Articles by John Antczak

Hospitality Workers Ratify New Contract with 34 Southern California Hotels

Thousands of Southern California hospitality workers overwhelmingly ratified a new contract with 34 hotels after repeated strikes since the summer, their union announced. Workers won higher pay, increased employer contributions to pensions, and fair workload guarantees among other provisions of …

Landslide Destroys Los Angeles Home, Threatening at Least 2 Others

A landslide reduced a Los Angeles house under renovation to a jumble of lumber, pulled the pool and deck away from a second home, and left the pool at a third residence on the edge of a huge fissure. The …

Fire That Indefinitely Closed Vital Los Angeles Freeway Called Arson

Arson was the cause of a massive weekend fire that charred and indefinitely closed a vital section of a Los Angeles freeway, causing major traffic headaches for hundreds of thousands of commuters, California authorities said. Gov. Gavin Newsom said investigators …

Half of California Freed From Drought Thanks to Rain, Snow

Tremendous rains and snowfall since late last year have freed half of California from drought, but low groundwater levels remain a persistent problem, U.S. Drought Monitor data showed. The latest survey found that moderate or severe drought covers about 49% …

California Weather Calms But Storm Damage Seen as Extensive

California’s weather was calmer this week after weeks of atmospheric rivers that slammed the state with damaging rains, wind and surf that flooded homes, highways and farm fields, collapsed hillsides and toppled countless trees. Tallying the damage will take time, …

SUV Hits 25 LA County Sheriff’s Academy Recruits on Run

WHITTIER, Calif. (AP) – The driver of an SUV veered into the wrong lane and plowed through dozens of Los Angeles County sheriff’s academy recruits running in formation during a training exercise early Wednesday, injuring 25 of the cadets, authorities …

California Power Grid Operator Braces for Long Heat Wave

Operators of California’s power grid expect to issue calls for voluntary conservation of electricity during a prolonged heat wave building over the West and they warned that there could be energy shortages if conditions worsen. Excessive-heat warnings expanded to all …

Los Angeles Suing Monsanto, 2 Others for Toxic PCBs in Waterways

The city of Los Angeles is suing Monsanto and two other companies for past and future costs of dealing with contamination of waterways by long-banned chemicals called polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, the city attorney announced earlier this month. Long-lasting PCBs …

Los Angeles Suing Monsanto, 2 Others for Toxic PCBs in Waterways

The city of Los Angeles is suing Monsanto and two other companies for past and future costs of dealing with contamination of waterways by long-banned chemicals called polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, the city attorney announced Monday. Long-lasting PCBs were used …

California Still in Deep Drought Despite Big Storm

The deluge California received from a powerful atmospheric river made streams and waterfalls come alive while coating mountains with snow, but as the storm headed east to the Plains on Tuesday it left the Golden State still deep in drought. …