Election 2011: The Games Begin and a School Board Votes

[The neighborhood close to my sister's after the Feb. 22 quake in Christchurch, New Zealand when soil liquification flooded the streets with mud and water]

[Concerned community members left standing room only at the Riverside Unified School District meeting]

The Riverside Unified School Board voted at its Feb. 22 meeting in front of a packed house to proceed with its upgrade plans including for John W. North High School.

[School Board members listen to public comments from over a dozen speakers on the renovations for John W. North High School's athletic facilities]

Over a dozen city residents and former North High School alumni spoke on this issue and about how they feel that North High School is given the short shift compared to other high schools in the district including Martin Luther King, Jr. High School, which is much newer than North which along with Arlington High School and Riverside Poly are apparently older facilities. But North High School which has a record of academic excellence (and its athletes boast the highest average GPA in the district) was the last high school to have sprinklers installed, once hadn't had its sprinklers working for several months and the student athletes have to leave the gymnasium and walk outside to reach the shower facilities. Not to mention one speaker said there were so many holes in the field (from gophers) that it look like a bombing run.

Money had been raised privately to improve the entrance of North High and speakers countered one board member's assertions that the students didn't take care of their facilities. Many people have worked hard to upkeep the facilities that are aging at the high school named originally for the area of the city it's in and then later for Riverside's founder, abolitionist John W. North.

Many students from the Eastside and University neighborhoods attend or have attended North High School including many well known people in Riverside. But it's not news that the Eastside gets short shift in many decisions made by representative bodies left to make decisions that determine the future of the residents in this neighborhood. Former School Board member Ofelia Valdez-Yeager talked about how it's an exercise in regards to the "have and have nots" and that was apparent when some school board members talked about how it was important to stick to a budget...after ensuring that other high schools got larger pieces of the pie.

North High School students often have to travel farther at their own expense to play football games and for the time being, they will be using the football facility at Riverside Community College. Contrast that with Riverside Poly getting a swim facility and not being told to use the RCC Aquatic Center for its home swim meets.

The bond measure which was passed by the voters which earmarks money specifically facilities should be used in a way that benefits all of Riverside's schools in this case athletic facilities for its high schools but there should be parity between the schools in what they obtain so that Valdez-Yeager's words don't come to pass.


School Board Member Kathy Allavie came up with the compromise motion that was passed and includes the creation of a blue ribbon panel which will be free of the influence or participation of the school board which will determine how the extra funding will be used. The slight majority of the board including Gayle Cloud who provided the swing vote (thus reversing her earlier position on the issue) passed this motion to the applause of those in attendance.

Mayor Ron Loveridge when he teaches at the university used to assign papers to his students asking them to write about the Eastside, what they thought about it and any recommendations they would have for how to address the issues there. Sounds like a pretty interesting and educational assignment but what would be a much better one is the history of interactions and interrelationships between this neighborhood and City Hall.

And how often the Eastside gets brushed when it comes to how the city government does its business. Councilman Andrew Melendrez who represents the Eastside said that no Riverside Renaissance money went to that neighborhood. Whether that's the case, well it would be shocking if that were actually so. But what was really shocking or not was a recent vote taken that had to do with the Perris Valley addition to Metrolink which included the issue of creating "quiet zones" in areas of Riverside. Most of the expansion of Metrolink is taking place outside of Los Angeles due to the costly negotiations that would be required for rail access with freight train companies including Union Pacific, which is as the adage goes, once warned twice shy when it comes to making future deals.

But what wasn't discussed was what was in the fine print. The Eastside neighborhood naturally didn't get any "quiet zones" but what disturbed some folks was the fact that the money that had been allocated to install the long-needed grade separation on Third Street was apparently funneled elsewhere. This grade separation which was once fourth on the priority list for putting these grade separations in is apparently now up in the air even as trains have long blocked Third Street and often either Seventh Street or Spruce Street as well.

If that's the case, then one can only look at the actions taken and say wow, what backroom dealing led to this action as well as the provision which pretty much disqualifies City Hall from ever complaining or being involved in any legal action against the Perris Valley line. The lack of public hearings, and one councilman called a city council meeting on the final vote an adequate public hearing has marred this process in terms of the fine print items. Because many people know by the time anything gets to the city council, it's pretty much past the point of discussion and to the point of pushing a shiny button the console to cast a vote.

Besides has anyone looked at the length of the city council agenda...quite slight in content lately.


But Councilman Steve Adams who heads the Transportation Committee for the city council has been asked to look into the lack of public hearings and notice for public hearings as well as the mystery of the disappearing allocation for the Third Street grade separation project that many residents in the Eastside had hoped would be on the horizon.

[Councilman Steve Adams who chairs the Transportation Committee has said he'll look into the lack of public hearings held before the city council before the alleged movement of grade separation money for Third Street]

Hopeful Adams can get to the bottom of it if he's not there already to determine whether or not the funding for the grade separation in the Eastside got reallocated elsewhere. And why there were no public hearings held on some of these fine print items.

But while many people left the RUSD board meeting content that at least some progress has been made, it's clear that in the larger scheme of things, it's still business as usual in Riverside.

Riverside City Manager Brad Hudson Discovers the Downtown Library

And Yes Brad, It's in Dismal Shape

Only in Riverside is it major news when a city manager visits the downtown public library. In this case, Brad Hudson who's been employed by Riverside since June 2005 took a trip off the well beaten path and wandered into the downtown public library which is as stated in a state of disrepair especially in the past year. Coming up will be a photo gallery of exactly how the public library now looks. It's no news to this blog as it's reported on the situation in the downtown library and its deterioration and Hudson's a pretty faithful reader.

But it's kind of funny that Hudson appeared to be so much in the dark about the library's condition given that the library department is under his own and that he had his former assistant city manager Tom DeSantis in charge of it. DeSantis had allegedly been very diligent in his micromanagement of the facility to the point of telling librarians where to shelve books but DeSantis apparently missed what had been going on. Not surprising because he was very busy doing other activities while working for Riverside including some that might or might not have played a role in his abrupt departure last year.

Apparently he was alerted by Councilman Mike Gardner who oversees the downtown where the library resides. Gardner himself is up for reelection and an unkempt library facility doesn't help his cause. But then again, the rest of the city council should view the situation of the library as not really helping their respective causes either.

Among the issues that it faces are leaking roofs when it rains and sometimes when it doesn't, and a second floor in which half of its public service area is cordoned off. There used to be a children's center which was quite nice and a teen space area that was also quiet nice but for some unexplained reason, the children center had to move all its books, equipment and furniture out of its space and then it got crammed in the already small teen space area.

Contrast that with the fact that about half of the shelving space left in the second floor has been vacated including the shelves. The one remaining public elevator is pretty scary and noisy when it is in use. It's not clear whether it's been upgraded with the latest safety features including equipment that detects anything including body limbs that would get caught in between the closing doors. Let alone whether it has safety features preventing the elevator from moving up or down if something including someone's arm or leg is stuck in the doors.

The woman's bathroom has had a sulfur odor (indicated sewer gases backing up through the toilet's traps) for years now and many times one or both bathrooms are closed for repairs. Recently when a public event was held downtown in that area, the restrooms were used by many people in attendance. It only took an hour for the women's restroom to be out of order and even before that, the fecal odor was so noxious, people felt like they were going to pass out.

On one occasion, when the women's restroom was closed (due to a broken light), a woman who had to use the restroom was told to go to the Mission Inn or City Hall and use the toilets there. When the employees were reminded about equal access to facilities regardless of gender, they opened up the employee restroom to women and expedited the repair order for repairs. When the men's bathroom has been out of order, women have walked into the bathroom and found men inside it.

