West News

Maui’s Mayor Prioritizes Vows to Hire More Firefighters After Hawaii Wildfire

Maui’s mayor says he is prioritizing housing, evaluating evacuation routes and hiring more firefighters as his Hawaii community recovers from the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century. Mayor Richard Bissen outlined the steps in emotional remarks more than …

People Moves: Zamora Named Chief Underwriting Officer of ICW Group

ICW Group Insurance Companies promoted Paul Zamora to chief underwriting officer, leading the company’s property/casualty multiline underwriting strategy and business expansion. Zamora joined ICW Group nearly 20 years ago to oversee its workers’ compensation underwriting business. He most recently served …

Older Boeing Plane Found to Have Missing Panel After Flight From California to Oregon

A post-flight inspection revealed a missing panel on an older Boeing 737-800 that had just arrived at its destination in southern Oregon on Friday after flying from San Francisco, officials said, the latest in a series of recent incidents involving …

Washington Commissioner Fines Molina $100K for Billing Errors

Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler fined Molina Healthcare of Washington $100,000 on Tuesday for errors in the company’s enrollment and billing system. Kreidler’s office opened a review of Molina’s enrollment and billing system in 2021 after a significant increase in …

People Moves: BenefitMall Names Hutchinson Benefits Sales Executive for Southern California

BenefitMall has named Don Hutchinson benefits sales executive for Southern California. Hutchinson has over a decade of industry experience. Before joining BenefitMall in February, Hutchinson most recently served as a regional sales manager at Choice Administrators. BenefitMall is headquartered in …

Landslide Destroys Los Angeles Home, Threatening at Least 2 Others

A landslide reduced a Los Angeles house under renovation to a jumble of lumber, pulled the pool and deck away from a second home, and left the pool at a third residence on the edge of a huge fissure. The …

Waymo’s Robotaxi Expands into Los Angeles, Starting Free Rides in Parts of City

Robotaxis will begin cruising the streets of Los Angeles this week when Google spinoff Waymo starts offering free rides to some of the roughly 50,000 people who have signed up for its driverless ride-hailing service. Waymo is expanding into Los …

California Insurance Commissioner: Allow Cat Modeling in Rates for Wildfires

California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara said he will allow catastrophe modeling to be used in rate regulation for wildfires, a move he says will help restore insurance options for Californians, including allowing. It was the latest phase of Lara’s Sustainable …

California Insurer of Last Resort Is Unprepared for Big Disaster

California’s property insurer of last resort told lawmakers that it’s financially unprepared to cover the costs of a major catastrophe in the state. The plan now faces $311 billion in potential losses, up from $50 billion six years ago, California …

NTSB Investigating Small Plane Crash in Oregon That Left ‘No Survivors’

A small plane crash in a remote area of central Oregon has killed everyone on board, local authorities said. The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said a 911 call around 7:40 p.m. Sunday reported the crash outside the city of Madras, …

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