Politics, Government & Business in California's Inland Empire
By Jeff Horseman | jhorseman@scng.com | The Press-Enterprise
February 3, 2018 at 8:58 am
And they thought passage was the hard part.
Almost a year after Democratic leaders and a coalition of business, local government and labor interests lobbied furiously to get a massive road-repair bill through the state Legislature, the same alliance is ready to defend a 12-cent-per-gallon increase in California’s gas tax that’s key to the bill’s aim of raising more than $50 billion over 10 years.
By Milana Vinn
January 31, 2018, 12:12 PM PST
Motorists in California, the state with the most expensive gasoline, could see pump prices that begin with a 4 again as oil markets rally.
By Jon Coupal
Posted: 04/21/1 – 4:11 PM PDT |
For the last three weeks this column has focused on both the policies and politics of the $5.2 billion annual transportation tax increase. In the unlikely event that some have forgotten — or were on another planet — the taxes include a substantial hike in the car tax as well as a 12 cent increase in the gas tax.
Chris Megerian
April 6, 2017, – 2:03 p.m.
Reporting from Sacramento—
California’s controversial cap-and-trade program, a cornerstone of the state’s battle against climate change, has been upheld by a state appeals court.
By David Danelski, The Press-Enterprise
Posted: 03/18/17 – 2:47 PM PDT |
California’s power-grid operators are dealing with a glut of daytime electricity produced by household, government, business and industrial solar installations.
By Hannah Madans, hmadans@scng.com, @HannahMadans on Twitter
Posted: 02/27/17 – 7:30 PM PST |
An increase in oil prices and the upcoming implementation of California’s proprietary summer blend has pushed gas above $3 a gallon across much of Southern California.
Rob Nikolewski
December 14, 2016
In a ruling made just before the close of business hours Tuesday, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) directed Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric to meet with groups critical of a 2014 agreement that calls on utility ratepayers to shoulder about 70 percent of the costs from shutting down the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station.
Jeff McDonald
November 30, 2016
The judge who until a few weeks ago was in charge of the long-running San Onofre case before the California Public Utilities Commission has taken a job with a contractor to plant owner Southern California Edison.
Ivan Penn
November 29, 2016
A consumer advocacy group contends that California refiners are holding down gasoline production to inflate prices at the pump.
Jeff McDonald
November 28, 2016
The California Supreme Court has declined to take up a lawsuit seeking release of dozens of emails to and from the Governor’s Office regarding the San Onofre nuclear plant failure.
Jeff McDonald
September 29, 2016
Gov. Jerry Brown signed five bills Thursday aimed at reform for the California Public Utilities Commission and called on the agency to take additional steps to impose changes of its own.
Jeff McDonald
September 22, 2016
State utility regulators, already under criminal investigation for their ties to monopolies they oversee, should ban gifts and travel from energy companies and trade groups to avoid the appearance of improper relationships, a state audit released Thursday said.
By Jeff McDonald |
Sept. 8, 2016 – 5 p.m. |
Sept. 9, 2016 – Updated 7:37 a.m.
Congresswoman and U.S. Senate candidate Loretta Sanchez called Thursday for a federal takeover of the criminal investigation into the California Public Utilities Commission from her political rival, Attorney General Kamala Harris.
Liam Dillon
August 1, 2016
A major effort to overhaul the state’s energy regulator surprisingly collapsed after late legislative maneuverings led to the unraveling of the broad coalition that had pushed for changes at the scandal-ridden agency.
Liam Dillon
August 28, 2016
For years, state lawmakers have been trying to crack down on private meetings between utility companies and members of the California Public Utilities Commission after revelations that top officials and industry executives had frequent dinner dates, shared talking points and even sketched out details of the multibillion-dollar closure of a Southern California nuclear power plant during a secret rendezvous in a luxury hotel in Poland.
By David R. Baker
August 15, 2016
Updated: August 15, 2016 – 4:47pm
Gasoline is cheap in California compared to a year ago.
But it’s nowhere near as cheap as it could be.
By Kevin Smith, San Gabriel Valley Tribune
Posted: 08/10/16 – 10:54 AM PDT |
Twenty-six energy companies with business before the state donated nearly $10 million to Gov. Jerry Brown and the California Democratic Party over the past eight years — donations that often were made within days or weeks of winning favors.
