(April 16)   The action of several employees at the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga and Adelanto Detention Facility in the High Desert is the focus of an investigation by the FBI.
The detention center has been for two decades and is currently the largest jail in terms of inmate population maintained by the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department. The just completed Adelanto Detention Facility, wings of which were recently put into operation, will eventually house a comparable number of inmates as West Valley.
Based upon statements by the sheriff’s department and FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller, the FBI has interested itself in longstanding accusations of civil rights violations of prisoners at the center.
So far, the Sentinel has learned, the actions of 16 sheriff’s department employees or former employees are under scrutiny. Three have been terminated. One resigned under threat of termination.
The FBI initially undertook its investigation after receiving what was characterized as “highly credible” information that in March three deputies had participated in an incident in which inmates were handcuffed or shackled to a fence and then shocked with taser stun guns or otherwise physically assaulted.
At least one of those involved in the beating, the Sentinel is told, was a recent graduate of the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Academy.
Three deputies working at the facility in the middle of their work shift two weeks ago were, in the words of one source, “walked off” the detention center grounds in handcuffs by federal agents and then subjected to an interrogation.
At least two of those deputies have recounted past incidents of treatment of inmates similar to the early March handcuffed stunnings that piqued the FBI’s interest, implicating several of their colleagues. In addition, accusations have surfaced that guards used a chemical mace on inmates in their cells at the Adelanto Detention Facility.
The sheriff’s department did not go beyond acknowledging that an investigation was under way with regard to a single incident in March of this year and that three deputies had been terminated. It made no mention of the fourth deputy who had resigned. While a spokesman for the sheriff’s department implied the department was itself conducting the investigation, Eimiller said the sheriff’s department was acting in the capacity of a cooperating agency.
There have been consistent recurrent reports relating to escalating violence, including inmate-on inmate, inmate-on-deputy and deputy abuse of prisoners at West Valley since late 2012. The sheriff’s office does not catalog a report on discipline or use of force against inmates but does collate statistics on inmate-on-inmate and inmate-on-deputy incidents. According to the department, in the 18 months after Assembly Bill 109 and Assembly Bill 117 went into effect in October 2011, assaults by inmates against inmates rose 50 percent and assaults by inmates on jail staff doubled. Assembly Bill 109 and Assembly Bill 117, which constitute the legislative basis for California’s so-called prison realignment, mandated the release of prisoners from the state’s 33 prisons so that by June 27, 2013 those facilities were at no more than 137.5 percent of their design capacity. The realignment was intended to bring the state into compliance with an order by the U.S. Supreme Court.
In reducing the state’s prison population, officials in many cases sent prisoners into county facilities. That has resulted, law enforcement officials say, in increasing the number of violent and hardened criminals into the local jail population.

(April 15)  Steeped as Michelle Ambrozic is professionally in the health care industry, it is not surprising that she considers  health care as a major issue facing both the 33rd Assembly District and the entire state of California in her campaign for the Assembly.
“I am a health insurance broker dealing with health care on a daily basis, so I am seeing a lot of people suffer from the consequences of Obamacare [i.e., the Federal Affordable Care Act],” Ambrozic said. “I want to tackle the issue of access to health care within the district. We have hospitals going bankrupt. Seven out of ten people are unable to pay for health care insurance or are now losing the health care insurance they had before Obamacare was put into place.”
Ambrozic continued, “Specifically I see two areas with regard to the health care issue, accessibility and cost. With regard to accessibility, for many people it is becoming very difficult to see a doctor or a specialist. You can have a several hour-long wait in line. That issue is directly related to the second issue. There is a reason doctors don’t come here and there is a reason doctor’s are leaving. The inability to see a doctor is the second part of that cycle.  Employers are laying people off and those people are losing their health insurance, for themselves and their families. There are not enough people with wealth or private health insurance, particularly in Southern California, where taxes and regulation are so high. Doctors do not want to set up businesses in California’s rural areas. Medicare and Medi-Cal do not offer enough in the way of payments to make up the difference.”
Ambrozic said she had a formula that would go a long way toward fixing the problem.
