Politics, Government and Business in Southern California's Inland Empire
April 30, 2013 9:37 PM
Jim E. Winburn, Staff Writer
VICTORVILLE • A City Councilwoman and former bond broker for the municipal airport authority blame what they called “handshake deals” for the questionable financial practices that ultimately led to this week’s fraud allegations against Victorville by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
April 29, 2013 8:40 PM
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Jim E. Winburn, Staff Writer
VICTORVILLE • The Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday filed a fraud complaint against the city of Victorville, a securities underwriting firm and others involved in a 2008 municipal bond offering.
Monday, April 29, 2013 – 12:30 p.m.
A shoe has finally dropped in the ongoing financial escapades of Victorville, California.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), announced in a press release Monday, that it has filed a civil fraud lawsuit against the city of Victorville and investment banking firm Kinsell, Newcomb and DeDios (KND).
April 19, 2013 10:15 PM
Jim E. Winburn, Staff Writer
VICTORVILLE • The city is now being represented by international law firm Arent Fox in connection with an ongoing investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission, city attorney Andre de Bortnowsky confirmed Friday.
April 18, 2013 9:07 PM
Jim E. Winburn, Staff Writer
VICTORVILLE • Troubled by what she sees as the city’s failure to respond to a grand jury’s financial recommendations, Councilwoman Angela Valles requested a public update on the issue but was rebuffed by the City Council.
Airport to look for alternative funding
March 22, 2013 1:09 PM
Jim E. Winburn, Staff Writer
VICTORVILLE • Southern California Logistics Airport was named as one of 149 air traffic control facilities nationwide targeted for closure by the Federal Aviation Administration on Friday.
By Laura J. Nelson, Los Angeles Times
March 22, 2013
Most days, about two dozen student pilots circle over downtown Riverside, taking cues on takeoffs, landings and the position of other planes from the air traffic controllers at the city airport.
City manager: Victorville ‘showing fiscal solvency’
March 06, 2013 7:28 PM
Jim E. Winburn, Staff Writer
VICTORVILLE • The city’s manager declared Wednesday that Victorville is on its way to fiscal solvency a day after the council voted to use part of a recent $54 million court settlement to pay internal debts.
City announces last chapter to Foxborough fiasco
February 21, 2013 3:07 PM
Jim E. Winburn, Staff Writer
The city of Victorville on Wednesday announced the “final chapter” to the long dispute over the failed Foxborough power plant.
February 21, 2013 2:47 PM
RENE DE LA CRUZ, Staff Writer
HESPERIA • The Hesperia City Council took the first step in joining with local municipalities in an escape from rising county fire and police costs.
Victorville considers feasibility study on Public Safety JPA
February 20, 2013 12:49 PM
Jim E. Winburn, Staff Writer
Victorville is considering banding together with other local cities to create their own police and fire services.
Victorville continues mission to recoup $76M for VV2
December 16, 2012 7:42 AM
Brooke Edwards Staggs
VICTORVILLE • It’s back to the drawing board for the Victorville 2 Power Plant, as the city continues a nearly five-year search to find someone who’ll take over the stalled project and help Victorville recoup some of its $76 million investment.
McEachron appointed mayor pro tem
December 04, 2012 8:32 PM
Brooke Edwards Staggs
VICTORVILLE • Jim Cox is now the mayor of Victorville, after the newly seated City Council unanimously gave him the title during Tuesday night’s meeting.
City Council approves terms of Foxborough power plant settlement
November 24, 2012 12:24 PM
Brooke Edwards Staggs, City Editor
VICTORVILLE • In roughly two months, Victorville’s debt will drop by $54 million.
The City Council on Tuesday night approved terms of a settlement agreement with Carter & Burgess, designer of the failed Foxborough power plant.
Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Posted: 11/22/2012 10:18:31 PM PST
A legal settlement with an engineering company has made the city of Victorville $54 million richer, but the city has a ways to go before its financial woes are resolved, City Manager Doug Robertson said.
November 17, 2012 2:22 PM
Brooke Edwards Staggs, City Editor
VICTORVILLE • It’s been more than two years since the Securities and Exchange Commission first subpoenaed Victorville, requesting documentation on how the city has spent $480 million in bond funds over the last decade.
Victorville’s airport authority $3M short for December payment
November 15, 2012 8:27 PM
Brooke Edwards Staggs, City Editor
VICTORVILLE • The city’s airport authority is set to once again default on its hefty bond debt, coming up nearly $3 million short to make a payment due Dec. 1.
City settles litigation with Foxborough design firm
November 09, 2012 6:36 PM
Brooke Edwards Staggs
VICTORVILLE • The city of Victorville will receive $54 million from the designer of the failed Foxborough power plant, after the City Council approved a settlement offer during a closed session meeting Friday afternoon.
While the award won’t right all of the city’s financial woes, Mayor Ryan McEachron said “it’s a huge step in the right direction.”
November 01, 2012 5:04 PM
LYNNEA LOMBARDO, Staff Writer
Editor’s Note: Thursday’s Daily Press article “McEachron leads in Victorville fundraising” inadvertently omitted updated campaign finance disclosure information for five candidates, with several of those contenders raising substantial amounts in recent weeks. That information is included in the story to the right.
VICTORVILLE • Half of the 14 candidates for Victorville City Council have garnered substantial contributions, recent fundraising disclosure forms show, while the other half are running their campaigns on less than $1,000 each.
Attorney aims to stop controversial Supercenter
October 02, 2012 9:38 PM
Brooke Edwards Staggs, City Editor
VICTORVILLE • An attorney has filed a lawsuit over Mayor Pro Tem Rudy Cabriales’ participation in a controversial vote to approve a new Walmart Supercenter.
Request stems from SVL Walmart vote
September 21, 2012 7:42 PM
Brooke Edwards Staggs
VICTORVILLE • A lawyer is asking county and state authorities to investigate conflict of interest claims against Mayor Pro Tem Rudy Cabriales, in the wake of Cabriales’ vote to approve a new Walmart Supercenter.
September 16, 2012 9:38 AM
Brooke Edwards Staggs, City Editor
VICTORVILLE • The firm that’s handled Victorville’s multimillion bond transactions over the last decade is now threatening to sue unless the city covers costs related to investigations into those bond expenditures.
KPC must close deal by Sept. 30
September 04, 2012 4:58 PM
Diane Lee, Staff Writer
VICTORVILLE • The bankrupt Victor Valley Community Hospital is a step closer to new ownership, after the state’s Attorney General approved the sale to Riverside-based KPC Group.
City recognizes some concerns, denies others
September 03, 2012 8:44 AM
Brooke Edwards Staggs, City Editor
VICTORVILLE • While Victorville acknowledges many of the concerns raised in the San Bernardino County Grand Jury’s June 29 report, the city argues in its official response that many of those concerns have been addressed — and that fact should’ve been recognized by the citizen group.
City bets on $52M settlement; eyes more interfund borrowing
August 25, 2012 6:40 PM
Brooke Edwards Staggs, City Editor
VICTORVILLE • The city is $1.8 million short on its debt payments for a power plant that never got built, with a little more than two months to come up with the funds or face another default.
City hopes to recover $25M of $76M invested
August 18, 2012 2:35 PM
VICTORVILLE • The city is hoping to recover a third of the $76 million it invested into a failed power venture by letting a private company build the plant and sell it to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.
Tuesday, August 14, 2012 – 10:30 a.m.
It’s not often when you can witness a justice system being abused.
Abused in plain sight for that matter!
But, in San Bernardino County, a place that operates more like a banana republic than a state subdivision, it’s routine.
AG delegate gets public input on VVCH sale
August 03, 2012 5:14 PM
Tomoya Shimura, Staff Writer
VICTORVILLE • The Attorney General’s delegate returned for the third time in two years Friday to get public input on the new ownership of Victor Valley Community Hospital — a divisive issue that’s split the desert community.
Deputy Attorney General Wendi Horwitz heard from 31 doctors, hospital administrators, politicians and community leaders on whether her boss should approve the sale of the nonprofit hospital to Riverside-based KPC Group.
August 02, 2012 6:19 PM
Brooke Edwards Staggs, City Editor
Background on investigation:
VICTORVILLE • After a year-long review, the District Attorney’s Office determined Mayor Pro Tem Rudy Cabriales broke state law when he voted on contracts that benefited his wife multiple times over the last decade. However, a letter from Deputy D.A. John Goritz, who oversees the District Attorney’s Public Integrity Unit, states no action will be taken since the practice has stopped and there didn’t appear to be a malicious intent.
Government Code 1091 dictates that elected officials must disclose potential conflicts of interest and refrain from voting on items that will benefit them financially.
