Where is the Money Going?
Environmentalists Rejoice as UC Sells Off 2% of Its Fossil Fuel Investments
Jake Soiffer, a junior and representative of Fossil Free UC, told the UC Berkeley Daily Californian that the decision to sell holdings was a “powerful victory” for the campaign. But coal and tar sands stocks were an easy sell for UC. They have been big money losers all year. Chief Investment Officer Jagdeep Bachher told Reuters that slowing demand for dirty coal and even dirtier tar sands, and growing hostility from regulators dims the prospects for improvement. So he bailed. read more
San Jose Ethics Commission Ponders Local Campaign Law Most Everyone Violates
Around 40 current San Jose city officeholders and past candidates are under investigation by the city’s ethics commission for probably violating a strict local campaign disclosure ordinance. The main arguments in their defense are that City Clerk Toni Taber told them it was OK and they didn’t realize the ordinance forbidding their actions had been passed, in 2011. read more
Secretary of State Debuts New Political-Money Tracker
Power Search lets people view the source, recipient and amount of state-level political campaign contributions since 2001. The data can be filtered by recipient, date, amount, location and other fields. It can also be downloaded into a spreadsheet for deeper analysis. For instance, want to see how the fight is going to repeal the plastic bag ban? Sort the database for the November 8, 2016, ballot referendum supporters of the ban and look who contributed that $431,401.61 as of June 30. read more
Tax Slackers Owe State $461 Million and They Aren’t Paying Up
Every quarter, the Board of Equalization (BOE) publishes a list of the top 500 offenders to shame them into complying with the law. It isn’t very effective. Since the shaming program’s inception in 2007, the state has collected $14.35 million from 188 taxpayers who fessed up and agreed to pay immediately or on an installment plan. read more
Republicans Help PG&E Write Off Penalty for Blowing Up San Bruno
All the Republicans voted to let PG&E keep its tax write-off for most of the $1.6-billion penalty assessed for the deadly 2010 San Bruno gas pipeline explosion, blocking Senate Bill 681 from getting a two-thirds majority by two votes. The legislation prohibits a gas corporation from claiming tax deductions for expenditures related to any penalty from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). read more
8 More Indicted in $46-Million Student Drug-Counseling Scandal
The latest eight indicted don’t appear to be big fish, although they face decades in prison. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cathy Ostiller told the Associated Press they did not profit from the scheme. Counselors were particularly vulnerable. “As far as we can tell, most of these employees were minimum-wage earners,” Ostiller said. “They were not doing this for luxury yachts.” read more
FBI Raids Palm Springs City Hall, Seizes Stuff from Mayor
The FBI and Riverside County District Attorney’s office descended on Palm Springs City Hall with warrants in hand and spent the day packing up boxes of stuff. They also dropped by an apartment listed in Pougnet’s name seeking documents and eventually met with the mayor himself. The Desert Sun reported that the FBI said it took items that were in his possession. read more
L.A. Council OKs 2024 Olympics Bid, Will Ponder Cost Overruns Later
The council took an extra week to ponder the numbers and try to craft an escape hatch should the financial and/or political landscape change markedly before voting 15-0 to move forward. The vote comes just days after a report from Los Angeles City Administrator Miguel Santana and Chief Legislative Analyst Sharon Tso said, “It is difficult to determine the fiscal impact and risk to the city of hosting the 2024 Games at this time.” read more
Millions Donated at Tax Time Don't Reach Their Target
The lowlights of the AP investigation begin with the California Military Family Relief Fund, established by the Legislature in 2004 to assist dependents of National Guard troops who are deployed overseas. The check-off raised $1.5 million, of which $1.2 million went unspent. None of the $235,000 collected for California Colorectal Cancer Prevention Fund was spent on cancer. read more
State’s Giant Pension Funds Lost $5.2 Billion in Fossil Fuel Investments
CalPERS lost $2.5 billion in oil and gas investments and $542 million in coal. The price of oil dropped by around 50%. CalSTRS dropped $1.8 billion on losing oil and gas investments and $333 million on coal. CalPERS lost $40 million on a single investment, Texas oil shale company Pioneer Natural Resources, according to Bloomberg. read more
Six Charged in Big-Rig-License-for-Cash Scandal at DMV
Federal authorities charged three DMV employees and three truck-school operators in three separate conspiracies that yielded 100 fraudulent licenses without a single test passed. The probe began as three separate investigations before they merged.
“Allowing unqualified drivers to operate heavy commercial trucks on our highways is honestly quite chilling,” said Carol Webster, acting assistant special agent in charge of the U.S. Homeland Security Investigations office in Sacramento. read more
Public Advocate Flips Position, Wants $4.7-Billion San Onofre Deal Reopened
The Office of Ratepayer Advocates (ORA) joined The Utilities Reform Network (TURN), another advocacy group that was a party to the settlement, in flipping its support after e-mails surfaced about backchannel talks between top PUC and Southern California Edison officials over how to structure a deal. The e-mails, along with state and federal criminal investigations, have lent credence to longstanding allegations that the agency was far too cozy with the utilities it regulates. read more
Back to the Future: Richmond Passes Rent Control Ordinance
“This is about stability to allow people to stay in their homes and stability for our neighborhoods,” Councilwoman Gayle McLaughlin told the Contra Costa Times. “We're a mixed-income community, and we want all of our neighborhoods to be stable. Our low-income residents are as important as every other resident, and we don't want them to be without a home.” read more
Judge Says Edison Illegally Talked to PUC about San Onofre—Repeatedly
Judge Melanie M. Darling’s 49-page ruling said Edison illegally used backchannel communications to discuss public matters with the PUC concerning who was going to pay for the $4.7-billion cost of closing San Onofre in 2013. Customers got stuck with $3.3 billion of it and investors skated. The emails in question are related to a meeting in Warsaw, Poland, between then-PUC President Michael Peevey and Edison executive Stephen Pickett at which they discussed a framework for settlement. read more
California Ponders a State-Run Bank for the Marijuana Industry
To get around the fact that cultivation, sale and possession of marijuana remain federal crimes even as a state-sanctioned medical marijuana industry flourishes, Board of Equalization (BOE) member Fiona Ma has suggested creating a state-run bank for pot growers and sellers. They would be able to deposit and withdraw money, write checks and have credit cards. read more
Boston’s Exit from 2024 Olympics Picture Puts L.A. in the Frame
The sticking point appeared to be money. The committee wanted a commitment in writing from Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh that cost overruns would be covered by public funds, a commitment his constituents did not want him to make. After months of public finger pointing, behind the scenes negotiations and reminders by Olympic officials that folks on the West Coast were eager to host the games, the end was acrimonious. read more