Ivan Penn
August 4, 2016
A consumer advocacy group accused oil refiners of intentionally keeping California’s gasoline prices higher than in the rest of the nation to bolster profits, despite growing inventories and falling wholesale prices.
Markets | Fri Jul 29, 2016 1:06am EDT
HOUSTON | By Liz Hampton and Jessica Resnick-Ault
Wholesale gasoline in California became the cheapest in the country this week, but that change has largely gone unseen at the pump, where consumers are still paying the highest prices in the continental United States to fill up their cars.
Patrick McGreevy
July 26, 2016 – 11:28 a.m.
A political committee funded by oil companies has launched ads on the Internet attacking state Sen. Connie Leyva of Chino for opposing the reelection of Assemblywoman Cheryl Brown of San Bernardino, a fellow Democrat, and questioning Levya’s party loyalty.
Ivan Penn
July 7, 2016
Southern California Edison on Thursday warned that its customers could face higher costs related to the shuttered San Onofre nuclear plant if regulators overturn a settlement agreement.
Rob Nikolewski
July 5, 2016
The United States has overtaken industry giants Saudi Arabia and Russia in recoverable oil reserves, an international study released Monday says.
Ivan Penn
July 1, 2016
State Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris has issued subpoenas to oil refiners as part of an investigation into unusually high gasoline prices in California during the last year.
Jeff McDonald
June 29, 2016
Major reforms may be coming to the California Public Utilities Commission, but the agency still has plenty of room for improvement, auditors said Wednesday.
By Dan Walters
dwalters@sacbee.com
June 28, 2016 – 5:59 PM
Lawyers love to sprinkle their discourse with Latin phrases, thereby giving them a veneer of erudition.
Capitol Alert
By Jeremy B. White
jwhite@sacbee.com
June 27, 2016 – 11:19 AM
A deal between Gov. Jerry Brown and lawmakers announced Monday will bring major changes to the oft-criticized California Public Utilities Commission, including removing the regulator’s enforcement authority over ride-hailing services such as Uber and Lyft.
Capitol Alert
By Dan Walters
dwalters@sacbee.com
May 25, 2016 4:34 PM
Gov. Jerry Brown and the Legislature got some bad news Wednesday about plans to spend more than $3 billion in proceeds from the state’s “cap-and-trade” auction of carbon dioxide emission allowances.
By Jeff McDonald | May 25, 2016 – 9 p.m.
Even as it was preparing to review a $4.7 billion deal settling costs for the failed San Onofre nuclear plant, the California Public Utilities Commission was working behind the scenes to draft and send subpoenas on behalf of plant owner Southern California Edison.
Ivan Penn
May 18, 2016
The manager of the state’s electric grid expects current power supplies to meet summer needs for keeping the lights and air conditioning running, except in Southern California, where power plants might lack the needed natural gas.
By Rob Nikolewski |
May 17, 2016 – 2:35 p.m.
It’s not a ratings downgrade, but Moody’s Investor Service on Tuesday called reopening the financial details of the San Onofre nuclear plant shutdown a “credit negative” for the plant’s operator, Southern California Edison.
By Jeff McDonald |
May 14, 2016 – 8 a.m.
Eighteen months ago, when the Attorney General’s Office served a search warrant on the California Public Utilities Commission headquarters in San Francisco, agents carted away computers, files and other materials by the armful.
It was more than a raid. It was a dramatic message to utility regulators: Attorney General Kamala Harris was serious about investigating government corruption.
By Dan Walters
dwalters@sacbee.com
May 10, 2016 – 3:33 PM
The long-simmering scandal in the state Public Utilities Commission over a secret deal to stick ratepayers with most of the costs of shutting down the San Onofre nuclear power plant just got more interesting.
By Nick Green, Daily Breeze
Posted: 05/10/16 – 8:11 AM PDT |
ExxonMobil successfully restarted its Torrance refinery and went without pollution-control devices for fewer than three hours before its electrostatic precipitator resumed operation, the region’s air pollution watchdog has confirmed.
By Jeff McDonald |
May 9, 2016 – 4:55 p.m.
