iePolitics.com

I know that this belongs on my other blog but I didn’t feel like logging in. This song has been on my brain ever since reading Cassie MacDuff’s column about being at the Music Center. So, here it is:

Cheated again
Posted: 11/30/2008 05:21:41 PM PST

I have lived in San Bernardino County for 21 years. During that time we have had scandal after scandal involving the corruption of public officials. A county supervisor and several top county officials have been convicted of bribery. The tax assessor is, apparently, a dope addict and now the district attorney orchestrates a plea bargain with members of the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians for straight probation.
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Assemblyman Anthony Adams, R-Claremont, voted last week against a special session budget plan that would have raised taxes by $24 billion over five years, according to a statement from his office.
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I will be the first to admit that I have been pretty upset with Josie and the way she hung me out to dry. But I do know from my conversations with her, she is someone with heart. In the current economic situation, homelessness is going to become worse, probably a lot worse, and many of our elected officials will do no more than try to sweep it under the rug.

By Joe Smilor on November 30, 2008 6:42 PM
Supervisor Josie Gonzales has challenged San Bernardino County cities to get involved in an effort to end homelessness.

Gonzales said it will require a team effort as there are more than 7,000 homeless people in the county.

The county’s Homeless Partnership was formed more than a year ago to look at the issue.
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Tomorrow’s the big day. Neil Derry will be sworn in. Gary Ovitt will become chairman. None of my best sources will tell me if Vice Chairman is going to Brad or Josie. We’ll see if the wealthy white boys win out or not.
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For those who do not live here in the desert and don’t know who Prem Reddy is, here is a Los Angeles Times article on him. He is a big campaign contributor to many local politicians. And, oh darn, unlike the Daily Press, I don’t have to worry about him pulling advertising, so he can’t make me take this down or remove comments.

Reddy said his company’s approach allowed it to be more efficient than its rivals, and he remained unapologetic to those who said the company was too focused on the bottom line. Patients, he said, may simply deserve only the amount of care they can afford.

Archive for Sunday, July 08, 2007
Hospital group rejects system and cashes in - A Southland doctor’s company prospers by canceling insurance contracts and, some say, shortchanging patients.

By Daniel Costello
July 08, 2007 in print edition A-1

As he piloted his new, $1.4-million helicopter from his Apple Valley home to Orange County one recent morning, Dr. Prem Reddy enjoyed a cloudless view of his growing empire.

Today, the five-seat Eurocopter EC120 whisks him to Anaheim, where he recently agreed to buy two hospitals. On other days, he sweeps over endless miles of gridlock to his facilities in Sherman Oaks, Huntington Beach and San Diego.
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How long did that take? I’ve already had a hit from Desert Valley Hospital, which of course is owned by Prem Reddy. Hmm . . . and that hit was a result of an email sent to him with the link to my entry. Let’s see. Was it one of Brad’s people, or Bill’s people, or one of the numerous other politicians he owns here in the Victor Valley? Oh well, I have Kaiser so I don’t have to worry about ever going to Death Valley Hospital myself.

For those of you that have no idea what I’m talking about, be glad. For those of you computer savvy enough to get around it, also be glad. For the rest of you, I’m sorry, but it is my blog and I have to find ways to humor myself.
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Last week I attended a lunch meeting of one of the Republican women’s clubs. Those who read the blog know that I am a lifetime Republican who has seriously been considering becoming a Democrat. I’m really, really tired of the young, take-no-prisoners, win-at-all-costs, wealthy, white boy network in this county.
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I just spoke with George. Boy is his son going to have some stories to tell his grand kids! Bennett is doing well but in a lot of pain. Both legs were broken but did not require surgery. He also suffered some type of fractures to three vertebrae, ribs and clavicle. No long-term problems are expected although he will be in a wheelchair for a while and have to undergo physical therapy. They may be home as early as Tuesday.
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For the second time as I have driven past the intersection that leads to the emergency room at St. Mary’s Medical Center in Apple Valley, I have noticed a sign twirler on the corner with a huge yellow arrow and the words “urgent care” pointing to a new urgent care a couple of blocks down.
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I’m trying to come up with some catchy slogans and a good name for the website as we decertify SBPEA. One of the two international unions interested in helping us is an AFL-CIO union so I kinda like “Chicken Man has got to go; bring in the AFL-CIO.” It’s no more corny and stupid than showing up to a Board of Supervisors meeting in a chicken suit while trying to negotiate a legitimate contract.
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I’ve been thinking about this every since my forced pseudo-Skelly. During that Skelly TAD was discussed and our Assistant CAO scolded me for suggesting that TAD’s hiring practices are corrupt. For example, he said he had no problem with someone who has zero education and zero experience in a progam being promoted to deputy director of that program. Rather than criticizing such a person, someone who is able to achieve a $100,000 + a year job without said education and experience should be congratulated.
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I think it was less than two weeks ago I said I hoped to see $1.75 a gallon gasoline for my trip to Sacramento. Well, I haven’t left yet, but I did just fill up my truck for $38.71–wonderful since it was on the wrong side of empty. Gas at Costco in Victorville this morning was $1.75 a gallon. Do I dare hope for $1.50 a gallon in Bakersfield when I’m driving through there soon?

