December 2010 Archives

It was brought to my attention (Thanks, commenter David) that after reporting on this blog the Canyon City Alliance did not list Vulcan Materials as part of its coalition on its website, it has now been changed.

This also comes following a letter from the Fair Political Practices Commission that outlines an investigation into the group for alleged violations of the Political Reform Act. The group has been accused by an anti-mining group for not clearly listing its sole donor, Vulcan Materials Co., on campaign material.

Canyon City Alliance officials said they did not plan to change any material because they believed to be in compliance.

The website change must have been some sort of exception...

Email: daniel.tedford@sgvn.com | Twitter: @dgtedford @sgvtribune | Facebook: SGVTribune

I reported in today's newspaper about a Fair Political Practices Commission investigation into "potential issues" regarding campaign literature from the Canyon City Alliance.

The first thing I want to discuss is the assertion by Azusans Against Mining Expansion that the FPPC found violations the CCA was guilty of violating the Political Reform Act.

Is that claim true? To my best knowledge and understanding, that answer is: undetermined.

Let me explain.

The FPPC's letter is highly ambiguous regarding any violation. In the second paragraph it states:

In our investigation of this allegation, we have identified several potential issues that may be violations of the Act

The key words in this sentence are "potential" and "may be." If you are citing someone for a violation, you don't leverage your claim by adding crutch words like potential and may be. That suggests there is room for error, interpretation or argument. I think that is what we have hear.

That is demonstrated by the claims of a violation over the 410 committee statement paperwork. That potential violation was already taken back by the FPPC after speaking with Vulcan, according to FPPC spokesman Roman Porter. A new letter was issued without that allegation and Porter said the CCA was previously in compliance regarding the 410, prior to the original FPPC letter being drafted. If this letter was citing steadfast violations, the FPPC wouldn't have changed its tune on one of the "violations" in just a few days.

When I asked Porter what this letter meant, he declined to speak about an open investigation. The fact this is an open investigation directly implies that CCA has not be found in violation. If this was a done deal, Porter would speak freely about the investigation, the violations, and all the documents related to that would be posted on the FPPC website. Maybe they will in the next couple days, but right now, that just isn't the case. It is very possible that by the end of the week, Vulcan is fined. It is possible this all will be taken back. The point I am making is that none of this is solidified yet.

For now, Porter said this was a "cease and desist" letter, but wouldn't comment on any actual violations due to the open investigatation. Whether or not anything needs to be stopped or changed, is still a matter of debate. I think we will have our answer soon, but the fact is, we don't have it yet.

QUICK UPDATE: I did go to the Canyon City Alliance website and found it curious that in the "Who We Are" section, it lists "Yes on A, Canyon City Alliance is a coalition including the Azusa Chamber of Commerce, the Azusa Police Officers' Association, community leaders and local residents."

Where's Vulcan?

Item number two.

There has often been the argument that if the development agreement doesn't nullify the entire conditional use permit for Vulcan's mining plan amendment, why are they fighting to support the referendum election?

Jeri Vogel said just as much to me yesterday.

"If Yes on A gets rid of all the money they have to pay the city of Azusa, then why do they plan to fight that unless they plan on making a whole lot more money later on?" she said.

To her credit, I think it is an easy conclusion to assume. I wondered just the same myself when the referendum was first proposed. In fact, that same thing happened in Rosemead with its Wal-Mart referendum. When the people came forward to the City Council to ask them to take back the development agreement, Wal-Mart stepped forward and said sounds like an awesome idea. Guess what? The city lost the money and Wal-Mart kept its use permit.

So the question arises, why is Vulcan promoting Measure A?

For Vulcan this situation is a lose-lose. Fight for Measure A and you get accusations like Vogel's (which aren't without merit).

Yet, if they fought against Measure A, they would make themselves an easy target to be cast as the greedy mining company out to squeeze whatever they can out of the community, including tricking the people into giving them a mining plan without Vulcan giving anything back (except its regular tax rate) to the city.

I posed the question to Vogel.

"That is kind of a hard one. They are in a lose-lose position as far as that goes," she agreed. " I still think they are going to make a whole lot more money on the other side."

For Vulcan, it was an easy choice, especially since they made a promise to the city they would defend against any referendum.

