5/21/2015 County approves upscale apartment complex in Redlands’ Donut Hole County approves upscale apartment complex in Redlands’ Donut Hole By Joe Nelson , The Sun sbsun.com

The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved The Crossings at Redlands, a 340­unit gated apartment complex in an unincorporated area of Redlands. It will feature a sidewalk coffee shop/cafe, produce market and state­of­the­art fitness center. It is a companion project to the neighboring Circa 2020 apartment complex now under construction. (Courtesy artist rendering)

REDLANDS >> In the same vein as Victoria Gardens in Rancho Cucamonga and other mixed­use developments across Southern California, a 340­unit gated apartment complex, with a retail component, has been approved for development in an unincorporated area of this city.

On Tuesday, the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved The Crossings at Redlands, planned for the northeast corner of Lugonia Avenue and Nevada Street, next to a 306­unit apartment complex, Circa 2020, now under construction by the same developer, Redlands­based UCR Group.

The gated complex, tailored for the upwardly mobile professional, is expected to break ground in October and be completed in 2017. It will include a sidewalk cafe and produce market on the ground floor, a state­of­the­art fitness center, a lounge, and even a demonstration kitchen.

“We find that young professionals spend a lot of time learning at college, but not a lot of time learning how to cook, and this has become a very popular component in our multi­family projects,” project architect Gary Miller said during his presentation to county supervisors on Tuesday,

Supervisor Josie Gonzales was impressed with the project, and said she has been very pleased with all the development in the unincorporated pocket of Redlands known as the Donut Hole, west of the 10­210 Freeway interchange, including the Mountain Grove retail center adjacent Citrus Plaza.

“This project attracts a beautiful type of image and marketing opportunity that I believe we have not had in the past,” Gonzales said. http://www.sbsun.com/government­and­politics/20150520/county­approves­upscale­apartment­complex­in­redlands­donut­hole 1/2 5/21/2015 County approves upscale apartment complex in Redlands’ Donut Hole Like Victoria Gardens in Rancho Cucamonga and similar mixed­use developments in Irvine and Westlake Village, The Crossings, just west of the Citrus Plaza and Mountain Grove shopping centers and within walking distance to a cluster of office buildings and the proposed Rail To Redlands Metrolink train station, is intended to create a pedestrian­friendly environment in which residents do not have to drive to shop, dine and work,

“What is needed to make this a more walkable community is the housing, and this project provides that housing,” Miller said. “It provides the opportunity for them to live where they work.”

The Crossings will consist of five buildings, four 4­story and one 3­story, on a 9­acre parcel neighboring the Circa 2020 apartment complex now under construction and expected to be completed in October. It is part of the East Valley Area Plan, which applies to residential and commercial developments in the Donut Hole in which the city of Redlands picks up the cost for all sewer, water, fire protection, and law enforcement services.

Prospective tenants can choose between studio, one bedroom and 2­bedroom­plus den apartments. The rental rates have yet to be determined, said Jim Mauge, director of development for the UCR Group. He said projects like The Crossings fulfill a demand for more upscale rental housing in the Inland Empire and across Southern California.

A contractor will be hired within the next 120 days to begin construction. The project will be a job provider for the next two years, said C. Steve Reeder, CEO of UCR Group.

“This is a grand day for every part of Redlands and the surrounding community,” Reeder said.

http://www.sbsun.com/government­and­politics/20150520/county­approves­upscale­apartment­complex­in­redlands­donut­hole 2/2 5/21/2015 Water cost, cutbacks closing Mojave Narrows horse concession ­ Gate House

Print Page By Gary Brodeur Staff Writer

May 20. 2015 8:28PM

Water cost, cutbacks closing Mojave Narrows horse concession

VICTORVILLE — The horses and cattle at Mojave Narrows Regional Park will leave June 30 due to impacts of the statewide drought on water use by San Bernardino County. Vickie Hart's private business offering horse­riding at Mojave Narrows Regional Park was notified its lease would end May 30, and Hart said her string of 10 horses will be moved to a family facility in Corona. The reason for the notice is the amount of water used in the park and its cost to the county, a county spokeswoman said. But Hart's 50 head of cattle on the land — land owned by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and leased by the county — have to move, too. "My attorney has got me a 30­day extension," Hart said, but, "I have not secured a location for those cattle." Though the county has traditionally provided water at low cost for the animals and pastures, it has had to re­evaluate

its policy under the state's emergency drought measures. PHOTO/ JAMES QUIGG, DAILY PRESS "The county has terminated its lease with the Mojave Narrows Equestrian Center, the horseback riding concessionaire Horses wander through a stream at the at Mojave Narrows Regional Park," San Bernardino County spokeswoman Felisa Cardona said in a statement. "The Mojave Narrows Regional Park in equestrian center has been at the park since the mid­1980s and rents over 100 acres at the park for cattle grazing and Victorville on Wednesday May 20, 2015, horseback riding." but San Bernardino County is looking to Cardona said the equestrian center has a month­to­month lease with the county for $500 a month and $100 a month eliminate the lease for the equestrian for water use. center at the county run park in order to "Over the years, the county has provided water to the cattle and the horses at virtually no cost, but given our drought cut $300,000 worth of water use. (James Quigg, Daily Press) conditions the county has had to re­evaluate water uses and determine that a severe reduction in irrigation needs to occur," Cardona said. "Also, the county received a water bill for last year’s use that was $300,000 and the county estimates Ms. Hart was responsible for at least half of the use. Ms. Hart was notified that her lease will end on May 30." A Facebook group called "Save the Horses at Mojave Narrows" has formed in an effort to keep the horses at the park's stables. A Spring Valley Lake woman named Rachelle "Shelly" Ziskrout has reached out to Hart for her blessing to start an online petition to lobby for their retention at the park as local icons, while also claiming other water uses could be curtailed instead. The park currently remains open for horseback riding and other amenities. Cardona said that "the county is evaluating the possibility of bringing equestrian activities back to the park in the future, but water use remains an issue along with finding the best vendor to provide services appropriate for the park and our visitors." Hart is turning her attention to her cattle at the park. She said it is a bad time of year to transport the cattle and calves, and the resulting separations that cause distress and illness in the calves. "We're really trying to push for October," Hart said, but the county is "just saying no." Gary Brodeur may be contacted at 760­951­6245 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @DP_gbrodeur.

HOW TO HELP

Offers of help in moving or housing Vickie Hart's herd of cattle can be made by calling Hart 760­403­6863.

http://www.vvdailypress.com/article/20150520/NEWS/150529959 Print Page

http://www.vvdailypress.com/article/20150520/NEWS/150529959?template=printart 1/1 5/21/2015 Lovingood appoints Tuckerman to workforce board ­ Gate House

Print Page By Staff reports

May 20. 2015 12:01AM

Lovingood appoints Tuckerman to workforce board

First District Supervisor Robert Lovingood has appointed Anita Tuckerman, director of asset services for Stirling Development at Southern California Logistics Airport in Victorville, to the San Bernardino County Workforce Investment Board. “Anita brings a wealth of knowledge, executive experience and community service to the board,” Lovingood said. Tuckerman has served on the Victor Valley Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors since 2011, as well as chairman of the board in 2013­14. She also serves on the High Desert Opportunity Conference Board, St Mary’s St. Joseph Health Care Foundation Committee Board and on the City of Victorville’s Redevelopment Oversight Committee. She is a licensed real estate agent and holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from California State University, Fullerton.

http://www.vvdailypress.com/article/20150520/NEWS/150529946 Print Page

http://www.vvdailypress.com/article/20150520/NEWS/150529946?template=printart 1/1 5/21/2015 Accused McStay family killer hires legal team ­ Gate House

Print Page By Shea Johnson Staff Writer

May 20. 2015 5:06PM

Accused McStay family killer hires legal team

VICTORVILLE — Accused McStay family killer Charles Merritt has hired a four­attorney legal team, including Victorville Attorney Jimmy Mettias, it was announced Wednesday. Mettias' announcement that he was retained by Merritt, along with Victorville attorneys David Askander, Jim Terrell and Sharon Brunner, ensures Friday's scheduled preliminary hearing will be continued as the new legal team gets up to speed. In particular, the attorneys will have to examine some 10,000 pages of evidence. Mettias told the Daily Press that the mountain of documents necessitated more than one attorney. He also said it was his understanding that the San Bernardino County District Attorney's office could potentially add two more deputy district attorneys to prosecute the case. Private attorney Jimmy Mettias speaks to District Attorney spokesman Chris Lee did not immediately respond to a message inquiring about whether two more reporters Tuesday in a hallway at the San prosecutors would be added to aid Deputy District Attorney Sean Daugherty. Bernardino Justice Center. Mettias "Every case is like a puzzle," Mettias said. "This (case) to me seems like, 'here's a bunch of pieces that don't fit, but we're potentially could represent Charles going to force them together to make them fit.' Merritt, who is acused of killing four members of the McStay Family. (James "It's confirmed to me Mr. Merritt's innocence." Quigg, Daily Press) Both Mettias and Askander were present at the preliminary hearing Tuesday. At the time, Mettias said there were "some issues" that needed to be worked out before he could say whether he was officially representing Merritt. The uncertain status of Merritt's representation was part of a confluence of events that ultimately pushed the hearing to Friday. Mettias expanded on those "issues" Wednesday, saying that it wasn't a matter of whether Merritt was hesitant about abandoning his pro per status; Mettias was simply finalizing the team. That team includes two attorneys who have recent experience working on a high­profile case. Terrell and Brunner represented Francis Pusok, the man whose beating at the hands of sheriff's deputies after a horseback pursuit was caught on video by an NBC4 news helicopter last month in Apple Valley. Pusok recently settled with the county for $650,000 minus $30,000 he owed in child support. Merritt, meanwhile, has acted as his own attorney since late January, when he decided to part ways with Attorney Robert Ponce. The shift to pro per was painted by Merritt and Ponce as a means to accelerate proceedings as Merritt worried that congestive heart failure could shorten his life expectancy. He was diagnosed in November, the same month he was arrested. In a statement Wednesday, Mettias acknowledged Merritt's desire to "move forward quickly and without further delay," but Merritt's decision to hire a legal team might appear to contradict the narrative earlier offered by Merritt and Ponce. Mettias agreed that the next step was to begin looking through evidence. "There's some technology that can be used to assist in that," he said. "Obviously, that's a very important part to this whole thing. The other part is we do want to make sure that the jury pool is not completely one­sided, which we believe it is at this point." He did not provide further details, only to say that the legal team will provide information "important for the people to know." Merritt is accused of killing his former business associate Joseph McStay, 40, his wife Summer, 43, and their two young sons in 2010. After they disappeared from their Fallbrook home, their bodies were found in shallow graves in open desert north of Victorville in November 2013. Shea Johnson may be reached at 760­955­5368 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @DP_Shea.

http://www.vvdailypress.com/article/20150520/NEWS/150529962 Print Page

http://www.vvdailypress.com/article/20150520/NEWS/150529962?template=printart 1/1 5/21/2015 Hesperia to enact water conservation measures ­ Gate House

Print Page By Rene Ray De La Cruz Staff Writer

May 20. 2015 12:01AM

Hesperia to enact water conservation measures

HESPERIA — Residents will soon have to cut back on watering their lawns and trees after the city council enacted emergency water conservation measures during a meeting on Tuesday. In an effort to meet the state’s mandate to cut water usage during severe drought conditions, the council enacted additional components of the Stage 2 water conservation measure to the Hesperia Municipal Code, which includes the prohibition of watering exterior vegetation on Tuesdays and Thursdays. A city staff report said the cutback should bring a 29 percent reduction in water usage and fulfill the state’s requirements. It also stated that the five­day irrigation cycle would allow water customers to maintain their landscape, especially during hot summer months. City staff also mentioned the newly adopted California State Water Resources Control Board measures, which includes drinking water provided by restaurants upon customer request only, hotels and motels more emphatically enacting a policy providing guests the option of choosing not to have towels and linens laundered daily, and the prohibition of potable water usage for outdoor landscapes during and within 48 hours of measurable rainfall. Staff said enforcement of the water measures will be done by city staff and will address extreme violation on a case­by­case basis. The council tabled the water agenda item during a meeting in April and said it would take a "wait­and­see" stance as they expected the state to make further mandates. During that time, the council discussed joining other agencies in litigation against Sacramento and its “unfunded mandates." At that time, Holland also said during the recent High Desert Water Summit, the Mojave Water Agency reported that Hesperia's residential water consumption was down by roughly 50 percent since 2000. On May 5, the SWRCB’s regulations placed water suppliers on a tiered conservation standard based on residential gallons per capita per day during the summer months of 2013. Consequently, the water district’s new reduction standard was set at 32 percent to be achieved by between June and February 2016. Staff said failure to implement the water conservation measures would result in a $10,000­a­day fine by the state. “Not one of us wants to approve this,” Councilman Paul Russ said. “But we don’t have a choice. We’d don’t want to be on the state’s radar.” Rene Ray De La Cruz may be reached at 760­951­6227, RDeLa [email protected] or on Twitter @DP_ReneDeLaCruz.

http://www.vvdailypress.com/article/20150520/NEWS/150529953 Print Page

http://www.vvdailypress.com/article/20150520/NEWS/150529953?template=printart 1/1 5/20/2015 Hesperia deputies search for stolen backhoe Hesperia deputies search for stolen backhoe Posted: 05/20/15, 9:40 AM PDT Updated: 2 hrs ago sbsun.com

By Douglas Saunders

Deputies are looking for a backhoe apparently stolen over the weekend in Heperia.

The backhoe is yellow with a silver bucket on the front and has damage to the right front tire, sheriff’s officials said in a written statement.

It was last seen parked at a railroad crossing near Ranchero Road. Very little information about the theft was released, but a red, white, and blue, Union Pacific shield is on the engine cover of the backhoe. Sheriff’s officials said there’s no suspect information available.

http://www.sbsun.com/general­news/20150520/hesperia­deputies­search­for­stolen­backhoe 1/1 5/21/2015 Missing 86­year­old man found safe ­ Gate House

Print Page By Staff reports

May 20. 2015 5:48PM

Missing 86­year­old man found safe

BARSTOW — San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department officials said Wednesday morning that an elderly, diabetic Barstow man who was declared missing Tuesday afternoon had been found. Barstow Sheriff's Station Capt. Jon Marhoefer announced on Twitter around 11:10 a.m. that Rolland Towne, 86, was located alive and "is receiving medical treatment." San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department officials said in a statement that Towne was found by a deputy and a volunteer search­and­rescue member at 10:03 a.m. Wednesday roughly three miles southwest of the campsite near Cuddeback Road and Fremont Peak. Paramedics checked him for injuries and he was flown to a local hospital for treatment of dehydration and scratches. Towne was reported missing on Monday. He was reportedly on a camping trip with family and left the campsite at approximately 5:30 a.m. The campsite is located off of Highway 395 near Cuddeback Road and Fremont Peak, in unincorporated Barstow. Deputies from the Barstow Sheriff's Station along with search and rescue personnel, the California Highway Patrol helicopter and Sheriff’s Department helicopter participated in the search, along with a K­9 Unit from the Rancho Cucamonga Sheriff's Station.

http://www.desertdispatch.com/article/20150520/NEWS/150529976 Print Page

http://www.desertdispatch.com/article/20150520/NEWS/150529976?template=printart 1/1 5/21/2015 Redlands city manager and city attorney to get raises, pay own retirement Redlands city manager and city attorney to get raises, pay own retirement By Sandra Emerson , Redlands Daily Facts sbsun.com

REDLANDS>> The City Council on Tuesday approved new contracts for the city manager and city attorney, which include salary increases and a change in their retirement contributions.

City Manager N. Enrique Martinez and City Attorney Dan McHugh are set to get a 3 percent increase to their base salaries, effective immediately, and an additional 3 percent increase in 2016.

They will get an additional 7 percent bump to their salaries in order to compensate for their having to pay 7 percent toward retirement, which they were previously not doing.

“It’s been seven or eight years since anybody had a raise,” said Mayor Paul Foster on Wednesday. “The percentages are based on the same percent many bargaining groups got. Those two individual senior managers report directly to the council. They had not benefited from any type of adjustment in all those years.”

These salary increases follow increases negotiated with several of the city’s employee groups, which were approved by the council in April.

The council agreed to the changes during closed session and approved the new contracts during open session. The contracts were made available online Wednesday morning.

With the 7 percent and the 3 percent increases, Martinez’s base salary increases from $240,487 to about $265,041 in the first year of the contract.

McHugh’s base salary will increase from $212,659 to about $234,371 in the first year.

Of that, Martinez and McHugh will each be paying the 7 percent to PERS that the city used to pay on their behalf.

The increases in base salary also means increases in taxes and other benefits paid by the city, said Carl Baker, city spokesman, who confirmed all of the figures by phone Wednesday.

Martinez’ new contract will cost the city about $9,500 during the first year and $9,700 in the second year. On top of that the city will pay about $3,800 more annually.

McHugh’s new contract will cost the city about $8,200 for the first year and $8,500 for the second year. On top of that the city will pay about $3,100 more annually.

“What (Martinez) will see is the 3 percent. The 7 percent is a wash for him and Dan,” Baker said.

According to the State Controller’s Office website, in 2013, Martinez received $354,366 in http://www.sbsun.com/government­and­politics/20150520/redlands­city­manager­and­city­attorney­to­get­raises­pay­own­retirement 1/2 5/21/2015 Redlands city manager and city attorney to get raises, pay own retirement wages, retirement and health benefits; and McHugh, $331,315.

Martinez, who was hired in 2007, is eligible for lifetime medical and dental insurance through the city after being employed there for 15 years, which is offered to all city employees.

The city cannot reduce Martinez’ annual base salary or benefits unless the same reductions are made to the Redlands Association of Management Employees’ agreements.

The new contracts also include language now required following the scandal in the city of Bell.

Martinez and McHugh, who was hired in 1994, are at­will employees and can be terminated with or without cause at any time.

If terminated without cause, they would be eligible for severance pay.

“Their contracts can be reviewed at any time at the request of any council member throughout the course of the year,” Foster said.

Foster said he asked that the contract be framed and ready to fill in, in case changes were agreed upon in closed session. An item was placed on the agenda as a placeholder.

The council approved the contracts without public discussion on Tuesday.

“It’s a confidential personnel matter that was discussed in detail in closed session,” Foster said. “Because it was so simple and there wasn’t much to it, there wasn’t really a need to go into a lengthy conversation there at the dais.”

http://www.sbsun.com/government­and­politics/20150520/redlands­city­manager­and­city­attorney­to­get­raises­pay­own­retirement 2/2 5/21/2015 Print Article: EDITORIAL: Privatization and the future of San Bernardino

EDITORIAL: Privatization and the future of San Bernardino 2015­05­20 16:18:46

The San Bernardino City Council approved its bankruptcy exit plan Monday on a 6­1 vote.

The exit plan comes nearly three years after the city sought bankruptcy protection, with outsourcing services and impairing every creditor other than city employees’ pension system proposed as the way forward.

Outsourcing services is a critical step that the city should have taken long ago. Whenever there are efficiencies to be gained, costs lowered or better controlled and opportunities to limit the size of government without compromising service, that route that should be taken.

One group most upset at this strategy is the firefighters union, whose members’ salaries, benefits and pensions have been a disproportionate burden on taxpayers.

“The first responsibility of any city is the protection and safety of its residents,” the union’s vice president, Steve Tracy, said at Monday’s meeting. “Privatizing fire protection puts the bottom line ahead of public safety, pure and simple.”

The city thus far has met with three entities, two public and one private, for fire services.

Still, the arguments about privatization are familiar. Profiting is demonized, while high salaries and bloated spending are considered perfectly reasonable so long as government employees and agencies are involved.

San Bernardino, like all cities, has finite resources.

For decades, city leaders poorly managed those resources, spending more than they could sustain and doling out money to politically helpful public employee unions.

Andrew Belknap of Management Partners, which helped craft the city’s exit plan, spoke of the problem of keeping so many services in­house.

“The city has ineffective service delivery,” said Mr. Belknap, whose presentation to the City Council noted that “other cities operate at lower costs with fewer employees.”

Additionally, the reliance on in­house service delivery contributes to escalating pension obligations, “making in­ house service provision, for certain functions, unsustainable.”

To that point, the city presently projects that pension contributions alone will soon engulf over 19 percent of the city budget. While there may be some appeal in keeping city services in­house, in all reality such a commitment can lead governments to an unreasonable fiscal situation.

Whether efficiencies come about through contracting with other government entities or with the private sector shouldn’t matter, so long as residents receive the best possible service at the best possible price.

© Copyright 2015 Freedom Communications. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Site Map

http://www.pe.com/common/printer/view.php?db=pressenterprise&id=767736 1/1 5/21/2015 San Bernardino could privatize fire services San Bernardino could privatize fire services By Ryan Hagen , The Sun sbsun.com

SAN BERNARDINO >> The city might become the first in the state to rely on a for­profit firm for firefighting and emergency medical services, but to do so it will have to overcome opposition that’s already mounting up and down the state.

The City Council committed Monday night in a 6­1 vote to a plan that includes contracting out for those services — and depends on $7 million to $10 million in projected savings from that move to help the city’s bankruptcy exit plan survive — and proposals from interested groups were due at 4 p.m. Wednesday.

The bids themselves won’t be made public until the week before the June 15 meeting at which the council will be asked to vote on the proposal, according to city spokeswoman Monica Lagos, but a private firm called Centerra was one of three participants at a May 5 meeting designed to give information to potential bidders.

