January 2009 Archives

Atmosphere will be the headlining performer at the show, which is scheduled to be held March 28 at the National Orange Show Events Center. I can't claim to be an expert on all things hip hop, but they're pretty cool.

The other announced acts are: Tech N9ne, Living Legends, Brother Ali, B-Real, Grouch & Eligh, Eyedea & Abilities, Cage, Blu & Exile, LMNO. The show is set to be hosted by 2Mex.

As they don't say in France, here is le press release.

FYI, there's some strong language in the streaming audio.

Council candidate Fred Shorett's campaign reports that the San Bernardino Professional Firefighters Association has endorsed his candidacy.

The association is the union that represents San Bernardino city firefighters.

Shorett, an independent sales contractor, is one of four candidates running in the special election for the 4th Ward Council seat. The other candidates are university IT manager Joe Arnett, Internet mattress salesman Saman Saman, and pharmaceutical company representative John Valdivia.

City Council candidate Joe Arnett reports that he's received the endorsement of the San Bernardino Valley Republican Assembly has his endorsed his campaign.

The San Bernardino Valley Republican Assembly is a chapter of the California Republican Assembly, a fiscally and socially conservative organization.

Arnett, a university IT manager, is one of four candidates running in the special election for the 4th Ward Council seat. The other candidates are Internet mattress salesman Saman Saman, independent sales contractor Fred Shorett and pharmaceutical company representative John Valdivia.

Last week's kerfuffle over a proposal to ease the city's restrictions against 99 cent and convenience stores calmed down Tuesday when the council's legislative committee was able to make a deal that make it easier for discount stores to set up shop in San Bernardino.

The committee consists of 3rd Ward CouncilmanTobin Brinker, 6th Ward Councilman Rikke Van Johnson and 7th Ward Councilwoman Wendy McCammack. At a special meeting Tuesday, the three agreed that developers planning 99 cent stores could submit their proposals to the city as long as those stores have at least 15,000 square feet of space.

At present, new 99 cent stores are generally prohibited under a moratorium designed to create a legal force field blocking 12 types of businesses that city officials say contribute to blight. Such businesses include tatoo parlors, smoke shops and small tire shops.

During the Jan. 20 City Council meeting, officials engaged in a heated argument over Brinker's proposal to change the moratorium. Brinker was particularly incensed that the City Attorney's Office declared that his idea - allowing the council to make case-by-case exemptions to the moratorium - would be unconstitutional on the basis that a lack of objective criteria would violate developers' due process.

But a 15,000 square foot minimum would establish an objective standard for any developer seeking an entitlement for a new 99 cent store. A revised law to allow for that change could go before the committee in February.

The question of how to revise the moratorium may be revised in favor of convenience stores has yet to be answered.

The libertarian-minded Cato Institute reports that it has taken out a full-page ad in the New York Times and other publications in opposition to the President Obama's plan to employ a massive stimulus package to jump start the national economy.

The ad is signed by dozens by economists and argues that a repeat New Deal won't save the economy. Cato maintains that the New Deal did not end solve the Great Depression.

"As such, it is a triumph of hope over experience to believe that more government spending will help the U.S. today. To improve the economy, policymakers should focus on reforms that remove impediments to work, saving, investment and production. Lower tax rates and a reduction in the burden of government are the best ways of using fiscal policy to boost growth,"
reads the advertisement.

Several local officials seem to have signed on to the stimulus plan. Representatives from San Bernardino, Fontana, Rialto, Barstow and other local governments attended a recent meeting convened by Rep. Joe Baca in order to propose various projects that could be worthy of stimulus funding.

By Matt Wrye

Matt Florez, who took over his father's McDonald's franchise at age 18, will open his fourth and largest franchise in February. Florez, who is now 28, will open his new location on Feb. 21 at 1208 N. Mount Vernon Ave. in San Bernardino.

A full day of activities will include food specials, giveaways, and appearances by Ronald McDonald and local dignitaries.

Florez has hired 65 local people for the staff.

Bee Pindel, office manager of the U.S. Census Bureau office in San Bernardino, said the office will need to put people to work in the coming weeks.

Pindel said there's an immediate need for listers, employees who verify local address information. People hired as listers could go to work in about six weeks. The job is part of the preparations for the 2010 Census, when the government will work to enumerate every man, woman and child living in the United States.

The job line for all Census jobs is (866) 861-2010. Pindel said many people are trying to get through the phone system to take the necessary test to score a job.

"The phone lines are so busy that they may have to be a little bit persistent," she said.

This reporter worked as a renumerator for the 2000 Census. He's subject to a lifelong oath of secrecy.

Here's an article about a letter that 1st Ward Councilwoman Esther Estrada wrote to assist an Inland Empire teen accused of several felonies for his alleged role in an April 2008 robbery spree.

Estrada maintains in her letter that the youth was not a hardcore case, just a young man who happened to get mixed up with the wrong guys and had no intention to commit the alleged crimes, which include attempted murder. Estrada did not ask for the charges to be dropped but did request that the teen be tried in juvenile court instead of adult court.

The letter did not sway prosecutors, and the teen faces trial as an adult in West Valley Superior Court.

If one assumes that the teen was indeed caught up in the crimes of others, the case raises an interesting question. Should prosecutors use the full power of the law to punish those who are not hardcore gangsters - but noneetheless become involved in gang-related offenses - or temper their prosecutions to favor rehabilitation. At first glance, the answer seems to hinge on whether deterrence or mercy is a better guide for crime prevention.

I waited to post this until 5 p.m. in order to give Estrada more time to comment on her letter. I've left multiple phone messages since the past week but have so far not been able to speak directly with the councilwoman.

The story, longer than the version headed for the print edition, follows the jump.

There might be something weird going on in America, or at least the American media, when the new presidential administration is not even a week old and people are already projecting who may be the GOP standard bearer in 2012.

