Getting to know the guy with the bad left eye and the great left arm

Good morning, and welcome to the Important California e-newsletter. It’s Friday, Sept. 16. I’m Jorge Castillo, a Occasions Sports activities reporter, writing from bustling Las Vegas, the place Canelo Álvarez and Gennadiy Golovkin will full their trilogy within the boxing ring Saturday.

Up north, one other Mexican celebrity athlete will take heart stage when Julio Urías and the Dodgers face the Giants in San Francisco.

Urías’ story is well-known in Los Angeles. He rose to prominence as a teenage phenom from notorious Culiacán, making his main league debut at 19 years outdated in entrance of the most important Mexican fanbase within the nation. An eye fixed drawback, one he’s handled since start, solely fueled the eye. He was the boy with the dangerous left eye and the nice left arm.

[Read “10 eye surgeries by age 10. How Julio Urías beat the odds to become the Dodgers’ ace,” in The Times.]

However the recycled tales solely touched the floor. Urías has been reluctant to debate his eye intimately. U.S.-based English-language reporters hesitated to journey to Sinaloa to look at his origins as a result of, frankly, they thought the area to be too harmful.

Final month, with Urías nearing the tip of one other standout season with the Dodgers, we got down to discover the town and his roots.

Photographer Wally Skalij and I spent a Sunday with Urías’ household, first consuming breakfast at a neighborhood favourite spot earlier than watching his current begin in opposition to the Miami Marlins of their dwelling. By the tip of the day, the home was full of household and associates celebrating Nationwide Grandparents’ Day and one other Dodgers win.

We spent the following day with Urías’ father, Carlos, who coached his son from 6 years outdated till he signed with the Dodgers at 16.

We ate borrego (lamb) for lunch at a neighborhood restaurant. We visited the baseball fields the place Urías performed youth baseball. We noticed his faculties. We purchased horchata de coco from a household buddy. We ended the day at a state-of-the-art baseball area down the road from his grandparents’ home; the governor of Sinaloa had it renovated at Urías’ request after he starred within the Dodgers’ 2020 championship season.

“I’ve been right here my complete life,” Carlos Urías stated, “and I’m going to die right here.”

We mentioned Urías’ upbringing, his dozen or so eye surgical procedures, his fast ascent as knowledgeable baseball participant, his shoulder surgical procedure, and his arrest in 2019. A couple of days later, I touched on these topics with Urías at Dodger Stadium, exterior the group’s clubhouse.

It’s a narrative on the Dodgers’ ace that hasn’t been accomplished, one which makes an attempt to shed a lightweight on the well-known however personal pitcher.

[Read “10 eye surgeries by age 10. How Julio Urías beat the odds to become the Dodgers’ ace,” in The Times.]

And now, right here’s what’s occurring throughout California:

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The legalized hashish business introduced a boon to some communities and corruption to others.

(Related Press)

When California legalized hashish in 2016, there was hope amongst some small, struggling communities. Optimism swelled that the immediately out-of-the-shadows multibillion-dollar business would create jobs and tax revenues to fund investments into police, parks and roads. Some cities benefited, however others noticed waves of corruption, prosecutions and accusations that shook native governments. Bribery was such a priority the FBI issued a warning to Western states like California. Los Angeles Occasions

Weekend storms may very well be a blended blessing for crews battling California’s largest wildfire As of Thursday night time, the Mosquito fireplace had charred 67,669 acres in El Dorado and Placer counties and was 20% contained. Greater than 9,000 properties and constructions had been threatened. Officers stated coming moisture may very well be a welcome aid, although increased winds might throw embers forward of the blaze. Los Angeles Occasions

Three East San Diego County websites that included a racist trope in opposition to Native American ladies of their names had been just lately rechristened. The time period “squaw” was faraway from Squaw Canyon and two locales named Squaw Peak, one close to Jacumba and the opposite exterior Ocotillo Airport. They’ve been renamed Mat Kwa’rar Nemaaw, Mat Kwa’Kurr and Mat Puy Nah Achhuukaayp, respectively. The title change is a part of an effort to rename 650 geographic options nationwide that comprise the time period. San Diego Union-Tribune

