It's beginning to look a lot like an election year!

The Riverside City Council met and the item which created the most contention was perusual one scheduled on the consent calendar during the relatively speedy meeting which clocked in at about 90 minutes from its invocation to the "receive and file" discussion calendar to the reports of regional governmental meetings.

That was item #15 which incidentally wasn't pulled for separate discussion by anyone on the dais but which apparently created some of the largest inundations of complaints through the city government's email accounts in recent history. One council member who put it on the agenda allegedly got more email for it than for any other issue (including that ill-fated foray into electric rate hikes which twisted and turn depending on whether an election cycle took place or not) and another, allegedly received nearly 1,000 emails in just a few days.

The issues debated involved restrictions being placed on yard sales and garage sales, but apparently after the city's email system was inundated by irate people including voters in Wards Two and Four, the "clarifications" of municipal code as they were called were amended so that an updated written report was released not long before the meeting started. It was confusing to follow only in that you had a written hard copy issued last week that stated one thing and an oral report (which City Attorney Gregory Priamos did say was added online the afternoon before the meeting) which stated another. The word, "clarifications" is one that is often intricately tied in with the word, "amending" and that other word, "micromanagement".

So after people spoke during public comment on this contentious item, Schiavone said, "It's unusual for me to do this" and commented after each person spoke. Actually, it's not so unusual for him to do that, it's just that he hasn't run for election in a while so it's not happened as much lately. However, it's common enough so that if there's ever an amended version of the Riverside City Council drinking game, this statement if said by Schiavone is worth two sips of your drink of choice when playing at home. But after he did this "unusual" action enough times at this meeting, Mayor Pro Tem Andrew Melendrez put a hammer to it and told Schiavone to save his "questions" until the end of public comment. That caused a few people in attendance to blink because the absent Mayor Ron Loveridge never put his foot down in a similar fashion.

Another one for the drinking game is two sips for every time an elected official uses the word, "clarifications" and three sips if it's Schiavone.

It's silly because if a council member goofed when putting an item in the city council meeting agenda and it elicits a public outcry, then the city council member should just admit it and then say how he or she will make it right. That seems like the more prudent thing to do in situations like this one rather than rewriting history assuming everyone's forgotten it.



Election years are so glorious because they tend to create more than a few of these Tuesday afternoon amendments to controversial agenda items. But several councilmen tried to stamp out the fire before it could turn into another Electro-Gate. Did they succeed? We might find out after June 2.

But then some people use lunar cycles to guide them. Riverside of course uses election cycles.



This is the amended report for the agenda item on an issue which for all we know could have come close to shorting out the city council email delivery system with its relentless volume. But apparently, this is what was actually voted on.






Riverside Police Department Capt. John Wallace, Lt. Ken Raya and Sgt. Rusty Stump showed up representing the Special Operations Division which oversees the K-9 unit. Since Officer Mike Carroll's dog, Max, 10, died of cancer last week, the city used money from its Canine Trust Account to purchase him a replacement. The dog, Rocco a "talented" Belgian Malinois, is currently in the States undergoing training in preparation for his new career after originally being born in Europe. Through its vote in the consent calendar, the city council approved the purchase of the dog.

The K-9 division is one of the department's smaller ones and typically has among the lowest turnover with most K-9 officers leaving through promotions. The experience level of K-9 officers in the police department ranges from Officer Brad Smith with five years to Officer Ray Soto with over 18 years in the unit. Other officers interested in joining this unit often wait years to have an opportunity to apply for appointment, often facing competition from other officers. One candidate for example, Officer Kevin Feimer, has waited at least 6 1/2 years and often participates in agitation training which is when the officer wears a thick padded suit and the dog is either agitated or commanded to apprehend him.




The two police officers in charge of handling the graffiti enforcement, Det. Kathy Nelson and Officer Steve Warlick appeared on the "receive and file" graffiti enforcement report while Public Works Director Siobhan Foster delivered the oral presentation. The discussion calendar items passed so quickly that if you sneezed, you'd probably miss both of them.

Mayor Pro Tem Andrew Melendrez presided over the meeting in Mayor Ron Loveridge's absence in a somewhat tentative manner, allowing the men to exceed the three-minute speaking limit on several occasions but holding the female speakers to that same limit.




A Riverside County Superior Court judge heard arguments on a lawsuit filed by Riverside Councilman Frank Schiavone against City Clerk Colleen Nichol. At first the hearing was scheduled for Dept. 2 in the downtown courthouse but it was continued and moved to Dept. 10.


Here is a link to the Schiavone lawsuit which received its first airing inside a courtroom on March 17 at 8:30 a.m.


According to the online site for the courts, here is the minute record.




HONORABLE SHARON J. WATERS, PRESIDING
CLERK: C. ZUNIGA
COURT REPORTER: K. BURKS
FRANK SCHIAVONE REPRESENTED BY GELLAR & STEWART - RICHARD STEWART PRESENT.
DANUTA TUSZYNSKA PRESENT
GREGORY PRIAMOS PRESENT
ROBERT PEPPER PRESENT
EX PARTE ORDER SHORTENING TIME IS GRANTED AND HEARING SHALL BE SET 03/26/09 AT 08:30 IN DEPARTMENT 10.
REPLY TO BE FILED ON OR BEFORE 03/23/09.
NOON.
HEARING RE PETITION FOR WRIT OF MANDATE SET 03/26/09 AT 08:30 DEPT 10
NOTICE WAIVED.



Here's some interesting trivia. Stewart who is serving as Schiavone's lawyer is the former city council member of Moreno Valley who is partnered with Michael Geller, who tried to change that city's charter. Stewart and Schiavone also served on the March Joint Powers Commission together.

Tuszynska is representing Davis, who is considered a "real party" in this writ.



Davis' response to Schiavone's lawsuit against Nichol has been added to the online court records. In his response, Davis said he received little notice that litigation was initiated and that Schiavone had asked the courts (and was later granted) a shortening period.

The document also challenged Schiavone's contention that probationary law enforcement officers weren't considered real officers, stating that they fulfilled the same duties as permanent employees with the only distinction that they could be fired "at will".

He includes a declaration that he was employed both by the Riverside County Sheriff's Department and the Riverside Police Department where he worked with currently employed officers, Bruce Loftus, Patrick Young and more than one Toussaint brother.


Davis includes documentation that he placed on his Web site including his last evaluation from the Riverside County Sheriff's Department and a resignation action form from the Riverside Police Department as well as a certificate of completion from what is now Ben Clark Training Academy.

Schiavone did his "unusual" action at commenting on public comment after the speaker has spoken on the issue of him suing Nichol which he said was his only avenue of taking legal action. He also said his action of suing on the writ didn't cost the taxpayers any money. It's so nice to know that Priamos who's currently representing Nichol in this proceeding's agreed to work pro bono including the costs of any materials needed.

However, if tax payer money is being used to defend Nichol from this lawsuit against her, then it's worth the expense if for that reason. The hardest working city clerk in the state deserves an award, not a lawsuit.






The lawsuit was detailed in the Press Enterprise. It's the first lawsuit filed on behalf of the current election season.


(excerpt, Press Enterprise)



Davis said his opponent is splitting hairs.

"Clearly," said Davis, "I was a police officer."

"For him to tout his failures to keep a job at either department as law enforcement experience is disgraceful," Schiavone said in a written statement. "It's like someone talking about their military experience that was dishonorably discharged from the armed forces."

In Davis' final performance evaluation from the Sheriff's Department, supervisors rated him as competent and said he is "progressing at a very acceptable rate."

The final personnel action from Riverside said that Davis resigned to take a new, higher-paying job in finance. The supervisor checked "doubtful" about whether he'd rehire Davis.

Davis said that the city might have been upset because of his quick departure. "Doubtful doesn't mean 'no,' " he said. "It means 'maybe.'



Okay, so you've got one councilman who's so sure that Davis "washed out" or exercised a "failure to keep his jobs" but hasn't provided the source of this information, although he stated in this unattributed posting at Craigslist that this information came from public records. The problem with that is that in order for the records issued publicly to be in compliance with state law (using the interpretation of that law practiced by City Attorney Greg Priamos), they can't include information about the reason behind an employee's departure. Priamos takes it a step further than the legal counsel in Riverside County and doesn't believe that Riverside can even divulge that the person resigned. If you read the two response letters issued by both law enforcement agencies included in the lawsuit, you can see this slight difference in information provided.

It could very well be true that Davis "washed out" or was a "failure" but more information needs to be provided to substantiate it and it's problematic when an elected official running for office claims that public records provided him with this information as if the records stated this clearly. And that's partly noted by using the same argument that Schiavone himself used to question his rival's law enforcement background.





That article not surprisingly elicited some comments.



(excerpts)


I know little about Davis. Only that he couldn't possibly be as bad a choice as Schiavone.

Unlike the last Ward 4 election, no coin flip necessary for this one.




