Michael Scarpello

Michael Scarpello
Posted: 05/16/2012 02:48:21 PM PDT

An effort to address the significant problem of provisional balloting resulted in the unintended consequence of many voters receiving their mail ballots several days before receiving their sample ballots.

Although very few voters cast their mail ballots before seeing the sample ballot, I understand why some candidates who placed candidate statements in the sample ballot are unhappy. I apologize for that, and I will correct this situation in time for the November election. However, please rest assured that this situation has not in any way compromised the election. All laws have been followed to the letter as the deadline to mail sample ballots is 10 days prior to the election, and these documents will have been delivered well before that time.

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Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Created: 05/16/2012 06:35:01 PM PDT

San Bernardino County voters need to know where their designated polling locations are come primary election time on June 5 and also be aware their ballots will look a little different, county Registrar Michael Scarpello said Wednesday.

A state law approved in June 2010, the Top Two Open Primary Act, requires that all candidates for a voter-nominated office be listed on the same ballot.

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LAX/Ontario International Airport Terminal (Courtesy: The P-E)

By Liset Marquez
Created: 05/16/2012 03:23:20 PM PDT

DIAMOND BAR – A lively discussion about LA/Ontario International Airport, which was supposed to focus on the medium-hub facility’s importance to the region’s economy, quickly turned into a debate on the merits of local control.

For more than an hour Wednesday, a five-member panel discussed a bevy of issues and circumstances facing ONT at the Four Corners Coalition 2012 Economic Summit at the Diamond Bar Center.

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Head of ICR Staffing loans his campaign committee $150,000
May 16, 2012 9:09 AM
Beau Yarbrough, Staff Writer

So far, the best financial friend for the campaigns of San Bernardino County 1st District supervisor candidates have been the candidates themselves.

The largest single campaign contribution for four of the seven candidates have been loans from the candidates themselves to their own campaign committees. It’s likely a reflection of lean financial times for political contributions: Only one of the seven men seeking to replace Brad Mitzelfelt as the 1st District’s representative on the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors — businessman Robert Lovingood — has a campaign fund in the six figures.

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“Judas” and “Benedict Arnold” are some of the terms used by Liberty Quarry opponents to describe Riverside County Supervisor John Tavalgione following his vote Tuesday to certify the quarry’s environmental impact report.

BY JEFF HORSEMAN AND NELSY RODRIGUEZ
STAFF WRITERS
jhorseman@pe.com | nrodriguez@pe.com

Published: 16 May 2012 06:41 PM

Liberty Quarry opponents said Wednesday, May 16, that their dismay over county supervisors’ Tuesday decision to accept a report on the environmental affects of the quarry had turned to anger at the supervisor who cast the swing vote.

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By Ed Mendel
Thursday, May 17, 2012

The CalPERS board yesterday raised the annual state payment for state worker pensions $213 million to a total of $3.7 billion, rejecting Gov. Brown’s request for a bigger increase to avoid a “loan” costing “$145.9 million over the next 20 years.”

Unions asked the board to spread out higher pension costs mainly caused by a lower investment earnings forecast. Paying part of the new rate over two decades, instead of the full amount now, makes an extra $149 million available for worker pay and other programs next fiscal year.

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Capitol Alert
The latest on California politics and government
May 16, 2012

A political committee that Service Employees International Union California created to support moderate Republican candidates for the Legislature reported its first expenditure of the 2012 election Wednesday, dropping more than $15,000 on mail pieces opposing Republican Assemblyman Tim Donnelly’s bid for re-election.

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Wednesday, May 16, 2012 – 10:30 a.m.

The National Association of Realtors is approaching the $750,000 mark in its independent expenditure campaign supporting Congressman Gary Miller (R-Diamond Bar) according to current filings with the Federal Election Commission.

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Congressman Joe Baca left. State Senator Gloria Negrete-McLeod right.

BY BEN GOAD
WASHINGTON BUREAU
bgoad@pe.com

Published: 15 May 2012 06:03 PM

Neither U.S. Rep. Joe Baca nor state Sen. Gloria Negrete McLeod has had trouble getting elected in San Bernardino County, where the Democratic stalwarts have held public office for a combined 50 years.

Now Baca, D-Rialto, and Negrete McLeod, D-Chino, are set to do battle in territory both have represented before: California’s newly drawn 35th Congressional District.

