Politics, Government & Business in California's Inland Empire
By Joe Nelson, The Sun
Posted: 07/28/14, 12:22 PM PDT | Updated: 1 min ago
SAN BERNARDINO >> A Superior Court judge ruled Monday that prosecutors can amend the indictment in the Colonies corruption case, preventing the dismissal of a dozen more charges against the four defendants.
By Ryan Hagen, The Sun
Posted: 07/28/14, 8:13 PM PDT | Updated: 1 min ago
SAN BERNARDINO >> City Attorney Gary Saenz has expanded on his plan to make this the first city in the county to allow some medical marijuana dispensaries — in the hope of raising money with them to clamp down on illegal dispensaries that have proliferated despite the city’s ban.
By Jean Merl
JUly 28, 2014
Former Democratic U.S. Rep. Joe Baca, who earlier this year lost a bid to return to the House, has found another office to try for — mayor of Fontana.
July 28, 2014 – UPDATED at 9:03 p.m.
Yxstian Gutierrez was not legally appointed to his seat on the Moreno Valley City Council and must step down, a judge tentatively ruled Monday, July 28.
To read story by Stephen Wall in the Press-Enterprise, click here.
By Jack Wang, Los Angeles Daily News
Posted: 07/28/14, 2:55 PM PDT | Updated: 49 secs ago
On Monday afternoon, Shelly Sterling walked into a hallway at Los Angeles Superior Court and cried.
Moments earlier, Judge Michael Levanas had issued a tentative oral decision overwhelmingly in her favor — likely clearing the way for the Clippers’ $2 billion sale to Steve Ballmer, and ending a turbulent three-month saga sparked by Donald Sterling’s racist comments.
By Rebecca Robbins
July 28, 2014 at 11:38 AM
The top American airlines are making more money than ever — but don’t expect it to mean lower prices for passengers.
By Stephen Ohlemacher, Associated Press
Posted: 07/28/14, 2:25 PM PDT | Updated: 17 secs ago
WASHINGTON >> Medicare’s financial future is looking brighter despite a growing wave of baby boomers reaching retirement.
By Neil Nisperos, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
Posted: 07/27/14, 9:28 PM PDT | Updated: 37 secs ago
Ontario and Rancho Cucamonga hotels near the L.A./Ontario International Airport are reporting occupancy growth this year, as airport officials report some growth in passenger traffic during the first half of 2014.
By Gregory J. Wilcox, Los Angeles Daily News
Posted: 07/27/14, 6:24 PM PDT | Updated: 1 min ago
It was supposed to be a breakout year for home sales.
But after years of recession that bulldozed the Inland Empire housing market, there are still glitches in the road to recovery.
By Ed Mendel
July 28, 2014
Bankrupt Detroit announced last week that current workers and retirees voted overwhelmingly to cut many pensions by 4.5 percent and to trim or eliminate cost-of-living adjustments.
By Stephen Ceasar
July 27, 2014
Last year, James Hammond, the superintendent of the Montclair-Ontario Unified School District in the Inland Empire, was paid $492,077. Jonathan Eagan, the principal of a junior high school in the Bay Area city of Martinez made $279,669.
July 27, 2014
Mitt Romney 2014?
Americans are so down on President Obama at the moment that, if they could do the 2012 election all over again, they’d overwhelmingly back the former Massachusetts governor’s bid. That’s just one finding in a brutal CNN poll, released Sunday, which shows Romney topping Obama in a re-election rematch by a whopping nine-point margin, 53 percent to 44 percent. That’s an even larger spread than CNN found in November, when a survey had Romney winning a redo 49 percent to 45 percent.
By Joe Nelson, The Sun
Posted: 07/26/14, 8:38 PM PDT | Updated: 1 min ago
Last week was rough for prosecutors in San Bernardino County’s Colonies corruption case as a judge dealt a major blow to their case by dismissing the key conspiracy charge against all four defendants.
BROOKE SELF
STAFF WRITER
Posted Jul. 26, 2014 @ 6:09 pm
Updated Jul 26, 2014 at 6:13 PM
ADELANTO — Several Adelanto citizens said this week that they would vote against a proposed utility-user tax that would allow the nearly bankrupt city to avoid an impending Chapter 9 filing.
