Newsletter: Essential California: Oh my smog! California forges ahead with ozone-cutting measures

Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It’s Friday, June 9, and here’s what’s happening across California:

TOP STORIES

Oh my smog!

President Trump’s EPA head, Scott Pruitt, announced this week that there would be a delay in the implementation of Obama-era limits on ozone, the lung-searing gas in smog. That’s not stopping California officials from forging ahead with emissions-cutting measures. “We believe that EPA cannot back off on its own responsibility to set cleaner standards,” California Air Resources Board spokesman Stanley Young said. Los Angeles Times

A split threatens Democrats

You may recall the nasty fight at the California state Democratic convention last month. Kimberly Ellis, a progressive Bay Area Democrat who tapped into a wellspring of disaffected Bernie Sanders backers, continues to blame her narrow loss on voting irregularities she alleges corrupted the election of Eric Bauman as chairman. The worry now is that this discord and division could weaken the state’s opposition to Trump. Los Angeles Times

Remembering Frank Lloyd Wright

Frank Lloyd Wright was born 150 years ago this week, and his life’s work is being memorialized at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. That exhibit overlooks the short but prolific time the famed architect spent in Los Angeles, Times architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne writes. Los Angeles Times

L.A. STORIES

Comey-palooza: Alcohol lovers and political junkies were knocking back beers and something stronger early Thursday as they watched former FBI Director James Comey testify before Congress. Los Angeles Times

Plus: One watch party in Los Feliz consisted of yoga, Comey on TV, and a loud call for “mmmmmiiiimmmmosssas!” Los Angeles Times

Not as hot as we thought: Los Angeles is home to hot tech firms such as Snap Inc. and Tinder, but Silicon Beach still has a long way to go to rival the tech industries of Silicon Valley or San Francisco. That’s according to a new study by real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield that ranks Los Angeles 18th among the nation’s top 25 tech cities. Los Angeles Times

New theater coming downtown: Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, a quirky beer-selling theater chain, has formally agreed to open an outpost in downtown Los Angeles — news that comes with a sigh of relief for a real estate developer laboring to overhaul an aging mall. Los Angeles Times

One size does not fit all: Author Roxane Gay, who has a new book about her weight, describes the chair situation at L.A. restaurants. “I spend a lot my time in LA these days. All the chairs are tiny and super modern and sleek. And that’s cute, but my ass is not going to fit on those chairs for two hours. When a chair designer is creating a chair, they’re creating it for one type of body. And it’s not my kind of body.” Vice

IMMIGRATION AND THE BORDER

New job description: Under Trump, government employees who were hired to do community outreach in immigrant communities are now fielding phone calls from people trying to report undocumented immigrants. Foreign Policy

From ICE to private prisons: A top official at Immigration and Customs Enforcement is leaving the department and heading to the GEO Group, the Boca Raton, Fla.-based private prison company, in a few weeks. The Daily Beast

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Brown is in: Chinese climate change experts on Thursday offered some of their most definitive rebuffs to Trump’s actions, pointedly turning to Gov. Jerry Brown — and California — as a substitute partner. Los Angeles Times

Plus: Brown’s trip to China is being paid for by a nonprofit called the California State Protocol Foundation, which collects private donations to fund travel and other expenses for the state’s governors, with the goal of eliminating costs to taxpayers. Associated Press

Hold ’em accountable: The California Legislature should develop methods for holding the administration accountable for effectively spending $5.2 billion annually from recently approved increases to the gas tax and vehicle fees, the Legislative Analyst’s Office said Thursday. Los Angeles Times

Checking in on a law: Even after a law was passed permitting it, Californians are finding that aid-in-dying is more complicated and nuanced, and that doctors can still refuse to administer the procedure. NPR

CRIME AND COURTS

Car thieves’ heaven: A new report reveals that six California metro areas make the top 10 for highest rates of car theft. Los Angeles Times

Where seafood smuggling thrives: The U.S. attorney’s office in San Diego this week arraigned a Taiwanese citizen on charges of smuggling more than 250 pounds of black abalone and Fuscus sea cucumbers into the country from Mexico. Los Angeles Times

Let the people know: A Northern California activist group has sued state officials, alleging they’re illegally withholding information about potentially toxic asbestos in the latest skirmish over transparency at the troubled Oroville Dam. Sacramento Bee

Harassment suit: The owner of a construction company is being sued by an employee for racial discrimination and harassment related to impersonations of President Trump and displays of the Confederate flag. East Bay Times

THE ENVIRONMENT

They’re coming: The coqui frog — a voracious, cacophonous amphibian — has already disrupted the ecosystem of Hawaii’s Big Island; now it’s got a foothold in the Golden State. Scientific American

CALIFORNIA CULTURE

A mainstay closes: San Jose’s oldest eatery — Wing’s Chinese Restaurant, which dates back to 1925 — will close by month’s end, and the owner is blaming a large rent increase. The Mercury News

A Dodger profile: Pitcher Sergio Romo is a boy from Brawley, the town 3½ hours southeast of Los Angeles, and was ecstatic to play for the Dodgers this season. But the homecoming has been nothing but bumpy. Los Angeles Times

Yum! More than 100 pizza makers will soon gather in California to attempt to make the world’s longest pizza. The plan is to prepare a 7,000-foot pie at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana on Saturday. UPI

Yum 2.0: Just in case you were looking for a new taco spot, here are the locations of 31 essential Los Angeles tacos. Eater LA

CALIFORNIA ALMANAC

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

AND FINALLY

Today’s California memory comes from

Bruce McWilliam:

“In 1981, my father took our family to Los Angeles for a vacation. We were out having dinner at a Howard Johnson’s and a fellow overheard us at the next table discussing what each of us would like to do while we were on our trip. I said it would be fun to go see the Rose Bowl Parade. Well, no sooner had the words come out — the man at the next table tapped my father on his shoulder and said, ‘Here are two tickets to the game for you. We can’t use them because we will be away.’ Well, my dad and I went to the parade and the game and had a great time. It will always be one of the best days of my life and so full of memories of my dad.”

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.