Newsletter: Essential California: Record temperatures send residents searching for a cool breeze

Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It’s Wednesday, June 21, and here’s what’s happening across California:

TOP STORIES

Holy cow! That heat!

Records were broken and feet were burned as temperatures reached new heights throughout Southern California. It was so hot at one Death Valley diner that it stopped serving customers at 8 a.m. Death Valley hit 127 — seven degrees shy of the hottest day ever recorded on the planet. Los Angeles Times

Plus: As the first heat wave of summer reached its anticipated peak Tuesday afternoon, Southern California residents employed a variety of methods to keep cool amid the swelter. Los Angeles Times

Is the heat to blame for streets buckling in the Bay Area? SFGATE

Mandatory evacuations were announced in Big Bear as the fire danger worsened. Los Angeles Times

A game-changer that could save lives?

The Los Angeles Fire Department could soon seek federal permission to fly drones, a tool that officials say could help them track down missing hikers, gauge the risks in burning buildings and search confined spaces. “I think there’s a tremendous opportunity to save lives,” said Councilman Mitch Englander, who has championed the idea. But there are privacy concerns. Los Angeles Times

Everybody hates the Raymond fault

A little known earthquake fault named Raymond runs through northeast Los Angeles and Pasadena. The fault caused the 1988 Pasadena earthquake, which literally threw seismologist Lucy Jones out of bed. “The wave was coming up at me,” Jones recently recalled. “It was the most scared I have been in earthquake shaking.” And it’s capable of a much worse earthquake. Los Angeles Times

A parking problem

In city of car-related headaches, the City of Los Angeles and disabled drivers are wrestling with a 7-year-old parking problem. For the better part of the last decade, the city hasn’t built any blue curb parking spots that have been requested by residents. Los Angeles Times

L.A. STORIES

Lakers trade: The Lakers have traded D’Angelo Russell and Timofey Mozgov to the Brooklyn Nets for Brook Lopez and the 27th overall pick in this year’s draft. Los Angeles Times

A classic: The ultimate guide to L.A. avocado toast — before it jumps the culinary shark. New York Times

More arrests: Four more cadets have been arrested as part of the Los Angeles Police Department‘s widening investigation into a group of teenagers who allegedly stole police cars — an embarrassing episode for the department that drew national headlines when it surfaced last week. Los Angeles Times

Tragic death: Los Angeles firefighters found a woman’s body Tuesday after they knocked down a vegetation fire that began in a homeless encampment in Granada Hills. Los Angeles Daily News

IMMIGRATION AND THE BORDER

No legal defense fund here: “The city of Fresno will not contribute public funds to help establish a legal defense fund for undocumented immigrants facing possible deportation by the Trump administration.” Fresno Bee

A moving video: From Aleppo to Los Angeles. New York Times

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

California’s two senators: Amid an ever-expanding probe into Russian interference in the election, Sen. Kamala Harris is getting buzz but it’s Sen. Dianne Feinstein who is doing lots of work behind the scenes. McClatchy

Plus: To celebrate June being African American Music Appreciation Month, Harris just released a Spotify playlist that pays homage to pivotal black musicians of the last century. Los Angeles Times

Nice raise if you can get it: More than 9,000 workers at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power would receive six raises within five years under a proposed salary agreement endorsed Tuesday by Mayor Eric Garcetti’s appointees at the DWP. Los Angeles Times

Uh oh: Investigators from the California attorney general’s office are interviewing civil servants in a probe that may lead to civil or criminal penalties against public officials at a state tax agency that is being disbanded this month. Sacramento Bee

CRIME AND COURTS

Alt-right attack: Two men were charged with attempted murder Tuesday in the stabbing of a man who works as a bodyguard for a nationally known figure popular among the alt-right, prosecutors said. Authorities said the attack was not a hate crime. Los Angeles Times

Death in the desert: Detectives are investigating an apparent murder-suicide in Lancaster in which authorities say a man shot his wife and then himself early Monday. Los Angeles Times

What do we have here? The smell of “something dead” led authorities to a truck filled with 955 birds, rabbits, piglets, guinea pigs and other small critters. Los Angeles Times

THE ENVIRONMENT

Get ready! The South American palm weevil is bursting onto the scene in California. Its arrival could put one of the state’s most cherished botanical icons at risk of oblivion. KQED

CALIFORNIA CULTURE

Out for a swim: Who is putting up mermaids along the 10 Freeway? We track down the guerrilla artist. Los Angeles Times

The ultimate question: Is Los Angeles really that walkable? Curbed LA

Amazing story: Former Patriots and Chiefs tackle Ryan O’Callaghan is a Redding native who recently became one of the few former professional football players to come out as gay. Outsports

Buy your tickets: A pop-up drive-in movie theater in the Valley is showing valley-filmed movies this summer. LA Weekly

Out in Santa Monica: “Launched by a Southern transplant, this Santa Monica shop is a revelation to anybody with a taste for handmade lettering and graphic art.” Los Angeles Magazine

CALIFORNIA ALMANAC

Sacramento and Los Angeles area: sunny Wednesday and Thursday. San Diego: partly cloudy Wednesday and Thursday. San Francisco area: partly cloudy Wednesday, sunny Thursday. More weather is here.

AND FINALLY

Today’s California memory comes from Roslyn Farhi:

“My memories of Los Angeles have a great deal to do with education since I spent many years working as a teacher at View Park H.S., an alternative high school for students who couldn’t ‘make it’ in a traditional high school. The program was overseen by Betty Graves, our school principal, one clerk and three teachers. We were mothers and fathers, friends and counselors to the students who attended the program. When graduation time rolled around we asked each student to invite one person who cared about their education to the final ceremony. To our surprise students invited a neighbor friend, a cousin a grandmother or grandfather to be their guest. You never knew who the loving support person behind each student might turn out to be. Those students are now grown-ups with families of their own. I hope they are extending a love of education to family, friends and even strangers.”

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 Benjamin Oreskes and Shelby Grad. Also follow them on Twitter @boreskes and @shelbygrad.