10:00 PM PST on Sunday, November 29, 2009

The Press-Enterprise

Riverside County’s growing budget shortfall requires strict fiscal discipline, regardless of political pressure. Supervisors will not only need to maintain this year’s cost-cutting steps, but add new ones to avert financial peril in coming years. And every county department will have to contribute to the savings.

The county’s budget workshop last week painted a grim picture of county finances. The county cut programs, positions and pay, and still needed $50.6 million in reserves to balance the budget — essentially creating an ongoing deficit.

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Wes Woods II, Staff Writer
Created: 11/29/2009 11:42:16 PM PST

CLAREMONT – The City Council has approved an extension of its eminent domain powers on nonresidential property.

The city’s Redevelopment Agency in November 1997 amended its redevelopment plan to reinstate eminent domain authority on nonresidential property.

The authority was set to expire in December.

In order to extend the authority for an additional 12 years, the agency had to amend its redevelopment plan.

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By Dan Walters
dwalters@sacbee.com
Published: Sunday, Nov. 29, 2009 – 12:00 am | Page 3A

Just days before Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislators finalized a water package, including an $11.1 billion bond issue, state Treasurer Bill Lockyer warned them not to do it.

California is already deeply in debt, Lockyer warned, has huge budget deficits and can’t afford another big bond issue.

“The days of blithely heaping more and more debt burden on the general fund are over – at least they should be,” Lockyer said.

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10:00 PM PST on Saturday, November 28, 2009

The Press-Enterprise

Federal judges and state officials should recognize that dumping more inmates into jampacked county jails is not an acceptable way to ease the state’s prison crowding. Requiring counties to pick up the burden of the state’s prison neglect would provide the illusion of progress, not a practical solution.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s latest proposal for cutting the number of inmates in state prisons rests heavily on local jails, however. California this month handed federal judges a proposal that would trim the state prison population by more than 42,000 by 2011. But nearly 14,000 of that total would come from shifting state inmates to local jails.

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11:31 PM PST on Saturday, November 28, 2009

By JIM MILLER
Sacramento Bureau

SACRAMENTO – Inland developer Stephen Russell Holgate spent well into the six figures to propel the legislative aspirations of San Jacinto Councilman Jim Ayres, according to Riverside County prosecutors. But why would he?

Land-use decisions have long been the turf of city councils and county boards of supervisors. The Legislature includes 120 people. Ayres, if his 2006 Assembly campaign had been successful, would have been just another member of a heavily outnumbered Republican minority.

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Posted: 11/28/2009 07:54:41 PM PST

We like and respect Assemblyman Bill Emmerson of Redlands. We have endorsed him in past elections and think he does a good job in the Legislature – to the extent anyone does in that dysfunctional body.

But we’re not so high on his becoming state Sen. Bill Emmerson of Hemet.

Call us old-fashioned – even Bob Stern of the Los Angeles-based Center for Governmental Studies would – but we still think representatives of the people should come from among the people they represent.

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By Liz Hazelton
Last updated at 4:57 PM on 27th November 2009

British banks were teetering on the brink of a fresh meltdown today after it emerged they had invested heavily in crisis-hit Dubai.

An $80billion debt default in the emirate has already reawakened the spectre of a global ‘double dip’ – that the first shoots of recovery could be wiped out by a second wave of recession.

But the level of exposure that the crippled British banking sector faces is now under renewed scrutiny.

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By Stuart Leavenworth, Editorial page editor
sleavenworth@sacbee.com
Published: Sunday, Nov. 29, 2009 – 12:00 am | Page 6E

If California’s Democratic Party had a motto right now, it would probably be, “No drama.”

The party doesn’t like surprises. It doesn’t tolerate family fights. Its preference is to anoint candidates who can breeze through the primary carrying lots of money into the runoff.

That’s one big reason the Democratic Party is so … boring.

Any week now, Jerry Brown will officially announce his candidacy for governor. At that point, the Democratic race will be over. Brown has so much Read the rest of this entry »

November 27, 2009

by Publius

Have you heard the one about the pimp, prostitute, politician and the community organizer? Well, thanks to San Diego private investigator Derrick Roach, Californians are not laughing at what is turning into a political nightmare for California Attorney General Jerry Brown and ACORN.

On Tuesday, November 24, Attorney General Brown appeared on KABC’s “Peter Tilden Show” after it was revealed that some 20,000 documents had been thrown into a National City dumpster by ACORN employees.

