November 2007 Archives

It looks like the rumors are true: The blog software has been resurrected! More info forthcoming.

Hopefully, we can build back our reader base.

It looks like the rumors are true: The blog software has been resurrected! More info forthcoming.

Hopefully, we can build back our reader base.

It looks like the rumors are true: The blog software has been resurrected! More info forthcoming.

Hopefully, we can build back our reader base.

Below is a longer version of today's news story about how City Attorney James F. Penman and a band of cops rolled on the Flesh Club Thursday morning to enforce a court-ordered closure. The club will be closed for eight months after a judge found that lewd conduct and paid sex acts occurred there.

Penman has taken much heat over the years for burning time and hundreds of thousands of dollars in his quest to close the club, which he calls a house of prostitution.

Thursday night was Penman's time to shine, and he did, overseeing the (temporary?) death knell of the club while wearing a gray suit and a "San Bernardino City Refuse Department" ball cap (surely not a coincidental choice of garb).

Club owner Ryan Welty told this reporter, through a cell phone message relayed through a manager on site at midnight Thursday, that he had planned to close on time all along but wanted to coax Penman and police out to the club so "they'd all be on the clock," a fitting (final?) disrespect to the city attorney who has become his constant pursuer.

Enjoy ...

SAN BERNARDINO - At the stroke of midnight, the tubular purple lights
still glowed and the marquis still shone.
“We’re still open,” the marquis read.
But by then, the Flesh Club stage was deserted, and women who for
years have danced nude to patrons’ dollar-flipping delight were
fully-clothed and filing into the parking lot.
In the first minutes of Nov. 15, a caravan of cars containing about a
dozen police and City Attorney James F. Penman rolled into the adult
cabaret’s parking lot to enforce a court-ordered closure issued Oct.
30.
But the club‘s owners, who have struggled in a legal tangle of with
the city for more than a decade, had already opted to officially
close at 11:59 p.m., a timid concession after days of defiant
insistence that the court-ordered closure was one day later.
“We’re shutting it down,” said club manager Troy Neptune minutes
before midnight while standing in front of the club, watching for the
police’s imminent arrival.
A sequence of events precipitated Thursday’s midnight closure, which
San Bernardino County Superior Court Judge Donald Alvarez had ordered
to take effect 15 days after his Oct. 30 ruling due to ample evidence
that paid sex acts and lewd conduct had routinely occurred at the
club.
Alvarez granted the 15-day period at the request of Roger Jon
Diamond, the club's attorney, to seek postponement of the order
pending an appeal.
But on Tuesday a state appellate court in Riverside denied Diamond’s
request, clearing the way for enforcement of Alvarez’ order that the
club be shut for eight months and forced to pay a $25,000 fine.
But Diamond maintained this week that his client would remain open
for business until one minute to midnight Nov. 15. 24-hours later,
setting the stage for confrontation.
It didn’t happen.
Around 7 p.m. Wednesday, uniformed police officers, accompanied by
Penman, arrived at the club and made entry. As a few startled patrons
looked on, managers, dancers and other employees were served with
copies of Alvarez’ order that business must halt by midnight, Neptune
said.
“They served papers to everybody,“ Neptune said. “Some of the girls
were upset, they didn’t really know what was going on.“
With the paperwork served and the promise of return five hours later,
management got the word from club owner Ryan Welty to close shop,
Neptune said.
The midnight scene wasn’t completely uneventful. A 27-year-old club
dancer, set to leave in jeans and a blouse, was stopped and arrested
just outside the front door of the club. Penman said that during the
earlier visit to serve papers, police had gathered names from
employees and ran warrant checks, revealing that the woman had
warrants for theft and traffic violations.
Police filed in and out, ensuring that all operations had ceased in
the building. Penman, who has waged war on the adult business that
sits on Hospitality Lane, the city’s jewel of dining districts, stood
outside in a gray suit and a city refuse department cap. Asked if he
accompanied the midnight raid to see his decade long battle come to
fruition, Penman replied that police requested an attorney and that
he didn’t want to trouble his staff with the assignment.
But Penman did allow that he had a feeling of satisfaction.
“After 15 years, this is a good evening for us,” he said.
Before police arrived, young women, some of whom have worked at the
club for years, plaintively asked Neptune about the circumstances and
whether they’d be able to come to work the next day.
“Nope,” Neptune told one woman, who shivered nervously, scanning the
parking lot for police. “This is it.”

