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"disqusTitle": "If You Build It, They Will Go: Sparkling New Street Toilet Arrives in the Mission",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>Editor's note: This post includes \u003ca href=\"#clarification\">a clarification\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So here's a San Francisco we hear about all the time: one of the richest, most inventive cities in the world. One that boasts it's the most cultured, the most graceful, the fairest of them all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And here's a San Francisco we walk through every day: a place where many streets and alleys reek because, despite all its smarts and the vast sums it has spent on \"the homeless problem,\" the city has been unable to figure out how to provide the public -- tourists, passers-by and the resident street population alike -- with a safe, decent place to go to the toilet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You know the result: The aforementioned reek and lots of places where you need to be careful not to step in random piles of you-know-what.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But maybe -- maybe -- something's changing on the street.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Leaving the 16th and Mission BART Station around noon Tuesday, I encountered a small crew setting up portable toilets that had just been towed to a parking spot on a trailer. What's the deal?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They're part of a city Department of Public Works program, run under contract with the \u003ca href=\"http://www.sfcleancity.com/\" target=\"_blank\">San Francisco Clean City Coalition\u003c/a>, to operate and maintain street toilets in neighborhoods where there's a demonstrated need. And 16th Street near Mission is the epicenter of one such area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I availed myself of the facility -- out of two parts need and one part curiosity -- and found that it compared favorably with the usual condition of my bathroom at home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of the people monitoring the mobile toilet, which consists of two separate units and is called the Mission Pit Stop, was Gia Grant, executive director of the the Clean City Coalition. That's a workforce development program aimed largely at ex-offenders and formerly homeless San Franciscans that does \"cleaning, greening and beautification\" projects like graffiti abatement and steam-cleaning sidewalks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Grant said the 16th Street facility, which will be in place from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. every weekday, is the newest of \u003ca href=\"http://sfdpw.org/index.aspx?page=1805\" target=\"_blank\">half a dozen pit stops\u003c/a> the city has set up so far. Three others are operating in the Tenderloin, one is on Sixth Street between Market and Mission, another is on Castro Street. On average, Grant said, between 80 and 100 people a day use each of the Tenderloin toilets. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe src=\"https://www.google.com/maps/d/embed?mid=zb22XfhGZcFQ.k7ucI179zelw\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The cost for the 16th Street Pit Stop is $50,000 through the end of 2015, Grant said, a sum split by the San Francisco Department of Public Works and BART.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The program, which is slated to expand to two locations in the Haight later this year, involves much more than simply towing the two-stall mobile toilets to a parking spot and leaving it there. Each of the pit stops is staffed by an attendant who monitors use, enforces a five-minute time limit and makes sure the facility stays clean. Each of the mobile facilities gets a thorough cleaning at the end of each day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"It's staff-intensive, resource-intensive to do this, but you've got to start somewhere,\" Grant said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The program is also operating the elaborate JCDecaux toilet at the southwest corner of 16th and Mission (open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.). Grant said use of that \"self-cleaning\" facility, notorious in the neighborhood as an occasional hookup spot and shooting gallery since it was installed 20 years ago, has increased from 20 visits a day to more than 80 visits a day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We've got to change the culture,\" Grant said about the Decaux toilet and others like it downtown. \"They're just not being used properly. Why have them there if they're not going to be available for people who need to use the bathroom?\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Grant acknowledges that the pit stops \"are just one piece in the puzzle\" of providing a basic necessity to San Franciscans -- \"a space where people can use the restroom in a safe and dignified way. For me, it's like a human right.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not everyone shares that opinion, though. As it happened, the new pit stop is set up in front of a restaurant. And while I was standing there talking to Grant, two staffers and a patron, who said she was speaking on behalf of the staff, approached her and said the smell from the mobile restrooms would drive customers away.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Grant listened and tried to reassure them that the facility would be kept spotlessly clean and that odor hasn't been a problem with the Clean City restrooms elsewhere. The restaurant staff seemed unconvinced -- even though the alternative is having people using the street itself as a toilet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca id=\"clarification\">\u003c/a>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>This post has been edited to clarify that the San Francisco Pit Stop program is a project of the San Francisco Department of Public Works and to add details about existing and future locations. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Leaving the 16th and Mission BART Station around noon Tuesday, I encountered a small crew setting up portable toilets that had just been towed to a parking spot on a trailer. What's the deal?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They're part of a city Department of Public Works program, run under contract with the \u003ca href=\"http://www.sfcleancity.com/\" target=\"_blank\">San Francisco Clean City Coalition\u003c/a>, to operate and maintain street toilets in neighborhoods where there's a demonstrated need. And 16th Street near Mission is the epicenter of one such area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I availed myself of the facility -- out of two parts need and one part curiosity -- and found that it compared favorably with the usual condition of my bathroom at home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of the people monitoring the mobile toilet, which consists of two separate units and is called the Mission Pit Stop, was Gia Grant, executive director of the the Clean City Coalition. That's a workforce development program aimed largely at ex-offenders and formerly homeless San Franciscans that does \"cleaning, greening and beautification\" projects like graffiti abatement and steam-cleaning sidewalks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Grant said the 16th Street facility, which will be in place from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. every weekday, is the newest of \u003ca href=\"http://sfdpw.org/index.aspx?page=1805\" target=\"_blank\">half a dozen pit stops\u003c/a> the city has set up so far. Three others are operating in the Tenderloin, one is on Sixth Street between Market and Mission, another is on Castro Street. On average, Grant said, between 80 and 100 people a day use each of the Tenderloin toilets. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe src=\"https://www.google.com/maps/d/embed?mid=zb22XfhGZcFQ.k7ucI179zelw\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The cost for the 16th Street Pit Stop is $50,000 through the end of 2015, Grant said, a sum split by the San Francisco Department of Public Works and BART.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The program, which is slated to expand to two locations in the Haight later this year, involves much more than simply towing the two-stall mobile toilets to a parking spot and leaving it there. Each of the pit stops is staffed by an attendant who monitors use, enforces a five-minute time limit and makes sure the facility stays clean. Each of the mobile facilities gets a thorough cleaning at the end of each day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"It's staff-intensive, resource-intensive to do this, but you've got to start somewhere,\" Grant said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The program is also operating the elaborate JCDecaux toilet at the southwest corner of 16th and Mission (open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.). Grant said use of that \"self-cleaning\" facility, notorious in the neighborhood as an occasional hookup spot and shooting gallery since it was installed 20 years ago, has increased from 20 visits a day to more than 80 visits a day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We've got to change the culture,\" Grant said about the Decaux toilet and others like it downtown. \"They're just not being used properly. Why have them there if they're not going to be available for people who need to use the bathroom?\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Grant acknowledges that the pit stops \"are just one piece in the puzzle\" of providing a basic necessity to San Franciscans -- \"a space where people can use the restroom in a safe and dignified way. For me, it's like a human right.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not everyone shares that opinion, though. As it happened, the new pit stop is set up in front of a restaurant. And while I was standing there talking to Grant, two staffers and a patron, who said she was speaking on behalf of the staff, approached her and said the smell from the mobile restrooms would drive customers away.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Grant listened and tried to reassure them that the facility would be kept spotlessly clean and that odor hasn't been a problem with the Clean City restrooms elsewhere. The restaurant staff seemed unconvinced -- even though the alternative is having people using the street itself as a toilet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca id=\"clarification\">\u003c/a>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>This post has been edited to clarify that the San Francisco Pit Stop program is a project of the San Francisco Department of Public Works and to add details about existing and future locations. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "berkeley-mayor-senator-issue-a-tough-water-saving-challenge",
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"content": "\u003cp>Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates has announced a citywide water conservation challenge with the chance for Berkeley residents to win “fame, appreciation, and a free lunch,” the latter with him and his wife, state Sen. Loni Hancock.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bates and Hancock issued what they’re calling the Bates-Hancock Water Conservation Challenge on Monday. The contest pits Berkeleyan against Berkeleyan in a race to see who can reduce their water usage the most in a two-month billing cycle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the challenge might be a little harder than it looks. To win, you have to beat the water conservation numbers posted by Berkeley’s First Household. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bates and Hancock disclosed their own \u003ca href=\"#bateswaterbill\">personal water bill\u003c/a>, which shows that in the latest billing period they have reduced their water usage by 68.1 percent over the base year we’re all being measured against, 2013. The couple’s statement from East Bay MUD shows them using 37 gallons a day for the billing period from April 10 to June 9. They used 116 gallons a day for the comparable period in 2013. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Speaking to Berkeleyside Monday, Bates said the conservation competition “could be a good thing” to raise people’s awareness about how their own actions can significantly affect California’s devastating drought.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The idea was to keep the issue of water conservation on people’s minds,” he said. “Hopefully people can break our record!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The drought represents a growing emergency,” Hancock said in a statement published in Mayor Bates’ regular Update newsletter. “Each individual can play an important role in addressing it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The challenge deadline is July 10, with winners recognized at Council’s July 14 meeting, and is open to Berkeley residents and elected officials residing in the East Bay MUD service area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>How to enter:\u003c/strong> If your water bill shows you have reduced your daily water use by more than 68.1 percent during the last completed billing cycle, email mayor@cityofberkeley.info and show them a copy of your bill. (To calculate your reduction percentage, subtract the most recent gallons per day amount from the 2013 gallons per day amount, then divide the remainder by the 2013 gallons per day amount and multiply by 100.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You’ll be recognized at an upcoming Berkeley City Council meeting by Mayor Bates, have a permanent recognition in the City Council records, and, if you are the largest water reducer out of all the entries, you’ll win a free lunch with Bates and Hancock.\u003cbr>\n\u003ca id=\"bateswaterbill\">\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10582841\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 710px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Bates-bill.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Bates-bill.jpg\" alt=\"The most recent water bill for Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates and his wife, state Sen. Loni Hancock. \" width=\"710\" height=\"696\" class=\"size-full wp-image-10582841\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Bates-bill.jpg 710w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Bates-bill-400x392.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Bates-bill-32x32.jpg 32w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Bates-bill-64x64.jpg 64w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Bates-bill-75x75.jpg 75w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 710px) 100vw, 710px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The most recent water bill for Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates and his wife, state Sen. Loni Hancock. \u003ccite>(Berkeleyside)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Support independent local journalism by \u003c/b>\u003ca href=\"http://www.berkeleyside.com/support-berkeleyside/\">\u003cb>becoming a Berkeleyside member\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003cb>. Members enjoy lots of perks, like invitations to member-only events, and an annual party.\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "Mayor Tom Bates and wife, state Sen. Loni Hancock, cut use by 68.1 percent. So Berkeleyans, beat that.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates has announced a citywide water conservation challenge with the chance for Berkeley residents to win “fame, appreciation, and a free lunch,” the latter with him and his wife, state Sen. Loni Hancock.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bates and Hancock issued what they’re calling the Bates-Hancock Water Conservation Challenge on Monday. The contest pits Berkeleyan against Berkeleyan in a race to see who can reduce their water usage the most in a two-month billing cycle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the challenge might be a little harder than it looks. To win, you have to beat the water conservation numbers posted by Berkeley’s First Household. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bates and Hancock disclosed their own \u003ca href=\"#bateswaterbill\">personal water bill\u003c/a>, which shows that in the latest billing period they have reduced their water usage by 68.1 percent over the base year we’re all being measured against, 2013. The couple’s statement from East Bay MUD shows them using 37 gallons a day for the billing period from April 10 to June 9. They used 116 gallons a day for the comparable period in 2013. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Speaking to Berkeleyside Monday, Bates said the conservation competition “could be a good thing” to raise people’s awareness about how their own actions can significantly affect California’s devastating drought.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The idea was to keep the issue of water conservation on people’s minds,” he said. “Hopefully people can break our record!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The drought represents a growing emergency,” Hancock said in a statement published in Mayor Bates’ regular Update newsletter. “Each individual can play an important role in addressing it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The challenge deadline is July 10, with winners recognized at Council’s July 14 meeting, and is open to Berkeley residents and elected officials residing in the East Bay MUD service area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>How to enter:\u003c/strong> If your water bill shows you have reduced your daily water use by more than 68.1 percent during the last completed billing cycle, email mayor@cityofberkeley.info and show them a copy of your bill. (To calculate your reduction percentage, subtract the most recent gallons per day amount from the 2013 gallons per day amount, then divide the remainder by the 2013 gallons per day amount and multiply by 100.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You’ll be recognized at an upcoming Berkeley City Council meeting by Mayor Bates, have a permanent recognition in the City Council records, and, if you are the largest water reducer out of all the entries, you’ll win a free lunch with Bates and Hancock.\u003cbr>\n\u003ca id=\"bateswaterbill\">\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10582841\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 710px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Bates-bill.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Bates-bill.jpg\" alt=\"The most recent water bill for Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates and his wife, state Sen. Loni Hancock. \" width=\"710\" height=\"696\" class=\"size-full wp-image-10582841\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Bates-bill.jpg 710w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Bates-bill-400x392.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Bates-bill-32x32.jpg 32w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Bates-bill-64x64.jpg 64w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Bates-bill-75x75.jpg 75w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 710px) 100vw, 710px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The most recent water bill for Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates and his wife, state Sen. Loni Hancock. \u003ccite>(Berkeleyside)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Support independent local journalism by \u003c/b>\u003ca href=\"http://www.berkeleyside.com/support-berkeleyside/\">\u003cb>becoming a Berkeleyside member\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003cb>. Members enjoy lots of perks, like invitations to member-only events, and an annual party.\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "In Face of Drought, San Luis Obispo Farmer Advocates Dry Farming",
"headTitle": "In Face of Drought, San Luis Obispo Farmer Advocates Dry Farming | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>You think your water cutbacks are tough? Try farming without irrigation, relying only on rainwater. Actually, lots of crops are dry-farmed across the state. Wheat and grapes are common, and there are tomatoes on the Central Coast, squash in Humboldt and potatoes in Marin.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jutta Thoerner dry-farms walnuts outside Paso Robles in San Luis Obispo County, and she’s an outspoken advocate of the practice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thoerner and her partner, Cynthia Douglas, own \u003ca href=\"http://mmorganics.com/\">Manzanita Manor Organics\u003c/a>. They have solar panels running their coolers and sheep grazing their vineyards. At their walnut orchard, Thoerner gets a tractor out only twice a year. Mostly, she uses horses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/212163239″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Today, Thoerner sits in a wagon, gently but firmly directing two horses named Sonny and Lily. They’re pulling a large log behind the wagon to smooth out the ground.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10576984\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-10576984\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/LogDraggin-800x450.jpg\" alt=\"Jutta Thoerner and her horses, Lily and Sonny, drag a log to flatten dirt, which helps to retain moisture in the soil underneath.\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/LogDraggin-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/LogDraggin-400x225.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/LogDraggin-1440x811.jpg 1440w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/LogDraggin-1180x664.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/LogDraggin-960x541.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/LogDraggin.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jutta Thoerner and her horses, Lily and Sonny, drag a log to flatten dirt, which helps to retain moisture in the soil underneath. \u003ccite>(Cynthia Wood/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“We want to get this as smooth and as flat as we possibly can,” says Thoerner. “No big clumps.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This process will help keep moisture underground, and make harvesting easier.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Ideally, we want it like glass,” she says. “It’s a little difficult on these hills, but we try.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As she unhooks the horses, she explains that it’s all part of her process of dry farming, using no irrigation ever, on her trees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What that means is whatever rain comes down from the sky is the water that they’re getting.”\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">‘When you let them do their own thing … it really accentuates the unique flavor of each variety.’\u003ccite>Mike Cirone, on dry-farming apples\u003c/cite>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>People have farmed this way for hundreds, if not thousands, of years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Forty or 50 years ago we were all dry-farming here in the California hills,” says Thoerner. “Everybody dry-farmed almonds and walnuts and grapes and some fruit trees.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That was before irrigation came in and people planted crops more densely on all types of soil. Thoerner says dry farming’s a good fit for coastal or foggy areas, less so for huge operations in sandy soil.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“But,” she says, “If farmers have the right soil and the right conditions, it can be done on other properties. And who knows? Maybe this drought will make that happen.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10577120\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-10577120\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/WalnutGraftSpacing-800x814.jpg\" alt=\"Thoerner spaces her trees far apart so they don't compete for water, and grafts two different kinds of walnut together. The heartier, water-seeking root stock is different from the producer tree on top, which is chosen for other qualities like taste.\" width=\"800\" height=\"814\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/WalnutGraftSpacing-800x814.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/WalnutGraftSpacing-400x407.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/WalnutGraftSpacing-1440x1466.jpg 1440w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/WalnutGraftSpacing-1180x1201.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/WalnutGraftSpacing-960x977.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/WalnutGraftSpacing-32x32.jpg 32w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/WalnutGraftSpacing-64x64.jpg 64w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/WalnutGraftSpacing-75x75.jpg 75w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/WalnutGraftSpacing.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Thoerner spaces her trees far apart so they don’t compete for water, and grafts two different kinds of walnut together. The heartier, water-seeking root stock is different from the producer tree on top, which is chosen for other qualities like taste. \u003ccite>(Cynthia Wood/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Dry farming’s not about crossing your fingers and hoping for rain. Thoerner keeps her trees spaced far apart so they don’t compete for water. She monitors the weather carefully, trying to estimate the ideal time to cultivates the soil. Then she creates a dust mulch, a kind of seal, like she was doing with her horses and that log.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While workers trim trees by hand, Thoerner explains that she has to graft two kinds of walnuts together to get the best results. The variety on the top — which grows a great-tasting walnut — is grafted onto a different, heartier stock, whose roots are great at finding water underground.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They are fantastic as a dry-farm root stock. They go to China, those roots,” she jokes. “They go so, so deep.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These last few dry years, Thoerner and workers protect grafted branches by wrapping them in cages of chicken wire covered in shade cloth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It looked ridiculous but it worked,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the drought definitely makes dry farming harder.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Unfortunately, with the way the weather has been, my production of walnuts has been going down steadily every year.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thoerner and I stand underneath a tree where she looks for examples of doubles, sets of two walnuts in clusters, which can mean a better yield.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Every farmer likes to see doubles. But we really like to see triplets.” When I spot one, she says, excitedly, “Lisa found a triplet! That’s cool. I have not seen triplets in a few years.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[gallery size=\"large\" type=\"square\" ids=\"10577264,10577196,10577127\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite that find, I can see the orchard is suffering. Some trees have dead branches, and the walnuts, which are always smaller than ones from irrigated orchards, are really tiny this year. Many are just a little bigger than my thumb.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These small nuts taste sweet and buttery. But lately, Thoerner says, tree breeders have focused most on developing varieties that produce big walnuts that crack easily, and fall out in perfect halves. That’s a silly standard, she says, when people are just going to chop them up into salads and cookies anyway.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Whatever happened to taste, people?” she asks, incredulously.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About 40 miles west, farmer Mike Cirone says his farmers market customers are becoming connoisseurs of his small, sweet, dry-farmed fruit, clamoring over his dry-farmed apricots. Same goes for the 60 varieties of apples he farms without irrigation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you pump ’em all up, they tend to all taste the same,” he says. “When you let them do their own thing, then it really accentuates the unique flavor of each variety.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10577178\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-10577178 size-medium\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/MikeCirone-800x798.jpg\" alt=\"Mike Cirone has been successfully dry-farming for over 30 years.\" width=\"800\" height=\"798\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/MikeCirone-800x798.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/MikeCirone-400x399.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/MikeCirone-1180x1177.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/MikeCirone-960x958.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/MikeCirone-32x32.jpg 32w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/MikeCirone-64x64.jpg 64w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/MikeCirone-96x96.jpg 96w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/MikeCirone-128x128.jpg 128w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/MikeCirone-75x75.jpg 75w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/MikeCirone.jpg 1290w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mike Cirone has been successfully dry-farming for over 30 years. \u003ccite>(Cynthia Wood/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Cirone’s been successfully dry-farming for over 30 years. Digging his boot heel into dry topsoil and revealing moisture underneath, Cirone explains that he made it through a drought in the ‘80s pretty well.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The difference was, the ’80s drought, it was cool,” he says. “This drought is warm. This drought feels like we’re living in Palm Springs in the middle of winter. To me, that is the most unsettling notion. That signifies real climate change to me.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jutta Thoerner is concerned, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If the drought continues and the global warming continues, I don’t want people to stop farming,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She concedes that the profits aren’t as big in dry farming, but she hopes some small growers will consider converting their irrigated orchards, or planting new ones for dry farming, rather than giving up. She’s most hopeful that young farmers will hear this message.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Some of them are just a few years out of school. All they know is the drought,” she says. “The new generation that is not afraid to try new things, I want to tell them: ‘Just dry farm. You absolutely can make a living if you work your behind off.’ ”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Her advice? Just find a piece of land with good soil and do it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This piece is part of the series \u003ca href=\"http://www.californiafoodways.com/\">California Foodways\u003c/a>. Stories in the series that address food and climate change are funded by a grant from \u003ca href=\"http://invokingthepause.org/\">Invoking the Pause\u003c/a>. Lisa Morehouse produced this story while at a residency at the \u003ca href=\"http://www.mesarefuge.org/\">Mesa Refuge\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>You think your water cutbacks are tough? Try farming without irrigation, relying only on rainwater. Actually, lots of crops are dry-farmed across the state. Wheat and grapes are common, and there are tomatoes on the Central Coast, squash in Humboldt and potatoes in Marin.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jutta Thoerner dry-farms walnuts outside Paso Robles in San Luis Obispo County, and she’s an outspoken advocate of the practice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thoerner and her partner, Cynthia Douglas, own \u003ca href=\"http://mmorganics.com/\">Manzanita Manor Organics\u003c/a>. They have solar panels running their coolers and sheep grazing their vineyards. At their walnut orchard, Thoerner gets a tractor out only twice a year. Mostly, she uses horses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cdiv class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__shortcodes__shortcodeWrapper'>\n \u003ciframe width='”100%”' height='”166″'\n scrolling='no' frameborder='no'\n src='https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/212163239″&visual=true&”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false”'\n title='”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/212163239″'>\n \u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/div>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Today, Thoerner sits in a wagon, gently but firmly directing two horses named Sonny and Lily. They’re pulling a large log behind the wagon to smooth out the ground.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10576984\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-10576984\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/LogDraggin-800x450.jpg\" alt=\"Jutta Thoerner and her horses, Lily and Sonny, drag a log to flatten dirt, which helps to retain moisture in the soil underneath.\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/LogDraggin-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/LogDraggin-400x225.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/LogDraggin-1440x811.jpg 1440w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/LogDraggin-1180x664.