“I consider the 33rd District to be a rural area,” she said. “I believe what we need to do is create in California’s rural areas something similar to California’s enterprise zones, areas that will entice doctors to operate here. We need to alleviate the tax and regulatory burdens imposed on doctors and health care providers in the form of tax relief in every rural portion of the state,” she said. “One example is the exacting seismic construction regulations put in place on medical centers and doctor’s offices and hospitals. In rural areas this is a particularly heavy burden. One cannot afford such construction requirements with this economy and this has discouraged doctors from coming into those areas and hospitals from being constructed. I would propose a moratorium on this level of regulation to give hospitals the time and opportunity to operate in these areas. The other major problem involving an intolerable burden placed upon the medical community by government is that under our government-run medical programs doctors and hospitals have to wait up to 18 months to get reimbursed for the care and services they have delivered. This is on top of the regulatory burden and the cuts in rates insurance companies are paying for those services, the escalating rates doctors must pay for their liability insurance. Doctors are increasingly reluctant to accept new Medicare patients at the same time that thousands and thousands of low income Medicare patients are coming along. They are not willing to accept new Medicare and Medi-Cal patents because they are not being paid adequately. It is not financially feasible for them to accept these new patients. We need to get money to expand Medicare and Medi-Cal. We need to make sure our state medical reimbursement rates are what they should be. We need to set up a program so that if after graduating from medical school and being licensed, primary care physicians can commit to a rural area for up to six years and have their medical school debt forgiven. If they stay that long they will build a relationship with their patents. This will give them longevity. This is already being done in several other states. Some states implement this through state funding for education. We could do that in California. My preference would be that we have that money appropriated from the California Dream Act, which is utilizing taxpayer money to further the education of illegal aliens and people who are not citizens of our state. I would rather see that funding go toward the education of Californians and California doctors.  I think that money should be redirected to covering the medical school debt of doctors willing to operate in what are considered by those working in the medical profession to be the least desirable areas of our state.  The biggest issue with this district and the entire area of San Bernardino County is that we have one of highest primary care deficits in the nation. We need to invite doctors to come here and get established in the rural parts of this district. What I would propose legislatively is that the program apply to rural areas of the state. There are other rural areas of the state facing the same issue. Their representatives in Sacramento and on their respective county boards would be very supportive of a program such as this. With Medi-Cal cuts, doctors are no longer taking Medi-Cal patients. What happens when you can’t find a doctor? You go to the hospital emergency room. So now hospitals have severe overcrowding issues. I heard recently that one patent who had gone to St. Mary’s Hospital in Apple Valley for a legitimate emergency had a wait time of 20 hours. Hospitals like St. Mary’s are providing more treatment but most of those treated do not pay their bills. We have fewer and fewer doctors participating. We need a program to bring them here and keep them here. They can’t stay in business with California’s regulatory and tax structure. To keep them from leaving we need to relieve them of taxes. That doesn’t mean the state will lose something because that is already income we are not going to have. We need to relieve the overhead costs for them and give them the opportunity to stay in business.”
Abrozic said she believes she merits the votes of those living in the 33rd District. “Looking at my opponents, I would call myself the most conservative person in this race,” she said. “I have the most experience in helping people. I work with business owners every day and I see why it is so hard to keep their employees employed and provided with health insurance. In addition to my health insurance brokerage, I work with my husband in running a construction company. I know a lot of business owners are facing the same difficulties we are. That is what sets me aside from the other candidates. I know one of the others owns a construction company. Another has a video game business. I commend them for owning and running a business but I do not believe their experience gives them a higher level of experience to work legislatively. I help people every day who are in business and trying to function under this burden of taxation and overregulation. Since we are so outnumbered in Sacramento, even if I am not successful in getting the Democrats to latch onto what I am proposing legislatively, I can be effective at the level of the district office by assisting residents with resources to get information and get someone to help them with access to health care and other services. I believe I will be more resourceful than the other candidates. I am a conservative who believes in having women in government, lowering taxes and getting things started at the local lever rather than the federal or even state level. If the people of the district vote for me they will have someone who puts the needs of this district first. I will  help them have their voices heard. I will stand for them and fight for them in Sacramento.”
Born in Miami, Florida, Ambrozic has lived in California since she was a toddler. She graduated from Beverly Hills High School and graduated from the University of Arizona with a degree in communications. She is married with three children.

(April 16)  Dr. Prem Reddy and the medical foundation he created and runs will put up $40 million to create a medical school in Colton.
Reddy, who is providing the lion’s share of the financial backing for the undertaking, is one of the four members of the just created board of the California University of Science and Medicine, to be known as CalMed. The other three board members are Dr. Dev GnanaDev, the chief of surgery and former medical director at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton;  Albert Karnig, former president of Cal State San Bernardino; and Dustin Corcoran, chief executive officer of the California Medical Association.
The board is hopeful that CalMed could achieve accreditation from the American Medical Association to enroll its first 50 students and begin classes as early as 2016. The institution would be affiliated with San Bernardino County’s public hospital, the Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton. The CalMed campus would be located less than a half mile from the county hospital.
Cal Med has opened a dialog with the successor agency to the city of Colton’s former redevelopment agency, which owns 21.5 acres at the corner of West Valley Boulevard and North Meridian Avenue. If the purchase can be arranged and the medical school established, medical students would be able to do many of their clinical rotations at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center.