But it's kind of interesting to see a San Bernardino native figure in presidential prognosticatiions. The Atlantic's Marc Ambinder reports that San Gorgonio High School grad Dirk Kempthorne is already testing the waters for a 2012 campaign.

Kempthorne has served as Interior Secretary under former President George W. Bush, as well as governor of Idaho and a U.S. senator representing that state.

In other political news, President Barack Obama will have occupied the White House for a full week as of Tuesday, and will have 207 weeks to go before his term expires.

Newly-released numbers from the state's Employment Development Department show that the December unemployment rate in San Bernardino County was 9.7 percent.

The EDD tallied more than 88,000 county residents as being unemployed.

In Riverside County, the unemployment rate was 10.4 percent.

The statewide, seasonally-adjusted figure was an unemployment rate of 9.1 9.3 percent.

Not surprisingly, EDD statistics show that construction workers took a beating in 2008. The number of people working in construction shrunk by 10.8 percent from December 2007 through December 2008.

Check out the EDD's release for more numbers.

Rosalyn Sanders, 52, of San Bernardino, is one of many Inland Empire residents trying to find a job in the midst of a recession.

The state Economic Development Department is set to release new unemployment numbers Friday. A colleague of mine, Matt Wrye, says there's a chance the statistics could reveal that unemployment in the San Bernardino area could exceed 10 percent.

Things are messed up right now.

Sanders went to the state EDD's office in Rancho Cucamonga to meet recruiters who were interested in hiring employees to work at a new warehouse for a well-known shoe company in Ontario. Despite the economic slowdown, the company is looking to hire about 100 new workers this year.

Unemployment hit Sanders in October when she lost her job at a warehouse where Mervyn's stored merchandise. Mervyn's went kaput and Sanders lost her job has not given up her attempts to get a new one.

"Something's got to come forward for me, don't you think?," she asked.

I was assigned today to get some quotes to help another reporter working on a story about continued demand for an issue of "The Amazing Spider-Man" featuring newly-inaugurated President Barack Obama.

Spider-Man's alter ego, Peter Parker, is a photojournalist. We in the newsroom then discussed whether Peter Parker could have a job in the Marvel Universe's Obama administration as press secretary or White House photographer, assuming Spider-Man is a Democrat. This reporter thinks that's not an unreasonable assumption, although he's pretty sure that Wolverine would lean toward the GOP.

When this reporter still collected X-Men books during the early 1990s Wolverine was portrayed as a Canadian, so unless his character has since received U.S. citizenship or has been revealed as actually being American born, he wouldn't have been able to vote.

Of course, Wolverine can't vote because he's not real. But who cares? This reporter has also been assigned to suggest which other characters would be well-suited for Cabinet appointments.

Yeah, this is the kind of stuff we talk about in the newsroom.

Here's a list:

Secretary of State: Steve Rogers, AKA Captain America.
Secretary of Defense: Tony Stark, AKA Iron Man
Secretary of the Treasury: Reed Richards, AKA Mr. Fantastic
Attorney General: Matt Murdoch, AKA Daredevil (Credit for nomination goes to Jesse Gill at the Redlands Daily Facts.)
Secretary of Energy, Jean Grey, AKA Phoenix
Secretary of Education, Emma Frost, AKA White Queen
Director of National Intelligence: Charles Xavier, AKA Professor X
National Security Adviser: Col. Nick Fury
Solicitor General: Jennifer Walters, AKA She-Hulk

The City Council voted Tuesday to spend nearly $78,000 on four new Ford F-250 pickup trucks for San Bernardino's new anti-graffiti team.

The vendor in the deal is San Bernardino-based Fairview Ford.

The council voted 4-2 to approve the spending request. Councilmen Dennis Baxter, Tobin Brinker, Chas Kelley and Rikke Van Johnson cast "yes" votes. Councilwomen Esther Estrada and Wendy McCammack voted "no."

McCammack was unhappy about the prospect of the cash-strapped city spending money on new trucks. Public Services Director Ken Fischer responded that the city did not have suitable used vehicles in the city fleet.

Also on Tuesday, the council voted to appoint five employees to the new anti-graffiti team.

The city's steps to create a new anti-graffiti squad follow the council's controversial move to end its contract with Los Padrinos, a San Bernardino organization that employed troubled youth to abate graffiti.

None of the new employees came from Los Padrinos, Fischer said.

It's very likely that the Police Department will lose helicopter patrols at the end of June.

Tuesday, the City Council voted 5-1 to continue funding the city's helicopter contract with Riverside-based California Aviation Services until June 30, when the fiscal year comes to a close.
7th Ward Councilwoman Wendy McCammack, concerned about the cost of the chopper, cast the sole "no" vote.

The city is set to spend $278,000 on the helicopter over the remainder of the contract.

"It's unaffordable but we've come to the conclusion that we have no other alternative," interim City Manager Mark F. Weinberg said.

Weinberg has said the city faces a current fiscal year shortfall as high as $12 million.

In his request for council action, Weinberg recommended that the council allow the helicopter to expire at the end of the fiscal year and to reconsider to possibility of aerial patrols at a time when the city has more money.

SBPD's current helicopter contract began in 2006. Last year, the council voted to cancel the contract in an attempt to save money but quickly reversed that decision in order to avoid a possible lawsuit.

A Jan. 15 letter from the State Bar reveals that authorities have decided not to take any action against City Attorney James F. Penman related to allegations of professional misconduct.

"I finally did get exonerated," Penman said.

The complaint, Penman said, stemmed from the 2005 mayoral campaign when then-Mayor Judith Valles accused Penman of using his post for political purposes. The Sun received an anonymous copy of the complaint in February 2006, days before the runoff election won by Pat Morris.

That copy of the complaint could not be found in files remaining from that campaign.

Penman said the complaint cost the city nearly $14,000.

