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Today Dr. King's Dream Is Fullfilled

Today is a joyous day dear readers!  Today is the day that America has lived up to her promise of being the land of opportunity, where anyone can accomplish the things they put their mind to, regardless of their race or religious views, through hard work and undeterred determination. 

Today Barack Obama was sworn in as the President of the United. States.  Obama is the first African American elected to our highest office.  And as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. would probably note, Obama is a President that was elected based on the content of his character, not on the color of his skin.

While not everyone voted for Barack Obama to be the 44th President, no one can deny the importance of this moment in the history of the United States of America.  After President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, it took over a century for African Americans to be recognized as equal citizens with the signing of the Civil Rights Act by President Lyndon Johnson in 1964.

Since then our country has come a long way in race relations.  Consider this important fact.

44 years ago, Barack Obama would have had difficulty being able to vote in many states, and the idea of an African American running for President of the United States would have been absurd, if not suicidal.  Obama's election shows that America is truly coming of age and is leaving the mistakes and failures of the past behind.  

Additionally, the fact that a person with a middle eastern sounding name, and the middle name of Hussein, could be elected as President after seven and a half years of xenophobic hyper-patriotism is also evidence that the American people think more for themselves than the critics in the media give them credit.

Somewhere the champions of freedom and equality like Martin Luther King, Jr., Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy, and Lyndon Johnson are smiling down on this nation as she moves forward with new promise into the 21st Century.

San Bernardino Assessor Bill Postmus Arrested

San Bernardino County Assessor Bill Postmus was arrested today by investigators of the San Bernardino County District Attorneys office on charges drug possession.

The investigators arrested Assessor Bill Postmus this morning during a raid that included a search of his Rancho Cucamonga apartment.  This was only one of seven warrants executed by the San Bernardino DA's office in its corruption probe of Postmus and the Assessor's office. 

While the search of Bill Postmus' apartment was related to the Mike Ramos' corruption investigation of Bill Postmus, the DA investigators discovered methamphetamine (a felony) and drug paraphernalia (a misdemeanor) and arrested Postmus on these charges.

Postmus was booked into San Bernardino County's West Valley Detention Center, then released after posting over $11,000 in bail.  

Six other locations were searched as part of the raid that is clearly focusing on the interactions of Postmus' campaign committee, the development company Tri-Land Inc., and two political action committees:  Conservatives for a Republican Majority and Inland Action.

Search warrants were also served on the office of Jim Erwin, the Chief of Staff to San Bernardino County Supervisor Neil Derry.  Erwin had previously served as Assistant Assessor to Bill Postmus and before that was a San Bernardino County deputy sheriff.  As a deputy, Erwin served as president of the powerful San Bernardino County deputies union.

We are sure you will find this shocking dear readers, but both Bill Postmus and Neil Derry  ousted incumbents from the Board of Supervisors by running anti-corruption campaigns. 

Our source tells us that the corruption probe by the DA's office is focusing in on favors Postmus may have given political contributors to his campaign committee and to the two PAC's by lowering the assessed value of their property, thus lowering the amount of taxes they paid to the County.

Bill Postmus has been under fire for several months now following the indictment of another of his former Assistant Assessors, Adam Aleman.  Aleman was charged with six felonies and is believed to be cooperating with the District Attorneys office, which helped them focus their attention to the locations they searched today.

Both Conservatives for a Republican Majority and Inland Action are said to have been involved in Riverside County campaigns.  It is not clear at this point if any Riverside County politicians will be implicated in Postmus' corruption probe.  But as always dear readers, we will keep you up to date as events unfold. 

2008's Big Winners in Riverside County Politics

With 2009 having arrived dear readers, we here at Inside Riverside figured it would be a good time to look back at the year that just ended and give you our non-partisan list of the big political winners of 2008 in Riverside County's political arena.

So here is Inside Riverside's Top 5 List of the big winners in Riverside County the last year:

1.  Assemblyman Manuel Perez

Democrat Manuel Perez accomplished a feat that no Democrat has been able to do since 1992:  win the November election for California's 80th Assembly District.  This seat has always been left-leaning, but Democrat after Democrat that has run for this seat has not fit the more moderate ideology of the district.  They couldn't do it even after the 2001 gerrymandering of the seat by the State Legislature. 

Manuel Perez seems to have learned form the mistakes of past campaigns.  Perez played the moderate card brilliantly against his Republican opponent, former Palm Springs Police Chief Gary Jeandron.  That combined with his last name and Obama's win, has allowed Perez to win for the Democrats a seat that have the party has coveted for 12 years.  

