The East Bay Express has confirmed that Alameda’s East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) member, Doug Linney, is on SunCal’s payroll.
The revelation came to light as the paper has been covering EBMUD’s proposed Pardee Reservoir expansion, which would flood 1,200 acres of Sierra lands. The paper also identified an alternative that they say EBMUD refuses to consider.
Linney says he expects to make about $10,000 from the SunCal contract, but he hasn’t explained what the work entails. Linney is also affiliated with HOMES Alameda, which is a proponent of SunCal’s project.
Doug Linney
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As long as he filed the appropriate disclosures (Form 721) and declines to vote on anything in which he has a financial interest as defined by Government Code Sec. 1090 et. seq. he isn’t committing any crime or violation of the regulations.
Sometimes, however, there is the appearance of impropriety that elected officials avoid. I do not know if HOMES’ has any ethical standards or pays Linney for his “services”. Full disclosure that Linney is being paid by SUNCAL, as well as if he is receivng any funds from the developing entity established in the secret development arrangement adopted by the Alameda City Council at the October 7, 2008 meeting, should be forthcoming. If he can’t or won’t tell citizens about his paid loyalties, how can his credibility be judged?
The problem with having a paid developer’s consultant as a board member of a public agency is that even if he doesn’t vote, he has access to all of the other agency directors to influence their thinking, one by one, through casual conversations.
Sonia Sotomayor is being quoted as making an adverse comment about white men’s intellect as judges. I think the same principle applies with Mr. Linney.
Unfortunately, men seem to think the old adage of Caesar’s wife having to be pure doesn’t apply to them.
And to permanently sell one’s credibiity for $10,000 shows a particularly low level of self esteem and intellect.
So far as we can tell, Linney’s job for SunCal entails surreptitiously tape recording local Sierra Club meetings.
I wonder if Sierra Club meetings are “Live Performances”?
Penal Code 653u. (a) Any person who records or masters or causes to be recorded or mastered on any article with the intent to sell for commercial advantage or private financial gain, the sounds of a live performance with the knowledge that the sounds thereon have been recorded or mastered without the consent of the owner of the sounds of the live performance is guilty of a public offense punishable as provided in subdivisions (d) and (e).
(b) In the absence of a written agreement or operation of law to
the contrary, the performer or performers of the sounds of a live
performance shall be presumed to own the right to record or master
those sounds.
(c) For purposes of this section, a person who is authorized to
maintain custody and control over business records reflecting the
consent of the owner to the recordation or master recording of a live performance shall be a proper witness in any proceeding regarding the issue of consent.
Any witness called pursuant to this section shall be subject to
all rules of evidence relating to the competency of a witness to
testify and the relevance and admissibility of the testimony offered.
(d) Any person who has been convicted of a violation of
subdivision (a) shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail
not to exceed one year, or by imprisonment in the state prison for
two, three, or five years, or by a fine not to exceed two hundred
fifty thousand dollars ($250,000), or by both, if the offense
involves the recording, mastering, or causing to be recorded or
mastered at least 1,000 articles described in subdivision (a).
(e) Any person who has been convicted of any other violation of
subdivision (a) not described in subdivision (d), shall be punished
by imprisonment in the county jail not to exceed one year, or by a
fine not to exceed twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000), or by
both. A second or subsequent conviction under subdivision (a) not
described in subdivision (d) shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail not to exceed one year or in the state prison or by a fine not to exceed one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000), or by
both.
GOING BACK TO Penal Code 653s. for the definition of LIVE PERFORMANCE:
(a) Any person who transports or causes to be transported for
monetary or other consideration within this state, any article
containing sounds of a live performance with the knowledge that the
sounds thereon have been recorded or mastered without the consent of
the owner of the sounds of the live performance is guilty of a public offense punishable as provided in subdivision (g) or (h).
(b) As used in this section and Section 653u:
(1) “Live performance” means the recitation, rendering, or playing of a series of musical, spoken, or other sounds in any audible sequence thereof.
(2) “Article” means the original disc, wire, tape, film,
phonograph record, or other recording device used to record or master the sounds of the live performance and any copy or reproduction
thereof which duplicates, in whole or in part, the original.
(3) “Person” means any individual, partnership, partnership member or employee, corporation, association, or corporation or association employee, officer, or director, limited liability company, or limited liability company manager or officer.
(c) In the absence of a written agreement or operation of law to
the contrary, the performer or performers of the sounds of a live
performance shall be presumed to own the right to record or master
those sounds.