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Andrew Edwards
Staff Writer

SAN BERNARDINO - A memo written by the police chief to the city manager reports City Attorney James F. Penman lied about a document at the center of a City Hall theft investigation and the city's latest political blow-up.

Penman replied that the chief's message is the place to find falsehood. He said the new memo is an 11th hour campaign trick orchestrated by Mayor Pat Morris.

"It reads like a campaign flyer. The timing is obviously intended to coincide with the fact that the election is less than a week away," Penman said.

Penman is running against Morris in the Nov. 3 election. Contractor Rick Avila is also in the race.

Mayoral chief of staff Jim Morris said the mayor has not read the police chief's memo and had no comment. Pat Morris has said that he is not involved in the theft investigation.

Police Chief Keith Kilmer writes in the new memo, obtained by The Sun and dated Oct. 26, that a portfolio went missing from a City Hall women's restroom around Sept. 14. The package was reported stolen.

The portfolio contained an internal document that was leaked Sept. 21. Kilmer writes in the new memo that Penman said at that day's City Council meeting that he had not previously seen the allegedly stolen document.

"Now we are learning through comments of the City Attorney and his senior staff ... the memorandum and other documents from the portfolio were in possession of the City Attorney approximately a week prior to the Sept. 21 meeting," reads part of Kilmer's new memo.

Penman responded that he did not say Sept. 21 was the first time he had seen the document that was leaked that day. He said Thursday he saw that memo within 48 hours of its appearance at a council meeting.

He delivered the portfolio and provided a statement to the District Attorney's Office on Sept. 22. Penman initially refused interviews with what he called "the mayor's Police Department."

Penman based his objections on the mayor's power to fire the police chief and city manager. He said the investigation a Nixonian distraction from the first memo's revelation that a sex offender worked near a city youth center.

He later said he would respond to follow-up questions and police interviewed Penman earlier this week.

Penman said police have not yet interviewed any of his office's employees and there's no way for Kilmer to know how long he had access to the the allegedly stolen document.

He said it has not been revealed how that document found its way to the dais.

City Manager Charles McNeely declined to comment. Kilmer said the document was not political.

"I would make a memo for a purpose. Not a political purpose but a public safety purpose," Kilmer wrote.

City Councilwoman Wendy McCammack, one of Penman's allies, also said the new memo is a political ploy.

"There are only three people who could have released this new confidential memo, the mayor, the police chief, or the city manager. No one else had it," she wrote in an e-mail.

The new memo is the latest chapter in a story that started when the initial memo was leaked Sept. 21.

The first memo summarized a police investigation into the presence of a sex offender who performed work at Master's Plan Church of the Nazarene, which hosts one of San Bernardino's Operation Phoenix youth centers.

The center's former manager was arrested on suspicion of child molestation in July 2008.

The memo that was leaked on Sept. 21 reported no immediate dangers to children. The council sent an ultimatum to the church: ban sex offenders or lose money that pays for the youth center.

Penman sent investigators to the church the next day to pass out sex offender notification flyers. The church's pastor said the move both provocative and tardy, since the sex offender had moved away.

The council's rescinded its ultimatum on Oct. 19 when several local clergy protested the demand violated their First Amendment rights.

San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office spokeswoman Susan Mickey confirmed that San Bernardino City Attorney James F. Penman has spoken with top prosecturors

"The only thing I can confirm is he spoke with (District Attorney) Mike (Ramos) on Sept. 22 and he spoke with Mr. (assistant district attorney Jim) Hackleman on Oct. 7," Mickey said.

Penman has said he provided statements to both Ramos and Hackleman regarding the city memo that was either lost or stolen from a City Hall bathroom.

Police have said they are investigating the memo's disappearance as a theft, whereas Penman has said no theft took place and that someone lawfully delivered the memo to his office.

The memo, of course, is the now infamous document in which Police Chief Keith Kilmer summarized a Police Department investigation into the presence of a registered sex offender who performed work at the church that hosts the city's flagship Operation Phoenix youth center.

The youth center is the very center once managed by Mike Miller, who was arrested on suspicion of child molestation last year.

City Attorney James F. Penman said that not only has he turned in documents related to the investigation of an alleged theft to the San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office, he has also on two occasions given statements to top prosecutors.

"On September 22, I took the documents to the DA and I gave I statement to the DA I answered all his questions," Penman said Friday.

Penman also said that he provided information to Assistant District Attorney Jim Hackleman on Oct. 7. It's his opinion that since the District Attorney's Office determines whether any cases should go to court, his statements to that office are as valuable as any statements that could be given to city police.

District Attorney Mike Ramos, Hackleman and District Attorney's spokeswoman Susan Mickey were not available for comment Friday.

The documents in question were, depending on one's version of events, lost or stolen from a City Hall restroom. The papers included a memo that an unknown party delivered to the City Council prior to the public session of the council's Sept. 21 meeting.

The memo contained a summary of a police investigation into the circumstances of a registered sex offender who performed work at a church that also hosts the city's central Operation Phoenix center.

The release of the memo set off a debate over local government's ability to impose conditions on churches that have financial relationships with City Hall and revived memory of the scandal that followed last summer's arrest of the youth center's manager on suspicion of child molestation.

Police have announced that they are investigating the documents' disappearance as a theft. Penman has deemed that probe a political trick and said he won't allow himself to be interviewed by city police, since the City Charter gives Mayor Pat Morris power to recommend the hiring and firing of police chiefs.

Penman and Morris are running against each other for mayor. Police Chief Keith Kilmer said earlier this week that the investigation will move forward with or without cooperation from the City Attorney's Office.

Andrew Edwards and Stacia Glenn
Staff Writers

SAN BERNARDINO - The investigation of allegedly stolen city documents will continue despite City Attorney James F. Penman's announcement that he and his employees will not submit to interviews with city police, police officials said Wednesday.

"Varying levels of cooperation are common in any criminal investigation," Police Chief Keith Kilmer wrote in an e-mail Wednesday. "So we will proceed forward, hopefully without any interference or obstruction, and conclude the case in a timely manner."

The documents at the center of the investigation were either lost or stolen from a City Hall restroom. An undisclosed party delivered the documents to the City Attorney's Office.

An unknown party distributed the memo to the City Council on Sept. 21.

Penman contends the theft investigation is a smokescreen to distract the public from the memo's revelations.

The city attorney also said that despite the fact that the memo was marked confidential, it should be treated as a public record since it was addressed to a city manager's staffer instead of a law enforcement officer.

In the document, Kilmer reports that a registered sex offender performed work near the same city youth center whose manager was arrested on suspicion of child molestation in July 2008.

Kilmer concluded that police detected no violations of law related to the sex offender's working arrangements.

Mayor Pat Morris Morris said Tuesday there is video evidence of a city attorney's staffer carrying what may be the memo.

Penman said the mayor's version of events is not correct, and that the documents were lawfully delivered to his office. He also said he forwarded the materials to the District Attorney's Office.

