Latest news with #PalisadesFires
New York Post
27-06-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Paris Hilton, husband buy Mark Wahlberg's former mansion for $63.1M — 5 months after losing their Malibu house in Palisades Fires
Paris Hilton and her venture capitalist husband, Carter Reum, found a new place to call home — for $63.1 million. The heiress purchased the palatial pad just five months after losing her Malibu beach home in January's Palisades Fires, the Wall Street Journal reported. Its former owners, actor Mark Wahlberg and his wife Rhea Durham, unloaded the theme park-like property in 2023 for $55 million. 13 Paris Hilton, pictured in May. Getty Images for Hilton Advertisement 13 The Beverly Park mansion at dusk. Paul Barnaby 13 An aerial view of the six-acre property. Paul Barnaby 13 Mark Wahlberg sold the home in 2023 for $55 million. WireImage Advertisement The nearly 30,500-square-foot home in Beverly Hills offers six acres of privacy, with a whopping 12 bedrooms across the main house and guesthouse. The home sits inside the ultra-exclusive Beverly Park community, one of the richest neighborhoods in Los Angeles. Former and current residents include Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, Lisa Vanderpump, Adele and Justin Bieber. Hilton's new home comes with attractions galore, including an outdoor pool with a grotto, waterfalls and waterslides. The luxe property, constructed in 2014, also includes a sports court, a skate park and a five-hole golf course. The cavernous main house boasts a cellar for wine and cigars, a home theater and staff quarters, according to the listing. Advertisement The Los Angeles estate sold in less than four months after listing for $68 million in March. 13 Hilton and husband Carter Reum. Getty Images for Breakthrough Prize 13 A formal dining room. Paul Barnaby 13 One of two kitchens. The second functions as a prep kitchen. Paul Barnaby Advertisement 13 An upstairs walkway features extensive built-in shelves and a skylight. Paul Barnaby 13 A large bedroom with a fireplace and chandeliers. Paul Barnaby 13 The wine and cigar cellar. Paul Barnaby 13 The state-of-the-art home theater. Paul Barnaby 13 An outdoor patio. Paul Barnaby 13 The pool area includes a grotto and waterslides. Paul Barnaby Hilton and Reum, who share two young children, were among the thousands of families that lost their homes in the wildfires that raged through California in January. Their $8.4 million oceanfront Malibu home of four years was hit by the Palisades Fire that destroyed large areas of Pacific Palisades, Topanga and Malibu across 24 days. The heiress and influencer shared her grief at the time online. Advertisement 'Sitting with my family, watching the news, and seeing our home in Malibu burn to the ground on live TV is something no one should ever have to experience,' Hilton wrote in a post to her 26.8 million Instagram followers in early January. The property's unidentified seller was represented by Ginger Glass and Alexandra Glass of Compass. Hilton's brother, Barron Hilton, and his wife, Tessa Hilton, represented the buyers.
San Francisco Chronicle
12-06-2025
- Business
- San Francisco Chronicle
California launches investigation into State Farm's treatment of L.A. wildfire survivors
California regulators launched an investigation into State Farm General, the state's largest insurer, following public outcry and complaints from survivors of the Los Angeles wildfires. During the investigation, formally known as a market conduct examination, regulators within the department will probe policyholders' complaints for potential violations of California Insurance Code. If violations are found, it could lead to higher payouts for homeowners. As of June 3, State Farm has already paid out $3.85 billion to consumers; the insurer previously estimated it will pay $7.6 billion in total claims related to the Eaton and Palisades Fires. Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara said the examination will probe allegations that State Farm has made inconsistent decisions about similar claims, frequently reassigned new adjusters to homeowners' cases and failed to maintain adequate records and communications on customers' claims. 'Californians deserve fair and comprehensive treatment from their insurance companies. No one should be left in uncertainty, forced to fight for what they are owed, or face endless delays that often lead consumers to give up,' Lara said in a statement. For months, survivors of the Los Angeles wildfires have been campaigning for Lara to investigate State Farm. At first, they wrote letters and ran an ad campaign calling on Lara to deny State Farm's request to raise rates until such an investigation was conducted. Lara instead approved State Farm to go ahead with an interim 17% rate hike starting this month, saying he couldn't legally tie State Farm's rate hike request to the results of an examination. The rate hike is subject to a final hearing in October, where a judge will consider whether to grant State Farm a further increase that would bring the total rise to 30%. Assembly Member John Harabedian, a Democrat representing Pasadena, said in a statement Thursday that his office had received numerous complaints from wildfire survivors and that he hoped the examination would bring clarity and transparency. A spokesperson for State Farm did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Department of Insurance has frequently used market conduct examinations to probe the business practices of insurance companies following major wildfires. The department said the review 'typically takes several months.' State Farm most recently faced an examination in the wake of several large fires in 2015 and 2017. In that investigation, regulators alleged several violations related to how State Farm agents recommended policy limits to customers that left many homeowners without enough money to rebuild after a fire. In response, State Farm said it disagreed with the examination's findings and the suggestion that State Farm agents are responsible for making sure customers are adequately insured, pointing to a California court decision that held policyholders are responsible for making sure their policy limits are adequate. But it did issue $5.6 million in additional claims payments. Several other major insurers were investigated following the fires and paid millions in response to similar allegations. Lara said the latest examination into State Farm will explore whether further reforms are needed to address claims handling given the increasing frequency of large natural disasters. 'While there are national standards for insurance claims handling, they can be vague and inconsistently applied, especially during large-scale, climate-driven disasters,' Lara said. He urged consumers experiencing issues with State Farm's claims handling to submit a formal complaint by visiting or calling 800-927-HELP so that the department can investigate their case.
The Guardian
10-06-2025
- The Guardian
Living in Los Angeles is a test of empathy
In Los Angeles, it's not uncommon to hear the buzzing of a police helicopter overhead. The sound is almost background noise in this city. A reminder that somewhere, something is happening, something you aren't a part of. It's out there, but it's not right here. But more and more, that sound has begun to jolt us out of our complacency. In the last five years, that sound has heralded the uprising over the killing of George Floyd and the devastation of the Eaton and Palisades fires. Instead of the usual – a high-speed police chase, a burglary or some other fodder for local news sensationalism – that sound means you are living on the doorstep of history once again. This last weekend reminds us that our city is under siege from a federal government eager for a fight. That our immigrant neighbors are being disappeared, apparently without due process. I've gotten texts from family and friends asking if I'm OK as this all transpires. Most people outside LA don't realize just how big this place is. That in these moments, it can feel like the events are happening in another world. You might see someone pouring a water bottle over their head on the sidewalk, trying their best to mitigate the damage caused by teargas. Google Maps shows you the 101 freeway is closed – a bright red line through your morning commute. Co-workers offer uneasy glances. After all, you have to go to work. You have to keep going. You can't stop for one second to truly reflect on what you're witnessing, or you might get washed away by the crushing demands of even the simplest life. During this year's fires, I had to move houses. The movers came and dutifully trudged up and down stairs, lifted boxes and drove back out into the red horizon. Some restaurants remained open, serving food despite the toxic air and general sense of dread that consumed the region. Many of those people, who did all they could to earn a living so we could approximate normalcy, were immigrants from countries like Mexico, El Salvador, Venezuela and anywhere in between. They were also the ones who kept restaurants open during Covid lockdowns or drove for Uber Eats, again, so I could feel normal in abnormal times. And they're doing it again, but the danger is even more immediate. People are being taken from their jobs, their homes, their schools – without warning and without their rights. For a lot of us in LA, it can feel like it's happening somewhere else. Downtown, the suburbs – but it is happening here. Within the arbitrary geographical lines that form the city of LA and the surrounding county. Those lines, like the ones that we created to divide us into nation-states, do matter, even if they aren't natural. They matter because they are how we identify, how we form communities. The world is not borderless, even though some of us might wish it to be. They exist, for better or worse. Right now, it does feel like it's for the worse. Donald Trump and his administration see those lines and they weaponize them; they use them to create fear and chaos in our cities. They grab human beings and toss them over those arbitrary lines, denying them their dignity – the dignity that is enshrined in our constitution for all peoples. In a moment like this, it's easy to curse the very notion of those arbitrary lines, as they cause so much misery. But those lines also create commonality. More than ever, those of us in LA should look at who and what is within our city limits. Not because we should fear what's outside, but because we should care about what's inside. We should always care, no matter where cruelty takes place, but even more so when the cruelty happens to those who share our home. LA might be the greatest empathy test humanity ever devised. A nearly 500-square-mile city, with close to 4 million residents spread out all the way to the ocean. To live in LA is to have the opportunity to live a fully internal life. I never saw the fires. I barely saw the smoke. The devastation was relegated to my TV screen, my smartphone. It's a city built on privacy, isolation and riddled with neighborhoods surrounded by gates and private security. Mike Davis's seminal history of LA urbanism, City of Quartz, built its narrative around the idea of LA as a panopticon fueled by greed, riddled with paranoia and beholden to the prison-industrial complex. It made such a mark on our city's culture because it's often true. This can be a dark, lonely place. But it can be a haven, too, if you look up from the ground, peer out from behind your own anxiety and believe in the idea that there is more out there than what is happening directly in front of you. This is a moment where we have the power to decide what kind of city we want to live in. We can cede our agency, our will and our community to brute force or we can live together. We can pass the empathy test and make it clear to the world that LA is not a bastion of unchecked individualism, but a city of communal spirit and diversity. I don't know what the solution to this crisis is. Governor Newsom is suing to repel the national guard order, but it will take time, and the president has not shown much interest in abiding by court rulings. All I know is that this will not end unless the city and its population stands firm on its values and morals. That it stands together even if it's so easy to see what's happening as just another reason for bad traffic. Dave Schilling is a Los Angeles-based writer and humorist
