Recently in Where National, State and Local Issues Meet Category

After being elected on a platform of changing the policies of a Republican president who escalated a war in Iraq while increasing the national deficit by signing costly legislation, a Democratic president announced plans to escalate the war in Afghanistan while pushing for costly legislation that will increase the size of the national deficit.

This map shows the county-by-county increase in unemployment since 2007.

San Bernardino County starts out with a healthy orange color, meaning unemployment is less than 5 percent. The color changes to a bleak gray, signifying that unemployment is worse than 10 percent.

Much of the United States is gray at the conclusion of the video.

Here's space to post away on your reactions to President Obama's speech at West Point.

Veterans' views are especially welcome.

A publishing house's ranking of San Bernardino as America's 46th most crime afflicted city - an improvement from the city's previous ranking - doesn't change the fact that it is still the deadliest Southern California city with more than 100,000 people, Cal State San Bernardino criminologist Stephen Tibbets observed.

If slightly smaller cities were included, San Bernardino would rank second, Tibbets said Wednesday. The deadlier city of Compton's population is just under the 100,000 mark.

Tibbets' remarks come in response to CQ Press' latest crime rankings. The list has San Bernardino at the 46 spot, an improvement from 36 in the 2008 edition.

Each list is based on the previous year's crime stats. As recently as 2004, San Bernardino was ranked as America's 16th-most dangerous city.

Mayor Pat Morris said Tuesday that the new rankings show San Bernardino has "graduated to the next level of safety."

Tibbets disagreed, pointing to the city's continued status as one of Southern California's most murderous locales. He said he was pleased to see that the number of murders has declined, but noted that since the early 1990s, crime has generally dropped in large American cities.

"I think it's great news, I actually see it as the glass is half-full, but there has to be a reality check," Tibbets said. "Really, we are just as bad as we were before he took office."

Morris on Tuesday pointed to a wide array of government efforts including police hiring, GPS anklets for gang parolees, cooperation between the SBPD and ATF, recreation programs in and out of Operation Phoenix and anti-drug and -gang education in schools.

Tibbets said the world is too complex to attribute increases or decreases in crime to single factor, noting the complex interactions of poverty, gun availability, drug use, amount of juvenile offenders, dropouts and unemployment on crime rates.

The criminologist said he owns three personal firearms but said one likely factor in reducing crime since the bloody years of the early 1990s has been efforts like trigger locks or parent accountability laws.

Another factor on the national scene, Tibbets said, could be that violent offenders of the early 1990s have gotten too old to commit the kinds of crimes they did during their youths.

CQ Press' rankings rely on numbers that law enforcement agencies report to the FBI. The FBI cautions against rankings, and Tibbetts said its inevitable that people will make comparisons but agrees with the Bureau that CQ Press' method is flawed.

The rankings incorporate data for murders, rapes, robberies, aggravated assaults, burglaries and motor vehicle theft.

Tibbets said murders and vehicle thefts are generally the only statistics that can be relied upon, because even serious crimes can go unreported by victims or misclassified by police. An example could be an aggravated assault that is classified as a misdemeanor attack in a department where brass are trying to improve the city's image.

He said he was not accusing any local departments of fudging data.

But from the perspective of comparing cities, Tibbets said enough departments across the country have been caught downgrading offenses to make any ranking that includes the six crimes counted by CQ Press an unreliable gauge of the relative dangers between cities.

This statement just came in from the office of Rep. Joe Baca, D-San Bernardino:

"I write to add additional comments to the article "San Bernardino Councilwoman Alleges Bribery Attempt," that appeared in the October 30th edition of the San Bernardino Sun.

"To reiterate, I believe Esther Estrada's claims that Telacu officials attempted to bribe her are completely false, and politically motivated. I support the Telacu senior housing proposal because it is an important way to provide affordable housing to one of our most vulnerable populations - elderly, low-income seniors. The project will also help to redevelop an area of the city that has suffered from tremendous economic blight over recent years, and can be a source of steady revenue for the local economy.

"In my time in Congress, I have always had the best interest of San Bernardino at heart. Since first coming to office in 1999, I have secured over $39 million for the City of San Bernardino in appropriation funding. In fact, for fiscal year 2010, I was able to secure over $32 million in funding for the E Street Corridor, sbX bus line construction, and another $1 million for the San Bernardino Municipal Water District. I have also been effective in advocating for federal stimulus dollars to be put to use in San Bernardino. The Economic Recovery package has already brought in $17.6 million in new municipal bond funding for the City to encourage greater development, $5.4 million to hire new police officers in San Bernardino, and over $100 million to widen the I-215 freeway. The hard work of my district staff has been a critical part of my success in securing these federal dollars, and Virginia Marquez has been an effective, team player in this process.

"As I work to secure federal funding to improve the quality of life for our area, it is important to have an effective partnership with local officials - that can ensure these federal dollars are put to best use. Done effectively, this will lead to the creation of new jobs and help in the economic redevelopment of San Bernardino. It strikes me as quite odd that Councilwoman Estrada would oppose this type of economic boon to our area. I wonder if her decision to oppose the Telacu project is at all swayed by her connections to other area developers, and their fears of greater competition for housing in the Inland area?

"I will continue to work to bring federal assistance to San Bernardino, and hope that all of us - local, state, and federal officials, can partner together to create new economic growth and improve the lives of all our Inland residents."

Andrew Edwards
Staff Writer

SAN BERNARDINO - City Councilwoman Esther Estrada publicly accused the developers of a senior housing complex with offering her and three other council members "whatever you want" in exchange for votes.

"We were offered a bribe," Estrada said at the close of a candidate forum this week before Home of Neighborly Service.

Jasmine Borrego, president of Telacu Residential Management, which is developing the housing project, said there are no facts to support allegations of bribery.

"This is a project that no one can say is a bad one," Borrego said.

Estrada said Thursday that she has not reported her suspicions to the District Attorney's Office because Mayor Pat Morris, a former judge, didn't seem alarmed when she previously voiced concerns during the June 1 council meeting.

