Business

Angelenos are alarmed by air pollution, extreme heat. Poll finds they want action

Published

3 years ago

April 19, 2022

Angelenos are alarmed by air pollution, extreme heat. Poll finds they want action

Los Angeles citizens are distressed by harmful warm front, damaging wildfires and also unsafe air contamination — and also they desire political leaders to take significant actions to lower the city’s dependence on nonrenewable fuel sources and also get ready for a hotter future.

Virtually two-thirds of L.A. citizens state severe warm positions a major hazard to their health and wellness, according to a brand-new UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Researches survey co-sponsored by the Los Angeles Times. 8 in 10 citizens state the very same concerning air contamination, which, like international warming, is created mainly by unclean gas such as oil and also gas.

Citizens in America’s second-biggest city assistance activity on air top quality and also the environment situation, the survey located: Eighty-three percent stated Los Angeles Area must invest even more cash to include railway, and also 60% stated the city ought to transform even more web traffic lanes to bus just. Fifty percent stated the City board must prohibit gas heating unit and also gas ranges in freshly constructed houses, compared with 37% opposed.

Statewide, citizens additionally sustain large modifications to handle the impacts of environment adjustment.

Regarding two-thirds would certainly back limitations on structure real estate in risky wildfire locations, the survey located.

The numbers come as Angelenos prepare to enact a June 7 main for mayor, and also as a penalizing dry spell — intensified by increasing temperature levels — tightens its grasp on the state. The survey located that 62% of L.A. citizens assume the city ought to conserve water by getting rid of decorative turf from road typicals and also landscape design around business structures, as Las Las vega just recently called for.

Yet regardless of prevalent assistance for environment activity, the concern isn’t citizens’ leading concern.

Asked to determine the a couple of crucial problems in determining whom to sustain for mayor, simply 10% of L.A. citizens selected environment adjustment. Sixty-one percent stated being homeless, 38% stated criminal offense and also public safety and security, and also 36% stated real estate cost. The leading mayoral prospects have actually concentrated practically specifically on those subjects.

“The problem is that environment adjustment and also the setting are not that vital to many people now. There are various other, extra pushing problems on individuals’s minds,” stated Jon Christensen, a UCLA ecological chronicler. “That stated, individuals do think the repercussions are major — severe warm, wildfires, air contamination. As well as they do prefer doing points to deal with those risks.

“I assume individuals are claiming it’s immediate, if half individuals want to sustain quiting gas ranges,” he included.

Of both leading prospects for mayor, Rep. Karen Bass just quickly states the environment situation on her project web site, and also billionaire realty designer Rick Caruso doesn’t discuss it in any way.

City Board Participant Kevin de León, that positioned a far-off 3rd in the survey, composed enthusiastic environment expenses when he offered in the state Legislature yet additionally hasn’t concentrated on the subject throughout his mayoral project.

L.A. mayoral prospects, delegated right: Rep. Karen Bass, City Councilmember Kevin de León, City Atty. Mike Feuer, City Councilmember Joe Buscaino and also billionaire designer Rick Caruso.

Mike Feuer, the Los Angeles city lawyer, is the only mayoral prospect ballot over 1% that has actually outlined a comprehensive environment strategy.

“There disappears vital concern for the globe,” Feuer stated in a meeting. “If we were to expect a discussion that our youngsters or grandkids might have in 20 or thirty years, they’re mosting likely to review us and also state, ‘What the hell were you assuming?’”

Those kinds of discussions are currently taking place as international warming drives extra regular, higher-intensity wildfires and also gas extra unsafe warm front — positioning a particularly high threat to the senior, outside employees, low-income family members that can’t pay for cooling and also homeowners of communities without adequate color trees or public parks, most of whom are individuals of shade.

A current L.A. Times examination located that warm eliminated an approximated 3,900 Californians throughout the years finishing in 2019 — 6 times the state’s main tally.

Latino citizens, lower-income citizens and also those residing in the Inland Realm and also San Joaquin Valley are most likely to explain severe warm as a really major hazard, the survey located.

