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Newsletter: Essential California: The North Korea threat heightens

North Korea successfully test-launched an intercontinential ballistic missile after leader Kim Jong Un vowed to develop one capable of reaching the U.S.. The couple aboard a small plane that crashed on the 405 Freeway last week has been identified.

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Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It’s Wednesday, July 5, and here’s what’s happening across California:

TOP STORIES

The North Korean threat

North Korea’s Kim Jong Un has long vowed to develop a ballistic missile capable of reaching the continental United States. North Korea announced Tuesday that it had, at long last, test-launched an intercontinental ballistic missile. In theory, the missile’s range could have allowed it to reach Alaska on a flatter trajectory, though such a flight path would have introduced other technical complexities and physical hurdles for the regime’s scientists. Los Angeles Times

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Context and background

-- “North Korea does not yet have a long-range missile that can reach California. North Korean missiles can’t even reach Hawaii, but time is not on our side.” Washington Post

-- L.A. and the “map of death.” Los Angeles Times

The ‘Killer Kern’

Deep in the brush along a churning stretch of the Kern River, they began the morning with a grim task: the search for a body. During this deadly year along the river, Kern County has relied on two teams of about 50 trained volunteers to save swimmers and search for bodies. The team is being kept busy as snow melt turns the river into a death zone. Los Angeles Times

Recycling blues, not greens

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In a state that prides itself as a global leader in protecting the environment, recycling rates for beverage containers have dropped to their lowest point in almost a decade amid the continued closure of centers that pay for bottles and cans and the fallout from changes to California’s recycling program. Beverage container recycling rates in California have fallen below 80%. Los Angeles Times

L.A. STORIES

LAX threat: A lawsuit is seeking to overturn approval of $5 billion in ground transportation improvements that are part of the ongoing modernization of Los Angeles International Airport. Los Angeles Times

Big money: Los Angeles County’s most prominent start-up investor just got bigger. Upfront Ventures closed June with the announcement of a $400-million investment fund that it plans to spend on dozens of start-ups in the next couple of years. Los Angeles Times

Starbucks with sass: The Hooters version of coffee houses has been all the rage in Little Saigon for a long time. “Vietnam is a conservative place,” one owner says. “They do have coffee houses and women in traditional ao dais serving coffee — but nothing like this. You can’t dress this sexy in Vietnam.Orange County Register

Musk’s moment of truth: Within six months, we should know whether Tesla is capable of high-volume production of its new mid-market Model 3 -- and whether customers are happy with what’s coming off the assembly line. Los Angeles Times

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Laughing still: Looking back on “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In,” the comedy show from “beautiful downtown Burbank” that transformed humor and culture. Los Angeles Times

Those were the days: A blast from L.A.’s Latino past on Instagram, and LACMA. Los Angeles Times

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Oil boom: Carson officials appear to be close to a deal that would allow two oil firms to merge operations into what would be the West Coast’s largest refinery. Daily Breeze

King’s balancing act: LAUSD Supt. Michelle King’s backers cite the district’s record-high graduation rate, improved programs for students learning English and reduced expulsion and suspension rates as proof of her effectiveness. But a reconfigured board that figures to support charter schools more strongly takes over this month. It may alter some priorities or contemplate a shift to new leadership. Los Angeles Times

Secrets: Democrats in Sacramento are fighting over revealing the source of political ads. San Francisco Chronicle

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The father versus the son: In one writer’s opinion, Gov. Jerry Brown has built a California that doesn’t measure up to the state his father Pat Brown helped grow. Wall Street Journal

CRIME AND COURTS

New chief: Sacramento is about to welcome its first ever African American police chief. But he breaks the mold of your typical cop in many ways that have nothing to do with the color of his skin. Sacramento Bee

Anaheim stabbing: Four people were critically wounded in a stabbing in Anaheim on Tuesday that a neighbor helped to stop by hitting the knife-wielding suspect with a baseball bat, authorities said. Los Angeles Times

THE ENVIRONMENT

Fire risk: Climate change is expected to make wildfires even harder to battle. San Diego Union-Tribune

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Plus: A bright spot in this summer’s wildland fire forecast. Fresno Bee

July 4 on the slopes: Yes, it was a July 4 spent skiing at one California ski resort, where snow miraculously remains and the skiers are wearing shorts. SF Gate

CALIFORNIA CULTURE

Tech salon: Inside a Victorian house in San Francisco, a select group of tech people is trying to create a modern-day version of the French salon, but with an entrepreneurial bent. “Events give you an excuse to talk to each other. They make you feel like you’re working on something together.” New York Times

A landmark: The story of how “The Joy Luck Club” and its story of two generations of San Francisco Chinese women became a groundbreaking movie that still delights and annoys. BuzzFeed

Crafty beer: How to tell truly independent California craft beers from the corporate brews. Washington Post

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Portland versus L.A.: Some newcomers from Southern California were the target of vandalism at their new home in Portland. It wasn’t hate speech — but anti-California speech. ABC 7

Size matters: McMansions might have gotten their start on the West Coast, but they are now spreading their architectural “charms” across the nation. Curbed

CALIFORNIA ALMANAC

Los Angeles area: 83 and sunny. San Diego: 76 and mostly sunny Wednesday, San Francisco area: 65 and partly sunny. Sacramento: 93 and sunny. More weather is here.

AND FINALLY

Today’s California memory comes from Richard Maile:

“I enlisted in the Navy in 1959, arriving in San Diego for boot camp in July of that year. The climate and culture were quite different than of those of central Florida and were exciting for a 17-year-old lad just getting started in life. After a rigorous training period, I was assigned to a US Navy destroyer for my duty station. At that time San Diego was an alluring place to explore, and needless to say the ‘California girls’ were really gorgeous. (I married one.) Mission Beach was one place to hang out, but one day while exploring the areas around beautiful Balboa Park, I spotted a sign staked out in a large grassy area I’ll never forget. It said, ‘Sailors and Dogs Keep Off the Grass.’ San Diego never quite seemed the same to me after that, however Southern California was still a magical place in the early ’60s with the great cars (Bob’s Big Boy and Hollywood Boulevard were the show places) and the best popular music ever (i.e., Beach Boys). Wonderful place, great memories!”

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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.

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