Politics, Government & Business in California's Inland Empire
Wednesday, July 9, 2014 – 09:30 a.m.
An effort to reach a settlement in a case tied to the falsification of training records in the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, has failed.
By TAMI ABDOLLAH
Associated Press
Published: Sunday, Jul. 6, 2014 – 8:32 am
Last Modified: Monday, Jul. 7, 2014 – 12:38 am
LOS ANGELES — With the potentially record-breaking $2 billion sale of the Los Angeles Clippers hanging in the balance, a trial beginning Monday will focus on whether Donald Sterling’s estranged wife had the authority under terms of a family trust to unilaterally negotiate the deal.
By Dakota Smith, Los Angeles Daily News
Posted: 07/01/14, 7:20 PM PDT |
One of the doctors who declared Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling mentally incompetent socialized with the billionaire at a hotel restaurant after the exam, raising questions about the physician’s conclusions, Sterling’s attorney said Tuesday.
By Dan Walters
dwalters@sacbee.com
Published: Monday, Jun. 30, 2014 – 12:00 am
When the Legislature and then-Gov. Pete Wilson agreed in 1997 that the state would assume the entire cost of financing California’s largest-in-the-nation court system, judges rejoiced.
Published: June 26, 2014 Updated: 7:18 p.m.
The recent change in Moreno Valley’s leadership has some city and county officials hoping it could mean an end to the city’s litigation against the March Joint Powers Authority.
To read story by Imran Ghori in the Press-Enterprise, click here.
James Rainey
June 23, 2014
Shelly Sterling appeared to have the advantage after an initial hearing in probate court Monday, with a Los Angeles Superior Court judge saying that the terms of a family trust may give Donald Sterling little room to rebut a finding that he is mentally incapable of continuing as co-owner of the Clippers.
By Joe Nelson, The Sun
Posted: 06/20/14, 8:51 PM PDT |
SAN BERNARDINO >> A San Bernardino Superior Court judge on Friday imposed sanctions totaling $3,500 against two San Manuel tribal members for failing to comply with court orders to produce evidence of their net worth in a civil case.
By Joe Nelson, The Sun
Posted: 06/19/14, 5:21 PM PDT |
SAN BERNARDINO >> Attorneys in a civil lawsuit stemming from a murder conspiracy case involving two San Manuel tribal members are quarrelling over the disclosure of the tribal members’ financial information in the upcoming punitive damages phase of the trial.
June 18, 2014
Defense attorney Christopher B. Harmon was appointed to a Riverside County judgeship Wednesday by Gov. Jerry Brown.
To read story by Richard K. De Atley in the Press-Enterprise, click here.
Phillip Matier And Andrew Ross
Updated 2:01 pm, Sunday, June 15, 2014
Rarely has a major court decision been met with such stony silence by California politicians as the ruling declaring that the state’s teacher tenure laws hurt poor and minority-heavy schools and are unconstitutional.
James Rainey
June 13, 2014
Clippers owner Donald Sterling has hired four firms to dig up embarrassing information about NBA executives and fellow team owners, according to a person familiar with the latest escalation in Sterling’s seven-week battle to maintain control of his team.
Friday, June 13, 2014 – 10:30 a.m.
The case, stemming from a 2007 criminal indictment of former officials of the now-defunct California Charter Academy, will now reach the seven-year mark.
By Joe Nelson, The Sun
Posted: 06/12/14, 6:59 PM PDT | Updated: 13 secs ago
SAN BERNARDINO >> A Superior Court judge on Thursday granted a restraining order against Service Employees International Union Local 721 on behalf of the San Bernardino County Public Employees Association.
Howard Blume, Stephen Ceasar
June 11, 2104
The ruling Tuesday by a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge that struck down job protections for teachers in California as unconstitutional will undoubtedly spawn a series of appeals that could last years before a final outcome is reached.
