Newsletter: Essential California: Take a breath, California. Your greenhouse gas emissions are down a notch

Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It’s Thursday, June 8, and here’s what’s happening across California:

TOP STORIES

Greenhouse gas emissions keep dropping

California has continued to chip away at its greenhouse gas emissions, even as its economy grows, according to new data released by state regulators on Wednesday. Emissions fell by a third of a percent in 2015, which regulators said was equivalent to removing 300,000 vehicles from state roads for a year. Los Angeles Times

Plus: Gov. Jerry Brown told a global energy forum in Beijing to chart a path toward a clean energy future that differs from the one adopted by the United States. Or, more bluntly: Move past the course set by President Trump. Los Angeles Times

A teacher says goodbye

Longtime L.A. public school teacher Jeff Horton is no stranger to controversy. After 40 years in the classroom, he’s departing and shared with Times columnist Steve Lopez his strong views on the ever-escalating trench war over who knows best how to educate children — career educators and their union leadership, or wealthy outsiders and charter school supporters. Los Angeles Times

Olympics coming to L.A. … eventually

Los Angeles was supposed to want the 2024 Olympics. Sure, the bid’s leaders are still interested, but they’ve recently signaled an openness to the city hosting the games in 2028. This is significant, because the International Olympic Committee’s executive board will decide Friday whether to recommend two winners in the current bid competition between L..A. and Paris, giving 2024 to one and 2028 to the other. Los Angeles Times

When your data is stolen from the government

“Once you have a Social Security number stolen, once you have your credit card information stolen, you can never be made whole again. You can’t put the genie back in the bottle,” one expert said. So why has it been so difficult to get new laws passed in California to better protect people from cyberattacks? Los Angeles Times

L.A. STORIES

Live from Hawthorne: SpaceX will launch the Air Force’s X-37B experimental spaceplane later this year, in the military’s latest vote of confidence in the Elon Musk-led space company. Los Angeles Times

Stop being snobs! There’s more to the San Fernando Valley than meets the eye. So why can’t locals find a way to like it — or at least give it a chance? LA Weekly

Click! Be sure to check out the inaugural issue of DesignLA — a magazine published by the Los Angeles Times focusing on the explosion of creativity making L.A. a world center in design, architecture, art and fashion. DesignLA

IMMIGRATION AND THE BORDER

Help for immigrants: Bills to better protect immigrants here illegally are sailing through the California Legislature. CBS Sacramento

Op-ed: Former L.A. mayor (and current candidate for governor) Antonio Villaraigosa makes the case that immigrants give California a lot more than they take. Mercury News

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Who replaces Jimmy? Now that Jimmy Gomez is heading to Washington, someone will need to replace him in Sacramento. Candidates are already prepping to run. Los Angeles Times

Plus: This map shows how Jimmy Gomez became L.A.’s newest member of Congress. Los Angeles Times

Strange bedfellows: The Department of Justice on Wednesday announced the federal government was joining a whistle-blower lawsuit alleging that the city of Los Angeles had falsely claimed it was making homes accessible to people with disabilities as it received federal funds to build that housing. Los Angeles Times

One scary nurse: In the healthcare debate, nurses’ union boss RoseAnn DeMoro doesn’t play nice — and that’s the way she likes it. CalMatters

CRIME AND COURTS

She wants $23 million: An Oakland woman is suing UC Berkeley and 15 other parties, claiming they did nothing to protect her when she was attacked by protesters with pepper spray while attending a planned speaking event for conservative provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos on campus in February. Los Angeles Times

It’s a fight: A former high-ranking Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department official says he was pressured to take an early retirement after he reported alleged criminal misconduct by various department officials, including Sheriff Jim McDonnell, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday. A sheriff’s spokesman said that McDonnell strongly denied the allegations. Los Angeles Times

Questions to be answered: Authorities continued their investigation Wednesday after a suspect was shot to death and a police officer was injured in Wilmington, officials said. Los Angeles Times

THE ENVIRONMENT

A major gamble: The story behind Elon Musk’s $2.6-billion acquisition of SolarCity and what it means for the future of Tesla’s future and the planet. Fast Company

Tragic accident: An 18-year-old man from Whittier died Tuesday night after falling about 100 feet off a cliff in Angeles National Forest, authorities said. Los Angeles Times

CALIFORNIA CULTURE

It’s a state fight: In the Texas versus California rivalry, here’s how California and its economy are winning. Houston Chronicle

Watch: Times travel writer Christopher Reynolds follows Mark Twain’s trail through California and Nevada. Take a look at what he learned. Los Angeles Times

Check it out: Some pretty powerful new poetry is coming out from the streets of Compton and its vicinity. Entropy

Make a reservation: A “Saved by the Bell”-themed pop-up diner is heading to Los Angeles. Los Angeles Times

Ball time? Should the Lakers draft Lonzo Ball? Times columnist Bill Plaschke says yes. Los Angeles Times

CALIFORNIA ALMANAC

Los Angeles area: partly cloudy Thursday, sunny Friday. San Diego: partly cloudy Thursday and Friday. San Francisco area: rainy Thursday, cloudy Friday. Sacramento: rainy Thursday, sunny Friday. More weather is here.

AND FINALLY

Today’s California memory comes from Adam Lehr:

“I remember participating in Family Rides, when wives and children were allowed to horseback ride with the mounted sheriff’s posse riders. Back in the early ’60s we could ride from Hidden Hills to Malibu all while maybe traversing through two private properties. I enjoyed riding with my mother and father, although during one ride my dad was thrown off his horse — Walter, a buckskin — because he was afraid of running water, and we all had to cross a creek.”

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.