This was in my inbox today:
Looks like the BOS was going to fire Doreen Boxer. Steve Levine was asked to take the job. In the interim, Doreen’s latest boyfriend, a state senator, intervened. Guess what the result was????? Others are about to come forward, but you will be the first to know if you don’t already
This is one of those rare moments iePolitics is about to admit it made a mistake. About two years ago we argued vehemently on Supervisor Josie Gonzales’ behalf as it was her turn to become vice chairman of the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors.
At that time, First District Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt was attempting to get the votes to beat her out. It all hinged on the Fourth District. Then-chief of staff, Mark Kirk, and I had several conversations about the subject and he could clearly see the pros and cons of both Mitzelfelt and Gonzales. In the end, Supervisor Gary Ovitt did the “right” thing and voted for Josie.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010 – 9:28 a.m.
Is the District Attorney really calling the shots in the investigation involving activities at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center (ARMC)?
The evidence is building, and it’s beginning to look more and more like the answer is “no”.
Confidential sources tell The Insider that federal agents were doing the questioning of hospital staff, not investigators for District Attorney Michael Ramos, as everyone is being led to believe.
Sunday, November 7, 2010 – 09:15 a.m.
The Insider has learned that one of the areas newspapers has received a complete list of persons named in a search warrant served at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center by federal agents last week.
One has to admit it doesn’t take long for secrets to leak out in San Bernardino County.
Gonzales
Sunday, November 7, 2010 – 9:20 a.m.
A Sunday morning laugh is always good.
Especially when it comes from the newspapers. And todays whopper is courtesy of an article in Sunday mornings Press-Enterprise.
This mornings story in question is in regards to the impending title change for Greg Devereaux from county administrative officer to chief executive officer.
A mundane issue.
Saturday, November 6, 2010 – 12:20 p.m.
Last Updated: November 6, 2010 – 05:30 p.m.
Now the lid has finally blown on the scandal at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center (ARMC).
What a surprise to us all.
Well, not really.
Saturday mornings local news articles related to federal agents raiding the facility and seizing records were horrendous to say the least.
All of those denials. Or should I say lies.
The most outrageous is courtesy of former ARMC administrator and fired county administrative officer Mark H. Uffer, who through his attorney Sanford Kassel, denies any knowledge of free health care for county elected and appointed officials.
Kassel says Uffer was shocked to hear about the goings on at ARMC.
The article below details yet another example of the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors giving the middle finger to the voters of this county. Not only did they award an illegal contract to the County Administrative Officer Greg Devereaux, they are now transferring power they do not have the power to transfer to him. To hell with the voters.
Since the Board of Supervisors do not want the power vested in them by the Charter of San Bernardino County, it is time for them to be made a part-time body and for their pay to reflect that status. If this ordinance is passed, they will serve no useful purpose to the taxpayers of this county.
Greg Devereaux
The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors is set on Tuesday for the first reading of an ordinance to make a de facto amendment to the Charter of the County of San Bernardino. The Charter of the County of San Bernardino is the county equivalent of the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of California, both of which were adopted through a vote of the people. As such, the law is very specific as to how it can be changed.
The truth of the matter is that according to Constitution of California any change to any county charter must be approved by the vote of the electorate. It CANNOT be made by ordinance as is being attempted by the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors.
The Constitution of California, Article 11, Local Government, Sec. 3, states:
(a) For its own government, a county or city may adopt a charter by majority vote of its electors voting on the question. The charter is effective when filed with the Secretary of State. A charter may be amended, revised, or repealed in the same manner. A charter, amendment, revision, or repeal thereof shall be published in the official state statutes. County charters adopted pursuant to this section shall supersede any existing charter and all laws inconsistent therewith. The provisions of a charter are the law of the State and have the force and effect of legislative enactments.
We understand that the Board of Supervisors is enacting an ordinance, not enacting a change to the charter, but the effect is the same. They are changing a key element of the Charter of the County of San Bernardino. And they simply do not have authority to do so.
What the Board of Supervisors is proposing on Tuesday, REQUIRES a vote of the people. They choose, instead, to violate our right to vote on this change and ramrod its proposal through, hoping it flies under the radar of an uninterested electorate.
