Latest California Headlines
All the headlines from our California Topic Page, ordered by recency.
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...
Court Narrows Investment Firms’ Claims Against AIG
Sep 11 2015 // American Group International Group Inc. won a decision that narrowed the claims by six investment funds that opted out of a $970.5 million class-action settlement last year over allegations the insurer misled investors...
California Employment Department Rules Former Uber Driver Was Employee
Sep 10 2015 // Uber has lost another legal round in the dispute over whether its drivers are independent contractors or employees, an issue that threatens the core of the ride-hailing company’s business model. The California...
California Struggles with Wildfires, Thunderstorms, Triple-Digit Heat
Sep 9 2015 // Wildfires burned amid a week of triple-digit temperatures across California, while some sections of the state saw sudden thunderstorms and flash floods. High temperatures were expected from Sacramento to San Bernardino,...
California Climate Change Bills Unlikely to See Easy Passage
Sep 9 2015 // California lawmakers negotiated frantically behind the scenes on Tuesday over the fate of several proposals to dramatically reduce the state’s use of fossil fuels and slash the amount of greenhouse gases that legally...
“Biggie Award” Winners Announced at Big Minivention
Sep 9 2015 // BIG Independent Group Awards Accolades at Annual Northern California Event Rancho Cucamonga, CA, September 9, 2015 – The BIG Independent Group (www.biginsusa.com), an association of independent insurance agents and...
People – West
Sep 7 2015 // The IMA Financial Group Inc. has named Robin Heller its chief technology and operating officer in Denver, Colo. In the newly created role, Heller will oversee strategic technology development. Prior to IMA Heller was...
Calif. Man Hurt in Trolley Station Fall Gets $21.5M Insurance Settlment
Sep 7 2015 // An Imperial Beach, Calif., man who was injured when he tripped and fell on trolley tracks is receiving a $21.5 million insurance settlement. Fifty-seven-year-old David Long was injured in May 2013 when he stepped off the...
California WCIRB Proposes Premium 7.8% Below 2015 Average
Sep 7 2015 // The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau has submitted its Jan. 1, 2016, pure premium rate filing to the California Department of Insurance proposing advisory pure premium rates that average $2.45 per $100...
Geico Agrees to $6M Settlement over Business Practices in California
Sep 7 2015 // Geico has agreed to pay $6 million dollars and implement several changes to their business practices as part of a settlement with the California Department of Insurance, CDI announced late last month. The settlement stems...
