State of the Union: Elections during an Economic Recession

"I like to promote women because they're easier to control."

----City Employee, allegedly said during a meeting last year.

The Riverside Police Officers' Association is currently holding elections including for the president spot which comes up biennially. Nominations were fielded at the general membership meeting in October and it looks like current president, Det. Chris Lanzillo will be facing off against challenger, Sgt. Cliff Mason after Sgt. Gary Toussaint who initially entered the contest withdrew his name from consideration. The association which currently numbers about 370 will be casting its ballots this month to determine its leadership and its future in some very uncertain times. So far this election looks difficult to call.

Perhaps Toussaint's decision not to run means he's going to throw his lot behind Mason? The sergeants have probably been left feeling that they have lost the most this past year or so with having not only positions frozen which impact assignments and staffing at their rank but they are also adversely impacted by the lieutenants freeze since more than a few of them have undergone the arduous process to put themselves on the list for promotion into a rank where there's currently no upward movement. What they've wanted more than anything appears to be a condition in their MOU that is similar to that enjoyed by the detectives since the early 1990s and that is a mandate on the filling of any vacancies within that rank. And there's been some turmoil between members of that unit and their sergeants representatives, which have seen some degree of turnover in the past year or so. So, it's not that surprising that one has emerged from this rank to run for the presidency spot given their sentiments that their situation has gotten more difficult as the city's budget picture gets bleaker. Not to mention the dynamics between the city manager's office's micromanagement of Chief Russ Leach that continue to play out, in front of an apparently apathetic city council. Although one former city councilman, Art Gage, said that he had spoken with City Manager Brad Hudson on this issue several years ago and Hudson had promised to stop doing it. Clearly that hadn't happened, Gage said recently and it needed to have stopped.

But it won't until the city council says no to Hudson and his department. And that kind of majority just doesn't exist on the city council right now.


The detectives on the other hand have seen their vacancies get filled thanks to the MOU that dates back to former chief, Ken Fortier but have faced work-related crunches in their respective assignments. In addition, among the 15 people who currently comprise the sergeants' list (and that promotional process has also seen some recent changes) were detectives who like the sergeants above them are hitting a brick wall due to the current stoppage of promotions at the supervisory ranks. The detectives have been successful at having members of their ranks win the presidency, the most recent being Lanzillo who received the lion share of the new officer vote when he ran in 2007. And that's probably the largest population within the union right now, are officers hired within the past 5-7 years. That's due to the tremendous hiring that took place in 2000-2004 not to as much fill new positions as fill old ones vacated when the department underwent a staggering 80 percent turnover beginning in 1999 after the fatal officer involved shooting of Tyisha Miller and after the city entered into its consent decree with the office of then state attorney general, Bill Lockyer. During the consent decree, the department grew by hiring new officers especially between 2003-06 but also began piling on more management positions as well anticipating a day when it would be quite larger and perhaps as part of a pattern in a city which is somewhat top-heavy especially since Hudson came to town. The biggest changes under the decree came with the sergeants who saw their numbers nearly double with mandates put into place involving officer/supervisor ratios in the patrol and traffic divisions as well as the expansion of the Internal Affairs Division's roster of investigators.

In 2005-06, 45 more positions for officers were created but before all of them were filled including several in traffic that had been promised, things began to get chilly in the city's economic picture and the freeze began. Hiring since about 2008 has been very uneven and except for the thawing of six positions (which attracted 80 applicants within several days of posting), has been at a standstill.

Still, even with the department being on average, fairly new and very young, the officers at the entry level face vacancy rates which lessen the number of officers on work shifts with only six being loosened up in recent weeks and the city failing to get stimulus money from the federal government to fund up to 15 positions. And concerns about staffing particularly staffing on shifts continues to grow, even as the city has less money to spend on its basic services including public safety. It's not likely that police officers will be laid off as the public safety employees which also include fire fighters, paramedics and code enforcement officers so far are exempt from city layoffs. A better situation than in other cities including in the Inland Empire but still a difficult situation with no end at least not until 2012.

Still, that's small comfort to people who call the police and they either don't get a response or face delays because the police are receiving so many calls especially the swing shifts. One security guard at a city-owned facility had called that a man was mentally ill and trying to hit him with a chair while threatening. The officer he encountered a day later while that officer was patrolling apologized on behalf of the department but admitted that sometimes, they couldn't respond quickly or at all to the calls they received. He didn't seem happy about it, just realistic.

State of the Union

Traditionally, sergeants haven't been favored by union voters at least not in recent years and not since Sgt. Jay Theuer elevated to that position in late 1999 and he was elected after being involved in a lawsuit when he failed to be promoted to lieutenant. The supervisory unit used to be about half of the size it is now but it's still fairly small compared to the size of the officer unit. And being in the supervisory positions over both officers and detectives, there might be some dynamics between those two ranks that might impact the voting patterns. But then the RPOA membership has been deeply divided in different factions, divisions which extend even into the board of directors.

The last presidential election showed that with Lanzillo defeating Tutwiler by about 80 votes, with about 70 or so members not casting votes for either candidate or at all which reflects some pretty deep splits. Not much has changed in the past two years in that regard as the union leadership found some pretty big obstacles to its goals in the city manager's office and their own police chief who of course is currently directed by the city manager's office. It's interesting that anyone in the RPOA would want to run for the top office in one of the most difficult time periods in the city's history. A time when any wish lists will mostly end up being put aside and with more rocky labor negotiation efforts on the horizon but two have stepped forward to make a race out of it. No doubt, both will take their cases to the voters as to why they should be chosen and that the union's members will cast their votes accordingly until a winner is chosen to lead the union for the next two years beginning in January.

The Board and particularly its Political Actions Committee have seen resignations, most notably by long-term board member, Sgt. Christian Dinco last spring not long after a particularly contentious endorsement process involving the fourth ward city council race. Some of the board members backed incumbent Frank Schiavone while others worked on the campaign for his challenger, Davis. One board member said last spring that the morale and tensions within the police union hadn't been this extreme since the days after the Miller shooting. If that's the case, then no matter who winds up having tallied the most votes, the president elect (whether that's the incumbent or not) will have his work cut out for him. Dealing in a city that has a reputation among its unions for being unfriendly to labor and the reality of a budget crisis which hasn't spared the police department from huge cuts.

Different versions of events emerged of what happened during the ward four endorsement process that took place last spring as to whether the vote was unanimous or not and if so, which vote. Whether all the members of the PAC had been present on the day of the final endorsement votes.

Still, the RPOA followed by the Riverside Police Administrators' Association had endorsed Schiavone. Actually, it was more of an interesting development on the side of the RPAA which had initially taken a position that it wouldn't endorse any of the candidates running for the city council and then abruptly decided to endorse Schiavone and the two other incumbents, Andrew Melendrez and Nancy Hart in their races. That caught people's attention mostly because the former president of the RPAA, Lt. Darryl Hurt and Lt. Tim Bacon, who served on its PAC were suing the city over what they called both the politicization of the promotion process and the practice of retaliating against union leaders. One of the defendants and the focus of some of the most serious allegations, was Schiavone. In their lawsuits, Hurt and Bacon had stated that Schiavone had threatened one lieutenant who associated with them to stay away from those "troublemakers" if he wanted to get promoted.

Bolstering the potential impact of Schiavone's alleged statements was the fact that at the time they were made, Chief Russ Leach was allegedly living in Schiavone's pool house. Both Schiavone and Leach had defended that situation at a community policing meeting held at the Orange Terrace Center in the months before Schiavone's election by saying that Schiavone was not Leach's boss like Hudson was but it's probably a safe bet that City Attorney Gregory Priamos is left to come up with a legal strategy to limit the impact of that living arrangement on the litigation filed by the two lieutenants in terms of how much civil liability the city faces if it pays out on these lawsuits either in settlement or after a trial.

Some people at City Hall and elsewhere really hoped that once Schiavone was out of office, that the situation involving the police department would improve and that the police chief would be free of his influence. One council member said that the recent problems with the creation of Strategic Plan 2 might have been more related to Schiavone's influence on the police department before he left office. Allegations of Schiavone's involvement were pretty prevalent during the election and included whether or not he tried to get some department's detectives (who allegedly complained) to initiate investigations against his adversaries including one who allegedly visited a man who appeared at a court hearing involving Schiavone's legal action challenging then candidate Paul Davis' campaign statement, and whether or not as alleged in the lawsuit filed by the two lieutenants, he had involved himself or had any influence on the department's promotions. It's hoped that these allegations were duly investigated if reported and that they were just, allegations and put to rest although the ones alleged in filed lawsuits will continue to be litigated in court. But allegations with merit or not, the environment of micromanagement by City Hall and the perceptions it's created make for a situation ripe for problematic behavior and even greater perceptions that it's the rule.

But the disturbing part of that was that there was that incident where four members of the public were expelled from a city council meeting and at The Group meeting, several officers said that someone on the dais had tried to call detectives to investigate the four people's actions and none of them would do it. If that's the case, who on the dais did that given that Schiavone was one of the individuals directing the expulsion?

At any rate, not much has changed since Schiavone's ouster because no one has stepped up to the plate to address the dynamics of the police department and city management.

Many had hoped that when Leach came back off of his recent medical leave for back surgery and held a larger than normal meeting with command staff in July that it would be a sign of a newly independent leader of the police department but that future hasn't yet shown itself. And as stated, it won't until the city council as a body addresses that issue because face it, if that's what Hudson and DeSantis are doing, then no one else can effectively rein in their enthusiasm but those who meet regularly to evaluate Hudson's work performance.

It's not clear if there's been a ripple effect on the RPAA from the litigation that's been filed against the city by two of its members and the fact that it endorsed one of the defendants in the city council race, essentially opting to throw its support as a body of individuals (which is different than individual bodies) to one of the lawsuit's defendants rather than two of its own dues paying members.



What often goes undiscussed or even unknown is the tremendous work expenditure done by the board members of the RPOA. Whether or not you agree with them on everything or anything, you can't fault their work ethic. And dealing with the current turmoil inside the police union which stems largely from the economic rupture in Riverside has been made it even more difficult.

Traditionally, union leaders often feel overworked and under appreciated and whether or not that's the case of the RPOA, is not clear but if so, that's hardly unusual. However this summer, rumors emerged that for the first time that the RPOA was contemplated hiring a retiring officer to provide administrative support or even run the union getting paid to do so. A practice which has been done in other similar associations and if true, wouldn't be surprising either because of the time constraints on members of its leadership especially right now in an understaffed police department. After all, it must be difficult to balance two busy tasks, working as a police officer and running a labor union not to mention everything else in a person's life.

But being president of a union in the city of Riverside has never been an easy task during the best of times and these are not the best of times. It's bad enough to chew up and spit out any leader, in a city where its management is hardly labor friendly and its elected leadership seems to too often bend to the will of that management. Lanzillo is no light weight (having served about 10 years in the union board) and some compared him favorably to a pit bull, when it comes to dealing with issues but the city's been biting its unions back, as the SEIU's leadership experienced when it voted to receive its already set 2 percent raise increase during a time when some members of management including department heads were getting raises of at least 10 percent.

But the SEIU benefited heavily when the city management apparently didn't read the entire MOU and inadvertently approved something that it wishes to revoke. Good luck, and reading the fine print of labor contracts should be part of any competent public policy and city management training curriculum.

Uh Oh

Last year, one department head's spouse allegedly began bragging to the wrong people that this department head got a hefty raise (and this spouse emphasized just how hefty) at a time when the department itself was facing cuts to its budget of over 25 percent. That created a firestorm and between that and penalties being faced by another employee who was trying to retire using his higher salary which was vetoed by CALPERS (the city's retirement plan for its employees) made for a quandary or two. This employee allegedly wound up not being able to retire for at least a year. The alleged reason was that the city had never publicly posted his higher salary, an action remedied when it posted a bunch of ceilings for raises of about 40 executive and management employees last December. Still people posted online on the Press Enterprise that employees were being laid off from Public Works while its head, Siobhan Foster (who has run afoul from some of her department for allegedly not having an engineering background) received a 15 percent pay raise in a division which historically has been an epicenter for labor pains in this city. Did she or didn't she, some asked while others said, of course she did. That's the state of the city, the part of it that doesn't appear in Mayor Ron Loveridge's annual address at the Convention Center that actions by the Seventh Floor have created a turbulent and unhappy environment in areas of its work force.

Then when Leach renewed his contract until 2013 last December, people asked themselves, did he agree to take the same salary, a lessor salary or did he get a raise. If so, how much? Believe it or not, his new maximum ceiling raise would grant him a higher pay check than it would his boss, Hudson. And I wasn't the only one who noticed that as it had members of several labor unions scratching their heads.


Human Resources Board Vice-Chair Ellie Bennett asked some pretty intense questions as she's prone to do and asked Human Resources Director Rhonda Strout and her colleague Jeremy Hammond who's deputy director what steps that department heads including themselves have taken with making sacrifices like those they expected of the nonmanagement city employees including those who were laid off. Because Bennett continued, if employees had to make sacrifices and take cuts, furloughs or whatever, management should show its leadership by lining up at the front of the line to face them first.

There was complete silence and the two employees looked at each other and then they looked down. What does that mean? It's true that even management employees had to forgo the 2% raises like everyone else but was this offset by maximum ceiling raises received last year? Assurances have come out of City Hall that no one got raises (and to be accurate, this means everyone even those who signed new contracts last year in public safety department head positions), but the doubts have only increased, including now as it's become clear that if SEIU employees in particular, are safe from layoffs until Jan. 15, that all bets are off the day after that moratorium ends.

It's not likely that the police officers will face a similar situation but if the department is forced to make more cuts like the rest of those in the city, it's pretty clear that these will be the unkindest cuts of all, given that the police department is so bare-boned and approaching skeleton crewed that it's starting to fall back into the pattern of unfilled vacancies and fewer supervisory positions that haunted it during the 1990s, the final decade of not only the century but of the department's independence from outside oversight and scrutiny. One veteran employee recalled how when he was working as a sergeant pre-consent decree that he supervised 15 officers and that was when the department's officers averaged about 10 years older than they do now in 2009. He said that at minimum, veteran officers needed 30 minutes of involvement a day and newer hires more along the lines of an hour and a half. Is that still happening now and is it possible for it to happen?

Being a sergeant is the toughest of all ranks, many have said including Leach on an occasion or two. It's not difficult to see why that might be true. With one step on the streets and one step in the administration, a sergeant has to balance themselves between both worlds without declaring allegiance to either and all while learning in a small department to supervise the same officers they might have been peers with a day earlier. It's not like the Los Angeles Police Department with nearly 10,000 officers and miles of city horizontally or the New York City Police Department with 40,000 sworn bodies and miles of city both horizontally and vertically where they can assign sergeants far away from their former partners or squads. Riverside's only got about 370 some bodies and a few miles of city and thus, it's harder to give new sergeants distance from their old haunts.

One concern of sergeants is that they want to make sure they have the time to spend with a younger work force and not have to compromise that level of involvement with higher ratios. Officers want to work knowing that they'll first of all be backed up when necessary by other officers and second, that there will be officers doing so who aren't fresh out of the academy. Both have reason to be concerned now with vacancies across the board. Initially, lower numbers of officers might more gravely impact front-line officers and assist sergeants with the ratios but the continued decline of sergeants which is expected to continue next year will soon reach the critical level of no return if that hasn't happened already. If the lieutenant positions remain frozen and increase as expected in the next year, then the employees at that level may see their burnout increase and the numbers from that rank that have to go on medical and stress levels increase. After all, they are humans not machines and since lieutenants were in some cases working at least partial double shifts and having difficulty scheduling vacations (to the point where there was at least discussion of having the command staff work in reserve watch command capacity), it is looking to be a very difficult year for this rank as well.

Although the Field Operations Division will be heavily impacted, Special Operations is facing the loss of two out of three of its lieutenants including its second traffic lieutenant in 18 months. The plan is to fill the traffic lieutenant position which is necessary but that will either strap the lieutenants further in the field division or it will lead to the promotion of a lieutenant in title only. Lt. Larry Gonzalez who's been in the assignment less than six months but is more than capable of handling any additional challenges will inherit the PACT division and the K9 unit will be received back into the field operations division fold.

Some have said that the response from the city manager's office to requests for more police officers have been complaints by one employee in particular, Asst. City Manager Tom DeSantis that police officers already get paid too much money. The response to that has been that DeSantis should himself become a police officer, undergo the training and go out on the streets. No offense, but it would seem that first of all given his unfortunate tantrum in Hemet, he probably wouldn't get hired and that's most certainly for the best. He's busy enough apparently micromanaging the police department anyway, when he's not making the labor negotiations process more arduous for all involved, in fact the last contract involving the RPOA that was signed in 2006 was mired for months until he left the table and then after that, things went more smoothly.

But that was then and this is now, and this election is taking place in the midst of the city's economic meltdown, which has been spun in so many different ways, some more realistically than others. Police officers drive cars with hundreds of thousands of miles on them and rotate their take home cars even at the higher ranks (though Leach is much more partial to Chrysler 300s than the tried and true, Crown Victorias), while employees in the city manager's office allegedly go through their take home cars including Crown Vics (which incidentally are riding off into the sunset after 2011 putting a lot of law enforcement agencies in knots trying to find a sturdy replacement with great reverse drive) somewhat more quickly.

So any president elect or re-elect is going to face serious challenges and it's up to the voters in the union to decide amongst themselves which of the two candidates can better handle that or at least according to their beliefs. Of course reality is what it is, and often it's difficult for any elected official even a labor president to understand what the job is really like, until they plunge into it themselves. One complaint and it's often valid is that there's so many issues to deal with and many complaints and that a person can only do so much and it can get to be overwhelming at times, and time is something that might be at a shortage if officers serving on the union board are carrying a lot of over-time in their schedules.

Until a person has held that position and all it entails, it's often difficult even to imagine what lies ahead and that makes things really tough. That's probably something Lanzillo learned and had to find a means to address and that will be the case with Mason as well if he gets elected instead, especially if this election further divides the union into more and more pieces. Who will be assigned the task of rebuilding the puzzle? Who will be entrusted with trying to do the impossible task of keeping the department from sliding further into a state where it reaches the level of being unable to provide adequate staffing? Because unless the public becomes more involved in this troubling issue, that's what will happen. Maybe a surprising observation from a critic (and I am that) but maybe you have to be a critic to see it because one thing about cheerleaders is that they never look really closely at anything and if you don't, you won't see the larger picture. Hans Christian Anderson figured that out about the disconnect that exists between emporers and those they rule in one particularly insightful tale.

And so it will be the case here. As always.


Here's some basic information about the RPOA.



Approximate size of the units


(and these numbers are rough estimates due to constant fluctuations in departmental staffing in these positions)


Officer Unit: @320

Supervisory Unit: (sergeants) 48-50



Past presidents:

Det. Jeffrey Joseph, 1999

Sgt. Jay Theuer, 2000-2001 (until promotion)

Officer Pat McCarthy (2002-2005, promoted to sergeant during second term)

Det. Ken Tutwiler (2006-2008)

Det. Chris Lanzillo (2008-)



Current Board of Directors


The association including its leadership have seen a lot of turmoil this year for different reasons, including the massive budget cuts faced by the city which have impacted even its public safety departments including police. The department has seen up to 30 or more sworn positions frozen including at the supervisory level and even a greater number of civilian positions remain vacant. By the time of the year, five lieutenants and six sergeant positions will remain unfilled. In addition, another sergeant or two are on leave and apparently it's not clear whether or not they will return to work. Labor negotiations were fairly stagnant given that it wasn't realistic to achieve any gains in salaries and benefits and most of the attention by this labor union as well as others was to protect what they had.

The Budget Picture and Staffing Positions

The association leadership had asked Paul Davis in 2008 quite a while before he ran for city council to audit the city's preliminary 2008-09 budget as well as its anticipated revenue stream to fund that budget. It wanted this information and any projections of the fiscal picture down the road so that it would be able to strategize effectively for its labor negotiations beginning in early 2009.

Davis did what the leadership asked and said that by November 2009, the city would be experiencing a $14 million shortfall in its revenue projections, a prediction as it turned out came true. The picture that has been painted of the city's budget situation was much different than that which occurred the last time the RPOA had negotiated its contract in 2006. That negotiation process had been filled with greater turmoil and turbulance given that the RPOA after contesting the negotiation practices of the city manager's office were locked out of the process by City Hall for two months. One lawsuit and a large rally during a city council meeting later, the RPOA had its contract but in the meantime, the nation entered into its worse economic downturn since the Great Depression and as since the epicenter of this latest recession triggered by the collapse of the housing market was located in the Inland Empire, Riverside is caught in an economic mire that shook it in 2009, with it probably hitting bottom by the end of 2010.

This put all the bargaining units including the RPOA on much different footing as merit pay was cut citywide including in the police department and step pay was frozen as well, which greatly impacted the promotional process. The department promoted officers recently who were given the higher rank but apparently not the salary increase that customarily goes with it. That puts the department in a huge dilemma as its supervisory levels dip into some pretty critical territory. Do these promotions get filled and the resultant bodies assigned to fill critical vacancies including two vacant lieutenant positions in the Special Operations Division? What about that vacant position sergeant position in the Sexual Assault or Child Abuse Division or in the Vice unit? But oh wait, they might be filled through promotions but it might take a while before your paycheck reflects it. That's pretty detrimental to the lieutenants to be making sergeants salaries because unlike sergeants, lieutenants aren't eligible for over-time pay which makes them good workhorses by the way. So if they don't get lieutenants' pay do they still get sergeants' overtime? So if you have a couple or more lieutenants go out on medical or stress leave including at least one who ultimately retired in the past couple of years, is there any relation?

Remember what consultant Joe Brann told the city council and city manager's office (though Hudson was absent) about issues that could be encountered like burnout and stress among officers including supervisors working in situations of high vacancy rates and lower staffing? After he presented that information among other cautionary notices about needing to address the department's staffing issues, Asst. City Manager Tom DeSantis responded with some very suspect statistical information that he was never able to back up factually and then the city manager's office made sure that was the last audit that Brann would give under his contract which expired about six months after that audit. When the city manager's office was asked through the California Public Records Act to provide the data to back up DeSantis' calculation of a 4.5 officer to supervisor ratio in June 2008, Hudson's office deferred that request to City Attorney Gregory Priamos who responded with a link to the fiscal budget which didn't include information on officer/supervisory ratios.

The officer/supervisor ratio currently stands at about 5.5 according to different sources and is artificially lowered by the reduction on the officer side of the comparison, given that all but six officer positions have remained vacant. Even if there are fewer sergeants including fewer field sergeants, the ratios can remain lower if there are fewer officers and promoting into the sergeant rank can directly impact the number of officers if officers are promoted directly to the sergeant positions or indirectly if detectives are promoted to sergeant and then their positions are filled (as by mandate under the MOU) by officers.



Captains:


Dave Dominguez

Mark Boyer



Lieutenants:

Pete Villanueva (summer, 2008)

Brian Baitx (autumn, 2009)

Robert Meier (autumn 2009)

Rick Tedesco ( by December 2009)

Ken Raya (by December 2009)



Sergeant:


Kevin Stanton (autumn 2008)

Leon Phillips (promotion, July 2008)

Lisa Williams (transfer, 2008)

Don Taulli ( had postponed his retirement for a year, December 2009)

Duane Beckman (December 2009)

Patrick Watters (December 2009)


Officer: 19-26 (depending whether cited figures include six recently approved positions)

Civilian : At least 35

Police Department Vacancy Rate: 10%

To (as always) be continued...

Another business in downtown Riverside shuts its doors, this time it's a bank.




A Lake Elsinore city councilman who is the focus of a recall petition speaks out after being arrested for drunk driving.


(excerpt, Press Enterprise)




Buckley said today that he has no intention of resigning his council seat.

"I apologize. I take responsibility. I hope the community understands. I'm already working to resolve the matter quickly and appropriately," he said this afternoon.

"It's never a good time for somebody to do something stupid. It's never a good time for a council member to do something stupid. It's really never a good a time for a council member facing a bogus recall to do something stupid," Buckley said. "I hope the community will be able to separate the two issues."

Lake Elsinore police Sgt. Marc Cloutier said that, while a DUI checkpoint was underway Friday night at Mission Trail and Malaga Road, Buckley was stopped about 9:30 p.m. on nearby Casino Drive because he had no front license plate. Cloutier said the officer was on the lookout for drunken drivers who might be trying to avoid the checkpoint. Cloutier said they have no reason to think Buckley was trying to avoid the checkpoint and the officer did not witness Buckley driving erratically.

Cloutier said that, while talking with Buckley, the officer became suspicious that he had been drinking. Buckley took a Breathalyzer test, but Cloutier declined to release his blood alcohol content. Cloutier said it is the department's policy not to disclose that information in any DUI case.





About a week after announcing that it might have to do employee layoffs, Riverside County's financial director announces his resignation.




Press Enterprise Columnist Dan Bernstein comes up with names for the Riverside County District Attorney's office new SWAT team if it ever creates one.





Vehicle sales have dropped in Riverside County which translates into less revenue through sales taxes.

Press Release

City of Fresno Selects Eddie J. Aubrey As First Director of the Office of
Independent Review

11/04/2009

Joined by Mayor Ashley Swearengin and community
members, City Manager Andy Souza today announced the appointment of Eddie J.
Aubrey of Federal Way, Wash., who has 29 years of public service experience
as a former police officer, deputy prosecuting attorney and judge, as the
City of Fresno's first director of the Office of Independent Review.

As director of the Office of Independent Review, Aubrey will work
independently of the Police Department chain of command to provide City
policymakers and the public with an objective, third-party analysis of
internal investigations to ensure those investigations are conducted in a
thorough, fair and unbiased manner.

"The role of independent reviewer requires excellent analytical skills,
research ability, investigative skills, knowledge and experience in the
profession of law enforcement, problem-solving, integrity, forthrightness,
innovation, transparency, and effective communication, " Souza said. "Eddie
Aubrey has demonstrated throughout his career that he possesses all of those
essential characteristics. " Mayor Swearengin also said Aubrey's background
will put him in a "unique position" to carry out the responsibilities of the
independent reviewer.

"Eddie Aubrey's experience as a police officer, prosecutor and judge will
give him a 360-degree view of the issues that the independent reviewer will
be called upon to address," Mayor Swearengin said. "Combined with his
integrity, excellent communication skills and strong commitment to reaching
out to the community, he will be a catalyst in ensuring that there is trust
between law enforcement and Fresno residents."

"I'm honored to be given the opportunity to make a difference in Fresno,"
Aubrey said. "I'm committed to building trust, adding value and helping to
strengthen policecommunity relations in the city."

Aubrey, 50, spent five years as a police officer with the Santa Monica
Police Department and nine years as a police officer with the Los Angeles
Police Department. During that time, he conducted thousands of
investigations as an officer with those departments.

During his time with the Los Angeles Police Department, Aubrey used his
skills of problem solving in high-stress, high-pressure situations while
conducting numerous town hall meetings with citizens following the Rodney
King incident in south-central Los Angeles. Aubrey also trained new police
officers in both Santa Monica and Los Angeles.

Aubrey also spent 10 years as a deputy prosecuting attorney in the King
County Prosecutors Office. Most recently, he served as a judge pro tem with
King County District Court in King County, Washington, and as director of
public safety and risk manager at Tacoma Community College in Tacoma,
Washington.

Aubrey, who will report to the City Manager, will start work on Nov. 30. He
will be paid an annual salary of $107,000.

The Office of Independent Review will be located in the Dickey Youth
Development Center, 1515 E. Divisadero, Fresno.

Aubrey received a juris doctorate from Seattle University School of Law and
also earned a bachelor's degree in business management from the University
of Phoenix. He is a member of the National Association for Civilian
Oversight of Law Enforcement (NACOLE), a non-profit organization that brings
together individuals and agencies working to establish or improve oversight
of police officers in the United States.







Riverside City Hall will be hosting a public discussion on the future of Magnolia Avenue at its 3 p.m. meeting Tuesday, Nov. 10 which is like today!

Breaking Story: Riverside Finance Committee meets at City Hall

Breaking a nearly year long drought, the Riverside Finance Committee met inside the Mayor's Ceremonial Room at the top floor of City Hall. An audience of about six people including representatives from The Group awaited Chair Nancy Hart, Vice-chair Paul Davis and general member, Mike Gardner as they arrived for the meeting. Hart chaired the meeting but Asst. City Manager Paul Sundeen did most the talking as he presented the agenda item which was on electric and water revenue refunding bonds.





[Vice Chair Paul Davis (l) and Chair Nancy Hart discuss issues pertaining to utility bonds at the annual Finance Committee meeting]







[City staff members representing the city manger and city attorney's offices along with public utilities field questions from city council members and the public at the Finance Committee meeting.]