The same Frank Schiavone who is NOT fit to lead the City and sells out the City to business interests and DOES NOT represent the people who cast votes for/and against him, and sold a bill of goods on the failed DHL mess, dares call a person false and misleading? Tell the truth Frank! YOU ARE OF LITTLE INTEGRITY YOURSELF.






The discussion of the controversy has also continued here.




One person called it "character assassination".



(excerpt)




Too bad the posters who seem to be City Council incumbent Frank Schiavone supporters are using character assassination by spreading misleading and or false information as a campaign platform.



Rather than being a negative to City Council challenger Paul Davis, this commonly used tactic by Riverside's engrained politicians, will backfire on Frank Schiavone who is struggling to keep his job on Riverside City Council.



An incumbent candidate who is not out there fighting tooth and nails on an ongoing basis for basic city services like the Greyhound Bus Service likely will not last long in City Council. Frank Schiavone said he got the Greyhound issue to the Transportation committee meeting, and that things may be happening behind the scenes, but that isn't transparency and what citizens can't see we are unlikely to believe.

Frank Schiavone was long and loud and frequent in his ADVOCACY for Riverside's roosters. But roosters were a non issue that passed due to a misinformation campaign to which Frank contributed heavily.

But faced with a REAL TRUE TO LIFE issue that will SIGNIFICANTLY IMPACT citizens lives, we do not hear FRANK.

He seems pretty silent.

Could it be because the Greater Bay Area Chamber of Commerce has an office directly next door to Riverside Greyhound and wants Greyhound out? Is it possible that that power packed group has had an influence that has quieted Frank Schiavone when the citizens of Riverside need his help the most.

A reasonable person on the street might just think so.



A self-identified retired Los Angeles Police officer who lives in Riverside weighed in on "real" police officers.

(excerpt, Craigslist)



I am a retired Police officer from LAPD (30yrs) and now live in Orangecrest.Just read the PE where Paul Davis wants to call himself a "Police Officer" and did not successfully complete probation.I went to his website and see the deception in his reference to a law enforcement background.This is a perfect example of why there is probation.



Other person debates whether police officers should run for office at all.


(excerpt)




This is my personal opinion of former and current law enforcement people running for political positions. I don't care for any ex or current law people being involved in politics. They usually end up being real jerks who usually are corrupt or only use the position for personal advancement or personal gain. They usually disregard the voice of the people, are arrogant, racist, sexist, pompous, jackasses with a domination complex. Very similar to one of the people on the dias right now.





One thing that hasn't been mentioned is that Nicol rocks. She's an excellent city clerk and it's too bad she's being sued for any reason. If Schiavone could argue these issues on the campaign trail like most political candidates do, then there wouldn't be a reason to sue her at all.

After all, he's managed to dictate the direction of the Community Police Review Commission mostly through the Press Enterprise and hasn't yet filed a lawsuit to do what is best done in another venue.




I got some fan mail here for writing about the lawsuit filed by Schiavone.


(excerpt, Craigslist)




FBM obviously putting a positive spin about Paul Davis elaborate law-enforcement (ahum) career. FBM biased against Frank Schiavone, yes.
Face it, Paul Davis is a phony. FBM you need to be more objective to legitimize your blog reporting.




It's not "Breast Man" at any rate. Hopefully, it's someone who can elaborate on which public record states that Davis had "washed out" while employed as a law enforcement officer, meaning that he was fired or resigned upon threat of termination from employment, which is what Schiavone is claiming. The two responses from city and county law enforcement agencies which employed Davis specifically stated that they were unable to provide any such information about these two possible outcomes, true or not, due to state law including PC 832.7. So did this information if it's as true as Schiavone claims it to be come from another source? Did someone violate the sanctity of this state law and provide this information? I would think that law enforcement officers everywhere would be concerned if something like this happened just on the sake of consistency or principle if not objectivity.

What it looks like on paper is that his tenure in the Riverside County Sheriff's Department doesn't appear to have been a problematic one in terms of his conduct. The picture involving the Riverside Police Department is less clear because no evaluation was provided in that case but back then, the police department did them annually and in some cases not at all, according to allegations raised by former State Attorney General Bill Lockyer in his litigation against the city involving the police department in 2001. Part of the resultant stipulated judgment includes a mandated reform that states that evaluations of officers are to be performed at least once annually.


If this issue could be clarified further by yourself because you seem to know something the rest of us don't, it would make it easier to follow this campaign trail which is certainly off to an interesting start.

I could prove how "objective" I am by jumping on the bandwagon that a lawsuit against a city employee is a necessary campaign tool for a candidate to achieve what could easily be accomplished at candidate appearances or public forums or that an individual is a "phony" based on some rather insubstantial evidence.

Thanks for your feedback and thank you for reading!









Riverside Police Department officer responded to 15% less false alarm calls.




Was a mountain lion spotted on Mt. Rubidoux?





The Anaheim Police Department officer who shot and killed Julian Alexander last year
won't face criminal charges.






A way to better track deputies is being sought by the Denver Sheriff's Department.



(excerpt, Denver Post)



The issue is raised in the annual report from independent monitor Richard Rosenthal, which is scheduled for a City Council committee discussion Wednesday.

Rosenthal, whose office monitors internal-affairs investigations of uniformed personnel at the police and sheriff's departments, said in the report that the Police Department has put in place a personnel-assessment system that does a better job of monitoring officers.

The police database tracks arrests, training, education, use of force, leave and overtime, traffic collisions, pursuits, secondary employment, civil liability information, commendations and complaints.

In contrast, Rosenthal said, tracking use of force by sheriff's deputies is cumbersome.

"During the course of monitoring Sheriff use-of-force complaint investigations, the Monitor's Office noted that it was not possible for Internal Affairs to obtain copies of use-of-force reports by looking up specific officers," the report says.

He said a deputy told an internal-affairs investigator he had used similar force in a similar incident. The investigator could not find that use-of-force report, Rosenthal said.




An Albany Police Department officer confesses he used cocaine.


(excerpt, Albany Times-Union)



Towsley told internal affairs officers that during the 2008 Super Bowl on Feb. 3, he used cocaine while at Graney's Bar, a popular spot for off-duty cops and politicians.

The arbitrator ruled that termination was an acceptable penalty. "You failed to keep your private life untarnished and failed to obey the laws of the country, state, city and department."

Albany attorney David Ehrlich, who represents Towsley, said, "My client and I disagree with the content of the arbitrator's decision, and he continues to look at all his options as to how to proceed."

The report notes that police Commander Daniel Colonno described Towsley "as an informal leader in his squad and one of the more seasoned and level-headed officers. He is an officer supervisors went to when they needed something done with a level of expertise."

The circumstances surrounding the cocaine use drew questions from the arbitrator. The officer said he went into the men's room, noticed a pile of white powder on the sink, dipped his finger in the powder and tasted it, then rubbed some on his teeth and gums.

That testimony "was so unbelievable as to be absurd," Cole wrote. She suggested, "This story conveniently places no responsibility on Towsley for obtaining the controlled substance and relieves him of the responsibility of being questioned about his source."










The fatal shooting of a 73-year-old Black man in a town in Louisiana by police officers has attracted outside investigators because eyewitness accounts contradict the version of events provided by Homer Police Department.




(excerpt, Los Angeles Times)



Now the Louisiana State Police, the FBI and the Justice Department are swarming over this impoverished lumber town of 3,800, drawn by allegations from numerous witnesses that police killed Monroe without justification -- and then moved a gun to make it look like he had been holding it.

"We are closely monitoring the events in Homer," said Donald Washington, the U.S. attorney for the western district of Louisiana. "I understand that a number of allegations are being made that, if true, would be serious enough for us to follow up on very quickly."

Monroe's friends and relatives say they still don't understand why the neighborhood patriarch ended up dead.

Four witnesses said he was sitting outside his home in the late afternoon on Feb. 20 -- clutching a large sports-drink bottle -- when two police officers pulled up and summoned over his son, Shawn.

Shawn Monroe, who has a long record of arrests and convictions on charges of assault and battery but was not wanted on any warrants, reportedly ran into the house.

One of the officers, who had been on Homer's police force only a few weeks, chased after him and reappeared moments later in the doorway, the witnesses said.

Meanwhile, the elder Monroe had started walking toward the front door. When he got to the first step on the porch, the witnesses said, the rookie officer opened fire, striking Monroe several times.

"He just shot him through the screen door," said Denise Nicholson, a family friend who said she was standing a few feet away. "After [Monroe] was on the ground, we kept asking the officer to call an ambulance, but all he did was get on his radio and say, 'Officer in distress.' "





A Chicago Police Department officer blogs about that death here. He goes under the moniker Det. Shaved Long Cock, which I have to say, is the most creative one I've seen an officer use so far. What else is there to say?




Here's a lovely comment by an anonymous person in response to the blogging on the shooting in New Orleans.



(excerpt, Shaved Long Cock)




Anonymous said...

but these guys are the same ones that if a black man raised his voice at them they would shit themselves! YOU SHIT YOURSELF OLD MAN MURPHY.

MORE LIKE THE NIGGERS SHIT THEMSELVES WHEN I YELL AT THEM.

