May 2009 Archives

An editorial tackles Mayor Roger Hernandez's accusations that the City Council is engaged in a gift of public funds. The editorial conlcudes:

There is every possibility that there might be something to Hernandez's suspicions about too much money being paid for the property in question. Too much in the way of public funds are spent on redevelopment projects all the time, with little of the proper haggling and due diligence that goes on in the private sector when it's a person's or a business's hard-earned money in play.

So these are legitimate questions, ones that local politicians need to ask more often, in the public interest. And it's not news that the West Covina council is, sadly, a very dysfunctional family indeed, with no love lost between Hernandez and his colleagues.

But we deserve more from our politicians than the empty gesture that was Hernandez's stunt.

Speaking of dysfunctional family, some of the behavior seen at City Council meetings is seen among the West Covina commissioners. On Tuesday, the City Council is going to adopt a code of ethics for its commissioners, who have apparently been acting rudely toward city staff and among one another. Among the items on the code of ethics are to be polite to one another, not say comments that could be considered heresay and not direct staff.

So what's the answer for the West Covina City Council members and its commissioners? Here's a light hearted recommendation: Watch this video and hug it out.

Majestic Realty terminates negotiations with Walnut over proposed NFL stadium
By Amanda Baumfeld, Staff Writer
Posted: 05/28/2009 10:00:20 PM PDT

WALNUT - Majestic Realty has terminated negotiations with Walnut over a proposed NFL stadium, saying city officials requested a "wish list of tens of millions of dollars" that had little to do with the project.

As Walnut and Industry parted ways Thursday, San Diego Chargers officials rejected a bid for a new stadium in San Diego. The Chargers are among four teams being courted to move to Industry.

In Walnut, members of the City Council have adamantly opposed Majestic's proposal for a 600-acre, 75,000-seat stadium complex near the 57/60 freeway interchange in Industry. The project was proposed by billionaire developer Ed Roski Jr., who owns Majestic Realty Co. and is close friends with the Spanos family, which owns the

Read the letter from John Semcken regarding the failed negotiations with Walnut. Chargers.
Roski wants to buy part of a team and move it to Industry.

Majestic Vice President John Semcken on Wednesday night presented a letter to the Walnut City Council outlining his complaints.

On Thursday, he said negotiations with Walnut were over.

"They put together an enormous wish list of items that have nothing to do with project or the impact of the project," Semcken said. "As a result, until they come back with realistic negotiations with the impacts we hereby terminate all negotiations."

Some of Walnut's requests included an aquatics center, a banquet facility, citywide landscaping, a 48-acre park and work to make Meadow Pass Road a through street, according to Semcken's letter.

"What was in that letter was the tip of the tip of the tip of the iceberg," Semcken said.

Jan Chatten-Brown, an attorney hired by Walnut to deal with the stadium issue, said Semcken is "mischaracterizing the conversation."

"Walnut in good faith tried to quantify the amenities to offset the adverse impact on the quality of life," Chatten-Brown said.

The city will go to court to challenge the project, she said.

In San Diego on Thursday, Chargers officials turned down developer Perry Dealy's proposal to build a $1 billion stadium as part of a redevelopment of the land surrounding Qualcomm Stadium.

Hours before the project was to be announced, Chargers attorney Mark Fabiani sent the developer a letter saying the team wanted him to stop referring to the Chargers when promoting the project.

The Chargers in January hired a marketing firm to drum up interest for the team in the Los Angeles area.

The Associated Press contributed to this story

Covina's newest City Manager, Daryl Parrish, is scheduled to begin on June 1.

In this story, which ran in The San Bernardino Sun, it discusses a "perception problem" that may have been created when Parrish used $15,000 from Cotlon's discrentionary funds to hire a consultant to work for the city.

Meanwhile, Covina was using the same consultant to interview city manager applicants. In the end, Parrish was selected for Covina.

Councilman Kevin Stapleton, however, said that Covina used the consultant back in the 1990s when they first hired the previous city manager, Paul Philips, and that the consultant had no say in their selection of Parrish.

Here's the story:

Colton consultant also worked for Covina, which just hired Colton 's city manager
Sun, The (San Bernardino, CA) - Monday, May 25, 2009
Author/Byline: Michael J. Sorba, Staff Writer
Section: News

COLTON - A consultant hired to provide ethics training and other services for the City Council is the same man the Covina City Council used to recruit its new city manager.

Colton City Manager Daryl Parrish was one of 59 applicants who vied for the Covina job and ended up being Covina's top choice.

The recruiter who narrowed the field from 59 to about 15 is Bill Mathis, a psychologist that specializes in management psychology. Mathis is one of about seven recruiters in the state that helps cities find candidates for high-profile job openings.

In October 2007 Parrish used his $25,000 discretionary fund, which doesn't require council approval, to award a $15,000 contact to Mathis to aid the council in developing a "norms and ethics policy," goal setting and provide other services until April 30, city reports say. In August, the council voted 4-3 to extend the contract to June 30 and increase Mathis' compensation to an amount not to exceed $50,000, reports say.

