My California crime spree
Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It’s Thursday, Oct. 27. My name is Jessica Roy. I’m a reporter on the Utility Journalism team here at The Times. I’m also a victim of identity theft.
The day after Thanksgiving in 2018, someone stole my wallet out of my purse at a bar in San Francisco, and used my cards to make a couple of fraudulent charges. I was annoyed. I reported the stolen wallet to the police, reported my driver’s license stolen to the DMV, and called my banks to cancel my cards.
Then the letters started arriving. “Congratulations! We’re pleased to inform you that your application for a new Wells Fargo account has been approved.” “Welcome to Bank of America, and thanks again for choosing us.”
On Wednesday, I published the years-long saga of what happened next. The story took me — not physically but financially — all around the state of California on a thrilling crime spree. I stole a Tesla. I got into a car accident — a BMW, that time. I got a new iPhone. I opened two new checking accounts and went on a bad-check-writing spree for as much as $13,000 at a time. I attempted to open dozens of new credit cards. I wrote a check for someone’s bail, which they skipped.
On paper, Jessica Roy had a wild year. In reality, that year, and what followed, has been a nightmare. I had to clean up the mess with no help from the state, the banks or the police. And it could happen to you.
Read more about what happened and what I learned, and some ideas experts and I have for addressing this problem. Plus: What you can do to protect your identity, and what to do if you think your identity has already been compromised.
And now, here’s what’s happening across California:
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L.A. STORIES
Mike Davis has died. The Marxist urban scholar’s bestseller “City of Quartz” exposed L.A.’s social fractures and disquieted even its most ardent boosters. Los Angeles Times
L.A. just reopened its Section 8 housing voucher waitlist. There are 30,000 spots on the waitlist. Already, more than 180,000 people have applied. LAist
“Sexy Halloween” was born in L.A. Because of course it was. Thank you, Trashy Lingerie. Los Angeles Times
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CRIME, COURTS AND POLICING
Sacramento sheriff’s deputies stop Black people 4.5 times as often as white people, a new analysis from the ACLU says. “This is a waste of time and money by any metric,” said Eva Bitran, a staff attorney with ACLU SoCal. Sacramento Bee
“A well-oiled machine” inside L.A.’s jails. The Mexican Mafia has long considered the Los Angeles County jail complex — the largest in the country — a base of power and a source of wealth. Los Angeles Times
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HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Sick babies are filling up hospitals around the state. Another respiratory virus is on the rise among babies: RSV. At least three major California children’s hospitals are already having to stretch resources to care for all the patients. Los Angeles Times
Have you gotten your flu shot yet? Now’s a great time to do it. Southern California is bracing for a brutal flu season. Los Angeles Times
Some good news, for once: We’re winning the war on MPX. Vaccinations and treatments appear to be protecting against further spread of the MPX virus. Los Angeles Times
CALIFORNIA CULTURE
Happy Día de Muertos! Our digital altar is up and running again. Here’s how to build an ofrenda at home. And here are 35 places to celebrate Dia de Muertos around Southern California this weekend. Plus, 16 pumpkin experiences around Southern California. Or if you’re looking for something a little spookier: 13 spooky SoCal hikes. L.A. Taco
You know what? Forget pumpkin season. In the L.A. art world, it’s Picasso season. Los Angeles Times
“Guerilla gardening” in San Francisco’s Mission District. A local activist — who’s also the co-founder of Vimeo — helped turn a vacant lot into a community garden. Not everyone in the community is thrilled. San Francisco Chronicle
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CALIFORNIA ALMANAC
Los Angeles: 76, partly cloudy. San Diego: 71, sunny. San Francisco: 67, mostly sunny. San Jose: 72, sunny. Fresno: 74, sunny. Sacramento: 73, sunny.
AND FINALLY
Today’s California memory is from Dick Beske:
In late 1952, for the health of my mid-40s father, we moved ourselves from a small town in central Minnesota to Southern California, settling in Upland just before Christmas. I enrolled at Chaffey High School in the middle of my junior year. Everything was dramatically different from a small Minnesota town (population: 4,000), but there was no snow and I was intent on adapting. Mrs. Close was my English teacher. I was good at spelling, until during the first spelling test, she pronounced the word “Yucca.” I’d heard of things being “yucky” but what was “Yucca?” She was standing near me and I said “WHAT?” She pronounced it again, and continued on with the test. I missed that word but remember the incident to this day. I have one growing on my patio.
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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