Old Water Fire Burns 105 Acres; Evacuation Orders Lifted – San Bernardino Sun

10/25/2019 Old Water fire burns 105 acres; evacuation orders lifted – San Bernardino Sun

NEWSCRIME + PUBLIC SAFETY Old Water fire burns 105 acres; evacuation orders lifted

Firefighters work to put out a flare up of the Old Water Fire as it made an aggressive afternoon push down to 40th Street in San Bernardino on Thursday,, OctOct 24,24, 2019.2019. AA heavy aerial attack kept flames from jumping south of 40th Street. Homes along David Way were briefly threatened. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

By RICHARD K. DE ATLEY || [email protected] andand ALMA FAUSTO || [email protected] || TheThe Press-EnterprisePress-Enterprise PUBLISHED: October 24, 2019 at 7:09 am || UPDATED:UPDATED: October 25, 2019 at 1:06 am

https://www.sbsun.com/2019/10/24/brush-fire-in-san-bernardino-prompts-evacuations-and-threatens-homes/ 1/6 10/25/2019 Old Water fire burns 105 acres; evacuation orders lifted – San Bernardino Sun

The Old Water fire that raced toward homes early Thursday morning, Oct. 24, along Highway 18 in Waterman Canyon was stoked by the afternoon winds asas itit moved toward 40th Street in San Bernardino.

The afternoon flareup increased the scorched acreage to 105.

“I was convinced it was completely done,” said Sam Catalano, who lives on Mariposa Lane, referring to the fire. “It looked like they had put out all the hot spots, and then there was a wall of flame – you could see it, big smoke coming up justjust aroundaround thethe curvecurve ofof thethe hill.”hill.”

The blaze ignited in the early morning hours on Thursday, near Old Waterman Canyon Road and Highway 18, very near where the Old Fire started on Oct. 25, 2003,, 1616 yearsyears ago,ago, andand ledled toto evacuationsevacuations ofof aboutabout 8080 homeshomes inin thethe area.area.

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No homes had been lost in the fire, officials with San Bernardino County fire said about 4 p.m. However, the flames did come close. No injuries were reported.

Firefighters from the California Office of Emergency Services were parked along Mariposa Lane and quickly ran lines to the backyards of homes as the fire kicked up in the afternoon. The flareup did not prompt any new evacuation orders; however, fire officials warned residents to be ready.

The flareup raced along a creek bed filled with brush and then down an embankment from homes on Mariposa Lane. A small creek actually still flows throughthrough thethe middlemiddle ofof thethe bed.bed.

https://www.sbsun.com/2019/10/24/brush-fire-in-san-bernardino-prompts-evacuations-and-threatens-homes/ 2/6 10/25/2019 Old Water fire burns 105 acres; evacuation orders lifted – San Bernardino Sun “Within a matter of like, less than five minutes … It came right on by,” Catalano said. “It was pretty windy then and between the ashes and the smoke, it’s hard to telltell what’swhat’s happening.happening.“

Containment remained at 30 percent, even after the flare-up, as 400 personnel worked to quell the flames, according to officials with the San Bernardino National Forest.

MORE: How do wildfires start? Usually with people

The cause of the fire was under investigation.

Mandatory and voluntary evacuations for the area were lifted by 8 p.m.

San Bernardino County fire spokesman Eric Sherwin credited the proactive positioning of extra resources — 10 fire engines and four hand crews — in nearby Devore with helping limit the damage done by the Old Water fire. Such strike teamsteams usuallyusually wouldwould taketake hourshours toto assembleassemble andand arrive,arrive, SherwinSherwin said.said.

“This was an excellent demonstration of how flooding an incident early on can make a huge difference,” Sherwin said.

Overnight, firefighters planned to shore up the line around the fire to keep it from spreading over containment lines, San Bernardino County Fire Department spokeswoman Tracey Martinez said.

The challenge Thursday night and Friday continues to be the weather,, firefighterfirefighter teamteam leadersleaders heardheard atat aa windblownwindblown commandcommand postpost eveningevening briefingbriefing atat WildwoodWildwood Park in San Bernardino.

MORE: ThisThis mapmap showsshows wherewhere thethe OldOld WaterWater firefire isis burningburning

Santa Ana winds were expected to continue through the night and into Friday afternoon. High temperatures Friday were expected in the low 90s, and humidity at 5%.

With Santa Ana winds creating dangerous conditions that could spread wildfires, Southern California Edison cut power Thursday toto upup toto 31,00031,000 customerscustomers andand was considering cutting power to areas that serve 386,000 more.

MORE: ThisThis mapmap showsshows wherewhere SCESCE isis consideringconsidering powerpower shutoffsshutoffs

Cal State San Bernardino was closed Thursday becausebecause ofof concernsconcerns aboutabout highhigh winds and the possibility that power could be shut down. The campus will be open on Friday, officials announced on Twitter ThursdayThursday afternoon.afternoon.

https://www.sbsun.com/2019/10/24/brush-fire-in-san-bernardino-prompts-evacuations-and-threatens-homes/ 3/6 10/25/2019 Old Water fire burns 105 acres; evacuation orders lifted – San Bernardino Sun Paakuma’ K-8, closed Thursday due to the power shutoff, will remain closed on Friday, the San Bernardino City Unified school said on its website..

A red-flag warning isis alsoalso inin placeplace forfor thethe areaarea wherewhere thethe OldOld WaterWater firefire isis burning. Much of Southern California is under the red-flag warning through 5 p.m. Friday evening.

On Thursday morning, Chehab El Awar and his wife, Bricia, took a back road in theirtheir off-roadoff-road vehiclevehicle toto looklook atat thethe OldOld WaterWater fire’sfire’s path.path.

They live on David Way, one of the areas ordered to evacuate, but chose to stay put.

El Awar said he didn’t leave because he believes he is “ready,” adding that he has a clearance around his home he estimated to be around 300 feet by 400 feet.

In the wee hours, the couple saw firefighters moving up the hill “like a centipede … Into the flames, and they cut anything that comes in their way,” El Awar said.

Bricia said she kept repeating “get ready, get ready, get ready“ as the fire initially grew. But as it tamed, the couple made coffee for firefighters and let them use a bathroom.

The fast-moving blaze also forced the closure of Highway 18 in San Bernardino between 40th Street and Highway 138 in Crestline, officials said.

The Old Water fire has brought back memories forfor somesome inin thethe area,area, thisthis blazeblaze ignitedignited onon thethe eveeve ofof thethe 16-year16-year anniversaryanniversary ofof thethe Old Fire.. ThatThat firefire wentwent onon toto burn thousands of acres, when it combined with the Grand Prix fire,, andand ledled toto sixsix deaths.

This was the second fire in San Bernardino this week, driven by the Santa Ana winds. On Monday, the Little Mountain fire inin thethe citycity destroyeddestroyed twotwo homes,homes, damaged six others and led to six people being injured.

The cause of that fire remains under investigation.

While Southern California is being pummeled from Santa Ana winds, Northern California is also feeling the effects.

PG&E has identified hundreds of thousands of customers that could lose power and the Kincade fire exploded overnight in Sonoma County,, churningchurning throughthrough 10,000 acres and leading to the evacuation of 2,000 people..

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https://www.sbsun.com/2019/10/24/brush-fire-in-san-bernardino-prompts-evacuations-and-threatens-homes/ 4/6 10/24/2019 Old Water Fire Closes Highway 18 - Mountain News : News

Old Water Fire Closes Highway 18

Posted: Thursday, October 24, 2019 11:22 am | Updated: 2:47 pm, Thu Oct 24, 2019.

Story and Photos by Nick Kipley, Reporter | Update (2:23 p.m.): The fire has burned additional acreage and is now 105 acres. it remains at 30% containment.

Update (2:17 p.m.): The fire has rekindled and threatens a structure. Six air tankers and six helicopters have been dispatched.

Update (12:08 p.m.): A Tweet from the Forest Service said that "The voluntary evacuation for north of Foothill Dr. b/w Del Rosa Ave. and Manzanita Dr. has been lifted." See link at the bottom of the article.

At approximately 2 a.m. on Oct. 24, a fire broke out in Waterman Canyon and quickly spread to cover over 75 acres by dawn.

Mandatory evacuations of residences located on Arrowhead Road off of Waterman Canyon, as well as Mariposa Drive and David Way near 40th Street were initiated.

San Bernardino Sheriffs, San Bernardino City Police, San Bernardino County Fire, and the U.S. Forestry Service were all stationed at a staging area in the parking lot of Wild Wood Park, coordinating efforts to tackle the wind-driven blaze and aid in evacuating residents as needed.

Highway 18 was shut down from 40th street in San Bernardino through to the 138 Interchange, and all the way to Crestline Cutoff traffic light by Hortencia’s at the Cliffhanger.

By 11:22 a.m. the fire was 30% contained with no growth.

Zach Behrens, Public Affairs Officer with the U.S. Forest Service said that road closures and re-population will be reevaluated at 6 p.m. or sooner depending on the progress firefighters are able make.

San Bernardino National Forest @SanBernardinoNF

Forest Service firefighters are on scene of the #OldWaterFire on Highway 18 near Old Waterman Canyon. Possible road closures occurring. More details coming. twitter.com/sbcountyfire/s…

SB County Fire @SBCOUNTYFIRE SAN BERNARDINO: #SBCoFD on scene of a VEGETATION FIRE near Old Waterman Canyon rd / Hwy 18. ME227 on scene reporting 30-35 acres light fuels, wind driven fire with a rapid ROS. @SanBernardinoNF taking lead with UOP. Krn

140 2:23 AM - Oct 24, 2019

www.mountain-news.com/news/article_35130112-f68b-11e9-8145-aff748617d55.html 1/2 Old Water fire brings back memories of Old Fire for San Bernardino residents – Press Enterprise

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NEWSCRIME + PUBLIC SAFETY Old Water fire brings back memories of Old Fire for San Bernardino residents

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https://www.pe.com/...sidents/?utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_medium=social&utm_content=tw-pressenterprise&utm_source=twitter.com[10/24/2019 4:22:50 PM] Old Water fire brings back memories of Old Fire for San Bernardino residents – Press Enterprise

Al Cline and his dog Scooter watch the Old Water fire in San Bernardino on Thursday morning, Oct. 24, 2019. Cline lived in the area when the Old Fire burned through the same area in October 2003. (Photo by Richard K. De Atley/The Press-Enterprise/SCNG) N

By By RICHARD K. DE ATLEY | [email protected] | The Press-Enterprise  PUBLISHED: October 24, 2019 at 11:21 am | UPDATED: October 24, 2019 at 2:50 pm

R The Old Water fire that ignited early Thursday, Oct. 24, brings back memories of the Old Fire, which ignited in the same area near Old Waterman Canyon Road 16 years ago on Oct. 25, 2003.

Al Cline and his dog Scooter were out Thursday morning, watching the blaze from afar, he said he decided to stay put at his evacuated-area Newport Court home.

He said his line in the sand for leaving was “When I see the flames nearby.“

The Old Water fire forced dozens of homes to be evacuated in north San Bernardino Thursday

morning and had some under voluntary orders. The blaze had charred 75 acres and by midday firefighters were able to get some containment on the blaze, announcing it was 30% contained.

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The high winds continued to whip in the area as the red-flag warning remains in effect through Friday evening.

Cline said he was also in the neighborhood for the 2003 RELATED LINKS Old Fire, part of a complex of fires that destroyed hundreds

of homes and claimed six lives. Photos: The Old fire and Grand Prix fires destroyed homes in the Inland area in “We always get nervous around here at the end of October of 2003 October,” he said. “I, for one, get a little anxious.” How do wildfires start? Usually with From the moment Betty Hamel moved into her David Way people home 15 years ago, she was prepared for — and nervous Old Fire: Memories of destroyed homes, about — this moment. scorched earth still vivid 10 years later The Old Fire had skipped that street near Wildwood Park the year before, and Hamel and her husband had gotten a good deal on the five-bedroom home as they moved from Riverside. As if they needed one, every sighting of an airplane or helicopter was a reminder that fire danger is as much a part of the area as coyotes and hawks.

“I always knew this was going to happen someday,” Hamel said Thursday while sitting in the American Red Cross evacuation center in the gym at San Gorgonio High. She was one of six evacuees who went in and out of the care and reception center that morning.

Hamel, whose husband died in 2009, has kept important documents and photos in boxes in the living room since she moved in so they could easily be moved in a hurry. Betty Hamel, 68, talks with her son on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2019, as she sits in the American Red Cross evacuation center at San Gorgonio High in San Bernardino during the Old Water fire. (Photo “It’s a little bit of an eyesore, but it’s important,” by Brian Rokos/The Press-Enterprise/SCNG) she said.

So she was ready when neighbor Betsy Bendix called at 3:57 a.m.