By Dan Walters
dwalters@sacbee.com
Published: Saturday, Jul. 26, 2014 – 10:28 pm
The passage of Proposition 13 – California’s landmark property tax limit – in 1978 marked a major, even radical, change in how the state makes public policy.
By Lew Sichelman
July 26, 2014
If your builder is late delivering your new house, don’t be too upset. You are not alone. New home buyers almost everywhere are probably experiencing the same thing.
By Charles Krauthammer, Opinion Writer
July 24, 2014
The president’s demeanor is worrying a lot of people. From the immigration crisis on the Mexican border to the Islamic State rising in Mesopotamia, Barack Obama seems totally detached from the world’s convulsions. When he does interrupt his endless rounds of golf, fundraising and photo ops, it’s for some affectless, mechanical, almost forced public statement.
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By Mark Gutglueck, The Sentinel (www.sbsentinel.com)
Posted on July 26, 2014
(July 25) — More than three years after indictments were handed down against Rancho Cucamonga-based developer Jeff Burum and three former San Bernardino County officials he is accused of bribing, San Bernardino Superior Court Judge Michael A. Smith eviscerated the case against the defendants, throwing out conspiracy and a dozen other charges that were considered central to the case.
IE Business Daily
Saturday, July 26, 2014
A few weeks ago we covered the shrinking relevance of the Obama Presidency.
Since that time, Malaysian Flight 17 carrying 298 souls was shot down over the Ukraine, Hamas began firing rockets into Israel from Gaza resulting in a full Israeli incursion that continue today, and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) began crucifying Christians in Mosul, Iraq.
By Sandra Emerson, Redlands Daily Facts
Posted: 07/24/14, 11:37 AM PDT | Updated: 46 mins ago
HIGHLAND>> Voters in November will have an opportunity to decide if they want to elect City Council members by district.
July 25, 2014
Riverside City Councilman and Republican congressional candidate Steve Adams went to the U.S./Mexico border this week to learn about border security.
Meanwhile, Rep. Mark Takano, the Democratic incumbent Adams hopes to defeat in November, is doing without to learn what life is like for minimum-wage earners.
To read post by Jeff Horseman in the P-E Political Empire Blog, click here.
By Grace Wong, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
Posted: 07/25/14, 9:49 PM PDT |
The superintendent of the Ontario-Montclair School District is one of the most highly compensated superintendents in the state of California, according to data on public schools salaries published this week.
By Jim Miller and Christopher Cadelago
jmiller@sacbee.com
Published: Friday, Jul. 25, 2014 – 2:16 pm
Last Modified: Saturday, Jul. 26, 2014 – 12:00 am
Federal prosecutors have added a charge of racketeering to the corruption and gun-running case against state Sen. Leland Yee, filing an amended indictment this week that includes new allegations that the San Francisco Democrat traded official favors for campaign cash.
By Andrew Khouri
July 25, 2014
California gasoline prices are falling, welcome news for motorists amid the summer driving season.
By Joe Nelson, The Sun
Posted: 07/24/14, 11:47 AM PDT | Updated: 1 hr ago
SAN BERNARDINO >> A judge on Thursday indicated he was poised to dismiss another dozen felony charges against the defendants in the Colonies corruption case but gave attorneys a chance to argue whether the prosecution should or should not be allowed to amend the indictment.
Published: July 24, 2014 Updated: 8:04 p.m.
Defense attorneys in a high-profile San Bernardino County corruption case fought vigorously to get all or most of the charges thrown out Thursday on the second day of a court hearing.
To read story by Imran Ghori in the Press-Enterprise, click here.
IE Business Daily
Thursday, July 24, 2014
The second day of motion hearings in a prominent public corruption case continued Thursday. The day ended with the judge deciding to postpone his ruling regarding a prosecution request and a proposed evidentiary hearing until Monday.
Published: July 24, 2014 Updated: 11:10 p.m.
An outside investigator found that Riverside City Councilman Paul Davis likely interfered with the city manager’s job performance and violated the city charter.