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/LogDraggin-960x541.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/LogDraggin.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jutta Thoerner and her horses, Lily and Sonny, drag a log to flatten dirt, which helps to retain moisture in the soil underneath. \u003ccite>(Cynthia Wood/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“We want to get this as smooth and as flat as we possibly can,” says Thoerner. “No big clumps.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This process will help keep moisture underground, and make harvesting easier.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Ideally, we want it like glass,” she says. “It’s a little difficult on these hills, but we try.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As she unhooks the horses, she explains that it’s all part of her process of dry farming, using no irrigation ever, on her trees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What that means is whatever rain comes down from the sky is the water that they’re getting.”\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">‘When you let them do their own thing … it really accentuates the unique flavor of each variety.’\u003ccite>Mike Cirone, on dry-farming apples\u003c/cite>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>People have farmed this way for hundreds, if not thousands, of years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Forty or 50 years ago we were all dry-farming here in the California hills,” says Thoerner. “Everybody dry-farmed almonds and walnuts and grapes and some fruit trees.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That was before irrigation came in and people planted crops more densely on all types of soil. Thoerner says dry farming’s a good fit for coastal or foggy areas, less so for huge operations in sandy soil.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“But,” she says, “If farmers have the right soil and the right conditions, it can be done on other properties. And who knows? Maybe this drought will make that happen.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10577120\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-10577120\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/WalnutGraftSpacing-800x814.jpg\" alt=\"Thoerner spaces her trees far apart so they don't compete for water, and grafts two different kinds of walnut together. The heartier, water-seeking root stock is different from the producer tree on top, which is chosen for other qualities like taste.\" width=\"800\" height=\"814\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/WalnutGraftSpacing-800x814.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/WalnutGraftSpacing-400x407.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/WalnutGraftSpacing-1440x1466.jpg 1440w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/WalnutGraftSpacing-1180x1201.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/WalnutGraftSpacing-960x977.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/WalnutGraftSpacing-32x32.jpg 32w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/WalnutGraftSpacing-64x64.jpg 64w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/WalnutGraftSpacing-75x75.jpg 75w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/WalnutGraftSpacing.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Thoerner spaces her trees far apart so they don’t compete for water, and grafts two different kinds of walnut together. The heartier, water-seeking root stock is different from the producer tree on top, which is chosen for other qualities like taste. \u003ccite>(Cynthia Wood/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Dry farming’s not about crossing your fingers and hoping for rain. Thoerner keeps her trees spaced far apart so they don’t compete for water. She monitors the weather carefully, trying to estimate the ideal time to cultivates the soil. Then she creates a dust mulch, a kind of seal, like she was doing with her horses and that log.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While workers trim trees by hand, Thoerner explains that she has to graft two kinds of walnuts together to get the best results. The variety on the top — which grows a great-tasting walnut — is grafted onto a different, heartier stock, whose roots are great at finding water underground.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They are fantastic as a dry-farm root stock. They go to China, those roots,” she jokes. “They go so, so deep.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These last few dry years, Thoerner and workers protect grafted branches by wrapping them in cages of chicken wire covered in shade cloth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It looked ridiculous but it worked,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the drought definitely makes dry farming harder.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Unfortunately, with the way the weather has been, my production of walnuts has been going down steadily every year.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thoerner and I stand underneath a tree where she looks for examples of doubles, sets of two walnuts in clusters, which can mean a better yield.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Every farmer likes to see doubles. But we really like to see triplets.” When I spot one, she says, excitedly, “Lisa found a triplet! That’s cool. I have not seen triplets in a few years.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite that find, I can see the orchard is suffering. Some trees have dead branches, and the walnuts, which are always smaller than ones from irrigated orchards, are really tiny this year. Many are just a little bigger than my thumb.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These small nuts taste sweet and buttery. But lately, Thoerner says, tree breeders have focused most on developing varieties that produce big walnuts that crack easily, and fall out in perfect halves. That’s a silly standard, she says, when people are just going to chop them up into salads and cookies anyway.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Whatever happened to taste, people?” she asks, incredulously.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About 40 miles west, farmer Mike Cirone says his farmers market customers are becoming connoisseurs of his small, sweet, dry-farmed fruit, clamoring over his dry-farmed apricots. Same goes for the 60 varieties of apples he farms without irrigation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you pump ’em all up, they tend to all taste the same,” he says. “When you let them do their own thing, then it really accentuates the unique flavor of each variety.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10577178\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-10577178 size-medium\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/MikeCirone-800x798.jpg\" alt=\"Mike Cirone has been successfully dry-farming for over 30 years.\" width=\"800\" height=\"798\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/MikeCirone-800x798.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/MikeCirone-400x399.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/MikeCirone-1180x1177.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/MikeCirone-960x958.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/MikeCirone-32x32.jpg 32w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/MikeCirone-64x64.jpg 64w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/MikeCirone-96x96.jpg 96w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/MikeCirone-128x128.jpg 128w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/MikeCirone-75x75.jpg 75w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/MikeCirone.jpg 1290w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mike Cirone has been successfully dry-farming for over 30 years. \u003ccite>(Cynthia Wood/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Cirone’s been successfully dry-farming for over 30 years. Digging his boot heel into dry topsoil and revealing moisture underneath, Cirone explains that he made it through a drought in the ‘80s pretty well.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The difference was, the ’80s drought, it was cool,” he says. “This drought is warm. This drought feels like we’re living in Palm Springs in the middle of winter. To me, that is the most unsettling notion. That signifies real climate change to me.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jutta Thoerner is concerned, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If the drought continues and the global warming continues, I don’t want people to stop farming,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She concedes that the profits aren’t as big in dry farming, but she hopes some small growers will consider converting their irrigated orchards, or planting new ones for dry farming, rather than giving up. She’s most hopeful that young farmers will hear this message.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Some of them are just a few years out of school. All they know is the drought,” she says. “The new generation that is not afraid to try new things, I want to tell them: ‘Just dry farm. You absolutely can make a living if you work your behind off.’ ”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Her advice? Just find a piece of land with good soil and do it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This piece is part of the series \u003ca href=\"http://www.californiafoodways.com/\">California Foodways\u003c/a>. Stories in the series that address food and climate change are funded by a grant from \u003ca href=\"http://invokingthepause.org/\">Invoking the Pause\u003c/a>. Lisa Morehouse produced this story while at a residency at the \u003ca href=\"http://www.mesarefuge.org/\">Mesa Refuge\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"disqusTitle": "Firefighters Gain on Markleeville Fire; State Faces New Threat From Lightning",
"title": "Firefighters Gain on Markleeville Fire; State Faces New Threat From Lightning",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Update, noon Saturday:\u003c/strong> Firefighters are gaining ground in their battle to contain the Washington Fire, burning in Alpine County southeast of Lake Tahoe. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fire managers reported Saturday that while the acreage of the fire has grown to 17,622 acres (about 28.5 square miles), the blaze is now 29 percent contained. The firefighting force assigned to the blaze has grown to more than 1,100. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Local officials have lifted evacuation alerts in the town of Markleeville and nearby Grover Hot Springs State Park. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Due to a growing threat of thunderstorms, the National Weather Service has issued \u003ca href=\"http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/firewx/?wfo=sto\" target=\"_blank\">red-flag warnings\u003c/a> for the area around the fire -- and for the entire Sierra Nevada north of Yosemite National Park and throughout the mountains of Northern California. The warnings also cover the western two-thirds of Oregon and the western half of Washington state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The major threat posed by the thunderstorms is dry lightning that can be counted on to start fires. Thunderstorms that swept across drought-stricken Northern California in June 2008 sparked what was later termed a \"\u003ca href=\"http://www.fire.ca.gov/fire_protection/downloads/siege/2008/2008FireSiege_full-book_r6.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">fire siege\u003c/a>\" -- about 1,750 individual blazes that burned 1.2 million acres and killed 13 firefighters. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Update, 11:05 a.m. Thursday:\u003c/strong> Fire crews have made progress building a protective line between the Washington Fire and the town of Markleeville in Alpine County. Total area burned: 17,205 acres (about 28 square miles). Containment: 10 percent. About 900 firefighters, aided by three air tankers and a dozen helicopters, are working the fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Update, 10 p.m. Tuesday:\u003c/strong> The updated stats, as of Tuesday evening, on the Washington Fire burning near Markleeville in Alpine County: 16,553 acres (26 square miles) burned. The fire has burned to within about a mile and a half of the town of 200, which is also the county seat. Incident commanders directing the force of 500 or so firefighters on the ground and a squadron of air tankers and helicopters drawn from around the West have made protecting Markleeville their top priority.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In their \u003ca href=\"http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/article/4317/25260/\">evening news update\u003c/a>, fire managers said crews made \"excellent progress\" in strengthening fire lines near the town and establishing 5 percent containment. Markleeville residents remain on alert to leave the area, though no evacuation has been ordered.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fire crews are also trying to keep the fire from reaching the site of the Leviathan Mine, off of Highway 89 near Monitor Pass. The former open-pit sulphur mine is a Superfund site that has been leaking acid-laced water into nearby creeks for decades.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Weather conditions have improved somewhat in the area, with winds dropping and humidity rising. The major issue in the forecast over the next several days is the increasing chances of thunderstorms by the weekend. Temperatures in the Markleeville, elevation roughly 5,500 feet above sea level, are forecast to hit the mid-90s by Friday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe width=\"100%\" height=\"500px\" frameborder=\"0\" src=\"https://a.tiles.mapbox.com/v4/dbrekke.mhhj0d2o.html?access_token=pk.eyJ1IjoiZGJyZWtrZSIsImEiOiJjZUQzZ05nIn0.ZqSnN4vdLKsiZTEjAPSDrg\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Update, 12:15 a.m. Tuesday:\u003c/strong> The Washington Fire burning across the rugged terrain of Alpine County, southeast of Lake Tahoe, doubled in size on Monday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fire managers said the blaze, believed to have started with a lightning strike last Friday, has burned about 15,000 acres, or roughly 24 square miles. (In Bay Area terms, that's equivalent to half \u003ca href=\"http://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Just-How-Big-is-S-F-A-guess-of-49-miles-is-2909955.php\" target=\"_blank\">the area of San Francisco\u003c/a>, a little less than a third of Oakland and just a sliver -- a little less than one-seventh -- of San Jose.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fire managers also reduced their estimate of containment -- from 10 percent to 0 percent -- because of strong erratic winds that posed a danger to the 500 or so firefighters working to stop the blaze's spread toward Markleeville. Severe drought conditions and continuing low humidity also continue to play a part in the fire's rapid spread.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10574933\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 400px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/11425485_663763667058084_593208784523420950_o.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-10574933\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/11425485_663763667058084_593208784523420950_o-400x300.jpg\" alt=\"The Washington Fire burns Monday near the Alpine County town of Markleeville. \" width=\"400\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/11425485_663763667058084_593208784523420950_o-400x300.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/11425485_663763667058084_593208784523420950_o-800x600.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/11425485_663763667058084_593208784523420950_o-1440x1080.jpg 1440w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/11425485_663763667058084_593208784523420950_o-1180x885.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/11425485_663763667058084_593208784523420950_o-960x720.jpg 960w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/11425485_663763667058084_593208784523420950_o.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Washington Fire burns Monday near the Alpine County town of Markleeville. \u003ccite>(Paul Magdaleno/Alpine County Sheriff's Office)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>At its closest point, the fire is about four miles southeast of Markleeville, a town of about 200 and seat of Alpine County. The Sheriff's Office there has put residents on notice that an evacuation may be ordered.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So far, the fire is not believed to have burned any structures, but it has produced thick columns of smoke that have affected communities to the east and northeast, across the Nevada state line.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Update, 4:40 p.m. Monday:\u003c/strong> The Washington Fire near the Alpine County town of Markleeville has now burned 9,500 acres -- about 15 square miles -- and is just 10 percent contained.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jenny Ramella, a spokeswoman for the Sierra Front Interagency Dispatch Center in Minden, Nevada, said that about 500 firefighters are expected to be on the lines Monday afternoon. They're focusing their efforts on the northwest flank of the blaze, the edge closest to Markleeville.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The fire, which has burned across the junction of Highways 4 and 89 about 4 miles from the town, has prompted what the sheriff's office is calling a \"pre-alert\" that an evacuation may be ordered.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ramella said the fire is most active near Heenan Lake, near the point where Highway 89 crosses Monitor Pass. She said weather conditions \"are a lot better than yesterday,\" when winds gusting over 40 mph and humidity under 10 percent pushed the fire toward Markleeville.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10572992\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 400px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/10479047_663354047099046_4546868212228454952_o.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-10572992\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/10479047_663354047099046_4546868212228454952_o-400x518.jpg\" alt=\"Alpine County Sheriff's Office notice that it may order an evacuation of the town of Markleeville. \" width=\"400\" height=\"518\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/10479047_663354047099046_4546868212228454952_o-400x518.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/10479047_663354047099046_4546868212228454952_o-800x1036.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/10479047_663354047099046_4546868212228454952_o-1440x1864.jpg 1440w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/10479047_663354047099046_4546868212228454952_o-1180x1528.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/10479047_663354047099046_4546868212228454952_o-960x1243.jpg 960w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/10479047_663354047099046_4546868212228454952_o.jpg 1582w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Alpine County Sheriff's Office notice that it may order an evacuation of the town of Markleeville. \u003ccite>(Alameda County Sheriff's Office via Facebook)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Original post (11:20 p.m. Sunday):\u003c/strong> The weekend brought red-flag fire conditions to the eastern slope of the Sierra south of Lake Tahoe -- and the hot, dry, windy weather helped whip a small fire that started Friday afternoon into a blaze that on Sunday sped through canyons and across ridges toward the popular summer tourist spot of Markleeville.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Sierra Front Interagency Dispatch Center, the federal agency coordinating response to the blaze, reported Sunday evening that \u003ca href=\"http://sierrafront.net/single-media-interest-fire/2015/WASHINGTON\" target=\"_blank\">the Washington Fire\u003c/a> had burned 6,500 acres -- about 10 square miles -- and had shut down two state routes across the mountains: Highway 89 across Monitor Pass and Highway 4 across Ebbetts Pass.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The fire was driven by ridgetop winds that topped 40 mph during the day Sunday and humidity in the single digits. Sierra Front's Sunday night statement said the highest priority for fire crews was defending Markleeville, 20 miles southeast of Lake Tahoe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Campgrounds along Highway 4 south of Markleeville up to Ebbetts Pass were evacuated, and people in the town were notified they might have to leave. As of 10 p.m. Sunday, the Alpine County Sheriff's Office \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/pages/Alpine-County-Sheriffs-Office/491047890996330\" target=\"_blank\">said via Facebook\u003c/a> the fire was \"very active,\" though not currently moving directly toward the town.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Markleeville is a town of just 200 or so and is the seat of Alpine County, which, with about 1,200 residents, is California's least populous. But the town is near a popular state park, Grover Hot Springs, and the surrounding area attracts campers, fishers, hikers and cyclists.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Update, noon Saturday:\u003c/strong> Firefighters are gaining ground in their battle to contain the Washington Fire, burning in Alpine County southeast of Lake Tahoe. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fire managers reported Saturday that while the acreage of the fire has grown to 17,622 acres (about 28.5 square miles), the blaze is now 29 percent contained. The firefighting force assigned to the blaze has grown to more than 1,100. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Local officials have lifted evacuation alerts in the town of Markleeville and nearby Grover Hot Springs State Park. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Due to a growing threat of thunderstorms, the National Weather Service has issued \u003ca href=\"http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/firewx/?wfo=sto\" target=\"_blank\">red-flag warnings\u003c/a> for the area around the fire -- and for the entire Sierra Nevada north of Yosemite National Park and throughout the mountains of Northern California. The warnings also cover the western two-thirds of Oregon and the western half of Washington state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The major threat posed by the thunderstorms is dry lightning that can be counted on to start fires. Thunderstorms that swept across drought-stricken Northern California in June 2008 sparked what was later termed a \"\u003ca href=\"http://www.fire.ca.gov/fire_protection/downloads/siege/2008/2008FireSiege_full-book_r6.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">fire siege\u003c/a>\" -- about 1,750 individual blazes that burned 1.2 million acres and killed 13 firefighters. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Update, 11:05 a.m. Thursday:\u003c/strong> Fire crews have made progress building a protective line between the Washington Fire and the town of Markleeville in Alpine County. Total area burned: 17,205 acres (about 28 square miles). Containment: 10 percent. About 900 firefighters, aided by three air tankers and a dozen helicopters, are working the fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Update, 10 p.m. Tuesday:\u003c/strong> The updated stats, as of Tuesday evening, on the Washington Fire burning near Markleeville in Alpine County: 16,553 acres (26 square miles) burned. The fire has burned to within about a mile and a half of the town of 200, which is also the county seat. Incident commanders directing the force of 500 or so firefighters on the ground and a squadron of air tankers and helicopters drawn from around the West have made protecting Markleeville their top priority.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In their \u003ca href=\"http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/article/4317/25260/\">evening news update\u003c/a>, fire managers said crews made \"excellent progress\" in strengthening fire lines near the town and establishing 5 percent containment. Markleeville residents remain on alert to leave the area, though no evacuation has been ordered.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fire crews are also trying to keep the fire from reaching the site of the Leviathan Mine, off of Highway 89 near Monitor Pass. The former open-pit sulphur mine is a Superfund site that has been leaking acid-laced water into nearby creeks for decades.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Weather conditions have improved somewhat in the area, with winds dropping and humidity rising. The major issue in the forecast over the next several days is the increasing chances of thunderstorms by the weekend. Temperatures in the Markleeville, elevation roughly 5,500 feet above sea level, are forecast to hit the mid-90s by Friday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe width=\"100%\" height=\"500px\" frameborder=\"0\" src=\"https://a.tiles.mapbox.com/v4/dbrekke.mhhj0d2o.html?access_token=pk.eyJ1IjoiZGJyZWtrZSIsImEiOiJjZUQzZ05nIn0.ZqSnN4vdLKsiZTEjAPSDrg\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Update, 12:15 a.m. Tuesday:\u003c/strong> The Washington Fire burning across the rugged terrain of Alpine County, southeast of Lake Tahoe, doubled in size on Monday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fire managers said the blaze, believed to have started with a lightning strike last Friday, has burned about 15,000 acres, or roughly 24 square miles. (In Bay Area terms, that's equivalent to half \u003ca href=\"http://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Just-How-Big-is-S-F-A-guess-of-49-miles-is-2909955.php\" target=\"_blank\">the area of San Francisco\u003c/a>, a little less than a third of Oakland and just a sliver -- a little less than one-seventh -- of San Jose.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fire managers also reduced their estimate of containment -- from 10 percent to 0 percent -- because of strong erratic winds that posed a danger to the 500 or so firefighters working to stop the blaze's spread toward Markleeville. Severe drought conditions and continuing low humidity also continue to play a part in the fire's rapid spread.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10574933\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 400px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/11425485_663763667058084_593208784523420950_o.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-10574933\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/11425485_663763667058084_593208784523420950_o-400x300.jpg\" alt=\"The Washington Fire burns Monday near the Alpine County town of Markleeville. \" width=\"400\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/11425485_663763667058084_593208784523420950_o-400x300.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/11425485_663763667058084_593208784523420950_o-800x600.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/11425485_663763667058084_593208784523420950_o-1440x1080.jpg 1440w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/11425485_663763667058084_593208784523420950_o-1180x885.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/11425485_663763667058084_593208784523420950_o-960x720.jpg 960w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/11425485_663763667058084_593208784523420950_o.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Washington Fire burns Monday near the Alpine County town of Markleeville. \u003ccite>(Paul Magdaleno/Alpine County Sheriff's Office)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>At its closest point, the fire is about four miles southeast of Markleeville, a town of about 200 and seat of Alpine County. The Sheriff's Office there has put residents on notice that an evacuation may be ordered.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So far, the fire is not believed to have burned any structures, but it has produced thick columns of smoke that have affected communities to the east and northeast, across the Nevada state line.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Update, 4:40 p.m. Monday:\u003c/strong> The Washington Fire near the Alpine County town of Markleeville has now burned 9,500 acres -- about 15 square miles -- and is just 10 percent contained.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jenny Ramella, a spokeswoman for the Sierra Front Interagency Dispatch Center in Minden, Nevada, said that about 500 firefighters are expected to be on the lines Monday afternoon. They're focusing their efforts on the northwest flank of the blaze, the edge closest to Markleeville.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The fire, which has burned across the junction of Highways 4 and 89 about 4 miles from the town, has prompted what the sheriff's office is calling a \"pre-alert\" that an evacuation may be ordered.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ramella said the fire is most active near Heenan Lake, near the point where Highway 89 crosses Monitor Pass. She said weather conditions \"are a lot better than yesterday,\" when winds gusting over 40 mph and humidity under 10 percent pushed the fire toward Markleeville.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10572992\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 400px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/10479047_663354047099046_4546868212228454952_o.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-10572992\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/10479047_663354047099046_4546868212228454952_o-400x518.jpg\" alt=\"Alpine County Sheriff's Office notice that it may order an evacuation of the town of Markleeville. \" width=\"400\" height=\"518\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/10479047_663354047099046_4546868212228454952_o-400x518.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/10479047_663354047099046_4546868212228454952_o-800x1036.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/10479047_663354047099046_4546868212228454952_o-1440x1864.jpg 1440w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/10479047_663354047099046_4546868212228454952_o-1180x1528.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/10479047_663354047099046_4546868212228454952_o-960x1243.jpg 960w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/10479047_663354047099046_4546868212228454952_o.jpg 1582w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Alpine County Sheriff's Office notice that it may order an evacuation of the town of Markleeville. \u003ccite>(Alameda County Sheriff's Office via Facebook)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Original post (11:20 p.m. Sunday):\u003c/strong> The weekend brought red-flag fire conditions to the eastern slope of the Sierra south of Lake Tahoe -- and the hot, dry, windy weather helped whip a small fire that started Friday afternoon into a blaze that on Sunday sped through canyons and across ridges toward the popular summer tourist spot of Markleeville.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Sierra Front Interagency Dispatch Center, the federal agency coordinating response to the blaze, reported Sunday evening that \u003ca href=\"http://sierrafront.net/single-media-interest-fire/2015/WASHINGTON\" target=\"_blank\">the Washington Fire\u003c/a> had burned 6,500 acres -- about 10 square miles -- and had shut down two state routes across the mountains: Highway 89 across Monitor Pass and Highway 4 across Ebbetts Pass.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The fire was driven by ridgetop winds that topped 40 mph during the day Sunday and humidity in the single digits. Sierra Front's Sunday night statement said the highest priority for fire crews was defending Markleeville, 20 miles southeast of Lake Tahoe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Campgrounds along Highway 4 south of Markleeville up to Ebbetts Pass were evacuated, and people in the town were notified they might have to leave. As of 10 p.m. Sunday, the Alpine County Sheriff's Office \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/pages/Alpine-County-Sheriffs-Office/491047890996330\" target=\"_blank\">said via Facebook\u003c/a> the fire was \"very active,\" though not currently moving directly toward the town.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Markleeville is a town of just 200 or so and is the seat of Alpine County, which, with about 1,200 residents, is California's least populous. But the town is near a popular state park, Grover Hot Springs, and the surrounding area attracts campers, fishers, hikers and cyclists.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"disqusTitle": "Poll: Housing Scarcity Concerns Surpass Water Worries in San Francisco",
"title": "Poll: Housing Scarcity Concerns Surpass Water Worries in San Francisco",