We are all racist black officers and hispanic officers pick on whites too especially from the suburbs but thats not racist right?




But then the critics of these commenters aren't any better.


(excerpt)



Anonymous said...

fuck the police. hang 'em high.




But Det., Freud-would-have-a-field-day, spends most of his time blogging about the Chicago Police Department in his postings and offers feed back on how to fix it in his commentaries which accompany his postings.



(excerpts)



This news blip was suggested in a comment in the comment section.

Now there are a few bosses on the CPD that if the worse they did was what this NYPD Lt. did - It would be a blessing. The guy prays a lot, pisses on himself and see demons, big deal! We got bosses where the police department has paid out hundreds of thousands of dollars in sexual harassment lawsuits filed by other officers. And not only are these bosses still on the job, many have even promoted higher afterwards. We have alcoholic bosses, some even doing Coke (Cmdr. TRIGG???) and others who have shot and killed their wife thinking it was a burglar (Sure you did!) and these are just a few that I care to mention. Some are so bad I am not going to make then public. Give the guy back his badge and gun. The worse he will do is shoot a demon in his office. And just like some police shootings we have handled, we will even make it a justified demon shooting!




Officer it wasn't my fault. My driver was off today so I had to try to drive while rolling a fatty blunt, holding the 40 ouncer so it wouldn't spill and try to talk on the cell phone while doing this all!

I like the way the police said that the pedestrian was by the crosswalk but not sure if he was crossing legally. Anybody who has seen somebody struck by a car knows full well even if the pedestrian was walking right down the middle of the crosswalk, he is going to be a distance away from that crosswalk after getting struck by a car.

WHAT'S THE OLD JOKE ON THIS ONE??? How many Mexicans does it take to make a Bently sparkle and shine? One, if you hit him hard enough! Sorry Leftisthebest - Didn't mean to bring back old memories!




Not to be outdone, a Chicago Police Department sergeant also blogs.






The costs of lawsuits in New York City filed involving police misconduct have been tallied.


(excerpt, New York Daily News)


The city shelled out $35.2 million last year in settlements over charges of improper police action, up 40% over the previous year, a report out Thursday from city Controller William Thompson shows.

And that figure isn't likely to fall anytime soon: The number of people who planned to sue the NYPD hit an all-time high last year.

"These are remarkable increases. They raise serious questions as to whether the NYPD is out of control," said Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union.

The number of notices of claim filed against the NYPD - the first step in a lawsuit - has climbed 22% in the past 10 years, hitting a historic high of 6,274 last year, the report found.

Lieberman blames aggressive stop-and-frisk practices for the rise, but a police source said many claims are for property cases, like a squad car damaging another vehicle.

Still, the NYPD's payout increases outweighed those of other city agencies.




A Newport Police Department officer who was the subject of rumors that he was gay won a $1.2 million award from a trial jury.


(excerpt, Los Angeles Times)



"The one thing he's always wanted to do is be a police officer," Girardi said. "There's a certain sense that this jury validated the reasonableness of the complaints he made. I guess that might make going back to work a little bit easier."

McDonell's successor, Chief John Klein, issued a statement saying he was glad to have the trial behind him so the department could return its full attention to protecting Newport Beach citizens.

"The Newport Beach Police Department is a strong, professional department that is appreciated by our citizens and highly respected by other law enforcement agencies," he said. "That reputation has been earned by the many talented people in the department who are dedicated to this community."



Yeah, yeah that's great news but hopefully after being stung in the wallet, the department will be all that and a bit less homophobic as well.




Another lawsuit has been filed in Rochester involving "gay bashing" by police officers who have refused city representation because they are suing the city themselves.

Election 2009: Who's misleading who?

Another city council meeting has been scheduled for Tuesday, March 17 at both 3 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. If you've never attended one or seen your elected officials in action, come check it out. It's still free, although alas, no refreshment stands yet during the intermissions.


An interesting development with a changing of the guard on the Planning Commission.


Councilman Frank Schiavone lobbied really hard to get Tavaglione to be included on the list for being interviewed on the Planning Commission, even postponing the decision making on his application by the Mayor's Nomination and Screening meeting at its Jan. 6 meeting to the meeting the following week. Schiavone's attempts to clarify whether Tavaglione had any prior experience on the Planning commission wasn't noted in the minutes of the Jan. 6 meeting, perhaps because quite a bit of the lobbying occurred after the meeting had adjourned though he is included in the list to be interviewed. But if you notice in the minutes for the Jan. 13 meeting which was scheduled to discuss Planning Commission applicants only, Tavaglione's name is again included in the interview list. The only reason they had that meeting was to clarify whether or not Tavaglione had served on this commission before and if he hadn't, to officially add him to the interview list.

Tavaglione wasn't selected to represent a specific ward but was at the Feb. 27 meeting of the city council, appointed as a "first alternate" which is a fascinating development (but less surprising in the wake of the first election conducted by teleconference in CPRC history) only considering the fact that several years ago, the city council decided to no longer select alternates to serve on any of the city's boards and commissions as part of its implementation of Measure GG which placed ward representation in the city's agenda. This applied to both "ward specific" and "city-wide" vacancies and sure enough, all the alternates including those on the Human Relations Commission were kicked off their respective boards and commissions and sent home.

Tavaglione is the first and probably only "alternate" let alone "first alternate" that's been selected by the city council since the enforcement of Measure GG. There had been some discussion initiated by Schiavone at the Jan. 6 Mayor's Nomination and Screening meeting about restoring alternates but it was dropped when City Clerk Colleen Nichol explained the problems with implementing that system during the current process. There was no public announcement that this change in protocol had ever been approved by the city council. Instead, it's only included in the above minute order and mentioned in passing during the backup provided on this appointment.

What the city council needs to do is to contact all the "citywide" alternates that were purged several years ago and invite them to come back to serve out their terms and be eligible for appointment on their respective boards and commissions. And to apologize to them for sending them to the sidelines for so long.


Now he's being nominated as an "citywide position" without undergoing another round of screening, interviews and votes among members of the applicant pool. Schiavone himself led the charge that the same process for filling new appointments would be the same used for filling unexpired terms for this commission as well as the Board of Public Utilities and the Community Police Review Commission. These three were "special" (which it's become clear since then is city code for "micromanagement") so any opening should be filled through a vigorous screening, interviewing and selection process whether it was expired terms being filled or those where commissioners had resigned.

And it doesn't seem to matter if the applicants have gone through that process already for the appointment being approved via the blanket vote on the consent calendar during the March 17 meeting.

Just ask current CPRC commissioner, Chani Beeman who underwent three screening and interview processes for her seat, which is almost unprecedented. Two during the normal process that takes place annually to seat board and commission members by March and then a later process again, about six months later to fill an unexpired term. So is this a change in protocol? Maybe not, but it's interesting how many hoops she had to jump through to get appointed on the CPRC in comparison.

But there might be one fundamental difference between Tavaglione and Beeman and the answer to that might just be present on some documents in the city clerk's office called campaign disclosure forms. Both Tavaglione and Schiavone did endorse Councilman Rusty Bailey when he ran for officer against former Councilman Art Gage. But Beeman had been tied to one city council member as well, but a different one.

Tavaglione might be the best candidate for the position as Beeman surely was during all three of her interviews, but Beeman had political ties to the councilman who pushed her appointment and clearly switched some councilmen to change their votes so that Beeman finally won appointment in August 2007. Despite her credentials and her superior interviews, she never would have made it on the CPRC without some obvious deal making in the background. She should have been allowed to pass or fail without that but then again, the climate of interviewing and selection on either the CPRC or the Planning Commission has become as politicized as some of those who have politicized this process claim that the CPRC has become.

And that left an uncomfortable feeling in people's mouth although to her credit, some elected officials are clearly cursing the reversal of their votes during the first two rounds when she tried to get appointed, what can only be described as "buyers' remorse". Hopefully, the first alternate commissioner since the enforcement of Measure GG in 2005, will also be independent.

The boards and commissions are supposed to be wide-open to all city residents over the age of 18 who live in the city limits and are registered to vote. But in reality, some really great candidates go by the wayside and many don't even wind up on interview lists because in reality, it still appears not to be based on what you're willing to offer as a volunteer to this very important mechanism in the city but who you know. So the city could perform a great service by letting applicants know this going into the process.


The city council agenda's not that full but there's some interesting items. Unfortunately, the public can't pull most of them for further comment and discussion before a vote is taken.


For the discussion calendar, there's this report on the graffiti program. Det. Kathy Nelson and Officer Steve Warlick from the Riverside Police Department have worked very hard on that program. But as far as collection on graffiti fines including the placement of liens on people's houses go, despite the proclamations by City Attorney Greg Priamos and Councilman Steve Adams on television, one of Priamos' subordinates admitted last year that it probably costs more to collect than what money is collected in return.


This country and especially this region is caught in the throes of a recession and that might mean more garage sales and the expansion of what a garage sale is by the city government.

