Where is the Money Going?
Millionaire-Inspired Ballot Measures Fare Worse than Hoi Polloi Initiatives
More than half of the 11 propositions on the California ballot yesterday appeared courtesy of wealthy individuals—millionaires and billionaires who had a vision and the cash to shape the focus, by and large, of the state’s political discourse over the past six months.
Only two of the six appeared to have won their contests, and they were arguably the most progressive of the bunch. read more
New In-Home Care Payment Computer System Grinds to a Halt
A new state payroll system for In-Home Support Services workers―16 years in the making―has been put on hold after pilot programs in Merced, San Diego and Yolo counties crashed and burned.
“It has been an unmitigated disaster,” Steve Mehlman, spokesman for the United Domestic Workers Homecare Providers union, told the Merced Sun-Star after reports abounded of problems with timesheets, missed paychecks and other payroll issues for workers. read more
Unmasked $11 Million Mystery Political Donor Group Is No Mystery to Critics but Its Members Are
An Arizona group that dumped $11 million at the last minute into conservative election efforts in California finally fessed up to where it got the money: a group associated with former President George W. Bush adviser Karl Rove via a group supported by the right-wing billionaire Koch brothers.
The names of the actual original donors are still unknown. read more
Fresh from Libor Scandal, Barclays May Have to Pay Millions in California Energy Market Rigging
The clock is running on Barclays for the bank to show U.S. regulators that it shouldn’t be fined a record $470 million for manipulation of California’s electricity markets.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) accused Barclays of making trades in the energy market that it purposely lost money on in order to make huge profits on investments in a related derivatives swaps market. read more
Free Use of Hearst Castle for Events Cost Strapped Parks System $611,000
The state Department of Parks and Recreation spent months scrambling around for money to keep parks open earlier in the year before $54 million was found hidden in its coffers.
As it turns out, the department’s shortfall was also partially the result of an arrangement it has with wealthy donors who receive access to primo recreational venues, like Hearst Castle, but don’t pay the required event fees. read more
Disgraced Ex-Bell Police Chief Will Have to Settle for $240,000 Pension
Former City of Bell Police Chief Randy Adams will have to get by on a $240,000-a-year pension after an administrative law judge turned down his bid to have it nearly doubled. That leaves him as the eighth highest pensioner in the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS). read more
Community College Students Pushed to Attend More than One School
California community colleges have smaller budgets, higher fees, fewer class offerings and, out of necessity, more mobile students.
The number of students forced to attend more than one community college at a time—seeking to complete the requisite number of courses to complete a course of study or advance to a four-year school—has more than doubled, from 2.2% in 1992 to 5.2% in 2011. read more
Grand Jury Probing El Segundo’s $9.5 Million Tax Break for Chevron
City Manager Bill Lindsay of Richmond, home to Chevron’s oldest California refinery, reportedly says the oil company used to hold up the city of El Segundo as an example―during contentious negotiations over municipal taxes―of how an appreciative and cooperative city government ought to act.
Now, according to the Los Angeles Times, a Los Angeles County civil grand jury is looking at how El Segundo might have earned that reputation for congeniality. read more
Public San Bruno Blast Hearings Halted to Let PG&E and State Negotiate in Private
Public hearings on the 2010 San Bruno gas pipeline blast that killed eight people and leveled a Bay Area neighborhood have been suspended to allow regulators and Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) to negotiate terms of a settlement over fines that could run as high as $200 million—behind closed doors. read more
Feinstein Wants Probe of Soaring Gas Prices, “Malicious Trading Schemes”
There is no shortage of explanations for why gasoline pump prices have soared to record highs. A Chevron refinery fire in Richmond, pipeline contamination, refinery maintenance, state pollution restrictions, retailer fears, buyer panic, California karma.
Now, Senator Dianne Feinstein would like the federal government to see if, perhaps, the price spike has something to do with “malicious trading schemes in the California gasoline market.” read more
Homeless in Sacramento Win Payment for Police Destruction of their Belongings
Sacramento’s police department has agreed to pay nearly $800,000 to more than 1,000 homeless people for destroying their property. The destruction occurred during numerous raids on homeless campsites over the last seven years. read more
Shortages Blamed for Soaring Gas Prices, but Output Is Down Just a Fraction
The verdict is in and it seems nearly unanimous. A series of refinery and pipeline mishaps, California’s isolation from the national pipeline grid, and its pollution restrictions have doomed the state to record-high pump prices.
Yet, according to the California Energy Commission (CEC), output of California-specific gasoline—tailored to meet the state’s pollution standards—is just 2.5% lower than this time last year. read more
OC County Fire Authority Skipped Half of Hazmat Inspections that Businesses Were Billed for Anyway
The Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) didn’t make more than half its 2011-12 scheduled inspections of businesses handling hazardous materials, but $360,000 for inspection fees was billed and apparently collected anyway. read more
Big Vision Insurance Company Threatens to Move HQ over Obama Health Care Plan
Vision Service Plan (VSP), a 58-million-member benefit plan worth around $3.7 billion, is threatening to move its Sacramento headquarters out of state if California doesn’t retool the Health Benefit Exchange it’s rolling out next year as part of President Obama’s Affordable Care Act. read more
CSU the Latest to Roll out Its Prop. 30 Doomsday Scenario
California State University (CSU) put meat on its bare-bones budget for handling a $250 million cut in its funding should Governor Jerry Brown’s Proposition 30 fail at the ballot box November 6—and it was a rather sickly display.
The 23-campus system would raise tuition 5%, increase per-unit costs for non-resident students 7%, reduce enrollment (perhaps 20,000), axe 5,500 class sections, and reduce faculty and staff levels by 1,500. read more
Romney Raises Cash and Lowers the Boom in California
Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney took a swing through California on the weekend, raising money and insulting most, but not all, of the state.
While bemoaning the country’s descent into a European-inspired torpor, Romney warned, “It's even possible we could be on a pathway to become California— I don't want that either.” Both those courses, he suggested, “were extremely foreign to us.” read more