Case: 19-30088 Doc# 472 Filed: 02/18/19 Entered: 02/18/19 17:07:48 Page 1 of 7
Exhibit A

Case: 19-30088 Doc# 472 Filed: 02/18/19 Entered: 02/18/19 17:07:48 Page 2 of 7
Case: 19-30088 Doc# 472 Filed: 02/18/19 Entered: 02/18/19 17:07:48 Page 3 of 7
ECONOMY | MEDIA

Viewership for the Grammy

Awards held steady on Sunday

night, drawing an audience of 19.9

million people, according to

Nielsen.

That was slightly better than

the 19.8 million viewers who tuned

in last year. The event, which returned to Los Angeles this year

and was broadcast on CBS, featured performances by Lady

Gaga, Jennifer Lopez and Cardi B.

Alicia Keys hosted, and Michelle

Obama made a cameo in the opening minutes of the ceremony.

The viewership figures will also

help stop the bleeding. The Grammys, which is generally the second-most-watched awards ceremony program, behind the Oscars, saw a 24 percent drop in

viewers last year. Ratings declines have been the norm for

awards shows in recent years, but

the Grammys had proved mostly

resilient.

Despite the onstage star power,

several big names did not show

this year, including Kendrick

Lamar, Childish Gambino and Ariana Grande.

Sunday’s total audience also

keeps the Grammys within range

of the Oscars. The Oscars telecast

once seemed unassailable in its

ratings dominance, regularly exceeding the music ceremony by 20

million viewers in the 2000s. But

the Oscars have seen a huge drop

in viewership in the last five

years. In 2014, the Oscars had

nearly 44 million viewers. Last

year, it drew 26.5 million viewers,

a low.

ABC, which broadcasts the Oscars, and the Academy of Motion

Picture Arts and Sciences have

been on a mission to increase its

audience. The academy briefly

raised the possibility of introducing a new popular movie category

to entice viewers before a backlash helped nix it. ABC has also insisted that it will keep the ceremony to three hours, and that several

categories will not be televised

this year.

This year’s ceremony will also

have no host — but ABC has

claimed that the lack of an M.C.

has only fueled interest.

“I have found that the lack of

clarity around the Oscars has kept

them in the conversation,” said

Karey Burke, the president of entertainment at ABC, at a gathering with the news media last

week. “The mystery is really compelling. People really care.”

The Oscars are scheduled for

Feb. 24.

Diana Ross celebrated her hits and her coming 75th birthday on Sunday night at the Grammy Awards, which drew slightly more viewers than last year.

MIKE BLAKE/REUTERS

Grammys Show Stanches Declines in Viewership

By JOHN KOBLIN

earnings would rise by 3.3 percent

compared with the first quarter of

2018. And in October, before the

stock markets entered a downward spiral at the end of the year,

analysts had anticipated that

first-quarter earnings would leap

by 6.6 percent.

Corporate profits are by no

means a perfect proxy for the

health of the United States economy, the world’s largest. But they

exert heavy influence over the direction of the stock markets.

In the first nine months of last

year, for example, an unexpected

gusher of company earnings — up

20 percent from their previous

levels — powered the S&P 500 to

record highs. The fat bottom lines

allowed investors to look past

both the prospect of a trade war

between the United States and

China and a number of data points

that showed large foreign economies, including Japan and Germany, losing steam.

Even in the final three months

of 2018, as the United States appeared to be skidding into an economic recession, corporate profits

leapt higher. Not all companies

have disclosed their fourth-quarter results yet, but they are on

track to be up 13.3 percent from

2017.

It isn’t unusual for analysts to

pare back their earnings forecasts

over the course of a quarter. Corporate executives offer guidance

about how their businesses are

performing, and a variety of macroeconomic data helps analysts

hone their profit projections. Over

the past decade, analysts’ profit

forecasts have declined on average by 3.7 percent over the course

of a full quarter.