The situation has raised the eyebrows of some residents who say Parrish and Mathis should have disclosed the issue to the public to avoid any perception of backdoor dealings.

"My understanding is that he ( Parrish ) has been looking for a job elsewhere for a while," said Frank Navarro, a resident and member of the political group Colton First, which is often critical of city leaders. "It raises questions for anybody who has an interest in the community. Did he use taxpayer money to improve his chances of obtaining a job elsewhere?"

Parrish denies any ill intent in hiring Mathis. In the wake of scandals involving former councilmembers - including Ramon Hernandez and Donald Sanders - Parrish said Councilman David Toro directed him to formulate some sort of ethics system the council would follow and the idea was supported by Mayor Kelly Chastain.

Toro said his intent was to implement a policy that would set consequences if elected officials engaged in unethical activity, but such a system never came to fruition.

The recommendation to use Mathis for ethics training came from the city's law firm, Best Best & Krieger, city reports say.

Parrish has stated in public that he has applied for city manager jobs in other cities. In 2006 and 2007 he was a finalist for city manager openings in Hemet and Redlands, respectively. Mathis was not the recruiter for either city.

"I think people in the marketplace know that I'm a senior manager," Parrish said. "There was no premeditation on my part to hire Mathis so I could use him as my personal executive recruiter. The Covina council will attest to that, I'm there because I won the race."

A hiring committee made up of Covina Mayor Walt Allen and Councilman Kevin Stapleton took the 15 applicants Mathis selected from the entire pool and reduced the field to six finalists. Parrish was unanimously selected by the five-member Covina council, Allen said.

"He (Mathis) had nothing to do with the final selection of the candidate," Allen said. "There was just no comparison. We had some stellar candidates, but he ( Parrish ) just had what we were looking for."

Mathis said he didn't notify the Colton council he had selected Parrish as a candidate from the pool of applicants in Covina because "all of the city managers who were applying were guaranteed by me confidentiality."

Mathis said he didn't personally recruit Parrish and he learned the job was available and applied for it on his own.

Jessica Levinson, director of political reform for the Los Angeles-based Center for Governmental Studies, said applicant privacy is a valid reason for not making the job search public, but public officials should take special care to avoid creating a situation the public could view as unethical.

"It's the perception problem here," she said, "of making it look like public officials are going behind the backs of the public and engaging in dealings for their own benefit.

"Whether that was going on or not, the way to avoid that is to be as open and as transparent as possible, especially when you have a city that has a history of scandal. When the public starts to lose faith in their public officials it hurts the integrity of the governmental process."

Rebecca Kimitch writes that the City Council will replace the entire planning commission, the board that votes on planning related issues in the city:

ROSEMEAD - The City Council voted Tuesday to replace all five members of the Planning Commission because of their support last year of controversial planning changes in the city.

The change marks the latest move by the city council, elected in March, to remove all traces of the former council majority.

Members voted to place Nancy Eng, William Alarcon, Diana Herrera, Victor Ruiz and Joan Hunter on the commission.

The terms of the current five commissioners will be up June 1. Commissioners Daniel Lopez, Todd Kunioka, and Allan Vuu had had applied to be renamed to the commission but were denied because of their support last September of a controversial new general plan - a blueprint for development - in the city, Mayor Maggie Clark said.

Council members also objected to the current commission's vote last November to allow a chicken slaughterhouse to continue operating in the city, Clark said. The council later reversed that decision.

Though new, the new commission is experienced, Clark said.

Alarcon has served on the city council and the planning commission; Herrera has served on the planning commission; Hunter has served on the traffic commission and as president of the Rosemead Chamber of Commerce; Ruiz has served on the traffic commission and has worked on county public works projects; and Eng has served as a neighborhood watch captain and on the Garvey School Board bond oversite committee.

The planning commission will be tasked this year with revising the new general plan. Though the plan was approved last year, the new council majority has vowed to change it because of concerns that it will increase the city's population.

A two-hour ground breaking and grant signing ceremony for the city of Industry Water Recycling project at the Big League Dreams was concluded with a pitching and batting duel between the vice chairwoman's of two state boards.

Frances Spivy-Weber, Vice Chair of the State Water Resources Board, stood a few feet away and tossed a wiffle ball to Board of Equalization Vice Chairwoman Judy Chu. Chu nailed it...the grounder went right back to the pitcher.

Umping the two-minute display of athletism was Tommy Davis, a former left-fielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers. It was all in good fun...

These folks were among the nearly 60 people who attended the ceremony honoring the work of Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipla Water District. Among the elected officials there was Congresswoman Grace Napolitano, West Covina Councilman Steve Herfert, Industry Mayor Dave Perez and at least a dozen elected water officials.

Dave Demerjian, head of the District Attorney's Public Integrity Division, said on Tuesday that it received a complaint filed on Friday by Mayor Roger Hernandez, who is alledging that West Covina City Council is gifting public funds. Hernandez himself voted for this development deal, but later tried to change his mind. He failed because there was no quorum. (Background here.)

Demerjian said the office is reviewing it, which is how all complaints all handled. He wouldn't say whether he thinks there is any meat to this complaint. Will follow up if the D.A. decides to prusue or dismiss it...

The contract for Covina's newest City Manager, Daryl Parrish, is going to be approved tonight. Here what he's getting, according to the contract on page 186 of tonight's staff report:

1. Annual salary: $203,490, subject to an annual 5 percent bonus pay. Base salary is $199,500, but htat is increaesd because of a 2 percent educational incentive.

2. City Car: Parrish will get a fully equipped sedan capable of seating at least 5 people. Insurance and maintenance paid for by the city.

3. Time off: 75 hours per year of administrative leave, 20 days of vacation leave, same holidays and sick leave accrual as all other city employees.

4. Retirement Benefits: CalPers/PARS benefit totalling 2.7 percent @ 55; plus $250 a month paid by city in a deferred compensation plan.

5. Free Rent: The manager can live at the city owned 125 E. Italia Street property on a month-to-month basis. When the property will be needed for redevelopment purposes, the city will offer housing assistance payment of $1,000 per month.

6. Severance: If the City Manager is fired, he gets a 12 month severance pay ($199,500).

It's clear from some of the responses about Irwindale Police Department that either:

a.) You support the Irwindale Police Department and feel that they have sacrificed enough, or

 b.) You think the Irwindale officers should suck it up and forgo their cost of living adjustment this year.

But whether you're a police officer, a public employee or work in the private sector, it seems that every household is suffering somehow as a result of the recession.

Open Forum: How has the bad economy affected your take home income?

For example, have you had to take furloughs, a reduction in hours, suspension of holiday pay?

Irwindale Police Officer and Union President John Fraijo could not be reached by press time when the story about the budget deficit in Irwindale ran over the weekend.

Police officers refused to forgo their 4 percent salary increase, as outlined in their contract that expires next year. the city asked all employees to forgo their cost of living adjustment this year in light of a projected deficit.

When I spoke to Fraijo today, here is what he had to say about the recent article, reaction and negotiations with the city and the 34-member police union:

"Unfortunately, the article has unfairly damaged the reputation of our members. The article makes it sound like we are the reason the city is in a deficit, when in fact our cost of living adjustment, the 4 percent, is only equally to $160,000, and the city's proposed budget has a $1.6 million deficit built in it.

Our 4 percent is equal to $160,000, and the city's proposed budget is $1.6 million -- which is 10 percent.

We are not demanding a raise, we are only going forward with terms of 2 year contract that the city mutually agreed to only a year ago. The 4 percent cost of living adjustment was a concession on our part even after the last salary survey completed showed our salary ranking was eight of the ten local surveyed cities. Our members are not being greedy; we sat down with department administrators and city officials approximately three months ago, when they said the city's projected deficit continued to rise to over $1 million because of mismanagement.

We sat down about three months ago when city's deficit was projected to rise. At the time, they asked us to work with them, change the schedule, and agree to a change in our contract that would lower the amount of officers assigned to a shift.

This was not an agreement to cut back on overtime, and instead of the city acknowledging our contributions toward lower costs, they publicly stated that they could have imposed the changes even if we didn't agree to it.

Although the city manager pointed out the cost of services are rising in the article, he also publicly, in front of council, advised the council against the change to Sheriff's. I can assure you that my members are completely committed toward providing a quality service to both residents and members of our business community.

Obviously, the budget deficit was not created by one department in particular."

It looks like Irwindale city employees with be foregoing their 4 percent cost of living increases as part of a proposed 2009-10 budget proposal. Well, not all of the employees - the police officers are still demanding their raise.

In response, the City Council on Wednesday with a 3-2 vote called for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department to prepare an estimate of the proposed cost savings if the city of Irwindale got rid of its police department and instead contracted with the sheriff's department.

Another budget cut that finance administrators recommended were that planning commissioners and city council members ditch their health benefits, which would result in a cost savings of more than $200,000. Council members expressed hesitation on that one, and will decide at a future meeting whether they want to sacrifice their health benefits to save the city money.

Patricia Allen, wife of Covina Mayor Walter Allen III, lost her 16 year battle with cancer on Tuesday.

Here is some information provided by the city:

Patricia Thomas Allen, the wife of Covina Mayor Walter Allen III, passed away
following a valiant sixteen-year battle with cancer on Tuesday, May 19, 2009.
Patricia was born on November 11, 1951. In addition to her husband of 37 years,
she is survived by her son Walter David Allen IV, and two brothers Keith and
Richard Thomas.

Patricia Allen was an artist, specializing in acrylic and oil. She was a vibrant,
active member of the community; involved with many civic organizations and St.
Louise De Marillac Catholic Church, and she enjoyed spending time with her many
loving friends. Among her many friendly and outgoing qualities, Patricia will be
remembered for her beautiful smile and positive attitude, even during her most dire
health challenges.