"That shows I was going to an outside agency," Penman said.

District attorney's spokeswoman Susan Mickey confirmed this but would not comment further.

The documents included a memo, authored by Kilmer, that summarized the Police Department's inquiry into the presence of a registered sex offender who performed work at a church that is the site of a city youth center.

Southern California experts in local government said Penman may have a point in his contention that a noncity agency should handle the investigation.

Kilmer and City Manager Charles McNeely also said in interviews that the theft investigation is a routine case for city police.

"It's a fairly straightforward investigation, and we conduct all investigations involving city employees. We're quite capable of doing it," he said. "If there comes a time when it's prudent to turn it over, or if it's requested, we would consider it then."

Police are investigating the alleged document theft as the Nov. 3 mayoral election looms. Kilmer said he hopes the probe can be completed by that date.

Penman is running for mayor and charges the probe is a political stunt instigated by his electoral opponent - incumbent Mayor Morris.

"If he thinks I did anything wrong, he should turn it over to the (California) Attorney General," Penman said.

Penman also said he is willing to cooperate with investigators from the San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office.

He said the investigation should be handled by another agency since the City Charter empowers the mayor to recommend the hiring and firing of police chiefs.

Jim Morris said the decision of whether another agency should handle the investigation is not the mayor's call.

"It's not our investigation, so we don't get to make that referral," Morris said.

Bob Stern of the Los Angeles-based Center for Governmental Studies also said Penman has the right to refuse an interview if he is not given a subpoena.

USC political science professor Ange-Marie Hancock said regarding the mayoral campaign that Penman's decision not cooperate with police could be politically risky.

"I can say from a political perspective, it's highly ironic, and it doesn't bode well for the candidate," she said.

Penman said he's not worried about appearing noncooperative since he gave the documents to county prosecutors.

Andrew Edwards
Staff Writer

SAN BERNARDINO - City Attorney James F. Penman said Tuesday he would not cooperate with police probing the alleged theft of a confidential city document.

Penman said he and his staff would only agree to interviews by the San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office or the California Attorney General's Office.

The city attorney, who is seeking to oust Mayor Pat Morris from office in the Nov. 3 election, insisted that the theft investigation is a "Nixonian" ploy that has more to do with city politics than the pursuit of justice.

"We will not make ourselves available for interviews by the mayor's Police Department," Penman said.

The probe involves a memo by Police Chief Keith Kilmer. An unknown person distributed the document to the City Council on Sept. 21.

Morris said Tuesday during an interview with The Sun's editorial board that police have reviewed video evidence of a City Attorney's Office employee carrying what may be the memo in question.

The mayor said he has not seen the video and that the memo was stolen from a women's bathroom at City Hall.

Police Capt. Scott Paterson confirmed an investigation is ongoing but would not offer details.

Penman said no theft took place.

"Our office lawfully came into possession of a number of documents that were left in a City Hall restroom by a city manager's employee," Penman said.

The memo detailed a police investigation into a registered sex offender's presence at Master's Plan Church of the Nazarene, formerly First Church of the Nazarene, which hosts the city's central Operation Phoenix youth center and other children's facilities.

The memo's revelations prompted the City Council on Sept. 21 to send a demand that the church keep sex offenders off church property or lose "rent" for the youth center.

Dozens of local clergy complained of an affront to religious freedom. The council rescinded its ultimatum on Monday.

Andrew Edwards
Staff Writer

SAN BERNARDINO - The pastor of a church presented with a demand to ban sex offenders or lose "rent" from a city youth center expects vocal support at Monday's City Council meeting.

Pastor David Rhone of First Church of the Nazarene said Friday that 60 local ministers are set to ask congregates to support his church when the council considers rescinding the ultimatum.

"Several of us will be speaking," Rhone said. First Church of the Nazarene, which hosts San Bernardino's central Operation Phoenix youth center and other children's facilities, is at the center of a controversy involving matters of religious freedom and government's duty to protect its youngest citizens.

The dispute also fuels election season antagonism between City Attorney James F. Penman - who is running for mayor - and incumbent Pat Morris.

The Morris Administration calls its anti-crime programs Operation Phoenix. New youth centers are one of the higher profile efforts.

Penman views plans to rally church members as a "media event" staged by clergy who support Morris' re-election effort.

"The congregation members don't know that they're being used for a political event," Penman said.

The council made the ultimatum Sept. 21 with a 5-0 vote. Councilman Rikke Van Johnson, who wants to retract the demand, was not present for that meeting.

The body delivered its ultimatum the night council members learned through a leaked memo that a sex offender had performed work at the church.

The memo, signed by Police Chief Keith Kilmer and labeled confidential, reported to City Manager Charles McNeely's office that police checked out the reported presence of a registered sex offender near the Operation Phoenix center.

Kilmer's memo concluded the offender's presence was not a crime nor an immediate threat to children. Penman disagreed and sent his own investigators to the church with flyers warning of a sex offender's presence.

He said the day marked the third time his office had notified the public regarding a sex offender and was the first time he took this action during election season.

Rhone has said the man had since moved away from San Bernardino and no longer worked nor attending religious services at the church. The pastor also said his church has a right to reach out to anyone.

"No government agency is going to tell me to whom I can minister," he said. "If that means no Operation Phoenix, then `see ya."'

But Rhone doesn't want to send away the Operation Phoenix center and feels an obligation to the program. The nonprofit Operation Phoenix Foundation, he said, provided more than $200,000 in private donations to convert an old parish hall into a gym.

He said the city does not actually pay rent but chips in 30 percent of utilities costs to cover the youth center's usage.

Rhone said the center has already generated its share of heartburn for the church. The center's former manager, Mike Miller, was arrested in July 2008 on suspicion of child molestation. He has pleaded not guilty.

City police are investigating how the memo got leaked. Morris referred questions on new developments to Kilmer, who confirmed that police are investigating a report that the document was stolen at City Hall.

Kilmer would not comment on details. Penman said his own office's investigation concluded no actual theft took place.

"Somebody left it (the memo) where they shouldn't have left it and it was a very public place," he said.

Penman's office generated the warning flyers while the Sept. 21 meeting was in progress.

He would not say Friday if his staffers had the memo before it was distributed to the council, but predicted more political fallout at City Hall.

"I have no comment on that right now. I'll wait until the PD finishes its investigation, then we'll let all the embarrassing details come," he said.

By Andrew Edwards
Staff Writer
SAN BERNARDINO -- A man who says he has spent 16 years living at properties operated by the woman who has been arrested on suspicion of abuse at a Golden Avenue group home insists she is actually a generous woman who takes good care of her tenants.

"That woman's got a heart of gold. That woman takes people off the street," said Raymond Pyatt, 43.

The woman in question is Pensri Sophar Dalton. Dalton was released from custody Saturday, the day after she was arrested on suspicion of abusing tenants at a group home in the 2800 block of North Golden Avenue.

