July 2008 Archives
The Sun's blogs already have at least two postings regarding Manny Ramirez's trade to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a deal that probably gives the Blue Crew a decent shot at winning a weak National League West division.
But Manny wasn't the only slugger who got traded today. The Cincinnati Reds dealt Ken Griffey Jr. to the Chicago White Sox, giving the future Hall of Famer a chance to play for a contending team in the twilight of his career.
Griffey Jr., many will recall, played in San Bernardino before he reached the Major Leagues. A 2006 article in our archives reported that Griffey played 58 games for the San Bernardino Spirit in 1988, hitting .338 over the course of those contests.
Do any readers watch Griffey playi at Fiscalini Field? The comments section is open for your memories.
The increasingly vigorous SB blogosphere has been humming for weeks with Operation Phoenix stuff.
One of the more interesting pieces today is happening over at Red County, where City Attorney James F. Penman has taken on right-wing blogger Joseph Turner.
For days, Turner has been lampooning the city leaders' handling of the Operation Phoenix debacle.
I was wrong. I didn't have complete information, a fact I realized when I saw that I didn't have Cpt. Curtis Janeway's name and gross pay.
I was missing one-third of the firefighters, a page of some 52 men and 1 woman who earned $7.3 million in total salary. Cpt. Janeway was on it.
I have now factored these new numbers in, and come up with a new gross pay average for 2006-7:
The average gross pay (salary+overtime) for a San Bernardino Firefighter in fiscal year 2006-7 was: $121,245
This is about $24,000 higher than the police average.
Of the 155 personnel who earned above the minimum salary, 128 earned more than $100,000.
More than 4 of every 5 firefighters took in more than $100,000.
A fire captain earned the highest amount, higher than the chief, with $179,157.
What was really startling was the overtime. Without it, the average salary would have been under $100,000.
95 out of 155 firefighters raked in more than $30,000 in overtime.
2 guys took in more than $60,000 in overtime.
13 guys took in more than $50,000 in overtime.
41 firefighters took in more than $40,000 in overtime.
For those who are uninitiated, the way overtime works is basically this: Firefighters work two full days per week, or 48 hour shifts. In a month, they can work 10 days, or 240 hours, at regular pay. Any shift beyond those 10 days is overtime. Every firefighter has opportunities to sign up for overtime, and virtually all do.
Some do a lot more than others.
The long-awaited story on police and fire compensation is coming this weekend. But the angle is a little different than originally expected.
Now, it's within the context of city budget crisis. The police union overwhelmingly voted down a measure last night to accept some concessions.
We'll ask them, and the fire unions, whether the city should expect to cut any costs at the expense of their salaries, benefits or other perks.
The big news of the day is the announcement that City Manager Fred Wilson is on his way from San Bernardino to Huntington Beach.
Coincidentally, this reporter's first job after college was in Huntington Beach. For much of 2004, I spent my work weeks splitting time between the "Huntington Beach Independent" and "Laguna Beach Coastline Pilot."
I spoke briefly with Debbie Cook, Huntington Beach's mayor on how she sees Wilson fitting in at that city.
"Hopefully he fits well," she said.
Cook said Huntington Beach officials liked that Wilson has managed a city of comparable size to Huntington Beach and that he has worked for San Bernardino for many years.
Cook said she has not followed recent news reports relating to the Operation Phoenix situation.
Current issues in Huntington Beach include development of mixed-use developments. The restoration of the Bolsa Chica wetlands - a hot topic for many years in Surf City - is almost completed she said.
In terms of population, Huntington Beach is about the same size as San Bernardino but much more affluent. The city generally has a low-crime rate and when this reporter worked there, political debates generally centered on issues of development versus environmental concerns.
I covered schools and public safety for the Independent, rather than politics, but I remember the political culture in Huntington Beach as being less aggressive than in San Bernardino. The city doesn't have the dynamic of a strong-mayor and elected city attorney that can institutionalize disputes in San Bernardino.
That's not to say the town's some kind of Mayberry. My colleagues covered real estate scandal there that cost a city councilwoman her post and her freedom. The LA Times reported on Sept. 26 2006 that former councilwoman Pam Julien Houchen was sentenced to 37 months in federal prison after she confessed to mail and wire fraud.
