Newsletter: Essential California: Why is the California primary in June?

Good morning. It is Wednesday, March 16. Up in the sky … it’s a bird, it’s a plane. Nope, it’s just the neon signs of Los Angeles. Here’s what else is happening in the Golden State:

TOP STORIES

De-escalating tensions

The Los Angeles Police Commission approved a sweeping change to the way it evaluates officer-involved shootings. Commissioners asked for a new policy that would allow them to evaluate whether an officer could have done more to defuse a situation before using his or her gun against a suspect. The move was welcomed by Mayor Eric Garcetti and policing experts. But the president of the police union warned that the policy could put police at risk and subject them to unfair scrutiny, even when they are justified in using lethal force. Los Angeles Times

Icon’s new owner

A landmark Hollywood restaurant known for its killer views is now part of a wave of Chinese investment sweeping L.A. Yamashiro restaurant and surrounding hillside properties have been sold to a Beijing company for nearly $40 million. Los Angeles Times

Painkiller guidelines

Federal guidelines released Tuesday discourage doctors from prescribing painkillers for chronic conditions like back aches and migraines. The new rules are intended to help fight the nation’s growing addiction to opioids. “Plainly stated, the risks of opioids are addiction and death and the benefits for chronic pain are often transient and generally unproven,” said Tom Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Los Angeles Times

DROUGHT AND CLIMATE

Above average: California’s reservoirs are having a good week. Weekend storms pushed water levels beyond their historical averages for mid-March. “It’s definitely a step in the right direction, but it’s not a panacea. We’re not saved,” said Shane Hunt, a spokesman with the federal Bureau of Reclamation. Los Angeles Times

L.A. AT LARGE

Behind the wheel: Los Angeles’ traffic is the worst, officially. Where else could a three-mile commute take 40 minutes? Los Angeles Times

Measure postponed: The Coalition to Preserve L.A. has rewritten a ballot proposal that would crack down on mega-developments in Los Angeles. The group also abandoned plans to get the measure on the November ballot and will try for March 2017 instead. “Foes of the measure described Tuesday’s shift in strategy as a tacit admission that the Neighborhood Integrity Initiative was on track to lose in a presidential election year, when voter turnout peaks.” Los Angeles Times

Hamburger wars: L.A.’s first Shake Shack is now open — and the chain comes west with some distinctively L.A. menu items. You can order something called a Roadside Double, a double Swiss cheeseburger with Dijon mustard and onions simmered in bacon and beer. And three of the Concretes (frozen custard with mix-ins) are made with ingredients from Los Angeles bakeries and chocolate shops. Los Angeles Times

Kicking out the homeless: As thousands of commuters made their way into downtown Los Angeles Tuesday, police and sanitation crews swept through homeless encampments over the 101 Freeway. Possessions were tossed out and individuals with outstanding warrants were arrested. “Where are we going to go?” asked Alvir Gavorkain, a 58-year-old woman who has been homeless since 2002. Los Angeles Times

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Salty language: A member of the California Coastal Commission addressed a recent public hearing in Venice in Spanish. He declined to translate his comments for the English-speaking audience. When questioned later by neighbors, Mark Vargas launched into an expletive-filled rant. “Vargas, if you ask me, threw his little F-bomb tantrum because he doesn’t know how else to respond to lingering public anger over a mess he helped create,” writes columnist Steve Lopez. Los Angeles Times

New rates: It’s about to be more expensive to keep the lights on and the water flowing. The Los Angeles City Council agreed Tuesday to rate increases sought by the Department of Water and Power. The five-year rate increase ultimately will cost the typical customer an additional $21 a month. Los Angeles Times

A late election: Voters in 35 states have weighed in on the presidential contests. Why does California vote so late in the process? “The state will again have to weigh whether a place on the crowded national stage is worth the effects of a drawn-out, eight-month general election campaign, or whether the state’s top-two primary has already altered the equation on primary spending.” The primary is set for June 7. KQED

