Newsletter: Essential California: Speed limits climb in L.A., amid a surge in traffic deaths

Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It’s Monday, July 23, and here’s what’s happening across California:

TOP STORIES

As Los Angeles has struggled to keep speed limits current on major streets, there has been a 77% drop in the number of speeding tickets written annually by the LAPD, a Times analysis has found. More than 200 miles of city streets now have so-called expired speed limits and very little enforcement, including streets that are considered the deadliest for pedestrians and bicyclists. Others have seen their speed limits go up. Los Angeles Times

‘Lose-lose situation’

The decision to engage in a firefight with a gunman at the busy Silver Lake Trader Joe’s has led some to question the Los Angeles Police Department’s response, while others were quick to praise the officers for risking their lives in an effort to stop him. In the span of a few hours, Gene Atkins had shot his grandmother, kidnapped his girlfriend and then led police on a wild chase. In the gun battle that followed at the Trader Joe’s, the store’s manager was killed as she stepped into the parking lot. Los Angeles Times

Water fight heads north

More than two decades after Los Angeles was forced to cut water diversions to protect California’s natural resources, the state is poised to impose similar restrictions on San Francisco and some of the Central Valley’s oldest irrigation districts. The proposal represents a dramatic new front in one of California’s most enduring water fights: the battle over the pastoral delta that is part of the West Coast’s largest estuary and also an important source of water for much of the state. Los Angeles Times

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REMEMBERING JONATHAN GOLD

Times restaurant critic Jonathan Gold’s untimely death at age 57 stunned many. Gold wrote about restaurants for four decades and became indelibly linked with the city in which he was born and raised. He also become one of L.A.’s most respected thinkers and writers. “He, more than any chef, changed the dining scene in Los Angeles,” said longtime friend, chef and Mozza co-owner Nancy Silverton. “He really was the ambassador for our city.” Los Angeles Times

-- “Gold transcended the role of restaurant critic to become a modern-day ethnographer. His gift was his ability to explain the tribes of this place to each other by celebrating the things they cook and eat.” — Times columnist Robin Abcarian. Los Angeles Times

-- “Jonathan didn’t want us to go out to Monterey Park simply to eat Sichuan pickles. He didn’t lure us out to El Monte or the world’s best birria burritos for their mere deliciousness. He wrote enticing prose designed to take us out of our safe little territories to mingle with other people because he knew that restaurants aren’t really about food. They’re about people.” — Food critic Ruth Reichl. Los Angeles Times

-- “A chronicler of L.A.’s streets who never bought into the noir nightmares of Raymond Chandler or Mike Davis.” — Columnist Gustavo Arellano. Los Angeles Times

L.A. STORIES

Child poverty: A few blocks from the big-money downtown construction boom, children struggle to survive. Los Angeles Times

Long history: How the Lakers finally nabbed LeBron James. Los Angeles Times

Out of the spotlight: Roger Mahony was once the leading voice for people in this country illegally. Then came the fall from grace, when he was relieved of public duties over his mishandling of clergy sex abuse of children. But Mahony is still at it, in small and low-profile ways. Los Angeles Times

Demanding answers: A key witness could finally reveal information on the long-term health effects of the Porter Ranch gas leak. Los Angeles Daily News

Shuttered: It’s the end of an era as the Out of the Closet store in Echo Park closes its doors. L.A. Taco

CRIME AND COURTS

On tape: After Los Angeles County’s public defender expressed concerns about possibly illegal recordings of privileged attorney-client meetings at a downtown courthouse, a spokeswoman for the district attorney has acknowledged that such recordings had “inadvertently” occurred in one case. Los Angeles Times

Wrong man? Did an innocent man die in prison for a killing actually committed by the Golden State Killer? Sacramento Bee

In the spotlight: Meet the San Diego judge who took on the Trump administration’s family separation policies. San Diego Union-Tribune

Violent memory: A Napa veteran’s facility where a mass shooting occurred won’t reopen. San Francisco Chronicle

Big data: “Sentiment readers” are a new weapon for police departments. Wired

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

All those lawsuits: California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra has emerged as a leading national figure in what Democrats call their “resistance” to the Trump administration, filing a flurry of 38 lawsuits against the federal government in just the last year and a half. Los Angeles Times

It’s complicated: A plan to replace California’s antiquated website for disclosing lobbying activity and contributions to elected officials is 11 months behind schedule, and its budget has doubled. Los Angeles Times

Reservoir visit: Is the Trump administration about to weigh in on a California water war? Sacramento Bee

CALIFORNIA CULTURE

Hollywood’s been there, done that: It was supposed to be China’s “Lord of the Rings.” Instead, it turned into another “Ishtar,” the infamous box office bomb of 1987. Produced for more than $100 million, the fantasy epic “Asura” was billed as the most expensive movie ever produced by China’s burgeoning film industry. How China is struggling with bombs. Los Angeles Times

Crème de la crème: The highlights from this weekend’s Comic-Con in San Diego. Los Angeles Times

“You’re fired”: How the “anything goes” culture of Hollywood has been replaced by zero tolerance. Wall Street Journal

-- Former Paramount TV chief Amy Powell is denying the claims of racially charged comments that cost her her job. Los Angeles Times

-- Should we punish people even after they’ve changed? Backers of a fired “Guardians of the Galaxy” director say it’s wrong. Hollywood Reporter

108 grandchildren: Saying goodbye to the San Jose matriarch with an incredible extended family. Mercury News

Impressive: “In a single generation, Californians have invented a whole new world.” San Francisco Chronicle

CALIFORNIA ALMANAC

Los Angeles area: Sunny, 90, Monday. Sunny, 91, Tuesday. San Diego: Sunny, 81, Monday. Mostly sunny, 83, Tuesday. San Francisco area: Partly cloudy, 67, Monday. Sunny, 65, Tuesday. Sacramento: Sunny, 98, Monday. Sunny, 99, Tuesday. More weather is here.

AND FINALLY

This week’s birthdays for those who made a mark in California: Retiring U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy (July 23, 1936), L.A. City Councilman Mitchell Englander (July 25, 1970) and Rep. Jeff Denham (July 29, 1967).

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.