The heat wave continues
The heat wave that has the Inland Empire in its grip continues. There might be a break on Monday but we'll have to wait and see.
On Friday, Riverside shattered a 25 year old record for this date when its daily high hit the 108 degree mark. On Saturday, the city nipped the old record (also set in 1973) by one degree, with a high of 106. Today is set to be a bit hotter but the weather folks assure us that a cooling trend will begin Monday.
How to cope with the record heat.
Being sent in the mail, is a letter of censure to Riverside Mayor Ron Loveridge by the Democrats for crossing party lines and urging all Democrats to join him in voting for Councilman Frank Schiavone who is Republican for District One supervisor. Loveridge made this plea in a taped political announcement which was dialed out to Democratic voters' homes. Schiavone ran against incumbent supervisor, Bob Buster who's a Democrat.
(excerpt, Press Enterprise)
That irked local Democratic activists, said Mickey Birkle, communications director for the Democrats of Greater Riverside.
About 20 members of the 200-member group attended Thursday's meeting and voted unanimously to send Loveridge a letter asking him to apologize and explain his actions, she said.
"We feel he's betrayed a trust," Birkle said. "We'd just like him to come and say, 'I goofed.' "
Loveridge on Friday said he had no comment about the letter, for the time being.
"I prefer not to respond to a letter I've not seen," he said. "I'll await its delivery."
As well everyone else to see what happens next. Loveridge wants to see the letter first, Schiavone has been fairly quiet on the issue and it remains to be seen what the next actions of the local Democrats will be.
The barely-there Community Police Review Commission is set to hear four policy recommendations stemming from its review of complaints involving the Riverside Police Department. Two of them stemming from the department's audio recording policy, one from the field practices manual and another involving officers providing business cards.
On the audio recorders, the commission is submitting a recommendation that the department more strictly enforce its audio recording policy. Under the current policy, patrol officers are required to activate their belt recorders during all self-initiated professional contacts as long as it's safe to do so. And many of them have been doing it especially after the amnesty period ended by decree of the city manager's office in August 2003. But a few don't do it or they record portions of contacts. The commission stated in its recommendation, that if only the officers turned on their belt recorders and hadn't left the commission in the midst of deciding a he-said, he-said situation, they could have been exonerated. One wonders why it's clear that the commissioners believe the officers' versions in these cases, they didn't exonerate them anyway.
It's not easy for most community members to understand why there's a reluctance for officers not to record their contacts. If they're doing their jobs well and by policy, then these recordings are their best insurance against false allegations. And the vast majority of recorded incidents are never heard by employees of the police department unless there's a complaint filed in relation to that particular contact.
The commission also recommended that the department equip its officers with recorders that are not as likely to have difficulties with the power switch, if they couldn't find a "preferred placement" where it would be free from inadvertant shutoff. This policy recommendation came after several complaints reviewed where the officer had difficulty utilizing the power switch.
A motorcyclist was killed by a collision with a vehicle owned by the city of Riverside vehicle, which is why Van Buran was closed for hours while an investigation was conducted. The story seems to be so far that the city's vehicle ran a light while spraying a substance at the side of the road and the driver admitted doing so but the investigation is still ongoing.
There's a discussion on the accident here.
Going home is the truck driver who was injured in last month's freak tornado.
San Bernardino's community garden opens this week and is being worked on by elementary school students in that city.
Does every city have a brand name, is the question asked. A helpful list is provided of each city and its current (but subject to change) slogan and how they stand with the top 10 in the nation. Riverside checks in with its own latest title, "City of the Arts and Culture".
Should the handling of local elections be farmed out to private corporations?
More intrigue in the case of former Sheriff Michael Carona's corruption charges.
(excerpt, Los Angeles Times)
According to the motion by Assistant U.S. Attys. Kenneth Julian and Brett Sagel, Carona instructed the woman in 2005 to deny to Orange County district attorney's office investigators that she and Carona had once had a sexual relationship.
In 2000, prosecutors allege, Carona also told the woman to falsely deny to internal-affairs investigators that then-Assistant Sheriff George Jaramillo made inappropriate sexual advances toward her. Carona told the woman he had previously helped Jaramillo concoct a cover story after investigators observed Jaramillo and a woman engaged in a sex act in a county car, according to prosecutors.
Carona is not charged with asking this woman -- who once worked as Jaramillo's secretary -- to lie to investigators. Prosecutors want the judge to allow them to call her as a witness in an attempt to prove that Carona has a propensity for tampering with witnesses.
Carona's lawyer, Jeffrey Rawitz, said the woman has made several conflicting statements, including one in which she denied having sex with Jaramillo or Carona. The defense will ask that Guilford not allow her to testify at Carona's trial, scheduled for Aug. 26 in Santa Ana.
Through its push for civilian review, the NAACP is being unfair to the Moss Point Police Department. That is what the city's mayor is telling everyone.
(excerpt, Mississippi Press)
Curley Clark, president of the Jackson County National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and about 40 members of his organization attended the Moss Point Board of Aldermen meeting Tuesday to argue that a citizen review board that's been disbanded for three years should be revived in light of recently reported instances of police misconduct.
"My basic stance is that Mr. Clark is premature in even suggesting a citizen review board, because he has not reviewed his complaints with me," Bishop said Friday. "He has not reviewed his complaints with the incoming chief. I think she deserves the respect of hearing those complaints before any action is taken to act upon Mr. Clark's recommendation. That's the bottom line."
Sheila Smallman was recently named the new police chief of Moss Point, replacing interim police Chief Frederick Gaston. Smallman has not yet assumed her position at the Moss Point Police Department and could not be reached for comment Friday.
Clark said Friday that the new chief's input about the issue should not be a factor, because his organization is asking for an independent oversight committee that should not have to depend on approval from the police department.
"They (the city) are waiting to ask the question they already know the answer to," Clark said.
The battle to increase access to personnel records in St. Louis is taking place behind closed doors.
(excerpt, St. Louis Today)
"Isn't it great irony that we are here to talk about open government," said John Chasnoff, an activist who filed the suit demanding internal documents about officers who used 2006 World Series tickets that had been seized from scalpers.
"I'm really frustrated about today. I wanted to see the judge's reaction and hear the attorneys outline their arguments," said Chasnoff, of the Coalition Against Police Crimes and Repression. He and the group are the plaintiffs.
Circuit Judge Ed Sweeney summoned lawyers to his chambers. A court clerk said the meeting would not be public.
Sweeney later defended the closed 45-minute session as not unusual. He said it was a procedural meeting in which no transcript was kept and no arguments were heard. Sweeney said he would rule on the issue at hand — both sides' motions for a ruling without a full trial — based entirely on documents filed by the lawyers.
"Had either (attorney) said they wanted this to be in open court, we would have done it there," Sweeney said.
In Santa Clara County, a deputy who hit several cyclists killing two, faces manslaughter charges.
A former Bloomington Police Department sergeant has been convicted of four rapes.
Two criminal cases involving former Riverside Police Department officers had recent developments.
Jose Nazario worked for the department before being arrested in connection with the killings of several Iraqi detainees in Fallujah in 2004 becoming the first civilian to be tried for alleged war crimes committed while in the military service. A federal grand jury indicted him on manslaughter charges. This past week, another Marine, Sgt. Jermaine Nelson was issued his second contempt of court charge for failing to appear to answer questions for a federal grand jury.
Another former marine, Ryan Weemer also refused to answer questions of the grand jury. Weemer's allegations against Nazario and other Marines came to light while he as being interviewed by polygraph for a position with the Secret Service. Nelson and Weemer are facing murder charges.
(excerpt, Marine Corps Times)
Los Angeles after U.S. District Judge Percy Anderson on May 22 found him in contempt of court because the sergeant refused to meet with the grand jury. On May 29, Anderson ordered Nelson released with the condition that he meet with the grand jury and answer some questions in the Nazario case.
Nelson met with the grand jury as scheduled June 18 and answered some questions before he was allowed to leave and return to his military duties, his attorney, Joseph H. Low IV, told Marine Corps Times.
Nelson took his Fifth Amendment protection in declining to answer questions about the Fallujah killings.
Attorneys for Nazario say that federal prosecutors are trying to collect testimony from Nelson and another squad member, Sgt. Ryan Weemer, so the grand jury would issue a superseding indictment against Nazario on the more serious charges of murder and use of a weapon in the commission of a crime.
Executive summary of the Nazario case.
Another former police officer Laura Digiorgio who was convicted of charges in relation to a workman's compensation claim has through an attorney filed a motion for a new trial and a separate motion to unseal juror records. She also filed a lawsuit in federal court alleging that the police department fostered a hostile work environment and failed to accommodate her disabilities.
On Friday, Riverside shattered a 25 year old record for this date when its daily high hit the 108 degree mark. On Saturday, the city nipped the old record (also set in 1973) by one degree, with a high of 106. Today is set to be a bit hotter but the weather folks assure us that a cooling trend will begin Monday.
How to cope with the record heat.
Being sent in the mail, is a letter of censure to Riverside Mayor Ron Loveridge by the Democrats for crossing party lines and urging all Democrats to join him in voting for Councilman Frank Schiavone who is Republican for District One supervisor. Loveridge made this plea in a taped political announcement which was dialed out to Democratic voters' homes. Schiavone ran against incumbent supervisor, Bob Buster who's a Democrat.
(excerpt, Press Enterprise)
That irked local Democratic activists, said Mickey Birkle, communications director for the Democrats of Greater Riverside.
About 20 members of the 200-member group attended Thursday's meeting and voted unanimously to send Loveridge a letter asking him to apologize and explain his actions, she said.
"We feel he's betrayed a trust," Birkle said. "We'd just like him to come and say, 'I goofed.' "
Loveridge on Friday said he had no comment about the letter, for the time being.
"I prefer not to respond to a letter I've not seen," he said. "I'll await its delivery."
As well everyone else to see what happens next. Loveridge wants to see the letter first, Schiavone has been fairly quiet on the issue and it remains to be seen what the next actions of the local Democrats will be.
The barely-there Community Police Review Commission is set to hear four policy recommendations stemming from its review of complaints involving the Riverside Police Department. Two of them stemming from the department's audio recording policy, one from the field practices manual and another involving officers providing business cards.
On the audio recorders, the commission is submitting a recommendation that the department more strictly enforce its audio recording policy. Under the current policy, patrol officers are required to activate their belt recorders during all self-initiated professional contacts as long as it's safe to do so. And many of them have been doing it especially after the amnesty period ended by decree of the city manager's office in August 2003. But a few don't do it or they record portions of contacts. The commission stated in its recommendation, that if only the officers turned on their belt recorders and hadn't left the commission in the midst of deciding a he-said, he-said situation, they could have been exonerated. One wonders why it's clear that the commissioners believe the officers' versions in these cases, they didn't exonerate them anyway.
It's not easy for most community members to understand why there's a reluctance for officers not to record their contacts. If they're doing their jobs well and by policy, then these recordings are their best insurance against false allegations. And the vast majority of recorded incidents are never heard by employees of the police department unless there's a complaint filed in relation to that particular contact.
The commission also recommended that the department equip its officers with recorders that are not as likely to have difficulties with the power switch, if they couldn't find a "preferred placement" where it would be free from inadvertant shutoff. This policy recommendation came after several complaints reviewed where the officer had difficulty utilizing the power switch.
A motorcyclist was killed by a collision with a vehicle owned by the city of Riverside vehicle, which is why Van Buran was closed for hours while an investigation was conducted. The story seems to be so far that the city's vehicle ran a light while spraying a substance at the side of the road and the driver admitted doing so but the investigation is still ongoing.
There's a discussion on the accident here.
Going home is the truck driver who was injured in last month's freak tornado.
San Bernardino's community garden opens this week and is being worked on by elementary school students in that city.
Does every city have a brand name, is the question asked. A helpful list is provided of each city and its current (but subject to change) slogan and how they stand with the top 10 in the nation. Riverside checks in with its own latest title, "City of the Arts and Culture".
Should the handling of local elections be farmed out to private corporations?
More intrigue in the case of former Sheriff Michael Carona's corruption charges.
(excerpt, Los Angeles Times)
According to the motion by Assistant U.S. Attys. Kenneth Julian and Brett Sagel, Carona instructed the woman in 2005 to deny to Orange County district attorney's office investigators that she and Carona had once had a sexual relationship.
In 2000, prosecutors allege, Carona also told the woman to falsely deny to internal-affairs investigators that then-Assistant Sheriff George Jaramillo made inappropriate sexual advances toward her. Carona told the woman he had previously helped Jaramillo concoct a cover story after investigators observed Jaramillo and a woman engaged in a sex act in a county car, according to prosecutors.
Carona is not charged with asking this woman -- who once worked as Jaramillo's secretary -- to lie to investigators. Prosecutors want the judge to allow them to call her as a witness in an attempt to prove that Carona has a propensity for tampering with witnesses.
