Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke (Image by Getty Images via @daylife)

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Wall Street enjoyed a big jump Wednesday morning, after a coordinated action by central banks around the world to provide more liquidity to the global financial system.

The U.S. Federal Reserve, after a similar effort in September, will “lower the pricing on the existing temporary U.S. dollar liquidity swap arrangements by 50 basis points so that the new rate will be the U.S. dollar overnight index swap (OIS) rate plus 50 basis points.”

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Wednesday, November 30, 2011 - 02:10 p.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, December 1, 2011 - 08:00 a.m.

It’s bad enough that Herman Cain, at least, appears to have a problem.

Now it’s becoming clear that Texas Governor and Republican candidate for President of the United States, Rick Perry, needs to go back home to Austin.

Perry, who can’t seem to go a few days without blowing it either during debates or on the campaign trail, pushed the stupidity button once again this week.

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Wednesday, November 30, 2011 - 02:00 p.m.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed nearly 500 points on Wednesday on news the U.S. Federal Reserve will drop the rate foreign banks pay it to exchange the euro for the U.S. Dollar.

In other words, a promise to artificially print more money by doing nothing more than pushing buttons on a computer.

The move up, once again, brings stocks to the unchanged level for the year.

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A defendant in the Colonies corruption case wins the unsealing of comments from a different grand jury

BY IMRAN GHORI
STAFF WRITER
[email protected]

Published: 29 November 2011 09:29 AM

A San Bernardino County judge on Tuesday ordered the grand jury testimony of a former county official unsealed as part of a government corruption case.

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Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Created: 11/29/2011 10:37:41 PM PST

A San Bernardino Superior Court judge on Tuesday ordered that the Grand Jury testimony of a former county official be unsealed.

Judge Michael A. Smith ordered the release of transcripts of testimony given by Jim Lindley, the county’s former public health director and former director of purchasing, before the county’s civil Grand Jury on April 21.

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BY DARRELL R. SANTSCHI
STAFF WRITER
[email protected]

Published: 29 November 2011 01:50 PM

Dick Riddell, a 30-year Yucaipa resident who retired from an engineering firm to devote full time to local politics, has been reappointed to a 14th term as the city’s mayor.

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BY ALICIA ROBINSON
STAFF WRITER
[email protected]

Published: 29 November 2011 01:45 PM

Proposals that would create a citizens audit committee and have Riverside’s auditor report to the City Council rather than the city manager survived another round of discussion by the charter review committee, bringing them a step closer to the June 2012 ballot.

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Andrew Edwards, Staff Writer
Posted: 11/29/2011 10:37:42 PM PST

San Bernardino is among the state’s most costly cities to do business in, according to a new survey examining municipalities’ taxes and fees.

Claremont McKenna College’s Rose Institute of State and Local Government and Kosmont Cos. produced the survey.

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Josh Dulaney, The (San Bernardino County) Sun
Posted: 11/29/2011 08:03:09 PM PST

SAN BERNARDINO - A lease agreement for a new downtown movie theater was approved Tuesday night.

The board of the Economic Development Corporation - the nonprofit agency which has had oversight of redevelopment here since March - voted 4-0 to approve a 10-year lease agreement with Regal Entertainment Group.

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The Legislative Analyst’s Office says the financing plan does not fulfill key requirements of the ballot measure voters approved to authorize the project.

By Dan Weikel, Los Angeles Times
November 30, 2011

The funding plan for the California bullet train does not comply with key provisions of a ballot measure that voters approved to authorize the project and $9 billion in state bonds to help finance it, according to a report released Tuesday.

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By Torey Van Oot
[email protected]
Published: Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2011 - 12:00 am | Page 1A
Last Modified: Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2011 - 9:44 am

Dozens of state legislators are turning in their car keys this week, as a decades-old program providing them with state-purchased vehicles comes to an end.

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Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney

By Dan Smith
[email protected]
Published: Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2011 - 12:00 am | Page 3A
Last Modified: Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2011 - 8:16 am

California Republicans still favor former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in the GOP’s presidential primary sweepstakes, but they have a new No. 2: Newt Gingrich.

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Tuesday, November 29, 2011
By David Henry

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Standard & Poor’s reduced its credit ratings on 15 big banking companies, mostly in the Europe and the United States, on Tuesday as the result of a sweeping overhaul of its ratings criteria.

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Tuesday, November 29, 2011 - 01:55 p.m.

AMR Corp., parent of American Airlines filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Tuesday.

The airlines stock is trading at just 26 cents per share this evening.

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Tuesday, November 29, 2011 - 01:30 p.m.

Herman Cain is re-evaluating his bid for the White House.

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Tuesday, November 29, 2011 - 01:30 p.m.

The Sun / Inland Valley Daily Bulletin newspapers has convicted the four defendants in the case surrounding the $120 million Colonies settlement.

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BY IMRAN GHORI
STAFF WRITER
[email protected]

Published: 29 November 2011 09:29 AM

A San Bernardino County judged ordered the grand jury testimony of a former county official unsealed as part of a corruption case.

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BY JIM MILLER
SACRAMENTO BUREAU
[email protected]

Published: 28 November 2011 08:50 PM

Most California voters sympathize with the premise of Occupy Wall Street, according to a new survey, which highlights the ideological split about the protests that have sprung up from New York to Riverside to make a case for “the 99 percent.”

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Neil Nisperos and Benjamin Demers, Staff Writers
Posted: 11/28/2011 05:51:35 PM PST

Editor’s note: This is the third of a three-part series looking at the newly redrawn Inland Empire legislative districts for California’s Assembly. Sunday’s installment was Congress; on Monday we examined the California Senate.

When members of California’s Citizens Redistricting Commission compiled the state’s new political maps, they did so in hopes of ending gerrymandering.

An early look at Assembly races in this region seem to indicate they have succeeded in creating a more competitive atmosphere. The commission released the new maps in July.

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Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Created: 11/28/2011 06:36:01 PM PST

A new law meant to reduce California’s prison population raises questions as to whether four defendants in a sweeping San Bernardino County corruption case would serve time in prison if convicted.

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November 28, 2011, 5:11 pm • Posted by John Myers

Assembly Speaker John Perez isn’t ruling it out — never say never, one supposes — but nonetheless says that talk of the Legislature stopping, or even just rejiggering, the budget’s automatic spending cuts isn’t likely to go anywhere.

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$ 7.7 Trillion Loan!

By Bob Ivry, Bradley Keoun and Phil Kuntz - Nov 27, 2011 4:01 PM PT
Bloomberg Markets Magazine

The Federal Reserve and the big banks fought for more than two years to keep details of the largest bailout in U.S. history a secret. Now, the rest of the world can see what it was missing.

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BY JIM MILLER
SACRAMENTO BUREAU
[email protected]

Published: 27 November 2011 09:57 PM

SACRAMENTO – Instead of voting yes or no, members of Inland Southern California’s legislative delegation abstained on hundreds of bills that came before the full Assembly and Senate this year.

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Neil Nisperos and Benjamin Demers, Staff Writers
Posted: 11/27/2011 06:03:44 AM PST

Editor’s note: This is the second of a three-part series looking at the newly redrawn Inland Empire legislative districts for state Senate. Sunday’s installment was Congress; Tuesday will examine the Assembly. Recently redrawn state Senate lines likely won’t see a major shift of power in the Inland Empire from Republicans to Democrats.

Despite being in the minority in Sacramento, GOP senators have enjoyed a majority in the Inland Empire for years and that trend is unlikely to change.

The 14-member California Citizens Redistricting Commission introduced the redrawn maps in July.

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Issa

FROM STAFF REPORTS
Published: 27 November 2011 07:24 PM

Once again, Inland Rep. Darrell Issa has been placed atop a list of the richest members of Congress.

Issa, R-Vista, whose invention of the Viper car alarm helped him amass a fortune, is worth at least $195 million and possibly more than $700 million, according to a report released this month by the Center for Responsive Politics.

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Ryan Hagen, Staff Writer
Posted: 11/27/2011 02:37:13 PM PST

Nearly 1,000 county businesses screen employees’ immigration status with a process called E-Verify, part of a 37-percent surge statewide in the number of employers using the system since 2010.

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Aaron Sandusky, 41, says he turned to medical marijuana after painful gout left him with an addiction to pain killers. His three Inland marijuana dispensaries are closed and he wants his case to go to the Supreme Court/CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

BY LAURIE LUCAS
STAFF WRITER
[email protected]

Published: 27 November 2011 06:28 PM

Aaron Sandusky is bloodied but unbowed.

For several years he owned G3 Holistics Inc., a not-for-profit company that ran three Inland medical marijuana dispensaries.

Earlier this month, federal agents raided facilities in Colton, Upland and Moreno Valley, which are now bare and shuttered, and cleaned out his 40,000-square-pot growing warehouse in Ontario.

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Wes Woods II, Staff Writer
Created: 11/27/2011 06:03:42 AM PST

CLAREMONT - Claremont City Council members recently took the first step toward offering Assistant City Manager Tony Ramos a contract as its new city manager despite some community criticism over his bankruptcy issues.

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Dr. Prem Reddy

Lance Williams, Stephen K. Doig,Christina Jewett, California Watch
Monday, November 28, 2011

For three years, a small hospital east of Los Angeles has billed Medicare for the costs of confronting what appears to be a cardiac crisis of unprecedented dimension.

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By Catherine Saillant, Los Angeles Times
November 27, 2011, 10:54 p.m.

It’s business as usual at Santa Ana City Hall as residents trickle up to the counter to pay business fees, pick up a dog license or, in a newer wing next door, apply for a free solar permit.

But on the top floor of the eight-story concrete fortress, city officials in Orange County’s most labor-friendly city are doing the once unthinkable: demanding big benefit concessions from their employee unions.

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By Ed Mendel
Monday, November 28, 2011

A state Supreme Court ruling last week could make it more difficult for state and local governments to cut spending on health care for their retired employees, one of the fastest-growing costs.

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Money & Company
Tracking the market and economic trends that shape your finances.
November 27, 2011 | 9:43 pm

Throwing more logs on the Eurozone fire, Moody’s Investors Service said early Monday that the continent’s debt crisis now is “threatening the credit standing of all European sovereigns.”

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Neil Nisperos and Benjamin Demers, Staff Writers
Posted: 11/26/2011 06:05:56 AM PST

Editor’s note: This is the first of a three-part series looking at the newly redrawn Inland Empire legislative districts. Today, the new-look congressional districts.

California’s redrawn lines for the House of Representatives may result in some longtime lawmakers from the region facing tough re-election campaigns.

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Published: Friday, 25 Nov 2011 | 1:10 PM ET
By: JeeYeon Park
CNBC.com Writer

Stocks closed in negative territory in thin, shortened trading Friday as investors were reluctant to go long ahead of the weekend and amid ongoing worries over the euro zone.

The Dow and S&P posted their worst Thanksgiving week since the Great Depression on a percentage basis.

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BY KIMBERLY PIERCEALL
STAFF WRITER
[email protected]

Published: 25 November 2011 01:01 PM

The board members overseeing San Bernardino International Airport will consider at their next meeting paying subcontractors owed about $4 million for work done on the airport’s main passenger terminal, a three-story U.S. Customs building and a fix made to a bay inside one of the hangars to fit Boeing’s 747-8 freighter while it was undergoing tests there.

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Wes Woods II, Staff Writer
Created: 11/25/2011 06:21:17 PM PST

CLAREMONT - The Claremont Unified School District’s recent raises for two administrators that officials say will save thousands of dollars have drawn criticism from the Claremont Faculty Association.

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Capitol Alert
The latest on California politics and government
November 25, 2011

Rebuffed by the California Supreme Court, a former Republican congressman and four others filed suit this week in federal court to overturn the state’s newly drawn congressional maps.

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By Michael J. Mishak, Los Angeles Times
November 26, 2011

Reporting from Sacramento— As various California power players develop an array of tax initiatives to propose for next year’s ballot, they are reading the political tea leaves, hoping to discern how receptive voters might be in a sluggish economy.

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Saturday, November 25, 2011

Four more proposed ballot initiatives were cleared earlier this week for signature gathering in California, which means there are a grand total of 30 initiatives and referendums now in circulation.

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Friday, November 25, 2011 - 06:30 p.m.

You have to admit this is funny.

Friday, November 25, 2011 - 11:45 a.m.

U.S. stocks ended lower for the seventh trading session in row on Friday,

While investment analysts cry that “Stocks are cheap.”, “It’s a buying opportunity.”, “I like stocks here.”, and “Investors shouldn’t panic.”, the markets continue to recede.

Even the recent trading range doesn’t look too warm and fuzzy.

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Friday, November 25, 2011 - 10:30 a.m.

Victorville can’t pay its debt service payments, while some of the city’s leaders want area voters to place them into higher office.

Laugh out loud!

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BY BEN GOAD
WASHINGTON BUREAU
[email protected]

Published: 24 November 2011 07:20 PM

A pair of candidates vying to represent a newly drawn Riverside County congressional district have launched aggressive fundraising efforts, tapping a diverse array of donors for campaign cash.

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Derry

Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Created: 11/24/2011 06:15:38 AM PST

San Bernardino County Supervisor Neil Derry is in a furor over a $150 state-imposed fire fee on rural property owners that is nearly double what was initially proposed in August.

Derry called the fee an act of “outright thievery” by Gov. Jerry Brown. The state Board of Forestry and Fire Protection approved the fee on a 6-2 vote on Nov. 10.

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Negrete-McLeod

Neil Nisperos, Staff Writer
Created: 11/24/2011 06:10:20 AM PST

State Sen. Gloria Negrete McLeod, D-Montclair, is co-chairing a committee to hear the statewide concerns of employers and employees on the issue of pension reform.

The lawmaker, who plans to run for Congress next year, was elected to serve the 32nd District in the California State Senate in 2006.

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Neil Nisperos, Staff Writer
Created: 11/24/2011 06:10:18 AM PST

The Golden State’s pension systems are fraught with areas of concern.

A report last year by the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research said retirement funds for 2.6 million California teachers, state workers and university employees have long-term unfunded obligations totaling as much as $500 billion.

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By Kevin Yamamura
[email protected]
Published: Friday, Nov. 25, 2011 - 12:00 am | Page 3A
Last Modified: Friday, Nov. 25, 2011 - 8:43 am

Desperate for money and on the verge of cutting schools, California has become a ready target for quick-cash ideas.

A British gaming company recently offered $1 billion to take over part of the California Lottery. Now a private investor group twice rejected by Gov. Jerry Brown is again pushing California to sell 11 office properties for $1.2 billion in immediate cash.

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Republican activists turn in enough signatures to put on the ballot a measure that would overturn some new voting districts. But the signatures may not be verified in time to affect next year’s elections.

By Jean Merl, Los Angeles Times
November 25, 2011

Republican activists trying to overturn some new voting districts cleared a significant hurdle toward putting the issue on the ballot by turning in petitions bearing hundreds of thousands of signatures.

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Thursday, November 24, 2011 - 11:30 a.m.

Happy Thanksgiving from InlandPolitics.com

Employees will start paying 3 percent of their salary toward pension costs on Dec. 1 after negotiations reach an impasse

BY DUG BEGLEY
STAFF WRITER
[email protected]

Published: 22 November 2011 04:00 PM

Riverside County on Tuesday imposed pay and benefit changes on 5,800 employees, after months of negotiations between county officials and the union representing the workers failed to produce an agreement.

Read the rest of this entry »

BY JIM MILLER
SACRAMENTO BUREAU
[email protected]

Published: 23 November 2011 05:28 PM

SACRAMENTO — A new political party is poised to qualify for California’s 2012 ballot, part of a well-funded nationwide effort to create an alternative to the two major parties’ presidential contenders.

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BY DARRELL R. SANTSCHI
STAFF WRITER
[email protected]

Published: 23 November 2011 06:25 PM

The Yucaipa City Council has agreed to refinance bonds that paid for flood control improvements in the Chapman Heights housing and commercial development.

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Josh Dulaney, The (San Bernardino County) Sun
Posted: 11/23/2011 01:20:36 PM PST

Highland residents can expect water rate increases.

In a 4-1 vote, the East Valley Water District board of directors on Tuesday approved increased sewer treatment charges between 16 percent to nearly 60 percent for some local commercial customers.

Read the rest of this entry »

Liset Márquez, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
Created: 11/23/2011 06:46:05 PM PST

ONTARIO - New traffic figures released for LA/Ontario International Airport have officials bracing for a dismal 2012.

October traffic at the airport dropped 12 percent from the number of passengers traveling through the facility in October 2010.

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November 23, 2011 6:17 PM
Brooke Edwards Staggs

VICTORVILLE • The city is $7.5 million short to make its annual debt payment due Dec. 1 — a shortfall that could trigger default and further downgrades on the already precarious bonds.

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November 23, 2011 2:36 PM
Tomoya Shimura
Staff Writer

VICTORVILLE • A Victorville judge on Wednesday denied the California Attorney General’s attempt to prevent Prime Healthcare Services from helping keep bankrupt Victor Valley Community Hospital open.

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By Torey Van Oot |
[email protected]
Published: Thursday, Nov. 24, 2011 - 12:00 am | Page 3A

The gift-giving season is always tricky for California legislators and other public officials, who must disclose the goodies they get to comply with the state’s Political Reform Act.

Now the state Fair Political Practices Commission is trying to rewrite the rules.

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Steve DeAngelo of the Harborside Health Center in Oakland. Medical marijuana is legal in California, but federal prosecutors have been targeting it.

By ERIK ECKHOLM
Published: November 23, 2011

UKIAH, Calif. — An intensifying federal crackdown on growers and sellers of state-authorized medical marijuana has badly shaken the billion-dollar industry, which has sprung up in California since voters approved medical use of the drug in 1996, and has highlighted the stark contradiction between federal and state policies.

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Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has had more than his share of experience under fire over a variety of issues, both personal and political. (Adam Hunger, Reuters Photo / November 21, 2011)

By Mark Z. Barabak and Robin Abcarian, Los Angeles Times
November 23, 2011, 5:17 p.m.

Of all the presidential candidates who have cycled to the top of the shifting Republican heap, the most improbable may be Newt Gingrich.

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McCarthy

By Ralph Vartabedian, Los Angeles Times
November 23, 2011

California’s proposed bullet train, the nation’s largest public infrastructure project, has become the focus of an intense federal funding battle that could undermine its survival, as Republican leaders in Congress attempt to claw back as much as $3.3 billion in federal grants already approved for the start of construction next year.

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By Cindy Baker | 11/23/11 12:00 AM PST

Lobbyists have a lot to be thankful for this holiday season. The powerful interests that employ lobbyists spent nearly quarter of a billion dollars — $217 million from Jan. 1 through Sept. 30 – to persuade government to meet their clients’ needs. The amount is a record.

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PolitiCal
On politics in the Golden State
November 22, 2011 | 6:19 pm

The decision to pay state lawmakers mileage for using their cars on business instead of a $300-per-month transportation allowance could end up costing taxpayers more.

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November 22, 2011 | 5:02 pm

California’s giant public pension fund and 15 other large investors settled lawsuits accusing former mortgage goliath Countrywide Financial Corp. of costing them billions of dollars in stock losses by failing to disclose the severity of the risks posed by the easy-money loans the Calabasas lender handed out during the housing boom.

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Riverside hires a Portland firm after firing the firm is shared with Bell; but the results don’t satisfy all

BY ALICIA ROBINSON
STAFF WRITER
[email protected]

Published: 21 November 2011 07:54 PM

Riverside’s new outside audit firm gave the city’s finances a clean bill of health this month, but some critics remain convinced that not all the city’s fiscal dealings have been aboveboard in recent years.

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Customers are few at ticket counters inside Terminal 4 at Ontario International Airport.

BY KIMBERLY PIERCEALL
STAFF WRITER
[email protected]

Published: 21 November 2011 09:44 PM

Two Inland congressmen, fed up with the increasingly empty terminals at Ontario International Airport, on Monday asked U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood for help.

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Cassie MacDuff

BY CASSIE MACDUFF
COLUMNIST
[email protected]

Published: 22 November 2011 10:11 AM

Local restaurants have gotten a boost from San Bernardino International Airport employees dining at public expense.

Public records I requested in September for credit card receipts of the airport’s then-executive director and assistant director were finally provided this month, revealing this routine.

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Josh Dulaney, The (San Bernardino County) Sun
Posted: 11/21/2011 08:31:37 PM PST

SAN BERNARDINO - The City Council voted 4-3 late Monday night to endorse a proposed lease agreement with Regal Entertainment Group to revamp 14 of the 20 screens at the former CinemaStar movie theater near Fourth and E streets.

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McKeon

November 21, 2011 5:06 PM
From Staff Reports

WASHINGTON • After the congressional super committee ground to a stalemate Monday, Rep. Howard P. “Buck” McKeon said automatic spending cuts will seriously harm the military.

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Dan Walters

By Dan Walters
[email protected]
Published: Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2011 - 12:00 am | Page 3A

California’s political dysfunction has evolved from a theory first advanced by a few jaundiced observers a generation ago – including yours truly – to a widely embraced axiom that has spawned endless journalistic, academic and civic discourse.

While there’s broad agreement on symptoms of California’s malaise, such as chronic budget deficits, there’s wide disagreement on its causes and what might be done to correct it.

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Justice Marvin Baxter, pictured on Nov. 10, wrote for the court: “Under California law, a vested right to health benefits for retired county employees can be implied under certain circumstances from a county ordinance or resolution.” (Jeff Chiu / Associated Press)

By Maura Dolan, Los Angeles Times
November 21, 2011, 5:50 p.m.

Health benefits for government retirees may not be eliminated if state and local governments had clearly promised workers those benefits, the California Supreme Court ruled in an Orange County case Monday.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Russell Berman - 11/21/11 08:24 PM ET

In many ways, the supercommittee was doomed from the start.

The failure of the much-hyped congressional debt panel brought about a wave of denunciation from across the political spectrum on Monday, but few political advocates and observers claimed to be surprised.

Read the rest of this entry »

Monday, November 20, 2011 - 11:15 a.m.

As expected, the so-called debt-reduction supercommittee, officially known as the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, ended with a loud thud this morning.

Read the rest of this entry »

Monday, November 20, 2011 - 11:00 a.m.

One things for certain.

The sluggish stock market and record low interest rates has been and will continue to be a bad recipe for California government pension funds.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Riverside County group has a nearly $900,000 war chest as it strives to build clout and protect its retirement benefits

BY DUANE W. GANG
STAFF WRITER
[email protected]

Published: 20 November 2011 08:19 PM

After a record year for political spending, the Riverside Sheriff’s Association is sitting on nearly $900,000 in cash as the 2012 elections approach.

The group likely will be a potent force, political experts say.

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Supervisor John Benoit, above, and John Tavaglione want legislation creating a “fast-track” permitting process for California agencies.

BY DUANE W. GANG
STAFF WRITER
[email protected]

Published: 20 November 2011 05:57 PM

Two Riverside County supervisors want legislation creating a formal “fast-track” policy for permits moving with California state agencies as a way to help jump start the economy.

Read the rest of this entry »

Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Posted: 11/20/2011 06:09:51 PM PST

The attorney for San Bernardino County Supervisor Neil Derry believes a federal agency soon will restore Derry’s voting power on federally funded county projects and programs.The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) suspended Derry’s right to vote on those projects and programs in May, roughly a month after the state Attorney General’s Office charged him with two felonies and a misdemeanor for allegedly laundering a $5,000 campaign contribution from a Highland developer.

Read the rest of this entry »

Josh Dulaney, Staff Writer
Posted: 11/20/2011 06:09:52 PM PST

SAN BERNARDINO - The City Council, acting in its role as the Economic Development Agency board, will consider a lease agreement Monday with Regal Entertainment Group to redevelop the former CinemStar movie theater at Fourth and E streets.

Read the rest of this entry »

Paul Gann, left, and Howard Jarvis, celebrate the passage of Prop. 13 in 1978. The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association recently released legislative scorecards for 2011. The scores are of particular interest to Republicans./AP

FROM STAFF REPORTS
Published: 20 November 2011 05:33 PM

Various Capitol interest groups began releasing legislative scorecards shortly after lawmakers finished their 2011 session in September.

Holding particular interest for Republicans are the rankings put out by Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association. The organization, named after the force behind 1978’s tax-limiting Prop. 13, has a lot of influence in GOP circles, particularly at election time.

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November 20, 2011 9:12 AM
From Staff Reports

SACRAMENTO • With a record number of California legislators earning failing grades, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association issued A’s to two of the High Desert’s three state representatives.

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L.A. NOW
Southern California — this just in
November 20, 2011 | 12:00 pm

About half of California voters believe that teachers unions are too powerful, a new poll has found.

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USC Dornsife/Times Poll

A majority of California voters want teacher evaluations made public and want student test scores factored into the reviews, the USC Dornsife/L.A. Times poll finds.

By Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times
November 20, 2011, 11:19 p.m.

California voters want teachers’ performance evaluations made public, a new poll has found. And most also want student test scores factored into an instructor’s review.

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By Ed Mendel
Monday,November 20, 2011

The nation’s two largest public pension funds will urge corporate boards to disclose political campaign contributions, a response to a court decision lifting the lid on some donations that do not have to be reported.

Read the rest of this entry »

November 20, 2011 | Will Evans

Ann Ravel, Gov. Jerry Brown’s pick to lead the state Fair Political Practices Commission, has been on the job less than a year but is moving quickly and provoking strong reactions.

Read the rest of this entry »

By ERIC LIPTON
Published: November 20, 2011

WASHINGTON — With the hours ticking away toward a self-imposed deadline, Congressional leaders conceded Sunday that talks on a sweeping deficit agreement were near failure and braced for recriminations over their inability to reach a deal.

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The San Bernardino County Sentinel
Published Friday, November 18, 2011

San Bernardino County this week renewed its contract with the controversial Sacramento-based lobbying firm Platinum Advisors, extending the arrangement for the firm to provide legislative advocacy for three years.

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