PM Weekly

"Failure of 60 Charter Schools", L.A. Times OC Edition op-ed, 8/29/04, p. M-1.
Issue: Controlling a private business with public a function.

"Sorting Out Reform Ideas", LA Times OC Edition editorial, 8/29/04.
Issue: Proliferation of Commissions. Are accountability and independence mutually exclusive? Would placing functions currently under the jurisdiction of an independent State commission (e.g., California Air Resources Board) "cloak" decision-making?

"Senate Gets Legislation on Sept. 11 Panel's Reforms", LA Times OC Edition, 9/8/04, p. A-16. Issue: Use of executive orders by the President. At some point he can only go so far to implement new structures and policies - legislation may be required.

"Tax-Split Measure Is a Go for '06 Ballot." LA Times OC Edition, 9/2/04, p. B-1. Issue: Funding of Special Districts. Orange County Fire Authority and others succeeded in placing an initiative on the 2006 ballot that would allocate a portion of the 1993 public safety half-cent sales tax increase to fire departments. Presently most Counties allocate these funds to police and prosecutors.

"San Bernardino County Morgue Target of Criticism", LA Times OC Edition, 9/15/04, p. B-6. Issue: Who's in charge here? S.B. County Supervisors are upset with how the S.B. County morgue is being run. But their influence is limited because the Coroner is an independent elected official.

"L.A. is in Stalemate Over Traffic Lights", LA Times OC Edition, 9/8/04, p. B-7. Issue: unfunded mandate. Due to a shortage of funds and squabbles with the the L.A. DWP, the City of L.A. is in violation of State law that requires local governments replace burned-out traffic signal light bulbs with LED's. No State funding is provided.

"Millions in Grants Raise Questions", LA Times OC Edition, 9/9/04, p. B-1. Issue: Accountability for using State funds. During the first 2 years of the Davis administration the State passed $25 million in non-competitive grants to well-connected non-profits through the Dept. of Parks and Recreation and imposed virtually no controls.

"Controller Wants State Grants Back", LA Times OC Edition, 9/15/04, p. B-1. Issue: Accountability for using State funds. Continuation of above saga. Steve Westly, Calif. State Controller (audits the expenditure of State funds) demanding the return of over $15 million because it was not spent within three years. He is also auditing how the money that was spent, was spent.

"Irvine Mayor Gets Raked for Dealings", LA Times OC Edition, 9/13/04, p. B-1. Issue: public officials making self-serving decisions. Irvine city council members have asked their city attorney to investigate mayor Larry Agran. Agran, the driving force behind transforming El Toro into a "Great Park" is accused of steering government contracts to business associates, including Medix ambulance and a "non-profit" group, the "Great Park Conservancy", which he co-founded.

"Firm Accuses Aliso Viejo Councilman," LA Times OC Edition, 9/17/04, p. B-1. Issue: pay-to-play. Doctors Ambulance Service accused Aliso Viejo council member Greg Ficke of asking Doctor's p.r. firm for a campaign donation while Doctor's was in competition for a city contract.

"CS Fullerton Defends Poll, With Regrets," LA Times OC Edition, 9/17/04, p. B-1. Issue: Truth in advertising. Ed Dornan, a backer of Irvine Mayor Larry Agran, paid $16,308 to the CSUF Foundation to poll 600 prospective voters with a 60-question survey. Four of these "questions" seriously misled voters about the views of council member Mike Ward, whose seat Agran wants to take. CSUF President Milton Gordon defended the poll but expressed regret over the "misunderstanding." Other academics blasted the survey.

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"Controller Wants State Grants Back" LA Times OC Edition, 9/15/04, p. B-1. Issue: No needs assessment, lack of oversight. The 2000-2001 California State budget gave legislators over $200 million to spend on pet projects of their choosing without analyzing needs or imposing any restrictions or controls. Much of the money was apparently misspent.

"Fall From Frugality Puts San Diego on Fiscal Brink," LA Times, 9/1/04. Issue: Runaway spending, lack of tracking and oversight. Rapid increases in City retirement benefits created an unfunded pension liability of nearly 1 ¼ billion dollars, putting the City on the brink of bankruptcy and preventing badly needed expansions in the police and fire services.

"State Money Helped Dairies Dirty the Air," LA Times OC Edition, 10/11/04, p. A-1. Issues: Poor oversight and lack of expertise. Millions of dollars in tax-exempt, State-financed one-percent loans intended to fight industrial pollution have been used by central California dairy farmers to buy land and expand their operations. Since special pollution-control measures such as waste lagoons were not required, air pollution drastically increased. As chief of the independent Pollution Control Financing Authority, California State Treasurer Phil Angelides approved $70 million of these loans over the past four years. He now admits that the money was misspent.

"County Health Chief Endures," LA Times OC Edition, 10/13/04. Issue: Implications for service delivery when managers occupy excepted service positions. L.A. County Health Dept. chief Thomas Garthwaithe, who serves at the pleasure of the Board of Supervisors, is at risk of being fired for recommending closure of the Martin Luther King hospital's trauma unit. His decision, a last-ditch effort to redirect resources to other areas of the hospital and possibly avoid loss of its national accreditation, drew fire from political and community leaders who claimed it endangers the public safety.

"Bush Cabinet Upheaval Accelerated," L.A. Times OC Edition 11/15/04. One of many news stories reporting resignations from the Cabinet and describing the difficulties and controversies that the departing executives faced during their tenures.