[Discovering the Downtown Library apparently sent City Manager Brad Hudson into shock]

Brad might have been shocked about the state of the downtown library, the main hub of the entire system where there are branch libraries including newer facilities that look much cleaner and nicer than that downtown. And as already stated, DeSantis while here was a busy, busy bee including engaging in long meaningful visits to other nearby city owned facilities like Fairmount Park but surely he would have reported back any deficiencies or problems to Hudson or perhaps he did, but nothing happened.

It's odd considering that the city management put restrictions through its library director that gagged employees in the library department from speaking to people including the media. If the management had the energy and time to do that, why didn't they have time to address the growing deterioration of the library? And remember when Hudson and the city government were talking about demolishing the library and rebuilding it, some seemed to think that shouldn't be done yet. But that's Hudson's modus of operation is that when he's confronted with an embarrassment or a problem under his watch, he tends to say, I had no idea...I'll go check it out...oh my gosh...I really had no idea.

But what of the Riverside City Council's reaction to the topic at a recent city council meeting?

[If former Asst. City Manager Tom DeSantis micromanaged the downtown library during his tenure, how did it reach its current state on his watch?]

[Councilman Mike Gardner (l.) may find that the state of the downtown library might come up during the upcoming city council elections]

Press Enterprise Columnist Dan Bernstein updates on the library situation and he provided that information that he gleaned from a recording taken of the city council meeting including the joking done about the library.


(excerpt)

I blame myself for putting Hudson in such an awkward position. If I'd known that Councilman Mike Gardner would suggest that the city's top administrator walk through this pigsty, I would have written about the wonders of the navel orange instead.

But maybe the city manager and his bosses should occasionally be reminded that they are the stewards of an open sore that is such an embarrassment that it has become a punch line.

During that same meeting, which consisted mainly of mutual back patting and virtual group hugs in celebration of the city's supposedly chipper finances, Gardner said: "The downtown library itself needs a little spiffing up."

That's when laughter rippled through the council chambers. If Gardner were a stand-up pro, he would have quickly added, "Take my blight. Please."

Instead, he said what everyone except the council has known for years: The library "has slipped to the point where it is not adequately functional now."

Even MayorLuv briefly paused from seizing the city's destiny to muse, "If you parachuted into the city and only landed at the library and walked around, I'm not sure what judgment you'd have of the place." (I am. "Beam me up! Now!")

The city manager said his walk-through inspired him to "come up with some improvements that won't be too costly."

Gardner told me later new carpeting, painting, better lighting and fully functional restroom fans will improve "a really depressing, ugly smelly place." Library visitors should see "significant change" by mid-April. Exactly how much the city plans to spend remains foggy.

The library might be a punchline for the city government at a meeting but it's probably going to be a thorn in the side of some of those currently on the election trail much like the neglected city parks haunted his predecessor Dom Betro (who naturally has decided to run again) and helped launch Gardner's own political campaign. And it remains to be seen when or if these improvements cited by the city manager who suddenly had the inkling to visit the downtown library will bear fruit or not before Election 2011 reaches its preliminary (and possibly final) round at the time of the mail in ballot election in early June.


Speaking of political campaigns for Election 2011, there's this curious campaign going on Inland Empire's Craiglist. Councilman Mike Gardner's "fan" is back hitting photo shop and posting enigmatic political advertisements online, this time stumping for Marisa Valdez, actually Marisa Yeager who's running for election in Ward One.

Not sure what the point of it is, and on what basis this person is endorsing Yeager. But if I were Yeager, I'd be a little bit leery of this guy. He's never backed a winning campaign yet.






In other city council news, questions have arisen about its bidding process on contracts. Okay, it's a bit late in the game but at least it's being done. Too many questions have arisen for years about how the city contracts out its business and engages in the bidding process. Attempts to find the legal contracts with the city's outside law firms including Best, Best and Krieger have been futile and questions have been raised about fluctuations in the so-called discretionary spending ($50,000 per item) by Hudson's office.

Now is the city council finally asking questions? If so that would be refreshing indeed.


Stronghold Engineering got the contract but lost an employee to electrocution at UC Riverside in some type of industrial accident. Several years ago an employee from that same company was working in a man hole at 10th and Main just next to City Hall and accidentally cut into a live wire (which was to have been shut off by the city) and was badly injured in the resultant explosion. The accident also knocked out power to the downtown pedestrian mall area.

RPD: Strategic Plan On Hold; Department Needs to Redefine Mission

[Three members of the Riverside Police Department's management team including Chief Sergio Diaz (l.) have decided to suspend the progression of the Strategic Plan for now]

The Riverside Police Department has an interesting but roller coaster history with its Strategic Plans. The expired one that was instituted through the stipulated judgment imposed by the State Attorney's General started strong and then ran aground not long after the dissolution of the judgment in March 2006. Then when it expired, a new one was proposed, then stalled, then restarted, researched, reported on, designed and written into draft form by May 2010.

Even while all hell was breaking loose around it, it continued on forward, but when new Chief Sergio Diaz came in, it started anew. Asst. Chief Chris Vicino with an extensive background in strategic planning from his stint at Pasadena Police Department took a large role in the process bringing back then Sgt. Jaybee Brennan to serve an instrumental role in its progression. Brennan had been one of the surviving members of the Audit and Compliance Panel which had as one of its focus the creation and writing of the Strategic Plan.

More public forums in addition to those done earlier in 2010 (not to mention an online survey) were done in the autumn of 2010, in different neighborhoods inside the four neighborhood policing centers of the city. After soliciting and receiving input from the public at community forums and running an in house survey of its own employees (which generated some interesting result including about the management team), the department was to hold an ambitious working meeting among its command staff to decide how to proceed next with the design of the plan before going to the Public Safety Committee. The meeting was to take place in November but the tragic killing of Officer Ryan Bonaminio caused it to be postponed until just recently.

But what happened after that is that the department suspended the further development of the Strategic Plan pending the completion of the rewriting of its own mission statement and purposes. It turned out that members of the department's leadership had attended a retreat and had discussed the necessity of this task, saying that it was long overdue. The whole retreat and rewriting mission statements, objectives and goals seems to be taking the city by wildfire lately, beginning with some of its boards and commissions. But the department's been busy meeting with and soliciting input from its employees on what its mission statement and objectives should look like.

It's not clear at this point when the Strategic Plan first planned in early 2010 will see its completion let alone its implementation but it's hoped that it doesn't fall by the wayside...once again.

CPRC Continues Commissioner Turnover into 2011

[CPRC Commissioner Peter Hubbard was one of the incumbents ousted by the city council earlier this month]

The Community Police Review Commission said goodbye to three of its commissioners though only two of them were in attendance. Chair Brian Pearcy termed out after eight years and Chani Beeman along with Peter Hubbard were not reappointed by the city council and mayor earlier this month.

They became the first two commissioners to ever be denied reappointed and coincidentally or not they became the first two ever called in to be reinterviewed before being considered for reappointment. Hubbard failed to be reappointed when he fell one requisite vote short in the first round of "city-wide" voting.

Beeman who despite a nearly perfect attendance record, a fairly strong work ethic and giving the most comprehensive if frank interview failed to come even close. One councilman defended his voting record to people unhappy with her ouster by claiming truthfully that he had voted for her in each round where she was in contention. The voting record of another councilman sparked some immediate dynamic changes in his respective council race.

