rebuild

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gavin Newsom will propose a new $100-million fund to help wildfire victims afford loans to rebuild their homes under a revised budget plan set to be released Thursday.

The Newsom administration estimates that thousands of victims of the Los Angeles wildfires cannot afford to rebuild, blaming a lack of access to affordable loans and a gap between insurance payouts and the cost to build again.

“We have been on the ground in L.A. since Day One of recovery from these fires, and we aren’t turning our backs now,” Newsom said in a statement. “This community deserves continued support to help them get back on their feet, and rebuild their homes and their lives. “

The new fund would be designed to cover loan-loss guarantee to lenders, in which the state would commit to paying back a percentage of a loan amount if a borrower defaults, in order to lower the risk for lenders and encourage them to award construction loans to borrowers who might not otherwise qualify or only be eligible for loans at high interest rates. The money would also be available for homeowners to buy down their interest rates during the construction period, according to Newsom’s office.

The Eaton and Palisades fires killed 31 people and destroyed over 16,000 structures in January 2025.

A recent survey of the wildfire victims found that homeowners estimate they need more than $600,000 on average above their insurance payouts to rebuild their homes, according to a report from a wildfire recovery nonprofit called the Department of Angels. The gap in Altadena was about $550,000, and between $1.19 million and $1.73 million in Pacific Palisades and Malibu.

Under Newsom, California has also provided mortgage relief to more than a thousand wildfire survivors under CalAssist, a program that provides grants to eligible homeowners to cover mortgage payments for 12 months up to $100,000.

The governor’s new proposal will be included in his funding plan for the upcoming 2026-27 budget year that begins July 1.

State revenue from income tax collection is higher than initially forecast, a boon that is expected to wipe out a projected deficit in the year ahead. Analysts attribute the revenue increase to an artificial intelligence boom in the stock market.

Though likely temporary, the extra funding is expected to give Newsom enough cushion to balance the state budget without major cuts and lower a projected shortfall in 2027-28.

The proposal to create the rebuilding fund requires support from both houses of the California Legislature and would move forward as a trailer bill accompanying the state budget. The funding would be available to disaster survivors, though details on eligibility will be determined during the legislative process.

Football can teach many life lessons and no one knows that better than Jazmin Gamble, the new varsity head coach at Hawthorne High.

As a woman in a male-dominated profession, one could define her as a trailblazer — and that would be accurate — but while she acknowledges the historical significance of what she is doing, Gamble is not letting it distract her from the task at hand — turning around a program that has fallen on hard times.

“It’s less about proving a point and more about giving all these boys a better experience,” Gamble said. “I’m not downplaying the impact of it, rather I want to leverage the attention in a way that benefits the players and opens doors for them. I’m elated and honored that the district saw my vision and said ‘this girl can do that.’ I have to ask myself how I can use this opportunity to spotlight our team.”

Gamble, who turns 36 in June, is a running back and linebacker for the Los Angeles Legends in the Women’s National Football Conference, a full-contact professional league consisting of 16 franchises across the United States.

Gamble was selected defensive player of the year in 2024 and offensive player of the year in 2025 when she gained a league-leading 549 yards rushing (averaging 11.9 yards per carry) while scoring three touchdowns.

“I tore my ACL my first season and was on injured reserve, but I came back in 2022 and have been playing ever since,” she said. “We made the playoffs last season but lost in the first round. We’re 2-1 right now with three games left. We played our first home game at Long Beach Poly, so the boys got to see their coach in action. We won 23-0 and I scored a touchdown, but it got called back due to holding.”

Hawthorne High football coach Jazmin Gamble calls for her players to huddle during a recent practice.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

The Legends’ next home game is April 25 against the Utah Falconz at St. Anthony Sports Complex in Lakewood.

“This is my last year playing, but I’ve been wanting to transition more into coaching,” said Gamble, a certified personal trainer and fitness instructor who started a business 10 years ago called the Jazz Standard. “I first heard about the job through my coaching network and it sounded very appealing. I applied, I interviewed and I got it. Football takes up so much of your time and energy. I’ve done enough in this sport. This is a good time for me to stop, and although this is my first crack as a football head coach I’ve been coaching athletes for six or seven years, including some of my teammates, and they got better.”

A Bakersfield native, Gamble was an exceptional all-around athlete. Growing up she was a gymnast and a cheerleader. She played club volleyball, ran track and played basketball while attending four high schools, two in Bakersfield and two in the Bay Area, and graduated from Mt. Diablo High in Concord.

Upon moving to Los Angeles 13 years ago, she was in survival mode.

“I was homeless and slept in the back seat of my car for a couple of months until I got a job in human resources,” she recalled. “I started training and working in the fitness field and after struggling to make it for a few years I decided I wanted to be a business owner and things took off from there. Now I have 33 active clients that I see two to four times a week and even train the No. 2 rusher in the WNFC.”

Gamble lives in Inglewood but her business is in Gardena near Serra High, where she got involved behind the scenes with the flag football team before the sport was officially sanctioned by the CIF in 2023.

“A few of those girls trained with me and I learned to adopt a different schematic approach. Boys are playing football as early as 5 or 6 years old, whereas women are starting at 20 or even their early 30s and their bodies aren’t prepared for it. I didn’t start playing tackle until I was 31.”

Gamble is still assembling a staff but one of her assistants will be her brother, Kenneth Davis, a former receiver at Liberty High in Bakersfield.

Hawthorne does not have a junior varsity team. There were 29 players on the roster last year and nine graduated.

“On Day 1, I had 22 come to the weight room,” Gamble said. “Some players are in track right now, but in May I’ll have ‘em all. My strong suit is development so I’m ready for this. Right now, we’re at ground zero. We’ve only had a handful of practices, mainly conditioning. The boys have been super receptive. I’m just going to be me!”

Hawthorne went 2-8 last season, finishing fourth in the Ocean League and being outscored by 281 points. The Cougars were shut out three times.

“Jazmin’s a breath of fresh air,” said athletic director Mario Romero, who was involved in the hiring process. “She’s brought enthusiasm across the entire school community and I’m excited about where her leadership is going to take us.”

Hawthorne High football coach Jazmin Gamble shows her players how to run a drill during practice.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

Fifteen players showed up for a one-hour workout Wednesday at HalCap Field. One of them was quarterback Anthony Green, who played in the last two games as a sophomore last year after transferring from King/Drew and is the projected starter next season.

“She made a good impression,” he said. “I like the workouts — they’re very intense — and I like the competition. Coach expects a lot and she pushes us.”

Gamble put her players through a series of drills to test their stamina, quickness and technique. The penalty for walking was push-ups.

“Everything out here is earned … may the best man win!’ she shouted.

“Her practices are intense — she knows what she’s doing,” added junior linebacker Adrian Lopez, who was an All-League first teamer last fall. “She has a home game coming up and I think I’ll go out and watch. My goal for us is to have at least a .500 season and make the playoffs.”

Gamble is not the first female to coach varsity football at Hawthorne. Monique Boone was the varsity defensive line and assistant offensive line coach in 2021 under previous head coach Corey Thedford. However, overseeing the entire program puts Gamble in rarefied air.

What convinced Romero that Gamble was the right person for the job?

“Her background, her skill set and also the fact that she plays the sport herself at a high level,” he said.

Amid a glittering sports celebration, a team from Los Angeles dominated the WNBA draft.

But it wasn’t Los Angeles’ WNBA team.

The Sparks couldn’t hold a candle to UCLA.

At a Monday event during which six Bruins were drafted among the first 18 picks — a WNBA record — the Sparks didn’t have their first pick until No. 20 in the second round.

Two years earlier, they had traded away their first-round pick for the rights to draft the exciting Rickea Jackson.

Whom they recently traded to Chicago for somebody named Ariel Atkins.