Pyatt, who said he is a former resident of the Golden Avenue home, decried reports of mistreatment at the Golden Avenue home as hearsay. However, San Bernardino city agencies are conducting a criminal investigation of activities at the house.

State authorities are also conducting a probe to determine if the home was managed without proper licensing, said Oscar Ramirez, a spokesman for the licensing branch of the state Department of Social Services.

On Thursday, razor wire still topped the fence outside the home where city officials say mentally ill adults were lived in bird habitats that were initially described as chicken coops.

A woman who answered the phone Thursday said Dalton was not available to comment.

Pyatt said no one was ever forced to live inside the aviaries, but tenants did sometimes use the places as spots to hang out with significant others. He also said the razor wire was installed not to keep residents in, but as a barrier against criminals fleeing police.

He also said Dalton kept tenants - who were typically disabled adults receiving Social Security benefits -- well-supplied with food and that she would often purchase snacks, sodas and cigarettes for the tenants with money from her own pocket.

Pyatt now lives in a Highland group home on Villa Avenue where four other residents also said they were pleased with Dalton's care.

He said he has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia since childhood and that he administers his own medications. He has a tatoo of her last name inked in script on his right wrist.

"She's the only mom I've ever had," Pyatt said.

Also on Thursday, City Attorney James F. Penman said investigators from his office and the state inspected multiple properties connected to Dalton.

Penman also said that in 2004, his office, in cooperation with county officials, helped an individual move into a Dalton-operated home in Highland. He said the placement was at the individual's request following a city-ordered shut down of an apartment and that the location passed inspection at the time.

He said his office is still working to determine if the city had any role in ever placing anyone at the Golden Avenue house.

City Attorney James F. Penman said Wednesday afternoon that personnel in his office are interviewing an individual who believes city officials have placed residents at a group home that's under investigation following the discovery of unsanitary conditions there.

"We have received at least one allegation that a city department may have been placing people at this home for some time," Penman said. "We're interviewing the individual who is making that allegation today."

The Police Department is investigating to determine if any felonies occurred at the group home, which is in the 2800 block of Golden Avenue. Lt. Dan Keil said detectives are looking for things like financial issues, licensing problems and whether medication was illegally dispensed among residents.

Keil said he had not heard of any allegations that anyone in the city's employ made placements at the group home.

"I am not aware of any direct placements at these facilities," Keil said.

Keil added that investigators were checking to see if any of the Golden Avenue home's residents were wards of the court or placed in conservatorship.

He also said any placements at any group home would typically be made by a county agency, not a city department.

Jim Morris, chief of staff to Mayor Pat Morris, similarly said that city departments are not supposed to place individuals at residential facilities. The only exception he mentioned is relocation assistance that he said is administered through the City Attorney's Office.

Penman also said he is displeased that a meeting that had been scheduled to involve his office, as well as members of the Police, Fire and Code Enforcement departments has been postponed.

The meeting, initially set to have taken place Wednesday afternoon, is now postponed until Monday because City Manager Charles McNeely is on vacation. Penman said he is concerned that the delay could impede the parallel investigations being conducted by police investigating potential felonies and other city staffers checking for misdemeanor or municipal code violations.

Catherine Pritchett in the City Manager's Office confirmed that meeting had been rescheduled but added that she sees absolutely no reason for the postponement to affect ongoing investigations.

The city's Code Enforcement Department was not part of the city's initial response to the Golden Avenue home because of budget cuts. The department is closed on Fridays.

Marianne Milligan, the department's deputy director, said Code Enforcement officers were dispatched Tuesday and have already issued a notice of violation. Observed code violations include razor wire around the home, the conversion of an aviary into living quarters and trash and debris around the residence.

Milligan said there are no records of any prior complaints of code violations at the Golden Avenue home. She said the house is in a neighborhood that was annexed into San Bernardino in 2006.

District Attorney's spokeswoman Susan Mickey said that as of Wednesday afternoon, no charges have been filed against a woman accused of keeping mentally ill adults in disgusting conditions at a San Bernardino group home.

Pensri Sophar Dalton , the group home's operator, was arrested Friday on suspicion of elder and dependent abuse after San Bernardino police officers and City Attorney's office investigators observed residents living in outbuildings that were initially described as chicken coops. Residents were also said to have used buckets as toilets.

Dalton could not be reached immediately for comment.

Police Chief Keith Kilmer and City Attorney James F. Penman both provided updates on the investigation during Tuesday's City Council meeting.

Kilmer reported that police will submit evidence to the District Attorney's office for a possible criminal filing. He and Penman also said that investigators spent Saturday checking out seven other properties connected to Dalton. The prison camp-like conditions observed at Golden Avenue were not seen at the other addresses, which were said to be in San Bernardino, Highland and unincorporated zones.

Also on Tuesday, a woman who said her aunt lived at the Golden Avenue house, told the council of her observations at the Golden Avenue home.

Gloria Lechuga, 62, of San Bernardino, said her aunt, Betty Herrera, lived for about two years at the Golden Avenue home. Lechuga reported that when she visited her aunt inside the home, the door was locked behind her. She also said she could not bring a meal to her aunt without it being distributed among the home's other residents.

"You would not want to put your dog there," Lechuga said.

Herrera, who suffered from diabetes and heart problems, died in January of this year while in medical care after breaking a hip sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas of 2008, Lechuga said. Herrera was 82.

Lechuga's mother, also named Gloria Lechuga, told reporters what it was like to visit Herrera at the group home.

"When I walked in there, it was all dark and they closed the door behind me .... they locked the door and they had a bunch of dogs," the elder Lechuga said, adding that the temperature inside the home was very cold and the atmosphere reeked of body odor.

Asked by reporters why the did not report their concerns to police or any other government agencies, the Lechugas said they relied on assurances from another relative that he would take care of the situation.

The relative did not return phone calls Tuesday.

By Andrew Edwards
Staff Writer

SAN BERNARDINO -- The City Council voted Tuesday night to adopt a new law aimed at restricting group homes for parolees at a time when city officials are dreading the potential of a major release of inmates from state prisons.

City Attorney James F. Penman, who has long supported restrictions on parolee housing, proposed the law to the council.

The new law, which was passed as an urgency item by a 5-1 vote, prohibits the establishment of any new group homes for parolees, probationers or sex offenders inside city limits.

The law also bans unlicensed, for-profit residential care facilities for the same classes of people. The new ordinance is similar to a temporary moratorium on parolee housing that is already on the books.

Council members Esther Estrada, Tobin Brinker, Fred Shorett, Chas Kelley and Rikke Van Johnson voted "yes."
Councilman Dennis Baxter, who asked if the law could withstand a lawsuit, cast the sole dissenting vote.

Although Penman acknowledged that a court may not uphold the entire law, he asserted that the law could at least serve as a barricade to anyone from Sacramento looking to dump ex-convicts in San Bernardino.

"The state is going to be desperate to release people when they have to release them from prison," he said.

Penman has sought to put the measure on the books since 2007, when the issue was but one of San Bernardino's political powder kegs before the Nov. 2007 election, when Penman was seeking his current term as the city's top lawyer.

At present, Mayor Pat Morris and Penman are opposing candidates in the mayoral race. Neither official directly attacked each other during Tuesday night's deliberations, but did engage each other in a spirited debate on whether a redevelopment project in the works for eastern San Bernardino would become a magnet for parolees.

This exchange stopped after a minute or so when Morris and Penman mutually acknowledged that the conversation had drifted into a mayoral debate at the dais.

Morris was skeptical towards Penman's proposal. When Penman cited Police Department figures marking an increase of 374 parolees between June 2007 and May 2009, the mayor suggested that the existing moratorium on group homes hasn't been an insurmountable barrier to parolees.

Morris said scholars who study corrections policies agree that the surest way to prevent ex-cons from committing additional crimes is to provide solid educational and rehabilitation programs in and out of prison.

However, he said the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has foregone rehabilitation efforts.

"Every work station, every gym, every place that's habitable (inside prisons) is filled with triple bunks," Morris said.

The mayor also said the state's prolonged budget crises have also prevented talks between city and state officials interested in reentry programs from actually being able to put their ideas into practice.

Sun colleague James Rufus Koren went to the scene where the alleged crimes took place. A more detailed article is scheduled to run in Saturday's edition of The Sun.

By Andrew Edwards
SAN BERNARDINO - Authorities on Friday arrested a woman on suspicion of 16 felonies for allegedly forcing disabled adults and seniors to live in prison camp-like conditions at an unlicensed group home, City Attorney James F. Penman said.

Sheriff's booking logs show that Pensri Sophar Dalton, 61, accused of forcing mentally ill adults and others to live in unsanitary conditions at a group home, is scheduled to appear in San Bernardino Superior Court on Wednesday.

Dalton has been booked at West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga. Booking logs show charges of causing harm to an elderly or dependent adult and theft from an elderly or dependent adult.

Penman said Dalton faces 16 felony counts.Penman said by telephone that seniors had been forced to live in chicken coops that had been converted into barracks. The home's residents were also reportedly forced to go the bathroom in buckets.

San Bernardino police reported their suspicions of elder abuse to City Attorney's Office investigators after officers served an arrest warrant at the home, Penman said.

The home is in the 2800 block of North Golden Avenue.

"It has me concerned that city inspectors didn't find it until today," Penman said.

City Attorney James F. Penman is bringing forward a proposal that would new group homes for parolees, probationers and sex offenders.

The proposed urgency ordinance would also ban any new unlicensed residential care facilities for parolees, probationers or sex offenders.

Penman's proposal is up for discussion during Tuesday's City Council meeting. Penman said in news coverage earlier this week that the law had been stalled in a special committee. The committee, created specifically for talks on parolee issues, has not met since August 2008, Penman said.

The city attorney was displeased that Mayor Pat Morris has not convened the committee, thus making it impossible for committee members to report a ban on new parolee housing to the full council.

Morris said earlier this week that Penman does not need the committee's action to bring his proposal before the full council.

Readers who were following San Bernardino politics in 2007 probably remember that the question of what to do with the city's parolees was one of the year's most energetically debated issues. It looks the question is returning to the forefront.

What follows is an article slated to run in Wednesday's edition of The Sun, but before that are couple points that did not make it into the print article because of space limitiations.

Mayor Pat Morris contends that City Attorney James F. Penman's focus on his proposal to ban any new group facilities for parolees is a simplistic solution that would merely result in parolees being added to San Bernardino's homeless population.

Penman said that it may be a worthwhile initiative for the city to work on rehabilitative programs for parolees who were San Bernardino residents before going to prison, but he's concerned about making the city look like a target market for prison officials. He does not want San Bernardino to look like the ideal place to send ex-prisoners, especially if the Legislature reacts to mandates to release prisoners by loosening the restrictions on where parolees can go.

By Andrew Edwards
Staff Writer

SAN BERNARDINO -- The Legislature's attempts to slice dollars from the prisons budget could inspire spirited debate here over parolee issues.

Mayor Pat Morris wrote an open letter dated Aug. 27 to Arnold Schwarzengger and the Legislature charging state officials with ignoring research-based proposals on prison reform in order to make budget cuts.

Morris and City Attorney James F. Penman - opponents in the current mayoral race -- agree that Sacramento's actions could create problems for San Bernardino. They disagree over what the city should do.

Whereas Morris sees a need for rehabilitative programs, Penman wants a city law blocking new parolee group homes.

Morris said his administration has spent much time working with officials in the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation on ideas to help parolees reenter society, but the state has never had enough money to make any of these ideas a reality.

"We need training. Job training," Morris said. "There is a vast sub-population of these parolees that are illiterate. There is a vast sub-population of these parolees that are mentally ill."

Penman said the city needs a strong legal tool to prevent state officials from inundating San Bernardino with ex-convicts.

The city attorney also thinks the city should have had such a law on the books well before the current wrangling in the state capital.

"We can't wait for Sacramento to release thousands of prisoners to cities," Penman said.

San Bernardino's City Council formed a special committee to examine parolee problems in 2007. The most recent scheduled committee meeting, which would have been held Friday, was cancelled at the mayor's order.

Morris wrote to committee members that the body should wait to meet until they have a more clear picture of what will happen in Sacramento.

But Penman and 7th Ward Councilwoman Wendy McCammack, cq one of the committee's members, said the committee has not met for the past year. Morris said he could not recall when the committee held its last meeting, but said Penman and McCammack were not correct.

Penman said the law he wants the council to consider was sent to that committee and is mired there until the committee can convene and decide whether or not to forward his proposal to the full council.

Morris replied that there is nothing to stop Penman from bringing his proposal to the council whenever he so chooses.

In Sacramento, both the Assembly and Senate have passed bills intended to cut prison spending. The Assembly version, which passed Monday without a single Republican vote, seeks to trim prison spending by $1 billion.

California also faces a federal judicial mandate to reduce its prison population by 40,000 inmates. That court order is intended to improve inmates' medical and mental health care.

The City Attorney's Office announced Tuesday that that its personnel are working on an anti-graffiti injunction that would be similar to gang injunctions.

The office reports that Jolena Grider, senior deputy city attorney, will be in charge of the program. She said in a press release that the injunction would prohibit known taggers from associating with graffiti crews and from being in certain "target areas" in San Bernardino.

The announcement follows Mayor Pat Morris' demand for a city ordinance that would put taggers' parents on the hook for financial penalties. Morris is running for reelection against Grider's boss, City Attorney James F. Penman.

The election is Nov. 3. Contractor Rick Avila is also running for mayor.

SB Now readers are free to come to their own conclusions as to whether the sudden interest in anti-tagging initiatives has anything to do with the upcoming election.

