Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It's Sunday, March 3rd. I'm Andrew J. Kamba, your host. Here's what you need to know to start your weekend:
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As election season winds down, here's the Los Angeles Times' endorsement
There are many issues, actions and candidates on the 2024 presidential primary ballot, which also includes races for U.S. Senate and California congressional seats, and several local races and ballot measures.
The Times editorial board offers recommendations to help voters deliberate. These selections are based on interviews with candidates and independent reports. Tuesday is the last day to vote.
Yes, based on HLA measurement
At least 330 people will be killed in vehicle collisions in 2023. This is the highest number in 20 years and exceeds the number of homicides. Passage of the initiative forces Los Angeles leaders to enact their own mobility plan starting in 2015, which attempts to make the city's streets safer for everyone.
Adrienne Nazarian for City Council District 2
On the rookie front, Nazarian brings experience, having served as chief of staff to the man he is trying to replace, Paul Krikorian, for years. He is a thoughtful, collaborative leader who is willing to take on difficult and vulnerable issues, including when he served in the California Assembly.
Nithya Raman for City Council District 4
Raman has helped the homeless and people most at risk of homelessness by offering additional housing and services, while protecting against rising rents and evictions. It has also shifted duties such as traffic enforcement and nonviolent mental health crises from police to unarmed responders.
Imelda Padilla for City Council District 6
I served only six months. However, Padilla joined the City Council after establishing strong relationships with Pacoima Beautiful, the Women and Girls Initiative of Los Angeles County, the Los Angeles Coalition for a New Economy, and serving on the Sun Valley Area Neighborhood Council.
Marqueece Harris-Dawson for City Council District 8
He has attacked homelessness with temporary and permanent housing, including the development of 1,040 housing units for homeless people. He also has moved people from large tent camps in his district to hotels and motels through Mayor Karen Bass's Inside Safe program.
Eddie Anderson for City Council District 10
The appointed minister and activist has a vision for a safer, healthier, and more equitable region and the organizational skills to help create change. Anderson has a chance to bring stability to a district that has rotated three reps since 2020.
Serena Oberstein for City Council District 12
There are only two candidates in this race, and Oberstein, the CEO of a nonprofit and former chair of the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission, stands out. It represents a new vision for the northwest San Fernando Valley, ready for a sustainable and vibrant future.
Miguel Santiago for City Council District 14
During nearly a decade representing the district in the state Legislature, Santiago has demonstrated leadership and tenacity in tackling some of the issues most important to his constituents, including housing, homelessness and environmental justice. It will pay attention to an area where political leaders have often failed to deliver.
George Gascon for District Attorney
Gascon policies seek to impose appropriate sentences rather than longer sentences. This clever approach was such a departure from failed strategies that the MAGA right immediately distorted it into a false narrative that Gascón refuses to prosecute misdemeanors at all, and generally avoids prosecuting felonies.
Holly Mitchell for Board of Supervisors, District 2
Elected in 2020, Mitchell and her colleagues put together thoughtful spending of federal emergency aid to keep the county's most vulnerable residents, smallholders and businesses housed and fed, despite the disruption to the economy caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Janice Hahn for Board of Supervisors, District 4
Hahn and the board have moved away from building expensive new prisons in favor of allowing mental health care and other treatments. Her last eight years in Los Angeles County have been a race to get more treatment beds, more housing and more reentry services for people returning from jail, juvenile hall or seniors out of foster care without a place to live or adequate job skills.
Catherine Barger for Board of Supervisors, District 5
The district could face a financial bump in the road due to budget shortfalls, making Barger's decades of experience under former Superintendent Michael D. Antonovich key. It could walk the line between overspending and panic-cutting services to the county's most vulnerable residents.
Yes to proposition 1
When compared to the cost of doing nothing, Proposition 1 is an important step forward in fulfilling California's responsibility to our most vulnerable homeless people and those housing Californians with behavioral health issues who are most at risk of ending up on the street.
Adam B. Schiff for US Senate
There are three strong candidates: Barbara Lee, Katie Porter, and Schiff. However, he stands out for his extraordinary leadership over the past few years in helping to protect the country's institutions, the rule of law, and American democracy itself from former President Trump.
We have more on the Supreme Court races and Los Angeles Unified Board elections here.
Biggest stories of the week
(Kent Nishimura, Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Politics and elections
Civil and criminal courts
Rain, snow and water
More big stories
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First column
The First Column is the Times' home for narrative and long-form journalism. Here's a great piece from this week:
(Photo by Jim Cook/Los Angeles Times; Images via Getty Images)
While walking along trails that wind through oak forests in the hills of Palo Alto, a reporter was hit by a pungent, musky scent that made the hairs on her neck stand up. She didn't know if it was a mountain lion, but something in her brain told her to stop running, move slowly, and keep her wits about her. She wondered if vegetarians, like her and deer, smelled different than carnivores, like mountain lions and their friends.
More great reads
How can we make this leaflet more useful? Send comments to basiccalifornia@latimes.com.
For your weekend
(Courtesy of Judith Hernandez)
Out
stay in
👑 An adventure with Napoleon about his conquest of Europe as the blockbuster film of the same name was released on Apple TV on Friday. 🐟 Lucky Season 13 makes its debut for a team of anglers from Gloucester, Massachusetts, who are looking for their next big catch in “evil tuna.”🧑🍳 Los Angeles-area chef Christina Conti shares the history and recipe behind Election Cake.✏️ Get Crossword Games Free journaling, Sudoku, word searches and arcade games.
Los Angeles Affairs
Immerse yourself in tantalizing stories about dating, relationships and marriage.
(Carson McNamara/For The Times)
When he opened the door to his apartment, he felt something. The way the lock click echoed through the room was wrong. It was very resonant. Furniture usually absorbs sound. That's when he realized that his friend had left without telling him.
Have a great weekend, from the Essential California team
Andrew J. Campa, Reporter
Carols Lozano, News Editor
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