"The city can't campaign in favor of it, but we can and we said we would," Vulcan spokeswoman Peg Casey said. "The development agreement requires that if there was a challenge, that Vulcan would defend against that action. It is perfectly appropriate that we defend and support Measure A."

Email: daniel.tedford@sgvn.com | Twitter: @dgtedford @sgvtribune | Facebook: SGVTribune

I am a little late to the party on this one, but it was a late night party so I am going to let myself slide.

A group of kids pulled a Christmas caroling prank by orchestrating a small band of merriment for Glendora residents to enjoy a few days before Christmas. Oh, and they did it between about midnight and 5 a.m.

Not surprisingly, some neighbors were none too pleased and called the police.

Glendora officers were pretty cheerful about the whole thing, having a couple laughs and approaching the whole thing with a sense of humor. In context, I am sure we would rather this than those kids playing mailbox baseball or tee-peeing someone's house? OK, maybe you would rather have the tee-peeing than a little 4 a.m. drummer boy.

The video, for what it's worth, is pretty funny. At the same time, I am sure most people feel for the residents who were stirred from their slumber by the music and, incidentally, made viral video famous.

The whole thing seemed to be orchestrated by Mike Diva or Dahlquist, who promotes his prank videos on twitter and his website.

For my take, the best part is when they break out into a rap song at the end.

I also let out a few chuckles when the kids were talking to the police.

"Three police cars for angry Christmas carolers?" one said to a Glendora police officer. "We are the happiest carolers you could ever imagine."

"Think about being woken up to something so lovely as a Christmas carol," another said.

The kids hit up any 24-hour or late night establishment they could find, including Target, Wal-Mart, Denny's and 24-Hour Fitness.

It is interesting to see kids doing what kids normally do when they are young, playing pranks they think are funny and having a good time with friends when you are bored and have the time. When I was younger we did much of the same things (often worse) but, fortunately, we were not made famous by YouTube, or even tried to be.

For once, I am happy to be too old for that.

Email: daniel.tedford@sgvn.com | Twitter: @dgtedford @sgvtribune | Facebook: SGVTribune

I know presents are more important, so I saved these important weekend links for you. This is a one-time offer exclusive that you can't get anywhere else!

How did the past week's rainfall help our water coffers? Rebecca Kimitch has some answers.

After years of haggling, the city finally agreed to sell the site of a former bowling alley to a developer - taking an $8 million write-down in the process.

And finally, if you Christmas spirit and holiday hope is beginning to wane, read Hector Gonzalez column from Friday where he writes updates us on a story from long ago.

Email: daniel.tedford@sgvn.com | Twitter: @dgtedford @sgvtribune | Facebook: SGVTribune

Note: I changed the headline because when I have the opportunity to make an 80s pop music reference, I take it.

Common blog commenter "David" responded to a recent post about Duarte possibly trying to turn a fire at a Vulcan Materials facility into a political affair.

As a response to that post, David said "Pot meet Kettle" implying that, for my part, I was guilty of the very thing I was writing about. In response, I left the following comment that I thought would make for some good discussion:

I expected this response and I can't say it isn't wholly unwarranted. I conferred with several colleagues and outside friends wondering if I was being critical. The resounding answer was no.

I will also admit that there are reporters and media outlets who do use their abilities for evil and pour gas on the fire or push something to be more than it is. It is a fine line that we walk. Every time I report on something, I weigh its newsworthiness, run a check list of pros and cons, consider the consequences, who this would be important to and why. For a blog post, this passed the test.

Email: daniel.tedford@sgvn.com | Twitter: @dgtedford @sgvtribune | Facebook: SGVTribune

If you are a politician in Covina and West Covina, times appear to be good (in the sense of getting elected).

In West Covina, Karin Armbrust went from second loser to being appointed on the council to replace newly minted Assemblyman Roger Hernandez.

Armbrust will serve the remainder of his term, which ends in November. She was selected from a pool of 19 applicants.

Then in Covina, with no challengers for incumbents Peggy Delach and Walt Allen, the election was canceled.

Instead the council appointed both incumbents, saving the city a cool chunk of change.

Duarte officials are trying to throw some coals on a fire at a Vulcan Materials Co. facility last week.

I can't say I am surprised. When has an opportunity ever been lost in politics?

More to the point, after a fire broke out at a plant run by Vulcan last week, Duarte jumped at the opportunity for some bad press for the company.

On Duarte's city website, the city issued a press release regarding the incident entitled "Fire erupts at Vulcan Materials plant."

Duarte immediately notified AQMD of the fire, according to the release. The release goes on to discuss air quality briefly before tacking on a picture.

Did the fire warrant a reaction from Duarte? Duarte residents would resoundingly say yes, while Vulcan officials and mining plan proponents would probably argue this was politically motivated.

I understand the excitement about the incident. When I first heard there was a fire at Vulcan, I immediately realized the implications and the possibilities arising from any incident at one of the company's plants.

The company is the middle of a political battle in Azusa where they are trying to get a development agreement passed for a new mining plan amendment for the Azusa Rock Quarry. A referendum election is scheduled for Jan. 25.

Duarte has opposed the mining plan and is challenging it in court.

If this had been a serious fire, there would have been political implications and opponents of the plan would be armed with additional ammunition.

But, alas, it was not to be. The fire was small, the affect minimal, and it went relatively unnoticed to most people.

But Duarte posted a story on its home page in somewhat of an alarming fashion. Should the city have informed its residents? Yes. I mean, we wrote about it. It would be kind of hypocritical to say no.

But does it smell of political motivations? (besides the burning rubber smell) Of course, which somewhat taints the action all together.

Fires happen in cities, often times at businesses, and without the help of the fire department or local residents, we may never know about them. Cities aren't often in the business of writing press releases when a roofer starts a small tar fire or a restaurant has a minor kitchen fire.

When Duarte decides to write a story on this subject, one assumes it is with a purpose beyond reporting the news.

It's to provide a spark.

Email: daniel.tedford@sgvn.com | Twitter: @dgtedford @sgvtribune | Facebook: SGVTribune

A lot of national news this weekend dominated the headlines including the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell and the defeat of the DREAM Act. While you were absorbing all that, here are some of the things you might have missed.

An ethics scandal may have ended former congressman Jay Kim's political career and marriage, but in failure he found a new love.

Everything you want to know about the new smart meters rolled out by Edison.

As predicted, there was a shake up with the Water Quality Authority as a South El Monte councilman overtook longstanding representative Margaret Clark.

Email: daniel.tedford@sgvn.com | Twitter: @dgtedford @sgvtribune | Facebook: SGVTribune

Glendora Councilman Doug Tessitor was named the chairman of the Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority Board of Directors (try saying that title in one breath).

A councilman since 2003 (up for re-election in March 2011) Tessitor has been the Pasadena City appointee to the board since Jan. 2009 and served on the Joint Powers Authority board since Nov. 2008.

"This is a very exciting time for the project and the Construction Authority, and I am honored to lead the board as we begin construction on the nearly $700 million project that will connect communities from Arcadia to Azusa to the entire L.A. County system, create thousands of jobs and generate nearly a billion dollars for our region," Tessitor said in a written statement.

Email: daniel.tedford@sgvn.com | Twitter: @dgtedford @sgvtribune | Facebook: SGVTribune

Reported in today's paper that Rio Hondo college is investigating potential problems with its Police Academy beyond a testing breach being investigated by the state.

At the heart of the allegations - that include employees watching porn and improper range training - is the school's former Dean of Public Safety and the academy's supervisor Joe Santoro.

Santoro, the former Monrovia Police Chief, is also a Glendora resident that announced his bid for the City Council this week. With his background, both educational and administrative, Santoro was a potential favorite in that election. Now, the fate of that election bid may be directly tied to the outcome of these allegations.

Email: daniel.tedford@sgvn.com | Twitter: @dgtedford @sgvtribune | Facebook: SGVTribune

The Tribune had an editorial meeting with members of the Canyon City Alliance and Azusa council members Robert Gonzales and Uriel Macias today.

After listening to their pitch, an interesting comment came about during discussions about Measure A and the Azusa Rock Quarry mining project.

