Managers at California fast-food restaurants have quietly raked in massive raises despite major chains hiking prices and some shutting locations after the state passed a $20 minimum wage.
While the pay bump for workers from $16 an hour has garnered much of the attention, a separate provision that has received less notice since the controversial law went into effect April 1 also boosted pay for managers at quick-service restaurants by 25% — to least $83,200, from $66,560.
At the fast-growing chicken chain Raising Canes, general managers in the state can now see their annual pay reach $174,000 from bonuses based on their locations sales and profit, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Monique Pizano, a 27-year-old general manager at a Raising Cane’s location in Carson, Calif., about 15 miles south of Los Angeles, saw her annual base salary rise from $79,000 to $85,000 after the law was implemented, the Journal reported.
Pizano, who manages 96 employees, is eligible for a monthly bonus of between $5,000 and $7,500 if she hits certain financial milestones with the Baton Rouge, La.-based chain — which has around 90 of its 700 restaurants in California.
The Carson location attracts an average of 700,000 customers per year and does around $9 million in annual sales.
Its been life-changing for my family, Pizano told the Journal.
However, the fast food minimum wage law has been painful for many businesses the Golden State.
A recent study by the analytics firm Placer.ai found that visits to popular fast food chains including McDonald’s, Wendy’s and Burger King have decreased since the new law went into effect.
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In the eight weeks spanning April and May, foot traffic at Burger King fell 3.86%, while Wendys was down 3.24% and McDonalds slipped 2.5%, according to the report.
Meanwhile, Rubio’s Coastal Grill was forced to shutter dozens of locations across California. The company, which recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, cited the increasing cost of doing business in the state.
Another fast food restaurant, Fosters Freeze, recently closed a location near Fresno, saying the franchise owner could no longer afford to pay workers the upgraded salaries.
In the six-month period leading up to the new law being enacted, fast food prices in California rose on average by 7% forcing franchisees in the state to slash work hours, postpone capital improvements and expedite the deployment of automation features such as self-serve kiosks.
A report published earlier this year by Kalinowski Equity Research found that fast food chains such as Wendys, Chipotle, Starbucks and Taco Bell raised their menu prices by as much as 8% in preparation for the new minimum wage law coming into effect.
The law has also been blamed for the decision by In-N-Out Burger to raise its menu prices.
In Los Angeles County, a double-double burger combo at In-N-Out sells for $11.44 a $0.76 increase from last year.
Eli Lederman covers college football and recruiting for ESPN.com. He joined ESPN in 2024 after covering the University of Oklahoma for Sellout Crowd and the Tulsa World.
Veteran quarterback Payton Thorne will start for Auburn when No. 21 Oklahoma visits Jordan-Hare Stadium Saturday afternoon, sources told ESPN’s Pete Thamel Friday.
Thorne, the former Michigan State transfer, started 13 games for the Tigers last fall. He returned as the program’s starter in 2024 before he was replaced by redshirt freshman Hank Brown in Week 3. In Thorne, Auburn will have an experienced starter under center in Week 5 against a Sooners defense that leads the nation in turnovers (12) and ranks 28th in total defense this fall.
Auburn initially turned to Brown after Thorne threw a career-high four interceptions in a 21-14 home defeat to Cal on Sept. 7. Brown led the Tigers past New Mexico in his first career start in Week 3, but struggled against Arkansas last Saturday, completing 7-of-13 passes for 72 yards with three interceptions. After Auburn went scoreless before halftime, Thorne took over at quarterback in the second half of the 24-14 home loss, finishing 13-for-23 for 213 yards with two touchdowns and interception.
Both quarterbacks turned in strong weeks of practice ahead of this weekend’s visit from Oklahoma, but Auburn will go with Thorne Saturday, banking on his experience and the momentum he built in his relief work against Arkansas as the Tigers chase their first SEC win of 2024.
Auburn hosts the Sooners at 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday on ABC in Oklahoma’s first SEC road game.
Castellanos played without apparent hinderance in Boston College’s 23-19 victory over Michigan State on Saturday, hitting Lewis Bond for the game-winning touchdown pass with 88 seconds left. He missed part of Tuesday’s practice.
