Election day is around the corner. Here are the L.A. Times endorsements

Good morning. Here’s what you need to know to start your day.

• The Times’ editorial board offers its endorsements to inform voters before they cast their ballots.
• Some landslide-damaged homes will be bought out in Rancho Palos Verdes, thanks to $42 million from feds.
• Want to help a friend find love? Give a PowerPoint presentation at this L.A. dating event.
• And here’s today’s e-newspaper

Election day is around the corner. Here are L.A. Times endorsements

We have, at last, reached the final stretch of the 2024 election cycle. It’s been a whirlwind at every step, and many voters are ready for it to be over. Some have already cast their ballots, while others, like me, are still waiting for the “right” time to vote.

In truth, there is no better moment to fill out your ballot than now. So, buckle up tight, and bear with me, as we walk through some of The Times’ editorial board endorsements.

The board’s recommendations are based on interviews with the candidates, campaign committees and policy experts and independent reporting. I hope they will inspire you to cast your ballot, whether you agree or disagree with them.

Voting booths are set up at the Forum in October 2020, when it was open for early voting.

(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

Tuesday is the last day to vote.

Yes on Proposition 6
Proposition 6 would remove the language in the state Constitution that allows prisons and jails to force incarcerated people to work and punish them when they refuse. This would allow people in prison to have more agency over how they use the resources offered to them.

Yes on Proposition 32
The state’s current $16-an-hour minimum wage is set to increase to $16.50 on Jan. 1 under current law. Proposition 32 would raise it to $18 for companies with 26 or more workers, and $17 for companies with 25 or fewer workers (which would have until 2026 to start paying $18).

No on Proposition 33
Proposition 33 would repeal a state law that restricts local governments’ ability to expand rent control. The state would be prohibited from imposing any limits on rent controls set by cities and counties in the future.

No on Proposition 36
Proponents say this measure would help address retail theft, drug abuse and homelessness by allowing a third misdemeanor theft to be charged as a felony. It would also send people who fail to complete drug treatment to jail. The Times editorial board wrote Proposition 36 “would rescind voters’ smart reforms, partially refill prisons and revive the disastrous war on drugs.”

Adam B. Schiff for U.S. Senate
Adam Schiff has had a nearly three-decade political career representing the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Valley communities. He has also served as an assistant U.S. attorney. Schiff was the lead prosecutor in former President Trump’s Senate impeachment trial.

George Gascón for Los Angeles County district attorney
“Voters must decide whether to stick with Gascón’s reform orientation or step backward into a failed mindset in which justice is defined by the toughest charges and the longest sentences,” the editorial board wrote. “Voters would be wise to step forward, not back. They would be wise to reelect Gascón over challenger Nathan Hochman’s throwback policies.”

Ysabel Jurado for Los Angeles City Council District 14
This district is currently represented by Councilmember Kevin de León, who did not resign two years ago after participating in a racist conversation that was secretly being recorded. Ysabel Jurado, a tenants rights attorney, “promises to turn a new page on the corruption and neglect that has plagued this district for years,” the board wrote. She is “the best choice, by a long shot.”

In some of the state’s key congressional districts, the board endorses George Whitesides, a former Navy fighter pilot and business executive, for the 27th Congressional District; Laura Friedman, a state legislator in Sacramento who has been effective on issues related to the environment, housing and transportation, for the 30th Congressional District; Derek Tran, a consumer- and employee-rights attorney, for the 45th Congressional District; and Dave Min, a former law professor at UC Irvine, who is running to defend Katie Porter’s seat in the 47th Congressional District.

Find the rest of the board’s recommendations, including those for L.A. City Council and L.A. Unified School Board elections, here.

The Times has covered the controversy surrounding the editorial board’s endorsements. Times reporters have gathered information about the races and issues on the ballot, which you can find here.

Today’s top stories

Kamala Harris delivers remarks during a campaign event at the Ellipse near the White House in Washington on Tuesday.

(Stephanie Scarbrough / Associated Press)

Harris made her closing argument to voters as the election enters the homestretch

• Harris delivered a closing message at the same spot where Trump encouraged his allies to challenge the 2020 election on Jan. 6, 2021. She cast Trump as a dangerous chaos agent who would bring only “more division.”
• In other election news, anxiety over the U.S. election is rising in Ukraine and other parts of the world.
• Meanwhile, California’s Portuguese community may tip the balance of power in Congress.

The feds will spend $42 million to buy landslide-damaged homes in Rancho Palos Verdes

• The federal government will buy out homeowners hardest hit by the ongoing landslides and then convert the properties into open space.
• The plan offers residents with one of the first long-term solutions in the landslide-ravaged region, which has for decades gone through periods of increased land movement.

