Schwarzenegger Names Environmental Lawyer (and Former Chair of ARB) as New Head of ARB

On Tuesday, Mary Nichols was named chair of the California Air Resources Board. She formerly held the same position under Gov. Jerry Brown and also served as resources secretary for Gov. Gray Davis. Nichols' designation comes in the wake of a week in which the previous chair Robert Sawyer was fired and Executive Officer Catherine Witherspoon resigned, both apparently in response to the Governator's meddling attempts to soften the implementation of AB 32, California's landmark greenhouse gas reduction laws.



SF Chron coverage of the appointment here.

More about the business leading to the Sawyer's firing and Witherspoon's resignation here.