The move, announced Wednesday, is part of a broader corporate restructuring at Blue Shield, one of California’s largest health insurers, with about 5 million members. It is also one of Oakland’s largest employers, with roughly 1,300 workers at its corporate headquarters downtown."
Exxon escalates battle over plastics recycling with defamation suit against California AG
BOB EGELKO, Chronicle: "After Attorney General Rob Bonta and environmental groups filed a lawsuit accusing ExxonMobil of polluting landfills and waterways with plastics and lying about it, the oil giant has struck back with a suit in its home state of Texas, accusing Bonta and his allies of orchestrating a “smear campaign.”
“This is a case about a state office holder’s abuse of the public trust,” lawyers for ExxonMobil wrote in a lawsuit filed Monday in a Texas federal court. They said Bonta, organizations such as the Sierra Club and SF Baykeeper, and alleged “foreign interests” were motivated by “politics, publicity, and private gain” in trying to thwart the oil company’s efforts to recycle the plastics it produces."
Wildfire and climate programs are driving up California electricity bills, says state analyst
ARI PLACHTA, SacBee: "Wildfire prevention and climate programs have drastically raised Californians’ monthly electricity bills, potentially forcing state leaders to balance ambitious carbon emissions goals with affordability concerns, the state analyst said.
The report released Tuesday by the non-partisan Legislative Analyst’s Office comes as state legislative leaders vow to tackle cost of living issues including high energy costs.
Biden has less than 2 weeks to approve these California rules
BLANCA BEGERT and ALEX NIEVES, Politico: "California is still waiting on the Biden administration to let it implement its emissions rules for trucks and trains before Donald Trump takes office — and those last two may be the toughest to get.
While Trump and congressional Republicans have focused most of their ire on the state’s zero-emission sales mandate for passenger cars, which the Environmental Protection Agency approved last month, the California Air Resources Board’s rules covering trains and trucks are the biggest from both industry and environmentalists’ perspective."
Gaming tribes request a restraining order against cardrooms in battle over ‘California Blackjack’
BRIAN JOSEPH, Capitol Weekly: "Just days after several gaming tribes filed suit to block “California Blackjack” and other Las Vegas-style games in cardrooms, the tribes requested a temporary restraining order on Tuesday to prevent the cardrooms from erasing any security videos of allegedly illegal games being played at their facilities.
Late last week, seven large gaming tribes filed a 153-page complaint against 96 cardrooms and related entities alleging that an arcane system cardrooms use to offer certain games is in violation of state law."
Northern California ranch established in Gold Rush era is up for sale. Take a look
DAVID CARACCIO, SacBee: "A historic 14,000-acre Northern California ranch established around the time of the Gold Rush has hit the real estate market for $16.9 million. The East Fork of the Scott River cuts through the Siskiyou County property, near the Oregon border, for eight miles.
There are seven homes on the land, six large barns and several outbuildings. Dubbed AP Ranch, the property is nearly the size of Manhattan, New York."
Crime in S.F. dropped to a two-decade low in 2024. Here’s where it fell the most
DANIELLE ECHEVERRIA, Chronicle: "Reported crime in San Francisco fell to a two-decade low in 2024, according to police data, dropping further than it did nationwide.
Both reported violent crimes and property crimes in the city last year were at their lowest level since 2001, according to a press release issued by Mayor London Breed’s office and verified by a Chronicle analysis of data from SFPD and the California Department of Justice."
KURTIS ALEXANDER, Chronicle: "The Medicine Lake Highlands in Northern California, near towering Mount Shasta, has a long and storied past.
Its distinct lakes, lava beds and underground labyrinths rose from the blasts of what is the largest volcano, by volume, in the Cascade Range. The striking landscape has since drawn countless Native Americans seeking its professed healing powers. It has served as training grounds for NASA moon missions. It has sustained aquifers that help supply water to millions."
