Archive for the ‘ U.S. Government ’ Category

InlandPolitics: This and that!

Saturday, May 19, 2012 – 11:00 a.m.

USPS delivery of campaign mail improves

Something must have happened at the USPS earlier this week.

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The PE: 2012 ELECTIONS: Romney planning June swing through Riverside

Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (AP Photo/The Wilmington News-Journal, Suchat Pederson)

 

BY BEN GOAD
WASHINGTON BUREAU
bgoad@pe.com

Published: 17 May 2012 01:23 PM

Presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney is planning a fundraising stop in Riverside next month, according to Republicans close to the campaign.

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The Sun: Unemployment benefits to run out for 93,000 Californians

Andrew Edwards, Staff Writer
Posted: 05/11/2012 05:23:52 PM PDT

An estimated 93,000 Californians lost unemployment benefits as of today when the federal government cut off funding that allowed the state to provide extended aid to the jobless since 2009.

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By Amanda Becker
Roll Call Staff
May 10, 2012, 6:23 p.m.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s re-election campaign can’t approach donors who already contributed the maximum amount permitted by law in order to replace roughly $4.5 million that was siphoned from its accounts in an embezzlement scheme — at least for the time being.

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LATimes: Obama supports gay marriage, taking a risky stand

By Kathleen Hennessey and Christi Parsons, Washington Bureau
May 9, 2012, 6:03 p.m.

WASHINGTON — President Obama’s decision to endorse same-sex marriage staked out a stance that carries uncertain political risks but one he said was rooted in the biblical admonition “to treat others the way you would want to be treated.”

Obama’s endorsement Wednesday, a milestone for the gay rights movement, was the first from a sitting president and a potentially powerful tail wind for a cause still struggling for electoral approval. It comes as the country remains divided over whether same-sex marriages should have the same recognition and legal standing as traditional ones, and six months before an election expected to be so tight it may hinge on small slices of votes in a handful of key states.

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InlandPolitics: Romney proving formidable in early polling

Monday, May 7, 2012 – 10:30 a.m.

Former Massachusetts Governor and apparent Republican Presidential Nominee Mitt Romney is displaying strength in three newly-released polls this morning.

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InlandPolitics: This and that!

Sunday, May 6, 2012 – 10:30 a.m

Ramos struggles through final candidate forum.

Former San Manuel Band of Mission Indians Chairman and San Bernardino County Board of Supe’s candidate James Ramos showed up for the final candidate forum held at Copper Mountain College on Friday night.

Nothing changed.

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FinancialTimes: Anemic jobs data hit Obama launch

By Robin Harding in Washington and Michael Mackenzie in New York
Last updated: May 4, 2012 8:32 pm

Weaker-than-expected US jobs growth hit financial markets and cast a shadow over President Barack Obama’s plans for a formal launch of his re-election campaign this weekend.

US crude oil prices fell more than $4 a barrel and were trading below $100 for the first time since early February after data showed the economy added only 115,000 jobs in April compared with expectations of 162,000. The S&P 500 dropped as much as 1.5 per cent while yields on US and German 10-year government bonds fell.

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Friday, May 4, 2012 – 08:15 a.m.

The U.S. economy continued to decelerate in April, with just 115,000 jobs created.

The average estimate by economists was for April job creation of 160,000.

The March number was 154,000.

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Sandra Emerson, Staff Writer
Created: 05/03/2012 08:54:13 AM PDT

Anthony Orlando Sanchez pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court in Riverside, admitting to conspiracy to commit bribery.

Sanchez, 36, was charged with acting as a conduit between an Upland business and former Mayor John Pomierski. Pomierski pleaded guilty last week in the bribery case.

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LATimes: U.S. regulators seize Palm Desert bank, sell assets

By E. Scott Reckard

April 27, 2012, 9:35 p.m.

Palm Desert National Bank was seized by regulators Friday and sold to Pacific Premier Bank of Costa Mesa, which promised to be open for business as usual Monday.

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InlandPolitics: Pomierski enters guilty plea (-Update-)

Pomierski

Thursday, April 26, 2012 – 11:45 a.m.

Former Upland Mayor John “J.P.” Pomierski entered into a plea agreement before Federal Judge Virginia Philips in U.S. District Court in Riverside on Thursday morning.