Prior to my arrival in Huntington Beach, Orange County prosecutors pursued a case against former HB Mayor David Garofalo for conflict-of-interest violations. The Orange County District Attorney's office boasts on its Web site that Garofalo ended up paying more than $49,000 in fines and was banned from holding public office.
I'm not including the history to criticize any of HB's current officeholders or predict that Wilson will face any similar political explosions over there. It's just to show that there's a lot more that happens in Huntington Beach than surfing.
Updating a story we broke here last night ...
Dennis Baxter told me an interesting story this morning while on a break from his work at KCAA news station.
He said a houseguest that wouldn't leave called police last night during an argument precipitated by Baxter insisting that it was time the woman move on.
Couldn't locate Wentworth, unfortunately, but no injuries were reported and Baxter said there was no physical component to this argument.
One thing that's interesting is how this all started. Baxter lives alone. He said he allowed the woman, whom he'd known a couple years, to live with him rent-free for a while as she got her life in order. He said there was never a romantic situation.
He said he was just being a good samaritan. Most people would agree, and probably a better samaritan than the average person would be. Moving someone in rent-free, without a lifelong, blood or romantic bond, seems a bit unusual.
"I am the victim here," Baxter said.
City Manager Fred Wilson will leave the city to take a new job in Huntington Beach.
Wilson said he applied for the job more than three months ago.
"I'm going to be 50 in January. I was looking to make one more move in my career."
"Huntington Beach looked like a good fit."
Click below for more rough chunks of the story we'll be running tomorrow ...
Breaking news ... you heard it here first. The Sun has learned that City Manager Fred Wilson is leaving for a position with the City of Huntington Beach.
Wilson has been the top management official in the city since taking over in December 1996.
Wilson leaves amidst swirling controversy over the Operation Phoenix and the current budget imbroglio.
Click below to read the one-page press release issued by the mayor's office announcing Wilson's move ...
Went to West Valley Detention Center for a third jailhouse conversation with accused child molester Mike Miller.
Not to be. Miller saw me and turned and walked away. A wasted morning. I hate going to the dungeon-like detention facility and leaving empty-handed. Not sure why he suddenly doesn't want to talk.
Maybe he didn't like my neck-tie?
As you know, eyes are all over the city ...
Numerous sources have told me they spotted Mayor Pat Morris, Chief of Staff Jim Morris, and ousted Operation Phoenix Director Glenn Baude having breakfast together at the Coco's restaurant on Highland Avenue near Arden.
One can only speculate what the topic was. Baude, whom Morris originally entrusted with the lead role in his anti-crime program, was placed on leave Friday by City Manager Fred Wilson for unspecified "conduct" over the past few weeks, according to Wilson.
Okay, here is the story as of late Tuesday.
We'll follow with more detail tomorrow.
San Bernardino Police responded to a 6:33 p.m. disturbance call at 2nd Ward City Councilman Dennis Baxter's home in the 300 block of East 17th Street.
At the scene, they discovered Baxter and a 52-year-old woman. The woman initially accused Baxter of some level of misdemeanor battery, police said.
But the woman declined to press charges, so Baxter was not arrested. Had there been significant injuries, police could have arrested and charged the 58-year-old Baxter with a felony.
The extent of injuries, if there were any, is unknown.
"She didn't want him charged," the watch commander on duty said Tuesday.
The information police gathered will be forwarded to the District Attorney for review, police said.
Baxter works as a radio show host in addition to his council duties. Since taking office in 2005, Baxter has established himself as a steady, if quiet and unassuming, presence on the council.
His political decisions typically align him with Mayor Pat Morris and liberal councilmembers Rikke Van Johnson and Esther Estrada.
The San Bernardino Police Department's watch commander just confirmed that police responded to a disturbance call tonight at 2nd Ward City Councilman Dennis Baxter's home on 17th Street.
Details are unclear as of yet. I understand that a woman was at Baxter's home when police responded.
We'll keep you posted as details emerged, but you heard it here first ...
