I don’t feel like having to deal with the ugliness that goes along with this subject matter when it is being discussed. As I pointed out in a previous post, I’m simply deleting the comments made by anyone who doesn’t know how to behave on this blog. So I’m going to do the Red County folks a favor and provide their link and ask that it be discussed over there. I put my two cents in.

Bob Smith is running for the state Assembly. If you check out his website, you will note that instead of a picture of him prominently displayed, there is a picture of an unidentifed Sheriff’s deputy in uniform or is that a picture of him from decades ago? Am I the only one that finds this strange? This is an email I received a while back from a PID employee:

A little note about Bob Smith. When he worked as a Fraud Investigator for PID it was discovered he was using the County assigned vehicle to deliver packages for UPS and FED-EX as a subcontractor. He delivered out to the far reaches of the desert and was putting on a huge number of miles on the car, all the time while being paid by the County. The D.A.’s office tailed him once; on his day off. He was reprimanded for misuse of County property but was never charged because of the screw-up. He’s a very smart man who is driven by greed.

This is the story from today’s Press Enterprise

Duties of worker in assessor’s office overlapped other S.B. County sheriff’s deputies

10:00 PM PDT on Wednesday, May 14, 2008

By DUANE W. GANG and ZEKE MINAYA
The Press-Enterprise

A candidate for the state Assembly worked for seven months in the San Bernardino County assessor’s office in a job that overlapped with work sheriff’s deputies and other county officials performed.

Bob Smith, a retired sheriff’s deputy, earned $46 an hour in a part-time position overseeing facilities and safety management. He made $27,232 from March to September 2007, county records show.

“The purpose of the position is to ensure the highest safety standards for assessor employees,” Ted Lehrer, a spokesman for Assessor Bill Postmus, said this week. Continue reading this post…

as more and more county employees are calling for Bob Blough’s resignation or termination that even a few hard-cord BOD types are starting to question his dedication to SBPEA and the members it represents. Apparently, they are starting realize why he had the nickname “Bob Blowhard” when he was a labor representative for the Sheriff’s Department and why he was paid to leave his position as Operations Manager of the Orange County Public Employees Association.

I can only hope that action is taken before he gets his way and gives away those benefits previous union negotiators battled so hard to get for us.

I’ve been hearing about a filmaker/investigative reporter type that was going to be in town this week shooting footage for his current project. Apparently, he had a lot to do with breaking the story of corruption with Clark County, Nevada and San Diego, California. Now this has been no secret. I first heard of it on the radio. Then I heard from a few contacts that they were going to be interviewed about San Bernardino County corruption. He is from Utah, has no connections with San Bernardino County, and I’m told he is legit.

To make a long story short, this reporter attended Tuesday’s Board of Supervisor’s meeting with Bob Nelson, one of the candidates for the First District. The BOS has had Bob arrested 40 plus times because Bob is a free-speech advocate and does not want to abide by the board’s three-minute rule. Two weeks ago they arrested him because he asked for five minutes to give his presentation. They did the same thing this week.

There was a major glitch however. This week Bob had this reporter’s microphone on his lapel. So they take Bob into a room because he is under arrest. He’s in there for a while so the reporter knocks on the door to ask to get his microphone back. I guess they told him to go away. I’m not sure how much longer this went on but upon the reporter’s final request, they brought the reporter into the room and threatened him with arrest for having Bob wired. You have to remember this is a reporter filming the BOS meeting and Bob’s microphone is in clear sight.

Bottom line is that the BOS gave this reporter a first-hand experience in San Bernardino County corruption at its best. From what I understand this reporter has had a hand in breaking some big government corruption stories. I can hardly wait to see his final report.

From the Press Enterprise

SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS - 10:00 PM PDT on Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Plans for water park, amphitheater get OK

Supervisors on Tuesday approved plans for the development of a water park and amphitheater at Cucamonga-Guasti Regional Park.

The site would include eateries, shops and other recreational options. The agreement with Liquid Management Group Inc. calls for the company to develop and operate the water park and amphitheater, with the county receiving lease fees of at least $300,000 annually, county officials said. The lease agreement is for 25 years with options for two additional 10-year periods. Continue reading this post…

I’m sure anyone that reads this blog and PaveRoadsFirst knows that we feel that Kari Verjil is the MOST incompetent Registrar of Voters for San Bernardino County in recent memory. My belief is that the incompetence borders on criminal. Therefore, were decided to take further action. I know a FPPC complaint will be filed. I also feel both a Grand Jury complaint and a letter to the Attorney General’s office and the Secretary of State’s office are in order. Hopefully, this will be completed by week’s end. Continue reading this post…

Last night I attended my first Apple Valley Town Council meeting in years. It was the first time seeing the current crop of councilmembers in action. Quite frankly, I was appalled. I thought the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors had a board full of egomaniacs. They have got competition here in Apple Valley for sure. No wonder four of the five town concilmembers support Brad Mitzelfelt. They are cut from the same cloth. Continue reading this post…

10:00 PM PDT on Tuesday, May 13, 2008

By DUANE W. GANG
The Press-Enterprise

The top aide to San Bernardino County Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt pressed election employees over whether Mitzelfelt’s opponent in the June 3 election properly filed campaign finance disclosure reports, internal county e-mails released Tuesday show.