The others were the San Bernardino County Fire Department and the Colton Fire Department, which shares resources with the Loma Linda Fire Department.

Even before Monday’s vote, the head of the union representing San Bernardino County firefighters, Jim Grigoli, spent Monday in Sacramento rallying opposition to the move.

“I’d be doing the same if this was Orange County ... and I think you will have the California Professional Firefighters standing against this 100 percent, and (union) locals from all of the state,” Grigoli said by phone. “You’re talking about public safety. You’re crossing a fine line when you do that with a private company.”

City officials have made a long, often­contested effort to outsource fire services, and City Manager Allen Parker received in August permission to begin discussions with other entities that could take over in the city.

Only more recently, after Cal Fire refused to bid to provide those services, did privatization become a prominent option, but privatizing as much as possible helps the city escape the burden of high payments to the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, Parker said Monday.

Fire and trash services are the two highest­priority targets for outsourcing because of the money it will bring into the general fund, according to the city’s analysis, but close to 20 other services are also on the outsourcing list. One function that won’t be outsourced is policing, according to Parker, because the only possible entity to take that over would be the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department and he believes calculations that it wouldn’t save any money.

Councilman Jim Mulvihill drew particular attention when he predicted Monday that San Bernardino would be the first of many cities to privatize its Fire Department.

http://www.sbsun.com/government­and­politics/20150520/san­bernardino­could­privatize­fire­services 1/3 5/21/2015 San Bernardino could privatize fire services “Every time you pick up the newspaper, there’s another city that’s having financial problems,” Mulvihill said Wednesday. “(And) all cities want to economize regardless of their financial situation. From my point of view, why should we be offering a heavily subsidized service, when we’re going to have the same system — when a firefighter comes up to our door, or EMS, we don’t ask what union they’re in. We just want a firefighter there.”

A major concern, as Parker acknowledged Monday, is the possibility that other agencies might not enter a mutual aid agreement with a private firm. Several officials from nearby fire agencies said they would oppose entering such agreements, in which nearby agencies respond to calls when needed or work together on major fires, with a private firm.

County Fire Department spokeswoman Tracey Martinez said mutual aid decisions are made case by case, and a private firm might be unable to get enough.

“The use of a private firm for fire service could potentially be a problem,” she said. “...San Bernardino County Fire has many concerns when it comes to privatization: accountability, training and qualifications to name a few.”

But Centerra spokeswoman Susan Pitcher said the firm had provided fire services in Hall County, Georgia, and Estero, Florida, when it was previously known as Wackenhut Services.

“The model for public­private partnership has been in place in the United States for more than a half­century,” she said in an email. “In addition to our fire and emergency services portfolio, companies like Rural Metro have been providing services for municipalities around the U.S. since 1948, while companies like Falck claim more than 100 years of experience in this arena globally.”

The training Centerra’s firefighters receive is the same as public agencies, and each of their fire departments have mutual aid agreements, she said.

Still, Grigoli found a sympathetic audience with officials beyond firefighters for his message that privatizing public safety is fundamentally wrong.

“While I am supportive of the City contracting with private companies for non­public safety services such as refuse collection and street cleaning, I believe public safety services, such as firefighting, should not be privatized,” Assemblyman Marc Steinorth, R­Rancho Cucamonga, said in an email Wednesday. “As someone who cares deeply about our community of San Bernardino and as your Assemblyman, I want to make clear that I am not opposed to the City contracting out fire services in order to capture the cost savings they desperately need, but I am opposed to contracting out a core public safety service to a private company.”

Among Centerra’s clients are Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral, Florida, and JPL in Pasadena.

City fire union representatives said their response would come in the form of a written statement Wednesday. http://www.sbsun.com/government­and­politics/20150520/san­bernardino­could­privatize­fire­services 2/3 5/21/2015 San Bernardino could privatize fire services As for the suggestion that a private company would be accountable to a profit motive instead of the public, Mulvihill said that was already the case for the city’s firefighters.

“They’re sort of the flagship of irresponsibility in terms of reacting to the city’s financial crisis,” he said, referring to lawsuits, dropping out of bankruptcy mediation, and union members’ earlier refusal to accept 10 percent lower pay as other unions did. “And so to my point of view, we don’t have a very responsive fire union. In America, competition is what makes business competitive. And if they (unions) come out in force, it’s because they’re threatened by competition.”

http://www.sbsun.com/government­and­politics/20150520/san­bernardino­could­privatize­fire­services 3/3 5/21/2015 New Rialto Unified superintendent Cuauhtémoc Avila meets district employees, residents New Rialto Unified superintendent Cuauhtémoc Avila meets district employees, residents By Beau Yarbrough , The Sun sbsun.com

Incoming Superintendent Cuauhtémoc Avila, right, talks with Ernest Garcia during Avila’s welcome event at the Rialto Unified School District’s Chavez/Huerta Center for Education in Rialto on Wednesday. Garcia was the first Latino administrator to work for the school district. Avila is its first Latino superintendent. (Photo by Jennifer Cappuccio Maher/Inland Valley Daily Bulletin)

RIALTO >> Residents got their first chance to meet the new school district superintendent on Wednesday afternoon.

“I’ve never been one to care so much about the title, because I believe that each of us are equally responsible and contribute, even if it’s just one little bit,” Cuauhtémoc Avila said, speaking to a crowd made up in large part of his future employees. “I will work with you and approach my leadership that way, in order to make that difference.”

Avila, 47, who works as the assistant superintendent for educational programs for the Los Angeles County Office of Education, will take over the 26,000­student Rialto Unified School District on July 1. He met with residents at a district mixer prior to Wednesday night’s school board meeting.

“I am sure you all will be pleased with our choice because we made our choice for you all,” board member Dina Walker told the more than 100 assembled.

After 13 months without a permanent superintendent, the Rialto Unified school board hired Avila earlier this month to replace Harold Cebrun, who retired in March 2014.

Avila will be taking over from interim Superintendent Mohammad Z. Islam, the district’s associate superintendent of business services, who has held the interim position since Cebrun’s departure.

Wednesday afternoon, Islam gave Avila an expensive pen, symbolically handing over the superintendent responsibilities.

“We are one family,” Islam said. “We’re moving in a good direction.”

Avila is taking the lead at a district that’s had more than its share of very public problems over the past two years, most famously accountant Judith Oakes embezzling $1.8 million and the district giving its eighth­graders a printout from a Holocaust denial website and asking them whether or not they thought the Holocaust occurred.

Audits have pointed to widespread problems with the district’s contracting and purchasing procedures — and officials’ lack of adherence to them — as well as problems with its special education programs.

The new superintendent is undeterred by the challenges ahead.

“I know that together, we are going to be able to really build on the successes that are here, right now, and really develop a culture of academic and professional excellence here in the district,” Avila told the crowd. “I look forward to joining you officially on July 1.”

Avila will be paid $211,600 for his first year on the job. Cebrun’s final salary was $240,600.

“This is the first Hispanic superintendent we’ve had for the Rialto Unified school district and that’s monumental,” board member Joe Ayala said. “This man is here to stay.”

http://www.sbsun.com/social­affairs/20150520/new­rialto­unified­superintendent­cuauhtxe9moc­avila­meets­district­employees­residents 2/2 5/21/2015 Our view: City did right thing with dog photo ­ Gate House

Print Page By DAILY PRESS EDITORIAL BOARD

May 20. 2015 8:59AM

Our view: City did right thing with dog photo

A disturbing photo of a bloody dog in a bloody room made the rounds on the Internet last week, stirring the anger of animal lovers all over the nation. We later learned from the City of Hesperia that yes, this photo was indeed taken at the Hesperia Animal Shelter, likely in 2013. By the end of the week, city officials had done the right thing, and handed it over to the Sheriff’s Department for criminal investigation. While many in the public already have convicted the shelter of wrongdoing, as far as we know nobody really knows the circumstances surrounding this picture. If Hesperia officials know what happened to this dog, and why, they aren’t saying. At this point we will assume they had no knowledge of this incident. Some animal care experts we contacted last week urged caution before jumping to conclusions. We agree. At this point we can only speculate how this dog came to be in the shelter in that condition. It’s best to let those who make their living doing such investigations to have the time to see what they can find out. While this same shelter was targeted earlier this year when one of its workers was seen on video dragging a dog by the lease down a linoleum floor, we find it hard to believe the workers there are uncaring. Remember, this same shelter has been taking part in a photography program that has resulted in more animals being adopted than were previously. Hesperia officials ordered an investigation into the earlier dragging video, an investigation that is complete. We think they should release that report to the public — redacting names of any employees that were disciplined or fired, if necessary — in the interest of transparency. There are a lot of people wondering what’s going on in Hesperia at the shelter. Releasing this report would help assure residents that the incident was fully vetted and handled. Besides, taxpayer dollars paid for this investigation, so the public should have access to it. We hope that these incidents have been blown out of proportion, but applaud city officials for taking them seriously. We await release of the first investigative report and eagerly await the results of the Sheriff’s Department’s investigation. The public needs to be able to trust those who work at the shelter and for the city. These steps will ensure that it can.

http://www.vvdailypress.com/article/20150520/OPINION/150529984 Print Page

http://www.vvdailypress.com/article/20150520/OPINION/150529984/12966/OPINION?template=printart 1/1 5/21/2015 Ontario City Council to stay the course in fighting PUC decision Ontario City Council to stay the course in fighting PUC decision By Grace Wong , Inland Valley Daily Bulletin DailyBulletin.com

IDB­L­TOWNHALL­01 Chino Hills resident Ric Cabigas speaks with a Southern California Edison representative during a town Hall Meeting, on Wednesday, October 9, 2013, where residents were able visit various displays and interact one­on­one with experts on topics of interest related to the undergrounding project for the Tehachapi Renewable Transmission Project (TRTP). (Photo by Frank Perez for the Daily Bulletin)

ONTARIO >> City Council members say that despite the California Public Utilities Commission’s decision to deny their request to put the Tehachapi Renewable Transmission Project lines underground in this city, they will continue to oppose the decision and find alternatives.

“At this point, the City Council intends to continue this legal fight,” said City Attorney John Brown. “Pending some further discussion with our Archibald Ranch friends and neighbors with respect to the city and the residents’ remaining legal options, it is expected that that almost immediately should result in a formal request to the PUC to reconsider its denial of this city’s request in this matter.

“I am looking forward to assisting in the dialogue with the Archibald Ranch friends and neighbors of ours regarding what our remaining legal alternatives might be.”

The council made its decision known Tuesday evening.

After seeing the success of Chino Hills in getting the PUC to underground the lines in that city, residents organized and formed “Save Archibald Ranch,” recruiting the city to help them halt construction of the lines and put them underground.

On Oct. 31, the city filed a request for modification and a stay on the construction of the TRTP, a 250­mile sustainable energy project that aims to bring wind energy from Central California to the Los Angeles area.

