City managers will gather in Sacramento on Thursday to discuss damage control. Some say more residents are seeking salary information from city halls. The Legislature considers reforms as well.

By Sam Allen, Abby Sewell and Patrick McGreevy, Los Angeles Times

July 29, 2010

The scandal over high salaries paid to Bell officials has city leaders throughout the state scrambling to limit the political damage.

City halls have seen an uptick in residents calling to find out what their local officials make ever since the story broke two weeks ago and prompted widespread public outrage.

Read the rest of this entry »

10:00 PM PDT on Wednesday, July 28, 2010

The Press-Enterprise

Redlands Planning Commission Chairman Paul Foster has qualified to run for a City Council seat in the November election.

Foster submitted nomination papers with 30 signatures on Monday. Twenty were validated, enough to qualify for the ballot, City Clerk Sam Irwin said Wednesday.

Read the rest of this entry »

10:00 PM PDT on Wednesday, July 28, 2010

By JAN SEARS
The Press-Enterprise

The Redlands City Council today will consider asking residents to approve a half-cent sales tax measure on the November ballot.

The council conducted a July 20 public hearing on the tax and agreed afterward, on a 4-1 vote, to put the measure on the ballot. The action requires a second vote, scheduled today because Mayor Pro Tem Jerry Bean will be unavailable for the next regular meeting Tuesday.

Read the rest of this entry »

10:00 PM PDT on Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Cassie MacDuff

People are understandably upset at high salaries paid to city officials, while municipal workers are being laid off and the public is being told it will have to settle for reduced services.

But lucrative pay is only half the story. When you add in the benefits public officials receive, the taxpayers are getting hit for even more than many people realize.

Read the rest of this entry »

10:49 PM PDT on Wednesday, July 28, 2010

By DAVID OLSON and BEN GOAD
The Press-Enterprise

The sharply divergent reactions that Inland residents had to a federal judge’s ruling Wednesday blocking full enforcement of Arizona’s tough anti-illegal-immigration law mirrored the outrage and joy expressed nationwide.

Lake Elsinore Mayor Melissa Melendez blasted the decision. “If that’s what they’ve done, and they’ve usurped the authority of the state of Arizona, then I am completely ashamed and appalled at what they are doing,” Melendez said.

Read the rest of this entry »

Wendy Leung, Staff Writer
Created: 07/28/2010 10:28:23 PM PDT

RANCHO CUCAMONGA – The former city manager of Bell, who stepped down last week after news reports unveiled his unusually high salary of more than $787,000, got his start in Rancho Cucamonga, where he rose through the ranks in eight years to become assistant city manager.

Robert Rizzo, 56, possibly the highest-paid city manager in the nation, was hired by Rancho Cucamonga as an administrative aide in 1980 and later became an administrative analyst and an assistant to the city manager before becoming an assistant city manager.

Read the rest of this entry »

Neil Nisperos, Staff Writer
Created: 07/28/2010 06:21:05 PM PDT

A number of area residents have signaled their intent to run for the region’s school boards as the filing period for the Nov. 2 election has just passed its mid-point.

More than 30 school board seats are being contested at the Inland Valley school districts of Central, Alta Loma, Chaffey Joint Union High School, Chino Valley, Cucamonga, Etiwanda, Fontana, Upland, Mount Baldy, Mountain View, Ontario-Montclair, and the San Bernardino County board of education.

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L.A. NOW
Southern California — this just in

July 28, 2010 | 5:31 pm

Three highly paid administrators in Bell will not be permitted to draw their state pensions until the attorney general determines whether the city broke the law in awarding the hefty paychecks, according to an official with the California Public Employees’ Retirement System.

“CalPERS is concerned about the situation, and our intention is to not [to] entertain applications for pensions from any of these people until the investigation is complete,” said Pat Macht, the agency’s external affairs director.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Jon Ortiz
jortiz@sacbee.com
Published: Thursday, Jul. 29, 2010 – 12:00 am | Page 1A

Furloughs are back.

Less a month after ending unpaid days off for more than 200,000 state workers, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is bringing back a scaled-down version of the policy that will take effect on Sunday.

Read the rest of this entry »

The ruling halts implementation of provisions that require police to determine the immigration status of people they stop and suspect of being in the U.S. illegally. An immediate appeal is expected.

By Nicholas Riccardi and Anna Gorman, Los Angeles Times

July 28, 2010 | 5:50 p.m.

Reporting from Phoenix and Tucson —

A federal judge on Wednesday blocked most of a controversial Arizona immigration law just hours before it was to take effect, handing the Obama administration a win in the first stage of a legal battle expected to end up in the U.S. Supreme Court.

U.S. District Court Judge Susan Bolton in Phoenix issued a temporary injunction against parts of the law that would require police to determine the status of people they lawfully stopped and suspected were in the country illegally.

Read the rest of this entry »

PolitiCal
On politics in the Golden State

July 28, 2010 | 9:00 pm

With the campaigns in full swing over what are supposed to be lazy summer months, a new survey from the Public Policy Institute of California finds the races for governor and U.S. Senate are both up for grabs.

Democratic gubernatorial nominee Jerry Brown is leading his Republican opponent Meg Whitman, 37% to 34%. Meanwhile, Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer is ahead of Republican Carly Fiorina, 39% to 34%.

Read the rest of this entry »

PoliticsBlog

Posted By: Carla Marinucci | July 28 2010 at 02:18 PM

California Working Families for Jerry Brown, the independent expenditure group working to help the Democratic State Attorney General’s 2010 gubernatorial campaign, just got a powerhouse ally — the 325,000-member California Teachers Association.

CTA President David Sanchez, in announcing the move, called Brown “the education candidate for governor.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Yes, Attorney General Jerry Brown repeatedly claims he’s all over the City of Bell salary scandal.

Brown’s office has subpoenaed thousands of city records. He’s giving city officials twenty-four hours to turn them over.

Otherwise one can infer search warrants will be the order of the day.

Read the rest of this entry »

Steve Cooley

Investigators are looking into allegations of voter fraud and conflicts of interest, as well as the $100,000 salaries paid to four council members. The D.A. says several elections are targeted.

By Richard Winton, Jeff Gottlieb and Andrew Blankstein, Los Angeles Times

July 28, 2010

Los Angeles County prosecutors have launched a wide-ranging investigation into allegations of voter fraud and conflicts of interest involving municipal business in Bell, Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley said Tuesday.

In an interview with The Times, Cooley described an investigation considerably larger in scope than previously acknowledged by prosecutors, saying that it was “multifaceted, rapidly expanding and full-fledged.” Investigators have been gathering evidence since March, he said.

Read the rest of this entry »

11:11 AM PDT on Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Former Grand Terrace City Councilman Jim Miller pleaded guilty this morning to a misdemeanor charge stemming from payments he voted to approve to his wife’s weekly newspaper.

Miller pleaded guilty to having a financial interest by a state or local official in a government contract. In exchange for the guilty plea, prosecutors dropped a felony conflict of interest charge, which could have included prison time.

Read the rest of this entry »

Gutierrez

Wendy Leung, Staff Writer
Created: 07/27/2010 03:49:10 PM PDT

RANCHO CUCAMONGA – Last Thursday, Councilman Rex Gutierrez mulled a mayoral run, pulling papers just before City Hall closed for a three-day weekend.

On Monday, he changed his mind.

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Josh Dulaney, Staff Writer
Posted: 07/27/2010 08:04:56 PM PDT

RIALTO – The sex scandal that has rocked the Police Department and attracted widespread attention has not shaken officials’ faith in rank-and-file officers or Chief Mark Kling, based on remarks they made at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting.

“My confidence in Mark is high,” said City Administrator Henry Garcia. “This is a small step backward.”

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Ed Roski

James Wagner, Staff Writer
Posted: 07/27/2010 07:58:39 PM PDT

Majestic Realty Co. CEO and chairman Ed Roski Jr. said he remains committed to returning professional football to the region and building a state-of-the-art NFL stadium near the junction of the 60 and 57 freeways.

“It will happen,” said Roski, making his first public comments since the emergence of a competing stadium plan in downtown Los Angeles.

Read the rest of this entry »

Josh Dulaney, Staff Writer
Created: 07/27/2010 09:25:46 PM PDT

FONTANA – The City Council will continue its version of “Musical Chairs” on Wednesday night.

Council members are set to discuss how to fill a spot on the dais left open when they tapped Frank Scialdone to become mayor earlier this month after former Mayor Mark Nuaimi took a job as city manager in Yucca Valley.

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Michael J. Sorba, Staff Writer
Posted: 07/27/2010 07:35:08 PM PDT

COLTON – At least two City Council members say they’d like to see the city send out requests seeking the exact costs to outsource for police and fire services, following the results of recently completed audits of both departments.

They would also like the city to contact surrounding jurisdictions to examine the viability of forming a joint powers agreement for fire services.

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Deal includes furlough, cuts
July 27, 2010 5:41 PM
Beau Yarbrough

HESPERIA • The Hesperia Unified School District and Hesperia Teachers Association have apparently resolved their differences and have reached a three-year agreement, officials said Tuesday.

The tentative agreement includes nine furlough days (an effective salary cut of almost 5 percent), 1 percent pay cut and 2 percent savings on other monetary benefits for teachers.

Read the rest of this entry »

Activists at work

Groups try to raise turnout
James Rufus Koren, Staff Writer
Posted: 07/27/2010 10:21:04 PM PDT

SAN BERNARDINO – Call 13,000 people, and you’ll talk to about 3,900. Of those, about 2,300 will like what you have to say. And of those, about 1,380 will show up to vote in November.

That’s a math lesson in voter outreach taught to about a dozen local activists Monday and Tuesday through a program called Mobilize the Immigrant Vote. It’s a program activists hope will help San Bernardino’s Latino community flex its muscles at the ballot box in November.

Read the rest of this entry »

10:49 PM PDT on Tuesday, July 27, 2010

By JACK KATZANEK
The Press-Enterprise

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was one of the biggest boosters Tuesday when officials triggered the demolition of the first building to make way for the proposed $3.7 billion March LifeCare campus.

The project could ultimately bring as many as 7,200 permanent jobs to the former March Air Force Base, at a health-care complex that will be anchored by a medical center, the project developer said. The ambitious plans call for a wide range of other medical buildings on the grounds of the former base, including facilities for senior citizens and retirees for ambulatory care patients.

Read the rest of this entry »

10:00 PM PDT on Tuesday, July 27, 2010

By JAN SEARS
The Press-Enterprise

Redlands could face a general fund shortfall of $23 million by 2014-15 if the economy doesn’t improve and no steps are taken to correct the city’s financial course.

The City Council heard the gloomy financial report last week, as City Manager Enrique Martinez urged them to adopt a multiyear approach to budgeting.

Read the rest of this entry »

By PE News
on July 27, 2010 9:44 AM

Riverside County supervisors this morning voted 4-0 to update the county’s vehicle policy.

The new rules require greater oversight — from detailed mileage reports to stricter controls on employees taking cars home at night.

Read the rest of this entry »

10:00 PM PDT on Tuesday, July 27, 2010

By DUANE W. GANG
The Press-Enterprise

Riverside County’s November ballot is getting crowded.

Supervisors on Tuesday voted to place two competing pension measures before voters Nov. 2, as well as a proposal to increase the amount of money the county’s regional transportation commission can borrow.

Read the rest of this entry »

Meg Whitman

PolitiCal
On politics in the Golden State

July 27, 2010 | 5:58 pm

Facebook users have seen ads soliciting thoughts on everything from their favorite vacation spot to the best engagement ring.

Now Republican gubernatorial nominee Meg Whitman is using so-called polling ads to determine what Facebook users see as the most important issue facing California, hoping to boost her online network in the process.

Read the rest of this entry »

Carly Fiorina

Senate hopeful meets veterans at Balboa Park

By Michele Clock, UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

Tuesday, July 27, 2010 at 9:26 p.m.

In a San Diego campaign stop to showcase her support for veterans, Republican Senate candidate Carly Fiorina again criticized Democratic U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer for backing the federal economic stimulus act and questioned her support for the military.

Surrounded by about 60 people, many of them veterans, at the Veterans Museum and Memorial Center in Balboa Park on Tuesday, Fiorina said the stimulus act has actually cost jobs rather than helping create them. Boxer says just the opposite.

Read the rest of this entry »

The two parties are staging stunts as the state’s unpaid bills pile up heading into the fifth week without a spending plan.

By Shane Goldmacher, Los Angeles Times

July 28, 2010

Reporting from Sacramento —

As California staggers toward the fifth week of the fiscal year without a spending plan, a month of closed-door talks in the Capitol have produced little but tension and finger-pointing. The calendar is flipping toward August with no resolution in sight.

Top officials don’t even publicly agree about what they agree upon. The two parties are staging stunts at the Capitol and trading barbs in dueling radio addresses, each side accusing the other of being dug in or disengaged, or both.

Read the rest of this entry »

L.A. NOW
Southern California — this just in

July 27, 2010 | 2:13 pm

A lawsuit filed Monday by a former Bell police officer makes a variety of serious allegations about city officials and suggests voter fraud in a 2009 election.

According to the lawsuit, filed by James Corcoran, off-duty police officers in Bell distributed absentee ballots in a 2009 municipal election and told would-be voters which candidates to support.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted on 26 July 2010
By Robert Cruickshank

As progressive activists across America organize to fight the looming “cat food commission” proposals to destroy the futures of working Americans by slashing Social Security benefits and raise the retirement age, Jerry Brown is now proposing to do the same here in California – in this case with cuts to public employee pensions:

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By Jim Boren on July 27, 2010 2:16 PM

Remember right after the June primary when Democrat Jerry Brown said he’d debate Republican Meg Whitman any time, any place? Whitman has agreed to a Fresno debate on Oct. 2 at Fresno State. But Brown’s gubernatorial campaign today would only say the debate is under consideration.

The Fresno debate will be sponsored by The Bee, Univision, the Fresno-Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the city of Fresno and Fresno State. (Full disclosure: I have attended many of the planning sessions for the debate as a representative of The Bee). This is the same group that sponsored the July 1 town hall in Fresno with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Read the rest of this entry »

Capitol Alert
The latest on California politics and government
July 27, 2010

Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman has agreed to participate in a September debate co-sponsored by The Sacramento Bee.

