(August 20)  In a move seen as being in conflict with the Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act that was pushed through the California Legislature and signed into law in 2012, the board for the California Public Employees Retirement System this week voted to authorize 99 types of special payments as counting toward pension calculations for the state’s public employees.
Critics, including governor Jerry Brown and advocates of pension reform immediately assailed the move as one that will reinstitute “pension spiking” and thereby endanger the integrity of the pension fund itself or otherwise require that taxpayers subsidize even further public employee pensions that over the last several years have been viewed by a growing segment of the population as overly generous.
The vote authorizes retirees to cite a host of functions incidental to their employment as special categories that give them “temporary upgrade pay” which can then be used to enhance the formula used in calculating their pensions.
Brown and other pension reform advocates had called upon the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) Board to reject the proposal from CalPERS staff calling for certifying 99 types of special payments as counting toward pension calculations for employees enrolled in the CalPER System since January 1, 2013.
The Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act requires pension calculations for employees who became retirement system members on January 1, 2013 and later be based on “the normal monthly rate of pay or base pay” those employees received.  The act further disallowed “ad hoc” payments included in retirement benefit calculations.
These reforms followed lingering controversy over the escalating expense of debt servicing public employee pensions in recent years and projected increase in future years that threaten to eat up funds available for normal governmental operating expenses. Putting in place limitations that disallow employees from citing temporary pay increases as the basis for calculating their pension amounts was intended to prevent current and future pension spiking, although the  act’s provisions did not apply to employees in the system before the act took effect.
Some members of the board took to heart the opposition to the move expressed by the governor and others, such that approval of the certifications was divided. The board’s vote was 7-5 to allow the “temporary upgrade pay.”
Some, including the governor, suggested the vote was in outright defiance of the Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act, constituting an outright illegal act.
“CalPERS got it wrong,” Brown said in a prepared statement following the board’s vote. “This vote undermines the pension reforms enacted just two years ago. I’ve asked my staff to determine what actions can be taken to protect the integrity of the Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act.”
The pay enhancements authorized by the board apply to a host of actions, work, conditions, requirements or positions that appear to be routine descriptions of duties or classifications associated with typical job descriptions such as dictation, shorthand, typing, pesticide application, notary, accountant, circulation librarian, asphalt work, aircraft/helicopter pilot, reading specialist, fire safety certificate, certified public accountant, polygraph, refugee arrival, refuse collection sandblasting, sewer crew, working with the severely disabled, crime scene investigation, detective division, DUI traffic officer, fire inspector, flight time, fire prevention fugitive pursuit, gang detail, juvenile officer, lead/supervisor, library reference, police training, streetlight changing, professional licensing, tire technician, cement finisher, school yard supervision, and police administration.
A 1937 law prohibits public employee pension spiking but has never been consistently enforced.
A leading advocate of pension reform is San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed who has consistently argued that the ever increasing payments to CalPERS represent an unsustainable liability to both local and state government and that the most sensible place to start pension reform is adhering to restrictions, such as those contained in the Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act that prevent CalPERS from broadly, liberally and generously defining pension plan definitions to provide members with maximum payouts.
Reed said the vote in favor of the special payment enhancements and their applicability to pension calculations further demonstrates the degree to which the CalPERS board is dominated by public employee unions who are intent on “expanding benefits and resisting reforms. This undermines the pension reforms enacted two years ago. Counting temporary and special pay will only increase pension spiking in California and add to the skyrocketing costs for public employee pensions,”  Reed told the Sentinel.
Two of the board members voting in favor to the special pay enhancements said public employers can push for lower pension payouts through the bargaining process.

(August 18)  The city of Chino has effectuated zone changes mandated by city voters during the special election the city held on July 8.
That special election was instigated by Lennar Homes and Stratham Homes, which together defrayed the $197,000 cost of the special election.
The special election was requested by  landowners on behalf of developmental interests.
Under Chino’s municipal code, any changes in the city code or zoning map must be approved by the city’s residents if that change entails a transition to residential use or an increase in residential density.
Lennar is seeking to construct 203 single family homes on 38.5 acres north of Eucalyptus Avenue between San Antonio and Euclid avenues on a site that was formerly zoned business park and low density residential with a maximum of two homes per acre.
Voters in July approved allowing the property to be developed to an intensity of up to 12 units per acre.
In January, the Chino Planning Commission voted 5-2 against allowing Lennar’s project to proceed. The majority of commissioners were opposed to the concept of altering the low density zoning on the property.
Voters, however, who were subjected to an energetic advertising campaign, which, according to some members of the city council, falsely asserted that the project had full council approval, second-guessed the planning commission with regard to the Lennar proposal.
Stratham Homes has two projects  pending, one a 127-unit development off Euclid Avenue and another 94-unit development off Central Avenue.
The 127-unit project consists entirely of single family homes  on 11.6 acres between Euclid and Fern avenues accessible by Schaefer Avenue. That property was previously slated for commercial development.
The 94-unit project will involve 92 condominiums and two single family dwelling units on 9.2 acres of previously commercial zoned property east of Central Avenue and north of Francis Street.  The two single family homes will be constructed on the 1.5 acres at the eastern extreme of the property, abutting a low density residential neighborhood to the east. The new zoning  designation of RD 12 will allow 12 units per acre on the remaining 7.7 acres, i.e., 92 condominiums.

