Aleman

Thursday, September 30, 2010 – 09:00 p.m.

It’s showtime in the re-trial of former Assessor employee and Rancho Cucamonga City Councilman Rex Gutierrez.

Gutierrez, who is charged with three felonies related to alleged time card fraud during his employment under former San Bernardino County Assessor Bill Postmus, now faces his main accuser.

Read the rest of this entry »

PolitiCal
On politics in the Golden State
September 30, 2010 | 8:32 am

Two new polls are out in the race for California governor, showing very different numbers on voter preferences in the race.

The Public Policy Institute of California shows the race in a virtual dead heat, with a large segment of voters still undecided, while a CNN/Time magazine poll shows Democrat Jerry Brown opening up a lead over Republican Meg Whitman.

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By Joel Fox
Editor of Fox & Hounds and President of the Small Business Action Committee
Thursday, September 30th, 2010

A late campaign hit with Gloria Allred as part of it … I’ve lived through this before during the Schwarzenegger 2003 gubernatorial campaign. As in that instance, it will take a few days to play out and see what is behind the revelation. But like the 2003 media circus over Schwarzenegger’s interaction with some women during his movie career, the late hit raises many questions.

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Brown

Capitol Alert
The latest on California politics and government
September 30, 2010

Republican gubernatorial nominee Meg Whitman blasted Democrat Jerry Brown today for what she said is his campaign’s involvement in the controversy involving Whitman’s former housekeeper.

Citing a report in which KTVU’s Randy Shandobil said Brown’s campaign told the Bay Area TV station two weeks ago that it had heard a rumor Whitman had “housekeeper problems,” Whitman spokeswoman Andrea Jones Rivera said in a written statement that “this is part of a coordinated effort to smear Meg Whitman.”

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September 30, 2010 | 4:01 pm

Meg Whitman’s political team is calling revelations about Whitman’s undocumented housekeeper “clearly a coordinated political attack” by attorney Gloria Allred, labor unions and Jerry Brown’s campaign.

But the campaign said earlier statements by Whitman that she and husband Griffith Harsh had not been notified by Social Security officials inquiring about the housekeeper’s statusmay be incorrect.

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Thursday, September 30, 2010 – 12:30 p.m.

Wow! Attorney Gloria Allred put out her smoking gun today. Absent Meg Whitman’s fingerprints though.

Allred called another full-blown press conference to present a Social Security Administration mis-match letter issued seven years ago. Allred alleges the letter was partially completed by Whitman’s husband.

Not Whitman.

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Administrator’s Note: Whitney is a bright analyst who knows what she is talking about.

Whitney

By Betty Liu and Martin Z. Braun – Sep 30, 2010 9:20 AM PT Thu Sep 30 16:20:56 GMT 2010

Sept. 30 (Bloomberg) — Meredith Whitney, founder and chief executive officer of Meredith Whitney Advisory Group, discusses her report rating the finances of the 15 largest U.S. states. Whitney, speaking with Betty Liu on Bloomberg Television’s “In the Loop,” says the U.S. government may face a bailout for states over the next 12 months. (Source: Bloomberg)

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Allred

Thursday, September 30, 2010 – 11:00 a.m.

Oh boy! Attorney Gloria Allred round two at noon today.

Yes more entertainment.

Allred has scheduled her own news conference to launch another salvo at republican Meg Whitman.

Read the rest of this entry »

Thursday, September 30, 2010 – 10:30 a.m.

San Bernardino County Human Resources Director Andrew Lamberto took the witness stand in the Rex Gutierrez trial Wednesday afternoon and assumed a very interesting position.

Read the rest of this entry »

Aleman

11:58 PM PDT on Wednesday, September 29, 2010

By IMRAN GHORI
The Press-Enterprise

Special Section: San Bernardino County Probe

A San Bernardino County prosecutor Wednesday described Rancho Cucamonga Councilman Rex Gutierrez as part of a conspiracy to use government offices for political gain, an opening salvo in the district attorney’s second attempt to convict the former assessor’s official.

Deputy District Attorney John Goritz read through all 27 overt acts attributed to Gutierrez in the criminal complaint.

Read the rest of this entry »

Mediha Fejzagic DiMartino, Staff Writer
Posted: 09/29/2010 06:18:51 PM PDT

An economic report issued Wednesday suggests the Inland Empire is leading the pack, but this first place is nothing to brag about.

The Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario region registered the highest unemployment rates in August out of the nation’s 49 metropolitan areas with a population of more than 1 million, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment Summary.

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11:43 PM PDT on Wednesday, September 29, 2010

By JIM MILLER
Sacramento Bureau

Legislation to preserve millions in property tax revenue for the agency in charge of redeveloping the former Norton Air Force Base has been signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The Inland Valley Development Agency, the Norton redevelopment agency, otherwise stood to lose as much as $4.5 million.

Read the rest of this entry »

Gosney seeks Assembly seat
James Rufus Koren, Staff Writer
Posted: 09/29/2010 07:35:35 PM PDT

Robert Gosney doesn’t trust Republicans.

A Republican himself for nearly 20 years, Gosney, now running for the 59th Assembly District seat as an American Independent, says he left the Grand Old Party in 2004.

Read the rest of this entry »

Gutierrez

Opening statements made in Gutierrez case
Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Created: 09/29/2010 07:35:20 PM PDT

Former San Bernardino County Assessor Bill Postmus gave Rancho Cucamonga Councilman Rex Gutierrez a job in his office as a political favor to developer Jeff Burum in a quid pro quo arrangement, prosecutor John Goritz says.

Gutierrez’s attorney, Jim Reiss, says no evidence suggests such a conspiracy ever existed and that Gutierrez not only adequately carried out his assigned duties during his nearly two-year stint at the office, but received glowing evaluations and raises.

Read the rest of this entry »

Debra J. Saunders
San Francisco Chronicle
Thursday, September 30, 2010

“What did Meg Whitman know and when did she know it?” publicity hound attorney Gloria Allred asked Wednesday. It was a savvy close to a news conference at which client Nicandra Diaz Santillan, who worked as a housekeeper for Whitman, alleged that Whitman knew that she was an illegal immigrant, then fired her in 2009 as she prepared to run for governor.

Turns out, there are reasons to believe that Whitman did not know that Diaz was illegal when she hired her in 2000.

Read the rest of this entry »

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

September 29, 2010 | Lance Williams

Whitman campaign

Jerry Brown and Meg Whitman are in a dead heat in the governor’s race, but 18 percent of voters are still undecided a month before the election, a new Public Policy Institute of California survey says.

The survey, released last night, was completed before Tuesday’s first gubernatorial debate – and before Whitman’s campaign was roiled yesterday by allegations that she had knowingly employed an illegal immigrant as a housekeeper at her Atherton home.

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September 29, 2010

A new survey from the Public Policy Institute of California finds the races for governor and Senate just about where the Field Poll had them – with Jerry Brown and Meg Whitman in a dead heat for governor and Barbara Boxer leading Carly Fiorina in the race for U.S. Senate.

About the only significant shift PPIC found was a movement among those they identified as independents, who shifted 10 points in favor of Whitman, with Whitman now at 38% and Brown at 30% compared to July when Brown had 30% and Whitman had 28%. More on this odd finding later.*

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Dispatches from the California Marijuana Front
September 29, 2010

Some of the most anxious observers of California’s November vote to legalize marijuana for recreational use are ineligible to vote because they are located south of the border in Mexico.

Prop 19 proponents argue that the most nervous observers are the Mexican drug cartels, whose operations could be undercut by legal marijuana in the Golden State.

Read the rest of this entry »

Allred

Carla Marinucci, John Wildermuth,Joe Garofoli, Chronicle Staff Writers
San Francisco Chronicle
Thursday, September 30, 2010

(09-29) 14:02 PDT SAN FRANCISCO — Startling accusations Wednesday that GOP gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman had an illegal immigrant as her housekeeper for nine years have all the elements of a classic late-campaign “October surprise” – a sobbing victim, a media-savvy attorney, charges of hypocrisy and dirty tricks.

Read the rest of this entry »

Capitol Alert
The latest on California politics and government
September 29, 2010

Add a multibillion-dollar state bond sale and thousands of construction projects to the list of potential victims if the budget impasse drags on much longer.

State Treasurer Bill Lockyer is concerned that the state could miss an opportunity to sell bonds this fall to finance public works projects if state lawmakers and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger don’t enact a budget soon.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Dan Morain
dmorain@sacbee.com The Sacramento Bee
Published: Thursday, Sep. 30, 2010 – 12:00 am | Page 19A

You knew the race for governor would come to this: a clash between the classes.

