Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Posted: 02/05/2012 07:38:16 PM PST

SAN BERNARDINO – The City Council today will vote on recommendations to lay off 77 employees of its now defunct economic/redevelopment agencies – 33 civil service employees and 44 contract employees, City Attorney James F. Penman said Friday.

The action comes after the dissolution Wednesday of the agencies, spurred by a Dec. 29 state Supreme Court decision upholding legislation calling for the shuttering of California’s roughly 400 redevelopment agencies.

In June, the Legislature passed two bills that shaped the groundwork for the demise of redevelopment agencies, but the legislation was challenged in court. In its December ruling, the state Supreme Court determined the state had authority to close redevelopment agencies but not to give municipalities the option of paying to keep them open.

That ruling has allowed the state to seize billions of dollars of property taxes previously controlled by the cities that established the redevelopment agencies.

Under recommendations by the City Manager’s Office and Human Resources department, the city would lay off 33 civil service employees and 44 contract employees.

To read entire story, click here.

Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Posted: 02/02/2012 04:25:33 PM PST

Document: Ballot Title and Summary

San Bernardino City Professional Firefighters Local 891, the union representing 126 city firefighters, has introduced a ballot initiative proposing an elected fire chief.

In the last two years, 25 positions have been cut at the department and engine companies have dwindled from four-man crews to three-man crews, said Steve Brown, the union’s vice president.

While budget cuts factor into that scenario, union representatives say they are fed up with “politics as usual in San Bernardino.”

“Too often, the current administration at City Hall has injected politics into the management and operations of our Fire Department,” said union President Scott Moss in a statement Thursday.

An elected fire chief, Moss said, would remove the taint of politics from decisions affecting hiring, promotions and fire protection policies at the department.

A notice of intent to circulate a petition was filed with the city on Jan. 9, but the union has yet to begin gathering the roughly 12,000 signatures needed to get the initiative on the ballot, Brown said.

“We’re not even sure we’ll have our ducks in a row by November. It’s a work in progress right now,” Brown said.

The proposed charter amendment would establish an elected fire chief, to be elected at the 2014 general election, who would have complete autonomy in running the department, without interference by the mayor and city manager. In addition, the proposal requires the Fire Department to have an assistant fire chief and a chief of staff, appointed by the fire chief with the consent of the mayor and City Council.

To read entire story, click here.

Josh Dulaney, Staff Writer
Posted: 01/28/2012 10:54:18 PM PST

A controversial state Supreme Court ruling is forcing 400 redevelopment agencies throughout California to close, but officials overseeing redevelopment at the former Norton Air Force Base say work there will continue.

“We have and will continue to take the position that the law doesn’t apply to us,” said A.J. Wilson, interim executive director of San Bernardino International Airport.

The Inland Valley Development Agency funds airport redevelopment through property tax increment around the former Air Force base.

It’s one of three area redevelopment agencies leading reuse efforts on Air Force land.

The others are the Victor Valley Economic Development Authority, which oversees redevelopment work at the former George Air Force Base, and the March Joint Powers Authority, tasked with the former March Air Force Base.

Legislators voted last summer to eliminate redevelopment agencies in order to steer the property taxes they generate toward local services.

Gov. Jerry Brown proposed the move, and it was upheld last month by the state Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court also struck down a law that allowed redevelopment agencies to remain in existence if they opted into a voluntary redevelopment program.

Inland area cities scrambled to shutter their redevelopment agencies and find other solutions to rebuilding blighted areas.

Earlier this month, state legislators introduced a bipartisan measure to save redevelopment agencies from immediate elimination, but it seems unlikely that Brown will support it.

Some lawmakers want to extend from Feb. 1 to April 15 the deadline for dissolving redevelopment agencies in order to give agencies time to work with Sacramento on existing economic development projects and the establishment of a process for transferring assets and liabilities.

To read entire story, click here.

Saturday, January 28, 2012 – 09:00 a.m.

Could the lack of a business license at Million Air San Bernardino LLC derail the state of the county event scheduled for February 29th?

It’s just another embarrassment for the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors, and in particular Supervisor Josie Gonzales, who allowed the event to be held at the lavish facility.

Scot Spencer, the licensee who controls the private aircraft refueling facility, hadn’t paid business license fees to the city of San Bernardino in ten months.

That was until last week, when a partial payment was made by company executive T. Milford Harrison.

As of this moment no business license can be issued because additional money is stilled owed to the city.

It’s highly probable the county will come up with some flim-flam excuse to keep its event at Million Air.

It’s also highly probable that Million Air is likely considering whether or not to maintain the San Bernardino franchise, considering all the hassle.

When will it ever end?

Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Posted: 01/27/2012 08:39:26 PM PST

SAN BERNARDINO – An official with San Bernardino International Airport’s most upscale business paid part of the fees to renew its business license Thursday, but it still wasn’t enough to get a valid license, city officials said Friday.

The amount T. Milford Harrison, a manager at Million Air San Bernardino, paid wasn’t enough to cover late fees and other penalties, City Clerk Rachel Clark said Friday.

Harrison arrived at City Hall shortly before closing Thursday to make the payment, Clark said.

That was hours after The Sun posted a story on its website saying the facility was operating without a business license.

“We went ahead and accepted the partial payment and let them know we’d be invoicing them for the remaining balance,” Clark said.

The city’s business licensing division is overseen by the City Clerk’s office.

Clark said her office has been in regular contact with officials at the upscale refueling facility for private aircraft since its business license expired in April. Million Air, the most high-profile business operating at the embattled airport, has been operating without a license, a violation of its lease agreement, for nearly 10 months.

“It wasn’t like we were sitting around waiting for them to comply. We had been trying to get a hold of them,” Clark said.

