A group of 56 Rite Aid stores was added to the ongoing list of California closures for the chain, making a total of 235 locations on pace to shut down in the Golden State in 2025. The latest store closures announced this week include:

• Antioch: 4100 Lone Tree Way
• Azusa: 153 East Gladstone Street
• Bakersfield: 100 China Grade Loop
• Bakersfield: 9000-A Ming Avenue
• Bakersfield: 1601 23rd Street
• Bakersfield: 431 34th Street
• Colton: 1133 N. Mount Vernon Avenue
• Compton: 1001 North Central Avenue
• Delano: 1809 Cecil Avenue
• Folsom: 526 East Bidwell Street
• Fresno: 1210 North Blackstone Avenue
• Fresno: 2011 West Shaw Avenue
• Hanford: 707 West Lacey Boulevard
• Hesperia: 15510 Main Street
• Huntington Beach: 5881 Warner Avenue
• Lemoore: 820 N Lemoore Avenue
• Loma Linda: 25710 Barton Road
• Long Beach: 5128 East 2nd Street
• Long Beach: 211 Cherry Avenue
• Los Angeles: 226 North Larchmont Boulevard
• Lynwood: 11325 Long Beach Boulevard
• Madera: 335 West Olive Avenue
• Maywood: 4410 East Slauson Avenue
• Menifee: 27350 Sun City Boulevard
• Modesto: 1032 Oakdale Road
• Norco: 1325 6th Street
• Ojai: 11496 North Ventura Avenue
• Palo Cedro: 9340 Deschutes Rd
• Perris: 1688 North Perris Boulevard
• Phelan: 4120 Phelan Road
• Pico Rivera: 9333 Whittier Boulevard
• Port Hueneme: 2480 Victoria Avenue
• Redding: 1801 Eureka Way
• Redding: 6424 Westside Road
• Redding: 975 East Cypress Avenue
• Reedley: 1721 East Manning Avenue
• Ridgecrest: 101 North China Lake Boulevard
• Riverside: 5225 Canyon Crest Drive, #8
• Roseville: 446 Roseville Square
• Sacramento: 4241 Marconi Avenue
• San Diego: 10631 Tierrasanta Boulevard
• San Diego: 4077 Governor Drive
• San Diego: 11845 Carmel Mountain Road
• San Diego: 3081-B Clairemont Drive
• Santa Barbara: 35 South Milpas Street
• Santa Barbara: 1976 Cliff Drive
• Santa Monica: 2412 Pico Boulevard
• Santa Rosa: 1551 Farmers Lane
• Selma: 2640 Floral Avenue
• Shafter: 150 East Lerdo Highway
• Torrance: 2240 West Sepulveda Boulevard
• Tulare: 1645 E Tulare Avenue
• Tustin: 13151 Jamboree Road
• Victorville: 16120 Bear Valley Road
• Vista: 1363 East Vista Way
• Yucaipa: 11352 Bryant Street

Earlier this month, another 83 California Rite Aid stores were targeted for permanent closure:

• Anderson: 3095 McMurray Drive
• Apple Valley: 19035 Bear Valley Road
• Arroyo Grande: 1690 East Grand Avenue
• Atascadero: 7025 El Camino Real
• Auburn: 2805 Bell Road
• Bakersfield: 11200 Olive Drive
• Bakersfield: 1425 South H Street
• Bakersfield: 2505 Mt Vernon Avenue
• Bell Gardens: 6959 Eastern Avenue
• Beverly Hills: 300 North Canon Drive
• Calexico: 211 West Birch Street
• Camarillo: 2400 B Las Posas Road
• Cathedral City: 69155 Ramon Road
• Ceres: 1830 Mitchell Road
• Chico: 650 Mangrove Avenue
• Chula Vista: 507 Telegraph Canyon Road
• Coachella: 51101 Cesar Chavez Street
• Compton: 107 South Long Beach Boulevard
• Culver City: 3802 Culver Center Street
• Desert Hot Springs: 12900 Palm Drive
• El Centro: 1501 West Main Street
• Eureka: 411 Harris Street
• Exeter: 1051 West Visalia Road
• Felton: 6123 Highway 9
• Fresno: 5574 East Kings Canyon Road
• Fresno 4593: North Cedar Avenue
• Fresno: 8027 North Cedar Avenue
• Glendale: 531 North Glendale Avenue
• Granada Hills: 10823 Zelzah Avenue Bldg D
• Hercules: 1560 Sycamore Avenue
• Laguna Woods: 24330 El Toro Road
• Lake Isabella: 5530 Lake Isabella Boulevard
• Lancaster: 1356 West Avenue J
• Lodi: 520 West Lodi Avenue
• Long Beach: 6400 East Spring Street
• Los Altos: 2310 Homestead Road Ste A
• Los Angeles: 1744 West Sixth Street
• Los Angeles: 1637 North Vermont Avenue
• Los Angeles: 4322 South Figueroa Street
• McFarland: 150 W Kern Avenue
• Menifee: 28995 Newport Road
• Modesto: 1707 McHenry Avenue
• Monterey Park: 2150 South Atlantic Boulevard
• Newport Beach: 1016 Bayside Drive
• Newport Beach: 1610 San Miguel Drive
• Oakland: 1991 Mountain Boulevard
• Ontario: 1050 North Mountain Avenue
• Pacific Grove: 160 Country Club Gate Center
• Pacoima: 12739 Van Nuys Boulevard
• Palmdale: 2419 East Avenue S
• Paramount: 8447 Alondra Boulevard
• Porterville: 66 West Morton Avenue
• Rancho Cucamonga: 7339 Milliken Avenue, Suite 110
• Redwood City: 340 Woodside Plaza
• Redwood City: 2150 Roosevelt Avenue
• Sacramento: 4221 Norwood Avenue
• Sacramento: 980 Florin Road
• Sacramento: 7860 Gerber Road
• Salinas: 602 Williams Road
• San Diego: 1411 Kettner Boulevard
• San Diego: 3515 Delmar Heights Road
• San Diego: 6939 Linda Vista Road
• San Jacinto: 1180 N State Street
• San Juan Capistrano: 32121 Camino Capistrano
• San Rafael: 1500 Northgate Mall
• San Rafael: 471 3rd Street
• Santa Ana: 3325 South Bristol Street
• Seal Beach: 12541 Seal Beach Boulevard
• Sherman Oaks: 13333 Riverside Drive
• Spring Valley: 661 Sweetwater Road
• Stockton: 1050 North Wilson Way
• Sylmar: 13803 Foothill Boulevard
• Tracy: 1970 West Grantline Road
• Union City: 31836 Alvarado Boulevard
• Vallejo: 2021 Solano Avenue
• Valley Center: 28535 Cole Grade Road
• Ventura: 131 West Main Street
• Victorville: 14515 Mojave Drive
• Visalia: 5212 West Walnut Avenue
• Visalia: 1735 E Walnut Avenue
• Whittier: 6512 Comstock Avenue
• Woodland: 295 West Main Street
• Yuba City: 1590 Butte House Road

The above list is in addition to the 96 California Rite Stores that were already shuttered or currently in the process of closing as part of the bankruptcy process:

