Newsletter: Today: Not All Latinos Hate Trump

I'm Davan Maharaj, editor of the Los Angeles Times. Not all Latinos dislike Donald Trump, but the Republicans still have a "Latino problem." And Las Vegas wonders where all its weddings went. Here are some story lines I don't want you to miss today.

TOP STORIES

Trump and Latinos

Donald Trump put the Republicans' "Latino problem" in the spotlight with his bluster that Mexicans sneaking into the U.S. were rapists and smugglers. Latinos are not a monolithic bloc, though, and not all of them dislike him. Polling suggests Trump's remarks might not hurt the GOP all that much. That's not to say the party doesn't have a Latino problem; it's just that Trump couldn't make it much worse. 

UC Weighs in on Wages

A day after L.A. County supervisors voted to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2020, the University of California went them one better. It will raise pay to that level for several thousand workers on its campuses, and do it in 2017. That will give the Legislature more to chew on as it considers raising the hourly minimum statewide to $13 from $9. 

Viva Vegas Weddings

Going to the chapel is about as traditional as blackjack in Las Vegas, but lately the number of Sin City weddings has fallen like the water level in Lake Mead: 81,000 last year from 128,000 in 2004. Some point to the recession, but it doesn't add up. Tourists have returned, so why not the quickie and quirky weddings? The county clerk, for one, is on a mission to find out. 

Sky-High in O.C.

A 20-story glass office tower is rising off the 405 Freeway in Irvine. Nothing unusual in that, except that 200 Spectrum Center will be Orange County's biggest building -- and a symbol of an economic surge much of the country could envy. Office space is in demand and job growth is on a tear, much of it in the best-paying sectors. This time, it's not looking like a real estate bubble. 

Skid Row Subplot

There was a subplot in the notorious skid row video of a fatal police shooting of an unarmed homeless man last March. A homeless woman who stepped into the frame and picked up a nightstick an officer had dropped has been in jail since on $1-million bail (reduced Wednesday to $50,000). The charge: assault with a deadly weapon. She could get life in prison.

CALIFORNIA

-- The farther north El Niño’s influence roams, the better it is for Southern California's water supply. 

-- A $65-million plan would transform Metro's neglected Rosa Parks Station into a transportation -- and cultural -- crossroads. 

-- South L.A. residents ask the pope to intervene in a fight over an oil operation. 

-- George Skelton: California can't by itself stop global warming, but it could at least fix its highways.

NATION-WORLD

-- James Holmes deserves to die, prosecutors tell jurors in the penalty phase of the Aurora, Colo., theater massacre trial.

-- The suspect in the Charleston, S.C., church killings is indicted on federal hate-crime charges.

-- Greece's parliament overcomes left-wing dissent and OKs more tough measures demanded by creditors for a huge financial bailout.

-- China appears to ease up on dissident artist Ai Weiwei by returning his passport after four years.

BUSINESS

-- The Special Olympics could give L.A. a longer-range tourism boost.

-- A San Gabriel Valley quarantine for citrus disease is expanded.

-- Shell receives final approval to drill in the Arctic, but with some new conditions.

SPORTS

-- Jamaica upsets the U.S., 2-1, in the Gold Cup soccer semifinal.

-- Former Dodgers ace Fernando Valenzuela, at 54, becomes a U.S. citizen, joining 8,000 others at an L.A. ceremony.

-- Helene Elliott: Roy Hibbert's defensive attitude is OK for the Lakers.

ENTERTAINMENT

-- Review: Spring bursts to life as Gustavo Dudamel conducts "Carmina Burana" at the Hollywood Bowl.

-- "What Pet Should I Get?" A long-lost Dr. Seuss book hits the stores next week.

-- A "Logan's Run" remake seeks a new future with writer Simon Kinberg.

Passings: Wayne Carson, 72, songwriter known for "Always on My Mind" and "The Letter." Lou Lenart, 94, aviator and war hero known as "the man who saved Tel Aviv."

WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING

-- Fascinating, and a little scary: "I think I'm becoming a hoarder" (Vox).

-- A gem from the archives of The Atlantic: "Notes on the History of Fiction," by E.L. Doctorow.

ONLY IN L.A.

The Mystery Man and the Ton of Guns, Part II: Yesterday we told you about the decomposed body traced to a huge cache of guns and ammo in a Pacific Palisades home. Now it looks like he was Jeffrey Alan Lash -- not a government covert agent, just an odd loner who collected guns.   An acquaintance is still mystified, though: What could he have been doing the last five years?

Please send comments and ideas to Davan Maharaj.