In a recently unsealed court document, a state investigator has detailed the developing criminal investigation of Michael Peevey, the former president of the California Public Utilities Commission, for his role in assigning the costs of the multibillion-dollar closure of the San Onofre nucler power plant.
From Jeff McDonald and Ricky Young in the LAT: "Specifically, Peevey pushed the idea of plant owner Southern California Edison funding $25 million of greenhouse gas research at UCLA as part of the $4.7-billion settlement deal."
"The power plant on San Diego County's north coast closed following a radiation leak in January 2012. A deal assigning 70% of the premature closure costs to utility customers has since been repudiated by two of the consumer groups that negotiated it, amid revelations about undisclosed private meetings, known as "ex parte" meetings, between regulators and utility executives.
"A sworn affidavit by an investigator for California Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris, unsealed last month, lays out the developing criminal case in detail for the first time. The 18-page document says improper meetings were held, which might bring misdemeanor charges, but that a conspiracy to commit those misdemeanors could be considered a felony."
Here's a place you probably haven't seen and aren't likely to, unless you do something really, really bad -- Death Row at San Quentin. Prison authorities allowed reporters in for a rare peek.
From the Chronicle's Evan Sernoffsky:"It’s both a lonely and crowded world inside the country’s largest Death Row, where hundreds of condemned inmates, stripped of nearly every freedom, wait around to die."
"But for the more than 700 of the most notorious killers warehoused alone in cells in San Quentin State Prison, death likely won’t come at the end of a needle in the facility’s lethal-injection chamber."
That’s because nearly a decade ago, a federal judge placed a moratorium on capital punishment in California — bringing to a halt all executions. For the first time since the death penalty was put on pause in the state, reporters on Tuesday got an in-depth look at the cold concrete corridors, locked cells and shackled inmates on California’s ever-growing Death Row."
This is kind of a good news, bad news thing: The state can ask a nonprofit launched by the billionaire activist Koch brothers for details of the donors, but the state can't disclose the information to the public.
From Bloomberg's Edvard Pettersson: "California can ask a nonprofit group started by conservative billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch for the names and addresses of its donors, but the state can’t publicly disclose that information."
"A federal appeals court on Monday overturned a lower-court judge, allowing California Attorney General Kamala Harris to seek the information from the Americans for Prosperity Foundation while the group’s lawsuit is being decided. The foundation contends it shouldn’t have to share with the state the donor data it gives the Internal Revenue Service."
"The three-judge appeals panel said in an unanimous decision that the organization, which promotes causes such as limiting the size and power of government, didn’t show it has reason to fear disclosure of the information the attorney general requires for enforcing laws on charitable organizations."
Yesterday, we told you about that huge data breach of voter-registration information across the country. Today, it turns out that California's elections officer is looking to see if California was affected.
From the Bee's Christopher Cadelago: "California Secretary of State Alex Padilla said Tuesday that his office is working to verify claims that confidential voter information had been publicly posted online."
"Padilla said the records were not posted by the California Secretary of State, and that he is collaborating with Attorney General Kamala Harris’ office to provide any necessary assistance. Harris’ office would not comment on a potential or ongoing investigation, to protect the integrity of any probe, a spokeswoman said."
"CNET, citing DataBreaches.net researcher Chris Vickery, reported that a massive trove of voter data was found on a publicly available Web server. The database of 191 million registered voters, including many in California, is no longer publicly accessible, Vickery wrote in an update."
Meanwhile, alleged Chinatown gang chieftain Raymond "Shrimp Boy" Chow lost his attempt in federal court to get released the identities of the undercover agents who put together the case against him.
From the Chronicle's Bob Egelko: "Chow testified last week that he had renounced his life of crime after completing his last prison sentence in 2003, and that the agent, who professed his “love and respect” for Chow, never told him the money he pressed on him was a payoff for lawbreaking by others."
"But his lawyers say they were unfairly hampered by prosecutors’ refusal to identify the agent and two of his undercover colleagues or to disclose details about their backgrounds that might have helped the defense challenge their credibility. After U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer ruled that national security concerns justified confidentiality, Chow’s lawyers asked the U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco to intervene Monday."
“Shielding the undercover agents’ identities defeats any presumption of justice, openness and transparency,” defense attorney J. Tony Serra said in his court filing. At the very least, he said, the court could require prosecutors to reveal either the agents’ names or pertinent background information — such as previous complaints against them, or any records of misconduct or psychiatric problems — to a defense lawyer with proper security clearance and a nondisclosure agreement."
Finally, from our "Coffee Addiction" file comes the story of motorists who lined up in the cold and wind of Nova Scotia to get their daily fix. We're not talking just a few cars.
"Coffee-craving Christmas revelers in a Nova Scotia town braved a line more than 100 cars long for java from a Tim Hortons drive-through."
"The Tim Hortons in Truro, one of the few businesses in town open Christmas Day, experienced a heavy customer flow Friday with a drive-through line more than 100 cars long being caught on camera by Lukas MacAulay."
"MacAulay, who posted his video to the We Love Nova Scotia group on Facebook, said he hopes the coffee-seeking drivers were "patient."
"The line was enough to turn me away," MacAulay told CBC News. "I just decided, 'No coffee for me' and I'd just take a video."
That's even more than at Starbucks ...
