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"slug": "hedge-funds-cash-out-billions-in-pge-stock-fire-survivors-suffer-and-wait",
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"content": "\u003cp>Pacific Gas & Electric Company has been called a “terror” to the people of California. Its \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11873113/help-us-investigate-pges-power-lines#:~:text=Note%3A%20If%20you%20smell%20natural,%2D800%2D743%2D5000.\">electric grid has sparked wildfires\u003c/a> each of the last four years and is suspected of igniting this year’s Dixie Fire, the second largest blaze in the state’s history.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The company is mired in debt. Electricity rates are skyrocketing. Tens of thousands of survivors of fires sparked by the utility’s equipment are waiting for promised compensation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Amid all this pain, there’s one group that’s simply walking away: Wall Street hedge funds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A KQED/California Newsroom analysis of documents on file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, found that 20 Wall Street hedge funds have collectively dumped 250 million PG&E shares — two-thirds of their collective holdings in the company — since PG&E emerged from bankruptcy protection last year. Those hedge funds grossed at least $2 billion dumping the stock, our analysis found. At least seven funds have sold off their entire PG&E stake.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What’s more: Many of these same hedge funds got an extraordinary amount of PG&E stock without paying a cent for it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That gigantic stock giveaway, which handed $1.5 billion worth of PG&E stock to the hedge funds, is widely acknowledged to be the largest of its kind in the history of corporate bankruptcy. Under the agreement, known as an equity backstop, PG&E gave the hedge funds 169 million shares in the company in exchange for a guarantee the hedge funds would buy more stock if no one else stepped forward as the company prepared to leave bankruptcy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11891639 size-full aligncenter\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/major-hedge-funds-updated.jpg\" alt=\"A graphic shows various hedge funds dumping PG&E shares, including Appaloosa Management, Anchorage Capital Group, and others.\" width=\"1240\" height=\"1576\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/major-hedge-funds-updated.jpg 1240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/major-hedge-funds-updated-800x1017.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/major-hedge-funds-updated-1020x1296.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/major-hedge-funds-updated-160x203.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/major-hedge-funds-updated-1209x1536.jpg 1209w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1240px) 100vw, 1240px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That didn’t happen, but the hedge funds nevertheless collected their payout.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an interview, Nora Mead Brownell, PG&E’s board chair during most of its recent bankruptcy, described the deal as a cost of doing business in a high-risk, politically charged environment. Without the guarantee from the hedge funds, the company could not have left bankruptcy by the deadline mandated by Gov. Gavin Newsom, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Everybody can hate hedge funds,” she said but “the hedge funds were the people who were there.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That they ended up not having to buy more stock was immaterial, she added: “Hedge funds get paid for taking risk, and that’s what they got paid for.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the current hedge fund sell-off of PG&E shares has direct consequences for approximately 70,000 fire survivors who lost loved ones, homes and businesses to blazes sparked by PG&E’s equipment between 2015 and 2018.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thanks to \u003ca href=\"https://www.wsj.com/articles/as-pg-e-fire-victims-weigh-settlement-lawyers-role-attracts-scrutiny-11589198405\">a legal settlement engineered by these same hedge funds\u003c/a> during the bankruptcy, these fire survivors now hold nearly 500 million shares representing nearly a quarter of the company’s stock through a special trust.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But with the hedge fund stock dump putting downward pressure on PG&E’s share price, fire survivors — whose Fire Victim Trust has held onto its shares — face a return dramatically lower than what they were promised by \u003ca href=\"https://www.pge.com/en/about/newsroom/newsdetails/index.page?title=20200620_pge_achieves_bankruptcy_court_confirmation_of_its_plan_of_reorganization\">both PG&E\u003c/a> and their \u003ca href=\"https://firesettlementfacts.com/\">own lawyers\u003c/a>. The value of the fire survivors’ stock has never achieved the $6.75 billion figure survivors were promised and so, while hedge funds are moving on, fire survivors have been left holding the bag.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11891637 size-full aligncenter\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/hedge-funds-v-fire-victims-2.jpg\" alt=\"A graphic describes statistics for hedge funds that profited $2.1 billion in gross income while fire victims had $0 in gross income. Hedge funds sold 250 million shares of PG&E whereas fire victims kept 480 million shares. \" width=\"1433\" height=\"1071\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/hedge-funds-v-fire-victims-2.jpg 1433w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/hedge-funds-v-fire-victims-2-800x598.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/hedge-funds-v-fire-victims-2-1020x762.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/hedge-funds-v-fire-victims-2-160x120.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1433px) 100vw, 1433px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s nothing but a con, isn’t it? How can they do that?” said Terry McBride, 61, who lost her Calaveras County home in a fire that PG&E caused in 2015. Since then, she’s shared a trailer with her 25-year-old daughter. They live on the same lot where their home burned down.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“How can they look in the mirror and put together an agreement like that?” McBride said. “What part of humanity do they belong to? It’s not the humanity I belong to where I actually care about my brothers and sisters and my fellow citizens.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>KQED and The California Newsroom reached out to eight of the hedge funds dumping stock. None would comment on the record for this story.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fire survivors, UC Hastings College of the Law professor Jared Ellias noted, “are not the bankruptcy experts that the hedge funds were” and so the hedge funds “left the fire victims with the risk of the shares and the risk of the deal.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The hedge funds’ maneuverings have had dire consequences not only for fire survivors, but also for \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/california-divide/debt/2021/03/california-high-electricity-prices/\">PG&E’s 16 million ratepayers, who spend about 80% more on power than the national average\u003c/a>, according to a recent study. And \u003ca href=\"https://sjvsun.com/business/merced-joins-opposition-to-pges-proposed-rate-increases/\">PG&E wants to increase rates by an average of 19%\u003c/a> going forward. Experts say that’s in part because of all the debt the company took on while the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11755807/how-hedge-funds-are-shaping-pges-future\">hedge funds exerted control over the company\u003c/a> — having \u003ca href=\"https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/75488/000095015719000433/form8k.htm\">replaced nearly the entire board of directors\u003c/a> in early 2019 with new arrivals half of whom had investing or corporate restructuring backgrounds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though companies usually use the bankruptcy process to get on surer financial footing, PG&E’s debt load has exploded from $22 billion before the bankruptcy to $38 billion when it ended in mid-2020. That debt has escalated further since it left Chapter 11 last year, rising to $42.5 billion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You have to pay debt back,” said John Geesman, a former member of the California Energy Commission, who said the impacts will only become more extreme with time as the company attempts to repair its long-neglected system. PG&E’s precarious financial state coming out of bankruptcy “impacts the ability of the company to finance necessary infrastructure improvements and necessary fire mitigation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Geesman said the company’s fragile financial state means it is more likely to spark wildfires and even enter another bankruptcy — an outcome, he said, engineered by the hedge funds but also hardly a surprise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a little bit like complaining when sharks bite people,” Geesman said. “You have to ask yourself, why did we agree to this?”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Hedge funds dumping stock\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>The sell-offs run counter to the hedge funds’ public pronouncements.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last April, while fire survivors were voting on their settlement, the head of one large fund rejected the notion that there would be a stock dump that would depress the value of the victims’ shares.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The idea that everybody will suddenly turn around and sell all of their stock at the same time is inconsistent with how these investors approach the situation over a long period of time and certainly inconsistent with selling something at well below fair value,” Tom Wagner, the head of Knighthead Capital Management, said in \u003ca href=\"https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2020-04-09/knighthead-s-wagner-on-pg-e-restructuring-credit-markets-amid-virus-video\">an April 2020 interview with Bloomberg TV\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11891638 size-full aligncenter\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/knighthead-1-2.jpg\" alt=\"A graphic shows PG&E shares owned by Knighthead Capital Management from 2017 to 2021, with shares peaking after PG&E exits bankruptcy, particularly in August 2020.\" width=\"1508\" height=\"1141\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/knighthead-1-2.jpg 1508w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/knighthead-1-2-800x605.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/knighthead-1-2-1020x772.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/knighthead-1-2-160x121.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1508px) 100vw, 1508px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The hedge funds dumping stock run the gamut from the relatively obscure to some of the most celebrated names on Wall Street. They include one founded by nonagenarian billionaire George Soros, and another started by famed Wall Street investor David Tepper, who was once profiled in a New York Magazine article titled “\u003ca href=\"https://nymag.com/news/features/establishments/68513/\">Ready to Be Rich\u003c/a>” and whose name now graces the business school of his alma mater, Carnegie Mellon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11887723/sharks-are-circling-again-with-wildfires-come-lawyers-and-previous-survivors-have-a-warning\">Reporting by KQED\u003c/a> has shown that another fund, Centerbridge Partners, was part of a group of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11887723/sharks-are-circling-again-with-wildfires-come-lawyers-and-previous-survivors-have-a-warning\">investors that bankrolled mass tort lawyer Mikal Watts\u003c/a> with a massive line of credit. \u003ca href=\"https://pgelawsuit.com/\">Watts had bragged\u003c/a> about scoring a $13.5 billion settlement for fire survivors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Critics say \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11814494/wall-street-ties-of-lawyer-for-pge-fire-victims-have-some-survivors-querying-settlement-vote\">the line of credit represents a potential conflict of interest\u003c/a>, since Centerbridge stood to benefit if fire survivors got a smaller settlement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Indeed, the settlement has never been worth the $13.5 billion Watts claims. The December 2019 deal between PG&E and fire survivors was composed of $6.75 billion in cash and PG&E stock that was said to be worth\u003ca href=\"https://www.pge.com/en/about/newsroom/newsdetails/index.page?title=20200620_pge_achieves_bankruptcy_court_confirmation_of_its_plan_of_reorganization\"> an equal amount\u003c/a>. But when PG&E funded the stock at the market price of about $9, the stock component ended up falling more than $2 billion short.[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Terry McBride, fire victim\"]‘The justice system thoroughly failed the survivors of these fires. They thoroughly failed us. That’s a fact.’[/pullquote]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The stock has ticked up this month, reaching $10.70 on October 8 after lagging for much of the summer. But shares would have to top $14 for the settlement to be worth $13.5 billion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The filings reviewed by KQED and The California Newsroom reflect stock holdings by these hedge funds through June 30. Two weeks after that date, the Dixie Fire erupted, burning down the historic town of Greenville on its path to destroying nearly a million acres and becoming the second largest fire in California history. PG&E has indicated that \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11887723/sharks-are-circling-again-with-wildfires-come-lawyers-and-previous-survivors-have-a-warning\">its equipment may have played a role in sparking the catastrophic blaze\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E also now faces manslaughter charges in the 2020 Zogg Fire, which killed four people in Shasta County. It’s the second time PG&E has faced manslaughter charges in as many years. Last year, the company pleaded guilty to 84 involuntary manslaughter counts stemming from the 2018 Camp Fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement to KQED and The California Newsroom, PG&E said state regulators closely monitor the utility’s “financial health” to ensure it “can continue to make important safety, reliability and clean energy improvements.” The company said that it was moving forward with a plan to improve wildfire mitigation and the resilience of the grid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Mark Toney, executive director of The Utility Reform Network (TURN), said that while PG&E is improving when it comes to wildfire safety, the legacy of the hedge funds is clear: “The high debt makes it hard for the company to invest in infrastructure,” Toney said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11891646\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11891646\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/Terry-in-front-of-storage-shed.jpg\" alt=\"A woman in a tank top stands in front of a storage shed, with a slight smile and eyes closed in the bright sun.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1440\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/Terry-in-front-of-storage-shed.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/Terry-in-front-of-storage-shed-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/Terry-in-front-of-storage-shed-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/Terry-in-front-of-storage-shed-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/Terry-in-front-of-storage-shed-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Terry McBride, 61, who lost her Calaveras County home in a fire that PG&E caused in 2015. Since then, she’s shared a trailer with her 25-year-old daughter. They live in a trailer on the same lot where their home burned down. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Terry McBride)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch3>A bet gone wrong\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>In conducting our analysis, KQED and The California Newsroom reviewed hundreds of securities filings, known as \u003ca href=\"https://www.sec.gov/divisions/investment/13ffaq.htm\">13Fs\u003c/a>, which large institutional investors must submit to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission every three months. The documents offer a snapshot of a hedge fund’s portfolio, showing how much stock it holds in various companies at the end of each quarter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The filings tell the story: Hedge funds saw an opportunity to profit by buying low when PG&E’s stock price plunged after a series of fires tore through the North Bay in 2017. The firestorm killed 44 people and destroyed thousands of homes. PG&E shares fell from $70 to $45 within weeks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But PG&E’s share price had much further to fall. The following year, the 2018 Camp Fire sent shares plummeting to $25 in the days after PG&E equipment sparked the blaze before plummeting to $7 when PG&E chose to enter Chapter 11 a few weeks later. The fire killed 85 people and displaced tens of thousands in and around the town of Paradise. It remains the deadliest and most destructive fire in California history.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As shares sank, many hedge funds that had scooped up shares after the 2017 fires watched their big bet on PG&E turn sour. [pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Terry McBride, fire victim\"]“How can they look in the mirror and put together an agreement like that? … What part of humanity do they belong to? It’s not the humanity I belong to where I actually care about my brothers and sisters and my fellow citizens.”[/pullquote]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At that point, some of the funds decided to dramatically increase their purchases of PG&E shares, filings show. Knighthead joined forces with two other funds — Abrams Capital Management and Redwood Capital Management. This \u003ca href=\"https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-03-15/new-pg-e-investor-group-is-said-to-push-for-management-shakeup\">trio emerged as leaders of a group of hedge funds\u003c/a> that would go on to exert control of the bankruptcy of PG&E, using its leverage to remake PG&E’s board on the heels of the company’s decision to enter Chapter 11. Wagner would serve as the public face of the group.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By the time the bankruptcy was finalized last summer, \u003ca href=\"https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1512397/000101297520000693/0001012975-20-000693-index.htm\">Wagner’s fund held 22.3 million shares of PG&E\u003c/a>, at least a quarter of which had been received at no cost as part of the backstop, valued at almost $200 million, according to its 13F filings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But though Wagner dismissed the idea that investors would quickly dump their stock on Bloomberg TV, Knighthead has since sold off more than half its PG&E shares, our analysis of filings shows.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another hedge fund, Anchorage Capital Group, held as many as 45 million shares worth $425 million last year. 13F filings show Anchorage had sold off its entire stake by this past March. Anchorage also participated in the backstop and received an estimated 8 million shares, worth at least $68 million, in the giveaway\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>GoldenTree Asset Management, Stonehill Capital Management and the SteelMill Master Fund are among the slew of other hedge funds who have completely exited the stock. Before the bankruptcy ended, each of these funds held more than $100 million worth of PG&E shares.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But these sales pale in comparison to the sell-off by David Tepper’s Appaloosa Management. Tepper has long kept tabs on PG&E.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Of course California will bail out Pacific Gas & Electric Company, because it’s not going to let the state not have power,” reporter Jessica Pressler wrote of Tepper’s philosophy in her 2010 New York Magazine article “\u003ca href=\"https://nymag.com/news/features/establishments/68513/\">Ready to Be Rich.\u003c/a>” Tepper is invested in being “a regular guy,” she wrote. Appaloosa was also part of a foursome of \u003ca href=\"https://investor.pgecorp.com/news-events/press-releases/press-release-details/2020/PGE-Corporation-Announces-325-Billion-Common-Stock-Investment-from-Multiple-Investors/default.aspx\">private investors that purchased PG&E shares at a discount\u003c/a> as the company raised money in preparation to leave bankruptcy protection.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Filings show that Appaloosa owned nearly 81 million shares of PG&E worth $760 million as of last September. An estimated 10 million shares, worth at least $82 million, likely were provided by the backstop. By June, however, Appaloosa had slashed its stake in PG&E by around 80%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Appaloosa did not respond to our inquiries about its decision to sell off while fire survivors struggled.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, Centerbridge Partners, the hedge fund that helped bankroll attorney Mikal Watts, sold 1.8 million shares — a fifth of its stake — in the year after PG&E’s left Chapter 11 bankruptcy. KQED and The California Newsroom estimate that Centerbridge was given around 3.5 million shares, worth at least $29 million, at no cost through the special backstop arrangement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Centerbridge was co-founded by Mark Gallogly, who was appointed as an adviser to President Joe Biden’s climate team earlier this year. \u003ca href=\"https://therevolvingdoorproject.org/attn-john-kerry-mark-gallogly-is-loyal-to-profit-not-climate/\">Gallogly’s appointment immediately drew rebukes from environmental advocacy groups\u003c/a>, who said he had profited from climate emergencies in both California and Puerto Rico. Gallogly departed Biden’s climate team a few months later.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not every hedge fund with significant PG&E holdings has dumped the stock. Baupost owned about 30 million shares of PG&E as of June. The fund got most of that, around 21 million shares worth at least $174 million, at no cost in the equity backstop deal. That’s more than any other hedge fund.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement, a Baupost spokesperson said it participated in the backstop after being asked by several parties in the bankruptcy — including representatives of fire survivors — to “support the company’s emergence from bankruptcy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.wsj.com/articles/klarmans-baupost-poised-to-cash-in-on-pg-e-insurance-bet-11568387840\">Baupost salvaged a badly timed investment in PG&E stock\u003c/a> by buying PG&E insurance claims for cheap. In the bankruptcy, this insurance group shared $11 billion in cash, far more than fire survivors.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>The great risk shift\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Through it all, the special trust for PG&E’s 70,000 fire survivors continues to hold onto stock in the company that sparked fires that destroyed their homes or killed their loved ones.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many fire survivors want to be rid of the emotional burden that comes with this, and receive cash that would come with the stock’s sale, but the stock has continued to lag well below the level needed to make fire victims whole. In June, John Trotter, the court-appointed trustee of the Fire Victim Trust, \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XDLml9GEyg&t=270s\">signaled in a YouTube video\u003c/a> that he planned to hold off on selling any of the 478 million shares it owns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The story of the stock is not a good one,” Trotter said in the video, without indicating a timeline of when he might sell the shares. Fire survivors “should want PG&E to do well,” he added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11884610/will-pges-fire-victims-ever-be-made-whole-never-says-trustee-overseeing-compensation\">It’s such quicksand\u003c/a>,” Trotter told KQED and the California Newsroom in a subsequent interview. Trotter said he expects that there may only be enough to provide survivors 60% of what they are owed. They will “never be made whole,” Trotter said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11891642\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11891642\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/Kathleen_in_her_craft_shed.jpg\" alt=\"A woman bends over some crafting work in a shed, with a lamp hovering over her work.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1440\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/Kathleen_in_her_craft_shed.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/Kathleen_in_her_craft_shed-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/Kathleen_in_her_craft_shed-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/Kathleen_in_her_craft_shed-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/Kathleen_in_her_craft_shed-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kathleen McBride, 25, in her craft shed in Calaveras County. The McBride family lost their Calaveras County home in a fire that PG&E caused in 2015. They live in a trailer on the same lot where their home burned down. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Terry McBride)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As Terry McBride and her daughter wait for compensation from the Fire Victim Trust, they’ve had to brave a combination of extreme heat and wildfire smoke that leaves them with persistent headaches. The temperature in their trailer regularly spikes higher than 100 degrees. They’ve covered their trailer, which Terry refers to as “a tin can,” with reflective paint to try to lower the temperature inside by a few degrees on the hottest days.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They live modestly while they wait. Terry spends much of her time gardening while her daughter spends hours doing crafts each day. Terry says she has grown increasingly dependent on her daughter as her eyes start to fail her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I have zero doubt that Wall Street was behind this. We’re not of value to them. We have no value to them,” McBride said. “The justice system thoroughly failed the survivors of these fires. They thoroughly failed us. That’s a fact.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>McBride is among the vast majority of fire survivors who have yet to receive any money from the Fire Victim Trust.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wall Street analysts have taken notice that fire survivors appear stuck with the stock, because that means a quarter of PG&E’s stock remains off the market, providing stability to the stock price.[aside tag=\"wildfire\" label=\"More wildfire coverage\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In June, when Trotter indicated his willingness to wait on selling the stock, analyst Julien Dumoulin-Smith of Bank of America called the announcement a “de-risking factor,” or a reassuring sign for investors in the face of the company’s other risks — such as the fact that the company continues to be linked to new wildfires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Critically trustee Justice John Trotter indicated in recent days that no imminent sales are planned as the Trust continues to work through issues of taxable gains on any share sales,” he wrote in a research note this summer. “We see this as potentially serving as [an] offsetting de-risking factor against otherwise elevated near-term fire risks.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another analyst, Jonathan Arnold of Vertical Research Partners, referred to the trustee’s comments as “the glass-half-full headline takeaway for the market.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>‘Who is responsible for this?’\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Some fire survivors say they are caught in the middle of a Wall Street game that they never wanted to play. Their settlement has shifted PG&E’s myriad risks onto them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Regardless of what happens to the stock now, Camp Fire survivor Tony Dunn wants to understand why PG&E was permitted to fund an amount of stock that ended up being worth $4.5 billion — not the promised $6.75 billion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It looks like they cut themselves a 33% discount. Where’s the oversight on this to say, ‘You can’t do that’?” Dunn told KQED by phone from his home near Asheville, North Carolina, where he and his wife, Jhan, moved about a year after they were displaced from Paradise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Did PG&E save money in this process? Was this PG&E’s lawyers? The hedge funds? This math was never right,” Dunn continued. “This is egregious and there’s absolutely no excuse for it. My biggest question now is, who is responsible for this? Who knew and let it happen anyway?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When we asked PG&E to answer Dunn’s question about why the stock funding came in at billions of dollars less than promised, the company declined to answer. It provided a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We continue to honor the victims of the Camp Fire and previous fires, and all that was lost, by continuing the important work to reduce wildfire and other risk across our energy systems. We funded the trust in accordance with our plan of reorganization,” PG&E spokesperson Lynsey Paulo wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Lily Jamali is a correspondent for KQED in San Francisco. She produced this investigation for The California Newsroom. Aaron Glantz, senior investigations editor for the Newsroom, edited this story together with Managing Editor Adriene Hill. It was copyedited by Jenny Pritchett of KQED.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The California Newsroom is a collaboration of NPR and 17 public radio stations across the state, from San Diego to the Oregon border.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "A California Newsroom analysis of federal filings found that 20 Wall Street hedge funds collectively dumped 250 million PG&E shares, and grossed at least $2 billion, after the utility emerged from bankruptcy protection last year.",
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"title": "Hedge Funds Cash Out Billions in PG&E Stock. Fire Survivors Suffer and Wait | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Pacific Gas & Electric Company has been called a “terror” to the people of California. Its \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11873113/help-us-investigate-pges-power-lines#:~:text=Note%3A%20If%20you%20smell%20natural,%2D800%2D743%2D5000.\">electric grid has sparked wildfires\u003c/a> each of the last four years and is suspected of igniting this year’s Dixie Fire, the second largest blaze in the state’s history.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The company is mired in debt. Electricity rates are skyrocketing. Tens of thousands of survivors of fires sparked by the utility’s equipment are waiting for promised compensation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Amid all this pain, there’s one group that’s simply walking away: Wall Street hedge funds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A KQED/California Newsroom analysis of documents on file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, found that 20 Wall Street hedge funds have collectively dumped 250 million PG&E shares — two-thirds of their collective holdings in the company — since PG&E emerged from bankruptcy protection last year. Those hedge funds grossed at least $2 billion dumping the stock, our analysis found. At least seven funds have sold off their entire PG&E stake.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What’s more: Many of these same hedge funds got an extraordinary amount of PG&E stock without paying a cent for it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That gigantic stock giveaway, which handed $1.5 billion worth of PG&E stock to the hedge funds, is widely acknowledged to be the largest of its kind in the history of corporate bankruptcy. Under the agreement, known as an equity backstop, PG&E gave the hedge funds 169 million shares in the company in exchange for a guarantee the hedge funds would buy more stock if no one else stepped forward as the company prepared to leave bankruptcy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11891639 size-full aligncenter\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/major-hedge-funds-updated.jpg\" alt=\"A graphic shows various hedge funds dumping PG&E shares, including Appaloosa Management, Anchorage Capital Group, and others.\" width=\"1240\" height=\"1576\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/major-hedge-funds-updated.jpg 1240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/major-hedge-funds-updated-800x1017.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/major-hedge-funds-updated-1020x1296.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/major-hedge-funds-updated-160x203.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/major-hedge-funds-updated-1209x1536.jpg 1209w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1240px) 100vw, 1240px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That didn’t happen, but the hedge funds nevertheless collected their payout.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an interview, Nora Mead Brownell, PG&E’s board chair during most of its recent bankruptcy, described the deal as a cost of doing business in a high-risk, politically charged environment. Without the guarantee from the hedge funds, the company could not have left bankruptcy by the deadline mandated by Gov. Gavin Newsom, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Everybody can hate hedge funds,” she said but “the hedge funds were the people who were there.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That they ended up not having to buy more stock was immaterial, she added: “Hedge funds get paid for taking risk, and that’s what they got paid for.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the current hedge fund sell-off of PG&E shares has direct consequences for approximately 70,000 fire survivors who lost loved ones, homes and businesses to blazes sparked by PG&E’s equipment between 2015 and 2018.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thanks to \u003ca href=\"https://www.wsj.com/articles/as-pg-e-fire-victims-weigh-settlement-lawyers-role-attracts-scrutiny-11589198405\">a legal settlement engineered by these same hedge funds\u003c/a> during the bankruptcy, these fire survivors now hold nearly 500 million shares representing nearly a quarter of the company’s stock through a special trust.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But with the hedge fund stock dump putting downward pressure on PG&E’s share price, fire survivors — whose Fire Victim Trust has held onto its shares — face a return dramatically lower than what they were promised by \u003ca href=\"https://www.pge.com/en/about/newsroom/newsdetails/index.page?title=20200620_pge_achieves_bankruptcy_court_confirmation_of_its_plan_of_reorganization\">both PG&E\u003c/a> and their \u003ca href=\"https://firesettlementfacts.com/\">own lawyers\u003c/a>. The value of the fire survivors’ stock has never achieved the $6.75 billion figure survivors were promised and so, while hedge funds are moving on, fire survivors have been left holding the bag.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11891637 size-full aligncenter\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/hedge-funds-v-fire-victims-2.jpg\" alt=\"A graphic describes statistics for hedge funds that profited $2.1 billion in gross income while fire victims had $0 in gross income. Hedge funds sold 250 million shares of PG&E whereas fire victims kept 480 million shares. \" width=\"1433\" height=\"1071\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/hedge-funds-v-fire-victims-2.jpg 1433w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/hedge-funds-v-fire-victims-2-800x598.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/hedge-funds-v-fire-victims-2-1020x762.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/hedge-funds-v-fire-victims-2-160x120.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1433px) 100vw, 1433px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s nothing but a con, isn’t it? How can they do that?” said Terry McBride, 61, who lost her Calaveras County home in a fire that PG&E caused in 2015. Since then, she’s shared a trailer with her 25-year-old daughter. They live on the same lot where their home burned down.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“How can they look in the mirror and put together an agreement like that?” McBride said. “What part of humanity do they belong to? It’s not the humanity I belong to where I actually care about my brothers and sisters and my fellow citizens.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>KQED and The California Newsroom reached out to eight of the hedge funds dumping stock. None would comment on the record for this story.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fire survivors, UC Hastings College of the Law professor Jared Ellias noted, “are not the bankruptcy experts that the hedge funds were” and so the hedge funds “left the fire victims with the risk of the shares and the risk of the deal.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The hedge funds’ maneuverings have had dire consequences not only for fire survivors, but also for \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/california-divide/debt/2021/03/california-high-electricity-prices/\">PG&E’s 16 million ratepayers, who spend about 80% more on power than the national average\u003c/a>, according to a recent study. And \u003ca href=\"https://sjvsun.com/business/merced-joins-opposition-to-pges-proposed-rate-increases/\">PG&E wants to increase rates by an average of 19%\u003c/a> going forward. Experts say that’s in part because of all the debt the company took on while the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11755807/how-hedge-funds-are-shaping-pges-future\">hedge funds exerted control over the company\u003c/a> — having \u003ca href=\"https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/75488/000095015719000433/form8k.htm\">replaced nearly the entire board of directors\u003c/a> in early 2019 with new arrivals half of whom had investing or corporate restructuring backgrounds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though companies usually use the bankruptcy process to get on surer financial footing, PG&E’s debt load has exploded from $22 billion before the bankruptcy to $38 billion when it ended in mid-2020. That debt has escalated further since it left Chapter 11 last year, rising to $42.5 billion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You have to pay debt back,” said John Geesman, a former member of the California Energy Commission, who said the impacts will only become more extreme with time as the company attempts to repair its long-neglected system. PG&E’s precarious financial state coming out of bankruptcy “impacts the ability of the company to finance necessary infrastructure improvements and necessary fire mitigation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Geesman said the company’s fragile financial state means it is more likely to spark wildfires and even enter another bankruptcy — an outcome, he said, engineered by the hedge funds but also hardly a surprise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a little bit like complaining when sharks bite people,” Geesman said. “You have to ask yourself, why did we agree to this?”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Hedge funds dumping stock\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>The sell-offs run counter to the hedge funds’ public pronouncements.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last April, while fire survivors were voting on their settlement, the head of one large fund rejected the notion that there would be a stock dump that would depress the value of the victims’ shares.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The idea that everybody will suddenly turn around and sell all of their stock at the same time is inconsistent with how these investors approach the situation over a long period of time and certainly inconsistent with selling something at well below fair value,” Tom Wagner, the head of Knighthead Capital Management, said in \u003ca href=\"https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2020-04-09/knighthead-s-wagner-on-pg-e-restructuring-credit-markets-amid-virus-video\">an April 2020 interview with Bloomberg TV\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11891638 size-full aligncenter\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/knighthead-1-2.jpg\" alt=\"A graphic shows PG&E shares owned by Knighthead Capital Management from 2017 to 2021, with shares peaking after PG&E exits bankruptcy, particularly in August 2020.\" width=\"1508\" height=\"1141\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/knighthead-1-2.jpg 1508w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/knighthead-1-2-800x605.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/knighthead-1-2-1020x772.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/knighthead-1-2-160x121.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1508px) 100vw, 1508px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The hedge funds dumping stock run the gamut from the relatively obscure to some of the most celebrated names on Wall Street. They include one founded by nonagenarian billionaire George Soros, and another started by famed Wall Street investor David Tepper, who was once profiled in a New York Magazine article titled “\u003ca href=\"https://nymag.com/news/features/establishments/68513/\">Ready to Be Rich\u003c/a>” and whose name now graces the business school of his alma mater, Carnegie Mellon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11887723/sharks-are-circling-again-with-wildfires-come-lawyers-and-previous-survivors-have-a-warning\">Reporting by KQED\u003c/a> has shown that another fund, Centerbridge Partners, was part of a group of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11887723/sharks-are-circling-again-with-wildfires-come-lawyers-and-previous-survivors-have-a-warning\">investors that bankrolled mass tort lawyer Mikal Watts\u003c/a> with a massive line of credit. \u003ca href=\"https://pgelawsuit.com/\">Watts had bragged\u003c/a> about scoring a $13.5 billion settlement for fire survivors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Critics say \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11814494/wall-street-ties-of-lawyer-for-pge-fire-victims-have-some-survivors-querying-settlement-vote\">the line of credit represents a potential conflict of interest\u003c/a>, since Centerbridge stood to benefit if fire survivors got a smaller settlement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Indeed, the settlement has never been worth the $13.5 billion Watts claims. The December 2019 deal between PG&E and fire survivors was composed of $6.75 billion in cash and PG&E stock that was said to be worth\u003ca href=\"https://www.pge.com/en/about/newsroom/newsdetails/index.page?title=20200620_pge_achieves_bankruptcy_court_confirmation_of_its_plan_of_reorganization\"> an equal amount\u003c/a>. But when PG&E funded the stock at the market price of about $9, the stock component ended up falling more than $2 billion short.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "‘The justice system thoroughly failed the survivors of these fires. They thoroughly failed us. That’s a fact.’",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The stock has ticked up this month, reaching $10.70 on October 8 after lagging for much of the summer. But shares would have to top $14 for the settlement to be worth $13.5 billion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The filings reviewed by KQED and The California Newsroom reflect stock holdings by these hedge funds through June 30. Two weeks after that date, the Dixie Fire erupted, burning down the historic town of Greenville on its path to destroying nearly a million acres and becoming the second largest fire in California history. PG&E has indicated that \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11887723/sharks-are-circling-again-with-wildfires-come-lawyers-and-previous-survivors-have-a-warning\">its equipment may have played a role in sparking the catastrophic blaze\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E also now faces manslaughter charges in the 2020 Zogg Fire, which killed four people in Shasta County. It’s the second time PG&E has faced manslaughter charges in as many years. Last year, the company pleaded guilty to 84 involuntary manslaughter counts stemming from the 2018 Camp Fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement to KQED and The California Newsroom, PG&E said state regulators closely monitor the utility’s “financial health” to ensure it “can continue to make important safety, reliability and clean energy improvements.” The company said that it was moving forward with a plan to improve wildfire mitigation and the resilience of the grid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Mark Toney, executive director of The Utility Reform Network (TURN), said that while PG&E is improving when it comes to wildfire safety, the legacy of the hedge funds is clear: “The high debt makes it hard for the company to invest in infrastructure,” Toney said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11891646\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11891646\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/Terry-in-front-of-storage-shed.jpg\" alt=\"A woman in a tank top stands in front of a storage shed, with a slight smile and eyes closed in the bright sun.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1440\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/Terry-in-front-of-storage-shed.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/Terry-in-front-of-storage-shed-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/Terry-in-front-of-storage-shed-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/Terry-in-front-of-storage-shed-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/Terry-in-front-of-storage-shed-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Terry McBride, 61, who lost her Calaveras County home in a fire that PG&E caused in 2015. Since then, she’s shared a trailer with her 25-year-old daughter. They live in a trailer on the same lot where their home burned down. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Terry McBride)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch3>A bet gone wrong\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>In conducting our analysis, KQED and The California Newsroom reviewed hundreds of securities filings, known as \u003ca href=\"https://www.sec.gov/divisions/investment/13ffaq.htm\">13Fs\u003c/a>, which large institutional investors must submit to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission every three months. The documents offer a snapshot of a hedge fund’s portfolio, showing how much stock it holds in various companies at the end of each quarter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The filings tell the story: Hedge funds saw an opportunity to profit by buying low when PG&E’s stock price plunged after a series of fires tore through the North Bay in 2017. The firestorm killed 44 people and destroyed thousands of homes. PG&E shares fell from $70 to $45 within weeks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But PG&E’s share price had much further to fall. The following year, the 2018 Camp Fire sent shares plummeting to $25 in the days after PG&E equipment sparked the blaze before plummeting to $7 when PG&E chose to enter Chapter 11 a few weeks later. The fire killed 85 people and displaced tens of thousands in and around the town of Paradise. It remains the deadliest and most destructive fire in California history.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As shares sank, many hedge funds that had scooped up shares after the 2017 fires watched their big bet on PG&E turn sour. \u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "“How can they look in the mirror and put together an agreement like that? … What part of humanity do they belong to? It’s not the humanity I belong to where I actually care about my brothers and sisters and my fellow citizens.”",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At that point, some of the funds decided to dramatically increase their purchases of PG&E shares, filings show. Knighthead joined forces with two other funds — Abrams Capital Management and Redwood Capital Management. This \u003ca href=\"https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-03-15/new-pg-e-investor-group-is-said-to-push-for-management-shakeup\">trio emerged as leaders of a group of hedge funds\u003c/a> that would go on to exert control of the bankruptcy of PG&E, using its leverage to remake PG&E’s board on the heels of the company’s decision to enter Chapter 11. Wagner would serve as the public face of the group.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By the time the bankruptcy was finalized last summer, \u003ca href=\"https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1512397/000101297520000693/0001012975-20-000693-index.htm\">Wagner’s fund held 22.3 million shares of PG&E\u003c/a>, at least a quarter of which had been received at no cost as part of the backstop, valued at almost $200 million, according to its 13F filings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But though Wagner dismissed the idea that investors would quickly dump their stock on Bloomberg TV, Knighthead has since sold off more than half its PG&E shares, our analysis of filings shows.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another hedge fund, Anchorage Capital Group, held as many as 45 million shares worth $425 million last year. 13F filings show Anchorage had sold off its entire stake by this past March. Anchorage also participated in the backstop and received an estimated 8 million shares, worth at least $68 million, in the giveaway\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>GoldenTree Asset Management, Stonehill Capital Management and the SteelMill Master Fund are among the slew of other hedge funds who have completely exited the stock. Before the bankruptcy ended, each of these funds held more than $100 million worth of PG&E shares.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But these sales pale in comparison to the sell-off by David Tepper’s Appaloosa Management. Tepper has long kept tabs on PG&E.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Of course California will bail out Pacific Gas & Electric Company, because it’s not going to let the state not have power,” reporter Jessica Pressler wrote of Tepper’s philosophy in her 2010 New York Magazine article “\u003ca href=\"https://nymag.com/news/features/establishments/68513/\">Ready to Be Rich.\u003c/a>” Tepper is invested in being “a regular guy,” she wrote. Appaloosa was also part of a foursome of \u003ca href=\"https://investor.pgecorp.com/news-events/press-releases/press-release-details/2020/PGE-Corporation-Announces-325-Billion-Common-Stock-Investment-from-Multiple-Investors/default.aspx\">private investors that purchased PG&E shares at a discount\u003c/a> as the company raised money in preparation to leave bankruptcy protection.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Filings show that Appaloosa owned nearly 81 million shares of PG&E worth $760 million as of last September. An estimated 10 million shares, worth at least $82 million, likely were provided by the backstop. By June, however, Appaloosa had slashed its stake in PG&E by around 80%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Appaloosa did not respond to our inquiries about its decision to sell off while fire survivors struggled.