Liza Tucker is a consumer advocate for Consumer Watchdog, following everything from oil and gas to the regulation of toxic substances in the state of California. She comes to us from Marketplace, the largest U.S. broadcast show on business and economics heard by ten million listeners each week on 400 radio stations. Liza worked at this public radio show for a decade, first as Commentary Editor and then as Senior Editor for both Washington and Sustainability News. At Marketplace, Liza produced and edited several special feature series from who funds Washington think tanks to the BP oil spill. Liza has worked as a journalist, consultant, teacher, and translator.
Prior to moving to Los Angeles, Liza spent a few years in Bologna, Italy. She covered business at The Washington Post and later free-lanced her way through the Soviet Union, covering its collapse for Time, Newsweek and The Wall Street Journal. Liza is fluent in Russian and speaks Italian. She taught journalism at Allegheny College. She also served as a consultant to the MacArthur Foundation awarding individual grants in the areas of independent media, women’s rights, and legal reform, and to US AID on how to support independent media in Ukraine. She translated Alexandra’s letters to Nicholas for The Fall of the Romanovs, published by Yale University Press. She traveled through Europe in 2009 as a German Marshall Fund Fellow studying German, French, Danish, and British approaches to sustainability. She holds a B.A. from Oberlin College and an M.F.A. in poetry from Columbia University’s School of the Arts.
Consumer Watchdog Demands Full Investigation by Senate Leader of Racist Emails Written By Staffer In Key Role On Cleanups At Top Toxics Agency
Santa Monica, CA — Consumer Watchdog today urged Senate pro Tempore Kevin de Leon to fully disclose racist emails written by scientists and other staff at the Department of Toxic Substances Control and to conduct a full investigation into the matter.
Consumer Watchdog Asks California Attorney General and US Attorneys to Investigate Oil Industry for Mail Fraud in Effort to Defeat Climate Change Legislation
SANTA MONICA, CA – Consumer Watchdog today asked the California Attorney General and US Attorneys to investigate the oil industry for mail fraud when its trade association sent out a mass mailing this week with a fraudulent web site address or URL attacking climate change legislation. The mailer deceived the recipients about the oil industry’s funding of the mailer.
Consumer Watchdog Asks NASA to End Special Drone Testing Deal With Google Giving Internet Giant Unfair Advantage Over Competitors At Taxpayer Expense
Santa Monica, CA -- Consumer Watchdog today asked NASA’s Inspector General to end a special NASA-Google deal to test unmanned drones over private land because it gives the Internet giant an unfair market advantage over competitors, and because the benefits to taxpayers are unclear.
Democracy At Work
When the confirmation of California’s top toxics regulator was over, Senate President pro Tempore Kevin de Leon addressed the audience: “You saw democracy working…” But was this really democracy at work?
Consumer Watchdog Says Director of Top Toxics Regulator Should Not Be Confirmed in Wake of Exide Mismanagement, Refusal to House Clean Agency
Santa Monica, CA—The Senate should not confirm Barbara Lee as Director of the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) based on her handling of serial polluter Exide, and lack of action to fundamentally reform the agency, Consumer Watchdog said today.
ALERT: California Gas Prices Up 40 Cents This Week; A Buck Over National Average, Driven By Refiner Shortages and Outages
Santa Monica, CA—The price of a gallon of regular gas in California spiked up another 40 cents this week and now stands at $3.59 a gallon at the pump due to fresh problems refineries have tried to conceal, Consumer Watchdog said today.California Gasoline Prices Spike 28 Cents In One Week, 89 Cents More Than USA
Santa Monica, CA – Consumer Watchdog today said that a price spike of 28 cents per gallon at the pump over the last week was likely caused by a refinery outage or other refinery problems that the public is not privy to, and called on the California Senate to act.
Irwindale City Officials Must Block Hazardous Waste Facility Alongside Santa Fe Dam Recreational Area
Santa Monica, CA—The Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) approved a permit for a hazardous waste facility in violation of Irwindale’s zoning rules, wrote residents and environmental advocates in a letter urging city officials to overturn the decision when the city council meets tomorrow.
Tom Steyer and Consumer Watchdog Call On Legislators To Make Oil Company Executives Answer For February’s $550 Million Gas Price Spike
Santa Monica, CA — Business leader, philanthropist and climate activist Tom Steyer and Consumer Watchdog President Jamie Court asked California lawmakers to subpoena oil industry executives to explain why California’s gasoline market is structured for shortages and volatility.
