By Eliyahu Kamisher, BAY AREA NEWS GROUP
March 11, 2022
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2022/03/11/bill-looks-to-open-books-of-oil…
While Californians watch their average gas prices surge to over $5.70 a gallon, consumer advocates are demanding new disclosures to reveal how much oil refiners are profiting off your latest fill up at the pump.
By Kevin Smith, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
March 11, 2022
https://www.ocregister.com/2022/03/11/bill-seeks-profit-transparancy-fr…
Russia’s invasion into Ukraine has pushed California’s already high gas prices to record levels, but a local lawmaker wants to know why Golden State prices are routinely so much higher than the rest of the nation.
By Madeline Brand, PRESS PLAY - KCRW 89.9FM Santa Monica, CA
March 9, 2022
Click here to listen to the audio of this radio broadcast segment.
Consumer Watchdog's Jamie Court explains why California's gas prices are so much higher than the rest of the nation and what should be done about it.
By Amy Ta, produced by Brian Hardzinsk, KCRW 89.9FM - Press Play
March 9, 2022
https://www.kcrw.com/news/shows/press-play-with-madeleine-brand/oil-ukr…
A gallon of gas in California today averages $5.57, according to AAA, and that’s the highest in the nation. Governor Gavin Newsom on Tuesday proposed a rebate aiming to ease fuel costs, though details are scant.
NRDC’s stance on rooftop solar shows differences in strategy and worldview.
By Dan Gearino and Anne Marshall-Chalmers, INSIDE CLIMATE NEWS
March 7, 2022
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/07032022/california-rooftop-solar-nr…
By Sophia Bollag, SACRAMENTO BEE
March 1, 2022
https://www.sacbee.com/article258526768.html
Fabian Núñez and Rusty Areias had a job to do.
The former lawmakers who left public service for private consulting were hired by a workers compensation company to convince the Department of Insurance to allow an acquisition deal to proceed. If they succeeded, they say they were promised a $2 million bounty fee.
By Richard Halstead, MARIN INDEPENDENT JOURNAL
February 28, 2022
https://www.marinij.com/2022/02/26/marin-candidate-for-insurance-commis…
It appears the gloves are off in Assemblyman Marc Levine’s bid to unseat state Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara in the June 7 primary.
By Jose Franco, KGET NBC-TV, Bakersfield, CA
February 24, 2022
https://www.kget.com/news/local-news/demi-dominguezs-mother-calls-for-c…
LOS ANGELES — Bakersfield’s Tracy Dominguez is calling for reform of the Medical Board of California.
Domnguez lost her daughter, Demi Dominguez and premature grandson Malakhi in 2019, due to Demi’s undiagnosed pre-eclampsia.
By Craig Fiegner, KNX 1070 AM Los Angeles, CA
February 24, 2022
Click here to listen to the audio of this radio broadcast segment.
Carmen Balber with Consumer Watchdog says victims of medical malpractice need an independent Medical Board in California, not controlled by doctors as it currently stands.
By Timothy Darragh, BESTWIRE
February 24, 2022
https://news.ambest.com/newscontent.aspx?altsrc=108&refnum=239981
A California lawmaker running for insurance commissioner has proposed a pair of bills to address what he said is a lack of transparency and ethics in the office.
By Charles Feldman & Mike Simpson, KNX 1070AM LA
February 17, 2022
Click here to listen to the audio of this radio broadcast segment.
Consumer Watchdog's Jamie Court explains how Big Oil is fleecing California consumers at the pump again by artificially raising prices.
By Dan Bacher, DAILYKOS
February 17, 2022
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/2/17/2080895/-State-Senator-Lena-…
On February 17, Sen. Lena Gonzalez (D-Long Beach) introduced a bill in the California Legislature that would mandate that California’s public pension funds stop investing in fossil fuel companies.
Column by Michael Hiltzik, LOS ANGELES TIMES
February 17, 2022
https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2022-02-17/businesses-have-been-…
Raise your hand if something like this has happened to you:
— You booked a hotel room, and discovered when you checked in — or checked out — that the hotel added an undisclosed daily “resort fee” to your bill, for services you never would or did use.
By Bob Egelko, SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
February 9, 2022
https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/State-Farm-doesn-t-have-to-…
State Farm Insurance will not have to refund $100 million to homeowners after the state Supreme Court denied appeals Wednesday by California's insurance commissioner and a consumer organization, which both contended the customers had been overcharged.
By Dan Bacher, DAILY KOS
February 9, 2022
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/2/9/2079471/-State-Senator-Dave-M…
SACRAMENTO, CA — In a major challenge to the powerful oil industry in California, Senator Dave Min (D-Irvine) today introduced a bill to ban offshore drilling in state ocean waters, including oil production under current lease agreements.
By Timothy Darragh, BESTWIRE
February 8, 2022
https://news.ambest.com/newscontent.aspx?altsrc=108&refnum=239697
Sacramento, CA -- A California administrative law judge has set a date of May 10 for an evidentiary hearing and possible motion for sanctions in a long-running case involving Allstate Insurance Co. and Allstate Indemnity Co. and allegations of price optimizing costing drivers an extra $1 billion.
By Sam Mellins, THE DAILY POSTER
February 7, 2022
https://www.dailyposter.com/what-if-i-cant-insure-my-home-at-all/
Major insurance companies are choosing to protect the fossil fuel industry while abandoning homeowners whose safety and livelihoods are being threatened by the industry’s carbon emissions.
