Newsletter: Essential California: ‘Sanctuary cities’ won’t back down
Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions says the White House will crack down on ‘sanctuary cities.’ A renegade group of House lawmakers helped defeat the GOP healthcare plan. The Lakers and the Raiders shake up the sports world. Movie studios are pushing for earli
Good morning. It’s Tuesday, March 28, and here’s what’s happening across California:
TOP STORIES
The ‘sanctuary cities’ that won’t back down
The leaders of so-called sanctuary cities across Southern California were defiant in the face of threats made by U.S. Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions to cut off and even claw back grant funding from the Justice Department. “We will fight this vigorously and still continue to maintain services to provide for our high quality of life in Santa Ana,” said Sal Tinajero, a city councilman in Santa Ana, which voted unanimously to become a “sanctuary city” shortly after Donald Trump was elected president. Los Angeles Times
The Lakers family feud is resolved
The Buss family fight over who controls the Lakers appears to be over. Jeanie Buss has removed her brother Jim as a trustee controlling the team. “The message is clear here: Do not underestimate Jeanie Buss,” her attorney, Adam Streisand, told the Los Angeles Times. “There is not going to be a palace coup. Not now. Not ever.” Los Angeles Times
Plus: L.A. Times columnist Bill Plaschke weighs in on the fight, writing: “So Jim is out, Janie is in, Johnny has been neutralized, and the buck stops with Jeanie, which is where it always should have stopped. For better or worse, and here’s guessing better, the Lakers’ future begins today.” Los Angeles Times
Get your air bags fixed!
There are several hundred thousand people in Southern California who have yet to bring their cars in to get their air bags fixed, four years after a federal government recall of 42 million defective air bags. A civic group says the heat makes these inflators more likely to explode, making this fix that much more urgent for drivers in Southern California before summer comes. The group is urging car owners to stop procrastinating and get this repair done. Los Angels Times
L.A. STORIES
To enforce or assist? Pomona is dealing with a classic dilemma when it comes to homelessness. Should they enforce or assist their way out of the crisis? Los Angeles Times
Toll changes in the offing: L.A. County transit officials will consider whether to impose tolls on more carpool lanes and a higher passenger requirement for such lanes. They will also study recommendations for cracking down on carpool lane cheaters. Los Angeles Times
Bye-bye, beaches: A new study shows that between 31% and 67% of Southern California’s beaches could completely erode by 2100. Sea levels could rise between 3.3 and 6.5 feet as well. KPCC
IMMIGRATION AND THE BORDER
Why do they need this info? Civil rights groups are urging Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra to investigate dozens of school districts across the state that required parents to provide children’s Social Security numbers, their citizenship status and when they entered the country. San Francisco Chronicle
Who belongs here? Who doesn’t? “My grandparents legally immigrated from Japan in the early 1900s. They fit well: The fields of California needed strong backs and my family was hungry for work and a new beginning,” writes David Mas Masumoto. He contemplates a world where there’s a preoccupation with who belongs here and who doesn’t? Fresno Bee
POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT
Changes coming soon: Matthew Beevers, the deputy adjutant for the California National Guard, told state legislators that soldiers who were forced to repay their enlistment bonuses will get the money back by mid-summer. This is a result of a Los Angeles Times investigation last year. Los Angeles Times
Spending patterns: California school districts have increased spending on administrator pay faster than teacher pay. Sacramento City Unified is one example of where administrator pay has gone up, while teacher salaries have been cut. Sacramento Bee
City-sanctioned spots for homeless: Oakland will soon have a city-sanctioned homeless campground. “We are looking at a couple of sites in West Oakland,” said Joe DeVries, an assistant to the city administrator, who works on homeless issues. “We hope to have something lined up in the next couple of months.” San Francisco Chronicle
CRIME AND COURTS
More news on quadruple homicide: The four people killed last week in a quiet Sacramento neighborhood include a woman and her two children, authorities said. It was not immediately clear what relationship the alleged killer had with the victims. Associated Press
Tutor arrested: A Rowland Heights man who worked as a tutor in Los Angeles and Orange counties was arrested last week on suspicion of distributing child pornography, authorities said Monday. San Gabriel Valley Tribune
The search for an escapee: The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department is searching for a 31-year-old man who slipped out of handcuffs and escaped from the back seat of a patrol car in Victorville on Sunday evening. Los Angeles Times
THE ENVIRONMENT
Solar power! California recently set a record for the amount of solar power flooding the state’s main electric grid. A new state Senate bill could help California reach its goal of using 100% clean energy. The Desert Sun
CALIFORNIA CULTURE
Raiders to Sin City: NFL owners have approved the Oakland Raiders’ plan to move to Las Vegas. Los Angeles Times
A zoo is refurbished: Oakland’s zoo is getting a renovation, and with a new exhibit and doubling of its space, visitors will be able to “look back in time, when condors, grizzly bears, jaguars and mountain lions were part of the local landscape.” Also, there’s going to be an incredible view of the Bay Area from the new visitors center. East Bay Times
Great free-throw shooter dies: A Long Beach podiatrist who once set a Guinness World Record after making 2,750 consecutive free throws has died. He was 94. “I could have made more — a lot more,” Dr. Tom Amberry said at the time. “But they were closing the gym, so they kicked me out.” Los Angeles Times
Bookmark this: Check out this new app that maps art events happening in Los Angeles and other cities too. Hello Art World
CALIFORNIA ALMANAC
Sacramento, San Francisco and Los Angeles area: sunny Tuesday, partly cloudy Wednesday. San Diego: sunny Tuesday and Wednesday. More weather is here.
AND FINALLY
Today’s California memory comes from Toki Nakamura:
“To my great regret, Japan lost the 2017 World Baseball Classic to the U.S. in March. The game was played at Dodger Stadium, a place that I have never been to. To me, the ballpark in L.A. was the Los Angeles Coliseum, which at first made me surprised at the oval-shaped ground with the shallow left fielder positions backed with a 40-foot high fence set up and being only about 250 feet away from the plate. Contrary, there were about 420 feet from the center and 300 from the right, depriving me of the excitement I would have been able to enjoy for the first time in my life. My visit to the park was in 1959, shortly after the Dodgers relocated to L.A. from Brooklyn, and I knew the team had to wait for a couple of years until it got its own park. Being a former resident in Southern California and a current resident of Yokohama, I’ve been a Dodger fan ever since.”
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 Benjamin Oreskes and Shelby Grad. Also follow them on Twitter @boreskes and @shelbygrad.