During the meeting, members of the committee including Gardner and Davis asked questions as did people in the audience including Jennifer Vaughn-Blakely about the impact of Riverside Renaissance and its massive expenditures on the city residents. Interestingly enough, some of her questions were answered but some weren't though a lot of words were said particularly by Sundeen.

Sundeen did say that the internal audits of the city by an outside firm would be scheduled to be presented to the Finance Committee in January. It's not clear yet whether the committee will hold another meeting next month or whether the ongoing freeze on this once-major committee has really substantially thawed. That will remain to be seen in the months ahead but holding this meeting was hopefully a first step in the right direction as financial accountability and transparency particularly during these difficult times continues to be a major issue for many city residents. That's been something that's been fading away since the current administration has been in place since June 2005 although it's hoped with the last two election cycles which have redrawn the city council will stem this process and reverse it. Although that still remains to be seen.

One issue that came up is that it looks like there will probably be more employee layoffs though the committee members were not sure how many there will be.


During its heyday, the Finance Committee was one of the committees to be on and especially chair. Former chairs include former council members Frank Schiavone, Art Gage and current councilman, Chris MacArthur. But after it started disappearing on the agenda, Schiavone switched committees and Gage said that he was unable to get items on the agenda for the meetings and soon enough, the meetings started being reduced in numbers within months of the city council's installation of Former Riverside County Economic Development Agency head, Brad Hudson as its city manager in June 2005 and the city manager's office brought the city's finance department into its fold and picked Sundeen as the first assistant city manager of finance over the man who had once supervised him, Jim Smith who had served as interim assistant city manager under interim city manager Tom Evans.

There were some issues about whether the Finance Committee will cover the issues that it did in the past when it wasn't spending its time packed away in some municipal closet wrapped in moth balls. It's been quiet lately because the current and past chairs of the committee seemed content with awaiting instruction on the city manager's office on when to meet to discuss the financial issues of this city and the chairs are the only committee member who can call meetings. Other committee members in the present and past have expressed frustration with this stagnation on meetings of the finance committee as have city residents.

When asked about the issue of community block grant funding coming to the Finance Committee, Asst. City Manager Belinda Graham said she couldn't remember that happening in her five years with the city. Well, actually the committee discussed that issue at its April 18, 2005 meeting according to this meeting agenda. And that was the last time this issue came to the committee since Hudson has served as city manager.


The last meeting to discuss the audit reports was on Dec. 8, 2008 according to this agenda.

The last meeting to discuss user fees, an issue which was traditionally addressed by the Finance Committee at least once annually was March 10, 2008 according to this agenda.


The Finance Committee also reviewed budgetary recommendations for the public safety departments in the city back in the day when it was allowed to perform this function.


And why the subject is committees, this is how active the city council's committees have been since they were reconfigured in June after the latest round of city council elections.



Community Services and Youth ( chaired by Paul Davis): 4

Development (Mike Gardner): 4

Finance (Nancy Hart): 1

Governmental Affairs (Andrew Melendrez): 2

Public Safety (Chris MacArthur): 2

Transportation (Steve Adams): 2

Utility Services Land Use Energy Management (Rusty Bailey): 5

Municipal Matters

The Riverside City Council is set to hold another one of its meetings on Tuesday, Nov. 10 at both 3 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. and will cover this agenda which includes business of both the council and the Redevelopment Agency which are pretty much the same people. If you haven't seen the agenda in the last day or so, check it again as it appears to have been revised.

If you attend the evening session, better not blink your eyes or sneeze or take a bit of a nap because it looks to be one of the shortest meetings in modern history, with only one presentation and one discussion item and a consent calendar which is fairly light. Unless of course, the public comment portion attracts a crowd of people on an issue or two as has happened several times in the past several months.




Norco is planning on moving forward after electing two city council members.


(excerpt, Press Enterprise)




After ex-councilman Harvey Sullivan takes his seat on the council in December beside historic-preservation activist Kevin Bash, some residents don't expect major changes in the city but minor alterations in how things get done in Horsetown USA, a city that prides itself on protecting a rural lifestyle.

"I don't think much will change. I really don't," said Pat Overstreet, president of RURAL -- Residents of Norco Urging protection of the Rural and Animal keeping Lifestyle. "If you've seen it year after year, election after election, people get in there thinking: I can get in there and do a better job. But you find there are reasons things don't get done or things go at a snail's pace."

Overstreet said things take time and candidates learn that, after taking their seats and becoming deeply involved in city decision-making.

"I don't think there will be any huge, huge, difference," said Overstreet, who voted for incumbents Dick MacGregor and Frank Hall because of their experience.





Dusty Baker dedicates the ball fields at Andulka Park.

A Close Call

Why working at horse racing starting gate can be a very dangerous job. Fortunately no one was hurt nor was Quality Road who was gate scratched due to suffering lacerations on his legs after he was unwilling to load. He won't be allowed to race again until he passes a rigorous gate loading and schooling test.

The number "4" horse was eventually winner Zenyatta and she goes in the gate but "12", Quality Road as you can see balks, and throws a temper tantrum putting everyone around him in a dangerous situation along with himself. They put the blindfold on him, spin him around and then lead him through the gate but as soon as girth touches the sides, he starts bucking and kicking forcing his jockey, John Velasquez to have to dismount (and jockeys have been killed and badly injured in starting gates) off to the side. The blindfold becomes dangerous when while trying to back Quality Road out the open gates in the back after it's clear he's at risk of injuring himself seriously, he moves forward and activates the safety mechanism in the front gates which allow them to open when a horses pushes against them and gets out the front. Fortunately, one handler grabs him and putting his life at risk, manages to control him until the blindfold is removed.

Quality Road acted up in a similar fashion in the Jockey Club Gold Cup and to a lesser extent in the Travers Stakes.

Don't envy the guy who got headbutted by a 1200 pound thrashing horse as soon as he got through the front gate. Ouch.




The Board of Library Trustees will meet in the Arlington Library on Monday, Nov. 16 at 5 p.m. If you want more information, you can find it at this Web site.


The Metropolitan Museum Board meets at the downtown museum conference room on Tuesday, Nov. 9 at 4 p.m.




The Community Police Review Commission will meet on Wednesday, Nov. 18 at 5:30 p.m. in the Fifth Floor Conference Room at City Hall. Due to the holidays, this meeting will take place one week earlier than usual.

COMING SOON:

The Battle over the Soul of the RPD

Mayor Ron Loveridge Directs Human Relations Commission to Deal with Nazi Problem

Snapshot of a Commission



Who: Human Relations Commission

When: Thursday, Nov. 5 at 6 p.m.

Where: Mayor's Ceremonial Room at City Hall

What: Neo Nazi and anti-Nazi rallies




The Human Relations Commission met on Thursday, Nov. 5 at 6 p.m. to address what has become the problem with a group of Neo Nazis demonstrating in Riverside in recent months. The Nazis are actually a chapter of the National Socialist Movement that is based out of Detroit, Michigan and numbers about several hundred members in the United States. If you can't read through the Web site, the renowned source, Wikipedia published this article summarizing them. The Riverside chapter is actually the so-called state headquarters and was started in 2005 during times apparently much quieter than they are now because the city hadn't seen or heard much from these Nazis until earlier this autumn.


These are what the so-called Nazis look like. They may or may not shave their heads. They wear tee-shirts where the American flag has been hybridized by the swastika. Ironic, considering how many Americans died fighting the Nazis in Europe. They're not raising their arms for a deodorant commercial but to invoke the Heil Hitler sign that the Nazis in Germany did when they were in the presence of people higher up in the pecking order than they were in the structural hierarchy. They basically despise anyone who's not a White Christian Anglo-Saxon straight person and think that they don't have a right to live in the United States even as citizens.







The Nazis are directed by their 25 point plan which is here but you're kind of limited to being able to only access it through the European languages. The Swahili or Hindi or Mandarin Chinese versions of the plan aren't available yet and there's no date yet announced when versions of the Nazi platform will be included online in those and other languages.

No Nazis attended the HRC meeting, but about two dozen concerned residents and members and leaders of community organizations and various groups against hate appeared offering input on the recent rallies and offering action plans. People criticized the counter demonstrators who until there were counter rallies against the Nazis to criticize, didn't have much to say about the issue at all.

They tried to present themselves as the voice of reason when that voice might have been quite helpful at about 10:05 a.m. on the day of the October protest at Madison and Railroad Street when a group of people ran across the street to attack the Nazis and the fistfight started. It was interesting because the Brown Berets who said that they were supposed to offer security at the rally blamed the police for conspiring to cause a riot and they said they had video proof of this happening at least 12 times without mentioning that there's also video posted everywhere from one end of the internet to the other of a group of them including the guy who spoke at the meeting rushing across a thinly drawn police line and over a couple of steel barricades to attack the Nazis within five minutes of their arrival. It's like a bar fight where the bouncers rather than preventing it or stopping it actually start it. It was interesting to watch their leader say that his organization was the only thing stopping violence from breaking out in Casa Blanca at the October rally.


But here are some snapshots taken of the meeting. They're not great because people don't keep their bodies and arms still when discussing controversial issues. But I have to say that Chair Gladys Walker ran a tight ship by keeping the meeting moving while respecting the right for the public to be heard. It's such an interestingly and rather marked contrast to the somewhat more dysfunctional and intensely micromanaged Community Police Review Commission which resembles a free for all brawl more than it does this commission when it conducts its monthly meetings. Someone said as they left that it's really nice to have a commission where it's apparent that its members respect each other.

Maybe it's just a coincidence or maybe it's because the HRC runs out of the Mayor's office not the city manager's office and the HRC has a parliamentarian at its meetings not a pair of city attorneys and a manager who wears like three different hats.






[Hate crime expert, Brian Levin from the California State University, San Bernardino addresses the Human Relations Commission at a special meeting.]





[Members of the Human Relations Commission including Chair Gladys Walker discuss the recent Neo-Nazi demonstrations in Riverside.]



Some commissioners spoke before they took public comment and some waited until afterward. Guest Speaker, Brian Levin, a former NYPD police officer who is now a nationally recognized expert on hate crimes provided information on the latest batch of Neo Nazis to hit Riverside. He also provided a history of the national organization of the NSM (which was founded by some Nazis 35 years ago) which he said historically had been the "laughing stock" of the Nazi movement in this country. Today, it's the largest by default because most of the others had splintered off as their leaders got arrested for crimes and some of the organizations themselves had imploded. He said that the Nazis' strategy is to go into polarized areas and to try to foment a violent response to them so that they can either claim to be victims of violence or sue the cities for not protecting them. The NSM chapters have been having these demonstrations at day laborer sites all over the country to prepare for their national rally which will be held in Phoenix, Arizona this month.

Levin mentioned that there were 928 hate groups in the country and it's the splintering of groups, the increased hatred of Latinos in the country masked as hatred of undocumented immigrants, the election of a biracial president and the Islamaphobia that have contributed to the increase in organizations. The hate groups have also formed alliances with biker criminal gangs.

Damon Castillo, who was once hired by the city to evaluate the HRC, was critical of the counter demonstrations and said that these were fiscally difficult times for the city and the demonstration last month cost the city $51,000 so the city couldn't afford to pay for any more of them. Others countered by saying that there were contingents from out of town including a troupe of anarchists in Claremont who were planning to protest anytime, anywhere the Neo Nazis did. That's what is going to happen whether you like it or not, one speaker said.


The commissioners made some comments of their own at different parts of the hour long meeting.

Commissioner Beth Skinner said that giving the Neo Nazis minimal attention was best. As long as they feel unwelcome and unwanted, then that was the message that should be sent.

Viet Tran, also on the HRC, said that the thought of the Nazis gaining a foothold in the city bothered him.



"Hate is not welcome in this city," Tran said.



Chair Gladys Walker said she didn't want to give the movement any credibility.


"It's about us, not about them" Walker said.



Commissioner Lorraine Saint said she wanted to make a positive situation out of a negative one and city residents who attended had good suggestions from having tolerance conferences to multi-cultural festivals, to reaching out to high school students and young adults who are vulnerable to recruitment by hate organizations. The commission agreed to create another ad hoc committee to address the Neo Nazis situation.

All of this came about because Mayor Ron Loveridge convened one of his Multi-Cultural Forum meetings last week and expressed his concern that something be done about this situation immediately. The city didn't demand any action be taken when the Nazis announced that they were going to protest in September. The city didn't demand action after the first rally and counter demonstrations (although Loveridge did condemn the Nazis during comments at a city council meeting). Not even when the Nazis announced they were going to return to Indiana and Madison in Casa Blanca to protest in October. No, it wasn't until the second counter demonstration put Riverside on news channels and in stories published through the Associated Press wire that showed Riverside on a map with a swastika imposed over it that something had to be done. Because of that, it's not really clear what Loveridge and others at the 'Hall are upset with more, the Nazis (which they clearly don't like) or the counter demonstrators namely because the confrontation between the two entities is what brings in the media to cover a part of Riverside that City Hall might not want prospective companies trying to do business with Riverside during an economic downturn to see.

Although it's clearly the Nazis that has got City Hall upset, the powers that be in Riverside have never been fond of street demonstrations which of course, make it more difficult to sell Riverside as an economic entity, a "most livable" city and so forth. And that's become more important because it's clear that the recession which is said to be ending elsewhere is still entrenched in Riverside and the rest of the Inland Empire and that the tax revenue in Riverside is still in decline (as the city again readjusts its budget). Still, the move towards utilizing the HRC is much better than the city's decision to hire a public relations firm after the fatal officer-involved shooting of Tyisha Miller in 1998.

But the commission didn't really address the strong anti-Latino sentiment (and this group experienced the greatest hate increase in hate crimes including citizens) that is what drives the Neo Nazis to believe that Riverside's fertile recruiting ground for their brand of hate. Mix that in with the high unemployment rate of at least (officially) 15% and the housing crash in Riverside and it's not surprising that a bunch of Neo Nazis has suddenly reared its collective head after staying below the radar for four years.

Day After Election, City Announces Potential Layoffs

Not long after Riverside City Hall settled a labor dispute with its largest union, the SEIU General Unit, it's released news that more employee layoffs might be looming due to a projected $4 million decline in revenue. Which is worse than what the county and state are facing, according to the article. It's interesting that this news waited until the day after the mayoral election to slip out. No actually, it's called playing politics to ensure that another incumbent doesn't get penalized while running for office with an untimely piece of unfortunate civic news.



