WESTERVILLE, Ohio  — 

Here’s the dirty little secret of covering a debate: Most of the reporters who travel hundreds of miles to write about them will never get into the actual debate room.

Tuesday marks the fourth presidential primary Democratic debate of the 2020 campaign. The 12 qualifying candidates will share the most crowded stage yet — at Otterbein University, a central Ohio liberal arts campus of brick buildings and shady trees that are now turning various shades of orange and red. The first two debates, which featured 20 candidates, were spread across two nights. The third was limited to 10 candidates.

Almost all of the working press here is siloed in a gymnasium filled with televisions blaring CNN, promotional banners strewn along the rafters, American flags, laptop computers, chattering reporters and brightly lit human cubby spaces used for televised live shots. This gym doubles as the spin room, a space for campaigns and candidates to assure reporters that this debate will make them the front-runner or to insist that their various gaffes won’t sink their chances of becoming president.

The actual debate is next door in a small, heavily secured arena. Media were allowed a brief tour but only if they could get through security at the designated touring time, hours before the debate was set to begin.

Logistics for these events are dizzying and impressive. The more bucolic the setting, the more bizarre the transformation — a phalanx of coastal media descending on a quiet Midwestern university. In the hours before the debate, many reporters file stories, eat snacks and schmooze with pollsters and political operatives. But there is also a sizable number of reporters filming “behind the scenes” segments — that show reporters typing stories, eating snacks and schmoozing sources.

Otterbein University has been turned into a fortress, with law enforcement officials restricting cars to far-off parking lots accessible by shuttle. A few local residents who made it on campus Tuesday took selfies next to one of the red CNN sculptures that was placed outside the arena.

Most of the students are on fall break but a few members of the women’s soccer team practiced on the field earlier Tuesday, behind a set of CNN tents. One of their practice goals had one of the three-dimensional CNN logos tucked behind it, a triumph in branding.

Debate organizers and television networks are well practiced at building these remote studios. But the bigger challenge will come when the debate begins, with 12 candidates vying for attention. It will be up to moderators from co-sponsors CNN and the New York Times to maintain a coherent narrative.

The rest of us will be watching from next door — eating snacks, texting sources and typing stories.

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Twelve candidates. One stage. Meet the dozen who are vying for precious seconds in the spotlight:

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii momentarily considered boycotting the debate to protest what she called “rigging” of the primary contest, but changed her mind and is appearing onstage in Ohio.

California billionaire Tom Steyer spent millions of dollars to qualify for Tuesday’s debate. The question is whether the former hedge fund manager and first-time candidate is prepared for his first face-off with his Democratic rivals.

New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker has repeatedly turned in warmly received debate performances that did nothing to improve his standing in the polls. Can he shake that pattern tonight?

California Sen. Kamala Harris had one of the strongest nights of her campaign during the first Democratic debate, when she laced into front-runner Joe Biden, but she has failed to replicate the moment.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is making his first major public appearance since suffering a heart attack on the campaign trail this month.

Former Vice President Joe Biden takes the debate stage as he faces a barrage of unsubstantiated attacks from President Trump, whose request to Ukraine that it investigate Biden and his son has sparked a formal impeachment inquiry of Trump.

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who continues to surge in the polls, just took on Facebook by deliberately posting an ad with a falsehood about the company, its founder and President Trump to challenge the social media giant’s rules allowing the publication of misinformation.

South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg may have been previewing his debate strategy in a recent interview when he slashed at Warren over her pledge to forgo big-dollar fundraising, and former Rep. Beto O’Rourke over his proposal for a mandatory buyback of assault weapons.

Entrepreneur Andrew Yang and his universal basic income proposal continue to poll better than several of his better-known rivals. If debate viewers have to take a shot every time he brings up his proposed $1,000 “freedom dividend,” they will likely be plastered by halftime.

Former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke‘s revamped campaign focuses heavily on guns in the aftermath of mass shootings in El Paso and the Midland-Odessa area. And cursing. Lots and lots of cursing.

Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar has been criticizing the proposals of her most liberal rivals as she campaigns in the Midwestern states that she argues she could return to the Democrats’ column if she is their nominee.

Former Housing Secretary Julián Castro recently escorted a group of asylum seekers across a border bridge to Texas from Mexico, where they had been sent under the Trump administration’s “Remain in Mexico” policy.

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When the Clippers’ starters lined up for the opening tip Tuesday, Montrezl Harrell and Lou Williams were among them.

It was only an intrasquad scrimmage at an open practice held at USC’s Galen Center, but coach Doc Rivers is considering moving the pair from the bench, where they were two of the NBA’s best reserves last season, into the starting lineup at times during the season.

“This summer one of our sales pitches was, we already have our bench, we need a starting lineup,” Rivers said. “Now if you add Paul [George] and Kawhi [Leonard], now we have a starting lineup so maybe we can keep our bench intact.

“Having said that, I will not be surprised if I did use Lou as a starter for some games. Him and Trez, even, because you do still want to keep them together.”

Playing Harrell and Williams together would be nothing new, but doing so with the starters would be a change from the way the Clippers used them as super subs last season. The team outscored opponents by 4.3 points per 100 possessions last season when both Harrell and Williams were on the floor, the seventh-best rating among all Clippers combinations that played at least 500 minutes together.

The NBA’s all-time scoring leader off the bench and a three-time sixth man of the year, Williams started once last season. Harrell did it five times.

One impediment to starting Harrell more often is his 6-foot-8, 240-pound frame that is undersized against most, if not all, starting centers. That discrepancy often led to foul trouble early in his starts, as opponents attempted to back him down from the opening tip. Rivers doesn’t yet have a conclusive answer as to whether Harrell can play physically while fouling less. Rivers is not satisfied with the entire roster’s progress in that department so far.

“That’s something that we just have to get better at,” he said.

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The Clippers’ lineups to begin the season will likely change because George isn’t expected to make his debut until November as he recovers from offseason shoulder surgeries. George took part in three-on-three games before Tuesday’s practice but stayed on the sideline during the full scrimmage. The only other player to sit out the scrimmage was guard Rodney McGruder, who sustained an ankle injury Oct. 8 and is not expected to play Thursday when the Clippers finish their preseason against Dallas in Vancouver.

Upon George’s return, Rivers envisions employing a “sliding” lineup in which only Leonard and George are guaranteed to start.

“We’re gonna try to keep as much shooting on the floor with [Leonard] so teams can’t help,” Rivers said. “We will try to keep one roller on the floor with him so that guy is going down the middle of the paint and he’s creating help. We don’t have to make it that difficult.”

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Only Orlando’s Nikola Vucevic and Utah’s Rudy Gobert scored more points last season than Harrell as the roll man out of pick-and-roll sets, per Synergy Sports. Harrell made nearly 69% of his field goals from those scenarios. Williams ranked fifth in scoring last season among all pick-and-roll ballhandlers.

“You look at a lineup of Paul, Kawhi, Lou, Trez, and we always say ‘pick ‘em’ [for the fifth starter] if you want to be big or small, you could go a lot of different ways,” Rivers said.

Rivers speaks out

Asked again about the tensions between the NBA and China, sparked by Houston general manager Daryl Morey’s Oct. 4 tweet supporting pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong, Rivers said Morey “was right in saying that, but there’s consequences to every action, as well. I’ve been saying that.”

Morey’s since-deleted tweet read, “Fight for freedom. Stand with Hong Kong.” Through a Clippers spokesman, Rivers later clarified that he was supporting Morey’s right to express himself.

Rivers’ latest foray into the issue came the same day that Hong Kong protesters burned the jersey of Lakers star LeBron James, who had said Monday that Morey was “misinformed” when he sent the tweet.

One minute remained in South Bend, and Fighting Irish defenders stood stacked at the goal line, but Markese Stepp made his intentions clear to his quarterback. He wanted the ball.

“He was fired up,” Kedon Slovis recalled of the USC running back. “The box is loaded, and we gave it to him, anyway.”

In his anticipated return to the state of Indiana, Stepp wasn’t going to miss an opportunity to punch in that score, even if it was ultimately for naught in USC’s loss. But now, with Vavae Malepeai out for the foreseeable future following knee surgery Tuesday, there should be plenty more where that came from.

Stepp is expected to split carries with junior all-purpose back Stephen Carr going forward. But considering Carr’s skill set, it’s likely Stepp takes the lion’s share of work between the tackles and in short yardage. With more than 14 touches per game to replace in Malepeai’s absence, his role could expand substantially.

