Big rigs in California are getting cleaner — but can long-range targets for trucks be met?

• May 2, 2024

By Rob Nikolewski | San Diego Union Tribune

California policymakers want to clean up the emissions spewed by the trucking industry — and they’ve passed mandates and established targets to get there.

The federal government recently followed up, creating its own set of national guidelines that are staggered by year and truck classification.

With California at the forefront, adoption is gaining ground among vehicles that travel around 200 miles or less per day — what’s called the short-haul sector that includes delivery vans, buses, etc.

But can big rigs traveling longer distances eventually complete the transition to zero-emissions at the pace the mandates laid down by California and the federal government require? It’s an open question.

“I think we’re still in the first half of the first inning when it comes to truck electrification, but it’s accelerating quickly,” said Lawren Markle, director of media relations for GNA, a Santa Monica consulting firm owned by TRC Companies that specializes in clean transportation and energy.

But the American Trucking Associations, an industry trade group, says the rules are moving too fast.

“The margins in the trucking industry are very, very slim — like 2 to 3 percent — so it’s a very competitive market as it is,” said Jacqueline Gelb, the trucking associations’ vice president of energy and environmental affairs. “So the fleet likely is not going to be able to wholly bear any type of increase in costs, and that will get passed on to the consumer.”

The mandates

California instituted its Advanced Clean Fleets, or ACF, rule at the start of this year. Among its provisions, the rule requires large fleet operators of more than 50 vehicles or $50 million in revenue to adopt zero-emissions medium- and heavy-duty vehicles.

Operators of what’s called “last-mile” delivery trucks and vans — that is, the final phase of moving a product from the back of truck to a customer’s doorstep — must convert at least 10 percent of their fleets to zero-emissions by next year.

A 50 percent zero-emissions requirement is already in effect for local government fleets.

All fleets will have to ramp up to 100 percent zero-emissions, with deadlines ranging from 2035 to 2042 based on individual vehicle types.

Some trucking groups have filed lawsuits challenging the ACF rule, and the California Air Resources Board is seeking a waiver from the federal government to resolve the debate about whether the state can implement the rule. A decision on the waiver has yet to be issued, but many fleets are moving forward on the assumption the ACF will stay in place.

Last month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced its greenhouse gas emission standards for heavy-duty vehicles. Known as Phase 3, the limits on carbon dioxide emissions become increasingly stringent each year from 2027 to 2032.

Industry experts believe it will be difficult for diesel-only truck sales to meet the EPA’s Phase 3 targets. Instead, manufacturers will likely need to sell a mix of low-emission technologies, which will likely increase prices of traditional diesel-powered vehicles.

What’s working now

San Diego Gas & Electric recently hosted its annual EV Fleet Day expo that showed off clean trucks, vans, buses and big rigs as well as electric vehicle charging projects.

Representatives of BrightDrop, a subsidiary of General Motors specializing in delivery vehicles, took visitors on tour of its 2024 all-electric Zevo 600.

The interior of the Brightdrop all-electric Zevo 600, which has a combined highway and city range of 272 miles. The vehicle was on display April 19 at SDG&E’s EV Fleet Day in Kearny Mesa. (Alejandro Tamayo/The San Diego Union-Tribune)

Stretching 24 feet, the vehicle boasts a combined highway and city range of 272 miles, which works well for the stops that drivers make each day for companies like FedEx or Amazon.

“At 272 (miles), it makes a driver feel good that he can go out, crank the air conditioning, crank the heat,” said Christa Paterson, sales account executive at BrightDrop. “He’s not going to run out a battery in the middle of the city or on some freeway.”

When the delivery day is done, the vans can return to the company’s depot, get charged overnight when electricity rates are at their lowest and then get back on the road for another day of work.

All-electric vehicles are significantly quieter than diesel-powered vans, and while Paterson said the retail price of the 272-mile BrightDrop comes to about $105,000, state and federal rebates and incentives knock the price down considerably. She estimated GM has sold about 2,000 thus far in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

The day before the expo, Paterson said she met a FedEx driver who raved about the technology in his BrightDrop van. “He probably came out of a FedEx van that was 20 years old — you know, with no backup cameras,” she said. “It’s like getting an iPhone 15 over an iPhone 4.”

Just a few feet away, GreenPower Motor Co. displayed its Type D battery-powered school bus that seats about 90 and touts 300 miles of range on a single charge.