So why many people are struggling to earn money in a region with a high rate of foreclosure and two-digit unemployment rate, is the city council set to amend an ordinance to place restrictions on these sales?



Money is being appropriated from the citys' canine trust account to replace Officer Mike Carrol's canine, Max, who passed last week.





This interesting posting was put up on Craigslist from an undisclosed source. Whether it's an uncredited news article or a press release from the political campaign of Schiavone, its author won't say. Yet this individual writes about the importance of disclosure of information and transparency and this posting does raise some interesting issues about just that.

Election 2009 is still young and apparently the first lawsuit in relation to it has already been filed in Riverside County Superior Court by Schiavone against rival, Paul Davis regarding the campaign statement submitted by Davis. Actually, Schiavone's technically suing City Clerk Colleen Nichol who is in charge of city elections (in areas not under Riverside County Voters' Registrar purview) including the receipt of campaign statements from those running for office.
It's case #RIC521455 so if you want to look it up, go to this site to the civil division and look it up under "Frank Schiavone" or by the case number cited.

Essentially, Schiavone is filing his petition challenging Davis' claims that he was a former law enforcement employee of both the Riverside County Sheriff's Department and the Riverside Police Department. Schiavone stated in his petition first that Davis had made a "personal attack and criticism" against him in violation of a state election code. The statement that constituted the personal attack was one where Davis stated that he would "return your voice to City Hall."

But then Schiavone uses a state code called PC 830.1 to challenge whether or not Davis ever worked as a law enforcement officer although he was hired and employed by two law enforcement agencies. Schiavone bases his argument on the fact that Davis left both agencies before completing and passing his probationary period. He defends his argument by saying that this provision of PC 830.1 doesn't specifically identify "probational officers" or "trainees" as "peace officers" so they must not be considered to be included in this category which the state code defines.

However, what significantly weakens that argument is that based on the text of PC 830.1, it doesn't appear that they should be defined. It could be argued that "probational officer" and "trainee" are included in the definition of the term, "police officers" or "deputies" depending on whether it's a city or county agency. The definition of a "police officer" within that provision is any police officer employed in that capacity and appointed by the police chief. And under this criteria, probational officers and to an extent, trainees which are officers going through the field training program are considered police officers. One would think that if they weren't, there would be language in PC 830.1 or any related code specifically stating that they weren't included in that definition. There's no such conditional statement in PC 830.1 as presented.

Schiavone's attorney does include a prior 1992 court case addressing this issue which excluded probational officers and it would be interesting to research that case to see how that judge reached his or her conclusions given that there's no specific language barring probational officers and trainees from not being included in that code. However, there would need to be a further examination of all relevant case law in this area which hopefully a judge overseeing this writ will do. The issue is that only a judge in each case particularly one which as presented by Schiavone only has one related case decision can decide on the interpretation of PC 830.1 as it pertains to probational officers.



Exhibits included in Frank Schiavone's declaration filed on March 13 included California Public Letter Act requests to the Riverside Sheriff's Department requesting employment information on Davis at that department, information on claims filed against him and the pay scales for his position at the time he was employed. The letter was written to Joseph L. Lucsko, a former Banning councilman with Floyd & Lucsko Incorporated, a political consulting firm, on Feb. 18 days. Since by state law, CPRA requests have to be responded to in writing within 10 business days, Lucsko's letter was most likely written earlier that month.

A similar letter was sent by Lucsko on or around Feb. 6 to the Riverside Police Department requesting the same information as well as copies of any complaints, claims, dispositions and cost to the taxpaying public of processing these actions. He also asked for the conditions of Davis' departure from the department and whether or not he was eligible for rehiring by that agency and any compensation he received from the department.

Lucsko received a response in writing from Chief Russ Leach that most of the information except for Davis' monthly salary and times of employment would be denied pursuant to state laws governing the confidentiality of peace officer records. That's a typical response from most law enforcement agencies within the state of California to similar requests.

These records as stated are included in Schiavone's declaration and you should read them in preparation for the following statement allegedly made by Schiavone. And the heads of both law enforcement agencies should be thankful that Schiavone did include these records because one would think through the statement below that they engaged in behavior while providing information that violated state laws. The distinction needs to be made that at least in terms of those written response letters, they didn't.



“My opponent is trying to deceive the voters,” Councilman Schiavone said. “Public records show that he washed out as a trainee at both the Riverside Police Department and the County Sheriff’s Department. For him to tout his failures to keep a job at either department as law enforcement experience is disgraceful. It’s like someone talking about their military experience that was dishonorably discharged from the armed forces.”



I couldn't find attribution for this statement beyond Craigslist and it's difficult to believe that Schiavone would actually say such a thing. Because if he did, not only would his behavior be very ignorant but he would be doing what he accused his rival of doing and that's misleading the public.

Now if Schiavone really said this, it is he who is not being honest with the public about what information he received or did not receive in his "public records" which presumably are those accessed through these two information requests in February. No where in those public records will it state that Davis "washed out as a trainee" in either department let alone both. Neither record even states that he was terminated from employment for failure to make probation, pass field training or another reason. Does it mean that he didn't wash out or that he failed to pass probation? No it doesn't, but it does mean if that were the case, then the information not only didn't come from public records, it couldn't come from public records. For an agency to provide that information, would be in violation of state law.

If you write a CPRA request about the employment status of a law enforcement officer in an agency as Davis did, the only information that you will receive in return is whether or not that officer is still currently employed and the dates that he or she worked for that agency. You won't be told whether that employee resigned, failed to pass probation and/or was fired. The reasoning behind a governmental agency not providing this information is that to do so would be a violation of state law most notably PC 832.7 which pertains to peace officers' employment records.

If Schiavone raises the issue of Davis misleading the public by claiming to be something he's not, a law enforcement officer (which in Schiavone's mind clearly means having a lengthy tenure in an agency and/or that profession) then Schiavone is doing the same thing by stating that Davis "washed out as a trainee" because he left agencies during the probational periods and then claiming that was stated in public records. If Schiavone is correct that Davis "washed out" and he knows it, then the information that he received didn't come out of a public record. It came from elsewhere.

If it came from a public record in the city of Riverside, then City Attorney Gregory Priamos (who was Cc-ed on Leach's letter) and Leach need to explain exactly which one stated that Davis "washed out as a trainee". If it came from a public record in Riverside County, then Sheriff Stan Sniff and that county's legal counsel need to explain that as well.

The Sheriff's Department in its letter did give a resignation date for Davis which does indicate that he either resigned of his own volition or in lieu of termination, the two typical reasons for resignations. But state law prohibits any further disclosure.

It's logical to assume that because Davis' tenures in both agencies were brief, that it's possible he did "wash out" but that information was not included on any public records and it's being presented by Schiavone as if it were found there. And if Schiavone's making the assertion that his rival "washed out" then either he's gotten some information outside the scope of public information or he's deducing what he believes is the reason behind Davis' relatively short tenures at both law enforcement agencies without having any information confirming his hypothesis.

If Schiavone's going to make that accusation which he is not on the behalf of his campaign of course but on the public's behalf, then he has to make it clear that his information didn't come from public records before he asks another candidate to authorize the release of his confidential records.

It's obvious from early on that like last year's foray involving the District One supervisory race that critical issues which impact the lives of families living in these districts or wards up for grabs is again, going to take a back seat to mud slinging.

Is it a legitimate issue to raise about Davis' law enforcement background? Yes, both if there's questions about it and if there's not.

But then when issues were raised at the Community/Police Forum about the prior living arrangements of Schiavone and one of the city's department heads, that question was summarily dismissed and there was no similar disclosure. The forum wasn't really the appropriate venue to raise this issue even though it was a rumor that has been floating around for a while. The thing is, if Priamos has given this living arrangement his blessing as the self-determined decider of whether conflicts of interest are real or imagined then one would assume that he cautioned both parties on any such difficulties when he was informed of the past living situation before giving his blessing as the lawyer who represents the city's interests. Which naturally means that the city's residents must trust the city attorney's discretion in this manner even though a lawsuit involving two city employees filed in federal court might challenge his judgment on this matter. But it's fair to raise questions in a political campaign on this issue, and it's up to the other candidate to disclose what he or she chooses to disclose especially in terms of how potential conflict of interst situations were handled.

So if this election comes down to Davis being accused or insinuated to have "washed out" of the two law enforcement agencies and Schiavone and this department head having been former housemates, it might be a ratings-grabber and sensationalist campaign fight for the ages in the mud pit. Both issues present legitimate issues for concern and discussion but most often, instead what you get is actions taken including lawsuits like this one.




A response has been filed by Davis but hasn't been scanned and placed online yet by the court clerk's office. He did provide these documents online. The first one is a performance from the Riverside County Sheriff's Department dated for a six month period in 1991. The evaluation uses a four category scoring system of "Very Good", "Competent", "Improvement Needed" and "Unsatisfactory". In seven categories covering different job skills, he received scores of "Competent". The comments he received during this evaluation tended to be fairly positive, including that he's had no disciplinary action taken against him and several reports of commendation from other employees in the department or in related fields. The report evaluated the last six months he was employed by the Sheriff's Department.