POLITICS

Temecula is the newest California metropolis to contemplate an abortion ban. At Tuesday’s common Metropolis Council assembly, Councilmember Jessica Alexander proposed turning the locality in an antiabortion “sanctuary metropolis.” “Let the world know that Temecula stands for all times from womb to tomb,” Alexander stated. The Metropolis Council will take up the merchandise at a gathering subsequent month. Los Angeles Occasions

Roughly 92% of 1,070 Ventura residents polled this spring directed their Metropolis Council to prioritize homeless providers and initiatives ought to cash turn into accessible within the funds. On Monday, the Metropolis Council amended its funds and responded to the request by including two law enforcement officials. This motion was made in opposition to recommendation from metropolis employees, which questioned if Ventura might fund the extra $400,000 for legislation enforcement hires. Councilwoman Jeannette Sanchez-Palacios interpreted the residents’ vote as a mandate to wash up “vagrancy.” Detractors questioned why cash wasn’t directed to housing providers. Ventura County Star

CRIME, COURTS AND POLICING

Bernstein Excessive Faculty in Hollywood.

(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Occasions)

Two highschool college students had been arrested, one in reference to a teen’s overdose demise. The 2 had been arrested Thursday, one on suspicion of manslaughter for allegedly promoting what’s believed to be a fentanyl-laced capsule that led to the overdose demise of a scholar at Bernstein Excessive Faculty. Los Angeles Occasions

U.S. authorities attorneys urged an eight-month time period in jail for Sherry Papini of Mountain Gate. Papini captured nationwide consideration and notoriety when the FBI and native legislation enforcement arrange a 22-day dragnet for the spouse and mom who had gone lacking. She later lied that she’d been kidnapped. Papini was spending time along with her boyfriend. The saga, which started in 2016, will seemingly add a brand new chapter Monday when a Sacramento courtroom decides Papini’s destiny. Redding File Searchlight

Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva has maybe boasted most frequently throughout his tenure about his enhance within the variety of folks permitted to hold publicly. A Occasions investigation discovered that amongst those that acquired permits had been dozens of donors to Villanueva’s campaigns and others with hyperlinks to the sheriff. These folks typically gave questionable causes for needing to be armed, acquired their permits extra shortly than the typical wait or had been assisted by two deputies who labored straight for Villanueva. Los Angeles Occasions

CALIFORNIA CULTURE

The unique Hollenbeck burrito from El Tepeyac.

(Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Occasions)

Ten years after writing off California Mexican delicacies as dying fad, Los Angeles Occasions columnist Gustavo Arellano says he was improper. Cal Mex meals, with its loud decorations, enormous servings lined with cheese and its perpetual fiesta, is one thing Californians can embrace, he writes. Gustavo’s story is a part of a bundle from our Meals colleagues celebrating basic Mexican eating places as a window into California’s culinary soul. The Meals crew combed Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties for its checklist of 38 important basic Mexican eating places.

A bunch of residents and retailers coaxed the town of Modesto in 1990 to closely regulate cruising on the town’s most important thoroughfare, McHenry Avenue. It was alleged 5,000 automobiles cruised on weekends, bringing particles and resulting in vandalism by drivers and spectators. Quickly checkpoints and anti-loitering indicators went up whereas fines had been handed out as cruising was banned within the metropolis maybe greatest recognized for popularizing the exercise within the 1973 movie “American Graffiti.” Attitudes towards cruising have modified, nonetheless, with the California Legislature affirming the follow is a part of California tradition. A distinguished cruising membership has fashioned in Modesto to steer metropolis leaders to ditch the ban. Modesto Bee

Los Angeles: 82, sunny. San Diego: 75, partly cloudy. San Francisco: 68, partly cloudy. San Jose: 77, partly cloudy. Fresno: 77, sunny. Sacramento: 86, partly cloudy.

In the present day’s California reminiscence is from Maurice Vidowsky:

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