The challenge Perez has now is to be his own man and to represent his constituents that sent him to Sacramento.  If he goes too far to the left, an organized Republican campaign in two years could make Manuel Perez the next Julie Bornstein.

2. Riverside County Supervisor Bob Buster

The idea of Bob Buster ever winning a crushing election victory is such an enigma that Supervisor Buster himself probably thought the election results were an aberration.  During Buster's three decades in politics his election wins have only been by a handful of votes.  But in June, Bob Buster beat challenger Riverside City Councilman Frank Schiavone 68% to 32%.  

Buster, fearing what many believed was his most serious challenge ever, raised tons of money for developers with business before the Board of Supervisors before the housing market tanked, had a well organized campaign, and attacked without mercy sometimes with little regard for the facts.  

Still it gave Buster what he always wanted: a legitimate landslide.  Maybe now he'll finally fulfill his decades old campaign promise of stopping the bulldozers.  But wait that would also stop the campaign funds he needs from the developers he claims to hate.

3.  State Assemblyman Jeff Millerr

Two-term Corona City Councilman Jeff Miller is now a member of the California State Assembly.  Miller was the unlikely winner of the June Republican Primary for the 71st Assembly District.  The victory was unlikely because the seat only has a sliver of Riverside County which includes the City of Corona, but the vast majority of the district is in Orange County.  

Miller's Orange County opponent should have made short work of Miller, but that was not the case.  Jeff Miller worked hard, attacked viciously, and was left unfazed by the attacks thrown at him about the municipal energy scandal that he got caught up in his first City Council term.   

Jeff Miller's solid yet pragmatic conservatism, his political survival skills, his fundraising prowess, and his tenacity make for him to be someone for us to keep watching since he should be on the short list to be the Assembly Minority Leader in the years ahead. That would bode well for Riverside Count.

4.  The Riverside Sheriffs Association

The union representing the deputies of the Riverside County Sheriff's Department still remains one of the most powerful political entities in Riverside County.  In 2008 RSA threw its political muscle into the Palm Desert City Council campaign, infusing a great deal of cash to keep former Riverside County Undersheriff Neil Lingle off the City Council.  

Rumor has it the RSA never directly attacked Lingle, instead the RSA campaign is said to have focused on the positives of the Councilmembers Dick Kelly , Robert Spiegel, and Cindy Finerty. The overall power of the Riverside Sheriffs' Association's endorsement in a well-funded and smartly-ran campaign is frankly amazing, and will probably draw more candidates to them seeking their friendship and support, and of course access to that political action money RSA's still got stashed away.

The RSA's preemptive strike against Lingle may prove to be brilliant as Lingle will have a much more difficult time running for County Supervisor or County Sheriff in 2010 after this defeat.  It also sends a powerful message to the Riverside County Board of Supervisors:  don't even think of balancing the budget on the backs of Riverside County's Deputy Sheriff's or you may find yourself in a fight you are not ready to take on.  Just ask Neil Lingle, Bob Doyle, Tom Mullen, and Jim Venable about that.

5.  State Senator John Benoit

Finishing up his last term in the State Assembly, John Benoit won an impressive primary victory over former Assemblyman Russ Bogh in the June Republican Primary to replace outgoing Senator Jim Battin in this safe Republican seat.   Benoit's campaign was in trouble early on as the Bogh campaign torpedoed Benoit at the California Republican Party Convention in late 2007, showing how Benoit had worked with Democrats in 2003 to pass an extremely state budget.  

Benoit was able to recover from the attack and shirk off the label of Gray Davis Republican, hammering Bogh for being in the pocket of police and fire unions and accusing Bogh and his family's construction company of corruption.  The reinvented Benoit beat Bogh 56% to 32%.  

John Benoit however will have to be watched closely, for as Russ Bogh's campaign pointed out, Benoit has a history of voting for bad budgets at the expense of his constituents, and his recent interview with the Desert Sun makes us wonder if John Benoit will vote to raise our taxes, as detailed before: Inside Riverside: Why Can't Senator John Benoit Give A Straight Answer? 

Please give us your thoughts dear readers.  Do you agree with our list?  Is there a winner that should be on here that isn't?  Is there a political winner that is on here that should not be?  Let us know dear readers, because after all we could expand this to a Top 10 list.

SURPRISE! Toys R Us Killers Had Criminal Pasts

When the reports first started rolling out Friday that two men had pulled guns and shot each other to death during a dispute at Toys R Us in Palm Desert, many wondered aloud and to themselves "who takes a gun with them while shopping for Christmas gifts?"  The two most obvious answers were A) cops and B) criminals.

