Newsletter: Essential California: Behind schedule and over budget

Good morning. It is Thursday, Nov. 12. A Los Angeles dog walker is taking his charges to landmarks across the city. Pictures of the canines in front of the Hollywood sign and hanging out in the L.A. River can be seen on his Instagram account. Here's what else is happening in the Golden State:

TOP STORIES

Falling behind on the job

The 1.9-mile Downtown Regional Connector is already over budget and behind schedule, even though tunneling hasn't even begun. Metro says in a new report that it has spent millions from a reserve account to move electrical lines and utilities. "There are always unexpected costs — so much so that one could argue they shouldn't be unexpected," said a USC professor who studies engineering and transportation. Los Angeles Times

A quarterback for Carson stadium

Disney CEO Robert Iger will lead efforts by the San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders to build a stadium in Carson. As chairman of Carson Holdings, Iger will be responsible for hiring a president and providing the vision for a National Football League stadium and fan experience. It probably doesn't hurt that Disney owns ESPN, a television partner with the league. Los Angeles Times

Another Geffen gift to UCLA

Billionaire David Geffen is donating $100 million to build a private middle school and high school on the UCLA Westwood campus partly for the children of faculty and staff. Geffen and Chancellor Gene Block described the effort as a recruiting and retention tool for those who may be worried about the cost of living and quality of schools in Los Angeles. The Geffen Academy is expected to open in 2017 with 125 students. Los Angeles Times

DROUGHT AND CLIMATE

Fresh powder: From Lake Tahoe and Mt. Rose to Mammoth Mountain, representatives at ski resorts are boasting about their snow from recent storms. The snow is great for ski bunnies, but it's not enough to end California's drought yet. "The key date for California's snowpack is five months away: April 1, when the mountain snowpack is customarily at its peak and state hydrologists know roughly how much melt water it will produce to help fill reservoirs in the spring and early summer." Los Angeles Times

Keep Tahoe blue: Lake Tahoe's water is known for its color and clarity. The lake has gotten murkier since the 1960s, and now scientists believe that the two characteristics may be in conflict. "What the research is revealing is that while clarity is controlled by fine particulates, blueness is controlled by algal concentration. The lower the algal concentration, the bluer the lake," the researchers said. The Atlantic

Burning questions: Here are 10 things you need to know about El Niño, including "Is there anything good about El Niño?" Curbed LA

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Teacher housing: San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee wants to make housing a little easier for teachers in the public school system. He has a five-year plan to provide housing for 500 teachers. "In a city where full-time teachers make a median salary of $66,960 and median rent for a one-bedroom apartment is $3,670 a month, many educators are living outside the school district." Los Angeles Times

No public funds: The city of Oakland will do anything to keep the NFL Raiders in town — anything but spend public money on them. Mayor Libby Schaaf "says she can make that case without flaunting public tax dollars. Instead, she will emphasize Oakland's booming economy and die-hard fan base." San Francisco Chronicle

Olympic dreams: Businessman and former Laker Magic Johnson and labor leader Maria Elena Durazo are joining the campaign to bring the Olympic Games back to Los Angeles in 2024. Unsurprisingly, Johnson calls L.A. "the best sports town in America." Associated Press

CRIME AND COURTS

Hunger strike: Twenty-six asylum seekers at the immigration detention center in Adelanto are on a hunger strike. They're asking the federal government to release them from custody while their cases are considered. "We will not eat until we see our freedom," the group wrote in a list of demands. Los Angeles Times

Drug trade: Riverside County is believed to be the biggest drug distribution center in America thanks to its highways, desert and suburbs, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration. Authorities are seizing large quantities of meth and heroin. Between 2013 and 2015, officials with the DEA have seized $47 million in cash, vehicles and guns. Desert Sun

Offenders' rights: Two registered sex offenders are suing the state, saying it failed to update information on the Megan's Law website in a timely fashion. In the lawsuit, the offenders say they were attacked by vigilantes who found their information on the site, which lacked updated conviction and release dates. Sacramento Bee

Fraud charges: The owners of a Garden Grove medical company are facing federal fraud charges for allegedly participating in a $25-million insurance scheme. Lee Mathis and Fernando Valdes are accused of bribing a San Diego chiropractor to refer patients who had been injured on the job. Orange County Register

Wedding fees: Journey guitarist Neal Schon and the city of San Francisco are settling a lawsuit the musician brought after officials allegedly gouged him on fees for his 2013 wedding at the Palace of Fine Arts. Schon is expected to receive a $290,000 settlement. His wedding to Michaele Salahi, who gained notoriety in 2009 for crashing a White House reception for the Indian prime minister, was broadcast on pay-per-view. San Francisco Chronicle

OBITUARIES

Twins separated: San Ysidro businessman Jack Yufe's extraordinary life sounds like the plot of a movie. Born in Trinidad in 1933, he and his twin brother were soon separated by their parents. Yufe grew up in a Jewish home and even served in the Israeli military. When he was 21 years old, he saw his brother Oskar Stohr again. They were in Germany, where Stohr had once joined the Hitler Youth movement to survive. Yufe was 82 when he died Monday. Los Angeles Times

Topless entertainer: San Francisco's Carol Doda was a cocktail waitress who brought topless dancing into the mainstream in the 1960s and 1970s. Once she picked up a following, Doda had her bust expanded from a 34B to a 44DD. "The only way I'll stop performing is when I can't walk anymore, honey," she told a reporter in 2009. Doda died Monday at the age of 78. SFGate

CALIFORNIA CULTURE

Lunar celebration: For nearly 30 years, Orange County's Little Saigon has hosted the largest Lunar New Year celebration outside Vietnam. That may change next year. Just hours before the City Council was set to vote, two organizers withdrew their application to host the Tet Festival. Los Angeles Times

Preschool wars: Parents are up in arms in Silver Lake over a for-profit preschool that has turned into what one mother called "a preposterous yuppie nightmare." Jezebel

Freeway names: Why do locals say take "the" 10 to the "the" 405? KCET

CALIFORNIA ALMANAC

San Diego will be sunny and 75 degrees. It will be sunny and 78 in Los Angeles. Riverside will be windy and sunny with a high of 77. San Francisco will be partly cloudy with temperatures reaching 61 degrees.

AND FINALLY

Today's California Memory comes from Michael W. Hamilton:

"It's hard to imagine California without ubiquitous cellphones, but my 1950s childhood home had no telephone. We lived on the Las Flores Ranch in Lucerne Valley, owned by my grandfather and managed by my dad and my uncle, in a small communicative community of ranch hands and their families. The single men ate and talked at our table. My mom, without the cook and maid she'd grown up with in Beverly Hills, learned to cook for as many as 15 hungry men, and me. No phone, no 'help,' but she said those years in the high desert with no phone and many mouths to feed were the happiest of her life."

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.