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State plans pricey fixes to California’s broken insurance market. Are homeowners on board?

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:11:30 GMT

Chris Finnie didn’t lose her Boulder Creek home when the CZU Lightning Complex fires in 2020 ripped through the Santa Cruz Mountains. But she lost her home insurance anyway and got forced onto a bare-bones last-resort policy that costs three times as much.As Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara embarks on a politically risky bid over the coming year to stabilize California’s imploding home insurance market by making it easier to raise premiums, homeowners in fire-ravaged communities seem resigned to a grim fate. In a state already grappling with unaffordable housing, the cost of insuring homes in much of California is about to get a lot higher.“We’re kind of caught between the devil and the deep blue sea,” Finnie said. “We either pay outrageous amounts money for substandard insurance, or outrageous amounts of money for actual insurance from insurance companies. I don’t see an alternative.”Chris Finnie, works at her home in Boulder Creek...

Smoke exposure from California’s wildfire-busting controlled burns is raising concerns. Are they safe?

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:11:30 GMT

At Wilder Ranch outside of Santa Cruz, the fire starts slowly. Forest managers clad in yellow protective gear use drip torches to light the grass, still damp from the previous day’s rain. Huge columns of smoke quickly obscure the sun and ash rains down. At first it smells like a campfire, but soon the smoke is choking, even as the breeze carries it toward the Santa Cruz Mountains.Prescribed burns, used to limit destructive wildfires, are growing in frequency at California State Parks. But as the smoke swirls around the firefighters and drifts into neighboring residential areas, it’s easy to see why many Californians are concerned about the health impacts of deliberately set fires.“I have asthma. My eyes were burning, my lungs were burning, it wasn’t affecting me kindly,” said Michael Brokaw, who lives in Scotts Valley, 6 miles from the Wilder Ranch burn. “I couldn’t go outside.”FILE – Hikers make their way along a path on the ocean side of Highway 1 at Wilder Ranch State Park ...

All the things Taylor Swift made us care about this year

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:11:30 GMT

By Leah Asmelash | CNNEvery year seems to be Taylor Swift’s year.Related ArticlesMusic | Debate erupts over Taylor Swift being a ‘distraction’ for Travis Kelce and Chiefs after latest loss Music | Why universities from UC Berkeley to Harvard are teaching courses on Taylor Swift Music | Taylor Swift slams Kim Kardashian for working with Kanye West to take ‘her down psychologically’ Music | Taylor Swift is named Time Magazine’s person of the year Music | Wikipedia, wrapped. Here are 2023’s most-viewed articles on the internet’s encyclopedia Since the early stages of her career, Swift has consistently held the news cycle in the palm of her hands — making headlines for everything from her romantic interests to the sale of her masters and the resulting rereleases.And yet 2023 feels like it was her biggest year yet. With a record-breaking world tour, an accompanying concert film, and a ...

NFC playoff outlook: Division rivals stay in playoff picture as 49ers cling to No. 1

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:11:30 GMT

The 49ers retained the top seed in the NFC despite a Christmas Night bellyflop against the Baltimore Ravens, and a pair of division rivals moved into position to join them in the postseason.A 33-19 loss to Baltimore was convincing enough that it’s not worth wasting time lamenting what could have been had they won. Not with five turnovers and 10 penalties for 102 yards, including four interceptions from quarterback Brock Purdy.If the 49ers finish out by beating Washington and the Rams, they’ll get what they desire — a first-round bye and no travel until (hopefully) Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas.And while coach Kyle Shanahan isn’t looking past Washington on the road in a short week, the Rams have suddenly become the team no one wants to face based on how good they’ve looked of late. Los Angeles has won five of its last six and the only loss was in overtime to the same Baltimore team, on a punt return no less.The same Ravens team that was crowing about bea...

Opinion: My grandmother escaped Nazi Germany; I think of fleeing the U.S.

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:11:30 GMT

For longer than I care to admit I have been working on a book about my grandmother’s narrow escape from Nazi Germany in 1939.In her recollections before she died in 2004, my grandmother, Susi, detailed having to turn in her passport, being forced to read “Mein Kampf,” stopping and saluting when Nazi soldiers marched by on the street, and hearing Hitler’s harsh voice on the radio shouting for peace without the Jews.So, when I turned on Rachel Maddow and saw men in black masks, waving swastika flags and chanting “Weimar conditions, Weimar solutions,” and saluting Sieg Heil, I assumed it was vintage footage. But after listening, I realized it was 2023 Ohio with Neo Nazis protesting a drag queen event at a library.Yet another example of Neo-Nazis in this country stepping out of the shadows: Over Thanksgiving a Jewish friend went to visit her brother in Dallas and sent a photo she took of several masked men standing on the street corner, one waving a huge red flag with a black swastika a...