Click below for the full story of Kevin Hawkins' journey from favored son to embattled leader - and back to work.
Hawkins, pictured in his office earlier this year | photo by E. Reed
The City Council emerged from closed session Monday and voted not to extend the San Bernardino's utility-users tax to Riverside-owned facilities in the city limits.
San Bernardino officials were traveling on a road to ask San Bernardino's voters to approve a plan to extend the tax to Riverside, which has wells inside San Bernardino's boundaries. But City Attorney James F. Penman said the council changed course Monday, when 5th Ward Councilman Chas Kelley introduced a motion to keep the tax off the ballot.
Reached by telephone late Monday, Kelley said he would defer to assistant city manager Lori Sassoon to explain why officials soured on the tax idea.
Monday's decision appears to prevent what could have been a heated campaign between San Bernardino and Riverside officials. This reporter isn't immediately knowledgeable of any case where a city taxes another city.
Considering Chief Justice John Marshall's famed remarks on the power to tax being the power to destroy (McCulloch v. Maryland), it could have been interesting to see what kinds of arguments would have been advanced by each side.
Click below for a fuller version of tomorrow's story.
In it, City Manager Fred Wilson admits to inadvertantly giving untrue statements to the press and District Attorney's investigators during their probe of the Mike Miller child molestation case.
Wilson also says publicly for the first time that he knew of BB gun incidents at the Operation Phoenix Center months before the information became public.
High-level sources have confirmed today that Glenn Baude was placed on paid administrative leave on Saturday.
Baude came under heavy criticism with the arrest of Operation Phoenix Center Manager Mike Miller.
Most recently, it was revealed by a District Attorney's report that Baude and City Manager Fred Wilson had directly contradictory accounts for the DAs investigators.
No word yet on the reason Baude is on leave, but answers are coming.
For information about enrolling a child, donating or becoming a
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call Young Visionaries Youth Leadership Academy at (909) 881-3382
By Robert Rogers
SAN BERNARDINO - The turnout was as big as ever, but the organizers
had a shadow of doubt.
I'm back at the Gardens. This is a story I am particularly proud of - a look at a great group of kids in a really tough housing project.
What's important is that very little in the way of resources go to any programs related to these poor children. And none for organized sports, a departure for past practice.
This story will not get as many reads or comments as the political intrigue stuff, but this is very important. Want to know how talented kids lose their way? See it here ...
Check this piece below, which shows there have been a lot of new faces coming into the city's beleagured parks and rec. dept. ...
Click below for the full ...
This version is extended beyond what will fit into tomorrow's print version.
Glenn Baude, Kevin Hawkins and two others are cleared of criminal wrongdoing.
Mayor Morris' office chipped in this 4-page response at about 5 p.m.
In it, he applauds the DAs work, says it confirms what he thought previously and vows to continue to tighten the bolts in his beleagured program.
He also slams the City Attorney for providing those damning emails between Hawkins, Martin-Robinson and Baude to the press ...
Click below to read Morris' response ...
This is an incredible read.
Of particular importance are two things: 1) The DA lists Glenn Baude as Mike Miller's supervisor since June 5. Baude continues to maintain that he never had supervisorial powers over Miller, contending that such a structural shift would have required council approval.
2) City Manager Fred Wilson and Baude directly contradict one another. Baude says he tells Wilson about rumors and other Miller-related stuff on June 30, and reports that Wilson tells him "we'll take care of it." Wilson denies ever discussing any of this with Baude prior to July 1, when he said he was told about email and investigation by Chief Mike Billdt.
Click on the link below to read the full, 8-page document and decide for yourself ...
Just got an announcment that the District Attorney's office will not prosecute San Bernardino employees for failing to report possible child molestation.
Investigators examined the actions of Code Enforcement director Glenn Baude, Parks and Recreation director Kevin Hawkins and Parks and Recreation administrators Glenda Robinson and Curtis Brown. None of the four will be charged with violating the state law that requires officials to report suspect child abuse.
Community center supervisor Mike Miller was arrested on suspicion of child molestation on July 3. Police were alerted to the case on July 1, four days after emails show the officials knew of rumors that Miller was sexually involved with a minor.
