Tony kovaleski. Tony kovaleski thank you for joining us. For the next 30 minutes, we investigate. Whats that mean . It means investigations that get results. It means following your tax dollars. It means holding the powerful accountable. We begin tonight with a telling internal memo about pg es security at its critical electrical substations a memo the Company Never thought youd see. Its from pg es director of corporate security and we investigate why it contradicts exactly what she told our cameras just weeks before she wrote it. Male you want to keep the public safe day and night, 7 days a week. Male announcer together were building a better california. Stephanie douglas our commitment is to spend 100 million over the next 3 years. Tony publicly, pg e has worked to build confidence in its commitment to safety and security. Stephanie to make sure that those facilities are hardened and that were doing the very best job we can to make sure that our customers have safe, reliable, and affordable energy. Tony privately, a much different message inside the pages of this internal memo. Jerry well, it really clearly states that theyre incapable of, at that point, to meet the Security Standards that are necessary. Tony state senator jerry hill reviewed the memo provided to nbc bay area by informed sources from inside pg e. Jerry it calls into question their integrity as we move forward. Theyve said theyre going to change, theyve committed to changing, but they havent changed. Tony before we get into the details of the memo its important to understand the timeline. First, in april of 2013, gunmen attacked the metcalf substation. They destroyed 17 transformers causing 25 million in damage with the potential to black out much of silicon valley. Male driving now to a large substation in the central valley. Tony then last july, an nbc bay area investigation included 14 visits to critical substations in northern and central california, reporting to verify pg es promise to increase security. Our reports included insight from a military vet with 2 decades of special ops training. Tony guys are trained like you. What could be done . How long would it take . Male metcalf could be repeated across all the sites that you showed me in less than 15 minutes. Tony then in august of last year, a second successful Security Breach at the metcalf substation. This time, unidentified intruders cut through a fence, stole expensive equipment, and went undetected for more than 5 hours. It was an indictment of the utilitys claim of enhanced security. Tony do you think pg e has done enough now to prevent another metcalf attack . Stephanie we are working every day to make sure it never happens again, tony. Tony she made that statement on august 18th of last year. Just 12 days after that interview just week after the second Security Breach at metcalf on august 30th, pg es director of security wrote this memo to pg e president chris johns. It includes, the physical security infrastructure of pg e has plenty of work to be done. And she wrote, in reality, pg e is years away from a healthy and robust physical security posture. Her written words stand in stark contrast to what douglas told us 12 days before she wrote that memo. Tony would you call pg es security right now high level security . Stephanie yes, i think for our critical facilities, we have high level security there, yes. Tony in the memo, douglas also writes, in reality, csd, the corporate security division, cannot firmly account for what security assets are in place. And the companys existing security infrastructure is an assortment of technologies many of them outdated. She adds, i would consider them to be in a fail mode. Information in the memo now helps explain why pg e could not answer this key question last year. Tony can you tell us where weve been and when . Stephanie ill let you tell me. I do know a couple of places that youve been and i know youve been tovisiting some of our sites at night. Tony thats part of our test here. Can you tell us where we were and when . Stephanie tony, ill let you give me some ideas. Jerry theyre still speaking out of both sides of their mouth. Tony senator jerry hill spearheaded legislation calling for greater requirements and accountability for security at pg e substations. Stephanie we work every day to make sure that our security is in a place so that we dont have another metcalf. Tony after reading this memo, was she telling the truth . Jerry clearly says that she did not tell us whatthe facts of the situation. Tony the memo also included improvements continue to be slow, piecemeal, and uncertain. And, we risk not knowing about Security Issues and having gaps exist for some time before the issue is resolved. Jerry we dont have years for security. This could be drastic and devastating for our economy and for many peoples lives if we lose some of these substations. Tony what do you say to the insiders that trusted us with this information, that wanted this to become public . Jerry two words thank you. Tony now, we requested a new interview with pg es director of security. She declined. Instead, she sent an email detailing changes since that august 2014 memo. They include more funding and staffing for security, and monthly security reviews for