Mediha Fejzagic DiMartino, Staff Writer
Created: 12/18/2009 04:10:11 PM PST

SACRAMENTO – The day Assemblyman Curt Hagman was sworn into office last year was bittersweet.

“It was a very short honeymoon,” Hagman said. “That afternoon they called us into the chambers and told us the deficit is not $20 billion, it’s $42 billion.”

Hagman, R-Chino Hills, was among 28 freshmen legislators – 17 Democrats and 11 Republicans – who had to learn on their feet and, almost immediately upon taking office, dole out steep cuts to public schools, social services and health programs – something most of them did not aspire to do when they threw their hats in the ring.

But although it looks like 2010 will bring more of the same, veteran lawmakers as well as newbies are hopeful that the current chaos will bring an opportunity for a long-term change.

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December 18, 2009 4:45 PM
FROM STAFF REPORTS

SAN BERNARDINO • Court proceedings for former San Bernardino County Assessor Bill Postmus and his former aide Greg Eyler — targets in a wide-ranging county corruption probe — have been delayed until Feb. 5.

Both former county workers appeared briefly Friday morning in San Bernardino Superior Court.

Deputy District Attorney Lewis Cope said all parties agreed on a continuance as they continue with the discovery process and the District Attorney’s office awaits reports from the grand jury.

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Debbie Pfeiffer Trunnell, Staff Writer
Posted: 12/18/2009 04:50:32 PM PST

San Bernardino area college students who struggled to get into much-needed classes in 2009 won’t have it any easier in 2010.

More class sections are being cut due to the budget crisis, which means a bleak winter across the board for everyone at the local community colleges and universities.

“One-time San Bernardino Community College District savings from the previous budget year allowed for section cuts to be minimal, but the demand for programs and services at both our colleges continues to climb without state funding to support it,” said Debra Daniels, president of San Bernardino Valley College. “And we are thereby forced to live within the reality of our budgets.”

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By Capitol Weekly Staff | 12/17/09 12:00 AM PST

It’s that time of year again, when the editorial team and mathematicians here at Capitol Weekly go about the exercise of reducing our 118 legislators to simple numerical statistics. Yes, boys and girls. We are proud to present the Third Annual Legislative Scorecard.

Now for the usual round of disclaimers and preemptive apologies. Every political scorecard has its problems, and this one is no exception. The selection of bills is subjective, chosen after conversations with Capitol staff and experts, and our own observations of big debates over the last year under the dome. We also took our cues from other organizations who do this kind of thing on a regular basis. In fact, the Capitol Weekly scorecard is, in many ways, a compilation or synthesis of other scorecards that have been floating around insider circles in recent weeks.

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By Dan Smith and Jon Ortiz
smith@sacbee.com
Published: Saturday, Dec. 19, 2009 – 12:00 am | Page 4A

The union that represents 30,000 correctional officers in California has ended its consulting contract with Don Novey, the one-time president of the organization credited with building its political muscle.

In an e-mail obtained by The Bee, Novey lashed out at Mike Jimenez, current president of the California Correctional Peace Officers Association, for terminating his three-year deal. Jimenez was Novey’s second-in-command until taking the reins in 2002.

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By Andrew McIntosh
amcintosh@sacbee.com
Published: Saturday, Dec. 19, 2009 – 12:00 am | Page 1A

More than 12 percent of the 2,667 new vehicles that Caltrans has bought since 2007 are sitting unused and gathering dust on state lots, according to newly released data confirmed by the department.

Caltrans officials say that after they buy new vehicles and trucks, their department takes up to three years to assemble various components for their custom-designed light- and heavy-duty trucks in Sacramento before they actually hit the road.

The department also says state-mandated furloughs have cut the staff’s ability to complete orders at the Sacramento assembly plant by 15 percent.

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10:00 PM PST on Friday, December 18, 2009

By GENE GHIOTTO
The Press-Enterprise

The Lake Elsinore City Council will consider a proposal Tuesday to establish a 45-day moratorium on legal marijuana-growing activities in the city so it can determine how the operations can be regulated.

The proposal is in response to a request for a business license and phone inquiries to the city about establishing operations to grow, dry, farm, package, process and distribute medical marijuana on a wholesale level, according to the staff report.

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