Newsletter: Essential California: Carrie Fisher’s final chapter: No Hollywood ending here

Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It’s Tuesday, June 20, and here’s what’s happening across California:

TOP STORIES

Carrie Fisher’s final chapter: No Hollywood ending here

Carrie Fisher never said she had conquered her problems. The quintessential child of Tinseltown never expected a Hollywood ending. She talked openly and often about her 45-year-long fight with bipolar disorder, alcoholism and drug addiction, explaining how opioids in particular “dialed down” her manic episodes. Autopsy results Monday on the “Star Wars” star bring a final, very human chapter to her life. Los Angeles Times

Will he or won’t he?

Billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer’s shadow is beginning to loom large over the 2018 gubernatorial race. The question he’s facing: Is his time and money better spent fighting Trump and the Republican-led Congress, or should he bloody fellow Democrats over the next year and run for the state’s highest office. Los Angeles Times

Skiing in shorts!

Skiers are wearing bikini tops on the slopes as California’s endless winter endures even amid a summer heat wave. For Stev Fagran, a 56-year-old school teacher from Wellington, Nev., the Sierra’s endless winter gives him a chance to build on a personal record of 164 consecutive months skiing, hunting out snow patches until the flakes fall again in September. Los Angeles Times

L.A. STORIES

Get ready! The scorching Southern California heat wave is expected to peak Tuesday. Los Angeles Times

Plus: Here are 25 free and air-conditioned places to beat the heat. Curbed LA

Lawsuit at hand: The city of Los Angeles recently filed a nuisance abatement lawsuit against a church, alleging that the predominantly Latino Playboys gang gathers daily at the Avalon Boulevard property and engages in criminal activity. Los Angeles Times

Beck weighs in: Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck for the first time offered his full support for a bill that would prohibit state and local law enforcement agencies from carrying out immigration laws, calling it an important proposal that protects the trust between his department and the neighborhoods it polices. Los Angeles Times

IMMIGRATION AND THE BORDER

ACA’s impact: “Californians of Mexican descent were more likely to see a doctor and take medicine for high blood pressure after the Affordable Care Act was implemented, according a study published this month.” NBC News

A new move: An immigrant rights activist who has said she was detained by Border Patrol agents in retaliation for protesting the arrest of her mother spoke out publicly for the first time Monday, announcing she will apply for protections as a “Dreamer” in the hopes of avoiding deportation. Los Angeles Times

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Brown gets a raise: Gov. Jerry Brown, state legislators and other state elected officials were granted 3% pay raises Monday by a state panel that noted that it is slightly less than the salary increase that was recently given to rank-and-file state workers. Los Angeles Times

Filling in the gaps: A new state bill is aiming at reviving broadband privacy rules that were killed by Trump and Congress. Los Angeles Times

CSU news: California State University will soon offer admission to all qualified applicants. In the past, students who were qualified ended up being turned away because the campus they wanted to go to was full. The Mercury News

Sky-high rents: “Projections show rents will continue to surge, especially for low- and middle-income people in places like San Francisco, Los Angeles and Sacramento.” The Sacramento Bee

CRIME AND COURTS

Hostile campus? Students and Jewish community members filed a lawsuit Monday against San Francisco State University and Cal State’s Board of Trustees, alleging that the San Francisco campus of the largest public university system in the country has long cultivated a hostile environment in which Jewish students are “often afraid to wear Stars of David or yarmulkes on campus, and regularly text their friends to describe potential safety issues.” Los Angeles Times

Deadly crash: Two people were killed early Monday when a wrong-way driver speeding at up to 100 mph on the 5 Freeway collided with another vehicle in Fullerton, the California Highway Patrol said. Los Angeles Times

Teller arrested: Miles Teller isn’t doing much to alleviate his cocky bro rep. The “Fantastic Four” alum spent some time in a San Diego jail on Sunday after being arrested and charged with public intoxication. Los Angeles Times

Out in the O.C.: Despite a grand jury findings, the fallout from O.C. jailhouse snitch scandal is far from over. Los Angeles Times

Abuse case: A former Santa Cruz brain surgeon — still licensed to practice in California — named Dr. James Kohut allegedly sought to impregnate women in order to later have sex with their children. Santa Cruz Sentinel

Innocent or guilty? New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof writes about the saga of Kevin Cooper, a California death row inmate, whose case Kristof calls a national embarrassment. The New York Times

THE ENVIRONMENT

On the bay: An unlikely partnership between local fishermen in Morro Bay and environmental group the Nature Conservancy is leading to a small upswing in the fishing industry, which most people had left for dead. Marketplace

A baby boom: A Riverside County mountain lion sired 11 kittens, but that won’t fix a weak gene pool. Los Angeles Times

CALIFORNIA CULTURE

Beam me up, Scotty: Infinity “Star Trek” is still living long and prospering with its newest fleet landing on CBS’ streaming service in September. Los Angeles Times

An interesting court case: A Sausalito bookstore owner is suing California over a law regulating autographed items that was initially put in place to prevent counterfeit sports memorabilia. NPR

Restoring access: California is taking steps to seize control of private land leading to a pristine stretch of secluded beach property south of Half Moon Bay, with the hope of restoring public access. Sacramento Bee

All about Eve: Eve Babitz was a Hollywood glamour girl who refused to be dull. Now her account of her time in the city is out, and it’s worth the read. LA Review of Books

CALIFORNIA ALMANAC

Los Angeles area Tuesday: sunny and hot. San Diego: sunny and warm. San Francisco area: partly cloudy and mild. More weather is here.

AND FINALLY

Today’s California memory comes from T. David Yarnes:

“My memory is not one of a resident, but of a frequent visitor. After retiring in 2006, my wife and I opted to spend much of our summers in Oregon, to ‘beat’ the Arizona heat. Our route would generally take us through parts of northern California, and right by Lake Shasta. Each year we would admire how beautiful that lake was. Then, a few years ago, we drove by Lake Shasta and were absolutely shocked! The lake looked almost like a dry bed! Nothing was more illustrative of the drought and water issues facing California, and other areas as well. Since then I have read extensively about California’s water problems, and particularly about the reliance on particular sources like the Colorado River. This has led to all sorts of revelations, such as San Diego’s almost total reliance on the Colorado, and the serious threat to the Salton Sea, which could conceivably create a ‘dust bowl!’ The Golden State is clearly under siege, and you don’t have to look all that hard to see it on various landmarks!”

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.