California Democrat Laura Richardson – already under fire in a House ethics investigation – requested two emergency services helicopters to give her and 19 staffers an aerial tour of Southern California, according to The Los Angeles Times.
The costly extravaganza, revealed by award-winning columnist
Steve Lopez Sunday, was supposedly to study homeland security and transportation corridors.
But Lopez asks why would an office staff of a backbench congresswoman need such an expensive tour, especially on a Sunday when traffic is at a minimum. Why couldn’t they just spread some maps across a desk?
Richardson -- who defaulted six times on homes she owns in Southern California and is being investigated by the House Ethics Committee regarding the foreclosure of her Sacramento home – also didn’t seem aware that most helicopters can't accommodate 20 people, Lopez reports.
The excursion likely cost taxpayers $25,000 and potentially tied up helicopters that could have been used in an emergency in vast, earthquake-prone L.A.
Read the rest of the story here in the Times.
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