Politics, Government and Business in Southern California's Inland Empire
BY JIM MILLER
SACRAMENTO BUREAU
jmiller@pe.com
Published: 31 January 2012 07:12 PM
SACRAMENTO — The major parties’ share of the Inland Southern California electorate dipped in 2011, new state figures show, with a significant increase in the percentage of voters who lack a party affiliation.
BY DUANE W. GANG AND DUG BEGLEY
STAFF WRITERS
dgang@pe.com | dbegley@pe.com
Published: 31 January 2012 09:15 AM
More than 1,000 Riverside County workers took to the streets Tuesday protesting benefit reductions and warning that additional strikes could be on the way if county officials don’t reopen contract negotiations.
The 24-hour work stoppage was expected to last until 6:59 a.m. today and marks the latest escalation between county management and the Service Employees International Union Local 721, the county’s second-largest employee group.
BY RICHARD K. De ATLEY
STAFF WRITER
rdeatley@pe.com
Published: 30 January 2012 11:33 AM
A judge Monday barred 248 health-care workers from joining a one-day strike by members of Riverside County’s second-largest union.
RICHARD K. De ATLEY/Staff
RICHARD K. De ATLEY
STAFF WRITER
rdeatley@pe.com
Published: 29 January 2012 07:33 PM
Like passengers on a plane with half the engines snuffed, Inland court officials can only wait and watch as Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposed budget for next year fiscal year moves through the state’s political turbulence.
BY DUANE W. GANG
STAFF WRITER
dgang@pe.com
Published: 27 January 2012 08:34 PM
Riverside County will go to court Monday seeking to keep nearly 300 nurses and other health professionals from taking part in a day-long strike planned by the county’s second-largest union.
County officials this week appealed to a state labor relations board for help after the Service Employees International Union Local 721 informed officials at Riverside County Regional Medical Center that nurses planned to participate in the strike Tuesday.
BY DUANE W. GANG
STAFF WRITER
dgang@pe.com
Published: 23 January 2012 10:39 PM
Riverside County’s second-largest union is planning a one-day general strike next week to protest the pension and benefit changes imposed on employees last year.
BY JIM MILLER
SACRAMENTO BUREAU
jmiller@pe.com
Published: 19 January 2012 06:19 PM
SACRAMENTO — Redevelopment agencies focused on bringing new businesses and other projects to decommissioned military bases could keep operating if legislation taking shape in the Capitol becomes law.
By Andrew Edwards, Staff Writer
Created: 01/20/2012 10:52:09 AM PST
The Inland Empire’s unemployment rate fell to 12.2 percent last month as employers in San Bernardino and Riverside counties added 5,200 non farm jobs, state officials reported Friday.
BY JACK KATZANEK
STAFF WRITER
jkatzanek@pe.com
Published: 20 January 2012 04:08 PM
December was an excellent month for the job market in Inland Southern California, and the typical seasonal opportunities in stores, restaurants and movie theaters had very little to do with it.
BY ALICIA ROBINSON
STAFF WRITER
arobinson@pe.com
Published: 15 January 2012 08:09 PM
Most Inland local governments have determined who will take over the obligations of their redevelopment agencies, but officials said many aspects of what happens next remain unclear.
How and when must they sell property and other assets? Which obligations will be paid? How many redevelopment employees will lose their jobs?
BY DUANE W. GANG
STAFF WRITER
dgang@pe.com
Published: 15 January 2012 08:45 PM
Since 2008, Riverside County supervisors have doled out more than $11million to hundreds of community groups, but the funding could be in jeopardy as the county continues to face daunting financial challenges.
BY RICHARD K. De ATLEY
STAFF WRITER
rdeatley@pe.com
Published: 06 January 2012 06:30 PM
Riverside County jails have reached their inmate capacity because of the state prison realignment program, and officials said that 57 inmates will have to be released between Friday evening and today.
The county has 3,906 jail beds and is under a federal court order not to add any more unless it builds additional housing for inmates.
BY DUANE W. GANG
STAFF WRITER
dgang@pe.com
Published: 06 January 2012 06:01 PM
In an effort to make Riverside County Regional Medical Center nursing pay more competitive, supervisors Tuesday will take up a deal to provide the hospital’s nurses with significant raises.
BY JACK KATZANEK
STAFF WRITER
jkatzanek@pe.com
Published: 04 January 2012 03:57 PM
The index that tracks manufacturing in Inland Southern California barely moved in December, suggesting that this sector is not playing a huge role in the region’s economic comeback.
