The Brief

From ceiling fans to refrigerators, the Department of Energy is updating appliance efficiency standards that would affect millions of consumers.

The Biden administration's goal is to reduce climate-warming greenhouse gasses and save Americans billions of dollars a year in utility costs. But the administration is facing pushback from the natural gas industry, because some new standards would affect gas appliances. Conservative politicians and media have taken notice of the measures, too, and they've now made unsexy, technical appliance standards a flashpoint in the country's culture war.

The resistance to energy efficiency moves comes from the top of the Republican Party. Former President Donald Trump has a history of rolling back efficiency standards and likely would again if elected next year. Trump has repeatedly claimed that newer dishwashers don't work as well as older, less efficient ones.

"I had people saying they'd wash their dishes and they'd press the button five times, so in the end they're probably wasting more water than if they did it once," Trump said at a 2020 rally.

His claims are incorrect. Research examining the quality of appliances subject to efficiency standards finds "that prices declined while quality and consumer welfare increased, especially when standards become more stringent." Extensive testing on appliances at Consumer Reports bears that out.

"Making appliances more energy efficient does not affect their durability and quality. All of that... rests on the hands of the manufacturer and their designers," says Shanika Whitehurst, associate director for product sustainability, research and testing at Consumer Reports.

It's unclear why some conservatives have focused on energy efficiency as a target. But many of their assertions feed into broader narratives about alleged government overreach. They argue, for example, that efficiency standards limit consumer choices by removing older, less efficient products from the marketplace.

"Sure am happy the Department of Energy is out here making sure that we can all save money because we're too dumb to figure out how to do it ourselves," Rep. Scott Perry, R-PA, said at a House Committee on Oversight and Accountability hearing last July.

Perry told Energy Department Under Secretary for Science and Innovation Geraldine Richmond, "Thank you very much for limiting our choices. We thought we were free in America until we met you folks."

Richmond pointed out that regularly reviewing standards is required by law. The Trump administration was behind schedule on that requirement.

As part of President Biden's climate change agenda, his administration has stepped up reviews for energy conservation standards. Collectively, the department says these measures will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 2.4 billion metric tons and save Americans more than $570 billion dollars over 30 years.

Clearing a backlog from the Trump administration

"So what you're seeing right now is the Biden administration trying to catch up on updating standards that haven't been revised for a decade or more," says Joanna Mauer, deputy director of the Appliance Standards Awareness Project.

Among recent standards approved is one for home furnaces. To meet requirements, pretty much all new furnaces would have to be "condensing" models.

Both condensing furnaces, which blow hot air, and boilers, which heat water for radiators, are already being installed in homes.

A condensing furnace is used to train installers at the Energy Coordinating Agency in Philadelphia. A yellow "EnergyGuide" label shows the model is 95.1% efficient, meaning that's how much energy from the gas is turned into heat for a home.

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Jeff Brady

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NPR

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In a suburban Philadelphia row house, Oval Heating and A/C Owner Jimmy Stoykov and his crew recently installed a condensing boiler. This work was organized through the Energy Coordinating Agency, which provides free heating repairs to low-income households.

"We are replacing a standard 80% boiler with a 95% condensing boiler," said Stoykov. He says the old boiler turned 80% of the energy from natural gas into heat. The new condensing boiler boosts that to 95% — saving the homeowner 15% on their gas bill.

A condensing boiler or furnace is more efficient because it reduces the amount of heat that goes up the chimney. It recycles the heat and puts it back into the house instead. Installation requires more work — a new vent out the side of the house and a new pipe to drain condensation.

That costs more than installing a traditional boiler. And it's why gas utilities oppose the new standard for gas furnaces. They worry the extra cost will prompt people to stop using gas.

Gas utilities are worried about 'fuel switching'

"When you add the costs associated with the replacement of the unit as well as the costs associated with the venting, it can become cost prohibitive for some people, which would result in them fuel switching to electric heat," says Dave Schryver, president and CEO of the American Public Gas Association (APGA), which represents publicly owned gas utilities.

Gas utilities already face headwinds amid health concerns over cooking with gas and the climate-warming effects of methane, the main ingredient in natural gas.

"AGA has attempted to work with the Department of Energy to address the rule's profound impacts on consumers and homeowners," wrote Karen Harbert, president and CEO of the American Gas Association in a statement.