senior managers. Since the memo, pg e is also pointing to the significant security upgrades at metcalf including a barrier wall enhanced detection and deterrence systems and improved lighting. Changes certainly, but no explanation for the contradiction in public statements and the reality painted in that memo. Coming up next. John carr at least four slides on one side, four on another. Theyre going to deploy them all. That leaves one person to manage eight slides. Can you tell me how you do that . I dont know. Tony we investigate emergency resources at silicon valleys growing airport. The question is, is san jose prepared for an emergency like the asiana crash . Thats next. [music] unit, call our tip line at 888996tips or send us an email to theunit nbcbayarea. Com. Tony when an asiana plane crashed 2 years ago at sfo it was a terrifying sight. The ntsb credited the firefighter Staffing Levels and Quick Response with saving lives. So tonight, we investigate, what if a similar crash happened at silicon valleys airport . Is san jose prepared . Senior Investigative Reporter stephen stalk has our report. Male i need you to bring in your medical gear reporting to me at the stephen stalk video from a firefighters helmet camera gives a closeup look at the chaos of the asiana crash at sfo. But it also shows the incredible and immediate actions of the First Responders there. Female they all shared a similar experience of an initial impact. Stephen in fact, the ntsbs investigation credited san franciscos Fire Departments Staffing Levels as being, quote, instrumental in responding so quickly and saving lives. Male theres essentially two large openings. Stephen sffd had 23 firefighters on duty all on the scene within 5 minutes of the crash. The first vehicle was there within 3 minutes. So we wanted to know just how prepared is the Fire Department at silicon valleys airport in case of a similar disaster here. We compared data from ten other major airports listed by the faa as similar in size and passenger traffic to san jose mineta international. What we found, san jose had the fewest number of firefighters on duty at any time at the airport. Sjc has only three firefighters and a captain. Compare that to sacramento and santa ana airports with five each, plus a captain or battalion chief, or pittsburgh with 15 firefighters and a chief officer per shift. Les omans i think san jose is marginally inadequate. John its terribly disturbing to me. Stephen john carr and les omans developed and taught training courses for aircraft rescue and firefighting, also called arff, used by airports around the world, including here at san jose. They also both worked as firefighters at san jose mineta in the 1970s and 80s before creating their own arff consulting business. Back then, they say, there were six firefighters per shift. Now, only four. Les you know, id like to see one or two more Fire Fighters out at the airport. I think theyd be more effective. Stephen but san jose mineta is not breaking any rules. Thats because, while the faa mandates airports meet a minimum number of arff trucks, the faa has no requirements for the minimum number of firefighters that have to be on duty. Kim becker the faa says its good enough and the Fire Department is here and responding. We have those people on site. Theyre very, very well trained. They train, they drill they know what theyre doing. Stephen kim becker is director at san jose mineta airport. Stephen you conform to all faa requirements, no doubt about that . Kim correct. Stephen but if there were a 787 or a 767 that went down without a declared emergency, is there enough equipment on scene, and more important, is there enough personnel on scene to adequately respond to an emergency such as asiana here at sjc . Kim yes, absolutely. We have the personnel, we have the mutual aid response that we need to respond to any emergency on this airport. Stephen no doubt about it . Kim no doubt about it. Stephen none in your mind . Kim none, none. Robert would i like more resources more quickly . Absolutely. Stephen chief Robert Sapien oversees operations for san jose Fire Department, including station 20 located at the airport. Robert the speed in which we can achieve our operational objectives certainly has been affected by a reduction in personnel. Stephen do the math. Two of the four firefighters on duty would be driving the two arf firefighting trucks there. The emergency plan calls for the captain to direct the scene and issue orders. So whats left . Robert whats left is a firefighter. Stephen one firefighter, one guy to help with evacuation and rescue of those who survive any crash. John its simple math. You have an airplane it carries 250 people. At least four slides on one side, four on another. Theyre going to deploy them all. That leaves one person to manage eight slides. Can you tell me how you do that . I dont know. Stephen san jose minetas airport emergency plans also call for backups to arrive and help out, but this email memo from fire officials shows average Response Time of the backup vehicles just to get to the fence outside the airport is 8 to 11 minutes. According to the ntsb, at that same point in time after the asiana crash, firefighters had already evacuated all the passengers. Les