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Some demand refunds for $11K paid for candidate statements
May 15, 2012 9:10 AM
Natasha Lindstrom, Staff Writer

SAN BERNARDINO • Candidates in the June 5 election are irate that vote-by-mail ballots arrived at the doors of High Desert residents before the guides that include candidate statements — the carefully crafted remarks that cost candidates nearly $11,000 to file.

San Bernardino County Registrar of Voters Michael Scarpello said by phone Monday the delay seems to stem from a delivery problem at the post office. He hadn’t heard complaints about the voter’s guides not arriving outside of the High Desert.

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Capitol Alert
The latest on California politics and government
May 15, 2012

As Standard & Poors urged lawmakers Tuesday to pursue “credible” budget solutions to bridge the state’s $16 billion deficit, the ratings agency did not approve of Senate leader Darrell Steinberg’s idea to forego a reserve this year.

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By Jon Ortiz
jortiz@sacbee.com
Published: Wednesday, May. 16, 2012 – 12:00 am | Page 1A
Last Modified: Wednesday, May. 16, 2012 – 6:26 am

One day after Gov. Jerry Brown proposed sweeping changes to state government work schedules, many employees were still deciphering what it means for them.

Brown wants to move most of California’s 214,000 workers to four-day workweeks and 9.5-hour shifts starting July 1. The change would reduce state workers’ hours and pay by 5 percent each month and cut state payroll by about $839 million, $401 million of it from the deficit-ridden general fund. Many departments would be closed on Fridays, some on Mondays.

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Dan Walters

By Dan Walters
Published: Wednesday, May. 16, 2012 – 12:00 am | Page 3A

Poker players often use the phrase “betting on the come” to describe a willingness, if instincts and odds indicate, to wager big on the hope that they will draw winning cards.

That’s a perfectly valid tactic when one is playing with one’s own money and therefore bearing the risk.

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By Judy Lin, Associated Press Writer
Posted: 05/15/2012 09:21:09 PM PDT
Updated: 05/15/2012 09:22:38 PM PDT

SACRAMENTO – Gov. Jerry Brown is pleading with Californians to raise their taxes as part of his solution for solving the state’s budget deficit, but it’s uncertain whether voters will be in an accepting mood come November.

Polls show voters want more money for schools but don’t want to tax themselves to pay for it. They continue to be pessimistic about the economy in a state with one of the highest jobless rates in the nation. And they distrust the Legislature, which oversees the budget.

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Molly Munger talks about her tax proposal earlier this year. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

By Steve Lopez
May 16, 2012

In March, when I wrote that the tax increase proposals by Gov. Jerry Brown and civil rights attorney Molly Munger were unimaginative if not doomed, I got an email from Munger.

She did not agree, at least with regard to her initiative.

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By Marc Lifsher
May 15, 2012, 9:05 p.m.

SACRAMENTO — The state government’s contribution to employee pensions is expected to jump to $3.7 billion from $3.5 billion in the fiscal year that starts July 1.

On Tuesday, a committee of the board of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System recommended the increase as well as a $29-million drop to $1.2 billion for non-teaching school and community college district workers.

Even with the increase, the state’s contribution is lower than the $3.9 billion paid in fiscal 2010-2011, CalPERS said.

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Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Watching the sad spectacle of Governor Gandalf yet again expounding on California’s budget horrors Monday was like going to see one of those dreadful, anemic sequels to a long-ago tapped-out blockbuster franchise.

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Tuesday, May 15, 2012 – 04:50 p.m.

Here is some news reverberating across the transom this week.

Brown wants portion of Harris foreclosure settlement

You gotta love it.

California Governor Jerry Brown, in an effort to cobble together more money to blow, wants to steal hundreds of millions of dollars meant to help distressed homeowners. The dough, a part of a national foreclosure settlement obtained by Attorney General Kamala Harris, is meant for distressed homeowners.

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Tuesday, May 15, 2012 – 08:30 a.m.

Was it the plan all along or just plain incompetence?

Governor Jerry Brown’s screwing over of the California budget that is.

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Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Posted: 05/14/2012 07:54:53 PM PDT

A new way of distributing ballots to San Bernardino County’s registered voters has some candidates for office concerned about the delays.

With only 22 days to go before the June 5 primary, some voters still have not received their sample ballots and voter guides, but some have received their absentee ballots, officials said.