A notice of violation has been prepared for Million Air franchisee Scot Spencer, who is expected to receive the notice on Monday, said A.J. Wilson, interim director of San Bernardino International Airport.

Once Spencer receives the notice, he will have 30 days to pay the remaining fees and renew his business license, otherwise face eviction, Wilson said.

“We don’t have the ability to shut them down, but we have the ability to take away their facilities,” Wilson said.

Spencer entered into a 10-year lease agreement with Million Air, a Houston-based corporation with 30 franchises across the continental U.S., Alaska and Canada, in 2007. SBD Properties LLC., one of 16 companies tied to Spencer and under investigation by the FBI, owns the lease.

To read entire story, click here.

Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Posted: 01/26/2012 12:53:12 PM PST

SAN BERNARDINO – Million Air, the upscale jet refueling facility at San Bernardino International Airport, has been operating without a business license since April, city officials said Thursday.

The facility, which caters to private and corporate aircraft, has been the most high profile business drawn to the airport and has been touted by airport officials as an example of the airport’s potential prosperity. It began operations in 2010.

Franchisee Scot Spencer, who is the focus of a federal corruption investigation into allegations of criminal conspiracy, bribery, money laundering and wire and mail fraud at the airport, has not renewed his business license, said Vanessa Barajas, business registration inspector for the city of San Bernardino.

Spencer also has failed to provide the city with Million Air’s annual gross receipts, which are used to determine the business license renewal fee, Barajas said.

Spencer did not respond to a request for an interview Thursday. He entered into a 10-year franchise agreement with Million Air, a Houston-based corporation with 30 franchises across the continental U.S., Alaska and Canada, in 2007.

Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Josie Gonzales on Thursday called the situation at the airport “a mess.”

“It’s a whole back-and-forthing, contracting under different names, using one (company) to pay the other . . . it is a mess,” Gonzales said.

She said she wasn’t surprised Million Air had been operating without a license, or that any of the other business entities Spencer is tied to were registered with the city.

“When it comes to businesses opening up, that department waits for people to come in,” Gonzales said of the city’s business licensing department, which is overseen by the City Clerk’s office.

When asked what it would take to turn things around, Gonzales was quick to say city officials need to stop fighting among themselves and agree on a common vision.

“They need to put their differences aside for the best interest of their residents, and they need to turn that fighting around and start fighting everything that’s wrong,” Gonzales said.

Sandy Nelson, business development officer at Million Air’s Houston-based headquarters, couldn’t be reached for comment Thursday.

The county held its annual State of the County Address at Million Air last year to much success, and plans to hold the event there again in February.

“This is the continuing saga of the failure to properly manage this airport and the ability of the agencies . . . to move forward with credible and honest investors,” said San Bernardino County Supervisor Neil Derry, who also serves on the board of the Inland Valley Development Agency, or IVDA, which oversees the airport’s development and funding.

Spencer came to San Bernardino to develop the airport in 2005, bringing with him a checkered past that included more than four years in federal prison for bankruptcy fraud in connection with another soured airport deal. Still, San Bernardino Mayor Pat Morris and other officials supported Spencer, acknowledging they were aware of Spencer’s background but touted him as the best man willing to do the job.

Derry, a former San Bernardino city councilman, said business license fees are a major revenue stream for the city, and wonders if the city has filed a claim against Million Air, or if the business is getting preferential treatment.

“It also begs the question of whether the city is doing a good job of following up with businesses doing business in the city,” Derry said. “I find it hard to believe the city didn’t know about this.”

San Bernardino Mayor Pat Morris couldn’t be reached for comment Thursday, but his son and chief of staff Jim Morris said the situation will certainly prompt city officials to take a closer look at how business licenses are processed.

To read entire story, click here.

Will Bigham, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
Created: 01/26/2012 10:42:20 AM PST

A committee of the Cal State University Board of Trustees is set to begin the search for a new president at Cal State San Bernardino. President Albert Karnig is retiring at the end of the school year.

The committee is scheduled to hold an open forum Feb. 10 at Cal State San Bernardino to receive public input on the presidential search process.

The meeting, from 10 a.m. to noon at the Santos Manuel Student Union Events Center, will be the committee’s only public meeting, according to the CSU Chancellor’s Office.

To read entire story, click here.

Officials dismiss website as ‘cheap stuff’
Josh Dulaney, Staff Writer
Posted: 01/16/2012 05:28:57 PM PST

SAN BERNARDINO – A business website has ranked the city as the fourth worst-run municipality in the country.

San Bernardino comes in behind Newark, N.J., Detroit and Miami, according to www.247wallst.com, which covers business finance.

Plummeting home values, skyrocketing poverty and a 64.1 percent rate of adults with a high school diploma were cited as reasons why the city landed on the list.

Editor Douglas McIntyre said he was surprised that San Bernardino was rated worse off than many older, industrial cities.

“In the scheme of things, San Bernardino is a relatively new city compared to a place like Buffalo,” said McIntyre, who described his website as one of the five largest independent business websites in the country. “Now it’s been there forever, but San Bernardino’s growth has been heavy for the last 50 years compared to some of these places, like Buffalo.”

McIntyre said research was conducted over several weeks on the top 100 largest cities in the nation by population.

Among several sources, the website looked at data from Bureau of Labor Statistics, the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report and the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.

San Bernardino was the third city from California to make the list – ahead of Fresno and Stockton.

“Its economy has arguably been hit harder by the subprime mortgage crisis than any other major U.S. city,” according to the website.

The Mayor’s Office dismissed the survey for the most part, saying the measures used aren’t related to the management of cities.