• Angels Camp, 230 South Main Street
• Antelope, 4300 Elverta Road
• Antioch, 20 East 18th Street
• Aptos, 80 Rancho Del Mar
• Bakersfield, 9700 Panama Lane
• Banning, 806 Ramsey Street
• Bay Point, 580 Bailey Road
• Beaumont, 894 Oak Valley Parkway Suite B
• Beaumont, 1660 E 1st Street
• Blythe, 616 East Hobsonway
• Burney, 37435 Main Street
• Canyon Country, 16642 Soledad Canyon Road
• Carmichael, 4010 Manzanita Avenue
• Chatsworth, 10120 Mason Avenue
• Chico, 220 West East Avenue
• Chula Vista, 740 Otay Lakes Road
• Clearlake, 15025 Olympic Drive
• Coalinga, 159 West Polk Street
• Colusa, 1021 Bridge Street
• Corcoran, 1500 Whitley Avenue
• Costa Mesa, 2300 Harbor Boulevard, Suite G
• Costa Mesa, 211 East 17th Street
• Crescent City, 575 M Street
• El Segundo, 220 East Grand Avenue
• Escalon, 1710 California Street
• Fallbrook, 1331 South Mission Road
• Fontana, 15331 Baseline Avenue
• Fort Bragg, 490 South Main Street
• Fortuna, 725 South Fortuna Boulevard
• Freedom, 1988 Freedom Boulevard
• Fresno, 3795 West Shields Avenue
• Garden Grove, 11961 Valley View Street
• Goleta, 199 North Fairview Avenue
• Grass Valley, 720 Sutton Way
• Gridley, 1583 Highway 99
• Hollister, 1701 Airline Highway
• Indio, 47985 Monroe Street Bldg A
• Kerman, 456 S Madera Avenue
• Lakeside, 9532 Winter Gardens Boulevard
• Los Angeles, 446 East Washington Boulevard
• Los Angeles, 1534 East Florence Avenue
• Los Angeles, 7900 West Sunset Boulevard
• Los Banos, 1317 East Pacheco Boulevard
• Long Beach, 3300 East Anaheim Street
• Los Osos, 1110 Los Osos Valley Road
• Magalia, 14115 Lakeridge Circle
• Mammoth Lakes, 26 Old Mammoth Road
• Mariposa, 4994 Joe Howard Street
• Monterey, 1301 Munras Avenue
• Morro Bay, 740 Quintana Road
• Napa, 1203 West Imola Avenue
• Newman, 1935 N Street
• North Highlands, 6639 Watt Avenue
• North Hollywood, 12511 Magnolia Boulevard
• Oakdale, 1300 West F Street
• Oakley, 2555 Main Street
• Oroville, 2700 Oro Dam Boulevard East
• Pacifica, 1400 Linda Mar Boulevard
• Palmdale, 3105 Rancho Vista Boulevard
• Palm Desert, 74958 Country Club Drive
• Palm Springs, 111 S Sunrise Way
• Pasadena, 1038 East Colorado Boulevard
• Placerville, 1220 Broadway
• Pleasant Hill, 2140 Contra Costa Boulevard
• Quincy, 40 East Main Street
• Riverside, 8015 Limonite Avenue
• Riverside, 6150 Van Buren Boulevard
• Riverside, 4920 La Sierra Avenue
• Rolling Hills Estates, 23 Peninsula Center
• Rowland Heights, 18993 Colima Road
• Sacramento, 2751 Del Paso Road
• Sacramento, 4830 J Street
• San Diego, 535 Robinson Avenue
• San Diego, 3650 Adams Avenue
• San Diego, 4840 Niagara Avenue
• San Jose, 1550 Hamilton Avenue
• San Pedro, 501 South Gaffey Street
• Santa Maria, 345 Town Center West
• Santa Maria, 2405 South Broadway
• Santa Monica, 1331 Wilshire Boulevard
• Solvang, 616 Alamo Pintado Road
• Sonora, 855 Mono Way
• Stockton, 4774 West Lane
• Tehachapi, 811 Tucker Road
• Twentynine Palms, 72253 Twentynine Palms Highway
• Van Nuys, 7239 Woodman Ave
• Ukiah, 680 South State Street
• Wasco, 2501 Highway 46
• West Sacramento, 1260 West Capitol Avenue
• Whittier, 8508 Painter Avenue
• Wildomar, 32450 Clinton Keith Road
• Willits, 1730 South Main Street
• Woodlake, 160 E Antelope Avenue
• Yreka, 807 South Main Street
• Yucaipa, 34420 Yucaipa Boulevard
• Yucca Valley, 57701 29 Palms Highway

Pending legal challenges, the 235 Golden State Ride Aid stores listed above will close, leaving only about a dozen of the pharmacy’s stores in the Golden State.