To read story by Alicia Robinson in the Press-Enterprise, click here.
Thursday, July 24, 2014 – 06:00 p.m.
Riverside City Councilman and congressional candidate Steve Adams spent yesterday morning touring the U.S.-Mexico border with Chris Harris, Vice President for Local 1613 of the National Border Patrol Council. Adams made the trip to the San Diego Sector of the border to get firsthand knowledge of the situation at the border.
Lovingood, Ramos write letter to BLM
By STAFF REPORTS
Posted Jul. 24, 2014 @ 6:01 pm
Updated Jul 24, 2014 at 6:09 PM
SAN BERNARDINO — Supervisors James Ramos and Robert A. Lovingood submitted a joint letter to the Bureau of Land Management on Thursday strongly opposing the North Peak Wind Project planned for 16.4 square miles of mountain ridges overlooking much of the Victor Valley.
By Dale Kasler
dkasler@sacbee.com
Published: Thursday, Jul. 24, 2014 – 8:32 pm
It’s been one of the darkest chapters in CalPERS history, a bribery scandal that prompted a guilty plea from its former chief executive earlier this month.
It’s also been rather profitable.
By Dan Walters
dwalters@sacbee.com
Published: Thursday, Jul. 24, 2014 – 9:52 pm
Last Modified: Thursday, Jul. 24, 2014 – 10:07 pm
The U.S. Supreme Court has undergone very obvious ideological cycles – depending on who happened to be in the White House when vacancies occurred.
By Jean Merl contact
Ju;y 24, 2014
In another manifestation of how the political landscape is changing under the state’s top-two election system, a Democratic club in the Antelope Valley is scheduled to host two Republican congressional candidates at its forum early next month.
July 23, 2014
A San Bernardino County judge dismissed a key charge against four defendants in the Colonies corruption case Wednesday, July 23, saying prosecutors missed a deadline required under state law to pursue allegations of conspiracy.
To read story by Imran Ghori in the Press-Enterprise, click here.
By Joe Nelson, The Sun
Posted: 07/23/14, 10:54 AM PDT | Updated: 40 secs ago
SAN BERNARDINO >> Prosecutors in San Bernardino County’s Colonies corruption case suffered a major blow to their case on Wednesday when a judge dismissed conspiracy charges against all four defendants.
By Melanie Mason
July 23, 2014
Gov. Jerry Brown has a nearly 20-point advantage over GOP challenger Neel Kashkari, according to a poll released Wednesday, which also found strong support among Californians for the state’s landmark global warming law.
Carla Marinucci
Updated 7:55 am, Thursday, July 24, 2014
President Obama hit the Bay Area for a fast cash-and-grab fundraising drive Wednesday, but there were signs that even in one of the nation’s most reliable Democratic ATMs, donor fatigue is setting in.
California drought
By Veronica Rocha
July 23, 2014
Most of California’s major reservoirs are now less than half-full — or at what officials call a “seriously low” level — but that’s still nowhere near the historic lows set in 1977, the state’s driest year on record.
By EDWARD-ISAAC DOVERE and JOSH GERSTEIN | 7/23/14 9:02 PM EDT Updated: 7/24/14 12:00 AM EDT
SAN FRANCISCO — President Barack Obama went to the West Coast to meet donors from two top Democratic super PACs, but the press wasn’t invited.
Tuesday, the reporters and photographers traveling with the president on Air Force One and in his motorcade were left on the gravel path not even within sight of former Costco CEO Jim Sinegal’s house in the Seattle suburbs where Obama sat for a Senate Majority PAC fundraiser with a $25,000 entrance fee.
Wednesday, July 23, 2014
A San Bernardino County Superior Court Judge today dismissed a conspiracy count against four defendants in a prominent public corruption case.
Published: July 22, 2014
Updated: July 23, 2014 12:48 a.m.
An investigation of Councilman Mike Soubirous ended Tuesday with no council action against him, but City Hall still was not a friendly place to be.
To read story by Alicia Robinson in the Press-Enterprise, click here.
Published: July 22, 2014 Updated: July 23, 2014 12:10 a.m.
November’s election brings the prospect of change on city councils and boards throughout Riverside County.
But due to resignations and deaths, change already is underway in the northwest Riverside County cities of Eastvale and Jurupa Valley.
To read story by Sandra Stokley in the Press-Enterprise, click here.
By Neil Nisperos, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
Posted: 07/22/14, 9:47 PM PDT | Updated: 1 min ago
Upland resident Mirella Lozano has hope.
Despite being unemployed for five years, he’s optimistic about San Bernardino County’s job market.
By Paul Rogers
progers@mercurynews.com
Posted: 07/22/2014 07:15:34 PM PDT3 Comments
Updated: 07/22/2014 08:09:01 PM PDT
Major water districts in California are quietly considering using property taxes — and possibly raising them without a vote of the public — to help fund Gov. Jerry Brown’s $25 billion plan to build two massive tunnels through the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.
By Dan Walters
dwalters@sacbee.com
Published: Tuesday, Jul. 22, 2014 – 10:18 pm
During the last four decades, no California political issue has burned more intensely than capital punishment, but it may have ended with a whimper, rather than with a bang, last week.
Bob Egelko
Updated 10:55 pm, Tuesday, July 22, 2014
As a boy, Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar walked 7 miles each way from his home in Mexico to a school in Texas. On Tuesday, Cuéllar, a Harvard graduate and Stanford law professor, was nominated by Gov. Jerry Brown to the California Supreme Court.
By Bernard Condon
Associated Press
Posted: 07/22/2014 11:58:06 AM PDT0 Comments
Updated: 07/22/2014 04:52:56 PM PDT
NEW YORK — Just as the U.S. economy is strengthening, other countries are threatening to drag it down.
By Veronica Rocha
July 22, 2014
The groundwater level in the San Bernardino Basin area is at its lowest point in recorded history, officials say.
Tuesday, July 22, 2014 – 11:30 a.m.
Here’s some news flowing across the transom this Tuesday morning. In case you missed it!
Appeals court deals blow to Obamacare
The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled subsidies paid under The Affordable Care Act in states where no exchanges exist are illegal. Meanwhile, within hours, a Virginia Circuit Court of Appeals ruled exactly the opposite.
July 21, 2014
You might have heard about a Silicon Valley venture capitalist’s plan to split California into six states to promote better governance.
Timothy Draper recently submitted 1.3 million signatures to get his “Six Californias” plan on the November 2016 ballot. If voters and Congress approve, the Golden State would be divided into Jefferson, North California, Silicon Valley, Central California, West California and South California.
To read story by Jeff Horseman in the P-E Political Empire Blog, click here.
Published: July 21, 2014 Updated: July 22, 2014 9:59 a.m.
More than a month after President Barack Obama vacationed in the opulent desert community of Rancho Mirage, speculation is again swirling that the first family is in the process of buying a home there.
To read story by Luke Ramseth in the Press-Enterprise, click here.
By Ryan Hagen, The Sun
Posted: 07/22/14, 12:13 AM PDT | Updated: 54 secs ago
SAN BERNARDINO >> City Attorney Gary Saenz called Monday for a council committee to immediately begin studying alternative ways to enforce its medical marijuana dispensary ban, including allowing — and regulating — a small number of dispensaries.
UNEMPLOYMENT
Region could make up all jobs lost in Great Recession by September 2015
SHEA JOHNSON
STAFF WRITER
Posted Jul. 22, 2014 @ 7:48 am / Updated at 7:53 AM
Even as the region lags behind the state, the economy in San Bernardino and Riverside counties is on track to fully recover all the jobs it lost during the Great Recession by September 2015, noted economist John Husing said Monday.
By Dan Walters
dwalters@sacbee.com
Published: Tuesday, Jul. 22, 2014 – 12:00 am
One can categorize politicians by many indices – honesty, intelligence, effectiveness and ideology, for instance.
Monday, July 21, 2014 – 09:30 a.m.
Here’s some news flowing across the transom Monday morning. In case you missed it!
Jerry Brown for President?