BY DUANE W. GANG
STAFF WRITER
dgang@pe.com
Published: 03 January 2012 09:10 PM
Riverside County’s elected officials and 2,000 other employees receive a supplemental retirement benefit — in addition to the pension contributions each receives through CalPers, county records show.
BY DUANE W. GANG
STAFF WRITER
dgang@pe.com
Published: 31 December 2011 07:12 PM
There were 286 fewer local government workers in the Inland area making $100,000 or more in 2010 compared to the year before, newly released state records show.
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.
BY DUANE W. GANG
STAFF WRITER
dgang@pe.com
Published: 29 December 2011 07:21 PM
Riverside County imposed pension changes on its largest union Thursday afternoon, a move that means 7,000 employees will begin paying more toward their own retirements starting next month.
BY JANET ZIMMERMAN
STAFF WRITER
jzimmerman@pe.com
Published: 28 December 2011 01:56 PM
Riverside County officials said Wednesday they have begun legal action to close about three dozen medical marijuana dispensaries in unincorporated areas.
Attorneys filed for an injunction and issued legislative subpoenas against two of the stores, the latest volley since the Board of Supervisors authorized crackdowns on Dec. 13.
BY RICHARD K. De ATLEY
STAFF WRITER
rdeatley@pe.com
Published: 27 December 2011 05:41 PM
Riverside County got its first Latina judge Tuesday when Gov. Jerry Brown announced the appointment of Raquel A. Marquez to the bench.
Also named to judgeships by the governor were Riverside County Commissioner John W. Vineyard and Supervising District Attorney Otis Sterling III.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011 – 11:00 a.m.
A stark contrast has emerged between San Bernardino County and neighboring Riverside this week.
A contrast in how each county deals with collective bargaining and budgeting.
BY DUG BEGLEY
STAFF WRITER
dbegley@pe.com
Published: 20 December 2011 08:50 PM
Riverside County supervisors on Tuesday warily approved a four-year deal with a union covering various lawyers, setting the stage for a larger face-off with the county’s largest union next year.
BY DUG BEGLEY
STAFF WRITER
dbegley@pe.com
Published: 16 December 2011 07:25 PM
Riverside County supervisors are scheduled to approve an extension of interim county CEO Larry Parrish’s contract that will pay him a salary of $15,000 per month, and continue his use of a county car.
Jim Steinberg, Staff Writer
Created: 12/16/2011 05:25:11 PM PST
Unemployment fell and the number of jobs grew in the Inland Empire as the state Employment Development Department on Friday delivered a report with news that will add cheer the coming holidays.
Andrew Edwards, Staff Writer
Posted: 12/15/2011 12:00:01 AM PST
The so-called “shadow inventory” of future foreclosures may be about to fall on Southern California’s real estate markets.
In San Bernardino County, foreclosure filings jumped nearly 30 percent from October to November, new numbers show. Los Angeles County’s foreclosure activity jumped 15 percent.
The region’s politicians in Washington are split along partisan lines about how to extend tax cuts and jobless aid
BY BEN GOAD
WASHINGTON BUREAU
bgoad@pe.com
Published: 13 December 2011 08:28 PM
WASHINGTON — As the debate over extending a soon-to-expire payroll tax cut and benefits for the unemployed nears a crescendo in Congress, few corners of the nation have more at stake than does economically battered Inland Southern California.
BY DUG BEGLEY and RICHARD K. DE ATLEY
STAFF WRITERS
dbegley@pe.com | rdeatley@pe.com
Published: 13 December 2011 08:34 PM
Medical marijuana dispensaries operating in unincorporated Riverside County must shut down or face legal action, county supervisors decided Tuesday.
BY DUANE W. GANG
STAFF WRITER
dgang@pe.com
Published: 08 December 2011 03:17 PM
The Service Employees International Union Local 721 has been vocal in its opposition to pay and benefit cuts imposed on members by Riverside County supervisors.
Josh Dulaney, Staff Writer
Posted: 12/03/2011 06:12:12 AM PST
Two of the most polarizing political movements in recent memory have gained national fame through grassroots efforts to effect change in Washington.
BY SANDRA STOKLEY
STAFF WRITER
sstokley@pe.com
Published: 02 December 2011 09:30 PM
Jurupa Valley will pay nearly $13 million for law enforcement services during its first year as a city, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department contract going to the Riverside County Board of Supervisors for approval Tuesday.
BY DUANE W. GANG
STAFF WRITER
dgang@pe.com
Published: 01 December 2011 08:42 PM
Riverside County is preparing for a possible strike by its second-largest union as labor tensions continue to rise between management and employees.
BY DAVID OLSON
STAFF WRITER
dolson@pe.com
Published: 01 December 2011 09:26 PM
Gus Vizgirda drove more than a half hour out of his way Wednesday to sign a petition.
Vizgirda, 51, heard on the “John and Ken” conservative talk-radio show that the campaign to repeal the two-month-old California Dream Act – which allows state aid for illegal-immigrant college students – was in Temecula.
Neil Nisperos, Staff Writer
Posted: 12/01/2011 05:49:37 PM PST
Occupy groups in the Inland Empire are continuing consolidation efforts through the formation of a new Occupy San Bernardino Valley group, which will meet for the first time in front of San Bernardino City Hall at noon on Saturday.
BY RICHARD K. De ATLEY
STAFF WRITER
rdeatley@pe.com
Published: 30 November 2011 09:20 PM
Inland officials are facing lengthy consequences from the state’s new law to house nonviolent convicts in county jail instead of state prison.
The realignment law, AB109, which took effect Oct. 1, was presented as capping county jail sentences at three years. That isn’t happening.
Neil Nisperos and Benjamin Demers, Staff Writers
Posted: 11/26/2011 06:05:56 AM PST
Editor’s note: This is the first of a three-part series looking at the newly redrawn Inland Empire legislative districts. Today, the new-look congressional districts.
California’s redrawn lines for the House of Representatives may result in some longtime lawmakers from the region facing tough re-election campaigns.
BY DUG BEGLEY
STAFF WRITER
dbegley@pe.com
Published: 22 November 2011 04:00 PM
Riverside County on Tuesday imposed pay and benefit changes on 5,800 employees, after months of negotiations between county officials and the union representing the workers failed to produce an agreement.
BY DUANE W. GANG
STAFF WRITER
dgang@pe.com
Published: 20 November 2011 08:19 PM
After a record year for political spending, the Riverside Sheriff’s Association is sitting on nearly $900,000 in cash as the 2012 elections approach.
The group likely will be a potent force, political experts say.
BY DUANE W. GANG
STAFF WRITER
dgang@pe.com
Published: 20 November 2011 05:57 PM
Two Riverside County supervisors want legislation creating a formal “fast-track” policy for permits moving with California state agencies as a way to help jump start the economy.
BY DUANE W. GANG
STAFF WRITER
dgang@pe.com
Published: 16 November 2011 11:21 AM
Anyone convicted of a crime and sentenced to Riverside County jail will soon have to pay for their stays in the lockup.
Riverside County supervisors gave their final approval Tuesday to a measure aimed at recovering the $142.42 per day it costs to keep someone behind bars.
BY DUANE W. GANG
STAFF WRITER
dgang@pe.com
Published: 15 November 2011 07:25 PM
Riverside County’s elected leaders and management will begin paying their own pension costs in a move designed to save money and show employees that they are willing to lead by example.
BY DUANE W. GANG
STAFF WRITER
dgang@pe.com
Published: 15 November 2011 07:55 PM
As they seek remedies for a budget gap in the tens of millions, Riverside County supervisors are finding themselves increasingly at odds with the unions representing employees.
BY DUANE W. GANG
STAFF WRITER
dgang@pe.com
Published: 13 November 2011 08:20 PM
Riverside County supervisors Tuesday will take up a measure requiring all county elected officials and management to pay their own retirement contributions.
Supervisors earlier this month voted in favor of the concept but had yet to work out the details.
RICHARD K. De ATLEY
rdeatley@pe.com
Published: 12 November 2011 09:04 PM
After one month, the state’s decision to put counties in charge of some nonserious offenders has caused a spike in Riverside County’s already dense jail population, putting it on course to reach capacity in January, officials report.
Neil Nisperos, Staff Writer
Created: 11/12/2011 09:31:09 PM PST
The failure of a deficit reduction super committee to find $1.2 trillion in savings could result in the loss of tens of thousands of military jobs in the Inland Empire, according to an area GOP lawmaker.
BY RICHARD K. De ATLEY
rdeatley@pe.com
Published: 03 November 2011 12:12 PM
A state judicial watchdog agency has publicly admonished Riverside Count District Attorney Paul Zellerbach for actions he took as a judge involving the district attorney’s office, then run by Rod Pacheco, the man Zellerbach would defeat in an election.
