By Rob Nikolewski | San Diego Union-Tribune A trio of environmental groups opposed to recent changes to the rules affecting the 1.8 million Californians who have installed rooftop solar on their homes and businesses will get their day before the state Supreme Court. The high court has agreed to hear arguments by the Environmental Working Group, the Center for Biological Diversity and the San Diego-based Protect Our Communities Foundation, appealing a decision by the California Public Utilities Commission that slashed the financial compensation solar customers receive when their systems generat ..read more

At the 2016 Republican National Convention, when I told Donald Trump’s “God whisperer” Paula White that he referred to her as his pastor, she said she was his spiritual adviser — as if that were some sort of “get out of jail free” card for her. And yet White worked hard in our conversation to convince me that the foul-mouthed person on the campaign trail was godly. Then came her turn to speak at the convention. Most of the seats were empty when White took the stage, which says a lot about the interest attendees had in the words of Trump’s spiritual adviser. It was as if their minds were a ..read more

A condo in Milpitas that sold for $770,000 tops the list of the most affordable real estate sales in Milpitas in the past week. For comparison, the overall average price of real estate in Milpitas over the last week was $1.6 million. The average price per square foot was $993. A total of 11 home sales were recorded for the period with an average square footage of 1,589 square feet, 3 bedrooms, and 2 bathrooms. The top 10 list below includes the best deals on real estate priced between $10-$10,000,000. The prices in the list below concern real estate sales where the title was recorded during th ..read more

On Tuesday, the University of Southern California canceled a planned graduation speech by its valedictorian, a young woman named Asna Tabassum. My New York Times colleague Stephanie Saul reported that the “school said the decision stemmed from security concerns based on emails and other electronic communications warning of a plan to disrupt the commencement, including at least one that targeted Ms. Tabassum.” Shortly after Tabassum had been named valedictorian, two student groups, Trojans for Israel and Chabad, objected. Her social media bio apparently included a link to a group that condemns ..read more

Do you like the Great Outdoors? For the kickoff of the annual National Park Week, which for 2024 will be held April 20-28, the park service is offering free admission to its parks and monuments on Saturday, April 20. This can save you $50 or even more, but here’s what you need to know, from someone who’s taken advantage of it in the past. Show up at dawn. Seriously. I know, I know. Don’t hurt me. But then you get there before the thundering hordes arrive. As you might guess, free passes are a huge draw. You don’t need to sign up or register. Just show up and go. Visitors walk along a tail at J ..read more

Shoppers are hurrying to their local 99 Cents Only Stores for last-minute deals before they’re gone for good. Joining fellow discount retailer Dollar Tree, which has announced plans to close 1,000 stores nationwide over the next several years, the 99 Cents Only brand is preparing to shutter its 371 locations across California, Arizona, Nevada and Texas by June 5. Shoppers funneled into a 99 Cents store on Arlington Avenue in Riverside on a recent afternoon, greeted by signs splayed outside the building announcing the closure and promising up to 30% discounts. Kimberly Harrison, who lives in Ri ..read more

River City Bank likes to boast that it’s a midsized firm that thinks big. The Sacramento, California-based lender has doubled assets to about $5 billion in five years with real estate loans up and down the West Coast. Its portfolio, from Los Angeles apartments to Silicon Valley storage facilities, is designed to withstand market tumult, said Dan Franklin, who oversees the bank’s property lending. “We’re turning down way more deals than we’re doing,” Franklin said. “It’s a low, low risk, low-yield game that we’re playing.” The rapid growth pushed River City’s commercial real estate loans to 660 ..read more

No criminal charges will be filed against the Los Angeles Police Department officer who fired a rifle inside a North Hollywood Burlington store in 2021, killing both a man armed with a bike lock and a 14-year-old girl who was cowering with her mother out of sight in a dressing room. A California Department of Justice report released Wednesday, April 17 found no evidence that Officer William Dorsey Jones, Jr. “acted without the intent to defend himself and others from what he reasonably believed to be imminent death or serious bodily injury” when he fired a service rifle at 24-year-old Daniel E ..read more

In issuing a new rule to close the gun show loophole for firearm sales, the Biden administration isn’t just narrowing one of the easier paths by which criminals obtain guns. It’s attempting to close a sacred portal into American gun culture. The rule, which has been under public review since it was officially proposed last August, targets unlicensed gun dealers who sell their wares on the internet, at flea markets or elsewhere without a federal license. It’s rooted in the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which President Joe Biden signed into law in 2022. Along with other regulations, the law ..read more

Mickey Mouse, Sleeping Beauty, Iron Man and other Disneyland employees who work with Disney, Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars character performers have moved one step closer to unionizing, according to the union organizing workers. Disneyland’s 1,700 character and parade performers calling themselves Magic United filed a petition on Wednesday, April 17 with the National Labor Relations Board to unionize under the Actors’ Equity Association, according to the union. ALSO SEE: How much does Disneyland pay Mickey Mouse, Cinderella and Iron Man? “Those of us who are organizing with Magic United and Acto ..read more