By Mark Gutglueck
Magda Lawson was the 86th member of the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors and the first woman to be a member of that body.
Born on April 5, 1887 in Swanedorg, Sweden, Magda Elizabeth Lawson was the second of August and Elizabeth Larson’s three daughters.  Her early education was provided in Sweden. After her father’s death, she was invited to accompany several others emigrating to the United States. Her mother secured for her the least costly passage to Boston, where she arrived in 1901, carrying only a small wardrobe, very little money and no knowledge of English. She immediately changed her name from Larson to Lawson.
A week after her arrival, she obtained a job as a maid in a boarding house which provided her with room and board and $1.50 per week. From 1901 until 1906 she worked as a maid in Boston, finding occasional other jobs, while mastering English, essentially on her own by extensive reading. She then attended business school, learning typing and bookkeeping. She then embarked on a journey across her adopted country, performing odd jobs along the way. Once in Los Angeles, she obtained work as both a salesgirl in a department store and a waitress in a restaurant. She also went on working vacations, working as a maid or waitress at establishments near the Grand Canyon or Yellowstone Park. She returned to Los Angeles, where she had established a residence.
Toward the end of the First World War in 1918, she moved to Needles, obtaining work there as a typist, bookkeeper and receptionist at the Earl Hodge Automobile Agency. Upon Hodge’s death in 1920, she took over the nearly bankrupt operation of what was then a combined Studebaker, Chrysler and Plymouth agency, together with its accompanying financing and insurance components. With the money she earned there, she purchased a cattle ranch in Oregon, which she visited often. In 1926, she sold the ranch and she used the proceeds from that sale to build a home in Needles. In 1926 the automobile agency was sold, providing Hodge’s heirs with a windfall and giving her sole proprietorship of the financing and insurance ends of the business.
Lawson obtained U.S. citizenship in 1927 and the same year returned to Sweden for three months. She returned to Needles, greatly expanding the insurance operation while increasing her real estate holdings. In 1936 she became a licensed insurance broker. With the advent of World War II, she served on the Needles Ration Board for the entirely of the time the United States was engaged in the conflict.
Lawson never married. Throughout this time she made many contacts at both the business and governmental levels and grew to have a degree of influence in public affairs in the desert area uncommon at that time for her gender.
In 1952, she was prevailed upon to challenge the incumbent First District supervisor, H. George Cunningham. Her popular appeal throughout the desert translated into a victory at the polls, making her the first woman to serve as San Bernardino County supervisor. She served in that capacity during a first term, from 1952 to 1956 and was reelected to a second term that lasted from 1956 to 1960.
As it had been for Cunningham and the First District supervisors before him, representing the vast First District was a challenge. As the largest district in what was the largest county in the country, Lawson was obliged to drive all of the highways covering the 18,000 square mile district. During her tenure in office, she wore out five of her personal vehicles in maintaining contact with her constituents and attending board meetings.
Lawson advocated road improvements in her district and during her eight year tenure, more than 3,000 miles of roads in the Mojave Desert were paved. Roads linking Amboy, Twentynine Palms, Kelso and Baker were created.  She pushed through recreational improvements on the Colorado River, including ones near Parker Dam and a marina in Needles.
At one point, she took it upon herself to travel to Washington, D.C. to lobby on behalf of, and succeed in getting, recognition of the impoverished state of the Indians residing throughout her district, which brought federal aid to their reservations.
In 1957, Lawson took up the cause of Iva Powell, who was seeking a municipal court judgeship. Powell’s opponents pointed out that the last woman in the county to seek elevation to the bench had been the widow of a mule skinner who was defeated in the 1918 election. That precedent was one reason to keep Powell from advancing, her opponents argued. Moreover, they said, Powell had not joined the local chamber of commerce, another strike against her. Lawson overrode those objections and appointed Powell.
“She will be long remembered for her devotion to duty and to the principles of good government,” a county publication printed in 2006, San Bernardino County Supervisors 1855-2006, states. “When historians write about the dedicated and courageous women of the West, they will have to include Magda Lawson; storms, floods, blizzards, bad roads – or no roads at all – never stopped her from her duty to her people.”
While in office, Lawson attended seminars and classes in Los Angeles pertaining to government and business, which she said helped her in her ability to serve her constituents. She also further refined during this period her musicianship on the violin, an instrument with which she was accomplished. She also took up painting, and completed numerous desert landscapes.
In 1959, the County Fair at Victorville was dedicated in her honor.
After leaving office, she remained in Needles, where she was a charter member of the Professional and Business Women’s Club.  Throughout the 1960s and into the early 1970s, she worked the reception desk at the Needles Chamber of Commerce.
She continued to cultivate a garden at her Needles home. At the age of 89, Lawson suffered an injury to her leg while climbing stairs to her apartment and was forced to leave Needles, where she had lived for 59 years, to spend her final eight years at the Valley Convalescent Hospital in San Bernardino.  It was there that she died at the age of 97 on November 13, 1984.