The state Commission on Judicial Performance’s admonishment Thursday was prompted by complaints filed by Pacheco’s office before he left.
BY TIFFANY RAY
STAFF WRITER
tray@pe.com
Published: 03 November 2011 06:02 AM
The Inland economy will continue to lag behind the state and the U.S., but it will not fall back into recession, according to a new forecast by Beacon Economics.
BY DUANE W. GANG
STAFF WRITER
dgang@pe.com
Published: 02 November 2011 10:35 AM
Riverside County is moving ahead with a plan to charge people for their jail time.
BY DUANE W. GANG
STAFF WRITER
dgang@pe.com
Published: 01 November 2011 08:56 PM
Overcoming Riverside County’s $80 million budget gap for next year could mean as many as 650 additional layoffs, county officials said Tuesday.
BEN GOAD
STAFF WRITER
bgoad@pe.com
Published: 31 October 2011 05:17 PM
WASHINGTON — Close to 7,000 Inland jobs could hang in the balance as the House-Senate “supercommittee” works against time to avert deep, automatic cuts to the nation’s defense industry and operations.
FROM STAFF REPORTS
Published: 30 October 2011 08:05 PM
The California Supreme Court felt otherwise, but part of the unsuccessful court challenge to the Citizens Redistricting Commission’s state Senate plan centered on complaints about what the maps do in San Bernardino and Riverside counties.
BY DUANE W. GANG
STAFF WRITER
gang@pe.com
Published: 29 October 2011 05:12 PM
Riverside County has a new interim top executive, but the budget news remains the same: The county still faces an $80 million gap for next fiscal year.
In his first budget report to supervisors as interim county executive officer, Larry Parrish said he wished he could offer better news.
BY DUANE W. GANG
STAFF WRITER
dgang@pe.com
Published: 25 October 2011 09:23 PM
Tired of the bright light from your neighbor’s house keeping you up at night?
Riverside County supervisors are trying to help. The board took the first steps Tuesday toward adopting new rules regulating light “trespass” and pollution.
BY DUANE W. GANG
STAFF WRITER
dgang@pe.com
Published: 24 October 2011 08:12 PM
Jail space remains one of the most critical issues facing Riverside County as it begins supervising and housing low-level offenders, local officials said Monday.
By Alana Semuels, Los Angeles Times
October 22, 2011, 5:43 p.m.
Jim Lytle gunned his silver BMW past the boarded-up model homes and the faded red flags of an abandoned sales office, then steered into a grid of empty streets and yellowed grass.
BY JIM MILLER
SACRAMENTO BUREAU
jmiller@pe.com
Published: 21 October 2011 08:27 PM
SACRAMENTO — The nonprofit agency that serves developmentally disabled residents in Inland Southern California improperly spent almost $10 million and must repay the state, according to a highly critical audit released Friday that found continued widespread problems at the San Bernardino-based Inland Regional Center.
Andrew Edwards, Staff Writer
Created: 10/21/2011 06:34:53 PM PDT
Friday’s decline in state and local unemployment rates signified a welcome development for a region that has suffered more than most since the economy crashed about four years ago.
BY DUANE W. GANG
STAFF WRITER
dgang@pe.com
Published: 18 October 2011 04:38 PM
Riverside County supervisors gave their initial approval Tuesday to a law requiring county candidates to electronically file campaign finance disclosure reports.
BY JIM MILLER
SACRAMENTO BUREAU
jmiller@pe.com
Published: 18 October 2011 08:11 PM
SACRAMENTO — Riverside and San Bernardino counties have gotten behind a lawsuit seeking to overturn state legislation that would eliminate local redevelopment agencies as a way to save the state $1.7 billion.
Duane Gang
dgang@PE.com
Published: 11 October 2011 01:51 PM
Riverside County Supervisor Bob Buster said Tuesday the county faces its toughest ever budget year and that overcoming an $80 million gap will require sacrifices among elected leaders and county employees.
BY DUANE W. GANG
STAFF WRITER
dgang@pe.com
Published: 06 October 2011 06:03 PM
An estimated $80 million budget gap for next fiscal year is only the start of the challenges Riverside County supervisors face in the coming months.
BY JIM MILLER AND DUANE W. GANG
STAFF WRITERS
jmiller@pe.com | dgang@pe.com
Published: 05 October 2011 03:23 PM
The race for Riverside County’s 1st Supervisorial District got a little bit more crowded this week.