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A spokesman for the governor says the matter is related to a paperwork discrepancy and has nothing to do with the payment of taxes.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger

November 28, 2009

Reporting from Sacramento – The Internal Revenue Service has filed a federal tax lien against Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for nearly $80,000, public records show.

The lien was filed May 11 at the Los Angeles County recorder’s office for $79,064, according to a record in an electronic database that includes lien filings. The Read the rest of this entry »

Local legislators share cost-cutting solutions

BY NATASHA LINDSTROM
STAFF WRITER

SACRAMENTO • Four months after closing a $26 billion budget shortfall, California lawmakers are faced with a n o t h e r $20.7 billion budget gap through 2011 — and tens of billions o f d o l l a rs more until r e v e n u e rebounds in 2014, according to a recent report by the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s office.

“Our problem is, rather than making the hard decisions 18 months ago, w e keep putting it off and so it only makes it that much more difficult,” said Sen. George Runner, R-Lancaster. “Hopefully we’ll just get a plain, old reality check because we’re running out of options.”

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09:35 PM PST on Friday, November 27, 2009

The Press-Enterprise

The failure of the effort to recall Assemblyman Anthony Adams, R-Hesperia, is good news for California government. The state needs legislators who can cooperate to address pressing needs. There was no public benefit in misusing the recall process to impose an even greater ideological rigidity on an already polarized Legislature.

Adams was under fire because of his vote in favor of a February budget package that raised $12.5 billion in temporary taxes in an effort to close a $40 billion deficit.

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Posted: 11/27/2009 08:20:06 PM PST

In the flurry of commissions and committees trying to figure out how to fix our broken state, California Forward once seemed the most promising. Its high-level, bipartisan leadership placed it above the fray that plays out in dysfunctional Sacramento. We hoped its work would eliminate the need for riskier steps, like the constitutional convention advocated by another prominent group, Repair California.

The remedies California Forward has proposed so far fall short of that hope – although that probably says more about the magnitude of the problem than the organization’s hard work. It’s pitching two initiatives for the November 2010 ballot. One would improve the way the Legislature operates. The other tries to address the needs of local governments, but it is flawed.

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Staff Report
Posted: 11/27/2009 05:46:15 PM PST

Several local cities were listed on the 2009 City Crime Rate Rankings, a new survey of national crime statistics released recently.

Chino Hills was ranked as San Bernardino County’s safest city and the 13th safest place in the country, according to a Publishing house CQ Press release that came out Monday.

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Melissa Pinion-Whitt, Staff Writer
Posted: 11/27/2009 02:49:11 PM PST

HIGHLAND – There’s a conflict behind the razor wire, chainlink fences and towering iron gates of Patton State Hospital. Some say it’s a long-standing power struggle between the state and union corrections officers.

Others say it’s a byproduct of the troubled financial times.

But whatever the issue is, Patton officials say one thing is certain: Security is not in jeopardy due to the reduction of more than a dozen corrections officers at the facility for the criminally insane.

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Andrew Edwards, Staff Writer
Posted: 11/26/2009 05:43:09 PM PST

SAN BERNARDINO – Some members of the business community may be gearing up to oppose the possible construction of a new government center on land currently occupied by Carousel Mall.

The San Bernardino Area Chamber of Commerce has created a committee to consider whether a new government center, or as some call it, a Taj Mahal, is a good idea. The Chamber may a take an official position in December or after the new year.

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Californians to decide on open primary amendment

The Top Two Primaries Act would require that candidates run in a single primary open to all registered voters, with the top two vote-getters meeting in a runoff.

By Jean Merl

November 27, 2009

Last spring, two seasoned politicians squared off over a rare open congressional seat. Democrats Judy Chu, then a member of the state Board of Equalization, and state Sen. Gil Cedillo placed first and second, respectively, in a widely watched special primary election in the San Gabriel Valley-area district.

Chu advanced to the July runoff with 32.6% of the vote, but not Cedillo, even though he finished ahead of 10 other candidates by winning 23.2%. The runoff slots went to the top vote-getter from each party with a candidate on the ballot, giving Chu a cakewalk over a Republican and a Libertarian in the strongly Democratic district.

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By Jim Sanders
jsanders@sacbee.com
Published: Thursday, Nov. 26, 2009 – 12:00 am | Page 3A

For mud-on-your face goofups in California government, this was a whopper.

Grist for a “Wanna Get Away” commercial, perhaps, involving the hot-button issue of pensions for top elected officials.

The final chapter was written this week by the California Citizens Compensation Commission after a flurry of ‘what do we do now?’ talks.

