Will the fog ever lift?
Riverside City Councilman Mike Gardner was involved in a traffic collision but seems to be okay.
(excerpt, Press Enterprise)
While riding home on the sidewalk along Magnolia Avenue, he spotted a car exiting the Riverside City College parking garage. "By the time I saw her, I couldn't stop," he said.
Gardner tried to zoom past the approaching car. "She hit me and knocked my Segway out from under me," he said.
The 60-year-old councilman fell into the street and quickly retreated back to the sidewalk.
He suffered a scrape to the top of his head and has a couple of raw spots on his fingertips.
His Segway, which he purchased in July, was unscathed. He did not know about damage to the other vehicle.
Hemet is extending its contract with its current interim city manager. That's the one installed after the previous one left under such a veil of secrecy.
(excerpt, Press Enterprise)
After two months on the job, interim City Manager Len Wood has learned he may be the city's top executive for at least a year.
The City Council, in a unanimous decision Tuesday, approved extending Wood's employment agreement through June 30, 2009.
Wood, a retired city manager of Rancho Palos Verdes and Claremont, has more than 23 years in local government and took over in Hemet following the departure of former City Manager John Davidson, who left March 11 under unclear circumstances.
Wood, who made the offer to extend his contract, said despite the lack of public disclosure about the reasons for Davidson's departure, he's convinced there was nothing questionable about it.
"Before offering to extend my stay, I had to assure myself that there was nothing inappropriate regarding . . . Davidson's departure," Wood said.
He said he is covered by the nondisclosure clause in Davidson's settlement agreement with the city and could not discuss details of Davidson's departure.
Wood said he spoke with Davidson and is convinced nothing questionable or inappropriate happened.
"City management is a very gratifying yet hard-ball type profession. This form of government brings together the political and administrative arenas, and disagreements occur between strong city councils and city managers," Wood said. "It is for these reasons that city managers insist on employment agreements with severance provisions."
In Colton, the political intrigue just never stops, with the latest being the Colton's Police Officers' Association's attempts to obtain emails sent by an elected official.
(excerpt, San Bernardino Sun)
The association also says it was denied a copy of an investigative report into allegations of misconduct by Cpl. Wes Bruhn, the former police association president. DeLaRosa accused Bruhn of misconduct last year, and an administrative investigation was subsequently launched.
Bruhn was cleared of any wrongdoing, said Kyle Kershner, president of the police officers' association.
The association is considering filing a lawsuit against DeLaRosa, alleging he made false allegations, but it needs the report to build its case, Kershner said.
The city denied the association a copy of the report because it pertained to a personnel matter and is not a public record, an official said.
Assistant City Attorney Marco Martinez said the controversial e-mails do not pertain to official city business, and are therefore not subject to public disclosure.
"It was basically junk mail and stories that were sent to the city e-mail account," Martinez said.
DeLaRosa said he had been unaware of the e-mails, which he said were spam. He said he later learned the e-mails contained crude political jokes and stories.
He said he never opened the e-mails and would make them available upon request to any citizen who stops by his office at City Hall, 650 N. La Cadena Drive.
This apparently all ties into the union's attempts to prove that there's links between certain city council members and the attempts to recall current mayor, Kelly Chastain who is endorsed by the CPOA in the June 3 election. The councilman involved, Richard DeLaRosa said that it was payback against him by the union for organizing community forums to address police misconduct. Never a dull moment in Colton, the city that hired an etiquette consultant to evaluate how it conducted its meetings.
What was interesting was that much of the behavior shown by the council members which led to the consultant determining that their relationship with the public they served was "dysfunctional", has been shown by elected officials sitting on the dais in Riverside.
Three more misdemeanor cases were tossed in Riverside County Superior Court, but the visiting panel of emergency judges believes that the situation involving the backlogged courts has improved.
(excerpt, Press Enterprise)
In March, as part of its answer to the congestion problem, the courts changed calendaring systems to give criminal cases much earlier reviews than before for possible settlement. Results from the first six weeks of the new system are encouraging, Presiding Judge Richard T. Fields said Tuesday.
Fields said from March 17 until May 2, combined records of backlogged and pending cases started under the new system showed 535 had been settled.
"I cannot recall a time before this when we resolved more than 500 cases in a six-week period," Fields said in a phone interview.
He said countywide cases categorized as backlogged fell from 2,271 to 1,892 during the period. Newer cases, labeled as pending, fell from 6,325 to 6,189, he said.
"Remember, for a long time the backlog was increasing. Now both (categories) are decreasing," Fields said.
The judges depart in June and once again, the court system will be left up to its own devices.
University City is resisting its annexation by Riverside, according to the Press Enterprise.
(excerpt)
Of 253 registered voters in the hillside neighborhood, 185, or 73 percent, voted against annexation. Officials announced the results Tuesday at a meeting of the Riverside County Local Agency Formation Commission, which oversees annexations.
When more than 50 percent of registered voters turn down an annexation, it ends the effort.
The county registrar of voters needs to confirm the results by verifying that only properly registered voters participated, which could disqualify a few of the votes, said George Spiliotis, LAFCO's executive director, but the rejection is likely to stand.
At LAFCO's request, the city sought annexation of the neighborhood, saying it could provide police and fire protection and other municipal services better than Riverside County.
"It sure looks like we killed them," said homeowner Gary Lupo, who helped lead opposition to annexation.
The city can try again in a year if it chooses to, Spiliotis said.
The city's refusal to honor a 1960s agreement regarding the construction of a sewer was cited as one of the bones of contention by University City.
Another day, another investigation involving Orange County Sheriff's Department deputies, this time for allegedly tasing a cat to death.
(excerpt, Los Angeles Times)
A necropsy was inconclusive as to whether the dead cat had been shot with a Taser, department spokesman John McDonald said.
"We were unable to determine if there was any connection between the dead cat and the reported Taser use," McDonald said.
The investigation concluded that deputies might have pulled the trigger of the Taser without firing the darts through which an electric current is transmitted into targets. The test-firing makes a loud noise, one that may have spooked a nearby cat and caused it to run away, department sources said.
Results of the investigation have been turned over to Mike Gennaco, who is serving as an internal affairs consultant for acting Orange County Sheriff Jack Anderson. Gennaco is chief attorney for the Office of Independent Review of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
Two newly hired deputies who had been assigned to Theo Lacy were discharged after the investigation began, but there was no indication that their termination was related to horseplay with a Taser.
Removed from the street in Philadelphia were 15 police officers after being videotaped beating three men.
(excerpt, Minneapolis Star Tribune)
A spokesman for Mayor Michael Nutter says the mayor stands behind the police department but his first glance of the video does appear to show the officers overstepping their authority.
The video was shot Monday night by WTXF-TV. It shows three police cars stopping a car on the side of a road.
The tape shows about a dozen officers gathering around the vehicle and pulling three men out. About a half-dozen officers hold two of the men on the ground. Both are kicked repeatedly, with one of the two apparently struck with a baton. Punches were also thrown.
And the police commissioner has said what's often said in cases like this. "It certainly doesn't look good."
(excerpt, Philadelphia Inquirer)
"On the surface, it certainly does not look good in terms of the amount of force that was used," Ramsey said during a news conference with Mayor Nutter at police headquarters.
Ramsey said that an Internal Affairs investigation is under way. He expressed concern for the mental well-being of the entire force, which is still reeling in the wake of Sgt. Stephen Liczbinski's slaying last weekend.
Ramsey said officers are on edge, upset and tired from an exhaustive, round-the-clock police manhunt for Eric DeShawn Floyd, the only suspect still being sought in Liczbinski's murder.
D. Scott Perrine, a defense attorney representing the three men, said the commissioner seemed to be making excuses for "barbaric" police behavior.
"[Ramsey] implores Philadelphians to take sympathy on behalf of police officers who engaged in behavior that is indicative of guerrilla-warfare tactics that we would see in Iraq before we liberated that country," Perrine said last night.
In the 1970s, Philadelphia was sued by the federal agencies due to beatings taking place inside its interrogation rooms. Now 30 or so years later, it's under the spotlight again for beatings in the street. Is this what is called coming full circle?
Rate My Cop is becoming quite a site for rating police officers' performances but not as much by civilians as by the law enforcement officers themselves. Many of the comments are either complaints about management employees by subordinates or comments about how good looking officer so-and-so is.
One example of the types of comments being received by the site is provided by examination of the entry for a police chief heading one of the nation's largest law enforcement agencies.
Introducing LAPD Chief William Bratton
Only one Riverside Police Department officer has been listed under that department's category and it's the one who received a million dollar pay day by jury's verdict.
Former Bolingbrook Police Department sergeant, Drew Peterson was pulled over for speeding but avoided a ticket.
Planned demonstrations in the wake of the acquittals of three New York City Police Department officers of charges in relation to the Sean Bell shooting could take place this evening.
(excerpt, New York Daily News)
The protesters will begin mobilizing at 3 p.m., and simultaneous demonstrations will be staged in front of federal buildings in Chicago and Atlanta, where the Bell tragedy has also sparked outrage among African-Americans.
Sharpton insisted the demonstrations will be peaceful, but he's willing to get arrested to protest the acquittal of the three cops who gunned Bell down on his wedding day in a 50-bullet barrage.
"If you are not going to lock up the guilty in this town, then I guess you'll have to lock up the innocent," Sharpton said.
Bell's parents, William and Valerie, said they plan to take part in the protest at 1 Police Plaza - but aren't looking to get arrested.
"I appreciate what people are doing as long as it's peaceful," Valerie Bell said. "I have my family to take care of."
Visitors include the following.
City of Riverside
University of California, Riverside
Belo Enterprises
Bennettal Bright Law
University of Pennsylvania)
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Ursinus College
Library of Congress, Information Technology Service
Duke University
PENGUIN PUTNAM
Indiana University - Purdue University Fort Wayne
Columbia University
Arizona State University
Hofstra University
ANU (Australia)
Boeing
(excerpt, Press Enterprise)
While riding home on the sidewalk along Magnolia Avenue, he spotted a car exiting the Riverside City College parking garage. "By the time I saw her, I couldn't stop," he said.
Gardner tried to zoom past the approaching car. "She hit me and knocked my Segway out from under me," he said.
The 60-year-old councilman fell into the street and quickly retreated back to the sidewalk.
He suffered a scrape to the top of his head and has a couple of raw spots on his fingertips.
His Segway, which he purchased in July, was unscathed. He did not know about damage to the other vehicle.
Hemet is extending its contract with its current interim city manager. That's the one installed after the previous one left under such a veil of secrecy.
(excerpt, Press Enterprise)
After two months on the job, interim City Manager Len Wood has learned he may be the city's top executive for at least a year.
The City Council, in a unanimous decision Tuesday, approved extending Wood's employment agreement through June 30, 2009.
Wood, a retired city manager of Rancho Palos Verdes and Claremont, has more than 23 years in local government and took over in Hemet following the departure of former City Manager John Davidson, who left March 11 under unclear circumstances.
Wood, who made the offer to extend his contract, said despite the lack of public disclosure about the reasons for Davidson's departure, he's convinced there was nothing questionable about it.
"Before offering to extend my stay, I had to assure myself that there was nothing inappropriate regarding . . . Davidson's departure," Wood said.
He said he is covered by the nondisclosure clause in Davidson's settlement agreement with the city and could not discuss details of Davidson's departure.
Wood said he spoke with Davidson and is convinced nothing questionable or inappropriate happened.
"City management is a very gratifying yet hard-ball type profession. This form of government brings together the political and administrative arenas, and disagreements occur between strong city councils and city managers," Wood said. "It is for these reasons that city managers insist on employment agreements with severance provisions."
In Colton, the political intrigue just never stops, with the latest being the Colton's Police Officers' Association's attempts to obtain emails sent by an elected official.
