Newsletter: Essential California: Who likes politics?

Good morning. It is Saturday, Sept. 12. Here's what you don't want to miss this weekend:

TOP STORIES

Test scores: New test scores show that California educators have a long way to go to close the achievement gaps that exist based on race and socioeconomic status. "While scores declined for all students, black and Latino students saw significantly greater drops than whites and Asians, widening the already large gap that was evident in scores from earlier years." Los Angeles Times

Negative views: Animosity toward national politics may finally be trickling its way down to the local level. That's one of the findings of the new USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll. "There has been this rather fast slide down, where people just say it doesn't matter if you're a local mayor or a U.S. senator — a pox on all their houses," Republican strategist Mike Madrid said. Los Angeles Times

Special delivery: Gov. Jerry Brown is back to giving the Republican presidential candidates a hard time about climate change. After Ben Carson said there was no overwhelming scientific evidence on the subject, the governor sent him a flash drive containing the United Nations report on the science of climate change. "Please use your considerable intelligence to review this material," Brown wrote in a letter. Talking Points Memo

Aid in dying: The state Senate approved a bill that would allow doctors to prescribe life-ending drugs to terminally ill patients. The proposal gained momentum in the last year after Californian Brittany Maynard moved to Oregon so she could end her life rather than suffer through terminal brain cancer. It's unknown whether Gov. Brown will sign the legislation. Los Angeles Times

Art walk: When the Broad museum opens on Sept. 20, it will essentially be the end of Eli Broad's 36-year journey through Los Angeles' contemporary museums. "At the end of the day Los Angeles is much culturally richer as a result of Edye and Eli Broad," said Hugh Davies, longtime director of the Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego. Los Angeles Times

Film museum: Construction of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures next to LACMA on the Miracle Mile will move forward. Museum officials reached an agreement with a neighborhood group that had threatened to sue over the traffic and parking issues that could be created by the project. The museum is expected to open in late 2017. Los Angeles Times

Prepare for the worst: Californians are getting mixed messages when it comes to the weather — continue to save water, but prepare for extreme flooding. That's because the coming El Niño is looking more and more like it will be a strong system. "Right now people are concerned, but nobody has come in yet and said, 'Oh, God, El Niño is coming,' " said one man whose office overlooks a flood-prone creek. San Francisco Chronicle

Prices at the pump: The Los Angeles region could see lower gas prices in just a few weeks, as Exxon Mobil plans to increase production at its Torrance refinery. "The average gasoline price in the region remained $1 to $1.50 higher than the U.S. average for much of the summer because of troubled refineries — Torrance in particular — and low inventories." Los Angeles Times

Funding pulled: The city of Garden Grove is pulling its funding for a Vietnam War museum. With a $4-million budgetary shortfall, council members said they just couldn't afford a donation toward building the museum. Orange County Register

Fancy ride: In Pasadena, there is an Uber driver tooling around behind the wheel of a Tesla Model S. Alan Zhang says he started driving for the $50-billion company because he wanted to learn how it works. "I’m a guy who's curious about any new stuff," Zhang said. MarketWatch

Hollywood graffiti: Donald Trump's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame was defaced with a big yellow X. Who knew Trump had a star there? Hollywood Reporter

THIS WEEK'S MOST POPULAR STORIES IN ESSENTIAL CALIFORNIA

1. What happens when a rep for the Coastal Commission informs a security guard that she's actually on a public beach? Sheriff's deputies show up. Los Angeles Times

2. These are some of Southern California's favorite theme park attractions that no longer exist. Orange County Register

3. Homeowners in Portland are so upset with the influx of Californians that they've started adding stickers to for-sale signs: a silhouette of the Golden State with a big red line through it. The Oregonian

4. Artist Lorenzo Hurtado Segovia took inspiration from thrift store works to create his "Segundas" series of paintings. He then turned around and gave them to thrift stores, where some sold for as little as $4.99. Los Angeles Times

5. In images including barren hillsides and injured wild animals, a photo gallery shows the drought's damage to California. SFGate

ICYMI, HERE ARE THIS WEEK'S GREAT READS:

Hidden collection: Inside UC Berkeley's bell tower are hundreds of thousands of fossils and bones. The largest collection there comes from the La Brea Tar Pits in L.A. "The collection boasts petrified wood from Yellowstone National Park and bones from short-faced cave bears, giant sloths and saber-toothed cats from the McKittrick Tar Pits near Bakersfield." Los Angeles Times

Street-level economics: Columnist Steve Lopez visited a West Hollywood pawn shop to get a more realistic view of the economy. "The Elliott Salter Pawn Shop Index was flat, as living-wage jobs remained scarce, bills piled up and Angelenos scoured attics and garages for goods to pawn," he writes. Los Angeles Times

Life in exile: Gonpo Tso is a princess who has spent her life in exile. Her experiences offer a window into the history between China and Tibet. "Her expulsion began a decades-long odyssey to some of the most godforsaken stretches of China. Along the way, she worked in the most menial of jobs, almost losing her feet from frostbite as she milked cows on a farm near the Soviet border; she has endured wrenching ruptures from almost everyone she ever loved." Los Angeles Times

Different tune: Rhyan Lowery is the singer known as El Compa Negro. He's not what many listeners might expect — an African American from Compton who performs cumbias and corridos. "Lowery's transformation into El Compa Negro says something about the power of cultural proximity — and Los Angeles' changing demographics." Los Angeles Times

LOOKING AHEAD

Monday: Orange County Transportation Authority reviews road congestion report.

Tuesday: U.S.-China Climate Leaders Summit meets in Los Angeles.

Wednesday: Republican presidential debate to be broadcast by CNN from the Reagan Library in Simi Valley; L.A. County Sheriff Jim McDonnell will speak to the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Assn.; the First Amendment Coalition and UC Irvine School of Law will host a panel discussion on transparency in law enforcement.

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.