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Levi Sumagaysay @levisu.bsky.social · 2d

The other bill the governor recently signed was AB 234 by Asm. Lisa Calderon, which will put the state's top two lawmakers on the governing committee of the FAIR Plan, though they will be nonvoting members.

Levi Sumagaysay @levisu.bsky.social · 2d

As I wrote earlier this year, the original goal of the bill was to "eliminate the list," meaning 100% coverage without an inventory.

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Levi Sumagaysay @levisu.bsky.social · 2d

Today, Gov. Newsom signed SB 495 by Sen. Ben Allen. Starting next year, insurance companies will have to pay 60% of personal property coverage limits to policyholders w/ a total loss w/o making them submit a detailed inventory for at least 100 days.

California lawmakers propose fixes for ‘insurance industry in shambles’

The fires that reduced Altadena, Pacific Palisades, and other Los Angeles-area neighborhoods to rubble have also shined a harsh light on California’s raging insurance crisis.

calmatters.org

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Levi Sumagaysay @levisu.bsky.social · 2d

For my latest story, I spoke with tipped workers and tax experts about "no tax on tips" and whether it will actually help workers in California.
calmatters.org/economy/2025...

'No tax on tips' might not be a windfall for workers, experts say

Some economists doubt the effectiveness of the new tax law, especially in light of other cuts in benefits.

calmatters.org

Levi Sumagaysay @levisu.bsky.social · 3d

Breaking news from my colleague @frombenc.bsky.social: The signature caps off a legislative year full of housing policy overhauls that even just a few years ago would have seemed unthinkable.

CalMatters @calmatters.org · 3d

After weeks of waiting, California's governor signed a bill that will allow mid-rise apartment buildings near major transit stops in California's biggest metro areas. https://cal.news/4n3hzge

📝 @frombenc.bsky.social
📸 Ray Chavez

Passengers look on as a BART train didn’t stop at the Rockridge BART station due to a systemwide closure that affected all BART stations, in Oakland on March 9, 2025. Photo by Ray Chavez, Bay Area News Group

Hed: Breaking: Gov. Newsom signs massive California housing overhaul

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Levi Sumagaysay @levisu.bsky.social · 3d

The other FAIR Plan bills he signed:
AB 1 : Residential property insurance: wildfire risk.

AB 226: California FAIR Plan Association funding.

AB 290: California FAIR Plan Association: automatic payments.

SB 525: California FAIR Plan: manufactured homes.

Levi Sumagaysay @levisu.bsky.social · 3d

Update: CA Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed this bill (AB 234) and others related to the beleaguered FAIR Plan, the fire insurer of last resort for California homeowners.

calmatters.org/economy/2025...

California's insurer of last resort would face more scrutiny under bill heading to Newsom's desk

The FAIR Plan faces accusations of denying smoke claims and more. Can California lawmakers keep the insurer of last resort accountable?

calmatters.org

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Reposted by Levi Sumagaysay

Yousef Baig @yousefbaig.bsky.social · 5d

California has been hit especially hard as oil refineries close nationwide. The state has so far offered a $30 million pot of money to help refinery workers transition out or train for new jobs. But it'll be hard to match the lucrative gigs they've had for years calmatters.org/economy/2025...

Oil refinery closures leave workers searching for a job that ‘just doesn’t exist’

As two more oil refineries prepare to close in California, workers who are laid off face limited job opportunities.

calmatters.org

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Reposted by Levi Sumagaysay

CalMatters @calmatters.org · 7d

The news has sent counties throughout California into a panic. The state is bracing to lose hundreds of millions of dollars for permanent housing, which is the one thing experts agree on as the most effective way to solve homelessness. https://cal.news/4nBKuZI

📷 Fred Greaves

A person walks past a homeless encampment along X Street under State Route 99 in Sacramento on Oct. 25, 2024. Photo by Fred Greaves for CalMatters

HED: California braces for ‘devastating’ expected cuts to federal homeless housing funds

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Reposted by Levi Sumagaysay

Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 6d

“.. Beginning at 4:15 p.m. Monday, Hollywood Burbank Airport will have no air traffic controllers in their tower, ABC News has learned.”

#Shutdown
abc7.com/post/hollywo...

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Levi Sumagaysay @levisu.bsky.social · 7d

Update: Gov. Newsom also signed SB 371, a bill that was tied to the driver-unionization bill. It will lower insurance-coverage requirements for Uber and Lyft.

Reposted by Levi Sumagaysay

Bobby Allyn @bobbyallyn.bsky.social · 9d

Apple bowing to Trump admin’s pressure on ICEBlock invites even more jawboning, says @gshans.bsky.social.

"Compliance will only incentivize further government demands."

www.npr.org/2025/10/03/n...

Legal experts condemn Apple bowing to White House's request to remove ICE tracking app

It's the latest example of tech giants bowing to pressure from the Trump administration. Legal experts say the developer of the app has free speech rights that may have been violated.

www.npr.org

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Levi Sumagaysay @levisu.bsky.social · 9d

And here's more of my coverage about what this could mean for the drivers as California becomes the second state behind Massachusetts to give drivers unionization rights: calmatters.org/economy/2025...

What unionization could mean for California Uber and Lyft drivers — and riders

California bill could let ride-hailing drivers collectively bargain for pay and benefits. Uber and Lyft say it could drive ride prices up.

calmatters.org

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Levi Sumagaysay @levisu.bsky.social · 9d

Gov. Newsom today signed a bill that will let the state's Uber and Lyft drivers unionize. Here's my recent story about it:
calmatters.org/economy/2025...

California Uber and Lyft drivers closer to being able to unionize after crucial vote

A California bill allowing Lyft and Uber drivers to unionize was approved this week after it was tied to an insurance bill that benefits both companies.

calmatters.org

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Reposted by Levi Sumagaysay

Wendy Fry @wendyfry.bsky.social · 9d

California sues city over surveillance data, warns it can be shared with federal agencies

calmatters.org/justice/2025...

California sues city over surveillance data, warns it can be shared with federal agencies

California limits how police store and share data they collect with automated license plate readers to protect residents' privacy. The state is suing El Cajon, alleging it's misusing that data.

calmatters.org

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Levi Sumagaysay @levisu.bsky.social · 10d

Important story by my colleague @ab-ibarra.bsky.social

CalMatters @calmatters.org · 10d

Immigration raids are straining mental health among children and school communities across California, a state where about 1 million children have a parent who is undocumented and about 300,000 students are undocumented themselves. https://cal.news/4gWGsss

📸 Zaydee Sanchez

The playground at Juan Lagunas Soria Elementary School is empty on a rainy day, on Sept. 18, 2025. Photo by Zaydee Sanchez for CalMatters/Catchlight

Quote: “Can you imagine taking a lesson of geometry when a part of your brain is tracking and texting your parent every once in a while?...That’s really, really difficult to do.”
Maria Jarquin, a therapist who directs school-based mental health centers on behalf of Venice Family Clinic. She estimates that schools refer about 10 to 15 students to her mental health center each week. As many as a third of those referrals are prompted by stress and anxiety over ICE activity, she said.

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Reposted by Levi Sumagaysay

PBS News @pbsnews.org · 10d

According to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s social media post, the strike killed four men, but it offered no other details on who they were or what organization they belonged to. https://to.pbs.org/4nCCKa3

Hegseth announces U.S. blew up 4th boat near Venezuela

According to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s social media post, the strike killed four men, but it offered no other details on who they were or what organization they belonged to.

www.pbs.org

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Reposted by Levi Sumagaysay

CalMatters @calmatters.org · 10d

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday threatened to cut billions in state funding from the University of Southern California if it complies with a Trump administration request to impose the president’s political priorities on campus. https://cal.news/42n1ESs

📸 Kirby Lee via AP

Gov. Gavin Newsom threatened to withhold state funding from the University of Southern California if it complies with a list of conservative requests from the White House. Photo by Kirby Lee via AP Photo

Hed: Newsom threatens to cut USC funding if it complies with Trump demands

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Reposted by Levi Sumagaysay

ACLU @aclu.org · 10d

BREAKING: Our client Mario Guevara, an Emmy-winning journalist detained by ICE in retaliation for livestreaming law enforcement activity, will be deported tomorrow to El Salvador.

Mario and his family are being punished for his reporting. This cruelty is meant to stifle our free press.

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Levi Sumagaysay @levisu.bsky.social · 10d

'Gangster moves': I talked with Silicon Valley tech workers and experts about how President Trump's policies have affected the industry. They're worried about what's happening, what's next and how it could change one of California's most important economic engines.

calmatters.org/economy/2025...

H-1B visa fees, tariffs, a stake in Intel? How Silicon Valley has fared under Trump

Trump’s policies have affected Nvidia, AMD and the tech industry in different ways. Some experts worry about the effects on innovation.

calmatters.org

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Reposted by Levi Sumagaysay

Yousef Baig @yousefbaig.bsky.social · 11d

Co-published with @zocalopublicsquare.bsky.social: The insurance industry’s playbook for offloading California's disaster risk is the same as it was when the FAIR plan was created after the Watts riots: hike prices on consumers and devise instruments to offload losses calmatters.org/commentary/2...

Opinion | California's insurer of last resort was meant to cover 'riot-prone areas,' not climate disasters

By leaning on insurance-based solutions to societal problems, California has put itself on a path toward repeating the mistakes of the past.

calmatters.org

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Reposted by Levi Sumagaysay

Yousef Baig @yousefbaig.bsky.social · 11d

Union protections and respect for free speech are big reasons why California has seen far fewer teachers under fire for comments made after Charlie Kirk’s untimely death @carolynjones100.bsky.social calmatters.org/education/k-...

Charlie Kirk fallout hits California schools, where 20 teachers face discipline over posts

Some California teachers who posted social media comments critical of Charlie Kirk were disciplined, raising concerns about free speech.

calmatters.org

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Reposted by Levi Sumagaysay

Anjali Enjeti @anjalienjeti.bsky.social · 11d

My god.

“Watson said she saw agents dragging residents, including kids, out of the building without any clothes on and into U-Haul vans. Kids were separated from their mothers…’It was heartbreaking to watch…seeing kids coming out buck naked and taken from their mothers, it was horrible.’”

Massive immigration raid on Chicago apartment building leaves residents reeling: 'I feel defeated'

The Department of Homeland Security said federal agents with Border Patrol, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives arrested 37 people in the raid.

chicago.suntimes.com

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Reposted by Levi Sumagaysay

Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 11d

JPM: “.. Incoming US labor market signals for September are sending a worrying sign of intensifying weakness. The ADP report showed a 32k contraction in private payrolls in September––the worst this year .. The contraction is all the more worrying because it was quite widespread ..”

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Levi Sumagaysay @levisu.bsky.social · 11d

CA Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara's travel may be audited by the state after this @abc7news.bsky.social investigation: abc7news.com/post/ca-insu...

Safari, limo, 5-star resorts: CA insurance boss' taxpayer-funded travel, security raise questions

"If we are spending taxpayer money on excursions like it's a vacation... the people of the state have the right to ask those questions," said one political analyst. Records show Ricardo Lara's travel ...

abc7news.com

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