(excerpt, San Bernardino Sun)
The association also says it was denied a copy of an investigative report into allegations of misconduct by Cpl. Wes Bruhn, the former police association president. DeLaRosa accused Bruhn of misconduct last year, and an administrative investigation was subsequently launched.
Bruhn was cleared of any wrongdoing, said Kyle Kershner, president of the police officers' association.
The association is considering filing a lawsuit against DeLaRosa, alleging he made false allegations, but it needs the report to build its case, Kershner said.
The city denied the association a copy of the report because it pertained to a personnel matter and is not a public record, an official said.
Assistant City Attorney Marco Martinez said the controversial e-mails do not pertain to official city business, and are therefore not subject to public disclosure.
"It was basically junk mail and stories that were sent to the city e-mail account," Martinez said.
DeLaRosa said he had been unaware of the e-mails, which he said were spam. He said he later learned the e-mails contained crude political jokes and stories.
He said he never opened the e-mails and would make them available upon request to any citizen who stops by his office at City Hall, 650 N. La Cadena Drive.
This apparently all ties into the union's attempts to prove that there's links between certain city council members and the attempts to recall current mayor, Kelly Chastain who is endorsed by the CPOA in the June 3 election. The councilman involved, Richard DeLaRosa said that it was payback against him by the union for organizing community forums to address police misconduct. Never a dull moment in Colton, the city that hired an etiquette consultant to evaluate how it conducted its meetings.
What was interesting was that much of the behavior shown by the council members which led to the consultant determining that their relationship with the public they served was "dysfunctional", has been shown by elected officials sitting on the dais in Riverside.
Three more misdemeanor cases were tossed in Riverside County Superior Court, but the visiting panel of emergency judges believes that the situation involving the backlogged courts has improved.
(excerpt, Press Enterprise)
In March, as part of its answer to the congestion problem, the courts changed calendaring systems to give criminal cases much earlier reviews than before for possible settlement. Results from the first six weeks of the new system are encouraging, Presiding Judge Richard T. Fields said Tuesday.
Fields said from March 17 until May 2, combined records of backlogged and pending cases started under the new system showed 535 had been settled.
"I cannot recall a time before this when we resolved more than 500 cases in a six-week period," Fields said in a phone interview.
He said countywide cases categorized as backlogged fell from 2,271 to 1,892 during the period. Newer cases, labeled as pending, fell from 6,325 to 6,189, he said.
"Remember, for a long time the backlog was increasing. Now both (categories) are decreasing," Fields said.
The judges depart in June and once again, the court system will be left up to its own devices.
University City is resisting its annexation by Riverside, according to the Press Enterprise.
(excerpt)
Of 253 registered voters in the hillside neighborhood, 185, or 73 percent, voted against annexation. Officials announced the results Tuesday at a meeting of the Riverside County Local Agency Formation Commission, which oversees annexations.
When more than 50 percent of registered voters turn down an annexation, it ends the effort.
The county registrar of voters needs to confirm the results by verifying that only properly registered voters participated, which could disqualify a few of the votes, said George Spiliotis, LAFCO's executive director, but the rejection is likely to stand.
At LAFCO's request, the city sought annexation of the neighborhood, saying it could provide police and fire protection and other municipal services better than Riverside County.
"It sure looks like we killed them," said homeowner Gary Lupo, who helped lead opposition to annexation.
The city can try again in a year if it chooses to, Spiliotis said.
The city's refusal to honor a 1960s agreement regarding the construction of a sewer was cited as one of the bones of contention by University City.
Another day, another investigation involving Orange County Sheriff's Department deputies, this time for allegedly tasing a cat to death.
(excerpt, Los Angeles Times)
A necropsy was inconclusive as to whether the dead cat had been shot with a Taser, department spokesman John McDonald said.
"We were unable to determine if there was any connection between the dead cat and the reported Taser use," McDonald said.
The investigation concluded that deputies might have pulled the trigger of the Taser without firing the darts through which an electric current is transmitted into targets. The test-firing makes a loud noise, one that may have spooked a nearby cat and caused it to run away, department sources said.
Results of the investigation have been turned over to Mike Gennaco, who is serving as an internal affairs consultant for acting Orange County Sheriff Jack Anderson. Gennaco is chief attorney for the Office of Independent Review of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
Two newly hired deputies who had been assigned to Theo Lacy were discharged after the investigation began, but there was no indication that their termination was related to horseplay with a Taser.
Removed from the street in Philadelphia were 15 police officers after being videotaped beating three men.
(excerpt, Minneapolis Star Tribune)
A spokesman for Mayor Michael Nutter says the mayor stands behind the police department but his first glance of the video does appear to show the officers overstepping their authority.
The video was shot Monday night by WTXF-TV. It shows three police cars stopping a car on the side of a road.
The tape shows about a dozen officers gathering around the vehicle and pulling three men out. About a half-dozen officers hold two of the men on the ground. Both are kicked repeatedly, with one of the two apparently struck with a baton. Punches were also thrown.
And the police commissioner has said what's often said in cases like this. "It certainly doesn't look good."
(excerpt, Philadelphia Inquirer)
"On the surface, it certainly does not look good in terms of the amount of force that was used," Ramsey said during a news conference with Mayor Nutter at police headquarters.
Ramsey said that an Internal Affairs investigation is under way. He expressed concern for the mental well-being of the entire force, which is still reeling in the wake of Sgt. Stephen Liczbinski's slaying last weekend.
Ramsey said officers are on edge, upset and tired from an exhaustive, round-the-clock police manhunt for Eric DeShawn Floyd, the only suspect still being sought in Liczbinski's murder.
D. Scott Perrine, a defense attorney representing the three men, said the commissioner seemed to be making excuses for "barbaric" police behavior.
"[Ramsey] implores Philadelphians to take sympathy on behalf of police officers who engaged in behavior that is indicative of guerrilla-warfare tactics that we would see in Iraq before we liberated that country," Perrine said last night.
In the 1970s, Philadelphia was sued by the federal agencies due to beatings taking place inside its interrogation rooms. Now 30 or so years later, it's under the spotlight again for beatings in the street. Is this what is called coming full circle?
Rate My Cop is becoming quite a site for rating police officers' performances but not as much by civilians as by the law enforcement officers themselves. Many of the comments are either complaints about management employees by subordinates or comments about how good looking officer so-and-so is.
One example of the types of comments being received by the site is provided by examination of the entry for a police chief heading one of the nation's largest law enforcement agencies.
Introducing LAPD Chief William Bratton
Only one Riverside Police Department officer has been listed under that department's category and it's the one who received a million dollar pay day by jury's verdict.
Former Bolingbrook Police Department sergeant, Drew Peterson was pulled over for speeding but avoided a ticket.
Planned demonstrations in the wake of the acquittals of three New York City Police Department officers of charges in relation to the Sean Bell shooting could take place this evening.
(excerpt, New York Daily News)
The protesters will begin mobilizing at 3 p.m., and simultaneous demonstrations will be staged in front of federal buildings in Chicago and Atlanta, where the Bell tragedy has also sparked outrage among African-Americans.
Sharpton insisted the demonstrations will be peaceful, but he's willing to get arrested to protest the acquittal of the three cops who gunned Bell down on his wedding day in a 50-bullet barrage.
"If you are not going to lock up the guilty in this town, then I guess you'll have to lock up the innocent," Sharpton said.
Bell's parents, William and Valerie, said they plan to take part in the protest at 1 Police Plaza - but aren't looking to get arrested.
"I appreciate what people are doing as long as it's peaceful," Valerie Bell said. "I have my family to take care of."
Visitors include the following.
City of Riverside
University of California, Riverside
Belo Enterprises
Bennettal Bright Law
University of Pennsylvania)
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Ursinus College
Library of Congress, Information Technology Service
Duke University
PENGUIN PUTNAM
Indiana University - Purdue University Fort Wayne
Columbia University
Arizona State University
Hofstra University
ANU (Australia)
Boeing
Labels: City Hall 101, labor pains, public forums in all places, Video police review
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