Wednesday, June 19, 2013 – 04:45 p.m.
What a shock!
In the past hour, news sources have began writing about the sudden death of popular and gifted actor James Gandolfini.
1 Comment
Wednesday, June 19, 2013 – 10:30 a.m.
In didn’t take long.
San Bernardino County politicos, a obsessed with making themselves look good the past couple years, now find themselves in an unexpected predicament.
A Redlands city staff report states that tree trimming is one of several areas that need an infusion of cash.
June 18, 2013; 05:06 PM
Redlands officials may ask residents to dig into their pockets to help pay for better sidewalks, tree trimming and other expenditures.
To read story by Erin Waldner in The Press Enterprise, click here.
June 18, 2013; 08:51 PM
Moreno Valley City Clerk Jane Halstead has invalidated all three notices of intent to collect signatures to recall Mayor Tom Owings and City Council members Richard Stewart and Victoria Baca from their elected offices.
To read story by Debre Gruszecki in The Press Enterprise, click here.
Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Posted: 06/18/2013 09:43:43 PM PDT
The tab to defend San Bernardino County against nine lawsuits opposing a pipeline project environmentalists say will drain a swath of the Mojave Desert of precious groundwater grew to $1.5 million Tuesday after county supervisors approved an increase in legal costs.
Dan Walters
By Dan Walters
dwalters@sacbee.com
Published: Wednesday, Jun. 19, 2013 – 12:00 am | Page 3A
Last Modified: Wednesday, Jun. 19, 2013 – 7:51 am
What goes around, comes around.
A state budget “trailer bill” now awaiting Gov. Jerry Brown’s signature would eviscerate the California Public Records Act, a long-standing “sunshine law” that allows the press and public to access most state and local government documents.
By Patrick McGreevy
June 18, 2013, 3:22 p.m.
Proposals to lower the voter-approval threshold for various local tax increases from two-thirds to 55% got sidetracked Tuesday, with even some Democrats saying more consideration is needed.
Filed under: Budget, Democrats, Finance, In the News, Local Government, State of California, State Senate
By Chad Terhune
June 18, 2013, 7:03 a.m.
Aetna Inc. said it would stop selling individual health insurance policies in California next month, and nearly 50,000 existing policyholders will have to find new coverage by January.
Speaker of the House of Representatives John Boehner
By Ed O’Keefe
Published: June 18, 2013
The fate of the sprawling immigration reform proposal winding its way through Congress may now be in the hands of some of the most conservative members of the Republican Party.
By ALEX ISENSTADT | 6/19/13 5:05 AM EDT
Democrats fell far short of winning the House in 2012, an otherwise banner year for the party, and many are privately glum about taking back the chamber in 2014.
Filed under: Campaigns, Democrats, Elections, In the News, Politics, Republicans, U.S. House of Representatives
William Cutting,
Tuesday, June 18, 2013 – 03:00 p.m.
Someone forwarded a bunch of emails from a person by the name of Keith McCarter to me. In the first one, he announced he is running for State Assembly and asked for our vote in June 2014. He also ran for mayor of Fontana a little while back.
June 17, 2013; 02:26 PM
When Democrats look at California’s 31st Congressional District, they see what Nathan Gonzales sees.
To read story by Jeff Horseman in The Press Enterprise, click here.
Ryan Hagen, Staff Writer
Posted: 06/17/2013 07:56:09 PM PDT
The City Council voted Monday to expand its contract with the firm that audited the city in the years before it filed for bankruptcy and also audited San Bernardino International Airport, despite the firm drawing criticism for both those jobs.
With less than a month left in his term, Villaraigosa wants to reopen ONT negotiations
Liset Marquez, Staff Writer
Posted: 06/17/2013 12:45:37 PM PDT
Updated: 06/17/2013 10:10:19 PM PDT
View: Leon’s response | Villaraigosa’s response
Ontario officials are amused over Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s decision to send a time-sensitive document by regular mail asking to reopen negotiations over LA/Ontario International Airport.
