Politics, Government & Business in California's Inland Empire
Saturday, May 31, 2014 - 08:00 p.m.
Well it didn’t take long for the dust-up over the unauthorized use of Riverside County Sheriff Stan Sniff’s name on San Bernmardino County Sheriff John McMahon’s campaign literature to gain traction.
Saturday, May 31, 2014 - 06:30 p.m.
The value of political endorsements is somewhat limited to say the least.
But another fake endorsement fiasco is building for appointed San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon.
Saturday, May 31, 2014 - 10:00 a.m.
Here’s some news flowing across the transom this week, in case you missed it!
Sterling Trust sells Los Angeles Clippers
The Sterling Family Trust and Shelly Sterling has agreed to sell the Los Angeles Clippers to Former Microsoft Executive Steve Ballmer for $2 billion.
By IE Business Daily
Saturday, May 31, 2014
What a difference a week makes, and a million dollars in independent campaign expenditures. Apparently, with the low returns on vote-by-mail ballots and expectations of even lower turnout on election day, no one is certain about what will happen in Tuesday’s California Primary.
By Jim Steinberg, The Sun
Posted: 05/30/14, 8:41 PM PDT | Updated: 50 secs ago
LOMA LINDA >> Wendy Clouser of Big Bear Lake has been taking medications for post-traumatic stress disorder — one of them experimental — for two years.
By Liset Marquez, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
Posted: 05/30/14, 9:43 PM PDT |
UPLAND >> The City Council has given the green light to a $60 million contract extension with Burrtec for solid waste collection.
BY MARTIN WISCKOL / STAFF WRITER
Published: May 30, 2014 Updated: 7:12 p.m.
Republicans once touted Orange County as “America’s Most Republican County” and the area was known nationwide as a GOP stronghold and fundraising Mecca.
Chris Megerian
May 30, 2014
Paying down debt is the best use of the state’s reserve fund, voters say in a new USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll.
Patrick McGreevy
May 30, 2014
Just days before the June 3 primary, California’s chief elections officer reported Friday that the percentage of voters registered with no party preference has increased while the percentages for registered Republicans and Democrats declined.
Friday, May 30, 2014 - 02:00 p.m.
The anticipated record low turnout for the June 3 Primary Election has made the contest for the 31st Congressional District seat an absolute “free-for-all”.
Friday, May 30, 2014 - 01:55 p.m.
The Sun and Inland Valley Daily Bulletin newspapers published a story covering the filing of a second federal complaint against the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, Friday morning.
Friday, May 30, 2014 - 01:30 p.m.
Conservative Democrat Veronica Franco (D) lashes out on Congressman Mark Takano (D-Riverside) on The Lou Desmond Show, broadcast on San Bernardino-based KTIE-AM 590, Thursday evening (5/29/14).
To hear the interview in the second segment of the podcast, click the following link: The Lou Desmond Show
By Greg Cappis, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
Posted: 05/29/14, 10:08 PM PDT | Updated: 38 secs ago
RANCHO CUCAMONGA >> Four more inmates have filed a lawsuit against San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon and at least seven other members of the department, alleging abuse while incarcerated at the West Valley Detention Center jail.
By Ryan Hagen, San Bernardino Sun
Posted: 05/29/14, 7:05 PM PDT |
SACRAMENTO >> The state Senate on Thursday passed legislation that’s designed to close a “loophole” defendants in the $102 million Colonies corruption case are using to try to dismiss the charges in the case.
May 29, 2014
The mailbox isn’t just a weapon for Democrats in the 31st Congressional District.
Paul Chabot is furious about a mailer sent by a rival GOP candidate that portrays him as a fake Republican who pocketed taxpayer money and went easy on violent criminals.
To read story by Jeff Horseman in the P-E Political Empire Blog, click here.
Published: May 29, 2014 Updated: 7:29 p.m.
Three Superior Court judicial seats are on the June 3 ballot. Two races feature single challengers facing seated judges; the third involves three attorneys vying for an office being vacated by a judge’s retirement.
To read story by Richard K. De Atley in the Press-Enterprise, click here.
By Greg Yee, Press-Telegram
Posted: 05/29/14, 10:54 AM PDT | Updated: 6 hrs ago
California’s police departments do not have a blanket right to conceal the names of officers involved in shootings, the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday in a decision expected to have statewide implications.
Melody Gutierrez
Updated 1:03 am, Friday, May 30, 2014
(05-29) 18:40 PDT Sacramento — Calling last year’s minimum wage hike a good first step, the California Senate approved a measure Thursday that would further lift the pay floor to $13 an hour by 2017.
James Rainey
May 29, 2014
Former Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer has won a frenetic bidding war for ownership of the Los Angeles Clippers, with a $2-billion offer that would set a record price for an NBA team.
Thursday, May 29, 2014 - 09:30 a.m.
The Lou Desmond Show, on San Bernardino-based KTIE-AM 590, covered the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s office last night in it’s 5:00-5:30 p.m. segment.
By Ryan Hagen, The Sun
Posted: 05/28/14, 10:49 PM PDT |
SAN BERNARDINO >> Two departments, $84 million in proposed spending and about $7 million in proposed cuts down, a long way to go.
By Joe Nelson, The Sun
Posted: 05/28/14, 3:56 PM PDT | Updated: 3 hrs ago
Three veteran lawmen are vying for San Bernardino County Sheriff, each bringing with their experience their own ideas of how best to serve the public.
On June 3, voters will decide which two will face off in the November 4 general election.
May 28, 2014
State Senate candidate Bonnie Garcia is once again calling on California’s attorney general to investigate rival Jeff Stone, this time over the Riverside County supervisor’s alleged use of an official-looking badge during a road rage incident last December.
To read story by Jeff Horseman in the P-E Political Empire Blog, click here.
Published: May 28, 2014 Updated: 10:37 p.m.
As Moreno Valley Mayor Tom Owings prepares to face Tuesday’s recall election, he’s campaigning in the same outspoken manner in which he’s led the city, railing at opponents while fiercely touting his record.
To read story by Imran Ghori in the Press-Enterprise, click here.
Posted on Wednesday, May 28 at 11:35am | By Carla Marinucci
With Democrat Jerry Brown still holding a commanding lead in the California governor’s race, the Republican contest for second place remains lively — with Tea Party favorite Tim Donnelly enjoying a 7-point advantage over former Treasury official Neel Kashkari, according to a new Golden State Poll by the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.
James Rainey
May 29, 2014
Racing to sell the Clippers before being stripped of ownership by the NBA, co-owner Shelly Sterling received at least three preliminary offers for the team that could reach up to a record $2 billion, according to three people familiar with the process.
BY SCOTT MARTINDALE / STAFF WRITER
Published: May 28, 2014 Updated: 7:19 p.m.
COSTA MESA – A former state lawmaker accused of improperly lobbying for the 2009 sale of the Orange County fairgrounds has been exonerated of wrongdoing, the latest development in an ongoing criminal probe of the failed sales effort.
Wednesday, May 28, 2014 - 08:30 a.m.
Another federal lawsuit filed against the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department has surfaced this week.
Published: May 27, 2014 Updated: 10:10 p.m.
Lesli Gooch talks about her experience on Capitol Hill as she campaigns to replace retiring Rep. Gary Miller of Rancho Cucamonga in next week’s primary, yet Gooch has never been elected.
To read story by Elizabeth Held in the Press-Enterprise, click here.
By Beau Yarbrough, The Sun
Posted: 05/27/14, 10:02 PM PDT | Updated: 12 secs ago
Redlands technology company Esri is pledging $1 billion to make its mapping software available for free to more than 100,000 public schools, the company president announced Tuesday.
By Liset Marquez, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
Posted: 05/27/14, 9:42 PM PDT |
UPLAND >> City Manager Stephen Dunn announced at Tuesday night’s council meeting that he will retire effective June 30, in the midst of financial turmoil and after a testy relationship with some members on the City Council.
Attorneys must answer or ask to dismiss by June 5
May 27, 2014 5:46 PM
SHEA JOHNSON, STAFF WRITER
VICTORVILLE • The Securities and Exchange Commission recently amended its complaint alleging fraud in a 2008 municipal bond offering against the city, Assistant City Manager Keith Metzler and others. The SEC had to do so to comply with a federal judge’s order to show proof of earlier dismissed claims that the city and Metzler were also benefactors of ill-gotten gains.
Seema Mehta
May 28, 2014
With a week to go before the primary, a glossy new mailer funded by GOP establishment forces began hitting mailboxes, trying to boost Neel Kashkari’s gubernatorial bid by telling voters about Republican rival Tim Donnelly’s criminal past.
Abby Sewell
May 28, 2014
Los Angeles County supervisors voted Tuesday to require candidates to file their campaign finance reports electronically, allowing the public to see them quicker.
Capitol Alert
The latest on California politics and government
May 27, 2014
California’s legislators have seen their incomes go up and down in recent years due to decrees by the state’s salary commission, but remain the highest paid in the nation, according to a new survey by Stateline, a Pew Charitable Trusts website.
By Dale Kasler
[email protected]
Published: Tuesday, May. 27, 2014 - 11:02 am
CalPERS has defeated a bid by Wall Street’s leading credit ratings agencies to toss out the pension fund’s lawsuit over a $1 billion investment loss.
BY DAN WOIKE / STAFF WRITER
Published: May 27, 2014 Updated: 10:54 p.m.
Donald Sterling, it seemed, had accepted his presumed fate. He would not own the Clippers much longer, and his wife, Shelly, was going to step in and spearhead the sale of their team.
By Ryan Hagen, The Sun
Posted: 05/26/14, 10:23 PM PDT |
GRAND TERRACE >> An almost total loss of institutional memory and severe financial constraints allow city leaders very little margin for error as they follow a course toward hoped-for economic development, but they expect a strategic plan for the next six years to help keep them on track.
By Joe Nelson, The Sun
Posted: 05/27/14, 12:38 AM PDT |
San Bernardino County Supervisor Janice Rutherford, who represents the 2nd District, is being challenged by a political newcomer in the June 3 primary — a former crime scene investigator from Lake Arrowhead unhappy with a newly adopted sober living home ordinance.
The 2nd District includes Rancho Cucamonga, parts of Fontana and the mountain communities of Crestline, Lake Arrowhead and Running Springs.
Carla Marinucci
Updated 10:43 pm, Monday, May 26, 2014
Sharp divisions between the GOP’s “country club” establishment and its rough-around-the-edges Tea Party activists have been exposed in the California governor’s contest, where the race for second place pits an ex-investment banker - who’s dropped $2 million of his own money on the campaign - against a fiery former plastics salesman whose chief campaign assets are an iPhone and a car with 370,000 miles on it.
Seema Mehta
May 27, 2014
As GOP gubernatorial candidate Tim Donnelly concluded an address to activists in Riverside recently, alongside such conservative stalwarts as firebrand Ann Coulter, he explained why he chose education as his subject.
By Dan Walters
[email protected]
Published: Tuesday, May. 27, 2014 - 12:00 am
We will call June 3 election day in California, but it’s more accurately the final day of election month, and it promises to be a particularly lackluster one.
Monday, May 26, 2014 - 09:30 a.m.
Remembering the men and women who died while serving in the country’s armed forces.
Published: May 25, 2014 6:58 p.m.
Law enforcement leaders across Riverside County, including Sheriff Stan Sniff, have withdrawn their endorsements for District Attorney Paul Zellerbach in the wake of Indio police recommending six criminal charges be filed against Zellerbach in a campaign-sign tampering case.
To column by Jeff Horseman in the Press-Enterprise, click here.
Similar honorary badges were recalled after state attorney general found they might be illegal in 2007; issue resurfaces after Supervisor Jeff Stone uses one.
Published: May 25, 2014 Updated: 9:50 p.m.
Seven years after the California attorney general said it might be against the law to issue honorary police-style badges to people who aren’t sworn officers, three Riverside County supervisors still have them.
To read story by Sarah Burge in the Press-Enterprise, click here.
By Joe Nelson, The Sun
Posted: 05/25/14, 7:31 PM PDT |
The race for San Bernardino County district attorney pits incumbent Michael A. Ramos against one of his own prosecutors and longtime adversaries, Grover Merritt.
By Josh Richman
[email protected]
Posted: 05/25/2014 04:09:07 PM PDT# Comments
Updated: 05/26/2014 06:06:31 AM PDT
With just over a week to go before Election Day, the Golden State is gearing up for — or perhaps, altogether ignoring — what could be its lowest-ever turnout in a primary for governor.
By Dan Walters
[email protected]
Published: Monday, May. 26, 2014 - 12:00 am
There are just two measures on the June 3 statewide ballot, Propositions 41 and 42, and both were placed there by the Legislature.
Sunday, May 25, 2014 - 03:00 p.m.
We don’t don’t take a much stock in the endorsments and opinions of the local editorial pages.
But one has to wonder about the state of, and reasoning behind, current local political endorsements.
Sunday, May 25, 2014 - 11:00 a.m.
No matter how you slice it, the contest to replace Congressman Gary Miller (R-Rancho Cucamonga), in the 31st Congressional District, has all the ingredients of fiercely competitive contest.
May 25, 2014
Riverside artist Donald Herman Collins Gallegos saw a fight coming for the Riverside County District Attorney’s race earlier this spring when he got inspired to make a poster for the race.
To read post by Richard K. De Atley in the P-E Political Empire Blog, click here.
May 24, 2014
Today’s episode of “Inland Attack Ads” takes us to the 31st Congressional District in San Bernardino County, where four candidates are greedy lobbyists and another is a tax deadbeat if you believe what’s in your mailbox.
To read post by Jeff Horseman in the P-E Political Empire Blog, click here.
Seema Mehta
May 25, 2014
With Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown expected to romp to reelection this year against little-known rivals, many donors who gave Republican candidates more than $37 million in the last gubernatorial contest are now keeping their hands in their pockets.
But those who are writing checks are largely giving them to … Jerry Brown.
By Christopher Cadelago
[email protected]
Published: Sunday, May. 25, 2014 - 12:00 am
Last Modified: Sunday, May. 25, 2014 - 7:43 am
Bill Bloomfield, a businessman and real estate developer from Manhattan Beach, spent more than $7 million of his own money two years ago in a losing attempt to win a seat in Congress.
By Dan Walters
[email protected]
Published: Sunday, May. 25, 2014 - 12:00 am
As he unveiled a revised state budget this month, Gov. Jerry Brown was peppered with questions about new spending that his fellow Democrats were touting – everything from health insurance for illegal immigrants to universal pre-kindergarten.
By IE Business Daily
May 24, 2014
Leadership requires many virtues. The first and foremost of those is competence, or at least the public perception of it.
By Mark Gutglueck
Posted on May 23, 2014
(May 22)- While the $180 million federal lawsuit filed on behalf of six of the county’s detention facility inmates by a legal team headed by highly respected former Superior Court judge has put the issue of violence against San Bernardino County’s incarcerated population into the limelight as perhaps never before, the abuse of inmates within the county’s jail system is not a new issue.
Published: May 23, 2014 Updated: 6:28 p.m.
As the June 3 primary election nears, two Inland races are becoming money magnets attracting special committees with distant addresses and deep pockets.
Independent expenditure committees have spent almost $800,000 as of Wednesday to help or hinder two feuding Republican candidates in the 28th state Senate District, which will represent southwest Riverside County and the county’s desert communities.
To read story by Jeff Horseman in the P-E Political Empire Blog, click here.
By Leslie Parrilla, San Bernardino Sun
Posted: 05/23/14, 7:47 PM PDT |
SAN BERNARDINO >> Unprecedented cuts during unparalleled times are hovering over leaders in this bankrupt city, possibly forcing them to close all three branch libraries, shut down two fire stations and wipe out half of one department’s employees in an effort to balance a $124 million budget and shore up a $22.8 million deficit.
By Neil Nisperos, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
Posted: 05/23/14, 7:56 PM PDT |
UPLAND >> One of the final pieces of the Colonies development has opened for business.
The new 97-home Magnolia Heights neighborhood has homes ranging in size from 1,829 to 2,331 square feet.
May 23, 2014 5:12 PM
STAFF REPORTS
SACRAMENTO — The California State Board of Equalization has announced that local governments will collect $1.075 billion in tax revenue in the upcoming fiscal year.
By Dakota Smith, Jack Wang, and Mark Medina
Los Angeles Daily News
Posted: 05/23/14, 9:11 AM PDT | Updated: 10 hrs ago
Embattled Clippers owner Donald Sterling is attempting to turn his stake in the basketball team over to his wife Shelly, who will then negotiate a sale with the NBA.
Michael Finnegan
May 24, 2014
If there’s one thing Republican Neel Kashkari needed this week to stay in the running for governor of California, it was money.
And he got it. Big donors have started spending more than $650,000 promoting the Laguna Beach newcomer to California politics.
Ralph Vartabedian
May 24, 2014
A state appellate court panel on Friday zeroed in on technical and procedural issues that could signal trouble for Central Valley groups fighting California’s proposed bullet train project.
Thursday, May 22, 2014 - 10:00 p.m.
The issuance of concealed weapons permits has made its way into the election for San Bernardino County Sheriff.
Appointed Sheriff John McMahon, in a recent newspaper interview, professed his lenient policy in the issuance of concealed carry weapons (CCW) permits to county residents. McMahon says his policy is essentially to issue permits to residents unless there’s legal cause for denial.
It appears the statement, at this point, doesn’t quite ring true.
Thursday, May 22, 2014 - 04:00 p.m.
It was only a matter of time.
San Bernardino County’s largest union, the San Bernardino Public Employees Association (SBPEA), now faces a serious decertification effort from the Service Employees International Union, an AFL-CIO member.
May 23, 2014
Redlands voters might find an unusual guest on their doorstep on the last weekend before the June 3 primary – Republican candidate for governor Tim Donnelly.
To read post by Jeff Horseman in the P-E Political Empire Blog, click here.
May 22, 2014 7:43 PM
STAFF REPORTS
APPLE VALLEY • Michelle Ambrozic, candidate for 33rd Assembly District, will host a rally Saturday at the corner of Apple Valley and Bear Valley roads, according to her campaign team.
Jean Merl
May 22, 2014
Redlands Mayor Pete Aguilar has raised more than $1 million in his race for an open Inland Empire congressional district seat, his campaign reported Thursday.
Capitol Alert
The latest on California politics and government
May 22, 2014
Standard & Poor’s, a major credit rating organization, praised Gov. Jerry Brown’s revised 2014-15 budget Thursday, but warned the Legislature not to go beyond the budget and spend higher revenue estimates from its budget analyst.
James Rainey
May 21, 2014
V. Stiviano had grown accustomed to being the glamorous companion of Donald Sterling, the billionaire owner of the Los Angeles Clippers. Once a catering truck operator from Boyle Heights, now she lived in a house Sterling bought her, drove a red Ferrari that he gave her and sat courtside at Staples Center.
District Attorney Paul Zellerbach lost the last of his endorsements from active law enforcement leaders around the county Thursday in the wake of Indio police recommending six criminal charges be filed against him in a campaign-sign tampering case.
To read story by Richard K. De Atley in the Press-Enterprise, click here.
Thursday, May 22, 2014 - 09:30 a.m.
Comedy is starting to make a comeback on the Fifth Floor of the San Bernardino County Government Center, located at 385 N. Arrowhead Avenue, in lovely downtown San Bernardino.
Thursday, May 22, 2014 - 09:00 a.m.
All of the exploitation of the Christopher Dorner manhunt, with the exception of the victims, has benefited many involved.
But there’s another victim in the saga that never should have been.
Published: May 21, 2014 - Updated: 11:04 p.m.
Three men with long backgrounds in law enforcement are running for San Bernardino County Sheriff, each with different opinions on how to run the department, which covers both growing urban areas and huge stretches of rural land.
To read story by Richard K. De Atley in the Press-Enterprise, click here.
By Leslie Parrilla, San Bernardino Sun
Posted: 05/21/14, 5:09 PM PDT |
RIALTO >> For the first time in about five years the city will be able to balance its budget without pulling from reserves.
Published: May 21, 2014 - Updated: 11:05 p.m.
Southern California’s three largest supermarket chains and the union that represents their store workers have reached a tentative agreement on a new contract, bringing several months of often-intense negotiations to what will likely be a successful conclusion.
To read story by Jack Katzanek in the Press-Enterprise, click here.
Michael Finnegan
May 21, 2014
The race between the two main Republicans vying to challenge Gov. Jerry Brown’s reelection has tightened, but Assemblyman Tim Donnelly still holds an edge over Neel Kashkari, a former assistant U.S. Treasury secretary, a new poll has found.
Chris Megerian
May 21, 2014
When Gov. Jerry Brown released his plan for repairing California’s troubled teacher retirement system, his calculations assumed the pension fund would see investment returns of 7.5% over the next three decades.
By Juliet Eilperin and Ed O’Keefe
May 22, 2014
President Obama delivered a forceful defense of his veterans policies Wednesday, saying that caring for veterans and their families is “one of the causes of my presidency” and vowing to punish those responsible for long wait times and other serious problems at military medical centers.
NJ Daily
By Michael Catalini
May 21, 2014
A senior Democratic senator suggested Wednesday that President Obama’s race factored into opposition to the Affordable Care Act, sparking outrage on the part of one of his Republican colleagues.
May 21, 2014 - 10:00 a.m.
The fat lady is singing on the end of the political career of Riverside County District Attorney Paul Zellerbach.
Wednesday, May 21, 2014 - 09:30 a.m.
Let’s end the Federal Bureau of Investigation into the San Bernardino County Jail System today.
Really!
May 20, 2014
Indio police have sent a report to the state attorney general’s office, requesting that six charges — two of them possible felonies — be filed against Riverside County District Attorney Paul Zellerbach stemming from an April 23 complaint about campaign sign vandalism.
To read story by Richard K. De Atley in the Press-Enterprise, click here.
By Neil Nisperos, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
Posted: 05/20/14, 7:05 PM PDT | Updated: 36 secs ago
SAN BERNARDINO >> Dozens of San Bernardino County workers, unhappy with a new contract proposal, expressed concern and hope at the Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday. The concern: That the county’s fiscal health is coming at their expense. The hope: Fair wages, and a better contract.