When did you officially feel like a local in L.A.?

Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. Here’s what you need to know:

• Angelenos, new and old, when did you officially feel like a local?
• What happens if I miss the looming Real ID deadline? Can I still travel?
• Everything you need to know about Beyoncé’s ‘Cowboy Carter’ concerts at SoFi Stadium.
• And here’s today’s e-newspaper

How do you know you’re a true Angeleno?

Is it when the staff at your favorite local restaurant frequently remembers your name and order? Perhaps it’s when you stop flying in and out of LAX and opt for a smaller, easier-to-navigate airport.

Hollywood Burbank Airport.

(Alex Horvath / Los Angeles Times)

When I moved here six years ago, I took on L.A.’s freeways and bumper-to-bumper traffic immediately as I drove my car up from New Orleans. In those first couple months, I proudly traversed the 10 and the 405 as if I had been doing it all my life. And when the time came to surrender my Louisiana license and license plate, it felt like I became a true local.

An E train arrives at Little Tokyo station on Metro Rail in downtown L.A.

(Daniel Gaines / Los Angeles Times)

For some, it might be when you found yourself commuting via the train. When my colleagues wrote about who rides the train in L.A. two years ago, they found it was mostly local commuters. From the healthcare worker on her way to a night shift to an 85-year-old on his way to buy theater tickets, most of them said they take the train because it’s the easiest way to travel. (Though the new LAX metro stop may fill the train with tourists.)

For others, it was that moment you were watching a movie under the stars at the resting place of Hollywood stars.

Pilates Punx owner and instructor Allie Tichenor.

(Travis Shinn / For The Times)

It might have been the day you realized you felt comfortable chatting with everybody leaving your Pilates class. Los Angeles has a rep for being exercise-obsessed for a reason. The city is home to studios and gyms fit for Hollywood actors, models and influencers.

Or the day you realized you already knew most of the city’s best hidden hikes like the back of your hand. The city has vast hiking terrain with about 1 million acres in the L.A. area. The Angeles National Forest alone offers 700,000 acres and 8,000-foot-plus peaks to explore.

Even after decades living here, I know there will be moments where I discover a new aspect of L.A. and feel, again, that this is home.

So Angelenos, new and old, we want to hear from you. When did you officially feel like a local? Tell us your thoughts in this form. We may feature your comment in an upcoming story.

The week’s biggest stories

Vandalized trees lie on the sidewalk after being cut in downtown L.A.

(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)

Chainsawed trees spark anger over downtown L.A.’s decline

• L.A.’s fragile urban canopy was dealt a vicious blow last weekend when a chainsaw-wielding vandal cut down a number of shade trees along South Grand Avenue and other areas of downtown.
• Along with safety, downtown residents say green space has been one of the top concerns of the almost 100,000 people who live there, so the attack on some of the area’s few trees particularly angered people.

California Supreme Court demands State Bar answer questions on AI exam controversy

• Nearly two months after hundreds of prospective California lawyers complained that their bar exams were plagued with technical problems and irregularities, the state’s legal licensing body has caused fresh outrage by admitting that some multiple-choice questions were developed with the aid of artificial intelligence.
• Now, the California Supreme Court is urging the State Bar of California to explain how and why it utilized artificial intelligence to develop multiple-choice questions for its botched February bar exams.

Remembering Pope Francis

• We asked prominent SoCal Catholic leaders to describe his legacy. A single consensus emerged: Pope Francis always prioritized the most vulnerable and he inspired others to do the same.
• After the start of the war between Hamas and Israel, the pope called a small parish in Gaza City every night to ask how they were doing. ‘He truly became a member of the congregation,’ said a parish priest.

More big stories

• What happens if I miss the looming Real ID deadline? Can I still travel?
• L.A. County first responders fought the worst fire of their careers. Now they want raises.
• The U.S. is approaching a dangerous measles precipice, scientists say.
• The insurer of last resort kept growing. Then L.A. fire victims paid the price.
• California overtakes Japan to become the world’s fourth-largest economy. But tariffs pose threat.
• Southeast Asians in L.A. region are being detained and deported at routine ICE check-ins.
• What happens if Trump doesn’t obey court orders? A new spotlight on U.S. marshals.

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This week’s must reads

A western fence lizard — AKA blue belly — presides over its domain from atop a stump.

(James Maughn)

Our friendly neighborhood fence lizard: Why Californians love this reptile. According to one app for nature observers, it’s the most commonly seen creature in California: the western fence lizard. Why? The answer reflects how humans have invaded its space and how it has adapted to ours. At first glance, it’s not much to look at. Dull brown. Immobile. Just a lizard. Yet, something magical happens when you spot one. It’s both an ordinary occurrence and an event. One that makes you stop and say, “Look, a lizard!”

More great reads

• They traveled hundreds of miles to watch ‘Sinners’ make Hollywood history in Imax 70mm: ‘It was a no-brainer.’
• He worked with Walt Disney to shape Disneyland. Now at 93, boy, does he have stories.
• ‘The United States is the villain of our story.’ Nationalism surges in Mexico amid Trump threats.

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

For your weekend

Beyoncé performs at Houston’s NRG Stadium at halftime during Netflix’s presentation of the Christmas Day game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Houston Texans.

(Julian Dakdouk)

Going out

• 🎶Everything you need to know about Beyoncé’s ‘Cowboy Carter’ concerts at SoFi Stadium.
• 👩‍🍳All the chefs and cookbook authors you want to see at the L.A. Times Festival of Books.
• 💪🏾Pilates is a safe and effective form of exercise for all ages and body types. Here are L.A.’s best studios.

Staying in

• 📕Tina Knowles sets the record straight in her new memoir, ‘Matriarch:’ ‘People have so many misconceptions about my family.’
• 🥕Here’s a recipe for the ultimate carrot cake with orange cream cheese frosting.
• ✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and arcade games.

How well did you follow the news this week? Take our quiz.

(Staff and wire photos)

What Ryan Coogler movie topped the Easter weekend box office? Plus nine other questions from our weekly news quiz.

Have a great weekend, from the Essential California team

Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor

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