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Homes in Shasta County sold for higher prices recently: See how much here
Newly released data for December shows that potential buyers and sellers in Shasta County saw houses sell for higher than the previous month's median sale price of $352,500. The median home sold for $366,500, an analysis of data from Realtor.com shows. That means December, the most recent month for which figures are available, was up 4% from November. Compared to December 2022, the median home sale price was up 11.1% at $366,500 compared to $330,000. Realtor.com sources sales data from real estate deeds, resulting in a few months' delay in up-to-date data. The statistics don't include homes currently listed for sale, and aren't directly comparable to listings data. [Article]
by , Redding Record Searchlight. 2024-03-15
 
Orange County Voters Recall School Officials Who Championed 'Parental Rights' Movement | LAist
Two conservative members of the Orange Unified School District Board of Education are headed out the door after being recalled by voters in a contentious election centered largely on debates over public schools policies on gender and sexuality, and LGBTQ+ students’ rights. [Article]
by , . 2024-03-15
 
Animal advocates call for L.A. city leaders to fix overcrowded animal shelters – Daily News
Animal advocates rallied at Los Angeles City Hall on Friday, March 15 to urge city leaders to address what they say are severely overcrowded shelters and to stop turning away homeless animals. People for Ethical Treatment of Animals, local rescue groups and concerned citizens gave public comment during Friday’s City Council meeting. This group called on the city for emergency action to address the ongoing crisis at the city’s six animal shelters, enact strict enforcement of existing spay and neuter law and prompt a drafting of a breeder moratorium. [Article]
by , Los Angeles Daily News. 2024-03-15
 
Can California's last-resort home insurer handle the demand? - Los Angeles Times
With home insurers scaling back coverage in the state, enrollment is surging in California’s backstop insurance plan — as is the plan’s risk of sustaining losses that it can’t cover. Victoria Roach, president of the FAIR Plan Assn., told lawmakers this week that property owners even in areas with low wildfire risk were finding it difficult to keep their homes insured as companies increased rates, limit coverage or left areas susceptible to natural disasters amid climate change. That has prompted thousands of Californians to purchase coverage through the state insurer as a last resort. Funded by the insurers doing business in California, the Fair Access to Insurance Requirement plan provides a limited policy as a fallback for property owners unable to find conventional coverage they can afford. Roach said the Fair Plan set a new record last month when it added 15,000 new policyholders. The FAIR plan has about 375,000 policyholders, and the insurer’s total risk exposure was $311 billion as of December 2023; it was $50 billion in 2018. [Article]
by , Los Angeles Times. 2024-03-15
 
Bimbo Bakeries brings sustainability to its Montebello bakery, other sites across California – Daily News
After seeing Osito Bimbo – a bear with a baker’s hat and apron – on a package of pastries or bread, many immediately recognize the Bimbo brand. Bimbo Bakeries is the largest bakery in the U.S., and the world, and is especially well-known among the Mexican and Latin American community. One of their bakeries is located in Montebello – a city with a majority population of Hispanic residents. The bakery has recently made changes in an effort to become more environmentally friendly and sustainable. The Montebello bakery is now home to the company’s new, and largest microgrids – made up of solar arrays and battery storage for renewable energy – that will help reduce carbon emissions in Montebello, as well as other bakeries across the state. [Article]
by , Los Angeles Daily News. 2024-03-15
 
City Of LA Rejects Environmental Challenges Of Affordable Housing Projects | LAist
Months after the city of Los Angeles accepted environmental appeals from opponents of affordable housing projects that were supposed to be exempt from that type of review, officials have now rejected those appeals. [Article]
by , . 2024-03-15
 
Medieval Times labor efforts collapse as union backer pulls out - Los Angeles Times
A beleaguered union effort among show performers and stable hands at Medieval Times’ Buena Park castle has met its end. The American Guild of Variety Artists, the union backing workers who organized in Buena Park as well as at another location of the popular themed dinner theater in New Jersey, submitted paperwork pulling its support. The move came after actors in both locations backed petitions asking the National Labor Relations Board to hold elections to remove the AGVA as their union representative. They filed their petitions to decertify the union with free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation, a conservative, anti-union group, which hailed the union’s withdrawal as a victory. “AGVA union officials treated each Medieval Times castle as their own personal fiefdom, but their actions led to an uprising of the rank-and-file they purported to ‘represent,’” National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix said. [Article]
by , Los Angeles Times. 2024-03-15
 