Other sponsors of the event, to be held September 28 on the UC Davis campus, are KCRA, Capitol Public Radio and the University of California, Davis.

Read the rest of this entry »

Michael J. Mishak Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

July 27, 2010 | 1:08 p.m.

In politics, it’s all about the spin.

Take, for instance, a news release issued Tuesday by the Meg Whitman campaign that proclaims, “Meg Whitman Challenges Jerry Brown to Three Fall Debates.” It was an interesting take given that Brown, the Democratic attorney general, issued the debate challenge to Whitman and her GOP primary rival, California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, at the state Democratic convention in April. Brown kept up the pressure after the primary, challenging Whitman to a series of 10 debates. In June, she accepted an invitation to an October debate, as did Brown, who then asked to speed up the schedule.

Read the rest of this entry »

PolitiCal
On politics in the Golden State
July 27, 2010 | 8:36 am

Appearing on “Good Morning America” on Tuesday, Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman emphasized her tenure as chief executive of EBay, saying her experience at the company gave her insight into the conditions needed for small businesses to thrive. And she said she had no plans to run for higher office if she were elected governor.

Meg Whitman “Hundreds of thousands of individuals made most, if not all, of their living selling on EBay,” Whitman said. “I saw exactly what was required for small business to grow and thrive. If California is going to be led out of this recession, it’s going to have to be led out by small business.”

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Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown is apparently becoming a little sensitive to criticisms he is using his official capacity of Attorney General as a campaign platform.

In a Los Angeles Times story yesterday, Brown defended his investigation into pay practices in the City of Bell, deflecting allegations by the Meg Whitman campaign, that his actions were a campaign stunt.

Maybe someone should ask Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley. The man with the tire tracks across his back.

Read the rest of this entry »

Number of days past constitutional deadline: 42

Status: Legislature on summer recess

10:00 PM PDT on Monday, July 26, 2010

By IMRAN GHORI
The Press-Enterrise

San Bernardino County is no longer revealing its litigation costs in its civil lawsuit against former county officials accused of corruption.

County officials say they’re doing so to protect their legal strategy and that state law allows them to keep information about litigation records confidential until the matter is resolved.

Read the rest of this entry »

By PE Politics
on July 27, 2010 6:45 AM

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will participate in a 10 a.m. demolition ceremony today for the March Lifecare project.

The project, at the former March Air Force Base, is being billed as the Inland area’s largest health care center. It will cover more than 3.5 million square feet once buildings are built on the base’s northeast corner. Projections show at least $80.1 million in work over 10 years.

Read the rest of this entry »

Hudson

10:00 PM PDT on Monday, July 26, 2010

By ALICIA ROBINSON
The Press-Enterprise

Riverside City Manager Brad Hudson may face tough questions today from his bosses on the City Council when they meet behind closed doors to discuss his performance.

Several council members said they have concerns about the sale of Police Department guns in 2005 to Hudson and Assistant City Manager Tom De Santis and city officials’ use of nearly untraceable license plates reserved for police work.

Read the rest of this entry »

10:00 PM PDT on Monday, July 26, 2010

The Press-Enterprise

Voters likely will be asked in November whether the city treasurer should be appointed by the city council.

The council will decide whether to put the issue on the November ballot when it meets Aug. 3. The treasurer currently is an elected post.

Read the rest of this entry »

James Rufus Koren, Staff Writer
Posted: 07/26/2010 05:56:55 PM PDT

One of the Inland Empire’s most outspoken Democratic activists says he is unhappy with the county Democratic Party and is considering promoting Republican candidates for local office.

Gil Navarro, who earlier this month said his new political action committee – the Latino Caucus of the Inland Empire – would support only Democratic candidates, now says he might have had a change of heart after a meeting with Assemblyman Curt Hagman, R-Chino Hills.

Read the rest of this entry »

10:00 PM PDT on Monday, July 26, 2010

Cassie MacDuff

With the scandal over exorbitant pay for Bell officials, Inland residents may wonder if their city governments, too, have approved extravagant salaries unbeknownst to them.

A 2007 Press-Enterprise survey showed Inland city manager salaries doubled between 1996 and 2006. Some now top $200,000.

Read the rest of this entry »

10:23 PM PDT on Monday, July 26, 2010

By BEN GOAD
Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON – As Republicans eye a takeover in the House of Representatives this fall, two Inland congressmen are well positioned to reap the benefits.

Reps. Darrell Issa and Jerry Lewis serve as the top Republican members of the House Oversight and Appropriations committees, respectively. But if the Republicans win back majority status, the two lawmakers could become significantly more powerful as chairmen of the two panels.

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10:00 PM PDT on Monday, July 26, 2010

The Loma Linda City Council will swear in its two newest members and choose a mayor Tuesday night.

Ron Dailey, the executive associate dean of Loma Linda University’s dental school, and Phillip Dupper, a San Bernardino County sheriff’s sergeant, won election June 8.

Read the rest of this entry »

Wes Woods II, Staff Writer
Created: 07/26/2010 09:31:00 PM PDT

LA VERNE – The City Council has approved a contract with Assistant City Manager Robert T. Russi to become the city manager, effective Aug. 6.

Russi will make $169,000 per year. He could make up to $195,000 by 2013 if he receives satisfactory evaluations from the council.

Read the rest of this entry »

Carly Fiorina

By KEVIN FREKING (AP) – 16 hours ago

WASHINGTON — Republicans have reserved $1.75 million for television ads to help Carly Fiorina in the final week of the California Senate race.

The commitment signals GOP optimism about unseating three-term Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer in November. The Republicans plan to target the Los Angeles market and the money would buy enough air time for viewers to see an ad — at least in part — 10 times.

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By Ed Mendel

As CalPERS publicly said a decade ago that a major pension increase, now targeted for rollbacks, could be paid for with investment earnings rather than higher state costs, its actuaries made a startlingly accurate forecast of the impact if earnings fell short.

The actuaries said the annual state payment to CalPERS, $159 million in 1999, could soar to $3.954 billion in fiscal 2010-11 — a long-range forecast that scored a near bull’s-eye on the $3.888 billion state payment for the fiscal year that began this month.

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Attorney General Edmund “Jerry” Brown

PolitiCal
On politics in the Golden State

July 26, 2010 | 4:45 pm

Ten television trucks and a crowd of reporters showed up for a news conference Monday where California Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown announced that he had issued subpoenas for records as part of his investigation into “excessive” salaries in Bell, but the Democratic gubernatorial nominee insisted he was just doing his day job.

Last week The Times examined Brown’s dual roles as candidate and attorney general — prompting the campaign of his opponent, Meg Whitman, to request public records detailing Brown’s official travel and the personnel records of his communications staff.

Read the rest of this entry »

Unions are giving the candidate plenty of financial support, even though he has made no commitment to their causes.

By Michael J. Mishak, Los Angeles Times

July 27, 2010

Reporting from Sacramento —

The television ads seize on the millions of dollars organized labor is spending to help elect Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown, warning that if he’s victorious, he would be “their governor.”

Labor leaders watching the spots, which are funded by billionaire GOP nominee Meg Whitman, should be so lucky.

Read the rest of this entry »

L.A. NOW
Southern California — this just in

July 26, 2010 | 4:55 pm

Bell Mayor Oscar Hernandez issued a news release Monday apologizing to residents for high salaries the city paid administrators and said he would serve the rest of his term without pay. He will not run for reelection.

“Since my first day as mayor, my priority has been to make Bell a city its residents can be proud to call home,” Hernandez said in his statement. “To the residents of this great city, I apologize that the council’s past decisions with regard to the indefensible administrative salaries have failed to meet that test.

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Arnold Schwarzenegger

PolitiCal
On politics in the Golden State

July 26, 2010 | 3:54 pm

Nearly four weeks into the fiscal year without a budget, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger suggested Monday that California might have to wait until his successor is sworn in next year to get a spending plan — unless lawmakers give him everything he wants.

Schwarzenegger says the Legislature must curtail public pensions and change California’s taxation and budgeting systems before he will sign a budget this year, his last as governor. He leaves office in January.

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PolitiCal
On politics in the Golden State

July 26, 2010 | 4:37 pm

Reviving an old attack in his continuing effort to get Republican rival Meg Whitman to release her tax returns, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown accused her Monday of failing to pay unemployment taxes for household staff when she lived in Massachusetts in the 1990s.

The same charge was leveled by the California Democratic Party in March, using the same piece of evidence: a 1999 judgment filed against Whitman in Boston Municipal Court for $1,648.58.

Read the rest of this entry »

Capitol Alert
The latest on California politics and government
July 26, 2010

WASHINGTON — The campaign of Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer today criticized Republican Senate GOP candidate Carly Fiorina for opposing the creation of a new consumer finance protection bureau.

The bureau is part of a financial reform bill backed by Boxer and signed into law by President Barack Obama last week.

Read the rest of this entry »

Capitol Alert
The latest on California politics and government
July 26, 2010

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Monday he’s against reducing the state’s supermajority budget vote requirement to a majority threshold, essentially voicing his opposition to Proposition 25 on the November ballot.

The Republican governor spoke during a “budget roundtable” he convened at the offices of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce. In response to a question on ballot initiatives, he first said taxes and fees should not be increased by a majority vote, a restriction the California Chamber of Commerce is attempting to strengthen in Proposition 26. He then said he’s not only against approving taxes and fees on a majority-vote basis, but also a state budget.

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Crime | Government | Medical marijuana | Education | Prop 8 | Traffic | Westside
L.A. NOW
Southern California — this just in

July 26, 2010 | 7:37 am

The embattled Bell City Council will meet Monday night to consider cutting council member pay, which is now considered significantly higher than that of other cities of the same size.

The move comes three days after the council announced the resignations of three top city administrators, including the city manager who was making nearly $800,000 a year.

Read the rest of this entry »

Brown

Today, Attorney General, oops! I mean democratic candidate for Governor Edmund “Jerry” Brown was campaigning on the Bell pension fiasco vis press conference.

Yes indeed. Another “high-profile” issue has handed Brown a platform to campaign from for “free”.

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Number of days past constitutional deadline: 41

Status: Legislature on summer recess

Michael J. Sorba, Staff Writer
Posted: 07/25/2010 02:55:14 PM PDT

COLTON – Customers of the Colton Electric Utility pay more for electricity than customers of utilities owned by other surrounding cities, according to an audit of the city’s electric company.

Many residential customers and all commercial and industrial customers also pay more than customers of Southern California Edison, the investor-owned electricity provider that services most of the county.

Read the rest of this entry »

Andrew Edwards, Staff Writer
Posted: 07/25/2010 08:06:37 PM PDT

SAN BERNARDINO – The move to amend the City Charter can be viewed as a debate over how to run the city – or just another smackdown between leaders who cannot get along.

The proposal to change the charter would give the City Council, with the mayor’s consent, power to appoint the city attorney, city clerk and city treasurer.

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Council OKs reorganization of departments
Jesse B. Gill, Staff Writer
Posted: 07/25/2010 08:06:08 PM PDT

REDLANDS – The City Council has released a list detailing the total number of jobs it eliminated through recent budget cuts and the reorganizations of city departments necessary after the cuts were made.

The council unanimously approved a resolution making the reorganizations official by adding the cost for the remaining positions into the city budget for the 2010-2011 fiscal year.

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City seeking unspecified cuts from contracts
Jesse B. Gill, Staff Writer
Posted: 07/25/2010 08:06:43 PM PDT

REDLANDS – Although the City Council has said it wants contract concessions from the unions representing city employees, union leaders say it hasn’t specified what is needed.

A council subcommittee manned by Jon Harrison and Mick Gallagher is conducting informal discussions with both unions about items in their employment contracts they could give up to save the city money. The discussions come after a budget season in which the council eliminated 47 full-time city jobs and was still left with a deficit of $877,500.

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Liset Marquez, Staff Writer
Created: 07/25/2010 07:03:13 AM PDT

ONTARIO – It’s official: The City Council has agreed to recognize the Ovitt family by naming the public library in its honor.

The exact wording of the dedication will be determined at a future meeting.

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July 26, 2010

By Clint Reilly
Special to Calbuzz

Today Calbuzz presents an assessment of the campaign for governor by political strategist, businessman and columnist Clint Reilly. Reilly, whose advice Brown recently sought, has a unique perspective, having run the 1994 gubernatorial bid of the Democratic candidate’s sister, Kathleen, against Pete Wilson, who enjoyed a substantial fundraising advantage.

Read the rest of this entry »

California Watch
A Project of the Center for Investigative Reporting
Money and Politics

California WatchBlog

July 26, 2010 | Lance Williams

One of Carly Fiorina’s ads attacks Barbara Boxer for being “worried about the weather.”

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Carly Fiorina has obtained about $63,000 in donations this year from Appalachian coal-mining interests, much of the money from an outspoken Ohio mine owner who dismisses global warming as “hysterical global goofiness.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Published: Monday, Jul. 26, 2010 – 12:00 am | Page 3A

When California faced a major budget crisis in the early 1990s, thanks to what was then the worst recession since the Great Depression, a Republican governor – Pete Wilson – and the Legislature enacted a big, albeit temporary, increase in state taxes.

Despite the boost in sales and income taxes, however, state revenue continued to decline as the recession deepened, touching off years of political debate over causes and effects.

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Paul Biane

Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Posted: 07/24/2010 09:55:39 PM PDT

RANCHO CUCAMONGA – Paul Biane plucked a cabernet grape from a vine at his family’s winery and pinched the grape between his fingers to expose a green seed inside.

When the seeds are brown in color and the sugar content high, the grapes are ready to harvest, he explained.

The winery’s blended table wine hasn’t been produced commercially for some time, but the 46-year-old San Bernardino County supervisor talks of expanding operations and selling the wine again after he’s done with politics.

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Brinker

Tobin Brinker
Posted: 07/24/2010 07:18:12 PM PDT

We have all seen tightrope walkers high above the crowd on a narrow rope balancing precariously as winds buffet them. It makes for riveting entertainment, as the viewer waits to see if the tightrope walker makes it successfully across or if he falls.

San Bernardino’s elected officials are attempting to walk a budget tightrope. We are buffeted on all sides by individuals with ideological biases. Some say “NO TAXES” and others say “NO CUTS.” Citizens groups and employee unions are lobbying the elected officials and mobilizing with letters to the editor.

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Brown

By David Siders
dsiders@sacbee.com
Published: Sunday, Jul. 25, 2010 – 12:00 am | Page 1A
Last Modified: Sunday, Jul. 25, 2010 – 1:19 am

In summer 1978, 2,000 state workers rallied for a pay raise at the Capitol, shouting “Down with Brown” and hurling boos and catcalls as then-Gov. Jerry Brown addressed them from the stage.

Three months later, East Bay labor leaders refused to let Brown speak at their Labor Day picnic, and California’s largest state employees group publicly opposed his re-election bid. The executive secretary of the state AFL-CIO accused Brown of “leading a lynch mob against government workers.”

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Published: Sunday, Jul. 25, 2010 – 12:00 am | Page 3A
Last Modified: Sunday, Jul. 25, 2010 – 1:19 am

With unemployment skyrocketing and the country recovering slowly from a painful recession, job creation is the catch phrase of the 2010 election. Every candidate, it seems, has a program to put people back to work.

California’s gubernatorial candidates, Republican Meg Whitman and Democrat Jerry Brown, each have plans they say will help create jobs. Here’s a look at what each proposes to do. Most proposals would require approval by the Legislature.

– Dan Smith, Bee Capitol Bureau Chief

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By Dan Morain, Senior editor
dmorain@sacbee.com The Sacramento Bee
Published: Sunday, Jul. 25, 2010 – 12:00 am | Page 1E
Last Modified: Sunday, Jul. 25, 2010 – 10:31 am

The ghost of one California chief justice is about to reappear this campaign season as a new chief justice heads to certain confirmation.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger nominated Tani Cantil-Sakauye as chief justice, a step that places the appointment power of governors before voters.

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Under scrutiny, the public pension fund has hired a firm to examine its payments.

By Evan Halper, Los Angeles Times

July 24, 2010 | 9:56 p.m.

Reporting from Sacramento —

California taxpayers are on the hook when the state’s giant public pension system — lately plagued by corruption scandals and huge losses — makes a bad investment. Yet they are permitted to see little of what goes into its investment decisions.

Officials at the California Public Employees’ Retirement System have shrouded many of their multimillion-dollar transactions in secrecy, refusing to release analyses of potential investments, meeting materials and correspondence relating to venture capital, real estate and other private equity holdings.

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Saturday, July 24, 2010 – 05:00 pm

From District Attorney investigators recently pulling time card records of at least one current high-profile County Government Center employee, to pre-election day cover-ups, to intrigue surrounding the Public Defender’s office disqualifying itself in the conspiracy case involving former Assessor Bill Postmus, things are about to start stirring in San Bernardino County political and legal circles.

Much is happening these days.

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Number of days past constitutional deadline: 39

Status: Legislature on summer recess

Friday, July 23, 2010 – 03:47 pm
Updated: Saturday, July 24, 2010 – 09:25 am

Sources tell InlandPolitics that San Bernardino County has taken attorney-client privilege to a new level.

In San Bernardino County only, the amount of taxpayer money spent on outside counsel is privileged.

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10:00 PM PDT on Friday, July 23, 2010

Cassie MacDuff

Several bombshells from Redlands of late:

Council members are irked that the city manager and city attorney got salary increases unwittingly approved by the council.

City Manager Enrique Martinez acknowledged he has a consultant studying the city’s refuse operation, raising suspicions he’ll try to privatize it as he did in Colton in the 1990s.

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Paul Zellerbach

10:00 PM PDT on Friday, July 23, 2010

By RICHARD K. DE ATLEY
The Press-Enterprise

More than six weeks after voters made him Riverside County district attorney-elect, Paul Zellerbach has started his transition by meeting with employees, talking to county officials and reviewing the department’s policies

But Zellerbach, a Riverside County superior court judge, says he hasn’t spoken to Rod Pacheco, the man he is replacing in January.

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Bell officials step down
July 23, 2010 3:16 PM
FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

BELL (AP) • The city manager, assistant city manager and police chief of this small, poverty-plagued suburb of Los Angeles stepped down following a public outcry over their salaries, which total more than $1.6 million a year.

Robert Rizzo, who served as Hesperia’s city manager from 1988 to 1992, was the highest paid Bell employee at $787,637 a year — nearly twice the pay of President Barack Obama. Census figures for 2008 showed about 17 percent of the city’s less than 40,000 residents live in poverty.

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Michael J. Sorba, Staff Writer
Posted: 07/23/2010 06:50:33 PM PDT

COLTON – The city could save as much as $8.2 million by eliminating its police and fire departments and contracting with outside agencies, according to audits of the departments which were released Friday.

The firm estimates between $2.3 million and $8.2 million would be saved if the City Council elected to contract for public safety services or form a joint agreement with other cities in the area.

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Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Posted: 07/23/2010 05:57:50 PM PDT

SAN BERNARDIN0 – In a motion seeking dismissal of state charges of extortion and bribery against former San Bernardino County assistant assessor Jim Erwin, Erwin’s attorney claims state and county prosecutors have failed to clearly state the charges, thereby thwarting Erwin’s ability to properly defend himself.

Criminal defense attorney Rajan R. Maline on Friday filed the motion in San Bernardino Superior Court, in which he also alleges that the three-year statute of limitations has expired for the offenses in which both Erwin and former county Assessor Bill Postmus stand accused.

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James Rufus Koren, Staff Writer
Posted: 07/23/2010 06:17:54 PM PDT

Democrats in San Bernardino County elected new party leaders Thursday night, but rather than uniting in the months before November’s elections, the leadership fight highlighted fissures in the local organization.

Ron Wall of Ontario was elected chairman of the county’s Democratic Central Committee, beating former party vice chairman Mark Alvarez. Alvarez also lost in a bid for first vice chairman, as did candidate Leticia Garcia.

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Sarah Palin                 Carly Fiorina

By PE Politics
on July 23, 2010 12:20 PM

As the race for California’s contested U.S. Senate seat tightens, incumbent Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and Republican challenger Carly Fiorina have each attempted in recent days to portray the other as an extremist from the fringe of their respective party.

This week, the two traded jabs on abortion and offshore oil drilling, two of the many issues on which the candidates have vastly different views.

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Brown

By Jon Ortiz and David Siders
jortiz@sacbee.com
Published: Saturday, Jul. 24, 2010 – 12:00 am | Page 3A

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown, long a supporter of public employee retirement rights, is staking out territory in what is traditionally Republican ground: government pension reform.

On his campaign website and in recent comments to the media, California’s attorney general and former governor has advocated rolling back state retirement benefits. Many of his points mirror changes pushed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and tentatively accepted by some unions, but don’t cut into pensions as deeply as policies proposed by Brown’s Republican opponent, Meg Whitman.

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L.A. NOW
Southern California — this just in

July 23, 2010 | 12:33 am

Bell’s top administrators, whose hefty salaries have stirred public outrage and calls for investigations, agreed to resign Thursday night during a closed-door City Hall meeting.

City Manager Robert Rizzo, Police Chief Randy Adams and Assistant City Manager Angela Spaccia will not receive severance packages. Rizzo will step down at the end of August and Spaccia will leave at the end of September. Adams will also leave at the end of August, after completing an evaluation of the Police Department.

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Number of days past constitutional deadline: 38

Status: Legislature on summer recess

Gilbreath

Chantal M. Lovell, Staff Writer
Posted: 07/22/2010 06:31:21 PM PDT

Redlands Mayor Pat Gilbreath said she will make another run for city council in November, after stating she would not seek the office again.

Gilbreath sent a letter to her “longtime supporter(s)” announcing her intent to run for her council seat, which will be up for election Nov. 2, along with those of councilmen Mick Gallagher and Jon Harrison.

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James Rufus Koren, Staff Writer
Posted: 07/22/2010 05:14:57 PM PDT

More than four in 10 voters in Rep. Joe Baca’s congressional district say they don’t know who they’ll vote for in November, according to a poll commissioned by Scott Folkens, Baca’s Republican challenger.

Folkens, who is using the poll results in his campaign’s latest request for donations, said he is hoping to convince the national Republican Party it should get involved in his campaign.

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July 22, 2010 4:14 PM
Brooke Edwards

VICTORVILLE • Two city leaders clashed during Tuesday night’s meeting, with Councilman Ryan McEachron asking Mayor Pro Tem Mike Rothschild to stop “spouting off” against issues that are already settled and Rothschild accusing his colleague of letting “side politics” guide his decisions.

The conflict stemmed from Rothschild continuing to speak out at public meetings and in a letter to the Daily Press against decisions approved by the rest of the council, including Helendale’s efforts to expand and plans for Apple Valley’s Yucca Loma Bridge.

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July 22, 2010 5:38 PM
Natasha Lindstrom

SAN BERNARDINO • Two months after San Bernardino County placed him on paid leave amid harassment allegations, the 2nd District’s former top aide has taken a new county position as an assistant recorder.

Matt Brown, previously chief of staff to 2nd District Supervisor Paul Biane, was put on administrative leave in early May, days after Brown sent his boss a letter alleging he was being threatened and retaliated against for cooperating with a corruption investigation. The environment was so hostile, Brown wrote in the letter, that it led to him seeking medical help.

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July 22, 2010 5:42 PM
Beau Yarbrough

HESPERIA • Two weeks after a school board meeting that abruptly ended with board members taunting one another and calling each other names, the board will try again on Monday to finish their July agenda.

At the July 12 meeting of the Hesperia Unified School District school board, board members returned from a second period of closed-doors discussions determined to get through the 13 points remaining undone in the first four hours of the meeting.

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By PE Politics
on July 22, 2010 9:34 AM

Assemblywoman Mary Salas has conceded defeat in the extremely close Democratic primary for California’s 40th Senate District, which includes part of Riverside County, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported today.

Former Assemblyman Juan Vargas, who led Salas by 22 votes, picked up several more in a recount requested — and paid for — by Salas in certain precincts in San Diego and Riverside counties.

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By PE Politics
on July 23, 2010 7:48 AM

As reported this morning by Jack Katzanek, the House on Thursday approved legislation to extend benefits for the nation’s jobless.

The 272-152 vote went mostly along party lines, with just 10 Democrats voting against the bill and 31 Republicans voting for it. Among those were Inland Rep. Mary Bono Mack, R-Palm Springs, whose eastern Riverside County district has been hit about as hard as anywhere in the country by the economic downturn.

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Barbara Boxer              Carly Fiorina

PolitiCal
On politics in the Golden State

July 22, 2010 | 7:41 pm

In 2008, the Culver City-based Brave New Films used viral videos to take on then-presidential candidate John McCain’s health, his numerous homes and his shifting rhetoric. The company’s new target is Republican U.S. Senate candidate Carly Fiorina, who is locked in a tight race with Sen. Barbara Boxer(D-Calif).

In one of the first independent expenditures of the general election campaign, Brave New Films has released a viral video that plays up Fiorina’s association with “tea party” groups in California and shows an image of her face morphing into that of Sarah Palin, who gave Fiorina a boost by endorsing her during the hard-fought Republican primary.

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The Democrat would adopt some Schwarzenegger ideas, such as asking current employees to contribute more to their plans and raising the retirement age for new hires.

By Michael J. Mishak, Los Angeles Times

July 23, 2010

Reporting from Sacramento —

Unveiling one of his few major policy proposals Thursday, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown called for public-pension reform, embracing some of Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s ideas for curbing the soaring cost of the state worker retirement system.

If elected, Brown said, he would ask current employees to contribute more to their pension plans and would raise the retirement age for new hires. The measures are core components of tentative deals Schwarzenegger has negotiated with half a dozen state workers’ unions.

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Ken McLaughlin

kmclaughlin@mercurynews.com
Posted: 07/22/2010 06:29:29 PM PDT
Updated: 07/22/2010 10:45:38 PM PDT

GOP gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman came to Garlic City on Thursday to step up her attacks on opponent Jerry Brown, portraying him as a supporter of “Sacramento’s war on jobs.”

Speaking to campaign supporters and workers at Gilroy’s Christopher Ranch, the former eBay CEO pointed to the newly released second edition of “Meg the Magazine” — a glossy, 36-page publication that outlines her proposals for creating 2 million jobs in California by 2015.

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PolitiCal
On politics in the Golden State

July 22, 2010 | 4:54 pm

There’s no evidence that Jerry Brown has done anything wrong as he’s attempted to balance his official duties as California’s attorney general with his gubernatorial bid, but that hasn’t kept his Republican opponent Meg Whitman from trying to stir controversy on the topic.

After an L.A. Times story this week about Brown’s dual roles, Whitman’s campaign said it had sent an open records request to the Department of Justice to determine if Brown is “using any taxpayer-paid staff or services to advance his gubernatorial campaign.”

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California Watch
A Project of the Center for Investigative Reporting
Money and Politics

California WatchBlog

July 23, 2010 | Timothy Sandoval

Gubernatorial candidates Jerry Brown and Meg Whitman have both repudiated partisan politics and attacks made against their campaigns.

But despite their concern about partisan attacks, Politics Verbatim has documented hundreds of attacks the two candidates have made since the beginning of the campaign.

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Brown

Thursday, July 22, 2010 – 08:38 pm

Listeners to the KFI AM-640 John and Ken show were treated to a surprise unannounced five minute call-in from California Attorney General Jerry Brown this evening.

Brown wanted to talk about his new investigation into the City of Bell salary scandal. However, John Kobylt and Ken Chiampou wanted to talk about illegal immigration.

Prior to Brown’s call-in John and Ken had adopted Calbuzz’s nickname for Brown, a.k.a “Krusty”.

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Published: July 22, 2010
Updated: 4:42 p.m.

By MARTIN WISCKOL
COLUMNIST
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

But Whitman, the billionaire former eBay CEO, spent a record-shattering $91 million on her primary campaign and didn’t miss a beat in shifting her attention to Brown. Brown, meanwhile, had a relatively modest $21 million in the bank as of the May filings – so it’s little surprise he’s holding back for later.

California has a boatload of failed self-funding millionaire candidates, including Al Checchi (spent $40 million of his own dough, lost 1998 Democratic primary for governor), Steve Westly ($40 million, lost 2006 Democratic primary for governor), and Michael Huffington ($28 million, lost 1994 general election for U.S. Senate).

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Capitol Alert
The latest on California politics and government
July 22, 2010

Update: This post was updated at 2:15 p.m. with a response from the Brown campaign.

GOP gubernatorial nominee Meg Whitman has a new television commercial blasting Democratic rival Jerry Brown.

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By Jeff Gottlieb Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

July 22, 2010 | 3:59 p.m.

The highly paid members of the Bell City Council were able to exempt themselves from state salary limits through a little-noticed city ballot measure during a special election that attracted fewer than 400 voters.

Council members in Bell earn nearly $100,000 – a salary that has prompted an inquiry by the Los Angeles County district attorney. A state law enacted in 2005 limits the pay of council members in “general law” cities, a reform prompted by the high salaries that leaders in the neighboring city of South Gate bestowed on themselves.

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Number of days past constitutional deadline: 37

Status: Legislature on summer recess



Thursday, July 22, 2010 – 11:27 am

It’s time for republican Gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman to clearly articulate her positions on each element of the illegal immigration issue.

Her post-primary campaign strategy has created some bumps in the road with some of the republican base. A potential problem if it continues.

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10:00 PM PDT on Wednesday, July 21, 2010

By IMRAN GHORI
The Press-Enterprise

A former top aide to San Bernardino County Supervisor Paul Biane who has been out on paid leave for two months is taking a new position as assistant recorder.

Larry Walker, the county’s auditor/controller/recorder/treasurer/tax collector, announced in a memo to his staff Tuesday that Matt Brown, until recently Biane’s long-time chief of staff, had joined his office.

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Staff and Wire Reports
Posted: 07/21/2010 05:38:42 PM PDT

Thousands of Inland Empire residents whose unemployment benefits have run out could start getting money again as a federal extension of those benefits was approved Wednesday evening in the Senate.

The House of Representatives is expected to approve the measure today. The Senate voted 59-39 to approve the extension of unemployment benefits after a months-long stalemate over how those benefits should be paid for.

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Mike Cruz, Staff Writer
Posted: 07/21/2010 06:06:11 PM PDT

Prosecutors may present some of their evidence of malfeasance by two former top officials in the county Assessor’s Office at a hearing next month, a judge ruled Wednesday.

Former Assessor Bill Postmus and Gregory Eyler, former taxpayer advocate, were scheduled for a preliminary hearing Aug. 12 during their appearances in San Bernardino Superior Court.

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Jesse B. Gill, Staff Writer
Posted: 07/21/2010 01:05:07 PM PDT

Redlands voters will have the final say in November on a half-cent sales tax measure the City Council is counting on to help balance the 2010-11 fiscal year budget.

The council voted 4-1 to place the measure on the Nov. 2 ballot. Councilman Mick Gallagher was the lone dissenter. The tax measure needed four of the five council members to approve it to place it on the ballot.

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Increase would fund fire, police, roads
July 21, 2010 9:03 AM
Beau Yarbrough

HESPERIA • The largest crowd at a Hesperia City Council meeting in recent memory showed up Tuesday with a single message: “Don’t hike sales taxes.”

Approximately 100 residents attended the City Council meeting. It was their first chance to speak directly to the City Council about a proposed halfcent hike to the city’s current 8.75 percent sales tax.

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Posted By: Drew Joseph | July 21 2010 at 03:07 PM

Don’t be surprised if Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown might just want to tout that draft report — currently being circulated by the campaign of Republican Meg Whitman — that names him the “worst” AG in the country. That’s because it comes from a Washington-based conservative organization that critics say have fought regulations on just about everything from drug safety to auto emissions.

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Elrod

Lori Consalvo, Staff Writer
Created: 07/21/2010 05:38:41 PM PDT

CHINO – The public comment session at Tuesday evening’s City Council meeting drew no mention from residents of Councilman Earl Elrod’s misdemeanor hit-and-run conviction in June.

But an Orange County developer who is in a fight with the city and a representative of Mothers Against Drunk Driving brought attention to Elrod’s case.

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By Jennifer Chaussee | 07/22/10 12:00 AM PST

It’s old news for the Netherlands, Portugal has been doing it for about a decade now and the Danes are thinking about it. On Nov. 2, Californians will vote on it.

But Californians looking forward to legalizing the recreational use of marijuana might have to think twice before lighting up this November.

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Mitt Romney and Meg Witman

California Watch
A Project of the Center for Investigative Reporting
Money and Politics

California WatchBlog

July 22, 2010 | Chase Davis

Gov. Mitt Romney and gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman

In political fundraising, as in life, it seems the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

As former Gov. Mitt Romney, R-Mass., once again gears up his national fundraising apparatus for another shot at the presidency, many of the big donors supporting him in California have also given thousands to his protege: Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman.

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Thursday, July 22, 2010

The ferocious pounding that high-profile conservative talk show hosts John and Ken delivered to Meg Whitman over the L.A. airwaves this week clearly shows that her blatant untruthiness isn’t playing any better on the right than it is on the left.

“If she’s going to lie to us during the engagement process then the hell with her,” said John Kobylt, one half of the dynamic duo featured on the “John and Ken Show.”

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But voters’ anti-Washington mood may be working in her favor against Boxer.

By George Skelton Capitol Journal
July 22, 2010

From Sacramento

Californians normally wouldn’t elect a Carly Fiorina to the U.S. Senate or any high office.

The conservative Republican, most specifically, opposes abortion rights. “I’m a proud pro-life conservative,” she says.

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When he steps down, City Manager Robert Rizzo will get at least $600,000 a year in pension checks, making him the highest-paid retiree in the state. The police chief will get more than $411,000.

By Catherine Saillant and Jeff Gottlieb, Los Angeles Times

July 22, 2010

Bell City Manager Robert Rizzo, whose nearly $800,000-a-year salary has ignited community protests and calls for his resignation, will become the highest-paid retiree in California’s pension system when he steps down.

Rizzo, whose forced-resignation could come as early as Thursday, would be entitled to a pension of at least $600,000 a year for the rest of his life, according to retirement calculations made by The Times and reviewed by pension experts.

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Brad Mitzelfelt

July 21, 2010 5:00 PM
By Brad Mitzelfelt, First District Supervisor

Economic development and environmental stewardship can exist side-by-side.

Perhaps the most obvious example is the push for renewable energy. San Bernardino County is the epicenter of this emerging and important industry because the sun shines bright and long here, especially in the Mojave Desert.

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By Mike Cruz
Created: 07/21/2010 04:07:19 PM PDT

A Superior Court judge has recalled an arrest warrant against former county taxpayer advocate Gregory Eyler, who missed a court appearance this morning because he had overslept, his lawyer said.

Eyler appeared about 3:10 p.m. in San Bernardino Superior Court, court personnel confirmed. Judge Michael Dest resumed Eyler’s bail bond and withdrew a $200,000 warrant for the defendant’s arrest, lawyer Stan Hodge said.

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By Mike Cruz
Posted: 07/21/2010 10:51:29 AM PDT

A Superior Court judge issued a bench warrant for Gregory Eyler and ordered his bail bond forfeited this morning when the former county taxpayer advocate failed to appear for a scheduled hearing.