The total number of Rite Aid locations shutting their doors nationwide now stands at around 700, which is more than half of the company’s 1,240 retail stores.

Rite Aid filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy restructuring in 2023, after the Philadelphia-based company had been struggling with losses for years. The company filed again last month, citing its “only viable path forward” was a return to Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings.

The post Major Pharmacy Closing More CA Locations Amid Bankruptcy, New Report Says appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

Tourism spending last year hit $157.3 billion, up 3% from 2023, and created 24,000 jobs, according to a 2024 economic impact report from Visit California, the state’s nonprofit marketing agency.

California is still the No. 1 state for tourism and has the fourth largest economy in the world, but next year it expects a 1% decline in visitation and a 9.2% downturn in international tourism, “in direct response to federal economic policy and an impending ‘Trump Slump,’” according to a statement from the governor’s office.

Local LA tour groups and knickknack shops, usually booming at this time of year from spring break travel, have said the uncertainty of tariffs and the trade war’s effect on the stock market have turned people away from local travel.

But it’s not just local — Canadians have canceled plans to travel to California for events such as Coachella because of Trump’s aggressive 25% tariff on Canadian goods, worrying officials in desert towns that rely on snowbirds for income. Newsom announced a marketing plan to invite Canadians back to California after February figures showed a 12% drop compared with the same month in 2024.

In the Los Angeles area alone, the tourism and hospitality industry employs about 510,000 workers and supports more than 1,000 local businesses, according to the Los Angeles Tourism and Convention Board.

Last month, Tourism Economics, a Philadelphia-based travel data company, predicted that international travel to the U.S. could decrease 5% this year, with a 15% decline in travel from Canada.

In San Diego, home to Comic Con, some of California’s most beautiful beaches and the “Smithsonian of the West” in Balboa Park, tourism employs 1 in 8 residents and brought $14.8 billion in earnings in 2024. With 32.5 million visitors last year, it’s one of the country’s top travel destinations.

“Uncertainty is the new norm,” said Kerri Kapich, chief operating officer at the San Diego Tourism Authority.

Constant change makes it hard to plan ahead, she said. As travel slows or stays even from last year it will affect the local economy. Fewer hotel stays, fewer restaurant checks and less money spent in the community overall could mean fewer jobs too.

The uncertainty around international trade policy will affect the state budget, with unclear revenue and rising disaster recovery costs clouding the upcoming revision expected next week from Sacramento. Newsom sued the Trump administration in response, arguing that the president doesn’t have authority to levy international tariffs without congressional approval.

The post California is No. 1 state for tourism, but may be hit by ‘Trump Slump,’ Newsom says appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

World War Fee President Trump’s reign of tariffs has been challenged on the left and right by the State of California and the Liberty Justice Center.

On April 2, 2025, the White House announced a broad set of tariffs on goods imported into the States, a tax that generally gets passed on to buyers.

The rates [PDF] range from 11 percent, for Cameroon and Democratic Republic of the Congo, to 145 percent to 245 percent for China, depending on the type of products at issue.

Last week, President Trump paused his retaliatory levies for three months and offered to lower the numbers, China excepted, amid a stock and bond market meltdown triggered by his global trade war. This week, the tariff situation remains in flux, leaving businesses and folks in a fog of uncertainty and facing recession if not depression.

The White House argued the tariffs are necessary to, in part, encourage more manufacturing on American soil and reduce the reliance on foreign factories. The Wall Street Journal called the President’s tariffs “the dumbest trade war in history.”

Rob Bonta, California Attorney General, announced a lawsuit [PDF] Wednesday seeking relief from the President’s allegedly unlawful use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 (IEEPA) to justify the imposition of his import taxes.

Bonta argues the tariffs will wreak havoc on California’s economy.

“The President’s chaotic and haphazard implementation of tariffs is not only deeply troubling, it’s illegal,” said Bonta. “As the fifth largest economy in the world, California understands global trade policy is not just a game.”