Here's a somewhat longer version of a story slated to run in Saturday's edition on candidates who are set to appear on the Nov. 3 ballot. It's still pretty basic even at this length, but there's plenty of time to give the issues and candidates more ink and electrons. After all, in San Bernardino, we actually like to cover city elections.

By Andrew Edwards
Staff Writer

SAN BERNARDINO -- Election season begins now that the deadline has passed for candidates seeking the mayor's post and three City Council seats to file for the November ballot.

The coming months promise to be an interesting time for San Bernardino's politicos and voters. The Nov. 3 ballot is set to feature rematches in the race for both mayor and the council's Fourth Ward.

The council seats for the city's First and Second wards will also be up for a vote. In all races, San Bernardino residents will be tasked with choosing which men and women are best qualified to face the challenges of fighting crime, keeping city departments funded in the midst of a recession and establishing policies that can foster economic growth.

The Mayoral Race

As of Friday evening, three candidates have qualified to run for San Bernardino's top job. Qualification was pending for a fourth candidate.

Mayor Pat Morris is seeking a second term, and will compete with City Attorney James F. Penman and contractor Rick Avila.

Security company owner Sir Isaac Lindsay could also have his name on the ballot, pending the verification of signatures on his nomination papers.

Penman and Avila are both veterans of the 2005-06 mayoral race.

Morris won his current term by defeating Penman in a February 2006 runoff election. Both campaigned on anti-crime platforms.

Public safety is just about certain to be the central issue of this year's campaign as well. FBI statistics released earlier this year show that San Bernardino's murder rate declined by about half from 2005 to 2008.

The numbers also showed that over 2008, San Bernardino had the fourth-highest violent crime rate of all California cities with populations greater than 100,000 people.

Morris listed his achievements as including the passage of the Measure Z sales tax hike to fund an increase in the Police Department's force strength and the establishment of the Operation Phoenix program that relies upon inter-agency cooperation and the opening of two new youth centers.

In a basic sense, the choice for voters is whether the Morris Administration has done enough to reduce crime and blight or if its time to give someone else a chance.

"We've got a long way to go, but we won't back down on our crime fighting," Morris said.

Morris said Friday that he looks forward to publicly debating Penman in public.

Penman wants to reverse Morris-supported plans for an eastside redevelopment project that would set aside 100 rehabilitated apartments for low-income tenants, the elimination of the city's graffiti removal contract with a local nonprofit and decision to create a highly-paid city spokesperson's job at a time when Police and Fire positions have been allowed to remain vacant.

Morris and Penman have repeatedly quarrelled over the last few years, but Penman predicted that the fact that the incumbent mayor now has a record in city government makes it more likely that the campaign will be about policies instead of personalities.

"I think this campaign will be a lot more fun than the last one," Penman said.

Avila finished in fourth place in the Nov. 2005 mayoral vote. He also unsuccessfully challenged Fifth Ward Councilman Chas Kelley in 2007.

He said Friday that he wants to lower the city's utility users tax as a lure to new businesses, build a downtown arena and have City Hall hire foreclosure counselors who would advise troubled homeowners on how to keep their property.

"Foreclosures are very important. Nobody wants a boarded up house next to them," he said.
In an interview, Avila compared himself to the Count of Monte Christo. Like the fictional count, he says he was unjustly incarcerated when a judge jailed him for 14 days in 2008 after finding him in contempt in relation to a child support matter.

Avila said he has filed complaints with multiple agencies regarding what he considers to have been an unjust penalty.

Lindsay, the fourth potential mayoral candidate, wants to enlist residents into an expanded police volunteer team and build a stronger rapport between the Police Department and residents who are often afraid of their uniformed defenders.

He said many residents often feel they have been pulled over for nothing more than "driving while black."

"I do want to see a better relationship between the community and the police," he said.

The First Ward Race

The First Ward comprises downtown and a portion of the Westside. The race has two candidates, incumbent Esther Estrada and challenger Virginia Marquez.

Estrada, currently the council's longest serving member, is set to seek a sixth term in office. She said she wants to remain in office to oversee work on important public works projects, such as the future replacement of the Mount Vernon Bridge.

"I want to make sure that that's well under way," she said.

Marquez works as a part-time staffer for Democratic Rep. Joe Baca. She said she is a San Bernardino native former state parole agent and decided to run after living in other parts of the state, most recently Coronado Island, for three decades.

"I left 30 years ago and I came back and it's not what I remember," she said.

The Second Ward Race

The Second Ward contains many of the neighborhoods north of downtown and around Perris Hill park. Incumbent Dennis Baxter faces possibly two challengers, tow company owner Jason Desjardins and Alex Avila.

Baxter agrees with Morris that the city has made inroads against crime and wants to focus on services for young children, seniors and Perris Hill Park.

"I want to see some interesting things in Perris Hill Park," he said.

Desjardins owns Big Z Towing and has recently spoken out against a proposal to create a city-run impound lot. He also contends that the Second Ward does not receive its fair share of code enforcement and other anti-blight services.

"I want to ramp up graffiti cleanup and hold people accountable who are caught doing it," he said.

Alex Avila's nomination papers were still being verified as of late Friday. He said he works as a parent educator for Knotts Family Agency and the city to establish partnerships with local schools and tackle foreclosure-related problems.

"Certain groups are breaking into these houses and using them for drug sales and prostitution rings," he said.

The Fourth Ward Race

The Fourth Ward comprises San Bernardino's northeastern areas, including the 40th Street corridor. The race pits incumbent Fred Shorett against challenger Joe Arnett.

Shorett, who ran on a pro-business platform, defeated Arnett and two others in a special election that was held in March.

Firefighting promises to be a major issue, as Shorett and a majority of the council did not support proposals presented in April and May that would have reversed budget cuts affecting the Fire Department.

Arnett is accusing Shorett of breaking a pledge to support public safety, while Shorett says its also his job to be fiscally responsible.

"My only promise was to the taxpayers, to do the fiduciarily correct thing and be accountable to the voters," Shorett said.

To Arnett an IT manager at Loma Linda University, public safety trumps all other city operations.
"As much as I want nice parks, I want to make sure I have a safe park before I'm worrying about cutting the grass."

City Attorney James F. Penman said by telephone today that he will refer the question of an alleged conflict of interest involving the mayor to the office of state Attorney General Jerry Brown.

"We're basically taking our office out of it," Penman said.

The alleged conflict, Penman has said, relates to a proposed homeless shelter. Penman first said publicly on July 28 that representatives of Carson-based Human Potential Consultants complained that the Mayor's Office had improperly interfered in HPC's attempt to set up a homeless shelter at a West Orange Show Lane business park.

The mayor's daughter was reportedly interested in establishing a gymnastics business at a nearby location and Penman reported that HPC was worried that the mayor's daughter's actions threatened to derail their efforts to set up a shelter in San Bernardino.

Mayor Pat Morris counter-argued that under California statute, no conflict could exist because his daughter is not a dependent child. Furthermore, Morris replied that his only action was to ask his daughter to consider other locations for her business.

The story got more complicated on Thursday when HPC attorney Lauren Nevitt sent a letter to city officials claiming that although HPC did bring their concerns to Penman's office, the organization never filed a complaint. Thus the alleged conflict of interest became an alleged alleged conflict of interest.

The Mayor's Office then accused Penman of fabricating a complaint to stir up controversy, while Penman responded that since his office has law enforcement duties, a party doesn't have to file a formal complaint for his office to respond to a report of potential wrongdoing.

Penman said during Monday's council meeting and again in a telephone interview Monday that he would seek the Attorney General's advice as to whether the evidence suggests that there might be some violation of the common law doctrine of conflict of interest.

If the Attorney General replies that there could be a conflict, Penman said he will refer the issue to the San Bernardino County District Attorney. If the Attorney General opines that everything is OK, "then that will be it," Penman said.

A note: Calls for an investigation are not new in San Bernardino politics.

The article posted below deals with City Attorney James F. Penman's insistence that Mayor Pat Morris be investigated for an alleged conflict of interest.

Penman himself was the subject of an election year investigation more than three years ago. He was ultimately cleared of wrongdoing in the matter.

In 2006, The Sun just happened to receive an anonymous complaint to the California Bar against Penman just days before the runoff election in the mayoral contest between Penman and then Judge Pat Morris, who won.

This newspaper did not rush to report on the complaint on the basis that it was by all appearances an episode of election-time gamesmanship. After the election, The Sun reported that the complaint was filed in December by then-Mayor Judith Valles, who supported Morris in that campaign.

San Bernardino is about to enter another mayoral campaign and Morris is seeking reelection. Penman has said repeatedly that he will not seek the mayor's post this time around, but the two officials often tangle at the dais, especially when legal matters are up for discussion. Morris is a former Superior Court judge.

This reporter asked Penman why he shouldn't assume that San Bernardino politics being what it is, he shouldn't assume that this episode isn't another round of gamesmanship.

His response:

"Unlike the allegation from Mayor Valles, the (new) allegation came from HPC," he said.

"That's why we need an investigation," he added.

HPC stands for Human Potential Consultants, an organization that has proposed a homeless shelter. Penman claims in two memos that HPC has alleged Morris has improperly intervened in their efforts.

The news article follows below. One almost wonders if future developments on the Sixth Floor will include a contest to determine who can punch harder.

By Andrew Edwards
Staff Writer

SAN BERNARDINO -- In a pair of memos, City Attorney James F. Penman calls for an investigation to see if his political rival, Mayor Pat Morris,has a conflict of interest relating to a proposed homeless shelter.

The Mayor's Office replies that the messages are nothing more than political spectacle designed to distract attention from the process by which the proposed homeless shelter is being considered.

In his memos, Penman writes that Human Potential Consultants, the Carson-based organization that has proposed the shelter, has alleged that Morris interfered in their attempt to establish a shelter in San Bernardino.

Penman reports that Human Potential Consultants has alleged that Morris improperly involved himself into the process because the Mayor's daughter has looked into doing business at a business park near the intersection of West Orange Show Lane and Arrowhead Avenue. The business park is one location under consideration for the proposed homeless shelter.

The City Attorney writes in his first memo, dated Tuesday, that if a conflict of interest exists, such a violation could result in civil and criminal penalties, the mayor's removal from office.

"The mayor should recuse himself and his office from all further involvement in this project until the allegations of HPC can be investigated," Penman wrote in Tuesday's memo.

It's rare for city attorneys to use such strong assertions when warning other public officials about potential conflicts of interest. Penman said Wednesday it's also rare for an organization with business before City Hall to accuse a San Bernardino official of interfering on behalf of a family member.

HPC could not be reached for comment Wednesday to discuss their reported allegations.
Morris responded with his own memo Wednesday. In his missive, Morris writes that he asked his daughter, Kathleen Willis, 43, to forego plans to locate her gymnastics school at an Orange Show Lane business park where the proposed shelter could also be established.

Willis was out of town Wednesday and unable to comment, a woman who answered the phone at her business, Inland Empire Gymnastics Academy, said.

Morris further writes California's conflict of interest laws do not apply to the situation because his daughter is not a dependent child. The mayor contended that the real issue is not the alleged conflict of interest but the public process.

During the July 20 City Council meeting, the agenda included a request to approve an urgency ordinance that would have allowed HPC to create a shelter in the 200 block of West Orange Show Lane. The request was signed by both Development Services Director Valerie Ross and Penman.

The council chose to put off a decision on proposed ordinance until its Aug. 3 meeting.
Morris and Third Ward Councilman Tobin Brinker said they were concerned that the urgency process did not provide notice for neighboring business owners to register their concerns regarding the proposal. Both Penman's and Morris' memos report that the shelter would serve parolees.

"We need to basically put this out with a process, a legal process that gives appropriate notice," Morris said in an interview.

Brinker said a shelter at the business park could discourage commerce there.

The City Council has previously rejected HPC's attempt to establish a shelter at a church site on North Sierra Way because that location is near a facility that serves domestic violence victims.

HPC has appealed that decision and according to the July 20 request for council action on the urgency ordinance, would withdraw its appeal if given a permit to develop a shelter on Orange Show Lane.

City Manager Charles McNeely writes in an email that a credit agreement between City Hall and the San Bernardino Economic Development Agency has not yet been drawn up.

"No, an agreement has not been drawn up at this point. Staff recommendation was to move forward with the adoption of the budget and finalize the terms of the agreement between the City and EDA during the next few weeks," McNeely wrote. "At this point I am told that it will take several weeks to complete this before it is presented to the City Council after which I am hoping we can move forward with the budget adoption."

The EDA is officially separate from the city and has its own budget. McNeely has proposed that the city balance its budget by borrowing up to $5.4 million from the EDA. City Attorney James F. Penman said during a budget workshop Monday that his office needs more time to review the credit proposals to determine if it conforms with California law. The council did not adopt the budget Monday, postponing that decision to an undetermined date later this month.

In a memo written to the the Mayor and CIty Council dated June 26, McNeely wrote that he expected to draw $2.4 million that would be repaid this year and that the credit agreement would include options for two one-year extensions.

Penman has said one of his concerns is that the extensions could be contrary to state law requiring the money to be repaid in a single year. He has also said that he has not seen any tentative agreement between the EDA and City Hall for a line of credit and first learned of details regarding the proposal morning of Monday's budget meeting.

By Andrew Edwards
Staff Writer
SAN BERNARDINO -- City Attorney James F. Penman is asking to have hundreds of thousands restored to his budget, saying that its impossible to eliminate the costs of defending the city in court.

Penman is asking the council for more than $460,000 above the amount laid out in the preliminary budget to pay outside attorneys.