“This is an exciting and much-needed opportunity for medical students in the Inland Empire and California,” GnanaDev said. “Because of many factors, including the extremely limited medical school spots in our state and severe shortage of doctors, we believe this project will have a significant positive impact on the economy, education and health for many decades.”

(April 17) TWENTYNINE PALMS—The Sacramento Superior Court has granted the city of Twentynine Palms a writ of mandate in its ongoing battle with the California Department of Finance in its effort to recover bond proceeds the state insisted the city must surrender to it as a consequence of the 2011 shuttering of the Twentynine Palms Redevelopment Agency.
Those bonds were issued in conjunction with the city’s effort to rejuvenate downtown Twentynine Palms as part of Project Phoenix, which was to include a community center, a 250-seat theater, classrooms, a civic plaza, a park, a paseo, residential units, a wastewater treatment plant, and improvements to the downtown fire station. The last of the bonds were issued three months before Assembly Bills X1 26 and X1 27 passed and went into effect.
Passed by the state legislature three years ago at the behest of Governor Jerry Brown, Assembly Bills XI 26 and XI 27 closed out all municipal and county redevelopment efforts statewide. A coalition of cities fought the law, but the state Supreme Court upheld the measure. While 317 of the state’s 482 incorporated cities went along with the new law without question and shut down their redevelopment agencies, 165 cities have resisted the state on the issue. That resistance ranged  from registering relatively mild protests to filing lawsuits against the state and its Department of Finance, which is the entity designated under the law to make a determination with regard to how the money that was in the possession of the former redevelopment agencies is to be disbursed.
Twentynine Palms, led by its city attorney A. Patrick Muñoz of the law firm Ruttan & Tucker, has been the most aggressive of San Bernardino County’s 24 cities in disputing the state’s action in confiscating redevelopment money and then redistributing it to other local taxing agencies or using it for education or public safety purposes.
At stake in the matter for Twentynine Palms, a city of 25,048 in San Bernardino County’s Mojave Desert outback, are two tax allocation bonds issued for a total of $8.5 million. Those bonds were intended to defray the cost of Project Phoenix.
Based on an analysis by Muñoz, the Twentynine Palms City Council publicly asserted that that AB X1 26 and AB X1 27 are trumped by federal securities regulations, meaning the money the Twentynine Palms Redevelopment Agency bonded for in 2011 must be utilized only for the purpose that bondholders were told the money would be applied toward.
The city followed Muñoz’s recommendation to have the successor agency to the redevelopment agency lay claim to the redevelopment money and declare its intent to proceed with Project Phoenix.  AB X1 26 and AB X1 27 provided for the creation of locally based oversight boards to direct the discharging of remaining redevelopment money.  In  May 2012, Muñoz drafted a contract between the successor agency and the city by which the  successor agency turned over the bond spending authority to the city with a directive that it go toward Project Phoenix. On a 4-1 vote on May 22, 2012 the city council voted unanimously to transfer the seven-member oversight board’s duties and obligations to administer the bond proceeds to “the city in its capacity as a municipal corporation.”
To reinforce that action, on February 26, 2013, the city council authorized Muñoz to file litigation against the Department of Finance so the city could move forward with the expenditure of the bond proceeds. Muñoz did so in April 2013. The city in that litigation took the position that the bond documents are contracts that created specific obligations between the city, as the issuer, and the bond purchasers, and as such are enforceable obligations such that the state cannot interfere with them. Moreover, according to Muñoz, the city would be violating IRS and SEC regulations as well as putting the tax exempt status of the bonds in jeopardy if it does not spend the money for the purpose for which the bonds were issued.
AB X1 26 and AB X1 27 contained a provision requiring any municipalities that contested the law to do so in Sacramento Superior Court.  The California Department of Finance is being represented by the California Attorney General’s Office’s civil division in the case. On December 23, the California Attorney General’s Office laid out an answer to Twentynine Palms’ legal action preparatory to an upcoming January 24 hearing on the matter.
According to deputy attorney general Michael Witmer, $12 million of the tax allocation bonds issued by the city – offered to bondholders in March 2011 – while earmarked for Project Phoenix, contained no concomitant contracts to build anything or a defined plan of how the bond proceeds were to be expended.
Witmer maintains the assertion by Muñoz and a consultant working for the city in the capacity of community development director, Matt McCleary, that Project Phoenix disbursements could be placed on the phased out redevelopment agency’s recognized obligations payment schedules runs contrary to instructions from the California Department of Finance that the project was not to be listed on the payment schedule.
The writ and documents filed in conjunction with it contest that assertion.

