The Records Are “In” and While They’re Not as Juicy as the JFK Files… They Are Surprising!

Over the course of the past couple of months, I have written a few articles that teased at certain county mysteries and expenses. I thought it would be fun to revisit some of these pieces after receiving the information that I had requested through various Public Record Requests (PRR). I hope you find the updates informative.

The American Medical Response Litigation

In “Lawyers Get Rich While County Goes Broke: Shocking,” I wrote about the well-publicized AMR litigation which the County ultimately settled in AMR’s favor on February 11. The County engaged Hooper Lundy & Bookman who proudly tout that they are “the largest law firm in America dedicated to healthcare.” On February 12, the county publicly pegged their legal expenses at $830K. Just three weeks later I received my PRR and the total figure was $1.3M, 56% more than had been reported. Another spectacularly expensive county loss: Do we ever win? 

The Central Coast Water Authority

In the same piece, I wrote about a completely baffling lawsuit between the CCWA and the county that has been kicking around since 2021. The CCWA is comprised of eight local water districts (including Montecito) and their attorney fees are passed along to us – thank you SB County – in the form of litigation assessments. Last week my PRR was returned and revealed fees dating from 2023 (perhaps we handled things internally before then). While it is a bit unclear (I received the contracts but not the invoices) it seems that between June 2023 and June 2026 we authorized $300K ($425 per hour/NO public entity discount) for the firms of Atkinson, Adelson, et al. (another mega-firm with 250 lawyers) and Miliband Law. Apparently, Wes Miliband left Atkinson to go solo and we helped with a new contract. What a lovely way for Wes to start his small (“sole proprietorship”) practice. Silly Idea: Couldn’t we have negotiated a better rate?

The Crandall Case

In an article entitled “Sad but True: How Our Supervisors Saved the California Cannabis Industry” I spoke to the county’s decision to appeal the Crandall case which had made Cannabis cultivation illegal. I questioned why the county would spend our tax dollars to protect 50 private growers and a Cannabis program that generates $5.5M in tax revenues yet costs $9M to administer. At the time I did not have the Supervisor’s closed-door vote that authorized the appeal, foolishly assuming it occurred after the final rehearing/decision on January 3. Well, what I discovered was that the vote occurred before the final January 3 court decision. That is, on November 5, 2024, the Board basically pre-authorized the appeal. The Vote: Supervisors Hartmann, Lavagnino, Williams and Capps voted “for” Cannabis/the appeal. Supervisor Nelson voted “for” the Community/no appeal. The vote was not revisited, and the appeal was filed on February 11, a full 35 days after Supervisor Lee took office. Ultimately, the CA Supreme Court de-published Crandall making Cannabis cultivation legal once again. Hooray! 

One of my favorite local raconteurs recently chided me as being “against” a Supervisor I publicly supported. My response was simple: I’ll always do my best to call them as I see them – it is, after all, baseball season – even when I personally like the batter. Stay vigilant and stay engaged!

Jeff Giordano,
SB County Resident