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Posted: 05/14/2012 06:14:43 PM PDT

SBD Airport Services’ attempt to convince a federal judge to restore the company’s access to San Bernardinno International Airport’s fueling facilities has been postponed to June 18.

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California Governor Jerry Brown

By Kevin Yamamura
kyamamura@sacbee.com
Published: Tuesday, May. 15, 2012 – 12:00 am | Page 1A
Last Modified: Tuesday, May. 15, 2012 – 6:17 am

Gov. Jerry Brown announced Monday that the state budget deficit had grown by a remarkable 70 percent since January, but fiscal experts said the economy had little to do with it.

They instead blamed a bad marriage of volatile capital gains and political intransigence that led state leaders last year to count on a huge upswing in revenues that never materialized. At the same time, corporate tax changes from 2009 appear to have cost California more than state officials ever realized.

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May 14th, 2012, 8:18 am
Posted by BRIAN JOSEPH, Sacramento Correspondent

UPDATED: 2:45 p.m.

Gov. Jerry Brown on Monday implored voters to approve his tax proposal as he presented a revised budget plan to address a deficit that has ballooned to $16 billion.

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L.A. NOW
Southern California — this just in
May 14, 2012 | 1:29 pm

State judicial leaders warned Monday that the proposed cuts for the California courts may jeopardize public access to the justice system.

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Dan Walters

By Dan Walters
Published: Tuesday, May. 15, 2012 – 12:00 am | Page 3A

Just a few months ago, Gov. Jerry Brown chastised “declinists” and “dystopian journalists” for their pessimism about California, particularly about emerging from a deep recession.

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Capitol Alert
The latest on California politics and government
May 14, 2012

The Sacramento-based Criminal Justice Legal Foundation petitioned the 3rd District Court of Appeals today to remove from the November ballot a proposal to abolish the death penalty in California, arguing it violates the state’s “single-subject rule” for initiatives.

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Assemblyman Tim Donnelly (Anne Cusack/LA Times)

Neil Nisperos, Staff Writer
Posted: 05/13/2012 01:52:32 PM PDT

A flap over a gun has provided fodder for Assemblyman Tim Donnelly’s opponents in a battle for the hearts and minds of voters in the 33rd Assembly District.

For his opponents in the June 5 primary election, Donnelly’s arrest for carrying a loaded gun into an airport was a vital lapse in judgment.

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Norma Torres

Neil Nisperos, Staff Writer
Created: 05/13/2012 01:54:51 PM PDT

Assemblywoman Norma Torres, D-Chino, faces three opponents in the June 5 primary race for the 52nd Assembly District seat, including a former Republican who has now registered as a Democrat.

Torres, a former Pomona mayor, is being challenged by Chino resident and restaurant owner Ray Moors, a Democrat; Pomona Planning Commissioner Kenny Coble, a Republican; and Ontario-Montclair School District board member Paul Vincent Avila, a Democrat.

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By Jean Merl, Los Angeles Times
May 14, 2012

In the first broad test of California’s new “top-two” election system, many candidates in heated races for Congress and the state Legislature have been campaigning earlier, spending more money and downplaying their party affiliation as they try to widen their appeal.

Gone are the party primaries, except in the presidential race. Now all state candidates appear on a single ballot. Only those who come in first or second on June 5 will move on to the November general election, in which no write-in or other added candidates will be allowed.

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L.A. NOW
Southern California — this just in
May 13, 2012 | 2:01 pm

Gov. Jerry Brown’s announcement that the state’s deficit has swelled to $16 billion (from a $9.2-billion estimate in January) means that a new array of budget cuts are likely.

But where to cut?

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By Ed Mendel
Monday, May 14, 2012

A superior court judge this month upheld a voter-approved initiative giving lower pensions to all city of Menlo Park new hires except police, the first court ruling as unions challenge similar measures in Pacific Grove and Bakersfield.

Voters in the three cities approved cost-cutting pension reforms in November 2010 that bypassed bargaining with unions. California is one of only several states where public employee retirement benefits are set by labor negotiations.

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Dan Walters

By Dan Walters
dwalters@sacbee.com
Published: Monday, May. 14, 2012 – 12:00 am | Page 3A

When Vallejo declared bankruptcy in 2008, one collateral consequence was a years-long political duel in the Capitol between lobbyists for local governments and those for unions representing their workers.