“A school bus is actually one of the most opportune applications of electric technology,” said Mark Nestlen, vice president of business development and strategy for company based in Vancouver, British Columbia. “The majority of school bus routes in the United States are 80 miles or less. You have a set route; you know where the bus is going.”

GreenPower Motor Co.’s Type D, all-electric school bus that has a range of 300 miles on a single charge, on display April 19 at SDG&E’s EV Fleet Day. (Alejandro Tamayo/The San Diego Union-Tribune)

Schools can save money on fueling costs, since electric charging is typically cheaper than diesel, and reduce expenses that come with upkeep.

“There are 150 less moving parts than you would have in a traditional school bus” using an internal combustion engine, Nestlen said. “So you obviously have significant reduction in maintenance costs. You don’t change oil in an electric school bus.”

The Grossmont Unified School District has GreenPower Motor school buses on the road, and other schools in the San Diego area are converting their fleets to zero-emissions.

Financial incentives

Battery-powered buses, vans and big rigs have retail price tags that are considerably higher than conventionally fueled vehicles.

But similar to inducements in the passenger car sector, government-funded programs greatly reduce the price of zero-emissions vehicles. When stacked up, the financial incentives can lead to price tags approaching or achieving parity to diesel-powered counterparts.

The most popular program for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles in California is the Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project, called HVIP for short.

Discounts include up to $120,000 for school buses and garbage trucks, $85,000 for delivery vehicles, $120,000 for commercial trucks and as much as $240,000 for heavy-duty Class 8 trucks and tractor-trailers.

The federal government also offers tax credits of up to $40,000 for electric and fuel vehicles that weigh more than 14,000 pounds and $7,500 for vehicles weighing less than that amount.

Fleets typically work with distributors and utilities such as SDG&E to take advantage of the numerous federal, state and even municipally funded grants and pilot programs available to them.

The long-haul challenge

The range between charges is improving, even for heavy-duty trucks rumbling along the highway.

Volvo Trucks has been one of the early entrants in the electric truck market. One of the big rigs it showed off at the SDG&E outing was the six-battery pack VNR Electric that has a marketed range of 275 miles, depending on factors like payload, topography of the routes and weather.

That’s a pretty good distance but it doesn’t compare to a diesel rig that travels about 600 to 800 miles per day before needing to refuel.

The VNR Electric is built for regional haul, said Katy Link, Electromobility Regional Sales Manager for Volvo Trucks North America. “We don’t go in and say, you’re going to be able to take this across country.”

But such a vehicle can “100 percent” work for a trucking company that’s hauling goods from, say, San Diego to El Centro and back, according to Tracey Craik, regional sales director for TEC Equipment, a dealer and distributor for Volvo and Mack trucks.

“Electric cannot fit every segment of a carrier’s business,” Craik said. “When they go long range, full-battery electric is not going to be able to accomplish that.”

In addition to range, significant challenges include the fact that charging an electric truck can take hours — and time is critical for trucking companies to deliver their products ASAP.

And then there’s the issue of actually making sure that charging stations get built along the routes that truckers use. The lack of charging infrastructure already bedevils the market for EV passenger cars.

So, given the California and EPA mandates, how does the trucking industry transition to zero-emissions for goods traveling hundreds of miles through multiple states?

Volvo Trucks is taking a three-pronged approach.

“EV range is going to improve with time and battery technology is going to improve,” Link said.

Second, Volvo and other manufacturers are looking at rigs powered by hydrogen that can travel long distances.

Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles combine hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity, which runs a motor. To fuel the vehicles, drivers pull up to a station similar to a conventional gas station and pump hydrogen into the tank. Filling up takes much less time than going to an EV charging station, and like EVs, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles emit no greenhouse gases.

There are issues to overcome, though, including access to supplies of hydrogen that is produced cleanly and a lack of fueling infrastructure.

A fuel cell electric truck on display at EV Fleet Day, held at near the headquarters of San Diego Gas & Electric on April 19. (Alejandro Tamayo/The San Diego Union-Tribune)

The third option is using internal combustion engines that run on renewable fuel — be it clean hydrogen or diesel made from fats and oils, such as soybean oil or canola oil, which is processed to be chemically the same as petroleum diesel.

