The former top executive of the nation's largest public pension fund, CalPERS, pleaded innocent in federal court to conspiracy charges in connection with a scheme that enabled an associate to pull in millions of dollars.
From the Bee's Dale Kasler: "Buenrostro entered his plea in U.S. District Court in San Francisco almost two months after a grand jury indicted Buenrostro and his friend Alfred Villalobos, who earned tens of millions of dollars in commissions from CalPERS investments."
"Villalobos entered his innocent plea April 9."
"The two were charged with creating phony letters with CalPERS' logo to make sure Villalobos was paid millions in commissions by private equity firm Apollo Global Management. The two also were charged with lying to the FBI and other investigative agencies about the letters."
An array of unions and their Democratic allies -- including the leaders of the two houses of the Legislature -- announced their opposition to any sale of the Los Angeles Times or the Tribune Co. to the Koch brothers, the arch-conservative billionaire activists who finance political causes across the country.
From the LAT's Chris Megerian and Patrick McGreevy: "In a letter dated Tuesday to Bruce Karsh, president of Oaktree Capital Management, the largest shareholder in Tribune Co., and chairman of its Board of Directors, the unions said David andCharles Koch are “anti-labor, anti-environment, anti-public education and anti-immigrant.”
"The unions noted that some Oaktree assets come from public pension funds and warned that a sale to the Koch brothers “would be adverse to the retirement security of public employees whose pension funds you are responsible for managing and investing.”
"The California Public Employee Retirement System is among the funds that invests with Oaktree. It has at least $200 million committed to the firm, according to pension fund records."
A judge has ruled that Ornage County, locked in a bitter dispute with the state over tax revenue, is on the hook for $73 million, and maybe more.
From the Voice of OC's Norberto Santana: "In his decision, Judge Robert Moss ordered Orange County Auditor Controller Jan Grimes to reverse the allocation of property taxes back to the state."
"For the county, the budgetary implications of the ruling are stark. In 2012, supervisors avoided budget cuts, in part, by deciding along with former Auditor-Controller David Sundstrom to not forward the property taxes back to the state."
"County officials argue that Sacramento has erred in how it has allocated property taxes back to the county and should allow the county to keep a greater share. Attorneys for the state, meanwhile, insist that Orange County is trying to achieve in court what it cannot in the Legislature where the dispute belongs."
The PUC, under fire in the Legislature for sins real or imagined that include having too-close ties to utilities, saw its budget compeltely zeroed out -- at least temporarily -- as lawmakers put the powerful regulator on the griddle.
From Steve Harmon in the Mercury News: "Legislators on Wednesday moved to rein in the Public Utilities Commission, taking the highly unusual step of wiping out its $1.4 billion budget to force the regulatory agency to justify how it spends its money."
"The PUC, which one lawmaker called a "fiefdom," would also be stripped of its ability to start nonprofit organizations that generate programs that hike rates without the approval of the Legislature under language approved by the Assembly budget subcommittee on resources and transportation."
"Under fire for its lax attitude toward safety, its cozy relations with utilities it's supposed to be regulating and its sloppy internal budgeting, the PUC has for weeks faced the wrath of legislators seething over its response to the 2010 San Bruno gas pipe explosion that left eight people dead and destroyed dozens of homes."
HOward Jordan, the chief of the Oakland Police Department has stepped down in a decision that caught many by surprise. He cited medical reasons.
From the Chronicle's Matthai Kuruvila, Demian Bulwa and Henry K. Lee: "Jordan, who announced his departure in a morning letter to the rank and file, was a longtime Oakland police veteran who led the force for 19 months, a tumultuous time of Occupy protests, budget cuts and wide alarm over killings and robberies. The department's failure to finish reforms ordered a decade ago after a police abuse scandal prompted a federal judge in March to appoint a compliance director with the power to seek Jordan's firing."
"The chief's announcement stunned many at City Hall, including City Council members who had met with Jordan in closed session Tuesday afternoon and were unaware of any health problems. Mayor Jean Quan, who appointed Jordan to the chief's job, said she "personally was very saddened and surprised."
"Jordan, 47, could not be reached for comment, but said in his letter to officers that he was "on medical leave and taking steps toward medical retirement," a move that will impact his pension and health care. He did not disclose details about his illness."
And from our "Red Planet" file comes word that thousands of people want to be among those who colonize Mars and never return to Earth.
"Huge numbers of people on Earth are keen to leave the planet forever and seek a new life homesteading on Mars."
"About 78,000 people have applied to become Red Planet colonists with the nonprofit organization Mars One since its application process opened on April 22, officials announced Tuesday. Mars One aims to land four people on the Red Planet in 2023 as the vanguard of a permanent colony, with more astronauts arriving every two years thereafter."
"With 78,000 applications in two weeks, this is turning out to be the most desired job in history," Mars One Chief Executive Officer and co-founder Bas Lansdorp said in a statement. "These numbers put us right on track for our goal of half a million applicants."
As Fark noted, most of the return addresses on the applications came from Cleveland ....
