Politics, Government & Business in California's Inland Empire
Thursday, April 30, 2015 – 05:00 p.m.
Tonight on the show, Lou and show producer Collin cover some news of the day. California Senate considers to bill to curb poverty, deportations are reported down under the Obama administration, and kids in Tennessee were served meat from 2009.
By Kenneth P. Vogel
4/30/15 – 6:02 AM EDT
Updated 4/30/15 11:42 AM EDT
A handful of deep-pocketed donors are reconsidering their gifts to the $2 billion Clinton Foundation amid mounting questions about how it’s spending their money and suggestions of influence peddling, according to donors and others familiar with the foundation’s fundraising.
Published: April 28, 2015
Updated: April 29, 2015 1:31 p.m.
After 100 days in office, Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin shared a glimpse with the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday of the steps he has taken so far and his long-term plans to reshape the organization after years of recession-shrunk budgets, staff and resources.
To read story by Gail Wesson in The Press-Enterprise, click here.
By Staff reports
Posted Apr. 29, 2015 at 8:29 PM
Updated Apr 29, 2015 at 9:06 PM
SACRAMENTO — Two bills dealing with government transparency authored by 33rd District Assemblyman Jay Obernolte cleared committees Wednesday, setting the stage for them to move to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, his office said.
By Jaxon Van Derbeken
April 29, 2015
The former head of the California Public Utilities Commission pressured two Southern California utilities last year to make donations to a school at UCLA where he then landed a post on an advisory board, documents revealed Wednesday show.
By Amita Sharma
Apr 29, 2015
Sorrentino’s Pizza owner Patrick Quinn is tired of watching the energy bill at his San Diego restaurant go up each month.
By Jeff McDonald
April 29, 2015 – 6:50 p.m.
Southern California Edison responded Wednesday to an order from state utility regulators that the company hand over all of its communications about settling the costs of the premature shutdown of the San Onofre nuclear power plant.
Wednesday, April 29, 2015 – 04:30 p.m.
Adrian Moore of the Reason Foundation joins the Lou Desmond and Company Show tonight. Lou and Adrian discuss a number of news stories, starting with the County’s $650,000 payment to Francis Pusok. The check will be short $30,000, withheld because of owed child support.
Wednesday, April 29, 2015 – 09:30 a.m.
Former Secretary of State and Democratic Presidential Candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton is rapidly becoming the GOP dream opponent.
Wednesday, April 29, 2015 – 08:15 a.m.
It would appear the economy isn’t so hot after all.
Published: April 28, 2015 – Updated: 4:10 p.m.
The Inland Southern California housing market, a bastion for bargain home sales when foreclosures peppered the region, has had a lethargic sales pace in 2015, a new Trulia report shows.
To read story by Debra Gruszecki in The Press-Enterprise, click here.
Fenit Nirappil and Juliet Williams, Associated Press
Tuesday, April 28, 2015 – Updated 7:42 pm
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Gov. Jerry Brown on Tuesday called for $10,000 fines for residents and businesses that waste the most water during the drought, as his administration rejected calls from cities to relax its mandatory water conservation targets.
By Patrick McGreevy
April 28, 2015
Two bills that would regulate medical marijuana in different ways in California were approved Tuesday by an Assembly panel, although lawmakers said more work needs to be done to address concerns and settle on one scheme.
Tuesday, April 28, 2015 – 04:00 p.m.
Tonight on the show, Tom Del Beccaro joins the show to talk about his candidacy for U.S. Senate. Find out his platform and how you can be part of his campaign. Then Lou and Tom discuss the situation in Baltimore and what the community needs to truly move forward from this.
By Anneli Fogt
Staff Writer
Posted Apr. 28, 2015 at 7:38 AM
APPLE VALLEY — San Bernardino County on Monday cut a $650,000 settlement check as part of the agreement reached with Francis Pusok, whose beating by Sheriff’s deputies was caught on video by a TV news helicopter April 9.
By Frank Shyong and Ruben Vives
April 27, 2015
A 20-year jackpot of City of Industry contracts that included $4.9 million for lawn mower rentals and street cleaning fees billed at six times a competitor’s rate has enriched a handful of companies owned by the tiny town’s former mayor and his family by more than $326 million, an audit has found.
By Patrick McGreevy
April 27, 2015
A proposal to automatically register Californians to vote when they get a driver’s license was approved Monday by a state Assembly panel after Secretary of State Alex Padilla noted there are about 6.7 million state residents who are eligible but not registered.
