December 18, 2012, 12:05 AM
Newly released emails and documents show which current and former senior administrators at the College of the Desert were aware that the district's enrollment figures were inaccurate and the college was overbilling the state – a deception that will cost the district $5.26 million in...
+ read more
December 17, 2012, 6:27 AM
Medicare may have overpaid an estimated $424 million to PacifiCare of California’s Medicare Advantage plan based on risk assessments that in many cases made patients seem sicker than they were, according to a federal oversight agency. Medicare Advantage plans send patient diagnosis codes...
+ read more
December 13, 2012, 12:05 AM
As executive director of the Friends of the San Francisco Public Library, Scott Staub raises money to give to the city’s libraries. In his spare time, he raises money to give to politicians. Staub heads a political action committee that is attempting to increase the political clout...
+ read more
December 12, 2012, 7:12 PM
The state's largest board-and-care center for the severely disabled lost its primary license to operate today, after repeatedly exposing patients to abuse and shoddy medical care. State regulators cited the Sonoma Developmental Center, which houses more than 500 patients, for dozens of...
+ read more
December 12, 2012, 4:01 PM
In an effort to prevent health care workers from spreading the flu to patients this winter, county health officials are mandating that medical staff around the Bay Area receive vaccinations or wear a surgical mask on the job. Health officials say flu vaccination rates among health care workers...
+ read more
December 12, 2012, 12:05 AM
An estimated 1 in 4 jobs in San Diego County are tied to the military sector, and $32 billion in defense-related activities is linked to that area alone, more than the entire economic output of Panama. So what happens if tens of billions of dollars in defense spending is suddenly yanked...
+ read more
December 11, 2012, 12:05 AM
In the next year, many of California’s local jails might limit federal immigration “holds” to detainees with felony convictions, greatly reducing the number of people deported from the state solely for entering the country without permission. Gov. Jerry Brown met with leaders...
+ read more
December 10, 2012, 12:05 AM
Californians who sue licensed professionals, such as contractors or nurses, will no longer be subjected to legal settlements that ban them from talking to state officials investigating misconduct when a new law takes effect in January. The law prohibits civil legal settlements that bar...
+ read more
December 10, 2012, 12:05 AM
Secret electronic communications between San Jose's elected officials and lobbyists during public meetings are now permanently banned. In a nod to the ubiquity of handheld devices at public meetings, City Council members have imposed strict rules on themselves requiring that they...
+ read more
December 7, 2012, 2:05 PM
Last week, I asked readers of The Bay Citizen, California Watch's sister site, about the state of affairs in California. From spending cuts to a return to the core mission of our public education system, we examined some of the challenges, opportunities and action plans for California in a...
+ read more
December 7, 2012, 12:05 AM
Under proposals the state's teacher credentialing agency is set to consider today, school districts would need to show on a case-by-case basis that no fully credentialed teachers are available before they resort to less-qualified educators, and under-prepared teachers could serve a maximum...
+ read more
December 6, 2012, 12:05 AM
U.S. Department of Justice representatives will visit California this month as part of an ongoing investigation into whether the state's courts are violating federal laws for failing to provide interpreters in many civil and family law cases. The investigation stems from a December 2010...
+ read more
December 6, 2012, 12:05 AM
A perilous stretch of El Camino Real in Millbrae where the state was found liable in 2010 for endangering pedestrians continues to claim victims as people try to cross the busy six-lane thoroughfare. Caltrans was ordered to pay $8 million to the family of Emily Liou, who was struck...
+ read more
December 5, 2012, 12:05 AM
About two months after the state’s environmental agency ordered a major pet products retailer to immediately cease selling unregistered pesticide products, many of those products remain on the retailer’s shelves and website. “It’s illegal to sell a product that makes...
+ read more
December 4, 2012, 3:31 PM
California Watch has consistently stood behind its reporting on Prime Healthcare Services’ aggressive Medicare billing practices. And we continue to do so – even as our reporters have come under attack from the editor of the Redding Record Searchlight for our story about a local...
+ read more
