Marybel Batjer. Illustration by Chris Shary5. Marybel Batjer
Marybel Batjer is the president of the California Public Utilities Commission, one of the state’s most powerful regulatory bodies, with a vast sway over telecommunications, railroads, investor-owned utilities, and more. That’s a big deal, especially now. Last year, the PUC gave its blessing to PG&E’s bankruptcy plan, a major decision after the
Erika Contreras. Illustration by Chris Shary32. Erika Contreras
As the secretary of the Senate, Erika Contreras serves as the non-partisan, chief administrator and parliamentarian of California’s upper legislative house. Contreras is the first Latina to ever hold the office and the first woman in the job in a century. She oversees more than 150 Capitol aides, yet is virtually unknown
Brian Rice. Illustration by Chris Shary67. Brian Rice
As president of the California Professional Firefighters, Brian Rice represents 35,000 local firefighters across the Golden State, a constituency whose political potency may be unappreciated. Indeed, under Rice’s leadership, the California Professional Firefighters helped Gov. Newsom’s Prop. 1 ballot measure addressing homelessness and mental health cross the finish line, a surprisingly tight
2. Ana Matosantos
Cabinet Secretary Ana Matosantos is a familiar name on this list, and for good reason. She headed the most important single office in the government, the Department of Finance, which has the task of writing a governor’s budgets and giving a thumbs up or thumbs down to money requests from the agencies.
Rush-hour traffic in downtown Los Angeles. (Photo: TierneyMJ, via Shutterstock)Top law enforcement officials in California and New York are leading 10 other states in an attempt to retain tougher penalties for automakers that violate fuel economy standards. They filed a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration, challenging the federal government’s decision to block a scheduled increase in the penalties for those who fail to meet fuel economy standards.
A photo illustration of a young girl in custody. (Image: structuresxx, via ShutterstockThe woman, writing to Gov. Gavin Newsom about Senate Bill 233, called herself voiceless.In her letter she told the governor about rapes she’s suffered while homeless and on the streets. Pimps had beaten her. One once threw her out of a hotel, leaving her naked in the parking lot.She feared to call police. They never listened to her before, the unnamed woman wrote.
Traffic approaching the toll plaza for the San Francisco - Oakland Bay Bridge. (Photo: Ann Baldwin, via Shutterstock)Skipping out on paying a highway or bridge toll has long been a surefire way to get hit with a big fine. But if a raft of pending lawsuits seeking to overturn how toll operators share information about scofflaws is successful, California toll operators say taxpayers may end up taking the biggest hit.
A PG&E crew examines a utility poll amid the devastation of the Carr Fire last year in Redding. (Photo: Sheila Fitzgerald, via Shutterstock) As California confronts a new fire season, the state’s largest utility says it has inspected hundreds of thousands of structures and made repairs on its sprawling infrastructure system. In data released July 15 by Pacific Gas and Electric Co., the investor-owned utility reported there were 9,671 problems with infrastructure in areas of the state most at risk for wildfires, especially northern California.
An unloaded gun, with ammunition. (Photo: Sundry Photography, via Shutterstock) Under a new law barely a month old, California is the nation’s first state to require point-of-sale background checks for ammunition sales. But pieces of the voter-approved statute already are under fire in the courts.
The hulks of destroyed automobiles burned in the 2018 Thomas Fire in Ventura County. ((Photo: Joseph Sohm, via Shutterstock)On the final day of the legislative session, Gov. Newsom signed a complex, $21 billion bill that will dramatically change how California pays for future wildfire damages, with the customers and shareholders of California’s largest utilities covering the tab. The unprecedented measure seeks to stabilize the utility market and limit rate hikes, while establishing a blanket of financial security and compensation to victims of the devastating 2017-2018 fires.