Posts Tagged: power

Opinion

The path to carbon-free electricity

Electrical power transmitted to a large urban area. (Photo: urbans, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: Powering our state with entirely clean energy is not a pipe dream. At a time when the Trump administration is making harmful and backward decisions on our climate and energy future, Senate Bill 100 presents a golden opportunity for California to lead the nation. California already sources over a quarter of our electricity from wind and solar sources, empowering us to reach 50 percent renewable energy well before 2030.

Opinion

Energy, CCAs and the seniors’ cost burden

San Francisco skyline at sunset, as its electricity usage kicks in. (Photo: Joseph Sohm)

OPINION: A current law that is supposed to protect seniors and all electricity customers from paying for power that was purchased for other customers is not working. A broad coalition of senior groups and dozens of others is encouraging the Senate committee to discuss the fair allocation of costs for clean energy and other long-term contracts that were purchased to meet our state’s clean energy goals

Opinion

The CPUC and environmental justice

A natural gas plant near Ventura, Calif. (Photo: Henrik Lehnerer)

OPINION: California is moving faster than expected toward a clean energy future with ambitious greenhouse gas reduction targets and new innovations in renewable energy. However, there is still work to be done to ensure that all Californians can benefit from the cleaner air, local jobs and economic benefits clean energy can bring. State regulatory agencies play a powerful role in making our clean energy future a reality.

Opinion

Virginia corruption case may resonate in California

Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell at a GOP fund raising event for Mitt Romney. (Photo: Mavrick, Shutterstock)

OPINION: The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision to vacate the bribery conviction of former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell has implications for California and its anti-corruption statute. The trial jury found that McDonnell performed official acts in exchange for gifts. But the Supreme Court decided that the jury was incorrectly instructed on the definition of the “official act” element of the federal corruption statute.

News

A tale of tension at the Coastal Commission

Bixby Creek Bridge in Big Sur, south of Carmel. (Photo: Tom Tietz)

For those attempting to oust Charles Lester, the executive director of the California Coastal Commission, the upcoming hearing is a referendum on his job performance. For the environmentalists who follow the commission, it’s a coup and an attempt to seize the upper hand in the power struggle between pro-development interests and an environmentalist staff that they believe has defined the commission since the reign of Peter Douglas.

Opinion

California lags in embracing IT

Voluminous data displayed on a computer monitor. (Photo: Dimitri Nikolaev)

Information technology has been a key driver of productivity growth in the private sector, as evidenced by the fact that companies that have invested the most in computers, software, and communications grew their employees’ output per hour three times faster than other companies. Unfortunately, it appears that most state governments, including California, lag behind and are more like those companies that have invested less in IT.

News

CalSTRS eyes hike in death benefit

Students in a classroom get instruction from a teacher. (Photo: Areipa.It, Shutterstock)

Because the system is underfunded, the CalSTRS board has made no inflation adjustment in the death benefit since 2002. The board was told that it could have increased the death benefit by about 34.7 percent during the period.

News

From the classroom: Looking at the offices of governor, president

At first glance, comparing the roles of the President and the California Governor with regard to the lawmaking processes of their respective governments appears to be an esoteric exercise for ivory tower academics. Our students often ask, “Why is it important that I be able to compare the respective powers and prerogatives of the President and the Governor? Is it not enough for me to know what the President can do in the federal system, and what the Governor can do in the California system?”

News

Hospitals see ‘chilling effect’ in A.G.’s power over mergers

LInda Vista Community Hospital in Los Angeles, formerly Santa Fe Coast Lines Hospital. (Photo: Downtowngal, Wikimedia)

State Attorney General Kamala Harris wants unprecedented authority over contracts dealing with nonprofit hospitals, after a deal in Southern California caused abortion-rights activists to cry foul. On the governor’s desk is a bill that would give the attorney general’s office more time, from 60 to 90 days, to review such deals.

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