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Walters: California Legislature punts insurance crisis to Newsom and Lara

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:18:57 GMT

Before the California Legislature adjourned this month, it managed to fulfill most of wishes of majority Democrats’ favorite interest groups, most notably labor unions.However, legislators left town without doing anything concrete about something that threatens the psychic and economic wellbeing of millions of homeowners and those who aspire to ownership: the rapidly shrinking availability of residential fire insurance.One by one, insurers have been reducing or eliminating their exposure in California, having paid out billions of dollars to cover losses from years of major wildfires and, they say, facing a fire threat that is likely to increase with climate change.With Gov. Gavin Newsom and Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara involved in the background, there were weeks of private negotiations among legislators, insurance lobbyists and other stakeholders on how to bolster the state’s insurance market.However, the negotiations ended a week before the Legislature adjourned without agr...

Three LGBTQ proposals could put Southern California city council on ‘wrong side of history,’ critic says

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:18:57 GMT

In recent months, Temecula’s school board has been the venue for fights about the LGBTQ community.But Tuesday, Sept. 26, that showdown shifts to City Hall, where the Temecula City Council will consider three items dealing with LGBTQ history and expression.Councilmember Jessica Alexander is the driving force behind the items, one of which could strike a reference to the 1969 Stonewall uprising from a Pride Month proclamation and take out the plus from the proclamation’s LGBTQ+ mentions.Another proposal could lead to a council resolution affirming parental rights, a term used by conservatives to describe school district policies requiring parents to be told if their child identifies as transgender. The Temecula Valley Unified School District board approved such a policy in August.The third item would lay the groundwork for restrictions on what flags can be flown on city property. While LGBTQ pride flags aren’t specifically mentioned, a similar policy enacted by the Temecula Valley sch...

Opinion: Work-family balance should be a top-tier policy area

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:18:57 GMT

The work-family balance topic is one of the dominant issues in American society, but you would not know this based upon the amount of attention it gets compared with immigration, guns, abortion, national defense, Social Security and Medicare, transportation, climate change and taxes.This is yet another sign of our dysfunctional democracy. Neither the Democrats nor the Republicans have elevated work-family balance to the pedestal where it belongs, although the Democrats have certainly done more to get it there.The topic is actually a set of interrelated issues, notably paid parental leave, child-care, women’s rights and economic opportunities, preschool policies, LGBTQ benefit rights, a tax credit for a stay-at-home parent, and intergenerational relations between grandparents, their grandchildren and their grandchildren’s parents.Indeed, the work-family balance topic concerns nothing less than 18 years of the life of parents, their children and their children’s gran...

Trump lawyers say prosecutors want to ‘silence’ him with gag order in his federal 2020 election case

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:18:57 GMT

Lawyers for former President Donald Trump are slamming prosecutors’ request for a narrow gag order in his 2020 election subversion case in Washington, calling it an effort to “unconstitutionally silence” his political speech. In court papers filed late Monday, attorneys for Trump urge U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan to deny the proposal to bar the Republican ex-president from making inflammatory and intimidating comments about witnesses, lawyers and other people involved in the criminal case.Trump’s attorneys call the request a “desperate effort at censorship” that would prevent him from telling his side of the story on the campaign trial as he runs to retake the White House in 2024. “The prosecution may not like President’s Trump’s entirely valid criticisms, but neither it nor this Court are the filter for what the public may hear,” his legal team wrote. “If the prosecution wishes to avoid criticism for abusing its power, the solution is simple: stop...

ANÁLISIS | Biden y Trump no esperan a 2024 para iniciar su probable batalla por la Casa Blanca

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:18:57 GMT

(CNN) — Es como si el calendario de repente se adelantara un año en un abrir y cerrar de ojos.El presidente Joe Biden y el expresidente Donald Trump están atrapados en su posible revancha por la Casa Blanca un año antes de lo previsto, con el actual mandatario corriendo a Michigan este martes para robar preventivamente los titulares de su posible rival en los piquetes de una disputa de trabajadores de la industria automotriz. Trump, mientras tanto, lanza una retórica violenta y extremista e intenta orquestar un cierre del Gobierno para perjudicar a su sucesor.No importa que falten cuatro meses para las primeras votaciones de la contienda por la nominación republicana. O que los rivales de Trump se reunirán en California este miércoles para un debate que se verá eclipsado por el discurso del favorito en Detroit, parte de su duelo con Biden por los vitales votos de los obreros en un estado indeciso que ambos ganaron de camino a la Casa Blanca.El enfrentamiento de 2024 que, según...

El gobernador de California firma una ley que exige baños neutros en cuanto al género en las escuelas para 2026

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:18:57 GMT

(CNN) — El gobernador de California, Gavin Newsom, firmó una ley que exige que las escuelas de Kínder a grado 12 proporcionen baños neutros en cuanto al género para julio de 2026.La nueva ley, proyecto de ley del Senado 760, fue una de una serie de leyes firmadas por Newsom este sábado para ampliar las protecciones para la comunidad LGBTQ del estado.“California se enorgullece de tener algunas de las leyes más sólidas del país cuando se trata de proteger y apoyar a nuestra comunidad LGBTQ+”, dijo Newsom en un comunicado.Según la ley, “cada distrito escolar, oficina de educación del condado y escuela autónoma” debería tener al menos un baño neutral en cuanto al género en el campus el 1 de julio de 2026 o antes. El baño debe estar disponible para su uso durante horas escolares y durante funciones escolares cuando los estudiantes estén presentes, establece la ley.La ley permite el cierre temporal de cualquier baño neutral en cuanto al género solo si existe una preocupación documen...

Ford detiene la construcción de una planta de baterías para vehículos eléctricos en Michigan de US$ 3.500 millones en medio de la huelga del United Auto Workers

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:18:57 GMT

(CNN) — Ford detiene la construcción de una nueva planta de baterías para vehículos eléctricos de US$ 3.500 millones en Michigan, incluso cuando la transición a los vehículos eléctricos se ha convertido en un importante punto de fricción en una huelga de United Auto Workers contra los fabricantes de automóviles Ford, GM y Stellantis.Hasta ahora no se ha tomado una decisión final sobre si la planta, en última instancia, entrará en funcionamiento, dijo el portavoz de Ford, TR Reid.Si se completa, la planta estará ubicada en un sitio de 384 hectáreas en el sur de Michigan, cerca de la ciudad de Marshall. Los planes de Ford eran emplear a 2.500 personas cuando la planta comenzara a producir en 2026. Ford había anunciado planes para la fábrica de baterías en febrero pasado.“Estamos pausando el trabajo y limitando el gasto en la construcción del proyecto Marshall hasta que estemos seguros de nuestra capacidad para operar la planta de manera competitiva”, dijo Reid en un ...

2023 Colorado ski resorts opening dates

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:18:57 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Some of Colorado's most popular ski resorts open as soon as late October. Many areas have already released a projected opening date, so you can get a head start on planning your weekend getaway. Photos: 1st snowfall on Colorado peaks The projected opening dates are condition and weather permitting.Projected opening datesArapahoe Basin: To be announced. It was the first resort to open last year on Oct. 23.Keystone: As early as mid-October. It opened on Oct. 28, 2022.Winter Park: As soon as possible. It opened on Oct. 31 last year.Loveland Ski Area: To be announced. Last year it opened on Nov. 3.Breckenridge Ski Resort: Nov. 10Vail Mountain: Nov. 10Copper Mountain: To be announced. It opened on Nov. 14 last year.Eldora Mountain: Nov. 17Purgatory Resort: Nov. 18Beaver Creek Resort: Nov. 22Crested Butte Mountain Resort: Nov. 22Steamboat: Nov. 22Aspen Mountain: Nov. 23Snowmass: Nov. 23Telluride Ski Resort: Nov. 23Silverton Mountain: Nov. 25Powderhorn: To be announced. L...

Deadly weekend for pedestrians as Colorado deaths reach all-time high

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:18:57 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — It was a deadly weekend for pedestrians across the Denver metro area with five people killed in car crashes, four of those being pedestrians.Metro area police reported deadly car crashes involving pedestrians at the following locations:Bowles Avenue near Santa Fe DriveE. Colfax Avenue and Children's WayMorrison Road and S. Sheridan Boulevard40th Avenue and Colorado Boulevard“This continually happens,” Denver safety advocate Allen Cowgill said. “It's typically on the same roads, places like Federal, Colorado, and Colfax.” Parker police step up traffic enforcement Cowgill speaks out for safer streets from the heart.“A friend from church, Tim Campbell, was hit and killed on West Colfax,” Cowgill said. “My neighbor Gary was hit by a driver that kind of ran through a red light over close to Wadsworth. There is no appropriate number of traffic deaths. The only appropriate number is zero.”In order for there to be zero traffic-related deaths, Cowgill sees a need for system...

Hit-and-run suspect turns herself in after striking 2 teens in Miami Beach

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:18:57 GMT

Police arrested a 40-year-old woman involved in a hit-and-run that injured two teens in Miami Beach. Carolina Celeste Araya Ortiz surrendered herself to authorities at the Miami Beach Police Department on Monday, at approximately 10:43, just after 7News aired a story about Mili Retamoza and Calvin Thomas speaking out about the incident. According to the police report, she was traveling northbound on Pine Tree Drive on Friday, passing the intersection of 26 Street, and intending to proceed northbound on Sheridan Avenue when the collision occurred. Araya Ortiz had a solid green traffic light when her vehicle struck the two young victims attempting to cross Sheridan Ave and Pine Tree Drive.The impact launched the victims approximately 20 feet forward, causing severe injuries. Police said, Araya Ortiz exited her vehicle and briefly interacted with the victims and two juvenile witnesses before fleeing the scene northbound on Sheridan Avenue. The report stated she failed to render aid or ...