(August 19)  The county of San Bernardino this week sold eight parcels of property totaling approximately 19.3 acres it picked up through tax defaults to four governmental entities or foundations for amounts considered well below market value.
According to Larry Walker, San Bernardino County’s combined Auditor-Controller/Treasurer/Tax Collector, the land in question is located in Loma Linda, the San Bernardino Mountain community of Arrow Bear, Johnson Valley and Oak Glen.
“Pursuant to Chapter 8 of the California Revenue and
Taxation Code, taxing agencies or eligible non-profit organizations have the ability to request to purchase a parcel once it has become subject to the Tax Collector’s power of sale,” Walker said.
With regard to the Loma Linda property, Walker stated in a report to the board of supervisors dated August 19, “The sale price of $2,700, plus the cost of giving notice, will satisfy all taxes, reimburse costs, and be apportioned accordingly. The city of Loma Linda has requested a Chapter 8 sale of tax-defaulted parcel No. 0293-341-49-0000. This is an undeveloped parcel, approximately 846 feet x 10 feet, that provides drainage to an adjacent housing development and sale to the city would allow them to maintain the drainage site.”
As relates to the property in Arrow Bear, Walker said,
“The San Bernardino Mountains Land Trust has requested a Chapter 8 sale of tax-defaulted parcels, Nos. 0327-104-14-0000, 0327-104-27-0000, and 0327-104-30 -0000, for preserving the scenic, wildlife, watershed, and forest open space values of each parcel. All of the parcels are located in Arrow Bear Park within the San Bernardino National Forest and are each approximately 3,000 square feet in size. The sale price of $9,800, plus the cost of giving notice, will satisfy all taxes, reimburse costs, and be apportioned accordingly.”
Of the Johnson Valley property, Walker said, “The Bighorn-Desert View Water Agency has requested a Chapter 8
sale of tax-defaulted parcels, Nos. 0454-683-01-0000 and 0635-031-01-0000, for the general betterment of the agency facilities as described in the 2007 Bighorn-Desert View Water Agency Water Master Plan. The intended use is for future capital improvements which could include water system facilities, groundwater production or monitoring wells, water storage tanks, water hauling stations, groundwater recharge facilities, pipelines, buildings, and/or appurtenances. Parcel No. 0454-683-01-0000 is 5.0 acres, located off Old Woman Springs Road in Johnson Valley, and parcel No. 0635-031-01-0000 is 4.5 acres of undeveloped land located off Linn Road in Landers. The sale price of $12,400, plus the cost of giving notice, will satisfy all taxes, reimburse costs, and be apportioned accordingly.
In addressing the county’s transfer of property in Oak Glen to the city of Yucaipa, Walker said, “The city of Yucaipa has requested a Chapter 8 sale of tax-defaulted parcels, Nos. 0321-141-03-0000 and 0321-141-04-0000, to protect or enhance flood protection corridors, while preserving the open space and enhancing the wildlife habitat value of the real property. These parcels are each 4.7 acres and located within the Oak Glen Creek wash area.
The sale price of $8,000, plus the cost of giving notice, will satisfy all taxes, reimburse costs, and be apportioned accordingly.

