Newsletter: Today: It’s the Law: California Women Get Equal Pay.

I'm Davan Maharaj, editor of the Los Angeles Times. California's equal pay law; an Indian town with almost no doors; and a water-guzzling mystery in Bel-Air. Here are some story lines I don't want you to miss today.

TOP STORIES

It's the Law: California Women Get Equal Pay 

 It's being called the nation's most aggressive attempt yet to close the salary gap between men and women. The California Fair Pay Act, effective Jan. 1, aims to ensure that employees who perform "substantially similar" work receive equal pay. Here's how it works. One side note: The bill was introduced just days after Patricia Arquette spoke at the Oscars on the subject. 

Retrofit Reaction

San Franciscans are up in arms about sky-high rents, but there is an extra cost they're willing to bear: mandatory earthquake retrofitting. Will Angelenos feel the same way? The cost to renters has emerged as a big political issue as L.A. officials ponder an even more ambitious retrofit law. Plus: A graphic explains how apartments can collapse during an earthquake.

India's Strict Open-Door Policy

In Shani Shinganapur, a town of about 15,000 in western India, they don't have much use for doors or locks. Most houses have neither. Instead, they rely on Shani, a Hindu deity to whom the local temple is dedicated. Does such divine intervention work? Not everyone is sold on the idea.

Someone Needs to Take Shorter Showers

Someone in Bel-Air is using 11.8 million gallons of water a year, the Center for Investigative Reporting says. That's 32,000 gallons a day. Or 6,400 toilet flushes a day. Or 640 loads of laundry. So who is the biggest water guzzler in California? Columnist Steve Lopez took his Prius out for a spin to find the culprit.

Too Busy to Help

Never enough time? That's the main reason keeping people from getting more involved in their communities in Southern California, according to an online USC Dornsife/California Community Foundation/Los Angeles Times poll. The No. 1 concern about living here was, you guessed it, traffic. Plus: Why we're experimenting with online polling.

CALIFORNIA

-- "Sitting by people who are dying every day, you learn so much about living." Meet Susan Talamantes Eggman, lead author of the new aid-in-dying law. 

-- A video for a '90s rap group trying to make a comeback alarmed police and has some serious consequences.

-- Gov. Jerry Brown approves new limits on paparazzi drones.

-- Arcadia Councilman John Wuo resigns amid Gemcoin digital currency controversy .

NATION-WORLD

-- Fighting erupts in Syria amid Russian airstrikes, activists say.

-- The U.S. plans to free 6,000 drug offenders from prison, the largest release in U.S. history.

-- The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan said a hospital in Kunduz was "mistakenly struck." Doctors Without Borders: It "was deliberately bombed."

-- Eastern NATO members want help to boost their defenses against Russia. 

-- Under a veil of darkness, Oklahoma removed the Ten Commandments from its Capitol.

--  Grace Lee Boggs, known for her passionate advocacy of social change in America, has died at 100.

BUSINESS 

-- Regulators are considering a ban on arbitration clauses in the fine print of credit card and other financial agreements.

-- Can American Apparel stay in L.A.?

-- LinkedIn agrees to pay $13 million to settle an email "spam" lawsuit.

SPORTS

-- Bill Plaschke: In the playoffs, the Dodgers will be mostly playing for legacy and love; their manager will likely be managing for his job.

-- The L.A. Kings open their NHL season against the San Jose Sharks tonight.

ENTERTAINMENT

-- "I love the art world so much": Steve Martin talks about his latest endeavor. 

-- For director Joe Wright, the new Peter Pan film is about connecting with childhood, especially his own.

-- TV production in the L.A. area was up 12% in the third quarter over last year, driven by tax credits.

WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING

-- First person: "Teaching college today was downright eerie" after a threat of campus violence. (Philadelphia Magazine)

-- Washington, D.C.'s 16-week family leave plan would be the nation's most generous. (Washington Post)

-- Western countries, not China, lead foreign direct investment in Africa's physical facilities. (Financial Times)

-- Renoir haters picket outside Boston's Museum of Fine Arts. (Boston Globe)

ONLY IN L.A.

It's not every day you see a 1909 Baker Electric automobile ambling down the streets. Much less, with Jay Leno driving. Scott Collins went for a ride in Burbank with the ex-"Tonight Show" host ahead of the premiere of Leno's new TV series about cars and motorcycles. 

Please send comments and ideas to Davan Maharaj.