Latest California Headlines
All the headlines from our California Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Workers’ Comp Premiums Increase By 5.3% in First Half of 2015
Sep 21 2015 // Demotech’s review of second quarter 2015 data, as recently reported by insurers to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, shows that workers’ compensation insurers reported a 5.3 percent increase...
Will Uber Employee Status Ruling in California Impact Its Business Model?
Sep 21 2015 // A California Labor Commission ruling in June that an Uber driver is an employee and not a contractor opens the door to more scrutiny over the rideshare giant’s business model, but that was just the proverbial tip of...
L.A. County’s 100K Shady Palms Potential Deathtraps for Workers
Sep 21 2015 // There may be nothing more synonymous with Los Angeles County than the tall, waving palm trees that line so many busy boulevards and beach fronts. Yet the towering icons of Southern California have a dark side. Palm trees...
El Niño’s Dark Side Could Bring More Trouble to California
Sep 18 2015 // A group of drought experts gathered in California this week, and it wasn’t long before the conversation turned to El Niño. They weren’t touting it as the savior that will end the state’s four-year...
Alliant in California Names Harney Senior Vice President
Sep 18 2015 // Alliant Insurance Services has named Christopher David Harney a senior vice president in its real estate group. He will be based in Alliant’s Newport Beach, Calif. headquarters office. Harney will provide risk...
Early Data on Workplace Fatalities in California Show Decline
Sep 18 2015 // The Department of Industrial Relations has posted preliminary workplace fatality statistics for California in 2014 that show a decline. The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries data reflect a total of 334 fatal work...
Former California Insurance Agent Who Scammed Church Members Sentenced
Sep 18 2015 // Constance Gail Fortune, 61, pleaded guilty this week to one felony count of grand theft by embezzlement and one felony count of theft from an elder or dependent adult in a case in which she was charged with scamming...
Intellectual Property News: KitKat, Williams Sonoma, Whole Foods, Skechers, Segway, GoDaddy, Apple
Sep 18 2015 // This wrap-up of recent intellectual property cases covers chocolate bar shapes, cookware designs, sneaker similarities, Korean TV copyright device, Quizno’s commercials, personal transporter technology, Oscar award...
‘Ridesharing’ a Climate Change Solution around the Corner
Sep 17 2015 // The solution to reducing carbon emissions may be just around the corner. Car sharing can reduce gas consumption and could ultimately help in the battle to curb climate change, according to a Natural Resources Defense...
Massive California Blazes, And It’s Not Even Official Wildfire Season Yet
Sep 16 2015 // A pair of massive blazes in the Northern California are a bleak reminder of how bad things can get in a state with persistent drought and windy conditions. A more worrisome thought is California’s official wildfire...
Suit Filed after California Woman Dies from Tainted Cucumbers
Sep 16 2015 // A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed on behalf of a San Diego woman who died after eating Salmonella-tainted cucumbers. KNSD-TV reported that 99-yearold Mildred Hendricks died Aug. 17 after eating the cucumbers and...
Wildfire in California Damages Five Big Power Plants
Sep 15 2015 // A California wildfire damaged five power plants at Calpine Corp.’s Geysers geothermal complex in Lake and Sonoma Counties. The so-called Valley Fire burned local power distribution lines, cooling towers and...
AIA Names Pettibone to Head Western Region
Sep 15 2015 // The American Insurance Association has named Katherine Pettibone Western region vice president for state affairs. The AIA appointment is effective Oct. 1. Pettibone will be based in the association’s Sacramento,...
Ascension Insurance in California Makes Changes to Senior Executive Team
Sep 15 2015 // Walnut Creek, Calif.-based Ascension Insurance Holdings LLC has made a series of senior management changes, which took effect Sept. 1. Edward Nathan Page, who was chief financial officer and executive vice president, has...
Rhodes Joins BB&T Insurances Services in Southern California
Sep 14 2015 // Anaheim, Calif.-based BB&T Insurance Services of Orange County has named Scott Rhodes senior vice president and chief operating officer. The 26-year industry veteran will manage day-to-day operations and work with the...
Massive Northern California Wildfire Destroys 400 Homes and Businesses
Sep 14 2015 // Two fast-burning wildfires overtook several Northern California towns, killing at least one person and destroying hundreds of homes and businesses and sending thousands of residents fleeing highways lined with buildings,...
California Siblings Sentenced For Workers’ Comp Fraud
Sep 14 2015 // A California brother and sister who owned a landscaping service won’t contest charges that they duped several workers’ compensation carriers out of more than $200,000. Michael George Mello Jr., 37, and his...
California Employers Warned about High Heat as Temperatures Soar
Sep 11 2015 // Cal/OSHA is warning all employers throughout the entire state to consider protecting their outdoor workers from heat illness. The National Weather Service has issued high heat advisories and excessive heat warnings for...
Hub Acquires Assets of California-Based Howitt Benefit Services
Sep 11 2015 // Hub International Ltd. has acquired the assets of Howitt Benefit Services in San Jose, Calif. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Nancy Howitt, Howitt’s president and client service supervisor, will join Hub...
SullivanCurtisMonroe Taps Wallace and Werley in California
Sep 11 2015 // SullivanCurtisMonroe has named Rob Wallace as a vice president in its Los Angeles, Calif. office, and Chad Werley as a broker associate in its Irvine, Calif. location. Wallace develops strategies to reduce risk and improve...