“This is typical cheap stuff pulled by a blog looking to get people on its website,” said Jim Morris, the son and chief of staff of Mayor Pat Morris.

Morris said many of the issues cited by the website – education, unemployment, and foreclosures – are beyond the scope of a city’s responsibilities.

To read entire story, click here.

Representatives of Norton Property Management Services, LLC., which rents and operates portions of a hangar at the embattled San Bernardino International Airport, met with creditors on Monday as the company’s bankruptcy proceedings moved forward.

John Melissinos, the attorney representing T. Milford Harrison, a manager at the company who filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Dec. 7, told creditors a prospective tenant could be leasing the hangar as early as next month.

In a court document, he said Norton Property intends to restructure with hopes of emerging from bankruptcy protection by year’s end.

One goal is to save 72 jobs that now exist at the hangar at 255 S. Leland Norton Way.

“I think it’s going to be cash-flow positive,” Melissinos said during Monday’s proceedings, which were continued until Feb. 6. Creditors are seeking additional information including details regarding the company’s current lease agreement.

Several documents the company failed to include in its initial filing, including a list of personal property and a statement of financial affairs, have since been submitted, Melissinos said.

“All the deficiencies have been remedied. We filed everything,” he said.

Norton Property is one of 16 companies under investigation by the FBI. Federal agents raided the airport in September seeking information on airport developer Scot Spencer and his relationships with several individuals affiliated with the airport including Harrison, who is Spencer’s business partner and the airport’s former executive director.

Though Spencer’s signature appears with Harrison’s on the bankruptcy filing, Spencer said Monday he has no part of the bankruptcy.

To read entire story, click here.

Josh Dulaney, Staff Writer
Posted: 01/05/2012 05:29:17 PM PST

An administrative law judge from the U.S. Department of Labor has ruled in favor of a San Bernardino man who says he was wrongfully fired from an aircraft maintenance company that he worked for at San Bernardino International Airport.

Michael Harding, 72, is owed back pay and reimbursement of lost medical benefits, dating back to his being fired in 2007 from Southern California Precision Aircraft Inc., a company whose assets were later purchased by Norton Aircraft Maintenance Services, according to Russell D. Pulver, the administrative law judge.

The published order, issued on Dec. 19, did not state the amount owed to Harding, but Harding says he was earning about $52,000 a year.

Pulver ruled that Harding should be rehired, finding that he was fired because he filed complaints to the Federal Aviation Administration and his supervisors regarding numerous safety violations related to aircraft being worked on at the airport.

He also found no evidence for the company’s claims that Harding was fired for poor job performance.

“…the secondhand versions of the reason for termination pale in comparison to the facts offered by (Harding) in his very credible testimony,” Pulver wrote in his decision.

Harding worked as a senior audit inspector. He testified that throughout his time with the company, he witnessed many safety issues and addressed them with management.

Pulver ruled that Harding’s actions were protected under the Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century.

A provision under the law prohibits an air carrier, or contractor or subcontractor of an air carrier from firing or discriminating against an employee because the employee provided his supervisors or the federal government information related to violations or alleged violations of air carrier safety.

Pulver ordered that Harding be paid by Norton Aircraft Maintenance Services, which in 2008 took over the same type of repair work that Southern California Precision Aircraft Inc. had done.

According to Pulver’s ruling, Norton Aircraft Maintenance Services also assumed the liabilities of Southern California Precision Aircraft Inc., including the payment of any back wages owed to employees.

Norton Aircraft Maintenance Services was listed among 16 companies in an FBI warrant served at the airport in September.

To read entire story, click here.

SAN BERNARDINO – High-profile leaders of the city and school district have recently been replaced, and the new year is expected to bring more new faces and approaches.

In December, three newly elected members joined the seven-person board that sets policy for the San Bernardino City Unified School District, and already they’re flexing their muscles on the direction the district should take.

That includes how – and when – to find a new superintendent, the top nonelective position.

The school board had planned to have a new superintendent in place in November, but in October it rejected all applicants.

Board members agree that the second search will be successful, largely because they say the election brought in board members who work better with each other and with district staff.

But they disagree on the next step, with new member Mike Gallo pushing to adopt a comprehensive mission statement first.

“In order to attract a qualified, quality candidate, we’ve really got to establish core values and a core mission, so we can characterize these elements and characteristics we want in a superintendent,” Gallo said. “We want the superintendent who’s right for us.”

Gallo wants to consult with community members, employee unions and other stakeholders to decide on a framework – such as whether the district should focus on science, technology, engineering and math training, as he advocates – and then ask candidates to demonstrate they can help accomplish those goals.

But that leaves the district in the hands of an interim superintendent for too long, said board member Danny Tillman.

“I don’t think the two items – the strategic plan and finding a superintendent – are directly connected,” Tillman said. “I really think there’s a need to hire a full-time superintendent who’s going to be there full time.”

Other vacant high-level administrative positions should be filled after a superintendent is found, to be sure they fit the new boss’ vision, board members said.

To read entire story, click here.

BY KIMBERLY PIERCEALL
STAFF WRITER
kpierceall@pe.com

Published: 30 December 2011 07:21 PM

Leaders with three Inland groups overhauling former military bases say legislation that would dissolve the state’s redevelopment agencies doesn’t apply to them.

The legislation was upheld by the state’s Supreme Court on Thursday.

The Inland Valley Development Agency, which is overseeing the reuse of San Bernardino’s Norton Air Force Base into San Bernardino International Airport, is not a redevelopment agency, officials said.

It just has the powers of one given to it through special state legislation, said interim executive director A.J. Wilson.

Victorville Councilman Mike Rothschild, who is among city leaders managing the conversion of George Air Force Base into the Southern California Logistics Airport, agreed.

