"Schwarzenegger's office on Monday
released memos offering a rough outline of the travel expenses paid by the California State Protocol Foundation, which Schwarzenegger has fundraised for and is run under the auspices of the California Chamber of Commerce," reports the AP's Aaron Davis.
"The memos reveal, among other expenses, that the foundation
paid over $353,000 for a chartered jet for Schwarzenegger to fly to China in 2005, and
over $4,000 a night for his hotel room. On that trip, the foundation also paid $96,306 for airfare and $140,538 for lodging for the governor's 15-member entourage.
"'The purpose is always to lessen the burden on state government,' said
Larry Dicke, chief financial officer for the chamber and volunteer treasurer for the foundation. 'I can't recall us ever saying no" to an expense approved by the governor's office, Dicke said.
"Open government advocates said the memos expose an arrangement between Schwarzenegger and the nonprofit that benefits the governor directly and therefore runs counter to the spirit of state disclosure laws."
In other investigations, "[t]he California Fair Political Practices Commission on Monday
said it will investigate a possible conflict-of-interest violation at the state stem cell agency," writes the Bee's Jim Downing.
"A taxpayers group filed a complaint Nov. 21 alleging that
John Reed, one of the 29 members of the stem cell agency's board, broke state conflict-of-interest law by asking agency staff to reconsider their decision to reject a $638,000 grant to a researcher at the institute he heads.
"FPPC spokesman
Roman Porter said his agency will examine the case and could bring it before the five-member commission for a ruling. He declined to offer a timetable."
"With three-quarters of California's acute-care hospitals at risk of collapsing in a major earthquake, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
has approved new rules allowing many facilities to bypass the extremely costly building reinforcements the state ordered after the 1994 Northridge temblor," reports Jordan Rau in the Times.
"Schwarzenegger is permitting some financially struggling hospitals to keep operating until 2020 even though the state says they are most likely to crumple during a major seismic event. The move is a break from the governor's stated policy that the least-sound buildings should be upgraded first.
"Those hospitals will have 12 more years than lawmakers intended when the devastation from the 6.7 magnitude Northridge quake was still fresh. Many of the hospitals that expect to qualify for the exemption, such as St. Vincent Medical Center in downtown Los Angeles, treat large and impoverished urban populations.
"The administration also is enacting a new method of assessing a building's risk of collapse, one that is expected to give many hospitals up to 22 additional years to fortify their buildings. To qualify under these emergency regulations, hospitals must show that even though their buildings haven't been reinforced, the ground they sit on is sound enough and fault lines are distant enough to make a collapse highly unlikely."
"California's largest
workers' compensation insurance carrier operated so secretively that the board appointed by the governor to oversee it was often kept out of the loop on major purchases and charitable contributions, according to a sweeping audit being released today by Insurance Commissioner
Steve Poizner," writes Gilbert Chan in the Bee.
"The eight-month examination, which resulted in 110 recommendations and findings, paints a troubling picture of a hybrid public-private insurer operating without the accounting controls and checks and balances typical of public agencies and publicly traded companies.
"The management and structural shortcomings at the State Compensation Insurance Fund are being felt by injured workers, who have experienced significant delays in getting medical bills processed. The insurer has consequently been hit with more than $19 million in late payment penalties."
Meanwhile, "[w]ith scattered water rationing looming statewide, California
has secured a virtual lock on its Colorado River supply and will be allowed more storage at Lake Mead, effectively creating a new reservoir without pouring an ounce of concrete," reports Michael Gardner in the Union-Tribune.
"The white ring left by mineral deposits on the rocks illustrates how much the water level has dropped in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area. The lake, behind Hoover Dam in Nevada, is 48 percent full after eight years of light snowfall.
The twin prizes were negotiated as part of a broad seven-state accord that will, for the first time, spell out how reductions would be imposed should a historic drought continue to plague the Colorado River basin.
"'This is a monumental agreement on the Colorado River. It provides us with new tools and possibilities,' said
Roger Patterson, assistant general manager of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California."
This holiday season, the governor
won't be buying a video game based on one of his first movie characters.
From our
Self=Loathing Files, the Merc News's Steve Geissinger writes: "The new Conan is the sword-wielding, decapitating star of a new ultra-violent video game - 'Conan' - that is drawing criticism from a Bay Area lawmaker and warnings from a watchdog group for parents to scratch the game off Christmas lists for children and teenagers.
"Schwarzenegger has 'no association with this game,' said the governor's spokesman
Aaron McLear, who did not elaborate on how the governor feels about the character becoming a video game. Schwarzenegger
is fighting for a law to restrict the sale of violent video games, and 'Conan' would be among those regulated.
"The 2005 law has never gone into effect because, following a legal challenge by the video game industry, a judge ruled it violates First Amendment free speech rights. The state has appealed the decision.
"The law, written by Sen.
Leland Yee, a San Francisco Democrat and child psychologist, would ban retailers from selling or renting ultra-violent video games to those 17 and younger, impose a $1,000 fine for violations and require manufacturers to more clearly disclose content."
"Hoping to persuade USC to continue playing football in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, state Sen.
Mark Ridley-Thomas proposed Monday that the Legislature examine whether to dissolve or restructure the Coliseum Commission to give the university control of the venue," writes Patrick McGreevy in the Times.
"USC recently threatened to move its games out of the Coliseum as part of a proposed two-year lease of the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. That lease has not yet been approved.
"The Coliseum Commission, which includes state and local representatives, has been criticized for taking too long to work out a rent deal with the state as a precursor to signing another long-term lease with USC."
"Lawyers for local crab fishermen
have brokered temporary cash settlements from the insurance group that represents the container ship Cosco Busan for damages they suffered from November's big oil spill," writes the Chron's Carl Nolte.
"The ship's insurers are offering crab boat owners who can prove they were damaged by the spill interim payments of either $5,000 or $10,000, money that attorney
Michael Duncheon described as "a down payment" against future claims.
"The interim payments do not affect the fishermen's right to pursue further compensation or additional damages in case the crab fishery has been permanently damaged by the spill.
"The fishermen sustained a financial loss when the Cosco Busan spilled fuel oil into the bay and ocean just a week before the Nov. 15 opening of the commercial crab season."
Finally, from our
Pick Your Cell Files:
"An Israeli judge has ordered the country's prison authority to pay an inmate over $1,000 in compensation
after he complained of having to share a cell with cockroaches.
Mordechai Yehudai filed a lawsuit complaining of poor hygiene, a lack of fresh air, broken windows and inmates who smoke in a handful of cells, a spokeswoman for the Israel Prisons Service said."
Meanwhile, "[a] retired Scottish school teacher
was recovering on Monday after spending nearly four days trapped inside a men's toilet with no food or mobile phone.
"
David Leggat was locked inside the bathroom at a lawn bowling club near the Scottish city of Aberdeen after the door jammed and the handle on the outside fell off.
"The 55-year-old kept warm by dipping his feet in hot water but only managed to get about three hours' sleep a night in the freezing temperatures, the local Evening Express newspaper reported.
"He was rescued when the cleaner at the club, which is little used in winter, turned up to collect her cleaning equipment."