You can see where we’re going with this…

One of the WNBA’s founding franchises, the failure-ridden Sparks enter the league’s 30th season attempting to break a five-year playoff drought with an understandable yet unremarkable game plan.

They’re going old. They don’t have a choice. Five years of lottery missteps have produced exactly one current Sparks player, Cameron Brink, a social media star who’s been an injured basketball bust.

While the national champion Bruins spent Monday dancing across the league from Toronto to Chicago, the Sparks didn’t get a chance to acquire any of them, and wound up with three late picks who will raise no eyebrows and play few minutes.

So, yeah, old.

When the Sparks open the season by hosting defending champion Las Vegas May 10, their fans are going to say, “Oh yeah!” followed by a resounding chorus of, “Oh no!”

Oh yeah, they’re bringing back longtime Sparks star Nneka Ogwumike, a bruising inside force for 14 seasons. She played well for Seattle last year, but, oh no, she’ll be 36 during the season, and one wonders when the physicality will take its toll.

Oh yeah, they’re bringing back Erica Wheeler, who played strong minutes here several years ago. But, oh no, she played for three teams in the last four years and will be 35 during the season.

Oh yeah, they’re bringing in Atkins, who once won a WNBA championship with the Washington Mystics. But, oh no, that was seven years ago, and she’s bounced around with six international teams and two WNBA teams since.

Those three veterans will be joining a team with two returning starters — Kelsey Plum and Dearica Hamby — but little else.

The league’s celebrated new CBA made all these players rich, but did little for the Sparks, who were unable to make a dent in the league-wide free agent market and were out of decent draft picks and so must survive for one more season before getting a shot at JuJu Watkins.

So they should tank? No! Not yet! I’ve got season tickets! But you’ve got to wonder. And if this aging band gets off to a slow start, you’ve got to wonder if they’re wondering.

“I’m super excited about the roster we have,” said coach Lynne Roberts on a Zoom call Monday night. “We brought in some tremendous leadership.”

But they also lost some tremendous youth by giving up on Jackson, who averaged nearly 15 points last season and provided much-needed energy to another deadly dull squad. While the Sparks made nice with her publicly, one can read between the lines on the following Zoom quote from general manager Raegan Pebley.

”Loved having her here … she’ll be successful wherever she goes,” said Pebley of Jackson. “But we’re focused on winning a championship and finding that fit and balance and getting all those pieces locked in with each other.”

Here’s guessing Jackson, an independent spirit, was never quite locked in. And now she’s locked out of a new culture that will be solid and steady… but will they be any good?

“You have to have that balance of youth and experience and I think our roster has nailed that,” said Pebley.

Who knows? Will Brink stop trying to be an influencer long enough to be an inside presence? Will Rae Burrell take another step in her fifth season? Can the new veterans stay healthy enough to inspire the kids, who could include draft picks Ta’Niya Latson, Chance Gray and Amelia Hassett? Can Roberts, a relative WNBA newcomer who lost more than half of her games in her debut last season, actually coach?

They’ve already had one win with the ongoing construction of an $150-million El Segundo practice facility, which should open next year and serve to attract the type of stars that a Los Angeles team deserves.

They have another steady win with a Crypto.com Arena fan-friendly game experience that ranks among the best in this city’s sports landscape.

Now they just need wins on the scoreboard, lots of them, enough to restore faith in what was once one of this city’s shining basketball operations.

The odds aren’t good — going old usually means going home early — but what else can they do? No Bruins are walking through that door. For at least one more year, the Sparks have to marinate in their past mistakes and hope that their veterans can somehow lay a foundation for their future..

“This isn’t a slow roll,” said Roberts. “We want to do it.”

The rest of the league, which has greatly benefited from five years of Sparks’ bad basketball decisions, will be waiting.

Their passionate fans, who have loyally kept showing up for the last five years to watch the lousy basketball those decisions have wrought, will be wanting.

And JuJu will be watching.