Then, on March 6, a PUC administrative law judge issued a recommendation for denial, prompting Archibald Ranch residents to invite Michael Picker, president of the PUC, to take a personal tour in south Ontario on April 23.

But on May 7, the PUC voted unanimously to deny the city’s petition, filing a written decision May 15. http://www.dailybulletin.com/government­and­politics/20150519/ontario­city­council­to­stay­the­course­in­fighting­puc­decision 1/2 5/21/2015 Ontario City Council to stay the course in fighting PUC decision “It was absolutely horrible. We were devastated,” said Save Archibald Ranch board member Wendy Hamilton of the decision. “It was surprising and yet it wasn’t, if that makes any sense at all, because we felt like the odds were stacked up against us. But in all reality, Edison is a huge corporation and anybody who has a level of education or no level of education can look at that and know that there’s danger in putting those poles so close to people and actually not doing what’s right, which is burying the lines.”

Thomas Rice, the attorney who is handling the case, said the next step would be to file a request for rehearing before June 15, asking the PUC to reconsider its decision. If the PUC does not take up the case, then the city could take further steps.

“We could file an action potentially elsewhere,” Rice said. “But at this stage we don’t know where exactly.”

Rice emphasized that any of the steps the city would take would be in line with what the residents want and that they would be involved with the process.

“We appreciate the city and we want the city to be behind us and we want to look at what our next options are,” said Hamilton. “And I think one of those options is we need to get Edison out and have them have a clearer map than the ones that they’ve given us, which still aren’t clear and outline what we’re dealing with, what we’re surrounded by.

“They may not be able to tell us what they’re going to do about it because at this point, the CPUC has allowed them not to do anything about it, but we’re going to push and hopefully that’s going to work in our favor.”

http://www.dailybulletin.com/government­and­politics/20150519/ontario­city­council­to­stay­the­course­in­fighting­puc­decision 2/2 5/21/2015 Bear arrival causes commotion in Rancho Cucamonga neighborhood Bear arrival causes commotion in Rancho Cucamonga neighborhood Posted: 05/20/15, 5:52 PM PDT Updated: 2 hrs ago DailyBulletin.com

RANCHO CUCAMONGA >> A black bear disrupted things in a neighborhood north of Heritage Park on Wednesday morning, but the bruin decided the attention he attracted was too much and soon retreated back into the San Gabriel Mountains.

Residents reported the bear in backyards about 8 a.m. in the vicinity of Hidden Farm Road and Moonstone Avenue.

“It appears that he was scared off by the commotion he attracted,” said San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman Jodi Miller.

Deputies were called as were wardens from the state Department of Fish and Game.

The sheriff’s helicopter was also summoned to make sure the bear had left the scene.

City officials advised that residents remain in their homes any time bears are seen wandering in their neighborhoods.

http://www.dailybulletin.com/environment­and­nature/20150520/bear­arrival­causes­commotion­in­rancho­cucamonga­neighborhood 1/1 5/21/2015 Rancho Cucamonga approves relocation of family sports center Rancho Cucamonga approves relocation of family sports center By Liset Marquez , Inland Valley Daily Bulletin DailyBulletin.com

RANCHO CUCAMONGA >> A recommendation to relocate the RC Family Sports Center to a $14.3 million city­owned building in the southern part of town was approved by the City Council at a special meeting Wednesday afternoon.

The council unanimously backed a plan to move the sports complex from a retail center in the 900 block of San Bernardino Road to a future building to be located in the parking of the Epicenter complex, where the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes play. Officials expect to complete the 31,500­square­foot project by December 2017.

“This is a gymnasium that needs to be done, and fortunately we own property that can be utilized,” said Mayor Dennis Michael.

Community Services Director Nettie Nielsen said the city’s former redevelopment agency entered into a 20­year lease with owners of the retail center to create the center.

Back in 1997 when the 34,000­square­foot center opened, the city has no indoor basketball courts. Nielsen said the RC Family Sports Center has become the hub of sports activity for the city with about 130,000 annual visitors.

When the city realized the lease for the center was set to expire in 2017, staff began exploring options for a new location. The retail center is now bank­owned and is not interested in extending the lease with Rancho Cucamonga, Nielsen said.

Officials hope to finalize the design plans by August and break ground by October 2016, she added.

Michael said he felt comfortable with the two and a half year timeline for the project.

“I know it’s a short time because we do have to move out of there. I think it’s time for us to move forward so we can meet our timeline and make sure there isn’t an interruption to the public using the facility,” he said.

Under the relocation plan, the future sports center would only lose one basketball court from the original design. But Nielsen noted that the current courts aren’t always utilized on game days.

The conceptual design proposes three indoor courts, office space for city staff and three outdoor basketball courts.

If the city opted to remain in the current location it would have to pay $350,000 a year on the lease, $213,000 in annual operational costs and more than $70,000 in utilities, Nielsen said.

http://www.dailybulletin.com/government­and­politics/20150520/rancho­cucamonga­approves­relocation­of­family­sports­center 1/1 5/21/2015 Search Warrant Leads To Four Drug­Related Arrests — ROTWNEWS.com

Home Weather » Contact Us » ROTW »

Subscribe Search Warrant Leads To Four Drug­Related Arrests

in Crime, CRIME / Most WANTED / by Michael P. Neufeld / on May 21, 2015 at 12:02 am /

Deputies and detectives from the Twin Peaks Sheriff’s Station made four drug­related arrests following the service of a search warrant in the 23800 block of Lake Drive in Crestline. (Contributed Photo)

By G. T. Houts

Crestline, CA – Twin Peaks Sheriff’s deputies and detectives made four drug­related arrests following http://rotwnews.com/2015/05/21/search­warrant­leads­to­four­drug­related­arrests/ 1/8 5/21/2015 Search Warrant Leads To Four Drug­Related Arrests — ROTWNEWS.com the execution of a search warrant in the 23800 block of Lake Drive in Crestline.

The warrant was issued following an investigation that reportedly uncovered that the residence attached to a Lake Drive business may have been involved with the sales of methamphetamine and opiates.

During the search on Tuesday, May 19, deputies recovered paraphernalia consistent with drug sales.

THE ARRESTS

Deputies arrested Eric Dylan Dennison, 46, who was arrested for being in possession of a controlled substance for sales. He was booked at the Central Detention Center in San Bernardino and held on $50,000 bail. He is scheduled for a video arraignment on the charge at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 21.

The other subjects were arrested for being under the influence of a controlled substance. They were identified by deputies as Kidsa Allen, 31, Kurt Arman, 50, and Arturo Manuel Ponce, 38. Ponce was discovered to have an active arrest warrant for $26,000 out of the City of Torrance.

INFORMATION SOUGHT

Anyo0ne with information about the investigation is encouraged to call the Twin Peaks Sheriff’s Station at (909) 336­0687. Anonymous callers may also contact WE­TIP at 1­800­78­CRIME (27463) or at WE­ TIP online.

(124)

0

Tweet 0

Like 0

Comments are closed.

http://rotwnews.com/2015/05/21/search­warrant­leads­to­four­drug­related­arrests/ 2/8 5/21/2015 Detention facility rebuts allegations ­ Gate House

Print Page By Gary Brodeur Staff Writer

May 20. 2015 12:54PM

Detention facility rebuts allegations

ADELANTO — Following a public demonstration against immigrant detentions and an alleged case of neglected health care among those housed at the Adelanto Detention Facility West, the management company responded Wednesday to complaints to conditions at the facility.

About two dozen residents, activists and clergy members gathered across the street from the facility on Rancho Road on Tuesday, speaking about broken families and limited access into the detention facility.

"Our company has had a long­standing public­private partnership with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and its predecessor agency that dates back to the mid­1980s," a GEO Group spokesman wrote. "GEO's facilities, including the Adelanto Detention Facility, provide high­quality residential care and medical services in safe, secure and humane environments, and our company strongly refutes allegations to the contrary.

"Our facilities adhere to strict contractual requirements and standards set by ICE, and the agency employs several full­time, on­site contract monitors who have a physical presence at each of GEO’s facilities; our company works in partnership with ICE to continuously maintain the quality delivery of these services."

An ICE report found one Adelanto Detention Facility West detainee died of ailments in 2012 following serious errors in care, according to past reports. Another died due to a medical condition earlier this year and that incident is under investigation, ICE officials said.

Tuesday's picketers objected to the confinement of illegal immigrants at the facility and others like it, alleging that detainees do not have access to proper medical care. On Wednesday, the GEO Group joined ICE in refuting the protesters' allegations.

"GEO’s facilities are also independently accredited by the American Correctional Association, which is widely recognized as the foremost independent detention accreditation agency in the United States," the company's statement continued. "GEO’s facilities achieved an average score in excess of 99 percent during the most recent accreditation audits conducted by ACA, which reviews more than 450 independent standards, with four facilities, including the Adelanto Detention Facility, achieving a perfect score of 100 percent."

Gary Brodeur may be contacted at 760­951­6245 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @DP_gbrodeur.

http://www.vvdailypress.com/article/20150520/NEWS/150529972 Print Page

http://www.vvdailypress.com/article/20150520/NEWS/150529972?template=printart 1/1 Realignment, Incarceration, and Crime Trends in California POSTED BY : PUBLICCEOMAY 21, 2015IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT

By Magnus Lofstrom and Steven Raphael.

Summary

When California’s historic public safety realignment was implemented in October 2011, many were concerned about the impact it would have on crime rates. In a 2013 report, we found that realignment did not increase violent crime in its first year, but that it did lead to an increase in auto thefts. In this report, we assess whether these trends continued beyond realignment’s first year. We find that both the prison and jail populations increased slightly since 2012, which means that the number of offenders on the street did not rise from the 18,000 during realignment’s first year. This is likely to change with the implementation of Proposition 47, which further reduces California’s reliance on incarceration. Our analysis of updated state-level crime data from the FBI confirms our previous findings. Violent crime rates remain unaffected by realignment, and although California’s property crime rate decreased in 2013, it did not drop more than in comparable states—so the auto theft gap that opened up in 2012 has not closed. Research indicates that further reductions in incarceration may have a greater effect on crime trends; the state needs to implement effective crime prevention strategies—and it can learn about alternatives to incarceration successfully implemented by the counties as well as other states.

Realignment Continues To Unfold

California’s public safety realignment, prompted by a federal court mandate to reduce overcrowding in its expensive prison system, is in its fourth year of implementation. The reform decreased the state’s reliance on incarceration by changing the sentencing of non- serious, non-violent, and non-sexual felonies and modifying the sanctions for parole violators. Importantly, realignment shifted the responsibility for many lower-level offenders from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) to county jail and probation systems.1 Realignment reduced the prison population by about 27,000 by September 2012, the first year of the reform. County jail populations increased by only 9,000, which offset roughly one third of the decline in the prison population. The overall reduction in incarceration meant that more former inmates were on the street, which led to concerns about realignment’s impact on the long-run decline in state crime rates. Though 2012 crime data revealed increases in both violent and property crime, our 2013 PPIC report showed that these concerns were mostly unwarranted. We found no evidence that the increase in violent crime was greater than increases in appropriate comparison states. Part of the increase in property crime could be attributed to the prison population decline, but that impact was modest and limited to auto thefts.2 In this report, we extend our analysis to assess whether these trends continued into the second year of the reform.3 It is possible that counties refined their strategies and identified more effective crime prevention approaches. It is also possible that the increase in responsibilities and potentially insufficient resources limited the counties’ ability to do this.