L.A. restaurant inspectors say they're at a breaking point - Los Angeles Times
It was the worst kind of conference lunch. In late August, more than 30 people departed a three-day-event at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles sick with Shigella, a bacterium that can spread through infected food. At least four guests ended up in the hospital, including one woman who said she was told by a doctor that her kidneys were shutting down. To prevent outbreaks from contaminated food, the L.A. County Department of Public Health aims to inspect “high-risk” food facilities — typically those with full-service kitchens handling raw meat — three times a year, according to department procedures reviewed by The Times. But that rarely happens. Of the roughly 18,000 “high-risk” food facilities that should have been inspected three times last year, fewer than 2% were, internal county records reviewed by The Times show. Roughly three in 10 — 5,365 —weren’t inspected at all. A well-reviewed Hollywood taqueria hasn’t been visited since spring of 2021. “It seems like a ridiculously high number,” said national food safety expert Darin Detwiler, who teaches food policy at Northeastern University. “That should never be like that for your high-risk facility.” More than a dozen current and five former L.A. County health inspectors interviewed by The Times say the paltry inspection numbers are the result of an agency in crisis. Since the pandemic, inspectors say, they have been pushed to the breaking point, given a Sisyphean task of trying to keep thousands of restaurants safe while their ranks shrink. High vacancy rates and mismanagement have put an untenable strain on the remaining employees, they say, leading to rushed, subpar inspections. Morale plunged to a new low last month after the workplace suicide of a 55-year-old health inspector, leaving an already demoralized workforce reeling. In the chaotic month since, employees have called for an outside investigation and demanded their bosses’ resignations. Teamsters Local 911, the union representing the department’s inspectors, says the long-simmering internal dysfunction threatens both employees and the eating public — who expect to enjoy their food, not be sickened by it. “This is the importance of having a functioning government: If you don’t do the jobs, people die,” said union representative Judith Serlin. “Right now, the people who are doing the work are saying ‘Enough’ ... and no one’s listening to us.” [Article]
by , Los Angeles Times. 2024-03-15
 
South LA Man Is 13th To Be Exonerated For Murder In LA County Since 2020 | LAist
It took only a single eyewitness testimony to convince a jury to wrongfully convict Stephen Patterson to a 50-year life sentence for shooting and killing 16-year-old Yair Oliva in 2005. That witness was 200 yards away, inside her home in South Los Angeles and peering through closed blinds. [Article]
by , . 2024-03-15
 
2 conservative Orange school board members ousted in recall - Los Angeles Times
Voters in the city of Orange appear to have ousted two conservative school board members who had spearheaded policies widely opposed by advocates for LGBTQ+ youth in a recall election viewed as a local bellwether for the culture wars in education. The fiercely contested recall election in the Orange Unified School District intensified with the board majority’s approval in the fall of a parent-notification policy requiring educators to inform parents when a student requests “to be identified as a gender other than that student’s biological sex or the gender listed on the birth certificate or any other official records.” A legal battle over the issue is playing out as California Atty. General Rob Bonta pursues a court challenge of such policies enacted by a handful of conservative-leaning school boards. His lawsuit asserts that the rules put transgender and gender-nonconforming students in “danger of imminent, irreparable harm” by potentially forcibly “outing” them at home before they’re ready. Supporters of the policy are gathering signatures across California in a petition drive with the hope of putting parent notification on the November statewide ballot. [Article]
by , Los Angeles Times. 2024-03-15
 
