Politics, Government & Business in California's Inland Empire
Tuesday, July 17, 2012 – 01:30 p.m.
Just when you think you’ve heard it all. Something else pops up to take center stage.
The city of San Bernardino just can’t seem to get its act together, and it likely won’t.
It appears an emergency declaration and authorization to file chapter 9 bankruptcy may not pass the city council Wednesday night.
BY IMRAN GHORI
STAFF WRITER
ighori@pe.com
Published: 16 July 2012 03:11 PM
San Bernardino city officials delayed a vote on whether to declare a fiscal emergency after an emotional hearing on Monday, July 16, where many residents and city employees urged leaders to seek an alternative to bankruptcy.
City officials say they still see no alternative to seeking bankruptcy protection, which a council majority agreed to pursue last week. But as council members debated a fiscal crisis in which the city faces a $45 million deficit, they said more time was needed to get more answers.
Ryan Hagen, Staff Writer
Posted: 07/16/2012 11:22:59 AM PDT
SAN BERNARDINO – Officials provided further detail Monday on the falsification of budget documents that was first alleged last week, leading City Council members to delay a vote on whether to declare a state of fiscal emergency.
The city must declare a state of fiscal emergency – the inability to pay its bills within 60 days without bankruptcy protection – to sidestep mediation and other steps that would otherwise be required under state law.
Andrew Edwards, Staff Writer
Posted: 07/16/2012 07:17:25 PM PDT
SAN BERNARDINO – It was nearly two years ago when the city’s treasurer warned that the city was on the brink of financial crisis.
“We have been getting by with borrowing money from other funds and other magic accounting tricks, but the fact of the matter is that (revenue) pool has shrunk by $40 million over the last three years,” City Treasurer David Kennedy said during an Aug. 23, 2010, meeting.
BY BEN GOAD
WASHINGTON BUREAU
bgoad@pe.com
Published: 16 July 2012 03:41 PM
WASHINGTON – Inland Southern California’s sitting House members are enjoying the spoils of incumbency, collecting large amounts of contributions while their challengers struggle to keep pace, new campaign finance filings show.
And while outside money hasn’t yet begun to arrive, the reports filed with the Federal Election Commission contain hints suggesting that the region’s most contested races could attract large sums from so-called Super PACs and national interests.
BY JIM MILLER
SACRAMENTO BUREAU
jmiller@pe.com
Published: 16 July 2012 05:43 PM
SACRAMENTO –Former redevelopment agencies in Riverside and San Bernardino counties handed over more than $30 million for schools and other local taxing entities in recent days, avoiding for now the prospect of stiff penalties by the state.
The state budget package signed in late June relies on $3.1 billion in revenue and assets from the longtime economic-development program. Last week’s payments stem from budget legislation meant to clarify what redevelopment successor agencies owe. It also gave the state new powers to compel them to hand the money over.
Beau Yarbrough and Kelly Puente, Staff Writers
Posted: 07/16/2012 04:37:51 PM PDT
The California State University Board of Trustees will meet Tuesday to discuss possible tuition hikes, limited enrollment, salary cuts and layoffs as well as pay increases for three campus presidents.
The new president of Cal State San Bernardino is one who will be affected – his pay could be 10 percent, or $39,000, more than his predecessor.
Canan Tasci, Staff Writer
Created: 07/16/2012 06:13:43 PM PDT
CHINO – The area around the City Hall may become very quiet on most weekdays now that the San Bernardino Superior Court has ordered the closure of the Chino Courthouse on Jan. 1.
The facility at 13260 Central Ave. will be shut down to help close the county court system’s $13.5 million shortfall.
By Dale Kasler
dkasler@sacbee.com
Published: Tuesday, Jul. 17, 2012 – 12:00 am | Page 6B
Last Modified: Tuesday, Jul. 17, 2012 – 6:33 am
PETALUMA – California’s big public pension funds are continuing to swim in choppy investment waters, leaving the state and local governments gasping for air.
CalPERS reported a 1 percent annual profit on its investments Monday, following CalSTRS in delivering disappointing results for the latest fiscal year.
Politics Blog
By Wyatt Buchanan
Monday June 16, 2012
The campaign to pass Proposition 30 — Gov. Jerry Brown’s tax raising measure — released its first web ad Monday and guess what: Not once is the word “tax” mentioned.
By Dan Walters
Published: Tuesday, Jul. 17, 2012 – 12:00 am | Page 3A
What happened within minutes Monday may just be coincidence, but if so, it’s a cosmically foreboding one.
In Sacramento, Gov. Jerry Brown released the first online ad of his campaign to persuade California voters to endorse his sales and income tax increase measure. One snippet declared that under Brown, “California’s bond rating is now positive.”
By Jim Puzzanghera and Marc Lifsher
July 16, 2012, 2:37 p.m.
WASHINGTON — A House committee is launching a bipartisan investigation into allegations that large banks rigged a key interest rate and plans to question Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner at upcoming hearings.
At the same time, officials at the country’s largest public pension fund, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, said Monday they were examining the impact of the rate-fixing scandal and might seek damages if they could be calculated.