Archive for the ‘ Legal ’ Category

VVDailyPress: PG&E, water board sign $3.6M settlement

$1.8M goes to Hinkley School water system
February 02, 2012 5:11 PM
KATIE LUCIA, Staff Writer

HINKLEY • The regional water board signed a $3.6 million agreement with Pacific Gas and Electric on Wednesday night, dedicating half of that money to build a new water filtration system at the Hinkley School.

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DailyBulletin: Ontario chief faces discrimination lawsuit

Mike Cruz, The (San Bernardino County) Sun
Created: 01/30/2012 10:27:09 AM PST

RANCHO CUCAMONGA – A workplace discrimination lawsuit has been filed in Superior Court against Ontario Police Chief Eric Hopley by his former administrative assistant Brenda Vallejo.

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The PE: Inland courts brace for tougher year

Understaffed, overwhelmed, Riverside and San Bernardino county officials say the verdict is few options on further cuts

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.

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By Howard Mintz hmintz@mercurynews.com
Posted: 01/30/2012 06:56:26 AM PST
Updated: 01/30/2012 07:31:17 AM PST

With a crucial vote looming Monday, a conflict that has shaken California’s judiciary reaches a critical stage when the Assembly considers legislation that would strip control of most of the court system’s purse strings from a central bureaucracy and turn it over to the Legislature and local trial judges.

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The Sun: Ratcheting up a contract tussle

Executive Editor Frank Pine
Posted: 01/28/2012 05:38:39 PM PST

San Bernardino County’s Board of Supervisors asked county lawyers last week to draft language for a ballot measure that would give voters the final say on increases to pension benefits for public employees.

Supervisors Janice Rutherford, Gary Ovitt and Josie Gonzales voted yea with supervisors Brad Mitzelfelt and Neil Derry voting nay.

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DailyBulletin: Upland looking for some help in its court fight against dispensaries

Sandra Emerson, Staff Writer
Created: 01/28/2012 06:06:01 AM PST

UPLAND – The City Council has not made a formal request for the League of California Cities’ assistance in the medical marijuana case pending in the state Supreme Court, but some inquiries have been made.

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LATimes: State Supreme Court to leave boundaries intact for Senate races

PolitiCal
On politics in the Golden State
January 27, 2012 | 10:19 am

A correction has been added to this post. See below for details.

The California Supreme Court, faced with a possible ballot measure to scrap newly drawn election districts, decided Friday to leave the boundaries in place for this year’s state Senate races.

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Cities hoping for extra life for redevelopment agencies are told to focus on a future without them as a Feb. 1 deadline nears

BY JIM MILLER
SACRAMENTO BUREAU
jmiller@pe.co

Published: 26 January 2012 09:04 PM

SACRAMENTO — Legislation to extend the life of redevelopment agencies beyond Feb. 1 seemed all but dead Thursday despite a last-ditch push by local officials and other groups.

The California Supreme Court last month upheld a state law ending redevelopment, which for decades has helped local governments pay to revitalize downtowns and build new streets and also been criticized as a taxpayer subsidy for politically connected developers. Inland Southern California has some of the most active agencies in the state.

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Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye

January 26, 2012

Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye today urged the defeat of Assembly legislation that would undermine the authority of the Judicial Council, and give courts in as few as two counties authority to veto any statewide judicial project.

Cantil-Sakauye, who became chief justice in 2010, is showing herself to be a tough fighter as she lobbies to kill legislation by Assemblyman Charles Calderon, D-Whittier, himself the consummate inside player.

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LATimes: California calls $25-billion mortgage settlement ‘inadequate’

California Atty. Gen. Kamala D. Harris walked away from talks with the banks last year, saying not enough was being offered for California homeowners. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

By Alejandro Lazo

January 25, 2012, 2:57 p.m.

Calif. Atty. Gen. Kamala D. Harris’ office has called a proposed $25-billion settlement with the nation’s mortgage industry “inadequate.”

“We’ve reviewed the details of the latest settlement proposal from the banks, and we believe it is inadequate for California,” Shum Preston, a spokesman for Harris, said in a statement. “Our state has been clear about what any multistate settlement must contain: transparency, relief going to the most distressed homeowners and meaningful enforcement that ensures accountability. At this point, this deal does not suffice for California.”

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LATimes: Legislators to challenge controller’s power to withhold pay

California State Controller John Chiang

PolitiCal
On politics in the Golden State
January 24, 2012 | 1:51 pm

Democratic lawmakers sued state Controller John Chiang on Tuesday seeking limits on the controller’s right to withhold lawmakers’ pay during a budget stalemate.