June 17, 2013 9:05 AM
Jim E. Winburn, Staff Writer
VICTORVILLE • The city, airport authority, and a city official responded to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s April 29 charges of alleged fraud with motions to dismiss.
June 17, 2013; 05:39 PM
The Riverside City Council will discuss and likely vote on the 2013-14 budget after a public hearing at 3 p.m. Tuesday, June 18, at City Hall, 3900 Main St.
To read story by Alicia Robinson in The Press Enterprise, click here.
Filed under: Uncategorized
June 17, 2013 6:51 PM
Jim E. Winburn, Staff Writer
VICTORVILLE • The city is scheduled to hold a workshop and several hearings for different city agencies at its council meeting Tuesday to get public participation in its proposed 2013-2014 budget.
June 17, 2013; 07:04 PM
SACRAMENTO – Legislation designed to offer much-needed financial help to Riverside County’s newest cities will have its first hearing this week, following more changes designed to chart a path through California’s convoluted state-local fiscal landscape.
To read story by Jim Miller in The Press Enterprise, click here.
Filed under: Budget, Cities, Eastvale, Finance, In the News, Jurupa Valley, Local Government, Richard Roth, State of California, State Senate, Wildomar
By John Howard | 06/17/13 3:00 PM PST
Tucked away in the state budget package on Gov. Brown’s desk is a provision that makes it easier for local governments to avoid complying with Public Records Act requests.
Dan Walters
By Dan Walters
dwalters@sacbee.com
Published: Monday, Jun. 17, 2013 – 5:38 pm
Last Modified: Tuesday, Jun. 18, 2013 – 9:44 am
With the state budget behind them and three months remaining in the 2013 legislative session, do lawmakers have much left to do?
Well, yes – and no.
By Gregory J. Wilcox, Staff Writer
Posted: 06/17/2013 06:53:17 PM PDT
Updated: 06/17/2013 07:05:12 PM PDT
The median price of a previously owned house in California soared 31.9 percent in May, the largest year-over-year increase in more than three decades as sales of more expensive properties increased and inventory remained tight, a trade group said Monday.
Monday, June 17, 2013 – 03:00 p.m.
Last Modified: Monday, June 17, 2013 – 10:00 p.m.
The saying “absolute power corrupts absolutely” definitely rings true in San Bernardino County.
An ongoing political finance case, and a new revelation, add to the argument that the 2011 prosecution of Former San Bernardino County Third District Supervisor Neil Derry, on a campaign finance violation, was a politically-motivated attack orchestrated by San Bernardino County District Attorney Michael A. Ramos, a self-proclaimed political enemy.
June 16, 2013
by Jeff Horseman
I just blogged about Rep. Raul Ruiz playing in the annual congressional charity baseball game. But his chances of suiting up for future games are shaky, according to a political forecast.
To read post by Jeff Horseman in The Press Enterprise, click here.
June 16, 2013; 02:15 PM
Fear not, sports fans. Inland Southern California’s congressional delegation has a hot new rookie to replace the departed Joe Baca.
To read column by Jim Miller and Jeff Horseman in The Press Enterprise, click here.
June 14, 2013; 05:38 PM
The pot of money directly controlled by Riverside County supervisors is expected to grow for the first time in at least five years, another sign the county’s economy is bouncing back.
To read story by Jeff Horseman in The Press Enterprise, click here.
Ryan Hagen, Staff Writer
Posted: 06/16/2013 05:27:47 PM PDT
SAN BERNARDINO – City Clerk Gigi Hanna has sent a cease-and-desist letter to the political action committee responsible for a petition opposing the recall of Hanna and other elected officials.
Beau Yarbrough, Staff Writer
Posted: 06/16/2013 07:06:21 AM PDT
Updated: 06/16/2013 09:48:29 PM PDT
ONTARIO — Ontario-Montclair teachers have rejected the district’s most recent contract offer.
