Tuesday, September 1, 2026

Deadline Today For The Final Bills Newsom Will See As Governor

By Lynn La, CALMATTERS

Today is the practical deadline for the state Legislature to pass bills before adjourning and lawmakers are in the final frenzy to cross the finish line. Many proposals still need to be resolved before they’re sent to Gov. Gavin Newsom. It’s his final year in office and Newsom’s last round of signatures and vetoes will be closely examined as he gears up for a likely White House run.

Here are some highlights:

• Climate fund: Legislators and Newsom haven’t agreed yet on how to spend the state’s main climate fund that comes from its carbon-trading program. Under new rules the Newsom administration adopted this year, money the state uses to finance climate programs could shrink by half, putting dollars for various legislative priorities in jeopardy.

• Monopolies: The Legislature late Sunday passed a contentious bill that would give Californians the ability to sue large companies for using monopolistic practices to stifle competition.

Tuesday, September 1, 2026

New Underground Map of the Los Angeles Region Tracks Seismic Shaking

CALTECH

In computer simulations of The Big One—a large magnitude earthquake that may occur along the San Andreas Fault in California—seismic waves ripple from a magnitude 7.8 epicenter near the Salton Sea up into the Los Angeles Basin. For minutes in this simulation, the ground beneath downtown Los Angeles shakes like Jell-O because the region is built upon a deep basin of soft sediments, which can amplify seismic waves.

The structure and composition of the ground make a large impact on the strength of seismic shaking and whether it is felt as a quick jolt or a long reverberation. To understand and prepare for how a major earthquake will affect different areas of Southern California, a new Caltech study installed hundreds of temporary seismic stations throughout LA County to measure seismic activity and build a map of the shape of the basin below.

The map shows that soft sediments are up to 10 kilometers deep beneath downtown Los Angeles, whereas other regions such as the San Gabriel and San Bernardino valleys sit atop sediments that are much shallower.

Tuesday, September 1, 2026

LA County Sues State Farm Over Eaton and Palisades Fire Claims

Los Angeles County sued State Farm on Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleging the insurer illegally delayed, underpaid and denied claims filed by policyholders affected by the January 2025 Eaton and Palisades fires.

The complaint cites policyholders in Altadena, Pasadena and Pacific Palisades. County Counsel brought the case under California’s Unfair Competition Law and False Advertising Law, seeking restitution, injunctive relief, abatement of what it calls ongoing health hazards from inadequate testing and remediation, and civil penalties of up to $2,500 per violation.

The suit alleges false advertising, unreasonable delays, systematic underpayments, improper reassignment of adjusters, barriers to contacting and communicating with adjusters, refusal to pay additional living expenses, misrepresentations that discouraged claims, and illegal suppression of smoke damage claims.

“Wildfire survivors have already endured unimaginable loss; they should not have to fight their insurance company simply to receive the benefits they paid for and counted on,” said Supervisor Kathryn Barger, whose 5th District includes Altadena and Pasadena.

“We are committed to holding State Farm accountable and making sure claimants are treated fairly,”

Tuesday, September 1, 2026

LA County Looks to Crack Down on Scams Targeting Wildfire Victims

CITY NEWS SERVICE

The county Board of Supervisors Tuesday will consider directing its staff to develop tighter measures to protect Eaton and Palisades fire survivors from contractor scams and other fraud.

“Eighteen months after the Eaton and Palisades Fires, many Altadena and Palisades fire area residents continue the long and difficult process of rebuilding their homes and their lives,” according to a motion by Supervisors Kathryn Barger and Lindsey Horvath, who represent the fire-affected areas. “While survivors have shown extraordinary resilience, the complexity of recovery has also created opportunities for bad actors to exploit vulnerable homeowners through contractor fraud, home repair scams, deceptive business practices, and other predatory conduct.

“As rebuilding activity continues, protecting consumers is essential to ensuring that residents can recover safely and confidently. Wildfire survivors should have access to clear, accurate information about selecting licensed contractors, understanding home improvement contracts, recognizing common scam tactics, and reporting suspected fraud. Although Los Angeles County has existing consumer protection and enforcement resources,

Monday, August 31, 2026

Wildfire Deal With Governor Drops Non-Economic Damage Limits Altadena Eaton Fire Survivors Fought

State lawmakers resisted Gov. Gavin Newsom’s effort to limit non-economic damages for wildfire survivors, a proposal that survivors of the Eaton Fire in Altadena relentlessly campaigned against, under a narrowed wildfire agreement announced Saturday.

The deal, which lawmakers will vote on Tuesday, Sept. 1 in Senate Bill 492, does not include most of the proposals Newsom wanted and does not substantially change how much utilities must pay after fires they cause. Opponents of his original plan included insurance companies, consumer advocates and survivors of the January 2025 Eaton Fire that Los Angeles County said was caused by Southern California Edison equipment that killed 19 people in Altadena.

“The governor was demanding attacks on economic and non-economic damages. Those were fully gone. Attacks on cities, attacks on insurance policy holders, all of those are gone in the new bill. So that is what wildfire survivors want,” said Joy Chen, Executive Director of the Every Fire Survivor’s Network, the nation’s largest survivor recovery hub.

Newsom backed off his proposal to reduce costs for electrical utilities after their equipment sparks wildfires,

Monday, August 31, 2026

County Could Sell Pasadena a 30% Share of Courthouse Garage for $804,222

Los Angeles County supervisors will consider selling the City of Pasadena a 30 percent share of the Pasadena courthouse parking structure, an adjacent parcel and the county’s remaining interest in that parcel for a combined $804,222 on Tuesday, settling simmering disputes over the garage that the county’s Chief Executive Office describes as more than 35 years old.

The item sits on the Supervisos’ consent calendar, where matters pass by a single motion unless a supervisor holds one out for discussion. It falls in the Fifth Supervisorial District (Kathryn Barger’s) and requires three votes.

The price covers a 30 percent interest in the 963-parking-space structure at 240 Ramona St., the ‘Panhandle Property’ — roughly 7,290 square feet on the eastern side of the parking structure land — and the county’s remaining interest in that parcel, all on an as-is basis. It is composed of a stated option fee of $230,000, $61,722 in agreed accrued interest, and $512,500 representing 70 percent of the parcel’s current appraised value.

Five agreements carry out the settlement.

Monday, August 31, 2026

Supervisors to Take Up Ending Local Health Emergency From Fires That Destroyed Altadena

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors takes up a Department of Public Health recommendation Tuesday to terminate the local health emergency declared after the January 2025 windstorm and fires that destroyed much of Altadena, an item continued four times since June.

Item 38 on the Sept. 1 agenda is listed for adoption, requires three votes and is marked as affecting all supervisorial districts. It asks the board to adopt a resolution terminating the emergency and to direct the Chief Executive Office’s Office of Emergency Management to forward a copy to the director of the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services.

Termination would end the emergency orders the county health officer issued under the declaration. Two remain active inside the Palisades and Eaton wildfire perimeters: an order prohibiting power air blowers and a revised order prohibiting the unsafe removal, transport and disposal of fire debris. The county’s separate local emergency proclamation for the same fires is not before the board for termination; Items 28 and A-1 continue it.

Monday, August 31, 2026

Harabedian Wildfire Contamination Bill Faces Senate Floor Vote Monday

A bill by Assemblymember John Harabedian that would direct California to set standards for testing lead and asbestos in homes left standing after a wildfire goes to the state Senate floor Monday, the last day of the legislative session.

AB 1642 grew out of the Eaton Fire, which killed 19 people and destroyed more than 9,400 homes and businesses in January 2025. Its sponsor is Eaton Fire Residents United, the Altadena-based resident group formed after the fire.

As amended Friday, the bill would direct the Department of Toxic Substances Control, with the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, to adopt lead and asbestos testing and remediation regulations by Dec. 31, 2028, and guidance on other contaminants a year later. The State Air Resources Board would issue indoor-air guidance by the same date. Until then, existing federal lead-in-dust and asbestos standards would apply inside a wildfire impact zone.

The measure becomes operative only if AB 1795, Assemblymember Mike Gipson’s Smoke Damage Recovery Act,

Monday, August 31, 2026

County Supervisors, Counsel to Announce Next Steps Monday in State Farm Wildfire Claims Investigation

Los Angeles County Supervisors Kathryn Barger and Lindsey P. Horvath, joined by County Counsel Dawyn R. Harrison, are scheduled to announce next steps Monday morning in the county’s investigation into State Farm’s handling of claims from the January 2025 Eaton and Palisades fires, according to a media advisory.

The announcement is set for the Temple Street steps outside the third-floor entrance of the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration, 500 W. Temple St. in Los Angeles. The county has not said in advance what it will contain.

The investigation, opened Nov. 13, 2025 under California’s Unfair Competition Law, followed complaints from residents about delays, underpayments and denials of legitimate wildfire claims. It matters most in Altadena, where the Eaton Fire killed 19 people, according to CAL FIRE, and destroyed more than 9,400 structures. Barger represents the Fifth District, which includes Altadena; Horvath’s Third District includes the Pacific Palisades area.

County Counsel demanded records on rotating adjuster practices, smoke damage payments, additional living expenses and State Farm’s use of artificial intelligence tools in claims review,

Monday, August 31, 2026

Guest Opinion | Robert Staehle, Lori Paul: Piecemeal, Costly Board of Forestry Regulations Fail to Significantly Reduce Fire Risk: We Need a Different Approach.

We live in a designated Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone (VHFHSZ). We support this designation, which is based on reality. You may not live within a VHFHSZ; however, the massive devastation in the Eaton and Palisades fires foretell a VHFHSZ in your future.

We need an affordable approach to preventing, mitigating, and recovering from future wildfires. For those in designated “very high hazard” areas, the Board of Forestry (BofF) has issued new, counterproductive “Zone 0” regulations that will be very costly, damaging to our properties, and that may actually increase fire risk. 

Even if you have a bed of high-moisture succulents and similar plants that protected your house from embers along walls during the Eaton Fire, the new regulations say you will have to remove those plants within 5 feet of your home. Same goes for a green hedge that may have protected your house… and privacy. And for trees that shade and cool your home, requiring additional A/C costs. 

The new regulations fail to consider what your house is made of: Cinder block,