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, Centerbridge Partners, the hedge fund that helped bankroll attorney Mikal Watts, sold 1.8 million shares — a fifth of its stake — in the year after PG&E’s left Chapter 11 bankruptcy. KQED and The California Newsroom estimate that Centerbridge was given around 3.5 million shares, worth at least $29 million, at no cost through the special backstop arrangement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Centerbridge was co-founded by Mark Gallogly, who was appointed as an adviser to President Joe Biden’s climate team earlier this year. \u003ca href=\"https://therevolvingdoorproject.org/attn-john-kerry-mark-gallogly-is-loyal-to-profit-not-climate/\">Gallogly’s appointment immediately drew rebukes from environmental advocacy groups\u003c/a>, who said he had profited from climate emergencies in both California and Puerto Rico. Gallogly departed Biden’s climate team a few months later.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not every hedge fund with significant PG&E holdings has dumped the stock. Baupost owned about 30 million shares of PG&E as of June. The fund got most of that, around 21 million shares worth at least $174 million, at no cost in the equity backstop deal. That’s more than any other hedge fund.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement, a Baupost spokesperson said it participated in the backstop after being asked by several parties in the bankruptcy — including representatives of fire survivors — to “support the company’s emergence from bankruptcy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.wsj.com/articles/klarmans-baupost-poised-to-cash-in-on-pg-e-insurance-bet-11568387840\">Baupost salvaged a badly timed investment in PG&E stock\u003c/a> by buying PG&E insurance claims for cheap. In the bankruptcy, this insurance group shared $11 billion in cash, far more than fire survivors.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>The great risk shift\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Through it all, the special trust for PG&E’s 70,000 fire survivors continues to hold onto stock in the company that sparked fires that destroyed their homes or killed their loved ones.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many fire survivors want to be rid of the emotional burden that comes with this, and receive cash that would come with the stock’s sale, but the stock has continued to lag well below the level needed to make fire victims whole. In June, John Trotter, the court-appointed trustee of the Fire Victim Trust, \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XDLml9GEyg&t=270s\">signaled in a YouTube video\u003c/a> that he planned to hold off on selling any of the 478 million shares it owns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The story of the stock is not a good one,” Trotter said in the video, without indicating a timeline of when he might sell the shares. Fire survivors “should want PG&E to do well,” he added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11884610/will-pges-fire-victims-ever-be-made-whole-never-says-trustee-overseeing-compensation\">It’s such quicksand\u003c/a>,” Trotter told KQED and the California Newsroom in a subsequent interview. Trotter said he expects that there may only be enough to provide survivors 60% of what they are owed. They will “never be made whole,” Trotter said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11891642\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11891642\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/Kathleen_in_her_craft_shed.jpg\" alt=\"A woman bends over some crafting work in a shed, with a lamp hovering over her work.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1440\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/Kathleen_in_her_craft_shed.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/Kathleen_in_her_craft_shed-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/Kathleen_in_her_craft_shed-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/Kathleen_in_her_craft_shed-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/Kathleen_in_her_craft_shed-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kathleen McBride, 25, in her craft shed in Calaveras County. The McBride family lost their Calaveras County home in a fire that PG&E caused in 2015. They live in a trailer on the same lot where their home burned down. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Terry McBride)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As Terry McBride and her daughter wait for compensation from the Fire Victim Trust, they’ve had to brave a combination of extreme heat and wildfire smoke that leaves them with persistent headaches. The temperature in their trailer regularly spikes higher than 100 degrees. They’ve covered their trailer, which Terry refers to as “a tin can,” with reflective paint to try to lower the temperature inside by a few degrees on the hottest days.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They live modestly while they wait. Terry spends much of her time gardening while her daughter spends hours doing crafts each day. Terry says she has grown increasingly dependent on her daughter as her eyes start to fail her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I have zero doubt that Wall Street was behind this. We’re not of value to them. We have no value to them,” McBride said. “The justice system thoroughly failed the survivors of these fires. They thoroughly failed us. That’s a fact.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>McBride is among the vast majority of fire survivors who have yet to receive any money from the Fire Victim Trust.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wall Street analysts have taken notice that fire survivors appear stuck with the stock, because that means a quarter of PG&E’s stock remains off the market, providing stability to the stock price.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In June, when Trotter indicated his willingness to wait on selling the stock, analyst Julien Dumoulin-Smith of Bank of America called the announcement a “de-risking factor,” or a reassuring sign for investors in the face of the company’s other risks — such as the fact that the company continues to be linked to new wildfires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Critically trustee Justice John Trotter indicated in recent days that no imminent sales are planned as the Trust continues to work through issues of taxable gains on any share sales,” he wrote in a research note this summer. “We see this as potentially serving as [an] offsetting de-risking factor against otherwise elevated near-term fire risks.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another analyst, Jonathan Arnold of Vertical Research Partners, referred to the trustee’s comments as “the glass-half-full headline takeaway for the market.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>‘Who is responsible for this?’\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Some fire survivors say they are caught in the middle of a Wall Street game that they never wanted to play. Their settlement has shifted PG&E’s myriad risks onto them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Regardless of what happens to the stock now, Camp Fire survivor Tony Dunn wants to understand why PG&E was permitted to fund an amount of stock that ended up being worth $4.5 billion — not the promised $6.75 billion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It looks like they cut themselves a 33% discount. Where’s the oversight on this to say, ‘You can’t do that’?” Dunn told KQED by phone from his home near Asheville, North Carolina, where he and his wife, Jhan, moved about a year after they were displaced from Paradise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Did PG&E save money in this process? Was this PG&E’s lawyers? The hedge funds? This math was never right,” Dunn continued. “This is egregious and there’s absolutely no excuse for it. My biggest question now is, who is responsible for this? Who knew and let it happen anyway?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When we asked PG&E to answer Dunn’s question about why the stock funding came in at billions of dollars less than promised, the company declined to answer. It provided a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We continue to honor the victims of the Camp Fire and previous fires, and all that was lost, by continuing the important work to reduce wildfire and other risk across our energy systems. We funded the trust in accordance with our plan of reorganization,” PG&E spokesperson Lynsey Paulo wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Lily Jamali is a correspondent for KQED in San Francisco. She produced this investigation for The California Newsroom. Aaron Glantz, senior investigations editor for the Newsroom, edited this story together with Managing Editor Adriene Hill. It was copyedited by Jenny Pritchett of KQED.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "sharks-are-circling-again-with-wildfires-come-lawyers-and-previous-survivors-have-a-warning",
"title": "'Sharks Are Circling Again': With Wildfires Come Lawyers, and Previous Survivors Have a Warning",
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"headTitle": "‘Sharks Are Circling Again’: With Wildfires Come Lawyers, and Previous Survivors Have a Warning | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>Attorneys in the fast-growing wildfire litigation industry are racing to recruit victims of fires ravaging parts of Northern California, and they’re promising to take on a familiar target: PG&E.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In July, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/-/media/cpuc-website/industries-and-topics/documents/wildfire/staff-investigations/pge-incident-report-20210713.pdf\">company disclosed\u003c/a> that its equipment \u003ca href=\"https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/-/media/cpuc-website/industries-and-topics/documents/wildfire/staff-investigations/pge-incident-report-210802-14927.pdf\">may have sparked two fires this year\u003c/a>, including the Dixie Fire, the largest single-origin fire in California history, which to date has engulfed nearly 1,400 square miles, destroying 1,282 structures and forcing thousands to evacuate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Victoria Gann, Camp Fire survivor\"]‘It’s like a free-for-fall.’[/pullquote]Prominent plaintiffs’ attorneys have swooped in even as the fire burns. As part of their campaign, they’ve plowed money into social media and launched websites touting their credentials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They’ve held a steady stream of in-person and virtual town hall meetings, flying in from across California and around the country to lure in potential clients with everything from free food to face time with famed anti-PG&E activist Erin Brockovich.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some attorneys have already begun the process of setting up shop in the small mountain towns of Quincy and Susanville, where many evacuees are stuck in limbo, staying in motels or with friends as they try to figure out what’s next.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11887772\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 932px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11887772 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/241500197_202297165226628_808619347310281914_n.jpg\" alt=\"Three people sit at an outdoor table amid Styrofoam containers and soda cans.\" width=\"932\" height=\"623\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/241500197_202297165226628_808619347310281914_n.jpg 932w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/241500197_202297165226628_808619347310281914_n-800x535.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/241500197_202297165226628_808619347310281914_n-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 932px) 100vw, 932px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sandy Sullens (right) and her husband, Bob, who recently lost their home of 51 years when the Dixie Fire destroyed the town of Greenville, at a barbecue for evacuees in Quincy, sponsored by the law firm Potter Handy, on Aug. 19, 2021. “We want to hear what’s being done and how they can help if you have insurance and you don’t get very much,” said Sullens. \u003ccite>(Paul Boger/KUNR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>These lawyers claim they have experience getting massive settlements out of PG&E for survivors of earlier fires. But many of those families, who turned to these same lawyers after losing their homes and loved ones, still sleep in cars and trailers and now say they see a replay of the broken promises they say have traumatized them a second time. They offer a warning for today’s fire victims: Buyer beware.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s like a free-for-fall,” said Victoria Gann, who lived in Paradise for 20 years before the Camp Fire destroyed the Sierra Nevada town in 2018. Three years later, she still lives in a trailer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gann is among the 70,000 survivors of wildfires sparked by PG&E equipment between 2015 and 2018 who were promised $13.5 billion in a settlement with the utility. Nearly two years later, most of those fire survivors have yet to receive a dime. “It’s only a disaster for the people it happened to. For everyone else, it seems to be a cash windfall,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The rush of attorneys into rural Northern California prompted Plumas County District Attorney David Hollister to \u003ca href=\"https://www.plumasnews.com/district-attorney-hollister-provides-information-regarding-legal-assistance-in-the-wake-of-the-dixie-fire/\">publish and distribute pamphlets\u003c/a> urging fire victims not to rush as they hire lawyers and contractors. It includes ethics guidance from the State Bar of California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The last thing we want is for people to be revictimized,” Hollister told KQED and NPR’s California Newsroom. “This is a big life-changing decision. So take a step back and make a good choice that’s going to protect you going forward.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11887782\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11887782 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/GettyImages-1070764800-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"One worker is on top of a crane next to a power line.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1730\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/GettyImages-1070764800-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/GettyImages-1070764800-800x541.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/GettyImages-1070764800-1020x689.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/GettyImages-1070764800-160x108.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/GettyImages-1070764800-1536x1038.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/GettyImages-1070764800-2048x1384.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/GettyImages-1070764800-1920x1298.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Several days after the Camp Fire destroyed the town of Paradise, PG&E crews repair power lines destroyed by flames on Nov. 21, 2018. As of Sept. 2021, a large number of the 70,000 survivors of PG&E-caused fires between 2015 and 2018 had not yet received any money from the Fire Victim Trust, set up in 2020 to distribute billions of dollars as part of a settlement. \u003ccite>(Justin Sullivan/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch3>Lawyers haven’t delivered, survivors say\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>The push by lawyers to sign up new survivors as clients has become something of a grim fire season tradition in California. Among the most prolific lawyers is Mikal Watts, a trial lawyer from Corpus Christi, Texas, who once told a community forum of fire victims in Sonoma County wine country that he \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/PG-E-victims-lawyer-scrutinized-over-Wall-15241511.php\">wanted to “be your daddy.”\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Mikal Watts, Trial lawyer to wildfire survivors\"]‘The way you level out the playing field is you assemble 16,000 people.’[/pullquote]On Wednesday, Watts could be found holding court at the Quincy Public Library, addressing those fleeing the Dixie Fire in person, with Brockovich and more fire victims joining on Zoom. “They have a ton of lawyers,” Watts said of PG&E, telling his audience the company was prepared to “crush you like a bug.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The way you level out the playing field is you assemble 16,000 people,” said Watts, who represented 16,000 survivors of PG&E fires during the company’s recent bankruptcy. “Now all of a sudden, you’ve got their attention and they’re quaking in their boots.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But there’s rising concern among survivors of past fires who say these lawyers do not deliver what they promise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In December 2019, Watts, along with other attorneys currently recruiting Dixie Fire survivors as clients, announced a settlement with PG&E that promised $13.5 billion in compensation for approximately 70,000 fire victims of the Camp Fire and other fires sparked by the company’s equipment between 2015 and 2018. But payments have been slow to come.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=\"news_11884610\" hero=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/Paradise_Rally-1020x574.jpg\"]In May, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11872328/survivors-stuck-in-limbo-as-pge-fire-victim-trust-pays-out-50-million-in-fees\">KQED and NPR’s California Newsroom revealed\u003c/a> that in its first year of operation, the PG&E Fire Victim Trust spent more than $50 million on overhead, with the trustee, retired California Appeals Court Justice John Trotter, charging $1,500 an hour (he now \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11884610/will-pges-fire-victims-ever-be-made-whole-never-says-trustee-overseeing-compensation\">claims to make $125,000 a month\u003c/a>). Since then, payments have sped up — with the trust saying it’s put approximately $740 million in the hands of fire victims.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But because half of the settlement came in the form of PG&E stock rather than cash, Trotter said it’s unlikely that fire survivors will get the amount that was promised. With the utility implicated in starting new fires every year, its stock price has languished.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When KQED and NPR’s California Newsroom asked Trotter in August when fire victims would be made whole, he said “they never will.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Having to deal with the trust’s stock component is “unbearable,” he told us. When pressed, Trotter also said that in his decades as a trustee, he had never seen a victims’ settlement that included stock in the company that had harmed them.\u003cbr>\n[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>A “horrible” fire settlement\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>In his Sept. 1 letter to fire victims who were promised money in the 2019 settlement, Trotter \u003ca href=\"https://www.firevictimtrust.com/Docs/Letter_from_the_Trustee_(9-1-21).pdf\">made an oblique reference to Watts\u003c/a>, saying some lawyers “eager to have their clients vote to approve PG&E’s emergence from bankruptcy, set unrealistic timelines for payments to be made after the Trust’s creation,” before quoting a description of Watts from a \u003ca href=\"https://www.wsj.com/articles/pg-e-wildfire-victims-still-unpaid-as-new-california-fires-weigh-on-companys-stock-11628674201\">recent article in The Wall Street Journal\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=\"news_11879943\" hero=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2020/02/Powell-Camp-Fire-1020x698.jpg\"]In his letter, Trotter said the trust was currently worth “approximately $2.5 billion less than promised.” (PG&E is set to fund the trust with a final $700 million cash installment after this fire season.) So far, the trust hasn’t sold any of its 478 million shares, which comprise a quarter of all PG&E stock.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Watts declined to be interviewed for this story. In an email to KQED and NPR’s California Newsroom, he did not address the discrepancy directly but said Trotter was “an honorable man in whom I have the utmost respect and confidence.” The PG&E bankruptcy settlement “was the second-largest tort settlement in American history at that time,” he added, “one I am very proud to have worked [on] with fine lawyers across California to achieve on behalf of all our clients.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Watts continues to boast of the scale of relief he said he brokered for fire survivors. A website from his group offering legal services declares that he “led the negotiations with PG&E to raise the settlement negotiation from $8.4 billion to $13.5 billion, the largest settlement in bankruptcy history,” though the trust has never been worth that much in the year since PG&E funded it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E also declined to be interviewed and sent a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We empathize with the ongoing hardships many victims face, and remain steadfast in our commitment to make it safe for our customers and communities,” the statement read. “To deliver on this commitment, we are hardening our system, piloting new technologies, and taking other aggressive action to increase system safety.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11887779\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 860px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11887779 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Paradise_Rally_2-1020x574-1.jpg\" alt='A woman, yelling, holds up two big poster signs, one reading, \"Disaster Capitalism.\"' width=\"860\" height=\"574\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Paradise_Rally_2-1020x574-1.jpg 860w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Paradise_Rally_2-1020x574-1-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Paradise_Rally_2-1020x574-1-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 860px) 100vw, 860px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">About a hundred survivors of the Camp Fire attended a rally in Paradise on May 22, 2021, to protest runaway overhead expenses incurred by the PG&E Fire Victim Trust. Angela Casler, left, lost her father-in-law shortly after the Camp Fire. \u003ccite>(Lily Jamali/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Geoff Reed, a survivor of the 2018 Camp Fire, didn’t mince words when asked about the deal that Watts helped craft.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The plan is horrible,” he said. Reed and his two daughters, who were 4 and 3 at the time of the fire, have lived in a cramped apartment in Redding since they lost everything. His older girl has nightmares from witnessing dead bodies during their escape from Paradise as the fire burned all around them. His younger daughter constantly worries that another blaze will come for them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Reed said that, fresh off the experience of fleeing the fire, he signed up with Watts’s group after attending a town hall meeting featuring Brockovich, who gained fame for exposing PG&E’s water contamination cover-up in Hinkley, a desert town in San Bernardino County. Reed later learned that Brockovich was acting as a paid non-attorney spokesperson for the legal group headed up by Watts along with Doug Boxer, the son of former U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They hired Brockovich as a media mercenary and everybody fawns over her and flocks to her. I did,” Reed said. After he signed up, Reed says Brockovich stopped returning his calls. Jarred by the experience, he switched to a different legal group.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Geoff Reed, Survivor of the 2018 Camp Fire\"]‘I thought we settled for $13.5 billion. Why didn’t PG&E put $13.5 billion in it?’[/pullquote]When KQED interviewed Brockovich last year, she responded to allegations that she has been unresponsive: “I travel a lot. There could be moments where I’m backlogged or I didn’t get back to somebody. I’m not going to sit here and tell you that I’m perfect.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As fire survivors voted on their settlement last year, Brockovich \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/Erin-Brockovich-Why-fire-victims-should-accept-15173053.php\">penned an opinion piece in The San Francisco Chronicle\u003c/a> urging them to vote in support of the settlement, and was quoted in two PG&E press releases touting the deal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Reed called it “a legal con job. I know the outcome, as do thousands of us.” Reed said he’d received an initial $6,667 from the trust but was expecting far more: “I thought we settled for $13.5 billion. Why didn’t PG&E put $13.5 billion in it?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to Trotter, PG&E funded the Fire Victim Trust when shares were worth $9. That’s well below the $14.13 implied price they paid per share, a value derived by dividing the $6.75 billion in stock they were promised by the 478 million shares that PG&E actually gave them in the settlement.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Lawyers backed by Wall Street\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>As word of Watts and Boxer’s forum at the Quincy library leaked out on social media, a member of a \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/groups/573936233419008/posts/1017406632405297/\">Facebook group for 2015-2018 fire survivors\u003c/a> posted a screenshot with the caption “Ka-Ching,” drawing dozens of comments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The sharks are circling again,” commented Stephen Muser.