The Santa Barbara County jails’ health care contractor has paid the county back $1 million since 2017. Why?
Well. The California Forensic Medical Group—aka Wellpath—hadn’t employed all the staffers it was contracted to employ and was paid for it anyway. That $1 million in credits is Wellpath’s way of reimbursing the county for unfilled positions.
Must be nice. I wish I could get paid for hours I didn’t work and then “reimburse” my employer for it on the honor system.
County Sheriff Bill Brown didn’t seem to see an issue with the issue, but 4th District Supervisor Bob Nelson was ticked!
“I was the one who had to bring it to their attention and make a big deal about it that we were continuing to pay them for work that they weren’t doing, and for me, that’s pretty offensive,” he said. “Not only are they not staffing these positions, but they’re cashing the check every month.”
In addition to that, Wellpath—CFMG’s parent organization—filed for bankruptcy in November. So … does that mean at some point, Wellpath won’t be paying the county back?
Brown asserted that it’s nothing to be worried about. After all, CFMG didn’t file for bankruptcy. Wellpath did. But CFMG is listed as a party affiliated with Wellpath in the federal bankruptcy docket. Nothing to see here?
I guess the county supervisors did the only thing they could and approved the Sheriff’s Office to start negotiating for a new contract that’s shorter than five years. Slow clap.
SpaceX gets a slow clap, too! With plans to eventually hit 100 launches a year from Vandenberg Space Force Base, the company sued the California Coastal Commission for disagreeing with the U.S. Air Force over compliance with local rules and regulations.
The commission’s October decision to deny Vandenberg’s federal consistency determination for an increase to 50 launches per year violated the First Amendment, SpaceX asserts in the lawsuit. In addition, Elon Musk’s company alleges that the commission’s decision was illegal.
The commission’s decisions about Vandenberg launches, though, don’t really mean anything. All it really means is that the state disagrees with the federal agency. As state Attorney General Rob Bonta states in a motion to dismiss the SpaceX lawsuit, the U.S. Air Force moved forward with the project anyway.
So, what’s the problem, Musky? Is this a political lawsuit? Sure seems like it.
The politics over drive-throughs is heating up in Buellton, but not so hot you’ll burn your tongue—at least not yet. A gigantic coffee pot is holding up the planning process along Avenue of the Flags.
Who doesn’t want to drive through a Paul Bunyon-sized coffee pot to snag a cup of joe?
Apparently, Theresa Reilly doesn’t.
“The idea of a 30-foot-tall coffee pot, I understand some people think that’s cute, but for the most part, people do not appreciate the design element of that,” she said.
It does sound hideous.
But more importantly, the area’s specific plan doesn’t allow drive-throughs. Naturally, the project developer wants to throw that part of the plan right into the trash.
After the In-N-Out fiasco, what will Buellton decide?
Stay tuned for our next episode. Send ideas to canary@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jan 23 – Feb 2, 2025.