The Charter of the County of San Bernardino is very specific, and was enacted with that specificity in mind, as to the powers of the Chairman of the Board of Supervisors. From what we have been told, San Bernardino County is the only one of the state’s 58 counties to specify that the Chairman of the Board is the County’s Executive. It states in pertinent part [emphasis added]:
Duties of the Chairman of the Board
SECTION 5. The Chairman of the Board of Supervisors shall be the general executive agent of the Board. It shall be his duty, subject to regulation and control by the Board, to exercise general supervision over the official conduct of all County officers and officers of all districts and other subdivisions of the County charged with the assessment, collection, safekeeping, management, or disbursement of public revenue; also over all County institutions, buildings and property. He shall report to the Board from time to time with such recommendations as he shall deem proper. He shall devote his entire time during usual office hours to the duties of his office. He shall keep an office in the room or rooms where the Board usually meets, and shall be in attendance at such office during usual office hours, except when elsewhere engaged in the performance of his official duties.
The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors is proposing to instead to transfer those powers over to the County Administrative Officer by ordinance rather than charter amendment as required by the Constitution of California.
Senator Robert Dutton
Last week’s revelation that Ted Dutton, father of California State Senator Robert Dutton, was one of the major donors behind Citizens Against Corruption Opposing Rutherford for Supervisor 2010 was barely noticed. It’s significance is great however.
Senator Robert Dutton has not tried to hide his desire to be elected to the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors at some point in the future. Who would not with the generous salary, benefits, and pension plan?
Sources suggest he would also be allowed to purchase 10 years of service credit in the county’s retirement system for the years he spent in the California Legislature. He could also connect the six years of credit he received when he served on the Rancho Cucamonga City Council, which would provide him with a significant retirement when he left county service.
I finally had a chance to speak with several of my Arrowhead Regional Medical Center (ARMC) contacts. I have been told that both problem individuals in the DBH unit have now left.
I continue to be contacted by staff at the DBH unit at UC Irvine, where one of them found a job, because she is causing the same kind of havoc there. I believe I have mentioned on the blog that an EEOC complaint has been filed against her and the EEOC has been on the blog researching some of the entries.
Supervisor Paul Biane
“Oh what a tangled web we weave, When first we practice to deceive.” San Bernardino County Supervisor Paul Biane forgot these wise words from Sir Walter Scott. Biane, who has been caught up in yet another scandal, has indeed created a tangled web for himself on the eve of an election where he is battling for his political life.
Biane plead guilty to reckless driving in 2006 after being arrested for driving under the influence in 2005. He refused to take a Breathalyzer test and claims he only had about a couple glasses of wine. The arresting officer’s description of Biane’s appearance contradicts the supervisor’s claim, describing him as glassy-eyed with slurred speech and unstable on his feet. A heavy drinker such as Biane would not exhibit such symptoms after only consuming a couple glasses of wine.
It is time that a complete investigation be done of every employee on the Fifth Floor of the County Government Center for time card fraud. Gutierrez did nothing that isn’t done every pay period by members of the Board of Supervisors staff. Many county department heads are also equally guilty of not working 80 hours a pay period. Perhaps we are on the verge cleaning things up after all.
Tuesday, October 26, 1010 – 05:16 a.m.
Just as previously forecast, dark clouds are closing in on San Bernardino County’s budget.
InlandPolitics.com has learned San Bernardino County’s current fiscal year budget deficit may have actually grown from the previously projected $90 million-plus figure to somewhere in the area of $130-$160 million.
District Attorney investigators are still nosing around. There is not a lot they can do about the Colonies issue, at least not legally. That is not to say they won’t convince Rouse to sign something for someone so they can get in a last shot or two before their boss is led away in handcuffs.
However, now that Human Resources Director Andrew Lamberto has re-written the Exempt Compensation Plan for them on the witness stand, there is hardly a safe Exempt employee. Few work 8 to 5.
Apparently, there has been a delay in the story of the century. Unfortunately, we have no control over what major newspapers do. So perhaps tomorrow the suspense will be over.
This will all make sense in a few short hours.
Developing . . . Cook Co.
Every time we think there may be some hope for transparency and reform with the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors, we find out they are flat out hopeless. On Tuesday they proved once again they are happy with the status quo and are terrified of real reform.
The Board of Supervisors did two good things on Tuesday, albeit, a year or so after they should have been done. First, they forced Ruth Stringer into retirement. Don’t believe anything else you hear. She was forced!