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Of 120 California lawmakers 73 get failing grade
November 27, 2009 8:50 AM
NATASHA LINDSTROM Staff Writer

SACRAMENTO • Assemblyman Steve Knight and Sen. George Runner are among the highest performing legislators when it comes to lessening taxpayer burdens, according to a new legislative report card by a taxpayer advocate group.

The Victor Valley’s other two representatives — Assemblyman Anthony Adams and Sen. Roy Ashburn — still earned some of top grades of all state lawmakers, with their votes supporting $12.5 billion in tax hikes shrinking their final scores.

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10:00 PM PST on Thursday, November 26, 2009

By RICHARD K. DE ATLEY
The Press-Enterprise

Of the nine defendants named in the San Jacinto political corruption indictment, Byron Jerry Ellison Sr. appears to have the fewest ties to the city — a part-time resident whose home is in Garden Grove. He also has an address in Montana.

But according to affidavits and the 155-count indictment, Ellison, 70, is suspected in 139 counts — 43 felonies and 96 misdemeanors.

Arraignment was postponed to Dec. 4 for Ellison, a retired California Highway Patrol sergeant and onetime investigator for the California secretary of state’s voter fraud investigation unit.

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10:00 PM PST on Thursday, November 26, 2009

By LOU HIRSH
The Press-Enterprise

Special Section: San Jacinto Corruption Probe

Caught in the middle of a sweeping corruption probe involving two of its founders, the San Jacinto Chamber of Commerce has moved to reduce the daily role of Executive Director Nancy Ayres.

On Nov. 12, Riverside County prosecutors indicted Ayres and eight others, including a developer who helped found the chamber. Authorities said they conspired to launder hundreds of thousands of dollars and conceal campaign contributions.

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Melissa Pinion-Whitt, Staff Writer
Posted: 11/26/2009 06:13:52 AM PST

ADELANTO – The new faces coming to the sheriff’s Adelanto station aren’t new to law enforcement. In fact, they aren’t even new to the High Desert.

Thirty-five patrol deputies, detectives and other employees from the Victor Valley sheriff’s station about nine miles away will be coming to Adelanto under a plan that will save the city more than $400,000 per year.

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By Jim Wasserman
jwasserman@sacbee.com
Published: Thursday, Nov. 26, 2009 – 12:00 am | Page 6B

CalPERS, shaken by heavy losses in a New York apartment deal recommended by investment adviser BlackRock Inc., is leaning toward severing ties with the firm, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.

The California Public Employees’ Retirement System declined comment on the report, which was based on an anonymous source. The pension fund giant acknowledged, however, that it is reviewing the performance of all its real estate managers, “given the current economic environment and new leadership in our investment office.”

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10:00 PM PST on Wednesday, November 25, 2009

By JIM MILLER
Sacramento Bureau

SACRAMENTO – Assemblyman Bill Emmerson’s decision to run for a Riverside County state Senate seat already is forcing him to confront a thicket of residency issues.

Emmerson, a longtime Redlands resident, reregistered to vote in Hemet earlier this month. He will continue to represent his San Bernardino County-based Assembly seat, even though Hemet is not in the district.

In addition, Emmerson is leasing the Hemet house from a political donor and longtime friend. The situation means he has to prove the rent is fair-market value to comply with campaign-finance rules.

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Andrew Edwards, Staff Writer
Posted: 11/25/2009 03:14:31 PM PST

SAN BERNARDINO – City Attorney James F. Penman said Wednesday that he has agreed to pay a $5,000 settlement to the state’s Fair Political Practices Commission over a free membership he accepted at Arrowhead Country Club.

“I didn’t think I violated the law, but the FPPC feels differently … I have to respect their decisions,” Penman said, emphasizing that his settlement is not an admission of any criminal wrongdoing.

Penman said the commission staffers concluded that he did not report the full value of his honorary club membership in 2005 and 2006.

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James Rufus Koren, Staff Writer
Posted: 11/25/2009 03:01:28 PM PST

Election officials say the campaign to recall Assemblyman Anthony Adams did not gather enough valid signatures to move forward, but recall backers said Wednesday they will go to court if necessary to validate more signatures.

Recall campaign manager Tim Whitacre said honest mistakes led to many signatures from valid, registered voters being flagged as invalid by the San Bernardino County Registrar of Voters. He said county Registrar Kari Verjil’s office didn’t do anything wrong, but that the office followed the letter rather than the spirit of state election law.