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"content": "\u003cp>A poll released Thursday by a business-backed policy organization found more than three-quarters of Bay Area residents support building more low- to middle-income housing, and a growing number of people favor greater density in their neighborhoods if it would create more places to live.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In San Francisco, the epicenter of housing concern for the whole Bay Area, finding an affordable place to live ranked higher than worries about California's \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/series/california-drought-watch/\" target=\"_blank\">extreme drought\u003c/a> in the 2015 Bay Area Council Poll.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Water isn’t the only thing that’s in short supply in the Bay Area,\" Bay Area Council President Jim Wunderman wrote in a \u003ca href=\"http://documents.bayareacouncil.org/RELEASE_2015%20Bay%20Area%20Council%20Poll_Housing_062515.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">statement\u003c/a>. “We need a bold regional response to our historic housing crisis that is on par with the aggressive and immediate action we’re taking to combat the drought.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Water worries surpassed housing concerns in every other corner of the Bay Area -- but not, the Bay Area Council points out, if you combine housing and cost of living. It's worth noting that lawn-scarce San Francisco has already met state-mandated water conservation goals and is \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/2015/06/23/san-francisco-requires-water-recycling/\" target=\"_blank\">taking steps\u003c/a> to use even less water.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the news is not so good for the city's \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/series/priced-out\" target=\"_blank\">affordable housing crisis\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10577352\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 550px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Epicenter-Map_fix.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-10577352\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Epicenter-Map_fix.jpg\" alt=\"The Bay Area Council's poll included an interactive map that asked respondents to click where they thought new housing is most needed.\" width=\"550\" height=\"635\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Epicenter-Map_fix.jpg 550w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Epicenter-Map_fix-400x462.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 550px) 100vw, 550px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Bay Area Council's poll included an interactive map that asked respondents to click where they thought new housing is most needed. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of EMC Research)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\"It's pervasive,\" said Matt Regan, a Bay Area Council senior vice president of public policy who focuses on housing issues. \"The housing crisis that we currently find ourselves in is impacting every family across economic spectrums.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said it was a first to find that half of Bay Area residents support new housing construction, even if it increases the density of their cities. Support for new housing with greater density was higher in Santa Clara (56 percent), Alameda (55 percent) and San Francisco (53 percent) counties. An even larger majority -- 61 percent -- of San Franciscans said they'd accept new housing in their neighborhood.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"That’s a new phenomenon for us,\" Regan said. \"People are saying things they’ve never said before about welcoming new development in their neighborhoods.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thursday's release was a drill-down into housing-related responses and part of the Bay Area Council's yearly poll. Oakland-based EMC Research administered the online survey of 1,000 adults, all residents of the nine-county Bay Area. Respondents were fairly evenly represented across income levels, and most live in Santa Clara, Alameda and San Francisco counties.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Bay Area Council also asked questions about reducing state and local regulations that could \"hasten new housing,\" according to the group's press release. The poll noted growing support for reducing local building regulations and fees, and reforming state-level environmental impact regulations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>New support for increased density wasn't particularly surprising to Peter Cohen, who co-chairs the San Francisco Council of Community Housing Organizations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I’m not surprised at all that folks are interested in a more urbanistic environment, even in their own neighborhoods,\" he said. \"I’m not surprised at all that people want low- and middle-income housing, but that does not mean the answer is to strip away regulation and let the free market run its course. That’s not what this is saying.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cohen pointed out a question in the poll that asked whether people would support making it \"easier to build housing while still maintaining environmental protections.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"That makes it seem like you can have your cake and eat it, too,\" he said. \"How do you do that? There’s no answer. It just sounds good.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Regan said low- and middle-income housing -- far below San Francisco's market rates -- is a \"doughnut hole\" in the region's housing policy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"There is funding for very low-income homes, and the market rate housing will obviously take care of itself,\" he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But what Regan called \"workforce housing,\" for teachers and firefighters, has slipped through the cracks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"That’s the most difficult to finance,\" he said, \"and that’s where the respondents of the poll have said we need to focus our attention.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Regan said the poll shows growing support for deregulation, so housing can be built for people at all income levels.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cohen, however, sees the opposite, and believes San Francisco needs more regulation to control short-term rentals (\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/tag/airbnb\" target=\"_blank\">like \u003c/a>\u003ca href=\"https://www.airbnb.com/?af=1922719&c=A_TC%3Dm84nccm9s3%26G_MT%3De%26G_CR%3D22111491256%26G_N%3Dg%26G_K%3Dairbnb%26G_P%3D&gclid=Cj0KEQjwza6sBRCMiaaPtY_c2tIBEiQAacj5IxpNzn_abL1mG8w1BzlX5oYdLbPPHiCTet4g0TZrKZMaArYg8P8HAQ&dclid=CL6T1ZmMrMYCFW0dRQodFagLEg\">Airbnb\u003c/a>), and stem evictions from rent-controlled properties in favor of market-rate condo conversions. He said the city's regulations, like rent control, have encouraged diversity and \"created the place where everybody wants to be.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"You can't strip all that away and diminish the role of public policy and government, and still have a place that’s made San Francisco the place that it is,\" he said.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>A poll released Thursday by a business-backed policy organization found more than three-quarters of Bay Area residents support building more low- to middle-income housing, and a growing number of people favor greater density in their neighborhoods if it would create more places to live.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In San Francisco, the epicenter of housing concern for the whole Bay Area, finding an affordable place to live ranked higher than worries about California's \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/series/california-drought-watch/\" target=\"_blank\">extreme drought\u003c/a> in the 2015 Bay Area Council Poll.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Water isn’t the only thing that’s in short supply in the Bay Area,\" Bay Area Council President Jim Wunderman wrote in a \u003ca href=\"http://documents.bayareacouncil.org/RELEASE_2015%20Bay%20Area%20Council%20Poll_Housing_062515.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">statement\u003c/a>. “We need a bold regional response to our historic housing crisis that is on par with the aggressive and immediate action we’re taking to combat the drought.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Water worries surpassed housing concerns in every other corner of the Bay Area -- but not, the Bay Area Council points out, if you combine housing and cost of living. It's worth noting that lawn-scarce San Francisco has already met state-mandated water conservation goals and is \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/2015/06/23/san-francisco-requires-water-recycling/\" target=\"_blank\">taking steps\u003c/a> to use even less water.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the news is not so good for the city's \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/series/priced-out\" target=\"_blank\">affordable housing crisis\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10577352\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 550px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Epicenter-Map_fix.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-10577352\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Epicenter-Map_fix.jpg\" alt=\"The Bay Area Council's poll included an interactive map that asked respondents to click where they thought new housing is most needed.\" width=\"550\" height=\"635\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Epicenter-Map_fix.jpg 550w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Epicenter-Map_fix-400x462.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 550px) 100vw, 550px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Bay Area Council's poll included an interactive map that asked respondents to click where they thought new housing is most needed. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of EMC Research)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\"It's pervasive,\" said Matt Regan, a Bay Area Council senior vice president of public policy who focuses on housing issues. \"The housing crisis that we currently find ourselves in is impacting every family across economic spectrums.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said it was a first to find that half of Bay Area residents support new housing construction, even if it increases the density of their cities. Support for new housing with greater density was higher in Santa Clara (56 percent), Alameda (55 percent) and San Francisco (53 percent) counties. An even larger majority -- 61 percent -- of San Franciscans said they'd accept new housing in their neighborhood.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"That’s a new phenomenon for us,\" Regan said. \"People are saying things they’ve never said before about welcoming new development in their neighborhoods.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thursday's release was a drill-down into housing-related responses and part of the Bay Area Council's yearly poll. Oakland-based EMC Research administered the online survey of 1,000 adults, all residents of the nine-county Bay Area. Respondents were fairly evenly represented across income levels, and most live in Santa Clara, Alameda and San Francisco counties.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Bay Area Council also asked questions about reducing state and local regulations that could \"hasten new housing,\" according to the group's press release. The poll noted growing support for reducing local building regulations and fees, and reforming state-level environmental impact regulations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>New support for increased density wasn't particularly surprising to Peter Cohen, who co-chairs the San Francisco Council of Community Housing Organizations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I’m not surprised at all that folks are interested in a more urbanistic environment, even in their own neighborhoods,\" he said. \"I’m not surprised at all that people want low- and middle-income housing, but that does not mean the answer is to strip away regulation and let the free market run its course. That’s not what this is saying.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cohen pointed out a question in the poll that asked whether people would support making it \"easier to build housing while still maintaining environmental protections.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"That makes it seem like you can have your cake and eat it, too,\" he said. \"How do you do that? There’s no answer. It just sounds good.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Regan said low- and middle-income housing -- far below San Francisco's market rates -- is a \"doughnut hole\" in the region's housing policy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"There is funding for very low-income homes, and the market rate housing will obviously take care of itself,\" he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But what Regan called \"workforce housing,\" for teachers and firefighters, has slipped through the cracks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"That’s the most difficult to finance,\" he said, \"and that’s where the respondents of the poll have said we need to focus our attention.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Regan said the poll shows growing support for deregulation, so housing can be built for people at all income levels.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cohen, however, sees the opposite, and believes San Francisco needs more regulation to control short-term rentals (\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/tag/airbnb\" target=\"_blank\">like \u003c/a>\u003ca href=\"https://www.airbnb.com/?af=1922719&c=A_TC%3Dm84nccm9s3%26G_MT%3De%26G_CR%3D22111491256%26G_N%3Dg%26G_K%3Dairbnb%26G_P%3D&gclid=Cj0KEQjwza6sBRCMiaaPtY_c2tIBEiQAacj5IxpNzn_abL1mG8w1BzlX5oYdLbPPHiCTet4g0TZrKZMaArYg8P8HAQ&dclid=CL6T1ZmMrMYCFW0dRQodFagLEg\">Airbnb\u003c/a>), and stem evictions from rent-controlled properties in favor of market-rate condo conversions. He said the city's regulations, like rent control, have encouraged diversity and \"created the place where everybody wants to be.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"You can't strip all that away and diminish the role of public policy and government, and still have a place that’s made San Francisco the place that it is,\" he said.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"disqusTitle": "Heat and Drought Rekindle Last Year's Massive Happy Camp Complex Wildfire",
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"content": "\u003cp>California's drought conditions are so extreme that one of the state's largest wildfires in recent years has rekindled six months after firefighters put it out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2014/09/26/happy-camp-complex-photos-kari-greer\" target=\"_blank\">Happy Camp Complex\u003c/a> Fire near the Oregon border burned from last summer to early January, charring more than 134,000 acres.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Over the weekend, \u003ca href=\"http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4078/\" target=\"_blank\">firefighters noticed smoke coming from four small areas inside the old fire perimeter\u003c/a>, said Klamath National Forest spokeswoman Kerry Greene.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Some of the standing, dead trees that are within the footprint of the Happy Camp Complex began to rekindle,\" Greene said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Forest Service fire officials usually rely on rain and snowpack to prevent any small flareups, or \"hot spots.\" But the drought, along with hot weather in the area, enabled buried embers to spark back to life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Normally what happens in the winter is that we have enough moisture and snow that the fire is completely out,\" Greene said. \"But this winter we just didn't get the moisture to do that.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The extremely dry conditions can allow dead trees to burn for months, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"With a fire this size and the lack of snowpack from last winter, seeing a few smokes within the fire perimeter is not a big surprise,\" Tom Mutz, a Happy Camp/Oak Knoll District ranger, said in a written statement. \"It is likely we will be dealing with isolated smokes and hot spots until we receive significant rainfall.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Firefighters are expecting even hotter weather in Siskiyou County this weekend, with temperatures predicted to reach triple digits. Klamath National Forest officials believe the heat will lead to even more smoke over the old blaze, so they're increasing firefighting staffing in the region.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About 100 Forest Service firefighters have been assigned to monitor the area for any rekindling. But they don't necessarily extinguish new hot spots they see. In one of the recent cases, firefighters decided to let a very small fire burn itself out because there was so little ground fuel nearby and getting to the source was too dangerous.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Forest Service is warning Pacific Crest Trail hikers that go through the area to watch out for any hazardous conditions.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>California's drought conditions are so extreme that one of the state's largest wildfires in recent years has rekindled six months after firefighters put it out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2014/09/26/happy-camp-complex-photos-kari-greer\" target=\"_blank\">Happy Camp Complex\u003c/a> Fire near the Oregon border burned from last summer to early January, charring more than 134,000 acres.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Over the weekend, \u003ca href=\"http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4078/\" target=\"_blank\">firefighters noticed smoke coming from four small areas inside the old fire perimeter\u003c/a>, said Klamath National Forest spokeswoman Kerry Greene.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Some of the standing, dead trees that are within the footprint of the Happy Camp Complex began to rekindle,\" Greene said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Forest Service fire officials usually rely on rain and snowpack to prevent any small flareups, or \"hot spots.\" But the drought, along with hot weather in the area, enabled buried embers to spark back to life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Normally what happens in the winter is that we have enough moisture and snow that the fire is completely out,\" Greene said. \"But this winter we just didn't get the moisture to do that.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The extremely dry conditions can allow dead trees to burn for months, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"With a fire this size and the lack of snowpack from last winter, seeing a few smokes within the fire perimeter is not a big surprise,\" Tom Mutz, a Happy Camp/Oak Knoll District ranger, said in a written statement. \"It is likely we will be dealing with isolated smokes and hot spots until we receive significant rainfall.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Firefighters are expecting even hotter weather in Siskiyou County this weekend, with temperatures predicted to reach triple digits. Klamath National Forest officials believe the heat will lead to even more smoke over the old blaze, so they're increasing firefighting staffing in the region.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About 100 Forest Service firefighters have been assigned to monitor the area for any rekindling. But they don't necessarily extinguish new hot spots they see. In one of the recent cases, firefighters decided to let a very small fire burn itself out because there was so little ground fuel nearby and getting to the source was too dangerous.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Forest Service is warning Pacific Crest Trail hikers that go through the area to watch out for any hazardous conditions.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"disqusTitle": "Independent Study Condemns System of Communications Between Utilities and Their Regulators",
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"content": "\u003cp>The standard practice of allowing private talks between California Public Utilities Commission officials and the companies they regulate \"systematically favor[s] the interests of utilities and well-funded parties,\" an independent study has found.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>CPUC Executive Director Timothy Sullivan retained a public interest law firm, \u003ca href=\"http://www.strumwooch.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Strumwasser and Woocher\u003c/a>, to review the CPUC's system for handling ex parte communications -- the term used to describe private, off-the-record exchanges between regulators and regulated companies or public interest groups.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Such communications have come under scrutiny since it was disclosed last year that a Pacific Gas & Electric Co. executive \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2015/01/29/report-former-cpuc-chief-targeted-in-state-probe\" target=\"_blank\">privately lobbied the CPUC\u003c/a> to appoint an administrative law judge the company favored in an important rate-setting case.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"alignright\">\u003cstrong>Recommendations on CPUC \u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>ex parte communications\u003c/strong>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>Substantive ex parte communications in rate-setting cases should be prohibited.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>In quasi-legislative proceedings, notices should include full, detailed disclosure by the decision-maker on what was said by all parties.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Increased sanctions for illegal ex parte communications, including, banning appearance before the commission, and sanctions for commissioners and staff.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Staff should not simultaneously function in advisory and advocacy roles.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Commission advisers should be subject to ex parte restrictions.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Commissioners should be banned from benefiting from professional conferences.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Commission should appoint an independent Ethics Officer Commission that should meet more frequently in public so that decisions are not just announced, but discussed.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>The report contains a series of recommendations for improving practices. Strumwasser and Woocher found that from 2001 to 2013, parties filed notices of 9,814 instances of ex parte communications. Those contacts include any substantive communication -- and the utility or other interested party is supposed to file a report documenting the contact.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The firm's report called ex parte communications at the agency \"frequent\" and \"pervasive,\" and said it was clear that they occasionally determine the outcome of cases in which the CPUC decides how much utilities can charge for gas, electric, water and telephone services.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"In general, these practices have the unavoidable effect of moving actual governmental decision-making out of the public eye,\" the report said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The study also said that ex parte communications between the CPUC and utilities are \"fundamentally unfair\" to public interest and consumer groups. That's because those groups aren't privy to what utilities are discussing with the commission behind closed doors, nor are they granted equal-time meetings. In a typical rate-setting case, the study found, utilities filed 80 to 100 percent more notices of ex parte contacts than consumer groups did.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The study also found distrust of the CPUC among industry representatives, consumer advocates, legislators and even agency staffers -- all of whom said they felt new rules would not necessarily change the culture at the CPUC. One participant observed that \"the problem is not the rules, it is that the rules are not followed.\" Another described the fundamental problem as \"the lack of an ethical culture.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A recent KQED investigation \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2015/06/19/10-emails-detail-pges-cozy-relationship-with-its-regulators\">spotlighted the cozy ties between CPUC officials and representatives of PG&E\u003c/a> in the wake of a fatal pipeline rupture.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2015/06/19/leno-its-time-for-reform-at-the-california-public-utilities-commission\">State Sen. Mark Leno says\u003c/a> addressing this cultural problem is a key objective of SB660, a bill he co-sponsored to reform CPUC practices, including rules governing ex parte communications.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"What we’re really trying to do with this piece of legislation is to impact, if not change, the culture of the California Public Utilities Commission,\" Leno said. \"We want to bring a new ethical standard, and meaningful change to this commission, which has as its charge and its mission to regulate utilities and to provide safety, reliability and affordability for ratepayers. They have lost their way, seriously lost their way, and so it’s time for reform.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Leno is pushing to close loopholes that result in ex parte communications from rate-setting cases, a recommendation also made by the authors of the independent report.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We received disturbing reports of instances where decision-makers sought to assist parties by telling them what to do or say in aid of their cases,\" the study noted. Those communications \"were undisclosed in reliance on a claimed loophole in the disclosure rules -- a loophole that we have found does not actually exist.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The report noted that advocates of ex parte communications argued that regulatory officials relied on these quick chats \"to know what information they need to know to make a decision,\" since the sheer volume of information included in each case means commissioners and their staff must wade through thousands of pages of documents before they can get a sense of the key evidence and arguments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Commission President Michael Picker, speaking in an interview with KQED News earlier this month, acknowledged that casual relationships formed via frequent emails are \"a problem, because when you start to get at a certain level of casualness, then you can slide into other kinds of ethical breaches.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the same time, he argued that it was problematic for commission staff to be banned from communicating with regulated utilities such as PG&E.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We can’t guarantee that the electric system, the gas system work properly, we can’t make sure that people are being protected against unsafe infrastructure unless we are always in communication with the utilities,\" he said. \"So if we’re not in contact with PG&E that’s as big of a problem, and maybe a larger problem, than some of the improper comportment.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On June 22, the Governor's Office of Planning and Research hosted a workshop at the CalEPA headquarters on ex parte rules and best practices followed by other state and federal agencies, which featured a presentation by Michael Strumwasser, a partner in the firm that produced the report.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The ... report is under review,\" CPUC spokeswoman Constance Gordon wrote in an email to KQED. \"It is a complicated subject with many stakeholders, and the CPUC is very supportive of the Governor’s efforts to bring clarity to this issue. The report is an important step forward.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe class=\"scribd_iframe_embed\" src=\"https://www.scribd.com/embeds/269501015/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&show_recommendations=true\" data-auto-height=\"false\" data-aspect-ratio=\"undefined\" scrolling=\"no\" id=\"doc_83532\" width=\"100%\" height=\"600\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The standard practice of allowing private talks between California Public Utilities Commission officials and the companies they regulate \"systematically favor[s] the interests of utilities and well-funded parties,\" an independent study has found.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>CPUC Executive Director Timothy Sullivan retained a public interest law firm, \u003ca href=\"http://www.strumwooch.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Strumwasser and Woocher\u003c/a>, to review the CPUC's system for handling ex parte communications -- the term used to describe private, off-the-record exchanges between regulators and regulated companies or public interest groups.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Such communications have come under scrutiny since it was disclosed last year that a Pacific Gas & Electric Co. executive \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2015/01/29/report-former-cpuc-chief-targeted-in-state-probe\" target=\"_blank\">privately lobbied the CPUC\u003c/a> to appoint an administrative law judge the company favored in an important rate-setting case.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"alignright\">\u003cstrong>Recommendations on CPUC \u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>ex parte communications\u003c/strong>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>Substantive ex parte communications in rate-setting cases should be prohibited.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>In quasi-legislative proceedings, notices should include full, detailed disclosure by the decision-maker on what was said by all parties.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Increased sanctions for illegal ex parte communications, including, banning appearance before the commission, and sanctions for commissioners and staff.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Staff should not simultaneously function in advisory and advocacy roles.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Commission advisers should be subject to ex parte restrictions.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Commissioners should be banned from benefiting from professional conferences.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Commission should appoint an independent Ethics Officer Commission that should meet more frequently in public so that decisions are not just announced, but discussed.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>The report contains a series of recommendations for improving practices. Strumwasser and Woocher found that from 2001 to 2013, parties filed notices of 9,814 instances of ex parte communications. Those contacts include any substantive communication -- and the utility or other interested party is supposed to file a report documenting the contact.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The firm's report called ex parte communications at the agency \"frequent\" and \"pervasive,\" and said it was clear that they occasionally determine the outcome of cases in which the CPUC decides how much utilities can charge for gas, electric, water and telephone services.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"In general, these practices have the unavoidable effect of moving actual governmental decision-making out of the public eye,\" the report said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The study also said that ex parte communications between the CPUC and utilities are \"fundamentally unfair\" to public interest and consumer groups. That's because those groups aren't privy to what utilities are discussing with the commission behind closed doors, nor are they granted equal-time meetings. In a typical rate-setting case, the study found, utilities filed 80 to 100 percent more notices of ex parte contacts than consumer groups did.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The study also found distrust of the CPUC among industry representatives, consumer advocates, legislators and even agency staffers -- all of whom said they felt new rules would not necessarily change the culture at the CPUC. One participant observed that \"the problem is not the rules, it is that the rules are not followed.\" Another described the fundamental problem as \"the lack of an ethical culture.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A recent KQED investigation \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2015/06/19/10-emails-detail-pges-cozy-relationship-with-its-regulators\">spotlighted the cozy ties between CPUC officials and representatives of PG&E\u003c/a> in the wake of a fatal pipeline rupture.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2015/06/19/leno-its-time-for-reform-at-the-california-public-utilities-commission\">State Sen. Mark Leno says\u003c/a> addressing this cultural problem is a key objective of SB660, a bill he co-sponsored to reform CPUC practices, including rules governing ex parte communications.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"What we’re really trying to do with this piece of legislation is to impact, if not change, the culture of the California Public Utilities Commission,\" Leno said. \"We want to bring a new ethical standard, and meaningful change to this commission, which has as its charge and its mission to regulate utilities and to provide safety, reliability and affordability for ratepayers. They have lost their way, seriously lost their way, and so it’s time for reform.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Leno is pushing to close loopholes that result in ex parte communications from rate-setting cases, a recommendation also made by the authors of the independent report.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We received disturbing reports of instances where decision-makers sought to assist parties by telling them what to do or say in aid of their cases,\" the study noted. Those communications \"were undisclosed in reliance on a claimed loophole in the disclosure rules -- a loophole that we have found does not actually exist.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The report noted that advocates of ex parte communications argued that regulatory officials relied on these quick chats \"to know what information they need to know to make a decision,\" since the sheer volume of information included in each case means commissioners and their staff must wade through thousands of pages of documents before they can get a sense of the key evidence and arguments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Commission President Michael Picker, speaking in an interview with KQED News earlier this month, acknowledged that casual relationships formed via frequent emails are \"a problem, because when you start to get at a certain level of casualness, then you can slide into other kinds of ethical breaches.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the same time, he argued that it was problematic for commission staff to be banned from communicating with regulated utilities such as PG&E.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We can’t guarantee that the electric system, the gas system work properly, we can’t make sure that people are being protected against unsafe infrastructure unless we are always in communication with the utilities,\" he said. \"So if we’re not in contact with PG&E that’s as big of a problem, and maybe a larger problem, than some of the improper comportment.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On June 22, the Governor's Office of Planning and Research hosted a workshop at the CalEPA headquarters on ex parte rules and best practices followed by other state and federal agencies, which featured a presentation by Michael Strumwasser, a partner in the firm that produced the report.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The ... report is under review,\" CPUC spokeswoman Constance Gordon wrote in an email to KQED. \"It is a complicated subject with many stakeholders, and the CPUC is very supportive of the Governor’s efforts to bring clarity to this issue. 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"content": "\u003cp>More than one-tenth of the largest wild population of threatened salmon in the Central Valley died after repair work near a power plant led Pacific Gas & Electric Co. to cut off a cooling flow of water into a creek last weekend, wildlife and utility officials say.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E, the state's largest utility, restored the water flow on Wednesday to a remote stretch of Butte Creek, home to the largest of three surviving wild populations of Central Valley spring-run Chinook salmon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The death of 277 of the fewer than 2,000 adult chinook in the creek underscored the vulnerability of one of California's most iconic species in a drought year marked by record low amounts of cooling snow melt.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Salmon populations from Monterey on the central coast to the Oregon border are showing problems related to low, warm water conditions created by the driest four years in state history.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"As the drought wears on, it's just going to get worse,\" Andrew Hughan, a spokesman for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, said from the banks of Butte Creek, north of Sacramento.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E spokesman Paul Moreno said utility crews rushed an emergency repair project on a canal to restore water flows into the creek as quickly as possible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I can tell you that ... crews worked every day to get that back in place,\" Moreno said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The problem began when the utility learned of leaks in a canal carrying water from a utility reservoir to PG&E hydroelectric plants. The utility shut down the canal May 29 to line a 500-foot stretch of the waterway, Moreno said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Without the cooling flow, a hot spell last weekend brought water temperatures in the creek up to the 70s and 80s, fostering a rapid outbreak of deadly pathogens that afflict the gills of the salmon, cutting off oxygen, said Howard Brown, Sacramento River branch chief of the National Marine Fisheries Service.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Clint Garman, a biologist with the state wildlife department, said existing conditions from the drought would have killed some of the salmon in the creek outright, but the temporary water cutoff by PG&E increased the number of deaths.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Long-term, state and federal wildlife officials said, PG&E's release of water into Butte Creek has helped keep the stream's native salmon alive over the years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"There is a lot of very careful management\" of water by the utility and regulators at Butte Creek, \"and in a normal year it works very well,\" Brown said. \"It's just the worst year for this kind of thing, and the timing couldn't have been worse.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The creek is the last, best stronghold of spring-run Chinook salmon, Garman said. Only two other creeks still hold wild populations of the Central Valley spring-run chinook. At last count, fewer than 400 adults were alive in both of those creeks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The chinook numbered in the tens of thousands as recently as the 1990s. California and the U.S. list them as a threatened species.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>More than one-tenth of the largest wild population of threatened salmon in the Central Valley died after repair work near a power plant led Pacific Gas & Electric Co. to cut off a cooling flow of water into a creek last weekend, wildlife and utility officials say.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E, the state's largest utility, restored the water flow on Wednesday to a remote stretch of Butte Creek, home to the largest of three surviving wild populations of Central Valley spring-run Chinook salmon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The death of 277 of the fewer than 2,000 adult chinook in the creek underscored the vulnerability of one of California's most iconic species in a drought year marked by record low amounts of cooling snow melt.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Salmon populations from Monterey on the central coast to the Oregon border are showing problems related to low, warm water conditions created by the driest four years in state history.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"As the drought wears on, it's just going to get worse,\" Andrew Hughan, a spokesman for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, said from the banks of Butte Creek, north of Sacramento.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E spokesman Paul Moreno said utility crews rushed an emergency repair project on a canal to restore water flows into the creek as quickly as possible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I can tell you that ... crews worked every day to get that back in place,\" Moreno said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The problem began when the utility learned of leaks in a canal carrying water from a utility reservoir to PG&E hydroelectric plants. The utility shut down the canal May 29 to line a 500-foot stretch of the waterway, Moreno said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Without the cooling flow, a hot spell last weekend brought water temperatures in the creek up to the 70s and 80s, fostering a rapid outbreak of deadly pathogens that afflict the gills of the salmon, cutting off oxygen, said Howard Brown, Sacramento River branch chief of the National Marine Fisheries Service.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Clint Garman, a biologist with the state wildlife department, said existing conditions from the drought would have killed some of the salmon in the creek outright, but the temporary water cutoff by PG&E increased the number of deaths.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Long-term, state and federal wildlife officials said, PG&E's release of water into Butte Creek has helped keep the stream's native salmon alive over the years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"There is a lot of very careful management\" of water by the utility and regulators at Butte Creek, \"and in a normal year it works very well,\" Brown said. \"It's just the worst year for this kind of thing, and the timing couldn't have been worse.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The creek is the last, best stronghold of spring-run Chinook salmon, Garman said. Only two other creeks still hold wild populations of the Central Valley spring-run chinook. At last count, fewer than 400 adults were alive in both of those creeks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The chinook numbered in the tens of thousands as recently as the 1990s. California and the U.S. list them as a threatened species.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>California's first monster wildland blaze in a much-feared fire season is spreading rapidly through San Bernardino National Forest in Southern California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4302/\" target=\"_blank\">Lake Fire\u003c/a>, burning 80 miles east of downtown Los Angeles, started Wednesday afternoon, raced through timberland Thursday, and by Friday morning had burned 11,000 acres -- about 17 square miles, equivalent to more than one-third the area of San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About 1,200 firefighters have been deployed to corral the blaze, which is 10 percent contained. While water-dropping helicopters are aiding ground crews working in temperatures near 100 degrees, turbulent winds in the area have limited the use of larger fixed-wing air tankers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Officials say about 150 structures are threatened, and 400 people have been evacuated from the fire zone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of those evacuated Thursday was a 74-year-old Orange County resident hiking by himself. From \u003ca href=\"http://www.pe.com/articles/san-770917-reese-fire.html\" target=\"_blank\">the Riverside Press-Enterprise:\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>About 10:30 a.m., the state Office of Emergency Services received a signal from Stanley Reese's SPOT device, which can transmit GPS coordinates to rescuers. The location was just east of the fire burning in the Jenks Lake area in the San Gorgonio Wilderness, the San Bernardino Sheriff's Department said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The helicopter crew found Reese, a 74-year-old Dana Point resident, uninjured in Dry Lake. He explained to deputies that he was on a three-day backpacking trip and had noticed the smoke from the fire on Wednesday but was not concerned because he was far from the smoke.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Thursday morning, Reese noticed that the fire had grown and was heading in his direction. That's when he signaled for help. Reese was airlifted to safety and picked up by his family.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-california-wildfire-20150619-story.html\" target=\"_blank\">Los Angeles Times quotes\u003c/a> Forest Service officials as saying that in records going back 104 years, there's no report of fire in the timberland that's burning now. The Times adds:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>This year, researchers with the U.S. Forest Service surveyed 4.2-million acres of trees in the Cleveland, San Bernardino, Angeles and Los Padres national forests and found that 2 million trees have died because of drought and the invasion of bark beetles. The tiny bark beetle thrives in dry conditions, chewing away at pines and making them brittle.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>Fire crews are battling several other wildland blazes around the state. The biggest are:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4278/\" target=\"_blank\">Saddle Fire\u003c/a>:\u003c/strong> 1,509 acres, 95 percent contained. Burning near the hamlet of Hyampom in Trinity County, east of Redding.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4310/\" target=\"_blank\">Sky Fire\u003c/a>:\u003c/strong> 538 acres, 0 percent contained. Burning north of Oakhurst and south of the Highway 41 entrance to Yosemite National Park.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"http://cdfdata.fire.ca.gov/incidents/incidents_details_info?incident_id=1104\" target=\"_blank\">Corrine Fire\u003c/a>:\u003c/strong> 500 acres, 20 percent contained. Burning in the Sierra foothills northeast of Fresno.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>California's first monster wildland blaze in a much-feared fire season is spreading rapidly through San Bernardino National Forest in Southern California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4302/\" target=\"_blank\">Lake Fire\u003c/a>, burning 80 miles east of downtown Los Angeles, started Wednesday afternoon, raced through timberland Thursday, and by Friday morning had burned 11,000 acres -- about 17 square miles, equivalent to more than one-third the area of San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About 1,200 firefighters have been deployed to corral the blaze, which is 10 percent contained. While water-dropping helicopters are aiding ground crews working in temperatures near 100 degrees, turbulent winds in the area have limited the use of larger fixed-wing air tankers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Officials say about 150 structures are threatened, and 400 people have been evacuated from the fire zone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of those evacuated Thursday was a 74-year-old Orange County resident hiking by himself. From \u003ca href=\"http://www.pe.com/articles/san-770917-reese-fire.html\" target=\"_blank\">the Riverside Press-Enterprise:\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>About 10:30 a.m., the state Office of Emergency Services received a signal from Stanley Reese's SPOT device, which can transmit GPS coordinates to rescuers. The location was just east of the fire burning in the Jenks Lake area in the San Gorgonio Wilderness, the San Bernardino Sheriff's Department said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The helicopter crew found Reese, a 74-year-old Dana Point resident, uninjured in Dry Lake. He explained to deputies that he was on a three-day backpacking trip and had noticed the smoke from the fire on Wednesday but was not concerned because he was far from the smoke.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Thursday morning, Reese noticed that the fire had grown and was heading in his direction. That's when he signaled for help. Reese was airlifted to safety and picked up by his family.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-california-wildfire-20150619-story.html\" target=\"_blank\">Los Angeles Times quotes\u003c/a> Forest Service officials as saying that in records going back 104 years, there's no report of fire in the timberland that's burning now. The Times adds:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>This year, researchers with the U.S. Forest Service surveyed 4.2-million acres of trees in the Cleveland, San Bernardino, Angeles and Los Padres national forests and found that 2 million trees have died because of drought and the invasion of bark beetles. The tiny bark beetle thrives in dry conditions, chewing away at pines and making them brittle.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>Fire crews are battling several other wildland blazes around the state. The biggest are:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4278/\" target=\"_blank\">Saddle Fire\u003c/a>:\u003c/strong> 1,509 acres, 95 percent contained. Burning near the hamlet of Hyampom in Trinity County, east of Redding.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4310/\" target=\"_blank\">Sky Fire\u003c/a>:\u003c/strong> 538 acres, 0 percent contained. Burning north of Oakhurst and south of the Highway 41 entrance to Yosemite National Park.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"http://cdfdata.fire.ca.gov/incidents/incidents_details_info?incident_id=1104\" target=\"_blank\">Corrine Fire\u003c/a>:\u003c/strong> 500 acres, 20 percent contained. Burning in the Sierra foothills northeast of Fresno.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"disqusTitle": "10 Emails That Detail PG&E’s Cozy Relationship With Regulators",
"title": "10 Emails That Detail PG&E’s Cozy Relationship With Regulators",
"headTitle": "News Fix | KQED News",
"content": "\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">I\u003c/span>n the years since the September 2010 natural gas pipeline explosion that killed eight people in San Bruno, the relationship between pipeline operator Pacific Gas and Electric Co. and high-ranking officials at the California Public Utilities Commission has come under intense scrutiny, undermining public trust in the state agency tasked with ensuring safe pipeline operations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State prosecutors and a federal grand jury are currently zeroing in on alleged improper ties between PG&E and top state regulators. \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2015/01/29/report-former-cpuc-chief-targeted-in-state-probe\" target=\"_blank\">State investigators\u003c/a> acting on a search warrant earlier this year seized iPhones, a laptop and bank statements from the residence of former CPUC President Michael Peevey and took similar items from the home of PG&E's former Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, Brian Cherry, all on suspicion of felony activity relating to a judge-shopping scandal brought to light by email records.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those exchanges were made public in the wake of civil litigation brought on behalf of San Bruno, when a judge ordered PG&E to release records consisting of some 65,000 emails and 123,000 documents.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"alignright pullquote\">A PG&E executive and CPUC official were on 2,369 of the same email threads using their official email addresses — that’s an average of 11 times a week.\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>KQED has taken a detailed look into this correspondence, which reveals in granular detail the familiar relationships between key decision-makers and PG&E executives that lasted well beyond the San Bruno incident. There are multiple instances of Peevey arranging to meet with Cherry for holiday visits that involved sipping wine — a keyword search of the email records for the words “pinot” or “cabernet,” for example, yielded 16 separate items.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But two of the closest confidants were Cherry and then-CPUC Executive Director Paul Clanon. The collection of documents provided by PG&E shows that between 2010 and 2014, Cherry and Clanon were on 2,369 of the same email threads using their official email addresses -- that's an average of 11 times a week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although some of these emails were sent years ago, an attempt to force a cultural change at the CPUC is only now making its way through the California Legislature. In an attempt to reform CPUC operations, the Senate recently approved \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml;jsessionid=ccfbe52d6f35026fdd9d2a7e2414?bill_id=201520160SB660\" target=\"_blank\">SB 660\u003c/a>, a bill that would overhaul decision-making processes and restrict private exchanges.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an interview with KQED, CPUC President Michael Picker said that the agency read every email released, conducted legal reviews and went through the state personnel process when breaches occurred.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The agency focused on correspondence from about 80 people below the level of commissioner. Some individuals left the CPUC prior to or during the review. The agency determined that action was not warranted against 54 of the people who remained on staff. CPUC spokeswoman Constance Gordon said \"individuals whose emails raised more serious issues\" -- the agency won't say how many -- received \"counseling memos\" or \"letters of correction.\" The agency also held a staff training in appropriate email decorum in April.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The challenge is that we are built for a different era, we were built in a time before emails,\" Picker said. \"Emails tend toward much more casual relationships. That’s a problem because when you start to get at a certain level of casualness, then you can slide into other kinds of ethical breaches.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Picker said that communications between PG&E staff and CPUC employees are currently banned for procedural cases. However, he said, the two staffs must be able to talk to each other.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We can’t do our jobs. We can’t guarantee that the electric system, the gas system work properly, we can’t make sure that people are being protected against unsafe infrastructure unless we are always in communication with the utilities. So if we’re not in contact with PG&E that’s as big of a problem and maybe a larger problem then some of the improper comportment,\" he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E fired Cherry, as well as Senior Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Tom Bottorff and Vice President of Regulatory Proceedings Trina Horner, following the company's internal investigation into the emails.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E spokesman Nick Stimmel \u003ca href=\"https://www.scribd.com/doc/269092248/CPUC-and-PG-E-Emails-PG-E-Statement-to-KQED\" target=\"_blank\">wrote in a statement\u003c/a>: \"With respect to the email issue, we have produced tens of thousands of emails voluntarily and in response to regulatory and legal requirements and we continue to cooperate with all investigations. In the meantime, we will let the content of the emails speak for themselves; we are not going to speculate about motivations or the actions of people who are no longer in roles with the CPUC or the company or about events that may or may not have occurred.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Below we highlight 10 email exchanges that demonstrate just how cozy ties between regulators and the regulated have been in day-to-day CPUC operations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Read the emails\u003c/p>\n\u003ctable>\n\u003ctbody>\n\u003ctr>\n\u003ctd>1) \u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#controlRoom\">“The Control Room Audit”\u003c/a>\u003c/strong> Sept. 14, 2011\u003cbr>\n2) \u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#angels\">“Charlie’s Angels”\u003c/a>\u003c/strong> Oct. 18, 2011\u003cbr>\n3) \u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#seaRanch\">“Sea Ranch over Thanksgiving”\u003c/a>\u003c/strong> Nov. 24, 2010\u003cbr>\n4) \u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#Jellystone\">“How was Jellystone?”\u003c/a>\u003c/strong> Sept. 12, 2010\u003cbr>\n5) \u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#anyThoughts\">“Any thoughts – non-attributed of course?”\u003c/a>\u003c/strong> Oct. 20, 2010\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>6) \u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#parallelUniverses\">“We live in parallel universes…”\u003c/a>\u003c/strong> January 10, 2011\u003cbr>\n7) \u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#investorRelations\">“Investor relations”\u003c/a>\u003c/strong> Sept. 26, 2011\u003cbr>\n8)\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#happyBirthday\"> “Happy Birthday!”\u003c/a>\u003c/strong> Sept. 16, 2010\u003cbr>\n9) \u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#jerryBrown\">“Get this info to [Jerry] Brown”\u003c/a>\u003c/strong> January 11, 2011\u003cbr>\n10) \u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#prozac\">“Prozac might be a solution!”\u003c/a>\u003c/strong> June 4, 2010\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#whatHappened\">Where Are They Now?\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/td>\n\u003c/tr>\n\u003c/tbody>\n\u003c/table>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>1) \u003ca name=\"controlRoom\">\u003c/a>“The Control Room Audit” -- Sept. 14, 2011\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the aftermath of the pipeline rupture that caused the San Bruno explosion, PG&E’s control room management became a focal point for safety improvement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Natural gas pipelines may traverse thousands of miles. In a control room, pressure and flow across the underground network are monitored remotely. The federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration moved to amend federal pipeline safety regulations in the months after San Bruno, imposing tougher regulations on control room operations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But according to an email from PG&E’s Brian Cherry to CPUC’s then-Executive Director Paul Clanon, dated Sept. 14, 2011, the company encountered “some pressing problems” relating to a “control room audit.” Accordingly, Cherry wondered whether Clanon would be willing to “focus elsewhere.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10568616\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/LaHood-Speier-San-Bruno-e1434683321797.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-10568616\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/LaHood-Speier-San-Bruno-800x619.jpg\" alt=\"In this photo from May of 2011, federal Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood tours the site of the PG&E San Bruno pipeline explosion with Congressional Representative Jackie Speier.\" width=\"800\" height=\"619\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">In this photo from May of 2011, federal Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood tours the site of the PG&E San Bruno pipeline explosion with Congressional Representative Jackie Speier. \u003ccite>(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Paul – hope you are enjoying yourself in Jellystone but stay away from the wayward bison,” Cherry wrote. “I received a request from Nick [Stavropoulos, PG&E’s executive vice president of gas operations] and Chris [Johns, president of PG&E] … to seek your advice and counsel on the control room audit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Nick and Chris know we have problems in this area and would like you to focus elsewhere for the moment so that we can address some pressing problems. … Nick stated that you once offered to help out in any way you could if the Commission was becoming an obstacle to us getting the work done.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A formal letter sent to Clanon about two weeks later on PG&E stationary shows the company was preparing for a visit from an independent consultant hired by the CPUC to inspect control-room operations. This audit was conducted to ensure compliance with federal rules. So was PG&E granted a delay? CPUC spokeswoman Constance Gordon said she could not comment on Clanon’s email directly, since he no longer works at the CPUC.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Commission President Michael Picker, who replaced Peevey after he stepped down last year, said that he could not comment directly on the contents of the email, either, since he was unfamiliar with the audit. However, he said, \"No one’s ever asked me to focus elsewhere. Chances are that would make me want to focus more.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Reached by phone, Clanon declined to comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe src=\"https://www.scribd.com/embeds/269089045/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&access_key=key-LCWXLFaD7vmtymd0YBHr&show_recommendations=true\" data-auto-height=\"false\" data-aspect-ratio=\"0.7586206896551724\" scrolling=\"no\" id=\"doc_25733\" width=\"100%\" height=\"600\" frameborder=\"0\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>2) \u003ca name=\"angels\">\u003c/a>“Charlie’s Angels” -- Oct. 18, 2011\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Oct. 18, 2011, PG&E’s Brian Cherry forwarded CPUC President Mike Peevey an email attachment with the note “FYI.” It was a letter from Rep. Jackie Speier to U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, urging LaHood to require natural gas operators to remove from their networks a kind of plastic pipe, Aldyl-A, which is prone to cracking. PG&E has 1,231 miles of the pipe in its system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Roughly six weeks earlier, \u003ca href=\"http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Plastic-natural-gas-pipe-failure-data-kept-secret-2308629.php\" target=\"_blank\">a Cupertino condominium had been destroyed\u003c/a>, in an explosion and fire caused by a gas leak due to a cracked fitting in a plastic Aldyl-A pipe. When it investigated the cause of the blast, PG&E found six other plastic pipe failures near the blast site, records show.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10568615\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Bernardus_Site-Photos-from-Everett_Medium-Resolution_04-17-15-17317.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-10568615\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Bernardus_Site-Photos-from-Everett_Medium-Resolution_04-17-15-17317-800x532.jpg\" alt=\"Former California Public Utilities Commission President Michael Peevey and PG&E executive Brian Cherry made dinner plans at the Bernardus Lodge & Spa, shown here, in October of 2011.\" width=\"800\" height=\"532\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Bernardus_Site-Photos-from-Everett_Medium-Resolution_04-17-15-17317-800x532.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Bernardus_Site-Photos-from-Everett_Medium-Resolution_04-17-15-17317-400x266.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Bernardus_Site-Photos-from-Everett_Medium-Resolution_04-17-15-17317-960x639.jpg 960w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Bernardus_Site-Photos-from-Everett_Medium-Resolution_04-17-15-17317.jpg 1100w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Former California Public Utilities Commission President Michael Peevey and PG&E executive Brian Cherry made dinner plans at the Bernardus Lodge & Spa, shown here, in October of 2011. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Bernardus Lodge & Spa)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In response to Cherry's email, Peevey thanked Cherry for the update. Then the CPUC president moved onto another topic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“See you for dinner Sunday night,” he wrote. “Where and when? Are you bringing Charlie's Angels too?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cherry responded: “7:30 at Marinus in the Bernardus Lodge in the Carmel Valley. About 20 minutes or so from Monterey but well worth the drive. We can make it earlier if you wish.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He added, “Some angels may attend.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/angelstext.png\">\u003cimg class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-10568675\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/angelstext.png\" alt=\"angelstext\" width=\"796\" height=\"357\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/angelstext.png 796w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/angelstext-400x179.png 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 796px) 100vw, 796px\">\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Sunday night\" would have marked the start of the annual meeting of the The Conference of California Public Utility Counsel (CCPUC) at the Monterey Plaza Hotel. The nonprofit organization, which describes itself on the web as a “non-profit mutual benefit corporation,” has representatives from PG&E and other utilities on its board of directors. According to the \u003ca href=\"http://www.ccpuc.org/Past_Events?action=setup_form&formID=57\" target=\"_blank\">conference agenda\u003c/a>, Peevey was scheduled to speak at the conference on Monday, Oct. 24, 2011.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The conference itinerary shows that the evening activity on Sunday, Oct. 23 was a group activity –- attendees would be treated to a “reception and strolling dinner” at the Monterey Bay Aquarium from 7 to 9:30 p.m. But this email thread suggests Peevey and Cherry had other plans. The Bernardus Lodge & Spa is a luxury facility often booked for off-site corporate retreats, according to its website.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While it’s unclear who, or what, the men were referring to when they discussed whether “Charlie’s Angels” would attend, at the very least the detail illustrates close enough ties for them to share a mutual understanding about a coded phrase. Attempts to reach Cherry and Peevey by phone were unsuccessful.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe src=\"https://www.scribd.com/embeds/269090620/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&show_recommendations=true\" data-auto-height=\"false\" data-aspect-ratio=\"undefined\" scrolling=\"no\" id=\"doc_59557\" width=\"100%\" height=\"600\" frameborder=\"0\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>3) \u003ca name=\"seaRanch\">\u003c/a>“Sea Ranch over Thanksgiving” -- Nov. 24, 2010\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Nov. 24, 2010, about six weeks after the San Bruno pipeline explosion, PG&E’s Brian Cherry emailed CPUC President Mike Peevey with some good news -- plus an invitation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10568674\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 796px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/thanksgivingtext.png\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-10568674\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/thanksgivingtext.png\" alt=\"“Mike – FYI. Fish and Game letter on Manzana. Very positive,” he wrote. “Also – Sara and I will be in Sea Ranch over Thanksgiving. We’d be happy to have you and Carol [Peevey’s wife, Democratic Sen. Carol Liu] over for drinks or dinner if you are free. I’ve got plenty of great wine to drink.”\" width=\"796\" height=\"260\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/thanksgivingtext.png 796w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/thanksgivingtext-400x131.png 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 796px) 100vw, 796px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">“Mike – FYI. Fish and Game letter on Manzana. Very positive,” he wrote. “Also – Sara and I will be in Sea Ranch over Thanksgiving. We’d be happy to have you and Carol [Peevey’s wife, Democratic Sen. Carol Liu] over for drinks or dinner if you are free. I’ve got plenty of great wine to drink.”\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Less than an hour later, Peevey responded. “Thanks for the offer but all tied up with family. Next time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Records show that while Peevey at that time declined Cherry’s invitation to the Sonoma County vacation spot, he took him up on similar offers on other occasions. The men shared “\u003ca href=\"http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-puc-scandal-20141009-story.html\" target=\"_blank\">two bottles of good pinot\u003c/a>” over Memorial Day weekend in 2010, for example, while they discussed renewable energy, gas rate increases and a ballot measure campaign.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, “Manzana” refers to PG&E’s proposed \u003ca href=\"http://www.pge.com/about/newsroom/newsreleases/20091203/pge_agrees_to_purchase_and_operate_major_california_wind_energy_project.shtml\" target=\"_blank\">Manzana Wind Project\u003c/a> in Kern County’s Tehachapi region, a $911 million, 246-megawatt renewable energy project that PG&E proposed in late 2009 and was then before the commission for approval. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife had reviewed the project’s environmental impacts out of concern that the wind turbines \u003ca href=\"http://www.forbes.com/sites/toddwoody/2012/01/04/revival-of-iconic-california-condor-threatens-states-wind-farm-boom/\" target=\"_blank\">could kill endangered California condors\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Earlier that year, Cherry had emailed Peevey with information from PG&E’s investor relations division, citing a report from a Deutsche Bank financial analyst about the Manzana project. “Analysts are tracking Manzana … closely,” that email noted, with bankers considering it one of “the largest upcoming cases for the rest of the year.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, the Manzana project never came to fruition. An independent review by the CPUC’s Division of Ratepayer Advocates ultimately found that the wind project would have left customers bearing “significant risk and an unreasonable price tag.” The commission ultimately denied PG&E’s application.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe src=\"https://www.scribd.com/embeds/269091741/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&show_recommendations=true\" data-auto-height=\"false\" data-aspect-ratio=\"undefined\" scrolling=\"no\" id=\"doc_58078\" width=\"100%\" height=\"600\" frameborder=\"0\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>4) \u003ca name=\"Jellystone\">\u003c/a>“Can you guys help me with this?” -- Sept. 12, 2010\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Only three days had passed since the fatal San Bruno pipeline explosion. With images of the blaze still fresh in the media, the CPUC issued a press release to outline its planned response.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State and federal investigations were already underway. In an open memo, then-CPUC President Michael Peevey directed then-Executive Director Paul Clanon to compel PG&E to survey its lines for gas leaks. He demanded an inquiry into PG&E’s spending on pipeline safety and promised, “We are taking immediate action.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But that same afternoon, Peevey emailed Clanon with a different request entirely.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“First thing tomorrow,” he wrote, “See if you can schedule Darbee and Johns in my office at 2 PM Thursday.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He was referring to PG&E's then-CEO Peter Darbee and then-President Chris Johns. Clanon immediately forwarded the request to two PG&E executives, including Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Brian Cherry, asking, “Can you guys help me with this?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10568681\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/SB-explosion.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-10568681\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/SB-explosion-800x534.jpg\" alt=\"Chimneys remain during a massive fire in a residential neighborhood in September 2010 in San Bruno.\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/SB-explosion-800x534.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/SB-explosion-400x267.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/SB-explosion.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/SB-explosion-960x640.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Chimneys remain during a massive fire in a residential neighborhood in September 2010 in San Bruno. \u003ccite>(Max Whittaker/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Under many circumstances, a meeting between Peevey, a key decision-maker, and PG&E’s top brass about a matter under investigation would be a violation of state regulations designed to ensure fair dealing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under state law, contact between decision-makers and interested parties held outside the formal public process are known as ex parte communications. Whether they take the form of face-to-face meetings, texts or emails, these communications are subject to detailed regulations. And when a formal investigation is involved -- designated as an “adjudicatory proceeding” since commissioners act in the capacity of a judge -- no ex parte contact is allowed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nevertheless, CPUC spokesperson Constance Gordon told KQED that this particular meeting did not violate ex parte rules.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The investigation that began immediately following PG&E’s pipeline rupture was a staff investigation,” Gordon said, “not a formal investigation opened by a vote of the Commissioners,” which came later. “As such, ex parte rules would not apply.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After the meeting arrangements were made, Clanon switched to a lighter topic: “How was Jellystone?” he asked Cherry, a possible reference to Yellowstone National Park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Amazing,” Cherry responded. “Saw so much wildlife. But it snowed the other day and I brought shorts!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cherry urged Clanon to plan his own vacation there. Meanwhile not 72 hours had passed since the fatal San Bruno pipeline explosion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Things keep coming up at my work,” Clanon responded.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Uh. Yes,” Cherry shot back. “You have a challenging job. Guess that’s why they pay you the big bucks.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe src=\"https://www.scribd.com/embeds/269090271/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&access_key=key-GgrivqLXfuWWWUDiHNXu&show_recommendations=true\" data-auto-height=\"false\" data-aspect-ratio=\"0.7586206896551724\" scrolling=\"no\" id=\"doc_42402\" width=\"100%\" height=\"600\" frameborder=\"0\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>5) \u003ca name=\"anyThoughts\">\u003c/a>“Any thoughts – non-attributed of course?” — Oct. 20, 2010\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Four years worth of emails show that former PG&E executive\u003cbr>\nBrian Cherry and former CPUC Executive Director Paul Clanon consulted with each other hundreds of times. While the below emails are not illegal, they are good examples of how Cherry and Clanon often bounced ideas off of each other or problem-solved together. On Oct. 20, 2010, Clanon wrote to Cherry:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What are we going to do about the San Bruno demand that the pipeline be moved? I can certainly understand on the human level why they'd want that, even though it might not make a lot of operational or design sense.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cherry responded, “We are struggling with that. There are a couple different re-routes ... Between you and me, I think we should repair 132 temporarily while offering up a longer-term solution involving re-routing. … Any thoughts - non-attributed of course ?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Clanon did have an idea on how PG&E could “frame” moving the pipeline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think the way to frame the pipe-replacement issue is not to think of it as Line 132, but to think of it as, what, two or three miles?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The next week, then-PG&E President Chris Johns \u003ca href=\"http://www.cpuc.ca.gov/NR/rdonlyres/339C7284-F731-46B1-BB51-8A1D86B3BE0A/0/20101027134941.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">released a statement\u003c/a> pledging to move the pipeline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The section of Line 132 that exploded was not repaired in the end. PG&E \u003ca href=\"http://www.rebuildcrestmoor.org/files/managed/Document/221/Line%20132_109%20Alignment.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">rerouted\u003c/a> the transmission line so that the gas now flows through Line 109 at San Andreas Station and returns to Line 132 at Healy Station, both in San Bruno.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"alignright pullquote\">'Any thoughts — non-attributed of course?'\u003cbr>\n\u003ccite>Former PG&E executive Brian Cherry\u003c/cite>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>The CPUC had ordered PG&E to examine shutoff valves. In the same email, Cherry said that the agency had identified more than 200 valves that needed to be replaced. However, he was concerned that there would be a public outcry if he released that number.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If we tell you the number of valves that have been identified and don't have these kinds of estimates, everyone will demand immediate replacement - which just can't be done for a variety of reasons.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Clanon responded to Cherry: “Yeah, cost and time estimates for the valves are crucial.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E's lack of automatic shutoff valves had come under scrutiny by federal officials at the time. National Transportation Safety Board officials found that it took the utility almost 95 minutes to shut off the gas rushing from the ruptured San Bruno pipeline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Keith Slibasager, PG&E’s gas system operations manager, testified during the NTSB’s public hearing on the San Bruno explosion that the company could have cut the gas within 20 minutes if the utility had installed automatic valves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"http://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/PAR1101.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">2006 PG&E memo\u003c/a> shows that PG&E considered installing automatic safety valves, but did not. A PG&E senior gas-consulting engineer, Chi-hung Lee Sr., wrote in the memo that he found most of the damage from a pipeline explosion occurs within 30 seconds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The engineer later testified at the NTSB hearing that his research was limited. The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration and other safety groups had reached different conclusions about shutoff valves. Federal safety officials have suggested, but not required, the use of automatic shutoff valves since 1999. PG&E officials acknowledged at the hearing that after Lee's memo they made no effort to further install the valves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since the San Bruno explosion, PG&E has installed 208 automated valves that the utility can shut off remotely from a control room and 14 automatic shutoff valves that can shut themselves off in areas where transmission pipelines cross major fault lines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe src=\"https://www.scribd.com/embeds/269090994/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&show_recommendations=true\" data-auto-height=\"false\" data-aspect-ratio=\"undefined\" scrolling=\"no\" id=\"doc_43929\" width=\"100%\" height=\"600\" frameborder=\"0\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>6) \u003ca name=\"paralellUniverses\">\u003c/a>“We live in parallel universes…” — Jan. 10, 2011\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2008, PG&E purposely boosted pressure on the San Bruno natural gas line to 400 pounds per square inch, the maximum legal limit. Normally, the line ran at 375 psi.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The next time the pressure on that gas line exceeded 375 psi was on Sept. 9, 2010, when a malfunction spiked the pressure to 386 psi, coinciding with the deadly explosion in San Bruno killing eight people and destroying 28 homes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E later said they increased the pressure in 2008 under a mistaken understanding of federal law. The utility believed that to maintain the ability to run gas at 400 psi, the legal limit, they needed to do so once every five years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"http://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/PG-E-surge-may-have-stressed-San-Bruno-line-in-08-2478734.php\" target=\"_blank\">San Francisco Chronicle investigation\u003c/a> published on Jan. 9, 2011, revealed that the earlier pressure surge could have weakened the pipeline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E and CPUC officials referenced the story the next day, Jan. 10. At 9:35 a.m. Paul Clanon, then-executive director of the California Public Utilities Commission, wrote to senior CPUC staff asking about the spike:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The Chronicle's story on the 2008 temporary rise in pressure on Line 132 to 400 psi doesn't match what I've heard. What are the facts? Is it standard practice or not to raise pressure up to MAOP [maximum allowable operating pressure] to preserve the maximum? Is 2008 really the only time PG&E has raised pressure on that line above 375 until the explosion?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About 30 minutes later he contacted former PG&E executive Brian Cherry: “What are your guys saying about the facts in the Chron story yesterday? Contradicted my understanding of the rules, anyway.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10568621\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Paul-Clanon-e1434683647732.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-10568621\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Paul-Clanon-800x602.jpg\" alt=\"Paul Clanon speaks at a September 28, 2010 Senate committee hearing on gas pipeline safety. \" width=\"800\" height=\"602\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Paul Clanon speaks at a September 28, 2010 Senate committee hearing on gas pipeline safety. \u003ccite>(Alex Wong/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Two minutes later Cherry shared his confusion: “Not sure. Let me follow up. I was under the same understanding.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Clanon wrote back at 10:48: “Our guys are doing the same thing, and you and I can triangulate.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It is not standard practice for utilities to raise pressure on transmission lines, and federal law requires utilities to conduct a costly inspection on any pipeline when the pressure exceeds the maximum limit. PG&E had not conducted such an inspection, nor did Clanon ask if they had in the emails released.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By 4:53 p.m. Cherry and Clanon began to be concerned that neither PG&E nor CPUC staff could come up with an answer about whether such pressure spiking on a gas line was a normal practice. The two sympathized with each other.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Clanon wrote Cherry: “Nothing back yet?” Cherry responded “Nothing yet…” and later “We live in parallel universes.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About an hour later, Clanon had received research from CPUC staff and wanted to run it by Cherry:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Here's what I get from my people. You agree? Follows: PG&E raises the pressure in transmission lines to MAOP once every five years based on its conservative interpretation of 192.917(e)(4)…”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The next day, \u003ca href=\"http://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/PG-E-halts-intentional-gas-line-pressure-spikes-2478613.php\" target=\"_blank\">a Chronicle story\u003c/a> included a statement from a PG&E spokesperson that was very similar to what Clanon had written. “PG&E initially said it had conducted the pressure test on the San Bruno line to ‘preserve’ the pipe's legal capacity, saying federal law required it. A spokesman later backtracked and conceded there was no such requirement.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>CPUC spokesperson Constance Gordon says that Clanon and Cherry were discussing each other's understanding of the rules, so \"if PG&E had a different understanding than that of CPUC staff the issue could be further discussed.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Utility Reform Network is one of PG&E’s sharpest critics. TURN spokesperson Mindy Spatt said such conversations are concerning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Well, it’s a question of whether the commission should be a watchdog or a lapdog. A watchdog would say, wait a minute PG&E what’s going on here? And a lapdog would say, let’s coordinate our message.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe src=\"https://www.scribd.com/embeds/269089050/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&show_recommendations=true\" data-auto-height=\"false\" data-aspect-ratio=\"undefined\" scrolling=\"no\" id=\"doc_86669\" width=\"100%\" height=\"600\" frameborder=\"0\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>7) \u003ca name=\"investorRelations\">\u003c/a>“Investor relations” — Sept. 26, 2011\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An email exchange between Commissioner Mark Ferron and PG&E’s Brian Cherry shows Ferron sought advice from PG&E on which Wall Street analysts he should meet with privately on a trip to New York.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Mark,” Cherry wrote to Ferron in a Sept. 26, 2011 email, “Commissioner Florio was over at PG&E the other day and mentioned that you might need some help meeting with the buy and sell side analysts in New York. If you are interested, Gabe Togneri, our VP of Investor Relations, would be happy to reach out to some of them and have them sponsor a meeting. Our only role would be to make the contact. The analysts would sponsor the meetings themselves and you would meet with them privately.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ferron responded: “[PG&E CEO] Tony Earley … highlighted Dan Ford at Barclays Capital as a thought leader worthwhile meeting if I can find the time. Who else might Gabe recommend?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While there’s no record here of Ferron discussing the proposed San Bruno penalty with Ford, the Barclays analyst was clearly focused on that question.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In September 2012, Ford authored a report noting that PG&E would have difficulty raising $2.2 billion in equity to cover the expected San Bruno fine amount. (The actual penalty amount, finally determined on April 9 this year, was set at $1.6 billion.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And in \u003ca href=\"http://www.ocregister.com/articles/california-530091-puc-state.html\" target=\"_blank\">a report authored by Ferron\u003c/a>, made public in October 2013, the commissioner related investors’ concerns that levying too large a fine against PG&E would cause them to view California as a “capital-unfriendly, ‘banana republic.’” That could lead to an increase in the cost of financing capital for utilities, warned Ferron, who had worked at Deutsche Bank prior to being appointed as a commissioner in March 2011.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ferron stepped down as a commissioner in 2014, citing health problems. CPUC spokesperson Constance Gordon said she was unable to offer comment on emails sent by individuals who no longer worked at the commission. Attempts to reach Ferron were unsuccessful.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The question as to whether commissioners had inappropriate ex parte communications with Wall Street analysts was raised in a brief filed by the CPUC’s Division of Ratepayer Advocates. (Since renamed Office of Ratepayer Advocates).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Some, if not all, of the financial industry representatives who reported discussing the San Bruno investigations with Commission offices represent firms or clients with a financial interest in PG&E Corporation,” the CPUC’s consumer advocacy branch pointed out. “The size of the fine and other penalties the Commission may impose in the San Bruno Investigations is a substantive issue in all three [CPUC] investigations.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe src=\"https://www.scribd.com/embeds/269089048/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&access_key=key-Mn9jh61Mxr2k4WEJWObu&show_recommendations=true\" data-auto-height=\"false\" data-aspect-ratio=\"0.7586206896551724\" scrolling=\"no\" id=\"doc_86425\" width=\"100%\" height=\"600\" frameborder=\"0\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>8) \u003ca name=\"happyBirthday\">\u003c/a>“Happy Birthday!” — Sept. 16, 2010\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was 7 a.m. on Sept. 16, 2010, one week after the San Bruno pipeline explosion. CPUC executive director Paul Clanon emailed PG&E’s Brian Cherry with a simple message in the subject line: “Happy Birthday!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Thanks,” Cherry replied. He shared his birthday wish. “I’d love a nice muzzle for Mark Toney.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mark Toney is executive director of The Utility Reform Network (TURN), a leading critic of PG&E.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10568624\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 600px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Mark-Toney.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-10568624\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Mark-Toney.jpg\" alt=\"Mark Toney, executive director of consumer advocacy group The Utility Reform Network, was the target of an unkind remark in an email from a PG&E executive to the regulatory agency director.\" width=\"600\" height=\"420\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Mark-Toney.jpg 600w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Mark-Toney-400x280.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mark Toney, executive director of consumer advocacy group The Utility Reform Network, was the target of an unkind remark in an email from a PG&E executive to the regulatory agency director. \u003ccite>(Courtesy The Utility Reform Network)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As for why Cherry would have wanted a “muzzle” for Toney, TURN spokesperson Mindy Spatt told KQED that Toney had issued a public statement about customer safety just before this exchange took place.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He was saying: Demand that PG&E put customer safety first – that is the message that PG&E wanted muzzled, a message that said ‘no more San Brunos,’” Spatt said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Sept. 15, Cherry had emailed Clanon to tell him then-PG&E CEO Peter Darbee believed “TURN’s behavior \u003ca href=\"http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/PG-E-targeted-critics-after-San-Bruno-blast-6054156.php\" target=\"_blank\">has bordered on the irresponsible\u003c/a>.” He wondered whether the CPUC would be willing to make a statement publicly discounting TURN’s claims. While it’s not clear from the emails how Clanon reacted to this request, his email reply to Cherry was: “Call me when you can.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was actually six days after the fatal San Bruno explosion that Brian Cherry referred to TURN’s behavior as irresponsible,” Spatt said when asked about this. “His company has just killed eight people and incinerated an entire neighborhood.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe src=\"https://www.scribd.com/embeds/269090899/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&show_recommendations=true\" data-auto-height=\"false\" data-aspect-ratio=\"undefined\" scrolling=\"no\" id=\"doc_38056\" width=\"100%\" height=\"600\" frameborder=\"0\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>9) \u003ca href=\"jerryBrown\">“Get this info to Brown”\u003c/a> -- Jan. 11, 2011\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While it’s obvious why a major utility company would be concerned that its stock had been downgraded, it’s not as clear why a commissioner would care. Upon learning about a financial downgrade, then-CPUC president Michael Peevey recommended that PG&E find a way to indirectly alert Gov. Jerry Brown, who was then in the process of determining new commission appointments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The email thread begins Jan. 11, 2011, when PG&E’s Brian Cherry forwarded Peevey a message from PG&E’s investor relations division about a financial analyst’s report.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Citigroup downgraded … PG&E,” the email explained. The note showed that analysts feared “uncertainty and potential shifting dynamics in the regulatory arena.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In response, Peevey wrote in an email to Cherry: “You should find a way to get this info to Brown as he makes his decisions on Commissioners ASAP. Probably best coming from a non-utility source, such as investment banker(s).”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When asked why Peevey would provide this advice, CPUC spokesperson Constance Gordon responded, “The questions you’ve asked involve individuals who are no longer with the CPUC, so we cannot ask them your questions.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe src=\"https://www.scribd.com/embeds/269091157/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&show_recommendations=true\" data-auto-height=\"false\" data-aspect-ratio=\"undefined\" scrolling=\"no\" id=\"doc_69098\" width=\"100%\" height=\"600\" frameborder=\"0\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>10. \u003ca href=\"prozac\">“Prozac might be a solution!”\u003c/a> -- June 4, 2010\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E officials had no idea what they were getting into when the utility began installing smart meters in California in 2006. Smart meters are a critical component of the \"smart grid” -- the devices track energy usage and transmit data back to customers and utilities, with the goal of reducing electricity consumption and distributing power more efficiently across the electric grid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Smart meters faced an almost \u003ca href=\"http://blogs.kqed.org/climatewatch/2010/03/10/the-backlash-against-smartmeters/\" target=\"_blank\">immediate backlash\u003c/a>. Users first complained that the devices gave artificially high readings. Later the \u003ca href=\"https://www.scribd.com/doc/269092309/Smart-Meter-Investigation-Findings-by-CPUC\" target=\"_blank\">CPUC found\u003c/a> that about 1,480 meters inaccurately recorded electricity consumption in ambient temperatures ranging from 100– 115 degrees Fahrenheit due to a defective chip. Nevertheless, \u003ca href=\"http://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/EFILE/RULINGS/122935.PDF\" target=\"_blank\">a study\u003c/a> conducted by an independent consultant, The Structure Group, determined that the meters generally functioned as intended.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Next, consumer advocacy groups, including TURN, \u003ca href=\"http://blogs.kqed.org/climatewatch/2010/06/13/dumbfounded-by-smartmeters/\" target=\"_blank\">raised concerns\u003c/a> that the meters would harm people like seniors who sometimes have no choice but to run their air conditioners in the sweltering Central Valley. TURN also noted that with smart meters, PG&E could simply turn off people’s power if they couldn’t keep up with the bills. Privacy advocates expressed concern about utilities gaining access to information about their use of personal home appliances.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10568672\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 300px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/4-43EMF_300.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-10568672\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/4-43EMF_300.jpg\" alt=\"A sign from a smart meter protest in 2010.\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A sign from a smart meter protest in 2010. \u003ccite>(Amy Standen/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The biggest battle over smart meters, though, centered on electromagnetic fields (EMFs) emitted by smart meters. The possible health effects of EMFs have been a subject of debate since the \u003ca href=\"http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,918076,00.html\" target=\"_blank\">Cold War\u003c/a>, and fear has intensified in the wireless age with the introduction of countless devices that emit EMFs, such as cellphones, laptops and Wi-Fi routers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/radiation/magnetic-fields-fact-sheet\" target=\"_blank\">The National Institutes of Health’s National Cancer Institute\u003c/a> says that “several early epidemiologic studies raised the possibility of an association between certain cancers, especially childhood cancers, and ELF-EMFs. Most subsequent studies have not shown such an association.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unlike high-energy radiation emitted from devices like X-rays, low-energy emissions from devices like smart meters cannot damage DNA or cells directly, the NIH writes. \u003ca href=\"http://www.who.int/peh-emf/research/en/\" target=\"_blank\">The World Health Organization concluded\u003c/a> that low-energy emissions cause “no substantive health issues.” Smart-meter emissions are 60 times lower than the federal health guidelines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>EMF activists remain concerned, however, about the accumulated exposure people face from being surrounded by so many low-emission devices. And they’ve flooded the CPUC and PG&E with complaints.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By June 4, 2010, Carol Brown, then-CPUC President Michael Peevey’s chief-of-staff, wanted an answer for the people contacting her about EMFs. She wrote to then-PG&E executive Brian Cherry: “So far I have done OK just listening to the sad tales of EMF poisoning - and telling them thank you for bringing it to our attention - but then not offering them any solution!!! I just wanted to have a resource in case! Have a nice weekend.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cherry responded: “Prozac might be a solution!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the meantime, cities, including San Francisco, began petitioning the CPUC to make smart meters optional.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Peevey recommended to Cherry in an email in September 2010 that PG&E consider making the meters optional:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“One thought for the company: If it were my decision I would let anyone who wants to keep their old meter keep it, if they claim they suffer from EMF and/or related electronic-related illnesses and they can produce a doctor's letter saying so (or expressing concern about the likelihood of suffering same). I would institute such a policy quietly and solely on an individual basis. There really are people who feel pain, etc., related to EMF, etc., and rather than have them becoming hysterical, etc., I would quietly leave them alone. Kick it around. And, it sounds like the company may already have taken this step, based on a couple of the comments at yesterday's public hearing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cherry said that he would consider it: “I do worry that this policy, no matter how discrete (sic) we try to make it, will surface and town councils and cities in our territory will ask for similar treatment. That said, we will take the matter up and get back to you with our feedback.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In March 2011, PG&E proposed allowing smart meter users to opt out. The CPUC approved that plan in February 2012. Customers who opt out of the program must pay an initial fee and monthly charge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe src=\"https://www.scribd.com/embeds/269089051/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&show_recommendations=true\" data-auto-height=\"false\" data-aspect-ratio=\"undefined\" scrolling=\"no\" id=\"doc_26891\" width=\"100%\" height=\"600\" frameborder=\"0\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003ca name=\"whatHappened\">\u003c/a>Where Are They Now?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Brian Cherry\u003c/strong>, PG&E’s vice president of regulatory affairs, was fired from PG&E in September of 2014, after inappropriate email exchanges came to light.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Thomas Bottorff\u003c/strong>, PG&E’s senior vice president of regulatory affairs and Cherry’s boss, was fired along with Cherry. According to a San Jose Mercury News article he was to receive a severance payment totaling more than $1 million.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Chris Johns\u003c/strong>, president of PG&E, \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2015/05/27/pge-president-to-retire-as-utility-faces-mounting-scrutiny\" target=\"_blank\">announced several weeks\u003c/a> ago that he would retire by the end of the year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Peevey\u003c/strong>, president of the California Public Utilities Commission, stepped down from his role after his term came to an end in December of 2014. Peevey came under fire for inappropriate email exchanges.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Paul Clanon\u003c/strong>, executive director of the California Public Utilities Commission, announced at the end of December that he would retire to study music.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mark Ferron\u003c/strong>, former commissioner at the California Public Utilities Commission, resigned in December of 2014 due to health problems.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carol Brown\u003c/strong>, former commission president Peevey’s chief of staff, stepped down in the wake of revelations that she had agreed to intervene on a judge appointment for a case involving PG&E. Despite news reports that she might return to the agency as an administrative law judge, a CPUC spokesperson confirmed to KQED that Brown has retired.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Florio\u003c/strong>, who was also entangled in the judge-shopping scandal, remains as a commissioner at the California Public Utilities Commission.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">I\u003c/span>n the years since the September 2010 natural gas pipeline explosion that killed eight people in San Bruno, the relationship between pipeline operator Pacific Gas and Electric Co. and high-ranking officials at the California Public Utilities Commission has come under intense scrutiny, undermining public trust in the state agency tasked with ensuring safe pipeline operations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State prosecutors and a federal grand jury are currently zeroing in on alleged improper ties between PG&E and top state regulators. \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2015/01/29/report-former-cpuc-chief-targeted-in-state-probe\" target=\"_blank\">State investigators\u003c/a> acting on a search warrant earlier this year seized iPhones, a laptop and bank statements from the residence of former CPUC President Michael Peevey and took similar items from the home of PG&E's former Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, Brian Cherry, all on suspicion of felony activity relating to a judge-shopping scandal brought to light by email records.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those exchanges were made public in the wake of civil litigation brought on behalf of San Bruno, when a judge ordered PG&E to release records consisting of some 65,000 emails and 123,000 documents.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"alignright pullquote\">A PG&E executive and CPUC official were on 2,369 of the same email threads using their official email addresses — that’s an average of 11 times a week.\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>KQED has taken a detailed look into this correspondence, which reveals in granular detail the familiar relationships between key decision-makers and PG&E executives that lasted well beyond the San Bruno incident. There are multiple instances of Peevey arranging to meet with Cherry for holiday visits that involved sipping wine — a keyword search of the email records for the words “pinot” or “cabernet,” for example, yielded 16 separate items.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But two of the closest confidants were Cherry and then-CPUC Executive Director Paul Clanon. The collection of documents provided by PG&E shows that between 2010 and 2014, Cherry and Clanon were on 2,369 of the same email threads using their official email addresses -- that's an average of 11 times a week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although some of these emails were sent years ago, an attempt to force a cultural change at the CPUC is only now making its way through the California Legislature. In an attempt to reform CPUC operations, the Senate recently approved \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml;jsessionid=ccfbe52d6f35026fdd9d2a7e2414?bill_id=201520160SB660\" target=\"_blank\">SB 660\u003c/a>, a bill that would overhaul decision-making processes and restrict private exchanges.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an interview with KQED, CPUC President Michael Picker said that the agency read every email released, conducted legal reviews and went through the state personnel process when breaches occurred.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The agency focused on correspondence from about 80 people below the level of commissioner. Some individuals left the CPUC prior to or during the review. The agency determined that action was not warranted against 54 of the people who remained on staff. CPUC spokeswoman Constance Gordon said \"individuals whose emails raised more serious issues\" -- the agency won't say how many -- received \"counseling memos\" or \"letters of correction.\" The agency also held a staff training in appropriate email decorum in April.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The challenge is that we are built for a different era, we were built in a time before emails,\" Picker said. \"Emails tend toward much more casual relationships. That’s a problem because when you start to get at a certain level of casualness, then you can slide into other kinds of ethical breaches.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Picker said that communications between PG&E staff and CPUC employees are currently banned for procedural cases. However, he said, the two staffs must be able to talk to each other.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We can’t do our jobs. We can’t guarantee that the electric system, the gas system work properly, we can’t make sure that people are being protected against unsafe infrastructure unless we are always in communication with the utilities. So if we’re not in contact with PG&E that’s as big of a problem and maybe a larger problem then some of the improper comportment,\" he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E fired Cherry, as well as Senior Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Tom Bottorff and Vice President of Regulatory Proceedings Trina Horner, following the company's internal investigation into the emails.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E spokesman Nick Stimmel \u003ca href=\"https://www.scribd.com/doc/269092248/CPUC-and-PG-E-Emails-PG-E-Statement-to-KQED\" target=\"_blank\">wrote in a statement\u003c/a>: \"With respect to the email issue, we have produced tens of thousands of emails voluntarily and in response to regulatory and legal requirements and we continue to cooperate with all investigations. In the meantime, we will let the content of the emails speak for themselves; we are not going to speculate about motivations or the actions of people who are no longer in roles with the CPUC or the company or about events that may or may not have occurred.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Below we highlight 10 email exchanges that demonstrate just how cozy ties between regulators and the regulated have been in day-to-day CPUC operations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Read the emails\u003c/p>\n\u003ctable>\n\u003ctbody>\n\u003ctr>\n\u003ctd>1) \u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#controlRoom\">“The Control Room Audit”\u003c/a>\u003c/strong> Sept. 14, 2011\u003cbr>\n2) \u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#angels\">“Charlie’s Angels”\u003c/a>\u003c/strong> Oct. 18, 2011\u003cbr>\n3) \u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#seaRanch\">“Sea Ranch over Thanksgiving”\u003c/a>\u003c/strong> Nov. 24, 2010\u003cbr>\n4) \u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#Jellystone\">“How was Jellystone?”\u003c/a>\u003c/strong> Sept. 12, 2010\u003cbr>\n5) \u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#anyThoughts\">“Any thoughts – non-attributed of course?”\u003c/a>\u003c/strong> Oct. 20, 2010\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>6) \u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#parallelUniverses\">“We live in parallel universes…”\u003c/a>\u003c/strong> January 10, 2011\u003cbr>\n7) \u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#investorRelations\">“Investor relations”\u003c/a>\u003c/strong> Sept. 26, 2011\u003cbr>\n8)\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#happyBirthday\"> “Happy Birthday!”\u003c/a>\u003c/strong> Sept. 16, 2010\u003cbr>\n9) \u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#jerryBrown\">“Get this info to [Jerry] Brown”\u003c/a>\u003c/strong> January 11, 2011\u003cbr>\n10) \u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#prozac\">“Prozac might be a solution!”\u003c/a>\u003c/strong> June 4, 2010\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#whatHappened\">Where Are They Now?\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/td>\n\u003c/tr>\n\u003c/tbody>\n\u003c/table>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>1) \u003ca name=\"controlRoom\">\u003c/a>“The Control Room Audit” -- Sept. 14, 2011\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the aftermath of the pipeline rupture that caused the San Bruno explosion, PG&E’s control room management became a focal point for safety improvement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Natural gas pipelines may traverse thousands of miles. In a control room, pressure and flow across the underground network are monitored remotely. The federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration moved to amend federal pipeline safety regulations in the months after San Bruno, imposing tougher regulations on control room operations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But according to an email from PG&E’s Brian Cherry to CPUC’s then-Executive Director Paul Clanon, dated Sept. 14, 2011, the company encountered “some pressing problems” relating to a “control room audit.” Accordingly, Cherry wondered whether Clanon would be willing to “focus elsewhere.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10568616\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/LaHood-Speier-San-Bruno-e1434683321797.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-10568616\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/LaHood-Speier-San-Bruno-800x619.jpg\" alt=\"In this photo from May of 2011, federal Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood tours the site of the PG&E San Bruno pipeline explosion with Congressional Representative Jackie Speier.\" width=\"800\" height=\"619\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">In this photo from May of 2011, federal Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood tours the site of the PG&E San Bruno pipeline explosion with Congressional Representative Jackie Speier. \u003ccite>(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Paul – hope you are enjoying yourself in Jellystone but stay away from the wayward bison,” Cherry wrote. “I received a request from Nick [Stavropoulos, PG&E’s executive vice president of gas operations] and Chris [Johns, president of PG&E] … to seek your advice and counsel on the control room audit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Nick and Chris know we have problems in this area and would like you to focus elsewhere for the moment so that we can address some pressing problems. … Nick stated that you once offered to help out in any way you could if the Commission was becoming an obstacle to us getting the work done.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A formal letter sent to Clanon about two weeks later on PG&E stationary shows the company was preparing for a visit from an independent consultant hired by the CPUC to inspect control-room operations. This audit was conducted to ensure compliance with federal rules. So was PG&E granted a delay? CPUC spokeswoman Constance Gordon said she could not comment on Clanon’s email directly, since he no longer works at the CPUC.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Commission President Michael Picker, who replaced Peevey after he stepped down last year, said that he could not comment directly on the contents of the email, either, since he was unfamiliar with the audit. However, he said, \"No one’s ever asked me to focus elsewhere. Chances are that would make me want to focus more.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Reached by phone, Clanon declined to comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe src=\"https://www.scribd.com/embeds/269089045/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&access_key=key-LCWXLFaD7vmtymd0YBHr&show_recommendations=true\" data-auto-height=\"false\" data-aspect-ratio=\"0.7586206896551724\" scrolling=\"no\" id=\"doc_25733\" width=\"100%\" height=\"600\" frameborder=\"0\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>2) \u003ca name=\"angels\">\u003c/a>“Charlie’s Angels” -- Oct. 18, 2011\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Oct. 18, 2011, PG&E’s Brian Cherry forwarded CPUC President Mike Peevey an email attachment with the note “FYI.” It was a letter from Rep. Jackie Speier to U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, urging LaHood to require natural gas operators to remove from their networks a kind of plastic pipe, Aldyl-A, which is prone to cracking. PG&E has 1,231 miles of the pipe in its system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Roughly six weeks earlier, \u003ca href=\"http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Plastic-natural-gas-pipe-failure-data-kept-secret-2308629.php\" target=\"_blank\">a Cupertino condominium had been destroyed\u003c/a>, in an explosion and fire caused by a gas leak due to a cracked fitting in a plastic Aldyl-A pipe. When it investigated the cause of the blast, PG&E found six other plastic pipe failures near the blast site, records show.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10568615\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Bernardus_Site-Photos-from-Everett_Medium-Resolution_04-17-15-17317.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-10568615\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Bernardus_Site-Photos-from-Everett_Medium-Resolution_04-17-15-17317-800x532.jpg\" alt=\"Former California Public Utilities Commission President Michael Peevey and PG&E executive Brian Cherry made dinner plans at the Bernardus Lodge & Spa, shown here, in October of 2011.\" width=\"800\" height=\"532\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Bernardus_Site-Photos-from-Everett_Medium-Resolution_04-17-15-17317-800x532.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Bernardus_Site-Photos-from-Everett_Medium-Resolution_04-17-15-17317-400x266.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Bernardus_Site-Photos-from-Everett_Medium-Resolution_04-17-15-17317-960x639.jpg 960w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Bernardus_Site-Photos-from-Everett_Medium-Resolution_04-17-15-17317.jpg 1100w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Former California Public Utilities Commission President Michael Peevey and PG&E executive Brian Cherry made dinner plans at the Bernardus Lodge & Spa, shown here, in October of 2011. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Bernardus Lodge & Spa)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In response to Cherry's email, Peevey thanked Cherry for the update. Then the CPUC president moved onto another topic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“See you for dinner Sunday night,” he wrote. “Where and when? Are you bringing Charlie's Angels too?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cherry responded: “7:30 at Marinus in the Bernardus Lodge in the Carmel Valley. About 20 minutes or so from Monterey but well worth the drive. We can make it earlier if you wish.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He added, “Some angels may attend.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/angelstext.png\">\u003cimg class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-10568675\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/angelstext.png\" alt=\"angelstext\" width=\"796\" height=\"357\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/angelstext.png 796w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/angelstext-400x179.png 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 796px) 100vw, 796px\">\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Sunday night\" would have marked the start of the annual meeting of the The Conference of California Public Utility Counsel (CCPUC) at the Monterey Plaza Hotel. The nonprofit organization, which describes itself on the web as a “non-profit mutual benefit corporation,” has representatives from PG&E and other utilities on its board of directors. According to the \u003ca href=\"http://www.ccpuc.org/Past_Events?action=setup_form&formID=57\" target=\"_blank\">conference agenda\u003c/a>, Peevey was scheduled to speak at the conference on Monday, Oct. 24, 2011.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The conference itinerary shows that the evening activity on Sunday, Oct. 23 was a group activity –- attendees would be treated to a “reception and strolling dinner” at the Monterey Bay Aquarium from 7 to 9:30 p.m. But this email thread suggests Peevey and Cherry had other plans. The Bernardus Lodge & Spa is a luxury facility often booked for off-site corporate retreats, according to its website.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While it’s unclear who, or what, the men were referring to when they discussed whether “Charlie’s Angels” would attend, at the very least the detail illustrates close enough ties for them to share a mutual understanding about a coded phrase. Attempts to reach Cherry and Peevey by phone were unsuccessful.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe src=\"https://www.scribd.com/embeds/269090620/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&show_recommendations=true\" data-auto-height=\"false\" data-aspect-ratio=\"undefined\" scrolling=\"no\" id=\"doc_59557\" width=\"100%\" height=\"600\" frameborder=\"0\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>3) \u003ca name=\"seaRanch\">\u003c/a>“Sea Ranch over Thanksgiving” -- Nov. 24, 2010\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Nov. 24, 2010, about six weeks after the San Bruno pipeline explosion, PG&E’s Brian Cherry emailed CPUC President Mike Peevey with some good news -- plus an invitation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10568674\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 796px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/thanksgivingtext.png\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-10568674\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/thanksgivingtext.png\" alt=\"“Mike – FYI. Fish and Game letter on Manzana. Very positive,” he wrote. “Also – Sara and I will be in Sea Ranch over Thanksgiving. We’d be happy to have you and Carol [Peevey’s wife, Democratic Sen. Carol Liu] over for drinks or dinner if you are free. I’ve got plenty of great wine to drink.”\" width=\"796\" height=\"260\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/thanksgivingtext.png 796w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/thanksgivingtext-400x131.png 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 796px) 100vw, 796px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">“Mike – FYI. Fish and Game letter on Manzana. Very positive,” he wrote. “Also – Sara and I will be in Sea Ranch over Thanksgiving. We’d be happy to have you and Carol [Peevey’s wife, Democratic Sen. Carol Liu] over for drinks or dinner if you are free. I’ve got plenty of great wine to drink.”\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Less than an hour later, Peevey responded. “Thanks for the offer but all tied up with family. Next time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Records show that while Peevey at that time declined Cherry’s invitation to the Sonoma County vacation spot, he took him up on similar offers on other occasions. The men shared “\u003ca href=\"http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-puc-scandal-20141009-story.html\" target=\"_blank\">two bottles of good pinot\u003c/a>” over Memorial Day weekend in 2010, for example, while they discussed renewable energy, gas rate increases and a ballot measure campaign.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, “Manzana” refers to PG&E’s proposed \u003ca href=\"http://www.pge.com/about/newsroom/newsreleases/20091203/pge_agrees_to_purchase_and_operate_major_california_wind_energy_project.shtml\" target=\"_blank\">Manzana Wind Project\u003c/a> in Kern County’s Tehachapi region, a $911 million, 246-megawatt renewable energy project that PG&E proposed in late 2009 and was then before the commission for approval. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife had reviewed the project’s environmental impacts out of concern that the wind turbines \u003ca href=\"http://www.forbes.com/sites/toddwoody/2012/01/04/revival-of-iconic-california-condor-threatens-states-wind-farm-boom/\" target=\"_blank\">could kill endangered California condors\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Earlier that year, Cherry had emailed Peevey with information from PG&E’s investor relations division, citing a report from a Deutsche Bank financial analyst about the Manzana project. “Analysts are tracking Manzana … closely,” that email noted, with bankers considering it one of “the largest upcoming cases for the rest of the year.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, the Manzana project never came to fruition. An independent review by the CPUC’s Division of Ratepayer Advocates ultimately found that the wind project would have left customers bearing “significant risk and an unreasonable price tag.” The commission ultimately denied PG&E’s application.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe src=\"https://www.scribd.com/embeds/269091741/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&show_recommendations=true\" data-auto-height=\"false\" data-aspect-ratio=\"undefined\" scrolling=\"no\" id=\"doc_58078\" width=\"100%\" height=\"600\" frameborder=\"0\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>4) \u003ca name=\"Jellystone\">\u003c/a>“Can you guys help me with this?” -- Sept. 12, 2010\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Only three days had passed since the fatal San Bruno pipeline explosion. With images of the blaze still fresh in the media, the CPUC issued a press release to outline its planned response.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State and federal investigations were already underway. In an open memo, then-CPUC President Michael Peevey directed then-Executive Director Paul Clanon to compel PG&E to survey its lines for gas leaks. He demanded an inquiry into PG&E’s spending on pipeline safety and promised, “We are taking immediate action.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But that same afternoon, Peevey emailed Clanon with a different request entirely.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“First thing tomorrow,” he wrote, “See if you can schedule Darbee and Johns in my office at 2 PM Thursday.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He was referring to PG&E's then-CEO Peter Darbee and then-President Chris Johns. Clanon immediately forwarded the request to two PG&E executives, including Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Brian Cherry, asking, “Can you guys help me with this?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10568681\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/SB-explosion.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-10568681\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/SB-explosion-800x534.jpg\" alt=\"Chimneys remain during a massive fire in a residential neighborhood in September 2010 in San Bruno.\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/SB-explosion-800x534.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/SB-explosion-400x267.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/SB-explosion.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/SB-explosion-960x640.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Chimneys remain during a massive fire in a residential neighborhood in September 2010 in San Bruno. \u003ccite>(Max Whittaker/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Under many circumstances, a meeting between Peevey, a key decision-maker, and PG&E’s top brass about a matter under investigation would be a violation of state regulations designed to ensure fair dealing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under state law, contact between decision-makers and interested parties held outside the formal public process are known as ex parte communications. Whether they take the form of face-to-face meetings, texts or emails, these communications are subject to detailed regulations. And when a formal investigation is involved -- designated as an “adjudicatory proceeding” since commissioners act in the capacity of a judge -- no ex parte contact is allowed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nevertheless, CPUC spokesperson Constance Gordon told KQED that this particular meeting did not violate ex parte rules.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The investigation that began immediately following PG&E’s pipeline rupture was a staff investigation,” Gordon said, “not a formal investigation opened by a vote of the Commissioners,” which came later. “As such, ex parte rules would not apply.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After the meeting arrangements were made, Clanon switched to a lighter topic: “How was Jellystone?” he asked Cherry, a possible reference to Yellowstone National Park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Amazing,” Cherry responded. “Saw so much wildlife. But it snowed the other day and I brought shorts!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cherry urged Clanon to plan his own vacation there. Meanwhile not 72 hours had passed since the fatal San Bruno pipeline explosion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Things keep coming up at my work,” Clanon responded.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Uh. Yes,” Cherry shot back. “You have a challenging job. Guess that’s why they pay you the big bucks.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe src=\"https://www.scribd.com/embeds/269090271/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&access_key=key-GgrivqLXfuWWWUDiHNXu&show_recommendations=true\" data-auto-height=\"false\" data-aspect-ratio=\"0.7586206896551724\" scrolling=\"no\" id=\"doc_42402\" width=\"100%\" height=\"600\" frameborder=\"0\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>5) \u003ca name=\"anyThoughts\">\u003c/a>“Any thoughts – non-attributed of course?” — Oct. 20, 2010\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Four years worth of emails show that former PG&E executive\u003cbr>\nBrian Cherry and former CPUC Executive Director Paul Clanon consulted with each other hundreds of times. While the below emails are not illegal, they are good examples of how Cherry and Clanon often bounced ideas off of each other or problem-solved together. On Oct. 20, 2010, Clanon wrote to Cherry:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What are we going to do about the San Bruno demand that the pipeline be moved? I can certainly understand on the human level why they'd want that, even though it might not make a lot of operational or design sense.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cherry responded, “We are struggling with that. There are a couple different re-routes ... Between you and me, I think we should repair 132 temporarily while offering up a longer-term solution involving re-routing. … Any thoughts - non-attributed of course ?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Clanon did have an idea on how PG&E could “frame” moving the pipeline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think the way to frame the pipe-replacement issue is not to think of it as Line 132, but to think of it as, what, two or three miles?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The next week, then-PG&E President Chris Johns \u003ca href=\"http://www.cpuc.ca.gov/NR/rdonlyres/339C7284-F731-46B1-BB51-8A1D86B3BE0A/0/20101027134941.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">released a statement\u003c/a> pledging to move the pipeline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The section of Line 132 that exploded was not repaired in the end. PG&E \u003ca href=\"http://www.rebuildcrestmoor.org/files/managed/Document/221/Line%20132_109%20Alignment.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">rerouted\u003c/a> the transmission line so that the gas now flows through Line 109 at San Andreas Station and returns to Line 132 at Healy Station, both in San Bruno.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"alignright pullquote\">'Any thoughts — non-attributed of course?'\u003cbr>\n\u003ccite>Former PG&E executive Brian Cherry\u003c/cite>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>The CPUC had ordered PG&E to examine shutoff valves. In the same email, Cherry said that the agency had identified more than 200 valves that needed to be replaced. However, he was concerned that there would be a public outcry if he released that number.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If we tell you the number of valves that have been identified and don't have these kinds of estimates, everyone will demand immediate replacement - which just can't be done for a variety of reasons.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Clanon responded to Cherry: “Yeah, cost and time estimates for the valves are crucial.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E's lack of automatic shutoff valves had come under scrutiny by federal officials at the time. National Transportation Safety Board officials found that it took the utility almost 95 minutes to shut off the gas rushing from the ruptured San Bruno pipeline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Keith Slibasager, PG&E’s gas system operations manager, testified during the NTSB’s public hearing on the San Bruno explosion that the company could have cut the gas within 20 minutes if the utility had installed automatic valves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"http://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/PAR1101.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">2006 PG&E memo\u003c/a> shows that PG&E considered installing automatic safety valves, but did not. A PG&E senior gas-consulting engineer, Chi-hung Lee Sr., wrote in the memo that he found most of the damage from a pipeline explosion occurs within 30 seconds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The engineer later testified at the NTSB hearing that his research was limited. The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration and other safety groups had reached different conclusions about shutoff valves. Federal safety officials have suggested, but not required, the use of automatic shutoff valves since 1999. PG&E officials acknowledged at the hearing that after Lee's memo they made no effort to further install the valves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since the San Bruno explosion, PG&E has installed 208 automated valves that the utility can shut off remotely from a control room and 14 automatic shutoff valves that can shut themselves off in areas where transmission pipelines cross major fault lines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe src=\"https://www.scribd.com/embeds/269090994/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&show_recommendations=true\" data-auto-height=\"false\" data-aspect-ratio=\"undefined\" scrolling=\"no\" id=\"doc_43929\" width=\"100%\" height=\"600\" frameborder=\"0\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>6) \u003ca name=\"paralellUniverses\">\u003c/a>“We live in parallel universes…” — Jan. 10, 2011\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2008, PG&E purposely boosted pressure on the San Bruno natural gas line to 400 pounds per square inch, the maximum legal limit. Normally, the line ran at 375 psi.