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.

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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.

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July 26, 2010 4:13 PM
David Keck, Special to the Daily Press

Revised figures released by federal regulators show that Arrowhead Central Credit Union’s lost about $1.45 million in the second quarter and saw its net worth ratio drop to 3 percent.

The drop was enough for the National Credit Union Administration to declare Arrowhead was “significantly undercapitalized” for a fourth consecutive quarter under Federal Credit Union Act standards.

Read the rest of this entry »

The news on Arrowhead Credit Union wasn’t pretty last week.

Like I wrote about a week or two ago, the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), the credit unions regulator, wouldn’t have seized the institution without cause. I said the most likely scenario here was inaccurate financial data reported by Arrowhead’s management.

That assumption was correct.

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By PE Business
on July 23, 2010 12:31 PM

Layoffs at Arrowhead Credit Union started today.

According to the National Credit Union Administration which seized the San Bernardino-based financial institution on June 25 and has since overseen its management, the agency laid off 27 people.

Read the rest of this entry »

Andrew Edwards and Ryan Carter, Staff Writers
Posted: 07/22/2010 06:59:42 PM PDT

SAN BERNARDINO – Arrowhead Credit Union’s financial condition remained in a weakened state through the first half of 2010, according to government regulators who recently put the institution into conservatorship.

The National Credit Union Administration on Thursday released new financial numbers for Arrowhead Credit Union. Regulators’ figures show the credit union has been “significantly undercapitalized” and losing money.

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10:54 PM PDT on Thursday, July 22, 2010

By MARK MUCKENFUSS
The Press-Enterprise

Efforts are under way to station a contingent of active-duty Air Force troops at March Air Reserve Base.

Lt. Gen. Charles E. Stenner Jr., chief of the Air Force Reserve and the commander for the Air Force Reserve Command, was in Riverside on Thursday for the 12th annual Raincross Trophy Dinner. During a break in his schedule, the man whose domain includes the oversight of March Air Reserve Base spoke about a coming change in the way the base will operate.

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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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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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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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By PE Politics
on July 19, 2010 10:48 AM

The Washington Post this morning kicked off a two-year investigative series called “Top Secret America” on the growth of the intelligence community since September 2001.

The newspaper found that more than 1,200 government organizations and more than 1,900 private companies work on intelligence, homeland security and intelligence across the nation.

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Victorville

Agency: Projects look to be ‘defunct’
Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Posted: 07/18/2010 09:49:59 PM PDT

VICTORVILLE – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has ordered the city to stop raising money from foreign investors for projects at the Southern California Logistics Airport, which the agency says appear to be defunct.

About $10 million has been raised for the projects USCIS’s EB-5 Regional Center program, which allows foreigners to obtain green cards in exchange for $500,000 investments in the U.S.

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All the hoop-la over the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) seizure of Arrowhead Credit Union is coming across like a cheer-leading squad supporting the local establishment.

An area economist, John Husing, is going to demand the regulatory agency explain its actions by way of a letter to the NCUA signed by local business leaders.

After all Husing knows everyone everywhere, and therefore NCUA is wrong.

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July 17, 2010 11:28 AM
Brooke Edwards

VICTORVILLE • The city is prepared to accept three more $500,000 loans from foreign citizens through the federal EB-5 visa investor program, even while the federal government decides whether Victorville’s program will be allowed to continue.

If the council accepts these seventh, eighth and ninth loans, Victorville will have borrowed a total of $4.5 million through the program, which puts aspiring immigrants on the path to citizenship in exchange for a loan that creates at least 10 jobs.

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District Attorney Mike Ramos

The San Bernardino County Sentinel
Friday, July 16, 2010

Former sheriff Gary Penrod accumulated compromising information and materials pertaining to district attorney Mike Ramos which was then utilized to blackmail Ramos and head off an incipient effort by the district attorney’s office to file criminal charges against Penrod pertaining to a host of criminal acts the sheriff was himself involved in.

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Rebecca U. Cho, Staff Writer
Created: 07/15/2010 07:11:52 PM PDT

Congress approved a sweeping financial reform bill Thursday, seeking to address the causes of the 2008 financial meltdown, increase consumer protection and rein in financial abuses that left San Bernardino County wracked by housing busts and excessive lending.

The 2,300-page bill outlines the strictest restrictions on banks and financial companies since the Great Depression.

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Mediha Fejzagic DiMartino, Staff Writer
Posted: 07/15/2010 06:30:03 PM PDT

Termination letters arrived on Wednesday at the doorstep of four Arrowhead Central Credit Union employees who were placed on temporary administrative leave when a federal agency assumed control of their credit union.

