Newsletter: Essential California: Bill Cosby and the Playboy Mansion

Good morning. It is Thursday, July 30. Los Angeles loves to move big things on its roads -- the LACMA Rock, the space shuttle Endeavour. The city’s latest trick was to move two Victorian homes near USC (and yes, there are pictures). Here's what else is happening in the Golden State:

TOP STORIES

Drought legislation

A bill from Sen. Dianne Feinstein would move $1.3 billion into desalination, water storage and other projects over the next decade. Whether she will be able get it through the House, where Republicans have focused on rolling back environmental protections to pump more water in the Central Valley, remains to be seen. Los Angeles Times

Ugly freeway

Californians have forgotten how to construct a freeway. That’s the assessment of Times architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne as he examines the $1.14 billion that was spent to build just one carpool lane on the northbound 405 Freeway through the Sepulveda Pass. “If the new 405 were a house, it would be covered with stucco, glass, shingles and tile, with a little Tudor half-timbering thrown in for good measure,” he writes. Los Angeles Times

Studio layoffs

The movie and television studio Relativity Media will lay off one-fifth of its staff. “As Relativity continues to move forward with steps to strengthen its balance sheet and reduce costs, we've made the difficult decision to eliminate 75 full-time positions across several divisions,” according to a company spokesman. The studio is expected to file for bankruptcy later this week as it struggles to come up with the $320 million it owes lenders. Los Angeles Times

DROUGHT

Polling the drought: The drought has surpassed jobs, the economy and education as voters’ top concern in California. A new poll also finds that 64% Californians would pay more for water if they knew the money would be used to improve water reliability. Los Angeles Times

Restoring old destination: Local officials now want $3.15 billion to restore the Salton Sea, the state’s largest lake. The agriculture runoff that feeds into the Salton Sea has dried up. At the same time, the water has gotten saltier, killing fish and endangering other species. Desert Sun

Creative solution: There’s a new shower curtain designed to cut off your shower after four minutes. How does it work? Soft spikes are inflated, making it difficult and painful to continue showering. Sunset

Meeting goals: San Francisco, San Diego and Los Angeles all say they are saving water and meeting the targets set by Gov. Jerry Brown. Cities that don’t meet the governor’s goals could face state-ordered cutbacks and fines. Associated Press

L.A. AT LARGE

Walking the beat: It’s not every day you see the mayor and police chief strolling down your street but that’s what happened in Leimert Park Wednesday. The visit from Mayor Eric Garcetti and Chief Charlie Beck coincides with expanded foot patrols in some South L.A. neighborhoods. “I wanted to show that we’re here, city employees are here — we care,” Garcetti said. Los Angeles Times

Airport rides: Uber and Lyft may not be appearing at LAX this summer as promised. The L.A. City Council wants to review the decision that would allow the app-based companies to pick up and drop off at the airport. Concerns include providing wheelchair accessible vehicles, connecting background checks with the FBI’s fingerprint database, and a quota for hybrid cars. Los Angeles Times

Not for sale: Vending at city parks and beaches is once more against the law. The L.A. City Council voted 12-3 to reinstate a ban on unpermitted vending even though it is considering a proposal to legalize the practice on city sidewalks. “It’s anything goes, essentially, in our parks,” said Councilman Mitch O’Farrell. Los Angeles Times

Watts riots: Next month will be the 50th anniversary of the Watts riots. This explainer gives a refresher on how a traffic stop sparked protests that left 34 dead and 1,032 people injured. “The violence in Watts had eclipsed the toll in a wave of race riots that had struck the East Coast the year before. Seven riots in 1964 had resulted in less death and destruction than did the rioting in Los Angeles.” Los Angeles Times

Futuristic station: New drawings show what one downtown stop will look like when the Regional Connector is completed. At Second and Hope, where riders will exit for the Disney Concert Hall and Broad Museum, an elevated pedestrian bridge and elevator will help them avoid a hike up Bunker Hill. Curbed LA

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Leadership style: Mayor Eric Garcetti has a “weaselly twin” who frequently appears when the leader of Los Angeles is asked to take a position on a controversial issue, writes columnist Steve Lopez. “He's not even on the fence. He's behind it, where nobody can see him,” Lopez writes, noting the mayor declined to take positions on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, moving municipal elections, funding sidewalk and road repairs, and mansionization. Los Angeles Times

COURTS AND CRIMES

Old allegation: LAPD detectives are investigating a claim that Bill Cosby drugged a woman at the Playboy Mansion in 2008. When the woman awoke, she says, she was naked and Cosby was biting her toes. Even though the statute of limitations has expired in this case, police continue to investigate because the allegations could be used as evidence if Cosby is ever charged with another sex-related crime. Los Angeles Times

Coroner’s report: A homeless man killed by police on L.A.’s Skid Row was shot six times, according to the coroner’s report. Charly Leundeu Keunang also had meth and marijuana in his system at the time of his death, which was recorded on video by a bystander. Los Angeles Times

HOUSING

Housing threats: Residents in San Francisco’s Chinatown are facing the constant threat of eviction. Landlords have locked out tenants from their own units and tried to evict families for doing things like hanging laundry. Many of these units are rented by low-income families. KQED

CALIFORNIA CULTURE

I do: When one Oakland couple got engaged, they knew they wanted to get married at Disneyland. There was just one problem -- they didn’t want to pay the tab that would come with such a wedding. So, this creative pair decided to get married on the sly in the Enchanted Tiki Room with these vows: “Do you take this awesome man? Do you take this awesome lady?” San Francisco Magazine

GOP attraction: Piñatas that look like Donald Trump are a big hit in Tijuana. Most piñatas are marketed to children, but the Trump creations are pretty popular with adults. “Sometimes, they say they want to grab him, before even buying,” said one vendor. Los Angeles Times

Art funds: In Oakland, developers are suing over a new ordinance that requires them to set aside 1% of their budgets for public art projects. The case has local artists outraged. “Developers owe it to the city and residents to enrich the landscape and culture of the urban space,” said artist Emma Spertus. KQED

Oil slick: A three-mile-wide oil slick appeared near Goleta Beach Wednesday. Authorities don’t yet know where the oil came from. The oil was first spotted by kayakers about 1,000 feet off the coast. Los Angeles Times

CALIFORNIA ALMANAC

San Francisco will have low clouds before the sun comes out and temperatures reach 71 degrees. Riverside will have clouds and a chance of a thunderstorm, with temperatures expected to reach 93 degrees. Los Angeles will be partly sunny with a possibly thunderstorm and a high of 87. San Diego will have periods of sunshine and a thunderstorm. Temperatures should reach 79 degrees.

AND FINALLY

One of the delights of writing Essential California is that readers will often share with us their memories of the state. It could be the beautiful hike they took last weekend or a road trip down the Pacific Coast Highway 40 years ago. If you have a great memory or fun story about the Golden State, please share it with us, and we will occasionally feature those stories in Essential California. Send us an email here and 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.