Valles could not be reached for comment.

A spokesperson for the State Bar said she could not legally comment on the investigation or the letter.

Saman Saman, a City Council candidate with a rap sheet that includes guilty pleas on felony and misdemeanor charges of domestic violence, is eligible to run for office.

"Mr. Saman is not on felony parole. He is on felony probation and there is a difference," City Attorney James F. Penman said. "Under the state constitution, he is eligible to run."

Saman, running to represent the city's 4th Ward, could not be reached immediately for comment.

There are three other candidates on the ballot for the Special Election to determine a successor to Neil Derry, who is now a San Bernardino County Supervisor. Capsule profiles for candidates Joe Arnett, Fred Shorett and John Valdivia as well as Saman have been posted previously on SB Now.

Previous coverage can be accessed by clicking on the "2009 Special Election" link under categories on the right side of the computer screen.

The question of whether City Hall should relax current restrictions on new convenience or discount stores prompted a few bitter words Tuesday night as council members argued over whether some kinds of businesses should be allowed to set up shop in San Bernardino.

Councilmen Tobin Brinker and Chas Kelley were unsuccessful in their attempt to ease restrictions against convenience and overstock stores. Those types of businesses are two of 12 classes of businesses that are banned or restricted under a current moratorium. The theory behind the moratorium is the idea that some stores attract shady customers who cause problems.

Brinker and Kelley wanted new laws to allow the council to OK convenience and discount stores on a case-by-case basis.

But the two could not muster their colleagues' support to change the law Tuesday night. The four other council members present - Esther Estrada, Dennis Baxter, Rikke Van Johnson and Wendy McCammack - voted to send the issue back to the council's legislative committee for more work.

During Tuesday's debate, Brinker maintained that forbidding convenience stores stifles commerce.

"This is the kind of anti-business attitude that makes it hard to bring people to this city," Brinker said.

But the City Attorney's Office refused to sign off on the proposal, asserting that such case-by-case decision making would be so lacking in clear and equally enforceable standards as to be unconstitutional.

"We feel the proposed ordinance lacks objective standards and is therefore vague and ambiguous," said Henry Empeno of the City Attorney's Office.

Brinker and Kelley were unwilling to accept that argument. The proposal to ease the moratorium has been on the table since last year and in their opinion, the legal team's objections came too late in the game to be reasonable.

"It's very unprofessional and I'm shocked," Brinker said to Empeno.

As the meeting went on, McCammack and Kelley accused each other of acting like children.

McCammack also charged that Brinker and Kelley were attempting to pass "a joke of an ordinance ... to get in the good graces of certain developers."

The council voted to send the issue back to committee after Mayor Pat Morris implored those on the dais to refrain from personal attacks.

Whether the proposal dies a bureaucratic death in committee or returns to the dais remains to be seen.

I spoke to Mayor Pat Morris earlier today regarding upcoming leadership changes in the city, specifically San Bernardino's need for a new city manager and a successor to Police Chief Michael Billdt. Billdt has said he will retire in March.

Morris is also eligible to run for reelection this year. When I asked him if he'll go for a second term, he didn't say "yes" or "no."

"I am focused on the present," he said. "We've got a host of important issues."

Morris identified - not surprisingly - public safety and the economy as paramount issues.

I'm not reading too much into Morris' remark. It's common for politicians to downplay their future campaign plans until they arrange the requisite hoopla for an official announcement.

In addition to the mayoral election, the November ballot is also scheduled to feature contests for the 1st, 2nd and 4th City Council wards. Those seats are currently held by Esther Estrada, Dennis Baxter, and nobody. Whoever wins the Special Election in March for the right to represent the 4th Ward will have to stand for reelection pretty much immediately.

I was able to reach Baxter before Tuesday's council meeting and he said he plans to seek reelection.

"For Love," a Valentine Dinner & Auction, will touch local hearts on Feb. 14.

The semi-formal event will benefit the work of the Garden of Angels and the Safe Surrender for Newborns law. The nonprofit Garden of Angels is a cemetery within a cemetery that has become the final resting place for abandoned and unclaimed children.

The fundraiser is set for 6-11 p.m. Feb. 14 in the Grand Ball Room of the Hilton Hotel San Bernardino, 285 E. Hospitality Lane. Reservations are requested by Feb. 1 and special rate hotel reservations are requested by Jan. 31.

Tickets are $75. For reservations or more information, call (909) 797-8599 or visit gardenofangels.org.

A free celebration to commemorate Barack Obama's presidential inauguration is scheduled to being early Tuesday morning at Fox Theater in downtown San Bernardino.

Doors are scheduled to open at 6 a.m. Coverage of ceremonies in Washington, D.C. is set to be projected like a movie onto a big screen. Obama's swearing in is set to be followed by entertainment including R & B music by Dr. Bombay and the Blue Machine and comedy by Big Wood.

The event is not expected to end until 10 p.m. There is no charge for admission and proceeds from food sales will benefit American Sports University's scholarship fund, according to theater management.

Fox Theater is at American Sports University, 399 North D Street.

Democrat Barack Obama is scheduled to be sworn in Tuesday as the United States' first black president. There are a number of public opportunities to watch coverage of the proceedings in the East Valley and High Desert.

- Public viewing of the inauguration is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. Tuesday in the Bing Wong Auditorium at Norman F. Feldheym Central Library, 555 West Sixth Street, San Bernardino.

- The Lewis Library and Technology Center is scheduled to show television coverage of the events in the library cafe. The library is at 8437 Sierra Ave., Fontana.

- San Bernardino Valley College plans to show the inauguration at multiple screens in the Campus Center, particularly the cafeteria. The campus is at 701 South Mount Vernon Ave., San Bernardino.

