Politics, Government & Business in California's Inland Empire
Saturday, January 31, 2015 – 01:00 p.m.
We’ve said it here many times.
If there’s one group who can routinely shoot itself in the head, it’s the GOP.
Published: Jan. 30, 2015 – Updated: 10:05 p.m.
Contributions from Los Angeles World Airports for improvements at Ontario International Airport have been “significantly overstated” and may be as little as $4.5 million, a forensic accountant has testified in a deposition.
To read story by Richard K. De Atley in The Press-Enterprise, click here.
Published: Jan. 30, 2015 – Updated: 10:06 p.m.
Consumers are in the best shape since the Great Recession, Chapman University economist Esmael Adibi said.
To read story by Debra Gruszecki in The Press-Enterprise, click here.
By Joe Nelson, The Sun
Posted: 01/30/15, 10:02 AM PST | Updated: 51 secs ago
SAN BERNARDINO >> Fearing he may die in custody before trial, Charles “Chase” Merritt, suspected of killing the McStay family in their Fallbrook home in 2010, was given permission Friday by a judge to represent himself.
By IE Business Daily
January 31, 2015
In 1978, Californians passed Proposition 13 to cap property tax increases at two percent per year. At the time, and as we saw last decade, property values were increasing at such a fast pace, that many people had difficulty keeping up with the doubling and tripling of their property taxes. Seniors on fixed incomes were sometimes forced to sell their homes because the taxation levels exceeded their ability to pay the taxes.
Document: Peevey search warrant
By Jeff McDonald
Jan. 30, 2015 – 12:05 p.m.
State agents seized bank statements, computers. miscellaneous files and a host of other materials from the Los Angeles area home of former California Public Utilities Commission President Michael Peevey this week, indicating a public-corruption case is growing more serious.
Updated – Jan. 31, 2015 9:16 a.m.
By MEGHANN M. CUNIFF / STAFF WRITER
Andrew Do was elected to the 1st District Board of Supervisors seat by 43 votes after the vote-counting wrapped up Friday, leaving Lou Correa, one of Orange County’s longest-standing politicians, jobless for the moment.
Friday, January 30, 2015 – 08:00 a.m.
News outlets are reporting that Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney will not make a third run for President of the United States.
By Ryan Hagen, The Sun
Posted: 01/29/15, 11:18 AM PST | Updated: 42 secs ago
SAN BERNARDINO >> After protests, NAACP’s call for a federal investigation and stern defense of law enforcement, the family of Dante Parker filed a lawsuit Wednesday alleging 10 civil rights violations from the Victorville man’s death in deputies’ custody.
By David Siders
dsiders@sacbee.com
01/29/2015 3:36 PM
SAN FRANCISCO – Even as it was reported that state investigators seized computers and other items from Michael Peevey’s home, Gov. Jerry Brown on Thursday offered only praise for the former president of the California Public Utilities Commission.
Don Thompson, Associated Press
Published 1:34 pm, Thursday, January 29, 2015
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California must adopt a new process for executing condemned inmates after nearly three years of delays, a state judge ruled Thursday in a lawsuit filed by crime victims.
By Lauren French
1/29/15 8:50 PM EST
PHILADELPHIA — President Barack Obama vowed to House Democrats on Thursday night that he would “happily” veto any legislation that would “compound” the country’s immigration problems — posing yet another challenge to Republican efforts to pass a Homeland Security spending bill by next month’s deadline.
Thursday, January 29, 2015 – 04:30 p.m.
Tonight on The Lou Desmond & Company Show, Cliff Cummings, President of Toyota of San Bernardino, joins Lou to discuss happenings in the City of San Bernardino, National School Choice Week and the overall health of the Inland Empire economy.
By Liset Marquez, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
Posted: 01/27/15, 12:01 AM PST | Updated: 1 day ago
ONTARIO >> Annual passenger traffic at LA/Ontario International Airport is up for the first time since 2007, according to passenger figures released by Los Angeles World Airports on Tuesday.
Published: Jan. 28, 2015 – Updated: 8:49 p.m.
The union representing Riverside County sheriff’s deputies has asked a judge to prevent the county from requiring deputies to use body-mounted video cameras, asserting that officials failed to negotiate the use of the new equipment.
To read story by Brian Rokos in The Press-Enterprise, click here.
