By Emily Birnbaum, THE HILL
March 28, 2019
https://thehill.com/policy/technology/436166-tech-watchdogs-see-red-fla…
Apple’s new entertainment subscription services and credit card, launched to great fanfare this week, could raise new concerns for the company over market power and competition issues.
PG&E gains $5.5 billion in financing to keep lights on, heat flowing while bankruptcy case crawls ahead
By George Avalos, THE MERCURY NEWS
March 27, 2019
https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/03/27/pge-lands-5-5-billion-in-funds-t…
By Justin Kloczko, THE LOS ANGELES DAILY JOURNAL
March 26, 2019
https://www.dailyjournal.com/articles/351743-3rd-attorney-for-la-resigns
LOS ANGELES — The head of the Los Angeles city attorney’s civil division and a key figure in the water and power billing fiasco has resigned, although the reason for it remains unclear.
By Timothy Darragh, BESTWIRE
March 26, 2019
A coalition of consumer organizations is asking the California Department of Insurance to mandate that insurers disclose the fossil-fuel projects they are underwriting.
The petition also asks the department to require insurers to disclose their investments in fossil fuel-related entities.
California could become the first US state to mandate climate-related financial disclosures for insurers after more than 60 public interest groups petitioned insurance commissioner Ricardo Lara yesterday.
By Chris Seekings, THE ACTUARY
March 22, 2019
https://www.theactuary.com/news/2019/03/thousands-of-us-insurers-could-…
By Tom Kisken, THE VENTURA COUNTY STAR
March 22, 2019
https://www.vcstar.com/story/news/local/2019/03/22/pay-clinicas-execs-q…
The tax documents showed up on a reporter’s desk multiple times, all sent anonymously. One of the senders marked gaudy compensation levels with a highlighter, scrawling a note in a margin.
By Staff Reporters, INTELLIGENT INSURER
March 22, 2019
https://www.intelligentinsurer.com/news/campaigners-could-force-1-300-i…
A petition, signed by 60 organisations, has called for more than 1,300 insurance companies that do business in California to disclose the fossil fuel projects they insure and invest in.
By Katherine Chiglinsky, BLOOMBERG
March 21, 2019
(Bloomberg) -- Consumer and environmental groups are pushing for newly elected California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara to require insurers to disclose their ties to fossil fuel companies and projects.
By Staff Reporters, INSURANCE JOURNAL
March 21, 2019
https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/west/2019/03/21/521377.htm
More than 60 environmental, consumer and social justice organizations on Thursday delivered a petition to California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara seeking what is believed would be the first regulations in the nation requiring insurance companies to disclose the fossil fuel projects they insure.
By Cara Salvatore, LAW 360
March 21, 2019
https://www.law360.com/articles/1141417/insurers-must-name-climate-prob…
Law360 (March 21, 2019, 8:44 PM EDT) -- California is under pressure to force insurers to name the fossil-fuel projects they insure and underwrite, with nonprofit groups calling Thursday for emergency measures from the state’s insurance regulator.
Op-Ed by Susan Shelley, THE LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS
March 19, 2019
https://www.dailynews.com/2019/03/19/ladwp-and-the-case-of-the-twice-fl…
Solid evidence of collusion has emerged, but not where you may have been expecting to see it.
Op-Ed Commentary by Tom Elias, THE DAVIS ENTERPRISE
March 15, 2019
https://www.davisenterprise.com/forum/opinion-columns/tom-elias-lets-ma…
Travel back in time to the mid-1980s, when California’s insurance rates for both cars and property were nearly the highest in America and climbing fast. In that era, state insurance commissioners, who held the power to stop much of that acceleration, were appointed by the governor.
Testimony and documents submitted in federal court earlier this month said that an outside attorney retained to defend the city and the utility also represented a ratepayer who was the lead plaintiff in a 2015 class action lawsuit against the city. The city attorney’s office said it is investigation the allegation.
By Elizabeth Chou, LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS
March 14, 2019
By Dakota Smith & Kim Christensen, LOS ANGELES TIMES
March 13, 2019
https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-paradis-dwp-lawsuit-201903…
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power's reputation hit a low six years ago when the agency’s new billing system sent out wildly inaccurate bills, overcharging hundreds of thousands of customers.
Company will open small centers around town
By Jared Aarons, KGTV-10 ABC San Diego, CA
March 12, 2019
https://www.10news.com/news/local-news/local-company-wants-to-simplify-…
EL CAJON, Calif. (KGTV) - An El Cajon company has big plans to make small scale recycling a part of people's daily shopping routines.