Estrada is running for reelection against Virginia Marquez, a retired parole agent and part-time aide to U.S. Rep. Joe Baca, D-San Bernardino.

The contest will determine who represents San Bernardino's 1st Ward, an area that includes downtown, part of the Westside and the San Bernardino International Airport site.

Estrada said that Baca's support for Marquez is retaliation for her opposition to Telacu.

Baca donated $1,000 to Marquez's campaign on Sept. 30. He and Marquez said Estrada is wrong in claiming the congressman recruited Marquez to oust Estrada.

"I'm my own person. I make my own decisions ... he (Baca) has mentored me but he has not made it a point to run against my opponent," Marquez said.

Estrada also asserted that Baca threatened the city's federal funding over Telacu's project. She cited a Jan. 30, 2008 letter that Baca sent to the mayor.

In the letter, Baca wrote that "...in the event the City decides that this project is not within its best interests to continue, there may be issues that affect the city in receiving federal funds, such as future grants for housing of this type, or block grant funds."

Baca said the letter was not a threat, but an effort to communicate that City Hall could risk its ability to apply for federal dollars if the council killed a project after asking Uncle Sam for assistance.

Baca also said he has no reason to believe Telacu would stoop to illegalities.

"I don't think Telacu would bribe anybody. They know the law," he said.

Telacu-connected donors, as a group, are the 10th most generous supporters of Baca's campaigns for federal office, donating nearly $50,000.

Baca said he considers Telacu to be a quality organization and that he has received support from many developers during his career.

"Just because they're supporting me, it doesn't mean they are going to get something in return," Baca said.

The City Council voted June 1 to approve the senior housing project.

The plan calls for an $11.2 grant from the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department to build and maintain a 75-unit, senior living complex near the corner of 4th and G streets.

Estrada said Telacu also attempted to finagle votes from council members Dennis Baxter, Rikke Van Johnson and Wendy McCammack.

Johnson and Baxter said they did not believe there was any bribery attempt.

"He (a Telacu employee) asked just simply if I needed any more information," Baxter said. "I never, never got the impression that I was being offered a bribe."

Only McCammack said she also suspected an attempt to suborn her vote.

"That became an obvious and a very easy 'no' vote," McCammack said.

By Andrew Edwards
Staff Writer

SAN BERNARDINO -- Political fallout continues to rain over ACORN as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger calls for a state investigation into the liberal activist group.

"Over the past few days, I have seen a series of news stories regarding the ACORN organization that have concerned me greatly," the governor wrote in a letter to state Attorney General Jerry Brown.

The governor's letter refers to news coverage of a series of videos that show ACORN workers -- to varying degrees -- offer advice or assistance to a pair of undercover bloggers who claim to be seeking help starting a teen prostitution ring to finance political activity.

The governor asked Brown's office to investigate after the bloggers posted footage taped in ACORN's San Bernardino office.

"We'll review the video, and if we think there's any wrongdoing, we'll look into it or refer the matter to a local district attorney," Attorney General's spokesman Scott Gerber said.

Also in ACORN news, the House of Representatives voted Thursday to deny federal funding to ACORN. Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Redlands, said in a statement announcing the House vote that he wants federal agencies to review ACORN's operations.

The House vote follows U.S. Senate action to stop the flow of taxpayer money to ACORN.
A new video taped at ACORN's office in National City was posted on the Web site early Thursday morning.

The San Bernardino footage shows ACORN staffer Tresa Kaelke cq offer advice to O'Keefe and Giles, but she also advises that ACORN would not be able to actually aid the pair's purported prostitution scheme.

Kaelke said in a statement earlier this week that she thought O'Keefe and Giles were joking and that her comments were her attempt to out-shock the pair.

The National City footage shows an Acorn employee who appears to counsel O'Keefe and Giles on how to smuggle underage Salvadoran hookers into the United States.

Kaelke has been suspended. ACORN California head organizer Amy Schur said the National City employee, identified on the video as Juan Carlos, resigned while ACORN was in the process of firing him.

"I don't believe he understood what was going on," Schur said. "I believe he was confused by the situation."

The videos were shot by undercover bloggers James O'Keefe and Hannah Giles, who posted the content on BigGovernment.com, a conservative Web site.

On the Web site, O'Keefe presented a quote from "Rules for Radicals," Saul D. Alinsky's manual for political warfare, above San Bernardino clips.

The quote is Alinsky's eighth tactic: "Keep the pressure on, with different tactics and actions, and utilize all events of the period for your purpose."

ACORN is a community organizing group whose name is an acronym for Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now.

Its services include tax-filing and loan assistance. ACORN also engages in political activity on behalf of the poor and voter registration drives.

Before the video controversies, ACORN employees have run afoul of election monitors in multiple states.

Nevada authorities have charged two ACORN employees with violating that state's laws by using a quota system to employ and pay ACORN staffers responsible for registering new voters.
A trial is scheduled to begin in Las Vegas on Sept. 29, Nevada Attorney General spokeswoman Edie Cartwright said.

Bertha Lewis, ACORN's chief executive, issued a statement Wednesday announcing the group would suspend its intake of new clients, provide new training to front line employees and hire an external auditor.

"Any reforms they come up with, we plan to implement," Schur said. "Our governor seems to be piling on in an opportunistic way."

ACORN announced Wednesday that the group is suspending its intake of new clients. The announcement came one day after the release of a video that showed a worker in its San Bernardino office speaking to undercover bloggers asking for help in launching a prostitution business.

The video was the fourth in a series posted on BigGovernment.com by bloggers James O'Keefe and Hannah Giles. Earlier videos showed O'Keefe and Giles obtain prostitution tips from ACORN staffers in Baltimore, Washington D.C. and Brooklyn.

The Baltimore video featured an ACORN tax consultant offer tips on how O'Keefe and Giles could cheat on their taxes while running a brothel staffed by underage Salvadoran prostitutes.