Partisanship dramatically separated citizens on the concern: Practically 8 in 10 Democrats stated severe warm positions at the very least a rather major hazard to them or their family members, yet virtually two-thirds of Republicans stated it’s not a major hazard.

Latino, Black and also lower-income citizens revealed greater degrees of problem concerning air contamination. Nuclear power plant, oil refineries, ports and also various other commercial centers that sustain the environment situation and also gush lung-damaging bits are mostly situated in areas of shade.

There’s additionally durable assistance throughout The golden state for limiting real estate growth in risky wildfire areas, the survey located.

Assistance was highest possible in the Bay Location, where practically three-quarters of citizens remain in support. Yet also in the mainly country, conventional north component of the state, citizens backed growth limitations 53% to 35%. So did a plurality of Republicans statewide, with 44% in support and also 38% opposed.

That’s a striking finding for a political celebration that rewards personal property legal rights, specifically in a state that terribly requires brand-new real estate, stated Fran Pavley, a Democrat and also previous state legislator that is presently ecological plan supervisor at USC’s Schwarzenegger Institute.

A dark sky, caused by heavy smoke from wildfires, looms over San Francisco

While simply 15% of L.A. citizens and also 24% of citizens statewide stated they’d been straight impacted by fire, the survey asked citizens particularly concerning impacts such as needing to leave or having their power switched off — not wildfire smoke, which has actually buried a lot of the state recently.

“Those wildfires, they don’t care what your political celebration is,” Pavley stated. “Individuals are really feeling that they can be anywhere.”

Christensen stated the survey results revealed mayoral prospects can gain from speaking even more concerning the environment situation — if they mount environment in regards to severe warm, air contamination, wildfires, dry spell and also various other impacts that really feel immediate to citizens.

“Do you appreciate severe warm and also having the ability to live conveniently in the city and also navigate the city conveniently? Do you appreciate lowering air contamination?” Christensen asked. “After that you’ve obtained some problems the survey explains individuals truly appreciate.”

Environment remedies can additionally deal with quality-of-life problems that citizens appreciate, Christensen stated. Broadening public transportation and also structure budget-friendly real estate near City terminals would certainly make it much easier for Angelenos to leave their vehicles. Including safeguarded bus and also bike lanes would certainly make the city much safer by lowering web traffic fatalities.

Including even more trees, public parks and also color frameworks at bus quits, at the same time, would certainly give defense from warm while making communities extra comfortable.

Those kinds of actions would certainly be preferred amongst L.A. citizens, the survey located. Along with revealing durable assistance for even more railway and also bus-only web traffic lanes, 52% of survey participants intend to see even more bike-only lanes on city roads, versus 38% opposed. As well as 86% stated city authorities must position even more of a top priority on growing trees and also creating parks.

Inquired about one more feasible environment option, 56% of citizens statewide stated The golden state ought to maintain developing a bullet train to attach L.A. to the Bay Location, regardless of a years of hold-ups and also price overruns. Thirty-five percent of citizens differed.

The Institute of Governmental Researches survey evaluated 8,676 The golden state signed up citizens and also 2,047 signed up citizens in the city of Los Angeles from March 29 to April 5. The survey was carried out online in English and also Spanish. The approximated margin of mistake is plus or minus 2 portion factors for the statewide example and also 3 factors for the citywide.

The survey additionally located modest assistance for nuclear power — an adjustment from the 1970s and also 1980s, when atomic power came to be extensively undesirable complying with mishaps at Pennsylvania’s 3 Mile Island plant and also Ukraine’s Chernobyl center.

By a 44%-37% margin, citizens statewide stated they sustain developing extra atomic power plants in The golden state, with 19% unsure. Nuclear plants are the country’s biggest source of climate-friendly power, and also unlike solar and also wind ranches, they can create power all the time.

The state is intending to shutter its last staying nuclear plant, with Pacific Gas & Electric on the right track to shut the Diablo Canyon center along the Central Coastline in 2025. Thirty-nine percent of citizens oppose closing down Diablo Canyon, with 33% sustaining closure and also 28% unclear, the survey located.

