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A veteran Orange County district attorney’s investigator who was fired after he refused to drop his probe into one of the district attorney’s close friends and political contributors has, for a second time, won back his job and will probably get more than $1 million in back pay.

Lyle Wilson was fired in 2002 for his handling of an investigation into the business dealings of Patrick Di Carlo, a wealthy Newport Beach businessman and supporter of Orange County Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas.

The firing brought criticism of Rackauckas early in his career as district attorney and led to an Orange County Grand Jury report that accused the district attorney of interfering in criminal investigations involving political contributors.

In an opinion filed Wednesday, appellate court Justice Eileen C. Moore wrote that the case “arises against a backdrop of political intrigue and purported cover-ups.”

The controversy started in 2000 after Wilson was assigned to investigate allegations that Di Carlo was the victim of extortion. Wilson and his supervisor subsequently shifted the investigation to Di Carlo for purported violations of federal and state securities laws.

Rackauckas later suspended Wilson and his supervisor and accused them of stealing evidence. He also accused Wilson of investigating Di Carlo, even after he was ordered off the case, and of talking about the case with the media.

Following about two years’ paid suspension, Wilson was fired for insubordination, untruthfulness and violating the district attorney’s media policy.

In 2008, a Los Angeles Superior Court ruled that the district attorney erred when Wilson was fired for insubordination and ordered the firing vacated.

But rather than reinstate Wilson, county officials told Wilson the reason for his firing had been changed.

The move was an attempt to “game the system by backdating an amended discharge order and hoping it would fly,” Moore wrote in the opinion.

“It was a no-brainer,” said Corey Glave, Wilson’s attorney. “The county tried to play a game to do an end run around the court’s judgment without appealing it and it backfired.”

The district attorney’s office received the opinion on Thursday and was “exploring all legal options to decide what our next step is,” spokeswoman Susan Kang Schroeder said.

— Paloma Esquivel

by Jake Schmidt

Today the World Bank approved a loan to build the fourth largest power plant in the world. The project is to be financed with a $3 billion loan to Eskom—the South African electricity company—and is the largest coal-plant loan in the Bank history. The 4,800-megawatt Medupi power plant would emit 25 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere—an amount equivalent to about half the annual emissions of Norway.

This was a challenging and complicated project and was less about South Africa than about the World Bank’s role in helping (or hindering) the world’s efforts to address global warming.

We support the efforts of developing countries to alleviate their energy poverty, but dirty coal power is not the pathway to a sustainable economy. The World Bank must do much more to help countries meet their energy needs in a manner that protects them from disastrous climate change. Today’s decision is a failure by the World Bank to meet those needs. They must do better!

I’m now hearing that 4 voting members of the World Bank Board of Directors abstained from this project (U.S., U.K., the Netherlands, Italy, with Norway saying it would have voted no but it is a part of a Nordic voting block in the World Bank). Abstaining from a World Bank vote essentially means that they are opposed to the project, but they are not voting to block the project. The U.S. statement outlining its rationale for abstaining discussed these concerns:

… the United States is concerned about the project since it would produce significant greenhouse gas emissions, and uncertainty remains about future mitigation efforts. Without actions to offset the carbon emissions of the Medupi plant, the project is incompatible with the World Bank’s strategy to help countries pursue economic growth and poverty reduction in ways that are environmentally sustainable. We also remain concerned about other facets of the project, including the inconsistency of Eskom’s procurement process with the World Bank’s Procurement Guidelines, deficiencies in the environmental impact assessment, and potentially inadequate efforts to mitigate local pollution. The project is also inconsistent with new guidelines on coal lending adopted by the United States in December 2009.

South Africa responded to the criticisms of this project with some commitments, including a proposal to come back to the World Bank with a $1.25 billion loan for emissions reduction actions and changing their energy sector policies to better enable renewable energy to compete (the later a major limitation restricting the viability of wind in South Africa as the wind energy folks have told me). So hopefully some good will come out of this whole effort so that this will be the transition moment to help South Africa transform its energy sector so that renewables and energy efficiency will out compete uncontrolled coal (with some help from the World Bank to get there).