"There is no guarantee that this amount will not increase as events in FY 09/10 develop," Penman wrote in a July 16 memo to the City Council.

If the council grants Penman's request, it will continue a series of actions that have diminished the impact of budget cuts on the City Attorney's Office. The council has already taken action to restore $400,000 that was sliced from Penman's budget for the current fiscal year.

In an interview Tuesday, Penman said he did not agree with budget cuts, "everybody knew which wasn't going to work."

He described the cuts as a "game" to make it appear as if his office lost funding. He maintained it's impossible for his office to reduce the work of attorneys who are obligated to stand before a judge.

"When someone files a suit against the city, you have to appear in court," Penman said. "There's no grace period."

When the council met June 16, Penman placed about three dozen pending cases on the closed session agenda. He and council members would not discuss closed session discussions, but the move appeared to be a tactic to call attention to outside attorney's case load.

City Manager Charles McNeely said Monday he anticipates the council will agree to Penman's request.

"I would like to know which cases Mr. Brinker would like to settle, and what he's willing to settle for," 7th Ward Councilwoman Wendy McCammack said.

Council members Esther Estrada, and Rikke Van Johnson also seemed inclined to agree with the City Attorney in comments made Monday.

"Let's say we don't have an experienced lawyer to defend against police brutality cases .. you could lose the case and you end up losing millions of dollars," Estrada said.

Penman said many of the cases for which he hires outside attorneys involve allegations of police misconduct or lawsuits filed by police officers against the department.

He said he and employees have agreed to participate in budget cuts by taking 10 percent pay cuts without taking Fridays off, as other city employees have done. Penman did not know off hand how much money the pay cuts have saved the city.

Third Ward Councilman Tobin Brinker has emerged as the most skeptical member of the council in regards to Penman's request.

Brinker said that since Penman is an elected official, he is entitled to deference from the council when it comes to how he spends his office's money. But he also said there is a matter of equity between Penman's department and other city agencies that have endured budget cuts.

"Every department has been sliced and diced," Brinker said in an interview Monday. "If we give money to his department, other departments will have to take more of a cut."

Penman said his office has already raised more than the requested amount from fines collected through citations issued by his office's investigators.

The council is scheduled to meet Wednesday and could the city's budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1 at that time.

City Attorney James F. Penman said city officials can use large-caliber fines called Administrative Civil Penalties to penalize retailers who sell single-serve containers of alcohol in violation of conditional use permits.

City officials announced an enforcement campaign against single-serve alcohol on Monday. Officials' concerns mostly rest on the notion that sales of 40-, 32-, 24- or 16-ounce bottles of beer or malt liquor can fuel petty and serious crimes. The reasoning is that people buying a single are likely to drink the brew shortly after purchase and then do the kinds of things people do while under the influence of alcohol.

Administrative Civil Penalties, or ACPs, allow the city to impose a $1,000 fine, per day, for any violation of the city code. Regulating alcohol sales is generally the responsibility of state government, but Penman said the city has power to prohibit the vending of singles when issuing conditional use permits to establishments that sell alcohol.

If singles are prohibited, can retailers tape two bottles together and avoid penalty? Maybe. Penman said some retailers permits allow for the sale of two-packs, but others require alcohol to be sold in four- or six-packs.

Penman said vendors selling singles who stop doing so after inspection probably won't feel the full weight of the fines.

"They modified so quickly, we're probably going to give them a break," he said.

San Bernardino officials began issuing ACPs against users of illegal fireworks last July. Since then, the city has written out 761 ACPs, and City Attorney's Office investigators issued 504 of those citations, Penman said.

Police issued the next largest amount, 215.

A city hearing officer determines how much people issued an ACP have to pay. Penman said the officer has upheld more than $1.4 million in fines and that San Bernardino has collected nearly $429,000.

Penman said the full penalty is enforced against people who blast loud music from their vehicles or who have to be told twice that they are hosting loud parties.

He said homeowners are given 10 days to correct code violations, and the full weight of the ACPs are not enforced for people with minor violations. He said the fines can be forgiven for people making good-faith efforts to rectify a problem.

"If they're even making progress ... we don't even issue the citation," he said.

Curious to know how any homeowners or business owners who have received ACPs have dealt with the fines. What kinds of fines have been levied against you? Are fines forgiven if you try to fix a problem? Post away in the comment section.

Mayor Pat Morris sent out a press release today announcing that four alcohol retailers received citations for selling single serve alcohol in violation of their conditional use permits.

"We see public intoxication and all the crime that goes along with it, including high rates of violent incidents," Morris said in a press release. "That's why the city, when issuing its permits for alcohol retailers, has started restricting them from selling these kinds of products."

San Bernardino routinely prohibits alcohol vendors from selling single units of alcoholic beverages. However, this rule is seldom followed. It's easy to find single serve alcohol in many mini-marts or grocery stores, and a recent San Bernardino Counrty Department of Public Health survey of 190 licensed liquor dealers found that 165 of those retailers sold singles.

Singles are frequently sold in big bottles, such as the 40-ounce bottles of beer or malt liquor that are often seen in college parties and in gangsta rap videos from the 1990s. The survey found that the most common size for singles in San Bernardino are 24-ounce containers, followed by 32- or 40-ounce bottles. The city's prohibition applies to any size of single-serve bottle of beer or malt liquor.

The theory behind the prohibition on single sales is that customers purchasing a six-pack or case of beer are more likely to use alcohol responsibly. The assumption is that a package of alcoholic beverages will be taken to a residence, whereas a single can be opened and consumed on the street.

UC Riverside professor Robert Nash Parker advised city officials that singles can be associated with vandalism and other crimes.

"Gang members 'sip' 40-ouncers, they party, they get their courage up," he said in a press release. "For the most part, these are underage drinkers and alcohol plays a central part in their activities."

The anti-40 campaign marks an instance of cooperation between the often squabbling Mayor's and City Attorney's office. Parker is a consultant to Morris' Operation Phoenix program, and investigators from City Attorney James F. Penman's office are checking for unauthorized alcohol sales.

"We are taking this very seriously," Penman said in a press release. "Those who fail to comply could be liable for up to a $1,000 per day in fines."

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.

Here's some additional thoughts from City Attorney James F. Penman in relation to "Turning Point," a retrospective on the Mynisha Crenshaw murder that was published in Sunday's edition of The Sun.

Penman and Mayor Pat Morris were competing against each other in the 200-06 mayoral campaign. When Mynisha, 11, was killed in a gang shooting. The crime highlighted the issue of crime in that campaign.

Here is a follow-up on Penman's thoughts concerning how the shooting affected San Bernardino politics and policy:

City Attorney James F. Penman says the Nov. 2005 murder of 11-year-old Mynisha Crenshaw highlighted San Bernardino's crime problem, but only for a while.

"It had a short-term effect. It resulted in, first of all, there was a real spotlight on policing in San Bernardino by the press," he said.