How those carries will actually be split is to be determined. Neither Carr nor Stepp has carried much of a load in their collegiate careers.

Carr probably will play more in passing situations, but he hasn’t received more than nine carries in any game this year. Only once in three seasons has he had more than 14.

Stepp has double-digit carries in each of his past two games, but he acknowledged he was winded at times Saturday. The extra work, he says, has helped him find a groove over that stretch, as he’s averaging nearly eight yards per rush.

“The more carries any running back gets, the better rhythm they get,” Stepp said.

Establishing that rhythm moving forward will be crucial for an offense that’s turned to the ground more than expected recently as opposing defenses drop eight into coverage on a week-to-week basis. Those light fronts should continue Saturday against Arizona, which could use the extra defensive backs to help bolster a pass defense that ranks 11th in the Pac-12.

As such, offensive coordinator Graham Harrell said the Trojans planned to use Stepp and Carr “just like we did with Carr and Vae early on.” Over the first three games, Malepeai carried the ball 56 times.

“When they’re fresh, we’ve got two pretty special backs playing there,” Harrell said. “If they get a little gassed, we’ll figure it out.”

As far as Stepp is concerned, he can carry the ball more than he has thus far.

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“Whatever the coaches give me, I think I’ll be able to handle it,” Stepp said. “We’re all going to have to step up.”

Injury updates

After returning to health during its week off, USC’s defense gutted through injuries as best it could last week against Notre Dame, as linebacker Palaie Gaoteote and cornerbacks Olaijah Griffin, Isaac Taylor-Stuart, and Greg Johnson all played through pain down the stretch.

None of those four practiced Tuesday, and it’s possible that none will be available when USC takes on Arizona.

Gaoteote is “doubtful” with a high ankle sprain, coach Clay Helton said, and given the lingering nature of the injury, it could keep the linebacker out longer than this week. Without him, Kauni Mauga will step into a significant rotation role.

Greg Johnson, the starter at nickel corner, injured his shoulder against Notre Dame and was ruled out by Helton on Tuesday. He could face an extended absence, as Helton said he “needs time for rehab.”

The status of USC’s two starting outside corners, Griffin and Taylor-Stuart, is less certain. Griffin aggravated the lower back injury and bulging disk that held him out against Washington. Taylor-Stuart has a high ankle sprain, which Helton said was further along than the one suffered by Gaoteote.

USC had some hope that senior captain Jordan Iosefa might return this week to bolster the linebacking corps. But Helton said he expects Iosefa to continue sitting out.

For much of the last week, Todd McLellan has been coaching on the fly.

Such is the reality of the Kings’ early-season schedule, which subjected the team to an awkward seven-day break between the end of the preseason and start of the regular season, then consecutive games twice in the first week.

“We felt like we fell behind, then we felt like we were rushed,” McLellan, the team’s first-year coach, said ahead of the Kings’ game with the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday. “In my mind, we’ve played four games with one practice. Tonight will be the fifth still with a single practice.”

The side effects were felt in a 2-0 loss to the Hurricanes at Staples Center.

The Kings started brightly, recording the game’s first eight shots and drawing two early Hurricanes penalties. But they couldn’t take advantage of either. Then, the momentum flipped.

Over a 13-minute stretch between the first and second periods, the Kings went to the box three times. Their penalty kill held serve, offering optimistic signs of improvement after entering the game with a league-worst 56.3% success rate. Jack Campbell made several impressive stops, including an extended left-pad kick save to turn away a close-range chance shot from Jordan Staal.

“Our PK was excellent,” Campbell said. “Guys were sacrificing. We had a meeting today about it, and guys weren’t blinking an eye. They just went straight out and executed. That’s what we need.”

Still, a Hurricanes team that followed its run to last season’s Eastern Conference finals by winning five of its first six games this season tilted the ice. For most of the second period, they zipped the puck around in the Kings’ end. Finally, they broke through.

As winger Ryan Dzingel froze Kings defenders from behind the net, linemate Martin Necas sneaked into the slot uncovered. Dzingel passed the puck through traffic to Necas, who snapped a one-timer into the net.

