LOS ANGELES — Dr. Jeff Blea has had a lot of time to try to understand what has happened to him during the past year while taking his daily four- to six-mile walks around the Rose Bowl, listening mostly to Eric Church, Bruce Springsteen and John Mellencamp.
"They tell stories about life," Blea said. "Everybody goes through things in life and the goal is to come out better."
Blea is hoping those song lyrics will reflect his reality when he returns to work Wednesday as equine medical director (EMD) of the California Horse Racing Board after negotiating a settlement with the California Veterinary Medical Board (VMB). Blea has been on paid administrative leave since Jan. 11 after the VMB suspended his license accusing him of multiple violations, many of which were nothing more than bookkeeping errors when he was in private practice.
