Politics, Government & Business in California's Inland Empire
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InlandPolitics Administration
By PE Politics
on January 4, 2010 3:21 PM
Heading into an election year, the San Bernardino County GOP is essentially broke.
New state reports show that the county’s Republican Central Committee did not raise any money from October through December and received just $3,687 in in-kind contributions in the form of free office space. The party spent money only on bookkeeping services.
The new year is just four days old, but there is a sense of optimism in the air. Jobless claims are finally stating to edge ever-so-slightly downward, there was a decrease in holiday fatalities brought on by excessive partying, and county government continues on a positive progression forward with the upcoming selection of a new county administrative officer.
With so much of which to look forward, county government needs to focus on one glaring exception to the otherwise wonderful steps in the right direction
Election angst likely to raise partisanship
Mediha Fejzagic DiMartino, Staff Writer
Posted: 01/03/2010 09:05:36 PM PST
As if a $20.7 billion deficit was not enough, state legislators could find themselves facing yet another hurdle in 2010 – election-year politics.
Fearing the backlash at the polls, politicians are more likely to act “cowardly,” and be reluctant to cross the party lines to reach a budget compromise, election experts suggest.
“Legislature has a bit of a problem,” said Jack Pitney, a political-science professor at Claremont McKenna College. “The grass-root Republicans are opposed to tax increases, and Republicans will not want to alienate their base. Likewise, the Democrats’ base is in organized labor. Any serious budget-cutting will affect public employees.”
Sandra Emerson, Staff Writer
Created: 01/03/2010 09:08:41 PM PST
UPLAND – The city is preparing its air ambulance transport services for a tentative launch date in February.
The Upland Fire Department is accepting applications for up to four flight nurses and four flight paramedic positions, Fire Chief Michael Antonucci said.
The city entered into a contract with REACH Air Medical Services in June to operate a medical aircraft at no cost to the city, according to city officials.
REACH Air agreed to reimburse the city $75,000 per month for staffing and $10,000 in administrative fees for the first year of operation.
After getting AG’s nod, framework to go to council
Liset Marquez, Staff Writer
Created: 01/03/2010 09:09:40 PM PST
ONTARIO – Nearly six months ago, the city was ready to put the finishing touches on its revised General Plan.
But rather than sending it to the state for approval, the Planning Department opted to send two portions – the environmental report and the policy plan – of the document to the Attorney General’s Office for review.
“We thought we did a good job, although we didn’t want to be sued,” said city Planning Director Jerry Blum.
The Attorney General’s Office has sued cities over their general plans because of the negative impacts to the residents, Blum said.
By Natasha Lindstrom, Staff Writer
SAN BERNARDINO • County supervisors will discuss candidates to fill San Bernardino County’s top non-elected post at a special closed session meeting on Tuesday.
The Board of Supervisors abruptly ousted five-year County Administrative Officer Mark Uffer Nov. 17 “for no cause” on a split vote, with 1st District Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt favoring the firing.
January 04, 2010 – 9:42 AM
Brooke Edwards, Staff Writer
Aside from the $1.6 billion loss in property values already recorded over the last year in the massive re gional redevelopment area surrounding Southern California Logistics Airport, a recent city report shows hundreds of millions of dollars in reduction appeals are still unresolved.
The San Bernardino County Assessor’s office automatically recalculates value on some properties as part of its annual process.
10:13 PM PST on Sunday, January 3, 2010
By JOHN F. HILL
The Press-Enterprise
An effort by the Riverside County Board of Supervisors to make it easier for residents to carry concealed firearms isn’t likely to change policy, the Sheriff’s Department said.
In a 3-1 vote in November, supervisors passed a resolution asking the sheriff to consider applications for permits based solely on “personal defense.”
Supervisor Jeff Stone, author of the resolution, pegged the issue to the potential release of thousands of California inmates as part of a plan to meet a federal mandate to reduce the state’s prison population.
10:40 PM PST on Sunday, January 3, 2010
The Press-Enterprise
Inland Assemblywoman Wilmer Amina Carter will begin the new legislative year on the mend.
Carter, D-Rialto, had surgery on her right knee in December after months of increasing pain. She expects to miss the first few weeks of the 2010 legislative year that begins today.
“It’s just wear and tear. It finally got to the point where it was painful all the time,” said Carter, 68.
The regular legislative session adjourned in mid-September. But lawmakers had to return to Sacramento several times in the fall to consider major legislation dealing with water and education, so Carter kept putting off the operation.
Despite a $9 million budget shortfall, no sign spending is slowing on 62 cards
Erica Felci and Xochitl Peña • The Desert Sun • January 3, 2010
Facing a multimillion-dollar deficit and the threat of staff cuts, Indio city employees since January 2008 have charged more than $805,000 for pricey meals, travel that took staff members across the country, professional sporting events and a trip for the city manager’s wife — all on taxpayer-funded credit cards.
Use of credit cards has continued despite the city’s worsening economic conditions, which include a $9 million budget deficit, an early retirement offer to city employees, layoff warnings — and a pledge by City Manager Glenn Southard to “continue to operate in a fiscally prudent manner.”
A Desert Sun review of nearly 1,000 pages of credit card statements, however, shows that through October, the city’s 62 cardholders spent at least $43,000 more than they had during the same period last year.
Wyatt Buchanan, Chronicle Sacramento Bureau
Monday, January 4, 2010
(01-04) 04:00 PST Sacramento —
California’s political leaders, who are facing the daunting challenge of closing an estimated $20.7 billion budget deficit this year, are looking to Washington for help. Just don’t call it a bailout.
Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, said he plans to head to the nation’s capital “early and often” seeking federal assistance. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger already has put the federal government on notice that he wants billions he says the state is owed. And outgoing Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, D-Baldwin Vista (Los Angeles County), said she would head east as soon as this month.
By Dan Walters
dwalters@sacbee.com
Published: Monday, Jan. 4, 2010 – 12:00 am | Page 3A
One dictionary defines schizophrenia as “a psychosis characterized by withdrawal from reality and by behavioral and intellectual disturbances.”
That’s also a pretty good description of California’s politics as it enters the second decade of the millennium, particularly the “withdrawal from reality” part.
A notion in the minds of a few pundits, including yours truly, a couple of decades ago – that California was becoming functionally ungovernable, its politics severed from social and economic reality – has since become conventional wisdom. And it will dominate this election year in the nation’s most populous and arguably most troubled state.
By Rick Orlov, Staff Writer
Updated: 01/03/2010 06:23:04 PM PST
As Californians brace for this year’s gubernatorial election, two local law enforcement unions have joined forces to play a larger role in the campaign.
The Los Angeles Police Protective League and the Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs have buried past differences and combined to create the California Law and Order Independent Expenditure Committee.
The new group’s top priority will be the governor’s race, but leaders also plan to get involved in electing the attorney general and other key officials.
Don Novey, the political consultant for the PPL, said organizers expect to raise significant amounts of money and play a major role in the election.
Published: Monday, Jan. 4, 2010 – 12:00 am | Page 3A
Last Modified: Monday, Jan. 4, 2010 – 7:43 am
The holidays are over
TODAY: Another year, another budget battle. Both houses of the Legislature reconvene today, and hearings begin anew.
State of the deficit
WEDNESDAY: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is set Wednesday to deliver the first State of the State address of the decade – and the last such speech of his gubernatorial career. Last year, he called the budget deficit “a rock upon our chest,” and told the Legislature: “Our first order of business is to solve the budget crisis.” This year the budget rock weighs in at $20-plus billion for the next 18 months.