Newsletter: Essential California: An interview in L.A., a mystery in Las Vegas

Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It’s Thursday, Oct. 5, and here’s what’s happening across California:

TOP STORIES

An interview in L.A., a mystery in Las Vegas

The girlfriend of the gunman who killed 58 people at a country music festival in Las Vegas broke her silence Wednesday and denied advance knowledge of the attack, saying that she knew Stephen Paddock as a “kind, caring, quiet” man and that she was devastated by the violence. As President Trump and the first lady visited victims and first responders in Las Vegas, federal investigators interviewed Marilou Danley in Los Angeles, hoping Paddock’s live-in girlfriend might be able to help solve the mystery of why Paddock, 64, opened fire on the festival crowd on Sunday and then killed himself. Los Angeles Times

The difficulty of stopping a sniper

The massacre in Las Vegas was a grim reminder of the vulnerability of those in the crosshairs of a sniper. Police and experts say there are relatively few tools to prevent or quickly stop such an attack. Los Angeles police have tried different tactics, including placing sharpshooters on rooftops during the Academy Awards. Los Angeles Times

Plus: Four ER doctors and one trauma surgeon were on duty Sunday night at Sunrise Medical Center. Go inside one of the trauma centers that took in a flood of gunshot victims in the frantic aftermath of Sunday’s shooting. Los Angeles Times

And: California residents at the concert share their harrowing stories of survival. Los Angeles Times

‘Dirty John,’ Part 4: Forgiveness

Debra Newell was afraid she might end up like her sister, who was killed by her own husband. So why would she consider returning to John Meehan? Although she had 300 pages of documents detailing his past, something made her feel guilty about just abandoning him. Los Angeles Times

What DACA means

Brian De Los Santos is a journalist at the Los Angeles Times. He’s also a beneficiary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Read about what being undocumented, with and without DACA, has taught Brian. Los Angeles Times

L.A. STORIES

The final interview: Last week, Tom Petty sat down with Times reporter Randy Lewis for an interview. No one had a clue that this would be Petty’s last. Los Angeles Times

Plus: Check out this guided tour of Petty’s Los Angeles. New York Times

No sidewalk vending here: Sidewalk vending isn’t supposed to be a crime anymore in Los Angeles, but activists say vendors are still at risk. Los Angeles Times

New holiday name alert: Starting no later than 2019, the second Monday in October will be observed as Indigenous Peoples Day instead of Columbus Day in Los Angeles County. Los Angeles Times

Play ball: The Dodgers will face the Arizona Diamondbacks in their National League division series starting Friday. Los Angeles Times

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

In Inglewood: Competing arenas in Inglewood have put Mayor James T. Butts square in the middle of a big battle. Los Angeles Times

Fired: Los Angeles County supervisors have fired Sean Rogan, the head of the county’s housing and community development programs, but offered no public explanation. Los Angeles Times

About those blue placards: Months after an audit found widespread problems with the program providing disabled parking placards in California, Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday approved legislation aimed at preventing fraud. Los Angeles Times

CRIME AND COURTS

A toddler’s slaying: After more than a year and a half, authorities have charged four suspected gang members in connection with the 2016 killing of a 1-year-old girl who was shot in her crib in Compton, officials said Wednesday. Los Angeles Times

Settlement reached: The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has approved a $4-million payout to settle a wrongful-death suit brought by the families of a couple killed four years ago when a sheriff’s deputy raced into a Palmdale intersection at more than 80 miles per hour and struck their car. Los Angeles Times

Caught with child porn: Former “Glee” star Mark Salling has admitted to possessing a massive cache of child pornography and agreed to spend up to 20 years in federal prison and register as a sex offender for life, federal court documents show. Los Angeles Times

Abuse case: Marlborough School has reached a settlement agreement with Chelsea Burkett, 33, who argued that the school failed to protect her from a teacher’s sexual abuse when she was a student there. Los Angeles Times

THE ENVIRONMENT

Rebuffed in court: The Trump administration was ordered by a federal judge Wednesday to immediately enforce new restrictions on the release of potent methane emissions at oil and gas drilling operations on public land. The ruling came at the behest of California and other states. Los Angeles Times

CALIFORNIA CULTURE

The jazz of L.A.: Pianist Josh Nelson’s Fairfax District home is surrounded by the lore of old Los Angeles. For his newest release, “The Sky Remains,” he invokes a handful of Southern California ghosts for an homage to the complicated past and promising future of his hometown with the help of some of L.A.’s best young jazz musicians. Los Angeles Times

Open your wallets: Here’s what $1,500 rents you right now in Los Angeles. Curbed LA

Changing times: “Fatburger may have gotten its humble start 70 years ago as a tiny burger stand in South L.A., but there’s nothing small about the brand today.” LA Weekly

New neighbors: Entertainment Weekly magazine is moving its headquarters across the country from New York to Los Angeles. Variety

CALIFORNIA ALMANAC

Los Angeles area: sunny, 82, Thursday; sunny, 90, Friday. San Diego: sunny, 77, Thursday; sunny, 80, Friday. San Francisco area: sunny, 70, Thursday; sunny, 74, Friday. Sacramento: sunny, 84, Thursday; Sunny, 89, Friday. More weather is here.

AND FINALLY

Today’s California memory comes from Greg Kubelek:

“In 1960, mother knew she was destined for the county-run TB sanitarium hidden among the orange groves of Sylmar. So she needed her brother to look after me while she was gone. We headed from Sunland to a skid row bar where Uncle George received his mail. There were no familiar faces spotted among the citizenry, but we did spy a tall cowboy wearing a brace of pearl-handled six-guns being loaded into the back of a police vehicle. The movies beckoned, apparently, but this wasn’t Schwab’s drugstore, and the cowboy was not Lana Turner. The police had other plans.”

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.