Newsletter: Will Venice become its own city?

Good morning. It is Thursday, Sept. 15. Judges are starting to move into the new federal courthouse in downtown Los Angeles. You can’t miss it — the building looks like a floating cube. Here’s what else is happening in the Golden State:

TOP STORIES

Venice has morphed from a counter-culture stronghold to an affluent hot spot. Some living in the beachside community feel so disconnected from Los Angeles that they want to explore secession, and while that’s unlikely to be successful, it has prompted a discussion of the future of the neighborhood. “There’s a great pride of living here, and I think people believe the services are lacking — whether it’s repaving or public safety,” said Nick Antonicello, chairman of the ad-hoc neighborhood council committee on cityhood. Los Angeles Times

Life after Scientology: Ronald Miscavige Sr. thought he would live a quiet life in Wisconsin after leaving the Church of Scientology in 2012. But a year later, police told him two private investigators had been following him at the request of his son David Miscavige, the leader of the church. “I don’t know if you’ve ever hit your thumb with a hammer, but when it happens you go numb: It takes a little while for the pain to set in,” Miscavige said. Los Angeles Times

Federal investigation:The Justice Department is investigating Wells Fargo & Co.’s improper sales tactics, with sources saying that could result in criminal charges. The San Francisco bank agreed to pay $185 million to settle investigations by Los Angeles City Atty. Mike Feuer and federal regulators. Los Angeles Times

L.A. AT LARGE

Game day: The owner of the Los Angeles Rams will pay for the LAPD manpower needed to patrol NFL games. The original deal struck with the city called for the team to foot the bill for security inside the Coliseum while the city paid for its officers outside the stadium. Los Angeles Times

Olympic vision: LA 2024 released a new video promoting Los Angeles as the potential home of the 2024 Summer Olympics. YouTube

On the farm: Musician and animal rights activist Moby leads a tour of an animal sanctuary in Acton. LA Weekly

No biggie: The architect of the Wilshire Grand building says he didn’t set out to build L.A.’s tallest skyscraper, and that the record isn’t that big a deal. Real Deal

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Voting bloc: How big a boom will the Latino vote be for Democrats in November? There is debate about the impact, with some noting it wasn’t that long ago that Latinos were not a lock for Democrats, even in California. New York Times

Short-term rentals: Airbnb and its hometown of San Francisco are fighting again. Airbnb is suing the city over an ordinance that would make the $30-billion company liable for arranging stays in homes where owners have ignored registration requirements. Before October’s court hearing, the fight is being played out through ads and billboards. San Francisco Chronicle

Like a tourist: While in town this week, former President Bill Clinton stopped by an overpriced coffee shop and posed for the paparazzi. What an L.A. cliché! Los Angeles Times

CRIME AND COURTS

Inmate No. 1027820: What life is like behind bars for O.J. Simpson. Los Angeles Times

Guard charged: A prison guard at a federal facility in Victorville is accused of kicking an inmate in the head and then falsifying records to cover up the attack. Cynthia Flores, 34, faces up to 45 years in prison if convicted. Los Angeles Times

Assaults reported: Students at UC Berkeley are on high alert after reports of three sexual assaults at a Saturday night concert at the Greek Theatre. “This is extremely unusual and out of the norm,” said Capt. Alex Yao of the UC Berkeley Police Department. SFGate

Criminal history: The driver who stole a big rig and led officers on a pursuit this week has something of a record. James Revere Edgley has 20 years’ worth of drug- and auto-related convictions, court documents show. It’s still not clear why Edgley allegedly took the truck from a Barstow motel. Desert Sun

EDUCATION

Class canceled: UC Berkeley has taken the unusual step of suspending a class — a controversial course about Palestinians that critics say is designed to indoctrinate students. SFGate

Major donation: USC’s school of social work will be renamed the Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work thanks to a $60-million gift from the alumna. USC educates one out of every 20 graduate-level social workers in the United States, making it the world’s largest school of social work. Los Angeles Times

Free tuition: L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti again promised to make one year of community college free for eligible high school graduates — something he first pledged five months ago. It’s unknown how the city would pay for free tuition at the nine community college campuses or which students would qualify for the perk. “This is more than just tuition. This is about books and transportation and discounts on our buses and our rail lines,” he said. Los Angeles Times

CALIFORNIA IDEAS

Sign of the times: Has Silicon Valley peaked? While some tech has moved to San Francisco, the Valley remains home to some of the biggest innovators, at least for now. Mercury News

DROUGHT AND CLIMATE

U.S. Interior Department officials have approved a plan that they touted as a way to balance conservation of California’s desert landscapes with the state’s growing hunger for clean energy. The Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan puts 9.2 million acres of federal land off limits to solar, wind and geothermal development, while steering renewable projects to about 800,000 acres. Los Angeles Times

CALIFORNIA CULTURE

Hard work: A look at the blight of “trimmigrants,” the immigrants who pour into Northern California from June to November to trim marijuana buds. LA Weekly

Blast from the past: Remember Octomom? In a new interview and photo spread, she describes the challenges of raising her brood but says she has no regrets. Daily Mail

Tech overload: How Palo Alto has become ground zero in the debate over whether tech growth has gone too far. Wall Street Journal

Hot spot: The surprisingly vibrant mural art scene in … the Antelope Valley. L.A. Taco

CALIFORNIA ALMANAC

Riverside will be 86 and sunny. It will be sunny with a high of 78 in Los Angeles. San Diego will be 73 and mostly sunny. It’ll be sunny and 87 in Sacramento. San Francisco will have low clouds as temperatures reach 67 degrees.

AND FINALLY

Today’s California Memory comes from Kazunari Miwa:

“I arrived in Los Angeles from Tokyo in August 1986 as I was transferred to work for a subsidiary in downtown until January 1992. While in L.A., I lived with my wife and two little daughters, with one of them born there. We rented an apartment in a two-story apartment building on Huntington Drive in Arcadia with a pool in its patio. The majority of residents of that apartment were retired, warm, elderly American couples. My family and I enjoyed swimming together in the cozy patio pool on weekends, which we never dreamed of in Tokyo.”

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.