Manager Frank Hauptmann took a very strong role in areas of the commission's operation including the training that commissioners will receive including when they are appointed as well as averring that the annual report will be done next time in accordance to guidelines that place its completion at the end of each March. His stance on issues is a counterpoint to his predecessor Kevin Rogan and was noticeable immediately as he's been given open access to the police department by Diaz as well. Not to mention new D.A. Paul Zellerbach's receptiveness to meet with key players involved in addressing the delayed investigations and reviews of all parties tied to officer-involved deaths.

Still Hauptmann got a taste of the continued dysfunction of the CPRC during some agenda items last meeting when the commission spun its wheels further on some basic issues.

But challenges await for the commission which recently celebrated its 10th year anniversary not through a planned workshop that was aborted and put on ice in January but with the awareness that many problems still plague it, not to mention the intrigue surrounding one commissioner that may or may not erupt in 2011. Also it remains to be seen what's the future of Commissioner John Brandriff as that won't be known until Election 2011 is over for the seventh ward.

All three new members of the CPRC pending live scans of course attended the most recent meeting, all sitting together so someone's been working in the background because that's never happened before in the commission's history.

Quakes Strike Christchurch, Kill over 140 People

This week was marred by the sudden series of severe quakes that struck Christchurch, New Zealand during the lunch hour on Feb. 22. The major quake, an aftershock of a 7.1 quake in September was 6.3 but only six miles away from the center of the city, two miles deep and it generated a ground acceleration force of 2 G, which makes it one of the strongest quakes ever recorded in terms of those forces. It's believed to be from a newly discovered fault that experienced increased stress buildup stemming from the September quake and an aftershock pattern that migrated eastward from that quake's epicenter (about 20-30 miles away) closer to Christchurch. But it's very worrisome to scientists including those in California due to the sequencing of major earthquakes on separate faults (as in the 1992 Landers/Big Bear quake and the 1992 Ferndale/Cape Mendocino/Petrolia, California sequence) and the fact that it's clear that even many modern "earthquake safe" buildings weren't designed to withstand G forces in the 2.0 range.

It's not clear if Christchurch has seen the end or even the worst of its current seismic activity given that there might be many unmapped fault lines under the city stemming from the collision of two tectonic plates. So much remains to be discovered and figured out about the relationships between different faults and fault zones but what is now known is that relieving stress on one fault might dangerously increase it on another.

Christchurch is a city on the South Island near the Eastern coast of the Pacific Ocean. It's about the size of Riverside, with 350,000 people now and it's followed a similar population pattern as Riverside in the past 10-20 years. It's an older city and about half of the buildings are of unreinforced masonry which is usually destroyed easily by earthquakes. Many buildings were new as New Zealand has increased its building standards and is third in the world behind the United States and Japan in earthquake safety. An older sister lives in Christchurch, raised her family there and still resides in a suburb of Christchurch near the beach. I've been there several times and am familiar with the city's layout so it's been jarring to see the photos and news coverage of heavily damaged or demolished buildings and streets in Christchurch, Lytteleton and Sumner where I've been.

The first quake caused major damage mostly to the city's older interior and the infrastructure particularly water and sewer systems. The city had been in the process of demolishing buildings and rebuilding but had opted to wait until the worst of the aftershock sequences had passed. The aftershocks associated with the original Christchurch quake have been atypically numerous and violent. My sister and her family live in a custom built house less than 20 years old and it survived the September quake with some cracks. Many buildings in Riverside including the masonry frontage downtown wouldn't survive a 7.1 earthquake as faced by Christchurch and they won't survive a quake similar to the one that struck on Feb. 22. In fact, when red, orange and green ratings were assigned to various areas of Riverside, downtown's was mostly red and that was for a quake in the 6-7 point range.

If a similar quake with similar dimensions and G forces hit Riverside, would it fare any better? Downtown probably would be severely damaged and the aforementioned library, probably reduced to rubble as would perhaps be the museum, the police administrative headquarters including the communications center in the basement (though it's being relocated to the Magnolia Police Station) and other buildings might be damaged there. Two buildings collapsed after the 1992 Landers earthquake about 80 miles away after all. Something to definitely think about, especially in light of the damage after a series of severe rain storms in December.

But no one died, because although it was strong, it was 30 miles away, four miles deep and struck during a time few people were out and about. In contrast the 6.3 (followed by two aftershocks in the 5-6 range) hit six miles away from the center of the city, was only two miles deep and hit at the tail end of the lunch hour. A strong enough force to knock my brother in law right out of his chair and not enough time for many people to get to safety. Many people died when two buildings collapsed including that of the local television station. People who were in a 28 story hotel next door were able to jump off the top floor to the ground when the building leaned. But 2o people died while sightseeing in the spire of the well-known Cathedral and having climbed those steps myself, not much to be able to do if an earthquake strikes suddenly.

Others died on buses from masonry falling and turning them and cars into crumpled metal with people inside. International students at a language school were buried alive in the television building and others were crushed inside restaurants in the malls. Christchurch has malls that stretch for blocks with walkways through the middle of them, with multi-level shops and eateries inside and outside.

Over one-third of the city's buildings face demolition this time around. Many were damaged last September. The death toll is about 145 but that's a conservative estimate as many buildings including the CTV (Canterbury Television) suffered many losses of life. Texts were sent out of many downed buildings including that one asking for help by people buried but most of the texting stopped before rescue operations reached those buildings.

The 6.3 leveled buildings that had previous damage and those that hadn't. My sister's home and those of most of her relatives and friends were severely damaged this time around and many people's houses will have to be rebuilt. My sister's home was built in 1991 including during the harsh winter (and the seasons are reversed) when she was nine months pregnant and I had gone there to help her before and after my niece's birth with her two kids. One of the biggest topics was the fate of custom ordered floor tiles and whether they were the right color but eventually that got all sorted out.

Electricity has been restore fairly quickly in both quakes but the restoration of water and sewer lines takes quite a bit longer. Last time out, trains brought in tankers filled with water for city residents. But in some areas including where my sister's family live, flooding hit the streets as a result of water from broken pipes and sewer lines and other sources, along with silt was forced up to the surface by the quake's movement.

No drinking water around but plenty on the streets. Students from University of Canterbury showed up enmasse to clean up some of the affected streets even as raw sewage spewed into the Avon River that goes through the area by the university where crew teams practice.


Many more people wanted to leave the city this time soon after it happened as the future on what the prime minister called "New Zealand's darkest day" seems uncertain. In Christchurch, hubs were set off housing offices to process paperwork and disperse financial aid and compensation for rebuilding houses but it's a bit disconcerting to be processing what's similar to FEMA funding for moderate damage and then have a quake that wipes out your house...and that's what happened to many people this time. Those hubs provided jobs for city residents in an economy that like most of the rest of the world's had been in recession.

But people rallied together to help each other as Christchurch residents tend to be easy going, resilient and very generous in spirit.

My sister was actually visiting my nephew in Australia close to the region hit by devastating flooding recently so wasn't there when it happened. She had family that had moved there after missing the September quake. After finding out she and her family were safe, thanks to Facebook and other resources for finding out what happened to my friends there including those who worked and ate in the severely damaged areas. It's sad to see the destruction of the buildings especially coming on the heels of the September quake and when people in the city were starting to get their feet back on the ground only to have the ground knocked out from them again even worse.

But it's clear that the damage of quakes will impact Christchurch for quite a period of time, spurring the economy by offering construction jobs as was seen in areas of the southern United States after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.


Also in danger, is the hosting of the World Cup later this year for Rugby in stadiums that weren't heavily damaged but face heavy soil liquidification. Of course talk of relocating the World Cup is a fighting word to most people in Christchurch so never say never.

[Bridge Street after the 7.1 Christchurch quake]






[Suburb flooded through water and silt being forced to the surface by force of the earthquake. My sister's area looks a lot like this.]

