Business News
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- Written by: Office of Sen. Connie M. Leyva
The California Department of Housing and Community Development, or HCD, in consultation with the California Department of Consumer Affairs, would be responsible for developing the training and enforcing the certification requirements.
Sponsored by the Golden State Manufactured-Home Owners League and supported by the County of Contra Costa, SB 869 would specifically require any person, or person under contract, who is responsible for managing a mobile home park to complete 18 hours of training, including an annual end of year online examination.
The online training would include the most prevalent complaints of the prior year, as well as Mobile home Residency Law, rights and responsibilities of homeowners and management, emergency procedures, communication with homeowners, Title 25 of the California Code of Regulations, and mobile home titling and registration.
A certificate of completion would be issued once the person has met all training requirements. The certificate must then be posted visibly and be available for inspection at the mobile home park.
If the mobile home park management is out of compliance with these requirements, HCD would then have the authority to suspend the management’s permit to operate.
“With over half a million mobile homes and manufactured homes in California, it is critical that mobile home park managers are properly trained so we can ensure the health and safety of residents,” Sen. Leyva said. “It is unacceptable that California does not already require mobile home park managers to be trained, as several neighboring states already do. As Chair of the Senate Select Committee on Manufactured Home Communities, I thank the Senate Housing Committee for supporting SB 869 and bringing California one step closer to improving the safety and quality of life in mobile home parks across our state.”
California currently has no requirements for the training or education of mobile home park managers. In many instances, the park manager may be responsible for the safety of over 200 residents and sometimes in remote locations of the state.
Other states, such as Oregon and Nevada, mandate mobile home park management undergo training and licensing to ensure the health and safety of residents living in mobile home parks.
Mobile home park managers are responsible for the health and safety of the property, as well as, the people who live in mobile home parks.
As noted at the 2016 Select Committee on Manufactured Homes and Communities hearing, ongoing violations of the law generally stem from the lack of sufficient understanding by park managers of the Mobile home Residency Law and the complex overlay of other laws and regulations.
This lack of training has led to situations of unlawful evictions, improper fees and invoices, discrimination, and poor maintenance, all of which affect the quality of life in mobile home parks.
The Manufactured Housing Metropolitan Opportunity Profile: Data Snapshot indicates that there are 519,972 mobile homes and manufactured homes in California accounting for 3.8 percent of the total housing stock and roughly 1.5 million residents in the state.
Nearly half (47%) of these homes are affordable to very-low income households, compared to just 18 percent of the state’s overall housing stock.
In a state with a desperate need for housing in this affordability range, mobile homes and manufactured homes are a significant source of affordable housing.
Mobile home residents, many of whom are seniors, rely on effective management of their mobile home park to ensure that their housing is safe and meets appropriate quality standards.
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- Written by: California Attorney General’s Office
The California Department of Justice filed charges against nine defendants following a California Highway Patrol investigation that began in 2021.
During a search and arrest operation in Los Angeles on Monday, officers arrested five of the targeted suspects and recovered approximately $62,000 in cash and $135,000 of stolen merchandise from major retailers, including Macy’s, Columbia Sportswear, Abercrombie & Fitch, J.C. Penney and Lululemon.
An additional suspect from the operation was charged on Tuesday and remains at large. Three suspects were charged in a separate complaint on Tuesday for allegedly possessing over $17,000 in stolen merchandise.
“Organized retail theft hurts businesses, employees, and the public — and this criminal activity will not be tolerated in California,” said Attorney General Rob Bonta. “Today we take another step toward tackling this issue by announcing the arrests and felony charges against individuals alleged to be participants in an organized criminal scheme targeting retailers throughout our state. I want to thank the California Highway Patrol and our retail partners for their collaboration and help in this investigation. As our state’s chief law enforcement officer, I will continue to aggressively pursue and hold accountable those who participate in organized retail theft.”
“The CHP is proud of the partnership and collaboration our Organized Retail Crime Task Force has with our local law enforcement partners, the Department of Justice, and the retail industry in identifying, investigating, and prosecuting organized retail theft rings,” said CHP Commissioner Amanda Ray. “This case exemplifies law enforcement’s collective commitment to enhance public safety throughout the state of California. I applaud the efforts of our investigators who have worked tirelessly on this case which resulted in the arrests and recovery of the stolen merchandise.”
"Organized Retail Crime impacts all retailers from small businesses to national chains. ORC hurts consumers, endangers our employees, and impacts the neighborhoods where retailers operate,” said Rachel Michelin, President, California Retailers Association. “We appreciate the work of the ORC Task Forces and the Attorney General who shares our belief that prosecution and enforcement of these cases can deter this behavior. ORC is very real and impacts our most vulnerable communities. The work of the ORC Taskforce and the Attorney General, in partnership with retailers, is a positive example of how collaboration and communication can stem the tide of retail theft in California."
