‘They want more?’ State Farm increases California home insurance rate hike request to 30%
Chronicle, MEGAN FAN MUNCE: "A week after securing approval to raise home insurance rates by an average of 17%, State Farm General revealed plans to ask regulators for an additional 11% increase, as well as considerably higher rates for condo owners and renters.
The 17% increase, set to go into effect in June, was granted last week by Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara following a monthslong proceeding that was classified as an “emergency” following the Los Angeles fires."
Overly broad bill puts California’s housing future on shaky ground (OP-ED)
Capitol Weekly, DAN DUNMOYER: "Ensuring adequate housing to meet community needs is essential to California’s long-term stability and prosperity. The Legislature has repeatedly affirmed that housing is a top priority for state policymakers. That’s why it’s deeply disappointing and concerning to see Senate Bill 682 advancing, as it risks exacerbating the very crisis we are working to resolve.
Costly and restrictive home construction policies have led to a housing policy crisis, resulting in limited housing stock and increased rent and home prices. California’s insufficient housing supply has caused a persistent scarcity of attainable homes for middle- and low-income families, leading to a decline in homeownership rates."
Supreme Court overrules S.F. judge on Venezuela deportations
Chronicle, BOB EGELKO: "A San Francisco federal judge’s order that blocked the Trump administration from deporting 350,000 Venezuelans to the conflict-wracked nation was put on hold by the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday, allowing federal officials to resume deportation proceedings.
The Supreme Court’s decision, over the sole dissent of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, may not lead to immediate large-scale deportations. Lawyers for President Donald Trump’s Justice Department told the court that some individual Venezuelans could still try to show that their removals would be dangerous or legally unjustified."
Immigrants learn English for free at California colleges. Under Trump, some are skipping class
EdSource, DELILAH BRUMER: "They speak Farsi, Cantonese, Spanish and at least two dozen other languages. Some earned master’s degrees in their home countries, while others never finished middle school. At California’s community colleges, more than 290,000 students take free, non-credit English as a Second Language classes.
As immigrants, many of these students enroll in the classes to integrate into American life, advance in their jobs, support their children or build community. The classes have grown in popularity in recent years — an enrollment bright spot for the state’s community college system, which has struggled to fully rebound to pre-pandemic student counts."
Appeals court halts Temecula school district ban on critical race theory
LAT, HOWARD BLUME: "A California appeals court has ruled that the Temecula school district must immediately set aside its ban on critical race theory while litigation over it plays out in the California court system.
The Temecula Valley Board of Education adopted the resolution prohibiting what it defined as critical race theory in December 2022. The field of critical race theory, known widely as CRT, examines the extent to which racial inequality and racism are systemically embedded in American institutions."
California must lead on banning the non-essential use of PFAS
Capitol Weekly, ADAM LINK: "The time to act is now. California stands at a crossroads: either continue allowing companies to produce and sell dangerous “forever chemicals” like PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) that pollute our environment and jeopardize public health, or take bold, science-based action to eliminate their non-essential uses. Senate Bill 682 (Allen) leads the way by seeking to ban intentionally added PFAS in consumer products. Opponents argue the bill threatens economic stability, but what it truly threatens is their bottom line.
SB 682 follows the essential-use model, a policy approach backed by leading scientists and public health experts. This framework distinguishes between truly necessary applications of PFAS, like in certain medical devices, and the unnecessary uses that flood our daily lives with ongoing toxic exposure. Consumer products such as stain-resistant carpets, water-repellent clothing, grease-resistant food wrappers, and even dental floss create constant exposure pathways for Californians. Without SB 682, Californians will continue to be confronted by these chemicals in their daily lives."
Heat advisory in effect in parts of California as summerlike weather pattern takes shape
Chronicle, ANTHONY EDWARDS: "An area of high pressure across the Southwest is forecast to bring the hottest weather so far this year to portions of California on Tuesday and Wednesday as a summerlike pattern begins to take shape.
Temperatures as high as 100 degrees are predicted in parts of Southern California, prompting the National Weather Service to issue a heat advisory. Inland portions of Santa Barbara, Ventura and Los Angeles counties are included in the advisory, which is in effect from 11 a.m. Wednesday to 9 p.m. Thursday."
READ MORE -- A heat wave is hitting Southern California starting Tuesday. Here’s where temperatures will soar -- LAT, CLARA HARTER
San Francisco Bay fish are contaminated with levels of ‘forever chemicals’ that could harm anglers
CALMatters, RACHEL BECKER: "Contaminants known as “forever chemicals” have been discovered in San Francisco Bay fish at levels that could pose a health threat to people who eat fish caught there, according to new research published today.
Linked to an array of health conditions such as cancers, heart disease and pregnancy disorders, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances resist breaking down in the environment. Used by industries to make waterproof coatings, firefighting foams, food packaging and more, these chemicals have contaminated people and animals everywhere around the globe, including newborns."
A mysterious, highly active undersea volcano near California could erupt later this year. What scientists expect
LAT, RONG-GONG LIN II: "A mysterious and highly active undersea volcano off the Pacific Coast could erupt by the end of this year, scientists say.
Nearly a mile deep and about 700 miles northwest of San Francisco, the volcano known as Axial Seamount is drawing increasing scrutiny from scientists who only discovered its existence in the 1980s."
Why California’s biggest local effort to fight homelessness is starting all over again
CALMatters, MARISA KENDALL: "For three decades, the city and county of Los Angeles managed California’s biggest homelessness crisis together.
They had equal say in big funding decisions, and worked in tandem to coordinate housing programs through a joint city-county agency called the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority."
Palm Springs bombing investigation turns to the explosives: How were they sourced and built?
LAT, STAFF: "The suspect in Saturday’s bombing at a Palm Springs fertility clinic was a rocket hobbyist with radical views and an extraordinary amount of high-range explosives that appear to have been used with precision in his attack, law enforcement sources and blast experts told The Times.
The FBI said Monday that DNA testing confirmed that the 25-year-old suspect, Guy Edward Bartkus, was killed in the explosion that tore through the American Reproductive Centers building and injured four people in the resort city. The bombing, which occurred when the clinic was closed, is being investigated as an “act of intentional terrorism.”"
Exclusive: S.F. DA launches criminal probe into nonprofit that misspent millions
Chronicle, MICHAEL BARBA: "City prosecutors have launched a criminal investigation into the nonprofit San Francisco Parks Alliance, a prominent fundraiser for the city’s open spaces that admitted last week to misspending at least $3.8 million, the Chronicle has learned.
An investigator with the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office contacted at least two people with ties to the Parks Alliance after the Chronicle began revealing the breadth of the organization’s financial crisis on April 28. The investigator is assigned to the office’s special prosecutions unit, which handles public integrity, corruption and other types of cases. The unit is part of the white-collar crime division."
Fire near San Leandro BART station causes ‘major’ problems for East Bay transit riders
Chronicle, DOMINIC FRACASSA: "A fire near the San Leandro BART station was causing “major service issues” for the transit agency in the East Bay Tuesday morning.
The fire forced the transit agency to halt service south of its Lake Merritt station."
