety regulations. A new law requires about 15,000 property owners to retrofit their concrete buildings and wood apartment complexes. They will be costly projects at $60,000 to $130,000 for the wood-framed buildings and possibly millions of dollars to retrofit concrete developments. Los Angeles Times

Pot regulations: Gov. Jerry Brown signed three bills regulating the growth, transport and sale of marijuana. The move comes 20 years after voters approved the drug for medicinal purposes and one year before the state may legalize it for recreational use. "This sends a clear and certain signal to our federal counterparts that California is implementing robust controls not only on paper, but in practice," the governor wrote in a signing message. Los Angeles Times

Accusation of assault: A UCLA football player was suspended from the team after he was arrested on suspicion of raping a classmate. Adam Searl was released on $300,000 bond. Police are expected to give their findings to the district attorney's office early next week. Los Angeles Times

"Inhospitable" environment: A new study finds that UCLA's Anderson School of Management has a culture that prevents women from being hired and promoted. The business school is led by a woman, but its 82-member faculty includes just 18 women. "An internal report in 2006 focused on why women faculty were leaving the school at a high rate and a 2013 study by the campus-wide faculty Senate found the business and management school 'inhospitable to women.'" Los Angeles Times

Subpoenas issued: Federal prosecutors want staffers for L.A. City Councilwoman Nury Martinez to testify before a grand jury about her recent reelection campaign. A political consultant for the Valley representative said Martinez is not the subject of an investigation. This comes six months after a staffer to another San Fernando Valley politician, Rep. Tony Cardenas, was subpoenaed to appear before a grand jury. Los Angeles Times

Complaints of harassment: Geoffrey Marcy is a world-famous exoplanet researcher and, according to UC Berkeley, has repeatedly violated the university's sexual harassment policy. Although he disagrees with those findings, Marcy apologized that his behavior "was unwelcomed by some women." BuzzFeed

Fight in the street: A road-rage fight in San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood left a 56-year-old man with life-threatening injuries. After a minor crash, authorities said, two men got out of their cars. One punched the other in the face, causing him to fall and hit his head on the pavement. The aggressor fled the scene before police arrived. SFGate

Dangerous conditions: Three pumas in the Santa Monica Mountains have been found dead in recent weeks. "From our roads to rat poisons to potentially increased interactions with other mountain lions, it is very difficult for young animals to make it to adulthood, establish their own home range and reproduce," said Dr. Seth Riley of the National Park Service. LAObserved

Medley of cultures: Only in Los Angeles would you have a Mexican kosher ice cream shop. Flavors include queso, membrillo and leche quemada. LA Weekly

THIS WEEK'S MOST POPULAR STORIES IN ESSENTIAL CALIFORNIA

1. The Yottas are not your typical couple next door. They throw parties with a caged lion. They invited attractive, single women to live with them. And when Bastian Yotta is feeling slow, he picks up a sword and yells, "I have the power." Los Angeles Times

2. Actor Tom Cruise is selling another mansion. His Beverly Hills estate is on the market for $50 million. Los Angeles Times

3. Joel Dreyer was a respected psychiatrist who frequently testified in criminal trials. So how did he end up behind bars as one of the biggest prescription drug dealers in Riverside County? California Sunday Magazine

4. Columnist Steve Lopez drove around Bel-Air looking for the homeowner who used 1,300 gallons of water per hour. To use that much water, "about 135 people would have to each take a one-hour shower in one day, which is entirely possible, because some of these houses have 15 or 20 bedrooms and a couple dozen bathrooms," he writes. Los Angeles Times

5. Is Reyner Banham's 1971 "Los Angeles: The Architecture of Four Ecologies" the best book ever written about an American city? "Its happiness fuelled by an Englishman’s perversity: Everyone says L.A. sucks? I’ll show you it shines.” The New Yorker

ICYMI FROM THIS WEEK'S GREAT READS

What door? In the Indian town of Shani Shinganapur, no one locks the door at night. That's probably because almost no one even has a door. Residents there believe that Shani, the Hindu deity, protects them from intruders and criminals. "To install a door with a latch or a cupboard with locks, devotees say, would be to question Lord Shani's powers — and invite his wrath." Los Angeles Times

LOOKING AHEAD

Monday: The Columbus Day Drive golf tournament, which benefits the Special Olympics, will be held in San Juan Capistrano.

Tuesday: The future of the Salton Sea will be discussed at the Cal State University Associates speakers' series in Palm Desert.

Thursday: The Orange County Auto Show will open in Anaheim.

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.