By Edvard Pettersson
Jun 10, 2014 9:01 PM PT
California’s two biggest teacher unions lost the first round in the broadest court challenge yet to state laws protecting teachers’ jobs, setting the stage for what could be a lengthy appeal.
By Dan Walters
dwalters@sacbee.com
Published: Tuesday, Jun. 10, 2014 – 10:40 pm
Last Modified: Wednesday, Jun. 11, 2014 – 8:13 am
A sociopolitical bomb exploded in a Los Angeles courtroom Tuesday when a judge declared that five key job protection laws for teachers are unconstitutional because they violate the rights of 6 million public school students to receive effective educations.
James Rainey, Mike Bresnahan
June 10, 2014
The latest round in the contentious legal wrangling over ownership of the Clippers is scheduled for Wednesday morning, when Shelly Sterling’s attorneys plan to go to court to ask a judge to expedite a hearing validating her takeover of a family trust — an action she used to clear the way for her sale of the NBA franchise.
Published: June 8, 2014 Updated: 11:09 p.m.
Beaumont’s efforts to build roads on its own, ignoring a regional program its City Council agreed to embrace, appear to have backfired.
And the bill for independence is tens of millions of dollars, a judge has ruled.
To read story by Craig Shultz in the Press-Enterprise, click here.
By Liset Marquez, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
Posted: 06/05/14, 1:55 PM PDT |
RIVERSIDE >> Citing the lack of progress in the last four months, a judge has given Ontario and Los Angeles more time to gather evidence in their dispute over control of L.A./Ontario International Airport.
By Cassie MacDuff, Staff Columnist
Published: May 31, 2014 Updated: 6:32 p.m.
Ontario’s lawsuit against Los Angeles to regain control of Ontario International Airport will be back in court next week.
Lawyers for the sparring sides are mum.
To read column by Cassie MacDuff in the Press-Enterprise, click here.
By Ryan Hagen, San Bernardino Sun
Posted: 05/29/14, 7:05 PM PDT |
SACRAMENTO >> The state Senate on Thursday passed legislation that’s designed to close a “loophole” defendants in the $102 million Colonies corruption case are using to try to dismiss the charges in the case.
Published: May 29, 2014 Updated: 7:29 p.m.
Three Superior Court judicial seats are on the June 3 ballot. Two races feature single challengers facing seated judges; the third involves three attorneys vying for an office being vacated by a judge’s retirement.
To read story by Richard K. De Atley in the Press-Enterprise, click here.
By Mark Gutglueck
Posted on May 23, 2014
(May 22)– While the $180 million federal lawsuit filed on behalf of six of the county’s detention facility inmates by a legal team headed by highly respected former Superior Court judge has put the issue of violence against San Bernardino County’s incarcerated population into the limelight as perhaps never before, the abuse of inmates within the county’s jail system is not a new issue.
By Joe Nelson, The Sun
Posted: 05/19/14, 2:13 PM PDT |
The shuffling of judges and staff to the newly opened San Bernardino Justice Center and other scheduling conflicts will delay hearings on dismissal motions in the Colonies corruption case by up to two months, a court clerk said Monday.
By Leslie Parrilla, San Bernardino Sun
Posted: 05/17/14, 2:30 PM PDT |
Now that the new Justice Center is open in San Bernardino, a long fight seems all but lost for some Rancho Cucamonga attorneys and city officials opposed to the major reorganization that began last week to transfer court cases between some of the county’s five court locations.
By Terry Baynes
Thu May 15, 2014 3:41pm EDT
(Reuters) – Consumers who purchased new health plans from Blue Shield of California have sued the insurer, claiming they were misled into thinking the insurance would cover their desired doctors and hospitals.
Thursday, May 15, 2014 – 09: 00 a.m.
It seems Los Angeles-based KNBC TV-4 has embarked on a mission.
That mission being the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.
