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Bill simplifies tiered utility rates
Now that the $42 billion bill for the 2001 California Energy Crisis has been paid off, California’s current four price tiers for electricity will be flattened to two tiers over the next four years. Environmentalists who advocated for cleaning up
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Covered CA hit with mismanagement charges
With its latest signup extension deadline set to expire at the end of the month, the Covered California exchange has come under fresh scrutiny for mismanagement and persistent problems with implementing Obamacare plans. In recent weeks, attention has focused on the thousands of
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Credibility crisis comes as PUC faces tough decisions
The recent series of scandals involving the California Public Utiities Commission hang like a pall over the regulatory agency. Recently deposed PUC President Michael Peevey’s swapping of favors with Pacific Gas & Electric and his surreptitious work with Southern California
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VIDEO: San Diego mayor discusses drought alleviation
San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer sits down with CalWatchdog.com Editor Brian Calle to discuss how San Diego is addressing the severe water shortage in the state. Focusing on recycled water, desalination and conservation, Mayor Faulconer outlines a plan he says
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Water board unveils steep CA cuts
As a closely-watched court ruling threw California’s tiered water pricing system into disarray, the Water Resources Control board made public its latest and harshest conservation targets for municipalities across the Golden State. Detailing the plan, MarketWatch reported that “Angelenos must
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Can tiered water rates be used to encourage conservation?
A media firestorm erupted Monday, April 20, over Gov. Brown’s opposition to a State Court of Appeals decision in a water rate setting case involving Proposition 218. The initiative, passed in 1996, requires voter approval for any new property-related utility
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Court strikes down tiered water pricing in San Juan Capistrano
San Juan Capistrano’s water fee usage plan ran afoul of Proposition 218’s taxpayer shield to protect taxpayers from being charged taxes disguised as fees and assessments. The goal of the tiered water plan was designed as a financial punishment for
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VIDEO: San Diego mayor discusses whether the Chargers will stay or go
San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer describes his plan to keep the San Diego Chargers in San Diego — including the best site for a stadium, the involvement of taxpayer funding and the political leadership needed — during a discussion with
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Did use of school bonds for iPads deceive bond buyers?
When California voters passed Proposition 39 in 2000, they thought they were simply making it easier to pass school bonds for construction of facilities by lowering the approval threshold from two-thirds of the vote to 55 percent. But a provision
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State senate committee approves minimum wage hike
California’s minimum wage workers will receive a 62.5 percent raise over three years if Senate Bill 3 is approved by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Jerry Brown. The Senate Labor and Industrial Relations Committee recently passed the bill on
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