(August 20)  Susan Berk
Upland cannot afford to maintain the status quo. We need responsible city council leadership. I have 35 years of leadership experience managing multi-million dollar defense and commercial programs. My industry assignments require analyzing complex situations and meeting budgets and schedules. I can’t simply ask my customers for more money, nor should this be an option in local government.
My positions are no on water privatization, no on new taxes, yes on financial accountability, and no on city government secrecy. I will be diligent in representing you. I will answer to the citizens of Upland and not the special interest groups.
We can find a path forward to meet our commitments with existing resources. This mindset is missing in our city government, and it’s why I’m running for city council.
I have MBA and BS (mathematics) degrees from Cal Poly. I’ve written books on management and financial analysis, and I have the experience and skills required for addressing Upland’s issues. I will ask the right questions and demand answers.
My family has lived in Upland for 30 years and our daughters graduated from Upland’s outstanding public schools.
I am the decisive leader that Upland needs on the city council.

Stephen Dunn
An Upland resident, proud father and expert in municipal government, I have a very personal stake  in our city’s success. Though we’re truly a “City of Gracious Living,” we face serious fiscal realities that threaten our quality of life.
As your city manager, I proposed a comprehensive strategy to avert economic crisis. Three years later, our progress has been stymied, and I realize the best way to move our city forward is to make change happen where the decisions are made: on the Upland City Council.
Our residents deserve a better Upland. My plan includes smart, sustainable measures that promote economic growth and development, upgrade infrastructure, enhance public safety and preserve our neighborhoods.
I have a proven record of success and the expertise to solve our fiscal crisis while protecting our quality of life.
•    Former Upland finance director and city manager
•    Saved Upland over $6,000,000 by averting a costly lawsuit
•    Streamlined city operation and increased accessibility
I’m committed to providing city government that is proactive, effective and accountable. I understand the issues and I’m ready to take action for you. Join countless civic leaders and  residents and vote to help Upland thrive – Vote Stephen Dunn!

Gino Filippi
Thank you for your continued trust in me. Since first being elected to city council in 2010 as the reform candidate, I have worked diligently on behalf of all residents and businesses making difficult budget and policy decision while remaining focused on keeping our neighborhoods safe and demanding fiscal responsibility and transparency.
The past several years have been challenging for Upland. The general fund is under pressure to continue providing the level of services residents have grown accustomed to. While reductions have been made, service calls have increased. There is more work ahead to move Upland forward towards long-term financial stability.
We can accomplish our shared goals. Maintaining Upland’s quality of life, providing responsible public safety and community services, and enhancing a community future generations will be proud to call home, but we must work smart and do what is in the best interest of residents and businesses. I am a proud native of Upland and I know the issues. I have and will continue to provide solutions. I am seeking your vote for re-election and will continue to work for a positive future for Upland. Let’s get Upland back on track!

Rod McAuliffe
Elect me as councilman, so that together, we can return Upland to the city of gracious living. I am not running to seek power, prestige, or to serve my own self-interest, but rather to serve and be a voice for the community.
My life has always been about public service; from my first job as an emergency medical technician, to serving in the Marine Corps, to my service in law enforcement. I also spent eight years working for a large corporation where I held a managerial position in loss prevention-shortage control. I received my bachelors and masters is business management from Azusa Pacific University. In 2012, the Upland City council appointed me to the traffic safety committee.
If elected, I will ensure that you would never have to carry the financial burden because of the city’s financial mismanagement. Rather than always raising taxes, I will be part of the culture of city leaders that are responsible with your money, and know how to operate within the means of the city budget. I will always be accessible, transparent, and attentive to your thoughts, concerns, and needs.
I am looking forward to serving you as your next councilman. God Bless!

Bill Schuessler
As a thirty year resident of Upland  I have witnessed flourishing budgets vanish, city services depleted and quality of life deteriorating.
Upland deserves more than this.  If you elect me, you can turst that as your councilmember, I will make the right decisions in critical times, and work with my fellow peers and city leaders to create a strategy to make our city thrive once again.   I will never make a promise for change without a plan to back it up.
As a measure of commitment, I will not seek donations, nor endorsements.  I believe keeping money in your pocket and voting for me November 4th is the best investment you can make.
I retired after 31 years of law enforcement, 17 as a supervisor.  I also worked as an EMT with a local fire department.  I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Business as well as other government certifications.
I believe in empowering each city department to make sound decisions, but at the same time hold them accountable for their financial oversight.
As your councilmember and steward, I will ask that all the council join me in “thinking outside the box”, and steering away from the status quo.
Promises of  revenue, balanced budgets, quality of life issues, and retention of valuable employees aren’t just about dreams, they are about vision, experience and a plan.
Rememer Bill Schuessler is the right person with the right ideas at thr right time.

