News

As Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris puts it: Now is a pivotal moment for California’s ambitious clean electricity and carbon neutrality goals.

And to her, that means the Legislature needs to focus on an increase in transparency and accountability in the California Public Utilities Commission’s ratemaking process, as well as an acceleration in clean energy development and grid upgrades.

The Irvine Democrat is behind three bills now up for consideration in the state Senate that she said will do just that.

About half of the 17 laws proposed this year to take on California’s epidemic of dangerous driving remain alive in the Legislature after an initial wave of political hearings and key votes in Sacramento.

Now, the eight remaining bills move on to the opposite houses of the state Legislature, a jump that has previously proved difficult for similar measures.

The public hearings on the bills this spring revealed a clear divide.

THE BUZZ OF THE BALL: Establishing a new Western electricity market was a major goal for Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislative leaders in 2025. Now, it’s becoming a reality.

On Friday, Nevada regulators gave NV Energy, the state’s largest utility, approval to join the new extended day-ahead energy market that California’s grid manager is setting up.

That news has California’s energy leaders buzzing.

“The NV Energy approval is particularly pivotal for our market,” Elliot Mainzer, president of the California Independent System Operator, said in an interview.

In celebration of Women’s History Month, Irvine’s State Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris hosts an annual “Women of the Year” event to publicly honor women throughout the 73rd Assembly District for their extraordinary leadership and community service achievements.

We’re excited to announce that Irvine’s 2026 Woman of the Year is Noelle Smiley!

A group of California legislators last week gave early approval to a bill that would require anyone convicted of driving under the influence to install a breathalyzer on their vehicle.

The bill from Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris, D-Irvine, has broad bipartisan support and expands California’s existing pilot program, which requires those who have at least two DUI convictions to install what’s called an ignition interlock device on their cars for a designated period of time. These prevent cars from starting if the device detects a blood alcohol content above a certain limit.

An investigative series about California’s lax drunken driving laws by CalMatters is prompting the Legislature to take action with 10 new bills. Each one needs to be evaluated based on its merits. But it’s encouraging to see lawmakers spend their time on a deadly problem that is primarily caused by the state’s bureaucratic failures.

Bottom line: The Department of Motor Vehicles allows repeat DUI offenders to keep getting back on the road.

Should state regulators shrink your electric company’s profits? And would that really lower our appalling, outrageous, abominable electric bills?

Consumer advocates have been pushing this idea for years, and the California Public Utility Commission went so far as to make wee tiny downward adjustments in December. But Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris, D-Irvine — and most everyone we know who actually uses the outlets in their homes — thinks that probably did not go quite far enough.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Kelly Montalvo said speaking about the loss of her son Benjamin six years ago to a hit and run by an impaired and distracted driver is something she must do in a numb state because of the trauma tied to his death.

“Benjamin was the youngest of our four sons, and as his oldest brother said at his funeral, they called him 'Bean Dip,' so he said, 'Bean Dip' was truly the best of all of us,” Montalvo said.

It wasn’t the first time the woman who took her son's life had been involved in a hit-and-run, Montalvo said.

It’s been more than four decades yet Rhonda Campbell’s voice still quavered as she stood before a row of television cameras recalling the day in 1981 when a repeat drunk driver killed her 12-year-old sister. She remembers her father crying as he told her what happened, still hears her mother’s scream when the coffin lid closed.

A woman who, while driving and texting, killed a 21-year-old bicyclist and then fled the scene is scheduled to be released after serving less than a third of her nine-year sentence. The victim’s mother is livid.

“How can you do this, be a repeat offender, kill somebody and serve two and a half years of a nine-year sentence?” said Kellie Montalvo, referencing the offender’s time in custody after being sentenced. “It’s completely outrageous to us.”