- The Ultra Star 14 cinema in Apple Valley plans to show Obama's inauguration on the big screen for free. The theater has announced that viewers will be able to enter Ultra Star 14 beginning at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday to view coverage that is scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. Free drink refills will be offered. The theater is at 22311 Bear Valley Road, Apple Valley.

To RSVP online, contact obamareservation@ultrastarmovies.com.

Federal officials have given an official thumbs up to local officials' plans to spend millions in an effort to save foreclosed homes from decay.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced Thursday that 19 California municipalities will get a share of funds made available under a plan called the Neighborhood Stabilization Program.

The program allows redevelopment officials to spend federal money, to purchase and repair foreclosed homes. he money, which totals to nearly $4 billion to be allocated from coast to coast, can also be used to help low- and moderate-income buyers purchase homes.

San Bernardino County municipalities included in HUD's announcement are:

-Fontana - $5,953,309

-Hesperia - $4,590,719

-San Bernardino - $8,408,558

-San Bernardino County - $22,758,188

HUD required local redevelopment officials to submit spending plans before funds could be disbursed.

In San Bernardino, for example, the plan shows that there are more than 3,100 foreclosed homes citywide. The plan reports that the greatest need is in within the western and central areas.

Money could be used for down payment assistance, rehabilitation of rental homes, purchase and resale of properties and demolition of blighted properties.

Carey Jenkins, director of housing and community development for the San Bernardino Economic Development Agency said officials could start making purchases in April.

"We're all hoping that we can get additional funds," Jenkins said. "It's a minimal amount when you have the number of foreclosures that we do."

Circuit City announced today that the chain will liquidate.

"We are extremely disappointed by this outcome. The company had been in continuous negotiations regarding a going concern transaction. Regrettably for the more than 30,000 employees of Circuit City and our loyal customers, we were unable to reach an agreement with our creditors and lenders to structure a going-concern transaction in the limited timeframe available, and so this is the only possible path for our company," said Circuit City acting CEO James A. Marcum said in a statement.

In San Bernardino, Circuit City has a store on Hospitality Lane. News of Circuit City's fall follows Mervyn's departure from the business scene and the more recent development that Gottschalk's has petitioned for bankruptcy protection.

Here's an article about a Northeastern University study that about homicide trends across the nation.

One of the study's central findings was the observation that homicides in which black male teens were victims or perpetrators, the authors didn't seem to find any specific reasons why the problem was most severe among black youths, but do find data in support of an argument that rising homicide rates are more likely to be observed in urban locales.

The report finds that federal aid to police departments to large cities (250,000 or more residents) has declined precipitously since the early part of the decade. That trend corresponds with another observation - the ratio of cops to residents in large cities has shrunk more severely than in smaller cities.

The study's authors support a "youth bailout," greater funding for youth-oriented crime prevention programs to balance police enforcement.

The study can be accessed online.

By Andrew Edwards
Staff Writer

A recent study examining national crime trends concludes that homicides among black teenage males increased for much of the decade at an alarming rate.

The study, written by a pair of criminologists at Northeastern University in Boston, calls for increased investment in crime prevention programs.

"While overall homicide levels in the United States have fluctuated minimally in recent years, those involving young victims and perpetrators -- particularly young black males -- have surged," reads the opening sentence of the report.
Despite the bad news, the study finds that the increase in killings among black teenagers has not led to a situation as bad as existed in American cities during the crack cocaine-fueled violence of the 1980s and early 1990s.

Instead, criminologists James Alan Fox and Marc L. Swatt write that the uptick in homicides is an almost inevitable phenomenon after the national decrease in crime that began in the 1990s.

Fox and Swatt argue that American policymakers, partly because of the focus on counterterrorism in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks, turned their attention away from street violence since the successes of the past decade.

Another observation is the possibility that the previous decline in violence has allowed the bloody realities of gang life to fade from the memories of at-risk youths. Fox and Swatt propose that many young men may not realize the dangers of gang life.

Terrance Stone, a former gang member who is now president of San Bernardino-based Young Visionaries Youth Leadership Academy, agreed that the stigma of gang membership has faded.

"One thing I've seen with gangs ... now it's more acceptable," Stone said, "It's not so much (that) you're an outcast anymore looking like a gang member."

Young Visionaries' mission is keeping youths out of gangs. The U.S. Department of Justice recently awarded Stone's group a $200,000 grant that is be used for efforts including employment training.

In terms of statistics, the Northeastern study finds that nationwide, the number of black male juvenile homicide victims increased by 31 percent from 2002 to 2007.

The number of homicide perpetrators within the same demographic group increased by 43 percent during the same time period.

In San Bernardino County, coroner's statistics show that homicides in which black male teens died as a result of homicide increased from 2003 to 2007.

In 2002, three black male teens were killed in homicides across the county. In 2007, that number had jumped to 13, the highest figure during that time span.

That kind of steep rising trend was not seen in other demographic groups within San Bernardino County.

Among Latinos, 13 male teens were slain in 2002 in the county. There were 14 such victims in 2007, down from a peak of 17 in 2005.

For whites, the statistics show that two male teens were homicide victims in 2002 and the same number in 2007. The peak number of white male teen victims was recorded in 2004, when four members of that demographic group were slain.

Within the county, San Bernardino may be the city that has seen the most severe youth violence in recent years, although City Hall officials issued a media release in November that trumpeted a decline in youth homicides.

According to that announcement, which was sent from Mayor Pat Morris' office, there were 18 juvenile homicide victims who were killed by gunfire from March 1, 2004 through June 30, 2006.

That figure declined to six such victims from July 1, 2006 through Oct. 31, 2008. Morris' office attributed the progress to the Operation Phoenix program, which includes a trio of new youth centers as well as heightened police patrols and partnerships with outside agencies like the ATF.

Seventh Ward City Councilwoman Wendy McCammack wasn't terribly impressed with the Northeastern study. She has questioned her city's ability to fund ambitious crime prevention programs and proposed that school districts are better positioned to lead youths away from violence.