By Lyle Adriano, INSURANCE BUSINESS MAGAZINE
February 3, 2022
https://www.insurancebusinessmag.com/us/news/breaking-news/allstate-fin…
Allstate Insurance’s results for Q4 2021 marked the second straight quarter that the insurer missed estimates – as record inflation drives up the costs of both insuring and repairing vehicles.
By Melody Gutierrez, Brittny Mejia and Jack Dolan, LOS ANGELES TIMES
February 3, 2022
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-02-03/california-lawmaker…
SACRAMENTO — Tracy Dominguez has often thought about standing in the lobby of the Medical Board of California and shouting. Maybe then she would be heard, she said.
By Dan Bacher, DAILY KOS
February 2, 2022
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/2/2/2078099/-Western-States-Petro…
The Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA), the largest and most powerful corporate lobbying group in Sacramento, has spent over $17.5 million lobbying the California Legislature and other state officials over the past three years.
By Ben Adler, YAHOO NEWS
February 2, 2022
https://www.yahoo.com/news/florida-and-california-consider-changes-that…
California and Florida are considering revoking a policy that has encouraged homeowners to install rooftop solar panels — causing fear among solar panel owners and installers, and creating divisions in the environmental community.
By Aaron Sankin, THE MARKUP
February 1, 2022
https://themarkup.org/allstates-algorithm/2022/02/01/newly-public-docum…
A pair of newly public documents filed with a California administrative law judge show experts accusing the company of systematically overcharging customers it believed to be the most loyal around $1 billion over the past decade.
Column by George Skelton, LOS ANGELES TIMES
January 31, 2022
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-01-31/skelton-rooftop-sol…
SACRAMENTO — Rooftop solar is generating intense heat on Gov. Gavin Newsom. And he’s quietly trying to cool it down.
He’s doing that by pressuring warring interest groups and the California Public Utilities Commission.
Column by Dan Walters, CALMATTERS
January 30, 2022
https://calmatters.org/commentary/2022/01/two-statewide-races-to-watch-…
We can pretty much assume that Gavin Newsom will be re-elected this year to a second term as California’s governor.
California’s governor is caught between his campaign pledge and the health care companies that bankroll him.
By Walker Bragman , THE DAILY POSTER
January 28, 2022
https://www.dailyposter.com/newsoms-big-choice-single-payer-or-his-insu…
By Dan Bacher, ELK GROVE NEWS
January 27, 2022
http://www.elkgrovenews.net/2022/01/new-analysis-reveals-fossil-fuel.html
The Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA), the most powerful corporate lobbying group in Sacramento, claims that there are 368,000 jobs in the oil industry in California.
By THE LOS ANGELES TIMES EDITORIAL BOARD
January 25, 2022
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2022-01-25/editorial-california-m…
California’s system for getting bad doctors out of the profession is obviously not working.
By Staff Writers, ATLANTA BUSINESS JOURNAL
January 20, 2022
https://www.atlantabusinessjournal.com/column-this-cost-recovery-fee-se…
If there’s a single business you should be able to trust implicitly to watch over you and protect you, it’s home security.
After all, these are companies you pay each month to keep you safe from unwanted intrusions.
By Timothy Darragh, BESTWIRE
January 19, 2022
https://news.ambest.com/newscontent.aspx?altsrc=108&refnum=239255
A consumer group is charging new evidence shows the California Department of Insurance has improperly withheld communications with representatives of a company linked to a 2019 fundraising scandal.
By Staff Reporters, KMVU FOX TV-26, Medford, OR
January 12, 2022
https://www.fox26medford.com/investigators-warn-of-potentially-unlicens…
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – At first glance, a pop-up COVID testing site nestled outside the 16th Street BART station in San Francisco’s Mission District looks like a convenient way to score a free COVID test.
By Dan Bacher, DAILY KOS
January 11, 2022
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/1/11/2073926/-Critics-Say-Newsom-…
SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom on January 10 unveiled his 2022-23 state budget proposal including a $45.7 billion budget surplus, receiving both criticism and praise from environmental and climate advocates.
State insurance commissioner Ricardo Lara has taken campaign money and gifts from fossil fuel interests and “done almost nothing” to address climate change.
By Sam Mellins, THE DAILY POSTER
January 12, 2022
https://www.dailyposter.com/why-is-california-backtracking-on-climate-r…
Host - Steve Chiotakis, Guest - Liza Tucker, Consumer Watchdog - Greater LA, KCRW 89.9FM
January 10, 2022
Click here to listen to the audio of this radio broadcast segment: https://www.kcrw.com/news/shows/greater-la/covid-recycle/recycling-fraud
Opinion By Thomas Elias, THE DESERT SUN
January 10, 2022
https://www.desertsun.com/story/opinion/2022/01/10/californias-recyclin…
In California’s recycling program, nickel and dime deposits add about $1.5 billion a year. But at least $200 million of that goes to criminals, according to a new report from the usually reliable Consumer Watchdog advocacy group.
Consumer Watchdog supports a California bill that would make producers responsible for the materials' entire life cycle.
By Kevin Smith, LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS
January 6, 2022
https://www.dailynews.com/2022/01/06/recycling-fraud-costs-california-c…
By Dustin Gardener, SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
January 4, 2022
https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/California-is-sitting-on-3…
SACRAMENTO — Every time Californians purchase a bottle of beer or can of soda, they pay an extra nickel or dime — a deposit they can theoretically get back if the container is returned to a recycling center.
By Debra Kahn, POLITICO PRO
December 30, 2021
SAN FRANCISCO — California is struggling to prevent wildfires from decimating communities each year. Now insurers wonder if they can accomplish what politicians can’t.