(excerpt, Press Enterprise)




Just after winning re-election Tuesday, Riverside Mayor Ron Loveridge acknowledged the looming deficit and said the council will have to decide whether to make cuts or spend reserves. Councilmen Paul Davis and Mike Gardner said in separate phone interviews Wednesday that layoffs may be necessary, and Gardner said the council may get a budget update and begin addressing the deficit as soon as December. So far this fiscal year the city has only made small job cuts, and Gardner cautioned that it's too early to say if there will be more. "Layoffs are certainly on the table. I'm just not sure they'll be part of the solution," he said. Any layoffs likely wouldn't happen until after Jan. 15. The council last month agreed with the city's largest employee union not to cut union jobs until then. Davis said he expects the gap to be closed with a combination of layoffs and spending general fund reserves. While Loveridge said Tuesday the city has continued to provide residents "first-rate services" even as the budget has been trimmed, Davis said he's worried about cutting staff to the point that services suffer.



It's interesting that in a city where layoffs are taking place, its infrastructure still remains quite management heavy, including having management in positions where there's no one to manage. Which makes a lot of sense naturally. For one thing, does the city manager's office really need four assistant managers, especially since every city manager until Brad Hudson had to make do with just one assistant city manager, whether it be Larry Paulson under John Holmes, Penny Culbreath-Graft under George Carvalho or even interim, Jim Smith under interim Tom Evans.

But under Hudson? Four assistant city managers. In these difficult economic times when employees much lower than the management level are facing more layoffs (and some management positions in other city departments have been frozen) can the city really afford to keep all four of them in these positions, since two of them were directors or lower level management not too many years ago.

Still Counting Ballots In Mayoral Race

More on Riverside's mayoral including what's up with those write in votes that haven't been counted yet even though the results of the election have been announced.



Meanwhile, the city council election in Norco continues on as one of the candidates refuses to concede in a tightly contested race.

Let's Get Ready To Rumble:

The Riverside County District Attorney's Office Vs The Sheriff's Department

A feud broken out between two of Riverside County's public safety departments which has led to investigators from the Riverside County District Attorney's office boycotting the Ben Clark Training Center, which is run by the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.



(excerpt, Press Enterprise)

Riverside County Sheriff Stanley Sniff said he doesn't object to the district attorney having a special activities unit. He said he "stays clear of meddling" in other departments' business. But Sniff added he was "somewhat puzzled as to the need for a SWAT team or SWAT training within any district attorney's office.

"Very specially trained units are much more closely tied to law enforcement agencies, with 'uniformed first responder' responsibilities within the criminal justice system," Sniff said.

Horst said the unit does not carry out the more familiar SWAT activities -- no armored vehicles, hostage negotiators or helicopters.

But, Horst said, basic SWAT training is proper for the roles his office does take on. He said it also fits guidelines suggested by the California attorney general's office and police training standards.

"I think it is safe to say this bureau has taken a more pro-active role in public safety," Horst said.

Election by Appointment Continues in Riverside County

Riverside County supervisors appointed a sheriff now one of them has been appointed as well as Sacramento selects the latest new supervisor. Who else but John Benoit


(excerpt, Inside Riverside)



Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has once again shown his disregard and utter contempt for the people of Riverside County by appointing a member of the do-nothing State Legislature to the Riverside County Board of Supervisors. If you thought the budget was bad before, just wait for John Benoit to put his years of experience on the State Budget to work on the County's Budget.

Fortunately Benoit will have to face election to the seat next June. He will likely face former Republican State Senator Jim Battin. That will likely be one of the costliest and nastiest races in the history of Riverside County.





The power struggle between Atlanta's police commission and that city's police department continues onward.


(excerpt, Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Chief Richard Pennington said in an e-mailed statement Wednesday that APD is “currently developing a standard operating procedure that will define procedures between the Atlanta Citizen’s Review Board and Atlanta Police personnel

His office did not respond when asked via e-mail if officers could be disciplined if they decline to answer the board’s questions.

Meanwhile, the police union said its lawyers would continue advising members to decline to answer the board’s questions. The union contends their answers to the board could be used to bring criminal charges.

“We still strongly believe they [the Citizen Review Board] shouldn’t be doing these investigations,” said Sgt. Scott Kreher, president local chapter of the International Brotherhood of Police Officers.

He said there are many other agencies better equipped to do these kinds of inquiries — APD, the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office, the FBI, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, to name a few.

“That may not be the sentiment of the people of the city of Atlanta,” said Cristina Beamud, executive director for the board. “The people of Atlanta, through their elected representatives, have required that an oversight board be established so that citizens can review the investigations that are conducted into these types of allegations.”

But the commission urges the chief of the police department to keep his promise. Doesn't going to look like it's going to happen. But then again, this city's police department was investigated by multiple agencies after the murder of Kathryn Johnston by narcotics officers employed there and at least one investigating party told the world he found evidence of corruption.





Another Los Angeles Police Department officer has been indicted, this one for illegal importing guns


(excerpt, Contra Costa Times)




Johnny Augustus Baltazar, 50, who was placed on administrative leave by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) last year, is named in an indictment handed down by a federal grand jury October 23. Baltazar is charged with one count of unlawful interstate transportation of a firearm and ammunition. He is expected to make his initial appearance in federal court Monday afternoon.

The indictment is the culmination of an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that began when U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers intercepted and seized the weapons at Los Angeles International Airport.

According to the indictment, Baltazar sought to ship a container packed with firearms and ammunition to Belize. The weapons included eight .40-caliber handguns and two 9 mm handguns along with more than 1,500 rounds of ammunition.

Investigators believe the weapons were intended for use by officers with a Belize-based company called Elite Security which is owned by the defendant. The defendant did not have the required licenses to export the firearms.





A police officer currently sitting in jail in Missouri talks about the pressure to steal money seized by the police from drug dealers.



(excerpt, St. Louis Post-Dispatch)




Liston was the lead officer, the one responsible for writing the report and logging the evidence. And for turning in the cash.

"I had no intention of taking it," he said in a recent interview after being sentenced to federal prison for doing just that.

Liston said that for weeks, he had been under increasing pressure from one of his partners, Officer Bobby Lee Garrett.

Welcome Home

My cousin Bruce is on his way home from his year-long deployment as an individual reserve in Bagdad, Iraq.

Two Financial meetings in Riverside's City Hall

Friday, Nov. 6, 2009: The Investment Committee meets on the Seventh Floor at City Hall at 2 p.m. and the much anticipated Finance Committee meeting will take place after that at 2:30 p.m.

Hiding in Plain Sight: The Stats on Recruitment and Retention of Women

`What: Human Resources Board

When: Monday, Oct. 2 at 4 p.m.

Where: Riverside City Hall, Fifth Floor Conference Room




The Human Resources Board met on Monday, Nov. 2 and Riverside Police Department Chief Russ Leach finally appeared to do his presentation on issues pertaining to the recruitment and retention of female officers in the police department.

Leach arrived at the meeting with his adjutant, Sgt. Jaybee Brennan and a female administrative analyst from the city manager's office who had done the audit on female recruitment and retention for the department's audit and compliance bureau. It was indeed news that the city manager's office had placed one of its administrative analysts on the police department's audit and compliance bureau when that hadn't been the case several years ago back when the police department had more civilian employees. But then the city manager's office has placed its administrative analysts everywhere. This office even operated under the mistaken impression that one of them was qualified to manage the Community Police Review Commission for six months which just created a huge backlog on complaint reviews when the latest permanent one was hired.

What was also interesting is that Leach in his presentation cited statistical information that was taken from his recent internal audit on the retention rates of female officers done by that bureau. The same statistics which were deemed unreleasable to the board by the city attorney who delivered his ruling on that issue through Human Resources Director Rhonda Strout. Priamos' rationale for barring the release of that information was that the information was confidential including the stats. Meaning that when the board had requested this information in the past, it was told by Strout that it could not do so because it was connected to the internally generated audit. Obviously, for whatever reason that's all water under the bridge now because Leach provided those same apparently taboo statistics in his presentation. Only in Riverside, is information confidential in one meeting and not the next. It seems that it's not so much a list of rules or even laws that are followed but simply games that are played with information that is essentially public. Unfortunate for the city of course but it makes blogging more interesting.

But what were those formally top-secret statistics that magically poof, became publicly disseminated information? There are some cited below and they do provide more information about the issues of women and policing in the city's department.


The current percentage of female officers in Riverside's police department is 10%, a slight increase from the 9% share that existed in the 1990s and early 2000s. The FBI listed these stats that show the national averages for percentages of female employees and officers in law enforcement agencies serving different sized cities for 2005. Riverside's police department would be in the category of cities between 250,000 to 500,000 where the average figure is 15.2%, somewhat higher than Riverside's current stat. The overall national average is about 11.6% because large-sized agencies are not the norm in this nation and the smaller law enforcement agencies have lower percentages of female officers. The vast majority of department have less than 100 employees and the average sized law enforcement agency has about 50 sworn officers. Riverside's Police Department has about 370 nonvacant positions.



The attrition rates by gender between 2001-2008 differed greatly between male and female officers in the police department. The "washout" rate during this time period was 29% for men and 45% for women. For women, out of 31 hired, 14 left. 11 resigned, two terminated and one retired. The men showed higher rates of departure for disciplinary reasons than did the women who showed higher rates of resignations.

As far as trying to get hired by the department, about 15% of individuals who applied for positions in the department were female. In terms of the officers that the department actually hired, 13% were female. Both figures are higher than the current percentage of female representation in the department but lower than the dropout rates and comprise the time period between 2001-2008 in the department's history.

The picture of what happens to male versus female officers during their probationary periods also proved to be interesting though the retention rates for male and female officers weren't as disparate, according to Leach's statistics.


For officers employed there for 18 months or less, , the percentage of dropout rates were 72% of the total dropout rates for men and 79% for women. Again, fewer women than men terminated or retired but more women than men resigned, percentage wise. Women had lower rates of discipline, complaints and use of force incidents, according to Leach which is the case of female officers in most law enforcement agencies across the country.

Here's a cross section of women who left the police department by year for this current decade.


2001: 1 (Asian-American) dropped out the first day of the academy
1 Failed Field Training Officer program
1 dropped out five days in academy


2002: 1 dropped out five months into the academy

2003: 1 dropped out seven days into academy

2004: Failed FTO program

2005: 1 Terminated after six months in academy/department (Kelsy Metzler)

2006: 2 Failed FTO program
1 lasted one month in academy

2006/07: One retired on medical leave (actually two, Amy Munoz and Tina Gould)

2007: 1 Failed FTO program

2008: 1 Terminated (Laura DiGiorgio)

The Fate of the Department's Pre-Academy

The audit conducted by the department's bureau actually mostly covered the two week pre-academy that the department holds to prepare its newly hired personnel for the rigors of the basic academy. After the audit was conducted, the department made changes in the pre-academy program particularly involving the use of the drill sergeants and the role they played. One area that wasn't changed as much was the physical training involved with the curriculum, according to Leach. But the area where women had the highest dropout rates included the academy and the FTO programs (particularly between 2006-07). Not to mention one area they didn't discuss which was the several women who left after about 2-3 years working with the police department.


For women of color, not much has change there in five years in terms of their numbers. One Asian-American woman, three African-Americans and four Latinas (down from six) are included among the list of female officers, along with 29 White officers. The net increase for women officers since 2001 is about 5-6 female officers, which brings them up to about 37.


Leach said that the department needed to make it clear to women what law enforcement was about so they didn't bring a false impression or were given a false impression and then drop out after all this money had been spent recruiting and hiring them. One step he proposed was moving the mandated psychological testing earlier in the application and screening process.

He also talked about attending all the graduation ceremonies for the police academies where future officers sponsored by the police department graduated and how he always saw the women walking around in green uniforms. We like them better in blue, he said. He talked about how the county sheriff's departments were getting more women because the women want to work in jails and not out in the field.

The reference to more females being hired by the county agencies in the inland empire is a noteworthy one. It’s true that women are overrepresented in the corrections division of both the Riverside and San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department. That certainly was the case according to statistical information I received from both agencies twice in the past nine years. The rationale for these statistics was that more women than men were drawn to corrections because these positions enjoyed more structured work schedules and safer working conditions. That could be true, however if you examine the statistics from both agencies for male African-American employees, you will find a similar trend of them being overrepresented in corrections and equally represented or underrepresented in the field divisions. There may be entirely different reasons behind the trends shown by these two demographics or there might be similar causal factors including how the police culture in many agencies views men of color including African-Americans and women of all races as being outsiders.

It might also be that both groups are negatively impacted by an institutional culture that might be more pervasive in the field divisions than in the correctional divisions or it might be the same but the more amiable working conditions provided by the correctional division might blunt some of the cultural impact on one or both of these groups. The two demographic groups that tend to be most negatively impacted by police culture are African-American men and women of all races. If women were scared off by the dangers of working in the streets, departments like the LAPD, the NYPD and the several other agencies in major cities wouldn’t have shown the higher percentages of female officers that they have and these agencies don’t have corrections divisions. And the Philadelphia Police Department which had 25% of its officers as female ranked seventh in the nation in 2003. Most of the cities with higher percentages of women such as the LAPD developed these numbers after being placed under 20-year consent decrees by the federal government including the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Another factor that might be working in favor for the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department is that some years ago before the election of former Sheriff Bob Doyle, the department created an ad hoc committee or task force of community members called the Recruitment, Retention and Diversity Panel to address these issues pertaining primarily to different ethnic and racial groups, secondarily to gender. At the end of their fact finding and researching efforts, the committee issued a report of recommendations for the department to follow to improve its record in this area. It's not clear whether the Sheriff's Department issues regular reports on its progress in implementing these recommendations.






Leach said in his presentation that he didn't believe women wanted to be promoted especially female detectives who he said were excellent by the way but tended to like to stay in that position with a more regular schedule. However when he mentioned detective testing which was conducted this past summer, he said there were no women high on the list. He did mention a couple of applicants for sergeant that might be good candidates for promotion were female.

Breakdown by rank

Captains: 1 out of 4 (total): Meredyth Meredith

Lieutenants: 0 out of approximately 13-15

Sergeants: 4 out of 46

Jaybee Brennan, Melissa Bartholomew, Michelle Jackson, Lisa Williams

Detectives: 10/61

Officers: 22/217

Total Sworn: 37 out of 370




During his presentation, Leach said that the department did exit interviews for employees who left but that they were on a voluntary not mandatory basis. He added that they couldn't force the women to be interviewed and some didn't want to be interviewed at all, they just wanted to get away from a bad experience. That last sentence by itself should throw up some red flags as to what these "bad experiences" are. But the reality is that many women who resign may not want to be interviewed for fear that any complaints they raise might be used against them as a means to blackball them from getting hired by other police agencies if they decide to try to find a job elsewhere in the profession. After all, most of the women who leave the Riverside Police Department are resigning rather than getting fired or retiring.