It is and has been the position of the majority of the City Council, Azusa, and the CCA that a no vote on Measure A would only nullify Vulcan Materials Co.'s amended mining plan's development agreement, but that its use permit would stand. Essentially, the mining would be allowed to continue but many of the benefits negotiated by the city with Vulcan Materials would be lost (a fact that remains questionable).

Now, of course that all comes with the caveat that legal challenges - and you can be sure there would be one - could argue the CUP and development agreement are tied together and upon success in a legal challenge, they both could go down.

But barring that hypothetical, the question was posed what would stop Azusa from negotiating a new development agreement connected to the project if this one is rejected?

The answer, in short, was nothing, according to Macias.

The long answer was no one knows what will happen during a no vote. Litigation? New deal? It is all something of an unknown, Macias said.

"With (Measure A) we know whats going to happen," if it is passed, Macias said. "With a no, we don't know. (Supporting Measure A) is us taking control of our own destiny."

But to me, that said that, barring a legal victory to the contrary, a no vote on Measure A could lead to the city renegotiating new benefits with Vulcan. Whether or not Vulcan will listen, is certainly a question. And the company would then be put in the position of having a significant amount of leverage.

UPDATE: Azusa Councilman Keith Hanks phoned me and reminded me that there is a one year "cooling off" period following a referendum of a council action. So if a new deal were to be struck, it would have to be done in 2012.

UPDATE TWO: Macias called and had this statement regarding the potential for future negotiations:

"We have done that already. We told them no when they wanted to expand to 270 acres and the first time in May when we negated it and went back to the negotiating table. We have in fact already done that."

On a related note, I asked Canyon City Alliance officials if they would be donating to candidates in the City Council election. President Liz Ramirez said those discussions have not taken place with board members. Chamber of Commerce board member Mercedes Castro said that after Jan. 26 (the referendum special election is Jan. 25) the group intends to disband.

UPDATE: (I really hope this is the last one, I have received more phone calls on this post than any other.) Castro called me and told me she misspoke when saying the CCA would disband following the referendum election. The group will still exist, but may close its offices, she said.

Macias then jumped in and said he would not accept any money from Canyon City Alliance.

It is well known that Vulcan is a member of the CCA, contributes services and is the major source of funding for the group.

(An earlier version of this story identified Mercedes Castro as the Chamber of Commerce President. Castro is the former president.)

Email: daniel.tedford@sgvn.com | Twitter: @dgtedford @sgvtribune | Facebook: SGVTribune

Embattled La Puente City Manager Josi Kenline is leaving her post following a performance review Tuesday night.

Many people speculated that Kenline may be terminated by the council and Kenline has been a target of Mayor David Argudo, who has often debated Kenline on various issues.

Instead, Kenline turned in her resignation Wednesday morning and Assistant City Manager Al Holliman will take over in the interim.

I wondered what would come of Kenline yesterday after it came out that her job was in jeopardy. It seems Kenline was constantly being reviewed by the council since her hire and was perpetually on the chopping block.

Email: daniel.tedford@sgvn.com | Twitter: @dgtedford @sgvtribune | Facebook: SGVTribune

La Puente City Manager Josi Kenline is on the hot seat again.

There will be a performance review of Kenline's performance during a closed session meeting of the City Council tonight. Insiders are suggesting that Kenline's future with the city is in doubt.

LA PUENTE -- The City Council will conduct a performance review of City Manager Josi Kenline in a closed session meeting today, and several City Hall insiders believe members of the council will try to fire her.

Argudo led a council decision last week requiring Kenline to obtain approval before hiring and firing department heads.

Kenline has had problems since she started with the city. In her first five months on the job, she had three performance reviews scheduled by the council. In the past, she has asked for reviews to be done in public, but tonight's review will be behind closed doors.

Her reason to ask for the public meetings is that she has accused Argudo of retaliating against her for personal reasons.

Email: daniel.tedford@sgvn.com | Twitter: @dgtedford @sgvtribune | Facebook: SGVTribune

if you haven't seen it yet, some fantastically handsome journalist is reporting that Glendora Councilman Ken Herman will not seek re-election in March.

The decision comes in a year where political ally Gary Clifford stepped down and his appointment is only serving as a fill-in.

That leaves two seats wide open on the council and incumbent Doug Tessitor left to fend off challengers all by his lonesome.