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“No thx. We’re 3 years of waiting ourselves with the Campfire,” wrote Patricia Wenner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some even suggested that past fire survivors attend the event.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“All of us Camp Fire folks should join and ask questions about our claims—-,” commented Eva Shepherd.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another commenter referenced the revelation last year that Watts had \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11813173/attorney-for-pge-fire-victims-funded-by-wall-street-firms-hes-negotiating-against\">accepted litigation funding from some Wall Street hedge funds\u003c/a> negotiating against the interests of fire survivors, including his own clients.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When KQED was first to report on those ties, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11814494/wall-street-ties-of-lawyer-for-pge-fire-victims-have-some-survivors-querying-settlement-vote\">some fire victims and ethics experts said it raised red flags\u003c/a>, adding that Watts should have disclosed them to his clients.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label ='More Stories' tag='camp-fire']At a town hall meeting last year, \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/TEwCjhG53C8?t=6545\">this reporter asked Watts\u003c/a> if he had accepted funding from the hedge fund Centerbridge Partners. He indicated that he had not. But when KQED neared publication on a story about it, Watts changed course, admitting to accepting the litigation funding from Centerbridge and others, and ultimately submitting a written disclosure to clients.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In his email to KQED and NPR’s California Newsroom for this story, Watts said there was no conflict of interest because he does not have a single line of financing. “I have access to funds from multiple sources relating to different kinds of cases I litigate across the country,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last year, The Wall Street Journal reported that that particular line of credit \u003ca href=\"https://www.wsj.com/articles/as-pg-e-fire-victims-weigh-settlement-lawyers-role-attracts-scrutiny-11589198405\">was worth $100 million\u003c/a>, but toward the end of Wednesday’s recruitment event, Watts quoted a much larger amount, which he later told KQED stems from multiple lines of credit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I mentioned I’ve got access to a lot of money that I borrow from New York banks — $400 million of access so I can spend whatever it takes,” Watts told the audience. “They made up this cockamamie deal about Mikal’s loans are backed up by people that own part of PG&E and this and that. It’s all a bunch of nonsense.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He told the audience of Dixie Fire survivors that he had refinanced the loans “to clean it all up.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They’ll come after me but don’t worry about it. It’s all white noise,” Watts concluded.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Digital flyers for the event included a photo of Brockovich, who appeared on the Zoom but never spoke and dropped off the livestream midway through.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11887799\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 932px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11887799 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/240579172_146869947616740_6151292893213842431_n.jpg\" alt=\"People sit at a group of picnic tables on a green lawn beneath tall trees.\" width=\"932\" height=\"623\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/240579172_146869947616740_6151292893213842431_n.jpg 932w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/240579172_146869947616740_6151292893213842431_n-800x535.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/240579172_146869947616740_6151292893213842431_n-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 932px) 100vw, 932px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Last month, attorney Bret Cook organized a barbecue in Quincy for those displaced by the Dixie Fire. Not far from the food, attorneys placed a stack of legal contracts for potential wildfire victims to review. \u003ccite>(Paul Boger/KUNR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch3>Free food brings in wildfire survivors\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Watts is hardly the only attorney working to land recent fire victims as clients. KQED and NPR’s California Newsroom counted at least two dozen law firms posting ads and launching websites aimed at survivors of the Dixie Fire. They offer to represent them for damages ranging from property loss, emotional distress and displacement costs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Potter Handy, Attorney representing 200 victims of the Camp Fire,\"]‘It’s frustrating because of the bankruptcy … the clients in the Camp Fire got shortchanged.’[/pullquote]Last month, one firm organized a barbeque meal of smoked tri-tip and butterhorn rolls. For days, a flyer advertising it made the rounds of social media: “FREE DINNER,” it read. In smaller type below, it specified: “For those displaced due to the Dixie Fire Come Hungry!’\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As ash fell from the sky, evacuee Sandy Sullens said she was there to learn more about what resources might be available to her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We want to hear what’s being done and how they can help if you have insurance and you don’t get very much,” said Sullens, who recently lost her home of 51 years when the Dixie Fire destroyed the town of Greenville.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s the same story over and over and over again. PG&E. We’re not sure,” Sullens said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The event was organized by a local attorney, Bret Cook, who is partnering with Potter Handy, a law firm based in San Diego. The firm recently \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Disability-lawsuits-hit-S-F-Chinatown-and-state-16356130.php\">came under scrutiny\u003c/a> in San Francisco’s Chinatown for allegedly filing frivolous lawsuits against small businesses using the Americans with Disabilities Act. The city’s district attorney, Chesa Boudin, had floated the possibility of filing charges for criminal extortion against the firm, though no such charges were made in court.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Potter, who represented 200 victims of the Camp Fire, did not return an email seeking comment on his San Francisco litigation. But in an interview in Quincy he admitted to the flaws of the wildfire deal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s frustrating because of the bankruptcy,” Potter said. “The clients in the Camp Fire got shortchanged in the bankruptcy process and so that was frustrating, frankly. It’s rewarding to help them out but those clients still haven’t been fully paid.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not far from the food, Potter Handy attorneys had placed a stack of legal contracts for potential victims to review.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The contract states the terms: a contingency that would leave the lawyers with 25% of any potential reward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label ='More Coverage' tag='2021-wildfires']Cook has been the Sullens’s lawyer for years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re just providing some food for people evacuated from the Dixie Fire. It’s a way to give back to the community,” said Cook, who also lost his home and law office in Greenville. “It was a way of putting a little smile on their face.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When asked if they’re here to enlist clients, Cook demurred.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re not doing that, necessarily. People are asking us. And we’re certainly not going to say no. As I call around, having an avenue to rebuild brings them a sense of hope,” Cook said. “Some are ready to move to that next step and I want to make ourselves available in that case.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the correct name of the State Bar of California.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Paul Boger of KUNR in Reno, Nevada, contributed reporting from Quincy.\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Attorneys in the fast-growing wildfire litigation industry are racing to recruit victims of fires ravaging parts of Northern California, and they’re promising to take on a familiar target: PG&E.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In July, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/-/media/cpuc-website/industries-and-topics/documents/wildfire/staff-investigations/pge-incident-report-20210713.pdf\">company disclosed\u003c/a> that its equipment \u003ca href=\"https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/-/media/cpuc-website/industries-and-topics/documents/wildfire/staff-investigations/pge-incident-report-210802-14927.pdf\">may have sparked two fires this year\u003c/a>, including the Dixie Fire, the largest single-origin fire in California history, which to date has engulfed nearly 1,400 square miles, destroying 1,282 structures and forcing thousands to evacuate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Prominent plaintiffs’ attorneys have swooped in even as the fire burns. As part of their campaign, they’ve plowed money into social media and launched websites touting their credentials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They’ve held a steady stream of in-person and virtual town hall meetings, flying in from across California and around the country to lure in potential clients with everything from free food to face time with famed anti-PG&E activist Erin Brockovich.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some attorneys have already begun the process of setting up shop in the small mountain towns of Quincy and Susanville, where many evacuees are stuck in limbo, staying in motels or with friends as they try to figure out what’s next.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11887772\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 932px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11887772 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/241500197_202297165226628_808619347310281914_n.jpg\" alt=\"Three people sit at an outdoor table amid Styrofoam containers and soda cans.\" width=\"932\" height=\"623\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/241500197_202297165226628_808619347310281914_n.jpg 932w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/241500197_202297165226628_808619347310281914_n-800x535.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/241500197_202297165226628_808619347310281914_n-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 932px) 100vw, 932px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sandy Sullens (right) and her husband, Bob, who recently lost their home of 51 years when the Dixie Fire destroyed the town of Greenville, at a barbecue for evacuees in Quincy, sponsored by the law firm Potter Handy, on Aug. 19, 2021. “We want to hear what’s being done and how they can help if you have insurance and you don’t get very much,” said Sullens. \u003ccite>(Paul Boger/KUNR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>These lawyers claim they have experience getting massive settlements out of PG&E for survivors of earlier fires. But many of those families, who turned to these same lawyers after losing their homes and loved ones, still sleep in cars and trailers and now say they see a replay of the broken promises they say have traumatized them a second time. They offer a warning for today’s fire victims: Buyer beware.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s like a free-for-fall,” said Victoria Gann, who lived in Paradise for 20 years before the Camp Fire destroyed the Sierra Nevada town in 2018. Three years later, she still lives in a trailer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gann is among the 70,000 survivors of wildfires sparked by PG&E equipment between 2015 and 2018 who were promised $13.5 billion in a settlement with the utility. Nearly two years later, most of those fire survivors have yet to receive a dime. “It’s only a disaster for the people it happened to. For everyone else, it seems to be a cash windfall,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The rush of attorneys into rural Northern California prompted Plumas County District Attorney David Hollister to \u003ca href=\"https://www.plumasnews.com/district-attorney-hollister-provides-information-regarding-legal-assistance-in-the-wake-of-the-dixie-fire/\">publish and distribute pamphlets\u003c/a> urging fire victims not to rush as they hire lawyers and contractors. It includes ethics guidance from the State Bar of California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The last thing we want is for people to be revictimized,” Hollister told KQED and NPR’s California Newsroom. “This is a big life-changing decision. So take a step back and make a good choice that’s going to protect you going forward.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11887782\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11887782 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/GettyImages-1070764800-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"One worker is on top of a crane next to a power line.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1730\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/GettyImages-1070764800-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/GettyImages-1070764800-800x541.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/GettyImages-1070764800-1020x689.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/GettyImages-1070764800-160x108.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/GettyImages-1070764800-1536x1038.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/GettyImages-1070764800-2048x1384.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/GettyImages-1070764800-1920x1298.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Several days after the Camp Fire destroyed the town of Paradise, PG&E crews repair power lines destroyed by flames on Nov. 21, 2018. As of Sept. 2021, a large number of the 70,000 survivors of PG&E-caused fires between 2015 and 2018 had not yet received any money from the Fire Victim Trust, set up in 2020 to distribute billions of dollars as part of a settlement. \u003ccite>(Justin Sullivan/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch3>Lawyers haven’t delivered, survivors say\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>The push by lawyers to sign up new survivors as clients has become something of a grim fire season tradition in California. Among the most prolific lawyers is Mikal Watts, a trial lawyer from Corpus Christi, Texas, who once told a community forum of fire victims in Sonoma County wine country that he \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/PG-E-victims-lawyer-scrutinized-over-Wall-15241511.php\">wanted to “be your daddy.”\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>On Wednesday, Watts could be found holding court at the Quincy Public Library, addressing those fleeing the Dixie Fire in person, with Brockovich and more fire victims joining on Zoom. “They have a ton of lawyers,” Watts said of PG&E, telling his audience the company was prepared to “crush you like a bug.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The way you level out the playing field is you assemble 16,000 people,” said Watts, who represented 16,000 survivors of PG&E fires during the company’s recent bankruptcy. “Now all of a sudden, you’ve got their attention and they’re quaking in their boots.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But there’s rising concern among survivors of past fires who say these lawyers do not deliver what they promise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In December 2019, Watts, along with other attorneys currently recruiting Dixie Fire survivors as clients, announced a settlement with PG&E that promised $13.5 billion in compensation for approximately 70,000 fire victims of the Camp Fire and other fires sparked by the company’s equipment between 2015 and 2018. But payments have been slow to come.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>In May, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11872328/survivors-stuck-in-limbo-as-pge-fire-victim-trust-pays-out-50-million-in-fees\">KQED and NPR’s California Newsroom revealed\u003c/a> that in its first year of operation, the PG&E Fire Victim Trust spent more than $50 million on overhead, with the trustee, retired California Appeals Court Justice John Trotter, charging $1,500 an hour (he now \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11884610/will-pges-fire-victims-ever-be-made-whole-never-says-trustee-overseeing-compensation\">claims to make $125,000 a month\u003c/a>). Since then, payments have sped up — with the trust saying it’s put approximately $740 million in the hands of fire victims.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But because half of the settlement came in the form of PG&E stock rather than cash, Trotter said it’s unlikely that fire survivors will get the amount that was promised. With the utility implicated in starting new fires every year, its stock price has languished.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When KQED and NPR’s California Newsroom asked Trotter in August when fire victims would be made whole, he said “they never will.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Having to deal with the trust’s stock component is “unbearable,” he told us. When pressed, Trotter also said that in his decades as a trustee, he had never seen a victims’ settlement that included stock in the company that had harmed them.\u003cbr>\n\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>A “horrible” fire settlement\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>In his Sept. 1 letter to fire victims who were promised money in the 2019 settlement, Trotter \u003ca href=\"https://www.firevictimtrust.com/Docs/Letter_from_the_Trustee_(9-1-21).pdf\">made an oblique reference to Watts\u003c/a>, saying some lawyers “eager to have their clients vote to approve PG&E’s emergence from bankruptcy, set unrealistic timelines for payments to be made after the Trust’s creation,” before quoting a description of Watts from a \u003ca href=\"https://www.wsj.com/articles/pg-e-wildfire-victims-still-unpaid-as-new-california-fires-weigh-on-companys-stock-11628674201\">recent article in The Wall Street Journal\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>In his letter, Trotter said the trust was currently worth “approximately $2.5 billion less than promised.” (PG&E is set to fund the trust with a final $700 million cash installment after this fire season.) So far, the trust hasn’t sold any of its 478 million shares, which comprise a quarter of all PG&E stock.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Watts declined to be interviewed for this story. In an email to KQED and NPR’s California Newsroom, he did not address the discrepancy directly but said Trotter was “an honorable man in whom I have the utmost respect and confidence.” The PG&E bankruptcy settlement “was the second-largest tort settlement in American history at that time,” he added, “one I am very proud to have worked [on] with fine lawyers across California to achieve on behalf of all our clients.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Watts continues to boast of the scale of relief he said he brokered for fire survivors. A website from his group offering legal services declares that he “led the negotiations with PG&E to raise the settlement negotiation from $8.4 billion to $13.5 billion, the largest settlement in bankruptcy history,” though the trust has never been worth that much in the year since PG&E funded it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E also declined to be interviewed and sent a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We empathize with the ongoing hardships many victims face, and remain steadfast in our commitment to make it safe for our customers and communities,” the statement read. “To deliver on this commitment, we are hardening our system, piloting new technologies, and taking other aggressive action to increase system safety.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11887779\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 860px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11887779 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Paradise_Rally_2-1020x574-1.jpg\" alt='A woman, yelling, holds up two big poster signs, one reading, \"Disaster Capitalism.\"' width=\"860\" height=\"574\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Paradise_Rally_2-1020x574-1.jpg 860w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Paradise_Rally_2-1020x574-1-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/Paradise_Rally_2-1020x574-1-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 860px) 100vw, 860px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">About a hundred survivors of the Camp Fire attended a rally in Paradise on May 22, 2021, to protest runaway overhead expenses incurred by the PG&E Fire Victim Trust. Angela Casler, left, lost her father-in-law shortly after the Camp Fire. \u003ccite>(Lily Jamali/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Geoff Reed, a survivor of the 2018 Camp Fire, didn’t mince words when asked about the deal that Watts helped craft.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The plan is horrible,” he said. Reed and his two daughters, who were 4 and 3 at the time of the fire, have lived in a cramped apartment in Redding since they lost everything. His older girl has nightmares from witnessing dead bodies during their escape from Paradise as the fire burned all around them. His younger daughter constantly worries that another blaze will come for them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Reed said that, fresh off the experience of fleeing the fire, he signed up with Watts’s group after attending a town hall meeting featuring Brockovich, who gained fame for exposing PG&E’s water contamination cover-up in Hinkley, a desert town in San Bernardino County. Reed later learned that Brockovich was acting as a paid non-attorney spokesperson for the legal group headed up by Watts along with Doug Boxer, the son of former U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They hired Brockovich as a media mercenary and everybody fawns over her and flocks to her. I did,” Reed said. After he signed up, Reed says Brockovich stopped returning his calls. Jarred by the experience, he switched to a different legal group.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>When KQED interviewed Brockovich last year, she responded to allegations that she has been unresponsive: “I travel a lot. There could be moments where I’m backlogged or I didn’t get back to somebody. I’m not going to sit here and tell you that I’m perfect.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As fire survivors voted on their settlement last year, Brockovich \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/Erin-Brockovich-Why-fire-victims-should-accept-15173053.php\">penned an opinion piece in The San Francisco Chronicle\u003c/a> urging them to vote in support of the settlement, and was quoted in two PG&E press releases touting the deal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Reed called it “a legal con job. I know the outcome, as do thousands of us.” Reed said he’d received an initial $6,667 from the trust but was expecting far more: “I thought we settled for $13.5 billion. Why didn’t PG&E put $13.5 billion in it?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to Trotter, PG&E funded the Fire Victim Trust when shares were worth $9. That’s well below the $14.13 implied price they paid per share, a value derived by dividing the $6.75 billion in stock they were promised by the 478 million shares that PG&E actually gave them in the settlement.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Lawyers backed by Wall Street\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>As word of Watts and Boxer’s forum at the Quincy library leaked out on social media, a member of a \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/groups/573936233419008/posts/1017406632405297/\">Facebook group for 2015-2018 fire survivors\u003c/a> posted a screenshot with the caption “Ka-Ching,” drawing dozens of comments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The sharks are circling again,” commented Stephen Muser.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“No thx. We’re 3 years of waiting ourselves with the Campfire,” wrote Patricia Wenner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some even suggested that past fire survivors attend the event.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“All of us Camp Fire folks should join and ask questions about our claims—-,” commented Eva Shepherd.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another commenter referenced the revelation last year that Watts had \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11813173/attorney-for-pge-fire-victims-funded-by-wall-street-firms-hes-negotiating-against\">accepted litigation funding from some Wall Street hedge funds\u003c/a> negotiating against the interests of fire survivors, including his own clients.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When KQED was first to report on those ties, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11814494/wall-street-ties-of-lawyer-for-pge-fire-victims-have-some-survivors-querying-settlement-vote\">some fire victims and ethics experts said it raised red flags\u003c/a>, adding that Watts should have disclosed them to his clients.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>At a town hall meeting last year, \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/TEwCjhG53C8?t=6545\">this reporter asked Watts\u003c/a> if he had accepted funding from the hedge fund Centerbridge Partners. He indicated that he had not. But when KQED neared publication on a story about it, Watts changed course, admitting to accepting the litigation funding from Centerbridge and others, and ultimately submitting a written disclosure to clients.