Settlement talks heat up after trip
Created: 08/06/2011 09:42:20 PM PDT

In September 2005, then-San Bernardino County Supervisor Bill Postmus returned from a trip to China insistent the county settle a land-rights lawsuit with a Rancho Cucamonga developer that spanned more than three years.

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Officials say trade missions have helped firms do business overseas
Sandra Emerson, Staff Writer
Created: 08/06/2011 09:41:22 PM PDT

Although a series of San Bernardino County trade missions to the Far East has been tainted by allegations of bribery on at least one overseas trip, county officials believe the trade missions met their goals.

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By Michael J. Mishak, Los Angeles Times
August 7, 2011

Reporting from Sacramento—- A run-of-the-mill spat between two lawmakers has escalated into a referendum on government secrecy, exposing the lengths to which the Legislature will go to hide details about how it conducts the people’s business.

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Credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s headquarters are seen in the financial district of New York. It’s unlikely that the agency’s downgrade of the U.S. credit rating will spur Washington to take the necessary steps to reduce the country’s debt. (Stan Honda / AFP/Getty Images / August 6, 2011)

By Jim Puzzanghera, Los Angeles Times
August 7, 2011

Reporting from Washington—- The historic decision by Standard & Poor’s to downgrade the U.S. credit rating may provoke some havoc in financial markets this week, but it’s unlikely to deliver the shock necessary to prod Washington politicians to take the unpopular steps required to cut the nation’s debt.

A key to the political effects of the downgrade will be the reaction of financial markets Monday.

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