Below is a longer version of today's news story about how City Attorney James F. Penman and a band of cops rolled on the Flesh Club Thursday morning to enforce a court-ordered closure. The club will be closed for eight months after a judge found that lewd conduct and paid sex acts occurred there.

Penman has taken much heat over the years for burning time and hundreds of thousands of dollars in his quest to close the club, which he calls a house of prostitution.

Thursday night was Penman's time to shine, and he did, overseeing the (temporary?) death knell of the club while wearing a gray suit and a "San Bernardino City Refuse Department" ball cap (surely not a coincidental choice of garb).

Club owner Ryan Welty told this reporter, through a cell phone message relayed through a manager on site at midnight Thursday, that he had planned to close on time all along but wanted to coax Penman and police out to the club so "they'd all be on the clock," a fitting (final?) disrespect to the city attorney who has become his constant pursuer.

Enjoy ...

SAN BERNARDINO - At the stroke of midnight, the tubular purple lights
still glowed and the marquis still shone.
“We’re still open,” the marquis read.
But by then, the Flesh Club stage was deserted, and women who for
years have danced nude to patrons’ dollar-flipping delight were
fully-clothed and filing into the parking lot.
In the first minutes of Nov. 15, a caravan of cars containing about a
dozen police and City Attorney James F. Penman rolled into the adult
cabaret’s parking lot to enforce a court-ordered closure issued Oct.
30.
But the club‘s owners, who have struggled in a legal tangle of with
the city for more than a decade, had already opted to officially
close at 11:59 p.m., a timid concession after days of defiant
insistence that the court-ordered closure was one day later.
“We’re shutting it down,” said club manager Troy Neptune minutes
before midnight while standing in front of the club, watching for the
police’s imminent arrival.
A sequence of events precipitated Thursday’s midnight closure, which
San Bernardino County Superior Court Judge Donald Alvarez had ordered
to take effect 15 days after his Oct. 30 ruling due to ample evidence
that paid sex acts and lewd conduct had routinely occurred at the
club.
Alvarez granted the 15-day period at the request of Roger Jon
Diamond, the club's attorney, to seek postponement of the order
pending an appeal.
But on Tuesday a state appellate court in Riverside denied Diamond’s
request, clearing the way for enforcement of Alvarez’ order that the
club be shut for eight months and forced to pay a $25,000 fine.
But Diamond maintained this week that his client would remain open
for business until one minute to midnight Nov. 15. 24-hours later,
setting the stage for confrontation.
It didn’t happen.
Around 7 p.m. Wednesday, uniformed police officers, accompanied by
Penman, arrived at the club and made entry. As a few startled patrons
looked on, managers, dancers and other employees were served with
copies of Alvarez’ order that business must halt by midnight, Neptune
said.
“They served papers to everybody,“ Neptune said. “Some of the girls
were upset, they didn’t really know what was going on.“
With the paperwork served and the promise of return five hours later,
management got the word from club owner Ryan Welty to close shop,
Neptune said.
The midnight scene wasn’t completely uneventful. A 27-year-old club
dancer, set to leave in jeans and a blouse, was stopped and arrested
just outside the front door of the club. Penman said that during the
earlier visit to serve papers, police had gathered names from
employees and ran warrant checks, revealing that the woman had
warrants for theft and traffic violations.
Police filed in and out, ensuring that all operations had ceased in
the building. Penman, who has waged war on the adult business that
sits on Hospitality Lane, the city’s jewel of dining districts, stood
outside in a gray suit and a city refuse department cap. Asked if he
accompanied the midnight raid to see his decade long battle come to
fruition, Penman replied that police requested an attorney and that
he didn’t want to trouble his staff with the assignment.
But Penman did allow that he had a feeling of satisfaction.
“After 15 years, this is a good evening for us,” he said.
Before police arrived, young women, some of whom have worked at the
club for years, plaintively asked Neptune about the circumstances and
whether they’d be able to come to work the next day.
“Nope,” Neptune told one woman, who shivered nervously, scanning the
parking lot for police. “This is it.”