By Gina Silva, KTTV FOX TV-11, Los Angeles, CA
March 11, 2019
http://www.foxla.com/news/local-news/alleged-misconduct-by-city-of-la-c…
LOS ANGELES (FOX 11) - Alleged misconduct by counsel at the City Attorney's Office may have resulted in millions of ratepayers being cheated out of a fair settlement.
By David Goldstein, THE VENTURA COUNTY STAR
March 11, 2019
https://www.vcstar.com/story/news/2019/03/10/eco-tip-recycling-bottles-…
Tobie Mitchell is a recycling expert, working for the Ventura County Integrated Waste Management Division, but even she had trouble recently trying to redeem the deposits her family paid for bottles and cans.
By Justin Klozko, DAILY JOURNAL
March 11, 2019
https://www.dailyjournal.com/articles/351510-la-city-attorney-opens-eth…
LOS ANGELES — The city of Los Angeles said it is conducting an ethics review over allegations that outside counsel hired to represent city interests over water billing litigation also represented the other side.
By Lisa Green, NERD WALLET
March 11, 2019
https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/insurance/auto/is-gender-raising-your-c…
Your driving record may be flawless. Your car may be one of the safest on the road. But, in most states, you might pay more for car insurance than an all-but-identical driver, simply because of your gender.
By J.D. Morris, SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
March 8, 2019
https://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/PG-E-seeks-permission-to-p…
Pacific Gas and Electric Co. wants permission from Bankruptcy Court to pay an estimated $235 million in 2019 performance bonuses to thousands of employees — a request opposed by wildfire victims, who want to be paid for the loss of their homes first.
By Staff Reporters, QATAR TRIBUNE
March 8, 2019
In a state as devoted to the environment as California, it's hard to imagine state leaders accepting a sharp decline in recycling. But that's what has happened since January 2016, when recycling centres that gather single-use plastic, metal and glass bottles from consumers began closing in droves because reimbursement rates from the California Department of Resources Recycling (CalRecycle) were so low centers couldn't stay in business.
Consumer Watchdog points to more than $700 million in redemption fees not collected
By Dan Sandoval, RECYCLING TODAY
March 5, 2019
https://www.recyclingtoday.com/article/california-bottle-bill-recycling…
By Sam Metz, THE PALM SPRINGS DESERT SUN
March 4, 2019
https://www.desertsun.com/story/news/politics/2019/03/04/california-leg…
On Nov. 7, after he was re-elected to serve a second term in the California State Senate, Jeff Stone, R-La Quinta, hopped on a plane for a trip to Israel and South Africa.
By Michael Finney, KGO ABC TV-7 - San Francisco, CA
March 4, 2019
https://abc7news.com/society/should-stores-be-required-to-take-back-the…
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Convenience is not a new idea. Your grandparents had milk delivered to their doorsteps. Kids on bikes threw newspapers on driveways and when a coke was bought, it was returned to the same store for the nickel deposit.
By Debra Kahn, POLITICO PRO
March 1, 2019
MONEY BACK: If California opened more recycling centers and charged higher container deposits, would you return cans and bottles?
That's the underlying premise of a new report by Consumer Watchdog. The group says it's a problem that Californians pay 5-cent deposit fees but are rarely returning containers themselves to get their cash back, reports POLITICO's Debra Kahn.
A new report by Consumer Watchdog claims that of the $1.5 billion California consumers pay in deposits, they leave $732 million behind. But CalRecycle says this claim is inconsistent with audits findings and reporting.
By Staff Reporters, WASTE 360
March 1, 2019
https://www.waste360.com/recycling/report-claims-californians-lose-half…
By Jim Johnson, PLASTICS NEWS
March 1, 2019
https://www.plasticsnews.com/article/20190301/NEWS/190309986
Consumers are getting the shaft through California's container deposit program that fails to return hundreds of millions of dollars to their pockets each year, one advocacy group claims.
Consumer Watchdog believes $308 million is lost by California residents due to deposits they pay but do not redeem each year.
By Simon Fletcher, CNN CANADIAN NEWS NETWORK
March 1, 2019
https://www.ccn.com/california-trashes-300-million-with-its-garbage-rec…
A consumer watchdog in the Golden State has revealed that recycling conscious Californians being ripped off by an outdated collection system.
By Don Thompson, ASSOCIATED PRESS
February 28, 2019
https://apnews.com/d3be5bcb7ae44ea39262398445fad437
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California consumers lost out on at least $308 million in nickel deposits on cans and bottles in 2018, largely because it’s increasingly difficult to find a place to recycle them, according to a new report made public Thursday.
