Newsletter: L.A. Police Commission takes on racial profiling

Good morning. It is Wednesday, Nov. 16. Here’s a lovely time lapse of the supermoon over Los Angeles. And here’s what else is happening in the Golden State:

TOP STORIES

Fairness in policing

African American residents have significantly less trust in L.A. police officers than whites, Latinos and Asians, according to a new study by the Los Angeles Police Department. With that in mind, the police commission took the unusual step Tuesday of devoting an entire meeting to the subject of racial profiling. The LAPD receives a few hundred complaints of biased policing every year. “They fear the police. They fear interacting with the police because of racial profiling,” the Rev. K.W. Tulloss, president of the Los Angeles chapter of Al Sharpton’s National Action Network, said of black Los Angeles residents. Los Angeles Times

Planning for the future

More women are seeking long-term birth control options after last week’s presidential election. President-elect Donald Trump has said he wants to overturn Roe vs. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion, and said he wants to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which currently considers contraception a preventive health service that must be provided free of charge. “That could be a gross overreaction … but I don’t want to get in a situation where I don’t have control or say over my body,” said one woman. Los Angeles Times

Remembering when

Columnist Steve Lopez revisits the Sunset Strip curfew riots on their 50th anniversary. “The ’60s — acid-infused, tuned in and turned on — were not without darkness, and free love didn’t turn out to be entirely free. Kids had babies. Minds got twisted. The Manson family was spawned,” he writes. Los Angeles Times

L.A. AT LARGE

Caught on tape: A new audiotape released this week appears to show a member of a Palos Verdes Peninsula “surfer gang” admit he and his cohorts harassed outsiders who wanted to go to the local beaches. The tape surfaced as a part of a class-action suit from people who say they were abused by the Lunada Bay Boys. Daily Breeze

Leadership position: L.A. Archbishop José Gomez has been elected vice president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Gomez is a strong supporter of immigration reform, and one Catholic media outlet said the election was “largely perceived as a shot across the bow from the United States Catholic bishops to President-elect Donald Trump.” Los Angeles Times

Adult industry: With the defeat of Proposition 60, the adult film business may make a return to Los Angeles. On-location permit requests dropped 95% after Los Angeles County passed a law requiring adult performers to wear condoms on set. That law is no longer being enforced. Los Angeles Times

Too expensive: A new report said the number of millennials living in Los Angeles is dropping — thanks to skyrocketing rents. Curbed LA

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Campaign promises: Can Trump bring back manufacturing jobs? Many are skeptical. Los Angeles Times

What about the popular vote? Retiring Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) wants to abolish the Electoral College. But her bill is unlikely to get any traction with Republicans in control of both chambers of Congress. Los Angeles Times

Looking to 2018: Will the election of Trump help Antonio Villaraigosa in his bid for the governor’s office? Maybe, if Latinos turn out for the 2018 midterm election. “You could not come up with something more beneficial to him than the midterm election of a Trump presidency,” said Dan Schnur, director of the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics at USC. Politico

Dangerous conditions: The yards of 11 Sacramento homes near a shuttered indoor gun range were found to have elevated levels of lead. It was not immediately clear if the gun range was the source of the lead. Long-term exposures to lead can be harmful to children. Sacramento Bee

CRIME AND COURTS

Suspects arrested: Three men who are believed to be gang members have been charged in connection with the killing of a 19-year-old Marine in September while he was on leave from Camp Pendleton visiting family and friends in South Los Angeles. Los Angeles Times

Keeping secrets: Did Orange County prosecutors hide the fact that a key jailhouse informant had mental problems? Orange County Register

Ouch, my ears! El Segundo residents can put away the earplugs. Officers arrested a man who they say has been harassing families by driving around in the pre-dawn hours and blasting an air horn. “People find very creative ways at getting at other people,” said Sgt. Vincent Martinez. Los Angeles Times

DROUGHT AND CLIMATE

Old is new: In Amador County, farmers are turning to centuries-old “dry farming” to grow grapes during the drought. CBS Sacramento

CALIFORNIA CULTURE

Calexit: In the wake of Donald Trump’s victory, some people in Canada want California to become a part of their country. And forget about the lack of shared borders. BuzzFeed

Going public: The company behind Snapchat has filed paperwork for an initial public offering. The app company is expected to seek a valuation of $20 billion to $25 billion. Reuters

Just take the 1: Why is there no Interstate 1 in California? KCET

Buying cool: Estee Lauder Cos. purchased the Irvine-based makeup brand Too Faced for $1.45 billion. “Estee Lauder … have made the calculation that it’s more cost effective to buy hipness rather than create a brand in-house.” Los Angeles Times

Showtime: Quarterback Jared Goff, the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft, will start for the Rams on Sunday. Los Angeles Times

CALIFORNIA ALMANAC

Los Angeles will be 71 and cloudy. Riverside will have clouds and a high of 74 degrees. San Diego will have a high of 70. There will be a mix of clouds and sun in San Francisco as temperatures reach a high of 62 degrees. Sacramento will be 61 degrees with clouds.

AND FINALLY

Today’s California Memory comes from Bob Tucker:

“I was born at the Good Samaritan Hospital in 1946, a true baby boomer, and spent my early years during the day with my grandparents in Atwater Village. If my grandmother needed bread, she’d place a Helms Bakery sign in her window. We’d hear the familiar sound of the driver’s whistle signaling he was nearly here. My grandfather would give me an extra quarter and when the custom bakery van stopped out front, I could go out and get the bread and select a donut from the rear of the slide-out pastry drawers. I usually got a jelly one. It is a wonderful memory of bygone L.A.”

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 Alice Walton or Shelby Grad.