A church-going agricultural worker. An Echo Park man taking his son to school. A 16-year-old kid searching for work to support his family in Mexico. Three weeks into President Donald Trump’s second term, a clearer picture is beginning to emerge of some of the first Californians targeted in his high-profile...
Trump’s Immigration Executive Orders Stoke Fear. What You Need to Know.
President Donald Trump returned to office last month with a major show of force on immigration, issuing numerous orders and directives to dramatically increase enforcement. They’ve sparked glee from his supporters, condemnation from his opponents, fear from immigrant communities amid nationwide raids — and also plenty of false alarms. The flurry of...
California’s EV Sales Stall. So What Happens to Landmark Mandate?
California's push to electrify its cars is facing a potentially serious problem: People aren't buying electric cars fast enough. After three straight years of strong growth, sales have stabilized in California, raising questions about whether the state will fail to meet its groundbreaking mandate banning sales of gas-powered vehicles. About...
State Farm Asks for ‘Emergency’ Insurance Rate Increases After LA Fires
State Farm, the largest insurer for California homeowners, this week asked the state to approve "emergency" rate increases for insurance policy holders, saying the recent Los Angeles County fires have imperiled its finances. The company wants an average 22% increase for homeowners and 15% for renters on top of rate...
Lawmakers Propose $175 Million in New CalFire Funding
Roughly a month after deadly wildfires erupted in Los Angeles County, killing at least 29 people, lawmakers in the state Senate have introduced a proposal to bolster CalFire staffing, and Gov. Gavin Newsom is meeting with President Donald Trump over disaster aid. Joined by several other senators and firefighters in...
Newsom Counters Trump, Orders More Stormwater Stored in Valley Reservoirs
As downpours soak Northern California, Gov. Gavin Newsom has ordered state officials to capture and store more stormwater in San Joaquin Valley reservoirs for farmers and towns, and to “remove or minimize” any obstacles that stand in the way. If that sounds familiar, it is: The governor issued similar orders two years ago, when...
He Wants to Make California Republicans Relevant Again. So Why Does the GOP Dislike Him?
Republican Assemblymember Carl DeMaio, a newcomer to the California Legislature, wants to retake power from Democrats with his unapologetically brash, Trump-inspired conservatism. So why do so many Republican insiders dislike him? The Republican Party tried hard last year to keep one of its members, Carl DeMaio, from taking a seat...
Baked-in-Profits Send PG&E and SCE Bills Soaring. Are They Excessive?
Making sense of the alphabet soup of charges on a monthly power bill is challenge enough. But there's a surprising cost baked into customers' bills that doesn't have its own line item. A portion of each payment goes directly in the pockets of shareholders. Called a "return on equity," the...
What California Can Learn From Texas on Rebuilding After a Natural Disaster
Can California learn from other states about housing recovery after a natural disaster? That's the idea behind Assembly Bill 239 by Assemblymember John Harabedian, a freshman Democrat from Pasadena whose district was at the center of the 14,000-acre Eaton Fire. The bill, modeled after a hurricane-response plan in Texas, aims...
Trump Wants to Break California’s Sanctuary State Law: 5 Things to Know
Back in the Oval Office, President Donald Trump is once again trying to break a policy California Democrats adopted during his first term to protect certain undocumented immigrants from being deported. One of his first executive orders targets the state's so-called sanctuary law, which generally limits how local cops interact...