Politics, Government and Business in Southern California's Inland Empire
Friday, July 20, 2012 – 09:00 p.m.
Is Governor Jerry Brown’s cash grab to help balance California’s budget having unintended and unforeseen consequences?
You bet it is.
And he didn’t even see it coming and, more importantly, really doesn’t seem to care either.
BY IMRAN GHORI
STAFF WRITER
ighori@pe.com
Published: 19 July 2012 08:32 PM
A day after declaring a fiscal emergency, San Bernardino city officials were clustered in meetings Thursday, July 19, working on plans to keep the city operating until it files a bankruptcy petition.
Interim City Manager Andrea Travis-Miller and Finance Director Jason Simpson will present a short-term budget plan to the City Council on Tuesday, city spokeswoman Gwendolyn Waters said. It’s not clear yet how long a period the plan will cover, only that it will determine spending until a full fiscal year’s budget is adopted.
By Andrew Edwards, The (San Bernardino County) Sun
Posted: 07/19/2012 02:11:12 PM PDT
Related story: San Bernardino declares fiscal emergency, approves bankruptcy
Catch up: Read more about the San Bernardino financial crisis.
Photo gallery: A state of emergency: San Bernardino formally declares bankruptcy
SAN BERNARDINO – The next step in the city’s move toward filing for Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection will be to prepare a short-term budget that will almost certainly call for a round of layoffs.
Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Posted: 07/19/2012 07:17:19 PM PDT
SAN BERNARDINO – A criminal investigation into allegations of kickbacks and placing falsified bids on publicly funded construction projects at the city Parks and Recreation Department is under way.
Robert Lennox, the former deputy director of the department, and Chris Evans, hired by the city as construction manager for various parks and recreation projects, have been named in a search-warrant affidavit filed in San Bernardino Superior Court on June 27.
Point of View
Supervisor Janice Rutherford
Created: 07/19/2012 11:50:12 AM PDT
You, your spouse and your children owe roughly $1,000 each to cover the unfunded pension liabilities of San Bernardino County employees. And, if reform doesn’t come soon, that growing tab could cripple our economy for decades to come.
In the just-approved county budget, we are spending $375 million on pension obligations. This year we are spending $48.4 million more than last year. Just imagine what could be accomplished with those millions of dollars.
By Canan Tasci, Staff Writer
Created: 07/20/2012 08:15:13 AM PDT
Chino Valley Unified board members have decided to rescind a decision that would have eliminated busing in the fall.
Board members approved the decision to reduce the item earlier this year to help close a $20 million budget gap.
Sandra Emerson, Staff Writer
Created: 07/19/2012 09:05:01 PM PDT
UPLAND – The Upland Unified School District Board of Trustees on Thursday approved an agreement with classified employees to reduce their salaries by 7.78 percent.
The employees, who are members of the Upland Chapter of the California School Employees Association, agreed to the reduction, saving the district $848,528 in the current fiscal year.
Liset Marquez, Staff Writer
Created: 07/19/2012 06:53:10 PM PDT
Related story: Top officials out at Ontario Convention Center
View: Read the letter
ONTARIO – An SMG World official wrote that misconduct by the former CEO of the city’s Convention Center “thwarted normal SMG control procedures.”
A letter sent from SMG World to Ontario city officials on Thursday said there had been violations of policy and “business conduct” at the Convention Center.
County’s pension fund may be underfunded by $1.7 billion; could lead to insolvency
July 19, 2012 5:14 PM
Sam Pearson, Staff Writer
SAN BERNARDINO • Third District Supervisor Neil Derry plans to introduce a pension reform measure to be placed on the November general election ballot in a bid to cut costs.
Derry said he plans to introduce the plan at the Board of Supervisors meeting July 31. If the board approves the proposal, it would be added to the ballot for the Nov. 6 general election, where it could be approved by a majority vote.
BY BEN GOAD
WASHINGTON BUREAU
bgoad@pe.com
Published: 19 July 2012 07:03 PM
WASHINGTON Pharmaceutical companies would be required to make their pills tamper-resistant under legislation introduced by Inland Rep. Mary Bono Mack as a means to counter the growing problem of prescription drug abuse.
Bono Mack, co-chairman of the Congressional Caucus on Prescription Drug Abuse, pointed to widespread evidence that drug users and dealers crush pills like Vicodin and OxyContin into powders, dissolve them in water or even inject them as a way to adulterate the medicine’s time-release mechanism.
PolitiCal
On politics in the Golden State
July 19, 2012 | 7:00 am
California ended the last fiscal year on a high note, raking in 5.6% more tax revenue than expected in June.
Income taxes were responsible for most of the boost, coming in at 8.4% above projections.
By Dan Walters
Published: Friday, Jul. 20, 2012 – 12:00 am | Page 3A
Thirty-six years ago, during the early stages of a young Jerry Brown’s first governorship, actor John Travolta starred in a made-for-TV movie called “The Boy in the Plastic Bubble.”
Existential coincidence?
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