"As a result of the indefensible action of a handful of employees, I am, in consultation with ACORN's Executive Committee, immediately ordering a halt to any new intakes into ACORN's service programs until completion of an independent review," ACORN chief executive Bertha Lewis said in a press release.

ACORN also announced that the group is ordering immediate training for front-line employees and that an auditor or reviewer is to be hired by Friday.

The edited San Bernardino footage released Tuesday shows ACORN worker Tresa Kaelke appear to take interest in a scheme proposed by O'Keefe. O'Keefe claimed to be a law student wanting to funnel underage prostitutes' earnings into future political endeavors.

What appears to be raw footage posted on Fox News' Web site shows Kaelke tell the pair that ACORN cannot be involved in such a scheme and at one point says that if she knew better, she would believe O'Keefe's and Giles' overtures to be a "total setup."

ACORN is a liberal-leaning activist group that offers tax filing help, loan assistance and help to people facing foreclosures. The group's name is an acronym for Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now.

Bloggers O'Keefe and Giles have not responded to requests for comment on their work.

By Andrew Edwards
Staff Writer
SAN BERNARDINO -- The head organizer for California ACORN says a new video that appears to show a staffer at the organization's San Bernardino office is fake journalism.

The video, which was posted shortly before 2 p.m. Tuesday on a Web site called Big Government.com, shows a female ACORN employee talking to a man who claims to be a pimp interested in establishing a brothel where underage immigrant prostitutes would turn tricks in order to raise money for political activity.

The woman, identified on the video as Tresa Kaelke, appears on posted footage to be interested in cooperating the plan. However, California ACORN head organizer Amy Schur said the video is a gross misrepresentation of what actually happened.

"In this video, there are two actors who come into our office and who were messing with us. And our employee was messing with them," Schur said.

She said that the complete and unedited video needs to be released to the public.

Schur said that in a moment not shown on the edited video, Kaelke asked the undercover "pimp" if he was joking and then proceeded to play along with the joke.

Furthermore, Schur said that Kaelke will sign an affidavit stating that she was not seriously entertaining the idea of cooperating with an apparent attempt to establish a house of prostitution.

"She (Kaelke) asked if they were joking and asked if they were reporters. They said they weren't reporters and they aren't. This is not legitimate news," Schur said.

Schur's statements follow comments from ACORN office supervisor Christina Spach, who said Kaelke was afraid of the "pimp" and "prostitute" who broached the prostitution ploy at ACORN's San Bernardino office.

The Big Government.com video identifies the "pimp" as James O'Keefe and the "prostitute" as Hannah Giles. O'Keefe and Giles could not be reached immediately for comment.

By Andrew Edwards, James Rufus Koren and Josh Dulaney

SAN BERNARDINO - The conservative Web site Big Government.com has posted a hidden camera video showing an ACORN employee apparently agree to help a "pimp" and "prostitute" set up a brothel employing underage immigrants to help finance a political campaign.

ACORN is a left-leaning community organizing group whose name is an acronym for Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now.

The group has come under fire in recent months amid published accusations of vote fraud and a recent series of videos in which ACORN employees appear to agree to aid in the establishment of brothels as a means to finance political activity.

The brothels are fake, as are the pimp and prostitute. A video posted online shortly before 2 p.m. Tuesday on Big Government.com shows a man, who in narration, identifies himself as James O'Keefe.

O'Keefe reports that he disguised himself as a pimp, and his colleague, Hannah Giles is undercover as a prostitute.

In the video, which was taped Aug. 17, O'Keefe and Giles ask an ACORN employee identified by the pair as Tresa Kaelke about the prospects of using prostitution to pay for political activity.

Kaelke, on tape appears to show neither shock nor surprise that O'Keefe seeks to use hookers as a political fundraisers.

She says she has previously run her own escort service and goes on to express a point of view that vice is woven into the fabric of American politics. Kaelke says on the video: "You think every Congressman, every legislator, do think that even Obama, our new president or any of them, ever, ever actually put down every single resource where they got their money?"

The woman also claims on the video to have shot a former husband.

At ACORN's office Tuesday, office supervisor Christina Spach told reporters she was not authorized to comment and that an official spokesperson would comment later in the day.

"Just to be clear, ACORN in not in the prostitution business," Spach said.

Spach said she did not wish to be quoted, but did confirm that Kaelke is an ACORN employee. She would not permit reporters to speak to Kaelke and said ACORN employees do not typically make statements to the media, instead relying on their members to articulate the group's positions and activities.

In a subsequent telephone conversation on Tuesday, Spach said Kaelke pretended to cooperate with O'Keefe and Giles because she feared for her safety.

"She was in an office all by herself," Spach said. "She felt unsafe in their company."

Spach, who identified herself as Kaelke's supervisor, said Kaelke lied to the undercover bloggers because she was afraid and wanted to "come across as a strong individual."

"It was a defense mechanism," Spach said.

Spach said Kaelke was not a prostitute or otherwise in the sex industry and did not shoot her husband.

"Her husband is alive and well," Spach said..

ACORN's usual services to individuals include aid to people facing foreclosure, loan services and tax filing help, Spach said.

Jim Miller, a retired San Bernardino resident who is shown in the video, said he is not an ACORN member. However, he said a trio who he now believes was O'Keefe, Giles and another person did ask him about the viability of a San Bernardino brothel.

Miller told reporters that he told the trio that such a venture would be immoral and not likely to succeed. He said he did not notify police about the encounter.

As far as the video itself is concerned, Miller judged the Big Government.com piece to be an unethical example of journalistic entrapment taken against a group he considers to be a legitimate community service organization.

"I was flabbergasted that they would have such a thing in mind," Miller said.

Also in the video, Kaelke claims to have contacts with several Inland Empire politicians. One of those legislators, state Sen. Gloria Negrete McLeod, has seen the video and was upset by the content.

"What is she (Kaelke) smoking?" McLeod said in reaction to Kaelke's taped behavior.