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Dan Walters

By Dan Walters
dwalters@sacbee.com
Published: Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012 – 12:00 am | Page 3A

As the Legislature reconvened this month, California’s judges resumed their civil war over money and power.

It pits Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye and the State Judicial Council, along with one faction of trial and appellate judges, against a rebellious faction, organized as the Alliance of California Judges, over how to allocate pain as the courts adjust to reduced financing.

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THe PE: S.B. COUNTY: Voting suspension ends for Supervisor Neil Derry

San Bernardino County Supervisor Neil Derry

BY IMRAN GHORI
STAFF WRITER
ighori@pe.com

Published: 23 January 2012 08:14 PM

San Bernardino County Supervisor Neil Derry will return to normal voting at today’s board meeting even as he sparred with federal officials over the exact nature of his eight-month suspension.

Due to criminal charges he faced last year, Derry had not taken part in votes involving federal funds.

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InlandPolitics Commentary: Legal fees squeezing Upland finances

Sunday, January 22, 2012 – 09:30 p.m.

Upland’s finance are heading in the wrong direction fast.

One major factor?

Legal fees!

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LA/Ontario International Airport has has suffered a 32 percent decline in airline passengers since 2007. The airport had once been projected to server 30 million passengers by 2030. (Bulletin file photo)

Liset Márquez, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
Created: 01/19/2012 09:15:13 AM PST

ONTARIO – The battle has begun in earnest.

Officials on both sides of the LA/Ontario International Airport dispute this week lashed out at each other for information they say is misleading and a misrepresentation.

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By Sandra Emerson, Staff Writer
Created: 01/19/2012 03:50:38 PM PST

RANCHO CUCAMONGA – G3 Holistic in Upland will be able to remain open.

A West Valley Superior Court judge ruled in favor of the medical marijuana cooperative because the case is under review by the California Supreme Court.

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The PE: RIVERSIDE: California Supreme Court to review city’s pot dispensary ban

A lower court’s ruling upholding Riverside’s ban has been used as precedent for other cities to control medical marijuana

BY RICHARD K. De ATLEY
STAFF WRITER
rdeatley@pe.com

Published: 18 January 2012 03:51 PM

The California Supreme Court will review a city of Riverside medical marijuana case in which a lower court ruled that cities and counties have the right to ban dispensaries.

Local governments throughout the state have used that decision, issued in November by the Fourth District Court of Appeal, to shut down medical marijuana clinics within their boundaries.

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DailyBulletin: Supreme Court to review Upland medical marijuana case

By Sandra Emerson, Staff Writer
Created: 01/18/2012 03:55:17 PM PST

UPLAND – The California Supreme Court decided on Wednesday to review an appeal filed by an Upland medical marijuana cooperative.

Counsel representing G3 Holistic in Upland filed the appeal in December following a decision in November by the Fourth District Appellate Court in Riverside siding with the city’s ban on medical marijuana dispensaries through its zoning code.

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PolitiCal
On politics in the Golden State
January 17, 2012 | 6:18 pm

The citizens commission that drew California’s new political maps won an important nod Tuesday from the Department of Justice, which signed off on the new congressional, legislative and Board of Equalization districts for four Northern California counties.

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InlandPolitics: Sanchez held without bail in Pomierski corruption case

Tuesday, January 17, 2012 – 06:00 p.m.

So much for that plea deal way back when!

Anthony Orlando Sanchez, 36, plead not guilty to extortion and bribery charges this afternoon in U.S. District Court in Riverside.

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Tuesday, January 17, 2012 – 4:00 p.m.

The attempt by the City of Upland to shutter a medical marijuana co-op fell flat last week.

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Josh Dulaney, Staff Writer
Posted: 01/12/2012 04:49:18 PM PST

An attorney for Norton Property Management Services LLC, one of 16 companies under federal investigation in connection with an alleged corruption at San Bernardino International Airport, says aggressive actions by the airport forced the company to file bankruptcy.

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The Sun: Reps for SB Airport company meet with creditors

By Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Posted: 01/09/2012 08:08:49 PM PST

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.

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Wes Woods II, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
Created: 01/09/2012 03:03:05 PM PST

View Document: Lawsuit filed by Claremont police union vs. city and chamber

CLAREMONT – The Claremont Police Officers Association has filed a lawsuit against the Claremont Chamber of Commerce and the city alleging its right to freedom of expression, association and assembly were violated at the Village Venture event in October.

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VVDailyPress: Auditors: Victorville’s RDA in trouble before state killed it

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.

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Dan Walters

By Dan Walters
dwalters@sacbee.com
Published: Monday, Jan. 9, 2012 – 12:00 am | Page 3A
Last Modified: Monday, Jan. 9, 2012 – 6:30 am

Last year, the state Supreme Court interjected itself – in a big way – into the perennial “tort war” that pits personal injury lawyers against insurance companies and business groups over the arcane rules of liability lawsuits.

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Health & Welfare | Daily Report | Decoding Prime

January 9, 2012 | Lance Williams

FBI agents interviewed a former Shasta County hospital patient Friday amid indications of a widening federal inquiry into Medicare billing practices at the Prime Healthcare Services hospital chain.

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The PE: RIVERSIDE: City must cancel some redevelopment projects

Riverside’s downtown Greyhound bus station will have to wait longer to move to a planned transit center. The end of redevelopment has made the transit project’s future uncertain.(/FILE PHOTO/2008)

BY ALICIA ROBINSON
STAFF WRITER
arobinson@pe.com

Published: 07 January 2012 06:52 PM

Riverside may have to scrap plans for a downtown bus and train transit hub, a new shopping plaza in the Five Points area of La Sierra, relocation of two historic Victorian homes and a variety of other projects, now that state legislation and a court ruling have dismantled redevelopment.

Worse yet, say city officials, they may be forced to sell many of the properties owned by the city’s now-defunct redevelopment agency, including some on the Main Street mall, University Avenue, at Five Points, and in several areas downtown where new and better housing was planned.

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The Sun: Victorville defaults on bonds

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.

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Public Money

BY: Girard Miller | January 5, 2012

One of my pet peeves in the ongoing debates over public pension reform is the way partisans on each side try to pitch half-truths and myths to support their arguments. The other side seldom believes any of these, but they help rally the allies on the speaker’s side. Sometimes the press naively re-circulates these fallacies, which leaves the general public even more confused about what to believe. There’s an old saying in politics that if you tell the same lie long enough, the public will eventually believe it — and that apparently is the mentality of lobbyists on both sides. In an effort to start the new year with a clean slate for public debate, I’d like to set the record straight on a dozen of the most glaring fallacies and silly slogans.

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The PE: S.B. COUNTY: Defense attorneys in Colonies case seek union records

BY IMRAN GHORI
STAFF WRITER
ighori@pe.com

Published: 06 January 2012 11:19 AM

Defense attorneys in the Colonies corruption case announced in court Friday morning they are seeking records from an influential union representing public safety employees.

Attorneys are also seeking additional records from the county flood control district concerning its four-year legal battle with Colonies Partners.

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Joe Nelson and Mike Cruz, Staff Writers
Posted: 01/06/2012 01:08:11 PM PST

SAN BERNARDINO – Defense attorneys in a San Bernardino County corruption case are requesting documents from a public safety labor union they believe will help refute allegations of blackmail against a Rancho Cucamonga developer and the union’s former president.

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By Mark Gutglueck
Friday, January 6, 2012

Questions continue to dog the second highest ranking member of the county auditor-controller/treasurer-tax collector’s office with regard to the role he and a political action committee he controlled played in illegally passing through and laundering money for those convicted of or charged with participation in a bribery and extortion conspiracy.

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The Sentinel: Granlund ducking Colonies case subpoena

By Mark Gutgleuck
Friday, January 6, 2012
Originally Published: Friday, December 30, 2011

As of earlier this week, former state assemblyman Brett Granlund had actively avoided several attempts to serve him with a subpoena relating to the Colonies Settlement case.

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DailyBulletin: G3 to stay open

Sandra Emerson, Staff Writer
Created: 01/06/2012 03:35:10 PM PST

UPLAND – G3 Holistic will remain open, for now.

West Valley Superior Court Judge Barry Plotkin on Friday postponed his decision on whether or not the co-op can remain open until the California Supreme Court decides whether to review G3′s appeal.

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The PE: S.B. COUNTY: Former counsel earned year’s vacation

A former San Bernardino County legal counsel’s year off is the example that leads supervisors to put a cap on such benefits

BY IMRAN GHORI
STAFF WRITER
ighori@pe.com

Published: 05 January 2012 10:12 PM

Until November 2010, top San Bernardino County employees could rack up an unlimited number of vacation, holiday or administrative hours.

The policy allowed them to stockpile vacation time and earn large payouts when they left the county, said Supervisor Neil Derry, who proposed the cap.

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The Sun: Judge rules in favor of SB man in airport case

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.

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DailyBulletin: Assemblyman Donnelly discusses threats

Staff Reports
Created: 01/05/2012 05:38:23 PM PST

Assemblyman Tim Donnelly on Thursday said he was assaulted and threatened on Dec. 26 by a man in Rancho Cucamonga due to his opposition to the Dream Act.

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Wes Woods II and Sandra Emerson, Staff writers
Created: 01/05/2012 03:34:25 PM PST

UPLAND – A week later: It’s still open.

Medical marijuana collective G3 Holistics Inc. continues to be open for business, but it may not be so for long.

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CapitolWeekly: Redevelopment agencies’ new bill targets Feb. 1 deadline

By John Howard | 01/05/12 12:00 AM PST

Hundreds of redevelopment agencies across California are poised to dismantle their operations in less than a month, but new legislation backed by the agencies was poised to be introduced as early as next week that would provide several months of breathing space to cut a new deal.

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The PE: ONTARIO: Assemblyman stopped at airport for gun in luggage

Assemblyman Tim Donnelly, R-Twin Peaks, was cited and released today after being found with a .45 caliber handgun in his luggage at Ontario airport.

BY JIM MILLER
jmiller@pe.com
Published: 04 January 2012 10:38 AM

Assemblyman Tim Donnelly was stopped at Ontario airport this morning after security line officers discovered a handgun in his luggage, his office said this morning.

Donnelly, R-Twin Peaks, was cited and released, a spokeswoman said. He faces a misdemeanor charge.

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Former San Bernardino County Sheriff’s deputy Nathan Gastineau sits during his preliminary hearing in a San Bernardino Superior Courtroom December 15, 2011. Gastineau, 30, of Redlands, is charged with sexual acts with a teenaged female Explorer. (Gabriel Luis Acosta, Staff Photographer)

Mike Cruz, Staff Writer
Posted: 01/03/2012 04:17:20 PM PST

SAN BERNARDINO – A Redlands girl who says she was sexually abused by a former sheriff’s deputy while in the sheriff’s Explorer program also alleges in a civil lawsuit that administrators at the Sheriff’s Department and the Public Safety Academy, a charter school in San Bernardino, were negligent or failed to act.

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Wes Woods II and Sandra Emerson, Staff writers
Created: 01/04/2012 09:44:49 AM PST

UPLAND – Medical marijuana collective G3 Holistics Inc. remains open for business.

The collective at Suite F4 at 1710 W. Foothill Blvd. reopened at Friday afternoon, said Aaron Sandusky, president of G3 Holistics, and is keeping regular hours of 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.

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DailyBulletin: Upland rejects Quincey claim

Quincey

Sandra Emerson, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
Created: 01/03/2012 11:44:27 AM PST

UPLAND – Former City Manager Robb Quincey must resolve his disputes with the city through arbitration.

The city recently rejected a claim filed by Quincey in November seeking unlimited damages as a result of his termination in May.

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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.

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Tuesday, January 3, 2012 – 03:00 p.m.

Was it a misunderstanding or a lie?

A regular question in San Bernardino County government.

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San Bernardino Co. will pay $3 million to a woman injured in a ’07 motorcycle crash in the Mojave Desert

BY IMRAN GHORI
STAFF WRITER
ighori@pe.com

Published: 02 January 2012 06:51 PM

San Bernardino County has agreed to pay $3 million to settle a lawsuit by a woman injured in a motorcycle accident who claimed that a county road was dangerous and poorly maintained.

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The PE: S.B. COUNTY: Colonies appeal under review

From left, Mark Kirk, former chief of staff to Supervisor Gary Ovitt, developer Jeff Burum, former assistant assessor Jim Erwin, and former supervisor Paul Biane, at an August court appearance.(STAN LIM/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)

BY IMRAN GHORI
STAFF WRITER
ighori@pe.com

Published: 31 December 2011 05:39 PM

A panel of California appellate judges could soon be deciding how, and possibly if, the Colonies corruption case will proceed to trial.

The Fourth District Court of Appeal in Riverside is considering an appeal filed by the San Bernardino County district attorney and state attorney general offices seeking to restore charges that were dismissed in August against Rancho Cucamonga developer Jeff Burum, former Supervisor Paul Biane, former Assistant Assessor Jim Erwin and Mark Kirk, former chief of staff for Supervisor Gary Ovitt.

The court completed briefings from prosecutors and defense attorneys on the appeal last month and also agreed to consider writs of mandate filed by the defense seeking to have more charges dismissed against the four. A decision is expected in the next few months.

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DailyBulletin: Upland to face litigation, budget and scandals in 2012

Sandra Emerson, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
Created: 12/30/2011 12:17:57 PM PST

UPLAND – The city experienced a number of controversies in 2011 and will continue to deal with some of the legal ramifications in 2012.

Former Mayor John Pomierski’s federal trial is set for April, which may occur during the city election when the mayor’s seat and a council seat is up for re-election.

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From left to right: Colonies scandal defendants Jeff Burum, Mark Kirk, Jim Erwin, and Paul Biane stand during a motion to delay their arraignment hearing in a San Bernardino Superior Courtroom

Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Created: 12/30/2011 11:37:49 AM PST

Investigations into corruption in San Bernardino County advanced in fits and starts over the past year.

Prosecutors gained ground when former Supvervisor-turned-Assessor Bill Postmus agreed in March to plead guilty to bribery, conflict of interest and misappropriation of public funds and to cooperate with the ongoing investigation.

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SFChronicle: Calif. wins OK to abolish redevelopment agencies

Marisa Lagos, Chronicle Staff Writer
Friday, December 30, 2011

The California Supreme Court dealt a deathblow to the state’s 60-year-old redevelopment program, ruling Thursday that lawmakers had the authority to eliminate the economic development program and striking down a law that would have allowed the agencies to exist in smaller form.

The ruling was the worst-case scenario for cities, which argued they needed the program to spur economic development in blighted areas and create jobs – but it was a win for Gov. Jerry Brown.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Jim Sanders
jsanders@sacbee.com
The Sacramento Bee
Published: Friday, Dec. 30, 2011 – 12:00 am | Page 3A

Attorney General Kamala Harris’ first year in office saw her dive into a massive financial crisis by ordering an investigation into mortgage meltdowns, attracting a national spotlight for California’s top cop.

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SacBee: California high court says state can eliminate redevelopment

Capitol Alert
The latest on California politics and government
December 29, 2011

In a significant budget win for Gov. Jerry Brown and lawmakers, the California Supreme Court ruled Thursday the state can eliminate the local agencies that subsidize construction in blighted areas.

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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.

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The PE: RIVERSIDE COUNTY: Governor appoints three to fill judgeships

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.

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DailyBulletin: Former Upland police chief dropped from case

Adams

Sandra Emerson, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
Created: 12/27/2011 10:24:01 AM PST

UPLAND – Former Police Chief Steve Adams is no longer being accused of extortion by operators of a closed restaurant.

Adams was dismissed from Chronic Cantina’s civil case against the city earlier this month.

Read the rest of this entry »

Aaron Sandusky, president of the now closed medical marijuana co-op G3 Holistic, speaks to the Upland Rotary Wednesday, December 21, 2011, at the Landecena Community Center in Upland. (Jennifer Cappuccio Maher, Staff Photographer)

Sandra Emerson, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
Created: 12/27/2011 10:12:57 AM PST

UPLAND — Aaron Sandusky has found another way to fill his time while his medical marijuana cooperative is no longer open for business.

Sandusky, president of G3 Holistic in Upland, has gone on a speaking circuit at various clubs and groups in the community.

Read the rest of this entry »

LATimes: Hospital is facing a bleak prognosis

Atty. Gen. Kamala D. Harris in September 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.” (Paui Sakuma, Associated Press / December 13, 2011)

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.

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LATimes: California chief justice urges reevaluating death penalty

Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye, one of the high court’s more conservative members, says the death penalty is no longer working for the state.

By Maura Dolan, Los Angeles Times
December 24, 2011

Reporting from San Francisco— Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye, who heads the state’s judicial branch and its highest court, said in an interview that the death penalty is no longer effective in California and suggested she would welcome a public debate on its merits and costs.

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Pomierski

Sandra Emerson, Staff Writer
Created: 12/22/2011 06:24:24 PM PST

Special Section: Upland Watch

UPLAND – Former Mayor John Pomierski may file a lawsuit against the city for refusing to represent him in a civil suit filed by the former Chronic Cantina restaurant and bar.

A claim was filed with the city this week by Pomierski’s civil attorney, Robert Schauer, demanding the city represent Pomierski or face a lawsuit seeking attorney’s fees and other damages.

