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Inside the weird requests L.A.’s day laborers receive

A woman stands in front of a storefront mural that includes gardeners.
Regina Talley waits for house cleaning jobs outside Pasadena Community Job Center last month in Pasadena.
(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
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Good morning. It’s Tuesday, Dec. 5. I’m Brittny Mejia, a narrative reporter based in Southern California. Here’s what you need to know to start your day.

When day labor jobs take a turn for the weird

Standing in line for concert tickets.

Cleaning the pool — and then being asked to stay for drinks and entertain the lonely employer.

Hauling away trash bags of rocks that turned out to contain dismembered body parts.

These are just some of the jobs day laborers — known as jornaleros — have been hired to do in Southern California.

When news broke recently that a group of day laborers had allegedly been hired by Samuel Bond Haskell to unknowingly dump body parts for $500, I started wondering what other “odd” jobs people offer to these workers. At job centers and home improvement stores around L.A., I heard stories of dangerous and weird requests.

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Cesar Beiza, 59, told me he was once hired to help clean out a former brothel. As they moved a sofa, a co-worker was almost jabbed in the neck by a used syringe.

“We live from day to day,” Beiza told me. “If we work today we will probably not work tomorrow. We have to take advantage of the opportunity, but sometimes we put our lives and our health at risk.”

While reporting this story, I met a woman whose husband had worked as a day laborer at Haskell’s home for three months earlier this year. He and a group of others were hired by Haskell’s wife, Mei.

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Police believe the remains discovered so far belong to Mei. Her parents are still missing. Haskell has been charged with three counts of murder in connection with the disappearance of his wife and in-laws.

The woman, who asked not to be named, said her husband had worked in construction near the pool. He said the family seemed very nice and he was shocked by the news.

“It’s incredible that we were in the house for so long and we don’t actually know people. We only see the outside appearance,” her husband told her. “You don’t know what’s going on in the background.”

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Pablo Alvarado, co-executive director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, said an organizer will be going out this week to try to find the Tarzana workers and offer assistance. He’s also hoping that — once they’re found — the city of L.A. will declare them heroes.

Today’s top stories

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LAPD Chief Michel Moore, left, joined by Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and L.A. County Dist. Atty. George Gascón discussed the recent slayings of three homeless men.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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Commentary and opinions

Today’s great reads

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(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
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Inside the last porn theater in Los Angeles. Tiki Theater is the last adult film theater in a city that once had scores of them. Patrons call it “a refuge.”

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For your downtime

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Parmizza in Culver City combines parmesan cheese with pizza and a variety of toppings.
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)

Going out

Staying in

And finally ... a great photo

Show us your favorite place in California! Send us photos you have taken of spots in California that are special — natural or human-made — and tell us why they’re important to you.

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A little girl sits on the edge of a rock with the sunset and L.A. skyline in the background
Ascot Hills, a great hiking spot in the heart of the east side/El Sereno Hills.
(Victoria Mojarro)

Today’s great photo is from Victoria Mojarro of Los Angeles: Ascot Hills. Victoria writes:

Ascot Hills, a great hiking spot in the heart of the east side/ El Sereno Hills. My whole family goes, my sister, her dog, my mom, my kids, and our dog. It is a sight of mostly working-class Latino communities accessing nature and health.

Have a great day, from the Essential California team

Brittny Mejia, narrative reporter
Elvia Limón, multiplatform editor
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Laura Blasey, assistant editor

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