Riverside County supervisors debated pension changes on Tuesday.
BY DUANE W. GANG
STAFF WRITER
dgang@pe.com
Published: 04 October 2011 09:55 PM
Riverside County supervisors said Tuesday that county employees must start contributing more toward their own retirements, a move that would translate into immediate, long-term savings for the cash-strapped county.
BY JACK KATZANEK
STAFF WRITER
jkatzanek@PE.com
Published: 03 October 2011 05:54 PM
The index that measures the level of manufacturing activity in Inland Southern California declined sharply last month, suggesting that factory owners, and some of their customers, could be listening to reports of a weakening economy.
BY JACK KATZANEK
STAFF WRITER
jkatzanek@pe.com
Published: 02 October 2011 09:03 PM
Inland Southern California is running out of industrial space, especially for the users of high-profile, big-box distribution centers.
But while developers are purchasing and building new warehouses in Riverside and San Bernardino counties, the head count in its office buildings is getting even lighter. The vacancy rate for the office market is expected to end 2011 at 25 percent, one commercial real estate operator predicted late last month.
Frank C. Girardot, Staff Writer
Created: 09/30/2011 05:03:08 PM PDT
Local officials are bracing for a radical realignment of the state penal system that will place thousands of low-level felons in county jail rather than prison.
10:22 PM PDT on Thursday, September 22, 2011
BY DUANE W. GANG
STAFF WRITER
dgang@pe.com
PDF: Read Bill Luna’s resignation letter as Riverside County CEO
Riverside County supervisors accepted the resignation of CEO Bill Luna on Thursday and are expected to hire a search firm next week to help find a new top executive.
10:04 PM PDT on Tuesday, September 20, 2011
BY DUANE W. GANG and DUG BEGLEY
STAFF WRITERS
dgang@pe.com | dbegley@pe.com
Negotiations between labor unions and Riverside County moved from the bargaining table to the Board of Supervisors chambers Tuesday.
10:00 PM PDT on Saturday, September 17, 2011
BY DUANE W. GANG
STAFF WRITER
dgang@pe.com
The Riverside Sheriff’s Association has challenged the pay cuts imposed on deputies by Riverside County supervisors earlier this year and wants the county to seek voter approval for lower retirement benefits.
10:03 PM PDT on Monday, September 12, 2011
BY DUANE W. GANG
STAFF WRITER
dgang@pe.com
Riverside County supervisors take up a formal redistricting ordinance today, and it is likely to be a low-key affair compared to last month when Supervisors Bob Buster and John Tavaglione clashed over how to divide the city of Riverside.
John Tavaglione
Political Empire
10:00 PM PDT on Sunday, September 11, 2011
The Press-Enterprise
Riverside County Supervisor John Tavaglione already is gearing up for his congressional bid in a new district centered on Riverside and Moreno Valley.
10:00 PM PDT on Friday, September 9, 2011
BY DUANE W. GANG
STAFF WRITER
dgang@pe.com
Candidates for county offices could soon have to enter the digital age.
Riverside County supervisors on Tuesday are scheduled to consider requiring candidates for the board and other countywide posts to electronically file campaign finance reports.
10:00 PM PDT on Thursday, September 8, 2011
BY JIM MILLER
SACRAMENTO BUREAU
jmiller@pe.com
SACRAMENTO – Attempts to restore millions of dollars for Riverside County’s newest cities will go down to the wire, amid last-ditch legislative maneuvers to allocate the money this year.
By PE News
September 7, 2011 6:25 PM
Riverside County has settled for almost $500,000 its portion of a 2009 lawsuit filed against the county and then-District Attorney Rod Pacheco by a former high-ranking prosecutor, it was announced late today.
10:00 PM PDT on Sunday, September 4, 2011
BY DUANE W. GANG
STAFF WRITER
dgang@pe.com
Inland cities hope they prevail before the California Supreme Court and save redevelopment without paying the state millions of dollars.
But in the meantime, they aren’t risking it.
TRANSPORTATION: Congress eyes bill vital to Inland area
10:00 PM PDT on Thursday, September 1, 2011
BY BEN GOAD and DUG BEGLEY
STAFF WRITERS
bgoad@pe.com | dbegley@PE.com
California would lose more than $4.6 billion and as many as 164,000 jobs if Congress fails this month to extend federal transportation legislation that funds road, bridge and rail projects around the country, Sen. Barbara Boxer said Thursday.
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