We’ll start off with this morning’s humor.
By ALEXANDER BURNS | 7/20/14 5:29 PM EDT – Updated: 7/21/14 6:37 AM EDT
LOS ANGELES — The rumblings are early but unmistakable: A political earthquake is — finally — headed to California.
By Dan Walters
dwalters@sacbee.com
Published: Monday, Jul. 21, 2014 – 12:00 am
In an otherwise lackluster campaign season, California’s most interesting political duel may be one for a rare vacancy on the five-member Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.
By Dustin Volz
July 20, 2014
Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein thoroughly condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin for his role in empowering Ukraine’s pro-Russian separatists, during an interview with CNN on Sunday, largely laying the blame at his feet for the downing last week of a Malaysia Airlines passenger jet.
Sunday, July 20, 2014 – 12:00 p.m.
Bankrupt San Bernardino, California had forty-six murders in 2013. It’s not a nice statistic for the troubled city of just over 200,00 residents.
By Mark Gutglueck (www.sbsentinel.com)
Posted on July 18, 2014
(July 15)– The preliminary hearing for former Upland City Manager Robb Quincey will be held on September 10, Judge Bridgid McCann ruled this week.
By Kyle Smith
July 19, 2014 | 12:28pm
There’s probably never been a time when humanity wasn’t collectively in a torment and uproar about what its young folk were up to. (Gur to Urp, 10,000 B.C.: “Can you believe how short the girls are wearing their bearskins these days?”)
By Beau Yarbrough, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
Posted: 07/19/14, 10:25 AM PDT |
Rialto >> When former Rialto Unified Superintendent Harold Cebrun agreed he would leave his job at the end of March, he and the school board agreed: Neither would say a disparaging word about the other. Three months later, the district has paid out more than $30,000 for violating that non-disparagement clause.
By Sam Farmer
July 19, 2014
San Diego Chargers, St. Louis Rams and Oakland Raiders have stadium leases that could make move to L.A. viable
Molly Peterson
July 18, 2014
An underground aquifer that is an important source of drinking water for the Inland Empire is at a record low, local water officials reported Friday.
By Liset Marquez, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
Posted: 07/18/14, 3:06 PM PDT | Updated: 55 secs ago
UPLAND >> Former City Manager Stephen Dunn may be making his way to back to City Hall but this time as a councilman.
By Kevin Smith, San Gabriel Valley Tribune
Posted: 07/18/14, 6:13 PM PDT | Updated: 49 secs ago
California’s economic recovery hit a milestone last month as the state finally regained all of the jobs it lost in the Great Recession.
By Jim Miller and David Siders
jmiller@sacbee.com
Published: Friday, Jul. 18, 2014 – 11:08 pm
Assemblyman John A. Pérez abandoned his recount in the California controller’s race Friday, ending an effort to overcome a narrow third-place finish after picking up only a handful of votes amid increasing impatience from Democratic activists and others worried about its impact on the fall election.
By Jim Miller
jmiller@sacbee.com
Published: Friday, Jul. 18, 2014 – 3:25 pm
California’s political ethics agency has begun posting the names of campaign treasurers who have repeatedly run afoul of state rules, with the goal of alerting candidates and party officials.
By Ryan Hagen, The Sun
Posted: 07/18/14, 12:26 AM PDT |
SAN BERNARDINO >> Residents and city employees said their piece Thursday evening at the final public hearing on five proposed amendments to the city charter before the City Council’s planned Aug. 7 vote on whether to put those changes on the ballot.
By Chris Megerian
July 17, 2014
The recount in the California controller race has produced only a handful of new votes for Assemblyman John A. Pérez, the candidate who launched the review.
By Dan Walters
dwalters@sacbee.com
Published: Thursday, Jul. 17, 2014 – 9:25 pm
Last Modified: Friday, Jul. 18, 2014 – 6:52 am
The Legislature’s Democrats voted to place an advisory measure on the Nov. 4 ballot, asking voters whether Congress should pass a constitutional amendment to overturn the U.S. Supreme Court’s highly controversial ruling removing barriers on corporate contributions in federal campaigns.