I received an email from Mark Kirk this morning and he is more than willing to meet with us. I’m booked solid for the next two weeks so I’m thinking we’ll try to do something right after the first of the year.
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It seems that almost every day someone asks me about either decertification of SBPEA, the meeting with Mark Kirk, and/or the EAC not that any one of those issues has anything to do with the other. This is where we are at.

Decertification cannot take place for a little over a year. There are at least two international unions interested in six of the seven units — I don’t think anyone cares about Supervising Nurses. They are willing to provide the staff, etc., for the campaign. I expect the campaign to take many months as there will have to be several thousand cards signed in a 30-day period when that time comes. Some meetings have already taken place and we’re trying to get more going but no one has had time. We’ll provide the details either on the blog or through word of mouth when the time comes. Ridding ourselves of SBPEA is not a moot issue. As a matter of fact, it is very high on the priority list. (more…)

I had another version of this story on the blog a few days ago but I liked this editorial, especially the last paragraph. I’ve written before that I vote for school board members based on the grammar in their campaign statements, which eliminates most of them. I like the idea of asking candidates civics questions as part of their debates.

08:20 PM PST on Thursday, November 27, 2008

Politicians need to bring more than an outsized ego into elected office. A basic understanding of American government and the economy should be among the prerequisites. Toward that end, officials could start by including civics education enhancement in their school reform plans.

All Americans should understand how their government works. But results from the Intercollegiate Studies Institute’s latest civics-knowledge survey show that too few citizens leave high school with basic knowledge about government or economics. Among the 14,000 college students who took the test, freshmen scored an average of 51 percent, seniors 54 percent.
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Things will be changing on Monday in San Bernardino County. Supervisor-elect Neil Derry will be sworn in as Third District Supervisor. Gary Ovitt will become Chairman of the Board of Supervisors. I’ve heard various rumors about who will be Vice Chairman and I don’t know what has been decided, although I’m sure by now the backroom deal has been made.
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I did not realize who this was until I emailed George a few minutes ago and he told me what had happened. George is definitely a friend to all non-corrupt county employees and citizens alike and I’m sure he’d appreciate your prayers for his son.

Redlands boy, man in plane crash remain in critical condition
By Stacia Glenn on November 28, 2008 1:00 PM

Two Redlands residents severely injured in a plane crash in the Fresno area remained in critical but stable condition this morning.
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By Lauren McSherry on November 28, 2008 4:10 PM

A delegation of officials from San Bernardino and the county have returned from a Mexico trade mission hopeful that the trip will result in much needed economic development.

“It went well,” said Mayor Pat Morris. “They were remarkably interested. It was a door opener. It was the first meet and greet with these folks.”
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The following comment was made over on Lauren’s Blog: deBeer said:

I have to agree. Not to be a Scrooge or anything, but taxpayer money supports the poor and homeless already through hundreds of different programs to the tune of billions of dollars in costs for the US taxpayer. No one should go hungry. But at the same time, this is not a legitimate use of their discretionary funds, if that is in fact what was used to pay for the turkeys. I have little doubt the recipients were made aware of who donated the turkeys in hopes of a vote at the next election. Considering the size of their campaign war chests, all five supervisors could have easily afforded to contribute to this effort without it costing the taxpayer a dime.

By Stacia Glenn on November 28, 2008 3:25 PM

From the county:

Thousands of deserving residents enjoyed a hot, holiday meal this Thanksgiving, due in part to the continued partnership between San Bernardino County Supervisors Paul Biane and Josie Gonzales.