As part of the scheme targeted during Monday’s search and arrest operation, the suspects allegedly stole and transported hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of goods, held the items, and shipped them internationally.
These suspects are charged with conspiracy to commit a felony, organized retail theft, grand theft, possession of stolen property, and a special allegation alleging that the theft totaled more than $100,000.
The additional three suspects arrested and charged on Tuesday are charged with possession of stolen merchandise. The suspects were charged in the Los Angeles County Superior Court.
California and states across the country have seen a pattern of organized retail crime.
According to a 2020 national survey, U.S. retailers lose approximately $700,000 per every $1 billion in sales to organized retail crime.
Attorney General Bonta and law enforcement partners throughout the state proactively collaborate to end organized retail crime.
In December 2021, Attorney General Bonta announced the sentencing of a group involved in organized retail theft in the Bay Area.
Late last year, Attorney General Bonta brought together retailers and law enforcement to address the challenge of organized retail theft and develop strategies for combating this criminal activity head-on.
It is important to note that a criminal complaint contains charges that are only allegations against a person. Every defendant is presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty.
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- Written by: California Insurance Commissioner’s Office
This action by Commissioner Lara allows those businesses unable to secure insurance coverage in the normal insurance market with access to insurance they need to operate and continue the state’s economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in high wildfire risk areas.
“Businesses have been struggling. These increases in the limits of coverage will help youth camps reopen and businesses of all kinds keep serving their customers,” said Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara. “The FAIR Plan has not kept pace with rising costs for more than two decades, which my action addresses for the first time. Offering expanded coverage to businesses will help as our state continues its economic recovery from the pandemic.”
The increases approved today by Commissioner Lara expand the combined coverage limits for the FAIR Plan, under its Division I Commercial Property Program, from $4.5 million to $8.4 million, and, under its Division II Businessowners Program, from $3.6 million to $7.2 million.
Over the past two years, Commissioner Lara and Department of Insurance representatives have met with many businesses and nonprofit entities across the state regarding their commercial insurance availability challenges.
“Commissioner Lara’s swift action will ensure that camps and non-profit youth serving organizations can keep their doors open and offer a safe and enriching experience for children and young adults,” said Gabe Valencia, chair of the California Collaboration for Youth, which represents California’s recreational and youth camps. “We commend Commissioner Lara for continuing to hold the FAIR Plan and insurance companies accountable. Being assured of coverage at more reasonable rates will allow us to get back to what we do best: helping children make lifelong memories at camp.”
Groups such as farms, ranchers, agricultural operators and processors, wineries and vintners, residential care facilities, affordable housing entities, homeowners associations, and recreational/summer camps, among others, have informed Commissioner Lara about the continued lack of availability of commercial property insurance coverage in the traditional insurance market.
Many of these businesses also noted that the FAIR Plan’s current commercial property coverage and business owners’ coverage limits have been insufficient to meet their coverage needs today.
“We thank Commissioner Lara for compelling the FAIR Plan to increase its coverage limits, which will help be a lifeline to farm owners and agricultural processing facilities in fire-prone areas that have lost coverage through the insurance market,” said Roger Isom, president and CEO of the California Cotton Ginners and Growers Association and Western Agricultural Processors Association. “Our growers will be able to expand their coverage and in turn continue to grow an essential sector of the state’s economy.”
Thursday’s action is a direct result of Commissioner Lara previously ordering the FAIR Plan to increase its own coverage limits. The plan failed to meet the commissioner’s deadline for a response describing how it would increase its commercial property coverage limits in response to his order.
These coverage limits have not been raised since at least 1997 and 1994 respectively, despite the Consumer Price Index showing costs have nearly doubled during that time in California.
“This is a long-overdue step to help business owners in our state. We will continue to listen to the concerns of business owners and ensure the FAIR Plan truly takes all comers and meets consumers’ evolving needs,” said Lara.
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- Written by: Editor
MIDDLETOWN, Calif. — Westamerica Bank recently named Angela Herman as a Star Performer for 2021.
The Star Performer Award is the highest award for individual achievement, recognizing top performers for the previous calendar year.
Herman is the customer service manager of the bank’s Middletown branch and has more than eight years of banking experience.
“During a challenging year, we depended on Angela to continue to provide the level of service our customers in Lake County have come to expect. Her level of dedication and professionalism was unwavering and we knew we could depend on her,” said Eric Stacey, RVP/Northern Banking Division manager.
Sierra Marquez, VP/Regional Service manager, added, “Angela’s dedication to our customers in Lake County as well as her kind and friendly attitude does not go unnoticed by customers or her peers. We are fortunate to have Angela as part of the Westamerica team!”
Herman lives in Middletown on a small farm with her husband Jonathan and their daughter.
Outside of work, she enjoys the outdoors, reading, practicing yoga and spending time with her family.
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