California
Climate change turns an idyllic California community into a 'perilous paradise'
The clouds have parted after torrential downpours soaked southern California. It’s the third-wettest two-day period Los Angeles has ever seen since records began. And those totals aren’t even close to the more than 14 inches that fell on a western Los Angeles County neighborhood called Topanga.
The community of about 8,000 people had to deal with flooding, mudslides and evacuation orders. It was thanks to a dangerous combination of a slow-moving atmospheric river, a bomb cyclone and El Niño.
As climate change makes extreme weather more common and intense, it is also forcing Americans to move. A Forbes report released last month found that a third of surveyed Americans who are moving cited climate change as a motivating factor to move. For the residents who stay, like Chris Kelly in Topanga, adapting is becoming more important.
Kelly moved to Topanga 15 years ago. He has evacuated four times, but he says he’s never seen a storm as severe as the one this week.
“At one point, I believe the canyon in both directions where I am was trapped,” he says. Instead of trying to leave this time, Kelly created culverts around his business. “That stopped the water from coming across the street onto my property.”
/ Chris Kelly
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Chris Kelly
Topanga is a mountainous neighborhood surrounded by trees and bisected by a winding canyon road. It sits culturally and geographically between a grid of middle-class LA suburbs and the ritzy city of Malibu. Its mostly white residents are a mix of artists, surfers and 20th century hippies who have called the canyon home for decades.
It’s also a risky place to live.
“It’s the perilous paradise,” says Abigail Aguirre, who received a complimentary disaster manual when she moved to Topanga in 2017. “When it’s not being threatened by a megafire or mudslides, it’s just impossibly beautiful.”
Topanga Canyon is positioned such that during wildfire season, when Southern California gets hot, dry winds, the right conditions could spell disaster in less than an hour. There hasn’t been a major fire in 30 years, which means flammable plants are mature enough to fuel another one.
Aguirre says after five years, several power outages and one major fire evacuation, she sold her house in Topanga and moved to northern New Mexico.
“Enough of that and you’re like, how much is the pluses of living in Topanga outweighing the anxiety?”
Life in Topanga means neighborhood-wide evacuation drills, information sessions on how to prepare homes for wildfire, and community fire extinguisher practices.
/ Karen Dannenbaum
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Karen Dannenbaum
It’s business as usual for Karen Dannenbaum, who has lived here since 1988. Her home insurance has increased fourfold, more than $6,000 in the past few years.
“Looking out my window I look at all these trees,” she says. “I can sit outside and the birds are so loud sometimes.”
Dannenbaum installed air conditioning to tolerate the hotter summers. She says the storms and fires are getting worse, and she finds herself pacing nervously when the weather gets bad.
But she’ll never leave.
“It’s so beautiful and peaceful here.”
Copyright 2024 KCRW
California
California Upsets No. 14 Louisville Cardinals in Overtime Thriller
California traveled to Louisville, Ky., in search of a statement win against the No. 14 Louisville Cardinals (7-2, 4-2 ACC), and the Golden Bears (6-4, 3-3 ACC) pulled out all the stops Saturday evening to earn the upset, 29-26, in overtime.
On the first play of the game, California quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele threw a lateral to his slot receiver, Jacob de Jesus, who then connected with Trond Grizzell on a deep 27-yard pass. While the Golden Bears would not score on the drive, their fast and aggressive play early on silenced much of the 51,381 in attendance.
California out-gained Louisville in total yards and offensive plays throughout the entire game. The Golden Bears never once trailed the nationally ranked Cardinals by more than one score, despite entering the game as three-score underdogs, according to many sportsbooks’ odds.
Sagapolutele earned the game-winning touchdown in overtime with a nail-biting throw on fourth down. California’s first-year signal-caller found his favorite target of the evening, de Jesus, who brought in the three-yard reception to close out the game.
De Jesus had a game-high 157 receiving yards and hauled in 16 of 23 passes in which he was targeted. His 16 receptions tie Geoff McArthur’s school record for receptions by a receiver in a single game.
In his post-game press conference, Louisville head coach Jeff Brohm praised de Jesus, calling him California’s “best player.”
“… Even at the end, to allow their best player to be one-on-one for an easy throw in the corner… you know, we need to coach better; we need to play better,” Coach Brohm said.
Sagapolutele completed 30 out of 47 passes attempted and racked up 323 passing yards—both career highs. In addition to the game-decider, the quarterback threw his first touchdown of the game in the first quarter, a 20-yard bomb to tight end Landon Morris.
The last time California beat a nationally ranked, top-25 team was on Dec. 5, 2020, when the Golden Bears upset the No. 20 Oregon Ducks, 21-17, for their first win in the 2020 college football season.
With the win, California is now eligible for a post-season bowl bid.
California
Mom of missing California girl arrested on unrelated charges of daughter’s disappearance
CALIFORNIA (AZFamily) — The mother of a missing California girl has been arrested on charges unrelated to her daughter’s disappearance, but the child still has yet to be found.
FBI Los Angeles announced that 40-year-old Ashlee Buzzard was taken into custody on Friday. However, the whereabouts of her daughter, 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard, remain unknown.
Melodee and Ashlee reportedly went on a road trip as far as Nebraska in a rental white Chevrolet Malibu last month, detectives say. Federal authorities say Melodee and her mother may have passed through Interstate 15 in Littlefield, Arizona while on the drive.
Detectives say Ashlee was arrested for a recent incident where she allegedly prevented a victim from leaving against their will. Authorities say this crime is not connected to the ongoing search for Melodee.
“Although this arrest occurred during the course of the missing person investigation, it is not directly related to Melodee’s disappearance. Sheriff’s detectives remain fully focused on locating Melodee and confirming her safety,” FBI Los Angeles said in a statement.
Ashlee was booked for a felony charge of false imprisonment. She is being held at a jail in Santa Maria, California, with bail set at $100,000.
Melodee was photographed at a rental car agency on Oct. 7, wearing a wig and a hoodie.
The young girl has brown eyes and brown, curly hair that may be straightened or covered with a dark wig. She is between four and four-and-a-half feet tall, weighing between 60 and 100 pounds.
Anyone with information about Melodee is asked to contact detectives at (805) 681-4150 or submit an anonymous tip at (805) 681-4171.
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Copyright 2025 KTVK/KPHO. All rights reserved.
California
Home Ronald and Nancy Reagan commissioned as California Governor’s Mansion hits the market
A Carmichael home that was originally designed to be California’s official Governor’s Mansion is now up for sale.
The mid-century modern home, located at 2300 California Avenue, was built in 1975 after being commissioned by Ronald and Nancy Reagan to replace the aging governor’s mansion at 16th and H streets in Sacramento.
By the time construction was finished, Reagan had already left office. His successor, Jerry Brown, declined to move in – famously dismissing the Carmichael residence as the “Taj Mahal.”
No California governor ever called the mansion home, with the property being sold to a private citizen in 1983.
A time capsule installed at the property recognizes the home’s history. The capsule is scheduled to be opened on July 4, 2076.
Now, as of Oct. 16, the Carmichael home has hit the market with a list price of $7.5 million. The property spans 4.3 acres that overlook the American River, with the home featuring a total of 8 bedrooms, 8 bathrooms, and 2 half bathrooms.
“You can really feel the history here,” said realtor Hattie Coleman in a statement.
The Carmichael home last sold in 2004 for $4.1 million.
The East Sacramento home Reagan lived in for much of his time as California governor was designated as a historic landmark in 2024.
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