CalWatchdog Morning Read – June 17

17 Jun, 2016 by CalWatchdog Staff

Assemblymember’s wife worries about retaliation
Lawmakers streamline water-to-pot process
Garcetti says no to VP gig
Pharmaceutical industry sighs relief
Another IT failure for the state

Good morning. TGIF.

The wife of Roger Hernandez — the Democratic Assemblyman from West Covina against whom she has successfully sought a temporary restraining order for domestic violence allegations — said in court Thursday she is worried that he’ll blame his poor showing in his congressional race on her and “try to retaliate,” reports the Los Angeles Times.

In fact, Hernandez, who is currently in a tight race for a top-two finish, did blame the results on his wife, Susan Rubio, saying she played “a significant role,” according toThe San Gabriel Valley Tribune.

Hernandez is currently only 1,178 votes behind the second place finisher in the race to unseat Rep. Grace Napolitano, D-Norwalk, who finished first in the primary with 51 percent of the vote. Hernandez is termed-out of the Assembly.

In other news:

State lawmakers approved a measure that would make it easier for marijuana growers to divert water from nearby rivers and streams, according to Capital Public Radio.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti proactively turned down being the running mate of Hillary Clinton, the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate. Garcetti was responding to a recent Wall Street Journal article that floated his name as a possible VP candidate. The Los Angeles Times has more.
“Los Angeles County supervisors have decided against establishing a program in the nation’s most populous county that would have required the makers of common products to be responsible for the cost of their disposal,” writes CalWatchdog, noting the decision was a big relief to the pharmaceutical industry.
“California’s state auditor has labeled yet another California government technology project an expensive failure,” writes The Sacramento Bee. This time, it’s the nearly $28 million system for the state’s Department of Veterans Affairs, which is years late, wastes staff time and is not fully implemented.

Assembly: