CalPERS, the huge public pension fund, has acknowledged that federal prosecutors are investigating
the system in connection with a bribery scandal. The probe was disclosed earlier by the Wall Street
Street Journal.
From the Bee's Dale Kasler: "In October 2009, CalPERS revealed that former pension fund board member
Alfred Villalobos had earned $50 million in fees helping his Wall Street clients obtain
investments from the fund. CalPERS hired Washington
securities lawyer Philip Khinda to investigate Villalobos
and other so-called placement agents."
"Last spring, then-Attorney General Jerry Brown sued Villalobos and former
CalPERS Chief Executive Fred Buenrostro. The suit said
Villalobos bribed Buenrostro and two others at CalPERS,
then-board member Charles Valdes and investment officer
Leon Shahinian, to steer investments to his clients. All involved have denied any wrongdoing."
More from the crime blotter: Tan Nguyen, 35, a candidate in 2006 for a House seat in Orange County, was sentenced to federal prison for lying about a letter his campaign sent out to intimidate
Latino voters. The Contra Costa Times' Josh Richman
has the story.
"About 14,000 voters in the district had received a letter
in Spanish that made claims about who was eligible
to vote and what would
happen to immigrant voters if they cast ballots; the letter had gone out on
letterhead similar to that of an anti-illegal immigration group, the California
Coalition for Immigration Reform, which actually had
nothing to do with the
letter."
"Nguyen, interviewed by investigators in October 2006,
falsely stated that campaign volunteers created the
letter without his
knowledge, prosecutors said. A federal grand jury handed
up an
indictment in October 2008."
The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst, which advises
the Legislature on budget issues, has outlined the depth of the cuts that will be needed
to balance Calilfornia's books if voters reject taxes
to bring in money. The Chronicle's Wyatt Buchanan has the story.
"A state budget that avoids additional taxes to close California's $25.4
billion deficit could require larger elementary school
class sizes, increased
tuition for college and university students and a deep
shakeup for local law
enforcement, courts and prisons."
"Those cuts, and more than 100 others, were outlined by
the Legislative Analyst's Office to show what kinds of
actions lawmakers and Gov. Jerry Brown would
have to take to close the deficit if the Legislature or
voters reject $14 billion in tax extensions and increases proposed by
the
Democratic governor."
Speaking of cuts, the state's economic downturn and the continuing reduction
in educational services are deeply stressing students, who are finding it is taking much longer to get a
degree. From the LAT's Carla Rivera.
"About half of the respondents said their
parents were providing less financial support to them
than
because of job losses and reduced salaries. Nearly
59% of students
said they were giving more financial resources to their families
because of the recession."
"Eighty percent of students said it is harder now than
a
year or two ago to afford college expenses, and many cited spiraling
tuition, which rose 32% in 2009-10 and will increase by 15% more this fall."
Whatever happens with the state budget, another long-standing California issue is on tap: The fight over water. The Bee's Dan Walters takes a look.
"That problem is compounded by the bond's untold millions
of dollars in pork barrel spending, including projects
that have absolutely
nothing to do with enhancing California's water supply
or fixing the Delta.
It's potent ammunition for bond issue opponents to
use in an election."
"Brown, however, did endorse an "alternative
conveyance" for water around, through or under the
Delta. It's a new
version of the "peripheral canal" for which Brown won
legislative
approval 32 years ago, only to see it rejected by voters due to
odd-bedfellows
opposition from environmental groups and farmers."
And now from our "All You Need is Love" file comes some help for those who are on the hunt
for romance. A collection of failure-proof pickup lines that are sure to work in taverns
across America. You don't have to thank us.
"Wooing is hard work.
Inevitably all of us will be crushed by disappointment
from time to time when a
chosen paramour rejects us with a single, cutting remark."
"However, we are
almost certain here at Flavorpill that having a background
in literature will
work in your favor, whether you find yourself pining
at a bar, a café, or at an
awkward house party filled with graduate students clutching
red plastic cups —
their eyes glazing over as another person enters the
throng and attempts to
discuss his thesis on Levinas’s idea of irreducible relations."
Don't blame us if you get slapped...