"City governments' efforts can only pale in comparison to the money school districts have to fight and win over the youth crime issue," she wrote in an e-mail. "But I have always said that along with retraining and redirecting the very young, there must be money and training for the caregivers of those kids so that they see buy-in from both inside and outside the home."

Crime statistics aren't the only numbers that matter to policymakers, however. San Bernardino officials are looking at a current-year budget shortfall in the order of $12 million or so, and any program - no matter how promising - could be trimmed.

Sixth Ward Councilman Rikke Van Johnson said he wasn't surprised to hear the Northeastern Study called for increased prevention and intervention efforts and thinks the Phoenix approach is on the right track. Nevertheless, he has no illusions that he and others will have to make tough choices this year.

"It's going to be tough all around and we're going to have to evaluate anything," Johnson said. "There is going to be no sacred animal."

andrew.edwards@inlandnewspapers.com

Officials in the City Attorney's office are still researching whether Saman Saman - a convicted felon - can hold office in the city.

Saman is one of four candidates who have qualified for a Special Election to fill a City Council vacancy. The election date is officially March 17 but the vote is planned to be conducted via mail-in ballots.

San Bernardino County court records show that Saman has felony convictions for domestic violence and causing injury to a child. Saman pleaded guilty in both cases but said Monday that the latter charge stemmed from an incident when he accidentally fell and landed on his son.

Penman said he expects the legal research to be completed by Friday.

"So far, we have not found any statute ... that would prevent him from holding public office," Penman said.

In California, it's illegal for a felon who is in prison or on parole to register to vote, and registering to vote is a requirement to run for council. Saman is on probation until February, but he is not on parole.

San Bernardino County Registrar of Voters Kari Verjil said Monday that Saman's name did not appear on a list of felons who are ineligible to vote.

Aside from statutory and constitutional issues, Penman said researchers also need to determine if Saman is the same person as a Sulaman Saman, who according to court records, pleaded guilty in July 1996 to a charge of causing or participating in a vehicular collision in order to present a false insurance claim.

The names Saman Saman and Sulaman Saman are linked in court records with the same FBI and California criminal ID numbers. However, Saman Saman said Monday and Wednesday that he is not Sulaman Saman.

"They always confuse that," he said Wednesday.

Penman said that if Saman Saman and Sulaman Saman are one and the same, researchers are working to find out if a conviction for presenting a false accident claim could qualify as a crime of moral turpitude that would bar him from holding office.

Rep. Joe Baca, D-San Bernardino, sent out an announcement Tuesday for a meeting with other Inland Empire officials to "discuss and collaborate regarding President-elect Obama's proposed infrastructure stimulus bill."

Baca's office says the Congressman sees the planned meeting as a way to craft a strategy to obtain federal funding for infrastructure projects.

The meeting is scheduled to be held at 1:30 p.m. Friday at the San Bernardino Community College District's Applied Technology Training Center, 144 South Del Rosa Drive, San Bernardino.

Information: (909) 885-2222.

By Andrew Edwards
Staff Writer

The National Alliance to End Homelessness released a report Tuesday that showed national decrease in homeless from 2005 to 2007, but the group also expressed worry that the recession could result in more people living on the streets.

"Based on estimates of the depth likely to be reached by the current recession, 1.5 million additional Americans are likely to experience homelessness over the next two years," the National Alliance to End Homelessness reported.

The study employed numbers obtained through censuses of homeless populations in Jan. 2005 and Jan. 2005. Nationally, homelessness declined from more than 744,000 people to nearly 672,000 during that period.

The survey does not conclude how any government policies, economic trends or other factors may have led to the decline in homelessness.

The report also includes numbers for localities. In the San Bernardino area, homelessness dropped from the nearly 7,000 people who were counted in 2005 to nearly 4,500 counted in 2007.

In this season of bailouts, the National Alliance to End Homelessness called for an influx of federal dollars to put people under a roof.

The group called for $2 billion to be used to prevent homelessness and rehouse those on the streets. The Alliance also asked for increased Section 8 assistance for money to be placed into the National Housing Trust Fund, which was created by federal law last year.

Inland Center Mall and a group called Adopt a Platoon plan to collect personal supplies and Valentine's Day cards for overseas military personnel.

Requested supplies include magazines, black boot socks, personal hygiene stuff, beef jerky and the like, according to the mall's announcement.

Supplies and cards can be dropped off at the mall's guest services center beginning Wednesday through Feb. 3.

By Andrew Edwards
SAN BERNARDINO -- City Council candidate Saman Saman has a criminal record that includes convictions for domestic violence, but he's hopeful that voters will look beyond his past when they cast their ballots.

"I accepted the charges, did my time, and it's behind me," Saman said Monday during an interview at his home.

Saman, 36, runs an online mattress sales business and is one of four candidates who have qualified for the March 17 Special Election to fill a council vacancy in San Bernardino's 4th Ward.

Saman readily confirmed that his court records show multiple criminal convictions, but was nevertheless upbeat regarding his run for office and personal future.

"What happens yesterday is yesterday, and you only have the moment and you do what you can handle," he said.

Information from the City Clerk's office could not be obtained as of Monday's deadline to report whether Saman's convictions make him ineligible to hold office.

San Bernardino Superior Court records show that Saman has had multiple run-ins with the law. Presented with copies of the records Monday, Saman acknowledged cases that include the following:

- On Sept. 4, 1998, Saman pleaded guilty to one felony count of domestic violence [PC 273.5 (a)]. Court records show he was sentenced to 36 months probation and 263 days in jail, for which he received credit for time served.

- On that same day, Saman also pleaded guilty to a misdeamenor count of domestic violence [PC M273.5 (a)] that stemmed from a separate incident. He was sentenced to 36 days in jail, for which he received credit for time served.

