Consumer Protection

Workers with East Bay Municipal Utility District install new water pipe on April 22, 2021, in Oakland, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

White House launches new push to help states remove lead pipes that carry drinking water

BY: - January 27, 2023

WASHINGTON — The White House on Friday announced plans to speed up the use of infrastructure law funds to replace lead pipes in underserved communities, with a focus on Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin beginning this year. The four states, each led by Democratic governors, will be part of what’s called the Lead Service […]

A sign displays the names of the state's three elected public utilities commissioners outside of their Pierre office in January 2023. (South Dakota Searchlight/Joshua Haiar)

Some utilities charge customers for donations and events, with regulator approval

BY: - January 25, 2023

Last October, hundreds of politicians and business leaders from all over the country gathered to be wined, dined and guided into eastern South Dakota grasslands for a pheasant hunt with the governor.  “There’s a lot of schmoozing that goes on,” said John Cooper, a former secretary of Game, Fish and Parks who’s attended 15 of […]

Blurred hands are typing on a laptop computer in the dark with illuminated keyboard and illegible mystic program code visible on the screen.

State spends over $100,000 each year bolstering local governments’ cybersecurity

BY: - January 17, 2023

One employee clicked a scam link in an email, causing Brown County — the state’s fourth largest county — to shut down most of its computer network for over a week during the summer of 2021. While 911 services were able to continue operating, offices were stalled for months because the county’s computer network had to […]