Newsletter: Essential California: Double threat to L.A.’s future: housing crisis and homeless crisis

Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It’s Monday, June 5, and here’s what’s happening across California:

TOP STORIES

The crisis of our times

Times columnist Steve Lopez explores the urban crisis of our times: the ongoing trend of rents skyrocketing while wages remain stagnant. He writes of a homeless mother and son: “It’d be nice if I could tell you they were outliers, but there are now roughly 58,000 versions of their story in greater Los Angeles.” Los Angeles Times

Plus:

-- Can we build our way out of this? Los Angeles Times

-- San Diego’s patron saint of the homeless. San Diego Union-Tribune

-- In the San Fernando Valley, the homeless problem is moving east to west. Daily News

Homeowners beware

Consumer groups, regulators and lawmakers are increasingly raising concerns about Property Assessed Clean Energy loan programs, which are authorized by governments but largely administered and funded by private lenders. The story of 86-year-old Ossie Hill serves as a frightening warning. She has no way of dealing with the annual payments of $5,500 for a roughly $50,000 loan she took out to fix up her home. Los Angeles Times

Plus: The PACE program was established by governments to help homeowners pay for energy-efficient appliances and projects through loans that are paid back as line items on their property tax bills. But as borrowers struggle to repay these loans, a slew of reforms are on the table. Los Angeles Times

Brown in China

Gov. Jerry Brown is touring China, and the cities he’s visiting are places that envision themselves as California sees itself — progressive and green. Brown’s meetings began Sunday in the Sichuan provincial capital of Chengdu, part of a weeklong trip hinged on his mantra of climate change collaboration. Los Angeles Times

Back to the polls

Tomorrow, voters in the 34th Congressional District could make history and shun the district’s Latino political roots in favor of an enthusiastic minority of Korean Americans who live in one end of the district. They’re hoping to propel attorney Robert Lee Ahn, 41, to victory over Assemblyman Jimmy Gomez, 42. Los Angeles Times

L.A. STORIES

Out in Compton: Compton residents will go to the polls on Tuesday to decide who will be their mayor. The race pits incumbent Aja Brown against stalwart Omar Bradley in a generational collision about the future of the city. Los Angeles Times

Transfers galore! The University of Southern California accepts far more transfer students than any other elite private college. In recent years, it has been actively recruiting from community colleges. For some students making this leap, it’s a major adjustment. Los Angeles Times

Get rid of Aliso: L.A. City Councilman Mitch Englander wants Aliso Canyon to close after two new leaks. KPCC

IMMIGRATION AND THE BORDER

An ominous warning: Mayor Eric Garcetti says he is worried that arrests of immigrants by federal authorities could trigger riots in Los Angeles and put police officers in danger. Los Angeles Times

A melding of cultures: After daily fasting as part of the holy month of Ramadan, dozens of local Muslims joined their Latino neighbors Saturday night in the parking lot of the new Islamic Center of Santa Ana to take part in the inaugural event of the campaign dubbed Taco Trucks at Every Mosque. Los Angeles Times

A new tactic: Lawyers for a father detained by immigration officials after dropping off his child at school are trying new legal tactics in hopes of getting his release. They want to get the decades-old misdemeanor conviction that prompted his arrest wiped from his record, believing this will strengthen his case. Los Angeles Times

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Gone protesting: In a dramatic contrast to a Huntington Beach melee three months ago, about 300 Southern California supporters of President Trump marched peacefully Saturday in Fountain Valley to “make America great again.” Los Angeles Times

Governor’s race around the corner: California’s 2018 governor’s race is going to be big and expensive. Here’s your guide to who’s in and what’s expected to happen next. Los Angeles Times

Getting rich: The Oroville Dam crisis has been a boon for a club of construction contractors who have reaped the windfalls from an intensive effort to clean up and preserve the aging spillway. Sacramento Bee

A major problem: “Three of four African American boys in California classrooms failed to meet reading and writing standards on the most recent round of testing, according to data obtained from the state Department of Education and analyzed by CALmatters.” CALMatters

CRIME AND COURTS

Why so expensive? At $75,560, housing a prisoner in California now costs more than a year at Harvard. Since 2015, California’s per-inmate costs have surged nearly $10,000, or about 13%. Associated Press

DUI arrest: Authorities say former Los Angeles Lakers player and ex-New York Knicks head coach Derek Fisher has been arrested on suspicion of drunk driving after he flipped his vehicle on a California highway. Associated Press

THE ENVIRONMENT

Getting out on the river: The epic winter snows mean that Californians must get ready for an epic but also potentially dangerous whitewater rafting season. The Mercury News

Up north: Some Hmong farmers in Northern California are returning to their opium-growing roots — sort of. This time, though, they’re growing marijuana, not opium poppies. New York Times

CALIFORNIA CULTURE

At the box office: “Wonder Woman” grossed an estimated $100.5 million in the U.S. and Canada in its debut weekend, well above analyst projections. Los Angeles Times

Plus: What is the future of the movie theater? The Times examined this question in a special report:

If “I were a multiplex owner, or anybody with a career that depends on precisely how the future of moviegoing shakes out, I’d be looking hard for examples where architecture and technology have managed to form successful and even symbiotic partnerships.”

-- Times architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne.

“If you’re seeing a film so much later than most of America, not to mention all of the nation’s film critics, does that affect how you see it? Would you get the same sensation as those who came before you, or might the passage of time and the inevitable accretion of commentary from both experts and friends make an irreparable difference? And might there be any advice to be gleaned for non-professional moviegoers from that experience?”

-- Times film critic Kenneth Turan.

Making history: Alex Honnold has become the first climber to free-solo Yosemite’s 3,000-foot El Capitan wall. National Geographic

But what does it mean? Someone has swooped up the “COVFEFE” license plate in California. All other iterations of the word – COVF3F3, COVF3FE, COVFEF3 – have apparently been claimed as well. San Francisco Chronicle

They got their dream home: This couple found a real estate unicorn: a house with great “bones” that was ready for decorating. Los Angeles Times

CALIFORNIA ALMANAC

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

AND FINALLY

This week’s birthdays for those who made their mark in California: Actress Angelina Jolie (June 4, 1975), Snap! founder Evan Spiegel (June 4, 1990), entrepreneur and philanthropist Eli Broad (June 6, 1933),

Rep. Ken Calvert (June 8, 1953) and USC men’s basketball coach Andy Enfield (June 8, 1969).

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.