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ByEllenKnickmeyer The Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO Califor- nia's chief utility regulator, under fire over accusations of secret dealings with the state's largest utility, said Thursday he will not seek reappointment when his term ends at the end of the year. California Public Util- ities Commission Presi- dent Michael Peevey made the announcement af- ter a state lawmaker said he would bring legisla- tion to block Peevey's re- appointment to a second term. Democratic state Sen. Jerry Hill applauded Peevey's decision, saying it was "more than just a great first step." "We can stop fighting and start rebuilding the commission," he said. Peevey was under fire in connection with a se- ries of emails describing alleged backroom dealings between him and others at the commission and Cali- fornia's biggest utility, Pa- cific Gas & Electric Co. In emails released by PG&E on Monday, a com- pany official said Peevey pressed him for more than $1 million in cam- paign donations and other funds during a 2010 din- ner. Then-PG&E Vice Pres- ident Brian Cherry said he and Peevey also discussed at least five PG&E regu- latory matters before the commission. The emails are the latest in a series released by the utility and others that al- legedly show PG&E execu- tives privately negotiating with California Public Util- ities Commission officials. The company has said prosecutors have informed the utility that federal au- thorities are investigating the legality of five years of back-channel communica- tions between it and the utility commission. The U.S. attorney's office said it would have no comment. Officials from the San Francisco suburb of San Bruno — among the sharp- est critics of both PG&E and its regulators since a 2010 PG&E gas line blast killed eight people in the city — said the emails showed a cozy relationship between the regulators and PG&E. The company is facing fed- eral criminal charges in connection with the explo- sion. Peevey said in a state- ment that "twelve years as President is enough," though he did not elaborate. He said the governor would make a decision about his successor. A call to the governor's office was not immediately returned. Peevey was appointed president of the commis- sion by Gov. Gray Davis in March 2002 in the wake of California's energy crisis. He had previously served as president of energy com- pany Edison International and its subsidiary, South- ern California Edison, ac- cording to his biography on the commission's web- site. He is married to Dem- ocratic state Sen. Carol Liu. In December 2008, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger re- appointed him for another six-year term, the biogra- phy says. The utilities commission has said it initiated a third- party review of its commu- nications with regulators. Peevey has not commented on the actions described in the emails. PG&E's legal counsel has described the back-chan- nel contacts in the emails as rare events rather than standard practice and stressed that the utility let go the three executives it believed were responsible. UTILITIES COMMISSION Ca lif or ni a po we r re gu la to r to e xi t am id c ri ti ci sm RICHPEDRONCELLI—THEASSOCIATEDPRESSFILE Michael Peevey, Gov. Gray Davis' appointee to the Public Utilities Commission, answers questions while appearing at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Rules Committee at the Capitol in Sacramento in this file photo. By Tami Abdollah The Associated Press LOS ANGELES The police officers placed the green and red oven mitts over their hands and tried clum- sily to use paperclips. Then they tried with big binder clips — an "accommoda- tion" that helped them suc- cessfully complete the task despite their compromised fine motor skills. The exercise was part of a daylong training on au- tism Thursday in down- town Los Angeles for 100 police officers, school po- lice and county Sheriff's deputies. The training is part of a growing effort by law enforcement agencies to ensure their officers are equipped to handle the di- versity of people they en- counter and to avoid having an incident end in tragedy. But, "Mission Possible" takes training a step fur- ther, bringing in 100 mid- dle- and high school-aged students who are paired with officers and deputies for three hours of activi- ties that allow each to grow more comfortable with the other and to interact out- side of a crisis scenario. "If you have autism, and you have problems commu- nicating or you have be- havior issues, it's not go- ing to go very well with the police if you can't follow their instructions or tell them who you are or what kind of help you need," said Emily Iland, who designed the training materials. "We realized the deficits of au- tism and the demands of a police encounter are a mis- match." Training the kids also helps breaks down the mys- tery of police officers and their work, Los Angeles Po- lice Chief Charlie Beck said. He noted that many police officers have children or other family members who are also autistic. Lt. Stacy Spell has a teenage son with autism. He's also president of the Los Angeles Police Autism Support Group and spoke Thursday about dealing with missing autistic peo- ple and how their instinc- tual behaviors — for exam- ple, running from searchers — might make it harder to find them. "Most of us come on to protect the most vulner- able of our society," Spell said. "People with autism, with development disabili- ties, they are the most vul- nerable." The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention es- timates that 1 in 68 children have been identified with autism spectrum disorder, which affects communica- tion, socialization, behav- ior and sensory processing. On Thursday, students danced alongside their of- ficers to Pharrell Williams' "Happy," stopping at ran- dom moments to obey "Of- ficer Simon Says." This ver- sion of the game requires you to always do what the officer says. So they'd pause on command to put their hands up or behind their backs. The program, funded by a Los Angeles Police Foun- dation grant, has trained 400 officers and 400 stu- dents over the last three years. The city's fire depart- ment is looking at replicat- ing it for firefighters, who often encounter autistic in- dividuals during emergen- cies, said fire Capt. Jaime Moore, who was in the parking lot showing youths an ambulance. 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