Newsletter: California’s bullet train plans? Not so fast
Good morning. It is Saturday, Jan. 14. Here’s what you don’t want to miss this weekend:
TOP STORIES
Bullet train woes: More troubling news about California’s bullet train. The project could cost taxpayers 50% more than estimated — as much as $3.6 billion more. And that’s just for the first 118 miles through the Central Valley, which was supposed to be the easiest part of the route between Los Angeles and San Francisco. A federal document outlines far-reaching management problems: significant delays in environmental planning, lags in processing invoices for federal grants and continuing failures to acquire needed property. Los Angeles Times
Ready for launch: SpaceX is set to blast 10 satellites into orbit on one of its Falcon 9 rockets today in its first launch since a September explosion. Los Angeles Times
Chargers’ challenge: Los Angeles just became a two-football-team town, and the Rams already have the advantage over the Chargers. “Get used to it, Chargers. For the foreseeable future, this is going to be one seriously unbalanced relationship.” Los Angeles Times
Storm aftermath: A weekend of cleaning up and surveying the damage in the Sierra Nevada before another big storm moves in. Los Angeles Times
Plus: The salmon population is hit hard by the storms. SFGate
Unicorn: Pinterest might be the next California web firm to hit gold, and no one would make out better than chief executive Ben Silbermann. Wall Street Journal
Not a unicorn but ...: A rare albino deer was spotted near Sacramento.“It’s pretty amazing. It’s just a chance occurrence.” Sacramento Bee
Do-over? A silver lining in San Diego losing the Chargers? A chance to completely rethink Mission Valley. San Diego Union-Tribune
Recycled paper: Work is beginning to revive the aging Herald-Examiner building in downtown L.A., considered by many to be one of the more beautiful if neglected buildings in the city. It’s part of a larger development around the old newspaper building designed by Julia Morgan. Urbanize LA
Lurid tale: Now 70 years later, this is the murder that still haunts L.A. the most. LAist
Jumping ship: Michael Lynton, the chief executive of Sony Entertainment, is stepping down after 13 years at the helm. He will focus on his new role as chairman of Snapchat’s Los Angeles-based parent company. Los Angeles Times
Follow the money: Johnny Depp is claiming in an L.A. court that his business managers defrauded him. (For what it’s worth, the Wall Street Journal says he’s made $650 million over the last three decades.) Wall Street Journal
Release reconsidered: A judge revoked the release of a notorious serial rapist who had been living in a home in the Antelope Valley after leaving a state mental hospital in 2014. The decision means he will be returned to the hospital, to the cheers of some activists. Los Angeles Times
THIS WEEK’S MOST POPULAR STORIES IN ESSENTIAL CALIFORNIA
1. A bizarre “rape fantasy” case takes an even stranger turn in Orange County. Los Angeles Times
2. Is the great California drought finally ending? Los Angeles Times
3. In-N-Out’s heiress speaks out. Business Insider
4. L.A. movie locations that have seen better days. LA Weekly
5. BART riders get fed up. Curbed San Francisco
ICYMI, HERE ARE THIS WEEK’S GREAT READS
Unhappy days: “I left my tacos on the table and took off running.” Immigrants remember the workplace raids across Southern California in the 1980s, an early and blunt federal effort to crack down on illegal immigration. The raids largely have disappeared amid protests from activists and businesses. But Donald Trump is considering bringing them back. Los Angeles Times
Liberal lion: At 84, John Burton is still one California’s most influential politicians, a man with a well-earned reputation for his gruff style and for swearing “more than a West Coast rapper,” as comedian John Oliver remarked while interviewing him for “The Daily Show.” Burton’s charm and razor-sharp political instincts honed over more than a half-century in politics convinced Democrats to tap him to lead them in the age of Trump. Los Angeles Times
Dream weaver: Elon Musk is a dreamer, and that’s why so many are fascinated by him. But dreamers sometimes have trouble delivering. The New Yorker
Spokes people: How Los Angeles bicycling culture has changed, from the immigrant worker who bikes to jobs to the racers who cycle en masse along Mulholland Drive. “Biking was not just a healthy and green mobility alternative in Los Angeles. It was also a matter of social mobility, citizenship and visibility.” Boom California
LOOKING AHEAD
Sunday: A reenactment of the signing of the treaty ending the Mexican American War will be held at Campo de Cahuenga.
Monday: Numerous events around Southern California marking Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Wednesday: Pasadena’s state of the city address.
Saturday: Women gather in downtown L.A. for a local leg of a national women’s march.
Please let us know what we can do to make this newsletter more useful to you. Send comments, complaints and ideas to Shelby Grad.
