By Jon Coupal
Over the years, my California Commentary column has exposed the myriad ways that the California Legislature enacts laws, not for the public benefit, but to cement progressive political power with one-party rule. A lawsuit filed last week in the Sacramento Superior Court illuminates yet another example.
A coalition of business groups is challenging Senate Bill 1439 (Glazer), signed into law last year. The legislation, which took effect on January 1, requires city and county elected officials to recuse themselves from certain decisions that would financially benefit any entity or person that donated over $250 to that official’s campaign in the past year.
Specifically, SB 1439 amends the Political Reform Act of 1974, which prohibits an officer of an agency from accepting, soliciting, or directing a contribution of more than $250 from any party while a proceeding involving a license, permit, or other entitlement for use is pending before the agency. The new law is targeted mostly toward developers and other real estate interests which, rightly or wrongly, are perceived to make use of “pay to play” tactics, especially at the local level.
But prior to the enactment of SB 1439, the term “agency” was defined to exclude those entities whose members are directly elected by the voters. The thinking is that members of local legislative bodies, particularly city councils and county boards of supervisors, are directly accountable to voters, and citizens can either recall or reject for reelection politicians perceived to be unduly influenced by special interests.
SB 1439 removed the exception for local government agencies, thereby subjecting elected officials to the same prohibition as other officials. But despite what may have been good intentions, SB 1439 is flawed and may end up being invalidated. Continue reading →

Rumors were spreading throughout Ontario this week that Ontario Mayor Paul Leon had a heart attack and was on death’s doorstep while under specialized treatment at a hospital in Hawaii.
In various versions of this narrative, in short order he was to be relieved of his position as mayor by Councilman Alan Wapner or such a transition of authority had already occurred.
The truth, Leon says, was no less dramatic or arresting, but without the dire results that were in the story making the rounds.
Indeed, Leon related, he had earlier this month experienced a cardiac incident, which was the culmination of years of arterial blockage he has been living with and continuing to function through. He was not, as was widely rumored or speculated about, transported to a cutting-edge cardiac facility on the Island of Hawaii in the aftermath of a near deadly infarction, but was actually vacationing on the Big Island when he had an episode he could not ignore. Continue reading →

In an announcement that rankled environmentalists and heartened developmental interests and the politicians they bankroll, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Wednesday revealed that it will not list Joshua trees under the federal Endangered Species Act.
The declaration that the two types of plants commonly known as Joshua trees – one with the scientific name of yucca brevifolia, referred to in common parlance as the western Joshua tree, and the other known by botanists as the Yucca jaegeriana, called the eastern Joshua tree – is the second setback at the federal level in the last four years for those seeking to insulate the distinctive plants from encroaching development and climate change.
Environmentalists in 2015 asked the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which is a division of the U.S. Department of the Interior, to study the status of the trees, their fragility and prospect for survival, seeking a determination that the Joshua Tree is threatened and therefore in need of certain protections. That examination, which began during the Barack Obama Administration, extended itself into the Donald Trump Administration. Slightly more than halfway into President Trump’s tenure in office, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service found the listing “not warranted.”
In response, the environmental group WildEarth Guardians contested that determination and filed suit in November 2019 in the Central District of California, challenging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s decision, arguing that the agency failed to consider multiple climate models and improperly discounted the best available science with regard to Joshua tree reproduction and dispersal. Continue reading →

More than a week after the concerns of many Grand Terrace residents that a drug rehabilitation center or what was termed a halfway house is going to locate in their low-key community appeared to have been allayed, there persists a suggestion the sale of what was an assisted living facility for senior citizens will result in that complex transitioning into a far more intensive use.
At present, Vista Blue Mountain offers various onsite services and amenities for residents, including weekly housekeeping, laundry service, outdoor seating, shuttle service, activities and medical and personal services.
The Sentinel’s inquiries with individuals familiar with the current and projected future nature of the Vista Blue Mountain Assisted Living & Memory Care facility was met with a ghostly silence this week, a week after anxious Grand Terrace residents queried city officials about reports that the 88-unit live-in and specialized care residence for senior citizens located within a two-story, 49,025-square foot building at 22325 Barton Road was to be converted to a drug treatment center for young adults or teens. Continue reading →

Notice is hereby given pursuant to
Sections 3071 of the Civil Code of the
State of California the undersigned will
sell the following vehicle(s) at lien sale at
said address below on: 03/24/2023 09:00 AM
Year of Car / Make of Car / Vehicle ID No. / License No. (State)
16 VOLK 5YFS4MCE7MP069856 8UNF424  CA
To be sold by EXCELLENCE AUTO BODY 1135 W STATE ST  ONTARIO  CA      91762
Said sale is for the purpose of satisfying
lien for together with costs of advertising
and expenses of sale.
Published in the San Bernardino County Sentinel on March 10, 2023.

FBN 20230001541
The following entity is doing business primarily in San Bernardino County as TRULY CHEAP PRINTING [and] HUGE RESPONSE MARKETING 9373 COCA ST RANCHO CUCAMONGA 91737: ROBERT M LELLE 9373 COCA ST RANCHO CUCAMONGA 91737
The business is conducted by: AN INDIVIDUAL.
The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on: FEBRUARY 15, 2023.
By signing, I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. A registrant who declares as true information which he or she knows to be false is guilty of a crime (B&P Code 179130. I am also aware that all information on this statement becomes Public Record upon filing.
s/ ROBERT M LELLE, CEO
Statement filed with the County Clerk of San Bernardino on: 2/16/2022
I hereby certify that this copy is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office San Bernardino County Clerk By:/Deputy I9576
Notice-This fictitious name statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the office of the county clerk. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before that time. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state, or common law (see Section 14400 et seq., Business and Professions Code).
Published in the San Bernardino County Sentinel on February 17, 24 and March 3 & 10, 2023.

FBN 20230001574
The following entity is doing business primarily in San Bernardino County as ABC’S IMPORT AIR 15244 MERRILL FONTANA, CA 92335 CLAUDIA SORIA 15244 MERRILL FONTANA, CA 92335
The business is conducted by: AN INDIVIDUAL.
The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on: N/A.
By signing, I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. A registrant who declares as true information which he or she knows to be false is guilty of a crime (B&P Code 179130. I am also aware that all information on this statement becomes Public Record upon filing.
s/ CLAUDIA SORIA
Statement filed with the County Clerk of San Bernardino on: 2/17/2022
I hereby certify that this copy is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office San Bernardino County Clerk By:/Deputy I9576
Notice-This fictitious name statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the office of the county clerk. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before that time. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state, or common law (see Section 14400 et seq., Business and Professions Code).
Published in the San Bernardino County Sentinel on February 17, 24 and March 3 & 10, 2023.

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