There’s wider assistance for The golden state’s brand-new composting regulation, which needs individuals to different food waste for composting — an initiative to lower planet-warming discharges from garbage dumps. Citizens statewide prefer the regulation 68%-24%.

The survey additionally asked Californians to approximate just how much of the water made use of by individuals in the state mosts likely to farming — a rewarding and also politically effective sector, specifically in the San Joaquin and also Sacramento valleys. Statewide, citizens presumed 45% — much much less than the virtually 80% of water products that farming really eats.

After being informed the real number, 47% of survey participants stated the state ought to develop brand-new restrictions on water usage for ranches, with 42% opposed.

The action varied dramatically along partial and also geographical lines. Greater than three-fifths of Autonomous citizens stated they’d like to see farming water make use of limited, compared with 1 in 5 Republican politicians. The toughest assistance for reducing on ranch water usage remained in Los Angeles Area and also the Bay Location, with the most affordable assistance in the Central Valley.

Water is much from the only questionable environment concern that will certainly challenge L.A.’s following mayor.

Including bus and also bike lanes, developing budget-friendly real estate near public transportation, closing down oil exploration, switching out gas ranges for induction cooktops — all of it would certainly lower discharges, yet none would certainly be simple. Not in a city specified by highways and also regulated by political leaders whose most energetic advocates are commonly single-family property owners very opposed to modifications in their communities.

Whoever does well Mayor Eric Garcetti at Municipal government will certainly require greater than platitudes on environment. Researchers state supporting the earth’s environment will certainly need the globe to reduce planet-warming discharges virtually in fifty percent by 2030 — whereupon Garcetti’s follower can still be ending up a last term in workplace.

Business

As Delta Reports Profits, Airlines Are Optimistic About 2025

Published

3 hours ago

January 11, 2025

Press Room

As Delta Reports Profits, Airlines Are Optimistic About 2025

This year just got started, but it is already shaping up nicely for U.S. airlines.

After several setbacks, the industry ended 2024 in a fairly strong position because of healthy demand for tickets and the ability of several airlines to control costs and raise fares, experts said. Barring any big problems, airlines — especially the largest ones — should enjoy a great year, analysts said.

“I think it’s going to be pretty blue skies,” said Tom Fitzgerald, an airline industry analyst for the investment bank TD Cowen.

In recent weeks, many major airlines upgraded forecasts for the all-important last three months of the year. And on Friday, Delta Air Lines said it collected more than $15.5 billion in revenue in the fourth quarter of 2024, a record.

“As we move into 2025, we expect strong demand for travel to continue,” Delta’s chief executive, Ed Bastian, said in a statement. That put the airline on track to “deliver the best financial year in Delta’s 100-year history,” he said.

The airline also beat analysts’ profit estimates and said it expected earnings per share, a measure of profitability, to rise more than 10 percent this year.

Delta’s upbeat report offers a preview of what are expected to be similarly rosy updates from other carriers that will report earnings in the next few weeks. That should come as welcome news to an industry that has been stifled by various challenges even as demand for travel has rocketed back after the pandemic.

“For the last five years, it’s felt like every bird in the sky was a black swan,” said Ravi Shanker, an analyst focused on airlines at Morgan Stanley. “But it appears that this industry does have its ducks in a row.”

That is, of course, if everything goes according to plan, which it rarely does. Geopolitics, terrorist attacks, air safety problems and, perhaps most important, an economic downturn could tank demand for travel. Rising costs, particularly for jet fuel, could erode profits. Or the industry could face problems like a supply chain disruption that limits availability of new planes or makes it harder to repair older ones.

Early last year, a panel blew off a Boeing 737 Max during an Alaska Airlines flight, resurfacing concerns about the safety of the manufacturer’s planes, which are used on most flights operated by U.S. airlines, according to Cirium, an aviation data firm.

The incident forced Boeing to slow production and delay deliveries of jets. That disrupted the plans of some airlines that had hoped to carry more passengers. And there was little airlines could do to adjust because the world’s largest jet manufacturer, Airbus, didn’t have the capacity to pick up the slack — both it and Boeing have long order backlogs. In addition, some Airbus planes were afflicted by an engine problem that has forced carriers to pull the jets out of service for inspections.