Debbie Stone
During my service on the city council I have worked hard to ensure that I always work in the best interest of our entire community. Sometimes this means making decisions I don’t necessarily like or that might not make me the most popular person in town, but are the right things to do for our community as a whole. I have served without question of my integrity or motives. I have not and will not accept campaign donations from any city employee groups.
Making our city economically stable and sustainable is my highest priority. Maintaining our public safety and other vial public services is critically important. I will work to ensure that our city remains safe and properly maintained while operating within our means.
I have lived in Upland since 1979, and am a proud member of a family with a long history of public service to Upland. My career has prepared me to deal with difficult situations when emotions run high and opinions differ.
I will always represent the citizens of Upland honestly, and act at all times in the best interest of our entire community. I am your voice in city leadership.

Carol Timm
As an Upland planning commissioner I have served as chair and vice chair and have been a 30-year local teacher and longtime president of Upland Heritage. I have dedicated my life to making our community better.
Through Upland Heritage and the historic commission, I helped create nine historic districts and with Upland Heritage awarded homeowners matching  grants of over $100,000, generating over a quarter of a million dollars in improvements to our neighborhoods.
As a planning commissioner, I fought to improve city standards, attract good development and rid our city of illegal businesses.
My main goal is to promote fiscal responsibility and increase revenue to the city to maintain public services, fix streets and infrastructure. We must stay within our budgetary means, promote economic growth and create more local jobs.
Upland residents need a city council that can provide positive, proactive leadership and is not afraid to act in difficult situations to protect residents and taxpayer dollars.
It is my pledge to Upland residents that I will be the strong, decisive leader our city needs to get back on track.
I would be honored to have your trust and your vote for Upland City council.

(August 18)  The San Bernardino Black Culture Foundation is happy to announce the 25th Annual Black Rose, Humanitarian of the Year, and Community Service Awards Banquet.  The Black Rose Awards focus is to annually recognize volunteers, organizations, and individuals, regardless of their ethnicity or residency, for their lifetime achievement of doing good things for the local community.
“It is important to pay tribute to our local ‘Heroes’ and ‘Sheroes’ who work tirelessly to improve our everyday lives… Each one of our recipients have made a difference in our community and should be acknowledged for their efforts.” said Margaret Hill, Program Co-Chairperson of the Black Culture Foundation.
The Humanitarian of the Year Award winner is Tim Evans, founder of the Unforgettables Foundation.  Tim has been serving African American children and families in churches and children’s hospitals across the United States as a pastor and children’s chaplain for over thirty years.
The Unforgettables Foundation was created to assist all families, many of them African Americans, who experienced hardships and lack of funeral funding.  A sickle cell patient and a member of Temple Missionary Baptist Church was the first family that Tim assisted in the Inland Empire.
The Community Service Award winner is Dwaine Radden, Sr., newly appointed CEO of The PAL Center and PAL Academy High School.  He revived a defunct Pop Warner football program and established the California Raiders, a minor league football team in San Bernardino.  He has been a community mentor for athletes for over 22 years.  This program provided an opportunity for young men ages 18-30 from different backgrounds to continue their football aspirations while giving back to a community in need of hope.
This year, the organization is presenting a Founder’s Award and the recipient is The California Gas Company.  They paid for the first Miss Black San Bernardino crown and sash, provided a fundraising calendar for the organization, and paid for all the after parade volunteer luncheons for more than fifteen years, and has been a sponsor since the mid-1980’s.  The Gas Company continues to provide scholarships to students in the San Bernardino area.
Other long time sponsors being recognized on this silver anniversary are:  The city of San Bernardino, Edison International, Arrowhead Credit Union, San Bernardino City Unified School District, Dameron Communications, Derrick Vasquez, Community Hospital of San Bernardino, San Manuel Band of Mission Indians and Adeola Davies-Aiyeloja.
The Black Rose winners are as follows:  Arthur & Fredda Davis Foundation, Angela Brantley, Keynasia Buffong, C.O.P.E., Walter Hawkins, Patricia Nelson, and Dr. Gary Thomas.
The Awards Banquet will be Friday, September 12, 2014, at the National Orange Show, Valencia Room, 689 South E Street (entrance on Arrowhead Avenue).  Social hour is 6 p.m. with dinner and program beginning at 7 p.m.  The cost for this event is $60 per person or $600 for a table of ten.
To obtasin tickets, contact Margaret Hill at (909) 864-3267 or (909) 991-6422..