By Howard Mintz hmintz@mercurynews.com
Posted: 05/13/2014 12:08:03 PM PDT# Comments
Updated: 05/13/2014 12:26:00 PM PDT
SACRAMENTO — After years of budget bloodletting, California’s courts received a $160 million bump in funding in Gov. Jerry Brown’s new budget plan — although with some strings attached and a stern warning that the state’s judicial leaders need to do more to tighten spending.
By Lori Fowler, The Sun
Posted: 05/11/14, 8:53 PM PDT |
The San Bernardino Justice Center is officially open for business.
Civil cases will be heard starting today in the new 11-story building at 247 West 3rd St., across from the historic courthouse.
By Joe Nelson, The Sun
and Leslie Parrilla, San Bernardino Sun
Posted: 05/02/14, 7:32 PM PDT
Orange County Superior Court Judge Gail Andler’s ruling Thursday dismissed each of six complaints filed against the Cadiz Valley Water Conservation, Recovery and Storage Project, according to a news release and attached court order.
By Lori Fowler, The Sun
Posted: 04/30/14, 9:10 PM PDT | Updated: 18 secs ago
SAN BERNARDINO >> After seven years of planning, the new downtown San Bernardino Justice Center is set to open this month.
Corina Knoll
April 30, 2014, 7:50 p.m.
Months after it unsuccessfully sought to stop the Los Angeles Times from publishing information gleaned from officers’ personnel files, a union representing Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies has been ordered to pay the newspaper more than $41,000 in legal fees.
By Joe Nelson, The Sun
Posted: 04/22/14, 10:09 PM PDT |
SAN BERNARDINO >> The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday authorized county counsel to enter into litigation with the architectural and engineering behind the High Desert Detention Center expansion project in Adelanto.
Monday, April 21, 2014 – 07:30 p.m.
Defense lawyers have lodged a series of reply briefs in the well-publicized Colonies criminal case.
By Joe Nelson, The Sun
Posted: 04/21/14, 8:06 PM PDT |
SAN BERNARDINO >> A prosecutor in San Bernardino County’s Colonies corruption case admitted in a letter to a state senator that criminal conspiracy charges may be dropped against one of the defendants because the statute of limitations has lapsed, according to a motion filed in Superior Court.
Kearia Brown, two others charged in Hesperia smoke shop attempted robbery
April 20, 2014 11:38 AM
SHEA JOHNSON, STAFF WRITER
VICTORVILLE • An aide for Los Angeles City Councilman Bernard Parks is scheduled to be arraigned June 16 following her arrest this month in connection with a Hesperia smoke shop attempted robbery, court records show.
Friday, April 11, 2014 – 09:00 a.m.
The case of former San Bernardino International Airport developer Scot Spencer and alleged accomplice Felice Luciano has been delayed again.
The reason is a familiar tune with local prosecutors.
By Joe Nelson, The Sun
Posted: 04/10/14, 11:03 PM PDT |
An employee at a private investigation firm lied under oath about the actions of a San Bernardino County district attorney’s investigator during a raid last year at the business, a deputy district attorney said in a court motion.
April 09, 2014; 03:28 PM
Prosecutors are accusing defendants in a high-profile San Bernardino County corruption case of false accusations and personal attacks while trying to get charges thrown out.
To read story by Imran Ghori in The Press Enterprise, click here.
Wednesday, April 9, 2014 – 05:00 p.m.
An attempt to settle a long-running civil case against two members of the San Manuel Band of Mission failed at a court hearing in San Bernardino on Wednesday morning.
By Joe Nelson, The Sun
Posted: 04/08/14, 6:11 PM PDT |
A file that surfaced during a raid at a private investigation firm led prosecutors to believe that Rancho Cucamogna developer Jeff Burum may be tied to the illegal phone hacking of a witness in his San Bernardino County public corruption case, according to a court motion.
Apr 7, 2014, 6:58am PDT
Updated: Apr 7, 2014, 7:12am PDT
Staff Writer- Sacramento Business Journal
The California High-Speed Rail Authority’s latest business plan suggests the agency could run out of money next year unless it overcomes legal and legislative funding hurdles.
By Joe Nelson, The Sun
Posted: 04/06/14, 1:39 AM PDT |
Rancho Cucamonga developer Jeff Burum and his attorney trumped up allegations of prosecutorial misconduct and misstated or mischaracterized myriad facts in a sweeping set of dismissal motions, according to responses filed in San Bernardino Superior Court by prosecutors in the Colonies corruption case.
By Dan Walters
dwalters@sacbee.com
Published: Sunday, Apr. 6, 2014 – 12:00 am
The California High-Speed Rail Authority plans to begin construction this year on a bullet train system that is supposed to eventually stretch 500 miles from Sacramento to San Diego.
Saturday, April 5, 2014 – 09:30 a.m.
State and local prosecutors filed their oppositions to a series of five motions in the well-publicized Colonies case, last Friday.
By Liset Marquez, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
Posted: 04/03/14, 8:19 PM PDT |
UPLAND >> A man who was shot 10 times by police last year is suing the city, claiming the officer-involved shooting at close range was unjustified.
Tomberlin to reclaim seat after disagreement on procedure
April 03, 2014 6:26 PM
Shea Johnson, Staff Writer
Despite an objection from the San Bernardino County Registrar of Voters, a county Superior Court judge seeking a third reelection will be allowed to automatically retain his seat.
By Joe Nelson, The Sun
Posted: 03/31/14, 3:15 PM PDT |
SAN BERNARDINO >> An Upland attorney who in 2007 contested San Bernardino County’s $102 million settlement with a Rancho Cucamonga-based real estate investor group that triggered a far reaching public corruption scandal is now opposing a defense attorney’s request to dismiss the criminal case due to lack of evidence.
By Ed Mendel
Monday, March 31, 2014
A class-action lawsuit contends that California judges are owed back pay and a pension increase because their salary, frozen for five years, did not keep pace with average increases in state worker pay as required by law.
By Joe Nelson, The Sun
Posted: 03/28/14, 7:53 PM PDT |
When a prestigious El Segundo-based private investigations firm was hired to investigate the key witness in a major San Bernardino County corruption case, they subcontracted the work — or at least part of it — to a rural Alabama woman who had no license and a spotty criminal record.
By Adam Poulisse, Pasadena Star-News
Posted: 03/26/14, 9:59 PM PDT | Updated: 15 mins ago
A disbarred attorney on Wednesday was sentenced for stealing more than $3 million from the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority and other clients while handling their cases, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Wednesday, March 26, 2014 – 10:45 a.m.
A lawyer for two members of the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, convicted in a Murder-for-Hire scheme, is now trying to get a civil case moved.
March 20, 2014; 03:59 PM
A candidate for San Bernardino County District Attorney accepted campaign contributions from family and associates of a defendant at the center of a high-profile criminal corruption case, according to finance reports.
To read story by Imran Ghori in The Press Enterprise, click here.
Thursday, March 20, 2014 – 08:00 p.m.
It only took a matter of minutes to resolve an over-hyped ballot statement episode involving District Attorney Candidate Grover Merritt.
Monday, March 17, 2014 – 07:45 p.m.
The ballot statement squabble between Deputy District Attorney Grover Merritt and the San Bernardino County Public Attorneys Association is headed to Superior Court on Thursday.
Monday, March 17, 2014 – 07:30 p.m.
The Colonies case is finally headed back to San Bernardino County Superior Court, following the issuance of a modified opinion by Fourth District Court of Appeal, Division Two, in Riverside on Monday afternoon.
March 17, 2014; 03:26 PM
Riverside County supervisors must decide whether to appeal a judge’s ruling that blocks the use of millions of tax dollars for certain projects authorized by the county’s now-dissolved redevelopment agency, including a plan to revitalize a rundown Jurupa Valley shopping center.
To read story by Jeff Horseman in The Press Enterprise, click here.
Capitol Alert
The latest on California politics and government
March 14, 2014
Gov. Jerry Brown and Controller John Chiang unlawfully redirected $369 million in homeowner relief secured by Attorney General Kamala Harris, according to a lawsuit filed in Sacramento Superior Court on Friday morning.
Capitol Alert
The latest on California politics and government
March 12, 2014
A years-long battle over the direction of the California court system, pitting the San Francisco-based state court bureaucracy against rebel judges and court employee unions, took another tack Wednesday.
By Richard Winton
March 11, 2014, 5:18 p.m.
A disbarred attorney charged with stealing nearly $2 million from the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority and more than $1 million from other clients was convicted Tuesday of grand theft and will be sentenced to a decade in prison.
By Doug Saunders, The Sun
Posted: 03/11/14, 2:14 PM PDT |
LOS ANGELES >> Disbarred Rancho Cucamonga attorney James Reiss, 52, of Upland pleaded no contest to two counts of grand theft, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said today.
By Ed Mendel
Monday, March 10, 2014
A superior court judge last week said he plans to uphold a key part of a new state law that curbs ‘spiking’ in county retirement systems, notorious for giving retirees pensions that are much higher than the salaries they earned on the job.
By Don Thompson, Associated Press
Posted: 03/09/14, 3:19 AM PDT |
SACRAMENTO >> California counties are confounding the state’s court-ordered efforts to sharply reduce its inmate population by sending state prisons far more convicts than anticipated, including a record number of people with second felony convictions.
March 05, 2014; 03:18 PM
California’s judiciary has grown more diverse since the California Courts and governor’s office began producing annual reports in 2006 that broke down the state’s justices and judges by ethnicity and gender.
To read story by Richard K. De Atley in The Press Enterprise, click here.
By Joe Nelson, The Sun
Posted: 03/04/14, 6:47 PM PST |
SAN BERNARDINO >> Former San Bernardino County Assessor Bill Postmus and his attorney have responded to allegations that a prominent Los Angeles-based private investigation firm hired a woman to hack into Postmus’ cell phone and obtain his phone records.
By Joe Nelson, The Sun
Posted: 03/02/14, 4:09 PM PST |
A private investigation firm was hired by a defense attorney in the Colonies corruption case to spy on a key witness, court documents show.
March 02, 2014; 12:57 PM
Authorities are looking into allegations that the cellphone of a key government witness in a San Bernardino County corruption case was illegally hacked by private investigators linked to the case of a prominent developer he will be testifying against.
To read story by Imran Ghori in The Press Enterprise, click here.
Friday, February 28, 2014 – 02:30 p.m.
A motion, related to the execution of a February 2013 search warrant, by the District Attorney, filed by Stephen G. Larson, attorney for Colonies Defendant Jeffrey Burum, is now public.
By Paloma Esquivel
February 27, 2014, 4:38 p.m.
Attorneys for the man charged with killing eight people in a Seal Beach salon three years ago have accused Orange County prosecutors and sheriff’s deputies of running an unconstitutional jailhouse informant operation that ensnared their client and other inmates.
By Ryan Hagen, The Sun
Posted: 02/26/14, 7:40 PM PST |
RIVERSIDE >> San Bernardino Councilman Robert Jenkins appeared in court Wednesday for a felony settlement conference related to the 30 felony and misdemeanor charges he’s facing, but the conference was postponed until March 28.
By Joe Nelson, The Sun
Posted: 02/23/14, 7:33 PM PST | Updated: 32 secs ago
A federal appeals court has upheld an earlier ruling to dismiss a lawsuit filed by an Upland real estate executive’s widow who alleges that her husband’s suicide occurred after authorities failed to conduct a proper medical and psychological screening following his arrest more than three years ago.
