Sorry about the weather

Good morning, it’s Tuesday, June 30 and you can expect a cloudy morning (mid 70s). 

The German language is famously good at naming the fantastically specific. 

The language bursts with compound words that capture particular psychological states or nuanced situations — single words that require a whole sentence in English to get one’s point across. 

There are the big ones that have made their way into English usage, like schadenfreude (the pleasure derived from someone else’s pain) or wanderlust (the strong desire to wander or travel). But there are also plenty of other magnificent terms that have yet to become English loanwords, like verschlimmbessern (making something worse while trying to improve it), waldeinsamkeit (the feeling of being alone in the woods), kummerspeck (literally “grief bacon,” or the weight gained from emotional overeating) and kopfkino (literally “head cinema,” or the playing out of scenarios in your head like a movie). 

Every now and then, you encounter a feeling so specific and universal that it, too, deserves its own German word. That’s how I felt when I read L.A. Material contributor Anna Holmes’ new story about the strange pressure Angelenos feel to deliver perfect weather when they have visitors in town. 

Surely, you know the feeling: You never explicitly promised balmy sunshine when your friends booked a trip from some lesser clime. But it does feel implied. Then the forecast suddenly turns, and you’re left not just chauffeuring an out-of-towner who thinks dinner downtown is reasonable after a day in Venice, but also feeling personally responsible for June Gloom (or November rain).

NEWSOM’S LAST BUDGET: Gov. Gavin Newsom signed his final budget as governor Monday — a $351.7-billion spending plan which takes effect July 1. Education and Medi-Cal are the two largest costs for the state, the L.A. Times reports.

SEE YOU IN COURT: LAHSA filed a lawsuit against the federal government Monday, asking a judge to block the Trump administration from suspending funding for L.A.’s embattled homelessness agency.

VOTES IN THE MAIL: The Supreme Court ruled that states can continue counting ballots postmarked by Election Day that arrive after, much to the relief of California officials who cheered the ruling as a win for voters. 

A NEW FOOD TOUR: L.A. Taco profiles Daisy Miles, a South Central native who leads food tours of Black Los Angeles. 

PELOSI’S NEXT ACT: Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will launch a namesake institute at UC Berkeley focused on strengthening Democratic institutions after she leaves Congress. 

NEED NEW HOME DECOR? A big Hollywood prop house is having an auction and I am personally partial to the old payphone (current bid: $45), this Hollywood painting (current bid: $38.97), these strangely haunting portraits (current bid: $1.46) and this “untested” vintage TV (current bid: $1). Though you might prefer the busts of Vladimir Lenin (current bid: $1) or this giant framed portrait of Bill and Hillary Clinton dancing (current bid: $0).

A tiny Highland Park bungalow with native gardens

At just 835 square feet, this two-bedroom, three-bath house is decidedly cozy, but also bright and charming. It’s in the hills of Highland Park with a host of fruit trees and “your own private pollinator garden courtesy of the Theodore Payne Foundation,” per the listing. There’s also a small, detached studio. It’s listed at $869,000.  

AND FINALLY… A poem to pair with your morning coffee: “Ripe Cherries” by Athena Kildegaard.

Mea culpa: The week ahead section of yesterday’s newsletter erroneously referred to a drone show at Hansen Dam as being on Saturday; it was last week.

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