McLeod, D-Montclair, also confirmed that she met Kaelke on July 10 along with other ACORN employees to talk about helping victims of mortgage fraud.

The senator said she met with out of her obligation to speak to all constituent groups. She recalled that Kaelke took notes but did not speak.

"I asked her specifically why she wasn't saying anything," McLeod said. "She said she was taking notes. That was the only time I had ever seen her."

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.

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.

Mayor Pat Morris' office announced Thursday that he has been invited to visit the White House next week to discuss anti-crime programs.

According to the Mayor's Office, he and other American mayors - as well as police chiefs and other figures, are set to meet with Attorney General Eric Holder to talk about how the federal government can assist local law enforcement.

This is an extended version of the article about a Minuteman Project event that ran on A-4 in today's edition of The Sun. This version includes comment from the Mexican Consulate.

By Andrew Edwards
Staff Writer
SAN BERNARDINO -- A dozen members of the Minuteman Project visited the downtown offices of United States and Mexican officials Wednesday while speaking against what they consider to be the policy failures that led to the recent killing of an American border agent.

"Today's event is a solemn procession in honor of border agent Robert Rosas," said Raymond Herrera, national rally spokesman for the anti-illegal immigration Minuteman Project.

Rosas, a U.S. Border Patrol agent Robert Rosas was shot to death July 23 in San Diego County. Mexican authorities have announced that the primary suspect in the shooting and other men have been taken into custody.

Speaking outside of Sen. Barbara Boxer's field office in San Bernardino -- a frequent spot of Minuteman Project protests -- Herrera likened Rosas' death to that of a soldier on a battlefield. He said he was outraged that he hasn't seen a public statement from Boxer nor President Obama that reflects upon Rosas' death.

A Boxer spokesman wrote in an email that the senator preferred to make private comments to Rosas' family.

"Senator Boxer expressed her condolences privately in a letter to the family of Agent Rosas," said Zachary Coile wrote. "She felt it was the appropriate thing to do in the wake of this terrible killing."

After going inside Boxer's office to deliver their views to one of the senator's staffers, Herrera and other protestors proceeded to the downtown Mexican Consulate for a brief meeting with political and public affairs consul Federico Bass.

"We certainly regret the death of Agent Rosas. It was a tragic death under any circumstances and these types of incidents should not happen between our countries," Bass said in a post-meeting interview.

Bass, who called the meeting "an exchange of opinions and points of view of which we do not agree," also said Mexico would be willing to extradite Rosas' suspected killer for prosecution. However, the Mexican government would insist that the death penalty not be imposed after any conviction.

Rep. Joe Baca's office reported Tuesday that the city will receive $5.4 million from the U.S. Justice Department to hire police officers.

Within San Bernardino County, Chino, Colton, Ontario, Redlands and Rialto were also awarded funds, according to the Justice Department. The money can be used to keep officers on a city police force for three years, and then cities are on the hook to pay the new cops' salaries.

"In three years, with hopefully the economic recovery underway, revenue from sales tax and especially Measure Z, would pick up that funding," Mayoral Chief of Staff Jim Morris said.

Morris said San Bernardino will be able to use the grant to hire 16 officers.

San Bernardino had asked for more than $6 million to fill 22 Police Department positions that have been allowed to go unfilled as a result of budget cuts.

The office of Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Redlands, reports Friday that an appropriations bill containing funding for the proposed Verdemont Community Center passed the House of Representatives.

The bill, which funds the federal departments of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development, allocates $500,000 for the proposed community center. The legislation must still be considered by the Senate.

"I am pleased that my colleagues have agreed to provide community development dollars for a project that will provide vital needs to a growing and underserved area in North San Bernardino," Lewis said in a statement. "The city is designing a community center that can become a focal point for these new neighborhoods, and a model for energy-efficient public buildings."

Despite his praise for the community center funding, Lewis voted against the bill, according to a government Web site.

City Manager Charles McNeely reports that the new budget deal recommended by Sacramento's Big 5 would cost $5-6 million to the city and San Bernardino Economic Development Agency Budgets.

California's current budget proposal would take/borrow/raid (do your own spin here) billions from local governments from Calexico to Crescent City and points in between. The state would balance its budget by using $1.7 billion in local property tax and sales tax revenues through the state's Prop. 1A formula, $1 billion municipalities' share of gas tax dollars and $1.7 billion from redevelopment agencies' funds for low-income housing projects.

"According to state lawmakers, funds loans from municipalities must be paid back, with interest, in three years. But local leaders say they need the money now, having endured their own excruciating budget cuts triggered by steep declines in local sales tax receipts, the decline in housing values and escalating foreclosure rates," reads a release from McNeely's office.

By Andrew Edwards
Staff Writer

SAN BERNARDINO -- Rev. Patrick S. Guillen pushed a school bus "off a cliff" on Thursday.

So did Moises Escalante. And they weren't the only ones.

"Today we are gathered here together to say the governor is driving California off a cliff," said Guillen, who is also executive director of Libreria del Pueblo, which teaches English language and citizenship courses.

The figurative bus of state was represented not only by words but toy plastic school busses that Guillen, Escalante and others pushed from tables set up outside City Hall.

About a dozen others, including children, stood joined Guillen and Escalante in protesting California's budget deadlock. The protesters, organized by the left-leaning California Partnership, called for increased taxes on oil companies and tobacco to offset potential budget cuts to social services.

"Isn't that just common sense, that we tax the big corporations? Not only for good health, but to give life to others," Escalante asked.

Protester Victoria Pelayo of San Bernardino said while others gathered that she stands to lose $1,400 in In-Home Health Services payments that she needs to care for her bed-ridden sister-in-law.

"How come (Gov.) Arnold (Schwarzenegger) isn't taxing from the rich and giving to the poor? That's what he should be doing," Pelayo said.

Conservatives would likely disagree with the California Partnership's policy choices, but there's probably no disputing that the state is in extreme financial trouble. The state Controller is expected to start issuing interest-bearing IOUs for some state obligations Tuesday.