The plea agreement stems from charges related to influence peddling.

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LATimes: Villalobos, Buenrostro targets of CalPERS fraud enforcement action

By Marc Lifsher
April 23, 2012, 1:10 p.m.

SACRAMENTO — Federal securities regulators sued a former chief executive and a former director of the country’s largest public pension fund, accusing them of scheming to defraud an investment firm of more than $20 million in fees.

The Securities and Exchange Commission filed the lawsuit Monday against the former CEO, Federico Buenrostro Jr., and the former CalPERS board member, Alfred J.R. Villalobos, alleging that they fabricated documents provided to Apollo Global Management in New York.

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VVDailyPress: SEC probe, water hikes on Victorville agenda

Council also to view changes to agenda policy
April 17, 2012 8:54 AM
From Staff Reports

VICTORVILLE • The two-year Securities and Exchange Commission investigation, twice-delayed water service hikes and proposed changes to a controversial policy about how issues end up on the agenda to begin with are all before the Victorville City Council Tuesday night.

During the closed session meeting starting at 5 p.m., before the regular session, the council will discuss the ongoing SEC investigation. The agency has been looking into Victorville’s bond expenditures since summer 2010, recently issuing a new subpoena and conducting interviews with city staff and officials.

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InlandPolitics: Is there a plea deal in Upland corruption case?

Pomierski

Tuesday, April 17, 2012 – 10:55 a.m.

Is there a plea deal in the long-running Upland corruption case against former Upland Mayor John “J.P.” Pomierski?

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The PE: 2012 ELECTIONS: Aguilar reports big fundraising total

By PE Politics
April 12, 2012 9:54 AM

Redlands Mayor Pete Aguilar, one of six candidates vying to represent California’s 31st Congressional District, raked in more than $200,000 over the last three months, his campaign announced this morning.

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LATimes: San Onofre to remain closed indefinitely, NRC chief says

L.A. NOW
Southern California — this just in
April 6, 2012 | 5:57 pm

Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Gregory Jaczko, who toured the shuttered San Onofre nuclear plant Friday, assured reporters that the plant would not restart until officials understand the root cause of the cause of systems failures that forced the plant’s closure.

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Employers nationwide added 120,000 new positions in March, only about half the jobs growth in each of the prior three months.

 

By Don Lee and Kathleen Hennessey, Los Angeles Times
April 7, 2012

WASHINGTON — Job growth slowed sharply last month, raising fresh questions about the strength of the recovery and complicating, for the moment, President Obama’s ability to run for reelection on the wave of a resurgent economy.

Employers nationwide added a modest 120,000 new positions in March, only about half the job gains in each of the previous three months, the Labor Department reported Friday. Some of the falloff, analysts said, reflected the fact that payrolls had been inflated in the winter because of unusually mild weather.

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SFChronicle: Obama, the happy drug warrior

Debra J. Saunders

Debra J. Saunders
Friday, April 6, 2012

Why is the federal government under President Obama arguably tougher on medical marijuana operations than it was under George W. Bush? That’s the question that antidrug-war groups have been asking themselves for months.

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InlandPolitics: As expected, job growth slows

Friday, April 6, 2012 – 08:00 a.m.

As expected, U.S. job growth slowed dramatically in March.

Just 120,000 jobs were added across the country.

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DailyBulletin: Federal court reviewing another postponement of Pomierski trial

Pomierski

Sandra Emerson, Staff Writer
Created: 04/04/2012 04:19:12 PM PDT

A federal court judge in Riverside is considering a request to postpone former Upland Mayor John Pomierski’s trial for the third time.

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InlandPolitics: Romney sweeps three more primaries, delegate count builds

Mitt Romney

Wednesday, April 4, 2012 – 08:00 a.m.

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney score another cache of delegates Tuesday night with commanding wins in Maryland, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia.

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SFChronicle: Dems: Do as we say, not as we vote

Debra J. Saunders

Debra J. Saunders
Tuesday, April 3, 2012

“Who killed the debt deal?” read the New York Times Magazine as it hyped its Sunday cover story as a “Washington whodunit.”

Author Matt Bai explained that “some of Washington’s most connected Democrats and Republicans” didn’t know whose story to believe or what had been on the table after last summer’s “grand bargain” deficit-reduction negotiations between President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner crumbled.

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Calbuzz: Evangelicals Reject Mitt . . . Until It’s Him or Obama

By Jerry Roberts and Phil Trounstine
Monday, April 2, 2012

Mitt Romney, who is Mormon, has a problem with evangelical Christians. They don’t think he’s one of them, they don’t much like him, and where they constitute more than half the population of Republican primary voters, they vote for someone else, usually Rick Santorum, a Roman Catholic extremist.

But don’t be fooled. Romney’s problem with evangelicals is an issue only in the GOP primary. Once he wins the Republican nomination, evangelicals (including fundamentalists, Pentacostals and other charismatic Christians) will vote for Romney over President Barack Obama, whom they regard as a secular humanist at best and an Allah-worshiping Muslim at worst.

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LATimes: Signs of Supreme Court activism worry Reagan administration lawyers

Advocates of judicial restraint say conservative justices should be wary of the impulse to strike down the healthcare law passed by Congress.

 

By David G. Savage, Washington Bureau
March 31, 2012, 5:05 p.m.

WASHINGTON — When the incoming Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. came before the Senate for confirmation seven years ago, President Reagan’s solicitor general gave him a warm endorsement as a “careful, modest” judge.

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SacBee: Kinde Durkee pleads guilty to $7 million embezzlement scheme

Capitol Alert
The latest on California politics and government
March 30, 2012

Democratic campaign treasurer Kinde Durkee pleaded guilty this morning to defrauding her clients of at least $7 million, bringing to a close a case that one official has called the “most extensive campaign treasurer fraud in the history of California.”

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InlandPolitics: Romney looking for sweep on Tuesday

Friday, March 30, 2012 -  08:00 a.m.

At this point, next Tuesday is shaping up as a good day for former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney.

New polls show Romney is holding double-digit leads over former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum in Maryland and the District of Columbia, and a five to eight percentage point lead in the state of Wisconsin.

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SacBee: Kinde Durkee to plead guilty in embezzlement case

Capitol Alert
The latest on California politics and government
March 27, 2012

Democratic campaign treasurer Kinde Durkee is expected to plead guilty to stealing millions from the accounts she controlled for her California political clients, according to two sources close to the case.

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InlandPolitics: An interesting Los Angeles Times op-ed

Former Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens is shown arriving at federal court in Washington on April 7, 2009. (Gerald Herbert / AP Photo / March 19, 2012)

 

Op-Ed
Ted Stevens and the department of injustice

An inquiry tells the story of government lawyers who failed to live up to their professional responsibilities and thus failed to give the former Alaska senator a fair trial.

By Michael Carey
March 19, 2012

As his trial on corruption charges approached in the fall of 2008, Ted Stevens railed to me in an email: “What did I do, Michael? What did I do?” The wounded rage smoldering in that rhetorical question to a reporter reflected his belief that he had done nothing wrong. He continued to insist on his innocence after a Washington, D.C., jury found him guilty of lying on financial disclosure forms.

Stevens’ conviction was dismissed in 2009 after the Justice Department’s admission that government lawyers failed to turn over evidence the Stevens defense should have received. U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan, who presided over Stevens’ trial, soon authorized an investigation of the prosecutors’ conduct, a move as rare as the trial of a U.S. senator.

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The PE: MILITARY: Congress, Pentagon divided over proposed base closures

BY BEN GOAD
WASHINGTON BUREAU
bgoad@pe.com

Published: 21 March 2012 06:10 PM

WASHINGTON — As Congress and the Pentagon clashed Wednesday over whether to go forward with proposed base closures next year, a top Air Force official said it’s too soon to tell if — or how — any cuts would be felt at Inland Southern California’s military installations.

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VVDailyPress: SEC eyes personal bank records in Victorville probe

Agency investigates relationship between broker, Inland Energy VP
March 18, 2012 10:17 AM
Brooke Edwards Staggs

Editor’s Note:

This is part one in a two-part series looking at the SEC’s investigation into the city of Victorville. See Monday’s Daily Press for part two, looking at whether bond funds were used to make campaign contributions.

VICTORVILLE • As part of its two-year probe into Victorville, the Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating whether there were hidden financial ties between the man who led the charge on the city’s largest energy venture and the man who’s brokered more than $400 million in taxpayer-supported debt on behalf of the city.

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The Sun: Postmus remarks to feds raises questions

Postmus

By Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Posted: 03/10/2012 03:03:31 PM PST

An admission by former San Bernardino County Assessor Bill Postmus to federal authorities that he used methamphetamine dozens of times in 2011 has a defense attorney in a far-reaching county corruption case questioning the tactics of prosecutors.

The admission came during an Oct. 14 interview with assistant U.S. attorneys Jerry Behnke and Joseph Widman and FBI agent Jonathan Zeitlin, when Postmus told the trio what he knew about an alleged corruption scandal state and local prosecutors are calling the biggest in county history.

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InlandPolitics: Is the economy really getting better?

Tuesday, February 28, 2012 – 09:30 a.m.

A few observations on the state of economic affairs.

So home prices continued falling in January.

Down another 1.1%. A number worse than forecast.

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The Sun: Redlands mail distribution center won’t close

Melissa Pinion-Whitt and Ed Castro, Staff Writers
Posted: 02/23/2012 09:44:39 AM PST

REDLANDS — The U.S. Postal Service’s mail distribution center here will remain open for the time being, making it the only at-risk center in the state to avoid closure.

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VVDailyPress: SEC subpoenas more Victorville records

Another city official called to testify
February 21, 2012 1:13 PM
ShareThis| Print Story | E-Mail Story
Brooke Edwards Staggs, City Editor

VICTORVILLE • The Securities and Exchange Commission is subpoenaing more information from Victorville and has interviewed another city official as part of its two-year investigation into how bond money was spent.

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InlandPolitics: Goverments questionable unemployment numbers

Sunday, February 19, 2012 – 11:30 a.m.

So the U.S. Department of Labor says the national unemployment rate is 8.3%.

A huge drop-off from its high.

But is the number really accurate.

The answer: Probably not.

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The Sun: Redlands wealth adviser accused of ‘Ponzi-like scheme’

Toni Momberger, Staff Writer
Posted: 02/17/2012 03:10:02 PM PST

Document: Complaint for Violations of the Federal Securities Laws

On Oct. 18 The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a complaint with the U.S. District Court against Charles Copeland and his businesses alleging several counts of fraud and breach of fiduciary duty.

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The PE: VIDEO: PE Crime Blotter – Ex-assessor’s stories conflict

Former San Bernardino County Assessor Bill Postmus

Published: 14 February 2012 06:04 PM

A look at crime in the Inland region, from a Rialto shooting to a cockfighting raid to the theft of the Storm mascot’s quad.

To view video, click here.

The PE: S.B. COUNTY: Postmus interview raises questions

Bill Postmus

BY IMRAN GHORI
STAFF WRITER
ighori@pe.com

Published: 13 February 2012 09:50 PM

In an FBI interview former San Bernardino County Assessor Bill Postmus said he did not view a $100,000 campaign contribution from Colonies Partners as a bribe even though he expected to receive funds following a lawsuit settlement.

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Roll Call: Mitt Romney Goes Two for Two With Maine Win

By Lauren Whittington Posted at 7:02 p.m. on Feb. 11

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney won the non-binding Maine presidential caucuses today, capping off a day on which he also won the Conservative Political Action Conference straw poll.

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LATimes: Mortgage settlement is great — for politicians and banks

California Atty. Gen. Kamala D. Harris retains the right to pursue the banks under state fraud laws. But the settlement narrows the breadth of a promising Massachusetts investigation and may entirely shut down cases brought against BofA by the Arizona and Nevada attorneys general. (Bob Chamberlin, Los Angeles Times)

By Michael Hiltzik
February 11, 2012

I hate a parade. And the parade of rosy self-congratulation staged last week by the creators of the $25-billion mortgage fraud settlement with five big banks is the kind of parade I really hate.

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The Sun: $100,000 contribution not a bribe from Colonies, says Postmus

Postmus

Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Posted: 02/08/2012 06:05:39 PM PST

In an October interview with federal authorities, former San Bernardino County Assessor Bill Postmus said he did not consider a $100,000 campaign contribution from Colonies Partners LP a bribe.

Postmus’ statement, from an interview transcript obtained by The Sun, appears to contradict his guilty plea to charges of conspiracy and bribery in state court, where prosecutors contend campaign contributions to political action committees were part of a conspiracy by Colonies to secure a huge settlement to a land-rights dispute with the county.

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8.3% ?

 

Friday, February 3, 2012 – 09:00 a.m.

Hooray! The U.S. unemployment rate fell to 8.3% in January, with the economy adding 243,000 jobs.

But it took a lot of gaming of the numbers to get there.

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The PE: POLITICAL EMPIRE: Baca works his way into position

Rep. Joe Baca, D-Rialto, second from left, earned a aisle seat to greet President Barack Obama before the State of the Union speech./AP

THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE
Published: 29 January 2012 06:51 PM

They don’t call him “Working Joe” for nothing.

For at least the fourth consecutive year, U.S. Rep. Joe Baca outmaneuvered a host of his Democratic colleagues and worked himself into a coveted center aisle seat at last week’s State of the Union address. Baca, who was already in position several hours before the speech, again nabbed a primo spot and fought through the scrum of lawmakers to greet President Barack Obama on his way to the podium.

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By David Siders
dsiders@sacbee.com
Published: Monday, Jan. 30, 2012 – 12:00 am | Page 1A
Last Modified: Monday, Jan. 30, 2012 – 6:57 am

Jon Fleischman, the conservative blogger, was brooding the other day on Facebook, underwhelmed by the presidential candidates he has left to choose from.

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LATimes: By any name, it’s lobbying

George Skelton

Gingrich bristled at Romney’s L-word tag, but it’s all semantics.
By George Skelton Capitol Journal
January 30, 2012

From Sacramento

Without picking a side in the entertaining Republican presidential contest, let us stipulate that Mitt Romney was smack on target when he called Newt Gingrich an influence peddler.

A lobbyist? No, not in a legal sense. But did he lobby? Yes, in the common usage of the word.

An influence peddler? That pretty much covers it.

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The PE: INLAND REPUBLICANS: Delegation mostly slams Obama’s speech

Details of the president’s annual speech to Congress came under harsh fire from members of the Inland region’s Republican delegation./AP

BY BEN GOAD
WASHINGTON BUREAU
bgoad@pe.com

Published: 24 January 2012 09:18 PM

WASHINGTON — The central initiatives laid out in President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address Tuesday night seem tailored to address Inland Southern California’s largest problems: unemployment and the home foreclosure crisis.

Yet the details of his plan raised concerns from some area officials and came under harsh fire from members of the region’s predominantly Republican congressional delegation, signaling a contentious election year in Washington and a tough road ahead for the president’s agenda.

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

San Bernardino County Supervisor Neil Derry

BY IMRAN GHORI
STAFF WRITER
ighori@pe.com

Published: 23 January 2012 08:14 PM

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

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

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InlandPolitics: Feds clear Derry to resume voting

Derry

Saturday, January 21, 2012 – 06:15 p.m.

The highway funding arm of the U.S. Department of Transportation has cleared San Bernardino County Third District Supervisor Neil Derry to resume voting on federally-funded expenditures in his duties as an elected official.

The Federal Highway Administration gave Derry the green light effective Friday.

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InlandPolitics: Iowa circus now has Santorum in lead

Thursday, January 19, 2012 – 07:15 a.m.

The latest results from the circus known as the Iowa Caucuses now has former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum over Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney by 34 votes.

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InlandPolitics: Perry out of GOP contest

Thursday, January 19, 2012 – 06:35 a.m.

Texas Governor Rick Perry has dropped out of the race for the republican nomination for President of the United States.

Perry is expected to throw his tepid support behind former Speaker of the  House Newt Gingrich.

Expect Rick Santorum to bow out after Saturday’s South Carolina Primary.

LATimes: Justice Department signs off on California redistricting

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

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

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InlandPolitics: Sanchez held without bail in Pomierski corruption case

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

So much for that plea deal way back when!

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

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CNBC (AP): FDIC Requires Big Banks to Have Breakup Plan

Published: Tuesday, 17 Jan 2012 | 1:05 PM ET
By: AP

The largest banks must show how they would break up their assets if they were in danger of failing, under a rule approved Tuesday.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp voted to require banks with $50 billion or more in assets to submit so-called living wills. Seven banks with more than $250 billion in assets will have to show their plans by July. The other 30 affected by the rule have until 2013.

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InlandPolitics: GOP field down to five

Former U.S. Ambassador Jon Huntsman endorsed Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney Monday morning.

Monday, January 16, 2012 – 09:45 a.m.

GOP Presidential candidate and former U.S. Ambassador Jon Huntsman officially pulled the plug on his foundering campaign Monday morning.

A campaign that never really left the ground.

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InlandPolitics: Fugitive in Pomierski bribery case arrested

Sunday, January 5, 2012 – 11:30 p.m.

A federal fugitive tied to the corruption case involving former Upland Mayor John “J.P.” Pomierski was taken into custody Sunday afternoon.

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LATimes: Mitt Romney’s rivals don’t have time on their side

Mitt Romney is the man to beat – but any of his rivals to emerge as a serious challenger will have a tough time playing catch-up to the front-runner’s national campaign operation. (Andy Jacobsohn, MCT / January 15, 2012)

By Michael Finnegan, Los Angeles Times
January 14, 2012, 7:55 p.m.

Reporting from Greenville, S.C.‬— Five Republicans are fighting mightily to deny Mitt Romney a quick coronation as the party’s presidential nominee. But if one of them emerges as his top challenger, a monumental task lies ahead: building a national campaign operation on the fly.‬

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Calbuzz: Calbuzz Panel: Stick a Fork in the Republican Race

Monday, January 9, 2012

When the dust settles in New Hampshire, the 2012 Republican nomination for president will be written in granite and the name will be Willard Mitt Romney, according to the Calbuzz Advisory Board of Leading Authorities on Practically Everything, the greatest assemblage of political minds since Thorstein Veblen dined alone.

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Health & Welfare | Daily Report | Decoding Prime

January 9, 2012 | Lance Williams

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

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Republican presidential candidates Mitt Romney, center, Rick Santorum, left, and Ron Paul pause during a break in Sunday’s debate in New Hampshire. Sharper attacks on Romney reflected divisions within the party. (Alex Wong, Getty Images / January 8, 2012)

By Paul West, Washington Bureau
January 8, 2012, 6:26 p.m.

Reporting from Concord, N.H.— A fusillade of attacks on front-runner Mitt Romney presages what is likely to be at least a month of internal warfare among Republicans as the presidential candidates head for the South, the heart of the GOP’s restive base.

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The Sun: Victorville defaults on bonds

Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Posted: 01/07/2012 02:42:29 PM PST

Victorville City Manager Doug Robertson said the city’s November default on bond payments totaling $10.6 million has not prompted an inquiry from a federal agency that has been investigating the city’s bond debt for the last two years.

In an e-mail, Robertson said investigators from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has not made any inquiries about the defaults thus far, but he is expecting they will.

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

Josh Dulaney, Staff Writer
Posted: 01/05/2012 05:29:17 PM PST

An administrative law judge from the U.S. Department of Labor has ruled in favor of a San Bernardino man who says he was wrongfully fired from an aircraft maintenance company that he worked for at San Bernardino International Airport.

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InlandPolitics: GOP: Bachmann out, Perry In, Hunstman on life support

Wednesday, January 4, 2012 – 11:00 a.m.

Here’s the latest from last nights Iowa contest.

U.S. Representative Michele Bachmann (R-Minnesota) is out after garnering just 5% of the caucus voting.

Governor Rick Perry (R-Texas), after saying last night he would re-evaluate his campaign, is now looking ahead to the South Carolina primary later this month.

Read the rest of this entry »

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

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

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

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Romney

By Michael A. Memoli and Paul West
January 3, 2012, 11:37 p.m.

Reporting from Manchester and Des Moines— In the closest finish in the history of the Iowa caucuses, Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum wound up in a virtual dead heat in the first battle for the Republican presidential nomination, with Romney emerging as the apparent winner by a margin of just eight votes.

When results from the last of the state’s 1,774 precincts were tallied Wednesday morning, Romney had 30,015 votes to Santorum’s 30,007.

