Newsletter: Essential California: Scandals, racial tensions claim San Francisco’s police chief

Good morning. It’s Friday, May 20, and here’s what’s going on around California:

TOP STORIES

Not high-speed rail

The Expo Line, which opens today, will get you from downtown L.A. to Santa Monica in 50 minutes. That’s the same as the old Red Car system took more than a half-century ago. Some experts say speeding up Metro’s rail lines is crucial to the goal of getting more commuters out of their cars and using mass transit. Los Angeles Times

Chief gone

San Francisco’s police chief stepped down under pressure amid growing controversies over allegations of corruption and racially biased behavior on the part of the department. There was another fatal shooting that generated debate hours earlier. Los Angeles Times

Hate speech vs. free speech

Racist attacks against L.A. City Council president Herb Wesson are the latest in a series of ugly, hateful comments targeting officials at public meetings. The incidents test the line between free speech and hate speech, and the city says there is little they can do. Los Angeles Times

DROUGHT AND CLIMATE

Dry days ahead: The latest forecast suggests California has many dry months ahead and that the drought is far from over. SFGate

L.A. AT LARGE

Skid row rescuers: “People come out here with a dream, and when it doesn’t work out, they end up here.” Inside the squad trying to help the homeless on skid row. Curbed LA

Homeless profiles: Watch a Times series of videos that tell the stories of people living on skid row. Los Angeles Times

Auto show changes: The L.A. Auto Show is changing with the times, increasing new events and prominence to new technology including self-driving cars. Los Angeles Times

Hot property: As growth across Orange County slows down, Irvine remains a true boomtown. OC Register

L.A. noir: A new Ryan Gosling movie tries to recapture the “scuzzy noir soul of 1970s Los Angeles.” Los Angeles Times

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Gun rules: The state Senate on Thursday approved sweeping new restrictions on using guns in California in response to the December shooting by two terrorists that left 14 dead in San Bernardino. Los Angeles Times

Oil spill fallout: The operator of a pipeline that spilled more than 140,000 gallons of crude oil in Santa Barbara last year “failed on multiple levels to prevent, detect and respond to the incident,” a federal pipeline administrator said Thursday. Los Angeles Times

Brown uncensored: “California’s a $2.2-trillion economy. You’ve got that, and you’ve got this, you’ve got Uber, you’ve got space missiles, you’ve got farmers, you’ve got marijuana growers. You’ve got the University of California, you’ve got the L.A. Times. This is a complex world,” says Gov. Jerry Brown in an interview. UCLA Blueprint

CRIME AND COURTS

Union vs. Beck: The Los Angeles Police Protective League filed a federal lawsuit Thursday against Police Chief Charlie Beck alleging that he manipulated the LAPD’s process of disciplining officers and seeking major changes in the way the department conducts its Board of Rights hearings for serious misconduct cases. Los Angeles Times

Fight video: Disciplinary actions are underway at a South Los Angeles high school after cellphone video captured a shirtless youth relentlessly beating another teen. Los Angeles Times

CALIFORNIA CULTURE

Robot valet: This video shows West Hollywood’s ground-breaking “robot garage,” which opens later this month. No ramps but lots of robotics. Curbed LA

Not Subway: You can now get a Philippe’s French Dip sandwich delivered. But would you really want to? Los Angeles Times

Unearthed history: The secret history of the Zoot Suit Riots in Orange County during World War II. OC Weekly

PhD in adult entertainment: Meet the professor of L.A.’s porn industry. LA Weekly

CALIFORNIA ALMANAC

Los Angeles will be partly cloudy and somewhat chilly, with a high of only 66 degrees. Sacramento will cool down after a hot week, with a high of only 71. San Francisco will reach 60 degrees.

AND FINALLY

Today’s California Memory comes from Beth Guislin:

“My dad built our house in the Berkeley hills in 1949. From our living room we had a big picture window, framing a view of San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate, with stunning sunsets. In the early 1950s, one neighbor had a large weaving loom in her living room. Another neighbor was a medical professor who had batik fabric and shadow puppets he collected while working in Indonesia. When I was 4, his stories sparked my lifelong attraction to adventure travel. In Berkeley, back as far as the early 1950s, it was OK to be different. As a teenager, when I saw how others outside of Berkeley lived, I was truly surprised that not everyone had that beautiful view of the Golden Gate, or the freedom to be different.”

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 Alice Walton or Shelby Grad.