Wildfires

While state regulators craft new regulations and consult with the insurance industry, many Californians are paying extra-high premiums — or going without insurance entirely.

The California Legislature adjourned this month without resolving the issue facing homeowners and their declining ability to acquire fire insurance. A move by the insurance commissioner to try and intervene seemed to double down on a major tradeoff.

As the threat from wildfires in California only grows with climate change, insurance companies have been pulling back their offerings to homeowners. But while the Legislature was unable to agree on how to address the high cost of doing business in the state while protecting homeowners, the executive branch is stepping in. On Thursday, Insurance […]

Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara unveils a plan to shore up the California insurance market for homeowners. Insurers would return to wildfire zones, but would have an easier path to rate increases.

Legislators weren’t able to reach a compromise that helps insurers with wildfire risk while also protecting homeowners. Interest groups hope to find one in meetings this fall.

The Legislature kicked off the final, frenzied week of session on Monday with a couple of big questions:  Would there be a grand bargain between labor and the fast food industry? Yes.  As CalMatters’ Jeanne Kuang and Alexei Koseff explain, a last-minute deal in the form of Assembly Bill 1228 includes goodies for both sides: […]

California wildfires every year emit as much carbon as almost 2 million cars, posing a threat to efforts to battle climate change.

Did you mask up during public gatherings over the holiday weekend? Or is the COVID-19 resurgence really not that bad? It can be confusing, explains CalMatters’ health reporter Kristen Hwang. Though testing data has become less reliable because access has decreased, we know that COVID-19 hospitalization rates have been steadily ticking upwards, and wastewater surveillance […]

Calendar note: WhatMatters is taking a break from work for the Labor Day holiday and will return to your inboxes on Tuesday, Sept. 5. It looks like Aliso Canyon can ramp up operations after all. On Thursday, the state’s five-member Public Utilities Commission unanimously voted to increase the capacity of the natural gas storage facility […]

California is struggling with the intertwined crises of homelessness and mental illness. But are Gov. Gavin Newsom’s new CARE Courts the right prescription? That depends largely on whether county courts and mental health departments succeed as they roll out the program starting in October. And as CalMatters’ Jeanne Kuang details, that’s definitely a work in […]