Free Republic

California officials on Monday said they have canceled a no-bid contract to promote the safety of aerial spraying for an invasive moth, acting after The Associated Press reported on the deal last week. E-mails obtained by the AP revealed that a senior state contracting official questioned the arrangement with a prominent public relations firm that has ties to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The official said it was difficult to justify a public affairs campaign related to moth spraying as an emergency. Classifying it as an emergency allowed the contract to be exempted from normal contracting rules that are designed to limit...