West News

Washington Commissioner Asks Insurers to Extend Additional Living Expenses for Wildfire Victims

Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler is asking insurers to extend the additional living expenses benefit for wildfire victims who are nearing their 12-month limit on that coverage. Many policies that include additional living expenses coverage, which provides funds to pay …

Jury Awards $13M to Ultramarathon Athlete Injured on Seattle Sidewalk

A jury awarded $13.1 million to an ultramarathon athlete who was severely injured when she fell on a Seattle sidewalk in 2021. The award by a King County jury found that the city of Seattle and the owners of an …

Cal/OSHA Board Adopts Workplace Standard for Indoor Heat

A California workplace safety oversight board adopted a new standard for indoor workplaces to enact safety measures when the temperature reaches 87°F. The Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board approved an indoor heat standard that requires indoor workplaces to be …

Wildfire Threats Make Utilities Uninsurable in US West

Trinity Public Utilities District’s power lines snake through the lower reaches of the Cascade Range, a rugged, remote and densely forested terrain in Northern California that has some of the highest wildfire risk in the country. But for several years, …

Four Minor Early Morning Earthquakes Hit Southern California

Four small earthquakes occurred in California in the early Monday morning hours, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. A magnitude 3.2 earthquake struck near Cobb at a depth of 1.1 miles, a M2.9 quake hit two miles southeast of Highland …

Containment Grows on New Mexico Wildfires, as Rains and Cooler Weather Help

Containment has grown on a pair of New Mexico wildfires that destroyed thousands of structures and forced the evacuation of more than 8,000 people. The Salt and South Fork fires have burned more than 25,000 acres. The South Fork fire, …

Let Good Adjusters, Not Expensive Lawyers, Make the Difference on Claims, CEO Says

Harish Kapur, CEO of Across America Insurance Services, likes to tell the story of how his company’s chief defense lawyer became fed up with Kapur’s frequent requests for lower settlements on claims disputes. “He fired us. He literally fired us,” …

Home Insurance at $10,000 a Year Shows California Buyers’ Pain

California’s lofty home prices and scarce inventory already amounted to one of the most nightmarish housing markets in the US. Now, challenges securing and affording home insurance in the wildfire-prone state are making it even worse. Under the pressure of …

Hawaii Agrees to ‘Groundbreaking’ Settlement of Youth Climate Change Case

Hawaii on Thursday agreed to take action to decarbonize its transportation system by 2045 to settle a lawsuit by 13 young people alleging the U.S. state was violating their rights under its constitution with infrastructure that contributes to greenhouse gas …

Los Angeles Will Pay $300K to Settle Lawsuit Against Journalist Over Undercover Photos

Los Angeles has agreed to pay $300,000 to cover the legal fees of a local journalist and a technology watchdog group that had been sued by the city last year for publishing photos of names and photographs of hundreds of …

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