Volvo Trucks recently rolled out the latest version of its flagship VNL 860. “We’re constantly improving our diesel product to reduce emissions,” Link said.

Despite the long-term challenges, the California Air Resources Board is confident the state’s regulations will be met.

The state “is two years ahead of schedule of its zero-emissions truck targets,” Kate Lamb, information officer for the board, known as CARB for short, said in an email to the Union-Tribune.

A report from last October said manufacturers had already met their 2024 sales benchmarks, “showing market interest in zero-emissions technology.” Improved air quality will also help communities often surrounded by major highways and transportation facilities.

“The regulations are essential to achieving clean air needs and targets,” Lamb said.

Gelb of the American Trucking Associations is skeptical.

“There is a symbiotic relationship between the fleet and the manufacturer of how technology is developed, how it runs in the real world and sharing that information,” Gelb said. “California’s regulations have completely skipped that entire process … They are looking at it as a math problem: ‘I need to reduce this amount of emissions out of my state. How do I need to get there at the absolute fastest?’ ”

A study released earlier this year, which was commissioned by a coalition of trucking groups, estimated that full electrification of the U.S. commercial truck fleet would require nearly $1 trillion in infrastructure investments — $620 billion for chargers, site infrastructure and electric service upgrades and $370 million in upgrades from utilities to meet the demand of commercial vehicles.

On the other hand, an analysis from CARB estimated that fleet operators will see $48 billion in cost savings from 2020 through 2025 — not including public health benefits and incentive programs provided by the state.

This story originally appeared in San Diego Union-Tribune.

​ Orange County Register 

4.1-magnitude quake centered near Corona jolts Southern California

• May 1, 2024

A 4.1-magnitude earthquake centered on the border of Orange and Riverside counties was felt throughout much of Southern California on Wednesday, May 1, afternoon.

The earthquake struck at 1:49 p.m. about six miles southwest of Corona, the U.S. Geological Survey said, placing the epicenter in the mountains between the counties.

People in inland and coastal Orange County, as well as those in Temecula, Perris, Corona, Riverside, Los Angeles and Santa Clarita felt the light quake, the United States Geological Survey reported.

An earthquake of this magnitude generally causes little damage.

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​ Orange County Register 

Active shooter neutralized outside Wisconsin middle school

• May 1, 2024

By Todd Richmond | Associated Press

MOUNT HOREB, Wis. — Witnesses described children fleeing amid the sound of gunshots near a Wisconsin middle school where authorities said an active shooter was “neutralized” outside the building Wednesday. There were no reported injuries to those inside the school.

For panicked kids and their parents, the incident was terrifying. Parents described children hiding in closets, afraid to communicate on their cell phones, and one middle schooler said his class initially fled the school gym on in-line skates.

Authorities in Mount Horeb said without giving details that the “alleged assailant” was harmed, and witnesses described hearing gunshots and seeing dozens of children running.

Police patrolled with rifles outside Mount Horeb Middle School later Wednesday afternoon. Photos by the Wisconsin State Journal showed more than a dozen law enforcement vehicles including SWAT-style trucks nearby with emergency lights flashing. First responders surrounding a gurney on the sidewalk also were visible.

The district said in several Facebook posts starting around 11:30 a.m. that all district schools were on lockdown.

“An initial search of the middle school has not yielded additional suspects,” a post around noon said. “As importantly, we have no reports of individuals being harmed, with the exception of the alleged assailant.”

Earlier, the district posted that “the threat has been neutralized outside of the building” but didn’t give further details of what had happened at the school in Mount Horeb, some 25 miles (40 kilometers) west of the state capital of Madison.

Jeanne Keller said she heard about five gunshots while in her shop The Quilting Jeanne, just down the block from the campus that includes the middle school.

“It was maybe like pow-pow-pow-pow,” Keller told The Associated Press by phone. “I thought it was fireworks. I went outside and saw all the children running … I probably saw 200 children.”One middle schooler said his class was in the school gym practicing in-line skating when they heard gunshots.

Max Kelly, 12, said his teacher told the class to get out of the school. He said they skated to a street, ditched their in-line skates and ran to a nearby convenience store and gas station and hid in a bathroom.

Kelly was reunited with his parents and sat on a hillside with them early Wednesday afternoon waiting for his younger siblings to be released from their own schools. He still wore socks, his shoes left behind.

