Ry Rivard
Voice of San Diego
San Diego, CA, United States
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Past articles by Ry:
Environment Report: What to Watch as the City's New Energy Agency Gets Off the Ground
It may be years before we know if the city's new energy agency has kept its promise to lower rates and reduce greenhouse gases, but we’ll know pretty soon how open, transparent and democratic the agency will truly be. → Read More
Power Moves Put Pressure on SDG&E
San Diego is undergoing a once-in-a-generation change intended to let elected officials, rather than regulated monopolies, call the shots. For the first time in modern history, it’s an open question who the city’s energy utility will be. → Read More
Environment Report: Insurance Is a New Hurdle For Paradise
A group is using California environmental law to protect cars in North Park, another bluff collapse was caught on film and more in our biweekly roundup of environmental news. → Read More
Homeowners Are Increasingly Relying on Last-Resort Fire Insurance Plan
Rural and suburban homeowners are increasingly coming to rely on the FAIR Plan because of growing wildfire risk. Those numbers may climb as government officials OK more new homes in high-risk areas. → Read More
Secret Formulas Guide Who Gets Denied Home Insurance in Wildfire Risk Areas
When insurance companies deny coverage or raise prices in areas at risk of wildfire, they’re often relying on secret formulas designed to predict what homes are likely to burn, according to a Voice of San Diego review of thousands of pages of regulatory filings by eight of California’s largest home insurers. → Read More
Everything We Know About the Status of the SDSU Mission Valley Deal
No deal will be done by the summer as hoped but officials insist deadlines are still intact. A draft appraisal is in. Contractors are on board. But details are sparse because the city and university signed a special confidentiality agreement. → Read More
Sacramento Report: It’s Super Hot, and Super Energy Users Are Super Angry
Nearly 100,000 SDG&E customers were hit with the “super user” penalty last summer. The high bills prompted predictable backlash, including from state Sen. Brian Jones. After state regulators declined to change the penalty, SDG&E is pursuing some other options to help lower bills. → Read More
Environment Report: The Earthquake Risk No One's Talking About
A quake, even one so far away that nobody in San Diego feels it, could cause an emergency and force mandatory water-use restrictions. → Read More
In Risk-Prone Areas, Fire Insurance Is Getting Harder and Harder to Come By
Some companies are no longer writing new policies in high-risk areas, others are going so far as to drop long-time customers and almost everyone is raising rates. That’s sent California homeowners scrambling to find another insurance company in places like Alpine, a town of 15,000 near the Cleveland National Forest. → Read More
Power Companies Plan to Keep Killing Power to Guard Against Wildfires
SDG&E is methodically killing power when it sees or predicts conditions ripe for fire. SDG&E’s shutoff plans are considered a model for the state’s other major utilities. State utility regulators just gave PG&E the green light to follow SDG&E’s example. → Read More
After Decades of Slow-Going, City Plans to Speed Up Utility Undergrounding
Over the next five years, the city plans to start work on 150 miles of projects – nearly as much as it’s done in the past 15 years. The city has also learned a lesson from the effort: It’s no longer making promises about when it all might be finished. → Read More
Docs Shed Light on SDSU Mission Valley Spending
Documents released by SDSU show one consultant jumped directly from doing work for the university to doing work for the SDSU West campaign. But SDSU officials won't clarify where the $1.6 million they spent crafting the Mission Valley plans came from. → Read More
Water Department Gets Second Major Shakeup in a Year
At least five senior Water Department officials are out as part of another shakeup of the troubled agency. The latest changes reflect an attempt to get rid of a confusing organization chart and provide more accountability. → Read More
We’re Suing SDSU for Records to Shed Light on Mission Valley Plans
Voice of San Diego is suing San Diego State University for withholding public records that may show how the university plans to expand its campus into Mission Valley, build a river park and a new stadium – all without raising student tuition and fees. → Read More
A ‘Water Tax’ Is Looking Increasingly Likely
The Legislature looks increasingly likely to impose a statewide tax to fund more water projects. → Read More
What to Watch for in the Mayor's State of the City Address
On Tuesday, the mayor will make his state of the city speech, highlighting what he sees as his major accomplishments and laying out his priorities for the remainder of his tenure. These are the main issues we’ll be watching and details we’ll be looking for in the speech. → Read More
Voice of the Year: Bros on Scooters
Having abandoned neck ties and legalized marijuana, Californians always need something new to tsk tsk. This year, we had dockless motorized scooters and the bros who rode them. → Read More
Voice of the Year: Mary Salas
Big things happened for Mary Salas and the city of Chula Vista this year. → Read More
SDG&E Is Looking to Leave the Power-Buying Business
The company has asked lawmakers to introduce legislation that would let SDG&E reduce its role in buying and selling electricity – while also pushing the state to enter the energy market in a big way. → Read More
Sacramento Report: A New Twist in the County Election Reform Saga
San Diego County Republican Party Chairman Tony Krvaric and Luis Vargas are asking a court to step in to stop a provision within a state budget trailer bill signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown from going into effect. That provision included a retroactive fix that would have helped qualify a San Diego County election reform measure for the November ballot. → Read More