Looking back on 12 months of California news — and forward to a new year

Good morning. It’s Thursday, Dec. 28. Here’s what you need to know to start your day.

• Reflecting on a year in California news
• L.A. eviction cases rose this year. But it’s not all bad news.
• Ring in 2024 with these 13 SoCal events
• And here’s today’s e-newspaper

Looking back on 12 months of California news — and forward to a new year

As you kick back during this dead week, it’s a good opportunity to reflect on 2023. What a year, huh? (As most years are, I guess.)

I couldn’t possibly recount every news event from the last year — and I don’t think you’d like me to! But there were some key themes that made headlines. Here’s a brief look back, and then a look ahead — which we’ll need your help to do.

We had a year of weird weather. Forget the Rose Parade; it was the parade of atmospheric rivers that really rang in 2023. Weeks of near-record rainfall and snowfall effectively ended California’s historic drought but also revealed our inability to protect vulnerable communities from flooding and capture enough of that free water to save for the next dry day (or year).

More rain came during a mild spring, soothing fears of a big melt that was poised to flood valleys with melted snow. There were tornadoes in SoCal. And the state made history again this summer when the National Weather Service issued a first-ever tropical storm warning for the Southern California region. All that water helped tamp down what could have been another highly flammable fire season.

Although our most recent drought has ended, our water woes aren’t over. As Ian James reported, the once-mighty Colorado River “can no longer withstand the thirst of the arid West,” which will bring a reckoning that could reshape the region and affect the millions who live here.

The housing and homelessness crisis continued to counteract California’s image as a progressive and prosperous state. In Los Angeles, Mayor Karen Bass’ first year in office was defined largely by her response to the homelessness crisis. Over the last year, Bass said city and county agencies brought roughly 21,000 Angelenos off the streets and into interim housing. But it’s worth noting that those people are still defined as homeless, just sheltered.

Some cities grappled with the state over rules meant to boost affordable housing production. It’ll be a while before we know how well recent policies — and some communities’ resistance — work to alleviate the crisis.

Gun violence continued to claim lives and shatter peace in our communities. In Monterey Park, a gunman opened fire on dancers celebrating the Lunar New Year in January, killing 11 and wounding nine others. Two days later, a gunman killed seven fellow farmworkers in Half Moon Bay. In August, a gunman killed three people and wounded six others at a beloved Orange County bar.

The swell of organized labor continued — and went Hollywood. LAUSD workers went on strike, SoCal hotel workers walked off the job in waves and the film and television industry ground to a halt when unionized writers went on strike, seeking a better contract in the age of streaming. They were joined by SAG-AFTRA’s actor members over the summer. Both Hollywood groups reached deals with the alliance that represents traditional studios and streaming giants such as Netflix and Amazon.

California’s political power got shaken up. In Washington, Democrats started the year without Nancy Pelosi in her long-held leadership role. After a record 15 votes, Bakersfield Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy became speaker of the House, then lost the role about 10 months later. Soon after, he announced his retirement from Congress. California also lost longtime Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who died in late September at age 90. Several prominent Democrats are running to succeed her in 2024.

It was a busy year at the Big Tech wrangling ranch. In late January, the U.S. Department of Justice — joined by California and seven other states — sued Google, alleging it has an illegal stranglehold on online advertising. Robotaxis filled the streets of San Francisco, bringing high-profile traffic tie-ups. One company, Cruise, recalled its entire fleet after one of its autonomous vehicles struck and dragged a pedestrian.

Artificial intelligence dominated headlines this year, as the state and federal governments explore how to utilize and regulate the rapidly evolving technology. As tech columnist Brian Merchant explained, 2024 is the year to explore how it could affect the workforce (as in: Will employers begin to lay the groundwork for AI taking our jobs?).

It was another deadly year for people walking, biking and driving on California roads. Preliminary data show that even before the end of December, more people had been killed on Los Angeles streets this year than in all of 2022. Statewide data will take a while, but recent years have seen a notable increase in pedestrian deaths.

There was one state policy change that could start to reverse that trend next year: Speed cameras will now be permitted in several cities, including Los Angeles, Long Beach, San Diego, San Jose and Oakland.

Driving remained an integral part of life in the state. Gov. Gavin Newsom made that clear when he declared a state of emergency after a fire closed a section of the 10 Freeway in downtown Los Angeles for eight days. The blaze drew attention to the state’s leasing of land under freeways — and the fact that Caltrans had long been aware of hazardous conditions under the very portion of the 10 that was later scorched in what officials suspect was arson.

The war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip created battle lines in the Golden State, sowing division on college campuses. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators calling for a cease-fire in Gaza took their protests on the road, blocking freeways and access to LAX in recent weeks.

There was no shortage of devastating, tragic and preventable events this year. And it’s easy to focus on the bundles of bad news. But life in California still brings plenty of sunshine. There were a lot of stories that delighted readers as well, from a dog mayor to the mystery of a reported “full body orgasm” during an L.A. Philharmonic performance to pretty much everything our De Los team published. Oh, and Shohei Ohtani is a Dodger now.