“I don’t think anywhere is safe anymore,” said his mother, 32-year-old Alison Kelly.

Police in Mount Horeb said they could not immediately provide information. A person who answered the phone at the school district office declined comment. The Dane County Sheriff’s office directed media to a staging area but had not provided updates three hours after the school district first alerted families about the incident.

The district had begun releasing some students of other schools by early afternoon and anxious parents gathered at a bus depot waiting to be reunited with their kids.

Shannon Hurd, 44, and her former husband, Nathian Hurd, 39, sat in a car waiting for their 13-year-old son, Noah, who was still in the locked-down middle school.

Shannon Hurd said she was alerted to the incident by a text from Noah saying he loved her. She said she nearly fell down the stairs at her work as she ran to get to the school.

“I just want my kid,” she said. “They’re supposed to be safe at school, in Mount Horeb of all places.”

Stacy Smith, 42, was at the bank Wednesday when she saw police cars rush by and soon got a text from the school district warning of an active shooter.

She initially could not reach her two children — junior Abbi and seventh-grader Cole.

She finally reached Abbi by phone but the girl whispered that she was hiding in a closet and couldn’t talk. She eventually connected with both children and learned they were OK.

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“Not here,” she said in disbelief. “You hear about this everywhere else but not here.”

Schools across the country have searched for ways to prevent mass shootings inside their walls, from physical security measures to drills on a response to an active shooter to technology including detailed digital maps. Many also rely on teachers and administrators working to detect early signs of mental health struggles.

The Mount Horeb Area School District’s security protocols were not immediately clear Wednesday and there was no information known about the alleged assailant’s identity or condition.

Heidy Lange, owner of Firefly Events Decor & Flowers, said she was in her florist shop about two blocks from the school when she looked out and saw children running and “probably 50 cop cars from everywhere.”

“All of a sudden there was a whole bunch of parents running behind them,” Lange said. “All our phones were beeping with all the alerts. It would devastate the town if something happened to a child here.”

Associated Press reporters Corey Williams in Detroit and Rick Callahan in Indianapolis contributed to this report.

​ Orange County Register 

Bad Religion, Black Flag, The Jesus Lizard, more announced for Garden Amp shows

• May 1, 2024

Punk rockers who prefer the sweaty intimacy of a smaller venue are in for a treat ahead of the No Values Festival at the Pomona Fairplex on Saturday, June 8.

The Garden Amp in Garden Grove announced a series of shows that will include some legendary bands who are also scheduled to play one of the biggest punk fests in recent years.

Bad Religion and Slaughterhouse will perform on Thursday, June 6, followed by Black Flag, The Bronx, Deviates and Overexposure on Friday, June 7 and The Jesus Lizard, Scowl and Crawlspace on Sunday, June 9. Each event’s ticket will go on sale Thursday, May 2, at gardenamp.com.

The No Values Festival, produced by Goldenvoice and slated for the same June weekend, will see iconic groups such as Social Distortion and the original members of Misfits at the top of the bill. The one-day event will also feature more than 40 acts including Agent Orange, Ceremony, Cro-Mags, Fidlar, Fear,  Fishbone, Hepcat, Iggy Pop, Joyce Manor, L7, Mourning Noise, MSPAINT, Power Trip, Shattered Faith, Soul Glo, Steve Ignorant, Sublime, Suicidal Tendencies, T.S.O.L., The Adicts, The Adolescents, The Aquabats, The Damned, The Dead Milkmen, The Dickies, The Dillinger Escape Plan, The Exploited, The Lawrence Arms, The Selecter, The Skeletones, The Vandals, Turnstile and Viagra Boys.

General admission tickets for the first and second tier are sold out. However, the third tier, dubbed “more values,” which includes a limited-edition show tee, dedicated entry lane and preferred parking, is still available starting at $249. VIP passes, which start at $399, are also still available. Each pass includes show day parking at the Pomona Fairplex.

For more information, visit novalues.com.

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​ Orange County Register 

Angels’ Kevin Pillar appreciates returning to Southern California

• May 1, 2024

ANAHEIM — At around 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Kevin Pillar was an unemployed baseball player, sitting at home in Arizona, playing with his son.

Then his phone rang, and within five hours he was in the clubhouse at Angel Stadium, with a spot on the Angels’ roster.