A national expert on gender and policing once told me that female officers don't drop out of agencies or resign because they were ignorant about the realities of law enforcement but because they weren't ignorant about the realities of law enforcement for women in many of these agencies.



This interesting study on female police officers focuses particularly on the experiences and perceptions of Black female police officers.


The Effect of Consent Decrees on the Recruitment and Hiring of Female officers. This study shows that the decrees were instrumental in raising the representation of men of color and women in the agencies like the LAPD during the 20 years that they were in place. After they expire, the numbers slowly start to decline in a relatively short period of time although there's no sudden drop.






Speaking of Leach, he made an appearance at the afternoon session of the city council meeting, presumably to meet in closed session on the lawsuit filed by Los Angeles Police Department Sgt. Wayne Guillary against the city. The city council has scheduled this lawsuit on its agenda twice in the past several weeks for the closed session portion of its agenda.

Here is Guillary on videotape working at a demonstration in Los Angeles several years ago. He was the subject of a campaign by activists in L.A. to give him positive views at the Rate My Cop site where his profile has received over 30,000 visits.

Mayor's Election

In case you haven't heard, Mayor Ron Loveridge was elected to another mayoral race carrying around 70% of the vote. Challenger and former councilman, Art Gage conceded earlier in the vote tally.


Results as of November 4 1:05am, 100.00%% of Precincts Reporting (97/97)
Candidates (Vote for 1)

Ron Loveridge 12,630 votes 69.17%

* Occupation: Mayor

Art Gage 5,629 votes 30.83%

* Occupation: Businessman
* Email:amgage@att.net


So another election is finished and out of the way and the parties have wound down. At least this one was decided quickly. When my cousin ran for mayor in another place, it took days for the tie vote between her and her challenger for the position to be broken, but it finally was. So never say that voting is a waste of your time and your vote counts for nothing because you never know.




The Press Enterprise Editorial Board supports an extension of the state's public records act to include court records.




Employee layoffs likely next year in Riverside County.


(excerpt, Press Enterprise)



"Next year's budget will inevitably include staff reductions," he said. "That is the stark reality."

Even before the new revenue projections, the county had to impose 10 percent cuts and impose furloughs on Fridays to reduce expenses. Supervisors set a Nov. 24 workshop to discuss the current budget outlook.

The first-quarter report also includes results of a so-called "stress test" used to see if county departments are on track to finish the fiscal year within their budgets.

Twelve departments failed the test, including the Sheriff's Department, the district attorney and county counsel offices, according to the report.

Sheriff Stanley Sniff told supervisors his department is doing its part to reduce expenses.

For the current fiscal year, Sniff said the department started with a $13 million budget deficit but has reduced the figure by securing grant money, participating in an early retirement program and keeping some upper-level management positions vacant.

But Sniff said the challenges remain. It has nearly 800 vacancies and will need hundreds of deputies to fill the expanded Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in Banning.




And the next police chief of the Los Angeles Police Department is ....[ Insert Name ]





Off-duty officers in Delaware have been accused of fighting.


(excerpt, Delaware Online)




The early-morning fight began inside Dude's Sports Bar, owned by Wilmington police Sgt. Mark Christopher, and spilled onto Union Street, where patrol officers from Wilmington and troopers from the state police briefly clashed while trying to subdue the four men.

At one point, a uniformed patrol officer applied an electric Taser to trooper Vincent Clemons, who was off-duty and struggling with another man.

State and city police have released few details, declining to identify by name anyone in the fight, but they have acknowledged that a Wilmington officer and a state trooper were involved. No arrests have been made.

"Chief Michael Szczerba assures the public and all involved in this incident that it is being thoroughly investigated, and further states that any and all allegations will be reviewed," Wilmington police spokesman Sgt. Steven Barnes wrote in an e-mail. Police would not acknowledge any racial complaint, but Barnes said: "If an allegation of a racial slur is made by anyone, it will be thoroughly investigated."





Complaints filed by residents against officers are up over 18 percent in Chicago.


(excerpt, Chicago Tribune)


Much of the 18.6 percent increase in complaints received by the Independent Police Review Authority has been driven by a steep rise since March of this year, IPRA Chief Administrator Ilana Rosenzweig said.

For most of 2008 and the first quarter of 2009, the authority was receiving about 2,300 new complaints against police every three months. But in the second and third quarters of this year the numbers jumped to 2,600 and then 2,800.

The increase has forced the authority to deploy more investigators to fielding new cases, causing a slowdown in the rate at which investigations are completed, Rosenzweig said.

The authority closes about 60 percent of its cases within six months, down from about 65 percent the previous year, she said.






Columbia, Missouri finally has its civilian review board.



San Jose's police department becomes the first to use new camera technology.





Change the name of this iconic product. Surely you jest.

Taser shocks contribute to death but not delay in CPRC's investigation of Acevedo death

****ELECTION UPDATE*****


Art Gage Concedes Mayoral Race

But in San Bernardino Jim Penman waits to do so.


Riverside Mayoral Race

64.95% votes counted

Ron Loveridge: 11,175 69.99%

Art Gage: 4,791 30.01%

Source: Smart Voters




On the first anniversary of the officer-involved death of Marlon Acevedo in Riverside, California, the Riverside County Coroner's office stated that taser charges contributed to his death.


(excerpt, Press Enterprise)

Dr. Scott McCormick, who performed the autopsy on Acevedo, said, in that case too, the Taser was one factor among many, the most important of which was PCP intoxication. Weighing all factors, including the proximity of Taser shocks to his time of death, McCormick decided the Taser should be listed as a factor.

"Absent the use of the Taser, he most likely still would have died. I don't think this is a reason to demonize the use of the Taser," McCormick said.

Riverside Police Department spokeswoman Sgt. Jaybee Brennan declined to comment on the case. Acevedo's family has sued in federal court, alleging wrongful death and excessive force.

Deputy Chief Boris Robinson of the Riverside County Sheriff's Department said this is the only case in which the coroner's office has cited Taser shocks as a contributing factor. Sandy Fatland, spokeswoman for the San Bernardino County coroner's office, said her office has never cited them as a factor.

One of the Inland people dying after being shocked was a 19-year-old at a mental health facility in San Bernardino. He appeared agitated and was wearing a gas mask when police tried to restrain him last month. Two others died in Riverside County in July and August after encounters with sheriff's deputies near Hemet and in Moreno Valley. Authorities said the men behaved as if they had mental problems or were under the influence of drugs. Details about the causes of death in all three cases have not been released.

It's interesting that the media was aware of the content of the autopsy report from the Riverside County Sheriff-Coroner's office months or perhaps years before the Community Police Review Commission has access to that same report. Maybe the city council should come up with other excuses besides the integrity of a criminal investigation when defending its collective actions against the CPRC fulfilling its charter mandate for investigating and reviewing officer-involved deaths. Especially since the city's legal representatives have claimed that the investigations of officers for incustody deaths by their investigations bureau aren't really criminal investigations at all in defense against two lawsuits filed by the Riverside Police Officers' Association in 2003 and in August 2009. The RPOA lawsuit filed two months ago also alleged that management and supervisory personnel in the department called one shooting "good" before the involved officers were even interviewed and that the department saw no reason to allow one of the involved officers in that shooting to retain a lawyer for his interview with investigators.

On Halloween, the Marlon Acevedo case became the third officer-involved death to hit its first year anniversary without the CPRC being allowed to investigate it since it was first barred by City Manager Brad Hudson and later by a majority of his city council from exercising its charter mandate, a responsibility given to it by the majority of the city's voters when Measure II passed in November 2004.

It's a practically a given that the fourth death, that of Russell Hyatt will probably hit its first year anniversary in mid January before the ban is lifted on the CPRC on investigating any of these deaths. Such is the state of the city council on this issue including those who have endorsed the passage of Measure II which was set up to protect the commission from exactly the same interference it's facing now.

At the time, the city council voted 5-2 to essentially bar the CPRC from doing investigations until after the police department had decided it was fine for it to do so, council members, department officials and Hudson and company assured the public that these delays would last six months at the most. As you can see from below, the city and department are 4 for 4 for officer-involved deaths that have passed the 180 day mark. The city council and Mayor Ron Loveridge who backed the council's decision last March owe the public an explanation as to why their forecast did not come to pass.

Luckily, the CPRC will provide them with this opportunity to do so given that the commission as neutered as it's become has voted 7-1 (with contracted employee Peter Hubbard naturally voting nay) to send another letter of "clarification" to Loveridge and the city council as to why these cases have been allowed to lag so long without the ban being lifted. It remains to be seen whether there will be anymore of a response to that letter than there was one sent last autumn not long after the Hudson directive was issued. It took a tremendous push to place what had taken place behind doors outside the public's eye into the public forums and place the city council and mayor in the position of having to publicly do what had intended to be done in private. And the leader of the movement to bar the commission from investigating incustody deaths, former councilman Frank Schiavone witnessed his voting support from several key neighborhoods in his ward evaporate and disappear, something that he perhaps is left to contemplate back in the private sector.

Here's the time line on the four outstanding officer-involved deaths in Riverside.



Carlos David Quinonez, Sr. (Latino) died Sept. 1, 2008: 426 days

Fernando Luis Sanchez (Latino)died Sept. 11, 2008: 416 days

Marlon Acevedo (Latino) died Oct. 31, 2008: 366 days

Russell Franklin Hyatt (White) died Jan. 17, 2009: 288 days


At its last meeting, some members of the CPRC sat and wondered whether it was usual for officer-involved death cases to be delayed this long by the police department and/or Riverside County District Attorney's office and no it is not. The previous record for a delayed case was about 300 days for the 2003 fatal shooting of Volne Lamont Stokes which had actually been completed by the Officer-Involved Death Investigation team earlier but had been placed on hold in the Internal Affairs Division headquarters until someone from the OID team could transport two copies, one to the D.A.'s office and the other to the CPRC at the same time. The cases before and after that took less than a year, with Summer Lane taking about eight months and Lee Deante Brown about seven before reaching the CPRC which of course per the charter had initiated its own investigations by that time.

And is the current load the highest the department ever had to investigate and review at one time? No, between November 2002 and December 2003, there were five officer-involved deaths and at least five nonfatal shootings, including three in April 2003.


As for the coroner in this case, it remains to be seen whether Taser International which manufactures the devices will sue for the striking of the use of tasers as even a contributing factor as the company did in Ohio.

Vote on Tuesday

Election day will be hitting this Tuesday, Nov. 3 so head for the polls if you haven't voted absentee. The Press Enterprise released its list of endorsements. This blog doesn't endorse in elections because it's up to every registered voter to educate themselves on the candidates running, the issues they stand for and behind and to come up with a voting decision they can be proud of or at least live with. The important thing is to go out and vote either in person or through absentee ballot rather than not participate at all. Don't opt out of the process because you don't think your vote counts for much or at all.

Riverside elections have been decided with as few as four to five votes. And more times than you might think especially lately, it's been by no more than a dozen or so votes, or even less.

And if you're eligible to vote and aren't registered then go out and get registered so you can participate in future elections because there's quite a few coming up in 2010 at the county, state and national level.

Here in Riverside, there is the mayoral race that has been playing out for the past several months.

Current Mayor Ron Loveridge is a long-time incumbent which makes him tough to beat and on his brochures, he's taking credit for issues that are usually dealt with by municipal legislative bodies particularly in a weak mayor system. It's difficult to compare him for better or worse with San Bernardino's mayor Patrick Morris because the role of mayor is much different in that city. On the other hand, the mayor is directly elected by voters citywide in Riverside whereas in some other cities like Moreno Valley, mayor's are appointed from and by council members who themselves were directly elected by voters in their legislative wards.

Former councilman, Art Gage is running as an "outsider" to a system he was once smack dab in the middle of and if he gets at least a third of the vote or so, it will be a win for him because he's probably hoping to get some name recognition for the first open mayoral election in years which is set for 2012. There's some pretty big names or more accurately, blasts from the past who are planning to line up for that one so a little recognition doesn't hurt.

There's also two really good write-in candidates in Ken Stansbury and Troy Kent, who's 18 and still in high school. Both are running to offer alternatives to the status quo in Riverside which many people believe has gone on for too long.

So don't forget to vote. It's your voice.

Former Riverside Police Department officer arraigned on 12 felony counts

Former Riverside Police Department officer David Reeves, jr. was arraigned on the 12 felony charges he faces and plead not guilty in front of presiding judge, Richard Fields in Riverside County Superior Court. He still remains in custody under $500,000 bail.




Operations Safe Parks, the revamping of an old program shared by the Riverside Police Department and the Parks and Recreation Department gets started back up again.


(excerpt, Press Enterprise)



"The best thing that happens is when the community contacts us and says, 'Hey, did you know there's an issue over here,' because we don't live in the neighborhood," Manning said in a phone interview.

At White Park, Manning said information from residents recently helped police solve about 30 burglaries in the Mount Rubidoux area and led to a sting resulting in the arrests of nine drug dealers.

"It was absolutely a result of the community partnership," Manning said.

Judy Cunningham, who lives a few blocks from White Park, is among the residents who started talking regularly with police.

Earlier this year, she noticed an increase in drug dealing and general loitering in the park. After the fenced park closed at dark, people would hang around outside the gates, she said Thursday while standing in the park.

"About six months ago it was crazy. You would walk through and there would be people over there and over there," Cunningham said, gesturing toward the trees and bushes along the fence line surrounding the park. "They would verbally say stuff to you or block the way."






More delays in the retrial of a man convicted of killing two Riverside Police Department officers in 1982. Both phases of the trial were kicked out by a higher court several years ago.




The revenue earnings by Riverside County continue to plunge.


(excerpt, Press Enterprise)




The county will again tap a contingency fund to stabilize the budget, but the revenue losses have pushed the structural deficit past $70 million. The gap is the difference between revenues and ongoing expenses, which are budgeted at $680 million.

"We will need every dollar in county reserves if we hope to manage multiple years of budget cuts that otherwise would decimate general-fund services," county Chief Executive Officer Bill Luna wrote in the report to the Board of Supervisors.

"While using reserves mitigates immediate issues, it does nothing to address our growing structural deficit and further erodes our fiscal safety net."

The county can achieve long-term fiscal stability by permanently cutting ongoing general-fund expenditures, Luna wrote.

