PG&E Restructuring Plan Upped to $45B by Creditors

A group of PG&E Corp. creditors could preempt the embattled California utility’s own attempt to claw its way out of bankruptcy by presenting a restructuring plan that could be worth at least $45 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.

The plan builds on a proposal floated earlier this year. The updated plan includes substantially more cash for compensating existing wildfire victims, establishing a new statewide wildfire liability fund and recapitalizing PG&E, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the details are private.

The Baltimore Cyberattack Highlights Hackers' New Tactics

Cyberattacks on local governments are on the rise -- and they’re becoming more sophisticated. The latest case in Baltimore, where the city is still struggling to restore critical networks more than three weeks after being hacked, could be a harbinger of things to come.

Already this year, at least 24 municipalities have reported ransomware attacks, including Amarillo, Texas; Augusta, Maine; Imperial County, Calif.; Garfield County, Utah; Greenville, N.C.; and Albany, N.Y. That’s on pace to surpass last year’s total of 53, according to data collected by the tech company Recorded Future.

Title Insurer First American Says App Defect May Have Exposed Customer Data

U.S. real estate title insurance company First American Financial Corp. said on Friday it had learned of a design defect in one of its production applications that had made possible unauthorized access to customer data.

The statement was sent in response to a report by security news website Krebs on Security, which said First American’s website had exposed about 885 million files dating back to 2003.

Research Finds No Improvement in Worker Outcomes When Medical Prices Increase

When the price of physician services increases relative to group health rates, injured workers report fewer problems getting the care they want but no significant improvement in physical function or speedier return to work, according to a study released Thursday by the Workers’ Compensation Research Institute.

WCRI used data taken from interviews with injured workers in 14 states and claims data from 30 states to measure the impact of medical price changes, relative to prices paid by group health.

Bankruptcy Judge Approves PG&E $105 Million Assistance Fund for Wildfire Victims

PG&E Corp. may set up a $105 million housing fund for victims of 2017 and 2018 wildfires in California, which set records for devastation and were blamed on the utility’s equipment, the judge overseeing the bankruptcy of the investor-owned power producer ruled on Wednesday.

Creditors, which include wildfire victims, are fighting for funds as PG&E navigates bankruptcy stemming from the blazes and as the state plans for increasingly long and dangerous fire seasons its officials attribute to climate change.

Paradise, Calif., 6 Months After California’s Worst Wildfire

(TNS) — Phil and Michelle John know they have it better than most.

Their house was among the 11 percent in Paradise that survived the Camp fire, and they moved home in early April. Their street is largely intact, and many of their neighbors have returned. Even their cat is recovering, having miraculously turned up, half starved and reeking of smoke, a couple of weeks after the fire.

On the other hand: They’ve lost much of their social circle. Their Friday night routine — burgers with friends at Barney’s or some other beloved restaurant — has ended. John, their friend from Rotary, has moved to the Bay Area. Sandy, their Realtor friend, relocated to Lake Tahoe. Their golfing buddies have scattered down the hill, to Chico. While some of the old gang will likely return, hardly a day goes by when they don’t learn of someone listing their house for sale.

Investigators Blame PG&E Lines for Deadliest Wildfire in California History

State fire investigators have determined that transmission lines owned by Pacific Gas & Electric Co caused the deadliest and most destructive wildfire on record in California, a blaze that killed 85 people last year, officials said on Wednesday.

The wind-driven blaze, dubbed the Camp Fire, erupted in the drought-parched Sierra foothills 175 miles north of San Francisco in November 2018 and raced with little warning through the town of Paradise, incinerating much of that community.

PARMA Member Spot Light - Tony Giles, CPCU, ARM-P

Meet Tony Giles, CPCU, ARM-P PARMA Member Spot Light Tell me about how you became a risk manager? Like most of my risk management colleagues, I came to risk management almost entirely by accident. More generously, I suppose we could say that fate intervened. I worked for the County of Santa Clara for several years in a variety of roles – most of them administrative. I accepted a job as the Senior Management Analyst for the County’s Director of Risk Management. At first, I saw my role as supporting the Director but not really doing risk management. After several years, I started taking on more