The relaxed regulations now being applied in Los Angeles should become the standard across California. If lifting red tape helps after a disaster, why not apply the same approach to all construction?

I can’t see this happening in a more affluent neighborhood,’ one resident says. ‘I think the business owners deserve better.’ ...

The winter storm that drenched Northern California on Monday and Tuesday left mudslides in its wake, including one that sent a Forestville home crashing into the Russian River below.