Susan Rubio, a Democrat from Baldwin Park, will refill the vacancy that Senate leaders briefly left open for a few weeks following reports that she was part of an FBI investigation stemming from her time as a member of the Baldwin Park City Council.

The Los Angeles County fires have cast uncertainty over when the insurance crisis buffeting the entire state will ease, California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara told the Chronicle during an interview Saturday in Santa Monica,

The California insurance commissioner expanded the emergency protections covered by his recent moratorium for Southern California residents affected by wildfires.

Ricardo Lara stood up for wildfire victims by placing a 1-year ban on insurance companies canceling or not renewing policies for homeowners.

A recent rule change could cause a spike in insurance premium for homeowners across California, as the costs of the Los Angeles area wildfires are passed onto them in a way that was not allowed in the past.

Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara declared the fires in Los Angeles and Ventura counties an emergency situation on Monday to help speed recovery efforts, according to a press release from his

Hubris and humility.

Changes in California's Fair Access to Insurance Requirements (FAIR) plan could mean higher expenses for homeowners after fires.

Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara on Thursday issued a mandatory moratorium that prohibits insurance companies from pulling the plug on coverage in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood and the area outside Pasadena affected by the Eaton fire through Jan. 7, 2026.

Even before the Santa Ana winds turned the Los Angeles wildfires into a raging inferno, the entire area was struggling with an insurance crisis. Because a

California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara discusses the complex insurance system as homeowners look to rebuild after LA's fires.

"Californians deserve a reliable insurance market that doesn't retreat from communities most vulnerable to wildfires and climate change," said California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara.