L.A. NOW
Southern California — this just in

July 27, 2010 | 2:13 pm

A lawsuit filed Monday by a former Bell police officer makes a variety of serious allegations about city officials and suggests voter fraud in a 2009 election.

According to the lawsuit, filed by James Corcoran, off-duty police officers in Bell distributed absentee ballots in a 2009 municipal election and told would-be voters which candidates to support.

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Posted on 26 July 2010
By Robert Cruickshank

As progressive activists across America organize to fight the looming “cat food commission” proposals to destroy the futures of working Americans by slashing Social Security benefits and raise the retirement age, Jerry Brown is now proposing to do the same here in California – in this case with cuts to public employee pensions:

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By Jim Boren on July 27, 2010 2:16 PM

Remember right after the June primary when Democrat Jerry Brown said he’d debate Republican Meg Whitman any time, any place? Whitman has agreed to a Fresno debate on Oct. 2 at Fresno State. But Brown’s gubernatorial campaign today would only say the debate is under consideration.

The Fresno debate will be sponsored by The Bee, Univision, the Fresno-Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the city of Fresno and Fresno State. (Full disclosure: I have attended many of the planning sessions for the debate as a representative of The Bee). This is the same group that sponsored the July 1 town hall in Fresno with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

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Capitol Alert
The latest on California politics and government
July 27, 2010

Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman has agreed to participate in a September debate co-sponsored by The Sacramento Bee.

Other sponsors of the event, to be held September 28 on the UC Davis campus, are KCRA, Capitol Public Radio and the University of California, Davis.

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Michael J. Mishak Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

July 27, 2010 | 1:08 p.m.

In politics, it’s all about the spin.

Take, for instance, a news release issued Tuesday by the Meg Whitman campaign that proclaims, “Meg Whitman Challenges Jerry Brown to Three Fall Debates.” It was an interesting take given that Brown, the Democratic attorney general, issued the debate challenge to Whitman and her GOP primary rival, California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, at the state Democratic convention in April. Brown kept up the pressure after the primary, challenging Whitman to a series of 10 debates. In June, she accepted an invitation to an October debate, as did Brown, who then asked to speed up the schedule.

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PolitiCal
On politics in the Golden State
July 27, 2010 | 8:36 am

Appearing on “Good Morning America” on Tuesday, Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman emphasized her tenure as chief executive of EBay, saying her experience at the company gave her insight into the conditions needed for small businesses to thrive. And she said she had no plans to run for higher office if she were elected governor.

Meg Whitman “Hundreds of thousands of individuals made most, if not all, of their living selling on EBay,” Whitman said. “I saw exactly what was required for small business to grow and thrive. If California is going to be led out of this recession, it’s going to have to be led out by small business.”

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Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown is apparently becoming a little sensitive to criticisms he is using his official capacity of Attorney General as a campaign platform.

In a Los Angeles Times story yesterday, Brown defended his investigation into pay practices in the City of Bell, deflecting allegations by the Meg Whitman campaign, that his actions were a campaign stunt.

Maybe someone should ask Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley. The man with the tire tracks across his back.

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10:00 PM PDT on Monday, July 26, 2010

By IMRAN GHORI
The Press-Enterrise

San Bernardino County is no longer revealing its litigation costs in its civil lawsuit against former county officials accused of corruption.

County officials say they’re doing so to protect their legal strategy and that state law allows them to keep information about litigation records confidential until the matter is resolved.

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Hudson

10:00 PM PDT on Monday, July 26, 2010

By ALICIA ROBINSON
The Press-Enterprise

Riverside City Manager Brad Hudson may face tough questions today from his bosses on the City Council when they meet behind closed doors to discuss his performance.

Several council members said they have concerns about the sale of Police Department guns in 2005 to Hudson and Assistant City Manager Tom De Santis and city officials’ use of nearly untraceable license plates reserved for police work.

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10:00 PM PDT on Monday, July 26, 2010

The Press-Enterprise

Voters likely will be asked in November whether the city treasurer should be appointed by the city council.

The council will decide whether to put the issue on the November ballot when it meets Aug. 3. The treasurer currently is an elected post.

