10:36 PM PST on Sunday, January 30, 2011

By DUANE W. GANG
The Press-Enterprise

Riverside County’s top executive is calling for a hiring freeze and possible patrol cutbacks to help the Sheriff’s Department overcome a $13.5 million budget shortfall.

A report before the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday outlines the financial picture for the department and all of county government halfway through the current fiscal year, which ends June 30.

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10:00 PM PST on Sunday, January 30, 2011

The Press-Enterprise

The next election is never far off and two Inland Southern California lawmakers already are taking steps toward a possible future candidacy.

Last week, Assembly members Wilmer Amina Carter and Paul Cook opened campaign committees to run for state Senate.

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By PE News
on January 31, 2011 8:50 AM

Jurupa-area residents will have two chances in February to hear city council candidates share their vision for a proposed city of Jurupa Valley.

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10:23 PM PST on Sunday, January 30, 2011

By ALICIA ROBINSON
The Press-Enterprise

Riverside City Council members could take another step Tuesday toward scaling back the cost of employee pensions and benefits, including their own.

A week after approving a two-tiered pension agreement with firefighters, the council will consider a similar deal with management and executive employees, a group that includes the council and mayor.

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Denials common in SB, Rialto
Debbie Pfeiffer Trunnell, Staff Writer
Posted: 01/31/2011 03:43:14 AM PST

In January, the San Bernardino City Unified school board denied the petition for Optimo Preparatory Academy, a proposed charter school focused on preparing students for college. It also denied the Le Ta’iala International Language Immersion Academy.

Such denials are becoming more common at a time of budget cuts and concerns over the long-term future of charters, advocates for charter schools said.

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Governor’s plan would save state millions per year
Staff and Wire Reports
Created: 01/30/2011 07:01:27 AM PST

Gov. Jerry Brown has called for a major shift of state prisoners to the county jail system, a plan aimed at saving money, reducing overcrowded prisons and attempting to better handle juveniles and low-level offenders who cycle through the justice system at great cost.

Brown’s plan would eliminate altogether the state’s juvenile prison system, sending offenders to their home counties and reducing costs that have reached more than $200,000 annually per youth inmate.

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Settlements formerly job of city manager
Sandra Emerson, Staff Writer
Created: 01/31/2011 05:03:20 AM PST

UPLAND – There were 22 claims against the city listed on last week’s City Council agenda.

And, until recently, City Manager Robb Quincey would have been tasked with resolving claims against the city.

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Ontario stays quiet about bid
Liset Marquez, Staff Writer
Created: 01/30/2011 07:01:26 AM PST

ONTARIO – A proposal for the city to regain control of LA/Ontario International Airport has been given to Los Angeles World Airports, but city officials are not forthcoming about just how it would work.

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By David Siders
dsiders@sacbee.com
Published: Monday, Jan. 31, 2011 – 12:00 am | Page 1A
Last Modified: Monday, Jan. 31, 2011 – 8:38 am

It’s been, by most accounts, a good first month for Jerry Brown.

The third-term governor settled into a trendy Sacramento loft, took in a corgi named Sutter, drafted a team of advisers and issued his first executive order: a popular, if heavily symbolic, measure recalling thousands of state- issued cell phones.

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By Howard Mintz
hmintz@mercurynews.com
Posted: 01/30/2011 09:00:00 PM PST
Updated: 01/31/2011 08:32:30 AM PST

When California’s judicial leaders decided in 2009 to close courthouses one day per month to save money, it provoked an unprecedented backlash around the state.

Judges who usually keep their criticisms under wraps howled in protest, some forming a rebel group to resist the move. Others, such as court employee unions, took dead aim at the court system’s ever-growing bureaucracy and spending on a $2 billion technology program.

But for the largest state court system in the country, that tempest may just be a prelude to what is coming next.

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By Ed Mendel
January 31, 2011

A leading credit-rating agency, Moody’s, has begun treating unfunded pensions like bond debt, giving California a combined tax-supported debt of $136.9 billion that is well beyond other states but also may be understated.

The decision to add pensions to bond debt announced by Moody’s Investors Services last week reflects concern about public employee pension costs, which are growing as state budgets plunge deep into the red during a lengthy economic downturn.

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