(April 14)     San  Bernardino Community College Board Member Katy Henry said she is seeking election in the 40th Assembly District to spur economic growth in her district and throughout the state by facilitating “the sustainable growth of small businesses” and to improve the quality of childhood education and ensure high school graduates have access to affordable quality instruction at public universities and college.
“We have been able to do a lot of things at the community college level,” she said. “There is so much more that needs to take place with education. We also have needs with infrastructure and water availability throughout the state. There are a number of areas beyond the scope of the board for the community college where I can serve.”
Henry, a Democrat, decried the tenor of partisan politics.
“There is a need for a more balanced approach because there is too much divisiveness,” she said. “In our political and governmental discussions it is either one way or the other. There is not much of an in-between stage. If we continue with these rigid position we are not going anywhere. We are not moving forward. I believe in a more collaborative approach. I have taught in an on-line environment where personality is taken out of the equation. It is all about give and take and understanding and helping others. In that environment individuals look at things in a different perspective. We need that approach in the political arena. In the middle of a political debate, people are looking at things in a certain way and the others don’t understand why they see it that way.  We have to open each other’s minds. We have to broaden people’s horizons. Everything cannot be a flashpoint. Everything in our current political dialogue is about inciting people’s anger. We have to bring people to a different way of thinking. Our effort has to be about being collaborative and building coalitions.”
Henry continued, “I think one of the issues that faces us on a statewide level but also exists in the 40th is education.  Education flows into different things – economic growth, diversity of business, creating jobs. Our work is not just about creating jobs. We need a diversity of business. We have to create a diversity of work opportunities for individuals who are getting educated.  We do not now necessarily educate our students into programs that offer them assurance of employment. There are only a certain number of jobs out there and only a certain number of types of jobs. We have jobs that are technology related. We have jobs that are not particularly technology-dependent. We have jobs in the hospitality field. There is land here that is under-utilized. We could interest corporations and employers to locate here if we had the infrastructure in place to support their business operations. Infrastructure could create opportunities for our educated students. We can’t afford to educate students here and then have them go elsewhere to go to work.  They are taking on student debt and investing money in their future and for them to complete their educations and then not be able to get a job in their field here is a tremendous mismanagement of our assets and resources and priorities. There are currently only a limited number of local jobs in the fields that many of our students are training in. We need to expand that job market locally. There is an education gap in who can afford an education and unfortunately that spread exists along racial and ethnic lines.”
Henry said there are already programs and institutions in place that should be expanded or changed to meet the demands of the community.
“We have some really good programs in the inland empire, transitional programs between high school and community colleges and even universities,” she said. “Too many students in high school do not know what it takes to go to college. That gap is increasing. We have to improve those pathways. Economic growth is often about infrastructure: roads, public safety, sewer treatment systems. San Bernardino has an aging sewer system. If we impose taxes, we are imposing taxes upon the already taxed, but if that tax creates something that allows companies to set up here or flourish and make a profit off that, people will realize the benefits and accept the tax, even if they don’t see too much of a return on it right away. It just takes time.”
With regard to the statewide issue of water usage, she said, “We can’t pit farmers against the fishing industry. If too much water is taken from the delta, the water gets warm  and the water goes down and the smelt can’t live in that environment. There are no pat answers. That issue is  too complex for pat answers. We need to have good water management practices. We have to create a way in which to turn gray water into potable water.   The north and south don’t need to refight the Civil War in California. We need to figure out a new way of things between northern and southern California. We need serious conservation. Whole neighborhoods should convert to drought-resistant landscaping. When I was in Northern California, I went through water rationing in the 70s. Water rationing is what you do when you have gone beyond the possibility of conservation. It comes when you get into the shower when the water is still cold.”
Henry said she was not interested in criticizing the others in the race.
“I run my own campaign,” she said. “I do not know the platforms of other candidates.”
She called for an evaluation of the interests of the district, issue by issue, rather than by party affiliation.
“In my district, the voter identification and party affiliation ratio is 37 to 42 in favor of the Democrats. Only one side will win. Either 37 percent are not going to have a voice or 42 percent won’t have a voice. I think no matter who wins, we need to go out into the community to meet people and survey and take the pulse of the community, using field reps to see how people feel about what is going on up in Sacramento. We need to be collaborative across party lines.”
A native Northern Californian, Henry graduated from Santa Rosa High School and obtained her AA degree from the Travis Air Force Base campus of Southern Illinois University in workforce education and development. She has a master’s degree in organization development and PhD in human and organizational techniques from the Fielding Institute. She has been working as an on-line instructor since 2001 and owns a consultancy that specializes in corporation interventional strategy. She is unmarried.

(April 14) Ryan Downing, who was the last candidate to emerge in the race to succeed Gary Miller as Congressman in the 31st District, is widely seen as the spoiler in the race.
Two years ago, Miller, a Republican whose former 41st  Congressional District in southwestern San Bernardino County, Northeastern Orange County and Southeastern Los Angeles County was redistricted into other districts occupied by fellow Republicans, chose to run in the 31st District, which lies within San Bernardino County and featured a 41 to 33 percent registration advantage favoring the Democratic Party. Despite that, Miller benefited from the open primaries California reinstated that year. Miller found himself competing against one other Republican, Bob Dutton, while the Democrats fielded four candidates – Pet Aguilar, Justin Kim, Rita Ramirez Dean and Renea Wickman. Simple mathematics redounded to his favor as he and Dutton divided the Republican vote two ways, while the slightly larger Democratic vote was divided four ways. Miller and Dutton proved the two top vote-getters in the June primary race and then Miller defeated his fellow Republican in November 2012.
This year, Miller opted not to run again. That brought two Republicans into the race – Lesli Gooch, who was a member of Miller’s staff, and Paul Chabot, who had previously lost out in a narrow race for state assembly in 2010. Republicans were heartened to learn that the Democrats appeared fated to a replay of the series of events that sent a Republican to Washington, D.C. to represent the Democratic-leaning 31st District two years ago. Again, four Democrats – Pete Aguilar, Joe Baca, Eloise Gomez Reyes and Danny Tillman – qualified their candidacies this year. Déjà vu seemed possible, with Gooch and Chabot potentially being able to outpoll their Democratic rivals in June to force a run-off between two members of the GOP in November.
That hopeful scenario for the Republicans was dealt a setback, however, when Downing, a Republican who lives outside the district, jumped into the race at the last minute.
Downing lives in Whittier, well outside the 31st District, which stretches eastward across San Bernardino County through a large portion of Fontana, Rialto, Colton, San Bernardino and Redlands. Members of Congress, however, need not live in the district they represent but must merely be a resident of the state in which the district is located.
Downing rejected suggestions that he is looking to be a spoiler in the race or was somehow serving as a stalking horse on the part of the Democrats to cripple Chabot and Gooch and harm their elective chances.
Rather, he said, he was earnestly seeking the office out of a sincere desire to reassert basic American principles.
“I want to try to do something by working with my constituents to help reestablish and restore the value of the Constitution,” he said. “We have had our First and Second Amendment rights trampled on. We are losing our right to free speech. Honest citizens are no longer able to carry weapons to protect themselves from criminals. The government is telling people they have to buy health care. Those are all contrary to our constitutional rights.”
As he moved down the list of issues he believes are most germane to the interests of the district voters and residents, Downing sounded like a bona fide Republican. “Changing and improving education, reducing taxation,  and jobcreation is what I stand for,” he said. “The 31st District is stagnating economically. There are no jobs here. To survive, everyone needs to bring in income. People can’t live on a $500 monthly county handout. We need to work to make ourselves competitive. We need to create free market conditions. We need perfect competition, fair competition.”
Downing said his solution to the 31st District’s malaise is “First and foremost we need a representative to go to companies and tell them we will do whatever it takes to have you put your factories in San Bernardino County and locate your warehouses here. Then we should give them incentives in the form of tax breaks to make good on those pledges.”
Schools are in need of drastic reform, Downing said.  “We need to tear down the education system and rebuild a system designed to actually teach. The community needs to hold its teachers accountable. Our students are near the bottom percentile in worldwide testing. We should have standards and goals that are strictly enforced. The people who are educating and rearing our next generation should be getting psychological evaluations.”
While he said universal medical care availability is a laudable goal, he said the Affordable Care Act was a misnomer and that there were better methods for achieving the goal of making health care available to everyone.
“Something needs to be done about Obamacare,” he said. “It does not stick to the Constitution and it is too expensive. My wife makes about $3,000 per month at her job. Parking is $400 per month. With rent and health care and taxes, her entire paycheck is gone. We need more doctors. We need to educate more doctors.  In Germany, if you want to be a doctor, they send you to school to become a doctor.”
He likened being a Congressman to two things: “Being a congressman is serving as a simple public servant. Being a congressman is like being a circus performer juggling many different hats. I believe I deserve to be elected because I am like the people in the 31st District. I am a common man. I believe the job of a congressman is to be a simple civil servant. You can call me on my personal cell phone. I will be every bit as approachable as the watch commander at the police department or the fire marshal. I will put my constituents first. I look forward to people hearing what I have to say and then giving me their yea or nay. I will be a person who does what the Constitution says. Congress should not be out of touch with the citizens. I will be in the field meeting people. People will be able to come to me and I will come to them. You will be able to catch me out in front of WalMart meeting people. I may not agree with everyone and I know others will have differences with me. But I will find a meeting point where we can agree to find some common ground. I can speak in human language. I can speak for the common man. I can speak for the common human good. That is what distinguishes me from the other candidates. I offer hope. Not Obama hope, real hope.”
Downing bristled at the suggestions of some of his opponents that he was a carpetbagger, who lived outside of the district and was illegitimately seeking to become the leader of a constituency which he was not truly a part of.
“I am from Whittier,” he said. “So what does that mean? Are they saying I should be considered a carpetbagger? That is not what I am. I do happen to live in Whittier. I have a business that takes me all over the area, particularly into San Bernardino County. I am familiar with Whittier and the people and business owners there are very familiar with me. Whittier is a strong community. The community dictates to the politicians there. The politicians do not dictate to the citizens. I chose to run in San Bernardino County because I believe I can bring to it what exists in Whittier. I could have run in Whittier where more people know me and where I might even have had a better chance. I think my talents and what I have to offer will do more good in San Bernardino County. I did live in Fontana. I went to Fontana High School. I worked at the discount market in Rialto. When I was there San Bernardino was still an All American City. My aunt still lives there. I was away for a while and when I came back, I could not believe what happened to the place.  I don’t know how government could let that happen. San Bernardino has a lot of issues but it is not entirely crippled from being something good again. Redlands and Rancho Cucamonga still offer strong communities and business districts. People who know me know that I chose to jump into a race to run against six seasoned people because I really believe people have a choice to make, to vote for a candidate that will do the most he can to carry them up the mountain while he is getting his back whipped. If I lose, I will respect what the constituents say.”
Downing said he wanted the voters in the 31st District to know that he believes that “Congress should stick to the law of the land, which is the Constitution. We have the right to land, liberty and freedom. We left Britain because the British King George was taxing us as colonists unfairly and we had become a slave to the monarchy. We are pretty much repeating that all over in America today.”
Downing, who at the age of 25 is the minimum age required to be a member of the House of Representatives, said the voters in the 31st District should avail themselves of “the opportunity to elect the youngest bi-racial candidate for Congress in U.S. History. I will work tirelessly to represent the district and return it to All-American standing. I call upon the district’s residents to really research who they are voting for.”
Born in Monterey Park, Downing attended Cal State Northridge, where he studied cinema, television arts and philosophy. He owns political consulting and signature gathering business. Married, he has two children.

(April 16)  Former Apple Valley mayor Rick Roelle said he seriously considered running for state Assembly in 2008 but postponed that effort until now for both political and personal reasons.
“I was going to run six years ago, but I wasn’t ready to retire, so I held off,” he said. “Two years ago I ran for the open seat for county supervisor. I came up 1,200 short out of 100,000 votes cast. I’m ready to retire now and there is an open seat in the Assembly with Tim Donnelly running for governor. Public service is my passion and that is why I am running.”
The retirement he alluded to will be from the sheriff’s department, where Roelle is now a lieutenant.
He said the issues facing the 33rd District are essentially indistinguishable from the major issues at the state level.
“I see our state dealing with the same issues that are big in this district – taxation, overregulation and public safety,” he said. “The reason we have overtaxation is because the voters keep voting tax hikes on themselves. Sixty percent of the people in surveys say they believe we are overtaxed but the voters still keep voting for tax increases. The solution is if they are going to keep shoving tax increases down our throats, we have to have more people on the payroll, with decent paying jobs paying into it. If there is going to be tax creation there first has to be job creation. Basically, what we need is more people going to work in the state. We’re getting to the point where we have fifty percent of our population supporting the other fifty percent with all of these entitlements.”
Roelle said, “California leads the nation and the world in overregulation. With all of the regulation on business – workers compensation insurance, environmental issues, inspections and standards, getting a business off the ground and continuing is a tough accomplishment. That regulation exists at the city level all the way up through the counties, the state and the federal government. An example I can give you is my father makes environmental containment systems for gas stations. In California those tanks have to be double-walled. The cost of that to an owner of a gas station is thousands and thousands more than for a gas station owner anywhere else. California is the only state with that requirement.”
With respect to public safety, Roelle said keeping criminals behind bars would be one of his aims as a legislator.
He referenced Assembly Bill 109, which was signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown in 2011. Along with another piece of legislation, Assembly Bill 117, the law was intended to “close the revolving door of low-level inmates cycling in and out of state prisons” and comply with a U.S. Supreme Court-confirmed mandate that the number of inmates in the state’s 33 prisons be reduced to 137.5 percent of design capacity by June 27, 2013.
“AB 109 released thousands of inmates from California’s prison system into our communities,” Roelle said. “This is just coming to the forefront. It has happened because we do not have enough bed space. We have to continue to house people who commit serious crimes. The only way to do that is to expand the prison system. We need more jail space and prison space if we are going to get a handle on crime.”
As to what distinguishes him from the other nine candidates in the race, Roelle said, “obviously my 32 years in law enforcement, the last ten in a management position. Look at my background. I had eight years as an elected official on the Apple Valley Town Council, two of which were as mayor. I am a taxpayer in California. I understand what people are going through. My experience in government and law enforcement makes me a credible person who can go to Sacramento and do the job. I have no special interest distractions. I am not a big land owner other than the house I live in. I am not looking at the betterment of my career. I am close to retiring from the sheriff’s office. I have more than thirty years experience in public service. I believe I can count on wide-based support. I am chomping at the bit to get involved with the Republican Party in California. I represent a lot more than just taking a stand against illegal immigration and gun rights. Those are important issues but I have met people from way different backgrounds and their problems go beyond that. I think I can assist my constituents by assuring that they are not gouged by the cuts government has to make.”
Born in Covina, he has lived in Apple Valley since he was a teenager. He graduated from Apple Valley High School and studied administration of justice at East LA College and Victor Valley College. Divorced, he has two children and one grandchild.

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Sentinel 04-11-14

(April 10)  Irregularities in the administration and operation of and accounting  for the Colton Joint Unified School District’s student  lunch program involved the apparent distribution of kickbacks, non-competitive bidding for products and the diversion of program income to other district accounts, according to a filed complaint, many of the specifics of which were confirmed by an audit and report carried out by the California Department of Education.
A confidential complaint to the Department of Education was filed in October 2012, triggering a state examination and audit of the district.
That complaint alleged that district officials had been provided with gifts from food service vendors. The state audit confirmed that district employees had indeed come in for largesse put up by more than one of the companies providing supplies to the district’s cafeterias.
Moreover, the audit uncovered multiple instances of proceeds from the school lunch program being utilized to fund other elements of the district’s operations.
Six months after the complaint came in, the state’s investigation was in full swing. Auditors and investigators learned:
*    Partially because of a lack of competitive bidding and oversight, the district paid up to 43 percent more for produce than the previously agreed  upon  price from at least one vendor.
*    The district overpaid $117,000 on the purchase of produce in the 2009-10 school year alone.
*    Custodians, who performed maintenance, cleaning and upkeep of school cafeterias as only part of their daily assignments, were having a major portion of their salaries paid  by proceeds from the school lunch fund, entailing at least $535,202 in excessive payments from the cafeteria fund for that purpose in school years 2008-09 through 2011-12.
*     During the same 2008-09 through 2011-12 period, the district also overcharged the school lunch program at least $200,000 for utility service, including both water and electricity.
*    Despite the diversion of money to programs and services unrelated to the school nutrition program, the district had more money in that program account than is permitted under federal and state guidelines.
*    The excessive amount of money in the program accounts notwithstanding, the district did not reduce for students and their parents the price charged for meals, as protocol and  law dictates.
*     Employees were paid without their hours worked being  documented.
*    Food and supply vendor representatives  offered, and  district personnel accepted, “marketing rewards,” which were shared or distributed among food  service workers.
*    The marketing rewards were given to the district workers in lieu of  cash rebates or price discounts on goods or food, which could have assisted the district in reducing the cost of meals.
*    Nutrition Services Manager Diana Herington signed off on allowing the vendors to provide the marketing rewards in lieu of the rebates as part of an effort to boost employee morale.
*    Herrington made what Department of Education Southern Field Services Unit Manager Gail Andersen characterized as an  “unreasonable and unnecessary” purchase  of 627 embroidered men’s and women’s polo shirts at a cost of  $9,999 to give each of the district’s 151 contract nutrition division employees three shirts to be worn while working.
The report did not confirm reports of bid rigging or that Herrington had pressured at least one vendor to provide donations to a student scholarship program.
It was reported that the marketing incentives included but were not limited to Apple iPod Nanos, wristwatches, portable DVD players, gift cards from American Express and Target, Apple iPod Shuffles, and theater tickets.
The district quietly sought to come into compliance with a list of recommendations made by the Department of Education by the time the fall semester began.  At least one reprimand was given to a district employee, whose identity has not been disclosed.
The district at the same time instituted a prohibition on employees soliciting donations or gifts from district vendors or contractors.
Last fall, superintendent of business services Jaime Ayala pledged to the Department of Education that that the excess salary and benefits costs paid to custodians from the nutrition services department during the 2011-12  school year will be refunded to the lunch program beginning at the close of the current school year in June and that the district will make incremental refunds of the $200,000 in excessive utility payments made by the department.

