Comment deadline: Friday, June 5 EPA Docket No. EPA-HQ-OPP-2025-3951
Experimental use permit for Google to release 64 million bacteria-infected mosquitoes in California and Florida
The EPA opened public comments May 6 but provided no public notice in Monterey County newspapers, despite the potentially serious health and environmental impacts.
The public comment must be extended for minimum30-45 days, afternotice has first been posted in area newspapers by the EPA, paid for by Google.
This experiment could:
— Create more resistant, stronger mosquitoes — Disrupt a vital food source for bats, birds, and fish which could cause devastating effects — Cause illness and death to wildlife which consumed these mosquitoes — Cause severe disruption and harm to the entire ecosystem — Cause damage to agriculture — Cause illness or death in humans bit by these mosquitoes
The docket even fails to state the locations where these engineered insects will be released.
The state of California and the US government has conducted many experiments on nature and humans, claiming that these would have no damaging effect. Sometimes these experiments have been secret and only discovered years later.
The EPA has come under intense criticism for its suppression of information and acting against the public interest in East Palestine, the Fukushima disaster, and most recently, at the Moss Landing Battery Storage fires, where they used inappropriate sampling methods which diluted toxins, with the results that they found no significant exposure [see Moss Landing Monterey County Board of Supervisors hearing 3/17/26 under the Energy/Utilities tab]
Copperline landlines are essential infrastructure. They work in power outages and in most disasters; the lines are powered, including making your phone ring, so you can reach 911 and your doctor, receive evacuation notices, stay connected to elderly and ill loved ones, and have others connect to you. This stellar service provides pinpoint location data to emergency responders when seconds count – a house invasion, a fire, someone is choking, has a heart attack, or stroke. Historically, the phone network was so reliable it was said to have “five nines” reliability — 99.999% reliable– meaning you had a dial tone for all but 5 minutes per year on average. The voice quality is superior, it’s secure, and it doesn’t drop calls. The lines also provide DSL internet. Plus, Carrier of Last Resort (COLR) status requires AT&T to provide service to everyone who asks without discrimination.
VoIP and wireless require batteries. When the battery dies, there is no connection. They have problems with reliability. They are not available everywhere or are not consistently available. Wireless devices including wireless VoIP have health and safety problems.
Lifeline is a special program for that subsidizes low income customers.
Critical Deadlines
June 2, 12:00pm PDT – Opposition statements due to CA Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee on Assembly Constitutional Amendment 9
June 3, 3:30pm PDT – Opposition statements due to CA Senate Elections and Constitutional Amendments Committee on Assembly Constitutional Amendment 9
June 15 – Comment deadline for FCC dockets 26-120 and 26-121
June 22 – Comment deadline for FCC dockets 26-123 and 26-125
AT&T petitions to discontinue landline and Lifeline – 26-121, 26-120, 26-125, 26-123
AT&T filed the following petitions to the FCC to eliminate landlines and Lifeline in areas of California including in the Monterey Bay region. These petitions will be automatically granted if there is no opposition.
Deadlines for filing comments/opposition: June 15 and 22, 2026
Because the FCC streamlined the process to allow carriers to discontinue landline service as part of a “technology transition”, these requests are automatically grantedin most cases. Filing oppositions is the only way to protest AT&T discontinuance plans; it stops the FCC from automatically granting the applications. If they receive opposition, the FCC will remove AT&T’s application from “streamlining” and perform a review.
These applications contain the notice mailed 5/20 to customers.
Filing Oppositions or Comments is not difficult. To submit them to the FCC, you can prepare a letter and upload it (ECFS Standard Filing) or type/paste a comment into ECFS Express Filing. Note on your document which docket you are commenting on.
Instructions for the longer Standard Filing form: Proceeding: Start typing the docket number such as 26-125 and the docket title will pop up . Click on the title and it will fill in the line. Fill in starred lines. Type of Filing: Click on the box and choose Comment or Opposition (I’ve requested clarification from the FCC) Address of: Click on box and choose whichever is correct Fill out remaining red starred items. Upload your document(s). Click in yellow box. Click blue Continue to Review Screen and submit from there.