Services for Patricia Allen will take place on Thursday and Friday, May 28 and
May 29:

• Thursday, May 28, 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM, Rosary at St Louise De Marillac
Catholic Church, 1720 E Covina Blvd. Covina CA

The City of Covina provides responsive municipal services and manages public resources to enhance the quality of life for our community.

• Friday, May 29, 10:00 AM, Mass at St Louise De Marillac Catholic Church,
1720 E Covina Blvd. Covina CA, followed by Interment at Oakdale
Cemetery, 1401 So Grand Ave. Glendora CA

Following Internment, family and friends are invited to celebrate Pat's life at
Covina Center for the Performing Arts 104 N. Citrus Ave. Covina CA, hosted by
Chris & Retha Champion.

In lieu of flowers the family has suggested donations to one of the following:

• Citrus Valley Hospice, 820 N. Phillips Avenue, West Covina CA 91791
• Ettie Lee Youth and Family Services, PO Box 339, Baldwin Park CA 91706
• Stillpoint Family Resources, PO Box 5103, West Hills CA 91308
• American Cancer Society, 915 N. Grand Avenue, Covina CA 91724

Mayor Roger Hernandez called a special meeting for tonight at 4 p.m. to reconsider the approval of an owner participation agreement with the West Covina Senior Villas for the development of an affordable senior housing project.

This is the property that was abandoned because the previous property owner who was building a bunch of condos said he can no longer afford it. The property now will be developed by Telacu, which is connected with Pacifici Development, owned by Hank Attina.

According to a story that ran on May 6:

On Tuesday, the West Covina Community Redevelopment Commission approved a deal that allows TELACU Industries, which specializes in building low-income housing, to purchase the property and to receive a subsidy from the city.

TELACU is buying the property for $3.5 million, and will be receiving an $8.6 million loan - which does not have to be paid if the developer continues providing low-income housing for the next 99 years - from the housing set-aside reserve fund from the city to cover the cost of the land and construction

Hernandez alleges that the council is gifting public funds to developer Attina because the city failed to appraise the land, a requirement by state law in any redevelopment deal. The city on May 5 approved the sale at $3.5 million, but Hernandez alleges that the property is only worth half that. He will attempt to stall the deal on Thursday, one day before the deal closes escrow.

We will see if any of this pans out later in the day.

The West Covina council meeting was cancelled last night due to a lack of quorom. It wasn't because the council members were busy attending local election parties, but it was because some were at the International Conference of Shopping Centers in Las Vegas, said Mayor Roger Hernandez, who did not attend the conference.*

Here's the schedule.

Any one suprised at the election results?

Let's recap:

1. It will by Judy Chu and Betty (Tom) Chu in a run-off for the 32nd Congressional seat.

2. All of the Governor's tax measures failed. Now, the deficit is projected to be $21 billion.

3. Proposition 1F prohibiting state officials from receiving pay raises when California has a budget deficit.

Did you vote yet? If so, what did you see or hear at the polls?

The election is just four days away, and here's the latest round of mailers sent by Sen. Gil Cedillo targeting 32nd Congressional District Candidate Emanuel Pleitez:

First, 32nd Congressional candidate Teresa Hernandez gets audited, then, her restaurant gets burglarized -- in less than a week!

Here's what El Monte Council members are saying about the kicking cop issue, according to a story written by Tania Chatila.

El Monte City Councilwoman Emily Ishigaki said it was too early to comment on the investigation, but said Fierro was a "very talented officer."

City Councilman Juventino "J" Gomez said he was worried about the bad press.

"We are always concerned when El Monte is in the headlines and it may not be favorable," he said. "We have a great Police Department."

Ishigaki said officers might be stressed from recent budget cuts that reduced their ranks.

State Sen. Gloria Romero, D-Los Angeles, said stress is no excuse.

"If that were the case, we would allow every teacher, nurse, and firefighter in the state to suddenly abuse authority under the law," said Romero, whose Senate district includes El Monte.

Dieter Dammeier, the attorney for the El Monte Police Union, among others, justifies kick.

Union attorney: El Monte officer's force justified

The actions of an officer who kicked a man in the head following a high speed pursuit Wednesday were justified, according to the attorney representing the El Monte Police Officers Association.

Dieter Dammeier said Thursday the officer who approached Richard Rodriguez following the half-hour pursuit, was alone and fearful the suspect may have had a weapon.

"When you're going to have to take a bad guy into custody physically, it is sometimes going to be aggressive and the cops are there to win," Dammeier said.

The officer's kick was what is called a "distraction blow," Dammeier said, and is not designed to harm people.

"(The suspect) obviously hadn't been searched yet," Dammeier said. "The fear is this guy had weapons on him. Better safe than sorry."

The name of the officer seen kicking Rodriguez once in the head on live video has not been released.

