Powerful Kern water agency ousts longtime legal counsel
With only three months left on her contract, the longtime attorney for the powerful Kern County Water Agency was ousted Monday, March 18, during a special meeting. Six of the agency’s seven directors voted in favor of terminating General Counsel Amelia Minaberrigarai’s contract after a short closed session. Director Laura Cattani was absent. The contract was terminated as of March 23. It is set to expire June 30. … The agency did not respond to questions about whether the termination was for cause. Nor to questions about Minaberrigarai’s replacement. It is also unclear why her contract was terminated with only three months before it expired. If she was fired without cause, the contract requires she receive a lump sum equal to her base pay, plus vacation that would have accrued for the remainder of the contract’s term.