Ethics Warning to CIRM Poobah

The ethical and management disaster that is the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine continues to disappoint. Now, a member of the board has received a warning letter from the California Fair Political Practices Commission. From the story:

The California Fair Political Practices Commission warned Dr. John Reed in an official letter that his effort to appeal the denial of a Burnham Institute grant application raised “ethical concerns.”

But the commission found Reed did not violate conflict-of-interest laws because the decision denying the grant could not be appealed. The letter was made public Monday by Consumer Watchdog, a public interest group that brought the conflict-of-interest accusation against Reed in late 2007.

So, the man tried to do the wrong thing, but because it was structurally impossible to accomplish the misdeed, he got off with a letter slap-on -the-wrist.

Fine. The law is the law. But bad appearances are bad appearances. Why is Dr. Reed still on the board?

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