Democrat Jerry Brown is homing in on one of Republican Meg Whitman’s signature issues – eliminating California’s capital gains taxes – to make his point that Whitman would help the wealthiest among us.

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By Jack Chang
jchang@sacbee.com
Published: Thursday, Sep. 30, 2010 – 12:00 am | Page 3A
Last Modified: Thursday, Sep. 30, 2010 – 6:23 am

PASADENA – The second debate between Democratic U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer and Republican challenger Carly Fiorina erupted Wednesday into charges that each candidate was too extreme for California.

The two women took contrasting stands on abortion, health care reform and climate change legislation.

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By Malcolm Maclachlan | 09/30/10 12:00 AM PST

Nearly a year after the Schwarzenegger administration awarded $26.5 million to county district attorneys to combat fraud in the state In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) system, DAs are beginning to report some results.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Anthony York | 09/30/10 12:00 AM PST

Democrats’ unwillingness to change state employee pension benefits is delaying a vote on the state budget, according to a spokesman for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Schwarzenegger spokesman Aaron McLear said Tuesday that “the main sticking point is pension reform… Democrats are unwilling to stand up to the union bosses.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Allred

Wednesday, September 29, 2010 – 02:22 p.m.
Updated: September 30, 2010 – 8:25 a.m.

Spotlight-hungry lawyer Gloria Allred, orchestrated one of her prized outrage press conferences today.

This time Allred is targeting republican Meg Whitman for firing an employee in June 2009 when she discovered the employee was not a legal resident.

Read the rest of this entry »

Wednesday, September 29, 2020 – 12:50 p.m.

Quietly sitting on the consent calendar for yesterday’s meeting of the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors was item #25.

Read the rest of this entry »

Wednesday, September 29, 2010 – 10:45 a.m.

Finally!

Yesterday, Third District Supervisor Neil Derry pushed his ‘sunshine ordinance’ through the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors on a 5-0 vote.

Not that some of his peers really wanted it.

Read the rest of this entry »

Neil Derry

10:00 PM PDT on Tuesday, September 28, 2010

By IMRAN GHORI
The Press-Enterprise

San Bernardino County supervisors unanimously approved a “sunshine ordinance” Tuesday that they say will increase public access to government documents.

The law, which will take effect in early November, states that the county should process all public records act requests with the presumption that all government records are public. The burden will be on the county to cite any exemption prohibiting the release of those documents.

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Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Posted: 09/28/2010 03:25:13 PM PDT

A proposed Sunshine Ordinance aimed at opening the doors wider for public access to official government records got the green light Tuesday from the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors.

The 10-page ordinance goes before the board for a second reading and for final adoption on Oct. 5.

Read the rest of this entry »

10:20 AM PDT on Wednesday, September 29, 2010

By ERIN WALDNER
The Press-Enterprise

The Yucaipa City Council will be sending a letter to the San Bernardino County Planning Commission opposing a proposed broadcast antenna tower that would be adjacent to Wildwood Canyon State Park.

The council voted 5-0 Monday night in favor of sending the letter.

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Administrator’s Note: I had to take a deep breath after reading this one due to what happened to spending under Lewis’ last tenure as appropriations chair.

Lewis

08:01 AM PDT on Wednesday, September 29, 2010

By BEN GOAD
Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON – Facing the threat of a possible government shutdown, Democrats on Tuesday ceded to GOP demands that billions of dollars in extra funding sought by the Obama administration be left out of a bill that must pass Congress by Friday.

Inland Rep. Jerry Lewis, who has relentlessly blasted Democrats and the White House for what he describes as federal spending run amok, helped lead the charge against the funding add-ons. The tough talk comes as Republicans, using their call for fiscal restraint as a top election issue, hope to regain the majority in the House, and as Lewis himself sets his sights on a powerful committee chairmanship.

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Josh Dulaney, Staff Writer
Posted: 09/28/2010 05:10:16 PM PDT

RIALTO – The attorney for Nancy Holtgreve, a strip club worker at the center of an alleged sex scandal involving on-duty police officers, is moving forward with a lawsuit against the city after it recently rejected a $500,000 claim.

Read the rest of this entry »

Devereaux to get more authority
Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Posted: 09/28/2010 07:58:13 PM PDT

The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved an ordinance that makes sweeping changes in the way the county approves contracts and makes purchases.

