Sewer Leaks

The Dharma Bums scandal at OC Sanitation Dist. -- in which the GM paid $400,000 out to a Buddhist consulting firm to help find the sewage-pumping agency's soul -- has claimed two victims.

Gone is Blake Anderson, the GM, who hired Dharma Consulting. And, quoting OCBlog here, Anderson left ...

Not without exacting revenge, however. As it became clear the Dharma Consulting scandal was going to cost him his job, still-General Manager Blake Anderson fired the OC Sanitation District's communications director, Carol Beekman. Why? Apparently, she had committed the sin of being "disloyal." According to my sources, Anderson was pulling phone records after Teri Sforza's OC Register story was published on July 12, in an attempt to pinpoint the leak. Judging by Beekman's dismissal, it seems Blake Anderson decided to plug the leak before the OCSD Board of Directors flushed him.

Beekman was fired for whistleblowing, although it's a communications directors job to talk to reporters, so Anderson would have trouble proving his case in court. But Carol won't. I hope she sues to collect what's due her.

I know both of these people, Carol well and Blake less so. I won't kick Blake when he's down, but let me just say he appeared to be smarter than the kind of fool who would spend public money to make his workers feel more at Om.

Carol is a smart, straight, hardworking pro who deserved better. If indeed she was Teri's source, she did OC a huge service by leaking this story. Thanks, babe!