Today’s Headlines: Newsom trades barbs with Dahle in California’s only 2022 gubernatorial debate

By Elvia Limón

Hello, it’s Monday, Oct. 24, and here are the stories you shouldn’t miss today:

TOP STORIES

Gavin Newsom and Brian Dahle debate in California governor’s race

Gov. Gavin Newsom and state Sen. Brian Dahle clashed over gas prices, homelessness and abortion rights during the only debate between the two gubernatorial candidates in an otherwise sleepy race for the most powerful post in the state of California.

Newsom is expected to win a second term in the November election against the Republican farmer from rural Northern California, who hammered the governor for focusing more on his national ambitions than fixing the problems vexing the state.

The match-up marked one of the few times Newsom has acknowledged his opponent’s existence since the contest began. Throughout the one-hour event, the two candidates appeared to be debating two different California realities.

More politics

• Voters in the cities of Duarte and Inglewood will decide next month whether to boost the minimum wage to $25 an hour for a range of workers at privately owned hospitals and dialysis clinics.
• Dissatisfaction with Los Angeles City Hall has been simmering for years. But the publication of an incendiary leaked audio recording less than a month before election day provided yet another damning argument against the city’s political establishment — and perhaps the most explosive.
• Some Republicans questioning the continued level of assistance to Ukraine may soon be in a position to do something about it. With less than three weeks until election day, Republicans have retaken a national lead on the generic ballot.
• The House committee investigating the Capitol riot won’t give Donald Trump the chance to turn a possible live TV appearance of his subpoenaed testimony into a “circus” and “food fight.”
• Maybe at one point, divided government was a good thing to check executive power. But with Trump’s party, expect chaos, starting with a government shutdown, writes Washington columnist Doyle McManus.

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Californians struggle to pay for water during the drought

An estimated 13 million Californians living in low-income households are bearing the brunt of soaring water costs, experts say. Although the state has declared that all residents have a right to clean, safe and affordable drinking water, officials have yet to make good on that promise.

Recently, Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed legislation that would have required all California community water and wastewater systems to offer rate assistance to residential water customers. Newsom said the program lacked a source of funding. Meanwhile, water affordability advocates say the governor had vastly overestimated the cost of the program.

Across the state, water utility prices are escalating faster than other “big ticket” items such as college tuition or medical costs, according to experts.

Life and death row: A prison murder ripples through time

Jarvis Jay Masters says he knew little about the 1985 murder of correctional Sgt. Hal Burchfield. But then another inmate — his superior in the violent Black Guerrilla Family gang — ordered him to copy a set of notes detailing the deadly conspiracy. Those notes would become key pieces of evidence against him in a protracted murder trial where Masters was sentenced to death.

In November 2020, Masters appealed his conviction and sentence for the first time in federal court. A federal judge this month said he would issue a written decision in the case, which could come any day. For Masters, this is a final chance to convince the world he is not a monster deserving of death. For Burchfield’s children, it is a reminder of the most disruptive event of their young lives.

Attention on the case has recently surged because of the discrepancies in the evidence, but also thanks to Oprah Winfrey, who helped connect Masters with a new team of powerhouse pro bono attorneys and last month picked his 2009 autobiography.

A law could bring thousands of apartments to Santa Monica

Earlier this fall, a developer submitted plans for 4,500 apartments in Santa Monica — more new housing than the pricey, beachfront city has built in all of the previous decade.

And because of a little-used provision in state law that kicks in when cities fail to produce a housing plan to accommodate projected population growth, Santa Monica officials may be powerless to stop the construction.

The push for growth comes as Gov. Gavin Newsom and state legislators in recent years have passed laws eroding local controls over home-building, arguing that local resistance is a key reason behind California’s unprecedented housing shortage and high cost of living. In response, developers are becoming increasingly willing to challenge city officials.

Orcas have been spotted in a calving lagoon for gray whales

A deadly new threat may be on the horizon for gray whales — a species already suffering from a mysterious decline in population.

