Former California Public Utilities Commission Executive Director Paul Clanon (center) sits between San Bruno Mayor Jim Ruane and PG&E President Chris Johns at a September 28, 2010 Senate committee hearing. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
In the years since the September 2010 natural gas pipeline explosion that killed eight people in San Bruno, the relationship between pipeline operator Pacific Gas and Electric Co. and high-ranking officials at the California Public Utilities Commission has come under intense scrutiny, undermining public trust in the state agency tasked with ensuring safe pipeline operations.
State prosecutors and a federal grand jury are currently zeroing in on alleged improper ties between PG&E and top state regulators. State investigators acting on a search warrant earlier this year seized iPhones, a laptop and bank statements from the residence of former CPUC President Michael Peevey and took similar items from the home of PG&E's former Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, Brian Cherry, all on suspicion of felony activity relating to a judge-shopping scandal brought to light by email records.
Those exchanges were made public in the wake of civil litigation brought on behalf of San Bruno, when a judge ordered PG&E to release records consisting of some 65,000 emails and 123,000 documents.
KQED has taken a detailed look into this correspondence, which reveals in granular detail the familiar relationships between key decision-makers and PG&E executives that lasted well beyond the San Bruno incident. There are multiple instances of Peevey arranging to meet with Cherry for holiday visits that involved sipping wine — a keyword search of the email records for the words “pinot” or “cabernet,” for example, yielded 16 separate items.
But two of the closest confidants were Cherry and then-CPUC Executive Director Paul Clanon. The collection of documents provided by PG&E shows that between 2010 and 2014, Cherry and Clanon were on 2,369 of the same email threads using their official email addresses -- that's an average of 11 times a week.
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Although some of these emails were sent years ago, an attempt to force a cultural change at the CPUC is only now making its way through the California Legislature. In an attempt to reform CPUC operations, the Senate recently approved SB 660, a bill that would overhaul decision-making processes and restrict private exchanges.
In an interview with KQED, CPUC President Michael Picker said that the agency read every email released, conducted legal reviews and went through the state personnel process when breaches occurred.
The agency focused on correspondence from about 80 people below the level of commissioner. Some individuals left the CPUC prior to or during the review. The agency determined that action was not warranted against 54 of the people who remained on staff. CPUC spokeswoman Constance Gordon said "individuals whose emails raised more serious issues" -- the agency won't say how many -- received "counseling memos" or "letters of correction." The agency also held a staff training in appropriate email decorum in April.
"The challenge is that we are built for a different era, we were built in a time before emails," Picker said. "Emails tend toward much more casual relationships. That’s a problem because when you start to get at a certain level of casualness, then you can slide into other kinds of ethical breaches."
Picker said that communications between PG&E staff and CPUC employees are currently banned for procedural cases. However, he said, the two staffs must be able to talk to each other.
"We can’t do our jobs. We can’t guarantee that the electric system, the gas system work properly, we can’t make sure that people are being protected against unsafe infrastructure unless we are always in communication with the utilities. So if we’re not in contact with PG&E that’s as big of a problem and maybe a larger problem then some of the improper comportment," he said.
PG&E fired Cherry, as well as Senior Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Tom Bottorff and Vice President of Regulatory Proceedings Trina Horner, following the company's internal investigation into the emails.
PG&E spokesman Nick Stimmel wrote in a statement: "With respect to the email issue, we have produced tens of thousands of emails voluntarily and in response to regulatory and legal requirements and we continue to cooperate with all investigations. In the meantime, we will let the content of the emails speak for themselves; we are not going to speculate about motivations or the actions of people who are no longer in roles with the CPUC or the company or about events that may or may not have occurred."
Below we highlight 10 email exchanges that demonstrate just how cozy ties between regulators and the regulated have been in day-to-day CPUC operations.
In the aftermath of the pipeline rupture that caused the San Bruno explosion, PG&E’s control room management became a focal point for safety improvement.
Natural gas pipelines may traverse thousands of miles. In a control room, pressure and flow across the underground network are monitored remotely. The federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration moved to amend federal pipeline safety regulations in the months after San Bruno, imposing tougher regulations on control room operations.
But according to an email from PG&E’s Brian Cherry to CPUC’s then-Executive Director Paul Clanon, dated Sept. 14, 2011, the company encountered “some pressing problems” relating to a “control room audit.” Accordingly, Cherry wondered whether Clanon would be willing to “focus elsewhere.”
“Paul – hope you are enjoying yourself in Jellystone but stay away from the wayward bison,” Cherry wrote. “I received a request from Nick [Stavropoulos, PG&E’s executive vice president of gas operations] and Chris [Johns, president of PG&E] … to seek your advice and counsel on the control room audit.
“Nick and Chris know we have problems in this area and would like you to focus elsewhere for the moment so that we can address some pressing problems. … Nick stated that you once offered to help out in any way you could if the Commission was becoming an obstacle to us getting the work done.”
A formal letter sent to Clanon about two weeks later on PG&E stationary shows the company was preparing for a visit from an independent consultant hired by the CPUC to inspect control-room operations. This audit was conducted to ensure compliance with federal rules. So was PG&E granted a delay? CPUC spokeswoman Constance Gordon said she could not comment on Clanon’s email directly, since he no longer works at the CPUC.
Commission President Michael Picker, who replaced Peevey after he stepped down last year, said that he could not comment directly on the contents of the email, either, since he was unfamiliar with the audit. However, he said, "No one’s ever asked me to focus elsewhere. Chances are that would make me want to focus more."
Reached by phone, Clanon declined to comment.
2) “Charlie’s Angels” -- Oct. 18, 2011
On Oct. 18, 2011, PG&E’s Brian Cherry forwarded CPUC President Mike Peevey an email attachment with the note “FYI.” It was a letter from Rep. Jackie Speier to U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, urging LaHood to require natural gas operators to remove from their networks a kind of plastic pipe, Aldyl-A, which is prone to cracking. PG&E has 1,231 miles of the pipe in its system.
Roughly six weeks earlier, a Cupertino condominium had been destroyed, in an explosion and fire caused by a gas leak due to a cracked fitting in a plastic Aldyl-A pipe. When it investigated the cause of the blast, PG&E found six other plastic pipe failures near the blast site, records show.
In response to Cherry's email, Peevey thanked Cherry for the update. Then the CPUC president moved onto another topic.
“See you for dinner Sunday night,” he wrote. “Where and when? Are you bringing Charlie's Angels too?”
Cherry responded: “7:30 at Marinus in the Bernardus Lodge in the Carmel Valley. About 20 minutes or so from Monterey but well worth the drive. We can make it earlier if you wish.”
He added, “Some angels may attend.”
"Sunday night" would have marked the start of the annual meeting of the The Conference of California Public Utility Counsel (CCPUC) at the Monterey Plaza Hotel. The nonprofit organization, which describes itself on the web as a “non-profit mutual benefit corporation,” has representatives from PG&E and other utilities on its board of directors. According to the conference agenda, Peevey was scheduled to speak at the conference on Monday, Oct. 24, 2011.
The conference itinerary shows that the evening activity on Sunday, Oct. 23 was a group activity –- attendees would be treated to a “reception and strolling dinner” at the Monterey Bay Aquarium from 7 to 9:30 p.m. But this email thread suggests Peevey and Cherry had other plans. The Bernardus Lodge & Spa is a luxury facility often booked for off-site corporate retreats, according to its website.
While it’s unclear who, or what, the men were referring to when they discussed whether “Charlie’s Angels” would attend, at the very least the detail illustrates close enough ties for them to share a mutual understanding about a coded phrase. Attempts to reach Cherry and Peevey by phone were unsuccessful.
3) “Sea Ranch over Thanksgiving” -- Nov. 24, 2010
On Nov. 24, 2010, about six weeks after the San Bruno pipeline explosion, PG&E’s Brian Cherry emailed CPUC President Mike Peevey with some good news -- plus an invitation.
Less than an hour later, Peevey responded. “Thanks for the offer but all tied up with family. Next time.”
Records show that while Peevey at that time declined Cherry’s invitation to the Sonoma County vacation spot, he took him up on similar offers on other occasions. The men shared “two bottles of good pinot” over Memorial Day weekend in 2010, for example, while they discussed renewable energy, gas rate increases and a ballot measure campaign.
Meanwhile, “Manzana” refers to PG&E’s proposed Manzana Wind Project in Kern County’s Tehachapi region, a $911 million, 246-megawatt renewable energy project that PG&E proposed in late 2009 and was then before the commission for approval. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife had reviewed the project’s environmental impacts out of concern that the wind turbines could kill endangered California condors.
Earlier that year, Cherry had emailed Peevey with information from PG&E’s investor relations division, citing a report from a Deutsche Bank financial analyst about the Manzana project. “Analysts are tracking Manzana … closely,” that email noted, with bankers considering it one of “the largest upcoming cases for the rest of the year.”
However, the Manzana project never came to fruition. An independent review by the CPUC’s Division of Ratepayer Advocates ultimately found that the wind project would have left customers bearing “significant risk and an unreasonable price tag.” The commission ultimately denied PG&E’s application.
4) “Can you guys help me with this?” -- Sept. 12, 2010
Only three days had passed since the fatal San Bruno pipeline explosion. With images of the blaze still fresh in the media, the CPUC issued a press release to outline its planned response.
State and federal investigations were already underway. In an open memo, then-CPUC President Michael Peevey directed then-Executive Director Paul Clanon to compel PG&E to survey its lines for gas leaks. He demanded an inquiry into PG&E’s spending on pipeline safety and promised, “We are taking immediate action.”
But that same afternoon, Peevey emailed Clanon with a different request entirely.
“First thing tomorrow,” he wrote, “See if you can schedule Darbee and Johns in my office at 2 PM Thursday.”
He was referring to PG&E's then-CEO Peter Darbee and then-President Chris Johns. Clanon immediately forwarded the request to two PG&E executives, including Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Brian Cherry, asking, “Can you guys help me with this?”
Under many circumstances, a meeting between Peevey, a key decision-maker, and PG&E’s top brass about a matter under investigation would be a violation of state regulations designed to ensure fair dealing.
Under state law, contact between decision-makers and interested parties held outside the formal public process are known as ex parte communications. Whether they take the form of face-to-face meetings, texts or emails, these communications are subject to detailed regulations. And when a formal investigation is involved -- designated as an “adjudicatory proceeding” since commissioners act in the capacity of a judge -- no ex parte contact is allowed.
Nevertheless, CPUC spokesperson Constance Gordon told KQED that this particular meeting did not violate ex parte rules.
“The investigation that began immediately following PG&E’s pipeline rupture was a staff investigation,” Gordon said, “not a formal investigation opened by a vote of the Commissioners,” which came later. “As such, ex parte rules would not apply.”
After the meeting arrangements were made, Clanon switched to a lighter topic: “How was Jellystone?” he asked Cherry, a possible reference to Yellowstone National Park.
“Amazing,” Cherry responded. “Saw so much wildlife. But it snowed the other day and I brought shorts!”
Cherry urged Clanon to plan his own vacation there. Meanwhile not 72 hours had passed since the fatal San Bruno pipeline explosion.
“Things keep coming up at my work,” Clanon responded.
“Uh. Yes,” Cherry shot back. “You have a challenging job. Guess that’s why they pay you the big bucks.”
Four years worth of emails show that former PG&E executive
Brian Cherry and former CPUC Executive Director Paul Clanon consulted with each other hundreds of times. While the below emails are not illegal, they are good examples of how Cherry and Clanon often bounced ideas off of each other or problem-solved together. On Oct. 20, 2010, Clanon wrote to Cherry:
“What are we going to do about the San Bruno demand that the pipeline be moved? I can certainly understand on the human level why they'd want that, even though it might not make a lot of operational or design sense.”
Cherry responded, “We are struggling with that. There are a couple different re-routes ... Between you and me, I think we should repair 132 temporarily while offering up a longer-term solution involving re-routing. … Any thoughts - non-attributed of course ?”
Clanon did have an idea on how PG&E could “frame” moving the pipeline.
“I think the way to frame the pipe-replacement issue is not to think of it as Line 132, but to think of it as, what, two or three miles?”
The next week, then-PG&E President Chris Johns released a statement pledging to move the pipeline.
The section of Line 132 that exploded was not repaired in the end. PG&E rerouted the transmission line so that the gas now flows through Line 109 at San Andreas Station and returns to Line 132 at Healy Station, both in San Bruno.
The CPUC had ordered PG&E to examine shutoff valves. In the same email, Cherry said that the agency had identified more than 200 valves that needed to be replaced. However, he was concerned that there would be a public outcry if he released that number.
“If we tell you the number of valves that have been identified and don't have these kinds of estimates, everyone will demand immediate replacement - which just can't be done for a variety of reasons.”
Clanon responded to Cherry: “Yeah, cost and time estimates for the valves are crucial.”
PG&E's lack of automatic shutoff valves had come under scrutiny by federal officials at the time. National Transportation Safety Board officials found that it took the utility almost 95 minutes to shut off the gas rushing from the ruptured San Bruno pipeline.
Keith Slibasager, PG&E’s gas system operations manager, testified during the NTSB’s public hearing on the San Bruno explosion that the company could have cut the gas within 20 minutes if the utility had installed automatic valves.
A 2006 PG&E memo shows that PG&E considered installing automatic safety valves, but did not. A PG&E senior gas-consulting engineer, Chi-hung Lee Sr., wrote in the memo that he found most of the damage from a pipeline explosion occurs within 30 seconds.
The engineer later testified at the NTSB hearing that his research was limited. The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration and other safety groups had reached different conclusions about shutoff valves. Federal safety officials have suggested, but not required, the use of automatic shutoff valves since 1999. PG&E officials acknowledged at the hearing that after Lee's memo they made no effort to further install the valves.
Since the San Bruno explosion, PG&E has installed 208 automated valves that the utility can shut off remotely from a control room and 14 automatic shutoff valves that can shut themselves off in areas where transmission pipelines cross major fault lines.
6) “We live in parallel universes…” — Jan. 10, 2011
In 2008, PG&E purposely boosted pressure on the San Bruno natural gas line to 400 pounds per square inch, the maximum legal limit. Normally, the line ran at 375 psi.
The next time the pressure on that gas line exceeded 375 psi was on Sept. 9, 2010, when a malfunction spiked the pressure to 386 psi, coinciding with the deadly explosion in San Bruno killing eight people and destroying 28 homes.
PG&E later said they increased the pressure in 2008 under a mistaken understanding of federal law. The utility believed that to maintain the ability to run gas at 400 psi, the legal limit, they needed to do so once every five years.
PG&E and CPUC officials referenced the story the next day, Jan. 10. At 9:35 a.m. Paul Clanon, then-executive director of the California Public Utilities Commission, wrote to senior CPUC staff asking about the spike:
“The Chronicle's story on the 2008 temporary rise in pressure on Line 132 to 400 psi doesn't match what I've heard. What are the facts? Is it standard practice or not to raise pressure up to MAOP [maximum allowable operating pressure] to preserve the maximum? Is 2008 really the only time PG&E has raised pressure on that line above 375 until the explosion?”
About 30 minutes later he contacted former PG&E executive Brian Cherry: “What are your guys saying about the facts in the Chron story yesterday? Contradicted my understanding of the rules, anyway.”
Two minutes later Cherry shared his confusion: “Not sure. Let me follow up. I was under the same understanding.”
Clanon wrote back at 10:48: “Our guys are doing the same thing, and you and I can triangulate.”
It is not standard practice for utilities to raise pressure on transmission lines, and federal law requires utilities to conduct a costly inspection on any pipeline when the pressure exceeds the maximum limit. PG&E had not conducted such an inspection, nor did Clanon ask if they had in the emails released.
By 4:53 p.m. Cherry and Clanon began to be concerned that neither PG&E nor CPUC staff could come up with an answer about whether such pressure spiking on a gas line was a normal practice. The two sympathized with each other.
Clanon wrote Cherry: “Nothing back yet?” Cherry responded “Nothing yet…” and later “We live in parallel universes.”
About an hour later, Clanon had received research from CPUC staff and wanted to run it by Cherry:
“Here's what I get from my people. You agree? Follows: PG&E raises the pressure in transmission lines to MAOP once every five years based on its conservative interpretation of 192.917(e)(4)…”
The next day, a Chronicle story included a statement from a PG&E spokesperson that was very similar to what Clanon had written. “PG&E initially said it had conducted the pressure test on the San Bruno line to ‘preserve’ the pipe's legal capacity, saying federal law required it. A spokesman later backtracked and conceded there was no such requirement.”
CPUC spokesperson Constance Gordon says that Clanon and Cherry were discussing each other's understanding of the rules, so "if PG&E had a different understanding than that of CPUC staff the issue could be further discussed."
The Utility Reform Network is one of PG&E’s sharpest critics. TURN spokesperson Mindy Spatt said such conversations are concerning.
"Well, it’s a question of whether the commission should be a watchdog or a lapdog. A watchdog would say, wait a minute PG&E what’s going on here? And a lapdog would say, let’s coordinate our message."
7) “Investor relations” — Sept. 26, 2011
An email exchange between Commissioner Mark Ferron and PG&E’s Brian Cherry shows Ferron sought advice from PG&E on which Wall Street analysts he should meet with privately on a trip to New York.
“Mark,” Cherry wrote to Ferron in a Sept. 26, 2011 email, “Commissioner Florio was over at PG&E the other day and mentioned that you might need some help meeting with the buy and sell side analysts in New York. If you are interested, Gabe Togneri, our VP of Investor Relations, would be happy to reach out to some of them and have them sponsor a meeting. Our only role would be to make the contact. The analysts would sponsor the meetings themselves and you would meet with them privately.”
Ferron responded: “[PG&E CEO] Tony Earley … highlighted Dan Ford at Barclays Capital as a thought leader worthwhile meeting if I can find the time. Who else might Gabe recommend?”
While there’s no record here of Ferron discussing the proposed San Bruno penalty with Ford, the Barclays analyst was clearly focused on that question.
In September 2012, Ford authored a report noting that PG&E would have difficulty raising $2.2 billion in equity to cover the expected San Bruno fine amount. (The actual penalty amount, finally determined on April 9 this year, was set at $1.6 billion.)
And in a report authored by Ferron, made public in October 2013, the commissioner related investors’ concerns that levying too large a fine against PG&E would cause them to view California as a “capital-unfriendly, ‘banana republic.’” That could lead to an increase in the cost of financing capital for utilities, warned Ferron, who had worked at Deutsche Bank prior to being appointed as a commissioner in March 2011.
Ferron stepped down as a commissioner in 2014, citing health problems. CPUC spokesperson Constance Gordon said she was unable to offer comment on emails sent by individuals who no longer worked at the commission. Attempts to reach Ferron were unsuccessful.
The question as to whether commissioners had inappropriate ex parte communications with Wall Street analysts was raised in a brief filed by the CPUC’s Division of Ratepayer Advocates. (Since renamed Office of Ratepayer Advocates).
“Some, if not all, of the financial industry representatives who reported discussing the San Bruno investigations with Commission offices represent firms or clients with a financial interest in PG&E Corporation,” the CPUC’s consumer advocacy branch pointed out. “The size of the fine and other penalties the Commission may impose in the San Bruno Investigations is a substantive issue in all three [CPUC] investigations.”
8) “Happy Birthday!” — Sept. 16, 2010
It was 7 a.m. on Sept. 16, 2010, one week after the San Bruno pipeline explosion. CPUC executive director Paul Clanon emailed PG&E’s Brian Cherry with a simple message in the subject line: “Happy Birthday!”
“Thanks,” Cherry replied. He shared his birthday wish. “I’d love a nice muzzle for Mark Toney.”
Mark Toney is executive director of The Utility Reform Network (TURN), a leading critic of PG&E.
As for why Cherry would have wanted a “muzzle” for Toney, TURN spokesperson Mindy Spatt told KQED that Toney had issued a public statement about customer safety just before this exchange took place.
“He was saying: Demand that PG&E put customer safety first – that is the message that PG&E wanted muzzled, a message that said ‘no more San Brunos,’” Spatt said.
On Sept. 15, Cherry had emailed Clanon to tell him then-PG&E CEO Peter Darbee believed “TURN’s behavior has bordered on the irresponsible.” He wondered whether the CPUC would be willing to make a statement publicly discounting TURN’s claims. While it’s not clear from the emails how Clanon reacted to this request, his email reply to Cherry was: “Call me when you can.”
“It was actually six days after the fatal San Bruno explosion that Brian Cherry referred to TURN’s behavior as irresponsible,” Spatt said when asked about this. “His company has just killed eight people and incinerated an entire neighborhood."
While it’s obvious why a major utility company would be concerned that its stock had been downgraded, it’s not as clear why a commissioner would care. Upon learning about a financial downgrade, then-CPUC president Michael Peevey recommended that PG&E find a way to indirectly alert Gov. Jerry Brown, who was then in the process of determining new commission appointments.
The email thread begins Jan. 11, 2011, when PG&E’s Brian Cherry forwarded Peevey a message from PG&E’s investor relations division about a financial analyst’s report.
“Citigroup downgraded … PG&E,” the email explained. The note showed that analysts feared “uncertainty and potential shifting dynamics in the regulatory arena.”
In response, Peevey wrote in an email to Cherry: “You should find a way to get this info to Brown as he makes his decisions on Commissioners ASAP. Probably best coming from a non-utility source, such as investment banker(s).”
When asked why Peevey would provide this advice, CPUC spokesperson Constance Gordon responded, “The questions you’ve asked involve individuals who are no longer with the CPUC, so we cannot ask them your questions.”
PG&E officials had no idea what they were getting into when the utility began installing smart meters in California in 2006. Smart meters are a critical component of the "smart grid” -- the devices track energy usage and transmit data back to customers and utilities, with the goal of reducing electricity consumption and distributing power more efficiently across the electric grid.
Smart meters faced an almost immediate backlash. Users first complained that the devices gave artificially high readings. Later the CPUC found that about 1,480 meters inaccurately recorded electricity consumption in ambient temperatures ranging from 100– 115 degrees Fahrenheit due to a defective chip. Nevertheless, a study conducted by an independent consultant, The Structure Group, determined that the meters generally functioned as intended.
Next, consumer advocacy groups, including TURN, raised concerns that the meters would harm people like seniors who sometimes have no choice but to run their air conditioners in the sweltering Central Valley. TURN also noted that with smart meters, PG&E could simply turn off people’s power if they couldn’t keep up with the bills. Privacy advocates expressed concern about utilities gaining access to information about their use of personal home appliances.
The biggest battle over smart meters, though, centered on electromagnetic fields (EMFs) emitted by smart meters. The possible health effects of EMFs have been a subject of debate since the Cold War, and fear has intensified in the wireless age with the introduction of countless devices that emit EMFs, such as cellphones, laptops and Wi-Fi routers.
The National Institutes of Health’s National Cancer Institute says that “several early epidemiologic studies raised the possibility of an association between certain cancers, especially childhood cancers, and ELF-EMFs. Most subsequent studies have not shown such an association.”
Unlike high-energy radiation emitted from devices like X-rays, low-energy emissions from devices like smart meters cannot damage DNA or cells directly, the NIH writes. The World Health Organization concluded that low-energy emissions cause “no substantive health issues.” Smart-meter emissions are 60 times lower than the federal health guidelines.
EMF activists remain concerned, however, about the accumulated exposure people face from being surrounded by so many low-emission devices. And they’ve flooded the CPUC and PG&E with complaints.
By June 4, 2010, Carol Brown, then-CPUC President Michael Peevey’s chief-of-staff, wanted an answer for the people contacting her about EMFs. She wrote to then-PG&E executive Brian Cherry: “So far I have done OK just listening to the sad tales of EMF poisoning - and telling them thank you for bringing it to our attention - but then not offering them any solution!!! I just wanted to have a resource in case! Have a nice weekend.”
Cherry responded: “Prozac might be a solution!”
In the meantime, cities, including San Francisco, began petitioning the CPUC to make smart meters optional.
Peevey recommended to Cherry in an email in September 2010 that PG&E consider making the meters optional:
“One thought for the company: If it were my decision I would let anyone who wants to keep their old meter keep it, if they claim they suffer from EMF and/or related electronic-related illnesses and they can produce a doctor's letter saying so (or expressing concern about the likelihood of suffering same). I would institute such a policy quietly and solely on an individual basis. There really are people who feel pain, etc., related to EMF, etc., and rather than have them becoming hysterical, etc., I would quietly leave them alone. Kick it around. And, it sounds like the company may already have taken this step, based on a couple of the comments at yesterday's public hearing.”
Cherry said that he would consider it: “I do worry that this policy, no matter how discrete (sic) we try to make it, will surface and town councils and cities in our territory will ask for similar treatment. That said, we will take the matter up and get back to you with our feedback.”
In March 2011, PG&E proposed allowing smart meter users to opt out. The CPUC approved that plan in February 2012. Customers who opt out of the program must pay an initial fee and monthly charge.
Where Are They Now?
Brian Cherry, PG&E’s vice president of regulatory affairs, was fired from PG&E in September of 2014, after inappropriate email exchanges came to light.
Thomas Bottorff, PG&E’s senior vice president of regulatory affairs and Cherry’s boss, was fired along with Cherry. According to a San Jose Mercury News article he was to receive a severance payment totaling more than $1 million.
Chris Johns, president of PG&E, announced several weeks ago that he would retire by the end of the year.
Michael Peevey, president of the California Public Utilities Commission, stepped down from his role after his term came to an end in December of 2014. Peevey came under fire for inappropriate email exchanges.
Paul Clanon, executive director of the California Public Utilities Commission, announced at the end of December that he would retire to study music.
Mark Ferron, former commissioner at the California Public Utilities Commission, resigned in December of 2014 due to health problems.
Carol Brown, former commission president Peevey’s chief of staff, stepped down in the wake of revelations that she had agreed to intervene on a judge appointment for a case involving PG&E. Despite news reports that she might return to the agency as an administrative law judge, a CPUC spokesperson confirmed to KQED that Brown has retired.
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Michael Florio, who was also entangled in the judge-shopping scandal, remains as a commissioner at the California Public Utilities Commission.
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She's covered Bay Area news since 2009, and previously served as News Editor of the San Francisco Bay Guardian. Follow her on Twitter @ByRebeccaBowe.","avatar":"https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/50e1da0639521639108e89c123a76c9c?s=600&d=blank&r=g","twitter":null,"facebook":null,"instagram":null,"linkedin":null,"sites":[{"site":"news","roles":["subscriber"]},{"site":"science","roles":["editor"]}],"headData":{"title":"Rebecca Bowe | KQED","description":null,"ogImgSrc":"https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/50e1da0639521639108e89c123a76c9c?s=600&d=blank&r=g","twImgSrc":"https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/50e1da0639521639108e89c123a76c9c?s=600&d=blank&r=g"},"isLoading":false,"link":"/author/rbowe"}},"breakingNewsReducer":{},"campaignFinanceReducer":{},"firebase":{"requesting":{},"requested":{},"timestamps":{},"data":{},"ordered":{},"auth":{"isLoaded":false,"isEmpty":true},"authError":null,"profile":{"isLoaded":false,"isEmpty":true},"listeners":{"byId":{},"allIds":[]},"isInitializing":false,"errors":[]},"navBarReducer":{"navBarId":"news","fullView":true,"showPlayer":false},"navMenuReducer":{"menus":[{"key":"menu1","items":[{"name":"News","link":"/","type":"title"},{"name":"Politics","link":"/politics"},{"name":"Science","link":"/science"},{"name":"Education","link":"/educationnews"},{"name":"Housing","link":"/housing"},{"name":"Immigration","link":"/immigration"},{"name":"Criminal Justice","link":"/criminaljustice"},{"name":"Silicon Valley","link":"/siliconvalley"},{"name":"Forum","link":"/forum"},{"name":"The California Report","link":"/californiareport"}]},{"key":"menu2","items":[{"name":"Arts & Culture","link":"/arts","type":"title"},{"name":"Critics’ Picks","link":"/thedolist"},{"name":"Cultural Commentary","link":"/artscommentary"},{"name":"Food & Drink","link":"/food"},{"name":"Bay Area Hip-Hop","link":"/bayareahiphop"},{"name":"Rebel Girls","link":"/rebelgirls"},{"name":"Arts Video","link":"/artsvideos"}]},{"key":"menu3","items":[{"name":"Podcasts","link":"/podcasts","type":"title"},{"name":"Bay Curious","link":"/podcasts/baycurious"},{"name":"Rightnowish","link":"/podcasts/rightnowish"},{"name":"The Bay","link":"/podcasts/thebay"},{"name":"On Our Watch","link":"/podcasts/onourwatch"},{"name":"Mindshift","link":"/podcasts/mindshift"},{"name":"Consider This","link":"/podcasts/considerthis"},{"name":"Political Breakdown","link":"/podcasts/politicalbreakdown"}]},{"key":"menu4","items":[{"name":"Live Radio","link":"/radio","type":"title"},{"name":"TV","link":"/tv","type":"title"},{"name":"Events","link":"/events","type":"title"},{"name":"For Educators","link":"/education","type":"title"},{"name":"Support KQED","link":"/support","type":"title"},{"name":"About","link":"/about","type":"title"},{"name":"Help Center","link":"https://kqed-helpcenter.kqed.org/s","type":"title"}]}]},"pagesReducer":{},"postsReducer":{"stream_live":{"type":"live","id":"stream_live","audioUrl":"https://streams.kqed.org/kqedradio","title":"Live Stream","excerpt":"Live Stream information currently unavailable.","link":"/radio","featImg":"","label":{"name":"KQED Live","link":"/"}},"stream_kqedNewscast":{"type":"posts","id":"stream_kqedNewscast","audioUrl":"https://www.kqed.org/.stream/anon/radio/RDnews/newscast.mp3?_=1","title":"KQED Newscast","featImg":"","label":{"name":"88.5 FM","link":"/"}},"news_11984288":{"type":"posts","id":"news_11984288","meta":{"index":"posts_1591205157","site":"news","id":"11984288","found":true},"guestAuthors":[],"slug":"at-least-16-people-died-in-california-after-medics-injected-sedatives-during-police-encounters","title":"At Least 16 People Died in California After Medics Injected Sedatives During Police Encounters","publishDate":1714251629,"format":"standard","headTitle":"At Least 16 People Died in California After Medics Injected Sedatives During Police Encounters | KQED","labelTerm":{"site":"news"},"content":"\u003cp>At least 16 people died in California over a decade following a physical encounter with police during which medical personnel also injected them with a powerful sedative, \u003ca href=\"http://apnews.com/621909ba7491abc2af8ad2e33ba3415b\">an investigation led by The Associated Press has found\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Several of the deaths happened in the San Francisco Bay Area, including two in recent years involving people restrained by the Richmond Police Department. Other places with cases included Los Angeles, San Diego and cities in Orange and San Bernardino counties.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the use of the drug \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/ap-top-news-health-politics-mn-state-wire-us-news-a872ba9aeeba2f5b0624f8af77f928d3\">ketamine\u003c/a> has drawn scrutiny in other states, AP’s investigation found that California paramedics almost always used midazolam, better known by its brand name Versed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The deaths were among \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/associated-press-investigation-deaths-police-encounters-02881a2bd3fbeb1fc31af9208bb0e310\">more than 1,000 that AP’s investigation documented\u003c/a> across the United States of people who died after officers used not their guns, but physical force or weapons such as Tasers that — like sedatives — are not meant to kill. Medical officials said police force caused or contributed to about half of all deaths.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was impossible for the AP to determine the exact role injections may have played in many of the 94 deaths involving sedation that reporters found nationally during the investigation’s 2012–2021 timeframe. Few of those deaths were attributed to the sedation and authorities rarely investigated whether injections were appropriate, focusing more often on the use of force by police and the other drugs in people’s systems.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The idea behind the injections is to calm people who are combative, often due to drugs or a psychotic episode, so they can be transported to the hospital. Supporters say sedatives enable rapid treatment while protecting frontline responders from violence. Critics argue that the medications, given without consent, can be too risky to be administered during police encounters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California was among the states with the most sedation cases, \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/projects/investigation-police-use-of-force/\">according to the investigation\u003c/a>, which the AP did in collaboration with FRONTLINE (PBS) and the Howard Centers for Investigative Journalism.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Midazolam was given in 15 of the 16 California cases, all by paramedics outside of a hospital. The drug can cause respiratory depression, a side effect experts say may be dangerous when mixed with police restraint tactics that restrict breathing — or with alcohol or certain drugs that a person may already have consumed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 16th case involved a man injected with a similar class of drug, lorazepam, while police restrained him at a hospital in San Diego.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two emergency room doctors in San Diego told the AP they have discussed switching to ketamine, which supporters say is safer and works faster than midazolam. But the doctors said negative headlines about ketamine, especially after deaths and misuse in Colorado, stalled that idea.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label=\"Related Stories\" postID=\"news_11981111,news_11871364,news_11979576\"]AP’s investigation shows that the risks of sedation during behavioral emergencies go beyond any specific drug, said Eric Jaeger, an emergency medical services educator in New Hampshire who has studied the issue and advocates for additional safety measures and training.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Now that we have better information, we know that it can present a significant danger regardless of the sedative agent used,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sedatives were often given as treatments for “excited delirium,” an agitated condition linked to drug use or mental illness that medical groups have disavowed in recent years. California in 2023 became the first state to bar excited delirium as a valid medical diagnosis, including as a cause of death in autopsies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story is part of an ongoing investigation led by The Associated Press in collaboration with the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism programs and FRONTLINE (PBS). The investigation includes the Lethal Restraint \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/projects/investigation-police-use-of-force/visual-story/\">interactive story\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/projects/investigation-police-use-of-force/all-cases/\">database\u003c/a> and the documentary, “Documenting Police Use Of Force,” premiering April 30 on PBS. Contact AP’s global investigative team at Investigative@ap.org or \u003ca href=\"https://www.ap.org/tips/\">https://www.ap.org/tips/\u003c/a>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"An ongoing AP investigation has found that the deaths happened over the past decade in the Bay Area, Los Angeles, San Diego and cities in Orange and San Bernardino counties.","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1714246724,"stats":{"hasAudio":false,"hasVideo":false,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":16,"wordCount":657},"headData":{"title":"At Least 16 People Died in California After Medics Injected Sedatives During Police Encounters | KQED","description":"An ongoing AP investigation has found that the deaths happened over the past decade in the Bay Area, Los Angeles, San Diego and cities in Orange and San Bernardino counties.","ogTitle":"","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"","twDescription":"","twImgId":"","schema":{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"At Least 16 People Died in California After Medics Injected Sedatives During Police Encounters","datePublished":"2024-04-27T21:00:29.000Z","dateModified":"2024-04-27T19:38:44.000Z","image":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png","isAccessibleForFree":"Y","publisher":{"@type":"NewsMediaOrganization","@id":"https://www.kqed.org/#organization","name":"KQED","url":"https://www.kqed.org","logo":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"}}},"sticky":false,"nprByline":"Ryan J. Foley, Carla K. Johnson\u003cbr>Associated Press","excludeFromSiteSearch":"Include","showOnAuthorArchivePages":"No","articleAge":"0","path":"/news/11984288/at-least-16-people-died-in-california-after-medics-injected-sedatives-during-police-encounters","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>At least 16 people died in California over a decade following a physical encounter with police during which medical personnel also injected them with a powerful sedative, \u003ca href=\"http://apnews.com/621909ba7491abc2af8ad2e33ba3415b\">an investigation led by The Associated Press has found\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Several of the deaths happened in the San Francisco Bay Area, including two in recent years involving people restrained by the Richmond Police Department. Other places with cases included Los Angeles, San Diego and cities in Orange and San Bernardino counties.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the use of the drug \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/ap-top-news-health-politics-mn-state-wire-us-news-a872ba9aeeba2f5b0624f8af77f928d3\">ketamine\u003c/a> has drawn scrutiny in other states, AP’s investigation found that California paramedics almost always used midazolam, better known by its brand name Versed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The deaths were among \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/associated-press-investigation-deaths-police-encounters-02881a2bd3fbeb1fc31af9208bb0e310\">more than 1,000 that AP’s investigation documented\u003c/a> across the United States of people who died after officers used not their guns, but physical force or weapons such as Tasers that — like sedatives — are not meant to kill. Medical officials said police force caused or contributed to about half of all deaths.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was impossible for the AP to determine the exact role injections may have played in many of the 94 deaths involving sedation that reporters found nationally during the investigation’s 2012–2021 timeframe. Few of those deaths were attributed to the sedation and authorities rarely investigated whether injections were appropriate, focusing more often on the use of force by police and the other drugs in people’s systems.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The idea behind the injections is to calm people who are combative, often due to drugs or a psychotic episode, so they can be transported to the hospital. Supporters say sedatives enable rapid treatment while protecting frontline responders from violence. Critics argue that the medications, given without consent, can be too risky to be administered during police encounters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California was among the states with the most sedation cases, \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/projects/investigation-police-use-of-force/\">according to the investigation\u003c/a>, which the AP did in collaboration with FRONTLINE (PBS) and the Howard Centers for Investigative Journalism.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Midazolam was given in 15 of the 16 California cases, all by paramedics outside of a hospital. The drug can cause respiratory depression, a side effect experts say may be dangerous when mixed with police restraint tactics that restrict breathing — or with alcohol or certain drugs that a person may already have consumed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 16th case involved a man injected with a similar class of drug, lorazepam, while police restrained him at a hospital in San Diego.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two emergency room doctors in San Diego told the AP they have discussed switching to ketamine, which supporters say is safer and works faster than midazolam. But the doctors said negative headlines about ketamine, especially after deaths and misuse in Colorado, stalled that idea.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"aside","attributes":{"named":{"label":"Related Stories ","postid":"news_11981111,news_11871364,news_11979576"},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>AP’s investigation shows that the risks of sedation during behavioral emergencies go beyond any specific drug, said Eric Jaeger, an emergency medical services educator in New Hampshire who has studied the issue and advocates for additional safety measures and training.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Now that we have better information, we know that it can present a significant danger regardless of the sedative agent used,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sedatives were often given as treatments for “excited delirium,” an agitated condition linked to drug use or mental illness that medical groups have disavowed in recent years. California in 2023 became the first state to bar excited delirium as a valid medical diagnosis, including as a cause of death in autopsies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story is part of an ongoing investigation led by The Associated Press in collaboration with the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism programs and FRONTLINE (PBS). The investigation includes the Lethal Restraint \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/projects/investigation-police-use-of-force/visual-story/\">interactive story\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/projects/investigation-police-use-of-force/all-cases/\">database\u003c/a> and the documentary, “Documenting Police Use Of Force,” premiering April 30 on PBS. Contact AP’s global investigative team at Investigative@ap.org or \u003ca href=\"https://www.ap.org/tips/\">https://www.ap.org/tips/\u003c/a>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/news/11984288/at-least-16-people-died-in-california-after-medics-injected-sedatives-during-police-encounters","authors":["byline_news_11984288"],"categories":["news_6188","news_8"],"tags":["news_33136","news_19662"],"featImg":"news_11984293","label":"news"},"news_11984203":{"type":"posts","id":"news_11984203","meta":{"index":"posts_1591205157","site":"news","id":"11984203","found":true},"guestAuthors":[],"slug":"pro-palestinian-protests-sweep-california-college-campuses-amid-israel-hamas-war","title":"Pro-Palestinian Protests Sweep Bay Area College Campuses Amid Surging National Movement","publishDate":1714226413,"format":"standard","headTitle":"Pro-Palestinian Protests Sweep Bay Area College Campuses Amid Surging National Movement | KQED","labelTerm":{"site":"news"},"content":"\u003cp>Capping a week where student protesters at colleges across California staged actions decrying their universities’ business dealings with Israeli-linked companies, students at Stanford University became the latest to join the fray on Thursday evening.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This week, students at Cal Poly Humboldt began occupying a building on that campus, police clashed with student protesters at the University of Southern California and UC Berkeley attendees started an encampment in front of Sproul Hall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Thursday, around 200 students peacefully marched around the Stanford campus for over an hour. The protest coincided with the university’s “Admit Weekend,” when prospective students are on campus for orientation activities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11984137\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11984137\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240425-StanfordGazaProtest-023-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240425-StanfordGazaProtest-023-BL.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240425-StanfordGazaProtest-023-BL-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240425-StanfordGazaProtest-023-BL-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240425-StanfordGazaProtest-023-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240425-StanfordGazaProtest-023-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Hundreds of pro-Palestinian demonstrators march through the Stanford University campus on April 25, 2024, calling for the university to divest from Israel. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Once the protest passed White Plaza, what the university calls its “designated free speech zone,” students rushed to quickly form a perimeter around the plaza and throw down tents and tarps. Yungsu Kim, a student at Stanford and one of the organizers of the protest there, said they were setting up a “People’s University” and planned to stay at least through Friday and hold free classes on the subjects of Palestine and the effect of United States imperialism.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/zuliemann/status/1783651064425877558\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Students like Kim are not only calling on the University to divest but to first disclose their investments, saying there is a lack of transparency by Stanford in its investments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They play this shadowy game where they refuse to shed any light on which companies the university is actually invested in,” Kim said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11984143\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11984143 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240425-StanfordGazaProtest-014-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240425-StanfordGazaProtest-014-BL.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240425-StanfordGazaProtest-014-BL-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240425-StanfordGazaProtest-014-BL-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240425-StanfordGazaProtest-014-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240425-StanfordGazaProtest-014-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Pro-Palestinian demonstrators march through the Stanford University campus on April 25, 2024.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In a statement to KQED, director of university public relations Charlene Gage wrote:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The university’s endowment has no direct holdings in Israeli companies, or direct holdings in defense contractors, beyond small exposures resulting from passive funds that track broad indexes such as the S&P 500,” Gage wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But that doesn’t necessarily mean that the university doesn’t invest in companies that do business in Israel.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Divestment decisions are made by Stanford’s Board of Trustees. In 2015, the Board declined a proposal to divest of certain companies doing business in Israel. The Board has not received another formal divestment petition on this subject, and its 2015 decision remains in place,” wrote Gage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11984142\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11984142 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240425-StanfordGazaProtest-009-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240425-StanfordGazaProtest-009-BL.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240425-StanfordGazaProtest-009-BL-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240425-StanfordGazaProtest-009-BL-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240425-StanfordGazaProtest-009-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240425-StanfordGazaProtest-009-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Pro-Palestinian demonstrators listen to speakers before marching through the Stanford University campus in Stanford on April 25, 2024. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Beheshta Kohistani was among the new students on campus on Thursday for Admit Weekend. The prospective student plans to study biology at Stanford and said that watching how universities respond to peaceful protests like these is “very telling,” especially after seeing how police violently arrested at least 100 people at a student encampment at Columbia University in New York City last week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think the violent response from Columbia is very telling of the environment, and I wouldn’t want to be in that type of environment learning. So I’m really interested to see how Stanford responds to these student protests because they are largely peaceful, and I think they’re for the good,” Kohistani said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stanford has maintained that the university “respects the interest of students in advocating for their views” but has maintained that overnight camping on the campus is prohibited and poses a safety risk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Friday, Stanford President Richard Saller and Provost Jenny Martinez released a statement that said, “Last night after 8 p.m., university staff handed out letters signed by the two of us to approximately 60 students who remained on White Plaza, notifying them of the university policies they were violating.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The letter said: “The submission of students’ names to the Office of Community Standards (OCS) has begun.” As graduation approaches, a previous letter from the University noted that “the initiation of an OCS proceeding at this time of year may inhibit the timely conferral of a diploma.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11984134\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11984134 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240425-StanfordGazaProtest-020-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240425-StanfordGazaProtest-020-BL.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240425-StanfordGazaProtest-020-BL-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240425-StanfordGazaProtest-020-BL-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240425-StanfordGazaProtest-020-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240425-StanfordGazaProtest-020-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Pro-Palestinian demonstrators march through the Stanford University campus on April 25, 2024. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Organizer Yungsu Kim said he is aware of the risks of protesting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I am also continuing a legacy of sorts of student involvement in mass movements, where all sectors of society are involved because they know that things like this just cannot continue. Injustice like this can’t continue,” Kim said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An encampment that began Monday is ongoing and growing at UC Berkeley’s Sproul Plaza.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11984220\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11984220 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240424-BERKELEY-GAZA-ENCAMPMENT-MD-06_qut.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240424-BERKELEY-GAZA-ENCAMPMENT-MD-06_qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240424-BERKELEY-GAZA-ENCAMPMENT-MD-06_qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240424-BERKELEY-GAZA-ENCAMPMENT-MD-06_qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240424-BERKELEY-GAZA-ENCAMPMENT-MD-06_qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240424-BERKELEY-GAZA-ENCAMPMENT-MD-06_qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The UC Berkeley Gaza Solidarity Encampment in front of Sproul Hall on April 24, 2024. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>On Monday, students like Lev Collins unfurled their tents across the iconic Sproul steps, home to the 1960s Free Speech movement, which made an indelible mark on campus activism and the country at large.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I am here because of the genocide that’s going on in Gaza. It is completely unacceptable and tragic, and it’s upsetting that our tuition money and our tax dollars are funding this genocide,” Collins said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Students have vowed to stay there until UC stops investing in companies that benefit Israel.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11984215\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11984215 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240423-BERKELEY-GAZA-ENCAMPMENT-MD-05_qut.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240423-BERKELEY-GAZA-ENCAMPMENT-MD-05_qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240423-BERKELEY-GAZA-ENCAMPMENT-MD-05_qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240423-BERKELEY-GAZA-ENCAMPMENT-MD-05_qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240423-BERKELEY-GAZA-ENCAMPMENT-MD-05_qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240423-BERKELEY-GAZA-ENCAMPMENT-MD-05_qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">UC Berkeley students at the UC Berkeley Gaza Solidarity Encampment in front of Sproul Hall on April 23, 2024. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Yousuf Abubakr studies mechanical engineering at Cal. He has just three weeks left to graduate and said he’s doing his best to juggle his studies while running security for the new overnight encampment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A lot of us are falling behind in school, whatever. But, you know, you look at the struggles that we’re seeing on the other side of the world, and we can’t let that go,” Abubakr said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11984219\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11984219 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240424-BERKELEY-GAZA-ENCAMPMENT-MD-03_qut.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240424-BERKELEY-GAZA-ENCAMPMENT-MD-03_qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240424-BERKELEY-GAZA-ENCAMPMENT-MD-03_qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240424-BERKELEY-GAZA-ENCAMPMENT-MD-03_qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240424-BERKELEY-GAZA-ENCAMPMENT-MD-03_qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240424-BERKELEY-GAZA-ENCAMPMENT-MD-03_qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Signs set beside tents at UC Berkeley Gaza Solidarity Encampment in front of Sproul Hall on April 24, 2024. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In a statement, UC Berkeley said it has no plans to change its investment policies and practices, and UC’s Office of the Chief Investment Officer declined to comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/shossaini\">Sara Hossaini\u003c/a> contributed reporting to this story.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"Protests on college campuses over the Israel-Hamas War in Gaza are spreading throughout California. KQED captured images of demonstrations taking place at UC Berkeley and Stanford University.","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1714238521,"stats":{"hasAudio":false,"hasVideo":false,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":27,"wordCount":1061},"headData":{"title":"Pro-Palestinian Protests Sweep Bay Area College Campuses Amid Surging National Movement | KQED","description":"Protests on college campuses over the Israel-Hamas War in Gaza are spreading throughout California. KQED captured images of demonstrations taking place at UC Berkeley and Stanford University.","ogTitle":"","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"","twDescription":"","twImgId":"","schema":{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Pro-Palestinian Protests Sweep Bay Area College Campuses Amid Surging National Movement","datePublished":"2024-04-27T14:00:13.000Z","dateModified":"2024-04-27T17:22:01.000Z","image":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png","isAccessibleForFree":"Y","publisher":{"@type":"NewsMediaOrganization","@id":"https://www.kqed.org/#organization","name":"KQED","url":"https://www.kqed.org","logo":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"}}},"sticky":false,"excludeFromSiteSearch":"Include","articleAge":"0","path":"/news/11984203/pro-palestinian-protests-sweep-california-college-campuses-amid-israel-hamas-war","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Capping a week where student protesters at colleges across California staged actions decrying their universities’ business dealings with Israeli-linked companies, students at Stanford University became the latest to join the fray on Thursday evening.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This week, students at Cal Poly Humboldt began occupying a building on that campus, police clashed with student protesters at the University of Southern California and UC Berkeley attendees started an encampment in front of Sproul Hall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Thursday, around 200 students peacefully marched around the Stanford campus for over an hour. The protest coincided with the university’s “Admit Weekend,” when prospective students are on campus for orientation activities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11984137\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11984137\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240425-StanfordGazaProtest-023-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240425-StanfordGazaProtest-023-BL.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240425-StanfordGazaProtest-023-BL-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240425-StanfordGazaProtest-023-BL-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240425-StanfordGazaProtest-023-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240425-StanfordGazaProtest-023-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Hundreds of pro-Palestinian demonstrators march through the Stanford University campus on April 25, 2024, calling for the university to divest from Israel. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Once the protest passed White Plaza, what the university calls its “designated free speech zone,” students rushed to quickly form a perimeter around the plaza and throw down tents and tarps. Yungsu Kim, a student at Stanford and one of the organizers of the protest there, said they were setting up a “People’s University” and planned to stay at least through Friday and hold free classes on the subjects of Palestine and the effect of United States imperialism.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"singleTwitterStatus","attributes":{"named":{"id":"1783651064425877558"},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>Students like Kim are not only calling on the University to divest but to first disclose their investments, saying there is a lack of transparency by Stanford in its investments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They play this shadowy game where they refuse to shed any light on which companies the university is actually invested in,” Kim said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11984143\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11984143 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240425-StanfordGazaProtest-014-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240425-StanfordGazaProtest-014-BL.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240425-StanfordGazaProtest-014-BL-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240425-StanfordGazaProtest-014-BL-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240425-StanfordGazaProtest-014-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240425-StanfordGazaProtest-014-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Pro-Palestinian demonstrators march through the Stanford University campus on April 25, 2024.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In a statement to KQED, director of university public relations Charlene Gage wrote:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The university’s endowment has no direct holdings in Israeli companies, or direct holdings in defense contractors, beyond small exposures resulting from passive funds that track broad indexes such as the S&P 500,” Gage wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But that doesn’t necessarily mean that the university doesn’t invest in companies that do business in Israel.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Divestment decisions are made by Stanford’s Board of Trustees. In 2015, the Board declined a proposal to divest of certain companies doing business in Israel. The Board has not received another formal divestment petition on this subject, and its 2015 decision remains in place,” wrote Gage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11984142\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11984142 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240425-StanfordGazaProtest-009-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240425-StanfordGazaProtest-009-BL.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240425-StanfordGazaProtest-009-BL-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240425-StanfordGazaProtest-009-BL-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240425-StanfordGazaProtest-009-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240425-StanfordGazaProtest-009-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Pro-Palestinian demonstrators listen to speakers before marching through the Stanford University campus in Stanford on April 25, 2024. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Beheshta Kohistani was among the new students on campus on Thursday for Admit Weekend. The prospective student plans to study biology at Stanford and said that watching how universities respond to peaceful protests like these is “very telling,” especially after seeing how police violently arrested at least 100 people at a student encampment at Columbia University in New York City last week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think the violent response from Columbia is very telling of the environment, and I wouldn’t want to be in that type of environment learning. So I’m really interested to see how Stanford responds to these student protests because they are largely peaceful, and I think they’re for the good,” Kohistani said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stanford has maintained that the university “respects the interest of students in advocating for their views” but has maintained that overnight camping on the campus is prohibited and poses a safety risk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Friday, Stanford President Richard Saller and Provost Jenny Martinez released a statement that said, “Last night after 8 p.m., university staff handed out letters signed by the two of us to approximately 60 students who remained on White Plaza, notifying them of the university policies they were violating.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The letter said: “The submission of students’ names to the Office of Community Standards (OCS) has begun.” As graduation approaches, a previous letter from the University noted that “the initiation of an OCS proceeding at this time of year may inhibit the timely conferral of a diploma.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11984134\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11984134 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240425-StanfordGazaProtest-020-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240425-StanfordGazaProtest-020-BL.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240425-StanfordGazaProtest-020-BL-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240425-StanfordGazaProtest-020-BL-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240425-StanfordGazaProtest-020-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240425-StanfordGazaProtest-020-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Pro-Palestinian demonstrators march through the Stanford University campus on April 25, 2024. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Organizer Yungsu Kim said he is aware of the risks of protesting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I am also continuing a legacy of sorts of student involvement in mass movements, where all sectors of society are involved because they know that things like this just cannot continue. Injustice like this can’t continue,” Kim said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An encampment that began Monday is ongoing and growing at UC Berkeley’s Sproul Plaza.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11984220\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11984220 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240424-BERKELEY-GAZA-ENCAMPMENT-MD-06_qut.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240424-BERKELEY-GAZA-ENCAMPMENT-MD-06_qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240424-BERKELEY-GAZA-ENCAMPMENT-MD-06_qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240424-BERKELEY-GAZA-ENCAMPMENT-MD-06_qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240424-BERKELEY-GAZA-ENCAMPMENT-MD-06_qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240424-BERKELEY-GAZA-ENCAMPMENT-MD-06_qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The UC Berkeley Gaza Solidarity Encampment in front of Sproul Hall on April 24, 2024. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>On Monday, students like Lev Collins unfurled their tents across the iconic Sproul steps, home to the 1960s Free Speech movement, which made an indelible mark on campus activism and the country at large.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I am here because of the genocide that’s going on in Gaza. It is completely unacceptable and tragic, and it’s upsetting that our tuition money and our tax dollars are funding this genocide,” Collins said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Students have vowed to stay there until UC stops investing in companies that benefit Israel.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11984215\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11984215 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240423-BERKELEY-GAZA-ENCAMPMENT-MD-05_qut.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240423-BERKELEY-GAZA-ENCAMPMENT-MD-05_qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240423-BERKELEY-GAZA-ENCAMPMENT-MD-05_qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240423-BERKELEY-GAZA-ENCAMPMENT-MD-05_qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240423-BERKELEY-GAZA-ENCAMPMENT-MD-05_qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240423-BERKELEY-GAZA-ENCAMPMENT-MD-05_qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">UC Berkeley students at the UC Berkeley Gaza Solidarity Encampment in front of Sproul Hall on April 23, 2024. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Yousuf Abubakr studies mechanical engineering at Cal. He has just three weeks left to graduate and said he’s doing his best to juggle his studies while running security for the new overnight encampment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A lot of us are falling behind in school, whatever. But, you know, you look at the struggles that we’re seeing on the other side of the world, and we can’t let that go,” Abubakr said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11984219\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11984219 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240424-BERKELEY-GAZA-ENCAMPMENT-MD-03_qut.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240424-BERKELEY-GAZA-ENCAMPMENT-MD-03_qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240424-BERKELEY-GAZA-ENCAMPMENT-MD-03_qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240424-BERKELEY-GAZA-ENCAMPMENT-MD-03_qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240424-BERKELEY-GAZA-ENCAMPMENT-MD-03_qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/240424-BERKELEY-GAZA-ENCAMPMENT-MD-03_qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Signs set beside tents at UC Berkeley Gaza Solidarity Encampment in front of Sproul Hall on April 24, 2024. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In a statement, UC Berkeley said it has no plans to change its investment policies and practices, and UC’s Office of the Chief Investment Officer declined to comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/shossaini\">Sara Hossaini\u003c/a> contributed reporting to this story.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/news/11984203/pro-palestinian-protests-sweep-california-college-campuses-amid-israel-hamas-war","authors":["11785"],"categories":["news_18540","news_8"],"tags":["news_1386","news_18538","news_20013","news_27626","news_6631","news_33333","news_745","news_1928","news_17597","news_33765"],"featImg":"news_11984136","label":"news"},"news_11984163":{"type":"posts","id":"news_11984163","meta":{"index":"posts_1591205157","site":"news","id":"11984163","found":true},"guestAuthors":[],"slug":"california-caps-rising-health-care-costs-heres-how-it-works","title":"California Regulators Just Approved New Rule to Cap Health Care Costs. Here's How It Works","publishDate":1714244427,"format":"standard","headTitle":"California Regulators Just Approved New Rule to Cap Health Care Costs. Here’s How It Works | KQED","labelTerm":{"term":18481,"site":"news"},"content":"\u003cp>You won’t notice it right away, but a new California state agency took a major step this week toward \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/health/2024/02/health-care-costs-cap/\">reining in the seemingly uncontrollable costs of health care\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB184\">Office of Health Care Affordability\u003c/a> approved the state’s first cap on health industry spending increases, limiting growth to 3% by 2029. This means that hospitals, doctors and health insurers will need to find ways to cut costs to prevent annual per capita spending from exceeding the target. Between 2015 and 2020, per capita health spending in California grew more than 5% each year, according to federal data.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A board appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Legislature on Wednesday approved the new regulations in a 6–1 vote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly, who chairs the board, said the regulations recognize that Californians are struggling every day to pay for\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/category/health/\"> health care\u003c/a> and that the state has a role in helping them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have a place in making sure it becomes more affordable,” Ghaly said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hospitals, doctors and insurers battled over the regulations for months, arguing that rising inflation and labor costs would make the target impossible to achieve. An earlier proposal would have moved more aggressively to cap costs. The final version gives the industry time to rein in spending.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ghaly said he is confident that health care industry leaders will be able to find solutions to meet the new target. “When that happens, it’s going to be great for Californians.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"h-how-does-it-work\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">How does it work?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Increased health spending most often translates to higher out-of-pocket costs for consumers through premiums, deductibles and copays. The annual spending benchmark would require health care providers to limit spending growth to 3.5% next year, decreasing to 3% by 2029. Providers — including hospitals, doctors groups and health insurers — must submit spending data to the state to demonstrate that they comply with the cap.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The affordability office also has the authority to enforce penalties, including performance improvement plans and fines, for organizations that exceed the benchmark. It will not enforce penalties until 2029.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Assemblymember Jim Wood, a Democrat from Ukiah, at the meeting, urged the board to send a clear message to Californians that the state is taking affordability seriously. Wood spearheaded the legislation that created the office in 2022.