Dammeier said the union would file court orders if need be to ensure the officer's name not be made public.

The El Monte Police Department has asked The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department to conduct an independent investigation into the incident. The officer who kicked the suspect has been re-assigned to desk duty.

Jeff Allred will serve as Rosemead's newest City Manager, Rebecca Kimitch reports.

ROSEMEAD - The Rosemead City Council selected its fourth city manager in as many years Tuesday, naming Jeff Allred to the post.

Allred, Norco's city manager, replaces Jeffrey Stewart, an interim who was brought aboard April 7 with hopes from the council that he would stay permanently. Those hopes were dashed when Stewart later accepted the city manager post in the Orange County city of Los Alamitos.

"I'll be glad to work with Jeff Allred... but I'm not going to lie, we were lucky to have (Stewart) for six weeks," said councilman Steven Ly.

Allred has served as the city manager of Norco - known as Horsetown USA for its red carpet welcome to horses - for more than five years. Previous to that, he served as assistant city manager in La Verne for 13 years, and has also worked in the cities of El Monte, West Covina and Downey. Read more.

A survey performed by the Center for State and Local Government Excellence shows that public sector employees are delaying retirement as a result of the sagging economy:

WASHINGTON, DC -- The slumping economy is holding back retirements among state and local government employees, according to a new survey of government managers, sponsored by the Center for State and Local Government Excellence.

A Tidal Wave Postponed: The Economy and Public Sector Retirements finds that almost half (49 percent) of the respondents to the membership survey said 20 percent or more of their workers are eligible to retire in the next five years. And an overwhelming majority (80 percent) said the economy is affecting the timing of retirements.

Of those, 85 percent said employees are delaying retirements, while only 9 percent said they are accelerating their retirements to avoid changes that will reduce benefits, and 7 percent said employees are taking incentives for early retirement.

"There is a silver lining to the delayed retirements," said Elizabeth Kellar, executive director of the Center for State and Local Government Excellence. "Governments have a lot of older workers who work in specialized fields and are hard to replace. Retaining these individuals a little longer gives us more time to help new employees prepare to fill their shoes." Read more.

While the survey goes into the effects that losing qualified employees has on a public agency and the importance in developing plans to replace these workers when they leave, it does not discuss the fiscal impacts postponing retirement has on taxpayers' coffers.

Just came across this on the La Puente city Web site:

RFQ For City Attorney Services

All Statements of Qualifications are due in the Office of the City Clerk by 4:30 p.m. on Friday, May 29, 2009. Please click the link under 'Public Notices' for more information.

Just got confirmation from the West Covina City Clerk's office that the city was served with a lawsuit on behalf of Community Development Director Chris Chung, who alleges that Mayor Roger Hernandez subjected him to a hostile work enviornment. I'm going now to pick up the 66 page lawsuit.**

1:21 p.m. And I'm back. The lawsuit is NOT 66 pages...it's only 17**. Here is the preliminary story. FYI: He doesn't mention a dollar amount in the lawsuit. However, back when he made the claim with the city, he demanded $3 million.

West Covina employee sues city, Mayor

WEST COVINA -- A city employee claims Mayor Roger Hernandez harassed him since 2003 and the city didn't do anything to stop it, according to a lawsuit filed on behalf of Community Development Director Chris Chung.

In the 17-page complaint, which was served on the city May 5 and filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court March 10, Chung claims he was discriminated based on race, that the city failed to prevent harassment and that he suffered emotional distress, including insomnia.

Beginning around March 2003, "Chung, who is of Asian ancestry, has been the target of racially motivated harassment, intimidation, bullying, false accusations of incompetence, (and) insider dealing ... by Hernandez, who is Hispanic," the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit details events that have occurred from 2003 to 2006 where Chung said he was subjected to a hostile work environment by Hernandez.

Hernandez did not return calls seeking comment.

Among them was an incidence that occurred on March 20, 2006, where Hernandez allegedly "stormed into" Chung's office and accused him of running a dysfunctional department.

"His tirade was laced with profanity (repeatedly using the "f" word to refer to Chung and his staff," the lawsuit states. "Hernandez made threatening gestures with his fists, kept waving and shaking his hand and fingers at Chung's face compelling Chung to retreat behind his desk for protection."

The lawsuit also states that Hernandez called Chung a liar, that Hernandez threatened to fire Chung and that Chung's reputation and standing in the community has suffered because of Hernandez's actions.

Hernandez did not return calls seeking comment.

City officials said they were anticipating the lawsuit. It follows a claim filed nearly two years ago in which Chung demands $3 million and job protection with the city of West Covina until retirement.

The lawsuit does not provide a figure in the amount of damages, including attorney's fees, Chung is seeking.

Chung did not return calls seeking comment.

Reporter Rebecca Kimitch has been - and will continue to be - working on a series of election stories leading up to the 32nd Congressional District race next Tuesday.