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Senor Blogger
November 25, 2009

Rancho Cucamonga Mayor Don Kurth is a candidate running for the Republican Party nomination for the 63rd Assembly District. District incumbent Bill Emmerson is leaving due to term limits.

Kurth has spoken about his colorful past in overcoming an addiction to drugs and narcotics, as well as homelessness and a custodial jail sentence.

As he has moved on from his problems he encountered years ago, one incident stands out that the media may seek to address as the campaign moves forward.

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10:00 PM PST on Tuesday, November 24, 2009

By DARRELL R. SANTSCHI
The Press-Enterprise

HIGHLAND – The City Council voted Tuesday night to turn Highland’s moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries into a permanent ban.

Approval came on a 4-0 vote, with Councilman John Timmer absent.

The decision came eight months after the council first imposed a moratorium on the dispensaries and four months before the moratorium was due to expire.

The Highland City Council is one of a growing number of governments to ban dispensaries on either a temporary or permanent basis. Among the others are San Bernardino, Yucaipa, Loma Linda and San Bernardino County. The Calimesa City Council is scheduled to consider extending its ban on Monday.

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Supervisor Neil Derry
Posted: 11/24/2009 06:31:32 PM PST

Given the embarrassing history of corruption and scandal in San Bernardino County, it is understandable that some might be concerned by the recent dismissal of the county administrative officer.

The carousel of scandal and ineptitude plaguing our county government creates doubt, skepticism and cynicism.

Instead of allowing these concerns to go unanswered, I wanted to address my constituents.

Well before I took office, I was aware of the tensions that existed between many of our employees and the leadership of the county. Over this past year it has become apparent that the morale of San Bernardino County employees is extremely poor. Our employees, the men and women who provide services to this county, do not trust those who lead them. Worse, they don’t believe much of anything we say.

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Assemblyman Adams

Posted: 11/23/2009 09:37:29 PM PST

How nice it was to see the recall attempt against Assemblyman Anthony Adams flop.

We were against the recall for any number of reasons, as we editorialized in April when the effort was announced.

Recall should be reserved for cases of corruption, malfeasance or other criminal activity, in our opinion, not a reaction to a vote cast.

That’s especially true when the recall effort, if successful, would result in a recall election just a few months before the targeted officeholder is up for re-election, which was the case here. The whole thing would have wasted about $900,000 for a special election even though Republican voters will have a chance to oust Adams, R-Claremont, should they choose to, in the June primary.

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James Rufus Koren, Staff Writer
Posted: 11/24/2009 02:33:17 PM PST

Got $200 and a postage stamp?

Then you, too, can try your hand at being a California lawmaker.

Since 1911, Californians have been able to write and pass laws by going directly to the ballot box instead of through the state Legislature. The ballot initiative process takes months and, for the successful few, loads of money, but politicians, political observers and even unsuccessful amateur lawmakers see it as a necessity, even if many proposed laws seem harebrained.

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By Dale Kasler
dkasler@sacbee.com
Published: Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2009 – 12:00 am | Page 16A

A CalPERS board member paid $67,000 to settle a civil fraud lawsuit tied to a political corruption probe in a Los Angeles suburb.

Louis F. Moret, appointed to a four-year term on the Cal-PERS board in February 2008, was sued by the city of South Gate after testifying in a criminal trial about his role in steering city contracts to preferred bidders. Four men were given prison sentences, including a powerful city treasurer whom Moret considered a protégé.

Moret, who was a $12,000-a-month city consultant, wasn’t charged with a crime. A prosecutor was quoted later as saying the evidence against him was too weak.

CalPERS spokesman Brad Pacheco said the pension fund wasn’t aware of the civil settlement until an inquiry by The Bee this week. The settlement was finalized last December.

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10:00 PM PST on Tuesday, November 24, 2009

By DUG BEGLEY
The Press-Enterprise

Hope of a swift rebound to Riverside County’s dour budget situation has faded, and officials are now predicting furloughs past this fiscal year amid even more dire financial projections that have the county potentially insolvent by 2012 under some scenarios.

“We’ll do the best that we can to minimize the loss of jobs,” 3rd District Riverside County Supervisor Jeff Stone said. “But there are going to be some job losses in this county.”

County Administrator Bill Luna and Finance Director Paul McDonnell told supervisors the county must make changes to its current fiscal year 2009-10 budget to account for a $20 million loss in revenue. The dip will be filled by reserve money in the county’s general fund, under a plan presented to the supervisors.

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By Jim Sanders
jsanders@sacbee.com
Published: Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2009 – 12:00 am | Page 16A

Now the infighting begins.

Democrats fired back only minutes after Republican state Sen. Abel Maldonado was appointed Tuesday by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to fill the vacant office of lieutenant governor.

Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg questioned the cost: Wouldn’t California be better served spending $2 million to defray college tuition rather than for a special election to fill Maldonado’s Senate seat should lawmakers confirm him?

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10:00 PM PST on Tuesday, November 24, 2009

By DARRELL R. SANTSCHI
The Press-Enterprise

HIGHLAND – This city is in good financial shape and figures to see new development and the start of construction on two major bridges in the year ahead, Highland Mayor Penny Lilburn told business leaders Tuesday.

Lilburn delivered the annual state of the community address to about 150 members of the Highland Area Chamber of Commerce at the San Manuel Village/Hampton Inn & Suites.

“There are few cities in California that are in as good a position as the city of Highland … fiscally, politically and with the future build-out opportunities that we are going to provide,” Lilburn said.

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Susan Vaccaro
November 22, 2009

The case filed by San Bernardino County District Attorney Michael Ramos against Grand Terrace City Councilman Jim Miller is already half-way down the proverbial drain.

After being paraded out in front of a District Attorney orchestrated media arrest on a single felony charge of conflict of interest, the prosecution is now desperate to salvage something from the case.

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It seems San Bernardino County Third District Supervisor Neil Derry held a succesful political fundraiser event in Redlands last Wednesday evening. This was Derry’s first event since taking office last December.

By all reports the packed house will net the supervisor six figures.

The only reason I write on this today is that it doesn’t appear the event suffered any impact from attempts by Derry’s colleague, Fifth District Supervisor Josie Gonzales, to cut off Derry’s fundraising.

Particularly from local developers.

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Discussion planned December 1

Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Posted: 11/18/2009 09:50:40 PM PST

Board of Supervisors Chairman Gary Ovitt will call for a closed-door meeting Dec. 1 to discuss the selection process for a new San Bernardino County chief administrative officer, his top aide said Wednesday.

“It’s important that it not only be a process but a process that everyone feels they can be a part of,” said Mark Kirk, Ovitt’s chief of staff.

Ovitt declined to comment for this report.

In a closed-door meeting Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors voted 3-2, with Paul Biane and Josie Gonzales opposing, to fire County Administrative Officer Mark Uffer.

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Susan Vaccaro
November 18, 2009

The Board of Supervisors approved an increase in the contract with the law firm of Curiale Hirschfield Kraemer yesterday. The amount was increased from $75,000 to $140,000.

What is the contract for you ask? To pay for an investigation into misconduct of San Bernardino County District Attorney Mike Ramos.

This time it’s Ramos’ zipper that has the county paying out six figures to attorneys to investigate him, his office, their conduct. A complaint made by one of Ramos’ ex-mistresses from inside his department is on its way to costing taxpayers even more down the road, when a settlement is reached with the victim.

That’s right, victim!

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Supervisors seek ‘a different direction’
Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Posted: 11/17/2009 07:50:25 PM PST

In an abrupt move, the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unexpectedly fired County Administrative Officer Mark Uffer.

The firing is “without cause,” meaning Uffer was not accused of wrongdoing and is entitled to a full severance package.

“It took me totally by surprise. I had no idea this was coming,” Uffer said in a telephone interview Tuesday. “It’s certainly a disappointment when you know you’ve given the best you can give and that doesn’t seem to be good enough.”

In a closed session, the board voted 3-2 to remove Uffer from his appointed post. Supervisors Paul Biane and Josie Gonzales voted against the action.

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The other day I wrote just a little bit about a conversation I had with Mark Kirk, Chairman Gary Ovitt’s Chief of Staff, almost a year ago about the Supervisor Ovitt’s hope to restore integrity and ethics to San Bernardino County governance. Those hopes and plans were derailed by a gang of three, Mike Ramos, Mark Uffer and Ruth Stringer, in an effort to maintain chaos on the Fifth Floor so to cover up their own misdeeds and the misdeeds of their supporters.

This calendar year has been a year of frustration for many, both on the inside and on the outside looking in.   Instead of the promise of a re-commitment to transparency, reform and progress, the Board of Supervisors has been stagnant at best and more often described as emasculated due to the threats of an out-of-control District Attorney who has been aided and abetted by a disloyal County Administrative Officer and County Counsel who put their own political interests ahead of the people they serve.

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District Attorney Michael Ramos

Senor Blogger
November 16, 2009

The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors is set to increase the contract with the law firm conducting the investigation into allegations of misconduct by District Attorney Michael Ramos.