And the executive director of the March Joint Powers Authority, Lori Stone, said work to revive former March Air Force Base land in Riverside County shouldn’t be considered the same as other redevelopment projects because the former federal land had been exempt from property taxes until the agency took it over.

Based on legal opinions Wilson said he has seen, the law that would dissolve redevelopment agencies only applies to those created by cities and counties. The IVDA wasn’t, he said.

In 1990, state legislation allowed the creation of the IVDA to manage a redevelopment area extending three miles from Norton’s boundaries, calling it a “redevelopment agency” throughout the statute in the state’s Redevelopment Law Section (number 33320.5 before it was renumbered to 33492.40).

The same legislation includes the development of an agency to oversee the reuse of George Air Force Base and an 8-mile area surrounding it, now the Victor Valley Economic Development Authority.

“It is the intent of the Legislature and the commitment of the local authorities to ensure that the existing airfields at both Norton Air Force Base and George Air Force Base are protected, developed, and enhanced as civil aviation public use airports,” the section states. “Therefore, the joint powers authorities authorized by this section should make every reasonable effort to guarantee that these vital airport facilities are retained for general aviation use now and into the future.”

Still, the IVDA voted to sell a flurry of bonds — more than $150 million worth — earlier this year to assure projects such as improvements to the agency’s new headquarters and surrounding road improvements would be paid for if the legislation was upheld.

“Right now, if anything, our greater problem for our projects would be when we were partnering with one of our member’s redevelopment agencies,” Wilson said. He added that he wasn’t aware of any current projects that would be adversely affected because of that, “not where we’re so far in that it’s going to blow up something.”

San Bernardino County Supervisor Neil Derry, who is among several local elected leaders to sit on the agency’s governing board, said that even if the agency fights the ruling legally or with legislation to argue for exemption for military reuse, he didn’t expect the agency to win.

“I don’t think that’s going to hold. I think this is going to impact us as well as Victorville,” he said.

To read entire story, click here.

Josh Dulaney, Staff Writer
Posted: 12/29/2011 11:26:57 PM PST

It was a year packed with news.

As the roughest economy in decades continued, cities and school districts were hit with severe budget cuts, affecting teachers, counselors and ultimately students. A corruption scandal involving top former county officials continued to unfold. Cities and school districts gained new leaders and lost old ones.

Today, we look at what’s to come in San Bernardino and take stock of where it’s been.

A NEW CITY COUNCIL: In a city known for its divisive politics, residents will get to see how a newly shaped City Council sways decision-making on the dais.

John Valdivia defeated 3rd Ward Councilman Tobin Brinker in November on the heels of Robert Jenkins taking office in the 2nd Ward in an election by mail to replace Jason Desjardins.

Some observers say Mayor Pat Morris will lose more fights in City Hall, as a new council represents a shift in power.

REGAL THEATER: After clearing a series of hurdles, it appears that a much-anticipated movie theater may indeed come to downtown by summer.

The board of the Economic Development Corporation approved a 10-year lease agreement with Regal Entertainment Group to operate 14 auditoriums at the former CinemaStar located at Fourth and E streets.

To read entire story, click here.

Will Bigham, Staff Writer
Posted: 12/20/2011 06:07:01 PM PST

Related story: SB Valley College president to leave for Illinois job

Herb English, who was placed on leave in recent weeks, is the fourth administrator in the college’s Student Services Department to be placed on leave this year.

They include the department’s top administrator, Damon Bell, vice president of student services.

The first person to be placed on leave, Fernando Poveda, later resigned, said Jack Miyamoto, head of human resources in the San Bernardino Community College District.

Miyamoto and other district officials declined to say why the administrators were placed on leave.

Cadelia James, a former member of the college’s student governing body who worked with English and other administrators, said she’s heard few specifics about the college’s actions.

“But I’ve heard little things here and there from other people,” she said.

Rumors generally involve the administrators’ dealings with the Associated Students of San Bernardino Valley College, James said.

“And I’ve heard rumors that (English’s leave) could have something to do with other programs that he’s had on campus,” James said.

To read entire story, click here.

Josh Dulaney, The (San Bernardino County) Sun
Posted: 12/20/2011 08:47:54 PM PST

Here’s a list of some actions taken at Monday’s San Bernardino City Council meeting:

The council on Monday approved a contract with Intermedix-ADPI for billing services related to emergency medical services.

The contract runs through June 30, 2013, with three one-year renewal options.

Annual billing services for fiscal year 2011-12 are estimated to cost $100,000.

The council also approved a new traffic signal to be installed at Rialto and Meridian avenues.

The signal will replace the existing four-way stop controls.

To read entire story, click here.

McNeely

Josh Dulaney, The (San Bernardino County) Sun
Posted: 12/19/2011 01:55:21 PM PST

SAN BERNARDINO – City Manager Charles McNeely on Monday denied rumors swirling around City Hall that he will leave his post in January.

When reached by telephone and asked if he intends to step down, McNeely said, “At some point, yeah, but not now.”

McNeely’s contract is up in June.

Sources at City Hall said McNeely would announce his departure at the City Council meeting on Monday. McNeely said otherwise.

“I’m not making any announcement today, to start with,” McNeely said.

His contract called for a salary of $275,000 per year, minus a 10 percent giveback, with the deal reportedly including $73,000 in other perks, such as $15,000 in relocation assistance.

The Mayor’s Office on Monday said they had not heard anything from McNeely about him leaving.

“The imminency of his departure has not been a discussion with the mayor,” said Jim Morris, the son and chief of staff of Mayor Pat Morris.

Morris said the mayor and McNeely meet regularly and the matter has not been discussed.