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In his email to KQED and NPR’s California Newsroom for this story, Watts said there was no conflict of interest because he does not have a single line of financing. “I have access to funds from multiple sources relating to different kinds of cases I litigate across the country,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last year, The Wall Street Journal reported that that particular line of credit \u003ca href=\"https://www.wsj.com/articles/as-pg-e-fire-victims-weigh-settlement-lawyers-role-attracts-scrutiny-11589198405\">was worth $100 million\u003c/a>, but toward the end of Wednesday’s recruitment event, Watts quoted a much larger amount, which he later told KQED stems from multiple lines of credit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I mentioned I’ve got access to a lot of money that I borrow from New York banks — $400 million of access so I can spend whatever it takes,” Watts told the audience. “They made up this cockamamie deal about Mikal’s loans are backed up by people that own part of PG&E and this and that. It’s all a bunch of nonsense.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He told the audience of Dixie Fire survivors that he had refinanced the loans “to clean it all up.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They’ll come after me but don’t worry about it. It’s all white noise,” Watts concluded.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Digital flyers for the event included a photo of Brockovich, who appeared on the Zoom but never spoke and dropped off the livestream midway through.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11887799\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 932px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11887799 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/240579172_146869947616740_6151292893213842431_n.jpg\" alt=\"People sit at a group of picnic tables on a green lawn beneath tall trees.\" width=\"932\" height=\"623\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/240579172_146869947616740_6151292893213842431_n.jpg 932w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/240579172_146869947616740_6151292893213842431_n-800x535.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/09/240579172_146869947616740_6151292893213842431_n-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 932px) 100vw, 932px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Last month, attorney Bret Cook organized a barbecue in Quincy for those displaced by the Dixie Fire. Not far from the food, attorneys placed a stack of legal contracts for potential wildfire victims to review. \u003ccite>(Paul Boger/KUNR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch3>Free food brings in wildfire survivors\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Watts is hardly the only attorney working to land recent fire victims as clients. KQED and NPR’s California Newsroom counted at least two dozen law firms posting ads and launching websites aimed at survivors of the Dixie Fire. They offer to represent them for damages ranging from property loss, emotional distress and displacement costs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Last month, one firm organized a barbeque meal of smoked tri-tip and butterhorn rolls. For days, a flyer advertising it made the rounds of social media: “FREE DINNER,” it read. In smaller type below, it specified: “For those displaced due to the Dixie Fire Come Hungry!’\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As ash fell from the sky, evacuee Sandy Sullens said she was there to learn more about what resources might be available to her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We want to hear what’s being done and how they can help if you have insurance and you don’t get very much,” said Sullens, who recently lost her home of 51 years when the Dixie Fire destroyed the town of Greenville.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s the same story over and over and over again. PG&E. We’re not sure,” Sullens said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The event was organized by a local attorney, Bret Cook, who is partnering with Potter Handy, a law firm based in San Diego. The firm recently \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Disability-lawsuits-hit-S-F-Chinatown-and-state-16356130.php\">came under scrutiny\u003c/a> in San Francisco’s Chinatown for allegedly filing frivolous lawsuits against small businesses using the Americans with Disabilities Act. The city’s district attorney, Chesa Boudin, had floated the possibility of filing charges for criminal extortion against the firm, though no such charges were made in court.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Potter, who represented 200 victims of the Camp Fire, did not return an email seeking comment on his San Francisco litigation. But in an interview in Quincy he admitted to the flaws of the wildfire deal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s frustrating because of the bankruptcy,” Potter said. “The clients in the Camp Fire got shortchanged in the bankruptcy process and so that was frustrating, frankly. It’s rewarding to help them out but those clients still haven’t been fully paid.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not far from the food, Potter Handy attorneys had placed a stack of legal contracts for potential victims to review.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The contract states the terms: a contingency that would leave the lawyers with 25% of any potential reward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Cook has been the Sullens’s lawyer for years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re just providing some food for people evacuated from the Dixie Fire. It’s a way to give back to the community,” said Cook, who also lost his home and law office in Greenville. “It was a way of putting a little smile on their face.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When asked if they’re here to enlist clients, Cook demurred.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re not doing that, necessarily. People are asking us. And we’re certainly not going to say no. As I call around, having an avenue to rebuild brings them a sense of hope,” Cook said. “Some are ready to move to that next step and I want to make ourselves available in that case.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the correct name of the State Bar of California.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Paul Boger of KUNR in Reno, Nevada, contributed reporting from Quincy.\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>PG&E equipment \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11883524/pge-says-its-equipment-possibly-linked-to-smaller-wildfire-that-merged-with-dixie-fire\">may be responsible for igniting at least two California wildfires this summer\u003c/a>, including the massive Dixie Fire, which has burned more than 569,000 acres, or about 889 square miles, as of Monday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last week, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11884665/fbi-faa-investigating-dixie-fire-drone-incident\">Federal Aviation Administration said it was working closely with the FBI\u003c/a> to investigate a drone flight that interfered with Cal Fire aircraft during the first hours of the agency’s fight to control the Dixie Fire. As \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11884337/investigators-probing-pges-possible-link-to-fateful-dixie-fire-drone-flight\">KQED reported last week\u003c/a>, the Butte County district attorney launched an investigation into whether the drone was operated by PG&E or one of its contractors. PG&E said no drones authorized to do work for the company were operating in Butte and Plumas counties at the time of the incursion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=\"news_11805766,news_11875034,news_11813173\" label=\"Related Posts\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These developments, as well as PG&E’s announcement of a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11882090/pge-to-bury-10000-miles-of-electric-lines-underground\">costly undergrounding initiative\u003c/a>, have left the company’s stock price in flux, which affects the 70,000 survivors of fires that the utility’s equipment caused between 2015 and 2018. Those survivors’ claims were folded into a controversial bankruptcy settlement that was marketed to them as being worth $13.5 billion — half of it in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11805766/pge-victims-weigh-rare-stock-funded-trust-amid-market-turmoil\">PG&E stock itself\u003c/a>. But it’s currently worth closer to $10 billion, according to John Trotter, the trustee in charge of distributing compensation to PG&E’s past fire victims.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Trotter, who oversees the Fire Victim Trust, says this volatility has complicated his ability to distribute the funds. As of July 30, \u003ca href=\"https://www.firevictimtrust.com/Docs/Claims_Data_Report.pdf\">the trust had distributed about $600 million\u003c/a> to fire victims.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Trotter spoke with The California Report’s Lily Jamali about the pace of payments to fire victims, about why survivors who have learned their due payout amount are only getting 30% of that money, about KQED’s previous reporting on the trust’s overhead costs, and about issues of budgetary transparency, among other things.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This interview, conducted on Aug. 5, has been edited for length and clarity.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lily Jamali: What is your assessment of the pace of payments right now going out to people?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>John Trotter: I think it’s increasing dramatically, which we knew it would once we created the structure. Every pay period, there’s a greater number of claims and an increase in volume. This will continue. There’s been an increase in staffing to accommodate that. As more claims become ripe for determination, we have hired more claims reviewers to meet that need, so it’s a continuing upward swing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What is your sense of whether fire victims will ever be made whole from what you can tell right now?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They never will.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>They will never be made whole?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s what bankruptcy means. It means we don’t have enough money to make everybody whole. There was no expectation going into bankruptcy that they would ever be made whole. They would get a percentage like everybody else in bankruptcy. The problem is, we don’t know yet what that percentage will be because a lot of the bigger claims have yet to be finalized or proven. I don’t know with any [definiteness] what the amount of the claims will ultimately be. And I don’t know the amount of money I have to pay those claims because the stock changes daily. That’s why we’re only paying 30%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"John Trotter, trustee of the Fire Victim Trust\"]‘That’s what bankruptcy means. It means we don’t have enough money to make everybody whole. There was no expectation going into bankruptcy that they would ever be made whole. They would get a percentage like everybody else in bankruptcy.’[/pullquote]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E still owes the trust $700 million, which isn’t due to be paid until next year. I have no guarantee, but I assume PG&E will honor that. And then we have the stock price. The total value of the holdings of the trust are probably — give or take — $10 billion. If PG&E pays the $700 million, and the stock price rebounds, that value goes up. But even if it were to get to $13.5 [billion], which God willing will happen, we would still be short.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>We keep seeing more fires being tied to PG&E equipment, including this year. Do you have a sense of what the final percentage [recovery for fire victims] might be if things kind of stay in their current state?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the current state, $10 [billion] is 60% of $17 [billion]. We hope with all of our hearts that’s not going to be the final number though.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Do you ever wonder why the stock component was funded at $9 per share and not at a value that would have equaled $6.75 billion, which is what fire survivors were told?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s a publicly traded stock. What they had agreed on was the number of shares. The value of the stock on the day that the Trust became effective and became the owner of those stocks was $9, so it was the public market that caused that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>I think that a lot of [fire survivors] feel really blindsided. One fire survivor I just talked to told me his wife was crying about this. They feel they got tricked. $6.75 billion in stock is what they were told by their lawyers. PG&E said it was “approximately $6.75 billion.” People feel emotionally destroyed by seeing what’s happening to the stock.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I can certainly understand their feelings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"John Trotter, trustee of the Fire Victim Trust\"]‘I’m not here to be a critic of the way the deal was put together. It went through a federal judge and representations were made, some of which have not turned out to be true. But it isn’t my role to be a critic. It’s my role to get this situation as righted as I can and get the money out as quickly as I can.’[/pullquote]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>And do you think that anybody should be held responsible for that?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’m not here to be a critic of the way the deal was put together. It went through a federal judge and representations were made, some of which have not turned out to be true. But it isn’t my role to be a critic. It’s my role to get this situation as righted as I can and get the money out as quickly as I can.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Do you feel comfortable assessing this deal in terms of the stock component? I talked to Ken Feinberg [the administrator of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund and more than a dozen other high-profile trusts] about this last year. He said he’d never seen a trust set up with stock.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That really isn’t for me to say. I agree with Ken. I’ve worked with Ken on a couple of cases, and I respect him greatly. It isn’t really for me to criticize or not criticize the deal. My job is to deal with what I have. I have never seen a settlement with stock in it either. It just creates such an indeterminate value. It’s such quicksand. If it goes up, it’s terrific. If it goes down, it’s terrible. If it goes up, can you sell it right at that moment? It puts such an extra burden on the people, namely me, running the trust. It’s just unbearable. This is the kind of stuff that keeps me up at night. It’s just very difficult to know when to sell.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=\"news_11882057,news_11879943,news_11875846\" label=\"Previous Reporting\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition, and I don’t mean this as criticism, it’s just factual: We took the stock at $9. There was no consideration given to the fact that — suppose we were lucky enough to have it go to $15 — they didn’t think about the taxes that the trust would have to pay on the gain. I have spent virtually the last six months with my lawyers striking a deal with PG&E, the IRS and the Securities and Exchange Commission to take away that burden. We’re almost there. But then again, these poor victims are so snakebitten after we strike that deal, then the stock plummets. At least now, if and when we sell the stock, there will be no tax.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Is it your belief that the TCC [the Tort Claimants Committee, officially representing fire survivors in the bankruptcy] attorneys should have secured those provisions before this went through, or even before fire victims voted on this deal?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Well, again, it’s easy to be critical, but it’s not my role. I just don’t want to get into that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Do you have any thoughts on whether future trusts should be restricted from including stock, based on your own experience trying to administer this? Should there be provisions to make sure it doesn’t happen like this again?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Well, I think it’s \u003ci>sui generis\u003c/i> — unto itself. I think that each bankruptcy judge will deal with it as they see fit. You know, most bankruptcies don’t involve a company that comes out in a viable situation, or at least most resolution trusts don’t. Usually the resolution trust is when the company is going out of business. PG&E is unique in that it can’t go out of business. And so they have to bring it back. So that’s not going to happen very often because there just aren’t many of these circumstances.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.actionnewsnow.com/content/news/Fire-Victim-Trust-shares-latest-on-payment-progress-timelines-and-the-falling-price-of-PGE-stock-574979571.html\">You have talked about\u003c/a> a bottleneck. What do you think is behind that bottleneck — such that two out of three fire victim claims are currently incomplete?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s a whole bunch of reasons, but it’s the gathering of data. In this unfortunate situation, most of their documents were burned up in the fires because people usually keep those documents in their house. They have to go get those documents. It’s hard and the pandemic made it even harder. The larger the claim, the more documentation is needed and so it takes a longer period of time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>I recently learned that people who have lawyers are not allowed into their own \u003ca href=\"https://www.firevictimtrust.com/\">portal\u003c/a> [on the Fire Victim Trust website] to view what documentation is missing. They’re not even allowed to see the documentation their lawyers have submitted. Would you consider allowing them to view their own accounts?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are lots of rules of ethics that prevent us from talking to people who are represented by lawyers. We can’t talk to them directly if they have a lawyer. We have to — according to the rules of professional conduct — go through their lawyer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Even in terms of providing a checklist [of missing documents]? That’s not possible?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I don’t know if it’s possible. But we need to talk to their lawyers. That’s who their representative is and that’s the way it goes in every case. If you come into court, if you have a lawyer, the judge doesn’t speak to you. You have to go through the lawyer. That’s why the lawyer is there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Let’s talk about the last couple of months and \u003ca href=\"https://t.co/XGvMaIjIjM?amp=1\">our story\u003c/a> [about trust overhead costs] from May. I know you had a meeting with California Attorney General [Rob Bonta] in the last couple of days \u003ca href=\"https://www.capradio.org/articles/2021/05/28/state-lawmakers-to-attorney-general-probe-pge-fire-victim-trust/\">regarding that\u003c/a>. First of all, we welcome your thoughts on those stories.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Well, I think we probably should just leave the past in the past. Let me address it this way. Meeting with the attorney general and all of the legislators was a very good thing to do. They did not understand, as maybe some reporters didn’t understand, the way that this process was intended to unfold. Once they were made more aware of that, they were much more forgiving of what’s been going on. The attorney general fully understood that there were startup costs. He fully understood there were no claims to be paid in the early part of the trust’s life because they hadn’t been filed yet, and that the great majority of claims and their supporting documents weren’t filed until this year. Once that was explained, they understood why there were startup costs but no payments. The [$7 million] paid in benefits to the victims [in 2020] weren’t payments on value. There were no payments made that reflected the value of claims until March because the infrastructure wasn’t complete until then to allow us to do that. Those payments were humanitarian payments that were made on a special application basis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>In the spirit of constructiveness, one of the things that we talked about in that first story was that the reporting period in the annual report started in July [2020], even though [it was ]retroactive to January, [and] Judge Dennis Montali had approved $12.5 million or more in fees. I just wonder why that was not included. And is there an opportunity to be maybe more specific with details of which firms are getting how much, and what the individuals at those firms are doing, similar to the kind of reporting that we saw last year before [PG&E’s bankruptcy] confirmation?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’m the wrong one to ask about that because I wasn’t involved in any of that. I became trustee on July 1 [2020]. I was a consultant to the TCC early on in 2020. And I was working for [arbitration firm] JAMS at that time and they hired me as a consultant to help figure this out. I would go up to San Francisco and meet with the lawyers and I billed them accordingly for that. When I became trustee, my whole relationship with them changed. I became a salaried employee of the trust. I was no longer billing by the hour. I have a contract with the trust. That happened in July.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The period of time between January or February [2020] and the end of June [2020], there were fees incurred because JAMS billed them for my time at my usual rate, which at that time was $1,500 an hour, an amount that I charged for many years. And how the Trust ended up paying that was something I didn’t know anything about. I was not involved in their negotiations with PG&E because I wasn’t the trustee yet. But when I became trustee, you reported that I was charging $1,500 an hour, which wasn’t true.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>I did ask. What is the amount?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s $125,000. If you do the math that turns out to be somewhere less than $800 an hour. And that’s how we arrived at my fee. It’s been constant from the first day until this month. And I have to tell you that I work far more than 40 hours a week. In addition, just so that victims know, there’s nobody here that’s getting an outrageous [fee]. They may think that it’s outrageous. I understand that. But I don’t have a secretary. I don’t have an assistant. I don’t have a dedicated aide. I run everything out of my home. I don’t have an office. I don’t charge the trust for any of the costs that I incur in doing that from my home. So I’ve done everything I can reasonably do to be as fair in my pricing as I can, and I am not embarrassed to say that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Editor’s note: KQED’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11875846/unacceptable-egregious-lawmakers-seek-probe-of-pge-fire-victim-trust\">story\u003c/a> reporting Trotter’s hourly rate was based on \u003ca href=\"https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/20698873/m034139804869-rep-1404090738.pdf\">this document\u003c/a> filed in federal court on April 14, which lists Trotter’s hourly rate as $1,500. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Have you thought about being more transparent about your budget?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yeah. The problem with — as you see, we have 380 people. These are unaudited numbers and some bills are still lingering but in the first six months [of 2021], we spent $46.6 million on overhead. Of that, $35 million was for claims processing. That’s a little bit below what our budget was, and going forward, we hope we won’t spend quite as much. But one reason we spent as much as we did was there were a lot of attorneys fees because of the stock [tax] issue. That is now resolved. But in the second half, we have more claims reviewers that we didn’t have in the first half because we didn’t need them then. I don’t know whether those two balance each other out. We look forward to the second half being a little bit less. So if we come out of the year in the low $90 million range, that’s less than 1% of the [trust’s] value, even with the very depressed stock price. I’m very comfortable saying to the fire victims that we are really watching every dollar as carefully as we can. To be able to run this trust, with its multiple problems and issues for under 1%, I think, is pretty good.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>One percent overall, or per year? \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One percent a year. I mean, it’s an ongoing trust.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Can you respond to concerns that the trust may be devaluing determinations because the stock is not performing?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s not true. We are giving them our best valuation. It’s a cross between what would that person get in a jury case and a private settlement. We give a blend of that. We’re not discounting it in any way because of the ability to pay. The victims are entitled to know what their claim was worth. It’s painful to find out that a claim was worth $1 million but they’ll only get $450,000. But at least they’re entitled to know what the value of their claim was.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Fire survivor William Abrams has filed a motion with the bankruptcy court \u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>asking that members of the Trust Oversight Committee [TOC] issue financial disclosures. We at KQED have [revealed that] \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11813173/attorney-for-pge-fire-victims-funded-by-wall-street-firms-hes-negotiating-against\">at least one major wildfire attorney\u003c/a> [Mikal Watts] has taken funding from parties whose interests are at odds with fire victims. Are you aware of this motion?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I am aware of the motion but it really doesn’t concern me. This is a Judge Montali issue that I don’t have any jurisdiction over. If the Judge feels that Mr. Abrams has made a showing, he’ll act accordingly. He has denied this motion a couple of times already. We’ll see what he does this time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Should they sign a disclosure saying they do not have interests that are adverse to their clients’?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I don’t have any authority over the TOC. I must consult with them. But I didn’t appoint them. I’d never met some of them before. They were appointed by Judge Montali. That’s why the motion is to Judge Montali. The motion isn’t to me. If they have any conflicts, I don’t have any way to know that. So they have to themselves determine whether they have a conflict and respond if Judge Montali asks them to.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>As we reported last year, one of the people who sits on the committee [Doug Boxer] is affiliated with Mikal Watts, whom we have shown did take money from a major hedge fund in this case. That’s in the public domain.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I assume, if it’s in the public domain, Judge Montali knows that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>And that’s not troubling to you, it sounds like.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s not whether it’s troubling or not. It doesn’t involve me. I’m not here to pass judgment on whether they have a conflict. That’s Judge Montali’s job. I have lots of other things to do.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>How involved is the Trust Oversight Committee in how claims are being determined? \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not at all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Not at all? \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>No. There’s a bright line — because they all have claims.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Would it be valuable to have members of the TCC who resigned be allowed to speak freely about what happened from their perspective? Do you have any thoughts on that?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I don’t, because I wasn’t there. I wasn’t part of the machinations that went on so I don’t know. I think anybody can speak freely now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Would they face any legal liability if they spoke about what they witnessed that might be disturbing to the public?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I don’t have any idea or any comment on that. I don’t know. Again, I wasn’t a part of that. I know that there was a lot of heated discussions in those months before the trust became viable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "John Trotter, the trustee of the Fire Victim Trust, spoke with The California Report about the pace of payments to fire victims, about KQED's previous reporting on the Trust's overhead costs, and about issues of budgetary transparency, among other things.",
