Politics, Government & Business in California's Inland Empire
10:00 PM PDT on Sunday, March 14, 2010
The Press-Enterprise
All the many millions that Inland tribes spent during the recent campaign over casino-expansion deals didn’t just win an election.
It also helped put the tribes into the upper echelons of California political spending, surpassing traditional powerhouses such as energy companies, business groups and big tobacco, according to a new study.
11:02 PM PDT on Sunday, March 14, 2010
By DUANE W. GANG
The Press-Enterprise
Riverside County supervisors today are scheduled to begin reviews of every county department and agency as part of their efforts to bridge a $71 million budget gap.
The budget workshops, which start at 1 p.m. in the board’s chambers at 4080 Lemon Street, Riverside, are intended to identify areas to cut and are an alternative to across-the-board reductions.
Delgado
Kristina Hernandez, Staff Writer
Posted: 03/14/2010 04:51:13 PM PDT
COLTON – Arturo Delgado, superintendent of San Bernardino City School District, kicked off his election campaign for county superintendent of schools on Sunday by hosting a launch party at his new headquarters.
Signs, balloons and food welcomed those who stopped by to support Delgado as he plans to oust Superintendent Gary Thomas.
Josh Dulaney, Staff Writer
Posted: 03/14/2010 07:03:05 AM PDT
SAN BERNARDINO – Several schools here are likely to see new leadership next year under a state law requiring poor-performing campuses to close down or take one of three paths to improvement.
Superintendent Arturo Delgado of the San Bernardino City Unified School District is scheduled to meet with staff today to explore the ramifications of 11 schools landing on California’s list of the worst 5 percent in the state.
Meg Whitman
March 15, 2010 | Robert Salladay
Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman wants to chop the state’s workforce by 40,000 employees, a pledge she made again this weekend at the state GOP convention. But does the nation-state of California really have such a bloated government?
California Watch
Not according to the Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy, an independent research group based in Palo Alto. The director, Stephen Levy, is one of the principal experts on the state’s economy, and he reported in December:
Joe Garofoli, Chronicle Staff Writer
Monday, March 15, 2010
Republican Meg Whitman is sharpening her focus on one of the main foils of the billionaire executive’s gubernatorial campaign: unions, particularly those representing public employees.
Her TV commercials attack GOP primary rival Steve Poizner for “joining liberal unions” to support a 2000 ballot measure that lowered the vote threshold to pass school bonds. She rejects a timeline to release her taxes, dismissing the demand as coming from a “union front for Jerry Brown.” She insists that state employees make financial concessions to help balance the budget.
At the party’s state convention, speeches target the growing ‘tea party’ sentiments against taxes, debt and welfare. ‘We are now members of the Had Enough party,’ Senate hopeful Carly Fiorina said.
By Michael Finnegan and Seema Mehta
March 15, 2010
Reporting from Santa Clara, Calif.
Some of the major Republicans vying to become California’s next governor or U.S. senator have more money than others. Some are better known. Some are more in sync with their party’s traditional views.
Sign of economic times
Violators get bad news at local courts
Mediha Fejzagic DiMartino, Staff Writer
Created: 03/14/2010 02:58:08 PM PDT
RANCHO CUCAMONGA – Britain Clayborn came out of the courtroom skipping and hopping – his $800 carpool violation ticket had been dismissed.
“My heart jumped out from my chest when (the officer) didn’t show up,” Clayborn, of Fontana, said.
But others attending Judge Raymond Van Stockum’s traffic court Friday weren’t as lucky.
CALIFORNIA ELECTIONS House of Representatives
Both parties, hoping for pickups in November, are focusing their energies on the June 8 primary, including two open congressional seats.
By Jean Merl
March 15, 2010
As Republicans and Democrats gear up across the country to fight this fall over seats in the House of Representatives, much of the focus in California is on the June 8 primaries. Especially in the two districts with open seats, the races will provide relatively rare change in the state’s 53-member delegation.
Two veteran representatives are retiring, Democrat Diane Watson of Los Angeles, first elected to Congress in 2001, and Republican George Radanovich of the Central Valley, who initially won the office in 1994.