The Kings didn’t offer much of a response. After tallying 17 shots in the first period, they recorded only three in the second. They squandered a short-lived power-play chance before the second intermission, turning the puck over in the offensive zone twice before a Drew Doughty interference call made it four on four.

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The Kings’ best opportunities in the third period came on the power play. On the first man advantage, with less than six minutes remaining, Dustin Brown had a deflection skip just wide of the post and Sean Walker had a high wrist shot from the middle of the ice turned aside by Petr Mrazek.

Mrazek, who stopped 31 shots, was called into action again in the final minute after Staal was sent to the box for boarding Doughty, who had to leave the game. McLellan said Doughty felt fine after the game.

Walker and Jeff Carter fired pucks at Mrazek in the final moments, but to no avail. With six seconds left, Teuvo Teravainen scored an empty-netter to seal the victory.

“They capitalized on one of our mistakes. We failed to do that on a couple of theirs,” McLellan said. “We didn’t handle [the Hurricanes’ pressure] well. The puck was too far away. We didn’t make clean plays. We didn’t get shots through to the goaltender. They were fronted.”

During the season’s first five games, the rebuilding Kings had been nothing if not entertaining. Before Tuesday, only Toronto and Winnipeg had combined for more goals scored and given up than the Kings, and each had played at least seven games. They were averaging the second-most shots (37.4) and had yet to be involved in a scoreless period.

As the Kings prepared to face the Hurricanes, the expectation was for more of the same.

“We were disappointed in the result,” McLellan said. “But when I look at the game, I thought it was very tightly contested, a battle for every inch.”

NEW YORK — 

Shortly after Game 3 of the American League Championship Series had ended, the Houson Astros went about their usual postgame routine, changing, packing their things, and talking to reporters, before heading for the team bus. As they milled about, a few of them glanced up at the TVs mounted on the ceilings. They had been tuned to Game 4 of the NLCS, being played in Washington, where the Nationals had taken a 7-0 lead over the St. Louis Cardinals in the first inning.

It appeared Washington would be heading toward a sweep, whereas the ALCS had been relatively close through three games. Houston led the series two games to one, thanks to an 11th-inning, walk-off home run in Game 2 and Gerrit Cole’s strong effort in Game 3. It felt as if they might be in for a long series.

The Nationals could have a lot of downtime, one Astro remarked.

If that weren’t enough, it seemed as if the ALCS schedule might be disrupted, too. Rain was forecast for Wednesday night, which meant rumblings about Game 4 being pushed back to Thursday.

“I’ve never really had [a rainout] in the playoffs,” said Astros outfielder George Springer, who’s played 40 postseason games with the Astros since 2015. “So I don’t really know. Guess we’ll find out.”

A rainout could change the dynamic of the series. Both teams been expected to use Game 4 as a so-called bullpen day, mixing and matching relievers instead of using a traditional starting pitcher. If Game 4 were pushed back to Thursday, both teams could theoretically use their Game 1 starters — Zack Greinke and Masahiro Tanaka — on regular rest. They could also use their Game 2 starters — Justin Verlander and James Paxton — on regular rest for Game 5.

The Astros have been riding their starting pitching all postseason, the trio of Greinke, Cole and Justin Verlander. In this series, they’ve combined to pitch 19 2/3 innings, strike out 20 batters, and hold New York to five runs.

For the Yankees, a rainout could also give them time to diagnose what’s wrong with their offense, before they face the Astros’ starters again. After exploding for seven runs in Game 1, New York has scored three runs over the last 20 innings. On Tuesday, the Yankees appeared poised to break the game open several times against Cole, one of the the Astros’ Cy Young Award candidates. But he shut them down each time.

In the first inning, Didi Gregorius grounded out with the bases loaded. In the second inning, Aaron Judge struck out swinging with two runners on. And in the fourth inning, DJ LeMahieu flied out to center field, stranding two runners again.

Even after all those missed chances, the Yankees still had hope, when they put two runners on again, with two outs in the fifth inning. As Gregorius came to bat, the crowd rose to its feet and chanted his name. At the time, the Astros led 2-0. One good swing would give the Yankees the lead.

Cole threw a fastball about belt-high and Gregorius pulled a high fly ball toward the short porch in right field. From the dugout, Yankees manager Aaron Boone was willing the ball out.