Is it an "oversight" or "audit" committee? That was the question for some time about the group of residents who comprised the Measure Z tax monitoring group.

Lately, the question has been when do we meet and what do we do?

Just talked to a member of that committee, which is headed by former Mayor Judith Valles, and they'll be meeting tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall for the first time in months.

It was late and out of the blue. This reporter took a phone call from Rich Lawhead, president of the San Bernardino Peace Officers Association, commonly known as the police union ...

Some of our beloved readers have taken exception to my use of the term "progressive" in describing Mayor Pat Morris and his allies. Some have suggested that the real "progressives" are on the other side ...

These are fair questions, and we love to respond directly to our readers' concerns when possible ...

Below, get a brief glimpse into what is meant by the term and to whom it applies (hint: It most certainly applies to former president and New York governor Teddy Roosevelt, pictured below) ...

The story in tomorrow's Sun will be all about mending fences and licking wounds, or not.

One day removed from a resounding affirmation of two incumbent councilmembers and the city clerk, as well as less resounding victories for city attorney and 6th ward council, we look to analyze what this means for the next two years.

The verdict: Mayor Pat Morris versus at least three members of the council and the city attorney on major issues.

I talked to many involved today, and their disparate comments provided an interesting sketch of where this rancor stands and what it means moving forward.

Here's a glimpse of what we're working on for tomorrow's Sun:

By Robert Rogers
SAN BERNARIDINO — It was a banner day for incumbents, but a dismal day for Mayor Pat Morris.
With three City Council seats and the city attorney and city clerk’s offices facing seemingly strong fields of opposition, many thought a major realignment could occur in the city’s political structure.
It didn’t happen.
With the exception of 6th Ward incumbent Rikke Van Johnson - who could be headed for a runoff with second place finisher Betty Dean Anderson - all the incumbents retained their seats.
City Attorney James F. Penman faced the stiffest test, garnering 52 percent of the popular vote to defeat Morris-backed challenger Marianne Milligan.
All told, Morris’ endorsees performed miserably. Carolyn Tillman, whom he endorsed in the 5th ward against incumbent Chas Kelley, took a disappointing 21 percent of the vote.
In the 7th Ward, Morris backed Jim Mulvihill, who took 37 percent of the vote in losing to Morris adversary Wendy McCammack.
Morris worked hardest in the city attorney’s race, providing money, an endorsement and campaign work including recorded phone calls to voters in an effort to dislodge Penman.
He came up short.
With the exception of City Clerk Rachel Clark, who had broad support by all factions at city hall, no one Morris supported received a majority of votes.
Johnson, whom Morris endorsed first last summer, took 49 percent of the vote against Anderson’s 40 percent, meaning a runoff between the two will be set for February.
Johnson said he was braced for an onslaught in the runoff race, with Penman, McCammack and others likely to aggressively back Anderson.
“I’m sure there will be a lot of outside forces that will try to come in and influence the voters 6th ward on how they should be represented,” Hohnson said.
Johnson added that he remains pleased to have Morris’ support, despite his underwhelming showing Tuesday.
“The mayor’s support is an asset, especially in the 6th ward,” Johnson said.

A cursory analysis reveals that last night's historic election can only be characterized as a crushing defeat for Mayor Pat Morris' political and policy prospects.

With the exception of City Clerk Rachel Clark (whom everyone endorsed), Morris' coalition of endorsees fared about as poorly as possible:
- Marianne Milligan was defeated by arch nemesis Jim Penman.

- Carolyn Tillman couldn't keep Chas Kelley under 60 percent, despite four candidates in the field.

- Jim Mulvihill couldn't get to 37 percent of the vote against Wendy McCammack.

The one incumbent Morris endorsed is also the one incumbent who appears to not have gotten an electoral majority. Rikke Van Johnson, the mayor's staunchest ally, appears headed for a runoff against Betty Dean Anderson.

