Requiem for L.A. Times endorsements

Good morning, it’s Wednesday, June 17, and you can expect a morning of June gloom followed by sunshine in the high 70s.

The recent June primary doubled as an unlikely Southern California media milestone: It was the first modern election in which the Los Angeles Times provided no endorsements on the local candidates and measures on the ballot. 

The death of the paper’s once-vaunted endorsements received little in the way of public notice, but the disappearance has been acutely felt — and bemoaned — around town. The editorial board carried particular weight in down-ballot races where voters tend to know little, if anything, about the candidates. 

“I must have had 50 people email or text me saying, ‘What do I do with the judges?’” Rep. Laura Friedman (D-Burbank) told me, one of several lawmakers, political strategists and former L.A. Times staffers I spoke to.

In a new piece, I looked at how the L.A. Times endorsement process actually worked, why their research mattered and how the ensuing vacuum has altered L.A. politics. 

‘THE NEXT DETROIT’: Variety’s Gene Maddaus examines why film and T.V. productions are decamping from L.A. and how lawmakers can stanch the bleeding. The cover story notes: “Filming in L.A. has become sort of a cause du jour, like freeing Tibet or avoiding fur.”

DOG SHOOTING UPDATE: Activists are calling for the release of body-camera footage from the LAPD officer who fatally shot a dog over the weekend while responding to a call about a “screaming woman” at a Canoga Park apartment complex. The woman was celebrating the Knicks’ championship victory.

DATA MEETS FAST FASHION: L.A.-based teen clothing sensation Edikted spits out hyper-trendy designs based on what customers (or “babes”) are searching and posting, and whatever Hailey Bieber wears, the Wall Street Journal reports.

ZOO911: An L.A. County grand jury wants new management for the city-run L.A. Zoo, suggesting officials should create a public-private partnership, citing deterioration of the zoo’s facilities and rapidly declining membership, the L.A. Times reports. 

SILENCING DISSENT: Family members of a man who died while in the custody of Inglewood police said they had been banned from attending city council meetings for 120 days, the L.A. Local reports.

SHADOW OF ICE: A year after a slew of immigration raids upended life in Southern California and beyond, Golden State published podcast episodes and essays by USC students who followed families and activists adjusting to life under escalating immigration enforcement.

Noon Lodge in Big Bear Lake

Summer is here, and isn’t it time you owned your own getaway? This 15-room lakefront lodge is situated on nearly an acre, with a private multi-slip dock. It’s a little more than a mile from Big Bear Lake Village and has, per the listing, “one of the largest outdoor swimming pools in the area.” The rooms are a mix of studios, one-, two- and three-bedroom cabins, with bocce courts and multiple gas fire pits. The mountain retreat has great reviews on TripAdvisor and Expedia (“wonderfully quaint and relaxing”) and is listed for $3.8 million. 

AND FINALLY… A poem to pair with your morning coffee:  “[all the time I pray to Buddha]” by Kobayashi Issa, translated from the Japanese by Robert Hass. 

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