yeah, its a big challenge. I mean, all the equipment has got to get to the airport. Then they got to get in the fence then they got to be escorted to the scene. John when i was there, we didnt have runway hydrants. Stephen they still dont. John they dont . Stephen they dont. Right now, there are no fire hydrants on the actual airfield itself at sjc near the runways. Of the ten airports we compared to san jose only three others did not have hydrants on the airfield. Les thats a major issue right there. Stephen at sjc, the nearest fire hydrants are located at the edge of the field, or at the gate where the airplanes park, more than 1,000 feet from the center of the runways. Les in a crash out on the runway, you dont want to have your arff vehicles leaving the scene to go resupply with water. Stephen airport director becker says officials chose not to install hydrants on the airfield during runway reconstruction. Kim i think we have a great supply of water right out on the ramp area and all the way around the airfield, so im confident that they know what theyre doing and theyll be able to handle the fires. Stephen do you wish you had more personnel . Robert wish is a difficult word to respond to but i will tell you that the Fire Department certainly field operations, did propose two additional personnel in this budget cycle. Its up for review by the Budget Office and the council. Its not for no reason at all, right . We do believe that delivering the services that are required here at the airfield could use some enhanced resources. Tony but the most recent budget for this year did not include any new firefighting positions at the airport. Now, we also talked to several pilots who fly in and out of sjc regularly, including one pilot who san jose officials sent our way. All said, they were nervous about having so few firefighters on hand in the event something goes wrong. Coming up next, is it a pet or a protein . The new white meat that may not meet one grocers standards. We take you inside the inspection reports next. Sfx engines revving. Listen up. Ready. Ready. Steady. Sfx engines revving. Go its more than a movie. Its now a ride. Fast and furious. Supercharged. Ride it at Universal Studios hollywood. We spend a lot of time online around here. But with all this speed from xfinity, its all good. Hey, why dont we do some homework for a change . Gary, you too. Dad. Work stuff. Yes lovin the new design konichiwa hirosan. Five minutes. All this speed is very empowering. Check out the new hardware. With the Fastest Internet available, xfinity is perfect for people who need to get a lot done at home. And now you can go even faster. Weve just increased the speeds on two of our most popular plans. Unit, call our tip line at 888996tips or send us an email to theunit nbcbayarea. Com. Tony its a high end market with a unique problem. When whole foods decided to sell rabbit meat, the decision set off a fierce debate. Now, we investigate the inspection records from where the rabbits were raised. Is the meat meeting the standard whole foods has promised . Investigative reporter vicky nguyen reports. Vicky nguyen do you know if you sell many of them . Male we sell some. Vicky fresh and frozen, a new white meat is available at whole foods Stores Across the country. Whole foods started selling rabbit meat last summer in 7 out of its 11 regions in the united states, including Northern California. Tara these are already exploited animals that we hold dear. Vicky tara baxter doesnt mince words when describing her reaction to the decision. Tara and i live with two rescued rabbits and it hurt my heart. I expected more from whole foods. Vicky more than the pain of seeing what she considers a Family Member headless in the meat case, baxter says she fears the trendsetting power of whole foods. Tara if they create a demand for a new meat, thats going to happen across the board. Every Grocery Store is going to try to follow suit. Vicky baxter and marcy schaaf of save a bunny in mill valley created the Rabbit Advocacy Network to educate consumers about rabbit meat, fur farming and cruelty. The group wants to end the sale of rabbit meat at whole foods. Marcy schaaf its atrocious that theyve decided to sell a domestic breed pet in their meat case. Vicky the breed, new zealand rabbits like this one, which are among the 3. 2 million pet rabbits living in us homes. According to the Largest National pet ownership survey, rabbits are the fifth most common household pet. Marcy they learn their names, they play with toys, they bond for life with their humans. Vicky what makes a pet versus a protein source isnt the only issue. Rabbit advocates also have a beef with the way these animals go from farm to table. Marcy theyre farming these animals in a state where its illegal for people to actually go and get footage of how the animals are being raised. Vicky shes referring to socalled ag gag laws that criminalize people who take undercover video or photos of farm activity without consent. Iowa is one of those states and its the source of the rabbits sold at whole foods across the bay area. Through a federal records request, we obtained the usda inspection reports for iowa rabbit from january 2014 to february of this year. Records show the number