By CONNOR GRUBAUGH
Posted 07.17.2014
While most indicators signal an economic upswing in California, the reality facing many residents of the Golden State is simple: On the ground, the recovery is still sluggish.
By Los Angeles Times staff
July 18, 2014
More than 80% of California is now in an extreme drought, according to new data by the National Weather Service.
Published: July 16, 2014 Updated: 5:11 p.m.
WASHINGTON – Rep. Raul Ruiz, D-Palm Desert, reported a stunning $1.9 million cash on hand as of June 30, more than eight times the war chest of his challenger, Republican Brian Nestande, who had $234,632, newly released Federal Election Commission documents show.
To read story by Cathy Taylor in the Press-Enterprise, click here.
Published: July 16, 2014 Updated: July 17, 2014 9:18 a.m.
A bill giving millions of dollars to four fledgling Riverside County cities appears headed for the governor’s desk, but there’s no guarantee it will be signed, the county’s lobbyist told the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.
To read story by Jeff Horseman in the Press-Enterprise, click here.
By Sarah Favot, Pasadena Star-News
Posted: 07/16/14, 7:57 PM PDT |
A federal court judge ruled Wednesday that California’s death penalty violates the U.S. Constitution’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment because long delays create an uncertainty for inmates, who are more likely to naturally die on death row than to be executed.
By Abby Sewell
July 16, 2014
A White House spokesman said Wednesday that there is an “ongoing law enforcement investigation” related to a recording released earlier in the day by a Republican congressman who alleged it showed improper fundraising activity by former U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis — now a Los Angeles County supervisor-elect.
By Angela Hill
ahill@bayareanewsgroup.com
Posted: 07/16/2014 04:15:47 PM PDT9 Comments
Updated: 07/16/2014 04:45:56 PM PDT
By now, you likely know of the Comcast call heard round the Internet — the eight-minute segment of an excruciating 18-minute phone call that tech journalist Ryan Block endured with a so-called customer-service rep when he tried to cancel his service.
By Evan Halper
July 16, 2014
When it comes to liberalizing marijuana policy, Congress has once again shown that it is not always the liberals taking the lead.
July 16, 2014
A clean energy company is continuing its fight to build a job-creating solar power generation facility on 23 acres in unincorporated Apple Valley. Clean Focus Corporation was denied its conditional use permit request via a 3-0 vote by the San Bernardino County Planning Commissioners on June 19, and is appealing that decision in front of the Board of Supervisors on August 5th.
July 16, 2014
California’s Republican congressional delegation is doing its part to help Paul Chabot win in November.
Congressmen including House Majority Leader-elect Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield, are scheduled to attend a fundraiser for Chabot on Thursday, July 24 in Washington, DC. Others listed on the invite include reps. Ken Calvert, R-Corona; Duncan Hunter, R-Alpine and Darrell Issa, R-Vista.
To read post by Jeff Horseman in the P-E Political Empire Blog, click here.
By Steve Scauzillo, San Gabriel Valley Tribune
Posted: 07/14/14, 6:15 PM PDT | Updated: 19 secs ago
Starting Oct. 1, two mid-day trains and two late-night trains will be removed from the commuter rail’s most popular service, said Jeff Lustgarten, chief spokesperson for Metrolink and its parent, the Southern California Regional Rail Authority.
By Matt Weiser
mweiser@sacbee.com
Published: Tuesday, Jul. 15, 2014 – 5:11 pm
Last Modified: Wednesday, Jul. 16, 2014 – 9:34 am
It will now be considered a criminal act to waste water in California.
By Chris Megerian
July 15, 2014
Controller candidate Betty Yee is getting new financial support from the California Democratic Party as she faces a recount challenge from Assemblyman John A. Pérez, her Democratic opponent in the primary.
BY BRIAN ROKOS / STAFF WRITER
Published: July 15, 2014 Updated: 10:23 p.m.
The entire $1 million reward offered for the capture of fugitive homicide suspect Christopher Dorner will not be paid out because some donors canceled their pledges when the terms – arrest and conviction – were not met, the Los Angeles mayor’s office said.