Newsletter: Essential California: The grim task of finding victims of California firestorms

Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It’s Tuesday, Oct. 17, and here’s what’s happening across California:

TOP STORIES

The grim task of finding victims in the firestorms

Search-and-rescue teams used a drone, two trained sniffer dogs, poles, rakes, buckets and sifters to look for a 91-year-old Santa Rosa woman whose family had not been able to find her after a fire burned down her neighborhood. They spent two hours looking for her remains before they discovered what had happened to her. Los Angeles Times

Death toll climbs as firefighters gain more control

The death toll climbed to 41 Monday when the driver of a water tender truck died in a rollover crash while helping to battle the wildfires ravaging Northern California, according to officials. A private contract driver was delivering a tank full of water to help fight the Nuns fire when the vehicle rolled over on Oakville Grade in Napa County. On Monday, cooler, wetter winds blew in from the ocean and helped firefighters take control of the blazes. Los Angeles Times

Also:

-- How the Santa Rosa Press Democrat dealt with a very personal catastrophe. Staffers came into the newsroom with the families and pets because they had nowhere else to go. Some lost their homes but kept on working. Santa Rosa Press Democrat

-- “City of Quartz” author and L.A. thinker Mike Davis evokes Alfred Hitchcock, Thornton Wilder, Kim Jong-un and the devil in understanding the Santa Rosa fires. London Review of Books

-- They lost their home in fire, but they went to help others. Los Angeles Times

Conflict-of-interest complaint

The charter school network that L.A. school board member Ref Rodriguez co-founded and ran for years has filed a complaint with state regulators alleging that Rodriguez had a conflict of interest when he authorized about $285,000 in payments drawn on its accounts. Officials at Partnerships to Uplift Communities, or PUC Schools, filed the complaint Friday with the state’s Fair Political Practices Commission. According to the complaint and documents reviewed by The Times, the vast majority of the money transfers that Rodriguez authorized and PUC has flagged went from school accounts to Partners for Developing Futures, a nonprofit under his control. Los Angeles Times

L.A. STORIES

Booted from another group: The Producers Guild of America’s board of directors has voted unanimously to terminate Harvey Weinstein’s membership, the organization announced Monday. Los Angeles Times

Cash infusion: The Weinstein Co., roiling from sexual harassment and rape allegations against ousted Weinstein, has secured some financial relief from Los Angeles billionaire and major Trump benefactor Thomas Barrack. Los Angeles Times

#MeToo: In saying #MeToo, Alyssa Milano pushed an awareness campaign about sexual assault and harassment. Los Angeles Times

And: The Los Angeles Police Department said women who feel they were victims of a crime at the hands of Weinstein should report what happened to authorities. Los Angeles Times

Soft cushion: Los Angeles’ 2028 Olympics bid received official support from the state late Sunday when Gov. Jerry Brown signed a measure giving the effort a financial backstop from California taxpayers. Los Angeles Times

Don’t jinx it: After 29 years, euphoric Dodger fans wonder: Could this finally be it? Los Angeles Times

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

#UsToo: More than 140 women in California politics — including legislators, Capitol staff, political consultants and lobbyists — are signing a letter calling out the “pervasive” culture of sexual harassment and mistreatment that plagues their industry. Los Angeles Times

Mayors against Trump’s tax plan: Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait is among a bipartisan group in the U.S. Conference of Mayors that released a study Monday from the Government Finance Officers Assn. showing that almost 30% of taxpayers would face higher taxes if the deduction for state and local taxes is eliminated. Los Angeles Times

Sign-a-palooza: Gov. Jerry Brown on Sunday signed legislation that will require state officials to consider greenhouse gas emissions when choosing construction materials. It was among the final bills Brown dealt with for the legislative year. In all, he signed 859 bills in 2017 and vetoed just 118. Los Angeles Times

Follow the money: The latest campaign finance filings show half of California’s 14 Republican House members were out-raised by upstart Democratic challengers. Six of the seven are considered vulnerable in next year’s midterm elections. Los Angeles Times

CRIME AND COURTS

Still sanctioned: California will extend sanctions against Wells Fargo for at least another year, Treasurer John Chiang said on Monday, after the state suspended doing business with the bank in 2016 as punishment for its sham-accounts scandal. Los Angeles Times

The pretrial continues: Robert Durst’s wife, Kathleen, who disappeared decades ago, told her divorce attorney shortly before she vanished that the eccentric millionaire had “threatened to kill her,” a retired New York state trooper who investigated her missing person case testified Monday. Los Angeles Times

Driver fatally shot: An SUV crashed into the Discovery Cube in Los Angeles on Monday afternoon after the driver was fatally shot, police said. Authorities were looking for the shooter, said Officer Sal Ramirez. It’s unclear what led to the shooting. The driver, a 25-year-old man, crashed into the children’s museum and died at the scene. No one else was injured. Los Angeles Times

THE ENVIRONMENT

Water project gets the OK: In an about-face, the federal government has given Cadiz Inc. the go-ahead to lay a pipeline for its proposed desert water project in an existing railroad right-of-way. Los Angeles Times

Bodies found: The father of a missing Lakewood man said he believes the bodies of his son and his son’s girlfriend have been found in Joshua Tree National Park, near the area where they vanished while hiking three months ago. Associated Press

CALIFORNIA CULTURE

That’s a lot of debt: Netflix is sinking deeper into debt in its relentless pursuit of more viewers, leaving the company little margin for error as it tries to build the world’s biggest video subscription service. Associated Press

Ball says he will play: Lakers rookie Lonzo Ball didn’t hesitate a moment when asked if there was any chance he wouldn’t play in Thursday night’s regular season opener. “I’m playing, for sure,” Ball said. Los Angeles Times

Kaepernick update: “By any reasonable metric of professional sports, the failure of any of the 32 National Football League teams to employ quarterback Colin Kaepernick is either an indication of mass stupidity or a scandalous violation of the league’s union agreement,” Times columnist Michael Hiltzik writes. Los Angeles Times

Belly busting: How many corn dogs — and bugs — do you think were eaten at the Big Fresno Fair? The Fresno Bee

Chilling: Witness to a hanging: California’s haunted trees. KCET

CALIFORNIA ALMANAC

Los Angeles area: Partly cloudy, 91, Tuesday. Sunny, 84, Wednesday. San Diego: Partly cloudy, 83, Tuesday. Sunny, 78, Wednesday. San Francisco area: Partly cloudy, 67, Tuesday. Partly cloudy, 61, Wednesday. Sacramento: Partly Cloudy, 84, Tuesday. Sunny, 81, Wednesday. More weather is here.

AND FINALLY

Today’s California memory comes from Kathleen Solomon:

“My favorite memory was when my family and I would drive from San Diego to Los Angeles in the early ’50s. I would be fascinated with the oil pumps on the coast route. They looked like prehistoric creatures to me. Couldn’t wait to see them. When we took the inland route back home it was the overpowering aroma of the orange groves. We would be driving at night and the smell would surround us.”

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.