Christchurch, New Zealand earthquake:


Strength: 6.3

Epicenter: 6 miles away from the center of Christchurch

Depth: 2-3 miles beneath the surface

Ground acceleration forces: 2G (1994 Northridge quake: 1.7G, Haiti, 0.5 G)

The hidden danger of even the most modern buildings in earthquakes given that at many of the buildings that collapsed in the Christchurch were modern buildings.

Portions of South Brighton, an outer neighborhood near the coastline and the estuary were under water.

Public Meeting

Tuesday, March 1 at 2pm and 6:30 pm, the Riverside City Council will meet to discuss this agenda. As you might notice, the agendas have been getting a bit shorter lately.






The danger of solar flares is getting more attention from scientists due to things like computers, satellites and cell phones.

Are the CPRC and Police Department conducting timely investigations and reviews of personnel complaints?

"Our one pleasure's gone."


----Sandy Valentine, library patron to Press Enterprise about the reduction in hours they will be open.




The Community Police Review Commission’s sustain rate of 2.5% on complaint allegations might be slightly endangered by a two-month spree when they sustained on the vast majority of allegations reviewed during the months of July and August, according to the latest monthly reports here and here.

During July, 15 out of 20 complaint allegations were sustained and three out of four were sustained in August.

The breakdown of allegations for July included eight improper procedure allegations, one discrimination/harassment and nine criminal conduct allegations. Given the high number of sustained allegations, one could calculate that at least three of the criminal conduct allegations were sustained by the commission. If so, it would be the first time that criminal conduct allegations received sustained finding since November 2005 when two police officers faced allegations that they had planted a weapon and lied about it in police reports they filed with the department after being involved in a pursuit in the Eastside during April of 2005. A criminal probe led to no charges being filed against the two officers.

A Look Back at History

That administrative investigation took over six months to complete which may have seemed long then but is a blip in time now and allegedly the disciplinary action of firing the officers took place before the complaint ever reached the CPRC. The firing of the two police officers was ultimately reversed by first arbitrators and then reaffirmed by the city council through a bizarre chain of events which led to six city council members reversing their initial votes on the officers’ futures during a second closed session during March and April in 2008. Initially, all the city council members except former Councilman Art Gage had voted to contest the arbitration finding in Riverside County Superior Court but after former Councilman Frank Schiavone (after being persuaded by the leadership of the Riverside Police Officers’ Association) convinced them to revisit the vote at a meeting two weeks later, the remaining six council members switched their votes as the city council voted 7-0 to reinstate the officers after viewing a presentation put on by Schiavone and City Attorney Gregory Priamos.

If the commission did sustain on any criminal conduct allegations on a police complaint, then it’s not clear nor will it ever be known if the police department’s own investigators from the Internal Affairs Division reached similar conclusions in their own administrative probes. It’s also not clear whether or not a criminal investigation was conducted by the department and whether or not any charges were filed. It will probably never be known what they were accused and possibly found guilty of doing or even if they are still employed. If anyone gets fired and reinstated in arbitration, then it might come up on a city council agenda in about two years or so.

When looking at the monthly report which provided statistical information, one disturbing factoid jumps out quickly and that’s how long it took the complaints to first, reach the CPRC and then how long it took the CPRC to reach its own recommended findings on them. For Category 1 complaints (which for August, were the criminal conduct allegations), it took on average 224 days to reach the CPRC and another 128 days for the CPRC to complete its work on them. That meant that from the date of filing to the date of completion by the CPRC, it took an average of 352 days.

For lesser Category 2 complaints, it took 274 days for them on average to reach the CPRC for further investigation and/or review and another 117 days for the CPRC to reach its own findings. That meant that it took a total of 391 days for the process to be completed by the CPRC from the date of filing.

There were three sustained allegations for the month of July, all of them likely involving category 2 allegations. On average, it took 286 days for these complaints to reach the CPRC and another 119 days to receive findings from the CPRC. Total time to complete the process? 405 days.

Guidelines set forth in the police department’s complaint policy, #4.12, state that category 1 complaint investigations are to be completed in 60 days and category 2 complaints, in 30 days. If more time is needed, it has to be signed off on by the lieutenant in charge of the internal Affairs Division. These “guidelines” make it appear as if complaints that take longer to complete than these time spans were the exception to the rule but it’s clear from reviewing statistics provided in the CPRC’s monthly and annual reports, that these deviations from the 30-60 day deadlines are the rule.

Governmental State Code 3304(d) states that an officer can’t be disciplined for misconduct if 365 days have elapsed since the time misconduct is first suspected. In most cases, that is the date the investigation is initiated, even if the actual misconduct took place at an earlier date. There’s a list of exemptions to this time line including ongoing criminal investigations, civil litigation, multi-agency investigations, incapacitated officers and cases involving a larger number of officers.

A Look at History Part Deux

One famous misstep that the police department took when botching this timeline happened in 1998-99 when Officer Roger Sutton was under investigation for a controversial incident involving his canine biting a female officer. Initially, the intent was to at least suspend him, according to officers who testified during his trial. However, Sutton didn’t receive his intent to discipline notice until two weeks after the statutory deadline had passed making any attempts to discipline illegal. So what the agency did instead was to transfer him out of the canine unit as a form of discipline. It would be vague enough not to be as easily provable as a form of discipline like a suspension or termination would be yet it would still serve a disciplinary purpose. The problem was they notified Sutton of his “nondisciplinary” transfer on a memorandum which stated on its top, “Notice of intent to discipline”. Not one of the police department’s smoother moments as became clear when this all played out in a public forum known as a courtroom.

The delay in Sutton’s administrative investigation in one sense was easily explainable. The internal investigation was farmed outside of the Internal Affairs Division and handed off to then Canine Sgt. Wally Rice who would go on to be shot and wounded in the rescue operation at City Hall in October 1998. It took the department months to replace him with then Sgt. Leon Phillips who completed the investigation. The cited Governmental Code section doesn’t make exceptions for investigations compromised by incapacitated investigators (as the incapacitation clause applies only to involved officers) so the clock was ticking away the entire time and in this case, time ran out.

Internal Affairs Investigation Backlog

[The front entrance of the Riverside Police Department's Internal Affairs Division sharing space with both the North Neighborhood Policing Center and the Greyhound Bus Lines office]



Internal Affairs (in a nutshell):


Lt. Mike Cook who originally came out of the Chief's office to help its previous head, Lt. Steve Johnson deal with the backlog last autumn then took the division over when Johnson went out on leave earlier this year. But the backlog still continues...

His staff of investigators:


Sgt. Brian Dailey: Three years and counting, he's the senior investigator in the division.

Sgt. John Capen: Is this his first stint?

Sgt. Pat McCarthy: The former president of the Riverside Police Officers' Association created some stir this year when he briefly held a board position while assigned to Internal Affairs. He resigned as chair to the union's PAC but still serves on the committee.

Sgt. Frank Assuma: The long-time head of the department's gang unit now wears a suit.

Sgt. Marcus Smail: The guy who stepped up to live in the Antitoch House (still owned by the city but unoccupied) is now assigned to Internal Affairs.

The Internal Affairs Division was abruptly relocated while trying to address its backlog last autumn and the General Services division (which was assigned to assist its relocation) received only two weeks notice. Consequently, the first month that the Internal Affairs Division was operating from its new digs, it experienced problems including with equipment which may have impacted its operations. Hopefully, those issues were resolved a long time ago and the city manager's office has finally advanced to the level of at least micromanaging the department without hampering its function. But unfortunately it's not clear that the strategies imposed by the department to battle or at least reduce the backlog have really been effective.