Advisory panel: The city of Los Angeles now has an advisory panel to consider issues impacting the transgender community. Top priorities will likely include the city’s hiring practices and hate crimes against transgender people. “A Los Angeles in which systemic discrimination and violence is a thing the trans community faces is a thing of the past,” said Mayor Eric Garcetti. Los Angeles Times

CRIME AND COURTS

Off-duty shooting: An off-duty LAPD officer shot two intruders at his San Gabriel home Monday morning. The officer struck one of the burglars in the leg and another in the upper torso and leg. It was not immediately clear if the men knew a police officer lived in the home. Los Angeles Times

Inmates’ escape: Four people will split a $150,000 reward for providing information that led to the arrest of three convicts who broke out of the Central Men’s Jail in Orange County. One person who will not benefit from the reward money is Long Ma, a taxi driver who was held hostage by the men. A homeless man who spotted two of the escapees in a stolen van near a Whole Foods will receive the bulk of the reward. Los Angeles Times

EDUCATION AND YOUTH

Inappropriate actions: The UC Berkeley assistant basketball coach who was fired for sexual harassment admitted to investigators that he had tried to “trick” a reporter into coming up to his apartment for sex, according to a confidential report. University investigators found Yann Hufnagel harassed a reporter by sending her inappropriate text messages and repeatedly suggesting they have a sexual relationship. The reporter was not named in the report. San Jose Mercury News

Defining discrimination: “Anti-Zionism” could soon be considered discrimination at the University of California. Hundreds of professors are divided over the issue, with some arguing that its inclusion could stifle free speech and academic freedom to teach. However, supporters say the move could bring awareness to hostility toward Jewish students. Los Angeles Times

Bizarre injury: A 5-year-old girl from Palos Verdes was paralyzed after doing a backbend on her living room floor. Doctors can’t fully explain what happened to Eden Hoelscher. “It’s just one of those enigmas,” said the girl’s neurological physical therapist. ABC News

BUSINESS

Out of champagne: The SXSW Interactive festival has a subdued feeling this year, and many people believe it’s related to a cooling in Silicon Valley. There are fewer attendees and fewer lavish parties. “When it’s really good in the market, it’s frothier here too. Literally, the drinks are frothier. They are shaken by a more bespoke bartender,” said Eric Matzner, founder and CEO of supplement start-up Nootroo. CNBC

Chic upgrades: Developers are spending hundreds of millions of dollars to upgrade high-end shopping malls in Los Angeles. The Beverly Center and Westfield CenturyCity could generate as much as $965 a square foot in sales. Wall Street Journal

CALIFORNIA CULTURE

Protesting joke: Twenty-five members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences who are Asian or Asian American are protesting offensive jokes Chris Rock and Sacha Baron Cohen made at the Academy Awards. “The Oscars show was marred by a tone-deaf approach to its portrayal of Asians,” according to a letter sent to the academy’s top leadership. Hollywood Reporter

Babies born: Channel Islands National Park is now home to two bald eagle chicks after three years of unsuccessful breeding attempts. Bald eagles disappeared from the islands in the 1960s because of DDT contamination, but they were reintroduced to the habitat in 2006. Associated Press

Time for green beer: Tomorrow is St. Patrick’s Day. Here is a list of Los Angeles restaurants where you’ll be able to get a pint and a bite to eat. LAist

CALIFORNIA ALMANAC

Los Angeles will be sunny with a high of 84 degrees. San Diego will be sunny and 76. In Riverside, there will be lots of sunshine and temperatures reaching 85 degrees. It will be sunny and 65 in San Francisco. Sacramento will be mostly sunny with highs reaching 71 degrees.

AND FINALLY

Today’s California Memory comes from Robbie Monsma:

“I was about 12 years old, living in Northridge at the time of the Watts riots. A neighbor declared that ‘they’ were coming to our lovely suburbs. I had no idea who ‘they’ were but decided over a long period of time, as I moved around the city, that there should be no ‘us’ and ‘they.’ Not always successful, but that memory still informs me to this day.”

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 Alice Walton or Shelby Grad.