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"title": "Will PG&E’s Fire Victims Ever Be Made Whole? 'Never,' Says Trustee Overseeing Compensation | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>PG&E equipment \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11883524/pge-says-its-equipment-possibly-linked-to-smaller-wildfire-that-merged-with-dixie-fire\">may be responsible for igniting at least two California wildfires this summer\u003c/a>, including the massive Dixie Fire, which has burned more than 569,000 acres, or about 889 square miles, as of Monday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last week, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11884665/fbi-faa-investigating-dixie-fire-drone-incident\">Federal Aviation Administration said it was working closely with the FBI\u003c/a> to investigate a drone flight that interfered with Cal Fire aircraft during the first hours of the agency’s fight to control the Dixie Fire. As \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11884337/investigators-probing-pges-possible-link-to-fateful-dixie-fire-drone-flight\">KQED reported last week\u003c/a>, the Butte County district attorney launched an investigation into whether the drone was operated by PG&E or one of its contractors. PG&E said no drones authorized to do work for the company were operating in Butte and Plumas counties at the time of the incursion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These developments, as well as PG&E’s announcement of a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11882090/pge-to-bury-10000-miles-of-electric-lines-underground\">costly undergrounding initiative\u003c/a>, have left the company’s stock price in flux, which affects the 70,000 survivors of fires that the utility’s equipment caused between 2015 and 2018. Those survivors’ claims were folded into a controversial bankruptcy settlement that was marketed to them as being worth $13.5 billion — half of it in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11805766/pge-victims-weigh-rare-stock-funded-trust-amid-market-turmoil\">PG&E stock itself\u003c/a>. But it’s currently worth closer to $10 billion, according to John Trotter, the trustee in charge of distributing compensation to PG&E’s past fire victims.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Trotter, who oversees the Fire Victim Trust, says this volatility has complicated his ability to distribute the funds. As of July 30, \u003ca href=\"https://www.firevictimtrust.com/Docs/Claims_Data_Report.pdf\">the trust had distributed about $600 million\u003c/a> to fire victims.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Trotter spoke with The California Report’s Lily Jamali about the pace of payments to fire victims, about why survivors who have learned their due payout amount are only getting 30% of that money, about KQED’s previous reporting on the trust’s overhead costs, and about issues of budgetary transparency, among other things.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This interview, conducted on Aug. 5, has been edited for length and clarity.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lily Jamali: What is your assessment of the pace of payments right now going out to people?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>John Trotter: I think it’s increasing dramatically, which we knew it would once we created the structure. Every pay period, there’s a greater number of claims and an increase in volume. This will continue. There’s been an increase in staffing to accommodate that. As more claims become ripe for determination, we have hired more claims reviewers to meet that need, so it’s a continuing upward swing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What is your sense of whether fire victims will ever be made whole from what you can tell right now?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They never will.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>They will never be made whole?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s what bankruptcy means. It means we don’t have enough money to make everybody whole. There was no expectation going into bankruptcy that they would ever be made whole. They would get a percentage like everybody else in bankruptcy. The problem is, we don’t know yet what that percentage will be because a lot of the bigger claims have yet to be finalized or proven. I don’t know with any [definiteness] what the amount of the claims will ultimately be. And I don’t know the amount of money I have to pay those claims because the stock changes daily. That’s why we’re only paying 30%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "‘That’s what bankruptcy means. It means we don’t have enough money to make everybody whole. There was no expectation going into bankruptcy that they would ever be made whole. They would get a percentage like everybody else in bankruptcy.’",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E still owes the trust $700 million, which isn’t due to be paid until next year. I have no guarantee, but I assume PG&E will honor that. And then we have the stock price. The total value of the holdings of the trust are probably — give or take — $10 billion. If PG&E pays the $700 million, and the stock price rebounds, that value goes up. But even if it were to get to $13.5 [billion], which God willing will happen, we would still be short.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>We keep seeing more fires being tied to PG&E equipment, including this year. Do you have a sense of what the final percentage [recovery for fire victims] might be if things kind of stay in their current state?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the current state, $10 [billion] is 60% of $17 [billion]. We hope with all of our hearts that’s not going to be the final number though.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Do you ever wonder why the stock component was funded at $9 per share and not at a value that would have equaled $6.75 billion, which is what fire survivors were told?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s a publicly traded stock. What they had agreed on was the number of shares. The value of the stock on the day that the Trust became effective and became the owner of those stocks was $9, so it was the public market that caused that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>I think that a lot of [fire survivors] feel really blindsided. One fire survivor I just talked to told me his wife was crying about this. They feel they got tricked. $6.75 billion in stock is what they were told by their lawyers. PG&E said it was “approximately $6.75 billion.” People feel emotionally destroyed by seeing what’s happening to the stock.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I can certainly understand their feelings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "‘I’m not here to be a critic of the way the deal was put together. It went through a federal judge and representations were made, some of which have not turned out to be true. But it isn’t my role to be a critic. It’s my role to get this situation as righted as I can and get the money out as quickly as I can.’",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>And do you think that anybody should be held responsible for that?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’m not here to be a critic of the way the deal was put together. It went through a federal judge and representations were made, some of which have not turned out to be true. But it isn’t my role to be a critic. It’s my role to get this situation as righted as I can and get the money out as quickly as I can.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Do you feel comfortable assessing this deal in terms of the stock component? I talked to Ken Feinberg [the administrator of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund and more than a dozen other high-profile trusts] about this last year. He said he’d never seen a trust set up with stock.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That really isn’t for me to say. I agree with Ken. I’ve worked with Ken on a couple of cases, and I respect him greatly. It isn’t really for me to criticize or not criticize the deal. My job is to deal with what I have. I have never seen a settlement with stock in it either. It just creates such an indeterminate value. It’s such quicksand. If it goes up, it’s terrific. If it goes down, it’s terrible. If it goes up, can you sell it right at that moment? It puts such an extra burden on the people, namely me, running the trust. It’s just unbearable. This is the kind of stuff that keeps me up at night. It’s just very difficult to know when to sell.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition, and I don’t mean this as criticism, it’s just factual: We took the stock at $9. There was no consideration given to the fact that — suppose we were lucky enough to have it go to $15 — they didn’t think about the taxes that the trust would have to pay on the gain. I have spent virtually the last six months with my lawyers striking a deal with PG&E, the IRS and the Securities and Exchange Commission to take away that burden. We’re almost there. But then again, these poor victims are so snakebitten after we strike that deal, then the stock plummets. At least now, if and when we sell the stock, there will be no tax.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Is it your belief that the TCC [the Tort Claimants Committee, officially representing fire survivors in the bankruptcy] attorneys should have secured those provisions before this went through, or even before fire victims voted on this deal?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Well, again, it’s easy to be critical, but it’s not my role. I just don’t want to get into that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Do you have any thoughts on whether future trusts should be restricted from including stock, based on your own experience trying to administer this? Should there be provisions to make sure it doesn’t happen like this again?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Well, I think it’s \u003ci>sui generis\u003c/i> — unto itself. I think that each bankruptcy judge will deal with it as they see fit. You know, most bankruptcies don’t involve a company that comes out in a viable situation, or at least most resolution trusts don’t. Usually the resolution trust is when the company is going out of business. PG&E is unique in that it can’t go out of business. And so they have to bring it back. So that’s not going to happen very often because there just aren’t many of these circumstances.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.actionnewsnow.com/content/news/Fire-Victim-Trust-shares-latest-on-payment-progress-timelines-and-the-falling-price-of-PGE-stock-574979571.html\">You have talked about\u003c/a> a bottleneck. What do you think is behind that bottleneck — such that two out of three fire victim claims are currently incomplete?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s a whole bunch of reasons, but it’s the gathering of data. In this unfortunate situation, most of their documents were burned up in the fires because people usually keep those documents in their house. They have to go get those documents. It’s hard and the pandemic made it even harder. The larger the claim, the more documentation is needed and so it takes a longer period of time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>I recently learned that people who have lawyers are not allowed into their own \u003ca href=\"https://www.firevictimtrust.com/\">portal\u003c/a> [on the Fire Victim Trust website] to view what documentation is missing. They’re not even allowed to see the documentation their lawyers have submitted. Would you consider allowing them to view their own accounts?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are lots of rules of ethics that prevent us from talking to people who are represented by lawyers. We can’t talk to them directly if they have a lawyer. We have to — according to the rules of professional conduct — go through their lawyer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Even in terms of providing a checklist [of missing documents]? That’s not possible?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I don’t know if it’s possible. But we need to talk to their lawyers. That’s who their representative is and that’s the way it goes in every case. If you come into court, if you have a lawyer, the judge doesn’t speak to you. You have to go through the lawyer. That’s why the lawyer is there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Let’s talk about the last couple of months and \u003ca href=\"https://t.co/XGvMaIjIjM?amp=1\">our story\u003c/a> [about trust overhead costs] from May. I know you had a meeting with California Attorney General [Rob Bonta] in the last couple of days \u003ca href=\"https://www.capradio.org/articles/2021/05/28/state-lawmakers-to-attorney-general-probe-pge-fire-victim-trust/\">regarding that\u003c/a>. First of all, we welcome your thoughts on those stories.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Well, I think we probably should just leave the past in the past. Let me address it this way. Meeting with the attorney general and all of the legislators was a very good thing to do. They did not understand, as maybe some reporters didn’t understand, the way that this process was intended to unfold. Once they were made more aware of that, they were much more forgiving of what’s been going on. The attorney general fully understood that there were startup costs. He fully understood there were no claims to be paid in the early part of the trust’s life because they hadn’t been filed yet, and that the great majority of claims and their supporting documents weren’t filed until this year. Once that was explained, they understood why there were startup costs but no payments. The [$7 million] paid in benefits to the victims [in 2020] weren’t payments on value. There were no payments made that reflected the value of claims until March because the infrastructure wasn’t complete until then to allow us to do that. Those payments were humanitarian payments that were made on a special application basis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>In the spirit of constructiveness, one of the things that we talked about in that first story was that the reporting period in the annual report started in July [2020], even though [it was ]retroactive to January, [and] Judge Dennis Montali had approved $12.5 million or more in fees. I just wonder why that was not included. And is there an opportunity to be maybe more specific with details of which firms are getting how much, and what the individuals at those firms are doing, similar to the kind of reporting that we saw last year before [PG&E’s bankruptcy] confirmation?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’m the wrong one to ask about that because I wasn’t involved in any of that. I became trustee on July 1 [2020]. I was a consultant to the TCC early on in 2020. And I was working for [arbitration firm] JAMS at that time and they hired me as a consultant to help figure this out. I would go up to San Francisco and meet with the lawyers and I billed them accordingly for that. When I became trustee, my whole relationship with them changed. I became a salaried employee of the trust. I was no longer billing by the hour. I have a contract with the trust. That happened in July.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The period of time between January or February [2020] and the end of June [2020], there were fees incurred because JAMS billed them for my time at my usual rate, which at that time was $1,500 an hour, an amount that I charged for many years. And how the Trust ended up paying that was something I didn’t know anything about. I was not involved in their negotiations with PG&E because I wasn’t the trustee yet. But when I became trustee, you reported that I was charging $1,500 an hour, which wasn’t true.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>I did ask. What is the amount?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s $125,000. If you do the math that turns out to be somewhere less than $800 an hour. And that’s how we arrived at my fee. It’s been constant from the first day until this month. And I have to tell you that I work far more than 40 hours a week. In addition, just so that victims know, there’s nobody here that’s getting an outrageous [fee]. They may think that it’s outrageous. I understand that. But I don’t have a secretary. I don’t have an assistant. I don’t have a dedicated aide. I run everything out of my home. I don’t have an office. I don’t charge the trust for any of the costs that I incur in doing that from my home. So I’ve done everything I can reasonably do to be as fair in my pricing as I can, and I am not embarrassed to say that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Editor’s note: KQED’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11875846/unacceptable-egregious-lawmakers-seek-probe-of-pge-fire-victim-trust\">story\u003c/a> reporting Trotter’s hourly rate was based on \u003ca href=\"https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/20698873/m034139804869-rep-1404090738.pdf\">this document\u003c/a> filed in federal court on April 14, which lists Trotter’s hourly rate as $1,500. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Have you thought about being more transparent about your budget?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yeah. The problem with — as you see, we have 380 people. These are unaudited numbers and some bills are still lingering but in the first six months [of 2021], we spent $46.6 million on overhead. Of that, $35 million was for claims processing. That’s a little bit below what our budget was, and going forward, we hope we won’t spend quite as much. But one reason we spent as much as we did was there were a lot of attorneys fees because of the stock [tax] issue. That is now resolved. But in the second half, we have more claims reviewers that we didn’t have in the first half because we didn’t need them then. I don’t know whether those two balance each other out. We look forward to the second half being a little bit less. So if we come out of the year in the low $90 million range, that’s less than 1% of the [trust’s] value, even with the very depressed stock price. I’m very comfortable saying to the fire victims that we are really watching every dollar as carefully as we can. To be able to run this trust, with its multiple problems and issues for under 1%, I think, is pretty good.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>One percent overall, or per year? \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One percent a year. I mean, it’s an ongoing trust.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Can you respond to concerns that the trust may be devaluing determinations because the stock is not performing?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s not true. We are giving them our best valuation. It’s a cross between what would that person get in a jury case and a private settlement. We give a blend of that. We’re not discounting it in any way because of the ability to pay. The victims are entitled to know what their claim was worth. It’s painful to find out that a claim was worth $1 million but they’ll only get $450,000. But at least they’re entitled to know what the value of their claim was.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Fire survivor William Abrams has filed a motion with the bankruptcy court \u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>asking that members of the Trust Oversight Committee [TOC] issue financial disclosures. We at KQED have [revealed that] \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11813173/attorney-for-pge-fire-victims-funded-by-wall-street-firms-hes-negotiating-against\">at least one major wildfire attorney\u003c/a> [Mikal Watts] has taken funding from parties whose interests are at odds with fire victims. Are you aware of this motion?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I am aware of the motion but it really doesn’t concern me. This is a Judge Montali issue that I don’t have any jurisdiction over. If the Judge feels that Mr. Abrams has made a showing, he’ll act accordingly. He has denied this motion a couple of times already. We’ll see what he does this time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Should they sign a disclosure saying they do not have interests that are adverse to their clients’?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I don’t have any authority over the TOC. I must consult with them. But I didn’t appoint them. I’d never met some of them before. They were appointed by Judge Montali. That’s why the motion is to Judge Montali. The motion isn’t to me. If they have any conflicts, I don’t have any way to know that. So they have to themselves determine whether they have a conflict and respond if Judge Montali asks them to.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>As we reported last year, one of the people who sits on the committee [Doug Boxer] is affiliated with Mikal Watts, whom we have shown did take money from a major hedge fund in this case. That’s in the public domain.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I assume, if it’s in the public domain, Judge Montali knows that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>And that’s not troubling to you, it sounds like.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s not whether it’s troubling or not. It doesn’t involve me. I’m not here to pass judgment on whether they have a conflict. That’s Judge Montali’s job. I have lots of other things to do.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>How involved is the Trust Oversight Committee in how claims are being determined? \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not at all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Not at all? \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>No. There’s a bright line — because they all have claims.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Would it be valuable to have members of the TCC who resigned be allowed to speak freely about what happened from their perspective? Do you have any thoughts on that?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I don’t, because I wasn’t there. I wasn’t part of the machinations that went on so I don’t know. I think anybody can speak freely now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Would they face any legal liability if they spoke about what they witnessed that might be disturbing to the public?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I don’t have any idea or any comment on that. I don’t know. Again, I wasn’t a part of that. I know that there was a lot of heated discussions in those months before the trust became viable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp class=\"p1\">Twenty years ago, California went dark. Without enough electricity to power the state, rolling blackouts shut down businesses, PG&E filed for bankruptcy, the state’s economy contracted and then-Governor Gray Davis’ administration spiraled into crisis. Part of the blame rested with Enron Corporation, an energy company whose brokers created an artificial electricity shortage by taking power plants offline — thereby raising prices by 800% or more. Enron ultimately unravelled when whistleblowers revealed its books were cooked, but not before the company severely damaged energy markets. Two decades later, Forum asks what we’ve learned from that calamity— and whether our electricity supply is safe from market manipulation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp class=\"p1\">Twenty years ago, California went dark. Without enough electricity to power the state, rolling blackouts shut down businesses, PG&E filed for bankruptcy, the state’s economy contracted and then-Governor Gray Davis’ administration spiraled into crisis. Part of the blame rested with Enron Corporation, an energy company whose brokers created an artificial electricity shortage by taking power plants offline — thereby raising prices by 800% or more. Enron ultimately unravelled when whistleblowers revealed its books were cooked, but not before the company severely damaged energy markets. Two decades later, Forum asks what we’ve learned from that calamity— and whether our electricity supply is safe from market manipulation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>It’s been a year since Pacific Gas and Electric Company left Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. That exit deal included a promised $13.5 billion settlement to pay victims of wildfires that were caused by the company’s equipment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The deal represented the culmination of a promise to fire survivors, PG&E interim CEO Bill Smith \u003ca href=\"https://www.pge.com/en/about/newsroom/newsdetails/index.page?title=20200701_pge_emerges_from_chapter_11\">declared\u003c/a> on July 1, 2020. “Today’s announcement is significant for PG&E and for the many wildfire victims who are now one step closer to getting paid,” he said. “Compensating these victims fairly and quickly has been our primary goal throughout these proceedings, and I am glad to say that today we funded the Fire Victim Trust for their benefit.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But a year later, public records show that a special Fire Victim Trust created to distribute the settlement has been slow to pay out victims — and quick to wrack up big bills for lawyers and consultants. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In May, KQED and NPR’s California Newsroom \u003ca href=\"https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.kqed.org/news/11872328/survivors-stuck-in-limbo-as-pge-fire-victim-trust-pays-out-50-million-in-fees&sa=D&source=editors&ust=1625084036887000&usg=AOvVaw0hyR-8qqeBfPKqldP6UYeX\">published an investigation\u003c/a> into spending by the Fire Victim Trust charged with compensating survivors. We found that in its first year, the trust had racked up $51 million in overhead, and distributed only $7 million to fire victims. Ninety percent of outgoing funds paid lawyers and consultants in 2020 while the vast majority of fire victims waited for help. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The pace of payments has picked up this year, but as of \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/20982273-fvt-claims-data-report-63021-1\">June 30\u003c/a>, fewer than 3% of fire victims — 1,867 out of approximately 70,000 total — have had their claims fully processed. For now, they are getting 30% of what they were due while the Fire Victim Trust collects its fees in full. Approximately $436 million in compensation has been delivered.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But there is still much we don’t know.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To date, the Trust has refused to share its budget, a quarterly breakdown of expenses or a detailed reporting of firms and individuals the Trust has paid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Trust also refuses to make public other details we’ve requested, like the terms of its retention deal with attorneys \u003ca href=\"https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210224005907/en/PGE-Fire-Victim-Trust-Sues-PGE-Executives-and-Officers-for-Causing-Devastating-Northern-California-Wildfires\">suing former PG&E directors and officers\u003c/a> on the Trust’s behalf. The attorney leading that lawsuit, Frank Pitre, happens to sit on the Fire Victim Trust’s court-appointed Trust Oversight Committee, as do representatives from three other law firms involved. KQED has been asking to review the Trust’s retention agreement with these attorneys since February.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote size='medium' align='right' citation=\"Scott McNutt, former California State Bar Board of Governors member and veteran bankruptcy attorney\"]‘One of the hallmarks of trust administration is transparency. That’s why they’re called trusts.’[/pullquote]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Leading experts told us the amount of secrecy surrounding the Trust was unusual. “One of the hallmarks of the bankruptcy process is transparency,” Scott McNutt, a former California State Bar Board of Governors member and veteran bankruptcy attorney, told KQED in May. “One of the hallmarks of trust administration is transparency. That’s why they’re called trusts.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After we published our May investigation, a bipartisan group of state lawmakers asked California Attorney General Rob Bonta to probe the spending and administration of the PG&E Fire Victim Trust.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is outrageous,” the lawmakers wrote to Bonta, “especially in light of the fact that thousands of fire victims are struggling to rebuild their lives.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bonta’s office said it is unable to comment on, even to confirm or deny, a potential or ongoing investigation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>The Trust Says Our Reporting Is ‘Inaccurate and Uninformed.’ They Are Wrong.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After the lawmakers demanded an investigation, both the Fire Victim Trust and the Trust Oversight Committee, made up primarily of mass tort attorneys, wrote to the attorney general and disputed our reporting. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Fire Victim Trust is led by retired California Appeals Court Justice John Trotter, who KQED revealed billed $1,500 an hour. In a \u003ca href=\"https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210224005907/en/PGE-Fire-Victim-Trust-Sues-PGE-Executives-and-Officers-for-Causing-Devastating-Northern-California-Wildfires\">video\u003c/a> released in response to our story, he said he had reduced his compensation to a “very adequate” salary of $150,000 a month. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label=\"More coveage\" tag=\"fire-victims-trust\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In his \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/20974605-trustee-letter-to-ag-bonta-5-27-21-executed-4\">letter\u003c/a> to the attorney general, Trotter said he was “appalled by the carelessness with which it [the legislators’ letter] was written.” Without naming KQED or NPR’s California Newsroom, Trotter continued: “It appears to be influenced by a recent, inaccurate and uninformed news report with no attempt to understand the Trust’s operation or function.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In its \u003ca href=\"https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/20974607-trustoversightcommitteeletter&sa=D&source=editors&ust=1625084187566000&usg=AOvVaw0WGLrTJ-Rbvb9Ukj9L7Kpg\">letter\u003c/a>, the Trust Oversight Committee said the figures reported by KQED were “out-of-date or .. out of context.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Both statements couldn’t be further from the truth, as the lengthy trail of emails between KQED and the Fire Victim Trust makes clear. We have made extensive efforts to understand the Trust’s operations and function, and have consistently brought our findings to them — through their spokespeople — so that they have the opportunity to comment and explain themselves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite their public attacks on our journalism, we have yet to see any legitimate examples of inaccuracies in our reporting on the Trust’s finances.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As spelled out below, we have done our best to provide this accounting with the limited information in the public record. We welcome any and all additional transparency by the Trust into its spending and administration. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Trustee’s Claim:\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\nNo attempt was made to understand the Trust’s operation or function. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>KQED’S Response:\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\nWe have gone to great lengths to familiarize ourselves with the Trust’s inner workings. We have combed through past bankruptcy court filings, hearing transcripts and correspondence from the Trust to fire victims. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We’ve had dozens of contacts via email and by phone with the Trust’s PR firm asking detailed questions about our findings. We’ve also asked to interview the trustee, John Trotter, and the Trust’s claims administrator numerous times since our last interview with both in November.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We also contacted all seven of the firms we identified as having been paid by the Trust. Just one responded to our inquiry. None answered questions about how much money they had received.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Again, we would welcome greater transparency into how the Trust does its work and spends its money. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Trust Oversight Committee’s Claim:\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\nStating that the Trust spent almost 90% of the funds on overhead during the first year is “untrue and misleading as stated. Ninety percent of the funds in the Trust would be over $10 billion.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>KQED’s Response:\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\nKQED has been clear from the first story published on the Trust’s finances that overhead comprised almost 90% of funds spent \u003cem>in its first year\u003c/em>. We have never suggested that the Trust has spent $10 billion — or anything near that amount — on overhead.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Trust Oversight Committee’s Claim:\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\nThe statement that the Fire Victim Trust accumulated over $51 million in overhead costs but allocated just $7 million to fire survivors is “based on 2020 year end data, which is now five months old, even though the Trust has released more recent data regarding payments to survivors, which demonstrated a much different picture.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>KQED’s Response:\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\nThat 2020 year-end data on overhead costs is the only information the Trust chose to share in its annual report, which was published four months after the end of the reporting period it chose. Since then, the Trust has continued to incur overhead expenses without reporting updated figures to the public. The Trust has regularly released updated information on payments to fire survivors, however, and KQED has used the most up-to-date figures in all of our reports. We see that the Fire Victim Trust has begun posting this information publicly to \u003ca href=\"https://www.firevictimtrust.com/Documents.aspx\">its website\u003c/a> since we published our investigation. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In its \u003ca href=\"https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/20792877/ltr-from-toc-to-legislature-re-fvt.pdf\">recent letter responding to state lawmakers\u003c/a>, the Trust Oversight Committee decided to come forward with the information we sought ahead of our story. Operating expenses through April of this year — pending an audit of April expenses — now top $84.5 million.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11875085\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/Paradise_Rally-800x450.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11875085\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/Paradise_Rally-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/Paradise_Rally-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/Paradise_Rally-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/Paradise_Rally-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/Paradise_Rally.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Survivors of the 2018 Camp Fire gather in Paradise, California, on May 22, 2021 to protest runaway overhead expenses by the PG&E Fire Victim Trust. \u003ccite>(Lily Jamali/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Trust Oversight Committee’s Claim:\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\n“Many people worked between January 1, 2020, and July 1, 2020 to get the Trust off the ground but until July 1 it had no funds, save an advance of $15M made by PG&E in April 2020 to cover expenses incurred from January 1 forward.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>KQED’s Response:\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\nWe are clear in our story — and in fact, were first to report — about this “advance,” which amounts to millions of dollars paid toward startup costs in the first half of last year, which the Trust left out of its \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/20974645-fvt-2020-annual-report\">2020 Annual Report\u003c/a>. Most of PG&E’s advance was ultimately credited back to the company, with fire victims footing the rest of the bill. It remains unclear why these costs were not included in the Fire Victim Trust’s annual report, despite KQED’s efforts to get answers ahead of publication of our first story. By our calculation, the Trust spent at least $12.7 million during the first half of last year. The Trust refuses to engage with us to confirm this calculation. PG&E has confirmed it for us. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Trust Oversight Committee’s Claim:\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\nThe Trust needed to build a robust staff to develop a claims resolution process and root out fraud.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>KQED’s Response:\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\nThis and other explanations for the initially slow pace of payments have been clearly laid out in all of our stories. Despite the Fire Victim Trust’s decision to limit transparency, we have made every effort to be fair and include voices explaining why the process is taking time — even when the Trust would not provide this voice itself. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We note that an important reason for delay stems from the fact that a significant portion of compensation for fire victims came in the form of stock in PG&E itself. This rare outcome was actively supported by most members of the Trust Oversight Committee last year, as we \u003ca href=\"https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.kqed.org/news/11805766/pge-victims-weigh-rare-stock-funded-trust-amid-market-turmoil&sa=D&source=editors&ust=1625084358063000&usg=AOvVaw3wVoUySa0l_Tah06dyPGii\">reported then\u003c/a>. More importantly, fire victims themselves voiced these concerns as we reported \u003ca href=\"https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.kqed.org/news/11801571/fire-victims-ask-judge-to-reconsider-13-5-billion-pge-settlement&sa=D&source=editors&ust=1625084394101000&usg=AOvVaw0zrmC-iNt7w3FeZBIhOQEQ\">here\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.kqed.org/news/11808826/fire-survivor-resigns-in-protest-from-pge-bankruptcy-committee&sa=D&source=editors&ust=1625084415239000&usg=AOvVaw22qb8ieHkyWA6ze_uvRx0G\">here\u003c/a>. Today, the tiny fraction of fire victims who have had their claims processed and paid are getting just 30% of their claim for now. In the words of the trustee \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XDLml9GEyg\">himself\u003c/a>: “We don’t know how much money we have because a substantial portion of the assets that are going to be used to pay you are in the form of common stock of Pacific Gas and Electric.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Every dollar spent on overhead is a dollar not distributed to fire victims who need it. No one expects the Trust to execute the complicated task of fairly distributing billions of dollars without incurring costs. But the Fire Victim Trust has not been transparent about those costs. Fire survivors want and deserve timely, honest and clear explanations of where their settlement money is going, if not to them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "One year after Pacific Gas and Electric Company emerged from bankruptcy, public records show that the special Fire Victim Trust created to distribute settlement money has been slow to pay out victims — and quick to wrack up big bills for lawyers and consultants. And there are still unknowns around the trust's spending.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>It’s been a year since Pacific Gas and Electric Company left Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. That exit deal included a promised $13.5 billion settlement to pay victims of wildfires that were caused by the company’s equipment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The deal represented the culmination of a promise to fire survivors, PG&E interim CEO Bill Smith \u003ca href=\"https://www.pge.com/en/about/newsroom/newsdetails/index.page?title=20200701_pge_emerges_from_chapter_11\">declared\u003c/a> on July 1, 2020. “Today’s announcement is significant for PG&E and for the many wildfire victims who are now one step closer to getting paid,” he said. “Compensating these victims fairly and quickly has been our primary goal throughout these proceedings, and I am glad to say that today we funded the Fire Victim Trust for their benefit.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But a year later, public records show that a special Fire Victim Trust created to distribute the settlement has been slow to pay out victims — and quick to wrack up big bills for lawyers and consultants. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In May, KQED and NPR’s California Newsroom \u003ca href=\"https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.kqed.org/news/11872328/survivors-stuck-in-limbo-as-pge-fire-victim-trust-pays-out-50-million-in-fees&sa=D&source=editors&ust=1625084036887000&usg=AOvVaw0hyR-8qqeBfPKqldP6UYeX\">published an investigation\u003c/a> into spending by the Fire Victim Trust charged with compensating survivors. We found that in its first year, the trust had racked up $51 million in overhead, and distributed only $7 million to fire victims. Ninety percent of outgoing funds paid lawyers and consultants in 2020 while the vast majority of fire victims waited for help. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The pace of payments has picked up this year, but as of \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/20982273-fvt-claims-data-report-63021-1\">June 30\u003c/a>, fewer than 3% of fire victims — 1,867 out of approximately 70,000 total — have had their claims fully processed. For now, they are getting 30% of what they were due while the Fire Victim Trust collects its fees in full. Approximately $436 million in compensation has been delivered.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But there is still much we don’t know.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To date, the Trust has refused to share its budget, a quarterly breakdown of expenses or a detailed reporting of firms and individuals the Trust has paid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Trust also refuses to make public other details we’ve requested, like the terms of its retention deal with attorneys \u003ca href=\"https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210224005907/en/PGE-Fire-Victim-Trust-Sues-PGE-Executives-and-Officers-for-Causing-Devastating-Northern-California-Wildfires\">suing former PG&E directors and officers\u003c/a> on the Trust’s behalf. The attorney leading that lawsuit, Frank Pitre, happens to sit on the Fire Victim Trust’s court-appointed Trust Oversight Committee, as do representatives from three other law firms involved. KQED has been asking to review the Trust’s retention agreement with these attorneys since February.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Leading experts told us the amount of secrecy surrounding the Trust was unusual. “One of the hallmarks of the bankruptcy process is transparency,” Scott McNutt, a former California State Bar Board of Governors member and veteran bankruptcy attorney, told KQED in May. “One of the hallmarks of trust administration is transparency. That’s why they’re called trusts.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After we published our May investigation, a bipartisan group of state lawmakers asked California Attorney General Rob Bonta to probe the spending and administration of the PG&E Fire Victim Trust.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is outrageous,” the lawmakers wrote to Bonta, “especially in light of the fact that thousands of fire victims are struggling to rebuild their lives.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bonta’s office said it is unable to comment on, even to confirm or deny, a potential or ongoing investigation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>The Trust Says Our Reporting Is ‘Inaccurate and Uninformed.’ They Are Wrong.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After the lawmakers demanded an investigation, both the Fire Victim Trust and the Trust Oversight Committee, made up primarily of mass tort attorneys, wrote to the attorney general and disputed our reporting. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Fire Victim Trust is led by retired California Appeals Court Justice John Trotter, who KQED revealed billed $1,500 an hour. In a \u003ca href=\"https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210224005907/en/PGE-Fire-Victim-Trust-Sues-PGE-Executives-and-Officers-for-Causing-Devastating-Northern-California-Wildfires\">video\u003c/a> released in response to our story, he said he had reduced his compensation to a “very adequate” salary of $150,000 a month. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In his \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/20974605-trustee-letter-to-ag-bonta-5-27-21-executed-4\">letter\u003c/a> to the attorney general, Trotter said he was “appalled by the carelessness with which it [the legislators’ letter] was written.” Without naming KQED or NPR’s California Newsroom, Trotter continued: “It appears to be influenced by a recent, inaccurate and uninformed news report with no attempt to understand the Trust’s operation or function.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In its \u003ca href=\"https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/20974607-trustoversightcommitteeletter&sa=D&source=editors&ust=1625084187566000&usg=AOvVaw0WGLrTJ-Rbvb9Ukj9L7Kpg\">letter\u003c/a>, the Trust Oversight Committee said the figures reported by KQED were “out-of-date or .. out of context.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Both statements couldn’t be further from the truth, as the lengthy trail of emails between KQED and the Fire Victim Trust makes clear. We have made extensive efforts to understand the Trust’s operations and function, and have consistently brought our findings to them — through their spokespeople — so that they have the opportunity to comment and explain themselves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite their public attacks on our journalism, we have yet to see any legitimate examples of inaccuracies in our reporting on the Trust’s finances.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As spelled out below, we have done our best to provide this accounting with the limited information in the public record. We welcome any and all additional transparency by the Trust into its spending and administration. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Trustee’s Claim:\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\nNo attempt was made to understand the Trust’s operation or function. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>KQED’S Response:\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\nWe have gone to great lengths to familiarize ourselves with the Trust’s inner workings. We have combed through past bankruptcy court filings, hearing transcripts and correspondence from the Trust to fire victims. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We’ve had dozens of contacts via email and by phone with the Trust’s PR firm asking detailed questions about our findings. We’ve also asked to interview the trustee, John Trotter, and the Trust’s claims administrator numerous times since our last interview with both in November.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We also contacted all seven of the firms we identified as having been paid by the Trust. Just one responded to our inquiry. None answered questions about how much money they had received.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Again, we would welcome greater transparency into how the Trust does its work and spends its money. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Trust Oversight Committee’s Claim:\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\nStating that the Trust spent almost 90% of the funds on overhead during the first year is “untrue and misleading as stated. Ninety percent of the funds in the Trust would be over $10 billion.