The Nury Martinez fallout continues

Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It’s Wednesday, Oct. 12. I’m Deborah Netburn, the faith and spirituality reporter at the L.A. Times. My colleague Corinne Purtill was unable to be here as planned, so I’m at the helm for today’s newsletter. And I’m coming to you with more on the story that everyone’s talking about — the continuing fallout from the recorded racist remarks of former Los Angeles City Council President Nury Martinez.

Martinez’s political career continues to disintegrate before our eyes, as a growing chorus of voices calls for her resignation including Mayor Eric Garcetti, mayoral candidates Karen Bass and Rick Caruso, Sen. Alex Padilla, numerous members of the City Council and even President Biden.

Martinez initially issued an apology for her comments on Sunday. On Monday, she announced she would step down as City Council president. On Tuesday, she said she would take a leave of absence but stopped short of resigning from the council completely.

Martinez made the hateful comments at an October 2021 meeting with Councilmembers Gil Cedillo and Kevin de León and Los Angeles County Federation of Labor President Ron Herrera. (If you haven’t heard it yet, you can listen to the recording here.)

“This has been one of the most difficult times of my life and I recognize this is entirely of my own making,� Martinez, the first Latina City Council president, said in a statement Tuesday. “At this moment, I need to take a leave of absence and take some time to have an honest and heartfelt conversation with my family, my constituents, and community leaders. I am so sorry to the residents of Council District 6, my colleagues, and the City of Los Angeles.�

The apology was appreciated, said Councilmember Mike Bonin, whose young Black son was the target of some of Martinez’s most hateful speech, but it wasn’t enough.

“I take a lot of hits, and I know I practically invite a bunch of them. But my son? It makes my soul bleed,� Bonin said through tears at a City Council meeting Tuesday. “Asking for forgiveness is a good first step. Well, it’s a second step because first you must resign and then ask for forgiveness.

“I know I can never really know or comprehend the real weight of the daily relentless anti-Black racism my son is going to face,� he added, “but man, I know the fire that you feel when someone tries to destroy Black boy joy. Man, it’s a rage.�

There are a lot of angles to this ongoing story, and my colleagues are doing a great job covering them.

To learn more about Martinez’s rise to political power check out this profile by Benjamin Oreskes and Emily Alpert Reyes.

To hear what our editorial board thinks about the unfolding situation, read this editorial that called for the resignation of Martinez, and Cedillo and De León as well.

And if you’re wondering how members of L.A.’s Oaxacan community are responding after being cruelly disparaged by Martinez, this piece by Melissa Gomez has you covered. Here’s a preview: “I thought we had made great progress in the last three years in gaining recognition,� Ivan Vasquez, owner of the Oaxacan restaurant and mezcaleria Madre!, told Gomez. “Many Oaxacans like me, we have businesses. We contribute to the city the same or more than other minorities and white people.�

Finally, I always learn from columnist Erika Smith’s thoughtful insights no matter what she’s writing about, and I especially appreciated this most recent column, which distills the current political moment and how it plays into the upcoming mayoral race.

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

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L.A. STORIES

L.A. Labor head Ron Herrera resigns. Facing outrage over the controversial leaked audio recording, Los Angeles County Federation of Labor President Ron Herrera resigned Monday night, and the organization’s remaining leaders demanded Tuesday that the three City Council members involved in the scandal submit their resignations as well. Los Angeles Times

Photos from Tuesday’s Los Angeles City Council meeting: Emotions ran high at the first council meeting following the leaked audio. Los Angeles Times

Gas prices continue to drop in L.A. after all-time high last week. In Los Angeles, the average price of gas fell Tuesday by about 4 cents from the day prior, to $6.36 a gallon, a significant day-over-day drop that the metro area hasn’t seen in about a decade, said Marie Montgomery Nordhues, a spokesperson for the Southern California branch of the American Automobile Assn. Los Angeles Times

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

President Biden will visit Los Angeles today. This week’s visit will coincide with a pre-midterm event hosted by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. But, as one analyst noted, it’s all but inevitable the president will address the situation at City Hall. Los Angeles Times

CRIME, COURTS AND POLICING

Ex-Angels employee sentenced to prison for supplying drugs in Tyler Skaggs overdose death. Former Angels communications director Eric Kay was sentenced to 22 years in federal prison Tuesday after being convicted of providing counterfeit oxycodone pills laced with fentanyl that led to the overdose death of pitcher Tyler Skaggs. Los Angeles Times

Supreme Court justices appear skeptical of California animal welfare law. The justices sounded wary Tuesday of California’s animal welfare law and its protections for breeding pigs, warning it could set off a wave of state laws that put a wide array of restrictions on products moving nationwide. Los Angeles Times

HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT

San Diego is rainier than Seattle? Lately, the answer has been yes. The National Weather Service in Seattle posted a graphic this week that contains a startling fact. Since July 1, Seattle, a city synonymous with rain, has been drier than San Diego, a city synonymous with clear, dry skies. From July 1 to Oct. 9, San Diego recorded 0.65 inches of rain. Seattle, 1,250 miles to the north, had only 0.48 inches. The San Diego Union-Tribune

CALIFORNIA CULTURE

Disneyland quietly raises its prices on tickets and line-skipping features. The Disneyland Resort quietly raised its prices Tuesday, meaning day customers will pay more to get into the parks and enjoy certain experiences. Los Angeles Times

Palm Springs council may forbid new short-term rental permits. A citizens group that studied the issue recommended the City Council limit the overall number of permits, as well as what percentage of homes in a given neighborhood can be used as short-term rentals. Desert Sun

How the Dodgers’ mariachis have become a very L.A. tradition. “It started off as a trial run to see if we could hype the crowd a bit more,� said Cierra VanDyke, the Dodgers’ manager of marketing and promotions. “And it was a hit.� Los Angeles Times

Shameless plug for one of my own stories? Yes! Even if you don’t love Agatha Christie as much as I do, I hope you will enjoy this story about two L.A.- based friends and podcasters who set out to read and rank every one of the Queen of Crime’s 66 mystery novels. It’s a story of love, loss and, of course, Agatha Christie. Los Angeles Times

And finally ... In Monday’s newsletter, we referred to “Death of a Salesman� playing at the Hudson Theatre in Los Angeles. It’s playing at the Hudson Theatre in New York.

CALIFORNIA ALMANAC

Los Angeles: 78, mostly sunny. San Diego: 72, mostly sunny. San Francisco: 62, mostly sunny. San Jose: 77, sunny. Fresno: 92, sunny. Sacramento: 88, sunny.

AND FINALLY

Today’s California memory is from Norm Willis:

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 to [email protected].