Newsletter: Essential California: Trump tells Congress to resolve fate of ‘Dreamers’

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

TOP STORIES

DACA to be phased out

Immigrant communities across the country are in varying states of fear, anger and sadness over President Trump’s decision to phase out the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which President Obama established in 2012. The administration will continue to renew two-year work permits as they expire but will stop accepting new applications for the program. Then, starting in March, several thousand people a week would begin losing their legal right to work in the U.S. The decision allows President Trump to say that he is fulfilling a campaign pledge to end the program, while also attempting to shift responsibility to Congress for the effect on the nearly 800,000 people covered under DACA. Los Angeles Times

A major blow to California

There are about 220,000 DACA participants living in California — by far the most of any state in the country. Elected officials here decried the decision and expressed hope that Congress would do something to alleviate the uncertainty that these immigrants, who are mostly young, face. “The Legislature will do everything we can working with local governments, universities and schools to keep these young people secure, safe and here where they belong,” said Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon. Los Angeles Times

Plus: Times columnist Steve Lopez connected with one “Dreamer” and learned how the hardest part was telling his mom about the end of DACA. Los Angeles Times

The political road ahead: “President Trump’s decision to rescind a popular program that protected the most sympathetic of immigrants here illegally — those who were brought as children by their parents — poses a huge threat to his party, forcing Republican lawmakers to choose between the party’s nativist wing, which strongly opposes any move resembling amnesty, and those who favor a more flexible approach to minority communities.” Los Angeles Times

And: Educators across the state are urging students who are DACA recipients to stay calm. Los Angeles Times

Are you a DACA participant? We want to hear from you.

How the Oroville Dam broke

The main spillway at Oroville Dam broke apart in February when underground water pressure lifted a massive section of the concrete floor into the flow of water and caused rapid erosion of the foundation, according to an interim investigation report released Tuesday. The underlying causes of the massive failure were a combination of aging; design flaws and maintenance shortcomings that included an inadequate drain system under the spillway; thin sections of concrete; and repaired fissures that allowed water to penetrate into the foundation. Los Angeles Times

L.A. STORIES

False alarm at LAX: A suspicious package found at Los Angeles International Airport triggered the temporary evacuation of arriving passengers at the Tom Bradley International Terminal on Tuesday. Los Angeles Times

Again? The unexpected closure of Angels Flight on Monday, four days after the funicular’s grand reopening, seemed a fitting twist for a railway that has operated in fits and starts for decades. Los Angeles Times

Here’s the kicker: Seoul-born Younghoe Koo is an “undrafted rookie who has won the Los Angeles Chargers’ starting job — and the hearts of Korean American NFL fans.” The Ringer

Plus: Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers decided not to relocate to Los Angeles when the team moved, but his new ride allows him to watch film when he makes the trek up. San Diego Union-Tribune

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Water trouble: The Metropolitan Water District has opened a review into its own ethics office, hiring a Washington, D.C.-based law firm to look into at least two investigations carried out at the agency. Los Angeles Times

He’s in the paper: Rep. Dana Rohrabacher writes in the Washington Post that conservatives should protect medical marijuana from the government. Washington Post

Sheriff Joe comes to Fresno: Recently pardoned former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is scheduled to be the guest speaker at the Fresno County Republican Party’s late September fundraiser. Los Angeles Times

The state stands apart: California and several other states will exempt themselves this year from a new Trump administration rule that cuts in half the amount of time consumers have to buy individual health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. Kaiser Health News

President Obama honored: State lawmakers Tuesday gave final approval to designating a section of the 134 Freeway as the President Barack H. Obama Highway in honor of the 44th president of the United States. Los Angeles Times

CRIME AND COURTS

Police cameras: A bill that would have opened public access to police body camera videos across California has been shelved. Los Angeles Times

Sentenced: The son of Mexican American mariachi singer Pepe Aguilar, charged in March with trying to smuggle four Chinese immigrants into the United States in his car trunk, was sentenced to time served Tuesday. San Diego Union-Tribune

More jail fallout: “Four Alameda County Sheriff deputies accused of abusing at least eight inmates at Santa Rita Jail, including choking one until he passed out, and allowing the throwing of feces at prisoners, were charged Tuesday by the district attorney.” East Bay Times

A family affair: A Northern California woman, her husband and son were arrested Saturday in connection with the death of her lover after the men discovered the affair. Los Angeles Times

THE ENVIRONMENT

Wildfire alert: A raging blaze that has destroyed 14 structures, forced hundreds of mountain residents to evacuate their communities and triggered smoke advisories is threatening several giant sequoia groves within the Sierra National Forest. Los Angeles Times

CALIFORNIA CULTURE

What to do with “Gone With the Wind”? Hollywood, three years into the #OscarsSoWhite campaign, with its continued calls for diversity in front of and behind the camera, has been forced to confront a larger conversation: How exactly does this nation grapple with its past of overt and institutionalized racism? Los Angeles Times

Rare breed: The lonely life of the Silicon Valley conservative. Bloomberg

Up in the Hollywood Hills: David Hockney is perhaps England’s greatest living artist. Working out of a studio in the Hollywood Hills, his “new paintings are riveting in their spatial distortions. A born colorist, he’d rather be a Cubist.” New York Times

Football preview: Meet the San Francisco 49ers’ new quarterback, Brian Hoyer, and read about what he learned from Tom Brady, baseball and the stars on the Food Network. East Bay Times

Cheers: The California Craft Beer Summit begins this Thursday in Sacramento. Sacramento Bee

CALIFORNIA ALMANAC

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

AND FINALLY

Today’s California memory comes from Jim Lynett:

“I moved with my parents to my aunt and uncle’s house in Santa Monica when I was 10 in 1960. My cousins and I loved running out to the front of our house to greet the Helms Bakery truck in the mornings. Those drawers full of politically incorrect fresh doughnuts were a joy to behold and devour!”

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.