Aside from affecting the mayoral campaign between himself and eventual winner Pat Morris, Penman said the short-term impacts of the shooting were a change in leadership in the Police Department and an influx of San Bernardino County Sheriff's deputies and California Highway Patrol officers who were assigned to assist patrol efforts in San Bernardino.

"That concentration of officers drove the crime rate back down," Penman said.

But Penman - who said San Bernardino needs 100 more cops - believes that city officials are now not doing enough to fight crime. He is concerned that City Hall has not been aggressive enough to eliminate illegal parolee housing.

Although the Measure Z sales tax has given city officials a tool to promise 40 new police officers over the 2006 force strength by June 30, 2009, Penman is not satisfied. He points to a recent ranking of San Bernardino as the 36th most dangerous city in the U.S. - actually an improvement over 2005, when the city was in 18th place - as evidence that San Bernardino has not done enough to improve safety.

"It's great to laud and say the chief is trying and really working hard, I think he is. We have some of the best police officers in the country, there are just not enough of them," Penman said.

Sunday's edition of The Sun featured an extensive retrospective of the events that followed the Nov. 2005 shooting death of 11-year-old Mynisha Crenshaw. This posting is a reprint of the small companion piece that focused on Mayor Pat Morris' thoughts on how the shooting affected San Bernardino.

Here is Morris' perspective:

A subsequent blog-only posting will provide a similar treatment to City Attorney James F. Penman's views. Penman was Morris' opponent in the 2005-06 mayoral campaign.

Mayor Pat Morris was still a candidate and a Superior Court judge when Mynisha Crenshaw was slain.

"That tragedy really did document or highlight the tragedy of juvenile violence in our city," Morris said.

"She was the epitome of innocence," he went on. "She wasn't a gang member. She wasn't involved in any of the gang sets in our city."

The child's death led to Morris and his opponent, City Attorney James F. Penman, to focus on crime during the last months of the 2005-06 mayoral campaign.

Crime remains a central issue in San Bernardino politics.

Voices like Morris' contend that a reinforced Police Department assigned to patrolling streets and solving crimes also needs a robust offering of youth services that can help steer young people away from drugs and gangs before they wind up as a suspect or a victim.

Penman and others reply that although social services may reap long-term benefits, San Bernardino still faces an immediate need to invest more resources into fighting crime.

Policy debates aside, Morris said San Bernardino still has a lot of work to do before the city can escape its reputation as a place of violence.

"We still have a long ways to go before we can brag about the day when we have no children gunned down," the mayor said.

City Attorney Jim Penman and challenger Marianne Milligan squared off in council chambers for the second time Tuesday night, with a much different result.

In the first debate, sponsored by the chamber of commerce earlier this month, a hyper-aggressive Penman riddled the challenger with criticisms, had a raucous crowd thoroughly behind him and landed blow-after-blow to her public image with nary a response.

Milligan clearly changed her strategy in this debate, to her favor. Who won is not for this reporter to decide, but Milligan's scrapping of the "no response" tactic against Penman's ferocious onslaught was clearly a wise move.

Here is a clip below of Milligan going on the offensive:

Click below for more recap, analysis of the issues, photos and clips ...

So, to the delight of some and the dismay of others, we at The Sun have spent two days taking aim at Jim Penman for his confirmed receipt of a gifted membership to Arrowhead Country Club, which may be valued at an amount far exceeding state election law regulations.

Now, the house of cards may be falling.

The Sun has learned that on Oct. 18 and Oct. 19 new complaints have been faxed to the Fair Political Practices Commission, naming a number of local and federal elected officials and bureacrats.

The complaintant identifies himself in the paper filed to the FPPC as a "current member of the Arrowhead Country Club in good standing."

The name is redacted. The complaint further states: "Please keep my name and information about me confidential as I am concerned that my businesses and family might be retaliated against ..."

We will reveal two of the names now, and withold the others until having had the opportunity to call them for comment. Who are the free membership beneficiaries at the hi-powered club? Click below.

In a story in The Sun on Thursday, we reveal that a complaint has been filed against City Attorney James F. Penman for using a free membership to the prestigious Arrowhead Country Club.

The free membership - members typically pay between $2,000 and $4,000 annually for access to the club - may be a violation of state laws prohibiting elected officials from receiving gifts in excess of $400.

Penman (pictured below during a Sun podcast interview) on Wednesday admitted he was an honorary member - ie. able to frequent the club without charge - until March 2006, when he stopped accepting the complimentary membership. But he says he did nothing wrong because his membership entailed fewer benefits than the standard $2,000-plus pass, a defense that members of the club say is untrue.

A spokesman for the Fair Political Practices Commission, the state agency that enforces limits on gifts made to elected officials, confirmed a complaint was received by the agency in October 2006 ... (click below for more)

By now, most of the astute readers of this blog are attuned to the details: In their debate last week, incumbent City Attorney James F. Penman toted props of old newspaper articles to buttress his claim that challenger Marianne Milligan not only deep-sixed the city attorney's office in Costa Mesa with a "bogus" lawsuit, but that she did so under a different name, eluding his office's ability to unearth the sordid details before hiring her in 2005 ...

He was slow to publicly throw his weight around, lurking on the sideline for more than a month before announcing support with an invective-charged assault on "the city attorney" ....

In what could be an interesting sign of the times, City Attorney James F. Penman entreated the city council to give him the money for another deputy city attorney ...

The only questions approaching Thursday night's Marianne Milligan fundraiser were: How strongly would Morris condemn City Attorney James F. Penman and will the mayor also announce support for James Mulvihill, 7th ward council candidate ...

City Attorney James F. Penman responded to growing concern over whether Riverside-law firm Gresham Savage Nolan & Tilden worked for free on behalf of former Mayor Evlyn Wilcox when she sued to strike language from two candidates' - including Penman's opponent - ballot statements.
Penman said the firm will never work for the city again, but they have worked for the city in the past.
The firm has failed to respond to daily calls for comment.
It appears more likely than ever that the firm worked for Wilcox for free, but Penman insists it has nothing to do with its relationship with him or the city.

Marianne Milligan will have a star-studded campaign fundraiser Sept. 13 ...

Click below to see an excerpt of what a responder purports to be a verbatim passage from Mayor Pat Morris' advertising a campaign fundraising event for city attorney challenger Marianne Milligan ...

In what is surely a prelude to more vitriol in coming weeks, supporters of City Attorney James F. Penman and challenger Marianne Milligan are disseminating unflattering innuendo and reports like geysers of information ...

On Monday this Sun blog broke the news that Mayor Pat Morris was a lock to endorse the opponent of City Attorney James F. Penman.

Mayor Pat Morris' difficulties with his city council have been well-documented. The boiling frustration has led many to speculate about what he may do this election season, with regular combatants like City Attorney James F. Penman, 7th ward Councilwoman Wendy McCammack and 5th ward Councilman Chas Kelley all facing voters.