California
Where do you live? That's a complicated question for a California town with no street addresses
CARMEL-BY-THE-SEA, Calif. — No one in this wealthy California community known for its white-sand beaches and storybook charm has a street address. But unlike the houses in Carmel-By-The-Sea, those days may soon be numbered.
After more than a century of address-free living, this seaside tourist destination where Clint Eastwood once presided as mayor is moving ahead with a plan to assign street numbers to homes and businesses.
Many long-time residents aren’t happy about it.
The city’s residents and visitors must navigate a woodsy, 1-square-mile (2.5-square-kilometer) landscape where houses, stores, restaurants and other buildings don’t have numbers. It’s even more difficult at night because the town has few street lights.
When asked for their address, residents describe their homes’ color or style, nearby landmarks like cypress trees and fire hydrants or their location relative to the nearest cross street. Many houses have signs with whimsical names like Neverland, Dreamcatcher and Pinch Me or descriptors such as “San Antonio 3 SE of 9th.”
There is no mail delivery service, so residents must pick up up their mail at the U.S. post office, the only building with an official address.
But street addresses may finally be coming to this coastal city of 3,300 residents, about 120 miles (193 kilometers) south of San Francisco. In July, the city council voted 3-2 to move forward with a plan to issue street numbers.
“When emergency crews are responding, particularly at night, it’s very difficult to count houses in order to find the right house,” Councilmember Karen Ferlito said, noting the city has an aging population. “Sometimes they go to the wrong house and that wastes precious time.”
Residents complain that many government agencies and businesses require physical address for service. They say delivery and taxi drivers can’t find their homes and often drop off packages and food orders at the wrong house.
“We’ve had flowers delivered that were useless. We’ve had fruit baskets delivered when my dad died that were six weeks old,” said Betty Kullas, who moved to Carmel 15 years ago. “Sometimes if you know it’s been delivered somewhere, you have to go out with a flashlight at night, going house to house to see if you can find it.”
Kullas said her husband’s $13,000 medication never arrived, and having it delivered to the post office won’t work because it requires refrigeration. It was a struggle to get water, electricity and cable service without a physical address.
But many don’t see the need for street addresses, even in modern times when people increasingly use their addresses to shop online and get important legal documents.
“I was born in Carmel 67 years ago. I grew up with no street addresses, and it’s just something you’re used to,” life-long resident Grant Johnson said outside the post office. “That’s one of the charms of Carmel. It’s one of the stories we get to tell.”
Those opposed include the mayor, who voted against the measure.
“If it’s not broke, don’t fix it,” Mayor Dave Potter said during an interview at his home. “I just don’t think it’s necessary. I mean, honestly, we’ve lived this way for 100 years. We don’t need them.”
The issue of street addresses has generated controversy in Carmel since its founding in 1916, often pitting business owners against residents intent on preserving the character, culture and village charm.
City officials passed an ordinance requiring house numbering in 1926, but preservation-minded residents fought back. Three years later, the city passed an ordinance to keep Carmel’s residential streets free of sidewalks, street lights, neon signs, high-rise buildings, mailboxes. It also prohibited street addresses.
In 1953, Carmel threatened to secede from California over proposed state legislation requiring house numbers. The bill didn’t pass.
The issue reemerged as a hot-button issue during the pandemic, when in-person interactions were curtailed and more residents wanted to have packages and meals delivered to their homes.
Local law enforcement and fire officials spoke out in support of addresses at the July 9 council meeting, noting the lack of street numbers violates fire and building codes.
Potter dismissed the safety concerns, pointing out that local emergency service providers have detailed knowledge of the town and can respond within a few minutes.
Some longtime residents worry street numbers will take away from Carmel’s quaintness.
“I’ve lived here so long, I’ve kind of forgotten what it’s like to have mail delivered, so it doesn’t bother me,” resident Virginia Crapo said. “I think it’s more communal when you have to come down to the post office to get your mail because you can see your neighbors.”
Even after homes receive street addresses, the post office will remain open and there will be no delivery mail service to residences, Ferlito said.
After the council vote, the city staff was directed to develop a numbering plan that must be approved by the U.S. Postal Service.
But the story isn’t over. In November, residents will vote for city councilmembers and a mayor who will determine the fate of whether to issue addresses to residents.
“This is a very political issue, and I don’t know what will happen after the election, but I hope that the new council will continue to stay the course,” said Councilmember Jeff Baron, who is running for mayor and voted for street addresses.
