Over 150,000 acres were ravaged in Northern California last November, taking with it 86 lives and tens of billions of dollars in property damage. Butte County’s Camp Fire marks the list as one of California’s top 20 largest wildfires in history, leaving massive structural and environmental damages for years to come. With ongoing investigations to determine a culprit, all roads seem to lead to California’s biggest investor-owned utility company, Pacific Gas & Electric - sparking renewed discussion over the necessity of public oversight.

Whether you’re digging into state house harassment or what public employees get paid to quit their job, there’s some great examples to learn from reading the reporting out there. Here’s some of our favorites from this past week.

If you live in Boston, you might have had a knock on your door, and then opened it to see one or two individuals, each with an official-looking ID on a lanyard, who will immediately launch into their script - they’re “with” your energy company, and would like to offer you an opportunity to sign up for a fixed rate. And while they aren’t exactly door-to-door scammers, that rate they sign you up for may end up costing you far more than you currently pay. A request submitted to the Department of Public Utilities shows that the number of complaints filed against these companies has drastically increased over the past eight years.