Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/569627
ByScottSmithand Kristin J. Bender TheAssociatedPress FRESNO Firefighters in Central California on Thursday say the state's largest wildfire threatens to sweep through an an- cient grove of Giant Sequoia trees considered to be a na- tional treasure. Firefighters are clear- ing lines with bulldozers around the Grant Grove and putting up sprinklers, said Andy Isolano, a spokes- man for the Clovis Fire De- partment. Although Isolano said the trees can endure fire, some are stressed in the four-year drought and they're not taking any chances because the fast-moving flames are about five miles from the grove. It is named for the tow- ering General Grant tree that stands 268 feet tall. There are dozens of Se- quoia groves in the Sierra Nevada, and some trees are 3,000 years old. Lightning strikes on July 31 sparked the wildfire in the Kings Canyon National Park east of Fresno. It has charred 172 square miles and is less than one-third contained. Meanwhile, lions, tigers and other cats big and small are being evacuated as Cal- ifornia's biggest wildfire continues to spread, pos- sibly threatening the park where they live, officials said Thursday. Cat Haven in Fresno County, where the fire has been burning for nearly six weeks, is closing temporar- ily. Officials are also advis- ing more residents to be ready to evacuate as the stubborn blaze spreads. The fire sparked by light- ning on July 31 has charred about 172 square miles. It is less than one-third con- tained. Nearly three dozen wild cats will soon be moved from the 100-acre site just west of King's Canyon Na- tional Park. The foothill communities of Dunlap, Miramonte, and Pinehurst are under evacu- ation warnings. KFSN reports cats will go south to the Los Ange- les area, while others will stay in the Fresno area. The Fresno Chaffee Zoo is also assisting. A wildfire in Northern California that exploded in size hours has destroyed six homes in Amador County as evacuations remain in place Thursday, Cal Fire officials said. Two outbuildings were also destroyed. It is about 20 percent contained and has spread to nearby Cala- veras County. About 12,000 people are still without power amid a heat wave, as several facil- ities and power lines were damaged by the fast-mov- ing blaze. Power could be restored Thursday night. In Tuolumne County near Yosemite National Park, a firefighter was in- jured and a home was de- stroyed when two fires combined in the Ce- dar Ridge area, state fire spokeswoman Lisa Wil- liams said Wednesday. Three educational camps and several homes in the area were ordered evac- uated. The fire burning about 20 miles northeast of Sonora has consumed 102 acres and was 50 per- cent contained Thursday. Nearby, a wildfire above Yosemite Valley grew to 500 acres, sending plumes of smoke visible throughout the park, park spokesman Scott Gediman said. Trails on the north rim of Yosem- ite Valley south of the Tioga Road and east of Yosemite Creek are closed, Gediman said. The causes of the fires are under investigation. WILDFIRES FirefightersbattletoprotecttreasuredSequoias JEFFGRTICHEN—THEORANGECOUNTYREGISTER Firefighters battle a brush fire in La Habra on Tuesday. By Sudhin Thanawala The Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO The woman who lost her high- profile gender discrimina- tion lawsuit against a Sil- icon Valley venture capi- tal firm said Thursday that she is dropping her appeal and ending the case that became a flashpoint for in- equality in the technology industry. Ellen Pao said in a state- ment that she cannot afford the risk of incurring addi- tional costs to fight Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. A jury in March found that the firm did not discrimi- nate or retaliate against Pao when it fired her in 2012. "This battle has been painful for me personally and professionally, and also for my family," Pao said. "It is time to move on. I look forward to continuing the conversation about work- place equality and to build- ing great companies in the technology industry." Pao's lawsuit went to trial amid an ongoing dis- cussion about gender in- equity at elite technology and venture capital firms, where women are grossly underrepresented. Indus- try observers said during the trial that the case had led some companies to re- examine their workplace cultures and practices for possible obstacles to hiring and promoting women. In her statement, Pao said she had not reached a settlement with the firm and will pay some of its le- gal fees. A judge ordered her to pay Kleiner Perkins $275,000 in legal fees. Pao recently left her posi- tion as interim CEO of on- line discussion forum and news site Reddit amid an- ger among some users over the firing of a popular staffer and new policies in- tended to fight harassment. Pao said in an email that she was reconnecting with old friends and colleagues and "taking time to figure out what is next." During the trial, Kleiner Perkins attorney Lynne Hermle tried to portray Pao as someone only inter- ested in money. She said Pao, whose lawsuit sought $16 million in lost wages and bonuses, failed as an investor at the company and sued to get a big pay- out as she was being shown the door. Pao's attorneys said she was an accomplished junior partner who was passed over for a promotion be- cause the firm used dif- ferent standards to judge men and women and that she was fired when she com- plained about discrimina- tion. Pao told jurors that her lawsuit was intended in part to create equal oppor- tunities for women in the venture capital sector. SILICON VALLEY CASE Wo ma n wh o lo st b ia s suit is dropping appeal By Julie Watson The Associated Press SAN DIEGO Jewish orga- nizations are upset that the University of Califor- nia is considering adopting a creed against intolerance that does not mention anti- Semitism, which they say is a longstanding problem on its campuses. More than two dozen or- ganizations signed a letter sent to the UC board of re- gents Thursday expressing their outrage about the pro- posed "Statement of Princi- ples Against Intolerance" to be discussed at their meet- ing next week. Jewish groups had been pushing the UC to adopt the State Department's defini- tion of anti-Semitism, say- ing campus debates over the Israeli-Palestinian con- flict were disintegrating into the harassment of Jew- ish students. UC President Janet Na- politano said in a radio in- terview in May that she personally believes the UC should adopt the U.S. State Department's definition, which says that denying Is- rael's right to exist is anti- Semitic. Napolitano's com- ments drew fire from ad- vocates of free speech and those critical of Israel's pol- icy toward Palestine, who said such a definition could be used to silence them. Jewish organizations say a rash of anti-Semitism in- cidents last year— includ- ing many that made ref- erences to Israel — under- score the need for the UC system to take a strong stance against anti-Sem- itism on its 10 campuses. They included Nazi swas- tikas splashed on a Jewish fraternity house at UC Da- vis and a student's creden- tials being questioned by student government leaders at UCLA for a position on a campus panel because she is Jewish. They later apol- ogized. "Unfortunately the pro- posed statement of princi- ples, which the Jewish com- munity was led to believe would address their seri- ous and well-founded con- cerns, is so watered-down and overly broad as to be meaningless," states the let- ter signed by the Simon Wi- esenthal Center and the Na- tional Conference on Jew- ish Affairs, among others. "It does not even mention anti-Semitism, and it will do nothing to mitigate the anti-Semitic bigotry that Jewish students are cur- rently facing at the Univer- sity of California." The proposed statement says the UC "is committed to protecting its bedrock values of respect, inclusion and academic freedom." It adds that the statement is not intended to be used as the basis for disciplinary ac- tion, which is covered under existing policies. EDUCATION Groups push university to adopt anti-Semitism creed NOTICEOFPACIFICGASANDELECTRICCOMPANY'S REQUEST TO INCREASE RATES FOR THE 2017 GENERAL RATE CASE A.15-09-001 OnSeptember1,2015,PacificGasandElectricCompany(PG&E)filedanapplication(15-09-001)withtheCaliforniaPublicUtilitiesCommission (CPUC) requesting approval to increase rates to operate, maintain and upgrade PG&E's electric distribution, gas distribution and electric generation facilities. The requested rate increase would begin January 1, 2017. This application is known as PG&E's General Rate Case (GRC) and will be reviewed in a public process. After the public process, the CPUC will then make a decision on what is reasonable for customers to pay in rates. If approved, this request will increase PG&E's revenue requirement by $457 million in 2017, $489 million in 2018 and $390 million in 2019 for gas and electric service. PG&E is requesting total increase of $2,739 million for the 2017-2019 GRC. ABOUT THE FILING Every three years, PG&E is required to file a GRC with the CPUC. The annual revenue requirement is the total amount of money a utility collects through rates in a given year for specific purposes.The increase in revenue requested in this GRC will be used to make the following investments: • Upgrading the system of power plants, poles, wires, pipes and equipment needed to deliver electricity and gas to our customers • Increasing safety in the operation of gas and electric facilities • Modernizing and strengthening our infrastructure to support clean technology and integrate resources such as rooftop solar, battery storage and other renewables • Improving customer service support and providing customers with choice and control over their energy usage • Continuing improvements of emergency preparedness and coordination with public safety organizations The GRC does not include fuel-related costs addressed in the CPUC's Energy Resources Recovery Account proceedings (A.15-06-001), electric transmission-related costs addressed at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or gas transmission and storage (A.13-12-012) costs which are filed in separate applications. ESTIMATED IMPACT ON ELECTRIC RATES For 2017, the forecasted electric revenue requirement increase is $372 million. PG&E estimates that, initially, the requested increase in electric revenues would be distributed. A table presenting a more illustrative description of the impact of this application was included in a bill insert announcing this filing that was sent directly to customers in the September 2015 billing cycle. If the CPUC approves PG&E's request for an electric rate increase, the electric bill for a typical residential customer using 500 kilowatt hours per month would increase by $2.86 or 3.2 percent from $89.30 to $92.16. Individual customer bills may vary. Rates would become effective January 1, 2017. How will PG&E's application affect non-bundled customers? Direct Access (DA) and Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) customers only receive electric transmission and distribution service from PG&E. Since PG&E does not obtain energy for these customers, the net impact of PG&E's application on DA and CCA customers is $13 million, or an average increase of 1.8 percent. ESTIMATED IMPACT ON GAS RATES For 2017, the forecasted gas distribution revenue increase is $85 million. The actual distribution of the increase to each customer class depends on how the CPUC ultimately decides the GRC. A table presenting a more illustrative description of the impact of this application was included in a bill insert announcing this filing that was sent directly to customers in the September 2015 billing cycle. If the CPUC approves PG&E's request for a gas rate increase, the gas bill for a typical residential customer using 34 therms per month would increase by $1.20 or 2.3% from $51.33 to $52.53. Individual customer bills may vary. Rates would become effective January 1, 2017. While the GRC will determine the total amount of money PG&E can collect in rates for certain purposes, the design of the actual rates themselves and the price charged to customers will be determined in separate proceedings to be filed in the future with the CPUC.The actual distribution of the increase to each customer class depends on how the CPUC ultimately decides the GRC, as well as in the separate electric rate design proceeding expected to be filed with the CPUC in the first quarter of 2016. HOW DO I FIND OUT MORE ABOUT PG&E'S PROPOSALS? If you have questions about PG&E's application, please contact PG&E at 1-800-743-5000. For TDD/TTY (speech-hearing impaired), call 1-800-652-4712. Para más detalles llame al 1-800-660-6789 • 詳 情 請 致 電 1-800-893-9555. If you would like a copy of PG&E's filing and exhibits, please write to PG&E at the address below: Pacific Gas and Electric Company 2017 General Rate Case P.O. Box 7442 San Francisco, CA 94120 A copy of PG&E's filing and exhibits are also available for review at the CPUC, 505 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94102, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to noon. PG&E's application (without exhibits) is available on the CPUC's website at www.cpuc.ca.gov/puc. The GRC is publicly available to ensure transparency and opportunity for public involvement. CPUC PROCESS This application will be assigned to anAdministrative Law Judge (Judge) who will determine how to receive evidence and other related documents necessary for the CPUC to establish a record upon which to base its decision. Public Participation Hearings will be held at various locations to receive public comments on PG&E's application and more information about them will be provided in the future once they are scheduled. Further, evidentiary hearings will be held where parties will present their testimony and may be subject to cross-examination by other parties. These evidentiary hearings are open to the public, but only those who are formal parties in the case can participate. After considering all proposals and evidence presented during the hearings, the assigned Judge will issue a proposed decision which may adopt PG&E's proposal, modify it or deny it. Any of the five CPUC Commissioners may sponsor an alternate decision. The proposed decision, and any alternate decisions, will be discussed and voted upon at a scheduled CPUC Voting Meeting. As a party in the case, the Office of Ratepayer Advocates (ORA) will review this application. ORA is the independent consumer advocate within the CPUC with a legislative mandate to represent investor-owned utility customers to obtain the lowest possible rate for service consistent with reliable and safe service levels. ORA has a multi-disciplinary staff with expertise in economics, finance, accounting and engineering. For more information about ORA, please call 1-415-703-1584, email ora@cpuc.ca.gov or visit ORA's website at www.ora.ca.gov. If you would like to follow this proceeding, or any other issue before the CPUC, you may use the CPUC's free subscription service. Sign up at:http://subscribecpuc.cpuc.ca.gov/.If you would like to learn how you can participate in the proceeding,or if you have informal comments about the application, or questions about the CPUC processes, you may access the CPUC's Public Advisor Office webpage at www.cpuc.ca.gov/puc and click on "Public Advisor" from the CPUC Information Menu. You may also contact the PAO as follows: Email: public.advisor@cpuc.ca.gov Mail: Public Advisor's Office 505 Van Ness Avenue, Room 2103 San Francisco, CA 94102 Call: 1-866-849-8390 (toll-free) or 1-415-703-2074 TTY: 1-866-836-7825 (toll-free) or 1-415-703-5282 If you are writing or emailing the Public Advisor's Office, please include the proceeding number (2017 GRC,A.15-09-001). All comments will be circulated to the Commissioners, the assigned Judge and appropriate CPUC staff, and will become part of the public record. | NEWS | REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2015 8 A