Unions pushed legislation that would have required local governments to get permission from an obscure state agency before filing for bankruptcy – an agency that is and probably always will be dominated by union-friendly Democratic politicians.

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Sunday, May 13, 2012 – 10:00 a.m.

Happy Mother’s Day from InlandPolitics.com.

Staff report
Posted: 05/12/2012 03:07:54 PM PDT

Attorneys for the bankrupt SBD Airport Services will go before a federal judge Monday to contend that interim San Bernardino International Airport chief A.J. Wilson acted improperly when he cut off the company’s access to jet fuel.

The hearing is scheduled to take place Monday afternoon at U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Riverside.

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California Governor Jerry Brown (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

By Kevin Yamamura
kyamamura@sacbee.com
Published: Sunday, May. 13, 2012 – 12:00 am | Page 1A
Last Modified: Sunday, May. 13, 2012 – 10:48 am

In a gloomy preview of his May budget release, Gov. Jerry Brown said Saturday that California’s deficit has mushroomed to $16 billion, nearly $7 billion higher than he last estimated.

The Democratic governor blamed a slow economic recovery, as well as federal judges and administrators who blocked cuts to health care for the poor. Brown had previously pegged the deficit at $9.2 billion.

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BY JIM MILLER
SACRAMENTO BUREAU
jmiller@pe.com

Published: 11 May 2012 10:04 PM

Michael Fine, Riverside Unified School District’s deputy superintendent for business services, can tick off the hard numbers of what four years of recession-era state budgets have meant for his 42,000-student district.

The district has lost $110 million and confronts an annual $20 million gap between revenue and spending. The school year, which spanned 180 instructional days before the recession, is now 176 days.

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BY JEFF HORSEMAN
STAFF WRITER
jhorseman@pe.com

Published: 11 May 2012 12:18 PM

Riverside County and the sheriff’s deputies’ union tentatively agreed Friday on a four-year contract, nearly a year after county supervisors angered the union by imposing pay cuts and pension changes on deputies.

Agreed to early Friday morning, the proposed pact with the Riverside Sheriff’s Association would also scuttle litigation the association filed against the county over alleged unfair labor practices and a pension-related ballot measure, a county news release read.

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Andrew Edwards, Staff Writer
Posted: 05/11/2012 05:23:52 PM PDT

An estimated 93,000 Californians lost unemployment benefits as of today when the federal government cut off funding that allowed the state to provide extended aid to the jobless since 2009.

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Sandra Emerson, Staff Writer
Created: 05/11/2012 02:53:23 PM PDT

UPLAND – As the city pieces together its 2012-13 fiscal year budget, it is faced with negotiations with employee groups and ever-increasing pension costs.

In 2011, numerous city employees earned more than $100,000 in compensation, including 26 out of 205 non-safety employees, 36 out of 42 fire personnel and 51 out of 85 police employees.

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The State Worker
Chronicling civil-service life for California state workers
May 11, 2012

Government accountability advocate Common Cause is against the a measure aimed at restricting union political fund-raising that goes before California voters in November.

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Friday, May 11, 2012 – 10:00 a.m.

It was a bright, sunny and hot Thursday afternoon in the city of Highland, California.

When sightings of a campaign sign crew emerged.

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Ryan Hagen, The (San Bernardino County) Sun
Posted: 05/10/2012 11:09:14 AM PDT

SAN BERNARDINO – The results of the election for city clerk will stand, a Superior Court judge ruled Thursday, rejecting a claim by 15 voters whose ballots weren’t counted because of signature mismatches.

The trial had the potential to change the outcome of the city clerk’s race, in which Georgeann “Gigi” Hanna – a former public relations official and journalist who took office March 5 – gathered six votes more than Amelia Sanchez-Lopez, who heads the county Alcohol and Drug Services Administration.

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Ryan Hagen, Staff Writer
Posted: 05/10/2012 09:02:22 PM PDT

SAN BERNARDINO – Final layoff notices for 224 teachers were approved at an emergency school board meeting Thursday so the notices could be sent before a state-mandated deadline.

The decision, made by the board of the San Bernardino City Unified School District at a sparsely attended meeting, was an expected consequence of earlier budget decisions.

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Michel Nolan, The (San Bernardino County) Sun
Posted: 05/10/2012 09:30:11 AM PDT

Former Cal Poly Pomona administrator Tomas D. Morales on Thursday was named president of Cal State San Bernardino.

Read the rest of this entry »

Liset Márquez, Staff Writer
Created: 05/10/2012 09:11:14 AM PDT

ONTARIO – There are two entrenched sides in the L.A./Ontario International Airport ownership saga.

Ontario officials contend regaining local control of the airport could reverse a five-year trend that has seen passenger traffic increasingly drop.

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By David Siders and Torey Van Oot
dsiders@sacbee.com
Published: Friday, May. 11, 2012 – 12:00 am | Page 3A

In one choreographed appearance at the office of the Sacramento County Registrar of Voters, Gov. Jerry Brown’s campaign to raise taxes appeared on Friday to take shape.

A week after announcing he had collected enough signatures to qualify the initiative for the November ballot, Brown – accompanied by a new political consultant, the first lady and his dog – turned several boxes of them in.

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By Chris Megerian and Anthony York, Los Angeles Times
May 11, 2012

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Jerry Brown warned Californians on Thursday to brace for another round of difficult budget cuts as he hand-delivered boxes of petitions to election officials requesting that his proposed tax hike be placed on the November ballot.

Brown, who is expected to unveil his revised budget proposal Monday, said he needed far more than the $4.2 billion in spending reductions he asked for in January. And he continued to raise the specter of even deeper wounds to public schools, colleges and other state services if his bid for tax hikes fails.

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By Amanda Becker
Roll Call Staff
May 10, 2012, 6:23 p.m.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s re-election campaign can’t approach donors who already contributed the maximum amount permitted by law in order to replace roughly $4.5 million that was siphoned from its accounts in an embezzlement scheme — at least for the time being.

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Thursday, May 10, 2012 – 04:30 p.m.

Mayor Pete Aguilar (D-Redlands) has pick up some desperately needed campaign help in his quest to represent the 31st Congressional District.

Aguilar just received over $48,000 in independent expenditure help from the Restoring Our Community PAC.

The expenditure was reported to the Federal Election Commission today.

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Ryan Hagen, Staff Writer
Posted: 05/09/2012 11:28:12 AM PDT

A trial will begin again Thursday that could change the outcome of the San Bernardino city clerk’s race by forcing the registrar of voters to count mail-in ballots that he initially discarded because he said signatures on them did not match those he had on file.

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Rep. Mary Bono Mack, R-Palm Springs

BY BEN GOAD
WASHINGTON BUREAU
bgoad@pe.com

Published: 09 May 2012 06:54 PM

WASHINGTON — Inland Rep. Mary Bono Mack is leading the formation of a new congressional caucus intended to raise the stature of female GOP lawmakers and bring a greater woman’s touch to the party more commonly associated with men.

This week’s launch of the Women’s Policy Committee comes as Democrats attempt to paint Republicans as engaging in a “war on women” through their positions on issues ranging from health care to disparate pay for men and women.

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Wes Woods II, Staff Writer
Created: 05/09/2012 06:31:07 PM PDT

CLAREMONT – A three-year salary and benefits agreement has been approved between the city and the Claremont Police Officers Association.

The new contract ends months of contentiousness. The city declared negotiations to be at an impasse in late August, and union members on April 11 turned down by a single vote an earlier agreement, forcing additional negotiations.

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May 09, 2012 3:26 PM
From Staff Reports

Editor’s note: This is one in an occasional series on the candidates running for the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors. The newly reconfigured 1st District includes the bulk of the Victor Valley, Fort Irwin and unincorporated areas surrounding Barstow. The election coincides with the presidential primary June 5.

The Daily Press asked the seven candidates vying for San Bernardino County 1st District Supervisor to weigh in on this question, in 50 words or less: What is the most pressing issue within the purview of the Board of Supervisors and what is your take on it?

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By Jon Ortiz
jortiz@sacbee.com
Published: Thursday, May. 10, 2012 – 12:00 am | Page 1A
Last Modified: Thursday, May. 10, 2012 – 7:29 am

State workers’ pay is back on the budget chopping block.

Officials representing Gov. Jerry Brown met with state employee union leaders last week and delivered the news: A budget revision he’ll release Monday includes a new proposal to cut payroll costs in the upcoming fiscal year.

