11:25 PM PDT on Friday, July 30, 2010
The cost for legal representation on two lawsuits involving San Bernardino Associated Governments has climbed to more than $3.5 million, according to a recent report.
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Archive for July 31st, 2010
10:00 PM PDT on Friday, July 30, 2010
By IMRAN GHORI
The Press-Enterprise
San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputies will begin working 12-hour shifts this weekend, a change made to help the department close a budget deficit.
The measures are aimed at spreading around resources and reducing overtime, sheriff’s Sgt. Dave Phelps said.
Filed under: Budget, County of San Bernardino, Economy, Finance, In the News, Law Enforcement, Politics, Rod Hoops, Unions
11:14 PM PDT on Friday, July 30, 2010
By BEN GOAD
Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON – A plan to legalize online gambling moved forward this week in the U.S. House of Representatives, raising concerns from an Inland lawmaker and area tribes, who say the legislation would cut into California’s casino business and imperil thousands of jobs around the state.
The legislation, which would allow gamers to make certain kinds of bets legally over the Internet, was approved Wednesday by the Financial Services Committee, clearing the way for a vote on the House floor.
Michael J. Sorba, Staff Writer
Posted: 07/30/2010 07:02:43 PM PDT
Local experts say the Inland Empire’s economy is still sluggish and aside from a few minor positives still struggling to climb out of the hole created by 2009′s recession.
Local growth is happening, but not enough to mean employers are ready to hire new workers, said Inland Empire economist John Husing.
Andrew Edwards, Staff Writer
Posted: 07/30/2010 07:18:03 PM PDT
SAN BERNARDINO – Police union members have agreed to a concessions deal that will initiate a two-tiered retirement system and continue the givebacks that police officers agreed to last year.
The deal, which will require police officers to forego roughly one-tenth of their wages, negates the threat of police officer furloughs.
Filed under: Budget, Cities, Economy, Finance, In the News, Law Enforcement, Pensions, Politics, San Bernardino, Unions
Melissa Pinion-Whitt, Staff Writer
Posted: 07/30/2010 01:56:14 PM PDT
The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday approved a bill that would provide $43.8 million in federal funding for Omnitrans, Metrolink and other Inland Empire public transportation projects.
The Transportation, Housing and Urban Development appropriations bill still needs to be approved by the Senate and the President. But Rep. Joe Baca (D-San Bernardino), who secured the Inland Empire funding, called it a positive step toward decreasing traffic congestion and creating new jobs for the area.
Filed under: Budget, Economy, Finance, In the News, Politics, Transportation, U.S. House of Representatives
Wendy Leung, Staff Writer
Posted: 07/30/2010 03:28:03 PM PDT
RANCHO CUCAMONGA – The Vineyard Press, a community paper that Councilman Rex Gutierrez has wanted to publish since his employment with San Bernardino County ended last year, is back.
Formerly known as the Grapevine Press and Rancho Cucamonga Today, the free monthly publication had its inaugural issue delivered last month to 30,000 homes in the city. The 24-page broadsheet includes historic Cucamonga photos, local business features and several essays penned by the councilman including a bizarre tale of Gutierrez’s recycling habits.
Meg Whitman
Ken McLaughlin
kmclaughlin@mercurynews.com
Posted: 07/30/2010 03:39:58 PM PDT
Updated: 07/31/2010 06:09:13 AM PDT
NEW YORK — Californians may see Meg Whitman’s campaign for governor as an unprecedented phenomenon sweeping across the Golden State — a billionaire political newcomer spending tens of millions of dollars on a campaign, promising to reshape government the same way she conquered the world of business.
But the former CEO of eBay is closely following the lead of another tech-driven billionaire CEO-turned-politician: New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
PolitiCal
On politics in the Golden State
July 30, 2010 | 3:32 pm
Republican gubernatorial nominee Meg Whitman on Friday raised the specter of Rose Bird to argue that she would make better judicial appointments than her Democratic rival Jerry Brown.
Brown appointed Bird as chief justice of the state Supreme Court during his first term as governor. Years later, voters tossed Bird and two other Brown appointees to the court who had also opposed capital punishment.
Filed under: Campaigns, Democrats, Elections, In the News, Jerry Brown, Politics, Republicans, State of California
PoliticsBlog
Posted By: Marisa Lagos | July 30 2010 at 04:17 PM
We’ve been waiting for this.
Less than a month after a Field Poll showed San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris and Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley in a virtual dead heat in the Attorney General’s race — a poll cheered by Harris’ side — the Cooley campaign is touting a different poll with a markedly different result.
Filed under: Campaigns, Democrats, Elections, In the News, Law Enforcement, Politics, Polls, Republicans, State of California
Published: Saturday, Jul. 31, 2010 – 12:00 am | Page 3A
The battle for Latino voters is heating up on California’s airwaves.
A coalition of unions called Working Californians has debuted a Spanish-language TV ad accusing Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman of misrepresenting her positions on immigration and other matters in her own TV ad targeting Spanish-speaking voters.
Filed under: Campaigns, Democrats, Elections, Immigration, In the News, Jerry Brown, Pensions, Republicans, State of California, Unions
L.A. County D.A. examines the city’s $4.6-million purchase tied to a former politician.
By Hector Becerra and Paul Pringle, Los Angeles Times
July 31, 2010
The city of Bell has a pattern of doing business with current and former city officials, including an ex-mayor who served time in federal prison, according to interviews and records obtained by The Times.
In the most recent deal, Bell’s Community Redevelopment Agency last year paid $4.6 million to purchase property from a family trust of longtime politician Peter Werrlein, who was sentenced to three years in prison in the 1980s for holding hidden interests in a poker casino.
Filed under: Bell, Cities, County of Los Angeles, Finance, In the News, Law Enforcement, Legal, Politics
Angela Spaccia resigns from both jobs because of the municipal salary inquiry. She had been on loan to Maywood for five months.
By Abby Sewell and Jeff Gottlieb, Los Angeles Times
July 31, 2010
Bell’s former assistant city manager resigned her post Friday as the interim administrator of neighboring Maywood, another casualty of the salary scandal in Bell.
For Angela Spaccia, it marked the second time in two weeks she has resigned over the salary issue.
By Ed Mendel
In his last year as governor, Jerry Brown’s budget proposal said it was possible for state workers to retire at age 62 and receive more than 100 percent of their final salary from CalPERS and federal Social Security.
He proposed lower pensions for new hires, arguing that 70 percent of final salary is a “common standard” for maintaining a standard of living in retirement that is similar to the one when working.
Filed under: Budget, CalPERS, Campaigns, Democrats, Economy, Elections, Finance, In the News, Jerry Brown, Pensions, Politics, Republicans, State of California, Unions
The nation’s measure of economic growth shows a modest 2.4% gain in spring, compared to a 3.7% rise earlier in the year, more evidence the fragile recovery is losing steam, a Commerce Department report says.
By Don Lee, Los Angeles Times
July 30, 2010|6:43 a.m.
Reporting from Washington —
A new government report Friday showed that U.S. economic growth slowed sharply in the spring, providing more evidence that the fragile recovery is losing momentum and is unlikely to generate many jobs anytime soon.
The nation’s economy grew at a modest 2.4% annual rate in the April-to-June period, the Commerce Department said in its first estimate of gross domestic product for the second quarter.