This project received significant criticism and generated strong opposition from groups in South Africa and serious questions from key Members of Congress—Sen. Leahy, Sen. Kerry, and Rep. Frank (as this ClimateWire article pointed out). So how do you think the World Bank would respond to these concerns/questions? This quote from a World Bank spokesperson before the vote was either way too optimistic or completely downplayed the grave concern that have been obvious for a while from key members of the Bank Board:

“We believe this project is important for South Africa and South Africans and we expect it will be well received by the board,” World Bank spokesman Peter Stephens told Reuters.

I don’t know if I would consider five abstentions from key countries as “well received.” And one of those statements (from the U.S.) basically said “don’t do that again:”

We expect that the World Bank will not bring forward similar coal projects from middle-income countries in the future without a plan to ensure there is no net increase in carbon emissions.

I sure hope before the World Bank comes to the U.S. and other donors with hat in hand asking for more money for a General Capital Increase that they come with a real energy strategy and a clear plan to stop funding projects which are causing global warming. Otherwise, I’m afraid they are going to have a major challenge convincing countries around the world that this is a worthy investment. After all, how can we use scarce resources to cause a problem—global warming—that we are simultaneously trying to eliminate?

Please World Bank help to fund the transition to a clean energy future—you must do better after this project.

Related Links:

World Bank vote gives billions to coal

Weather Channel asks, “July in April?”

I’m speaking Friday at Dartmouth on nukes and climate

Government officials are like professional sports coaches: Most are hired to be fired and fatigue nabs the rest.

Persistent talk about the imminent departures of President Barack Obama’s economics squad leaders, Timothy Geithner and Lawrence Summers, will surely prove right, eventually. But the day may be further off than many observers think.

From the get-go, Washington insiders pegged both experienced economic officials as short-timers. Personal tax issues marred Geithner’s confirmation hearing as Treasury secretary. Then stocks tanked when he touted a half-baked version of the administration’s bank rescue plan. And his involvement with bank bailouts as president of the New York Federal Reserve will never be popular.

As for Summers, none doubted his intellectual brilliance, but his appointment as National Economic Council director was considered an ill fit given its mandate to coordinate rather than generate policy. Some party liberals pegged Summers a victim of “cognitive capture” by Wall Street for his past role in deregulation. So recent press reports that he’s unhappy and wants to leave sooner rather than later seem superficially reasonable.

But both serve at the president’s pleasure. And the White House is on a bit of roll. Why tweak a winning team?

Healthcare passed and financial reform is gaining momentum. Then there’s the economy, a former politically toxic asset that is starting to rise in value as recovery takes hold and job growth reappears. Liberal criticism that a deficit-obsessed Summers was wrong to push an $800 billion rather than $1.2 trillion stimulus seems less relevant by the day.

The same goes for arguments that troubled banks should’ve been nationalized. Geithner’s much-derided bank stress tests attracted some $185 billion of private capital and sent bank stocks soaring. His approach to currency discussions with China also looks to be bearing fruit.

While some party activists and union leaders may wish for a house cleaning, there’s no pressing need for the White House to comply. Finding replacements would be tough. Anti-Wall Street sentiment limits the pool of possibilities, particularly at Treasury. Reshuffling existing personnel is problematic, too. Shifting budget chief Peter Orszag to the NEC would be a gift to Republicans, who would use the confirmation hearing of his successor to put the Obama budget deficits on trial.

While Summers and Geithner may possibly desire to leave mid term, there’s little reason to nudge them — if anything, the president should be begging them to stay put.

Even though you probably followed along with our liveblog, you’re probably going to wanna see Steve-O do his thing. Luck for you, Apple just posted the special event video for your viewing pleasure.

Beginning in February, a San Francisco man made at least 48 threatening, obscene and harassing phone calls to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi over her support for a healthcare reform bill, according to federal court records unsealed Thursday.

Gregory Lee Giusti, 48, was charged in federal court Thursday in San Francisco with making harassing phone calls to a government official. 