From the Riverside Police Department, there's a resignation form that includes that his status for rehiring, is "doubtful" although his performance level was "standard". Which means that the department evaluated him as being similar to "competent" in the Sheriff's Department but couldn't decide whether or not to rehire him instead drawing a middle line and calling it "doubful". Any time an agency issues that kind of nonrecommendation, it s a concern that could be fairly addressed by a political rival but then again, the police department in 1992 was no where near the agency that it is today.

His reason for resigning included on the form was that he'd received a job offer.

There's no evaluations provided from the Riverside Police Department but it's not clear he was employed there long enough to receive one.



Because Nichol is the defendant, the city has to pay for an attorney to defend her, in a lawsuit which involved issues that really should be raised on the campaign trail, not in Riverside County Superior Court. Most political candidates don't sue over statements made by a person who claims to be something they're not, or is making claims that they will return City Hall to the people. Most candidates launch campaigns to either challenge those contentions in public forums like debates or to challenge them on criticisms either with documentation or through example by their own behavior. They don't file lawsuits which incur costs at the expense of the taxpayers of Riverside.

And please don't file lawsuits at our expense accusing someone of misleading us while you're doing exactly the same thing.





People were surprised to read that former Riverside Police Department Capt. Pete Curzon was working as a police chief up in Oregon, joining former management personnel, Dave Dominguez and Richard Dana as moving on from retirement to heading law enforcement agencies.

Though there's one thing to add to the situation and it's this isn't what Jesus would think, but something nearly as good.

WW"S"T.





The FBI is checking out an alleged beating of a man by police officers in New Orleans.


(excerpt, NOLA.com)



The New Orleans Police Department hasn't opened its own formal internal investigation into the incident and hasn't spoken to the man or to any witnesses, a spokesman said Thursday.

The case of Leroy Allen, 26, was made public last week by The Times-Picayune. It was brought to the newspaper's attention by a couple who live nearby and who produced a grainy videotape of the incident, which they called a "blatant misuse of force."


Allen also complained to jail officials that he had been beaten by police.

FBI spokeswoman Sheila Thorne confirmed Thursday that an investigation was opened by the bureau, but declined to say whether a citizen complaint prompted the probe or the agency chose to pursue it on its own.

The incident occurred on the night of Feb. 27 near Second and South Roman streets in a blighted and mostly vacant section of Central City.






The ex-wife of a former Ohio officer who stalked women urged people to report police misconduct.



(excerpt, Plain Dealer)




Marsha Sanchez said she has heard numerous stories of officers harassing people and using excessive force. Reporting the abuses to the Police Department is useless, she said. The ad, at Leavitt Road and East 21st Street, directs people to report incidents to the U.S. Department of Justice and lists the telephone number.

Sanchez's husband, Jesus, was convicted in December of menacing by stalking. His victim was a woman he met while he was on duty. He is scheduled to be sentenced on March 30.

"Throughout my husband's investigation we kept hearing from people who said they were being harassed by the cops," she said Wednesday. "They would get pulled over for nothing, thrown up on the car and abused. And who do you report it to, the cops? They do nothing."

She said people don't know where to turn for help, so she had the billboard ad put up last week. It will remain for at least a month. The Sanchezes declined to say how much the ad costs.

The president of the police union said the whole situation smacks of irony.

"What's ironic is that we do have a good system for investigating our police officers accused of misconduct," said Lorain Fraternal Order of Police President Buddy Sivert. "In the past two years we've investigated three police officers which resulted in the filing of criminal charges, one of them was her husband. She complains that the police don't investigate their own - her husband is living proof that we do."






Ten industries that like recessions

Awards and Aversions

"Money is the string with which a sardonic destiny directs the motions of its puppets."


W. Somerset Maugham






In the wake of the elections involving the Community Police Review Commission last week, several commissioners who voted for and against the winners expressed concern afterward about the process and not just its outcome. One of them (and this one surprised me) said that it was important for the community members to help serve as the "conscience" to the commission and to remain involved in it as it twisted and turned its way from its founding, to various political attacks from different factions, to its near dissolution through attempts to defund it, to the passage of Measure II to the latest chapter of its current micromanagement by the dynamic duo and those who direct them.

This individual admitted that the election was pretty much a done deal set up with City Hall probably a while ago. And that became clear when members walked into the conference room to begin the meeting and realized that the commission was about to engage in its first teleconference vote in its history. During previous elections, the commissioners were told to cast a vote, they had to show up just like the members of the city's other boards and commissions are told. If you didn't make it there whatever the reason, tough luck.

Not to mention that no teleconference calls were allowed during the CPRC election two years ago which resulted in a tie during its initial round. But then perhaps if that had been allowed, the commissioner who is City Hall's worst nightmare would have been elected chair. The person who missed that meeting certainly didn't show up through any teleconference calls.

But all this intrigue and precedent setting micromanaging behavior aside, why is the community being asked to serve as a "conscience" for the CPRC? Why do its members who can't speak up want the communities to push for the things that they themselves barely have the fortitude to even discuss at meetings? Why do they need this "encouragement" to hold any discussions on police/community issues? The city's charter gives them this power under the first article under Section 810 which is to report to the city council and mayor on all community/police issues, something which it's not just disinterested in doing but something at this point it's incapable of doing. But it's not just the power to do this, it's also the responsibility, something the commission has conveniently forgotten.

It doesn't help that only items which make the dynamic duo and their handlers happy can be placed on a meeting agenda, but still, it seems that asking someone from the community to address issues that the commissioners are unable to take the initiative to address in their current micromanaged state as part of a puppet show that only performs four times a month at most including matinee performances. It doesn't help that there are commissioners who have participated in little or no community outreach in the past two years. It doesn't help that the commission is chaired and vice-chaired by commissioners who until just before the election didn't even have the best of attendance records at commission meetings. The new duo made it clear to the rest of the commission that they would lay out how the body would be run, which is a head scratcher considering that one of them went nearly six months without even attending a meeting and the other missed two meetings in which he placed an agenda item to reduce the time allowed to city residents for public comment.

If not for his less than stellar attendance record, then perhaps the amount of time allotted to public comments would be less than it currently is.

One of the first things that the new regime apparently did before elected (besides make their post-election speeches) was to dictate that there would no longer be any public comment on nonagendized items during "special" meetings. Although its omission from the agenda even before the election was called an "oversight on my part" by CPRC Manager Kevin Rogan who's used those words before, it's pretty clear that it provided some clues as to how the election would play out.

Does it not have one either collectively and through its members? After watching last week's elections play out as a staged event, maybe that's not a bad question to ask. But the news was met by many people expressing very little surprise and knowing that if community does have concerns that it wishes to bring to the CPRC, it's probably best to wait a year until a new set of officers is picked.

Because when angry and frustrated residents of Arlanza attended a meeting, did commissioners go up and say hi to them or welcome them to the meeting or encourage them to express their opinions during public comment so they would listen? No, afterward there was a persistent rumor that went around that several commissioners (and others) took to packing concealed guns at the public meetings not long after that one last autumn. Even if this is true, there are reasons to do so outside of the CPRC which is a different situation than carrying one specifically because of serving on the CPRC. There is also a process that people have to go through to be approved for a permit though one wonders if it's been bent slightly for city employees including one who received a permit for Riverside though he didn't live there, one which was later revoked when the daily newspaper came looking around for the permit applications.

It seems similar though not to the same level of interest as a similar examination of the issue of bringing concealed weapons to meetings that arose involving several city council members and two city employees several years ago, an issue covered by the Press Enterprise in this article and in this column by Dan Bernstein.


At least Asst. City Manager Tom DeSantis's application did admit that his decision to carry a concealed weapon had to do with attending some community meetings.


(excerpt, Bernstein, Press Enterprise)



Tom DeSantis is the only member of the armed posse whose application has been exposed to public light. Why does Tom want to pack a heater?

"Self-protection associated with professional duties which require presence in high-crime areas of the city, as well as attendance at hostile and potentially hostile community meetings in high-crime areas." No wonder the city manager is paying Tom DeSantis $157K. The man signed up for hazardous duty!





Of course then there was this incident discussed at length on a discussion forum of people who are interested in the procedures and some say politics of the concealed and carry weapons (CCW) process.


But if it is indeed true about the commissioners starting to carry concealed weapons after the autumn meeting, this would be a bit ironic coming from a commission that back in the day used to complain that few people attended their meetings and how it wished more people would do so. Maybe when they complained about anemic attendance, they didn't mean community members, they meant members of the Chambers of Commerce. But it's hard to persuade people who attend one meeting to come back. Problems have ranged from people sitting in the city council chambers being unable to hear what's being said by commissioners because the microphones don't always work properly to just noticing that there's a dynamic which seems to suggest for the most part that the commissioners and police representatives (meaning one or more members of the command staff) joke and talk with each other but neither really make efforts to interact with community members who show up especially those attending a meeting for the first time. In fact, the only commissioners who cross this line are those who are most likely to receive letters of admonition and chastisement from Councilman Frank Schiavone.



Still coming soon, the CPRC drinking game.





An organization which honors women is giving out these awards including one to former Riverside Police Department employee Cherie Curzon, who is married to retired Capt. Pete Curzon. Cherie Curzon worked in the communications bureau back in the day when it was supervised by a civilian employee. Not long after a group of dispatchers and their bargaining unit, the SEIU called for an investigation of the dispatcher division (even appearing to speak during public comment during city council meetings) she was transferred out and replaced for the duration of the investigation.

Curzon is now serving as the police chief in Astoria, Oregon. This article talks about Curzon starting his first days on the job in August 2008.



(excerpt, The Daily Astorian)



It was a long search - two previous recruitment rounds failed to fill the position - but City Manager Paul Benoit is convinced the wait was worth it. He considers Curzon ideally suited to take the helm of the Astoria Police Department.

"I was looking for someone who would bring fresh experience to the department, someone who had a broad level of experience, committed to lifelong learning and always looking to improve," Benoit said. "My commitment all along has been to find the absolute best chief for Astoria, and I think I've done that."

Curzon has broad experience in all phases of police work, from managing complex criminal investigations to being project manager for a new police aviation facility. He is especially skilled and experienced in community policing and problem-oriented policing.

Curzon also has excellent academic credentials, including a master's degree in business administration from Pepperdine University and graduate work at Harvard's Senior Management Institute for Police.





According to the article, Curzon was vetted very stringently during the hiring and selection process. But they seem to put his ethical standard at the very top of the list of why they liked him.



(excerpt)



Benoit decided to cut to the chase and concentrate on Curzon rather than go through the whole process of picking several finalists from the third round of applicants. He enlisted the services of a retired police chief from Milwaukie to conduct a background check. The investigator spent about a week doing phone interviews, then flew to Riverside. There he talked to people who had worked for Curzon and people he had reported to. He also interviewed Curzon's wife extensively.

The investigator was especially impressed by the ethical standard Curzon had maintained while serving in Riverside, Benoit said.

"He came back with a stellar report, two thumbs up. He really was who he represented himself to be on his résumé," Benoit said. "His subordinates spoke really highly of his style, the way he motivated employees and the way he corrected employees when their behavior was not what he was looking for."



What's just as interesting is if you read the comment section to check out what some of his former colleagues have to say about him while he worked in Riverside. He spent over 20 years there and previously in the Riverside County Sheriff's Department but retired in around March 2005, a decision which surprised some people at least those outside of the department. Before he retired from Riverside, he spent some time directing the municipal airport for some reason and gave presentations on the airport's operations during at least one city council subcommittee meeting.

But his retirement was surprising given that many management employees retire at the end of the calendar year and for some reason, his retirement came earlier than that.


Even retired Lt. Ron Orrantia commented on his former colleague.



(excerpt)



I am a retired Lieutenant from the Riverside Police Department. I was the SWAT Commander until I retired. I worked with Pete and for him for nearly 28 years. You are getting a great Chief of Police. I wish I could work for him again! Congratualtions to Pete!

Ron Orrantia







One of his first crises to deal with was an officer arrested and charged with 10 counts of official misconduct. That happened two months after he took over the position.









Oooh some feathers are flying in the Press Enterprise and other places involving this opinion piece published in the Los Angeles Times and written by Riverside's best known author, Susan Strait which many felt portrayed the city in a less than flattering light.


(excerpt)



Here in the Inland Empire, we joke that our people are canaries but we don't die.

Our foreclosure rate was the highest in the country for many months; Riverside County's unemployment rate is 12.2%. But we do recession better than many places. We have experience. In the 1980s, we lost Kaiser Steel and many other manufacturers; from 1992-94, the unemployment rate for the Riverside-San Bernardino metro area averaged 10%, with an astonishing 12.1% in July 1992.

But this feels different. More desperate. Last year, after the price of copper skyrocketed, metal theft was rampant; thieves stole catalytic converters from parked cars, brass plaques from headstones and monuments, faucets and bushings from fire hydrants, copper wire from schools and parks. Thieves strip foreclosed homes, identifying them by "Bank Owned" signs in the dead lawns. Water heaters, copper pipes, electrical equipment -- all torn from walls and floors, homes destroyed.

I haven't slept well for about a year. For a while, I woke up at night to check on my daughter's Honda, which was broken into repeatedly. We knew it was a prime target. But recently it was stolen from in front of her friend's house, in the 15 minutes she left it to go inside. On Presidents Day, my ex-husband and I drove to a towing yard in San Bernardino near the Colton border to retrieve what was left of the car when police found it. The guy who brought it to me shook his head.

Stripped. Everything gone but the fast-food trash the thieves had strewn on the floor. "I'll call the salvage guy for new door panels and seats," my ex-husband said. Then he rolled his eyes. "He only takes cash, but my tax refund's gonna be an IOU, right?"





Press Enterprise Columnist Dan Bernstein struck first with his Return to Sender.


(excerpt)

Take those dancing rooftop rats. That's what you get in the "City of Trees." Rats! Raccoons, too. A friend who lives near Straight just told my wife about raccoons who took up residence in her gigantic avocado tree. What a mess they made! But an economic indicator? A telltale sign of "disappearing" Riverside? More like a telltale sign of, well, lots of critters.

Same with these metal thefts. People steal copper tubing and catalytic converters when this material is in demand. We're reading postcards from the recession because nothing is in demand. Yet, Straight sprinkled a pinch of metal theft into her stew, and I'm sure Times readers slurped it up. After all, Susan Straight darned near nabbed that National Book Award!

I cruised her street. There may be, as she wrote, six empty homes. But the street -- and others in the 'hood -- looks mostly well kept and inviting. I've seen Perris subdivisions that made me gasp. There are gaspers in MoVal and Fontana, too. She made Riverside sound like Detroit. (I've seen Detroit. It's not.)

Straight played a key role in last month's UCR Writer's Week because the theme -- "sense of place" -- is on display in her Louisiana-based novels. Maybe she confused Riverside with some bayou. Or maybe she really believes what she served up to a readership inclined to believe the worst about Riverside (aren't those flatheads 909?).

Either way, I've got to hand it to her. Nobody writes better fiction.

Then there's this opinion piece. I guess that Straight won't be hired as the public information officer for Riverside anytime soon (even as it had laid off or transferred most of the people it had in these positions). Hopefully, her critics know that she wasn't responsible for the cartoon which was an editor's decision. I had mixed feelings about her article as she cited some frightening statistics and then tried to personalize the numbers by explaining what was happening around her.


Straight also did describe different ways that people on her street did come together as neighbors to deal with some issues arising out of the recession and its impact on Riverside and the Inland Empire which occupies its epicenter.


Still, when I look at the Woods Streets area which I guess is where she resides, I think this neighborhood (which was once labeled "special" by former Councilman Chuck Beaty when it complained about a homeless day shelter ran by All Saints Church) is fairly nice but most concerned with keeping signs of poverty including homeless shelters (when it successfully vetoed one which would be within one mile of its borders) and apartment residents passing through from a place with no place to buy food and other necessities to Kawa Market which though a long-time fixture was a casualty of a number of customers being from the wrong crowd.





The political battles between supporters of both Ward Four city council candidates in Riverside are beginning to pick up on Craigslist. Of course, these are the supporters who don't have names.




There is this.


(excerpt)



I'm tracking down more details but apparently Paul Davis' campaign is getting help from a couple of Schiavone campaign confidants.



And that


(excerpt)





SEEEEEE THE MUDDLE BELOW:?:

Doubt it - name names or fold you fool!


"I'm tracking down more details but apparently Paul Davis' campaign is getting help from a couple of Schiavone campaign confidants. "

"confidants" wow what a mysterious word for such a plain, frumpy man.

I'll be back at cha bud - but I gotta get some zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz's



And then this.

(excerpt)




Paul Davis is going to need that help seeing that Frank is sooo much more experienced and qualified for the position.




So the allegation is that Councilman Frank Schiavone has some moles in his own political campaign? Double agents? Yes, there are several people in the Schiavone camp as part of larger groups of supporters who might be sitting on the fence in terms of whether or not they like Schiavone better than Davis but jumping ship, let alone engaging in subterfuge?



Will names be named by people who can't name their own names? Stay tuned for further intrigue in the politics section of Craigslist. Election 2009 after all, is still young.









Still things are quieter in Riverside than they are elsewhere. The attempts to recall a Lake Elsinore councilman get nasty.


(excerpt, Press Enterprise)

A campaign to recall Lake Elsinore Councilman Thomas Buckley has all the earmarks of the latter, political analysts say: a recall proponent with deep pockets versus a two-term councilman, both who claim widespread community support; and allegations of corruption versus claims of personal vengeance.

"This has all the makings of a real nasty brouhaha," said Max Neiman, the associate director of the Public Policy Institute of California, a San Francisco-based nonpartisan policy think tank. "If it gets to an election, it could get fairly intense."

