CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
December 22, 2012 | By Patrick McGreevy, Los Angeles Times
SACRAMENTO - When state officials wanted a computer system to track the cost of therapy, transportation and other services for 240,000 disabled Californians, they hired Deloitte Consulting. After four years, the Department of Developmental Services decided the new system didn't work as needed and canceled the project after paying Deloitte $5.7 million. That same month in 2006, the Department of Industrial Relations hired the New York-based company to computerize its monitoring system for workers' compensation claims.
BUSINESS
April 27, 2012 | By Chad Terhune, Los Angeles Times
Healthcare companies are tripping over themselves to profit from a flood of government contracts for treating the poor and disabled, and a family-run company in Long Beach with nearly $5 billion in revenue is trying to stay ahead of the pack. Amid the growing competition,Molina Healthcare Inc.is facing new hurdles. It has lost two key state contracts in Ohio and Missouri and its shares have tumbled 23% in recent weeks. J. Mario Molina, the company's 53-year-old chief executive, said that these are temporary setbacks and that the company remains in expansion mode.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
September 10, 2011 | By Joel Rubin, Los Angeles Times
State lawmakers passed an emergency bill Friday that would resurrect a troubled plan to build an emergency communication system in Los Angeles County for police and fire agencies. The project, which is estimated to cost around $600 million to $700 million, derailed last month after three years of planning, when county lawyers belatedly realized the nearly completed contract negotiations to build the complex system violated state rules on how contracts for publicly funded projects must be structured and awarded.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
May 2, 2011 | By Patrick McGreevy and Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times
Despite complaints by GOP lawmakers that Gov. Jerry Brown did a poor job of negotiating labor contracts covering 51,000 public employees, the state Senate approved the agreements Monday. Brown had vowed to save the state more than $500 million in negotiating the six contracts. But he came up $200 million short, prompting several Republicans to call for a return to the negotiating table. Among those covered by the accords are state prison guards, who have a potential windfall when they retire.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
November 11, 2010 | By Rich Connell, Los Angeles Times
The state's ethics enforcement agency disclosed Wednesday that it is investigating several present and former leaders of California's $43-billion bullet train project to determine if they violated regulations on receipt of gifts. The investigation follows reports in The Times that officials with the California High-Speed Rail Authority took overseas trips paid for by foreign governments jockeying to help their homeland firms secure state contracts. Although agency rules prevent him from providing specifics, Fair Political Practices Commission Executive Director Roman Porter said that, based on the paper's reporting, his agency has "undertaken a proactive investigation.
BUSINESS
April 5, 2010 | By Cyndia Zwahlen
State government might seem like a ready, deep-pocketed customer for California small businesses, but these days there is far less money available and much more competition to get it. The purchasing of goods and services by the state shrunk 22% to $8.97 billion in fiscal 2009 from the year before, according to a recent report from the Department of General Services. At the same time, small businesses certified to go after state dollars jumped 16% as companies looked for new ways to make up for weak sales.