Monday, February 24, 2014 – 03:00 p.m
The appeal of a U.S. District Court ruling, dismissing two civil rights claims, by Rachel Lewis, widow of real estate executive David Lewis, was denied by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday.
By Joe Nelson, The Sun
Posted: 02/23/14, 7:33 PM PST |
The widow of a deceased Upland real estate executive has sued San Bernardino County’s district attorney, the California Highway Patrol and several others, alleging they caused his suicide by forcing him to cooperate as part of an ongoing investigation into corruption and failing to take into account his unstable mental condition.
Sunday, February 23, 2014 – 7:25 p.m.
InlandPolitics.com has uploaded documents, from the respective state and federal court databases, related to the breaking story on deceased real estate executive David Lewis, published by The San Bernardino County Sentinel website on Sunday evening.
By Mark Gutglueck (www.sbsentinel.com)
Sunday, February 23, 2014 – 05:00 p.m.
(February 23) David Lewis, a third generation member of the Lewis Homes homebuilding and shopping center development dynasty, was driven to suicide in 2010 by pressure put on him by district attorney Mike Ramos to act as a cooperating witness against members of his family, according to a lawsuit filed by his widow and surviving son.
Friday, February 21, 2014 – 10:30 p.m.
A decision to unseal a fifth dismissal motion in the highly-publicized Colonies case has been delayed until February 28.
Wednesday, Fenruary 19, 2014 – 04:15 p.m.
Riverside-based Attorney Rajan Maline, one of the criminal defense lawyers in the well-publicized Colonies case, will be a guest on the Lou Desmond Show, this evening from 06:30 – 07:00 p.m.
By Joe Nelson, The Sun
Posted: 02/18/14, 7:44 PM PST |
SAN BERNARDINO >> An Upland attorney’s allegation that prosecutors withheld key evidence from the grand jury in the Colonies corruption case, which he said would have cleared his client of any wrongdoing, has long been a sticking point among defense attorneys since certain court reforms were passed in 1990, a criminal law expert said Tuesday.
Monday, February 17, 2014 – 02:00 p.m.
In part one of the series we looked at the stacked contract bidding process to handout four, three-year contracts totaling some $40 million in taxpayer dollars.
But there’s more to the story.
A human side of the story.
Posted: Sunday, February 16, 2014 8:23 pm | Updated: 10:11 am, Mon Feb 17, 2014.
By REX DALTON
A huge cache of records alleging the Orange County district attorney’s office and law enforcement agencies utilized a long-running informant program to violate defendants’ rights was unsealed last week in Orange County Superior Court.
By Mark Gutglueck (www.sbsentinel.com)
Posted on February 14, 2014
(February 14)– A delay in the selection and approval process for four lucrative county contracts for the provision of what is known as conflict representation for indigent defendants in the county’s courts has resulted in the exposition of a series of apparent irregularities in the rating and recommendation system being used in the competition for the contracts.
February 12, 2014; 09:53 PM
California Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye urged Inland attorneys to lobby local legislators for funding to bring the area more judges, and pushed back on criticisms that the state court system is solely responsible for its financial straits.
To read story by Richard K. De Atley in The Press Enterprise, click here.
February 10, 2014; 06:50 PM
A judge in Sacramento has denied Moreno Valley’s attempt to derail plans for a medical complex near March Air Reserve Base.
To read story by David Danelski in The Press Enterprise, click here.
Norma Torres
By Joe Nelson, The Sun
Posted: 02/07/14, 3:18 PM PST |
In response to San Bernardino County’s Colonies corruption case, state Sen. Norma Torres, D-Chino, introduced three legislative bills Friday that would, among other things, change how the statute of limitations applies in certain bribery-related offenses.
February 07, 2014; 06:10 PM
State Sen. Norma Torres is introducing legislation that would make it easier to prosecute public officials in bribery cases, citing the Colonies corruption case as her reason for doing so.
To read story by Imran Ghori in The Press-Enterprise, click here.