Politics, Government & Business in California's Inland Empire
Derry
Friday, September 24, 2010 – 10:45 a.m.
A revised ‘Sunshine Ordinance’ will be up for consideration at next Tuesday’s meeting of the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors.
Third District Supervisor Neil Derry was forced to pull his previous proposal after it fell under criticism for continuing to allow officials the ability to claim the dubious “deliberative process privilege” for the sole purpose of shielding their records, including credit card charges, from taxpayers.
September 23, 2010 4:57 PM
Brooke Edwards
VICTORVILLE • The same firm that’s handled Victorville’s audits for four of the last five years is now under scrutiny itself for financial reports Mayer Hoffman McCann prepared for the embattled City of Bell, according to officials with the State Controller’s office.
September 24, 2010 9:31 AM
Beau Yarbrough
HESPERIA • At Tuesday’s meeting of the Hesperia City Council, local resident Debra Ann Peterson wanted to talk about the City Council campaign.
She wanted to know which candidate was anonymously putting up ads telling voters to vote “No on (Thurston ‘Smitty’) Smith, (Russ) Blewett, (Dave) Holman.”
10:00 PM PDT on Thursday, September 23, 2010
By RICHARD K. DE ATLEY
The Press-Enterprise
The union representing Riverside County prosecutors encouraged its members to cash in unused leave as a contract bargaining strategy, accounting for much of the $1.3 million in vacation time buyouts for deputy district attorneys, county and union officials say.
Members of the Riverside County Deputy District Attorneys’ Association also were desperate for cash after a year of pay cuts and holds on step increases, leaving some with a 15 percent income loss, union President Michael Hestrin said.
10:00 PM PDT on Thursday, September 23, 2010
By ALICIA ROBINSON
The Press-Enterprise
Workers this week began efforts to turn a row of former antique stores next to the Fox Performing Arts Center into a parking garage, small theater and retail space.
On Monday, Bayley Construction, the contractor that oversaw the $32 million Fox renovation, started tearing out interior walls and salvaging anything worth keeping from the historic Hess building, which was designed by 1920’s architect Henry Jekel. The building fronts Market Street.
10:00 PM PDT on Thursday, September 23, 2010
By IMRAN GHORI
The Press-Enterprise
The Auto Club Speedway in Fontana would be allowed to hold louder events under new rules recommended by the San Bernardino County Planning Commission on Thursday.
The land-use panel voted unanimously to recommend approval of a general plan amendment that would allow the race track to go as high as 100 decibels for some events. The proposal will go to the Board of Supervisors, possibly next month, for a decision.
11:10 PM PDT on Thursday, September 23, 2010
By KIMBERLY PIERCEALL
The Press-Enterprise
San Bernardino International Airport doesn’t have an airline yet but officials estimate 2 million passengers could depart from its terminal by 2030, according to a forecast.
The airport’s leaders also want to expand the finished, but so far traveler-free, terminal in the next 20 years, potentially tripling the number of gates for parked airlines.
Darcel Woods
James Rufus Koren, Staff Writer
Posted: 09/23/2010 03:24:47 PM PDT
Read their lips: No new taxes. Unless the voters want them.
Darcel Woods, a Democrat running for the 59th District State Assembly seat, and California Attorney General Edmund G. “Jerry” Brown, the Democratic candidate for governor, have both said they won’t support tax increases without voter approval.
Point of View
Ryan McEachron
Created: 09/23/2010 08:07:20 PM PDT
Despite years of partisan gridlock and budget mismanagement, the politicians in Sacramento and Washington, D.C., never seem to change. Each election cycle, incumbents promise to fix the state’s problems, but then return to their respective capitals and continue feeding into the hyper-partisanship and inaction that plagues politics. Sadly, there are too many voters who want political change, but lack the ability to hold their representatives truly accountable.
Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina
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By JESSE McKINLEY
Published: September 23, 2010
SAN FRANCISCO — Both are former corporate chief executives, with personal fortunes, impressive résumés and famous friends. Both are conservatives who say that they have lived the American dream and fear for its future. And both are Bay Area women, with their eyes and ambitions firmly fixed on a change of address.
But beyond those surface similarities, the Republican candidates for California governor and United States senator, Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina, are charging into the general election with very different political personas and campaign strategies.
Joe Garofoli, Chronicle Staff Writer
San Francisco Chronicle
Friday, September 24, 2010
Although her job performance ratings are at an all-time low, Sen. Barbara Boxer has increased her lead over Republican challenger Carly Fiorina in California’s U.S. Senate race, with the three-term incumbent leading the former Hewlett-Packard CEO 47 to 41 percent, according to a Field Poll released today.
September 23rd, 2010, 7:44 pm · posted by BRIAN JOSEPH, Sacramento Correspondent
Carly Fiorina takes a swipe at Barbara Boxer’s “arrogance” in Fiorna’s first television ad of the general election.
Entitled “Sir,” the ad replays the now-infamous exchange between the Democratic U.S. Senator and Army Corp. of Engineer Brig. Gen. Michael Walsh in June 2009 at a hearing of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.
By Jack Chang
jchang@sacbee.com
Published: Friday, Sep. 24, 2010 – 12:00 am | Page 3A
Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman decided Thursday to oppose Proposition 23, a measure to suspend California’s greenhouse gas laws.
The move puts her in sync with Democratic rival Jerry Brown, but at odds with her own statements denouncing the current law as burdensome on businesses in a down economy.
By Kevin Modesti, Staff Writer
Posted: 09/23/2010 07:26:58 PM PDT
Updated: 09/23/2010 07:34:28 PM PDT
California Republican Party gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman speaks during a campaign event with Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey on Sept. 22, 2010, in Los Angeles. Christie is in California to camaign politically for the Republican candidate Whitman for California governor. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
Months of speechifying, millions of dollars spent on advertising, and where do Jerry Brown and Meg Whitman stand in their race for governor?
With the election 40 days away, the contest is a flat-footed tie, with increasing numbers of voters undecided and both candidates losing popularity.
Published: Friday, Sep. 24, 2010 – 12:00 am | Page 4A
Supporters of Proposition 25, which would allow the Legislature to pass a budget and related bills by a majority vote, launched their first television ad this week. Following is the text of the ad and analysis by Kevin Yamamura of The Bee Capitol Bureau:
Politics Blog
Posted By: Carla Marinucci | September 23 2010 at 10:00 PM
Talk about your political throwdown: there were moments during Thursday’s Bay Area Council debate between GOP blogger, strategist and party vice chair Jon Fleischman and Democratic consultant Garry South when you needed a flak jacket just to watch the action.
By Kevin Yamamura
kyamamura@sacbee.com
Published: Friday, Sep. 24, 2010 – 12:00 am | Page 1A
Last Modified: Friday, Sep. 24, 2010 – 7:21 am
State leaders broke a dubious record today as California entered the 86th day of the fiscal year without enacting a budget.
Perhaps that served as sufficient motivation. Legislative leaders and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced Thursday they had agreed on a “framework” for a budget agreement that could be voted on as early as next week.
September 24th, 2010, 1:00 am · posted by BRIAN JOSEPH, Sacramento Correspondent
It’s official: This year’s budget impasse is the longest in recent state history (since 1977).
The previous record was set in 2008, when the budget was signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Sept. 23, 2008. Sept. 23, of course, was Thursday.