Prosecutors concluded that key those rumors were not enough knowledge to develop "reasonable suspicion" of child abuse.
More to follow ...
Just got a document from the Human Resources Dept. showing 17 workers leaving the department since Jan. 1.
Document does not specify firings or retirements, but sources are telling me that the majority of the people on my list got the axe.
12 of the "separations" are recreation aides or leaders, and 13 have occurred between March 1 and July 15, around the time that Mike Miller started raising red flags with erratic behavior before his July 3 arrest.
More on this to come ...
Just talked to Lt. Scott Paterson.
He wouldn't confirm that the results of the Phoenix investigation were coming in today, but he said it was "possible" the announcement will come.
I'd be surprised if it didn't ...
The California Department of Education announced today more than $200 million in bond money dispersals to school districts around the state.
San Bernardino County is getting nearly $50 million ...
Funds available to SBUSD schools for structural improvements:
Cole Elementary $3,067,376
Curtis Middle $8,197,982
Cypress Elementary $4,718,526
Lankershim Elementary $4,071,990
Ramona-Alessandro Elementary $4,815,032
San Bernardino High $14,629,537
Funds available for new school construction countywide:
Adelanto Elementary School District
New Elementary School $1,587,049
SBUSD
North Verdemont Elementary $2,335,121
Roosevelt Elementary $2,455,425
San Bernardino County Office of Education
Chino Hills Early Ed Center $336,800
Phelan Young Adult Center $15,000
Lt. Scott Paterson of the San Bernardino Police Department just informed me that there won't be any announcements today regarding the department's joint investigation with the District Attorney's office.
"We're working through some things," he said, noting that he'll be on the job Friday.
"If there's something, I'll give you a call," he added.
Police and the District Attorney's office embarked upon their investigation last week to determine if any city staffers failed to obey California law that requires several classes of public officials to report possible cases of child molestation.
Community center manager Mike Miller has been charged with more than 20 counts of molestation, and e-mails show that some officials knew of rumors that he had been sexually involved with a minor about four days before a county staffer notified police.
It seems like we'll know whether that's the case sometime Friday. We'll update when we know more.
Just spoke to Police Chief Mike Billdt, who is part of the joint investigation with the DA into the city's response to reports of child molestation.
I asked Billdt straight up whether the public would get the results of the investigation today.
He said he could only tell me that when the Police Department was ready, they would issue a press release and alert the press and public.
I asked if that was likely to happen today, tomorrow or next week, and he repeated the same answer.
Getting the feeling the investigation is wrapped. Just waiting for an announcement ...
Salvia divinorum, a plant that can be used as a hallucinogenic drug, has been unencumbered by legal restrictions in the Golden State but that will change in 2009.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed A.B. 259 on Tuesday. The law, authored by Assemblyman Anthony Adams, R-Claremont, makes it a misdemeanor to sell salvia to minors. Adults will still be able to purchase and use the drug.
I spoke with San Bernardino County Sheriff's Lt. Jerry Davis late Wednesday about salvia. Davis said he's worked narcotics cases for a decade has taken an interest in salvia.
He said salvia use hasn't risen to epidemic proportions but he doesn't like it.
"There is absolutely no good reason to use this stuff," Davis said. "Whereas pot will just make you paranoid or happy or really hungry, this stuff will make you hallucinate like an acid trip."
Davis related to me some discussions he's had with salvia users who experienced bad trips. He told me one person got into a fight with mini blinds, and another had a confrontation with food.
"One told me that they had a burrito on their plate and it grew legs and feet and started coming at them" Davis said.
Davis, like Adams in an interview earlier this year, referred to the many YouTube videos that show teens high on salvia. The clips often show users - especially first time users - tripping out while friends sit back and laugh the user's actions.
The effects of salvia, Davis said can be compared to an out-of-body experience or even time travel.
One commenter on a YouTube video had this to say:
"that ...[expletive deleted] makes you feel like a puppet, or like your getting pulled into something like a different dimension..no joke...i do think it is funner to watch people on it, that [expletive deleted] made me feel way too [expletive deleted] weird."