California office building sells at 52% less than 2018 price

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:11:30 GMT

By Katherine Chiglinsky and John Gittelsohn | BloombergA Los Angeles office building located near Century City and Beverly Hills sold for about 52% less than its price five years ago.Harbor Associates and F&F Capital Group bought the five-story property at 1640 Sepulveda Blvd. for about $44.7 million, according to a statement Tuesday. The building last sold in 2018 for $92.5 million.It’s the latest sale of an LA office building in a market that’s been pressured by the rise of remote work and financing challenges brought about by soaring interest rates. Recently, the Aon Center in downtown LA sold for $147.8 million, about 45% less than its previous purchase price in 2014.Related ArticlesBusiness | Medical tech firm goes on Silicon Valley real estate shopping spree Business | Big Bay Area office complex is bought at big loss in value Business | Tech company plans big-time upgrade of San Jose campus Business | Sales finall...

The late-night email to Tim Cook that set the Apple Watch saga in motion

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:11:30 GMT

By Mark Gurman | BloombergAt about 1 a.m. California time in 2013, a scientist emailed Apple Inc. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook with an irresistible pitch.“I strongly believe that we can develop the new wave of technology that will make Apple the No. 1 brand in the medical, fitness and wellness market,” he wrote in the email, which was later included in legal documents. Some 10 hours after the message was sent, an Apple recruiter was in touch. And just weeks after that, the engineer was working at the tech company on a smartwatch with health sensors.A flurry of activity began. Within a few months at Apple, the employee asked the company to file about a dozen patents related to sensors and algorithms for determining a person’s blood-oxygen level from a wearable device. But this wasn’t just any engineer. He had been the chief technical officer of Cercacor Laboratories Inc., the sister company of Masimo Corp., which went on to get to the US to ban the Apple Watch.Apple’s decision to...

Pedestrian hit and killed on I-880 near Oakland Coliseum

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:11:30 GMT

(KRON) -- The California Highway Patrol is investigating a fatal crash on Interstate 880 in Oakland Tuesday night involving a pedestrian who was “running erratically” in the fast lane, according to the agency.Police responded to the incident around 9:30 p.m. on the northbound I-880 lanes near the Oakland Coliseum. The woman who was on foot was struck by a pickup truck, CHP said.A Sig Alert was issued for northbound I-880 at 66th Avenue at 10:30 p.m., resulting in three lane closures due to the collision. The roadway has since reopened.The driver of the truck remained at the scene.

Where DC-area residents can dispose their Christmas trees and holiday decorations

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:11:30 GMT

With the holiday season coming to a close, D.C.-area residents will have to take down their Christmas trees and decorations. Here’s where to get rid of them.DCThe District’s Department of Works will begin collecting holiday trees and greenery from Jan. 3 through March 2. D.C. residents can leave their trees at the following locations from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Monday through Friday:201 Bryant Street in Northwest2700 South Capitol Street in SoutheastGuy Mason Recreation Center on 3600 Calvert Street in NorthwestMarylandAnne Arundel CountyIn Anne Arundel County, Christmas trees and wreaths are considered yard waste so they will be picked up before 6 a.m. on the curb during yard waste collection. It’s a year-round process. Officials are asking residents to cut very tall trees in half so they can fit into the contractor’s truck.Charles County   In Charles County, residents can leave their Christmas trees at the following locations through Jan. 7:Billingsley Road Re...

¿Puedo jugar Powerball si soy extranjero?

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:11:30 GMT

(CNN Español) — Con los generosos premios gordos de la lotería Powerball, muchos no estadounidenses se estarán preguntando si pueden probar suerte. La respuesta es sí, pero si pueden acceder a la compra de los boletos.Para jugar a la popular lotería, que acumula el segundo pozo más grande de su historia, no es necesario ser ciudadano o residente de Estados Unidos.Si eres extranjero pero estás en una de las jurisdicciones donde se venden los boletos puedes comprarlos siempre que cumplas con el requisito de edad impuesto por cada lugar.Si ganas el Powerball, ¿cuánto pagas en impuestos y cuánto te llevas?Una aclaración: aunque seas extranjero, si lo ganas se te pueden aplicar los impuestos federales y estatales que correspondan.Algunas loterías venden los boletos del Powerball por Internet, explica la página popular del juego, pero en estos casos el servicio solo está disponible para los residentes de la jurisdicción donde esté la lotería.“La venta de boletos de Powerball p...