Incarceration Trends

We begin by determining whether the substantial decrease in incarceration continued beyond the first year of realignment. Data on incarceration are more recent than crime data (currently limited to 2013 and earlier), so we can examine the prison population through February 2015 and the jail population through June 2014.

THE PRISON POPULATION DID NOT CONTINUE ITS FIRST-YEAR DECLINE

In September 2011, the month before realignment was implemented, California’s prison population stood at 160,700, or 431 inmates per 100,000 residents (Figure 1). Three months later it had dropped to 144,000, and by September 2012 it had fallen to 133,400 (355 inmates per 100,000 residents). After that, the population increased slowly until November 2014, when voters passed Proposition 47.4 After that, the prison population dropped by almost 5,000, to about 131,200 (or 341 inmates per 100,000 residents). This reduction—along with the increased use of in-state contract beds in both public and private facilities and the opening of a new health care facility in Stockton—has reduced overcrowding and brought the prison population into compliance with the federal court– ordered target of 137.5 percent of design capacity. The prison population now stands at 136.1 percent of design capacity, about 1,200 inmates below the mandate, ahead of the February 2016 deadline.5

Figure 1. After a big first-year drop, the prison population stopped declining until Proposition 47 passed

SOURCE: California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Weekly Population Report, January 2010–February 2015.

NOTE: Total prison population as of the last day of the month.

COUNTY JAIL POPULATIONS ARE GROWING AT A SLOWER RATE With the diversion of both newly sentenced lower-level felons and parole violators to county jail, California’s average daily jail population (ADP) increased significantly by the end of the first year of realignment (from about 71,800 to 80,900). California’s jail incarceration rate increased from about 191 per 100,000 residents before realignment to 214 a year later. Since then the rate has not changed much and now stands around 216. Although the county jail population has continued to rise, it is increasing at a much slower rate. The monthly average daily population increased by 1,800 in the second year of realignment and by an additional 350 in the first nine months of the third year. In other words, about 80 percent of the post-realignment increase in the jail population took place in the reform’s first year.

With a number of jails operating at full capacity and under court ordered population caps, increases in the jail population do not fully indicate realignment’s impact on incarceration. Early releases of jail inmates prompted by these population caps (known as capacity- constrained releases) also increased noticeably in the first year of realignment, from a monthly average of about 10,700 the year immediately before realignment to 12,300 during its first year, an increase of roughly 15 percent.6Average capacity constrained releases went up in the second year by about 700, and now hover around 13,100.

Figure 2. Jail populations have increased slowly since the first year of realignment

SOURCE: Board of State and Community Corrections, Jail Profile Survey, January 2010– June 2014.

THE TOTAL INCARCERATION RATE IS HOLDING STEADY

Overall, the data quite clearly show that realignment’s impact on both jail and prison incarceration was concentrated in the first year of implementation. The decline in prison population was not matched by the increase in jail population, so the combined jail and prison incarceration rate dropped from 619 per 100,000 residents to 566. Between September 2012 and June 2014, the combined jail and prison populations have increased at a pace slightly above the overall rate of population growth in the state. The total incarceration rate has increased only marginally, by 0.3 percent, to 568 inmates per 100,000 residents.7Furthermore, capacity-constrained releases have leveled off. In sum, the number of offenders not incarcerated as a result of realignment changed very little after the first year of the reform. It will be important to track the impact of Proposition 47—the prison population data reveal a noticeable drop of about 5,000 in the first four months since its passage in November 2014. But so far, to the extent that the overall decline in the incarceration rate was the main determinant behind the 2012 increase in property crime,8 our analysis suggests no additional impact of realignment on crime in 2013, unless the impact occurred with a delay. California’s Crime Rates Declined In 2013

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Uniform Crime Report data show that after increasing slightly in 2012, California’s violent crime rate dropped by 6.4 percent in 2013, to a 46-year low of 396 per 100,000 residents. As shown in Figure 3, the greatest percentage decrease in 2013 was in the murder rate, which dropped 8 percent—from 5 homicides per 100,000 residents to 4.6. But other violent crime categories also saw declines that ranged from 5.3 percent (rape) to 6.8 percent (aggravated assault).

Figure 3. California saw declines in all violent offense categories in 2013

SOURCE: FBI, Uniform Crime Reports, 2012–13.

NOTE: The percentage changes refer to the 2012–13 change in the crime rate, defined as number of crimes per 100,000 residents. Violent crime includes homicide, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault.

Property crime increased quite noticeably in 2012—by 7.8 percent—but dropped in 2013 by 3.8 percent (Figure 4). The decline was seen in all property crime categories, ranging from a 6.4 percent drop in burglaries to 2.8 percent in motor vehicle thefts. In spite of the drop in motor vehicle thefts from 444 per 100,000 residents to 431, California continues to have the highest auto theft rate in the country.

Figure 4. Property crime declined by less than violent crime in 2013

SOURCE: FBI Uniform Crime Reports, 2012–13.

NOTE: The percentage changes refer to the 2012–13 change in the crime rate, defined as number of crimes per 100,000 residents. Property crime includes burglary, motor vehicle theft, and larceny theft (including non-felonious larceny theft).

The encouraging news that crime rates have returned to their long-term declining trend might suggest that the 2012 increase was an anomaly. To better understand the extent to which this is true, we turn to a comparison of California’s crime trends to those of other states. If the observed 2012 increase in property crime was truly unrelated to realignment, we might expect California’s 2013 decline in crime rates to reduce or erase the gap between California and comparison states estimated in our 2013 report. HOW DOES CALIFORNIA’S DECLINE COMPARE TO OTHER STATES?

The FBI crime data show that the 2013 drop in violent crime rates in California was somewhat greater than, but roughly in line with, changes in other states. Table 1 shows that the statewide decline in violent crimes was slightly greater than the national average. Eighteen states experienced a greater decrease in the violent crime rate than California’s 6.4 percent, and 17 to 26 states experienced greater drops in murder, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault rates. California’s decline in violent crimes is greater than declines in neighboring states but less than what was observed in two other western states, Washington and Montana.

Table 1. The 2013 drop in California’s violent crime rates was comparable to declines in most other states

SOURCE: FBI Uniform Crime Reports, 2012–13.

NOTE: The percentage changes refer to the percent change in the number of crimes per 100,000 residents between 2012 and 2013. Property crime declined less in California than in the U.S. as a whole (Table 2). Thirty-three states saw greater property crime decreases than California. California’s property crime rate fell by less than the rates in three western states (Arizona, Idaho, and Wyoming). A handful of western states saw increases in property crime, including Nevada, New Mexico, and Washington.

Overall, the data suggests that the 2013 changes in crime in California do not stand out compared to trends nationwide or in neighboring and other western states.

Table 2. California’s 2013 property crime decrease was less than that of most other states

SOURCE: FBI Uniform Crime Reports, 2012–13.

NOTE: The percentage changes refer to the percent change in the number of crimes per 100,000 residents between 2012 and 2013.

Simple comparisons between California and other states cannot tell us conclusively whether its trends are truly unique. To determine whether crime trends have been affected by realignment, we identified a combination of states that best represents what California’s crime rates would have been had the state not implemented realignment.

REALIGNMENT’S MODEST IMPACT

As we did in our previous report, we use a data driven matching strategy to identify a combination of states with crime trends similar to California’s prior to realignment (the so- called synthetic control method).9 The post-realignment crime trends of this matched group of states best represent what the crime rates would have been in California had the state not implemented realignment. There is still no evidence that realignment has affected violent crime. Figure 5 shows that California’s violent crime rate continues to follow the trend of its comparison states. Post- realignment changes in violent crime in California fluctuate in ways that are similar to the comparison states, and none of the deviations from the trend are statistically significant.10 We also analyze each of the four violent crime offense trends separately and find that changes in rates of murder, rape, aggravated assault, and robbery in California do not stand out when compared to changes in other states.11

Figure 5. California’s violent crime trend continues to match trends in comparison states

SOURCE: Authors’ estimates based on annual state level data from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports, 2000–2013.

NOTE: The matched comparison states (with estimated weights in parentheses) are Florida (0.338), Maryland (0.161), Montana (0.068), New York (0.214), Rhode Island (0.191), and South Carolina (0.029).

Our analysis of property crime trends shows that the gap between California and other states that emerged in 2012 remains unchanged in 2013. Figure 6 shows that California’s pre-realignment property crime trend can be closely matched to that of a set of comparison states. The trends start to diverge in 2011, the year in which realignment was implemented; by 2012 there was a noticeable gap. In 2013, California’s property crime rate declined, but not at a greater rate than in comparable states. Our analysis of the three property offense categories of burglary, larceny theft, and motor vehicle theft reveals that the post-realignment increase in property crime has been driven by an increase in the auto theft rate.12

Figure 6. The property crime rate gap between California and comparison states persisted in 2013

SOURCE: Authors’ estimates based on annual state level data from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports, 2000–2013.

NOTE: The matched comparison states (with estimated weights in parentheses) are Colorado (0.033), Georgia (0.001), Kentucky (0.133), Massachusetts (0.032), Nevada (0.163), Tennessee (0.075), West Virginia (0.041), and Wyoming (0.522).

Policy Implications

As we have seen, one of realignment’s major effects in its first four years has been to decrease California’s reliance on incarceration. The state prison population has declined substantially without causing a corresponding one-to-one increase in the county jail population. As of June 2014, the state’s incarceration rate had dropped by slightly more than 8 percent, from 622 inmates per 100,000 residents to 570. Importantly, our research shows that this reduction has had a very limited impact on crime. As we reported in our earlier work, and updated here with 2013 crime data, our analyses reveal no evidence that realignment has so far had an impact on violent crime rates. The only effect we can attribute to realignment is a noticeable rise in motor vehicle thefts. Our estimates indicate that realignment increased the auto theft rate by slightly more than 70 per 100,000 residents, an increase of about 17 percent.

