Connect with us

San Francisco, CA

San Francisco supervisors call for hearing into PG&E’s massive blackout

Published

on

San Francisco supervisors call for hearing into PG&E’s massive blackout


San Francisco supervisors are calling for a hearing by the board into the massive power outage in the city last month. 

Calls for a hearing 

What we know:

Advertisement

Supervisor Alan Wong and other lawmakers say residents deserve answers about the outage on December 20, which, at its height, affected about a third of the city. 

Wong added that the credits offered by Pacific Gas and Electric are insufficient to cover lost food, wages and many other disruptions. The utility has offered customers and businesses impacted by the Dec. 20 blackout $200 and $2,500 respectively. 

Advertisement

Wong in a statement said power was gradually restored during the initial outage, but that periodic outages continued for several days and that full restoration was achieved on Dec. 23. 

“This was not a minor inconvenience,” said Sup. Wong. “Families lost heat in the middle of winter. Seniors were stranded in their homes. One of my constituents, a 95-year-old man who relies on a ventilator, had to be rushed to the hospital at 2 a.m. People watched their phones die, worried they would lose their only connection to 911.”

Wong’s office had sent the utility a letter after previous outages on Dec. 7 and Dec. 10, regarding the utility’s lack of reliability. The letter called the frequency of the outages unacceptable. 

Advertisement

PG&E agreed with Wong’s office’s characterization of service specific to the Sunset District and met with the supervisor.  

Despite this development, the root cause of the outage on Dec. 20, that impacted some 130,000 residents citywide, was due to a substation fire near Mission and 8th streets. That fire remains under investigation. 

Advertisement

Wong thanked fellow supervisors Bilal Mahmood, Connie Chan, Stephen Sherrill, Danny Sauter, and Myrna Melgar for co-sponsoring his request. The boardmembers have asked board President Rafael Mandelman to refer their request to the appropriate committee. 

Wong is separately submitting a letter of inquiry to the SF Public Utilities Commission requesting an analysis of cost and implementation of what it would take for San Francisco to have its own publicly-owned electrical grid. 

The other side:

Advertisement

A PG&E spokesperson addressed the board on Tuesday, asking for the hearing to be scheduled after they get results of an independent investigation. 

“We have hired an independent investigator company named Exponent to conduct a root-cause investigation. We are pushing for it to be completed as soon as possible with preliminary results by February which we will share with the city,” said Sarah Yoell with PG&E government affairs. “We are proud of our ongoing investments to serve San Francisco.” 

Advertisement

Yoell assured the utility would be transparent with whatever they find. 

PG&E added that they have met all state requirements and that they have a current Safety Certificate approved by OEIS (Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety). 

Loss of inventory

Advertisement

Abdul Alomari, co-owner of Ember Grill in the Tenderloin, said his business lost electricity during the massive outage. 

“It’s not just me. Across the street, all these restaurants here, nearby businesses. It hurst a lot of people. I’m just one small voice from so many people here that got hurt,” said Alomari. 

He plans to attend the PG&E hearing and said Tenderloin merchants already have a tough time. 

Advertisement

“Less people come here, the Tenderloin, Every single bit of help helps. It doesn’t help that every three months we get a power outage for four hours and we lose business,” said Alomari.

He said compensation from PG&E alone is not the answer. He wants reliability and stability. 

Advertisement

“That’s only short time if we have things like this happen all the time, eventually it’ll off set what we get,” Alomari said. 

The Source: PG&E statement, interviews with the supervisors, interview with a restaurant owner and original reporting by Amber Lee. 

