Rita Hypnarowski, named in the article as a senior environmental scientist at Cal EPA, makes $82,300 per year. You can look up the salaries of all state workers here:
http://www.sacbee.com/statepay/
Actually, compared to many other state workers, she is underpaid. There are many thousands that make mind-blowingly larger salaries. So, yes, underpaid compared to others. But perhaps the others are just overpaid.
“Actually, compared to many other state workers, she is underpaid. There are many thousands that make mind-blowingly larger salaries.”
In a politicized system, what matters is clout, not ability - these technical types need to study the teachers unions to see how even the most incompetent of the lot can command lavish salaries. At least that’s how we do it in Illinois - the more votes the teachers unions deliver, the more ridiculous their level of compensation.