Bodycam and drone video show the deadly SWAT standoff after Tulare County Deputy Randy Hoppert was killed serving an eviction notice on April 9, 2026. Credit: Kern County Sheriff’s Office

Bodycam and drone video show the deadly SWAT standoff after Tulare County Deputy Randy Hoppert was killed serving an eviction notice. Credit: Kern County Sheriff Office

For 25 years, Mike Georgopoulos — better known to his friends as “Mikey G” — has built a legacy in San Diego, opening 30 restaurants in the last decade alone. But today, the veteran entrepreneur says the California dream is being choked by a math problem that no longer adds up.

With raw material costs rising sharply and energy bills up 24%, Georgopoulos said a staggering 2% cost is being ripped straight from the bottom line before a single burger hits the grill. In an industry where a 5% profit margin is considered a win, Georgopoulos warns that owners are now “trapped” in a “vicious cycle” of record gas prices and what he calls predatory regulations that have them “working for peanuts” just to keep the doors open.

“We built over 30 restaurants in the last 10 years. The barrier to entry is insane. It takes years to get permits and entitlement. It costs a lot of money, and there’s a lot of money at risk before you even have your award of the appropriate permits. So you may have to risk some money and then not get what you need,” he told Fox News Digital from his newly-opened brewery.

“They’re working for peanuts because they just can’t make it, but they’re trapped. They can’t get out. They own a business, they’re in a lease, they have no other place to go. So they’re just in a vicious cycle, and there’s just nothing coming out on the other end in terms of profit,” Georgopoulos added. “It’s sticker shock, it really is.”

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Rising energy and electricity costs began to escalate for California small businesses in 2022 after the pandemic, according to the restaurateur, but bills saw what he described as double-digit hikes since the conflict involving Iran intensified just over a month ago. At this point, Georgopoulos is “constantly” changing pricing on his menus, but admits prices should have increased by 100% over the past two years.

“It’s pretty significant. It’s a lot and it’s going up. It’s not coming down,” he said. “But there is an upper limit to what people are willing to pay before they decide to cook it at home. So we have to cut in other areas and keep our menu prices competitive… In California, our labor is as high as anywhere in the nation, and we don’t have a tip credit, which is disappointing, to say the least. So we have to reduce labor costs by reducing staffing, so cutting shifts, making shifts shorter, which then takes away from the guest experience… and that’s the struggle we go through month by month.”

“It’s clear cash flows are clearly impacted by what we are experiencing today. Not only gas prices, but just turbulence in what the future has to hold for small businesses. But it’s clearly from anywhere from accounts receivable to accounts payables, we’re seeing some slowness in those factors. That basically tells us the pressure is there, and it’s mounting,” Cardiff Co-CEO Mo Tehrani, whose lending company has funded more than $12 billion in small business loans and even helped Georgopoulos, also told Fox News Digital.

“Especially in California, we have probably the highest gas prices anywhere in the country, and it’s directly impacting small margins that the transportation sector operates under. So it’s an immediate impact,” the CEO continued. “The pump obviously impacts how people hire, how people route their deliveries, surcharges, pricing their products, all those things are impacted.”

A spokesperson for the California Energy Commission told Fox News Digital that “California is committed to energy affordability for all residents,” adding that affordability is a key factor in advancing a fully clean energy future. The spokesperson also said energy prices in the state are largely outside the commission’s control.

Besides the pain at the pump, recent data from WalletHub suggests the pressure California business owners have long felt. An analysis of more than 1,300 small cities found that California is home to the most difficult environments for entrepreneurs, with the final 10-plus rankings exclusively occupied by California municipalities, including Pacifica, Danville, Castro Valley and Saratoga.

According to the Public Policy Institute of California, the state’s private-sector employer base has grown 52% since 2005, more than double the 21% increase in public-sector entities.

“It’s really costly to move an organization and folks and their customer base out of the state. So for those that are fortunate enough, we’re seeing that happen. But the majority of Main Street doesn’t have that opportunity to do that,” Tehrani explained. “And we’re fortunate in California, it’s one of the largest economies in the world. We have a lot of entrepreneurs here that want to live here, and they want to build a business around them. Some of those are serial entrepreneurs that are building new businesses that may not necessarily abide by the historical rules of having a lease here, having employees live here.”

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“We are losing staff in part because it’s less expensive for them to work in more rural areas out by where they may live. We’re also losing staff because we’re experiencing a homeless crisis that you hear about constantly and the vagrancy that comes with that in downtown San Diego,” Georgopoulos said. “You’re just paying more taxes, making less tips, and getting less hours… We have 700 employees that we have to think about every single day… We want them to come into work and make money, and we don’t want their costs to be so high.”

Another massive issue: California’s legal and regulatory landscape — business owners are being targeted by what Georgopoulos described as “shakedown” lawsuits related to wage and hour laws, forced to settle or spend six-figure sums on what he called frivolous claims; and law-abiding owners face aggressive health inspections and permit requirements, while illegal, unpermitted vendors operate with “impunity” in the same neighborhoods.

“The laws are very favorable in California to allow these law firms to do this. So what that does is there’s a compound effect, right? A given restaurant could spend $100,000 in one year dealing with lawsuits… These lawsuits are killing us,” Georgopoulos noted. “And then the ongoing regulations are just… very taxing… There’s a hundred illegal hot dog vendors operating in downtown San Diego. They’re not supposed to be there. They don’t have permits. They certainly don’t even have [outdoor bug] screens. They don’t even have hand washing stations. They cross those individuals to come shut me down while those guys are operating.”

“Traditionally, access to capital has been difficult, takes weeks to months of planning and going through an application process,” Tehrani highlighted on regulations. “What we’ve tried to do is make that process as simple and flexible as possible to allow a business owner to be able to have an opportunity and be able fulfill that [operational funding] within hours or within short few days.”

While the data suggests a bleak future for California’s mainstream businesses, Tehrani believes the survival of the U.S. economy hinges on the very “problem solvers” currently being squeezed in the Golden State. For him, the current crisis is a forced return to the innovative roots of entrepreneurship.

“Small businesses are resilient. They are by far the most resilient and probably the reason why the U.S. economy is as strong as it is; It relies on small businesses to be successful. In no place on Earth does this small business environment exist other than in the United States,” Tehrani said. “Having said that, these challenges require business owners to go back to their roots. They’re innovators. They’re builders. They’re adaptable, and they’re problem solvers. And that’s really what’s required to get through these challenges. And so there are $8 per gallon gas prices, [but] I bet on small businesses innovating their way out of those issues.”

For Georgopoulos, the ultimate advice to struggling peers — “move to Texas” — is a joke that carries a heavy weight of truth. Yet, he is choosing to double down on his home state, even if it means fighting an uphill battle against a system he says is making him “love it less.”

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“We did not get into this business to get rich. It’s not a get-rich business. You’re in the restaurant and the hospitality industry because you love what you do. You love hosting people. You love having people at your place of business and showing them a good time. We’re starting to love it less. And eventually, you’re gonna have all the cookie-cutter chain restaurants if we’re not careful,” Georgopoulos warned.

But even with the “sticker shock” of his own home solar bill and the exodus of staff, he isn’t walking away yet.

“California has given me everything. I’ve worked for it, it didn’t come easy. So I still believe we can make it work. We just bought a new local company called Ballast Point that we’re remaining here in San Diego. It would be much cheaper for me to move it out of state. We would get significant profits from that. But we’re going to stay and we’re gonna fight it out and we’ll keep Ballast Point here, and we are going to make it work. We’re going to speak out when we can and try to get some relief where we can. And hopefully, someday, soon, things will change in our favor.”

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WEST HILLS, Calif.—Her gray SUV packed and a fire-proof bag ready, Melissa Bumstead didn’t waste any time Monday as plumes of smoke engulfed the sky near her suburb.

Most neighbors in West Hills—about 30 miles west of downtown Los Angeles—stayed put after only a voluntary “evacuation warning” was issued for the area. But not her. 