“It’s kind of a crazy day, but exciting,” Pillar said Wednesday, before he started in left field for the Angels.

Pillar, a 35-year-old who is in his 12th major-league season, was released over the weekend by the Chicago White Sox. He had been at home waiting for an opportunity when Mike Trout’s torn meniscus provided one.

Pillar is a fit for the Angels because he’s a good defensive outfielder who can play all three positions, and he’s also better against left-handed pitchers. Mickey Moniak, who is expected to get most of the starts in center in Trout’s absence, has historically struggled against lefties.

Last season, Pillar had a .734 OPS against lefties. This season, he had an .854 OPS in his first 16 plate appearances against lefties.

Angels manager Ron Washington, who was with Pillar with the Atlanta Braves last season, fully endorsed him for his professionalism and makeup. Washington said he’ll start primarily against lefties, but he was in the lineup against Philadelphia Phillies ace right-hander Zack Wheeler on Wednesday because Washington wanted to give Taylor Ward a day at designated hitter.

Pillar, a product of Chaminade High and Cal State Dominguez Hills, said he appreciated the chance to play in Southern California.

Also, for as much as the Angels have struggled in the first month, it still felt to Pillar like an upgrade from the White Sox.

“Obviously, that organization’s at a little different point than where this organization is at,” Pillar said. “Coming into a place that is excited to win and expected to win. It’s always a place that I want to be. It’s hard being in a place where the priority is not winning, necessarily. It’s kind of development you know, trying to get the organization back on track.

“You put a lot of pressure on yourself to go out, perform every day. But coming into a place where winning is the most important, that’s what you put your value on.”

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The Angels placed Miguel Sanó on the injured list on Wednesday because of left knee inflammation.

Sanó began dealing with the issue last week, and the Angels hoped it would improve sufficiently with just a few days off.

He was placed on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to Sunday. He would be eligible to return May 8, the final day of the series next week in Pittsburgh.

The Angels brought up veteran outfielder Willie Calhoun to replace Sanó on the active roster. Calhoun, 29, was hitting .268 with a .706 OPS at Triple-A. Calhoun has played parts of seven seasons in the majors with four teams. He had a .712 OPS with the New York Yankees last season.

In order to create a spot on the 40-man roster for Calhoun, the Angels designated right-hander Zac Kristofak for assignment. If no one claims Kristofak on waivers, the Angels will be able to keep him in the organization.

SILVER LINING

A day after the Angels rallied from a three-run deficit before blowing a two-run lead in a loss to the Philadelphia Phillies, Washington said there were more positives to take from that game than the negative of the loss.

He said it was another positive step, along with Monday’s come-from-behind victory.

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“I think the past two days is the type of baseball that we expect ourselves to play,” Washington said before Wednesday’s game. “The results at the end of nine innings are the results. But it’s how you win and how you lose. If we’ve got to lose ballgames playing like that every night, I’m in. Hopefully that we can get to a point where we can sustain and be consistent in how we play. And if we do that, I’ll take whatever happens.”

NOTES

Brandon Drury was a late scratch from the lineup because of a migraine, the Angels announced. …

The Angels will face Mission Viejo High product Tanner Bibbee on Friday in Cleveland. Bibbee was a high school teammate of Patrick Sandoval, and the two pitched against each other last year in Cleveland.

UP NEXT

Angels (RHP José Soriano, 0-4, 4.76 ERA) at Guardians (RHP Tanner Bibbee, 2-0, 3.45 ERA), Friday, 4:10 p.m. PT, Bally Sports West, 830 AM

​ Orange County Register 

New battlegrounds emerge in California’s endless housing conflict

• May 1, 2024

At least once a month a new front opens in California’s political guerrilla war between state and local officials over housing.

The Legislature and Gov. Gavin Newsom have issued a steady stream of laws and regulations aimed at forcing the state’s nearly 500 cities to embrace housing development, particularly apartments for low-income families.

Communities that shun such housing, saying it degrades the bucolic ambience of their neighborhoods, respond by dragging their feet, challenging the state’s authority in court or fashioning new barriers. The state counters with threats to cut off funds for public works, more laws that supersede local land use authority, and threats of lawsuits.

Two such clashes have surfaced in recent weeks: one involving Portola Valley, a very affluent village on the San Francisco Peninsula, the other a coalition of cities governed by their own charters, rather than state law.