By Andrew Edwards
Staff Writer

]A bill that would require radio broadcasters to pay royalties to recording artists is being called a move toward fair play by its supporters and an unwelcome "tax" by its opponents within the broadcasting industry.

Radio stations across the United States must already pay royalties to those who hold composers' rights to songs, but are not obligated to pay a performance right to musicians whose sounds are broadcast across the airwaves. A pending bill called the Perfomance Rights Act would require broadcasters to pay both songwriters and performers.

Debate over the bill centers around whether yesteryear's musicians are missing out on deserved earnings, whether broadcasters can afford to pay additional royalties.

There's also the question of who makes money off of who. Do radio stations attract listeners -- and thus advertisers -- by being able to play songs without having to pay for musicians' labor or do performers and record labels get a break from broadcasters whose playlists essentially serve as free advertising for recordings?

Jeff Parke, general manager for oldies station KOLA 99.9 FM and hard rock station KCAL 96.7 FM,says its the latter and that the bill would be disastrous for broadcasters.

Parke anticipates that if stations had to pay another set of bills to clear performance rights, music stations would either have to forego local content in favor of programming from syndicators who would pay for the right to broadcast songs, or just give up on music.

"You're going to see a lot more news talk, sports talk," he said. "It's just going to destroy the idea of music radio.

The bill would also create a burden for news stations, said Dennis Baxter, general manager of KCAA 1050 AM. Baxter said the station would face the burden of paying for the "bumper music" that plays between talk segments.

Baxter is also a San Bernardino city councilman.

Parke said KOLA and KCAL combined pay about $500,000 to clear songwriters' rights. He said he was not able to disclose the stations' revenues, but his biggest expenses are payroll and songwriters' clearances, and that he's laid off a dozen employees to stay afloat.

He said that if musicians are not getting a fair deal for their recordings, that's a problem to be solved among artists, composers and record labels.

But proponents of the bill organized as the Music First Coalition argue that radio stations are trying to avoid the very payments that satellite and Internet radio providers are required to make.
Music First spokesman Martin Machowsky said the bill does not set the amount of royalties that stations would have to pay, but that the money would be divided between rights holders and performers.

"Some of the money goes to the folks who do the drum solos and guitar solos that you recall," he said.

Machowsky said the legislation would not require major payments on the part of about three quarters of American radio stations.

The bill provides stations earning less than $1.25 million per year would only have to pay a $5,000 fee to clear rights and public, educational and religious stations would pay $1,000.

Music First's spokesman also said proponents believe that radio stations often stick to a well-known mix of hit songs, which limits the promotional value of free radio airplay.

Support and opposition to the bill crosses party lines. The House version of the bill passed the Judiciary Committee in May.

New city manager Charles McNeely said he wants to spend three months getting to learn San Bernardino before proposing major changes to how San Bernardino officials go about their business.

"They'll be fairly significant, I can assure you," McNeely said Tuesday during an interview in his City Hall office.

McNeely and the City Council are set to meet at noon to open budget discussions. McNeely said Tuesday that San Bernardino faces a deficit in the $4 to $5 million range. The situation could become about $3 million worse if California state officials borrow local property tax dollars from local governments to balance Sacramento's budget.

Update to a previous post:

Sen. Barbara Boxer's spokesman in Washington, D.C. sends word that one of her staffers was willing to meet with Minuteman Project representatives, but that he was unable to do so because of jury duty.

"We are more than happy to meet with groups with a wide range of views on this and other issues. We told the group we could schedule another meeting when our senior advisor in the office was not fulfilling his civic responsibility by serving on jury duty," spokesman Zachary Coile wrote in an email.

"This is an issue where we need more, not less dialogue. We should all be working toward a comprehensive immigration policy for our country," he added.

"This is an issue where we need more, not less dialogue. We should all be working toward a comprehensive immigration policy for our country."

About a dozen members of the people participating in a Minuteman Project-led event rallied outside Sen. Barbara Boxer's office Wednesday in downtown San Bernardino to protest the senator's stance on immigration policy.

The Minuteman Project is an anti-illegal immigration organization. Wednesday's rally focused on Boxer's support for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's bill that without outlining an actual change to immigration law, would express the sense of Congress that the United States needs more effective border enforcement, to prevent illegal immigration and to change naturalization law towards the aim of "reforming and rationalizing avenues for legal immigration."

Minuteman national rally spokesman Raymond Herrera described the bill as a call for amnesty for the millions of undocumented immigrants living in the United States.

"We want the American rule of law upheld and we want to support American workers," Herrera said.

Herrera said the rally included two people who moved to the United States legally.

"We have two immigrants with us, real immigrants," he said.

Boxer and the Minuteman Project have very different views on immigration, but Herrera and others at the rally said they were expecting a meeting with one of the Democratic senator's senior advisors.

However, the staffer in question was not present Wednesday morning.

A representative from Boxer's office could not be immediately reached for comment.

The California Supreme Court issued a ruling today upholding Prop. 8, the ban on same-sex marriages the state's voters approved in the Nov. 2008 election.

Prop. 8 was passed mere months after the Court's May 2008 decision to recognize same-sex marriage in California.

In its new ruling, the Court decided that the some 18,000 same-sex unions recorded in the state between its May 2008 decision and the time Prop. 8 became law are still legally-recognized marriages.

Today is the day Californians get to vote on a package of budget measures that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and other proponents tout as a means to restore sanity to the state's budget process.

The six propositions include 1A, which extends tax increases while also increasing the governor's ability to cut spending and setting new rules for California's "rainy day" fund. Another proposition, 1C, would allow Sacramento to borrow against future Lottery revenues. The propositions are said to be worth about $6 billion to the cash poor state.

In objective terms, California's budget has been a fiasco since I've covered the news, starting with work at the UCLA Daily Bruin in 2002. The story hasn't changed much in seven years, Californians are asked to pay their government more in taxes and fees while living under the specter of a collapse of government services, whether its policing, fire protection, infrastructure or education.