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It is not an exaggeration to say that people are deciding whether to get food on the table or get their medicines,” Wood said. “This is not an exercise. This is an effort to impact the real-life experiences of people in California.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"h-how-will-providers-lower-health-care-costs\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">How will providers lower health care costs?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Ultimately, it’s up to the health care organizations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The board hopes health care organizations will crack down on inefficient and wasteful health spending, such as administrative inefficiency and redundant or poorly coordinated testing. But it doesn’t want to discourage spending on primary care and behavioral health. The affordability office will monitor spending in those areas to ensure organizations do not reduce services or access to preventative care.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"h-will-californians-see-cheaper-health-care\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Will Californians see cheaper health care?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Yes, but it may not feel like it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The growth cap is not a mandate for providers to lower prices. Californians will not pay less for health insurance next year than they did this year. For those who already can’t afford health care — some estimates peg that number at \u003ca href=\"https://www.chcf.org/publication/2024-chcf-california-health-policy-survey/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">more than 50% of Californians \u003c/a>— the cap won’t bring any immediate relief.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The goal of the cap is to prevent future prices from increasing uncontrollably. This year, health insurance premiums on the state’s Affordable Care Act Exchange increased by 9.6% statewide, with double-digit increases in many regions. Personal health care spending shot up 60% between 2010 and 2020, reaching $405 billion, according to federal data. That’s $10,299 per person. \u003ca href=\"https://www.healthsystemtracker.org/brief/tracking-the-rise-in-premium-contributions-and-cost-sharing-for-families-with-large-employer-coverage/#Cumulative%20growth%20in%20out-of-pocket%20and%20total%20health%20spending%20for%20people%20with%20large%20employer%20coverage,%202007-2017\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Household health spending\u003c/a> has also grown twice as fast as wages, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an effort to recognize how many Californians can’t pay for health care, the affordability office tied the cap to the average annual median household income growth, which has historically been about 3% over the past two decades.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"h-will-california-succeed\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Will California succeed?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>California is not the first state to try to lower health care costs. \u003ca href=\"https://www.chcf.org/publication/cost-commissions-eight-states-address-cost-growth/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Eight other states\u003c/a> have similar cost benchmarks, although California’s is one of the more aggressive targets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Massachusetts, the first state to set a health spending benchmark, has largely met its target growth rate of 3.6% over the past 10 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, in recent years, with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, states have found it harder to contain costs. \u003ca href=\"https://www.healthaffairs.org/content/forefront/6-29-angeles-piece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Connecticut, Delaware and Massachusetts\u003c/a> significantly surpassed their spending targets between 2020 and 2021 primarily because of increased health care use, according to a report by the policy journal Health Affairs.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"h-who-opposed-the-spending-cap\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Who opposed the spending cap?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Former state Sen. Dr. Richard Pan was the sole no-vote on the new regulations, arguing that the state needed to recognize how changing population needs, such as aging, would affect future health care spending.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pan and groups representing hospitals and doctors have argued that the state should have set a more “realistic” target rather than one most organizations will fail to achieve.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a letter to the board, the California Hospital Association proposed a 6.3% target for 2025 and urged state regulators to consider how inflation, aging and a new law that raises the state \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/health/2023/11/california-health-care-minimum-wage-cost/#:~:text=While%20the%20original%20bill%20would,because%20of%20the%20new%20law.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">minimum wage for health care workers\u003c/a> would drive up costs. Association President Carmela Coyle said in a statement after the vote that the new regulations will worsen access to care as organizations are forced to make cuts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The office is charged by law to do more than limit spending,” Coyle said. “It’s imperative that the board analyze the impact of its decision on patients and create a process to reconsider future targets to protect access to equitable, quality care for every Californian.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California Association of Health Plans, representing most insurers, and the California Medical Association, representing doctors, voiced support for the phased-in 3% target this week but have previously pushed the affordability office to consider other options.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Adopting a 3% health care spending growth target, which most physician practices and health care entities will be unable to meet, will negatively impact access to health care for Californians,” medical association President Dr. Tanya Spirtos wrote ahead of the vote.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"h-who-supported-the-health-spending-cap\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Who supported the health spending cap?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The new regulations are largely supported by unions, employers and consumer advocates. Supporters turned up in force at the vote to give examples of how housekeepers, bartenders, teachers, carpenters, nurses and other workers cannot afford health care even with insurance and frequently forgo raises to pay for ever-growing medical spending.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label=\"Related Stories\" postID=\"news_11975284,science_1991871,news_11983752\"]“Consumers, particularly people of color, are burdened by record medical debt and are making daily choices between health care, housing, and food,” said Kiran Savage-Sangwan, executive director of the California Pan-Ethnic Health Network, at the meeting. “If we want a different outcome, we need to change the incentives in our system.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Anthony Wright, executive director of Health Access California, said the new spending target was “long-awaited, but welcome news for Californians.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“California consumers, patients and payers have been screaming for years about the cost,” Wright said. “This will provide some downward pressure on what has been ever-increasing hikes in our health care costs.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Supported by the California Health Care Foundation (CHCF), which works to ensure that\u003c/em> \u003cem>people have access to the care they need, when they need it, at a price they can afford. Visit \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"http://www.chcf.org/\">\u003cem>www.chcf.org\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> to learn more.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"California now is one of 9 states with regulations limiting health care cost increases. Consumers won’t necessarily notice the changes, but supporters say they will make a difference over time.","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1714246821,"stats":{"hasAudio":false,"hasVideo":false,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":33,"wordCount":1327},"headData":{"title":"California Regulators Just Approved New Rule to Cap Health Care Costs. Here's How It Works | KQED","description":"California now is one of 9 states with regulations limiting health care cost increases. Consumers won’t necessarily notice the changes, but supporters say they will make a difference over time.","ogTitle":"","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"","twDescription":"","twImgId":"","schema":{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"California Regulators Just Approved New Rule to Cap Health Care Costs. Here's How It Works","datePublished":"2024-04-27T19:00:27.000Z","dateModified":"2024-04-27T19:40:21.000Z","image":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png","isAccessibleForFree":"Y","publisher":{"@type":"NewsMediaOrganization","@id":"https://www.kqed.org/#organization","name":"KQED","url":"https://www.kqed.org","logo":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"}}},"sticky":false,"nprByline":"\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/author/kristen-hwang/\">Kristen Hwang\u003c/a>","excludeFromSiteSearch":"Include","showOnAuthorArchivePages":"No","articleAge":"0","path":"/news/11984163/california-caps-rising-health-care-costs-heres-how-it-works","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>You won’t notice it right away, but a new California state agency took a major step this week toward \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/health/2024/02/health-care-costs-cap/\">reining in the seemingly uncontrollable costs of health care\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB184\">Office of Health Care Affordability\u003c/a> approved the state’s first cap on health industry spending increases, limiting growth to 3% by 2029. This means that hospitals, doctors and health insurers will need to find ways to cut costs to prevent annual per capita spending from exceeding the target. Between 2015 and 2020, per capita health spending in California grew more than 5% each year, according to federal data.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A board appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Legislature on Wednesday approved the new regulations in a 6–1 vote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly, who chairs the board, said the regulations recognize that Californians are struggling every day to pay for\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/category/health/\"> health care\u003c/a> and that the state has a role in helping them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have a place in making sure it becomes more affordable,” Ghaly said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hospitals, doctors and insurers battled over the regulations for months, arguing that rising inflation and labor costs would make the target impossible to achieve. An earlier proposal would have moved more aggressively to cap costs. The final version gives the industry time to rein in spending.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ghaly said he is confident that health care industry leaders will be able to find solutions to meet the new target. “When that happens, it’s going to be great for Californians.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"h-how-does-it-work\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">How does it work?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Increased health spending most often translates to higher out-of-pocket costs for consumers through premiums, deductibles and copays. The annual spending benchmark would require health care providers to limit spending growth to 3.5% next year, decreasing to 3% by 2029. Providers — including hospitals, doctors groups and health insurers — must submit spending data to the state to demonstrate that they comply with the cap.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The affordability office also has the authority to enforce penalties, including performance improvement plans and fines, for organizations that exceed the benchmark. It will not enforce penalties until 2029.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Assemblymember Jim Wood, a Democrat from Ukiah, at the meeting, urged the board to send a clear message to Californians that the state is taking affordability seriously. Wood spearheaded the legislation that created the office in 2022.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It is not an exaggeration to say that people are deciding whether to get food on the table or get their medicines,” Wood said. “This is not an exercise. This is an effort to impact the real-life experiences of people in California.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"h-how-will-providers-lower-health-care-costs\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">How will providers lower health care costs?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Ultimately, it’s up to the health care organizations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The board hopes health care organizations will crack down on inefficient and wasteful health spending, such as administrative inefficiency and redundant or poorly coordinated testing. But it doesn’t want to discourage spending on primary care and behavioral health. The affordability office will monitor spending in those areas to ensure organizations do not reduce services or access to preventative care.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"h-will-californians-see-cheaper-health-care\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Will Californians see cheaper health care?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Yes, but it may not feel like it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The growth cap is not a mandate for providers to lower prices. Californians will not pay less for health insurance next year than they did this year. For those who already can’t afford health care — some estimates peg that number at \u003ca href=\"https://www.chcf.org/publication/2024-chcf-california-health-policy-survey/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">more than 50% of Californians \u003c/a>— the cap won’t bring any immediate relief.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The goal of the cap is to prevent future prices from increasing uncontrollably. This year, health insurance premiums on the state’s Affordable Care Act Exchange increased by 9.6% statewide, with double-digit increases in many regions. Personal health care spending shot up 60% between 2010 and 2020, reaching $405 billion, according to federal data. That’s $10,299 per person. \u003ca href=\"https://www.healthsystemtracker.org/brief/tracking-the-rise-in-premium-contributions-and-cost-sharing-for-families-with-large-employer-coverage/#Cumulative%20growth%20in%20out-of-pocket%20and%20total%20health%20spending%20for%20people%20with%20large%20employer%20coverage,%202007-2017\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Household health spending\u003c/a> has also grown twice as fast as wages, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an effort to recognize how many Californians can’t pay for health care, the affordability office tied the cap to the average annual median household income growth, which has historically been about 3% over the past two decades.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"h-will-california-succeed\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Will California succeed?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>California is not the first state to try to lower health care costs. \u003ca href=\"https://www.chcf.org/publication/cost-commissions-eight-states-address-cost-growth/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Eight other states\u003c/a> have similar cost benchmarks, although California’s is one of the more aggressive targets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Massachusetts, the first state to set a health spending benchmark, has largely met its target growth rate of 3.6% over the past 10 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, in recent years, with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, states have found it harder to contain costs. \u003ca href=\"https://www.healthaffairs.org/content/forefront/6-29-angeles-piece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Connecticut, Delaware and Massachusetts\u003c/a> significantly surpassed their spending targets between 2020 and 2021 primarily because of increased health care use, according to a report by the policy journal Health Affairs.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"h-who-opposed-the-spending-cap\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Who opposed the spending cap?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Former state Sen. Dr. Richard Pan was the sole no-vote on the new regulations, arguing that the state needed to recognize how changing population needs, such as aging, would affect future health care spending.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pan and groups representing hospitals and doctors have argued that the state should have set a more “realistic” target rather than one most organizations will fail to achieve.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a letter to the board, the California Hospital Association proposed a 6.3% target for 2025 and urged state regulators to consider how inflation, aging and a new law that raises the state \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/health/2023/11/california-health-care-minimum-wage-cost/#:~:text=While%20the%20original%20bill%20would,because%20of%20the%20new%20law.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">minimum wage for health care workers\u003c/a> would drive up costs. Association President Carmela Coyle said in a statement after the vote that the new regulations will worsen access to care as organizations are forced to make cuts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The office is charged by law to do more than limit spending,” Coyle said. “It’s imperative that the board analyze the impact of its decision on patients and create a process to reconsider future targets to protect access to equitable, quality care for every Californian.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California Association of Health Plans, representing most insurers, and the California Medical Association, representing doctors, voiced support for the phased-in 3% target this week but have previously pushed the affordability office to consider other options.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Adopting a 3% health care spending growth target, which most physician practices and health care entities will be unable to meet, will negatively impact access to health care for Californians,” medical association President Dr. Tanya Spirtos wrote ahead of the vote.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"h-who-supported-the-health-spending-cap\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Who supported the health spending cap?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The new regulations are largely supported by unions, employers and consumer advocates. Supporters turned up in force at the vote to give examples of how housekeepers, bartenders, teachers, carpenters, nurses and other workers cannot afford health care even with insurance and frequently forgo raises to pay for ever-growing medical spending.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"aside","attributes":{"named":{"label":"Related Stories ","postid":"news_11975284,science_1991871,news_11983752"},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“Consumers, particularly people of color, are burdened by record medical debt and are making daily choices between health care, housing, and food,” said Kiran Savage-Sangwan, executive director of the California Pan-Ethnic Health Network, at the meeting. “If we want a different outcome, we need to change the incentives in our system.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Anthony Wright, executive director of Health Access California, said the new spending target was “long-awaited, but welcome news for Californians.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“California consumers, patients and payers have been screaming for years about the cost,” Wright said. “This will provide some downward pressure on what has been ever-increasing hikes in our health care costs.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Supported by the California Health Care Foundation (CHCF), which works to ensure that\u003c/em> \u003cem>people have access to the care they need, when they need it, at a price they can afford. Visit \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"http://www.chcf.org/\">\u003cem>www.chcf.org\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> to learn more.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"floatright"},"numeric":["floatright"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/news/11984163/california-caps-rising-health-care-costs-heres-how-it-works","authors":["byline_news_11984163"],"categories":["news_457","news_8"],"tags":["news_25015","news_18543","news_683"],"affiliates":["news_18481"],"featImg":"news_11984165","label":"news_18481"},"news_11984302":{"type":"posts","id":"news_11984302","meta":{"index":"posts_1591205157","site":"news","id":"11984302","found":true},"guestAuthors":[],"slug":"9-california-counties-far-from-universities-struggle-to-recruit-teachers-says-report","title":"9 California Counties Far From Universities Struggle to Recruit Teachers, Says Report","publishDate":1714323602,"format":"standard","headTitle":"9 California Counties Far From Universities Struggle to Recruit Teachers, Says Report | KQED","labelTerm":{},"content":"\u003cp>Nine rural California counties, most struggling with student achievement and teacher recruitment, are in teacher education deserts, according to a report released Tuesday from the UCLA Center for the Transformation of Schools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alpine, Del Norte, Imperial, Inyo, Lassen, Modoc, Mono, Sierra and Siskiyou counties do not have teacher preparation programs within 60 miles of their county offices of education, according to the report, “\u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://transformschools.ucla.edu/research/californias-teacher-education-deserts/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">California’s Teacher Education Deserts: An Overlooked and Growing Equity Challenge.\u003c/a>”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We know that research suggests that teachers are more likely to complete their student teaching and also secure employment close to where they receive their teacher training,” said Kai Mathews, project director for the UCLA Center for the Transformation of Schools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a result, six of the nine counties have a higher percentage of underprepared teachers than the state average of 4% to 5%, according to the study. Of the nine counties, Modoc and Lassen have the highest percentage of underprepared teachers at 14% and 17% respectively.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Underprepared teachers work on intern credentials or emergency-style permits that don’t require them to complete teacher training, or on waivers that allow them to teach a subject outside their credential.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Because the state requires that districts only hire underprepared teachers if fully qualified teachers are not available, high rates of underprepared teachers are an indicator that districts in that county are struggling to recruit and hire qualified teachers, said UCLA researchers.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Rural teachers scarce\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>There could be many reasons teachers are hard to find in rural areas, including fewer nearby institutions of higher education, which leads to a lower than average percentage of residents with bachelor’s degrees and therefore a smaller pool of potential teacher candidates, according to the study.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Counties that border other states and countries also have significantly higher teacher vacancy rates compared with nonborder districts, said Hui Huang, a researcher on the project. All nine of the California counties classified as teacher education deserts are bordered by either Oregon, Nevada, Arizona or Mexico.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Rural school districts face significant challenges in recruiting and retaining teachers,” said Yuri Calderon, executive director of the Small School Districts’ Association. “In addition to the proximity to teacher educational programs, rural communities face challenges related to competition from higher urban compensation schedules, housing shortages and a lack of support resources commonly found in urban areas.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rural counties also lose talented young residents who go to urban and suburban areas for more opportunity, Huang said. In small districts, the loss of even one teacher can impact course availability for students, according to \u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/blog/teacher-shortages-take-center-stage\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Learning Policy Institute\u003c/a> research.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Teacher shortage affects students\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The geographic location of a school district plays a significant role in teacher recruitment and retention, and ultimately in the educational outcomes of the district’s students, according to the report.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Students in each of these counties, except Mono, fell below the state average on the English language arts portion of the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress, also known as CAASPP, in the 2022–23 school year. All nine counties fell below the state average of students who meet standards on the math portion of the test.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Low-performing schools may struggle to attract teachers due to negative public perceptions, Huang said. Research also indicates that highly qualified educators are substantially more likely to leave low-performing schools.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Time for creative solutions\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>School districts in Mono County have had to get creative to fill teacher positions, despite their prime location near Yosemite National Park and Mammoth Lakes, said Stacey Adler, Mono County superintendent of schools. One district with a dual-immersion program hired teachers from South America to fill open teaching positions, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The high cost of housing and a growing disinterest in the profession among young people are the biggest hurdles to hiring new teachers in Mono County, Adler said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have got to start them early because, quite frankly, there aren’t a lot of kids that say they want to be teachers these days,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Adler taught child development at Mammoth High School for two years in an attempt to get students interested in teaching, she said. Now the school plans to use a portion of a recent grant to develop a K–12 education pathway at the school.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our rural students and our rural teacher workforce, as small as it is, is suffering,” said Annamarie Francois, associate dean of public engagement at UCLA and a member of the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing. “We have a responsibility and an obligation to our community to bring our creative solutions and innovations to bear on those parts of our state.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One answer may be creating teacher credentialing programs at community colleges in these counties, according to the study. Although all nine teaching education deserts are not located near a university teacher preparation program, five are within 60 miles of a community college.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Early childhood education programs already in place at community colleges could be expanded to K–12 licensing programs, according to the report. The state could also work with county offices of education to develop residency programs so that teacher candidates could earn a credential without leaving the area to take classes or to student teach.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Multiple states, like Florida, Texas and Washington, already offer similar credentialing pathways.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Expanding local college programs to include K–12 certification, particularly at community colleges, can be a positive solution to address the challenges faced by rural school districts,” Small School Districts’ Association Director Calderon said. “By growing teachers from within these communities, rural districts can improve recruitment and retention efforts.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label=\"Related Stories\" postID=\"news_11928042,news_11923873,news_11918450\"]Although the study recommended that community college credentialing programs focus on residents who already hold bachelor’s degrees, Steve Bautista of the Center for Teacher Education at Santa Ana College suggested that the 39 bachelor’s degrees already being offered in community colleges be expanded to include degrees that could lead to teacher preparation programs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Five of the nine TEP deserts will fall away if we were able to utilize, in some capacity, community colleges to license teachers,” UCLA’s Mathews said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>UCLA researchers also recommend that the state take a comprehensive approach to recruiting and retaining teachers in these counties, including financial support, mentorship programs and professional development targeted to rural teachers. County offices of education should also collaborate to develop a regional marketing campaign to recruit teachers, according to the report.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State policy would have to change to put many of these programs in place, Francois said. Leaders from the state’s community colleges, universities and the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing could work together to produce a feasibility study on how to create a seamless bachelor’s degree and credential program at rural community colleges, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s going to take collaboration among folks that maybe haven’t collaborated together in bold thinking, and some courage to think about how we might do this differently in unique spaces,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2024/rural-counties-far-from-universities-struggle-to-recruit-teachers/710566\">\u003cem>This story originally appeared in EdSource.\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"The UCLA report defines 9 rural counties as 'teacher education deserts' and says allowing community colleges to offer K–12 credentials could be a solution.","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1714250181,"stats":{"hasAudio":false,"hasVideo":false,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":30,"wordCount":1214},"headData":{"title":"9 California Counties Far From Universities Struggle to Recruit Teachers, Says Report | KQED","description":"The UCLA report defines 9 rural counties as 'teacher education deserts' and says allowing community colleges to offer K–12 credentials could be a solution.","ogTitle":"","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"","twDescription":"","twImgId":"","schema":{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"9 California Counties Far From Universities Struggle to Recruit Teachers, Says Report","datePublished":"2024-04-28T17:00:02.000Z","dateModified":"2024-04-27T20:36:21.000Z","image":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png","isAccessibleForFree":"Y","publisher":{"@type":"NewsMediaOrganization","@id":"https://www.kqed.org/#organization","name":"KQED","url":"https://www.kqed.org","logo":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"}}},"source":"EdSource","sourceUrl":"https://edsource.org/","sticky":false,"nprByline":"\u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/author/dlambert\">Diana Lambert\u003c/a>","excludeFromSiteSearch":"Include","showOnAuthorArchivePages":"No","articleAge":"0","path":"/news/11984302/9-california-counties-far-from-universities-struggle-to-recruit-teachers-says-report","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Nine rural California counties, most struggling with student achievement and teacher recruitment, are in teacher education deserts, according to a report released Tuesday from the UCLA Center for the Transformation of Schools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alpine, Del Norte, Imperial, Inyo, Lassen, Modoc, Mono, Sierra and Siskiyou counties do not have teacher preparation programs within 60 miles of their county offices of education, according to the report, “\u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://transformschools.ucla.edu/research/californias-teacher-education-deserts/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">California’s Teacher Education Deserts: An Overlooked and Growing Equity Challenge.\u003c/a>”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We know that research suggests that teachers are more likely to complete their student teaching and also secure employment close to where they receive their teacher training,” said Kai Mathews, project director for the UCLA Center for the Transformation of Schools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a result, six of the nine counties have a higher percentage of underprepared teachers than the state average of 4% to 5%, according to the study. Of the nine counties, Modoc and Lassen have the highest percentage of underprepared teachers at 14% and 17% respectively.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Underprepared teachers work on intern credentials or emergency-style permits that don’t require them to complete teacher training, or on waivers that allow them to teach a subject outside their credential.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Because the state requires that districts only hire underprepared teachers if fully qualified teachers are not available, high rates of underprepared teachers are an indicator that districts in that county are struggling to recruit and hire qualified teachers, said UCLA researchers.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Rural teachers scarce\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>There could be many reasons teachers are hard to find in rural areas, including fewer nearby institutions of higher education, which leads to a lower than average percentage of residents with bachelor’s degrees and therefore a smaller pool of potential teacher candidates, according to the study.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Counties that border other states and countries also have significantly higher teacher vacancy rates compared with nonborder districts, said Hui Huang, a researcher on the project. All nine of the California counties classified as teacher education deserts are bordered by either Oregon, Nevada, Arizona or Mexico.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Rural school districts face significant challenges in recruiting and retaining teachers,” said Yuri Calderon, executive director of the Small School Districts’ Association. “In addition to the proximity to teacher educational programs, rural communities face challenges related to competition from higher urban compensation schedules, housing shortages and a lack of support resources commonly found in urban areas.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rural counties also lose talented young residents who go to urban and suburban areas for more opportunity, Huang said. In small districts, the loss of even one teacher can impact course availability for students, according to \u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/blog/teacher-shortages-take-center-stage\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Learning Policy Institute\u003c/a> research.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Teacher shortage affects students\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The geographic location of a school district plays a significant role in teacher recruitment and retention, and ultimately in the educational outcomes of the district’s students, according to the report.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Students in each of these counties, except Mono, fell below the state average on the English language arts portion of the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress, also known as CAASPP, in the 2022–23 school year. All nine counties fell below the state average of students who meet standards on the math portion of the test.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Low-performing schools may struggle to attract teachers due to negative public perceptions, Huang said. Research also indicates that highly qualified educators are substantially more likely to leave low-performing schools.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Time for creative solutions\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>School districts in Mono County have had to get creative to fill teacher positions, despite their prime location near Yosemite National Park and Mammoth Lakes, said Stacey Adler, Mono County superintendent of schools. One district with a dual-immersion program hired teachers from South America to fill open teaching positions, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The high cost of housing and a growing disinterest in the profession among young people are the biggest hurdles to hiring new teachers in Mono County, Adler said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have got to start them early because, quite frankly, there aren’t a lot of kids that say they want to be teachers these days,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Adler taught child development at Mammoth High School for two years in an attempt to get students interested in teaching, she said. Now the school plans to use a portion of a recent grant to develop a K–12 education pathway at the school.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our rural students and our rural teacher workforce, as small as it is, is suffering,” said Annamarie Francois, associate dean of public engagement at UCLA and a member of the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing. “We have a responsibility and an obligation to our community to bring our creative solutions and innovations to bear on those parts of our state.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One answer may be creating teacher credentialing programs at community colleges in these counties, according to the study. Although all nine teaching education deserts are not located near a university teacher preparation program, five are within 60 miles of a community college.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Early childhood education programs already in place at community colleges could be expanded to K–12 licensing programs, according to the report. The state could also work with county offices of education to develop residency programs so that teacher candidates could earn a credential without leaving the area to take classes or to student teach.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Multiple states, like Florida, Texas and Washington, already offer similar credentialing pathways.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Expanding local college programs to include K–12 certification, particularly at community colleges, can be a positive solution to address the challenges faced by rural school districts,” Small School Districts’ Association Director Calderon said. “By growing teachers from within these communities, rural districts can improve recruitment and retention efforts.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"aside","attributes":{"named":{"label":"Related Stories ","postid":"news_11928042,news_11923873,news_11918450"},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Although the study recommended that community college credentialing programs focus on residents who already hold bachelor’s degrees, Steve Bautista of the Center for Teacher Education at Santa Ana College suggested that the 39 bachelor’s degrees already being offered in community colleges be expanded to include degrees that could lead to teacher preparation programs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Five of the nine TEP deserts will fall away if we were able to utilize, in some capacity, community colleges to license teachers,” UCLA’s Mathews said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>UCLA researchers also recommend that the state take a comprehensive approach to recruiting and retaining teachers in these counties, including financial support, mentorship programs and professional development targeted to rural teachers. County offices of education should also collaborate to develop a regional marketing campaign to recruit teachers, according to the report.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State policy would have to change to put many of these programs in place, Francois said. Leaders from the state’s community colleges, universities and the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing could work together to produce a feasibility study on how to create a seamless bachelor’s degree and credential program at rural community colleges, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s going to take collaboration among folks that maybe haven’t collaborated together in bold thinking, and some courage to think about how we might do this differently in unique spaces,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2024/rural-counties-far-from-universities-struggle-to-recruit-teachers/710566\">\u003cem>This story originally appeared in EdSource.\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"floatright"},"numeric":["floatright"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/news/11984302/9-california-counties-far-from-universities-struggle-to-recruit-teachers-says-report","authors":["byline_news_11984302"],"categories":["news_18540","news_8"],"tags":["news_32580","news_20013","news_27626","news_21463","news_21603"],"featImg":"news_11984304","label":"source_news_11984302"},"news_11984115":{"type":"posts","id":"news_11984115","meta":{"index":"posts_1591205157","site":"news","id":"11984115","found":true},"guestAuthors":[],"slug":"women-forced-to-relocate-from-fci-dublin-prison-report-traumatizing-journey-seek-compassionate-release","title":"Women at Troubled East Bay Prison Forced to Relocate Across the Country","publishDate":1714222806,"format":"standard","headTitle":"Women at Troubled East Bay Prison Forced to Relocate Across the Country | KQED","labelTerm":{"site":"news"},"content":"\u003cp>Nearly all 605 people who were incarcerated at a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11979936/judge-certifies-class-action-lawsuit-for-women-incarcerated-at-fci-dublin\">scandal-ridden federal women’s prison\u003c/a> in the East Bay are being forced to transfer to different facilities across the country, sending some thousands of miles away from their families and attorneys.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m depressed, I’m sad, I’m mad, I just have all these emotions,” said Ashley Castillo, who was transferred from the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) Dublin to FCI Aliceville in Alabama over the weekend. “Alabama is really far from home, I don’t want to be here.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last week, guards began loading women on buses to transfer them to the small handful of other low-security federal women’s prisons around the country, located in Alabama, Connecticut, Florida, Minnesota, Texas and West Virginia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Castillo’s relocation involved a multi-leg bus ride to Las Vegas, Nevada, where she boarded a plane to Atlanta, Georgia. From there, she was loaded on another bus, for a nearly four-hour trip to the remote town of Aliceville. The bus had one non-flush toilet with a “see-through” privacy sheet, she said, but women were not even able to take off their handcuffs to use it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was disgusting. I was on my menstrual [cycle] and I bled through my underwear,” Castillo told KQED on a collect call from FCI Aliceville. “Just putting on or taking off a pad was so hard and the shackles hurt so badly because they would tighten them like we were going to escape or something.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last October, long before Castillo knew FCI Dublin would eventually be shuttered, she filed a motion for early compassionate release, a process that allows individuals to be released early from prison due to extraordinary circumstances. After the transfers started this month, dozens of other people incarcerated at the facility have filed similar motions, according to court filings and attorneys.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I suffer from extreme trauma and anxiety and high blood pressure. We were told abruptly that we were relocating and had only 20 minutes to pack out (sic) all my personal belongings,” reads one such recent request to BOP from an incarcerated person at FCI Dublin. “This is unfair, unhuman.