December 08, 2009 7:42 PM

By JENNIFER MUIR and TONY SAAVEDRA
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Three members of the Orange County Fair Board are abandoning a nonprofit foundation they formed to buy the fairgrounds — and two believe the rest of their colleagues should disband the group.

The resignations crack a shaky foundation, already accused by Orange County officials of breaking state open meeting and conflict of interest laws.

The opposition to the foundation’s bid – and to the state’s plan to sell the fair in general — has been deep and strong. The city of Costa Mesa and the county of Orange are lobbying to take the fairgrounds off the market, and a state assemblyman is pushing for the governor or the legislature to block the sale.

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House leader Hoyer calls for debt limit increase of $1.8-1.9 trillion

* By Andrew Taylor, Associated Press Writer
* On 12:37 pm EST, Friday December 11, 2009

WASHINGTON (AP) — A top House Democratic leader said Friday Congress will have to permit at least $1.8 trillion in additional federal borrowing next year in order to avoid a default on the U.S. debt.

Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said that an increase in the so-called debt limit would have to be in the neighborhood of $1.8 to $1.9 trillion in order to allow the government to borrow enough money to keep the government running through December of next year.

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Frank H. Guzman

December 10, 2009

I am personally appealing to Mike Ramos to do the right thing and that is to not forsake running for re-election but to leave office at once.

For the good of the citizens of San Bernardino County, its taxpayers, county government, the district attorney’s office, and law enforcement in general, the best thing is for Mike Ramos to resign. In a very short time, I believe Mike Ramos will see that such a decision is in his best interest and that if his family.

Whatever current financial advantage Ramos enjoys over any potential rivals will prove irrelevant when issues about Ramos’ comportment in office becomes a widely considered and discussed subject during the upcoming election year. That discussion cannot fail to subject the prosecutor’s office to derision and disrepute.

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L.A. NOW
Southern California

December 10, 2009 | 4:43 pm

A primary election to fill the state Senate seat vacated by John Benoit, a Palm Desert Republican, will be held April 13, with a general election June 8, as a result of a proclamation issued today by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The special election is needed because Benoit was appointed to the Riverside County Board of Supervisors.

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L.A. NOW
Southern California — this just in

December 10, 2009 | 7:47 pm

Andrea Sheridan Ordin, a former federal, state and local prosecutor, appears poised to become Los Angeles County’s top lawyer.

The county Board of Supervisors plans to vote on the appointment at its meeting Tuesday, and a majority of supervisors indicated today that they would approve it.

Ordin, currently in private practice, is vice president of the Los Angeles Police Commission and was a member of the Christopher Commission, the independent body that recommended police reforms after the 1991 beating of Rodney King and the subsequent riots.

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By Jim Sanders
jsanders@sacbee.com
Published: Friday, Dec. 11, 2009 – 12:00 am | Page 1A

Only one year after capturing his first elective office, John A. Pérez was named Thursday to lead the Assembly into a crucial year of sky-high deficit and record-low voter approval.

The 40-year-old Los Angeles lawmaker and cousin of Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa was chosen unanimously as Assembly speaker by a caucus of his Democratic colleagues.

Pérez will be the state’s first openly gay Assembly speaker once the formality of a floor vote is taken in January.

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By Andrew McIntosh
amcintosh@sacbee.com
Published: Friday, Dec. 11, 2009 – 12:00 am | Page 1A

Jobless Californians are facing eviction and homelessness because the Employment Development Department has been unable to deliver an estimated 119,000 checks for extended unemployment insurance benefits after the federal government approved extra money last month.

Legislators are getting calls from anxious and desperate constituents, while media reports about the growing problems faced by the long-term unemployed are emerging statewide.

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Democrats balk at plan

December 10, 2009 4:41 PM
FROM STAFF REPORTS

SANTA BARBARA • State Sen. George Runner is backing an offshore oil drilling proposal that could send $100 million immediately to California’s General Fund.

Last week, Runner, R-Lancaster, visited an oil drilling platform part of the Tranquillon Ridge Project, five miles off the coast of Santa Barbara County. The project would allow Plains Exploration & Production Co. to access oil and gas reserves located beneath California state waters, runner said in a statement.

According to a Runner PXP has committed to advance $100 million immediately to California’s General Fund.

Depending on oil prices, up to $4 billion in state revenue could be generated over the next 14 years, he said.

To read the full story, see Friday’s Daily Press. To subscribe to the Daily Press in print or online, call (760) 241-7755 or click here.

By JOY JUEDES, Staff Writer
Posted: 12/11/2009 08:33:51 AM PST

Rep. Jerry Lewis has released an analysis and critique of government stimulus spending.

Lewis, who represents Redlands and is the ranking Republican on the House Appropriations Committee, issued an analysis Dec. 4 titled “Only 12% of `Stimulus’ Funds Have Left the Treasury – and Democrats want ANOTHER “Stimulus” Bill?”

“In spite of the vast amount of remaining funding and the `stimulus’ legislation’s clear lack of positive effect on the economy, Democrats in Congress are reportedly preparing yet another `stimulus’ spending package to be passed before the Christmas break,” the release stated.

Lewis’s statement said the February stimulus bill failed to keep unemployment below 8 percent. The national average was 10 percent in November.

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Posted: 12/10/2009 07:21:12 PM PST

We’ve already said our piece on the lieutenant governor’s office (“Keep vacancy, or eliminate office,” Dec. 7 editorial) – that it should be replaced by an elected prison director in the lineup of statewide elected officials; or failing that, simply eliminated to save money.

Our stance wasn’t changed by an editorial board visit with state Sen. Abel Maldonado, whom Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has nominated to fill the lieutenant governor slot, despite the senator’s defense of the importance of having a No. 2 to the governor. Our feelings about the LG’s office have nothing to do with Maldonado or his nomination – after all, it was 3½ years ago that we first called for doing away with the post he wants.

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Josh Dulaney, Staff Writer
Posted: 12/10/2009 02:19:41 PM PST

FONTANA – The next mayor here might rise from the ranks of one of the most polarizing activist groups in the nation.

Bobbi Jo Chavarria, an organizing committee member of the ACORN chapter in Fontana, filed paperwork Thursday with the city clerk announcing her intention to seek the mayoral seat in the 2010 election.

“The people of Fontana deserve to be listened to and addressed in a thorough manner,” Chavarria said. “My experience in the last few months with the(City Council) has gone nowhere.”

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Debbie Pfeiffer Trunnell, Staff Writer
Posted: 12/10/2009 04:19:39 PM PST

In the Adelanto School District, teachers will most likely take furloughs as early as January, while many in other area districts have lost staff development days they use for training and planning.

And as the state’s dire financial situation shows no signs of letting up, there may once again be layoffs in the futures of the county’s educators.

“What it comes down to is trying to balance the budget on the backs of teachers,” said Hector Anderson, president of the Adelanto District Teachers Association. “My concern is with this a clear message will not be sent that funding for education needs an overhaul in this state.”

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Decrease seen by San Manuels

Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Posted: 12/10/2009 06:30:24 PM PST

Indian gaming experienced its slowest growth ever in 2008, but even the slumping economy couldn’t prevent the lucrative industry from posting positive year over year growth, according to a study released Thursday.

Nationwide, Indian gaming generated $26.8 billion in 2008, a 1.5 percent increase over the $26.4 billion generated in 2007, publisher Casino City reported in its annual Indian Gaming Industry Report.

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08:48 AM PST on Friday, December 11, 2009

By GAIL WESSON AND DUG BEGLEY
The Press-Enterprise

Three of four San Jacinto City Council members who were indicted last month in a sweeping corruption probe were served with recall notices at Thursday night’s council meeting.

“We believe wholeheartedly in the presumption of innocence,” said Brian T. Hildreth, attorney for the citizens group SCRAM — San Jacinto Corruption Recall Active Movement — which is behind the recall. But the indicted officials remaining on the council keeps a “dark cloud of scandal and corruption over the city and the council in particular.”

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