Elections 2007: Show me the money, part two
The upstart Inland Empire Weekly has taken on the Press Enterprise newspaper in this article at its Web site.
Reporter David Silva raises the allegations that the daily newspaper in Riverside is failing to do any investigative reporting on the city's Redevelopment Agency and the Riverside Renaissance because its legal division shares the same law firm as the city of Riverside.
That would be Best, Best and Krieger. The city's law firm of choice when addressing a range of legal issues from development issues, to the conservatorship of properties to "monitoring" the investigations against troublesome city employees including several of the Black city employees who dared to file a racial discrimination, harassment and retaliation law suit against the city in 1997.
Apparently the Press Enterprise has retained this law firm as well to defend itself from its more troublesome employees.
(excerpt)
Exactly what is going on at the paper, we may never know. As always, calls for enlightenment by the Weekly went unanswered by P-E Managing Editor John Gryka. But could the answer be that the paper is feeling a bit conflicted because the legal firm handling at least two lawsuits against it by former employees—suits that have the potential of costing the paper millions—is the same legal firm representing the Riverside Redevelopment Agency in its eminent domain lawsuits?
As we reported April 19, the P-E is being sued by former Business Press publisher James Milbourne, who claims the paper fired him for having multiple sclerosis (the P-E owns Business Press ); and by former P-E advertising director Michael Barboza, who says he was axed after Milbourne named him as a potential witness during a deposition. Fighting on behalf of the P-E in both suits is Best, Best & Krieger, a downtown Riverside law firm so powerful and well-connected that it serves as city attorney to 31 California cities, including Coachella, Corona, Colton and Ontario.
(Incidentally, the P-E covers Coachella, Corona, Colton and, occasionally, Ontario. But that's a conflict-of-interest story for another issue.)
At the same time Best, Best & Krieger, referred to locally as BBK, was working to keep the P-E from having its collective pants sued off it, attorneys for the firm were filing condemnation lawsuit after lawsuit against Riverside property owners on behalf of City Hall. In keeping with its minimalist reporting on eminent domain, the P-E has yet to mention to its readers its connection to the firm, which one source described as “lips and teeth, with the P-E being the lips and BBK being the teeth.”
The author of this article is right. The writers do what they can do with their beats and their stories. But it's the editors often with corporate suits looking over their shoulders who make the final cut, not to mention the increasing marriage between advertising and editorial content that has long been the bane of magazine publishing and is extending to newspapers as well.
But the journalism expert in the article is right too. The Press Enterprise should report this conflict of interest situation.
The Michael Williams Company has announced upcoming fundraisers for its current stable of Riverside city council candidates.
The following are events and dates to pencil in your calendar so you can dress up, fork out big bucks to mix and mingle with the political jet set and put some money back in several campaign chests which were depleted by the first round of Election 2007.
It's a who's who of either BASS quartet members or those who it is hoped will join them on the dais. Be prepared to come with a large check to do your part for that effort. Expected to attend are mostly developers, representatives of the city's labor unions, elected officials(who love to endorse each other or check the competition out) and people who are looking to become politicians some day and are making the rounds.
The prices are multi-tiered like airline tickets. The more you pay, the more you are schmoozed.
Those who attend them for the food and the entertainment value should go see the latest movies instead. More bang for the buck in terms of both.
Here's the current roster:
William "Rusty" Bailey, Ward Three will have his fundraiser on July 12 at 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at someone's house.
Chris MacArthur, Ward Five is holding his fundraiser on July 18, at 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at surprise surprise, Councilman Ed Adkison's house. Maybe during the event, they can come up with another strategy for the candidate besides exercising his racist, xenophobic bent. But alas, so far he hasn't needed one.
Dom Betro, Ward One will be holding his fundraiser on July 26 from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. A supporter's home is too low rent for Betro. His party will be held at the Marriott Hotel. Both a VIP reception and a steerage section will be held because remember, all donors are equal but some are more equal than others.
