The truth about California’s legal weed, Hollywood in crisis: The stories that defined 2024

Good morning. Here’s what you need to know to start your Monday.

• The top stories of 2024 according to Times readers.
• Jimmy Carter, the nation’s 39th president, died Sunday at age 100.
• The box office was down in 2024. Here’s why Hollywood is still in recovery mode.
• And here’s today’s e-newspaper.

The stories that defined this year

We’re not done with 2024 just yet. In keeping with tradition, or just to enjoy the simple pleasure of remembering what made the year unique, let’s look back on 2024 as we enter its final hours.

It would be impossible to recount every news event from the last 12 months, so to make recapping the year easier, we’ve compiled The Times’ most-read articles published in 2024.

Using three different metrics — stories with the highest number of readers, articles that people spent the longest time reading, and the most popular stories that were offered only to subscribers — we highlighted the stories that L.A. Times readers engaged with the most.

Investigations that hooked readers

Deeply reported investigations by Matthew Ormseth and Paige St. John and Alex Halperin grabbed readers’ attention this year.

Paige and Alex’s investigation into California’s legal weed found alarming levels of pesticides in cannabis products available on dispensary shelves across the state. After reviewing confidential lab reports, submitting public records requests and interviewing several sources, they discovered that California regulators have largely failed to address evidence of widespread contamination in the state’s weed crop.

(Photo illustration by Jim Cooke / Los Angeles Times; Photos via SC Labs, Getty Images)

Revelations in Paige and Alex’s investigation shook consumer confidence and prompted California officials to begin testing cannabis products for pesticides. Three leading dispensary chains announced their own efforts to test products in the absence of similar safety checks by regulators.

Paige recently followed up on the investigation and tested more California weed brands, finding that half of them contained “hidden” pesticides.

Meanwhile, Matt’s three-part series into Ralph Rocha, an ex-Mexican Mafia member who is facing a life sentence for extortion, took readers on a ride of betrayal and greed. (Read Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 of this riveting series.)

Matt details how — while wearing a wire for two years to help law enforcement officials — Rocha also made a secret set of tapes where he disclosed, for the first time, a very different story from the one agents and prosecutors presented in a 2013 indictment alleging the Mexican Mafia and La Familia were interlinked in a sinister, transnational alliance.

Breaking news consistently kept readers engaged in 2024

Several breaking news stories also were among the year’s top articles. One such piece involved Shohei Ohtani, who quickly became an L.A. superstar after signing a record 10-year, $700-million deal with the Dodgers in late 2023.

In March 2024, attorneys for Ohtani accused his interpreter of engaging in a “massive theft” of the ballplayer’s funds to place bets with an allegedly illegal bookmaker who was the target of a federal investigation.

A few months later, Ippei Mizuhara — Ohtani’s former interpreter — pleaded guilty to one count each of bank fraud and signing a false tax return; authorities allege he schemed to steal more than $17 million from Ohtani to pay off an Orange County bookmaker.

Ippei Mizuhara, left, interprets for Shohei Ohtani during a Feb. 3 interview of the baseball star at Dodger Stadium.

(Richard Vogel / Associated Press)

Another breaking news story that attracted readers’ attention was on a subject that hit close to home for readers: mail and package theft.

A woman from Santa Barbara County, fed up with her mail being stolen, sent herself a package containing an Apple AirTag — a tracking device that can be used by the owner to help find their personal items through a Bluetooth signal. Authorities arrested two suspects after finding the woman’s mail, including the package with the AirTag along with items that were likely stolen from other victims.

Here are the Top 10 for each list we compiled. We hope you’ll use them to explore some of The Times’ best journalism of the last year. We’ll be talking about 2025 before you know it.

Top stories (ranked by overall number of visits)

1. Hackers may have stolen the Social Security numbers of every American. Here’s how to protect yourself
2. In one of L.A.’s largest cash heists ever, burglars steal as much as $30 million from vault
3. After repeated thefts, she mailed herself an Apple AirTag as bait. It worked
4. Disney-obsessed couple lose lawsuit to get back into exclusive Club 33
5. The dirty secret of California’s legal weed
6. ‘Sister Wives’ star Janelle Brown said son Garrison’s text prompted wellness check before death
7. Kids are sucking down baby food pouches at record rates. ‘We’re going to pay for it,’ experts say
8. A 12-foot-long harbinger of doom washed ashore in San Diego
9. The Mexican Mafia Tapes: Secret recordings reveal greed, betrayal — and a deal with the feds
10. Shohei Ohtani’s attorneys accuse interpreter of ‘massive theft’ tied to alleged gambling

Deep reads (ranked by average time spent on the page)