Carona's lawyer, Jeffrey Rawitz, said the woman has made several conflicting statements, including one in which she denied having sex with Jaramillo or Carona. The defense will ask that Guilford not allow her to testify at Carona's trial, scheduled for Aug. 26 in Santa Ana.
Through its push for civilian review, the NAACP is being unfair to the Moss Point Police Department. That is what the city's mayor is telling everyone.
(excerpt, Mississippi Press)
Curley Clark, president of the Jackson County National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and about 40 members of his organization attended the Moss Point Board of Aldermen meeting Tuesday to argue that a citizen review board that's been disbanded for three years should be revived in light of recently reported instances of police misconduct.
"My basic stance is that Mr. Clark is premature in even suggesting a citizen review board, because he has not reviewed his complaints with me," Bishop said Friday. "He has not reviewed his complaints with the incoming chief. I think she deserves the respect of hearing those complaints before any action is taken to act upon Mr. Clark's recommendation. That's the bottom line."
Sheila Smallman was recently named the new police chief of Moss Point, replacing interim police Chief Frederick Gaston. Smallman has not yet assumed her position at the Moss Point Police Department and could not be reached for comment Friday.
Clark said Friday that the new chief's input about the issue should not be a factor, because his organization is asking for an independent oversight committee that should not have to depend on approval from the police department.
"They (the city) are waiting to ask the question they already know the answer to," Clark said.
The battle to increase access to personnel records in St. Louis is taking place behind closed doors.
(excerpt, St. Louis Today)
"Isn't it great irony that we are here to talk about open government," said John Chasnoff, an activist who filed the suit demanding internal documents about officers who used 2006 World Series tickets that had been seized from scalpers.
"I'm really frustrated about today. I wanted to see the judge's reaction and hear the attorneys outline their arguments," said Chasnoff, of the Coalition Against Police Crimes and Repression. He and the group are the plaintiffs.
Circuit Judge Ed Sweeney summoned lawyers to his chambers. A court clerk said the meeting would not be public.
Sweeney later defended the closed 45-minute session as not unusual. He said it was a procedural meeting in which no transcript was kept and no arguments were heard. Sweeney said he would rule on the issue at hand — both sides' motions for a ruling without a full trial — based entirely on documents filed by the lawyers.
"Had either (attorney) said they wanted this to be in open court, we would have done it there," Sweeney said.
In Santa Clara County, a deputy who hit several cyclists killing two, faces manslaughter charges.
A former Bloomington Police Department sergeant has been convicted of four rapes.
Two criminal cases involving former Riverside Police Department officers had recent developments.
Jose Nazario worked for the department before being arrested in connection with the killings of several Iraqi detainees in Fallujah in 2004 becoming the first civilian to be tried for alleged war crimes committed while in the military service. A federal grand jury indicted him on manslaughter charges. This past week, another Marine, Sgt. Jermaine Nelson was issued his second contempt of court charge for failing to appear to answer questions for a federal grand jury.
Another former marine, Ryan Weemer also refused to answer questions of the grand jury. Weemer's allegations against Nazario and other Marines came to light while he as being interviewed by polygraph for a position with the Secret Service. Nelson and Weemer are facing murder charges.
(excerpt, Marine Corps Times)
Los Angeles after U.S. District Judge Percy Anderson on May 22 found him in contempt of court because the sergeant refused to meet with the grand jury. On May 29, Anderson ordered Nelson released with the condition that he meet with the grand jury and answer some questions in the Nazario case.
Nelson met with the grand jury as scheduled June 18 and answered some questions before he was allowed to leave and return to his military duties, his attorney, Joseph H. Low IV, told Marine Corps Times.
Nelson took his Fifth Amendment protection in declining to answer questions about the Fallujah killings.
Attorneys for Nazario say that federal prosecutors are trying to collect testimony from Nelson and another squad member, Sgt. Ryan Weemer, so the grand jury would issue a superseding indictment against Nazario on the more serious charges of murder and use of a weapon in the commission of a crime.
Executive summary of the Nazario case.
Another former police officer Laura Digiorgio who was convicted of charges in relation to a workman's compensation claim has through an attorney filed a motion for a new trial and a separate motion to unseal juror records. She also filed a lawsuit in federal court alleging that the police department fostered a hostile work environment and failed to accommodate her disabilities.
Labels: Backlash against civilian oversight, corruption 101, public forums in all places
posted by Five Before Midnight | 7:40 AM
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