Now, the mayor's opposition - principly Penman, Kelley, McCammack - are ensconced in their seats and ready to reassert their policy powers, probably to the mayor's detriment on policy issues.

It should be noted that Penman beat the newcomer Milligan by a slim margin, about four percentage points. No matter - he's in office and free to assert his influence, probably in a way that will counter Morris.

We'll have a fuller story analyzing these implications in tomorrow's paper. The short version the morning after is that the election could have scarcely gone worse from Morris' perspective.

Joseph Turner has garnered roughly one-third of the absentee vote, which is heartening or dispiriting, depending on where you stand.

But even if he loses (which is likely), the legacy he may really leave is that shocking connection he made with the San Bernardino Police union, the only local institution that backed the controversial, anti-illegal immigration activist.

The fact that the union would align itself with Turner has soured those who hate Turner - and there are many - on the union. Objectively, it was surprising that the union would take up ranks with someone who was so controversial when no one else would.

Turner loves his police buddies. He came by the Sun a few days ago for an interview and was wearing one of those "San Bernardino Murder Capital" T-shirts that a local cop is selling for $10 a pop. Basically, everyone who wears these shirts is either in law enforcement or has close ties to it.

Here are the pics of Turner wearing the shirt:

As of 1 a.m., Turner had about one in three votes for city clerk in this year's election.

Some thought the 5th Ward was the most likely to end in a runoff, mostly because it boasted three strong candidates.

Doesn't look like that's happening, with incumbent Chas Kelley clocking a strong 62 percent of the absentees.

Here are the early results:

CHAS A. KELLEY 738 62.49%
CAROLYN A. TILLMAN 272 23.03%
RICK AVILA 135 11.43%
RANDY LEE 34 2.88%
Write-In 2 0.17%
Total 1,181 100.00%

Tillman and Avila have to be disappointed with those numbers. Hard to see Kelley dropping from 62.5 percent to sub-50 percent, but that is clearly Tillman's hope.

This also could be an indication of how unpopular Morris is in the 5th Ward. The moment he endorsed Tillman, Kelley went on the attack, and it looks effective thus far.

As of 11 p.m.:
RIKKE VAN JOHNSON 282 44.90%
BETTY DEAN ANDERSON 267 42.52%
STEWART D. CUMMING 72 11.46%
Write-In 7 1.11%
Total 628 100.00%

Johnson surely would prefer to be more than 25 votes ahead of Anderson. Furthermore, Cumming takes a solid - surprising - 11.5 percent of the vote, strengthening the chance that the winner here will get less than 50 percent, which would trigger a runoff between the top-2.

This means Mayor Pat Morris' nightmare is all the more possible: All the incumbents winning EXCEPT for Johnson. If that happened, Morris would be down to two reliable proponents for his policies (Baxter, Estrada) and four stalwart opponents (Anderson, Derry, Kelley, McCammack). Picture the pre-Lincoln presidency: The executive totally subordinate to the legislative branch.

All that said, Anderson may have reached her peak with the absentees. Johnson is probably expecting to do better with the Nov. 6 voters than Anderson, who appeals to conservatives who are more likely to mail in their votes.

Rachel Clark has a 2-1 advantage over Turner with the absentee ballots in by 11 p.m. Is this a strong showing by Turner or a de facto end to his run for city clerk? Depends on whom you ask.

Turner got 2,000 of 6,000 absentee votes, so his strident message certainly resonates with a minority of locals.

Just not enough. Looks like Clark wins this one, but anything less than 60 percent has to be viewed as a disappointing level of support for the 17-year-incumbent.

The first results came in, and by far the most interesting news was just how tight the city attorney's race was.

JAMES FRANK ''JIM'' PENMAN 3,174 51.19%; MARIANNE MILLIGAN 3,006 48.48%, Write-In 20 0.32%
Total 6,200.

This is too close for comfort for Penman, and Milligan was ecstatic about the tight margin.

Contacted at Frank Schnetz' home, where she's holding a party for supporters, Milligan said she was thrilled with the early results.

