Newsletter: Essential California: Vacant lots dotting South L.A. a painful reminder of L.A. riots
Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It is Saturday, April 29. Here’s what you don’t want to miss this weekend:
TOP STORIES
25 years ago today
It’s been a quarter-century, but South L.A. is still dotted with empty lots that serve as reminders of the riots that raged in this area. “We had wars with countries that were rebuilt 25 years later,” said City Councilman Marqueece Harris-Dawson, who represents many of the South Los Angeles neighborhoods hard-hit by the riots. “Germany and Japan were rebuilt 25 years later.” Los Angeles Times
How would it play now? Take a second and think about how a riot might be covered today. The hollowing out of local news media and the growth of giants such as CNN — not to mention the proliferation of social media — would lead to coverage that’s far different. Los Angeles Times
And how is it depicted in movies? Here are the stories of the L.A. riots through the eyes of some Korean American filmmakers. Los Angeles Times
Words from the Chief: LAPD Chief Charlie Beck writes in the L.A. Times about his experience working in the department and how the riots were a seminal moment for him. “It is my promise to Los Angeles that we will never forget those lessons so dearly learned and that we will never fail you again.” Los Angeles Times
At the ballpark: Here’s what it was like to be in Dodger Stadium, unaware of what was unfolding outside on the streets of South L.A. Los Angeles Times
Plus: Here are The Times’ front pages from April 29 and the days that followed. Los Angeles Times
California pushing back against Trump: The president’s decision to reexamine offshore drilling in areas that have been off limits could test California’s battle-hardened defenses against oil development. “We will fight to the end,” said Susan Jordan, executive director of the California Coastal Protection Network, an environmental group. “They will not get any new oil on these shores.” Los Angeles Times
Problems in Orange County’s Sheriff’s Department: A grand jury report has criticized the Orange County Sheriff’s Department over last year’s escape of three jail inmates who were on the run for days before their capture. Los Angeles Times
An outsider pick: Banc of California this week named a new chief executive, an outsider who will be tasked with leading the institution as it tries to emerge from a shake-up and scandal that led to the last CEO’s resignation. Los Angeles Times
About the immigrants: Roughly half of the 675 immigrants who were picked up in roundups across the United States in the days after President Trump took office either had no criminal convictions or had committed traffic offenses, mostly drunken driving, as their most serious crimes. Washington Post
A shell fight: Iranian pistachio producers are hoping that a 241% duty, which has jacked up their potential U.S. prices since the mid-1980s, is removed. But California producers are saying not so fast. Sacramento Bee
THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY
The Los Angeles Times’ parent company used to have an employee publication called “Among Ourselves.” Here’s something from a special edition of the publication about The Times’ riots coverage 25 years ago:
“Times reporters and photographers faced danger throughout the riots and were themselves the targets of violence.
“Photographer Kirk McKoy was taking pictures of a looted liquor store when a man with a half-empty whiskey bottle in his hand ordered him to stop taking pictures. The man then fired off half a dozen gunshots at McKoy, who ran down the street dodging and weaving.
“An hour later, McKoy and photographer Mike Meadows were stopped at a South Central intersection when a man pulled a pearl-handled revolver on them. They both ducked under the dashboard and Meadows hit the accelerator with his hand, speeding through the intersection.” Los Angeles Times
This week’s most popular stories in Essential California:
1. Here are the national monuments being reviewed under Trump’s order. Los Angeles Times
2. Wake up, cross the border, go to school: For some Mexican students, it’s a daily routine. Los Angeles Times
3. As rains ease up, cactuses shine brighter than ever. The New York Times
4. How Hollywood remembers Steve Bannon. The New Yorker
5. Tracking President Trump’s campaign promises. Los Angeles Times
ICYMI, here are this week’s Great Reads
An interesting coincidence: For the late L.A. architect Paul R. Williams, a national honor overlaps with a bleak anniversary. Times architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne writes that Williams will receive a posthumous Gold Medal from the American Institute of Architects, and that the “ceremony and the anniversary of the bank blaze [that destroyed a large part of his archives during the riots] ... overlapping on the calendar seems a sadly appropriate twist of fate for Williams, a hugely prolific architect and famously sharp dresser who charmed much of the Hollywood elite and worked across an eclectic range of historical styles (along with occasional forays into various strains of modernism).” Los Angeles Times
Remembering the riots: Henry Keith Watson was one of the hundreds of African Americans at the corner of Florence and Normandie in South Los Angeles. “Now, 25 years later, Mr. Watson is not in the mood to say sorry — he called himself ‘an angry black man’ one afternoon this week as he sat on the porch of his home.” New York Times
Another memory of those dark days: Read about what Sylvester Monroe saw as a black journalist covering the L.A. riots. At the time he was a correspondent for Time magazine, and he writes, “I couldn’t help but think how much I identified with the young man screaming at the police officers.” Washington Post
A tragic story: He was supposed to be the next Derek Jeter. So how did so much go wrong so fast for Brandon Martin, who is now charged in the killings of three people? Los Angeles Times
Progress! Here’s how Long Beach cut 21 % of its homeless population in two years: They expanded rapid rehousing programs, increased veteran housing, set aside more money for Section 8 vouchers and funded a $6-million surge grant to house veterans with families. KPCC
Looking Ahead
Saturday: A variety of events around L.A. mark the 25th anniversary of the L.A. riots.
Sunday: The Hermosa Beach Pier is transformed back to the way it looked during the filming of “La La Land.”
Monday: Massive crowds are expected for a May Day march into downtown L.A.
Tuesday: Caitlyn Jenner and Buzz Bissinger speak at the L.A. Times Ideas Exchange.
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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