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embryonic stem cell colonies from the lab of developmental biologist James Thompson
Source: University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Used with permission © University of Wisconsin Board of Regents
Stuart Leavenworth, Associate Editor on the editorial page of the Sacramento Bee
On Monday, August 29, 2005, the
Sacramento Bee published an editorial entitled "Stem cell property--Who will profit from stem cell investment?.
The editorial accused supporters of Proposition 71, which was approved by California voters by a 3-2 ratio in November, 2004, and authorized the sale of $3 billion in general obligation bonds (repayable, interest and principal, with $6 billion in taxpayer money) of "doing a flip-flop" by promising substantial rewards to the State and People of California, which now, according to a new report cited in the piece, may not materialize at all.
You can read that editorial (once you've registered with the
Bee) by clicking
here.
The editorial called for giving California "some measure of control over the intellectual property it has agreed to finance."
This suggestion recalls the theme of an August 16, 2004,
California Politics Today commentary piece entitled
"Socializing the Risk while Privatizing the Health Benefits and Profits, as California's Proposition 71 does, is Unethical."
the Bee wants to know what California State Treasurer Phil Angelides knew about intellectual property rights (IPR) in Proposition 71-funded stem cell research and when he knew it
It also recounted efforts that so far have failed to win the release of certain documents prepared by the state's bond counsel,
Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP for California State Treasurer (and candidate for Governor of California) Phil Angelides.
The editorial says:
"In a May 23 letter to state Treasurer Phil Angelides, the state's bond counsel warned that patents and royalties resulting from state grants might be construed as taxable 'assets,' making them ineligible for financing by tax-exempt bonds. Apparently, Angelides and leaders of the stem-cell institute have known about these challenges for some time, but haven't said anything. To flush out this issue, this page filed an open records request for all memos written by the treasurer's bond counsel on Proposition 71 prior to its passage. Angelides rejected those requests, citing attorney-client privilege."
a conversation with the Bee's stem cell editorialist
California Politics Today spoke today with
Stuart Leavenworth, associate editor on the editorial page at the
Sacramento Bee, about the points covered in this editorial, which he wrote.
You can listen to that conversation with Stuart Leavenworth, associate editor on the editorial page at the
Sacramento Bee, in its entirety, by clicking
here.
explore the backstory by reading and listening to Stem Cell Wars, Volume 1
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