Contacted at the Gourmet on Highland, where he was gathered with McCammack, Betty Dean Anderson and others, Penman did his best to project optimism.

"It's good to be ahead," he said. "We knew it would be close."

Penman then reverted to Morris, whom he cited as a key to the race. "The mayor put forth a real strong effort," Penman said. "And I was his primary target. It will remain to be seen who will prevail, but I'd rather be in my shoes than my opponents."

We'll see, but this could go down to the wire.

No matter what the outcomes, this will be a historic day in San Bernardino.

Basically, one of two scenarios is likely to unfold: 1) One or more of Mayor Pat Morris' candidates will win, throwing the pendeulum in his favor and paving the way for a very aggressive pursuit of Morris' agenda over the next two years.

Or, 2) Morris will not gain any seats on the council, with Penman holding his spot, and the noxious venom stirred up during this election cycle will set the stage for continued gridlock in City Hall, with Morris being forced to make major concessions to ram even a sliver of his agenda - particularly on anti-crime and downtown development - through the council.

I've been chatting with candidates today, and they're going to be posted up all over town awaiting the results ...

The homicide total now stands at 52, with two months to go. This looks like the highest rate of killings in San Bernardino since the early to mid 1990s, and the blood is being shed with considerably less fanfare than in 2005, when seemingly all talk in this city was about crime and how to stop it.

Also, crime statistics are up across the board over last year, with a few exceptions.

It seems like only a matter of time before Mayor Pat Morris and Chief Mike Billdt come under some pressure over what is a clear reversal of the encouraging progress of 2006.

Click below for full story:

We have a bona fide debate between two public figures, and two Republicans no less.

Tobin Brinker is the 39-year-old conservative councilman who has sided with Mayor Pat Morris more often than most expected. He kicked off the dialogue by responding on Nov. 2 with an analysis of his own of Turner's controversial mailer.

Below is Brinker last month at a Cal State candidate forum:

Turner, a 30-year-old blogger and activist clearly to the right of the moderate Brinker, responded (after another Brinker post in response to an anonymous reader) by going straight for Brinker's Achilles heel (or strength, depending on whom you talk to): His pragmatism.

Since these posts are relatively intelligent (so they're kind of shrill, but come on, it's election time!), we should reprint them in sequence.

It's not often enough that public figures with differing views engage in writing. Generally, it's always welcome.

Click below to read, and feel free to weigh in ...

Near the beginning of Monday's City Council meeting, the last one before the Nov. 6 judgement day for city attorney, clerk and three council seats, tensions boiled over.

At issue was an unnamed business brought up by 7th ward councilwoman Wendy McCammack where apparently someone took an axe to a glass door Monday morning.

McCammack said this was done by someone who was a Jim Penman enemy, a conclusion reached by virtue of the unnamed business owner apparently being threatened on that account days prior.

Then, McCammack launched - soon to be backed by Penman - an attack on Morris for "creating" an atmosphere of "divisiveness" in this year's political season. Morris has come out in financial and rhetorical support of Jim Mulvihill, Carolyn Tillman, Rikke Van Johnson and Marianne Milligan - basically the opponents of Penman, McCammack and their allies'.

McCammack admonished a clearly displeased Morris about how tragic it would be if this window-breaking thuggery was the result of "someone who took your advice," neatly equating political warfare with lawless vandalism.

Penman then jumped in. "I have rarely seen a community aroused in anger .... as a result of your actions," he told Morris.

Penman cited Shakespeare to instruct Morris in the error of his ways.

When Morris engages in "hateful, personal attacks," is it any wonder, Penman said, that violence and bedlam follow?

"Is it so surprising that one of those people would ... go to a business, take an axe, and put it through a glass window?" Penman said.

"You've gone too far, Mayor," Penman exclaimed.

Watch below as Penman lectures the Mayor, he who doth not know the error of thy ways ... Near the end, Penman relays a story of a near bar-fight in which he was confronted by a man he says announced himself as a friend of Pat and Jim Morris and quoted their campaign rhetoric "almost verbatim."