It won't be terribly lonesome. He still as Herman's full support in seeking re-election and Tessitor has been around since 2003, only one year less than Herman.

The pair stormed onto the Glendora political scene in 2002 when Herman, Gary Clifford and Cliff Hamlow were all elected to the council during a 2002 recall campaign. Tessitor was elected the following year.

The move started a changing of the guard in Glendora and set a political majority for nearly a decade. But with Clifford departing this year and Herman's tenure ending in March, Tessitor will be the sole voice left from the once prominent majority.

How much will change is uncertain. Two candidates for council are John Fields and Jason Nagy, both of which are soon to be new members of the local Kiwanis club of which Herman is president.

In addition, current council members Karen Davis and Gene Murabito often agree with Tessitor and Herman on city decisions. The group is often known as a 5-0 council, even though Murabito and Tessitor love to joke about that distinction.

When I talked to Herman today, he said he hopes nothing changes.

"I hope it continues to be the way it has been," he said. "I hope it doesn't have a radical change."

I will get to week in review later, but for now I wanted to bring to your attention a story in the Orange County Register where Industry Stadium spokesman John Semcken took the battle between their plan and AEG's downtown plan to another level.

In particular, Semcken criticized AEG chief operating executive Tim Leiweke's credibility.

"Tim's a bad guy," Semcken said of the man he once worked side-by-side with to create Staples Center. "He can't build the building."

In the early stages of this battle, it appeared the two sides would jockey for an NFL team and may the best man win. Now, it would appear that Ed Roski's team is fightin' mad about AEG's downtown plan. It also points to the clear concern of Roski's team that a downtown stadium is, on the surface, more appealing to most people - and probably the NFL.

Semcken, and others, have legitimate concerns about AEG's plan that includes a skeptical look at AEG's alleged price tag of building a stadium and whether or not downtown can accommodate such a large scale production. But will his personal criticisms of Leiweke overshadow those concerns, and, possibly, serve to make them look petty?

In related news, did you see the collapse of the Metrodome over the weekend? If you haven't, watch the video. Amazing stuff.

The Vikings, along with the San Diego Chargers, are considered to be the top two teams most likely to move to Los Angeles. Both want new stadiums, and if they don't get them, could be prime candidates to move to swanky new digs in L.A.

But this may change things. With the roof collapse, this could ensure the Vikings their new stadium, and thus take them out of the running for the L.A. plan.

Email: daniel.tedford@sgvn.com | Twitter: @dgtedford @sgvtribune | Facebook: SGVTribune

There will be more on this in tomorrow's newspaper, but Duarte has submitted a rebuttal to claims the council misused public funds by hiring a public relations firm to help with the Azusa referendum effort.

Duarte sent a large packet of documents to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office whose Public Integrity Division is investigating the allegations submitted by former Azusa Mayor Diane Chagnon.

Duarte believes those documents will exonerate them from the charges.

According to a statement from the city:

"The documents submitted by Duarte to the District Attorney confirm the work performed by the firm was not related to the referendum but rather to inform Azusa residents about the adverse environmental impacts the Vulcan mining expansion project would have and to encourage residents to attend the Azusa City Council's public hearings on the project on May 17, 2010 and July 6, 2010. Englander Knabe & Allen completed all of its work for Duarte prior to the July 6, 2010 decision by the Azusa City Council to approve the Vulcan project and therefore prior to the referendum effort undertaken by Azusa residents."

Duarte officials have said they believe this is a political ploy by Chagnon - a member of Canyon City Alliance - to cast doubt on the referendum and attack Duarte.

The Canyon City Alliance is a group of individuals who support the new mining plan and advocate in favor of Measure A. Vulcan Materials Co. is part of the organization and is the main financial supporter for the group.

Likely candidate for the Glendora City Council will leave his post at Rio Hondo college, officials said today.

WHITTIER - Rio Hondo College officials have announced that Dean of Public Safety Joe Santoro, who was overseeing the college's police academy when it was suspended by the state in October for a breach in testing security, has gone on personal leave and plans to retire next summer.

Currently, the academy remains on suspension following an incident where a police academy instructor discovered actual test questions on a cadet study guide, which college officials said they self-reported to POST.

