Newsletter: Essential California: Strangers’ kindness to pigs awaiting slaughter at Farmer John

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

TOP STORIES

It’s a morbid ritual that occurs every Sunday and Wednesday outside the gates of Farmer John slaughterhouse in Vernon. On one night, baby boomers and millennials, black-clad anarchists and Patagonia-sporting Westsiders pushed water bottles through the trailer’s grates to the startled hogs. People with pump-action sprayers splashed the upper deck. Two men illuminated everyone with floodlights as others recorded the action, took photos or offered gentle massages to doomed 250-pound Yorkshires. The pigs lapped up the water and offered satisfied grunts. “Good baby!” said a woman to one as it suckled on a bottle. “All for baby!” Los Angeles Times

A growing problem

Health officials across California say parents sometimes refuse to cooperate with public health investigators — and even mislead them — as officials try to stem outbreaks of measles. In some cases, parents may not comply because they simply don’t understand why government workers are asking questions about their medical history. But often, the resistance appears to be another dangerous facet of the anti-vaccine movement. Los Angeles Times

The flight to Houston that never was

In the weeks after Hurricane Harvey’s catastrophic sweep through the Houston area — which resulted in chemical spills, fires, flooded storage tanks and damaged industrial plants — rescue crews and residents complained of burning throats, nausea and dizziness. Fifteen hundred miles west, in the high desert city of Palmdale, NASA scientists were preparing to fly a DC-8 equipped with the world’s most sophisticated air samplers over the hurricane zone to monitor pollution levels. But the mission never got off the ground. Both the state of Texas and the EPA told the scientists to stay away. Los Angeles Times

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L.A. STORIES

Deputy update: A review panel created by Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva concluded that a deputy fired for allegedly harassing a woman had acted irrationally and unprofessionally and brought “discredit to himself and the department,” and yet should be rehired, according to a report obtained by The Times. Los Angeles Times

Horse races called off: Only days before two of the biggest events on its schedule, Santa Anita has suspended racing at least through this weekend. The announcement came hours after the 21st horse fatality at the track since Dec. 26. Los Angeles Times

Newport beach fallout: As knowledge of the Holocaust fades, some young people find a strange allure in Nazi symbols. Los Angeles Times

USC’s head honcho: How Wanda Austin blazed a trail from public housing to a perch as USC’s acting president. Los Angeles Times

IMMIGRATION AND THE BORDER

More immigration news: A federal judge in San Francisco has ordered the Trump administration to resume processing the applications of more than 2,700 young Central Americans and family members who were left in limbo after the government abruptly ended a program designed to help them reunite with relatives in the United States. Los Angeles Times

Huge spike: Federal officials say the number of migrant families crossing the border has set new records, and government facilities and agents in California and other states are overwhelmed. Los Angeles Times

Plus: “Border patrol facilities put detainees with medical conditions at risk.” New York Times

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

$$$: California lawmakers were showered with more than $810,000 in gifts last year, many from powerful interest groups lobbying the state who handed out concert and professional sports tickets, spa treatments, gourmet dinners and trips to a dozen countries, new state reports show. Los Angeles Times

On the agenda: In the California Legislature, the policymaking — and political pandering — priorities of Sacramento are beginning to take shape. CALmatters

CRIME AND COURTS

Stephon Clark news: Federal authorities have announced they will conduct a civil rights review of the police shooting of an unarmed black man in California’s capital last year, a killing that has caused a year of racial upheaval in the city and become the focus of demands for new laws limiting use of deadly force. Los Angeles Times

Settled: Los Angeles will pay nearly $2 million to settle a lawsuit from a woman who was sexually assaulted by a pair of LAPD officers, the fourth such assault case L.A. has settled in recent years. Los Angeles Times

Brazen: A Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy who led a heist of more than half a ton of marijuana from a downtown warehouse pleaded guilty to federal charges Monday. Los Angeles Times

THE ENVIRONMENT

Womp womp: The annual lottery for a permit to hike Yosemite’s Half Dome usually opens March 1, but it has been postponed indefinitely. Los Angeles Times

Amazing photo, Part 1: California’s wet winter has had a dramatic impact on the state’s reservoirs, and one lake has turned the excess rain into a unique waterfall. Los Angeles Times

Amazing photo, Part 2: A band of thunderstorms that stretched from southern Kern County past the Channel Islands was producing a dramatic lightning show Tuesday night in the Southern California sky. Los Angeles Times

Important investigation: How federal disaster money favors the rich. NPR

THE LAKERS’ WOES

SMH: There’s plenty of blame to go around for the Lakers’ deep-running dysfunction, writes columnist Bill Plaschke. Los Angeles Times

Plus: LeBron James’ first season in Los Angeles has become a disaster. ESPN

Yeah! Why the Lakers imploded. FiveThirtyEight

Coaching around: The search for LeBron’s best match. The Ringer

CALIFORNIA CULTURE

Coming soon: Former First Lady Michelle Obama will visit UCLA in May to headline her annual national celebration of all high school seniors and transfer students who commit to pursuing higher education. Los Angeles Times

From video game to day job: How “SimCity” inspired a generation of city planners. Los Angeles Times

Hollywood brawl: As Steven Spielberg takes aim at Netflix’s Oscars eligibility, battle lines form in Hollywood. Los Angeles Times

Oops, he did it again: Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk, who is scheduled to defend himself Monday against contempt charges in a federal district court, may find his defense complicated by a semi-secret teleconference Tesla held Thursday with a small number of investors and members of the media. Los Angeles Times

Not so sweet: San Francisco’s cost of living: A cookie factory’s story. BBC

CALIFORNIA ALMANAC

Los Angeles area: showers, 61, Wednesday; partly cloudy, 61, Thursday. San Diego: showers, 64, Wednesday; partly cloudy, 63, Thursday. San Francisco area: showers, 57, Wednesday; cloudy, 51, Thursday. San Jose: showers, 61, Wednesday; showers, 54, Thursday. Sacramento: showers, 59, Wednesday; cloudy, 55, Thursday. More weather is here.

AND FINALLY

Today’s California memory comes from Michelle Geil:

“I’m an L.A. native, born in Pasadena and raised in the San Gabriel and San Fernando valleys. But it wasn’t until my parents took us kids to San Francisco for the first time that I knew my soul belonged in the Bay Area. I was initially unimpressed driving in through the outlying industrial neighborhoods, but my mom promised, ‘Wait until we reach the city.’ The breathtaking scenery at every turn, the hills and the exotic food and wares at the Marina made for love at first sight. Even more memorable for my 8-year-old self, an aspiring actress even then, was a visit to Haight-Ashbury, where we were offered free theater tickets — on the street! Then and there, I vowed to return to live in SF as soon as I was old enough — and I did, moving there twice over the years and performing Shakespeare in Golden Gate Park. I’m back in L.A. now, but I know my true home is in San Francisco, where I, like so many others, left my heart.”

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.