Public records

Commissioner Lara Proposes Minimal Oversight, Secrecy of Black-Box Wildfire Insurance Models, Says Consumer Watchdog

Retrieved on: 
Dienstag, April 23, 2024
Catastrophe modeling, Risk, Bias, Proposition 103, Legislation, Consumer Watchdog, Commissioner, Multimedia, FAIR, Confidentiality, Public records, Insurance

LOS ANGELES, April 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara's proposal to let insurance companies use private black-box models and AI to predict the risk of catastrophic wildfires will raise home insurance rates without transparency or accountability, Consumer Watchdog will testify at a Department of Insurance workshop this afternoon.

Key Points: 
  • Contrary to Commissioner Lara's public statements, no independent panel of experts would review or approve a model for use.
  • California law passed by the voters in Proposition 103 requires insurance companies to disclose everything that has an impact on insurance prices.
  • Insurance Commissioner Lara's "historic agreement" with insurance companies last September included allowing the industry to use black-box catastrophe models to set insurance prices.
  • Insurance companies that refuse should be barred from the home and auto insurance markets for five years.

Watchdog Renews Call to Mandate Insurance Companies Disclose the Fossil Fuel Projects They Insure as Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara Convenes Climate Summit

Retrieved on: 
Dienstag, April 9, 2024
Climate change, Investment, Policy, Climate, Insurance, Future, Consumer Watchdog, Multimedia, FAIR, Public records, Disclosure

LOS ANGELES, April 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara must hold insurance companies accountable for their contributions to the climate crisis by mandating disclosure of the fossil fuel projects they insure, said Consumer Watchdog today. Commissioner Lara is hosting a climate summit April 9-10 in Los Angeles.

Key Points: 
  • LOS ANGELES, April 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara must hold insurance companies accountable for their contributions to the climate crisis by mandating disclosure of the fossil fuel projects they insure, said Consumer Watchdog today.
  • Last week, Insure Our Future reported that 12 California insurance companies that have announced coverage restrictions in the state made an estimated $3.6 billion by insuring fossil fuel infrastructure.
  • "Commissioner Lara can't position himself as a climate champion without making insurance companies come clean on their contributions to climate change.
  • Consumer Watchdog said that insurance companies complicit in climate change should have added responsibilities for pulling us back from the brink.

Consumers Who Harden Homes to Reduce Wildfire Risk Must Have a Right to Buy Insurance, Consumer Watchdog to Testify before Little Hoover Commission

Retrieved on: 
Donnerstag, März 28, 2024
Consumer Watchdog, Little Hoover Commission, Public records, Risk, Insurance, FAIR, Multimedia, Proposition 103, Legislation, Wildfire

Mandatory coverage for homeowners who do the right thing is the only option to quickly get Californians insured again, Balber will testify.

Key Points: 
  • Mandatory coverage for homeowners who do the right thing is the only option to quickly get Californians insured again, Balber will testify.
  • "Appeasing the insurance industry has failed to protect consumers' access to home insurance in California," said Consumer Watchdog executive director Carmen Balber.
  • The added bonus will be depopulating the FAIR Plan to help stabilize the finances of the state's insurer of last resort."
  • The only consumer benefit of the plan was a supposed "commitment" by insurers to increase insurance sales in wildfire areas.

Top Five Questions Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara Must Answer About his Wildfire Insurance Plan

Retrieved on: 
Mittwoch, Dezember 13, 2023
Insurance commissioner, Public records, Commitment, California Public Records Act, Language, Insurance, Multimedia, Senate, Hearing, Insurers Committee, Commissioner, Legislation, Consumer Watchdog, Risk management, Life insurance

Commissioner Lara will testify about his plan before an Assembly Insurance Committee Oversight Hearing this afternoon.

Key Points: 
  • Commissioner Lara will testify about his plan before an Assembly Insurance Committee Oversight Hearing this afternoon.
  • Commissioner Lara announced a deal with insurers and plan for regulations in September that he said would expand home insurance coverage for Californians.
  • The center of the plan was a supposed "85% commitment" by insurers to increase insurance sales in wildfire areas.
  • "Is the Insurance Commissioner finally ready to prove how his plan will get a single new homeowner access to insurance in California?

SF BottleBank Pilot To Refund CRV Bottle Deposits A Bust; Coalition Gives CalRecycle Checklist for Reform, Says Consumer Watchdog

Retrieved on: 
Montag, Juni 12, 2023
KGO-TV, Plastic, Food & Water Watch, Public records, CALPIRG, Justice, SF, California Public Records Act, California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee, Water, Environment California, San Francisco Department of Public Works, Safeway, Whole Foods Market, Multimedia, OPR, Recycling, Supermarket, Consultant, The Story of Stuff, City, CRV, Glass, Consumer, Consumer Watchdog, Court, Environmental Health (journal), Environment, PRA, Beverage Container Refund Scheme, Letter, Food, Wagoner, Automation, Cryptocurrency, Airline, SAN, Energy, California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery

CalRecycle should take heed as it builds a new bottle deposit system to begin in 2025 under SB 1013."

Key Points: 
  • CalRecycle should take heed as it builds a new bottle deposit system to begin in 2025 under SB 1013."
  • The SF BottleBank program offers consumers bottle deposit refunds via electronic accounts in exchange for bags of CRV empties taken by consumers to supermarket parking lots.
  • The SF BottleBank program received state grants totaling $2.15 million in the last four years with nothing but red ink in sight.
  • That comes to anywhere from $300,000 worth of CRV deposits to $1.6 million worth of CRV a year per location.

Daniel's Law Highlights the Need to Redact Public Records

Retrieved on: 
Donnerstag, Juni 8, 2023
Messaging Architects, Daniel, Daniel's, Law, Disclosure, Fear, Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery (Ontario), Public records, Risk, Consultant, Audit

HOBOKEN, N.J., June 8, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Messaging Architects, an eMazzanti Technologies Company and municipal information governance expert, explains Daniel's Law and how it relates to public information in a new article. The informative article first relates the origin and scope of Daniel's law in New Jersey.

Key Points: 
  • Thus, the law prohibits the disclosure of the home addresses and phone numbers of certain public officials.
  • He also relates several examples of harm to public officials that illustrate how public records can put public servants and their families at risk.
  • Below are a few excerpts from the article, " Daniel's Law Highlights the Need to Redact Public Records ."
  • By creating a mechanism for redacting personal information from public records, Daniel's Law balances the need for transparency and accountability with the desire for security and protection."

Open Unveils New Mindfulness Studio in Venice, California

Retrieved on: 
Dienstag, Mai 9, 2023
Heart, Partnership, Public records, Life, Open, KAYTRANADA, Light, Market Street, Intelligence, Brain, Mindfulness, Science, PARTYNEXTDOOR, Motion, Sound, Creative director, Meditation, City, Ecosystem, Longevity, Health, Music, Video game, Film industry, Medical imaging

LOS ANGELES, May 9, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Open, the app that's sweeping the wellness industry, today announced the opening of their flagship location in Venice Beach, California. The mindfulness studio is proving what they set out to do: make the benefits of the present moment accessible to all.

Key Points: 
  • The mindfulness studio is proving what they set out to do: make the benefits of the present moment accessible to all.
  • "Open is committed to creating a mindfulness ecosystem inclusive of the many ways we can practice toward wellbeing," said Open CEO & Co-founder Raed Khawaja.
  • The Open Method™ combines contemplative practice, nervous system regulation, and mindful fitness to master mind and body.
  • For additional information on studio hours, classes, and membership options, visit o-p-e-n.com and follow on Instagram + TikTok for daily inspiration.

Public Records Act Decision Could Mean More Government Secrecy, Undermine Transparency, says Consumer Watchdog

Retrieved on: 
Mittwoch, Januar 11, 2023
California Department of Insurance, Record, Legislature, Assembly, PRA, Government, Consumer Watchdog, California Public Records Act, Lara, Court, California Department, Superior court, Public policy, Multimedia, Public records, Los Angeles County Superior Court, Insurance, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A recent decision in a public records case brought by Consumer Watchdog against the California Department of Insurance could encourage more government secrecy and undermine transparency, according to the non-profit consumer group.

Key Points: 
  • LOS ANGELES, Jan. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A recent decision in a public records case brought by Consumer Watchdog against the California Department of Insurance could encourage more government secrecy and undermine transparency, according to the non-profit consumer group.
  • Consumer Watchdog's lawsuit alleged that Insurance Commissioner Lara and the Department of Insurance violated the Public Records Act ("PRA") by failing to search for records related to a pay-to-play scandal involving insurance companies with business pending before the agency.
  • "The Court's ruling will likely embolden government officials to shield government records from the public view and raises serious questions about the state's Public Records Act that may need to be addressed by the Legislature or at the ballot box," said Consumer Watchdog Litigation Director Jerry Flanagan.
  • In the wake of statewide news reports of the pay-to-play scandal, Consumer Watchdog filed two PRA requests with the Department in July 2019 seeking communications and meeting records.

New Data Shows Increasing Demand for Transparency in Government

Retrieved on: 
Donnerstag, September 29, 2022
Benchmark, Time, Acceleration, Mechanics, MMC, Public sector, Contract, Acquisition, Peers, Public records, CMO, Information, Government, Record, GLOBE, Awareness, Cryptocurrency, Sales, Mobile phone

DENVER, Sept. 29, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, Granicus released findings from its 2022 Public Records Complexity Benchmark Report , revealing a growing demand for transparency in government.

Key Points: 
  • DENVER, Sept. 29, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, Granicus released findings from its 2022 Public Records Complexity Benchmark Report , revealing a growing demand for transparency in government.
  • Formerly known as the Peers in Public Records Index, the Public Records Complexity Benchmark Report analyzed anonymized data from over 240 state, county and city government agencies across the U.S.
  • The findings offer a unique view into the mechanics of records request fulfillment, giving the public a deeper understanding of the factors which can delay government transparency.
  • Over 5,500 federal, state, and local government agencies and more than 300 million citizen subscribers power an unmatched Subscriber Network that turns government missions into quantifiable results.

The Law Office of Michael Rehm Files Public Records Act in Local Teacher Sex Abuse Allegations

Retrieved on: 
Donnerstag, August 18, 2022
Primary, Secondary, Professional Services, Education, Consumer, Teens, Legal, Children, Contribution, San Juan Unified School District, Failure, Behavior, Public records, School, Family, Education, SJU, Delinquent, Open Public Records Act, Sexual abuse, Employment, Intention, Student, File, Medicine, Tutoring, Child

Michael Rehm, a local Sacramento attorney, represents a former student of Alejandrino.

Key Points: 
  • Michael Rehm, a local Sacramento attorney, represents a former student of Alejandrino.
  • I filed a Public Records Act request to secure all personnel files pertaining to Mr. Alejandrinos employment at Arden Middle School and Cowan Fundamental Elementary, where he was previously employed.
  • Attorney Michael Rehm represents victims of sexual abuse involving teachers, or other school officials.
  • Attorney Michael Rehm implemented this strategy recently with a different school district and was able to obtain a $1.45 million settlement pre-litigation for his client.