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California officials announced that the state has approved a $2.4-million contract with Caltrans for additional safety improvements along the 21-mile stretch of Pacific Coast Highway.
Why it matters: The announcement comes two months after four Pepperdine students were struck and killed while standing on the side of PCH.
Read more...for information on what the safety plan includes.
California transportation officials have announced that $4.2 million will be spent on safety improvements along the 21-mile stretch of Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu months after four Pepperdine students were struck and killed while on the side of the busy roadway.
California State Secretary of Transportation Toks Omishakin on Monday said the state is going to "double down" and make PCH the top safety project.
Here's a breakdown of what the Caltrans contract will fund:
More information on the safety upgrades will be published on the new PCH safety website, which will keep the community updated.
In addition to safety upgrades, three additional California Highway Patrol officers will be deployed on the roadway to enforce the speed limit starting Jan. 1.
Omishakin said the state is also looking to increase traffic fines for speeding drivers.
Go deeper: Traffic Signals On Pacific Coast Highway To Be Installed To Slow Traffic
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The Eaton and Pacific Palisades fires renewed attention to issues such as utility oversight, insurance coverage, and the broader challenges of wildfire planning in a changing climate. But California found pushing its climate agenda forward to be an uphill battle this year: ambitious climate goals faced a hostile federal government economic pressures.
Agenda setbacks: Anticipating opposition from President Donald Trump, state leaders chose to abandon important clean-air rules before he even took office, including plans to phase out diesel trucks and transition to cleaner trains. Nearing mid-year, Trump and his allies in Congress blocked the state’s clean-car mandate, a blow to emissions reduction plans. By the end of the legislative session, these issues converged, as legislators passed a six-bill deal that included a plan to boost oil drilling, relief for ratepayers who fund wildfire mitigation, and an extension of the now rebranded “cap-and-invest” program.
Read on... for more on what 2025 delivered on the climate front.
Days after 2025 began, two fires scorched through Los Angeles neighborhoods, the most destructive in California’s history. The Eaton and Pacific Palisades fires also renewed attention to issues such as utility oversight, insurance coverage, and the broader challenges of wildfire planning in a changing climate. And their harms rippled outward, leaving thousands of low-income workers and immigrants without jobs.
But California found pushing its climate agenda forward to be an uphill battle this year: Ambitious climate goals faced a hostile federal government economic pressures.
Anticipating opposition from President Donald Trump, state leaders chose to abandon important clean-air rules before he even took office, including plans to phase out diesel trucks and transition to cleaner trains. Nearing mid-year, Trump and his allies in Congress blocked the state’s clean-car mandate, a blow to emissions reduction plans.
Nevertheless, as part of budget negotiations, Gov. Gavin Newsom sought to reauthorize California’s landmark cap-and-trade program, launching a debate that would resolve in the final hours of the legislative session.
Blaming climate and environmental regulation, Phillips 66 and Valero followed through on plans to shutter oil refineries, raising concerns about gas prices and the future of the state’s oil industry. In Wilmington, Phillips 66 is now closed. A high-profile explosion at Chevron’s El Segundo refinery nearby underscored persistent safety and environmental risks tied to remaining facilities.
By the end of the legislative session, these issues converged, as legislators passed a six-bill deal that included a plan to boost oil drilling, relief for ratepayers who fund wildfire mitigation, and an extension of the now rebranded “cap-and-invest” program.
As lawmakers passed sweeping reforms to California’s landmark environmental review law, critics warned exemptions may make it easier for potentially high-polluting advanced manufacturing facilities to take root in already vulnerable areas.
Longstanding conflicts over water continued to simmer this year. The governor continued pressing to fast-track a $20 billion tunnel around the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to send more water south — to the outrage of Delta lawmakers. And dry conditions led to dire projections for the Colorado River, a vital water supply for Southern California. They ramped up the tensions — and the urgency — as negotiators from states that rely on the river tried, and failed, to reach a deal portioning out water supplies.
Affordability, the cost of climate adaptation, and pollution harms, in the skies and in the waste stream, continue to be key issues for California. As Gov. Gavin Newsom’s balancing act continues, the state will navigate tensions with environmental justice advocates unhappy with compromises. Emerging risks include the cost – in energy and water – of data centers, and the environmental consequences of the battery economy.