Steve Adams, Ward Seven will hold his shindig on Aug. 9 from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m at the Citrus Grille(which has great food). To no one's surprise, Adams is not holding his fundraising event inside his own ward.
In addition, the very coy Mayor Ron Loveridge will be holding a "birthday bash" on Aug. 16 between 5:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. at the Marriott Hotel. It doesn't say which birthday but it does strongly imply that Loveridge's political career may just be getting started.
Speaking of fundraising, the four developers who want a crack at renovating the downtown fire station according to the Press Enterprise might want to attend a few of these parties. At least one of them, Mark Rubin, clearly has in the past according to campaign disclosure statements submitted by Development Committee Chair Dom Betro.
In case you've forgotten, the city council including Betro have pretty much given the keys to downtown and many of its parcels to Rubin and other developers while showing dozens of small business owners the door. My money is on Rubin getting the deal or Orange County enjoying its usual edge in the bidding process, although it's nice for the committee to act as if the local firms actually have a chance to get the contract.
Welcome to Pottersville.
(excerpt)
The developers are: Thousand Oaks-based Moshe Silagi; Mark Rubin, of Los Angeles; Bill Shopoff, of Irvine; and a Riverside team composed of architect Bill Warkentin, builder Henry Coil Jr., landscape architect Tim Maloney and entrepreneur Don Dye.
Councilman Dom Betro, who chairs the Development Committee, said he envisions a mix of retail and office uses without any residential units.
He also said he did not want an aboveground parking garage as part of the project.
"I just hate to waste that valuable space that way," he said. "This is an entrance to the most historic street we have downtown."
The two other committee members, Councilmen Steve Adams and Ed Adkison, agreed.
This just in. Civil court trials are set to resume for the first time in over a year, according to this article in the Press Enterprise.
Not exactly news but apparently Riverside County District Attorney Rod Pacheco has spanked another judge but as long as this county's judges forget who's in charge, this childish behavior will continue. The election for him isn't until three years from now but word is, a search for a viable challenger has already begun.
(excerpt)
The statement issued Wednesday also noted that George is authorizing the court to hire two to three commissioners to help with judicial duties. Judges issued a call to applicants for one commissioner job earlier this week.
The statement also said Superior Court Judge Gary Tranbarger, who is being challenged for criminal case assignments by the district attorney's office, is hearing civil cases full time.
"The court expects that civil trials ... will resume when the strike team concludes its work," the statement said. "Counsel should prepare accordingly."
In Pacheco's corner, is that he too is a member of the Michael Williams stable and is currently in the process of fundraising.
The Metrolink line which would go through Perris and Southwestern Riverside County is not cost-effective at this time and there is a recommendation to suspend it, according to the Press Enterprise.
Guess it's better to figure these things out before you start laying out the tracks.
The Chicago Police Department must turn over its list of problem officers, a judge warned according to the Chicago Sun-Times. That's the 662 of them who have received over 10 complaints apiece.
Judge Joan Lefkow defended her decision.
(excerpt)
But Lefkow said the documents were presumed to be public,
writing "the public has a significant interest in monitoring the
conduct of its police officers and a right to know how allegations of
misconduct are being investigated and handled."
Reporter David Silva raises the allegations that the daily newspaper in Riverside is failing to do any investigative reporting on the city's Redevelopment Agency and the Riverside Renaissance because its legal division shares the same law firm as the city of Riverside.
That would be Best, Best and Krieger. The city's law firm of choice when addressing a range of legal issues from development issues, to the conservatorship of properties to "monitoring" the investigations against troublesome city employees including several of the Black city employees who dared to file a racial discrimination, harassment and retaliation law suit against the city in 1997.
Apparently the Press Enterprise has retained this law firm as well to defend itself from its more troublesome employees.