Watch below, as the council erupts in direct clashes between Penman, Morris and McCammack. Councilwoman Esther Estrada belatedly and unsuccessfully attempts to intervene, suggesting a 5 minute break before being shouted down. Morris delivers a classic, "Mr. Penman, shame on you," adding that the city attorney's rhetoric is "so extreme" it doesn't even merit discussion.
Penman yells "We didn't put that axe through that door mayor!"

The last clip shows how far the whole thing devolved. Morris hits again with a condescending: "Enough, Mr. Penman," Morris said.
Watch below.

What if Penman and McCammack (and Kelley) win their elections? Is there anyone who seriously suggests that their relationship with Morris isn't beyond repair?

Just interviewed Mike Valles. He denied targeting Latino voters only for the Judith Valles attack letter that suggested Joseph Turner would use the office as an instrument of immigration enforcement.

This is Mr. Valles, pictured below outside of Monday council meeting at City Hall:

Here are Valles' answers to questions I asked this morning:

Mike Valles, a retired state legislative consultant, has served as City Clerk Rachel Clark’s campaign boss in her race versus challenger Joseph Turner this year.
Valles is a veteran of many campaigns over the years in San Bernardino, including two successful races he ran for his younger sister, Judith Valles.

Here is the interview:

*Rogers: A scathing letter writen by Mayor Judith Valles in opposition to Joseph Turner’s campaign was distributed by you. Some have suggested you only targeted voters with Latino surnames, is that true?

Valles: "No, what we did was target voters who were strong for Mayor Valles in the past, voters in precincts of the 1st, 3rd, 6th and 7th Wards. When you look at the demographics of the city and those wards in particular, a high preponderance of residents happen to be Hispanic.
But they were not earmarked to only Hispanic (voters), no."

Just chatted with 7th Ward candidate Paul Sanborn by phone. He said that if he comes in third and there's a runoff between incumbent Wendy McCammack and challeger Jim Mulvihill, he will go to work for the McCammack campaign ...

Here's Paul Sanborn:

Read more by clicking below ...

Just talked to Rachel Clark. Today, she laid the responsibility for where her campaign mailers are going firmly at the feet of Mike Valles, former mayor Judith Valles' brother.

Yesterday, when asked whether a toughly worded attack letter against Joseph Turner penned by Judith Valles was sent only to households with Hispanic surnames, Clark said she didn't know, and that Valles wrote and sent the letter, an operation funded by Clark's campaign committee.

Well, the campaign committee is run by Mike Valles. Judith Valles said yesterday she only wrote the letter, and that the "campaign committee" paid for it and mailed it out, so she didn't know if it only went to Hispanic surnamed households.

Mike Valles isn't returning phone calles.

Today, this reporter gave Clark three opportunities to distance herself from the practice of race-targeted campaign mailers. She did not.

"Mike's my consultant, i follow his advice," Rachel said. "I've never been involved in anything like this before."

Second time, same question:

"I think letters are sent to all types of groups," Clark said. "Letters target Republicans, target Democrates. I'm Hispanic, but I would not get a letter targeted at Hispanic names. I don't see how you could even do that."

Third time, same question:

"How do you do that," Clark said. "You target mailers depending on what kind of message you want to get out to people, but i don't know if that (targeting Hispanic names) is even possible."

There it is. If Clark's campaign did not send biting, fear-mongoring, overtly ethnic targeted campaign mailings to Hispanic-surnamed voters, it has done absolutely nothing to make that evident over the last two days.

No facts. No responsibility. No one will answer this question. As you can see from Clark's response, she notably declined three times to distance herself from the practice. Three times I asked if she condoned that type of campaigning, and she said nothing to the contrary.

One other interesting point: Clark repeatedly insenuates ("how would you do that") that it would be difficult or impossible to target Hispanic named voters.

I just talked to Chris Jones, a consultant for Chas Kelley, Jim Penman and others and a sworn enemy of Joseph Turner. He said targeting Hispanic names would be no harder than targeting Democrats or Republicans or any other "type" of voter. He says such ethnic targeting occurs all the time.