It’s been an unfortunate pattern and practice of the police department to take nearly a year or longer to complete its complaint investigations during the past several years. Attempts by the department to alleviate this backlog including placing an extra lieutenant to man the unit for several months last autumn did little to address the ongoing problem. Responses to inquiries involving this issue tend to be defensive with the insistence that professionally done and thorough investigations should be paramount before meeting time lines and that’s difficult to argue against. It’s disingenuous to keep hiding behind that excuse because the lagging investigations may be caused by other things beside their complexity (such as the prioritizing and organization of investigations which seems somewhat disorganized and their time lines as well as the number of internally generated probes) and the increasing time taken to investigate complaints may threaten the rights of complainants and police officers alike to a process that not only is objective and thorough but also just as important, timely.

And I don’t think anyone not even a City Hall inspired puppet can argue that complaint investigations done by the police department are timely. Perhaps they can try but who will believe them?

After all, when former State Attorney General Bill Lockyer wrote the lawsuit he intended to file against Riverside for not promoting a sustained effort to reform and update its police department as well as the stipulated judgment, he stated that investigations were to be timely as well as thoroughly and fairly done. Are they being thoroughly and fairly done? Unfortunately, due to confidentiality laws, the police department is the only one that can be sure of that. The commissioners on the CPRC who review their work product might have some idea, the few on the panel that actually do review the entire case files for the complaints. But even though the department's practice of conducting fair and thorough investigations might be debatable primarily because so much of it is shrouded in secrecy, what's not so secret is the department's failure to do timely investigations during the past several years.

At least, the commission and/or department have made it a practice to at least send notification and update letters to complainants every 90 or so days to inform them at the very least that the complaints haven't gotten lost in the system. But the fact that complainants might receive on average three or four of these letters, is somewhat disturbing.

Aggravating the problem no doubt, is the current field sergeant shortage that has resulted from t up eight positions at this rank being vacant by the end of this year. This matters because field sergeants conduct at least 70% of all complaint investigations and fewer sergeants supervising the same number or more officers on shifts means less time spent on investigations which transfers to more days and weeks spent conducting investigations. This and the prioritzation of internal investigations and category 1 complaints probably explains why the average for category 2 complaints for one month this summer was over 400 days.

And being an officer with an outstanding complaint hitting over 300 days can't be much fun either. It's not in alignment with the Peace Officer Bill of Rights to have a complaint hanging over an officer's head for one or two years. But if the police union isn't raising a fuss over this, then it's likely that these complaints are actually being adjudicated long before the 365 day mark, meaning long before they reach the CPRC which is then left to serve as the powerless, rubber stamp and public relations tool (borrowing a quote from Commissioner Robert Slawsby's interview) that City Hall intended it to be.

The CPRC as an Accomplice to the Backlog

[The CPRC during one of its public meetings. Behind closed doors, it reviews and issues recommended findings on complaint allegations and is currently contributing to the backlog of citizen complaint investigation, review and disposition]


But blame also lies with the CPRC which has seen its average time span of 30-60 days spent on receiving completed investigations and reviewing complaints burgeon to first an average of about 90 days and now that number has been bumped up to 119 days. Part of that might be the process of sending investigations back to investigators in the department for further investigation but most of it probably has to do with the decision of Chair Sheri Corral and Vice-Chair Peter Hubbard to reduce meetings including case reviews from twice monthly to just once. Since they made that fateful decision, the backlog at the CPRC level has clearly grown.

The greatest increases have come since they first took their respective offices in March and almost immediately began reducing the number of their meetings arguing that they were all caught up and there was nothing to do. Not surprising coming from no doubt the synergistic effect of having the two commissioners with the worst attendance records in 2008 heading the meetings. But their poor attendance records probably made them more attractive as prospective leaders to City Hall. Combine them with three commissioners who really can’t do anything other than a) play follow the leader who follows City Hall or b) vote against anything proposed by the vocal minority without even hearing it and you have a process that not surprisingly has hit enough of a gridlock to see the kinds of average numbers for complaint processing that are currently appearing on the commission’s own monthly reports.

Internal Affairs’ pique appears to be that the commission is slow to respond to its requests for information given the back and forth that probably exists between the two agencies. Given that it probably sustains about 2% of all complaint allegations (and it's a guess given that this division stopped releasing its own statistical reports in 2001 but it's comparable to police department's in Atlanta and Chicago), it's not likely that there's much to be concerned about in terms of exhausting statutory limitations on disciplinary procedures. But here's an interesting idea to consider and that's whether or not the police department initiates disciplinary actions against officers on sustained allegations before the complaints are adjudicated by either the CPRC or the city manager's office. After all, Chief Leach's office said it did so in the case of the officers fired in 2005. If it waited, how would it approaching applying discipline in relation to sustained allegations against officers that are over 365 days old?

Another missing part of the equation is whether or not there have been any grievances filed by police officers in relation to the department's time line issues. The number of grievances filed by police officers has increased this year according to statistics provided on grievances filed by city department provided by the Human Resources Department to the Human Resources Board. But it's unknown what the focus is of these grievances let alone whether or not there's any common denominators. After a debate held by the League of Women's Voters regarding Measure II in 2004, then Riverside Police Officers' Association Secretary Christian Dinco complained to then commissioners Bill Howe and Jack Brewer along with then CPRC Executive Director Don Williams that there were complaints that took one to two years to complete their process of investigation, review and disposition.

For cases involving sustained criminal conduct allegations, it may or may not be an issue depending on whether or not the police department through its Internal Affairs Division actually initiated any criminal probes in these situations, not necessarily a given in allegations of criminal conduct made in complaints. If the department does conduct criminal investigations and/or another investigative agency does, then its statutory limitation for that investigation is exempt from the state's governmental code. But what about the rest of the sustained allegations coming out of complaints over a year old? What happens with them?

To be Continued as long as the backlog does...

People in Riverside are adjusting to fewer hours at the city's libraries. These along with numerous layoffs at the libraries including the firing of dozens of pages last year come as a result of city budget cuts.



(excerpt, Press Enterprise)

Library officials agreed in August to shorten and adjust hours to save money. Riverside has faced a reduced budget citywide this fiscal year and a small number of layoffs, including the library's volunteer coordinator.

"The library is just one of the departments in the city that had to reduce its budget," Nancy Melendez, president of the library board of trustees, said in a phone interview. "We did not want to reduce hours, but that is one (area) that we felt that we could make those cuts."

The cuts to library hours, which are about a 13 percent reduction from current service, mean that all of the city's seven libraries open later and close earlier Monday through Thursday, although the main library stays open later Thursday nights. Friday through Sunday hours remain largely the same.

Some library users said the change doesn't pose a problem for them. Tattoo artist Mike Quill, who was waiting for the downtown library to open Thursday morning, said he'll adjust his schedule accordingly.

"It's only a one-hour change, so I don't think it's that big a deal," said Quill, who usually visits the Eastside "cybrary" to use the computers. "It's not a big inconvenience for me."

Laurelle Coon, a job coach with a Riverside-based program for mentally disabled people, brought a group of clients to the main library Wednesday. She knew about the change but doesn't expect it to affect their library use, she said.

"With the economy the way it was, I wasn't really surprised (by the reduced hours)," Coon said.

But for a group from Cole Vocational Services, which also serves disabled people, a too-early arrival Wednesday meant the trip was wasted. Staff member Sandra Spencer said the group's bus picks them up at 11:15 a.m., so they would have to come out and wait for it almost as soon as the library's doors opened.

"We'll have to do something different now," she said. "That's kind of a shame."

