Politics, Government & Business in California's Inland Empire
Sunday, July 31, 2011 – 11:45 a.m.
There’s more drama at the troubled San Bernardino International Airport.
On the heels of a scathing Grand Jury report questioning the airport management’s decision-making and expenditures comes another little bombshell.
Sunday, July 31, 2011 – 11:25 a.m.
For months InlandPolitics.com has been warning of a second recession. A recession that will be even worse than the previous.
And last weeks report on the U.S. economy should be taken as a precursor to such a recession.
Sunday, July 31, 2011 – 09:25 a.m.
The demand for campaign finance reform in San Bernardino County has reared its head once again.
Ramos
Sunday, July 31, 2011 – 09:00 a.m.
The election contest to represent the Third District on the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors is going to be an expensive race, not to mention full of entertainment.
A campaign fueled by Indian casino money.
10:00 PM PDT on Saturday, July 30, 2011
By IMRAN GHORI and DUANE W. GANG
The Press-Enterprise
Over the course of San Bernardino County’s four-year legal battle with Colonies Partners, county officials say the company’s settlement demands escalated from an initial $25 million to a combination of cash and land that included a parcel potentially worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
Groups argue Los Coyotes have no ties to Barstow
Jim Steinberg, Staff Writer
Posted: 07/30/2011 10:12:54 PM PDT
BARSTOW – San Bernardino County’s two American Indian tribes – both of which operate casinos – oppose a north San Diego County-based Indian tribe’s plan to open a $160 million casino here.
Agency fixes up foreclosed homes
Andrew Edwards, Staff Writer
Posted: 07/30/2011 07:11:33 AM PDT
San Bernardino County has terminated its financial relationship with the Inland Empire Economic Recovery Corp., an entity the county government subsidized during the worst of the recession to rehabilitate foreclosed homes.
Upland election
Mail-in campaign seeks to fill vacant City Council seat
Sandra Emerson, Staff Writer
Created: 07/30/2011 07:07:50 AM PDT
UPLAND – As residents begin to decide which of the 11 candidates running for City Council will get their vote, they may also be thinking of the actions that led to the election being held in the first place.
Witness blasts Colonies settlement
Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Created: 07/30/2011 10:12:55 PM PDT
San Bernardino County doled out $102 million to a Rancho Cucamonga developer to settle a land-rights lawsuit based on inflated damage estimates by the developer with no documentation to justify the figures, according to Grand Jury witness testimony.
Posted at 08:52 PM ET, 07/30/2011
By Suzy Khimm
No matter how the debt-ceiling fight is resolved in Congress, it’s going to end poorly for the states.
Dan Walters
By Dan Walters
dwalters@sacbee.com
Published: Sunday, Jul. 31, 2011 – 12:00 am | Page 3A
We humans tend to crave predictability and fear uncertainty, if for no other reason than the former implies security and the latter insecurity, which largely explains why those in and around California politics despise legislative term limits.
by Peter Coy
Friday, July 29, 2011
If Washington is deadlocked now, how will it deal with the much bigger debt problems that lurk in the decades to come?
10:19 PM PDT on Friday, July 29, 2011
By DUG BEGLEY
The Press-Enterprise
Special Section: San Bernardino Co. Probe
SAN DIEGO – A public corruption case in San Bernardino County is becoming increasingly intertwined with a related lawsuit, and some lawyers in the civil case accused the county counsel’s office of cooperating with one of the felony defendants.
By Sandra Emerson Staff Writer
Posted: 07/29/2011 04:37:30 PM PDT
A judge will continue to review a request to delay the San Bernardino County Flood Control District’s lawsuit against three public agencies seeking to recoup part of a $102 million settlement at the center of bribery allegations.
10:35 PM PDT on Friday, July 29, 2011
By BRIAN ROKOS
The Press-Enterprise
PDFs: See the contract for John Peukert
PDFs: See the contract for Mel Albiso
In a summer in which the San Bernardino City Unified School District laid off teachers and negotiated pay cuts for other employees, the school board gave two veteran administrators thousands of dollars in new retirement benefits out of fear they would retire — even though board members said the pair never announced plans to do so.