Beau Yarbrough, Staff Writer
Posted: 06/16/2013 06:53:24 PM PDT
Updated: 06/16/2013 09:36:47 PM PDT
View: Contract amendment | 2012 contract | 2011 contract | 2010 contract
Data: Comparing San Bernardino County district superintendent salaries
Superintendents, where the proverbial buck stops in each school district, are well-compensated for their time. But, as George Orwell might have said, some superintendents are more super than others.
Dan Walters
By Dan Walters
dwalters@sacbee.com
Published: Monday, Jun. 17, 2013 – 12:00 am | Page 3A
California’s monthly report on jobs and unemployment includes a county-by-county breakdown, providing graphic evidence of the state’s bifurcated recovery from the worst recession since the Great Depression.
National Security Agency discloses in secret Capitol Hill briefing that thousands of analysts can listen to domestic phone calls. That authorization appears to extend to e-mail and text messages too.
by Declan McCullagh
June 15, 2013 4:39 PM PDT
The National Security Agency has acknowledged in a new classified briefing that it does not need court authorization to listen to domestic phone calls, a participant said.
Sunday, June 16, 2013 – 10:15 a.m.
Happy Father’s Day from InlandPolitics.com
Filed under: Administration of the Blog
Sunday, June 16, 2013 – 10:00 a.m.
The twists and turns in San Bernardino city politics is always very entertaining, to say the least.
All of the the machinations are fascinating.
Filed under: Campaigns, Cities, Elections, In the News, Local Government, Politics, San Bernardino, Water Resources
Neil Nisperos, Staff Writer
Posted: 06/15/2013 07:10:01 AM PDT
RANCHO CUCAMONGA — The City Council has unanimously adopted a $65 million general fund budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1.
The budget represents a $1.8 million or 2.9 percent increase from the previous fiscal year.
Capitol Alert
The latest on California politics and government
June 15, 2013
As the state Senate finished voting today on a bill to extend a tax on managed care plans, Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg told reporters at the back of the room, “That is what’s called a supermajority.”
By Mike Rosenberg
mrosenberg@mercurynews.com
Posted: 06/15/2013 04:00:00 PM PDT
Updated: 06/16/2013 09:23:52 AM PDT
SACRAMENTO — Let’s say you were buried under an avalanche of debt for years and could only make the minimum payments on your credit card bills. But then you started cutting back your expenses — and even got a raise at work. Suddenly, you were paying your bills on time, and even going out to eat a couple of times a month.
City News Service
Posted: 06/15/2013 10:11:22 AM PDT
Updated: 06/15/2013 10:18:00 AM PDT
LOS ANGELES – The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in Los Angeles County rose today for the seventh consecutive day following a 17-day streak of falling prices, increasing four-tenths of a cent to $4.013.
The culture of secrecy in Washington has become absurd.
David Rohde
June 15, 2013 – 9:20 AM ET
An odd thing is happening in the world’s self-declared pinnacle of democracy. No one — except a handful of elected officials and an army of contractors — is allowed to know how America’s surveillance leviathan works.
By STEPHEN BRAUN, ANNE FLAHERTY, JACK GILLUM and MATT APUZZO, Associated Press
Posted: 06/15/2013 10:02:02 AM PDT
Updated: 06/15/2013 10:02:05 AM PDT
WASHINGTON — In the months and early years after 9/11, FBI agents began showing up at Microsoft Corp. more frequently than before, armed with court orders demanding information on customers.
June 14, 2013; 04:59 PM
Riverside City Hall critics who opposed the water fund transfer that voters approved this month are now taking aim at another source of city revenue: the utility users tax.
To read story by Alicia Robinson in The Press Enterprise, click here.
Navarro
Ryan Hagen, Staff Writer
Posted: 06/14/2013 07:58:10 PM PDT
The San Bernardino County Board of Education has received permission from the state Attorney General’s Office to sue Gil Navarro in an effort to remove him from the board.
Lori Fowler, Staff Writer
Posted: 06/14/2013 06:43:52 PM PDT
Updated: 06/14/2013 08:36:55 PM PDT
RANCHO CUCAMONGA – When John Bolds’ wife was having a hard time breathing last year, he took her to the emergency room at the Chino Valley Medical Center.
