Energy

Funds flow on telecom legislation:

June 18, 2006  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>State's star lobbyists and PR firms take sides on cable franchise bill</h3><p class="source">Sacramento Bee</p> <p>"I haven't seen this level of lobbying in the Capitol since fallout from the electricity crisis," said Jamie Court, president of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, which opposes AB 2987.</p>

Full of Gas

June 15, 2006  ·  Jamie Court

<font face="verdana,sans-serif" size="2">Californians are paying more for gasoline than motorists anywhere in the nation and there's no good reason for it. That's what the California Energy Commission has said in weekly reports. But...</font>

Anti-Gouging Bill Targets Big Oil Firms;

June 9, 2006  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>Legislation would make it easier for the governor and attorney general to counter market manipulators as gasoline prices climb.</h3><p class="source">The Los Angeles Times</p> <p>Those fixes, for the first time, could "attack the severe price spikes we see every summer driving season that aren't justified by increased crude costs or refining costs," said Jamie Court, president of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights in Santa Monica.</p>

The Real Test for Arnold 2.0

June 9, 2006  ·  Jamie Court

<font face="verdana,sans-serif" size="2">Arnold is basking in the glow of reviews of his bi-partisan rebirth, but the real test for Schwarzenegger is coming soon. Is Arnold 2.0 still being programmed by the cash-rich special interests...</font>

Green Sonja

June 7, 2006  ·  Carmen Balber

<font face="verdana,sans-serif" size="2">The gov launches a tour of the state today -- in a green bus wrapped with snow-capped California mountain vistas -- hoping to persuade California voters he is a green machine. But a spiffy new...</font>

Calif. Demands Answers On Oil Prices

June 7, 2006  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">CBS News (National)</p> <p>"They (big oil) intentionally short the market using exporting or control of the refinery production," says Tim Hamilton, a petroleum industry consultant hired by a consumer group to investigate why California's gasoline stockpiles run so much lower than the rest of the country, another factor driving high prices. </p>

State’s Low Fuel Reserves Criticized;

May 25, 2006  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>Refiners limit on-hand gasoline inventory to boost profit, a consumer group's report alleges.</h3><p class="source">The Los Angeles Times</p> <p>Meager stockpiles of California's cleaner-burning gasoline helped drive pump prices to record heights in recent weeks and are setting the stage for more of the same this summer, energy experts said Wednesday. That point was underscored in a report by the Santa Monica-based Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, which accused oil companies of squeezing on-hand inventories to boost profits at the expense of consumers across the West.</p>

Depends what you mean by ‘gouged’…

May 24, 2006  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">Marketplace Radio Program (American Public Media)</p> <p>You might remember yesterday we told you about a report by the Federal Trade Commission. It said there was no illegal price fixing in the oil markets after Hurrican Katrina. But that wasn't enough for the chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee. Today, Alaska Republican Ted Stevens said he wants to outlaw excessive price increases. Said he's going to write a bill that'll take care of it. First, though, he has to define what exactly price gouging is. Commentator and consumer advocate Jamie Court is happy to help.</p>

Depends what you mean by ‘gouged’…

May 23, 2006  ·  Jamie Court

<p class="source">Marketplace Radio Program (American Public Media)</p> <p>With outrageous gasoline prices sucking the life out of the economy, why doesn't the federal government apply the same state standard for price gouging prosecutions all the time, not just during emergencies? </p>

Feds: No collusion or price gouging;

May 23, 2006  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<h3>Blame it on Katrina: Investigators say oil costs rose because of supply and demand, not corporate greed California Sen. Boxer: 'Report proves that this administration is owned and operated by big oil'</h3><p class="source">THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE</p> <p>Jamie Court of Santa Monica's Foundation for Taxpayer & Consumer Rights said the commission didn't study broader questions of why U.S. demand for gas has risen 30 percent, while supply is up 10 percent. "Seems you'd want to keep up with demand unless you want to make more money,'' he said of the oil companies.</p>

Arnold’s Oilers

May 19, 2006  ·  Jamie Court

<font face="verdana,sans-serif" size="2">California's attorney general is subpoenaing oil executives over the high price of gasoline. Arnold Schwarzenegger is headed to the land of big oil, hat in hand, for a Houston fundraiser Monday...</font>

California gas-price gap with rest of U.S. grows

May 18, 2006  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p class="source">Sacramento Bee</p> <p>Attorney General Bill Lockyer has issued subpoenas to every California refinery for evidence of "profiteering and gouging." The Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, a watchdog group based in Santa Monica, accused California refiners of "artificially withholding supply through tactics that would be the envy of Enron."</p>