State utility regulators on Monday reopened the agreement they approved in 2014 that assigned ratepayers the lion’s share of the multibillion-dollar cost for premature shutdown of the failed San Onofre nuclear power plant.
By Nick Green, Daily Breeze
Posted: 05/05/16 – 8:40 PM PDT |
The February 2015 explosion that shuttered the ExxonMobil plant in Torrance was the costliest disruption at a California refinery in the past 16 years, with motorists paying at least $2.4 billion in higher pump prices in the following six months, according to a recent RAND study.
KPCC Staff
May 03, 2016 – 10:58 AM
A judge cleared the way Monday for ExxonMobil to restart its Torrance Refinery after an environmental group sued to keep it shut.
By Amita Sharma
Friday, April 29, 2016
Aired 4/29/16 on KPBS News.
While California Attorney General Kamala Harris gathers steam in her campaign to replace U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer, the statute of limitations has run out for her to file charges for a secret meeting in Poland that spawned a San Onofre settlement.
By David R. Baker
Friday, April 15, 2016 – Updated 5:04 pm
Fifteen years after blackouts swept the state, a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission judge has found that a division of Shell Oil engaged in fraud and market manipulation during California’s energy crisis, with company traders joking on tape about burning the evidence if they were ever caught.
Capitol Alert
By Jeremy B. White
jwhite@sacbee.com
April 14, 2016 – 12:24 PM
The independent expenditure on behalf of Assemblywoman Cheryl Brown, D-San Bernardino, should sharpen the divisions in a race showcasing liberal discontent with business-friendly Assembly Democrats. Environmental and labor groups angered by Brown’s stance on climate legislation last year have backed a challenger and fellow Democrat, attorney Eloise Gomez Reyes.
Alice Walton
April 5, 2016
State officials warn that Southern California could face as many as 14 days of scheduled blackouts this summer because of depleted reserves of natural gas caused by the massive leak in Aliso Canyon.
By Amita Sharma
Evening Edition
Tuesday, April 5, 2016
When criminal investigators with the California Attorney General’s Office searched the home of a former top utility regulator early last year, they uncovered evidence that upended a story state officials and a major electric utility had been telling consumers about the deal to pay for the shutdown of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station.
Monday, April 4, 2016 – 09:15 a.m.
California and Inland Empire retail unleaded gasoline prices have rocketed about 60 cents from the recent low. Just as gasoline refiners projected!
Chris Reed
March 28, 2016
Is the California Public Employees’ Retirement System about to make another big mistake with a mistimed investment strategy, this time in the industrial solar sector?
Business & Real Estate
By Dale Kasler
dkasler@sacbee.com
March 23, 2016 – 1:46 PM
CalPERS said Wednesday that it’s buying a significant stake in a solar energy company with operations near Palm Springs.
By Jeff McDonald & Patrick McGreevy |
March 11, 2016 – 6 p.m.
A consumer advocacy group filed a complaint Friday with the state ethics agency seeking an investigation into whether the top aide to Gov. Jerry Brown influenced appointments to the state Public Utilities Commission while she owned stock in PG&E, an allegation rejected immediately by the Governor’s Office.
Friday, February 26, 2016 – 09:00 a.m.
The Golden State Gouge!
I had never heard the phrase until Friday morning. But it would appear to be appropriate.
By Don Thompson, Associated Press
February 23, 2016
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California’s tax board voted Tuesday to lower the state excise tax on gasoline by 2.2 cents per gallon as of July 1.
Ivan Penn
February 9, 2016
There’s an unusual new entry to the long list of reasons why Californians spent the last year paying significantly more for gasoline than other U.S. drivers: a mystery ship.
Bob Moffitt
Monday, February 8, 2016 | Sacramento, CA
The California Petroleum Market Advisory Commission heard testimony from oil company and consumer groups today explaining why we’re paying 77 cents-per-gallon more for gas than the rest of the country.
By Kevin Smith, San Gabriel Valley Tribune
Posted: 02/08/16 – 5:56 PM PST |
California motorists have long complained about high prices at the pump, but few drivers are aware of all the factors that push gasoline prices so high.
By David R. Baker
January 28, 2016
Updated: January 28, 2016 – 3:44pm
The solar industry scored a major victory Thursday when a divided California Public Utilities Commission voted to keep largely intact the system that compensates solar homeowners for excess electricity that they place on the grid.