McNeely took the position in the midst of what may be considered the toughest economy in the city’s recent history.

Indeed, cuts have been seen across all departments, including public safety. For example, the Police Department has seen its ranks reduced from more than 350 officers in recent years to fewer than 300 today.

Problems with potholes, street lights and other infrastructure issues have strained the already slim budget.

Still, McNeely has managed to push through some of his key projects, including SB Direct, a call center for city residents looking for help with non-emergency problems.

The City Manager’s Office estimates the annual cost to be roughly $477,000, with the funds coming from a reallocation of the city’s budget.

To read entire story, click here.

The aircraft pictured above, now valued as worthless, was used as collateral for a $500,000 public loan to contractor Scot Spencer.

Monday, December 19, 2011 – 10:15 a.m.

Nice try. But it’s too late!

Too late, for those involved, to runaway from the mess at the San Bernardino International Airport Authority (SBIAA) and Inland Valley Development Agency (IVDA) that is.

All the elected officials, current and former, ever associated with the two agencies are throwing contractor Scot Spencer under the bus.

As they should.

This is a scandal that’s going to take-down a lot of people. And attempting to play the handy Monopoly “Get Out of Jail Free” card isn’t going to work.

Even though both agencies were ran like a monopoly board.

An ongoing federal investigation is going to ferret out just what happened, who was paid, and who was involved.

All the official pronouncements of “we’re cleaning house” just won’t do here.

Though it is entertaining to say the least.

Let’s face it. If the Fed’s hadn’t rolled in the door the same malfeasance would have continued on without a glitch.

Remember all the public defending by San Bernardino Mayor Pat Morris and County Supervisor Josie Gonzales?

They were both outraged at the criticism of the money wasted.

Remember all the “agency paid for” reports and studies saying the airport is viable?

Almost $200,000,000 has been blown on the former Norton Air Force Base.

By the way some are acting, one would think it was just $200,000.

Ryan Hagen, The (San Bernardino County) Sun
Created: 12/15/2011 03:14:13 PM PST

Cal State San Bernardino is the second-safest four-year public university in the state, according to a new report from StateUniversity.com.

The university’s crime rate puts it eighth overall among the 46 schools in the University of California, California State University and California Community College systems.

“That’s thanks to the men and women of this department and the programs we have started,” said Jimmie Brown, chief of police at the campus. “Also, what has changed is the campus community – they’re starting to come forward and report suspicious activity.”

The result of that activity has been a 37percent drop in crimes per 1,000 students from 2009 to 2010, according to university records.

From Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2010 – the year the rankings are based on – CSUSB averaged 1.06 burglaries and 4.09 thefts per 1,000 students, the most common crimes. There were no reports of aggravated assault, arson, rape or murder.

To read entire story, click here.

Friday, December 16, 2011 – 10:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Saturday, December 17, 2011 – 10:39 a.m.

A $10 million Federal Highway Administration grant to the city of Highland is no more.

Based on publicly available information, and also upon the recommendation by the U.S. Department of Justice, the city of Highland has lost a federal “Tiger II” grant for the improvement of Fifth Street west to Del Rosa Avenue.

The reason?

The ongoing investigation affecting the San Bernardino International Airport, Inland Valley Development Agency and City of San Bernardino.

Another sad downside to the lacking oversight, mismanagement and fraud at the former Norton Air Force Base.

While the city of Highland has really nothing to do with the goings on at the Airport, some of it’s elected officials blindly sit on the airport authority board.

Sources say Congressman Jerry Lewis was asked to intervene.

But, in all honesty, that would be a futile gesture coming from Lewis, who is seen as securing earmarks for the facility.

Of course all of the East Valley cronies tied into this long-time cash cow will decry the move and refuse to take responsibility.

Officials under investigation include, Developer Scot Spencer and partner T. Milford Harrison, former Airport Director Donald Rogers, San Bernardino Mayor Pat Morris and Assistant Airport Director Mike Burrows.

Cassie MacDuff

BY CASSIE MACDUFF
cmacduff@pe.com

Published: 14 December 2011 06:30 PM

The sloppiness in fiscal matters at San Bernardino International Airport extended to the highest levels, a review of billing records revealed.

I requested a year’s worth of invoices submitted by then-Executive Director Donald L. Rogers to see how many hours he spent on the public agency’s work.

Between June 2010 and June 2011, he wasn’t in the office even 20 hours a week most months, while raking in tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars at $165 an hour.

But that wasn’t the shocking part. What was shocking was how many discrepancies I found — and mind you, I have no background in bookkeeping or accounting.

Rogers was a certified public accountant. How could he do such sloppy work?

Hourly billings didn’t add up, subtotals weren’t included in totals, and the amounts the agency paid were not the amounts he invoiced.

How could such errors get past four layers of review?

Each invoice was reviewed by an accounting clerk, Monette Mendoza, who prepared a “request for payment” summarizing how much Rogers was owed.

The forms were signed off by then-chief financial officer Martin Romeo.

Each check to Rogers was signed by two officials, usually Assistant Director Mike Burrows and redevelopment director Alex Estrada.

Gary Silvius, interim finance director, couldn’t explain how the gaffes could have been overlooked.

In some cases, Rogers’ errors were corrected invisibly, because it appears he was paid the correct amount, Silvius said, but the invoices should have been handed back to him for corrections before he was paid.

Rogers’ billings also revealed he had one thing in common with controversial airport developer Scot Spencer: He was often behind in submitting his paperwork.

Rogers would go two or more months without submitting an invoice, and then submit several together.

Five of the checks to him covered payments for two months each.

Another error uncovered by my review — an overpayment to Burrows of $54.01 — was repaid within days of my bringing it to his attention.

