Newsletter: Essential California: How a U.S. citizen was mistakenly targeted for deportation

Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It’s Thursday, Nov. 30, and here’s what’s happening across California:

TOP STORIES

Four frightening days

Sergio Carrillo is a U.S. citizen, and his arrest in a Home Depot parking lot by an officer wearing a Homeland Security uniform was the start of a perplexing and frightening ordeal. Immigration officials scoffed at his claims of citizenship and instead opened a case to have him deported. It would take four days for government officials to concede their mistake and release him. Los Angeles Times

What happens to CHIP?

Unless Congress comes to an agreement fast, federal funding for a program that provides health insurance to 2 million California children and pregnant women will run out around the end of the year. After that, California could be on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars, because the state is required to offer the insurance even if the federal funds don’t show up. Los Angeles Times

Plus: Graduate students at USC, UCLA and more than 40 other campuses staged a national walkout Wednesday to protest the GOP tax plan, which they say would significantly boost the cost of their educations. Los Angeles Times

More from Mexico

Imagine a mortgage loan that only gets more expensive, even if you make payments on time. That’s what happened to Maria De Jesus Silva on a spring day in 2014, when she found a thick stack of foreclosure documents on her doorstep. Her story is an example of one of the harsher aftershocks of Mexico’s housing collapse. It came from subprime-like mortgages given to the working poor, people who didn’t qualify for loans from Infonavit, Mexico’s giant housing finance agency. Los Angeles Times

L.A. STORIES

Lauer fired: Matt Lauer was fired from NBC’s “Today” show Wednesday after the company said it received a complaint about the co-anchor concerning “inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace.” Los Angeles Times

Plus: Here are some of the stories woman have about Lauer. Variety

Media news: LA Weekly’s editorial staff was gutted Wednesday as Voice Media Group completed its sale of the alternative newsweekly to a newly created company, Semanal Media. Nine of the 13 members of the editorial staff lost their jobs, including all the top editors and all but one of the staff writers. Los Angeles Times

Bad crash: A bystander was killed and three Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputies were injured during a high-speed pursuit through Malibu on Wednesday morning, authorities said. Los Angeles Times

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Coming soon: Recreational weed could be on sale in San Francisco as soon as Jan. 5 if the mayor quickly signs legislation approved by the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. Los Angeles Times

Chatting with L.A.’s mayor: “The Atlantic’s editor in chief Jeffrey Goldberg talks with Mayor Eric Garcetti about what people misunderstand about Los Angeles, whether a mayor could win the presidency, and where he goes to find the best tacos.” The Atlantic

A crisis among us: The national diabetes epidemic that is driving up healthcare costs has hit California hard, afflicting more than half the state’s adults and costing taxpayers billions of dollars for treatment of a largely preventable disease. CalMatters

Meet the landlord: Here’s what happens when Wall Street is your landlord in Los Angeles. LA Weekly

CRIME AND COURTS

Shooting update: The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is investigating a shooting in Santa Clarita that left a deputy and a suspect injured. The gunfire occurred about 10:30 p.m. Tuesday in the 21300 block of Bottletree Lane in Newhall after officers responded to a report of assault with a deadly weapon involving two male suspects. Los Angeles Times

Umm: Retired New York police Det. Michael Struk testified that during his investigation into the disappearance of Robert Durst’s wife three decades ago he had sex with a witness. Would you agree, a prosecutor asked, that your actions were “about as unprofessional as you could get?” “Yes,” Struk responded. Los Angeles Times

See you in court: California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra says the state is suing for-profit Ashford University and its parent company, Bridgepoint Education. The state has accused the online-only school of misleading students about its tuition costs, burying them in student loan debt and offering little of value in return. Los Angeles Times

THE ENVIRONMENT

Important to watch: “California regulators on Thursday may finally decide whether an electric utility sued over wildfire damage can pass those costs on to its customers.” The San Francisco Chronicle

Body found: The body of a teenager who went missing last week in Yosemite National Park has been found, officials said Wednesday. Los Angeles Times

CALIFORNIA CULTURE

Going to the video tape: Security camera footage is inconsistent with the FBI’s account of an August meeting that is a key part of the college basketball bribery case against USC associate head coach Tony Bland and would-be sports agent Christian Dawkins. Los Angeles Times

Check it out! A 10-city tour of artifacts from the tomb of the world’s most famous boy king is kicking off in Los Angeles, and exhibit sponsors are projecting a multimillion-dollar tourist spending spree during the show’s 10-month stint. Los Angeles Times

Speaking of …: It’s not a real Egyptian artifact, but a sphinx from the Cecil B. DeMille silent film “The Ten Commandments” is being unearthed in Guadalupe. Quartz

Will he return? USC quarterback Sam Darnold’s second college season has been much different from his first. Will it be his last? Los Angeles Times

Living it up: The Eagles’ “Hotel California” album turned 40 last year, and it’s finally getting an anniversary reissuing. Here are five things you might not know about it. LA Weekly

CALIFORNIA ALMANAC

Los Angeles area: partly cloudy, 73, Thursday; sunny, 75, Friday. San Diego: partly cloudy, 68, Thursday; partly cloudy, 70, Friday. San Francisco area: sunny, 61, Thursday; partly cloudy, 60, Friday. Sacramento: sunny, 62, Thursday; partly cloudy, 61, Friday. More weather is here.

AND FINALLY

Today’s California memory comes from Lynn Andrews:

“In 1992, I spent several months in Pismo Beach with my husband, who was a project manager in San Luis Obispo. It was a magical time in the Golden State, exploring both Northern and Southern Cali on weekends with my 2½-year-old daughter and one on the way. The sunny weather, amazing farmers market, sandy beaches and rocky beach lookouts along the 101 while driving in his 1967 Corvette was truly exhilarating. We were living the California dream and awaiting the birth of our second child.

“I remember seeing the signs for California Polytechnic State University in SLO and wondered would our child be a boy and would he attend the reputable college of science or engineering. (Ultrasounds were just out and very unreliable back then.) What a fabulous town in California: small, quaint, seaside, vineyards, and oh so friendly. We returned home to St. Louis and were blessed with another baby girl.

“Soon my dream is about to come true. Our daughter is in her fifth and final year, with graduation set for June 17, 2018, from Cal Poly SLO with a degree in landscape architecture and a minor in construction management. I cannot wait to experience that moment she accepts her diploma as I proudly stand by and remember the fond memories I made so many years ago. Tears of great joy and immense sadness will be shed in the Golden State as we remember 10 years ago on June 17, 2008, my husband was tragically killed by a drunk driver. He never had the chance to see her 16th birthday, but as we embrace each other at graduation, I know my heart will be full of only good memories.”

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 Benjamin Oreskes and Shelby Grad. Also follow them on Twitter @boreskes and @shelbygrad.