Newsletter: An artist’s plight in Oakland
Good morning. It is Saturday, Dec. 10. Here’s what you don’t want to miss this weekend:
TOP STORIES
Housing crisis: The Oakland warehouse fire that killed 36 people has put a spotlight on the Bay Area’s affordable-housing crisis, which has pushed some into substandard housing because it’s all they can afford. The region’s rising rents have been particularly devastating to Oakland, where more than a fifth of all residents live in poverty and the median household income is $25,000 less than neighboring San Francisco. Los Angeles Times
Also: Investigators have ruled out a faulty refrigerator as the cause of the fire and raised the possibility we may never know the answer. Los Angeles Times
Water under the bridge: The great congressional water war of 2016 ended Friday, with Sen. Barbara Boxer terminating her filibuster over a water infrastructure bill on the Senate floor. That cleared the way for long-stalled California drought legislation. Los Angeles Times
Taiwanese reaction: For Southern California’s large Taiwanese community, Donald Trump’s historic, controversial phone call with the president of Taiwan is being greeted with excitement and anxiety. Los Angeles Times
Caught on video: The fallout from Trump’s election continues. An instructor at Orange Coast College is caught on tape saying Trump’s victory was “an act of terrorism.” Orange County Register
End of an era: The Field Poll, the granddaddy of California political surveys, is shutting down. The move comes after the death of namesake Mervin Field last year. The demise for a poll known for its accuracy has the political world in mourning. Sacramento Bee
The #NeverTrump camp: Is California leading the resistance? New York Times
About that doctor’s note: The doctor’s letter said the patient was too sick to be performing manual labor for her court-ordered community service in her embezzlement case. She was being monitored for heart and lung problems as well as “intolerance to physical labor,” said the letter filed with the court. The only problem: The doctor never wrote the letter. Los Angeles Times
Driving ambition: Despite Uber, Lyft and increasing mass transit options, millennials are beginning to get into the car market. It’s about traveling to more places, and about groceries. San Diego Union-Tribune
Lust for life: Let’s wish Kirk Douglas a belated happy 100th birthday. CNN
THIS WEEK’S MOST POPULAR STORIES IN ESSENTIAL CALIFORNIA
1. Sneak preview: Here’s what the beach at Santa Monica will look like after restoration project. Curbed Los Angeles
2. Warehouse tragedy: Who is Derick Almena, the man behind the Ghost Ship? Some have portrayed him as a narcissist, others as an eccentric. Los Angeles Times
3. Reuse, remodel: Fourteen shipping containers are being used to build two houses side by side in Redondo Beach. Daily Breeze
4. Let’s do the time warp again: Watch this Google time lapse video of how Los Angeles has developed since 1984. Los Angeles Magazine
5. At last: California’s ballots have all been counted — more than 14.6 million and most of them for Hillary Clinton. Los Angeles Times
ICYMI, HERE ARE THIS WEEK’S GREAT READS
Hidden gem: In a city where architects get the adulation of rock stars, one Los Angeles masterpiece remains largely undiscovered. Built with oil money, the Clarke Estate represents some of the best principles of Southern California. Curbed Los Angeles
Sing it: For much of the 20th century, L.A. was famous for being the rare global city without an opera house, which was particularly perplexing because it was a center of world culture. Now, it’s creating some of the more creative opera anywhere. Here’s how it happened. The New Yorker
It stuck with her: “A child of the ’70s growing up in Southern California, I recall the tar balls’ thick petroleum fragrance — and how once they were lodged on the sole of the foot, they were difficult-to-remove but oddly comforting little reminders of a splendid day at the beach. I began thinking about where they come from, how they got to be tar balls, and if they were bad or benign.” —Writer Robin Tricoles on her search for answers about those black beach balls. The Atlantic
Now it can be shown: The censored photos Dorothea Lange took of California’s internment camps for Japanese Americans are finally revealed. Anchor Editions
LOOKING AHEAD
Monday: Golden Globe nominees are announced in Beverly Hills.
Monday: Midnight Mission Christmas celebration in downtown L.A.
Wednesday: Screen Actors Guild Award nominees are announced in West Hollywood.
Friday: Griffith Park celebrates its 120th birthday.
Please let us know what we can do to make this newsletter more useful to you. Send comments, complaints and ideas to Shelby Grad.
