Newsletter: Essential California: Prosecutors charge two men in deadly Ghost Ship fire

Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It’s Tuesday, June 6, and here’s what’s happening across California:

TOP STORIES

Ghost Ship charges

Derick Ion Almena and Max Harris took over an aging warehouse in Oakland with hopes of creating an affordable space for artists and musicians to live and work in the Bay Area. Prosecutors said what they created was a death trap that killed 36 people when the Ghost Ship caught fire. Almena’s lawyers say he’s being scapegoated. Los Angeles Times

Plus:

--Who are the two Ghost Ship captains charged in the deaths of so many? Los Angeles Times

--Charges bring little comfort for the loved ones of victims. East Bay Times

-- The families of Ghost Ship victims have a new target: Pacific Gas & Electric. SF Gate

A poet for these times

Vanessa Tahay stands just 4 feet, 11 inches, but her words pack a punch. She is a poet, and at 18, considered among the best in Los Angeles. The high school senior has performed and competed not just here but also in San Francisco and Washington, D.C. She has found her voice in an age of uncertainty. Los Angeles Times

New homes proposed by the highway

A real estate developer, possibly with help from his state Assemblyman, is looking to build homes on an old Caltrans property. The homes would go next to the interchange of the 91 and 110 freeways, and this proximity to crowded highways has people worried. Los Angeles Times

L.A. STORIES

Voting time again: Voters will head to the polls today to pick L.A.’s next congressman in an under-the-radar special election. Los Angeles Times

A changing law: Here’s what you need to know about California’s traffic proposal decriminalizing most tickets. Los Angeles Times

A tragedy: A Los Angeles firefighter died Monday morning, two days after he fell from an aerial ladder during a training exercise in downtown L.A. Los Angeles Times

Renter beware: Here are 10 of the worst landlords in Los Angeles. “Bad operators today are those that look only at the potential of the property, not the property itself,” said Daniel Gomez, director of code enforcement at the Housing and Community Investment Department of Los Angeles. Curbed LA

IMMIGRATION AND THE BORDER

Dangerous crossing: About 450 unidentified bodies have been found in Imperial County since the 1990s. Most were immigrants trying to hike, climb or swim their way to the American Dream. The Desert Sun

Sweet deal? President Trump narrowly avoided escalating a trade war with Mexico when the two countries reportedly reached a deal in a dispute over trade in sugar on Monday. Though this is just the first battle, the agreement averted steep U.S. duties and Mexican retaliation on imports of American high-fructose corn syrup ahead of the renegotiation of NAFTA. Reuters

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

The spitballs are flying: Jose Huizar, a longtime ally of Antonio Villaraigosa, has decided to back the former L.A. mayor’s rival John Chiang for California governor. Los Angeles Times

Not so fast: California state senators have passed a single-payer healthcare bill, but Times columnist George Skelton concludes it’s going nowhere fast. Los Angeles Times

More housing fast! A bill to increase affordable lodging on California’s coast has passed in the state Assembly and is now being considered in the Senate. KPCC

A new challenger: Pediatrician Mai Khanh Tran is entering the race to unseat Rep. Ed Royce (R-Fullerton) in California’s 39th Congressional District. Los Angeles Times

Let the selling begin: California cities and counties are getting revved up and ready for legal recreational cannabis use. Bloomberg

CRIME AND COURTS

Life sentence handed down: A businessman was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole during an emotional court hearing on Monday for the 2015 murder of a woman who was blasted in the face with a shotgun as she walked with her boyfriend to a restaurant in Hollywood. Los Angeles Times

Convictions in jail beating: Three correctional deputies were convicted of second-degree murder Thursday in the 2015 jail-cell beating of a mentally ill inmate at Santa Clara County’s Main Jail. San Francisco Chronicle

May the force be with you: A California collector has been charged in the theft of $200,000 worth of vintage Star Wars action figures. Associated Press

THE ENVIRONMENT

A battle in Baja: The world’s smallest porpoise has caused a big battle in Baja California. Los Angeles Times

CALIFORNIA CULTURE

Very cool! Take a look inside the L.A. Arts District’s Engine Co. 17. Once a firehouse, it’s being turned into a hotel, and the doors were opened for a three-day sample sale for Clare V, the Silver Lake-based accessories retailer. LA Observed

The Anders family in conversation: Allison Anders and her mom, Tiffany, are the freest women in Hollywood. Lennyletter

Prepping for the summer. Here’s what’s new at amusement parks in Southern California this season. Orange County Register

What a generous guy: This billionaire once thanked two of his employees with $1-million checks. Los Angeles Times

CALIFORNIA ALMANAC

San Diego and Los Angeles area: partly cloudy Tuesday and Wednesday. San Francisco area: cloudy Tuesday, partly cloudy Wednesday. Sacramento: sunny Tuesday, partly cloudy Wednesday. More weather is here.

AND FINALLY

Today’s California Memory comes from Elliot Brill:

“An article some months ago about the Jack London House in Hollywood reminded me of the few years in the mid-1960s I spent renting an all-metal house almost opposite that interesting home with its bas relief of Jack London on its front wall.

“Many fundraising parties were held at 5151 La Vista Court for the Young Democrats in the Johnson-Goldwater election year. But the thing I remember most about living there was waking up one night, and it being amazingly still. All I heard was a cracking sound. When I fully woke, I saw that a very bright orange glow was coming through the windows of my house. I opened the front door, and saw gigantic flames leaping skywards from the old ice ring just opposite on North Van Ness Avenue. Fire trucks arrived, sirens screaming, but it was too late to save the large wooden structure. I soon left for an extended trip to Europe. When I returned 11 months later, I moved into West L.A. I returned only once to view my old rented premises, walking by Jack London House with its wonderful features, for the last time.”

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.