Despite what some think of law enforcement officers, the likelihood that the shooting was between two off duty cops was very low, leaving most to speculate that the two Christmas shoppers packing heat were criminals.

ABC affiliate KESQ 3 has confirmed this with Riverside County District Attorney Rod Pacheco's Office:

Juan Meza, 28, of Cathedral City sported a tattoo that read "VMV," indicating that he belonged to an Indio-area gang called Varrio Mecca Vineyards, said Riverside County District Attorney's Office spokesman Michael Jeandron.

Meza and Alejandro Moreno, 39, of Desert Hot Springs, died in the late-morning shooting inside the store on Highway 111 and Fred Waring Drive on Friday.
According to court records, Meza pleaded guilty in March to being a felon in possession of a firearm. He pleaded guilty to the same charge in November 2007.

In September 2005, Meza pleaded guilty to assault with a weapon, and in 2002, he pleaded guilty to possessing a controlled substance for sale while armed, according to court records.                     

Records show that Moreno had a criminal record spanning back to 1998, when he pleaded guilty to inflicting corporal injury on a spouse. As part of the plea deal, charges of assault with a deadly weapon, criminal threats and willfully harming a child were dismissed. 

The full report can be found here:   KESQ: Men Killed at Toys R Us Had Criminal Records 

It Could Be Happening Here

Imagine if you would dear readers, two state assemblymembers, a mayor, a city councilmember, five school board members, a former city council member, and a city council chief of staff being arrested by the FBI for accepting bribes in exchange for awarding public contracts.  That's what happened this week in New Jersey when a federal 18 month investigation into cash for contracts resulted in the arrests of 11 public officials. 

Two cooperating witnesses working with undercover agents working out of a phony insurance company made the bribes and recorded the exchanges with those 11 public officials that have been charged with extortion and conspiracy to commit extortion. 

Press Release from the New Jersey US Attorney on 11 Corruption Arrests

It makes one wonder if such a corruption probe is underway here in Riverside County.  It's not difficult to imagine since there are many shady and strange dealings in County Government and several of the cities of Riverside County. 

According to FBI Special Agent in Charge Wysen Dun "The FBI continues to fight corruption as it seems there is a never-ending supply of elected officials willing to subvert their positions and lay themselves on the alter of public disgrace." 

The alter of public disgrace.  Hmmmm.  Do those comments apply to elected officials in Riverside County that seem to be in the pockets of the home builders that keep building homes that are pushing too many people on to the county's roads and into are already overcrowded schools?  Do they help explain why Riverside County Sheriff Bob Doyle abruptly retired from office taking a mediocre appointment with the state?

It's been a long time since Norton Younglove and Walt Abraham were on the Board of Supervisors, but the spectre of the good old boy way they ran Riverside County still hangs over the County Government.  It was only ten years ago after all that the FBI raided the Board offices looking for evidence of corruption tied to the El Sobrante Landfill, Western Waste/USA Waste and Kosti Shirvanian.  While no charges were ever filed, its still something that had a major impact on the Board of Supervisors who don't like FBI agents going through their offices and reading their appointment calendars.

Since the Royal Doyle's sudden resignation from office rumors of corruption, some old and some new , have been circulating throughout the halls of power in Riverside County.  The prevailing thought is that Doyle chose to leave because there is an investigation into his abuse of power in the Sheriff's Department.  While the FBI and the US Attorney have not commented on any such investigation, there does appear to be some issues that could merit investigation and give probable cause for federal warrants being issued.

Questions have arisen whether or not Doyle and his Command Staff took kickbacks from Nextel to win a contract from the Sheriffs Department.  Some have even said that Doyle and a handful of others received high value Rolex watches for the contract.  An audit of county contracts and an examination of a few high ranking Sheriffs officials wrists could answer that one rather quickly.   

Woodcrest Uniform could also be a focal point of any investigation that is happening.  For years the Sheriff's Department used Inland Uniforms for outfitting uniformed personnel.  But when Doyle came to power Woodcrest Uniform became the vendor of preference.   There were significant campaign contributions to Doyle's campaign for Sheriff, which he was forced to return, though some speculate the money came back to his campaign later through other individuals.   Doyle and other members of his Command Staff have long been rumored to be silent partners in Woodcrest Uniform.  A forensic audit of their bank accounts would shed some light on to this topic.