- On Dec. 27, 2005, Saman pleaded guilty to one felony count of causing injury to a child [PC 273D (a)]. In February of the following year, he was sentenced to serve 36 months probation and 124 days in county jail, for which he received credit for 58 days served.

His probation is scheduled to expire on Feb. 8, according to court records.

Court records that were immediately available Monday from the court's Web site do not detail the specifics of the allegations. Saman declined to discuss the circumstances of the domestic violence cases, which he says involved a girlfriend, but said the 2005 case stemmed from an accident.

Saman said that happened at a time when he was on crutches because of an injury to his Achilles tendon. He said he lost his footing and accidentally tumbled onto his son.

"I slipped and fell from the crutch and hit him," he said.

Saman has a barrel chest and powerfully built arms that make him look like an NFL linebacker. He readily admitted his past mistakes, saying he found time to study the Bible while incarcerated.

As to the idea that his convictions may make it hard for him to attract voters, Saman said "it depends on if you believe in the system. The system is to rehabilitate people."

As for his reasons in seeking public office, Saman said he wants to serve as a member of "the council of the wise" and wants to do his part to make the city more business friendly.

Code enforcement and San Bernardino's physical appearance are among his top concerns, and he also said he wants to provide maximum resources to the Police Department.

Saman said he also wants city employees to reside in San Bernardino.

The other three candidates who have qualified for the Special Election are IT manager Joe Arnett, independent sales contractor Fred Shorett and pharmaceutical company representative John Valdivia.

The three candidates declined to comment for this article.

The March 17 Special Election is planned to conducted as a mail-in affair to determine who will succeed Neil Derry as the 4th Ward's council representative. Derry left the council in December to join the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors.

Special Election Joe Arnett has launched his own campaign Web site.

Of the remaining candidates, Fred Shorett said he plans to establish a Web presence and John Valdivia currently does not plan to create a Web site. That may change, of course, if he rakes in some campaign donations down the road.

I haven't been able to contact the only other candidate, Saman Saman, since the ballot list become official on Thursday afternoon. Saman has an Internet based business so it's a good bet he'll have one in the coming days. He may even have a Web site that I didn't find.

The four candidates are running to succeed Neil Derry as the 4th Ward's representative on the City Council. The official election date is March 17, but city officials plan to send mail-in ballots to voters that would be sent in before that day.

By Andrew Edwards
Staff Writer
SAN BERNARDINO -- Voters living in the city's Fourth Ward will have four candidates to choose from in the March 17 Special Election.

The four qualified candidates are Loma Linda University IT manager Joe Arnett, online mattress merchant Saman Saman, self-employed sales contractor Fred Shorett and pharmaceutical company representative John Valdivia.

Whoever wins, Fourth Ward voters will end up being represented by a newcomer to public office. The March 17 Special Election will determine who will succeed former councilman Neil Derry, who left the City Council after ascending to the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors in December.

Derry was one of the seven-member council's more conservative members. He was often supportive of providing additional resources to law enforcement and tangled with Mayor Pat Morris on the question of whether new money should have financed youth-oriented services.

In terms of the candidates' political viewpoints, the Fourth Ward could be represented by someone of a similar mindset regardless of the election's outcome.

The four candidates generally agree that public safety is of paramount importance, as is the need to enhance San Bernardino's physical appearance, attract business even in the midst of a recession and manage the budget.

"Everybody will say we've got to attract business to San Bernardino. That's true, but we can't just attract any kind of business," said Arnett, who thinks the city is already too saturated with jobs in the service industry.

Arnett, 37, said he's interested in attracting technology jobs to the city, and ventured that potential activity at San Bernardino International Airport, combined with the local availability of sunlight and water, make algae-generated biofuels a unique possibility.

"What would be better than your own source of fuel oil?," he asked.

Of the four candidates, Shorett, 60, has so far been the most successful in acquiring the support of other local politicos. His endorsements include Derry's, Morris' and San Bernardino Area Chamber of Commerce director Judi Penman.

Given San Bernardino's current budget situation, Shorett said budget cuts across city departments are going to be inevitable.

If elected, Shorett would want city staffers to look for any opportunities to streamline public services. He threw out the hypothetical situation that there may be a job performed by three employees and a pickup truck that could be done with a single employee.

"My primary goal would be to dig in and look for efficiencies," he said.

Valdivia, 33, listed the foreclosure wave among his top concerns.

"Foreclosures are going to impair the Fourth Ward and we need to put a plug on it," he said.
Valdivia also wants the city to develop a strategy to bring auto dealerships back to town and prevent an exodus of restaurants from the Hospitality Lane area.

He said he supports youth-oriented programs but wants to reevaluate the Operation Phoenix program as well as the recent closure of Police Department substations.

Saman could not be reached for comment Thursday or Friday. In a previous interview, he said improving the city's appearance would be one of his primary objectives.

He also pledged to bring an open-minded approach to city affairs.

"I would listen to see what's going on ... then when I get more information I can render my opinion," he said.

The Special Election is planned to be conducted mostly by mail-in ballot. Fourth Ward voters are scheduled to receive ballots that can be sent by post between Feb. 26 and March 7.

Ballots could also be delivered by hand to Registrar of Voters on Election Day. City Clerk Rachel Clark has also said that a single polling place is planned to open on March 17.

The winner is set to take office on April 6 and complete a term that expires on March 10, 2009.

A Celebration of Inland Empire Authors is set for 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Jan. 24 at the Norman F. Feldheym Library, 555 W. Sixth St., San Bernardino.

The literary lineup includes local history authors Nick Cataldo, Richard and Robin Hanks, Fred Smith and John Weeks; fiction authors Gayle Brandeis, Glen Hirshberg, Jack Lopez, Michelle Moran and Lara Rios; science fiction and fantasy authors Lynn Flewelling, Patricia Geary, Tim Powers and Robert Reginald; children's authors Diane Adams, Jim Gilbert and Phil Yeh; and nonfiction writers John Adams, James Brown, Diane Mierzwik and Diana Sholley.