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By Kathleen Hennessey and Christi Parsons, Washington Bureau
May 9, 2012, 6:03 p.m.

WASHINGTON — President Obama’s decision to endorse same-sex marriage staked out a stance that carries uncertain political risks but one he said was rooted in the biblical admonition “to treat others the way you would want to be treated.”

Obama’s endorsement Wednesday, a milestone for the gay rights movement, was the first from a sitting president and a potentially powerful tail wind for a cause still struggling for electoral approval. It comes as the country remains divided over whether same-sex marriages should have the same recognition and legal standing as traditional ones, and six months before an election expected to be so tight it may hinge on small slices of votes in a handful of key states.

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State Senator Bob Dutton left. Congressman Gary Miller right.

Wednesday, May 9, 2012 – 02:30 p.m.

Big money is starting to flow in the race to represent the 31st Congressional District.

Two major Super-PAC’s weighed in heavily for Congressman Gary Miller (R-Diamond Bar) Wednesday afternoon, according to Federal Election Commission filings.

Read the rest of this entry »

State Senator Bob Dutton, candidate for CD 31, is the beneficiary of a super-pac created by his Father Ted Dutton.

By PE Politics
May 8, 2012 9:29 AM

Newly posted Federal Election Commission reports show more than $21,400 in spending in support of State Sen. Bob Dutton, who is vying to represent California’s 31st Congressional District.

The money came from a group called Inland Empire Taxpayers for Jobs, a so-called SuperPac allowed to raise and spend unlimited amounts of money through independent expenditures.

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By PE Politics
May 8, 2012 11:52 AM

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney has submitted to the California Secretary of State a list of delegates he hopes to be seated at this summer’s Republican National Convention in Tampa.

Inland Reps. Mary Bono Mack and Darrell Issa, both early Romney backers, are among the list of 172 potential delegates, as are former San Bernardino County Supervisor Clifford Young, Fontana Mayor Acquanetta Warren and a host of others. The list was posted today on FlashReport, a conservative politics blog.

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Andrew Edwards
Posted: 05/08/2012 04:10:11 PM PDT

SAN BERNARDINO – Stater Bros. Markets reported a $16.4 million profit for its more recent quarter, an amount nearly double what the grocery company reported for the comparable period one year prior.

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Andrew Edwards, Staff Writer
Created: 05/08/2012 02:23:12 PM PDT

Recent signs suggest the Inland Empire’s office market may be returning to health, but the market may be at least three years from a full recovery.

That’s the word from Lee Spence, a principle at DAUM Commercial Services branch in Ontario, who based his prediction on his firm’s analysis of companies gradually moving in to the many vacant offices of San Bernardino and Riverside counties.

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By Ed Mendel
Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Actuaries recommend a $213 million increase in annual state pension payments to CalPERS in July, bringing the total to $3.7 billion.

But $149 million would be added to the increase if the impact of a lower earnings forecast, dropped by the board in March from 7.75 percent to 7.5 percent a year, is not phased in over 20 years.

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May 8th, 2012, 8:22 pm
Posted by Pat Brennan, science, environment editor

The San Onofre nuclear plant. Register photo by Ana Venegas.

Operators of the troubled San Onofre nuclear plant now say more than 1,300 steam generator tubes have been plugged in the plant’s two idled reactor units.

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Tuesday, May 8, 2012 – 08:00 a.m.

San Bernardino County, Calif. – San Bernardino County’s budget woes are likely to worsen in the coming fiscal year as employee pension fund returns fail to not only deliver relief, but instead bring more pain.

The San Bernardino County Employees Retirement Association (SBCERA) has, to date, only generated a 0.6% return for its 2011-2012 fiscal year.

Read the rest of this entry »

Former Los Angeles Dodgers Manager Tommy Lasorda

Administrator’s Note: This front-page article was published in last week’s Wall Street Journal.

THE A-HED
Updated May 2, 2012, 12:44 p.m. ET

Locals Call In Baseball’s Tommy Lasorda to Rally for Ontario; Hearing Birds Chirp

By TAMARA AUDI

ONTARIO, Calif.—The Ontario International Airport, 35 miles east of Los Angeles, offers nonstop flights to just 15 cities. Daily departures have plummeted to 62, less than half the number five years ago.