Burrows’ expenses also included $124.47 for lunch at Million Air, the luxury jet port. The receipt said Burrows, Aviation Director Bill Ingraham and airport Commissioner Ovi Popescu dined. That’s $41.49 each!

But the paperwork was incomplete. Three others ate, too: a Loma Linda businesswoman and two lawyers supposedly interested in doing business at the airport.

That brought the cost down to $20.75 each, still pretty steep for sandwiches.

I also reviewed 2010 conflict-of-interest forms for the five top agency officials.

Two of them, Rogers and Ingraham, had acquired stock in American Airlines, the company from which the agency bought used jetways, baggage carousels and chairs for the new terminal, after the purchases were made in 2007. (The grand jury had criticized the agency for paying too much.)

Was the stock purchase a conflict of interest after the fact? I didn’t hear back from agency lawyers Wednesday.

Cassie MacDuff can be reached at 951-368-9470 or cmacduff@PE.com or facebook.com/PE.CassieMacDuff

The man who had been put in control of nearly every facet of San Bernardino International Airport’s development and management could have a diminished role as of Christmas /FILE PHOTO

BY KIMBERLY PIERCEALL
STAFF WRITER
kpierceall@pe.com

Published: 14 December 2011 04:33 PM

The man who had been put in control of nearly every facet of San Bernardino International Airport’s development and management could have a diminished role by Christmas.

Scot Spencer, whose home and airport offices were searched in an FBI-led investigation in late September, has until Dec. 23 to hire a nationally recognized airport management firm after the last firm left because it hadn’t been paid. If he doesn’t, he’ll lose his own management contract with the airport.

Also, to avoid legal action, he has about 30 days to hand over ownership of the airport’s passenger terminal, the Million Air building and a partially finished U.S. Customs facility, and other buildings.

A.J. Wilson, interim executive director of the San Bernardino International Airport Authority and the Inland Valley Development Agency, would take over management of the airport temporarily, according to a vote by the authority on Wednesday.

Wilson has led the airport authority and the development agency for a little more than a month. So far, he has spent more time attempting to solve problems related to Spencer’s companies than anything else, he said at Wednesday’s meeting. Every notice sent to one of Spencer’s companies has entered a “black hole of silence,” Wilson said.

Spencer did not attend Wednesday’s meeting and could not be reached for comment.

In the meantime, Spencer’s company, San Bernardino Airport Management, is still at the helm but without the professional airport management firm that it had hired.

Spencer had contracted with AvPorts, a Virginia-based company that manages several airports. AvPorts left San Bernardino on Monday after Spencer didn’t pay the company what it was owed, said AvPorts CEO Ozzie Moore by phone.

If Spencer finds another firm that’s either internationally or nationally recognized for its airport management work, that company still would need to be approved by the authority.

Spencer’s companies at the airport have racked up hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt, including rent owed to the public agencies as well as taxes owed to the county, state and IRS. A Boeing 727 plane owned by his company was recently impounded by the county tax collector, and he has been evicted from space he rents at the airport.

“It’s all about accountability and being current in your obligations,” said San Bernardino Mayor Patrick Morris when asked about Spencer’s diminished role at the airport. Morris is the president and chair of the airport authority and the IVDA. “It’s critically important that we pay our bills.”

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Josh Dulaney and Joe Nelson, Staff Writers
Posted: 12/14/2011 04:33:17 PM PST

Officials overseeing San Bernardino International Airport approved a process Wednesday by which controversial airport developer Scot Spencer faces removal from most operations.

“Eventually, that’s what will occur,” said interim executive Airport Director A.J. Wilson.

The San Bernardino International Airport Authority board gave Wilson authority to assume management of the airport on Dec. 24 if Spencer doesn’t find a nationally recognized professional management firm to take over.

Wilson would then take control.

He said every notice he has sent to Spencer has “gone into the dark hole of silence…”

Spencer and business partner T. Milford Harrison, former executive director of the airport, are at the center of a federal investigation into allegations of bribery and fraud at the airport, and have also filed for bankruptcy protection on behalf of their company, Norton Property Management Services, LLC.

The two men filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Riverside on Dec. 7.

The company is one of 16 established by Spencer that is now under FBI scrutiny. Spencer created the limited liability companies and corporations when he took over development of the airport more than five years ago.

Spencer and Harrison are among several individuals, including San Bernardino Mayor Pat Morris and Spencer’s father, George Spencer, who are the focus of the FBI probe, which also includes allegations of conspiracy, money laundering and theft and fraud related to federal funds.

Spencer served more than four years in a federal prison for bankruptcy fraud in Florida before he came to San Bernardino to develop its airport when no one else would, officials said.

FBI agents swarmed the airport in September and filled a U-Haul truck from floor to ceiling with boxes of documents seized from the airport’s main offices. It came in the wake of a scathing report by the Grand Jury two months prior, which sharply criticized how the airport was managed.

In their bankruptcy filing, Spencer and Harrison claim their company has between $1 million to $10 million in assets and $500,000 to $1 million in liabilities. They also claim Norton’s liquidated debts, excluding debts owed to insiders or affiliates, is less than $2.3 million, while its debt to creditors is $935,946.80.

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Scot Spencer

BY KIMBERLY PIERCEALL
STAFF WRITER
kpierceall@pe.com

Published: 13 December 2011 07:41 PM

The longtime landlord of one of San Bernardino International Airport’s largest hangars has filed for bankruptcy.

The public agency overseeing the airport is owed more than $400,000 in unpaid rent and has filed a suit to formally evict Norton Property Management Services LLC.

