Where is the Money Going?
California Sales Tax Revenue Fell Way Short in July . . . or Did It?
The headline screamed doom and gloom: CALIFORNIA SALES TAX REVENUE DROPS 33.5%.
Granted, it was Breitbart.com—a noted right-wing, liberal-hating, California bashing website that takes pride in its outrageousness. But this time it was just citing a report by California’s State Controller John Chiang, who found that revenue collections in July were “disappointing.” read more
Hospital Chain to Pay $16.5 Million for Using Homeless to Defraud Medi-Cal
A Southern California hospital chain that has agreed to plead guilty to defrauding Medi-Cal of millions of dollars by recruiting homeless people to receive unnecessary medical care, will have all criminal charges dropped if it pays back $16.5 million by March 2017. read more
Army Corps of Engineers Cuts Sacramento and Its Vulvernable Levees Loose
The state has been told by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that the levee system for Sacramento—the most flood-prone city in America—is so bad, and the state’s plan for fixing it is so deficient, that it won’t help pay to rebuild if disaster strikes. read more
San Jose Pension Scare that Fueled Ballot Benefits Rollback Is Unsupported by Facts
When San Jose voters overwhelmingly approved Measure B on the ballot in June, they had been told that unless pension costs were reined in immediately taxpayers would be on the hook for $650 million by 2015.
The California State Auditor now says that number is “unsupported and likely overstated.” read more
The High Price of Open Meetings
The state of California has reimbursed local governments for certain mandatory programs it requires since 1979. Until recently, that meant cities, counties and special districts that did the good government thing—preparing agendas, reporting on closed-session decisions and providing documents to the public under the Ralph M. Brown Act—were reimbursed by the state for their efforts. read more
Auditor: Caltrans Mismanaged Millions for Homes Near 710 Freeway
Sixty years ago, planning began on an extension of State Route 710 to plug a 4.5-mile gap between freeways in metropolitan Los Angeles.
It never got built, but the planning didn’t stop. And neither did property acquisition by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) until 1973 when public controversy and a federal injunction brought it to a close. read more
California Well-Represented on Federal Healthcare “Fraudsters” List
U.S. agencies recovered $4.1 billion from perpetrators of healthcare fraud in 2011 and Californians did their bit to boost the numbers. But not everyone the government suspects of fraud is arrested, tried and locked up. Some are still on the run. read more
University of California Millionaires Club Embraces New Members
The University of California 2011 “Employee Pay Report” is quick to point out that, although UC payroll was up 6% from the year before, “Compensation for many UC employees is significantly below market.”
That statement probably does not apply to the 22 employees—17 medical doctors and administrators at UC hospitals, four athletic coaches and Marie Berggren, treasurer of the UC regents—who made more than $1 million last year. read more
State Scandal over Special Funds Eases Just in Time to Borrow Heavily from Them
Although the state failed to turn up billions of hidden dollars potentially languishing in special funds when it completed its audit a few weeks ago, it has found them to be a very useful source of emergency funding as general revenues lag. read more
Size of California Marijuana Crop Obscured by a Haze of Contradictory Data
It has been an article of faith among proponents of legalized marijuana in California that it makes economic sense to decriminalize and tax the weed because, after all, it is the largest cash crop in the state.
However, researchers from UCLA, RAND Corp., Pepperdine University and Carnegie Mellon University have published a book that raises the question: What are those folks smoking? read more
State’s $60 Million Stringfellow Acid Pits Win in High Court Could Cost Insurers Billions
The Stringfellow waste disposal facility operated in Riverside County for 16 years, from 1956-1972, before it was determined that the former quarry made a poor toxic dump.
The “acid pits” have been litigated over ever since.
Last week, the California Supreme Court unanimously ruled that seven insurance companies who issued multiple policies spanning different time periods were liable for the policies’ full face values, not varying percentages. read more
State Sues Major Charity to Protect Hospitalized Veterans from “Scam Artists”
Four years after Congress roundly criticized the Help Hospitalized Veterans (HHV) charity for wasteful and unethical use of funds, California Attorney General Kamala Harris has filed a civil lawsuit seeking $4.3 million from the Riverside County organization. read more
Soda Industry Drowns Richmond Tax Foes in Dollars
If Richmond approves a November ballot measure and becomes the first city in the country to pass a soda tax, it won’t be because the soda industry didn’t get a chance to make its case.
Financial records show that the industry has outspent tax supporters 10-1 since June. read more
AIG Pays L.A. Unified School District $78.8 Million after Claims Fight
When the Los Angeles Unified School District hired American International Group —the insurance giant, AIG—in 1999, LAUSD had just got burned for millions on construction of the ill-fated, environmentally challenged Belmont Learning Complex.
The district decided to play it safe and took out a 20-year, $100 million insurance policy to cover future problems incurred while cleaning up potentially toxic school construction sites. read more
Budget-Strapped Oakland Spent $1.8 Million on Unusable Police Equipment While Laying Off Cops
The Oakland Police Department doesn’t need any more bad news.
The federal government says it may have to take over the department after a decade of failed reform attempts.
Now a new report by City Auditor Courtney Ruby documents that the budget crunch could have been less painful if the police department hadn’t wasted $1.8 million on equipment it used rarely or not at all. Police Chief Howard Jordan did not dispute the findings. read more
Health Insurers Rebate $73.9 Million (Mostly to Employers) after Spending Too Little on Care
When Mitt Romney was in Israel last week, he praised that country’s national health care system and its cost controls (while recommending we not try that sort of thing here). The United States spends about 18% of GDP on health care, while Israel spends less than half that.
read more