California
California insurance commissioner race is set: Kim vs. Allen
By Levi Sumagaysay, CalMatters
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters.
For the first time since California insurance commissioner became an elected position, two Democrats will vie for the job in November.
The top two vote-getters in the June primary were former San Francisco Board of Supervisors member Jane Kim and state Sen. Ben Allen, who received about 27% and 20% of the vote, respectively. One of them will succeed Ricardo Lara, the former Democratic lawmaker who has served two terms as insurance commissioner. Lara has presided over the Insurance Department in the past eight years, during which the state saw its deadliest and most devastating fires.
Kim or Allen will be taking on complicated, enormous challenges that have implications for local communities, people’s ability to buy homes and start businesses, and the state’s economy.
In the past few years, insurance companies stopped writing new policies or renewing old ones, especially in high-risk areas, citing increasing wildfire risk from climate change and inflation that followed the COVID-19 pandemic. This caused homeowners to turn to the last-resort FAIR Plan, which is mandated by law to provide fire insurance. The plan, run by an alliance of insurers, has grown to more than 684,000 policies in force as of March, an increase of 152% since September 2022. It has warned about its ability to keep paying claims after major disasters.
Proposition 103, a law approved by voters in 1988, means that among many other things, the elected commissioner has the power to approve rate increases. It has kept the state’s rates from rising too much over the years — Californians’ homeowners insurance premiums have hovered around the middle of the pack nationwide — but that could change. Last year, the commissioner put in place regulations that include new factors insurers can use when setting their premiums, such as catastrophe modeling and reinsurance costs. Some companies have applied for and received approval to raise their rates, so they’re starting to write policies again.
Keeping insurance available but affordable will be the most pressing issue for either Kim or Allen, whose responsibilities will also include regulating auto, pet and some aspects of health insurance, plus workers’ compensation.
Another problem that will need plenty of attention: making sure insurance companies pay their claims in a timely manner that helps communities to rebuild. The L.A.-area fires shed a light on insurer practices that delay and deny claims, as well as underinsurance and the lack of standards for smoke damage, which have held up recovery. Pending legislation — such as those authored by Allen, whose district was hit by the fires last year — and lawsuits will address some of those issues. Well-organized fire survivors who called for Lara’s resignation over his department’s response to their concerns will surely keep up the pressure on his successor.
Here’s a look at each candidate’s record and how she or he would approach the job, based on their interviews with CalMatters and what they have said publicly, including at candidate forums.
Jane Kim
Kim’s proposal to create “natural disaster insurance for all,” inspired by a program in New Zealand, has gotten a lot of attention. She plans to fund such a system with a portion of policyholder premiums that insurance companies would collect and divert to the state. The state would then guarantee fire and flood coverage, while insurance companies would continue to cover other risks.
Naysayers, including consumer advocates, wonder why she hasn’t released any specifics about how much capital such a fund would require. Kim told CalMatters that it would need to be studied, but that at its core her proposal would generate revenue.
Opponents of her proposal also say it’s a bad idea to shift catastrophic burden onto the state, pointing to what they say is the failure of splitting off earthquake insurance from homeowner insurance — most California homeowners now have no insurance coverage.
“We (taxpayers) already are on the hook,” Kim said. “When insurers and utilities refuse to pay, they just pass it on to us anyway. Sharing the risk is important.”
Kim also told CalMatters that an idea Merritt Farren, a Republican candidate for commissioner, proposed — that the state create a reinsurance authority to encourage insurers to write policies in the state — “may turn out to be a more efficient model.”
Among Kim’s shorter-term priorities if she wins:
- Create public dashboards to show how insurance companies are spending policyholder premiums, and that show their record on claims.
- Expand eligibility for a program that provides low-cost insurance to drivers who make less than $38,000 a year.
- Tie a company’s ability to sell auto insurance in the state to its willingness to write homeowner policies.
- Make the FAIR Plan more transparent by requiring that its list of board members be public, and that its board meetings be public.
- Freeze rates when policyholders file claims.
The former San Francisco elected official, an attorney, touts among her accomplishments free community college for the city’s residents; the first $15 minimum wage ordinance in the state; and a tenant-protection ordinance to avoid unjust evictions. She worked as the California director for Sen. Bernie Sanders’ 2020 U.S. presidential campaign and most recently as California Director for the Working Families Party.
Kim has a long list of endorsers, including many unions such as SEIU California. Besides Sanders, another U.S. lawmaker, Rep. Ro Khanna of Silicon Valley, has also endorsed her.