Critics cite new buyer’s 2000 failure
August 02, 2012 10:40 AM
Tomoya Shimura, Staff Writer
VICTORVILLE • Bankrupt Victor Valley Community Hospital seems to have finally found a new owner after nearly two years of purchasing wars and smear campaigns.
The Victorville nonprofit hospital agreed in June to a $33.8 million offer by the Riversidebased KPC Group, which had once failed to close out a deal. Attorney General Kamala Harris will send a delegate to Victorville City Hall on Friday to hold a public hearing involving the proposed sale. Dr. Kali P. Chaudhuri, founder of KPC, is expected to attend the meeting, Executive Vice President Bill Thomas said Wednesday.
July 31, 2012 5:06 PM
Tomoya Shimura, Staff Writer
Editor’s note:
This is one in a series on the proposed sale of bankrupt Victor Valley Community Hospital. Watch for more on the buyer and future of the hospital in upcoming editions of the Daily Press.
VICTORVILLE • The California Attorney General’s office will hold a public hearing Friday involving the proposed sale of Victor Valley Community Hospital to Riverside-based KPC Global Care medical group, which had once failed to close out a deal.
The Victorville nonprofit hospital agreed in June to a $33.8 million purchasing offer by KPC after nearly two years of searching for a new owner.
July 27, 2012 8:40 AM
Brooke Edwards Staggs, City Editor
VICTORVILLE • It’s been discussed by local leaders — often heatedly — on and off for several years.
Now, armed with a recommendation from the San Bernardino County grand jury, talk of shifting control of Southern California Logistics Airport from Victorville to the regional Victor Valley Economic Development Authority has resurfaced.
July 14, 2012 5:00 PM
Brooke Edwards Staggs, City Editor
VICTORVILLE • City Attorney Andre de Bortnowsky is expressing his frustration at the San Bernardino County Grand Jury’s recent report on Victorville, stating he believes it did a “disservice” to residents and city leaders.
De Bortnowsky has served as city attorney for Victorville since November 2007, taking the post as the city was in the midst of making many of the deals questioned in the grand jury’s June 29 report. He’s also served as counsel for the regional Victor Valley Economic Development Authority, in charge of redeveloping Southern California Logistics Airport, since 1991.
By Phil Willon, Los Angeles Times
July 8, 2012
Victorville hoped to strike it rich with a new hybrid gas and solar power plant near the old George Air Force Base, buying up homesteads for the site amid the High Desert’s real estate boom.
The city shelled out $375,000 alone to Chris Massey and his family in 2007 to buy a tiny house plopped on five desolate acres of scrub and Joshua trees — 10 times the property’s assessed value.
Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Posted: 07/03/2012 07:11:14 PM PDT
Document: Read the Grand Jury report
Victorville officials responded this week to the San Bernardino County Grand Jury’s assertions that it recklessly embarked on high-risk power plant projects solely on the word of contractors with an interest in the projects.
The projects cost the city roughly $90 million in total losses.
Sunday, July 1, 2012 – 10:00 a.m.
One shoe has finally dropped in the long-running saga over Victorville’s finances.
On Friday, the San Bernardino County Grand Jury issued a scathing report on its findings that politicos and bureaucrats, past and present, plundered the city’s coffers in order to aid certain benefactors.
In other words, all the rules went out the door.
June 29, 2012 1:11 PM
Brooke Edwards Staggs
The San Bernardino County Grand Jury issued a 100-page report Friday blasting Victorville for decisions that have jeopardized the city’s solvency, including mishandling bond funds, losing track of $13 million and potentially breaking the law by financing failed energy ventures with restricted money. Read more about the report here and read the entire report here.
Here are the five areas of concern cited by the grand jury. Click on the headlines below each section to read related background stories:
VVCH creditors initiated renegotiation
June 29, 2012 4:50 PM
Tomoya Shimura, Staff Writer
VICTORVILLE • In a surprising turn of events, bankrupt Victor Valley Community Hospital agreed to a $33.8 million purchasing offer by Riverside-based KPC Global medical group, who had once failed to close out a deal.
Judge Catherine Bauer approved their agreement Wednesday for the second time at the federal bankruptcy court in Santa Ana. The judge also approved KPC to lend $4 million to keep the hospital open until the deal seals. Now it’s up to California Attorney General Kamala Harris to give the final go sign.
