Newsletter: The new California laws you need to know for 2017
Good morning. It’s Friday, Dec. 30, and here’s what’s happening in California:
TOP STORIES
LAX hell
The nightmarish holiday season at Los Angeles International Airport may be an indicator of what’s ahead if the nation’s third-busiest airport continues to expand at a record pace. Airport consultants and commercial aviation experts say traffic and terminal congestion will probably persist, especially during peak travel times of the year, because of a variety of factors, including an ongoing modernization of the facility that has yet to catch up with its dramatic growth since the recession. Los Angeles Times
Pension politics
El Monte has one of the highest public pension burdens in California. One big reason: Administrators in the working-class city arranged for a low-visibility way to steer taxpayer money into a supplemental pension plan that pays a benefit in addition to city workers’ state-approved pensions. Los Angeles Times
California’s future
Starting Jan. 1, Californians’ lives will be governed by hundreds of new laws, including added controls on guns, harsher sanctions against criminals, extra restrictions on ride-hailing firms such as Uber and Lyft, and a boost in the minimum wage. We read every new law so you don’t have to. Los Angeles Times
L.A. STORIES
Wet weekend: Los Angeles County could see between a quarter-inch and half-inch of rain Friday as the first of two anticipated storm systems passes through the region this weekend. The rainfall will add to what is already the wettest month recorded in downtown Los Angeles since December 2010. Los Angeles Times
L.A.’s big ticket: What’s the hottest art ticket in L.A. in 2017? The contemporary art museum from Guess co-founders Paul and Maurice Marciano. It’s in the renovated former Scottish Rite Masonic Temple on Wilshire Boulevard near Koreatown. Los Angeles Times
Camp Rose Parade: The Rose Parade will be held on Jan. 2 instead of its customary New Year’s Day, and that’s causing complications for those who typically camp out along the route on New Year’s Eve. Pasadena Star-News
POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT
Ferry fans: With Bay Area public transportation getting more crowded, a decidedly old-school way of getting around is gaining in popularity: the ferry. San Francisco Chronicle
Corruption probe: The Navy allowed the worst corruption scandal in its history to fester for several years by dismissing a flood of evidence that the defense contractor known as “Fat Leonard” was cheating the service out of millions of dollars and bribing officers with booze, sex and lavish dinners, newly released documents show. Washington Post
Money talks: Changes in campaign finance laws now give the public a clearer look at the huge sums of money spent to influence the state Legislature. Sacramento Bee
Show me the money: A government agency’s legal bills for a case that has been resolved are generally public record, a divided California Supreme Court ruled Thursday. The decision reflected tensions between California laws that give the public broad access to government information and historic legal protections for confidential communications between lawyers and their clients. Los Angeles Times
Warehouse crackdown, Part 1: San Diego is the latest city to crack down on illegal warehouses in the wake of the Ghost Ship fire. San Diego Union-Tribune
Warehouse crackdown, Part 2: Dozens of artists are being evicted from a pair of warehouses near L.A.’s Chinatown. Los Angeles Times
CRIME AND COURTS
Parole decision postponed: State parole officials Thursday postponed a decision on setting free Patricia Krenwinkel, a follower of Charles Manson and convicted killer, after the woman’s attorney made new claims that she had been a victim of “intimate partner battery.” Los Angeles Times
Rape case: An allegation of rape involving a Stanford University star football player has roiled the campus and raised questions about how the claims were handled. New York Times
A family’s loss: He lost his son and grandson to street violence and became an outspoken advocate for peace. This week Melvin C. Johnson Jr. was fatally shot in Oakland. East Bay Times
Tragic end: A family is dealing with a Christmas tragedy. A relative of a teenager killed by a hit-and-run driver near Canyon Country on Monday says the girl had been missing since September but recently promised to return home. Los Angeles Times
DROUGHT AND CLIMATE
Water flowing: The recent rains have resulted in a major milestone in Lake Elsinore, where water is flowing from a dam for the first time since 2011. KABC
CALIFORNIA CULTURE
Yosemite’s digital battle: Many Californians were outraged last year when the name of Yosemite’s beloved Ahwahnee Hotel was renamed the Majestic Yosemite Hotel in a trademark dispute. Now, one California resident has lodged a digital protest of his own that has the operators of the historic hotel fuming. Fresno Bee
Sneaker shrine: It’s not just what you put on your shoes. In Oakland, there is now a homage to “sneaker culture” in all its glory. The Atlantic
Fox vs. San Francisco: Fox News and San Francisco have never been close. But this week, the news organization raised eyebrows for a story linking various urban ills to the city’s liberal policies. “San Francisco’s lax attitude is nothing new and has served as a beacon for the American counter-culture dating back to the Beat Generation. But the city’s embrace decades ago of free love and drugs has morphed into something else.” Fox News
Plus: A rebuttal. SFist
Shaky ground: The old ghost town of Bodie might have gotten the worst of the swarm of earthquakes this week on the Nevada-California border. Mercury News
CALIFORNIA ALMANAC
Los Angeles area and San Diego: Rainy with highs in the low 60s. San Francisco area and Sacramento: Partly cloudy with highs in the upper 50s.
AND FINALLY
Today’s California memory comes from Jerry Lynne Treinen:
“Each New Year’s, I like to get out the 1930s photo of my mother and grandfather riding horseback in Pasadena’s Rose Parade. Grandpa wears his best cowboy hat, Mom her breeches and tall boots — ranchers clothing. Not many beautifully sequined costumes or fine silver saddles during the Great Depression. Lined up along Colorado Boulevard she rides a fine buckskin, he on an old bay. Father and daughter out for a day’s ride, out celebrating the good life in California.”
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 Shelby Grad.