Among other things, it gives County Administrative Officer Greg Devereaux authority to approve all consulting contracts up to $100,000 and all requests for proposals exceeding $150,000 without board approval.

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Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Posted: 09/28/2010 06:40:46 PM PDT

Opening statements begin today in the second criminal trial of Rancho Cucamonga City Councilman Rex Gutierrez, accused of bilking taxpayers out of tens of thousands of dollars while working in the county assessor’s office.

Gutierrez, 50, is charged with three felony counts of conspiracy to commit a crime, grand theft and filing a fraudulent claim with the county. He is accused of submitting falsified time cards during his nearly two-year stint at the assessor’s office as its intergovernmental relations officer.

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By Jack Chang
jchang@sacbee.com
Published: Wednesday, Sep. 29, 2010 – 12:00 am | Page 1A
Last Modified: Wednesday, Sep. 29, 2010 – 9:24 am

DAVIS – Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown attacked Republican rival Meg Whitman as a defender of the state’s richest people while Whitman called Brown a shill for state public employee unions during the candidates’ first debate, held Tuesday at UC Davis.

The 60-minute faceoff also saw Brown, a 72-year-old former governor, calling his age an asset in the state’s top job. Whitman, the former CEO of online auction firm eBay, billed herself as a break from business as usual in Sacramento.

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By Dan Walters
dwalters@sacbee.com The Sacramento Bee
Published: Wednesday, Sep. 29, 2010 – 12:00 am | Page 17A
Last Modified: Wednesday, Sep. 29, 2010 – 9:24 am

So who won Tuesday night’s first debate between Jerry Brown and Meg Whitman?

There certainly were no knockout punches, and nothing appeared to emerge from the hourlong exchange that will reverberate in the days to come – no gaffes, no startling positions.

Read the rest of this entry »

September 28, 2010

In a well-argued and classic ideological debate for governor, Republican Meg Whitman Tuesday night aggressively attacked Democrat Jerry Brown as a tool of public employee unions who will do nothing to change the status quo in Sacramento while he repeatedly portrayed her as an ill-prepared Schwarzenegger clone with policies designed to serve only the rich.

Read the rest of this entry »

PolitiCal
On politics in the Golden State
September 28, 2010 | 7:41 pm

Perhaps the clearest illustration of the differences between Meg Whitman and Jerry Brown came after the first gubernatorial debate was over.

More than 100 members of the media were set up in the “spin room,” where candidates traditionally come to speak to the press after a debate.

Read the rest of this entry »

Barbara Boxer                Carly Fiorina

The hourlong confrontation may be the Senate candidates’ last before the Nov. 2 election.

By Maeve Reston, Los Angeles Times
September 29, 2010

As they head into what could be their final debate, Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer and her Republican challenger, Carly Fiorina, are appealing to voters on parallel tracks, each chipping away at the other’s character on the airwaves and each trying to persuade voters that she has a superior approach to turning the economy around.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Torey Van Oot
tvanoot@sacbee.com The Sacramento Bee
Published: Wednesday, Sep. 29, 2010 – 12:00 am | Page 4A
Last Modified: Wednesday, Sep. 29, 2010 – 8:36 am

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has vetoed a measure that would have required the Fair Political Practices Commission to post online gifts that interest groups report giving to lawmakers and staff.

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STATE: Both sides say staff members are still working out details.
By Don Thompson, The Associated Press
Posted: 09/28/2010 08:01:59 PM PDT
Updated: 09/28/2010 09:55:50 PM PDT

SACRAMENTO – Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders abruptly canceled their scheduled budget talks Tuesday, hours after Schwarzenegger’s press secretary blamed “union bosses” for blocking pension reforms the governor insists are needed to solve the state’s long-term financial problems.

Closed-door negotiations aimed at breaking the state’s record-long budget impasse had been scheduled for Tuesday afternoon until the governor’s office released a message saying that no such meeting would take place.

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By Kevin Yamamura
kyamamura@sacbee.com
Published: Wednesday, Sep. 29, 2010 – 12:00 am | Page 3A

Republicans negotiating the state budget are demanding tax breaks for companies such as cable television providers and oil producers, sources said Tuesday.

Democrats so far have not agreed to the changes, which they estimate could cost the state as much as $500 million annually in future years. The tax dispute is one of several unresolved issues that legislative leaders and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger must negotiate before ending the state’s record-long budget impasse.

