San Bernardino County Fire Chief Pat Dennen has announced his retirement effective June 25, 2010.
Dennen was the focus of disciplinary action by county supervisors last summer related to the improper use of county-owned equipment.
Politics, Government & Business in California's Inland Empire
San Bernardino County Fire Chief Pat Dennen has announced his retirement effective June 25, 2010.
Dennen was the focus of disciplinary action by county supervisors last summer related to the improper use of county-owned equipment.
The Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) complaints against San Bernardino County Second District Supervisor Paul Biane, Fifth District Supervisor Josie Gonzales, and former County Administrative Officer Mark Uffer have been resubmitted as it did not appear, based on their response, that the FPPC understood the basis of the first complaint.
The complaint alleges the following:
Frank Guzman
The California Republican Assembly has officially endorsed local attorney Frank Guzman for San Bernadino County District Attorney.
Guzman is challenging two-term incumbent Michael A. Ramos.
Former County Administrative Officer Mark Uffer is the assigned instructor for a graduate degree public administration course at California State University San Bernardino.
Here is the course listing found on the CSUSB website.
Ramos
Written by Administrator
April 22nd, 2010 at 9:01 pm
San Bernardino County District Attorney Mike Ramos attended last night’s meeting of the San Bernardino County Republican Central Committee (SBGOP) to ask for their endorsement of his re-election bid. Arriving late, he indicated that he had been busy and needed to get back to his “family.” Ramos, however, was denied the endorsement.
Uffer
Written by Administrator
April 22nd, 2010 at 12:50 pm
On April 19, 2010, I submitted a complaint to the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Public Integrity Unit regarding former County Administrative Office Mark Uffer.
The complaint states:
The undersigned alleges that while employed as the Administrative Officer for the county of San Bernardino, Uffer received thousands of dollars of memorabilia that was gifted to him due to his position as a government official.
Mike Cruz, Staff Writer
Created: 04/22/2010 07:28:42 PM PDT
San Bernardino County First District Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt appears to hold the decisive vote in a requested waiver of attorney-client privilege in an investigation by state and local prosecutors in the Colonies lawsuit settlement.
Supervisors Neil Derry and Josie Gonzales seem ready to approve the request while Supervisors Paul Biane and Gary Ovitt, who voted in favor of the 2006 settlement payment of $102 million to a Rancho Cucamonga developer, have recused themselves from upcoming vote and have denied any wrongdoing.
April 22, 2010 4:20 PM
FROM STAFF REPORTS
SAN BERNARDINO • Two economic development officials working for San Bernardino County suddenly resigned this week, county spokesman David Wert confirmed.
Economic Development Agency Director Mark Dowling and Marketing Coordinator Paul Herrera both resigned Tuesday without stating reasons, Wert said. They are no longer in their positions, but Wert said the resignations take effect July 3.
10:00 PM PDT on Thursday, April 22, 2010
By DUANE W. GANG
The Press-Enterprise
The city of Riverside and four environmental groups sued Riverside County on Thursday, challenging its approval last month of one of the region’s largest housing developments.
The Villages of Lakeview would put 11,350 homes between Perris and San Jacinto. The project, next to the state’s San Jacinto Wildlife Area, could add more than 30,000 new residents to the region and its already clogged roadways.
Debbie Pfeiffer Trunnell, Staff Writer
Posted: 04/22/2010 05:54:28 PM PDT
At the beginning of the next school year, teachers at five San Bernardino City Unified schools will face even greater pressure to boost student performance.
Among the rewards for their efforts will be financial incentives, opportunities for advancement and flexible work conditions.
Stacia Glenn, Staff Writer
Posted: 04/22/2010 05:28:01 PM PDT
Criminal charges are being reviewed for a retired San Bernardino County sheriff’s captain accused of falsifying certifications to raise his salary, authorities said.
Details of the alleged scheme have not been released. The captain, whose wife works at the sheriff’s training academy, has not been identified because it is a personnel matter.
James Rufus Koren, Staff Writer
Posted: 04/22/2010 05:58:33 PM PDT
With the city facing a $24 million budget deficit in the coming year, San Bernardino City Manager Charles McNeely presented the city council Thursday with a list of cuts, new and increased taxes and fees and other changes that could shrink or eliminate that gap.
“Our finance department has worked with all the department heads to come up with a pretty comprehensive list,” said city spokeswoman Heather Gray. “We can say, `Here are all of our options, you tell us what you think is the best choice.”‘
Meg Whitman
The Republican advocates raising the retirement age from 50 to 55 for public safety employees and from 55 to 65 for non-safety state workers. She takes a jab at Jerry Brown for the pension crisis.
Cathleen Decker
April 23, 2010
Republican candidate for governor Meg Whitman on Thursday proposed a major restructuring of state worker pensions that she said would dramatically lessen the billions of dollars that cash-strapped California would be required to pay out in future years.
Casting blame for the costs in part on the man she will face if she wins her party’s nomination in June — former governor and current presumptive Democratic nominee Jerry Brown — Whitman said that pension liabilities are “like a train coming through the tunnel at every single Californian.” She said liabilities amounted to almost $15,000 for every household in California.
The Republican refuses to disclose how much she spent in her legal fight to acquire domain names and on consultants before she declared her candidacy, saying that at the time she wasn’t in the governor’s race.
By Michael Rothfeld, Reporting from Sacramento
April 23, 2010
When Meg Whitman wanted the rights to Internet addresses she would later use in her campaign for governor, she hired a top-notch law firm to pry them from the Santa Monica man who owned them.
She took her fight with him to a United Nations arbitrator. And she sued him in federal court.
By Dan Walters
dwalters@sacbee.com The Sacramento Bee
Published: Friday, Apr. 23, 2010 – 12:00 am | Page 3A
Weeks ago, the three major candidates for governor of California agreed – in principle – to release their income tax returns, but it hasn’t happened and it may not happen.
The leading Republican candidate, Meg Whitman, says she’ll release her returns for the past quarter-century if Democrat Jerry Brown releases his dating back to 1983, when his first stint as governor ended. Brown has specifically promised only returns for the past decade in response to a newspaper request.
By Torey Van Oot
tvanoot@sacbee.com
Published: Friday, Apr. 23, 2010 – 12:00 am | Page 3A
The partisan tension that torpedoed Sen. Abel Maldonado’s first shot at becoming lieutenant governor had largely subsided Thursday, as the Assembly voted 51-17 to approve the Santa Maria Republican’s nomination.
“I know that this place, this institution that I love so much, can work,” Maldonado said. “Today I think we demonstrated that we can come together.”
April 22nd, 2010, 3:18 pm · posted by Teri Sforza, Register staff writer
Last fall, when California Pension Reform wrested the database of state retirees earning more than $100,000 a year from the California Public Employees Retirement System, there were 6,133 people on the list.
And now – just shy of one year after the first database was released – an update shows that the new total of people in the $100,000-plus public pension club is 9,111 – a staggering 49 percent increase.
By Susan Ferriss
sferriss@sacbee.com
Published: Friday, Apr. 23, 2010 – 12:00 am | Page 3A
BURBANK – A decision on how much to cut state legislators’ salaries and benefits and use of leased state vehicles was pushed to June by the California Citizens Compensation Commission on Thursday.
Most members of the commission seemed ready to use their regulatory power to impose another cut when they meet again, although some said a proposed 10 percent chop was too much.