"Our problems are complicated when adopted budget targets are not met, and projected revenues underperform estimates," Luna said.

Paul McDonnell, the county's chief financial officer, said the current budget did not adequately take into account the property tax revenues transferred to the newly incorporated cities of Menifee and Wildomar.

In addition, supplemental property tax refunds have skyrocketed, McDonnell said in an interview.

When a person buys a house, the owner receives a supplemental property tax bill. If the new value is more than before the sale, the owner gets an increased bill. If the opposite is true, the owner gets a refund check from the county.

With so many foreclosures, short sales and other distressed properties on the market, the refunds have dramatically increased, Assessor Larry Ward said in an interview.

"We don't send out a lot of bills right now," Ward said.






Norco gets its city manager by hiring its interim manager.


(excerpt, Press Enterprise)

Norco Mayor Pro Tem Malcolm Miller said Friday that extending Groves' contract to become city manager is the best decision for the city.

"She's gotten a quick handle on what is important for the community," including economic development and historic preservation, Miller said.

He said he would like to see Groves focus over the next two years on preventing the city from continuing to dip into its reserves, generating new projects and continuing to work on existing ones that will bring tax revenue into the city. He also wants her to see a proposed waste-to-energy power plant to completion.

Miller said he expects one challenge Groves will face over the next two years is reducing city spending on public safety.

"I still believe that we're spending too much on public safety and we need to find ways to reduce those, find a way that's acceptable to citizens at an alternative price," Miller said.

Councilman Berwin Hanna said the decision to make Groves permanent just makes sense.

"She's already kind of familiar with the city and how we work. Then we wouldn't have to go out and go through another hiring procedure," Hanna said.

San Bernardino County unveiled its new courthouse but few people came to see it.



(excerpt, Press Enterprise)



Disappointment at the low turnout showed clearly on the face of James C. McGuire, presiding judge of San Bernardino County Superior Court. Row after row of seats sat empty. Most of the cookies and punch on a table in the back of the room were untouched.

McGuire headed a list of municipal, civic and court leaders who attended the event, including San Bernardino Mayor Pat Morris and San Bernardino County District Attorney Mike Ramos.

To Morris and others, the 362,000-square-foot court building, projected to begin construction in 15 months, represents more than a utilitarian function of unclogging the county's court system. The new court complex is viewed as another way to revitalize a deteriorating downtown.

"This is a very important project for the county and for the city that is known as the county seat," Morris said, noting that a new transit center is planned two blocks away. "We think this will bring a new face to downtown."







Meetings



Monday, Nov. 2 at 4 p.m. the Human Resources Board meets on the Fifth Floor conference room at City Hall. This meeting, Chief Russ Leach of the police department has been scheduled to appear. Will he get permission from his bosses in the city manager's office? It's hoped that he will be able to attend and speak to the board on what's going on in the police department, at least what can be talked about.


The board's agenda for this meeting is here. The Human Resources Board also has a Web site which is located here.




Tuesday, Nov. 3, at 3 p.m. The city council will hold its typical election day abbreviated meeting meaning there will be no evening session. this agenda will tell you what you need to know.

The lawsuit filed against the city by Los Angeles Police Department Sgt. Wayne Guillary is back on the closed session agenda for the second time in several weeks. Does this mean the city's in settlement talks?



Friday, Nov. 6 at 2:30 p.m. The Finance Committee breaks its nearly year long drought on holding meetings and will discuss business on the Seventh Floor of City Hall. The agenda has been posted here and This report has been written by Asst. City Manager and Financial CEO Paul Sundeen.

Twitter De Dee

The blog Inside Riverside is on Twitter here and blogs about how much longer the Press Enterprise will last on Belo's watch.


(excerpt)

Likewise, the Press-Enterprise/Press Enquirer destroyed its credibility by failing to conntain its opinions to the Editorial Page. When reporting on political matters, articles that could injury politicians the paper supported did not receive the proper coverage or were ignored entirely, as were articles that would be positive for elected officials The Press-Enterprise did not like.

But there is a silver lining in all of this.

The Press-Enterprise's failure to report certain news items and the Editorial Board's out-of-touch views of the world led to the birth of Inside Riverside.

Without the shortcomings of the Press Enquirer this blog never would have been born of necessity.

So we thank the leaders of the Press Enquirer for creating the opportunity to build this blog which has had an explosion of readership at the same time your once great newspaper is going the way of the Dodo.

More Press Enterprise Layoffs

Will there be more coming? The link above clicks to show layoffs six months ago. A few weeks ago, more employees including reporters were laid off. When will the hemorrhage end?

The drought appears over for the Finance Committee

Finance Committee to Meet

I received emails and messages today that one of the city's longest running droughts may be ending next week and that's involving the failure of one of the subcommittees formed by the Riverside City Council to meet in nearly a year. The Finance Committee is actually set to meet on Friday, Nov. 6 at 2:30 p.m. in City Hall on the Seventh Floor. Not tentatively set to meet as it has been various times during the year but it's actually on the schedule with a set agenda.

The Finance Committee last met on Dec. 8, 2008 to receive a report on the fiscal budget from Asst. City Manager and Finance Director Paul Sundeen. The latest activity from Sundeen in relation to the committee was to assist Committee Chair and Councilwoman Nancy Hart in explaining during a recent city council meeting why there hadn't been any meeting in so long. Tentative meetings were scheduled on nearly a monthly basis but they were always canceled even before any agenda could be posted. This issue has been blogged about extensively here and at that recent meeting, Hart told the mayor, the city council and the viewing audience that she was responding to questions she had been asked by various individuals as to why this committee never met, during a period of time set aside for elected officials to make remarks near the end of the meeting.

One of its members, Councilman Paul Davis had allegedly been promised the chair position by Mayor Ron Loveridge when he and interim mayor pro tem at the time, Councilman Andrew Melendrez had been coming up with prospective appointments to the city council committees. But when the decision was made, former vice-chair Hart was elevated to chair and Davis inherited her position. It's been said that City Hall went with Hart because it was very unlikely she would ever convene a meeting during her tenure as chair and in fact, her comments seemed to indicate to many listeners including those who contacted me (and it was a bit surprising the fervor this issue caused) that she had abdicated the decision on whether this mechanism of financial accountability and transparency would ever meet, to the city manager's office. Davis on the other hand had campaigned on financial accountability at City Hall including projects under the Riverside Renaissance banner in terms of finding out exactly what the costs will be and he was working on getting the committee to hold a meeting.

It remains to be seen if the city manager's office will be too happy about closer examination of the Renaissance which has grown from an initial budget of $700 million to an astronomical $2.1 billion and depending how much of the budget was based on bonds sales, that number could grow for future generations to pay the bills. And the city's residents really deserve to know the truth about how much they and their future descendants will be paying for the Renaissance party. Not to be told that they are misinformed about where the money's coming from because if that's the truth, then City Hall didn't do its job in educating the public about this massive municipal experiment paid for with their tax dollars in one way or another.

Now, before anyone says that to critique the Renaissance is to be a party pooper, there's a lot of good projects that have helped upgrade infrastructure issues in this city to improve them but some of the other items, such as the seizure of private businesses through threat of eminent domain by the Redevelopment Agency have been more problematic. And the uncertainty among city residents about where the money is or will be coming from needs to be addressed in a transparent fashion.




This is what a Finance Committee Agenda looks like.

Just click "Finance Committee", "2009", "Agendas" and then the one for Nov. 6, 2009 which covers utility bonds and you will be witnessing a historic moment in Riverside.

Hopefully, it means this important subcommittee which provides a layer of transparency and makes it a tiny bit harder for any Seventh Floor backdoor deals to continue, will meet on some sort of regular schedule again. But things look a bit brighter for the city. Just several weeks ago, it appeared that both the Finance Committee and the police department's second strategic plan were benched. The strategic plan which was first announced by Police Chief Russ Leach at public events last spring somehow ran aground in the interim and was allegedly being roadblocked by City Hall management. Others say that it might have been the pallor of former Councilman Frank Schiavone's role in defining and influencing the direction of the police department which might have been a factor until he was voted out of office in June.

But that plan also seems to be back on track...at least for now, but like the Finance Committee and about a dozen or so other issues, it will require constant vigilance to make sure it stays on the right track.

Under New Chair, CPRC Spins its Wheels

[Left, Brian Pearcy listens as fellow CPRC commissioner, Chani Beeman tries to make her point. A motion to lift the current ban minority viewpoints and/or minority reports died for the lack of a second. ]


City Hall won more points with its favorite plaything, the Community Police Review Commission when a push by Commissioner Brian Pearcy to undo what he called a "void" vote banning minority reports in August withered on the vine for the lack of a second. Or so that's how it was explained to people who couldn't stay for the marathon meeting.

Pearcy who missed the meeting where the vote took place questioned its validity given that he didn't think it was properly agendized and pointed out that while the motion on record said that minority reports had been banned, the expression of minority viewpoints perhaps included within the majority report had been allowed. Yet, you had people like Commissioner Art Santore go on about how there should be no minority viewpoints period when he had been one of the majority who had voted to allow written minority viewpoints if not minority reports. So did Santore change his mind?

No, he just clearly didn't pay attention to what he was voting on when that whole sad state affairs went down in August's general meeting. Nor did it appear did most of the other commissioners who didn't seem to be sure what they voted upon which has to be the most ridiculous state of affairs since they voted to include a minority report that they later admitted they didn't read. And if they had read it, they would have voted against it even though a majority body voting against a minority report because they disagree with its content is not something that many people would think happens in real life. Wonderland maybe, but not real life.

Apparently, by the end of the meeting, most of the commission, well actually all of it except the person left standing trying to salvage the minority viewpoint had lost their moral compass and Pearcy's motion died for lack of a second. And that's kind of funny in its own way because earlier there had been two motions on the floor, both with seconds. What's even more interesting is if you watch the Planning Commission, the Human Relations Commission and the Human Resources Board and compare their members' behavior to the CPRC, the CPRC stands alone in having meetings where the majority picks on the minority voices and doesn't try to just silence them but makes personal attacks against them. It's interesting watching Rogan scold commissioners like Chani Beeman for their "style" (as if that's even his role at all) when she asks commissioners to engage and then when commissioners like Ken Rotker push through some sort of passive aggressive innuendo and then insults through the back door commissioners like Chani Beeman, they get passes by Rogan.

But Rogan provided the most entertainment when he either appeared confused or tried to confuse people's concern about delayed investigations into officer-involved deaths with saying it doesn't matter because the deliberations of these cases by the commission wouldn't take place any sooner if the CPRC began its investigations sooner. Seriously, if he's that confused about the separation of those two processes and the time sensitivity issues that are unique to each one, then what is he doing there earning over $150,000 for what in reality (if not by city definition) is a part-time job? I'll take his "false specter" that he mentioned and raise him his latest "straw man argument".




Former chair Sheri Corral resigned and was replaced by Hubbard as chair. Hubbard slouched in his chair the whole time and like Corral, sought guidance for most of his decisions from CPRC Manager Kevin Rogan. It usually went like this. Someone would say something. Hubbard looks lost. Hubbard looks at Rogan. Rogan nods or shakes his head and then Hubbard verbalizes what Rogan has done. Some people say that's the biggest problem with the CPRC these days, its lack of leadership. No, a bigger problem is when the commission handed off its leadership role to its own employee Rogan which is kind of like the city council's biggest problem that it handed over the keys to the city to its direct employees.

The newest commissioner Rogelio Morales from the second ward made his debut and presumably made it through the entire meeting. He was probably the most vocal of any new commissioner in recent history and asked good questions including a couple that some of the other commissioners should have asked six months ago. But he also asked if the meetings could be conducted via the internet so that they could sit in their pajamas and talk about cases. Newest commissioner, meet the Brown Act. Well, maybe they can just hold the meetings at City Hall in their pajamas.

Something did get accomplished during the meeting. The commission did vote 7-1 with one vacancy and Hubbard of course dissenting, to send another letter to the city council and mayor asking for further clarification on the situation involving the delays for investigating officer-involved deaths that were first foisted on them by City Manager Brad Hudson and City Attorney Gregory Priamos. In fact, it was Priamos who informed them in one particularly animated meeting that there could be year-long jail sentences and hefty fines for charter violations, which is pretty interesting considering that Priamos apparently believed that even putting an item on the agenda discussing the possible hiring of independent legal counsel was some sort of charter violation. Which most people might think of as being a conflict of interest at work. Priamos kind of quieted down after he was the one who got written up in the Press Enterprise in a negative way last year for actions involving the CPRC and the ethics code and complaint process that were actually done by Hudson's office. Relations between these two direct employees of the city council are said to be less than warm because Hudson allegedly had believed when the city hired him that it needed a different city attorney. If that's the case, who can blame Priamos for being miffed?

But the commission voted to send a letter reminding the city council and mayor that when they voted by majority to bar the CPRC from launching independent investigations of officer-involved deaths, they and representatives from the police department and city manager's office had reassured them that there wouldn't be more than a six month delay in their investigations. But as three out of four of the officer involved deaths have or will shortly pass their first anniversaries by this weekend all without independent investigations being initiated by the CPRC, clearly these individuals' reassurances were for naught and the waiting periods have gone way beyond those forecast by Hudson and the city council.

It's not clear whether this latest letter will generate any meaningful response from the city council but the number one question that is arising in many communities about the CPRC for most people who are asked about it, is what is with this delay of officer-involved deaths?

Just when you don't think this commission can get any more dysfunctional, the valiant commissioners of the CPRC prove you wrong once again. Dysfunction as an art form, that's the CPRC in a nutshell.

Speaking of Hubbard, he's on deck at the Mayor's Nomination and Screening Committee this month on Monday, Nov. 23 as the subject of an ethics complaint for conflict of interest because he is employed in a high-ranking position with a company, American Medical Response, that has a contract with the city manager's office.




In more CPRC business, interviews for the Ward Three commissioner vacancy will be held Tuesday, Nov. 17 at 2 p.m. on the Seventh Floor at City Hall.

City Hall new security system creates captive audiences at meetings...by keeping them captive

They say that the sign of success of a meeting is getting people to show up and even more if you can get them to stay, but recently in at least one scheduled meeting at City Hall, people attending had to wait until the meeting was over before being allowed to leave the building because of a new security system installed at City Hall, in lieu of the security guards who used to man the buildings while meetings were conducted in the evening.


If you are in City Hall attending a meeting after 7 p.m. and you need to leave, you might be stuck inside the building unless you can find a city employee willing to let youout. That was the case during the CPRC meeting when virtually everyone who attended left before the latest marathon session of bickering and power plays had been adjourned. CPRC Manager Kevin Rogan had to escort people out of the building and disengage the security system so that people could leave without setting it off.