A lot of well-educated and well-meaning people have brought forward reasons to explain why this has happened. Some of those ideas readily come to mind: The state's budget has relied on volatile revenue sources like personal income and capital gains taxes; powerful public employee unions that have negotiated lucrative pay and benefits packages; gerrymandered legislative districts that have fostered political sclerosis in Sacramento and voters who have regularly pass bond measures that lock in future general fund revenues to debt service.

There are also at least two politically incorrect subjects that are at the core of Golden State politics: The costs of illegal immigration and the question of whether local governments can effectively finance themselves under the restrictions of Prop. 13.

All of these ideas are worth debating, but the years of debate have not yet produced an outcome. Polling indicates that the propositions are going to fail, and although it's not my place to say what the state should do, or how people should vote, I think I can try and interpret what Californians' choices are.

Choosing to support the propositions is like choosing to give a wayward friend a loan, while also trying to rein in that friend's irresponsible behavior. Maybe that friend will learn the right lesson and use the money to straighten out. Maybe not.

Voting against the propositions is an act of defiance. It's like punching that friend in the mouth in hopes that the blow will shock some sense into that person's brain. There's a good chance of negative short term consequences, but sometimes people just get tired of dealing with the same problems year after year and want to make a change.

There aren't a lot of good choices to go around.

Mayor Pat Morris and Third Ward Councilman Tobin Brinker both said during Monday's City Council meeting that they believe the passage of budget-related ballot measures is vital for San Bernardino's financial stability.

"The defeat of these initiatives will no doubt have a substantial negative impact on our city," Morris said.

The Special Election is today. The six propositions include 1A, which extends taxes while also increasing the governor's ability to cut spending and setting new rules for California's "rainy day" fund. Another proposition, 1C, would allow Sacramento to borrow against future Lottery revenues.

Schwarzenegger has said the propositions are worth about $6 billion to the state, which is in bad shape whether they pass or fail. California faces a deficit of about $15 billion even if the ballot measures pass.

Recent polling suggests that voters will reject the propositions, save for a measure that would prohibit legislators from increasing their own pay during deficit years.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has threatened to borrow money from local governments if the initiatives do not pass.

Acting City Manager Lori Sassoon has said San Bernardino could stand to lose about $3 million if state government borrows property tax dollars. The council adopted a resolution Monday declaring the city will suffer fiscal hardship if Sacramento takes local money to balance the state's budget.

A longer version of a story that ran Friday on Tuesday's Special Election follows this post.

Californians will be asked to vote on six budget propositions, 1A - 1F, that proponents say will fix the state's perennial budget problems. Detailed analysis of each ballot measure is available from the Secretary of State's Office.

Polling shows that voters are not likely to approve the measures, which among other things, ask voters to agree to keep recent tax increases on the books at a time when the economy looks to remain sour for the next year or two.

The taxes are included in the complicated language of 1A, which proponents say will also limit state spending and improve the state's fiscal reserves. Prop. 1C is also designed to raise revenue by allowing the state to borrow against future lottery money. As a package, the propositions could be worth about $6 billion.

If not for continued deterioration of California government's finances, the choice could be described as that of taxes or deep cuts to state services. But state programs stand to be chopped either way, as California is projected to have a $15.4-billion deficit if the measures pass or a $21.3-billion deficit if the measures fail.

I came across this while writing an article on State Controller John Chiang's visit to San Bernardino.

A Field Poll released May 1 reports that a mere 14 percent of Californians are approve of the Legislature's job performance. It's the lowest rating Field Poll has ever recorded in surveys dating back to the early 1980s.

Turns out a decade of fiscal crises doesn't help one's popularity. Of course, Assembly and State Senate sdistricts are extremely gerrymandered, so a lot of these men and women probably won't have to worry about reelection.

And the governor? Arnold Schwarzenegger weighs in with an approval rating of 33 percent. It's a also record low for the man who's counting on yet another Special Election to solve California's perennial budget deficits.

"The 33% approval rating is lowest assessment that voters have given the Governor in twenty-three separate Field Poll measures taken since his election in late 2003. Schwarzenegger's ratings are now lower than those he received in the fall of 2005, immediately before voters rejected each of four ballot measures the governor placed on that year's special election," Field Poll reports.

California politicos have another problem. The conventional wisdom has it that voters will reject the ballot measures that are up for a vote on May 19. The package includes Prop. 1A, which would extend tax hikes and is also intended to force the state to put more money into a "rainy day fund." Another part of the package is Prop. 1C, which lets state officials borrow a projected $5 billion against California Lottery revenues.

Schwarzenegger and other proponents of the measures say rejection of the measures will result in deep budget cuts. The San Francisco Chronicle recently reported that the governor threatened to eliminate 1,700 state firefighting positions if the propositions fail.

By Andrew Edwards
Staff Writer

SAN BERNARDINO -- State Controller John Chiang said Wednesday that California's financial problems are a long way from being solved.

"It is going to be the most difficult time we have ever faced in California," Chiang said during remarks at the San Bernardino Hilton.

California, Chiang said, will have to deal with the fact that income tax receipts for April fell nearly two billion dollars short of what Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Legislature projected in the current budget deal, which was approved in February.

Chiang said other challenges facing Californians and their leaders are the state's growing debt obligations and a potential inability to deal with looming cash shortages by borrowing.

"We're just stealing money from our grandkids. That's what we're doing," Chiang said.

The state's voters are being asked to consider a package of ballot measures during a special election set for May 19. But the proposals -- which include a measure that asks voters to sign off on tax hikes in the midst of a recession -- could go down in flames.

Field Poll results released April 29 show that five budget-related propositions are failing among likely voters.

The package includes Proposition 1A, which would require the state to store a greater percentage of its money in a "rainy day fund" and extend recent increases in sales and income taxes and vehicle license fees for up to two years.

Proponents say the measure would give long-needed stability to Sacramento's finances. Opponents say the proposition is a tax-hike disguised as spending reform.

