Employment Attorney in Sacramento, CA

Sacramento, CA (July 12, 2025) – First responders, including paramedics, assessed and treated individuals hurt in a multi-vehicle crash that occurred Friday afternoon on the southbound side of the 5 Freeway, just north of Highway 99. The incident happened around 3:50 p.m., prompting a rapid response from Sacramento Fire and Rescue units.

According to the California Highway Patrol, at least two vehicles were involved in the collision. One person sustained minor injuries and was transported to UC Davis Medical Center for treatment. No other injuries were immediately reported, and the names of those involved have not been disclosed.

The crash caused delays along the southbound lanes of I-5 as emergency crews worked to manage the scene and clear the vehicles. The specific cause of the collision remains under investigation.

Our thoughts are with the injured individual and their loved ones.

Freeway Collision Trends in Sacramento

Sacramento’s freeway network, including I-5 and Highway 99, experiences a high volume of commuter and commercial traffic daily. These heavily traveled corridors are often the sites of rear-end collisions, lane-change accidents, and congestion-related crashes—particularly during afternoon peak hours.

Data from the California Office of Traffic Safety shows that freeway incidents account for a significant portion of the region’s annual injury crashes. The area near the I-5 and Highway 99 interchange is especially busy, making it a common hotspot for traffic disruptions and accidents.

After a freeway accident, even one involving minor injuries, it’s critical for those affected to seek immediate medical attention, report the incident accurately, and document all relevant details. Insurance claims and potential recovery options can become more complex when multiple vehicles or high-speed impacts are involved.

This crash underscores the ongoing need for careful driving and heightened awareness when navigating Sacramento’s freeway system.

If you or someone you know has been injured in a crash, reach out to Local Accident Reports for assistance.

Note: These posts are created solely for the use of Local Accident Reports. We have not verified the information in these posts as the information is gathered from secondary sources. If you have personal knowledge that the information contained in these posts is inaccurate, please contact Local Accident Reports immediately so we can make the necessary corrections or remove the story.

Disclaimer: We are providing this information to the general public as a resource to use in the event you or a family member are injured in a similar incident. Every effort is put forth to honor the victims of accidents, and hope the information presented helps others avoid the same type of accidents in the future. The photos depicted in these posts are not representative of the actual accident scene. Please contact Local Accident Reports at (888) 657-1460 to be connected with an attorney in your area who will answer any legal questions you may have.

At least five more Rite Aid locations are slated to close in the Sacramento area — with three stores shutting their doors as early next week.

Rite Aid has marked more than 1,000 locations for closure since filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in early May, according to business media brand Fast Company.

“At the time of its original filing, Rite Aid said it had 1,277 pharmacies in operation,” Fast Company reported June 30.

Here’s what to know:

The national pharmacy chain now known as Rite Aid began as Thrift D Discount Center in Scranton, Pennsylvania, in 1962, according to the company’s website.

The goal of Rite Aid aims is “to be a successful chain of friendly, neighborhood drugstores that are committed to helping customers make everyday life a little easier and healthier,” the company said on its website.

In addition to operating in-site pharmacies, Rite Aid sells medicines, vitamins, cosmetics and household products.

Rite Aid has struggled to compete with other drug retailers for years, resulting in a weakened competitive position, elevated financial leverage and limited cash flow for the company, The Sacramento Bee previously reported.

The company first filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October 2023.

On May 5, the pharmacy chain announced it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy again.

A total of five Rite Aid stores are scheduled to shut their doors in the Sacramento region later this month, according to the company and previous reporting by Newsweek and Fast Company.

Here’s where to find those Rite Aid locations and when they’re slated to close:

Monday, July 14

Tuesday, July 15

Wednesday, July 16

Wednesday, July 30

Thursday, July 31

Rite Aid has entered into a series of sale agreements and pharmacy services transition agreements, the company said in a May 15 news release.

This agreement includes the rolling transition of pharmacy assets from more than 1,000 store locations across the United States to operators including CVS Pharmacy, Walgreens, Albertson, Kroger and Giant Eagle.

“During the transition, Rite Aid stores will remain open, and customers can continue to access their pharmacy services, including prescription refills and immunizations, without interruption,” Rite Aid said in a May 15 news release.

That means Rite Aid Pharmacy customers can expect to have services transferred to a nearby pharmacy.

“These agreements ensure our pharmacy customers will experience a smooth transition while preserving jobs for some of our valued team members,” Schroeder said in a release.

Since June 2, Rite Aid had has closed more than 410 stores, leaving a total of 785 locations open across the United States. That includes 256 stores in California.

Several Rite Aid stores shut their doors in June and early July in the Sacramento region.

Here’s where:

Two other major pharmacy chains recently announced plans to close down stores.

CVS plans to close a total of 270 stores nationwide in 2025, The Bee previously reported.

Meanwhile, Walgreens intends to shut 1,200 stores over the next three years, a company spokesperson told The Bee in May.

According to researchers at UC Berkeley School of Public Health and USC, about one in three U.S. retail pharmacies have closed since 2010.

