LOS ANGELES COUNTY: Kerndt Returns To Job

      "The county's top epidemiologist, Dr. Peter Kerndt, resumed work Wednesday, one month after being placed on administrative leave for his role in a controversial AIDS vaccine preparedness study," the Los Angeles Times reports. Kerndt was accused of "improperly committ[ing]" county resources to the National Institutes of Health study, a charge which he "and some of his superiors" denied. Mark Finucane, director of county health services, said the investigation is still ongoing and that Kerndt's "return to work does not mean the department has cleared him of allegations of wrongdoing." The Times reports that "Kerndt's lawyer has demanded an apology from county officials" and said that Kerndt "will sue if he does not get one" (3/5).