Judy Dugan

Keystone XL: Oil Industry Cash Machine

Consumer Watchdog investigated the impact of the Keystone XL Pipeline on gasoline prices and consumers. is analysis by Judy Dugan and Tim Hamilton utilized...

A Child Lost to Dithering and Denial

Quin Murphy - Chula Vista, CA

Quin Murphy at 16 was a soccer fanatic, with a family who supported him, coached him, even went on trips with him to watch favorite teams. In 2010, all of that ended. Quin and his family fell into a four-month tragedy of medical bumbling that caused Quin intractable pain and ultimately killed him.

AAA Gets an “F” For Dumping Agents, Leaving Customers in the Lurch

Triple-A has been American drivers’ friend almost since U.S. roads linked the nation together. It has rescued families from flat tires and worse. It has planned millions of family vacations and sold well-regarded auto insurance. It has always skewed toward older drivers and welcomed their devoted renewal of memberships. Its employees got good benefits and stayed with the organization.

Iron Kay — Insurance Companies Pick Fight With Wrong Family

March 2014 update:

Victory! The insurers have settled with Aunt Kay, thanks to the campaign mounted by her nephew Dan Shea. If only every person stuck in insurance company hell had Dan's smarts, tenacity and resources! Or better yet, if only insurance companies weren't allowed to put claimants through the torment that Kay suffered.

Keystone XL Builder Has Explosive Problems

TransCanada, the company that would build and own the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada’s tar sand fields to the U.S. Gulf Coast, has dialed up its lobbying in Congress after a U.S. State Department report that favored the pipeline. The giant oil pipeline is perfectly clean and safe, say the lobbyists. TransCanada will be using the best, newest technology, monitoring and materials.

Was Sen. Rubio Auditioning For Job at Chevron?

The power of the petroleum industry in California may be unparalleled in the states. Its lobbying machine is  stupendously successful.  For instance, California remains the only significant oil producer that does not tax oil extracted in the state.

If the President Wants Cleaner, Safer Gas and Oil, Give Consumers Knowledge and Power

 

It was a relief to hear more than a passing reference to climate change in President Obama's State of the Union Speech, including promises of more support for wind and solar power. But the oil industry heard nothing to even cause even a smidgen of concern.

Break Out the Champagne at Chevron!

The news reports were on the gee-whiz side this week as state job safety regulators announced nearly $1 million in fines--the largest ever!-- against Chevron for its refinery blaze last August.  But "largest ever" o

Newsletter

To be updated with all the latest news, press releases and special reports.

Don't miss

Insurance Commissioner Lara Must Use Prop 103 Authority to Reverse State Farm’s Pullback 

Los Angeles, CA -- State Farm’s announcement on Friday...

Wildfire is Latest Battleground in 35 Year Fight over Prop 103

Consumer Watchdog Proposes Actions to Address Climate Change and...

Public Interest Groups Take On Newsom Administration Over Backtracking On Cleanup Of Radioactivity At Santa Susana Site, Case To Be Heard On Monday

In an appeal before the Court of Appeal in Sacramento to be heard on Monday, the Newsom Administration will be challenged over positions that breach a longstanding agreement to require all radioactive waste from the Santa Susana Field Lab be disposed of at sites licensed and designed for such waste.

How New CA Privacy Regulations Can Be Drawn to Stop Biased Algorithms

Los Angeles, CA—Today Consumer Watchdog released a report spotlighting...

Commissioner Lara Approves Over $1 Billion in Unjustified Auto Insurance Rate Hikes 

Insurance Commissioner Lara’s approval last week of a $263.7 million rate hike by California’s largest insurer, State Farm, marks the latest in a flurry of approvals of unjustified 2023 auto insurance rate hikes by the top 6 auto insurers, collectively totaling over $1 billion.
Support Consumer Watchdog