“There was no phone call, no personal meeting,” said Daniel Marciante, credit union’s former chief financial officer. “It was very antiseptic.”

The National Credit Union Administration also terminated Arrowhead’s CEO Larry Sharp, senior vice president of lending Gene Shabinaw and Ray Messler, senior vice president of strategic development.

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July 13, 2010 9:27 AM
Brooke Edwards

VICTORVILLE • One council member had no idea the city’s EB-5 investor program was being questioned by federal officials until reading about it in Sunday’s Press Dispatch, reflecting a communication gap she’s been raising concerns about for the last two years.

“I’m tired of it,” Councilwoman JoAnn Almond said by phone Monday, with a promise from City Manager Jim Cox when he returned to Victorville in January 2009 that all five members would always get the same information.

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By Dan Balz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, July 12, 2010

BOSTON — The co-chairmen of President Obama’s debt and deficit commission offered an ominous assessment of the nation’s fiscal future here Sunday, calling current budgetary trends a cancer “that will destroy the country from within” unless checked by tough action in Washington.

The two leaders — former Republican senator Alan Simpson of Wyoming and Erskine Bowles, White House chief of staff under President Bill Clinton — sought to build support for the work of the commission, whose recommendations due later this year are likely to spark a fierce debate in Congress.

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John “JP” Pomierski

Cloud over Upland

Mayor’s future is on the line
Sandra Emerson, Staff Writer
Created: 07/10/2010 07:08:31 AM PDT

UPLAND – Mayor John “JP” Pomierski was elected by Upland voters to save the city from the verge of bankruptcy.

The citizens trusted his abilities as an Upland businessman to lead them to the financial stability the city enjoys now, 10 years later.

But his own business dealings have come under scrutiny by federal investigators. A June 10 raid by FBI and IRS agents on Pomierski’s home, City Hall and two local businesses has left residents questioning the integrity of the mayor who helped pull the city out of its fiscal darkness, and wondering what his future might be.

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Raids by the FBI, IRS came as `big surprise’
Sandra Emerson, Staff Writer
Created: 07/10/2010 07:08:27 AM PDT

UPLAND – A recent raid by FBI and IRS agents at the mayor’s home and City Hall may have some residents wondering who their mayor is.

John “JP” Pomierski has been mayor since 2000. Most of the news coming out of the city has been related to finances and development, but on June 10 the focus changed to Pomierski himself.

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Immigration officials question ‘viability’ of city projects
July 10, 2010 8:04 PM
Brooke Edwards

VICTORVILLE • Federal officials intend to halt the city’s efforts to raise much-needed funds through loans from foreign citizens, unless Victorville can convince them it hasn’t misrepresented itself in marketing the program and that projects deemed “defunct” are still viable.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services approved Victorville’s application as an EB-5 Regional Center in June 2009, allowing the city to solicit $500,000 loans from foreign citizens so long as that money helps create 10 local jobs. In exchange, the aspiring immigrants are put on the fast track to getting U.S. visas.

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Tuesday, July 6, 2010 – 09:30 pm

Wait just a minute!

One thing is for certain. The David Lewis calamity has disappeared way too conveniently.

Questions need to be asked. Official questions. The kind of questions asked by the U.S. Department of Justice. They are already here, and if they aren’t already engaged on this, they should be. It’s clear no agency in this county can be trusted.

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D.C. Now
News from Washington, minute by minute
July 6, 2010 | 1:01 pm

With the Justice Department filing suit against Arizona’s new law on immigration on Tuesday, the latest poll shows that Americans remain divided on whether the government should focus on halting the flow of illegal immigrants into the country or developing a plan to deal with those who are already in the U.S.

The Justice Department filed suit in Arizona, arguing that the law violates the federal government’s authority to establish policy on immigration. Technically, the federal government is seeking a preliminary injunction to prevent Arizona from enforcing the law when it goes into effect July 29.

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The US workforce shrank by 652,000 in June, one of the sharpest contractions ever. The rate of hourly earnings fell 0.1pc. Wages are flirting with deflation.

By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard
Published: 9:33PM BST 04 Jul 2010

“The economy is still in the gravitational pull of the Great Recession,” said Robert Reich, former US labour secretary. “All the booster rockets for getting us beyond it are failing.”

“Home sales are down. Retail sales are down. Factory orders in May suffered their biggest tumble since March of last year. So what are we doing about it? Less than nothing,” he said.