Second, they reluctantly (except for Derry and Mitzelfelt) approved the Sunshine Ordinance. However, the real proof will be when we ask for public records and they are not denied for bullshit reasons like they are now.
Third District Supervisor Neil Derry
We here at iePolitics have been pretty hard on Supervisor Derry for a while now but we also recognize that he is the only supervisor to have any sense of ethics. Neil deserves a big “thank you” for making the Ruth Stringer termination finally happen. No, he couldn’t do it alone, but none of the other supervisors had backbone enough to make it happen.
The average citizen has no clue how significant getting Ruthie out as top legal Beagle really is. This woman caused more unnecessary grief for more people, but, more importantly, she cost taxpayers tens of millions of dollars with her second-rate legal advice that was usually based on politics and vengeance rather than sound legal principles.
Here is another perplexing board item on Tuesday’s San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors Agenda:
| County Counsel |
Remember, District Attorney Mike Ramos, during the City-County Conference and in front of dozens of county and city officials, asked if he could “eat Ruth’s pussy.” Well it looks like Ruthie wants to return the favor, figuratively speaking, that is.
What would you say if you elected someone to office to vote on projects, laws, etc., on your behalf and then after they voted on said items, you found out they had no clue what they voted on? That is exactly what is happening on the Fifth Floor with our Board of Supervisors.
The most recent debacle with Dr. Gnanadev’s conflict of interest statement is only one of many examples where the members of our Board of Supervisors casts votes and have absolutely no clue on what or why they are voting. How would you feel if it was your project, your street, your home, your life they were affecting?
And it is going to get worse. It is going to get much worse.
First District County Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 28, 2010
For information, contact
David Zook (909) 387-4830
Supervisors Vote to Require More-Open County Government
SAN BERNARDINO – The Board of Supervisors today gave initial approval to a Sunshine Ordinance that would make it easier for the public to obtain county documents and help restore public confidence in county government.
“This ordinance embodies what I have called for since becoming a supervisor – maximum disclosure with minimum delay,” said First District Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt. “We should always be looking for better ways to help the people access their government. Third District Supervisor Neil Derry deserves thanks for bringing this item forward and for all of his hard work toward making it a reality.”
Emasculated. Impotent. Ineffectual. Powerless. Debilitated. Cowardly. Weak.
Anyone of these adjectives is an appropriate descriptor of the current five members of the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors individually and as a not-so-well functioning governing board. Never was it so obvious as it was on Tuesday.
More than a year and a half ago many astute observers began to realize the Board of Supervisors had a problem. Several high-ranking staffers, including County Counsel Ruth Stringer, had become disloyal. In reality, the situation worsened to far beyond disloyal.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010 – 11:00 a.m.
Last Updated: September 28, 2010 – 12:50 p.m.
Today, the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors received a message from their chief legal counsel.
The finger.
Well if things go as planned, come Tuesday the county should be burdened with one less incompetent department head. We will have to wait and see if the Board of Supervisors has the backbone to go through with it. If they do, that only leaves maybe another 10 or 15 to go. We wouldn’t want to rush them.
San Bernardino County Director of Information Services Steve Hall has moved up his retirement date to year’s end. Hall was a confidant and associate of former County Administrative Officer Mark Uffer.
The current five members of the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors have made an effort to shift responsibility for running the county from themselves to the County Administrative Officer Greg Devereaux. This shift clearly violates the Charter of the County of San Bernardino.
Pure Peruvian Cocaine
For those who have been waiting for this series, I apologize I haven’t posted something sooner. The series has not been forgotten. But sometimes things get dropped in one’s lap and timing can be everything.
That is the case with this series. It’s gonna be bigger and better than expected. We just have to wait until some new information is verified. Politics is playing a part as well. Expect to see the series when we get closer to November 2.
Brad Mitzelfelt
At over 17,000 square miles, San Bernardino County First District Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt holds the distinction of being the local elected official for an area larger than nine states. His First District is the largest county district in the lower 48 states. The fact that that there are only seven incorporated cities with relatively small spheres of influence within that expanse only increases the enormity of the job.
Mitzelfelt began his life in public service by joining the United States Marine Corps in 1986, where he served his country as part of Operations Desert Storm and Desert Shield in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. He was a public affairs specialist. He reached the rank of Staff Sergeant and served a total of ten years between active duty and reserves.
