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Newsletter: Essential California: Sanctuary for immigrants facing deportation

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Good morning. It is Monday, Feb. 8. The Sixth Street Bridge over the 101 Freeway was demolished this weekend. Here are the before and after photos. Here’s what else is happening in the Golden State:

TOP STORIES

Church leaders and ICE

At least three congregations in the Los Angeles area are vowing to defy Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials and protect Central Americans who face imminent deportation. Religious leaders want to protect immigrants who could be sent back to countries with escalating violence. “What would happen if a mother from Guatemala showed up at your church door with a little kid in her arms and said, ‘Can you help me?’” said Rev. John Fife, a former pastor at Southside Presbyterian in Tucson. Los Angeles Times

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Turf rebates

For months, the Department of Water and Power has fought a request to release the names and addresses of customers who received rebates to tear out their lawns. One of those customers was City Atty. Mike Feuer, whose office advises the DWP, though he has recused himself from the case. Los Angeles Times

Environmental cleanup

Columnist Steve Lopez visited Vernon to see why there’s been so little progress in cleaning up lead-contaminated soil from the shuttered Exide battery plant. “You can’t talk to anyone without hearing stories about friends and relatives who died young, or are suffering through life-altering illness and disease. Many people live with fears of physical and intellectual limitations for their children, down the road,” he writes. Los Angeles Times

DROUGHT AND CLIMATE

Permanent drought: Is the drought California’s new normal? “Understanding how changing weather pattern frequencies may impact total precipitation across the U.S. is particularly relevant to water resource managers as they contend with issues such as droughts and floods, and plan future infrastructure to store and disperse water,” said Mari Tye, co-author of a new study. Christian Science Monitor

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L.A. AT LARGE

Old records: Why were campaign records mixed in with former L.A. City Councilman Tom LaBonge’s official government papers? City politicians are prohibited from working on their campaigns during work hours. LaBonge says he had “absolutely not” worked on his campaign at his City Hall office.The papers were part of a collection that had been marked for destruction after LaBonge left office. Los Angeles Times

Teaching history: The Korean and Japanese communities are paying close attention to what California textbooks will say regarding “comfort women” -- women who were forced into sexual slavery for Japanese soldiers during World War II. “As the scope expands to other parts of the world, California classrooms are becoming battlegrounds in which recent immigrant groups wrestle over whether and how their ancestors’ stories are told to the state’s next generation.” Los Angeles Times

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Legacy projects: Gov. Jerry Brown’s two legacy projects, a high-speed bullet train and twin tunnels underneath the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, face pivotal moments this year. “Ultimately, however, whether they fly or die depends on securing tens of billions of dollars in financing,” writes Dan Walters. Sacramento Bee

Oil production: Times are tough in Bakersfield with oil prices plummeting. Kern County produces more oil than any other county in the nation, so the worldwide petroleum collapse is personal. Less production will also mean fewer dollars flowing into government coffers. “As far as revenue for the county, the special districts, schools, groups that depend on the property tax dollar, it’s worse than it was last year,” said Lee Smith, Kern County assistant assessor. Los Angeles Times

Radioactive waste: San Clemente wants to get rid of radioactive waste near San Onofre. “The law is clear. It is the federal government’s responsibility to execute a solution for which the American people have already paid,” Rep. Darrell Issa said of HR3643. Orange County Register

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CRIME AND COURTS

Proactive policing: The president of the Los Angeles Police Commission talks about what motivated him to take on the position. Matt Johnson believes he can do something about the number of unarmed African Americans who are shot by police. “I believe there are real solutions when you’re sitting at the table,” Johnson said. KCET

Legal troubles: Riverside County honored a veteran prosecutor as prosecutor of the year despite his own legal problems in San Diego. In 2006, Daniel Enrique DeLimon was in an altercation with a police officer and in 2013, he pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of driving with a blood alcohol content over 0.08%, according to court records. “DeLimon was nominated for recognition by his peers, supervisors and members of the law enforcement community for the body of his work in 2013, 2014 and, again, in 2015,” said a spokesman for the Riverside County district attorney’s office. San Diego Union-Tribune

CALIFORNIA CULTURE

New skills: The town of Salinas is trying to evolve into an agricultural technology center. “It hopes to turn the sons and daughters of farmworkers ... into coders for the next generation of data-driven, automated farming in a valley known as the salad bowl of the world.” Los Angeles Times

City view: A man who contributed to Los Angeles’ skyline, from downtown to Century City, died Saturday at age 90. John Tishman’s firm built twin towers in Century City, the Macy’s Plaza complex, the Ronald Reagan federal building and the 48-story Wells Fargo bank building in downtown. Los Angeles Times

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CALIFORNIA ALMANAC

San Diego will be sunny and 84. In Los Angeles, highs are expected to reach 86 degrees. Riverside will be windy and sunny at 86 degrees. Sacramento will have morning fog before the sun comes out and temperatures reach a high of 70. It will be sunny and 67 in San Francisco.

AND FINALLY

This week’s birthdays for notable Californians:

L.A. County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl (Feb. 9, 1941) and Disney CEO Bob Iger (Feb. 10, 1951).

Please let us know what we can do to make this newsletter more useful to you. Send comments, complaints and ideas to Alice Walton or Shelby Grad.

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