California Governor Gavin Newsom added, “President Trump’s unlawful tariffs are wreaking chaos on California families, businesses, and our economy – driving up prices and threatening jobs. We’re standing up for American families who can’t afford to let the chaos continue.”

The California Office of the Attorney General claims the tariffs, at the very least, will shrink the US economy by $100 billion annually and increase inflation by 1.3 percent, at a cost to the average American family of $2,100.

The Tax Foundation, a non-profit think tank, estimated “Trump’s tariffs will reduce long-run US GDP by 0.8 percent” before any foreign counter-tariffs are considered.

California’s lawsuit, filed in a federal district court in the north of the state, argues the IEEPA does not give the President the power to impose tariffs.

“In the nearly 50-year history of IEEPA, no President has ever used IEEPA to impose tariffs, prior to the unprecedented actions of President Trump in 2025,” the California complaint reads. “IEEPA further provides that ‘[t]he President, in every possible instance, shall consult with the Congress before exercising any of the authorities granted by this chapter and shall consult regularly with the Congress so long as such authorities are exercised.'”

And no such consultation took place, the legal filing insists.

The Liberty Justice Center (LJC) describes itself as “a nonprofit, nonpartisan, public-interest litigation firm that seeks to protect economic liberty, private property rights, free speech, and other fundamental rights.” Source Watch calls the LJC as a right-wing organization, citing ties to the conservative Illinois Policy Institute.

Nonetheless, the LJC makes similar arguments to those raised by California’s lawsuit in its complaint [PDF] against the White House’s drive to make Americans pay more for their foreign-made stuff, filed with the US Court of International Trade.

“The President of the United States claims the authority to unilaterally levy tariffs on goods imported from any and every country in the world, at any rate, calculated via any methodology – or mere caprice – immediately, with no notice, or public comment, or phase-in, or delay in implementation, despite massive economic impacts that are likely to do severe damage to the global economy,” the LJC complaint argues.

“If actually granted by statute, this power would be an unlawful delegation of legislative power to the executive without any intelligible principle to limit his discretion.

“But Congress has not delegated any such power. The statute the President invokes — the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) – does not authorize the President to unilaterally issue across-the-board worldwide tariffs.”

The LJC lawsuit has been filed on behalf of five businesses allegedly harmed by the tariffs: Beverage importer VOS Selections, e-commerce biz FishUSA, plastic pipe maker Genova Pipe, educational electronics kit maker MicroKits, and cycling apparel firm Terry Precision Cycling.

“No one person should have the power to impose taxes that have such vast global economic consequences,” said Jeffrey Schwab, LJC senior counsel, in a statement. “The Constitution gives the power to set tax rates – including tariffs – to Congress, not the President.”

Both California and the LJC have sought relief from the judicial branch of the US government, which appears to be unable to compel the executive branch to return a man unlawfully deported to El Salvador and imprisoned without charge or trial.

The post California sues President Tariff appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

Last week, four experts at the University of California, Riverside, discussed what residents should know about the worst bird flu outbreak in recent memory.

The university recently interviewed the following experts: Bruce Babcock, associate dean and professor of public policy with expertise in agricultural economics; Amy Murillo, assistant professor of veterinary entomology; Juliet Morrison, assistant professor of microbiology and plant pathology; and Michael Bates, assistant professor of economics.

The university faculty discussed high prices, when consumers may see relief and how farmers are faring in the war against the zoonotic outbreak.

Though farmers are deeply entrenched in the situation, households are likely only feeling it in their pocketbooks when facing sticker shock at the supermarket.

The average price per dozen was $4.10 at the end of 2024, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Now, a dozen eggs at a local grocery could cost anywhere from $8 to $10.

Bates addressed the issue of families on a fixed income.

“Since other common sources of protein such as beef, pork, and poultry are generally more expensive, price increases to eggs can be particularly painful, and particularly so for low-earners who may rely more on them,” he told the university.

Bates also noted that the price of eggs was rising before bird flu cases began spiking again last April.

“But the recent drastic rise in prices seems primarily driven by the outbreak,” he said, noting that a similar but less drastic price surge happened with bird flu in January 2023.

Babcock says that egg prices have surged because the supply of eggs has dropped due to the severe outbreak. That’s because the only way to slow the disease spread is to euthanize laying hens after an outbreak is detected at a production facility.

Since January 2024, more than 157 million chickens have been affected by bird flu, according to Murillo, who also noted that there is no treatment for the highly contagious bird flu.

“Infected chickens show signs of severe illness or death very quickly, and the current standard practice is to euthanize the entire flock if the virus is detected on a property,” she said.

A farm also cannot bring back replacement chickens for at least a month after an outbreak is detected.

Going back to this issue of cost, Babcock says the egg supply was about 7 to 10 percent lower than it was expected to be without bird losses.

“Egg prices are highly sensitive to changes in supply,” he said.

The United States Department of Agriculture reported that as of November of last year, stocking densities are down about 3 percent compared to the previous year — but chicken egg and meat demand is up, contributing further to high prices and shortages, Murrillo said.

In response to a question about how long it will be before supply is back to normal, Babcock said: “We will not return to normal unless bird flu recedes in nature or laying hens develop resistance to the disease.”

If supply does return to “normal,” Babcock says egg prices could drop by between 45 and 65 percent. Egg prices will begin to fall when facilities can replace “destroyed hens.”

On the issue of human transmission, Morrison assured that there is little risk associated with handling raw eggs or chicken meat, but not zero.

“While it is unlikely that eggs from virus-infected flocks are making it to supermarket shelves, influenza viruses can transmit from infected hens to the shell and internal contents of their eggs,” she said. “Cooking eggs until the yolks and whites are solid will kill any viruses present.”

In terms of future solutions, the experts said that a combination of agricultural policy interventions, the development of a new vaccine and utilizing trade with other countries could mitigate the damage consumers and egg producers are feeling.

Read the full Q&A from UC Riverside here.

The post When Will Bird Flu End? UC Riverside Experts Weigh In appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

A new program created by California’s consumer protection agency aims to provide free, personalized help for Golden State borrowers struggling to navigate the complex, byzantine student loan system.

The Student Loan Empowerment Network is designed to provide financial coaching and assistance for borrowers, including help securing income-based repayment plans and federal student loan forgiveness for those working in public service jobs.

“The student loan system is fraught with systemic issues that make it practically difficult, if not impossible, for people to get the rights and benefits they’re supposed to be entitled to under the law,” said Suzanne Martindale, the senior deputy commissioner for consumer financial protection at the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation.

Martindale said in many cases, borrowers might be eligible for some form of loan relief, but don’t know how to access it because “the information hasn’t been clear, because the goalposts keep changing, because the loan servicers can’t seem to give you an accurate answer.”

“People need somewhere to go to get accurate, fair information, working with someone who cares about their best financial interests,” Martindale said.

Borrowers who want help from the program can fill out an intake form at studentloanhelp.dfpi.ca.gov or call (888) 774-2227.

Borrowers will be connected with a financial counseling agency or legal aid agency. In Los Angeles, those include Public Counsel, the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles and the Koreatown Youth & Community Center.

The program will offer a mix of webinars and financial coaching sessions. Some borrowers with “very complex legal issues” may require one-on-one help, including those who have older private loans from defunct issuers, or have been in default on their loans, Martindale said.

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s 2022-2023 budget set aside $7.25 million for the student loan assistance and education program and $2.25 million for a statewide marketing campaign.

The organizations working on the loan program will be required to track the number of people who switch to income-based payment plans, document their employment for public service loan forgiveness and have their loans discharged, Martindale said.

Helping Californians reduce their loan burdens using publicly available programs can have a major economic benefit for the state, she said. She said she hopes the program becomes a permanent fixture in the state, although the looming shortfall makes that less certain.