In January, Portola Valley became one of the first Bay Area communities to have its “housing element” – a plan for meeting housing quotas – approved by the state Department of Housing and Community Development.

By late March, Portola Valley became the first California city to have its housing element decertified. State officials said the town’s council had failed to make the necessary changes in zoning to accommodate the 253 housing units in its quota.

Portola Valley’s wealthy residents and officials obviously don’t want affordable apartments that would alter its rustic atmosphere, but if they continue to stall they run the risk of triggering the so-called “builder’s remedy,” under which projects could proceed without local approval.

Portola Valley officialdom says it intends to comply with the state’s demands, but it’s still uncertain whether apartments will actually be built, given land costs and other financial hurdles. Moreover, many neighborhoods have homeowner associations that impose their own rules on what can be built and could try to thwart multi-family projects.

The second battleground is the Los Angeles County Superior Court where Judge Curtis Kinruled this month that one of the Legislature’s most powerful laws aimed at forcing cities to accept more housing does not apply to cities with their own charters.

Senate Bill 9, passed in 2021, effectively ended single-family zoning in California, allowing up to four units of housing to be built on a residential parcel. Five charter cities in Southern California – Redondo Beach, Carson, Torrance, Whittier and Del Mar – joined forces to sue the state, contending that the law does not apply to them.

Judge Kin agreed, ruling that while SB 9 purports to encourage housing affordable to low- and moderate-income families, it does not specifically limit its impact to that category and therefore cannot supersede land use powers of charter cities.

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“Because the provisions of SB 9 are not reasonably related and sufficiently narrowly tailored to the explicit stated purpose of that legislation – namely, to ensure access to affordable housing – SB 9 cannot stand,” Kin wrote.

While California has nearly 500 incorporated cities, most operate as “general law” municipalities governed by state law, but about a quarter of them, mostly larger cities such as Los Angeles and San Diego, have their own charters. State laws, such as SB 9, can be applied to them only if the state declares a specific and overriding purpose.

The state could – and probably will – appeal Kin’s ruling, but the Legislature could also refine the law to make it more specific, either limiting its impact to low-income projects or changing its stated purpose to increase all kinds of housing.

It’s, therefore, likely that the cities that sued and other charter cities will only temporarily benefit, if at all, from Kin’s ruling. It’s just another skirmish in the never-ending war.

Dan Walters is a CalMatters columnist.

​ Orange County Register 

As Californians mitigate wildfire threats, why is there still an insurance crisis?

• May 1, 2024

Spend any time thinking or talking about insurance in California these days and you’re bound to hear the word “mitigation.”

Fire officials, lawmakers, insurance agents and others are asking homeowners  to help lower the risk of devastating wildfires by making improvements to their properties — in some cases at great expense — and often in the context of trying to hang on to their insurance policies. The state has spent about $3.7 billion on forest management in the past seven years. Communities, fire districts and others are doing their part, too.

But some insurance companies citing growing risks and costs have paused or stopped writing new policies in California, causing a crisis of home-insurance affordability and availability. Some homeowners have seen their premiums spike or are being priced out, while others have been forced to turn to the ever-growing FAIR Plan, the insurer of last resort that offers less coverage but higher insurance premiums anyway.

As Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara rolls out his plan to try to reverse that trend, three state lawmakers are pushing for mitigation to be taken into account when insurers set premiums or when they decide whether to offer policies at all. Or they want mitigation to be more effectively tracked and strategized.

Lea esta historia en Español

“We believe that if you do the homework, you should get the credit,” said state Sen. Josh Becker, the Democrat representing Menlo Park. “As a state, we’re doing that homework.”

Becker’s staff cites the billions of dollars the state has spent on reducing fuel and managing vegetation since 2017, when wildfires consumed many parts of California. The sum doesn’t include other spending on fire engines, air tankers and increasing staff for Cal Fire, which has added about 4,500 positions in the past decade.

A bill authored by Becker seeks to incorporate mitigation into insurance companies’ underwriting decisions — when they consider whether to write or renew policies. Senate Bill 1060 awaits a hearing in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

One of the regulations Lara has unveiled as part of his plan to try to fix the state’s insurance market involves allowing insurers to use catastrophe models in rate-making, which includes taking mitigation into account. But some say that’s not enough to address the availability of insurance.