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>KQED’s Response:\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\nKQED has been clear from the first story published on the Trust’s finances that overhead comprised almost 90% of funds spent \u003cem>in its first year\u003c/em>. We have never suggested that the Trust has spent $10 billion — or anything near that amount — on overhead.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Trust Oversight Committee’s Claim:\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\nThe statement that the Fire Victim Trust accumulated over $51 million in overhead costs but allocated just $7 million to fire survivors is “based on 2020 year end data, which is now five months old, even though the Trust has released more recent data regarding payments to survivors, which demonstrated a much different picture.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>KQED’s Response:\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\nThat 2020 year-end data on overhead costs is the only information the Trust chose to share in its annual report, which was published four months after the end of the reporting period it chose. Since then, the Trust has continued to incur overhead expenses without reporting updated figures to the public. The Trust has regularly released updated information on payments to fire survivors, however, and KQED has used the most up-to-date figures in all of our reports. We see that the Fire Victim Trust has begun posting this information publicly to \u003ca href=\"https://www.firevictimtrust.com/Documents.aspx\">its website\u003c/a> since we published our investigation. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In its \u003ca href=\"https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/20792877/ltr-from-toc-to-legislature-re-fvt.pdf\">recent letter responding to state lawmakers\u003c/a>, the Trust Oversight Committee decided to come forward with the information we sought ahead of our story. Operating expenses through April of this year — pending an audit of April expenses — now top $84.5 million.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11875085\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/Paradise_Rally-800x450.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11875085\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/Paradise_Rally-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/Paradise_Rally-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/Paradise_Rally-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/Paradise_Rally-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/Paradise_Rally.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Survivors of the 2018 Camp Fire gather in Paradise, California, on May 22, 2021 to protest runaway overhead expenses by the PG&E Fire Victim Trust. \u003ccite>(Lily Jamali/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Trust Oversight Committee’s Claim:\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\n“Many people worked between January 1, 2020, and July 1, 2020 to get the Trust off the ground but until July 1 it had no funds, save an advance of $15M made by PG&E in April 2020 to cover expenses incurred from January 1 forward.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>KQED’s Response:\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\nWe are clear in our story — and in fact, were first to report — about this “advance,” which amounts to millions of dollars paid toward startup costs in the first half of last year, which the Trust left out of its \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/20974645-fvt-2020-annual-report\">2020 Annual Report\u003c/a>. Most of PG&E’s advance was ultimately credited back to the company, with fire victims footing the rest of the bill. It remains unclear why these costs were not included in the Fire Victim Trust’s annual report, despite KQED’s efforts to get answers ahead of publication of our first story. By our calculation, the Trust spent at least $12.7 million during the first half of last year. The Trust refuses to engage with us to confirm this calculation. PG&E has confirmed it for us. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Trust Oversight Committee’s Claim:\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\nThe Trust needed to build a robust staff to develop a claims resolution process and root out fraud.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>KQED’s Response:\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\nThis and other explanations for the initially slow pace of payments have been clearly laid out in all of our stories. Despite the Fire Victim Trust’s decision to limit transparency, we have made every effort to be fair and include voices explaining why the process is taking time — even when the Trust would not provide this voice itself. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We note that an important reason for delay stems from the fact that a significant portion of compensation for fire victims came in the form of stock in PG&E itself. This rare outcome was actively supported by most members of the Trust Oversight Committee last year, as we \u003ca href=\"https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.kqed.org/news/11805766/pge-victims-weigh-rare-stock-funded-trust-amid-market-turmoil&sa=D&source=editors&ust=1625084358063000&usg=AOvVaw3wVoUySa0l_Tah06dyPGii\">reported then\u003c/a>. More importantly, fire victims themselves voiced these concerns as we reported \u003ca href=\"https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.kqed.org/news/11801571/fire-victims-ask-judge-to-reconsider-13-5-billion-pge-settlement&sa=D&source=editors&ust=1625084394101000&usg=AOvVaw0zrmC-iNt7w3FeZBIhOQEQ\">here\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.kqed.org/news/11808826/fire-survivor-resigns-in-protest-from-pge-bankruptcy-committee&sa=D&source=editors&ust=1625084415239000&usg=AOvVaw22qb8ieHkyWA6ze_uvRx0G\">here\u003c/a>. Today, the tiny fraction of fire victims who have had their claims processed and paid are getting just 30% of their claim for now. In the words of the trustee \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XDLml9GEyg\">himself\u003c/a>: “We don’t know how much money we have because a substantial portion of the assets that are going to be used to pay you are in the form of common stock of Pacific Gas and Electric.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Every dollar spent on overhead is a dollar not distributed to fire victims who need it. No one expects the Trust to execute the complicated task of fairly distributing billions of dollars without incurring costs. But the Fire Victim Trust has not been transparent about those costs. Fire survivors want and deserve timely, honest and clear explanations of where their settlement money is going, if not to them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"disqusTitle": "'Unacceptable, Egregious:' Lawmakers Seek Probe of PG&E Fire Victim Trust",
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"content": "\u003cp>A bipartisan group of state lawmakers has asked for California Attorney General Rob Bonta to probe the spending and administration of the PG&E Fire Victim Trust.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The request comes after a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11872328/survivors-stuck-in-limbo-as-pge-fire-victim-trust-pays-out-50-million-in-fees\">KQED investigation\u003c/a> into overhead costs of the Trust, which was established as part of a December 2019 bankruptcy settlement between the utility and nearly 70,000 victims of fires caused by PG&E equipment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The investigation found the Trust spent nearly 90% of outgoing funds on overhead last year, while the vast majority of fire victims waited for help.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We urge you to use the full authority of your office to review the fund’s recent expenditures and the fund’s administrators,\" said the \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/20791380-special-victims-trust-ag-letter-legislature-5212021\">letter\u003c/a>, which was signed by 11 state senators and assemblymembers who represent areas impacted by PG&E fires between 2015 and 2018.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/pge-trust.jpeg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-11873739 aligncenter\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/pge-trust.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1149\" height=\"1460\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/pge-trust.jpeg 1149w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/pge-trust-800x1017.jpeg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/pge-trust-1020x1296.jpeg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/pge-trust-160x203.jpeg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1149px) 100vw, 1149px\">\u003c/a>\"We hear every week from residents who've been waiting two years for settlement payments that they are due. Their lives are on hold until they receive these dollars,\" said state Sen. Mike McGuire, D-Healdsburg, whose district includes parts of Sonoma County.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"It's unacceptable. It's egregious and it has to change, and it's why we're calling on the trustee to expedite payments to fire survivors in Northern California,\" he added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State Assemblymember James Gallagher, a Republican who represents the fire-ravaged town of Paradise, first announced last week on \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101883492/as-wildfire-survivors-await-settlement-fire-victim-trust-spends-51-million\">KQED Forum\u003c/a> that he and colleagues were preparing a letter calling for more transparency. KQED's investigation \"raises a lot of questions and concerns that need answers,\" Gallagher said. Others who signed on include state Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, D-Winters, and state Sen. Jim Nielsen, R-Tehama, all of whom have constituents harmed by fires caused by PG&E’s equipment and are waiting for compensation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote size='medium' align='left' citation=\"State Sen. Mike McGuire\"]'It's unacceptable. It's egregious and it has to change, and it's why we're calling on the trustee to expedite payments to fire survivors in Northern California.'[/pullquote]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>KQED found the Fire Victim Trust racked up $51 million in overhead last year, while $7 million was distributed to fire victims during that period. The investigation was based on an analysis of federal bankruptcy court filings, court transcripts and correspondence between the Fire Victim Trust and fire victims. The largest share of overhead expenses, $16.3 million, went to claims processor fees and expenses, and $12.7 million went to start-up costs. Another $6.8 million went to a line item described as \"insurance, data, and other expenses\" — nearly as much as went to the fire victims themselves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"This is outrageous,\" the lawmakers wrote to Bonta, \"especially in light of the fact that thousands of fire victims are struggling to rebuild their lives.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In response to an inquiry from KQED, Bonta’s office said the attorney general would not comment — even to confirm or deny — a potential investigation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Members of Congress have also expressed outrage at the pace of payments to fire victims. In separate emails, Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, and Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Richvale, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11873721/cascade-of-outrage-follows-investigation-into-pge-fire-victim-trust-expenses\">both called\u003c/a> for faster payouts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label=\"More Coverage:\" tag=\"fire-victims-trust\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The pace of payments has picked up in recent weeks. According to the most recent data available, the Trust had distributed $255.4 million as of May 19. Still, just 565 of nearly 70,000 people have had their claims processed and paid, the data shows. While the Trust collects its fees in full, those families are getting 30% of what they are owed. That’s partly a result of the terms of PG&E’s settlement agreement with fire victims. The company is funding the Trust half with cash and half with PG&E stock. Today, the Fire Victim Trust holds almost a quarter of PG&E shares.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One court filing showed the Fire Victim Trust’s trustee, retired California Appeals Court Justice John Trotter, charged the Fire Victim Trust $1,500 an hour. In a \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GX-ViYnWvfo\">video\u003c/a> released last week, he said he is now on a salary of $150,000 a month. All overhead costs come from funds set aside for fire victims.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Trust did not offer comment for this story, and has declined all of KQED’s interview requests over the last month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In his video message, Trotter acknowledged the frustration of fire victims even as he predicted more delays.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We're still walking uphill on this,\" Trotter said. \"We're not near the top yet. We're making progress. We're getting there. When we get to the top and down the other side, it will go much more quickly.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fire victims say that’s not enough.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote size='medium' align='left' citation=\"John Trotter, Fire Victim Trust trustee\"]'We're making progress. We're getting there. When we get to the top and down the other side, it will go much more quickly.'[/pullquote]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Earlier this month, retired police chief Kirk Trostle wrote to U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Dennis Montali asking for more transparency from the Trust.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Families are still living in cars, travel trailers and FEMA trailers,\" wrote Trostle, who lost his home in Paradise in 2018, in a letter that cited KQED's reporting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last weekend, about 100 Camp Fire survivors staged a rally in Paradise to register their frustration, saying survivors have the right to know exactly where all of the Trust’s administrative dollars are going.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I thought that I was healing,\" said Teri Lindsay, whose daughter, Erika, wiped back tears as she watched. \"Until that report came out — it changed my life and took me back to the day. I did not realize how well they’re being paid and we’re living in squalor still.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe src=\"https://embed.documentcloud.org/documents/20792824-special-victims-trust-ag-letter-legislature-5212021/?embed=1&responsive=1&title=1\" width=\"800\" height=\"1000\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>A bipartisan group of state lawmakers has asked for California Attorney General Rob Bonta to probe the spending and administration of the PG&E Fire Victim Trust.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The request comes after a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11872328/survivors-stuck-in-limbo-as-pge-fire-victim-trust-pays-out-50-million-in-fees\">KQED investigation\u003c/a> into overhead costs of the Trust, which was established as part of a December 2019 bankruptcy settlement between the utility and nearly 70,000 victims of fires caused by PG&E equipment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The investigation found the Trust spent nearly 90% of outgoing funds on overhead last year, while the vast majority of fire victims waited for help.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We urge you to use the full authority of your office to review the fund’s recent expenditures and the fund’s administrators,\" said the \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/20791380-special-victims-trust-ag-letter-legislature-5212021\">letter\u003c/a>, which was signed by 11 state senators and assemblymembers who represent areas impacted by PG&E fires between 2015 and 2018.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/pge-trust.jpeg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-11873739 aligncenter\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/pge-trust.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1149\" height=\"1460\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/pge-trust.jpeg 1149w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/pge-trust-800x1017.jpeg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/pge-trust-1020x1296.jpeg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/05/pge-trust-160x203.jpeg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1149px) 100vw, 1149px\">\u003c/a>\"We hear every week from residents who've been waiting two years for settlement payments that they are due. Their lives are on hold until they receive these dollars,\" said state Sen. Mike McGuire, D-Healdsburg, whose district includes parts of Sonoma County.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"It's unacceptable. It's egregious and it has to change, and it's why we're calling on the trustee to expedite payments to fire survivors in Northern California,\" he added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State Assemblymember James Gallagher, a Republican who represents the fire-ravaged town of Paradise, first announced last week on \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101883492/as-wildfire-survivors-await-settlement-fire-victim-trust-spends-51-million\">KQED Forum\u003c/a> that he and colleagues were preparing a letter calling for more transparency. KQED's investigation \"raises a lot of questions and concerns that need answers,\" Gallagher said. Others who signed on include state Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, D-Winters, and state Sen. Jim Nielsen, R-Tehama, all of whom have constituents harmed by fires caused by PG&E’s equipment and are waiting for compensation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>KQED found the Fire Victim Trust racked up $51 million in overhead last year, while $7 million was distributed to fire victims during that period. The investigation was based on an analysis of federal bankruptcy court filings, court transcripts and correspondence between the Fire Victim Trust and fire victims. The largest share of overhead expenses, $16.3 million, went to claims processor fees and expenses, and $12.7 million went to start-up costs. Another $6.8 million went to a line item described as \"insurance, data, and other expenses\" — nearly as much as went to the fire victims themselves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"This is outrageous,\" the lawmakers wrote to Bonta, \"especially in light of the fact that thousands of fire victims are struggling to rebuild their lives.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In response to an inquiry from KQED, Bonta’s office said the attorney general would not comment — even to confirm or deny — a potential investigation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Members of Congress have also expressed outrage at the pace of payments to fire victims. In separate emails, Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, and Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Richvale, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11873721/cascade-of-outrage-follows-investigation-into-pge-fire-victim-trust-expenses\">both called\u003c/a> for faster payouts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The pace of payments has picked up in recent weeks. According to the most recent data available, the Trust had distributed $255.4 million as of May 19. Still, just 565 of nearly 70,000 people have had their claims processed and paid, the data shows. While the Trust collects its fees in full, those families are getting 30% of what they are owed. That’s partly a result of the terms of PG&E’s settlement agreement with fire victims. The company is funding the Trust half with cash and half with PG&E stock. Today, the Fire Victim Trust holds almost a quarter of PG&E shares.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One court filing showed the Fire Victim Trust’s trustee, retired California Appeals Court Justice John Trotter, charged the Fire Victim Trust $1,500 an hour. In a \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GX-ViYnWvfo\">video\u003c/a> released last week, he said he is now on a salary of $150,000 a month. All overhead costs come from funds set aside for fire victims.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Trust did not offer comment for this story, and has declined all of KQED’s interview requests over the last month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In his video message, Trotter acknowledged the frustration of fire victims even as he predicted more delays.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We're still walking uphill on this,\" Trotter said. \"We're not near the top yet. We're making progress. We're getting there. When we get to the top and down the other side, it will go much more quickly.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fire victims say that’s not enough.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
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"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
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"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
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"info": "For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?",
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"politicalbreakdown": {
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"title": "Political Breakdown",
"tagline": "Politics from a personal perspective",
"info": "Political Breakdown is a new series that explores the political intersection of California and the nation. Each week hosts Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos are joined with a new special guest to unpack politics -- with personality — and offer an insider’s glimpse at how politics happens.",
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"possible": {
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"title": "Possible",
"info": "Possible is hosted by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman and writer Aria Finger. Together in Possible, Hoffman and Finger lead enlightening discussions about building a brighter collective future. The show features interviews with visionary guests like Trevor Noah, Sam Altman and Janette Sadik-Khan. Possible paints an optimistic portrait of the world we can create through science, policy, business, art and our shared humanity. It asks: What if everything goes right for once? How can we get there? Each episode also includes a short fiction story generated by advanced AI GPT-4, serving as a thought-provoking springboard to speculate how humanity could leverage technology for good.",
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"pri-the-world": {
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"title": "PRI's The World: Latest Edition",
"info": "Each weekday, host Marco Werman and his team of producers bring you the world's most interesting stories in an hour of radio that reminds us just how small our planet really is.",
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"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-World-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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},
"radiolab": {
"id": "radiolab",
"title": "Radiolab",
"info": "A two-time Peabody Award-winner, Radiolab is an investigation told through sounds and stories, and centered around one big idea. In the Radiolab world, information sounds like music and science and culture collide. Hosted by Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich, the show is designed for listeners who demand skepticism, but appreciate wonder. WNYC Studios is the producer of other leading podcasts including Freakonomics Radio, Death, Sex & Money, On the Media and many more.",
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"reveal": {
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"title": "Reveal",
"info": "Created by The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX, Reveal is public radios first one-hour weekly radio show and podcast dedicated to investigative reporting. Credible, fact based and without a partisan agenda, Reveal combines the power and artistry of driveway moment storytelling with data-rich reporting on critically important issues. The result is stories that inform and inspire, arming our listeners with information to right injustices, hold the powerful accountable and improve lives.Reveal is hosted by Al Letson and showcases the award-winning work of CIR and newsrooms large and small across the nation. In a radio and podcast market crowded with choices, Reveal focuses on important and often surprising stories that illuminate the world for our listeners.",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.revealnews.org/episodes/",
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},
"rightnowish": {
"id": "rightnowish",
"title": "Rightnowish",
"tagline": "Art is where you find it",
"info": "Rightnowish digs into life in the Bay Area right now… ish. Journalist Pendarvis Harshaw takes us to galleries painted on the sides of liquor stores in West Oakland. We'll dance in warehouses in the Bayview, make smoothies with kids in South Berkeley, and listen to classical music in a 1984 Cutlass Supreme in Richmond. Every week, Pen talks to movers and shakers about how the Bay Area shapes what they create, and how they shape the place we call home.",
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"order": 16
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},
"science-friday": {
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