L.A. STORIES

From Barack Obama to Billie Jean King, L.A. Times Book Club looks back. In 2020, the Los Angeles Times Book Club had many guests who covered topics of race, politics, gender, social justice, friendship and more. Our shared reads ranged from a former president’s memoir to a tennis champion’s story of coming of age and coming out to Ron Howard’s nostalgic tale of growing up on television. We recently published a video looking back at the big names and important moments we experienced. Los Angeles Times

Nikole Hannah-Jones, creator of “The 1619 Project,” joined the Los Angeles Times Book Club for a conversation with Times executive editor Kevin Merida.(James Estrin / One World / Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

The border reopening in November to nonessential travel has given rise to exceedingly long lines that could stifle local commerce and economic recovery. According to the Smart Border Coalition, approximately 120,000 passenger vehicles, 63,000 pedestrians and 6,000 trucks cross between San Diego and Tijuana every day. Waits have been unpredictable during the pandemic, with essential workers sometimes having to spend the night in their cars at the border to make sure they could make it to work on time. As of Thursday, border wait times regularly surpassed two hours in passenger vehicle lanes, according to Customs and Border Protection. San Diego Union Tribune

CRIME, COURTS AND POLICING

The New York Times has an important story about paid medical experts who testify in trials about officers accused of excessive force. The experts face accusations of “slanting science, ignoring inconvenient facts and dangerously emboldening police officers to act aggressively.” The story begins with an expert witness who testified in a Fresno case that police techniques such as facedown restraints, stun gun shocks and some neck holds do not kill people. The emergency medicine doctor in San Diego is “an integral part of a small but influential cadre of scientists, lawyers, physicians and other police experts whose research and testimony is almost always used to absolve officers of blame for deaths.” New York Times

A ‘shy girl’ from Chile, shot by LAPD while shopping, died in her mother’s arms. Valentina Orellana-Peralta came to the U.S. from Chile with her mother, Soledad Peralta, about six months ago to visit her older sister, who worked in a restaurant. “Valentina was a shy girl in Chile, but everything was turning out well for her in the U.S.,” her aunt Carolina Peralta, 51, said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times. “She was catching up with English and being more outgoing. She was happy to be with her older sister.” The Times found out more about Valentina and how her family will remember her. Meanwhile, her parents spoke Tuesday in front of LAPD headquarters in downtown L.A. Los Angeles Times

Valentina Peralta, right, and her mother, Soledad Peralta. Valentina was killed by Los Angeles police when they opened fire on a suspect who was allegedly assaulting someone Dec. 23 in a North Hollywood clothing store(Carolina Peralta)

In South Los Angeles and surrounding areas like Compton, mental disorders mostly go untreated until they have caused irreparable damage. Many of them are inextricably tied to other calamities that befall people who live in L.A.’s poorest neighborhoods at disproportionate rates. Even before COVID-19 hit, Latino and Black Angelenos were dealing with more poverty, addiction, unemployment, chronic disease, homelessness, disability and childhood trauma, all of which worsen mental conditions and further feed those underlying problems. Behavioral health practitioners fear the pandemic has accelerated this spiral in a way they will be coping with for decades to come. Los Angeles Times

Omicron is ‘going to get worse before it gets better,’ as California hospitalizations rise. The number of COVID-19 patients hospitalized in California over the weekend reached levels not seen in months. Los Angeles County has seen a 30% bump in COVID-19 hospitalizations since last week; in Orange County, the patient count swelled by nearly 45%. Meanwhile, the rapid spread of the Omicron variant caused major airline interruptions and sent throngs to testing sites. Officials said they expect Omicron’s spread to worsen in the coming weeks, with President Biden promising that the federal government will do all it can to assist states facing surges in coronavirus cases. Los Angeles Times

CALIFORNIA CULTURE

Mariposa-area child orphaned after parents die in separate tragedies. On Sunday, Andrew Trujillo, his girlfriend and their respective children were driving outside Yosemite National Park when, it appears, he lost control of the vehicle. Trujillo, father of a 2-year-old named Drew, suffered fatal injuries. The incident happened a little over a year after Drew lost his mother, Stacy Tara Trujillo, to suicide. A GoFundMe account is raising funds for Drew’s expenses. Fresno Bee

A Los Angeles woman is facing a federal assault charge after she allegedly punched and spit on a man aboard a Delta Air Lines flight over an argument about masking. Patricia Cornwall was detained Thursday at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport after passengers told authorities she had caused a disturbance on a flight from Tampa, Fla., according to the Atlanta Police Department. The man involved told investigators that the maskless woman, who mockingly compared herself to Rosa Parks and told him to put on his mask as he was eating, also spit at his face and head, according to a criminal complaint. Cornwall declined to comment Tuesday. SF Gate

CALIFORNIA ALMANAC

Los Angeles: 52 San Diego: Rainy 56 San Francisco: Rainy 49 San Jose: Rainy 51 Fresno: Rainy 48 Sacramento: Rainy 44. I can’t believe it did it too.

AND FINALLY

Today’s California memory is from David Ruduch:

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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