“I sleepily answered the phone. She said ‘Betty, we’re under mandatory evacuation. There’s a huge fire, we’d better get out.’ ”

Hamel, who retired last year as a science teacher at Eisenhower High in Rialto, lives with her son Bryan, 36, and grandson Mahlon, 7.

Rather than run to their bedrooms, she phoned Bryan and told him they needed to leave. Hamel said she could hear the police ordering evacuations on loudspeakers and could see the glow of the fire. They first grabbed the boxes they had set aside and put them in her SUV and Bryan’s truck.

Next came the “pictures, pictures, pictures” off the walls, she said.

By the time the vehicles were packed, Hamel realized the fire had died down, so they paused.

“It was surreal,” she said. “I didn’t believe it was happening to me even though I was always aware it was going to happen. You have that little (thought), ‘It’s not going to happen to me.’ ”

Mahlon packed his blanket and stuffed snake, and they finally left just before 6 a.m., when the electricity went out in their neighborhood.

“It was pitch black, and it was scary,” Hamel said.

Bryan and Mahlon arrived at the evacuation center about 1 p.m., Mahlon still wearing his pajamas.

Hamel checked her phone and picked at a McDonald’s breakfast provided by the Red Cross.

“Oh, and another scary thing,” Hamel said offhandedly, “my home is right on top of the San Andreas Fault.”

The fire Thursday morning came fast.

This looked like it might go the same way as the Old Fire, Cline said, it came from the same place.

“The advantage (this time) was there wasn’t six or seven fires happening at the same time. You get a better response,” Cline said.

As the winds roared through into the afternoon, Hamel RELATED ARTICLES received a call from a neighbor about 1:30 p.m., who said a

This map shows where the Old Water fire flare-up was threatening her home. She quickly left for a is burning in San Bernardino parking lot near the fire where locals had gathered.

Old Water fire grows to 105 acres as “I can’t just sit here and wonder,” Hamel said. afternoon flareup fans flames

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Tags: local history, Old Water fire, Top Stories IVDB, Top Stories PE, Top Stories RDF, https://www.pe.com/...sidents/?utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_medium=social&utm_content=tw-pressenterprise&utm_source=twitter.com[10/24/2019 4:22:50 PM] 10/24/2019 A devastating blaze haunted San Bernardino for years. This time, residents were ready - Los Angeles Times

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A devastating blaze haunted San Bernardino for years. This time, residents were ready

Fireﬁghters put out a hot spot while battling the Old Water ﬁre in San Bernardino on Thursday. (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times)

By CINDY CARCAMO, HANNAH FRY

OCT. 24, 2019 4:11 PM https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-10-24/a-devastating-blaze-haunted-san-bernardino-for-years-when-fire-struck-this-week-residents-were-… 1/9 10/24/2019 A devastating blaze haunted San Bernardino for years. This time, residents were ready - Los Angeles Times For more than a decade, a softball-sized piece of slag has decorated the hearth inside Bonnie Petry’s Spanish-style stucco home in San Bernardino.

The obsidian-like matter she discovered in the charred remains of her house after a massive wildfire tore through her neighborhood 16 years ago serves as a memento of the home she lost and her survival.

The so-called Old fire, which began on Oct. 21, 2003, destroyed hundreds of homes in its devastating march through San Bernardino County and caused an estimated $1.2 billion in damages.

In many ways, the jagged substance left in the wake of that blaze also serves as a reminder for Petry to remain vigilant. So, when flames from another brush fire threatened to once again overwhelm her neighborhood early Thursday morning, the 62-year-old was prepared.

She quickly dressed, grabbed her “bug out bag” and drove away from her home on Foothill Drive — on the southern end of the evacuation area for the Old Water fire.

At an evacuation center hours later, Petry said she hopes her house will have a better chance of surviving than the 1950s home with a “very flammable shingle roof” that burned to the ground more than a decade ago.

“There’s nothing I can do. I’m hoping for the best. We’ll see what happens,” Petry said.

The Old Water fire ignited just after 2 a.m. near Old Waterman Canyon Road and Highway 18 and began rapidly burning through dense brush along the hillside abutting neighborhoods. Whipped by strong Santa Ana winds, the blaze quickly consumed 75 acres of dense, dry chaparral.

The Old fire, just a few days past its 16-year anniversary, and its devastation were on firefighters’ minds as they fought on the front lines of the blaze.

“Historically, this is the week where a lot of the bad fires in modern San Bernardino history have begun,” said Zach Behrens, a spokesman for the San Bernardino National Forest. “We have to take that history into consideration.” https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-10-24/a-devastating-blaze-haunted-san-bernardino-for-years-when-fire-struck-this-week-residents-were-… 2/9 10/24/2019 A devastating blaze haunted San Bernardino for years. This time, residents were ready - Los Angeles Times Al Cline, 69, has survived six wildfires in the area over the last 25 years, including the Old fire. On Thursday morning, Cline stood on a ridgeline overlooking a patch of charred chaparral.

“Of the six fires that have come through here, I only evacuated once,” he said. “That was during the Old fire.”

The fast-moving blaze took many by surprise. Residents awakened by emergency personnel grabbed their belongings and quickly fled in the darkness.

At 3:57 a.m. Betty Hamel got a frantic call from her neighbor Betsy Bendix.

“Betty, we are under mandatory evacuation. There is a huge fire,” Hamel recalled Bendix telling her. “It’s huge.”

Hamel, 68, looked out her bedroom window on the second floor and saw a large red glow punctuated with flames. She called her adult son and 7-year-old grandson who live in her five- bedroom home.

She dressed and grabbed a box of important documents, before running downstairs to pull framed pictures from her walls. Outside, police drove up and down David Way in her neighborhood, calling for sleeping residents to leave.

Hamel already had baby photos and other images from the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s in a wicker box in the corner of her living room.

“I always knew this was going to happen someday,” she said. “Everything else can burn, but this is our life. We’ll never get this back.”

Hamel, a retired biology high school teacher, bought her house and moved in about a year after the Old fire.

On Thursday she sat in a shelter surrounded by reporters and television cameras. She said she knew they lived in a wildfire-prone area but was attracted to the inexpensive, peaceful neighborhood where she was close to nature. https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-10-24/a-devastating-blaze-haunted-san-bernardino-for-years-when-fire-struck-this-week-residents-were-… 3/9 10/24/2019 A devastating blaze haunted San Bernardino for years. This time, residents were ready - Los Angeles Times “Is it worth it?” Hamel asked. “After today, I’m not sure.”

Times staff writer Louis Sahagun contributed to this report. 10/25/2019 San Bernardino National Forest bans campfires amid increased fire threat – San Bernardino Sun

NEWSCRIME + PUBLIC SAFETY San Bernardino National Forest bans campfires amid increased fire threat

Elevated fire danger prompted the San Bernardino National Forest to ban campfires starting Oct. 25, 2019. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

By BRIAN ROKOS || [email protected] || TheThe Press-EnterprisePress-Enterprise PUBLISHED: October 24, 2019 at 9:34 pm || UPDATED:UPDATED: October 24, 2019 at 9:35 pm

Officials with the the San Bernardino National Forest, citing elevated fire danger, have banned campfires on forest lands starting Friday, Oct. 25.

https://www.sbsun.com/2019/10/24/san-bernardino-national-forest-bans-campfires-amid-increased-fire-threat/ 1/4 10/25/2019 San Bernardino National Forest bans campfires amid increased fire threat – San Bernardino Sun The order came as firefighters tried to build a strong line around the Old Water fire in Waterman Canyon onon thethe edgeedge ofof thethe forest.forest. TheThe previousprevious restrictions allowed campfires in some developed campgrounds.

Visitors with a California Campfire Permit may use a portable contained gas or liquefied-petroleum stove or lantern with a fuel shutoff valve. Other restrictions remaining in place include smoking outdoors, welding and using an acetylene or other torch with an open flame.

San Bernardino National Forest @SanBernardinoNF

We all love a great campfire, but with the #OldWaterFire andand thethe firefire dangerdanger levellevel atat “extreme,”“extreme,” wewe elevatingelevating thethe firefire restrictions once more. Beginning 12:00 a.m., Friday, October 25, campfires at developed sites will additionally be prohibited across the forest.

45 8:44 PM - Oct 24, 2019

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“The combination of high winds and temperatures, low humidity and dry vegetation, as well as recent local fire activity, makes it necessary for us to take thisthis precaution,” precaution,” ActingActing DeputyDeputy FireFire ChiefChief ScottScott HowesHowes saidsaid inin aa newsnews release.release. “If you look back at the last days of October over the years, it was conditions likelike thesethese whenwhen thethe mostmost explosiveexplosive firesfires onon thethe NationalNational ForestForest occurred.”occurred.” Among those, the Old, Grand Prix and Esperanza fires.

The campfire order is due to expire Dec. 31 but could be modified as weather conditions dictate.

https://www.sbsun.com/2019/10/24/san-bernardino-national-forest-bans-campfires-amid-increased-fire-threat/ 2/4 10/25/2019 Los Angeles Times - eNewspaper

Mass power outages planned

PG&E and Edison say shut-offs amid strong, hot winds could affect millions this weekend. BY STUART LEAVENWORTH AND JAMES RAINEY This weekend’s planned power outages could be the largest yet in California, as utilities such as Pacific Gas & Electric and Southern California Edison order wide blackouts to prevent more blazes — and more wildfire liability — amid heavy, hot winds. PG&E, which has 5.4 million electric customer accounts and provides power to an estimated 16 million Californians, was projecting Thursday that it could shut off power across nearly all of its territory in Northern California on Sunday and Monday because of ferocious gusts. “This system will likely be the strongest event of the year from a wind perspective,” the utility said on its website. “Federal forecast agencies are in alignment that this will be a high-risk weather event.” Edison customers too could face continued power shut-offs — or new ones — because of the weather forecast. The utility said it will know more by Friday afternoon, but about 380,000 customers across six counties in Southern California could have their electricity cut off Sunday afternoon. The bulk of the customers who could be left in the dark were in Ventura, Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties, with Orange, Riverside and Kern counties also facing additional time without power. About 27,000 customers remained without electricity as of late Thursday afternoon in the Edison service area. “Given the wildfire situation that we’ve already seen, the concern about catastrophic fires is real,” Edison spokesman Robert Villegas said. “We can’t sugarcoat the fact there is a possibility of something catastrophic happening. And if we need to do it for public safety, we are going to shut the power off.” Although designed to protect the public, California’s intentional power outages have outraged millions of people, including those subjected to fire evacuations and power https://enewspaper.latimes.com/desktop/latimes/default.aspx?edid=c79c86ae-4d25-465f-80d7-0c83a9cab106 1/2 10/25/2019 Los Angeles Times - eNewspaper outages simultaneously, as in Sonoma County on Thursday. “They shut off the power and we still had a fire,” Madonna Tavares, 70, of Geyserville said. “I don’t understand it.” State leaders have blasted PG&E — which blacked out about 750,000 customers in Northern and Central California starting on Oct. 9 — for not being more selective with its power outages. The utility’s outages this week have been far smaller, affecting only 179,000 customers. But this weekend could swing wildly in the other direction, illustrating the unpredictability of weather conditions and electrical power decisions, both of which are out of the control of frustrated state politicians. At a news conference Thursday, Gov. Gavin Newsom again criticized PG&E and other utilities for not making prior investments to systems in the faces of climate change and mounting wildfire threats. He said PG&E must be held accountable. “This is unacceptable,” said Newsom, who faces political risks from the continuing outages. “Issues of corporate greed meeting issues of climate change have created these conditions.” PG&E filed for bankruptcy in January, largely because of liabilities it faced from causing past fires. On Thursday, the utility told state regulators that one of its transmission lines had problems Wednesday night around the area where a massive Sonoma County fire broke out. At a news conference Thursday, company officials said the potential area for weekend outages could be as broad as the one that put millions in the dark in early October and could start as early as Saturday evening. PG&E President and Chief Executive Bill Johnson added there was “elevated potential” that the shut-off could last longer than the outage that started Oct. 8. The blackouts could affect eight of PG&E’s nine service areas — from Humboldt County in the north to the north end of San Francisco Bay, the San Francisco Peninsula, the East Bay and the Central Coast. “We do think it will be the strongest offshore wind event this season by a large margin and, if models are correct, possibly the strongest offshore event we have seen in years,” said Scott Strenfel, principal meteorologist for PG&E, the state’s largest utility. Times staff writers Colleen Shalby and Phil Willon contributed to this report.

https://enewspaper.latimes.com/desktop/latimes/default.aspx?edid=c79c86ae-4d25-465f-80d7-0c83a9cab106 2/2 10/25/2019 Los Angeles Times - eNewspaper

Statewide, bedeviled by winds

Called Diablo or Santa Ana, gusts make fires explode north and south

A FIRETRUCK passes a burning hillside in the town of Geyserville. The Sonoma County community is at the center of the Kincade fire, which was stoked by Diablo wind gusts that topped 70 mph on Thursday. (Justin Sullivan Getty Images) BY RONG-GONG LIN II AND PAUL DUGINSKI SAN FRANCISCO — The two fires broke out hours apart and hundreds of miles from each other. But the fire that burned into subdivisions in suburban Santa Clarita Valley and the blaze that tore though bucolic Northern California wine country had one thing in common: fierce winds. https://enewspaper.latimes.com/desktop/latimes/default.aspx?edid=c79c86ae-4d25-465f-80d7-0c83a9cab106 1/3 10/25/2019 Los Angeles Times - eNewspaper In Sonoma County, the Kincade fire was fueled by Diablo wind gusts that topped 70 mph. In Santa Clarita, the Santa Ana wind gusts were slightly less powerful but came with very low humidity and temperatures that hit the 90s. In each case, the winds made the fire all but impossible to stop. What are Diablo winds, and how are they different from the normal weather pattern for the Bay Area? The normal weather pattern near the coast is for moist sea breezes to come off the Pacific Ocean and travel inland. But in the fall, high pressure that builds over the Great Basin in Nevada and Utah causes wind to shift in the opposite direction, according to Jan Null, an adjunct professor of meteorology at San Jose State and a former meteorologist with the National Weather Service. In Northern California, they’re called Diablo winds; in much of Southern California, they’re called Santa Ana winds. Similar winds that threaten Santa Barbara are called sundowner winds. In the Sacramento Valley area, Jarbo Gap winds are what locals call the gusts that howl through the Feather River Canyon as high-pressure air over Nevada and Utah seeks a path through the state’s mightiest mountain range, the Sierra Nevada, to fill the lower-pressure voids on the California coast. In Northern California, the winds arrive when air coming down from Nevada and Utah, falling from an elevation of about 4,000 feet, gets pushed down to sea level. That air is compressed, and warm winds are created. What are examples of how Diablo and Santa Ana winds have fueled fast-moving wildfires? A classic example of a destructive fire fueled by Diablo winds is the October 1991 firestorm that struck the Oakland and Berkeley hills, killing 25 people and destroying about 2,900 structures. Until 2017, that fire was the most destructive in California history. Two more fires have been more destructive since then. The Tubbs fire of Sonoma and Napa counties in October 2017 roared 12 miles in four hours into Santa Rosa, killing 22 people and eventually destroying more than 5,000 structures. The Camp fire of Butte County, which destroyed much of the town of Paradise and destroyed more than 18,000 structures last November, is now the state’s most destructive fire on record. A Los Angeles Times analysis published last year said the fire grew at a rapid clip — about 4,600 acres an hour — a rate that was matched by the Tubbs fire and other California fires. The Camp fire led to more than 80 deaths. California’s fourth most destructive fire, the Cedar fire of San Diego in 2003, grew even faster than the Camp fire. That fire had kindled for hours until a Santa Ana wind rolled in at midnight. By 3 a.m., the wind-driven fire had jumped a river and a reservoir and run nearly 17 miles. In the three-hour run, the fire spread an average of more than 19,600 acres an hour. https://enewspaper.latimes.com/desktop/latimes/default.aspx?edid=c79c86ae-4d25-465f-80d7-0c83a9cab106 2/3 10/25/2019 Los Angeles Times - eNewspaper Fifteen people were killed and more than 2,800 structures destroyed. The same high-pressure, low-pressure gradient last year set up a Santa Ana wind event that pushed the Woolsey fire into Malibu. Its pace in the first three hours was 21,290 acres an hour. It destroyed more than 1,600 structures and caused three deaths. What is the origin of these Diablo winds? They originate hundreds of miles inland in the desert regions of the Great Basin. There, circulation around a strong area of surface high pressure flows over the Sierra Nevada, heading toward lower pressure at sea level. Air rushing over the peaks and down the western slopes heats up from compression, dries out and speeds up as it is forced through narrow canyons and passes. As it crosses the Central Valley, the air dries out more, then it lifts up and over the Coast Range. That gives it a second round of compression heating as it funnels down the western coastal slopes toward the Pacific. What conditions do forecasters expect? A second round of extreme fire weather will return to Northern California on Saturday, with gusts as high as 80 mph possible this weekend in the North Bay and East Bay hills at elevations above 1,000 feet. In Southern California, the Santa Ana winds are expected to continue through at least Friday. Lin reported from San Francisco and Duginski from Los Angeles.

https://enewspaper.latimes.com/desktop/latimes/default.aspx?edid=c79c86ae-4d25-465f-80d7-0c83a9cab106 3/3 10/25/2019 Los Angeles Times - eNewspaper

Wildfires burn across the state

Dry winds fan flames in wine country, Santa Clarita Valley and elsewhere

A BRUSH FIRE burns into a neighborhood in the Castaic area on Thursday. The blaze was a branch of a larger fire near Santa Clarita. (KTLA )

https://enewspaper.latimes.com/desktop/latimes/default.aspx?edid=c79c86ae-4d25-465f-80d7-0c83a9cab106 1/5 10/25/2019 Los Angeles Times - eNewspaper

A VINEYARD home burns in the Kincade fire near Geyserville, Calif. The fast-moving Sonoma County blaze was 10,000-plus acres and entirely uncontained. (Josh Edelson AFP/Getty Images) BY PHIL WILLON, TARYN LUNA, HANNAH FRY AND ALEJANDRA REYES- VELARDE

Fueled by violent winds from the northeast, fires erupted on dry hills across California, tearing through oaks and vineyards in Sonoma County and burning homes hundreds of miles south in subdivisions near Santa Clarita. The extreme weather conditions will continue into this weekend, heightening both the fire threat and the likelihood of more widespread power outages as utilities try to prevent electrical lines from sparking more blazes. As the winds swept into California on Wednesday night, an eruption of fires big and small followed: first Northern California wine country, then San Bernardino, Orange County, Marin County, Santa Clarita, Eagle Rock and the San Fernando Valley.

Firefighters were able to control some, while others exploded out of control. The Kincade fire started Wednesday night and consumed more than 16,000 acres of northern Sonoma County, pushed by wind gusts higher than 70 mph and forcing the evacuation of Geyserville and burning about 50 structures.

https://enewspaper.latimes.com/desktop/latimes/default.aspx?edid=c79c86ae-4d25-465f-80d7-0c83a9cab106 2/5 10/25/2019 Los Angeles Times - eNewspaper “If you’re in Geyserville, leave now,” the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office said in an advisory Thursday morning. Pacific Gas & Electric Co. had shut off power to thousands because of dangerous wind conditions. It’s unclear whether utility lines played a role in the Sonoma County blaze, but an incident report from PG&E said a transmission line failure occurred near Kincade and Burned Mountain roads at 9:20 p.m. Wednesday, around the time the fire was first reported. In a mandatory report sent to the California Public Utilities Commission, the company said one of its workers noticed Thursday morning that the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection had taped off the area. PG&E said Cal Fire also pointed out a “broken jumper on the same tower.” PG&E said distribution lines in Geyserville and the surrounding area were shut down at 3 p.m. Wednesday but transmission lines remained energized. “Those transmission lines were not deenergized because forecast weather conditions, particularly wind speeds, did not trigger the PSPS [public safety power shut-off] protocol,” PG&E said in a statement. “The wind speeds of concern for transmission lines are higher than those for distribution.” Officials have not determined the cause of the fire. In Southern California, the Tick fire erupted near the 14 Freeway around 1:45 p.m. Thursday and was moving quickly toward Agua Dulce, with 29-mph gusts that were expected to as much as double in strength overnight. Firefighters scrambled to get air support to protect neighborhoods in the fire’s path. But the rugged topography made it difficult as the blaze raced through narrow gullies up to the backs of homes. Some homeowners tried to ward off flames with garden hoses, but several homes went ablaze. Other fires broke out in Marin, San Bernardino and Orange counties, and one ignited in Eagle Rock. Southern California Edison said it planned to turn off electricity to as many as 300,000 customers, while PG&E reported cutting power to more than 184,000 customers but apparently did not shut down all transmission lines in the Kincade fire zone. The outages gave some residents a false sense of security. Madonna Tavares, 70, and her husband went to sleep in their Geyserville home around midnight and woke to a banging on their door at 5:30 a.m. “ Get out!” their landlord yelled.

With the power out, Tavares and her husband scrambled in the dark to get dressed, find their two small dogs and jump in their car. Tavares said the smoke outside was so thick she could barely see a foot in front of her.

https://enewspaper.latimes.com/desktop/latimes/default.aspx?edid=c79c86ae-4d25-465f-80d7-0c83a9cab106 3/5 10/25/2019 Los Angeles Times - eNewspaper “They shut off the power and we still had a fire,” she said. “I don’t understand it.” After Dwight Monson, 68, heard a fire was burning 16 miles from his family ranch, he gathered important documents, packed the cars and evacuated his grandchildren. All was still clear at 2 a.m. Monson figured the ranch, tucked amid vineyards and great oaks in the hills above the Russian River, was safe. Then he saw flames on Black Mountain, about three miles to the northeast. The fire had raced 14 miles from where it had started less than five hours before. Monson placed his hopes on a neighboring vineyard — a thousand acres of lush grapevines between his home and the fire. That prospect dimmed as the mountain was engulfed and a few swirling embers turned into a storm, driven by powerful gusts out of the Mayacamas Mountains. He and his wife, son and brothers fled after 4 a.m. “We looked up the hill and couldn’t believe what we saw,” Monson said. “To see that whole thing, just red flame.” By the time they got to a friend’s house in Geyserville, the fire was already there. “It followed us down,” Monson said. They moved on to a shelter in Healdsburg. Monson said the family lost four homes and a barn. The fire brought back dark memories in the region. Two years ago, the Tubbs fire and others burned through wine country just to the north and south, killing more than 40 people, destroying more than 6,000 homes and devastating a swath of Santa Rosa. “There is still a lot of trauma in Sonoma County from the fires of two years ago, and waking up to a day like today brings back a lot of memories,” said David Rabbitt, chairman of the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors. The wind in the region was expected to abate Thursday evening through Friday but return even stronger Saturday, with gusts as high as 80 mph. Firefighters will still need to contend with unusually high temperatures in the 90s and low humidity levels throughout the Bay Area on Friday. A reporter observed destroyed homes in the area of the Kincade fire, but no official count had been released by Thursday afternoon. The massive Geysers geothermal energy facilities run by Calpine Corp. reported some damage. Ten air tankers and helicopters were being used to fight the fire from above as ground crews attempted to add containment lines around the blaze, said Will Powers, a spokesman for Cal Fire. But the wind kept driving embers over the lines to ignite grass and brush, and the fire had zero containment Thursday afternoon. Residents of Santa Rosa and Healdsburg were on edge early Thursday with the fire burning to the north. “It’s scary for a lot of people,” said Healdsburg Mayor David Hagele. https://enewspaper.latimes.com/desktop/latimes/default.aspx?edid=c79c86ae-4d25-465f-80d7-0c83a9cab106 4/5 10/25/2019 Los Angeles Times - eNewspaper Hagele said that by 9 a.m., 40 evacuees were at the Healdsburg Community Center, where mental health services were being offered. “That’s really important when you have these traumatic events, especially this close to the anniversary of the Tubbs fire,” Hagele said. “Our whole county has been affected by that.” Jim Young, 67, of the Robert Young Estate Winery rode out the night in his pickup truck, checking on his 317 acres of grapes. His frontyard was scorched and the hills above him blackened and still smoldering, but the grapes and his house survived. “The wind was blowing every which way. It was smoky and the embers were flying horizontally, so it made it hard to know what it was going to do,” Young said. The bright side, he said, is that there’s nothing left to burn near the vineyard when the winds kick up Saturday. Willon reported from Sonoma County, Luna from Sacramento , and Fry and Reyes- Velarde from Los Angeles. Times staff writers Joe Mozingo, Alex Wigglesworth, Rong- Gong Lin II, Jacyln Cosgrove, Lelia Miller, Dakota Smith, Colleen Shalby and Emily Baumgarten contributed to this report.

https://enewspaper.latimes.com/desktop/latimes/default.aspx?edid=c79c86ae-4d25-465f-80d7-0c83a9cab106 5/5 10/25/2019 Los Angeles Times - eNewspaper

Wildfire camera networks spread

KEVIN COX, left, and Ryan Silva with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection demonstrate a wildfire surveillance camera in El Cajon. (Hayne Palmour IV San Diego Union-Tribune) BY CELINA TEBOR

Fire authorities have for decades surveyed rural areas from watchtowers, hoping to spot small blazes before they get out of control. Now, networks of remotely controlled cameras are fast revolutionizing how authorities monitor fire-prone areas across the western United States. There are now roughly 300 such cameras in California, up from just 35 last year, according to researchers at UC San Diego who developed the technology, known as ALERTWildfire, under a partnership with the University of Nevada, Reno, and the University of Oregon. https://enewspaper.latimes.com/desktop/latimes/default.aspx?edid=c79c86ae-4d25-465f-80d7-0c83a9cab106 1/3 10/25/2019 Los Angeles Times - eNewspaper Nevada has 23 cameras. Oregon, Washington and Idaho have a total of 10 cameras installed in the last couple of years. Douglas Toomey, a professor at the University of Oregon, works with the cameras in the Northwest and hopes that they eventually can match the number in California and Nevada. “Nevada and California have grown pretty quickly, especially in the San Diego area,” Toomey said. “The cameras we have here in Oregon have been installed over the past year or two, and we’re hoping to start doing what you all have done so well in San Diego.” The devices have been used in connection with hundreds of blazes, including the Woolsey, Lilac and Thomas fires. “Having these cameras is kind of like having a second set of the eyes for us,” said Thomas Shoots, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection in San Diego. The cameras can see as far as 70 miles on a day with clear visibility and 120 miles at night using infrared technology. They are often operated remotely by firefighting and utility officials. The camera feeds are available online. Neal Driscoll, a professor of geosciences at UC San Diego who helped develop the technology, said there could be as many as 1,000 cameras throughout California in coming years. The cameras allow firefighters to accurately zero in on a blaze’s location, Driscoll said. When people call 911 about wildfires, they sometimes report the locations inaccurately. With the cameras, such calls can be quickly verified. “Every fire starts small, and if we can attack it in the incipient phase, then our chances of suppressing it are greater and we remain on the offense,” Driscoll said. The U.S. Forest Service has been phasing out human-manned watchtowers in recent years, with only a handful occupied by volunteers today, he said. Many of the new cameras are mounted on those watchtowers, some powered by solar panels. In some cases, towers are being built to accommodate the cameras. Most towers have two cameras in case one fails, and so that wide swaths of land can be efficiently surveyed. Cameras have backup power that lasts three to five days. A camera costs about $5,000. To mount and activate one on an existing tower costs about $20,000.

If a tower needs to be built, the cost could run as high as $80,000. The project started with a handful of cameras around Lake Tahoe in 2013, but it ramped up at the end of 2018 when electrical utilities started to embrace the technology. https://enewspaper.latimes.com/desktop/latimes/default.aspx?edid=c79c86ae-4d25-465f-80d7-0c83a9cab106 2/3 10/25/2019 Los Angeles Times - eNewspaper San Diego County has 17 cameras, installed in 2017. San Diego Gas & Electric funded the project. Pacific Gas & Electric, serving Northern and Central California, has installed more than 100 cameras throughout its service territory since last winter. “PG&E is funding the installation of these cameras as part of our Community Wildfire Safety Program to enhance real-time monitoring and intelligence capabilities,” Deanna Contreras, a utility spokeswoman, said in an email. “The staff at PG&E’s Wildfire Safety Operations Center will be able to operate and use the cameras as part of its mission to help the company’s preparedness and response to wildfires.” Southern California Edison has installed 134 cameras since last year. The utility plans an additional 26 or so within the next few months, monitoring roughly 90% of the high-fire areas in its service territory. Camera installations have also received funding through public sources, including the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Forest Service and counties. Tebor writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune.

https://enewspaper.latimes.com/desktop/latimes/default.aspx?edid=c79c86ae-4d25-465f-80d7-0c83a9cab106 3/3 10/25/2019 Don’t send us rapists | Letters to the Editor | redlandscommunitynews.com

https://www.redlandscommunitynews.com/opinion/letters_to_editor/don-t-send-us-rapists/article_bd192418-f697-11e9-a432-d3b401f9b924.html Don’t send us rapists

San Bernardino County Third District Supervisor Dawn Rowe 18 hrs ago

I’m adamantly opposed to a Ventura County judge’s order that Ross Wollschlager, a convicted rapist of women and children, be relocated to Joshua Tree following his release from state custody.

Classied as a sexually violent predator under California law, Mr. Wollschlager has no connection to San Bernardino County and it’s appalling that a Ventura County judge would even consider releasing him in Joshua Tree.

I’m working alongside San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon and District Attorney Jason Anderson to ensure this dangerous predator never sees the light of day in our county.

https://www.redlandscommunitynews.com/opinion/letters_to_editor/don-t-send-us-rapists/article_bd192418-f697-11e9-a432-d3b401f9b924.html 1/1 10/25/2019 Restoration begins on stretch of Needles Highway | Needles Desert Star | mohavedailynews.com

http://www.mohavedailynews.com/needles_desert_star/restoration-begins-on-stretch-of-needles- highway/article_a7ea0a00-f6f9-11e9-b4b4-6ba490d5a4d2.html

FEATURED Restoration begins on stretch of Needles Highway

By SAUL A. FLORES News West 7 hrs ago

Motorists traveling to Needles from Laughlin on Needles Highway will have to use a detour starting at Needles Highway and Parker Road. The detour leads motorists on to National Trails Highway, which eventually reconnects with Needles Highway on the way to Needles. SAUL A. FLORES/News West

NEEDLES — The ground was broken at the road construction site of Needles Highway on Thursday morning.

Delegates from San Bernardino County, as well as city ocials, were present at the groundbreaking.

www.mohavedailynews.com/needles_desert_star/restoration-begins-on-stretch-of-needles-highway/article_a7ea0a00-f6f9-11e9-b4b4-6ba490d5a4d2.… 1/3 10/25/2019 Restoration begins on stretch of Needles Highway | Needles Desert Star | mohavedailynews.com “We are excited to get this project started; it’s been a long time coming,” said Kevin Blakeslee, San Bernardino County director of Public Works. “Before we got started on the project, we had to get environmental checks from the federal and state governments. We had to make sure that the location passed the cultural checks, so it took a lot of time. Ultimately it passed all the checks and we had enough funding to start construction on this part of Needles Highway.”

Blakeslee said that this is the rst phase of the major project that is to see the restoration of Needles Highway.

Robin Richards, editor of the Needles Desert Star, wrote that fencing to keep any desert tortoises outside the work area has been erected along the route; a deep trench has been excavated along the city end of the uphill side; barricades have been erected closing what’s left of the paved surface down to one lane and routing northbound trac onto the noticeably smoother dirt shoulder as far as National Old Trails Road, which can, in turn, be navigated to reach points farther north.

“We have set the temporary detour primarily to keep the public safe and the workers safe,” said Joe Schweitzer of the San Bernardino County Transportation Department.

“We appreciate the public being patient with us while we work on this portion of Needles Highway,” said Blakeslee.

One of the local businesses on the Needles Highway portion that is being restored is The River Front Cafe in Rainbo Beach Resort.

“I have lost some business because of the construction in this area,” said Cindy Sorci, restaurant owner. “However, I am very happy that the road is getting done because this is the road that I work on and the road that I live on.”

The City of Needles also is excited about the start of this phase of the project.

“It’s been long overdue because I think they’ve been talking about repairing this road for about 20 to 25 years,” said Rick Daniels, city manager. “We are going to take advantage of the road (bed) being opened to run sewer and water crossover lines so we don’t have to re-open the road once it’s nished,” Daniels continued. “This is going to bring in new residential and commercial buildings to north Needles.”

www.mohavedailynews.com/needles_desert_star/restoration-begins-on-stretch-of-needles-highway/article_a7ea0a00-f6f9-11e9-b4b4-6ba490d5a4d2.… 2/3 10/25/2019 Restoration begins on stretch of Needles Highway | Needles Desert Star | mohavedailynews.com Blakeslee said that ocials don’t have a schedule of when the road is to be nished because it depends on cooperation from the weather. Blakeslee said that when the temperatures get below 50 degrees, workers can’t pour asphalt.

“When this phase is nished, I think people will enjoy driving on it and it will encourage business between both of the communities (Laughlin and Needles),” said Blakeslee.

www.mohavedailynews.com/needles_desert_star/restoration-begins-on-stretch-of-needles-highway/article_a7ea0a00-f6f9-11e9-b4b4-6ba490d5a4d2.… 3/3 10/24/2019 City enters new agreement for Third/Fifth streets corridor project | Public Works | highlandnews.net

https://www.highlandnews.net/news/public_works/city-enters-new-agreement-for-third-fth-streets-corridor- project/article_6c6c93c0-f6a0-11e9-a0ba-0f18142c0b73.html

BREAKING City enters new agreement for Third/Fifth streets corridor project Over $4.6 million in state and federal grants has been awarded the project.

Hector Hernandez Jr. 1 hr ago

Eastbound Third Street dead ends just before merging with Fifth Street, a situation the city plans to remedy for the sake of better freeway access for the west side of town. https://www.highlandnews.net/news/public_works/city-enters-new-agreement-for-third-fifth-streets-corridor-project/article_6c6c93c0-f6a0-11e9-a0ba-0f… 1/4 10/24/2019 City enters new agreement for Third/Fifth streets corridor project | Public Works | highlandnews.net The Highland City Council approved a cooperative agreement with the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians and Inland Valley Development Agency (IVDA) to split costs in the $7 million upgrade of the Third and Fifth streets corridor.

This agreement, approved at the Oct. 22 council meeting, comes after the project was awarded a Federal Economic Development Administration (EDA) grant of $2,964,360 and a state SB 1 Competitive Local Partnership Program (LPP) grant for $1.7 million. It replaces previous agreements made before grant funding was awarded.

The three agencies participating in the project will evenly split the remaining costs, each estimated to pay $797,880, 11.3 percent. The EDA grant will pay for 42 percent of the project and the SB1 grant 24.1 percent.

The main feature of the project will be the northeasterly angled extension of Third Street east of Palm to merge it with Fifth at Church Avenue. This will give Third Street trac a smoother route to the Fifth Street/SR210 onramps.

The project will entail pavement rehabilitation and construction of curb, gutter, sidewalk and streetlights on Fifth Street from Victoria Avenue to State Route 210 and Palm Avenue between Fifth and Third streets.

Fifth Street will be widened to four lanes (with center turning lane) and 2 bicycle lanes from Victoria to SR 210.

Central Avenue between Fifth and Third will also received widening, pavement rehabilitation and new curbs, gutters, sidewalks, curb ramps and streetlights.

https://www.highlandnews.net/news/public_works/city-enters-new-agreement-for-third-fifth-streets-corridor-project/article_6c6c93c0-f6a0-11e9-a0ba-0f… 2/4 10/24/2019 City enters new agreement for Third/Fifth streets corridor project | Public Works | highlandnews.net As reported by City Engineer Earnest Wong, since San Manuel was awarded the EDA grant on Jan. 18, 2018 San Manuel will act as lead agency as it relates to that funding. The city of Highland was awarded the SB 1 grant on May 17, 2018 and will act as lead agency in the administration of those state funds. The city will also act as the implementing agency in execution of the project, responsible for contracts, environmental processes, design, right-of- way, engineering and construction of the project.

The project is expected to begin construction summer of 2020 and be completed by the end of that year.

In other action, the council appointed Je Novak and Robert LaChausse to two ll two expiring terms on the Community Trails Committee.

This will be the second term for Novak.

Incumbent Joseph Ellis was the third applicant but left his application largely blank.

Councilman John Timmer said while he generally likes reappointing incumbents this led him to believe Ellis’ interest in serving on the committee had waned.

https://www.highlandnews.net/news/public_works/city-enters-new-agreement-for-third-fifth-streets-corridor-project/article_6c6c93c0-f6a0-11e9-a0ba-0f… 3/4 10/24/2019 Mayor Warren Appointed to the National League of Cities 2020 Presidential Election Task Force - InlandEmpire.us

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Community Mayor Warren Appointed to the National League of Cities 2020 Presidential Election Task Force

By Press Release- October 24, 2019 TAGS: ACQUANETTA WARREN FONTANA

Fontana, Ca– Mayor Acquanetta Warren was appointed to the National League of Cities (NLC) 2020 Presidential Election Task Force, joined by some of the most influential mayors, council members and directors across the country. Mayor Warren will be attending her first task force meeting on Thursday, November 21, 2019, in San Antonio, Texas.

Task force members will assist the NLC Board of Directors by establishing a platform of issues that are most important to local governments that will, in turn, serve as a resource

https://inlandempire.us/mayor-warren-appointed-to-the-national-league-of-cities-2020-presidential-election-task-force/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_… 1/11 10/24/2019 Mayor Warren Appointed to the National League of Cities 2020 Presidential Election Task Force - InlandEmpire.us to the 2020 presidential candidates. Past task force platforms covered city concerns such as economy, infrastructure and public safety.

“I am grateful for the opportunity to represent Fontana at such an important event,” states Mayor Warren. “Small and big-city issues matter, and our next presidential candidates should be developing their platforms around the problems that are currently impacting not only Fontana but all U.S. cities.”

Mayor Warren represents Fontana on various committees such as the Intergovernmental Policy Advisory Committee, the General Policy Committee, the Transit Committee of the San Bernardino County, and the newly-formed Housing, Economic Development, Jobs and Opportunity Zone Ad Hoc Committee.

For more information about Mayor Acquanetta Warren, visit the City of Fontana website here. 10/25/2019 Public will have voice in new utility, town lawyer says - News - vvdailypress.com - Victorville, CA

Public will have voice in new utility, town lawyer says By Martin Estacio Staff Writer Posted at 12:01 AM SAN BERNARDINO — Exorbitant water bills, earthquake-prone reservoir tanks, a lack of public input in setting rates and a corporation from Canada not operating transparently.

These were just some of the reasons that justify Apple Valley taking over its largest supplier of water, Liberty Utilities, a lawyer for the town argued on Thursday.

Opening arguments continued today in Superior Court Judge Donald Alvarez’s courtroom, with Best Best & Krieger attorney Kendall MacVey outlining his client’s position in the eminent domain suit.

If Alvarez rules in Apple Valley’s favor, the decision would give the municipality local control of the water system.

“Fundamentally, it means there’s going to be a difference between: ‘Are we going to have a system that is accountable to the people it serves at cost or one that’s accountable to executives and investors in Canada...at cost-plus?’” MacVey said.

The Canadian company MacVey referred to is Liberty’s parent, Algonquin Power & Utilities Corporation, or APUC, based in Ontario. He suggested evidence in the trial would show APUC was focused more on profit and earnings than its customers.

According to MacVey, the parent company charged about $4.28 million for providing services and capital to Liberty and its affiliates in 2018, charges that weren’t clarified for he and his associates.

https://www.vvdailypress.com/news/20191025/public-will-have-voice-in-new-utility-town-lawyer-says?utm_source=SFMC&utm_medium=email&utm_c… 1/3 10/25/2019 Public will have voice in new utility, town lawyer says - News - vvdailypress.com - Victorville, CA

Also unexplained are various surcharges on water bills which increase the bi- monthly rate significantly, MacVey said.

He presented several studies from his experts indicating Liberty “might be the highest in the Inland Empire” in its monthly average rate. One ranked the utility at No. 2 at $71.64 in Nov. 2015. The average of 2t9 other providers surveyed was $49.68.

Liberty’s attorney, George Soneff, said on Wednesday that Liberty’s water bills had increased only about $5 since 2009, and if adjusted for inflation had actually decreased 9.3%.

He cited a state auditor’s report that suggested neighboring jurisdictions, such as Victorville and Hesperia, had lower bills due to different reasons: Victorville, because the city hadn’t paid for its water system’s upkeep in previous years, and Hesperia, because it had subsidized its water district, according to the report.

MacVey also characterized rate oversight by the state’s regulatory board on privately-owned utilities, the California Public Utilities Commission, as being “insufficient.”

He argued that Apple Valley is seemingly shut out of meetings when Liberty requests a change in its rates, which occurs every three years, with the commission.

MacVey said one of the benefits of Apple Valley acquiring the water system will be the setting of rates subject to Proposition 218, instead of by a commission, allowing the public to have greater input.

The amendment generally limits a government’s ability to impose certain taxes. Some taxes are subject to an approval by the voters.

Apple Valley was sued twice for alleged Proposition 218 violations related to its sewer and trash service, lawsuits which Soneff had mentioned earlier.

MacVey emphasized the settlements in those cases, in which the town admitted no wrongdoing, have no bearing on how it would act if it acquired the water system.

https://www.vvdailypress.com/news/20191025/public-will-have-voice-in-new-utility-town-lawyer-says?utm_source=SFMC&utm_medium=email&utm_c… 2/3 10/25/2019 Public will have voice in new utility, town lawyer says - News - vvdailypress.com - Victorville, CA

Local control would instead lead to “clean” water bills with no surcharges and a stabilization of rates, he said.

“Rate stabilization is basically saying rates are going to be lower than they would be under investor ownership, under the current ownership,” he said. Soneff argued Wednesday that due to the nearly $150 million revenue bond debt the town will issue in the acquisition, higher rates would likely occur.

The town’s attorney also equated local control with greater safety for Apple Valley’s residents.

According to MacVey, his firm’s expert performed a three-day inspection of Liberty’s water system. The expert, Craig Close, discovered 9 out of 10 water reservoir tanks to be “seismically unsafe,” MacVey said.

Pictures of tanks perched above some homes had no concrete foundation, he said.

“If these tanks rupture, they will wipe out these homes. They will kill people,” he said.

Soneff had earlier disputed the town’s negative characterization of the water system. He admitted that it was aging but said the town had never indicated prior concern about any deficiencies until this year.

He cited both an earlier appraisal made by the town and its November 2015 environmental impact report proposing no changes to water infrastructure.

Martin Estacio may be reached at [email protected] or at 760-955-5358. Follow him on Twitter @DP_mestacio.

https://www.vvdailypress.com/news/20191025/public-will-have-voice-in-new-utility-town-lawyer-says?utm_source=SFMC&utm_medium=email&utm_c… 3/3 This vending machine at Kimbark Elementary School in San Bernardino is not like most – Press Enterprise

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LOCAL NEWS This vending machine at Kimbark Elementary School in San Bernardino is not like most This month, Kimbark Principal Mario Jacquez took an unconventional approach to promoting literacy

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https://www.pe.com/...e-most/?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_content=tw-pressenterprise[10/24/2019 2:32:04 PM] This vending machine at Kimbark Elementary School in San Bernardino is not like most – Press Enterprise

Kimbark Elementary School first grader Koa Smith, 6, pulls his chosen book out of the new book vending machine Thursday, Oct 24, 2019 in Devore. Kimbark Elementary School unveiled a new book vending machine on campus. Instead of cash, the machine takes tokens that students earn for completing reading comprehension tests and doing good deeds around campus. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

By BRIAN WHITEHEAD | [email protected] | San Bernardino Sun  PUBLISHED: October 24, 2019 at 2:29 pm | UPDATED: October 24, 2019 at 2:29 pm

A boy steps to a vending machine 10 times his size at Kimbark Elementary School in San Bernardino and inserts a coin.

After punching in a two-digit code, the coils securing 6-year-old Koa Smith’s prize retract.

Norm Feuti’s 2019 children’s book “Do You Like My Bike?” falls gently to the bottom.

The teal vending machine just beyond Kimbark’s main entrance is not unlike those commonly found in

break rooms or on school campuses. But this one is brimming with children’s books such as “Volcanoes!” “Noelle at Sea,” “Dear Molly, Dear Olive,” and pageturners from the Junie B. Jones and “I Survived” series.

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1 of 5 Books sit in the new vending machine at Kimbark Elementary School in Devore on Thursday, Oct 24, 2019. Kimbark Elementary School unveiled a  new book vending machine on campus. Instead of cash, the machine takes tokens that students earn for completing reading comprehension tests and doing good deeds around campus. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

All are available for the low price of passing accelerated reading tests and good behavior.

Unveiled this month, Kimbark’s book vending machine holds 200 books across a range of reading levels and already is a hit with students and parents, fifth-year Principal Mario Jacquez said.

“The first kids who used it,” Jacquez added, “they carried their books with them during recess, lunch, showing everybody. There was enthusiasm for reading, and you could feel it building with other kids. Parents and adults, too. For me, it’s not just about kids here at our school, but kids everywhere who benefit from the idea of literacy and a love for reading.”

At the start of the school year, Jacquez, a San Gorgonio High and Cal State San Bernardino alum, came across a picture on social media of a book vending machine at an East Coast school.

Shortly thereafter, he said, he and representatives with Kimbark’s Associated Student Body and Parent Teacher Organization discussed their respective budgets and found they had the money between them to purchase one of their own.

Hop around in H-Town

by Houson Firs

Kimbark’s $4,000 vending machine arrived within three weeks and was kept a secret until its Oct. 16 unveiling.

The response since has been overwhelmingly positive, Jacquez said.

“When this was first discussed, buying this machine, I didn’t know if it was a good idea,” said Amanda Manzano, president of Kimbark’s PTO and mother to twin second-grade girls at the school. “But we have it, and now I’m promoting it on social media, telling other parents what you need to do to raise money to get this thing in your school because you’re going to see how little kids light up when they earn this reward.”

At least two book vendors have donated boxes of books to keep the vending machine stocked, Jacquez said.

Kimbark’s PTO also helps keep it full.

More than the outpouring of support for promoting literacy in such an unconventional way, Jacquez said the greatest thing about the vending machine is that the selection of books behind the glass is representative of the school’s student body.

“You look at the books in there and there are culturally-diverse characters, diversity in the way covers look,” Jacquez added. “We’re making sure our diverse student population sees themselves in the book vending machine.”

In place of cash, the vending machine takes tokens that students can earn by doing well on accelerated reading tests or doing something good.

Any teacher or staffer can award a token.

“Kids have to be on the ball all the time to earn a token,” RELATED ARTICLES Jacquez said. “It’s a great incentive to go along with what

Riverside deaf school science teacher we already do to reward kids for good behavior. This is one wins national award more thing to motivate them.”

Riverside conference explores music, the Obtained for speaking with a reporter on a recent brain and learning Thursday, 11-year-old Brianna Noren used her token to purchase Judy Blume’s “Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing.” 3 Paloma Valley High students suspended after striking teacher, official Camille Rodriguez, 10, exchanged hers for Barbara Park’s says “Junie B. Jones Is (Almost) a Flower Girl.” San Bernardino Unified going old school as it rebuilds its hacked computer servers “This is a very good idea, and I’m happy our school has it,” said Brianna, who is about halfway through the first book Yucaipa High football players used racist she purchased from the vending machine. “Kids think taunts during games, Rialto Carter High there’s junk food in it. But there are books inside. This is a officials say fun way to get kids to read books.”

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https://www.pe.com/...e-most/?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_content=tw-pressenterprise[10/24/2019 2:32:04 PM] 10/25/2019 Los Angeles Times - eNewspaper

A housing plan that guarantees worse traffic

NEW HOUSING construction in areas with jobs and transit makes more sense than building homes in exurban communities where residents will have to travel long distances to work. (Frederic J. Brown AFP/Getty Images) BY LEONORA CAMNER

In August, Gov. Gavin Newsom directed the Southern California Assn. of Governments to develop a plan to build more than 1.3 million new units of housing. It’s no secret that Southern California is suffering from soaring housing costs, homelessness, traffic congestion and greenhouse gas emissions caused by a historic failure to plan for housing. NIMBY stonewalling has prevented serious action on any of these fronts.

Newsom’s mandate was intended to force Southern California’s hand to take meaningful action to confront its various crises.

https://enewspaper.latimes.com/desktop/latimes/default.aspx?edid=c79c86ae-4d25-465f-80d7-0c83a9cab106 1/3 10/25/2019 Los Angeles Times - eNewspaper SCAG recently published this plan. The results were disappointing, to say the least. Instead of making the radical changes Newsom called for to fight the housing crisis, SCAG’s approach largely leaves wealthy, exclusionary cities with massive jobs pools alone, while disproportionately dumping housing into sprawling exurbs. According to SCAG, Beverly Hills, which has nearly twice as many jobs (57,000) as people (34,400), needs only 1,373 new units of housing. Meanwhile, the desert city of Coachella, with a population of 42,400 and 8,500 jobs, will be expected to build a whopping 15,154 units. Santa Monica, with its growing Silicon Beach tech hub, employs nearly 90,000. And yet SCAG’s housing requirement for the city is less than 2,000. Then there’s Expo Line- adjacent Culver City, which already hosts 44,000 workers and is undergoing an influx of thousands more jobs from companies like HBO, Amazon and Apple. SCAG seems to think 1,660 homes are sufficient there, while distant Inland Empire cities like Riverside and Fontana get 20,139 and 22,126, respectively. “But Coachella Valley’s a nice place,” Margaret Finlay, a Duarte City Council member and former SCAG president, said before voting in support of the plan. “You move where you can afford to live, and you get a job there.” Unfortunately, that’s not how the real world works. We know exactly what the results of this housing/jobs imbalance will be: more mega-car commutes and the continued rise of greenhouse gas emissions. Already, more than 150,000 people in L.A. County spend at least three hours commuting. And passenger vehicles are the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in California. On top of that, if SCAG’s plan goes forward, remote cities like Coachella will have to significantly grow their footprints, irreversibly destroying the natural environment to make way for sprawl. And it gets worse. When cities with transit and jobs don’t build enough housing, it drives up costs in those areas, ensuring that only the wealthy can afford to live there. Newsom’s 1.3-million-unit housing mandate was intended to relieve residents from the crushing pressure of high rents. But pushing housing into the exurbs will do little to nothing to ease the crisis. For years, SCAG plans like this one were only marginally consequential. Under state law, every eight years California creates a housing needs assessment that sets targets for each region of the state. Regional government groups like SCAG then work with cities to plan where that housing should be built and what kind of rezoning is needed to hit the targets. But the mandate has never had teeth, until now.

