Latest California Headlines
All the headlines from our California Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Judge Rejects Effort to Undo California Wildfire Settlement
Apr 20 2015 // A judge has rejected a California timber company’s attempt to undo a $47 million legal settlement for a massive 2007 wildfire. Sierra Pacific Industries had accused federal prosecutors of engaging in misconduct. But...
Man Who Hacked Farmers Insurance, Government Sentenced in California
Apr 20 2015 // A hacker who helped break into the computer systems of DirecTV, Farmers Insurance and the Los Angeles Department of Public Works is going to federal prison. Mario Chuisano was given a three-year sentence last week and...
Officials Say Cooking Fire Started California Blaze That Threatened 300 Homes
Apr 20 2015 // Firefighters are making progress on a fire that had threatened hundreds of homes near a Southern California dam. Officials said an unattended cooking fire sparked the blaze on Saturday, triggering the nighttime evacuation...
California Regulator: Utility Too Big to be Safe
Apr 20 2015 // Repeated natural-gas accidents – including a 2010 pipeline explosion that killed eight people – suggest that California’s largest power utility could be too big to operate safely, the state’s top utility...
Nearly 500K License Applications in California Under AB60
Apr 20 2015 // California received nearly a half-million applications for driver’s licenses from immigrants in the country illegally in the three months since a new law took effect. Department of Motor Vehicles Director Jean...
Former California Agent Charged with Scamming Elderly Church Members
Apr 20 2015 // Constance Gail Fortune, 61, was arraigned in Los Angeles Superior Court in California in April and charged with three felony counts of grand theft and one felony count of financial elder abuse for allegedly scamming...
California Agent Nabbed on Bogus Bond, $100K Premium Theft Charges
Apr 20 2015 // Licensed insurance agent Lars Hedegaard, 63, of Danville, Calif. was arrested on two felony counts of grand theft in April. Hedegaard was doing business as Westport & Associates Insurance Services Inc. when he...
People – West
Apr 20 2015 // Hub International Insurance Services Inc. has promoted Gay Catherine Chung to senior vice president and client director and Arturo Perez-Reyes to senior vice president and cyber-group leader of the executive liability...
Arthur J. Gallagher Acquires Madison Risk & Insurance Services in California
Apr 17 2015 // Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has acquired Madison Risk & Insurance Services in Huntington Beach, Calif. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Madison is a retail insurance broker providing property/casualty and risk...
Bill Giving California Agents Access to Vehicle Records Passes Committee
Apr 17 2015 // A bill that would direct the California Department of Motor Vehicles to give insurance agents and brokers better access to motor vehicle records was unanimously approved by the Assembly Transportation Committee. Assembly...
CDI: True Religion Subcontractor Underreported $78M in Payroll
Apr 16 2015 // The owners of sewing companies subcontracted by True Religion Brand Jeans were arrested this week on 18 felony counts of workers’ compensation insurance fraud totaling more than $11 million in losses. Businesses Sung...
All Risks Names Campbell Senior Underwriter in California
Apr 16 2015 // All Risks Ltd. has named Robert Campbell a senior underwriter in California. As a part of the national specialty programs unit, Campbell will be responsible for underwriting large workers’ compensation accounts for...
Ascension Acquires Belvedere Pacific in California
Apr 15 2015 // Ascension Insurance Inc. has acquired Belvedere Pacific Insurance Services in Corte Madera, Calif. Belvedere Pacific is a full-service employee benefits and insurance brokerage. Belvedere Pacific Principal Michael Stallone...
Pacific Northwest Study Says More Could Survive Tsunami if They Can Just Walk Faster
Apr 15 2015 // About 5,500 more people could survive a major tsunami hitting the Pacific Northwest if they just walk a little faster to higher ground after roads are knocked out, a new study shows. The report published Monday in the...
California Court Cuts Damages to $2.8M in Jehovah’s Sex Abuse Case
Apr 15 2015 // An appeals court has trimmed to $2.8 million the damages awarded to a woman who said the Jehovah’s Witnesses allowed an adult member of a Northern California church to molest her when she was a child in the...
Former California Agent Charged With Scamming Elderly Church Members
Apr 13 2015 // Constance Gail Fortune, 61, was arraigned in Los Angeles Superior Court in California and charged with three felony counts of grand theft and one felony count of financial elder abuse for allegedly scamming seniors, many...
Chung and Perez-Reyes Named SVPs at Hub in California
Apr 13 2015 // Hub International Insurance Services Inc. has promoted Gay Catherine Chung to senior vice president and client director and Arturo Perez-Reyes to senior vice president and cyber-group leader of the executive liability...
California Regulators Order PG&E to Pay $1.6B for Deadly Gas Blast
Apr 13 2015 // California regulators imposed the largest penalty in the agency’s history, ordering PG&E Corp. to pay $1.6 billion for failures that led to a deadly 2010 natural gas pipeline explosion in a San Francisco...
California Regulator: Utility Too Big to be Safe
Apr 10 2015 // Repeated natural-gas accidents – including a 2010 pipeline explosion that killed eight people – suggest that California’s largest power utility could be too big to operate safely, the state’s top utility...
Bill Giving California Agents Access to Vehicle Records Heads to Committee
Apr 10 2015 // A bill that would direct the California Department of Motor Vehicles to give insurance agents and brokers better access to motor vehicle records will be heard before the before the Assembly Transportation Committee on...