Read the rest of this entry »

Canan Tasci, Staff Writer
Created: 12/22/2011 12:55:33 PM PST

CHINO HILLS – The state Supreme Court has denied a city petition to review its case against the installation of high-voltage power lines in the city.

The city’s attorney was informed that the Supreme Court declined to review a Court of Appeal’s decision on the city’s efforts to fight the route on which Southern California Edison has plans to build 200-foot transmission towers through the city.

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The PE: GAMBLING: Feds silent on California’s push, for now

BY JIM MILLER
SACRAMENTO BUREAU
jmiller@pe.com

Published: 20 December 2011 08:48 PM

SACRAMENTO – Last summer, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder.

The unlikely pair – Reid, a Democrat, is allied with gaming interests in his home state, and Kyl is a gambling critic and powerful Republican – asked that Holder “reiterate the (Department of Justice’s) longstanding position that federal law prohibits gambling over the Internet, including intra-state gambling” or else explain what the department thinks.

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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.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Canan Tasci, Staff Writer
Created: 12/20/2011 05:45:43 PM PST

Editor’s note: The Inland Valley Daily Bulletin will report each day through Dec. 31 on the state of one of our local cities. We will address what is in store for that city in 2012 while also running down the city’s top stories of 2011. Today: Chino Hills, Thursday: Claremont, Friday: Diamond Bar.

CHINO HILLS – The fight in this city to take down 200-foot towers will continue into the new year.

Chino Hills officials said the Tehachapi Renewable Transmission Project is the most significant thing their city will be dealing with in 2012, especially come January.

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LATimes: California sues Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

Money & Company
Tracking the market and economic trends that shape your finances.
December 20, 2011 | 2:43 pm

California Atty. Gen. Kamala D. Harris has filed suit against mortgage titans Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for refusing to answer subpoenas issued to the companies this year.

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The Sun: Seven accused in alleged Sheriff’s Dept. training scam await their case

Joe Nelson, The (San Bernardino County) Sun
Posted: 12/19/2011 05:22:30 PM PST

Seven current and former employees of the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, accused of forging training documents for increased pay in a decade-long scam, appeared briefly in San Bernardino Superior Court Monday for a pre-trial hearing.

Lawyers agreed to another continuance and set a new pretrial date for March 23.

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InlandPolitics: Too late to runaway from airport debacle

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.

Read the rest of this entry »

The PE: REDISTRICTING: New lines leave some voters without a senator

BY JIM MILLER, SACRAMENTO BUREAU
AND BRIAN JOSEPH, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

jmiller@pe.combjoseph@ocregister.com

Published: 17 December 2011 06:33 PM

SACRAMENTO — More than 230 years since the American Revolution, taxation without representation survives in the California State Senate.

Under new lines scheduled to take effect next year, millions of Californians will lack a senator while millions of others will be represented by two senators in 2013 and 2014.

And it’s totally legal.

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The PE: S.B. COUNTY: Bribery trial delayed

BY IMRAN GHORI
STAFF WRITER
ighori@pe.com

Published: 16 December 2011 10:53 AM

A retrial of two businessmen accused of attempting to bribe a top aide to San Bernardino County Supervisor Josie Gonzales has been postponed until March.

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LATimes: Judge rejects California execution plan

A ferry passes by San Quentin Prison in 2002. (Eric Risberg / Associated Press)

By Carol J. Williams Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
December 16, 2011, 12:50 p.m.

A judge on Friday threw out California’s new lethal-injection protocols, which have been six years in the making, because corrections officials failed to consider a one-drug execution method now in practice in other death penalty states.

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InlandPolitics: S.B. Airport investigation costs Highland $10 million grant

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.

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The Sun: Airport moves to oust controversial developer

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.

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The PE: S.B. COUNTY: Derry vote still in limbo

County Supervisor Neil Derry
His inclusion on an excluded parties list has forced the supervisor to sit out budget talks (KURT MILLER/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)

BY IMRAN GHORI
STAFF WRITER
ighori@pe.com

Published: 13 December 2011 09:50 PM

The recent budget dispute among San Bernardino County supervisors highlighted Supervisor Neil Derry’s continued inability to vote on budget decisions due to criminal charges he faced earlier this year.

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The PE: SB AIRPORT: Hangar landlord files for Chapter 11

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.

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Riverside County supervisors decide that medical marijuana locations will close or face legal action

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.

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