Historically, there was no enforcement mechanism to make sure cities built their allotted housing. This time around new state initiatives have changed that. To avoid financial penalties, cities will have to rezone in accordance with their regional housing plans. And if they fail to meet housing production targets, new state laws streamline the housing

https://enewspaper.latimes.com/desktop/latimes/default.aspx?edid=c79c86ae-4d25-465f-80d7-0c83a9cab106 2/3 10/25/2019 Los Angeles Times - eNewspaper development process, allowing builders who include affordable housing in their projects (and follow other state guidelines) to sidestep any additional NIMBY red tape. Moreover, Newsom has made it clear he is taking compliance seriously. In January, his administration filed a lawsuit against the city of Huntington Beach for failing to allow enough new housing to be built as required under state law. He has stated that transportation funding may be withheld for cities that fail to sufficiently plan for his housing goals. And yet there is still a problem. While SCAG is required by law to distribute housing based on objective factors, including access to transit, jobs/housing balance, and housing costs, it has chosen to minimize these factors. Instead, its plan relies mostly on “local input,” a non-objective method based on projections of household growth under current zoning — a method that incorporates NIMBY preferences to exclude housing. So what should Southern California’s housing distribution look like? Abundant Housing L.A. research director Anthony Dedousis, along with UCLA urban planning professor Paavo Monkkonen, recently developed a data-driven methodology to determine that, using current population as a base and adjusted exclusively for statutory objectives like jobs/housing balance and transit accessibility. Under this approach, Coachella would receive 1,565 units of housing while Culver City would get 5,114. Riverside would get 16,103 units, while Beverly Hills would get 7,576. Santa Monica, with its massive job base and access to rail, would get 14,155. On Nov. 7, the SCAG Regional Council, which includes L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti and every City Council member, has a chance to push us in this direction. They should reject SCAG’s plan, and instead shape Southern California’s future housing based on jobs, transit, traffic and affordability. They should demand that expensive cities with jobs accept more housing for low-income workers. Transforming Southern California into a place where people can find affordable housing near where they work or where they want to live — without destroying the planet — requires smart, data-driven planning. Pushing the region’s housing out of sight and out of mind is the exact opposite of what we need. Leonora Camner is managing director of Abundant Housing LA. Twitter: @AbundantHousing

https://enewspaper.latimes.com/desktop/latimes/default.aspx?edid=c79c86ae-4d25-465f-80d7-0c83a9cab106 3/3 10/25/2019 Proposition 13 overhaul is pension bailout in disguise – San Bernardino Sun

OPINION Proposition 13 overhaul is pension bailout in disguise

FILE – In this Friday, Jan. 18, 2019 file photo, elementary school teachers rally in downtown Los Angeles. On Tuesday, June 4, 2019 voters rejected a property parcel tax measure that would have raised $500 million annually for the financially struggling Los Angeles Unified School District. (AP(AP Photo/DamianPhoto/Damian Dovarganes,Dovarganes, File)

By CORRIN RANKIN || PUBLISHED: October 24, 2019 at 11:18 am || UPDATED:UPDATED: October 24, 2019 at 11:19 am

https://www.sbsun.com/2019/10/24/proposition-13-overhaul-is-pension-bailout-in-disguise/ 1/4 10/25/2019 Proposition 13 overhaul is pension bailout in disguise – San Bernardino Sun

Buoyed by a friendly official title and summary from the attorney general, backers of a new ballot initiative to overhaul Proposition 13 are moving full steam ahead with their plan to eliminate tax protections for certain businesses inin orderorder toto provideprovide whatwhat theythey saysay willwill bebe “full“full andand fairfair funding”funding” toto locallocal schools.

Despite Prop. 98 requiring roughly 40 percent of the state’s general fund be dedicated to our public education system—and very generous, additional investmentsinvestments fromfrom thethe governor—supportersgovernor—supporters ofof thisthis newnew initiativeinitiative claimclaim California schools are underfunded.

Over the next year, split roll advocates will convince voters that the revenue generated by “split-roll” taxes on businesses will turn struggling school districts into state-of-the-art learning centers overnight. If you’re skeptical of thisthis claim,claim, youyou havehave goodgood reasonreason toto be,be, becausebecause it’sit’s likelylikely thatthat moneymoney won’twon’t make it to the classroom, as rising pension costs continue to eat away local school districts budgets.

For example, Los Angeles Unified School District has seen its pension costs rise from $305,754,980 to $531,995,788 in four years – that’s a 92 percent increase.increase. AA reportreport fromfrom EdSourceEdSource showsshows thatthat statewide,statewide, mostmost schoolschool districtsdistricts haven’t fared much better, seeing their average per student pension costs double to $1,020 since 2012.

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https://www.sbsun.com/2019/10/24/proposition-13-overhaul-is-pension-bailout-in-disguise/ 2/4 10/25/2019 Proposition 13 overhaul is pension bailout in disguise – San Bernardino Sun It’s been projected that without additional pension reforms, the costs to local governments will continue to rise. Yet, split-roll may not even be the solution toto ourour state’sstate’s publicpublic schoolschool woes.woes.

A study from Pepperdine University shows that the introduction of split roll would likely lead to increased instability for local government finances as they’dthey’d bebe moremore impactedimpacted byby ebbsebbs andand flowsflows ofof thethe realreal estateestate market. market. What’sWhat’s more troubling is that the same study shows split roll would cost the state economy $71.8 billion dollars of lost output and 396,345 lost jobs over the first fivefive yearsyears ofof itsits implementation.implementation.

I can assure you these facts won’t deter those who are eager to feed local government with your hard-earned tax dollars – and for good reason. According to the California Policy Center, voters approved 71 percent of local taxtax proposals,proposals, addingadding $2.9$2.9 billionbillion inin newnew taxes.taxes. OneOne couldcould reasonablyreasonably speculate that clever marketing and artfully crafted ballot statements urging voters to support students led to inordinately high success rates for local tax measures.

However, as California continues to struggle with record poverty and homelessness, and voters grow increasingly weary of the continuous bait and switch on prior tax increases, there may be some hope that government will finallyfinally bebe forcedforced toto livelive withinwithin itsits means.means. AfterAfter all,all, votersvoters havehave seenseen thethe samesame spending promises made on other tax increases, such as the gas tax, only for lawmakerslawmakers findfind legallegal loopholesloopholes toto spendspend thethe moneymoney onon theirtheir petpet projects.projects.

Depending on who you ask, when compared to other states, California’s per pupil spending is either at the low end of rankings or falls somewhere in the middle. What’s not up for debate, however, is that when you examine the amount of revenue that reaches actual classrooms, the increase in overall fundingfunding isis beingbeing outstrippedoutstripped byby risingrising costs.costs.

Perhaps it’s time for government to learn how to do more with less.

Corrin Rankin is president of Legacy Republican Alliance. She can be reached at [email protected].

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https://www.sbsun.com/2019/10/24/proposition-13-overhaul-is-pension-bailout-in-disguise/ 3/4 10/24/2019 Column: Wall Street Journal says the rich are fleeing California, but the flight is a trickle - Los Angeles Times

BUSINESS

Column: Wall Street Journal says the rich are fleeing California, but the flight is a trickle

Being rich is glorious, as this scene in Beverly Hills suggests. (Gabriel S. Scarlett / Los Angeles Times)

By MICHAEL HILTZIK BUSINESS COLUMNIST

OCT. 24, 2019 1:31 PM https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2019-10-24/hiltzik-wall-street-journal-rich-california 1/14 10/24/2019 Column: Wall Street Journal says the rich are fleeing California, but the flight is a trickle - Los Angeles Times Solicitous as always of the downtrodden and sensitive to their burdens, the Wall Street Journal’s editorial board wrung its hands earlier this week over the impact of California’s income tax system on its residents. The Journal’s focus, naturally, was on those earning more than $5 million a year.

The point of the editorial, which was headlined “California’s Tax-the-Rich Boomerang,” was that the state’s ability to load ever-higher taxes on its wealthiest residents was coming to an end.

The basis of this argument was a recent paper by Joshua Rauh of Stanford’s Hoover Institution and Ryan Shyu finding that emigration of wealthy residents out of the state “spiked” after the implementation of Proposition 30 in 2012, which imposed a higher tax rate on incomes of more than $250,000, topping out at a 3% increase on incomes above $1 million (for married couples).

The liberal forecast in California always calls for higher taxes.

WALL STREET JOURNAL

Including a 1% surcharge imposed on incomes over $1 million starting in 2004, this set the top marginal rate for them at 13.3%.

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https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2019-10-24/hiltzik-wall-street-journal-rich-california 2/14 10/24/2019 Column: Wall Street Journal says the rich are fleeing California, but the flight is a trickle - Los Angeles Times

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The Journal’s interpretation of the study was that “the likelihood of a wealthy resident moving out of California increased by about 40% after Prop. 30.”

Well, sorta. We’ll get to what the study actually says in a moment. The Journal went on to suggest that the flight of rich residents out of state means that during the next recession, the burden of California’s high-tax, high-service economy will fall on the middle class.

https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2019-10-24/hiltzik-wall-street-journal-rich-california 4/14 10/24/2019 Column: Wall Street Journal says the rich are fleeing California, but the flight is a trickle - Los Angeles Times

BUSINESS

Column: Resnicks set a record with Caltech gift, but altruism isn’t the whole story Oct. 1, 2019

The editorial also took the opportunity to level a blast at a referendum due to appear on next year’s November ballot aimed at amending Proposition 13 to raise property taxes on commercial property. “The liberal forecast in California always calls for higher taxes,” the Journal groused.

(Its editorial writers may not have noticed that commercial buildings can’t pick up and leave the state to avoid taxes, or that commercial properties have gotten a huge, unwarranted break under Proposition 13.)

The Journal implies that the phenomenon identified by Rauh and Shyu puts the lie to what it says is the liberal claim that raising taxes “has no effect on taxpayer migration and does no harm to state tax revenue.” Let’s start our counter-interpretation there. (I reached out to Rauh to see if the Journal’s interpretation squares with his own, but haven’t heard back.)

To begin with, state revenues have generally been on the upswing since Proposition 30, reaching $143 billion in 2019-20. Much of the increase, according to the state budget, is “due to an improved outlook for personal income tax.”

Since conservative voices like the Journal’s editorial page love to contrast California’s profligate spending ways with the records of low-tax states such as Florida, Nevada and Texas, it’s proper to note that California’s economy has grown much faster than theirs since 2012 — in fact, pretty much since the end of the recession in 2009.

https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2019-10-24/hiltzik-wall-street-journal-rich-california 5/14 10/24/2019 Column: Wall Street Journal says the rich are fleeing California, but the flight is a trickle - Los Angeles Times

Despite its relatively high marginal tax rate, California’s GDP (blue line) has grown faster than low-tax Florida (red), Nevada (green) and Texas (purple). (Federal Reserve of St. Louis)

What about tax-inspired emigration? Rauh and Shyu mined state tax records to identify the number of top-earning households that converted from California resident tax filers to nonresident filers. Most of the emigration, they said, represented taxpayers moving to states with no income tax, such as Florida.

They found that the rate of departures among households earning $5 million or more (thus subject to the top 13.3% tax rate) rose from 1.5% to 2.125% from 2012 to 2013, with a similar trend occurring among those with $2 million to $5 million in income.

This is the source of the Journal’s assertion that the rate of out-migration increased by about 40%. Yes, 2.125% is about 40% larger than 1.5%, but the Journal’s formulation makes it seem as though the migration turned into a torrent, while the basic figures make clear that the actual numbers are quite small.

BUSINESS https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2019-10-24/hiltzik-wall-street-journal-rich-california 6/14 10/24/2019 Column: Wall Street Journal says the rich are fleeing California, but the flight is a trickle - Los Angeles Times Column: The $91-million sale of a cheesy Jeff Koons statue shows the need for a wealth tax May 17, 2019

How many, exactly? Rauh and Shyu are a bit murky on this, but they do say that there were 66,936 tax filers paying the top marginal rate in 2012 — that is, single filers earning more than $500,000 and couples earning more thjan $1 million. Their calculations imply an “income-weighted increase in departures of 535 top-bracket taxpayers.”

Not all of those refugees ceased paying California income tax. Many still had California-sourced taxable income, for which they filed nonresident tax returns. Still, their state taxable income generally would shrink. Rauh and Shyu calculate that the behavioral response to the tax increase reduced the potential take from the increase by 45.2%.

A couple of points about this. Rauh and Shyu acknowledge that this sort of behavioral response to taxation is “an active topic” of inquiry among economists and, indeed, “an open question.”

As it happens, Charles Varner and Cristobal Young, colleagues of Rauh’s at Stanford, wrote in a recent paper that “it is clear that there is not a pattern of millionaire out-migration in recent years despite the 4-percentage-point increase on income above $1 million since 2004.” (Varner and Young worked with Allen Prohofsky of the state Franchise Tax Board; emphasis is in the original.) “If anything,” they add, “the trend has run counter to the tax-flight expectation.”

https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2019-10-24/hiltzik-wall-street-journal-rich-california 7/14 10/24/2019 Column: Wall Street Journal says the rich are fleeing California, but the flight is a trickle - Los Angeles Times

https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2019-10-24/hiltzik-wall-street-journal-rich-california 8/14 10/24/2019 Column: Wall Street Journal says the rich are fleeing California, but the flight is a trickle - Los Angeles Times

The young, well-educated and wealthy still want to come to California. (Legislative Analyst Oce)

One difference between the two papers is that Varner and Young studied net migration, not simply outflow. As is well documented, California has been and remains a magnet for the young, the better-educated, and the affluent — all characteristics pointing to continued gains in income over time. As the Legislative Analysts Office has reported, the strongest net in-migration to California from other states occurs among those earning more than $200,000.

Varner and Young observe, moreover, that the population of millionaires is always extremely volatile. People become millionaires at a high rate, and millionaires become sub-millionaires at about the same rate. Most of the fluctuation, they say, is driven by “something other than migration,” such as business changes or divorces.

In any event, California probably is never going to be a tax haven for the rich. “Compared to states like Nevada, Texas or Florida,” they write, “California has had high taxes on the rich for some eight decades.” Nor is the current top marginal rate of 13.3% its highest ever — the top rate in California was 15% from 1935 to 1942, the era in which the great California boom began.

No one would claim that California’s economic growth will continue at its current rate forever. Yet something keeps drawing millionaires hither. Is it the weather, the style, or — for all that conservatives try to tag California as business-unfriendly — the opportunity to make millions?

https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2019-10-24/hiltzik-wall-street-journal-rich-california 9/14 10/25/2019 LA County cities struggling the most in the California, state auditor’s ranking reveals – Press Enterprise

NEWSCALIFORNIA NEWS LA County cities struggling the most in the California, state auditor’s ranking reveals New fiscal health ranking may determine which cities get audited

A map created by the state auditor’s office ranks cities by fiscal health. Green is lowlow risk,risk, yellowyellow isis moderatemoderate riskrisk andand redred isis highhigh risk.risk.

By JASON HENRY || [email protected]@scng.com || PasadenaPasadena StarStar NewsNews PUBLISHED: October 24, 2019 at 12:35 pm || UPDATED:UPDATED: October 24, 2019 at 5:25 pm

The California State Auditor’s Office on Thursday, Oct. 24, unveiled a comprehensive ranking of 471 cities based on fiscal health, and nearly 40 percent of the cities deemed a “high risk” are in Los Angeles County, according to the ranking. https://www.pe.com/2019/10/24/la-county-cities-struggling-the-most-in-the-california-state-auditors-ranking-reveals/ 1/6 10/25/2019 LA County cities struggling the most in the California, state auditor’s ranking reveals – Press Enterprise Compton was ranked the lowest of any city in the state, based on indicators such as debt levels, pension funding and reserve balances. Seven of the 18 cities facing “significant financial distress” are in L.A. County, one each is in Riverside and Orange counties and none is in San Bernardino County.

“We assessed risk by performing various financial comparisons and calculations that could indicate the potential for fiscal distress, and we analyzed things such as a city’s cash position or liquidity, debt burden, fiscal reserves, revenue trends, and ability to pay for employee retirement benefits,” state Auditor Elaine Howle said.

“We ensured the rigor behind our approach by establishing and engaging an advisory panel of experts in municipal fiscal health,” she said. “We are confident that our assessment will help distressed cities get in front of impendingimpending challenges.”challenges.”

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Howle’s office developed the ranking over the last year as a public awareness tooltool throughthrough thethe agency’sagency’s high-riskhigh-risk locallocal governmentgovernment auditaudit program.program. TheThe complete ranking, based on fiscal year 2016-17 data, is available on the auditor’s website..

“We wanted to put this together not only for policymakers, decision-makers at thethe statestate andand locallocal level,level, butbut wewe wantedwanted peoplepeople inin thethe communities,communities, thethe peoplepeople who reside in these cities, to really understand how fiscally healthy their cities are,” Howle said at a news conference Thursday morning.

https://www.pe.com/2019/10/24/la-county-cities-struggling-the-most-in-the-california-state-auditors-ranking-reveals/ 2/6 10/25/2019 LA County cities struggling the most in the California, state auditor’s ranking reveals – Press Enterprise Locally, the cities deemed “high risk” are Compton, Blythe, San Fernando,, SanSan Gabriel, Maywood, Monrovia, Vernon, West Covina and La Habra. Several other Southern California cities, including Torrance and Riverside, were among the top 25 most fiscally challenged.

The assessment scored each city using 10 factors, six of which focused on a city’s ability to pay skyrocketing pension and post employment benefits.

For example, the city of San Fernando showedshowed positivepositive revenuerevenue trends,trends, butbut diddid not have enough reserves, or money set aside for its obligations to retirees. Vernon, the very business-friendly city near South L.A., scored well on its obligations, but poorly on how much cash it has on hand, its reserves and its debt burden.

The other end of the spectrum had fewer surprises. Lake Forest, Indian Wells, Rolling Hills and La Mirada were among the cities with the best fiscal health.

Robert Fellner, executive director of Transparent California,, aa publicpublic paypay database, applauded the state auditor’s new website.

“The elected officials in these distressed cities are not going to be able to claim ignoranceignorance whenwhen thingsthings blowblow upup aa fewfew yearsyears downdown thethe road,”road,” FellnerFellner said.said. “They should be proactive now that the state is officially shining a light on this.”this.”

If a recession hits, some cities will have to raise taxes and cut services, Fellner said.

“By the time it becomes clear that it’s a problem, it’s too late to have dealt with itit responsibly,”responsibly,” hehe said.said.

Compton’s fiscal health the lowest

The state auditor singled out Compton because of the city’s lack of transparencytransparency aboutabout itsits finances.finances.

“They haven’t put out audited financial statements in at least five years,” Howle said.

State Controller Betty Yee audited Compton in 2018 and found the city’s general fund deficit was caused by reckless overspending, pervasive internal control deficiencies and a lack of City Council oversight. Of the 79 accounting and administrative controls reviewed, Compton was deficient in 71, the state controller found.

https://www.pe.com/2019/10/24/la-county-cities-struggling-the-most-in-the-california-state-auditors-ranking-reveals/ 3/6 10/25/2019 LA County cities struggling the most in the California, state auditor’s ranking reveals – Press Enterprise The city’s spending was three times that of comparable charter cities in L.A. County and its compensation for elected officials exceeded the limits set by its charter by nearly $1.3 million over a seven-year period.

Those weak controls allowed a former deputy treasurer toto embezzleembezzle moremore thanthan $3.7$3.7 millionmillion fromfrom MayMay 20102010 toto DecemberDecember 2016.2016. HeHe waswas sentencedsentenced toto 66 1/21/2 years in prison as a result.

In May, Mayor Aja Brown said the city is committed to addressing the controller’s fiscal concerns and is making progress.

“We are looking forward to continuing to move forward with greater fiscal strength and transparency,” he said in a statement atat thethe time.time.

Rising costs of employee benefits

The rising costs of pensions andand otherother post-employmentpost-employment benefits,benefits, inin particular, seemed to put dozens of cities’ financial futures in danger. More thanthan 130130 citiescities werewere strugglingstruggling toto setset asideaside thethe moneymoney necessarynecessary toto meetmeet pension obligations, according to the auditor.

The number of public employees collecting pensions exceeding $100,000 in California jumped from 1,841 people in 2005 to more than 26,000 in 2018, according to an analysis ofof CalPERSCalPERS datadata byby thethe SouthernSouthern CaliforniaCalifornia NewsNews Group.

Howle called it “concerning” that many cities are now floating bonds to pay for pensions.

“They are taking on debt to pay some of their pension benefits and that’s not a good place for anybody to be,” she said.

Earlier this year, an investigation by SCNG found Inglewood shifted $36 million fromfrom aa pensionpension obligationobligation bondbond toto itsits generalgeneral fundfund inin 2017.2017. ExpertsExperts calledcalled thethe diversion of the money “wholly inappropriate” and extremely risky.

Inglewood, the future home of the Los Angeles Rams and Chargers, was listed as a moderate risk and ranked 49 out of 471 cities. It fared better in the ranking thanthan LosLos Angeles,Angeles, TorranceTorrance andand LongLong Beach.Beach.

It’s not just pensions that threaten to sink California’s cities.

More than 70 percent of the cities in California do not have any funds set aside forfor otherother post-employmentpost-employment benefits,benefits, suchsuch asas retireeretiree healthhealth care,care, accordingaccording toto Howle. https://www.pe.com/2019/10/24/la-county-cities-struggling-the-most-in-the-california-state-auditors-ranking-reveals/ 4/6 10/25/2019 LA County cities struggling the most in the California, state auditor’s ranking reveals – Press Enterprise “The cities are going to have to figure out how to pay for those benefits and, unfortunately, the answer may be that they’re going to have to cut services,” she said.

What happens next?

The auditor said she will send teams to the high-risk cities to determine whether the local governments have plans in place to handle their troubling finances.finances. IfIf not,not, HowleHowle willwill askask thethe JointJoint LegislativeLegislative AuditAudit CommitteeCommittee forfor permission to conduct an official audit of those cities and to recommend corrective actions.

The local government audit program was created in response to the Bell scandal that began to unfold in 2010.

Howle’s office plans to update the ranking annually, and is already collecting audited financial statements for the 2017-18 fiscal year.

“Once we have all of that information from all of the cities, we will update this database and we will start to look at trends,” she said. 10/24/2019 America’s Air Quality Worsens, Ending Years of Gains, Study Says - The New York Times

Americaʼs Air Quality Worsens, Ending Years of Gains, Study Says

By Nadja Popovich Oct. 24, 2019

+25% difference from 2016 levels

+20

+15 After years of national decline … … ﬁne particulate pollution (PM2.5) started to +10 increase after 2016.

+5.5% +5

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

Source: National Bureau of Economic Research

New data reveals that damaging air pollution has increased nationally since 2016, reversing a decades-long trend toward cleaner air.

An analysis of Environmental Protection Agency data published this week by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University found that ﬁne particulate pollution increased 5.5 percent on average across the country between 2016 and 2018, after decreasing nearly 25 percent over the previous seven years.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/10/24/climate/air-pollution-increase.html?action=click&module=Well&pgtype=Homepage§ion=Climate a… 1/3 10/24/2019 America’s Air Quality Worsens, Ending Years of Gains, Study Says - The New York Times “After a decade or so of reductions,” said Nick Muller, a professor of economics, engineering and public policy at Carnegie Mellon, and one of the study’s co-authors, “this increase is a real about-face.”

The research identiﬁed recent increases in driving and the burning of natural gas as likely contributors to the uptick in unhealthy air, even as coal use and related pollution have declined. In the West, wildﬁres contributed to the rise in particulate matter.

+30 % difference from 2016 levels +30

West Midwest +20 +20

+11.5% +10 +10 +9.3%

Fine particulate 0 pollution (PM2.5) 0

–5 –5

2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018

+30 % difference from 2016 levels +30 %

Northeast South +20 +20

+10 +10

0 0

–5 –0.8% –5 –1.3%

2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018

Source: National Bureau of Economic Research

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/10/24/climate/air-pollution-increase.html?action=click&module=Well&pgtype=Homepage§ion=Climate a… 2/3 10/24/2019 America’s Air Quality Worsens, Ending Years of Gains, Study Says - The New York Times Researchers also suggested that a decrease in enforcement of the Clean Air Act may have contributed to the recent rise in pollution. That law and its subsequent updates put in place strict air pollution standards for power plants, factories, vehicles and other sources, and has been credited with dramatically improving air quality across the country and saving hundreds of thousands of lives.

The new analysis estimated that the increase of slightly more than 5 percent in ﬁne particulate pollution nationwide between 2016 and 2018 was associated with nearly 10,000 additional premature deaths during that time.

Fine particulate pollution – known as PM2.5 because the particles are less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter, or one-thirtieth the size of a human hair – has been linked to a range of health problems including asthma and respiratory inﬂammation, lung cancer, heart attack and stroke. A recent study found a signiﬁcant link between air pollution and the risk of miscarriage.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/10/24/climate/air-pollution-increase.html?action=click&module=Well&pgtype=Homepage§ion=Climate a… 3/3 10/25/2019 Los Angeles Times - eNewspaper

$762 a night for a hotel?

Review of executive travel expenses widens at Cal State San Marcos.