ACA-9 would eliminate key CPUC regulatory functions over utilities, remove telecom companies from being considered public utilities and remove them from CPUC regulatory oversight in the California Constitution, and create a new expensive agency for broadband and telecom. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260ACA9
Senate hearings start June 8 June 9; deadlines begin this week to submit position letters of protest
1) CANCELLED Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee hearing June 8. Opposition statements must be sent in by June 2 at noon. https://seuc.senate.ca.gov/committeehome
2) Elections and Constitutional Amendments Committee hearing June 9, 9:30 AM.
Contact senators, particularly those on the committees and educate them. Constitutional amendments require a 2/3 vote to pass.
CPUC R.24-06-012 docket on COLR and telephone service
AT&T has requested to eliminate its COLR obligations. The CPUC is in its final stages of reviewing COLR rules to set new rules or possibly discontinue all or most Carriers of Last Resort (COLR) in California. COLR means that these companies are required to provide basic phone service to all who request it. That service has meant landlines.
If AT&T’s COLR designation is eliminated, there will be no protection for the public because there are no functionally equivalent alternatives to the traditional landline phones, especially in rural and remote areas, but also in urban areas. “Reception” is not an issue for landlines, but it is a problem for wireless systems. Fiber isn’t available in many places, and those systems must have batteries. Non-COLR companies cannot be compelled to offer service to an applicant or offer landline service. Many people may have no coverage at all if AT&T and others decommission copper service, and that also includes those disabled by electromagnetic sensitivity and other EMF-sensitive disabilities who cannot tolerate wireless exposure.
The CPUC Staff Proposal proposes eliminating critical service elements of basic voice service, allowing carriers to more easily fulfill their COLR obligations via alternative services instead of copper. The proposal also significantly de-emphasizes voice and shifts to focusing on broadband connectivity instead.
Submit public comments by clicking the Public Comments tab at the top o the Docket page, and then clicking “Submit Public Comment”. Document files can also be emailed to public.advisor@cpuc.ca.gov
Consumer parties include EMF Safety Network, TURN, Center for Accessible Technology, Rural County Representatives of California, and the Public Advocates Office at the CPUC (Cal Advocates). Their comments provide information on some of the important issues and considerations.
The proceeding began in 2024 and a proposed decision is expected at any time. The judge just issued a ruling to AT&T to clarify contradictory statements.
Call the California Attorney General 1-800-952-5225 (916-210-6276 out of state) Press 1 for English or 2 for Spanish, then press 7 to leave a message for the Attorney General. For example: I am asking the attorney general to defend the rights of hundreds of thousands of Californians to reliable phone service by challenging AT&T’s petition to disconnect 200,000 customers and also fight AT&T’s lawsuit against you and the CPUC. The alternatives that AT&T claims are sufficient are inferior and inadequate (and not even functional everywhere), and if AT&T wins this lawsuit, thousands of Californians may never have reliable phone service again, so we need you to make this issue a top priority. Please also challenge the FCC order asserting preemption of state rules like COLR.
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Extensive information is available on these and other landline dockets in the United States at https://phreaknet.org/action
Every effort is to provide accurate information. This information is being updated as new developments occur.
More than a fifth of organophosphate use by pounds in California is concentrated in Monterey County
On May 12, 2026, members of the public and the coalition Safe Ag Safe Schools provided detailed information to the Monterey County Board of Supervisors about very high toxic pesticide use by the ag industry in Monterey County, school and neighborhood exposures, contamination of farmworkers, children, and the communities including Salinas, the cancer risk, and inaction by county Agriculture Commissioner Juan Hidalgo. This follows Safe Ag Safe Schools’s April 30 letter to Hidalgo about the organophosphate and fumigant threats (excerpts below).
Listen in today, 2pm-3pm, on KSCO Radio (AM 1080) to “Community Matters”, where the conversation continues regarding the battery energy storage system (BESS) issues.