Another viewer of a different video argued the YouTube users are paving the way for salvia's eventual prohibition:
"people need to STOP making salvia high videos please i want to bea ble to smoke this legally"
Salvia was first used by the indigenous people of Oaxaca, Mexico. Now, Internet retailers sell the plant alongside other herbal products that are billed as legal alternatives to marijuana or tobacco as well as other botanicals.
Daniel Siebert of Malibu is a salvia advocate with a Web site dedicated to the plant and its uses. I interviewed him in January and he said he does not oppose restricting salvia sales to minors.
On his Web site, he writes that some people use salvia as an entheogen, which means they seek to attain profound spiritual experiences via salvia-induced altered perceptions.
He also writes that salvia users should not use the drug while alone. Siebert recommends that users have a "sitter" to watch out for them if they have a bad trip.
"Having a sitter present is absolutely essential whenever you are taking a dose that might be high enough to cause you to lose awareness of your physical environment, freak out, or become delusional," he writes.
I am hearing that the Department of Parks and Rec. has undergone a serious cleansing.
Not only were many top level officials' files, computers, etc. subject to full investigation, but as many as 10 employees have been cut loose in just the last two weeks, according to sources requesting anonymity.
What will be interesting is what the DA's decision on this case and investigation says. It will either indicate that charges will be filed or provide a brief declaration that no charges will be filed, or it will be a longer explanation about why the delay between hearing allegations and contacting police (4 days) did not rise to criminal misconduct.
Stay tuned ...
Went to the Waterman Gardens Community Center in the housing projects of the same name again today.
We played some football and had a great time.
I will have a full story about this meagerly-funded center and the kids who flock to it this weekend.
Here are two photos of us catching a breather after a grueling game of touch football. This is a great bunch. Tough, smart kids who grow up amid a tragic milieu of poverty and gang violence.
We've already introduced new blogger and San Bernardino city reporter Andrew Edwards.
He has also streaked to a fast start with timely and incisive posts.
But his picture is not yet up on the blog. So here is a shot of our intrepid reporter, pictured here on a typical "working lunch."
The "food" is some unidentified slop from the nearby Taco Bell. Andrew is known around the newsroom as "Pacman." Not because he has anything in common with precocious Dallas cornerback Pacman Jones or Sean Penn's character in the crime drama Colors. In Andrew's case, it's just because he'll eat anything ... and frequently does.
Feel free to comment. We always welcome constructive criticism ...
Here is tomorrow's story today. Click below for full piece ...
By Andrew Edwards and Robert Rogers
Staff Writers
SAN BERNARDINO -- Mayoral aide Kent Paxton said he's moving forward as Operation Phoenix coordinator although City Attorney James F. Penman continues to maintain the City Charter prohibits his new role.
Paxton's new job was revealed Friday as part of Mayor Pat Morris' Operation Phoenix reorganization plan. The plan was announced as a way to eliminate communication breakdowns among officials involved with Phoenix activities.
Paxton said that on Monday he participated in his first management meeting as Operation Phoenix coordinator.
We're working on a story about President Bush dropping his opposition to a Congressional housing bill that could include some tax incentives and credits of up to $7,500 for first time buyers.
I have been talking with a number of city housing officials and got a statement from Rep. Joe Baca (D-Rialto).
Click below for some local outlook of how this legislation could impact us, one of the nation's hardest hit places ...
My sources tell me the investigation by the District Attorney's office into the city's handling of the Mike Miller molestation case is extensive.
Phones may be tapped, email communication is monitored, and files of information held by a number of high level Department of Parks and Recreation staff has been seized, I'm told.
In a conversation with a high-level official this morning, I was cautioned that our conversations were likely being recorded.
This reporter can't help but continue to think about the ways Mayor Pat Morris has used the word "cancer" when discussing the Operation Phoenix.
Here's an excerpt from the July 22 article headlined "Delayed reaction" that Robert Rogers and I wrote:
During an interview at The Sun last week, Mayor Morris complained that his office asked parks staffers for policies outlining responses to suspected molestation and was told no such policy could be unearthed. "We said it was totally unacceptable," Pat Morris said. "We've found major cancers," he added. Morris' statement showed a clear shift in outlook. On July 3, the day of Miller's arrest, the mayor said there was "no cancer" afflicting Operation Phoenix.When the Mayor disclosed his judgment that "major cancers' have been found, he was referring specifically to his reaction to Parks and Recreation managers being unable to produce any policy that outlined what actions staffers need to take when confronted with the possibility that someone inside Parks and Recreation may be abusing children.
