CalWatchdog Morning Read – September 12

• What happened to CA oil exploration?
• Did governor’s veto threat sink CPUC reform?
• Out-of-state financial support for pot legalization causing controversy
• Darrell Issa and Loretta Sanchez make strange bedfellows
• Anti-Vax doctor under fire

Good morning. Hopefully everyone enjoyed the return of NFL football this weekend and is excited about the Rams/49ers game tonight.

But that’s tonight. This morning we’re talking about oil. 

It took some time, but a 2011 report by the Federal Energy Information Administration that estimated that California’s Monterey shale underground land mass formation had 15.4 billion barrels of accessible oil and a follow-up study that put the figure at 13.7 billion barrels of oil — about twice as much as the rest of the nation combined — got plenty of folks’ attention.

Advances in hydraulic fracturing, known as fracking, made extracting the oil cost-effective. … But it’s been all downhill ever since for those enthusiastic about oil exploration in the Golden State.

It’s not just that low oil prices have left energy companies facing a “world of hurt,” in the words of the Houston Chronicle, and without the resources to pursue large new drilling programs in California or elsewhere. It’s specific, daunting developments.

CalWatchdog has more.

In other news:

• “When key bills aimed at reforming the California Public Utilities Commission died last month, much of the blame was placed publicly at the feet of a Republican floor leader — someone not typically seen as a make-or-break figure in a Democrat-dominated Legislature. It turns out, the CPUC itself had some last-minute concerns about the overhaul that contributed to its demise.” The San Diego Union-Tribune has more.

• “In a sign that California’s pot initiative is getting national attention, a Pennsylvania millionaire has contributed $1.3 million to a nonprofit group that is raising money to oppose Proposition 64 on the November ballot,” reports the Los Angeles Times. Meanwhile, “California supporters of the statewide measure to legalize marijuana filed a complaint late Friday with the state’s political ethics watchdog alleging that an outside committee opposing Proposition 64 filed campaign finance reports months after the deadline,” reports The Sacramento Bee.

• The Orange County Register looks at the curious alliance between Republican Rep. Darrell Issa and Democratic Rep. Loretta Sanchez. The two Southern Californians are gambling on bipartisanship helping them through tough races.

• “Dr. Robert Sears is one of the leading voices in the anti-vaccination world, a hero to parents suspicious of childhood immunizations that public health officials say are crucial to preventing disease outbreaks. So when the Medical Board of California announced last week that it was moving to pull the Orange County pediatrician’s medical license, it immediately set the stage for a new battle in the long-running fight over whether schoolchildren should be vaccinated.” The Los Angeles Times has more. 

Legislature:

• Gone ’til December.

Gov. Brown: 

• Presenting Medal of Valor to eight public safety officers in his Capitol office at 11 a.m. 

Tips: [email protected]

Follow us: @calwatchdog @mflemingterp

New follower: @Sachealth