Newsletter: Essential California: Awaiting the next Big One

Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It’s Wednesday, April 3, and here’s what’s happening across California:

TOP STORIES

California is in an earthquake drought. It has been almost four years since the state experienced its last earthquake of magnitude 6 or stronger — in Napa. Southern California felt its last big quake on Easter Sunday 2010, and that shaker was actually centered across the border, causing the most damage in Mexicali. Experts know this calm period will eventually end, with destructive results. They just don’t know when this well-documented geological pattern will shift. Los Angeles Times

Preparing: A pro tells us the four items you need in your emergency kit. Los Angeles Times

An arrest in the Hussle case

A suspect in the killing of rapper Nipsey Hussle is in custody, authorities said, ending a two-day manhunt. Eric Holder, 29, was arrested in Bellflower on Tuesday afternoon. As a rapper, Holder went by the name Fly Mac, and he sang of body bags, “38 gun blasts” and bloody homicides. A woman who allegedly drove the getaway car has been speaking to detectives at LAPD’s 77th Street station, according to law enforcement sources. She is claiming that she was unaware of the shooting when Holder got into the car. Los Angeles Times

-- Hussle was a symbol of hope to a neighborhood. Now he is a cautionary tale, writes columnist Steve Lopez. Los Angeles Times

-- After hearing that Hussle had been killed Sunday, Dodgers organist Dieter Ruehle went home and began to practice Hussle’s “Racks in the Middle” on his keyboard. Los Angeles Times

Scandal takes center stage

A media circus is expected in federal court in Boston on Wednesday when the two most high-profile defendants in the college admissions scandal — Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin — appear in court. The preliminary hearing at which they face charges against them for the first time will mark a key moment for the actresses. They are among dozens of people swept up in the scandal. Los Angeles Times

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L.A. STORIES

Changes afoot at USC: Provost Michael Quick and General Counsel Carol Mauch Amir are to depart before the arrival of incoming President Carol Folt, who has been tasked with cleaning up the university’s culture and reputation. Los Angeles Times

More pressure: Following in the footsteps of actor George Clooney, Los Angeles city leaders are calling for a boycott of two hotels that are popular with Hollywood royalty, because the business owners are part of a foreign government that punishes homosexuality and adultery with death. Los Angeles Times

Pencils up: For first time, L.A. schools have free SAT day for all juniors. Los Angeles Times

Live in the desert: Studio chiefs and cinema owners gather in Las Vegas this week for CinemaCon, the movie industry’s annual trade show, at a time of extraordinary change for the business. Los Angeles Times

IMMIGRATION AND THE BORDER

Border drama: As President Trump threatens to close the border, experts warn of billions in economic damage. Los Angeles Times

Meanwhile: Senior White House officials are exploring ways to exempt commercial trade from Trump’s threat to shut down the U.S. border with Mexico, three people briefed on the discussions said. Washington Post

Plus: Binational travelers in Tijuana and San Diego are worried too. San Diego Union-Tribune

New idea: Presidential candidate Julián Castro wants to radically restrict immigration enforcement. Vox

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Vacation? Gov. Gavin Newsom and his family on Monday packed up and left the state for a spring break vacation, and the governor’s office is staying mum about where. Combined with his coming trip to El Salvador, Newsom will be gone until April 10, leaving the lieutenant governor in charge. Los Angeles Times

In the works: PG&E Corp., the bankrupt California power giant facing $30 billion in wildfire liabilities, is nearing a deal with a group of investors that includes naming Bill Johnson of the Tennessee Valley Authority as chief executive and overhauling its board. Los Angeles Times

Jumping in: “Rep. Eric Swalwell and political advisers around him have started to tell top Democrats he plans to launch a presidential campaign this month.” CNN

Tsk, tsk: “President Trump’s company owed $36,200 in delinquent property taxes on its California golf course until Monday — when it paid, after the delinquency was pointed out by the Washington Post.” Washington Post

Congestion pricing: New York embraced it. Will other clogged cities follow? New York Times

CRIME AND COURTS

Sad story: His toddler shot himself in the head. Now this inmate pleads for Gov. Newsom’s help. Los Angeles Times

Wanted, Part 1: The Los Angeles Police Department released new photos of a man wanted in a series of slashing attacks around South L.A. and southeast Los Angeles County. Los Angeles Times

Wanted, Part 2: One suspect “may be behind four bank robberies in Davis, El Dorado Hills and Yuba City in recent months, the FBI said this week.” Sacramento Bee

THE ENVIRONMENT

That’s a relief: Bystanders were met with the rumble of rushing water as Oroville Dam’s gates released more than a million gallons of water down a newly reconstructed concrete spillway for the first time since the infrastructure collapsed two years ago. Los Angeles Times

CALIFORNIA CULTURE

More panning of the new design: LACMA, the Incredible Shrinking Museum: A critic’s lament. Los Angeles Times

Attention, Oscar: The Justice Department has warned the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences that potential rule changes limiting the eligibility of Netflix movies in Oscar competition might violate antitrust law. Los Angeles Times

Affordable housing porn: “The Instagram account that will leave you drooling — and itching to leave the Bay Area.” SFgate

Nice tribute: “The former Dodgertown spring training camp will now be named the Jackie Robinson Training Complex and be used for Major League Baseball’s amateur development initiatives.” Associated Press

CALIFORNIA ALMANAC

Los Angeles area: Partly cloudy, 68, Wednesday. Partly cloudy, 66, Thursday. San Diego: Showers, 66, Wednesday. Partly cloudy, 66, Thursday. San Francisco area: Cloudy, 60, Wednesday. Showers, 60, Thursday. San Jose: Cloudy, 65, Wednesday. Cloudy, 63, Thursday. Sacramento: Partly cloudy, 67, Wednesday. Showers, 63, Thursday. More weather is here.

AND FINALLY

Today’s California memory comes from Ron Fiorucci:

”Being from the Midwest, I remember scenes that many consider normal in California that would not even take place back home. Several years back, Caltrans was paving Pacific Coast Highway at Main Street in Huntington Beach when a group of wet-suited and barefoot surfer girls came up from the beach. Without a word, the orange-vested Caltrans workers started lining up at the edge of PCH to carry the surfer girls (surfboards and all) across the hot asphalt as if they had done it all before.”

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.