The company, managed by Scot Spencer and T. Milford Harrison, filed for Chapter 11 reorganization on Dec. 7, according to court records.

A.J. Wilson, interim executive director of the San Bernardino International Airport Authority and related Inland Valley Development Agency, said the bankruptcy may slow down the eviction process, but he was certain the airport authority would regain control of the hangar, if not collect the unpaid rent.

“My immediate concern isn’t collecting money I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to collect anyway,” Wilson said.

“We have every right to follow the letter of our leases,” he said, adding that one of the obvious requirements was to pay rent.

Attempts to reach Spencer and Harrison for comment Tuesday evening were not successful. A message also was left with the Los Angeles law firm representing the company.

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Ryan Hagen, Staff Writer
Posted: 12/12/2011 07:18:26 PM PST

Teachers and school board members continue to bristle that five schools in the San Bernardino City Unified School District did not qualify for a total of $7.2 million in state funding because of preventable mistakes, even as they push for a waiver.

“Somebody was asleep at the switch,” said board member Judi Penman. “I’m not going to name names because that’s not fair, but it can’t happen again. This is one of those things that the board has to take responsibility for, and it’s our fault.”

The schools each slightly missed the requirements to receive Quality Education Investment Act funding.

One teacher each at Bradley Elementary School, Mount Vernon Elementary School and Wilson Elementary School was not rated “highly qualified,” while Curtis Middle School had one class that exceeded the 27 students allowed in middle school classes.

Arrowhead Elementary School did not qualify because its Academic Performance Index, calculated based on student test scores, did not increase enough over the last three years.

The schools will receive the money through the end of the 2011-2012 school year, so no mid-year cuts are planned, but unless the State Board of Education grants a waiver they will lose out on money that would have been given in 2012, 2013 and 2014.

Interim Superintendent Yolanda Ortiz said staff is cautiously optimistic the district will receive a waiver because the schools nearly made their goals and have reworked internal processes in ways she says will ensure the mistakes can’t happene again. The administrator in charge of the program retired at the end of the 2010-2011 school year.

Rebecca Harper, president of the San Bernardino Teachers Association and chairwoman of the work group that monitors QEIA for the California Teachers Association, said some of the seven requirements to receive funding are more complicated than they seem.

For instance, the definition of a highly qualified teacher differs depending on when a teacher entered the profession, and administrators may have assumed teachers studying for the test that determines it would soon pass.

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Repairs driving up price
Sandra Emerson, Staff Writer
Created: 12/10/2011 06:07:27 AM PST

Significant water rate hikes in San Bernardino and Los Angeles County cities since the beginning of the year has caused many angry ratepayers to speak up.

Residents in Claremont and Barstow are facing proposed hikes from the privately run Golden State Water Company, while residents on the east side of the San Bernardino Valley have already been hit with increases.

The reason for the hikes boils down to one major issue – aging infrastructure, according to Susan Longville, director of Cal State San Bernardino’s Water Resources Institute.

“That’s why San Bernardino had to raise its rates, which in turn forced East Valley Water District to raise their rates,” Longville said. “It’s why the private municipal water did the same thing. And that’s where we’re at. It’s a terrible time for the consumer, no doubt about it.”

As the state’s resources dried up, so did grant money for water companies that was typically used for infrastructure repairs, so water companies are looking to customers to foot the bill, Longville said.

“You’re paying for the power, the pump, to treat and to move that water from the ground or from the reservoir, from everywhere to your home,” Longville said. “You’re paying for those carrying costs and the infrastructure that delivers it, and water agencies just find themselves in the place where the rate the consumer is going to pay is the only place to turn. There’s no other alternatives.”

The city of San Bernardino in January raised its waste water treatment water rates by 12.5 percent, which resulted in several other cities increasing their rates, including Redlands, Loma Linda and Mentone.

Also, East Valley Water District board of directors last month agreed to increase sewer treatment charges between 16 percent and 60 percent for some commercial customers.

Golden State Water Co. is proposing to increase water rates in its cities by 24.54 percent in 2013.

According to the water company officials, the proposed increases are to pay for infrastructure repairs over the next 30 years including the replacement of a well and a seismic retrofit to a reservoir.

However, members of the group Claremonters Against Outrageous Water Rates view it differently.

“I really think if you were to ask me, it’s corporate greed,” said Claremont resident Hal Hargrave, a member of the group.

“They have posed profits of an increase of 77 percent over the last year. That’s published. Their president is making over $1.1 million. Their senior vice president is making $754,000 and their CFO is making $728,000.”

The group is also angry over the Water Revenue Adjustment Mechanism, which charges residents for using less water. It reimburses the company for revenue lost by water conservation.

To read entire story, click here.

Josh Dulaney, Staff Writer
Posted: 12/09/2011 02:02:49 PM PST

SAN BERNARDINO – Boeing Aircraft once again is using San Bernardino International Airport to test aircraft.

According to a spokesman, Boeing is in the midst of conducting flight tests on 787 jets.

The planes feature engines made by General Electric.

“It’s a new engine that is, I believe, been designed specifically for this airplane,” said Bill Ingraham, aviation director for the airport. “When you certify an aircraft, you certify one or more engines that can go with it.”

Ingraham said Boeing will be conducting the tests until Dec. 21.

“They’re here for some flight tests,” he said. “I don’t really know the specific nature of the tests…they’re using this for a base of operation.”

The airport has a 10,000-foot runway, with enough clear zones for extensive aircraft testing, as well as large hangars that have been around since the airport was known as the Norton Air Force Base.

To read entire story, click here.

By Ryan Hagen, Staff Writer
Posted: 12/06/2011 08:40:50 PM PST

SAN BERNARDINO – There wasn’t any easing-in period for the three new members who joined the San Bernardino City Unified School District’s board Tuesday.

