Timothy C Draper

Timothy C. Draper wants to siphon taxpayer money to fund unregulated private schools lacking accountability to the public and not meeting state academic standards ("A Flamboyant Revival for School Voucher Campaign," June 21). This wealthy Silicon Valley entrepreneur is using the initiative process as his private sandbox, insisting that public cash be used to finance his private whims. The measure as written also goes to great lengths to shield voucher schools from scrutiny so parents can make informed comparisons, as any free-market model requires.

Timothy C. Draper wants to siphon taxpayer money to fund unregulated private schools lacking accountability to the public and not meeting state academic standards ("A Flamboyant Revival for School Voucher Campaign," June 21). This wealthy Silicon Valley entrepreneur is using the initiative process as his private sandbox, insisting that public cash be used to finance his private whims. The measure as written also goes to great lengths to shield voucher schools from scrutiny so parents can make informed comparisons, as any free-market model requires.

Californians, get ready for a five-month advertising blitz on school vouchers, financed with millions of dollars from a deep-pocket Internet entrepreneur who favors them on one side and teachers unions who don't on the other. Gov. Gray Davis, long a foe of vouchers, launched the first attack here Thursday, saying he would write letters or film commercials himself if necessary to combat a November voucher initiative launched by a Silicon Valley businessman.

Californians, get ready for a five-month advertising blitz on school vouchers, financed with millions of dollars from a deep-pocket Internet entrepreneur who favors them on one side and teachers unions who don't on the other. Gov. Gray Davis, long a foe of vouchers, launched the first attack here Thursday, saying he would write letters or film commercials himself if necessary to combat a November voucher initiative launched by a Silicon Valley businessman.

He's notorious for coming to work in outrageous costumes, skiing in boxer shorts and having caught the attention of fellow Harvard Business School students by launching a classroom discussion with two words: raw sex. But he made millions on daring investments in Silicon Valley Internet firms and now Timothy C. Draper is ready for his first major state political role: as the "V-man," champion of the controversial school voucher movement.

California voters showed a strong independent streak on statewide ballot propositions in Tuesday's election, most significantly giving public schools a double boost but also gambling on a sweeping measure to eliminate jail sentences for most nonviolent drug offenders. A school voucher measure went down to resounding defeat, but Proposition 39, to reduce the margin necessary to pass local school bonds from an onerous two out of three votes to 55%, passed by a small margin.

In a wholesale sweep to clear the way for his own political appointees, Democratic Gov. Gray Davis has withdrawn the nominations of 134 officials picked by former Gov. Pete Wilson for state government jobs. They ranged from nominees to such high-profile panels as the State Board of Education and UC Board of Regents to members of obscure boards such as the Commission on State Mandates.

Backers of the November school voucher initiative released a letter Wednesday that they say shows that one of their initiative's most prominent opponents had shopped around its endorsement. The letter to Silicon Valley businessman Timothy C. Draper, the man who launched Proposition 38, was written by Bill Lord-Butcher, a political consultant hired by the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn.

California's universal voucher initiative suffered a decisive defeat late Tuesday, while an effort to make it easier to pass local school construction bond measures clung to a narrow lead. Proposition 38 sought to provide a $4,000 voucher to any student in kindergarten through 12th grade wishing to attend a private school. The hotly debated measure would have created the most sweeping voucher program in the nation.

For an organism that can't be seen with the naked eye, Bacillus thuringiensis has spent an awful lot of time in court. Since 1991, nine major chemical and biotechnology firms have filed 14 separate lawsuits against each other over the bioengineered bacterium. At issue in the 14 separate lawsuits are patents covering often trivial distinctions in how the microbe, which secretes an insecticidal toxin valued by farmers, is designed, bred and used.

He's notorious for coming to work in outrageous costumes, skiing in boxer shorts and having caught the attention of fellow Harvard Business School students by launching a classroom discussion with two words: raw sex. But he made millions on daring investments in Silicon Valley Internet firms and now Timothy C. Draper is ready for his first major state political role: as the "V-man," champion of the controversial school voucher movement.

Several donors who once backed Gov. Gray Davis are now giving to others on the Oct. 7 recall ballot, including Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has abandoned his pledge not to take donations from outside interests. Orange County businessman Peter V. Ueberroth, also a Republican, is tapping his business partners heavily. State Sen. Tom McClintock (R-Thousand Oaks) is hoping to corral donors by touting himself as the one true conservative, now that Bill Simon Jr.

California's school voucher initiative is headed for a decisive defeat on Nov. 7, a new Los Angeles Times poll has found. Two-thirds of likely voters who were polled said they plan to vote against Proposition 38, a hotly contested measure that would provide a $4,000 voucher for every California schoolchild to attend a private or a religious school. Twenty-seven percent said they supported it and 7% were undecided.