Organizations Urge Commissioner To End Use Of Occupation And Education History To Create Rates
By Staff Reporters, SACRAMENTO OBSERVER
February 28, 2019
LOS ANGELES - Community organizations representing consumers, low-income workers and communities of color petitioned Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara to ban the use of occupation and education to set auto insurance premiums.
By Staff Writers, ASSOCIATED PRESS
February 25, 2019
https://www.courthousenews.com/pge-cancels-130-million-in-worker-perfor…
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Northern California utility Pacific Gas & Electric said it won’t award $130 million in employee bonuses because of its recent bankruptcy filing, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
By Kevin Smith, LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS
February 22, 2019
https://www.dailynews.com/2019/02/22/organizations-petition-state-to-ba…
Consumer Watchdog and a host of community organizations are urging California insurers to stop imposing higher auto insurance rates on low-income drivers with less education.
By Lyle Adriano, INSURANCE BUSINESS
February 22, 2019
https://www.insurancebusinessmag.com/us/news/breaking-news/pressure-gro…
Various community groups in California have petitioned state insurance commissioner Ricardo Lara to prohibit the use of occupation and education as factors in setting auto insurance premiums.
By Hannah Wiley, SACRAMENTO BEE - CAPITOL ALERT
February 21, 2019
https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article22…
WORKER DISCRIMINATION
A group of organizations is submitting a petition this morning to California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara in a fight to ban the use of occupation and education when pricing auto insurance.
Or should we turn the scofflaw company into a public agency?
By Alastair Bland, EAST BAY EXPRESS
February 20, 2019
https://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/should-we-break-up-pgande/Conten…
By Pete Bigelow, AUTOMOTIVE NEWS
February 18, 2019
https://www.autonews.com/regulation-safety/self-driving-test-miles-zoom…
Even with automakers and tech companies sprouting projects across the country, California remains a fertile testing ground for self-driving vehicles.
By Priya Kantaria, THE VERDICT
February 15, 2019
https://www.verdict.co.uk/self-driving-cars-have-miles-to-full-autonomy/
Companies such as Google’s Waymo are testing robot cars on Californian public roads, and reports to the Department of Motor Vehicles there show that human intervention is needed on average every 14 miles.
Despite the hype surrounding self-driving cars, human intervention is consistently required for its functionality, according to Consumer Watchdog.
By Macy Bayern, TECH REPUBLIC
February 15, 2019
https://www.techrepublic.com/article/autonomous-cars-are-not-ready-for-…
It will always be essential for people to be in control not only of autonomous vehicles, but of all forms of artificial intelligence.
By Larry Magid, THE EAST BAY TIMES
February 14, 2019
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2019/02/14/magid-ai-looks-its-best-as-a-hu…
The civil rights groups aim to fix issues like discriminative advertising, voter suppression and targeted misinformation.
By Marrian Zhou, CNET
February 13, 2019
https://www.cnet.com/news/aclu-naacp-call-on-congress-to-address-discri…
Civil rights groups are calling on Congress to protect marginalized groups in privacy laws.
California disengagement reports give several reasons for when safety drivers needed to take over.
By Keith Shaw, ROBOTICS BUSINESS REVIEW
February 13, 2019
https://www.roboticsbusinessreview.com/unmanned/consumer-group-says-sel…
By Donna Horowitz, THE DEAL PIPELINE
February 9, 2019
A federal judge has given final approval to a Transamerica Life Insurance Co. class-action settlement for $110.7 million, slashing a proposed $195 million payout after eight large life settlement investment groups withdrew from the agreement.
Judge Christina Snyder of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California in Los Angeles certified the settlement Wednesday, Feb. 6.
By Staff Reporters, PYMNTS.COM
February 6, 2019
https://www.pymnts.com/gig-economy/2019/instacart-lawsuit-shoppers-deli…
Instacart, the delivery on demand service, is facing a class-action lawsuit over how it handles tips earned by drivers.
PG&E spent almost $10 million on lobbying California officials in 2018, surpassing even the Western States Petroleum Association in lobbying spending in 2018. The nation’s largest utility, PG&E filed for reorganization in federal bankruptcy court under Chapter 11 on January 29.
By Dan Bacher, RED GREEN & BLUE
February 4, 2019
“For a consumer to somehow glean that this tip is in fact just subsidizing what the company would have paid on the back end is a completely deceptive practice,” said one consumer advocate.
By Olivia Solon, NBC NEWS
February 4, 2019
https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/why-instacart-doordash-w…
