Newsletter: Essential California: Tech mogul’s $200-million bet on cancer research

Good morning. It is Friday, May 13. If you’re taking public transit in L.A., your train is likely to be on time but your bus probably won’t be. Here’s what else is happening in the Golden State:

TOP STORIES

Major donation

Tech billionaire Larry Ellison is donating $200 million to USC for a new cancer research center. It matches the largest gift ever given to the university. The donation came about thanks to Ellison’s friendship with Dr. David B. Agus, an oncologist who has treated Ellison’s nephew as well as his good friend Steve Jobs of Apple. “Before, we weren’t able to sequence cancer or do big data studies. We can make discovery after discovery, and the quicker we can apply them, the better,” Agus said. Los Angeles Times

Famous in Santa Monica

Marie Elizabeth Haist, better known as the Queen of Montana Avenue, has long been famous in Santa Monica. For two decades, the homeless woman slept at the Fox Laundry. These days, she has her own apartment but still holds court at the laundromat. Her story is the subject of a new documentary, “Queen Mimi.” “I made up my mind a long time ago to be happy,” she says. Los Angeles Times

Financial problems

The small city of Maywood, which has struggled for years, is back on the brink of financial collapse, records show. The city has amassed $16 million in debt that it cannot repay and is facing political upheaval as well as an investigation by Los Angeles county prosecutors. Los Angeles Times

DROUGHT AND CLIMATE

Warming trends: Red tuna crabs are washing up on Huntington Beach and Imperial Beach. The creatures are typically found in the waters off Mexico’s Baja Peninsula, but warm waters created by El Niño have brought the crabs north. Associated Press

L.A. AT LARGE

New design: “Radical flatness” is coming to Pershing Square. The French landscape architecture firm Agence Ter was selected to make-over the downtown park known for its walls, hardscapes and homeless population. “The winning design is very much a reaction to, if not an outright apology for, the visual clutter of contemporary Pershing Square.” Los Angeles Times

Calls for peace: Hundreds of students walked out of Sylmar High School Thursday in a call for unity just days after a massive brawl broke out on campus. “We want everybody to know that this little incident that happened at our school doesn’t define Sylmar High School,” said one high school senior. Monday’s fight involved 40 students. Los Angeles Times

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Raising money: Two years ago, after three of its members were charged with crimes, the state Senate agreed to prohibit fundraising during the budget season in an effort to win back public trust. On Thursday, lawmakers reversed that decision. “We cannot in good conscience or as a matter of good policy force our members to unilaterally disarm, play by a different set of rules and cease to defend themselves,” said President Pro Tem Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles). Los Angeles Times

Private talks: The California Coastal Commission voted Thursday in support of a bill that would prohibit private communications between commissioners and outside interests, whether they’re developers or environmentalists. State Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) is sponsoring a bill to prohibit such ex parte communications on pending decisions. “As is often said, admitting you have a problem is the first step toward fixing it,” Jackson said. Los Angeles Times

Get out the vote: Former L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa says Latino voters need to show up at the polls this fall if the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump, is to be defeated. “People like him won’t talk that way, won’t single out broad swaths of America the way he does, if he thought they would vote,” Villaraigosa said. Los Angeles Times

CRIME AND COURTS

Cash seized: FBI agents found $2.3 million in cash in a home near Disneyland. The money is believed to have come from a drug-trafficking and money-laundering group in Mexico, authorities said. No one was arrested in connection with the raid in Anaheim. Los Angeles Times

Settlement reached: The family of David Silva received a $3.4-million settlement from Kern County, but did they get justice? Columnist Robin Abcarian visited his family to ask why they settled their lawsuit after two years of protests and fights over what they believe was excessive use of force by police. “The lawyers said we had to think very hard about this. The juries here are very conservative and very pro-police,” said Chris Silva. Los Angeles Times LINK: la-me-abcarian-Bakersfield-settlement

Surfing gang: What can be done to end the Bay Boys’ grip on Lunada Bay, a premier surfing destination in Southern California? LA Weekly

EDUCATION

Academic standards: Beginning in 2018, the California State Board of Education will judge schools on more than test scores. State educators will look at schools’ suspension rates, graduation rates, attendance and how well students are learning English. Los Angeles Times

Transfer students: Fifteen percent of students who will graduate from USC today began their higher education at community college. The private university stands out when it comes to the number of transfer students it accepts. “You give opportunity to kids from all walks of life,” said USC President C.L. Max Nikias. Washington Post

Thanks but no thanks: That’s what San Francisco’s public schools are saying to Teach for America. School board members say they no longer support placing recent college graduates with little training in some of the city’s neediest schools. “Our goal as a district should be to get experienced, highly prepared, fully credentialed teachers with a track record of success into our high-needs, high-poverty schools,” said school board President Matt Haney. San Francisco Chronicle

CALIFORNIA CULTURE

Caught on tape: Home movies now in the possession of the GLBT Historical Society show what it was like to be a young gay man in San Francisco before Stonewall, the AIDS crisis and the legalization of gay marriage. “In the case of gay home movies, the viewing experience is complicated, and enriched, by the knowledge of what’s to come, for good and for bad.” The New Yorker

French Laundry: What’s it like to eat at the best restaurant in California? For starters, it’s expensive and colorful. Business Insider

Wild West: This long read tells of the violent history of Calabasas. Curbed LA

CALIFORNIA ALMANAC

Los Angeles will have low clouds and a high of 75 degrees. San Diego will have clouds as temperatures reach 72 degrees. It will be sunny and 87 in Riverside. Sacramento will be partly sunny and 81. It will be cloudy and 62 in San Francisco.

AND FINALLY

Today’s California Memory comes from Kathy Hamilton:

“I grew up in the 1970s near New York City and dreamed of moving to Southern California to be like the Brady Bunch and Partridge Family with sunny skies and palm trees. I finally got a chance to visit my Hollywood actor cousin in 1980. He lived in Venice, meditated daily and worked part time delivering TVs. He put us in his van and we headed up to the Hollywood Hills to deliver a TV to none other than Andy Gibb and Victoria Principal. It was one of the biggest thrills of my life. I moved my family here in 1988 and have not looked back!”

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.