Fines

Anthem Blue Cross, the state's largest for-profit health insurer, has agreed to pay a $1-million fine and offer new coverage -- no questions asked -- to 2,330 people it dropped after they submitted bills for expensive medical care. As part of a deal that the California Department of Insurance is set to announce today, Anthem also will offer to reimburse those people for medical expenses that they paid out of pocket after they were dropped.

Even with the recent batch of rainstorms, the ongoing drought has grown so severe that Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on Monday called for increased citywide water restrictions and the adoption of a tiered water rate that would punish Department of Water and Power customers who fail to conserve. Sprinkler use would be restricted to two days a week under the proposal and, by summer, could be cut to one day a week if the drought continues, Villaraigosa said.

State officials have fined two nursing homes in Orange County for providing care so inadequate that it led to the deaths of two patients. In one case, a woman died from dehydration. In the other, staff failed to provide CPR to a man suffering a heart attack because they mistakenly believed he was under orders not to be resuscitated.

The Los Angeles City Ethics Commission voted today to impose $5,650 in fines on two elected officials -- Councilmen Herb Wesson and Richard Alarcon -- for violating rules that regulate the size and type of campaign contributions given during last year's election. Wesson, who represents parts of Koreatown and South Los Angeles, received $3,000 in fines after he accepted six contributions that exceed the city's $500 maximum during his reelection campaign. Alarcon, who represents part of the San Fernando Valley, was hit with $2,650 in fines for failing to turn in the script from an automated telephone call, taking a contribution from a lobbyist and violating two counts of receiving contributions of more than $500 from certain donors.

A measure taking effect today eliminates jail time for illegal immigrants caught in Mexico. Most are crossing the country from Central America en route to the U.S. The offense will now be punishable by fines of $100 to $500. Illegal immigrants previously faced up to 10 years in prison, though most were simply deported. Mexican legislators who backed the revision say Mexico's previous penalties complicated efforts to lobby for better treatment of Mexican immigrants in the United States.

The co-chief executives of BlackBerry maker Research in Motion will pay the bulk of about $77 million Canadian ($62 million in U.S. currency) in fines and restitution to settle allegations they participated in backdating stock options of the Waterloo, Canada, company. Under the settlement with the Ontario Securities Commission, co-CEO Jim Balsillie, who stepped down as chairman, co-CEO Mike Lazaridis and former chief financial officer Dennis Kavelman will pay a combined $9 million Canadian in fines and $68 million Canadian in restitution to the firm.

Moving to save what has been billed as a cornerstone of downtown L.A.'s revitalization, local officials are considering a proposal that would defer a $250,000-a-month penalty that the Grand Avenue project developer is supposed to start paying Sunday. The hefty penalty was negotiated last year after numerous delays in construction of the $3-billion, Frank Gehry-designed complex. At the time, the developer promised to begin construction by Feb.

Eleven California hospitals were fined $25,000 each in administrative penalties Thursday for violations that, in some cases, led to death or serious injury, according to Department of Public Health officials. Most of the hospitals fined were in Southern California, and about half were cited because doctors or hospital staff had left foreign objects in patients after surgery. Coast Plaza Doctors Hospital in Norwalk and Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center were fined for failing to follow proper surgical procedures.

The California Department of Public Health on Wednesday issued $25,000 penalties against 13 hospitals -- including seven in Los Angeles and Orange counties -- for serious violations that, in some cases, led to patient deaths. Each violation comes with a $25,000 fine, part of an ongoing effort to hold hospitals more accountable for placing patients at risk of death or serious injury.

Santa Barbara County supervisors this week began a crackdown on oil companies that repeatedly spill fuel, asking staff to draft legislation that would increase penalties, make companies pay for the emergency response and give the county the tools to shut down repeat offenders. The tough plans were prompted by the many complaints that supervisors heard Tuesday during a four-hour hearing on the Greka Energy Corp., a Santa Maria-based company with fields in northern Santa Barbara County.