The migratory horned lark is present in San Bernardino County during certain parts of the year.
Its distinctive appearance includes mainly brown-grey plumage above and pale below, with a striking black and yellow face pattern. The tail of a horned lark is mostly black with the exception of its central feathers. The black tail contrasts with its paler body, a contrast that is noticeable when the bird is in flight.
On close inspection you may see a black bib and cheek patch and a soft yellow throat.
In the summer males sport black “horns”, which give this species its American name.
The two small “horns” that stick up on the top of the head aren’t real horns, but actually two tufts of black feathers on each side of the head. The “horns” on the horned lark are an important characteristic to look for when making an identification.
These birds’ vocalizations are high-pitched, lisping or tinkling, and weak. Their flight songs consist of a few chips followed by a warbling, ascending trill. Flight songs are used to delineate territories and attract mates.
The horned lark breeds across much of North America, commonly in the Alaska and Canada area, but range as far as the high Arctic south to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. They move south in winter.
Horned larks are monogamous and nest on the ground at a spot chosen by the female. The nests normally feature two to five laid eggs. The nests are cup-shaped, frequently surrounded with pebbles.   Female Horned Larks often collect pebbles, clods, corncobs, dung, which is placed  place beside their nests, covering soil excavated from the nest cavity. The “paved” area resembles a sort of walkway. The function of the pavings is not fully understood but they may help prevent collected nesting material from blowing away while the nest is under construction.
Upon being ready to mate, a female horned lark performs a courting display that looks very much as if she is taking a dust bath. In fact, potential mates seem prone to confusion on this score: a male catching a glimpse of a dust-bathing female may attempt to mate with her.
•  The longest-lived Horned Lark on record in North America was at least 7 years, 11 months old when it was recaptured and rereleased during banding operations.
Horned Larks at higher latitudes usually have only one brood per season, although most others have 2 or more.
The diet of horned larks consists mainly of  seeds supplemented with insects in the breeding season. They feed their nestlings mostly insects, which provide the protein the young birds need to grow. Insect prey are mainly grasshoppers, beetles, and caterpillars. Chicks may also be fed invertebrates such as sowbugs and earthworms. Horned Larks collect most of their food from the ground, but they sometimes perch on plants to harvest seeds from seed heads. In agricultural fields they may pluck and eat sprouting lettuce, wheat, and other crop seedlings.
In the open areas of western North America, horned larks are among the bird species most often killed by wind turbines. In 2013, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the subspecies streaked horned lark (Eremophila alpestris strigata) as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
These birds are seven to eight inches long at maturity and walk or run rather than hop. They move in an erratic pattern while feeding. If disturbed, the flock circles in swift, twisting flight, making soft lisping call notes.
Horned larks are philopatric, or faithful to their birthplace, where they returns after every migration. Consequently, each local population adapts to the color of its habitat such that 15 distinct subspecies have been described in the West. The Horned Lark starts returning to its breeding grounds in early March

By clicking on the portal below you can download a PDF of the August 15 San Bernardino County Sentinel.