This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.
Topline:
For more than a century, the Rose Parade has delighted audiences across Southern California with its colorful, elaborate floats and fanfare.
What you should know: The parade will celebrate its 137th year when floats begin traveling through Pasadena at 8 a.m. Jan. 1, 2026. This year's theme is "Magic in Teamwork," and Magic Johnson is the Grand Marshal.
Keep reading... for details about key participants — from movie and music stars to sports legends to real-life heroes, and a even a couple of fictional characters, and some vintage photos.
For more than a century, the Rose Parade has delighted audiences across Southern California with its colorful, elaborate floats and fanfare.
The parade will celebrate its 137th year when floats begin traveling through Pasadena at 8 a.m. Jan. 1, 2026. This year's theme is "Magic in Teamwork," and Magic Johnson is the Grand Marshal.
This year, for the first time in two decades, rain appears to be highly likely on parade day. Rain conditions are rare for the legendary parade.
Showing off SoCal weather, in fact, was one of the main drivers of the parade's creation.
As the Pasadena Tournament of Roses website recounts, Charles F. Holder led Valley Hunt Club members in creating the parade in 1890, saying: “In New York, people are buried in snow. Here our flowers are blooming and our oranges are about to bear. Let’s hold a festival to tell the world about our paradise.”
Here are photos from some of the Rose Parades past, with details about key participants — from movie and music stars to sports legends to real-life heroes, and a even a couple of fictional characters:
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A version of this story initially ran in 2019. It has been updated with additional parade details.
Topline:
California showed it was serious about regulating Big Tech in 2025 — and Big Tech showed it was serious about coming to the statehouse and fighting back.
Why it matters: The upshot was a barrage of laws designed to curb tech harms but often in watered down form.
What's next: Next year will see no end to the tension between protecting Californians from artificial intelligence and the impulse to protect the flow of money into the industry.
Read on... for more on Big Tech regulation in 2025.
California showed it was serious about regulating Big Tech in 2025 — and Big Tech showed it was serious about coming to the statehouse and fighting back.
The upshot was a barrage of laws designed to curb tech harms but often in watered down form.
Take San Francisco Democratic Sen. Scott Weiner’s legislation to keep artificial intelligence systems from enabling catastrophes like biological weapons attacks. The original version would have mandated safeguards over AI systems and imposed possible liability on their developers.Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed it amid concerns that it would stifle innovation in the state’s booming AI industry. This year’s version, signed into law, merely requires big AI companies to publish safety frameworks and creates a pathway for reporting safety incidents.
Similar dilutions occurred over other tech proposals. Of various bills to regulate data centers, those mandating disclosure of water and power use failed while one merely letting regulators look into those uses passed. On AI chatbots talking to kids, a bill outright banning any harmful chats failed while one just requiring protocols for suicidal users became law. A similar process winnowed six bills to regulate algorithmic pricing down to one signed by the governor, forbidding tech platforms from requiring their business customers to use their pricing recommendations.
That came after another year of aggressive lobbying by tech companies, sometimes behind the scenes.
Still, advocates for more regulation won some outright victories, including a new browser setting to forbid websites from transferring personal data. Experts say this “opt out” will end up helping consumers across the U.S.
Meanwhile, California’s executive branch struggled with the process of guarding against online hackers, losing its top cybersecurity official amid discord in the office that position oversees. Law enforcement agencies across the state also struggled to correctly handle the digital data they collected, with many local police departments illegally sharing information on vehicle movements, gleaned from automated license plate readers, with federal agencies like Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Next year will see no end to the tension between protecting Californians from artificial intelligence and the impulse to protect the flow of money into the industry. An ambitious bill requiring disclosure of AI use in consequential decisions, such as in housing and education, will return. Data centers will stir controversy as AI spikes their power use, potentially opening the door to nuclear power. Lastly, the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress have drawn up proposals — thus far not acted upon — to preempt state laws regulating AI. If enacted, such plans would hit California hardest.
This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.