What is happening with the 90 Minto Road project in Watsonville that would require massive excavation in areas adjacent to College Lake known to be sensitive archaeological areas amidst farmland and densely-populated working class neighborhoods?
What does it mean now that the developer is abandoning local permitting in favor of California Energy Commission permitting?
What do we know about actions of other jurisdictions also examining new rules to allow large BESS facilities in their areas?
Tentative Guest will be Planning Dept. staff from the City of Vacaville, where the City Council enacted a new BESS Ordinance allowing only non-flammable battery technology to be used.
Also…NEW on KSCO on Fridays, 6pm-7pm….Bratton Online Contributors go live on the air as a weekly program! Listen in and join the conversation! https://brattononline.com/
My guest on this Friday’s “Community Matters” program on KSCO Radio (AM 1080) will be Mr. Richard Stedman, Air Pollution Control Officer for the Monterey Bay Air Resources District. We will discuss the air quality monitoring that happened before, during and after the Moss Landing Battery Fire that began on January 16, 2025.
What is happening now during the site clean-up work to ensure the air around Moss Landing is clean and safe for the public?
What did the Air District learn? Should future large lithium battery energy storage system (BESS) projects have air monitoring equipment and protocols required?
What are your questions? At Mr. Stedman’s discretion, we will take calls from the audience in the last half of the program.831-479-1080.
Sunday, April 26 2:30pm Pinto Lake City Park, Watsonville
Information on the New Leaf lithium ion battery energy storage facility (BESS) proposal on Minto Road, the draft Santa Cruz County ordinance, and ways to take action.
Question: Why haven’t any of the Santa Cruz County Supervisors held a town hall meeting about the critical BESS issue??
Today’s “Community Matters” on KSCO Radio (AM 1080) is at 2pm-3pm and will feature continued discussion of the Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) issues of the Moss Landing Vistra Fire site and also the impending new rules to allow grid-scale BESS facilities in Santa Cruz County.
Michael Polkabla, the Senior Certified Industrial Hygienist with BioMax Environmental Labs in Pacific Grove, will be calling in as a Guest for interview.
What was included in last Tuesday’s Monterey County Board of Supervisor staff update on the Moss Landing Vistra BESS fire remediation? What was NOT included?
What is happening in Santa Cruz County regarding the large BESS project in permit process for 90 Minto Road in Watsonville?
Stop Lithium BESS in Santa Cruz County has a public meeting this Sunday, April 26, at 2:20pm at Pinto Lake City Park, ‘Watsonville to provide information and ways to take action. Why haven’t any of the Santa Cruz County Supervisors held a town hall meeting about the critical BESS issue??
Listen in today on KSCO AM 1080 and JOIN THE CONVERSATION by calling 831-479-1080Listen in on your AM radio at 1080 or via the live stream app: https://ksco.com/listen/
Directors Abby Martin and Mike Prysne investigate the environmental footprint of the Pentagon, widely considered the world’s largest institutional polluter. The film reveals how military operations contribute significantly to carbon emissions, water contamination, and ecological destruction worldwide, often operating outside the scope of international climate agreements and public scrutiny.
“Community Matters” is returning to the air waves with an inaugural program Friday, April 17 on KSCO Radio AM 1080 2pm-3pm.
My honored Guest will be Mr. Ed Mitchell, Lead Investigator for Never Again Moss Landing, discussing the recent news that Vistra is decommissioning the Moss 100 Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) facility in Moss Landing. We will also talk about the latest news in the remediation work at the Moss 300 BESS Fire disaster site. https://neveragainmosslanding.org/
What IS going on in Moss Landing at the largest BESS facility in the world?
In January 13, 2026, the city council of Santa Cruz terminated its contract with Flock Safety for its Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) cameras. On April 7, the Monterey City Council received an annual ALPR report from the police department, with members asking many questions in light of revelations about Flock/ALPR security and how the cameras are being used, and several community members raising significant issues and opposition including ACLU rep Michelle Welsh.
Monterey Bay Matters 