Former state Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones recently told CalMatters that Becker’s bill is needed specifically for underwriting because the insurance commissioner’s authority is limited to rate-making.

“Local, state and federal governments are spending billions of dollars in forest treatments, so homeowners ought to see a benefit,” Jones said. “That’s not happening now, but should happen.”

Wildfire mitigation and risk

Studies show that mitigation is reducing wildfire risks. A recent study by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners found that structural modifications can reduce wildfire risk by 40%, and, when combined with vegetation modifications, can reduce risk by 75%. A subsequent Moody’s study found that utility Southern California Edison’s actions to harden its power grid reduced the risk of catastrophic wildfire losses by 75% to 80%.

But insurance-industry experts have concerns about Becker’s bill. For one thing, they say incorporating mitigation into underwriting shifts more financial risk to insurers.

In addition, they say they already use models that account for mitigation.

Sheri Lee Scott, an actuary for a Milliman Property & Casualty practice in Orange County, said the bill is yet another regulation that could “exacerbate” the insurance crisis.

“Insurance companies are trying their best to incorporate (mitigation) already,” Scott said, pointing to a recent state regulation directing insurers to incorporate mitigation into determining premiums — which Scott wrote in a report “presents tremendous challenges for insurers in terms of compliance and the potential erosion of adequate rates for wildfire risk.”

The insurance commissioner said his office started enforcing that rule on considering mitigation last year, but homeowners, insurance agents, fire chiefs and other lawmakers say the different ways everyone is trying to reduce wildfire risk isn’t making enough of a dent in the state’s insurance crisis.

Bernard Molloy, fire chief of Murrieta, said during a public workshop hosted by the Insurance Department last week that “residents don’t receive credit” for the “tremendous amount of work” they put into trying to reduce wildfire risk. Jorge Escobar, a Bay Area resident, said during the same workshop that he had just asked the Moraga fire district whether insurance companies are taking mitigation into account. “The answer was, surprisingly, no… Why isn’t this being mandated?” he asked.

Tina Purwin, an insurance agent in Northridge, told CalMatters her clients get notices that they’re not being renewed despite taking action to avoid wildfire risk.

Donna Yutzy’s home in the Magalia area of Butte County on Nov. 4, 2023. State law prohibits the use of landscaping plants and any flammable materials within a five-foot radius of the house. Photo by Manuel Orbegozo for CalMatters

“Carriers are being ultra picky,” Purwin said. “They’re looking for any way to not take the risks.”

At another public hearing on insurance issues last week — by the Little Hoover Commission, the independent state oversight agency — Nevada County Supervisor Heidi Hall said the Sierra Nevada-area residents she represents are spending “tens of thousands of dollars” on hardening their homes, and that the “county itself has put in millions of dollars, with the help of Cal Fire, to put in fire breaks.”

Yet, she said “we’re not seeing discounts from insurance companies. They’re still leaving.”

Assemblymember Freddie Rodriguez, a Democrat representing Chino, authored another bill related to mitigation. Assembly Bill 2983 calls for the Insurance Department and the California Office of Emergency Services to work together on figuring out whether investments in mitigation are helping insurance availability.

Project assessments would have to be published on state websites. And a representative of the Insurance Department would be added to the board of the California Wildfire Mitigation Program.

“Some people think (mitigation is already taken into account), some don’t,” Rodriguez said. “We need to bring everyone together. We need to talk about it.”

Rodriguez’s staff said both the Insurance Department and the mitigation program appear to be open to the board-representative idea. The Insurance Department did not answer questions and the emergency services agency did not respond to questions in time for publication.

Earlier this month, the Assembly Insurance Committee approved AB 2983 and re-referred it to the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

‘They should not be losing their insurance’

Another bill would require the Insurance Department to evaluate every three years whether to update its Safer from Wildfires regulation, which identifies steps property owners and officials can take to protect their homes and communities. The steps include installing fire-rated roofs, upgrading windows, removing combustible sheds and more. The department adopted the regulation in 2022 and says on its website that taking these measures “can help you save money on your insurance.”

Assemblymember Damon Connolly, a Democrat representing San Rafael, authored AB 2416,  which he said would “lock in periodic updates to the program so it’s most effectively serving consumers.”

Connolly said his staff is in talks with the Insurance Department, which he said is open to discussing his bill. He also said he has made amendments to address insurance-industry concerns. The Insurance Department did not answer questions about the bill.

