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☆ One way to help American homebuyers? Do what the Dutch do.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( Cork Gaines | Eliza Relman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The Dutch offer home mortgages with evolving interest rates that can automatically decrease over time. However, other countries are taking notice: The Dutch mortgage lender DMFCO recently began offering Dutch-style mortgages in the UK. AdvertisementBut there are some deeply entrenched features of the American mortgage system that make it unlikely we'll see widespread adoption of Dutch-style mortgages. AdvertisementAdditionally, mortgage interest rates in the US aren't determined by the loan-to-value ratio beyond a certain point. AdvertisementBut Cecela says he's interested to see what happens with the Dutch-style mortgages newly on offer in the UK.

Persons: —, Lindsey Harn, Lindsey, Harn, Guy Cecala, Cecala, Melissa Cohn, Raveis, Cohn, he's Organizations: Service, Business, Lindsey Harn Group, Mortgage, Mortgage Finance, USA Locations: Netherlands, San Luis Obispo County , California, Europe

Classes were canceled Monday for schools across Santa Barbara County, which was devastated by mudslides caused by powerful storms in 2018. Evacuation orders and warnings were in effect for mountain and canyon areas of Monterey, Santa Barbara, Ventura and Los Angeles counties. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. As of Sunday afternoon, the Los Angeles Unified School District, the nation’s second largest, said it was planning to open schools as usual Monday. ___Associated Press videographer Eugene Garcia in Ventura, Calif., and radio reporter Julie Walker in New York contributed to this report.

Persons: Alexis Herrera, ” Herrera, Ryan Kittell, ”, Lindsay Horvath, ” Horvath, Gavin Newsom, Alberto Carvalho, videographer Eugene Garcia, Julie Walker Organizations: ANGELES, San Francisco Bay Area, Sunday, San Francisco International, Palisades, Central, Gov, Emergency Services, Los Angeles Unified School District, Associated Locations: California, San Francisco Bay, San Jose, Southern California, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Sacramento, San Francisco, Sierra Nevada, Hawaii, Northern California, Monterey, San Luis Obispo County, Los Angeles, LA, Topanga, Soledad, Los Angeles , Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Ventura counties, Southern, Ventura , Calif, New York

LOS ANGELES (AP) — California braced Sunday for the worst of a potentially dangerous storm that threatened to hammer parts of the state with hurricane-force winds and cause flooding and mudslides as it moves down the coast over the next few days. Evacuation warnings and orders were in effect for Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, Ventura and Monterey counties. Classes were canceled Monday for schools across Santa Barbara County. Heavy to moderate rain was expected to stay in Southern California until Tuesday. It is the second time in days that California has been hit by an atmospheric river, a long band of moisture that forms over the Pacific.

Persons: ”, Bill Brown Organizations: ANGELES, National Weather Service, Central, Pacific, San Francisco Bay Area Locations: California, ” Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, Ventura, Monterey counties, Santa Barbara County, Hawaii, Northern California, Monterey, San Luis Obispo County, Orange, San Diego, Southern California, Southern, San Francisco Bay

☆ A Tesla owner says she made a 9-day rural road trip through a town without an EV charger by trickle charging from an outlet at an abandoned gas station
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Kathleen Goforth went on a 9-day road trip to the Carrizo Plain National Monument, California. Kathleen Goforth said she took her Tesla Model Y on a 9-day road trip through a rural area and had to get creative at one point when it came to charging. "There are no services within or anywhere near the Monument – no food, water, gas stations, and, certainly, no EV charging stations. Earlier this year, another Tesla owner said he faced some "hiccups" on a 6,392-mile road trip but that he ultimately found the carmaker's Autopilot driver assist feature to be a "lifesaver." A Hyundai Ioniq 5 EV owner previously told Insider that successful EV road trips needed to be properly plotted out.