From a cost-benefit perspective, incarceration does prevent some crime, but at current rates its effect is very limited.13 The estimated crime preventive effects remain unchanged from our earlier report: each additional dollar spent on incarceration generates only 23 cents in “crime savings.” This suggests that the state would benefit from seeking alternative crime preventive strategies. There are many promising approaches—from early childhood programs and targeted interventions for high-risk youth to increased policing and cognitive behavioral therapy. Also promising are alternative systems for managing probationers and parolees—including swift-and-certain yet moderate sanctions that have been implemented by systems such as Hawaii’s Opportunity Probation with Enforcement (HOPE). Arguably, it is more important than ever to identify and implement effective strategies in California. The recently passed Proposition 47, which converted a number of drug and property offenses from felonies to misdemeanors, will further decrease California’s reliance on incarceration. At high incarceration rates, reduced reliance on incarceration appears to have a small and very limited effect on crime, but this effect might become larger with further declines.14 Hence, it is particularly important to redirect incarceration savings to effective crime-preventive strategies, such as those mentioned above. Additionally, realignment’s shift of responsibilities from the state to the county level means that a number of strategies have already been implemented—some more successfully than others.15 More resources should be devoted to identifying effective alternative strategies and determining whether those efforts can be expanded and replicated around the state. Originally posted at PPIC. 5/21/2015 Print Article: SALTON SEA: Series of temblors recorded on south shore

SALTON SEA: Series of temblors recorded on south shore STAFF REPORTS 2015­05­20 21:30:36

A series of earthquakes – the strongest a magnitude 4.1 – rocked the Salton Sea on Wednesday night, the US Geological Survey said.

The first temblor – and the strongest – struck at 8:15 p.m. underwater near the south shore. Within the next hour, four more quakes of magnitudes 2.9, 2.8, 3.3 and 2.6 were recorded near the south shore.

Seismologists say a flurry of earthquakes recorded in the same region is nothing to fear. In fact, earthquakes are happening all the time, but many are in remote places, so people don't feel them.

© Copyright 2015 Freedom Communications. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Site Map

http://www.pe.com/common/printer/view.php?db=pressenterprise&id=767770 1/1 5/20/2015 Largest U.S. Pensions Divided on Activism ­ WSJ

This copy is for your personal, non­commercial use only. To order presentation­ready copies for distribution to your colleagues, clients or customers visit http://www.djreprints.com.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/largest­u­s­pensions­divided­on­activism­1432075445

MǺŘĶĚȚȘ Ŀǻřģěșť Ų.Ș. Pěňșįǿňș Đįvįđěđ ǿň Ǻčťįvįșm

Ǻ bǿǻřđřǿǿm bǻțțŀě ŀǻșț ẅěěķ ǻț ĐųPǿňț Čǿ. ěxpǿșěđ ǻň ěměřģįňģ șpŀįț įň ħǿẅ țħě ňǻțįǿň’ș țẅǿ bįģģěșț pěňșįǿňș ǻģįțǻțě fǿř čħǻňģě įňșįđě čǿřpǿřǻțě Ǻměřįčǻ

http://www.wsj.com/articles/largest­u­s­pensions­divided­on­activism­1432075445 1/5 5/20/2015 Largest U.S. Pensions Divided on Activism ­ WSJ

Left, Calstrs’s Anne Sheehan. Right, Calpers’ director of global governance Anne Simpson. PHOTO: DANA RENE BOWLER/VENTURA COUNTY STAR/ASSOCIATED PRESS, MANNIE GARCIA/BLOOMBERG NEWS

Bỳ ĿİŻ ĦǾFFMǺŇ ǻňđ ȚİMǾȚĦỲ Ẅ. MǺŘȚİŇ Mǻỳ 19, 2015 6:44 p.m. ĚȚ

Ǻ bǿǻřđřǿǿm bǻțțŀě ŀǻșț ẅěěķ ǻț ĐųPǿňț Čǿ. ěxpǿșěđ ǻň ěměřģįňģ șpŀįț įň ħǿẅ țħě ňǻțįǿň’ș țẅǿ bįģģěșț pěňșįǿňș ǻģįțǻțě fǿř čħǻňģě įňșįđě čǿřpǿřǻțě Ǻměřįčǻ.

Țħě Čǻŀįfǿřňįǻ Șțǻțě Țěǻčħěřș’ Řěțįřěměňț Șỳșțěm, Ňǿ. 2 įň țħě Ų.Ș. bỳ ǻșșěțș, șųppǿřțěđ ǻň ěffǿřț bỳ ǻčțįvįșț įňvěșțǿř Ňěŀșǿň Pěŀțż țǿ břěǻķ ųp țħě įňđųșțřįǻŀ ģįǻňț ǻňđ țǻķě fǿųř bǿǻřđ șěǻțș. Řǿųģħŀỳ ǻ mįŀě ǻẅǻỳ įň Șǻčřǻměňțǿ, Čǻŀįf., țħě ŀǻřģěșț Ų.Ș. pěňșįǿň, țħě Čǻŀįfǿřňįǻ Pųbŀįč Ěmpŀǿỳěěș’ Řěțįřěměňț Șỳșțěm, đěčįđěđ įňșțěǻđ țǿ șįđě ẅįțħ ĐųPǿňț mǻňǻģěměňț, ẅħįčħ ẅǻș ǻbŀě țǿ đěfěǻț țħě pųșħ bỳ Mř. Pěŀțż ǻňđ ħįș fįřm Țřįǻň Fųňđ Mǻňǻģěměňț ĿP.

Țħě đįvįđěđ ŀǿỳǻŀțįěș řěpřěșěňț ǻ řěvěřșǻŀ fǿř țħě țẅǿ Čǻŀįfǿřňįǻ řěțįřěměňț șỳșțěmș ǻș țħěỳ ģřǻppŀě ẅįțħ ħǿẅ mųčħ řįșķ țǿ țǻķě țǿ ǻčħįěvě přǿmįșěđ řěțųřňș. Țǿģěțħěř țħěỳ mǻňǻģě ňěǻřŀỳ $500 bįŀŀįǿň, řǿųģħŀỳ ǿňě-fįfțħ ǿf ǻŀŀ ǻșșěțș ħěŀđ bỳ șțǻțě pěňșįǿňș įň țħě Ų.Ș., bųț ňěįțħěř ħǻș ěňǿųģħ țǿ čǿvěř fųțųřě ǿbŀįģǻțįǿňș țǿ řěțįřěěș.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/largest­u­s­pensions­divided­on­activism­1432075445 2/5 5/20/2015 Largest U.S. Pensions Divided on Activism ­ WSJ Đěčǻđěș ǻģǿ, Čǻŀpěřș běčǻmě ǿňě ǿf țħě fįřșț Ų.Ș. pěňșįǿňș ẅįŀŀįňģ țǿ pųbŀįčŀỳ čħǻŀŀěňģě čǿmpǻňįěș’ pǿŀįčįěș ǻňđ pěřfǿřmǻňčě ẅħįŀě Čǻŀșțřș ħǻđ ŀįțțŀě přěșěňčě įň țħě ǻčțįvįșț ẅǿřŀđ. Țħǿșě řǿŀěș fŀįppěđ įň řěčěňț ỳěǻřș ǻmįđ ǻ ňěẅ ẅǻvě ǿf įňvěșțǿř ǻčțįvįșm. Čǻŀpěřș ķěpț įțș đįșǻģřěěměňțș ẅįțħ čǿmpǻňįěș mǿșțŀỳ běħįňđ čŀǿșěđ đǿǿřș ẅħįŀě Čǻŀșțřș pųbŀįčŀỳ čǻŀŀěđ fǿř břěǻķųpș, șǻŀěș ǻňđ ǿțħěř ǿpěřǻțįǿňǻŀ čħǻňģěș șǿųģħț bỳ ǻčțįvįșț fųňđș—ǻňđ įň șǿmě čǻșěș įňvěșțěđ șįđě-bỳ-șįđě ẅįțħ țħěm.

Șįňčě 2012, Čǻŀpěřș ħǻș vǿțěđ ǻģǻįňșț mǻňǻģěměňț’ș řěčǿmměňđǻțįǿňș įň jųșț 8% ǿf čǿřpǿřǻțě ěŀěčțįǿňș ẅħįŀě Čǻŀșțřș ħǻș đǿňě șǿ 45% ǿf țħě țįmě, ǻččǿřđįňģ țǿ Přǿxỳ İňșįģħț. Țħěỳ țǿǿķ ǿppǿșįțě șįđěș ǿf bǿǻřđ bǻțțŀěș ǻț đřųģ čǿmpǻňỳ Fǿřěșț Ŀǻbǿřǻțǿřįěș İňč. įň 2012 ǻňđ Ģřįffįň Ŀǻňđ & Ňųřșěřįěș İňč. įň 2014, ẅįțħ Čǻŀpěřș bǻčķįňģ mǻňǻģěměňț ǻňđ Čǻŀșțřș șųppǿřțįňģ țħě įňșųřģěňțș, řěčǿřđș șħǿẅ.

Țħě țẅǿ fųňđș ǻčķňǿẅŀěđģě țħěįř đįvěřģįňģ vįěẅș. “Ẅě ẅǻňț țǿ ěňģǻģě čǿmpǻňįěș qųįěțŀỳ běħįňđ țħě șčěňěș,” șǻįđ Ǻňňě Șįmpșǿň, đįřěčțǿř ǿf ģŀǿbǻŀ ģǿvěřňǻňčě ǻț Čǻŀpěřș. Mș. Șįmpșǿň’ș čǿųňțěřpǻřț ǻț Čǻŀșțřș, Ǻňňě Șħěěħǻň, șǻįđ șųppǿřț fǿř ǻčțįvįșț įňvěșțǿřș șųčħ ǻș Țřįǻň měǻňș “ẅě’řě ňǿț ŀįmįțįňģ ǿųřșěŀvěș țǿ ǿňě ǻppřǿǻčħ.”

Țǿ bě șųřě, bǿțħ Čǻŀșțřș ǻňđ Čǻŀpěřș șǻįđ țħěỳ șħǻřě ǻ ģǿǻŀ ǿf ģěňěřǻțįňģ ŀǿňģ-țěřm șħǻřěħǿŀđěř vǻŀųě. Čǻŀșțřș șțįŀŀ ěňģǻģěș čǿmpǻňįěș běħįňđ țħě șčěňěș ǿň įșșųěș șųčħ ǻș ěxěčųțįvě pǻỳ ǿř bǿǻřđ čǿmpǿșįțįǿň, ǻňđ Čǻŀpěřș șțįŀŀ ħǻș ǿŀđěř įňvěșțměňțș įň ǻčțįvįșț fųňđș. http://www.wsj.com/articles/largest­u­s­pensions­divided­on­activism­1432075445 3/5 5/20/2015 Largest U.S. Pensions Divided on Activism ­ WSJ Čħǿǿșįňģ țǿ ǻŀįģň ẅįțħ ǻčțįvįșț įňvěșțǿřș șųčħ ǻș Ẅįŀŀįǻm Ǻčķmǻň ǿř Mř. Pěŀțż čǻřřįěș řěpųțǻțįǿňǻŀ ǻňđ pǿŀįțįčǻŀ řįșķș fǿř ǻňỳ pųbŀįč pěňșįǿň fųňđ. Čřįțįčș șǻỳ ǻčțįvįșțș ǿfțěň pųșħ fǿř șħǻķě-ųpș țħǻț čǻň ěňđǻňģěř jǿbș ǻňđ ŀěǻvě čǿmpǻňįěș ẅěǻķěř įň țħě ŀǿňģ țěřm.