Here's a recap of some of those stories that ran over the weekend:

• The 32nd Congressional District is full of ethnic diversity. The question, then, is whether race will place a role in this race.... read on here

• As many expected, voter turnout in this race isn't likely to be very high, especially since its coupled with a host of confusing ballot initiatives..... read on here

The latest installment:

You can't have a campaign without political mailers, and apparently you can't have political mailers without a little scandal.

Sen. Gil Cedillo is getting a negative reaction from the recent round of mailers he sent out attacking Emanuel Pleitez, 26, one of 11 competitors facing Cedillo in the 32nd Congressional District race.

The mailers show pictures of Pleitez found on Facebook and accuse him of "flashing gang signs" and being a "party animal."

"Pleitez has tremendous potential. He is an intelligent young man and probably has a great future in politics," said Victor Abalos, spokesman for the Cedillo campaign. "But those photos indicated a level of maturity that was inappropriate for someone running for Congress."

Dante Atkins, the Political Director of the Los Angeles County Young Democrats -- which endorsed Cedillo -- recently wrote on the Calitics California Political Blog that he was offended by Cedillo's mailers.

"This is really a low blow," he said, "and smacks of desperation to have to resort to this."
Emily Dulcan,spokeswoman for Pleitez, said the photos were taken out of context. Most of them were taken while Pleitez was at a study-abroad program in Chile through Stanford University.

"We feel like it was definitely an immature move on (Cedillo's) part, which is ironic considering the content of the claim in the mailer," Dulcan said.

****One city manager out, another one in
Somewhere in the San Gabriel Valley last week, the city manager revolving door was swinging.

As Temple City bid farewell to its top executive, Covina was welcoming in a new city manager.

Charles Martin got the boot from the Temple City Council on Tuesday, according to reporter Alfred Lee.

That essentially ends a 55-year public employee career for Martin, 85, who had been serving as Temple City's city manager and city attorney since 2005. He'll stay on as interim city attorney until the end of the month, according to Lee.

Martin, who is 85, initially wanted to keep his city manager gig until a replacement was found, Mayor Judy Wong told Lee.

But the council decided to move forward instead.

"To eliminate him from both positions would have been quite too much for him, so I was thinking to maybe do it more gently," Wong said.

In Covina, city officials are welcoming its newest addition to the team with open arms.

After weeks of delay and negotiating, the city finally announced the hiring of Daryl Parrish as the new city manager.

He will replace interim City Manager Cynthia Kurtz.

*****Covina hospital gets a second chance

It looks like Covina is a place for second chances.

In April, the City Council denied a 39-bed expansion to Aurora Charter Oak Hospital.
But officials have recently had a change of heart.

Last week, the council overturned its earlier decision and are looking forward to revised plans for the project.

City officials said representatives of the psychiatric hospital have shown a renewed willingness to "reach a compromise" with concerned residents on the project.

Those residents aren't so sure.

"They have never been honest with us," neighbor Ron Poloni said. "They say they are willing to work with us now, but we will have to wait and see."

We're just a little over a week away from the 32nd Congressional District race, and Cedillo is still pulling in those endorsements. Here's the latest press release from Cedillo's people:

El Monte, CA - State Senator Gil Cedillo has earned the endorsement of the community newspaper company Eastern Group Publications (EGP) for the 32nd Congressional District seat. The influential Eastern Group Publications reaches 104,000 households a week and has a loyal readership of nearly half a million people in Los Angeles County.

Earlier this week, the largest Spanish language newspaper in the country, La Opinión, also endorsed Senator Cedillo for Congress.

The Eastern Group Publications' Special Elections Ballot Recommendations editorial stated: "Our endorsement goes to State Senator Gil Cedillo. Mr. Cedillo has been able to convince us that he will represent California's small business owners and their workers in an effective and resourceful way."

"His view that our notion of infrastructure should no longer be solely about brick and mortar projects, but also about a new network of social service infrastructure, such as building a new healthcare delivery system, deals with the changing nature of business and services in the US. We also believe that as the debate on immigration reform heats up in the Senate and Congress, his extensive knowledge of the issue will serve California and the country well." (To read endorsement, please visit http://egpnews.com/?p=9556)

Eastern Group Publications owns and operates 10 bilingual community newspapers including the Eastside Sun, Northeast Sun, Mexican American Sun, Belle Garden Sun, City Terrace Comet, Montebello Comet, Monterey Park Comet, Commerce Comet, East LA/Belvedere Comet and the Wyvernwood Chronicle.

What do you think. Will it be enough?

Here's a story printed in our sister paper, the San Bernardino Sun, about new Covina City Manager Daryl Parrish:

Colton city manager headed to Covina
Michael J. Sorba, Staff Writer
Posted: 05/07/2009 06:38:35 PM PDT

COLTON - City Manager Daryl Parrish has resigned to become the city manager of Covina, it was announced Thursday.

His last day with Colton will be sometime after May 14, Parrish said. The City Council will discuss its strategy to find a replacement at a meeting Tuesday, he said.