On Dec. 31, analysts expected

companies in the S&P 500 to earn,

on average, $40.21 per share. Today, that estimate is $37.95 — an

unusually large 5.6 percent drop,

according to FactSet.

If companies’ first-quarter performances turn out to be as weak

as analysts expect, the United

States will be on track for what the

financial community calls an

earnings recession, which occurs

when corporate profits shrink for

two straight quarters.

That looks increasingly likely to

happen in the first half of this year.

Analysts expect earnings to rise

by just 1.2 percent in the second

quarter. That forecast is likely to

fall, perhaps into negative territory, as more companies disclose

their results and analysts update

their forecasting models.

The S&P 500 last endured an

earnings recession in 2015 and

2016. It was set off in large part by

tumbling oil prices, which eroded

the profits of energy companies.

During that period, a six-year

stock market rally stalled, and the

S&P 500 twice fell by more than 10

percent.

Corporate profits this year were

always going to face a difficult

comparison with 2018. The combination of a strong United States

economy and the newly reduced

corporate tax rates led earnings to

jump more than 20 percent.

But profits are now under pressure on multiple fronts, and there

are no new tax cuts to cushion the

blow — an ill omen for the stock

market, if not the broader economy. Rising costs and a slowing

global economy, in particular in

China, have caused many S&P 500

companies to reduce their profit

outlooks for 2019.

That is especially true among

technology companies. Analysts

expect them to report a nearly 10

percent decline in profits in the

first quarter, the biggest decline of

any sector in the S&P 500.

Much of the blame for the tech

sector’s declining fortunes rests

with Apple. The company warned

in early January that it was seeing

diminished demand for new

iPhones in China. When it reported earnings, Apple said it expected sales of $55 billion to $59

billion in the current quarter, below analysts’ expectations for $59

billion.

Since the end of last year, analysts have cut by nearly 19 percent

their estimates for how much Apple will earn in the first three

months of the year.

An Earnings Recession 

Clouds Growth Outlook

FROM FIRST BUSINESS PAGE

Source: FactSet 

Falling Expectations

Projections for first-quarter growth have steadily declined in the last 

four months.

THE NEW YORK TIMES

Note: Projections are based on consensus analysts estimates.

Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb.

+6%

+4

+2

–2

0

Corporate results are

seen as likely to cool

stock markets.

ATTENTION DIRECT AND INDIRECT HOLDERS OF, AND 

PROSPECTIVE HOLDERS OF, (I) STOCK ISSUED BY PG&E 

CORPORATION OR PACIFIC GAS & ELECTRIC COMPANY 

AND (II) CERTAIN CLAIMS AGAINST PG&E CORPORATION 

OR PACIFIC GAS & ELECTRIC COMPANY:

Upon the motion (the “Motion”) of PG&E Corporation (“PG&E 

Corp.”) and Pacific Gas & Electric Company (“Utility”) (together 

with PG&E Corp., the “Debtors”), on January 31, 2019, the United 

States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California (the 

“Bankruptcy Court”), having jurisdiction over the chapter 11 

cases of the Debtors, captioned as In re PG&E Corporation, et al., Case 

No. 19-30088 (the “Chapter 11 Cases”), entered an interim order 

establishing procedures (the “Procedures”) with respect to direct and 

indirect trading and transfers of stock of the Debtors and scheduling a 

hearing on a final order with respect to such Procedures. 

In certain circumstances, the Procedures restrict transactions 

involving, and require notices of the holdings of and proposed 

transactions by, any person or group of persons that is or, as a result of 

such a transaction, would become, a Substantial Stockholder of the 

common stock issued by PG&E Corp. (the “Common Stock”). For 

purposes of the Procedures, a “Substantial Stockholder” is any person 

or, in certain cases, group of persons that beneficially own, directly or 

indirectly (and/or owns options to acquire) at least 24.6 million shares 

of Common Stock (representing approximately 4.75% of all issued and 

outstanding shares of Common Stock).” Any prohibited transfer of 

stock of the Debtors will be null and void ab initio and may lead 

to contempt, compensatory damages, punitive damages, or 

sanctions being imposed by the Bankruptcy Court.

