Assemblyman Mike Gatto unveiled a big idea -- blow up the CPUC before anything else in our shoddy utility infrastructure goes Boom. In a nutshell, he wants to put a constitutional amendment on the 2016 ballot to “reconstitute” the PUC, i.e. blow it to smithereens by repealing its mandate and authority.
Consumer Watchdog will present new evidence at the upcoming Petroleum Market Advisory Committee meeting to show that refiners have used market power to raise gas prices. The committee will be discussing recommendations for the legislature on how to fix the California petroleum industry.
Details on that, the DTSC's Independent Panel Review, which will be discussing the scandal surrounding the now-shuttered Exide battery recycler, and the FPPC's move to close a loophole that allows lobbyists to avoid registering, below.
Does Jerry Brown see that the stink from the growing natural gas leak in Aliso Canyon and other utility scandals could also be the cloud that tarnishes his legacy after four terms of having voters’ favor?
This week marks the first public hearing into the Department of Motor Vehicles' new draft regulations for robot cars. In December, the DMV came out with strong safety protections requiring cars have a steering wheel, gas and brake pedals so humans can take over the cars. Google attacked the rules, but proved the DMV's point when its own data showed that human drivers had to take control of Google robot cars 341 times to avoid a crash or because technology failed.
For California, 2015 was the year of the price spike. Could 2016 be the year of courage?
A year ago, Consumer Watchdog warned that the oil industry would use 2015 to raise gas prices for huge profits and to push its political agenda. Predictably, the industry obscenely raised prices, making 2015 a record year for California gas prices compared to the national average. In Los Angeles, consumers are still paying over a dollar more than the rest of the nation.
One would think the Exide lead pollution scandal would have taught our top toxics regulator what never to do again. Instead, the agency is poised to repeat the same mistakes; this time with Exide’s rival lead battery recycler, Quemetco.