Newsletter: Essential California: 1 in 4 students at this L.A. school migrated from Central America
Good morning. It is Saturday, July 16. Here’s what you don’t want to miss this weekend:
TOP STORIES
Hard life: At Belmont High School in Los Angeles’ Westlake neighborhood, one in four students is from Central America and many of them came to the states as unaccompanied minors. Gaspar Marcos is like many of them — he works nights as a dishwasher and tries to make it to class in the morning. “I want to be a good person and have an education … have a good, stable job. I want to have a home, the sort of home I never had,” he says. Los Angeles Times
Settling claims: Los Angeles-based Herbalife Ltd. agreed Friday to pay $200 million and change its business practices to settle claims from federal regulators that the company falsely told people they could quickly get rich selling weight-loss shakes. “Herbalife is going to have to start operating legitimately, making only truthful claims about how much money its members are likely to make and it will have to compensate consumers for the losses they have suffered,” said FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez. Los Angeles Times
Waiting to happen: Columnist Robin Abcarian visited San Luis Obispo County, where there is a proposal to extend a rail spur at an existing Phillips 66 oil refinery. Is it safe? What happens if the oil trains derail? “They are disasters waiting to happen,” she writes. Los Angeles Times
Missing student: Three students from UC Berkeley were injured in Thursday’s attack in Nice, and a fourth student was missing, according to university officials. Nicolas Leslie, 20, is a junior from Del Mar who was with 84 classmates attending the Entrepreneurship and Innovation program in Europe. “We’re devastated … we’re hoping that Nick is coming home,” said a university spokeswoman. Los Angeles Times
Suspect arrested: A 26-year-old man was arrested for allegedly shooting and killing three people last week at a San Bernardino liquor store, including a father and his 9-year-old son. Police don’t know why Trayvon Brown opened fire, but they suggested the third man in the group, a known gang member, may have been the intended target. “It was 30 seconds to kill three people,” said store manager Saifaldin Baji. Los Angeles Times
Unsafe conditions: Whittier city officials want residents to be forced out of a building that they say was illegally converted from commercial use but a Norwalk Superior Court judge ruled the city must give property owners more time to fix problems. Those problems include bars on the windows, units without plumbing and structural issues. “We feel it’s not a safe environment for people to be living in. We want to find ways to relocate them as soon as possible,” said City Manager Jeff Collier. Whittier Daily News
Pet care: There’s a new center helping out pet owners who live on Los Angeles’ skid row. Downtown Dog Rescue provides free pet care supplies like water bowls, food and flea medication. “This is just our small part,” said Lori Weise, president of the rescue. 89.3 KPCC
True love is dead: These photos show Minnie Mouse stepping out on Mickey at Disney. Who is the new beau? Some dog. BuzzFeed
THIS WEEK’S MOST POPULAR STORIES IN ESSENTIAL CALIFORNIA
1. A doctor in MacArthur Park prescribed orders for more than 73,000 OxyContin pills — with a street value of $6 million — over four months. What did the drugmaker know about the ring? Los Angeles Times
2. The city of Santa Monica is cracking down on Airbnb hosts. It just convicted the first landlord under a new law. Los Angeles Times
3. It’s the history of Santa Monica’s first high-end beach hotel: the Hotel Arcadia. Curbed LA
4. Black market OxyContin led this town down a path of destruction. Los Angeles Times
5. Check out L.A.’s most popular tourist spots with this new drone footage. Curbed LA
ICYMI, HERE ARE THIS WEEK’S GREAT READS
Forgotten life: H. T. Tsiang is buried at Evergreen Cemetery in East L.A., but his gravestone does not do justice to his role as a pioneering Chinese actor, thinker — and character. The New Yorker
Under the big top: What it’s like when the elephant-free circus comes to town. Los Angeles Magazine
Finding support: The tough job of convincing Latino voters to back Donald Trump. California Sunday Magazine
Writer’s passing: Author Carolyn See died this week at the age of 82. Here’s what Jonathan Kirsch wrote about her in 1993: “If there is one quality that continues to characterize See’s writing, it is a spiritual effervescence that bubbles up out of her prose, a sense that life may be a bitch, but there’s no point in bitching about it.” Los Angeles Times
LOOKING AHEAD
Sunday: Archbishop Jose H. Gomez will celebrate a Mass in recognition of immigrants.
Tuesday: Former Beaumont city officials, including the former police chief, will be arraigned. They’re accused of embezzling more than $40 million in public funds; the California State University Board of Trustees will meet in Long Beach.
Friday: A “Save the Bees” event will be held in Palm Desert to raise awareness of the threats against hives.
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 Alice Walton or Shelby Grad.
