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Newsletter: Essential California: The L.A. teachers’ strike is over. Who won?

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

TOP STORIES

The Los Angeles teachers union ended its strike Tuesday night, based on overwhelming support for a contract agreement with the school district, union leaders said. Teachers, nurses, counselors and librarians will be back in their classrooms Wednesday, said Alex Caputo-Pearl, president of United Teachers Los Angeles. “A vast supermajority are voting yes for the agreement that we made,” said Caputo-Pearl, who also acknowledged that many votes still were being tallied. It was a dramatic end to a dramatic day that started with Caputo-Pearl and L.A. schools Supt. Austin Beutner emerging from an all-night negotiating session at City Hall. The intense talks were mediated by L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti and his senior staff. Los Angeles Times

Steve Lopez: Public support for education was the best news to come out of the strike. Los Angeles Times

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— Los Angeles teachers and parents reacted with celebration and disappointment after union leaders reached a tentative agreement Tuesday with the L.A. Unified School District to end the strike more than a week after it started. Los Angeles Times

— What did striking teachers get for L.A.’s schools in the new contract? A look at the details. Los Angeles Times

The Oscar nominations are here

It’s tempting to attribute the many nods for “Roma” to the support it got from Netflix, the entertainment powerhouse hungry for its first best picture nomination. But “Roma” was just one of many foreign-language films to figure prominently in the academy’s main categories this year, a trend that may just as well stem from the motion picture academy’s recent and ongoing push to diversify its ranks. The academy invited nearly 1,000 new members to join last year, hailing from 59 countries. Los Angeles Times

— Here’s critic Kenneth Turan on the nominations. Los Angeles Times

— The academy planned on adding a popular film Oscar this year. How would that have played out if it hadn’t been shelved? Los Angeles Times

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Yalitza Aparicio became the first Indigenous best actress Oscar nominee. Los Angeles Times

Glenn Close doesn’t need an Oscar, but this year she deserves one, writes Mary McNamara. Los Angeles Times

-- Check out all the nominees. Los Angeles Times

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L.A. STORIES

Defending a hire: Sheriff Alex Villanueva appeared before a civilian oversight panel Tuesday and defended rehiring a deputy who had been accused of domestic violence and stalking. Los Angeles Times

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New development: The Los Angeles City Council granted its approval Tuesday for a vast new development that will include glassy towers with more than 900 new units of housing, over 300 hotel rooms and new shops, restaurants and a movie theater on more than eight acres in Hollywood. Los Angeles Times

Nice (but drink responsibly): If the Rams win the Super Bowl, Bud Light promises free beer for L.A. NBC LA

IMMIGRATION AND THE BORDER

Asylum policy: Senate Republicans proposed Tuesday to effectively bar Central American minors from claiming asylum in the United States unless they apply at home, a reversal of U.S. law that Democrats swiftly denounced as unacceptable. Los Angeles Times

In Latin America: As chaos grows in Venezuela, an opposition leader calls for national protest. Los Angeles Times

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

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Budget boon: California State University is poised to enroll thousands more Californians and step up support to help them graduate sooner, thanks to a hefty increase in state funding proposed by Gov. Gavin Newsom. Los Angeles Times

Holding on for dear life: PG&E Corp. has arranged $5.5 billion to fund its operations during a bankruptcy process that it expects to take about two years. Its stock climbed on the news.” Bloomberg

Supes-stakes: Another seasoned local political figure, former City Council member Jan Perry, is leaping into the nascent race to succeed term-limited Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas next year. Los Angeles Times

Big thumbs down: BART’s approval rating hit a record low as riders bemoan crime and filth on the system, saying it’s become a de facto shelter for transients and a laboratory of societal problems.” San Francisco Chronicle

CRIME AND COURTS

In D.C.: The Supreme Court took no action Tuesday in a case about whether President Trump properly ended an Obama-era program that offered special protections for more than 700,000 immigrants brought to this country illegally as children, leaving in place lower court rulings that temporarily prevent Trump from ending the program that helps so-called Dreamers. Los Angeles Times

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Big plans: Gov. Newsom is pledging to move California’s Juvenile Justice Division away from corrections officials and under the purview of the health and human services department, a symbolic move that continues a shift away from the incarceration of children and teens. Los Angeles Times

BLM leader: “The people v. Melina Abdullah.” The Land Magazine

CALIFORNIA CULTURE

Focus, Elon, focus: Elon Musk, the man whose mission is to help save Earth for humanity through sustainable transportation and colonize Mars in case that doesn’t work, is being forced to focus on goals that are far more mundane, like building high-quality affordable cars and running an efficient sales and service system. Los Angeles Times

The beautiful game: Billionaire financier Ron Burkle has agreed to buy controlling interest in Sacramento Republic FC, a deal that could seal the city’s prolonged and sometimes frustrating bid to land a Major League Soccer franchise.” Sacramento Bee

Stressed out and at risk: Inside Uber’s special investigations unit. CNN

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Some introspection:Salesforce co-CEO Marc Benioff called his hometown of San Francisco a ‘train wreck’ of inequality and he blamed local technology companies like his own in an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.” SF Gate

CALIFORNIA ALMANAC

Los Angeles area: sunny, 69, Wednesday; partly cloudy, 75, Thursday. San Diego: sunny, 68, Wednesday; partly cloudy, 70, Thursday. San Francisco area: partly cloudy, 58, Wednesday; partly cloudy, 60, Thursday. San Jose: sunny, 62, Wednesday; sunny, 66, Thursday. Sacramento: partly cloudy, 59, Wednesday; sunny, 60, Thursday. More weather is here.

AND FINALLY

Today’s California memory comes from Pepper Edmiston:

“I attended John Burroughs Junior High in the ’50s in Hancock Park. My friends and I were in a clique of cute, popular girls. We were in eighth grade when one of our group decided to celebrate her birthday by going horseback riding at night. I don’t remember if we went to Griffith Park or somewhere in Burbank, but we were all there.

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“By the time we got on the trail, the sun had already set. The stables provided a leader and we followed along at a slow clip. Then we started trotting and, finally, we galloped, as fast as I’d ever ridden. I remember the wind blowing hard into my face, the thrill of moving smoothly on the saddle and a feeling of freedom I’d never known before. I was a pretty dramatic kid and I thought right then that I’d never forget being 12 years old, with my whole life in front of me, surrounded by my best friends, riding fearlessly in the dark.

“It’s been 60 years since that night. I’m in touch with only two girls from our circle: Nancy and Ronna. But, Jeannette, Jeanie, Mary, Kathy, Roxanne, Marcia, JoAnne, Maddie, Radell, Arlene, if you’re around, I’d love to see you one more time.”

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.

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