California
California’s incarcerated firefighters to see a ‘historic’ pay increase in laws Newsom signed
By Cayla Mihalovich, CalMatters
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters.
Gov. Gavin Newsom today signed a set of bills meant to recognize incarcerated firefighters, including a historic measure to raise their pay to meet the federal minimum wage during active fires.
The wage increase, funded through the state budget, follows years of advocacy to improve pay and working conditions for incarcerated labor. That effort took on a new urgency after hundreds of incarcerated firefighters were deployed to battle deadly wildfires that hit Los Angeles in January.
State lawmakers this year introduced a seven-bill “Firefighting to Freedom” package to protect incarcerated firefighters and support job opportunities upon their reentry. Five of those bills were signed into law today, marking the most comprehensive changes to incarcerated firefighting in the state’s history.
Incarcerated firefighters previously earned between $5.80 and $10.24 per day, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. During active emergencies, Cal Fire pays them an additional $1 per hour. Now, they will earn $7.25 per hour when they’re on a fire.
Assemblymember Isaac Bryan, a Democrat from Culver City who authored the bill, said Californians should feel proud about the sense of moral clarity that crossed party lines.
“This is a historic and momentous day,” said Bryan. “The governor signing the bill is an incredibly powerful reminder that all labor is dignified and anybody who is willing to put their lives on the line deserves our gratitude.”
Bryan initially set out to raise wages for incarcerated firefighters to $19 per hour, but settled on the federal minimum wage after budget negotiations. The bill was opposed by the California State Sheriffs’ Association over concerns of its potential fiscal impact on counties, which administer jails and could also face pressure to increase pay for incarcerated labor.
It received bipartisan support from nearly two dozen lawmakers.
“A number of years ago, when I worked for Cal Fire, you have never seen men work harder than with these crews,” said Assemblymember Heath Flora at a legislative hearing in September, a Republican from Ripon who co-authored the bill. “There is not a system — there is not a program — better than the fire camps with Cal Fire and the state of California.”
Bryan introduced the bill after voters last year rejected a ballot measure that would have ended forced labor in prisons and jails. It would have amended the state’s constitution to repeal language that allows involuntary servitude as a form of criminal punishment, making work assignments voluntary.
California’s incarcerated firefighters have long provided critical support to state, local and federal government agencies in responding to various emergencies, including wildfires and floods. They’re voluntary assignments.
Over 1,800 incarcerated firefighters live year-round in minimum-security conservation camps, also known as “fire camps,” located across 25 counties in California, according to the corrections department. Those numbers have dwindled in recent years due to a declining prison population.
Two of the proposals did not pass, including one that would have required Cal Fire to create more opportunities for incarcerated firefighters to secure firefighting jobs upon their release. The proposal, Assembly Bill 1380, did not reach Newsom.
That was disappointing to Royal Ramey, a formerly incarcerated firefighter who co-founded the nonprofit organization Forestry and Fire Recruitment Program, which sponsored the measure. But he said the other five bills signed by Newsom are “huge progress.”
“For me, transitioning from fire camp into a career was one of the hardest challenges of my life, and I know too many people who never got that chance,” said Ramey. “With these laws, we can change that story.”
The package of bills Newsom signed included:
- Assembly Bill 247: Requires incarcerated firefighters be paid $7.25 per hour while actively fighting a fire.
- Assembly Bill 799: Requires the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation pay a death benefit of $50,000 for the death of an incarcerated firefighter.
- Assembly Bill 812: Requires the corrections department to create regulations around referring incarcerated firefighters for resentencing.
- Assembly Bill 952: Requires the corrections department to establish and expand the Youth Offender Program Camp Pilot Program as a permanent program.
- Senate Bill 245: Streamlines and expedites the expungement process for formerly incarcerated firefighters.
“It’s incredibly heartening to see that the Legislature has taken the issue of protecting incarcerated firefighters seriously,” said Taina Angeli Vargas, executive director of the nonprofit organization Initiate Justice Action, which co-sponsored most of the bills. “It’s about time that the state of California began to treat them with more respect and dignity.”
Assemblymember Sade Elhawary, a Democrat from Los Angeles who authored the law to establish and expand the youth pilot program, said it’s an opportunity for the 13 other states that have incarcerated firefighters to “follow in the footsteps of California.”
“I hope this is the beginning of what will be a national movement to elevate the rights and opportunities for incarcerated firefighters,” she said. “All of these folks deserve more love and support.”
Cayla Mihalovich is a California Local News fellow.
This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.
California
First look: Space Shuttle Endeavour in ready-to-launch position at California Science Center
LOS ANGELES – This fall, space fans will get to see the Space Shuttle Endeavour like never before in its new permanent home at the California Science Center in the Exposition Park area.
What we know:
The new Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center at the California Science Center officially opens on November 13.
Also, an introductory film includes footage from Endeavour’s final launch before being retired in 2011.
“We felt from the beginning this is the most impressive way to see the space shuttle and it gives people views that almost no one ever got a chance to see,” said Jeff Rudolph, President & CEO of the California Science Center.
What they’re saying:
Since 2012, Los Angeles has been home to the Space Shuttle Endeavour. It has been on display horizontally at the California Science Center.
But the vision was always to have it on display upright.
“It’s really exciting and everyone who sees it is in awe and that’s really what we were trying to do was create that real sense of emotional high and inspire people to learn more,” said Rudolph.
