I came across a story in the San Francisco Chronicle that is somewhat disturbing.

The new chair of the California Air Resources Board, Mary Nichols, has substantial stock investments in several oil, coal, and utility companies. She also has holdings in a Bermuda tanker company. And her attorney husband represents Exxon in the ongoing Exxon Valdez case.

Is there nothing about this that screams CONFLICT OF INTEREST???? Nichols is chair of the regulatory agency whose decisions can directly impact companies in which she has a substantial interest.

She says she's going to place her holdings in a blind trust to avoid the conflict of interest. Oh, that makes me feel better. Just because she doesn't have control over the stocks doesn't mean she isn't aware that she owns them, and that she will get them back when she's out of office.
I'm sure that blind trust will never enter her mind when she is serving in her position.

What was Arnie thinking of when he appointed her? He's done a pretty decent job on environmental issues, but on this one he took his eye off the ball. Talk about the fox guarding the hen house!