In addition, the Debtors have requested approval of additional 

procedures (the “Claims Procedures”) as part of the final order that 

set forth (i) certain future circumstances under which any person, 

group of persons, or entity holding, or which as a result of a proposed 

transaction may hold, a substantial amount of certain claims against 

the Debtors may be required to file notice of its holdings of such claims 

and of proposed transactions, which transactions may be restricted, and 

(ii) certain limited circumstances thereafter under which such person(s) 

may be required to sell, by a specified date following the confirmation 

of a chapter 11 plan of the Debtors, all or a portion of any such claims 

acquired during the Chapter 11 Cases.

The Procedures, as approved on an interim basis and as requested 

on a final basis (inclusive of the Claims Procedures), are available on 

the website of Prime Clerk LLC, the Debtors’ Court-approved claims 

agent, located at https://restructuring.primeclerk.com/pge, and 

on the docket of the Chapter 11 Cases, Docket No. 212, which can be 

accessed via PACER at https://www.pacer.gov.

A direct or indirect holder of, or prospective holder of, stock 

issued by the Debtors that may be or become a Substantial 

Stockholder or a direct or indirect holder of, or prospective holder 

of, a substantial amount of claims against the Debtors should 

consult the Procedures.

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that the final hearing on the Motion shall be 

held on February 27, 2019, at 9:30 a.m. (Pacific Time), and any 

objections or responses to the Motion shall be in writing, filed with the 

Court (with a copy delivered to Chambers), and served upon (i) Weil, 

Gotshal & Manges LLP, 767 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10153 (Attn: 

Stephen Karotkin, Esq.; Jessica Liou, Esq.; Matthew Goren, Esq.; Kevin 

Bostel, Esq.), as proposed counsel to the Debtors, and (ii) the Office of 

the United States Trustee for Region 17 (Attn: James L. Snyder, Esq. and 

Timothy Laffredi, Esq.), in each case so as to be received no later than 

4:00 p.m. (Pacific Time) on February 20, 2019.

PLEASE TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that the requirements set forth in 

the Procedures are in addition to the requirements of Bankruptcy Rule 

3001(e) and applicable securities, corporate, and other laws and do not 

excuse non-compliance therewith.

Dated: San Francisco, California BY ORDER OF THE COURT

 January 31, 2019

IN THE UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF DELAWARE

In re: MAMMOET-STARNETH LLC,

Debtor.1

)

)

Chapter 11

Case No. 17-12925 (LSS)

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE OF THE FOLLOWING:

APPROVAL OF DISCLOSURE STATEMENT. By Order, dated February

8, 2019 [D.I. 604] (the “Disclosure Statement Order”), the United States

Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (the“Bankruptcy Court”) (a)

approved the Disclosure Statement for the Second Amended Chapter 11 Plan

of Liquidation of Mammoet-Starneth LLC [D.I. 599] (including all exhibits

thereto and as amended, modified or supplemented from time to time,

the“Disclosure Statement”) filed by Mammoet-Starneth LLC as debtor and

debtor in possession (the “Debtor”) as containing adequate information

within the meaning of section 1125 of chapter 11 of title 11 of the United

States Code (the “Bankruptcy Code”) and (b) authorized the Debtor to

solicit votes to accept or reject the Second Amended Chapter 11 Plan of

Liquidation of Mammoet-Starneth LLC [D.I. 597] (including all exhibits

thereto and as amended,modified or supplemented from time to time,the

“Plan”), annexed as Exhibit A to the Disclosure Statement. All capitalized

terms used,but not defined,herein shall have the same meanings ascribed

to them in the Plan,the Disclosure Statement,or the Disclosure Statement

Order,as applicable.