Filed under: County of San Bernardino, Courts, Health Care, In the News, Legal, State Superior Court
Neil Nisperos, Staff Writer
Posted: 06/14/2013 03:28:14 PM PDT
Updated: 06/14/2013 08:06:48 PM PDT
ONTARIO — Manuel Saucedo, candidate of the 52nd Assembly District special election, has announced he will be kicking off his election campaign on Saturday.
Filed under: Campaigns, Democrats, Elections, In the News, Politics, State Assembly, State of California
Posted: Friday, June 14, 2013 4:48 pm | Updated: 7:03 pm, Fri Jun 14, 2013.
By NORBERTO SANTANA JR.
County Supervisor Todd Spitzer said that when he and Supervisors’ Chairman Shawn Nelson joined state Sen. Lou Correa for a meeting on Thursday with the governor’s staff to discuss a dispute involving $73 million in property taxes, they were confronted over their straw votes this week to exempt themselves from budget cuts imposed on other departments.
Lawmakers approve a $96.3-billion spending plan that places the state at the leading edge of President Obama’s healthcare overhaul. It also increases funding for schools and social services.
By Chris Megerian and Anthony York, Los Angeles Times
June 14, 2013, 9:25 p.m.
SACRAMENTO — California lawmakers passed a budget Friday that lays the groundwork for the largest expansion of public healthcare in the country, placing the state at the leading edge of President Obama’s federal overhaul.
Filed under: Budget, Democrats, Finance, Health Care, In the News, Jerry Brown, State Assembly, State of California, State Senate
By Jessica Guynn
June 14, 2013, 7:14 p.m.
SAN FRANCISCO — Looking to shield itself from a growing public backlash over damaging revelations that it turned over user data to the National Security Agency’s clandestine Internet surveillance program Prism, Facebook said late Friday it had reached an agreement to divulge some details about the government requests it receives for information about its users.
By Susan Heavey; Additional reporting by David Ingram in Washington and Liana Baker in New York
WASHINGTON | Fri Jun 14, 2013 2:17pm EDT
(Reuters) – A CBS News investigative reporter’s computer was remotely accessed by an unauthorized party several times late last year, the news organization said on Friday, citing an analysis by an outside cyber security firm.
By David Lightman | McClatchy Washington Bureau
Friday, June 14, 2013
WASHINGTON — The American people are growing increasingly concerned about reports of domestic spying. And Congress isn’t sure how to respond.
Gridlock and ineffectiveness give Congress worst rankings in decades.
By Ron Fournier
Updated: June 14, 2013 | 12:07 p.m.
June 14, 2013 | 10:20 a.m.
A bit of news for members of Congress on their way home for the weekend: America hates you.
Nearly eight in 10 Americans told Gallup pollsters this month they disapprove of the way Congress is handling its job, the 45th consecutive month that more than two-thirds of Americans graded Congress poorly.
By Ryan Hagen, Staff Writer
Posted: 06/13/2013 07:07:25 PM PDT
SAN BERNARDINO – Officials targeted by a recall effort and their allies are increasingly making one specific charge: that it is all about taking control of the city’s water resources for the personal gain of the developers behind the recall.
June 13, 2013; 06:22 PM
San Bernardino City Clerk Gigi Hanna has told organizers of a recall effort that thousands of signatures collected against some of the targeted elected officials will be thrown out and the organizers will have to start over again.
To read story by Imran Ghori in The Press Enterprise, click here.
June 13, 2013; 02:01 PM
The chairman of the Riverside County Democratic Central Committee is apologizing for making a reference to Vaudeville-era character “Stepin Fetchit,” who some consider racially insensitive.
To read story by Aaron Claverie in The Press Enterprise, click here.
Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Posted: 06/13/2013 02:34:11 PM PDT
Updated: 06/13/2013 08:50:29 PM PDT
Latinos now make up 50.5 percent of San Bernardino County’s population, making the county the second largest in the nation with a Latino majority, according to U.S. Census data released Thursday.
June 13, 2013; 04:27 PM
SACRAMENTO — An agreement between the Brown administration and the Ramona Band of Cahuilla allows the tribe to build a casino with as many as 750 slot machines on its remote Riverside County reservation.
To read story by Jim Miller in The Press Enterprise, click here.
Dan Walters
By Dan Walters
dwalters@sacbee.com
Published: Friday, Jun. 14, 2013 – 12:00 am | Page 3A
As a legislative conference committee was doing its item-by-item sojourn through the state budget this month, many were marked “tbl.”
Filed under: Budget, Democrats, Finance, In the News, Jerry Brown, Politics, State Assembly, State of California, State Senate
Thursday, June 13, 2013 – 11:00 a.m.
We’re saved!
Boeing has returned to San Bernardino International Airport (SBIA) for flight testing of a single 747 passenger aircraft. Next month the company will test the 787 Dreamliner at the mostly dormant facility.
Ryan Hagen, Staff Writer
Posted: 06/12/2013 02:07:47 PM PDT
SAN BERNARDINO >> City Clerk Gigi Hanna on Wednesday invalidated any signatures asking for a recall election that were gathered before the joint publication of the notice of intention to circulate a recall petition, statement of reasons for the recall and the targeted official’s response.
By Joe Nelson
joe.nelson@ inlandnewspapers.com @SBCountyNow on Twitter
Posted: 06/12/2013 02:14:56 PM PDT
The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors on Wednesday approved a balanced $4.4 billion budget and adopted an ordinance establishing a temporary moratorium on solar-energy projects.
June 12, 2013; 06:42 PM
The Riverside County agency for overseeing state prison realignment is refining how to judge the costs and challenges of the program that has put unprecedented pressure on jails, probation officers and mental health services since late 2011, the group’s leader said Wednesday, June 12.
To read story by Richard K. De Atley in The Press Enterprise, click here.
Filed under: Budget, County of Riverside, Finance, In the News, Law Enforcement, State of California
San Bernardino County Sun
Posted: 06/12/2013 07:13:06 PM PDT
Save San Bernardino is holding a roundtable discussion from 6 to 8 Thursday night at the New Hope Family Life Center, 1505 W. Highland Ave., San Bernardino.
By Imani Tate
imani.tate@inlandnewspapers.com
Posted: 06/12/2013 04:39:39 PM PDT
Updated: 06/12/2013 04:39:50 PM PDT
SAN DIMAS >>The City Council approved a 2013-14 balanced budget of $27.9 million at its Monday night meeting as city staff happily reported the city will bring in $1.1 million more revenue than needed to meet expenditures for the upcoming fiscal year.
Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Posted: 06/11/2013 12:24:23 PM PDT
The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors today will consider adopting a $4 billion budget for the next fiscal year and imposing a temporary moratorium on solar-energy projects.
By Gregory J. Wilcox, Staff Writer
Posted: 06/11/2013 07:02:39 PM PDT
Buyers poured a record $4.65 billion in cash into Southern California’s housing market during May, driving the biggest price gain in nine years and putting sales at a seven-year high, a research firm said Tuesday.
City official blames devalued property
June 11, 2013 7:25 PM
Jim E. Winburn, Staff Writer
VICTORVILLE • The Southern California Logistics Airport Authority defaulted on a nearly $1.2 million interest payment for a capital improvement bond, according to a recent notice from the authority.
Lawmakers and Gov. Jerry Brown announce a $96.3-billion deal, with new spending on welfare grants, tuition aid and dental care for poor adults. But they agree to pare some outlays until next year.
By Chris Megerian and Anthony York, Los Angeles Times
June 11, 2013, 9:50 p.m.
SACRAMENTO — The budget deal that lawmakers will vote on this week is an effort to mesh financial restraint with a desire to provide more social services and healthcare for the needy — giving the state’s economy extra time to recover before some of the spending kicks in.
Filed under: Budget, Democrats, Finance, In the News, Politics, State Assembly, State of California, State Senate
Dan Walters
By Dan Walters
dwalters@sacbee.com
Published: Wednesday, Jun. 12, 2013 – 12:00 am | Page 3A
Last Modified: Wednesday, Jun. 12, 2013 – 8:51 am
Gov. Jerry Brown blunted the expansionist tendencies of his fellow Democrats in writing a new state budget, but that doesn’t mean it’s the “balanced” spending plan that he and other Capitol politicians are claiming.
Filed under: Budget, Finance, In the News, Jerry Brown, State Assembly, State of California, State Senate
By Jon Ortiz
jortiz@sacbee.com
Published: Tuesday, Jun. 11, 2013 – 6:34 pm
Last Modified: Wednesday, Jun. 12, 2013 – 8:51 am
California’s largest public employee union and Gov. Jerry Brown reached a new labor agreement early Tuesday, sending a strong signal that pay raises are possible to other unions bargaining contracts with the administration.
Private contractors with top security clearance, like Edward Snowden, have become very common in the federal government.
By Morgan Little
June 11, 2013, 1:57 p.m.
The American Civil Liberties Union announced Tuesday that it has filed a federal lawsuit against key members of President Obama’s national security team over the National Security Agency’s telephone surveillance, the first legal challenge to the newly disclosed intelligence gathering system.
By Alan K. Ota
Roll Call Staff
June 12, 2013, 5 a.m.
Speaker John A. Boehner of Ohio, pushing back against White House demands for no-frills legislation on the federal borrowing cap, is calling for another round of spending cuts beyond the sequester as part of any agreement to raise the debt limit.
Filed under: Budget, Finance, In the News, Politics, Republicans, U.S. Government, U.S. House of Representatives
Tuesday, June 11, 2013 – 10:00 a.m.
It’s been a few years since Redlands Centennial Bank was seized by federal regulators.
During that time the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) filed a lawsuit against the ousted board of directors back on January 14, 2011. At that time, the defendants said the allegations by the FDIC, that then-board members essentially operated the institution like their own piggy bank, were merit-less and would be dismissed.
June 10, 2013; 03:13 PM
SACRAMENTO – From mail ballots to open meetings, state lawmakers often tell city and county officials what to do. And under the state constitution, Sacramento is supposed to pay for some of it.
To read story by Jim Miller in The Press Enterprise, click here.
Filed under: Budget, Counties, Finance, In the News, Jerry Brown, Local Government, State of California
June 10, 2013
The Legislature’s budget conference committee late Monday altered the funding mix for a school of medicine at UC Riverside, eliminating a $15 million augmentation but directing the UC system to allocate money to the school from its budget.
To read entire post by Jim Miller in The Press Enterprise blog, click here.
June 10, 2013; 03:26 PM
Riverside County supervisors have endorsed a strategy that could double the size of three existing jails and restart planning for a Palm Springs-area mega-jail.
To read story by Jeff Horseman in The Press Enterprise, click here.
June 10, 2013 5:43 PM
Jim E. Winburn, Staff Writer
SAN BERNARDINO • The Board of Supervisors will hold a public hearing Wednesday to consider adopting the 2013-14 Recommended Budget, which according to a county news release, reflects an ongoing struggle to cope with “economic downturn.”
Governor wins important victories involving redistribution of money for schools and how much revenue to expect to be coming in for the state.
By Chris Megerian and Anthony York, Los Angeles Times
June 10, 2013, 10:23 p.m.
SACRAMENTO — Gov. Jerry Brown and top lawmakers have reached agreement on some of the most contentious issues in the state budget, granting the governor significant victories on the redistribution of school money and expectations of revenue.
Filed under: Budget, Democrats, Finance, In the News, Jerry Brown, Politics, State Assembly, State of California, State Senate
Andrew Edwards
Posted: 06/10/2013 12:27:45 PM PDT
Updated: 06/10/2013 12:28:12 PM PDT
California took in $7.27 billion in revenues during the month of May, exceeding estimates by 12 percent, Controller John Chiang announced today.