Latest California Headlines

All the headlines from our California Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Southern California Edison Paying $82.5M to Settle Claims Over Bobcat Fire Damages

May 27 2025 // Southern California Edison, a unit of utility Edison International, agreed on Friday to pay $82.5 million to settle claims with the U.S. Forest Service for costs and damages resulting from the Bobcat Fire in 2020. The U.S....

Urban Fires Spark California Firefighter’s Idea to Get Quicker Water for Helicopters

May 27 2025 // Mark Whaling and a crew raced up and down a hill in a tanker truck as they battled a wildfire in Los Angeles County, scrambling to get water from a street hydrant in time to stay ahead of flames moving up a ridge. A...

California, 10 Other States Launch Clean Cars Coalition Following Senate Vote

May 23 2025 // California is joining an 11-state coalition to advance clean vehicles in response to a vote by the U.S. Senate to revoke California’s authority to set its own clean air standards. The Affordable Clean Cars Coalition...

California Brokerage Executive to Plead Guilty to Illegal Campaign Contributions

May 23 2025 // An insurance brokerage executive in California will plead guilty to breaking federal campaign laws by making contributions illegally to a joint fundraising committee, according to the U.S. Department of Justice’s...

Senate Votes to Block California’s Rule to Ban Sale of New Gas-Powered Cars by 2035

May 22 2025 // The Senate voted on Thursday to block California’s first-in-the nation rule banning the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035, moving to kill the country’s most aggressive effort to transition toward electric...

D.A. Says Former California Police Officer on Workers’ Comp Went to Festival, Skied

May 22 2025 // A former Westminster, California, police officer and her stepfather were charged in a large-scale workers’ compensation fraud case after an investigation revealed the officer collected more than $600,000 in...

California Security Company Owner Sentenced in $3.4M Workers’ Comp Fraud Case

May 22 2025 // The owner of a San Jose-based security company was sentenced after a California Department of Insurance investigation reportedly uncovered a multiyear scheme to underreport payroll and avoid paying workers’...

State Farm Still Wants a 30% Rate Increase in California

May 21 2025 // State Farm isn’t done seeking a rate increase in California, upping its request a week after getting the OK for a large rate hike to what the company had originally wanted before being rejected and agreeing to an...

Alphabet’s Waymo Gets California Nod for Robotaxi Expansion in Bay Area

May 21 2025 // Alphabet’s self-driving unit Waymo said on Monday it received approval from California to expand its robotaxi operations in more areas of the San Francisco Peninsula and further south, including San...

Senate Will Try to Block California Vehicle Standards to Phase Out Gas-Powered Cars

May 20 2025 // The U.S. Senate will move this week to block California from enforcing a series of vehicle emissions standards that are tougher than the federal government’s, including first-in-the-nation rules phasing out the sale...

California Commissioner Launches Smoke Claims & Remediation Task Force

May 19 2025 // A new task force has been formed to develop standards in California for insurance coverage and clean-up of smoke-damaged homes. California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara announced the formation of a Smoke Claims &...

Swiss Re Profits Up Despite Losses from California Wildfires

May 16 2025 // Swiss Re AG’s profit rose in the first quarter as losses from the California wildfires were offset by positive performance across the business. Net income increased to $1.3 billion from $1.1 billion a year earlier,...

California DoorDash Driver Pleads Guilty to Stealing $2.5M in Deliveries Scam

May 16 2025 // A former food delivery driver pleaded guilty to conspiring with others to steal more than $2.5 million from DoorDash by getting the company to pay for deliveries that never occurred, federal prosecutors said. Sayee...

Report: California Workers’ Comp Combined Ratio Highest in 14 Years

May 14 2025 // Written premiums in California stabilized in 2022 through 2024 after the large swings during the pandemic, while the combined ratio rose to the highest level in 14 years, a new report shows. The Workers’ Compensation...

Judge Recommends Approving 17% State Farm Rate Hike in California

May 13 2025 // It looks like California’s largest homeowners insurer is getting a large rate increase following billions of dollars in losses from the Los Angeles wildfires and pullback on writing new policies in the...

Family of Helicopter Pilot Killed in California Wildfire Reaches $15M Settlement

May 13 2025 // The family of a helicopter pilot who died when his helicopter crashed while fighting a wildfire in Southern California reached a $15 million settlement with the company that maintained the aircraft, their attorneys...

Tesla Driver Charged in California Attacks Arrested Again for Road Rage in Hawaii

May 12 2025 // A Tesla driver charged with attacking motorists’ vehicles with a pipe in the Los Angeles area has been arrested again for allegedly assaulting two women during a road rage incident in Honolulu. The recent arrest...

People Moves: Rothwell Joins Cowbell in California as Controller

May 12 2025 // Vivien Rothwell Vivien Rothwell joined Cowbell as controller. Rothwell has more than 20 years of experience in corporate finance and accounting, working across the real estate, insurance, and FinTech sectors. Rothwell...

California Labor Commissioner Fines Care Facility $40,000 in Retaliation Case

May 8 2025 // A mental healthcare facility was ordered to pay $40,460 after the California Labor Commissioner’s Office found the company unlawfully terminated a care facility worker for reporting workplace violations. The LCO...

California Electrical Firm Pays $1.4M for Fair Labor Violations

May 7 2025 // A San Jose, California-based electrical engineering and construction company paid $1.4 million for violating the Fair Labor Standards Act. The U.S. Department of Labor found Cupertino Electric Inc. failed to pay proper...