CONFIRMATION HEARING. On March 22, 2019 starting at 10:00

a.m. (Eastern Daylight Time), or as soon thereafter as counsel may

be heard, a hearing (the “Confirmation Hearing”) will be held before

The Honorable Laurie Selber Silverstein in the United States Bankruptcy

Court for the District of Delaware, 824 North Market Street, 6th Floor,

Courtroom No. 2, Wilmington, Delaware 19801 to consider confirmation

of the Plan, as the same may be amended or modified. The Confirmation

Hearing may be adjourned from time to time without further notice to

creditors or other parties in interest, other than by an announcement of

such an adjournment in open court at the Confirmation Hearing or any

adjournment thereof or an appropriate filing with the Bankruptcy Court.

The Plan may be modified in accordance with the Bankruptcy Code, the

Bankruptcy Rules, the Plan and other applicable law, without further

notice, prior to or as a result of the Confirmation Hearing. Parties entitled

to vote to accept or reject the Plan must return their applicable ballots by

U.S.Postal Service mail,overnight delivery,or personal delivery by hand to

Mammoet-Starneth LLC Balloting c/o Rust Consulting/Omni Bankruptcy

Attn: Paul Deutsch, Esq., 1120 Avenue of the Americas, 4th Floor, New York,

New York 10036 so as to be actually received on or beforeMarch 15, 2019

at 4:00 p.m.(Eastern Daylight Time).

DEADLINE FOR OBJECTIONS TO CONFIRMATION OF THE PLAN.

Objections, if any, to confirmation of the Plan, including any supporting

memoranda,must:(a) be in writing;(b) comply with the Bankruptcy Rules

and the Local Rules; (c) set forth the name of the objector and the nature

and amount of any Claim or Equity Interest asserted by the objector against

or in the Debtor; (d) state with particularity the legal and factual bases for

the objection and, if practicable, a proposed modification to the Plan that

would resolve such objection; and (e) be Filed with the Bankruptcy Court,

together with proof of service,and served so that they are actually received

by the following no later than March 15, 2019 at 4:00 p.m. (Eastern

Daylight Time) which deadline may be extended by the Debtor in its

sole discretion: (i) counsel to the Debtor, Sills Cummis & Gross P.C., One

Riverfront Plaza, Newark, NJ 07102, Attn: Andrew H. Sherman and Boris

I. Mankovetskiy, with copy to Richards, Layton & Finger, P.A., One Rodney

Square, 920 North King Street, Wilmington, DE 19801, Attn: Jason M.

Madron;(ii) counsel to MUSA,Dentons US LLP,101 JFK Parkway,Short Hills,

NJ 07078,Attn:Philip R.White,with a copy to Bayard,P.A.,600 N.King Street,

Suite 400, P.O. Box 25130,Wilmington, DE 19899, Attn: Justin Alberto; (iii)

the Office of the United States Trustee, J. Caleb Boggs Federal Building,

Room 2207, 844 North King Street, Wilmington, DE 19801, Attn: Hannah

McCollum;and (iv) all parties that have requested notice in this Chapter 11

Case pursuant to Bankruptcy Rule 2002 and Local Rule 2002-1(b).

ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS AND OTHER QUESTIONS. Copies of the

Disclosure Statement Order, the Plan, and the Disclosure Statement are

available for inspection on the Bankruptcy Court’s website at https://ecf.

deb.uscourts.gov. A login and password to the Bankruptcy Court’s Public

Access to Electronic Court Records (“PACER”) website are required to access

this information and can be obtained through the PACER Service Center at

https://www.pacer.psc.uscourts.gov. Copies of the Plan and Disclosure

Statement are available for inspection during regular business hours,

Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., excluding federal holidays,

at the office of the Clerk of the Bankruptcy Court,824 North Market Street,

3

rdFloor,Wilmington,Delaware 19801. In addition,copies of the Disclosure

Statement Order, the Plan, and the Disclosure Statement may be obtained

free of charge by writing to the Debtor’s balloting agent,Rust Omni,at the

following address or email address: Mammoet-Starneth LLC Balloting c/o

Rust Consulting/Omni Bankruptcy,Attn:Paul Deutsch,Esq.,1120 Avenue of

the Americas, 4th Floor, New York, New York 10036 or paul@omnimgt.com

(and reference“Mammoet-Starneth LLC”in the subject line).

1

The last four digits of the Debtor’s federal tax identification number are

4518. The Debtor’s address is 2711 Centerville Road,Suite 400,Wilmington,

Delaware 19808.

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Know What’s Now.

KNOW WHAT’S NEXT.

Case: 19-30088 Doc# 472 Filed: 02/18/19 Entered: 02/18/19 17:07:48 Page 4 of 7
Exhibit B

Case: 19-30088 Doc# 472 Filed: 02/18/19 Entered: 02/18/19 17:07:48 Page 5 of 7
Case: 19-30088 Doc# 472 Filed: 02/18/19 Entered: 02/18/19 17:07:48 Page 6 of 7
XXXXX SFChronicle.com | Tuesday, February 12, 2019 | D3

ATTENTION DIRECT AND INDIRECT

HOLDERS OF, AND PROSPECTIVE

HOLDERS OF, (I) STOCK ISSUED BY

PG&E CORPORATION OR PACIFIC

GAS & ELECTRIC COMPANY AND (II)

CERTAIN CLAIMS AGAINST PG&E

CORPORATION OR PACIFIC GAS &

ELECTRIC COMPANY:

Upon the motion (the “Motion”) of

PG&E Corporation (“PG&E Corp.”)

and Pacific Gas & Electric Company

(“Utility”) (together with PG&E Corp.,

the “Debtors”), on January 31, 2019,

the United States Bankruptcy Court for

the Northern District of California (the

“Bankruptcy Court”), having jurisdiction over the chapter 11 cases of

the Debtors, captioned as In re PG&E

Corporation, et al., Case No. 19-30088

(the “Chapter 11 Cases”), entered an

interim order establishing procedures

(the “Procedures”) with respect to direct and indirect trading and transfers

of stock of the Debtors and scheduling

a hearing on a final order with respect

to such Procedures.

In certain circumstances, the Procedures restrict transactions involving,

and require notices of the holdings

of and proposed transactions by, any

person or group of persons that is

or, as a result of such a transaction,

would become, a Substantial Stockholder of the common stock issued by

PG&E Corp. (the “Common Stock”).

For purposes of the Procedures, a

“Substantial Stockholder” is any

person or, in certain cases, group of

persons that beneficially own, directly

or indirectly (and/or owns options to

acquire) at least 24.6 million shares

of Common Stock (representing

approximately 4.75% of all issued

and outstanding shares of Common

k) ” hibi d ff

THAT pursuant to sections 3051 and

3052 of the civil code of the state of

California And pursuant to the business and professions Code section

21700-21716, the undersigned will

sell at Public sale by competitive bidding on Thursday the 21st day of February, 2019 at 10:00 AM, at lockerfox.

com the following liened property.

iStorage Ingleside Heights, 4050 19th

Avenue, San Francisco, CA, 94132 San

Francisco County

Ruiz, Annette D11111 FAN, BASKET,

LAMP, TOTES, BOXES, BAGS, COMFORTER, DRAWERS, BOOTS.

6406 STROLLER, BOXES, SUITCASES,

DOG HOUSE, CHAIRS, ICECHEST,

DRAWERS, TOTES, BAGS.

Pitts, William E19022 BOXES, DUFFEL

BAGS, BASKET, TOOL CASE, BACKPACK,

FOLDING CHAIR, BAGS.

Pangaea Global B14071 BOXES, TOTE.

Thompson, Tanya D11206 SHOE BOXES, BAGS

Purchases must be paid for at the time

of sales in cash only. All purchased

items are sold as is.

VISIT SFGATE.COM/LEGALNOTICES

g

Stock).” Any prohibited transfer of

stock of the Debtors will be null

and void ab initio and may lead to

contempt, compensatory damages,

punitive damages, or sanctions

being imposed by the Bankruptcy

Court.

