Newsletter: The feds look at Orange County’s jail scandal

Good morning. It’s Friday, Dec. 16, and here’s what’s going on around California:

TOP STORIES

Jail scandal

In a major twist in a long-running scandal, U.S. Justice Department officials have launched an investigation into whether the Orange County district attorney’s office has routinely denied accused criminals fair trials by using jailhouse informants to secretly gather evidence. Los Angeles Times

Backstory: It started with a massacre at a hair salon near the Seal Beach Pier and morphed into one of the biggest law enforcement scandals in Orange County history. Los Angeles Times

Water war

Poseidon Water hopes to help quench Orange County’s thirst, but first the company’s proposed desalination project must slake a thirst of its own. The $1-billion project marks the first major test of new state rules designed to minimize desalination’s toll on the barely visible organisms that give life to the sea. Los Angeles Times

Pot gold rush?

At the Emerald Cup in Sonoma County, cannabis growers compete and talk farming, while weed fans sample and buy. Legalization is opening doors for new marijuana entrepreneurs. Are we about to see a pot gold rush? Or is a bubble on the horizon? Los Angeles Times

L.A. STORIES

Mother’s tragic death: A female mountain lion who gave birth to three highly photogenic kittens earlier this year was struck and killed by a vehicle this month while crossing the 118 Freeway near Chatsworth. Said one official: “Unfortunately, it’s unlikely that the kittens have developed the hunting skills to survive without their mom.” Los Angeles Times

Growing up? Runyon Canyon Park, the beloved but crowded hiking/people-viewing area in Hollywood, could get a 5-acre expansion. LAist

Never mind: Less than three months after reaching a compromise to start the school year later, L.A. Unified has changed course again and will keep its early start schedule. The decision not only affects vacation plans and child-care arrangements but also summer camps, summer jobs, enrichment programs and even college applications. Los Angeles Times

Long haul: Grand Avenue, the long delayed Frank Gehry-designed complex on Bunker Hill, took a step forward this week. It was proposed as one of downtown’s early revival projects but might soon finally see reality. Curbed Los Angeles

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Trump and SF: Fox News host Kimberly Guilfoyle, the former first lady of San Francisco and California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s ex-wife, is a candidate to be Donald Trump’s press secretary. Politico

Speech test: Is free speech under assault at California college campuses? One Republican legislator thinks so. Sacramento Bee

Computer ecology: California has approved energy-efficiency standards for computers and monitors in an effort to reduce power costs, becoming the first state in the nation to adopt such rules. Computers and computer monitors in the state use an estimated 5,610 gigawatt-hours of electricity, representing up to 3% of residential electricity use and 7% of commercial use. Los Angeles Times

Mall’s new life: A milestone for the San Fernando Valley as L.A. leaders approved plans to remake the beloved but battered Laurel Plaza shopping center into a more modern mixed-use space of apartments and shops. Daily News

Protecting tenants: As officials vow to crack down on illegally converted warehouses after the deadly Ghost Ship fire, there has been pushback from some tenants and housing rights activists who fear the effort will end up leaving low-income tenants on the streets. From L.A. to Oakland, cities are searching for ways to protect them. Los Angeles Times

House probe: The Congressional Committee on Ethics is reviewing various allegations of spending that have dogged San Diego Rep. Duncan Hunter. San Diego Union-Tribune

CRIME AND COURTS

Not so happy days: Actor Scott Baio says he was attacked in Thousand Oaks because of his support for Donald Trump. And he says it happened at an elementary school event. Police are investigating. Ventura County Star

Uncovering a hack: The inside story of how Andrew Komarov, a noted cyber-sleuth, uncovered the massive Yahoo email hack. Mercury News

Cyberwar: A USC graduate student from La Cañada Flintridge has been indicted on a charge that he waged a cyberattack on a San Francisco tech company. Los Angeles Times

Shocking suicide: Colleagues are trying to understand why an Orange County Fire Authority captain from Huntington Beach killed himself Tuesday morning by jumping from the Crown Valley Parkway overpass onto the 5 Freeway and into oncoming traffic. Los Angeles Times

CLIMATE AND DROUGHT

Drought toll: Assessing the economic damage from five years of drought in California: Agriculture has been hard hit, but it’s hard to know if things are going to start getting better. Wall Street Journal

Falling down: Powerful winter storms are causing more havoc in one Bay Area community. Officials of the city of Pacifica in San Mateo County announced plans Thursday to demolish a second apartment complex sitting on the edge of a crumbling seaside cliff, saying the structure posed “a clear danger.” Los Angeles Times

CALIFORNIA CULTURE

Private bars: One of the hottest designers of bars in Los Angeles creates spaces meant for intimate conversation and privacy. One of Reza Fahim’s works, Tenants of the Trees in Silver Lake, is “for the new generation of Hollywood stars that relishes privacy.” New York Times

“Westworld” wonder: Trying to decode the meaning of “Westworld” with its husband-wife creators at the Melody Ranch in Santa Clarita, where parts of the show are filmed. The New Yorker

Remembering Walt: Fifty years after Walt Disney’s death, people who worked with him on the birth of Disneyland look back. Orange County Register

Seals vs. kids: For years, legal and public relations battles have been waged over access to Children’s Pool Beach in La Jolla during seal pupping season. Seal defenders say humans harass the pups and their mothers; the other side laments policies that they say place seals’ welfare above human enjoyment. Now, San Diego has decided to go against its own decision and will allow the beach to stay open for at least the first stretch of pupping season. Los Angeles Times

CALIFORNIA ALMANAC

Los Angeles area: Morning showers with highs in the high 50s. San Francisco area: Sunny and windy with highs in the low 50s. Sacramento: Partly cloudy with highs in the low 50s.

AND FINALLY

Today’s California memory comes from Ron Ehlers:

“While working in Minneapolis, I was assigned a project to replace all the business systems for a newly acquired division in San Diego. The first business trip in December 1976 was also my first to California. We left Minneapolis in a blizzard and landed in San Diego around 10 p.m. As we made our way down the stairs, we felt how balmy it was compared to home, and quickly shed our coats. We were quite amused, however, when we found our taxi driver bundled in his parka with the hood up, shivering as he pulled away from the curb. We completed the project 18 months later, and the division asked if I would be interested in taking over responsibility for their IT. San Diego vs. Minneapolis? Great company and team? ‘Twist my arm,’ I said. Relocation was completed in December 1978, and I’ve been a happy Californian ever since.”

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.)

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