Consent Calendar Item #41 on tomorrow’s Board of Supervisors agenda will approve an appropriation for a revised contract with the Santa Monica based law firm of Curiale Hirschfield and Kraemer, increasing the amount to $140,000.00. Any contract for outside legal services exceeding $100,000 must be approved by the board. The pending action means the investigation costs have or is expected to exceed the board approval threshold.

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Michael Kane
November 16, 2009

Rumors abound that change is coming soon to San Bernardino County Government.

It’s beginning to look like the Board of Supervisors may have had enough of the dysfunction and ineptitude at the highest levels of the “management corp.”

Ever since someone posted DISMISSAL/DISCIPLINE/RELEASE OF PUBLIC EMPLOYEE(S) on the Supervisors Board agenda for the Tuesday meeting, the Fifth Floor denizens have been scratching their heads (and laughing) about the unlucky (but deserving) public officials who will be leaving public service soon.

Most speculation centers around the obvious two choices viewed as the most deserving of unemployment.  I refer, of course, to County Administrative Officer Mark “the Real Deal” Uffer and Ruth “The Never Ending Vacation Accrual Plan” Stringer, neither of whom would be missed by co-workers, the county workforce, or the general public.

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On Tuesday, at least three of the five of you are expected to darn near make history in this county. It’s been a long time in the making. And there is a good reason for that, it being a long time in the making, that is. Her name is Ruth Stringer, your trusted legal counsel.

The change you will be making should have been made long ago. Had it been done a year ago, likely most of you would have had a less tumultuous year, even if you don’t know it. Let’s just say “subterfuge” has been a key term for the past year.

And Ruth Stringer has been a key player in this subterfuge. Think of the grief she has caused some of you.

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Anti Corruption Unit
November 14, 2009

Looking at the recent information that has come to light involving our District Attorney, it is rather clear, the evidence is in, he has been less than honest regarding his affairs and his own Fair Political Practices Commission issues.

It is now hard to argue that all of Ramos’s rhetoric about the rumors and allegations of his conduct being baseless tabloid rumors, were in fact nothing but lies.

Call it a little lie, or a big one, it is still a lie. Ramos did not lie to one of his subordinates, or someone in the privacy of his office, he did so in the press more than once.

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BY NATASHA LINDSTROM
STAFF WRITER

SAN BERNARDINO

The state’s nonpartisan campaign watchdog is investigating San Bernardino County District Attorney Michael Ramos for failing to report a $10,000 campaign payment to his wife in 2008.

“We will investigate the allegation,” said Roman Porter, spokesman of the Fair Political Practices Commission, which has the ability to fine officials up to $5,000 per reporting violation.

Last week Ramos filed an amended Form 700 income disclosure document covering 2008, nine months after he filed the original form on Feb. 9. He added a $10,000 payment for the position of “campaign administrative assistant.”

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The simply answer is “Yes.” Mike is right. There is a very big difference between the violations charged against Mike Ramos and those against Jim Erwin.

Jim Erwin committed no crime. His original filing was the lawful and correct filing. His amended filing, which was done at the urging of Mike Ramos through Dave Ellis, was the incorrect way to report the watch and trip from Jeff Burum.

Jim was given the Rolex and trip as a “thank you” from Jeff for Jim’s help in negotiating the Colonies settlement. The $15,000 plus or minus value of the gift was far less than the value of the services Jim provided. Remember, Jim Brulte had a success fee arrangement with Colonies, where if a settlement was obtained through his efforts he would receive $250,000 for his services, and he was less involved than Jim. The arrangement expired a year earlier to the final settlement.

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Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Created: 11/12/2009 05:31:16 PM PST

The Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) has launched an investigation into San Bernardino County District Attorney Michael A. Ramos for failing to report a $10,000 payment to his wife for working on his political campaign.

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Michael Kane
November 12, 2009

RUTH STRINGER: Counselor from Hell

Who or what is “evil” or “venal” is obviously a matter of personal opinion. So let’s look at the dictionary definitions and set a yardstick to measure some of our more important appointed public officials:

EVIL. (Defined): morally wrong or bad; immoral due to actual or imputed bad conduct or character; the wicked or immoral part of someone or something; anything causing injury or harm.

VENAL. (Defined): willing to sell one’s influence; bribable, corruptible.

Now let’s look at some of those high-level County officials and see how they measure up to the challenge to demonstrate integrity, act honestly, perform competently and truly serve the public interest to the exclusion of their own.

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