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While you’re popping champagne and toasting the new year, hundreds of recently enacted bills will go into effect. Here are a few you should know about.The minimum wage for all employers in California will increase to $16.50. We currently have the second highest unemployment rate of any state behind only Nevada. This increase will only make it worse, particularly for California’s youth and others just starting to join the workforce. Paychecks will be hit by a tax increase. The State Disability Insurance rate is increasing from 1.1 to 1.2 percent. As KCRA in Sacramento noted, “That means a couple or individual…

INGLEWOOD — The transformation of the 2024 Rams continues.They’ve gone from the laggards of the early season to the terrors of the home stretch. From 1-4 and a team that couldn’t get it done, couldn’t catch a break and couldn’t keep people healthy, they’ve evolved to become a team that shrugs off a horrid offensive game and, essentially, gets it done.Because of that, Saturday night they moved a step closer to an NFC West title that seemed so improbable during those first five weeks. They persevered through a slog of an offensive performance, defeated the Arizona Cardinals 13-9 to avenge…

President-elect Donald Trump has promised to implement many changes on immigration policy in his second term. Among them is “extreme vetting” of immigrants, an idea echoed in the 2024 GOP platform. The president-elect has been claiming for years that America is overrun by terrorists and criminals, often saying that the government doesn’t know who’s coming into the country. But this is a baseless claim.Current legislation on this matter already vets for all kinds of criminals, terrorists, affiliates of authoritarian regimes, and anyone who may otherwise seek to overthrow the government or use violence against Americans. This legislation has been in the…

Here’s what we learned, what we heard and, especially, what comes next after the Chargers’ most dominating, most comprehensive, most resounding victory, a 40-7 rout of the lackluster New England Patriots on a chilly, rainy, foggy Saturday afternoon at Gillette Stadium:CHEMISTRY 101Center Bradley Bozeman said he had a good idea back in the spring that the Chargers would wind up where they did Saturday, clinching an AFC wild-card berth with their beat-down of the Patriots. He saw connections being formed during springtime practices and it impressed him.“Guys came in with a mission to turn this thing around and make the…

California’s second-largest home insurer, Farmers Insurance, recently announced it will boost the number of home-insurance policies that it writes here this year by 2,500. In a normal insurance market, that shouldn’t even be news. In California it was a major story because it signals the first sign of relief during a crisis that has seen top insurers fleeing our wobbly market.Farmers specifically cited an improved insurance marketplace for its decision. “This is a positive step forward for California homeowners, renters, and businesses who have faced significant challenges accessing coverage,” said Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara. “While more work needs to be…

One of the great political scandals of the last few years was hammered home in the closing weeks of this year.The Wall Street Journal’s report on Dec. 19th about how Joe Biden’s inner circle managed the cognitively dimished president is well worth reading.“Presidents always have gatekeepers,” reported the Journal. “But in Biden’s case, the walls around him were higher and the controls greater, according to Democratic lawmakers, donors and aides who worked for Biden and other administrations. There were limits over who Biden spoke with, limits on what they said to him and limits around the sources of information he…

SACRAMENTO – Being a writer, I’m fairly confident in the extent of my vocabulary. I was nevertheless surprised to learn a new word in 2024 – and to realize that, according to more than a few pundits, it defined the entire year. The herd of political onlookers might actually be onto something.The word is so arcane my Word document flags it as a misspelling. Whereas an “idiocracy” is a society governed by morons, a “kakistocracy” is one “governed by its least suitable or competent citizens.” In this case, our nation’s overlords aren’t dummies, but might be defined by cunning, self-interest,…

COTTONWOOD, Calif. – A single ticket sold in Northern California matched all six numbers – white balls 3, 7, 37, 49, 55 and Mega Ball 6 – to win the $1.22 billion jackpot in Friday night’s Mega Millions drawing, according to lottery officials.The life-changing ticket was sold at Sunshine Food and Gas at 3505 Rhonda Road in Cottonwood, a Shasta County community off Interstate 5 between Red Bluff and Redding, the California Lottery said on its website.“What an amazing present this holiday season,” Joshua Johnston, lead director for the Mega Millions Consortium, said in a statement. “At an incredibly special…

LOS ANGELES — Briskly, Mick Cronin walked away from the media scrum and into Friday’s practice. It was the first of the season without a viewing portion, as the UCLA men’s basketball team was jumping straight into scouting Gonzaga.Back to work, he said, in a matter-of-fact tone. His mood, he explained a day later, had been dampened by the Bruins’ collapse against North Carolina in Madison Square Garden.“I was a miserable human for a couple days,” Cronin said.He remained displeased, even after the No. 22 Bruins (11-2) bounced back and showed a considerable amount of poise in the final moments,…

RIVERSIDE- There will be a new champion at the Ramona Winter Classic girls basketball tournament in 2024 with King opting not to defend its titleMonday’s final will have an all-Inland area flare to it as Valley View and  ancho Cucamonga advanced on Saturday night, with both teams using big runs to propel them to victory.For a quarter and a half in Saturday’s first semifinal, Ramona went step for step with Valley View, trailing by one with 6:45 until halftime. That’s when the Eagles went on a 15-0 run to take a 29-16 lead.Valley View’s Mason Long, who led all scorers…