By Andrew Khouri
April 27, 2015
Some truck drivers who haul goods from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach walked off the job Monday, launching a protest against four trucking firms they accuse of wage theft.
Monday, April 27, 2015 – 04:30 p.m.
Tonight on the show, Jay Prag joins Lou to talk about California’s economy. Riverside is setting strong economic goals and taking steps to plan for the future. Last week technology stocks closed at their highest. What dose that mean for the Inland Empire?
By Joe Nelson, The Sun
Posted: 04/26/15 – 8:07 PM PDT |
The FBI just can’t seem to stay out of the Inland Empire.
It began with early-morning knocks at the homes of city officials and business offices as federal and local agents served search warrants as part of a public corruption investigation.
To read story by Imran Ghori in The Press-Enterprise, click here.
Dan Walters
Observations on California and its politics
dwalters@sacbee.com
04/27/2015 12:01 AM
Some call them “tax expenditures,” while others use the more pejorative “tax loopholes.”
By Cathleen Decker
April 26, 2015
It is one of the oddities of this campaign season: In races for two of the most sought-after political offices in the country, two Democratic women are running virtually unchallenged, their tasks both boosted and complicated by the veneer of inevitability.
By Michael Hirsh
April 25, 2015
To get to the bottom of the latest incarnation of Clinton-gate, you’re going to have to get inside one of the most impenetrable marriages ever. Good luck with that.
Sunday, April 26, 2015 – 10:00 a.m.
Was it a lie or a mistake?
That’s the burning question over whether or not San Bernardino City Manager Allan Parker duped city council members into approving an employment contract for an inexperienced applicant to take on the job of what amounts to a public relations officer, and task her with the job of developing a marketing plan to improve the city’s image, as it emerges from chapter 9 bankruptcy.
Published: April 24, 2015 Updated: April 25, 2015 4:13 p.m.
When Menifee became a city in 2008, a consultant ran the show.
A firm, Winzler & Kelly, hired experienced managers to make decisions about real estate, public safety contracts, finances and other issues.
To read story by Stephen Wall and Alicia Robinson in The Press-Enterprise, click here.
By Rebecca Kimitch, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
and Steve Scauzillo, San Gabriel Valley Tribune
Posted: 04/25/15, 9:51 PM PDT |
INDUSTRY>> An audit of city finances concluded Industry paid more than $326 million to companies owned by former Mayor Dave Perez and his family over the past 20 years, much of it for vague or even erroneous invoices that possibly resulted in massive overpayments.
By David Siders and Jim Miller
dsiders@sacbee.com
04/26/2015 12:17 AM
MEADOW VALLEY– High above a landscape parched by unremitting drought, Meadow Valley Creek courses through the northern Sierra Nevada and pools in a stand of alders behind a tiny, concrete dam.
Opinion
By Willie L. Brown, Jr.
Published Saturday, April 25, 2015 – 10:19 pm
My prediction that Hillary Rodham Clinton was inviting nothing but trouble by announcing early that she’s running for president is starting to come true.
By Jim Steinberg, The Sun
Posted: 04/24/15, 7:39 PM PDT |
SAN BERNARDINO >> As the city looks for a way to exist beyond bankruptcy, its charter once again was part of the discussion Friday as leaders and the public gathered for a strategy meeting designed to find ways to guide the city.
Published: April 24, 2015 – Updated: 9:17 a.m.
Former congressional candidate Christina Gagnier has set her sights on an Inland state Assembly seat next year.
To read story by Jeff Horseman in The Press-Enterprise, click here.
Capitol Alert
The go-to source for news on California policy and politics
By Jim Miller
jmiller@sacbee.com
04/25/2015 – 11:17 AM
California income tax collections in April have already exceeded the Brown administration’s January estimates, underscoring the surge of higher-than-expected money flowing into the state treasury and possibly offering health and welfare programs – not just schools – a piece of the windfall.
By Michael Finnegan
April 24, 2015
Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, a close ally of Hillary Clinton, voiced concern Friday that the Democratic Party was “kind of stuck in last year,” saying he expected the former secretary of state to face “a very close election” for president.
By Scott M. Reid, Staff Writer
April 24, 2015 – Updated 7:37 p.m.
