Latest California Headlines

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

Wineries Looking to Make Up Losses Following California Wildfires

Nov 15 2017 // A month after deadly wildfires swept through California’s famed wine country, hot-air balloons are floating again over Napa Valley vineyards splashed with fall colors. On the heels of the disaster, a new winery is...

California Workers’ Comp Division Suspends 12 Medical Providers for Fraud

Nov 15 2017 // The California Division of Workers’ Compensation has suspended 12 more medical providers from participating in California’s workers’ comp system, bringing the total number of providers suspended this year...

Tesla Hit with Class-Action Suit over Racial Discrimination at California Plant

Nov 14 2017 // U.S. automaker Tesla Inc. was hit with a class-action lawsuit claiming its California production plant is a “hotbed for racist behavior.” The lawsuit filed in California state court in Oakland on Monday is at...

Study Will Test California Firefighters’ Toxin Exposure

Nov 14 2017 // Researchers are studying whether firefighters suffered any toxic exposure in last month’s deadly Northern California wildfires. The San Francisco Chronicle reported that researchers plan to take blood and urine...

Arthur J. Gallagher Acquires Associated Insurance Services in California

Nov 14 2017 // Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has acquired Westlake Village, Calif.-based Associated Insurance Services Inc. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Michael C. Creswell, Tim McClain, Megan B. Gaines and their associates will...

California Wildfires May Lead to $8B in Insured Losses: Aon Benfield

Nov 14 2017 // California’s historic wildfires may lead to as much as $8 billion in insured losses. That’s a record for insurers, according to the October 2017 Global Catastrophe Recap from Aon Benfield’s Impact...

Someone Else’s Wires May Have Started California Wildfires, PG&E Says

Nov 13 2017 // The deadliest of last month’s wildfires in California’s wine country may have been started by electrical equipment not owned or installed by Pacific Gas and Electric Co., the utility said in a court...

New Phase in California Wildfire Cleanup: Clearing Ruins

Nov 13 2017 // Rumbling bulldozers and front-loaders have started scraping up the ash, charred wood and crumbled bricks and concrete left from thousands of homes and buildings destroyed by blazes in California wine country, launching a...

Colgate-Palmolive Settles Asbestos Claim Linked to Its Talc

Nov 13 2017 // Colgate-Palmolive Co. agreed to settle a lawsuit claiming its talcum powder products caused a Pennsylvania woman to develop mesothelioma, a fatal lung disease tied to asbestos exposure. New York-based Colgate-Palmolive...

Damaging Southern California Fire Was Lit by Ember From Old Blaze

Nov 9 2017 // A destructive Southern California wildfire this fall was ignited by windblown embers from an oak that was still smoldering after an earlier fire that is believed to have started when a vehicle struck a highway flare,...

California Workers’ Comp Division Suspends 21 Medical Providers for Fraud

Nov 8 2017 // The California Division of Workers’ Compensation has suspended 21 more medical providers from participating in California’s workers’ comp system, bringing the total number of providers suspended this year...

California’s New Pot Market Brings Sticker Shock

Nov 7 2017 // California’s legal marijuana marketplace is coming with a kaleidoscope of new taxes and fees that could influence where it’s grown, how pot cookies and other munchies are produced and the price tag on just...

Southern California Auto Shop Owner Sentenced to Prison in $180K Fraud Case

Nov 6 2017 // Hani Abujudeh, 55, of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., the reputed leader of an auto insurance fraud scheme, was sentenced to six years in state prison. Abujudeh was sentenced for his involvement with a scheme in which he filed...

HUB Adds Shipp to Commercial Markets Team in Central California

Nov 6 2017 // HUB International of California has named Geoffrey Shipp a commercial markets producer, risk management advisor and senior sales management trainee. Shipp will affiliate with HUB’s Central Coast offices as well as...

Utility in California Expecting $200M in Costs for Power Restoration after Fires

Nov 6 2017 // A California utility expects costs to be as much as $200 million for restoring power after last month’s devastating wildfires. The San Francisco Chronicle reported Friday that Pacific Gas & Electric Co. chief...

California Commissioner Adopts $1.94 Workers’ Comp Pure Premium

Nov 6 2017 // California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones has adopted an advisory pure premium rate that lowers the benchmark to $1.94 per $100 of payroll for workers’ compensation insurance. The advisory rate is effective Jan....

People

Nov 6 2017 // Los Angeles, Calif.-based Worldwide Facilities has named Cameron Kelly its chief operating officer. Kelly will be responsible for managing the company’s production offices, compliance, and acquisition integration. He...

New Insurance Lines Will Help Emerging Marijuana Market

Nov 5 2017 // The end of Prohibition in 1933 was greeted with celebrations, as newspapers slapped large-type headlines on their front pages declaring, for instance, that “Prohibition Ends At Last.” President Franklin Delano...

Hub Acquires Assets of California-Based Axella Insurance Services

Nov 3 2017 // Hub International Ltd. has acquired the assets of San Diego, Calif.-based Axella Insurance Services Inc. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Martin Khalaf, president and CEO of Axella, will join Hub California and report...

California Officials Want Overall Safety Review at Oroville Dam

Nov 3 2017 // California officials say they’re ordering a comprehensive safety review at the tallest dam in the U.S. to pinpoint needed upgrades after a dramatic spillway collapse earlier this year. State Department of Water...