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Newsletter: Why California is still counting its votes

Workers prepare ballots for counting at the Los Angeles County registrar-recorder/county clerk's main office.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Good morning. It’s Monday, Nov. 21, and welcome to Essential California. As you prepare for your Thanksgiving feast, take a moment to meet Leon, the turkey saved from the dinner table and now living in a California sanctuary. Here’s what else is happening in the Golden State.

TOP STORIES

A red beacon, born in L.A.

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It all began a little more than 10 years ago in a basement in Westwood: a small army of young employees in T-shirts and shorts huddled over their laptops, determined to launch a news site that would shake up the world of conservative media. This is the inside story of how Breitbart News became such a political force. Los Angeles Times

Pushed out?

Amid rising concerns about the poor and needy being pushed out of housing in gentrifying Los Angeles neighborhoods, here are some disturbing allegations out of Koreatown: Tenants in five buildings say the owner used abusive and discriminatory tactics to displace mentally ill and Latino tenants from the rent-controlled buildings in order to renovate their units and rent them for more money. Los Angeles Times

Long count

In an era when there’s almost nothing that can’t be found out quickly, the long wait for final results from an election in California feels interminable. And yet, there’s a pretty simple reason it takes so long to count all the votes. Los Angeles Times

L.A. AT LARGE

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Tired of gridlock: A Times analysis of voting data on Measure M found a surge of voter support for transit spending across the county, even in areas far from the urban core. “It’s a statement of how frustrated and tired L.A. County voters are with the increasingly gridlocked lives they lead,” USC professor Sherry Bebitch Jeffe said. Los Angeles Times

Tough choices: Columnist Steve Lopez is asking some familiar questions as his mother ails: “I find myself wondering if I’d still want to live if I didn’t recognize my own family. I’m thinking again about medical advances blurring the lines, sometimes, between extending life and prolonging death.” Los Angeles Times

Postcard from blue L.A.:Silver Lake’s distaste for Donald Trump is as palpable as its affinity for sleeve tattoos and craft-brewed coffee.” Orange County Register

Olympic problem? How much does a Trump presidency hurt (or help) L.A.’s chances to host the Olympics? The jury is still out. Associated Press

Press box fixture: Joe Resnick covered Los Angeles sports for the Associated Press for more than three decades. He died Sunday at age 62 after a struggle with cancer. Associated Press

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

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Under fire: San Francisco is scrambling to protect its status as a “sanctuary city” for people in the country illegally. Trump has criticized the city’s policies. San Francisco Chronicle

Border worries: Mexico’s booming maquiladora industry — a key part of trade between Baja and California — is trying to assess life in a Trump presidency. San Diego Union-Tribune

Going to D.C.? Michelle Rhee, the controversial California education leader and wife of Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, may be in line for a job in the Trump administration. Sacramento Bee

Feeling red: In Bakersfield, some residents hope a Trump victory brings some respect to red California. “I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired. But now that we have our own president, maybe things will finally start to change,” one says. New York Times

CRIME AND COURTS

Paging Elmore Leonard: He goes by the name “Dino the Casino,” has a taste for expensive cars and, according to federal authorities, made millions in an illegal gambling scheme that stretched from Bakersfield to Sacramento. Nive Hagay now faces a dozen charges stemming from allegations he installed dozens of mini slot machines in gas stations and other stores and tried to hide the money they raked in by, among other things, paying cash for a $200,000 sports car. Hagay, 31, also is accused of selling cocaine to an FBI informant. Los Angeles Times

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Baby saved: Police say a pregnant woman was killed in a drive-by shooting at a busy intersection in Visalia, but doctors managed to successfully deliver her baby boy. Los Angeles Times

DROUGHT AND CLIMATE

Open the floodgates? Could this finally be the year that Congress reaches some kind of deal on California drought legislation? It may well be in the hands of the GOP. Politico

CALIFORNIA CULTURE

Cat land: Welcome to a unique, if slightly weird, 12-acre refuge where hundreds of rescued cats and kittens roam about, free-range style, on the banks of the Kings River. They can live out their lives as free creatures or, preferably, be adopted. Los Angeles Times

Urban myth watch: Was there really a gay underground railroad in San Francisco? Curbed SF

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News fight: Under growing pressure, Facebook and founder Mark Zuckerberg now say they have a plan to fight “fake news.” Los Angeles Times

Wildlife crossing: That new overpass on the 101 Freeway — for wildlife, no cars allowed — looks like it’s going to happen. LAist

Californian in chief: Is Gov. Jerry Brown America’s new “shadow president”? KCET

Unruly behavior: A Gold Star family from Stockton says some passengers on their flight booed them when they were allowed off the plane first. Associated Press

CALIFORNIA ALMANAC

Rain should continue across parts of Southern California on Monday, with flash flooding possible in burn areas. Los Angeles will reach a high of 66, and San Diego will hit 64. In San Francisco, it will be 59 and mostly sunny.

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AND FINALLY

This week’s birthdays for notable Californians: tennis star Billie Jean King (Nov. 22, 1943), UCLA men’s basketball coach Steve Alford (Nov. 23, 1964), actress Christina Applegate (Nov. 25, 1971) and Angels manager Mike Scioscia (Nov. 27, 1958).

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 Shelby Grad.

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