As the ever-growing Sandy Fire swept across Southern California, the 45-year-old mother could only think of one thing. 
Bumstead lives less than four miles from the site of possibly the worst nuclear meltdown in U.S. history besides the Three Mile Island accident.

The Santa Susana Field Laboratory, or SSFL, is known locally as a problem site—with a pockmarked history amid a spotty cleanup. A blaze hitting the former nuclear reactor and rocket testing site, Bumstead is sure, would be a cataclysm. 

“This is what it looks like to evacuate when you’re scared,” she said Monday, “because if the smoke were to be radioactive or toxic, you don’t want to breathe it.”

Bumstead returned home Tuesday but remains on alert as the Sandy Fire rages on. 

The fireline was about a quarter-mile from the site on Tuesday morning. Boeing—which has owned SSFL since 1996—said it has evacuated all personnel from the site who are not involved with fire control.

“We are actively monitoring the Sandy Fire near the Santa Susana site and are in close coordination with local authorities and emergency responders,” a Boeing spokesman told Inside Climate News in an email. 

“This is an ongoing situation, and as it evolves, we will continue to monitor fire conditions,” he said, deferring to the state for other questions.

Radiation exposure has short-term as well as long-term impacts, including greater risk of developing cancer and possible harms to cardiovascular and immune systems.

The Sandy Fire, which surpassed 1,300 acres on Tuesday with only 5 percent containment based on early response efforts, burned near Simi Valley. 

More than 33,000 people in the valley and other communities were placed under evacuation orders. At least one home has been destroyed as of Tuesday afternoon. The cause remains under investigation. 

Fire crews made strides in cutting firelines since Monday morning, when the incident first began as a brush fire. At about 4 p.m. Pacific on Tuesday, prevailing winds shifted direction from the west, fueled by out-of-season Santa Ana winds. 

The shifting conditions placed the Santa Susana Field Lab in the immediate path of the Sandy Fire—raising alarms from nearby families like Bumstead’s. 

Fire crews raced to the scene. 

“That is an area that we’re trying to keep the fire out of and we’re putting multiple dozer lines in place, as well as our hand crews are working to increase containment and build contingency lines,” Andy VanSciver, a firefighter and spokesman for the Ventura County Fire Department, told Inside Climate News on Tuesday.

VanSciver said first responders were at the former nuclear site “right away.”

The state Department of Toxic Substances Control did not immediately provide comment Tuesday afternoon. 

The U.S. Department of Energy said in a statement online that it “is closely monitoring the Sandy Fire located adjacent to the Santa Susana Field Laboratory.” So far, “there is no impact to the site,” the agency wrote.

VanSciver said he was confident the community would be protected as the fire department arrived at the site quickly, but noted that updates will be provided online.

Not the First Wildfire Threat

Peter Hemken paused Monday night on his walk up the steep Sequoia Avenue in Simi Valley, overlooking a ridge covered in gray smoke. 

What began as a small cluster of fires from his sight line became a full out strip.

“Oh my God, that’s really flaring up,” the 73-year-old remarked, pulling out his phone for a photo.

Every hour or so since Monday morning, Hemken joined others in walking up the hill to see the Sandy Fire’s progress.

“I used to work in engineering up at Rocketdyne,” he said of the nearby facility that developed space shuttles. 

A Simi Valley resident for over two decades, Hemken was well aware of the Santa Susana Field Lab. Residents of his Simi Valley neighborhood have not had to evacuate because of a wildfire in recent years, but they are always ready to. The lab has something to do with it.

“I would hate to see a fire get up there,” he said, pointing toward the SSFL site. “There’s still a lot of nasty chemicals up there.” 

The SSFL cleanup plan is still being finalized, having been expanded, and then stalled, several times in the last 20 years. Through interim measures, approximately 6,000 cubic yards of the most contaminated soil was removed in 2024, the year excavation began and the only one with data available. But that cleanup was limited to a single area. The scope of the full remediation is still being decided by the state, federal authorities and Boeing. 

The Sandy Fire on Tuesday encroached uncomfortably close to the former nuclear site’s north buffer zone, according to residents and a perimeter map of the area’s burn zone.