“Ẅě ģěț ħųřț țẅįčě,” șǻįđ Vǿňđǻ Břųňșțįňģ, đįřěčțǿř ǿf țħě Șěřvįčě Ěmpŀǿỳěěș İňțěřňǻțįǿňǻŀ Ųňįǿň’ș čǻpįțǻŀ șțěẅǻřđșħįp přǿģřǻm, ẅħǿ ěđųčǻțěș pěňșįǿň țřųșțěěș ǿň įňvěșțměňț įșșųěș ǻňđ įș čřįțįčǻŀ ǿf țħě ǻčțįvįșț ǻppřǿǻčħ įň ģěňěřǻŀ. “Țħěřě ǻřě mǿřě qųěșțįǿňș țħǻň čǿmfǿřț” ǻbǿųț ǻčțįvįșm’ș běňěfįțș, șħě ǻđđěđ.

Bųț ǻčțįvįșț fųňđș ħǻvě ǿųțpěřfǿřměđ șǿmě řįvǻŀș įň řěčěňț ỳěǻřș ǻș pěňșįǿň fųňđș ħǻvě șțřųģģŀěđ țǿ ěřǻșě ŀǿșșěș įňčųřřěđ đųřįňģ țħě 2008 fįňǻňčįǻŀ čřįșįș. Ǿvěřǻŀŀ, ǻčțįvįșț fųňđș přǿđųčěđ fįvě-ỳěǻř ǻňňųǻŀįżěđ řěțųřňș ǿf 8.5% țħřǿųģħ Jǻň. 31, věřșųș 7.7% fǿř ǻŀŀ ħěđģě fųňđș, ǻččǿřđįňģ țǿ đǻțǻ přǿvįđěř Přěqįň. Țħǻț čǿmpǻřěș ẅįțħ țħě Ș&P 500’ș 15.6%, įňčŀųđįňģ đįvįđěňđș. Mǻňỳ ħěđģě fųňđș șǻỳ țħěỳ đǿň’ț ǻțțěmpț țǿ běǻț ǻ șțřǿňģ șțǿčķ- mǻřķěț řǻŀŀỳ.

Čǻŀșțřș ħǻș țřįpŀěđ țħě șįżě ǿf įțș ǻčțįvįșț fųňđ pǿřțfǿŀįǿ șįňčě 2012 țǿ řǿųģħŀỳ $5 bįŀŀįǿň, ǻččǿųňțįňģ fǿř ňěẅ čǿmmįțměňțș ǻňđ įňvěșțměňț ģǻįňș, ǻș įț jǿįňěđ șħǻķě-ųp čǻmpǻįģňș ǻț čǿmpǻňįěș įňčŀųđįňģ șțěěŀ přǿđųčěř Țįmķěň Čǿ. ǻňđ fǻșħįǿň měřčħǻňț Pěřřỳ Ěŀŀįș İňțěřňǻțįǿňǻŀ İňč.

İț șǻįđ įțș Ų.Ș. ǻčțįvįșț pǿřțfǿŀįǿ, ẅħįčħ įňčŀųđěș čǿmmįțměňțș țǿ fųňđș řųň bỳ Țřįǻň ǻňđ Șțǻřbǿǻřđ Vǻŀųě ĿP, ģǻįňěđ 132% běțẅěěň 2004 ǻňđ 2014, věřșųș 121% fǿř țħě Řųșșěŀŀ 3000, įțș đěșįģňǻțěđ běňčħmǻřķ įňđěx. Čǻŀșțřș’ș fǿřěįģň ǻčțįvįșț įňvěșțměňțș ħǻvě řěțųřňěđ 16% șįňčě įňčěpțįǿň įň 2008, věřșųș ǻ 3% ŀǿșș fǿř țħě fǿřěįģň běňčħmǻřķ.

Ǻț Čǻŀpěřș, ǻ $2.8 bįŀŀįǿň ǻčțįvįșț pǿřțfǿŀįǿ ǻŀmǿșț čǿmpŀěțěŀỳ čǿmpřįșěđ bỳ ẅįțħ čǿmmįțměňțș mǻđě běfǿřě 2005 ħǻșň’ț đǿňě ǻș ẅěŀŀ. İț ųňđěřpěřfǿřměđ țħě fųňđ’ș ǿňě-, țħřěě-, fįvě- ǻňđ 10-ỳěǻř běňčħmǻřķș bỳ 6.4%, 2.2%, 0.85% ǻňđ 1.3%, řěșpěčțįvěŀỳ, ǻččǿřđįňģ țǿ įňțěřňǻŀ řěpǿřțș. Bųț įň čǻșěș ẅħěřě Čǻŀpěřș ǻđǿpțěđ ŀěșș-ħǿșțįŀě șțřǻțěģįěș, țħě pěřfǿřmǻňčě ǿf įțș pǿřțfǿŀįǿ čǿmpǻňįěș ħǻș běǻțěň țħě ǿňě-, țħřěě- ǻňđ fįvě-ỳěǻř běňčħmǻřķș, bỳ 1.2%, 13.4% ǻňđ 8.9%, řěșpěčțįvěŀỳ.

Țħě mǿvě ǻẅǻỳ fřǿm ǻģģřěșșįvě čǿřpǿřǻțě ǻčțįvįșm įș ǻ đřǻșțįč șħįfț fǿř Čǻŀpěřș, ẅħįčħ mǻđě ẅǻvěș įň țħě ěǻřŀỳ 2000ș fǿř čħǻșțįșįňģ įțș pǿřțfǿŀįǿ čǿmpǻňįěș ǿň ěvěřỳțħįňģ fřǿm čǻpįțǻŀ șțřųčțųřěș țǿ měřģěřș. İț čǿmmįțțěđ bįŀŀįǿňș țǿ fųňđș țħǻț ǻģįțǻțěđ fǿř čħǻňģě ǻț bįģ čǿmpǻňįěș ǻňđ įň ǿňě ěxǻmpŀě, įň 2004 pųbŀįčŀỳ jǿįňěđ ǻ čǻmpǻįģň ŀěđ bỳ ǻčțįvįșț Ķňįģħț Vįňķě Ǻșșěț Mǻňǻģěměňț ųřģįňģ ǿįŀ ģįǻňț Řǿỳǻŀ Đųțčħ Șħěŀŀ țǿ bųỳ bǻčķ mǿřě șțǿčķ.

“İň țħě ěǻřŀỳ ỳěǻřș Čǻŀpěřș mǿvěđ mǿųňțǻįňș įň țħįș ǻřěǻ,” șǻįđ Țěđ Ẅħįțě, ǻň ěǻřŀỳ http://www.wsj.com/articles/largest­u­s­pensions­divided­on­activism­1432075445 4/5 5/20/2015 Largest U.S. Pensions Divided on Activism ­ WSJ měmběř ǿf Čǻŀpěřș’ș ǻčțįvįșț țěǻm ẅħǿ ẅǿřķěđ ǻț țħě pěňșįǿň fųňđ fřǿm 1999 țǿ 2005 ǻňđ ŀǻțěř șțǻřțěđ ǻň ǻčțįvįșț ħěđģě fųňđ fųňđěđ pǻřțŀỳ bỳ Čǻŀșțřș.

Čǻŀpěřș’ș řěțřěǻț ǻččěŀěřǻțěđ ǻfțěř țħě fįňǻňčįǻŀ čřįșįș ǻș įț čųț ǻŀŀǿčǻțįǿňș țǿ ǻčțįvįșț mǻňǻģěřș ẅħįŀě běčǿmįňģ mǿřě fřįěňđŀỳ țǿ čǿmpǻňỳ mǻňǻģěměňț, ǻččǿřđįňģ țǿ ǻđvįșěřș, čǿňșųŀțǻňțș ǻňđ pųbŀįč řěčǿřđș.

“Čǻŀpěřș įș mǿřě přǿňě țǿ ẅǿřķ ẅįțħ bǿǻřđș ǻňđ mǻňǻģěměňț țħǻň įň țħě pǻșț,” șǻįđ Ǻŀŀǻň Ěmķįň, ǻ mǻňǻģįňģ đįřěčțǿř ǻț Pěňșįǿň Čǿňșųŀțįňģ Ǻŀŀįǻňčě, ẅħǿ ħǻș čǿňșųŀțěđ fǿř Čǻŀpěřș ǻňđ Čǻŀșțřș șįňčě țħě 1980ș.

Ẅřįțě țǿ Ŀįż Ħǿffmǻň ǻț ŀįż.ħǿffmǻň@ẅșj.čǿm ǻňđ Țįmǿțħỳ Ẅ. Mǻřțįň ǻț țįmǿțħỳ.mǻřțįň@ẅșj.čǿm

Čǿřřěčțįǿňș & Ǻmpŀįfįčǻțįǿňș: Ǻňňě Șįmpșǿň įș đįřěčțǿř ǿf ģŀǿbǻŀ ģǿvěřňǻňčě fǿř țħě Čǻŀįfǿřňįǻ Pųbŀįč Ěmpŀǿỳěěș’ Řěțįřěměňț Șỳșțěm ǻňđ Ǻňňě Șħěěħǻň įș ħěř čǿųňțěřpǻřț ǻț țħě Čǻŀįfǿřňįǻ Șțǻțě Țěǻčħěřș’ Řěțįřěměňț Șỳșțěm. Ǻ pħǿțǿ čǻpțįǿň ǿň ǻň ěǻřŀįěř věřșįǿň ǿf țħįș ǻřțįčŀě įňčǿřřěčțŀỳ șțǻțěđ țħǻț Mș. Șįmpșǿň ẅǿřķș ǻț Čǻŀșțřș ǻňđ Mș. Șħěěħǻň ẅǿřķěđ ǻț Čǻŀpěřș. (Mǻỳ 20)

Copyright 2014 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved

This copy is for your personal, non­commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non­personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1­800­843­0008 or visit www.djreprints.com.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/largest­u­s­pensions­divided­on­activism­1432075445 5/5 5/20/2015 Officials say federal transportation funding extension falls short Officials say federal transportation funding extension falls short By Neil Nisperos , Inland Valley Daily Bulletin DailyBulletin.com

Local congressional lawmakers, despite voting in the affirmative on Tuesday, expressed disappointment in the passage of another short­term extension of transportation funding, instead of a comprehensive bill they say would significantly improve the movement of goods and traffic in Southern California.

Members of Congress, such as Rep. Pete Aguilar, D­Redlands, and Norma Torres, D­ Ontario, support a long­term multi­year federal transportation bill they say would greatly improve planning and success for future transportation projects in the region.

