Latest California Headlines

All the headlines from our California Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Southwest Airlines, Archer Aviation to Develop Plans for Flying Air Taxis in California

Jul 19 2024 // Southwest Airlines and Archer Aviation said Friday they have agreed to develop operational plans for electric air taxi networks at California airports where the Texas-based airline operates. The companies said they have...

Popular California Restauranteur Fined $71K for Failing to Pay Overtime

Jul 18 2024 // A popular Sonoma County chef denied three workers at its Healdsburg, California establishment of more than $35,000 in overtime wages, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Investigators in the department’s Wage...

California Needs a Million EV Charging Stations — But That’s ‘Unlikely’ and ‘Unrealistic’

Jul 18 2024 // California will have to build public charging stations at an unprecedented — and some experts say unrealistic — pace to meet the needs of the 7 million electric cars expected on its roads in less than seven years.The...

Growing Southern California Wildfire Threatening 4,100 Structures

Jul 15 2024 // Evacuation orders and warnings are in place for roughly 4,200 people due to a growing wildfire in southern California that is threatening 4,100 structures.The Shelly Fire in Siskiyou County is now 15,232 acres and is 3%...

Impacts of Economic Changes on California Workers’ Comp

Jul 15 2024 // Projected changes to California workers’ comp claims frequency and severity due to industry mix of employment are negligible through 2026, while employment in most industries fully recovered from the initial pandemic...

Allstate Seeking 34% Rate Hike on California Homeowners Insurance

Jul 12 2024 // Allstate is seeking an increase in its California homeowners insurance premiums by an average of 34%.According to the California Department of Insurance, the Allstate homeowners filing was received by the Department on...

California Insurance Commissioner OKs Lower Workers’ Comp Benchmark Rate

Jul 12 2024 // California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara today issued a decreased pure premium rate for workers’ compensation insurance, lowering the annual benchmark rate from $1.41 to $1.38 per $100 of payroll—...

California Insurance Commissioner Orders Insurance Preserved for 46K Residents Following Fire

Jul 11 2024 // California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara today ordered insurers to preserve residential property insurance coverage for roughly 46,000 policyholders affected by the Thompson Fire in Butte County.The move follows an...

Deaths, Injuries, Billions of Dollars Are Costs of Extreme Heat in California

Jul 11 2024 // A blistering California heat wave over the past weeks and through the Fourth of July holiday could be topped off by the hottest temperature ever recorded on Earth. That kind of extreme heat has led to more deaths than...

Vitol, SK Settle California Fuel Rigging Probe for $50 Million

Jul 11 2024 // California’s attorney general said it reached a $50 million settlement with commodity traders Vitol and SK Energy Americas Inc. after it alleged the firms acted together to manipulate local gasoline...

Senate Hopeful Pushes Insurance Revamp During California ‘Gouging’

Jul 10 2024 // US Representative Adam Schiff, a California Democrat who’s running for the Senate, is vowing to take another shot at reining in soaring home insurance rates that he says are “gouging” his constituents.To...

California Company Recalling 1M Power Adapters Sold with Baby Sound Machines Due to Shock Hazard

Jul 10 2024 // Due to a shock hazard, a California company is recalling nearly 1 million power adapters sold with sound machines marketed to help infants and young children sleep.The plastic surrounding the AC power adapter that was...

Southern California Wildfire Has Now Burned Nearly 27,000 Acres

Jul 9 2024 // A Southern California wildfire that grew to be the biggest of the year is now at nearly 27,000 acres.The Lake Fire in Santa Barbara County erupted on Friday northeast of Los Olivos. An evacuation order was issued for an...

Report: Fewer Claims but Higher Losses for California Workers’ Comp Private Self-Insureds

Jul 9 2024 // Private self-insured claim volume in the California workers’ compensation system fell 9.5% in 2023, the biggest year-to-year decline in private self-insured claim frequency in more than 15 years. However,...

California Earthquake Authority Selling Debt to Avoid Paying More for Coverage

Jul 9 2024 // A state-managed earthquake insurer for homeowners in California is opting to borrow from the public debt market in lieu of paying for additional coverage that would shield it against risks.The California Earthquake...

Growing Fire in Southern California Prompts Evacuations

Jul 8 2024 // A wildfire that erupted in Southern California has burned more than 20,000 acres, prompting an evacuation order and threatening ranches, including Michael Jackson’s former Neverland Ranch.The Lake Fire erupted on...

California Lawmakers to Ask Voters for Permission Borrow $20B for Climate, Schools

Jul 8 2024 // Mired in a stream of multi-billion dollar budget deficits, the California Legislature has turned to voters for help.Lawmakers voted to place a pair of $10 billion bonds on the November ballot. If approved, the money would...

California Warehouse, Logistics Companies Fined Nearly $840K After Worker Pay Probe

Jul 5 2024 // Three recent U.S. Department of Labor investigations in San Diego, California recovered nearly $840,000 for 32 employees, some of whom one employer reportedly paid less than $3 per hour.The department’s Wage and Hour...

California Commissioner’s Analysis Shows $7.7B in Losses From Extreme Heat Events

Jul 5 2024 // The cumulative cost of the seven heat events in California in the past decade amounted to $7.7 billion in losses, a new report shows.The analysis from California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara’s office is the...

State Farm Seeking Large Rate Increases in Wildfire-Prone California

Jul 3 2024 // State Farm has applied for large rate increases in California, a year after the carrier got rate approvals of 7% and 20%—adding fuel to a burning homeowners crisis in a state that’s seen an increasing number of...