SAN FRANCISCO — A wildfire in California wine country that may have been caused by a high-voltage transmission line called into question Pacific Gas & Electric's strategy of selectively cutting off power in windy weather to prevent blazes, and could force it to resort to even bigger blackouts affecting millions...
California Braces for Possible Round 2 of Outages
SAN FRANCISCO — California’s largest utility said it will go ahead with widespread blackouts affecting nearly half a million people starting Wednesday as dangerous fire weather returns to California. Pacific Gas & Electric Company said it would begin precautionary power shutoffs Wednesday afternoon to nearly 180,000 homes and businesses in...
Newsom Calls for Attorney General Probe of California's High Gas Prices
SACRAMENTO — Governor Gavin Newsom has asked the attorney general to investigate why the state's gas prices are so high, pointing to a new report suggesting big oil companies are "misleading and overcharging customers" by as much as $1 per gallon. Name brand retailers — including 76, Chevron and Shell...
Walters: Banning Not Just a City’s Name
Banning is the name of a small city in Southern California, but also applies to a pervasive theme of the Legislature this year. The 1,042 bills that passed the Legislature and the 870 signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom included an extraordinary number that used the state’s police powers to prohibit activities...
Study: California's Big July Quakes Strain Major Fault
LOS ANGELES — The earthquakes that hammered the Southern California desert near the town of Ridgecrest last summer involved ruptures on a web of interconnected faults and increased strain on a major nearby fault that has begun to slowly move, according to a new study. Ruptures in the Ridgecrest earthquake...
Newsom Wants PG&E to Pay Powerless Customers $100 Each
Gov. Gavin Newsom criticized PG&E for its performance during the largest planned power outage in California history to avoid wildfires and urged the utility to compensate affected customers with a bill credit or rebate worth $100 for residential customers or $250 for small businesses. Newsom said Monday that the shutoffs affected too many customers...
Newsom’s First Rodeo: In Year One, Governor Bucks Both Trump and Brown
Californians will soon be allowed to eat roadkill but be prohibited from buying fur coats. Abortion pills will become available on college campuses, but tiny bottles of shampoo will be banned from hotel rooms. High school and middle school kids will get a later first bell, but schools won’t be...
Newsom Vetoes Toll System for San Francisco's Crooked Street
SAN FRANCISCO — Tourists who want to drive down San Francisco's crooked Lombard Street will not have to make reservations and pay a toll after all. Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill on Saturday that would have allowed the city to test a fee and reservation system for the famous...
Law Gives Child Sex Assault Victims More Time to File Suits
SACRAMENTO — California is giving childhood victims of sexual abuse more time to decide whether to file lawsuits, joining several states in expanding the statute of limitations for victims over warnings from school districts that the new rules could bankrupt them. The law signed Sunday by Gov. Gavin Newsom gives...
Mayor Says Newsom SB 531 Veto Is 'Huge Victory' for Fresno
Arguments made by Fresno Mayor Lee Brand and other local business leaders convinced Gov. Gavin Newsom to veto Senate Bill 531 on Saturday. SB 531, authored by state Sen. Steve Glazer (D-Orinda) would have stopped cities from offering sales-tax incentives as an economic development tool. Listen to this article: ...