For the first time in known history, orcas have been observed in the grays’ Mexican refuge: the warm, shallow lagoons of the Baja Peninsula, where these 40-plus-foot leviathans go to calf, nurse and mate in peace. Until now, conservationists had considered the area a shelter from shipping, fishing gear and killer whales — the ocean’s apex predator.

According to reports from researchers and local fishermen, Laguna San Ignacio has been visited twice this year by orcas.

OUR MUST-READS FROM THE WEEKEND

Thousands of Iranian Americans and others, carrying a banner in the colors of the Iranian flag, march during a rally Saturday in downtown Los Angeles. The march started at Pershing Square and ended up at City Hall.

(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)

Thousands rally in downtown L.A. for a regime change in Iran. The march began in Pershing Square and ended at L.A. City Hall, with scores of protesters waving Iranian flags and holding icons of Mahsa Amini. Amini, 22, was arrested in Tehran by the morality police and accused of not correctly wearing her hijab, the head covering that is mandatory for women in Iran since the 1979 revolution. She died three days later.

Colombia, the world’s largest cocaine producer, faces a change in drug policy. President Gustavo Petro, Colombia’s first leftist president, has vowed not to return to the violent days of forcibly destroying the fields of small-time coca cultivators. The farmers, vowed Petro, will no longer be viewed as “criminals,” and the government plans to ramp up efforts to encourage producers to shift to alternative crops.

A sexual misconduct settlement could threaten #MeToo progress at California Capitol. Advocates worry the conclusion of a case involving former lawmaker Matt Dababneh and the California Assembly could threaten progress made during #MeToo. In 2020, a California judge tentatively ruled that Dababneh had a right to know the identities of the 52 witnesses who had participated in an investigation two years earlier into a sexual misconduct allegation against him.

CALIFORNIA

‘Kanye is right about the Jews’: More antisemitic hate seen in L.A. after rapper’s remarks. Fears that antisemitic remarks by Kanye West would spur additional bigotry came to fruition in Los Angeles when a well-known hate group held a demonstration in support of the embroiled rapper on a 405 Freeway overpass. Demonstrators gave Nazi salutes as they stood behind a large banner that read, “Kanye is right about the Jews,” according to images.

A court mostly upholds a verdict against activists behind the undercover Planned Parenthood videos. A federal court largely upheld a nearly $2.5-million jury verdict against a group of antiabortion activists who secretly recorded Planned Parenthood employees and later edited the videos to suggest the organization was illegally profiting off the sale of fetal tissue.

At least 20 burglaries in Huntington Beach are blamed on a South American gang. In each instance, the group was typically comprised of a “carload of two to five people,” police said. Several of them would participate in the burglaries, while at least one remained in the car to serve as a getaway driver. The burglars took cash and jewelry but there was no information on the value of the stolen item.

UC Berkeley hires a private security firm after a fatal shooting near campus stirs safety concerns. Reports of crime in and around the area since the start of the semester have shaken parents and students of the university. The three-person team began patrols Oct. 14 and will continue for at least one month as UC Berkeley ramps up its own security staffing, the university said in a statement.

NATION-WORLD

Xi Jinping was named to a third term as China’s leader, cementing his dominance. Xi, who took power in 2012, was awarded another five-year term as general secretary, discarding a party custom under which his predecessor left after 10 years. The 69-year-old leader is expected by some to try to stay in power for life.

Dive-bombing drones deployed by Russia in Ukraine cast a spotlight on Iran. Though their markings are in Russian and Moscow refers to them as the Geran-2, Pentagon officials, Ukrainians and observers say the weapons are Iranian-made Shahed-136s, nimble, so-called kamikaze drones (because they destroy themselves in the attack) that can travel thousands of miles before slamming into a target.

Rishi Sunak set to become U.K. prime minister after former leader Boris Johnson decides not to run. Sunak, 42, was runner-up after Liz Truss in this summer’s Tory leadership race to replace Johnson after he was forced out by a string of ethics scandals. Sunak emerged victorious Monday in a lightning-fast contest. He is the first person of color to hold the role.

HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS

Tim Burton suspects his Disney days are behind him: “I needed to escape.” The prolific director-producer revealed during a news conference at the Lumière Festival in Lyon, France, that he has become disillusioned with the House of Mouse and is unlikely to work with the studio on future projects, according to Deadline.

What the “Ticket to Paradise” box office opening says about the state of the rom-com. The Julia Roberts-George Clooney “Ticket to Paradise” propelled to a second-place finish behind the Dwayne Johnson superhero film “Black Adam” by the combined star power of seasoned rom-com vets. The stronger-than-expected result showed that, for romantic comedy fans, paradise may not be lost quite yet.

James Corden is out, Anne Hathaway is in. But the biggest hypocrite is us. Corden and Hathaway are both having moments. At first glance, they appear to be very different types of moments — Corden revealed as a jerk, Hathaway a hero — but they are really two sides of the same problem: the whims of a public that demands authenticity while too often accepting artifice.

BUSINESS

Boba Guys bubble tea chain faces worker unrest and social media backlash. “Join the boba revolution!” is the catchphrase for Boba Guys, but the revolution has gotten messy at the chain’s flagship store in San Francisco’s Mission District. Some employees pushed back over reduced working hours, began talking about forming a union and posted signs critical of management.

OPINION

Halloween’s Celtic roots are a lot spookier than witches and candy bars. On Samhain, a festival celebrated by ancient people, the lines between the Otherworld of the dead and the realm of the living were weakened.

The grocery chain wars prove that the modern supermarket model isn’t sustainable. The model for the first supermarket forces grocery stores to chase higher volume to fund cheaper prices. For chains like Kroger and Albertsons, this means growing bigger is your only chance at survival.

SPORTS

J.C. Jackson and Mike Williams were injured as the Seattle Seahawks halt the Chargers’ winning streak. The Chargers’ three-game winning streak sputtered to a halt in a 37-23 loss to the Seahawks at SoFi Stadium. J.C. Jackson was carted off with a knee injury and wide receiver Mike Williams needed to be helped off the field after sustaining an ankle injury. Chargers coach Brandon Staley described Jackson’s injury as “significant.”

The Lakers blow a late lead and stumble in the final seconds vs. the Portland Trail Blazers to remain winless. The Lakers blew an eight-point fourth quarter lead, as Damian Lillard and Jeremi Grant shot the Trail Blazers to a 106-104 win in Los Angeles. It’s the Lakers third straight loss to begin the season. The team plays the Nuggets in Denver on Wednesday.

Commentary: College football review: Are refs needling USC, Texas and other expansion defectors? Penalty disparities during recent Texas and USC losses call into question whether officiating is slanted against teams leaving for other conferences.

ONLY IN L.A.

Halloween costumes with car racing, western and alien themes are hung on the wall at Trashy Lingerie, which helped launch the “sexy Halloween industry.”

(Dania Maxwell/Los Angeles Times)

Los Angeles’ hottest private members club — with its annual fee of $2 and at times nudity — hides in plain sight on La Cienega Boulevard as the modest birthplace of Halloween’s sexy-costume-industrial complex. It’s Trashy Lingerie, the bawdy boutique that’s defined a Los Angeles aesthetic with its tailor-made lingerie and costumes and, in doing so, has seized a fierce trade loyalty.

In April, Trashy will celebrate 50 years at its original location, owned and run by the same family, with its goods designed and handmade in-house since the beginning.

Trashy has made some of pop culture’s most iconic looks, like the bunny suits for Reese Witherspoon in “Legally Blonde” and Renée Zellweger in “Bridget Jones’s Diary.” The store also has made looks for Pamela Anderson in “Barb Wire,” Emma Stone in “Easy A” and the Fembots in “Austin Powers,” as well as Madonna, Cher, Stevie Nicks, Ariana Grande and Teyana Taylor.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

Elton John received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Hollywood in 1975.

(Los Angeles Times)

This month marks 47 years since Elton John received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The star came a few days before his back-to-back concerts at Dodger Stadium, which are some of his most iconic performances. At the time, John was only the second musical act to perform at Dodger Stadium, nine years after the Beatles performed there in 1966.

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