The newly formed group Elsinore Voters Against Corruption, spearheaded by Trevi Entertainment Center owner Michel Knight, is behind the campaign to recall Buckley, who they allege is corrupt.

Among the allegations the group has lodged against Buckley is that he steered the Redevelopment Agency's $4.1 million purchase of a piece of property from one of his campaign supporters, who bought the property a year earlier for $2.5 million.

Now that San Bernardino County Assessor Bill Postmus has resigned, the talk has turned to who will replace him.



(excerpt, Press Enterprise)

Assistant Assessor Dennis Draeger has been running the office since the resignation.

Unlike a vacancy on the board of supervisors, state and county laws set no deadline for naming a replacement.

"Our office hasn't seen an urgency because of our confidence in Dennis Draeger and his ability to run that department," Kirk said.

Supervisor Paul Biane said he believes it's time to begin the search. In a memo to Ovitt Thursday, he requested that the board discuss the issue at Tuesday's meeting.

"We're a month in now and I think it's time to start taking a look at what the process will be and move forward," Biane said.

He said he favored an application process similar to one proposed for the appointment of the sheriff in January. In that case, the board scrapped those plans after a majority of supervisors expressed support for then-Assistant Sheriff Rod Hoops and named him to the post without interviewing others.

CPRC: Today, the odds; Tomorrow, the drinking game

"Robin Hood may have been a noble criminal. But he still was a criminal."


---U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman to Chicago Police Department Superintendent Jody Weis







Katie Greene, a member of the Group in Riverside wrote the following letter to the Press Enterprise's Readers Forum.

In response to your article about the dispute over the Community Police Review Commission, there is nothing unclear about the term "investigate" ("Key term in board issue unclear," March 1).

Anyone with a dictionary knows that. What we have here are people who are fiercely trying to emasculate the commission, which is responsible for investigating fatal shootings by officers.

It is a commission that they resent and want to go away.

Consider that the way the panel is designed, the city manager holds the purse strings, and he decided last September to exercise his right by withholding funding of the commission ("Police review panel's scope to be studied," Feb. 5).

This is not an issue of what "investigate" means. Nor is it an issue of the timing of an investigation. Nor is it an issue of "unskilled" people trampling over a crime scene.

This is simply a bold attempt by Riverside to destroy a commission that the residents voted for. Residents should wake up and fight for a full and complete functioning of the review commission.

KATIE GREENE

Riverside

Amen, Ms Greene right in a nutshell.

Behind all the "smokes and mirrors", that's what it boils down to, the current city administration is just weakening it because the city's voters prevented them from getting rid of it. Some elected officials berated former Councilman Art Gage for his aggressive attempts to defund the CPRC by up to 80% in 2004 but in reality? They probably are more upset at him for being so overt then they wished he had been when he flexed his power and pushed for the defunding.

They probably believe that he was one of the reasons why 60% of the city's voters spoke at the polls to place the CPRC further out of the political reach of Gage and the other city council members who opposed the CPRC mostly because their financial backers did and do.

Back in 2004, these councilmen constituted a majority. Today, they no longer do, but given how apathetic the remaining city council members are not just with the CPRC but in general turning over their jobs to City Manager Brad Hudson and his minions, it's not difficult for the minority to weld control.

Greene's definitely right in her statement that the restrictions placed on the Community Police Review Commission by City Hall have very little to do with the issue of crime-scenes being trampled by "unskilled people".



The New Regime


As mentioned, the CPRC held its annual elections last week. At the end of the special meeting on March 11, Chair Sheri Corral and Vice-Chair Peter Hubbard, who were confident of their victories ahead of time to pretty much include that in their speeches, laid out how they were going to run meetings. The first casualty even before they took office due to an "oversight on my part" by Chair Kevin Rogan, was public comment on nonagendized items for "special meetings". While not required under the Brown Act according to City Attorney Greg Priamos, previous chair, Brian Pearcy allowed it to be included. Not so with Corral and Hubbard (and you have to include Hubbard because he'll probably be chairing most of the meetings anyway), who haven't been friendly as of late towards the public. But when you essentially through a contract work for the city and you wish to be employed by the city, it's pretty clear that you know which side of your bread is buttered.

What will be the next thing to go?

You read it here first, but it's more than likely that Hubbard will dust off his proposal to have public comment on all items reduced from five to three minutes. He's tried this twice, while never putting his name on it, but alas, was absent both times it was to be discussed during meetings so it had to be withdrawn. He never admitted that this was his pet item (and face it, Hubbard barely opens his mouth in open session let alone puts things on the agenda) but it kind of spilled out the second time it was introduced because Pearcy said that the person who introduced it was absent and Hubbard was the only commissioner not in attendance at a meeting.

Part of being a leader of any body means putting ownership on items that you introduce or propose and not trying to slip them through the back door unsigned.


During commissioner comments...



Brian Pearcy Strikes Back



Former CPRC Chair Brian Pearcy addressed comments made about him last week by Riverside Police Department Chief Russ Leach at the Community/Police Forum for the East Neighborhood Policing Center that was held at the Orange Terrace Community Center in Orangecrest. There, Leach had placed blame on comments he alleged that Pearcy had made to the "local media" that he was all for sending investigators to the crime scene as quickly as possible to preserve evidence. Leach's habit of late seems to be slamming commissioners either without naming them as he did while blaming one for posting the autopsy photos on one of the officer-involved death cases online when apparently those pictures were posted by the staff of the CPRC and with the approval of Priamos. The facts that he presents aren't quite factual (probably because at best, he's receiving any information second or third or...hand) but the comments that he made at the Governmental Affairs Committee meeting and the Community/Police Summit do serve some sort of purpose.

Now, Pearcy's name was tossed out at a meeting as being the instigator of the Hudson directive.

Pearcy said in a motion which was seconded by Commissioner Jim Ward that he wished that a letter would be sent out that addressed this issue involving Leach's comments. Apparently, there was some sort of vote. Well, maybe. Will there be a letter sent out by the tandem team of Corral and Hubbard? Well, maybe. But Pearcy wasn't ready to let it go so there will probably be an update on this situation at the next meeting. Oh yeah that's right, I think the vote was to put it on the agenda for the next meeting.

Good luck with that. But if it comes between having that item on the agenda and putting another proposed item which is to discuss the role of the commission's manager, it's a good bet that Pearcy's letter might get on the agenda first. But...that's only if there has to be a choice between the two agenda items.

These are the current odds:


Pearcy's letter getting on the agenda of the next meeting: 5:1

Pearcy's letter getting on the agenda of a future meeting: 10:1

An item getting on the agenda of the next meeting about the role of the CPRC manager: 50:1

An item getting on the agenda of a future meeting about the role of the CPRC manager: 100:1




Here's another look at the CPRC crystal ball as to what will happen if someone does really have the audacity to put an item on the agenda addressing the role of the manager. City Attorney Priamos and/or Asst. City Manager Tom DeSantis who showed up late at the last CPRC meeting to talk about something will say I'm or we're sorry but such an item is outside the purview of this commission. Because as we know, all CPRC agendas have to be stamped with approval by DeSantis and Priamos.


The next day, the commissioners allegedly received a notice on what they can and can't talk about during commissioners' comments. Welcome to the new regime! It's too bad that the commission is turning its back on community members (who clearly know this) at a time when tension between community members and police is very high, as noted by graffiti posted in one neighborhood which read, "187 Police". This mirrors tensions in another neighborhood after several officer-involved deaths took place there, where the attitude was more, "F--- the police". Increased police presence in two predominantly minority neighborhoods despite a decrease in crime in those neighborhoods have created a situation where tensions are simmering there. And people considering filing complaints and then changing their minds, deciding that it's a waste of time.

That's a very serious situation and one of the intentions of the commission was to address community and police tension under its responsibility assigned by the city's charter to report to the city council and mayor on all community/police relations. Everyone from the Editorial Board of the Press Enterprise to community leaders say that this is its role but the commissioners particularly those who now rule its helm, don't even look at community members who attend their meetings especially newcomers so clearly this is one part of the charter that as a body, they are incapable of performing. Except for one or two of them, they never walk up to people and introduce themselves, shake people's hands, offer them a business card. They only talk to representatives from the Riverside Police Department.

Newcomer Robert Slawsby hasn't yet gone up to a single community member and say, hey welcome to our meeting and if you have any questions, this is who to talk with. But then again, if the newer commissioners emulate the ones who have served on the commission the longest, he's emulating the wrong ones.

People attending these meetings from Arlanza, to Casa Blanca, from La Sierra to the Eastside to Downtown and the University neighborhoods see this and spread this information to others in their organizations or neighborhoods that the CPRC is not community-friendly despite the inclusion of "community" first in its name. And that's unfortunate, because they should feel like the meetings are a welcome place for them and that commissioners will actually take the time to greet them. That's actually how it used to work. But what can you say about a commission which really hasn't done much in the way of outreach in the past year or so?


