DIR to Hear from Full Houses During Public Forums that Start Today

By Jim Sams, Senior EditorMore than 1,500 people have signed up to speak at the California Department of Industrial Relations' public forums on improving the workers' compensation system, which kick off in West Sacramento today, a department spokesman said Monday.Participants will have only two minutes to each to give their two cents worth under the "rules of conduct and decorum" laid out by the department. Department spokeswoman Erika Monterroza said each of the nine venues for the forums seats 160 to 200, so there simply isn't time to allow participants to speak as long as they m...