(excerpt)
Exactly what is going on at the paper, we may never know. As always, calls for enlightenment by the Weekly went unanswered by P-E Managing Editor John Gryka. But could the answer be that the paper is feeling a bit conflicted because the legal firm handling at least two lawsuits against it by former employees—suits that have the potential of costing the paper millions—is the same legal firm representing the Riverside Redevelopment Agency in its eminent domain lawsuits?
As we reported April 19, the P-E is being sued by former Business Press publisher James Milbourne, who claims the paper fired him for having multiple sclerosis (the P-E owns Business Press ); and by former P-E advertising director Michael Barboza, who says he was axed after Milbourne named him as a potential witness during a deposition. Fighting on behalf of the P-E in both suits is Best, Best & Krieger, a downtown Riverside law firm so powerful and well-connected that it serves as city attorney to 31 California cities, including Coachella, Corona, Colton and Ontario.
(Incidentally, the P-E covers Coachella, Corona, Colton and, occasionally, Ontario. But that's a conflict-of-interest story for another issue.)
At the same time Best, Best & Krieger, referred to locally as BBK, was working to keep the P-E from having its collective pants sued off it, attorneys for the firm were filing condemnation lawsuit after lawsuit against Riverside property owners on behalf of City Hall. In keeping with its minimalist reporting on eminent domain, the P-E has yet to mention to its readers its connection to the firm, which one source described as “lips and teeth, with the P-E being the lips and BBK being the teeth.”
The author of this article is right. The writers do what they can do with their beats and their stories. But it's the editors often with corporate suits looking over their shoulders who make the final cut, not to mention the increasing marriage between advertising and editorial content that has long been the bane of magazine publishing and is extending to newspapers as well.
But the journalism expert in the article is right too. The Press Enterprise should report this conflict of interest situation.
The Michael Williams Company has announced upcoming fundraisers for its current stable of Riverside city council candidates.
The following are events and dates to pencil in your calendar so you can dress up, fork out big bucks to mix and mingle with the political jet set and put some money back in several campaign chests which were depleted by the first round of Election 2007.
It's a who's who of either BASS quartet members or those who it is hoped will join them on the dais. Be prepared to come with a large check to do your part for that effort. Expected to attend are mostly developers, representatives of the city's labor unions, elected officials(who love to endorse each other or check the competition out) and people who are looking to become politicians some day and are making the rounds.
The prices are multi-tiered like airline tickets. The more you pay, the more you are schmoozed.
Those who attend them for the food and the entertainment value should go see the latest movies instead. More bang for the buck in terms of both.
Here's the current roster:
William "Rusty" Bailey, Ward Three will have his fundraiser on July 12 at 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at someone's house.
Chris MacArthur, Ward Five is holding his fundraiser on July 18, at 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at surprise surprise, Councilman Ed Adkison's house. Maybe during the event, they can come up with another strategy for the candidate besides exercising his racist, xenophobic bent. But alas, so far he hasn't needed one.
Dom Betro, Ward One will be holding his fundraiser on July 26 from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. A supporter's home is too low rent for Betro. His party will be held at the Marriott Hotel. Both a VIP reception and a steerage section will be held because remember, all donors are equal but some are more equal than others.
Steve Adams, Ward Seven will hold his shindig on Aug. 9 from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m at the Citrus Grille(which has great food). To no one's surprise, Adams is not holding his fundraising event inside his own ward.
In addition, the very coy Mayor Ron Loveridge will be holding a "birthday bash" on Aug. 16 between 5:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. at the Marriott Hotel. It doesn't say which birthday but it does strongly imply that Loveridge's political career may just be getting started.
Speaking of fundraising, the four developers who want a crack at renovating the downtown fire station according to the Press Enterprise might want to attend a few of these parties. At least one of them, Mark Rubin, clearly has in the past according to campaign disclosure statements submitted by Development Committee Chair Dom Betro.
In case you've forgotten, the city council including Betro have pretty much given the keys to downtown and many of its parcels to Rubin and other developers while showing dozens of small business owners the door. My money is on Rubin getting the deal or Orange County enjoying its usual edge in the bidding process, although it's nice for the committee to act as if the local firms actually have a chance to get the contract.