Melissa Bumstead said health concerns surrounding the site are personal to her. Her daughter, Grace, has had two bouts of a rare form of leukemia, which the family believes is linked to the radiation from SSFL.

She began campaigning 12 years ago for a complete remediation of the former nuclear test site soon after her daughter’s cancer diagnosis. 

“It was considered an urban legend,” Bumstead said of cancer links to the site. “It wasn’t until [my daughter] got diagnosed that we started doing research and found out … there were a bunch of studies by the University of California, Los Angeles, and epidemiological federally funded studies.” 

As it turned out, “the research was there. It just wasn’t being communicated,” she said.

One of the reports that pushed Bumstead toward founding her advocacy organization, Parents Against Santa Susana Field Lab, was a 2007 study led by Hal Morgenstern for the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Morgenstern, an epidemiologist at the University of Michigan, found residents within two miles of SSFL face a 60 percent higher rate of certain cancer diagnoses than those living five miles away. 

That study—though not enough to label SSFL as the cause of the higher cancer rate—shed light on the strong correlation between proximity to the site and cancers triggered by radiation exposure. 

That’s why residents worry whenever air quality alerts start to ping on their phones and a wildfire approaches.

It happened in 2018.

The Woolsey Fire burned through 80 percent of the SSFL site, though most of the affected area was in the southern buffer zone and in the rocket testing area, not the nuclear testing area. 

Initially, the state Department of Toxic Substances Control assured the community that there was no risk of radioactive contamination, an assertion that the agency seemingly confirmed in the 2020 Final Report on the Woolsey Fire. 

However, an independent study looking at 360 samples from the area surrounding the burn zone found that 3 percent contained radioactive particles that could be traced to the SSFL. The study, conducted by a doctoral student at Worcester Polytechnic Institute and the co-founders of nuclear watchdog group Fairewinds Energy Education, analyzed more than 10 times the samples taken by the state for monitoring. 

Boeing had no immediate comment when the study was released in 2021, issuing a statement to NBC4 in Los Angeles that said: “Cleanup at Santa Susana will continue to follow California law… The transformation of Boeing’s land at Santa Susana from a field laboratory to open space is well underway.”

In 2023, Boeing released the results of a study by Risk Assessment Corporation (RAC) that it funded. “Based on the soil sampling, we found no evidence of SSFL impact in off-site soils as a result of the Woolsey fire,” the study says. “Moreover, we found no radionuclide impact on the off-site soils we sampled from past operations of the SSFL”

Parents Against the Santa Susana Field Laboratory responded on its website: “Boeing redid the Woolsey Fire study…collecting samples nine months after the fire. We collected our samples within a month. Our study was peer-reviewed by independent scientists. Boeing’s scientists were paid by Boeing and their findings were NOT peer-reviewed.”

Bumstead received training and volunteered to collect samples for the independent study, along with the co-director of Parents Against SSFL, Jeni Knack. 

Bumstead was glad to be able to be a part of that research and hopes their findings of scattered radioactive material up to nine miles away from the lab will add pressure for better monitoring this time. 

“We have such a deeply ingrained belief that if it wasn’t safe, the government wouldn’t let us live here,” she said of local residents. After her experience with the Woolsey fire, she said, she knows that is not always the case.

Although the Sandy Fire has not reached the grounds of the SSFL as of now, it has burned “concerningly” close to the site of the 1959 sodium reactor meltdown, according to one former firefighter with CAL FIRE who asked that his name not be used. 

He recommended residents seal off living areas and create positive pressure in their homes by turning on fans and using air filters. The radiation is contained in dust and ash particles, he said, so the sooner you wipe everything down and wash them away, the lower your risks of exposure. 

People in Simi Valley said they are taking such measures but thinking of the long term, too. As wildfires grow fiercer due to man-made climate change, infringing on more homes and more people, Bumstead fears what ferocious winds and massive blazes could do.

“There’s a twisted joke that we have here that the Santa Susana Field Lab will be cleaned over time, because all of it will blow off into the surrounding communities,” said Bumstead. “The surrounding communities will be contaminated, but the site itself will be clean.”