Consumer Watchdog Argues Against PG&E Proposal to Monopolize Electric Vehicle Charging Stations in Central and Northern CA at Ratepayer Expense
Santa Monica, CA—Consumer Watchdog has petitioned the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to reject a PG&E proposal to monopolize electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure on grounds that it will raise costs for ratepayers while stifling innovation. PG&E has proposed to charge ratepayers to install 25,100 EV charging stations, whether or not they are EV drivers.
Consumer Watchdog Calls for Defunding or Major Reform of Top Toxics Regulator in Wake of US Attorney Shutdown of Exide
Santa Monica, CA -- Consumer Watchdog today asked Governor Jerry Brown and top lawmakers to defund the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) or reform it from top to bottom, in the wake of the US Attorney's criminal investigation and closure of Exide Technologies.
Exxon Misrepresents Torrance Refinery Safety Record and Explosion’s Effect on Gas Prices to Lawmakers at Town Hall Hearing, Consumer Watchdog Says
Santa Monica, CA —Exxon misrepresented its safety record at its Torrance refinery to lawmakers at a public hearing at Torrance City Hall last week, suggesting its February 18 explosion and fire was unique, and did not acknowledge how extensively the blast damaged its ability to supply gasoline, Consumer Watchdog said today.
Broad Coalition Unites To Urge Governor Brown To Overturn Decision To Build Hazardous Waste Recycling Plant Next To Santa Fe Dam Recreation Area
Santa Monica, CA — A broad coalition of community members, advocates, and labor groups have petitioned Governor Brown excoriating the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) for permitting a company with a spotty record to build a used motor oil recycling plant a stone’s throw from a highly frequented lake and recreation area in Irwindale, Consumer Watchdog said today.
Price Of Gas Up A Dime, State Investigators Still Mum On Consumer Watchdog Request To Rule Out Refinery Price Manipulation
Santa Monica, CA -- Consumer Watchdog said today that the spot price of gas leapt a dime overnight, as the group had predicted in the wake of two refinery shutdowns affecting 16 percent of the state’s refining capacity.
Something Stinks and It’s Refineries
Today’s explosion at the Torrance refinery couldn’t come at a better time—for refiners interested in driving up the price of gas.
Two Refineries Down, Gas Prices Up: Consumer Watchdog Calls For On-Site Inspections To Investigate Price Manipulation
Santa Monica, CA—Responding to a shutdown of two refineries that produce 16 percent of the state’s gasoline, Consumer Watchdog called on state officials to send independent inspectors to verify refinery claims that the shutdowns were really necessary.
Consumer Watchdog Urges CA Attorney General and Regulators to Investigate Tesoro’s Martinez Refinery Shutdown to Rule Out Gasoline Price Manipulation
Santa Monica, CA—Consumer Watchdog today sent a letter to California Attorney General Kamala Harris and Robert Weisenmiller, Chair of the California Energy Commission, asking that they investigate Tesoro’s decision to shut down its Martinez refinery indefinitely as steelworkers mount a national strike.
Top Toxics Regulator Levies No Fines On Exide For Fresh Violations In Signal It Plans To Grant Serial Polluter A Permit, Says Consumer Watchdog
Santa Monica, CA — Far from turning over a new leaf, the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) listed eight violations inspectors discovered at Exide Technologies’ lead battery recycling facility in Vernon without levying a single fine, Consumer Watchdog said.
Sacramento Judge Rejects Boeing’s Bid to Demolish and Dispose of Radioactive Waste Without Accountability
Santa Monica, CA -- Sacramento Superior Court has denied Boeing’s motion for summary judgment in a California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) lawsuit over the demolition and disposal of radioactively contaminated structures from the site of a partial nuclear meltdown near Los Angeles, Consumer Watchdog said today.
New DTSC Director Says No Need to Reform Toxics Agency: Consumer Watchdog Urges Governor Brown to Fire Appointee or Have Her Apologize
Santa Monica, CA—Consumer Watchdog urged Governor Brown today to rethink his appointment of Barbara Lee as the new director of the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) after remarks she made that there was no need to reform the deeply troubled agency.