Opinion: Ours is the most wasteful civilization in history. Here's how to stop that - Los Angeles Times
What if the looming calamities of climate change, plastic pollution, the energy crisis and our whole environmental doom-scroll are symptoms of just one malady and it’s something we actually can fix? That’s right, the planet is fighting a single archvillain: Waste. Americans live in the most wasteful civilization in history. This goes way beyond what we roll to the curb each week. It’s rooted in what we eat and drink and how we cook. It’s the main thing you pay for in your utility bills and at the gas pump. Waste is so deeply embedded in our economy, products and daily lives that it’s hard to see clearly, or to see at all. Thinking of seemingly unsolvable Earth-destroying crises as byproducts of waste is powerful and hopeful. There’s no partisan divide where one side says, “Yay waste!” Instead there are ordinary blue state and red state people at work in our neighborhoods right now, showing us how to tackle waste and the catastrophes it drives — and saving, even making money while doing it. The best opportunity for healing our economy, quality of life and the planet begins with reframing the entire doom-scroll as waste. What we choose to use is important, but it’s what we squander that’s killing us. Don’t believe it? How is it “normal” that 40% of what our industrial farm and food system produces ends up as garbage? Where’s the outrage over a fossil-fuel-dominated energy system that wastes two-thirds of the $1.3 trillion we spend each year on fuel and electricity? Why no protests over miles-per-gallon fuel economy ratings that ignore how every gasoline car wastes $4 out of $5 we spend at the pump? The average American throws out three times more trash today than in 1960. Pin much of that garbage growth on plastic waste, so pervasive now that tiny bits of it are in food, water, beer and even human hearts, lungs and newborn babies’ poop. The World Wildlife Fund estimates that we swallow up to a credit card’s worth of plastic every week! Yet we keep buying it and chucking it, because that’s “normal.” But wastefulness at this level is neither normal nor inevitable. We can make different choices. Start with some (or all) of these five waste-fighting moves that aren’t about giving up stuff you love, but upgrading to things you’ll love more: Kill your lawn and plant a vegetable garden. It’s one of the best things you could do for the planet’s health and your own, and you’ll get tastier, more nutritious veggies with no trips to the grocery store. You could also support the fight against what Jamiah Hargins calls “food apartheid.” His South Los Angeles nonprofit, CropSwapLA, builds front-yard urban microfarms in food deserts that can turn 1,000 square feet of grass into enough veggies and fruit for 25 to 40 families a week. “Why mow your yard,” Hargins asks, “when you can eat your yard?” [Article]
by , Los Angeles Times. 2024-03-15
 
City Council Will Vote on Development Team for Three Affordable Housing Projects on Wilshire Blvd. - Santa Monica Next
At next Tuesday’s City Council meeting (Agenda, Item 11a), the Council will consider selecting a development team that would turn three city-owned surface parking lots along the Wilshire corridor into multi-level permanent affordable housing. The three parking lots are located at 1217 Euclid Street, 1211-1217 Fourteenth Street and 1146 Sixteenth Street. Staff has recommended a proposal by the Hollywood Community Housing Corporation (HCHC) and the People Concern that would create 87 general affordable residences, 40 permanent supportive housing residences, and three units for property managers. HCHC would serve as property manager for all three sites.  [Article]
by , . 2024-03-15
 
This Cal State immigration clinic provides free legal advice. It might come to a 'full stop' - Los Angeles Times
Galilea Ramirez was a toddler when her mother brought her across the border from Mexico. She grew up in Fresno as an undocumented immigrant. As a student at Cal State Fresno, she met for the first time with an immigration lawyer, who said she might be eligible for a visa because she had technically been abandoned by her parents. Her mother had been deported, and her stepfather was eventually unable to care for her. The lawyer, provided through a state program that offers free immigration services on California State University campuses, helped Ramirez get the visa and a work permit. She’s now in line for a green card and has secured a paid internship in environmental consulting, the field she plans to pursue after graduation. “This program changes people’s lives,” said Ramirez, now a 22-year-old senior. Since 2019, the CSU Immigration Legal Services Project has provided legal representation and other assistance to thousands of students, staff, faculty and their families. With free legal services on all 23 Cal State campuses, the initiative helps immigrant Californians earn work permits and other legal protections, giving them access to better jobs. But amid an expected $38-billion budget shortfall, Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed slashing funding for the program from $7 million annually to $1.8 million for the upcoming fiscal year. [Article]
by , Los Angeles Times. 2024-03-15
 