Baseball legend Tommy Lasorda has pitched for the Dodgers and for Rolaids and Slim Fast. Now he’s doing commercials for a struggling regional airport trying to win independence from Los Angeles.

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BY IMRAN GHORI
STAFF WRITER
ighori@pe.com

Published: 07 May 2012 10:03 PM

The San Bernardino City Council is looking at leasing more city property for cellphone towers to help solve its budget troubles, but has tabled for now a proposal to bring parking meters downtown.

The proposals were brought to the council Monday night, May 7, after it rejected a plan last month that would have relied on across-the-board cuts and holding some positions vacant.

Read the rest of this entry »

BY DAYNA STRAEHLEY
STAFF WRITER
dstraehley@pe.com

Published: 07 May 2012 10:39 PM

The Riverside Unified School District Board of Education voted 3-2 late Monday to send final layoff notices to 84 teachers for the 2012-13 school year, said Tim Martin, president of the Riverside City Teachers Association.

Read the rest of this entry »

Kelly Puente, Staff Writer
Posted: 05/07/2012 03:07:22 PM PDT

LONG BEACH – The California State University Board of Trustees today will again consider freezing CSU presidents’ salaries in an attempt to curb public outcry over recent pay hikes.

But critics aren’t satisfied.

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Liset Marquez, Staff Writer
Created: 05/07/2012 05:31:41 PM PDT

A marketing plan that was supposed to address the steep decline in passenger traffic at LA/Ontario International Airport was criticized by Los Angeles World Airports’ governing body Monday.

Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners, a seven-member civilian board that governs LAWA airports – such as ONT – and staff, including a longtime airline industry expert, discussed marketing strategies that could turn things around at the struggling airport.

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Dan Walters

By Dan Walters
Published: Tuesday, May. 8, 2012 – 12:00 am | Page 3A

California is struggling to emerge from the worst recession since the Great Depression and has more than 2 million unemployed workers, plus countless others who have given up seeking work out of frustration and/or have fled to other states.

Clearly the state needs many billions of dollars in job-creating investment. But its attractiveness to that investment is, to say the least, problematic, given its relatively high tax burden, its dense regulatory structure, its deficiencies in education, transportation and water supply, and its tangled government finances.

Read the rest of this entry »

In Session
By Ben Pershing
Published: May 7, 2012

Rep. Mary Bono Mack is all over the map.

In Washington, the longtime Republican lawmaker from California is an increasingly prominent player on the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee, while also trying to be a voice for two constituencies — moderates and women — that she believes don’t always receive the requisite attention within the House Republican Conference.

Read the rest of this entry »

Monday, May 7, 2012 – 10:30 a.m.

Former Massachusetts Governor and apparent Republican Presidential Nominee Mitt Romney is displaying strength in three newly-released polls this morning.

Read the rest of this entry »

Monday, May 7, 2012 – 10:20 a.m.

An interesting campaign depiction courtesy of the Internet.

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Monday, May 7, 2012 – 10:00 a.m.

Out of the three hotly-contested races in San Bernardino County, the contest for Third District supervisor appears to be full battle mode.

The sign crew for Former San Manuel Band of Mission Indians Chairman James Ramos’ campaign was clearly expressing their unhappyness and frustration over the weekend.

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THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE
Published: 06 May 2012 07:26 PM

When it comes to Internet prominence, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie stands out as a potential running mate for Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney.

So says a survey by PeekYou, a company specializing in online people searches. PeekYou recently ranked possible GOP vice presidential candidates based on how often they’re mentioned on the Web, the amount of Web content they generate, their participation in social networks and other factors.

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Inland Rep. Mary Bono Mack’s team is confident it can again ward off a challenge, though it may be tougher /Amanda Lucidon

BY BEN GOAD
WASHINGTON BUREAU
bgoad@pe.com

Published: 06 May 2012 08:34 PM

California’s primary next month will be dress rehearsal time in the 36th Congressional District, where U.S. Rep. Mary Bono Mack and challenger Raul Ruiz will square off in the first of two contests for the Riverside County seat.

Bono Mack, R-Palm Springs, and Ruiz, an emergency room doctor and Democrat from the Coachella Valley, are the only two candidates in the race, so they are both assured to move on to November’s general election. Still, Republicans and Democrats will be watching closely to see whether Ruiz shows signs that he is a serious threat to Bono Mack’s bid for an ninth term.

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