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The relocations began after the Federal Bureau of Prisons \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11982973/feds-abruptly-close-east-bay-womens-prison-following-sexual-abuse-scandals\">abruptly started to shut down the facility\u003c/a> on April 15, following \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11904298/ap-investigation-dublin-womens-prison-fostered-culture-of-abuse\">years of reports of sexual abuse\u003c/a> by guards, and allegations of as well as retaliation against incarcerated women who reported misconduct.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Eight former FCI Dublin prison officers, including the former warden and a former chaplain, have been charged over the last two years with sexual abuse and seven have been \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11980960/another-dublin-womens-prison-officer-sentenced-for-sexual-abuse\">sentenced\u003c/a>. The prison still faces nearly 60 individual lawsuits from women formerly incarcerated there, as well as a class action suit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>KQED reviewed nearly two dozen compassionate release requests that have been submitted since the prison closed. Many cited medical issues and anxiety that have been amplified during the relocation process, as well as ongoing concerns about being far away from families and children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I have a young daughter who was left behind at age 11 with my elderly ill parents, who have already passed away since,” reads another letter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As of Thursday, a small fraction of incarcerated women remained at the prison, including those whose release is pending or who may be transferred to a facility outside the BOP system, according to BOP spokesperson Scott Taylor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The process involved careful planning and coordination to ensure the safe transfer of women to other facilities, with special attention given to their unique programming, medical, and mental health requirements,” Taylor wrote in an email. “We continue to expect that the women’s needs are addressed with compassion and respect, providing ongoing support as needed.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But attorneys for some of the transferred women who are now seeking compassionate release said their clients told them the experience was unnecessarily harsh, with reports of guards yelling at the women to hurry up and throwing out some of their personal belongings, like photographs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Once they were actually being transferred, the travel process was pretty brutal,” said Alana McMains, Castillo’s attorney. “Many women were given little notice in advance to leave and given little time to pack their belongings.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>U.S. District \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11983285/federal-bureau-of-prisons-challenges-judges-decision-to-delay-inmate-transfers-from-fci-dublin\">Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers earlier this month ordered to delay the transfers\u003c/a> and for BOP to follow certain protocols before doing so, including evaluating medical conditions and eligibility for release.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But McMains said many of the incarcerated women she represents told her those protocols were largely ignored.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some women reported that they didn’t have access to a bathroom and were forced to defecate on themselves, McMains said. “One woman told me she did not have her medication and was vomiting.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Attorney Jaehyun Oh has represented a total of 36 women who have alleged that guards at FCI Dublin sexually abused them. Four of her clients were still housed at the prison when it closed last week and shared similar horrific experiences with her, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People are happy the prison is closed. But the way that it happened, the abruptness and how there was no preparation for it whatsoever has been very hard,” Oh told KQED. “A lot of them have family in California or on the West Coast, and my four clients are no longer on the West Coast.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>BOP announced that it was closing FCI Dublin just over a week after U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzales Rogers \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11982014/judge-chooses-top-pick-for-special-master-to-oversee-womens-prison-following-rampant-abuse\">appointed Wendy Still to be the agency’s first ever “special master”\u003c/a> and oversee mandatory changes at the prison.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>BOP has not said how long it plans to keep FCI Dublin closed or what will become of the facility if it never reopens, although its staff will not lose their jobs, Taylor said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This week, California Sens. Lafonza Butler and Alex Padilla were among five senators who asked the BOP to respond to reports of the hectic prison transfers and other issues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label=\"Related Stories\" postID=\"news_11983285,news_11982973,news_11982014\"]The letter said they intend to exercise the oversight authority of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee over the BOP to monitor the situation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This reporting is appalling and even more concerning in light of the well-documented abuses that have taken place previously at FCI Dublin,” the letter reads. “Individuals in custody at FCI Dublin have long endured a toxic carceral culture marked by sexual assault, harassment and medical neglect at the hands of BOP staff.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Advocates for incarcerated women are also calling on President Joe Biden to grant clemency to all of the women who claimed they were sexually abused at FCI Dublin, and for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to lift immigration detainers for noncitizens who were held there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s heartbreaking. Everybody is upset. So many of these individuals had already suffered extensive trauma before they came to FCI Dublin, and at FCI Dublin, and this appears to have been handled the worst way possible,” said Kara Janssen, a plaintiff attorney at Rosen Bien Galvan & Grunfeld LLP.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The influx of compassionate release requests, she said, “shows the chaos this process has caused.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There was no reason for this process to be so rushed.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED reporter Alex Hall contributed to this story. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"The Federal Bureau of Prisons abruptly shut down FCI Dublin following years of sexual abuse reports. ","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1714182954,"stats":{"hasAudio":false,"hasVideo":false,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":32,"wordCount":1253},"headData":{"title":"Women at Troubled East Bay Prison Forced to Relocate Across the Country | KQED","description":"The Federal Bureau of Prisons abruptly shut down FCI Dublin following years of sexual abuse reports. ","ogTitle":"","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"","twDescription":"","twImgId":"","schema":{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Women at Troubled East Bay Prison Forced to Relocate Across the Country","datePublished":"2024-04-27T13:00:06.000Z","dateModified":"2024-04-27T01:55:54.000Z","image":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png","isAccessibleForFree":"Y","publisher":{"@type":"NewsMediaOrganization","@id":"https://www.kqed.org/#organization","name":"KQED","url":"https://www.kqed.org","logo":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"}}},"sticky":false,"excludeFromSiteSearch":"Include","articleAge":"0","path":"/news/11984115/women-forced-to-relocate-from-fci-dublin-prison-report-traumatizing-journey-seek-compassionate-release","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Nearly all 605 people who were incarcerated at a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11979936/judge-certifies-class-action-lawsuit-for-women-incarcerated-at-fci-dublin\">scandal-ridden federal women’s prison\u003c/a> in the East Bay are being forced to transfer to different facilities across the country, sending some thousands of miles away from their families and attorneys.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m depressed, I’m sad, I’m mad, I just have all these emotions,” said Ashley Castillo, who was transferred from the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) Dublin to FCI Aliceville in Alabama over the weekend. “Alabama is really far from home, I don’t want to be here.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last week, guards began loading women on buses to transfer them to the small handful of other low-security federal women’s prisons around the country, located in Alabama, Connecticut, Florida, Minnesota, Texas and West Virginia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Castillo’s relocation involved a multi-leg bus ride to Las Vegas, Nevada, where she boarded a plane to Atlanta, Georgia. From there, she was loaded on another bus, for a nearly four-hour trip to the remote town of Aliceville. The bus had one non-flush toilet with a “see-through” privacy sheet, she said, but women were not even able to take off their handcuffs to use it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was disgusting. I was on my menstrual [cycle] and I bled through my underwear,” Castillo told KQED on a collect call from FCI Aliceville. “Just putting on or taking off a pad was so hard and the shackles hurt so badly because they would tighten them like we were going to escape or something.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last October, long before Castillo knew FCI Dublin would eventually be shuttered, she filed a motion for early compassionate release, a process that allows individuals to be released early from prison due to extraordinary circumstances. After the transfers started this month, dozens of other people incarcerated at the facility have filed similar motions, according to court filings and attorneys.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I suffer from extreme trauma and anxiety and high blood pressure. We were told abruptly that we were relocating and had only 20 minutes to pack out (sic) all my personal belongings,” reads one such recent request to BOP from an incarcerated person at FCI Dublin. “This is unfair, unhuman.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The relocations began after the Federal Bureau of Prisons \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11982973/feds-abruptly-close-east-bay-womens-prison-following-sexual-abuse-scandals\">abruptly started to shut down the facility\u003c/a> on April 15, following \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11904298/ap-investigation-dublin-womens-prison-fostered-culture-of-abuse\">years of reports of sexual abuse\u003c/a> by guards, and allegations of as well as retaliation against incarcerated women who reported misconduct.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Eight former FCI Dublin prison officers, including the former warden and a former chaplain, have been charged over the last two years with sexual abuse and seven have been \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11980960/another-dublin-womens-prison-officer-sentenced-for-sexual-abuse\">sentenced\u003c/a>. The prison still faces nearly 60 individual lawsuits from women formerly incarcerated there, as well as a class action suit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>KQED reviewed nearly two dozen compassionate release requests that have been submitted since the prison closed. Many cited medical issues and anxiety that have been amplified during the relocation process, as well as ongoing concerns about being far away from families and children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I have a young daughter who was left behind at age 11 with my elderly ill parents, who have already passed away since,” reads another letter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As of Thursday, a small fraction of incarcerated women remained at the prison, including those whose release is pending or who may be transferred to a facility outside the BOP system, according to BOP spokesperson Scott Taylor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The process involved careful planning and coordination to ensure the safe transfer of women to other facilities, with special attention given to their unique programming, medical, and mental health requirements,” Taylor wrote in an email. “We continue to expect that the women’s needs are addressed with compassion and respect, providing ongoing support as needed.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But attorneys for some of the transferred women who are now seeking compassionate release said their clients told them the experience was unnecessarily harsh, with reports of guards yelling at the women to hurry up and throwing out some of their personal belongings, like photographs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Once they were actually being transferred, the travel process was pretty brutal,” said Alana McMains, Castillo’s attorney. “Many women were given little notice in advance to leave and given little time to pack their belongings.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>U.S. District \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11983285/federal-bureau-of-prisons-challenges-judges-decision-to-delay-inmate-transfers-from-fci-dublin\">Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers earlier this month ordered to delay the transfers\u003c/a> and for BOP to follow certain protocols before doing so, including evaluating medical conditions and eligibility for release.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But McMains said many of the incarcerated women she represents told her those protocols were largely ignored.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some women reported that they didn’t have access to a bathroom and were forced to defecate on themselves, McMains said. “One woman told me she did not have her medication and was vomiting.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Attorney Jaehyun Oh has represented a total of 36 women who have alleged that guards at FCI Dublin sexually abused them. Four of her clients were still housed at the prison when it closed last week and shared similar horrific experiences with her, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People are happy the prison is closed. But the way that it happened, the abruptness and how there was no preparation for it whatsoever has been very hard,” Oh told KQED. “A lot of them have family in California or on the West Coast, and my four clients are no longer on the West Coast.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>BOP announced that it was closing FCI Dublin just over a week after U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzales Rogers \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11982014/judge-chooses-top-pick-for-special-master-to-oversee-womens-prison-following-rampant-abuse\">appointed Wendy Still to be the agency’s first ever “special master”\u003c/a> and oversee mandatory changes at the prison.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>BOP has not said how long it plans to keep FCI Dublin closed or what will become of the facility if it never reopens, although its staff will not lose their jobs, Taylor said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This week, California Sens. Lafonza Butler and Alex Padilla were among five senators who asked the BOP to respond to reports of the hectic prison transfers and other issues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"aside","attributes":{"named":{"label":"Related Stories ","postid":"news_11983285,news_11982973,news_11982014"},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The letter said they intend to exercise the oversight authority of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee over the BOP to monitor the situation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This reporting is appalling and even more concerning in light of the well-documented abuses that have taken place previously at FCI Dublin,” the letter reads. “Individuals in custody at FCI Dublin have long endured a toxic carceral culture marked by sexual assault, harassment and medical neglect at the hands of BOP staff.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Advocates for incarcerated women are also calling on President Joe Biden to grant clemency to all of the women who claimed they were sexually abused at FCI Dublin, and for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to lift immigration detainers for noncitizens who were held there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s heartbreaking. Everybody is upset. So many of these individuals had already suffered extensive trauma before they came to FCI Dublin, and at FCI Dublin, and this appears to have been handled the worst way possible,” said Kara Janssen, a plaintiff attorney at Rosen Bien Galvan & Grunfeld LLP.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The influx of compassionate release requests, she said, “shows the chaos this process has caused.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There was no reason for this process to be so rushed.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED reporter Alex Hall contributed to this story. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"floatright"},"numeric":["floatright"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/news/11984115/women-forced-to-relocate-from-fci-dublin-prison-report-traumatizing-journey-seek-compassionate-release","authors":["11840"],"categories":["news_6188","news_8"],"tags":["news_32044","news_33723","news_27626"],"featImg":"news_11984120","label":"news"},"news_11984246":{"type":"posts","id":"news_11984246","meta":{"index":"posts_1591205157","site":"news","id":"11984246","found":true},"guestAuthors":[],"slug":"less-than-1-of-santa-clara-county-contracts-go-to-black-and-latino-businesses-study-shows","title":"Less Than 1% of Santa Clara County Contracts Go to Black and Latino Businesses, Study Shows","publishDate":1714219233,"format":"standard","headTitle":"Less Than 1% of Santa Clara County Contracts Go to Black and Latino Businesses, Study Shows | KQED","labelTerm":{"site":"news"},"content":"\u003cp>If you had asked Walter Wilson to tell you whether Santa Clara County does a good job of spreading its many lucrative contracts out to a diverse set of businesses, he’d have given you a short and simple answer: No.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is a huge crisis,” Wilson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wilson, a co-founder of the Minority Business Consortium and longtime civil rights advocate, said he’s been pushing the county to diversify its contracting base for more than a decade, even taking on an analysis of their procurement strategies in the past to help highlight the problems.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, \u003ca href=\"https://countyofsantaclaradisparitystudy.com/\">a recently completed study,\u003c/a> more than two years in the making, shows what Wilson said he and many others already knew: Santa Clara County only awards a small sliver of its contracts to businesses owned by people of diverse backgrounds and women.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The $500,000 study, by consultant MGT, examined $2.4 billion worth of contracts the county awarded from July 2016 through June 2021 in various industries, such as construction, information technology, laundry, landscaping and equipment purchases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Just over 15% of those contracts went to what the county calls diverse business enterprises, which are firms owned and controlled by Black people/African Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans or nonminority women, the study showed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The overwhelming majority of contracts — roughly 85% and worth about $2 billion — went to firms owned by nonminority men or to firms MGT could not confirm as being a diverse business.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This racism is so obvious, it’s just sickening, really,” said Wilson, who identifies as African/African Ancestry. “At the end of the day, this is systemic racism.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the study period, the county spent about $365 million with diverse businesses, though the largest chunk, about $172 million, accounting for about 7% of the contracts, went to Asian American-owned businesses. Nonminority women-owned businesses took in about $168 million, just under 7% of contracts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hispanic American-owned firms, meanwhile, took in nearly $16 million, and African American-owned firms collected nearly $7 million, together accounting for only 0.93% of the contracts. Native American-owned firms received just over $3 million, or just 0.13% of contracts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The study report indicated the county could have nearly doubled its spending with those various categories of businesses, noting there was 28% availability overall of diverse businesses willing and able to do the work the county contracted for in that period.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>James Williams, the county’s CEO, said at a recent board meeting where the study results were being presented that the study was long overdue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think it’s to no one’s surprise that there’s very, very significant disparities in our contracting relative to the availability of minority and disadvantaged businesses in our community,” Williams said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Williams and other leaders said this is the first time the county has studied its contracting for disparities, and though there are some severe limitations on the data — including the exclusion of any COVID-19-related expenditures — the county needed a baseline of information to begin addressing the issues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Susan Ellenberg, president of the county Board of Supervisors, said she doesn’t feel the county ever intended to be exclusionary in its contracting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“But I think that’s a very common justification, for many examples beyond the county, of unintended consequences being so ingrained into the system that at some point you have to say, ‘Is it really unintended, or was it actively not prevented?’,” Ellenberg said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have not sufficiently actively prevented that kind of disparity, and I think it’s our obligation to do significantly better,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Supervisor Otto Lee said the report was upsetting to read.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This underutilization of diverse business entities is disappointing, especially in light of the fact that our county has this constant refrain of how progressive we are, how we support our diverse communities,” Lee said. “This report shows that we are clearly not putting the money where our mouth is.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The study’s authors also said the current county systems and software could “preclude both staff and vendors from participating in a transformative procurement culture” and noted that the county does not collect demographic data on its vendors or subcontractors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And though the study said the county does well in outreach and has well-attended informational events, it hasn’t translated into more equity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“While we can document many, many outreach efforts over decades to more deeply engage our minority business community, if the impact has not been more contracts, then to some extent, our outreach efforts are, I don’t want to call them meaningless, but are not significant,” Ellenberg said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The county plans to take several steps to address the inequities, including updating its procurement systems to collect vendor demographic data and creating a one-stop online dashboard for contracts and procurements, which would show a forecast of upcoming bid opportunities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The county wants to strengthen its outreach strategy “to municipal and ethnic chambers of commerce and local business advocacy organizations” and develop a small and local business enterprise program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label=\"Related Stories\" postID=\"news_11983323,news_11958124,news_11983231\"]Officials said programs encouraging more small business participation in contracting would help support greater diversity without running afoul of Proposition 209, California’s ban on affirmative action, which prohibits quotas or preference in contracts based on race, gender or ethnicity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The United States Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy estimated that in 2022, racial minorities owned 27.3% of all small businesses in California, the report said, and that women owned 43.1% of small businesses in the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The county administration plans to bring specific policy recommendations to the Board of Supervisors’ Finance and Government Operations Committee for discussion in August, officials said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Supervisor Sylvia Arenas said she hopes to see quick action to address the disparities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This has been going on for a really long time. So either we do something about it now, or we’re going to study this away, and our small businesses are going to continue to disappear,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wilson said he hopes to see aggressive action from the board.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There has got to be an earnest, honest effort to really address this, and it’s got to happen immediately,” Wilson said. “Now that the facts are known, there are no more excuses, none.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"A new study shows Santa Clara County awards only a small percentage of its contracts to businesses owned by people from diverse backgrounds.","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1714238338,"stats":{"hasAudio":false,"hasVideo":false,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":33,"wordCount":1104},"headData":{"title":"Less Than 1% of Santa Clara County Contracts Go to Black and Latino Businesses, Study Shows | KQED","description":"A new study shows Santa Clara County awards only a small percentage of its contracts to businesses owned by people from diverse backgrounds.","ogTitle":"","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"","twDescription":"","twImgId":"","schema":{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Less Than 1% of Santa Clara County Contracts Go to Black and Latino Businesses, Study Shows","datePublished":"2024-04-27T12:00:33.000Z","dateModified":"2024-04-27T17:18:58.000Z","image":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png","isAccessibleForFree":"Y","publisher":{"@type":"NewsMediaOrganization","@id":"https://www.kqed.org/#organization","name":"KQED","url":"https://www.kqed.org","logo":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"}}},"sticky":false,"excludeFromSiteSearch":"Include","articleAge":"0","path":"/news/11984246/less-than-1-of-santa-clara-county-contracts-go-to-black-and-latino-businesses-study-shows","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>If you had asked Walter Wilson to tell you whether Santa Clara County does a good job of spreading its many lucrative contracts out to a diverse set of businesses, he’d have given you a short and simple answer: No.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is a huge crisis,” Wilson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wilson, a co-founder of the Minority Business Consortium and longtime civil rights advocate, said he’s been pushing the county to diversify its contracting base for more than a decade, even taking on an analysis of their procurement strategies in the past to help highlight the problems.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, \u003ca href=\"https://countyofsantaclaradisparitystudy.com/\">a recently completed study,\u003c/a> more than two years in the making, shows what Wilson said he and many others already knew: Santa Clara County only awards a small sliver of its contracts to businesses owned by people of diverse backgrounds and women.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The $500,000 study, by consultant MGT, examined $2.4 billion worth of contracts the county awarded from July 2016 through June 2021 in various industries, such as construction, information technology, laundry, landscaping and equipment purchases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Just over 15% of those contracts went to what the county calls diverse business enterprises, which are firms owned and controlled by Black people/African Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans or nonminority women, the study showed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The overwhelming majority of contracts — roughly 85% and worth about $2 billion — went to firms owned by nonminority men or to firms MGT could not confirm as being a diverse business.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This racism is so obvious, it’s just sickening, really,” said Wilson, who identifies as African/African Ancestry. “At the end of the day, this is systemic racism.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the study period, the county spent about $365 million with diverse businesses, though the largest chunk, about $172 million, accounting for about 7% of the contracts, went to Asian American-owned businesses. Nonminority women-owned businesses took in about $168 million, just under 7% of contracts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hispanic American-owned firms, meanwhile, took in nearly $16 million, and African American-owned firms collected nearly $7 million, together accounting for only 0.93% of the contracts. Native American-owned firms received just over $3 million, or just 0.13% of contracts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The study report indicated the county could have nearly doubled its spending with those various categories of businesses, noting there was 28% availability overall of diverse businesses willing and able to do the work the county contracted for in that period.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>James Williams, the county’s CEO, said at a recent board meeting where the study results were being presented that the study was long overdue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think it’s to no one’s surprise that there’s very, very significant disparities in our contracting relative to the availability of minority and disadvantaged businesses in our community,” Williams said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Williams and other leaders said this is the first time the county has studied its contracting for disparities, and though there are some severe limitations on the data — including the exclusion of any COVID-19-related expenditures — the county needed a baseline of information to begin addressing the issues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Susan Ellenberg, president of the county Board of Supervisors, said she doesn’t feel the county ever intended to be exclusionary in its contracting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“But I think that’s a very common justification, for many examples beyond the county, of unintended consequences being so ingrained into the system that at some point you have to say, ‘Is it really unintended, or was it actively not prevented?’,” Ellenberg said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have not sufficiently actively prevented that kind of disparity, and I think it’s our obligation to do significantly better,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Supervisor Otto Lee said the report was upsetting to read.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This underutilization of diverse business entities is disappointing, especially in light of the fact that our county has this constant refrain of how progressive we are, how we support our diverse communities,” Lee said. “This report shows that we are clearly not putting the money where our mouth is.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The study’s authors also said the current county systems and software could “preclude both staff and vendors from participating in a transformative procurement culture” and noted that the county does not collect demographic data on its vendors or subcontractors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And though the study said the county does well in outreach and has well-attended informational events, it hasn’t translated into more equity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“While we can document many, many outreach efforts over decades to more deeply engage our minority business community, if the impact has not been more contracts, then to some extent, our outreach efforts are, I don’t want to call them meaningless, but are not significant,” Ellenberg said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The county plans to take several steps to address the inequities, including updating its procurement systems to collect vendor demographic data and creating a one-stop online dashboard for contracts and procurements, which would show a forecast of upcoming bid opportunities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The county wants to strengthen its outreach strategy “to municipal and ethnic chambers of commerce and local business advocacy organizations” and develop a small and local business enterprise program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"aside","attributes":{"named":{"label":"Related Stories ","postid":"news_11983323,news_11958124,news_11983231"},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Officials said programs encouraging more small business participation in contracting would help support greater diversity without running afoul of Proposition 209, California’s ban on affirmative action, which prohibits quotas or preference in contracts based on race, gender or ethnicity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The United States Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy estimated that in 2022, racial minorities owned 27.3% of all small businesses in California, the report said, and that women owned 43.1% of small businesses in the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The county administration plans to bring specific policy recommendations to the Board of Supervisors’ Finance and Government Operations Committee for discussion in August, officials said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Supervisor Sylvia Arenas said she hopes to see quick action to address the disparities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This has been going on for a really long time. So either we do something about it now, or we’re going to study this away, and our small businesses are going to continue to disappear,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wilson said he hopes to see aggressive action from the board.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There has got to be an earnest, honest effort to really address this, and it’s got to happen immediately,” Wilson said. “Now that the facts are known, there are no more excuses, none.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"floatright"},"numeric":["floatright"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/news/11984246/less-than-1-of-santa-clara-county-contracts-go-to-black-and-latino-businesses-study-shows","authors":["11906"],"categories":["news_8"],"tags":["news_32395","news_17687","news_18545","news_27626","news_18188","news_27734"],"featImg":"news_11984250","label":"news"},"news_11984268":{"type":"posts","id":"news_11984268","meta":{"index":"posts_1591205157","site":"news","id":"11984268","found":true},"guestAuthors":[],"slug":"us-department-of-labor-hails-expanded-protections-for-h-2a-farmworkers-in-santa-rosa","title":"US Department of Labor Hails Expanded Protections for H-2A Farmworkers in Santa Rosa","publishDate":1714215656,"format":"standard","headTitle":"US Department of Labor Hails Expanded Protections for H-2A Farmworkers in Santa Rosa | KQED","labelTerm":{"site":"news"},"content":"\u003cp>Federal labor officials announced Friday increased protections for the growing number of seasonal foreign workers whom agricultural employers rely upon as they navigate domestic labor shortages.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/agriculture/h2a/final-rule\">final \u003c/a>rule aims to reduce abuses faced by temporary agricultural laborers with H-2A visas, including human trafficking and wage theft, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The regulations will help ensure workers in the program are treated fairly, while promoting employer accountability, said Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su during a press conference in Santa Rosa.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have seen far too often the rights of those workers are violated,” said Su, who previously served as California Labor Secretary. The new rule “both strengthens existing protections and expands some protections. We are also improving the DOL’s ability to enforce the laws that are in place against fraud and bad actors who violated workers’ rights previously.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-states/temporary-workers/h-2a-temporary-agricultural-workers\">H-2A\u003c/a> program allows U.S. agricultural employers to fill temporary jobs with workers from other countries when they can’t find enough workers in the U.S. The program has \u003ca href=\"https://calag.ucanr.edu/Archive/?article=ca.2021a0020\">quadrupled in size\u003c/a> since 2000, with nearly \u003ca href=\"https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ETA/oflc/pdfs/H-2A_Selected_Statistics_FY2023_Q4.pdf\">380,000 H-2A\u003c/a> positions certified nationwide last year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The farmworkers, many who are from Mexico, depend on employers for their housing and transportation, and can be deported if they are fired. That power imbalance often contributes to exploitative job conditions, according to experts who’ve studied the program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>H-2A workers “are afraid of retaliation from their employers. They do not raise their voice when working under abusive conditions,” said Maria Casillas, a member of the United Farm Workers who pushed for the protections. “All farmworkers, including H-2A and American workers, deserve the right to have a voice in the workplace.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The labor department’s wage and hour division found violations in 88% of the H-2A investigations it opened in the last five years. But most farm employers are never inspected by the agency because it lacks funding and staffing, according to a recent \u003ca href=\"https://www.epi.org/publication/record-low-farm-investigations/\">study\u003c/a> from the Economic Policy Institute.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Su said the new regulations, which include clarifying that an employer can only terminate a worker when they fail to comply with outlined job duties or employer policies, are a “significant milestone” in the Biden administration’s pro-worker efforts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California employers requested almost 41,000 H-2A workers last year, making the state the second top user of these visas behind Florida.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Agriculture employers in California have argued the regulations would make an already burdensome program more complex and costly as they seek to bridge the gap of growing labor shortages.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11984235\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11984235\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/20240426_DEPTOFLABORANNOUNCEMENT-3-GC-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1247\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/20240426_DEPTOFLABORANNOUNCEMENT-3-GC-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/20240426_DEPTOFLABORANNOUNCEMENT-3-GC-KQED-800x499.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/20240426_DEPTOFLABORANNOUNCEMENT-3-GC-KQED-1020x636.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/20240426_DEPTOFLABORANNOUNCEMENT-3-GC-KQED-160x100.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/20240426_DEPTOFLABORANNOUNCEMENT-3-GC-KQED-1536x958.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/20240426_DEPTOFLABORANNOUNCEMENT-3-GC-KQED-1920x1197.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Daysi Estrada (right), a farmworker in Sonoma County, speaks next to United Farm Workers President Teresa Romero at a press conference held by Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su in Santa Rosa on Friday, April 26, 2024. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The California Farm Bureau Federation, which has nearly 29,000 members, \u003ca href=\"https://www.regulations.gov/comment/ETA-2023-0003-0322\">encouraged\u003c/a> the labor department to drop provisions such as those granting labor groups access to workers at employer-provided housing out of privacy concerns, and adding requirements to justify firing a worker.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Matthew Viohl, federal policy director for the California Farm Bureau, told KQED that while the organization was still processing the 600-page rule, their initial review “is one of disappointment and concern.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“With the overwhelming majority of H-2A employers acting in good faith, we would ask the Acting Secretary to withdraw this rule and work more closely with industry partners to better improve our guest worker programs in a more sustainable and practical manner,” said Viohl in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Despite the Department of Labor routinely referencing many of the concerns raised by the agricultural industry, it appears most of those suggestions were ignored in favor of regulatory overreach to the benefit of organized labor groups,” Viohl added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under the regulations, employers are prohibited from holding or confiscating a worker’s passport, visa or other identification documents, which is a tactic used to exploit workers, according to the labor department.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To make the recruitment process more transparent, U.S. employers must also disclose their agreements with agents in Mexico, Central America and elsewhere who solicit prospective H-2A workers. KQED previously \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11918317/blacklisted-for-speaking-up-how-california-farmworkers-fighting-abuses-are-vulnerable-to-retaliation\">reported\u003c/a> that agents blacklist employees who speak up while they are employed in the U.S.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most workers pay illegal recruitment fees that put them in debt even before they start working in the U.S., said attorney Daniel Costa, a former senior advisor to the California attorney general on immigration and labor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label=\"Related Stories\" postID=\"news_11982817,forum_2010101892120,news_11918317\"]Costa expects legal challenges to the new rule, but he said the Department of Labor has the authority to make these “modest and reasonable” changes to the H-2A program’s standards.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The law requires that the U.S. government protect labor standards in the H-2A program, so they have a lot of authority to set that program up,” said Costa, director of immigration law and policy research at Economic Policy Institute. “And I think it’s good to use that authority to have updated protections that reflect the reality for H-2A workers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The rule is set to be effective on June 28. H-2A applications filed before August 28 will be processed according to the previous standards.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Farmworker advocates who attended the press conference in Santa Rosa welcomed the changes, including those that allow workers to decline going to employer-sponsored meetings where they are discouraged from organizing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They peddle fear and hopelessness and tell workers that you can’t make a difference…and you should just not organize,” said Davida Sotelo Escobedo with North Bay Jobs With Justice. “It’s a matter of workers having the power to step up and hold companies accountable.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED reporter Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"The new regulations, which go into effect this summer, aim to reduce abuses faced by seasonal foreign farmworkers with H-2A visas. California employers worry the program will become more complex and costly as they deal with US labor shortages.","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1714249969,"stats":{"hasAudio":false,"hasVideo":false,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":26,"wordCount":1001},"headData":{"title":"US Department of Labor Hails Expanded Protections for H-2A Farmworkers in Santa Rosa | KQED","description":"The new regulations, which go into effect this summer, aim to reduce abuses faced by seasonal foreign farmworkers with H-2A visas. California employers worry the program will become more complex and costly as they deal with US labor shortages.","ogTitle":"","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"","twDescription":"","twImgId":"","schema":{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"US Department of Labor Hails Expanded Protections for H-2A Farmworkers in Santa Rosa","datePublished":"2024-04-27T11:00:56.000Z","dateModified":"2024-04-27T20:32:49.000Z","image":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png","isAccessibleForFree":"Y","publisher":{"@type":"NewsMediaOrganization","@id":"https://www.kqed.org/#organization","name":"KQED","url":"https://www.kqed.org","logo":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"}}},"sticky":false,"excludeFromSiteSearch":"Include","articleAge":"0","path":"/news/11984268/us-department-of-labor-hails-expanded-protections-for-h-2a-farmworkers-in-santa-rosa","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Federal labor officials announced Friday increased protections for the growing number of seasonal foreign workers whom agricultural employers rely upon as they navigate domestic labor shortages.