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Regulators on Thursday approved a slight reduction to the profits shareholders are allowed to receive from California’s three major investor-owned utilities.

The decision dropped all three major investor-owned power companies’ returns by 0.3%, bringing the shareholder return for Pacific Gas & Electric to just below double digits for the first time in at least two decades. A decision proposed last month would have imposed a slightly larger profit cut of 0.35%.

All of the utilities asked for a return of more than 10%. The decision is unlikely to significantly impact customer bills, which remain the second-highest in the nation after Hawaii.

Darcie Houck was the only “no” vote on the California Public Utilities Commission, saying the decision did not properly take into account the cost to ratepayers.

“Every economic indicator tells us that we’re living in a time of extreme precarity for working Californians,” she said. “I do not think the decision threads the needle sufficiently to consider the full impact to the customer interest.”

Utilities say that a high potential rate of return for shareholders is important to bring in needed funding for infrastructure projects, which are typically paid for up front by investors and bonds and later reimbursed by ratepayers once regulators approve costs. This return is considered compensation for the risk of doing business.

The returns are not listed specifically on customers’ bills, instead baked into the rate customers pay.

The decision set 2026 potential shareholder returns for PG&E at 9.98%, Edison at 10.03%, and San Diego Gas & Electric at 9.93%. These returns are not guaranteed and can be affected by a utility’s financial performance throughout the year, going down if a utility has cost overruns. Historically, only San Diego Gas & Electric achieves its full shareholder return, while PG&E and Edison typically fall short of the full amount.

The three utilities’ approved returns have hovered around 10% for decades, which is also the national average for utility shareholder returns, often going above that. Academics and ratepayer advocates have argued for years that this is a problem because a higher return rate is meant to compensate for risk, but utilities are a historically low-risk industry. Their rates are set by regulators and their income is largely predictable and effectively guaranteed by ratepayers, who will continue needing services like electricity. U.S. 10-year Treasury bonds, which are considered the baseline for a risk-free investment, are about half of the utilities’ approved rate. Utilities regularly push back on this point, saying that wildfires in particular have made their industry more risky.

Utilities criticized the proposed drop in shareholder rates, saying it would exacerbate already high bills for ratepayers. The California Public Advocates Office, which advocates for ratepayers before the commission, pushed back on this, saying that claim is “entirely without merit.”

“The evidentiary record shows the [utilities’] claims for increasing their respective [returns] are based on flawed methods and would inevitably result in unreasonably high customer rates,” it said in a December response to utilities’ comments.

The utilities said the decision isn’t an accurate reflection of the risks their industry faces in the state.

“We think the reduction from current ROEs doesn’t reflect the unique risk environment facing California IOUs and their investors,” David Eisenhauer, spokesperson for Edison, said.

Similarly, PG&E was “disappointed that the final decision fails to acknowledge current elevated risks to help attract the needed investment for California’s energy systems,” Mike Gazda, PG&E spokesperson, said. “We will keep working with regulators and state leaders to ensure adequate funding needs and reasonable long-term rates for customers, so we can continue stabilizing our energy prices and funding critical energy system improvements for customers.”

Anthony Wagner, spokesperson for SDG&E, did not address the regulators’ decision directly, saying the company is “working every day to manage our costs responsibly while continuing to provide the essential service our communities depend on – offering tools and resources to ensure every customer has access to the support they need.”

The shareholder profits are a percentage of a utility’s “rate base” – the total value of its assets that it can earn a return on. This includes things such as power plants. While a utility’s approved shareholder returns fluctuate, the rate bases for California’s three utilities steadily rise. Each utility’s rate base is billions of dollars, earning hundreds of millions for shareholders even if a utility doesn’t reach its full shareholder return.

In 2023, for example, Edison had a rate base of $29.7 billion, and it was allowed to earn $198 million for shareholders that year. If its approved return was one percentage point lower, it would still have been allowed to earn $178 million for shareholders. Though it came in far short of this that year, it still brought shareholders $91 million from ratepayers.

In Houck’s dissent, she noted that the rate bases for the utilities, including Edison’s natural gas arm, are expected to go up by about 10% each year, with the combined authorized potential returns approaching $1 billion more than 2025. Her analysis for this included Edison’s natural gas arm, SoCalGas.

Houck recommended that regulators revisit this issue annually instead of every three years. California ratepayers are facing an affordability crisis for power bills because of factors such as wildfire recovery and hardening. Shareholder profits, which impact bills, have also risen in recent years because of utilities’ growing rate bases.

Martha Peabody Traphagen passed away the evening of November 23, 2025. She was under the care Hospice of Humboldt and residing in Caring Companions Rest Home in Eureka.

Martha was born April 21, 1943 in Pasadena. When she was 12, her mother (also fondly known as Mrs. “T”) and her four daughters moved to a beach house on Balboa Island. She enjoyed time at the beach and a trip to the Fun Zone. Later the Rendezvous Ball Room became a favorite spot.

Martha attended Newport Harbor High School and graduated in 1961. She was the editor of the school yearbook and active in many social and school activities. While attended Orange Coast Junior College she started working part-time as a vault teller at the Balboa Peninsula Branch of Bank of America. This was to be the start of a 45-year banking career. She married the late David Chandler, and her daughter Elizabeth was born in 1964. Several years later, her sister Elizabeth and husband Fred Smith who lived in Eureka encouraged Martha and her family to move north to Humboldt County.

In 1971, Martha transferred to the Arcata Branch of Bank of America, where she worked for 25 years. In 1996 Martha was hired by Humboldt Bank as the Arcata Branch Manager and later as manager for the Eureka Branch. When Umpqua Bank acquired Humboldt Bank, she was promoted to regional manager. She liked to say of her career, “I started at the bottom and worked my way to the top.” The part of banking Martha loved most was commercial lending. She was happiest when her customers’ loans were approved by the loan committee.

Martha enjoyed being involved in her community. She volunteered for: The Arcata Breast Health Project, Cancer Society, Jazz Festival, Planned Parenthood and Future Farmers of America. She served on the boards for: The Redwood Region Logging Conference, First Five Humboldt, HSU Foundation Board, College of the Redwoods Foundation Board and the Lucille Clark Trust. She was a member of Arcata Soroptimist and later Eureka Southwest Rotary Club.

Martha retired from banking in 2007. Her favorite times were spent entertaining friends at Ruth Lake and Perry Gulch Ranch in Mendocino. At Perry Gulf Ranch there was, wine tasting in Anderson Valley, hiking to the Navarro River with a stop to see the albino redwood or cruising the ranch were her favorite past times. Of course, she enjoyed entertaining friends at her home in Freshwater.

Both she and Perry enjoyed traveling. Some of their many trips were to Greece, a boat trip up the Yangtze River and tour of China, all the countries in Southeast Asia, Central America, Spain, Portugal and the British Virgin Islands. When not traveling across the pond, they would load the dog in the “Air Bus” and tour the west visiting sights and friends.

Martha is preceded in death by her father Peter Traphagen and mother Virginia Salisbury Traphagen; her sister Elizabeth Traphagen Smith and husband Fred Smith, and brother -in-law William Bathel. She is survived by her husband Perry Mayrisch, sisters Sara Traphagen and Jan Traphagen, daughter Elizabeth Castro, granddaughter Alexandra Castro Baratto, niece Lura Smith, nephews David Smith, Charles and John Bathel, and grand nephews and nieces Andrew, Gavin, Tessa, Kaylee, Katherine, William, Beckett and Rustin.

A Celebration of Life will be held on January 10th at Baywood Golf & Country Club, Arcata from 1-3 p.m. .

Many thanks to Hospice of Humboldt County for their amazing care and to all the nurses, care providers and friends who comforted her during the past few years. In lieu of flowers donations can be made in memory of Martha Traphagen to Hospice of Humboldt or a charity of your choice.

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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Martha Traphagen’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here.

Patricia “Pat” Marion Long
April 18, 1937 – December 16, 2025

Patricia “Pat” Marion Long, age 88, passed away on December 16, 2025, in Eureka, California. She was born on April 18, 1937, in Eureka and was a lifelong resident of Humboldt County.

Pat was born and raised in Humboldt County, attending Eureka City Schools and graduating from Eureka High School in 1955. Her life was deeply rooted in her community and family. She devoted many years of service to St. Bernard’s Elementary and High School, where she volunteered as the beloved Yard Duty Lady, served as President of the Mothers Guild, ran the snack bar for all sporting events and Sunday bingo, volunteered in the high school office and was a member of the St. Bernard’s Alumni Hall of Fame. She was an important presence at her grandchildren’s school and sporting events throughout the years. Her dedication and generosity touched countless students, families, and colleagues.

Pat is survived by her loving husband of 65 years, James Long; her daughters Kathy (Greg) Rasmussen and Shari (Alan) Borges; and her cherished grandchildren Tiffany (Daniel) Lewandowski, Courtney (Josiah) Matchak, Bethany (Chris) Williams, Brittany Borges, Stephanie (Danny) Diaz, Ben Rasmussen, Ashley Borges, and Hailey Rasmussen. She was also blessed with nine great-grandchildren, who brought her immense joy.

She is further survived by her brother-in-law Jerry (Nema) Long; sisters-in-law Dee Long, Tahni Long, and Allynee Brown; as well as several nieces and nephews.

Pat was preceded in death by her parents Marion “Shorty” and Freda Brown; her brother Ronald Brown; her parents-in-law William and Anita Long; her brothers-in-law William Long and Thomas Long; and her nephew Jerry Long.

Pat will be remembered for her kindness, dedication to family and community, and her lifelong commitment to serving others.

All are invited to attend services on December 29, 2025, at 2 p.m. at St. Bernard’s Cemetery Chapel, with a reception to follow at Old Growth Cellars.

The family would like to thank Dr. Cataldo, Dr. Han, the staff at Granada especially Grace and Seth, Hospice of Humboldt and Melissa Brock.

In lieu of flowers please make a donation to St. Bernard’s Academy Athletics or your favorite charity.

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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Pat Long’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here.

Forewarned is forearmed: Our friends at the National Weather Service office on Woodley Island are saying that there’s gonna be a hellacious front striking Humboldt at about midnight tonight, and it’s going to dump rain until about 10 a.m.

There is a flood watch in effect, and with coastal soils already pretty darned wet they’re expecting plenty of slipping and sliding. Here’s the prognosis:

A quick moving cold front will bring moderate to heavy rain to the area tonight into late Friday morning. Rainfall totals of 2-4 inches and rainfall rates up to 0.5 inches or higher an hour are possible. Saturated soils and the heavy rainfall rates will increase the risk of minor flooding impacts to low lying and urban areas. Rises in creeks and streams are likely.

Stay tucked in your beds as long as possible, friends, and expect your usual flood-prone areas to flood.

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President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order downgrading cannabis from a Schedule I substance — a category reserved for drugs deemed to have no acceptable medical use, such as heroin, LSD and ecstasy — to a Schedule III, opening new avenues for medical research into its potential benefits.

Speaking from the Oval Office this morning, Trump, who referred to himself as the “president of common sense,” said the reclassification will allow the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to research medical cannabis and cannabidiol (CBD) as potential alternatives to opioid painkillers.

“This reclassification order will make it far easier to conduct marijuana-related medical research, allowing us to study benefits, potential dangers and future treatments,” Trump said during a press briefing at the Oval Office. “In other words, you now have a much larger sample, and you’ll be able to see if it’s as good as many people say. I mean, people say it is beyond good. And you’ll be able to find that out.”

The executive order, Increasing Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research, directs Attorney General Pam Bondi to finalize the rescheduling process, which began under the Biden administration in December 2024. The order removes decades-old regulatory hurdles that have prevented the FDA from researching both cannabis and CBD, the non-psychoactive compound derived from hemp.

“The reschedule opens the door to actually be able to accelerate the rate at which we can do research and discovery,” Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), said at today’s press briefing. “Yes, cannabis can be addictive … but we cannot close our eyes to research and the opportunity that we are hearing from patients that, for some of them, cannabis can solve their problem.”

Trump emphasized that the federal order “doesn’t legalize marijuana in any way, shape or form,” nor does it “sanction use as a recreational drug.”

You can watch this morning’s press briefing in the video up top and read the full text of the executive order here.

PREVIOUSLY: Trump is About to Reclassify Cannabis, Easing Restrictions on Banking, Taxes and Research, According to Multiple News Outlets

The Arcata City Council went over a few things worth covering last night: an update on the large parking lot in the Bottoms Cal Poly Humboldt is planning on constructing, and the results of research done on the future Valley West Community Center. 

Foster Campus Connectivity Project

Cal Poly Humboldt’s Michael Fisher, their Interim Vice President for Administration and Finance, presented an update on the Foster Campus Connectivity Project. When construction is finished around Sep. 2026, the land will have space for 212 cars and will also eventually (we’re talking long-term — like, 10-20 years long-term) include an athletics complex, housing, a softball and soccer field, an NCAA-compliant track, and space for an additional 800 cars. 

The highlight of the presentation was the reveal of a plan to turn an old railroad track into a trail from the lot to the intersection of Foster Avenue and Heather Lane. From there, it’d be about a mile to campus. The idea is that commuting students — or ones that live in the Hinarr Hu Moulik dorms, which have a parking lot with far fewer spaces than there are people living there — could drive to the lot and then walk or cycle to campus proper. 

There isn’t currently any electricity or running water on the land. Fisher said the university was working on ways to run basic infrastructure to the property. When that’s done, he said they’d be able to install lighting along the road and on the property. 

CPH is working through the CEQA process during this initial phase, which will include wetland mitigation for a wetland on the property.

The other option is that they take a shuttle to campus, one that swings by every 15 minutes. That idea has some Bottoms residents chafed, one of whom took the opportunity to comment on the plan. Brittney Villigran claimed to have talked to 50 of their neighbors and didn’t hear a single positive remark about the scheme, mostly because of the increased traffic from the shuttles and the cars. Foster Avenue’s numerous 90-degree blind turns also raised some concerns about pedestrian safety. 

“It’s not as rosy as Mike is saying,” Villigran said. “Would you want shuttles going down your street every 15 minutes?”

Valley West Community Center

The other main item on the agenda was a presentation from representatives from the Environmental Services and the Community Development departments, and from private contracting groups Housing Tools and Salazar Architect. They went over results from a study done on a future community center in Valley West, identifying a few potential sites and what community members want from it. 

They conducted two in-person and five online “visioning” sessions, asking Valley West residents what they wanted from the center. The results from that, plus a survey sent out to residents, show that many of them want a place to socialize and exercise, a food pantry, youth-focused programming, a library branch, public WiFi and computers, and healthcare, and a huge variety of other things. 

The researchers shared a few locations in Valley West that might be worth considering. After tallying up the most mentioned amenities and estimating how much space they’d take up, they claim 18,000 square feet would be about the target. 

Site one is a vacant lot south of the Valley West Shopping Center at 4800 Valley West Boulevard. Site two is the former Laurel Tree School at 4555 Valley West; site three is the Woodsman Hall, 4700 Valley West. (For a comprehensive breakdown on their respective pros and cons, click this link.)

None of them are already owned by the city, something that drives the cost of the project up dramatically. The researchers included a few other recently-built California community centers in their study for comparison, which cost between $12 million and $77 million. The process is only in its infancy (the study was funded by a $250,000 federal grant), but councilmembers were wary of encroaching costs and directed staff to find plenty of grants to fund it. 

Councilmember Meredith Matthews said she felt the report was “duplicative,” a viewpoint shared by a couple other councilmembers. Many of the programs the center could offer are already done by Community United of North Arcata. 

“Just to remind folks — we look at this and it’s amazing, all the things we could do — but just to remind the city, we don’t own any of those properties,” councilmember Stacy Atkins-Salazar said. “…Not to be the downer, but just to be the realistic person so we’re not all wondering when construction begins — we don’t have funding for it.”

Other Stuff

Councilmembers voted to make Eye Street a permit-required parking zone; students living in the new Hinarr Hu Moulik dorms had made parking difficult for residents on the street. There’s a 30-day grace period for those without a permit. 

Press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:

On Dec. 16 and 17, 2025, deputies with the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office Marijuana Enforcement Team served a series of four search warrants as part of an ongoing investigation into human trafficking at a state-licensed marijuana cultivation site. Two warrants were served in the 37000 block of Mattole Road in Petrolia. Additional search warrants were served in the 7000 block of Benbow Drive and the 800 block of Redway Drive. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Department of Cannabis Control assisted with the service of the warrants.

At the licensed cultivation site, deputies contacted and provided resources to five victims of labor exploitation. During the operation, deputies located a total of 14,000 pounds of illegal processed marijuana and four firearms.

Deputies arrested and booked Emrah Cevik, 31, of Oklahoma into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility on charges of Possession of Marijuana for Sales (Health and Safety Code 11359), and Failure to Obey a Court Order (Penal Code 166). Several other suspects have not been arrested, but additional charges, including those pertaining to labor trafficking, are expected to be sought.

Anyone with information about this case or related criminal activity is encouraged to call the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office at 707-445-7251 or the Sheriff’s Office Crime Tip Line at 707-268-2539.