This year the supervisors each allocated $4,000 used to purchase 700 turkeys.
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Theft from taxpayers

A recent media report revealed that Anthony Adams, Republican assemblyman of Hesperia, is among the more than a dozen lawmakers who have missed much of the special legislative sessions in progress to deal with the state’s fiscal mess. His time is being taken up with trips to India, China and Hawaii, to “learn about education, high-speed rail and dams.” What a bunch of garbage.
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I got to tell you, I’m sick of listening to people whine about Bill Postmus. Everyone wants someone else to do something about him. How about taking the one appropriate action we have available at this time–recall? Oops, I forgot that’s been tried but how many of the whiners were too afraid to sign the petition? As I said, everyone wants someone else to do something, which is why we have the mess we have.

County’s future at risk
Posted: 11/27/2008 07:57:20 PM PST

With all the controversy surrounding San Bernardino County Assessor Bill Postmus, why is he still employed?

Anyone else involved with similar accusations against them would have been terminated by now. Why isn’t the Board of Supervisors doing anything about this, or why is it taking so long if they are?
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November 26, 2008 - 2:50 PM
BROOKE EDWARDS Staff Writer

VICTORVILLE • Don’t expect to see B or C ratings posted in windows of Victorville restaurants.

The city is one of only a handful in San Bernardino County that hasn’t adopted the county health department’s restaurant grading ordinance created four years ago, which requires all restaurants to prominently display their rating in a window.

“We haven’t been able to get Victorville on board,” said Corwin Porter, public health program manager for the county. “The only other major city in the county that hasn’t come on board is Needles.”
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From the desk of Senator George Runner

Sign Up to Help! Liberals in Sacramento are intent on punishing car owners.

Under the cloak of the holiday season, liberals introduced SB 6X and AB 6X in Sacramento yesterday as a part of the “Special Session” of the Legislature prior to recently elected legislators coming to town.
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For those of you that had to get through my entry page, I apologize. I know many of you find them irritating. However, I decided to indulge myself for 24 hours. The entry pages will be gone tomorrow night and will not reappear until we’re close to Christmas.
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Union stories will start to have a much bigger role on this blog after the first of the year. Decertification of SBPEA can occur in about 18 months and it will take a good year to organize 12,000 employees. I can tell you that I have been personally contacted by one international union that is interested in replacing SBPEA and there are other internationals also interested. I know they want all 12,000 employees and we need to start talking about our options. Understand that we are a prize to any other union as our membership in their union represents abut $600,000 a month in income to any of the international unions. I know they are willing to give us all the help we need to make a decertification happen if we are willing to stand up for ourselves.

10:00 PM PST on Wednesday, November 26, 2008

By JACK KATZANEK
The Press-Enterprise

Labor unions spent heavily to send a Democrat to the White House and firm up the party’s majorities in Congress, but some now wonder if the sputtering economy will push unions’ key issue to the back seat.

Their election-year priority was the Employee Free Choice Act. If it’s passed the way it was introduced last year, the law would make it much easier to unionize a work force and take away what labor says is a huge advantage employers have wielded for decades.
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08:58 PM PST on Wednesday, November 26, 2008

By JULIA GLICK
The Press-Enterprise

Riverside County is offering incentives for thousands of employees to retire early at the start of next year, a move officials say could save millions of dollars and reduce the need for future layoffs.

The Board of Supervisors approved a plan last week that would boost retirement benefits to retirees 50 and older who have worked five or more years for the county. They must retire between Jan. 1 and March 31 to qualify, according to county documents.
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I didn’t really expect Steve Williams to print this, partly because of content and partly because it came from me, so here it is:

One of the issues that Ryan Orr’s article does not address is the fact that when the economy moves into recession, demand for government services increases. For example, crime rises during bad economic times. Not only are there more burglaries, petty thefts, and robberies, but instances of assault, murder, domestic violence, substance abuse, child abuse and elder abuse go up as tensions in the home increase. This not only affects the Sheriff’s Department, but also the District Attorney, the Public Defender, Probation, the court system, the Behavioral Health Department, the Department of Children’s Services, the Department of Aging and Adult Services, Arrowhead Regional Medical Center, and fire agencies.

Simply because the economy is not doing well does not mean that roads and water and sewer pipes will repair themselves, or that trash no longer needs to be taken to county landfills. Restaurants still need inspecting, property still needs to be assessed, and weeds still need to be abated. More citizens opt to let their animals loose or turn them in to Animal Control. Fewer citizens have their pets spayed or neutered resulting in additional unwanted animals that city and county authorities must deal with, including dog bites and auto accidents, which of course increases demand for services from many other government agencies. I would suspect that Library facilities and possibly even Museums and County Parks are used more frequently as citizens opt for less expensive means of entertainment.
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