Another measure, Proposition 1C, would let state officials borrow a projected $5 billion against future Lottery revenues.

Chiang -- who said his duties in California's current financial conditions consist of keeping state government from sliding into default -- did not say Wednesday whether voters should favor or oppose the propositions.

However, he said the state's cash position could be three times worse than what he currently expects if the measures do not pass. In such an event, he said his office would not be able to cut checks for students receiving Cal Grants or pay the state's share of Social Security payments for the blind, elderly and disabled.

He did say that he would like to see legislators build expiration dates into tax incentive programs so they can debate whether industries benefitting from tax breaks should continue to receive assistance from Sacramento.

Chiang also said he opposes any attempts by Sacramento officials to balance the state's budget by claiming money that would otherwise go to local governments.

The Legislative Analyst's Office reports that the propositions could be worth nearly $6 billion to California's general fund.

The LAO also reports that state revenues during the 2009-10 fiscal year are likely to be $8 billion lower than amounts projected within the February budget package.

The Legal Aid Society of San Bernardino, San Bernardino County Bar Association, San Bernardino County One-Stop Resource Center and 5th District Supervisor Josie Gonzales hosted Chiang's appearance.

Field Poll results released Wednesday report that Californians are leaning against a package of ballot referenda that proponents tout as a solution to the state's perennial budget crises.

Proposition 1A, which is designed to increase the amount of money state government saves in a "rainy day fund' while also temporarily increasing taxes, was favored by only 40 percent of likely voters in the new poll. Eleven percent of voters are undecided.

Proposition 1B, which is contingent upon passage of Prop. 1A, would direct $9.3 billion to schools over a five to six year period.. Field Poll reports that 40 percent of likely voters agree with the proposal.

Proposition 1C, which would allow the state to borrow $5 billion against future Lottery revenues, has only 32 percent of likely voters in favor.

Proposition 1D, which would temporarily redirect unspent tobacco tax revenues to children's services, is favored by only 40 percent of likely voters.

Proposition 1E, which would rejjigger mental health care funding, also has only 40 percent of likely voters in favor.

Proposition 1F, which would prevent California elected officials from receiving pay increases in deficit years, is the only measure passing. The measure has 71 percent of voters in favor.

The poll also found that Republicans were much more likely to oppose Props. 1A - 1E than Democrats.

A former co-worker of mine wondered over breakfast today when people will begin to see a "face" to the recession, as in something like long unemployment lines that make it impossible to forget that the economy is down.

My suggestion for was that if any recent developments are icons for this recession, it's the Cash 4 Gold commercials. If anything signals that times are hard, it's an advertising blitz for a company that asks television viewers to sell personal treasures for quick cash.

This idea prompted another Sun reporter to mention the Super Bowl commercial featuring MC Hammer and Ed McMahon, both of whom have had their own financial problems in the news.

I was also told that NPR had some kind of discussion on Hammer's commercial appearance, but I have to admit that I haven't heard it.

So yeah, this is the kind of stuff we talked about.

Berdoo isn't alone in its budget problems.

A Los Angeles Times article had more information about the potential tax hikes. The Times reports that Sacto officials are talking about doubling the car tax, raising sales and gasoline taxes and even creating a tax on paying tax, as "Californians would pay a new surcharge on their personal income taxes, amounting to 2.5% of their total tax bills."

By JUDY LI
Associated Press Writer
SACRAMENTO (AP) -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders were scheduled to resume talks Wednesday on a fix to California's massive budget deficit, as Democrats said they wanted to vote on a proposal by week's end.

Democrats and Republicans indicated they were close to a compromise but noted that a few key details had to be worked out before they could agree on the plan to deal with a shortfall pegged at $42 billion through June 2010.

"They're closing on a few key details. There is not an agreement at this point," said Schwarzenegger's spokesman, Aaron McLear.

The state Senate leader characterized the negotiations in much the same way.

"There is no deal, but there is a common framework," Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, said Wednesday before a luncheon address to the Sacramento Press Club.

Friday will mark the 100th day since the governor called a special session to deal with the state's fiscal crisis. California has halted thousands of infrastructure projects, put a hold on tax refund checks and delayed payments to state contractors.

The Schwarzenegger administration also has instituted twice-a-month furloughs for some 200,000 state employees and has said it will begin the layoff process if no deal is reached by the end of the week.

Lawmakers have been at odds over how to close the gap. Democrats want tax increases with minimal cuts to social services while Republicans want a spending cap and business-friendly provisions in exchange for tax increases.

While few details are available about the points being negotiated, tax increases are expected to be part of the mix.

Elements of a potential budget package call for temporarily increasing the state sales tax by 1 percent, raising the fee for licensing vehicles to 1.15 percent and raising the personal income tax across the board. In exchange, a Republican-sought spending cap would limit the amount the state can spend each year based on a predetermined formula.

The Democratic leaders, Steinberg and Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, have said they hope to bring a budget plan to a vote this week.

"While Speaker Bass is pleased that enormous strides have been made toward finalizing a budget agreement, the fact that staff continue to work out language and details on several different items means that from her perspective there is not yet a final deal," Bass' spokesman, Shannon Murphy, said in a statement.

The Democratic and Republican legislative leaders met with Schwarzenegger Tuesday night and were schedule to meet with him again later Wednesday.

"When all four leaders left last night, they said they're getting closer but there's still more work to do," said Sabrina Lockhart, spokeswoman for the Republican caucus in the Senate. "Nothing has changed this morning."

Associated Press Writer Juliet Williams contributed to this report.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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."

By Andrew Edwards
Staff Writer
SAN BERNARDINO -- Nick DePasquale sells Fords but wants his competition at General Motors to stay alive.

DePasquale, a partner at Fairview Ford in San Bernardino, says that during the past few years, the word around Ford was "not to root against GM."

The idea of team Ford wanting General Motors to succeed may seem about as likely as a UCLA Bruins fan shouting "Fight on" during Saturday's rivalry game against the USC Trojans.