Ben Allen
The state senator, who will be termed out of the Legislature, wants to bring together the state, insurers, builders, local governments and firefighters to work on risk-reduction strategies.
“I think that’s ultimately going to be the way that we get ourselves out of this mess,” he told CalMatters.
What he calls a comprehensive approach includes thinking about where people live and build: “We shouldn’t be building new construction that is irresponsible in high-risk areas. We should be looking for ways to carefully and sensitively encourage people to pull back from high-risk areas.”
If he wins, Allen’s other plans include:
- Create a consumer advocate position within the insurance department, and increase staff to handle customer service.
- Require insurers to explain claim denials and provide real-time reports of delays and outstanding claims after a disaster.
- Increase oversight of the FAIR Plan and make sure it complies with commissioner orders.
- Ban the insurance commissioner and staff from working for the industry immediately after they leave the department.
Allen has played up his experience as a legislator, including writing and passing bills related to holding insurance companies accountable. For example, a law he wrote now requires insurers to pay 60% of policyholders’ contents coverage without a detailed inventory, and gives consumers more time to provide that inventory. He also touts writing Proposition 4, the bond measure approved by the state’s voters in 2024 “for safe drinking water, wildfire prevention and protecting communities and natural lands from climate risks.”
Other pending bills authored by him include one that would require insurers to give homeowners 90 days notice before they intend not to renew their policies, along with a clear explanation. Another would penalize insurance companies that fail to correct their practices after the insurance department finds that they have violated laws and regulations.
Allen also has many endorsements, including the two leaders of the state Legislature, Senate Pro Tem Monique Limon and Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas. U.S. Sens. Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla, both from California, unions and the Consumer Federation of California also endorse him.
This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.
A California fugitive wanted in connection with two murders was captured in Laos and extradited to the United States.
Myung Jin Kim, 31, was taken into custody by Laotian authorities in late May and flown back to Los Angeles International Airport on June 9.
Kim was wanted for his alleged roles in two murders — one that occurred in 2016 and another in 2018, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office said.
On June 27, 2016, Kim was accused of orchestrating the botched ambush killing of the wrong man in San Jose.
The victim was in a vehicle when the suspects, who were lying in wait, ambushed him after he came to a stop. At least one suspect got out of their vehicle, shot the man, and fled before police arrived.
Investigators later identified several suspects and discovered the shooting was a targeted killing believed to have been orchestrated by Kim. Prosecutors said the person who was fatally shot ended up being the wrong man and was not the intended target.
A warrant was issued for Kim’s arrest, however, police were unable to locate him.
On Sept. 5, 2018, Kim was accused of shooting and killing his friend, Christopher Kim, 26, after arguing with him over money in the parking lot of a CVS store in Westminster. He reportedly shot the victim six times in front of the victim’s girlfriend before running away, authorities said. Another arrest warrant was issued for Kim on Nov. 20, 2018, for murder.
Kim remained in hiding for several years until December 2025, when investigators learned that he had fled the country and was overseas in Laos.
Authorities from multiple agencies, including the Orange County and Santa Clara County district attorney’s offices, along with the FBI and U.S. Marshals Service, began working to return Kim to the United States for prosecution.
In late May 2026, Kim was taken into custody by Laotian authorities for using fraudulent travel documents. He was flown back to Los Angeles International Airport on June 9.
He was booked into the Anaheim Police Department jail, where he was taken into custody by the San Jose Police Department and later transported to Santa Clara County on June 10.
Kim’s arrest and extradition mark the first-ever return of a wanted fugitive from Laos to the United States, prosecutors said.
“Mr. Kim’s cowardly acts of violence finally caught up with him, despite being halfway across the globe,” said Patrick Grandy, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “The FBI’s Orange County Violent Crime Task Force is proud to assist police departments seeking violent subjects who’ve fled the jurisdiction, and we will continue these partnerships and those we’ve developed with countries all over the world to seek justice for victims of violent crime.”
“Justice knows no borders and we will go to the literal ends of the earth in the pursuit of justice,” said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. “It may not be today. It may not be tomorrow. But the long arm of the law of Orange County is coming for you and there is not a country on earth that is capable of shielding you from our unwavering pursuit of justice. We believe in consequences for your actions, and you will be held accountable for every crime you commit and for every victim you harm.”
Kim is expected to be prosecuted in Santa Clara County first, before returning to Orange County to be prosecuted for the crimes committed in that jurisdiction.
He was also previously charged in Orange County with drug dealing, possessing a gun as a convicted felon and metal piercing ammunition.
