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California threatens penalties over insurers’ stalling tactics against car insurance buyers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:37:00 GMT

California’s insurance commissioner is warning of a possible crackdown against insurers that fail to offer and sell auto insurance to the state’s good drivers.Commissioner Ricardo Lara said this week that the insurance department has received “numerous” consumer complaints about waiting periods, questionnaires and other insurer practices that could violate state laws, as CalMatters detailed in a recent story. Lara issued a bulletin threatening enforcement action against insurance companies as a result, and asking insurers to contact the Insurance Department’s legal division if they have questions.Ricardo Lara “These alleged passive-aggressive tactics by insurance companies to slow down drivers’ access to coverage are unacceptable, dangerous, and will not be tolerated,” Lara said in a press release Thursday.Lara’s spokesperson, Michael Soller, couldn’t say Friday exactly how many complaints the state has received, but said they came from the department’s consumer hotline, from l...

What’s behind California’s skyrocketing spending and $68 billion deficit?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:37:00 GMT

Inflation-adjusted numbers for per-resident state spending over 50+ years Is California on a bender?The state’s per-capita spending has more than tripled over the past 50 years, even when adjusted for inflation, according to state data (crunched by yours truly).Its population has doubled over that time — the sort of growth that often comes with increased efficiencies. Which means, you might expect to see fewer state workers for every 1,000 residents. But rather than decreasing, the number of state workers per 1,000 residents has grown.These rather startling statistics, squatting in plain sight in the state budget, were brought to our attention by David Crane — a registered Democrat, it seems important to point out here.Crane served as a special advisor to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger from 2004-10, has a background in financial services, served on the University of California Board of Regents, and the California High-Speed Rail Authority, and the California Economic Development Co...

How Shanahan and Lynch built the 49ers’ self-sustaining culture maintained by players

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:37:00 GMT

SANTA CLARA — Logan Ryan was about to board a Thanksgiving Disney cruise bound for the Bahamas last month with his wife and two young children when he got a call from 49ers general manager John Lynch.The former New England Patriots safety had been resigned to his career being over after more than a decade in the NFL. But the invitation to join the 49ers and pursue a third Super Bowl ring intrigued him enough to study film and work out on the ship. It wasn’t until he saw the 49ers play, however, that he understood why his new team is the title favorite.Their culture of high effort and attention to detail matches their top-level talent.The 11-year NFL veteran saw receivers sprinting downfield to block safeties. He marveled at how Chase Young, all 6-foot-5, 264 pounds of him, raced 50 yards across the field just trying to make a play.“It’s a selfless style of ball, and with many stars and such a talented roster, it’s really refreshing,” said Ryan, a produc...

Two slain, one wounded in Oakland shootings

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:37:00 GMT

Two men were killed and another man wounded in a pair  of shootings Saturday afternoon and early Sunday in different areas of Oakland, authorities said.Neither man’s name  has been released pending notification of their family.The shootings are not related, police said.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Man charged in Fremont fatal shooting that may have stemmed from jealousy Crime and Public Safety | Vandalism at Hindu temple in Newark investigated as potential hate crime Crime and Public Safety | Oakland man gets 4 years, 8 months after pleading no contest to accidentally killing his friend Crime and Public Safety | East Bay man charged with selling pot to minors, cops seize $65,500 Crime and Public Safety | Days before trial, man charged in Fremont police killing of pregnant teen takes 17-year prison term in plea deal About 12:06 a.m. Sunday a 50-year-old man was found fatally shot in the...

Animal shelter offering half-price on all pet adoptions during holiday season

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:37:00 GMT

(BCN) -- The Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter is offering half-off on all adoption fees through Jan. 3. The shelter, located at 1001 Rodriguez St., is open daily from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. but will be closed on Christmas Day and New Year's Day. Puppies adopted together after being thrown over animal shelter fence Puppies under six months old will be $105 to adopt during the discounted holiday period. The fee for adult dogs will be $75. Kittens can be adopted for $60 and adult cats for $50. Rabbits can be adopted for a fee of $35.The fees cover vaccinations, spay or neuter surgery and a microchip. Hundreds of pets are currently available at the shelter. More information can be found on the animal shelter's website at scanimalshelter.org.Copyright © 2023 Bay City News, Inc.

