"State officials struggling to convince critics about the safety of aerial spraying to control an invasive moth awarded a $500,000 no-bid contract to a prominent public relations firm with ties to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger [3]," reports Associated Press. The contract, with the Porter Novelli [4] firm, was suspended after AP began investigating it. California's agriculture department "invoked emergency powers to award the contract without competition." Upon review, a state lawyer questioned why the department "could not get bids or go through [a national competitive bidding] process." The Porter Novelli deal included subcontracting work for Jeff Randle, "a frequent campaign and political adviser to Schwarzenegger." California began the spraying last year, to fight a moth species unintentionally imported from Australia. After spraying two counties, "more than 600 people complained of health problems." A University of California report suggests the moths "can be kept in check by natural predators" instead. The Porter Novelli contract involved holding focus group [5]s and designing advertisements "to counter the concerns raised by local environmentalists and residents."