Waste, Fraud and Abuse

CA schools flunking Obamacare preparation
Monday, June 17th, 2013
Obamacare Cagle Mckee, June 14, 2013

June 17, 2013 By Evelyn B. Stacey The implementation of the Affordable Care Act -- Obamacare -- isn't just hitting private businesses. Governments also must comply. Starting January 1, 2014, California school districts with 50 or more full time employees must provide complete health care co...

California’s prison guards lock up reforms
Tuesday, May 21st, 2013

May 21, 2013 By Sagar Jethani After being threatened with contempt by a panel of federal judges for failing to sufficiently reduce the number of prisoners in California's jails, Gov. Jerry Brown reluctantly unveiled a plan this month to further reduce the Golden State's overcrowded prisons ...

CA media ignore Obama administration’s fracking views
Tuesday, May 14th, 2013
energy.dept.report

May 14, 2013 By Chris Reed The debate over hydraulic fracturing -- using high-powered water cannons to reach natural gas and oil reserves deep underground -- is heating up in California, driven by the vast economic potential of the Monterey shale formation under vast swaths of the state. La...

Seniors decry CalPERS long-term care rate hikes
Friday, May 10th, 2013
long-term care - wikipedia

May 10, 2013 By Dave Roberts If you’re curious what health care insurance might be like when the government takes it over, a preview was provided on Tuesday at an informational hearing of the Assembly Committee on Aging and Long-Term Care. State Capitol Room 127 was packed with seniors angry...

Radicalness of CARB’s long-term plans comes into focus
Wednesday, March 20th, 2013
whatisbiodiesel

March 20, 2013 By Katy Grimes SACRAMENTO -- While the California Air Resources Board continues to forge ahead like a blind bull in a china shop with its far-reaching climate change plan, the extent of the destruction that could result is beginning to become evident. At a legislative hearing...

Redevelopment fallout: Lawmakers impose big new taxes
Tuesday, March 5th, 2013
Stamp Act 1765

March 5, 2013 By Katy Grimes SACRAMENTO -- SB 391 is the California Stamp Act. The original Stamp Act was imposed in 1765 and helped spark the American Revolution against British tyranny. According to History.org, "The new tax was imposed on all American colonists and required them to pay a...

Prevailing wage scams steal from taxpayers
Friday, January 11th, 2013

Jan. 11, 2013 By Katy Grimes In what strange world do janitors get paid $45 per hour? In California, the land of the prevailing wage. The dirty secret is that janitors often are not really getting paid $45 per hour, but the taxpayers are being charged this amount on public works projects. ...

Prison realignment sparks crime spree
Thursday, January 3rd, 2013

Jan. 3, 2013 By Troy Anderson In the early morning hours of Dec. 2, 2012, four people were found brutally shot and killed just outside an unlicensed boarding home in Northridge. Not long afterward, four suspects allegedly involved in the crime were arrested at the Silverton Hotel and Casino...

Rose Parade runs over taxpayers
Thursday, December 27th, 2012

Dec. 27, 2012 By John Hrabe The world didn’t end in 2012, but several municipalities did. Four California cities, Stockton, Atwater, San Bernardino and Mammoth Lakes, declared bankruptcy this year. One financial expert described the problem as “spreading like a disease.” Of course, th...

New Stem Cell Boss Grabs $400K Salary
Monday, July 11th, 2011
Jonathan Thomas - Stem Cells - CIRM

JULY 11, 2011 By WAYNE LUSVARDI People are upset. The Los Angeles Times reported that the new chairman California stem cell research center, Jonathan Thomas -- an investment banker -- will draw a salary of more than $400,000 per year.  Current Chairman Alan Trounson also makes a salary o...