elections have consequences
John Laird, secretary of the California Natural Resources Agency, which oversees the state parks department, revealed last week that the department had been sitting on $54 million in “hidden assets” for at least 12 years. Some of that money could have been used to avoid the park closures and steep service reductions that have played out over the past two years amid deep state budget cuts.
State parks Director Ruth Coleman then resigns blaming her deputy director of administrative services, Manuel Thomas Lopez for “not telling her” about the hidden $54 million.
And Lopez also was the one involved in the vacation time buy-out of Parks employees that cost a mere $271,000. Having gotten a paltry $20,000 himself, Lopez is now lawyered-up. And filing for bankruptcy. As an “unemployed” man with a “school teacher” wife. With $708,000 in debts and $649,000 in assets. Poor fella.
Lopez maintains he “noticed” his boss numerous times about a $20 million surplus — so maybe there’s more to be found? Reports from the in-house auditors are …murky.
Meanwhile, Gov. Jerry Moonbeam Brown travels the state signing bills to spend tens of Billions on a HalfFast Train and more Billions on a Tunnel to pump water away from the food growers and into the cities so they can continue to wash their driveways. Both of these measures will keep thousands of trial lawyers busy for decades with suits over water rights, read-eared frogs, fairy shrimp, land rights and other sundry issues where there might be a dime to be made off the CA citizenry and taxpayer. In his odd moments, Brown enthusiastically pumps up his Nov. ballot measure encouraging the citizenry to agree to yet More Taxes. [Hey -- these fairy shrimp ain't gonna sue themselves, yanno.]
So what does the valorous Governor of this state have to say about this “hidden/found” $54 million scandal?
“Hallelujah! More money is better than less money,” Brown said.
So be sure to vote for More Taxes!
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18 Comments!
I hear it used to be 100 mil, but they did some vacation-time buyouts. Barely enough left for golden parachutes anymore.
Maybe they could get a train from Visalia to Goshen.
Whatever the “Mercury News” is (what town?), they’re saying that there is no oversight for as much as 37 billion in ‘special funds’…..
I think The Mercury News is San Jose.
I know that it is completely off subject, but this is just too good to miss:
Pole Dancing Prostitutes Destroying Street Signs In New Zealand
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/17/pole-dancing-prostitutes_n_1680288.html
Besides being hysterical, this is the best case of “it’s somebody else’s fault” that I’ve seen in a while.
My favorite paragraph in the article is:
“What exactly do they make their signs out of anyway in New Zealand? Tissue paper?” Traskos asked The Huffington Post. “This sounds crazy and maybe the city needs to rethink what they make signs out of, if a 125-plus pound woman is going do destroy it by doing acrobatics on it.”
^^^ Ironic…^^^
Ever been inside minimum range w a healthy 125 lb woman doing *acrobatics*, say, on an airbed? (…sober, which is worst case….) I haven`t————-sober, that is…but I have seen lots of lethal spike heels, right cher on KisP–
Personally, thanks for the Off Topic. This “adopted” State of mine just drives me frigging Crazy. The Inept, stupid, Tree Hugging, rinbow and unicornin loving, Nanny wannabees in ALL of the politics…… aaagh. Ten more years here, Max!
Moar Off Topic!
Oh, as a former Track and Field coach….. Somebody post Michelle Jenneke’s Hurdles warm up! Guaranteed smiles from all. Girl has some Happy!
^ Unless the course of things changes, the entire nation will be like CA in about 10 – 15 years, except with less beaches & not as nice weather. You can also think of it as “The Greekification of America.”
No offense to any individual living there, of course, but as far as I can tell the CA voters have not yet learned a single fucking thing about what their real problem(s) are, and show no sign of learning.
Okay, now I’m going to go back to contemplating really fit 125 women deforming public signs, because…. well, just because.
ColJ: not lately, but the thought does offer me a new ambition. (They say it is good to have goals and be ambitious.)
If it were an *air* bed, the first thing I’d want to do is divest her of those spike heels, a detour I wouldn’t normally think was a priority.
Hidden assets???? hmmm– does that go with deep pockets?
The banality of Cloward-Piven.
Prolly as we write, that $54,000,000.00 has now been spent. Natch, NOT on the fucking debt!
Of course not, Colonel Jerry.
Someone snatched that right up and probably put it toward financing the save the smelt campaign, thereby assuring that the CA dustbowl remains.
How in the hell do they get away with this crap?
I suggest a conference for all these over spending dips***s on some exotic tropical island like Bikini and let it capsize or restart testing.
They could go to Guam that’s tipping over all ready.
I am thinking it may be appropriate for citizens like us to convene a People`s Tribunal to judge who might qualify as “Persons without a Country”. Claire is the most qualified, but Geezerette is the most efficient………(…I can fly a C47 with parachutes for 25 persons (…only 5 persons over max gross weight…)
COL Jerry, if you leave off the parachutes (or 20 of them) you can squeeze on 5 more civil servants per trip.
(Gross weight on the return trip is ‘way less than on the outbound leg.)
Speaking of taxes, spending, and “more money” (or less….)
http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/house/240593-dem-proposes-bill-allowing-some-products-to-be-labeled-cancer-free
Oh good! A new Federal for Department of Cancer Free Labeling is in the works. (or: DCFL for short -> a new name for “cluster fuck.”)
More federal employees! More spending! More regulation! More red ink!
(…they can’t help themselves, can they?…)