Santoro has applied to run for Glendora's council. With his history as a police chief and educator, he could be one of the top competitors. His sudden exit from Rio Hondo and the police academy's suspension during his tenure could taint his campaign. At the same time, the fact the program was awarded for excellence can't be ignored.

Email: daniel.tedford@sgvn.com | Twitter: @dgtedford @sgvtribune | Facebook: SGVTribune

Azusa's annual celebrity softball game has brought out the big guns ... er swords, um, knives? What category does a machete fall into anyway? Is there a brunch equivalent to knife/sword weaponry? I hate brunch. If it is before noon, it's breakfast. But I digress.

The charity event to fund youth sports and collect gifts for children will feature "Machete" star Danny Trejo and C.H.I.Ps actor Erik Estrada, as well as various actors from "Sons of Anarchy," "NYPD Blue" and "CSI: Miami."

The softball game is at 5 p.m. Sunday at Gladstone Park Field of Dreams.

The price of admission is an unwrapped toy worth $5 or more.

There will also be some urban rappers on hand. I am going to hold the jokes and let their names speak for themselves. It is a good cause, afterall.

The urban rappers: Glasses Malone, Topic, Teck Holmes, Diamonique, Ret One and Paul Renteria.

Email: daniel.tedford@sgvn.com | Twitter: @dgtedford @sgvtribune | Facebook: SGVTribune

I erroneously reported in the newspaper today the deadline to submit papers to run for Glendora City Council was Monday. I was wrong. I'm sorry.

The confusion arose due to the fact the deadline is different for various cities. The difference comes down to this: some cities are open Friday, some are not.

For example, Azusa is closed on Fridays so the city's deadline is Monday. Glendora is open Fridays, so the deadline is this week, instead.

One caveat to everything I just said: It is almost a certainty that Glendora's deadline will be extended. The rule is that if no incumbent applies to be reelected, the deadline to apply for council is extended. In this case, while Ken Herman and Doug Tessitor will most likely run for reelection, Terry Kent most certainly will not.

When Kent applied to be appointed to council earlier this year to replace the vacant seat left by Gary Clifford, he vowed not to run. It was a condition the council was looking for in an appointed person. Kent, if he intends to fulfill that promise, would then not seek election to the seat thus forcing an extension of the deadline.

The new deadline would be Dec. 15.

Diamond Bar planned the annual musical chairs with the mayor/mayor pro tem positions Tuesday.

The Diamond City Council on Tuesday night selected Steve Tye as mayor and Ling-Ling Chang as mayor pro tem.

Still on the council are Herrera, Ron Everett and Jack Tanaka.

The positions are largely honorary and many councils, such as Glendora and Duarte, exchange the positions on a yearly or biennial basis. For all intensive purposes, it is mostly done to choose a person who runs the council meetings. On a more nuanced basis, council members often turn to the mayor as a spokesperson for the city and the positions are used by some council members as a display of pride, leadership, or accomplishment.

Email: daniel.tedford@sgvn.com | Twitter: @dgtedford @sgvtribune | Facebook: SGVTribune

There is nothing new to report regarding applications for the Azusa City Council. The list of potential candidates remains the same with Jorge Rosales, Peggy Martinez, Paul Naccachian, Madelyn Payne and incumbents Urial Macias and Angel Carrillo.

The news, for now, may be the lack of a competitor for Mayor Joe Rocha. Rocha ran unopposed two years ago and appears to be close to doing the same this election cycle.

This only lends credence to no one believes they can beat Rocha in an election.

Often known as a "people's" councilman, Rocha is known for his generous nature. He knows everyone, reaches out to those in need, and will often visit the homes of those he thinks could use a friend.

Not only that, but he often has a populist touch to his voting habits. Take the Vulcan mining issue for example. Rocha was the sole no vote on the issue that faced intense scrutiny and was lambasted by neighboring Duarte officials and residents, as well as many Azusa residents.

Whether that was the popular vote among Azusa residents remains to be seen. What we do know is that Rocha may have become such an entrenched character of the council, that no one appears ready to take him on in an election.

