Judge orders plan for closing LA County's Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall
Attorneys: More evidence surfaces linking SCE lines to Eaton Fire
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Bass calls for layoffs, spending cuts amid nearly $1B budget deficit
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address delivered at City Hall, Bass underscored the economic stress faced by Los Angeles due to soaring liability payments, diminished tax revenue and unanticipated fire recovery costs. “Turmoil and uncertainty from Washington, and a slowing economy, are causing lower revenue projections to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars,” Bass said during her address Monday. “Combined with personnel costs and, of course, the fires and rebuilding, altogether Los Angeles, we have a very difficult budget to balance.”
The job cuts will span various departments, affecting essential services citywide, including those under the Economic and Workforce Development Department. The proposal renders numerous positions obsolete, predominantly targeting roles that remain unfilled. Most of the layoffs would be among civilian employees of the police department, with over 400 proposed job cuts. Triple-digit staff reductions would also hit the Transportation, Sanitation, Street Services, Planning and General Services departments.
By Joe Taglieri joet@beaconmedianews.com
“We’re always glad to have a conversation about how to make things more efficient in the city of LA, but that shouldn’t include laying off the folks doing the work,” said David Green, president of SEIU 721, the largest union of public employees in Southern California representing tree trimmers, sanitation workers and trash truck drivers and other workers. “I’m going to push back and fight against every single one of these layoffs,” he told Politico.
aton Fire survivors last week called for state Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara to launch an investigation into what they said was widespread delays, denials and unresolved claims by State Farm following the January wildfires. "Most people assume that if you pay your premiums, your insurer will be there when disaster strikes," said Joy Chen from the Eaton Fire Survivors Network. "But for many State Farm policyholders, the fire was just the start of their trauma. Each day since then, their financial and emotional devastation has grown because of State Farm's actions." Chen was joined April 17 by eight other longtime State Farm policyholders and survivors of the blaze that killed 18 people and destroyed or damaged over 10,000 structures. The group's collective message was, "State Farm is failing California families and must be held accountable." The Eaton Fire Survivors Network is a 1,700-member coalition advocating for recovery after the devastating fire that burned more than 14,000 acres in Altadena, Pasadena and Sierra Madre. EFSN urged state officials
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See Eaton Fire Page 28
LA Mayor Karen Bass delivers the 2025 State of the City Address. | Photo courtesy of the city of Los Angeles/YouTube
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Eaton Fire survivors seek investigation of State Farm
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By Staff
acing a historic budget shortfall of nearly $1 billion, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass on Monday proposed deep cuts to the city's workforce and services to stabilize municipal finances in the wake of mounting challenges, including January's devastating Palisades Fire and looming federal funding reductions. Bass' proposed budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year calls for $14 billion in spending but trends toward austerity with a 5% reduction in the city's workforce, totaling 1,647 job cuts. In her State of the City
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not to grant the insurer's request for a rate increase, which is the sixth such hike in six years. "We're here to help our customers recover and we empathize with those who are rebuilding their lives. As of April 16, we've received approximately 12,500 total claims related to the fires and have paid over $3 billion to our customers," according to a statement from State Farm General Insurance Company. "Our focus continues to be on supporting our customers in their recovery from the largest fire event we have ever experienced in the state. Our claim handlers remain on the ground assisting customers with their claims," the statement continued. "Customers should continue to directly reach out to us with claim questions or concerns. We actively work with each of our customers to understand the facts of their loss, identify the damages and applicable coverage, and ultimately resolve their claim." In February, State Farm executives asked Lara to OK an emergency interim rate hike, citing the wildfires' financial impact on the company as they waited for the Insurance Department's decision
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