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Using federal money, California counties have put to work more than 35,000 people by subsidizing their employment for up to a year. A bid to extend the funding is stalled in the U.S. Senate.
Father

By Alexandra Zavis and Rong-Gong Lin II, Los Angeles Times
September 29, 2010

Michael Beightol has 12 years of retail experience, but that was no help when he was looking for a job earlier this year.

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Tuesday, September 28, 2010 – 11:00 a.m.
Last Updated: September 28, 2010 – 12:50 p.m.

Today, the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors received a message from their chief legal counsel.

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Tuesday, September 28, 2010 – 10:40 a.m.

Lawyers for the prosecution and defense has reconvened potential juror interviews in the re-trial of former Assessor employee and Rancho Cucamonga City Councilman Rex Gutierrez.

Read the rest of this entry »

Monday, September 27, 2010 – 9:20 p.m.
Last Updated: September 28, 2010 – 1:20 p.m.

On Monday night Yucaipa city government was at its best.

The matter involving a controversial Spanish-language radio tower took on an increasingly ugly tone, with allegations and daggers being hurled by various interests, including Mayor Dick Riddell.

Read the rest of this entry »

Monday, September 27, 2010 – 01:30 p.m.

The San Bernardino International Airports says it could serve two million passengers annually by the year 2030 and wants to expand its unused terminal to handle increased passenger flow.

Even though no airline is operating at the empty airport.

All this and more was covered in a recent article published in The Press Enterprise.

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07:31 PM PDT on Monday, September 27, 2010

By JACK KATZANEK
The Press-Enterprise

Economists from the UCLA Anderson Center will make their first formal appearance in Inland Southern California in several years when they join Claremont McKenna College at an economic forecast event next week.

The presentation will be Oct. 6 at the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario from 7 to 11:30 a.m., according to a UCLA statement.

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Devereaux

By Joe Nelson
Posted: 09/27/2010 05:49:16 PM PDT

The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday will consider a proposal to increase the amount of professional consulting contracts requiring board approval from $50,000 to more than $100,000.

Current policy requires Board of Supervisors’ approval for consulting contracts or executive contracts exceeding more than $50,000.

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Supervisor Neil Derry
Posted: 09/27/2010 06:41:12 PM PDT

It was never by design that our government should acquire power and dominion over the people. The people sought to empower themselves by giving life to government to serve their purposes and needs.

Nowadays, in nearly every instance it seems that the interests of the people are subjugated to bureaucrats, politicians, lawyers and a cadre of special interest groups. The average person feels that the system is skewed against them. They believe that rules are applied selectively and that some people have more rights than others.

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Posted: 09/27/2010 06:41:11 PM PDT

San Bernardino County’s supervisors should approve Neil Derry’s Sunshine Ordinance when it comes before them today.

We were in favor of the ordinance the way it read about three weeks ago, before county counsel reviewed it and sent it back to Supervisor Derry with suggested changes. Derry’s office has rewritten the measure substantially, making it much more to the point and less likely to need amendments, but weakening it in one significant area.

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10:00 PM PDT on Monday, September 27, 2010

By ALICIA ROBINSON
The Press-Enterprise

A Riverside neighborhood group has refiled a complaint against Councilman Steve Adams, this time alleging he used city management to retaliate when the group didn’t let him speak at its meeting.

On Monday, members of La Sierra/Arlanza Neighborhood Alliance turned in an amended ethics complaint to the city.

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By PE News
on September 27, 2010 10:10 PM

The Yucaipa City Council will be sending a letter to the San Bernardino County Planning Commission opposing a proposed broadcast antenna tower.

If erected, the tower would be adjacent to Wildwood Canyon State Park and would broadcast a Spanish radio station.

Read the rest of this entry »

Josh Dulaney, Staff Writer
Posted: 09/27/2010 09:39:44 PM PDT

RIALTO – The union representing city Water Department employees says the City Council will put jobs at risk and lose control over the city’s water rates if it approves an agreement with a private company to run its water, wastewater and recycled water systems.

Read the rest of this entry »

07:29 PM PDT on Monday, September 27, 2010

By LESLIE BERKMAN
The Press-Enerprise

A 65-acre site in north Fontana was purchased for residential development last week by Forestar Land Partners, a joint venture between owners of Foremost Communities, an Irvine-based land developer, and an East coast investment fund.