Kim’s removal and extradition to the U.S. were a result of the collaboration and cooperation of local, federal and international law enforcement agencies, including:
- Multiple divisions/units in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
- U.S. Department of Justice Attaché in Manila
- U.S. Department of State Diplomatic Security Service in Vientiane (Laos) and Singapore
- U.S. Marshals Service Pacific Southwest Regional Fugitive Task Force
- U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations (Bangkok and Singapore)
- Lao PDR law enforcement
- Orange County District Attorney’s Office
- Westminster Police Department
- Anaheim Police Department
- Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office
- San Jose Police Department
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection
California
Officials say sprinklers at California medical equipment warehouse didn’t work during blaze
TRACY, Calif. — Firefighters responding to a blaze that destroyed a massive medical equipment warehouse in Northern California and sent embers flying for miles were hindered by sprinklers and hydrants that weren’t working, authorities said Friday.
The 1 million-square-foot (93,000-square-meter) warehouse in Tracy, a city about 55 miles (88.5 kilometers) east of San Francisco, supplied medical equipment to area hospitals. It’s owned by Medline, a major medical-surgical products provider of equipment such as latex gloves, masks, surgical instruments and other medical supplies.
Thick black smoke billowed Friday from the site, as firefighters continued to put out hotspots.
Authorities said they don’t yet know why the water system failed during the blaze but it appeared to be a problem with the facility’s system, not city supply. The blaze broke out around 1 p.m. Thursday. Crews found the building’s sprinkler system wasn’t working and hydrants on the property lacked water pressure, Tracy Deputy Fire Chief Brian Bagley said. A fire official found little or no water was flowing through either system, he said.
Firefighters were forced to try to connect to city hydrants instead. The building was engulfed by fire within 40 minutes, Bagley said.
“We did a defensive approach at that point,” he said.
The facility had been evacuated, and no one was injured.
Smoke from a medical supply warehouse fire in Tracy, Calif., is seen from Livermore on Thursday, June 11, 2026. Credit: AP/Santiago Mejia
Embers from the blaze sparked two grassfires and set pallets and multiple big rig trailers at a nearby FedEx facility ablaze. Firefighters were able to knock those fires down.
Crews overnight had to contend with new fires in trailers that were loaded with supplies.
Bagley said the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives would help investigate the cause of the blaze, but authorities would probably not be able to get into the warehouse for at least a couple of more days. The sprinkler system had been tested in January by an outside company and no issues were found, Bagley said.
The warehouse is in a massive industrial park that also houses fulfillment and distribution centers for Amazon, Home Depot and FedEx.
No homes were evacuated. Bagley recommended people near the fire stay indoors but said air quality tests had not raised any “grave concerns.”
When Rickey Spivey Towner had a heart attack in his Coachella Valley home last September, his stepdaughter Megan Conner found him unconscious and called 911.
But there was a problem: The equipment used to answer 911 calls at the Desert Hot Springs Police Department malfunctioned and Conner couldn’t connect with a dispatcher for more than two minutes, according to dispatch records obtained by NBC Bay Area.
In a recording of one of Conner’s 911 calls, the dispatcher is immediately disconnected, and Conner is met by silence for 25 seconds until the dispatcher can get back on the line.
Towner did not survive. His family said he died of a heart attack.
Ricky Spivey Towner’s death is the first documented fatality that may be linked to Cal OES’ problematic 911 upgrade.
Towner’s death may be the first documented fatality potentially linked to the state’s ongoing 911 system overhaul.
Newly obtained records under the California Public Records Act reveal the connection problems were linked to call processing equipment approved by the state as part of California’s troubled Next Generation 911 rollout, sold by a state contractor called NGA 911, and deployed by the Desert Hot Springs Police Department in 2023.
Police records reveal emergency dispatchers were unexpectedly logged out of their phone system as Conner called 911 to report her stepfather lying unresponsive on the floor.
Records obtained by NBC Bay Area show all of the dispatchers were logged out of their systems when the 911 call came in.
It’s unclear if Towner could have been saved had his stepdaughter been able to summon help faster, but records show a police dispatch manager sent a scathing email shortly after his death to NGA 911. She also copied top officials with the California Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES).
“People’s lives are on the line and your failed system may have just cost this person their life,” the dispatch manager wrote on September 12, 2025. “I believe that your engineers are continuously making changes to our live environment which is affecting our user experience. Which again is unacceptable, especially when I had continuously asked you to stop.”
Desert Hot Springs dispatch manager’s email to NGA 911 and Cal OES shortly after Towner’s death.
Records from the police department lay out the details of what went wrong and show Conner had to call 911 three times that morning before she was finally able to relay any information to a dispatcher. It took nearly two-and-a-half minutes.
The national standard calls for 90% of 911 calls to be answered within 15 seconds.
The equipment that failed is called call processing equipment (CPE) and it was purchased by Desert Hot Springs police after Cal OES suspended new sales of existing call processing equipment and began pushing dispatch centers toward cloud-based systems designed for the state’s Next Generation 911 network.
State officials say the Next Generation 911 project is a critical upgrade to California’s antiquated 911 system and will improve emergency response.
After a series of reports by NBC Bay Area’s Investigative Unit, however, the overhaul has faced mounting scrutiny from lawmakers over delays, technical problems and a rising price tag exceeding $450 million.
WATCH NBC BAY AREA’S INVESTIGATIONS CA 911: TOO BIG TO FAIL
Like most emergency dispatch centers across California, Desert Hot Springs has not switched over to the new Next Gen 911 network. However, it was among the first to use the new cloud-based CPE that Cal OES promoted after suspending sales of legacy call processing equipment that failed to meet Next Generation 911 standards.
NGA 911’s equipment had passed state lab testing conducted by Cal OES and was among a handful of vendors approved to sell the new cloud-based CPE when Desert Hot Springs purchased its equipment.
While Cal OES, NGA 911, and Desert Hot Springs police were discussing the equipment failure during Conner’s 911 call, the family says they were left in the dark. They say nobody had told them about what happened until they were recently contacted by NBC Bay Area.
“Why didn’t I know any of this,” said Lakisha Romero, Towner’s daughter. “My dad has been talked about around the state and I had no clue what was going on.”
Lakisha Romero (left) and Megan Conner (right).
A timeline of “major events and challenges” in the state’s implementation of Next Gen 911 that has since been posted on Cal OES’ website shows the CPE purchased by Desert Hot Springs had been plagued by persistent problems since it was first deployed more than two years before Towner’s death.
“911 calls that were disconnected before being answered by the [911 center] are not displaying for dispatchers,” the Cal OES timeline states. “A workaround was immediately implemented that required dispatchers to use third party technology. NGA 911, LLC is notified of the problem and indicates it is working on a solution.”
About a year later, the Wasco Police Department also purchased NGA 911 call processing equipment and experienced “the same problems as [Desert Hot Springs],” according to Cal OES.
By May 2025, police in Desert Hot Springs and Wasco had opened roughly 300 trouble tickets concerning issues with NGA 911’s CPE, including 17 of “critical importance” and 99 of “high importance.” Two months later, both departments canceled their CPE orders with NGA 911.
In a statement, the Desert Hot Springs Police Department said it “worked collaboratively with NGA and Cal OES regarding operational and technical concerns that arose during implementation and operation.”
Cal OES said it took “immediate steps” to help both departments swap out the problematic CPE with equipment from a new vendor, but the process took months to complete and had not occurred before Towner died.
Three weeks after his death, Cal OES said it removed NGA 911 from the approved CPE vendor list and the agency eventually cancelled the company’s CPE contract in March of this year.
Cal OES declined an on-camera interview request but said in an email the agency is committed to oversight and accountability of its contractors.
NGA has not responded to NBC Bay Area’s repeated requests for comment regarding Towner’s death and the equipment failure in Desert Hot Springs. It has posted this timeline on its website explaining its project record in California.
California’s Next Generation 911 project is years behind schedule, but state officials say there’s a new plan in place to get the project moving forward again and hope to have the Los Angeles region hooked up to the network in time for the 2028 Olympics.
The state agency recently requested another $142 million to meet that goal, which would be paid for by an additional 13 cent surcharge on the phone bill of Californians.
As the state moves forward with Next Generation 911 and upgraded call processing equipment that 911 centers desperately need, Towner’s family continues to seek answers.
Romero visited the Desert Hot Springs Police Department in May to get some clarity about what happened in her father’s case but said she was disappointed by the response.
Lakisha Romero is still searching for answers about what went wrong.
“I went asking for answers and nobody wanted to tell me anything,” Romero said.
In a statement, the department said it’s “committed to transparency and reliable emergency response services.”
Towner’s family said nobody has contacted them about the long history of problems associated with the 911 equipment and questioned why it wasn’t removed a long time ago.
“Why should it take someone dying for them to do that,” Romero asked.
Candice Nguyen is the reporter on this story. If you have a comment or a question, email her at candice.nguyen@nbcuni.com.
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