Another possible area of investigation that should be of great concern to the general public is the allegation that Doyle's department has been trading promotions with deputies with campaign contributions.  It's actually pay for play at it's purest, with those who contribute to the Doyle campaign fund finding themselves moving up the list.  Outraged Sheriffs Department veterans have expressed their concern with this process claiming that the work of the Department being hampered by promoting individuals that are not ready for higher rank.  All one would have to do on this one is to compare the promotion list for the last five years against Doyle's fundraising reports. 

Perhaps these rumors are true, maybe they are not.  With a Sheriffs Department that is not forthcoming to the public and a complacent press, it leaves us to speculate what's really going on over there and whether law enforcement is the mission of today's Sheriff's Department.  It is for the men and the women on the streets and working in the jails.  However, the Command Staff on the Second Floor for too long has been concerned with amassing power and not in protecting the public.

We can only hope dear readers that there will soon be a new Sheriff that is committed to public safety and not his or her own egotistical gains.   If not then rest assured not only could it happen here, but it probably will.  And while that may  be good for blogging traffic, it won't be good for the county.

Help Clean Up Riverside County

This is an open letter from Inside Riverside to the thousands of employees of

Riverside

County

and all of the cities within the County.

As you know there's plenty of stuff going on that doesn't pass the smell test.  It may be illegal.  It may not be.  It may be unethical.  It may not be.  It may only be wrong by the nature of the dealing.  Anyway, you cut it, we want to know about it.

If you have seen corruption rear it’s ugly face in the department you work in, it’s time to right the wrong. We’re not even interested in your name. What we would like is facts and where corroborating evidence can be found. If you are the only possible person with knowledge of the facts, keep it to yourself. We’re only interested in information that can be independently verified through documentation.  No need to risk your PERS retirement for us. 

Do not, repeat, DO NOT, send the information through a County or City computer. While you’re away from work, open up a Hotmail or Yahoo e mail account and use that account to send us the information.  You can use your name or a pseudonym.  It's up to you.  We have no desire to identify you, just the problems that you know about that the public should know about.   There isn’t a lack of “questionable” activity in

Riverside

County

, there’s merely a lack of exposure. Make a difference.

Press Enterprise Demonstrates the Need for Inside Riverside

Dear readers, one of the reasons the Inside Riverside blog was established was to report the news that the traditional main stream media was not passing along to you.  We believe today that we have a great example of how the old school print media fails to do its job and tell you all that's going on.

The culprit of this faulty reporting is the Press Enterprise, that we have nicknamed the Press Enquirer, because from our point of view it has been a long time since it's acted like a newspaper.  The news that was inadequately reported by the Press Enquirer was the pay raise of Riverside City Manager (former Riverside County Assistant CEO/Economic Development Director) Brad Hudson.

On Saturday, January 6, 2007 the Enterprise ran a story on the front page of it's local section for Riverside and Moreno Valley stating that Hudson was up for a pay raise that would give him over $285,000 per year.  It was effectively a 26% pay raise (something the Enterprise failed to mention) from Hudson's starting pay when he came from the county 18 months ago, which was $225,000.

We wrote about this on Tuesday, January 8, 2007.  Our story and a link to the Press Enterprise/Enquirer's article can be found at this link:

http://insideriverside.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/01/riverside_count.html

The City Council meeting was the same night.  On Wednesday, January 9, 2007, the Press Enquirer reported that the Riverside City Council voted to give Hudson this tremendous pay increase.  However, the coverage of the vote did not wind up on the front page of the local secion for Riverside this time.  Nor did the vote merit it's own article with comments in favor or against the raise by Council Members or the Public.  It was buried inside the local section under "City Council Actions."

Even there, the Press Enquirer failed again to do its job.  They didn't even report the Council's vote!  There was no listing of the yay's or the nay's. 

This leads us to ask, was the Press Enterprise protecting the Riverside City Council?

Everyone who has spent even the smallest amount of time with a newspaper knows that the two days of highest circulation is Sunday and Wednesday. Readership is highest on those two days, especially Sundays,  Advertising prices are the highest on those days, and if a paper wants to the world to know something about something  they run their stories on those days.

The day of lowest readership is Saturday.  That's why it's a thin paper, advertising rates are a lot cheaper than Sunday, and it's the day papers report the news they don't want people paying attention to.

So the story of Hudson's propsed raise runs on Saturday, the day the least number of people in Riverside would be reading the paper.  But then the Council vote was on a Tuesday, meaning the news would be reported on the second highest readership day.  So instead of running a story on the passage of Hudson's raise, the vote gets hidden inside where most will overlook it.  The City Council is off the hook with all but the most informed voters, which is good when three of them are up for re-election in less than six months.

Now while some might argue that this is purely coincidental, we think not.  And we have what we consider proof to back up our assertion that the Enterprise was covering for the City of Riverside in it's shoddy reporting of Brad Hudson's pay raise.  The proof comes courtesy of the Press Enterprise itself, in a column last week by a kindred spirt of ours --- Dan Bernstein.

Bernstein wrote in his column that was posted on line on January 8, 2007 the following:

I guess Riverside's Renaissance is going full bore, and not just because the city's bottomless treasury gushed out $7,582 for a full-page P-E ad (thank you kindly) crediting this Renaissance with pretty much everything, including the pre-Renaissance snagging of P.F. Chang's, a gotta-have-it restaurant out Galleria way.

You can read the rest of the colunn here:

"Full Tilt Riverside" by Dan Bernstein

So is that what it takes to get the coverage you want?  $7,582? 

It was obviously something that stuck in Bernstein's craw and made him reveal that his employer had received this generous payment from the taxpayers of Riverside City .  The payment was most likely courtesy of Brad Hudson --- because it is within his purchasing authority not requiring approval of the City Council.  Interesting that it happens at the same time as his pay raise.

We understand that another full page ad ran yesterday, taking the cost to the taxpayers over $15,000.   We'll keep you posted as Riverside City continues to spend public funds this questionable manner.

Now some may argue that the Press Enterprise has only lost it's journalistic integrity since it was bought by Belo which also owns the Dallas Morning News.  However, as many of you in law enforcement might remember, this is the same news paper that published a photo of slain deputies Michael Haugen and James Lehmann on its cover when they were gunned down in cold blood out in Cabazon on January 5, 1997.

How low will the Press Enterprise/Enquirer continue to sink?  We're not sure.  Hopefully they'll get their act together and start acting like a credible news paper again.  If not, we'll be here to keep an eye on them and let you know when they are not doing the job many of you are paying them to do.

The Return of Bob Doyle

Extra, extra, read all about it!

After months of playing the role of the invisible man, Riverside County Sheriff Bob Doyle will be making what is likely his first major public appearance since the Fall.  It'll be tomorrow at the Historic Courthouse in downtown Riverside.  Doyle who officially began his second and hopefully final term as County Sheriff/Coroner/Public Administrator/Village Idiot  last week, will ceremoniously be sworn in tomorrow at the Courthouse at 9:30am, with a reception to follow for those who wish to kiss the Jostens ring.

So if you want to get a view of the Royal Doyle and his new face be sure to be there tomorrow. 
You'll also probably get a chance to see the Royal Doyle's ship of fools in person too --- like Neil  "I Can't Elaborate" Lingle, Mike "I'm Next" Andrews, Tom "The Pretender" Freeman, "Slow" Joe Tucker, and Randy "Where's the Moreno Valley Roster" Throne --- to just name a few.

As this is a public forum, protestors should be welcome.  After all, isn't this still America?   However, we do not in anyway encourage you to disrupt the formal proceedings.  We've got plenty of time to verbally whip on Doyle, so let him enjoy the moment. 

However, if you really need to protest the Royal Doyle and his regime, we suggest you do it in style.  Go with signs and stand silently behind the few people who do attend the ceremony, letting them and Bob Doyle know what you really think of him as your sheriff.

Suggested signs might be: 

"Where Have You Been Bobby?"

"Bob Doyle You're No Stan Sniff"

"Will Contribute to Campaign for Badges"

"How Many Criminals Did You Let Out Today?"

and our personal favorite, drum roll please

"Was Kamstra Riding Alone?"

Protestors are advised that should anyone approach them with a badge in hand for any reason, ask to see their identification card, where the real police power exists.  If the ID card says Sheriff's Executive Council, just let 'em know where they can stick the card and the tin star, because they ain't cops, they're just cronies of the Royal Doyle.

To the real deputies out there, we do appreciate your service and your sacrifice and apologize that the voters have been duped once again into electing Bob Doyle as the County's sheriff.  You all deserve a boss who has much more to offer than the Royal Doyle.  Everyone in Riverside County does.

Following Up On Lewis, Hillwood, & Perot

Well dear readers, it looks like we opened up a can of worms with yesterdays column about Jerry Lewis and the Inland Valley Development Agency.  And from what we can tell, there's quite a few folks out there that don't care for H. Ross Perot, Jr.