After the pandemic-era freeze on student debt expired last year, about 40% of borrowers with federal student loans missed their first monthly payment last fall, according to federal data.

Borrowers who are delinquent on their federal loans won’t be reported to credit bureaus until Sept. 30 of this year, but in the meantime, interest continues to accrue.

The post Overwhelmed by student loans? A free new California program can help you appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

Last month the Democrat unveiled his budget for the next fiscal year, admitting that ‘difficult decisions’ are needed to address the state’s deficit – including a 1.6 percent reduction in the state’s Department of Justice’s overall funding.

The proposed budget includes a $97 million cut to trial court operations, $10 million to the Department of Justice’s Division of Law Enforcement and over $80 million to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, as reported by Fox News.

Newsom’s plan comes as major national stores and local businesses in California say they continue to face rampant theft. Videos of large-scale thefts, in which groups of individuals brazenly rush into stores and take goods in plain sight, have often gone viral.

Crime data shows the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles saw a steady increase in shoplifting between 2021 and 2022. Across the state, shoplifting rates rose during the same time period but were still lower than the pre-pandemic levels in 2019, while commercial burglaries and robberies have become more prevalent in urban counties.

Meanwhile homelessness jumped 6 percent to more than 180,000 people in California last year, federal data show. And since 2013, the numbers have exploded by 53 percent with the state accounting for a third of America’s entire homeless population.

The state’s criminal justice record which saw the number of violent crimes jump by 27 percent between 2013 and 2022, and pickpocketing more than double.

This is the second year in a row the nation’s most populous state is facing a multibillion-dollar shortfall. State revenues have continued to fall amid increasing inflation and a slowdown in the state’s usually robust technology industry.

Officially, Newsom said the state’s deficit is $27.6 billion. But really, it’s closer to $45 billion when including previous spending reductions that Newsom and the state Legislature agreed to in March.

Including reductions in public education spending, which Newsom has not included, the deficit would be even billions of dollars more, according to recent analysis by the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office.

A spokesperson for Newsom told Fox News in a statement: ‘The budget proposes numerous ways to make government more efficient and reduce costs for taxpayers, including cuts on inmate spending.

‘Since Governor Newsom took office in 2019, the state has made record investments in law enforcement, including $1.1 billion to tackle crime, support police, and hold criminals accountable.’

So far, Newsom has not gutted some of his splashiest policy advancements, including free kindergarten for all 4-year-olds and free health insurance for all low-income adults regardless of their immigration status.

But as Friday’s proposal showed, Newsom is willing to chip away at some of those promises to balance the budget.

While Newsom has not taken away health insurance from anyone, he proposed the state stop paying for health care workers to care for some 14,000 disabled immigrants in their home. That would save the state $94.7 million. While he hasn’t pulled back the state’s commitment to expanded kindergarten, he proposed eliminating $550 million that would have helped school districts build the facilities they need to teach all of those extra students.

After promising to pay for child care for another 146,000 children from low-income families, Newsom on Friday proposed pausing that expansion at 119,000. And after promising to boost how much money doctor’s get to treat Medicaid patients, Newsom on Friday proposed canceling $6.7 billion that had been set aside to do that.

In total, Newsom is proposing $32.8 billion in cuts over two years, including eliminating 10,000 unfilled state jobs and an 8 percent cut to state operations — including things like eliminating landlines. He promised there would be no layoffs, furloughs or salary cuts for the state’s more than 221,000 state workers.

The size of the deficit is important as it will shape the national perspectives of Newsom, who is a top surrogate for President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign and who is widely believed to harbor presidential aspirations of his own.

Newsom has spent much of his time in office basking in the glow of historic budget surpluses that allowed him to greatly expand state spending. But back-to-back budget deficits — with more on the horizon — are testing California’s commitment to those increases.

Newsom had enjoyed unprecedented surplus budgets of more than $100 billion throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. But the past two years have saddled him with a pair of multibillion-dollar deficits, a less-welcome position for a governor seen as a potential future Democratic presidential candidate.