Newly elected members Margaret Hill, Sharon “Bobbie” Perong and Mike Gallo and re-elected incumbent Lynda Savage received a standing ovation from a packed audience after Superintendent of County Schools Gary Thomas swore them in.

“Thank you for your vote of confidence, and I know we are going to get done what we need to get done, because we have the material,” Perong said, adding that the campaign brought the candidates closer together.

“Along the way, we’ve become really good friends. We’re here for the teachers, we’re here for the classified, and we’re here mostly for the students.”

Several big items – including how to pick a new superintendent, a vote that was postponed until this meeting so the new members could weigh in – had not been discussed by press time, three hours into the meeting.

But the first disagreement began soon after the board elected a new president – per tradition, they chose the previous vice president, Barbara Flores – and then named Gallo as vice president.

Gallo and board member Judi Penman both wanted to be the board’s representative to the Economic Development Corporation, the nonprofit agency which has had oversight of redevelopment in San Bernardino since March.

To read entire story, click here.

Morris

Josh Dulaney, The (San Bernardino County) Sun
Posted: 12/05/2011 07:59:34 PM PST

SAN BERNARDINO – An effort to get Mayor Pat Morris to speak from the dais about the ongoing federal investigation at San Bernardino International Airport was thwarted Monday night at the City Council meeting.

The issue was pushed by 7th Ward Councilwoman Wendy McCammack, a political opponent of Morris, who placed on the agenda a motion calling for the mayor to “give a public briefing and discussion to inform the council as a whole and the residents of San Bernardino” about the FBI’s investigation into alleged mail and wire fraud, bribery, conspiracy and money laundering, and theft and fraud related to federal funds.

Morris, who presides over the boards overseeing redevelopment at the former Norton Air Force Base, said the matter is discussed at regular joint meetings of the San Bernardino International Airport Authority and the Inland Valley Development Agency boards.

“Everybody’s encouraged to attend,” Morris said.

Fourth Ward Councilman Fred Shorett made a substitute motion that the discussion be tabled. It was supported by council members Virginia Marquez, Tobin Brinker and Rikke Van Johnson.

Councilman Robert Jenkins, who joined McCammack and Councilman Chas Kelley in opposing having the discussion tabled, referred to the vote as “politics as usual.”

The FBI raided the airport in September.

More than 80 FBI agents filled a 26-foot U-Haul truck with airport records after serving search warrants at the airport and the Riverside home of airport developer Scot Spencer, a convicted felon.

To read entire story, click here.

Scot Spencer

BY KIMBERLY PIERCEALL
STAFF WRITER
kpierceall@pe.com

Published: 01 December 2011 04:11 PM

The developer of San Bernardino International Airport will no longer be overseeing the airport’s development after $4 million worth of construction work stacked up without being paid.

Scot Spencer, the manager of the development companies, has recently been the focus of an FBI-led investigation looking into evidence of bribery, fraud and money laundering at the airport at the former Norton Air Force Base.

Members of the Inland Valley Development Agency, a public agency made up of elected officials from San Bernardino County’s east valley that has been funding the construction and operations of the airport, voted Wednesday evening to take over construction at the airport from Spencer. The move will allow the agency to pay for construction work directly. Spencer had been responsible for filing invoices and bills with the agency so subcontractors could get paid for work.

Recently $4 million worth of work hadn’t been paid for because invoices weren’t filed in time. The agency also didn’t have the money to pay the amounts owed until Wednesday’s vote, said A.J. Wilson, the IVDA’s interim executive director.

The agency voted to pay for the work that had been completed on a three-story U.S. Customs building, a flight kitchen and cargo building for airlines and an improvement to a hangar that was made to fit Boeing’s large 747-8 freighter aircraft while it was being tested there.

Spencer was awarded two no-bid agreements in 2007 to build a passenger terminal and a luxury private aircraft hub among other airport features including the Customs building. The total cost had grown from an initial $45 million to $142.5 million. That amount grew again by about $4 million on Wednesday.

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Josh Dulaney, Staff Writer
Posted: 11/30/2011 08:28:25 PM PST

Subcontractors who are owed roughly $4 million for renovation work at San Bernardino International Airport soon could be getting checks in the mail.

Members of the Inland Valley Development Agency board on Wednesday authorized payments to the subcontractors for work done on a U.S. Customs and Border Protection facility and the passenger terminal.

Airport developer Scot Spencer, who is at the center of an FBI investigation into airport operations, hadn’t adequately managed the bills, according to A.J. Wilson, interim executive director for the board.

“The structure of all of these agreements is that the firm managed by Scot Spencer was overseeing the project and so it’s my understanding, it was represented to me, that they hadn’t been processed in a timely fashion,” Wilson said.

But he added that the IVDA – which funds work at the former Norton Air Force Base through area tax increment – also hadn’t appropriated the money to make the payments.

In unanimously passing resolutions at Wednesday’s meeting in Loma Linda, the board not only authorized payments to the contractors, but transferred oversight of the remaining project work from Spencer to the IVDA, a joint-powers entity composed of San Bernardino County and San Bernardino, Colton and Loma Linda.

“What we’re going ask of Mr. Spencer is that he make this a simple issue by simply turning over supervision of the balance of these projects to us, that would be part of the remedy here,” Wilson said.

In March, the IVDA board authorized $400,000 for Spencer’s Norton Property Management Services LLC to oversee upgrades at a hangar bay that would result in a “nose dock”, so that a Boeing jet could fit.

Redlands-based NBI General Contractors did the work, but just a little more than $279,000 had been paid toward the project, according to the IVDA.

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