The return of the cooking stage and more at the L.A. Times Festival of Books

Good morning. It’s Friday, April 19. Here’s what you need to know to start your day.

• The L.A. Times Festival of Books kicks off this weekend.
• California sets nation-leading limit for the toxic heavy metal carcinogenic chromium-6 in drinking water.
• Pair these L.A. road trips with a hike and a lunch.
• And here’s today’s e-newspaper
  

The largest literary festival in the nation is back

What types of books do you enjoy reading? Nonfiction is my go-to. I get lost in the pages of memoirs, autobiographies and biographies. Reliving a different time and exploring history is my escape.

One nonfiction subgenre I’ve always wanted to get into but felt intimidated by is cookbooks. Although they are the fourth-largest category of nonfiction sold in the U.S., I find myself resorting to TikTok for recipes.

Well, this weekend is the perfect time to explore some of the best cookbooks for spring and a variety of other books at the L.A. Times Festival of Books.

An anticipated 155,000 people will come together for the largest literary festival in the nation starting Saturday on USC’s campus. You can expect another year of readings, discussions, panels, signings and demonstrations featuring an eclectic lineup of authors, filmmakers, actors, journalists and personalities.

General admission is free, but tickets for indoor sessions and conversations with participants are available for purchase.

What’s new

After a year’s hiatus, the cooking stage is back! An assemblage of well-known chefs, internet personalities and cookbook authors including actor Tiffani Thiessen of “Saved by the Bell” fame will talk about their cookbooks.

For the first time, the L.A. Times will livestream recipe demonstrations and conversations on the cooking stage and panel discussions on a range of topics, as well as scenes from around the festival. Rolling coverage will publish on latimes.com with real-time highlights shared across social media (Instagram, Facebook and X).

What big names to expect

The “Drag Race” stage isn’t the only one RuPaul will grace this year. The television personality and author will be part of The Times’ Ideas Exchange series Saturday, where he’ll discuss his new memoir, “The House of Hidden Meanings.” Tickets are required to attend the session.

Other notable authors and personalities appearing over the weekend include Henry Winkler, Kerry Washington, Ed Begley Jr., Lois Lowry, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Jonathan Lethem and George Stephanopoulos, just to name a few.

More cool events at the festival

Book to Screen events include an episode screening of ABC’s police procedural “Will Trent,” featuring author Karin Slaughter and the series’ showrunners. There will also be a screening of Hulu’s eight-part drama series “Queenie,” based on Candice Carty-Williams’ eponymous novel, scheduled to premiere in June.

Mariachi Cielo Lindo performs at the La Times En Español stage during the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at USC in 2022.

(James Carbone)

The L.A. Times en Español stage, now the Latinidad stage, will feature children’s readings, conversations about fútbol with Angel City FC and a 30th anniversary celebration of the 1993 cult crime classic “Blood In Blood Out” with director Taylor Hackford.

See the full schedule and purchase tickets here.

Today’s top stories

Raul Urena, the first transgender mayor of Calexico and a current council member, speaks with farmworkers after they teased Urena for wearing a dress.

(Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)

California politics

• Public defenders, foster kids, climate: Programs created during California’s boom may stall amid deficit.
• California set a nation-leading limit for the toxic heavy metal carcinogenic chromium-6 in drinking water.
• Calexico resoundingly ousted town’s first transgender mayor and a council ally.
• Governor Newsom called for increased oversight of local homelessness efforts.

Israel-Gaza

• The U.S. blocks full U.N. membership for Palestinians.
• Google fired 28 employees who protested over Israel’s cloud contract.
• If you were a motorist delayed by the Golden Gate Bridge protest on April 15, you might get “restitution.”

Courts and crime

• Signatures roll in for tough-on-crime ballot measure to reform California’s Proposition 47.
• A celebrated L.A. astrology influencer’s stunning fall from ‘healer’ to killer.
• A body was discovered in the back of a stolen U-Haul truck in Mid City.
• How a ‘cold-blooded killer’ called Smiley, who haunted L.A. for 14 years, finally faced justice.
• ‘Help me, help me’: A Metro bus driver is stabbed, reviving fears about safety.

More big stories

• USC students protest the ‘silencing’ of valedictorian with cancellation of speech.
• Dodgers fan pulled switcheroo after catching a ‘hated Padre’ homer. Why did he keep the ball?
• San Francisco sues Oakland over plans to change name of an airport.
• O.J. Simpson was cremated in Las Vegas this week. Funeral plans are still in the works.
• Netflix’s password-sharing crackdown is paying off as profits beat Wall Street’s forecast.
• L.A.-based social video platform Triller is acquired by a Hong Kong company.
• Booming cold drink sales mean more plastic waste. So Starbucks redesigned its cups.
• How LeBron James and the Lakers are planning to end Denver’s dominance against them.
• Clippers are still unsure whether Kawhi Leonard will play Game 1: ‘Very unpredictable.’
  

Get unlimited access to the Los Angeles Times. Subscribe here.

Commentary and opinions

• Editorial: Google’s hardball tactics against California news outlets show why it should be regulated.
• Michael Hiltzik: The salmon industry faces extinction — not because of drought, but from government policies and politics.
• Sammy Roth: Disneyland just promised electric cars at Autopia. Gas will be gone by 2026.

Today’s great reads

Answers to your burning weed questions.

(Los Angeles Times photo illustration; Photos via Getty Images)

How do you handle neighbors who smoke weed? And other burning weed questions answered. What do you do if you’re annoyed by your neighbors smoking weed? How do you find clean wax? What are my first steps in using cannabis to combat appetite loss from chemotherapy? Why doesn’t L.A. have more weed lounges?

Other great reads

• Taylor Swift’s new album is rife with breakup songs. Psychologists explain why we love them.
• Chicano Batman are not who you expect them to be.
• China’s highflying EV industry is going global. Why that has Tesla and other carmakers worried.
  

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

For your downtime

Produce at the Weiser Family Farms stand at the Topanga Farmers Market.

(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)

Going out

• 🌅 ⛰️ Topanga Canyon is just as full of whimsy, beauty and neighborly love as it ever was.
• Pair these L.A. road trips with a hike and a lunch.
• You don’t ‘hike’ Fiery Furnace, Utah’s exclusive maze of slot canyons. You get lost in it.

Staying in

• 📚 19 great Hollywood books we missed, according to our readers.
• 🧑‍🍳 Here’s a recipe for Joan Nathan’s Passover Pecan Lemon Torte With Lemon Curd Filling.
• ✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and arcade games.

And finally ... a great photo

Show us your favorite place in California! We’re running low on submissions. Send us photos that scream California and we may feature them in an edition of Essential California.

(Bishop Elegino / For The Times)

Today’s great photo is from L.A. based fashion and conceptual photographer Bishop Elegino of Gage Crismond. A multidisciplinary artist, Elegino recognizes something in the Acne Studios rivet wine box bag from the brand’s spring/summer ’24 collection that’s always been present in his personal style: utility.

Have a great day, from the Essential California team

Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor and Saturday reporter
Defne Karabatur, fellow
Christian Orozco, assistant editor
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters

Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on latimes.com.