NEW YORK – NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, after months of expressing caution about the league’s possible return to Los Angeles, characterized stadium projects in Inglewood and Carson on Friday as “viable” with the potential for long term success.
Friday, April 24, 2015 – 04:00 p.m.
Tonight on the show, Jim Renzas, a site selector from the RHS Group, joins Lou to talk about business prospects in California. Businesses don’t want to come to California right now. What does that mean for our economy?
Friday, April 24, 2015 – 01:00 p.m.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff pay scandal that resulted in a fifteen-count grand jury indictment charging seven current and former employees, with falsification of training and pay records to defraud taxpayers, has met a final conclusion.
Thursday, April 23, 2015 – 10:00 p.m.
All sides of a contract dispute affecting San Bernardino County Nurses and Per Diem Nurses have given their blessing to a new contract that will run through July 2017.
Published: April 23, 2015 – Updated: April 24, 2015 8:42 a.m.
In their first gathering since a regional corruption task force raided City Hall, Beaumont city leaders were hit with calls for firings and resignations.
To read story by Craig Shultz and Erin Waldner in The Press-Enterprise, click here.
By Liset Marquez, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
Posted: 04/23/15, 10:53 AM PDT | Updated: 1 hr ago
RIVERSIDE >> It will be up to a jury to decide if Ontario can seek damages as a result of alleged malfeasance by Los Angeles World Airports over management of L.A./Ontario International Airport.
Posted: 04/22/15, 5:49 PM PDT |
San Bernardino County Supervisor Curt Hagman will hold a “meet and greet” open house for the public on April 30 from 5 to 7:30 p.m.
By Patrick McGreevy
April 23, 2015
Democratic state lawmakers on Thursday shot down a proposal that would have required all California state legislators to get their health insurance from Covered California, the benefits exchange set up to implement Obamacare in the state.
Ben Adler
Thursday, April 23, 2015 | Sacramento, CA |
California tax revenues have soared past projections for the critical month of April – with several days yet to go. But the state’s overall budget situation is very much still up in the air.
Ben van der Meer
Staff Writer-Sacramento Business Journal
Apr 23, 2015 – 2:28pm PDT
The slow pace of homebuilding will hurt California by driving millennials out of state to buy, according to the CEO of the California Association of Realtors.
David Knowles
Apr 24, 2015 – 2:00 AM PDT
To run the risk of understatement, Thursday did not begin well for the Hillary Clinton’s nascent presidential campaign.
By Jonathan Chait
April 23, 2015
The qualities of an effective presidency do not seem to transfer onto a post-presidency. Jimmy Carter was an ineffective president who became an exemplary post-president. Bill Clinton appears to be the reverse. All sorts of unproven worst-case-scenario questions float around the web of connections between Bill’s private work, Hillary Clinton’s public role as secretary of State, the Clintons’ quasi-public charity, and Hillary’s noncompliant email system. But the best-case scenario is bad enough: The Clintons have been disorganized and greedy.
Thursday, April 23, 2015 – 04:00 p.m.
Tonight on the show, Adrian Moore of the Reason Foundation joins Lou to discuss all kinds of government corruption. They start at home with the FBI corruption probe in Beaumont. What’s going on there?
Published: April 22, 2015 – Updated: 9:52 a.m.
The mayor of Indio is planning to challenge Rep. Raul Ruiz for his Riverside County congressional seat in 2016.
To read post by Jeff Horseman in The P-E Political Empire Blog, click here.
By Doug Saunders, The Sun
and Joe Nelson, The Sun
Posted: 04/22/15, 9:55 AM PDT |
BEAUMONT >> Federal and Riverside County authorities on Wednesday raided City Hall and three other locations across the Inland Empire in an investigation into the city’s long-standing business relationship with a local consulting firm, law enforcement and city officials said.
By Marisa Gerber
April 22, 2015
Citing a rise in wrongful-conviction claims by inmates, the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office is launching a unit of veteran prosecutors to review the integrity of past convictions, joining a small but growing number of prosecutorial agencies around the country devoting resources to identify innocent prisoners.
By Kenneth P. Vogel
4/22/15 – 1:09 PM EDT
Updated 4/23/15 12:11 AM EDT
The Koch brothers’ political machine is expanding into new states and recruiting new donors as it seeks to shape the Republican Party — and its presidential field — headed into 2016, according to interviews with multiple sources, as well as confidential donor briefing documents obtained by POLITICO.
Wednesday, April 23, 2015 – 04:30 p.m.
Tonight on the show, Lou is joined by Heather Stevning, Executive Director at Option House, Inc. This week is National Crime Victims Rights Week, and Option House provides services to victims of domestic violence in San Bernardino. How can you help Option House accomplish its mission?
Wednesday, April 22, 2015 – 09:00 a.m.
San Bernardino County leaders are working overtime trying to put out fires caused mainly by its Sheriff’s Department.
Fires that have, and will, cost the county’s taxpayers dearly.
By Ryan Hagen, The Sun
Posted: 04/21/15, 5:14 PM PDT |
SAN BERNARDINO >> The voice of the city is now Monica Lagos, who since October has been a senior account executive at Westbound Communications.
Dan Walters
Observations on California and its politics
dwalters@sacbee.com
04/22/2015 – 7:43 AM
It’s always perilous for politicians to tell the truth, as President Barack Obama discovered when he commented on Kamala Harris’ good looks in 2013.
April 22, 2015
Updated April 21, 2015 – 7:36 p.m.
By MEGHANN M. CUNIFF / STAFF WRITER
The Orange County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday formally called for Superior Court Judge M. Marc Kelly to resign because of his decision to sentence a child rapist to 10 years instead of the mandatory minimum of 25 years.
By Mike Allen
4/21/15 – 7:06 AM EDT
Charles and David Koch are considering throwing their massive wealth and sophisticated organization into the Republican presidential primary for the first time, a potentially game-changing boost that could make even a second-tier candidate instantly viable.
Tuesday, April 21, 2015 – 04:30 p.m.
Tonight on the show, Lou is joined Ryan Hagen of the San Bernardino Sun. Earlier today, Francis Pusok was awarded $650,000 for the beating he took at the hands of SB County Sheriff deputies. Also, last night at the San Bernardino City Council meeting, the council made a seemingly nonsensical financial decision.
By Veronica Rocha
April 21, 2015
The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors has agreed to pay $650,000 to a man who was punched and kicked by a group of deputies following a pursuit on horseback.
April 20, 2015 – Updated 9:19 p.m.
By MARTIN WISCKOL / STAFF WRITER
Sounding like she’s on the verge of declaring her candidacy for U.S. Senate, Rep. Loretta Sanchez encouraged donors in Orange County to pony up Monday and explained why she would be a better choice than Attorney General Kamala Harris.
Julie Bykowicz
Apr 20, 2015 – 2:46 PM PDT
As Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker moves toward a bid for the Republican presidential nomination, one of the world’s wealthiest businessmen and biggest political influencers, David Koch, had high praise for him on Monday.
Monday, April 20, 2015 – 05:00 p.m.
Tonight on the show, Lou is joined by Estimable Economist Jay Prag to talk about several issues related to the Inland Empire Economy. First up is the logistics and warehousing industry in the Inland Empire. Will logistics be the key to economic revival in the IE?
By Paloma Esquivel and Richard Winton
April 19, 2015
Before he found himself being beaten earlier this month by San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputies in view of a hovering news helicopter, Francis Pusok and law enforcement had clashed more than once.
By Beau Yarbrough, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
Posted: 04/19/15 – 8:41 PM PDT |
After 100 days on the job, freshmen Reps. Pete Aguilar and Norma Torres unveiled their plans this past week for creating more jobs in the Inland Empire.
April 19, 2015 – Updated 10:06 p.m.
By Martin Wicskol, Staff Columnist
Before heading back to Congress after a two-week Easter recess, Rep. Loretta Sanchez stoked the buzz that she’ll be challenging Attorney General Kamala Harris next year in the race to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer.
By Cathleen Decker
April 19, 2015
Two former governors sat before a crowd of civic leaders last week, a serene 51 floors above the lunch-hour cacophony of Flower Street in downtown Los Angeles. Pete Wilson and Gray Davis were doing what politicians do, debating the fine points of policy.
Dan Walters
Observations on California and its politics
By Dan Walters
dwalters@sacbee.com
04/20/2015 – 12:01 AM
California is the nation’s most populous state with about 39 million residents, while Texas is No. 2 at 27 million.
By Amy Chozick
April 19, 2015
The book does not hit shelves until May 5, but already the Republican Rand Paul has called its findings “big news” that will “shock people” and make voters “question” the candidacy of Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Sunday, April 19, 2015 – 11:00 a.m.
Another high-profile prosecution has hit the skids.
Sunday, April 19, 2015 – 10:00 a.m.
Here’s a few takeaways from the 2016 Presidential campaign trail.
By Joe Nelson, The Sun
Posted: 04/18/15, 9:24 PM PDT
In the wake of the April 9 arrest in which an Apple Valley man was beaten, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department is committed to developing and implementing a program to outfit deputies with body cameras.
It will, however, take some time.
By Marc Lifsher
April 18, 2015
Consumer advocates, outraged by a secret negotiation in Poland over the $5-billion cost of closing the San Onofre nuclear power plant, are asking the California Public Utilities Commission to reconsider a deal that sticks utility customers with the bulk of the bill.
Saturday, April 18, 2015 – 12:30 p.m.
The nearly nine-year old prosecution of the California Charter Academy criminal case has been delayed again.
By Doug Saunders, The Sun
Posted: 04/17/15, 3:57 PM PDT |
HIGHLAND >> Sheriff’s officials Friday released the names of the four deputies involved in a deadly confrontation with a Highland man Wednesday.
By Joe Nelson, The Sun
Posted: 04/17/15, 7:56 PM PDT |
VICTORVILLE >> Last week wasn’t the first time Francis Pusok encountered San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputies, and it wasn’t the first time he was beaten by law enforcement officers, he said in a Friday afternoon interview.
Published: April 16, 2015 – Updated: 4:04 p.m.
Riverside County Supervisor Marion Ashley’s chief of staff wants to succeed his boss in 2018.
To read post by Jeff Horseman in The P-E Political Empire Blog, click here.
By IE Business Daily
April 18, 2015
San Bernardino is leaning towards putting one person in charge of its communications efforts rather than hire a public relations firm to serve in that capacity, according to a well-placed source.
By Chris Kirkham
April 17, 2015
Pilar Guzman has worked for five years in a warehouse that processes luggage arriving from China and bound for the likes of Wal-Mart, Macy’s and Kohl’s.
By Jim Steinberg, San Bernardino Sun
Posted: 04/17/15 – 9:29 PM PDT |
RIVERSIDE >> Supporters of March Air Reserve Base near here expressed shock that it wasn’t among those chosen for the new generation of refueling tankers.
By Jim Puzzanghera
April 17, 2015
Despite optimistic talk from Democrats and Republicans about overhauling the tax code, General Electric Co. recently showed that corporate executives aren’t holding their breath for a bipartisan deal any time soon.
Friday, April 17, 2015 – 05:00 p.m.
Tonight on the show, Lou is joined by Ed Hoffman, President of Wholesale Capital Corporation. They discuss the caring, down to earth Hillary Clinton that Iowa saw this week. Do you buy it?
By Joe Nelson, The Sun
Posted: 04/16/15, 8:16 PM PDT |
The attorney for an Apple Valley man whose beating by San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputies was captured on video by a news crew said Thursday he plans to file a civil rights lawsuit in federal court early next week.
Published: April 16, 2015
Updated: April 17, 2015 – 8:02 a.m.
Nearly a week after the videotaped beating of a horse-theft suspect drew national attention to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, separate confrontations with deputies have killed two men.
To read story by Richard Brooks and Peter Surowski in The Press-Enterprise, click here.
Published: April 16, 2015 – Updated: 8:43 p.m.
On Del Oro Road, not far from the strip malls that line Apple Valley’s bustling Bear Valley Road, Jolene Bindner is trying to make sense of the national attention she and her boyfriend have received.
The boyfriend, Francis Pusok, is the theft suspect who 10 San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputies were videotaped hitting and kicking after a pursuit April 9 that began with Pusok fleeing in a car and ended with Pusok falling off a stolen horse.
To read story by Brian Rokos in The Press-Enterprise, click here.
By Ryan Hagen, The Sun
Posted: 04/16/15 – 8:53 PM PDT |
SAN BERNARDINO >> The city needs a professional to clearly articulate the city’s activities and plans, especially beginning now, city leaders say, so they’re again asking the City Council to approve one — this time, addressing some of the criticisms that got the earlier proposal shot down.
By Joe Nelson, The Sun
Posted: 04/15/15, 7:07 PM PDT |
The San Bernardino Public Employees Association, which for more than 75 years has independently represented county, city and state employees across the Inland Empire, is now a chapter affiliate of Teamsters Local 1932.