We know that some city employees, including former Operation Phoenix director Glenn Baude and parks chief Kevin Hawkins were aware of rumors that community center director Mike Miller was sexually involved with a minor about four days before July 1, when a county worker alerted San Bernardino Police to Miller's alleged crimes.
Police and District Attorney's officials have launched an investigation to determine if state law that requires officials to notify police of suspected child molestation was broken. We should emphasize here that we do not know if the minor who was referred to in the June 27 emails that refer to Miller's rumored activity is one of the alleged victims who prosecutors identified (by birthdate only) in their criminal complaint against Miller.
Back to the parks issue, a July 16 memo from Hawkins to the Mayor and City Council lays out revised community center policies that were written to address the safety of children who use San Bernardino's recreational facilities.
Here are some excerpts:
Policy #1: Staff shall not be alone with individual minors. If intervention with a minor is necessaruy, the intervention shall not occur out-of-sight of a second staff member. Individual staff/child interaction shall not occur behind closed doors.
Policy #2: Staff shall not maintain a personal relationship with a minor attending the community services center or its programs, outside of the community services center or its programs.
Policy #5: All applicants for employment shall continue to be fingerprinted and have a criminal background check prior to being hired.
Policy #6: All staff shall have child abuse mandated reporter and sexual harrassment training. Staff shall have an annual refresher course on both trainings and a post-test following training.
On Tuesday I visited the Waterman Gardens Community Center in the housing projects of the same name.
The center is open to kids from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. five days per week.
Funds for its operation come from the county housing authority through the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. The department pays contract groups to staff the center.
The center is small and programming leaves something to be desired, which probably shouldn't be surprising given the lean funding (one part-time sfaffer was there Tuesday) is very lean, but the kids there were great.
Below is a shot of one of favorite youngsters, Jermontay Bealton, 12. His friends call him "peanut." Jermontay is a very smart and athletic kid growing up in the projects. He told me his grades were "B's and C's." I made him promise he would bring 'em up a bit. Below, he demonstrates his skateboarding dexterity.
We played basketball, a sport in which they more than held their own. Later, I was able to teach a few things at such rigorous sports as ping pong, Connect Four, and chess.
I'm going to do a story on this center for the weekend. What will be key is just how economically poor children in this community are and how meager the funding for their afterschool program is.
Also, don't forget that the "Gardens" has historically been a rather violent place. My first visit there was after the tragic shooting death of teenager Traveil Williams.
Growing up here is a profound challenge. The lure of gangs. The grind of poverty. The social backdrop of few role-models and under-educated parents.
Spending some time there really helps one empathize with how hard a road these kids have. It's rather heartbreaking to look around and see all this talent, all these kids who have the capacity to excel in school and go to college and do anything, and know at the same time that the statistical odds of that happening are dismal.
Not many kids in the Gardens go to college. And it's not because they aren't smart or driven enough.
Their disadvantages aren't hereditary or personal, they are environmental, economic and social. That assessment isn't ideological either, it's simply true.
Pastor David Rhone of First Church of the Nazarene, the local church that partnered with Operation Phoenix to provide the facilities and gym for the central center on Sierra Way, called me today.
We spoke briefly. In particular, he said he thought the blame the community was heaping on former Operation Phoenix Director Glenn Baude was misplaced, most importantly because Baude was not the guy in charge of Mike Miller, the center manager now in jail of child molestation charges.
Who was actually in charge of Miller has always been in dispute. Emails between Baude and Parks and Rec Director Kevin Hawkins show them discussing the ways in which oversight of Miller could be tranferred from parks to Operation Phoenix.
For Rhone, a respected pastor who spent much time at the center (in his church facility), the blame is clearly not Baude's.
"For those four months, during which his behavior was reportedly becoming more bizarre and questionable, Miller was firmly and completely under the Department of Parks and Recreation," Rhone said.