But DePasquale says that Ford won't be able to survive if General Motors goes belly up.
His reason? He reasons that American companies that manufacture automotive components get most of their business from General Motors. If General Motors fades away, its suppliers could be the next companies to go out of business.

DePasquale said that would lead to Ford facing the possibly fatal problem of not being able to buy the components needed to assemble the cars and trucks that he sells at his dealership.

"Our future is tenuous without a manufacturer," said DePasquale, who would in turn be faced with the choice of closing up shop or selling another line of vehicles if Ford crashes.

"It wouldn't be an easy road and it would be a terrible economy to reinvent yourself," he said later
For DePasquale and other auto dealers, Congress' decision could determine whether they have to reengineer their careers.

The Big Three automakers went to Washington, D.C. on Thursday in another attempt to obtain $34 billion in federal assistance at a time when American politics is being dominated by news of once-towering firms seeking government bailouts.

"No thinking person thinks that all three companies can survive," Sen. Bob Corker, R--Tennessee, said.

Congress -- quick to provide billions worth of assistance to financial institutions -- seems to be less willing to provide a bailout package to Chrysler, Ford and General Motors.

"Be honest and tell me ... just tell me if things stay the way they are now, are you going to be back in a year asking for more money?," Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont. asked.

Senator Richard Shelby, cq a Republican from Alabama, questioned whether the Big Three could do more than sustain their troubled firms for a few months and whether automakers would be able to repay billions in federal assistance.

Auto executives became something of a laughingstock after the public learned that they flew aboard private jets on their previous Capitol trip in search federal aid. This time, Big Three leaders made their journey in environmentally-fashionable hybrid vehicles.

Executives have agreed to government oversight similar to that which could be exercised by a bankruptcy court, if Congress agrees to a bailout.

"I probably need to think about that a little bit. It sounds right, but I just don't know all of the implications," Ford chief executive Alan Mulally said.

But management and labor alike reject the notion of doing business under bankruptcy protections.

Ron Gettelfinger, president of United Auto Workers, rejected bankruptcy, maintaining that Americans would not by cars from bankrupt manufacturers.

Inland Empire economist John Husing said that if the Big Three collapse, the most obvious repercussions in around the San Bernardino region will be the affect on auto dealerships.

The area has already lost several dealerships, including Moss Bros. Ford in Colton, Center Chevrolet in San Bernardino and Saturn of Loma Linda. Husing noted that additional closures would not only add to region's unemployment but further the problems of local governments that need sales tax revenues to pay their bills.

Regarding the auto bailout, Husing said his own mind is divided on whether Congress should provide the aid. He said traditional bankruptcy protections may provide a better alternative.
"It is to take companies that are dire financial straits and give them a pause where they can reorganize," Husing said.

"It wipes out shareholders. It wipes out the creditors," he added. "The major political difficulty is it wipes out the union contracts."

Like Husing, Cal State San Bernardino economics professor Thomas Pierce said the part of the inland economy that's most clearly going to affected by the outcome of the bailout debate will be auto dealerships.

Pierce had a more favorable view of the proposed bailout, provided that the Big Three can present a satsifactory survival plan to Congress.

General Motors, for example, has proposed increasing its efforts to produce alternative fuel vehicles while also cutting back on its brands and dealerships while also seeking other cost reductions.
General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner has also agreed to cut his salary to $1 per year if Washington agrees to the bailout.

The Los Angeles Times reports that state legislators are considering a tripling of vehicle license fees as they struggle to solve California's perennial budget shortfalls.

Here's an excerpt from the article by Evan Halper:

"Under the plan, GOP lawmakers -- most of whom have signed anti-tax pledges -- would vote to triple the vehicle license fee that owners pay when they register their cars every year in exchange for a ballot measure that would impose rigid limits on future state spending. Motorists' annual license fees would rise from 0.65% of the value of their vehicles to 2%. For a car or truck valued at $25,000, the increase would be $336.

The higher fees would generate $6 billion annually, helping to fill a budget gap that is projected to reach nearly $28 billion over the next year and a half."

As noted by Halper later in the article, former Gov. Gray Davis support for higher license fees was one of the factors that cost Davis the governorship. Californians kicked Davis out of office in 2003 at a time when the Golden State was mired in rolling blackouts and budget troubles.

That recall election thrust former "Terminator" star Arnold Schwarzenegger into California's top office amid promises to dramatically reform state government and restore fiscal stability to Sacramento.

Schwarzenegger may very well have voter outrage over hiked car fees to thank for the fact that he was elected as governor in the first place. Now, the prospect of significantly hiked vehicle license fees has returned at a time when more and more people are losing their jobs and their homes.

As reported by Halper:
In a meeting with Times reporters and editors last week, the governor said he would not rule out raising the car tax.

"Everything is always on the table," Schwarzenegger said when asked about the prospects for a sharp increase in vehicle license fees. "If I hate something, you can bring it up and you can show to me why that is a good idea, and maybe you know with the new circumstances, there is a good idea that I maybe looked at it in the past and didn't think it was a good idea. This is a crisis situation and one has . . . to look at it in a fresh new way."

And here:

"Some analysts say that in the current economic climate, the plan could be an unwise gamble for Democrats. Voters, they say, may be inclined to approve the kind of spending restraints that GOP lawmakers have long sought. The Republicans' proposed cap would limit growth in government to a modest percentage each year, regardless of how well the economy does and how much revenue flows into the state.

"I suspect the public would vote for it," said GOP political analyst Tony Quinn. "This deal could make a lot of sense from the perspective of Republicans."

"The plan could deal another blow to the automobile industry. It would add hundreds of dollars to the price of most new cars sold in California at a time when sales are plummeting, dealerships are closing and major American automakers are on the verge of bankruptcy.

"But a fee increase has long been supported by Democrats in the Legislature; they say the current rate of 0.65% was never meant to be permanent. They say it is a discounted rate reflecting tax cuts that were supposed to prevail only when the state was flush. Before 1999, the rate paid by Californians was 2%."