In addition, the Debtors have requested

approval of additional procedures

(the “Claims Procedures”) as part

of the final order that set forth (i)

certain future circumstances under

which any person, group of persons,

or entity holding, or which as a result

of a proposed transaction may hold, a

substantial amount of certain claims

against the Debtors may be required

to file notice of its holdings of such

claims and of proposed transactions,

which transactions may be restricted,

and (ii) certain limited circumstances

thereafter under which such person(s)

may be required to sell, by a specified

date following the confirmation of a

chapter 11 plan of the Debtors, all or

a portion of any such claims acquired

during the Chapter 11 Cases.

The Procedures, as approved on an

interim basis and as requested

on a final basis (inclusive of the

Claims Procedures), are available

on the website of Prime Clerk

LLC, the Debtors’ Court-approved

claims agent, located at https://

restructuring.primeclerk.com/pge,

and on the docket of the Chapter

11 Cases, Docket No. 212, which

can be accessed via PACER at

https://www.pacer.gov.

A direct or indirect holder of, or

prospective holder of, stock issued

by the Debtors that may be or

become a Substantial Stockholder

or a direct or indirect holder of, or

prospective holder of, a substantial

amount of claims against the Debtors should consult the Procedures.

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that the final

hearing on the Motion shall be held

on February 27, 2019, at 9:30 a.m.

(Pacific Time), and any objections

or responses to the Motion shall

be in writing, filed with the Court

(with a copy delivered to Chambers),

and served upon (i) Weil, Gotshal

& Manges LLP, 767 Fifth Avenue,

New York, NY 10153 (Attn: Stephen

Karotkin, Esq.; Jessica Liou, Esq.; Matthew Goren, Esq.; Kevin Bostel, Esq.),

as proposed counsel to the Debtors,

and (ii) the Office of the United

States Trustee for Region 17 (Attn:

James L. Snyder, Esq. and Timothy

Laffredi, Esq.), in each case so as to

be received no later than 4:00 p.m.

(Pacific Time) on February 20, 2019.

PLEASE TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that

the requirements set forth in the

Procedures are in addition to the

requirements of Bankruptcy Rule

3001(e) and applicable securities,

corporate, and other laws and do not

li h ih

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS

NAME STATEMENT

FILE NO. A-0385196-00

The following person is doing business

as #1. Cartel Garage 3841 Judah St. SF

CA 94122. Registrant(s) #1. Abraham

Dabis 3841 Judah St. SF CA 94122.

This business is conducted by an individual.

The registrant commenced to transact

business under the above-listed fictitious business name on: 07/01/18

This statement was filed with the County

Clerk of San Francisco on Feb 11, 2019

Published on:

Feb. 12, 19, 26 March 5 2019.

JENNIFER CRETCHER-MCCOY,

DEPUTY COUNTY COUNSEL -

SMB#187116

625 COURT STREET, ROOM 201

WOODLAND, CALIFORNIA 95695

TELEPHONE: (530) 666-8172

Attorneys for Yolo County Health

and Human Services Agency

IN THE SUPERIOR COURT

OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

IN AND FOR THE COURT OF YOLO

JUVENILE DIVISION

In the Matter(s) of

ANDRE RAY HENDRIX, JR.

Dependent(s)

NO: JV-15-244

CITATION

To: Unique V. Johnson

YOU ARE HEREBY CITED AND

REQUIRED TO APPEAR at a hearing

in Yolo County Juvenile Court, located

at 1000 Main Street, Woodland,

California 95695, on 3-27-19 at 9:00

a.m. in Department 6. At the hearing,

the Court will decide whether to

permanently terminate your parental

rights over the above-named minor

child born to you on November 3,

2008. If you wish to be represented

by an attorney and are unable to

afford one, the Court will appoint an

attorney to represent you.