10:18 PM PDT on Friday, July 29, 2011
By JIM MILLER
Sacramento Bureau
SACRAMENTO – Inland Southern California voters’ mailboxes, TV sets and newspapers would get a lot more campaign-season action under preliminary political maps approved Friday by the state’s independent redistricting panel.
By Mediha Fejzagic DiMartino Staff Writer
Posted: 07/29/2011 06:57:10 PM PDT
The Citizens Redistricting Commission on Friday voted to adopt the state’s new political boundaries, sealing its decision to bind the fate of two longtime congressmen.
08:59 PM PDT on Friday, July 29, 2011
By KIMBERLY PIERCEALL
The Press-Enterprise
The commander of March Air Reserve Base between Riverside and Moreno Valley was clear: The Air Force doesn’t mind sharing its runway with general aviation flights.
By Neil Nisperos Staff Writer
Created: 07/29/2011 10:18:37 PM PDT
The Republican-controlled House approved Speaker John Boehner’s debt limit plan on Friday only to have Senate Democrats scuttle the measure without so much as a debate on its merits.
Boehner’s plan included a requirement for the submission of a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced budget.
July 29, 2011 5:50 PM
Don Holland
Brand-new congressional district boundaries sent a shock through the High Desert on Friday as longtime congressmen Jerry Lewis and Howard “Buck” McKeon were “re-districted” out of the Victor Valley, setting the stage for local politicians to jockey for the open congressional seat.
Carolyn Lochhead, Chronicle Washington Bureau
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Washignton– California gets $79 billion a year from the federal government – nearly 40 percent of what it spends. The money goes to everything from highways to universities. So when the federal government sneezes, California catches a cold.
PolitiCal
On politics in the Golden State
July 29, 2011 | 3:55 pm
California’s next presidential primary will be one of the last in the nation thanks to a measure signed Friday by Gov. Jerry Brown.
By CATHERINE RAMPELL
Published: July 29, 2011
WASHINGTON — The economy slowed to a snail’s pace in the first half of 2011, underscoring a growing risk that the recovery itself may hang in the balance with budget and debt decisions in Washington.
Apple is sitting on a pile of money that’s bigger than the Treasury’s dwindling balance.
By David Sarno, Los Angeles Times
July 29, 2011, 9:10 p.m.
Apple Inc. may not have more money than God. But it’s got more cash than Uncle Sam.
James Ramos and Former County Supervisor Dennis Hansberger
Friday, July 29, 2011 – 09:45 a.m.
San Manuel Band of Mission Indians Chairman James Ramos is wasting no time spending all that casino gaming cash trying to unseat incumbent San Bernardino County Third District Supervisor Neil Derry.
10:46 PM PDT on Thursday, July 28, 2011
By DUG BEGLEY
The Press-Enterprise
San Bernardino County should be able to proceed with its attempt to share the burden of a $102 million legal settlement without waiting for a related criminal case to be resolved, a judge said Thursday.
By PE Politics
July 28, 2011 11:15 PM
Democrats would outnumber Republicans by at least five percentage points in 51 Assembly, 26 Senate and 36 congressional districts in final draft remaps to be voted on today by the state’s redistricting panel.
Warner
By PE Politics
July 28, 2011 12:47 PM
Rancho Cucamonga businessman Russ Warner, a Democrat, announced Wednesday that he will run for a proposed congressional district stretching from Upland to Redlands.
10:00 PM PDT on Thursday, July 28, 2011
By DARRELL R. SANTSCHI
The Press-Enterprise
The Colton school district has hired back 43 of the 57 teachers it laid off in May as it prepares for the opening of the new school year next week.
A nurse and 21 secondary school teachers were re-hired this week, Colton Joint Unified School District spokeswoman Katie Orloff said, joining 22 elementary school teachers rehired over the last two weeks.
10:00 PM PDT on Thursday, July 28, 2011
By DARRELL R. SANTSCHI
The Press-Enterprise
The Loma Linda City Council is serving notice that it wants to revive the city’s redevelopment agency.
That could cost the city $2.8 million this year and another $668,000 a year in the future.
10:46 PM PDT on Thursday, July 28, 2011
By DAVID DANELSKI
The Press-Enterprise
Jim Erwin, the one-time sheriff’s deputy who rose in the tumultuous world of San Bernardino County politics to be a union boss, developer’s consultant, political operative and supervisor’s chief of staff, saw himself as “a consummate insider,” former Supervisor Bill Postmus testified to a grand jury this spring.
Staff Report
Created: 07/28/2011 09:45:21 PM PDT
A judge is expected to make a final ruling today on whether to delay San Bernardino County Flood Control District’s effort to recoup $102 million connected to a legal settlement tainted by bribery allegations.
By Joe Nelson Staff Writer
Created: 07/28/2011 08:05:07 PM PDT
District Attorney Michael A. Ramos on Thursday again called on San Bernardino County leaders to set limits on campaign contributions to thwart political corruption that has plagued the county for at least 20 years.
July 28, 2011 10:34 AM
FROM STAFF REPORTS
VICTORVILLE • In his State of the County address to the Victorville Chamber of Commerce Wednesday, First District Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt will discuss county issues including transportation, education, economic development and the Countywide Vision.
By Kevin Yamamura
kyamamura@sacbee.com
Published: Friday, Jul. 29, 2011 – 12:00 am | Page 4A
California Attorney General Kamala Harris told the state Supreme Court this week that it should allow the state’s elimination of redevelopment agencies to proceed.
By David Siders
dsiders@sacbee.com
Published: Friday, Jul. 29, 2011 – 12:00 am | Page 1A
Tired of presidential candidates treating California like an ATM, raising vast sums of money here but spending it in states where campaigns cost less and matter more, state officials four years ago agreed to hold the 2008 primary in February.
Capitol Alert
The latest on California politics and government
July 28, 2011
Bracing for litigation, California’s independent redistricting commission has decided to temporarily retain most of its key aides after acting on the state political districts it was formed to create.
July 27th, 2011, 11:16 am · posted by Ramon Solis, Staff Writer
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State lawmakers can’t get paid for giving a speech. But they can get money for nothing.
The State Worker
Chronicling civil-service life for California state workers
July 28, 2011
The number of state workers joining the CalPERS retirement roll was almost 40 percent lower in July 2011 compared to July 2010.
Thursday, July 28, 2011 – 09:30 a.m.
InlandPolitics.com has learned that a study performed to evaluate the viability of the San Bernardino International Airport was actually commissioned and paid for by the facility’s governing authority.
10:22 PM PDT on Wednesday, July 27, 2011
By KIMBERLY PIERCEALL
The Press-Enterprise
Officials with the San Bernardino International Airport Authority spent nearly three hours Wednesday dismissing what they called errors in a civil grand jury report. Officials defended the price paid for used aviation equipment and refuted claims that the airport developer’s federal ban from aviation would affect airport operations.
Joe Nelson and Sandra Emerson, Staff Writers
Posted: 07/27/2011 08:31:48 PM PDT
Allegations of judicial misconduct against two San Bernardino Superior Court judges contributed to county attorneys’ refusal to settle a land- rights lawsuit with Rancho Cucamonga developer Colonies Partners LP for $102 million, according to Grand Jury testimony.
10:33 PM PDT on Wednesday, July 27, 2011
By JIM MILLER
The Press-Enterprise
PDF: PACs that prosecutors say were manipulated by corruption suspects
Special Section: San Bernardino Co. Corruption Probe
Lorene “Kitty” Stennett was a loyal foot soldier in San Bernardino County Republican politics. When a fellow activist asked her to become an officer in a new campaign committee, she readily agreed.
Mayor says project has 1,000 jobs
Jim Steinberg, Staff Writer
Posted: 07/27/2011 10:14:20 PM PDT
BARSTOW – A proposed $160 million casino will alleviate high unemployment, a high rate of welfare and high poverty level, Mayor Joe Gomez said Wednesday night at a public hearing hosted by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
City will pay $6 million to state to maintain agency
Jim Steinberg, Staff Writer
Posted: 07/27/2011 03:35:43 PM PDT
RIALTO – The City Council has voted unanimously to stay in the redevelopment game and pay the state what was described as a $6 million “ransom” early next year.
City will appeal payment to state
Ryan Hagen, Staff Writer
Posted: 07/27/2011 03:30:39 PM PDT
GRAND TERRACE – Calling the Redevelopment Agency a vital revenue source, City Council members have agreed to pay the state more than $2.8 million in what they consider “extortion payments” to keep access to the agency and also hired a consultant to appeal the payment amount.
Upland’s dividing line
Some would be moved into Baca’s district
Sandra Emerson, Staff Writer
Created: 07/27/2011 07:52:08 PM PDT
UPLAND – Residents in the 1400 block of Ukiah Way and Victoria Avenue may soon find themselves divided along party lines.
The block running north and south between 14th Street and 15th Street will join citizens living below 14th Street in the district of Rep. Joe Baca, D-San Bernardino, according to a preliminary draft of Congressional, Assembly and state Senate districts released last week by the Citizens Redistricting Commission.
July 26, 2011 5:29 PM
KRISTINE MCGOWAN, Special to the Daily Press
CADIZ • A massive water delivery and storage system in the works for eastern San Bernardino County is projected to create nearly 6,000 jobs and spur more than $878 million in economic activity.
AH Belo’s second-quarter losses widen amid less ad revenue, larger accounting charges
On Wednesday July 27, 2011, 7:08 pm EDT
DALLAS (AP) — Newspaper publisher A.H. Belo Corp.’s losses grew in the second quarter as a slump in advertising worsened.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011 – 09:45 p.m.
The Editors and Publisher of the Riverside Press-Enterprise appear to be getting a little full of themselves these days.
Supervisor Gary Ovitt
Supervisor says Kirk didn’t control his office
Sandra Emerson, Staff Writer
Created: 07/26/2011 05:28:51 PM PDT
Grand Jury testimony released Friday does not accurately portray who was in charge in the county’s 4th District, according to Supervisor Gary Ovitt.
10:00 PM PDT on Tuesday, July 26, 2011
By DUG BEGLEY and DAVID DANELSKI
The Press-Enterprise
Lawyers who thought San Bernardino County supervisors were making a mistake in settling with Colonies Partners over a flood control easement had few options other than the vigorous opposition they expressed in meetings, letters and memos to officials, legal experts said.
Testimony says union middleman for cash
Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Posted: 07/26/2011 08:12:12 PM PDT
As president of the San Bernardino County Safety Employees Benefit Association, Jim Erwin used the union’s political action committee to bolster his clout and launder campaign contributions from a powerful Rancho Cucamonga developer, according to Grand Jury testimony.
10:00 PM PDT on Tuesday, July 26, 2011
By ALICIA ROBINSON
The Press-Enterprise
The Riverside City Council chose Community Development Director Scott Barber to serve as interim city manager while it seeks a permanent replacement for Brad Hudson.
Wyatt Buchanan, Chronicle Sacramento Bureau
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Sacramento — Seeking to avert the fallout if Congress fails to raise the country’s borrowing limit, California Treasurer Bill Lockyer on Tuesday took out $5.4 billion in short-term loans to cover the state’s bills in case money stops flowing from Washington, D.C.
ECONOMY
JULY 27, 2011
By JUSTIN SCHECK
SAN ANDREAS, Calif.—Declining home prices are starting to slam California harder than the rest of the nation, in part due to a state law that sets a ceiling—but no floor—on property taxes.
Money & Company
Tracking the market and economic trends that shape your finances.
July 26, 2011 | 6:00 pm
The strongest sign of worry about the U.S. debt drama may be showing up in the dollar, which is on track for its third straight weekly decline.
On Tuesday July 26, 2011, 3:11 pm EDT
By Pedro da Costa and Andy Bruce
WASHINGTON/LONDON (Reuters) – The United States will lose its top-notch AAA credit rating from at least one major rating agency, according to a Reuters poll that also found wrangling over the debt ceiling has already damaged the economy.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011 – 01:30 p.m.
Local newspaper circulation continues to dwindle these days and rumors of more job cuts at Los Angeles News Group publications has once again surfaced.
10:00 PM PDT on Monday, July 25, 2011
By DUANE W. GANG
The Press-Enterprise
When Colonies Partners first sued San Bernardino County in 2002 over flood-control improvements on its Upland development, they faced a Board of Supervisors unwilling to settle the dispute, recently released grand jury transcripts show.
10:00 PM PDT on Monday, July 25, 2011
By IMRAN GHORI
The Press-Enterprise
In fall 2005, then-San Bernardino County Supervisor Bill Postmus returned from a trip to China a changed man.
Emmerson
Administrator’s Note: Legislator carrying water for Majestic Realty……..
By PE Politics
July 25, 2011 4:39 PM
State Sen. Bill Emmerson’s Riverside County district is a good ways from downtown Los Angeles.
A weekend newspaper story, though, links an Emmerson bill to an effort to undercut a proposed NFL stadium in downtown Los Angeles.
Jenkins
10:00 PM PDT on Monday, July 25, 2011
By BRIAN ROKOS
The Press-Enterprise
The San Bernardino police and fire unions contributed $32,763 in cash and services to Robert Jenkins in the final weeks of the City Council Ward 2 campaign, an election that Jenkins won with almost twice as many votes as his nearest challenger.
By PE Politics
July 25, 2011 3:33 PM
Gov. Jerry Brown on Monday signed legislation that would shrink a local water board and make it easier for firefighters to get special driver licenses.
10:00 PM PDT on Monday, July 25, 2011
The Press-Enterprise
Candidates for city councils, school boards and special districts have until 5 p.m. Aug. 12 to file candidacy papers for the Nov. 8 election.
Grand Jury papers reveal tensions
Mike Cruz and Sandra Emerson, Staff Writers
Created: 07/25/2011 08:23:19 PM PDT
In San Bernardino County’s 4th District, the chief of staff ran the show, according to Grand Jury testimony released last week.
Postmus
July 25, 2011 2:13 PM
ASSOCIATED PRESS
SAN BERNARDINO (AP) • Former San Bernardino County supervisor Bill Postmus says he leaked confidential information about negotiations to settle a multimillion-dollar lawsuit with a developer.
By Jim Sanders
jsanders@sacbee.com
Published: Tuesday, Jul. 26, 2011 – 12:00 am | Page 3A
Last Modified: Tuesday, Jul. 26, 2011 – 12:06 am
An independent California commission has set the stage for what could be the largest shake-up of the state’s political system in decades – and potentially give Democrats a two-thirds majority in both houses of the Legislature.
Dan Walters
By Dan Walters
dwalters@sacbee.com
Published: Tuesday, Jul. 26, 2011 – 12:00 am | Page 3A
California’s evolution into one of the planet’s most economically, culturally and ethnically diverse societies sparks ceaseless political debate, touching everything from illegal immigration to the plight of public education.
Capitol Alert
The latest on California politics and government
July 25, 2011
Gov. Jerry Brown signed several dozen bills into law this afternoon, including a measure to allow college students who are undocumented immigrants to qualify for scholarships funded with private donations.
By Michael B. Marois – Jul 25, 2011 9:00 PM PT
California will borrow $5 billion today through a temporary loan as U.S. states make plans to cope with any credit-market disruption should lawmakers fail to raise the federal debt ceiling by the Aug. 2 deadline.
By James Nash – Jul 25, 2011 9:01 PM PT
Overseers of 10 public pension funds with combined assets topping $1 trillion joined a call for a deal on raising the U.S. debt ceiling, warning that a failure by leaders in Washington would have “devastating” consequences.
Politics Blog
Posted By: Carla Marinucci | July 25 2011 at 10:21 AM
California’s 2011 statewide Republican convention has suddenly become a must-see media event — now that Tea Party darling and 2012 GOP presidential candidate Rep. Michele Bachmann has agreed to give the keynote opening address.
Money & Company
Tracking the market and economic trends that shape your finances.
July 25, 2011 | 10:49 am
Motorists will likely find little relief at the gasoline pump in the coming weeks. Prices are rising again after consumers experienced only modest decreases in costs in May and June. The average price of a gallon of regular gasoline is far above levels seen last summer, and the gap may not decrease anytime soon.
Monday, July 25, 2011 – 10:15 a.m.
It’s coming!
A massive diet for the U.S. Government that will reverberate throughout the country.
Josh Dulaney, Staff Writer
Posted: 07/24/2011 02:47:35 PM PDT
Airport officials on Wednesday are expected to continue to chip away at what they say are factual errors in a Grand Jury report on their work at the former Norton Air Force Base.
Universities’ findings conflict with Grand Jury report
Josh Dulaney, Staff Writer
Posted: 07/24/2011 09:12:10 PM PDT
SAN BERNARDINO – Efforts to transform the former Norton Air Force Base into a civilian airport and bring businesses to the surrounding area could reverse the devastating economic impact of the base’s closure on the region, according to a new report.
Selection detailed to Grand Jury
Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Created: 07/24/2011 09:11:11 PM PDT
Despite objections from San Bernardino County attorneys, Rancho Cucamonga developer Jeff Burum and two county supervisors negotiated who would mediate a legal settlement over a land rights dispute that netted the developer $102 million, according to Grand Jury testimony.
July 24, 2011 11:43 AM
Brooke Edwards
Staff Writer
It appears Victorville is closer to striking a deal with the Victor Valley Wastewater Reclamation Authority to sell its distressed wastewater plant.
By Kathleen Hennessey and Christi Parsons, Washington Bureau
July 24, 2011, 10:13 p.m.
Reporting from Washington— Congressional leaders missed a self-imposed weekend deadline for reaching a debt agreement that would stave off federal default, leaving Democrats and Republicans aligned behind competing proposals as financial markets watched closely for signs of progress.
TIMES/USC DORNSIFE POLL
Nearly 60% of those polled support changing state law to allow voters to approve local taxes on cigarettes, sugary drinks, liquor and oil pumped from the ground.
By Shane Goldmacher, Los Angeles Times
July 25, 2011
Reporting from Sacramento— Californians would let local officials put new taxes on cigarettes, sugary drinks, liquor and oil pumped from the ground if voters in their communities said it was OK, a new poll shows.
PolitiCal
On politics in the Golden State
July 24, 2011 | 7:03 pm
The top Democrat in the state Senate said he is shelving until 2012 one of the year’s most explosive legislative gambits: a proposed law to grant cities, counties and more than 1,000 school districts broad new taxing authority.
Monday, July 26, 2011
By Ed Mendel
A local ballot measure in San Jose and a statewide initiative, both only proposals at this point, would attempt to cut the cost of public pensions promised current workers, believed by many to be “vested rights” protected by court decisions.
By Jon Ortiz
jortiz@sacbee.com
Published: Monday, Jul. 25, 2011 – 12:00 am | Page 1A
Thousands of California public employees have put down big money on what amounts to a bet with the government that they will live long enough to recoup their investment – and then some.
Sunday, July 24, 2011 – 09:15 a.m.
Last Modified: Monday, July 25, 2011 – 06:05 a.m.
Already heating up as a hot election contest for June 2012 is the race to represent the Third District on the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors.