Newsletter: Essential California: Green groups want Nestle’s spigot turned off

Good morning. It is Wednesday, Oct. 14. The new L.A. trend in cocktails is bugs. No thanks, I’m good. Here's what else is happening in the Golden State:

TOP STORIES

Wrong stats

The Los Angeles Police Department continued to misclassify serious assaults last year, so much so that the number of reported aggravated assaults should have been 23% higher, according to an audit. Last year, a Times investigation found the department routinely classified serious assaults, like stabbings and beatings, as more minor crimes that helped lower the city’s crime rate. “It tells me it’s not about the numbers, it’s about the inside organizational pressures that persist because the measure of success is still bringing down crime,” said Jay Wachtel, criminal justice professor at Cal State Fullerton. Los Angeles Times

Stolen car investigation

A top sheriff’s official who purchased a stolen vehicle from the owner of a tow yard that contracts with the department will retire. Assistant Sheriff Michael Rothans said he is retiring at 53, two years short of when he could maximize his retirement benefits, because of health problems. Rothans paid $3,000 for what he thought was a 2010 Audi A4 with 24,000 miles on it. It later turned out to be a 2012 model that had been stolen from a dealership by a gang member before it was impounded. Los Angeles Times

Unenforced regulations

Back in the 1960s, the city of Los Angeles imposed a set of requirements on oil companies that wanted to drill near homes in South L.A. But when neighbors complained of bad odors, headaches and nosebleeds 50 years later, city officials apparently had no idea their predecessors had put those standards in place. The lack of governmental oversight at the AllenCo Energy site is one example of Los Angeles’ enforcement gaps. Los Angeles Times

DROUGHT

Bottled at the source: Environmentalists are suing the National Forest Service, alleging that it has allowed Nestle to draw water from the San Bernardino Mountains on a permit that expired 25 years ago. The agency has a backlog of 2,500 expired special use permits, 1,200 of which relate to water use. Los Angeles Times

On schedule: You won’t need your umbrellas just yet. Meteorologists predict El Niño’s heaviest storms will hit in January, February and March of next year. That’s all the more reason to keep conserving water. SFGate

Water police: Shaming and nagging appear to be the best ways to get Californians to save water. “They are the moms and dads, spouses and partners, children, even co-workers and neighbors who are quick to wag a finger when they spot people squandering moisture, such as a faucet left running while they’re brushing their teeth, or using too much water to clean dinner plates in the sink.” New York Times

L.A. AT LARGE

Dov Charney's role: The former CEO of American Apparel could be trouble for the company’s bankruptcy proceedings. “Any CEO who has built a company from scratch — which has become a sizable globally known enterprise that is nearly synonymous with the CEO himself and his personality — is going to be able to cause some sort of disruption in the bankruptcy court," said Matt Covington, a managing director at a financial consulting firm. Los Angeles Times

Demanding answers: Weeks after a sewage spill forced the closure of Dockweiler State Beach, one L.A. city councilman is demanding changes. Councilman Mike Bonin wants to know what led to the September spill and whether it could happen again when L.A. is soaked by El Niño’s rains. Los Angeles Times

New priority: As the top budget official for the city of Los Angeles, Miguel Santana thinks of himself as being in the “persuasion business.” Now, he’s focusing on homelessness. “The choice is, do we leave it to the person to figure it out on their own, or do we do something to fix it? On a moral level, as Angelenos, we have a responsibility to do something about it,” he says. Downtown News

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Religion and free speech: Operators of religious pregnancy centers are suing over a law that requires them to inform patients that there are public programs that offer free or low-cost services related to contraceptives and abortion. “Informing patients of where they can get abortions 'directly violates the foundational religious principles' of the centers, they say, infringing on their 1st Amendment rights to free speech and free exercise of religion.” Los Angeles Times

