Newsletter: Essential California: How an L.A. designer set the scene for the DNC
Good morning. It is Thursday, July 28. San Francisco just got a baguette vending machine. We truly live in interesting times. Here’s what else is happening in the Golden State:
TOP STORIES
Rave lawsuit
The parents of a 19-year-old who died of a drug overdose during a rave at the L.A. County fairgrounds are suing Live Nation and the venue operator, the Los Angeles County Fair Assn. The family of Katie Dix alleges organizers should have known that the Hard Summer rave would promote “widespread illegal and illicit activity,” such as use of Ecstasy. They also say the event was understaffed, which delayed medical treatment for Dix. Attorneys for Live Nation and the fair association declined to comment. Los Angeles Times
Set destroyed
In the hillsides near Santa Clarita, Sable Ranch acted as the backdrop for western films and TV shows like “The A-Team” and “24.” But now, it’s a pile of ash and rubble thanks to the Sand fire. “It’s devastating,” said Kevin Whitney, the ranch manager who’s worked there for 13 years. “This was my second home.” Los Angeles Times
Political stage
Architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne describes the stage at the Democratic National Convention as approachable and economical, though not cheap. It was designed by Bruce Rodgers of Tribe Inc., a firm with offices in Connecticut and Marina del Rey. “Though its precise shade has shifted from speaker to speaker — sometimes navy blue, others a sensible gray — the basket-weave pattern provided a consistent unspoken message: The goal this week is not so much to quash the rebellious pro-Bernie contingent as to knit it into the fabric of party unity,” he writes. Los Angeles Times
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L.A. AT LARGE
Identify yourself: Buyers of luxury homes in five California counties will now have to reveal their true identities if they purchase the properties through shell companies. The decision from the U.S. Treasury comes one week after the Justice Department accused Malaysian officials of laundering money through American investments, including mansions in Los Angeles. Los Angeles Times
Up in the sky: What was that streak of light in the night sky late Wednesday? Astronomer Jonathan McDowell said the fireball was debris from a Chinese rocket launched last month. “Something this big enters in an uncontrolled way probably once a month,” McDowell said. “Mostly they fall into the ocean.” Los Angeles Times
Power of design: In this interview, Mike Alvidrez of the Skid Row Housing Trust talks about why architecture and design matter even in public or affordable housing. KCRW
Food costs: A new Los Angeles restaurant that will have locations throughout the city will charge different prices in different neighborhoods for the same dish. The idea behind Everytable is that good food should be affordable for all people. “What we’ve tried to implement is delivering great value wherever we are,” said co-founder David Foster. Los Angeles Times
POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT
Back to the DNC: Gov. Jerry Brown spoke about climate change at the Democratic National Convention last night. The last time he was on that stage was in 1992 after having challenged Bill Clinton for the presidency. “I definitely like running for president,” Brown said at an event this week in Philadelphia. Los Angeles Times
#ImWithHer: The California women in the U.S. Senate and Congress have known and worked with Hillary Clinton for more than 30 years. She’s been a personal friend to some and a political ally to others. “I was expecting to meet this formidable, firm woman. When the door opened ... there was Hillary Clinton off to the side holding Chelsea in her arms. There she was as a mom,” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said of the first time she met Clinton. Los Angeles Times
Policing practices: California’s attorney general says it’s a mistake to think low-income or minority communities don’t want law enforcement. “We don’t want excessive force, but we want law enforcement. So let’s start with common ground on that point,” said Kamala Harris. NPR
Housing costs: Santa Monica has issued 893 fines to property owners and collected $20,000 from Airbnb for violating the city’s law regulating short-term rentals. “While there’s really been a surge in available short-term rentals in neighboring communities, we’ve kept a hold on ours and decreased the number of available units,” said city spokeswoman Constance Farrell. 89.3 KPCC
CRIME AND COURTS
Hate crime allegations: Orange County tallied the most complaints of hate crimes against Muslim Americans in 2015, according to a report from the Council of American-Islamic Relations. Overall, allegations of hate crimes against Muslims increased 58% in California. “The spikes in incidents reported after Paris and San Bernardino are consistent with what we saw in Orange County,” said Rusty Kennedy, executive director of the Orange County Human Relations Commission. Orange County Register
Drug discovery: A 63-year-old Canadian woman was stopped in Central California and found to have $2 million worth of heroin in her pickup truck, according to police. The narcotics were found in Kathleen Landry’s vehicle during a traffic stop. Police did not say where they thought Landry was delivering the 83 pounds of narcotics. Los Angeles Times
EDUCATION
School leadership: San Francisco’s superintendent of schools is leaving for Houston. Richard Carranza was a finalist for the top job in Los Angeles back in January. Summer break will end for San Francisco’s students in about three weeks. San Francisco Chronicle
DROUGHT AND CLIMATE
New blaze: The Soberanes fire in Central California is burning through more than 23,000 acres of wildlands. It’s already destroyed 20 homes and led to the death of a heavy-equipment operator. The blaze is raging as firefighters in Southern California get their arms around the Sand fire. That fire was 40% contained as of Wednesday. Los Angeles Times
It’s so hot: What is this “heat dome” California is experiencing? It happens when the jet stream moves north, preventing cooler air from heading south. That increases average temperatures by as much as 5 to 10 degrees. Curbed LA
CALIFORNIA CULTURE
Screen time: In 2014, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg bought Oculus for $2 billion. Now, he wants to use the virtual reality headsets for games, sports, movies and ideas beyond anyone’s wildest imagination. “It’s not hard to predict what the world will be like in 20 years. The hard thing is actually predicting or figuring out how to get there,” he says. Bloomberg
CALIFORNIA ALMANAC
San Francisco will start the day with clouds and then reach a high of 72 degrees. Sacramento will have a high of 107 degrees. Los Angeles will be sunny with a high of 87. Temperatures are expected to reach a high of 100 degrees in Riverside. San Diego will have patchy fog and a high of 80 degrees.
AND FINALLY
Today’s California Memory comes from Thomas Hall:
“After nearly seven years of continuous military service in the Persian Gulf, Sicily and the Caribbean, I was being assigned to ‘boring’ 29 Palms. I believed that my nights of exotic aromas and days of adventure were a fading history. I was far from happy. But then I stepped off the plane at midnight into the darkness of a 97-degree Mojave wind. I smelled the pine smoke of a distant mountain fire. I heard the percussion of blowing palm fronds. And I remembered: This is California, the measuring stick by which the entire world gauges adventure and the exotic.”
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.
