By Colin Staub, PLASTICS RECYCLING UPDATE
June 24, 2020
https://resource-recycling.com/plastics/2020/06/24/california-reinstate…
A single-use plastic bag ban and reusable bag recycled-content mandate is back in force in California. The regulations had been temporarily lifted because of COVID-19.
By Emily C. Dooley, BLOOMBERG LAW
June 23, 2020
https://news.bloomberglaw.com/environment-and-energy/california-extends…
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has extended a waiver by 60 days that allows grocery stores and other retailers to stop redeeming recyclable bottles and cans.
By Elizabeth Christian, BAKERSFIELD NOW
June 20, 2020
https://bakersfieldnow.com/news/local/a-call-to-action-to-hold-medical-…
Bakersfield, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX)- A tragic case that happened a year ago claimed the life of 23-year-old Demi Dominguez. Dominguez gave birth to a baby boy and later bled to death. The baby was declared brain dead and he didn't survive either.
By Michael Hiltzik, LOS ANGELES TIMES
June 19, 2020
https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2020-06-19/insurers-coronavirus-…
It’s fair to say that most Americans see the coronavirus pandemic as an enormous and fearsome burden.
Not the insurance industry. In California, the industry is using the crisis to bring about a sneaky change in insurance rules that could lead to massive increases in homeowner premiums.
By Don Jergler, INSURANCE JOURNAL
June 17, 2020
https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/west/2020/06/17/572626.htm
Backers of a controversial bill in California, which they say is designed to increase insurance coverage in high-risk wildfire areas by amending Proposition 103, believe it has the right timing and plenty of momentum to go all the way.
By Frank Mottek, KNX 1070 AM Los Angeles, CA
June 17, 2020
Click here to listen to the audio of this radio broadcast: https://knx1070.radio.com/media/audio-channel/mottek-on-money-special-edition-wednesday-june-17th-2020
When Covid-19 hit, travel insurance didn’t help many travelers recover the cost of their canceled trips. What, then, were they paying for?
By Elaine Glusac, THE NEW YORK TIMES
June 17, 2020
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/17/travel/travel-insurance-pandemic.html
Dear Gavin, Your budget sucks, too.
By Nicole Levin, KNOCK-LA
June 13, 2020
https://knock-la.com/gavin-newsom-environmental-budget-cuts-344ab8791856
“Because one thing I know about cuts, there’s a human being behind every single number. Behind every category is a dream that is either deferred, in some case a dream that is denied. I am sober about it, I’m not naive about cuts.” — Gavin Newsom, May 14, 2020
By MACKENZIE HAWKINS, CAPITOL ALERT - SACRAMENTO BEE
June 10, 2020
https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article24…
After several years of catastrophic burns — and the insurance industry pulling back from some fire-prone communities — many California homeowners will face the upcoming fire season without proper coverage.
By Timothy Darragh, BESTWIRE
June 9, 2020
http://news.ambest.com/newscontent.aspx?refnum=225814&altsrc=23
California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara is squaring off with property/casualty insurers over a bill that would ease regulation on rate-setting in return for insurers' reentry into wildfire-prone markets.
By Staff Writers, INSURANCE JOURNAL
June 9, 2020
https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/west/2020/06/09/571546.htm
A consumer group is warning that homeowners could pay billions more for their home insurance under what it calls an “insurance industry legislative attack on California’s effective rate regulation.”
By Pat Thurston, KGO 810 AM, SF, CA
June 8, 2020
Click here to listen to Harvey Rosenfield on The Pat Thurston Show discuss the insurance industry's sneak attack on Prop 103’s homeowners insurance protections.
By Kevin Smith, RIVERSIDE PRESS ENTERPRISE
June 5, 2020
https://www.pe.com/2020/06/05/watchdog-group-opposes-bill-that-would-hi…
A bill that would allow California insurance companies to boost homeowners’ insurance rates in regions prone to wildfires will price people out of the market, a watchdog group says.
Study looked at 3 million birth certificates and oil, gas info - Low birth weights found in rural areas near active wells
By Emily C. Dooley, BLOOMBERG
June 3, 2020
Pregnant women living in rural areas close to active oil and gas wells are at higher risk o f having babies that weigh less than those born in urban areas, a study of millions of birth records in California shows.
