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Newsletter: Essential California: What did USC know about its former med school dean?

USC reacted with shock to a Times story about drug use by the former medical school dean -- even though they’d received more than a year’s worth of inquiries on the matter. With his new director of communications, President Trump may finally have fo

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

TOP STORIES

What they knew and when they knew

The University of Southern California is taking steps to fire Dr. Carmen A. Puliafito, who served as dean of its medical school. It remains unclear when top USC officials first learned about the allegations involving Puliafito. But The Times made repeated inquiries over the last 15 months about him, in some cases describing information reporters had gathered about the dean. Los Angeles Times

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Plus: You can read the correspondence between USC and The Times here. Los Angeles Times

It’s never too early

The midterm elections are 18 months away, but early fundraising shows that there will be at least a dozen hotly contested congressional races in California next year. Many of the challengers recently filed their first financial reports, and political insiders and donors are looking closely for indicators of who has fundraising ability. A strong early fundraising figure can deter potential rivals or draw support from the national political parties. Weak fundraising can encourage new opponents to enter the race. Los Angeles Times

Scandal in the LAPD

A recent scandal involving cadets, stolen police cars and illicit sex has illuminated deficiencies in the cadet program and in how the LAPD keeps tabs on its cars and other equipment. Los Angeles Times

L.A. STORIES

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“As everyone knows, Los Angeles is always changing, and has been for the last few hundred years. Before Boyle Heights was predominantly Latino, it was home to people of Jewish, Russian, Japanese, Portuguese, Croatian and Serbian descent. Echo Park, Highland Park and the Arts District have been transformed, too. Displacement is real, with rising rents forcing mass movements of people across the city in a money-driven game of winners and losers, and I’ve written about that many times. But you can’t easily reverse the phenomenon, or have any real impact with a race-based rant against a small independent coffee shop that moves into a vacant storefront and is embraced — as far as I could tell — by merchants and neighbors.”

-- Times columnist Steve Lopez on gentrification, change and fear in Los Angeles. Los Angeles Times

Plus: Vandalism strikes a Boyle Heights coffeehouse again — and many residents are fed up. Los Angeles Times

Crackdown coming: Lowriders and other cars have turned out in force this summer for cruising events on Whittier Boulevard in East L.A., a reminder of decades past when motorists would congregate and traverse the boulevard. But history appears to be repeating itself — with officials looking once again to enforce cruise control. Los Angeles Times

Strong words: O.J. Simpson is a “sociopath, a narcissistic liar, a murderer, a thug, a kidnapper, a robber,” Fred Goldman says. Associated Press

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

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Revolutionaries: A father and son on two sides of California’s political and cultural extremes. New York Times

Major change: A measure to suspend and eventually repeal a widely reviled fire prevention fee levied on nearly 800,000 rural California properties has been approved by the Legislature. This change was offered as a bargaining chip by Democrats to entice Republicans to help pass an extension of the state’s cap-and-trade climate program. Los Angeles Times

Shedding their lab coats: In Orange County, Hans Keirstead is a pioneering stem cell researcher who is running to unseat GOP Rep. Dana Rohrabacher. He’s part of a national trend of scientists shedding their lab coats to run for office. Politico

Get ready: Next June’s statewide ballot will ask if cap-and-trade revenues collected from 2024 to 2030 should be subjected to a supermajority vote in both houses of the Legislature. If legislators fail to act, the money would sit in limbo. Los Angeles Times

Modesto mourns: Former California state Sen. Dave Cogdill, who paid a political price for his role in ending the 2009 budget crisis, died Sunday morning after battling pancreatic cancer, his family said. He was 66. Los Angeles Times

CRIME AND COURTS

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Death in jail: The Orange County district attorney’s office is investigating the jailhouse death of a 27-year-old man convicted of car theft who was sharing a cell with a man charged with two murders. Los Angeles Times

Arrest made: A man accused of sexual assaults in the heart of the Beverly Hills shopping district was arrested Friday night, authorities said. Los Angeles Times

Shooting near school: Los Angeles Unified School District police officers shot and wounded a man holding a knife early Saturday morning near Esperanza Elementary School in Westlake, authorities said. Los Angeles Times

THE ENVIRONMENT

Shark! A surfer’s sighting of a shark estimated to be longer than 10 feet prompted lifeguards to issue an advisory at Coronado’s Silver Strand State Beach on Saturday. Los Angeles Times

Tiny earthquakes: Hundreds of tiny earthquakes have hit the Mammoth Lakes area in California’s Eastern Sierra in recent days, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Los Angeles Times

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CALIFORNIA CULTURE

Major changes afoot: Tim Blake is a longtime cannabis grower and entrepreneur. His Healing Harvest farm produces top-quality product, and he owns Area 101, an iconic dispensary and gathering spot just off Highway 101 near tiny Laytonville, about three hours north of San Francisco. Blake is happy about the growing acceptance of marijuana, but also recalls fondly a more paranoid, more profitable way of life. Los Angeles Times

Campus controversy: Claremont McKenna College has suspended three students for a year and two others for a semester for blocking access to a campus event to protest a speaker known for defending police against Black Lives Matter activists. Los Angeles Times

Eichlerville: These modern homes were built to be affordable. Now they are going for millions. Mercury News

Out and about: Go hiking above the roar and mist of McCloud Falls in Northern California. Los Angeles Times

Cool HQs: From California to London, technology giants like Facebook, Apple and Google are employing top architects to build spectacular symbols of their immense global power. The Guardian

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CALIFORNIA ALMANAC

Los Angeles area: partly cloudy Monday, sunny Tuesday. San Diego: partly cloudy Monday and Tuesday. San Francisco area: partly cloudy Monday, sunny Tuesday. Sacramento: sunny Monday and Tuesday. More weather is here.

AND FINALLY

This week’s birthdays for those who made a mark in California:

City Councilman

Mitchell Englander (July 25,1970),

Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong (July 29, 1952) and Rep. Jeff Denham (July 29, 1967).

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.

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