Unsubstantiated reports to us say that Hillwood is currently trying to “maximize it’s advantage on the IVDA http://www.sbdairport.com/our_organization/ivda.htm 

In a very interesting development, Hillwood has partnered with the Lewis Operating Corp to form Lewis-Hillwood to develop the Rialto Municipal Airport.  Legislation was passed to require that a percentage of the profits of the sale of the Airport be given to the IVDA for improvements to San Bernardino International to handle the new traffic that will now be diverted from Rialto to SBD.  Rumor has it that Hillwood is disputing what is the definition of the words profits.  Doesn't sound like anyone we'd want to be in business with.

Inside Riverside has learned from a source that they got a recorded robo-call last week urging a call to the San Bernadino County Board of Supervisors to encourage an audit of  IVDA and Hillwood's activities.  www.hillwood.com

Whoever sent those calls out needs to learn a thing or two about JPA's.  The County doesn't have the auditing authority over it, as it is a Joint Powers Agency which means they are not directly accountable to anyone.  Any audit that should be conducted woud have to be done by either the State Controller's Office or the Joint Legislative Audit Committee,Sounds like a job for the State Controllers Office, or maybe the Federal Office of the Inspector General since there's an airport involved. 

Heck, if the OIG comes in, we'll even give you directions to the offices of Congressmen Lewis, Calvert, and Miller.  If anyone needs an audit it's those three scoundrels.  And to think Miller campaigned as Mr. Ethics back in 1998 when he defeated Congressman Jay Kim who was on house arrest during the election.

Now to be honest we weren't all that familiar with H. Ross Perot, Jr. when we started to factor in the IVDA into the federal investigation of Jerry Lewis, earmarks, and pay-for-play politics.  We knew about as much as anybody about him, basically there's lot of strong feelings about his pappy, H. Ross Perot, Sr.  --- Democrats love him because he helped Clinton win, Republicans hate him for the same reason, most think he's a nut job --- but we didn't know much about Junior and no idea how far the apple fell from the tree.  So like always, we decided to do some checking and report back what we found.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._Ross_Perot,_Jr.

He is a very interesting character with a military bearing and background http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/02_07/b3770091.htm

His firm, Hillwood Development Corp., specializes in megaprojects requiring big backers, political muscle, and piles of public dollars. It's the kind of company that only someone with a name like Perot could run. Case in point: the $420 million American Airlines Center in Dallas , which opened in July. Located on once-blighted land, it's the most expensive basketball and hockey arena ever built, and nearly a third of the funding came from tax receipts.

The Businessweek article goes on to say this about his business philosophy:

He intimidates other developers with an approach he calls "win or die." His vast assets, connections, and political influence help, too. Says one rival: "I don't like to compete with them head-to-head because you really can't. They can use their might. –

What's this guy doing in San Bernardino County?  He'd fit in great over here in Riverside County, concealed weapon and all.  Heck, he could probably even get the Royal Doyle to give him a badge so he doesn't have to go through airport security with it.

http://www.ahmlawyers.com/pages-2005/allen-bio-2.html  (Scroll down to "Other Cases of Note")

A source also sent us a link from a discussion board on Proposition 51, a grab bag initiative funded by big businesses, and so called consumer advocate organizations feeding at the public trough, that republished this letter by Rex Ricks of Huntington Beach that ran in the OC Register:

http://www.eltoroairport.org/discus/messages/1/1136.html?1034775585

One writer put it this way:

Prop. 51 would mandate that 30 percent of the state's vehicle fees be diverted to pet projects (for the initiative's donors), resulting in a zero-sum game. It means that either existing state projects of higher priority will be cut and/or taxes must be raised to offset their loss. There is absolutely no way around this.

Before you vote, ask yourself: Is it really worth a huge tuition hike for California State University and University of California students just so that a casino in Indio can get $120 million for a rail line? Is it worth closing some trauma centers just so that some rail crossings can be built for an air-cargo facility operated by billionaire H. Ross Perot in San Bernardino ?

Consider us naive dear readers, but doesn't that sound a lot like Corporate Welfare?  Or might it be Quid Pro Quo?  We can't decide.

http://cal-access.ss.ca.gov/Campaign/Committees/Detail.aspx?id=1250011&view=contributions&session=2001

We also found something that should upset all Edison customers, and that's Junior's involvement in the state’s energy crisis.

This article was passed along to us by a reader

Perot Systems facing barrage of lawsuits (Orange County Register, August 8, 2002)

SACRAMENTO, Calif. _ Shareholders' groups and others have filed at least seven class-action lawsuits against Perot Systems Corp., all arising from disclosures that the Texas-based company tried to peddle sensitive information about California's fledgling deregulated electricity grid.