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/agriculture/h2a/final-rule\">final \u003c/a>rule aims to reduce abuses faced by temporary agricultural laborers with H-2A visas, including human trafficking and wage theft, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The regulations will help ensure workers in the program are treated fairly, while promoting employer accountability, said Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su during a press conference in Santa Rosa.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have seen far too often the rights of those workers are violated,” said Su, who previously served as California Labor Secretary. The new rule “both strengthens existing protections and expands some protections. We are also improving the DOL’s ability to enforce the laws that are in place against fraud and bad actors who violated workers’ rights previously.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-states/temporary-workers/h-2a-temporary-agricultural-workers\">H-2A\u003c/a> program allows U.S. agricultural employers to fill temporary jobs with workers from other countries when they can’t find enough workers in the U.S. The program has \u003ca href=\"https://calag.ucanr.edu/Archive/?article=ca.2021a0020\">quadrupled in size\u003c/a> since 2000, with nearly \u003ca href=\"https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ETA/oflc/pdfs/H-2A_Selected_Statistics_FY2023_Q4.pdf\">380,000 H-2A\u003c/a> positions certified nationwide last year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The farmworkers, many who are from Mexico, depend on employers for their housing and transportation, and can be deported if they are fired. That power imbalance often contributes to exploitative job conditions, according to experts who’ve studied the program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>H-2A workers “are afraid of retaliation from their employers. They do not raise their voice when working under abusive conditions,” said Maria Casillas, a member of the United Farm Workers who pushed for the protections. “All farmworkers, including H-2A and American workers, deserve the right to have a voice in the workplace.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The labor department’s wage and hour division found violations in 88% of the H-2A investigations it opened in the last five years. But most farm employers are never inspected by the agency because it lacks funding and staffing, according to a recent \u003ca href=\"https://www.epi.org/publication/record-low-farm-investigations/\">study\u003c/a> from the Economic Policy Institute.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Su said the new regulations, which include clarifying that an employer can only terminate a worker when they fail to comply with outlined job duties or employer policies, are a “significant milestone” in the Biden administration’s pro-worker efforts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California employers requested almost 41,000 H-2A workers last year, making the state the second top user of these visas behind Florida.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Agriculture employers in California have argued the regulations would make an already burdensome program more complex and costly as they seek to bridge the gap of growing labor shortages.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11984235\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11984235\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/20240426_DEPTOFLABORANNOUNCEMENT-3-GC-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1247\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/20240426_DEPTOFLABORANNOUNCEMENT-3-GC-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/20240426_DEPTOFLABORANNOUNCEMENT-3-GC-KQED-800x499.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/20240426_DEPTOFLABORANNOUNCEMENT-3-GC-KQED-1020x636.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/20240426_DEPTOFLABORANNOUNCEMENT-3-GC-KQED-160x100.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/20240426_DEPTOFLABORANNOUNCEMENT-3-GC-KQED-1536x958.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/20240426_DEPTOFLABORANNOUNCEMENT-3-GC-KQED-1920x1197.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Daysi Estrada (right), a farmworker in Sonoma County, speaks next to United Farm Workers President Teresa Romero at a press conference held by Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su in Santa Rosa on Friday, April 26, 2024. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The California Farm Bureau Federation, which has nearly 29,000 members, \u003ca href=\"https://www.regulations.gov/comment/ETA-2023-0003-0322\">encouraged\u003c/a> the labor department to drop provisions such as those granting labor groups access to workers at employer-provided housing out of privacy concerns, and adding requirements to justify firing a worker.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Matthew Viohl, federal policy director for the California Farm Bureau, told KQED that while the organization was still processing the 600-page rule, their initial review “is one of disappointment and concern.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“With the overwhelming majority of H-2A employers acting in good faith, we would ask the Acting Secretary to withdraw this rule and work more closely with industry partners to better improve our guest worker programs in a more sustainable and practical manner,” said Viohl in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Despite the Department of Labor routinely referencing many of the concerns raised by the agricultural industry, it appears most of those suggestions were ignored in favor of regulatory overreach to the benefit of organized labor groups,” Viohl added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under the regulations, employers are prohibited from holding or confiscating a worker’s passport, visa or other identification documents, which is a tactic used to exploit workers, according to the labor department.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To make the recruitment process more transparent, U.S. employers must also disclose their agreements with agents in Mexico, Central America and elsewhere who solicit prospective H-2A workers. KQED previously \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11918317/blacklisted-for-speaking-up-how-california-farmworkers-fighting-abuses-are-vulnerable-to-retaliation\">reported\u003c/a> that agents blacklist employees who speak up while they are employed in the U.S.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most workers pay illegal recruitment fees that put them in debt even before they start working in the U.S., said attorney Daniel Costa, a former senior advisor to the California attorney general on immigration and labor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"aside","attributes":{"named":{"label":"Related Stories ","postid":"news_11982817,forum_2010101892120,news_11918317"},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Costa expects legal challenges to the new rule, but he said the Department of Labor has the authority to make these “modest and reasonable” changes to the H-2A program’s standards.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The law requires that the U.S. government protect labor standards in the H-2A program, so they have a lot of authority to set that program up,” said Costa, director of immigration law and policy research at Economic Policy Institute. “And I think it’s good to use that authority to have updated protections that reflect the reality for H-2A workers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The rule is set to be effective on June 28. H-2A applications filed before August 28 will be processed according to the previous standards.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Farmworker advocates who attended the press conference in Santa Rosa welcomed the changes, including those that allow workers to decline going to employer-sponsored meetings where they are discouraged from organizing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They peddle fear and hopelessness and tell workers that you can’t make a difference…and you should just not organize,” said Davida Sotelo Escobedo with North Bay Jobs With Justice. “It’s a matter of workers having the power to step up and hold companies accountable.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED reporter Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/news/11984268/us-department-of-labor-hails-expanded-protections-for-h-2a-farmworkers-in-santa-rosa","authors":["8659"],"categories":["news_1169","news_8"],"tags":["news_4092","news_29817","news_27626","news_20202","news_19904","news_1602","news_31320"],"featImg":"news_11984239","label":"news"},"news_11984297":{"type":"posts","id":"news_11984297","meta":{"index":"posts_1591205157","site":"news","id":"11984297","found":true},"guestAuthors":[],"slug":"as-border-debate-shifts-right-sen-alex-padilla-emerges-as-persistent-counterforce-for-immigrants","title":"As Border Debate Shifts Right, Sen. Alex Padilla Emerges as Persistent Counterforce for Immigrants","publishDate":1714302009,"format":"standard","headTitle":"As Border Debate Shifts Right, Sen. Alex Padilla Emerges as Persistent Counterforce for Immigrants | KQED","labelTerm":{"site":"news"},"content":"\u003cp>President Joe Biden had a question.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Is it true?” Biden asked Sen. Alex Padilla, referencing the roughly 25% of U.S. students in kindergarten through high school who are Latino. Padilla said the question came as he was waiting with the president in a back room at a library in Culver City, California before an event in February.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was exactly the kind of opening Padilla was hoping to get with the Democratic president. Biden was weighing his reelection campaign, \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-immigration-border-donald-trump-f0ca943f0f148e165bc6e8ebfd149f14\">executive actions on immigration\u003c/a> and what to do about a southern border that has been marked by \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/immigration-border-crossings-mexico-biden-18ac91ef502e0c5433f74de6cc629b32\">historic numbers of illegal crossings\u003c/a> during his tenure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Padilla wanted to make sure Biden also took into account the \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/immigration-jobs-economy-wages-gdp-trump-biden-fbd1f2ec89e84fdfaf81d005054edad0\">potential of the country’s immigrants\u003c/a>. “Mr. President, do you know what I call them, those students?” Padilla recalled saying. “It’s the workforce of tomorrow.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was just one of the many times Padilla, who at 52 years old is now the \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-california-kamala-harris-gavin-newsom-alex-padilla-60caab4661f65771f8fa21a585de2638\">senior senator of California\u003c/a>, has taken the opportunity — from face-to-face moments with the president to regular calls with top White House staff and sometimes outspoken criticism — to put his stamp on the Democratic Party’s approach to immigration.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The son of Mexican immigrants and the first Latino to represent his state in the Senate, Padilla has emerged as a persistent force at a time when Democrats are increasingly focused on border security and the country’s posture toward immigrants is uncertain.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Illegal immigration is seen as a \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/congress-border-security-democrats-ca10e37c4f961700cdd1645e09422ac0\">growing political crisis for Democrats\u003c/a> after authorities both at the border and in cities nationwide have struggled to handle recent surges. The party may also be losing favor with Hispanic voters amid disenchantment with Biden. But Padilla, in a series of interviews with The Associated Press, expressed a deep reserve of optimism about his party’s ability to win support both from and for immigrant communities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Don’t be afraid, don’t be reluctant to talk about immigration. Lean into it,” Padilla said. “Because number one, it’s the morally right thing to do. Number two, it is key to the strength, the security and the future of our country.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The senator has tried to anchor his fellow Democrats to that stance even as the politics of immigration grow increasingly toxic. Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, has said immigrants who enter the U.S. illegally are \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/border-immigration-trump-biden-rhetoric-2024-election-327c08045edcc200f850d893de6a79d6\">“poisoning the blood” of the country\u003c/a> and accused Biden of allowing a “bloodbath” at the southern border. Biden, meanwhile, has \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-immigration-asylum-border-congress-7507034034ba49a8f170777600cad46e\">shifted to the right\u003c/a> at times in both the policies and language he is willing to use as illegal border crossings become a vulnerability for his reelection bid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Such was the case when Biden, during his State of the Union address, entered into an unscripted exchange with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican of Georgia, and referred to a Venezuelan man accused of killing a nursing student in Georgia as an \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/illegal-biden-backlash-laken-riley-41819b01c3942435f0f862789cd1d0f0#:~:text=Politics-,Biden's%20reference%20to%20'an%20illegal'%20rankles%20some%20Democrats%20who%20argue,he's%20still%20preferable%20to%20Trump&text=MIAMI%20(AP)%20%E2%80%94%20President%20Joe,State%20of%20the%20Union%20speech.\">“illegal” — a term anathema to immigration rights advocates\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After the speech, Padilla discussed the moment with Rep. Tony Cárdenas in the apartment they share in Washington. Cárdenas said their conversation turned to how they wanted politicians to avoid labeling migrants as “illegals” because it deprived them of dignity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Padilla told him he would call the White House.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He is the kind of person who steps in and steps up, and, you know, he’s tactical about it,” Cárdenas said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s a difficult role to play, especially as Democrats try to shore up what’s seen as a weakness on border security in the battleground states that will determine control of the White House and Congress.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even in California, Republicans have been emboldened on immigration as they try to reassert statewide relevance, said Mark Meuser, a lawyer who lost elections against Padilla for the Senate in 2022 and California Secretary of State in 2018. He argued top California Democrats like Padilla “are driving hard towards the extreme edges of their party.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Padilla has urged the president and fellow Democrats to hold firm to the position that border enforcement measures be paired with reforms for immigrants who are already in the country.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During Senate negotiations earlier this year over border policy, Padilla asserted himself as the \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/senate-border-immigration-biden-66531bcefb908d5440a52b54c543b006\">leader of congressional opposition\u003c/a> from the left.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Padilla, along with four other Democratic-aligned senators, eventually \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/congress-ukraine-aid-border-security-386dcc54b29a5491f8bd87b727a284f8\">voted against advancing the package\u003c/a>, ensuring its failure as Republicans also rejected it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He is a lone voice but it is a courageous voice in the Senate,” said Vanessa Cardenas, who leads the immigration advocacy organization America’s Voice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s been a quick ascent for Padilla, who is just beginning his fourth year in Congress. Yet for Padilla, it’s the very reason he entered politics in the first place.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label=\"Related Stories\" postID=\"news_11979131,news_11970221,news_11982020\"]When he graduated in 1994 with an engineering degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, it was a dream fulfilled for his parents — his father a short order cook and his mother a house cleaner. But he was soon drawn into politics as the state’s attention turned to Proposition 187, a 1994 ballot measure that was approved to deny education, health care and other non-emergency services to immigrants who entered the country illegally.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was branded by supporters as the Save Our State Initiative. Padilla still remembers the ads for the campaign.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Trying to blame a downward economy on the hardest working people that I know was offensive and an outrage,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now he sees parallels between California in the 1990s, which approved the ballot measure but then had it invalidated in federal court, and the wider country today: changing demographics, economic uncertainty and political opportunists “scapegoating” immigrants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet it also spurred the state’s Latinos to get involved politically. To Padilla, it’s no coincidence that California, the state with the most immigrants, now boasts the nation’s largest economy and is a stronghold for Democrats.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"Alex Padilla is taking practically every opportunity to put his stamp on the Democratic Party’s approach to immigration and pressing his case in face-to-face moments with President Joe Biden.","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1714249055,"stats":{"hasAudio":false,"hasVideo":false,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":27,"wordCount":1061},"headData":{"title":"As Border Debate Shifts Right, Sen. Alex Padilla Emerges as Persistent Counterforce for Immigrants | KQED","description":"Alex Padilla is taking practically every opportunity to put his stamp on the Democratic Party’s approach to immigration and pressing his case in face-to-face moments with President Joe Biden.","ogTitle":"","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"","twDescription":"","twImgId":"","schema":{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"As Border Debate Shifts Right, Sen. Alex Padilla Emerges as Persistent Counterforce for Immigrants","datePublished":"2024-04-28T11:00:09.000Z","dateModified":"2024-04-27T20:17:35.000Z","image":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png","isAccessibleForFree":"Y","publisher":{"@type":"NewsMediaOrganization","@id":"https://www.kqed.org/#organization","name":"KQED","url":"https://www.kqed.org","logo":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"}}},"sticky":false,"nprByline":"Stephen Groves\u003cbr>Associated Press","excludeFromSiteSearch":"Include","showOnAuthorArchivePages":"No","articleAge":"0","path":"/news/11984297/as-border-debate-shifts-right-sen-alex-padilla-emerges-as-persistent-counterforce-for-immigrants","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>President Joe Biden had a question.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Is it true?” Biden asked Sen. Alex Padilla, referencing the roughly 25% of U.S. students in kindergarten through high school who are Latino. Padilla said the question came as he was waiting with the president in a back room at a library in Culver City, California before an event in February.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was exactly the kind of opening Padilla was hoping to get with the Democratic president. Biden was weighing his reelection campaign, \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-immigration-border-donald-trump-f0ca943f0f148e165bc6e8ebfd149f14\">executive actions on immigration\u003c/a> and what to do about a southern border that has been marked by \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/immigration-border-crossings-mexico-biden-18ac91ef502e0c5433f74de6cc629b32\">historic numbers of illegal crossings\u003c/a> during his tenure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Padilla wanted to make sure Biden also took into account the \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/immigration-jobs-economy-wages-gdp-trump-biden-fbd1f2ec89e84fdfaf81d005054edad0\">potential of the country’s immigrants\u003c/a>. “Mr. President, do you know what I call them, those students?” Padilla recalled saying. “It’s the workforce of tomorrow.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was just one of the many times Padilla, who at 52 years old is now the \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-california-kamala-harris-gavin-newsom-alex-padilla-60caab4661f65771f8fa21a585de2638\">senior senator of California\u003c/a>, has taken the opportunity — from face-to-face moments with the president to regular calls with top White House staff and sometimes outspoken criticism — to put his stamp on the Democratic Party’s approach to immigration.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The son of Mexican immigrants and the first Latino to represent his state in the Senate, Padilla has emerged as a persistent force at a time when Democrats are increasingly focused on border security and the country’s posture toward immigrants is uncertain.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Illegal immigration is seen as a \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/congress-border-security-democrats-ca10e37c4f961700cdd1645e09422ac0\">growing political crisis for Democrats\u003c/a> after authorities both at the border and in cities nationwide have struggled to handle recent surges. The party may also be losing favor with Hispanic voters amid disenchantment with Biden. But Padilla, in a series of interviews with The Associated Press, expressed a deep reserve of optimism about his party’s ability to win support both from and for immigrant communities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Don’t be afraid, don’t be reluctant to talk about immigration. Lean into it,” Padilla said. “Because number one, it’s the morally right thing to do. Number two, it is key to the strength, the security and the future of our country.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The senator has tried to anchor his fellow Democrats to that stance even as the politics of immigration grow increasingly toxic. Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, has said immigrants who enter the U.S. illegally are \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/border-immigration-trump-biden-rhetoric-2024-election-327c08045edcc200f850d893de6a79d6\">“poisoning the blood” of the country\u003c/a> and accused Biden of allowing a “bloodbath” at the southern border. Biden, meanwhile, has \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-immigration-asylum-border-congress-7507034034ba49a8f170777600cad46e\">shifted to the right\u003c/a> at times in both the policies and language he is willing to use as illegal border crossings become a vulnerability for his reelection bid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Such was the case when Biden, during his State of the Union address, entered into an unscripted exchange with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican of Georgia, and referred to a Venezuelan man accused of killing a nursing student in Georgia as an \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/illegal-biden-backlash-laken-riley-41819b01c3942435f0f862789cd1d0f0#:~:text=Politics-,Biden's%20reference%20to%20'an%20illegal'%20rankles%20some%20Democrats%20who%20argue,he's%20still%20preferable%20to%20Trump&text=MIAMI%20(AP)%20%E2%80%94%20President%20Joe,State%20of%20the%20Union%20speech.\">“illegal” — a term anathema to immigration rights advocates\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After the speech, Padilla discussed the moment with Rep. Tony Cárdenas in the apartment they share in Washington. Cárdenas said their conversation turned to how they wanted politicians to avoid labeling migrants as “illegals” because it deprived them of dignity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Padilla told him he would call the White House.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He is the kind of person who steps in and steps up, and, you know, he’s tactical about it,” Cárdenas said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s a difficult role to play, especially as Democrats try to shore up what’s seen as a weakness on border security in the battleground states that will determine control of the White House and Congress.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even in California, Republicans have been emboldened on immigration as they try to reassert statewide relevance, said Mark Meuser, a lawyer who lost elections against Padilla for the Senate in 2022 and California Secretary of State in 2018. He argued top California Democrats like Padilla “are driving hard towards the extreme edges of their party.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Padilla has urged the president and fellow Democrats to hold firm to the position that border enforcement measures be paired with reforms for immigrants who are already in the country.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During Senate negotiations earlier this year over border policy, Padilla asserted himself as the \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/senate-border-immigration-biden-66531bcefb908d5440a52b54c543b006\">leader of congressional opposition\u003c/a> from the left.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Padilla, along with four other Democratic-aligned senators, eventually \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/congress-ukraine-aid-border-security-386dcc54b29a5491f8bd87b727a284f8\">voted against advancing the package\u003c/a>, ensuring its failure as Republicans also rejected it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He is a lone voice but it is a courageous voice in the Senate,” said Vanessa Cardenas, who leads the immigration advocacy organization America’s Voice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s been a quick ascent for Padilla, who is just beginning his fourth year in Congress. Yet for Padilla, it’s the very reason he entered politics in the first place.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"aside","attributes":{"named":{"label":"Related Stories ","postid":"news_11979131,news_11970221,news_11982020"},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>When he graduated in 1994 with an engineering degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, it was a dream fulfilled for his parents — his father a short order cook and his mother a house cleaner. But he was soon drawn into politics as the state’s attention turned to Proposition 187, a 1994 ballot measure that was approved to deny education, health care and other non-emergency services to immigrants who entered the country illegally.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was branded by supporters as the Save Our State Initiative. Padilla still remembers the ads for the campaign.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Trying to blame a downward economy on the hardest working people that I know was offensive and an outrage,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now he sees parallels between California in the 1990s, which approved the ballot measure but then had it invalidated in federal court, and the wider country today: changing demographics, economic uncertainty and political opportunists “scapegoating” immigrants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet it also spurred the state’s Latinos to get involved politically. To Padilla, it’s no coincidence that California, the state with the most immigrants, now boasts the nation’s largest economy and is a stronghold for Democrats.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/news/11984297/as-border-debate-shifts-right-sen-alex-padilla-emerges-as-persistent-counterforce-for-immigrants","authors":["byline_news_11984297"],"categories":["news_1169","news_8","news_13"],"tags":["news_27626","news_20202","news_29063","news_31213"],"featImg":"news_11984300","label":"news"},"news_11984016":{"type":"posts","id":"news_11984016","meta":{"index":"posts_1591205157","site":"news","id":"11984016","found":true},"guestAuthors":[],"slug":"judge-rules-california-split-lot-housing-law-unconstitutional","title":"California Law Letting Property Owners Split Lots to Build New Homes Is 'Unconstitutional,' Judge Rules","publishDate":1714079477,"format":"standard","headTitle":"California Law Letting Property Owners Split Lots to Build New Homes Is ‘Unconstitutional,’ Judge Rules | KQED","labelTerm":{"site":"news"},"content":"\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11860308/why-just-allowing-fourplexes-wont-solve-californias-housing-affordability-crisis\">controversial 2021 law\u003c/a> that allows property owners in California to split their lots and build up to two new homes is unconstitutional, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruled this week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/20240422-Los-Angeles-Superior-Court-Judge-ruling-on-SB-9.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The ruling\u003c/a> striking down \u003ca href=\"https://focus.senate.ca.gov/sb9\">Senate Bill 9\u003c/a> only applies to the five Southern California charter cities that were parties to the case: Redondo Beach, Whittier, Carson, Del Mar and Torrance. However, if the case is appealed, the appellate court’s ruling will apply to \u003ca href=\"https://www.cacities.org/UploadedFiles/LeagueInternet/6b/6bbb4ee3-88f9-4d8f-93ad-0075a7b486c4.pdf\">charter cities\u003c/a> statewide, including San Francisco, Oakland and San José.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The decision, issued on Monday, is a blow to key state leaders, who \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2021/09/16/governor-newsom-signs-historic-legislation-to-boost-californias-housing-supply-and-fight-the-housing-crisis/\">hailed the law\u003c/a> as a way to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11840548/the-racist-history-of-single-family-home-zoning\">open single-family neighborhoods\u003c/a> to desperately needed housing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And it’s an endorsement of an opposing idea: that suburban neighborhoods should be reserved for single-family homes, said Chris Elmendorf, a law professor at UC Davis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s an indication of unease or discomfort with housing laws that are trying to transform single-family-home neighborhoods,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A spokesperson for state Attorney General Rob Bonta, the named defendant in the case, said his office is reviewing the case and would “consider all options in defense of SB 9.” The office of Gov. Gavin Newsom, a supporter of the law, did not respond to a request for comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pam Lee, an attorney with Aleshire & Wynder, who represented the plaintiffs in the case, said the ruling came as a surprise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We knew that the stakes were high, but we also knew that it was an uphill battle,” Lee said. “So many of the [housing] laws that have been challenged — in particular, cases against charter cities — have just not been met with a favorable fate.”[aside label=\"more housing coverage\" tag=\"affordable-housing\"]Charter cities have special privileges under the state Constitution, Lee said, including the right to enact their own laws. When the state Legislature wants its laws to apply to those charter cities, Lee said lawmakers have to demonstrate the law addresses a statewide concern.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In his decision, Judge Curtis Kin said the Legislature didn’t do that in this case. Specifically, SB 9 says its purpose is to “ensure access to affordable housing.” Lee and her colleagues argued that “affordable housing” means something very specific: below-market-rate, deed-restricted housing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since the law doesn’t specifically require property owners to develop that kind of housing, the law is unconstitutional, Kin ruled.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Elmendorf called that interpretation “kind of silly.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By allowing property owners to split their lots and build up to two homes on each new one, the law promotes the construction of homes that are smaller and therefore relatively more affordable, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The Legislature is not a house full of idiots,” Elmendorf said, adding the law itself clearly states the Legislature’s intent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement, state Sen. Toni Atkins (D-San Diego), who authored SB 9, called the judge’s ruling “sadly misguided” and vowed to “remedy any loopholes biased city governments might utilize” to block new housing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The assertion by NIMBY city governments that SB 9 is only about subsidized housing is a stretch at best,” said Atkins, who recently stepped down as Senate President Pro Tempore. “The goal of SB 9 has always been to increase equity and accessibility in our neighborhoods while growing our housing supply and production across the state.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since it went into effect in 2022, however, the law has produced little in the way of new lots or housing. A \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11980785/these-california-companies-want-to-buy-your-backyard-and-build-a-house\">KQED survey\u003c/a> of 16 cities of varying sizes found that between 2022 and 2023, the cities collectively approved 75 lot-split applications and 112 applications for new units under the law. That’s compared to more than 8,800 accessory dwelling units, or in-law apartments, the cities permitted during the same time frame.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Developers have generally supported the bill but have criticized anti-speculation provisions in the law that require a property owner requesting a lot split to agree to live in the house for at least three years. They have also argued that fees and other barriers cities have imposed have prevented the law from working as intended.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Atkins authored a second bill, SB 450, to address some of those issues, but it is currently on hold.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Elmendorf said the Legislature’s unwillingness to address those issues demonstrates a certain unease with the law’s intent to open single-family neighborhoods to more housing — even among lawmakers who voted to approve it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That unease is reflected in SB 9 itself,” he said. “SB 9 is written with loopholes.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state could easily fix those loopholes, Elmendorf said, just as it can easily remedy the error Kin identified in his ruling. How swiftly it does so will demonstrate how serious lawmakers are about dismantling barriers to housing in single-family neighborhoods.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think it’s worth watching the legislative response to this case,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Doing so will better answer the question underlying SB 9, Elmendorf added. “Do we really want these traditional single-family home neighborhoods to be transformed into something that’s a little bit different?”\u003c/p>\n\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"A Los Angeles Superior Court judge this week struck down SB 9, a 2021 California law allowing property owners to split their lots and build up to two new homes.","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1714153584,"stats":{"hasAudio":false,"hasVideo":false,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":25,"wordCount":896},"headData":{"title":"California Law Letting Property Owners Split Lots to Build New Homes Is 'Unconstitutional,' Judge Rules | KQED","description":"A Los Angeles Superior Court judge this week struck down SB 9, a 2021 California law allowing property owners to split their lots and build up to two new homes.","ogTitle":"","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"","twDescription":"","twImgId":"","schema":{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"California Law Letting Property Owners Split Lots to Build New Homes Is 'Unconstitutional,' Judge Rules","datePublished":"2024-04-25T21:11:17.000Z","dateModified":"2024-04-26T17:46:24.000Z","image":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png","isAccessibleForFree":"Y","publisher":{"@type":"NewsMediaOrganization","@id":"https://www.kqed.org/#organization","name":"KQED","url":"https://www.kqed.org","logo":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"}}},"sticky":false,"excludeFromSiteSearch":"Include","articleAge":"0","path":"/news/11984016/judge-rules-california-split-lot-housing-law-unconstitutional","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11860308/why-just-allowing-fourplexes-wont-solve-californias-housing-affordability-crisis\">controversial 2021 law\u003c/a> that allows property owners in California to split their lots and build up to two new homes is unconstitutional, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruled this week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/04/20240422-Los-Angeles-Superior-Court-Judge-ruling-on-SB-9.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The ruling\u003c/a> striking down \u003ca href=\"https://focus.senate.ca.gov/sb9\">Senate Bill 9\u003c/a> only applies to the five Southern California charter cities that were parties to the case: Redondo Beach, Whittier, Carson, Del Mar and Torrance. However, if the case is appealed, the appellate court’s ruling will apply to \u003ca href=\"https://www.cacities.org/UploadedFiles/LeagueInternet/6b/6bbb4ee3-88f9-4d8f-93ad-0075a7b486c4.pdf\">charter cities\u003c/a> statewide, including San Francisco, Oakland and San José.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The decision, issued on Monday, is a blow to key state leaders, who \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2021/09/16/governor-newsom-signs-historic-legislation-to-boost-californias-housing-supply-and-fight-the-housing-crisis/\">hailed the law\u003c/a> as a way to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11840548/the-racist-history-of-single-family-home-zoning\">open single-family neighborhoods\u003c/a> to desperately needed housing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And it’s an endorsement of an opposing idea: that suburban neighborhoods should be reserved for single-family homes, said Chris Elmendorf, a law professor at UC Davis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s an indication of unease or discomfort with housing laws that are trying to transform single-family-home neighborhoods,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A spokesperson for state Attorney General Rob Bonta, the named defendant in the case, said his office is reviewing the case and would “consider all options in defense of SB 9.” The office of Gov. Gavin Newsom, a supporter of the law, did not respond to a request for comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pam Lee, an attorney with Aleshire & Wynder, who represented the plaintiffs in the case, said the ruling came as a surprise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We knew that the stakes were high, but we also knew that it was an uphill battle,” Lee said. “So many of the [housing] laws that have been challenged — in particular, cases against charter cities — have just not been met with a favorable fate.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"aside","attributes":{"named":{"label":"more housing coverage ","tag":"affordable-housing"},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Charter cities have special privileges under the state Constitution, Lee said, including the right to enact their own laws. When the state Legislature wants its laws to apply to those charter cities, Lee said lawmakers have to demonstrate the law addresses a statewide concern.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In his decision, Judge Curtis Kin said the Legislature didn’t do that in this case. Specifically, SB 9 says its purpose is to “ensure access to affordable housing.” Lee and her colleagues argued that “affordable housing” means something very specific: below-market-rate, deed-restricted housing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since the law doesn’t specifically require property owners to develop that kind of housing, the law is unconstitutional, Kin ruled.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Elmendorf called that interpretation “kind of silly.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By allowing property owners to split their lots and build up to two homes on each new one, the law promotes the construction of homes that are smaller and therefore relatively more affordable, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The Legislature is not a house full of idiots,” Elmendorf said, adding the law itself clearly states the Legislature’s intent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement, state Sen. Toni Atkins (D-San Diego), who authored SB 9, called the judge’s ruling “sadly misguided” and vowed to “remedy any loopholes biased city governments might utilize” to block new housing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The assertion by NIMBY city governments that SB 9 is only about subsidized housing is a stretch at best,” said Atkins, who recently stepped down as Senate President Pro Tempore. “The goal of SB 9 has always been to increase equity and accessibility in our neighborhoods while growing our housing supply and production across the state.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since it went into effect in 2022, however, the law has produced little in the way of new lots or housing. A \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11980785/these-california-companies-want-to-buy-your-backyard-and-build-a-house\">KQED survey\u003c/a> of 16 cities of varying sizes found that between 2022 and 2023, the cities collectively approved 75 lot-split applications and 112 applications for new units under the law. That’s compared to more than 8,800 accessory dwelling units, or in-law apartments, the cities permitted during the same time frame.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Developers have generally supported the bill but have criticized anti-speculation provisions in the law that require a property owner requesting a lot split to agree to live in the house for at least three years. They have also argued that fees and other barriers cities have imposed have prevented the law from working as intended.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Atkins authored a second bill, SB 450, to address some of those issues, but it is currently on hold.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Elmendorf said the Legislature’s unwillingness to address those issues demonstrates a certain unease with the law’s intent to open single-family neighborhoods to more housing — even among lawmakers who voted to approve it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That unease is reflected in SB 9 itself,” he said. “SB 9 is written with loopholes.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state could easily fix those loopholes, Elmendorf said, just as it can easily remedy the error Kin identified in his ruling. How swiftly it does so will demonstrate how serious lawmakers are about dismantling barriers to housing in single-family neighborhoods.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think it’s worth watching the legislative response to this case,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Doing so will better answer the question underlying SB 9, Elmendorf added. “Do we really want these traditional single-family home neighborhoods to be transformed into something that’s a little bit different?”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/news/11984016/judge-rules-california-split-lot-housing-law-unconstitutional","authors":["11652"],"categories":["news_8"],"tags":["news_3921","news_24805","news_1775","news_22804"],"featImg":"news_11984069","label":"news"},"news_11975582":{"type":"posts","id":"news_11975582","meta":{"index":"posts_1591205157","site":"news","id":"11975582","found":true},"guestAuthors":[],"slug":"inheriting-a-home-in-california-heres-what-you-need-to-know","title":"Inheriting a Home in California? Here's What You Need to Know","publishDate":1707854404,"format":"standard","headTitle":"Inheriting a Home in California? Here’s What You Need to Know | KQED","labelTerm":{"term":72,"site":"news"},"content":"\u003cp>If you’re expecting to inherit a home in California, you might need to find a “for sale” sign. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11841414/what-you-need-to-know-about-proposition-19-and-property-tax-transfers-transcript\">That’s because Proposition 19\u003c/a> has made it much harder to keep that house.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before the proposition narrowly passed in 2020, parents could pass down their home and their very low property tax rate to their children. But Proposition 19 changed that. Now, the property’s value gets reassessed at the time of transfer, and the property taxes could rise along with it. It’s confusing for some who can’t decide whether they should sell or keep their newly inherited property.