The assemblymember also said that not only should property owners get discounts when they take the steps outlined in the regulation, “I would say if consumers are doing these steps, they should not be losing their insurance.”

The Assembly Insurance Committee has referred his bill to the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

Lawmakers representing California in Congress are trying to make mitigation measures matter, too. U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson, the Democrat who represents Napa and other counties, said during a press conference last week in Santa Rosa that his bill, HR 7849, would establish a program for individual homeowners in certain areas to receive grants of up to $10,000, as well as tax credits for homeowners and businesses, for mitigation.

The legislation, co-authored by U.S. Rep. Doug LaMalfa, the Republican who represents rural Northern California, was introduced in March and referred to the House Ways and Means Committee and the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

Thompson said that as he and his colleagues tried to figure out how they could help on a national level, “what we heard repeatedly from insurance companies was: Make sure there’s disaster resilience in building, that homeowners (are doing) everything necessary to protect their homes.”

​ Orange County Register 

Duane Eddy dies at 86; legend of ‘twang’ guitar inspired scores of musicians

• May 1, 2024

Associated Press

NEW YORK — Duane Eddy, a pioneering guitar hero whose reverberating electric sound on instrumentals such as “Rebel Rouser” and “Peter Gunn” helped put the twang in early rock ‘n’ roll and influenced George Harrison, Bruce Springsteen and countless other musicians, has died at age 86.

Eddy died of cancer Tuesday at the Williamson Health hospital in Franklin, Tennessee, according to his wife, Deed Abbate.

With his raucous rhythms, and backing hollers and hand claps, Eddy sold more than 100 million records worldwide, and mastered a distinctive sound based on the premise that a guitar’s bass strings sounded better on tape than the high ones.

“I had a distinctive sound that people could recognize and I stuck pretty much with that. I’m not one of the best technical players by any means; I just sell the best,” he told The Associated Press in a 1986 interview. “A lot of guys are more skillful than I am with the guitar. A lot of it is over my head. But some of it is not what I want to hear out of the guitar.”

“Twang” defined Eddy’s sound from his first album, “Have Twangy Guitar Will Travel,” to his 1993 box set, “Twang Thang: The Duane Eddy Anthology.”

“It’s a silly name for a nonsilly thing,” Eddy told the AP in 1993. “But it has haunted me for 35 years now, so it’s almost like sentimental value — if nothing else.”

He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.

Eddy and producer Lee Hazlewood helped create the “twang” sound in the 1950s, a sound Hazlewood later adapt to his production of Nancy Sinatra’s 1960s smash “These Boots Are Made for Walkin.’” Eddy had a five-year commercial peak from 1958-63. He said in 1993 he took his 1970 hit “Freight Train” as a clue to slow down.

“It was an easy listening hit,” he recalled. “Six or seven years before, I was on the cutting edge.”

Eddy recorded more than 50 albums, some of them reissues. He did not work too much from the 1980s on, “living off my royalties,” he said in 1986.

About “Rebel Rouser,” he told the AP: “It was a good title and it was the rockest rock ‘n’ roll sound. It was different for the time.”

He scored theme music for movies including “Because They’re Young,” “Pepe” and “Gidget Goes Hawaiian.” But Eddy said he turned down doing the James Bond theme song because there wasn’t enough guitar music in it.

In the 1970s he worked behind-the-scenes in music production work, mainly in Los Angeles.

Eddy was born in Corning, New York, and grew up in Phoenix, where he began playing guitar at age 5. He spent his teen years in Arizona dreaming of singing on the Grand Ole Opry, and eventually signed with Jamie Records of Philadelphia in 1958. “Rebel Rouser” soon followed.

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Eddy later toured with Dick Clark’s “Caravan of Stars” and appeared in “Because They’re Young,” “Thunder of Drums” among other movies.

He moved to Nashville in 1985 after years of semiretirement in Lake Tahoe, California.

Eddy was not a vocalist, saying in 1986, “One of my biggest contributions to the music business is not singing.”

Paul McCartney and George Harrison were both fans of Eddy and he recorded with both of them after their Beatles’ days. He played on McCartney’s “Rockestra Theme” and Harrison played on Eddy’s self-titled comeback album, both in 1987.

​ Orange County Register