A state audit conducted on CalOptima Health, Orange County’s medical insurance group for low-income residents, found the agency held back spending surplus funds on service improvement and did not follow best practices when hiring some executive positions. Created by the county in 1993, the agency accumulated more than $1.2 billion in unrestricted funds as of…

The water systems serving nearly a million residents in California do not meet water quality standards, and the State Water Board lacks urgency in providing timely assistance, according to a report released by the state auditor on July 26. The audit found that more than 370 water systems—serving more than 920,000 residents—are failing, and hundreds of additional systems are…

LOS ANGELES—Calling Los Angeles’ program for repairing sidewalks broken like the sidewalks themselves, Controller Ron Galperin called for a comprehensive assessment of the city’s 9,000 miles of sidewalks and a program that prioritizes fixing the damaged sections instead of replacing large swaths of them on Nov. 17. “Tens of thousands of sidewalks throughout Los Angeles…

Commentary When The Sacramento Bee recently announced Elaine Howle’s plans to retire as the California State Auditor (CSA) at the end of this year, the Orange County Register’s editorial staff sung her praises and lamented her decision to leave. As a certified public accountant who was an audit partner before entering the public sector, I have garnered…