San Bernardino County District Attorney Michael Ramos

By Mark Gutglueck
Friday, December 2, 2011

Federal prosecutors have horned in on an unprecedented number of high profile political corruption cases that would otherwise be handled by the district attorney’s office in San Bernardino County. In some matters, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has wrested from district attorney Mike Ramos prosecutorial authority or has opened with the FBI parallel investigations into issues Ramos or the San Bernardino County Grand Jury have delved into without reaching a successful conclusion. In at least three matters, federal prosecutors and investigators have taken on probes or investigations of elected officials or political donors with whom Ramos was politically aligned.

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Friday, December 2, 2011 – 10:45 a.m.

Friday the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released an unemployment (U-3) rate of 8.6%.

A decrease from 9.0% in October.

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Hansberger

Friday, December 2, 2011 – 10:30 a.m.

The entertainment is picking up in the election for San Bernardino County Third District Supervisor.

The latest out there is ousted supervisor Dennis Hansberger is holding an event for Casino Boss James Ramos who is seeking to unseat Supervisor Neil Derry.

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Assemblyman Paul Cook

Friday, December 2, 2011 – 10:00 a.m.

Assemblyman Paul Cook, a self-proclaimed reform candidate for the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors, is reportedly finding it a little lonely these days.

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BY DUANE W. GANG
STAFF WRITER
dgang@pe.com

Published: 01 December 2011 08:42 PM

Riverside County is preparing for a possible strike by its second-largest union as labor tensions continue to rise between management and employees.

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Former San Bernardino County assistant assessor Adam Aleman.

BY IMRAN GHORI
STAFF WRITER
ighori@pe.com

Published: 01 December 2011 09:21 AM

A San Bernardino County Superior Court judge Thursday delayed the sentencing of former assistant county assessor Adam Aleman, who is a key witness in a corruption investigation.

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BY DARRELL R. SANTSCHI
STAFF WRITER
dsantschi@pe.com

Published: 01 December 2011 06:25 PM

The Yucaipa City Council is renewing its objection to plans for a radio antenna on a hillside overlooking Wildwood Canyon State Park.

The council voted unanimously this week to send a letter to the San Bernardino County Planning Commission objecting to an application by Lazer Broadcasting Inc. to erect a 43-foot-high tower to broadcast a signal from Spanish-language radio station KXRS in Hemet.

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Scot Spencer

BY KIMBERLY PIERCEALL
STAFF WRITER
kpierceall@pe.com

Published: 01 December 2011 04:11 PM

The developer of San Bernardino International Airport will no longer be overseeing the airport’s development after $4 million worth of construction work stacked up without being paid.

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People throughout the Inland area are signing petitions to put a measure on the ballot that would prevent giving state grants to illegal immigrant college students.

BY DAVID OLSON
STAFF WRITER
dolson@pe.com

Published: 01 December 2011 09:26 PM

Gus Vizgirda drove more than a half hour out of his way Wednesday to sign a petition.

Vizgirda, 51, heard on the “John and Ken” conservative talk-radio show that the campaign to repeal the two-month-old California Dream Act – which allows state aid for illegal-immigrant college students – was in Temecula.

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Neil Nisperos, Staff Writer
Posted: 12/01/2011 05:49:37 PM PST

Occupy groups in the Inland Empire are continuing consolidation efforts through the formation of a new Occupy San Bernardino Valley group, which will meet for the first time in front of San Bernardino City Hall at noon on Saturday.

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Ryan Hagen, Staff Writer
Posted: 12/01/2011 06:12:59 PM PST

Colton teachers protested near Colton High School on Thursday, calling for district staff to return to the bargaining table as outside fact-finders prepare to investigate the bargaining process.

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U.S. Rep. Joe Baca

By Art Marroquin, Staff Writer
Created: 12/01/2011 02:57:14 PM PST

A reported shortage of U.S. Customs and Border Protection staffers at Los Angeles International Airport has led a couple of regional lawmakers to push for more customs agents at airports, including L.A./Ontario International Airport.

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U.S. Rep. Gary Miller

Canan Tasci, Staff Writer
Created: 12/01/2011 06:21:06 PM PST

Rep. Gary Miller on Thursday shared the concerns of Chino Hills residents with federal housing officials over the installation of 200-foot electrical towers in the city.

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Memo claims city is violating worker agreements
December 01, 2011 8:47 AM
Brooke Edwards Staggs, City Editor

VICTORVILLE • The city continues to clash with employees of the water districts it absorbed in 2007, with workers looking to protect their health benefits while Victorville aims to cut costs.

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By Kevin Yamamura
kyamamura@sacbee.com
Published: Friday, Dec. 2, 2011 – 12:00 am | Page 1A
Last Modified: Friday, Dec. 2, 2011 – 6:25 am

Desperate to plug budget holes for the next five years, Gov. Jerry Brown will ask voters to raise $7 billion annually by taxing the rich and hiking the sales tax by half a cent.

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Dan Walters

By Dan Walters
Published: Friday, Dec. 2, 2011 – 12:00 am | Page 3A

Those who believe that California should raise taxes – including Gov. Jerry Brown – to close its budget deficit or increase spending may be forming a circular firing squad.

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Joe Garofoli, Wyatt Buchanan,Marisa Lagos, Chronicle Staff Writers
Friday, December 2, 2011

The tax-the-rich sentiment behind the Occupy Wall Street movement – and the cash-starved state budget – are reshaping California politics.

Several measures to raise taxes are aimed at the November ballot and most would hit the wallets of the wealthiest Californians.

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PolitiCal
On politics in the Golden State
December 1, 2011 | 4:15 pm

Gov. Jerry Brown stepped up Thursday to defend his proposed overhaul of the state’s public pension systems against criticism from legal experts and unions, telling lawmakers it would save money without running afoul of legal restrictions that protect retirement benefits for current employees.

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PolitiCal
On politics in the Golden State
December 1, 2011 | 3:54 pm

A Sacramento County Superior Court judge has tentatively ordered the California Assembly to release lawmakers’ office budgets and other legislative documents it had claimed were exempt from public disclosure.

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Published: Friday, Dec. 2, 2011 – 12:00 am | Page 6B

Californians continued to up their spending habits in this year’s third quarter.

The state Board of Equalization’s newly released estimate of statewide taxable sales for the third quarter shows an 8 percent rise compared with the same period in 2010.

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By Michael Doyle
mdoyle@mcclatchydc.com
Published: Friday, Dec. 2, 2011 – 12:00 am | Page 3A

Californians remain poisonously skeptical about Congress, and many blame both parties for the latest budget-cutting failure on Capitol Hill, a statewide poll shows.

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