Denver snow: Colorado snow totals for Christmas Eve

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:37:00 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- If you were hoping for snow on the ground for Christmas, you may just get it.Sunday is a Pinpoint Weather Alert Day, with snow and rain late Saturday causing potentially slick conditions for people traveling ahead of Christmas Day.How much did it snow on Christmas Eve in Denver?The table below includes preliminary snow totals reported to the National Weather Service on Dec. 23-24.The table is sorted in alphabetical order by county, and the data was taken as of 9:15 a.m. on Sunday. It will be continuously updated as the snow continues to come in.Arapahoe1 ENE Littleton1.5Arapahoe1 N Englewood1.1Arapahoe1 NE Littleton1.1Arapahoe1 SE Littleton1.4Arapahoe1 WSW Aurora1.1Arapahoe2 E Foxfield1.5Arapahoe2 SSW Aurora1Arapahoe2 SW Cherry Hills Villa1.2Arapahoe3 ENE Highlands Ranch1.3ArapahoeLittleton1.1Archuleta5 WNW Pagosa Springs1Boulder1 N Sunshine2.4Boulder1 SE Boulder1Boulder1 SW Eldora1Boulder1 W Boulder1.4Boulder1 WNW Boulder1.5Boulder1 WNW Crescent Village2Boulder2 N ...

Massachusetts attorney general rejects complaints over Boston mayor’s ‘electeds of color’ party

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:37:00 GMT

The AG’s office has fielded four complaints about Mayor Michelle Wu’s highly criticized “electeds of color” holiday party — a bash that included an email uninviting white city councilors.The Dec. 13 party, however, did not appear to violate the public accommodation law “since it was not open to the public,” state Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s office told the Herald in an email.Three of the complaints were from out of state and the other did not contain an address, the AG’s office added. A spokesperson would not confirm or deny if any investigation was launched as a result of the complaints.Under Massachusetts law, the AG enforces the public accommodation law, which “prohibits discrimination in places of public accommodation” based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, deafness, blindness, or any physical or mental disability, or ancestry.Campbell is a former city councilor...

Police resume search for Quebec girl, four, who fell in river while sledding

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:37:00 GMT

DOLBEAU-MISTASSINI, Que. — Quebec provincial police say the search for a four-year-old girl who fell in a river in the province’s Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region resumed this morning.Rescuers have been searching for the girl since she went through a fence while sledding and fell in the Mistassibi River, around 242 kilometres northwest of Quebec City, on Friday afternoon.Police spokesman Sgt. Hugues Beaulieu says police are using a drone today, which can access areas that are difficult to reach on foot.He says the search has been complicated by the winter conditions and the terrain of the riverbank, which requires divers to use a crane to access the water.Beaulieu wouldn’t say whether police still hope to find the girl alive.The child was sledding with her mother when she slipped through a barrier along the riverbank and ended up in the water.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 24, 2023. The Canadian Press<!– Photo: 20231224111256-658862caa1...

On the weekend before Christmas, ‘Aquaman’ sequel drifts to first

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:37:00 GMT

“ Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom ” led a crowd of new releases at the box office on the weekend before Christmas Monday. The DC and Warner Bros. superhero sequel starring Jason Momoa earned an estimated $28.1 million in its first three days of release in 3,706 locations in North America, according to studio estimates Sunday. By Monday it is projected to have around $40 million in domestic ticket sales.Despite many new offerings — including the family friendly animated film “ Migration,” the R-rated romantic comedy “Anyone But You,” the wrestling tragedy “ The Iron Claw ” and a ghostly tearjerker in “ All of Us Strangers ” — this will go down as a quieter pre-holiday frame at the box office. Moviegoing audiences perhaps just had other priorities than going to the cinema. It is never great for Hollywood or theaters when Christmas Eve falls on a prime weekend day, but the last time Christmas was on a Monday, in 2017, “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” dominated the four-day charts with $71.5 mil...

Arkansas man accused of making pipe bombs, trying to flee U.S. in kayak

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:37:00 GMT

BELLA VISTA, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — An Arkansas man has been arrested after being found with six homemade pipe bombs, according to court documents.Lawrence Hickman, 52, was booked into the Benton County Jail on Thursday on six counts of criminal possession of explosive materials or a destructive device. He is being held on a $1 million bond.Lawrence Hickman, 52 (Courtesy: Benton County Jail)According to the arrest affidavit, a woman called Bella Vista police on Dec. 9 to report that Hickman had been harassing her. Rare mushroom that hisses only blooms in Japan — and this U.S. state Once BVPD arrived at Hickman's residence, the woman told police she found a bottle of chloroform in a dresser drawer.The woman also reported that pipe bombs were found in a plastic bag in Hickman's residence on Bishampton Lane in Bella Vista, according to the affidavit. The pipe bombs were found to be live after X-raying them, one officer's narrative said.The Bentonville Bomb Squad was contacted about the s...