Newsletter: Essential California: LAPD’s safety checks fall out of compliance

Good morning. It is Saturday, June 4. Here’s what you don’t want to miss this weekend:

TOP STORIES

Campaign donations: Who are the donors giving to Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders? “Now, a Times analysis of nearly 7 million individual contributions has provided unprecedented detail about the army of people behind the $27 donations Sanders mentions at virtually every campaign stop.” Los Angeles Times

Safety checks: A new report finds most welfare checks at the LAPD’s largest detention facility are done improperly. An estimated 82% of the 198 checks at the Metropolitan Detention Center were “out of compliance.” There’s no evidence that the bad checks resulted in any inmate injuries or deaths. Los Angeles Times

Building loan: A downtown hotel project will receive $198.5 million in financial aid from Los Angeles, per a city council vote Friday. The combination of subsidies and loans will go to Related Co., which will build two towers across the street from the Walt Disney Concert Hall. Construction is expected to begin at the end of 2017. Los Angeles Times

Controversial housing: The San Francisco Planning Commission approved the largest housing development ever for the city’s Mission District despite residents’ concerns that it will squeeze out working-class families. The project — critics call it the Beast on Bryant — would include 196 market-rate units and 130 affordable units. “The property at 18th and Bryant has become symbolic not only because of the size of the housing development, but because it was home to one of the neighborhood’s most beloved arts community.” San Francisco Chronicle

Victim impact statement: Former Stanford swimmer Brock Turner was sentenced to six months in county jail for assaulting a woman in January 2015. Here is the entire statement the victim read to the court during the sentencing hearing. “It is the saddest type of confusion to be told I was assaulted and nearly raped, blatantly out in the open, but we don’t know if it counts as assault yet. I had to fight for an entire year to make it clear that there was something wrong with this situation,” she said. BuzzFeed

Seat at the table: A state bill that would have added eight seats to the Metro Board of Directors was shelved, but the same can’t be said for the concerns of the bill’s author. Sen. Tony Mendoza (D-Artesia) believes the needs of cities in southwest L.A. County have been repeatedly overlooked in favor of more high-profile transit projects. “It’s so blatant, and so disappointing,” he said. Los Angeles Times

Famous Californian: Who was Clara Shortridge Foltz and why is there a courthouse named after her? She was the first woman admitted to the California State Bar. “She did this even though women were not allowed to be attorneys at that time,” said Kelly Wallace, a librarian at downtown’s Central Library. 89.3 KPCC

THIS WEEK’S MOST POPULAR STORIES IN ESSENTIAL CALIFORNIA

1. Panic swept the UCLA campus this week when a murder-suicide triggered a lockdown and rumors of an active shooter. UCLA professor William Klug, described by students and colleagues as kind and brilliant, was killed by a former doctoral student. Los Angeles Times

2. In Fresno, columnist Robin Abcarian found Latino voters who support presumptive GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump. “I understand that Mexicans do the farm labor, but there are a lot of legal ones. That’s how they should do it, the way my parents did,” said one supporter. Los Angeles Times

3. When three women spotted a man pouring something suspicious into his date’s drink, they jumped into action. They warned the date and called police. Michael Hsu was later arrested and charged with administering a drug and assault with the intent to commit a sex crime. LAist

4. A classic Hollywood property is on the market for $8.795 million. Curbed LA

5. There is an adorable taco shack in downtown L.A. DTLA Rising

ICYMI, HERE ARE THIS WEEK’S GREAT READS

On the case: Inside the bizarre manhunt in Fort Bragg two years ago for a murderer. His tragic backstory is as compelling as the dragnet itself. California Sunday Magazine

Coastal transparency: Will Sacramento lawmakers bring transparency to the Coastal Commission? There’s a bill to eliminate private meetings between commissioners and applicants and a second bill to require more information from lobbyists, writes columnist Steve Lopez. “That’s the whole point — that these are secret meetings, and you don’t meet in secret with an adjudicatory body that’s supposed to be impartial,” said state Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara). Los Angeles Times

Diverse force: Meet the only Chinese-speaking cop in Monterey Park, a predominantly Asian city. He faced a battle of wills with his mother to become a cop, and that speaks to the troubles police departments have in recruiting more like him. Los Angeles Times

Under the bridge: An anthropologist has discovered an almost extinct form of American hieroglyphics known as hobo graffiti along the walls of the Los Angeles River. Associated Press

Ride the train: Take a trip on the Metro Expo Line and discover a whole new Los Angeles. That’s what happened to columnist Robin Abcarian. “There is something exhilarating about seeing familiar scenery, even mundane stuff, from a different vantage point,” she writes. Los Angeles Times

LOOKING AHEAD

Monday: Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department will announce plans to build a new sheriff’s station in Santa Clarita.

Tuesday: Election day, with big contests including Clinton vs. Sanders and Harris vs Sanchez.

Friday: “Star Trek” actor George Takei gets an honorary degree from Cal State L.A.

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.