Essential California Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It is Saturday, July 13. Here’s a look at the top stories from the last week, including an FBI investigation into secret societies of tattooed deputies. TOP STORIES Secret sheriff gangs? The FBI is investigating a secret society of tattooed deputies in East Los Angeles as well as similar gang-like groups elsewhere within the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, according to people familiar with the inquiry. The federal probe follows allegations of beatings and harassment by members of the Banditos, a group of deputies assigned to the Sheriff’s Department’s East L.A. station. Quake aftermath. After the big earthquakes July 4 and 5, structural engineers descended on Ridgecrest expecting to study destruction from the largest temblor to hit Southern California in nearly 20 years. They found relatively little. However, the damage to the Earth’s crust could be seen in a satellite image released by NASA. Mural mystery. No one seemed to know who had painted the scene adorning the L.A. Memorial Coliseum’s main archway — or when. But one local teenager managed to track down the original artist and solve the historic stadium’s 50-year-old puzzle. Wildfire money. Lawmakers on Thursday approved complex legislationto overhaul California’s method of paying for damage from wildfires linked to utility equipment at the urging of Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has sought to calm Wall Street concerns about liability. Here’s how the wildfire fund will work. Rising disaster. The slow-moving disaster of rising seas has paralyzed Californians and left us with “both too much and not enough time” to act. Read the L.A. Times’ special report examining sea level rise and the future of California’s disappearing coastline. (There’s also a game to go with it.) Short contract? Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, perhaps the most talented all-around tandem in the NBA, were officially added to the Clippers’ roster Wednesday. But instead of signing the full-term max contract, Leonard signed a contract with a player option for the final season in 2021-22. ‘Carp’ diem. Turns out people go fishing in the L.A. River — and eat what they catch. Here’s a recipe for Los Angeles River Backyard Carp Larb. Barriers. As L.A.’s homelessness crisis grows, residents are increasingly erecting walls, fences and even planter boxes full of prickly flora in public spaces to deter the presence of homeless people. Disneyland violence. A violent brawl that was captured on video broke out last weekend among family members at Disneyland as bystanders tried to separate the fighters. Some have criticized the park for what they say was a slow response to the incident. Ghost Ship trial. Derick Almena, the man who founded the Oakland art installation that turned into the site of one of the deadliest blazes in California history, took the stand in his manslaughter trial Monday to express remorse.