CGS-authored
With the vote splitting along regional lines Friday, San Francisco beat out Sacramento and San Diego in the hard-fought competition to be the hometown for the coveted new headquarters of the state's stem cell program.
The stem cell oversight committee voted 16-11 to make San Francisco the home of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, a vote the chairman called historic because of the city's promise to provide the state agency with $17 million in free rent and other benefits.
After the crowd left, though, the staff informed the stem cell board that - even with the savings on rent and other costs - the agency would run out of money in November.
Chairman Robert Klein II announced he is pursuing $100 million in private contributions to keep the agency afloat until legal challenges can be resolved and the bonds voters approved for stem cell research can be sold.
Critics of the agency questioned the unusual proposal, saying it was "risky" and could create conflicts of interest.
"It would just make a murky issue even murkier," said state Sen. Deborah...
The stem cell oversight committee voted 16-11 to make San Francisco the home of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, a vote the chairman called historic because of the city's promise to provide the state agency with $17 million in free rent and other benefits.
After the crowd left, though, the staff informed the stem cell board that - even with the savings on rent and other costs - the agency would run out of money in November.
Chairman Robert Klein II announced he is pursuing $100 million in private contributions to keep the agency afloat until legal challenges can be resolved and the bonds voters approved for stem cell research can be sold.
Critics of the agency questioned the unusual proposal, saying it was "risky" and could create conflicts of interest.
"It would just make a murky issue even murkier," said state Sen. Deborah...