There was other tumult, too. Spirit Airlines filed for bankruptcy. A brief technology outage wreaked havoc on many airlines, disrupting travel and resulting in thousands of canceled flights in the heart of the busy summer season. And during the summer, smaller airlines flooded popular domestic routes with seats, squeezing profits during what is normally the most lucrative time of year.

But the industry’s financial position started improving when airlines reduced the number of flights and seats. While that was bad for travelers, it lifted fares and profits for airlines.

“You’re in a demand-over-supply imbalance, which gives the industry pricing power,” said Andrew Didora, an analyst at the Bank of America.

At the same time, airlines have been trying to improve their businesses. American Airlines overhauled a sales strategy that had frustrated corporate customers, helping it win back some travelers. Southwest Airlines made changes aimed at lowering costs and increasing profits after a push by the hedge fund Elliott Management. And JetBlue Airways unveiled a strategy with similar aims, after a less contentious battle with the investor Carl C. Icahn.

Those improvements and industry trends, along with the stabilization of fuel, labor and other costs, have created the conditions for what could be a banner 2025. “All of this is the best setup we’ve had in decades,” Mr. Shanker said.

That won’t materialize right away, though. Travel demand tends to be subdued in the winter. But business trips pick up somewhat, driven by events like this week’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

The positive outlook for 2025 is probably strongest for the largest U.S. airlines — Delta, United and American. All three are well positioned to take advantage of buoyant trends, including steadily rebounding business travel and customers who are eager to spend more on better seats and international flights.

But some smaller airlines may do well, too. JetBlue, Alaska Airlines and others have been adding more premium seats, which should help lift profits.

While he is optimistic overall, Mr. Shanker acknowledged that the industry was vulnerable to a host of potential problems.

“I mean, this time last year you were talking about doors falling off planes,” he said. “So who knows what might happen.”

Business

Insurance commissioner issues moratorium on home policy cancellations in fire zones

Published

4 hours ago

January 11, 2025

Press Room

Insurance commissioner issues moratorium on home policy cancellations in fire zones

California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara has issued a moratorium that bars insurers from canceling or non-renewing home policies in the Pacific Palisades and the San Gabriel Valley’s Eaton fire zones.

The moratorium, issued Thursday, protects homeowners living within the perimeter of the fire and in adjoining ZIP codes from losing their policies for one year, starting from when Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency on Wednesday.

The moratoriums, provided for under state law, are typically issued after large fires and apply to all policyholders regardless of whether they have suffered a loss.

Lara also urged insurers to pause for six months any pending non-renewals or cancellations that were issued up to 90 days before Jan. 7 that were to take effect after the start of the fires — something he does not have authority to prohibit.

“I call upon all property insurance companies to halt these non-renewals and cancellations and provide essential stability for our communities, allowing consumers to focus on what’s important at the moment — their safety and recovery,” said Lara on Friday during a press conference in downtown Los Angeles.

Insurance companies in California have wide latitude to not renew home policies after they expire, though they must provide at least 75 days’ notice. However, policies in force can be canceled only for reasons such as non-payment and fraud.

Insurers have dropped hundreds of thousands of policyholders across California in recent years citing the increasing risk and severity of wind-driven wildfires attributed to climate change. The insurance department said residents living in fire zones can be subject to sudden non-renewals, prompting the need for the moratoriums.

In addition, Lara asked insurers to extend to policyholders affected by the fires time to pay their premiums that go beyond the existing 60-day grace period that is mandatory under state law.

It’s not clear how many homeowners in Pacific Palisades and elsewhere might not have had coverage, but many homeowners reported that insurers had not renewed their policies before the disaster struck. State Farm last year told the Department of Insurance it would not renew 1,626 policies in Pacific Palisades when they expired, starting last July.

Residents can visit the Department of Insurance website at insurance.ca.gov to see if their ZIP codes are included in the moratorium. They can also contact the department at (800) 927-4357 or via chat or email if they think their insurer is in violation of the law.