By Stacey Shepard, BAKERSFIELD CALIFORNIAN
June 3, 2020
https://www.bakersfield.com/news/state-board-puts-local-doctor-on-proba…
A local OB-GYN will begin five years of probation later this month following a state investigation into the death of one of his patients in September 2016.
By Staff Writers, KALLANISH ENERGY
May 26, 2020
https://www.kallanishenergy.com/2020/05/26/group-seeks-to-toughen-calif…
A consumer group wants California Gov. Gavin Newsom to sign an executive order to block oil companies from getting state approval for new wells without full bonding for their cleanup, Kallanish Energy reports.
That request was made last week by Consumer Watchdog.
By Dan Bacher, RED GREEN & BLUE
May 21, 2020
http://redgreenandblue.org/2020/05/21/socialism-oil-companies-end-payin…
Consumer Watchdog called upon Governor Gavin Newsom to prevent oil companies from receiving approvals for new oil wells without first requiring full bonding for their clean-ups, according to a press release from the group today.
By Staff Writers, SACRAMENTO BEE - CAPITOL ALERT
May 21, 2020
https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/
The head of the group Consumer Watchdog has written a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom, calling on him to issue an order that no new oil wells be approved without full bonding for their clean-up and a requirement to plug a certain number of idle wells in exchange for a new permit.
By Wendy Davis, MEDIAPOST DIGITAL NEWS DAILY
May 20, 2020
https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/351605/google-begins-enc…
In a move touted as boosting privacy and security, Google on Tuesday rolled out a relatively new encryption technology for domain name look-ups.
By Dan Bacher, INDYBAY MEDIA SF
May 20, 2020
https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2020/05/20/18833152.php
“Given the state’s grave deficit, it’s imperative that no new wells be approved without full bonding for their clean-up and a requirement to plug a certain number of idle wells in exchange for a new permit,” the letter said.
By Dan Bacher, INDYBAY MEDIA
May 15, 2020
https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2020/05/15/18833050.php
Tuesday, May 19, marks the fifth anniversary of the massive Plains All American Pipeline spill near the Refugio State Beach in Santa Barbara County.
By Max Greenwood, THE HILL
May 8, 2020
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/496676-coronavirus-pours-cold-wat…
Advocacy groups and citizen-led ballot initiatives are struggling to keep their campaigns going amid the coronavirus pandemic.
By Timothy Darragh, BESTWIRE
May 7, 2020
http://news.ambest.com/newscontent.aspx?refnum=225122&altsrc=23
The California Assembly's Committee on Insurance advanced a bill to expedite rate filings in parts of the state that are prone to wildfires.
The committee approved the bill in a 14-0 vote May 7, sending it to the Appropriations Committee.
By Aaron Pelc, LAW360
May 4, 2020
https://www.law360.com/newyork/articles/1270123/law360-s-tort-report-ca…
Law360 (May 4, 2020, 7:35 PM EDT) -- The postponement of a campaign to raise a California cap on pain and suffering damages leads Law360's Tort Report, which compiles recent personal injury and medical malpractice news that may have flown under the radar.
By Victoria Colliver, POLITICO PRO
April 30, 2020
OAKLAND — Proponents of an initiative to increase California's medical malpractice compensation cap dropped their November 2020 effort today, the latest ballot proposal to fall victim to the coronavirus pandemic.
By John Wildermuth, SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
April 30, 2020
https://www.msn.com/en-us/Travel/news/coronavirus-forces-california-ini…
Worried about the effect the coronavirus pandemic may have on the November elections, backers will delay until 2022 a California initiative that would raise the dollar limit for damages awarded in medical malpractice lawsuits.
By Staff Writers, ASSOCIATED PRESS
April 30, 2020
https://www.thehour.com/news/article/California-battle-on-malpractice-c…
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Fallout from the coronavirus pandemic has delayed by two years what likely would have been one of the most expensive California ballot battles leading up to this November's election, initiative supporters said Thursday.
By Frank Mottek, KNX 1070 AM Los Angeles, CA
April 27, 2020
Click here to listen to the audio of this radio broadcast:
https://omny.fm/shows/mottek-on-money/mottek-on-money-special-edition-monday-april-27th
The founder of Consumer Watchdog, Harvey Rosenfield, asks the state insurance commissioner to suspend auto insurance rate hikes during the crisis and discusses other consumer issues.
By KNX 1070 AM Los Angeles, CA
April 26, 2020
Click here to listen to the audio of this radio broadcast segment.
Harvey Rosenfield explains Consumer Watchdog's call for a freeze on all auto insurance rate hikes in California during Covid-19.
By Michael Finney, KGO AM Radio San Francisco, CA
April 25, 2020
Click here to listen to the audio of this radio broadcast segment.
Harvey Rosenfield discusses with Michael Finney Conusmer Watchdog's call for the CA Insurance Commissioner to suspend all auto insurance rate hikes during the pandemic.
By Paul Krueger & J.W. August, NBC San Diego, CA
April 23, 2020
https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/investigations/consumer-advocates-dema…
A state-wide consumer advocacy group wants California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara to suspend all auto insurance rate hikes until at least September 1.
April 24, 2020
Click here to watch the video of this broadcast segment: https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/coronavirus/in-scramble-to-stay-open-san-francisco-court-leaves-confidential-records-unsecured-during-covid-19-pandemic/2278001/
By Kevin Smith, THE DAILY NEWS OF LOS ANGELES
April 23, 2020
https://www.dailynews.com/2020/04/23/watchdog-wants-auto-insurance-hike…
A Los Angeles-based watchdog group is urging California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara to suspend all auto insurance rate hikes through Sept. 1 or for the duration of shelter-in-place restrictions, whichever comes later.
By Maura Dolan, Harriet Ryan and Anita Chabria, LOS ANGELES TIMES
April 23, 2020
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-04-23/nursing-homes-legal…
For weeks, nursing homes have been the epicenter of coronavirus outbreaks and deaths in California, making them prime targets for civil lawsuits and even criminal prosecutions.
By Samantha Chapman, ABC TV-7, Chicago, IL
April 21, 2020
https://abc7chicago.com/coronavirus-illinois-test-testing/6118404/
MATTESON, Ill. (WLS) -- A Matteson man said he got tested for the coronavirus, and is now being asked to pay nearly $2,000 for it.
Now, on top of a scary health battle, Donald Utoh said he's now having to fight a financial one.
By Dorothy Atkins, LAW 360
April 20, 2020
https://www.law360.com/insurance/articles/1265146/aetna-s-ex-settlement…
Law360 (April 20, 2020, 3:04 PM EDT) -- Aetna Inc. has reached a deal to resolve its lawsuit alleging a settlement administrator revealed the HIV status of more than 10,000 Aetna members through a bungled class action settlement mailing, according to filings in California federal court.
By Andrew Sheeler and Hannah Wiley, SACRAMENTO BEE - CAPITOL ALERT
April 16, 2020
https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article24…
Five dozen climate, health and environmental organizations have sent a letter to Gov. Newsom, urging him “to reject the efforts by the oil industry to exploit this emergency as an excuse to roll back regulatory oversight.”
By Chris Taylor, MONEY
April 13, 2020
https://money.com/heres-how-to-figure-out-the-amount-of-homeowners-insu…
Here’s some advice for new homeowners figuring out how much insurance coverage to buy: Think back to the popular childhood fable, and keep the Goldilocks Principle in mind: Not too much, not too little, but just right.
By Dan Bacher, SF INDYBAY MEDIA
April 11, 2020
https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2020/04/11/18832287.php
The issuing of new fracking permits took place less than two months after Consumer Watchdog and the FracTracker Alliance reported that the total number of oil and gas well permits issued in 2019 under the Newsom Administration rivals the number issued during the last year in office of former Governor Jerry Brown.
By Timothy Darragh, BEST WIRE
April 8, 2020
Transamerica Life Insurance Co. has agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit filed by policyholders who alleged it improperly increased monthly charges on their universal life insurance policies.
According to the settlement agreement in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, Transamerica will pay up to $88 million in account value credits to policies in effect and those for which death claims were pending as of Dec. 31, 2019.