I’m partial to the ungovernable Otter 841, the surfboard-swiping sea mammal who lived her best life in the waters off Santa Cruz. In case you missed it, her days as a fugitive are behind her. Now she’s focused on being a mom.

I was thrilled (and later very sore) to take on the California Double — tagging along with a group of friends who began the day surfing in Malibu and ended it on snowy slopes in Angeles National Forest. I hiked among the poppies. I biked 17-Mile Drive. I partied with hundreds of fellow Ryans.

There’s a lot I’m looking forward to in 2024. I’m hoping to see more of the Golden State and keep writing about it, plus eat at as many of L.A.’s 101 best restaurants (according to The Times’ Bill Addison) as my wallet and stomach allows.

How about you? What events or moments brought you happiness, clarity or peace this year? What are you looking forward to in 2024? And there’s plenty of room for change in California, so why not share your resolution for the Golden State?

Take our survey to share your own look back and look ahead. And look out for responses from fellow readers (and perhaps you!) in an early 2024 edition of the newsletter. Thanks and happy New Year!

Today’s top stories

Eva Garcia joins other tenants and advocates outside the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration to demand the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors extend eviction protections during a rally in September 2021.

(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Housing and real estate

• Across L.A. County, eviction cases increased by thousands as the pandemic-era moratoriums were lifted. But with other new protections, the numbers did not soar as much as some feared.
• Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Jennifer Lopez, Ben Affleck and Mark Wahlberg all made the list of Southern California’s top home sales this year.

Labor

• California Pizza Hut franchises will lay off more than 1,100 delivery drivers ahead of a statewide minimum wage hike.
• California paid more boxers who were owed pensions in 2023, sending checks totaling more than half a million dollars to three dozen retired fighters after a Times investigation.

Climate and the environment

• Another storm is coming to Southern California. Will it rain on the Rose Parade?
• Don’t let your Christmas tree become a fire hazard. Recycle it now. Here’s how.
• Orcas are flocking to Southern California waters. One bloody, awe-inspiring spectacle shows why.
• Water is increasingly at the center of conflicts from Ukraine to the Middle East.

More big stories

• Protesters calling for a cease-fire in Gaza were arrested after briefly blocking traffic near LAX.
• The great majority of fatalities from the war between Israel and Hamas have been the result of Israeli bombardment, officials say. But hunger’s grip is tightening by the day.
  The Powerball jackpot hits $700 million as ticket sales surge after a Christmas drawing.
• Fears of violence and memories of civil war haunt L.A. Salvadorans over the reelection bid of Nayib Bukele, El Salvador’s controversial but highly popular president.
• Everyone in California seems to be sick with respiratory illness. Here’s why.
• Tom Smothers, who co-starred in the legendary “Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour,” dies at 86.

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Commentary and opinions

• Opinion: Are Latino voters really defecting in droves to Republicans? Not according to our data.
• Opinion: 2024 will be the biggest voting year in world history. Can democracy survive it?
• Jackie Calmes: 2023 sucked, but at least there was a measure of accountability in Washington.
• Opinion: ‘Dooring’ shouldn’t worry only cyclists. Drivers need to prevent it too.

Today’s great reads

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Nobody’s ever lost their star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Will Trump be the first? Some L.A. residents want to see Donald Trump’s star removed from the Hollywood Walk of Fame, but city officials say there’s no precedent for doing so.

Other great reads

• He hits four L.A. raves a night in a wheelchair: “We need more disabled people going out.”
• He’s out to photograph every native plant in L.A. County — 750 down, 1,840 to go.
• The rise and fall of Amazon Prime Video’s Pilot Season initiative, launched in 2013, is a useful microcosm for understanding the evolution of streaming.

How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com.

For your downtime

The New Year’s Eve celebration at Gloria Molina Grand Park is a multistage party in downtown L.A. with music, food trucks and an immersive art installation to help count down the clock.

(The Music Center)

Going out

• L.A. New Year plans? Ring in 2024 with these 13 SoCal events.
• A classic L.A. restaurant where professional service is still in style.
• The best screenings of 2023 according to L.A. film programmers.

Staying in

• Need a mood boost? Read our most uplifting stories from 2023.
• 🧑‍🍳 Here’s a recipe for buttermilk biscuits.
• ✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and arcade games.

And finally ... from our archives

The Hawai’ian Po’ouli, or black-faced honeycreeper. You won’t see this bird anymore because it’s extinct.

(Hawai’i DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife)

On Dec. 28, 1973, President Nixon signed the Endangered Species Act, which obligates federal and state governments to protect all species threatened with extinction that fall within the borders of the United States and its outlying territories. In October, Times business columnist Michael Hiltzik wrote about how humans have driven 21 species to extinction, and why everyone should care.

Have a great day, from the Essential California team

Ryan Fonseca, reporter
Elvia Limón, multiplatform editor
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Laura Blasey, assistant editor

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