California

Home Insurers Are Fleeing California
Homeowners in the state are finding it increasingly difficult to secure insurance policies thanks to the growing risks of wildfire, drought, and other climate threats.

Los Angeles County Initiates Effort to Advance Equity in Infrastructure
L.A. County Public Works has launched an initiative to center equity in all of its processes, programming, and services as it plans, designs, builds, and maintains modern infrastructure that uplifts all communities of the county.

Los Angeles County's 30x30 Strategy Earns National Recognition
L.A. County's Parks Needs Assessment Plus (PNA+) received a 2023 achievement award from the National Association of Counties (NACo).

Activists Mourn Potential Death of Bay Area Transit With Mock Funeral
In an action meant to draw attention to the financial crisis facing California’s public transit agencies, activists held a mock funeral for BART and Muni, citing the cause of death as ‘neglect.’

Proposed Short-Term Rental Tax Would Fund Affordable Housing in California
A state bill would impose a tax similar to a hotel tax on short-term rental owners, with the revenue funding affordable housing projects.

The Challenges of Aging in Place
Seniors in one Bay Area community want to stay in their communities, but many find the cost of living and maintaining older homes prohibitive.

Few Landlords Pay San Francisco Vacancy Tax
Less than 3 percent of properties potentially subject to a new vacancy tax were filed as vacant in the last year, but empty storefronts in the city persist.

California Moves to Limit Autonomous Trucks
A bill passed by the State Assembly and moving on to the Senate would require autonomous semi trucks to have a trained human operator in the vehicle.

Op-Ed: To Survive, Bay Area Transit Needs Integration
Advocates for ‘seamless’ transit are calling on California state leaders to tie a consolidation study to a one-time injection of funding into the Bay Area’s transit systems.

Enforcing Housing Discrimination Laws Falls Largely on Tenants, Nonprofits
With few enforcement mechanisms even in cities that have bans on source-of-income discrimination on the books, it’s up to nonprofit lawyers and tenants to sue landlords for retribution.

Congestion Pricing Could Be Coming to L.A.
The infamously car-centric city is weighing a proposed congestion pricing pilot program to reduce traffic and encourage public transit use.

California Sees Spike in ADU Permits
Homeowners in the state are eagerly taking advantage of new laws allowing them to build additional housing units, making a small but significant impact on the housing supply.

Orange County Motel Converted to Supportive Housing
The renovated building offers 57 housing units and supportive services to people formerly experiencing homelessness.

The New Colorado River Deal: An Explainer
According to one analyst, the agreement approved by the states doesn’t go nearly far enough to protect the river in the long term.

New Power Transmission Line Approved in the Southwest
The proposed transmission line will transfer wind-produced power from New Mexico to cities in Arizona and California.

Los Angeles Reveals New Citywide Adaptive Reuse Proposal
An adaptive reuse ordinance limited to the city’s downtown core helped create roughly 12,000 units of new housing.

California Traffic Camera Bill Clears Committee
The bill, aimed at testing speed cameras in the state to improve traffic safety, will go to the full State Assembly for a vote.

California Governor's Proposal Would Streamline Infrastructure Projects
Governor Newsom hopes his proposed changes to state laws would help speed up infrastructure projects before federal funding is put in jeopardy.

States Reach Consensus on Colorado River Deal
The seven states along the Colorado River basin are in agreement over proposed water cuts over the next three years to preserve dangerously low reservoirs.

Editorial: Newsom Should Fund Ailing Transit Systems
With many of California’s low-income workers dependent on public transit to get to work and run daily errands, the San Francisco Chronicle Editorial Board calls on the state’s governor to support faltering transit systems.
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