California State University will change its ultimate goalpost from a four-year degree to a good job

• The nation’s largest four-year university system plans to boost efforts to link higher education with clear employment payoffs.
• The news marks a major reset for CSU after years of focusing on graduation rates. And the change comes as more students and families question the value of a college pedigree.

The Dodgers couldn’t sweep the World Series last night as the Yankees kept the season alive

• The Dodgers and Yankees will face off in tonight’s Game 5 after the Yankees scored an 11-4 victory Tuesday.
• The Dodgers punted Game 4 but they’re still in control against Yankees, columnist Bill Plaschke writes.
• Shohei Ohtani’s Japanese hometown, now awash in Dodger blue, is gripped by World Series mania
• Times reporter and Yankees fan Noah Goldberg was sent to New York to watch the World Series — at a bar filled with Dodgers fans.

What else is going on

• L.A. moves to prohibit landlords from evicting tenants in order to remodel units.
• What type of LAPD chief will Jim McDonnell be? The past may hold clues.
• Redondo Beach’s efforts to get homeless people off the street reached a rare milestone.
• As Elon Musk seeks to launch tens of thousands of Starlink satellites, researchers are concerned about the technology’s potential impact on the environment.
• The Port of Los Angeles received an unprecedented $400-million grant to electrify operations.
• California’s new application for unemployment benefits is easier and faster to complete.

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Commentary and opinions

• Here are the billionaires in thrall to Trump, business columnist Michael Hiltzik writes.
• Voters with a “party-over-reality” bias may play a decisive role in the election, write Geoffrey Cohen and Michael Schwalbe at Stanford University’s department of psychology.
• The U.S. alone is saddled with the strange contraption called the electoral college, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Joseph J. Ellis observes.

This morning’s must reads

(Michael Blackshire/Los Angeles Times)

Netflix’s “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” has drawn true crime fans from all over the world to see the mansion where the 1989 murders happened. Some neighbors aren’t happy.

“There’s people all hours of the night,” said resident Mindy R., who declined to provide her full name out of concern for her safety because of all the recent visitors. “People are getting out of their cars, blocking our driveway.”

Other must reads

• The top two candidates for San Francisco mayor are a venture capitalist and an heir to the Levi Strauss fortune.
• Vietnamese voters in Orange County trace their clout to a homespun election tradition.
• The world’s largest wildlife crossing is finally standing. Here is what’s coming next.

How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com.

For your downtime

Rachel Feldberg introduces her friend P.J. Pullara III at All Hands on Deck, a matchmaking event where people pitch their single friends with PowerPoint-style presentations.

(Michael Owen Baker / For The Times)

Going out

• 💕 People pitch their single friends to an audience with a PowerPoint presentation at a live matchmaking party.
• 🍴 Here are 13 New York-inspired restaurants for a slice of the Big Apple in L.A.
• 🍿 Netflix might put Greta Gerwig’s “Narnia” in Imax theaters. Will it create a streaming blockbuster?
• 🎶 Rufus Wainwright will take audiences through 70 songs from his prodigious catalog across three nights at the Wallis in Beverly Hills.

Staying in

• 📺 John Malkovich remembers “Being John Malkovich” and the “iffy call” to make the movie 25 years ago.
• 📚 “Nora Ephron at the Movies” explores the iconic writer and director’s enduring legacy.
• 🧑‍🍳 Here’s a recipe for tomato soup with ghost toasts.
• ✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and arcade games.

A question for you: What’s one of your favorite scary movies?

Brian B. Niemiec writes: “I love my horror with a dash of humor. For that reason, I have to go with ‘An American Werewolf in London’ (1981), John Landis’ best film, IMHO. David Naughton is great as the backpacker who survives an attack by a werewolf, but Griffin Dunne steals the show as his deteriorating, jokester friend who does not.

“Rick Baker deservedly earns the inaugural Academy Award for makeup effects with cutting edge technology that changes Naughton into a terrifying beast. You can almost feel the pain in his transformation. The abrupt, tragic ending is the Maraschino cherry on this horror sundae.”

Feel free to email us at essentialcalifornia@latimes.com, and your response might be included in the newsletter this week.

And finally ... your photo of the day

Show us your favorite place in California! Send us photos you have taken of spots in California that are special — natural or human-made — and tell us why they’re important to you.

Today’s photo is from Alison Harris of Camarillo: the “harmonious blend of nature and modernity, tranquility and vibrancy” at Cal State’s Channel Islands campus.

Alison writes: “The library’s mirrored pool reflects the vibrant colors of the sunset. Morning, noon, or night — I’m still amazed by the breathtaking views that this campus has to offer.”

Have a great day, from the Essential California team

Ryan Fonseca, reporter
Defne Karabatur, fellow
Andrew Campa, Sunday reporter
Hunter Clauss, multiplatform editor
Christian Orozco, assistant editor
Stephanie Chavez, deputy metro editor
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters

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