Newsletter: Essential California: The fatal decision of a terminally ill mother

Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It’s Tuesday, May 23, and here’s what’s happening across California:

TOP STORIES

A fatal choice by a dying woman

Lai Hang knew she was going to die of cancer. She also knew she had to do something about her son who had been diagnosed with schizophrenia. What happens next is shocking and an insight into how taboos surrounding mental illness are especially rampant among Asian American families. Research shows that they are the least likely among all racial groups to use mental health services. Los Angeles Times

Plus: Understand better some key points about mental illness, violence and Asian Americans. Los Angeles Times

No one takes the bus?

As ridership on Southern California’s largest bus network has steadily dropped over the last few years, transportation officials have assured critics that the decline is temporary and that riders would soon return. But now, “Metro is conducting an extensive study of how well Los Angeles County’s vast bus network actually serves its riders, and how the network of 170 lines and 15,000 stops could be changed to attract new customers. Los Angeles Times

A pricey single-payer plan

A single-payer healthcare system in California — a galvanizing cause among the state’s progressive flank — would cost $400 billion annually, according to a legislative analysis released on Monday. Of that, $200 billion would need to be raised from new taxes. Los Angeles Times

L.A. STORIES

A former Baca associate is sentenced: William “Tom” Carey, once a captain in the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department who admitted to obstructing an FBI investigation into county jails and gave federal prosecutors crucial testimony that helped convict disgraced former Sheriff Lee Baca in the scheme, was sentenced to nine months in prison Monday. Los Angeles Times

Fighting “artwashing”: In Boyle Heights, there’s a fight going on to keep the neighborhood from becoming “the next Silver Lake or the next Echo Park, formerly Latino neighborhoods overtaken by glass condominiums full of white people who have come from Beverly Hills, or maybe the hills of Arkansas.” Newsweek

O.J. will get a parole hearing: After nearly a decade behind bars, O.J. Simpson could be released from prison this year and will have a parole hearing this July, according to the Nevada Department of Corrections. NBC News

Moonves re-ups: CBS Corp. has extended its employment agreement with its chief executive, Leslie Moonves, for an additional two years — pushing the boss’ retirement date to June 30, 2021. Los Angeles Times

IMMIGRATION AND THE BORDER

Define “sanctuary city”: The Trump administration has settled on a narrow definition of what it means to be a “sanctuary city” and limited the potential financial consequences for state and local governments. Los Angeles Times

Legal defense fund in the works: “The city of Santa Ana has taken another step toward setting up a legal defense fund for immigrant residents facing deportation, ordering staff to put forth a full proposal and dollar amount to be voted on by city council.” KPCC

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Where’s Jerry? “Gov. Jerry Brown traipses all over the world trying to save the planet from global warming. But he needs to salvage one basic environmental program here at home,” Times columnist George Skelton writes. Los Angeles Times

Keep it clean: Here’s how the DMV is keeping smutty license plates off our roads. Sacramento Bee

BART getting federal help: The Trump administration announced Monday that it will fully fund a $650-million federal grant for electrification of a San Francisco Bay Area train system. It would also help California’s bullet train project. Los Angeles Times

CRIME AND COURTS

One family’s story: An accusation of rape in Sacramento: Was it true? The Marshall Project

A troubled system: California has the largest foster care system in the country, but here’s how these shelters criminalize hundreds of children. San Francisco Chronicle

Teenager shot: Officials said a 16-year-old boy who “wanted to shoot something and be on the news” was shot by police after a reported family disturbance in La Habra on Monday morning. Los Angeles Times

“Lock him up!” That’s what some people chanted as a passenger wearing a red “Make America Great Again” hat got kicked off a United Airlines flight from Shanghai on Sunday after he became disruptive, officials said. It had to make an unscheduled stop in San Francisco after the delay. Los Angeles Times

Shot by the jungle gym: A man was shot to death early Monday at a playground in Trinity Park in South Los Angeles, authorities said. CBS LA

THE ENVIRONMENT

Rising waters: A high school honor student from Fresno drowned in the San Joaquin River over the weekend, marking the latest fatality in the Central Valley as rivers churn violently due to California’s rapidly melting snowpack. Los Angeles Times

Air in the Central Valley: In the smoggy San Joaquin Valley, an air pollution control officer is under fire for aiding members of Congress who want to weaken the Clean Air Act. Center for Public Integrity

Green Hummers: Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger says that three of his Hummers run on hydrogen, vegetable oil and bio-diesel and he’s hoping to put an electric engine into the fourth. Yahoo News

CALIFORNIA CULTURE

Working in mysterious ways: The owner of Casa Vega in Sherman Oaks said that a rare closure of the landmark eatery due to cockroach infestation was a “sign from God” to renovate. Los Angeles Daily News

A fancy affair: The Marciano Art Foundation, L.A.’s newest museum, had its opening party for about 600 VIPs. Check out the photos. Los Angeles Times

Book a flight: If you can get over to London in the next couple of months, there’s an exhibit at its Design Museum about California’s influence on design through the decades. The Evening Standard

Check ’em out: Meet Prayers, the San Diego “cholo-goth duo” who want to break down every barrier in sight. (Strong language ahead.) Noisey

Young at heart: In Hollywood, 90 is the new 50. Just ask Mel Brooks, Dick Van Dyke and others. Page Six

CALIFORNIA ALMANAC

Los Angeles area: sunny Tuesday and Wednesday. San Diego and San Francisco area: partly cloudy Tuesday and Wednesday. Sacramento: sunny Tuesday, partly cloudy Wednesday. More weather is here.

AND FINALLY

Today’s California memory comes from Judy Austin:

“My great-grandfather, Henry Carter Austin, moved to Los Angeles from Washington, D.C., in the summer of 1869 — three months after the transcontinental railroad was completed. He became an attorney and eventually a police-court judge in L.A. When my grandmother was dying, in the fall of 1960, an elderly Latino man approached her eldest son in the hospital corridor. Having heard his last name, he asked my uncle if he were related to Henry Carter Austin. Indeed, my uncle was named for his grandfather. The man explained that decades before, as a teenager, he’d been hauled into police court. And the judge, my great-grandfather, was the first Anglo ever to treat him courteously. It’s a story my family — now scattered across the country — treasures.”

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.