“But I also knew he got under it and hit it high,” Boone said.

Josh Reddick, the Astros’ right fielder, settled under the ball at the warning track. Just above Reddick, a Yankees fan banged on the outfield wall and screamed in frustration. In the end, the Yankees stranded nine runners and went 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position. Gleyber Torres hit a solo home run to avoid a shutout. The Astros won 4-1.

“We weren’t able to break through,” Boone said. “We weren’t able to get that hit tonight to really allow us to be in that game or even grab a lead at some point.”

Mosquitoes collected in Anaheim and Westminster have tested positive for St. Louis encephalitis — the first occurrence in those cities in three decades, Orange County officials announced Tuesday.

The mosquitoes were collected late last week along Old Bolsa Chica Road in Westminster and near Dale and Orange avenues in Anaheim, according to Heather Hyland of the Orange County Mosquito and Vector Control District.

The last time any St. Louis encephalitis-positive mosquitoes were found in those areas was 1987, according to the district. Mosquitoes testing positive for the virus
were found in 2017 near the vector control offices in Garden Grove, the agency said.

Most people bitten by a St. Louis encephalitis-infected mosquito do not become ill, but those who do will experience symptoms such as fever, headache, nausea, vomiting and fatigue. Older adults can experience inflammation of the brain, and in rare cases a person can sustain a long-term disability or die.

The last time anyone in Orange County was afflicted with
the virus was in the fall of 1984. There were six positive samples St. Louis encephalitis in mosquitoes from 1984 through 1987 in the county.

Vector control officials encouraged residents to dump any standing water around their homes to stymie breeding grounds for the insects.

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Authorities are investigating a possible homicide in the Hope Ranch residential community in Santa Barbara County.

The incident occurred in the 4100 block of Mariposa Drive.

An online records search indicated that it may be the home of former “Tarzan” actor Ron Ely.

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KABC-TV Channel 7 said in a tweet that the victim was a woman.

No further details were immediately available.

Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It’s Wednesday, Oct. 16, and I’m writing from Los Angeles.

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Lucy Jones, the high priestess of seismic science, issued her tweet a little more than 20 minutes after the magnitude 4.7 earthquake hit Central California on Tuesday afternoon.

“Today’s M4.8 near Hollister is too far from yesterday’s M4.5 to be connected,” she wrote, referencing the slightly smaller temblor that had rattled the Bay Area late Monday night. So much for trying to calm one’s nerves with a balm of aftershock inevitability, or make sense of the shaking ground with any narrative through-line from one earthquake to the next.

Neither quake caused any serious damage. But the ground visibly shaking in parts of the state less than a week after mass blackouts and major wildfires is certainly a reminder of the general precariousness of life in California, as well as the specific seismic forces that put the East Bay at high risk of a major earthquake.

This is, of course, nothing new. You live here and know full well what you signed up for, which is nothing short of a potential litany of bad things in biblical proportions. (“Follow the links to more information about a specific disaster,” an official webpage for the state department of public health helpfully explains, before going on to say, in nicely organized, paragraph-long sections, how earthquakes, floods, wildfires, landslides, tsunamis, power outages and extreme heat might come to ravage the state, respectively.)

Don’t worry, I won’t waste your time with any blathering about disasters and the unsteady California psyche, or offer bargain-rate poetry on paradise in perpetual destruction. (It’s all already been said, and better, many times before.) But the fact is, disasters have shaped the state — both physically and culturally — throughout our history.

And the only real certainty of California living is that they will continue to do so. All we can do is prepare and respond.

I have been revisiting a really smart story by my colleague Melanie Mason, written in the lead-up to the most recent gubernatorial election, about how the legacies of California governors are often shaped by natural disasters. She quotes former Gov. Gray Davis, who faced an unexpected power crisis while in office. ”A governor should expect that his agenda is going to be interrupted at some point by natural or manmade disaster. It’s just going to happen,” Davis tells her.

[Read the story: “Natural disaster is inevitable in California. And it can define a governor’s legacy” in the Los Angeles Times]

“How a state’s chief executive responds when calamity strikes often makes it into the history books,” Mason continues. But that response isn’t just confined to the camera-ready aftermath, when a governor shows up in a windbreaker to tour the ravaged landscape and promise to rebuild.