If the mailings did go out, what does it mean? It means that the saintly Clark is running a campaign meant to stoke fears and racial passions, something we would have expected from her opponent. Clark has vowed publicly to run a "clean campaign."

Well, yesterday, we brought up the fact that niether Rachel Clark nor former Mayor Judith Valles could or would answer questions about whether a hard-hitting letter written by Valles was sent only to voters with Hispanic surnames.

The letter, which all but calls Turner a racist against Hispanics and suggests he would turn the office into a branch of the INS, has been rumored to have been targeted solely to households with Hispanic names.

Yesterday, Clark said Valles "wrote it and sent it," speaking about the letter. Valles said she wrote it, but that Clark's campaign committee sent it without her knowledge of where or to whom.

Turns out the campaign is run by Mike Valles, Judith Valles' brother. Mike Valles hasn't answered calls yet today.

Clark still has the benefit of the doubt, but if the letter was sent only to Hispanics, it would be an example of race-based, scare-mongering politics of the lowest order.

We promised you we'd follow up what we've dubbed "ClubGate" here at SBNOW, the widening circle of political officials who appear to have unlawfully accepted and used gifted "honorary" memberships to the Arrowhead Country Club.

The number of familiar names submitted in complaints to the FPPC now stands at 10, and the number of local offiicials admitting to accepting and using the free memberships is currently three.

City Attorney Jim Penman, former mayor Judith Valles and City Manager Fred Wilson all admit they accepted free memberships to the golf and country club beginning in the late 1990s. The law is that they can't accept gifts at a value of greater than $390, a number that was lower in the late 1990s. The membership costs appear to begin at more than $2,000 annually.

Click below for the full story:

It landed in thousands of mailboxes late last month: An eight page campaign mailer neatly summed-up all the time-honored American tactics of luring (predominately conservative) voters to check your box.

We've spent some time here at SBNOW dissecting and questioning the strategy behind the infamous Judith Valles letter in support of City Clerk incumbent Rachel Clark, so now it's time we take the magnifying glass to Turner.

The title is ominous, if clumsily-worded, with bold red letters declaring "Official Sex Predator Guide." (Obviously, the uninitiated could mistakenly take this title as meaning a guide FOR sex predators ... but that's not the intent, so we'll stop the cheap shots right there)

Click below for the full analysis ...

Although it was reported here at SBNOW before, it has now been confirmed that the identity of the policeman who sells those T-shirts depicting San Bernardino as a murder capital is none other than Lyle Reyes, a 20-year officer.

Note: To answer a reader's comment below - No, Reyes resides in Riverside.

I interviewed Reyes for about 30 minutes, during which he said he sells the shirts as a sort of release for frustration, not a political statement. He added that some top police brass, meaning Lieutenants on up, had bought the shirts from him, sometimes thru intermediaries, for $10 a pop.

This will be a story in this weekend's Sun. It should be a good read, and Reyes comes off as an affable, honest guy.

One other key point: Reyes said he has sold somewhere around 700 shirts and can barely keep them in stock, meaning gross of roughly $7,000. He doesn't have a business license, he admitted. City Clerk Rachel Clark verified Thursday that a $60 license is required for businesses like Reyes' which gross under $25,000 annually.

Here is one example of Reyes' handiwork. Note the reference to 187, the penal code for murder:

Just talked to former mayor Judith Valles and asked her if there was any truth to the suggestion that her letter attacking Joseph Turner on behalf of Rachel Clark was only sent to households with Hispanic surnames.

She said she didn't know, that she only wrote the letter at the request of people on Rachel Clark's campaign committee.

I asked Clark this morning, and she said she didn't know, that the letter was paid for by her committee but that Valles wrote AND sent it.

Amazingly, it looks like there could be something here. I didn't like asking this question, because I thought it was outrageous - almost beyond belief - that Clark or Valles would be part of some race-targeted campaign slime. That is supposed to be Turner's modus operandi.

I don't know yet what the truth is here, but neither Clark nor Valles would say that the letter was not targeted to Hispanic-surnamed households.

The letter, by the way, suggests Turner would turn the city clerk office into the "INS."