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Larry Sharp

Josh Dulaney, Staff Writer
Posted: 07/03/2010 07:10:35 AM PDT

REDLANDS – One week after a federal agency took control of San Bernardino-based Arrowhead Credit Union, its longtime CEO maintained that the move stunned an institution he believes is returning to financial health after the economic downturn.

“We weren’t surprised, we were shocked that they decided to put us into conservatorship,” Larry Sharp said Friday at a coffee shop along Alabama Street. “The timing of it for us was just really suspect.”

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Critics say regulators may have moved too fast in seizing Arrowhead Credit Union.

By E. Scott Reckard, Los Angeles Times

July 3, 2010

Did regulators move too fast in taking down Arrowhead Credit Union, as a prominent financial consultant contended?

Or was the San Bernardino nonprofit heading for ruin and misrepresenting its financial condition, as a spokesman for its federal regulator said?

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The nation loses 125,000 jobs in June, but the unemployment rate falls to 9.5% as more workers leave the labor force.

By Don Lee, Los Angeles Times

July 3, 2010

Reporting from Washington —

A disappointing new jobs report provided the latest and sharpest sign yet that the economic recovery may be losing momentum and that few industries are ready to spur job growth to replace the millions lost during the recession.

The June employment report released Friday by the Labor Department suggested that with stimulus money running out, Washington in the mood to retrench and the private sector still struggling, it probably will take years to overcome the 7-million-plus jobs deficit.

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By Don Lee and Alejandro Lazo, Los Angeles Times

July 2, 2010

Reporting from Washington and Los Angeles —

A fresh batch of weak economic news Thursday heightened concerns about the staying power of the fledgling recovery, with more uninspiring news expected Friday when the government reports on the May job market.

FOR THE RECORD:
This article incorrectly says the government will report on the May job market Friday. It will report on the June job market.

The number of pending home sales plunged 30% in May from April, to the lowest level since at least 2001, an industry group reported Thursday, reflecting a larger-than-expected fallout from the expiration of the federal tax credit for home buyers.

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July 1, 2010 | Chase Davis

The Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday voted to restrict campaign contributions from money managers seeking business from public pension funds and restrict the hiring of middlemen to solicit pension business, following several episodes of apparent corruption in California and elsewhere.

Under the new rules, which were approved unanimously, investment managers would be prohibited from working with a public pension fund for two years if they make a campaign contribution to an official with influence over the fund.

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Baca

James Rufus Koren, Staff Writer
Posted: 06/29/2010 05:55:27 PM PDT

Leading up to an immigration speech on Thursday, President Barack Obama met Tuesday with members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, including Rep. Joe Baca, D-San Bernardino.

The White House reported that Obama discussed his upcoming speech as well as his desire to see Congressional action on comprehensive immigration reform “at the earliest possible opportunity.”

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On Tuesday June 29, 2010, 9:01 am EDT

For American taxpayers, now on the hook for some $145 billion in housing losses connected to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans, that amount could be just the tip of the iceberg.

According to the Congressional Budget Office, the losses could balloon to $400 billion. And if housing prices fall further, the cost to the taxpayer could hit as much as $1 trillion.

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Pomierski

Word on the street has it that Upland Mayor John “JP” Pomierski is in serious trouble.

The kind of trouble you don’t resurrect yourself from.

Not the weak politically motivated stuff. More like the smoking gun category.

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STEMMING FORECLOSURES: The program helps struggling households by working with lenders and providing money.

06:55 PM PDT on Wednesday, June 23, 2010

By LESLIE BERKMAN
The Press-Enterprise

In another effort to stem foreclosures, the Obama administration on Wednesday approved plans to spend $1.5 billion on the five states hardest hit by mortgage failures and unemployment, including nearly $700 million to California, which will receive the largest allocation.

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By BINYAMIN APPELBAUM
NEW YORK TIMES
06/20/2010

CASA GRANDE, Ariz. — Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac took over a foreclosed home roughly every 90 seconds during the first three months of the year. They owned 163,828 houses at the end of March, a virtual city with more houses than Seattle. The mortgage finance companies, created by Congress to help Americans buy homes, have become two of the nation’s largest landlords.

Bill Bridwell, a real estate agent in the desert south of Phoenix, is among the thousands of agents hired nationwide by the companies to sell those foreclosures, recouping some of the money that borrowers failed to repay. In a good week, he sells 20 homes and Fannie sends another 20 listings his way.

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By Mark Wilson, Getty Images

WASHINGTON (AP) — Regulators on Friday shut down a Nevada bank, raising to 83 the number of U.S. bank failures this year.

The 83 closures so far this year is more than double the pace set in all of 2009, which was itself a brisk year for shutdowns. By this time last year, regulators had closed 40 banks. The pace has accelerated as banks’ losses mount on loans made for commercial property and development.

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The administration of President Barack Obama has been continuously stressing that it wants to keep Americans in their homes.

After all, the U.S. Federal Reserve System is giving the money center banks including Wells Fargo, virtually free money so the same banks can turnaround and lend it back to the U.S. Treasury keeping the interest paid by the same Treasury as profit. Isn’t it great? Borrow money from taxpayers at an interest rate of 0.00%-0.25% and then lend it back to taxpayers at a substantially higher interest rate. A practice known as making money on the spread.

Why modify mortgages when you can force the borrowers out of their homes and use taxpayer money to cushion the loss?

Now along comes Wells Fargo Bank.

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One thing is certain. San Bernardino County is in need of a competent economist.

They certainly don’t have one now.

The county’s long-term reluctance to take preemptive steps at dealing with budget impacts is alarming. The turmoil with its employee unions severely complicates matters.

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By Sandra Emerson, Staff Writer
Posted: 06/14/2010 10:11:34 PM PDT

UPLAND – The city and staff are not targets of the FBI’s ongoing investigation into Mayor John Pomierski, several local businesses and business owners, said some city officials during Monday’s City Council meeting.

Councilmembers also commended city employees’ cooperation during the raid by FBI and IRS agents Thursday at City Hall.

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Word out of the U.S. Attorney’s office in Los Angeles is that the Public Corruption and Civil Rights section previously disbanded by Thomas O’Brien is being resurrected back to life.

The new section will be headed by Lawrence Middleton.

Wendy Leung and Sandra Emerson, Staff Writers
Posted: 06/11/2010 09:13:28 PM PDT

UPLAND – The FBI and IRS investigation that closed City Hall for an entire day Thursday is a far-reaching one that involves not only the mayor but a number of businesses and business owners in the region.

According to an FBI search warrant served to Mayor John Pomierski on Thursday to support the seizure of his cell phone, investigators were seeking records related to a number of businesses and people including Chronic Cantina, JH Builders, Upland Market Place and many others.

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Pomierski

Wendy Leung and Sandra Emerson, Staff Writers
Posted: 06/10/2010 07:01:40 PM PDT

UPLAND – A team of FBI investigators and IRS officials sealed off City Hall and confiscated boxes of unknown items from Mayor J.P. Pomierski’s home on Thursday, in a probe apparently linked to a Central Avenue sports bar that was shuttered by the City Council in 2009.

For several hours in the morning, more than 20 FBI investigators hauled away a dozen boxes of evidence from Pomierski’s home on Westridge Court,

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To the United States Attorney’s Office,

Many of us involved in the various aspects of what has gone seriously wrong in this County would like to thank you for intervening in the mess that has hurt so many individuals and their families.

Once again, thank you.

Today agents for the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Internal Revenue Service executed search warrants at Upland City Hall and three locations related to Mayor John Pomierski and a business partner.

Sources say Pomierski’s residence, business, and the office of a business partner are also involved in today’s activity.

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Agents for the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Internal Revenue Service are at this time serving search warrants at Upland City Hall and three locations related to Mayor John Pomierski and a business partner.

Sources say Pomierski’s residence, business, and the office of a business partner are also involved in today’s activity.

Read the rest of this entry »

News flash….. The economy is still bad.

Today, the U.S. Department of Labor reported the number of new jobs created last month was a whopping 431,000. Sounds good, right?

Read the rest of this entry »

Sandra Emerson, Staff Writer
Posted: 05/28/2010 05:39:30 PM PDT

The passage of Arizona’s immigration law has brought California’s immigration policy into the debate.

Similar wording in the laws have caused some experts to question the call to boycott Arizona from California cities and individuals.

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Rep. Gary Miller

Rep. Miller signs on to letter of protest
James Rufus Koren, Staff Writer
Posted: 05/26/2010 09:14:55 PM PDT

Rep. Gary Miller is among 26 members of Congress who have signed a letter taking issue with a top federal official who said Immigration and Customs Enforcement might not process illegal immigrants picked up in Arizona.

Assistant Homeland Security Secretary John Morton made the comments last week in a meeting with the Chicago Tribune’s editorial board, the Tribune reported.

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Friday, May 21, 2010

EconomicPolicyJournal.com has learned that 32 states have run out funds to make unemployment benefit payments and that the federal government has been supplying these states with funds so that they can make their payments to the unemployed. In some cases, states have borrowed billions. As of May 20, the total balance outstanding by 32 states (and the Virgin Islands) is $37.8 billion.

The state of California has borrowed $6.9 billion. Michigan has borrowed $3.9 billion, Illinois $2.2 billion.

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Teachers, parents: Funds will disappear, but the need won’t

Michelle Mitchell • The Desert Sun • May 23, 2010

Coachella Valley school districts last year received a combined $45.8 million in federal stimulus funds, part of which was used to save or add nearly 240 jobs this school year, including about 180 teaching jobs.

The cash provided a financial lifeline to districts struggling with budget shortfalls of $8 million to $16 million for next school year.

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By Timothy R. Homan

May 20 (Bloomberg) — More Americans unexpectedly filed applications for unemployment benefits last week, showing firings remain elevated even as employment climbs.

Initial jobless claims rose by 25,000 to 471,000 in the week ended May 15, exceeding the median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News and the highest level in a month, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington. The number of people receiving unemployment insurance and those getting extended payments fell.

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Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Created: 05/18/2010 07:56:03 PM PDT

Top doctors at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center on Tuesday defended patient care and operations at the county’s hospital in the wake of a federal investigation and recent criticism by two doctors.

Orthopedic spine surgeon John Steinmann and anesthesiologist Keyvan Safdari addressed the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors on May 11, alleging neurosurgery patients at the hospital have received substandard care and that medical director Dev GnanaDev wields too much power over contracts.

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Berkeley dream dims

Josh Dulaney, Staff Writer
Posted: 05/16/2010 09:44:47 PM PDT

FONTANA – Gladys Castro has all the numbers needed to get into UC Berkeley – except one.

Although the 17-year-old Kaiser High School senior carries a 4.09 grade-point average and has been accepted to the university, she cannot apply for government loans because she’s an illegal immigrant and doesn’t have a Social Security number.

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Migration calls soar

Stephen Wall, Staff Writer
Posted: 05/15/2010 10:45:13 PM PDT

It’s been a banner year for a toll-free tip line that citizens can call to report immigration violations.

Fueled in part by citizens fed up with illegal immigration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials received nearly 100,000 calls to the tip line from Oct. 1 through the end of April.

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At some point you have to be amazed at the duplicity in the San Bernardino County government hierarchy.

I mean you can’t make this stuff up.

Finally, evidence has surfaced proving what county supervisors suspected all along. Their top legal advisor was breaching attorney-client privilege in February 2009.

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By Jeanne Sahadi, Senior Writer
May 7, 2010: 10:06 AM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Technical glitch. Violence in Greece. Historic U.K. elections. A combination of these factors sent the Dow plummeting nearly 1,000 points Thursday before regaining two-thirds of the ground lost.

But here’s the thing: the market could be in for a very bumpy ride in the coming months — except it won’t have technical glitches to blame. U.S. debts, more likely than not, could be an underlying culprit.

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Issue back on table with school reform
Debbie Pfeiffer Trunnell, Staff Writer
Created: 05/01/2010 10:03:17 PM PDT

In early March, California missed out on Race to the Top funding because many teachers unions declined to sign an agreement requiring them to accept drastic reforms linked to the funding.

Among the list of changes low-achieving schools were asked to make was linking teachers’ pay to student performance, an issue unions representing teachers have long opposed.

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Pew poll: 4 out of 5 Americans don’t trust Washington
May 01, 2010 2:00 PM
Natasha Lindstrom

Public trust in the federal government has sunk to one of the lowest points in a half century, according to a new survey.

Nearly eight in 10 Americans say they don’t trust Washington and have little faith it can solve America’s ills, the Pew Research Center found.

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Darrell Issa

By PE Politics
on April 23, 2010 5:12 PM

Inland Rep. Darrell Issa’s call for an investigation into the timing of the government lawsuit against Goldman Sachs has been answered.

During a Fox News interview about the unrelated Securities and Exchange Commission porn scandal, Inspector General David Kotz announced today that he would launch a probe examining the SEC’s decision to move forward with action against Goldman Sachs.

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By PE Politics
on April 23, 2010 8:22 AM

Days after Inland Rep. Darrell Issa issued a formal request for information about the timing of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s lawsuit against Goldman Sachs, a different kind of information related to the goings on within the agency has emerged.

As reported late last night by the AP, the SEC’s inspector general has issued a new report concluding that senior commission staffers spent hours surfing pornographic websites as the nation’s economy faltered.

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Disparity in funding

James Rufus Koren, Staff Writer
Posted: 04/18/2010 09:26:01 PM PDT

Billions of stimulus dollars have found their way into California communities, but San Bernardino County isn’t getting nearly as much as other counties.

Stimulus data compiled by the nonprofit journalism group ProPublica shows that while some California counties have received $1,000 or more per person in stimulus funds, San Bernardino County has received only $480 in stimulus per capita.

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By LIZ SIDOTI
updated 4:56 p.m. PT, Sun., April 18, 2010

WASHINGTON – Can you trust Washington?

Nearly 80 percent of Americans say they can’t and they have little faith that the massive federal bureaucracy can solve the nation’s ills, according to a survey from the Pew Research Center that shows public confidence in the federal government at one of the lowest points in a half-century.

The poll released Sunday illustrates the ominous situation facing President Barack Obama and the Democratic Party as they struggle to maintain their comfortable congressional majorities in this fall’s elections. Midterm prospects are typically tough for the party in power. Add a toxic environment like this and lots of incumbent Democrats could be out of work.
Story continues below ↓advertisement | your ad here

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Written by Administrator
April 15th, 2010 at 12:59 pm

Imagine being a seasoned, well-respected prosecutor of 30 years or more.  Now imagine sitting in the judge’s chambers discussing one of the most high-profile criminal cases in the past decade in your county.  And then imagine having to ask the judge to not be required to turn over all evidence to the defense.

Preposterous?  Anyone in the legal community would think so as they understand  the rules of evidence.  Surprise witnesses and damning evidence is only allowed on Perry Mason.  In the real world, by law, both sides have the right to all evidence in their favor or against them prior to the commencement of trial.

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We hear so much hoop-la over the proclaimed “stabilizing” jobs market and how there’s new job creation taking hold.

Forget about all those temporary census jobs that evaporate in July.

However, lift up the sheets on the unemployment numbers and you have cause to be concerned. The “adjusted” unemployment rate published by the U.S. Department of Labor remained unchanged at 9.7% in the latest reading published last week.

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Carolyn Lochhead, Chronicle Washington Bureau

Monday, April 5, 2010

(04-05) 04:00 PDT Washington — Health care may have been the last big bang of the Obama presidency.

With ferocious speed, the financial crisis, recession and efforts to combat the recession have swung the U.S. debt from worrisome to ruinous, promising to handcuff the administration.

Lost amid last month’s passage of the new health care law, the Congressional Budget Office issued a report showing that within this decade, President Obama’s own budget sends the U.S. government to a potential tipping point where the debt reaches 90 percent of gross domestic product.

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By Jon Cohen and Dan Balz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, March 28, 2010

Americans overwhelmingly see the new health-care law as a major shift in the direction of the country, but they remain as deeply divided today over the changes as they were throughout the long congressional debate, according to a Washington Post poll.

In the days since President Obama signed the farthest-reaching piece of social welfare legislation in four decades, overall public opinion has changed little, with continuing broad public skepticism about the effects of the new law and more than a quarter of Americans seeing neither side as making a good-faith effort to cooperate on the issue.

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By Dale Kasler
dkasler@sacbee.com
Published: Saturday, Mar. 27, 2010 – 12:00 am | Page 6B

The probe of possible influence-peddling at CalPERS and other public pension funds has become a criminal investigation, the Wall Street Journal is reporting.

Quoting unnamed sources, the newspaper said Friday that U.S. Justice Department investigators in Los Angeles are examining whether investment decisions at CalPERS and other funds were influenced by illegal payments.

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By John Gittelsohn

March 25 (Bloomberg) — More than half of U.S. borrowers who received loan modifications on delinquent mortgages defaulted again after nine months, according to a federal report.

The re-default rate of loans modified in the first quarter of 2009 was 51.5 percent by the end of the year, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Office of Thrift Supervision said in a joint report today. The figure, which measures payments at least 30 days late, climbed to 57.9 percent for changes made in the prior 12 months.

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MARCH 26, 2010

BY JOHN R. EMSHWILLER

LOS ANGELES—-Federal criminal investigators are looking into possible wrongdoing involving investment transactions of public pension funds including Calpers, according to people familiar with the matter.

Justice Department investigators in Los Angeles have been looking at whether potentially illegal payments were made to influence decisions on where to invest public pension-fund money, these people said. Among the matters being examined, they said, are investments made by the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, the nation’s biggest public pension fund by assets.

The Calpers-related inquiries are focused on a small number of individuals, said one of the people.

President to sign reforms into law; ‘fixes’ still require House, Senate action

WASHINGTON – After well over a year of negotiations, setbacks, and political wrangling, the House has approved President Barack Obama’s top domestic policy initiative, sending a bill to massively overhaul the nation’s health insurance system to his desk to be signed and enacted into law.

The climactic chapter in a century-long quest for near universal coverage concludes with the House’s 219-212 approval of a bill to extend coverage to 32 million Americans who lack it, ban insurers from denying coverage on the basis of pre-existing medical conditions and cut deficits by an estimated $138 billion over a decade.

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Mar 21, 11:28 AM EDT

By CHARLES BABINGTON
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — A pair of House Democratic leaders predicted Sunday the final tally on President Barack Obama’s historic health care bill will meet or exceed the 216 votes required for passage. But they acknowledged having yet to nail down commitments from a handful of members, some of whom remained concerned about the abortion issue.

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James Rufus Koren, Staff Writer
Created: 03/13/2010 06:07:29 AM PST

Pledges by Washington lawmakers to limit or ban earmarks have been praised by critics of the controversial practice, but local beneficiaries of the millions in federal dollars worry the move could hurt the Inland Empire economy.

House Democratic leaders announced last week they would ban all earmarks – funding secured by members of Congress for projects in their districts – directed toward for-profit companies. The next day, House Republicans went a step further, pledging a one-year moratorium on all earmarks.

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Congressional estimates see grimmer deficit picture than Obama administration

Andrew Taylor, Associated Press Writer
On Friday March 5, 2010, 9:20 pm EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — A new congressional report released Friday says the United States’ long-term fiscal woes are even worse than predicted by President Barack Obama’s grim budget submission last month.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office predicts that Obama’s budget plans would generate deficits over the upcoming decade that would total $9.8 trillion. That’s $1.2 trillion more than predicted by the administration.

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By James Quinn, US Business Editor in New York
Published: 8:20PM GMT 26 Feb 2010

California is a greater risk than Greece, warns JP Morgan chief Jamie Dimon, chairman of JP Morgan Chase, has warned American investors should be more worried about the risk of default of the state of California than of Greece’s current debt woes.

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Sandra Emerson, Staff Writer
Created: 02/27/2010 11:44:11 PM PST

Over the past year, federal stimulus dollars have been making their way to various projects and programs in the Inland Empire.

About $463 million has been awarded in San Bernardino County alone. The money is targeted at variety of goals, coming from federal agencies such as the U.S. departments of Justice, Energy, Housing and Urban Development as well as the Federal Highway Administration.

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James Rufus Koren, Staff Writer
Posted: 02/27/2010 06:12:50 AM PST

The federal stimulus package has allocated more than $900 million for local projects, but congressional Republicans and Democrats from the Inland Empire disagree about whether the money spent so far has accomplished its main goal: creating jobs.

Republicans say the money has mostly gone to expanding government programs and has not created jobs as promised. But Democrats say many jobs have been either saved or created and that the bill has worked. In his State of the Union address, President Barack Obama said the stimulus bill has put to work two million Americans who would otherwise be jobless.

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San Bernardino County currently sports one of the highest, if not the highest plea bargain rates in the state.

A not so flattering statistic to say the least.

Ramos

Over the last several years county supervisors have gave additional millions in budget funding to District Attorney Mike Ramos. The result. More plea bargains with criminal defendants.

Several months ago stories ran here and on iePolitics.com exposing substantial political contributions to Ramos by two attorneys who control the San Bernardino County criminal defense conflict panel.

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Economy surges at 5.9 percent pace in Q4, but growth spurt unlikely to last; home sales sink

By Jeannine Aversa, AP Economics Writer
On Friday February 26, 2010, 1:26 pm

WASHINGTON (AP) — The economy rocketed ahead at a 5.9 percent pace in the final quarter of 2009, stronger than initially estimated. But the growth spurt isn’t expected to carry over into this year.

The fresh reading on the nation’s economic standing, released by the Commerce Department on Friday, was better than the government’s initial estimate a month ago of 5.7 percent growth. It would mark the strongest showing in six years.

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Reuters – Homes under construction are seen in Walnut, California, February 16, 2010. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni …

On Wednesday February 24, 2010, 10:23 am

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Sales of newly built single-family homes unexpectedly fell to a record low in January, according to government data on Wednesday that hinted at potential trouble for the fragile housing market recovery.

The Commerce Department said sales dropped 11.2 percent to a 309,000 unit annual rate, the lowest level since records started in January 1963, from an upwardly revised 348,000 in December.

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On Tuesday February 23, 2010, 10:05 am EST

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The number of “problem” U.S. banks jumped 27 percent during the fourth quarter of 2009 to 702, the highest level since 1993 and a sign the industry’s recovery is still shaky, regulators reported on Tuesday.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp said the industry overall eked out a profit of $914 million for the quarter, benefiting from a healing economy, but said the improvement was concentrated in the largest banks.

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February 18, 2010 9:48 AM
Natasha Lindstrom

The national “stimulus” package has funneled more than $500 million into public and private coffers in San Bernardino County since Congress passed the $862 billion spending bill one year ago, federal records show, but critics insist the windfall is creating jobs at too slow a pace while deepening national debt to an alarming level.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office and multiple private forecasters credit the stimulus package with creating or retaining 2 million jobs, plus helping add several percentage points to gross domestic product growth.

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Michael J. Sorba, Staff Writer
Posted: 02/18/2010 05:56:48 PM PST

COLTON – More than 3,500 jobs could be headed to the Inland Empire after an infusion of federal stimulus dollars that will help pay for a critical railroad project here.

But precisely when construction will begin remains in the air.

Local transportation officials say $34 million in American Recovery Act money announced this week should cover the final funding gap for the $198 million railroad grade separation.

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Carolyn Said, Chronicle Staff Writer

Monday, February 15, 2010

The Federal Reserve is poised to turn off a major money spigot that has helped sustain the ailing real estate sector, as an extraordinary program under which the Fed has pumped $1.25 trillion into the mortgage market is slated to end March 31.

“Housing has been on government life support, and without it the crash would have been much more severe,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist with Moody’s Economy.com in Pennsylvania. “This spring and summer as those policy efforts unwind, we most likely will see mortgage rates move higher and more house-price declines.”

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Some question the cost, effectiveness and environmental effect of erecting a fence on Otay Mountain, where those who hiked three days up a steep, arid peak were often met by border agents anyway.

By Richard Marosi

February 15, 2010

Reporting from San Diego – The border barrier dips and curves, zigs and zags, hugging the mountain’s contours like a slimmed-down version of the Great Wall of China.

Among the costliest stretch of fencing ever built on the U.S.-Mexico border, the 3.6-mile wall of steel completed last fall is meant to block trafficking routes over Otay Mountain, just east of San Diego.

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Posted by Administrator at 8 February 2010

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
˜Eighth Amendment, Constitution of the United States˜

Today’s hearing in which Michael Jackson’s doctor, Conrad Murray, entered a plea of not guilty to involuntary manslaughter charges and bail was set at $75,000, three times the usual bail for an involuntary manslaughter charge, begs a comparison to San Bernardino County’s own high-profile prosecutions. Those, of course, are the Jim Erwin and Bill Postmus criminal cases.

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Examiner Editorial
February 8, 2010

White House apologists were quick to point to the unemployment rate decline from 10 percent to 9.7 percent as evidence that the recovery is gathering momentum and that President Obama’s policies — especially his $787 billion economic stimulus bill Congress approved last February — are “working.” But the back story behind the figures provides cold comfort.

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By SAM DILLON
Published: February 7, 2010

Federal stimulus money has helped avoid drastic cuts at public schools in most parts of the nation, at least so far. But with the federal money running out, many of the nation’s schools are approaching what officials are calling a “funding cliff.”

Congress included about $100 billion for education in the stimulus law last year to cushion the recession’s impact on schools and to help fuel an economic recovery. New studies show that many states will spend all or nearly all that is left between now and the end of this school term.

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By Timothy R. Homan

Feb. 5 (Bloomberg) — The unemployment rate in the U.S. unexpectedly dropped to 9.7 percent in January, indicating the labor market may be poised to climb out of its deepest slump since World War II.

More than half a million Americans found work, a Labor Department report showed today in Washington, helping push the jobless rate to the lowest since August. A separate survey of employers showed payrolls declined by 20,000 as construction companies and state and local governments cut back.

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New jobless claims rise unexpectedly to 480,000 as layoffs continue, jobs remain scarce

By Christopher S. Rugaber, AP Economics Writer , On Thursday February 4, 2010, 9:41 am EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of newly laid-off workers filing initial claims for jobless benefits rose unexpectedly last week, evidence that layoffs are continuing and jobs remain scarce.

The rise is the fourth in the past five weeks. Most economists hoped that claims would resume a downward trend that was evident in the fall and early winter.

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By DAVID E. SANGER
Published: February 1, 2010

WASHINGTON — In a federal budget filled with mind-boggling statistics, two numbers stand out as particularly stunning, for the way they may change American politics and American power.

According to the 2011 budget, the projected deficit in the coming year is nearly 11 percent of the country’s entire economic output.

The first is the projected deficit in the coming year, nearly 11 percent of the country’s entire economic output. That is not unprecedented: During the Civil War, World War I and World War II, the United States ran soaring deficits, but usually with the expectation that they would come back down once peace was restored and war spending abated.

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