I have never been in favor of contracting out services in lieu of hiring county employees until now. But County Counsel is out of control.
Already, County Counsel contracts almost all trial work as they do not have a single experienced trial attorney on staff. They also contract out all complicated cases as they do not have a single experienced litigator on staff either. And that is saying a lot as I believe they have around 50 attorneys in their office.
Well because of my depression it is sometimes easy to knock me down. I’ve had a very rough 24 hours. But I always bounce back. You guys don’t want the gory details so let’s just say I’m starving because I don’t think it is possible for a stomach to be more empty. I going to get some soup and then I’m going to get started on a couple of long-awaited series tonight.
The first will be on elected officials who have committed major ethics/FPPC violations and District Attorney Mike Ramos has looked the other way. In some cases we have photographs along with copies of perjured documents.
I know that I am not the only one that thinks the county of San Bernardino sunk to a new low today. The decision to pay off former Second District Chief of Staff Matt Brown is a slap in the face to all county employees who must face a real hostile work environment each and every day because they do not have the money for an attorney and the county refuses to conduct a legitimate investigation. County Administrative Officer Greg Devereaux and our Board of Supervisors should be ashamed of themselves.
Of course, this payoff begs the question of Why? Well, the answer is easy. A mistake by the District Attorney’s office has alerted corruption defendants to the fact that Brown was involved in attempting to get his boss, Second District Supervisor Paul Biane, on tape in an undercover operation. It would be highly detrimental to Supervisor Paul Biane’s re-election chances to have his former Chief of Staff tell what he knows before November 2.
Pure Peruvian Cocaine
Hypocrite is defined by Webster as:
1 : a person who puts on a false appearance of virtue or religion
2 : a person who acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings
In case anyone hasn’t noticed, we have a hypocrite or two or three on the fifth floor of the County Government Center. We have been reminded of that several times during the past couple of years.
To the Honorable Members of the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors,
Haven’t you had enough yet? Honestly, why wasn’t County Counsel Ruth Stringer fired today? She does not work for County Administrative Officer Greg Devereaux. She works for you. And she should have been fired TODAY!
I only wish I could share with the readers of iePolitics the details of her latest fiasco—a fiasco that has already been expensive and one that almost cost you, the taxpayers, an additional very large sum of money.
As I mentioned in a previous post, there was a meeting on Saturday regarding the most recent stunt pulled off against San Bernardino County employees by our union, the San Bernardino Public Employees Association and our employer, the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors. A game plan was discussed.
There will be a website up and running in the next week or so. I will text those on my text list with the hyperlink as soon as it is ready.
The next meeting will be held in about three weeks. It will be on a week night in the San Bernardino area. The specifics will be on the website.
District Attorney Mike Ramos
The San Bernardino County Sentinel
Friday, July 16, 2010
Former sheriff Gary Penrod accumulated compromising information and materials pertaining to district attorney Mike Ramos which was then utilized to blackmail Ramos and head off an incipient effort by the district attorney’s office to file criminal charges against Penrod pertaining to a host of criminal acts the sheriff was himself involved in.
It doesn’t seem to matter if we are discussing Jeff Burum, the Lewis Family, or any other of a number of successful, wealthy businessmen in our community, they are all “corrupt.” I don’t mean that they are really, truly corrupt, but they are “corrupt” in the minds of the less successful. The common thought seems to be that if one has money, then one has no integrity. Our community doesn’t allow for making an “honest” hundred million or so. Hard work, sacrifice, intellect, college education, and just plain good old-fashioned luck can all be damned. If one is successful, then one must be a crook.
I’m sure there is a term for this mentality, and with our current corruption scandal, that mentality has become very frustrating. Otherwise intelligent people seem to be more interested in finding blame than finding truth. The fact that so many have bought into Batman and Robin’s conspiracy theory is proof that logic and critical thinking have given way to hysteria and enjoyment in the fact that someone with power may be taken out, not for wrongdoing, but because they have power and wealth. I suppose the weak hope to bask in the demise of the powerful.
It seems that today the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors approved a pilot project to bring a closed-circuit audio/video system to the high desert so that local residents do not have to drive to San Bernardino to participate in board meetings. Price tag: $70,000 . . . a heck of a lot cheaper than medicating ET Snell.
