State Farm accused of ‘illegal scheme’ that left California wildfire survivors underinsured
The Chronicle. SUSIE NEILSON/MEGAN FAN MUNCE: "State Farm General, the largest insurer in California, stands accused of orchestrating a “multi-faceted illegal scheme” to underinsure California homeowners in an effort to grow its market share, according to a lawsuit brought by Los Angeles wildfire survivors.
In a complaint filed Monday with the Los Angeles Superior Court, attorneys alleged State Farm’s California subsidiary and one of its agents “deliberately” misused reconstruction cost estimation programs to undervalue how much its policyholders’ homes would cost to rebuild after a disaster. That allowed them to offer cheaper policies while deceptively marketing those policies as providing “100% replacement cost” coverage."
Lake Tahoe is getting murkier — and scientists don’t know why
The Chronicle, AIDIN VAZIRI: "Lake Tahoe’s famously clear blue waters became noticeably murkier in 2024, ranking as the third least clear on record — and the worst in several years — according to a new report from UC Davis researchers who have monitored the lake for decades.
The annual Lake Tahoe Clarity Report, released Monday by the university’s Tahoe Environmental Research Center, found the lake’s average clarity last year was 62.3 feet — nearly six feet shallower than in 2023."
Can Trump keep troops in LA? Gavin Newsom’s case goes to appeals court today
CALMatters, MIKHAIL ZINSHTEYN: "Gov. Gavin Newsom had a fleeting win against President Trump last week when a federal judge handed down an order that would have halted Trump’s deployment of the National Guard in Los Angeles. Within hours of that decision, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals suspended the ruling, allowing the troops to remain under Trump’s control.
Today, the appeals court is scheduled to pick up where it left off in Newsom’s challenge to Trump’s order."
ICE raids leave people ‘scared to leave the house’ in South Bay town
LAT, RUBEN VIVES: "The truck carrying two men suspected of living in the country illegally was pinned between a white rusty fence and two border patrol vehicles near a busy intersection in Hawthorne.
Standing by the passenger door, two federal agents were handcuffing a pregnant woman, a U.S. citizen, angering the crowd that had gathered there and prompting masked agents to stand guard with less-lethal weapons and batons."
Newsom gave his political rival a $380k job. See the special interests who paid for it
CALMatters, ALEXEI KOSEFF/BYRHONDA LYONS: "At the request of Gov. Gavin Newsom, a nonprofit paid former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa more than $380,000 to advise the governor for about 10 months on how to overhaul California’s approach to major infrastructure projects.
Touting his new infrastructure czar back in 2022, Newsom framed the partnership as a way to save taxpayers money. But California Forward, a nonprofit focused on economic development that was tasked with overseeing Villaraigosa’s work, could not cover the cost alone. As the project stretched on and initial costs more than doubled, California Forward turned to corporate donors to fill the gap — funders that have not been publicly disclosed until now."
Elon Musk gave $1 million to Donald Trump voters. California lawmakers want to ban that
CALMatters, RYAN SABALOW: "California Sen. Tom Umberg had one person in mind when he drafted a proposal this year that would prohibit offering big cash incentives to turn out voters in hotly contested elections.
“There’s a fellow named Elon Musk,” Umberg, a Democrat representing the Santa Ana area, told his colleagues earlier this year. “You might have heard of him.”"
Lance Hastings: California Manufacturing and the Truth about Tariffs (PODCAST)
Capitol Weekly, STAFF: "Founded in 1918, the California Manufacturers and Technology Association promotes policies designed to stimulate economic growth and create jobs. Today, CMTA represents 400 manufacturing businesses in California, which is the largest manufacturing state in the country. Heading up that operation is Lance Hastings, who began his career as a capitol staffer and has a long history with California trade associations. Hastings probably thought that the COVID pandemic would be the biggest disruptor of the state’s manufacturing industry in his time, but President Trump’s ‘on again, off again’ tariff policy may give COVID a run for its money. He joins us to talk about the state of California’s manufacturing industry, tariffs, and just how long it might take to reshore production."
Union launches dueling ballot measures, escalating fight over L.A.’s tourism worker wage hike
LAT, SUHAUNA HUSSAIN/DAVID ZAHNISER: "The hospitality union that won a major increase in the minimum wage for Los Angeles hotel and airport workers is escalating its fight with a hotel and airline industry group, which recently launched a campaign to repeal the wage hike.
Unite Here Local 11, which represents hotel and restaurant workers, filed paperwork Monday for a pair of ballot proposals."
AB 1043 risks isolating LGBTQ+ youth even further (OP-ED)
Capitol Weekly, CARLOS GUTIERREZ: "California is home to the largest LGBTQ+ population in the country. Even conservative estimates show that the number of LGBTQ+ Californians would outnumber the entire populations of 18 other U.S. states. As such, California has always endeavored to be sensitive to the needs of marginalized communities threatened by discrimination, prejudice, and bullying. We are a multi-ethnic society and host a diverse business, political, and community leadership. But to maintain that progress, we must ensure that our laws do not take away the tools that have made our state progressive.