He appeared before Magistrate Judge Bernard Zimmerman in a gray T-shirt and khakis,  looking disheveled, according to the Associated Press. Zimmerman said Giusti may have a bipolar disorder and should be treated.



An amended criminal complaint, along with a supporting affidavit by an FBI agent, allege that Giusti made many of the calls to Pelosi’s homes in San Francisco and Washington, D.C. He is charged with using a VOIP, or voice over Internet provider service, to make calls using a non-San Francisco area code, the records show.



Nine calls made to Pelosi’s Washington residence were recorded, according to the court records, which contain excerpts of some of the messages that warned the congresswoman not to act on the bill.



"If you pass this freaking healthcare plan don’t bother coming back to California cause you ain’t gonna have a place to live," Giusti said  on March 25, according to the court records.

Zimmerman told the U.S. attorney’s office to interview Giusti to determine if he was mentally competent enough to be released to a halfway house or if he should continue to be detained, the AP reported. A detention hearing was scheduled for Monday.

–Robert J. Lopez

Photo: Gregory Lee Giusti. Credit: Associated Press/San Mateo County Sheriff’s Department

Amtrak is on course to break its annual ridership record this year.  By the halfway point (their fiscal year starts in October), 13.6 million passengers have traveled on the rail system.

Ridership for March 2010 was up 13.5 percent from March 2009 on its popular Acela line and five short-haul routes had double digit increases in the past six months too.  All this bodes well for the rail system’s request to Congress for a $446 million budget increase that would go towards upgrading to more fuel-efficient trains, possibly including GE’s diesel-electric rail cars.

If this trend continues and more passengers choose rail travel over air travel, the environment stands to benefit greatly.  The Guardian has reported that train travel reduces greenhouse gas emission by a factor of five to 10 compared to air travel on domestic trips.  And if Amtrak upgrades to more efficient trains, the emissions savings could grow even more.

via DC Streetsblog and Guardian

So much for Adobe trying to provide a workaround for Flash developers to create iPhone and iPad applications. Apple today fired its latest salvo in its war against Flash, with an update to its iPhone Developer Program License Agreement that specifically bans the use of third-party compilers for creating apps that will run on the iPhone OS.

As pointed out by Daring Fireball’s John Gruber, the language in the license agreement has become much more aggressive, if not downright antagonistic, against applications not written in Objective-C, C, C++ or Javascript. It states:

3.3.1 — Applications may only use Documented APIs in the manner prescribed by Apple and must not use or call any private APIs. Applications must be originally written in Objective-C, C, C++, or JavaScript as executed by the iPhone OS WebKit engine, and only code written in C, C++, and Objective-C may compile and directly link against the Documented APIs (e.g., Applications that link to Documented APIs through an intermediary translation or compatibility layer or tool are prohibited).

That will come as a big blow to Adobe, which was pinning its hopes on its upcoming Packager for iPhone — an important piece of its Creative Suite 5 that was meant to allow developers to create apps in Flash which could then be re-compiled for use on the iPhone. Since the iPhone and the iPad don’t support Flash, Adobe saw this as a way to keep its developers coding for Flash while still being able to reach Apple’s mobile devices.

We’ve contacted Adobe for their take on the new language in the license agreement, and what it will mean for the future of the Packager for iPhone. We will update this post with any official word from the company as soon as we receive it.

Related content on GigaOM Pro: Can Anyone Compete With the iPad? (subscription required)

Ezra Klein references the old Shaggy hit “It wasn’t me” to characterize Alan Greenspan’s testimony yesterday. It’s not just Greenspan, Robert Rubin is pulling it too. The point isn’t that these people have plausible deniability, they don’t, the issue is that there’s no real recourse anyone has to hold them accountable. They can lie to your face because there’s no consequence. I noted below that institutional investors demand risk so that they can have an opportunity for high returns. This isn’t necessarily just from on high, pension funds need the high returns to fulfill their obligations, and those obligations were entered into by labor and management. The fact is that we don’t have the economic growth to come through over the long term through a conservative investing strategy, so the managers start rolling the dice. If they fail and it blows up, they’re fired, and if they luck out, they’re heroes for the day.

It wasn’t just the big shots. Unless you’re a prodigy (i.e., you’re a 2 year old reading this weblog) and you’re an American you lived through the real estate bubble of the mid-aughts, and you know people who treated their homes like ATMs. People who bet on a “sure thing” future which never came about. Yes, there were greedy mortgage brokers and shady speculators, but if it wasn’t for the avarice of the average man and woman it wouldn’t have been so widespread. But here’s the difference: the average American has experienced a lot of economic distress or insecurity. There have been real consequences for their bad calls. The unemployment rate is high enough that anyone who isn’t a shut-in knows someone who’s been negatively impacted. Not so for Sirs Greenspan and Rubin. The high & mighty are too big to fail, they may have their reputations tarnished but ultimately their lot is one of comfort and ease. This is of course not atypical, it’s most of human history.

I think the ultimate long term problem for American society is that many Americans now perceive the elites as rent seekers and not engines of productivity. The vision of the expanding pie is starting to recede, and once the spell is broken I fear for the well being of the “virtuous circles” which economists praise.

Anyway, I was referencing Shaggy long before Mr. Klein.

A high-speed rail configuration that backers say could save up to $2 billion and greatly reduce demolition of homes and business across the heart of Southern California was revived Thursday by project officials.



In the 6-1 voted at a meeting in San Jose, the California High-Speed Rail Authority agreed to revisit a plan, discarded in 2008, to share existing rail where feasible with commuter and freight services operating along a 34-mile route between Anaheim and downtown’s Union Station.

 

The action came in response to local officials’ concerns that hundreds of private properties would have to be condemned in Anaheim, Buena Park and other cities to accommodate the separate, exclusive tracks being envisioned for high-speed trains. Both alternatives will now be examined.



“It’s a very good sign,” said Richard Katz, a high-speed rail board member who also is a director of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.



“It means we have an opportunity to make a change … that is much more neighborhood-friendly, that is cheaper and that will improve rail services between L.A. and Anaheim.”



Opposing the move was board member Quentin Kopp, a former state lawmaker and longtime Bay area transportation leader. Kopp questioned the potential costs of changing course in design at this stage, agency officials said.

With a recent infusion of $2.25 billion in federal stimulus money, officials are racing to break ground by a 2012 deadline.



Previous reviews concluded that the existing Los Angeles-Orange County rail corridor could not accommodate Metrolink, Amtrak and freight service, as well as high-speed trains expected to run every few minutes.



Bullet train board Chairman Curt Pringle, who also is the mayor of Anaheim, supported reexamining the shared track option. He noted that federal officials who regulate and help finance high-speed rail projects have become more open to such track sharing arrangements in recent months, said Jeff Barker, the agency’s deputy executive director.



Project planners and Los Angeles and Orange County transportation officials will begin reviewing the design alternatives immediately. Among the issues likely to be examined are whether bullet trains can operate safely and how they can avoid delays on mixed-use track. A final recommendation could come in several months, Katz said.



The L.A.-to-Anaheim leg of the bullet train is projected to cost about $4.5 billion if separate tracks are laid. It is likely to be the first section constructed of a 500-mile initial phase extending to the Bay Area and carrying a price tag of nearly $45 billion.



— Rich Connell

JoyVirtue (JV) has created a vacuum tube amplifier and speaker set for iPods, complete with a dock, for the audiophile who finds the common iPod/iPhone dock and speaker systems a little, well … common. This set up brings out the best in any digital music collection by converting the often “two-dimensional” flat sound from a digital source into a high fidelity analogue one, giving your music more body and fullness. And the classy piece of equipment with its unique styling is also a sure to be a talking point at the next social gathering you host. ..