The price that Forestar paid Bank of America for the land was not disclosed.

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Canan Tasci, Staff Writer
Created: 09/27/2010 06:29:54 PM PDT

State university campuses plan to accept as many as 30,000 new students for the winter and spring terms after limiting the number of students due to budget cuts.

The 23-campus system did not accept applications for the 2010 spring term because of reduced state funding that also forced CSU to furlough employees and raise student fees.

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Monica Rodriguez, Staff Writer
Created: 09/27/2010 09:42:37 PM PDT

POMONA – City leaders recently gave preliminary approval to a proposed ordinance leading to changes in retirement benefits affecting future members of the Police Department.

The proposed ordinance, approved unanimously Sept. 20, will return to the City Council on Oct. 18 for final approval, according to a city staff report.

Read the rest of this entry »

Ken McLaughlin
kmclaughlin@mercurynews.com
Posted: 09/27/2010 10:19:29 PM PDT
Updated: 09/27/2010 10:19:43 PM PDT

Battlegrounds: Part 1

As the elections approach, we examine the political mood in three areas of our state. First up: the Inland Empire, loosely defined as Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

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By Kevin Yamamura
kyamamura@sacbee.com
Published: Tuesday, Sep. 28, 2010 – 12:00 am | Page 1A
Last Modified: Tuesday, Sep. 28, 2010 – 1:20 am

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders have expressed nervous optimism about closing a budget deal soon and ending the state’s record-long impasse.

But several contentious items remain, none thornier than the state pension cuts that Schwarzenegger demands be part of the budget package.

Read the rest of this entry »

Wyatt Buchanan, Chronicle Sacramento Bureau
San Francisco Chronicle
Tuesday, September 28, 2010

(09-28) 04:00 PDT Sacramento – —

California voters are giving state leaders some of the lowest marks ever recorded, according to a Field Poll released today.

A mere 10 percent of registered voters approve of how the 120 members of the Legislature are doing their jobs, and 80 percent disapprove. That’s the lowest approval rating in the history of the poll, going back to 1983, and is six percentage points lower than in July.

Read the rest of this entry »

September 27, 2010 | 2:15 pm

California said it was talking with Wall Street banks about a potentially huge short-term loan to help replenish the state’s cash coffers once a budget agreement is reached in Sacramento.

The loan, which could be highly profitable for the banks, then would be repaid within about four weeks via so-called revenue anticipation notes the state would sell to individual and institutional investors.

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By David Siders
dsiders@sacbee.com
Published: Tuesday, Sep. 28, 2010 – 12:00 am | Page 3A
Last Modified: Tuesday, Sep. 28, 2010 – 1:05 am

Ready your TV and your stomach for an hour of smears, self-aggrandizement and, with any luck, an airing of the issues facing California: Meg Whitman and Jerry Brown meet tonight in Davis for the first of three televised debates.

With the gubernatorial race dead even and only five weeks until Election Day, the stakes are unusually high.

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September 28, 2010

Here’s your match-up for tonight’s long-awaited debate between wannabe governors Jerry Brown and Meg Whitman:

A washed-up, tax-and-spend liberal in the pocket of greedy labor unions who want to plunder your pocketbook, boost their pensions and bankrupt California will face off against a mendacious plutocrat who flip-flops on key issues, can’t be bothered to vote and wants to enrich avaricious corporations at the expense of the middle class.

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Published: Tuesday, Sep. 28, 2010 – 12:00 am | Page 3A

On election night in 1982, California Democrats gathered in downtown Los Angeles’ Biltmore Hotel for what they hoped would be victory celebrations in two intense, very tight contests for governor and U.S. senator.

Supporters of outgoing Gov. Jerry Brown, the Democrats’ Senate candidate, and Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley, their gubernatorial hopeful, filled adjacent ballrooms. And as the election closed at 8 p.m., the state’s leading pollster, Mervin Field, appeared on a local television station with results from “exit polls” of the day’s voters.

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PolitiCal
On politics in the Golden State
September 27, 2010 | 6:12 pm

U.S. Senate candidate Carly Fiorina offered some new details Monday on what she would do to curb federal spending, including a ban on congressional earmarks, a freeze on pay raises for some federal employees and a proposal to give taxpayers the right to designate as much as 10% of their federal tax liability toward reducing the national debt.