"Transitions can be bittersweet as this one certainly is," Parrish said, "as I leave behind a gifted, talented and caring staff, a community on the brink of exciting and dynamic change, and a mayor and council who I feel will rise to face the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead with vision, determination and hopefully with solidarity.

Assistant City Manager Mark Nuaimi can fill the role of "acting city manager" while a replacement for Parrish is sought, but law prohibits a mayor of one city from also being the city manager in another, Parrish said. Nuaimi is Mayor of Fontana.

Parrish began working in Colton in 1991 with the Redevelopment Department. He became assistant city manager in 1996 and city manager in 2001.

"Daryl has been a dedicated servant to the people of Colton," Councilman Richard DeLaRosa said. "He's provided the leadership in tough times and I hope this opportunity benefits him and his family."

A news release from Covina says Parrish will start his new job June 1. He will make a base annual salary of $199,500, the release said. Parrish's base annual salary with Colton was about $193,000, he said.

"I really appreciate him for his good work in Colton, but most of all I'm going to miss having this caliber of a person around," Councilman Vince Yzaguirre said. "He's a good man."

I spotted this in my inbox this morning:

Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) today lauded U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood's announcement that $66.7 million in the economic recovery package will be used for Metro's Gold Line Eastside Extension project.

This funding is part of a $742.5 million commitment for transit projects in nine states.

Senator Boxer said, "The people of Los Angeles know gridlock, traffic congestion and poor air quality all too well. I am so pleased that funding from the economic recovery package will be used to support this important transit project to ease congestion, reduce air pollution and improve our daily lives."

The Metro Gold Line Eastside Extension Project, a six-mile light rail project that includes 1.8 miles of tunnel and eight new stations, will connect Los Angeles Union Station with East Los Angeles via Little Tokyo/Art District and Boyle Heights.

Senator Boxer has helped secure federal funding for the project and visited the project's construction site last year.

Jennifer McLain just posted this bit of information on our Web site:

COVINA - Ten months after the firing of the city's top executive, elected leaders have finally decided on a new City Manager.

Daryl Parrish, who for the past eight years has served as Colton city manager, will serve as Covina's city manager effective June 1.

"I am very excited and I think that it he will be a good fit for the city," Allen said. "And the council unanimously believes that, too."

With 12 days until the election, the fists, well, fliers, are coming out. And in some cases, these fliers are just downright entertaining. Here is the latest one sent by Betty Tom Chu - who dropped the Tom for this election - attacking Judy Chu.

(If you have recently received a flier from any candidate, send it in and we'll get it on the blog.)

Sen. Gil Cedillo is getting quite a (negative) reaction from the recent round of mailers he sent out attacking 32nd Congressional Candidate Emanuel Pleitez, the 26-year-old from East Los Angeles.

Dante Atkins, the Political Director of the Los Angeles County Young Democrats, which endorsed Cedillo, writes (if you go to the Web site, scroll down to the May 6 post) that he doesn't think it's a good sign for Cedillo's campaign that he is going after a "minor candidate."

Atkins, who is also 26, also is offended that Cedillo's mailer seems to be knocking Pleitez for being young and using the Internet like many young people do.

He concludes by saying, "This is really a low blow, and smacks of desperation to have to resort to this."

Cedillo grabbed some photos from Pleitez's Facebook page, like this one:

Councilwoman Kathy Salazar is being accused of conflict of interest and financial misconduct stemming from a vote she cast to approve the Athens Services trash contract, Amanda Baumfeld reports.

The suit was filed in superior court last month by Montebello resident Mike Torres. In the complaint, he accuses the council of abusing the public process. Salazar denied all allegations.

Baumfeld rounds out a comprehensive story here....

Charles Martin got the boot from the Temple City City Council Tuesday night, Star-News reporter Alfred Lee reports.

This will end a 55-year public employee career for Martin, who had been serving as Temple City's city manager and city attorney since 2005. He'll stay on as interim city attorney until the end of the month, according to Lee.

Martin is keeping mum on the issue.

Martin, 85, wanted to stay on as city manager until the recruitment of replacement was completed, according to Mayor Judy Wong, but the City Council needed to "move on," she said.

"To eliminate him from both positions would have been quite too much for him, so I was thinking to maybe do it more gently," said Wong, who had considered keeping Martin on as interim city attorney for even longer.

Louie Lujan is circulating this e-mail about the success of La Puente's Earth Day celebration:

The City of La Puente's Earth Day 2009 was a huge success!

Over 400 volunteers cleaned over 10,000 linear feet and 20,000 square feet
of graffiti removal throughout the City. Over 500 trash bags and 3 large
dumpsters were filled.

A press release about it can be viewed here.

The League of Women Voters of East San Gabriel Valley is hosting a candidate's forum today for the 32nd Congressional District race.

All 12 candidates are expected to attend, according to an e-mail sent out by event organizers.