Tags: Amplifier,
Digital music,
iPod,
Music,
Review,
Vacuum Tube

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Want to experience the thrill of watching iPhone multitasking for the first time? The agony that it’s not coming to your iPhone? Well, just watch the entire iPhone 4.0 keynote. [Apple] More »

In my most recent post on the shell games being employed by the United States in its attempt to deflect responsibility away from General Stanley McChrystal for his practice of widespread detention and abuse of innocent civilians as a central feature of his COIN strategy, I obtained a clear statement from a spokesman from US Central Command that McChrystal does maintain command authority over Joint Task Force 435, the unit headed by Vice Admiral Robert Harward that is tasked with responsibility for Afghan prisons, despite press reports that created the impression he did not have such command authority. Today, while scanning the most recent photos uploaded to Flickr from the ISAFMedia stream, I found a very interesting photo (at right).

Here, in full, is the caption that was provided for the photo:

CAMP DARULAMAN, Afghanistan – Brig. Gen. Saffiullah, Afghan National Army Military Police Brigade commander, holds a certificate presented by Vice Adm. Robert Harward, Joint Task Force 435 commander. The certificate was presented during a ceremony here April 5 in front of an ANA Military Police brigade. The brigade will complete the extensive training program prior to their assumption of detention facility security operations at the Detention Facility in Parwan. The brigade already conducts detention and corrections operations at the Afghan National Detention Facility in Pol-e-Charkhi. The event was another step toward the transition of the detention facility from the United States to the Afghan government. (Photo by U.S. Air Force 1st Lt. Joost Verduyn)

So it appears that the shell game has progressed to one prison already being handed over to Afghan control. With Saffiullah now in possession of his full color Military Police Training Certificate, he and his brigade are nearly ready to take over control of another prison. Somehow, I doubt that these changes will result in any improvements in the process for Afghan citizens who have been detained to obtain a hearing on whether they were properly arrested.

 

We have a hunch that your feelings on the iPhone are going to be a big factor in how you vote in this battle. On one hand, there’s the mobile carrier who has a monopoly on the iPhone. On the other hand, there’s the company that is raking in the money through its iPhone app store monopoly. What’s a fanboy to do?

Which company has you thinking that a Blackberry might not be such a bad idea?

This is a post in our Worst Company In America 2010 series. The companies competing for this honor were chosen by you, the readers. Keep track of all the goings on at consumerist.com/tag/worst-company-in-america. Print the bracket, here.

The VATH G55 AMG has a measly 680 horsepower and pathetic 590 pound feet of torque. It’s the perfect shoebox for spindly namby pamby boys with sunken chests. Like me.

Source: WebridesTV

I’m downloading iPhone OS 4.0 right now, and the reason that I’m doing so isn’t the big multitasking feature, which grabbed a lot of attention but won’t actually be implemented until devs start including the features in their apps. I’m doing it for the little things.

Little things like Bluetooth Keyboard support and tap to focus for video. And medium-sized things like the introduction of folders. Home screen wallpapers I could actually take or leave, but everything else sounds pretty awesome. Including gloating to my iPad-toting friends when I get the features well before them.

iPhone OS 4.0 comes out for the iPhone and iPod touch this summer, as new iterations of the OS generally do. But iPad owners will have to wait until the fall to see the same features implemented on their devices. The operating systems must be fairly different to merit such a gap between the two release dates, although at least a few of the end user-targeted features introduced are iPad originals.

Developers will no doubt be excited about OS 4.0’s new APIs, including full video/still camera access, support for in-app SMS, calendar access, in-app SMS, 5x digital zoom and carrier info access. But that’s not what’ll really have devs salivating. That’d be Apple’s new iAds platform, which aims to revolutionize mobile advertising. iAds promises to provide a much more interactive advertising experience, right from within apps, and without leaving them. It certainly has a lot of potential, but it remains to be seen whether users will bite. Apple will be using an industry standard 60/40 revenue split for iAds, with devs getting the lion’s share.

Another new intriguing platform-wide feature is Game Center. It looks to accomplish what OpenFeint and Plus+ do now, but across all games (that use the API, I imagine). It’s bad news for those fledgling gaming networks, but it promises to be a much more unified and comprehensive game ranking and matchmaking system for iPhone end users. And it’ll have achievements, too.