The first suit was filed in Los Angeles on June 6, a day after the Senate Select Committee to Investigate Price Manipulation of the California Energy Market released copies of Perot Systems' marketing plans. The most recent suit was filed Friday in Philadelphia .

Similar suits also were filed in federal courts on June 13 in Baltimore and New York , June 18 in Dallas , June 19 in western Washington and June 20 in Texas .

The shareholders' suits contend that Perot Systems _ founded by Texas billionaire H. Ross Perot _ failed to disclose that it engaged in risky business behavior by trying to market information about California's electricity grid. The suits say the company violated federal securities laws by making misleading statements about its practices, and that the market price of Perot Systems' stock was artificially inflated.

The suits, which do not identify specific dollar damages, seek compensation to cover the losses of shareholders who paid potentially inflated prices for securities.

Company officials were not available to comment.

Perot Systems helped set up the marketing and technology structure of California 's deregulated electricity grid under a $57 million state contract. The 1996 law that deregulated California 's electricity system created the new grid, operated by a non-profit agency called the Independent System Operator.

Senate investigators said Perot Systems used its inside knowledge of the grid to put together sales pitches targeting energy traders that would enable the companies to boost their profits at California 's expense. The committee obtained copies of the PowerPoint presentations crafted by Perot Systems and its hired consulting company. The committee released copies of the documents on June 5.

On July 11, Perot testified in Sacramento that his company did not disclose inside information about California 's electricity grid or engage in improper trading practices. Perot acknowledged that his company attempted to sell software and services to energy traders, but said that "our marketing effort was unsuccessful."

"Perot Systems did not disclose any confidential information about the operation of the California energy market to anyone," Perot told the Senate committee, chaired by Sen. Joe Dunn, D-Santa Ana.

The Los Angeles suit, unlike the shareholders' lawsuits, was filed on behalf of the general public at the request of La Mesa Mayor Art Madrid. The suit contends that Perot Systems' conduct damaged the public interest because consumers were forced to pay higher rates for power.

Anyway you slice it dear readers, Ross Perot Junior is just another run of the mill big business tycoon.  Maybe just a bit richer and scarier than we usually deal with.

Would love to hear more from you dear readers, IVDA insiders, or anyone with Hillwood and/or Perot about their perspectives on these issues.  After all this is a Free Speech site and we want to keep things Fair and Balanced here at Inside Riverside,

Riverside County Practices Spread to Riverside City

We always thought that Riverside County CEO Larry Parrish was the smartest bureaucrat around since he managed to get the Board of Supervisors, his alleged bosses, to agree to a contract that requires he makes at least 5% more than any of his subordinates.  All he has to do to get himself a pay raise was to get the Board to rubber stamp an increase of one of his closely paid underlings, and Parrish would get a raise.  How's that for government service?

Turns out that we may have been wrong.  Yeah we know, it's hard for us to believe it too.  But the thing we're most proud of is our humility, so unlike Bob Doyle and Neil Lingle, we'll admit our mistakes when we notice them, just as they should do about the Esperanza fire.

The smartest bureaucrat around may actually be former Economic Development Agency Director and Assistant CEO, Brad Hudson --- who is now the City Manager for the City of Riverside.   He's figured out in just 18 months how to have a less taxing government job and make more than his old boss.

Press Enterprise 1/6/2007 --- Story on Hudson's Proposed Pay Raise

Here's the highlights from the Press Enquirer:

When he took office in June 2005, Hudson's salary was $225,000.    

The Riverside City council will vote Tuesday on whether to increase City Manager Brad Hudson's base salary to $248,000 a year.   

Under the proposal, Hudson would also continue to receive $25,000 a year  paid into a retirement account.    

In addition, he would receive a new 5 percent stipend of $12,400 for serving as director of the city Redevelopment Agency and Housing Authority.

That would bring his total pay to $285,400 a year. Hudson's paid leave, which he receives instead of paid vacation and sick leave, would jump from 32 days a year to 42 days a year.

If approved, the new contract would last five years.    

Councilman Ed Adkison said the proposed raise is partly meant to pay Hudson a market rate as the manager of the largest city in the fast-growing Inland region. The council does not want to lose him to another city that might pay more, he said.

The Riverside City council will vote Tuesday on whether to increase City Manager Brad Hudson's base salary to $248,000 a year.

When he took office in June 2005, Hudson's salary was $225,000.    