1. Inside L.A.’s greatest family feud: Warring brothers. A mother’s choice. Billions at stake
2. Three dead girls and a man on death row. Did lies put him there?
3. A child’s murderer could be freed. Does anyone in L.A. care that there was a second dead child?
4. The best looks from the 2024 Golden Globes
5. Scandoval put Ariana Madix center stage. Can she stay there?
6. Why did the ‘King of Collectibles’ cast doubt on their million-dollar LeBron James card?
7. Weezer’s Blue Album at 30: The inside story of the debut that launched L.A.’s nerdiest band
8. Pressured by cops, a mom made a false murder confession. Now, her sons can prove she’s innocent
9. Q&A: What might an MLB owner ask Trevor Bauer? Here’s a transcript of what he had to say
10. Q&A: ‘I want to have fun while playing football.’ UCLA’s DeShaun Foster details plans

Subscribers’ favorites (subscriber-exclusive stories ranked by number of visits)

1. The dirty secret of California’s legal weed
2. The Mexican Mafia Tapes: Secret recordings reveal greed, betrayal — and a deal with the feds
3. A bear crashed a picnic and swiped at a woman’s leg. Wildlife cops had a decision to make
4. Mom who pushed kids from moving car was astrology influencer disturbed by eclipse
5. Protest violence outside L.A. synagogue spurs widespread condemnation. Bass vows quick action
6. Hollywood crews in ‘crisis’: ‘Everyone’s just in panic mode’ as jobs decline
7. Palm Springs capped short-term rentals. Now some home prices are in free-fall
8. These are the California cities where $150,000 still buys you a home. Could you live here?
9. Behind the stunning job losses in Hollywood: ‘The audience has moved on’
10. These are the 101 best tacos in Los Angeles

What were your favorite reads of the year? Send us an email at essentialcalifornia@latimes.com and we might feature it in early 2025.

Today’s top stories

A new analysis of L.A. neighborhoods reveals where Prop. 36 and Nathan Hochman made headway in the 2024 election and how opinions have shifted compared to 10 years ago.

(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

Public safety, crime and policing

• California and Los Angeles County are getting tougher on crime amid shifting opinions on criminal justice, a new analysis reveals.
• ‘Stop, stop, stop’: Air traffic control intervenes as planes near each other on an LAX runway.
• Human remains were found off the Palos Verdes Peninsula after a similar discovery in the area just days ago.
• UCLA police are seeking details on a Mercedes convertible after an alleged hate crime.
• Police say robbers posed as police in a Koreatown assault and robbery.

Culture and entertainment

• The question sending shockwaves through Hollywood: How did Blake Lively get those damaging texts?
• For Hollywood crews, the mantra was “Survive till ’25.” So now what?
• The box office was down in 2024. Here’s why Hollywood is still in recovery mode.
• Americans see positive LGBTQ+ influences all around — a source of hope at a tough time.

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Commentary and opinions

• Jackie Calmes: Politics past will haunt Washington in 2025. It won’t be pretty.
• Paul Thornton: This cancer vaccine should spare future generations from ordeals like my wife’s.
• Times editorial board: Here are five reasons to keep the federal tax credit for electric vehicles.
• Guest opinion: The case for killing the tax credit for electric vehicles.
• Op-comic: This is what my 5-year-old taught me about the Velvet Underground.

This morning’s must reads

(ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Jimmy Carter, the nation’s 39th president who became an influential human rights advocate, died Sunday at age 100.

“When his turbulent presidency ended after a stinging reelection loss in 1980 ... he forged a legacy of public service, building homes for the needy, monitoring elections around the globe and emerging as a fearless and sometimes controversial critic of governments that mistreated their citizens,” Times editor-at-large Scott Kraft wrote in Carter’s obituary.

More on the life of Jimmy Carter

• Mark Z. Barabak: History gets Jimmy Carter wrong, both underrated and overrated
• Breakfast with Jimmy Carter in a tense Khartoum
• Opinion: Sure, people made fun of Jimmy Carter. I was lucky to have Jimmy Carter make fun of me

How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com.

For your downtime

Exterior view of Pasadena City Hall, Sept. 2024

(Ringo Chiu/For The Times)

Going out

• 🥗 In town for the Rose Parade? What to eat, including the most famous salad in Pasadena
• 🍾 Five of the best Champagnes to try for New Year’s Eve (most of them under $100)

Staying in

• 🧩 Have some down time? Check out the revamped L.A. Times games
• 🧅 Here’s a recipe for fried onion-chili crisp dip
• ✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and arcade games.

A question for you: What’s a piece of advice that changed your life?

A new year approaches, and we’d like to know what tips or advance you have for people hoping to make a fresh start in 2025.

Email us at essentialcalifornia@latimes.com, and your response might appear in the newsletter this week.

And finally ... your photo of the day

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.

(Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times)

Today’s great photo is from Times staff photographer Brian van der Brug. Susie Fundter glues dried flowers on a tiger, part of the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance entry in the Rose Parade at the Rosemont Pavilion in Pasadena.

Fundter and fellow volunteers have shifted into high gear to prepare 39 floral-covered floats for the 2025 Rose Parade on New Year’s Day in Pasadena.

Have a great day, from the Essential California team

Defne Karabatur, fellow
Ryan Fonseca, reporter
Amy Hubbard, deputy editor, Fast Break

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