Others agree it’s time to join the modern world.
“I don’t think street numbers will ruin the charm,” said part-time resident Bruce Edwards, who was picking up mail from his post office box. “I’m in favor of it because of delivery issues. Uber will work better. The ambulances will be able to find us when I have a heart attack. And my UPS driver will be able to deliver my books.”
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As the nation prepares for its 250th Independence Day celebration, a decades-long California Fourth of July fireworks tradition that has raised millions for local children’s programs is going dark this year after the California Coastal Commission rejected a final effort to keep it alive, citing environmental concerns to protect the bay.
“We’ve raised over the past 14 years $2 million for kids programs here in Long Beach,” event organizer John Morris told Fox News Digital, adding the July 3 event is fully funded by the local community.
“This community pays for everything — everything. City fees, and the city doesn’t give us a break. We pay $20,000 to the city for police and fire, which I’m fine with, because there’s 100,000 people enjoying the fireworks,” said Morris, a Long Beach resident and business owner.
Morris, who owns the Boathouse on the Bay restaurant, had planned a scaled-up fireworks display this year to mark America’s 250th Independence Day.
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Long Beach residents have enjoyed the fireworks organized by John Morris for over a decade. (Scott Varley/MediaNews Group/Torrance Daily Breeze via Getty Images)
In January, Coastal Commission staff rejected the proposal, and last week commissioners unanimously upheld that decision despite an appeal backed by local, state and federal officials.
Regulators warned Morris last year that 2025 would likely be the final year for fireworks at the event, as they continue pushing organizers to switch to drone shows they say are more environmentally friendly.
The decision stands in contrast to other approvals by the commission, including a permit granted to SeaWorld allowing up to 40 nights of fireworks.
“They get 40 nights in Mission Bay. All I’m asking for is 20 minutes — it doesn’t make any sense,” Morris said.
Morris, 78, also pushed back on the environmental concerns cited by the commission, pointing to years of testing around the event.
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Due to the lack of fireworks, Morris has decided to cancel the July 3rd celebration.
“We’ve had 10 years of environmental studies,” Morris said. “We test the water before and after the fireworks and send a robotic camera into the bay to check for debris — there’s never been any. It’s been spotless.
“We’ve also had eight years of bird reports to make sure we’re not harming wildlife. We’ve never had an issue. We’ve never been written up one time. So what is it really about?”
Joshua Smith, a spokesman for the California Coastal Commission, told Fox News Digital that permits are determined on a case-by-case basis, citing environmental concerns to “protect the bay.”
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Organizer John Morris said environmental studies are regularly conducted to measure the impact of the fireworks show on the bay. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Smith said Morris was approved for a permit to hold a drone show in lieu of fireworks. Morris told Fox News Digital such a show would cost about $200,000 — roughly four times more than traditional fireworks.
Smith confirmed that SeaWorld received a permit allowing 40 nights of fireworks. When pressed on the discrepancy, he reiterated that decisions are made individually and declined to provide further details.
Morris said the loss of the fireworks show will be felt across the community, from local businesses to families who have made the event an annual tradition.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — In the wide-open race for California governor, billionaire Tom Steyer is on a spending binge.
The hedge fund manager-turned-liberal activist is using his personal fortune to saturate TV screens and mobile phones with advertising, while his competitors accuse him of trying to use his vast wealth to buy the state’s most powerful job.
Steyer’s ads — in which he promises to bring down household costs or rails against federal immigration raids — appear inescapable at times in heavily Democratic Los Angeles, the state’s largest media market. Data compiled by advertising tracker AdImpact show Steyer has spent or booked over $115 million in ads for broadcast TV, cable and radio — nearly 30 times the amount of his nearest Democratic rival.
If he makes it through the June 2 primary election, Steyer could easily eclipse the 2010 record set by Republican Meg Whitman, who spent $178.5 million in a losing bid for governor, much of it her own money. At the time, it was the costliest campaign for statewide office in the nation’s history.
Even when ad buys from all his major competitors are combined, along with ad purchases by independent committees supporting candidates, Steyer is outspending the field by tens of millions of dollars.
“Billionaire money is flooding our state in an attempt to buy this election,” former U.S. Rep. Katie Porter, one of Steyer’s chief rivals, warned her supporters this month.
Mail-in ballots are set to go out to voters next month. Steyer is among a crowd of candidates hoping to seize a spotlight after former Democratic U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell’s dramatic departure from the race following sexual assault allegations that he denies.