The Pacific Palisades fire, the most destructive fire in Los Angeles history, as of Friday morning had grown to more than 20,000 acres, burning more than 5,000 homes, businesses and other buildings. It was 6% contained.

The Eaton fire, which has burned many structures in Altadena and Pasadena, has spread to nearly 14,000 acres and was 3% contained as of early Friday. Ten people have died in the fires.

Business

In Los Angeles, Hotels Become a Refuge for Fire Evacuees

Published

15 hours ago

January 10, 2025

Press Room

In Los Angeles, Hotels Become a Refuge for Fire Evacuees

The lobby of Shutters on the Beach, the luxury oceanfront hotel in Santa Monica that is usually abuzz with tourists and entertainment professionals, had by Thursday transformed into a refuge for Los Angeles residents displaced by the raging wildfires that have ripped through thousands of acres and leveled entire neighborhoods to ash.

In the middle of one table sat something that has probably never been in the lobby of Shutters before: a portable plastic goldfish tank. “It’s my daughter’s,” said Kevin Fossee, 48. Mr. Fossee and his wife, Olivia Barth, 45, had evacuated to the hotel on Tuesday evening shortly after the fire in the Los Angeles Pacific Palisades area flared up near their home in Malibu.

Suddenly, an evacuation alert came in. Every phone in the lobby wailed at once, scaring young children who began to cry inconsolably. People put away their phones a second later when they realized it was a false alarm.

Similar scenes have been unfolding across other Los Angeles hotels as the fires spread and the number of people under evacuation orders soars above 100,000. IHG, which includes the Intercontinental, Regent and Holiday Inn chains, said 19 of its hotels across the Los Angeles and Pasadena areas were accommodating evacuees.

The Palisades fire, which has been raging since Tuesday and has become the most destructive in the history of Los Angeles, struck neighborhoods filled with mansions owned by the wealthy, as well as the homes of middle-class families who have owned them for generations. Now they all need places to stay.

Many evacuees turned to a Palisades WhatsApp group that in just a few days has grown from a few hundred to over 1,000 members. Photos, news, tips on where to evacuate, hotel discount codes and pet policies were being posted with increasing rapidity as the fires spread.

At the midcentury modern Beverly Hilton hotel, which looms over the lawns and gardens of Beverly Hills, seven miles and a world away from the ash-strewed Pacific Palisades, parking ran out on Wednesday as evacuees piled in. Guests had to park in another lot a mile south and take a shuttle back.

In the lobby of the hotel, which regularly hosts glamorous events like the recent Golden Globe Awards, guests in workout clothes wrestled with children, pets and hastily packed roll-aboards.

Many of the guests were already familiar with each other from their neighborhoods, and there was a resigned intimacy as they traded stories. “You can tell right away if someone is a fire evacuee by whether they are wearing sweats or have a dog with them,” said Sasha Young, 34, a photographer. “Everyone I’ve spoken with says the same thing: We didn’t take enough.”

The Hotel June, a boutique hotel with a 1950s hipster vibe a mile north of Los Angeles International Airport, was offering evacuees rooms for $125 per night.

“We were heading home to the Palisades from the airport when we found out about the evacuations,” said Julia Morandi, 73, a retired science educator who lives in the Palisades Highlands neighborhood. “When we checked in, they could see we were stressed, so the manager gave us drinks tickets and told us, ‘We take care of our neighbors.’”

Hotels are also assisting tourists caught up in the chaos, helping them make arrangements to fly home (as of Friday, the airport was operating normally) and waiving cancellation fees. A spokeswoman for Shutters said its guests included domestic and international tourists, but on Thursday, few could be spotted among the displaced Angelenos. The heated outdoor pool that overlooks the ocean and is usually surrounded by sunbathers was completely deserted because of the dangerous air quality.

“I think I’m one of the only tourists here,” said Pavel Francouz, 34, a hockey scout who came to Los Angeles from the Czech Republic for a meeting on Tuesday before the fires ignited.

“It’s weird to be a tourist,” he said, describing the eerily empty beaches and the hotel lobby packed with crying children, families, dogs and suitcases. “I can’t imagine what it would feel like to be these people,” he said, adding, “I’m ready to go home.”

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