The post California’s Dem. Gov Gavin Newsom unveils new plans to defund the police in crime-ridden state after massive budget deficit appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

The California Business and Industrial Alliance (CABIA) slammed  Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom for pushing through the law, which went into effect April 1 – and was blamed for forcing one beloved taco chain to shutter 48 locations in the state last week.

“California businesses have been under total attack and total assault for years,” CABIA president and founder Tom Manzo told Fox Business.

“It’s just another law that puts businesses in further jeopardy.”

Several major chains – including McDonald’s, Burger King, and even low-cost favorite In-N-Out Burger – jacked up prices to offset the higher wages.

Many had to cut employee hours and some have expedited a move to automation.

Manzo said nearly 10,000 jobs have been cut across fast food restaurants since Newsom signed California Assembly Bill 1287 into law last year, adding that officials were living in a “fantasyland” by thinking that drastic wage increases will help workers or businesses.

“You can only raise prices so much,” he said. “And you’re seeing it. People are not going to pay $20 for a Big Mac. It’s not going to happen.”

CABIA took out a full-page ad in Thursday’s USA Today that included mock “obituaries” of popular fast food brands.

Rubio’s California Grill, known for its fish tacos, closed 48 of its nearly 134 locations at the end of May – the first major chain to fall victim to the new law. The San Diego-based company cited the “rising cost of doing business” in the state for the closures. The chain filed for bankruptcy on Wednesday.

Another fast food restaurant, Fosters Freeze, recently closed a location near Fresno, saying the franchise owner could no longer afford to pay workers the upgraded salaries.

Fast food restaurants –  already bearing the brunt of persistently high inflation – raised prices ahead of the new law or shortly after it went into effect.

Beverages at Starbucks stores in California were 50 cents more expensive after April 1, while Taco Bell raised menu prices by 3%, according to a recent report from Kalinowski Equity Research.

Marcus Walberg, whose family runs four Fatburger franchises in Los Angeles, told Business Insider in January that he was planning to raise menu prices between 8% and 10% in response to the new law.
Chick-fil-A prices spiked 10.6% between mid-February and mid-April, according to data from Gordon Haskett.

A recent survey conducted by LendingTree found 78% of consumers now consider fast food to be a “luxury” purchase due to how expensive the meals have become.

Part of the push for the hike was to give fast-food workers more financial freedom in a state known for its high cost of living. However, critics contend fast food jobs were meant for young people as a stepping stone.

“It’s a starter industry,” Manzo said. “You get a job as a kid working in a fast food restaurant and you learn some good work ethic and that takes you into life.”

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During a news conference on Monday, supervisors from Riverside, Orange and San Diego counties demanded that the state do more to help individuals and businesses struggling with the economic effects of COVID-19.

“The local elected leaders of Southern California recognize what the governor seems to fail to understand, and that is we know our communities best, we know best how to help our communities, we know how to keep our communities safe,” said Orange County Supervisor Donald Wagner.

In the city of Banning, 29 people out of more than 31,000 residents have died with COVID-19. But the mayor says the economic damage to small businesses is also devastating.

“We have empty storefronts, some to never be reopened again,” said Mayor Daniell Andrade.

In the city of Riverside, Councilman Chuck Condor says services like street and sidewalk repair, tree trimming and parks maintenance, among other things, could see cuts.

Although he hopes to spare public safety, Condor had this message for struggling businesses:

“Go back to work if you need to. Do it by industry standards, be careful, do everything you can. Do what you need to do, there’s safety in numbers. Go back to work, open your businesses,” he said.

Riverside County Supervisor Jeff Hewitt ended the news conference with a message about masks.

“Everybody listen, if you don’t feel this is important, still carry one around and show respect, because we have to start treating each other as though we’re neighbors and not enemies,” he said.

In that county, the Board of Supervisors is considering a plan to potentially reopen businesses much more quickly than the state’s guidance currently allows. They could vote on that plan at their meeting next week.

by (KABC)

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