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The next time the pressure on that gas line exceeded 375 psi was on Sept. 9, 2010, when a malfunction spiked the pressure to 386 psi, coinciding with the deadly explosion in San Bruno killing eight people and destroying 28 homes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E later said they increased the pressure in 2008 under a mistaken understanding of federal law. The utility believed that to maintain the ability to run gas at 400 psi, the legal limit, they needed to do so once every five years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"http://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/PG-E-surge-may-have-stressed-San-Bruno-line-in-08-2478734.php\" target=\"_blank\">San Francisco Chronicle investigation\u003c/a> published on Jan. 9, 2011, revealed that the earlier pressure surge could have weakened the pipeline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E and CPUC officials referenced the story the next day, Jan. 10. At 9:35 a.m. Paul Clanon, then-executive director of the California Public Utilities Commission, wrote to senior CPUC staff asking about the spike:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The Chronicle's story on the 2008 temporary rise in pressure on Line 132 to 400 psi doesn't match what I've heard. What are the facts? Is it standard practice or not to raise pressure up to MAOP [maximum allowable operating pressure] to preserve the maximum? Is 2008 really the only time PG&E has raised pressure on that line above 375 until the explosion?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About 30 minutes later he contacted former PG&E executive Brian Cherry: “What are your guys saying about the facts in the Chron story yesterday? Contradicted my understanding of the rules, anyway.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10568621\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Paul-Clanon-e1434683647732.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-10568621\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Paul-Clanon-800x602.jpg\" alt=\"Paul Clanon speaks at a September 28, 2010 Senate committee hearing on gas pipeline safety. \" width=\"800\" height=\"602\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Paul Clanon speaks at a September 28, 2010 Senate committee hearing on gas pipeline safety. \u003ccite>(Alex Wong/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Two minutes later Cherry shared his confusion: “Not sure. Let me follow up. I was under the same understanding.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Clanon wrote back at 10:48: “Our guys are doing the same thing, and you and I can triangulate.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It is not standard practice for utilities to raise pressure on transmission lines, and federal law requires utilities to conduct a costly inspection on any pipeline when the pressure exceeds the maximum limit. PG&E had not conducted such an inspection, nor did Clanon ask if they had in the emails released.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By 4:53 p.m. Cherry and Clanon began to be concerned that neither PG&E nor CPUC staff could come up with an answer about whether such pressure spiking on a gas line was a normal practice. The two sympathized with each other.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Clanon wrote Cherry: “Nothing back yet?” Cherry responded “Nothing yet…” and later “We live in parallel universes.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About an hour later, Clanon had received research from CPUC staff and wanted to run it by Cherry:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Here's what I get from my people. You agree? Follows: PG&E raises the pressure in transmission lines to MAOP once every five years based on its conservative interpretation of 192.917(e)(4)…”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The next day, \u003ca href=\"http://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/PG-E-halts-intentional-gas-line-pressure-spikes-2478613.php\" target=\"_blank\">a Chronicle story\u003c/a> included a statement from a PG&E spokesperson that was very similar to what Clanon had written. “PG&E initially said it had conducted the pressure test on the San Bruno line to ‘preserve’ the pipe's legal capacity, saying federal law required it. A spokesman later backtracked and conceded there was no such requirement.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>CPUC spokesperson Constance Gordon says that Clanon and Cherry were discussing each other's understanding of the rules, so \"if PG&E had a different understanding than that of CPUC staff the issue could be further discussed.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Utility Reform Network is one of PG&E’s sharpest critics. TURN spokesperson Mindy Spatt said such conversations are concerning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Well, it’s a question of whether the commission should be a watchdog or a lapdog. A watchdog would say, wait a minute PG&E what’s going on here? And a lapdog would say, let’s coordinate our message.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe src=\"https://www.scribd.com/embeds/269089050/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&show_recommendations=true\" data-auto-height=\"false\" data-aspect-ratio=\"undefined\" scrolling=\"no\" id=\"doc_86669\" width=\"100%\" height=\"600\" frameborder=\"0\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>7) \u003ca name=\"investorRelations\">\u003c/a>“Investor relations” — Sept. 26, 2011\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An email exchange between Commissioner Mark Ferron and PG&E’s Brian Cherry shows Ferron sought advice from PG&E on which Wall Street analysts he should meet with privately on a trip to New York.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Mark,” Cherry wrote to Ferron in a Sept. 26, 2011 email, “Commissioner Florio was over at PG&E the other day and mentioned that you might need some help meeting with the buy and sell side analysts in New York. If you are interested, Gabe Togneri, our VP of Investor Relations, would be happy to reach out to some of them and have them sponsor a meeting. Our only role would be to make the contact. The analysts would sponsor the meetings themselves and you would meet with them privately.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ferron responded: “[PG&E CEO] Tony Earley … highlighted Dan Ford at Barclays Capital as a thought leader worthwhile meeting if I can find the time. Who else might Gabe recommend?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While there’s no record here of Ferron discussing the proposed San Bruno penalty with Ford, the Barclays analyst was clearly focused on that question.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In September 2012, Ford authored a report noting that PG&E would have difficulty raising $2.2 billion in equity to cover the expected San Bruno fine amount. (The actual penalty amount, finally determined on April 9 this year, was set at $1.6 billion.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And in \u003ca href=\"http://www.ocregister.com/articles/california-530091-puc-state.html\" target=\"_blank\">a report authored by Ferron\u003c/a>, made public in October 2013, the commissioner related investors’ concerns that levying too large a fine against PG&E would cause them to view California as a “capital-unfriendly, ‘banana republic.’” That could lead to an increase in the cost of financing capital for utilities, warned Ferron, who had worked at Deutsche Bank prior to being appointed as a commissioner in March 2011.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ferron stepped down as a commissioner in 2014, citing health problems. CPUC spokesperson Constance Gordon said she was unable to offer comment on emails sent by individuals who no longer worked at the commission. Attempts to reach Ferron were unsuccessful.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The question as to whether commissioners had inappropriate ex parte communications with Wall Street analysts was raised in a brief filed by the CPUC’s Division of Ratepayer Advocates. (Since renamed Office of Ratepayer Advocates).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Some, if not all, of the financial industry representatives who reported discussing the San Bruno investigations with Commission offices represent firms or clients with a financial interest in PG&E Corporation,” the CPUC’s consumer advocacy branch pointed out. “The size of the fine and other penalties the Commission may impose in the San Bruno Investigations is a substantive issue in all three [CPUC] investigations.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe src=\"https://www.scribd.com/embeds/269089048/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&access_key=key-Mn9jh61Mxr2k4WEJWObu&show_recommendations=true\" data-auto-height=\"false\" data-aspect-ratio=\"0.7586206896551724\" scrolling=\"no\" id=\"doc_86425\" width=\"100%\" height=\"600\" frameborder=\"0\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>8) \u003ca name=\"happyBirthday\">\u003c/a>“Happy Birthday!” — Sept. 16, 2010\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was 7 a.m. on Sept. 16, 2010, one week after the San Bruno pipeline explosion. CPUC executive director Paul Clanon emailed PG&E’s Brian Cherry with a simple message in the subject line: “Happy Birthday!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Thanks,” Cherry replied. He shared his birthday wish. “I’d love a nice muzzle for Mark Toney.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mark Toney is executive director of The Utility Reform Network (TURN), a leading critic of PG&E.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10568624\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 600px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Mark-Toney.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-10568624\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Mark-Toney.jpg\" alt=\"Mark Toney, executive director of consumer advocacy group The Utility Reform Network, was the target of an unkind remark in an email from a PG&E executive to the regulatory agency director.\" width=\"600\" height=\"420\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Mark-Toney.jpg 600w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/Mark-Toney-400x280.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mark Toney, executive director of consumer advocacy group The Utility Reform Network, was the target of an unkind remark in an email from a PG&E executive to the regulatory agency director. \u003ccite>(Courtesy The Utility Reform Network)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As for why Cherry would have wanted a “muzzle” for Toney, TURN spokesperson Mindy Spatt told KQED that Toney had issued a public statement about customer safety just before this exchange took place.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He was saying: Demand that PG&E put customer safety first – that is the message that PG&E wanted muzzled, a message that said ‘no more San Brunos,’” Spatt said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Sept. 15, Cherry had emailed Clanon to tell him then-PG&E CEO Peter Darbee believed “TURN’s behavior \u003ca href=\"http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/PG-E-targeted-critics-after-San-Bruno-blast-6054156.php\" target=\"_blank\">has bordered on the irresponsible\u003c/a>.” He wondered whether the CPUC would be willing to make a statement publicly discounting TURN’s claims. While it’s not clear from the emails how Clanon reacted to this request, his email reply to Cherry was: “Call me when you can.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was actually six days after the fatal San Bruno explosion that Brian Cherry referred to TURN’s behavior as irresponsible,” Spatt said when asked about this. “His company has just killed eight people and incinerated an entire neighborhood.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe src=\"https://www.scribd.com/embeds/269090899/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&show_recommendations=true\" data-auto-height=\"false\" data-aspect-ratio=\"undefined\" scrolling=\"no\" id=\"doc_38056\" width=\"100%\" height=\"600\" frameborder=\"0\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>9) \u003ca href=\"jerryBrown\">“Get this info to Brown”\u003c/a> -- Jan. 11, 2011\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While it’s obvious why a major utility company would be concerned that its stock had been downgraded, it’s not as clear why a commissioner would care. Upon learning about a financial downgrade, then-CPUC president Michael Peevey recommended that PG&E find a way to indirectly alert Gov. Jerry Brown, who was then in the process of determining new commission appointments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The email thread begins Jan. 11, 2011, when PG&E’s Brian Cherry forwarded Peevey a message from PG&E’s investor relations division about a financial analyst’s report.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Citigroup downgraded … PG&E,” the email explained. The note showed that analysts feared “uncertainty and potential shifting dynamics in the regulatory arena.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In response, Peevey wrote in an email to Cherry: “You should find a way to get this info to Brown as he makes his decisions on Commissioners ASAP. Probably best coming from a non-utility source, such as investment banker(s).”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When asked why Peevey would provide this advice, CPUC spokesperson Constance Gordon responded, “The questions you’ve asked involve individuals who are no longer with the CPUC, so we cannot ask them your questions.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe src=\"https://www.scribd.com/embeds/269091157/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&show_recommendations=true\" data-auto-height=\"false\" data-aspect-ratio=\"undefined\" scrolling=\"no\" id=\"doc_69098\" width=\"100%\" height=\"600\" frameborder=\"0\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>10. \u003ca href=\"prozac\">“Prozac might be a solution!”\u003c/a> -- June 4, 2010\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E officials had no idea what they were getting into when the utility began installing smart meters in California in 2006. Smart meters are a critical component of the \"smart grid” -- the devices track energy usage and transmit data back to customers and utilities, with the goal of reducing electricity consumption and distributing power more efficiently across the electric grid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Smart meters faced an almost \u003ca href=\"http://blogs.kqed.org/climatewatch/2010/03/10/the-backlash-against-smartmeters/\" target=\"_blank\">immediate backlash\u003c/a>. Users first complained that the devices gave artificially high readings. Later the \u003ca href=\"https://www.scribd.com/doc/269092309/Smart-Meter-Investigation-Findings-by-CPUC\" target=\"_blank\">CPUC found\u003c/a> that about 1,480 meters inaccurately recorded electricity consumption in ambient temperatures ranging from 100– 115 degrees Fahrenheit due to a defective chip. Nevertheless, \u003ca href=\"http://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/EFILE/RULINGS/122935.PDF\" target=\"_blank\">a study\u003c/a> conducted by an independent consultant, The Structure Group, determined that the meters generally functioned as intended.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Next, consumer advocacy groups, including TURN, \u003ca href=\"http://blogs.kqed.org/climatewatch/2010/06/13/dumbfounded-by-smartmeters/\" target=\"_blank\">raised concerns\u003c/a> that the meters would harm people like seniors who sometimes have no choice but to run their air conditioners in the sweltering Central Valley. TURN also noted that with smart meters, PG&E could simply turn off people’s power if they couldn’t keep up with the bills. Privacy advocates expressed concern about utilities gaining access to information about their use of personal home appliances.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10568672\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 300px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/4-43EMF_300.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-10568672\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/4-43EMF_300.jpg\" alt=\"A sign from a smart meter protest in 2010.\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A sign from a smart meter protest in 2010. \u003ccite>(Amy Standen/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The biggest battle over smart meters, though, centered on electromagnetic fields (EMFs) emitted by smart meters. The possible health effects of EMFs have been a subject of debate since the \u003ca href=\"http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,918076,00.html\" target=\"_blank\">Cold War\u003c/a>, and fear has intensified in the wireless age with the introduction of countless devices that emit EMFs, such as cellphones, laptops and Wi-Fi routers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/radiation/magnetic-fields-fact-sheet\" target=\"_blank\">The National Institutes of Health’s National Cancer Institute\u003c/a> says that “several early epidemiologic studies raised the possibility of an association between certain cancers, especially childhood cancers, and ELF-EMFs. Most subsequent studies have not shown such an association.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unlike high-energy radiation emitted from devices like X-rays, low-energy emissions from devices like smart meters cannot damage DNA or cells directly, the NIH writes. \u003ca href=\"http://www.who.int/peh-emf/research/en/\" target=\"_blank\">The World Health Organization concluded\u003c/a> that low-energy emissions cause “no substantive health issues.” Smart-meter emissions are 60 times lower than the federal health guidelines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>EMF activists remain concerned, however, about the accumulated exposure people face from being surrounded by so many low-emission devices. And they’ve flooded the CPUC and PG&E with complaints.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By June 4, 2010, Carol Brown, then-CPUC President Michael Peevey’s chief-of-staff, wanted an answer for the people contacting her about EMFs. She wrote to then-PG&E executive Brian Cherry: “So far I have done OK just listening to the sad tales of EMF poisoning - and telling them thank you for bringing it to our attention - but then not offering them any solution!!! I just wanted to have a resource in case! Have a nice weekend.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cherry responded: “Prozac might be a solution!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the meantime, cities, including San Francisco, began petitioning the CPUC to make smart meters optional.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Peevey recommended to Cherry in an email in September 2010 that PG&E consider making the meters optional:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“One thought for the company: If it were my decision I would let anyone who wants to keep their old meter keep it, if they claim they suffer from EMF and/or related electronic-related illnesses and they can produce a doctor's letter saying so (or expressing concern about the likelihood of suffering same). I would institute such a policy quietly and solely on an individual basis. There really are people who feel pain, etc., related to EMF, etc., and rather than have them becoming hysterical, etc., I would quietly leave them alone. Kick it around. And, it sounds like the company may already have taken this step, based on a couple of the comments at yesterday's public hearing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cherry said that he would consider it: “I do worry that this policy, no matter how discrete (sic) we try to make it, will surface and town councils and cities in our territory will ask for similar treatment. That said, we will take the matter up and get back to you with our feedback.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In March 2011, PG&E proposed allowing smart meter users to opt out. The CPUC approved that plan in February 2012. Customers who opt out of the program must pay an initial fee and monthly charge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe src=\"https://www.scribd.com/embeds/269089051/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&show_recommendations=true\" data-auto-height=\"false\" data-aspect-ratio=\"undefined\" scrolling=\"no\" id=\"doc_26891\" width=\"100%\" height=\"600\" frameborder=\"0\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003ca name=\"whatHappened\">\u003c/a>Where Are They Now?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Brian Cherry\u003c/strong>, PG&E’s vice president of regulatory affairs, was fired from PG&E in September of 2014, after inappropriate email exchanges came to light.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Thomas Bottorff\u003c/strong>, PG&E’s senior vice president of regulatory affairs and Cherry’s boss, was fired along with Cherry. According to a San Jose Mercury News article he was to receive a severance payment totaling more than $1 million.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Chris Johns\u003c/strong>, president of PG&E, \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2015/05/27/pge-president-to-retire-as-utility-faces-mounting-scrutiny\" target=\"_blank\">announced several weeks\u003c/a> ago that he would retire by the end of the year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Peevey\u003c/strong>, president of the California Public Utilities Commission, stepped down from his role after his term came to an end in December of 2014. Peevey came under fire for inappropriate email exchanges.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Paul Clanon\u003c/strong>, executive director of the California Public Utilities Commission, announced at the end of December that he would retire to study music.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mark Ferron\u003c/strong>, former commissioner at the California Public Utilities Commission, resigned in December of 2014 due to health problems.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carol Brown\u003c/strong>, former commission president Peevey’s chief of staff, stepped down in the wake of revelations that she had agreed to intervene on a judge appointment for a case involving PG&E. Despite news reports that she might return to the agency as an administrative law judge, a CPUC spokesperson confirmed to KQED that Brown has retired.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Michael Florio\u003c/strong>, who was also entangled in the judge-shopping scandal, remains as a commissioner at the California Public Utilities Commission.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>There’s just something about cherries. They’re small, sweet and crunchy, with an early harvest that tells us summer’s coming. Right now, though, this beloved fruit is a bit of a canary in a coal mine. The last couple of cherry harvests could be a warning about climate change and its impact on future tree crops.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To find out more, I went to the south end of the Santa Clara Valley to meet Nicole Rajkovich. She started working with her family at Fairhaven Orchards when she was a little kid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That was my fun summer vacation,” she says. “I didn’t go to the beach. I didn’t go on family vacation. We were working in the fruit stand every summer, and it was just so much fun.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[soundcloud url=\"https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/210100639\" params=\"color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false\" width=\"100%\" height=\"166\" iframe=\"true\" /]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10559890\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 400px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/20150522-CynthiaWoodPhoto-DSC_7324.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"wp-image-10559890 size-thumbnail\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/20150522-CynthiaWoodPhoto-DSC_7324-400x266.jpg\" alt=\"Nicole Rajkovich standing in her family’s Bing cherry orchard in Hollister, Calif. (Cynthia E. Wood/KQED)\" width=\"400\" height=\"266\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/20150522-CynthiaWoodPhoto-DSC_7324-400x266.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/20150522-CynthiaWoodPhoto-DSC_7324-800x532.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/20150522-CynthiaWoodPhoto-DSC_7324-1440x958.jpg 1440w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/20150522-CynthiaWoodPhoto-DSC_7324-1180x785.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/20150522-CynthiaWoodPhoto-DSC_7324-960x639.jpg 960w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/20150522-CynthiaWoodPhoto-DSC_7324.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nicole Rajkovich standing in her family’s Bing cherry orchard in Hollister, Calif. (Cynthia E. Wood/KQED) \u003ccite>(Cynthia E. Wood/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>So when the weather got weird this winter, she was nervous. Up near Yreka, people got flooded out. At Huntington Beach, it hailed. In San Francisco, where I was walking around in a sundress, meteorologists announced it was the driest January ever. Rajkovich distinctly remembers the 90-degree heat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s great for sunbathing, but it’s not optimal weather for our crops,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I meet up with her at one plot a couple of hours south of San Francisco, in the shadow of big box stores in Gilroy. The four men on the crew use ladders to reach all the deep-red Royal Hazel cherries, dropping them into buckets slung around their necks then loading them into bins on a truck. Rajkovitch says this is one of only a handful of orchards they can harvest this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It seems like the past couple years the warmer winters made us have huge failures in our crops,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She’s not talking about the drought, though that certainly doesn’t help. They’re not getting any water from their former source, the Central Valley Water Project, but their wells are holding up okay. What really hurts the cherry trees is that winter temperatures here weren’t cold enough for long enough.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10559941\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/20150522-CynthiaWoodPhoto-DSC_71431.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"wp-image-10559941 size-medium\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/20150522-CynthiaWoodPhoto-DSC_71431-800x532.jpg\" alt=\"Though the drought has taken its toll, warm winters are to blame for a shrinking cherry crop. (Cynthia E. Wood/KQED)\" width=\"800\" height=\"532\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/20150522-CynthiaWoodPhoto-DSC_71431-800x532.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/20150522-CynthiaWoodPhoto-DSC_71431-400x266.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/20150522-CynthiaWoodPhoto-DSC_71431-1440x958.jpg 1440w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/20150522-CynthiaWoodPhoto-DSC_71431-1180x785.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/20150522-CynthiaWoodPhoto-DSC_71431-960x639.jpg 960w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/20150522-CynthiaWoodPhoto-DSC_71431.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Though the drought has taken its toll, warm winters are to blame for the smaller cherry crop. (Cynthia E. Wood/KQED) \u003ccite>(Cynthia E. Wood/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“If they don’t get enough chill hours they don’t produce the fruit,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Put simply: Chill hours are crucial blocks of time when temperatures drop below 45 degrees. To produce a robust crop, fruit and nut trees need a certain amount of chilling for a healthy dormancy period. Cherries are really sensitive, needing more chill hours than most tree crops.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Case in point: the cherries in the Rajkovich home orchard in nearby Hollister. Here, the classic Bing cherry trees look confused about what season it is, what they’re supposed to be doing. I meet up with Bill Coates, a longtime farm adviser here in San Benito County, to learn more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You have some ripe cherries, you have some blossoms, some branches that are almost devoid of leaves, and you have some buds that are still dormant,” he explains. “And this is all a result of lack of chilling.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[gallery size=\"large\" type=\"rectangular\" ids=\"10559948,10559947\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bing cherries need about 1,000 hours, but San Benito County got just over \u003ca href=\"http://fruitsandnuts.ucdavis.edu/Weather_Services/chilling_accumulation_models/Chill_Calculators/index.cfm\">500\u003c/a>. Chill hours are down all over the state. In California, the \u003ca href=\"http://www.ers.usda.gov/media/1679168/fts-357.pdf\">USDA reports\u003c/a> last year’s cherry production down 60 percent. And scientists at \u003ca href=\"http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0006166\">UC Davis predict\u003c/a> that if greenhouse gas emissions aren’t curbed, chill hours will continue to shrink.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People may disagree on the cause of the change,” Coates says, “but there definitely has been a change in the climate, and it’s going to impact tree crops greatly.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_sidebar id=\"JQ0dflQvnFxaDQnRImRZgo4RTAgWu8cK\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He would love to see more effort put into breeding varieties that can withstand less chilling. Cherries won’t make or break California’s agricultural economy on their own, but the way they’re hit by fewer chill hours may serve as a warning for more lucrative commodities that are slightly less sensitive, tree crops like apples, pears and walnuts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A few feet away from the orchard, Nicole’s father, George Rajkovich, maneuvers a forklift, loading pallets of cherries onto a customer’s truck. This fruit all comes from those few orchards in production in Gilroy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This year, there’s nothing out there in our Hollister orchards ... nothing,” Rajkovich says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Of the few cherries that did grow, many were damaged by rain in May. He thinks they’ll get 5 percent of a normal harvest in Hollister.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In my lifetime, I’ve never seen one so bad,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10559957\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/20150522-CynthiaWoodPhoto-DSC_9931.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-10559957\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/20150522-CynthiaWoodPhoto-DSC_9931-800x536.jpg\" alt=\"Workers sort cherries at the Rajkovich’s farm stand and sorting facility in Hollister, Calif.\" width=\"800\" height=\"536\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/20150522-CynthiaWoodPhoto-DSC_9931-800x536.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/20150522-CynthiaWoodPhoto-DSC_9931-400x268.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/20150522-CynthiaWoodPhoto-DSC_9931-1440x964.jpg 1440w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/20150522-CynthiaWoodPhoto-DSC_9931-1180x790.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/20150522-CynthiaWoodPhoto-DSC_9931-960x643.jpg 960w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/20150522-CynthiaWoodPhoto-DSC_9931.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Workers sort cherries at the Rajkovich’s farm stand and sorting facility. \u003ccite>(Cyntha E. Wood/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>And Rajkovich has seen a lot of cherry harvests. His father planted in San Jose after he emigrated from a region of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, before it became Yugoslavia, before it became Croatia. He and his brother would go running through the orchards, chasing their father and uncle, waiting for their mother to bring them lunch.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I knew nothing else,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He and his brother farmed all over this region, and they started planting cherries in Hollister in the late '50s, and started a fruit stand in the '70s. Rajkovich remembers decades ago when they’d have to put smudge pots in the orchards in the middle of the night and turn on fans to keep frost from killing a crop. He says he hasn’t had to do that in 20 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When his brother died eight years ago, Rajkovich had a talk with his kids.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10560453\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 400px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/20150522-CynthiaWoodPhoto-DSC_0071.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-10560453\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/20150522-CynthiaWoodPhoto-DSC_0071-400x268.jpg\" alt=\"George and Lucille Rajkovich, along with their children, have started to plant other crops on their land.\" width=\"400\" height=\"268\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/20150522-CynthiaWoodPhoto-DSC_0071-400x268.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/20150522-CynthiaWoodPhoto-DSC_0071-800x536.