By Joe Nelson, The Sun
Posted: 01/28/15, 8:44 PM PST |
Authorities have no legal basis to block public access to dozens of search warrants filed in San Bernardino Superior Court in the McStay family murder case, according to a motion filed Wednesday by an attorney representing 18 news organizations.
BROOKE SELF
STAFF WRITER
Posted Jan. 28, 2015 @ 7:37 pm
Updated Jan 28, 2015 at 7:42 PM
ADELANTO — Geo Group Inc., a global for-profit prison operator, has decided to vacate plans to construct a 1,050-bed facility in the city, officials said Wednesday.
By Jim Puzzanghera
January 27, 2015
Federal Reserve policymakers kept their benchmark interest rate near zero and reiterated a plan to be patient about future hikes, even though they issued a more upbeat assessment of the U.S. economy.
By Karen Tumulty
January 28, 2015 at 6:21 PM
They’re over her.
Sarah Palin’s odd, rambling speech last weekend before an audience of committed conservative activists in Des Moines has many influential voices on the right saying that the time has come to acknowledge that the romance has gone cold and the marriage is dead.
By Carla Marinucci
Wednesday, January 28, 2015 – Updated 9:40 am
The billionaire Koch brothers’ intention to spend nearly $900 million on conservative candidates and causes in the 2016 election cycle will unleash a tidal wave of cash that will swamp the political landscape even in solidly blue California, experts said Tuesday.
SAN FRANCISCO — Jan 27, 2015, 5:56 PM ET
By BRANDON BAILEY AP Technology Writer
Associated Press
Apple had another blowout quarter thanks to its new plus-sized iPhones, which helped the company smash sales records for the holiday season.
By Jim Puzzanghera
January 27, 2015
The regulator for bailed-out housing finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac told lawmakers Tuesday that new programs to back mortgages with down payments as low as 3% had enough safeguards to make them as safe as loans with higher down payments.
By Dan Walters
dwalters@sacbee.com
01/27/2015 10:39 AM
Although California’s unemployment dropped fractionally to 7 percent in December, the state stands alone with the nation’s second-highest rate, exceeded only by Mississippi’s 7.2 percent.
By Dan Walters
dwalters@sacbee.com
01/27/2015 12:50 PM
Although California’s industrial sector has been declining for decades and today employs just 8 percent of the state’s workers, it still generates a very large portion of the state’s economic output, a new Census Bureau report indicates.
Wednesday, January 28, 2015 – 05:30 p.m.
Tonight on The Lou Desmond & Company Show, Tom Del Beccaro, former Chairman of the California Republican Party and Georgine Trujillo, Lou’s favorite Democrat, join the program.
Opinion
By Debra J. Saunders
Monday, January 26, 2015 – Updated 5:01 pm
Jeb Bush may be the front-runner in the GOP 2016 primary. He is the son and brother of former presidents, who can tap into their vaunted fund-raising machines. In some eyes, the former Florida governor always was the more disciplined, thoughtful and worthy son. Maybe. But Jeb Bush also has a problem: He is a boring speaker.
By Ron Fournier
January 27, 2015
This week may be remembered as the birth of the Koch Party. A usurper of the GOP and a rival to Democrats, the network of conservative advocacy groups backed by Charles and David Koch pledged Monday to spend $889 million on the 2016 election.
Tuesday, January 27, 2015 – 05:00 p.m.
Tonight on The Lou Desmond & Company Show, Dr. Adrian Moore, Vice President of The Reason Foundation, joins Lou. The two will discuss the sale of the Los Angeles Newspaper Group, the desertion of Bowe Berghdal and rezoning in Lake Elsinore.
Bloomberg is reporting that two private equity firms are taking a close look at a possible buyout of the parent company of The Sun, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin and Redlands Daily Facts newspapers.
Published: Jan. 26, 2015 – Updated: 2:08 p.m.
He just started a new term. But Riverside County Supervisor John Benoit is already thinking about his next one.
To read post by Jeff Horseman in The PE Political Empire Blog, click here.
By Kelly Puente
Jan. 26, 2015 – Updated 4:25 p.m.
A group of California public school teachers petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to hear a case that would decide whether public employees should be required to pay union dues.
By Sean Sullivan
January 26, 2016 at 6:18 PM
**This post has been updated**
Senate Democrats stalled the Republican-led push to construct the Keystone XL Pipeline on Monday, dealing the first significant blow to the new Republican majority less than three weeks after being sworn in.
By Matea Gold
January 26, 2015 at 4:00 PM
RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. — A network of conservative advocacy groups backed by Charles and David Koch aims to spend a staggering $889 million in advance of the next White House election, part of an expansive strategy to build on its 2014 victories that may involve jumping into the Republican primaries.
Monday, January 26, 2015 – 05:00 p.m.
Tonight on The Lou Desmond & Company Show, Jay Prag, Clinicial Associate Professor at the Drucker School of Management at Claremont Graduate University, joins Lou.
Monday, January 26, 2015 – 09:00 a.m.
You gotta hand it to the GOP.
If there’s one concept the Republican Party has really developed a fine skill for, it’s committing political suicide.
Juliet Williams | AP
January 25, 09:16 AM
Gov. Jerry Brown orchestrated the successful push for temporary sales and income taxes on Californians three years ago to help ease the state out of recession and close a multibillion-dollar budget gap.
By Jon Ortiz
jortiz@sacbee.com
01/26/2015 7:31 AM
After years of making concessions to Gov. Jerry Brown, California labor leaders had hoped that the fourth-and-final-term Democrat finally would be in a giving mood.
By Dan Walters
dwalters@sacbee.com
01/25/2015 9:25 PM
A recent column about a growing backlog of deferred maintenance in the state highway system and the difficulty of raising more revenue for roadwork generated an unusually high number of reader reactions.
Sunday, January 25, 2015 – 11:00 a.m.
Well it didn’t take long for the higher tax shoe to drop in the country’s tax leader, California.
Sunday, January 25, 2015 – 10:30 a.m.
Ontario took a hit in its lawsuit to wrestle away control of Ontario International Airport last week.
By Jason Henry, San Gabriel Valley Tribune
Posted: 01/23/15, 8:48 PM PST |
Covina has chosen former acting San Bernardino City Manager Andrea Miller for its top position.
By Kevin Smith, San Gabriel Valley Tribune
Posted: 01/23/15, 12:01 AM PST | Updated: 1 day ago
The Inland Empire saw a dramatic drop in unemployment last month. Its jobless rate for December was 7.2 percent, down from a revised 8 percent the previous month and 8.7 percent a year earlier, the state Employment Development Department reported Friday.
Published: Jan. 23, 2015 – Updated: 5:50 p.m.
REDLANDS – Top officials with BMW of North America were on hand Friday for the opening of a new regional parts distribution center north of I-10.
The ceremony capped a two-year project of moving BMW’s warehouse operation east from Ontario.
To read story by Fielding Buck in The Press-Enterprise, click here.
By Neil Nisperos, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
Posted: 01/23/15, 8:53 PM PST |
RANCHO CUCAMONGA >> The head of one of Southern California’s largest development companies predicted local economic growth in the coming year in a keynote speech in front of hundreds of real estate brokers at the Goldy S. Lewis Community Center in Rancho Cucamonga on Friday.
By IE Business Daily
Saturday January 24, 2015
Online and phone based applications are creating hysteria for local, state and federal government agencies and bureaucrats.
By Dan Walters
dwalters@sacbee.com
01/24/2015 8:36 PM
Gov. Jerry Brown says that if his 2015-16 budget is adopted, California will be spending an average of $13,462 on each of its 6 million K-12 students, or about $81 billion.
By Matea Gold
January 24, 2015 at 9:33 PM
RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif.— Conservative benefactor Charles Koch on Saturday called on other wealthy donors to expand their commitment to promoting free-market ideas and shrinking government, saying they would only succeed if the cause was “a central part of our lives.”
Michael Hiltzik
January 24, 2015
If you’re wondering why issues favored by a majority of Americans such as raising the minimum wage, gun control and net neutrality get scarcely any attention in the halls of Congress, the Citizens United case is the reason.
By Patrick McGreevy
January 23, 2015
Former Republican state Sen. Sharon Runner of Lancaster, who rebounded after receiving a double lung transplant three years ago, was the only candidate to file papers by Friday’s deadline to run in a special election to fill a Senate seat vacated when Steve Knight was elected to Congress.
By David Siders
dsiders@sacbee.com
01/23/2015 10:03 AM
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a reliable source of entertainment – and inspiration – for California Republicans, will keynote the state party’s spring convention, organizers said Friday.
By Jon Ortiz and Phillip Reese
jortiz@sacbee.com
01/23/2015 10:53 PM
California state workers’ salaries rose a total $1.1 billion last year, according to new payroll data, while the number of state employees also grew.
Friday, January 23, 2015 – 05:00 p.m.
Tonight on The Lou Desmond & Company Show, Lou is joined by Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez (R-Lake Elsinore) to discuss AB 150, which would amend Prop 47 to make the theft of a firearm under $950 a felony.
Published: Jan. 22, 2015 – Updated: 10:41 a.m.
Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez, R-Lake Elsinore, has been named to a board post for an organization that trains Republican leaders nationwide.
To read post by Jeff Horseman in The PE Political Empire Blog, click here.
Published: Jan. 22, 2015 – Updated: 10:39 p.m.
Riverside has shown itself to be exceptional in its 132-year history, and today’s residents should use their vision and passion to contribute to its future, Mayor William “Rusty” Bailey said Tuesday in his annual State of the City speech.
To read story by Alicia Robinson in The Press-Enterprise, click here.
By Michael Finnegan
January 22, 2015
With billionaire Tom Steyer opting out of California’s U.S. Senate race on Thursday, the most likely major rival for Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris appears to be former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
By Dan Walters
dwalters@sacbee.com
01/22/2015 8:18 PM
For two weeks, ever since Sen. Barbara Boxer declared she would not run for a fifth term in 2016, hedge fund billionaire/environmental activist Tom Steyer had conducted a Hamlet-like soliloquy.
Thursday, January 22, 2015 – 05:15 p.m.
Tonight on The Lou Desmond & Company Show, Georgine Trujillo, Lou’s favorite Democrat, joins the show to discuss the State of the Union and the new findings at Ontario International Airport.
By Christopher Cadelago
ccadelago@sacbee.com
01/22/2015 1:10 PM
Billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer said Thursday he will not be a candidate to succeed U.S. Senate Barbara Boxer and instead will continue his focus on helping Democrats and working to reverse the effects of global climate change.
Thursday, January 22, 2015 – 01:00 p.m.
The long-running fraud case involving the now-defunct California Charter Academy has been continued once again.
By Liset Marquez, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
Posted: 01/22/15, 8:09 AM PST | Updated: 19 secs ago
RIVERSIDE >> A Superior Court judge has issued a tentative decision in favor of Los Angeles on two key aspects of lawsuit for control of L.A./Ontario International Airport.
By Sandra Emerson, Redlands Daily Facts
Posted: 01/21/15, 12:01 AM PST | Updated: 1 min ago
REDLANDS >> John James is the newest member of the City Council.
By Ryan Hagen, The Sun
Posted: 01/21/15, 12:24 PM PST | Updated: 7 hrs ago
SAN BERNARDINO >> City officials are pursuing a possible lawsuit against Cal Fire to force that state agency to bid on providing fire and EMS services for the city.
By Andrea Drusch
January 21, 2015
With only weeks gone but years left in California’s Senate race, national Democrats appear eager to anoint state Attorney General Kamala Harris as the 2016 successor to Sen. Barbara Boxer’s seat. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee weighed in lauding Harris’ candidacy after she announced her decision last week, and high-profile sitting senators including Elizabeth Warren, Kirsten Gillibrand, and Cory Booker also feted the new front-runner.
By Alex Isenstadt
1/21/15 – 8:03 PM EST
The procession of prominent Washington Democrats who lined up last week to sing the praises of California Attorney General Kamala Harris for Senate had the feel of an anointment. Sen. Cory Booker said he was “so excited” about her candidacy. Sen. Elizabeth Warren called Harris, a favorite of the Obama White House, “smart” and “tough.” Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand told supporters she needed Harris “by my side.”
By David Siders and Alexei Koseff
dsiders@sacbee.com
01/21/2015 11:46 PM
University of California President Janet Napolitano could hardly have been more dismissive when Gov. Jerry Brown proposed in November that, instead of threatening to raise tuition, UC create a commission to find ways to reduce costs.
By Maura Dolan
January 21, 2015
On the day justices Mariano-Florentino Cuellar and Leondra R. Kruger were sworn in this month, the California Supreme Court issued a 4-3 ruling leaving in place a death sentence for a man with a long criminal record.
By Debra J. Saunders
Updated 5:41 pm, Wednesday, January 21, 2015
As President Obama delivered his State of the Union speech Tuesday night, I saw all of 2015 flash before my eyes. It was a smart speech that wisely stuck to “middle-class” values and was shrewdly short on details. I saw another year of the president not compromising. For Republicans, it was Ground Hog Day — an endless loop of the president talking up bipartisanship without practicing it.
By Mike Bresnahan
January 21, 2015
The Lakers were finally winners again.
They were declared the NBA’s most valuable franchise, worth $2.6 billion, according to Forbes’ annual rankings released Wednesday.
Wednesday, January 22, 2015 – 05:00 p.m.
Tonight on The Lou Desmond & Company Show, Tom Del Beccaro, former Chairman of the California Republican Party and author of The Divided Era, joins Lou to discuss the State of the Union and Los Angeles World Airports running Ontario International Airport.
Published: Jan. 20, 2015 – Updated: 10:21 p.m.
Three potential contenders for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016 are expected to be in Riverside next month for a gathering of Inland conservative activists.
To read story by Jeff Horseman in The Press-Enterprise, click here.
By Sandra Emerson, Redlands Daily Facts
Posted: 01/20/15, 5:36 PM PST | Updated: 25 secs ago
REDLANDS>> Staff, students and supporters of the University of Redlands’ Bulldog Weekly newspaper gathered on the steps of the administration building Tuesday to make their voices heard over the decision last month to put the paper on hiatus.
By Liset Marquez, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
Posted: 01/20/15, 10:40 AM PST | Updated: 35 secs ago
RIVERSIDE >> Attorneys for Ontario will continue to press for the release of 399 documents that they say could determine the fate of the city’s legal battle for local control of LA/Ontario International Airport.
By Dale Kasler
dkasler@sacbee.com
01/20/2015 8:58 PM
A bankruptcy judge Tuesday dismissed an effort to keep Stockton mired in bankruptcy while a creditor challenges a decision that lets the city pay its CalPERS pension bills in full.
By Jason Song
January 21, 2015
Fifteen California community colleges should be able to offer four-year degrees starting as soon as next year, state officials announced Tuesday.
By Julie Pace, AP White House Correspondent
Posted: 01/20/15, 7:28 PM PST | Updated: 28 secs ago
WASHINGTON >> Refusing to bend to the new Republican Congress, President Barack Obama unveiled Tuesday night an ambitious State of the Union agenda steeped in Democratic priorities, including tax increases on the wealthy, education and child care help for the middle class and a torrent of veto threats for the GOP’s own plans.
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
Tonight on The Lou Desmond & Company Show, Phil Naman, host of The Firing Line on AM590, will join Lou to discuss Obama’s State of the Union. The two will make comments on the economy, the Affordable Care Act and foreign policy.
Tuesday, January 20, 2015 – 10:00 a.m.
Some, not all ears, will be tuned to Tuesday night’s State of the Union address by President Barack Obama.
Tuesday, January 20, 2015 – 09:15 a.m.
The price of West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil is continuing on a downward trajectory.
Tuesday, January 20, 2015 – 09:00 a.m.
A security breach at one of the San Bernardino County courthouses has now subjected lawyers to extra scrutiny.
Published: Jan. 19, 2015 – Updated: 9:50 p.m.
Los Angeles attorneys want a judge to take a second look at her order for them to hand Ontario 399 documents in that city’s lawsuit to regain control of Ontario International Airport.
To read story by Richard K. De Atley in The Press-Enterprise, click here.
By Dan Walters
dwalters@sacbee.com
01/19/2015 7:39 PM
Legislative leaders occasionally proclaim that they want to do more “oversight” – looking into how well state government agencies are serving the public interest.
At best, however, it has been spotty.
By Matier & Ross
Monday, January 19, 2015
Having jumped into the U.S. Senate race “feet first,” state Attorney General Kamala Harris will be hitting the phones to score as much money and as many endorsements possible — all in the hope of keeping rival Democrats from jumping in as well.
By Chris Kirkham
January 19, 2015
The United States has seen a remarkable turnaround in manufacturing employment since the economy bottomed out five years ago — but California hasn’t.
By Ed Mendel
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
The apparent suicide last week of Alfred Villalobos, who faced a bribery trial next month, is a sad end for a former CalPERS board member paid more than $50 million by firms seeking money from the big pension fund.
By Justin Sink – 01/19/15 08:45 AM EST
President Obama will head into Tuesday’s State of the Union with his highest job approval numbers in 18 months, according to a new poll released Monday by The Washington Post and ABC News.