PG&ESan FranciscoNews
Advertisement



Source link

San Francisco, CA

Giants reassign 3B coach Borg; Wotus named interim replacement

Published

on

Giants reassign 3B coach Borg; Wotus named interim replacement


DENVER — The Giants announced on Friday that they have reassigned third-base coach Hector Borg to a new role within their player development staff. Ron Wotus will fill the third-base coaching role on an interim basis until the organization identifies a permanent replacement.
Borg has made several questionable calls from



Source link

Continue Reading

San Francisco, CA

Driver Arrested After Pedestrian Killed, Three Injured In Mission District Crash

Published

on

Driver Arrested After Pedestrian Killed, Three Injured In Mission District Crash


One pedestrian died at the hospital and three others suffered non-life-threatening injuries after a driver struck them in SF’s Mission District earlier this week.

The San Francisco Police Department arrested a driver suspected of fatally striking four pedestrians in the area of 16th and Mission streets Monday morning, as KRON4 reports.

Officers responded to the scene at 12:13 am and found medics treating one pedestrian with life-threatening injuries. The person later died at a nearby hospital, and three other pedestrians sustained non-life-threatening injuries.

The driver was reportedly detained soon after the collision. The department has not announced what charges they will receive.

Advertisement

“We hold the victim and their loved ones in our thoughts, and grieve this loss of life on San Francisco’s streets,” said Jodie Medeiros, executive director for Walk SF, in a release. “We all deserve to be able to get around safely in our city.”

This marks the ninth pedestrian death in San Francisco this year. It’s also the second such death in the Mission, following the tragic death of local musician Danielle Spillman at Mission Street and South Van Ness Avenue in April, as SFist reported previously.

Four pedestrians were killed throughout the month of March, including deaths in Chinatown, the Financial District, North Beach, and the Outer Mission. In late February, a two-year-old was run over in Mission Bay.

Anyone with information may contact the SFPD at 415-575-4444 or text “TIP411,” beginning with “SFPD.”

Wife of SoMa Hit-and-Run Suspect Says ‘My Husband Is Not a Villain’

Advertisement

Image: Google Maps



Source link

Continue Reading

San Francisco, CA

California Supreme Court ruling on bail sparks debate over what it means for San Francisco’s safety

Published

on

California Supreme Court ruling on bail sparks debate over what it means for San Francisco’s safety


A recent California Supreme Court ruling is changing how bail is set across the state, and it’s sparking a sharp debate in San Francisco about what it could mean for public safety.

Inside her office, District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said every decision carries weight. She views her role through one lens: protecting the public.

“My responsibility to San Francisco is public safety,” Jenkins said. “And to be transparent to me in achieving that safety. This is a ruling that has real-life consequences, and deny that would be untruthful and would not help people understand why we may see retraction from our progress.”

The ruling requires judges to set bail at levels defendants can afford, shifting the focus away from cash bail and toward whether someone poses a risk to public safety.

Advertisement

Jenkins said she believes that shift could have serious consequences.

“I knew it would be immediately be devastating to public safety and the state of California and had a lot of concerns that I thought needed to be shared with the public and other city leaders,” she said.

She warns that the change could make it easier for repeat offenders, particularly those involved in drug-related crimes, to be released before trial.

“These judges don’t live in San Francisco, many of them,” Jenkins said. “They don’t live in places like the Tenderloin that are most affected by these issues. They are ruling in a way that has impacts on other people’s lives.”

But not everyone agrees with that assessment.

Advertisement

San Francisco Defense Attorney Marsanne Weese said the ruling does not eliminate accountability and that courts still have tools to detain people who pose a threat.

“In regards to her statements, there is no basis for it,” Weese said. “And the justices pointed out that there are a number of non-financial tools the lower courts can use and should use.”

Those tools include options like pretrial detention and supervised release, which allow judges to consider risk without relying solely on a person’s ability to pay bail.

“So, in regards to this being a drastic change, yes, it will be a drastic change, but not to safety,” Weese added.

For Jenkins, the concern is not just the intent of the law, but how it will be applied in real-world courtrooms and what that means on city streets.

Advertisement

For now, there is unease for some, optimism for others, and a growing debate over what public safety will look like under this new system.



Source link

Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending