Newsletter: Essential California: Gov. Brown declares the drought emergency over!

Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It is Saturday, April 8. Here’s what you don’t want to miss this weekend:

TOP STORIES

It’s over! Startlingly green hills, surging rivers and the snow-wrapped Sierra Nevada had already signaled what Gov. Jerry Brown made official Friday: The long California drought is over. There are still counties in the San Joaquin Valley stricken by dried-up wells, but most of the state is now out of the woods. Los Angeles Times

Plus: What did California learn from its dry years? Los Angeles Times

What do immigrants do? Did you know that most California dentists are actually immigrants? Nearly 40% of the state’s full-time, year-round workers are immigrants, the highest rate in the nation. Here’s a breakdown of where immigrants in the state work. Sacramento Bee

Keeping up with that rent: Renters in the Los Angeles and Orange County metropolitan area are going to need a yearly raise of $1,152 to keep up with expected rent increases in the next year, a study by real estate website Zillow says. Orange County Register

Oil spill in the bay: A freight barge being used for BART work that was carrying 4,000 gallons of diesel fuel and 300 gallons of hydraulic oil sunk south of the Bay Bridge Friday morning and apparently is leaking, authorities said. The Mercury News

Neighborhood council setback: It looks like skid row will not be getting its own neighborhood council after workers voted 826 to 764 against setting up a body for the 10,000 residents of the encampment. Los Angeles Times

See how your street voted: If you live in the 34th U.S. congressional district, find out here how your neighborhood voted in the race earlier this week. Assemblyman Jimmy Gomez and former L.A. city planning commissioner Robert Lee Ahn, both Democrats, will meet in a runoff for the open U.S. House seat. Los Angeles Times

Shooting on skid row: Los Angeles police shot and wounded a man Friday after a series of stabbings in downtown L.A.’s skid row that sent three people to the hospital, officials said. Los Angeles Times

This week’s most popular stories in Essential California:

1. Once middle class, now she and her two dogs live in a car in Carlsbad. Los Angeles Times

2. Will Congress kill a $101-billion tax break for Californians? Los Angeles Times

3. Dear Neighbor: Move your car! The Eastsider

4. Sen. Kamala Harris sees a path out of the wilderness for Democrats — but can she sell it to them? Los Angeles Times

5. Washington may be shaking its head, but Devin Nunes is still a hometown hero. Los Angeles Times

ICYMI, here are this week’s Great Reads

Stakes are high: President Trump’s summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping was overshadowed by U.S. airstrikes in Syria. Still, few places have more to gain or lose than California from the tete-a-tete between the two leaders. Los Angeles Times

San Francisco’s history with ICE: There used to be a time when ICE could walk into San Francisco’s jails and question anyone. But a raid on a popular Latin club, Club Elegante, in 1989 changed all of that, igniting a “sleeping giant” in the city. KQED

Photos from the wall: Check out this powerful photo series about what life is like in the no-man’s land north of the border but south of the wall. “Cordoned off from the rest of the U.S., these patches between the fence and the river have sprouted their own ecosystems,” Lauren Etter writes. Bloomberg Businessweek

A pipe dream: A hyperloop transportation system doesn’t exist anywhere in America, but it’s still a pretty popular idea. In California, where traffic is so bad, a tube that could transport a person from L.A. to San Francisco in 30 minutes sounds especially alluring. Even with something so expensive, which has never been done, city officials are still desiring a hyperloop in their backyard. Wired

Revisiting the riots: Check out this story about memories of the 1992 riots and an exhibit called “Re-Imagine Justice,” Community Coalition’s month-long Living Art Museum and panel series commemorating the 25th anniversary of the 1992 unrest/uprising. Streetsblog LA

Keep public art local: Danielle Brazell is the general manager of L.A.’s Department of Cultural Affairs, and her mission is simple. She thinks that Los Angeles’ public art should stay local. Making that happen isn’t necessarily easy. Curbed Los Angeles

ICYMI: The Los Angles Times’ editorial board, which is separate from the news operation, published this week a caustic and much-talked about series of editorials criticizing the early days of the Trump presidency. The final installment is about how California is and should be pushing back against the Trump administration. Los Angeles Times

Looking Ahead

Saturday: The Toyota Grand Prix hits Long Beach.

Sunday: Two top House Democrats, Nancy Pelosi and John Lewis, back new anti-poverty legislation in L.A.

Monday: Passover begins.

Friday: The Los Angeles Mission holds Easter event.

Please let us know what we can do to make this newsletter more useful to you. Send comments, complaints and ideas to Benjamin Oreskes and Shelby Grad. Also follow them on Twitter @boreskes and @shelbygrad.