Eyler and former Assessor Bill Postmus were both scheduled to appear before Judge Michael Dest at 8:30 a.m. in San Bernardino Superior Court. Both are charged in a case stemming from the county’s investigation into alleged malfeasance in the Assessor’s Office.

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Number of days past constitutional deadline: 36

Status: Legislature on summer recess

Tuesday, July 20, 2010 – 02:57 pm
Updated: Tuesday, July 20, 2010 – 06:07 pm
Last Update: Tuesday, July 20, 2010 – 08:02 pm

Well, well, well………Can you say ouch?

Matt Brown, now former chief of staff to Second District Supervisor Paul Biane is now being called Assistant Recorder. Even though county human resources classification database lists no such position title.

Brown would appear to be assuming the assistant department head position previously held by Elizabeth “Betsy” Starbuck, who was fired last Friday.

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Brown

It files a public records request with attorney general’s office seeking documents

By Steven Harmon
Contra Costa Times
Posted: 07/20/2010 04:04:27 PM PDT
Updated: 07/20/2010 07:12:30 PM PDT

SACRAMENTO — Meg Whitman’s campaign, suspicious that Jerry Brown is using his office as attorney general for campaign purposes, filed a Public Records Act request seeking documentation that they hope would prove it.

The request, filed late Monday with the attorney general’s office by Mark Bogetich, a Whitman campaign consultant, seeks what could amount to thousands of pages of employment information on communications staffers dating back to the 2005-06 fiscal year, before Brown was elected as attorney general.

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James Rufus Koren, Staff Writer
Created: 07/20/2010 05:39:24 PM PDT

San Bernardino County leaders are applauding a new law that will allow the county to have more than one grand jury, but it’s not clear if or when the law might be used.

The law, signed last week by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, gives the county’s presiding judge the ability to create a second civil grand jury that would be able to investigate government entities in the county.

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Devereaux

Gregory C. Devereaux
Created: 07/19/2010 07:29:13 PM PDT

On June 28, the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors approved a balanced budget for the fiscal year that began on July1. With the help of employee-approved salary deferrals, the use of reserves to create ongoing funding, and departmental budget reductions, the board was able to close an $89.4 million shortfall. The new budget eliminates 529 county positions, 85 of them currently filled.

As difficult as it might have been to balance this year’s budget, even greater fiscal challenges lie ahead. Due to a continuing decline in property tax revenues as well as increased costs, $133 million in deficits are projected for the next four years, including a $48 million deficit for the fiscal year that begins less than 12 short months from now.

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Lewis

July 20, 2010 4:43 PM
From Staff Reports

WASHINGTON • The Obama administration’s lawsuit against Arizona’s anti-illegal immigration law is contrary to both current law and Congress’ authority, Rep. Jerry said Tuesday.

Lewis joined 76 members of the House of Representatives and five senators in filing a court brief opposing the suit attempting to overturn Arizona’s law designed to limit illegal immigration.

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By PE News
on July 21, 2010 5:00 AM

The California Fair Political Practices Commission has fined a San Bernardino Community College board member and his campaign treasurer $6,000 for failing to report campaign contributions on time.

The state ethics watchdog agency approved the fine at its May meeting and sent an enforcement letter last month to John Futch, who was elected to the board in 2008, and his treasurer, Fermin Ramirez.

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By Claudia Buck
cbuck@sacbee.com
Published: Wednesday, Jul. 21, 2010 – 12:00 am | Page 1A

More than 400,000 jobless Californians could be getting a check in the mail in coming weeks, thanks to a U.S. Senate vote Tuesday that broke a prolonged political deadlock on unemployment benefits.

The vote to cut off debate came after months of partisan fighting over approval of $33 billion to extend jobless benefits through Nov. 30. The measure is expected to pass the Senate and House as early as today and be signed by President Barack Obama by week’s end.

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The city manager, his assistant and the police chief will be asked to step down and give up their high salaries. City Council members may reduce their own pay too.

By Ruben Vives, Los Angeles Times

July 21, 2010

Bell City Council members are seeking the resignations of the city manager and two other top officials amid growing public outcry over salaries that appear to be among the highest in the nation, according to three sources close to the discussions.

The embattled council directed its attorney to immediately begin negotiating with the three.

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Chantal M. Lovell, Staff Writer
Posted: 07/20/2010 07:09:56 PM PDT

The two tea parties in Redlands are beginning a push to make their voices and concerns heard locally.

Members from the Redlands Tea Party Patriots and Redlands Townhall Patriots attended the evening session of Tuesday’s City Council meeting to make it known they do not support a sales tax hike proposed for the November ballot.

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11:31 PM PDT on Tuesday, July 20, 2010

By SANDRA STOKLEY
The Press-Enterprise

Hard on the heels of Eastvale’s successful incorporation drive, its closest and much older neighbor will make its own case for cityhood Thursday before Riverside’s boundary-setting agency.

Members of the Jurupa Valley Incorporation Research Committee say that unlike the 1992 election, when voters overwhelmingly rebuffed cityhood, this time residents are united behind the concept of local control.

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Carly Fiorina

July 20th, 2010, 3:24 pm · posted by Dena Bunis, Washington Bureau Chief

Republican Senate hopeful Carly Fiorina has changed her mind, saying on a San Francisco radio show Tuesday morning that she would have voted yes on the unemployment benefits extension bill that was cleared Tuesday afternoon for a full Senate vote with just two GOP lawmakers voting yes.

“I probably would have voted for this extension,” Fiorina said on KGO radio. “But I tell you what, I think that it is absolutely appropriate for people to stand on their desks and say when is it that we’re finally going to do what needs to be done and cut government spending.”

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Wednesday, July 21, 2010

In the summer silly season of California’s 1990 campaign for governor, a strategist for Dianne Feinstein used to say that running against Pete Wilson was like “getting up every morning and having somebody throw marbles in front of you” all day.

The description perfectly expressed the challenge of facing the aggressive, always-on-offense style of Republican Wilson’s camp, which worked assiduously to keep Democrat Difi constantly off balance before defeating her in November.

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Number of days past constitutional deadline: 35

Status: Legislature on summer recess

10:00 PM PDT on Monday, July 19, 2010

Recount begins in state Senate race

A recount has begun in California’s 40th Senate District, where a mere 22 votes separate the two candidates vying for the Democratic nomination.

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Benoit

By PE Politics
on July 19, 2010 2:50 PM

The state’s political watchdog agency has warned Riverside County Supervisor John Benoit over 5,000 mailers initially sent at public expense.

Benoit sent out the mailers April 7 featuring his name, position and photograph, according to the warning letter sent by the state Fair Political Practices Commission. The mailers cost $1,333 and advertised a home-preservation summit.

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Council move puts pressure on contract talks
Andrew Edwards, Staff Writer
Posted: 07/19/2010 07:49:44 PM PDT

SAN BERNARDINO – The City Council decided by a single vote Monday to give the city manager authority to impose furloughs on police officers if city negotiators and the police union fail to reach a deal on pay concessions.

City Manager Charles McNeely has no immediate plans to force officers to take time off, he said. He presented the issue diplomatically, but the vote is essentially a decision to play hardball during what may be the closing rounds of negotiations.

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