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Much of the money has already been paid by consumers — it just hasn’t been turned over by merchants to the state Board of Equalization.

By Jerry Hirsch and Marc Lifsher, Los Angeles Times

September 27, 2010|8:13 p.m.

Reporting from Los Angeles and Sacramento —
California is owed nearly $1.4 billion by auto dealers, restaurants and other businesses that collected sales taxes from buyers but didn’t pass the money along to the state — a situation that is aggravating California’s budget crisis.

The tab is up about 25% from a year ago and has almost doubled since 2007, state records show.

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Appeals court orders judge to reconsider ruling allowing Albert Greenwood Brown to be put to death.

By Carol J. Williams, Los Angeles Times
September 28, 2010|12:03 a.m.

A federal appeals court in San Francisco late Monday ordered a trial judge to reconsider a ruling that allowed for a convicted murderer and rapist to be executed this week at San Quentin State Prison.

Albert Greenwood Brown was scheduled to die at 9 p.m. Thursday for the 1980 killing of a 15-year-old Riverside girl.

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Southern California — this just in
September 27, 2010 | 8:08 pm

Autopsy reports on slain children can be sealed from the media under one of 102 bills approved Monday by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Others include harsher penalties for anyone hurting a child under 8 years old, a ban on selling electronic cigarettes to minors and longer license revocations for repeat drunk drivers.

SB 5 by Sen. Dennis Hollingsworth (R-Murrieta) allows autopsy reports to be sealed at the request of the victim’s parents. It was written in response to media requests for documents in the cases of Chelsea King and Amber Dubois, two San Diego County teenagers raped and murdered by a convicted sex offender.

Read the rest of this entry »

Monday, September 27, 2010 – 06:05 p.m.

This evening thirty candidates remain in the jury pool for the retrial of former San Bernardino County Assessor employee and Rancho Cucamonga City Councilman Rex Gutierrez.

Gutierrez is charged with three felonies related to alleged time card fraud during his employment under former Assessor Bill Postmus.

Read the rest of this entry »

Gutierrez

Monday, September 27, 2010 – 09:30 a.m.

Jury selection will begin this morning in th re-trial of former San Bernardino County Assessor’s employee and Rancho Cucamonga City Councilman Rex Gutierrez.

Gutierrez is charged with three felonies related to alleged time card fraud during his employment under former Assessor Bill Postmus.

Read the rest of this entry »

Sunday, September 26, 2010 – 6:00 p.m.

Will San Bernardino County’s lead attorney retire as scheduled?

Sources say County Counsel Ruth Stringer, who is expected to announce her retirement this week, is actively trying to delay her forced departure.

Read the rest of this entry »

“I am always troubled when the publicity regarding a case exceeds the evidence,” Levenson said. “It creates these incredibly high expectations, and it’s very damaging to the defendants, and we don’t even know if the evidence will support the charges.”

Sunday, September 26, 2010 – 4:00 p.m.

Monday evenings meeting of the Yucaipa City Council should be interesting.

Mayor Dick Riddell, who dispatched a letter to county officials lodging the city’s objection to a conditional use permit application by Lazar Broadcasting for a 46-foot broadcast tower on Lazar-owned property, has the racially-divisive matter coming before the city council to ask for their concurrence.

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Sunday, September 26, 2010 – 10:00 p.m.

Over the last seven days we have been treated to a series of interesting poll numbers in the races for California Governor and U.S. Senate.

At times, polling results can generate public perception as to who the anointed-one will be. Sometimes they don’t. Never-the-less it’s a powerful suggestion.

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Brown

AG to look at government salaries over $300,000
Michael J. Sorba and James Rufus Koren, Staff Writers
Posted: 09/26/2010 09:41:35 PM PDT

San Bernardino County’s chief administrator and city managers in San Bernardino, Fontana and Rancho Cucamonga – all of whom make more than $300,000 per year in salary and benefits – could come under scrutiny from California Attorney General Edmund G. “Jerry” Brown.

Brown, also the Democratic candidate for governor in November’s election, said last week he would start a statewide investigation of local governments that pay employees in excess of $300,000.

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By PE Politics
on September 27, 2010 5:55 AM

Inland campaign donors are closely divided in their preferences for governor, according to reports to the state.

