Newsletter: Today: The ‘Flypaper First Lady’ and Superbugs in the Sewer

I’m Davan Maharaj, editor of the Los Angeles Times. Here are some story lines I don’t want you to miss today.

TOP STORIES

The ‘Flypaper First Lady’

As half of one of the most remarkable partnerships in American politics, Nancy Reagan redefined the role of first lady. More than a mere sounding board for her husband, she was a tough-minded, pragmatic advisor, with sway over hirings and firing. If he was the Teflon president, she was once described as “the flypaper first lady,” a lightning rod for criticism. But her steadfastness as Reagan’s caretaker after he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease won her universal admiration and sympathy.

Just Say No

The first lady was meeting with a group of Oakland schoolchildren when a girl asked, “Mrs. Reagan, what do you do if somebody offers you drugs?” Her reply - “Just say no” – became the motto for an anti-drug campaign that was one of her proudest achievements. “Without Nancy Reagan, there would not have been the public climate to support drug abuse prevention,” said Ivy Cohen, former president of the Just Say No Foundation. “She galvanized attention to the issue.”

Looking to the Stars

In one of the stranger episodes from the Reagan White House years, Nancy Reagan acknowledged that she regularly consulted an astrologist. In her memoir “My Turn,” she said she turned to San Francisco astrologer Joan Quigley after the 1981 assassination attempt on her husband, seeking advice on his schedule. Though Quigley said she also weighed in on substantive matters, the first lady insisted that “no political decision was ever based on” Quigley’s reading of the stars.

Superbugs Enter Sewage System – and Then?

Hospitals have long been incubators of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Now scientists are worried that a deadly superbug with a tongue-twisting name -- carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae, or CRE -- could make its way into the Pacific. Government scientists recently reported finding the germ in a Southern California treatment plant. It’s believed to have gotten there in sewage waste from a hospital. Scientists believe this could help explain how the bug has spread beyond medical institutions.

Personal Touch Powers Exports to China

Coach purses, Prada bags and Michael Kors shoes cost a lot more in China than in America. It was only a matter of time before someone devised a workaround. In Chinese communities in the San Gabriel Valley and across the U.S., people buy luxury products for consumers in China, then repackage and ship the goods there, for a price. It’s called daigou, a Chinese phrase that means “to buy on behalf of,” and in 2015 it accounted for an estimated $7.6 billion in luxury purchases.

OUR MUST-READS FROM THE WEEKEND

-- David W. Packard has never seen a Steven Spielberg movie and takes pleasure in reading Homer in the original Greek. But as he told Times film critic Kenneth Turan, he cares deeply about film history, and his Packard Humanities Institute has become one of the leading philanthropic organizations funding film preservation.

-- In a four-block section of Wilmington, people have learned to live with an imposing neighbor: the Phillips 66 refinery. The “skeletal Goliath of pipes, tanks, valves, boilers, stacks, columns and cracking units” fills the neighborhood with its sounds and smells, writes Times reporter Joe Mozingo.

-- Economic storm clouds are gathering in China, particularly in the northeast industrial heartland. In an ominous sign, China has set aside $15.3 billion to assist 1.8 million workers who may be laid off in the coal and steel sectors. Times Beijing correspondent Julie Makinen visited Changchun, the Detroit of China.

-- A month after the California Coastal Commission fired its executive director over opposition from environmentalists, the board of the South Coast Air Quality Management District fired its top staff official, who had pushed for tougher regulations on polluters. “It was like a sequel to a bad movie,” writes Times columnist Steve Lopez.

CALIFORNIA

-- After powerful weekend storms dumped rain across coastal regions and snow in the Sierra, another round of showers and thunderstorms is expected in Southern California on Monday.

-- Amazon.com is opening its second bricks-and-mortar bookstore – in San Diego.

-- A new report describes Los Angeles County’s Central Juvenile Hall as a leaderless operation with “unacceptable” and “deplorable” conditions.

-- The Marine Corps is preparing to remove 1,185 desert tortoises from terrain slated to become part of a combat training ground.

NATION-WORLD

-- Democrats Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders spar over trade and the economy during a debate in Flint, Mich.

-- Republican Sen. Marco Rubio’s latest primary losses show the limits of his “Starbucks strategy” of banking on affluent young suburbanites.

-- Venetians look for the right way to observe the 500th anniversary of Europe’s first ghetto.

-- Chinese authorities blame “gross negligence” for the death by starvation of a woman trapped in a broken elevator for more than a month.

-- An Iranian court sentences one of the country’s wealthiest businessmen to death for skimming oil profits.

HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS

-- “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” channels “MASH” in taking a comic approach to war.

-- “Downton Abbey” gives fans a feel-good finale.

-- Music review: Conductor Gemma New coaxes an uneven but promising performance from the Long Beach Symphony.

-- TV review: “Damien,” an A&E series inspired by “The Omen,” gives evil a bad name.

-- Disney’s “Zootopia” grosses an estimated $73.7 million over the weekend, for the fourth-largest March opening ever.

BUSINESS

-- What would President Trump mean for the stock market?

— A $500-million remake of the Beverly Center will focus on food and sunlight.

SPORTS

-- The bottom-dwelling Lakers pull off the upset of the NBA season, defeating the league-best Golden State Warriors, 112-95.

-- Peyton Manning, a five-time NFL most valuable player, announced his retirement a month after leading the Denver Broncos to a Super Bowl title.

-- Dodger infielder Chase Utley will not be suspended for a hard slide that broke an opponent’s leg in an October playoff game.

WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING

— Two years ago, Donald Trump predicted his astonishing success in the 2016 presidential campaign, telling a roomful of New York politicians: “I’m going to suck all the oxygen out of the room.” (Politico)

-- An influx of knowledge workers is breathing life into parts of America’s Rust Belt. (The Economist)

— As we live longer, the definition of what constitutes “a full life” is changing. (The Atlantic)

ONLY IN L.A.

On March 4, 1952, Ronald Reagan and Nancy Davis were married in Studio City, at the Little Brown Church in the Valley. The church’s link to the first couple has made it world-famous – especially in Japan, where the Reagans were hugely popular. Japanese couples still buy package deals to fly to Los Angeles, get married at the Little Brown Church and go on honeymoons at Disneyland.

Please send comments and ideas to Davan Maharaj.