Essential: A tale of two California droughts

[Essential California] Essential California [Send to friend] | [Open in browser] Good morning. It’s Thursday, Dec. 15, and here’s what’s going on around California: TOP STORIES Tale of two droughts Through five years of an unrelenting drought, Californians shared the pain of the dry conditions and water shortages. But that’s beginning to change. Northern California has seen some real relief thanks to a series of storms that have built up snowpacks and filled reservoirs. It’s another story in Southern California, where unprecedented dry conditions continue. These diverging fortunes pose new challenges for officials trying to manage the drought. [Los Angeles Times] A tame Trump? The nation’s top tech executives didn’t know what to expect when they headed to Trump Tower in Manhattan on Wednesday for what President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team had billed as an innovation “summit.” They had reason to fear an ambush. But if Trump holds grudges against Silicon Valley for the way that many of its denizens maligned and ridiculed him at every step of the presidential campaign, he worked hard not to let them show. [Los Angeles Times] Brown broadside Gov. Jerry Brown has been somewhat quiet since Trump was elected. But that ended Wednesday, when the governor warned the president-elect in no uncertain terms that California will push back against any effort to stop or reverse policies fighting global climate change. “We’ve got the scientists, we’ve got the lawyers and we’re ready to fight,” Brown said to applause during a speech to the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco. [Los Angeles Times] ADVERTISEMENT L.A. STORIES Trump and Garcetti: So what did Mayor Eric Garcetti and Trump talk about during their phone call a few weeks ago? Garcetti won’t divulge details but did offer some hints to talk-show host Chelsea Handler. “I encouraged him to work with us to figure out a way to fix the system instead of just going after the immigrants as scapegoats,” he said. “I always respect private conversations, but in broad terms, he said, ‘I want to fix a broken system,’ so I think there was an opening there.” [Los Angeles Times] Odd landmark: The strange Hollywood structure long-rumored to be the onetime home of Jack London might get landmark status. [Curbed Los Angeles] Bear encounter: Here’s a story of life on the urban/wilderness interface. An off-duty Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputy shot at and possibly wounded a bear that charged at his three young children Tuesday as they walked toward their home in the San Gabriel Mountains. [Los Angeles Times] Bike safety: Cyclists held a “die in” to demand more safety measures on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, a popular and scenic bike riding area. [Daily Breeze] POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT Watch list: Orange Coast College professor Olga Perez Stable Cox made national headlines for her recorded in-class comments critical of Trump. It turns out she is one of more than 120 instructors named on a website that says it identifies professors “who discriminate against conservative students and advance leftist propaganda in the classroom.” [Los Angeles Times] No voter fraud? Contradicting claims made by Trump, the state Assembly’s top Republican said Wednesday that he doesn’t believe there was rampant voter fraud in California on Nov. 8. [Los Angeles Times] New world order: Governors of Western states are trying to understand what to expect from Trump. [Los Angeles Times] CRIME AND COURTS Answers wanted: The family of an unarmed 73-year-old man who was killed by a Bakersfield police officer is demanding state and federal investigations into the shooting. He was carrying a dark, faux wood crucifix when he was shot. [Los Angeles Times] She’s back: Doris Payne is an octogenarian jewel thief with a long rap sheet in Southern California. Even at 86, she’s still allegedly in the game. Officials said she’s been arrested on larceny charges in an Atlanta suburb. The charge? Trying to steal a $2,000 diamond necklace from a Von Maur department store. [Los Angeles Times] Baca witness: A former Los Angeles Times reporter who uncovered a scheme by L.A. County Sheriff’s Department officials to interfere with an FBI probe into abusive deputies testified Wednesday that retired Sheriff Lee Baca was aware of the scandal as it unfolded and helped plan part of it. [Los Angeles Times] New Yahoo hack: Hackers stole data that could be connected to more than 1 billion Yahoo accounts — believed to be the most users affected in a single breach. The hack occurred in 2013. [Los Angeles Times] Dog day: Orange County prosecutors charged a woman who allegedly left her golden retriever at a Newport Beach animal hospital after the dog was stricken with a 42-pound malignant tumor. [Los Angeles Times] DROUGHT AND CLIMATE What drought? Lake Tahoe water levels have been rising rapidly thanks to a series of rainstorms. What are the implications of this fill-up? [SFGate] Rain time: What you need to know about the new storms moving into California today. [Los Angeles Times] ADVERTISEMENT CALIFORNIA CULTURE South L.A. roots: Director Ava DuVernay talks about how her upbringing in South Los Angeles helped her rise in Hollywood and about her choice in movies. [LA Weekly] Small world: Meeting the husband-and-wife team who are the voices of Disneyland and Disney California Adventure. [Orange County Register] Driverless battle: Uber is gearing up for a legal showdown with state regulators over its rollout of driverless cars in San Francisco. [Mercury News] Show me the money: A pop-up video store with 14,000 copies of “Jerry Maguire” on VHS is coming to, you guessed it, Echo Park. [LAist] CALIFORNIA ALMANAC It’ll be rainy across the state. L.A. will have highs in the mid-60s, while San Francisco and Sacramento will be in the 50s. Stay safe out there. AND FINALLY Today’s California memory comes from JD Eveland: “On Dec. 1, 1951, the Golden Gate Bridge was closed due to high winds causing it to sway back and forth. My father was driving a 1950 Ford full of Cub Scouts across the bridge to a Pack meeting at the Presidio, and we were one of the last cars across before the closing. No seat belts in those days, and we kids were bounced around in the back seat a lot. By the time we really got scared, we were off the bridge. In the following days, we took credit for being brave, nonetheless.” 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]. [Email][Twitter][Facebook] [Sign up for Newsletters] | [Privacy Policy] | [Unsubscribe] | Copyright © 2016 Los Angeles Times | 202 West First Street, Los Angeles, CA, 90012. | 1-800-LA-TIMES This email was sent to [{EMAIL}] [why did I get this?] [unsubscribe from this list] [update subscription preferences] LA Times · 202 West First St · Los Angeles, CA 90012 · USA