This is the only display of its kind and it can’t be duplicated. The orange tank attached to the shuttle is the last mission-ready one in existence.
“I think what we’ve done is present something that is going to be a truly life-changing and transformative experience for education,” said Kenneth Phillips, Curator for Aerospace Sciences at the California Science Center.
Visitors will also be able to see inside the space craft that carried astronauts to space 25 times, including Mae Jemison, the first Black woman to go to space and now-Arizona Senator Mark Kelly.
When the exhibit opens to the public in November, visitors will be able to ride up an elevator alongside the space shuttle and view it from the top.
“That’s the view that nobody but the crew saw. That was a very special vantage point. Nobody got to do that,” said Phillips.
What’s next:
The California Science Center expects the exhibit to be popular. Tickets will go on sale well before the opening.
Redwood Valley, Calif. — A 5.6 magnitude earthquake shook Northern California on Wednesday morning, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The quake was centered 7 miles north of Redwood Valley in Mendocino County, north of Ukiah, and east of Highway 101. It had a depth of 5.0 miles.
A ShakeAlert notification went off on many people’s phones moments before the earthquake hit at 8:10 a.m., initially forecasted as a 6.1 magnitude quake by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and downgraded moments later.
People across Northern California felt the quake. Reports came in from as far away as Eureka, Redding, Sacramento, and the Bay Area. Most people reported light to moderate rolling and shaking.
Since the initial quake, several aftershocks have hit the same area. Three smaller quakes between 2.6-2.7 magnitude were detected in the same area between 8:17 a.m. and 9:06 a.m., and are expected to continue.
So far, there have not been any reports of major damage or injuries.
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California
DOJ charges 10 Southern California defendants in largest federal healthcare fraud crackdown in US history
Laura Ingraham: Fraudsters beware!
The Department of Justice announces the largest healthcare fraud takedown in U.S. history, charging 455 defendants across 45 states. They allegedly stole $6.5 billion from Medicare and Medicaid through wound care schemes and other fraudulent claims. Some funds were used for luxury homes and vehicles like a $135,000 Maserati.
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Federal authorities on Tuesday charged 10 Southern California defendants in a series of healthcare fraud schemes, including one case involving nearly $270 million in fraudulent Medi-Cal claims and another that allegedly defrauded Medicare out of approximately $27 million.
The charges were part of the Justice Department’s broader “2026 National Health Care Fraud Takedown,” which resulted in charges against 455 defendants nationwide in schemes involving more than $6.5 billion in alleged fraud.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche described the operation as “the greatest combined federal and state effort in combating healthcare fraud in history.”
“Fraudsters can no longer rip off American taxpayers,” Blanche said during a news conference announcing the initiative. “If you seek to harm or cheat Americans, we will find you, seize any assets and prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law.”
FBI ADDS 2 FUGITIVES TO ‘MOST WANTED FRAUDSTERS’ LIST AMID HISTORIC $6.5B HEALTHCARE TAKEDOWN: PATEL
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche speaks during a news conference announcing what federal officials described as the largest healthcare fraud takedown in U.S. history, resulting in charges against 455 defendants nationwide. (Ken Cedeno / AFP via Getty Images)
In the Central District of California, federal prosecutors brought criminal charges against 10 defendants accused of defrauding government-funded healthcare programs or abusing their positions as medical professionals to illegally prescribe controlled substances.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California said five individuals were arrested in the greater Los Angeles area for allegedly participating in a scheme that involved submitting nearly $270 million in fraudulent claims to Medi-Cal for expensive prescription drugs.
Among those charged was Christina Mareik, 61, also known as Christina Marie Sanchez Hernandez, of Whittier.
HOSPICE FRAUD USES STOLEN IDENTITIES FOR FAKE PATIENTS
The Justice Department announced charges against 10 Southern California defendants in connection with multiple healthcare fraud schemes. (Department of Justice)
Prosecutors allege Mareik helped facilitate fraudulent prescriptions that generated nearly $270 million in claims to Medi-Cal, which ultimately paid out more than $178 million.
According to prosecutors, the claims involved expensive drugs containing low-cost generic ingredients that were either not medically necessary or were never provided to the purported recipients.
Authorities said Mareik also sent thousands of fraudulent prescriptions to a co-conspirator and caused the submission of fraudulent prescriptions under her own name.
LOS ANGELES HOSPICE FRAUD REACHES BILLIONS AS MEDICARE PROVIDERS SCAM FEDERAL SYSTEM WITH FAKE COMPANIES
Federal prosecutors allege Southern California defendants participated in schemes that defrauded Medicare and Medi-Cal of hundreds of millions of dollars. (Department of Justice)
Mareik was arrested June 17 and charged with healthcare fraud.
The charges also include a San Fernando Valley man accused of operating hospice care companies that fraudulently billed Medicare approximately $27 million, according to prosecutors.
Prosecutors also charged Oren David Shachar, 59, of Van Nuys; Abraham Shin, 66, of Corona; and Jeannie Choi, 57, of Torrance.
The three defendants face a 16-count indictment alleging they conspired to defraud Medicare out of approximately $27 million.
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The charges include conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud, healthcare fraud, aggravated identity theft, monetary transactions involving criminally derived property exceeding $10,000, and violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute.
Fox News Digital’s Alexandra Koch contributed to this report.
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