After talking to community members about the CPRC, there are many questions that are asked. Some of them are asked over and over, and those are usually the ones that aren't always the easiest to answer.


Is Community Outreach dead in the water?


Pretty much, yes. Which you can read yourself in these monthly reports produced by the CPRC. You will also notice that the only time the majority of the commission seems to be concerned about the lack of outreach and what they say, Outreach Committee meetings is when they're trying to get out of the process of holding meetings of that other subcommittee, Policies, Procedures and Bylaws which created an avenue for them to amend and rewrite of the guidelines under the commission's bylaws, policies and procedures.

For a while, the Outreach Committee which is chaired by Commissioner Chani Beeman did meet and did accomplish its goals of producing outreach material but the process has once again reverted to a standstill. The commission is waiting to receive the flock of invitations to do outreach that it seems to believe are surely coming and not willing to really go out and do it themselves beyond attending meetings of the same four organizations.


Will City Hall ever allow another board or commission member to cast a vote via teleconference?


To be announced are odds calculated on who will actually chair most of the meetings in the current year: Corral, Hubbard or Pro-tem chair.

This was a first for the CPRC elections and possibly for those involving other boards and commissions as well. Usually members of the city's boards and commissions are told that if they want to vote in their annual exercises in electing officers, then they have to be present at the meetings. If they are absent, oh well, they're out of luck. But several commissioners said afterward that they knew the election was a done deal, rigged and pretty much a farce after they showed up and realized that the teleconference call all the way to Commissioner Art Santore in Florida had been made. And some of these individuals voted for some of the winning candidates.

Odds:

That someone who missed a meeting but would have cast a vote for John Brandriff in a vice-chair election would have gotten a teleconference vote: 1,000 to 1



Coming soon, the CPRC drinking game.





Felt this? It was an actual earthquake.



In the spirit of Woodward and that other Bernstein, Press Enterprise Columnist Dan Bernstein kept mum on the identity of one of his sources, "Deep Butter" until he died.


Then he wrote about him.



(excerpt)




From time to time, Deep Butter would leave a message. "I don't want to talk to you," he'd say. I'd call him right back. At the end of our conversation, Deep Butter would sign off, "It's been nice not talking to you."

Deep Butter kept me informed. Filled in gaps. He knew a lot about many things. He knew all about the Riverside library. He knew about the arts, and the money and grinding it takes to permit them not simply to endure, but to flourish in a town like Riverside. Sometimes, he just called to tell me I was being too tough on the mayor.

When we met at public events, mum was always the word. Oh, we yakked it up about Philadelphia football fans or how he wound his way to Riverside. Anyone would have thought we were just a couple of small talkers, killing time at a charity fundraiser. No one knew our secret. No one knew about Deep Butter.

No one knew it was Deep Butter who steered me to the smoking-microwave memo penned by someone working for the Handsome ex-DA: "If you are working after hours or on weekends and need to cook something in the microwave, please stay with the item until it is completely done and make sure the microwave is turned off."

A high-rise packed with career prosecutors who didn't know how to make popcorn!





Bernstein also wrote about the plan to demolish and rebuild the downtown library.



(excerpt, Press Enterprise)

Fifty-five million might sound like big money, but it's only $53 million more than feds will spend to study pig odor, and it would get Riverside a new downtown library, an expanded metro museum and upgraded muni-auditorium.

Voters won't be asked to raise the dough for at least two years, by which time the Dow will once again have cracked 14,000 and the Santa Ana River will welcome the Queen Mary. Yes, a rosy scenario. Even rosier: the reality that, after years of entirely avoidable head-butting with civilians, City Hall appears to be marching lock-step with what Riverside citizens wanted all along. This could be a formidable alliance, since the city manager has an impressive record for getting things done. Who knew the "Riverside Renaissance" was actually a stimulus package in disguise?

Still not convinced that $55 million will be a good investment? Wait till you hear what Councilman Mike Gardner discovered about the downtown library: It doesn't have windows!

True, he might not have been the first to notice. But this is how we've had to enlist support to tear this monstrosity down: one eyeball at a time.

Riverside's Centro De Ninos preparing for its grand opening in the Eastside. It will take place, Saturday, March 14 at 10 a.m. at Bordwell Park.



(excerpt, Press Enterprise)

The new 12,500-square-foot building will replace the center's smaller facility on Victoria Avenue a block south of 14th Street.

The center will boost its enrollment from 64 to 112 when the new building opens. The staff will double from 15 employees to 30, said Andrea Guevara, executive director of the nonprofit Concilio Child Development Centers, which runs Centro de Niños.

The center serves children 3-5 years old from low-income families, primarily Latino.

Work remains to be done and the center cannot obtain its day care license until the project is complete, Guevara said. The center might not open its doors to children for another month, she said.

The new building doubles the number of classrooms from three to six and includes a large multipurpose room, administrative offices, and a kitchen. It will have wireless computer access.

The outdoor play area includes a slide, raised beds for growing vegetables and other plants, and a large lawn. "The community needs it," said parent Maya Samuel, 29, whose 3-year-old daughter, MaKaylais enrolled at the center and who attended the center herself.

Canyonlake's a hopping place, what with that councilman being in trouble for that risque show that took place at a restaurant he owned.





The candidates running for the forth ward seat in San Bernardino presented their final arguments on why you should vote for them.




The San Bernardino County District Attorney's office determined that a Victorville police officer's shooting of a man was an accident.




(excerpt, Press Enterprise)



In the report, Sinfield noted that Evans had responded to reports of a large group gathered about 11 p.m. in the parking lot at Bear Valley and Amargosa roads in Victorville, a popular hangout for impromptu car shows.

Evans watched for a few minutes, then decided to leave, the report said. As he was leaving he heard tires squeal and saw a gray Monte Carlo doing a burnout maneuver, the report said.

As Evans neared the Monte Carlo, the report said, the car made an evasive turn and sped out of the parking lot. Evans turned on his lights and siren and started chasing the car.

The Monte Carlo headed toward Interstate 15 and stopped on the southbound onramp. Evans got out of his patrol car, drew his gun and approached the car.

He told the two occupants to raise their hands. The driver did, but Evans said Anaya, in the passenger seat, was looking left and right as if he was about to do something.

As he focused his attention on Anaya, Evans "transitioned to a finger on the trigger position," the report said.

"Sgt. Evans stated that he accidentally pulled the trigger, causing the weapon to fire."

Witnesses, including another officer who had arrived to help, heard Evans yell "accidental" after he fired the gun, the report said.





The U.S. Justice Department launched a probe into the Inglewood Police Department in the wake of four officer-involved shootings.




Chicago Police Department Superintendent Jody Weis received a scolding from a federal judge




(excerpt, Buffalo News)



Gettleman held Weis in contempt of court Wednesday for refusing to turn over the list. Two days later, Weis relented and handed them over.

After receiving the list, Gettleman could have told Weis' attorneys that it was no longer necessary that the superintendent come to court Monday.

But it was obvious from the criticism that lasted several minutes that Gettleman wanted Weis to stand before him and hear him describe Weis' defiance of his order with words like "contemptuous" and "absolutely intolerable."

Gettleman seemed particularly troubled that someone in law enforcement - "You of all people," he said - would be willing to defy a judge's order.

The judge ordered the city to pay costs incurred by the defense attorneys who have for several months fought for the list as part of their lawsuit on behalf of a woman claiming an off-duty officer beat up her children while arresting them.

Weis was apologetic Monday, saying he was not trying to offend the judge. But he said his defiance of the judge's order - what he called one of the most difficult decisions he's ever made - stemmed from concern for his officers.





Two officers in the Detroit Police Department were accused of falsifying arrest records.



(excerpt, Detroit Free-Press)




The cops labeled it Operation Ice Breaker, a city-suburban law enforcement effort to bust drug dealers and prostitutes along 8 Mile.

Instead, seven Detroit vice cops have been suspended with pay on allegations of falsifying the arrest reports.

The allegations against the cops are: They couldn't find any prostitutes on 8 Mile, so they went to Harper and Chalmers on the east side and arrested five people for prostitution during three days in mid-February. The officers are accused of writing their report to say the busts happened on 8 Mile to fit the roundup's purpose.

Members of the Board of Police Commissioners last week refused to suspend the cops without pay, despite a recommendation from police executives and Chief James Barren.

Commissioner Adela Rivera, a former Detroit police officer, told the Free Press Wednesday that she believes the cops should be paid until they appear before a departmental trial board to present their cases.

"Look at the economy, people can't afford to be laid off with no income," Rivera said. "I think the city blanketed all seven officers together under one allegation. Sometimes as a police officer you do what your boss tells you and if that's the case, I think they should be allowed to justify why they did what they did."






Interesting search of the day:





A visitor from the County of San Bernardino network did one on "Paul Bugar". For those who don't know, Bugar was a former Riverside Police Department officer who was fired by former Chief Jerry Carroll for his role in the 1998 fatal shooting of Tyisha Miller. Bugar went on to get his next job with the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department first as a dispatcher and then eventually as a crime analysist.