Story Archive

Necessity is in the Eye of the Beholder

When California Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León was sworn in, one of his first acts was to cut 39 staff jobs, a move he said was “difficult but financially necessary.” He later hired two “special services assistants” to work in the Sergeant-at-Arms Office to provide “ground transportation for Senate members” at a cost of just over $5,000 per month. “We’re not going to provide comment, because it’s a security issue,” a senate spokesman said. A person who turned down the job spoke out, though, saying he had been told he would be working shifts from 11:00 p.m. to 6:00 or 7:00 a.m. whenever the legislature was in session. He was also told the purpose of the job: to give senators rides “just if they were drinking too much. Just pick them up and take them home.” Members of the senate were given small plastic cards with the number for “Sacramento 24 hr transportation” — and the phone number for the Senate’s Chief Sergeant-at-Arms — with instructions for members to call “in an emergency.” (MS/Sacramento Bee) ...Senators Against Drunk Driving: that’s SADD.