Sunday morning, on Public Eye Radio, federal Green leader Elizabeth May discusses her election chances in Saanich-Gulf Islands. Drug policy research Allan Cassels shares his thoughts on the Campbell administration's controversial changes to PharmaCare. Union of British Colmbia Indian Chiefs president Stewart Phillip talks about why a proposed mine near William's Lake could seriously damage the relationship between the aboriginal community and the government. And our rabble-rousing panel - Don Anderson, David Cubberley and Allan Warnke - debate the week that was in provincial and federal politics. You can listen to Public Eye Radio outside of Victoria by logging into CFAX 1070 between 8:00 and 10:00. If you have a question for one of our guests, you can email us or leave a comment below.

Today, we released the twelfth issue of the Brown Envelope, our exclusive newsletter for Public Eye's donors. Inside, you'll find out: the inside scoop on our future plans for the publication; select findings from our reader survey; and the California decision-makers energy, mines and petroleum resources deputy minister Robin Junger met with during his mission to the Golden State. So, if you aren't already a supporter, please consider making a confidential $10 monthly contribution by clicking on the bar below. You'll be helping sustain our investigative work and keep the province's public institutions honest. (Please note, federal tax laws require us to include the goods and services tax as part of your contribution. You can stop supporting Public Eye at any time by following this link.)

Last month, we reported former provincial cabinet minister Rick Thorpe recently registered as a lobbyist for a Fortis Inc. subsidiary. Fortis is the same company which will now own 51 percent of a proposed new powerhouse at Columbia Power Corp.'s Waneta dam under a deal announced last week. So did Mr. Thorpe have anything to do with the agreement? That's the question CFAX's Adam Stirling posed to Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources Minister Bill Bennett yesterday. His response: "This negotiation with Fortis and Columbia Basin Trust and Columbia Power Corp. have been going on for months and months and months long before Mr. Thorpe registered as a lobbyist. He had absolutely zero to do with the negotiations between those three entities. I think he attempted to set some meetings up, as I understand it. Other than that, that was his only involvement in it."

Let there now be no doubt about the kinds of donors the provincial New Democrats are hoping will attend their upcoming fundraiser at The Fairmont Hotel Vancouver. The event list on the party's Website describes that function as "Night in the City: An Evening with Carole James and the BC NDP Team." But the dinner has a different billing on the Web page where the $295 tickets to it are being sold: "Night in the City: An Evening with Carole James for Business in BC." The page also states attendees will enjoy an "evening of food, wine, and lively conversation" with Ms. James "and the leaders of our province." It's unclear whether "leaders of our province" refers to members of the business community or presumptuous opposition MLAs who think they have the next election in the bag.

Abbotsford Mayor George Peary has advised the Campbell administration to introduce stricter rules for pesticides stored in "groundwater protection zones." But, in an interview last week, the mayor explained that might not happen because of limited government resources, as well as resistance from farmers. As we reported last week, Mr. Peary made that recommendation after a fire destroyed an Abbotsford barn, raising concerns the pesticides stored inside may have tainted a near city water supply well.

One of the Campbell administration's longest-serving political staffers is leaving the legislative precincts next month. Jamie Braman, who is presently a senior aide to Health Services Minister Kevin Falcon, has been hired as the Interior Health Authority's strategic initiatives coordinator. In the capacity, he'll be responsible for streamlining interactions with stakeholders and driving initiatives on behalf of the authority's president and chief executive officer Robert Halpenny. Mr. Braman starts work at the Interior Health on September 14. He's worked full-time for the Liberals at the legislature since 1998. The following is a complete copy of the job description for Mr. Braman's new post.

Provincial New Democrat leader Carole James appears to be twitterpated with twitter. Since the election, Ms. James has tweeted more than four times as much as Gordon Campbell, according to TweetStats. But it wasn't always that way. From January to May 2009 - when British Columbians went to the polls - the Liberal leader posted 167 tweets compared with Ms. James's 76. But in the 15 months since then, the premier has only tweeted 58 times. That's 193 tweets less than opposition leader. Fancy that!

Former Tory parliamentarian Reed Elley is on the provincial Conservatives' tactical advisory group, Public Eye has learned. In an interview, Mr. Elley said he was invited to join the group - which is chaired by Randy White - after having taken out a party membership eight months ago. Asked why he has cast his lot with the Conservatives, the ex-Nanaimo-Cowichan MP stated, "I think those of us who have been more conservatives within and have been supportive over the years of the BC Liberal Party have practically grown weary of the way the BC Liberals have been conducting themselves and don't see it as a political home anymore. And we just feel we need to have an alternative that is far more conservative than what the BC Liberals are prepared to give us."