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For many people in California, inheriting a home their parents bought decades earlier — when the cost of housing was much more affordable concerning average salaries — is the only way they’ll be able to own a home. If you’re in this situation, keep reading for some factors to consider:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Do you plan to live in the house you inherit?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>There are some benefits for people who choose to make an inherited property their primary residence. If you plan to live in the inherited home, you can apply to have up to $1 million excluded from the tax reassessment as long as you move into the home within a year of the transfer. [pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Alicia Gamez, attorney, specializing in California taxation law, estate planning, trust and probate law\"]‘I have seen circumstances where the property tax reassessment really threatens a family’s ability to stay in their neighborhood.’[/pullquote]Despite those benefits, there are some downsides, said Alicia Gamez, an attorney specializing in California taxation law, estate planning, trust and probate law. If a family’s home is a multi-unit building, where the parents live in one unit while their children live in other units, only the parents’ unit will qualify for a reassessment exemption. The other units, where the children live, would get reassessed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I have seen circumstances where the property tax reassessment really threatens a family’s ability to stay in their neighborhood,” Gamez said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gamez said situations can differ based on the circumstances of families. If the home requires repairs, those can add up, and deciding to live in the home is even more expensive and complicated. If siblings are involved, selling and splitting the money may be easier than having one sibling buy out the others.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If the children already own a home, they might not want to move. In that case, they can choose to sell the inherited property or rent it out.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Do you plan to rent out the inherited house?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Rather than selling the inherited property, many inheritors chose to rent out the home and collect a passive income. Before Proposition 19 passed, the inheritors could keep the low property tax rate. [aside label='More on Housing' tag='housing']Some people called this the “\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/economy/2018/08/prop-13-jeff-bridges-property-taxes-inheritance-estate-california/\">Lebowski loophole\u003c/a>” because the law allowed people like actor Jeff Bridges and his siblings to \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-california-property-taxes-elites-201808-htmlstory.html\">pay $5,700 in annual property taxes\u003c/a> on the Malibu beach house his parents bought in the 1950s while renting it out for $15,995 a month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But now, if you plan to rent out the property you inherit, the property’s value will be reassessed and could result in a steep increase in property taxes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gamez said Proposition 19 also aimed to fix some of the “market anomalies” created by decades of unusually low tax rates.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There were people in San Francisco who had real estate that was vacant, and it only cost them $600 a year in property taxes,” she said. “They chose not to sell it because it was an appreciating asset with very low overhead.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With Proposition 19, she said, “It’s going to cost them tens of thousands of dollars to just hold it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Why was Proposition 19 passed in the first place?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Proposition 19, officially called the Home Protection for Seniors, Severely Disabled, Families and Victims of Wildfire or Natural Disasters Act, aimed to help people 55 years and older downsize from larger, single-family homes into smaller houses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.car.org/knowledge/brokers/Prop-19\">California Association of Realtors\u003c/a> lobbied in favor of the proposition and promised it would “open up tens of thousands of housing opportunities,” making the homes “more readily available for first-time homeowners, families and Californians throughout the state.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thanks to Proposition 19, people looking to downsize into a smaller home or condo can keep their low tax rate if they purchase a home of equal or lesser value.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Of the money generated through the increased property taxes this new law is expected to generate, 80% funds fire suppression efforts for local special districts and the rest goes to the State Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Is there a chance Proposition 19 will be overturned?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Some property owners across the state want to \u003ca href=\"https://reinstate58.hjta.org/\">repeal Proposition 19\u003c/a> and bring the issue in front of voters, but the movement is still small. [pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Kern Singh, attorney, specializing in estate law\"]‘I’m a real estate investor myself, and I haven’t taken any drastic measures. I’m waiting to see how this pans out in the long run.’[/pullquote]Kern Singh, an attorney who specializes in estate law, said some of his clients considered transferring their property to their children immediately, rather than waiting for the property to increase in value, as a way to maintain a lower tax rate. But he said he’s urging those clients to wait and see what happens with Proposition 19.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m a real estate investor myself, and I haven’t taken any drastic measures,” he said. “I’m waiting to see how this pans out in the long run.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gamez is a bit more skeptical about any repeal effort, especially as more people purchase homes in California and pay steep property taxes, often for older properties.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think that for every person who has a super low property tax basis, they have several neighbors who do not,” she said. “Are those neighbors going to vote to let their neighbor keep their 1979 property tax basis? I think there are a lot of people who feel significant resentment towards having not been born here in the first place.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"Proposition 19, which voters narrowly passed in 2020, aimed to give a tax break to older Californians looking to downsize. But the new law also changed the math for people inheriting a home, complicating an already emotional decision.","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1707858552,"stats":{"hasAudio":false,"hasVideo":false,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":22,"wordCount":1093},"headData":{"title":"Inheriting a Home in California? Here's What You Need to Know | KQED","description":"Proposition 19, which voters narrowly passed in 2020, aimed to give a tax break to older Californians looking to downsize. But the new law also changed the math for people inheriting a home, complicating an already emotional decision.","ogTitle":"","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"","twDescription":"","twImgId":"","schema":{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Inheriting a Home in California? Here's What You Need to Know","datePublished":"2024-02-13T20:00:04.000Z","dateModified":"2024-02-13T21:09:12.000Z","image":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png","isAccessibleForFree":"Y","publisher":{"@type":"NewsMediaOrganization","@id":"https://www.kqed.org/#organization","name":"KQED","url":"https://www.kqed.org","logo":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"}}},"sticky":false,"excludeFromSiteSearch":"Include","articleAge":"0","path":"/news/11975582/inheriting-a-home-in-california-heres-what-you-need-to-know","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>If you’re expecting to inherit a home in California, you might need to find a “for sale” sign. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11841414/what-you-need-to-know-about-proposition-19-and-property-tax-transfers-transcript\">That’s because Proposition 19\u003c/a> has made it much harder to keep that house.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before the proposition narrowly passed in 2020, parents could pass down their home and their very low property tax rate to their children. But Proposition 19 changed that. Now, the property’s value gets reassessed at the time of transfer, and the property taxes could rise along with it. It’s confusing for some who can’t decide whether they should sell or keep their newly inherited property.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For many people in California, inheriting a home their parents bought decades earlier — when the cost of housing was much more affordable concerning average salaries — is the only way they’ll be able to own a home. If you’re in this situation, keep reading for some factors to consider:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Do you plan to live in the house you inherit?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>There are some benefits for people who choose to make an inherited property their primary residence. If you plan to live in the inherited home, you can apply to have up to $1 million excluded from the tax reassessment as long as you move into the home within a year of the transfer. \u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"‘I have seen circumstances where the property tax reassessment really threatens a family’s ability to stay in their neighborhood.’","name":"pullquote","attributes":{"named":{"size":"medium","align":"right","citation":"Alicia Gamez, attorney, specializing in California taxation law, estate planning, trust and probate law","label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Despite those benefits, there are some downsides, said Alicia Gamez, an attorney specializing in California taxation law, estate planning, trust and probate law. If a family’s home is a multi-unit building, where the parents live in one unit while their children live in other units, only the parents’ unit will qualify for a reassessment exemption. The other units, where the children live, would get reassessed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I have seen circumstances where the property tax reassessment really threatens a family’s ability to stay in their neighborhood,” Gamez said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gamez said situations can differ based on the circumstances of families. If the home requires repairs, those can add up, and deciding to live in the home is even more expensive and complicated. If siblings are involved, selling and splitting the money may be easier than having one sibling buy out the others.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If the children already own a home, they might not want to move. In that case, they can choose to sell the inherited property or rent it out.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Do you plan to rent out the inherited house?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Rather than selling the inherited property, many inheritors chose to rent out the home and collect a passive income. Before Proposition 19 passed, the inheritors could keep the low property tax rate. \u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"aside","attributes":{"named":{"label":"More on Housing ","tag":"housing"},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Some people called this the “\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/economy/2018/08/prop-13-jeff-bridges-property-taxes-inheritance-estate-california/\">Lebowski loophole\u003c/a>” because the law allowed people like actor Jeff Bridges and his siblings to \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-california-property-taxes-elites-201808-htmlstory.html\">pay $5,700 in annual property taxes\u003c/a> on the Malibu beach house his parents bought in the 1950s while renting it out for $15,995 a month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But now, if you plan to rent out the property you inherit, the property’s value will be reassessed and could result in a steep increase in property taxes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gamez said Proposition 19 also aimed to fix some of the “market anomalies” created by decades of unusually low tax rates.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There were people in San Francisco who had real estate that was vacant, and it only cost them $600 a year in property taxes,” she said. “They chose not to sell it because it was an appreciating asset with very low overhead.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With Proposition 19, she said, “It’s going to cost them tens of thousands of dollars to just hold it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Why was Proposition 19 passed in the first place?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Proposition 19, officially called the Home Protection for Seniors, Severely Disabled, Families and Victims of Wildfire or Natural Disasters Act, aimed to help people 55 years and older downsize from larger, single-family homes into smaller houses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.car.org/knowledge/brokers/Prop-19\">California Association of Realtors\u003c/a> lobbied in favor of the proposition and promised it would “open up tens of thousands of housing opportunities,” making the homes “more readily available for first-time homeowners, families and Californians throughout the state.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thanks to Proposition 19, people looking to downsize into a smaller home or condo can keep their low tax rate if they purchase a home of equal or lesser value.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Of the money generated through the increased property taxes this new law is expected to generate, 80% funds fire suppression efforts for local special districts and the rest goes to the State Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Is there a chance Proposition 19 will be overturned?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Some property owners across the state want to \u003ca href=\"https://reinstate58.hjta.org/\">repeal Proposition 19\u003c/a> and bring the issue in front of voters, but the movement is still small. \u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"‘I’m a real estate investor myself, and I haven’t taken any drastic measures. I’m waiting to see how this pans out in the long run.’","name":"pullquote","attributes":{"named":{"size":"medium","align":"right","citation":"Kern Singh, attorney, specializing in estate law","label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Kern Singh, an attorney who specializes in estate law, said some of his clients considered transferring their property to their children immediately, rather than waiting for the property to increase in value, as a way to maintain a lower tax rate. But he said he’s urging those clients to wait and see what happens with Proposition 19.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m a real estate investor myself, and I haven’t taken any drastic measures,” he said. “I’m waiting to see how this pans out in the long run.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gamez is a bit more skeptical about any repeal effort, especially as more people purchase homes in California and pay steep property taxes, often for older properties.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think that for every person who has a super low property tax basis, they have several neighbors who do not,” she said. “Are those neighbors going to vote to let their neighbor keep their 1979 property tax basis? I think there are a lot of people who feel significant resentment towards having not been born here in the first place.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"floatright"},"numeric":["floatright"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/news/11975582/inheriting-a-home-in-california-heres-what-you-need-to-know","authors":["11672"],"programs":["news_72"],"categories":["news_6266","news_8"],"tags":["news_32707","news_18538","news_27626","news_1775"],"featImg":"news_11975585","label":"news_72"},"news_10564656":{"type":"posts","id":"news_10564656","meta":{"index":"posts_1591205157","site":"news","id":"10564656","found":true},"guestAuthors":[],"slug":"10-emails-detail-pges-cozy-relationship-with-its-regulators","title":"10 Emails That Detail PG&E’s Cozy Relationship With Regulators","publishDate":1434697277,"format":"standard","headTitle":"News Fix | KQED News","labelTerm":{"term":6944,"site":"news"},"content":"\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">I\u003c/span>n the years since the September 2010 natural gas pipeline explosion that killed eight people in San Bruno, the relationship between pipeline operator Pacific Gas and Electric Co. and high-ranking officials at the California Public Utilities Commission has come under intense scrutiny, undermining public trust in the state agency tasked with ensuring safe pipeline operations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State prosecutors and a federal grand jury are currently zeroing in on alleged improper ties between PG&E and top state regulators. \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2015/01/29/report-former-cpuc-chief-targeted-in-state-probe\" target=\"_blank\">State investigators\u003c/a> acting on a search warrant earlier this year seized iPhones, a laptop and bank statements from the residence of former CPUC President Michael Peevey and took similar items from the home of PG&E's former Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, Brian Cherry, all on suspicion of felony activity relating to a judge-shopping scandal brought to light by email records.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those exchanges were made public in the wake of civil litigation brought on behalf of San Bruno, when a judge ordered PG&E to release records consisting of some 65,000 emails and 123,000 documents.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"alignright pullquote\">A PG&E executive and CPUC official were on 2,369 of the same email threads using their official email addresses — that’s an average of 11 times a week.\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>KQED has taken a detailed look into this correspondence, which reveals in granular detail the familiar relationships between key decision-makers and PG&E executives that lasted well beyond the San Bruno incident. There are multiple instances of Peevey arranging to meet with Cherry for holiday visits that involved sipping wine — a keyword search of the email records for the words “pinot” or “cabernet,” for example, yielded 16 separate items.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But two of the closest confidants were Cherry and then-CPUC Executive Director Paul Clanon. The collection of documents provided by PG&E shows that between 2010 and 2014, Cherry and Clanon were on 2,369 of the same email threads using their official email addresses -- that's an average of 11 times a week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although some of these emails were sent years ago, an attempt to force a cultural change at the CPUC is only now making its way through the California Legislature. In an attempt to reform CPUC operations, the Senate recently approved \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml;jsessionid=ccfbe52d6f35026fdd9d2a7e2414?bill_id=201520160SB660\" target=\"_blank\">SB 660\u003c/a>, a bill that would overhaul decision-making processes and restrict private exchanges.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an interview with KQED, CPUC President Michael Picker said that the agency read every email released, conducted legal reviews and went through the state personnel process when breaches occurred.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The agency focused on correspondence from about 80 people below the level of commissioner. Some individuals left the CPUC prior to or during the review. The agency determined that action was not warranted against 54 of the people who remained on staff. CPUC spokeswoman Constance Gordon said \"individuals whose emails raised more serious issues\" -- the agency won't say how many -- received \"counseling memos\" or \"letters of correction.\" The agency also held a staff training in appropriate email decorum in April.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The challenge is that we are built for a different era, we were built in a time before emails,\" Picker said. \"Emails tend toward much more casual relationships. That’s a problem because when you start to get at a certain level of casualness, then you can slide into other kinds of ethical breaches.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Picker said that communications between PG&E staff and CPUC employees are currently banned for procedural cases. However, he said, the two staffs must be able to talk to each other.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We can’t do our jobs. We can’t guarantee that the electric system, the gas system work properly, we can’t make sure that people are being protected against unsafe infrastructure unless we are always in communication with the utilities. So if we’re not in contact with PG&E that’s as big of a problem and maybe a larger problem then some of the improper comportment,\" he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E fired Cherry, as well as Senior Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Tom Bottorff and Vice President of Regulatory Proceedings Trina Horner, following the company's internal investigation into the emails.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E spokesman Nick Stimmel \u003ca href=\"https://www.scribd.com/doc/269092248/CPUC-and-PG-E-Emails-PG-E-Statement-to-KQED\" target=\"_blank\">wrote in a statement\u003c/a>: \"With respect to the email issue, we have produced tens of thousands of emails voluntarily and in response to regulatory and legal requirements and we continue to cooperate with all investigations. In the meantime, we will let the content of the emails speak for themselves; we are not going to speculate about motivations or the actions of people who are no longer in roles with the CPUC or the company or about events that may or may not have occurred.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Below we highlight 10 email exchanges that demonstrate just how cozy ties between regulators and the regulated have been in day-to-day CPUC operations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Read the emails\u003c/p>\n\u003ctable>\n\u003ctbody>\n\u003ctr>\n\u003ctd>1) \u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#controlRoom\">“The Control Room Audit”\u003c/a>\u003c/strong> Sept. 14, 2011\u003cbr>\n2) \u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#angels\">“Charlie’s Angels”\u003c/a>\u003c/strong> Oct. 18, 2011\u003cbr>\n3) \u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#seaRanch\">“Sea Ranch over Thanksgiving”\u003c/a>\u003c/strong> Nov. 24, 2010\u003cbr>\n4) \u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#Jellystone\">“How was Jellystone?”\u003c/a>\u003c/strong> Sept. 12, 2010\u003cbr>\n5) \u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#anyThoughts\">“Any thoughts – non-attributed of course?”\u003c/a>\u003c/strong> Oct. 20, 2010\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>6) \u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#parallelUniverses\">“We live in parallel universes…”\u003c/a>\u003c/strong> January 10, 2011\u003cbr>\n7) \u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#investorRelations\">“Investor relations”\u003c/a>\u003c/strong> Sept. 26, 2011\u003cbr>\n8)\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#happyBirthday\"> “Happy Birthday!”\u003c/a>\u003c/strong> Sept. 16, 2010\u003cbr>\n9) \u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#jerryBrown\">“Get this info to [Jerry] Brown”\u003c/a>\u003c/strong> January 11, 2011\u003cbr>\n10) \u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#prozac\">“Prozac might be a solution!”\u003c/a>\u003c/strong> June 4, 2010\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#whatHappened\">Where Are They Now?\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/td>\n\u003c/tr>\n\u003c/tbody>\n\u003c/table>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>1) \u003ca name=\"controlRoom\">\u003c/a>“The Control Room Audit” -- Sept. 14, 2011\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the aftermath of the pipeline rupture that caused the San Bruno explosion, PG&E’s control room management became a focal point for safety improvement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Natural gas pipelines may traverse thousands of miles. In a control room, pressure and flow across the underground network are monitored remotely. The federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration moved to amend federal pipeline safety regulations in the months after San Bruno, imposing tougher regulations on control room operations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But according to an email from PG&E’s Brian Cherry to CPUC’s then-Executive Director Paul Clanon, dated Sept. 14, 2011, the company encountered “some pressing problems” relating to a “control room audit.” Accordingly, Cherry wondered whether Clanon would be willing to “focus elsewhere.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10568616\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/LaHood-Speier-San-Bruno-e1434683321797.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-10568616\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/LaHood-Speier-San-Bruno-800x619.jpg\" alt=\"In this photo from May of 2011, federal Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood tours the site of the PG&E San Bruno pipeline explosion with Congressional Representative Jackie Speier.\" width=\"800\" height=\"619\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">In this photo from May of 2011, federal Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood tours the site of the PG&E San Bruno pipeline explosion with Congressional Representative Jackie Speier. \u003ccite>(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Paul – hope you are enjoying yourself in Jellystone but stay away from the wayward bison,” Cherry wrote. “I received a request from Nick [Stavropoulos, PG&E’s executive vice president of gas operations] and Chris [Johns, president of PG&E] … to seek your advice and counsel on the control room audit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Nick and Chris know we have problems in this area and would like you to focus elsewhere for the moment so that we can address some pressing problems. … Nick stated that you once offered to help out in any way you could if the Commission was becoming an obstacle to us getting the work done.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A formal letter sent to Clanon about two weeks later on PG&E stationary shows the company was preparing for a visit from an independent consultant hired by the CPUC to inspect control-room operations. This audit was conducted to ensure compliance with federal rules. So was PG&E granted a delay? CPUC spokeswoman Constance Gordon said she could not comment on Clanon’s email directly, since he no longer works at the CPUC.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Commission President Michael Picker, who replaced Peevey after he stepped down last year, said that he could not comment directly on the contents of the email, either, since he was unfamiliar with the audit. However, he said, \"No one’s ever asked me to focus elsewhere. Chances are that would make me want to focus more.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Reached by phone, Clanon declined to comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe src=\"https://www.scribd.com/embeds/269089045/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&access_key=key-LCWXLFaD7vmtymd0YBHr&show_recommendations=true\" data-auto-height=\"false\" data-aspect-ratio=\"0.7586206896551724\" scrolling=\"no\" id=\"doc_25733\" width=\"100%\" height=\"600\" frameborder=\"0\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>2) \u003ca name=\"angels\">\u003c/a>“Charlie’s Angels” -- Oct. 18, 2011\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Oct. 18, 2011, PG&E’s Brian Cherry forwarded CPUC President Mike Peevey an email attachment with the note “FYI.” It was a letter from Rep. Jackie Speier to U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, urging LaHood to require natural gas operators to remove from their networks a kind of plastic pipe, Aldyl-A, which is prone to cracking. PG&E has 1,231 miles of the pipe in its system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Roughly six weeks earlier, \u003ca href=\"http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Plastic-natural-gas-pipe-failure-data-kept-secret-2308629.php\" target=\"_blank\">a Cupertino condominium had been destroyed\u003c/a>, in an explosion and fire caused by a gas leak due to a cracked fitting in a plastic Aldyl-A pipe. When it investigated the cause of the blast, PG&E found six other plastic pipe failures near the blast site, records show.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10568615\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Bernardus_Site-Photos-from-Everett_Medium-Resolution_04-17-15-17317.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-10568615\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Bernardus_Site-Photos-from-Everett_Medium-Resolution_04-17-15-17317-800x532.jpg\" alt=\"Former California Public Utilities Commission President Michael Peevey and PG&E executive Brian Cherry made dinner plans at the Bernardus Lodge & Spa, shown here, in October of 2011.\" width=\"800\" height=\"532\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Bernardus_Site-Photos-from-Everett_Medium-Resolution_04-17-15-17317-800x532.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Bernardus_Site-Photos-from-Everett_Medium-Resolution_04-17-15-17317-400x266.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Bernardus_Site-Photos-from-Everett_Medium-Resolution_04-17-15-17317-960x639.jpg 960w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Bernardus_Site-Photos-from-Everett_Medium-Resolution_04-17-15-17317.jpg 1100w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Former California Public Utilities Commission President Michael Peevey and PG&E executive Brian Cherry made dinner plans at the Bernardus Lodge & Spa, shown here, in October of 2011. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Bernardus Lodge & Spa)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In response to Cherry's email, Peevey thanked Cherry for the update. Then the CPUC president moved onto another topic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“See you for dinner Sunday night,” he wrote. “Where and when? Are you bringing Charlie's Angels too?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cherry responded: “7:30 at Marinus in the Bernardus Lodge in the Carmel Valley. About 20 minutes or so from Monterey but well worth the drive. We can make it earlier if you wish.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He added, “Some angels may attend.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/angelstext.png\">\u003cimg class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-10568675\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/angelstext.png\" alt=\"angelstext\" width=\"796\" height=\"357\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/angelstext.png 796w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/angelstext-400x179.png 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 796px) 100vw, 796px\">\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Sunday night\" would have marked the start of the annual meeting of the The Conference of California Public Utility Counsel (CCPUC) at the Monterey Plaza Hotel. The nonprofit organization, which describes itself on the web as a “non-profit mutual benefit corporation,” has representatives from PG&E and other utilities on its board of directors. According to the \u003ca href=\"http://www.ccpuc.org/Past_Events?action=setup_form&formID=57\" target=\"_blank\">conference agenda\u003c/a>, Peevey was scheduled to speak at the conference on Monday, Oct. 24, 2011.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The conference itinerary shows that the evening activity on Sunday, Oct. 23 was a group activity –- attendees would be treated to a “reception and strolling dinner” at the Monterey Bay Aquarium from 7 to 9:30 p.m. But this email thread suggests Peevey and Cherry had other plans. The Bernardus Lodge & Spa is a luxury facility often booked for off-site corporate retreats, according to its website.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While it’s unclear who, or what, the men were referring to when they discussed whether “Charlie’s Angels” would attend, at the very least the detail illustrates close enough ties for them to share a mutual understanding about a coded phrase. Attempts to reach Cherry and Peevey by phone were unsuccessful.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe src=\"https://www.scribd.com/embeds/269090620/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&show_recommendations=true\" data-auto-height=\"false\" data-aspect-ratio=\"undefined\" scrolling=\"no\" id=\"doc_59557\" width=\"100%\" height=\"600\" frameborder=\"0\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>3) \u003ca name=\"seaRanch\">\u003c/a>“Sea Ranch over Thanksgiving” -- Nov. 24, 2010\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Nov. 24, 2010, about six weeks after the San Bruno pipeline explosion, PG&E’s Brian Cherry emailed CPUC President Mike Peevey with some good news -- plus an invitation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10568674\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 796px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/thanksgivingtext.png\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-10568674\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/thanksgivingtext.png\" alt=\"“Mike – FYI. Fish and Game letter on Manzana. Very positive,” he wrote. “Also – Sara and I will be in Sea Ranch over Thanksgiving. We’d be happy to have you and Carol [Peevey’s wife, Democratic Sen. Carol Liu] over for drinks or dinner if you are free. I’ve got plenty of great wine to drink.”\" width=\"796\" height=\"260\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/thanksgivingtext.png 796w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/thanksgivingtext-400x131.png 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 796px) 100vw, 796px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">“Mike – FYI. Fish and Game letter on Manzana. Very positive,” he wrote. “Also – Sara and I will be in Sea Ranch over Thanksgiving. We’d be happy to have you and Carol [Peevey’s wife, Democratic Sen. Carol Liu] over for drinks or dinner if you are free. I’ve got plenty of great wine to drink.”\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Less than an hour later, Peevey responded. “Thanks for the offer but all tied up with family. Next time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Records show that while Peevey at that time declined Cherry’s invitation to the Sonoma County vacation spot, he took him up on similar offers on other occasions. The men shared “\u003ca href=\"http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-puc-scandal-20141009-story.html\" target=\"_blank\">two bottles of good pinot\u003c/a>” over Memorial Day weekend in 2010, for example, while they discussed renewable energy, gas rate increases and a ballot measure campaign.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, “Manzana” refers to PG&E’s proposed \u003ca href=\"http://www.pge.com/about/newsroom/newsreleases/20091203/pge_agrees_to_purchase_and_operate_major_california_wind_energy_project.shtml\" target=\"_blank\">Manzana Wind Project\u003c/a> in Kern County’s Tehachapi region, a $911 million, 246-megawatt renewable energy project that PG&E proposed in late 2009 and was then before the commission for approval. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife had reviewed the project’s environmental impacts out of concern that the wind turbines \u003ca href=\"http://www.forbes.com/sites/toddwoody/2012/01/04/revival-of-iconic-california-condor-threatens-states-wind-farm-boom/\" target=\"_blank\">could kill endangered California condors\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Earlier that year, Cherry had emailed Peevey with information from PG&E’s investor relations division, citing a report from a Deutsche Bank financial analyst about the Manzana project. “Analysts are tracking Manzana … closely,” that email noted, with bankers considering it one of “the largest upcoming cases for the rest of the year.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, the Manzana project never came to fruition. An independent review by the CPUC’s Division of Ratepayer Advocates ultimately found that the wind project would have left customers bearing “significant risk and an unreasonable price tag.” The commission ultimately denied PG&E’s application.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe src=\"https://www.scribd.com/embeds/269091741/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&show_recommendations=true\" data-auto-height=\"false\" data-aspect-ratio=\"undefined\" scrolling=\"no\" id=\"doc_58078\" width=\"100%\" height=\"600\" frameborder=\"0\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>4) \u003ca name=\"Jellystone\">\u003c/a>“Can you guys help me with this?” -- Sept. 12, 2010\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Only three days had passed since the fatal San Bruno pipeline explosion. With images of the blaze still fresh in the media, the CPUC issued a press release to outline its planned response.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State and federal investigations were already underway. In an open memo, then-CPUC President Michael Peevey directed then-Executive Director Paul Clanon to compel PG&E to survey its lines for gas leaks. He demanded an inquiry into PG&E’s spending on pipeline safety and promised, “We are taking immediate action.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But that same afternoon, Peevey emailed Clanon with a different request entirely.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“First thing tomorrow,” he wrote, “See if you can schedule Darbee and Johns in my office at 2 PM Thursday.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He was referring to PG&E's then-CEO Peter Darbee and then-President Chris Johns. Clanon immediately forwarded the request to two PG&E executives, including Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Brian Cherry, asking, “Can you guys help me with this?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10568681\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/SB-explosion.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-10568681\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/SB-explosion-800x534.jpg\" alt=\"Chimneys remain during a massive fire in a residential neighborhood in September 2010 in San Bruno.\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/SB-explosion-800x534.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/SB-explosion-400x267.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/SB-explosion.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/SB-explosion-960x640.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Chimneys remain during a massive fire in a residential neighborhood in September 2010 in San Bruno. \u003ccite>(Max Whittaker/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Under many circumstances, a meeting between Peevey, a key decision-maker, and PG&E’s top brass about a matter under investigation would be a violation of state regulations designed to ensure fair dealing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under state law, contact between decision-makers and interested parties held outside the formal public process are known as ex parte communications. Whether they take the form of face-to-face meetings, texts or emails, these communications are subject to detailed regulations. And when a formal investigation is involved -- designated as an “adjudicatory proceeding” since commissioners act in the capacity of a judge -- no ex parte contact is allowed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nevertheless, CPUC spokesperson Constance Gordon told KQED that this particular meeting did not violate ex parte rules.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The investigation that began immediately following PG&E’s pipeline rupture was a staff investigation,” Gordon said, “not a formal investigation opened by a vote of the Commissioners,” which came later. “As such, ex parte rules would not apply.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After the meeting arrangements were made, Clanon switched to a lighter topic: “How was Jellystone?” he asked Cherry, a possible reference to Yellowstone National Park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Amazing,” Cherry responded. “Saw so much wildlife. But it snowed the other day and I brought shorts!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cherry urged Clanon to plan his own vacation there. Meanwhile not 72 hours had passed since the fatal San Bruno pipeline explosion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Things keep coming up at my work,” Clanon responded.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Uh. Yes,” Cherry shot back. “You have a challenging job. Guess that’s why they pay you the big bucks.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe src=\"https://www.scribd.com/embeds/269090271/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&access_key=key-GgrivqLXfuWWWUDiHNXu&show_recommendations=true\" data-auto-height=\"false\" data-aspect-ratio=\"0.7586206896551724\" scrolling=\"no\" id=\"doc_42402\" width=\"100%\" height=\"600\" frameborder=\"0\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>5) \u003ca name=\"anyThoughts\">\u003c/a>“Any thoughts – non-attributed of course?” — Oct. 20, 2010\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Four years worth of emails show that former PG&E executive\u003cbr>\nBrian Cherry and former CPUC Executive Director Paul Clanon consulted with each other hundreds of times. While the below emails are not illegal, they are good examples of how Cherry and Clanon often bounced ideas off of each other or problem-solved together. On Oct. 20, 2010, Clanon wrote to Cherry:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What are we going to do about the San Bruno demand that the pipeline be moved? I can certainly understand on the human level why they'd want that, even though it might not make a lot of operational or design sense.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cherry responded, “We are struggling with that. There are a couple different re-routes ... Between you and me, I think we should repair 132 temporarily while offering up a longer-term solution involving re-routing. … Any thoughts - non-attributed of course ?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Clanon did have an idea on how PG&E could “frame” moving the pipeline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think the way to frame the pipe-replacement issue is not to think of it as Line 132, but to think of it as, what, two or three miles?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The next week, then-PG&E President Chris Johns \u003ca href=\"http://www.cpuc.ca.gov/NR/rdonlyres/339C7284-F731-46B1-BB51-8A1D86B3BE0A/0/20101027134941.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">released a statement\u003c/a> pledging to move the pipeline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The section of Line 132 that exploded was not repaired in the end. PG&E \u003ca href=\"http://www.rebuildcrestmoor.org/files/managed/Document/221/Line%20132_109%20Alignment.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">rerouted\u003c/a> the transmission line so that the gas now flows through Line 109 at San Andreas Station and returns to Line 132 at Healy Station, both in San Bruno.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"alignright pullquote\">'Any thoughts — non-attributed of course?'\u003cbr>\n\u003ccite>Former PG&E executive Brian Cherry\u003c/cite>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>The CPUC had ordered PG&E to examine shutoff valves. In the same email, Cherry said that the agency had identified more than 200 valves that needed to be replaced. However, he was concerned that there would be a public outcry if he released that number.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If we tell you the number of valves that have been identified and don't have these kinds of estimates, everyone will demand immediate replacement - which just can't be done for a variety of reasons.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Clanon responded to Cherry: “Yeah, cost and time estimates for the valves are crucial.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E's lack of automatic shutoff valves had come under scrutiny by federal officials at the time. National Transportation Safety Board officials found that it took the utility almost 95 minutes to shut off the gas rushing from the ruptured San Bruno pipeline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Keith Slibasager, PG&E’s gas system operations manager, testified during the NTSB’s public hearing on the San Bruno explosion that the company could have cut the gas within 20 minutes if the utility had installed automatic valves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"http://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/PAR1101.