Supporters also say the money would help repair and replace an aging infrastructure.

With the current funding bill expiring at the end of the month, Aguilar and Torres voted in favor of H.R. 2353, the Highway and Transportation Funding Act of 2015, which will extend the legislation another 2 months. The bill passed with a vote of 387 to 35 to 1.

The funding supports a number of projects throughout the Inland Empire, including the Tippecanoe interchange project on the 10 freeway, and the 15 freeway interchange at Baseline Avenue.

“A two­year bill isn’t the type of (multi­year) bill we really need, and what I’ve advocated for, that what would help local government with a sustainable long­term solution to transportation funding, and for me, that means more than just a few month,” Aguilar said. He added, “this does just kick the can down the road, and it’s unfortunate we are in this position, but with three legislative days left until the (funding) expires, this is the position we’re in.”

Torres shares a similar view.

“While I voted for this latest extension, it falls far short of meeting our country’s transportation and infrastructure needs,” she said. “Our communities don’t need another rushed two month extension. States and localities need the certainty and ability to plan for the future that is only possible with a long­term transportation bill.”

Larry McCallon, the mayor of Highland and a current board member of San Bernardino Association Governments (SanBAG), the region’s transportation authority, said the passage of another extension was disappointing.

“I think the two­month extension is unfortunate,” McCallon said. “In fact, we keep putting it off. We need a long­term bill; You can’t plan transportation projects based on having funding for only a couple of months. It’s important we have a long­term bill and hopefully and they’ll get it down when they back in July.”

McCallon said local projects that could use long term funding include plans to widen the 210 freeway from Highland Avenue to the 10 Freeway, and potential carpool lanes on the 10 and http://www.dailybulletin.com/general­news/20150519/officials­say­federal­transportation­funding­extension­falls­short/1 1/2 5/20/2015 Officials say federal transportation funding extension falls short 15 freeways.

http://www.dailybulletin.com/general­news/20150519/officials­say­federal­transportation­funding­extension­falls­short/1 2/2 Voice of OC (http://voiceofoc.org/2015/05/santa­ana­council­takes­another­step­toward­wellness­district/) Santa Ana Council Takes Another Step Toward Wellness District

Fourth Street in downtown Santa Ana, where the city could establish a wellness district. (Photo by: Nick Gerda/Voice of OC)

By Thy Vo May 20, 2015 at 11:06 AM Follow @thyanhvo

The Santa Ana City Council took another step forward in establishing a proposed "wellness district" in the downtown, voting Tuesday to begin drafting a resolution and figuring out how much it will cost to implement.

The proposal, advocated by a number of residents and community activists, calls for a series of city policies aimed at preserving the downtown as a center for Latino commerce, by promoting community wellness and supporting local vendors.

Although council members are all generally supportive of the wellness district, the vote to draft a resolution by the next city council meeting was split 4­3, with those voting no arguing that their colleagues were rushing to push the proposal through.

Those voting yes were Mayor Miguel Pulido, Councilwoman Michele Martinez, and councilmen Vincent Sarmiento and David Benavides. The no votes included Councilwoman Angelica Amezcua, and councilmen Roman Reyna and Sal Tinajero.

http://voiceofoc.org/2015/05/santa­ana­council­takes­another­step­toward­wellness­district/ 1/3 Supporters say the measure would help boost economic development and community well­being. They cite a study commissioned

(http://voiceofoc.org/2014/12/study­downtown­santa­ana­not­cashing­in­on­its­latino­identity/) last year by The California Endowment that said the city could bring in an additional $137 million in spending to the downtown by bringing back Latino customers who, despite living so close to the downtown, have been lost to big­box retailers.

Although the original proposal pitched by community activists included 16 different points, ranging from subsidies for health­focused businesses, to creating an immigrant affairs office, Tuesday's council vote directs city staff to draft a resolution and implementation plan supporting four.

They include the branding Fourth Street as "Calle Cuatro," supporting the creation of microfarms and a mercadito, and creating a community advisory committee on economic development.

"This lifts everyone up to create a more equitable society," said Ana Urzua, campaign coordinator with Santa Ana Building Healthy Communities, in an emailed statement after the vote.

Critics of the proposal, which include some residents and members of the business community, say it would hinder the existing business growth in the downtown and that the re­branding smacks of reverse racism and would send an unwelcoming message to newcomers.

Tuesday, supporting council members said the rebranding of Fourth Street would serve to celebrate the street's history as a shopping center and gathering place for the surrounding Latino community.

"I don't think it's branding, it's way­finding," Sarmiento said. "A lot of our folks are monolingual Spanish speakers, and let's celebrate that, that's not a bad thing."

They were also unified in support for the microfarm proposal, which would set aside a parcel where residents could cultivate their own crops, with the idea of increasing access to fresh fruits and vegetables.

Martinez said creating microfarms would not only reduce obesity, but put the community on a track toward sustainability, especially in light of the state's water crisis.

"We as local communities in Southern California, we're going to have to figure out ways to produce our own food," Martinez said.

Some members of the council expressed reservations about a proposed "mercadito," or a small marketplace where local merchants and residents could sell their own goods.

Tinajero and Sarmiento said that while the city would support the idea of a mercadito, it shouldn't be sponsored by taxpayer dollars.

"We have people who are investing hundreds of thousands of dollars to open up a food court and farmer's market ­­ I don't think we should promote, as a city, business that will compete with the private sector," Tinajero said.

"We could be supportive of the efforts of the community to develop one, like we did with the farmer's market. It's not our farmer's market, but we supported that effort," Sarmiento added.

They also removed language from the proposal asking for city sponsorship of certain community events, and replaced it with a community advisory committee.

Martinez questioned why, separate from the wellness district proposal, city staff had yet to present the council with a policy for city sponsorship of events, a policy she has requested in the past.

"I specifically asked that, before the budget cycle starts ... some kind of draft come before the city council," Martinez said, irate. Martinez was irate,

http://voiceofoc.org/2015/05/santa­ana­council­takes­another­step­toward­wellness­district/ 2/3 As to the community advisory committee, which would weigh in on downtown economic development issues, Tinajero questioned why the council should establish a new committee, as opposed to expanding the existing Santa Ana Business Council.

"I don't know if we need to reinvent the wheel here and form a separate ad hoc committee, or if we just want to...include a couple more folks," said Tinajero.

Sarmiento said the committee wouldn't be that much trouble to establish.

"To me the economic advisory task force is a good idea ... I don't think it's really going to increase our expenses by that much given what we're talking about," Sarmiento said.

Amezcua had offered a substitute motion to delay the vote until July, citing the need to gather more information, but didn't get enough support.

Martinez, meanwhile, was impatient.

"I think we've hashed this out enough. If you don't want to do it, have the courage and the leadership to tell the public now," Martinez said.

Tinajero pushed back.

"If you asked me to vote right now, I'm going to vote no, because I want it to be right," Tinajero replied.

Reyna, who also voted no, criticized the council majority for being too haphazard in what it decides to support.

"Every single thing cannot be a priority. I don't think we've decided what our priorities are, and we're spending time willy­nilly on activities...that we're not going to have the financial assistance to accomplish," Reyna said.

Contact Thy Vo at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter @thyanhvo.

http://voiceofoc.org/2015/05/santa­ana­council­takes­another­step­toward­wellness­district/ 3/3 5/21/2015 Feds probing alleged voting rights violations involving disabled Californians ­ LA Times

PolitiCal News and analysis on California politics Feds probing alleged voting rights violations involving disabled Californians

By PATRICK MCGREEVY AND STEPHEN CEASAR

MAY 20, 2015, 6:00 PM | REPORTING FROM SACRAMENTO

ederal authorities are investigating allegations that California and its courts are unlawfully denying voting rights to some intellectually disabled residents, according to F documents released Wednesday.

Attorneys for the U.S. Department of Justice in Sacramento have requested records from Secretary of State Alex Padilla and Supreme Court Chief Justice Tani Cantil­Sakauye including the number of people disqualified from voting and policies for allowing residents in limited conservatorships to vote.

The probe was launched in response to a complaint by an advocacy group, called the Disability and Abuse Project.

“In particular, the complaint alleges that the Los Angeles Superior Court has deprived persons with disabilities of their right to vote by finding such persons are not capable of completing an affidavit of voter registration, without applying objective standards or fully investigating voter competency issues,” according to a letter to state officials by Assistant U.S. Atty. Vincente A. Tennerelli.

The complaint also alleges that once a superior court determines a person is not capable of registering to vote, the person is removed from voting rolls and not allowed other attempts to register, and no further review is conducted, Tennerelli said in the May 15 letter.

“We are working on this matter with the Civil Rights Division for the U.S. Department of Justice,’’ said Lauren Horwood, a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office in Sacramento.

Although the complaint centers on Los Angeles courts, Tennerelli wrote that “we find the allegations to be of concern throughout the state of California as they involve the state’s election code and statewide policies, practices and procedures.”

http://www.latimes.com/local/political/la­me­pc­voting­rights­violations­disabled­20150520­story.html?track=rss 1/3 5/21/2015 Feds probing alleged voting rights violations involving disabled Californians ­ LA Times Those affected by the policy include people with cerebral palsy, autism spectrum disorder, traumatic brain injury and other intellectual or developmental disabilities, according to Kara Janssen, an attorney for the group Disability Rights Advocates.

“It’s great that the Department of Justice is looking into this,” she said, adding that it may get the state to review and improve its policies.

The Judicial Council, which oversees courts in California, will provide the documents requested, according to spokesman Peter Allen.

“The view here is that the Chief [Justice] and Judicial Council are committed to the civil rights of all Californians,” Allen said in an email.

Nora J. Baladerian, director of the Disability and Abuse Project, said that about two years ago the organization was approached by family members of those under conservatorships who encountered issues with the Los Angeles Superior Court.

The group found that people with developmental disabilities who came into contact with the limited conservatorship system were denied proper legal assistance by court­appointed lawyers and denied their right to vote, among other issues, she said. Those who were denied their right to vote also were powerless to advocate on their own behalf because of their disabilities, Baladerian said.

“It is patently unlawful,” she said.

The group filed the complaint in July. The investigation was opened last week.

“Naïve me. I thought in the courtroom the law was followed,” Baladerian said. “It wasn’t so. The rights of individuals with disabilities were not being upheld in court.”

Padilla said in a statement that he supports the Department of Justice effort to ensure that the state "does not unlawfully deprive persons with disabilities of their right to vote. As California’s chief elections official, I am committed to safeguarding the right to vote so that all eligible citizens, regardless of ability, can fully participate in our democracy," he said.

Copyright © 2015, Los Angeles Times

UPDATES 6:22 p.m.: This post has been updated with additional information about the lawsuit.

This post was originally published at 6:00 p.m.

http://www.latimes.com/local/political/la­me­pc­voting­rights­violations­disabled­20150520­story.html?track=rss 2/3