Christopher Weber, Author at The Rapid City Post

FILE - An aerial view shows houses being rebuilt on cleared lots months after the Palisades Fire, Dec. 5, 2025, in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

EPA chief outlines Trump’s plan to speed up the rebuilding of homes after LA wildfires

February 4, 2026

Federal officials have traveled to Los Angeles to outline President Donald Trump’s plan to override state and local rules and speed up the permitting process for rebuilding tens of thousands of homes destroyed by last year’s wildfires. Trump recently signed an executive order that would let federal loan recipients “self-certify” that they meet all state and local building requirements if their permits aren’t approved within 60 days. State and local officials maintain that permits are already being approved in a timely manner. They question whether the Trump administration can legally take over the permitting process and question how the new process is supposed to work.

FILE - The New York Post is seen at a newsstand in Manhattan, Aug. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Jennifer Peltz, File)

California Post brings brash New York-style tabloid news to the West Coast

January 26, 2026

Aiming to shake up the Golden State’s media landscape, the California Post has launched a new tabloid newspaper and news site that brings a brash, cheeky and conservative-friendly fixture of the Big Apple to the West Coast. The Los Angeles outpost of the New York Post will be “digital first” — with social media accounts and video and audio pieces — but for $3.75 readers can also purchase a daily print publication featuring the paper’s famously splashy front-page headlines. Of course, the Post’s infamous gossip column will get a Tinseltown version, Page Six Hollywood, that will keep a snarky eye on red carpets and celebrity culture.

Court order prevents LA coroner from releasing details of teen’s body found in singer d4vd’s Tesla

November 24, 2025

The Los Angeles County medical examiner’s office says a court order forbids the coroner from releasing details of the investigation into the death of a teen girl whose body was found in the trunk of a car registered to the singer d4vd. Multiple news outlets have said police consider the Houston-born alt-pop singer a suspect in the death of Celeste Reivas Hernandez. The LA Police Department has not confirmed that and d4vd’s lawyer did not respond to request for comment. The LAPD says the court order was sought to protect the ongoing investigation.

FILE - Dodger Stadium is shown before an evening baseball game, June 20, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)

Turbulence for Dodger Stadium gondola as Los Angeles officials seek to ground the project

November 13, 2025

A proposal to build a gondola from downtown Los Angeles to Dodger Stadium hit some turbulence when the City Council voted to urge transportation officials to ground the project. The estimated $500 million tramway would connect fans between the stadium about a mile away to Union Station. Supporters say the gondola would help fans avoid nightmarish traffic, but critics point to a study that found it would do little to keep cars off the roads. In a 12-1 vote, council members on Wednesday approved a resolution to advise the county’s transportation authority to kill the project. Mayor Karen Bass must sign off for the resolution to take effect. A full vote on the project is expected next year.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom announces CalRx-branded insulin glargine pens available next Jan. 1, 2026, at a suggested retail price of no more than $55 per five-pack, or $11 per pen, during a news conference at Cedar-Sinai's Mark Goodson pharmacy in Los Angeles, Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

California to begin selling affordable state-branded insulin beginning next year

October 16, 2025

Gov. Gavin Newsom says California will begin selling affordable insulin under its own label on Jan. 1, nearly three years after he first announced a partnership to sell state-branded generic drugs at lower prices. But California won’t be the only state making lower-cost insulin available. The nonprofit Civica says Thursday it will also distribute its economical diabetes medication to pharmacies nationwide. Starting in the new year, insulin pens will be available in California under the CalRx label for $11 per pen, or a maximum of $55 for a five-pack.

An immigration official wears a face mask depicting a cigar and beard as he waits to transport detained immigrants Wednesday, July 23, 2025, in Baldwin Park, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Los Angeles County seeks ordinance preventing law enforcement from concealing their identities

July 29, 2025

Los Angeles County leaders want to prohibit law enforcement officers from concealing their identities while on duty, a response to recent immigration raids during which some federal agents refused to identify themselves or covered their faces. The Board of Supervisors voted 4—0, with one abstention, on Tuesday to direct county counsel to draft an ordinance that bars officers, including federal agents, from wearing masks, with limited exceptions such as for medical protection or during undercover operations. Officers would also be required to visibly display identification and agency affiliation while out in public.

FILE - Denver Broncos consultant John Elway looks on against the Houston Texans during an NFL football game, Sept. 18, 2022, in Denver. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey, File)

NFL legend John Elway won’t be charged in golf cart accident that killed former agent Jeff Sperbeck

July 14, 2025

NFL Hall of Famer John Elway won’t be charged after his business partner was fatally injured falling out of his golf cart. Riverside County Sheriff’s Office says Monday that there was nothing criminal in the accident that killed Jeffrey Sperbeck at a California golf resort community in April. Investigators ruled it a tragic accident. Elway’s partner and former agent died after tumbling out of the cart the former Denver Broncos quarterback was driving at The Madison Club in La Quinta, east of Los Angeles. Sperbeck was 62.

A protester holds a sign as a Waymo taxi burns near the metropolitan detention center of downtown Los Angeles, Sunday, June 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)

California official criticized for appearing to call on gangs to intervene in immigration raids

June 25, 2025

The vice mayor of a tiny Southern California city is under fire after appearing to call on street gangs to organize in the face of immigration sweeps by federal agents in Los Angeles. Cynthia Gonzalez, vice mayor of Cudahy, criticized street gang members in a since-deleted social media post. She questioned why gang members weren’t out protesting or speaking up about the raids. The video seemed to suggest she was calling on them to organize and help out as the Trump administration ramps up enforcement of immigration laws. The city of Cudahy said Tuesday that the video reflected Gonzalez’s personal views and not those of the city.

Christopher Weber.