Authors will discuss their writing, sell and sign books and participate in panel discussions.

For more information, call program coordinator Linda Adams at (909) 381-8236.

The historic presidential inauguration of Barack Obama will be televised beginning at 10 a.m. Jan. 20 in the Bing Wong Auditorium at Feldheym Centeral Library. The public is invited at no cost.

The library is at 555 W. Sixth St., San Bernardino. For more information, call (909) 381-8226.

I would have Utah at #1.

Here's a statement from the Libertarian Party in opposition to President-elect Barack Obama's plan for a massive stimulus package intended to jump start the economy. Officials in and around San Bernardino are practically salivating at the prospect of federal cash for local projects, but the small government minded Libertarian Party doesn't expect success to come from a new New Deal.

Here's their perspective:

Libertarian Party Slams Obama for Spending Proposals

WASHINGTON, D.C. - American's largest third party is calling plans by
the incoming Obama administration a "multibillion-dollar boondoggle."

"We're not going to spend our way to economic recovery," says Andrew
Davis, a spokesperson for the Libertarian Party. "You can't even call
Obama's economic plans a gamble because the results are written in
stone. We've tried this Keynesian experiment many times in the past,
with no proven success. It's nothing but a multibillion-dollar
boondoggle."

The Libertarian Party says that Obama's spending proposals, which
include funding the largest public works program since the 1950s,
will take too long to implement and don't pass a cost/benefit test.

"The best plan for economic recovery would be giving more money back
to taxpayers in the form of tax cuts, which can increase consumer
spending and increase job creation," says Davis. "It will also avoid
the corruption and wastefulness of government spending--something that
must be addressed at once if we expect to remain a free and
prosperous nation."

"Public works projects, like those proposed by the Obama
administration, will take too long to implement and many will cost
far more than their economic benefit," Davis explains. "So, not only
will the government be spending taxpayer money on wasteful projects,
it be spending money during a time when economic relief is not
needed. Conversely, tax cuts are always in season."

The Libertarian Party also warns that adding close to a trillion
dollars in additional government spending to the budget will push the
United States closer to financial ruin.

"Elected officials don't like to talk about the reality of government
spending because it's not an issue that gets them reelected,
especially when they will be long-gone before it comes time to pay
the piper." says Davis. "However, we've reached an event horizon in
spending that if government doesn't immediately begin to cut its
programs, the only option will be massive tax increases unlike
Americans have ever seen."

Davis says the government's focus should be on permanent and
significant tax cuts. "However, any tax cuts absolutely have to be
offset by a reduction in government spending, or else we're merely
asking for higher taxes in the future," Davis explains. "We must not
make the same mistakes of the Bush administration, which cut taxes,
but also dramatically increased government spending."

San Bernardino street superintendent Randy Kuettle is scheduled to be the guest speaker at the next membership meeting of the Del Rosa Neighborhood Action Group.

The meeting is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Jan. 15 at the Native Sons of the Golden West building which is at the corner of Del Rosa Avenue and Date Place.

Information: (909) 886-2228.

Four candidates have qualified for the March 17 Special Election to determine who will succeed Neil Derry as 4th Ward Councilmember.

They are:

Joe Arnett

Saman Saman

Fred Shorett

John Valdivia

SB Now has previously published capsule profiles of each candidate. The plan is to publish a new story in The Sun this weekend.

The Macy's chain announced today that 11 stores across the United States will close, but the San Bernardino location is not on that list.

Macy's has a store at Inland Center Mall, which lost a planned Mervyn's store after that chain went upside down. The only California store on the closure list is in downtown Los Angeles.

Here's the release:

SAN BERNARDINO, CA - Omnitrans invites community members to attend public hearings next week to provide input on proposed updates to its draft 2010 - 2015 Short Range Transit Plan (SRTP), which will guide the agency's bus routes and service over the next five years. The plan includes September fare increases for the agency's regular, fixed-route service and Access curb-to-curb service for qualified persons with disabilities; Omnitrans' OmniLink service fares will not be affected. In addition, service changes are proposed for Access.

"Omnitrans' last fare increase was in July 2007, more than two years prior to the implementation date proposed in this plan," said Director of Marketing Wendy Williams. "As with all businesses, our operational and labor costs continue to increase, and we must occasionally raise fares in order to continue to provide the safe, reliable and efficient service that our customers deserve."

Under the proposed plan, cash bus fare would increase from $1.35 to $1.50; the fare for seniors and persons with disabilities would increase from 55¢ to 60¢. Similarly, one-day pass prices would increase from $3.50 to $4.00 full fare, and from $1.60 to $1.85 for seniors and persons with disabilities (please see details in attached brochure).

The agency's Access service area is divided into "zones," or areas traveled, and fares are assessed accordingly. Access fares also would increase under the proposed plan, by roughly 30¢ per zone traveled ($2.45 to $2.75, for 1 - 3 zones). Several policy changes also are being proposed for this service, including an expanded service area boundary that would allow customers who currently live within a city that Omnitrans serves but outside the current Access service area to utilize the curb-to-curb service for an additional fee (please see details in attached brochure).

Staff will provide information, answer questions, and listen to comments and suggestions on all aspects of the Transit Plan from the public at each of four scheduled hearings:

Monday, January 12
9:30 - 11:30 a.m.
Loma Linda Community Room,
25541 Barton Rd., Loma Linda
Take Routes 2, 9, 19

Tuesday, January 13
2:30 - 4:30 p.m.
Norman Feldheym Library,
555 West Sixth St., San Bernardino
Take Routes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15, 215

Wednesday, January 14
1:30 - 3:30 p.m.
Fontana Metrolink Station,
16777 Orange Way, Fontana
Take Routes 10, 14, 15, 19, 20, 61, 66, 67, 82

Thursday, January 15
10:00 a.m. - noon
Montclair Transcenter
5091 Richton Rd., Montclair
Take Routes 65, 66, 67, 68, 80

Spanish translation will be provided at all public hearings; members of the public who cannot attend but wish to obtain more information or comment may contact the Omnitrans Planning Department at (909) 379-7250 or write to: Omnitrans Planning, 1700 West Fifth St., San Bernardino, CA 92411, through February 11.

Following the hearings, Omnitrans will finalize the Short Range Transit Plan.

From the university's Web page:

New M.F.A. in creative writing offered at CSUSB
Jan. 7, 2008
By Sam Romero

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. - Looking to fine tune the literary skills of future novelists and poets, the sole creative writing Master of Fine Arts program offered in San Bernardino County will launch at Cal State San Bernardino in fall 2009.

The new writing program is accepting applications through April 1, 2009. General applications for admission to the university run through March 1.

"The pool is deep and in need of tapping," said Jim Brown, the M.F.A. coordinator in fiction, speaking of students around the inland region - an area often stereotyped as a weak source of culture and talent. "We've placed students at UCR, UCI, Syracuse, University of Massachusetts and many other prestigious schools," he said. "Now it's time to keep our students local and give them a voice here at Cal State San Bernardino."

A two-year terminal studio arts degree, the M.F.A. program requires writers to choose a concentration in fiction or poetry and, by the end of the program, produce a publishable, book-length manuscript. The book requirement is pretty typical of an M.F.A. program, Brown said. "It's our thesis."

Untypical, however, is that the degree offers a teaching focus in composition, the "beef-steak" of part-time work in higher education, he said.

The five CSUSB faculty, including Brown, who will teach in the M.F.A. program are all nationally recognized writers. Brown's work includes essays, novels and short stories. His "L.A. Diaries" has been optioned for film by Art Monterastelli, producer and writer for "The Hunted" and his personal reflections on his mentor, writer Oakley Hall, who passed away in October and was instrumental in UC Irvine's graduate creative writing program, was recently published in Orange Coast Magazine.

Brown's colleagues, Kevin Moffett and Glen Hirshberg, also have been widely published. Moffett's writing has appeared in McSweeney's, Tin House and The Chicago Tribune, while Hirshberg has published two collections of stories and two books. Poets Julie Paegle and Juan Delgado round out the M.F.A. program's faculty team. Paegle has appeared in literary publications such as The Iowa Review, Ploughshares, Best New Poets and Prairie Schooner. Delgado has published several books of poetry, including "A Rush of Hands," which is in its second printing.

For more information on the M.F.A. in creative writing, call the CSUSB English department at (909) 537-5824.

For more information about Cal State San Bernardino, contact the university's Office of Public Affairs at (909) 537-5007 and visit the news Web site at http://news.csusb.edu.

Here's a link to interim City Manager Mark Weinberg's memo on the new hiring freeze.

CMBudDirectives.doc

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the freeze for many people will be the impacts on public safety. Weinberg wrote that considerations for exemption from the freeze will be given to positions that are needed for imminent safety concerns. Other jobs that may remain unfrozen are those that are not financed by general fund revenues or those that generate enough money to be worth keeping.

Assistant city manager Lori Sassoon wrote today in an email regarding public safety departments that "public safety is not categorically exempt from the freeze, however front line police and fire positions will be filled, and emergency services will not adversely affected."

The hiring freeze proposed by interim City Manager Mark Weinberg is official, but not through any action of the council.

Weinberg says the city faces a $12 million shortfall during its current fiscal year.

City Attorney James F. Penman asked the council to ratify the hiring freeze - announced in a memo to other city officials by Weinberg in mid-December - out of an "abundance of caution." His stated concern is that the City Charter does not grant Weinberg the power to enact a hiring freeze, and he argued that a decision to stop hiring employees because of a revenue problem is in essence a a budget amendment that should require council approval because.

Weinberg for his part, contended that his job as San Bernardino's top administrative professional requires him to have enough independence to decide when public funds can and cannot be spent prudently. In his view, the hiring freeze is an administrative decision, not a policy change.

After about an hour's worth of debate, the council voted 4-2 not to vote. 2nd Ward Councilman Dennis Baxter, seconded by 3rd Ward Councilman Tobin Brinker, moved to table the question of whether the council should ratify the hiring freeze. 5th Ward Councilman Chas Kelley and 6th Ward Councilman Rikke Van Johnson agreed.

Mayor Pat Morris did not need to cast a tie-breaking vote but agreed with Weinberg's view that the city manager should have the independence to make decisions like a hiring freeze without needing the council's approval.

"No" votes were cast by 1st Ward Councilwoman Esther Estrada and 7th Ward Councilwoman Wendy McCammack. Estrada and McCammack both agreed with Penman's interpretation of the law, expressed concern about diminishing city services and insisted that Weinberg produce a report to explain how the freeze will affect the city.

As of Monday night, it was unclear which services would be affected. Public safety is not a sacred cow, and Police Capt. Scott Paterson said in a telephone interview that there is a strong likelihood that the city will not meet its objective of hiring the 40 new officers promised under the Measure Z tax by June 30.

Today's City Council agenda includes an action item to ratify "a freeze on hiring, travel and training for Manager-Directed Departments" that interim City Manager Mark F. Weinberg sought to impose in mid-December.

The decision is part of the day's Consent Calendar, i.e. a package of decisions that city staffers recommend for approval by a single vote. Often these matters are considered routine aspects of city business but in San Bernardino, council members often choose to pull items from the Calendar to discuss specifics.

It's not a foregone conclusion that the council will ratify the hiring freeze, but it given the deteriorating economy, it seems likely.