Newsletter: L.A. County’s district attorney faces a big decision

Good morning. It’s Monday, Dec. 26, and here’s what’s going on around California:

TOP STORIES

Big decision

Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey has drawn fierce criticism from some black activists for not prosecuting police officers in controversial shootings. Now Lacey, the county’s first black district attorney, faces intense pressure as she decides whether to file charges in two high-profile killings of black men by police, including one in which LAPD Chief Charlie Beck has publicly urged her to prosecute the officer who shot an unarmed man in the back near the Venice boardwalk last year. Los Angeles Times

Plus: A closer look at that killing by police in Venice. The victim’s family says he didn’t have to die. Los Angeles Times

Disappearing history

It’s getting more difficult for filmmakers to evoke old Los Angeles in the gentrified, increasingly developed Los Angeles of 2016. With historic cityscapes more inaccessible, the filming permit process is more onerous. Los Angeles Times

Bullet train pain

California does not know where to find all of the $64 billion it will cost to get the first passengers rocketing between San Francisco and Los Angeles on a bullet train. Officials tried but failed to get help from the Obama administration. Now, they face an uncertain reception from Donald Trump. Los Angeles Times

L.A. STORIES

Dead mall: While many malls around L.A. were bustling with last-minute Christmas shoppers this weekend, the Promenade Mall in Woodland Hills felt like something out of “The Walking Dead.” “This is even a mall?” asked one customer at the center, which is slated for redevelopment. “No music. No Santa. No atmosphere. No Christmas.” Daily News

Downtown, then and now: The old downtown Los Angeles — with its department stores, crowded streets and glamorous display windows — wasn’t perfect. But it felt like a real center of the city, and a community. Los Angeles Times

Fighting back: The story of Melvin Farmer and generations of gang life in Los Angeles. Los Angeles Times

Slow to help: The cleanup of thousands of lead-contaminated homes near a closed Vernon battery recycler has been at a standstill for months, with regulators arguing they cannot remove tainted soil from any properties until a yearlong environmental review is completed next summer. Los Angeles Times

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Home team: In 1992, Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer pitched themselves to California voters as the dynamic duo, as “Thelma and Louise,” as “Cagney and Lacey.” Now, the team is breaking up, and so much about them and the state they represent has changed. Los Angeles Times

Private eyes: When private equity firms step into public works, taxpayers feel the squeeze. The experiences of Santa Paula and Rialto underscore a national pattern. New York Times

Political frustration: Irvine now has one of the largest Asian American populations in the United States. But that hasn’t been converted to political clout, especially on the City Council, which is back to being all white. Orange County Register

Shattered: The idea of breaking up California is an idea as old as California itself. Los Angeles Times

Key advisor: A closer look at the UC Irvine professor who will be guiding Donald Trump’s trade policies. The New Yorker

Touch of grey: The mayor of Richmond in Northern California is on a mission: find the famous LSD lab once run by a Grateful Dead sound engineer. Mercury News

CRIME AND COURTS

Hanukkah hate: When Rabbi Boruch Rabinowitz arrived at his Santa Monica synagogue on the first day of Hanukkah, he made an unpleasant discovery. The front window was smeared with feces and rice, in close proximity to a menorah display. Synagogue officials suspect the building was targeted for religious reasons. Los Angeles Times

Gambling story: It all started with the discovery of $702,000 stuffed in a suitcase in a Sydney hotel suite and was followed by the arrest of a former USC football player at a Carlsbad golf course. The amazing tale of the gambler who took down a San Diego drug and betting ring. San Diego Union-Tribune

Car ring: A gang of thieves has stolen more than 40 brand-new cars from a South Bay dealer’s lots in the last six weeks. “They thought it was easy pickins. It kind of was for a while.” Daily Breeze

DROUGHT AND CLIMATE

Rain relief: Two back-to-back storms soaked Southern California and made December the wettest in Los Angeles in six years, with 4.08 inches of rain — 265 percent above normal. It’s a small but welcome bit of relief in a region still mired in drought. Los Angeles Times

CALIFORNIA CULTURE

Female Mavericks: Meet the female surfers who are revolutionizing one of the world’s most sacred surfing spots. The women of Mavericks. San Francisco Chronicle

Africa to Oakland: A California holiday story: A family’s journey from a refugee camp in Uganda to the streets of Oakland. New York Times

River help: On the Santa Ana River, a homeless community doesn’t have a lot to celebrate this holiday season. But some volunteers are trying to help. Orange County Register

Fighting back: Cobb Mountain was destroyed in a deadly fire that swept through the area, leaving broken lives and questions about the future. But slowly, there is a feeling of hope. Sacramento Bee

CALIFORNIA ALMANAC

Los Angeles area and San Diego: Partly cloudy with highs in the mid-60s. San Francisco area: Sunny with highs in the mid-50s. Sacramento: Sunny with highs in the low 50s.

AND FINALLY

This week’s birthdays for notable Californians: Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez (Dec. 26, 1951), USC Annenberg School of Journalism director Willow Bay (Dec. 28, 1963), actor Jon Voight (Dec. 29, 1938), Paramount Pictures Chairman and CEO Brad Grey (Dec. 29, 1957), Dodgers pitching legend Sandy Koufax (Dec. 30, 1935), Sony Entertainment CEO Michael Lynton (Jan. 1, 1960).

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.