Grand Terrace City Councilman Jim Miller waived his right to a preliminary hearing in San Bernardino County Superior Court today.

The move sets the stage for an immediate jury trial on a single count of conflict of interest by a public officer, a felony.

The move follows a formal rejection of a plea offer of a single misdemeanor count that would require Miller to resign from office.

Miller was charged by District Attorney Michael Ramos for voting to approve what is referred to as a check disbursement register that is routinely placed on the Grand Terrace City Council consent calendar.

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10:00 PM PST on Thursday, January 14, 2010

By JIM MILLER
Sacramento Bureau

SACRAMENTO – Riverside County’s 37th Senate District has been safe Republican ground for almost all of its existence.

Then came 2008. Barack Obama carried the district, one of four GOP-held Senate seats where the Democratic presidential ticket prevailed.

Much of the attention on the upcoming special election in the 37th has been on the race between Republican candidates Bill Emmerson, a state Assemblyman, and Russ Bogh, a former lawmaker.

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10:00 PM PST on Thursday, January 14, 2010

By IMRAN GHORI
The Press-Enterprise

Grand Terrace Councilman Jim Miller pleaded not guilty Thursday morning to a felony conflict-of-interest charge in San Bernardino County Superior Court.

His attorney, Richard M. Ewaniszyk, entered the plea on Miller’s behalf in the arraignment proceeding, which lasted only a few minutes. Miller will return to court on Feb. 1.

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06:52 PM PST on Thursday, January 14, 2010

By LOU HIRSH
The Press-Enterprise

The recession continued to take its toll on the finances of Inland residents in 2009, especially those who run small businesses, as local bankruptcy filings jumped by more than 50 percent from the prior year.

Data from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court’s Riverside division show that local bankruptcy filings rose 54.7 percent from 2008. There were a total of 29,764 Inland filings in 2009.

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Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger

Staff and Wire Reports
Created: 01/14/2010 09:39:56 PM PST

The Schwarzenegger administration filed an appeal Wednesday in a lawsuit over his furloughs of state workers, contesting a decision by the state controller to restore pay for prison guards.

Last year, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ordered some 200,000 state employees to take three days off a month without pay, cutting their paychecks by 14 percent to help close the state’s budget gap.

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OVER-REGULATED STATE MANDATES HURT BUSINESSES

By Natasha Lindstrom
Staff Writer

With California claiming the nation’s highest sales tax, strictest climate change bill and a slew of inflexible employer mandates, Sen. George Runner isn’t surprised to hear from small businesses that say they’re crippled by over-regulation and may be forced to leave the state.

He’s gravely concerned the trend could stymie California’s chances of an economic rebound.

At 8 a.m. Friday Runner, (R-Lancaster), will join Assemblyman Cameron Smyth at Santa Clarita City Hall to host the first of several planned town halls aimed at finding out which state regulations and taxes are hurting local businesses the most. In February Runner plans to host a similar event in the Victor Valley.

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Michael J. Sorba, Staff Writer
Posted: 01/14/2010 09:16:10 PM PST

COLTON – A major reorganization proposal of City Hall could result in six employees — including three department heads and a mid-level manager — losing their jobs, City Manager Rod Foster said Thursday night.

Along with the layoffs, several departments would be consolidated and some employee classifications would be added, eliminated and revised in the sweeping round of organizational changes the City Council will consider at a special 9 a.m. Saturday meeting at City Hall.

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Stephen Wall, Staff Writer
Posted: 01/14/2010 04:18:57 PM PST

GRAND TERRACE – The city’s prescription drug discount program has been revived, thanks to an unlikely benefactor.

Barney Karger, an 81-year-old resident who has been critical of city officials, made a generous donation this week allowing Grand Terrace to offer the program.

The program enables Grand Terrace residents to get an average savings of 20 percent off the price of prescription drugs at CVS Pharmacies and other drug stores.

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Inflation up moderate 2.7 percent in 2009, but consumers squeezed by 1.6 percent wage dip

By Martin Crutsinger, AP Economics Writer , On Friday January 15, 2010, 9:26 am EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — Consumer inflation was tame in 2009, with prices rising 2.7 percent. Yet families felt squeezed as their spending power sank in the face of falling wages, job losses and higher prices for energy, medical care and education.

A surge in energy prices last year offset the biggest drop in food costs in nearly a half century.

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PENSION FUNDS

Placement agents seeking pension fund investments for their clients ranged in size from Wall Street heavyweights to smaller independent firms, documents show.

By Walter Hamilton and Jack Dolan

January 15, 2010

Reporting from Sacramento and Los Angeles – The obscure intermediaries that were paid millions of dollars to win investment business from the California Public Employees’ Retirement System ranged from Wall Street heavyweights to small independent firms.

But all shared a common pursuit: grabbing a piece of lucrative consulting work in what has become a pension-fund bonanza.

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By Dan Walters
dwalters@sacbee.com
Published: Friday, Jan. 15, 2010 – 12:00 am | Page 3A

The late Gov. Pat Brown, when asked whether he would seek re-election, famously replied that he would declare his intentions when “the snow flies in the Sierra.”

It’s been snowing in the Sierra for months, but Pat’s son, Jerry, still is being coy about whether he will, indeed, seek a second stint as governor this year.

The younger Brown, a two-term governor three decades ago who’s once again in office as attorney general, gives every indication of intending to run. But he apparently believes there’s no hurry to announce because he’s the only Democratic hopeful still standing.

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PENSION FUNDS

The disclosure by the pension giant prompts calls for greater oversight of those soliciting public pension money. Among the lobbyists disclosed is William Crist, a former CalPERS board president.

By Marc Lifsher and Stuart Pfeifer and David Zahniser

January 15, 2010

Reporting from Los Angeles and Sacramento – Private investment funds paid more than $125 million to scores of intermediaries who helped them win business with the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, new documents show, prompting calls for stronger oversight of those who solicit public pension money.

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