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Thousands of wildfire victims are having tax refunds sent back - Here's how to get your money
The Brief Thousands of victims of January's Palisades and Eaton fires are entitled to some money from Los Angeles County. County officials have started mailing checks, but many are getting sent back, because the mailing addresses are for destroyed buildings. Anyone who's eligible for money from the county should update their address on the LA County Assessor's website. LOS ANGELES COUNTY, Calif. - If you lost your home in the Palisades or Eaton fires earlier this year, Los Angeles County may owe you some money. The county has started sending out checks, but thousands are being sent back. FOX 11 spoke with LA County Assessor Jeff Prang about how you can make sure you get your money. The backstory The Palisades and Eaton fires destroyed more than 16,000 structures between the Pacific Palisades, Pasadena and Altadena communities. After the fires, the Assessor's Office re-evaluated the value of properties in the disaster zones. Many properties saw their value lowered, entitling owners to tax refunds. SUGGESTED: California lawmakers announce new legislation supporting inmate firefighters Thousands of checks have already gone out, but fire victims can also apply for relief on the Assessor's website, Dig deeper The County Auditor-Controller has already sent out thousands of checks to those who are entitled to some money, but there's one big problem. In many cases, the address of record is the destroyed property, so the Post Office is sending the checks back, marking them undeliverable. SUGGESTED: PCH is back open, and Malibu businesses couldn't be happier Prang says they've already gotten some of the checks back, and he expects thousands more to follow. The fix is simple. All you have to do is update your mailing address on the Assessor's Office website at The Source Information in this story is from an interview with Los Angeles County Assessor Jeff Prang, the county Assessor's website, and City News Service.
NBC News
29-04-2025
- Politics
- NBC News
Why LA County says it can't give raises to thousands of workers set to strike
While more than 55,000 unionized workers for Los Angeles County are set to strike Monday evening, county officials said there is simply no money to meet the employees' demands. The members of Service Employees International Union Local 721, including public works employees, library workers and mental health professionals, were expected to walk off the job for 48 hours, starting at 7 p.m. Monday, accusing the county of failing to negotiate a new labor contract fairly. 'We faced nothing less than disrespect at the bargaining table,' a union leader said during a rally, claiming the county's proposal was a 0% increase for cost of living. Although Supervisor Kathryn Barger, Chair of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, acknowledged the financial hardships amid inflation, she said the county cannot afford cost-of-living increases to workers amid a massive budget hole. In addition to the unexpected costs related to the Eaton and Palisades Fires, the country had to pay $4 billion to settle decades-old youth sexual abuse claims as the result of state law that reopened the statute of limitation of such claims. 'Even the union knows that $4 billion has compromised our ability to negotiate,' Barger said. 'We need to be able to make sure when we write a check, you can cash it.' LA County's Chief Executive Office echoed the message in a statement, blaming 'unprecedented stresses,' which also include 'the potentially catastrophic loss of hundreds of millions or more in federal funding' from the Trump administration. 'Despite the severity of our fiscal outlook, the County has made fair and responsible counter proposals that we hope the union will seriously consider,' the statement said. The county CEO also recently released the budget proposal for the coming year, including 3% cuts to some departments and the elimination of more than 200 vacant positions. The strike is likely to affect critical services such as emergency health care and firefighting. County Library officials also said the strike will impact services and possibly force temporary closures of some library locations. Some non-urgent county clinics will be closed during the two-day strike, some beach restrooms may be closed, and there may be some delays in services provided by the medical examiner.
