Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter . It’s Monday, Sept. 16, and here’s a quick look at the week ahead:

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Monday marks the premiere of Season 28 of “Dancing With the Stars,” with former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, who will face off against James Van Der Beek, the actor who played Dawson on “Dawson’s Creek,” and model Christie Brinkley, among others in the televised celebrity dance show.

On Tuesday, President Trump will be in California for several fundraisers, including events in the Bay Area and Los Angeles. (Per the Mercury News, the Bay Area voted against Trump by the highest margin of any large metro area in 2016, and his planned visit has been “cloaked in secrecy.” But protests are expected. The Los Angeles event will be hosted by Geoff Palmer, a real estate developer known for his faux-Italianate fortress-like apartment buildings, and for being one of Trump’s biggest donors.)


On Thursday, Apple will launch Arcade, its $5 monthly subscription to video games for iPhones and iPads.

The 71st Primetime Emmy Awards will air on Sunday.

And now, here’s what’s happening across California:

TOP STORIES


This year’s legislative session closed out with some theatrics in Sacramento, as a vaccine bill protester was arrested Friday after throwing red liquid (believed to be blood) on members of the California Senate from her seat in the visitor gallery. The last day of the session continued from Friday into the wee hours of Saturday morning.

Lawmakers tackled policing, environmental and labor rules in 2019. Will those fights last into 2020? Here’s Sacramento Bureau Chief John Myers’ end-of-session analysis. Los Angeles Times

The world is watching as California weighs a controversial plan to save tropical forests. This week, state officials will consider a proposal to protect these forests by steering billions of dollars to countries such as Brazil. The money would fund government efforts to fight deforestation and promote sustainable industries that don’t involve chopping down and burning trees. And it would come from companies that offset their own emissions by purchasing carbon credits through markets such as California’s cap-and-trade program. Los Angeles Times

L.A. STORIES


Pepe Aguilar’s show “Rodeo Without Borders” evokes old Mexico, with touches of L.A. Los Angeles Times

A tightly knit Jewish community in the San Fernando Valley is grappling with shock and grief this week, after a shooting that resulted in the deaths of three members of a Northridge family. Los Angeles Daily News

The Rams and Chargers’ future home in Inglewood now has a name: SoFi Stadium. Los Angeles Times

Steve Lopez’s latest column: “A homeless musician changed my life. I wish I could do more to change his.” Los Angeles Times


Plus, we all know that Los Angeles is the center of the cultural universe. From our arts and entertainment team, here’s the ultimate guide to things to do this fall, by category:



Your support helps us deliver the news that matters most. Subscribe to the Los Angeles Times .

IMMIGRATION AND THE BORDER

The nation’s immigration judges lost a key leader this week, the latest in a string of departures at the top of the system amid a backlog of cases and a migrant crisis at the southwestern border. New York Times

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT


California lawmakers tried to cut the cost of college. Here’s what they did — and didn’t — accomplish. LAist

The state Assembly’s keeper of rules and rituals calls it a career: E. Dotson Wilson, the longest-serving chief clerk in California history, has retired after 27 years. Los Angeles Times

E. Dotson Wilson, chief clerk of the California State Assembly, inside the assembly chamber in Sacramento. (Robert Gourley/Los Angeles Times)

Gov. Gavin Newsom plans to veto a bill passed by California lawmakers that would have allowed the state to keep strict Obama-era endangered species protections and water pumping restrictions for the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. Los Angeles Times


CRIME AND COURTS

Authorities say an 18-year-old man was killed in a shooting outside the Rose Bowl after the UCLA-Oklahoma game. Los Angeles Times

A small boat with 41 bales of marijuana was found on the Malibu shore Saturday morning. The boat, which had about 577 pounds of marijuana on board, was beached and abandoned. A helicopter crew was sent to search for people in distress, but none were reported. Los Angeles Daily News

This is the East Bay prison where Felicity Huffman wants to spend her sentence. East Bay Times


CALIFORNIA CULTURE

Goodbye, Haight Ashbury Music Center: The independent shop is closing after almost five decades in the face of higher rent and online competition. San Francisco Chronicle

San Francisco’s only deaf-owned and -operated pizza shop, Mozzeria, is expanding to D.C. The owners see their business as an example of how marginalized groups can create representation for themselves. San Francisco Chronicle

An unusual immersion course in homelessness aims to build law enforcement’s empathy in San Francisco’s Tenderloin. Los Angeles Times


An Oakland restaurant’s internal system for dealing with sexual harassment from customers has become a national model. Eater SF

In San Francisco’s North Beach, pasta, poetry and a big helping of uncertainty. Los Angeles Times

CALIFORNIA ALMANAC

Los Angeles: partly sunny, 83. San Diego: sunny, 77. San Francisco: rain, 70. San Jose: rain, 73. Sacramento: rain, 79. More weather is here.


AND FINALLY

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

Former Lakers coach Phil Jackson (Sept. 17, 1945), playwright and actor Anna Deavere Smith (Sept. 18, 1950), commentator Van Jones (Sept. 20, 1969), filmmaker Ethan Coen (Sept. 21, 1957), singer Joan Jett (Sept. 22, 1958) and former Dodgers Manager Tommy Lasorda (Sept. 22, 1927)

If you have a memory or story about the Golden State, share it with us. (Please keep your story to 100 words.)

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