On an early afternoon in November 2013, a passenger bus was about 40 miles along its approximately 330-mile route from Goleta to Oakland when it ran into trouble. That trouble was in the form of the California Highway Patrol, which stopped the driver of a Silverado Stages bus. An inspection of that bus revealed three […]
COLIN RIGLEY
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Redacted: What remains unknown from the NRC and PG&E about Diablo Canyon
Page 1 contains a short memo. Page 2 features a list of recipients. Pages 3 through 67, however, are blank. Each page–in the public version of the document, anyway–is concealed by a white box, hiding the text the original recipients could access. While it’s not uncommon for documents from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)—or any […]
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Were baghouse ash and petroleum coke to blame for at least two worker deaths and multiple cancer cases at the Santa Maria Refinery?
Before Teddy Cobb died, he left his wife a bag of ash. It was gray, about the consistency of baby powder, and known among the guys who dealt with it mainly for its ability to turn shovels green. When the cancer he’d been living with for almost seven years eventually took him, Cobb’s wife had […]
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The born identity: Why it’s so important for transgender people to change their documents, and how it’s now easier to do so
The one thing Aaron has been asked about that most other people will never have to answer is the shape and condition of his genitals. It’s a question he clearly doesn’t like to answer, but it’s a question he’s been all but forced to answer almost any time he’s had to use any form of […]
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The Nuclear Regulatory Commission releases a tsunami assessment of Diablo Canyon 11 years later
After more than 11 years, a 63-page report focused on the tsunami hazard at the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant has been made public. On Nov. 6, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission released Dr. Robert Sewell’s report, “A Preliminary Numerical Study of the Hazard from Local Landslide Tsunami Scenarios at the Diablo Canyon Site in Central […]
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Was an Independent Peer Review Panel cut out of PG&E’s seismic review?
Several emails made public as part of a recent legal filing have provided a rare glimpse into internal conversations between Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) officials at a time when some critics have alleged the company sidestepped independent oversight. On Sept. 16, 2013, PG&E Director of Regulatory Relations Erik Jacobson wrote to Valerie Winn, PG&E’s […]
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Community Health Centers of the Central Coast is facing two sexual harassment lawsuits from former employees
The situations described seem almost identical: two women, both receptionists hired within about a year of one another, allege that their respective bosses began sexually harassing them in late 2012. Both were fired. Both have the same attorney. Both have sued. Though Santa Barbara-based attorney Christine Adams declined to comment or allow either of her […]
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Diablo’s in the details: Why a shelved NRC tsunami study is generating new interest about potential Diablo Canyon flooding hazards 12 years later
On March 16, 2011, the full picture was beginning to come into focus of just how bad things were in Fukushima, Japan. A massive earthquake and corresponding tsunami knocked out power and backup systems at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, and at the time Japanese officials were asking residents within 12 miles of the […]
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San Luis Obispo County Assistant District Attorney Tim Covello resigns, comes to Santa Barbara County
San Luis Obispo County’s assistant district attorney, Tim Covello, has resigned from his position and transitioned to a new role with the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office. Covello made the announcement by email to the office and said that his last day would be July 11. However, the office announced the move one day […]
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Phillips 66 health and safety specialists allege they were punished for unionizing
On a late Monday afternoon in January 2012, a group of five health and safety shift specialists were called to meet with four managers of the Phillips 66 Santa Maria Refinery. And while the reason for the meeting was unclear before they entered the room, the five specialists soon left with the distinct impression that […]
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Harmon challenges Achadjian in 35th Assembly District race
Local climate-change activist Heidi Harmon has announced her candidacy to challenge incumbent Republican Assemblyman Katcho Achadjian. To win the seat, Harmon, a Democrat, will not only have to best a popular local incumbent, but also face a district with a Republican majority. The 35th Assembly District, which Achadjian has represented since 2010, gives a slight […]
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CPUC president details mounting issues that must be addressed for Diablo Canyon funding
Read full version of study here (pdf). If you were to sit down and write out all of the issues Pacific Gas & Electric needs to address, you would end up with a laundry list of concurrent hurdles that even individually would be a tall order for the operator of the Diablo Canyon nuclear power […]