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Newsletter: Essential California: Life in solitary confinement

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Good morning. It is Thursday, Sept. 3. Why did the chicken cross the road? The road here being the Bay Bridge — and in rush hour traffic, no less. Here's what else is happening in the Golden State:

TOP STORIES 

Crime spikes

Downtown is considered one of the trendiest neighborhoods in Los Angeles, but the upscale bars and lofts are clashing with the area's seedier past. New statistics show a dramatic rise in violent and property crimes. "It's just like Mardi Gras on crack again ... Nobody who doesn't live it every day would even understand the level of anarchy that's there," said the Rev. Andy Bales, chief executive of the Union Rescue Mission. Los Angeles Times

Regulating rentals

As Los Angeles city officials try to regulate short-term rentals, a rift is developing between Airbnb and an alliance of smaller rental hosts. Part of the problem is that Airbnb allows "commercial" hosts to rent out multiple properties on its website, and that feeds into politicians' concerns that residential properties are becoming rogue hotels. "Running an illegal hotel, that's very different than someone renting out an extra bedroom in their house," said one Angeleno who rents out his spare room. Los Angeles Times

Fair pay

California is on the cusp of having the nation's strongest bill when it comes to closing the pay gap between men and women. Under the bill, which is awaiting Gov. Jerry Brown's signature, men and women who have "substantially similar" jobs would receive the same pay, even if they have different job titles or work in different divisions of the same company. Los Angeles Times

DROUGHT

Bottled water: Water regulators want Sugar Pine Spring Water to stop tapping the Sierra Nevadas for water that is later bottled and sold to consumers. The state Water Resources Control Board is also recommending a $225,000 fine because the company allegedly continued bottling operations despite notices to stop. Associated Press

Two extremes: California's drought can be considered a once-in-200-year event. Scientists believe what's making the drought so extreme is a heat wave. "When you have drought and heat waves happening at the same time, typically the impact is far greater" than either condition by itself, said Amir AghaKouchak, a civil engineer at UC Irvine. Christian Science Monitor

L.A. AT LARGE

Homicide figures: Thirty-seven people were killed in Los Angeles last month, making it the deadliest August since 2007. Since the start of the year, L.A. has seen a 7% increase in homicides, according to the LAPD. "Whether this is going to be a one-month issue or whether it's going to be something that we see for the rest of the year, it's something that we'll watch very closely," said Chief Charlie Beck. Los Angeles Times

Olympic design: Graphic designer Paul Prejza was one of the people responsible for the look of the 1984 Olympics. If L.A. gets the games again in 2024, "I think the general idea of developing a kit-of-parts, maybe expanding on what we had the last time and using existing buildings are very important to that because that's where a big part of the money goes: into building buildings and running into construction problems and all that," he said. KCRW

Technological difficulties: They continue to plague the L.A. Unified School District. A new report finds limited use of iPads and computers in the classroom and ineffective support for teachers. The report follows the district's botched $1.3-billion program to put an iPad into the hands of every student, teacher and administrator. Los Angeles Times

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Lawyered up: Palm Springs Mayor Steve Pougnet hired a defense attorney known for representing politicians, though it's unclear whether Malcolm Segal was brought on board before or after the FBI's raid on City Hall. "Steve Pougnet is committed to transparency and full cooperation with the inquiry. My intention is to interact with the authorities as openly and as regularly as they desire," Segal said. Desert Sun

More cats: That's right — Los Angeles may soon allow residents to have as many as five cats. Right now, the city caps cat ownership at three felines. Here kitty, kitty, kitty … kitty, kitty. Los Angeles Times

COURTS AND CRIME

Court challenge: In the coming year, the U.S. Supreme Court will take on a California case that could have major implications for public employee unions. Friedrichs v. California challenges the "fair share" fees that employees must pay to a union even if they themselves are not a member. New Yorker

Stolen trophy: A 56-year-old Apple Valley man is accused of trying to sell O.J. Simpson's 1968 Heisman Trophy even though he knew it had been stolen more than 20 years ago from USC. The trophy was stolen in July 1994, just one month after the former player was arrested in the murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend. Simpson was acquitted of those charges. Los Angeles Times

Infection spreads: More than 100 inmates at San Quentin state prison now are ill and may have Legionnaires' disease. Health officials, who already have ordered all water shut off at the prison, have yet to identify the source of the infection. Los Angeles Times

Solitary confinement: California is changing its practices on solitary confinement for state prisoners. This photo gallery shows what life is like in "the SHU." Los Angeles Times

CALIFORNIA CULTURE

Taste test: Six New Yorkers chow down on four different bagels to see if they can tell the difference between a bagel from L.A. and one from N.Y.C. BuzzFeed

Quake survivor: The oldest survivor of San Francisco's 1906 earthquake died at the age of 113. Ruth Newman was four when the quake, with a magnitude up to 8.3, shook her home 70 miles north of the city. "She remembered being downstairs and her father picking her up and running out of the house," Newman’s daughter said. Los Angeles Times

Bathroom attendants: The city of San Francisco is hiring "potty sitters" to ensure people are not shooting up or turning tricks in public toilets. The sitters will be paid $16 an hour to make sure the restrooms are available to a population that's had a lot of problems this summer with using streets and sidewalks as lavatories. San Francisco Chronicle

Unhappy occasion: The Kardashian family appears to have ruined unannounced midweek, midnight fireworks shows for everyone. (Not that it was exactly a problem.) L.A. County's fire chief has been tasked with coming up with a plan to prevent such a private fireworks show from taking place again. The move was prompted by Khloe Kardashian and her decision to have fireworks at a yacht party celebrating her boyfriend's 26th birthday. Los Angeles Times

Chicken tacos: A couple of Tacos Bells in California are now serving "naked crispy chicken tacos," which are essentially taco toppings stuffed inside a piece of fried chicken. Food Beast

CALIFORNIA ALMANAC

San Francisco will have clouds and then sunshine and 69 degrees. In Los Angeles, clouds will break for sun. Temperatures are expected to reach 78 degrees. Riverside will have low clouds and sun, with highs reaching 84 degrees. San Diego will start with low clouds that make way for sunshine and 76 degrees.

AND FINALLY

Today's California Memory comes from Norm Green:

After my first year of college I got a summer job working the graveyard shift at Jack-in-the-Box in Santa Monica. After being trained, my first night alone at the store coincided with the running of the grunion. The huge number of customers ran me ragged for several hours, and I barely had time to take care of the maintenance and preparation work associated with the shift. When my boss arrived at 8 a.m., he was amazed at the amount of overnight receipts. That morning, I went home and had no trouble sleeping.

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.

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