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">2006 PG&E memo\u003c/a> shows that PG&E considered installing automatic safety valves, but did not. A PG&E senior gas-consulting engineer, Chi-hung Lee Sr., wrote in the memo that he found most of the damage from a pipeline explosion occurs within 30 seconds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The engineer later testified at the NTSB hearing that his research was limited. The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration and other safety groups had reached different conclusions about shutoff valves. Federal safety officials have suggested, but not required, the use of automatic shutoff valves since 1999. PG&E officials acknowledged at the hearing that after Lee's memo they made no effort to further install the valves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since the San Bruno explosion, PG&E has installed 208 automated valves that the utility can shut off remotely from a control room and 14 automatic shutoff valves that can shut themselves off in areas where transmission pipelines cross major fault lines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe src=\"https://www.scribd.com/embeds/269090994/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&show_recommendations=true\" data-auto-height=\"false\" data-aspect-ratio=\"undefined\" scrolling=\"no\" id=\"doc_43929\" width=\"100%\" height=\"600\" frameborder=\"0\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>6) \u003ca name=\"paralellUniverses\">\u003c/a>“We live in parallel universes…” — Jan. 10, 2011\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2008, PG&E purposely boosted pressure on the San Bruno natural gas line to 400 pounds per square inch, the maximum legal limit. Normally, the line ran at 375 psi.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The next time the pressure on that gas line exceeded 375 psi was on Sept. 9, 2010, when a malfunction spiked the pressure to 386 psi, coinciding with the deadly explosion in San Bruno killing eight people and destroying 28 homes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E later said they increased the pressure in 2008 under a mistaken understanding of federal law. The utility believed that to maintain the ability to run gas at 400 psi, the legal limit, they needed to do so once every five years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"http://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/PG-E-surge-may-have-stressed-San-Bruno-line-in-08-2478734.php\" target=\"_blank\">San Francisco Chronicle investigation\u003c/a> published on Jan. 9, 2011, revealed that the earlier pressure surge could have weakened the pipeline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E and CPUC officials referenced the story the next day, Jan. 10. At 9:35 a.m. Paul Clanon, then-executive director of the California Public Utilities Commission, wrote to senior CPUC staff asking about the spike:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The Chronicle's story on the 2008 temporary rise in pressure on Line 132 to 400 psi doesn't match what I've heard. What are the facts? Is it standard practice or not to raise pressure up to MAOP [maximum allowable operating pressure] to preserve the maximum? Is 2008 really the only time PG&E has raised pressure on that line above 375 until the explosion?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About 30 minutes later he contacted former PG&E executive Brian Cherry: “What are your guys saying about the facts in the Chron story yesterday? Contradicted my understanding of the rules, anyway.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10568621\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Paul-Clanon-e1434683647732.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-10568621\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Paul-Clanon-800x602.jpg\" alt=\"Paul Clanon speaks at a September 28, 2010 Senate committee hearing on gas pipeline safety. \" width=\"800\" height=\"602\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Paul Clanon speaks at a September 28, 2010 Senate committee hearing on gas pipeline safety. \u003ccite>(Alex Wong/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Two minutes later Cherry shared his confusion: “Not sure. Let me follow up. I was under the same understanding.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Clanon wrote back at 10:48: “Our guys are doing the same thing, and you and I can triangulate.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It is not standard practice for utilities to raise pressure on transmission lines, and federal law requires utilities to conduct a costly inspection on any pipeline when the pressure exceeds the maximum limit. PG&E had not conducted such an inspection, nor did Clanon ask if they had in the emails released.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By 4:53 p.m. Cherry and Clanon began to be concerned that neither PG&E nor CPUC staff could come up with an answer about whether such pressure spiking on a gas line was a normal practice. The two sympathized with each other.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Clanon wrote Cherry: “Nothing back yet?” Cherry responded “Nothing yet…” and later “We live in parallel universes.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About an hour later, Clanon had received research from CPUC staff and wanted to run it by Cherry:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Here's what I get from my people. You agree? Follows: PG&E raises the pressure in transmission lines to MAOP once every five years based on its conservative interpretation of 192.917(e)(4)…”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The next day, \u003ca href=\"http://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/PG-E-halts-intentional-gas-line-pressure-spikes-2478613.php\" target=\"_blank\">a Chronicle story\u003c/a> included a statement from a PG&E spokesperson that was very similar to what Clanon had written. “PG&E initially said it had conducted the pressure test on the San Bruno line to ‘preserve’ the pipe's legal capacity, saying federal law required it. A spokesman later backtracked and conceded there was no such requirement.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>CPUC spokesperson Constance Gordon says that Clanon and Cherry were discussing each other's understanding of the rules, so \"if PG&E had a different understanding than that of CPUC staff the issue could be further discussed.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Utility Reform Network is one of PG&E’s sharpest critics. TURN spokesperson Mindy Spatt said such conversations are concerning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Well, it’s a question of whether the commission should be a watchdog or a lapdog. A watchdog would say, wait a minute PG&E what’s going on here? And a lapdog would say, let’s coordinate our message.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe src=\"https://www.scribd.com/embeds/269089050/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&show_recommendations=true\" data-auto-height=\"false\" data-aspect-ratio=\"undefined\" scrolling=\"no\" id=\"doc_86669\" width=\"100%\" height=\"600\" frameborder=\"0\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>7) \u003ca name=\"investorRelations\">\u003c/a>“Investor relations” — Sept. 26, 2011\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An email exchange between Commissioner Mark Ferron and PG&E’s Brian Cherry shows Ferron sought advice from PG&E on which Wall Street analysts he should meet with privately on a trip to New York.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Mark,” Cherry wrote to Ferron in a Sept. 26, 2011 email, “Commissioner Florio was over at PG&E the other day and mentioned that you might need some help meeting with the buy and sell side analysts in New York. If you are interested, Gabe Togneri, our VP of Investor Relations, would be happy to reach out to some of them and have them sponsor a meeting. Our only role would be to make the contact. The analysts would sponsor the meetings themselves and you would meet with them privately.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ferron responded: “[PG&E CEO] Tony Earley … highlighted Dan Ford at Barclays Capital as a thought leader worthwhile meeting if I can find the time. Who else might Gabe recommend?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While there’s no record here of Ferron discussing the proposed San Bruno penalty with Ford, the Barclays analyst was clearly focused on that question.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In September 2012, Ford authored a report noting that PG&E would have difficulty raising $2.2 billion in equity to cover the expected San Bruno fine amount. (The actual penalty amount, finally determined on April 9 this year, was set at $1.6 billion.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And in \u003ca href=\"http://www.ocregister.com/articles/california-530091-puc-state.html\" target=\"_blank\">a report authored by Ferron\u003c/a>, made public in October 2013, the commissioner related investors’ concerns that levying too large a fine against PG&E would cause them to view California as a “capital-unfriendly, ‘banana republic.’” That could lead to an increase in the cost of financing capital for utilities, warned Ferron, who had worked at Deutsche Bank prior to being appointed as a commissioner in March 2011.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ferron stepped down as a commissioner in 2014, citing health problems. CPUC spokesperson Constance Gordon said she was unable to offer comment on emails sent by individuals who no longer worked at the commission. Attempts to reach Ferron were unsuccessful.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The question as to whether commissioners had inappropriate ex parte communications with Wall Street analysts was raised in a brief filed by the CPUC’s Division of Ratepayer Advocates. (Since renamed Office of Ratepayer Advocates).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Some, if not all, of the financial industry representatives who reported discussing the San Bruno investigations with Commission offices represent firms or clients with a financial interest in PG&E Corporation,” the CPUC’s consumer advocacy branch pointed out. “The size of the fine and other penalties the Commission may impose in the San Bruno Investigations is a substantive issue in all three [CPUC] investigations.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe src=\"https://www.scribd.com/embeds/269089048/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&access_key=key-Mn9jh61Mxr2k4WEJWObu&show_recommendations=true\" data-auto-height=\"false\" data-aspect-ratio=\"0.7586206896551724\" scrolling=\"no\" id=\"doc_86425\" width=\"100%\" height=\"600\" frameborder=\"0\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>8) \u003ca name=\"happyBirthday\">\u003c/a>“Happy Birthday!” — Sept. 16, 2010\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was 7 a.m. on Sept. 16, 2010, one week after the San Bruno pipeline explosion. CPUC executive director Paul Clanon emailed PG&E’s Brian Cherry with a simple message in the subject line: “Happy Birthday!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Thanks,” Cherry replied. He shared his birthday wish. “I’d love a nice muzzle for Mark Toney.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mark Toney is executive director of The Utility Reform Network (TURN), a leading critic of PG&E.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10568624\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 600px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Mark-Toney.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-10568624\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Mark-Toney.jpg\" alt=\"Mark Toney, executive director of consumer advocacy group The Utility Reform Network, was the target of an unkind remark in an email from a PG&E executive to the regulatory agency director.\" width=\"600\" height=\"420\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Mark-Toney.jpg 600w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Mark-Toney-400x280.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mark Toney, executive director of consumer advocacy group The Utility Reform Network, was the target of an unkind remark in an email from a PG&E executive to the regulatory agency director. \u003ccite>(Courtesy The Utility Reform Network)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As for why Cherry would have wanted a “muzzle” for Toney, TURN spokesperson Mindy Spatt told KQED that Toney had issued a public statement about customer safety just before this exchange took place.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He was saying: Demand that PG&E put customer safety first – that is the message that PG&E wanted muzzled, a message that said ‘no more San Brunos,’” Spatt said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Sept. 15, Cherry had emailed Clanon to tell him then-PG&E CEO Peter Darbee believed “TURN’s behavior \u003ca href=\"http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/PG-E-targeted-critics-after-San-Bruno-blast-6054156.php\" target=\"_blank\">has bordered on the irresponsible\u003c/a>.” He wondered whether the CPUC would be willing to make a statement publicly discounting TURN’s claims. While it’s not clear from the emails how Clanon reacted to this request, his email reply to Cherry was: “Call me when you can.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was actually six days after the fatal San Bruno explosion that Brian Cherry referred to TURN’s behavior as irresponsible,” Spatt said when asked about this. “His company has just killed eight people and incinerated an entire neighborhood.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe src=\"https://www.scribd.com/embeds/269090899/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&show_recommendations=true\" data-auto-height=\"false\" data-aspect-ratio=\"undefined\" scrolling=\"no\" id=\"doc_38056\" width=\"100%\" height=\"600\" frameborder=\"0\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>9) \u003ca href=\"jerryBrown\">“Get this info to Brown”\u003c/a> -- Jan. 11, 2011\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While it’s obvious why a major utility company would be concerned that its stock had been downgraded, it’s not as clear why a commissioner would care. Upon learning about a financial downgrade, then-CPUC president Michael Peevey recommended that PG&E find a way to indirectly alert Gov. Jerry Brown, who was then in the process of determining new commission appointments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The email thread begins Jan. 11, 2011, when PG&E’s Brian Cherry forwarded Peevey a message from PG&E’s investor relations division about a financial analyst’s report.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Citigroup downgraded … PG&E,” the email explained. The note showed that analysts feared “uncertainty and potential shifting dynamics in the regulatory arena.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In response, Peevey wrote in an email to Cherry: “You should find a way to get this info to Brown as he makes his decisions on Commissioners ASAP. Probably best coming from a non-utility source, such as investment banker(s).”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When asked why Peevey would provide this advice, CPUC spokesperson Constance Gordon responded, “The questions you’ve asked involve individuals who are no longer with the CPUC, so we cannot ask them your questions.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe src=\"https://www.scribd.com/embeds/269091157/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&show_recommendations=true\" data-auto-height=\"false\" data-aspect-ratio=\"undefined\" scrolling=\"no\" id=\"doc_69098\" width=\"100%\" height=\"600\" frameborder=\"0\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>10. \u003ca href=\"prozac\">“Prozac might be a solution!”\u003c/a> -- June 4, 2010\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E officials had no idea what they were getting into when the utility began installing smart meters in California in 2006. Smart meters are a critical component of the \"smart grid” -- the devices track energy usage and transmit data back to customers and utilities, with the goal of reducing electricity consumption and distributing power more efficiently across the electric grid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Smart meters faced an almost \u003ca href=\"http://blogs.kqed.org/climatewatch/2010/03/10/the-backlash-against-smartmeters/\" target=\"_blank\">immediate backlash\u003c/a>. Users first complained that the devices gave artificially high readings. Later the \u003ca href=\"https://www.scribd.com/doc/269092309/Smart-Meter-Investigation-Findings-by-CPUC\" target=\"_blank\">CPUC found\u003c/a> that about 1,480 meters inaccurately recorded electricity consumption in ambient temperatures ranging from 100– 115 degrees Fahrenheit due to a defective chip. Nevertheless, \u003ca href=\"http://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/EFILE/RULINGS/122935.PDF\" target=\"_blank\">a study\u003c/a> conducted by an independent consultant, The Structure Group, determined that the meters generally functioned as intended.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Next, consumer advocacy groups, including TURN, \u003ca href=\"http://blogs.kqed.org/climatewatch/2010/06/13/dumbfounded-by-smartmeters/\" target=\"_blank\">raised concerns\u003c/a> that the meters would harm people like seniors who sometimes have no choice but to run their air conditioners in the sweltering Central Valley. TURN also noted that with smart meters, PG&E could simply turn off people’s power if they couldn’t keep up with the bills. Privacy advocates expressed concern about utilities gaining access to information about their use of personal home appliances.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10568672\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 300px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/4-43EMF_300.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-10568672\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/4-43EMF_300.jpg\" alt=\"A sign from a smart meter protest in 2010.\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A sign from a smart meter protest in 2010. \u003ccite>(Amy Standen/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The biggest battle over smart meters, though, centered on electromagnetic fields (EMFs) emitted by smart meters. The possible health effects of EMFs have been a subject of debate since the \u003ca href=\"http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,918076,00.html\" target=\"_blank\">Cold War\u003c/a>, and fear has intensified in the wireless age with the introduction of countless devices that emit EMFs, such as cellphones, laptops and Wi-Fi routers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/radiation/magnetic-fields-fact-sheet\" target=\"_blank\">The National Institutes of Health’s National Cancer Institute\u003c/a> says that “several early epidemiologic studies raised the possibility of an association between certain cancers, especially childhood cancers, and ELF-EMFs. Most subsequent studies have not shown such an association.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unlike high-energy radiation emitted from devices like X-rays, low-energy emissions from devices like smart meters cannot damage DNA or cells directly, the NIH writes. \u003ca href=\"http://www.who.int/peh-emf/research/en/\" target=\"_blank\">The World Health Organization concluded\u003c/a> that low-energy emissions cause “no substantive health issues.” Smart-meter emissions are 60 times lower than the federal health guidelines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>EMF activists remain concerned, however, about the accumulated exposure people face from being surrounded by so many low-emission devices. And they’ve flooded the CPUC and PG&E with complaints.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By June 4, 2010, Carol Brown, then-CPUC President Michael Peevey’s chief-of-staff, wanted an answer for the people contacting her about EMFs. She wrote to then-PG&E executive Brian Cherry: “So far I have done OK just listening to the sad tales of EMF poisoning - and telling them thank you for bringing it to our attention - but then not offering them any solution!!! I just wanted to have a resource in case! Have a nice weekend.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cherry responded: “Prozac might be a solution!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the meantime, cities, including San Francisco, began petitioning the CPUC to make smart meters optional.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Peevey recommended to Cherry in an email in September 2010 that PG&E consider making the meters optional:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“One thought for the company: If it were my decision I would let anyone who wants to keep their old meter keep it, if they claim they suffer from EMF and/or related electronic-related illnesses and they can produce a doctor's letter saying so (or expressing concern about the likelihood of suffering same). I would institute such a policy quietly and solely on an individual basis. There really are people who feel pain, etc., related to EMF, etc., and rather than have them becoming hysterical, etc., I would quietly leave them alone. Kick it around. And, it sounds like the company may already have taken this step, based on a couple of the comments at yesterday's public hearing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cherry said that he would consider it: “I do worry that this policy, no matter how discrete (sic) we try to make it, will surface and town councils and cities in our territory will ask for similar treatment. That said, we will take the matter up and get back to you with our feedback.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In March 2011, PG&E proposed allowing smart meter users to opt out. The CPUC approved that plan in February 2012. Customers who opt out of the program must pay an initial fee and monthly charge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe src=\"https://www.scribd.com/embeds/269089051/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&show_recommendations=true\" data-auto-height=\"false\" data-aspect-ratio=\"undefined\" scrolling=\"no\" id=\"doc_26891\" width=\"100%\" height=\"600\" frameborder=\"0\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003ca name=\"whatHappened\">\u003c/a>Where Are They Now?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Brian Cherry\u003c/strong>, PG&E’s vice president of regulatory affairs, was fired from PG&E in September of 2014, after inappropriate email exchanges came to light.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Thomas Bottorff\u003c/strong>, PG&E’s senior vice president of regulatory affairs and Cherry’s boss, was fired along with Cherry. According to a San Jose Mercury News article he was to receive a severance payment totaling more than $1 million.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Chris Johns\u003c/strong>, president of PG&E, \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2015/05/27/pge-president-to-retire-as-utility-faces-mounting-scrutiny\" target=\"_blank\">announced several weeks\u003c/a> ago that he would retire by the end of the year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Peevey\u003c/strong>, president of the California Public Utilities Commission, stepped down from his role after his term came to an end in December of 2014. Peevey came under fire for inappropriate email exchanges.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Paul Clanon\u003c/strong>, executive director of the California Public Utilities Commission, announced at the end of December that he would retire to study music.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mark Ferron\u003c/strong>, former commissioner at the California Public Utilities Commission, resigned in December of 2014 due to health problems.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carol Brown\u003c/strong>, former commission president Peevey’s chief of staff, stepped down in the wake of revelations that she had agreed to intervene on a judge appointment for a case involving PG&E. Despite news reports that she might return to the agency as an administrative law judge, a CPUC spokesperson confirmed to KQED that Brown has retired.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Florio\u003c/strong>, who was also entangled in the judge-shopping scandal, remains as a commissioner at the California Public Utilities Commission.\u003c/p>\n\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"The correspondence reveals in detail the familiar relationships between key decision-makers and PG&E executives .","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1434741667,"stats":{"hasAudio":false,"hasVideo":false,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":152,"wordCount":6076},"headData":{"title":"10 Emails That Detail PG&E’s Cozy Relationship With Regulators | KQED","description":"The correspondence reveals in detail the familiar relationships between key decision-makers and PG&E executives .","ogTitle":"","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"","twDescription":"","twImgId":"","schema":{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"10 Emails That Detail PG&E’s Cozy Relationship With Regulators","datePublished":"2015-06-19T07:01:17.000Z","dateModified":"2015-06-19T19:21:07.000Z","image":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png","isAccessibleForFree":"Y","publisher":{"@type":"NewsMediaOrganization","@id":"https://www.kqed.org/#organization","name":"KQED","url":"https://www.kqed.org","logo":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"}},"authorsData":[{"type":"authors","id":"3231","meta":{"index":"authors_1591205172","id":"3231","found":true},"name":"Rebecca Bowe","firstName":"Rebecca","lastName":"Bowe","slug":"rbowe","email":"rbowe@kqed.org","display_author_email":false,"staff_mastheads":[],"title":null,"bio":"Rebecca Bowe is a journalist based in San Francisco. She's covered Bay Area news since 2009, and previously served as News Editor of the San Francisco Bay Guardian. Follow her on Twitter @ByRebeccaBowe.","avatar":"https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/50e1da0639521639108e89c123a76c9c?s=600&d=blank&r=g","twitter":null,"facebook":null,"instagram":null,"linkedin":null,"sites":[{"site":"news","roles":["subscriber"]},{"site":"science","roles":["editor"]}],"headData":{"title":"Rebecca Bowe | KQED","description":null,"ogImgSrc":"https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/50e1da0639521639108e89c123a76c9c?s=600&d=blank&r=g","twImgSrc":"https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/50e1da0639521639108e89c123a76c9c?s=600&d=blank&r=g"},"isLoading":false,"link":"/author/rbowe"},{"type":"authors","id":"199","meta":{"index":"authors_1591205172","id":"199","found":true},"name":"Lisa Pickoff-White","firstName":"Lisa","lastName":"Pickoff-White","slug":"lisapickoffwhite-2","email":"lpickoffwhite@kqed.org","display_author_email":false,"staff_mastheads":["news"],"title":"Data Journalist, Senior Producer","bio":"Lisa Pickoff-White is KQED's data reporter. Lisa specializes in simplifying complex topics and bringing them to life through compelling visuals, including photography and data visualizations. She previously has worked at the Center for Investigative Reporting and other national outlets. Her work has been honored with awards from the Online News Association, Investigative Reporters and Editors, the Society of Professional Journalists and SXSW Interactive. \u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>","avatar":"https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5513c5f3967df792aa65bee2501e84d6?s=600&d=blank&r=g","twitter":"pickoffwhite","facebook":null,"instagram":null,"linkedin":null,"sites":[{"site":"","roles":["editor"]},{"site":"arts","roles":["administrator"]},{"site":"styleguide","roles":["administrator"]},{"site":"news","roles":["administrator"]},{"site":"about","roles":["editor"]},{"site":"stateofhealth","roles":["administrator"]},{"site":"science","roles":["editor"]},{"site":"quest","roles":["editor"]},{"site":"food","roles":["contributor"]},{"site":"forum","roles":["editor"]},{"site":"breakingnews","roles":["administrator"]}],"headData":{"title":"Lisa Pickoff-White | KQED","description":"Data Journalist, Senior Producer","ogImgSrc":"https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5513c5f3967df792aa65bee2501e84d6?s=600&d=blank&r=g","twImgSrc":"https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5513c5f3967df792aa65bee2501e84d6?s=600&d=blank&r=g"},"isLoading":false,"link":"/author/lisapickoffwhite-2"}],"imageData":{"ogImageSize":{"file":"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Clanon-Johns-hearing-1440x962.jpg","width":1440,"height":962,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"twImageSize":{"file":"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Clanon-Johns-hearing-1440x962.jpg","width":1440,"height":962,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"twitterCard":"summary_large_image"},"tagData":{"tags":["California Public Utilities Commission","PG&E","San Bruno gas explosion"]}},"disqusIdentifier":"10564656 http://ww2.kqed.org/news/?p=10564656","disqusUrl":"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2015/06/19/10-emails-detail-pges-cozy-relationship-with-its-regulators/","disqusTitle":"10 Emails That Detail PG&E’s Cozy Relationship With Regulators","path":"/news/10564656/10-emails-detail-pges-cozy-relationship-with-its-regulators","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">I\u003c/span>n the years since the September 2010 natural gas pipeline explosion that killed eight people in San Bruno, the relationship between pipeline operator Pacific Gas and Electric Co. and high-ranking officials at the California Public Utilities Commission has come under intense scrutiny, undermining public trust in the state agency tasked with ensuring safe pipeline operations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State prosecutors and a federal grand jury are currently zeroing in on alleged improper ties between PG&E and top state regulators. \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2015/01/29/report-former-cpuc-chief-targeted-in-state-probe\" target=\"_blank\">State investigators\u003c/a> acting on a search warrant earlier this year seized iPhones, a laptop and bank statements from the residence of former CPUC President Michael Peevey and took similar items from the home of PG&E's former Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, Brian Cherry, all on suspicion of felony activity relating to a judge-shopping scandal brought to light by email records.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those exchanges were made public in the wake of civil litigation brought on behalf of San Bruno, when a judge ordered PG&E to release records consisting of some 65,000 emails and 123,000 documents.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"alignright pullquote\">A PG&E executive and CPUC official were on 2,369 of the same email threads using their official email addresses — that’s an average of 11 times a week.\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>KQED has taken a detailed look into this correspondence, which reveals in granular detail the familiar relationships between key decision-makers and PG&E executives that lasted well beyond the San Bruno incident. There are multiple instances of Peevey arranging to meet with Cherry for holiday visits that involved sipping wine — a keyword search of the email records for the words “pinot” or “cabernet,” for example, yielded 16 separate items.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But two of the closest confidants were Cherry and then-CPUC Executive Director Paul Clanon. The collection of documents provided by PG&E shows that between 2010 and 2014, Cherry and Clanon were on 2,369 of the same email threads using their official email addresses -- that's an average of 11 times a week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although some of these emails were sent years ago, an attempt to force a cultural change at the CPUC is only now making its way through the California Legislature. In an attempt to reform CPUC operations, the Senate recently approved \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml;jsessionid=ccfbe52d6f35026fdd9d2a7e2414?bill_id=201520160SB660\" target=\"_blank\">SB 660\u003c/a>, a bill that would overhaul decision-making processes and restrict private exchanges.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an interview with KQED, CPUC President Michael Picker said that the agency read every email released, conducted legal reviews and went through the state personnel process when breaches occurred.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The agency focused on correspondence from about 80 people below the level of commissioner. Some individuals left the CPUC prior to or during the review. The agency determined that action was not warranted against 54 of the people who remained on staff. CPUC spokeswoman Constance Gordon said \"individuals whose emails raised more serious issues\" -- the agency won't say how many -- received \"counseling memos\" or \"letters of correction.\" The agency also held a staff training in appropriate email decorum in April.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The challenge is that we are built for a different era, we were built in a time before emails,\" Picker said. \"Emails tend toward much more casual relationships. That’s a problem because when you start to get at a certain level of casualness, then you can slide into other kinds of ethical breaches.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Picker said that communications between PG&E staff and CPUC employees are currently banned for procedural cases. However, he said, the two staffs must be able to talk to each other.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We can’t do our jobs. We can’t guarantee that the electric system, the gas system work properly, we can’t make sure that people are being protected against unsafe infrastructure unless we are always in communication with the utilities. So if we’re not in contact with PG&E that’s as big of a problem and maybe a larger problem then some of the improper comportment,\" he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E fired Cherry, as well as Senior Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Tom Bottorff and Vice President of Regulatory Proceedings Trina Horner, following the company's internal investigation into the emails.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E spokesman Nick Stimmel \u003ca href=\"https://www.scribd.com/doc/269092248/CPUC-and-PG-E-Emails-PG-E-Statement-to-KQED\" target=\"_blank\">wrote in a statement\u003c/a>: \"With respect to the email issue, we have produced tens of thousands of emails voluntarily and in response to regulatory and legal requirements and we continue to cooperate with all investigations. In the meantime, we will let the content of the emails speak for themselves; we are not going to speculate about motivations or the actions of people who are no longer in roles with the CPUC or the company or about events that may or may not have occurred.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Below we highlight 10 email exchanges that demonstrate just how cozy ties between regulators and the regulated have been in day-to-day CPUC operations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Read the emails\u003c/p>\n\u003ctable>\n\u003ctbody>\n\u003ctr>\n\u003ctd>1) \u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#controlRoom\">“The Control Room Audit”\u003c/a>\u003c/strong> Sept. 14, 2011\u003cbr>\n2) \u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#angels\">“Charlie’s Angels”\u003c/a>\u003c/strong> Oct. 18, 2011\u003cbr>\n3) \u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#seaRanch\">“Sea Ranch over Thanksgiving”\u003c/a>\u003c/strong> Nov. 24, 2010\u003cbr>\n4) \u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#Jellystone\">“How was Jellystone?”\u003c/a>\u003c/strong> Sept. 12, 2010\u003cbr>\n5) \u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#anyThoughts\">“Any thoughts – non-attributed of course?”\u003c/a>\u003c/strong> Oct. 20, 2010\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>6) \u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#parallelUniverses\">“We live in parallel universes…”\u003c/a>\u003c/strong> January 10, 2011\u003cbr>\n7) \u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#investorRelations\">“Investor relations”\u003c/a>\u003c/strong> Sept. 26, 2011\u003cbr>\n8)\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#happyBirthday\"> “Happy Birthday!”\u003c/a>\u003c/strong> Sept. 16, 2010\u003cbr>\n9) \u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#jerryBrown\">“Get this info to [Jerry] Brown”\u003c/a>\u003c/strong> January 11, 2011\u003cbr>\n10) \u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#prozac\">“Prozac might be a solution!”\u003c/a>\u003c/strong> June 4, 2010\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#whatHappened\">Where Are They Now?\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/td>\n\u003c/tr>\n\u003c/tbody>\n\u003c/table>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>1) \u003ca name=\"controlRoom\">\u003c/a>“The Control Room Audit” -- Sept. 14, 2011\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the aftermath of the pipeline rupture that caused the San Bruno explosion, PG&E’s control room management became a focal point for safety improvement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Natural gas pipelines may traverse thousands of miles. In a control room, pressure and flow across the underground network are monitored remotely. The federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration moved to amend federal pipeline safety regulations in the months after San Bruno, imposing tougher regulations on control room operations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But according to an email from PG&E’s Brian Cherry to CPUC’s then-Executive Director Paul Clanon, dated Sept. 14, 2011, the company encountered “some pressing problems” relating to a “control room audit.” Accordingly, Cherry wondered whether Clanon would be willing to “focus elsewhere.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10568616\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/LaHood-Speier-San-Bruno-e1434683321797.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-10568616\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/LaHood-Speier-San-Bruno-800x619.jpg\" alt=\"In this photo from May of 2011, federal Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood tours the site of the PG&E San Bruno pipeline explosion with Congressional Representative Jackie Speier.\" width=\"800\" height=\"619\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">In this photo from May of 2011, federal Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood tours the site of the PG&E San Bruno pipeline explosion with Congressional Representative Jackie Speier. \u003ccite>(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Paul – hope you are enjoying yourself in Jellystone but stay away from the wayward bison,” Cherry wrote. “I received a request from Nick [Stavropoulos, PG&E’s executive vice president of gas operations] and Chris [Johns, president of PG&E] … to seek your advice and counsel on the control room audit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Nick and Chris know we have problems in this area and would like you to focus elsewhere for the moment so that we can address some pressing problems. … Nick stated that you once offered to help out in any way you could if the Commission was becoming an obstacle to us getting the work done.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A formal letter sent to Clanon about two weeks later on PG&E stationary shows the company was preparing for a visit from an independent consultant hired by the CPUC to inspect control-room operations. This audit was conducted to ensure compliance with federal rules. So was PG&E granted a delay? CPUC spokeswoman Constance Gordon said she could not comment on Clanon’s email directly, since he no longer works at the CPUC.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Commission President Michael Picker, who replaced Peevey after he stepped down last year, said that he could not comment directly on the contents of the email, either, since he was unfamiliar with the audit. However, he said, \"No one’s ever asked me to focus elsewhere. Chances are that would make me want to focus more.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Reached by phone, Clanon declined to comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe src=\"https://www.scribd.com/embeds/269089045/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&access_key=key-LCWXLFaD7vmtymd0YBHr&show_recommendations=true\" data-auto-height=\"false\" data-aspect-ratio=\"0.7586206896551724\" scrolling=\"no\" id=\"doc_25733\" width=\"100%\" height=\"600\" frameborder=\"0\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>2) \u003ca name=\"angels\">\u003c/a>“Charlie’s Angels” -- Oct. 18, 2011\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Oct. 18, 2011, PG&E’s Brian Cherry forwarded CPUC President Mike Peevey an email attachment with the note “FYI.” It was a letter from Rep. Jackie Speier to U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, urging LaHood to require natural gas operators to remove from their networks a kind of plastic pipe, Aldyl-A, which is prone to cracking. PG&E has 1,231 miles of the pipe in its system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Roughly six weeks earlier, \u003ca href=\"http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Plastic-natural-gas-pipe-failure-data-kept-secret-2308629.php\" target=\"_blank\">a Cupertino condominium had been destroyed\u003c/a>, in an explosion and fire caused by a gas leak due to a cracked fitting in a plastic Aldyl-A pipe. When it investigated the cause of the blast, PG&E found six other plastic pipe failures near the blast site, records show.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10568615\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Bernardus_Site-Photos-from-Everett_Medium-Resolution_04-17-15-17317.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-10568615\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Bernardus_Site-Photos-from-Everett_Medium-Resolution_04-17-15-17317-800x532.jpg\" alt=\"Former California Public Utilities Commission President Michael Peevey and PG&E executive Brian Cherry made dinner plans at the Bernardus Lodge & Spa, shown here, in October of 2011.\" width=\"800\" height=\"532\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Bernardus_Site-Photos-from-Everett_Medium-Resolution_04-17-15-17317-800x532.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Bernardus_Site-Photos-from-Everett_Medium-Resolution_04-17-15-17317-400x266.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Bernardus_Site-Photos-from-Everett_Medium-Resolution_04-17-15-17317-960x639.jpg 960w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Bernardus_Site-Photos-from-Everett_Medium-Resolution_04-17-15-17317.jpg 1100w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Former California Public Utilities Commission President Michael Peevey and PG&E executive Brian Cherry made dinner plans at the Bernardus Lodge & Spa, shown here, in October of 2011. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Bernardus Lodge & Spa)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In response to Cherry's email, Peevey thanked Cherry for the update. Then the CPUC president moved onto another topic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“See you for dinner Sunday night,” he wrote. “Where and when? Are you bringing Charlie's Angels too?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cherry responded: “7:30 at Marinus in the Bernardus Lodge in the Carmel Valley. About 20 minutes or so from Monterey but well worth the drive. We can make it earlier if you wish.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He added, “Some angels may attend.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/angelstext.png\">\u003cimg class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-10568675\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/angelstext.png\" alt=\"angelstext\" width=\"796\" height=\"357\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/angelstext.png 796w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/angelstext-400x179.png 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 796px) 100vw, 796px\">\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Sunday night\" would have marked the start of the annual meeting of the The Conference of California Public Utility Counsel (CCPUC) at the Monterey Plaza Hotel. The nonprofit organization, which describes itself on the web as a “non-profit mutual benefit corporation,” has representatives from PG&E and other utilities on its board of directors. According to the \u003ca href=\"http://www.ccpuc.org/Past_Events?action=setup_form&formID=57\" target=\"_blank\">conference agenda\u003c/a>, Peevey was scheduled to speak at the conference on Monday, Oct. 24, 2011.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The conference itinerary shows that the evening activity on Sunday, Oct. 23 was a group activity –- attendees would be treated to a “reception and strolling dinner” at the Monterey Bay Aquarium from 7 to 9:30 p.m. But this email thread suggests Peevey and Cherry had other plans. The Bernardus Lodge & Spa is a luxury facility often booked for off-site corporate retreats, according to its website.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While it’s unclear who, or what, the men were referring to when they discussed whether “Charlie’s Angels” would attend, at the very least the detail illustrates close enough ties for them to share a mutual understanding about a coded phrase. Attempts to reach Cherry and Peevey by phone were unsuccessful.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe src=\"https://www.scribd.com/embeds/269090620/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&show_recommendations=true\" data-auto-height=\"false\" data-aspect-ratio=\"undefined\" scrolling=\"no\" id=\"doc_59557\" width=\"100%\" height=\"600\" frameborder=\"0\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>3) \u003ca name=\"seaRanch\">\u003c/a>“Sea Ranch over Thanksgiving” -- Nov. 24, 2010\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Nov. 24, 2010, about six weeks after the San Bruno pipeline explosion, PG&E’s Brian Cherry emailed CPUC President Mike Peevey with some good news -- plus an invitation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10568674\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 796px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/thanksgivingtext.png\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-10568674\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/thanksgivingtext.png\" alt=\"“Mike – FYI. Fish and Game letter on Manzana. Very positive,” he wrote. “Also – Sara and I will be in Sea Ranch over Thanksgiving. We’d be happy to have you and Carol [Peevey’s wife, Democratic Sen. Carol Liu] over for drinks or dinner if you are free. I’ve got plenty of great wine to drink.”