Corona's mayor wants to lower the cost of traffic citations.


(excerpt, Press Enterprise)




Corona Mayor Steve Nolan told City Council members recently that he was shocked to learn that Debbie Igo, a bartender at his restaurant, Backwoods BBQ, received a $446 red-light traffic citation that dwarfed her paycheck of $367 for two weeks' work at minimum wage.

He would like to turn the vehicle code violation into an administrative citation, allowing the city to set the fine and collect the money. The city of Roseville, near Sacramento, has taken a similar approach to other traffic citations, issuing tickets through the city's municipal code rather than the state vehicle code.

If citations are issued administratively, violators would not pay county and state fees that balloon the cost of a ticket. Drivers also would not likely receive points against their driving records, and insurance would not be affected. But the city would be responsible for processing costs.

"It just started eating at me -- what that amount of money would do to a family," Nolan said.

Cities have been installing red-light cameras at intersections where the most accidents have occurred in an effort to prevent injuries and deaths, the same reason why Corona started its red-light program, City Councilman Eugene Montanez said. The cost of red-light traffic citations vary according to the county -- which tacks its fines and court fees onto the state fine -- and the person's driving record, whether they qualify for traffic school and other factors.



There will be no venue change for the trial of a high-ranking member of the Los Angeles County Fire Department charged with animial cruelty.



(excerpt, Press Enterprise)




During a brief hearing in Riverside Superior Court, Judge Ronald Taylor denied the change of venue motion to try Glynn Johnson, 55, in Los Angeles County on felony animal cruelty charges.

Johnson is accused of beating the 6-month old German shepherd mix, Karley, to the point that the owners had to have her euthanized. Johnson said he was acting in self defense after Karley bit him repeatedly and latched onto his hand as he was walking the dog home .

If convicted, he could face up to four years in prison.

Johnson's attorneys had filed the motion last month seeking to move the case due to local and national publicity. The story gained international attention on the Internet and drew multiple protests outside the Riverside courthouse and district attorney's office.

In a brief hearing, the judge read the previously submitted motions, then denied the matter. Taylor set a Nov. 10 trial date to begin the case at the Riverside Hall of Justice.

"We have other defendants charged with molesting 6-year-olds and we still try those cases," Taylor said. "You can't tell the court what may happen."




Upcoming Meetings



Monday, Sept. 14 at 4 p.m. The Human Resource Board meets at City Hall in the Fifth Floor conference room at City Hall.


Tuesday, Sept. 15 at 3 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. The Riverside City Council meeting at City Hall.

The meeting agenda is here including the keynote discussion item, which is the Governmental Affairs Committee's recommendations for amending the Ethics Code and complaint process which are detailed in this report.

Layoffs, raises and the CPRC gets its own drinking game

****BREAKING NEWS****


Riverside County Supervisor Roy Wilson has died.



and


More Riverside City employees fired today






Library hours go down while one employee's salary rises




The Riverside Board of Library Trustees voted to approve a plan to reduce the hours that libraries will be open.


(excerpt, Press Enterprise)




Under the new hours, every library but the Marcy branch would be open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday, though the main library downtown would stay open until at least 8 p.m. Thursdays to accommodate programs.

The Marcy library would be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily but closed Sunday, and Sunday hours of noon to 5 p.m. would be offered at La Sierra branch instead of Orange Terrace, which would close that day.

The weekday changes mean most branches would open later, close earlier or both. On Friday and Saturday, hours would be 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. across the system.

Several residents asked the board to preserve later hours for some programs so the library doesn't lose visitors.

"This is the only community access room of its type in the entire community," Dawn Hassett said.

Trustees asked Hernandez to look into keeping the main library open until 9 p.m. on Thursdays.

"If you've got a clearly stated community need, you've just got to find a way to meet that need," trustee Janet Lewis said.





And the city's doing that by reducing its hours in the face of budget cuts. Last year, when the city raised the salaries of some of its department heads and other executive employees even as it faced a steep decline in revenues, did it consider that doing so might lead to other cuts? The decline in library hours comes in the wake of the firing of two technology interns while an assistant library director received a promotion and a $15,000 salary increase just the day before the interns were let go.

Last year, department heads including in one that saw its budget slashed by over 29% received fairly hefty raises and another employee tried to retire on a salary raise but since his salary was never officially posted by the city, the CALPERS organization which provides retirements for city employees refused to grant him his retirement payments based on his higher salary. So he wound up having to stick around for a while rather than retiring and the city was pushed to post its list of about 40 higher level employees including department heads and the maximum ceiling of salary raises they could receive that was released last December with sizable increments in these ceilings. The list, a public document, was provided to this blog and excerpts were posted here which led to controversy and a discussion about this list and this blog behind closed doors at City Hall. It came down to whether the raises were going to be handed out or not when in actuality, some of them had been handed out already last year.

After the layoffs involving seven employees in departments such as public works, the museum and the park and recreation department, a relative of one of the public works employees who had been fired allegedly posted her feelings about the matter at the Press Enterprise Web site and she said when her fiance was fired, Human Resources Department head, Rhonda Strout blamed the termination on the SEIU's decision to vote for a 2% increment on their salaries even though the head of Public Works, Siobhan Foster, had allegedly received a 15% salary increase at some point. Did Strout mention whether or not she received a hefty salary hike last year to any of the employees she layed off while blaming the SEIU? And did the city council review whether or not Foster received a salary increase at some point before having to lay off employees in her department?


The city needs to be more upfront about which department heads have received salary hikes in the 12 months especially those heading departments which have seen layoffs of part-time or full-time employees and freezing of positions and salaries. And if these raises were handed out, the city council needs to investigate why this was done in the face of one of the most formidable recessions in modern history which led to budget cuts in city personnel and services. And if it's true that an employee couldn't retire on a salary or "bonus" increase without being penalized by the CALPERS organization, then there needs to be an explanation provided by both Human Resources Department and the city manager's office as to why the appropriate salaries were not posted publicly until apparently after the fact.






It's not easy being "green"


Riverside approves its the first "green" McDonalds in the West though not without breaking its status quo 7-0 vote to do so. The project created some degree of controversy because it allegedly doesn't fit in with the University Avenue's general plan so the councilman whose ward includes the area in question, asked for it to be discussed.


(excerpt, Press Enterprise)




Melendrez said he didn't think the Planning Commission had fully vetted the plans because they overlooked issues such as lights from cars in the drive-through lane shining into residents' homes.

His main issue was whether the design fit guidelines the community had developed for University Avenue, which the city has worked hard to upgrade. A few more changes could bring the project into line with the rules and avoid setting a bad precedent, he said.

"If we begin to change what we're doing now on University Avenue, we'll see the same type of buildings we've been seeing for the past 14 years," he said.

More than two-dozen residents spoke, many of them praising the Spiels for their community involvement and philanthropy. A few criticized how long it has taken to get the McDonald's plans approved, though city officials noted that the Spiels' consultant went beyond requirements to seek their approval before facing a commission vote.

Council members voting for the project said they thought the issue had gone on long enough and they don't want to turn down a chance at cutting-edge, environmentally friendly development.

"We have an opportunity that I don't think we can give up," Councilman William "Rusty" Bailey said.






The Community Police Review Commission Drinking Game


Yes, in light of recent developments in the micromanagement of the Community Police Review Commission, there will be the creation of a CPRC drinking game. The rules are, that when CPRC members or city staff engage in certain behaviors especially those reflecting a certain pattern and practice, then viewers will inibe in the drink of their choice, but will do so responsibly which means no drinking and driving or anything like that so until the meetings are televised, perhaps people should stick to more tamer beverages.

With city residents coming to meetings and leaving them in total disgust, there has to be some form of purpose to them and if it's not to perform the charter-mandated duties of the commission, then what's left is, entertainment. And speaking of the city charter, some of the most recent redefinitions of the CPRC's duties and powers under City Charter Section 810 have been pretty outrageous and will be blogged about in future postings. Hint, the redefinition of the role of the CPRC in conducting independent investigations of officer-involved deaths was apparently only the beginning.


The more common the behavior or the more entrenched the pattern, the fewer drinks taken. Here are some examples of some behaviors that will be included in the first ever CPRC Drinking Game.


Both the chair and vice-chair show up for the same meeting: 1 sip

The CPRC Chair has a side conversation with Manager Kevin Rogan while someone else is speaking: 1 sip (and it better be a small one)


The City Attorney or designee says something being discussed is outside the purview of the CPRC: 2 sips

The CPRC manager says something being discussed is outside the purview of the CPRC: 1 sip


Peter Hubbard falls asleep during a meeting: 1 sip

Peter Hubbard stays awake during an entire meeting: 7 sips

Commissioner Art Santore makes a face at the audience: 1 sip

The CPRC manager chastises Commissioner Chani Beeman: 1 sip

The City Attorney or designee chastises Beeman: 2 sips

Asst. City Manager Tom DeSantis chastises Beeman: 5 sips


Any of the above chastise any other commissioner: 10 sips

A commissioner spends the entire meeting playing with his city-bought lap top: 1 sip per commissioner

A commissioner misdefines a "minority report": 1 sip per commissioner


CPRC Manager Kevin Rogan channels his role as a retired police captain: 1 sip

CPRC Manager Kevin Rogan channels his role as a licensed attorney: 2 sips

CPRC Manager Kevin Rogan performs as a CPRC manager: 4 sips

Commissioner Brian Percy stays for an entire evening meeting: 2 sips

Either the Policies, Procedures and Bylaws or Outreach Committees conduct a meeting: 5 sips

Either the Policies, Procedures and Bylaws or Outreach Committees get disbanded by popular vote: 2 sips

Both subcommittees get disbanded in a single popular vote: 3 sips

Asst. City Manager Tom DeSantis directs a committee chair to speak during a meeting of that committee: 8 sips

Public comment gets reduced or speakers get cut off: 1 sip




The CPRC will be voting on approval of the final draft of its majority report for the Joseph Darnell Hill case which included new language for "rationale for finding" (which the CPRC left out in earlier drafts because it didn't feel it needed to provide one) and the "conclusion" which were written by Rogan but reads like something that's received the blessing of the city's risk management division.

The best section is the one where Rogan explains that the officer involved in the Hill case was only stopping Hill for a traffic violation and wasn't conducting a pretext stop but adds that even if he did, pretext stops have a "dirty" connotation but they're legal. Okay, but shouldn't that definition be saved for a public report that involves an officer who made a pretext stop, rather than first stating that the officer didn't commit one and then defending his not committing one as if he did after the fact?

It's like the report is trying to argue that the involved officer did and didn't conduct a pretext stop at the same time. The traffic stop that the officer conducted involving Hill was the third contact the officer had with Hill in less than 20 minutes including a prior stop. The officer himself said in his own statement to investigators that he didn't believe Hill's answers to his prior questions and that he chose to remain in the area in case he saw Hill engage in criminal behavior. That sounds like an officer who's considering performing a pretext stop so why not just report that if there's nothing wrong with conducting them?

Then the report goes further and said it might be misconduct if the officer claims to be conducting a traffic violation when it's really a pretext stop, which seems an ambiguous rationale at best. Because in a sense by including this provision, the report is inadvertently or not placing the involved officer in this category.

Rogan's strawman argument on pretext stops deserves its own blog posting and one will be forthcoming but the new revisions of the report started good and then got even better. So good that both the majority and the minority report will be submitted to the NACOLE mailing list for review when they're completed.




What does the promotion of the Riverside County Sheriff's Department's highest ranking gay officer say about diversity in that department?






A group behind a recall effort against a Lake Elsinore city councilman has submitted its signatures that it collected.



(excerpt, Press Enterprise)




The Riverside County registrar of voters must determine how many of those signatures are from valid Lake Elsinore registered voters.

Typically, anywhere from 25 to 40 percent of signatures collected in a signature-based initiative effort are invalidated, said Bob Stern, president of the Center for Governmental Studies, a Los Angeles-based political think tank. Recall proponents must hope at least 89 percent of their signatures are validated, a tall task, Stern said.

"It is going to be tough," Stern said. "It is possible, but I'd bet against it."




In Riverside County, the upcoming resignation of Supervisor Roy Wilson has people lining up to take his place.



(excerpt, Press Enterprise)



Wilson, 74, who has represented eastern Riverside County since 1994, resigned Friday citing a sudden decline in health. He asked that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appoint Benoit, R-Bermuda Dunes, to replace him.

"I think there is a strong feeling on the board to honor his request," Supervisor Marion Ashley said Monday, adding that he thinks the board will agree today to recommend the governor appoint Benoit.

"Roy is a very thoughtful person and has great judgment. And if Roy makes this recommendation, it's something we should respect," he said.

State law empowers the governor to appoint a successor to serve the rest of the supervisor's term, which ends in 2010. In addition to Benoit, former state Sen. Jim Battin, former Assemblywoman Bonnie Garcia and former Palm Springs Police Chief Gary Jeandron have also expressed interest in Wilson's seat, county officials said.

Supervisor Bob Buster said Monday the board should not rush to support one potential gubernatorial appointee over another.


"If the board is going to make a recommendation as to who is going to fill Roy Wilson's seat, it should be done in an open fashion, giving everyone who is interested ample time to make their case," Buster said, adding: "The seat belongs to the people. We don't anoint our successors."



So who will ultimately be chosen?



It looks like the supervisors minus Bob Buster are going with Benoit.


(excerpt, Press Enterprise)

At Tuesday's special meeting, Wilson's wife, Aurora, asked supervisors to back Benoit as well.

"I ask on behalf of my husband that the Riverside County Board of Supervisors consider my husband's legacy," she said, holding back sobs. "Trust his recommendation."

The board voted 3-0, and Supervisor John Tavaglione said he would hand-deliver the board's letter and seek meetings with the governor and his staff.

Supervisor Bob Buster was away on county business and did not attend the special meeting, which was announced Monday.

Buster said by phone that the board should have waited at least a week to make a recommendation. That would have given other contenders time to make their case and constituents in the large desert district a chance to be heard, he said.

Buster said the board's recommendation gives Benoit a major advantage in securing the governor's nod. Incumbent status would then give Benoit an overwhelming edge in winning the seat in June, he added.

"Roy Wilson is an old desert fox," Buster said. "He showed he was a master tactician here in extending his long influence and through natural, overwhelming sympathy for his health conditions. He was able to leave a lot of other contenders in the desert dust."

But the Press Enterprise Editorial Board said a resounding no to that.


(excerpt, Press Enterprise)




But showing respect for Wilson by endorsing his handpicked successor does not necessarily serve the public interest. By acting in such haste, the board suggested that political connections trump public input: Supervisors allowed little time for deliberation, or for a process that would let other potential candidates make a case for themselves. The board members are well aware that installing any powerful, well-funded politician in the post now would discourage other candidates from competing in next year's election, limiting voters' options.

Giving the job to a caretaker instead -- a retired judge, perhaps, who has no political ambitions -- would let Benoit and other candidates begin their campaigns on an even political footing. The public would benefit from a competitive election, not a token referendum on an appointed incumbent.