It wasn’t all good news for iPhone owners today, though. Owners of 3G and older model iPhones, and of second-gen and older iPod touches are going to be a bit sour following the announcement. They’ll get some of the benefits of iPhone OS 4.0, but not all. The hardware isn’t up to the task of multitasking, for instance. Apple’s probably not losing too much sleep over this, since it provides a mighty nice upgrade incentive.

Many more details will no doubt emerge as the summer go-live date approaches, both about the iPhone OS and about new iPhone hardware. I know I’ll be keeping an eye out for new features as I explore the developer preview.

Related content from GigaOM Pro (sub req’d):

Why 2010 Still Won’t Be the Year of Mobile Advertising

OK, sure, that Winnie the Pooh iBook looks pretty slick. But what about all of those real books that are gathering dust on your real bookshelf? Well, with this Instructable, those too can become (slightly less slick) ebooks. More »

ROLLFLEX series couplings MB/J, have been designed and manufactured to connect the output shaft of a gearbox with the rope drum of hoisting equipments.

Roller couplings series MB/J comprise only a small number of components in order to guarantee easy assembly and maintenance.

Hardened steel barrel rollers are in the coupling to compensate misalignement between hub and sleeve. Roller seats are precision machined and hardened, in order to minimize wear.

These features are designed to achieve a high torsional stiffness, high torque and radial load ratings and to compensate for substantial misalignement between gearbox and rope drum.

GAUSSIN SA (Marché Libre – FR0010342329) announces the official commercial launch of its motorised AMTS (Automotive Multi Trailer System) vehicle in France on 23 March. This vehicle strengthens the TT (Terminal Trailer) and ATT (Automotive Terminal Trailer) range. New patents have been registered for this vehicle, which introduce innovative disruptive technologies. In total, with this complete range of three port vehicles, the Gaussin Group has given itself the objective of taking 20% of the motorised port vehicle market by 2014.

25 new functionalities unique to the market
The AMTS completes the ATT concept with the option of linking up vehicles in trains. It is a revolutionary series of vehicles with a capacity of 120 tonnes in trains of two, which significantly reduces the operating costs of port operators: 45% to 70% reduction in fuel costs and 70% reduction in maintenance costs, while introducing a major innovation in terms of reducing greenhouse gases.

In total, 25 major functionalities never before seen on the market are offered to port operators. The vehicle, which conforms to EC Regulations, has given rise to the granting of certificates issued by independent bodies (TUV, Bureau Veritas, Apave).
An innovation perfectly suited to the new economic constraints of port operators.

With a unique availability rate of close to 100%, the AMTS offers port operators an avant-garde tool to meet their productivity objectives. For example, the exceptional manoeuvrability of the vehicle frees up more cranes to unload cargo vessels, thus reducing stopover times and enabling port operators to lay claim to a greater market share.

Studies of the return on investment show that annual operating savings in the order of US$ 120,000 can be expected at a port like Dubai with the acquisition of a single AMTS vehicle.
Production of the TT, ATT and AMTS range under licence with EPD

The contract signed in December 2009 with EPD in Singapore for the manufacture of ATT vehicles under licence has entered its implementation phase. Fifteen vehicles are currently in production. These vehicles will be reserved for demonstrations scheduled in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

Information on performance, the first eye-witness accounts and the technology on the Internet sites www.amtsbygaussin.com and www.powerpackbygaussin.com as of 23 March next.

About GAUSSIN
GAUSSIN MANUGISTIQUE® specialises in auditing handling procedures and the production of wheeled systems for implementing and transporting heavy, cumbersome or fragile loads. With more than 100 years’ experience, GAUSSIN, with more than 50,000 handling vehicles throughout the world, enjoys an excellent reputation in the four markets currently undergoing considerable expansion which are Energy, Transport, the Environment and Raw Materials. GAUSSIN MANUGISTIQUE® has been listed in the Marché Libre at Euronext Paris since July 2006.