FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Thursday, 27 June 2013
CONTACT:
Brett Abrams : 516-841-1105 : brett@fitzgibbonmedia.com
Courage Campaign Demands CPUC Leadership Resign After Reports Reveal Threats, Intimidation, and Potential Cover-Up in PG&E/San Bruno Disaster Investigation
Consumer Protection and Safety Director and General Counsel — A Former PG&E Employee — Strong-Arm Staff in Push for Lower Fines for PG&E Whose Negligence Led to the Death of Eight People and Destruction of 38 Homes
CALIFORNIA – CourageCampaign.org is demanding the resignation of California Public Utilities Commission’s (CPUC) Consumer Protection and Safety Director Jack Hagan after new reports document how he threatened attorneys who had been working on the 2010 San Bruno pipeline explosion case for two and a half years and over-ruled them in a push for lower fines. Hagen told CPUC that investments in safety were enough, when pressed as how he determined this, he dismissively told those that objected that “fairies” were supplying him with all the information he needed. Officials from the City of San Bruno have now demanded to know the identity of the “fairies” as a matter of public interest, saying those sources suggest possible ex-parte contact and could pose an illegal interference in the case.
In September of 2010, a natural gas pipeline owned by Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) exploded in the San Bruno neighborhood killing 8 people, destroying over 30 homes and registering a 1.1 on the Richter Scale. This morning, CourageCampaign.org launched a new petition demanding Consumer Protection and Safety Director Jack Hagan and General Counsel Frank Lindh at the CPUC, resign immediately.
SIGN THE PETITION HERE: http://act.couragecampaign.org/sign/PUCsafetyshort/
Making matters worse, Frank Lindh, a former PG&E lawyer who is now General Counsel for the CPUC, reassigned the lawyers who had been working on the San Bruno case for two and a half years after they recommended more serious fines for PG&E.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=170920
“Leadership at the California Public Utilities Commission has protected Pacific Gas & Electric from fines and intimidated attorneys charged with holding PG&E accountable for the San Bruno disaster. This is disgraceful,” explained Rick Jacobs, founder and chair of the CourageCampaign.org, a leading California-based progressive organization. “The CPUC, especially the Consumer Protection and Safety Division, is responsible for the lives and health of millions of Californians. Jack Hagan and Frank Lindh need to resign immediately and records of internal deliberations must be revealed for potential evidence of public corruption.”
For more information, or for interviews with the CourageCampaign.org, please contact Brett Abrams at 516-841-1105 or by email at brett@fitzgibbonmedia.com.
# # # # #
CourageCampaign.org is an online organizing network that empowers more than 750,000 grassroots and netroots activists to push for progressive change and full equality in California and across the country. As a leading multi-issue advocacy organization, Courage Campaign’s work is supported by thousands of small donations from our diverse community.