Category Archives: Uncategorized
PG&E denies using ‘junked’ pipe in natural gas lines
by Steve Johnson, San Jose Mercury News
Documents made public Monday show that PG&E moved salvaged pipe in and around the South Bay and Peninsula over the years, but the company insisted that it didn’t reuse “scrap” or “junk,” as claimed by state regulators. Read More ›
Major PG&E gas line ruptures during hydro test
by Jaxon Van Derbeken, San Francisco Chronicle
A major Pacific Gas and Electric Co. gas transmission line serving the Bay Area ruptured during a pressure test Monday south of Bakersfield, just as the company was planning to boost gas levels on the pipeline to meet winter demand. Read More ›
California leads way in putting Amazon in its place
by Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times
A key mechanism of Amazon’s business model, which was to exploit the price advantage it gained by not collecting sales tax, is beginning to come apart, in no small degree because of California.
Read More ›
Anthem pulls switch on Medicare Advantage subscribers
by David Lazarus, Los Angeles Times
A pair of letters to the health insurer’s California customers sparks confusion. Anthem, it turns out, is replacing its California Medicare Advantage plan with 13 regional variations that allow it to set premiums and benefits according to local conditions. Read More ›
California Diminished by Tax Revolt of 1978 Shows How U.S. Invites Decline
by Christopher Palmeri , Bloomberg
California voters approved Proposition 13 to rein in property taxes that had doubled in 10 years. More than three decades later, that rebellion has mortgaged the state’s future, saddling it with the nation’s highest debt and lowest credit rating. Read More ›
Feds fear for safety of PG&E’s gas system
by Jaxon Van Derbeken, San Francisco Chronicle
Much of Pacific Gas and Electric Co.’s natural-gas transmission system could be at risk of catastrophic failure, but the company’s record-keeping system is so flawed that the true danger is impossible to determine, federal investigators said Monday in their final report on last year’s San Bruno disaster.
Read More ›
Plastic natural gas pipe failure data kept secret
by Jaxon Van Derbeken, San Francisco Chronicle
The type of plastic pipe that caused a natural gas explosion and fire in a Cupertino condominium last month has long been considered a potential threat to the public, but federal pipeline regulators have allowed companies to keep it in the ground and secretly gather limited information about its failings, a Chronicle investigation shows. Read More ›
CFC Message to Voters on Defeat of Prop 16 and 17: You Won This!
by Richard Holober, Consumer Federation of California
PG&E and Mercury Insurance were in a contest to see which would stoop the lowest to buy a law through the ballot box. Voters saw through PG&E’s $46 million spending spree on Prop 16 and Mercury Insurance’s $16 million contribution to Prop 17. Read More ›
Prop. 15, state’s Fair Elections Act, gets money out of politics
Voter approval of Proposition 15 will demonstrate effective public campaign financing in California, and lobbyist registration fees are an appropriate funding source for ensuring a level playing field in elections. Read More ›
State needs to keep closer eye on SmartMeters
News last week that some of PG&E’s SmartMeters do have a flaw – some of the wireless units fail to transmit use data, so the utility uses estimates to prepare the electric bill – continues to cast doubts on how PG&E is handling the rollout of the new Smart Grid technology. Read More ›
Prop 17 opponents use fools day spoof to mock Mercury Insurance, industry-funded initiative
by Dan Aiello, San Francisco Examiner
Opponents point out that should Prop 17 become law, motorists facing higher auto rates, along with military personnel, include unemployed workers needing insurance to drive to work when they find a new job, students needing insurance to commute to a summer job, people who commuted by public transit needing insurance after getting a new job that is only accessible by car, and motorists who dropped coverage when recuperating from an illness or injury that prevented them from driving. Read More ›
Watch New Short Film: “Is Prop 17 an April Fool’s Joke?!?!”
When an insurance company spends millions to eliminate consumer protections, claiming it really wants to save drivers money, the joke is on us. But that’s exactly what Mercury Insurance is doing with its Proposition 17, the “lose a job, pay higher insurance rates” initiative. Read More ›
CFC White Paper: California’s Great Recession and the Costs of War
by Zack Kaldveer, Consumer Federation of California
America has spent over $250 billion on the war in Afghanistan since 2001 – with California taxpayers picking up $37.9 billion of that tab…contributing an annual low of $1.8 billion in 2004, to $7 billion last year, to an estimated $9.2 billion in 2010… Read More ›