In case you've forgotten, here's the list one more time:
Christopher Agrella, Francisco Alonso, Gil Cedillo, Betty Chu, Judy Chu, Benita Duran, Teresa Hernandez, Stefan Lysenko, Nick Mostert, Rafael Nadal, Emanuel Pleitez, and David Truax.

And here's the info on the forum:

Date: May 6th, 2009
Time: 7:00 PM
Place: Julia McNeil Senior Center
4100 Baldwin Park Blvd.
Baldwin Park, CA 91706

West Covina City Council is meeting tonight. Among the items of interest are:

-- The staff finished its report about the ballot measure to divide the city into voting districts. The council will discuss the findings and file the report tonight. Among the many items addressed in the report are the fiscal impacts, effect on the city's general and specific plans and effect on land use.

-- The Community Development Commission, which is really just the City Counicl members, will vote tonight on partnering with TELACU on an affordbale senior housing project. TELACU is purchasing a 24-unit condo complex that has since been abandoned because the former company couldn't afford to finish it. West Covina will provide an $8.6 million loan to TELACU.

Click here for complete agenda.

It looks like there is hope after all for the expansion of a psychiatric hospital -- although the residents who have been fighting Aurora Charter Oak Hospital sure won't be happy to hear that.

Last month, the Covina City Council voted 4-1 to deny a 39-bed expansion to Aurora Charter Oak Hospital. But now city staff seem to be urging the council to reconsider their vote, and send the issue back to the Planning Commission for further modifcations.

The council will discuss this at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at Covina City Hall, 125 East College St.

This week's installment of Leftovers from City Hall:

Leftovers from City Hall: Tough times ahead for Valley cities

With three months left before the start of the new fiscal year, cities are putting the final touches on their proposed budgets before they go public.

It'll likely be another tough year financially for a lot of San Gabriel Valley cities, some of which have already cut department budgets by up to 10 percent. Those cuts have resulted in the cancellation of community events and other programs.

In preparation for an expected $9 million budget deficit in 2009-10, West Covina City Manager Andrew Pasmant has had preliminary discussions with employees about cutting the fat from department budgets.

Others cities have implemented hiring freezes, gone to to the voters for tax hikes, and increased fees for services like business licenses and parking permits.

And as a last resort, some cities have even turned to their employees, their hours and their benefits as a way to save money.

In Irwindale, City Manager Robert Griego has already had conversations with some of the employee bargaining units to discuss how the budget crunch could affect future contracts.

While West Covina Council members said last week they will try to protect the jobs of city employees, they couldn't make any promises.

Covina mayor blasts bankruptcy bill

Covina Mayor Walt Allen isn't very happy about a bill that would make it harder for cities to declare bankruptcy.

AB 155 - proposed by local Assemblyman Tony Mendoza, D-Norwalk - will go before the Assembly's Appropriations Committee on Wednesday.

It's received support from police and fire unions, like the El Monte-based Los Angeles County Fire Fighters Local 1014 union, and Monterey Park-based Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs.

They believe the bill will protect their pensions.

But Allen, along with the League of California Cities, sees the bill as an attempt by the state to rein in local control.

"It is just another example of the total disconnect between the legislature and local government," Allen said.

He pointed to a budget provision that would have allowed California to take $350 million in redevelopment funds from cities across the state.

Covina was expected to lose $500,000 as a result. Luckily, a Sacramento Superior Court judge Thursday ruled the plan unconstitutional.

No social security for CalPers members

It's no wonder firefighters and police officers get such hearty pension plans. They can't get social security.

Edward Fong of the California Public Employees' Retirement System, explained that firefighters and police officers up and down the state don't contribute to the retirement system. So, they aren't eligible to receive Social Security.

This explains why pension plans are typically more generous for firefighters and police officers compared to those of non-sworn employees, Fong said.

Another group of public employees exempt from Social Security: teachers.

Lots of local government stories over the weekend, both by the Trib and even the Times, which featured a story about El Monte.

Valley County is hiking its rates for water users in Irwindale, Azusa, West Covina and Baldwin Park. Read more.

The owners of the indoor swap meet, Covina Mini Mall, finally came forward and agreed to fix 39 code violations. Read more.

Is horse racing dead? Not yet, but just about. Read more.

Monrovia City Hall will remove brush from public property, much to the relief of the residents, who were previously told it was the responsibility of homeowners. Read more.

The late Thelma Powell, whose husband opened Powell Camera Shop in Covina in 1952, was "one of those sweet little ladies," writes Martiza Velasquez. Read more.

Overhaul of the 10 and 605 freeway interchanges could start a year earlier than expected. Read more.

Public safety in El Monte could take another hit, only this time around, its the fire fighters. One of the city's four fire stations could be closed as a result of a growing deficit. Read more.

Meanwhile, the LA Times writes an overview this weekend of El Monte, its history, and how the city has been hit especially hard by the recession. Read more.

Monterey Park officials scratch head wondering why bus ridership is falling in their city as it climbs everywhere else. Read more.