Newsletter: Essential California: The Hmong pot farms of Siskiyou County

Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It’s Tuesday, Sept. 12, and here’s what’s happening across California:

TOP STORIES

Up in Siskiyou County

More than 1,500 Hmong farmers in the last two years have poured into Siskiyou County on the Oregon border, an area so vast it encompasses two western mountain ranges. Many of the Hmong are growing marijuana — much to the consternation of local authorities in the area. Depending on whose yield estimates and black market prices you rely on, the Hmong’s Siskiyou crop had a value as high as $1 billion. Where it was bound for, the growers won’t say. Los Angeles Times

The former football-coach-turned-pastor

Meet Rocky Seto, the former USC and Seahawks assistant coach who gave it all up to become the pastor of a San Gabriel Valley church. On Sundays now, he can be found preaching to a hushed congregation of several hundred. Though the work pays a fraction of the money and offers none of the glamour, he insists, “I can’t think of a place I would rather be.” Los Angeles Times

California versus Trump

California on Monday sued the Trump administration, challenging as unconstitutional the president’s plan to rescind the program to protect young immigrants brought to the country illegally from being deported. The lawsuit comes a week after 15 other states, led by New York and Washington, filed a similar legal challenge. Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra said Monday he decided to file a separate suit because the state and its economy will be especially harmed by the president’s action given that it is home to a quarter of the 800,000 people in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program. Los Angeles Times

Plus: Gov. Jerry Brown and state Senate leader Kevin de León agreed on Monday to amend a so-called sanctuary state bill that would limit the role of state or local law enforcement agencies in holding and questioning immigrants in the country illegally. Los Angeles Times

L.A. STORIES

A new chief in town: Timothy Vu, a 23-year veteran of the Westminster Police Department, was named chief of the Alhambra Police Department in April. That made him, very likely, the first Vietnamese American police chief in the nation. His goals as chief aren’t sexy, but they befit a busy San Gabriel Valley town of about 85,000 that has relatively low rates of violent crime. Los Angeles Times

Classic Los Angeles: “Loom, a new club for parents, aims to help anxious parents navigate the maze of contemporary childcare protocols.” The New Yorker

Dodgers very blue: How did the hottest team in baseball go so cold? Los Angeles Times

IMMIGRATION AND THE BORDER

High-profile visitor: “Mexico’s top diplomat will make a two-day visit to immigrant-friendly California amid strained relations between his country and the U.S. over President Trump’s border wall and immigration and trade proposals.” Associated Press

A change in policy: “In a shift from how it operated during the Obama administration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement is cracking down on relatives who let undocumented kids stay with them after entering the U.S.” ProPublica

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Deadly hepatitis outbreak: Sanitary street washing will start in downtown San Diego and will continue every other week to combat a deadly hepatitis A outbreak that has killed 15 people. Los Angeles Times

Big political changes afoot: “California is pushing forward with a plan to change the state’s primary date from June to March, a move that could scramble the 2020 presidential nominating contest and swing the early weight of the campaign to the West.” Politico

Plus: “It’s hardly surprising that neither California’s dominant Democrats nor its fading Republicans have ever really embraced Proposition 14, the sweeping ballot measure that abolished partisan primaries six years ago.” Los Angeles Times

CRIME AND COURTS

“He doesn’t have a permit”: A video showing a UC Berkeley bicycle officer citing a bacon hot dog vendor on campus and removing cash from his wallet for operating without a permit has gone viral. Los Angeles Times

Stabbing in Costa Mesa: Two men were arrested in connection with a stabbing that injured two men, including one of those arrested, early Sunday outside a Costa Mesa bar. Los Angeles Times

Harrowing recovery: A video released Monday by the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office shows how meticulously crews had to work earlier this month to remove a car and two bodies trapped inside it from the Kings River. Los Angeles Times

THE ENVIRONMENT

Lightning! A storm brewing over Southern California produced nearly 40,000 lightning strikes, forecasters said. Los Angeles Times

CALIFORNIA CULTURE

Up by the Bay: It’s looking increasingly likely that the Oakland A’s will build a new stadium on an old Peralta Community College District property. That move “promises to generate a fierce backlash in the city.” East Bay Express

Where to go, what to do: At the Museum of Tolerance, immerse yourself in a riveting plea for tolerance and understanding in L.A. Los Angeles Times

And the Emmy goes to...: A trio of shows — “Westworld,” “Saturday Night Live” and “Stranger Things” — each took home five wins and HBO notched 19 wins total at the 2017 Creative Arts Emmys over the weekend. Los Angeles Times

How we buy: Nordstrom will open a store in West Hollywood next month. This location will be far smaller and will not actually carry much merchandise. Instead, personal stylists will retrieve goods from nine Nordstrom locations in Los Angeles, or through its website. Wall Street Journal

CALIFORNIA ALMANAC

Los Angeles area: Sunny, 84, Tuesday. Partly cloudy, 77, Wednesday. San Diego: Partly cloudy, 79, Tuesday. Partly cloudy, 73, Wednesday. San Francisco area: Partly cloudy, 71, Tuesday. Showers, 68, Wednesday. Sacramento: Partly cloudy, 90, Tuesday. Sunny, 84, Wednesday. More weather is here.

AND FINALLY

Today’s California memory comes from Ty Tran:

“Around this time each year, the fair rolls into Bakersfield – I know because my birthday always falls within these two weeks. And in this southernmost part of the Central Valley, this annual jamboree marks the summer’s unofficial end: The days seem exceedingly shorter, and temperatures finally dip below the century mark. And if conditions are just right and the warm late-summer breeze clears the air, we’re treated to some of the most beautiful sunsets all year. I can remember celebrating my 9th birthday at my then first-ever Kern County Fair and riding the giant Ferris wheel. While at the top, I gazed west toward the foothills and marveled at the cotton-candy sky awash in pinks, purples, oranges, yellows and blues on the horizon. And although buildings and suburban sprawl have now largely obstructed this view, I still have fond memories of these times and of growing up in Southern California in the 1990s — what a time to be alive! Who needs fireworks at the fair when we’ve got California sunsets?”

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.