“The choices a governor makes ahead of disaster are no less consequential — and often present high political risk with little payoff,” Mason continues, citing a professor of political science who says that governors tend to get more public reward for crisis response than disaster preparedness.

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s response to the PG&E blackouts brought an early test with, as Politico put it, “the shadow of Gray Davis” looming over him. It was arguably a largely unwinnable political situation, and Newsom changed course as public anger at the utility steeped to a boiling point. His well-staged excoriation of PG&E came, as Sacramento reporter Taryn Luna noted in her story, more than 36 hours after the blackouts began and struck a different tone than the message he delivered just a day earlier.

[Read the story: “For Gov. Newsom, PG&E power outages offer political rewards — and some big risks” in the Los Angeles Times]

Newsom is still relatively new in his tenure at the helm of the state, but his governorship (along with his larger political future) will probably be defined, at least in part, by disasters that have yet to strike.

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

TOP STORIES

The Los Angeles City Council took a stopgap step Tuesday to stop no-fault evictions and rent increases, following fears that landlords are hiking rent and removing tenants before new state rental rules take effect in January. The council instructed the city attorney to draft an emergency ordinance that would stop landlords from evicting tenants without sufficient cause, such as failure to pay rent. They also voted to draft an ordinance that would limit rent increases for the rest of the year and block some evictions. Los Angeles Times

An explosion at a NuStar oil storage facility on Tuesday afternoon sent a huge fireball into the air in West Contra Costa County, shaking buildings and rattling windows for miles around and igniting a fire that was expected to burn for hours. Officials ordered residents in two small East Bay communities, Crockett and Rodeo, to shelter in place due to potentially unhealthy air contaminants, and residents were evacuated from the tiny community of Tormey. The I-80 was closed in both directions. San Francisco Chronicle

L.A. STORIES

The first Asian American woman to lead L.A. County is retiring. Sachi Hamai, a low-key figure known for championing women in leadership and implementing the county’s sales tax hike to tackle homelessness, is leaving her post as chief executive officer after a three-decade career in county government. Los Angeles Times

Hollywood’s overworked, underpaid assistants: A Twitter hashtag sheds light — and online outrage— on the entertainment industry’s labor practices. Variety

USC will relinquish control of the Gamble House in Pasadena. The international pilgrimage site for devotees of the Arts and Crafts style and point of pride for USC’s School of Architecture will be managed by the new Gamble House Conservancy. Los Angeles Times

Golden Age Hollywood’s “male madame” to the stars has died at 96. Scotty Bowers claimed to have arranged liaisons for everyone from Rock Hudson to Bette Davis and “helped keep the (often queer) secrets of contract players who were bound by morality clauses during the heyday of the studio system.” The Hollywood Reporter

Dozens of new apartments for homeless people could rise in Chatsworth after the Los Angeles City Council voted to fund a rare proposal to build such housing in the northwestern stretches of the San Fernando Valley. Los Angeles Times

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IMMIGRATION AND THE BORDER

A dead body in the Tijuana River caused 14.5 million gallons of sewage-tainted water to spill into the United States. Federal officials reported that the body had clogged the pumps in the river intended to prevent polluted water from flowing over the border. San Diego Union-Tribune

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Twelve Democratic presidential candidates crammed on a debate stage for a very long time and many things were discussed. And then, in what can only be described as an act of very high-concept performance art, Anderson Cooper asked the contenders to tell America about their most surprising friend. Here are seven other takeaways. Los Angeles Times

San Diego Republicans failed to endorse a candidate for the 50th Congressional District. This marks the first time incumbent Rep. Duncan Hunter has failed to get the Republican Party’s full support. The six-term congressman is preparing for a federal trial on charges of campaign finance violations and faces three high-profile Republican opponents. Los Angeles Times

In other state congressional news, the GOP wants to knock off Rep. Josh Harder, but the Central Valley Democrat has more cash than anyone else. The freshman rep has consistently outraised Republicans in the race by huge margins. Modesto Bee

We know that trying to keep all 53 of our California congressional reps straight is a Sisyphean task, so here’s your quick Josh Harder refresher: He’s the guy who recently brought a giant dead swamp rat to Washington. He is also one of the seven Democrats in “purple” districts who flipped seats formerly held by Republicans during the 2018 midterms.

