A Sebastopol group that has fought to limit public exposure to radio waves is suing the city for approving additional antennas to an existing telecommunications tower behind City Hall.

PG&E wants to give customers concerned about radio wave emissions from its new SmartMeters the choice of retaining conventional meters — for a fee. The utility’s action comes in response to objections to SmartMeters, the devices that monitor customers’ electricity and natural gas consumption and transmit the data to PG&E.

Pacific Gas & Electric Company will not get in the way of Sonoma County’s efforts to form a public power agency, company president Chris Johns pledged in an interview with The Press Democrat. See what he has to say about the installation of SmartMeters and the safety of PG&E’s North Coast gas pipeline system.

PG&E President Chris Johns said the utility would improve its cooperation with communities in the hopes of overhauling its public image following controversies over SmartMeters and a deadly pipeline explosion. He pledged that PG&E would not stand in the way of any move by Sonoma County to form a public power agency.

Customers who want to opt-out of PG&E’s SmartMeter program can have the device’s communications system turned off, but it will cost them more, the utility announced Thursday.

Under prodding by state regulators, PG&E Co. will develop a plan to allow energy customers to opt out of having the controversial SmartMeters installed. It is unclear whether the utility will remove a SmartMeter upon request. It has completed three-fourths of the installations scheduled in Sonoma County.

State Sen. Mark Leno, an openly gay lawmaker whose district includes southern Sonoma County, has introduced legislation that would ensure the historical contributions of gays are included in school textbooks and lesson plans. The bill is one of hundreds that North Coast lawmakers have introduced in the past few weeks that range from protecting medical marijuana users from employment discrimination to increasing fines for wildlife poaching.

6:15 PM UPDATE: A split Sebastopol City Council voted Tuesday against a one-year moratorium on the installation of PG&E SmartMeters, which transmit usage data by radio waves. The 3-2 defeat dismayed speakers who had come with a litany of complaints against the meters, which they blame for health maladies, invasions of privacy, increased risks of fire and other offenses.

New councilman Michael Kyes will ask the Sebastopol City Council to impose a one-year moratorium on PG&E’s controversial SmartMeters. The council voted 4-1 against a moratorium last October, but there are two new members on the council. “There may be a different slant now,” Kyes said. “There is also a lot of new information out.”

UPDATE 6:45 PM: Mendocino County supervisors have adopted a moratorium on SmartMeter installations, paving the way for residents to file criminal complaints against PG&E when workers install meters without their consent. But don’t expect a deputy to respond. See how the county plans to enforce the ban.