But while Steyer has ticked up in polling amid his spending splurge, he has not broken away from the field, leaving some wondering if he’s getting value for his dollars.
“If your first round of ads doesn’t move you dramatically (in the polls), the third, fourth, fifth, six, seventh and eighth rounds won’t either,” said veteran Democratic strategist Bill Carrick, who for years advised the late Democratic U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein. “There is something inherently holding Steyer back.”
In recent prior campaigns for governor, at this stage a leading candidate was taking control of the race. This year, voters appear to be shrugging at a contest that lacks a star candidate among seven leading Democrats and two Republicans.
“Somehow the campaign is frozen,” Carrick added.
History shows that money doesn’t always translate into votes.
Billionaire developer Rick Caruso spent over $100 million in 2022 in his bid to become Los Angeles mayor, much of it his own money, but he was handily defeated by Mayor Karen Bass, who spent a fraction of Caruso’s total. Billionaire former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg spent more than $1 billion of his own money on his 2020 presidential bid before dropping out. And Steyer’s money was unable to lift him into contention in the 2020 presidential contest, when he dropped out early in the year after a poor finish in the South Carolina primary.
Steyer has never held elected office.
In a 2019 interview with The Associated Press, Steyer was asked what he would say to people who think he’s trying to buy the presidency.
“I don’t think that’s possible,” Steyer said at the time, before adding, “I’m never going to apologize for succeeding in business. That’s America, right?”
His campaign did not respond directly when asked about similar criticism facing his run for governor.
“Tom now stands as the only Democrat with the grassroots energy, institutional backing and resources to advance to the general election,” spokesperson Kevin Liao said in a statement.
The governor’s race was recently reordered by two developments: Swalwell, a leading Democrat, abruptly withdrew from the race then resigned from Congress, following sexual assault allegations. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump endorsed conservative commentator Steve Hilton.
Still, there is no clear leader.
Polling in late March and early April by the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California found a cluster of candidates in close competition: Democrats Steyer and Porter, Republicans Hilton and Chad Bianco, and Swalwell. Other candidates were trailing. The polling was conducted before Swalwell withdrew.
Democrats have feared the party’s large number of candidates could lead to them getting shut out of the general election in November. That’s because California has a primary system in which only the top two vote-getters advance to the general election, regardless of party.
Leading Democrats are all claiming to have picked up support since Swalwell’s exit. Steyer nabbed one plum endorsement, when the influential California Teachers Association, which previously backed Swalwell, recommended him.
In his ads, Steyer promises to “abolish” U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which has been staging raids across California. In another, he laments the state’s punishing cost of housing, “Everybody needs an affordable place to live,” he says.
Rapper was stabbed 16 times by fellow inmate in May 2025 while 10-year sentence in Megan Thee Stallion shooting case
Tory Lanez has filed a $100 million lawsuit against the California Department of Corrections stemming from a May 2025 incident where the rapper was stabbed in prison.
Lanez — born Daystar Peterson and currently serving a 10-year sentence after being found guilty in the Megan Thee Stallion shooting case — also sued the warden and guards at the California Correctional Institute in Tehachapi, where the rapper was stabbed 16 times in an “unprovoked life-threatening attack” by another inmate, the lawsuit states.
Peterson was hospitalized following the May 2025 incident, suffering a collapsed lung among stab wounds to his back, torso, and head.
According to the Associated Press, the lawsuit criticized the Department of Corrections for housing Peterson with fellow inmate and alleged attacker Santino Casio, who was serving a life sentence for second-degree murder. “The choice to house Casio with Peterson was known or should have been a known danger,” the lawsuit said, adding that Tory Lanez’ “high-profile celebrity status” made him a target.
The lawsuit also said that prison guards were slow to respond to the shanking, and didn’t employ flash grenades or other measures to halt Casio’s attack.; Casio was not charged for stabbing Peterson, the Associated Press notes.
Lanez, who following his hospitalization was transferred to San Luis Obispo County’s California Men’s Colony, also alleges in the lawsuit that he never received his possessions from the California Correctional Institute in Tehachapi, including songbooks filled with lyrics to his unreleased music.
Lanez is serving a 10-year prison sentence for shooting Megan Thee Stallion in the foot during a confrontation in the summer of 2020. He was eventually convicted on several firearms charges, including assault with a firearm, in December 2022. In November 2025, his appeal was denied by a three-judge panel, and the 10-year sentence was upheld.
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