Politics, Government & Business in California's Inland Empire
Saturday, October 30, 2010 – 1030 p.m.
Did Fridays preliminary hearing involving former San Bernardino County Assessor Bill Postmus and Taxpayer Advocate Gregory Eyler really take an unexpected turn?
Well according to people in the courtroom, maybe not.
Aleman
Mike Cruz, Staff Writer
Posted: 10/29/2010 07:43:51 PM PDT
Adam Aleman, the prosecution’s key witness in the San Bernardino County Assessor’s Office scandal, covertly recorded conversations with former Assessor Bill Postmus for investigators before he even had a plea bargain in place, according to court testimony.
News of the recordings was revealed Friday when Postmus’ attorney cross-examined district attorney’s investigator Hollis “Bud” Randles on the third day of a preliminary hearing in San Bernardino Superior Court for Postmus and co-defendant Gregory Eyler.
12:12 AM PDT on Saturday, October 30, 2010
By RICHARD K. DE ATLEY
The Press-Enterprise
Special Section: San Bernardino Co. Probe
A San Bernardino County district attorney’s investigator on Friday denied that his office told witnesses to withhold statements from a grand jury investigating former San Bernardino County Assessor Bill Postmus.
Postmus’s attorney Stephen Levine got the question in over objections from county prosecutor Lewis Cope during a morning of testimony at the preliminary hearing of former San Bernardino County Assessor Bill Postmus.
12:16 AM PDT on Saturday, October 30, 2010
By IMRAN GHORI
The Press-Enterprise
Colton’s budget woes and an electricity rate increase are some of the issues dominating the race for mayor and three council seats.
Mayor Kelly Chastain, who survived a recall campaign only two years ago, is being challenged by longtime Colton Joint Unified School District board member David Zamora.
12:12 AM PDT on Saturday, October 30, 2010
By DARRELL R. SANTSCHI
The Press-Enterprise
Voters in the Colton Joint Unified School District on Tuesday will fill four seats on the district’s seven-member governing board.
In Trustee Area 1, two candidates are seeking one seat representing Bloomington and portions of Rialto and Fontana. They are health care supervisor Randall Ceniceros and incumbent Marge Mendoza-Ware.
11:58 PM PDT on Friday, October 29, 2010
By ALICIA ROBINSON
The Press-Enterprise
An ad hoc committee tasked with reviewing Riverside’s ethics code is recommending several changes in how ethics complaints are handled, including one proposal council members have rejected in the past.
The council appointed the committee in September to do a full review of the code. It covers elected officials and appointed members of boards and commissions, and it outlines values such as making unbiased decisions and not using one’s position for personal gain.
October 29, 2010 2:05 PM
Natasha Lindstrom
SAN BERNARDINO • The District Attorney’s confidential informant secretly recorded conversations with embattled former San Bernardino County Assessor Bill Postmus for at least 15 months to help advance a far-reaching corruption probe, Senior Investigator Hollis D. Randles testified Friday in San Bernardino court.
The investigative method came to light on the third day of the preliminary hearing for Postmus and his former aid Greg Eyler. The two men face felonies for allegedly defrauding taxpayers through what prosecutors call a conspiracy to use the county Assessor’s office as a political machine.
Newsom
PolitiCal
On politics in the Golden State
October 29, 2010 | 5:27 pm
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who campaigned last week for Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman, has endorsed Democrat Gavin Newsom for lieutenant governor.
PolitiCal
On politics in the Golden State
October 29, 2010 | 4:06 pm
Democrats outnumber Republicans by more than 2.2 million in California, according to new figures released Friday by the secretary of state’s office.
The numbers show 44% of the state’s voters are registered Democrats; 31% are registered Republicans. More than 20% of the state’s voters declined to register with any political party. In all, more than 17.2 million Californians are registered to vote, up from just under 17 million Sept. 3.
L.A. NOW
Southern California — this just in
October 29, 2010 | 2:52 pm
The nation’s main advocacy group for drug policy reform laid out its final advertising strategy Friday for Proposition 19, targeting young people and voters in Southern California with advertising on radio, TV, the Internet and in the Los Angeles Times.
The Drug Policy Alliance, which is running an independent campaign pushing the marijuana legalization initiative, received $1 million from multibillionaire investor George Soros earlier this week, which has funded a final-week advertising blitz.
Cal State proposes a 5% increase for the rest of this school year and a 10% increase for next school year, while UC regents are likely to vote on higher fees next month.
By Carla Rivera and Larry Gordon, Los Angeles Times
October 30, 2010
California’s two public university systems are expected to seek student fee increases next month to help pay for rising costs inside and outside the classroom that a recent boost in state funding didn’t fully cover, officials said.