Consumer Watchdog

California’s Insurance Chief Vowed Not To Take Industry Money. Records Show He Did, And Knew It

By Hannah Wiley, CAPITOL ALERT - SACRAMENTO BEE

September 10, 2019

https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article23…

California’s top regulator of insurance companies sought campaign contributions from the industry and partied with one of its lobbyists after winning his election last year, according to records and social media posts obtained by The Sacramento Bee.

Consumer Group Wants AG To Investigate California Insurance Commissioner Over 2nd Home

By Staff Writers, INSURANCE JOURNAL

September 10, 2019

https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/west/2019/09/10/539402.htm

Consumer Watchdog is calling on California Attorney General Xavier Becerra and the district attorneys for Sacramento, Los Angeles and San Francisco counties to launch an investigation over the potential theft of public funds.

California Commissioner Sorry for Accepting Insurance Industry Contributions

By Staff Reporters, INSURANCE JOURNAL

September 4, 2019

https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/west/2019/09/04/538887.htm

Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara has offered an apology for accepting campaign contributions from the insurance industry.

Lara in a letter that was reportedly sent on Tuesday acknowledged that his campaign solicited contributions from the insurance industry, despite a campaign pledge not to do so.

California Insurance Commissioner Halts Fundraising Over Conflicts

By Timothy Darragh, BESTWIRE

September 4, 2019

Sacramento, CA -- California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara has suspended campaign fundraising for the rest of 2019 after repeated news media revelations that his campaign accepted funds from individuals with ties to the insurance industry.

Lara, in a letter sent to consumer advocates and posted on his campaign website, apologized for taking contributions from industry sources after pledging during his campaign not to do so.

NTSB Confirms Autopilot Engaged During Tesla Crash

Model 3 runs into back of unoccupied fire truck

By Michael Strong, THE DETROIT BUREAU

September 3, 2019

https://www.thedetroitbureau.com/2019/09/ntsb-confirms-autopilot-engage…

The National Transportation Safety Board determined that a Tesla Model S that hit the back of a fire truck was in Autopilot mode and the driver was not holding the steering wheel when it hit the parked vehicle.

Column: California’s Fire Insurance Market Reaches A Crisis

By Michael Hiltzik, LOS ANGELES TIMES

August 29, 2019

https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2019-08-28/hiltzik-california-fi…

Steve Nielsen would not normally have considered himself a resident of California’s wildfire zone. But that ended in October 2017, when a fire swept through Coffey Park, his suburban Santa Rosa neighborhood, destroying his home and those of about 1,200 neighbors.

Senators Call For Connected Car Kill Switches Following Consumer Watchdog Report

By Ryan Daws, IoT NEWS

August 23, 2019

https://www.iottechnews.com/news/2019/aug/23/senators-connected-car-kil…

US Senators Richard Blumenthal and Ed Markey have penned a letter to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) asking whether vehicle manufacturers have disclosed vulnerabilities with their cars.

California Supreme Court Upholds $27.6 Million Fine on Mercury Insurance Co.

By Timothy Darragh, BESTWIRE

August 16, 2019

http://news.ambest.com/newscontent.aspx?altsrc=108&refnum=219515

SACRAMENTO, CA - The California Supreme Court has denied a petition by Mercury Insurance Co., letting stand a record $27.6 million fine the state Department of Insurance levied on the company for illegally charging broker fees on its automobile policies.

'It’s A Go-To Hustle That Is Honest:' Closure Of Recycling Centers Impacts Homeless Community

By Nicole Hayden, THE PALM SPRING DESERT SUN

August 15, 2019

https://www.desertsun.com/story/news/2019/08/15/closure-recycling-cente…

Starr Thornton was tired from the heat. She felt sticky with summer sweat. She apologized for the needs she wished she didn’t have. She had tried to collect more bottles to return, but her body hurt.

California Disaster Risk Transfer Bill Stalls As Department Of Finance Objects

 

By Steve Evans, ARTEMIS

August 15, 2019

https://www.artemis.bm/news/california-disaster-risk-transfer-bill-stal…

The passage of California legislation calling for approval for the state to purchase insurance, reinsurance, insurance-linked securities (ILS), or other alternative risk transfer (ART) structures as financial protection against disasters has stalled.

How Hackers Could Turn Everyday Objects Into Deadly Cyber Weapons

By Margie Murphy, THE TELEGRAPH UK

August 14, 2019

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2019/08/14/hackers-could-hurt-ca…

It may seem like something straight out of a thriller: a terrorist hacking into a home, taking over household electronic devices to torture those inside. But, according to some experts, this may not be too far from reality. 

FasTrak Agencies May Have Sold Out Your Privacy. Now They Want Legal Immunity

By David Lazarus, LOS ANGELES TIMES

August 13, 2019

https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2019-08-12/toll-road-agencies-pr…

Transit authorities statewide have been targeted with lawsuits alleging that, among other privacy violations, information from toll-road transponders — think FasTrak — is being used to illegally market to drivers.

CalRecycle’s ‘Gross Mismanagement’ Led To Recycling Chain’s Closure, Letter To Newsom Says

By Andrew Sheeler, SAN LUIS OBISPO TRIBUNE

August 12, 2019

https://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/state/california/article233714092.ht…

The leadership of CalRecycle must drastically change or else be sacked and replaced by Gov. Gavin Newsom, according to a letter written to the governor from the head of a consumer advocacy group, just days after the largest recycling chain in California shuttered all remaining locations.

Heavily Redacted Texts Show Mayor Garcetti’s Request For Home To Be Checked During Woolsey Fire

By Jaclyn Cosgrove, LOS ANGELES TIMES

August 9, 2019

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-08-09/woolsey-fire-mayor-…

On a November afternoon, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti texted the city’s fire chief to ask how much destruction the Woolsey fire had caused in a wealthy gated Ventura County neighborhood.

California Insurance Commissioner’s Applied Underwriters Decision Challenged Over Campaign Contributions

By Don Jergler, INSURANCE JOURNAL

August 7, 2019

https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/west/2019/08/07/535203.htm

A pair of companies has filed to overturn decisions by California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara in cases involving workers’ comp provider Applied Underwriters, alleging the decisions by Lara were swayed by contributions to his campaign from people affiliated with Applied.

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