Politics, Government & Business in California's Inland Empire
Thursday, December 16, 2010 – 03:45 p.m.
The dust from San Bernardino County Public Defender Doreen Boxer’s ouster hasn’t even settled yet and already information on what actually transpired in her department is starting to float to the surface.
Sources say San Bernadino County will now review personnel actions Boxer took against members of her staff, which resulted in employee discipline.
Hansberger
Thursday, December 16, 2010 – 10:00 a.m.
After two years former San Bernardino County Supervisor Dennis Hansberger has stepped back into the fray.
On December 1, Hansberger paid a rare visit to the San Bernardino County Government Center, to attend the swearing-in ceremony for Supervisors Gary Ovitt and Janice Rutherford.
Thursday, December 16, 2010 – 09:55 a.m.
The battle between San Bernardino County Government and employee Sharon Gilbert turned ugly yesterday after Gilbert, a long-time area political blogger, started dishing out the dirty laundry on county officials.
Gilbert, who has operated www.iepolitics.com for more than three years now, has been put behind the eight-ball by way of intense financial retaliation from San Bernardino County officials.
10:00 PM PST on Wednesday, December 15, 2010
By DUANE W. GANG
The Press-Enterprise
The Service Employees International Union has sued the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, accusing management of retaliating against an employee for her union activities.
SEIU Local 721, which represents about 6,000 county employees, and Wendy Thomas, a 911 communications specialist, filed the complaint in federal court Dec. 1.
Gonzales
Audit shows agency has $163M in debt
Josh Dulaney, Staff Writer
Posted: 12/15/2010 09:26:39 PM PST
An audit of the two agencies working to transform the former Norton Air Force Base into a commercial airport may add ammunition to critics who say the endeavor won’t get off the ground.
The Inland Valley Development Agency as of June 30 has long-term outstanding debt of $163.5 million, and grants awarded to the San Bernardino International Airport plunged 41.9 percent over the prior year to $51.8 million, according to the one-year audit, which the San Bernardino International Airport Authority received on Wednesday.
Morrell
Assemblyman Mike Morrell
Created: 12/15/2010 07:31:24 PM PST
As a first-time elected official, I jumped into the task of representing the constituents of the 63rd Assembly District. In my first week I attended my first budget summit hosted by Gov.-elect Jerry Brown and his economic team for state legislators and officials. I walked in with the hope of serious proposals for slashing the deficit and putting California back on the path to prosperity. I left with the sinking realization that the conversation will again turn to raising our taxes, out-of-control spending, and looking to big government for solutions.
By PE Politics
on December 15, 2010 12:56 PM
Assembly Speaker John Perez, D-Los Angeles, released committee assignments Wednesday for the 2011-2012 session.
A few notables among the Inland Southern California delegation:
* Democrats picked up two seats in the last election, but Assemblyman Paul Cook remains chairman of the Assembly Veterans Affairs Committee. Cook, R-Yucca Valley, is one of just two Republican committee chairs in the Assembly.
Claims Upland in Brown Act breach
Sandra Emerson, Staff Writer
Created: 12/15/2010 09:26:24 PM PST
UPLAND – An open-government advocate is accusing the city of violating the Ralph M. Brown Act by discussing the city attorney’s contract in closed session Monday at City Hall.
Richard McKee, president of Californians Aware, said he would file a demand for cure and correction today, giving the city two weeks to respond or face possible litigation.
Buquet
Buquet is back
Wendy Leung, Staff Writer
Created: 12/15/2010 07:54:08 PM PST
RANCHO CUCAMONGA – A local businessman with a dozen years of City Council experience is the newest member of this city’s governing board.
Chuck Buquet, 59, was sworn in before the last City Council meeting of the year on Wednesday evening.
Ex-councilman Gutierrez receives 2 years, 8 months
Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Created: 12/15/2010 07:55:13 PM PST
Former Rancho Cucamonga Councilman Rex Gutierrez was sentenced Wednesday to two years, eight months in state prison for charges related to corruption in the San Bernardino County Assessor’s Office.
San Bernardino Superior Court Judge Duke D. Rouse said that while Gutierrez, 51, qualified for probation, he felt prison was more appropriate given the circumstances of the crimes committed and Gutierrez’s victims.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sheriff Rod Hoops
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December 15, 2010 3:32 PM
Natasha Lindstrom
ADELANTO • Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Wednesday morning led local leaders in hailing the groundbreaking of the $120 million expansion of the Adelanto Detention Center as an effort to both address inmate overcrowding and enhance public safety.
The 30-month project will nearly triple the size of the 740-bed Adelanto Detention Center, off Commerce Way southwest of Rancho and Koala roads, by more than 1,300 beds and three multistory housing units.
Capitol Alert
The latest on California politics and government
December 15, 2010
The California Supreme Court has denied a request to intervene in the legal challenge against the top-two primary system set to take effect Jan. 1, leaving the case at the appeals court level.
In June, Californians approved a measure to replace party primaries with a system in which candidates of all party affiliations run on one primary ballot, with the top two vote-getters advancing to a run-off election.
By Ed Mendel
December 16, 2010
The state payment to CalPERS for this fiscal year was cut by $200 million yesterday, reflecting a savings for the deficit-ridden state from agreements by state workers to pay more toward their pensions.
The CalPERS board approved the lower rate after unions representing two-thirds of the state workforce agreed to new contracts boosting worker contributions from 2 to 5 percent of pay, allowing a similar reduction in the state payment.
L.A. NOW
Southern California — this just in
December 15, 2010 | 7:33 pm
The on-again, off-again — rinse and repeat — sale of the state-owned Orange County Fairgrounds was back on Wednesday after Orange County Superior Court Judge Michael Brenner ruled in the state’s favor in a lawsuit filed by opponents of the plan.
Money & Company
Tracking the market and economic trends that shape your finances.
December 15, 2010 | 11:34 am
California’s in trouble. We’ve heard it before and we hear it again in a forecast released Wednesday morning by California Lutheran University. The university’s Center for Economic Research and Forecasting predicts job losses in California through 2011, even as the nation grows.
Money & Company
Tracking the market and economic trends that shape your finances.
December 15, 2010 | 6:30 pm
California’s home price recovery began with the state’s least expensive properties: those so beaten down by the fallout from the subprime mortgage crisis that both investors and first-time purchasers saw buying opportunities amid the wreckage.
But now that trend could be reversing with the absence of tax credits for buyers, the weak job market and rising interest rates.