Late last week, he ratcheted up his war on PG&E, appointing a trusted aide to study how the utility might be transformed and suggesting that if it doesn't satisfactorily reform itself and/or change ownership and emerge from bankruptcy, some kind of state seizure is a possibility. "If the parties fail to reach agreement quickly to begin this process of transformation, the state will not hesitate to step in and restructure the utility," Newsom wrote in an Internet posting. The "parties" to which Newsom refers are dueling factions of hedge funds that either own large blocs of PG&E stock or hold the utility's bonds, plus the current company management and wildfire victims. Newsom appointed Ana Matosantos, a top aide and a former state finance director, to explore restructuring alternatives. Her working group will, as he put it, "Game out every option and prepare a plan should the state need to intervene. All options are on the table."