CAL STATE San Marcos President Karen Haynes and others spent over $300,000 on travel that included fine dining and stays at international resorts. (Howard Lipin San Diego Union-Tribune) BY MORGAN COOK AND JEFF MCDONALD

Michael Schroder, the dean who traveled first class, stayed at Ritz-Carlton hotels and bought a $110 Bruno-style bone-in filet was not the only one at Cal State San Marcos using state tax money to cover luxury expenses. So were the people responsible for approving his expense reports. Graham Oberem, former provost and most frequent signer of Schroder’s expense reports, stayed at a $639-a-night hotel in Spain in 2017 and paid $472 for Half Moon Limos to take him to and from Los Angeles International Airport for a recruiting trip to various countries in Europe in November 2018. https://enewspaper.latimes.com/desktop/latimes/default.aspx?edid=c79c86ae-4d25-465f-80d7-0c83a9cab106 1/5 10/25/2019 Los Angeles Times - eNewspaper Karen Haynes, former president of the university, stayed in the same hotel in Spain for $762 a night. She accumulated more than $9,100 in charges for chauffeured transportation from September 2017 to June this year. She billed the school for rides from her home to the university and was chauffeured to Long Beach routinely, documents show. The spending is reported in a new batch of business and travel expense reports received by the San Diego Union-Tribune in response to a request for additional public records after writing about Schroder’s spending last month. After the Union-Tribune began questioning the school about the latest expense documents, the new Cal State San Marcos president sent out an email to the campus community announcing that the university has launched a comprehensive review of travel expenditures across all divisions. “We have already identified areas for improvement including: limits on travel expenditures related to the cost of hotels and air travel, the frequency of travel, cost of meals and reimbursement of alcohol; and improving documentation requirements,” President Ellen Neufeldt said in the email last week. The review is in addition to an ongoing audit launched by the California State University Office of the Chancellor in July amid questions about spending by Schroder, who is on leave for undisclosed reasons. The university pledged to release the findings on Schroder but offered no timetable as to when the audit might be completed. A spokeswoman would not say whether other officials are also on leave. Schroder, Oberem and Haynes did not respond to the Union-Tribune’s calls and emails requesting comment. Luxury on the job Haynes, who retired in June after 15 years as university president, was paid $404,000 last year, according to Transparent California, an online database of public sector salaries. The new batch of documents obtained this month by the newspaper show that Haynes and other senior university leaders spent more than $300,000 on travel that included upgraded airline tickets, fine dining and stays at international resorts that charge more than what the U.S. government allows for its employees, among other costs. The school officials’ spending on lavish meals, limousines and luxury hotels went well beyond the $82,000 featured last month by The San Diego Union-Tribune, which examined two years of expense reports submitted by Schroder. The article noted that a food pantry on campus for needy students has a budget of about $80,000 per year.

According to expense records, Haynes and her companions ate foie gras, octopus, lamb and steak at a retreat at the Christy Hill bistro on Lake Tahoe in June 2018. The group of 10 bought five martinis, four glasses of wine and five bottles of wine for $383.

https://enewspaper.latimes.com/desktop/latimes/default.aspx?edid=c79c86ae-4d25-465f-80d7-0c83a9cab106 2/5 10/25/2019 Los Angeles Times - eNewspaper Haynes incurred $731 in costs for a chauffeured sedan ride to and from LAX for a trip to South Africa in 2018, to attend Family Week at Nelson Mandela University and develop international partnerships. The ride was not a one-off for Haynes. Records show she used chauffeur services routinely to travel between her home in Vista, galas in San Diego, board meetings in Long Beach and other destinations. Earlier this year, Haynes billed the school $372 for a chauffeured ride to and from the National Conflict Resolution Center’s Peacemaker Awards dinner in San Diego. She charged $507 for a private driver to take her to and from the LEAD San Diego Visionary Awards banquet in San Diego, where she collected a lifetime achievement prize for being a catalyst for positive change. The charge included extra wait time for the driver, to extend the festivities. (A notation on her expense report commented, “Totally understandable!”) On another occasion, the school paid $656 for “transportation to and from the Chancellor’s office for the Board of Trustees meeting” on July 24, 2018, in Long Beach, records show. She incurred another $656 charge for transportation to and from a board meeting in Long Beach in March. Cal State San Marcos spokeswoman Margaret Chantung said the school paid for the private rides to ensure Haynes’ personal safety. She declined to explain how Haynes’ safety was ensured by hiring chauffeurs, but she did say Haynes’ successor does not expect to use such services. According to Chantung, hiring private drivers allowed Haynes to work while she traveled. “She used this service primarily for long car rides (for example, to the Chancellor’s Office in Long Beach for Board of Trustees meetings) and used the time as additional desk time to conduct calls, write/ read emails and conduct document review/ preparation,” she wrote by email. “In addition, for evening events, car service was was often the preferred mode of transportation due to reliability and safety.” The records also show, in some cases at least, that Cal State San Marcos officials were aware their spending was questionable. For example, an expense report for Oberem’s travel to Seville, Spain, in 2017 showed five nights of lodging at the iconic Hotel Alfonso XIII at a cost of $639 per night. Oberem’s report included emails between Schroder, who was arranging lodging for Cal State San Marcos staff attending a conference there, and Haynes prior to the trip. In the email, Schroder double-checked with Haynes about booking rooms at the expensive hotel, as opposed to switching to a less-expensive option. She responded by saying it was OK to exceed the $163 limit the U.S. State Department will pay for lodging in Seville. “Mike, (I) understand about pricing and safety; seems easiest and not much more expensive to just stay where booked,” Haynes replied by email. https://enewspaper.latimes.com/desktop/latimes/default.aspx?edid=c79c86ae-4d25-465f-80d7-0c83a9cab106 3/5 10/25/2019 Los Angeles Times - eNewspaper Haynes’ own expense reports for the trip to Spain showed she spent five nights at the Hotel Alfonso XIII at a nightly rate of $762. Internal investigation In a telephone interview earlier this month, Chantung said the latest travel records prompted Neufeldt, who took over as Cal State San Marcos president July 1, to open her own review of travel spending by the university. “They are going to be looking at where folks have traveled over the past fiscal year and what the trends are so we can ensure looking forward that we are meeting the mission of the university,” the spokeswoman said. The newly disclosed travel spending further outraged Cal State San Marcos students. “These alarming new findings point to deep-seated corruption inside the highest ranks of the university administration,” said Eduardo Negron, a political science major who organized a campus protest last month in response to the initial report. “Former President Karen Haynes and Vice President Graham Oberem, who conveniently retired just months before this scandal was uncovered, were knowingly misusing funds that were specifically designated for two areas where students often struggle the most — housing and food,” he said by email. “This poses serious concerns in the way the closed- door audit is being handled and makes it imperative for students to have a direct role in the investigation.” University officials said they would invite students to participate in work groups regarding travel, although the students would not take part in the official review. Chantung said the administration takes students’ concerns very seriously. Haney Hong, president and chief executive of the San Diego County Taxpayers Assn., said Cal State San Marcos and the Chancellor’s Office should have processes in place to prevent excessive spending. “This is deeply concerning, especially as higher education costs continue to climb for college students and the taxpayers who support them,” he said. $300,000 in new spending The Union-Tribune requested the additional travel records from the university early last month, the day after the report on Schroder’s spending was published. Cal State San Marcos subsequently released 425 separate files containing more than 1,200 pages of reimbursement records, hotel and meal receipts and other documents dating back to July 2017. According to the records, 19 administrators spent $307,000 on travel over the past two- plus years. Among other cities, they went to Nashville, Washington, D.C., and Long Beach,

https://enewspaper.latimes.com/desktop/latimes/default.aspx?edid=c79c86ae-4d25-465f-80d7-0c83a9cab106 4/5 10/25/2019 Los Angeles Times - eNewspaper where the CSU system is based, as well as to far-flung destinations like Singapore, Casablanca and Lebanon. Chantung said that if auditors find some spending was improper, there is a legal mechanism for recovering the funds. “The university could seek restitution,” she said. The latest batch of records show that Schroder surpassed the $82,000 in travel spending originally detailed by the Union- Tribune last month. He also bought over $16,000 worth of food and other expenses paid for by the CSUSM Corp., the university’s nonprofit arm. Schroder, who served on the CSUSM Corp. board of directors, spent some of the organization’s money on filet mignon, oysters and lobster buttered popcorn. Some of the dining charges were for meetings with Cal State San Marcos staff at local restaurants. Schroder spent $390 at Vigilucci’s Seafood & Steakhouse in Carlsbad for dinner Dec. 11, 2018, with a vice president at National University, a private, nonprofit school in San Diego, to discuss “CoBA and MBA double degree” options. Their dinner included a double Oban single-malt Scotch whisky for $46, a $130 fish platter appetizer, a $49 steak and a $72 bottle of wine. Chantung said the nonprofit spending was permitted because it meets the mission of the charity, which is to promote the university. Among other revenue sources, the CSUSM Corp. is funded by bookstore profits, vending machine proceeds and managing university property. “It’s appropriate and within policy to use those resources on certain types of hospitality and travel,” she said. “It is within policy to use non-state (university) resources.” The CSUSM Corp. paid about $55,000 of the $307,000 identified in new travel and hospitality spending. Cook and McDonald write for the San Diego Union-Tribune.

https://enewspaper.latimes.com/desktop/latimes/default.aspx?edid=c79c86ae-4d25-465f-80d7-0c83a9cab106 5/5 OPINION

Here's how Maricopa County supervisors can toss out Assessor Paul Petersen

Opinion: State law suggests the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors could oust Assessor Paul Petersen in January. The county, however, isn't talking publicly about that option.

https://amp.azcentral.com/amp/4079550002 1/9 LAURIE ROBERTS | ARIZONA REPUBLIC | 14 hours ago

As the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors prepares to suspend Assessor Paul Petersen, circle this date on your calendar:

Jan. 8.

That’s the day Petersen should be out of oce, should he refuse to do the honorable thing and resign gracefully.

https://amp.azcentral.com/amp/4079550002 2/9 10/25/2019

Petersen’sUP indictment NEXT: and arrest on charges he was running an illegal adoption ring have brought up‘Curly a galling Joe’ problemMcSally joins with Arizona’s Maricopa Trump County’s stooges system of government.

Because Arizona’s counties have elected assessors – and recorders, court clerks, superintendents, sheris, etc – county supervisors don’t have much power to give them the old heave-ho when they, say, get arrested in a multi-state indictment charging them with selling babies and defrauding taxpayers.

If Petersen was a city ocial, he’d be going, going, gone by now.

But the county supervisors can’t just re a fellow elected ocial.

Use the law about vacant of ces So instead, they’ve scheduled a Monday vote to suspend Petersen without pay. The suspension, however, by law can last only 120 days.

And aer that?

“We will cross that bridge when we get to that,” Chairman Bill Gates told reporters on Wednesday.

That bridge should be ARS 38-291, outlining when a public oce “shall be deemed vacant.”

It names 11 circumstances in which an elective or appointive oce “shall be” considered vacant. Among them: death, resignation, felony conviction, a judicial nding of insanity or a three-month absence from the state without legislative permission.

https://amp.azcentral.com/amp/4079550002 3/9 The law doesn’t specify who declares the oce vacant, but it’s logical that it would be a judge, leaving the Board of Supervisors to then appoint a replacement until voters could elect a new assessor next year.

Board is only considering suspension Maricopa County spokesman Fields Mosley declined to comment on whether the supervisors are considering using ARS 38-291 to drag Peterson out of oce.

“At this time the Board is only considering the suspension based on ARS 11-664,” Moseley said, referring to the law that allows the board to suspend a county assessor or treasurer for 120 days for “neglect of duty.”

It seems pretty clear that either the supervisors or the Maricopa County attorney should be considering Petersen's ouster under ARS 38-291. 10/25/2019 Here's how Maricopa County supervisors can toss out Assessor Paul Petersen

A longtimeUP elections NEXT: lawyer told me the county attorney could ask the court to declare the Assessor's‘Curly Oce Joe’ vacant, McSally citing ARS joins Arizona’s 38-291 Trump or ARS stooges 12-2042, which allows a prosecutor to bring action when there is a reason "to believe that any such oce or franchise is being usurped, intruded into or unlawfully held or exercised."

"In fact, there is no reason the county attorney could not bring both claims in the same lawsuit and have the court declare the oce vacant and that he is unlawfully in possession of the oce due to that vacancy all at the same time," the attorney said.

A spokeswomen for County Attorney Allister Adel oce declined comment, saying "attorney/ client privilege prevents Ms. Adel from discussing any specic actions that may or may not be taken regarding Mr. Peterson."

Of course, Petersen should be out now, given the severity of the charges he faces and the time it'll take away from his day job to ght them.

But if he won't leave, then the supervisors need to re up the old tow truck and drag him out on Jan. 8 – the three-month anniversary of his arrest on 62 charges of human tracking, the and a whole host of charges that he was running a baby mill.

That is, unless our esteemed elected tax assessor/indicted baby broker can gure out a way to do his day job from the comfort of his jail cell ...

Reach Roberts at [email protected].

https://amp.azcentral.com/amp/4079550002 5/9