Newsletter: Essential California: Who is spending big to help decide who’s your next D.A.?

Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It’s Thursday, May 24, and here’s what’s happening across California:

TOP STORIES

In most district attorney elections, the campaign playbook is clear: Win over the local cops and talk tough on crime. But in California this year, the strategy is being turned on its head. Wealthy donors are spending millions of dollars to back would-be prosecutors who want to reduce incarceration, crack down on police misconduct and revamp a bail system they contend unfairly imprisons poor people before trial. Los Angeles Times

The latest on USC

As more women come forward, some are saying they complained about former USC gynecologist George Tyndall’s behavior as far back as 1991. But Tyndall continued to see patients, and they say they are frustrated that their warnings were not heeded. Los Angeles Times

— Cate Guggino was a patient of Tyndall. She writes that the pelvic exam he gave her was anything but normal. Los Angeles Times

— The Times Editorial Board is calling for the school’s President C.L. Max Nikias to resign after this latest scandal. Los Angeles Times

— Columnist Robin Abcarian writes that it’s time for the school’s female trustees to speak up and hold Nikias accountable. Los Angeles Times

Those dang scooters!

Scooter rental start-up Bird wants customers to know its electric gadgets are not toys. It has produced educational videos and in-app notices to remind people to ride safely. It has given away helmets to anyone who wants one. And before a customer can even unlock a scooter, he or she has to agree to follow the rules of the road. Still, many riders aren’t getting the message. Los Angeles Times

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L.A. STORIES

Wow! Southern California’s median home price has his a new record: $520,000. Los Angeles Times

Rough times ahead? SpaceX on Tuesday blasted six small commercial satellites to low-Earth orbit. It was the company’s 10th launch this year — but the payload itself may be a sign of what’s to come. Los Angeles Times

Time’s up: “A Long Beach hotel workers union submitted 46,000 signatures to the city clerk Tuesday for a ballot initiative boosting overtime pay for housekeepers and mandating panic buttons to protect against sexual harassment and assault.” Orange County Register

IMMIGRATION AND THE BORDER

A slow process: “The nation’s chronically overburdened immigration courts are becoming even more crowded as a wave of undocumented immigrants enters the system and fewer are able to exit it.” Wall Street Journal

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Poll results: California has a message for its presidential wannabes: Don’t quit that day job! Los Angeles Times

Shifting sands: Sen. Dianne Feinstein built one of California’s most successful political brands by standing up to her party’s liberal wing. Now, though, she is moving left and opposes the death penalty. Los Angeles Times

More oversight: University of California regents this week plan to scrutinize the budget of President Janet Napolitano, whose office came under political fire last year for questionable spending and murky accounting. Los Angeles Times

Scoop! Republican billionaire Meg Whitman, who spent $144 million of her own money on her unsuccessful gubernatorial bid in 2010, is backing Democrat Antonio Villaraigosa’s campaign for governor this year. Los Angeles Times

A yacht, cocaine, prostitutes: A winery partly owned by Rep. Devin Nunes was sued last year after an allegedly raucous fundraiser event. Fresno Bee

CRIME AND COURTS

Major indictment: Federal authorities on Wednesday unveiled a sweeping investigation into the Mexican Mafia and the control the criminal organization wields inside Los Angeles County jails, arresting dozens of the groups’ members and associates for a litany of crimes. Los Angeles Times

Three dead: Los Angeles police were searching for a “material witness” Wednesday after the bodies of three people were found in a home in Leimert Park the night before, authorities said. Los Angeles Times

What is happening?! “Serious allegations” have been raised against the father and son who operate the popular but polarizing Crossroads of the West Gun Show at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, the president of the fairgrounds board of directors said. San Diego Union-Tribune

Sad story: A Petaluma man who said he helped his wife hang herself this year, tying a rope around a tree on the Sonoma Coast, can be tried on felony voluntary manslaughter and aiding-suicide charges. Press Democrat

THE ENVIRONMENT

The pipes: “Nestlé’s continued piping of water out of the San Bernardino Mountains has become an issue in a congressional campaign.” Desert Sun

CALIFORNIA CULTURE

In Venice: At a moment when Trump wants to build a wall, the U.S. pavilion at the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale will look at issues of citizenship and the border — and the ways in which it remains incredibly porous. Included in the show, which features high-profile architects from all over the U.S., are San Diego designers Teddy Cruz and Fonna Forman, who teach at UC San Diego. They are advocating for new ways to think about the border: not as a line, but as a region. Los Angeles Times

The Doc is staying: Coach Doc Rivers and the Clippers have agreed to a contract extension that will keep him as head coach beyond next season. Los Angeles Times

The letter: “This UC Santa Cruz professor was accused of sexual harassment for years. Then an anonymous online letter did what whispers couldn’t.” BuzzFeed

Wild story: “Being alive is one thing. Persuading the U.S. government that you are alive when it disagrees is something else.” Just ask 111-year-old Lucy Mirigian. San Francisco Chronicle

Woof: Meet the dogs of downtown Los Angeles. Los Angeles Downton News

CALIFORNIA ALMANAC

Los Angeles area: partly cloudy, 68, Thursday; partly cloudy, 67, Friday. San Diego: partly cloudy, 67, Thursday; partly cloudy, 68, Friday. San Francisco area: partly cloudy, 60, Thursday; cloudy, 60, Friday. Sacramento: partly cloudy, 74, Thursday; showers, 67, Friday. More weather is here.

AND FINALLY

Today’s California memory comes from Paula Hauer:

“I was born in Pomona, the fourth of four children. Our dad was from Missouri and wanted us to experience living more in the ‘outdoors,’ so he bought a cabin in Mount Baldy and parked us there for a year. He made the commute to Pomona while we attended a one-room schoolhouse, all four of us in one room! After school we would hike and play in the hills and streams of Mount Baldy. Barefoot most of the time, we never worried about being alone or away from our folks. It was a beautiful existence while it lasted. Unfortunately it wasn’t the best education result for my older siblings, and we returned to Pomona the next year to our home and the more advanced education it offered.”

If you have a memory or story about the Golden State, share it with us. Send us an email to let us know what you love or fondly remember about our state. (Please keep your story to 100 words.)

Please let us know what we can do to make this newsletter more useful to you. Send comments, complaints and ideas to Benjamin Oreskes and Shelby Grad. Also follow them on Twitter @boreskes and @shelbygrad.