KATHLEEN RONAYNE
Associated Press
SACRAMENTO (AP) — During his inaugural address last January, California Gov. Gavin Newsom made only a passing reference to wildfires and never mentioned the state's largest utility, Pacific Gas & Electric. Both soon became inescapable topics.
PG&E filed for bankruptcy barely three weeks after the Democratic governor was sworn in, triggering a series of events that defined the former San Francisco mayor's first year as leader of the country's most populous state.
Newsom worked with state lawmakers to create financial stability for PG&E and the state's two other investor-owned utilities; developed a plan that required them to strengthen their safety measures; and forcefully reacted when the utilities shut off the lights to millions of Cali