of rabbits dead in the yard and dead on arrival before they were slaughtered. The numbers range from none on some days to 30 dead in the yard 1 day in march, and 38 dead on arrival on a single day in july. Tara thats a red flag for us. Vicky the government doesnt have a standard for an acceptable death rate, and iowa rabbit declined to tell us the total number of rabbits processed on those days. Inspection reports further reveal the usda sent a letter of caution warning iowa rabbit for sending out multiple cartons of rabbit meat improperly labeled as usda inspected when they were not. That prompted the plant to issue a voluntary recall. Inspectors also found fecal smears on the back tail area of rabbits in their final rinse and skinned rabbits routinely coming into contact with unskinned rabbits, which often had grossly contaminated pelts. The usda noted contamination is best avoided because its not planned on being removed later in the process. And according to whole foods farm animal and meat quality standards, no crates cages, or tethers are permitted. But inspectors noted wet rabbits in bottom crates writing, this is a concern both as an Animal Welfare issue and as a sanitary dressing issue. Whole foods also says food and water are always available for its rabbits, but inspectors found rabbits overnighted in crates during cold weather had no access to water because the water sources tended to freeze. Marcy theyre a big factory farm just like any other factory farmed animal. Vicky iowa rabbit declined our request for an interview but in a statement said, any of our products sold bearing the usda inspection mark assures the customer that our rabbit products were produced in full compliance with federal inspection rules. We work closely with usda to ensure the safest product possible. Records obtained by your station are incomplete because they only contain observations made by usda, but do not include the actions taken by our company. But when we asked what those actions were, the company did not respond. Tony when we return our investigation continues. Rich larsen the context of this is slaughtering animals. Tony inside from a food safety expert when we return. [music] music hey let me help with that. Oh, thank you music introducing the oneandonly Volkswagen Golf sportwagen. The sportier utility vehicle. Unit, call our tip line at 888996tips or send us an email to theunit nbcbayarea. Com. Tony we continue now looking into the controversy surrounding rabbit meat. The Investigative Unit found inspection records that reveal the rabbit suppliers may not achieve the standards whole foods promises its customers. Investigative reporter vicky nguyen continues our investigation. Rich its not inhumane. Its animal processing. Vicky rich larsen has taught courses at san jose state covering food safety and sanitation since 1995. When it comes to usda standards, larsen says whats happening at iowa rabbit is not unusual. Rich the context of this is slaughtering animals. And fecal matter is just part of whats going to be present in that process. To keep that from getting to the consumer is a concern. What i saw in the usda reports was just minor corrections that were an ongoing process. Vicky but what about demand for this meat . Larsen, who also teaches restaurant management, says even in the foodie culture of the bay area rich rabbit is not a popular meat among consumers. Theres very few restaurants that have rabbit on the menu. Vicky whole foods says the whole reason it started selling rabbit was demand. In a press release the company said for many years, lots of customers have requested that we carry rabbit. But what are believed to be sales figures shared with us from an internal whole foods source reveal a different story. A snapshot of sales show the 41 stores in the Northern California district sold an average of 5. 8 rabbits per week per store. Vicky are you selling a lot of them . Male a few. Vicky whole foods declined our interview request. Meanwhile, a petition to get whole foods to stop selling rabbit has collected more than 40,000 signatures. Marcy hi sweetie. Come here, handsome. Vicky people hoping to change the minds of those at the top of the food chain at this national grocer. Tony whole foods is coming up on the 1year anniversary of this Pilot Program selling rabbit meat. Its unclear if the company will continue offering the product, but feedback from customers prompted another grocery chain sprouts, to stop selling rabbit meat. Well, if you have a story for us we invite you to call our tip line at 888996tips or send an email to theunit nbcbayarea. Com. Finally, we thank you for tuning in tonight. If youre a fan of Investigative Journalism we invite you to join us at nbc bay area on tv and on the web. Remember, we investigate. Im tony kovaleski. Good night. [music] hi everyone. Welcome to on the money. Time to madonuts. Well talk com and calories with the brands. If youre revving up to get a car, should you get new, used or lease. And drink wine make friends, and make art. A new way to spend a night out which is a booming business. I havent painted since i was a kid. How to avoid the wedding bell blues. On the money starts right now. Now, becky quick. Here
comparemela.com © 2020. All Rights Reserved.