A family pet receives care in a veterinary hospital. (Photo: Didesign021, via Shutterstock)A California statute governing blood-banking programs and transfusions for dogs has flown under the radar for the past 7 years, causing private veterinarians to break a law that they did not know existed. The issue would still be cloaked in obscurity had it not been for comments that emerged during a recent veterinary seminar at UC Davis.
Pumpjacks in a Kern County oil field, November 2013. (Photo: Christopher Halloran)Oil and water don’t mix, but in Kern County they’ve joined to create a double-whammy. Already confronting a drought of historic proportions, Kern County — the nation’s No. 2 agricultural county — also faces a severe financial hit because of falling oil prices. The county is home to more than two-thirds of California’s oil production.
For the new plan the state this fiscal year is paying $63.2 million (24.6 percent of pay) for the pensions of 1,407 judges (1,352 active). Judges Retirement System II is 95 percent funded with a debt or “unfunded liability” of $41.2 million.