Newsletter: Essential California: An inside look at how ICE is operating in L.A. during the Trump era
Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It is Saturday, May 6. Here’s what you don’t want to miss this weekend:
TOP STORIES
Inside ICE in L.A.: While arrests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement are up 35% nationwide since President Trump took office, they remain relatively flat in Southern California. And local ICE agents say they are sticking to an old script when it comes to arresting those here illegally. Los Angeles Times
Surfers have company: The Southern California coast is teeming with young sharks, as warming waters and abundant food have created the ideal conditions for feeding. How worried should we be? Los Angeles Times
L.A. goes there: The Los Angeles City Council wants to know whether Trump violated federal law by using the office of the president to enrich himself or his family. The council passed a resolution asking Congress to investigate whether Trump violated the Constitution’s foreign emoluments clause or committed any other high crimes and misdemeanors that could lead to impeachment. Los Angeles Times
Late-spring storm: Yes, it could be a wet Sunday in Southern California. Los Angeles Times
LAX Rx: Things are about to get a little crazy and confusing — well, more so than usual — at LAX. Here’s your guide for dealing with it. Los Angeles Times
Paging McGruff: Dog-walking as the latest crime-fighting technique. Sacramento Bee
Sequel fatigue? Some Hollywood executives are worried that the industry is once again relying too heavily on sequels from aging franchises, and that audiences are growing weary at a time when they have more entertainment options at home. Los Angeles Times
Trump review: Sampling the food at Trump’s resort in Palos Verdes: “Even dishes that should be easy to execute for a white-tablecloth establishment seem to struggle under the banner brand of a man who has never believed that less is more.” LA Weekly
Representative from California: How serious is the talk of Disney CEO Robert Iger running for president? Axios
THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY
A couple of months ago, Los Angeles Times reporter Hailey Branson-Potts happened upon something pretty amazing along the U.S.-Mexico border. It was the Calexico Mission School that “was, quite literally, feet from it,” she said. Many of the school’s students commute from Mexico into the United States every day. She explained to your Essential California team how this story came about and what surprised her the most in the course of reporting. Read her original story here.
EC: How did you first hear about the Calexico Mission School?
HP: “Long story short, I found the Calexico Mission school by studying maps of California border cities to see what was right next to the border. I was shocked the school was, quite literally, feet from it.
EC: When you were there, what was the biggest surprise when talking to the students and faculty?
HP: “I was surprised mostly at how the students, their parents and the school faculty viewed crossing the border like we in Los Angeles view traffic. You have to time it just right because there are so many people making that morning commute, by foot or by car. If you get to the port of entry just a few minutes late, they said, you could add an extra half hour or longer. Crossing, for many people there, is a mundane part of everyday life.”
EC: In the course of reporting, were there any setbacks or high points that stand out to you?
HP: “A high point for me in reporting this story was interviewing Principal Oscar Olivarria, who grew up in Mexicali and, like his students, did the border crossing every day to attend Calexico Mission School. Oscar, who is in his first year as principal, is passionate about sharing the culture of Mexicali with his staff, especially the newer faculty members. While I was there, he took faculty members to a professional basketball game in Mexicali, and he’s taken them to other sporting events and lots of dinners. He earnestly wants everyone there to get used to crossing the border and life on both sides. I found that people there were very proud to live along the border, and that the symbiosis between Calexico and Mexicali is celebrated.”
This week’s most popular stories in Essential California:
1. LAX’s new private terminal for the rich and famous makes flying easier, but at a steep price. Los Angeles Times
2. A Victorian tourist’s photo album of Los Angeles, circa 1894. LAist
3. These two places in California see the most shark attacks. Sacramento Bee
4. This $2.5-million Palo Alto teardown shows how coastal housing policy has gone wrong. Vox
5. A woman attacked by a shark at a popular surf spot is “fighting for her life,” her mother says. Los Angeles Times
ICYMI, here are this week’s Great Reads
Shake it out: Inside the new wave of dance activism in L.A. “It felt like I was dancing for the people who couldn’t dance no more, the people whose lives were taken away from the police.” Los Angeles Times
Dark web: Inside the online black market Silk Road and a Silicon Valley murder mystery. Vanity Fair
Where did the magic go? The unexpected backstory of how work on special effects, the “movie magic” of Hollywood, is rapidly moving out of California. New York Times
Dudamel speaks out: Gustavo Dudamel is taking a stand in his homeland’s politics. The Los Angeles Philharmonic music director, one of the world’s most famous musicians and among the best-known Venezuelans, publicly called on Venezuela’s president to “listen to the people” and end the protest violence that has resulted in more than 29 deaths. Los Angeles Times
Looking Ahead
Sunday: Bernie Sanders will receive the 2017 Abolition Award, presented by Death Penalty Focus, in Beverly Hills.
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.