Sentinel 08-15-14

(August 14)  It appears Colton Sixth District Councilman Isaac Suchil represents the crucial swing vote with regard to whether suspended Colton City Manager Stephen Compton will be reinstated as the blue collar city’s top administrator or whether he will be fired.
Compton, a former finance director and assistant city manager in Ridgecrest and the one-time finance director for Omnitrans, had 32 years in various municipal government assignments before he was lured in March 2013 from his then-position as the accounting manager for the city of Fountain Valley to serve as Colton city manager.
He appeared to have the confidence of the full city council – six council members and mayor Sarah Zamora – until he began a close examination of the operations in the city’s public works and utilities departments.
While Colton, with a population of 52,154 ranks 14th among San Bernardino County’s 24 cities population-wise, it has one of the most energetic and extensive governmental service operations in the county, boasting its own police and fire departments, cemetery operation and utility division, including water and electricity, the later being unique among the county’s municipalities.
Because the city is such a wide-ranging entity employing a large number of workers, political patronage has long been a reality in the city, with cronies of elected officials as well as their family members being provided with jobs oftentimes without having to compete in a hiring process that entails testing with regard to ability or qualifications. Moreover, capital improvement and other municipal projects in Colton have on occasion been carried out to benefit elected officials or the neighborhoods in which they live rather than the city as a whole.
Sometime after coming to Colton, Compton, whose expertise in municipal government lies principally in the realm of finance, became aware of how the city’s management and hiring policies had been compromised by cronyism and nepotism. Additionally, because of his financial bottom-line orientation and scrutiny of city department books, he learned that  nearly $2.8 million had been diverted from the city’s general fund to pay for  capital projects without the funding shift having been voted upon by the city council and that the city had neglected to collect approaching $3 million in water service charges, also known as fireflow charges, from commercial businesses in the city between 2009 and 2012.
Using his authority as city manager to make expenditures of up to $25,000 without council approval, Compton retained the services of  Imperial Beach-based Government Staffing Services, which employed a forensic auditor, Benjamin Miller, to perform what was termed “a long term financial modeling project.” That modeling project was intended to get a firm fix on how money was being spent in the public works and utility divisions.
One item Compton’s expanding inquiry stumbled upon was the installation of speed humps on Canary Street, where councilman Frank Gonzales resides. That project had not been officially approved by the city council, but was given go-ahead by the public works department without a work order, without a traffic engineering study, without an invoice for material used, without time sheets for city employees recording the time spent on the project and without any billing of the affected residents for their share of the cost of the project, which is required for speed humps to be installed.
Compton’s inquiry into “off-the-books” projects in the public works department also brought him close to uncovering details of how public works director Amer Jakher had used his authority to have city electrical division workers, who were engaged in July 2013 with a properly ordered and documented removal of an abandoned city of Colton utility pole in the 800 block of Edgehill drive, were detailed to do work on a nearby block wall behind councilwoman Susan Oliva’s home.
In the same time frame, some council members were pushing Compton to examine the city’s contract with the law firm of Best, Best & Krieger, which employs city attorney Christine Talley, and potentially put the contract for city legal services out to bid.
With Compton’s audit coming so close to the questionable use of city personnel, equipment, resources and funds to benefit council members, and a move to perhaps bring in new legal counsel, the city council at its April 1, May 23 and June 3 regularly scheduled meetings adjourned into closed sessions to engage in, according to those meetings’ published agendas, “public employee performance evaluation[s] pursuant to Government Code Section 54957 Title:  City Manager.” After closed door discussions from which the public was excluded at each of those three council sessions, the mayor and council returned without giving any indication of reportable action. Two days after the June 3 meeting, however, toward the end of the business day, Compton was informed that he was being placed on administrative leave. He was then abruptly and ignominiously walked out of City Hall by a plain clothes police officer.
The council gave only the vaguest of explanations as the rationale for its action, with councilman Gonzales serving as its public mouthpiece. Compton had been suspended, Gonzales elliptically intimated, because he had made questionable expenditures, particularly with regard to the public works division that were beyond his $25,000 authority.
An investigation was launched, utilizing the services of Kathy M. Gandara, an Ontario-based labor law attorney.  On August 4, Gandara gave the city council an oral briefing of her findings, which showed that Compton had expended some $23,000 more than his $25,000 independent expenditure limit, and that he had made temporary employee hirings that were outside the city’s protocol.
Gandara’s report was not provided in writing, however, and at its regularly scheduled August 5 meeting, the city council did not move to terminate Compton, as some in the community had anticipated.
The Sentinel has learned that  Mayor Sarah Zamora, and council members Gonzales and Susan Oliva  are leaning in favor of sacking Compton. Council members Frank Navarro, David Toro and Deirdre Bennett are either opposed to his firing or skeptical about the reason and justification their colleagues have put forth in that regard.
In this way, councilman Isaac Suchil, whose vote was critical in the decision to suspend Compton, has emerged as the swing vote in any decision with regard to Compton’s fate.
Ironically, Suchil was seen as among those leading the charge against Compton more than two months ago. The Sentinel has obtained a series of email communications between Suchil and Compton from prior to Compton’s suspension. In those, Suchil expressed concern about the contracts the city manager had entered into on his own authority.
At 3:41 p.m. on May 8, Suchil emailed Compton. “Well Steve, I have reason to believe that this PO [purchase order] went over your authorized amount, and it should have come back to the council for the overage. Should we meet?” Suchil wrote.
This prompted a response from Compton. “I cannot let a department head continue to spend funds that impact the city general fund balance which only come to light when the auditor presents his conclusions in January of each year,” Compton wrote. “I can detail this more for you. It is similar to the $730,000 rollover concern brought up at midyear. So far I have discovered the fireflow issue of unbilled funds for $2.8 million. (impacts water department) overspending on capital improvements projects of $4.8 million and wasted information spending $265,000 (lost employee time) a year for fourteen years to care and feed three computer systems that do not and are manually maintained.”
While Suchil did join with Zamora, Gonzales and Oliva in suspending Compton in June, he does not now appear convinced that the grounds for terminating Compton are solid. Suchil is close personally to Jakher and was previously prevailed upon to push Compton – and push him hard – with regard to his spending in making the financial audit of the public works department. Suchil also brought up publicly the consideration that Compton had hired an investigator to probe the public works division, going beyond making a financial audit of operations therein. Suchil also suggested at one point that Compton had withheld information from the city council after it was requested from him but was subsequently given information to show Compton had made that information available.
For nearly two months after his suspension, Compton remained silent, seemingly twisting in the wind as the council prolonged the suspension. But late last month a group of Colton residents began pushing back, cataloging on its own certain off-the-books expenditures in the public works department. Those residents, including Steve Cade, John Anaya, Donna Lawrence, Ron Lawrence, Gary Grossich and Linda Tripp, questioned why the council had suspended Compton on the basis of $23,000 in unauthorized spending while ignoring the $4.8 million in overspending in the public works division that Compton was looking into. They suggested that Jakher should have been suspended along with Compton if the city council was indeed collectively intent on considering the overspending issue.
Then, police chief Steve Ward, who had been appointed temporary city manager during Compton’s absence, resigned from his newly designated post to return to running the police department. In his letter of resignation, Ward told the council he had initiated through the city attorney’s office an investigation into the citizens’ complaint regarding the off-the-books projects and overspending in the public works division. Pointedly, Ward told the council, “there are directors, managers and council members that do not belong in our organization. I am not used to the childish, selfish, lie to my face drama and games I’ve witnessed… and it never stops!”
Another signal that there was something amiss came when Best, Best & Krieger assigned Marco Martinez, who is city attorney Christine Talley’s supervisor at the firm, to deal with Colton.
Suchil, a law enforcement officer who is employed by the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, appears to have been seriously impacted by Ward’s letter of resignation. Whether his friendship with Jakher and the pressure from Zamora, Gonzales and Oliva to join with them in jettisoning Compton will influence his decision is yet up in the air. As a former law enforcement professional, he is sensitive to the consideration that Compton has his side of the story and some of it, at least, is backed with the information gleaned from the audit and investigation he carried out before he was suspended. The surfacing of that information in the future might entail complication for anyone who is seen as having taken action against the messenger, i.e., Compton, who was attempting to bring that information before the public.
At the same time, Suchil recognizes that returning Compton to his position overseeing operations at City Hall could leave Jakher remaining in place as public works director untenable.
Suchil did not respond to an email from the Sentinel seeking his input or to several phone messages left with his cell phone’s answering service. A spokeswoman for Suchil said, “You can leave a message but do not expect a call back.”