Through Sept. 16, Republican Meg Whitman had raised $629,000 from 192 donors in Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

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Pastor Raymond W. Turner
Posted: 09/26/2010 07:42:05 PM PDT

Measure C, on the Nov. 2 ballot, is a simple change to the San Bernardino City Charter which will have significant, positive effects on the future of our city.

Measure C is the direct result of a citizens’ effort to turn San Bernardino around. We, and other ordinary citizens, crafted Measure C and a majority of the City Council, recognizing the wisdom of Measure C, voted to put the measure before the voters.

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San Bernardino School Police

District bigger, not department
Melissa Pinion-Whitt, Staff Writer
Posted: 09/26/2010 07:03:57 AM PDT

SAN BERNARDINO – Gang and tagging crew insignias scrawled on paper and notebooks sat on a desk in the San Bernardino High School police office. Red and blue bandannas hung out of a black backpack.

Nearby, a campus security officer photographed a green pen cap a student had been using as a carrying case for marijuana.

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GOP wants to roll back Obama policies
Staff and Wire Reports
Created: 09/26/2010 09:42:23 PM PDT

Pushing toward big gains on Nov. 2, House Republicans on Thursday promised to end a slew of Democratic policies and restore Americans’ trust in government as they rolled out a campaign manifesto designed to show they’re listening to an angry public and are focused on creating jobs.

“The land of opportunity has become the land of shrinking prosperity. … Our government has failed us,” said Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield. “We will take back our country. We will restore for a better future. This is our pledge to you.”

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September 26, 2010 2:00 PM
Brooke Edwards

VICTORVILLE • The city received seven bids from companies interested in developing the solar portion of the planned Victorville 2 power plant, in a deal to help recover a portion of the estimated $80 million invested into the stalled project.

Victorville published a request for proposals in early August, soliciting bids from companies interested in leasing or buying out 200 of 300 acres purchased for VV2 and developing a stand-alone solar farm there instead. The city hopes to then buy some of the 40 to 49 megawatts of power those solar panels would harness, Public Works Director Amer Jakher said, to stabilize prices for businesses it sells power to at Foxborough Industrial Park and SCLA.

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10:46 PM PDT on Sunday, September 26, 2010

By BRIAN ROKOS
The Press-Enterprise

Norco city leaders, after consistently rejecting added city-wide taxes, have proposed other solutions to balance the budget, which is projected to run out of money in May.

The shortfall in the general fund, which pays for daily operating expenses, can be temporarily bridged, said Finance Director Andy Okoro, but the account faces multi-million dollar shortfalls in 2011 and 2012 unless services are cut or revenues are increased.

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10:00 PM PDT on Sunday, September 26, 2010

By SANDRA STOKLEY
The Press-Enterprise

Water quality, increased water and sewer rates, customer service and financial waste are some of the issues that are in play in the campaign for the Jurupa Community Services District board of directors.

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A new Times/USC survey shows Latinos backing Democrat Jerry Brown by 19 points over Republican Meg Whitman in the governor’s race, and Barbara Boxer by 38 points over Carly Fiorina for the U.S. Senate.

By Cathleen Decker, Los Angeles Times
September 27, 2010

Latino voters, who have helped to propel California’s leftward political swing over recent years, remain reluctant to embrace Republican candidates as the November general election nears, a new Los Angeles Times/USC poll shows.

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Candidates who’ve faced bankruptcy or foreclosure are finding that many people sympathize with their problems. And their opponents refrain from attacking on the financial front.

Delaware Republican Christine O’Donnell, shown speaking at the Family Research Council’s Values Voters Summit, faced an IRS lien for unpaid taxes. (Jonathan Ernst, Reuters / September 17, 2010)

By Richard Fausset
September 26, 2010|7:10 p.m.

Reporting from Marietta, Ga. —
Georgia voter Bobbie Huff has heard about the failed business venture and the big loan that has Nathan Deal, this state’s gubernatorial front-runner, on the hook for more than $2 million.

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Carla Marinucci, Chronicle Political Writer
San Francisco Chronicle
Monday, September 27, 2010

(09-26) 17:47 PDT San Francisco — Republican Meg Whitman, backed by an army of veteran campaign strategists, sticks relentlessly to script. Democrat Jerry Brown flies solo and speaks off-the-cuff – sometimes to his detriment.

California’s two very different gubernatorial candidates, who’ve been sniping at each other for months on the airwaves, will finally meet face to face Tuesday in their first televised debate.

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