CRIME AND COURTS

Baseball fight: Detectives believe a mother and son are responsible for an attack at Dodger Stadium on Friday night. Witnesses said one man punched another man and as the victim was on the ground, a woman ran up and started kicking him. The attack was captured on video. Los Angeles Times

Bizarre injury: A U.S. Navy veteran is suing the federal government after a 16-pound pine cone fell on his head as he napped under a tree in a federal waterfront park. The attorney for Sean Mace says his client suffered an irreversible brain injury. The cone was from an Araucaria bidwillii, or bunya pine. Los Angeles Times

Preliminary hearing: Former rap mogul Suge Knight and comedian Katt Williams will stand trial on charges they stole a photographer’s camera outside a Beverly Hills studio in 2014. The two men will be arraigned on Oct. 27. Knight is also facing charges in a separate murder trial. Los Angeles Times

Connected? The Marriott Marquis hotel in San Francisco was the scene of a suicide and a sexual assault this weekend, and now officials are working to see if the two were connected. A 26-year-old man jumped to his death from the hotel’s roof Sunday. Hours later, a maid was found in the penthouse. She had been sexually assaulted and choked, authorities said. That room had been visited by the 26-year-old man at some point during his stay. SFist

EDUCATION

School assembly: Rapper Macklemore will make an appearance at Aliso Niguel High School in Aliso Viejo after all. School officials had canceled the singer’s appearance and rejected his donation of $10,000, after parents said his lyrics supported drugs, alcohol and misogyny. On Tuesday, Principal Deni Christensen had a change of heart and the December appearance was back on. Los Angeles Times

New coalition: Employee unions are coming together to oppose a $490 million effort by the Broad Foundation to significantly expand the number of charter schools in the L.A. Unified School District. “This was an important moment because the representatives of all employees, many of whom are parents of students in our schools, are all coming forward to say we should invest in our existing schools,” said Alex Caputo-Pearl, president of United Teachers Los Angeles. Los Angeles Times

SPORTS

Code of conduct: Football coach Steve Sarkisian was fired because his conduct did not meet USC’s standards, athletic director Pat Haden said. “He knew those expectations and failed to meet them, so we made a decision in the best interest of our student athletes and that was to terminate Steve,” Haden said. Los Angeles Times

Dodgers head west: With Clayton Kershaw pitching on three days’ rest and closer Kenley Jansen mopping up, the Dodgers beat the Mets, 3-1, in New York Tuesday night. They head back to Dodger Stadium for Game 5 of their National League division series Thursday. The Dodgers’ other ace, Zack Greinke, will be starting against the Mets’ Jacob deGrom. Los Angeles Times

CALIFORNIA CULTURE

Pioneering journalist: Jean Sharley Taylor, a retired L.A. Times editor who for years was the only woman named on the newspaper's masthead, has died at 91. Los Angeles Times

Giraffe death: A month-old giraffe died at the Fresno Zoo Sunday in front of a group of VIP guests. A necropsy will be performed. BuzzFeed

Public service announcement: The city of West Hollywood is on a roll with its PSAs. The latest one is a “Game of Thrones”-themed ad reminding residents to save water. WEHOville

CALIFORNIA ALMANAC

San Francisco will be pleasant at 74 degrees. Los Angeles will have a high of 87 and a chance of afternoon thunderstorms. Parts of Riverside will also experience thunderstorms. Highs there are expected to reach 91. San Diego will be 81 with a chance of rain.

AND FINALLY

Today's California Memory comes from Nancy Lane:

“I arrived in San Francisco in February 1981, eager to find a way to stay in the beautiful city I had encountered on a weekend visit from college. I had driven through snow and ice from NY, and I was determined to start my California adventure off right. I went to Baker Beach with a swimsuit and towel, had an achingly cold dip in the Pacific, and wrote smug postcards from my perch on the sand to my friends in the wintry Northeast. The chattering of my teeth probably disrupted the handwriting, but I didn't care!” 

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.)

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