California insurers set to charge homeowners for L.A. County fire costs
LAT, LAURENCE DARMIENTO: Residential policyholders across California could be paying several hundred million dollars to help cover the costs of claims arising out of the January firestorms in Los Angeles County.
Multiple insurers, including State Farm General, the largest in California, have received approval from the Department of Insurance to charge their customers for a portion of a $1-billion assessment they were hit with due to the financial problems of the state’s insurer of last resort.""
READ MORE -- Locals are leaving, permits are few. Malibu is suffering a post-fire identity crisis -- LAT, JACK FLEMMING
Newsom to deploy CA National Guard after millions at risk of delayed food assistance in shutdown
CALMatters, LYNN LA: "Now in its third week, the ongoing federal government shutdown will likely delay food benefits for millions of Californians — prompting Gov. Gavin Newsom to set aside $80 million in state support and deploy the California National Guard to assist food banks.
The governor unveiled the move today, days after the California Department of Social Services began notifying counties to prepare for the possibility that federally-funded food benefits, known as CalFresh in California, could be disrupted. Without federal intervention or the shutdown ending by Thursday, about 5.5 million low-income Californians enrolled in the program would likely not receive assistance for November — including nearly 3.5 million children and senior citizens."
How the Insurrection Act would change what troops could do in San Francisco
Chronicle, BOB EGELKO: "President Donald Trump has promised to make San Francisco “next” in his campaign to invade Democratic-led cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago and Portland, Ore. But a deployment of troops to San Francisco could look much different than the campaigns in those cities have so far, if Trump follows through on another promise: to invoke a centuries-old law allowing the deployment of U.S. troops into a state to quell an “insurrection,” or violent uprising against the government.
“Don’t forget I can use the Insurrection Act,” Trump said Sunday on Fox News. “Fifty percent of the presidents, almost, have used that. And that’s unquestioned power.”"
Scott Wiener is running for Congress. Nancy Pelosi won’t say whether she’ll be his opponent
Chronicle, JOE GAROFOLI: "State Sen. Scott Wiener, who has represented San Francisco in the Legislature and on the Board of Supervisors since 2011, officially announced Wednesday that he would do something he promised not to: seek a seat in Congress before Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi announced her retirement.
Wiener’s decision does not necessarily mean he will be challenging Pelosi: She has repeatedly deflected questions about whether she is running for reelection and recently told the San Francisco Examiner she wouldn’t make any announcements about her future until after the Nov. 4 election."
‘You can’t make this stuff up.’ Ugly scandals rock beautiful South Lake Tahoe at key moment
LAT, HANNAH FRY: "With its scenic vistas and clear alpine waters, South Lake Tahoe long has been a destination for outdoor enthusiasts, vacationers and wealthy Californians looking for a reprieve from city life.
It’s a place where people seem more eager to strike up a conversation about hiking, boating or skiing — depending on the season — than about the often-dull arena of local politics."
Rising Stars: Jose Barrera, California LULAC Foundation
Capitol Weekly, EMILY HAMILL: "Despite being just 30 years old, Jose Barrera sits atop the leadership ranks in LULAC, or the League of United Latin American Citizens, as the Chairmen of the California LULAC Foundation and National Vice President for the Far West Region. He is currently the youngest person and first DACA recipient to have held three leadership roles in LULAC.
Outside of volunteering for LULAC, he’s also worked as a political organizer since 2021 for SEIU-UHW, one of the largest unions of hospital workers in the Western United States."
ICE agent wounds deputy U.S. marshal and TikTok streamer, who is charged with assault
LAT, RUBEN VIVES/RICHARD WINTON/BRITTNY MEJIA/RACHEL URANGA: "An ICE agent wounded a deputy U.S. marshal and a TikTok streamer on Tuesday in a South Los Angeles enforcement operation that went awry, raising new questions about federal tactics that have faced growing scrutiny both in L.A. and Chicago.
The incident unfolded around 9 a.m. in a dense immigrant community where, according to Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, federal agents were carrying out “a targeted enforcement traffic stop” of an undocumented immigrant who “previously escaped from custody” and “attempted to evade arrest yet again.”"
