Newsletter: Essential California: When the Great American Eclipse came to a sky near you

Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It’s Tuesday, Aug. 22, and here’s what’s happening across California:

TOP STORIES

Sun’s out ...

All around California, huge crowds gathered to watch the Great American Eclipse as it moved across the sky. Hundreds of people swarmed the grassy lawn outside the Griffith Observatory, occasionally peering up at the sky. “I think it’s a beautiful, great experience,” sky gazer Brennis Branch said. “I am getting up in age and I’m not going to have another chance. I’m glad my son brought me.” Los Angeles Times

Plus: A major corruption trial in San Bernardino was put on hold for 45 minutes so the jurors could witness this rare occurrence. The Press-Enterprise

They fled Venezuela’s turmoil for L.A.

The pictures out of Venezuela have been graphic, and the stories of food shortages and public dissent have been sad. A record number of Venezuelans have fled a spiraling humanitarian crisis in their home country to seek refuge in the United States. Some asylum seekers, like Eleazar Saldivia, who was a federal judge and now is an Uber driver, have landed in Los Angeles, where they join a small but active Venezuelan community that has created social media videos, held rallies, and organized electoral campaigns to support anti-government protests. Los Angeles Times

Plus: Gustavo Dudamel has long been reluctant to speak out about politics in his home country, but now he finds himself the target of criticism from Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Los Angeles Times

News on the homefront

In a dramatic shakeup at the Los Angeles Times, the paper’s Chicago-based parent company has installed new leadership and plans to invest more resources in the news organization to move it more quickly into the digital age. Ross Levinsohn, 54, a veteran media executive who worked at Fox and served as interim chief of Yahoo, was named publisher and chief executive of the 135-year-old news organization. Los Angeles Times

L.A. STORIES

Big-money verdict: A Los Angeles jury issued a $417-million verdict Monday against Johnson & Johnson, finding the company liable for failing to warn a 63-year-old woman diagnosed with terminal ovarian cancer about the risks of using its talcum products. The verdict marks the largest award yet in a number of suits claiming that the company’s talc powder causes ovarian cancer. Los Angeles Times

A death on the train: A fatal heart attack on Metrolink has prompted calls for defibrillators to be placed on commuter trains. Los Angeles Times

Tough words: Times architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne weighs in on the new $700-million USC Village: “It’s precisely the Village’s misreading of the architectural history of the USC campus — and the cultural history of Los Angeles — that leaves it looking so undernourished and out of place.” Los Angeles Times

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Recall revamp proposed: Democrats in the California Legislature pushed again Monday to revamp the rules covering recall elections, their second attempt to potentially delay an effort aimed at removing an Orange County state senator. Los Angeles Times

Still in charge: An attempt to oust Chad Mayes as Assembly Republican leader fell short Monday, but another vote is scheduled for next week. Mayes (R-Yucca Valley) has been facing calls for his ouster after he worked with Democrats to extend California’s key initiative for fighting climate change. Los Angeles Times

ICYMI: San Fernando Valley Rep. Brad Sherman received an overwhelming endorsement from constituents Sunday for his decision to introduce articles of impeachment against President Trump. Los Angeles Times

Hearings scheduled: “The California Senate will hold a series of public hearings next month to explore the rise of white supremacy in California and to ensure that the state is prepared to deal with race-driven rallies in the aftermath of the violence in Charlottesville.” Sacramento Bee

CRIME AND COURTS

Sergeant charged: A Los Angeles County sheriff’s sergeant is accused of fondling a deputy he supervised and forcing her to provide sexual favors in their workplace in exchange for his approving her time-off request, according to a district attorney’s memorandum. Los Angeles Times

Suicidal man arrested: A man who was possibly armed and told Los Angeles police he was suicidal was arrested early Monday morning after a nearly eight-hour standoff with officers near Lake Balboa, according to a department spokeswoman. Los Angeles Times

New bill alert! California law enforcement officers will be prohibited from detaining crime victims or witnesses on immigration violations under a state bill headed to Gov. Jerry Brown for his signature. Los Angeles Times

Barber convicted: An Orange County jury on Monday swiftly found a 79-year-old retired barber guilty of fatally shooting a urologist inside the doctor’s Newport Beach office in 2013. The Daily Pilot

THE ENVIRONMENT

Speaking out: Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Assemblywoman Laura Friedman have come out against a plan to build a pipeline on a railroad right of way and pump groundwater from the Mojave to Los Angeles County and beyond. Los Angeles Times

We survived! California relies on solar energy more than any other state. The state’s power grid survived the eclipse unscathed. Washington Post

CALIFORNIA CULTURE

Trouble in paradise: In the neighborhood around the brand-new Apple campus, some residents have said that life has been hell. The Mercury News

Winning isn’t everything: The Little League team from Rancho Santa Margarita weathered a solar eclipse and a 76-minute rain delay Monday. But it couldn’t overcome one bad inning in its game with Jackson, N.J., which scored nine times in the third to knock Rancho out of the Little League World Series, 12-9. Los Angeles Times

Scary stuff: This Orange County social media stunt has bicyclists on edge. Orange County Register

Bey has a mortgage: Jay-Z and Beyoncé may be worth more than a billion dollars combined, but the couple ultimately used conventional financing to purchase their first Los Angeles-area home. How much? $52.8 million. Los Angeles Times

CALIFORNIA ALMANAC

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

AND FINALLY

Today’s California memory comes from Kim Criswell:

“In the early ’80s, driving the 101 South near Ventura, my boyfriend (who’d never been to L.A. before) began freaking out. ‘Look at the moon! I knew L.A. was notorious for its smog, but had no idea it was that bad!’ The closer we got to the Valley, the more the full moon disappeared behind a dark shadow. Now, I’d seen plenty of smog growing up in L.A., and it had never blocked the light of the moon. But my PhD boyfriend insisted: It had to be smog. Eventually, the car radio played the news…. We’d been watching a lunar eclipse.”

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.