By Jeff McDonald
Jan. 25, 2016 | Updated – 5:05 p.m.
A San Francisco Superior Court judge on Monday rejected the California Public Utilities Commission’s request to dismiss a lawsuit aimed at forcing regulators to release dozens of emails to and from Gov. Jerry Brown’s office regarding the San Onofre nuclear plant failure.
Friday, January 22, 2016 – 09:30 a.m
Price Alert! The average price of unleaded gas in California has dropped to a whopping $2.701 per gallon, according to tracking website Gasbuddy.com.
Monday, January 18, 2016 – 11:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Monday, January 18, 2016 – 05:00 p.m.
As crude oil prices hit multi-year lows, California continues to get hosed by gasoline refiners.
Wednesday, January 13, 2016 – 09:00 a.m.
It’s time for California taxpayers to float bonds to construct and lease, at a minimum, two mega-gasoline refineries within the state.
By Jeff McDonald |
Jan. 5, 2016 – 5:38 p.m.
The judge who has overseen the matter of the San Onofre nuclear plant failure for the California Public Utilities Commission has stepped down amid the ongoing criminal investigation at the agency.
By Jeff McDonald and Ricky Young |
Dec. 29, 2015 – 5:00 p.m.
A state criminal investigation into the California Public Utilities Commission centers around former President Michael Peevey’s persistent intervention into the process to assign costs for the failure of the San Onofre nuclear plant, newly released court documents show.
Monday, December 28, 2015 – 09:45 a.m.
Every knew they wouldn’t let it go on for too long.
“They” being oil companies. “It” being low gasoline prices.
Ivan Penn
December 16, 2015
California’s stubbornly high gasoline prices in 2015 resulted from state regulations, trouble with imports and an outage at a major refinery, the oil refining industry told regulators Wednesday.
Ivan Penn
December 15, 2015
Rooftop solar panel owners could face new fees under a proposal issued Tuesday, but state regulators rejected several recommendations by utility companies that threatened the expansion of residential and commercial solar efforts.
By David R. Baker
November 14, 2015
Updated: November 14, 2015 – 7:22pm
AVILA BEACH, San Luis Obispo County — California’s largest power plant churns out enough electricity for 1.7 million homes, yet pumps no greenhouse gases into the sky. Unlike the wind farms and solar plants spreading across the state, its output doesn’t vary hour by hour, day or night. It needs little land and less fuel.
By Neil Derry
Posted: 11/13/15 – 1:25 PM PST |
The state of California has embarked on a 25-year green power odyssey in an effort to reduce the amount of carbon we place into the atmosphere, all aimed at leading the world in an anti-climate change crusade for humanity.
Christi Parsons and Paul Richter
November 6, 2015
President Obama announced Friday that he was rejecting the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline project because it wouldn’t serve U.S. interests, dismissing its potential economic benefits as insignificant over time as he sought to close a long-running chapter in the political fight over global warming.
Friday, November 6, 2015 – 05:00 p.m.
The Lou Desmond and Company Show is broadcasting from the Toyota of San Bernardino Recording Studios!
On the Lou Desmond and Company Show, Lou is joined by Ed Hoffman to discuss the ongoing issues in Europe with Middle Eastern refugees. Munich has had recent issues with rape, sexual molestation and harassment. The cultures aren’t mixing well. Who could have predicted that?
By Jeff McDonald | Oct. 21, 2015 – 8:22 p.m.
As criticism mounted last year of a settlement deal that billed utility customers for 70 percent of the $4.7 billion cost of failure at the San Onofre nuclear plant, the state judge assigned to the case reached out to plant owner Southern California Edison.
By Kevin Smith, San Gabriel Valley Tribune
Posted: 10/13/15 – 10:53 AM PDT | Updated: 15 hrs ago
A consumer advocacy group testified Tuesday that California oil refiners are gouging motorists by hiking retail gasoline prices well above the wholesale price of gas traded within the oil industry.
Ivan Penn
October 13, 2014
An advisory committee to the California Energy Commission wanted to discuss the causes of the high gasoline prices in the state this summer during a workshop Tuesday — only the oil refiners and their association refused to show.
