Jerry Brown, who makes no secret of his disdain for the hiring practices of CSU, is back on the warpath, urging the universities to avoid hiring out-of-state hired guns to run their campuses.
From the LAT's Carla Rivera: "The governor said officials at California State University and the University of California appeared in recent salary decisions to have adopted a mindset that market forces trump public service, but he said that must change, especially as the state struggles to close a budget deficit that has forced severe cuts."
"The remarks were in response to the continuing public outcry over the decision by the Cal State Board of Trustees this month to approve an annual salary of $400,000 for Elliot Hirshman, the new president of San Diego State, at the same time the school increased annual student tuition by 12%."
"Hirshman's salary — $350,000 from the state, with an annual supplement of $50,000 from the campus foundation — is $100,000 more than his predecessor's."
Speaking of disdain, Capitol Weekly's Greg Lucas takes a look at the state of Texas, and wonders why some in California regard it as the promised land.
"But Texas also leads the nation in dirtiest air, amount of toxic chemicals released into the water and hazardous waste generated, according to statistics from various sources compiled in Texas on the Brink, a publication of the Texas House of Representatives Legislative Study Group."
"Texas also has the nation’s highest percentage of minimum wage jobs and the lowest percentage of residents with a high school diploma in the country. Of adult Texans, nearly 32 percent are college graduates – almost 38 percent of Californians are."
"Almost 30 percent of Texans are uninsured – more than 6 million persons of whom 60 percent are Hispanic. Texas also has the highest percentage of uninsured children in the country."
"In Texas, 17.2 percent of the population lives in poverty compared to 13.2 percent in California where the median income is $59,000 versus $48,000 in Texas."
Another thing better in California than Texas: The car perks for state legislators, and returning the vehicles in tight times is harder than getting them in the place. The LAT's Shane Goldmacher tells the tale.
"The "Bordeaux red" 2011 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid, with heated leather seats and a $39,975 price tag, wasn't intended to be an airport taxi."
"Taxpayers bought the car last year to serve as state Sen. Sam Blakeslee's full-time ride — a perk granted to California lawmakers at public expense."
"But the San Luis Obispo Republican soon had a change of heart. With many Californians hurting during a tough economy, his office tried to cancel the request."
"According to state records and interviews, the local dealership scoffed. So Gregory Schmidt, the Senate's top administrator in charge of the car program, folded the Lincoln into the small fleet that shuttles legislators back and forth to the airport."
Religion and politics, a perennial stew, are simmering in the Capitol over the creation of a Bible study group. Capitol Weekly's Malcolm Maclachlan has the story.
"But Capitol Ministries was sued for infringement on May 3 by Capitol Commission, a North Carolina-based group that leads Bible studies in 16 state Capitols, including U.S. District court in Raleigh, N.C. The two groups are battling over the trademark on the name Capitol Commission, a term which Drollinger said he used in his Capitol Ministry business for years.
“On the basis of common law, they still lose,” Drollinger said. “If they continue with their lawsuit, we’ll obviously roll out all of our evidence.”
"Capitol Commission president Jim Young said Drollinger is intentionally creating confusion between the two groups, by “domain squatting” on the Internet and other means, partially in order to siphon off donations meant for Capitol Commission."
“There has never been one check to Capitol Commission that was meant for Capitol Ministries,” Young said. “There have been a number of checks written to Capitol Ministries that were meant for Capitol Commission.”
And now from our "Nightmare at the Morgue" comes the tale of the man who was pronounced dead and sent to the morgue -- and then woke up in the cooler.
"But a day after staff put the body into a locked refrigerated compartment, morgue workers heard someone shouting for help. They thought it was a ghost, the morgue owner said.
"I couldn't believe it!" Maqolo said. "I was also scared. But they are my employees and I had to show them I wasn't scared, so I called the police."
"After police arrived, the group entered the morgue together."
"I was glad they had their firearms, in case something wanted to fight with us," Maqolo said. He said the man was pale when they pulled him out."
"He asked, 'How did I get here?'" Maqolo said.
How indeed?...