Persons: Kathleen Goforth, Goforth Organizations: Morning, Tesla, EV, Department of Transportation, Kia EV Locations: Carrizo, , California, San Luis Obispo County , California, California

☆ California new oil well approvals have nearly ground to a halt
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Nichola Groom | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

July 13 (Reuters) - California, the seventh-biggest U.S. crude oil producer, has put a near halt on issuing permits for new drilling this year, according to state data. New drilling permits have steadily declined since Gavin Newsom became governor in 2019, but the current rate of approval represents a sudden and dramatic drop. In an email, CalGEM attributed the smaller number of approvals to both the broader decline in California oil production and litigation that has paused permitting by Kern County, the center of the state's oil industry. The governor wants to phase out oil drilling in the state by 2045. California also passed a law last year banning oil and gas drilling within 3,200 feet of structures including homes, schools and hospitals.

Persons: Gavin Newsom, CalGEM, CIPA's Zierman, CIPA, Liza Tucker, Nichola Groom, Leslie Adler Organizations: Energy Management Division, California Independent Petroleum Association, Sentinel Peak Resources, San Luis Obispo County, Natural Resources Management, FracTracker Alliance, Reuters, Consumer, Consumer Watchdog, tinker, Thomson Locations: California, Kern County, San Luis Obispo

☆ Hundreds of Sea Lions Are Dying. Is an Algal Bloom to Blame?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Livia Albeck-Ripka | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The calls came in, one after the other, with reports of sea lions swaying their heads back and forth, foaming at the mouth, or slumped, lifeless on the beach. Rescuers along the central California coast struggled to keep up as they captured the sick animals in the hopes of saving them. Already, hundreds of sea lions and dozens of dolphins had died. “It’s been really sad,” said Michelle Berman Kowalewski, a biologist and the director of the Channel Islands Cetacean Research Unit, a nonprofit that has been responding to the beached dolphins. Algal blooms are not uncommon, but Ms. Berman Kowalewski said that, even in a bad year, she might respond to 30 to 40 poisoned dolphins.

Persons: they’ve, “ It’s, ”, Michelle Berman Kowalewski, Berman Kowalewski Organizations: Islands, Research Locations: California, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo County

[1/3] A truck drives through a flooded road after an atmospheric river storm system in Hayward, California, U.S. March 10, 2023. As much as 5 inches (13 cm) of rain has already fallen in some spots across the county, with some seeing as much as 7 inches. U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday declared an emergency in California, ordering federal assistance to help local, tribal and state officials respond to the severe weather. The heavy rains in northern and central California raised concerns that melting snow from a spate of blizzards in mid-elevation mountains could add to runoff and cause flooding downstream. Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Chicago and Steve Gorman in Los Angeles, Editing by Rosalba O'BrienOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

March 10 (Reuters) - A California man was sentenced on Friday to 25 years to life in prison for his conviction on charges of murdering college classmate Kristin Smart, whose 1996 disappearance had long ranked as one of state's most sensational unsolved crimes. The sentence pronounced for Paul Flores, who was found guilty in October of first-degree murder in the case, was announced by the San Luis Obispo County district attorney on Twitter. It was the maximum penalty Flores faced in California. Reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Editing by Leslie AdlerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Water-logged Californians will have to endure several more days of rain, as new storms line up in the Pacific to pound the state with unprecedented precipitation, forecasters said Thursday. The Bay Area and Central Coast have been particularly hard hit, with rain falling on San Francisco for 15 out of 18 days from Christmas through Wednesday. Oakland International Airport, a focal point of the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area region, has received almost a year's worth of rain in just the past 3 1/2 months. From Oct. 1 through Wednesday, that neighborhood of East Oakland received 17.85 inches of rain when a normal year accounts for 18.7 inches of rainfall. San Luis Obispo Sheriff's Office via TwitterA brief respite from rain in the Central Coast is allowing rescuers in San Luis Obispo County to continue their search Thursday for 5-year-old Kyle Doan, who was swept away by floodwaters on Monday.

☆ California picks up debris from latest storm, braces for the next
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Sharon Bernstein | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

At least two more storm systems were set to pound California and the Pacific Northwest starting Friday and over the weekend, the National Weather Service said, including another atmospheric river, systems of dense moisture funneled into California from the tropical Pacific. The state has already been hit with seven such weather systems over the past two weeks. In Monterey County, water from prior storms continued to swell the Salinas River, officials said. The heavy rains have eased California's historic drought but not ended it, the U.S. Drought Monitor showed on Thursday. Even with more atmospheric rivers in the immediate forecast, the state's water system will remained strained in coming years without new infrastructure to capture more storm water, restore flood plains and recycle wastewater.

It would turn into a nightmare as their 5-year-old son, Kyle, got swept away in raging flood waters while his mom drove him to school. San Luis Obispo Sheriff's Office via TwitterKyle was lost to a succession of unrelenting rainstorms that have pummeled California over the last two weeks and contributed to 17 deaths. As water poured into her car, Lindsy told Kyle to unbuckle his car seat so they could escape. Nearby homeowners fetched rope and managed to rescue Lindsy, who was closer to the bank. “We continue to hope for the best,” said Grace Norris, a San Luis Obispo sheriff’s spokesperson.

Northern California braced for more downpours as southern and central regions of the state got a break Wednesday from torrential rains and prepared for another strong system just days away. At least 17 people have died since late last week in these California storms that show few signs of slowing up. Josh Edelson / AFP - Getty ImagesThe heaviest rains Wednesday were expected to fall on northern and coastal regions of the state. A major system is forecast to hit almost all of coastal California, from the Oregon border to Los Angeles late Friday afternoon or evening. Santa Cruz County has been told to brace for between 3 to 6 inches of rain Friday, Saturday and Sunday, according to Hart.

☆ Rain blamed for 17 deaths in California, a state primed for very different natural disasters
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Tim Stelloh | Tim Stelloh Is A Breaking News Reporter For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

The deaths have been reported across the state — from San Bernardino County in the south to Mendocino County in the north, according to the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services. The 1990s was possibly the last time California had this much rain at once, he said. Josh Edelson / AFP - Getty ImagesAnother 34,000 people remained under evacuation orders across the state, Newsom said Tuesday. The parent was rescued, but the boy vanished in surging floodwaters, county sheriff’s spokesman Tony Cipolla said. The sheriff’s office resumed a search Tuesday morning after “extreme” weather hampered the effort Monday, Cipolla said.

☆ Apple to replace key Broadcom chip with in-house design - Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 9 (Reuters) - Apple Inc (AAPL.O) plans to replace a Broadcom Inc (AVGO.O) chip from its devices with an in-house design in 2025, Bloomberg News reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter. Apple plans to replace Broadcom's Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, according to the Bloomberg News report, which added that Apple is the U.S. chipmaker's largest customer. The Cupertino, California-based company accounts for about 20% of Broadcom's revenue. Apple's decision is likely to hit Broadcom revenue by about $1 billion to $1.5 billion, said Stacy Rasgon, an analyst with financial services firm AB Bernstein. Apple and Broadcom did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comments.

☆ California storm forces thousands to flee their homes and leaves 1 dead in 'endless onslaught'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Chantal Da Silva | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

As of early Tuesday, more than 63,000 utility customers were without power across California, according to PowerOutage.us . The heavy rains are expected to worsen ongoing flooding and prolong the risk of flash flooding and mudslides across the state. The flooding came five years to the day after heavy rains hammered a Montecito "burn scar," killing nearly two dozen people. The severe weather also forced the Santa Barbara Airport to close due to flooding, the airport announced in a tweet Monday. The recent severe weather prompted Gov.

☆ U.S. grants $1.1 bln to keep Diablo Canyon nuclear plant open
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Timothy Gardner | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Diablo is the last operating nuclear plant in California. The Biden administration believes nuclear power is critical in curbing climate change and wants to keep plants open ahead of the development of next-generation reactors. Poppe said the plant is also ordering more uranium fuel for the reactor, and dry casks for storing nuclear waste. Some politicians who have been wary of problems associated with nuclear waste have come out in support of the Civil Nuclear Credit program. Holtec International, which in May bought the Palisades nuclear plant in Michigan, said on Friday that DOE rejected its application for funding.

☆ Biden grants PG&E $1.1 billion to keep Diablo Canyon nuclear plant open
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Emma Newburger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The Biden administration on Monday said it's providing Pacific Gas & Electric Co. with a $1.1 billion grant to help the company prevent the closure of Diablo Canyon, California's last nuclear power plant. Diablo Canyon was originally scheduled to be decommissioned in two phases in 2024 and 2025, but state lawmakers in September voted to keep it open for five more years. PG&E applied for funding in the Department of Energy's initial phase of the $6 billion Civil Nuclear Credit program aimed to keep U.S. nuclear power reactors open. Diablo Canyon is California's single largest source of power, providing 8.6% of the state's total electricity and 17% of its zero-carbon electricity. Final terms of the grant are subject to negotiation and finalization, the Energy Department said, but the funding is designed to cover PG&E's anticipated losses from keeping Diablo Canyon open.

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Nov 14 (Reuters) - Epic Games on Monday will try to overturn portions of a court ruling in an antitrust trial last year that largely favored Apple Inc (AAPL.O). The "Fortnite" creator sued Apple in 2020 alleging that the iPhone maker's App Store rules, under which software developers must pay commissions of up to 30% on in-app purchases, violated U.S. antitrust law. Apple appealed the order, and Epic appealed the finding that Apple did not violate antitrust laws. According to its court filings, Epic plans to argue that the trial judge did not properly interpret U.S. antitrust laws. Epic argues that such standard agreements are still subject to antitrust laws.

☆ California mother charged after 3-year-old son dies of fentanyl overdose
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Marlene Lenthang | Marlene Lenthang Is A Breaking News Reporter For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

A California mother has been charged with child endangerment after her 3-year-old son died of a fentanyl overdose earlier this year, police say. Jennifer Mae Niemann, 30, was the primary caregiver of the boy and was present when her child died on May 4, the San Luis Obispo Police Department said Thursday. Police received a call at 10:15 p.m. local time about an unresponsive 3-year-old boy who was turning blue and not breathing at a home in the 1600 block of Mill Street in San Luis Obispo. The boy was transported to a nearby hospital but never regained consciousness and was pronounced deceased that evening. On Monday, San Luis Obispo Police detectives went to San Diego to attempt to locate Niemann, who they described as transient, and she was located Tuesday and taken into custody.

☆ Ex-classmate convicted of murdering long-missing California student Kristin Smart
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Oct 18 (Reuters) - A former classmate of Kristin Smart, the California college freshman whose 1996 disappearance long stood as one of the state's most sensational unsolved crimes, was found guilty on Tuesday of murdering her, prosecutors said. The guilty verdict against Paul Flores, who was arrested and charged with Smart's death in April 2021, almost a quarter-century after she vanished, was returned by a jury in Monterey County Superior Court. A separate jury found his elderly father, Ruben Flores, not guilty on a charge of helping to hide Smart's body. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterThe murder verdict was announced on the Facebook page of the San Luis Obispo County district Attorney, Dan Dow. The trials were moved from San Luis Obispo County in a change of venue requested by defense lawyers because of intense pretrial publicity surrounding the investigation.

☆ Prosecutors try to prove 1996 killing as body of Kristin Smart remains missing
▼ + stars: | 2022-07-18 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

Opening statements are scheduled Monday in Monterey County Superior Court in Salinas in the trial of Paul Flores and his father, Ruben Flores, who is charged as an accessory. Paul Flores had long been considered a suspect in the killing, but prosecutors only arrested him and his father in 2021 after the investigation was revived. San Luis Obispo Sheriff Ian Parkinson acknowledged missteps by detectives over the years and he credited a popular podcast about Smart’s disappearance called “Your Own Backyard” for helping unearth new information and inspiring witnesses to speak with investigators. Prosecutors, defense lawyers and San Luis Obispo sheriff’s deputies are constrained by a court order prohibiting them from discussing the case. Attorney Harold Mesick, who represents Ruben Flores, previously said the evidence unearthed was ambiguous.

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