The fashion hits and misses of 2020 campaign merchandise, from messaging misfires to the best color schemes. Los Angeles Times

CRIME AND COURTS

Did Sacramento pot businesses pay bribes? The FBI is investigating whether payoffs to public officials were made in exchange for favorable treatment and license approvals. Sacramento Bee

A thief stole a $20,000 Salvador Dalí etching from a San Francisco gallery. San Francisco Chronicle

Actress Felicity Huffman reported to a Northern California prison, where she will spend two weeks behind bars for conspiring to rig her daughter’s college entrance exams. Huffman will serve her sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, which is approximately 340 miles — and one stunning fall from grace — away from her home in the Outpost Estates section of the Hollywood Hills. Los Angeles Times

HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT

A bacteria outbreak at a state prison in Stockton has cost California $8.5 million and doesn’t appear to be going away seven months after it infected two inmates, one of whom died. Sacramento Bee

CALIFORNIA CULTURE

San Francisco will ban cars from Market Street. The municipal transportation agency unanimously approved the $604-million Better Market Street Project to transform Market Street between Octavia Boulevard and the Embarcadero and restrict private vehicles between Steuart and Gough. Curbed SF

As developers try to meet the needs of the growing 55-plus homeowner market, a Palm Springs project is using a novel twist: marketing specifically to LGBTQ seniors. San Bernardino Sun

How TheRealReal took consignment global — and very high-end. The San Francisco-based platform for selling previously owned luxury goods became the first clothing reseller to go public last year. (BTW, this story was written by the great Susan Orlean, in case that changes your level of interest in clicking a link about the fancy consignment business.) The New Yorker

A “miniature Burning Man” will soon come to the outskirts of Kern County. The nonprofit San Diego Collaborative Arts Project is putting on the show. Bakersfield Californian

A historic Cambria schoolhouse was relocated across town. The structure was built in 1881. San Luis Obispo Tribune

CALIFORNIA ALMANAC

Los Angeles: partly sunny, 87. San Diego: sunny, 77. San Francisco: cloudy, 62. San Jose: cloudy, 70. Sacramento: cloudy, 76. More weather is here.

AND FINALLY

Today’s California memory comes from Dr. Richard L. Carhart:

“It was 1983 and I was finishing a post-doc at USC when I first saw the Seal Beach Pier. Being from the Midwest, I had never really seen anything like it before and I made a point of paying homage, as it were, whenever I was near the beach. Then came the storm. Seeing that gaping hole in the mid-section of the pier was startling, and little did I know at the time that subsequent storms and fires would have a similar effect. But the pier always returned in spite of it all. I see this now — some 35 years later — as a metaphor for how things manage to endure, simply because we would have it no other way.”

If you have a memory or story about the Golden State, share it with us. (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, ideas and unrelated book recommendations to Julia Wick. Follow her on Twitter @Sherlyholmes.

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In the early 1930s, Roland C. Casad introduced a new form of advertising: text on squash. On at least four different occasions, the Los Angeles Times featured Casad’s squash advertising.

Casad, in the above image, appeared in the Los Angeles Times on Sep. 16, 1935. The text on the squash proclaimed, “You may not like everything about a person, even so about a newspaper, but if you want to read a real newspaper, read the Los Angeles Times, Roland C Casad.”

In 1933, Casad sent a squash — with a text message — to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Oct. 18, 1933, Los Angeles Times reported:

If the railway mail service is gentle in its handling of the parcel post package interested to its care yesterday by Roland C. Casad, orchardist of Covina, President Roosevelt will enjoy at his Thanksgiving Day dinner a huge green banana squash, grown especially for his table.

On the squash, which weighs eighteen pounds and is twenty-one inches long, the President will find a message addressed to himself and the citizenry at large, reading as follows:

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“When the people show as much interest in the solution of this depression as our President, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, does, this depression will soon be over. This is the people’s problem as much as his.”

When the squash was about six weeks old, Mr. Casad, using an ice pick, scratched the message on the vegetable. The scar tissue caused the inscribed letters to stand out as though they were embossed.

After displaying the gift to Postmaster O’Brien, U.S. Atty. Hall and United States Marshal Clark, the grower had it prepared for the parcel post service.
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This post originally was published on Sep. 29, 2014.