14
2004
As expected, Palo Alto real estate guy Robert Klein has gotten the nod from Gov. Schwarzenegger to head the citizen's committee to oversee the allocation of stem cell research funds. The Bee's Laura Mecoy – the reporter to watch on this story -- has a rundown of other nominees to the group which is expected to hold its first meeting here in San Francisco later in the week.
Most of them have ties to the biotech business making Sen. Deborah Ortiz's legislative insistence – it can't really be more than that – for committee members to disclose financial interests all the more important. It's not that anyone is going to obviously profit – these aren't stupid or clumsy people.
But there are plenty of opportunities for a little quiet money-making: Shorting stock, buying shares, investing in companies that do similar research to something that looks promising, recruiting scientists or researchers who have done promising and potentially profitable work, referring those folks to savvy venture capitalists. This is all the stuff that makes up Silicon Valley's friends and family culture – a culture that is both insulated and spectacularly profitable. This time around it should be watched carefully and publicly.