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/20150522-CynthiaWoodPhoto-DSC_0071-1440x964.jpg 1440w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/20150522-CynthiaWoodPhoto-DSC_0071-1180x790.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/20150522-CynthiaWoodPhoto-DSC_0071-960x643.jpg 960w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/20150522-CynthiaWoodPhoto-DSC_0071.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">George and Lucille Rajkovich, along with their children, have started to plant other crops on their land. \u003ccite>(Cynthia E. Wood/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It’s up to you now,” he recalls, choking up. ‘We’ll sell it, or take it over.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They did. The kids joined their parents and continue to look for ways to lessen climate change’s negative impact: planting sod between rows of trees to keep moisture in the ground, experimenting with different cherry varieties, and using technology to figure out exactly when to apply chemicals that can help trees produce despite reduced chilling. Why all the effort? Because unlike lettuce or strawberries, for instance, trees have to be planned sometimes decades ahead.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have a whole lifetime actually of work and expense in planting and nurturing these orchards,” Rajkovich says. “If we don’t get chilling and don’t get production we have to start changing crops.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They’re already doing that. On new land they’ve bought, and orchards they’ve had to pull, the Rajkovich’s planted walnut trees, not cherries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This piece is part of the series \u003ca href=\"http://www.californiafoodways.com/\">California Foodways\u003c/a>. Stories in the series about food and climate change are funded by a grant from \u003ca href=\"http://invokingthepause.org/\">Invoking the Pause\u003c/a>. Lisa Morehouse produced this story while at a residency at the Mesa Refuge.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>There’s just something about cherries. They’re small, sweet and crunchy, with an early harvest that tells us summer’s coming. Right now, though, this beloved fruit is a bit of a canary in a coal mine. The last couple of cherry harvests could be a warning about climate change and its impact on future tree crops.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To find out more, I went to the south end of the Santa Clara Valley to meet Nicole Rajkovich. She started working with her family at Fairhaven Orchards when she was a little kid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That was my fun summer vacation,” she says. “I didn’t go to the beach. I didn’t go on family vacation. We were working in the fruit stand every summer, and it was just so much fun.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cdiv class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__shortcodes__shortcodeWrapper'>\n \u003ciframe width='100%' height='166'\n scrolling='no' frameborder='no'\n src='https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/210100639&visual=true&color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false'\n title='https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/210100639'>\n \u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/div>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10559890\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 400px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/20150522-CynthiaWoodPhoto-DSC_7324.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"wp-image-10559890 size-thumbnail\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/20150522-CynthiaWoodPhoto-DSC_7324-400x266.jpg\" alt=\"Nicole Rajkovich standing in her family’s Bing cherry orchard in Hollister, Calif. (Cynthia E. Wood/KQED)\" width=\"400\" height=\"266\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/20150522-CynthiaWoodPhoto-DSC_7324-400x266.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/20150522-CynthiaWoodPhoto-DSC_7324-800x532.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/20150522-CynthiaWoodPhoto-DSC_7324-1440x958.jpg 1440w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/20150522-CynthiaWoodPhoto-DSC_7324-1180x785.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/20150522-CynthiaWoodPhoto-DSC_7324-960x639.jpg 960w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/20150522-CynthiaWoodPhoto-DSC_7324.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nicole Rajkovich standing in her family’s Bing cherry orchard in Hollister, Calif. (Cynthia E. Wood/KQED) \u003ccite>(Cynthia E. Wood/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>So when the weather got weird this winter, she was nervous. Up near Yreka, people got flooded out. At Huntington Beach, it hailed. In San Francisco, where I was walking around in a sundress, meteorologists announced it was the driest January ever. Rajkovich distinctly remembers the 90-degree heat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s great for sunbathing, but it’s not optimal weather for our crops,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I meet up with her at one plot a couple of hours south of San Francisco, in the shadow of big box stores in Gilroy. The four men on the crew use ladders to reach all the deep-red Royal Hazel cherries, dropping them into buckets slung around their necks then loading them into bins on a truck. Rajkovitch says this is one of only a handful of orchards they can harvest this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It seems like the past couple years the warmer winters made us have huge failures in our crops,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She’s not talking about the drought, though that certainly doesn’t help. They’re not getting any water from their former source, the Central Valley Water Project, but their wells are holding up okay. What really hurts the cherry trees is that winter temperatures here weren’t cold enough for long enough.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10559941\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/20150522-CynthiaWoodPhoto-DSC_71431.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"wp-image-10559941 size-medium\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/20150522-CynthiaWoodPhoto-DSC_71431-800x532.jpg\" alt=\"Though the drought has taken its toll, warm winters are to blame for a shrinking cherry crop. (Cynthia E. Wood/KQED)\" width=\"800\" height=\"532\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/20150522-CynthiaWoodPhoto-DSC_71431-800x532.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/20150522-CynthiaWoodPhoto-DSC_71431-400x266.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/20150522-CynthiaWoodPhoto-DSC_71431-1440x958.jpg 1440w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/20150522-CynthiaWoodPhoto-DSC_71431-1180x785.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/20150522-CynthiaWoodPhoto-DSC_71431-960x639.jpg 960w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/20150522-CynthiaWoodPhoto-DSC_71431.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Though the drought has taken its toll, warm winters are to blame for the smaller cherry crop. (Cynthia E. Wood/KQED) \u003ccite>(Cynthia E. Wood/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“If they don’t get enough chill hours they don’t produce the fruit,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Put simply: Chill hours are crucial blocks of time when temperatures drop below 45 degrees. To produce a robust crop, fruit and nut trees need a certain amount of chilling for a healthy dormancy period. Cherries are really sensitive, needing more chill hours than most tree crops.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Case in point: the cherries in the Rajkovich home orchard in nearby Hollister. Here, the classic Bing cherry trees look confused about what season it is, what they’re supposed to be doing. I meet up with Bill Coates, a longtime farm adviser here in San Benito County, to learn more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You have some ripe cherries, you have some blossoms, some branches that are almost devoid of leaves, and you have some buds that are still dormant,” he explains. “And this is all a result of lack of chilling.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bing cherries need about 1,000 hours, but San Benito County got just over \u003ca href=\"http://fruitsandnuts.ucdavis.edu/Weather_Services/chilling_accumulation_models/Chill_Calculators/index.cfm\">500\u003c/a>. Chill hours are down all over the state. In California, the \u003ca href=\"http://www.ers.usda.gov/media/1679168/fts-357.pdf\">USDA reports\u003c/a> last year’s cherry production down 60 percent. And scientists at \u003ca href=\"http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0006166\">UC Davis predict\u003c/a> that if greenhouse gas emissions aren’t curbed, chill hours will continue to shrink.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People may disagree on the cause of the change,” Coates says, “but there definitely has been a change in the climate, and it’s going to impact tree crops greatly.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He would love to see more effort put into breeding varieties that can withstand less chilling. Cherries won’t make or break California’s agricultural economy on their own, but the way they’re hit by fewer chill hours may serve as a warning for more lucrative commodities that are slightly less sensitive, tree crops like apples, pears and walnuts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A few feet away from the orchard, Nicole’s father, George Rajkovich, maneuvers a forklift, loading pallets of cherries onto a customer’s truck. This fruit all comes from those few orchards in production in Gilroy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This year, there’s nothing out there in our Hollister orchards ... nothing,” Rajkovich says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Of the few cherries that did grow, many were damaged by rain in May. He thinks they’ll get 5 percent of a normal harvest in Hollister.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In my lifetime, I’ve never seen one so bad,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10559957\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/20150522-CynthiaWoodPhoto-DSC_9931.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-10559957\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/20150522-CynthiaWoodPhoto-DSC_9931-800x536.jpg\" alt=\"Workers sort cherries at the Rajkovich’s farm stand and sorting facility in Hollister, Calif.\" width=\"800\" height=\"536\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/20150522-CynthiaWoodPhoto-DSC_9931-800x536.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/20150522-CynthiaWoodPhoto-DSC_9931-400x268.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/20150522-CynthiaWoodPhoto-DSC_9931-1440x964.jpg 1440w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/20150522-CynthiaWoodPhoto-DSC_9931-1180x790.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/20150522-CynthiaWoodPhoto-DSC_9931-960x643.jpg 960w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/20150522-CynthiaWoodPhoto-DSC_9931.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Workers sort cherries at the Rajkovich’s farm stand and sorting facility. \u003ccite>(Cyntha E. Wood/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>And Rajkovich has seen a lot of cherry harvests. His father planted in San Jose after he emigrated from a region of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, before it became Yugoslavia, before it became Croatia. He and his brother would go running through the orchards, chasing their father and uncle, waiting for their mother to bring them lunch.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I knew nothing else,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He and his brother farmed all over this region, and they started planting cherries in Hollister in the late '50s, and started a fruit stand in the '70s. Rajkovich remembers decades ago when they’d have to put smudge pots in the orchards in the middle of the night and turn on fans to keep frost from killing a crop. He says he hasn’t had to do that in 20 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When his brother died eight years ago, Rajkovich had a talk with his kids.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10560453\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 400px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/20150522-CynthiaWoodPhoto-DSC_0071.jpg\">\u003cimg class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-10560453\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/20150522-CynthiaWoodPhoto-DSC_0071-400x268.jpg\" alt=\"George and Lucille Rajkovich, along with their children, have started to plant other crops on their land.\" width=\"400\" height=\"268\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/20150522-CynthiaWoodPhoto-DSC_0071-400x268.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/20150522-CynthiaWoodPhoto-DSC_0071-800x536.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/20150522-CynthiaWoodPhoto-DSC_0071-1440x964.jpg 1440w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/20150522-CynthiaWoodPhoto-DSC_0071-1180x790.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/20150522-CynthiaWoodPhoto-DSC_0071-960x643.jpg 960w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/06/20150522-CynthiaWoodPhoto-DSC_0071.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">George and Lucille Rajkovich, along with their children, have started to plant other crops on their land. \u003ccite>(Cynthia E. Wood/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It’s up to you now,” he recalls, choking up. ‘We’ll sell it, or take it over.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They did. The kids joined their parents and continue to look for ways to lessen climate change’s negative impact: planting sod between rows of trees to keep moisture in the ground, experimenting with different cherry varieties, and using technology to figure out exactly when to apply chemicals that can help trees produce despite reduced chilling. Why all the effort? Because unlike lettuce or strawberries, for instance, trees have to be planned sometimes decades ahead.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have a whole lifetime actually of work and expense in planting and nurturing these orchards,” Rajkovich says. “If we don’t get chilling and don’t get production we have to start changing crops.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They’re already doing that. On new land they’ve bought, and orchards they’ve had to pull, the Rajkovich’s planted walnut trees, not cherries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This piece is part of the series \u003ca href=\"http://www.californiafoodways.com/\">California Foodways\u003c/a>. Stories in the series about food and climate change are funded by a grant from \u003ca href=\"http://invokingthepause.org/\">Invoking the Pause\u003c/a>. Lisa Morehouse produced this story while at a residency at the Mesa Refuge.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"disqusTitle": "Rain in June? No Drought-Buster, But We'll Take It",
"title": "Rain in June? No Drought-Buster, But We'll Take It",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Update, Thursday, June 11: \u003c/strong>From the National Weather Service, here are some of the precipitations records (and other rain totals) recorded during Wednesdays mostly light but very welcome showers:\u003c/p>\n\u003ctable width=\"100%\" align=\"left\">\n\u003ctbody>\n\u003ctr>\n\u003ctd>Place\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>Rain (inches)\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>Record/Year\u003c/td>\n\u003c/tr>\n\u003ctr>\n\u003ctd>Castro Valley\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.47\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>--\u003c/td>\n\u003c/tr>\n\u003ctr>\n\u003ctd>Las Trampas Ridge\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.36\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>--\u003c/td>\n\u003c/tr>\n\u003ctr>\n\u003ctd>Livermore\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.33\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.16/1976\u003c/td>\n\u003c/tr>\n\u003ctr>\n\u003ctd>Oakland Hills (South)\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.30\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>--\u003c/td>\n\u003c/tr>\n\u003ctr>\n\u003ctd>San Francisco Int'l. Airport\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.26\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.03/2009\u003c/td>\n\u003c/tr>\n\u003ctr>\n\u003ctd>Petaluma Airport\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.21\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>--\u003c/td>\n\u003c/tr>\n\u003ctr>\n\u003ctd>Oakland Airport\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.18\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.05/1976\u003c/td>\n\u003c/tr>\n\u003ctr>\n\u003ctd>San Rafael\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.17\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.01/1950\u003c/td>\n\u003c/tr>\n\u003ctr>\n\u003ctd>Point Reyes\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.17\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.10/1937\u003c/td>\n\u003c/tr>\n\u003ctr>\n\u003ctd>Napa\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.13\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.25/1958\u003c/td>\n\u003c/tr>\n\u003ctr>\n\u003ctd>San Francisco (Downtown)\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.11\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.20/1937\u003c/td>\n\u003c/tr>\n\u003ctr>\n\u003ctd>San Jose\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.10\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.07/1976\u003c/td>\n\u003c/tr>\n\u003c/tbody>\n\u003c/table>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Original post:\u003c/strong> When \u003ca href=\"http://www.bartleby.com/124/pres32.html\" target=\"_blank\">Abraham Lincoln said\u003c/a>, \"Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge ... may speedily pass away,\" he was actually talking about \u003ca href=\"http://www.pbs.org/civilwar/war/\" target=\"_blank\">something more serious\u003c/a> than California's drought.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But yeah, the sentiment fits the way most of us feel about our seemingly endless siege of much, much drier-than-normal conditions, now in its fourth year. So when we wake up to a rainy morning -- in \u003cem>June\u003c/em>, for heaven's sake -- we grasp at the spectacle of gentle showers for whatever hope it offers that this mighty scourge may end ... someday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And to stop the quasi-poetic waxings on meteorology for a minute, Wednesday's storm has produced some decent rainfall (for June) around the Bay Area and other parts of California. Most locations in the Bay Area had gotten less than a tenth of an inch of rain as of 11 a.m. Wednesday. But there were some exceptions, with the highest totals recorded in the hills of the East Bay:\u003c/p>\n\u003ctable width=\"100%\" align=\"left\">\n\u003ctbody>\n\u003ctr>\n\u003ctd>Place\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>Rain (inches)\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>Record/Year\u003c/td>\n\u003c/tr>\n\u003ctr>\n\u003ctd>Castro Valley\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.43\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>--\u003c/td>\n\u003c/tr>\n\u003ctr>\n\u003ctd>SFO Int'l. Airport\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.24\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.03/2009\u003c/td>\n\u003c/tr>\n\u003ctr>\n\u003ctd>Las Trampas Ridge\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.23\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>--\u003c/td>\n\u003c/tr>\n\u003ctr>\n\u003ctd>Oakland Hills (South)\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.21\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>--\u003c/td>\n\u003c/tr>\n\u003ctr>\n\u003ctd>Petaluma Airport\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.18\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>--\u003c/td>\n\u003c/tr>\n\u003ctr>\n\u003ctd>Oakland Airport\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.18\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.05/1976\u003c/td>\n\u003c/tr>\n\u003ctr>\n\u003ctd>Livermore Airport\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.18\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.16/1976\u003c/td>\n\u003c/tr>\n\u003ctr>\n\u003ctd>Point Reyes\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.16\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.10/1937\u003c/td>\n\u003c/tr>\n\u003ctr>\n\u003ctd>Napa\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.13\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.25/1958\u003c/td>\n\u003c/tr>\n\u003ctr>\n\u003ctd>Olema\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.13\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>--\u003c/td>\n\u003c/tr>\n\u003ctr>\n\u003ctd>Mount Tamalpais\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.13\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>--\u003c/td>\n\u003c/tr>\n\u003c/tbody>\n\u003c/table>\n\u003cp>Much heavier rain has fallen in parts of the Sierra Nevada, the mountains of Northern California and the highlands of Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. NOAA reports show .79 of an inch fell at Shasta Dam, in the Sacramento River watershed north of Redding; many locations in the mountains around Lake Tahoe show a similar amount; as much as an inch of rain fell in the mountains north of Santa Barbara.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And just to be clear: June rain in the Bay Area is nice to see, but it's not a rarity. Although June is sometimes rainless in San Francisco, the one-day precipitation record for the month is 1.34 inches, on June 2, 1967; and just five years ago, California's last decent rain year, 2.02 inches fell in San Francisco during the month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Forecasters say Wednesday's rain will move slowly south during the day, with a chance of thunderstorms. It ought to be dry Thursday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While recent cool, moist weather has reduced the state's immediate wildfire threat, the thunderstorms that brought rain to the far northern sections of California brought more than 1,400 lightning strikes that triggered dozens of small fires. Managers of Six Rivers, Shasta-Trinity, Klamath and Modoc national forests reported Wednesday that the largest of the fires is 10 acres; virtually all have been contained. Separately, Cal Fire reported a 30-acre fire burning in remote terrain near the Redwood National and State Parks in Humboldt County.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Blazes in the north state last year consumed more than a quarter-million acres.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Update, Thursday, June 11: \u003c/strong>From the National Weather Service, here are some of the precipitations records (and other rain totals) recorded during Wednesdays mostly light but very welcome showers:\u003c/p>\n\u003ctable width=\"100%\" align=\"left\">\n\u003ctbody>\n\u003ctr>\n\u003ctd>Place\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>Rain (inches)\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>Record/Year\u003c/td>\n\u003c/tr>\n\u003ctr>\n\u003ctd>Castro Valley\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.47\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>--\u003c/td>\n\u003c/tr>\n\u003ctr>\n\u003ctd>Las Trampas Ridge\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.36\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>--\u003c/td>\n\u003c/tr>\n\u003ctr>\n\u003ctd>Livermore\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.33\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.16/1976\u003c/td>\n\u003c/tr>\n\u003ctr>\n\u003ctd>Oakland Hills (South)\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.30\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>--\u003c/td>\n\u003c/tr>\n\u003ctr>\n\u003ctd>San Francisco Int'l. Airport\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.26\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.03/2009\u003c/td>\n\u003c/tr>\n\u003ctr>\n\u003ctd>Petaluma Airport\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.21\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>--\u003c/td>\n\u003c/tr>\n\u003ctr>\n\u003ctd>Oakland Airport\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.18\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.05/1976\u003c/td>\n\u003c/tr>\n\u003ctr>\n\u003ctd>San Rafael\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.17\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.01/1950\u003c/td>\n\u003c/tr>\n\u003ctr>\n\u003ctd>Point Reyes\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.17\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.10/1937\u003c/td>\n\u003c/tr>\n\u003ctr>\n\u003ctd>Napa\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.13\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.25/1958\u003c/td>\n\u003c/tr>\n\u003ctr>\n\u003ctd>San Francisco (Downtown)\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.11\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.20/1937\u003c/td>\n\u003c/tr>\n\u003ctr>\n\u003ctd>San Jose\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.10\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.07/1976\u003c/td>\n\u003c/tr>\n\u003c/tbody>\n\u003c/table>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Original post:\u003c/strong> When \u003ca href=\"http://www.bartleby.com/124/pres32.html\" target=\"_blank\">Abraham Lincoln said\u003c/a>, \"Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge ... may speedily pass away,\" he was actually talking about \u003ca href=\"http://www.pbs.org/civilwar/war/\" target=\"_blank\">something more serious\u003c/a> than California's drought.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But yeah, the sentiment fits the way most of us feel about our seemingly endless siege of much, much drier-than-normal conditions, now in its fourth year. So when we wake up to a rainy morning -- in \u003cem>June\u003c/em>, for heaven's sake -- we grasp at the spectacle of gentle showers for whatever hope it offers that this mighty scourge may end ... someday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And to stop the quasi-poetic waxings on meteorology for a minute, Wednesday's storm has produced some decent rainfall (for June) around the Bay Area and other parts of California. Most locations in the Bay Area had gotten less than a tenth of an inch of rain as of 11 a.m. Wednesday. But there were some exceptions, with the highest totals recorded in the hills of the East Bay:\u003c/p>\n\u003ctable width=\"100%\" align=\"left\">\n\u003ctbody>\n\u003ctr>\n\u003ctd>Place\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>Rain (inches)\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>Record/Year\u003c/td>\n\u003c/tr>\n\u003ctr>\n\u003ctd>Castro Valley\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.43\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>--\u003c/td>\n\u003c/tr>\n\u003ctr>\n\u003ctd>SFO Int'l. Airport\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.24\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.03/2009\u003c/td>\n\u003c/tr>\n\u003ctr>\n\u003ctd>Las Trampas Ridge\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.23\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>--\u003c/td>\n\u003c/tr>\n\u003ctr>\n\u003ctd>Oakland Hills (South)\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.21\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>--\u003c/td>\n\u003c/tr>\n\u003ctr>\n\u003ctd>Petaluma Airport\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.18\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>--\u003c/td>\n\u003c/tr>\n\u003ctr>\n\u003ctd>Oakland Airport\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.18\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.05/1976\u003c/td>\n\u003c/tr>\n\u003ctr>\n\u003ctd>Livermore Airport\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.18\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.16/1976\u003c/td>\n\u003c/tr>\n\u003ctr>\n\u003ctd>Point Reyes\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.16\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.10/1937\u003c/td>\n\u003c/tr>\n\u003ctr>\n\u003ctd>Napa\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.13\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.25/1958\u003c/td>\n\u003c/tr>\n\u003ctr>\n\u003ctd>Olema\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.13\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>--\u003c/td>\n\u003c/tr>\n\u003ctr>\n\u003ctd>Mount Tamalpais\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>.13\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>--\u003c/td>\n\u003c/tr>\n\u003c/tbody>\n\u003c/table>\n\u003cp>Much heavier rain has fallen in parts of the Sierra Nevada, the mountains of Northern California and the highlands of Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. NOAA reports show .79 of an inch fell at Shasta Dam, in the Sacramento River watershed north of Redding; many locations in the mountains around Lake Tahoe show a similar amount; as much as an inch of rain fell in the mountains north of Santa Barbara.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And just to be clear: June rain in the Bay Area is nice to see, but it's not a rarity. Although June is sometimes rainless in San Francisco, the one-day precipitation record for the month is 1.34 inches, on June 2, 1967; and just five years ago, California's last decent rain year, 2.02 inches fell in San Francisco during the month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Forecasters say Wednesday's rain will move slowly south during the day, with a chance of thunderstorms. It ought to be dry Thursday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While recent cool, moist weather has reduced the state's immediate wildfire threat, the thunderstorms that brought rain to the far northern sections of California brought more than 1,400 lightning strikes that triggered dozens of small fires. Managers of Six Rivers, Shasta-Trinity, Klamath and Modoc national forests reported Wednesday that the largest of the fires is 10 acres; virtually all have been contained. Separately, Cal Fire reported a 30-acre fire burning in remote terrain near the Redwood National and State Parks in Humboldt County.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Blazes in the north state last year consumed more than a quarter-million acres.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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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": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
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"marketplace": {
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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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"mindshift": {
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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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"order": 12
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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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"info": "Our weekly podcast explores how the media 'sausage' is made, casts an incisive eye on fluctuations in the marketplace of ideas, and examines threats to the freedom of information and expression in America and abroad. For one hour a week, the show tries to lift the veil from the process of \"making media,\" especially news media, because it's through that lens that we see the world and the world sees us",
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"info": "The economy explained. Imagine you could call up a friend and say, Meet me at the bar and tell me what's going on with the economy. Now imagine that's actually a fun evening.",
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"politicalbreakdown": {
"id": "politicalbreakdown",
"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.",
"airtime": "THU 6:30pm-7pm",
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"possible": {
"id": "possible",
"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.",
"airtime": "SUN 2pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Possible-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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},
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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.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 2pm-3pm",
"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": {
"id": "reveal",
"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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"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/reveal300px.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.revealnews.org/episodes/",
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"link": "/radio/program/reveal",
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"rss": "http://feeds.revealradio.org/revealpodcast"
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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": {
"id": "science-friday",
"title": "Science Friday",
"info": "Science Friday is a weekly science talk show, broadcast live over public radio stations nationwide. Each week, the show focuses on science topics that are in the news and tries to bring an educated, balanced discussion to bear on the scientific issues at hand. Panels of expert guests join host Ira Flatow, a veteran science journalist, to discuss science and to take questions from listeners during the call-in portion of the program.",
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