Wilson has contributed much to Riverside County during his 15 years on the board. And Benoit has a fine record in the state Legislature. But the issue here -- a healthy democratic process -- transcends the people involved. Choosing elected officials should fall to the public, and county officials and the governor need to trust the voters to decide who will carry on Wilson's work.




With all the scandals breaking out in San Bernardino County's government, it's not surprising any discussion of creating an ethics panel has received a negative reception from its government's officials.


(excerpt, Press Enterprise)




Supervisors engaged in little debate over the idea during the meeting, agreeing to hold more substantive discussions at another workshop. The date for that meeting has not been scheduled.

Still, some supervisors expressed reservations during and after the 2½-hour workshop, most of which was spent reviewing existing safeguards to catch unethical behavior. Supervisors also got an overview of ethics commissions in place at other jurisdictions.

"I'm not in favor of bringing in more government to exert more power over the people because we simply as elected officials are unable to control our freedom of choice, our freedom of will," said Supervisor Josie Gonzales at the end of the meeting.

Supervisor Paul Biane, who remained silent through the meeting, later issued a news release comparing the proposed ethics commission to President Barack Obama's proposal for health care reform. Biane, who had initially backed the idea, said public enthusiasm will wane as taxpayers learn about the bureaucracy it will create.

"The creation of a county ethics commission seems to be headed down that same path," he said.

Supervisor Neil Derry, who has championed the idea, accused Biane of flip-flopping and called the comparison silly. He said an ethics commission with a budget of $500,000 would represent a small expenditure.

"I think the public expects us to clean our own house, and it's obvious we haven't been very successful," he said.






The BART civilian oversight plan might be delayed by the state legislation.


(excerpt, San Jose Mercury News)

No Bay Area lawmaker is willing to champion the required amendment to the 1957 BART Act, which established the transit agency, BART Director Lynette Sweet told a group of community leaders and activist groups at a news conference.

"We have money in the budget for (the oversight plan). The only thing we don't have is someone to carry this legislation for us," Sweet said.

It will cost about $500,000 to set up the auditor's office, pay citizen board expenses and hire three people, BART has estimated.

A spokesman for Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, said Ammiano is willing to propose the amendment but may also want to strengthen the oversight plan that was approved by the BART board earlier this month. The assemblyman introduced a stronger oversight plan, AB312, which also would have created BART police civilian oversight, earlier this year. The bill was held but could be brought up again at a later date.

Ammiano's spokesman, Quintin Mecke, said the assemblyman is interested in sponsoring the amendment in the new session beginning Jan. 1 if certain conditions are met.

"We want to make sure that any oversight proposal is sufficiently vetted and that the public has a chance to see what changes.

we are discussing," he said. "We already have a meeting scheduled with BART today in Sacramento, with BART directors Carole Ward Allen and Joel Keller."




Job Opening:




CITY OF BERKELEY
Human Resources Department
2180 Milvia Street, Berkeley, CA 94704
http://www.CityofBe rkeley.info/ hr

Invites Applications for the Position of:

POLICE REVIEW COMMISSION INVESTIGATOR
An Equal Opportunity Employer

SALARY
$6,523.00 - $7,862.00 Monthly
$7,225.84 - $8,671.96 *Effective Monthly
*Effective wage includes: Base wage, City-paid portion of employee's
share to the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS),
and any other applicable retirement contributions.

ISSUE DATE: 08/24/09

FINAL FILING DATE: 09/14/09 at 05:00 PM
Postmarks and Faxes are not accepted.

THE POSITION

Under the supervision of the Police Review Commission Officer, this
at-will, benefited position will serve as an independent investigator of
citizen complaints against members of the Berkeley Police Department.
The person selected for this position will place an emphasis on
utilizing investigation and dispute resolution techniques, and improving
the relationship between the Police Department and the diverse community
it serves; interpret data and make reports for the Commission; utilize a
variety of resources to pursue complaints and investigations thoroughly
and impartially; prepare detailed reports on completed investigations;
work with considerable independence and initiative while adhering to
strict deadlines; and organize and staff Boards of Inquiry.

Experience as an investigator utilizing investigative techniques,
interviewing witnesses and drafting reports is highly desirable.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

A TYPICAL WAY OF GAINING THE KNOWLEDGE AND ABILITIES IS:

Equivalent to graduation from a four-year college with major course work
in law, public administration, or a closely related field; and two (2)
years of analytical, investigative and/or legal-related experience in a
public agency or similar setting. Legal education and/or training,
sufficient to perform the requirements of this classification is
required. Progressively responsible related experience may be
substituted for the college course work on a year-for-year basis.

Experience which has provided familiarity with law enforcement
procedures and skill in dealing with members of various ethnic and
socio-economic groups is desirable.

Must be willing to travel to various locations within and outside the
City of Berkeley to meet the program needs and to fulfill the job
responsibilities. When driving on City business, maintenance of a valid
California driver's license and a satisfactory driving record is
required. Must be willing to conduct off-hours interviews and attend
off-hours meetings.

KNOWLEDGE AND ABILITIES

Knowledge of: Investigative techniques; office administration principles
and practices; and law enforcement principles, procedures and
protections.

Ability to: Interview witnesses and draft reports; multi-task, maintain
a large caseload, meet deadlines; organize and maintain accurate records
and files; interpret and explain administrative, constitutional,
criminal, and public records laws and procedures; analyze complex
problems; evaluate alternatives and reach sound conclusions within legal
and procedural constraints; establish and maintain effective working
relationships during the course of work; and prepare timely, clear,
concise and effective written reports, correspondence, Council items and
other written materials.

APPLICATION PROCESS

Applications must be received in our office no later than the closing
date (5 P.M.). Postmarks, faxes and incomplete applications will not be
accepted. All application materials will be reviewed for minimum
requirements and those possessing these requirements will advance to the
next step in the examination process, a competitive review of the
Supplemental Questionnaires to determine which applicants will advance
to the Qualifications Assessment interview that will count as 100% of
the final examination score. The assessment interview may contain
situational exercises. Successful applicants will have their names
placed on an employment eligible list that will be used to conduct final
selection interviews and fill the position.

This classification is excluded from the competitive service and the
individual selected will serve as an "AT-WILL" employee.

Candidates under final consideration for employment with the City should
expect to undergo an employment background / reference check that may
include, but is not limited to: employment history, confirmation of
educational credentials and degrees, licenses including driver's
license, registrations, certificates, and other credentials as part of
the appointment process. Some positions, depending on the nature of the
work, also require a credit check and a review of Summary Criminal
History obtained from the State Department of Justice through Live Scan
Fingerprinting.

DISCLAIMER: The provisions of this bulletin do not constitute a
contract, expressed or implied, and any provisions contained in this
bulletin may be modified or revoked without notice. Tests may consist of
any combination of written, oral or other exercises or assessment
procedures that test content. Components may include, but are not
necessarily limited to, typing, math, reading, writing and analytical
skills; problem solving ability; computer and software proficiency, or
any other job-related knowledge, skill, ability or qualification. The
City may, without notice, change or eliminate any particular assessment
component or combination of components as needs dictate.

Incumbents in this classification must file a Statement of Economic
Interests in accordance with State regulations.

All City employees are required to provide services as Disaster Service
Workers in the event of an emergency / disaster.



Police Review Commission Investigator Supplemental Questionnaire


* 1. Please detail your education, training, and
investigative, legislative, or legal experience that qualifies you for
this position. Include the types of organizations you have worked for or
with, your role in conducting investigations, and the types and
frequency of reports and presentations you prepared.


* 2. What is your understanding of a Police Review
Investigator' s role working with complainants, police and the community.



* Required Question