Topline:
Nearly one year after fires destroyed thousands of homes in L.A. County, many families have concluded that rebuilding isn’t in their budget. In nearly half of recent deals for empty lots, homeowners are selling to investors. That’s the conclusion researchers with the online real estate listings platform Redfin reached in a new report published this morning.
The numbers: Analyzing transactions in L.A. County burn zones during July, August and September, they found that about 40% of Pacific Palisades vacant lots went to corporate buyers. In both Altadena and Malibu, about 44% of such vacant lot sales went to investors.
The context: Investor activity is common following disasters. While some say they can be helpful in bringing homes back to ravaged communities, others are skeptical about their plans. Some lawmakers and organizations have been working to counteract speculative development in Altadena.
Read on… to learn why one Altadena fire survivor sees this trend as “disaster capitalism” coming for the diverse foothill community.
Shortly after the Eaton Fire destroyed thousands of homes in and around Altadena, signs sprung up across the community announcing “Altadena is not for sale.”
Now, nearly one year later, hundreds of Altadena families have concluded that rebuilding isn’t in their budget. In nearly half of recent deals for empty lots, homeowners are selling to investors.
That’s the conclusion researchers with the online real estate listings platform Redfin reached in a new report published Tuesday.
Analyzing transactions in L.A. County burn zones during July, August and September, they found that about 40% of Pacific Palisades vacant lots went to corporate buyers. In both Altadena and Malibu, about 44% of such vacant lot sales went to investors.
“It's not uncommon to see that when disasters hit a place, investors come in,” said Sheharyar Bokhari, Redfin’s principal economist. “It's hard to value a vacant lot, so you could perhaps buy lower than what it should sell for and then flip it.”
To conduct the analysis, Redfin researchers looked at sales in the zip codes 90272 for the Pacific Palisades, 91001 for Altadena and 90265 for Malibu. They categorized buyers as investors if their names contained words or abbreviations such as LLC, Inc, Corp or Homes.
There was a marked increase of vacant lots sales in all communities, according to the report. In the Pacific Palisades, 119 lots sold in July, August and September. Altadena saw 61 lot sales. In 2024, before the fires, neither Pacific Palisades nor Altadena had any lots selling in those months.
Malibu saw some vacant lots sell in that time frame in 2024. But before the fires, only about 21% of those sales were to investors.
The findings are similar to those in a separate report published in October by the nonprofit Strategic Actions for a Just Economy. That report found that 49% of sales in the Eaton Fire burn zone went to corporate entities.
Zaire Calvin lost his family’s home in Altadena and had a sister who died in the fire. He said the trend shows “disaster capitalism” poised to change the diverse foothill community.
“If rebuilding becomes a race for capital instead of a return home for families, then disaster has been basically repackaged as opportunity for those with the most resources,” Calvin said. “It's like they're preying on us while we're still praying for hope and help.”
Some lawmakers and organizations have been working to counteract speculative development..
Assembly Bill 851, signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in October, outlawed unsolicited offers on properties in burn zones until 2027.
The nonprofit Greenline Housing Foundation has been buying lots from distressed sellers in Altadena, giving them an alternative to more bottom-line driven investors. The organization has said it intends to rebuild homes and sell them at below market prices to first-time buyers.
Bokhari, the Redfin economist, said investor activity is not entirely detrimental to communities recovering from disaster.
“Investors who have a lot more capital can come in and build that community,” he said. They can afford to clean up lingering environmental damage and build homes that comply with the latest fire safety codes, he said.
“Investors play that role in bringing back those homes,” Bokhari said.
Still, uncertainty around investors’ plans have left many Altadenans anxious. Will homes be for sale or for rent? How will those homes look? Will investor-built properties give Black families a way to continue building generational wealth in a historically Black corner of L.A. County?
Lori Gay, president and CEO of Neighborhood Housing Services of L.A. County, said in the grand scheme of L.A. real estate, not many lots in Altadena are trading hands so far. Only 61 lots in the community sold in July, August and September according to the Redfin report.
“More will go up for sale over time,” Gay said. But in her organization’s work advising families on how to rebuild, she said, “Most families we’ve seen want to go back home. They’re not trying to leave. They’re trying to figure out how to stay.”