Especially, in this election where there seems to be an opportunity - somewhat - for a challenger. A major issue is before the city (Vulcan mining) which a candidate has the opportunity to distinguish themselves on. In addition, a jumbled field follows any of those vying for an open council position. There are six council candidates campaigning for two spots, which includes a battle against the incumbents holding the positions now. This thought had to cross someone's mind: Would I rather have a one vs. one, winner take all fight or a knock down, bare knuckle, wrestle mania match with five other candidates (maybe more) where other challengers could siphon votes from me and give the incumbents an edge?

Yet, no one appears to want to take that risk against Rocha.

It begs the question: Is he untouchable?

Email: daniel.tedford@sgvn.com | Twitter: @dgtedford @sgvtribune | Facebook: SGVTribune

I'm a little late getting this up (just a whole day) but here are some of the stories you missed this weekend (and maybe Monday too, I know I did). I was out sick Monday, so Tuesday is the official start of my week. Anyway, weekend in review is upon us, in case you were worried.

The defense talks about the Manling Williams hung jury and what this decision means for the future punishment of the convicted killer. (Don't forget about the discussion of the death penalty at this earlier blog post. Note: sometimes peddling my own blog posts to garner readership makes me feel guilty. And sad.)

Everybody's favorite: A water board story (not water boarding, water board.) Some long time members of the San Gabriel Water Quality Authority have left, forcing a lot of changes.

And Rosemead School District board members may raise their stipends 5 percent. They currently make between $262.55 and $266.72 per month.

Email: daniel.tedford@sgvn.com | Twitter: @dgtedford @sgvtribune | Facebook: SGVTribune

No new people have pulled papers for the Glendora council race as of my last update. So the field remains - potentially - with John Fields, Jason Nagy, Ed Brubaker, Erica Landmann-Johnsey, Joe Santoro and incumbents Doug Tessitor and Ken Herman.

But as of yesterday, only Santoro, Tessitor and Fields had returned their paperwork, and only Tessitor and Santoro were approved (Fields is awaiting approval). So, only Santoro and Tessitor are official candidates at this point.

Email: daniel.tedford@sgvn.com | Twitter: @dgtedford @sgvtribune | Facebook: SGVTribune

I have to admit, I have been kind of on the fence about whether or not Wikileaks is good for society.

Does founder Julian Assange have an agenda against America? Will revealing these secrets further transparency or push secrets more into the dark? Does it further democracy or inhibit our ability to collect intelligence and protect our nation?

I think arguments for both sides (except maybe his anti-America agenda) have points.

Two of the best arguments I have read have been from Slate.com and the blog Techdirt.

Anne Applebaum wrote for Slate that Wikileaks recent document dump will actually work against transparency, create more government secrecy and do the opposite of what Assange hopes.

"On the contrary, it seems that in the name of "free speech" another blow has been struck against frank speech. Yet more ammunition has been given to those who favor greater circumspection, greater political correctness, and greater hypocrisy.

Don't expect better government from these revelations, expect deeper secrets. Will the U.S. ambassador to Country X give Washington a frank assessment of the president of X if he knows it could appear in tomorrow's newspaper? Not very likely. Will a foreign leader tell any U.S. diplomat what he really thinks about Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad if he knows it might show up on WikiLeaks? I doubt it. Diplomatic cables will presumably now go the way of snail mail: Oral communication will replace writing, as even off-the-record chats now have to take place outdoors, in the presence of heavy traffic, just in case anyone is listening."

Over at Techdirt, the opposing argument is made, and I think quite well.

"The goal isn't to expose all secrets or anything like that -- but to reduce the ability of cabals of secrecy to form within governments, within which questionable plans might result.

In both of these stories, it shows how a system based on centralization responds to a (very, very different) distributed threat. And, in both cases, the expected (and almost inevitable) response seems to play directly into the plans of those behind the threat. In a way, it's quite fascinating. Of course, in the case of terrorism, it's frustrating, because the response only serves to further harm the country and its people. But with a situation like Wikileaks, it's potentially quite a good thing. As noted, these kinds of leaks can help us have a better, less corrupt government that is more responsive to the people it actually represents."

I find myself leaning toward the latter. While I think Applebaum has a great point, and I think much of what she supposes will happen, Wikileaks definitely makes it more difficult to conduct things in secret. And if that is the case, government officials will be less inclined to do things in secret and therefore will be unable to get away with as much corruption.