Between 2018 and 2021, the number of pharmacies declined in 41 states, the study found, with higher pharmacy closure rates in predominantly Black and Latino neighborhoods.

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From wood-fired flatbreads to tacos from Sacramento favorite Chando’s Tacos, a host of new food and drink options are making their State Fair debut this year beginning Friday. Keep an eye out for these incoming sweet treats, savory feasts and refreshing drinks on Cal Expo grounds.

At the Save Mart Wine Garden, guests can enjoy an updated menu designed to complement a glass of Gold Medal-winning wine or a chilled wine slushie. Executive chef Tim Benham said the shareable dishes focus on showcasing local ingredients.

“This isn’t meant to be a turkey leg that you’re eating in between two Ferris wheels or anything,” Benham said. “Sit down, relax, enjoy and get out of the sun for a few minutes.”

Among the new additions are three wood-fired flatbreads made with California-grown ingredients. The California Dreamin’ is topped with Alta Cucina tomato sauce from Modesto, fresh mozzarella pearls, heirloom cherry tomatoes and a drizzle of pesto. The White Flatbread layers Gruyere, provolone and Gouda with applewood-smoked bacon, local asparagus and roasted garlic cloves. The North Beach offers a meatier option with Italian sausage.

Along with flatbreads, the Wine Garden is also offering a fire-roasted artichoke marinated in garlic dressing and served with Meyer lemon-chive aioli and garlic butter. The Celebration of Sourdough features roasted local sourdough with bruschetta topping, roasted garlic oil, burrata, and pistachio-crusted Brie.

A zero-proof cocktail is also available, made with fresh watermelon, lime juice, mint and agave syrup.

Beef up the fair day with a classic hot link sausage at Silva Sausages. These Northern California Bratwurst sausages are filled with savory sweet chili mango, chicken apple and other savory fillings. Be sure to grab homemade German potato salad on the way out.

Sauced up golden fries and crispy chicken tenders, fried in beef tallow, are found at Golden Fry House. The fries and tenders are tossed in a variety of buffalo, BBQ, Korean gochujang and garlic Parmesan sauces. Other flavors include honey sriracha barbecue, chili lime and Thai.

Sacramento’s Chando’s Tacos is making its State Fair debut with tacos, burritos, quesadillas and nachos. Founded in 2010 by Lisandro “Chando” Madrigal, the regional chain serves up meats including birria, adobada, grilled fish and carnitas across six locations in the capital region.

You can also find Island Fin Poke, known for its customizable poke bowls served over white or brown rice with proteins like ahi tuna, salmon, tofu or Korean barbecue chicken. Bowls are topped with crispy garnishes and marinated in sauces like ponzu or shoyu.

Thrill-seekers at the fair can pair thinly sliced Spam fries with a boba milk tea, slushy or Red Bull-infused iced drink at Boba King. Other offerings include Spam sandwich sliders and Spam on a stick. Tea flavors range from Thai and taro to mango and strawberry. Energy drinks come blended with sweet flavors like strawberry and blueberry.

Tap into the viral TikTok trend with a Dubai chocolate strawberry cup. Grab a cup filled with juicy strawberries lathered in rich chocolate, pistachio cream and topped with sweet, thinly shredded knafeh pastry strands.

Coffee lovers can head to Rescate Coffee, Elk Grove’s only local roaster, for specialty drinks like the El Toro, a sweet espresso with breve and cinnamon, and the Xocolatl Cereza, flavored with Mexican chocolate and cherry.

Reality Check is a Bee series holding officials and organizations accountable and shining a light on their decisions. Have a tip? Email [email protected].

Five years after Gov. Gavin Newsom announced plans for California to shutter some of its prisons, the state’s prison budget is reflecting savings.

Newsom announced plans to close two prisons in 2020, citing a declining inmate population, with an intention to close two more later. But for several years state spending followed a decade-long trend of increase while the number of people incarcerated in the system has dwindled.

Now, under the budget Newsom signed last month, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation will receive $13.6 billion this year, close to 10% less than its peak of $14.9 billion in 2023.

The state’s prison population has steadily declined since 2011, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that severe overcrowding in California prisons amounted to cruel and unusual punishment.

In response to that ruling, the state reformed sentencing laws and increased good time credits. Lower-level offenders were transferred to county jails and thousands were released early during the COVID-19 pandemic to further mitigate crowding.

But for more than a decade, state spending on prisons rose as the incarcerated population dropped. Even after Newsom shuttered his first of four prisons in 2021, CDCR’s budget grew.

It cost just over $133,000 to incarcerate a person for one year in California prisons last year, according to an estimate from the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office.

CDCR spending dipped in 2020 as state leaders anticipated a major budget deficit. Labor unions representing correctional officers agreed to a 4.6% temporary pay cut in exchange for 12 hours of leave each month, and deferred a scheduled 3% raise. But those cuts only lasted a year as California’s tax revenues rebounded.

Newsom now has shuttered four prisons and announced the state will close one more next year, though his administration has not determined which one.

He also signed legislation that ended the Division of Juvenile Justice in 2023. Since then, youth have been placed in county custody and the state closed its DJJ facilities and camps.

According to the Department of Finance, these closures save about $966 million annually. Another prison closure would save an additional $150 million.

While the savings from prison closures are reflected in CDCR’s lower budget, lawmakers and advocates for reduced prison spending believe the agency can find more savings.

Last year, the LAO said the state has enough vacant beds to close up to five prisons in addition to the four already shuttered, which would save another $1 billion each year. Newsom called for just one more closure by October 2026.

And while the state saves money with the four prison closures – including at one privately owned prison that will be turned into an immigrant detention center – it still owns most of the facilities and spends millions each year maintaining them.

Californians United for a Responsible Budget, a coalition of more than 100 groups that advocate for reduced prison spending and incarceration, estimates the state has spent $300 million maintaining these prisons in “warm shutdown.”

“CDCR and the corrections budget in general has been a black hole, a money pit,” said Brian Kaneda, CURB’s deputy director. “No matter how much savings we’re getting from prison closures, they won’t be effective in supporting our community unless they’re reinvested back where they need it most.”

CDCR maintains a total of 12 facilities in warm shutdown, including several former youth facilities that were deactivated over a decade ago.

“Taking into consideration their large size, remoteness, and self-contained infrastructure, CDCR properties are expensive to maintain once closed,” the agency wrote in a report earlier this year.

CDCR spokesperson Emily Humpal said the decommissioned sites have “minimal staff” monitoring them “to ensure that closed facilities do not fall into a state of disrepair.” Humpal added the state cut $5 million for ongoing maintenance of deactivated facilities last year.

The state could transfer or sell the properties after they are declared excess by CDCR or the state Legislature. But in a January report the agency outlined challenges to offloading vacant prisons including “zoning issues, reuse limitations, and substantial liabilities related to abatement and demolition costs. As a result, excess CDCR facilities can sit vacant, despite legislative authorization to sell them, for several years.”

Despite the steady decline in the incarcerated population, CDCR’s budget grew by roughly 45% between 2015 and 2023.

Caitlin O’Neil, a policy analyst for the LAO, attributed the growth largely to staffing costs and compliance with the 2011 U.S. Supreme Court order.

“Despite the fact that the population declined substantially during that period, the state still had to add capacity,” she said. The state “couldn’t pack people into prisons as much as we were previously doing. We had to actually build and activate new capacity and contract out.”

In the years after the ruling, the state built and contracted new facilities to house more than 9,700 beds. It also increased spending on inmate health care and employee wages and benefits.

Staffing costs alone make up roughly two-thirds of CDCR’s budget, which means even small raises have a big impact.

“One prison closure could offset one typical year of employee compensation growth,” O’Neil said.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Smoke from wildfires in the northern parts of California is making its way to the Sacramento region on Thursday.

A light north wind is also carrying some smoke from fires burning in Northern California and Southern Oregon. A Spare The Air Alert day is in effect for Friday due to poor air quality. This is due to the combination of ozone and smoke.

Woodland's Fire Department says it's received several calls about smoke. It put out a social media post to clarify "there are no active fires in or near Woodland, the wind is carrying smoke into our area and may impact air quality over the next few days."

The fire department is urging people to stay safe from the smoke by staying inside, closing windows and running air conditioners on recirculate mode.

Some of the fires are:

This map from the National Interagency Fire Center shows fire activity (this may take a few seconds to load):

Weather conditions forecast for the Sacramento region through Sunday are calling for well above average highs and an increasing risk of heat illnesses.

A strong ridge of high pressure will develop over the West Coast through the weekend.

This pattern shift will result in sinking, warming air and summer heat building in California.

Some regions will be under an Extreme Heat Watch or Heat Advisory with daytime highs from 95-110° and overnight lows in the 60s to near 80°.

GO DEEPER: California Wildfires: Preparing for peak wildfire season. From packing an emergency kit, to evacuation routes: how to protect your family and home before danger strikes. Watch our special:

WILDFIRE PREPS

If you live in a wildfire-prone zone, Cal Fire suggests creating a defensible space around your home. Defensible space is an area around a building in which vegetation and other debris are completely cleared. At least 100 feet is recommended.

The Department of Homeland Security suggests assembling an emergency kit that has important documents, N95 respirator masks, and supplies to grab with you if you’re forced to leave at a moment’s notice. The agency also suggests signing up for local warning system notifications and knowing your community’s evacuation plans best to prepare yourself and your family in cases of wildfires.

Some counties use Nixle alerts to update residents on severe weather, wildfires, and other news. To sign up, visit www.nixle.com or text your zip code to 888777 to start receiving alerts.

Read more: Are you wildfire ready? Here's what to do to prepare for fire season.

PG&E customers can also subscribe to alerts via text, email, or phone call. If you're a PG&E customer, visit the Profile & Alerts section of your account to register.