FBI, SEC investigations continue
June 29, 2012 1:03 PM
From Staff Reports
VICTORVILLE • The San Bernardino County Grand Jury issued a 100-page report Friday blasting Victorville for decisions that have jeopardized the city’s solvency, including mishandling bond funds, losing track of $13 million and potentially breaking the law by financing failed energy ventures with restricted money.
June 29, 2012 9:20 AM
Brooke Edwards Staggs, City Editor
VICTORVILLE • Three seats are up for grabs on the Victorville City Council in November — and it appears at least one of them will go uncontested by an incumbent.
Mayor Ryan McEachron, Mayor Pro Tem Rudy Cabriales and Councilman Mike Rothschild will each term out this fall.
Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Posted: 06/26/2012 01:19:33 PM PDT
Findings from a three-year grand jury investigation into allegations of fiscal mismanagement and corruption in Victorville are expected to be released Friday.
The grand jury concluded its unprecedented investigation in April, but Victorville City Manager Doug Robertson, who reviewed the report, said he signed a confidentiality agreement and cannot discuss any of the findings until its release to the public Friday.
June 18, 2012 3:31 PM
Brooke Edwards Staggs, City Editor
Victorville’s 2012-13 budget: By the numbers:
VICTORVILLE • For the first time in four years, Victorville has balanced its budget without making deep cuts or dipping into reserves.
State taking disciplinary action against Mayer Hoffman McCann
May 25, 2012 3:22 PM
FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
State officials are taking disciplinary action against the accounting firm Victorville has used for years after the firm failed to find problems in audits of the financially troubled city of Bell.
Board of Accountancy spokeswoman Lauren Hersh tells the Los Angeles Times that Mayer Hoffman McCann could be fined up to $1 million for failing to find widespread corruption in Bell and its individual auditors could face discipline, too.
Draft report done; findings expected out in June
April 25, 2012 11:37 AM
Brooke Edwards Staggs, City Editor
VICTORVILLE • Three years after the Daily Press first reported that the San Bernardino County Grand Jury was investigating the city of Victorville, sources confirm a draft report of the citizen group’s findings is complete and will likely be released within the next two months.
City Manager Doug Robertson said he was recently given an opportunity to review the draft report. He was then asked to sign a confidentiality form on April 16, prohibiting him from discussing any of the report’s contents.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012 – 10:45 a.m.
8th Congressional District candidate and Angela Valles (R-Victorville) has finally reported her fundraising results.
For the entire 2011-12 election cycle Valles has raised $32,584 and spent all but $175 of that amount.
April 24, 2012 5:41 PM
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Brooke Edwards Staggs, City Editor
VICTORVILLE • The class action lawsuit over Victorville’s red light cameras has been moved from state to federal court, with the city motioning to dismiss the case while a local attorney gears up for a potentially precedent-setting battle.
The venue change came at the request of Redflex Traffic Systems, the private company that operates 10 cameras in Victorville and is a codefendant in the case alongside the city.
April 19, 2012 9:04 AM
Natasha Lindstrom, Staff Writer
VICTORVILLE • Current city employees and retired employees of the water district absorbed by Victorville in 2007 are suing the city to protect their benefits, arguing the city is reneging on promises made to fund their vested coverage.
The six plaintiffs charge that Victorville is not standing by agreements it made to some 49 employees who’d worked for the former Victor Valley Water District.
Thursday, April 19, 2012 – 09:45 a.m.
Victorville City Council Member Angela Valles (R-Victorville), candidate for the 8th Congressional District, is the only candidate not to have filed a campaign finance report with the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
The deadline for her filing was April 14.
Council also to view changes to agenda policy
April 17, 2012 8:54 AM
From Staff Reports
VICTORVILLE • The two-year Securities and Exchange Commission investigation, twice-delayed water service hikes and proposed changes to a controversial policy about how issues end up on the agenda to begin with are all before the Victorville City Council Tuesday night.
During the closed session meeting starting at 5 p.m., before the regular session, the council will discuss the ongoing SEC investigation. The agency has been looking into Victorville’s bond expenditures since summer 2010, recently issuing a new subpoena and conducting interviews with city staff and officials.
Oversight boards charged with navigating complex process
April 14, 2012 2:11 PM
Natasha Lindstrom, Staff Writer
Two and a half months ago, they lost their battle against the state to keep redevelopment agencies alive.
Now, in a complicated, untested process that’s likely to take years, local government officials are members of a select group serving on new boards charged with overseeing the agencies’ demise.
Agreement should add up to 50 jobs this year
March 28, 2012 5:21 PM
Brooke Edwards Staggs, City Editor
VICTORVILLE • A company at Southern California Logistics Airport has landed a competitive deal to service Boeing’s new 787 Dreamliners for the next 10 years.
Pacific Aerospace Resources & Technologies LLC, or PART, will be hiring between 35 and 50 new workers by the end of 2012, according to company CEO Johan Claasen, with more jobs expected over the life of the agreement.
Investors purchase undervalued abandoned housing subdivisions
March 22, 2012 9:09 AM
Tomoya Shimura, Staff Writer
A private investor who recently bought 233 abandoned housing lots in four Victor Valley subdivisions plans to sit on them until the housing market picks up, according to a broker involved in the deal.
March 19, 2012 4:32 PM
Brooke Edwards Staggs, City Editor
VICTORVILLE • Mayor Ryan McEachron on Monday refunded a $1,000 contribution to his campaign for the 8th Congressional District after learning the donation wasn’t allowed under federal election code.
Financial reviews, water service fees, wastewater plant sale on tonight’s agenda
March 19, 2012 5:24 PM
Brooke Edwards Staggs, City Editor
VICTORVILLE • A bleak audit, price hikes for some water services and discussion about selling the city’s wastewater treatment plant are all on the agenda for Victorville’s City Council Tuesday night.
For the third year in a row, an independent audit of Victorville’s finances came with a warning about whether the city will be able to stay afloat.
Agency investigates relationship between broker, Inland Energy VP
March 18, 2012 10:17 AM
Brooke Edwards Staggs
Editor’s Note:
This is part one in a two-part series looking at the SEC’s investigation into the city of Victorville. See Monday’s Daily Press for part two, looking at whether bond funds were used to make campaign contributions.
VICTORVILLE • As part of its two-year probe into Victorville, the Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating whether there were hidden financial ties between the man who led the charge on the city’s largest energy venture and the man who’s brokered more than $400 million in taxpayer-supported debt on behalf of the city.
Another city official called to testify
February 21, 2012 1:13 PM
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Brooke Edwards Staggs, City Editor
VICTORVILLE • The Securities and Exchange Commission is subpoenaing more information from Victorville and has interviewed another city official as part of its two-year investigation into how bond money was spent.
By Mike Cruz, The (San Bernardino County) Sun
Posted: 02/20/2012 12:54:49 PM PST
A class-action lawsuit against Victorville and its red-light camera program alleges vehicle owners’ due-process rights were violated and seeks millions of dollars in damages.
February 20, 2012 8:48 AM
Brooke Edwards Staggs, City Editor
VICTORVILLE • With permits set to expire next year and more than $76 million invested into plans for Victorville’s second power plant, the city could finally strike a deal Tuesday night for a private company to take over the $1.2 billion project.
Agreement delays decisions on furlough days, benefits cuts
January 24, 2012 3:29 PM
Natasha Lindstrom, Staff Writer
VICTORVILLE • Three months after declaring an impasse, the Victor Valley Union High School District and its teachers union have struck a tentative agreement. (Click here to read the agreemment.)
But rather than resolve contentious compensation issues, the proposed deal essentially delays the hard decisions until negotiations resume in March for the 2012-13 school year.
January 19, 2012 12:43 PM
Brooke Edwards Staggs, City Editor
VICTORVILLE • A recent default on debt payments triggered one of the top credit rating agencies to downgrade $51 million in Southern California Logistics Airport Authority bonds another two notches, with Moody’s Investor Services predicting the airport won’t catch up on debt payments until 2029.
January 18, 2012 11:58 AM
Brooke Edwards Staggs
VICTORVILLE • Less than 12 hours after his contract was approved by the City Council, Victorville received notice that the man chosen to serve as deputy city manager overseeing finances had opted not to take the position.
Airport, city separate legal entities but closely bound together
January 15, 2012 6:00 AM
Brooke Edwards Staggs
VICTORVILLE • With the city’s airport authority behind on debt payments, residents are left wondering whether basic city services such as public safety and road maintenance might pay the price.
January 08, 2012 3:14 PM
Brooke Edwards Staggs, City Editor
VICTORVILLE • Even before the state axed redevelopment agencies to bolster its budget, the viability of Victorville’s RDA was in question, according to an annual audit released this week.
Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Posted: 01/07/2012 02:42:29 PM PST
Victorville City Manager Doug Robertson said the city’s November default on bond payments totaling $10.6 million has not prompted an inquiry from a federal agency that has been investigating the city’s bond debt for the last two years.
In an e-mail, Robertson said investigators from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has not made any inquiries about the defaults thus far, but he is expecting they will.
January 03, 2012 1:50 PM
Brooke Edwards Staggs, City Editor
VICTORVILLE • An attorney is seeking to recover more than $9 million in damages on behalf of 4,300 people who’ve received tickets from Victorville’s red light cameras, claiming the system is “unfair, unlawful, fraudulent and deceptive.”
Robert Conaway, a criminal defense attorney from Barstow, sent notice in early December to the city of Victorville and Redflex Traffic Systems that he intends to file a class action lawsuit unless changes are made with the way red light cameras are handled here. He updated that notice in late December, tacking on the calculated damages.
Monday, January 2, 2012- 1045 a.m.
The fight over the future of Victor Valley Community Hospital (VVCH) has some interesting twists.
Dr. Prem Reddy, who operates Prime Healthcare Services, wants the bankrupt facility as part of his network of highly-profitable hospitals.
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.
A technical payment mistake hits the city and the Southern California Logistics Airport
BY KIMBERLY PIERCEALL
STAFF WRITER
kpierceall@pe.com
Published: 28 December 2011 08:29 PM
Victorville has defaulted on two of several municipal bonds used to make improvements to the Southern California Logistics Airport, according to letters from the Bank of New York Mellon.
December 27, 2011 6:15 PM
Brooke Edwards Staggs, City Editor
VICTORVILLE • The city has defaulted on two bonds after trying to use restricted funds for a $535,000 payment due Dec. 1, according to a notice from the Bank of New York Mellon.
As a result, if a majority of bondholders agree, the bank notice states they could demand full and immediate payment of the outstanding balance on $173 million in bonds taken out in 2007 and 2008 for improvements at Southern California Logistics Airport.
By Michael Hiltzik
December 28, 2011
In September, state Atty. Gen. Kamala D. Harris killed the proposed takeover of a struggling Victorville hospital by a nonprofit arm of Prime Healthcare Corp., saying it was “not in the public interest.”
Her ruling was anything but casual. Basing the decision on what she said was her own department’s investigation, as well as testimony at a marathon public hearing in August, Harris indicated that the takeover would result in the reduced availability of healthcare in the High Desert.
December 23, 2011 1:41 PM
Brooke Edwards Staggs, City Editor
VICTORVILLE • A federal appeals office upheld the termination of Victorville’s EB-5 visa investor center, leaving the city with no option but to pursue a pricey lawsuit or say goodbye to millions in funding they’d hoped to borrow through the program.
City officials got the news Thursday afternoon, with plans to discuss next steps during the Jan. 17 city council meeting.
December 15, 2011 1:21 PM
Natasha Lindstrom, Staff Writer
VICTORVILLE • Victor Valley College’s board members have voted themselves a 60 percent raise, increasing their monthly stipend from $250 to $400.
Protesters pack Victorville City Hall
December 15, 2011 8:45 AM
Brooke Edwards Staggs, City Editor
VICTORVILLE • Residents packed City Hall on Wednesday night, carrying signs and giving impassioned speeches against a Walmart Supercenter that’s planned near the entrance to Spring Valley Lake.
Split City Council approves first COLA hikes in three years
December 07, 2011 4:59 PM
Brooke Edwards Staggs, City Editor
VICTORVILLE • The Victorville City Council approved 3 percent pay raises for all employees starting Jan. 1, with Councilwoman Angela Valles protesting the perk in light of the city’s rocky finances.
By Mark Gutglueck
Friday, December 2, 2011
Federal prosecutors have horned in on an unprecedented number of high profile political corruption cases that would otherwise be handled by the district attorney’s office in San Bernardino County. In some matters, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has wrested from district attorney Mike Ramos prosecutorial authority or has opened with the FBI parallel investigations into issues Ramos or the San Bernardino County Grand Jury have delved into without reaching a successful conclusion. In at least three matters, federal prosecutors and investigators have taken on probes or investigations of elected officials or political donors with whom Ramos was politically aligned.
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