CGS-authored
Say what you will about why Californians voted for the stem-cell research initiative. Whether they genuinely believed in the field's potential, saw it as a job creation bill, or just wanted to poke a stick in George W. Bush's eye, that $3 billion pot of public money has unleashed a torrent of activity, as medical researchers scramble to apply for grants that could be disbursed as early as May. And the eye of this particular storm is located in Palo Alto, the home of Stanford University and real-estate mogul Robert Klein, who conceived the stem-cell initiative and chairs the Independent Citizens Oversight Committee, the organization responsible for disbursing the money.
But Klein's antipode has emerged in the person of Charles Halpern, a former Washington, DC lawyer and Berkeley resident who has become one of the main critics of the way the committee does business. In December, just before the committee was due to meet for the first time, Halpern knocked Klein back on his heels by writing a letter to California Attorney General Bill Lockyer and claiming that the meeting...
But Klein's antipode has emerged in the person of Charles Halpern, a former Washington, DC lawyer and Berkeley resident who has become one of the main critics of the way the committee does business. In December, just before the committee was due to meet for the first time, Halpern knocked Klein back on his heels by writing a letter to California Attorney General Bill Lockyer and claiming that the meeting...