Hesperia City Councilwoman Rita Vogler was late filing financial disclosure reports with the county registrar of voters last month. Continue reading this post…

Are officials overstepping their bounds?
George Watson, Staff Writer
Article Launched: 05/13/2008 11:21:47 PM PDT

E-mail records display how top San Bernardino County officials walk a fine line that separates policy from politics when it comes to campaigns.
The records show how high-ranking staffers for two members of the Board of Supervisors have reached out to the Registrar of Voters Office seeking information or directing employees there on things they should do. Continue reading this post…

This morning I was at the dump. Two Boxers were with me. One of the attendants approached me about Raquel and asked if she was a Boxer. We got talking about animal rescue. He wants to start his own rescue and then commented that he is always rescueing cats from the landfill. I thought he meant feral cats that are looking for a meal. No, he is talking about all the people that dump live kittens in the trash. He has three right now he is bottle feeding. People make me sick.

On my Boxer list there has been an on-going story about Gunny. Rather than re-tell the story, here is the link to Gunny’s new website.

First off, I suppose these employees should be happy they get some medical benefits paid for unlike SBCo. retirees, but I, for one, am tired of our bosses giving themselves big raises and balancing the budget on the backs of line staff. Here is what is happening in Fresno.

And here are two articles about the non-unionized city of Victorville. Three years with no raise, no takeaways and fewer hours worked is actually a better deal than what we are being offered (unless they find a way to get us more) with our union.

Gonzales now facing write-in opponent
George Watson, Staff Writer
Article Launched: 05/12/2008 10:19:49 PM PDT

County Supervisor Josie Gonzales is going to have an opponent in the June 3 election after all.
Vincent Laster, a San Bernardino man who worked on Gonzales’ 2004 campaign, is staging a write-in effort in the hopes of defeating his former boss, who he said has lost touch with voters.

“I believe she doesn’t represent the working-class people of the 5th District,” Laster said. Continue reading this post…

I did a small entry on this a while back. Finally a couple of mainstream newspapers caught on. The Press Enterprise wrote a nice editorial Saturday chastising the board members. Note: In the Sun article Hansberger claims that Mitzelfelt WILL TAKE THE INCREASE if elected. He’s been quite pious thus far stating he didn’t vote for it. Of course he didn’t. It was going to pass without his or Hansberger’s vote and so what if he had to wait a few months to take it. Continue reading this post…

I was perusing Paul’s website this morning and was very surprised to see he discovered the Larry Sharp connection to Brad Mitzelfelt. I knew ACU had donated money to Brad but was not aware of its other activity. The story below is from my old blog back when the county decided to give EMACs access to TAD supervisors. Some of it applies to this situation; some of it doesn’t. But to say ACU is dirty is an understatment. I will be writing more about that tonight or tomorrow. Here is a reprint:
Continue reading this post…

I added a video from my second favorite (they switch places often) contemporary Christian group. I hope one day to be able to see them in concert. It seems they will be in So. Cal. or Arizona later in the year so maybe I’ll get a chance then.

And one from one of the most well-known Christian artists today. I did get to see him in concert last year and it was wonderful.

This is what I heard this morning. The county and SBPEA brought in a State mediator to try and help out yesterday and the guy actually laughed out loud at the County negotiating team. He basically said anyone who would support losing the Flex benefit dollars would be an idiot and for the County to even propose such a thing without a pay increase or something to make up for that loss is laughable and then he laughed out loud. Continue reading this post…

This story reminded me of the reason why I refuse at Christmas (or any other time) to donate one thin dime to the Salvation Army. In involves a case I came in contact with when I began my county career over 28 years ago. Continue reading this post…

We’ve all heard the saying, “Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean there is no one out to get you.” I do not believe someone can be a political figure without being a bit paranoid. The problem with politics is that there are some very unethical, evil people who want to keep their positions of power and will do ANYTHING to ANYONE necessary if they feel that power is being threatened. So a little paranoia is a healthy thing.

Continue reading this post…

These guys are cracking me up. Is it just me or do the BIA boys seem to be not getting along? I guess there are too many egos over there.

From the Red County San Bernardino Blog:

BOS 3 Flash: Imploding - Hansberger Dropped From Slate
Posted by: SB Veritas | 05/03/2008 10:56 PM

The Faith, Family, and Freedom Association has notified the Derry for Supervisor Campaign that the group has dropped incumbent Supervisor Dennis Hansberger from its slate for the June 2008 Primary Election. In doing so, the Association indicated that Hansberger’s challenger, San Bernardino City Councilman Neil Derry will now appear.

Hansberger was removed due to issues surrounding his voting record. Continue reading this post…