Newsletter: Essential California: The ‘Dreamers’ loophole that helped 40,000 of them get green cards

Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It’s Friday, Sept. 8, and here’s what’s happening across California:

TOP STORIES

In the fine print

An immigrant brought to the U.S. from Mexico at age 4, Miriam Juan was able to make a trip to Guadalajara thanks to a little-known perk of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, an Obama-era initiative that shielded 800,000 “Dreamers” from deportation. Under the program, young immigrants without legal status could apply for permission to take short trips out of the country for humanitarian, educational or employment purposes, and then return legally to the U.S. No longer. President Trump’s decision Tuesday to strip deportation protections for DACA recipients beginning in March also restricts their ability to travel. A Homeland Security memorandum issued Tuesday said the department would stop approving new applications for travel permits, known as advance parole. Los Angeles Times

That $85-billion deal

When AT&T completes its $85.4-billion purchase of Time Warner — the media behemoth that controls the likes of CNN, HBO and the Warner Bros. movie and TV studio — it will be John Stankey’s job to steer the ship. And the success of the merger will hinge on Stankey’s skills in stitching together two starkly different enterprises at a time of upheaval in media. He’s a relative newcomer to Hollywood who has spent his career in the bureaucratic telecommunications business. Los Angeles Times

Will Amazon set up shop in L.A.?

Amazon.com launched a search for a second headquarters city in North America that would cost $5 billion and employ up to 50,000 people, and Los Angeles plans to be among the candidates. “I can confirm we are planning to bid,” said Alex Comisar, a spokesman for Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti. But some consider L.A. to be a long shot. Los Angeles Times

L.A. STORIES

The fight over a word: Los Angeles city leaders will push Friday to declare the city a “sanctuary” for immigrants, a move that comes after some lawmakers resisted formally using the term despite pressure from local immigration groups. City Council members Herb Wesson and Gil Cedillo plan to unveil a resolution that would formally label L.A. either a “city of sanctuary” or a “sanctuary city.” Los Angeles Times

Do Westside liberals actually love Trump? “Putting aside oncoming racism, Santa Monica’s entertainment biz people are basking in snappier conversation. Suddenly, dread meetings at Amazon with studio executives you mix up with other studio executives are spicy with pre-down-to-business politics talk,” writes comedian Peter Mehlman. Los Angeles Times

DeVos weighs in: Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said Thursday that the system for handling sexual assaults on college campuses is broken. And she thinks USC’s handling of an investigation into kicker Matt Boermeester shows why. Los Angeles Times

Rotten Tomatoes or sour grapes? The summer movie season was slow, to say the least, and many Hollywood executives blame Rotten Tomatoes. The Tomatometer boils down hundreds of reviews to give films “fresh” or “rotten” scores. New York Times

A legend passes: The visionary architect of some of L.A.’s most notable Modernist landmarks — including CBS Television City and the soaring Union 76 gas station in Beverly Hills — has died. Gin D. Wong was 94. Associated Press

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Side by side: With the first marijuana licenses due to be issued in January, California lawmakers proposed Thursday that growers and sellers be able to group multiple permitted operations together. Los Angeles Times

Speeding up the process: Facebook executives and a New York developer are hoping that their major development projects could get built years sooner than planned under last-minute legislation at the state Capitol. Los Angeles Times

Getting ready for next year: “For the first time in recent memory, the Golden State is central to the Democrats’ crusade to win 24 seats that would grant them the House majority.” CNN

Moving on: Joseph “Joe” Kasper, the congressional chief of staff of Rep. Duncan D. Hunter, is bolting for a Pentagon position. FBI agents raided the office of Hunter’s campaign treasurer in February, seeking evidence into allegations that the Republican lawmaker misspent campaign dollars and tried to dodge federal and congressional investigators. The search warrant also indicated that authorities were seeking messages exchanged by Kasper, Hunter and Hunter’s wife. San Diego Union-Tribune

CRIME AND COURTS

Firefighter arrested: A captain in the Oakland Fire Department has been arrested on suspicion of possessing child pornography, the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office announced Thursday. Los Angeles Times

Be mindful: A team of thieves is using a classic bird poop ruse to distract and pickpocket victims in Hollywood. Los Angeles Times

Big settlement: Los Angeles is settling with hundreds of victims of an LAPD officer who snooped for celebrity private eye Anthony Pellicano. Los Angeles Times

By the border: For at least the last decade, Tijuana vendors put in special orders for designer merchandise, dispatching teams of shoplifters to malls around the country to steal more than $20 million in loot that could be resold at lower prices in Mexico, authorities say. San Diego Union-Tribune

THE ENVIRONMENT

Good question: Sacramento Bee columnist Shawn Hubler has a query: It’s “one many of us are wondering about in this age of mounting natural disasters: If climate change is a given, what’s the best place to live?” Sacramento Bee

CALIFORNIA CULTURE

Check them out: From Donald Duck to Donald Trump, an unprecedented look at Latin American art is coming to Los Angeles and holding up a mirror to the United States. Los Angeles Times

Ready for World Cup 2026? Three Southern California stadiums have submitted paperwork to stage World Cup games in 2026, should the united bid of the U.S., Mexico and Canada to host the tournament win approval from FIFA. Los Angeles Times

Only on Disney: Disney is adding more firepower to its upcoming streaming service. Its “Star Wars” and Marvel comic-book movies will be included, making it the only way to stream those movies on demand in the U.S. as part of a monthly subscription. Associated Press

Hammer, don’t hurt them: MC Hammer is headlining Staples Center — in 2017. “You’re not doing a story about a guy trying to make an audience. My music’s already been heard by billions. Billions! So you can’t introduce me as an artist,” he said. Los Angeles Times

Fascinating profile: “In college, Colin Kaepernick began a journey that led him to his position as one of the most prominent, if divisive, social activists in sports.” The New York Times

Bye to the boys’ club: “As the tech industry grapples with a spate of sexual harassment allegations, prominent voices are quietly organizing behind a new rival to The Young Presidents’ Organization, a networking league of executives that is largely male.” Recode

CALIFORNIA ALMANAC

Los Angeles area: Partly cloudy, 80, Friday. Sunny, 81, Saturday. San Diego: Partly cloudy Friday, 75, and Saturday, 76. San Francisco area: Partly cloudy, 67, Friday. Partly cloudy, 69, Saturday. Sacramento: Partly cloudy, 88, Friday. Sunny, 91, Saturday. More weather is here.

AND FINALLY

Today’s California memory comes from Barbara Clark:

“For years, Crenshaw Neighbors, our homeowners organization for the Baldwin Hills-Crenshaw community, had wanted to beautify Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to honor Dr. King. Formerly Santa Barbara Boulevard, lined with apartments and commercial buildings, it had bare sidewalks. A board member said, ‘We should plant trees out there, on both sides.’ So we did! The City Council approved the King Boulevard Memorial Project, the TreePeople organization obtained sponsors to pay for the saplings, and public service announcements recruited volunteers. On Jan. 13, 1990, nearly 3,000 of us planted 300 Canary Island Pine saplings along the full seven miles. In 2012, when space shuttle Endeavour was transported along city streets to the Science Center in Exposition Park, trees were cut down on many streets to make way. But the City Council and TreePeople informed the planning committee that they could not touch the King Boulevard memorial trees. So the creative movers ‘danced’ Endeavour down the boulevard in a side-to-side two-step, avoiding King’s trees, sometimes by inches. Today, it remains a boulevard fit for a king.”

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.