Newsletter: California’s baby bust — the birth rate drops to its lowest level ever

Good morning. It’s Thursday, Dec. 22, and here’s what is happening in California:

TOP STORIES

Birth records

California’s birth rate this year has dropped to its lowest level ever. The last time it came close to being as low as it is now — 12.42 births per 1,000 — was during the Great Depression, when it hit 12.6 per 1,000 in 1933. California has been experiencing a years-long downward trend that likely stems from the recession, a drop in teenage pregnancies and an increase in people attending college and taking longer to graduate, therefore putting off having children. And the rate is expected to fall further in coming years. Los Angeles Times

Trump’s Irvine-China connection

Donald Trump signaled a hard line on China trade policies Wednesday with the selection of Peter Navarro, a Harvard-trained business professor at UC Irvine, as director of trade and industrial policy. Navarro, 67, was one of Trump’s early supporters and served as an economic advisor during the campaign, co-writing the white paper on Trump’s economic plan on trade, regulatory and energy policies. Los Angeles Times

Hollywood’s winners overshadow losers

The 2016 box office was a winner-take-all game, with grosses hoarded by a handful of dominant films such as Disney’s “Finding Dory” and Universal’s “The Secret Life of Pets.” But behind the huge numbers for a few blockbusters were a lot of bombs. Los Angeles Times

L.A. STORIES

Venice bubble? Snapchat early next year is expected to launch an IPO that could be valued at $25 billion (or more). That will turn employees into multi-millionaires, and some wonder if that’s going to bring a run on real estate in the Venice and Santa Monica areas. Curbed Los Angeles

Affordability issues: California Treasurer John Chiang on Wednesday slammed two out-of-state public pension funds for what he called a shameful ploy to eliminate 79 affordable housing units in a massive San Fernando Valley housing complex. Los Angeles Times

Getting away: Cheap gas prices and low airfares are expected to make this holiday season the busiest for travel in Southern California, where an estimated 7.7 million are expected to travel somewhere. San Gabriel Valley Tribune

Skid row story: He lost his leg helping homeless people in skid row. But Andy Bales is now back, with a renewed mission. LA Weekly

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Protest non-vote: Nearly half a million California voters did not make a pick for president, a sign they didn’t like either Hillary Clinton or Trump. Sacramento Bee

Pension problems: California’s giant and influential public pension board agreed to a more conservative forecast Wednesday, approving a half-percentage-point decrease in assumed returns over three years. The move is sending shock waves through all sectors of state and local government faced with billions of dollars in new pension costs. But the move by CalPERS is likely to also strengthen the pension fund in the long run. Los Angeles Times

Plus: San Jose overpaid pensions for city workers by more than $1 million, and now the city wants the money back from retirees. Mercury News

Trump math: The strange math around the claims by Trump supporters that he would have won the popular vote if they just hadn’t counted California. Washington Post

Half life: What it’s going to take to decommission the mighty San Onofre nuclear power plant. Orange County Register

CRIME AND COURTS

Durst drama: Anyone who doubted whether the Robert Durst murder trial would be a roller-coaster affair might want to think again after a hearing Wednesday. Los Angeles Times

Police beating: Videos captured the moment in July when Bay Area Rapid Transit police officers pounced on Michael Smith and his girlfriend in downtown San Francisco, ordering them to the ground at gunpoint and handcuffing them. Los Angeles Times

Hate vandalism? A Montrose home was tagged with a red swastika on the garage door with what appears to be “Trump” written underneath, and a racist note was left behind. Police are investigating. Los Angeles Times

DROUGHT AND CLIMATE

It’s cold outside: Southern California’s holiday weekend will be rainy and windy with a dash of snow. Los Angeles Times

CALIFORNIA CULTURE

Skyline rising: San Francisco’s skyline is being remade with several new high-rises, including one that will surpass the famed TransAmerica pyramid to be the city’s tallest. It shows how the city stopped worrying about height and learned to accept it. “The simplistic notion that height is bad is long out of date — that horse left the barn when all those blunt towers north of Market Street overwhelmed the 1920s skyline.” SFGate

Central Valley culture: A look inside the nation’s largest Hmong New Year’s celebration, held in Fresno. Organizers hope it’s a celebration for this Asian community, which is very large in the Central Valley, as well as for outsiders wanting to learn about the culture. Fresno Bee

Peak TV: Yes, television is king. A study found there were 455 scripted shows in 2016. That’s a 77% rise over five years. Wall Street Journal

Quite a pair: How this California couple ended up with two incredibly rare 1921 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghosts in their garage. Wall Street Journal

CALIFORNIA ALMANAC

Los Angeles area: Some scattered showers and highs in the upper 60s. San Diego: Cloudy and a few showers, with highs in the low 60s. San Francisco area: Mostly sunny with highs in the mid-50s. Sacramento: Sunny and highs in the mid-50s.

AND FINALLY

Today’s California memory comes from Ken Martis:

“I had never been west of Chicago when I was accepted in the geography MA program at San Diego State in 1968. I grew up, lived and went to the university in my hometown of Toledo, Ohio. The holiday season made me think of the surprise I had nearly five decades ago. Wanting to buy Christmas presents for my family, I made a rare trip to the Mission Valley Mall. For a Midwest boy to see Christmas lights on all the palm trees was a shock. The Christmas lights even adorned cactus! It was a far cry from my northern winter experience and an image that is eternally imbued in my mind.”

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.