READ MORE -- Human face of migrant rescuer ‘Desert Angel’ shown in documentary at San Diego Int’l Film Fest -- Times of SD, DREW SITTON; Supervisors advance immigration enforcement limits following city, regional moves -- Times of SD, STAFF/WIRE REPTS
Letter to the editor: SB 41 is a win for patients and providers (OP-ED)
Capitol Weekly, CHRISTINA DOWNEY: "As a practicing rheumatologist in Redlands, I see firsthand how delays and denials in receiving care hurt my patients. One of the most common areas where my patients struggle with these roadblocks comes when accessing medication. Why? Because of the practices of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). These drug pricing ‘middlemen’ decide which medications are included in insurance companies’ formularies – essentially choosing which drugs can and cannot be accessed. That’s why I want to thank Governor Newsom and California lawmakers for passing SB 41, an important step toward putting patients, not profits, first.
By banning spread pricing, requiring PBMs to pass rebates to patients, and increasing operational transparency, this law will help ensure that patients can actually access the medications intended for them. For many of my patients, especially those with chronic rheumatic conditions, this can mean the difference between starting a treatment on time or facing irreversible disease progression and organ damage."
This Northern California reservoir has pioneered a way to store more water
Chronicle, KURTIS ALEXANDER: "A decade ago, when one of California’s worst droughts almost dried up Lake Mendocino, dam operators at the reservoir 125 miles north of San Francisco faced criticism for not storing more water in rainier times.
But it was hardly their fault. The amount of water held and released at the reservoir, which serves Mendocino, Sonoma and Marin counties, had been dictated by old, rigid federal rules for reservoirs, to make sure they keep enough empty space for capturing floodwaters."
The world’s largest wildlife crossing is finally getting plants. Animals are a year away
LAT, JEANETTE MARANTOS: "It’s been three years since the crew for the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing Native Plant Nursery set up shop in Calabasas, with dozens of difficult-to-assemble metal tables, a spartan trailer and a million native seeds hand-collected from the surrounding hills.
That’s three years that nursery managers Jewlya (pronounced “Julia”) Samaniego and Jose Campos have nurtured thousands of native plants from seed, despite plenty of rattlesnakes, hordes of pot-gnawing squirrels, the vile smelling essence of cougar pee to repel the squirrels, blistering summers that required twice-a-day watering, even on weekends and holidays, and a couple winters of mud, erosion and endless rain."
Newest map reveals who owns every property in California
Chronicle, EMMA STIEFEL: "Type in your address, or any other California address, to see who officially owns nearly any building. The map contains data obtained from property records organization Regrid in October 2025. Most records were updated in 2025, but some were last updated in 2024. Click on a property to see the date it was last updated."
Why California’s historic housing law gave activists a new reason to battle the bus
CALMatters, BEN CHRISTOPHER: "For years Burbank residents, business owners and elected officials have been squabbling over a plan to run a speedy new bus line through the middle of town.
The North Hollywood to Pasadena Bus Rapid Transit project is slated to carve a bus-only corridor linking the eastern edge of the San Fernando Valley to the western extent of the San Gabriel Valley while connecting two of LA County’s most well-trafficked rail lines. To do so, LA Metro plans to take away a lane of traffic and a ton of parking spaces along most of the 18-mile route, which includes much of a four-lane stretch that runs through downtown Burbank."
County Supervisors vote down proposal to restrict foreign investment in housing
Times of SD, STAFF: "The San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 Tuesday to reject a proposal to have the county advocate for “statewide restrictions or bans on foreign investment in entry-level and single-family housing, particularly near military installations and critical infrastructure.”
Supervisor Jim Desmond, who authored the proposal and was the sole yes vote, sdaid the goal was to prioritize local homeownership and give San Diegans a “fair shot” at buying a home."
How the city’s biggest Ford dealer became an influential force in the LAPD
LAT, LIBOR JANY: "At a car lot just off the 405 in the San Fernando Valley, there is more than meets the eye.
Galpin Motors sells new and used Fords — touting itself as one of the largest dealerships in the world. But next door, it also displays exotic rides: Shelby Cobras. A vintage purple Rolls-Royce. Sylvester Stallone’s Harley from “The Expendables.”"
Spiking cost of catalytic converters is shocking car mechanics. Experts point to one likely culprit
Chronicle, RACHEL SWAN: "As the general manager of a garage in San Francisco’s Outer Mission neighborhood, Peter Lin has replaced many stolen or broken catalytic converters, and he’s keenly aware of how much this simple auto part can cost.
But even Lin flinched when he saw the invoice that arrived with his most recent supply order. It showed that the list price for the Generation 2 Toyota Prius catalytic converter had soared to $3,038.76, up from $2,466.69 last December. Car mechanics have no choice but to pass that increase of nearly $600 in ten months along to customers."