Stories you shouldn’t miss:
1. PG&E’s controversial SmartMeters don’t overbill customers, but the utility’s service reps are nasty and incompetent, the Chron reports, citing a newly released study by consulting firm hired by California regulators. The study, however, came under instant criticism because investigators only interviewed twenty of the 1,378 PG&E customers who complained of being overcharged on their utility bills. In addition, the study did not examine the potential health problems posed by the new meters.
2. Jerry Brown has finally decided to awaken from his yearlong slumber and mount a real campaign for governor, the Chron reports. Brown says he decided to wait until two months before the election to launch his campaign in earnest because he didn’t want to deplete his $23 million warchest. But did he wait too long? According to Pollster.com, a compilation of polls, Meg Whitman is leading Brown by 4 points, 46 percent to 42 percent.
