Advertisement

Newsletter: Today: CA Voters Reject a Wall. Undercover Videos’ Origins.

Share via

I’m Davan Maharaj, editor-in-chief of the Los Angeles Times. Here are some story lines I don’t want you to miss today.

TOP STORIES

By 2-1, California Voters Say: No Wall

Advertisement

We’ve been rolling out findings from the latest USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times statewide poll all week. Today’s topic: immigration. Nearly two-thirds of California voters believe that illegal immigration is a major problem, but more than three-fourths say immigrants who are already here should be allowed to stay. As for Donald Trump’s proposed border wall, those polled opposed it by more than 2-1. Read on to see why there’s a big age gap, though, in attitudes about immigration.

Ride’s Over at the Fairplex

Advertisement

The chief executive of the nonprofit L.A. County Fair Assn. has stepped down, saying he had “become a distraction.” Though James Henwood Jr. did not respond to interview requests, the move comes after an L.A. Times investigation found he and other executives received big pay and benefit packages despite red ink. In 2014, the association reported a loss of $3.44 million; its leader, meanwhile, saw his compensation rise to more than $1 million. More details are here.

About Those Planned Parenthood Videos

Anti-abortion activist David Daleiden says that when he and his associates made undercover videos about Planned Parenthood, they were acting as investigative journalists. But unpublicized footage and court records show their methods were geared more toward political provocation than journalism, The Times and the Investigative Reporting Program at UC Berkeley have found. Watch a clip of one former technician being coached and see how the activists sometimes recorded their targets over drinks.

Advertisement

The Artful Dissenter

Unlike the highest court in the U.S., the California Supreme Court usually doesn’t reveal much about why it chooses to reject cases. Justice Goodwin Liu, though, has been setting a new precedent. In the last several months, he’s written two lengthy dissents from the majority’s refusal to hear cases. Here’s why it could be a sign of a power struggle.

As the Lakers Turn

This is Kobe Bryant’s farewell season, but for Lakers fans, it’s been one to forget. The team is on pace to finish with the worst winning percentage in its 68-year history. Now, its hope for the next generation, rookie D’Angelo Russell, finds himself the center of controversy for secretly taping teammate Nick Young talking about being with women other than his fiancee, rapper Iggy Azalea. What could go wrong next?

News From the Newsroom: Book It

A quick note about us: We’re reimagining our books coverage with a panel of 10 distinguished and diverse writers who will help expand our literary conversation, challenge our ideas and broaden our understanding of literature and culture within the moment. Meet the Los Angeles Times Critics-at-Large. Look for their work soon as we get ready for our annual Festival of Books on April 9-10.

Advertisement

CALIFORNIA

-- The state said it will begin using blood test results from children to help focus its massive cleanup of lead contaminated homes near a closed Exide plant.

-- Bill Rosendahl, the first openly gay man to serve on the L.A. City Council, has died at 70.

-- The L.A. City Council has OKd a law limiting homeless people’s belongings to what can fit in a trash bin.

-- The Sierra snowpack shows improvement, but not enough to declare California’s drought over.

NATION-WORLD

Advertisement

-- Donald Trump says women should face punishment for abortion, then does an about-face.

-- The FBI agreed to help Arkansas officials open an iPhone 6 and iPod, a prosecutor said.

-- North Korea tells its people they again may need to “eat the roots of grass” because of famine.

-- A pregnant woman’s death spurs a safety debate about China’s street fences.

-- In a first, a liver and kidney from an HIV-infected donor are transplanted into HIV-positive patients.

HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS

Advertisement

-- Inspired by “Zootopia,” kids in China are begging for rare, protected foxes as pets.

-- Is it a TV show or a film? ESPN will qualify its upcoming O.J. Simpson series for the Oscars.

-- Art review: An exhibition at the Central Library pulls Nazi propaganda’s past into the present.

-- TV review: TV Land presents a more natural, relaxed version of George Lopez in a comedy based on himself.

-- Echo Park’s Origami Vinyl record shop is gone. Did big box stores’ embrace of LPs help spin it down?

-- Theater critic Charles McNulty profiles Cuban American playwright María Irene Fornés, who has helped change the landscape of American theater.

Advertisement

BUSINESS

-- With Model 3, Tesla’s long-awaited electric car for the masses, it’s make-or-break time.

-- A British firm will buy the first 12 of Lockheed’s new blimp-like hybrid airships.

-- Restaurants and retailers will see the biggest effect of a $15 minimum wage.

SPORTS

-- The Dodgers and the Angels have issues to resolve as the Freeway Series arrives.

Advertisement

-- This is how a middle blocker on the U.S. men’s indoor volleyball team makes ends meet.

WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING

-- Nate Silver gives his explanation of “how Trump hacked the media.” (FiveThirtyEight)

-- Magazine editor Terry McDonell on the late author Jim Harrison. (The New Yorker)

-- Why did this man take a selfie with the EgyptAir hijacker? (The Sun)

ONLY IN L.A.

Advertisement

It is one of life’s unanswerable questions: Who made the first French dip? Two L.A. institutions, Philippe’s and Cole’s, have made their claims for decades. Both opened in 1908, and both had sawdust on the floor. After that, history gets a little hazy. The website Thrillist thinks it has the answer. But judge for yourself, and tell us: Which one makes the better French dip?

Please send comments and ideas to Davan Maharaj.

Advertisement