(April 8)  Assemblyman Curt Hagman this week told the Sentinel he is seeking election to the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors because he believes his philosophy of governance is best suited to rejuvenate the local economy compared to the approach advocated by his primary opponent in the race.
Four candidates will appear on the ballot in the race for Fourth District County Supervisor – Congresswoman Gloria Negrete-McLeod, Ontario City Councilman Paul Vincent Avila, Chino Unified School District Board Member James Na and Hagman. Hagman and Na are Republicans. Negret-McLeod and Avila are Democrats. Though Na qualified his candidacy, he has since decided to withdraw from the race. By law, however, his name must appear on the ballot.
Voter registration in the Fourth District favors the Democrats.  64,985 of the district’s 158,046 voters, or 41.1 percent are registered Democrats. 51,176, or 32.4 percent are Republicans. Because she is so well financed, Negrete-McLeod is considered Hagman’s primary opponent.
Despite the demographic disadvantage he faces, Hagman believes he can make inroads with the Fourth Supervisorial District electorate by stressing what he believes is his sounder approach toward revitalizing business opportunity and spurring job growth.
Hagman owned and operated a bail bond business before he was elected to the Chino Hills City Council, where he was rotated into the post of mayor during the final year of his four-year stay on that panel. As mayor he successfully ran for his current position in the Assembly. In addition to his bail bond business, Hagman also owns a property development company and another company devoted to prevent the counterfeiting of commercial products.
“I think my years of private and public sector experience allows me to focus on issues facing businesses and strategies for economic development,” Hagman said.  “I think that especially on the west end of the county there is a lot of potential for quick growth. If we can interest national and international investors and can work it correctly we could facilitate growing companies over here on this end of San Bernardino County. I think I represent the best chance for doing that. I have connections with the Asian American community, for example, that my main opponent does not possess. My approach is to streamline the approval process and minimize bureaucracy and make our community more competitive in appealing to the companies that would consider locating here as opposed to neighboring areas.  We have capital assets in the Fourth District such as Ontario Airport and Chino Airport that would lend themselves to the creation of an international trading zone. This would be of tremendous value if it is used correctly.
“We have already seen manifestations of this interest. Mooney Aircraft, which has been in existence for decades, located into Chino Airport, which will effectively bring in more manufacturing and research and development to that facility,” Hagman continued. “There is the opportunity to create a commercial aviation school there, as aviation companies have a need for more commercial pilots. I believe we need to focus on the long term growth of Ontario International Airport and getting Los Angeles World Airports [the division of the city of Los Angles that owns and operates Ontario International Airport] out of our hair and out of Ontario.”
Hagman sought to contrast his aggressive approach in spurring economic growth and ending the governmental restrictions that effectively bar that growth with Negrete-McLeod’s philosophy.
“We are probably at the opposite ends of most issues and that difference between us is more dramatically apparent than with most other competing candidates,” Hagman said. “She is determined to do the opposite of what I am trying to do. My philosophy is to grow the economy before you grow what the government takes in taxes. I have never voted to raise taxes. She has voted in taxes over and over again, twenty million dollars worth.”
While he is a limited government advocate in favor of local control, Hagman said, Negrete-McLeod favors big government with the power concentrated  more heavily in Washington, D.C. and Sacramento than at City Hall and at the county level.
“I have always sided on giving cities and counties a larger role in government than the state or federal government,” he said. “I have perfect scores for advocating local control.  I have worked across party lines and have brought forth more bills than any Republican [in Sacramento] in the last five years. Because of my role in the private sector, I have written more payroll checks rather than I cash. As a candidate in this race, this uniquely qualifies me, I think, to know what it takes to give people an opportunity to make a living. I have not been living off the public sector my whole life, like my opponent. We have different views and perspectives on economic development.”
Hagman further contrasted himself with Negrete-McLeod, insisting he has shown more backbone with regard to the issue of public safety.
“I have worked on crafting solutions at a local level to keep our schools and businesses safe,” he said. “With prison overcrowding and AB 109 we are facing major challenges and a more dangerous situation in our communities and neighborhoods. I have volunteered as a reserve sheriff’s deputy. In 2011, I did not vote for releasing 20,000 felons from our prisons like my opponent did.”
Hagman’s reference was to Assembly Bill 109, legislation aimed at closing California’s so-called “revolving door” of low-level inmates cycling in and out of state prisons, which was an effort to comply with the U.S. Supreme Court order to reduce the number of inmates in the state’s 33 prisons to 137.5 percent of original design capacity.
Born in Anchorage, Alaska, Hagman came with his family to California at the age of one and graduated from Miraleste High School. He obtained a Bachelor’s degree in psychology from UCLA and served in the Naval Reserve.  He is married with two children.