New fights over how to help L.A. fire victims rebuild

Burned remains of a hillside home reduced to rubble, with concrete walls, twisted metal, and ash in the foreground, while two scorched palm trees stand beside a railing overlooking a hazy valley in the distance under a partly cloudy sky.

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A year and a half after deadly wildfires ripped through Southern California, state lawmakers are asking what kind of regulations they should impose to support people who want to rebuild.

One method is meant to empower regulators to block developers from gobbling up properties after a natural disaster. That tactic is playing out through a bill that would give more power to the California Coastal Commission.

It would require any new owner, including developers, of wildfire-destroyed homes to get approval from the commission to build. People who keep their properties after a disaster would still be exempt from commission oversight.

But critics, including San Francisco Sen. Scott Wiener, argue it would be unfair to impose stricter regulations specifically on new owners.

Wiener: “It could set a troubling precedent that we’re more focused on only empowering the original owner to build. … that’s why I felt the need to vote ‘no.’”

Another approach goes the other direction by lifting new housing density regulations that Los Angeles-area fire victims say allow developers to take advantage of post-disaster situations.

The proposal would pause two state laws that make it easier for developers to build small houses on land reserved for single-family homes, and split land into smaller parcels.

The bill would exempt Altadena — where the Eaton Fire destroyed over 9,000 structures — from the density rules through 2030. Though critics have raised concerns that the bill could make it harder for some fire survivors to rebuild, Nic Arnzen, the chairperson of Altadena’s town council and a supporter of the bill, says the bill doesn’t reflect NIMBYism.

Arnzen: “I don’t think it’s unreasonable for us to say, ‘We’re still in a state of emergency. Let us recover.’”

Read more about the coastal commission and Altadena bills from CalMatters’ Nadia Lathan and Ben Christopher, respectively.

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Reassurance for transgender veterans

A person wearing a white Navy uniform with black details, stands in gravel pathway overlooking a small bridge on a bay during sunset. Two small bushes can be seen in the blurred foreground. — U.S. Navy sailor Chase Humes, a transgender man, at Liberty Station in San Diego on June 22, 2026. Photo by Adriana Heldiz, CalMatters

Transgender military service members are facing uncertainty following President Donald Trump’s order banning them from serving in the armed forces, and some California lawmakers want to reassure them that they can get assistance here, reports CalMatters’ Kate Wolffe.

The Trump policy left transgender troops with a choice: Either separate and receive an honorable discharge — which would preserve access to veteran benefits like healthcare — or say nothing and risk a less favorable discharge.

A state Senate committee last week advanced a bill that supporters say could help people who are given unfavorable discharges from losing their benefits. It would also require the state’s Department of Veterans Affairs to create a grant program to help veterans with housing.

But how many people the proposal would help remains unclear, and proponents are unaware of any cases of people given less-than-honorable discharges for hiding their transgender identity.

Record-low homicide rate

Yellow police tape reading "POLICE LINE DO NOT CROSS" stretches across the foreground as several police vehicles block a city street, with an officer standing between two SUVs in the background. — A police barricade blocks the street in Sacramento on July 4, 2022. Photo by Rich Pedroncelli, AP Photo

California reported a record-low homicide rate last year, part of a nationwide trend that reversed the spike in crime many communities experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic, writes CalMatters’ Nigel Duara.

That’s the main takeaway from the annual crime report Attorney General Rob Bonta released on Wednesday. He and Gov. Gavin Newsom said the trend reflected in part their policies.

Newsom: “These results show that when we invest in our communities, support law enforcement, crack down on organized crime, and expand prevention and intervention efforts, we can save lives and improve public safety,”

But it is a nationwide trend across red and blue states that experts are trying to understand. Magnus Lofstrom of the Public Policy Institute of California was struck by a dramatic increase in arrests after homicides, pushing the so-called clearance rate up to 79%.

Lofstrom: “This is very encouraging, but it will be important to unpack the notable jump to determine what efforts led to the striking improvement.”

And lastly: Boosting diversity in STEM

A worker sits at a cluttered electronics workbench, looking at a computer monitor in a workshop with shelves of parts bins, tools and equipment in the background. — Tré Willingham, a doctorate student, works inside a lab in Rowland Hall at UC Irvine on June 15, 2026. Photos by Ariana Drehsler for CalMatters

Founded in 2015 in partnership with the University of California, the Cal-Bridge program aims to close the diversity gap in science by helping California State University undergraduates pursue a doctorate in STEM. Because completing a doctorate takes several years, only 15 Cal-Bridge participants have earned their Ph.Ds so far. But its founder expects to see as many as 50 a year receive their doctorates. Read more from Brittany Oceguera of CalMatters’ College Journalism Network.

California Voices

CalMatters columnist Dan Walters: Public employee unions are trying to loosen limits on their pensions enacted under former Gov. Jerry Brown, which they say have saved money but outlived their usefulness.

As concerns grow over the fire risks that fireworks pose, Napa’s Fourth of July drone show offers a safer and greener alternative, writes Breyana Brandt and Liz Habkirk, the director of Napa’s Parks and Recreation Department and Napa’s assistant city manager, respectively.