Politics, Government and Business in Southern California's Inland Empire
Friday, February 3, 2012 – 09:00 a.m.
Hooray! The U.S. unemployment rate fell to 8.3% in January, with the economy adding 243,000 jobs.
But it took a lot of gaming of the numbers to get there.
Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Posted: 02/02/2012 04:25:33 PM PST
Document: Ballot Title and Summary
San Bernardino City Professional Firefighters Local 891, the union representing 126 city firefighters, has introduced a ballot initiative proposing an elected fire chief.
By Neil Nisperos, Staff Writer
Created: 02/02/2012 05:36:15 PM PST
Fundraising data for Rep. David Dreier, D-San Dimas, from the last quarter of last year suggests he’s likely to retire this year, according to local political experts.
The Federal Election Commission database reports Dreier collected only $10,160 in campaign contributions in the period from October to December. The figure is paltry compared with the $207,450 received in the same period in 2003, and the $137,600 in 2009.
By Wendy Leung, Staff Writer
Created: 02/02/2012 06:07:28 PM PST
RANCHO CUCAMONGA – There has been a change in leadership for the affordable housing group National Community Renaissance, or National CORE.
The nonprofit has hired Steve PonTell, founder of the think tank La Jolla Institute, as interim president and chief executive officer, replacing Orlando Cabrera.
$1.8M goes to Hinkley School water system
February 02, 2012 5:11 PM
KATIE LUCIA, Staff Writer
HINKLEY • The regional water board signed a $3.6 million agreement with Pacific Gas and Electric on Wednesday night, dedicating half of that money to build a new water filtration system at the Hinkley School.
By Dan Walters
Published: Friday, Feb. 3, 2012 – 12:00 am | Page 3A
Many years of partisan wrangling over the state budget reached a climax in 2010 when public employee unions and Democratic politicians persuaded voters to pass Proposition 25, eliminating the two-thirds vote for budgets.
It gave the Legislature’s majority Democrats the power to pass budgets without having to garner Republican votes. But that’s not all it did.
By Dale Kasler
dkasler@sacbee.com
Published: Friday, Feb. 3, 2012 – 12:00 am | Page 6B
By lowering its investment forecast by another quarter point, CalSTRS made a bow toward economic reality – but also may have complicated efforts to shore up its finances.
The teachers’ retirement board agreed Thursday to reduce CalSTRS’ official investment forecast to 7.5 percent, down from 7.75 percent. It was the second cut in 14 months, after the $144 billion fund left the forecast untouched for 15 years.
In a volatile investment climate, following a year in which CalSTRS’ portfolio earned just 2.3 percent, board members took their consultants’ advice and went with the lower number.
“I think it’s best that we be conservative,” said Terry McGuire, representing board member and state Controller John Chiang.
The board of the California State Teachers’ Retirement System voted 9-1 to reduce the forecast. The lone dissent came from Pedro Reyes of the Department of Finance. The higher forecast “is not unreasonable,” he argued. “Let’s stay where we are right now, (and) visit this in another year.”
By cutting investment projections, the board instantly ballooned CalSTRS’ funding gap – the estimated shortfall of assets available to meet the pension fund’s long-term needs. The gap will grow by nearly $6 billion, or roughly 10 percent.
That could create problems in the Legislature, which must OK changes in how CalSTRS is funded.
CalSTRS gets around $5.6 billion a year from the state, school districts and teachers. The pension fund had already calculated that it needed another $4 billion a year to eventually get healthy. With the lower investment forecast, those needs grow by another $500 million a year.
While CalSTRS is pushing for more money, many Republicans want to erase funding shortfalls for public pensions by reducing benefits. Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown wants to give newly hired employees a combination traditional pension and a 401(k)-style program.
Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/02/03/4235828/calstrs-gap-rises-as-return-forecast.html#mi_rss=Business#storylink=cpy
Capitol Alert
The latest on California politics and government
February 2, 2012
A “millionaires tax” initiative spearheaded by the California Federation of Teachers and the Courage Campaign received petition language today, as well as backing from the powerful California Nurses Association.
By Jon Ortiz
jortiz@sacbee.com
Published: Friday, Feb. 3, 2012 – 12:00 am | Page 3A
Gov. Jerry Brown laid out a detailed plan to alter California’s state and local public retirement systems on Thursday – and immediately drew fire from his core labor constituency.
By Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Posted: 02/01/2012 07:16:08 PM PST
Document: James Ramos Flier
San Bernardino County Supervisor Neil Derry has launched an assault on the character of his major opponent, San Manuel tribal chairman James Ramos, in a campaign mailer tying Ramos to “gang members,” “drug dealers” and “killers for hire.”
Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Posted: 02/01/2012 02:01:30 PM PST
The labor union representing roughly 11,000 San Bernardino County employees announced Wednesday it will support another union’s effort to reduce county supervisors’ jobs to part-time.
Money & Politics | Daily Report
February 2, 2012 | Will Evans
If super political action committee dollars were votes in the Republican presidential primary, California would already have voted resoundingly for Mitt Romney.
By Phillip Reese
preese@sacbee.com
Published: Thursday, Feb. 2, 2012 – 12:00 am | Page 1A
Last Modified: Thursday, Feb. 2, 2012 – 6:42 am
State government payroll increased by half a billion dollars last year, even as California cut thousands of state worker jobs, according to a Bee analysis of new data from the Controller’s Office.
The payroll increase added about $140 million in wages to the Sacramento economy in 2011, contributing to a budding recovery.
BY JIM MILLER
SACRAMENTO BUREAU
jmiller@pe.com
Published: 31 January 2012 07:12 PM
SACRAMENTO — The major parties’ share of the Inland Southern California electorate dipped in 2011, new state figures show, with a significant increase in the percentage of voters who lack a party affiliation.
BY IMRAN GHORI
STAFF WRITER
ighori@pe.com
Published: 31 January 2012 11:22 PM
An influential union that is backing a proposed ballot measure to reduce San Bernardino County supervisors’ positions to part-time has more than a half-million dollars in its political action committee fund, according to campaign finance reports released this week.
BY BEN GOAD
WASHINGTON BUREAU
bgoad@pe.com
Published: 31 January 2012 05:44 PM
Candidates for contested Inland House seats raked in hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign cash at the end of 2011 as they jockeyed for position heading into the current election year.
BY DUANE W. GANG AND DUG BEGLEY
STAFF WRITERS
dgang@pe.com | dbegley@pe.com
Published: 31 January 2012 09:15 AM
More than 1,000 Riverside County workers took to the streets Tuesday protesting benefit reductions and warning that additional strikes could be on the way if county officials don’t reopen contract negotiations.
The 24-hour work stoppage was expected to last until 6:59 a.m. today and marks the latest escalation between county management and the Service Employees International Union Local 721, the county’s second-largest employee group.
Jim Steinberg, Staff Writer
Posted: 01/31/2012 12:33:41 PM PST
HINKLEY – The northern boundaries of that plume of contaminated groundwater continues to advance.
Water samples from new test wells – many installed this past summer – show chromium 6 contamination, above background level, extending north of Mountain General Road for the first time.
PolitiCal
On politics in the Golden State
January 31, 2012 | 11:59 am
California is running out of cash, the state controller warned in a letter to lawmakers Tuesday.
Controller John Chiang said lawmakers need to scrape together $3.3 billion by March — assuming the state’s financial situation doesn’t get any worse.
By David Siders
dsiders@sacbee.com
Published: Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2012 – 12:00 am | Page 1A
Gov. Jerry Brown is raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for his tax campaign from California Indian tribes at the same time many tribes are seeking to renegotiate lucrative gambling compacts with him.
By Dan Walters
Published: Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2012 – 12:00 am | Page 3A
Gov. Jerry Brown is scaling back the state’s highly controversial bullet train project to keep it alive.
Just three months ago, his administration unveiled – with great fanfare – a revised “business plan” for building the north-south bullet train system to answer the embryonic project’s many critics.
Capitol Alert
The latest on California politics and government
January 31, 2012
Rural and urban school districts in California that make heavy use of buses appear safe — for now.
State lawmakers are fast-tracking legislation that would transform a $248 million midyear school bus cut into a general-purpose reduction that hits each K-12 district evenly. The Assembly Budget Committee passed Senate Bill 81 with bipartisan support Tuesday, while an aide to Gov. Jerry Brown testified that the governor supports the proposal.
PolitiCal
On politics in the Golden State
January 31, 2012 | 3:30 pm
A bill requiring more prominent disclosure of political donors stalled in the California Assembly on Tuesday.
Under the proposal, television advertisements would include three seconds of a black screen listing the top donors supporting the message. Similar disclosure would be required on print advertisements or campaign mailers.
By Dale Kasler
dkasler@sacbee.com
Published: Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2012 – 12:00 am | Page 6B
CalSTRS is thinking of cutting its investment forecast for the second time in barely a year, a move that acknowledges the increased financial strain on the pension fund.
The teachers’ retirement board on Thursday will consider a recommendation from its actuarial consultant to cut the forecast by a quarter point, to 7.5 percent.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012 – 12:30 p.m.
It’s only February and the first serious blow has been leveled in the race to represent San Bernardino County’s Third Supervisorial District.
BY RICHARD K. De ATLEY
STAFF WRITER
rdeatley@pe.com
Published: 30 January 2012 11:33 AM
A judge Monday barred 248 health-care workers from joining a one-day strike by members of Riverside County’s second-largest union.
By PE Politics
January 30, 2012 3:08 PM
The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians near San Bernardino has hired back its longtime Sacramento lobbyist, Frank Molina, with whom it parted ways last March amid an investigation by the state’s political ethics agency.
Mike Cruz, The (San Bernardino County) Sun
Created: 01/30/2012 10:27:09 AM PST
RANCHO CUCAMONGA – A workplace discrimination lawsuit has been filed in Superior Court against Ontario Police Chief Eric Hopley by his former administrative assistant Brenda Vallejo.
Executive Editor Frank Pine
Created: 01/28/2012 06:06:04 AM PST
San Bernardino County’s Board of Supervisors asked county lawyers last week to draft language for a ballot measure that would give voters the final say on increases to pension benefits for public employees.
Supervisors Janice Rutherford, Gary Ovitt and Josie Gonzales voted yea with supervisors Brad Mitzelfelt and Neil Derry voting nay.
By Dan Walters
dwalters@sacbee.com
Published: Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2012 – 12:00 am | Page 3A
Would it be churlish to say that the much-ballyhooed Think Long Committee for California fell short on fortitude?
Or merely accurate?
PolitiCal
On politics in the Golden State
January 30, 2012 | 3:31 pm
California Supreme Court Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye lost a round over Judicial Council power
The state’s top judge lost a political battle Monday when the state Assembly voted to shift key budget decisions from the state Judicial Council that she heads to local trial courts, some of which have complained about the panel’s handling of money.
PolitiCal
On politics in the Golden State
January 30, 2012 | 7:09 pm
A state senator who is running for secretary of state is urging Gov. Jerry Brown to take over California’s beleaguered online campaign finance database, which was down for most of last month.
Monday, January 30, 2012 – 10:00 a.m.
Within all of San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors candidate James Ramos’ negative baggage appears to be a glimmer of a motivating interest as to why the current millionaire chairman of the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians is seeking the county post.
The Tribal chair, who is seeking to oust Third District Supervisor Neil Derry in June, may have a personal finance cause.
RICHARD K. De ATLEY/Staff
RICHARD K. De ATLEY
STAFF WRITER
rdeatley@pe.com
Published: 29 January 2012 07:33 PM
Like passengers on a plane with half the engines snuffed, Inland court officials can only wait and watch as Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposed budget for next year fiscal year moves through the state’s political turbulence.
THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE
Published: 29 January 2012 06:51 PM
They don’t call him “Working Joe” for nothing.
For at least the fourth consecutive year, U.S. Rep. Joe Baca outmaneuvered a host of his Democratic colleagues and worked himself into a coveted center aisle seat at last week’s State of the Union address. Baca, who was already in position several hours before the speech, again nabbed a primo spot and fought through the scrum of lawmakers to greet President Barack Obama on his way to the podium.
Andrew Edwards, Staff Writer
Created: 01/28/2012 10:20:35 PM PST
As an option to deal with increasing congestion and construction costs, toll lanes may be added to San Bernardino County freeways but not before 2017, transportation planners say.
Wendy Leung, Staff Writer
Created: 01/28/2012 06:11:04 AM PST
Hoping to restore jail funding to San Bernardino County, an Inland Empire assemblyman introduced a bill on Friday that could potentially bring $16 million to county coffers.
By Howard Mintz hmintz@mercurynews.com
Posted: 01/30/2012 06:56:26 AM PST
Updated: 01/30/2012 07:31:17 AM PST
With a crucial vote looming Monday, a conflict that has shaken California’s judiciary reaches a critical stage when the Assembly considers legislation that would strip control of most of the court system’s purse strings from a central bureaucracy and turn it over to the Legislature and local trial judges.
Capitol Alert
The latest on California politics and government
January 29, 2012
The California Teachers Association officially agreed Sunday to back Gov. Jerry Brown’s multibillion-dollar tax plan, which should provide the governor hefty financial support for his fall campaign.
By Steven Harmon
Bay Area News Group
Posted: 01/29/2012 06:59:19 PM PST
Updated: 01/30/2012 03:20:06 AM PST
SACRAMENTO — The raging battle over the political and economic clout of labor unions is headed west to California.
The state’s powerful labor groups have anxiously witnessed union rights and benefits being gutted in Wisconsin, Ohio and Indiana. Now, unions in California are girding for an all-out war over a ballot initiative that would curb their ability to raise political cash.
By Dan Walters
dwalters@sacbee.com
Published: Monday, Jan. 30, 2012 – 12:00 am | Page 3A
When a political party achieves dominance of any government, one expects that it would use its hegemony to enact its public policy agenda.
That’s the way democracy is supposed to work.
Monday, January 30, 2012
By Ed Mendel
The nation’s two largest public pension funds last week reported slim annual investment earnings, CalPERS 1.1 percent and CalSTRS 2.3 percent, as experts continue to say hitting their long-term earnings target, 7.75 percent, will be difficult.
While CalPERS reported weak earnings in 2011, a prominent private-sector investment manager, Robert Arnott of Research Affiliates, told the board last week he thinks the most they can expect from stocks and bonds next decade is 4 percent.
By David Siders
dsiders@sacbee.com
Published: Monday, Jan. 30, 2012 – 12:00 am | Page 1A
Last Modified: Monday, Jan. 30, 2012 – 6:57 am
Jon Fleischman, the conservative blogger, was brooding the other day on Facebook, underwhelmed by the presidential candidates he has left to choose from.
Gingrich bristled at Romney’s L-word tag, but it’s all semantics.
By George Skelton Capitol Journal
January 30, 2012
From Sacramento
Without picking a side in the entertaining Republican presidential contest, let us stipulate that Mitt Romney was smack on target when he called Newt Gingrich an influence peddler.
A lobbyist? No, not in a legal sense. But did he lobby? Yes, in the common usage of the word.
An influence peddler? That pretty much covers it.
Executive Editor Frank Pine
Posted: 01/28/2012 05:38:39 PM PST
San Bernardino County’s Board of Supervisors asked county lawyers last week to draft language for a ballot measure that would give voters the final say on increases to pension benefits for public employees.
Supervisors Janice Rutherford, Gary Ovitt and Josie Gonzales voted yea with supervisors Brad Mitzelfelt and Neil Derry voting nay.
Josh Dulaney, Staff Writer
Posted: 01/28/2012 10:54:18 PM PST
A controversial state Supreme Court ruling is forcing 400 redevelopment agencies throughout California to close, but officials overseeing redevelopment at the former Norton Air Force Base say work there will continue.
BY ALICIA ROBINSON
STAFF WRITER
arobinson@pe.com
Published: 28 January 2012 06:31 PM
The Riverside mayor’s race could now be a six-way contest, with a little more than a month left until the candidate filing deadline.
The latest entrant is Peter Benavidez, a local nonprofit CEO and member of the city’s charter review committee, who recently took out a petition for signatures in lieu of the filing fee.
Assemblywoman Norma J. Torres
Created: 01/28/2012 06:06:11 AM PST
The state Supreme Court’s ruling which eliminated redevelopment agencies has created uncertainty for cities and counties engaged in redevelopment activities. Redevelopment has been used as a tool by many cities and counties to successfully revitalize communities. The court’s decision throws into question how cities and counties will pay for infrastructure, housing and retail projects in blighted communities.
Canan Tasci, Staff Writer
Created: 01/27/2012 09:31:09 AM PST
CHINO – The Chino Valley Unified School District has about two weeks to find $20 million to cut from its budget for next year.
That’s the bad news coming from last week’s Board of Education budget study session.
Sandra Emerson, Staff Writer
Created: 01/28/2012 06:06:01 AM PST
UPLAND – The City Council has not made a formal request for the League of California Cities’ assistance in the medical marijuana case pending in the state Supreme Court, but some inquiries have been made.
Canan Tasci, Staff Writer
Created: 01/26/2012 11:32:13 AM PST
CHINO – This city, like many others across the Golden State, will bid farewell to its redevelopment agency come Wednesday.
As a result of a state Supreme Court ruling last month, which upheld a law eliminating about 400 redevelopment agencies in California, Chino City Council members agreed to name the city as the successor to its agency.
By Dan Walters
Published: Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012 – 12:00 am | Page 3A
The big news in Stanislaus County these days is that a big Internet retailer – almost certainly Amazon – will establish a huge distribution center in Patterson that would employ at least 1,500 workers.
Meanwhile, California new car sales reached nearly 1.3 million vehicles last year, a 9.9 percent improvement over 2010, and the state’s unemployment rate dipped in December to 11.1 percent, down 1.4 percentage points from the previous December, with at least a quarter-million more working.
Saturday, January 28, 2012 – 09:00 a.m.
Could the lack of a business license at Million Air San Bernardino LLC derail the state of the county event scheduled for February 29th?
It’s just another embarrassment for the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors, and in particular Supervisor Josie Gonzales, who allowed the event to be held at the lavish facility.
BY DUANE W. GANG
STAFF WRITER
dgang@pe.com
Published: 27 January 2012 08:34 PM
Riverside County will go to court Monday seeking to keep nearly 300 nurses and other health professionals from taking part in a day-long strike planned by the county’s second-largest union.
County officials this week appealed to a state labor relations board for help after the Service Employees International Union Local 721 informed officials at Riverside County Regional Medical Center that nurses planned to participate in the strike Tuesday.
Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Posted: 01/27/2012 08:39:26 PM PST
SAN BERNARDINO – An official with San Bernardino International Airport’s most upscale business paid part of the fees to renew its business license Thursday, but it still wasn’t enough to get a valid license, city officials said Friday.
Toni Momberger, Staff Writer
Posted: 01/27/2012 06:48:38 PM PST
REDLANDS – The latest Redlands resident to announce candidacy for the newly drawn 31st Congressional District wants to be clear that he does not live in a manicured part of town.
By Jim Sanders
jsanders@sacbee.com
Published: Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012 – 12:00 am | Page 3A
A California Supreme Court ruling Friday significantly raised Democratic Party prospects of gaining the supermajority needed in the state Senate to pass tax or fee increases.
The high court decided that Senate maps drawn recently by a 14-member citizens commission will be used for this year’s legislative elections, even if a pending referendum qualifies for the ballot.
By Patrick McGreevy, Los Angeles Times
January 28, 2012
Reporting from Sacramento— Gilbert Robles retired as a state parole agent at age 53, able to collect a $101,195 annual pension — 94% of his final salary. Last year, six months after he retired, the Arcadia resident accepted a political appointment with the same agency that pays an additional six figures.
Scott Hallabrin took retirement as the top attorney for the state’s ethics agency on June 29, 2009. The next day, he went back to the same post, as he prepared to watch his pension checks roll in on top of a salary.
PolitiCal
On politics in the Golden State
January 27, 2012 | 10:19 am
A correction has been added to this post. See below for details.
The California Supreme Court, faced with a possible ballot measure to scrap newly drawn election districts, decided Friday to leave the boundaries in place for this year’s state Senate races.
Friday, January 27, 2012 – 09:45 a.m.
Well we finally have it.
San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors Chair Josie Gonzales admits she’s in it for the dough.
BY IMRAN GHORI
STAFF WRITER
ighori@pe.com
Published: 26 January 2012 09:27 PM
A proposal to reduce San Bernardino County supervisors’ positions to part-time status would leave little time for them to meet and respond to constituents’ needs, board Chairwoman Josie Gonzales said Thursday.
Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Posted: 01/26/2012 12:53:12 PM PST
SAN BERNARDINO – Million Air, the upscale jet refueling facility at San Bernardino International Airport, has been operating without a business license since April, city officials said Thursday.
The facility, which caters to private and corporate aircraft, has been the most high profile business drawn to the airport and has been touted by airport officials as an example of the airport’s potential prosperity. It began operations in 2010.
BY BEN GOAD
WASHINGTON BUREAU
bgoad@pe.com
Published: 26 January 2012 11:52 AM
WASHINGTON — Newt Gingrich is an “erratic” thinker who “abandoned his conservative principals” before leaving Congress, Inland Rep. Mary Bono Mack said Thursday on behalf of Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign.
BY JIM MILLER
SACRAMENTO BUREAU
jmiller@pe.co
Published: 26 January 2012 09:04 PM
SACRAMENTO — Legislation to extend the life of redevelopment agencies beyond Feb. 1 seemed all but dead Thursday despite a last-ditch push by local officials and other groups.
The California Supreme Court last month upheld a state law ending redevelopment, which for decades has helped local governments pay to revitalize downtowns and build new streets and also been criticized as a taxpayer subsidy for politically connected developers. Inland Southern California has some of the most active agencies in the state.
Assemblyman Curt Hagman
Created: 01/26/2012 11:31:48 AM PST
California’s Legislature has a full plate this year: crafting a responsible budget, protecting our schools, encouraging job creation, reforming public pensions and much more. Gov. Brown has just proposed a 7 percent increase in his 2012-13 budget and again asking voters for more tax increases when the state’s economy remains stalled by already high taxes and slow growth. Yet in my time in the state Assembly, it never ceases to amaze me when liberal politicians introduce unnecessary legislation that has nothing to do with the priorities of California’s citizens.
Jim Steinberg, Staff Writer
Created: 01/26/2012 11:35:17 AM PST
FONTANA – Mayor Acquanetta Warren on Thursday vowed to join forces with Ontario city leaders in the quest to wrestle ownership of L.A./Ontario International Airport from Los Angeles’ control.
That pledge was part of broad strategy focused on regional cooperation as Fontana moves forward with 2012 and in the succeeding years.
Will Bigham, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
Created: 01/26/2012 10:42:20 AM PST
A committee of the Cal State University Board of Trustees is set to begin the search for a new president at Cal State San Bernardino. President Albert Karnig is retiring at the end of the school year.
Patrick Fite, For the Daily Facts
Posted: 01/26/2012 04:25:15 PM PST
Practicing simple energy efficient methods can add up to huge savings, as the Redlands Unified School District (RUSD) has shown during the past 26 months by saving more than $900,000 in energy costs.
PolitiCal
On politics in the Golden State
January 26, 2012 | 8:12 pm
Gov. Jerry Brown on Thursday urged 1,500 Los Angeles political and business leaders to back his proposal for higher taxes and implored them to pressure lawmakers in Sacramento to overhaul the state’s pension system this year.
By Dan Walters
Published: Friday, Jan. 27, 2012 – 12:00 am | Page 3A
Last Tuesday, the Public Policy Institute of California issued a new poll that found, among other things, just 17 percent of the state’s voters like the Legislature’s performance.
Simultaneously, the Legislature’s top leaders provided another reason for Californians to harbor such scorn.
January 26, 2012
Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye today urged the defeat of Assembly legislation that would undermine the authority of the Judicial Council, and give courts in as few as two counties authority to veto any statewide judicial project.
Cantil-Sakauye, who became chief justice in 2010, is showing herself to be a tough fighter as she lobbies to kill legislation by Assemblyman Charles Calderon, D-Whittier, himself the consummate inside player.
POLITICS
By Shane Goldmacher
Updated: January 26, 2012 | 5:34 p.m.
January 25, 2012 | 9:30 p.m.
A sleepy race for a California Legislature seat is turning into a fractious family feud that pits a former top staffer to Buck McKeon, R-Calif., chairman of the powerful House Armed Services Committee, against the congressman’s wife.
By Mark Z. Barabak and Maeve Reston
January 26, 2012, 7:11 p.m.
Reporting from Jacksonville, Fla. and Miami, Fla.— Picking up where their last debate left off, Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich resumed battling Thursday night over personal integrity and the tenor of their respective campaigns, each accusing the other of unfair character attacks.
Romney, clearly itching for a fight, turned an early discussion on immigration policy into an assault on Gingrich over a radio spot he ran earlier this week on Florida’s Spanish-language airwaves. Gingrich pulled the ad, which described Romney as “anti-immigrant,” after it was criticized by Republican Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, a rising national star in Latino politics who is staying neutral in the primary.
BY JIM MILLER
SACRAMENTO BUREAU
jmiller@pe.com
Published: 25 January 2012 09:45 PM
SACRAMENTO — As Gov. Jerry Brown put his stamp on California government in the past year, his appointments leaned heavily toward the state’s less-populated northern half.
Since taking office in January 2011, Brown had made almost 580 appointments to administration jobs and state boards and commissions through last week. Of those, two-thirds listed residences in 10 Northern California counties, with a third, 194, from Sacramento County alone. Almost 70 percent are Democrats.
Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Posted: 01/25/2012 04:21:42 PM PST
A proposed initiative to make county supervisors’ jobs part-time would spell doom for residents desiring a stronger presence of government in their communities, San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Josie Gonzales said Wednesday.
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