\" width=\"796\" height=\"260\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/thanksgivingtext.png 796w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/thanksgivingtext-400x131.png 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 796px) 100vw, 796px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">“Mike – FYI. Fish and Game letter on Manzana. Very positive,” he wrote. “Also – Sara and I will be in Sea Ranch over Thanksgiving. We’d be happy to have you and Carol [Peevey’s wife, Democratic Sen. Carol Liu] over for drinks or dinner if you are free. I’ve got plenty of great wine to drink.”\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Less than an hour later, Peevey responded. “Thanks for the offer but all tied up with family. Next time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Records show that while Peevey at that time declined Cherry’s invitation to the Sonoma County vacation spot, he took him up on similar offers on other occasions. The men shared “\u003ca href=\"http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-puc-scandal-20141009-story.html\" target=\"_blank\">two bottles of good pinot\u003c/a>” over Memorial Day weekend in 2010, for example, while they discussed renewable energy, gas rate increases and a ballot measure campaign.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, “Manzana” refers to PG&E’s proposed \u003ca href=\"http://www.pge.com/about/newsroom/newsreleases/20091203/pge_agrees_to_purchase_and_operate_major_california_wind_energy_project.shtml\" target=\"_blank\">Manzana Wind Project\u003c/a> in Kern County’s Tehachapi region, a $911 million, 246-megawatt renewable energy project that PG&E proposed in late 2009 and was then before the commission for approval. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife had reviewed the project’s environmental impacts out of concern that the wind turbines \u003ca href=\"http://www.forbes.com/sites/toddwoody/2012/01/04/revival-of-iconic-california-condor-threatens-states-wind-farm-boom/\" target=\"_blank\">could kill endangered California condors\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Earlier that year, Cherry had emailed Peevey with information from PG&E’s investor relations division, citing a report from a Deutsche Bank financial analyst about the Manzana project. “Analysts are tracking Manzana … closely,” that email noted, with bankers considering it one of “the largest upcoming cases for the rest of the year.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, the Manzana project never came to fruition. An independent review by the CPUC’s Division of Ratepayer Advocates ultimately found that the wind project would have left customers bearing “significant risk and an unreasonable price tag.” The commission ultimately denied PG&E’s application.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe src=\"https://www.scribd.com/embeds/269091741/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&show_recommendations=true\" data-auto-height=\"false\" data-aspect-ratio=\"undefined\" scrolling=\"no\" id=\"doc_58078\" width=\"100%\" height=\"600\" frameborder=\"0\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>4) \u003ca name=\"Jellystone\">\u003c/a>“Can you guys help me with this?” -- Sept. 12, 2010\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Only three days had passed since the fatal San Bruno pipeline explosion. With images of the blaze still fresh in the media, the CPUC issued a press release to outline its planned response.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State and federal investigations were already underway. In an open memo, then-CPUC President Michael Peevey directed then-Executive Director Paul Clanon to compel PG&E to survey its lines for gas leaks. He demanded an inquiry into PG&E’s spending on pipeline safety and promised, “We are taking immediate action.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But that same afternoon, Peevey emailed Clanon with a different request entirely.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“First thing tomorrow,” he wrote, “See if you can schedule Darbee and Johns in my office at 2 PM Thursday.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He was referring to PG&E's then-CEO Peter Darbee and then-President Chris Johns. Clanon immediately forwarded the request to two PG&E executives, including Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Brian Cherry, asking, “Can you guys help me with this?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10568681\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/SB-explosion.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-10568681\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/SB-explosion-800x534.jpg\" alt=\"Chimneys remain during a massive fire in a residential neighborhood in September 2010 in San Bruno.\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/SB-explosion-800x534.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/SB-explosion-400x267.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/SB-explosion.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/SB-explosion-960x640.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Chimneys remain during a massive fire in a residential neighborhood in September 2010 in San Bruno. \u003ccite>(Max Whittaker/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Under many circumstances, a meeting between Peevey, a key decision-maker, and PG&E’s top brass about a matter under investigation would be a violation of state regulations designed to ensure fair dealing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under state law, contact between decision-makers and interested parties held outside the formal public process are known as ex parte communications. Whether they take the form of face-to-face meetings, texts or emails, these communications are subject to detailed regulations. And when a formal investigation is involved -- designated as an “adjudicatory proceeding” since commissioners act in the capacity of a judge -- no ex parte contact is allowed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nevertheless, CPUC spokesperson Constance Gordon told KQED that this particular meeting did not violate ex parte rules.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The investigation that began immediately following PG&E’s pipeline rupture was a staff investigation,” Gordon said, “not a formal investigation opened by a vote of the Commissioners,” which came later. “As such, ex parte rules would not apply.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After the meeting arrangements were made, Clanon switched to a lighter topic: “How was Jellystone?” he asked Cherry, a possible reference to Yellowstone National Park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Amazing,” Cherry responded. “Saw so much wildlife. But it snowed the other day and I brought shorts!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cherry urged Clanon to plan his own vacation there. Meanwhile not 72 hours had passed since the fatal San Bruno pipeline explosion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Things keep coming up at my work,” Clanon responded.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Uh. Yes,” Cherry shot back. “You have a challenging job. Guess that’s why they pay you the big bucks.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe src=\"https://www.scribd.com/embeds/269090271/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&access_key=key-GgrivqLXfuWWWUDiHNXu&show_recommendations=true\" data-auto-height=\"false\" data-aspect-ratio=\"0.7586206896551724\" scrolling=\"no\" id=\"doc_42402\" width=\"100%\" height=\"600\" frameborder=\"0\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>5) \u003ca name=\"anyThoughts\">\u003c/a>“Any thoughts – non-attributed of course?” — Oct. 20, 2010\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Four years worth of emails show that former PG&E executive\u003cbr>\nBrian Cherry and former CPUC Executive Director Paul Clanon consulted with each other hundreds of times. While the below emails are not illegal, they are good examples of how Cherry and Clanon often bounced ideas off of each other or problem-solved together. On Oct. 20, 2010, Clanon wrote to Cherry:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What are we going to do about the San Bruno demand that the pipeline be moved? I can certainly understand on the human level why they'd want that, even though it might not make a lot of operational or design sense.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cherry responded, “We are struggling with that. There are a couple different re-routes ... Between you and me, I think we should repair 132 temporarily while offering up a longer-term solution involving re-routing. … Any thoughts - non-attributed of course ?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Clanon did have an idea on how PG&E could “frame” moving the pipeline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think the way to frame the pipe-replacement issue is not to think of it as Line 132, but to think of it as, what, two or three miles?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The next week, then-PG&E President Chris Johns \u003ca href=\"http://www.cpuc.ca.gov/NR/rdonlyres/339C7284-F731-46B1-BB51-8A1D86B3BE0A/0/20101027134941.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">released a statement\u003c/a> pledging to move the pipeline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The section of Line 132 that exploded was not repaired in the end. PG&E \u003ca href=\"http://www.rebuildcrestmoor.org/files/managed/Document/221/Line%20132_109%20Alignment.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">rerouted\u003c/a> the transmission line so that the gas now flows through Line 109 at San Andreas Station and returns to Line 132 at Healy Station, both in San Bruno.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"alignright pullquote\">'Any thoughts — non-attributed of course?'\u003cbr>\n\u003ccite>Former PG&E executive Brian Cherry\u003c/cite>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>The CPUC had ordered PG&E to examine shutoff valves. In the same email, Cherry said that the agency had identified more than 200 valves that needed to be replaced. However, he was concerned that there would be a public outcry if he released that number.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If we tell you the number of valves that have been identified and don't have these kinds of estimates, everyone will demand immediate replacement - which just can't be done for a variety of reasons.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Clanon responded to Cherry: “Yeah, cost and time estimates for the valves are crucial.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E's lack of automatic shutoff valves had come under scrutiny by federal officials at the time. National Transportation Safety Board officials found that it took the utility almost 95 minutes to shut off the gas rushing from the ruptured San Bruno pipeline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Keith Slibasager, PG&E’s gas system operations manager, testified during the NTSB’s public hearing on the San Bruno explosion that the company could have cut the gas within 20 minutes if the utility had installed automatic valves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"http://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/PAR1101.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">2006 PG&E memo\u003c/a> shows that PG&E considered installing automatic safety valves, but did not. A PG&E senior gas-consulting engineer, Chi-hung Lee Sr., wrote in the memo that he found most of the damage from a pipeline explosion occurs within 30 seconds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The engineer later testified at the NTSB hearing that his research was limited. The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration and other safety groups had reached different conclusions about shutoff valves. Federal safety officials have suggested, but not required, the use of automatic shutoff valves since 1999. PG&E officials acknowledged at the hearing that after Lee's memo they made no effort to further install the valves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since the San Bruno explosion, PG&E has installed 208 automated valves that the utility can shut off remotely from a control room and 14 automatic shutoff valves that can shut themselves off in areas where transmission pipelines cross major fault lines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe src=\"https://www.scribd.com/embeds/269090994/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&show_recommendations=true\" data-auto-height=\"false\" data-aspect-ratio=\"undefined\" scrolling=\"no\" id=\"doc_43929\" width=\"100%\" height=\"600\" frameborder=\"0\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>6) \u003ca name=\"paralellUniverses\">\u003c/a>“We live in parallel universes…” — Jan. 10, 2011\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2008, PG&E purposely boosted pressure on the San Bruno natural gas line to 400 pounds per square inch, the maximum legal limit. Normally, the line ran at 375 psi.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The next time the pressure on that gas line exceeded 375 psi was on Sept. 9, 2010, when a malfunction spiked the pressure to 386 psi, coinciding with the deadly explosion in San Bruno killing eight people and destroying 28 homes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E later said they increased the pressure in 2008 under a mistaken understanding of federal law. The utility believed that to maintain the ability to run gas at 400 psi, the legal limit, they needed to do so once every five years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"http://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/PG-E-surge-may-have-stressed-San-Bruno-line-in-08-2478734.php\" target=\"_blank\">San Francisco Chronicle investigation\u003c/a> published on Jan. 9, 2011, revealed that the earlier pressure surge could have weakened the pipeline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E and CPUC officials referenced the story the next day, Jan. 10. At 9:35 a.m. Paul Clanon, then-executive director of the California Public Utilities Commission, wrote to senior CPUC staff asking about the spike:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The Chronicle's story on the 2008 temporary rise in pressure on Line 132 to 400 psi doesn't match what I've heard. What are the facts? Is it standard practice or not to raise pressure up to MAOP [maximum allowable operating pressure] to preserve the maximum? Is 2008 really the only time PG&E has raised pressure on that line above 375 until the explosion?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About 30 minutes later he contacted former PG&E executive Brian Cherry: “What are your guys saying about the facts in the Chron story yesterday? Contradicted my understanding of the rules, anyway.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10568621\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Paul-Clanon-e1434683647732.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-10568621\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Paul-Clanon-800x602.jpg\" alt=\"Paul Clanon speaks at a September 28, 2010 Senate committee hearing on gas pipeline safety. \" width=\"800\" height=\"602\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Paul Clanon speaks at a September 28, 2010 Senate committee hearing on gas pipeline safety. \u003ccite>(Alex Wong/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Two minutes later Cherry shared his confusion: “Not sure. Let me follow up. I was under the same understanding.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Clanon wrote back at 10:48: “Our guys are doing the same thing, and you and I can triangulate.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It is not standard practice for utilities to raise pressure on transmission lines, and federal law requires utilities to conduct a costly inspection on any pipeline when the pressure exceeds the maximum limit. PG&E had not conducted such an inspection, nor did Clanon ask if they had in the emails released.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By 4:53 p.m. Cherry and Clanon began to be concerned that neither PG&E nor CPUC staff could come up with an answer about whether such pressure spiking on a gas line was a normal practice. The two sympathized with each other.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Clanon wrote Cherry: “Nothing back yet?” Cherry responded “Nothing yet…” and later “We live in parallel universes.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About an hour later, Clanon had received research from CPUC staff and wanted to run it by Cherry:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Here's what I get from my people. You agree? Follows: PG&E raises the pressure in transmission lines to MAOP once every five years based on its conservative interpretation of 192.917(e)(4)…”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The next day, \u003ca href=\"http://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/PG-E-halts-intentional-gas-line-pressure-spikes-2478613.php\" target=\"_blank\">a Chronicle story\u003c/a> included a statement from a PG&E spokesperson that was very similar to what Clanon had written. “PG&E initially said it had conducted the pressure test on the San Bruno line to ‘preserve’ the pipe's legal capacity, saying federal law required it. A spokesman later backtracked and conceded there was no such requirement.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>CPUC spokesperson Constance Gordon says that Clanon and Cherry were discussing each other's understanding of the rules, so \"if PG&E had a different understanding than that of CPUC staff the issue could be further discussed.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Utility Reform Network is one of PG&E’s sharpest critics. TURN spokesperson Mindy Spatt said such conversations are concerning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Well, it’s a question of whether the commission should be a watchdog or a lapdog. A watchdog would say, wait a minute PG&E what’s going on here? And a lapdog would say, let’s coordinate our message.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe src=\"https://www.scribd.com/embeds/269089050/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&show_recommendations=true\" data-auto-height=\"false\" data-aspect-ratio=\"undefined\" scrolling=\"no\" id=\"doc_86669\" width=\"100%\" height=\"600\" frameborder=\"0\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>7) \u003ca name=\"investorRelations\">\u003c/a>“Investor relations” — Sept. 26, 2011\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An email exchange between Commissioner Mark Ferron and PG&E’s Brian Cherry shows Ferron sought advice from PG&E on which Wall Street analysts he should meet with privately on a trip to New York.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Mark,” Cherry wrote to Ferron in a Sept. 26, 2011 email, “Commissioner Florio was over at PG&E the other day and mentioned that you might need some help meeting with the buy and sell side analysts in New York. If you are interested, Gabe Togneri, our VP of Investor Relations, would be happy to reach out to some of them and have them sponsor a meeting. Our only role would be to make the contact. The analysts would sponsor the meetings themselves and you would meet with them privately.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ferron responded: “[PG&E CEO] Tony Earley … highlighted Dan Ford at Barclays Capital as a thought leader worthwhile meeting if I can find the time. Who else might Gabe recommend?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While there’s no record here of Ferron discussing the proposed San Bruno penalty with Ford, the Barclays analyst was clearly focused on that question.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In September 2012, Ford authored a report noting that PG&E would have difficulty raising $2.2 billion in equity to cover the expected San Bruno fine amount. (The actual penalty amount, finally determined on April 9 this year, was set at $1.6 billion.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And in \u003ca href=\"http://www.ocregister.com/articles/california-530091-puc-state.html\" target=\"_blank\">a report authored by Ferron\u003c/a>, made public in October 2013, the commissioner related investors’ concerns that levying too large a fine against PG&E would cause them to view California as a “capital-unfriendly, ‘banana republic.’” That could lead to an increase in the cost of financing capital for utilities, warned Ferron, who had worked at Deutsche Bank prior to being appointed as a commissioner in March 2011.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ferron stepped down as a commissioner in 2014, citing health problems. CPUC spokesperson Constance Gordon said she was unable to offer comment on emails sent by individuals who no longer worked at the commission. Attempts to reach Ferron were unsuccessful.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The question as to whether commissioners had inappropriate ex parte communications with Wall Street analysts was raised in a brief filed by the CPUC’s Division of Ratepayer Advocates. (Since renamed Office of Ratepayer Advocates).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Some, if not all, of the financial industry representatives who reported discussing the San Bruno investigations with Commission offices represent firms or clients with a financial interest in PG&E Corporation,” the CPUC’s consumer advocacy branch pointed out. “The size of the fine and other penalties the Commission may impose in the San Bruno Investigations is a substantive issue in all three [CPUC] investigations.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe src=\"https://www.scribd.com/embeds/269089048/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&access_key=key-Mn9jh61Mxr2k4WEJWObu&show_recommendations=true\" data-auto-height=\"false\" data-aspect-ratio=\"0.7586206896551724\" scrolling=\"no\" id=\"doc_86425\" width=\"100%\" height=\"600\" frameborder=\"0\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>8) \u003ca name=\"happyBirthday\">\u003c/a>“Happy Birthday!” — Sept. 16, 2010\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was 7 a.m. on Sept. 16, 2010, one week after the San Bruno pipeline explosion. CPUC executive director Paul Clanon emailed PG&E’s Brian Cherry with a simple message in the subject line: “Happy Birthday!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Thanks,” Cherry replied. He shared his birthday wish. “I’d love a nice muzzle for Mark Toney.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mark Toney is executive director of The Utility Reform Network (TURN), a leading critic of PG&E.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10568624\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 600px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Mark-Toney.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-10568624\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Mark-Toney.jpg\" alt=\"Mark Toney, executive director of consumer advocacy group The Utility Reform Network, was the target of an unkind remark in an email from a PG&E executive to the regulatory agency director.\" width=\"600\" height=\"420\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Mark-Toney.jpg 600w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Mark-Toney-400x280.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mark Toney, executive director of consumer advocacy group The Utility Reform Network, was the target of an unkind remark in an email from a PG&E executive to the regulatory agency director. \u003ccite>(Courtesy The Utility Reform Network)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As for why Cherry would have wanted a “muzzle” for Toney, TURN spokesperson Mindy Spatt told KQED that Toney had issued a public statement about customer safety just before this exchange took place.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He was saying: Demand that PG&E put customer safety first – that is the message that PG&E wanted muzzled, a message that said ‘no more San Brunos,’” Spatt said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Sept. 15, Cherry had emailed Clanon to tell him then-PG&E CEO Peter Darbee believed “TURN’s behavior \u003ca href=\"http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/PG-E-targeted-critics-after-San-Bruno-blast-6054156.php\" target=\"_blank\">has bordered on the irresponsible\u003c/a>.” He wondered whether the CPUC would be willing to make a statement publicly discounting TURN’s claims. While it’s not clear from the emails how Clanon reacted to this request, his email reply to Cherry was: “Call me when you can.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was actually six days after the fatal San Bruno explosion that Brian Cherry referred to TURN’s behavior as irresponsible,” Spatt said when asked about this. “His company has just killed eight people and incinerated an entire neighborhood.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe src=\"https://www.scribd.com/embeds/269090899/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&show_recommendations=true\" data-auto-height=\"false\" data-aspect-ratio=\"undefined\" scrolling=\"no\" id=\"doc_38056\" width=\"100%\" height=\"600\" frameborder=\"0\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>9) \u003ca href=\"jerryBrown\">“Get this info to Brown”\u003c/a> -- Jan. 11, 2011\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While it’s obvious why a major utility company would be concerned that its stock had been downgraded, it’s not as clear why a commissioner would care. Upon learning about a financial downgrade, then-CPUC president Michael Peevey recommended that PG&E find a way to indirectly alert Gov. Jerry Brown, who was then in the process of determining new commission appointments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The email thread begins Jan. 11, 2011, when PG&E’s Brian Cherry forwarded Peevey a message from PG&E’s investor relations division about a financial analyst’s report.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Citigroup downgraded … PG&E,” the email explained. The note showed that analysts feared “uncertainty and potential shifting dynamics in the regulatory arena.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In response, Peevey wrote in an email to Cherry: “You should find a way to get this info to Brown as he makes his decisions on Commissioners ASAP. Probably best coming from a non-utility source, such as investment banker(s).”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When asked why Peevey would provide this advice, CPUC spokesperson Constance Gordon responded, “The questions you’ve asked involve individuals who are no longer with the CPUC, so we cannot ask them your questions.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe src=\"https://www.scribd.com/embeds/269091157/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&show_recommendations=true\" data-auto-height=\"false\" data-aspect-ratio=\"undefined\" scrolling=\"no\" id=\"doc_69098\" width=\"100%\" height=\"600\" frameborder=\"0\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>10. \u003ca href=\"prozac\">“Prozac might be a solution!”\u003c/a> -- June 4, 2010\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E officials had no idea what they were getting into when the utility began installing smart meters in California in 2006. Smart meters are a critical component of the \"smart grid” -- the devices track energy usage and transmit data back to customers and utilities, with the goal of reducing electricity consumption and distributing power more efficiently across the electric grid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Smart meters faced an almost \u003ca href=\"http://blogs.kqed.org/climatewatch/2010/03/10/the-backlash-against-smartmeters/\" target=\"_blank\">immediate backlash\u003c/a>. Users first complained that the devices gave artificially high readings. Later the \u003ca href=\"https://www.scribd.com/doc/269092309/Smart-Meter-Investigation-Findings-by-CPUC\" target=\"_blank\">CPUC found\u003c/a> that about 1,480 meters inaccurately recorded electricity consumption in ambient temperatures ranging from 100– 115 degrees Fahrenheit due to a defective chip. Nevertheless, \u003ca href=\"http://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/EFILE/RULINGS/122935.PDF\" target=\"_blank\">a study\u003c/a> conducted by an independent consultant, The Structure Group, determined that the meters generally functioned as intended.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Next, consumer advocacy groups, including TURN, \u003ca href=\"http://blogs.kqed.org/climatewatch/2010/06/13/dumbfounded-by-smartmeters/\" target=\"_blank\">raised concerns\u003c/a> that the meters would harm people like seniors who sometimes have no choice but to run their air conditioners in the sweltering Central Valley. TURN also noted that with smart meters, PG&E could simply turn off people’s power if they couldn’t keep up with the bills. Privacy advocates expressed concern about utilities gaining access to information about their use of personal home appliances.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10568672\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 300px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/4-43EMF_300.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-10568672\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/4-43EMF_300.jpg\" alt=\"A sign from a smart meter protest in 2010.\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A sign from a smart meter protest in 2010. \u003ccite>(Amy Standen/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The biggest battle over smart meters, though, centered on electromagnetic fields (EMFs) emitted by smart meters. The possible health effects of EMFs have been a subject of debate since the \u003ca href=\"http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,918076,00.html\" target=\"_blank\">Cold War\u003c/a>, and fear has intensified in the wireless age with the introduction of countless devices that emit EMFs, such as cellphones, laptops and Wi-Fi routers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/radiation/magnetic-fields-fact-sheet\" target=\"_blank\">The National Institutes of Health’s National Cancer Institute\u003c/a> says that “several early epidemiologic studies raised the possibility of an association between certain cancers, especially childhood cancers, and ELF-EMFs. Most subsequent studies have not shown such an association.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unlike high-energy radiation emitted from devices like X-rays, low-energy emissions from devices like smart meters cannot damage DNA or cells directly, the NIH writes. \u003ca href=\"http://www.who.int/peh-emf/research/en/\" target=\"_blank\">The World Health Organization concluded\u003c/a> that low-energy emissions cause “no substantive health issues.” Smart-meter emissions are 60 times lower than the federal health guidelines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>EMF activists remain concerned, however, about the accumulated exposure people face from being surrounded by so many low-emission devices. And they’ve flooded the CPUC and PG&E with complaints.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By June 4, 2010, Carol Brown, then-CPUC President Michael Peevey’s chief-of-staff, wanted an answer for the people contacting her about EMFs. She wrote to then-PG&E executive Brian Cherry: “So far I have done OK just listening to the sad tales of EMF poisoning - and telling them thank you for bringing it to our attention - but then not offering them any solution!!! I just wanted to have a resource in case! Have a nice weekend.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cherry responded: “Prozac might be a solution!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the meantime, cities, including San Francisco, began petitioning the CPUC to make smart meters optional.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Peevey recommended to Cherry in an email in September 2010 that PG&E consider making the meters optional:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“One thought for the company: If it were my decision I would let anyone who wants to keep their old meter keep it, if they claim they suffer from EMF and/or related electronic-related illnesses and they can produce a doctor's letter saying so (or expressing concern about the likelihood of suffering same). I would institute such a policy quietly and solely on an individual basis. There really are people who feel pain, etc., related to EMF, etc., and rather than have them becoming hysterical, etc., I would quietly leave them alone. Kick it around. And, it sounds like the company may already have taken this step, based on a couple of the comments at yesterday's public hearing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cherry said that he would consider it: “I do worry that this policy, no matter how discrete (sic) we try to make it, will surface and town councils and cities in our territory will ask for similar treatment. That said, we will take the matter up and get back to you with our feedback.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In March 2011, PG&E proposed allowing smart meter users to opt out. The CPUC approved that plan in February 2012. Customers who opt out of the program must pay an initial fee and monthly charge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe src=\"https://www.scribd.com/embeds/269089051/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&show_recommendations=true\" data-auto-height=\"false\" data-aspect-ratio=\"undefined\" scrolling=\"no\" id=\"doc_26891\" width=\"100%\" height=\"600\" frameborder=\"0\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003ca name=\"whatHappened\">\u003c/a>Where Are They Now?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Brian Cherry\u003c/strong>, PG&E’s vice president of regulatory affairs, was fired from PG&E in September of 2014, after inappropriate email exchanges came to light.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Thomas Bottorff\u003c/strong>, PG&E’s senior vice president of regulatory affairs and Cherry’s boss, was fired along with Cherry. According to a San Jose Mercury News article he was to receive a severance payment totaling more than $1 million.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Chris Johns\u003c/strong>, president of PG&E, \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2015/05/27/pge-president-to-retire-as-utility-faces-mounting-scrutiny\" target=\"_blank\">announced several weeks\u003c/a> ago that he would retire by the end of the year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Peevey\u003c/strong>, president of the California Public Utilities Commission, stepped down from his role after his term came to an end in December of 2014. Peevey came under fire for inappropriate email exchanges.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Paul Clanon\u003c/strong>, executive director of the California Public Utilities Commission, announced at the end of December that he would retire to study music.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mark Ferron\u003c/strong>, former commissioner at the California Public Utilities Commission, resigned in December of 2014 due to health problems.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carol Brown\u003c/strong>, former commission president Peevey’s chief of staff, stepped down in the wake of revelations that she had agreed to intervene on a judge appointment for a case involving PG&E. Despite news reports that she might return to the agency as an administrative law judge, a CPUC spokesperson confirmed to KQED that Brown has retired.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"floatright"},"numeric":["floatright"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Florio\u003c/strong>, who was also entangled in the judge-shopping scandal, remains as a commissioner at the California Public Utilities Commission.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/news/10564656/10-emails-detail-pges-cozy-relationship-with-its-regulators","authors":["3231","199"],"programs":["news_6944"],"categories":["news_19906","news_6188","news_8","news_13"],"tags":["news_1066","news_140","news_18235"],"featImg":"news_10568610","label":"news_6944","isLoading":false,"hasAllInfo":true}},"programsReducer":{"possible":{"id":"possible","title":"Possible","info":"Possible is hosted by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman and writer Aria Finger. Together in Possible, Hoffman and Finger lead enlightening discussions about building a brighter collective future. The show features interviews with visionary guests like Trevor Noah, Sam Altman and Janette Sadik-Khan. Possible paints an optimistic portrait of the world we can create through science, policy, business, art and our shared humanity. It asks: What if everything goes right for once? How can we get there? Each episode also includes a short fiction story generated by advanced AI GPT-4, serving as a thought-provoking springboard to speculate how humanity could leverage technology for good.","airtime":"SUN 2pm","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Possible-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg","officialWebsiteLink":"https://www.possible.fm/","meta":{"site":"news","source":"Possible"},"link":"/radio/program/possible","subscribe":{"apple":"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/possible/id1677184070","spotify":"https://open.spotify.com/show/730YpdUSNlMyPQwNnyjp4k"}},"1a":{"id":"1a","title":"1A","info":"1A is home to the national conversation. 1A brings on great guests and frames the best debate in ways that make you think, share and engage.","airtime":"MON-THU 11pm-12am","imageSrc":"https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/1a.jpg","officialWebsiteLink":"https://the1a.org/","meta":{"site":"news","source":"npr"},"link":"/radio/program/1a","subscribe":{"npr":"https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/RBrW","apple":"https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=1188724250&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory","tuneIn":"https://tunein.com/radio/1A-p947376/","rss":"https://feeds.npr.org/510316/podcast.xml"}},"all-things-considered":{"id":"all-things-considered","title":"All Things Considered","info":"Every weekday, \u003cem>All Things Considered\u003c/em> hosts Robert Siegel, Audie Cornish, Ari Shapiro, and Kelly McEvers present the program's trademark mix of news, interviews, commentaries, reviews, and offbeat features. Michel Martin hosts on the weekends.","airtime":"MON-FRI 1pm-2pm, 4:30pm-6:30pm\u003cbr />SAT-SUN 5pm-6pm","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/All-Things-Considered-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg","officialWebsiteLink":"https://www.npr.org/programs/all-things-considered/","meta":{"site":"news","source":"npr"},"link":"/radio/program/all-things-considered"},"american-suburb-podcast":{"id":"american-suburb-podcast","title":"American Suburb: The Podcast","tagline":"The flip side of gentrification, told through one town","info":"Gentrification is changing cities across America, forcing people from neighborhoods they have long called home. Call them the displaced. Now those priced out of the Bay Area are looking for a better life in an unlikely place. American Suburb follows this migration to one California town along the Delta, 45 miles from San Francisco. But is this once sleepy suburb ready for them?","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/American-Suburb-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg","officialWebsiteLink":"/news/series/american-suburb-podcast","meta":{"site":"news","source":"kqed","order":"13"},"link":"/news/series/american-suburb-podcast/","subscribe":{"npr":"https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/RBrW","apple":"https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?mt=2&id=1287748328","tuneIn":"https://tunein.com/radio/American-Suburb-p1086805/","rss":"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/series/american-suburb-podcast/feed/podcast","google":"https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkMzMDExODgxNjA5"}},"baycurious":{"id":"baycurious","title":"Bay Curious","tagline":"Exploring the Bay Area, one question at a time","info":"KQED’s new podcast, Bay Curious, gets to the bottom of the mysteries — both profound and peculiar — that give the Bay Area its unique identity. And we’ll do it with your help! You ask the questions. You decide what Bay Curious investigates. And you join us on the journey to find the answers.","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Bay-Curious-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg","imageAlt":"\"KQED Bay Curious","officialWebsiteLink":"/news/series/baycurious","meta":{"site":"news","source":"kqed","order":"4"},"link":"/podcasts/baycurious","subscribe":{"apple":"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bay-curious/id1172473406","npr":"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/500557090/bay-curious","rss":"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/category/bay-curious-podcast/feed/podcast","google":"https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93dzIua3FlZC5vcmcvbmV3cy9jYXRlZ29yeS9iYXktY3VyaW91cy1wb2RjYXN0L2ZlZWQvcG9kY2FzdA","stitcher":"https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/bay-curious","spotify":"https://open.spotify.com/show/6O76IdmhixfijmhTZLIJ8k"}},"bbc-world-service":{"id":"bbc-world-service","title":"BBC World Service","info":"The day's top stories from BBC News compiled twice daily in the week, once at weekends.","airtime":"MON-FRI 9pm-10pm, TUE-FRI 1am-2am","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/BBC-World-Service-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg","officialWebsiteLink":"https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/live:bbc_world_service","meta":{"site":"news","source":"BBC World Service"},"link":"/radio/program/bbc-world-service","subscribe":{"apple":"https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/global-news-podcast/id135067274?mt=2","tuneIn":"https://tunein.com/radio/BBC-World-Service-p455581/","rss":"https://podcasts.files.bbci.co.uk/p02nq0gn.rss"}},"code-switch-life-kit":{"id":"code-switch-life-kit","title":"Code Switch / Life Kit","info":"\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em>, which listeners will hear in the first part of the hour, has fearless and much-needed conversations about race. Hosted by journalists of color, the show tackles the subject of race head-on, exploring how it impacts every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, sports and more.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em>, which will be in the second part of the hour, guides you through spaces and feelings no one prepares you for — from finances to mental health, from workplace microaggressions to imposter syndrome, from relationships to parenting. The show features experts with real world experience and shares their knowledge. Because everyone needs a little help being human.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch\">\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/lifekit\">\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />","airtime":"SUN 9pm-10pm","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Code-Switch-Life-Kit-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg","meta":{"site":"radio","source":"npr"},"link":"/radio/program/code-switch-life-kit","subscribe":{"apple":"https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/1112190608?mt=2&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory","google":"https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnByLm9yZy9yc3MvcG9kY2FzdC5waHA_aWQ9NTEwMzEy","spotify":"https://open.spotify.com/show/3bExJ9JQpkwNhoHvaIIuyV","rss":"https://feeds.npr.org/510312/podcast.xml"}},"commonwealth-club":{"id":"commonwealth-club","title":"Commonwealth Club of California Podcast","info":"The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. As a non-partisan forum, The Club brings to the public airwaves diverse viewpoints on important topics. The Club's weekly radio broadcast - the oldest in the U.S., dating back to 1924 - is carried across the nation on public radio stations and is now podcasting. Our website archive features audio of our recent programs, as well as selected speeches from our long and distinguished history. This podcast feed is usually updated twice a week and is always un-edited.","airtime":"THU 10pm, FRI 1am","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Commonwealth-Club-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg","officialWebsiteLink":"https://www.commonwealthclub.org/podcasts","meta":{"site":"news","source":"Commonwealth Club of California"},"link":"/radio/program/commonwealth-club","subscribe":{"apple":"https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/commonwealth-club-of-california-podcast/id976334034?mt=2","google":"https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5jb21tb253ZWFsdGhjbHViLm9yZy9hdWRpby9wb2RjYXN0L3dlZWtseS54bWw","tuneIn":"https://tunein.com/radio/Commonwealth-Club-of-California-p1060/"}},"considerthis":{"id":"considerthis","title":"Consider This","tagline":"Make sense of the day","info":"Make sense of the day. Every weekday afternoon, Consider This helps you consider the major stories of the day in less than 15 minutes, featuring the reporting and storytelling resources of NPR. 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Hosted by Robin Young, Jeremy Hobson and Tonya Mosley.","airtime":"MON-THU 11am-12pm","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Here-And-Now-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg","officialWebsiteLink":"http://www.wbur.org/hereandnow","meta":{"site":"news","source":"npr"},"link":"/radio/program/here-and-now","subsdcribe":{"apple":"https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?mt=2&id=426698661","tuneIn":"https://tunein.com/radio/Here--Now-p211/","rss":"https://feeds.npr.org/510051/podcast.xml"}},"how-i-built-this":{"id":"how-i-built-this","title":"How I Built This with Guy Raz","info":"Guy Raz dives into the stories behind some of the world's best known companies. 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