A ‘golden era of Dodgers baseball’
Good morning. Here’s what you need to know to start your day.
- Chaos! Pandemonium! Joy! Party! The Dodgers have won the World Series.
- Here are the 100 California residents giving the most in the race for the White House.
- Mariah Carey is (almost) ready to bring Christmas to you.
- And here’s today’s e-newspaper.
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Dodgers win!
The Los Angeles Dodgers rallied from an early five-run deficit to beat the Yankees 7 to 6 Wednesday night and secure their first full-season championship since 1988. It’s the eighth championship in franchise history.
The Dodgers dominated their East Coast rivals through the first three games of the series, scoring a combined 14 runs, compared with the Yankees’ seven.
The Yankees finally came alive in Game 4, scoring 11 runs to avoid a sweep. But they couldn’t hold a five-run lead Wednesday night, demolished “pinstripe by pinstripe,” columnist Bill Plaschke wrote.
L.A. erupted into celebration
L.A. Times reporters fanned out across the region to capture the celebration. Here’s what they found:
Neighbors banged pots and pans on their porches while a chorus of fireworks, cheers and sirens rang out in Highland Park. The sheer display of fireworks across the city rivaled the Fourth of July. Fans converged on the streets near L.A. Live in downtown Los Angeles, dancing, setting off fireworks and chanting. Police began clearing them out of the intersection not long after the game.
“Tonight, we showed the world that Los Angeles is made of CHAMPIONS,” L.A. Mayor Karen Bass tweeted.
“This was the greatest team in Los Angeles Dodgers history, soaring through the greatest postseason in Dodgers history, cementing the greatest Dodgers dynasty,” columnist Bill Plaschke wrote.
The Dodgers cemented a ‘golden era’ of the franchise
Securing the Fall Classic capped a kinetic, historic season for the Dodgers, powered in large part by Shohei Ohtani, whose arrival poured energy in the fanbase and could usher in a new era for the ball club.
“This Dodgers’ team always seemed destined to reach the mountaintop,” L.A. Times Dodgers beat reporter Jack Harris wrote Wednesday night. “They made sure of that in the winter, when a roster already headlined by former MVP winners Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman was bolstered by the additions of Ohtani, star Japanese pitcher Yoshnibu Yamamoto, expected ace Tyler Glasnow and veteran outfielder Teoscar Hernández; and the re-signing of the most central figure of the franchise’s recent past, future Hall of Fame pitcher Clayton Kershaw.”
Victory parade! The celebration will continue straight through Friday
The city has already set a date and time for the victory parade: Friday.
The Dodgers haven’t paraded through Los Angeles since 1988. They won the world series in 2020 but public health protections related to the pandemic prevented a parade.
Here’s more World Series coverage from The Times’ dependable Dodger reporting bullpen:
- The Greatest! Historic Dodgers overpower Yankees for 8th World Series championship, Bill Plaschke writes.
- Here’s how Shohei Ohtani drove himself to become a first-time World Series champion, Dylan Hernández writes.
- Magic Johnson is all smiles over the Dodgers’ transformation into a World Series power, Bill Shaikin writes.
- How one “crazy” inning ignited the Dodgers’ comeback in a World Series clincher.
- Ready to celebrate? Dodgers’ World Series championship parade will be Friday.
Today’s top stories
The sprint is on for the White House
- Here are the 100 California residents giving the most in the race for the White House.
- The Times fact-checked some of Trump’s most common claims on immigration.
- Arnold Schwarzenegger endorsed Kamala Harris, becoming the latest prominent Republican to cross party lines in the presidential race.
- President Biden appeared to call Trump supporters “garbage.” He then said he was referring to the racism on display at Trump’s New York rally.
- A divided Supreme Court sided with Republicans in Virginia who want to purge about 1,600 names from voter rolls less than a week before the election.
Newsom issued an executive order aimed at lowering electric bills
- With Californians angry about their skyrocketing electric bills, the governor is directing state regulators to find ways to try to lower power bills in the future, or at the minimum to stop them from rising so quickly.
- The executive order is just one of Newsom’s recent moves aimed at reducing soaring energy costs.
Gascón supports the Menendez brothers’ bid for clemency after nearly 35 years behind bars
- Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. George Gascón said he supports the Menendez brothers’ bid for clemency from Gov. Gavin Newsom, a move that could set them free.
- Newsom acknowledged on a podcast last weekend that he was reviewing the matter and mentioned the Netflix docudrama that has renewed public interest in the case.
When should a candidate apologize? The question roils an L.A. City Council race
- First-time candidate Ysabel Jurado has declined to apologize for saying “f— the police” in a contest where the issue of when and how to apologize has been a dominant theme.
- Jurado has assailed Councilmember Kevin de León over his participation in a conversation that featured Latino political leaders making crude and racist remarks. De León has repeatedly apologized.
What else is going on
- A 15-year-old football player alleged he was assaulted by teammates at Santa Margarita Catholic High School.
- Electric vehicle sales in California inched up — but Tesla saw a decline.
- The Irwindle Speedway & Event Center, which has been the home to NASCAR races and festivals, will close before the end of the year.
- The weather in Los Angeles is expected to be great for Halloween, but the weekend could be a different story.
- A beautiful bioluminescent algae is responsible for a rancid odor wafting through the coastal air in Los Angeles.
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Commentary and opinions
- If Harris falls short, blame Democrats and the media on this issue, columnist Jackie Calmes writes.
- Many could vote against Harris over the war in Gaza. Here’s why that’s a mistake, columnist Robin Abcarian writes.
- Mexico’s new president should tackle the country’s festering human rights catastrophe, argues Oscar Lopez, a Mexican author and journalist based in Mexico City.
This morning’s must reads
Is it Dwyane Wade or Laurence Fishburne? The new Dwyane Wade statue unveiled in Miami has been the focus of intense ridicule on social media. The Heat legend thinks it’s “beautiful.” The artist says critics may not remember what Wade looked like in action.
Other must reads
- Robots can make your fries, salads and guacamole. Is this the future of fast food?
How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com.
For your downtime
Going out
- 🎄 Mariah Carey talks about her second career as the self-appointed Queen of Christmas ahead of her new tour.
- 🍴 Michael Mina’s new oceanfront restaurant goes back to his Egyptian roots.
- 🚶♂️ Need a soundtrack for an L.A. stroll? There’s a walking podcast for that.
- 🎭 Joan Rivers was a comedy legend, but a new play proves “she was so much more.”
Staying in
- 🐒 The “Chimp Crazy” drama continues as PETA files a new motion in its case against Tonia Haddix.
- 📺 The director of Netflix’s Martha Stewart documentary discussed why he isn’t bothered by the lifestyle guru’s criticism of the film.
- ⏰ Video game maker Nintendo hopes its new alarm clock provides a better way of waking up.
- 🧑🍳 Here are seven recipes for celebrating Day of the Dead.
- ✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and arcade games.
A question for you: What’s your favorite California locale in a horror flick?
California is home to many iconic horror film locations, and we wanted to know which ones are among your favorites.
Cindy Compert writes: “One important film location you forgot to mention is the Hermosa Beach Community Center where the prom scenes from ‘Carrie’ were filmed. Last week, the city even screened the movie at the Community Center! I happened to take a photo of the marquee.. see below.”
Feel free to email us at essentialcalifornia@latimes.com, and your response might be included in the newsletter this week.
And finally ... from our archives
The psychological thriller “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?” was released in the U.S. on Oct. 31, 1962. Times movie critic Philip K. Scheuer panned the film, writing that stars Bette Davis and Joan Crawford were “grotesque caricatures of themselves.”
But that may be why the film continues to captivate viewers. Behind the scenes, Davis and Crawford were locked in a bitter rivalry that would decades later inspire the FX series “Feud: Bette and Joan.”
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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