I think I have been fair in my treatment of Supervisor James Ramos since he took his seat as Third District Supervisor for the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors. Stories have come my way that I chose not to write simply because I thought he deserved a chance to prove himself. Despite all of the concerns, especially about his relationship with Josie Gonzales, it seems Ramos is doing a decent job. I can’t really find fault with much. EXCEPT, I am a constituent and I have contacted his office several times both as a constituent and as a reporter and neither he nor his staff will return my emails. I have tried both regular email and thru Facebook. Nada, nothing. So James, do you only represent those that give you campaign donations or what? I would like to know.
by AdministratorI was sent this tonight: Did you hear that the Chief Probation Officer just got a 7.5% raise thanks to the AB109 Monies?
by AdministratorI have been told that Brett Henry was the subject of a no confidence vote and is no longer the union leader. Can anyone confirm, deny or clarify? I would like to see some kind of proof so that I can do a story if true.
by AdministratorCalico Ghost Town in Yermo, California, will be a bit livelier this weekend as the town presents its annual Spring Festival with some good old-fashioned entertainment. The festivities start on Saturday, May 11 at 9 a.m. and continue thru Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 12 at 5 p.m. when the Calico shops close. In between you can entertain your mom with a blacksmith demonstration, a pie eating contest, a fry pan toss, a ghost tour and, of course, gunfights. Not that guns, ghosts and fry pans are not worthy of a visit, it’s the music that makes this celebration the most special of the year. Entertainers include Bluegrass group Fiddle & Pine, Debby Clinkenbeard and Eric Uglum, Saddle Strings, Jason Charles Miller, and Henry Fencepost. Calico Ghost Town is a San Bernardino County Regional Park. In its heyday, Calico had 500 mines and 1,200 residents. In 1951 it was purchased by Walter Knott and in 1966 he donated it to San Bernardino where it became a regional park. To read the rest of the story, click here.
by AdministratorReceived this information: The IEUA general unit employees are very close to decertifying SBPEA. It is a medium size unit for SBPEA and SBPEA would be representing NO employees at the agency if general employees decertified. The operators and lab workers decertified SBPEA several years ago. SBPEA is shrinking into irrelevance, IMO. Bob Blough must not be happy.
by AdministratorI have been without a phone and could not call Mr. Johnson. So I decided to remove the one sentence that concerned me and post his comments otherwise. My first question, of course, is what happened to Raquel Garcia? Is she out of the picture? I had to deal with Ms. Garcia one day as she is/was the secretary to the Registrar of Voters. She clearly was none too happy to be dealing with me. Oh well. Maybe now she knows some of what I wrote about her boyfriend had basis.
by AdministratorWeeks before all of the major candidates declared their intent to run for the newly created Congressional District 8 seat, rumors started to emerge that Assemblyman Tim Donnelly was undermining the campaign of his former chief of staff for that seat. Gregg Imus left Donnelly’s office months earlier and was the first to declare his candidacy for the CD8 seat. In February 2012 I received a phone call from a Phil Liberatore staffer asking for my help. Liberatore had campaigned against Rep. Gary Miller and lost in 2010. Now he had his sights set on CD8. He claimed to be an evangelical Christian and Tea Party favorite but did not want to face another Tea Party favorite and Christian on the ballot, Gregg Imus. The staffer told me that he had spoken with Donnelly. The popular assemblyman said he would not be endorsing Imus for unspecified reasons. To read the rest of the story, click here.
by AdministratorI have been told that employees from HUSD are given discounts at a certain local auto parts supplier for the parts they purchase for their personal vehicles. The bill is sent to HUSD to pay. I cannot find out how, if any, reimbursement is made to the school district. Any info?
by AdministratorSale of the Fontana SBSD station sign. Asking when a four-time amputee is going to retire so his position can be filled. Ordering subordinates to not talk with Sheriff McMahon. And there is more. Any biters?
by AdministratorI received the press release today that the High Desert Teleconferencing Center is moving from the welfare department to the High Desert Government Center. Hallelujah! Geez, what took them so long. I mean everyone wants to go try to watch a BOS meeting amid baby mommas having fist fights over baby daddies who all show up in the lobby at the same time or people defecating in the lobby or who haven’t bathes in a month. And, course, the only people the TAD office is convenient for are gang bangers and baby mommas. So this is a good move on the part of the county for a change.
by AdministratorOn Friday, April 19, 2013, San Bernardino County Sheriff’s candidate Paul Schrader is the featured speaker at the monthly meeting of the Republican Liberty Caucus of San Bernardino. The meeting begins at 7 p.m. Schrader is running for the office as a “constitutional sheriff.” A constitutional sheriff is one who swears to uphold the Constitution of the United States above any other laws. Schrader is an advocate of the Second Amendment and has recently expressed concern over information leaked from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department that appointed Sheriff John McMahon is planning a weapon roundup on legally purchased and registered weapons. According to the information leaked, deputies will not be obtaining search warrants to seize the weapons from private property. To read the rest of the story, click here.
by AdministratorTonight I was snapping some photos of the daffodils in front of the Big Bear Lake Civic Center. As I was leaving, a woman drove up and told me that there was a metal thief at the building across the street (it looked like a fire department) and she asked if I could take some photos. I could not get close but I did use my 250 mm lens to snap a few photos. Not sure if I got anything or not. I suspect what happened will never be reported AND there is likely surveillance tape there anyway. But just in case someone wants it, you know how to get ahold of me.
by AdministratorI’ve been offered a chance to make a little money off of the “iepolitics” name and have decided to take it. It is not much, but enough to make the change. iePolitics.com and iePolitics.net will be going down in about a week. The data bases are NOT being deleted but will not be available to anyone but me. So, if there is something you cannot live without, print it out now. The new blog, which goes by iePolitics but is actually politicsinthewildwest.com will become the main blog. This will clean up a lot and allow a fresh start. Being hosted in a country that does not recognize US subpoenas and search warrants is also a good thing. I have not set up an email account there yet but will after all of the old iePolitics business is taken care of.
by AdministratorI am not going to be posting anything new on this site. There is a new story on the new site about the fundraiser Fasasari is putting together: Fundraiser
by AdministratorI’m still working on it. I have a theme up and running but I am not sure how it will look on a computer that doesn’t have a 17-inch screen. If anyone with a larger or small screen has a moment to take a screen print and send it to me, it would be greatly appreciated. Don’t expect content, because it will not be added until I get the aesthetics done. The new blog is www.politicsinthewildwest.com/wordpress/
by AdministratorThere are two Republicans candidates for running for the Senate seat vacated by Gloria Negrete-McCloud when she won election to the House of Representatives. Those candidates are city of Ontario mayor Paul Leon and city of Pomona Planning Commission chairman Kenny Coble. Neither Republican received the endorsement of San Bernardino County Chairman of the Board of Supervisors, Janice Rutherford, or San Bernardino County District Attorney, Mike Ramos. Both Rutherford and Ramos are Republicans with a history of endorsing Democrats. To read the rest of this story, click here.
by AdministratorPaul Schrader will be the guest speaker at the High Desert East Oath Keepers meeting on March 19, 2013. The meeting will go from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Schrader is a candidate for San Bernardino County Sheriff In 2014. He is running on a “constitutional sheriff” platform. Schrader believes strongly in the Second Amendment and that concealed weapons permits should not be issued based on campaign contributions as has been the case for most of the county’s past sheriffs. He says he will enforce state law based on the spirit of the law and not to increase his campaign war chest. To read the rest of the story, click here.
by AdministratorBill Norton, National Support Team Constitutional Coordinator for the Tea Party Patriots, will be the guest speaker at the Redlands Tea Party Patriots meeting this month on March 7. Norton develops educational material related to the Constitution of the United States for the national organization. According to his biography, Norton is “The chairman of the Arizona State Constitutional Commemoration Committee and the founder of Constitution Week USA, the largest celebration on the Constitution in the nation. He is a recipient of the George Washington Honor Medal from the Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge.” To read the rest of the story, click here.
by AdministratorThe California chapter of the League of Humane Voters is hosting “Los Angeles Mayoral Convention II” tomorrow, Sunday, Feb. 17 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The forum will take place at the Beverly Garland Hotel in North Hollywood. Five candidates running for mayor of Los Angeles are expected to attend. City Controller Wendy Greuel, Councilwoman Jan Perry, former federal prosecutor and radio talk show host Kevin James, businessman Emanuel Pleitez and Councilman Eric Garcetti will all be on hand to answer questions from the animal welfare community. To read the rest of the story, click here.
by AdministratorThis was a tweet from our District Attorney yesterday: The sheriff has asked all members of the press to stop tweeting immediately. It is hindering officer safety.#Dorner — SB District Attorney (@sbcountyda) February 12, 2013 And, of course, most of the media dutifully complied. Now, as has been widely reported, Donner was using his GPS-enabled smart phone to read tweets while he was in the middle of a firefight with the cops. Besides for that, there are many other issues here. Any takers?
by Administrator