Rail thefts leave L.A. tracks trashed

A section of the Union Pacific train tracks in Los Angeles has been littered with thousands of packages stolen from cargo containers. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ [Los Angeles Times] [Essential California Newsletter] PRESENTED BY The Tender Bar* January 17, 2022 [View in browser]( [Click to view images]( repair a section of detached railroad track near downtown Los Angeles that's been the site of numerous burglaries of train containers. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times) Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California [newsletter](. It’s Monday, Jan. 17 — Martin Luther King Jr. Day. I’m Elvia Limón, filling in for Justin Ray. When railroads opened up in the West in the 19th century, they transported everything from people to supplies — transforming them into tempting targets for bandits. And apparently, that’s still true more than a century later. On Saturday, railroad tracks in Lincoln Heights [were trashed with a blizzard]( of torn plastic wrappers, cardboard boxes and paper packaging attesting to [a wave of rail car thievery]( that officials say has been rising in recent months. The images have generated national attention and revealed tension among rail operators, government officials and authorities over what can be done to reduce the thefts, as my colleagues Rachel Uranga, Irfan Khan and Richard Winton write. Union Pacific reported what it claimed was a 160% increase since December 2020 in thefts along the railroad tracks in Los Angeles County. The railroad didn’t release specific data, but it said the increase in crime cost the company at least $5 million last year. A bottleneck in the supply chain and the presence of homeless encampments near rail lines have contributed to the thefts, officials said. What about all of that trash that’s plaguing the area? Last year, Los Angeles Councilman Joe Buscaino [c]( for the city to declare]( miles of the tracks a public nuisance, which would have allowed the city to clean up the areas of the railroad at Union Pacific’s expense. But the effort was dropped after the company cleaned up a swath of tracks, said his spokesperson. Still, Buscaino said, Union Pacific needs to hire more agents to patrol the tracks. Union Pacific is deploying more drones, has brought in extra security and enlisted the Los Angeles Police Department, California Highway Patrol and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department to combat the thefts, a railroad official said. But Union Pacific is partly to blame for not deploying more security, said Los Angeles Police Capt. German Hurtado, who works in the Hollenbeck Division. And now, here’s what’s happening across California: Note: Some of the sites we link to may limit the number of stories you can access without subscribing. A father’s death, a son’s despair: How COVID upended a family. Last summer, COVID-19 swept through the Reyes family. Within weeks, Anthony Sr. was dead. His son, Anthony Jr., held in his tears so he could console his mother and two sisters. On Dec. 27, Anthony Jr. took his own life. He did not leave a note explaining his despair. But he had endured a pandemic, the loss of his father, the pain of isolation and the heartaches that come with being a teenager. The pandemic, which has seemed to drag on for a lifetime, has worsened a mental health crisis for youths across the country. [Los Angeles Times]( ADVERTISEMENT BY The Tender Bar [The Tender Bar]( Amazon Studios presents THE TENDER BAR. From director George Clooney and based on the memoir, THE TENDER BAR follows an aspiring writer (Tye Sheridan) pursuing his romantic and professional dreams. From a stool in his uncle’s (Ben Affleck) bar, he learns what it means to grow up from a colorful group of local characters. Now nominated for a SAG Award for Best Supporting Actor Ben Affleck. Chicago Sun-Times raves "Ben Affleck delivers one of the finest performances of his career." THE TENDER BAR is streaming now on Prime Video. End of advertisement L.A. STORIES [Bob Johnson, founder and board chair of LA Works, speaks to volunteers] Bob Johnson, founder and board-chair of LA Works, speaks to volunteers taking part in service work at Orville Wright STEAM Magnet Middle School during Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 2020. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times) COVID tests, other public service events on MLK Day in L.A. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a federal holiday, is observed each year on the third Monday of January and is designated as a national day of public service. This year’s festivities include free pop-up COVID-19 testing and vaccination sites, clothing drives, virtual handwritten letter events and more. [Los Angeles Times]( Popular talk radio host Michael Jackson dies at 87. Jackson, who had Parkinson’s disease, died peacefully at home surrounded by his three children, a family spokesperson said. He was best known for his collegial and non-combative style as he interviewed presidents, celebrities, authors and ordinary Angelenos, most notably during his reign at the top of local ratings while at KABC-AM from 1966 to 1998. [Los Angeles Times]( POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT Single-payer healthcare advocates rip Gov. Gavin Newsom for ‘flip-flop.’ The California Nurses Assn. endorsed Newsom for governor in 2018 but now it’s ready to throw Newsom under the bus because the governor has been uncharacteristically silent about a bill that would create a single-payer system. [San Francisco Chronicle]( Ken Calvert, onetime foe of same-sex marriage, wants to represent LGTBQ haven Palm Springs. Calvert’s record on LGBTQ issues as the Inland Empire’s longest-serving Congress member concerns the city’s mayor and LGBTQ advocates. Calvert and Palm Springs were matched together late last month through California’s political redistricting, which happens every 10 years after the census. Palm Springs is one of America’s most LGBTQ-friendly cities. Meanwhile, Calvert has voted to ban same-sex marriage. [Press-Enterprise]( Support our journalism [Subscribe to the Los Angeles Times.]( CRIME, COURTS AND POLICING California forcibly sterilized people for 70 years. Survivors can now get compensation. These forced sterilizations routinely happened in California’s state-run hospitals, homes and institutions on tens of thousands of people. The state’s eugenics law — repealed in 1979 — and the subsequent sterilizations disproportionately targeted people of color and those with disabilities or mental illness. As of Jan. 1, survivors are now eligible to apply for financial reparations as part of a $7.5-million state program. [Fresno Bee]( California judge rules Google’s confidentiality agreements break labor law. The ruling marks the latest victory for labor advocates who have sought to force Big Tech companies to relax the stringent confidentiality policies that compel employees to stay quiet about every aspect of their jobs, even after they quit. [Washington Post]( ADVERTISEMENT HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT [Jamie Chong and her son] Jamie Chong and her son, Asher, who will soon turn 3. Asher, who has cerebral palsy and issues with his respiratory and gastrointestinal systems, is still too young to be eligible for a COVID vaccine. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times) More kids in the hospital with COVID renew fears for medically fragile children. Recent federal data show that children too young to be vaccinated were being hospitalized with COVID-19 at rates nearing those of young adults. However, they were still well below the rates for middle-aged people and seniors. The risks from COVID-19 are much more pronounced for immunocompromised or medically fragile children, including kids with cancer, lupus and other conditions. [Los Angeles Times]( Surfers rescued from tsunami-roiled waters after ignoring warnings to stay out of the ocean. The tsunami from a volcanic eruption near Tonga caused minimal damage along the California coast. But Saturday was a busy day for some first responders in the Bay Area. One surfer was rescued in Ocean Beach after his surfboard snapped in half about 200 yards from the shoreline. The effort required the assistance of a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter, a rescue boat and San Francisco Fire Department rescue swimmers, said a spokesman for the fire department. [Los Angeles Times]( Mother bears and cubs battle for survival as wildfire, drought and traffic take a heavy toll. Nearly a century after the California grizzly was hunted to extinction, black bears are being killed by motorists in record numbers. [Los Angeles Times]( CALIFORNIA CULTURE Bay Area zero-waste stores thrive after a wave of pandemic pollution. These shops specialize in products such as nontoxic glass cleaners and foaming organic hand soap that customers can pour into their own repurposed vessels. Many customers note that so many everyday products come in plastic, from washed lettuce greens to dish soap, yet very little of that plastic is recyclable. [San Francisco Chronicle]( In California’s pot market, there’s a hazy line between legal and not. The state requires legal businesses to report what growers produce and ship, and it’s entered into a vast computerized tracking system far from airtight. Plants can vary widely in what they make, allowing for wiggle room in what gets reported, while there is little in on-site inspections to verify record-keeping. The system is so loose, some legal farms move as much as 90% of their product into the illicit market, one grower said. [Associated Press]( Free online games Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and arcade games in our new game center at [latimes.com/games](. CALIFORNIA ALMANAC Los Angeles: partly to mostly cloudy, 74. San Diego: partly cloudy, 64. San Francisco: cloudy, 59. San Jose: cloudy, 66. Fresno: partly cloudy, 63. Sacramento: partly cloudy, 60. 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