AB 1043, a bill presented as an online child safety measure aimed at protecting young people by requiring app stores to verify users’ ages and obtain parental consent for downloads, will lead to negative impacts for the very same marginalized youth it seeks to protect—especially LGBTQ+ youth. As a result, LGBTQ+ youth could face greater harm, not less."
California’s IVF coverage mandate may be delayed until 2026, leaving many in limbo
The Chronicle, SARAH KWON: "California lawmakers are poised to delay the state’s much-ballyhooed new law mandating in vitro fertilization insurance coverage for millions, set to take effect July 1. Gov. Gavin Newsom has asked lawmakers to push the implementation date to January 2026, leaving patients, insurers, and employers in limbo.
The law, SB 729, requires state-regulated health plans offered by large employers to cover infertility diagnosis and treatment, including IVF. Nine million people will qualify for coverage under the law. Advocates have praised the law as “a major win for Californians,” especially in making same-sex couples and aspiring single parents eligible, though cost concerns limited the mandate’s breadth."
Faced with paying hundreds of sex abuse claims, LAUSD authorizes up to $500 million in bonds
LAT, HOWARD BLUME: "The Los Angeles school district will sell up to $500 million in bonds to pay for past alleged sexual misconduct — loans that must be paid back over time by the school system — part of a blizzard of claims dating back as far as the 1970s that are affecting government entities, churches and private organizations up and down the state.
L.A. Unified alone has faced about 370 sexual abuse claims, according to information released Monday."
LAUSD agrees to fund $900 million to settle sexual assault lawsuits
EdSource, THOMAS PEELE/MALLIKA SESHADRI: "The Los Angeles Unified School District board has quietly approved borrowing nearly $900 million — including interest — to settle decades-old sexual assault cases involving former students.
And that will likely not be enough to settle all the claims the nation’s second-largest school district is facing under 2019 legislation that allows victims of abuse by school employees to seek damages for incidents dating back to the 1970s. District spokesperson Britt Vaughan would not say how many claims the district faces, the number that have been settled and what they have cost to date."
June in San Francisco hasn’t been this cold in decades. Here’s when the chill could let up
The Chronicle, ANTHONY EDWARDS: "A stubborn marine layer has gripped the Bay Area throughout June, preventing inland valleys from reaching 90 degrees and keeping the coast under a chilly fog.
In fact, San Francisco hasn’t climbed above 65 degrees since June 3, nearly two straight weeks of below-normal temperatures. If this trend continues through the rest of the month, it will be the coldest June in the city since 1982, based on daily maximum temperatures."
Silicon Valley entrepreneur pushes plan for huge tech enclave on Bay Area waterfront
The Chronicle, RACHEL SWAN: "A Silicon Valley entrepreneur is circulating plans for a futuristic tech enclave in Alameda, on land that is already slated for development.
The pitch for Frontier Valley, a 512-acre waterfront complex that combines dense residential buildings with space to launch drones and rockets, surfaced on social media Sunday and instantly went viral. It confounded officials in Alameda, who said the project’s founder, James Ingallinera, had not contacted them about his proposal."
As AI and federal cuts threaten jobs, California must invest in workers (OP-ED)
Capitol Weekly, LISA COUNTRYMAN-QUIROZ: "California’s economic future depends on a skilled workforce capable of adapting to rapid change. This came into sharp focus recently when the CEO of Anthropic warned that artificial intelligence could eliminate half of all entry-level white collar jobs within five years, potentially pushing unemployment to 20%. With workers facing such unprecedented disruption — on top of the Trump Administration’s proposed $1.6 billion in cuts to Department of Labor funding — it’s imperative that state lawmakers prioritize workforce development funding during final budget negotiations.
Investing in proven, effective workforce programs in essential industries like healthcare, utilities, and construction would create win-win solutions by pairing employer demand with skilled jobseekers. Yet, despite Gov. Newsom’s statewide strategy on career education, his May budget revision does not include any meaningful investments in workforce training programs. Without new investments, the legislature risks exacerbating California’s affordability crisis and upending pathways to financial stability for jobseekers in the Golden State."
With a surging residency rate, this neighborhood is transforming L.A.
LAT. ROGER VINCENT: "Like many downtown Los Angeles residents, Ricardo Sebastián doesn’t own a car and prefers it that way.
“I do not want the responsibility of owning a vehicle. That’s not for me,” said Sebastián, who grew up in Chicago relying on public transit."
20-somethings are leaving San Francisco — except for this one neighborhood
The Chronicle, DANIELLE ECHEVERRIA: "When Jack Giddings, 28, and his girlfriend Amanda Guo, also 28, decided to move in together, they had a short list of amenities that would make for their ideal place: They wanted somewhere with onsite parking, a more modern building and didn’t want to deal with long commutes. Giddings works in downtown San Francisco and Guo commutes down to the Peninsula three times a week.
While the couple originally looked in the more “classic” San Francisco neighborhoods that they already knew and loved, like Nob Hill, Russian Hill, the Marina and the Mission, Giddings said, they couldn’t find anything that checked their boxes and was in their budget. That’s when their search brought them to SoMa, to a building right near Oracle Park."