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Bloomberg: World’s Biggest Economies Face $7.6T Debt

By Keith Jenkins and Anchalee Worrachate – Jan 3, 2012 2:22 AM PT

Governments of the world’s leading economies have more than $7.6 trillion of debt maturing this year, with most facing a rise in borrowing costs.

Led by Japan’s $3 trillion and the U.S.’s $2.8 trillion, the amount coming due for the Group of Seven nations and Brazil, Russia, India and China is up from $7.4 trillion at this time last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Ten-year bond yields will be higher by year-end for at least seven of the countries, forecasts show.

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

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

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

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

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SFChronicle: Ron Paul rides grassroots zeal to surge in polls

Rep. Ron Paul greets supporters in Dubuque, Iowa, last week. Paul has surged past his rivals to take the lead in the state.

Carla Marinucci, Chronicle Political Writer
Tuesday, December 27, 2011

GOP presidential candidate Ron Paul is barreling into Iowa and New Hampshire with surprising strength as the first 2012 presidential contests approach – a position that comes, in part, from the unconventional ground games and fundraising strategies being waged by impassioned supporters like Alex Beltramo.

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Politico: Iowa: Who will survive?

Ron Paul, Michele Bachmann, Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney are pictured in Iowa in this composite. | AP Photos

By JONATHAN MARTIN and ALEXANDER BURNS | 12/27/11 4:29 AM EST

No matter who wins, Iowa will reshape the Republican presidential race one week from today — and almost certainly in ways that don’t adhere to any semblance of a traditional political script.

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VVDailyPress: Victorville loses final appeal in EB-5 termination

December 23, 2011 1:41 PM
Brooke Edwards Staggs, City Editor

VICTORVILLE • A federal appeals office upheld the termination of Victorville’s EB-5 visa investor center, leaving the city with no option but to pursue a pricey lawsuit or say goodbye to millions in funding they’d hoped to borrow through the program.

City officials got the news Thursday afternoon, with plans to discuss next steps during the Jan. 17 city council meeting.

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Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and U.S. Representative Ron Paul (R-Texas) have qualified for the Virginia primary ballot.

Posted at 03:40 AM ET, 12/24/2011

By Anita Kumar

Former House speaker Newt Gingrich and Texas Gov. Rick Perry failed to submit enough valid signatures to qualify for the Virginia primary ballot, state GOP officials said Friday evening and early Saturday.

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By Phil Kuntz and Bob Ivry – Dec 22, 2011 9:01 PM PT

Dec. 7 (Bloomberg) — Matthew Winkler, editor-in-chief of Bloomberg News, talks about Bloomberg News’ response to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke’s letter to four senior lawmakers yesterday that said recent news articles about the central bank’s emergency lending programs contained “egregious errors.” Winkler speaks with Tom Keene on Bloomberg Television’s “Surveillance Midday.” (Source: Bloomberg)

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DailyBulletin: GOP folds on payroll tax

Neil Nisperos, Staff Writer
Created: 12/22/2011 01:48:53 PM PST

House Republicans on Thursday folded to the demands of President Barack Obama, Congressional Democrats and fellow Republicans for a short-term extension of payroll tax cuts and unemployment benefits.

The deal spares workers an average of $20 a week tax increase and the truncation of jobless insurance.

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House Speaker John Boehner arrives at a news conference to announce an agreement for a two-month extension to the payroll-tax cut on Thursday. The payroll-tax debacle was arguably his biggest defeat as speaker.

ANALYSIS

Staff negotiations, defections, and an inability to compete against Obama.
By Major Garrett
Updated: December 22, 2011 | 10:18 p.m.
December 22, 2011 | 7:40 p.m.

CORRECTION: The original version of this story misidentified the House majority leader. It is Eric Cantor.

There was no formal cease-fire.

Speaker John Boehner didn’t even call Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to offer up his payroll-tax sword of surrender.

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FinancialTimes: US growth revised down for third quarter

Last updated: December 22, 2011 3:20 pm
By Johanna Kassel in New York

The US economy grew at a slower rate than initially thought in the third quarter after personal spending was less than expected, according to the final gross domestic product reading for the period.

The economy expanded at a rate of 1.8 per cent, the US Department of Commerce said on Thursday. The economy grew by 1.3 per cent in the second quarter.

The downward revision was mainly attributed to lower personal consumption.

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