By Jeff McDonald | Oct. 2, 2015 – 6:07 p.m.
State elections regulators have cleared the California Public Utilities Commission president of any wrongdoing related to a February gala dinner honoring his predecessor.
By Nick Green, Daily Breeze
Posted: 09/30/15 – 7:56 PM PDT |
The buyer of ExxonMobil’s Torrance refinery is a little-known company that has existed only seven years but will become the nation’s fifth largest independent refiner once the deal is consummated next year.
By Ivan Penn
September 26, 2015
Tired of growing electricity bills, Miguel Espinoza decided to turn to the sun, rather than the grid, for power.
By Judy Lin, Associated Press
Sept. 25, 2015 | 12:38 a.m. EDT
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California regulators are poised to restore a first-in-the-nation climate change program that requires a 10 percent cut in carbon emissions on transportation fuels sold in the state by 2020, despite oil industry objections that it could drive up gas prices.
Capitol Alert
By David Siders
dsiders@sacbee.com
September 10, 2015
Gov. Jerry Brown gets his way with the California Legislature so often that his defeat on major climate and transportation initiatives this week put him in an unusual defensive spot.
By Ivan Penn
September 10, 2015
Southern California Edison asked state regulators Thursday to reject calls to reopen the settlement agreement over the closed San Onofre nuclear power plant.
By David R. Baker
September 1, 2015
Updated: September 1, 2015 5:17pm
Pacific Gas and Electric Co. on Tuesday asked state regulators for permission to collect an extra $2.7 billion from its customers over the course of three years, using the money for technology upgrades and improved disaster response.
Friday, August 21, 2015 – 01:30 p.m.
California gasoline stockpiles at in-state refineries are climbing.
Friday, August 21, 2015 – 01:00 P.M.
Global stock markets plunged on Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunging 530 points. The S&P 500 fell 65 points, while the Nasdaq fell 171 points.
By Teri Sforza / Staff Columnist
Updated Aug. 21, 2015 7:18 a.m.
Southern California Edison did its very best to figure out which chitchats between its executives and state regulators were “substantive” enough to require disclosure to the rest of the world, it argued in a legal filing Thursday. But those rules are murky, people’s recollections change, and Edison has beefed up tracking company communications with state regulators as a result, to better sort the wheat from the chaff.
By Jeff McDonald | Noon Aug. 15, 2015
When Southern California Edison replaced the steam generators at the San Onofre nuclear plant, state regulators allowed the utility to start billing customers for the upgrade without the benefit of what’s called a “reasonableness review.”
Friday, August 14, 2015 – 08:30 a.m.
Oil companies just can’t help themselves when it comes to sticking it to Southern California drivers.
By Dean Starkman
August 13, 2015
California’s two major public pension funds, the biggest in the nation, lost a total of more than $5 billion on energy-related investments for their fiscal years, ended June 30, according to a new report.
Tuesday, August 11, 2015 – 05:00 p.m.
The Lou Desmond and Company Show is broadcasting from the Toyota of San Bernardino Recording Studios!
On the show today, Paul Chabot and Cliff Cummings join the show to talk about an idea floating in California: a per-mile gas tax to pay for infrastructure upgrades. Couldn’t the money come from somewhere else? (Like the Bullet Train.)
By Jeff McDonald
Aug. 10, 2015 – Updated – 5:07 p.m.
Another consumer group that negotiated the $4.7 billion settlement of San Onofre shutdown costs backed away from the agreement Monday, withdrawing support from the deal that charges customers 70 percent of the tab for the nuclear plant’s failure.
Sunday, August 9, 2015 – 10:30 a.m.
The California Energy Commission issued its latest refinery activity report on Wednesday, and it was essentially the same as the past four weeks.
August 8, 2015
Why don’t our elected officials or the media care?
The shutdown of the San Onofre Nuclear Generation plant permanently eliminated over 2000 Megawatts of electrical power from California’s electricity supplies. This is approximately 20 percent of Southern California’s total electrical energy supply.
By Jeff McDonald | Aug. 6, 2015 – 5:37 p.m.
The third man in the room for a secret meeting in Poland two years ago says in a sworn declaration that the Southern California Edison executive at the hotel actively participated in the undisclosed talks about the failed San Onofre nuclear plant failure.