(August 14)  The city of Upland is refusing to release the results of a survey commissioned by the city council earlier this year testing city residents’ attitude toward a citywide tax measure.
The city council in April voted 4-1 with councilman Glenn Bozar in opposition to hire the Lew Edwards Group at a cost of $27,000 to conduct a poll of a cross section of city residents to determine their attitude toward the imposition of a half cent sales tax.
Lew Edwards Group then utilized a subcontractor, FM3 Research, to conduct telephone polling of 500 residents from June 21 to 28. The questioning explored attitudes toward the tax measure, and included questions relating to both a one half cent and one cent sales tax, while probing the change in attitude of those  surveyed when prompted with information or statements regarding the city’s economic condition and the need for or lack of certain city services.
Upon inspecting the survey’s results, interim city manager Martin Lomeli advised the city council against placing a tax proposal measure on the November ballot.
On July 29, the Sentinel made a public records request with Upland City Clerk Stephanie Mendenhall to obtain the results of that survey.
On August 12, city attorney Kimberly Hall Barlow responded to that request by asserting, “The city is not in possession of any final report regarding the survey.  The only documents which the city has in its possession are exempt from disclosure under the Public Records Act.  All documents in the city’s possession are exempt under one or more of the following bases:  Government Code section 6254(a) (Preliminary drafts, notes, or interagency or intra-agency memoranda that are not retained by the public agency in the ordinary course of business, if the public interest in withholding those records clearly outweighs the public interest in disclosure; Government Code section 6254(k) (records, the disclosure of which is exempted or prohibited pursuant to federal or state law, including, but not limited to, provisions of the Evidence Code relating to privilege).  In this case, the documents are protected by the privilege for official information that is acquired in confidence by a public employee in the course of his or her duty and not open, or officially disclosed, to the public prior to the time the claim of privilege is made, the attorney-client privilege and the deliberative process privilege.”
While Barlow did not provide the survey results, she did say, “Thank you for your inquiry.”
Peter Scheer, the executive director of the San Rafael-based First Amendment Coalition told the Sentinel that “I don’t believe any of those exemptions apply. What is really going on here is the survey they conducted apparently did not show there was adequate support for a tax initiative and that does not reflect favorably on the city so they would like to keep it bottled up. The California Public Records Act exemption for drafts doesn’t apply because they can provide you with records along with the actual survey results. That information might be in the process of being compiled into a report the final draft of which has not been written but the underlying information should be available.”
Sheer continued, “Secondly,  I don’t see how the attorney client privilege can apply, since the polling data was being used to make a policy and political decision and was not to provide legal advice. Finally the deliberative process exception is just not logical in this case. The public’s interest in knowing why the city council paid $27,000 for political polling outweighs the city’s interest in keeping that information confidential.”