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Wildfire damages deal, Grand Theft Auto VI, prediction market law, school lunch and more
Eaton Fire survivors protest outside the Governor's Mansion in Sacramento on Aug. 25, 2026.
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Miguel Gutierrez Jr.
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CalMatters
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- Legislature strikes wildfire damages deal and L.A. County sues State Farm
- Will DSA-LA endorse Nithya Raman for mayor?
- Grand Theft Auto VI will be the biggest game ever
- Appeals court rules states can regulate prediction markets like gambling
- Birria, carnitas and more: Santa Ana Unified School District freshens up lunch
Today on AirTalk: Wildfire damages deal, Nithya Raman and DSA-LA, Grand Theft Auto VI, prediction market law and Santa Ana Unified School District lunch changes.
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Legislature strikes wildfire damages deal and L.A. County sues State Farm
The topic:
As the California legislative session winds down, a plan to reduce penalties for utilities responsible for wildfires has been put on ice. Separately, L.A. County is suing State Farm over their handling of wildfire claims.
Listen
12:35
Listen to the conversation:
Guests: Jeremy B. White, Politico senior reporter, and Megan Fan Munce, reporter at the San Francisco Chronicle.
Last-minute deal: Gov. Gavin Newsom ditched his plan to reduce costs for utilities when their equipment causes wildfires on Saturday. A new plan would, among other things, create a “fast-pay” program to compensate fire survivors in a prompt fashion. Survivors would still be able to sue utilities outside the program for damages.
Lawsuit: L.A. County officials filed their lawsuit against State Farm on Monday, alleging that the insurer denied claims, discouraged policyholders from making claims, and didn’t cover living expenses after the Eaton and Palisades fires, among other allegations. The lawsuit is seeking restitutions for victims.
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More about our guests:
- Jeremy B. White, Politico senior reporter covering the intersection of politics and policy in California
- Megan Fan Munce, reporter at the San Francisco Chronicle covering California’s home insurance crisis
Will DSA-LA endorse Nithya Raman for mayor?
Los Angeles City Councilmember and L.A. mayoral candidate Nithya Raman.
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Myung J. Chun
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Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
)
The topic:
DSA-LA is mulling over a vote to endorse mayoral hopeful Nithya Raman. Raman has received criticism from the group over the years, although she’s been a member of the organization and was endorsed by them during her initial 2020 run for City Council.
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21:03
Listen to the conversation:
Guests: Frank Stoltze, LAist correspondent, Alejandra Quintero, DSA-LA member, and Fernando Guerra, Loyola Marymount University professor.
Op-eds highlight endorsement discourse: Over the course of August, multiple opinion pieces were released on Geese Magazine, an online socialist publication. At the crux of each piece is whether endorsing Raman’s mayoral campaign would be a net positive decision for an organization that’s garnered much attention since their New York counterparts backed Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral run.
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DSA-LA electoral highlights: Since backing Raman’s 2020 council candidacy, they have helped elect other councilmembers like Eunisses Hernandez, Hugo Soto-Martinez, and Ysabel Jurado. The group has also supported the recent primary races of city attorney candidate Marissa Roy and CD-9 candidate Estuardo Mazariegos, who’ve since reached their respective general elections.
More about our guests:
- Frank Stoltze, LAist civics and democracy correspondent
- Alejandra Quintero, DSA-LA member who's involved in their steering committee, an elected group of members which focuses on their day-to-day work
- Fernando Guerra, professor of political science and Chicana/o Latina/o studies at Loyola Marymount University; he's also the founding director of their Center for the Study of Los Angeles
Grand Theft Auto VI will be the biggest game ever
This illustration photo created in Los Angeles, December 4, 2023, shows Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto VI trailer played on a screen in front of the game title.
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Chris Delmas
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Getty Images
)
The topic:
After many months of leaks and reports, video game developer Rockstar released its first major in-game footage teaser for the 6th installment of their flagship Grand Theft Auto series. The highly anticipated game is projected to be the biggest entertainment and video game launch of all time, set to release on Nov. 19.
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15:51
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Guests: Jason Schreier, author and reporter at Bloomberg who covers the video-game industry.
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The scale: Rockstar Games has not publicly disclosed how much it has officially spent, but after developing the game for a decade, estimates put the budget of GTA VI well over $1.5 billion — making it the most expensive video game ever created. Similar to a big budget Hollywood production, a game of this scale requires a large ensemble of voice actors, writers, programmers and animators to make the open-world game feel as expansive and immersive as possible.
Immersive gameplay: Set in the fictionalized Miami-Dade County area, the open world features locations modeled after Miami Beach, the Everglades and other landmarks in South Florida. The plot follows the modern-day “Bonnie and Clyde” duo Jason Duval and Lucia Caminos as they navigate the ranks of the criminal underworld of Vice City. From choosing to have a beer in the game, to developing a romantic bond between the two characters, gamers will have the ability to fully alter how the narrative of the story unfolds.
More about our guest:
- Jason Schreier, reporter at Bloomberg who covers the video-game industry. He is also the author of “Blood, Sweat, and Pixels” about why games are so hard to make, and “Play Nice: The Rise, Fall, and Future of Blizzard Entertainment.”
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Appeals court rules states can regulate prediction markets like gambling
DraftKings is one of the leading mobile sports betting sites, which view Kalshi as an unlicensed rival.
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Charles Krupa
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AP
)
The topic:
After an appeals court ruling last week, states are now able to regulate prediction markets in the same way that gambling is treated. The industry predicts major blows to its wager oriented industry in which nearly anything from pop culture, sports, politics and weather can be leveraged by users.
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Listen
24:40
Listen to the conversation:
Guests: Marshall Cohen, senior reporter for CNN, and Andrew Verstein, UCLA professor and co-director of its Lowell Milken Institute for Business Law and Policy.
At play: At the direction of the Trump administration, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has been regulating prediction markets on a federal level as financial exchanges. Forty four states have brought up arguments against the CFTC’s jurisdiction, saying that prediction markets are gambling and therefore are subject to state regulators.
Yes, but: There are a number of related lawsuits at various stages of litigation around the country, and this issue is likely to be one eventually settled by the U.S. Supreme Court.
More about our guests:
- Marshall Cohen, senior reporter for CNN who is covering the latest on prediction markets
- Andrew Verstein, professor of law at UCLA and co-director of its Lowell Milken Institute for Business Law and Policy
Birria, carnitas and more: Santa Ana Unified School District freshens up lunch
Karina Valencia, nutrition services worker at Valley High School in Santa Ana, rolls a fresh batch of cinnamon rolls for the week. Santa Ana Unified High Schools have prioritized freshly made lunch and breakfast meals over packaged ones.
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Destiny Torres
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LAist
)
The topic:
Santa Ana Unified School District high schools are serving up more meals made from scratch that are well-balanced and familiar. Staff has so far served up chicken tinga, birria, carnitas, and fettuccine alfredo. New menus are put together every month.
Listen
24:49
Listen to the conversation:
Guest: Destiny Torres, LAist reporter covering Orange County.
Read more: Santa Ana high schools are serving homestyle birria for lunch. A look at the district's menu
From the LAist archives: Wax nostalgic about that LAUSD coffee cake? Here’s how you can make your own
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You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
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