So let's get this straight, dear readers:

Parrish makes $279,472 year.  If Hudson can hoodwink four councilmembers to vote for his pay increase, he'll be making $285,400 a year.   Eat your black heart out Larry Parrish!

If it wasn't so ridiculous and such a rip off of the taxpayers, this would be funny, but it's not.  Once again the people are being fleeced by their elect leaders, and like lambs to the slaughter the hard working taxpayer remain silent as it happens.

The Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, only makes $180,100 in salary annually.  His predecessor Alan Greenspan made the same salary, and as we all know from nearly two decades of Greenspan that the decisions the Fed Chairman makes has impacts on far more lives than those made by the City Manager of Riverside or the CEO of Riverside County.  Yet, Larry Parrish makes 55% more than Bernanke, and Hudson is poised to make 58% more than the Fed Chief. 

Who says you can't get rich working for the government?  And you don't even have to have friends over at Haliburton!

Now let's take a different look at Hudson's proposed raise.

If the Riverside City Council votes Hudson this raise, that's a 26% raise in less than two years.  The annual rate of inflation actually dropped from about 4% when Hudson was hired, to roughly 2% today.  Despite the verbal diarrhea of Councilman Ed Adkison, the raise can not be justified, as there has actually been 2% deflation these last 18 months, which does not cause wages to rise.

But let's humor Mr. Hudson and lame-duck Adkison and try to justify this raise still.

First, has the flow of traffic and general road conditions in the City improved by 26%?  If so, maybe he deserves a raise.

Secondly, has crime, particularly violent crime, fallen in the City of Riverside by 26% in the last year?  If the answer is yes, then yes he probably does deserve a raise --- a maybe even a new Rolex.

But let's face it dear readers, nothing like that has happened on Hudson's watch.  The only thing that has happened is illegal red light cameras have been installed and back room deals that have screwed up Riverside County are now becoming the norm in Riverside City Hall.  Relations with the Police Officers union have become hostile and overall employee morale in all city departments has fallen to all time lows.

But that's not all Hudson brought to the City from the County  cesspool of scoundrels.

Hudson brought former County employee Tom DeSantis out of exile and made him his indentured servant as Assistant City Manger.  He probably learned this trick from Larry Parrish who brought former Ventura County employee Ron Komers out of exile and made him his indentured servant as the Director of Human Resources after Komers allegedly asked an African American female employee if she was "clean or dirty."

Komers escaped a brush with termination a couple years back when allegations of racism and nepotism surfaced about him.  The sham investigation done by a local private attorney somehow found that none of the claims against  Komers could be substantiated.  The law firm then received a hefty pay day in closed session that does not seem to have been reported in public session, which is a violation of the Brown Act open meeting law.

De Santis might be having similar problems with the County Grand Jury.   Word on the street is that the Grand Jury is currently investigating whether or not De Santis (who has a concealed weapons permit) illegally brandished his weapon in a dispute and whether or not Sheriff Bob Doyle 's Administration altered the original police report of the incident.

But the Royal Doyle isn't our focus today, Brad Hudson and Larry Parrish are.

Inside Riverside strongly believes that the City of Riverside never should have hired Hudson as it's City Manager.  He was not qualified for the job and only got it because of pressure applied to the City Council so he would have the resume to come back to the County as Larry Parrish's successor.  Sadly the only thing that he seems to have accomplished for the city is to bring morally, ethically, and legally questionable policies of the County to the City of Riverside. 

That may be what the Board of Supervisors are looking for in their next CEO, but having Hudson as the County CEO would be to the detriment of the entire County, just as his position as City Manager is a detriment to the entire City of Riverside.

PREDICTION 1:  Despite our analysis and warnings, Hudson will get his raise on a 4-3 vote.  Councilmembers Betro, Gage, and Adams will vote against it since they are up for re-election.  Since Adkison is not running again he'll cast the swing vote to give Hudson his undeserved 26% pay increase.  There's little hope that Mayor Ron Loveridge will use his veto power, he didn't even have the spine to veto the Citizens Review Commission of the Police Department --- even though it is the City Council's job to over see the Police Department.

PREDICTION 2:  Larry Parrish will go whining to the Board of Supervisors that he isn't making more than his protege, he's going to have to leave because his wage isn't competitive with even the lowly City of Riverside.  Look for the Board to unfortunately approve a pay raise for Parrish to $290,000 to $300,000.   Even though he should be shown the door so the County can get some fresh air, but the Board of Supervisors wouldn't want that now, would they?