Newsletter: Essential California: A stoner athlete at the 420 Games

Good morning. It is Wednesday, April 20. An estimated 15,000 people will be in Golden Gate Park today to celebrate 4/20. The city of San Francisco has a few rules. Here’s what else is happening in the Golden State:

TOP STORIES

Center of activity

The opening next month of the Expo Line light rail to Santa Monica marks a major test for local transit officials. The fast-growing rail network will finally reach to the Pacific Ocean, and Santa Monica is trying to reorient the city around the Expo Line. But what will it take to get commuters out of their cars? Los Angeles Times

Working conditions

Workers in Los Angeles could soon have six paid sick days a year. The city of Los Angeles wants to double the number of days already required by the state. A motion to exempt small businesses from the proposed law was rejected by the L.A. City Council. Los Angeles Times

Within policy

The Police Commission determined Tuesday that a Los Angeles police officer was justified when he shot and injured an unarmed man in Los Feliz last year. Walter William DeLeon, who had his hand wrapped in a towel, allegedly told a witness to call the police and tell them he had a gun. However, an attorney representing DeLeon in his lawsuit against the city said there is no basis for that claim. Los Angeles Times

DROUGHT AND CLIMATE

Murky waters: Lake Tahoe’s pristine waters have been getting cloudier. Researchers say last year’s clarity reading was hurt, in part, by the rains that caused warmer water to flow into the lake. Sacramento Bee

Acidic waters: West Coast fisheries are at risk as the region’s waters become more acidic. “Although ocean acidification is a global phenomenon, emerging research indicates that the U.S.-Canadian West Coast will face some of the earliest, most severe changes in ocean carbon chemistry,” according to a report from the West Coast Ocean Acidification and Hypoxia Science Panel. Los Angeles Times

L.A. AT LARGE

Inhale, exhale: With California possibly on the verge of legalizing pot, pro-marijuana advocates want to change the perception of users as “slack-jawed, Netflix-transfixed, junk food-gobbling Lotus eaters.” For Chris Barnicle, that means participating in the 420 Games and one day, running a four-minute mile stoned. Los Angeles Times

On the left coast: What’s a trip to Los Angeles without a stay in a yurt, a ride through CicLAvia and the amazing discovery that the city has a subway system? “Wow. I can’t believe this exists,” said one tourist. New York Times

Get your checkbook: The median price of a home in Southern California reached $449,000 in March. The region’s housing supply isn’t meeting demand, with older homeowners remaining in their properties and new construction falling below “normal levels.” Curbed LA

Up in the air: Fly above the Venice Beach skate park and La Brea Tar Pits with this new video. LAist

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Inclusive environment: L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti signed a pledge to protect the rights of transgender and gender non-conforming people. The move is part of a statewide coalition called Transform California. “The campaign is really about increasing vital awareness about the role that transgender people play in our society and our communities,” said Transgender Law Center Executive Director Kris Hayashi. Los Angeles Times

Second chance: The first baby saved under Orange County’s Safe Surrender law is now 14 years old and has a message for his birth mother. “The first thing I would say to her is ‘thank you,’” said Nicholas Dyer. Nicholas was two days old when his mother, a woman in her 20s, brought him to a hospital and told nurses she couldn’t care for him. CBS Los Angeles

Privacy please: The open-air urinal in Mission Dolores Park is now the subject of lawsuits brought by a religious group against the city and county of San Francisco. The pissoir opened in January and quickly gained attention for its lack of privacy. “Seclusion in bodily evacuation is a societal norm and constitutes one of the most basic expectations for privacy,” according to the lawsuit. Los Angeles Times

Different goals: Many pregnancy centers are not following a new California law that requires operators to tell women the state offers access to free or low-cost abortions. According to critics, the main goal of such centers is to dissuade women from terminating a pregnancy. One woman who declined to post the legal notice framed the issue this way: “I’m Pepsi-Cola, I’m not Coca-Cola. Don’t force me to put Coca-Cola posters or even hand out free coupons for Coca-Cola.” 89.3 KPCC

LAUSD spending: The Los Angeles Unified School District’s electronic system to track students’ records has cost $189 million since 2013, according to a new tally. The rollout of the My Integrated Student Information System, MISIS, was famously described as a disaster. Los Angeles Times

CRIME AND COURTS

Impersonating cops: The case against three people accused of operating the bogus Masonic Fraternal Police Department took a new twist Monday. Hours after he appeared in a courtroom, the “grandmaster,” David Inkk Henry, died of a pulmonary embolism. Charges against another one of the accused were dropped earlier the same day. Los Angeles Times

Disciplinary measures: Police officers protect and serve the public, but when they misbehave — or do something criminal — the details often remain private. State Sen. Mark Leno is proposing a bill to restore access to police oversight panels, but the unions representing cops don’t’ think that’s a good idea. “I don’t know that transparency does anything. Transparency equates to more sensationalism and higher sales for the L.A. Weekly and the L.A. Times. It does not equate to developing public trust,” said Kristi Eckard with the Police Protective League. LA Weekly

Police privacy: The union that represents guards in Santa Clara County’s jails is suing Sheriff Laurie Smith for allegedly violating the privacy of its members by sharing their racist text messages. The texts were discovered by authorities as they investigated a deputy sheriff. “The messages, including vile racist slurs against blacks, Vietnamese, Jews and Latinos, sparked outrage and fueled the drive for independent oversight of the jails.” San Jose Mercury News

CALIFORNIA CULTURE

Famous fruit: The amazing story of how Orange County and its namesake fruit came together. “The citrus trees left long shadows … all of these local distinctions can be traced to the time between 1870 and 1950 when the orange was monocultured king, and the local economy arranged around it.” LA Review of Books

At the Farm: Here are 21 things you’ll only see at Stanford. BuzzFeed

Ready, set, go: The Newport-to-Ensenada yacht race will begin on Friday. “A lot of new energy is going into the race,” said race spokesman Peter Bretschger. Orange County Register

Watching from the sky: Inspectors with Pacific Gas & Electric are using helicopters to spot constructions sites that may interfere with the utility’s pipelines. San Jose Mercury News

CALIFORNIA ALMANAC

San Francisco will be partly sunny with a high of 68. Sacramento will be partly sunny and 80. Riverside will be mostly sunny with a high of 89. It will be mostly sunny and 83 in Los Angeles. It’ll be sunny and 79 in San Diego.

AND FINALLY

Today’s California Memory comes from Randi Hutchinson:

“The beach was our playground in Santa Monica when I grew up there in the ‘50s and ‘60s. Even as pre-teens we’d always walk the mile or two to the California Incline, meeting up with our friends along the way. Summer school at SAMOHI in the ‘60s was scheduled with a long break between morning and afternoon classes so we could go body surfing or work on our tans (and we seldom burned!), and buy grilled cheese sandwiches from the Sorento Grill. Hard to imagine that kind of freedom these days.”

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.