(SEAL)

DATED 12-12-2018

/S/___________

Judge of the Juvenile Court

corporate, and other laws and do not

excuse non-compliance therewith.

Dated: San Francisco, California

BY ORDER OF THE COURT

January 31, 2019

beyond the company’s

statement that was filed

with the Securities and

Exchange Commission.

At the conclusion of

the shareholders’ meeting, which is scheduled

for May 21, PG&E intends to have 11 independent directors, a majority

of whom will be new to

their roles, according to

the company’s statement.

One PG&E board

member already left after

the company announced

its intent to reorganize

under Chapter 11 of the

U.S. Bankruptcy Code

largely because of billions of dollars in potential liability it faces from

the devastating 2017 and

2018 Northern California

wildfires. The departure

of that former board

member, Roger Kimmel,

came just after the

abrupt exit of CEO Geisha Williams, who also

resigned from her board

seat.

In its statement, the

PG&E board said it recognizes that the company

must “re-earn trust and

credibility with its customers, regulators, the

communities it serves

and all of its stakeholders” and is “continuing to

make changes that reinforce PG&E’s commitment to safety and improvement.”

“We recognize the

importance of adding

fresh perspectives to the

Board to help address

the serious challenges

the business faces now

and in the future,” the

statement said. “We have

been working diligently

to identify respected

professionals with relevant experience in safety,

operations and other

critical areas, and we

have identified a number

of strong candidates.”

The composition of

PG&E’s board had been

publicly criticized by

lawmakers including

state Sen. Bill Dodd,

D-Napa, who authored

key legislation that will

help the company handle

2017 wildfire costs. Dodd

called for “systematic

change” in PG&E’s management and board after

recent allegations from

state regulatory staff that

the company repeatedly

falsified certain internal

gas-safety records for

several years.

In a statement Monday, Dodd said he supported PG&E’s announcement but was

critical of the timeline.

“While the change in

the board is welcome, it’s

still taken way too long,”

he said. “And it doesn’t

make sense to wait another day on these

changes with another

fire season on the horizon. Time will tell if this

new leadership instills

the badly needed culture

of safety at PG&E.”

The New York hedge

fund BlueMountain Capital Management, which

has been critical of

PG&E’s decision to seek

bankruptcy protection,

has also criticized the

board composition. BlueMountain, which manages funds that own millions of PG&E shares,

called on stockholders to

replace the entire board

and said it plans to announce its own slate of

candidates by Feb. 21.

J.D. Morris is a San

Francisco Chronicle staff

writer. Email: jd.morris

@sfchronicle.com Twitter:

@thejdmorris

PG&E set to replace half of its board of directors

PG&E from page D1

Paul Morigi / Getty Images 2017

Geisha Williams, seen here in 2017, abruptly resigned from her position on PG&E’s board and as CEO last

month shortly before the utility announced plans to file for bankruptcy protection.

products in the previous

month. Some of the findings had been released

before, including the

boom in vaping.

Experts attribute the

vaping increase to the

exploding popularity of

newer versions of ecigarettes, like those by

Juul Labs of San Francisco. The products resemble computer flash

drives, can be recharged

in USB ports and can be

used discreetly — including in school bathrooms and even in classrooms.

Juul executives have

said they are working to

make it harder for underage teens to buy flavored Juul products. In

November, under pressure from federal regulators, the company

announced it would stop

selling flavored nicotine

pods in stores and implement new age verification protocols on its

website.

According to the new

CDC data, about 8 percent of high schoolers

said they had recently

smoked cigarettes in

2018, and about 2 percent

of middle schoolers did.

Those findings were

about the same seen in

similar surveys in 2016

and 2017.

It also found that

about 2 in 5 high school

students who used a

vaping or tobacco product used more than one

kind, and that the most

common combination

was e-cigarettes and

cigarettes. Also, about 28

percent of high school

e-cigarette users said

they vaped 20 or more

days in the previous

month — nearly a 40

percent jump from the

previous year.

Smoking, the nation’s

leading cause of preventable illness, is responsible for more than

480,000 deaths each

year. The U.S. Food and

Drug Administration

bans the sale of e-cigarettes and tobacco products to those under 18.

E-cigarettes are generally considered better

than cigarettes for adults

who are already addicted

to nicotine. But health

officials have worried for

years that electronic

cigarettes could lead kids

to switch to smoking

traditional cigarettes.

“I think the writing is

on the wall,” with research increasingly suggesting e-cigarettes are

becoming a gateway to

regular cigarettes, said

Megan Roberts, an Ohio

State University researcher.

There is, however,

some split of opinion

among health researchers. Some had linked

e-cigarettes to an unusually large drop in teen

smoking a few years ago,

and they say it’s not clear

to what extent the decline in smoking has

stalled or to what degree

vaping is to blame.

Cigarette smoking is

still declining in some

states. And another large

survey found that smoking has continued to

drop among 12th-graders, though not in younger school kids.

“It’s not clear yet

what’s going on and it’s

best to not jump to any

conclusions,” said David

Levy, a Georgetown University researcher.

Chronicle staff writer

Catherine Ho contributed to

this report.

Mike Stobbe is an

Associated Press writer.

Is vaping to blame for youth smoking?

Vaping from page D1

Thad Allender / Lawrence (Kan.) Journal-World 2002

The youth smoking rate has been flat for three years, after a steady decline.

Bill Gross, the famed

and colorful bond investor who once controlled the world’s largest

mutual fund, is closing

his professional career of

more than 40 years and

retiring to focus on managing his personal assets

and private charitable

foundation.

Gross, 74, was nicknamed the “Bond King”

after co-founding investment firm Pimco in

1971 and delivering returns that were the envy

of the fixed-income market. His predictions were

closely followed by investors around the world

as he made billions of

dollars for investors of the

PimcoTotal Return mutual fund that he ran.But

his star dimmed in recent

years as his returns fell

short of competitors.

Gross left Pimco for

Janus in 2014 in a split

that surprised investors,

one that Gross has described as an internal

power struggle.The Janus

Henderson Global Unconstrained Bond fund

that Gross now runs lost

3.9 percent last year, and it

ranks in the bottom 6

percent of all nontraditional bond funds for

returns over the last three

years, according to Morningstar.

The investment strategy run by Gross has also

fallen short ofits benchmark, a three-month

interest rate known as

Libor, since late 2014.

Recently, Gross’ performance was hurt by trades

that would have benefited

from weaker prices for

German government

bonds.

The struggles are a

sharp turnaround from

earlier in Gross’ career.

When Morningstar

named him its “manager

of the decade” for fixed

income in 2010, it said

Gross made the right calls

atthe righttimes and

made investors of the

PimcoTotal Return fund

$47 billion wealthier

during the previous 10

years.

Besides his strong

performance, Gross also

gained attention for the

colorful commentaries he

gave on the market’s prospects.In March, for example, he cited everyone

from Pol Pot to Moses as

he gave his outlook for

global financial markets,

including a prediction

that the yield on the 10-

yearTreasury would

fluctuate around 3 percent for most of the year.

It ended up getting as

high as 3.26 percent in

October before closing

2018 at 2.68 percent.

“Still, in my mind, this

is a hibernating global

bear bond market, not a

beast,” he wrote in the

commentary. “That may

come later, much like our

programmable robots

that may control future

society.”

Janus Henderson said

that Nick Maroutsos,

co-head of global bonds,

will become portfolio

manager of the Global

Unconstrained Bond

fund, effective Friday.

Gross’ departure is

scheduled for March 1.

‘Bond King’ Gross ready

to retire, his star dimmed

ASSOCIATED PRESS Bill Gross

cofounded

investment firm

Pimco in

1971.

BUSINESS

Case: 19-30088 Doc# 472 Filed: 02/18/19 Entered: 02/18/19 17:07:48 Page 7 of 7