Newsletter: Essential California: A wind farm in the Pacific Ocean

Good morning. It is Tuesday, Nov. 10. There's been a bear baby boom in Three Rivers. When they stroll into town, the bears appear to be more interested in acorn nuts than in people. Here's what else is happening in the Golden State:

TOP STORIES

Charter school opposition

The Los Angeles Board of Education is considering a proposal in opposition to the Broad Foundation's goal of converting half the city's public schools to charters. The resolution "asserts that rapid, unchecked growth of charters could result in fiscal ruin for L.A. Unified and harm students in the process." Charter school supporters say the United Teachers Los Angeles union is stirring up anxiety around the issue. Los Angeles Times

New whale program

SeaWorld will dramatically change the way it shows orcas in San Diego. The new program is expected to put less emphasis on tricks and pay more attention to conservation and what the whales do naturally in the wild. The company's CEO said the change is not a reaction to critics and the documentary "Blackfish" but to the requests of visitors. "We don't do anything in San Diego in response to activists. We do it because we have heard from our guests," said Joel Manby. Los Angeles Times

DROUGHT AND CLIMATE

Flood recovery: Death Valley National Park is facing a long recovery after a 1,000-year flood triggered by a storm that left 3 inches of rain in five hours. "We're gearing up for a long, hard recovery," the park's superintendent said. Los Angeles Times

Rail versus dams: Rep. Kevin McCarthy, the Bakersfield Republican and House majority leader, has suggested taking money set aside for California's high-speed train and using it to better prepare for future droughts. But is that the only option? "Water is not simple, and neither are the needs of a rapidly growing state." City Lab

Water problem: Residents in Sacramento were unknowingly exposed to a carcinogen in their water, according to a news report. "Testing of the chemical called aluminum chlorohydrate, or ACH, almost immediately sent up warning signs that something was seriously wrong, and even though those red flags continued for an entire year, the city didn't stop and didn't warn people about a hazard." ABC10

L.A. AT LARGE

Ride service issues: Parking revenue is down at Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, and officials there believe that ride-hailing companies like Uber and Lyft are to blame. In addition to the lost parking fees, airport authorities say, those drivers are creating traffic backups as they wait for passengers in and around the short-term parking lots. Los Angeles Times

Women behind BLM: These are the women (and Angelenos) behind the Black Lives Matter movement. "In a nation where black women are still stuck at the bottom of the power structure, Black Lives Matter is the only major national protest movement to be led by them in modern times." LA Weekly

Whole story: Whole Foods can tell you everything you need to know about the wealthy residents of Los Angeles. "Rich people shop at Whole Foods, really rich people build Whole Foods and really really rich people won't let your filthy Whole Foods anywhere near their pristine, septic tank-filled beach community.” LA Weekly

Public transit: For 50 years, the Pacific Electric Red Car trolleys ran all over Los Angeles, giving Angelenos plenty of public transit options. A new interactive map shows just how extensive that network was. Curbed LA

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Direct democracy: The state's November 2016 ballot could include anywhere from 15 to 19 ballot measures. "All of this may be the equivalent of a full employment act for political professionals, but a lengthy and dense ballot can turn off voters." Los Angeles Times

Statute of limitations: One state senator wants to eliminate the state's statute of limitations on rape and other sex crimes. "A sexual predator should not be able to evade legal consequences in California for no other reason than that the time limits set in state law have expired," said state Sen. Connie M. Leyva (D-Chino). Current state law typically limits prosecution of a felony sexual offense to 10 years after the crime, although more time can be provided if new DNA is found. Los Angeles Times

Renewable energy: A Seattle company wants to build the state's first ocean wind farm off the coast near Morro Bay. The 100 floating turbines could create enough energy to power 300,000 homes. "It's energy from the jet stream, as pure as it comes," said the CEO of Trident Winds. San Jose Mercury News

CRIME AND COURTS

Grim Sleeper defense: Defense attorneys for Lonnie Franklin Jr. are reversing course on one of their expert witnesses. A DNA expert hired by the defense tied evidence from two of the Grim Sleeper's victims to convicted murderer Chester Turner, but a judge later determined that the expert "woefully failed to meet the generally accepted methods of the scientific community in the area of forensic DNA analysis." Los Angeles Times

No charges: A San Diego police officer will not be charged with the shooting of an unarmed homeless and mentally ill man. The district attorney's office found that Officer Neal Browder feared for his life when he shot and killed Fridoon Rawshan Nehad. The officer and two witnesses reported that they believed Nehad had a knife. It later turned out to be a pen. San Diego Union-Tribune

HOUSING

Airbnb's conditions: Of all the arguments for and against Airbnb, the safety of guests is not one that is frequently mentioned. A Los Angeles writer is hoping to bring attention to the issue after his father was fatally injured while staying at a home rented through the site. "Hotel rooms are standardized for safety, monitored by staff, and often quite expensive. Airbnb rentals, on the other hand, are unregulated, eclectic, and affordable, and the safety standards are only slowly materializing." Medium

Kicking them out: The city of Anaheim is getting ready to re-enforce rules against camping. The crackdown is aimed at homeless individuals who live on the city's streets and in the parks. "Police will break out the cuffs for public safety issues like carrying firearms, slingshots, making a camp fire, damaging property, gambling, drinking ... and sleeping at the park after hours. Camping, bathing and cooking outside BBQ grills are considered lesser infractions." OC Weekly

Middle-class apartments: A development in San Francisco will now include the largest ever affordable housing commitment the city has had on private land. At the 5M project, in the South of Market neighborhood, 40% of units will be rented below market rate. Some of the units will be set aside for formerly homeless individuals. Other units could be rented out to a family of four making $152,850 a year or less. San Francisco Business Journal

EDUCATION

More admissions: UC president Janet Napolitano wants to expand in-state enrollment by 10,000 students by the 2018-19 school year. University officials are studying what that would mean for housing and classroom sizes. UC regents are expected to vote on the issue next week in San Francisco. Los Angeles Times

CALIFORNIA CULTURE

Science funding: Scientists were awarded about $22 million by Silicon Valley donors Sunday night via the Breakthrough Prize for discoveries about the universe and the mind. "This year's laureates have all opened up ways of understanding ourselves," said biologist Anne Wojcicki, cofounder and chief executive of 23andMe. San Jose Mercury News

CALIFORNIA ALMANAC

Riverside will have clouds and a high of 65 degrees. San Diego will have morning showers and a high of 67. Los Angeles will have some clouds as highs reach 69. San Francisco will be sunny and 58 degrees.

AND FINALLY

Today's California Memory comes from Troy Carrington:

"Ah, the Golden State. The best thing I remember were the people. Not the celebrities or the film people, just the people. Whether it was the taco vendor in East L.A., the mechanic that worked on my car, or any other person I met in the 15 years I lived there, it seemed that Californians, for the most part, were more accepting of new ideas, different ways of doing things, and the warmth of their beings was warm as a summer's day. California was good to me, for the most part. I worked in the business, I worked outside of the business, and it seemed that it was the land of milk and honey. I never had a bad day living and working there."

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.