Privacy

Stem Cell Gold Rush

June 16, 2008  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> <strong>Despite Worries About New IP Rules, Biotech Companies Are Staking a Claim to California's $3 Billion Research Lode.</strong><br/> <br/> Robert Klein convinced Californians to part with $3 billion of their taxes to fund stem...</p>

Remedies That Hurt

June 12, 2008  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<strong>Two proposals by state officials would weaken the security surrounding prescription records.</strong><br/> <br/> Medical records often contain excruciatingly revealing personal information, and yet they're also surprisingly vulnerable....

“Ghost voting” curtailed – For how long?

June 11, 2008  ·  Carmen Balber

<p> New Assembly Speaker Karen Bass took quick action yesterday to curtail "ghost voting" - <a href="http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/politicians/articles/?storyId=20730">when Assembly members vote for their absent colleagues,...</a> </p>

One vote per lawmaker, per bill, seems reasonable to me

June 11, 2008  ·  Carmen Balber

<p> <a href="http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/politicians/articles/?storyId=15878">I’ve written a lot about “not voting” over the years</a>, that particularly cowardly legislative habit of “taking a walk” when...</p>

Gift disclosure loopholes under the gun

June 10, 2008  ·  Carmen Balber

<p> The <a href="http://www.fppc.ca.gov/index.html?id=60">Fair Political Practices Commission</a> continues to clamp down on loopholes in gift disclosure laws that have opened in years past under previous Commissions. This Thursday the ethics board meets to consider new rules to: </p> <ul> <li>Expose the flow of free tickets for concerts, banquets and sporting events to public officials and agencies...</li> </ul>

Arnold’s #4 donor indicted on federal fraud charges

June 10, 2008  ·  Mark Reback

<p> Henry Nicholas, the multiply indicted co-founder and ex-CEO of Broadcom, is also Gov. Schwarzenegger’s #4 overall donor. He and his NSC Holdings LLC have given $1,650,000 into Arnold’s various campaign committees since 2003....</p>

Ghost Voting: A Long History

June 10, 2008  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<strong>Used In Assembly For Decades - Critics Say It Is Unethical</strong> <p> California lawmakers routinely violate their own law and cast votes for colleagues who aren't there.<br/> <br/> Although the practice of "ghost...</p>

Keep track of your $6 billion

June 3, 2008  ·  John M. Simpson

<p> Do you want to know what California's stem cell agency is doing with California taxpayers' $6 billion? Here's one way... </p>

Poolside politics

June 2, 2008  ·  Carmen Balber

<p> ABC World News stirred up a mini ethics controversy with its report last week exposing California Representative Dan Lungren’s use of creative recordkeeping to allow lobbyists to pay for him and his wife to travel to a luxury... </p>

Supreme Court: T-Mobile USA’s ‘Free Phone’ Lawsuit Can Move Forward

June 2, 2008  ·  Consumer Watchdog

The Supreme Court let stand lower court rulings that held federal arbitration law does not pre-empt class-action litigation against T-Mobile USA Inc., an action that divided the wireless industry and now paves the way for three federal lawsuits to move forward in California against the operator.

Stem cell law firm gets bigger contract

May 29, 2008  ·  John M. Simpson

Despite difficulty mustering a quorum the stem agency's Governance Subcommittee Wednesday approved a 66 percent increase in a contract with its outside legal counsel, Remcho, Johansen and Purcell.<br/> <br/> The contract for 2007-2008 had been...

Slipping into old bad habits

May 27, 2008  ·  John M. Simpson

When the <a href="http://www.cirm.ca.gov" target="_blank" rel="noopener">California stem cell agency</a> was in start-up mode, the staff had a difficult time making key documents available before oversight committee and subcommittee meetings. I thought those days were over.