Attorney General Edmund “Jerry” Brown

PolitiCal
On politics in the Golden State

July 26, 2010 | 4:45 pm

Ten television trucks and a crowd of reporters showed up for a news conference Monday where California Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown announced that he had issued subpoenas for records as part of his investigation into “excessive” salaries in Bell, but the Democratic gubernatorial nominee insisted he was just doing his day job.

Last week The Times examined Brown’s dual roles as candidate and attorney general — prompting the campaign of his opponent, Meg Whitman, to request public records detailing Brown’s official travel and the personnel records of his communications staff.

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Unions are giving the candidate plenty of financial support, even though he has made no commitment to their causes.

By Michael J. Mishak, Los Angeles Times

July 27, 2010

Reporting from Sacramento —

The television ads seize on the millions of dollars organized labor is spending to help elect Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown, warning that if he’s victorious, he would be “their governor.”

Labor leaders watching the spots, which are funded by billionaire GOP nominee Meg Whitman, should be so lucky.

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L.A. NOW
Southern California — this just in

July 26, 2010 | 4:55 pm

Bell Mayor Oscar Hernandez issued a news release Monday apologizing to residents for high salaries the city paid administrators and said he would serve the rest of his term without pay. He will not run for reelection.

“Since my first day as mayor, my priority has been to make Bell a city its residents can be proud to call home,” Hernandez said in his statement. “To the residents of this great city, I apologize that the council’s past decisions with regard to the indefensible administrative salaries have failed to meet that test.

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PolitiCal
On politics in the Golden State

July 26, 2010 | 4:37 pm

Reviving an old attack in his continuing effort to get Republican rival Meg Whitman to release her tax returns, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown accused her Monday of failing to pay unemployment taxes for household staff when she lived in Massachusetts in the 1990s.

The same charge was leveled by the California Democratic Party in March, using the same piece of evidence: a 1999 judgment filed against Whitman in Boston Municipal Court for $1,648.58.

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Capitol Alert
The latest on California politics and government
July 26, 2010

WASHINGTON — The campaign of Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer today criticized Republican Senate GOP candidate Carly Fiorina for opposing the creation of a new consumer finance protection bureau.

The bureau is part of a financial reform bill backed by Boxer and signed into law by President Barack Obama last week.

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Crime | Government | Medical marijuana | Education | Prop 8 | Traffic | Westside
L.A. NOW
Southern California — this just in

July 26, 2010 | 7:37 am

The embattled Bell City Council will meet Monday night to consider cutting council member pay, which is now considered significantly higher than that of other cities of the same size.

The move comes three days after the council announced the resignations of three top city administrators, including the city manager who was making nearly $800,000 a year.

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Brown

Today, Attorney General, oops! I mean democratic candidate for Governor Edmund “Jerry” Brown was campaigning on the Bell pension fiasco vis press conference.

Yes indeed. Another “high-profile” issue has handed Brown a platform to campaign from for “free”.

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Monday, July 26, 2010 – 09:07 am
Updated: Monday, JUly 26, 2010 – 12:50 pm

A story in this mornings Sun and Inland Valley Daily Bulletin newspapers regarding San Bernardino County’s group health benefits contract with HealthNet Inc. depicts a very short-sighted situation.

While the focus of the story is the decision of having more than 10,000 county employees plus dependents losing the ability to use local pharmacies and its impact, there are larger issues of limited availability to the employees.

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The news on Arrowhead Credit Union wasn’t pretty last week.

Like I wrote about a week or two ago, the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), the credit unions regulator, wouldn’t have seized the institution without cause. I said the most likely scenario here was inaccurate financial data reported by Arrowhead’s management.

That assumption was correct.

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San Bernardino County

Workers won’t be able to use small pharmacies
Jim Steinberg, Staff Writer
Created: 07/25/2010 08:06:05 PM PDT

The issue is the right of consumer choice vs. saving money.

It’s about supporting local businesses or shrinking expenses.

And independent pharmacy owners across San Bernardino County are hopping mad.

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Michael J. Sorba, Staff Writer
Posted: 07/25/2010 02:55:14 PM PDT

COLTON – Customers of the Colton Electric Utility pay more for electricity than customers of utilities owned by other surrounding cities, according to an audit of the city’s electric company.

Many residential customers and all commercial and industrial customers also pay more than customers of Southern California Edison, the investor-owned electricity provider that services most of the county.

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Andrew Edwards, Staff Writer
Posted: 07/25/2010 08:06:37 PM PDT

SAN BERNARDINO – The move to amend the City Charter can be viewed as a debate over how to run the city – or just another smackdown between leaders who cannot get along.

The proposal to change the charter would give the City Council, with the mayor’s consent, power to appoint the city attorney, city clerk and city treasurer.

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Scandal a threat to Rialto gains
Josh Dulaney, Staff Writer
Posted: 07/25/2010 08:27:08 PM PDT

RIALTO – Police Chief Mark Kling has described his department as embarrassed and frustrated over allegations that some of its officers were involved in a sex scandal connected to the Spearmint Rhino strip club.

“They don’t deserve that type of recognition,” Kling said. “It doesn’t represent the hardworking people of this department.”

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Council OKs reorganization of departments
Jesse B. Gill, Staff Writer
Posted: 07/25/2010 08:06:08 PM PDT

REDLANDS – The City Council has released a list detailing the total number of jobs it eliminated through recent budget cuts and the reorganizations of city departments necessary after the cuts were made.

The council unanimously approved a resolution making the reorganizations official by adding the cost for the remaining positions into the city budget for the 2010-2011 fiscal year.

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City seeking unspecified cuts from contracts
Jesse B. Gill, Staff Writer
Posted: 07/25/2010 08:06:43 PM PDT

REDLANDS – Although the City Council has said it wants contract concessions from the unions representing city employees, union leaders say it hasn’t specified what is needed.

A council subcommittee manned by Jon Harrison and Mick Gallagher is conducting informal discussions with both unions about items in their employment contracts they could give up to save the city money. The discussions come after a budget season in which the council eliminated 47 full-time city jobs and was still left with a deficit of $877,500.

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July 25, 2010 11:00 AM
Natasha Lindstrom

ADELANTO • Two alternative energy companies slated to launch biodiesel production plants in Adelanto have both abandoned their local projects, city officials said.

One company is now embattled in a civil suit against a property owner. The other quietly abandoned operations after securing the city’s approval, leaving some of its private investors in the dark.

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Liset Marquez, Staff Writer
Created: 07/25/2010 07:03:13 AM PDT

ONTARIO – It’s official: The City Council has agreed to recognize the Ovitt family by naming the public library in its honor.

The exact wording of the dedication will be determined at a future meeting.

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July 26, 2010

By Clint Reilly
Special to Calbuzz

Today Calbuzz presents an assessment of the campaign for governor by political strategist, businessman and columnist Clint Reilly. Reilly, whose advice Brown recently sought, has a unique perspective, having run the 1994 gubernatorial bid of the Democratic candidate’s sister, Kathleen, against Pete Wilson, who enjoyed a substantial fundraising advantage.

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California Watch
A Project of the Center for Investigative Reporting
Money and Politics

California WatchBlog

July 26, 2010 | Lance Williams

One of Carly Fiorina’s ads attacks Barbara Boxer for being “worried about the weather.”

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Carly Fiorina has obtained about $63,000 in donations this year from Appalachian coal-mining interests, much of the money from an outspoken Ohio mine owner who dismisses global warming as “hysterical global goofiness.”

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