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Judy Dugan
Blog Post
2/24/2013
Posted by Judy Dugan
The power of the petroleum industry in California may be unparalleled in the states. Its lobbying machine is stupendously successful. For instance, California remains the only significant oil producer that does not tax oil extracted in the state. It has...
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Blog Post
2/13/2013
Posted by Judy Dugan
It was a relief to hear more than a passing reference to climate change in President Obama's State of the Union Speech, including promises of more support for wind and solar power. But the oil industry heard nothing to even cause even a smidgen of concern....
Blog Post
1/31/2013
Posted by Judy Dugan
The news reports were on the gee-whiz side this week as state job safety regulators announced nearly $1 million in fines--the largest ever!-- against Chevron for its refinery blaze last August. But "largest ever" only means that the levy hit the state...
Blog Post
1/28/2013
Posted by Judy Dugan
California's oil and gas industry regulators are about to write final state regulations on the controversial practice of fracking natural gas and oil wells in the state. Don't expect any backbone, however, from the state Department of Oil, Gas and Geothermal...
Blog Post
1/18/2013
Posted by Judy Dugan
Comedy is funnier when it hits you in the gut. That's what made a famous skit by Lily Tomlin about the phone company's abuse of customers so memorable, one tag line being "We are omnipotent."
AT&T is still at it. As columnist James Temple writes...
Blog Post
8/22/2012
Posted by Judy Dugan
Drivers in at least three Midwest states--including the cities of Chicago and Milwaukee--still don't know what BP put in the bad gasoline that stalled their cars, fouled their fuel systems and is costing up to $1,400 to fix. BP, operator of the Whiting, Ind.,...
News Release
8/16/2012
Posted by Judy Dugan
Santa Monica, CA — San Bernardino County, plagued by predatory mortgages that left 60% of the county’s homeowners underwater, is stepping up to solve the problem on its own after the failure of banks and the financial industry to stem the crisis, said...
Blog Post
8/8/2012
Posted by Judy Dugan
More than two hours passed at Chevron's Richmond, CA, refinery between the discovery of a leak and the ignition of a blaze that threatened the health of thousands of nearby residents and sent hundreds to hospital emergency rooms Monday night. At any point during...
Blog Post
8/8/2012
Posted by Judy Dugan
Consumer Watchdog has been growling for a while about global corporations that use a tax loophole to pay less in California corporate taxes than in-state companies. Four major companies--Kimberly Clark (Kleenex, Scott toilet paper), General Motors, Chrysler and...
Blog Post
8/2/2012
Posted by Judy Dugan
Shell Oil’s big plan to take advantage of global warming by drilling in previously inaccessible Arctic waters is going a bit slower than planned. The global petroleum giant said last month that it would drill only two test wells, not five, this summer, because...