Newsletter: Incoming winter weather, and more in the week ahead

Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It’s Monday, Nov. 25, and here’s a quick look at the week ahead:

Tuesday marks the deadline for presidential candidates to submit paperwork to appear on the California primary ballot.

Thursday is Thanksgiving. This newsletter will be on hiatus for the holiday on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. We look forward to being back in in your inboxes bright and early next Monday morning!

Sunday is the 88th Hollywood Christmas Parade in Hollywood. If you are not planning to attend, I recommend steering clear of Hollywood, lest you fall into a traffic nightmare. Sunday is also the first day of winter, according to the meteorological season. But Dec. 21, the winter solstice, won’t come around for another few weeks.

And now, here’s what’s happening across California:

TOP STORIES

A powerful winter storm is on the menu for Thanksgiving week in Southern California. The wet weather is likely to begin Tuesday night, and the storm will hit the entire state. Winds may gust as high as 50 mph in the mountains, and snow levels could drop as low as 2,000 feet. Significant snow accumulations are expected at resort levels. By Thursday night into Friday, rain will generally taper off to isolated showers, but downpours are still possible with thunderstorms. Los Angeles Times

California cities are pushing back on landlords who’ve been trying to increase rents and issue evictions before a state law goes into effect in January. In addition to L.A., about three dozen cities and counties across the state have passed temporary bans on evictions ahead of a new state rent control law. (We’ve talked about this phenomenon a few times before in regard to individual cities passing emergency moratoria, but this new piece from my colleague housing reporter Liam Dillon looks at in the context of what’s happening across the state, and how the pieces fit together.) Los Angeles Times

L.A. STORIES

Planning a Thanksgiving car trip? Here’s when traffic will be worst on busier-than-ever L.A. roads. Los Angeles Times

At least six people were shot at a party in downtown Los Angeles. The shooting occurred early Sunday in the warehouse district. Los Angeles Times

Homeless opioid deaths are forcing change in L.A. jails. Los Angeles is expanding its use of medication-assisted treatment. By March 2020, Suboxone and methadone will become widely available to inmates who show the symptoms of physical withdrawal while in custody. Capital & Main

Melina Matsoukas — Grammy-winning director for Beyoncé and Rihanna — makes her Hollywood feature debut with the kind of story Hollywood has often overlooked. California Sunday

Want a free tree for your yard or neighborhood? L.A.’s Green New Deal to plant 90,000 trees in the city over the next two years is a bonus for residents. The city will give out up to seven free yard and/or street trees to qualifying residents. Los Angeles Times

Some of the New Yorker’s best Hollywood stories: The magazine has dug through its archive to compile a collection of legendary Tinseltown tales — from a 1957 Truman Capote dispatch about Marlon Brando on location to more recent pieces, like Ariel Levy’s deep dive on director Nicole Holofcener. The New Yorker

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POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Impeachment inquisitor Devin Nunes dodged a question over his alleged meeting with a former top Ukrainian prosecutor. The Central Valley congressman (R-Tulare) declined to directly answer a question about that allegation during a Fox News interview, but threatened to sue CNN for reporting it. Los Angeles Times

Billionaire and former New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has officially joined the race for the Democratic presidential nomination. His advisors acknowledge he is starting too late to compete effectively in the states that will hold the party’s first four nominating contests in February, but Bloomberg will have a virtually unlimited budget to advertise in California and more than a dozen other states that hold Super Tuesday contests on March 3. Los Angeles Times

For 2020 candidates, eating tacos is the kissing babies of stumping for Latino votes. Taco laureate Gustavo Arellano unpacks the phenomenon. Los Angeles Times

Presidential candidate Julián Castro talks with patrons on a recent visit to La Parrilla restaurant in Boyle Heights.

(Michael Owen Baker/For The Times)

Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to close a California state prison. It won’t be easy. Sacramento Bee

CRIME AND COURTS

The only child to survive a San Diego murder-suicide that claimed the lives of his parents and his three brothers has died, according to a family member. Los Angeles Times

A fatal stabbing aboard a train has thrust Bay Area transit agency BART into crisis. “It was a chilling reminder for passengers of BART’s web of challenges, including rising violent crime, rampant fare evasion and visible drug use.” San Francisco Chronicle

Cal Fire says In-N-Out was responsible for a 2017 San Luis Obispo County fire. The agency is suing the burger chain for $1.2 million to recover costs associated with the fire. San Luis Obispo Tribune

Wildfire survivors fear smaller payouts from PG&E with each fire. More than 70,000 people have filed claims against the utility over various wildfires in recent years. Associated Press

HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT

A disease that could devastate citrus crops has reached San Bernardino County. An existing quarantine sparked by previous detection in Los Angeles and Orange counties has been expanded by 93 square miles, creating a contiguous 1,015-square-mile area. Another quarantine is in effect in Riverside County. Los Angeles Times

Sick Norwegian Cruise Line passengers were checked by paramedics in the Port of L.A. Authorities say six people were evaluated, and four were sent to a hospital for further medical treatment. Los Angeles Times

CALIFORNIA CULTURE

Here’s how much California agriculture is in a typical Thanksgiving dinner. Orange County Register

The Central Valley city of Merced has broken its building permit application record amid a statewide surge. Merced Sun-Star

Marin crab sellers are dismayed over the delay of commercial Dungeness season: “Delayed or canceled seasons can hurt the bottom line for Marin’s fishmongers, who rely on sales ahead of Thanksgiving and Christmas, which are the most popular days for crab feasts.” Marin Independent Journal

Prominent Southern California architect Raymond Kappe has died at 92. Kappe was a founding director of the influential Southern California Institute of Architecture, or SCI-Arc. Los Angeles Times

San Francisco’s famed Tartine Bakery was shut down by the health department because of rodent problems. The James Beard award-winning bakery is known for its long lines. Eater SF

CALIFORNIA ALMANAC

Los Angeles: sunny, 69. San Diego: partly sunny, 66. San Francisco: windy, 60. San Jose: windy, 64. Sacramento: windy, 63. More weather is here.

AND FINALLY

This week’s birthdays for those who made a mark in California:

Tina Turner (Nov. 26, 1939), former Angels manager Mike Scioscia (Nov. 27, 1958), “I Love L.A.” singer Randy Newman (Nov. 28, 1943), retired Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully (Nov. 29, 1927), Nobel chemistry laureate and UC Berkeley professor Yuan Lee (Nov. 29, 1936), UC President Janet Napolitano (Nov. 29, 1957) and Chrissy Teigen (Nov. 30, 1985).

If you have a memory or story about the Golden State, share it with us. (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, ideas and unrelated book recommendations to Julia Wick. Follow her on Twitter @Sherlyholmes.