You have to have the deepest respect for the women and men who serve our nation and put their lives on the line for Americans. That’s why it’s particularly galling when a Sacramento lobbyist profits by making money from drug companies under their name.

The timing was breathtaking. On August 31, a state court ruled Governor Brown’s emails in a utility scandal could not be made public because the Superior Court had no jurisdiction. 

Late that night, as this year’s legislative session closed, Brown reneged on a summer agreement he made with lawmakers to create such court review in a sweeping package of Public Utility Commission reforms. 

Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson’s valiant effort, SB-1190, to ban ex parte communications between developers and commissioners at the California Coastal Commission, and AB 2002, an Assembly group effort to limit ex parte meetings and require developers' contract spokespeople to register as lobbyists, died on the last night of the legislative session.

It's no wonder, given the scale of donations to the California Democratic Party from those interested in building and developing along the coast.