Both the AGA, which represents investor-owned gas utilities, and the APGA are challenging the new furnace standards in court.

Still the Energy Department is proceeding with reviews of about three dozen energy conservation standards. And the process of approving new requirements could get streamlined. That's because efficiency advocates reached agreement in September with appliance manufacturers. Together they're recommending the department tighten standards for refrigerators, freezers, wine chillers, washers, dryers, dishwashers and cooking stoves.

Raul Malo, the leader of the country band The Mavericks and one of the most recognizable voices in roots music, died Monday night, according to a representative of the band. The guitarist and singer had been battling cancer.

He was hospitalized last week, forcing him to miss tribute shows staged in his honor at the Ryman Auditorium over the weekend. He was 60 years old.

"No one embodied life and love, joy and passion, family, friends, music and adventure the way our beloved Raul did," read a statement released by his family.

Malo's group, The Mavericks, mourned the loss of their leader in a social post.

"Anyone with the pleasure of being in Raul's orbit knew that he was a force of human nature, with an infectious energy," the statement read. "Over a career of more than three decades entertaining millions around the globe, his towering creative contributions and unrivaled, generational talent created the kind of multicultural American music reaching far beyond America itself."

Over a career that lasted four decades, The Mavericks lived up to the band's name, challenging expectations and following a roadmap crafted by Malo's expansive musical upbringing as the son of Cuban immigrants in Miami.

"I grew up in a very musical household. There was all kinds of music around always," he told WHYY's Fresh Air in 1995. "We listened to everything from Hank Williams to Celia Cruz to Sam Cooke to Bobby Darin. It didn't matter."

In 1992, Malo told NPR that his widespread influences weren't always understood or appreciated in his South Florida hometown, but he said that his struggle to fit in taught him to trust his instincts. Malo had become the guitarist and lead singer for The Mavericks in 1989, alongside co-founders Robert Reynolds and Paul Deakin, and his roaring, sentimental voice defined the band's sound and remained its constant as the group's catalog moved from slow, tender ballads to full-throttle rock songs. In 1995, the band released its biggest hit with "All You Ever Do Is Bring Me Down," a swinging country song featuring an assist from Tex-Mex accordion legend Flaco Jimenez.

As the band grew in members and devoted listeners, The Mavericks continued to push the boundaries of American music, weaving a richly layered tapestry of textures and stories. With more than a dozen studio albums, The Mavericks collected praise and recognition from the Academy of Country Music, the Country Music Association and the Recording Academy. Although they took a hiatus for several years, Malo never stopped making music — and returned to his bandmates with renewed inspiration.

Following its 30th anniversary, the group released its first full-length Spanish album in 2020, aptly titled En Español. The record reimagined Latin standards and folklore-tinged popular tunes; it also made an implicit political statement about Latin music's contributions to American culture.

"In our own little way, if we could get somebody that perhaps is on the fence on issues and hears us singing in Spanish and perhaps reminds them of the beautiful cultures that make up what this country is trying to be and what it should be, so be it," Malo told NPR at the time. "Yeah, I'm OK with that."

The following year, the Americana Music Association recognized The Mavericks with the Trailblazer Award. In 2024, the band released its last studio album, Moon & Stars. The release coincided with news of Malo's cancer diagnosis, which he discussed openly with NPR's Ayesha Rascoe.

Before being hospitalized last week, Malo had been scheduled to perform with The Mavericks at a pair of tribute concerts held this past weekend at the legendary Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. Over 30 artists, including Patty Griffin, Jim Lauderdale and Steve Earle, still gathered to pay tribute to Malo, with some of the proceeds of the night going to the cancer prevention organization Stand Up To Cancer.

According to his spokesperson, though Malo was too ill to attend, the concert was streamed to his hospital room Friday night.

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The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has mostly blocked efforts to investigate misconduct within its ranks, according to the county inspector general, who announced his retirement Tuesday after 12 years on the job.

In an open letter, Max Huntsman cited examples of how the county has thwarted his efforts to watchdog the department, which in the past has been plagued with accusations that deputies use excessive force and lie on the job.

Huntsman said one example is former Sheriff Alex Villanueva’s misuse of criminal enforcement powers to discredit critics, such as opening an investigation into former County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl.

Villanueva was sheriff from 2018 to 2022.

“My requests for investigation were rejected,” Huntsman’s letter reads. “Even after receiving an official subpoena, the Sheriff’s Department has failed to turn over records regarding the improper surveillance.”

He added: “Sometimes members of the public wonder if frightening new surveillance techniques will be used for improper purposes under the guise of criminal investigation. Sadly, the answer is yes.”

Before becoming inspector general in 2013, Huntsman, 60, was a deputy district attorney who specialized in public corruption. He told LAist on Tuesday that the inspector general job wasn’t something he wanted initially.

“I didn’t want to go work for politicians,” he said. “But the need to provide some kind of independent reporting and analysis was significant.”

The Sheriff’s Department issued a statement saying it valued the Office of the Inspector General and all county oversight bodies and that it wished Huntsman and his family well in his retirement.

The department said it “continues to make great strides in advancing the department in a transparent manner.”

LAist also reached out to the county CEO and county counsel for comment, but they declined.

After George Floyd

In the letter, Huntsman says the state of California has come a long way in strengthening the power of local law enforcement oversight bodies, in part because of the 2020 murder of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis.

After widespread protests — and lobbying by Huntsman — the state provided authority to inspectors general to enforce subpoenas requiring law enforcement agencies to hand over documents and authorized external investigation of police misconduct, including deputy gang conduct.

The Sheriff’s Department — backed by county lawyers — has resisted.

“Los Angeles County may not follow those laws, but it will not be able to avoid them forever,” Huntsman wrote. “The county refuses to require the photographing of suspected gang tattoos in secretive groups that the undersheriff has identified as violating state law.”

“Just a few weeks ago, we requested some information regarding an investigation, and a pair of commanders refused to give it to us,” Huntsman said in an interview with LAist.

Origin of the office 

The Inspector General’s Office was created by the county Board of Supervisors in 2013 in response to a scandal that included former Sheriff Lee Baca covering up the abuses of jail inmates.

Baca went to federal prison.

Since then, the office has issued dozens of reports with recommendations for improving living conditions inside jails that some have described as “filthy,” stopping abuses of juveniles inside juvenile halls and providing shower privacy for inmates as part of the requirements under the Prison Rape Elimination Act.

“All of these abuses were reported by the Office of Inspector General and recommendations were ignored,” Huntsman wrote. Often, it took court orders to enact change.

“When we first blew the whistle on the torturous chaining of mentally ill prisoners to benches for 36 hours at a time, it was only a court order that ended the practice,” he wrote. “Time and time again, this pattern repeated itself.”

Huntsman wrote the county has permitted the Sheriff’s Department to block oversight and defunded the Office of Inspector General by removing a third of its staff.

“It's not surprising the county has driven out two successive chairs of the Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission,” he wrote.

“Government always claims to value transparency and accountability, but shooting the messenger is still the most common response to criticism,” Huntsman wrote.

Despite setbacks, Huntsman values work 

Huntsman told LAist on Tuesday that he was proud of his career as a public servant.

“I’ve really enjoyed the work and I’m sad to have it end,” he said.

It’s a sentiment he echoed in his letter, adding that despite the setbacks and roadblocks, he was proud of the people with whom he shared the office.

“It has been my honor to work with a talented, brave and tireless group of public servants to ensure that the public knows what its government is doing,” he wrote.

He noted the inspector general’s reports are fact-checked by the office and public.

“When government abuses occur, they are sometimes kept secret, but that is no longer the case for much of what is happening in Los Angeles County,” Huntsman wrote. “What you do about it is up to you.,”

Huntsman’s last day is Friday.

Topline:

The backstory: Last month, the council's Transportation Committee voted to bring a proposal forward to implement a policy change that allows the city to impound and immediately destroy abandoned or inoperable RVs worth less than $4,000. The change is inspired by new state law AB 630, which was created to prevent previously impounded RVs from ending back up on the street.

The motion, authored by Councilmember Traci Park, reports that abandoned RVs pose as public and safety hazards.

What's next: Councilmember Nithya Raman requested that an implementation plan be presented to the council's public safety and housing and homelessness committees.

Go deeper: L.A. pushes policy to make it easier to remove RVs from city streets.