Thoughts?

Email: daniel.tedford@sgvn.com | Twitter: @dgtedford @sgvtribune | Facebook: SGVTribune

Here is a classic case of do the ends justify the means.

Recently, it came to my attention that three Glendora council members decided pay for their CALPERS pension benefit in a decision that made some experts skeptical as to if it violated California open meetings law.

In what the city clerk described as a "display of leadership" in a public records request, three council members recently decided to start paying for their CALPERS benefits this year.

But the voluntary action, which took effect all on the same date, calls into question if the council violated California open meeting laws by secretly meeting and making decisions as a group.

"We were asking all of the employees to pay their PERS benefits and it seemed appropriate for us to do the same thing," Councilman Doug Tessitor said. "When we were having discussions in closed session about the Glendora municipal employees association, there were references made to 'we ought to do the same thing' and that was the only discussion I had with anybody about this."

Mayor Ken Herman, councilwoman Karen Davis and Tessitor had never paid for their CALPERS pension benefit before the change, according to city documents. Councilmen Gene Murabito and Terry Kent both receive the PARS benefit versus PERS, paying the employee share while the city picks up the other half of the benefit.

Davis also denied the decision was made by the group and instead said each person came to the decision on their own accord.

But the fact each council member started to pay the full deduction of the benefit -- $28.25 -- on Sept. 24, 2010, according to documents, lends credence the decision was made as a group.

Tessitor said questions about open meetings law missed the point, which is the council was doing the right thing.

"It seems to me the statement should be the council is doing the appropriate thing by doing what they are asking the rank and file employees to do," he said.

Most people would probably agree. The CALPERS system has been the focus of heavy criticism due to the cost to the state and cities, what some people believe is too good a deal for government employees, and more. The council is merely leading by example and doing something that probably should have be done sooner.

But if that is the case, why not be more transparent in the decision?

Council members in Glendora are paid $700 a month in a stipend for being on the council.
City Clerk Kathleen Sessman said she wasn't part of any discussions with city officials regarding the council members decision and the words regarding leadership were chosen by her.

"I just know when they did it, they did it informally, which is why I didn't have any resolutions," regarding the change, Sessman said. "It wasn't meant as anything other than they voluntarily did this and I thought it was a nice way of saying it."

The California Ralph M. Brown Act stipulates that three or more council members can't meet to make decisions on city policy without public notice.

Two experts on the subject both agreed the potential for infringement by the Glendora council members was in a relative gray area.

First Amendment Coalition attorney Peter Scheer said, assuming the worst case scenario, that because no policy was changed, the council members didn't break the law.

"If they had a discussion if the council should vote and require all of them to do this ... and basically rescind whatever policy it is that now exempts them, that certainly would have been a Brown Act violation," Scheer said. "But if they are doing it in a way that doesn't change any policy and does not need any official action, it is at least arguable that this falls outside the Brown Act."

Even if it isn't a violation, Scheer said elected officials should always try to make decisions public whenever possible.

"The prudent thing to do would be to give full notice to people that they were thinking about it," Scheer said. "And if they are going to get together and talk about it, do so publicly. Let the press know and listen in on that discussion, so at least it would be done in the spirit of the Brown Act."

Terry Francke, an attorney for public information advocacy group Californians Aware, said residents should be worried about elected officials making decisions behind closed doors.

"I think citizens have a right to be skeptical and suspect that a collective discussion occurred, which constituted a serial meeting in violation of the Brown Act," Francke said in an e-mail. "Proof is a different matter."

Scheer added the public shouldn't be too hard on the council members since the decision was in the public's best interest.

"I think anyone would say they should be commended for doing this," he said. "It is kind of incredible they were getting a free ride. But they were and they shouldn't be overly criticized or second guessed for having done the right thing."

I think Scheer kind of nails it here. Was the action the right one? Yes. Should they have been more public about it? Probably.

And the part about the free ride makes me think about why this maybe wasn't more public. How many people knew that a council that gets paid a $700 stipend gets the CALPERS benefit? Probably not many. Either way, people know now. If that is good or bad for the council, you tell me.

Email: daniel.tedford@sgvn.com | Twitter: @dgtedford @sgvtribune | Facebook: SGVTribune