Rhone continued.
"Through conversations with people in management of Parks and Recreation, Miller was reporting directly to them, he didn't report to Phoenix and didn't report to the mayor," he said.
Rhone went on to say something else of interest.
After a leaked memo written by parks supervisor Glenda Martin-Robinson showed four months of serious misconduct by Miller, questions began arising as to what course of action Martin-Robinson, apparently Miller's direct supervisor at least until last month, had done about it. She has steadfastly avoided questions.
Rhone said, "Employees told me directly that the chain of command was so strong, that anybody who jumped the chain would find their job in peril," Rhone said.
Hmmm. To recap, we know Hawkins, Martin-Robinson and Baude discussed via a June 27 email possible sexual misconduct with a "minor" on the part of Miller. We don't know precisely what they did with that information, but we do know police said they weren't contacted until July 1.
We also now know of four months of misconduct by Miller, because Martin-Robinson documented it in a July 8 memo. We don't know what she did with that information, but we do know that Miller continued to work.
Click below for a fuller version of the exchange between the police union and Mayor Pat Morris.
There is some redundancy, but this very interesting piece is more detailed than what will make the paper tomorrow.
A must read ...
In tomorrow's article, we are going to take a closer look at the fissure that has ripped open between Mayor Pat Morris and the police union over Operation Phoenix.
Just another element of fall-out over the debacle that has emerged since Mike Miller was arrested July 3 on more than 20 counts of alleged child molestation.
There is more information seeping out of the saga that began with Mike Miller's arrest on child molestation charges.
No one will say it on the record, but I now have two high-level sources telling me that the emails between Glenda Martin-Robinson, Glenn Baude and Kevin Hawkins on June 27 originated with reports that Miller was carrying on an innapropriate relationship with a 16-year-old girl at the center.
I had one source telling me this same thing last week. But, as most people know, one source without a name doesn't mean much in terms of legitimacy.
Miller was arrested July 3, and has been charged with molesting three girls. None of the charges pertain to a 16-year-old girl.
So what does this mean? Does this change anything? Not really.
We reported numerous times the content of the emails between the three principals. In the emails we obtained thru a public info request, no one says anything about a 16-year-old. Instead, the email states that Miller may have engaged in "possible sexual involvement with a minor during work hours."
Whether the principals were discussing a 16-year-old or a 7-year-old or a minor of any other age at that early juncture doesn't seem particularly important in terms of how they responded.
The response, it would seem, should be the same either way.
What was the response? Well, Baude, Hawkins, Martin-Robinson and others may have investigated Miller, but we're not sure to what extent.
What we do know is that the mayor said no one told him. We also know the police department said no one told them until July 1, when a county worker reported Miller. We also know Miller was allowed to work with kids after his bosses learned of allegations of "possible sexual involvement."
Just got a call from a nice woman who said she woke up this morning to helicopters whisking away massive sacks of marijuana from a creekside estate in Summit Valley off Highway 173.
The woman, who declined to give her name but said she was an ex-Sheriff Deputy, said this looked like a big one.
My colleagues are working to put together a fuller story about this for tomorrow's paper. Readers always love news about huge pot busts ...
A quick rundown of Monday night's actions:
- The council voted 5-0, with Esther Estrada and Rikke Van Johnson absent, to extend its moratorium on group homes for parolees, probationers and sex offenders for one year. The city's current moratorium was set to expire on Aug. 1. The move officially gives the city more time to study the group home issue and draft a permanent policy.
The council voted after a handful of parolees and Tom Kanavos, CEO of Turill Transitional, spoke in favor of group homes. Kanavos appeared to be near tears when he denounced City Attorney James F. Penman for listing the names of registered sex offenders in his request for council action.
- The council approved a Fire Department plan to establish a Hazardous Materials Investigation Unit that will be charged with keeping an eye out for illegally dumped materials like oil drums.
- A group of women from the Inland Empire and beyond spoke against substandard conditions at the city's animal shelter. The new group is calling itself Canine 909.
-The council did not hold budget discussions, but will meet again to discuss the matter next Monday.