That wasn't the case involving a recent meeting of the Riverside Neighborhood Partnership. People attending that meeting had to remain for its entirety without being allowed to leave Seriously, in the latter meeting, the city employee from the Office of Neighborhoods/Development leading it said that if anyone left the building, they would trigger the alarm causing the police department's SWAT team to rush over to City Hall so they had to wait until the meeting adjourned before being allowed to exit the building. There was no prior notification on the meeting agenda or posted at City Hall that this would be the case and it's difficult to find any legal justification for preventing people from leaving a meeting before it's over especially when they haven't been notified of those rules beforehand. In fact, it's not clear whether the public has even been informed that this new security system was installed.

There should also be notification on the agendas of meetings like the RNP that start at 6:30 pm that if you're late to the meeting and get to City Hall after 7 p.m. that you will not be able to get inside the locked down building to attend that meeting.






The city council and mayor tell everyone to "shop Riverside". In fact, there's a campaign of sorts trying to get people to do this. But what happens when the mayor doesn't during his campaign?


(excerpt, Inland Empire Weekly)


Riverside Mayor Ron Loveridge is currently seeking a fifth term in the city’s highest post. And like all political hopefuls, he is spending dough on mailers, a campaign website, consultants and—of course—signs. And to whom did Mayor Loveridge turn for the printing of these election-era eyesores? Surely to one of the many qualified, affordable print shops in the City of Riverside, right?



Right?



So, sir. Some of Loveridge’s lawn signs were printed by COGS South Signs, a print shop based in Santa Ana. Although COGS does not appear anywhere in the Mayor’s campaign disclosure firms, there’s no way to deny it—the signs themselves are printed with the firm’s logo and telephone number, according to The Press-Enterprise’s Dan Bernstein (Loveridge’s responses were lame like: “You hire vendors that make a good product. They’re found in different places. People you’ve done work with in the past, you continue that relationship.”



Curiously, just a few months ago, Loveridge described shopping Riverside as the “most important” part of an overall effort to get the city out if its economic doldrums, during a Jan. 22 “State of the City” speech.



Justin Tracy sees a parallel between these campaign spending decisions and the way the city is run. Tracy, who bills himself as a “reasonable guy,” is the owner of PIP printing in Downtown Riverside. He understands that if a merchant offers a better service or a better price, it makes sense to use that business’ goods or services, even if it is outside the city. “He should task his campaign manager with finding services within the city, but if he does find a better deal outside the city, then he should not let them print the info on the sign!” The decisions about how a campaign’s money is spent naturally fall to the treasurer of the re-election committee, in this case, Jim Dudek. In reference to Loveridge’s negligence in his delegation of authority, Tracy asks, “Isn’t it reflective of the oversight he provides the city in general?





Press Enterprise Columnist Dan Bernstein discusses the Neo-Nazis rallies and counter demonstrations.


And there's some Nazi chatter here from someone identifying himself as Mike O'Dell who participated in the Nazi rally in Casa Blanca on Saturday.


(excerpt)



The Blacks have the NAACP, The Mexicans have MPA, "Mexican Political Association

But when we create our own group, then we are called "racists"...

I don't think so.

God Bless the Neo Nazis... Thank you Mike O'Dell



Dear Mr. O'Dell,

You need to go back and read the NSM's 25 point plan which talks about expelling anyone who's not White which isn't in the platforms of either organization listed. Oh and it's not Mexican Political Association, it's Mexican-American Political Association but then again, your own plan states that people of Mexican ancestry can't be American citizens under the Nazi version of utopia.

Oh, and the NAACP was created when your brothers in the Klan started hanging Black citizens from trees and your ideology stemmed from the murder of over 6 million people, an event that's obviously makes the current generations of Nazis uncomfortable enough to engage in revisionist history by pretending it never happened.

Cheers,







There's a changing of the guard coming to the Los Angeles Police Department with the departure of current chief, William Bratton who is taking a high-paying private sector position. This series of articles from the Los Angeles Times discusses the responsibilities and challenges faced by Bratton's successor.

Bratton writes this article about keeping Special Order 40 in place even after he is gone.






Pittsburgh's form of civilian oversight is finding it difficult to meet.

(excerpt, The Pitt News)

The Citizen Police Review Board plans to hold a public hearing concerning the G-20 Summit-related arrests in Oakland, but the University’s feelings about the meeting are unclear.

The review board, an independent group that investigates police behavior, tentatively scheduled a public hearing from 6 to 8 p.m. Nov. 10 to hear students’ and business owners’ complaints about police conduct during and surrounding the Summit.

Beth Pittinger, the board’s executive director, said the group initially hoped to hold the meeting on campus, “because [the demonstrations] happened there.”

If it can’t hold a meeting on campus, Pittinger said, the group will hold one at another location in Oakland.

Robert Hill, Pitt’s vice chancellor of public affairs, said it was “premature” to comment on the Citizen Police Review Board’s plans because the University hasn’t yet received a request to use its facilities.

“We have not established a position,” Hill said.

Will voters approve a new civilian review board in Fort Myers, Florida?



(excerpt, Wink News)



The police union is campaigning against it, saying it would cost taxpayers too much. They're sending out fliers to voters, urging them to vote no on the new police review panel, when the city already has one. Supporters say the mailings are distorting what they consider to be the truth.

"It's shameful politics that they're playing," says activist Anthony Thomas, who has led the charge for citizen review of the Fort Myers Police Department since the officer-involved shooting death of Ernest Weston in 2007.

He says the police union's opposition mailings overstate the taxpayer impact of the proposed panel.

"The city has put it at more than a million dollars. We think it'll be more like $100,000," Thomas said





A clash between the Chicago Police Department chief and the civilian review mechanism has emerged about who decides on discipline for police officers.

Riverside news briefs, elections, Neo Nazis and Parkview Hospital

Just days after the latest Neo Nazi demonstration and counter demonstration in Riverside, there's a lot of reflection going on in different places. The Neo Nazis emboldened by their ability to draw the attention of hundreds of counter demonstrators from Southern California and dozens of representatives from four state and local law enforcement agencies have announced to the press that they are planning on more regular demonstrations at the day laborer site near Indiana and Madison in Casa Blanca, Riverside. And why shouldn't they? There has never been eight more people holding as much power in their White Supremacist hands as this small band of Nazi Germany nostalgists do now at least not for a while. More power in that manner, than politicians and even members of the Greater Chamber of Commerce. Do you think if a city council member or prominent business leader issued a press release to show up that they would get this kind of response?

Maybe Sheryl Crow or Pat Benatar will rival that kind of responsive audience when they appear at the Fox Theater next year.


The coalition that formed among 60 political organizations and religious institutions isn't sure whether or not they will sponsor another counter demonstration if the Neo Nazis decide to protest. They appeared shocked at the actions taken by some of the counter demonstrators including members of the Brown Berets at the demonstration on Saturday. About five minutes after the Neo Nazis arrived at a dirt lot adjacent to the railroad tracks, a small group of counter demonstrators ran from across Madison and broke through police lines and over a metal barrier to get into a fistfight with Neo Nazis.

But the majority of the demonstrators protested peacefully and passionately against the Neo Nazis who numbered about 20 for about three hours. The police were restrained, creating police lines after the fistfight and after the demonstration, many people went to relax at the park.




La Indy Media provided its coverage of the events. The posters there claim the Nazis lost and they won like it's some kind of sporting event.

There's a lot of talk about stamping out hate in the Inland Empire before it takes root and then associating the emergence of the representatives of the NSM while patting themselves on the back for doing this. But the problem with that, is that the Nazis didn't bring hatred, they're tapping into hatred that's already been in this region for years and as it turns out, the NSM chapter in Riverside is about four years old. The region has long been a location where hate groups and gangs congregate and set up chapters or cells, whether they are Western Hammerskins/Nation, Christian Nationalist Movement, Public Enemy Number 1 (fastest growing), Nazi Low Riders, Into Everything, Aryan Brotherhood, White Aryan Resistance, White Aryan Army, IE Skinheads, Ku Klux Klan and others. The NSM if it's setting up a more hefty chapter in Riverside is simply another one on the list.

Most of the above organizations don't protest visibly and some of them are not even known about until a law enforcement agency such as the Riverside County Sheriff's Department arrests them and at press conferences, their arsenals are put on displays on tables along with their racist paraphernalia. Or in the case with the Hammarskins, a number of them are arrested after a racist attack against a member of one of their target groups, as was the case with the attack against a Black man, Randall Bowen in Temecula a few years ago. What is attracting so many hate organizations and gangs into this region? Why do they find this region very productive recruitment ground?

And when they take their banners, drums and signs home at the end of the day, Riverside itself remains unchanged in that regard. There's many good things about this city and its people but there's problems as well particularly in the area of race relations. Which is one reason why organizations like the NSM are trying to get a foothold in Riverside facilitated by the poor local economy, high unemployment rate and high percentage of people who commute long distances to work leaving their kids at home with their computers.

I ran into Mayor Ron Loveridge in the elevator and he was talking about the multicultural forum on Friday pretty early in the morning. He seemed a bit wigged out by the Neo Nazis and the counter demonstrations and when I told him that the Neo Nazis might be doing more protests and he walked away saying that wasn't the announcement that he wanted to hear.



Neo Nazis setting up chapters in California, according to the Anti-Defamation League and mirroring some of the activities of the Save Our State (founded by the current "outreach" consultant of the San Bernardino Police Officers' Association Joe Turner) and the Minutemen. The latter two groups tried to disavow any connection with White Supremacist organizations like the NSM but I guess since a couple of their members were there holding Nazi flags at the latest rally in Riverside, that this stance has...changed.

A Changing of the Guard on the CPRC

The Community Police Review Commission is set to meet again, with eight members given that the Rogelio Morales who is the new Ward Two commissioner has finally been processed and sworn in and there's a new vacancy because of the resignation of Chair Sheri Corral. With her gone, Vice-Chair Peter Hubbard will become chair and there probably won't be an election to fill his spot as there is no language in the bylaws or policies and procedures covering the filling of vice-chair positions mid-term. And besides, City Hall probably hasn't figured out which commissioner it wants to fill that position. No doubt, when it finally does, another highly questionable election will be held filling that position.

As for Morales he's expected to make his debut at the CPRC meeting as a commissioner. He attended the last meeting and left about half way through. It wasn't clear whether that was because he had a prior commitment or he just got disgusted like most of the people who attend commission meetings after sitting for about 30 minutes.

It's not sure what kind of chair Hubbard (who manages or regionally directs a company, American Medical Response, that has a public safety contract with the city manager's office) and it's not clear whether there will continue to be fewer meetings than there is now, even as the number of days on average it takes the CPRC to review complaints has increased especially since the new leadership of the CPRC took office in March.

Complaint time lines involving the CPRC will be on the agenda for the current meeting for discussion along with a reemergence of the issue of minority reports. The latter was placed back on the agenda by commissioner Brian Pearcy who was absent when all but two of the current commissioners voted to eliminate them pretty much forever.

More Election News

Speaking of elections, the Riverside Police Officers' Association is gearing up for its own election next month to fill board positions. So far, there are three candidates who have thrown their hats into the ring to run for the presidency which has a two-year term including incumbent, Det. Chris Lanzillo. Two opponents, one an officer and the other a detective have also been nominated. Last time out, Lanzillo won by about 80 votes including many cast by newer patrol officers. The union has been facing its own divisions within its ranks during the past several years and has also filed at least one lawsuit against the city in recent months for the department's interrogation practices during investigations which may or may not be defined by the department as being investigations.

Challenges faced by the association will include future contract negotiations, freezes on step pay increases and freezes in hiring and promotions. Although technically it's not the promotional positions that have been frozen, it's the pay increases that come with the higher level position to the person being promoted as there have been promotions done already where the people didn't get the increases in pay that usually accompany them.

The RPOA also apparently tried to get on the agenda for a CPRC meeting but were allegedly told by CPRC Manager Kevin Rogan that they couldn't be on the agenda. That situation appears to have been straightened out and they are awaiting a date to appear on the agenda at a future date. It will be the bargaining unit's first appearance at a meeting in front of the commission since March 2004.






Parkview Hospital needed money from Riverside in the past and now it needs more funding again. From somewhere.


(excerpt, Press Enterprise)

Parkview Community's financing search is a result of a decision made by one of the hospital's lenders to get out of the commercial finance business, the hospital's attorney said.

City officials recently asked Riverside's Washington, D.C., delegation, including Rep. Ken Calvert and Sens. Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, to help Parkview Community with HUD's application process, Mac Arthur said.

City officials got involved after Riverside's business community expressed concerns about the hospital, Mac Arthur said. He said he didn't know why the hospital is looking for money.

"This is an economic engine for the community," Mac Arthur said. "We need to make sure the hospital stays open."

Parkview Community, a 193-bed hospital, filed for bankruptcy-court protection in 2002 after years of losses. In 2002, the city of Riverside and a private donor loaned the hospital $1.5 million to save it from liquidation.

Lemar Wooley, a HUD spokesman, said officials at Parkview Community had submitted preliminary information but had not yet applied to the department's Federal Housing Authority mortgage insurance program.

"We have invited their lender and the hospital to Washington, D.C., for a preliminary meeting," he said. "(There is) nothing scheduled as of now."

Is the proposed multi-modal transit center in Riverside back on track?


(excerpt, Press Enterprise)

City and county officials said other stumbling blocks hopefully can be addressed in the next two months. Riverside Councilman Andy Melendrez said planners must make sure the center doesn't conflict with the planned widening of Highway 91 through downtown Riverside, including a new intersection with 14th Street.

"I'd hate to see this site compromised by the widening," Melendrez said.

At first glance, the widening of Highway 91 will take some of the property, but probably not enough to impact the project, Gardner said. There should be plenty of room for buses to turn at the planned transit center once buildings are demolished and the new building -- mostly a shelter for riders waiting on buses, with restrooms and possibly some small space for Riverside Transit Agency staff and Greyhound ticket sales -- is finished.

Gardner said the most optimistic schedule would have construction start early next year and take until early 2011. Most of the cost would be covered by the federal transit money awaiting the bus system and other Riverside Transit Agency funds.

With weeks of study left, officials remain optimistic, but they are not ready to declare the center a done deal.

"I'm just pleased to get this far," Gardner said.

The vacancy in the Riverside County Board of Supervisors once again delays action.


(excerpt, Press Enterprise)



Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger still has not appointed a replacement for the late Supervisor Roy Wilson, leaving the board with little margin for either disagreement or unexpected absences.

Last week, Board Chairman Jeff Stone was absent, forcing the delay. This week, Supervisor Bob Buster missed the meeting.

As a result, Stone asked county officials to fax copies of Tuesday's continuances to the governor's office to show the effect the lack of an appointment is having on Riverside County.

"It is becoming very critical for Gov. Schwarzenegger to make the appointment necessary to fill the 4th District seat," Stone said.

Stone said he spoke with John Cruz, the governor's appointment secretary, Monday and "stressed that we are coming into a fiscal crisis, not because we don't have the money but because we don't have the votes to disburse the money."

Schwarzenegger spokesman Aaron McLear said Tuesday the Riverside County board still has a quorum to do business. Only certain items, such as budget adjustments, require a four-fifths vote.

"The focus for us on boards and commissions is to appoint those boards that do not have a quorum," McLear said. "We recognize that there's a vacancy on that board. The governor is currently looking for the most qualified candidate to fill that seat."





Inside Riverside has started writing on the upcoming election for Riverside County's next sheriff. Currently, it is a bit of a contest instead of a coronation between current sheriff, Stan Sniff who was elected by three board of supervisor members last year and an ex-employee of the department, Frank Robles.

What's interesting is the argument taking place on the comment thread between various self-identified members of the Riverside Sheriff's Association including one post where Inside Riverside's administrator had to edit out a swear word. Look for the Sheriff's race to heat up for a change and that should prove to be quite exciting in the weeks and months ahead until next year's election.





Recall election efforts are totally in vogue in Riverside County this season. In Moreno Valley, a city councilwoman's sighing in relief because a recall effort against her has failed even as a councilman in Lake Elsinore faces a recall election.




In Perris, voters will decide whether prospective city clerks should continue to run for election.




Riverside County is trying to hold onto its money.



(excerpt, Press Enterprise)




Under the current budget, the state will borrow 8 percent of the property tax revenue designated for cities, counties and special districts in fiscal 2009-2010.

The state is legally required to pay back that money with interest by June 30, 2013, which will allow the local agencies to pay off the debt.

Though not ideal, county officials say the move will stem short-term cuts and help keep the county on sound financial footing.

"It allows us to keep that money in reserve to handle emergency issues," Supervisor John Tavaglione said. "It allows us to keep it as a cushion."

As of Thursday, the joint powers authority, known as California Communities, consists of 400 cities, 57 counties and 902 special districts.

Once the bonds are sold, the proceeds will remain in escrow until the state withholds the property tax payments. Then, on Jan. 15 and May 3, the joint powers authority will distribute the money to local agencies to make up for the loss from the state.

Even though the state is required to pay back the money by 2013, Tavaglione said he still worries the repayment might not happen, given past state budget problems.

"There is always that risk," he said.






The mental competency hearing for a man who is being retried for the murder of two Riverside Police Department officers in 1982 is being scheduled for next week.

(excerpt, Press Enterprise)




Daniels is expected to meet with the psychologist Wednesday. If he is found competent to assist his attorneys, the criminal trial and death penalty proceedings could remain on track for a Nov. 2 trial date.

If the judge finds evidence that Daniels is not competent to face the murder charges, Daniels would be ordered to a state prison mental facility for treatment.

The case would not resume until Daniels is deemed mentally fit for trial. Given his age and fragile health, his attorneys say that may never happen.

Assistant District Attorney Bill Mitchell said he believes Daniels is competent and able to assist his attorneys. He said he has shown awareness and cooperated with the court for the past several years.






Riverside Public Utilities is promoting measures to conserve water in this time of severe drought.





The end of an era in the Los Angeles Police Department in more ways than one. The department has finished with its new administrative headquarters and they're saying goodbye to Police Chief William Bratton.


(excerpt, Los Angeles Times)



City Hall, across the street, was reflected in the new building's windows, while a gigantic American flag was draped over part of the structure's exterior, occasionally moving in the gentle breeze that gave relief to those sitting under the blistering sun.

The Los Angeles Police Department Band, taiko drummers and Mexican folk dancers provided a musical backdrop for the occasion.

"What a beautiful Los Angeles morning it is," Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa told those attending the ceremony. "Today we can celebrate great progress. Today we can celebrate the changes, perceptions and opinions of our Police Department."

Construction of the 500,000-square-foot building began about three years ago. A price tag of $437 million covers the headquarters complex and three related structures nearby. Funds came from Proposition Q, a public safety facilities bond measure approved by voters in March 2002.

The bond measure also provided money for the repair of some LAPD stations, as well the construction of new ones in Canoga Park, Koreatown, San Pedro and Boyle Heights.

On Saturday, Police Chief William J. Bratton, who is leaving the department at the end of this week, talked about the symbolically significant location of the new headquarters -- flanked on three sides by City Hall, the Caltrans building and the Los Angeles Times. He said those three neighbors represented the Police Department's obligation to serve the community, its requirement to cooperate with state, federal and county governments and its need for transparency to the media and public.

"You couldn't ask for a better siting," Bratton said.







In San Jose, police officers are being investigated for the beating of a college student, an incident that was videotaped last month.


(excerpt, Los Angeles Times)



A grainy cellphone video posted on the San Jose Mercury News website shows at least one police officer subduing the student with a baton. The San Jose State student can be heard screaming on the recording. Police had been called to a home Sept. 3 after a report that the student, Phuong Ho, was fighting with his roommate, police said.

The department is conducting a "thorough investigation" that will be turned over to the Santa Clara County district attorney's office for review, Sgt. Ronnie Lopez said.

Lopez said the department launched the investigation immediately after learning about the incident late last week. Investigators are interviewing witnesses and reviewing the posted cellphone video, along with other video.

"Our investigators are reviewing this entire case from beginning to end," he said. "They want to make sure that the force used was necessary."

Two officers, Kenneth Siegel and Steven Payne Jr., are seen on the video, police said. Two other officers were also at the scene. All four are on administrative leave.







Few city residents are turning to the civilian review board in Boston. Given all the upheaval over that process in that city, the results of a study conducted on user satisfaction giving it less than passing grades aren't surprising.


(excerpt, Boston Globe)

Interviews by the Harvard team with 27 people who did not appeal to the board after their abuse allegations were dismissed found that the vast majority were disillusioned with the way the police department handled their cases. Only one of those surveyed knew the civilian review board existed. Many believed that the police department’s internal affairs division, which investigates allegations of misconduct, as well as the independent civilian review board, favored police officers and would not take their complaints seriously.

Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis said he was “surprised and disappointed’’ that so few people have used the board, and he is committed to making it work. He said he is trying to “scare up’’ money for a more comprehensive review by Harvard, and is also trying to better inform the public about the board by sending officers to neighborhood meetings and putting up more signs in police stations.

The civilian review board, formally called the Community Ombudsman Oversight Panel, is made up of three people appointed by Mayor Thomas M. Menino; one of the seats has been vacant since August. The police department currently informs people about the board by mailing them a letter if their complaint is dismissed by internal affairs.

Davis said he is also trying to establish a mediation process to review complaints, which the Harvard report recommended. Davis said that not only are citizens unhappy with the system, a survey of officers would probably show “a similar feeling of dissatisfaction with the whole procedure.’’

“I’d be very upset’’ if the panel did not succeed, Davis said.

Activists are seeking to reform the Internal Affairs Division in San Antonio's police department.


(excerpt, San Antonio Current)




SAPD Chief Bill McManus called in the D.C.-based police-consulting group, Police Executive Research Forum, to review and advise the department on use-of-force measures. When those 141 recommended changes were released last summer, McManus quickly accepted most of them.

However, measures to reform Internal Affairs were handed over to a special task force to hash out over months of meetings. Thanks to the resistance of the San Antonio Police Officers Association, many of the most vital reforms didn’t make the cut, said Mario Salas, chairman of the San Antonio Coalition on Civil and Human Rights and task force member.

“This police union is out of control,” he said this week. “There’s not accountability, as far as that’s concerned, and there’s no transparency.”

Antonio Diaz, of the Texas Indigenous Council, has been agitating for reform. He told the Current this week that he took his concerns to Assistant City Manager Eric Walsh, who is leading contract negotiations with the union. While Walsh failed to return a Monday call from the Current and the city’s communication office still hasn’t gotten back with us, Diaz said in email that police aggression in the city is “getting worse.”

“As an Activist I get complaints from people that are afraid to go before Internal Affairs because of the biased way that it is setup. The Civilian Review Board is a joke,” Diaz said.






FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

October 22, 2009

CITY AUDITOR'S INDEPENDENT POLICE REVIEW DIVISION ANNOUNCES
CITY COUNCIL APPOINTMENT OF SIX NOMINEES TO SERVE
ON THE CITIZEN REVIEW COMMITTEE

Mary-Beth Baptista, the Director of the City Auditor's Independent Police Review (IPR) Division is pleased to announce that six nominees will be presented to the Portland City Council today at 2 PM in Council Chambers, by Auditor LaVonne Griffin-Valade, for appointment to serve on the Citizen Review Committee (CRC).

IPR and the nine-member CRC were created in 2001 to help improve police accountability, promote higher standards of police services, and increase public confidence. These volunteers were selected by a committee that included one past and two current (but not re-applying) members of the CRC, two representatives from the community, and the IPR Director.

To learn more about IPR: http://www.portland online.com/ auditor/index. cfm?c=26646&

To learn more about the CRC: http://www.portland online.com/ auditor/index. cfm?c=27069

Contact the IPR office @ 503-823-0146.

NEW CITIZEN REVIEW COMMITTEE (CRC) MEMBERS NOMINATED FOR APPOINTMENT

1. Jeffrey Bissonnette

2. Ayoob Ramjan

3. Myra Simon

4. F.G. (Jamie) Troy II

Jeffrey Bissonnette is the Organizing Director for the Citizens' Utility Board of Oregon (CUB), representing residential utility ratepayers in Oregon. In that role, he leads CUB's legislative program and coalition work. He has been appointed by the Public Utility Commission to the Portfolio Options Committee, overseeing renewable energy products offered to customers and serves on the boards of the Northwest Energy Coalition and the Renewable Northwest Project. Bissonnette was formerly a board member of Portland Community Media and the Steering Committee of the Oregon League of Conservation Voters' Multnomah County chapter.

Appointed October 2009 — term is from October 22, 2009 through December 31, 2011

Ayoob Ramjan has a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Engineering from Oregon Institute of Technology and a Masters in Business Administration from Marylhurst University. He is currently a Research and Development Manager at Hewlett Packard Company in Vancouver, Washington — Printer Division. Ramjan served as a citizen member on the City of Portland Budget Committee from 2006 to 2009, an appointment then by Mayor Potter. He has volunteered since 2001 on the Portland Police Advisory Committee; he also served as the citizens' member on the Portland Police Performance Review Board; and is a member of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Citizen Advisory Committee. Ramjan is an active board member of the Islamic Social Services of Oregon State, an all-volunteer social service organization which helps Portlanders in need. He is an active member in his community trying to bridge the gap of understanding between the diverse communities of Portland. He lives in Southwest Portland.

Appointed October 2009 — term is from January 1, 2010 through December 31, 2011

Myra Simon is a graduate of Lewis and Clark College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and a Masters in Teaching High School Social Studies. She currently works at Regence Bluecross Blueshield of Oregon as a Strategy and Performance Manager. Prior to working in health care, Simon worked with homeless and at-risk youth in downtown Portland. She currently volunteers with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Appointed October 2009 — term is from October 22, 2009 through December 31, 2011

F.G. (Jamie) Troy II is a graduate of the College of William & Mary and of Lewis and Clark Law School. He works with the law firm of Troy, Rosenberg and Wolfe, P.C. where his practice focuses on Juvenile and Family Law cases. He is on the Board of the Bill and Ann Shepherd Legal Scholarship Fund working to fund the education of future attorneys dedicated to eliminating bigotry and discrimination based on sexual orientation. An avid marathoner, Jamie currently leads training runs for the Portland Marathon Training Clinic and looks forward to increasing the double digit number of marathons he has completed to date. He is an East Coast (Virginia) transplant who has resided in the area for over a decade. He lives in Northeast Portland.

Appointed October 2009 — term is from January 1, 2010 through December 31, 2011

CITIZEN REVIEW COMMITTEE (CRC) MEMBERS NOMINATED FOR RE-APPOINTMENT

1. Loren Eriksson

2. Hank Miggins

Loren Eriksson retired after 25 years of service as a Portland firefighter and volunteers his time and resources to help the Portland community. He is a member of the Portland Police Bureau's Use of Force and Performance Review Boards and serves on the Employee Information System Advisory Committee. Eriksson has also been a member of the Force Task Force (it analyzed the Bureau's use of force data and provided reports to the Chief of Police in 2007 and 2009).
Appointed December 2003 — term is from January 1, 2010 through December 31, 2011
(Current CRC Recorder)

Hank Miggins has an extensive background in multi-faceted services with experience in managing diverse personnel. He was a former City Manager for the City of Spokane and is currently a mortgage consultant. Miggins has held positions with Multnomah County: Animal Control Director, Interim Director of the County Exposition Center, Deputy County Auditor, Executive Assistant to the Chair of the Multnomah County Commission, and Interim Chair of the Multnomah County Commission. He is a member and serves on the Board of Directors for: the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon, the Center for Airway Science, and the Board of Trustees for De La Salle North Catholic High School. He is a former member of civic organizations that include: Board of Bar Governors, Oregon State Bar, the Oregon Assembly for Black Affairs, Project Pooch (a rehabilitation program pairing dogs with incarcerated youth), and the Mainstream Youth Program, Inc.

Appointed October 2001 — term is from January 1, 2010 through December 31, 2011
(Current CRC Vice-chair)

Mary-Beth Baptista, Director
City of Portland/City Auditor
Independent Police Review Division (IPR)
1221 SW 4th Avenue, Room 320
Portland, OR 97204-1900

503-823-0146
Interoffice Address: 131/320
mary-beth.baptista@ ci.portland. or.us

www.portlandonline. com/auditor/ ipr





Candidates Forum


The NAACP in Riverside will be holding a mayoral candidates forum at Emerson Elementary School on Monday, Nov. 2 from 5-9 with the speakers coming at 6 p.m.





Meetings


Mayor Ron Loveridge is holding a Multicultural Forum on Friday, Oct. 30 from 7:30 a.m to 9 a.m. at City Hall. One of the topics on the agenda will be the Neo Nazi demonstrations.