He threw for 2,248 yards and 15 touchdowns last season and was 45-of-70 for 729 yards and 10 scores this year while leading the Eagles to a season-opening upset over No. 10 Florida State that helped them make their first appearance in The Associated Press Top 25 since 2018.
James threw for 1,967 yards and 11 touchdowns as a sophomore at Florida International in 2022 but played in only three games as a junior last season.
At least 40 people have been killed across four states after Hurricane Helene barrelled its way across southeastern US.
Emergency crews are racing to rescue people trapped in flooded homes after Helene struck the coast of Floridaas a highly destructive Category 4 storm.
It generated a massive storm surge, wreaking a trail of destruction extending hundreds of miles north.
Millions are without power in Florida and neighbouring states.
Meanwhile, dozens of people are trapped on the roof of a flooded Tennesseehospital, with a “dangerous rescue operation” under way.
The Unicoi County Hospital is engulfed in “extremely dangerous and rapidly moving water”, according to Tennessee’s Ballad Health.
It said 54 people were relocated to the roof of the Unicoi County Hospital, while seven were in rescue boats.
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“The situation at the hospital is very dangerous and TEMA [The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency] and National Guard resources are engaged in what can only be described as a dangerous rescue operation,” Ballad Health added.
Local official Michael Baker told Sky News people are being moved from the roof “little by little”, describing the flooding as “unprecedented”.
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“We’ve never seen anything like this,” he said.
As of early afternoon, Helene, which has been downgraded to a tropical depression, was packing maximum sustained winds of 35 mph (55 kph) as it slowed over Tennessee and Kentucky, the National Hurricane Center said.
It struck overnight with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph (225 kph) in the rural Big Bend area, the northwestern part of Florida.
The National Hurricane Center said preliminary information shows water levels reached more than 15ft above ground in that region.
US President Joe Biden has approved emergency declaration requests from the governors of several southern states affected by Helene.
Georgia, Florida, Alabama, North Carolina and South Carolina are being supported by emergency response personnel including search and rescue teams, medical support staff and engineering experts.
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Georgia Governor Brian Kemp has said dozens of people are trapped in buildings damaged by the storm, with multiple hospitals in southern Georgia without power.
In western North Carolina, Rutherford County emergency officials have told residents near the Lake Lure Dam to immediately evacuate to higher ground, warning “Dam failure imminent”.
Meanwhile, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said the damage from Helene in the area appears to be greater than the combined damage of Idalia and Hurricane Debby in August. “It’s demoralizing,” he said.
Many stranded in places like Tampa could only be reached by boat, with officials warning the water could contain live wires, sewage, sharp objects and other debris.
More than four million properties are without power across Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee and Ohio, according to the logging website, PowerOutage.
Despite Helene’s power, this hurricane season has been more remarkable for its lack of activity.
At the start of the hurricane season, which runs from 1 June to 30 November, sea surface temperatures were (and remain) off-the-charts warm.
It’s this ocean heat that fuels tropical storms.
This combined with a developing La Nina phenomenon led the US forecasters to predict 2024 would be a major hurricane season. Between 17 and 24 storms were expected, with eight to 13 developing into hurricanes.
Hurricane Beryl grazed the coast of Jamaica in July as a Category 5 hurricane. It was the earliest storm of that size ever recorded and was seen as a harbinger of the prediction. But, so far at least, it’s failed to materialise.
There have been just six hurricanes so far this year – slightly below average. But why?
It seems to be due to what’s happening on the other side of the Atlantic where ocean warming forced the African monsoon further north than usual.
This led to catastrophic flooding in central and west Africa displacing millions, but it also shifted the weather system that usually spawns hurricanes and spins them across the Atlantic.
There’s already abundant evidence our warming oceans and atmosphere are making storms more intense – but predicting where they will occur and how often is never simple – and perhaps getting even harder as our planet gets hotter.
Prior to the hurricane making landfall, officials in Florida begged residents to evacuate. The sheriff’s office in rural Taylor County issued a chilling warning to those who refused to leave.
“Please write your name, birthday, and important information on your arm or leg in a permanent marker so that you can be identified and family notified,” the post on Facebook said.
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Child and dog rescued from floods
Forecasters now expect the storm to continue weakening across Tennessee and Kentucky.
It is feared heavy rain over the Appalachian Mountains could cause mudslides and flash flooding.