Huntington Beach to consider privatization of public library - Los Angeles Times
The Huntington Beach City Council will consider issuing a request for proposals for the privatization of its public library when it meets Tuesday. In a report prepared on the item, city staff said that initiating the process does not mean the city would necessarily act on outsourcing library services but would allow for a possible agreement between Huntington Beach and a third-party contractor for consideration at a later date. City staff also stressed in the report that the contractor would only operate the facility — not that the city would cede ownership of the library. “In late 2023, the city was approached by [Library Systems & Services] proposing to deliver managed library services for our library system that would meet the same level of service that currently exists for substantial annual cost savings,” said city spokeswoman Jennifer Carey. [Article]
by , Los Angeles Times. 2024-03-15
 
What's new on the PCH amid calls for change
Some scenes are quintessentially California, and the Pacific Coast Highway brings two together: cars and the Pacific Ocean’s glistening waves. The PCH is known all over the world — and it’s a tourist destination for millions. But Sgt. James Arens with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department sees another side to the PCH. He is stationed at the Malibu Lost Hills Sheriff’s station and says speeding is a big problem in the area. [Article]
by , . 2024-03-15
 
California considers more regulatory roadblocks for automated vehicles – Daily News
California has been a leader in self-driving car technologies that could dramatically improve road safety and our access to employment and social opportunities. Unfortunately, special interest groups continue pushing onerous regulatory requirements designed to create another unworkable bureaucracy and stymie progress. The COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns led to emptier roads and contributed to an outbreak of dangerous driving across the United States. In California, this translated to more than 2,500 additional traffic deaths from 2020 to 2022 than would have been predicted by the 2019 crash fatality rate. Road safety improved in 2023 but still has a long way to go. [Article]
by , Los Angeles Daily News. 2024-03-15
 
Huntington Beach considering privatizing library operations – Orange County Register
The Huntington Beach City Council will consider privatizing public library operations by allowing an outside company to run the service, with city staff asking the council to allow them to solicit bids from contractors. Interim City Manager Eric Parra, who is also the police chief, placed the item on the City Council’s agenda for its March 19 meeting. The city was approached by Library Systems & Services, a private company that manages other libraries throughout the country, earlier this year to operate Huntington Beach’s “at a substantial annual cost savings for the city,” according to the agenda item. During city staff’s review of the proposal, they learned that other contractors may also be able to provide similar services prompting the suggestion the city release a request for proposals, officials said. “While the city has been approached by Library Systems & Services, the purpose for issuing (a request for proposal), should the City Council approve, would be to identify other agencies/contractors that provide library management services,” city spokesperson Jennifer Carey said in an email. [Article]
by , . 2024-03-15
 
California ranks dead last for job growth in US – San Gabriel Valley Tribune
The last time California ranked 51st for job growth before 2023 was the year Bill Clinton was sworn in as president, Beanie Babies were introduced, the first “Jurassic Park” hit the big screen, and Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” was No. 1 on the charts. Yes, 1993 was a long time ago. My trusty spreadsheet – looking at revised employment stats for California, 49 other states, and the District of Columbia from the Bureau of Labor Statistics – found the Golden State bosses adding workers at a 0.87% rate in 2023. [Article]
by , San Gabriel Valley Tribune. 2024-03-15
 
Day One Distributes Free Bicycles Through Metro Adopt a Bike Program – Pasadena Now
Pasadena-headquartered nonprofit Day One has started distributing free bicycles through the Metro Adopt a Bike Program. The program aims to redistribute unclaimed bicycles from Metro’s bus and rail systems and other properties to residents of Pasadena, Pomona, and El Monte. [Article]
by , . 2024-03-15
 
City of LA and Finland sign agreement to promote cooperation on climate, economic development – Daily News
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has signed a first-of-its-kind letter intended to promote climate cooperation and economic development between the city and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, and she is touting it Friday as a way to potentially strengthen business and create green jobs in Southern California. “The signing of this Letter of Intent with the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland signifies bold steps to advance Los Angeles’ green transition and carbon neutrality goals, and with the current climate crisis, we know we need to take bold action,” Bass said Thursday during a news conference at City Hall. [Article]
by , Los Angeles Daily News. 2024-03-15
 
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