<p>After extending nearly $350,000 in consultant contracts to longtime friends and associates, Assembly Speaker Herb Wesson has decided not to publicly release any reports or documents that could show how hard they worked or what they accomplished.</p>
<p>Wesson's decision leaves Californians with no effective way to measure the value or cost effectiveness of about a half-dozen contracts -- ranging from $5,000 to $8,470 per month -- that Wesson awarded to legislative colleagues or allies.</p>