Welcome to Pottersville.
(excerpt)
The developers are: Thousand Oaks-based Moshe Silagi; Mark Rubin, of Los Angeles; Bill Shopoff, of Irvine; and a Riverside team composed of architect Bill Warkentin, builder Henry Coil Jr., landscape architect Tim Maloney and entrepreneur Don Dye.
Councilman Dom Betro, who chairs the Development Committee, said he envisions a mix of retail and office uses without any residential units.
He also said he did not want an aboveground parking garage as part of the project.
"I just hate to waste that valuable space that way," he said. "This is an entrance to the most historic street we have downtown."
The two other committee members, Councilmen Steve Adams and Ed Adkison, agreed.
This just in. Civil court trials are set to resume for the first time in over a year, according to this article in the Press Enterprise.
Not exactly news but apparently Riverside County District Attorney Rod Pacheco has spanked another judge but as long as this county's judges forget who's in charge, this childish behavior will continue. The election for him isn't until three years from now but word is, a search for a viable challenger has already begun.
(excerpt)
The statement issued Wednesday also noted that George is authorizing the court to hire two to three commissioners to help with judicial duties. Judges issued a call to applicants for one commissioner job earlier this week.
The statement also said Superior Court Judge Gary Tranbarger, who is being challenged for criminal case assignments by the district attorney's office, is hearing civil cases full time.
"The court expects that civil trials ... will resume when the strike team concludes its work," the statement said. "Counsel should prepare accordingly."
In Pacheco's corner, is that he too is a member of the Michael Williams stable and is currently in the process of fundraising.
The Metrolink line which would go through Perris and Southwestern Riverside County is not cost-effective at this time and there is a recommendation to suspend it, according to the Press Enterprise.
Guess it's better to figure these things out before you start laying out the tracks.
The Chicago Police Department must turn over its list of problem officers, a judge warned according to the Chicago Sun-Times. That's the 662 of them who have received over 10 complaints apiece.
Judge Joan Lefkow defended her decision.
(excerpt)
But Lefkow said the documents were presumed to be public,
writing "the public has a significant interest in monitoring the
conduct of its police officers and a right to know how allegations of
misconduct are being investigated and handled."
Did socialite Paris Hilton receive perks when she was in jail? That's a question being asked of Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca by the Los Angeles Times.
Yes, it's Hilton who is the center of the latest feud between Baca and the rank and file labor union that represents many of his employees.
(excerpt)
The department union, which has repeatedly clashed with Sheriff Lee Baca, said deputies have come forward to complain that Hilton had free access to a cellphone while other prisoners must wait in line to use pay phones during set hours.
Hilton also received daily visits from top brass at the Lynwood facility — including a captain who hand-delivered her mail — in contrast to others who get letters brought to them by inmate trusties, they said.
And officials were allegedly ordered to give her a new jail uniform while many inmates use recycled ones.
Two sheriff's officials — who spoke on condition of anonymity — confirmed those details of her incarceration.
Michael Gennaco, chief attorney for the Sheriff's Department's Office of Independent Review, said he would track the investigation. The internal affairs bureau is conducting the probe at the request of the department's head of custody.
"We want to make sure the department looks into these matters in an objective and thorough way," Gennaco said. "Whatever allegations of special treatment are reported, we will ensure there is an appropriate inquiry and report the results of those reviews."
Gennaco said his office was also examining other issues involving Hilton's custody that he would not detail.
Steve Whitmore, Baca's spokesman, said the department's information differed from what deputies told the union. "That's why we need to let the investigation get to the bottom of it," he said.
A few of this week's search terms:
"Chris Gaspard" "Riverside Police"
"five before midnight"
"Menifee"
"city elections"
"Bill Lockyer"
"officer involved shootings"
"Mirthala Salinas"
"Name of Queens NYPD"
"Term limits" "California"
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Labels: Black city employee watch, business as usual, City elections
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