PUBLIC INFORMATION —

  • that a high-paid executive aide who left her job at University of California
    headquarters and the next day began a new job on the Berkeley campus—qualifying for a $100,202 severance check along the way—was, contrary to her prior denial, well aware of the second job opportunity when she quit the first, reports the San Francisco Chronicle.
  • that despite mounting money woes, California's local government agencies
    continue to spend tens of millions each year to influence state
    government—with taxpayers picking up a rising tab, reports the Sacramento Bee.
  • that Orange County sheriff's officials sent text messages mocking activists
    and board members during a Board of Supervisors meeting in November
    that included public comments on the department's gun permit policies, reports the Orange County Register.
  • that the
    Boy Scouts of America's Monterey Bay Area Council operated a summer dam
    on a pristine river and—despite official warnings—allegedly killed
    federally protected steelhead trout downstream, and, reports the San Francisco Chronicle,
    when state and federal regulators sought to have the council stop using
    the dam, Scout executives turned to politicians to whom they had given
    campaign contributions or with whom they had personal ties and secured a quiet settlement.