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James Rufus Koren, Staff Writer
Posted: 07/26/2010 05:56:55 PM PDT

One of the Inland Empire’s most outspoken Democratic activists says he is unhappy with the county Democratic Party and is considering promoting Republican candidates for local office.

Gil Navarro, who earlier this month said his new political action committee – the Latino Caucus of the Inland Empire – would support only Democratic candidates, now says he might have had a change of heart after a meeting with Assemblyman Curt Hagman, R-Chino Hills.

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10:00 PM PDT on Monday, July 26, 2010

Cassie MacDuff

With the scandal over exorbitant pay for Bell officials, Inland residents may wonder if their city governments, too, have approved extravagant salaries unbeknownst to them.

A 2007 Press-Enterprise survey showed Inland city manager salaries doubled between 1996 and 2006. Some now top $200,000.

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10:23 PM PDT on Monday, July 26, 2010

By BEN GOAD
Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON – As Republicans eye a takeover in the House of Representatives this fall, two Inland congressmen are well positioned to reap the benefits.

Reps. Darrell Issa and Jerry Lewis serve as the top Republican members of the House Oversight and Appropriations committees, respectively. But if the Republicans win back majority status, the two lawmakers could become significantly more powerful as chairmen of the two panels.

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10:00 PM PDT on Monday, July 26, 2010

By JIM MILLER
Sacramento Bureau

SACRAMENTO – Several Inland governments, businesses and other groups have rallied behind a recently introduced state bill meant to preserve millions in revenue for the agency in charge of redeveloping the former Norton Air Force Base.

The support comes even though some of the agencies would stand to get more money if current law was left alone.

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10:00 PM PDT on Monday, July 26, 2010

The Loma Linda City Council will swear in its two newest members and choose a mayor Tuesday night.

Ron Dailey, the executive associate dean of Loma Linda University’s dental school, and Phillip Dupper, a San Bernardino County sheriff’s sergeant, won election June 8.

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10:33 PM PDT on Monday, July 26, 2010

By MARK MUCKENFUSS
The Press-Enterprise

Look out past the back porch on Joe and Pamela Pendhall’s home and you can understand why they chose to retire here on a section of the Colorado River called Wind River.

Past a green, trimmed lawn, a wide strip of blue water ripples by slow and smooth, barely moving the heavy reeds on the opposite bank. A low row of dusty hills rises in the distance.

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Wes Woods II, Staff Writer
Created: 07/26/2010 09:31:00 PM PDT

LA VERNE – The City Council has approved a contract with Assistant City Manager Robert T. Russi to become the city manager, effective Aug. 6.

Russi will make $169,000 per year. He could make up to $195,000 by 2013 if he receives satisfactory evaluations from the council.

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July 26, 2010 3:52 PM
Brooke Edwards

VICTORVILLE • One of the top forensic auditing firms in the country now has its own temporary office at City Hall, as an investigation into Victorville’s finances by the San Bernardino County Grand Jury moves forward.

The grand jury first began probing Victorville in spring 2009, interviewing a slew of city officials regarding troubled finances, reported handshake deals and more.

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July 26, 2010 4:13 PM
David Keck, Special to the Daily Press

Revised figures released by federal regulators show that Arrowhead Central Credit Union’s lost about $1.45 million in the second quarter and saw its net worth ratio drop to 3 percent.

The drop was enough for the National Credit Union Administration to declare Arrowhead was “significantly undercapitalized” for a fourth consecutive quarter under Federal Credit Union Act standards.

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Carly Fiorina

By KEVIN FREKING (AP) – 16 hours ago

WASHINGTON — Republicans have reserved $1.75 million for television ads to help Carly Fiorina in the final week of the California Senate race.

The commitment signals GOP optimism about unseating three-term Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer in November. The Republicans plan to target the Los Angeles market and the money would buy enough air time for viewers to see an ad — at least in part — 10 times.

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By Ed Mendel

As CalPERS publicly said a decade ago that a major pension increase, now targeted for rollbacks, could be paid for with investment earnings rather than higher state costs, its actuaries made a startlingly accurate forecast of the impact if earnings fell short.

The actuaries said the annual state payment to CalPERS, $159 million in 1999, could soar to $3.954 billion in fiscal 2010-11 — a long-range forecast that scored a near bull’s-eye on the $3.888 billion state payment for the fiscal year that began this month.

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