—SharonTheUnionMole
Justice cannot be for one side alone, but must be for both. — Eleanor Roosevelt
So far in this series we have discussed the District Attorney’s office and the Conflict Panel. There are three other components to justice, or the lack thereof, in San Bernardino County: the Public Defender, the Sheriff’s Department, and the Superior Court bench. Today, we will discuss the office of the Public Defender.
The Mission Statement on the wall of the Public Defender reads:
The Public Defender protects the constitutional rights of indigent defendants by providing skilled legal counsel and passionate advocacy at all critical phases of state level criminal and civil commitment litigation.
It is hard to believe that Public Defender Doreen Boxer would have the audacity to post such a blatant lie once one knows what really goes on at the Public Defender’s office. iePolitics has been contacted by numerous Public Defender employees with stories of retaliation for helping clients and tales of conspiracy with the district attorney’s office to the detriment of justice. And both actions seem to be allowed and rewarded.
But is it really that bad? I mean, crooks going to jail, and deservedly so, is a good thing, right?. The Sixth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States reads:
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.
So, yes. It really is that bad. Anything that violates the Constitutional rights of any citizen of the United States is bad, very bad. Perhaps today it is a serial murderer but tomorrow it could just as easily be you or I. Once we lose our freedoms granted to us by the Constitution of the United States, America no longer exists. And that why what is happening in San Bernardino County’s justice system is so troubling. Literally, we are watching those who have committed no crime be prosecuted with malice. And those who are trying to defend any who have been charged, punished for doing their jobs. Continue reading
(Click image to enlarge)
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San Bernardino County Supervisor Paul Biane (Pictured) saw his campaign sign in a neighbors yard and called the Sheriff’s Department to “remove his property” from the yard.
You will notice the change made to the artwork.
Part of my ongoing series about the June election.
This election I encourage the voters of the 4th Supervisorial District of San Bernardino County to vote for Ron Wall for Supervisor. If you are tired of the status quo of incumbent Gary Ovitt, Ron Wall will be a refreshing choice to be your representative. Ron’s platform is very simple, bring forth ethnics reform, create an ethics commission and introduce campaign finance limits so campaigns would not be bought off by the usual developers in our county.
The residents of the fourth district need someone who is not part of the establishment in county politics so we can get someone who is not part of the system. We do need to throw the bums out so we can finally clean out San Bernardino County and make it better for the people. We need to bring forth integrity back to the Board of Supervisors so we can have a government we can be proud of. Continue reading
Yesterday we witnessed something at the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors session that we don’t see often. Subordinates of a sort spoke out against their administrator. Dr. John Steinmann, an orthopedic spine surgeon, and Dr. Keyvan Safdari, an anesthesiologist, both spoke of heavy handedness and retaliation by Arrowhead Regional Medical Center (ARMC) Medical Director, Dr. Dev Gnanadev.
Steinmann indicated to the members of the Board of Supervisors that patient care is suffering as a result of Gnanadev’s leadership. As we have discussed here repeatedly, retaliation is the name of the game at ARMC, a practice likely initiated and certainly promulgated by former County Administrative Officer Mark Uffer. And now we learn it is more true than we realized. Continue reading
I am circlating a petition to request that the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors remove Sheriff Rod Hoops from his position. The petition can be downloaded and printed on legal sized paper and need to be returned no later than May 22, 2010. Here is the .pdf file: Petition 1
I have dozens and dozens of businesses and plenty of citizens gathering signatures to present to the Board of Supervisors in one month. The only requirement is the person be a citizen of San Bernardino County. It doesn’t matter if they are a registered voter or not. I am also requesting the parents of the children in this County, to please ask your children to mail a letter to the Board of Supervisors requesting they dismiss Sheriff Rod Hoops from office for his utter failure to eliminate and disclose the corruption in the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department.
Continue reading
Yes, that is right. Today is National Pot Smokers Day. And as is the case with a couple of holidays each and every month our San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors has decided to celebrate it by being dark. Yep, in 2010 our Board of Supervisors is only meeting 27 out of 52 weeks.
So, we have to wonder exactly how each of board members is going to celebrate this holiday. Bong? Joint? Blunt? Who knows. But I do know that all the medical Cannabis supporters who frequent the public meetings to voice their concerns over the Board’s unwillingness to support the proposition passed by the voters will be happy to know that at least the Board is willing to offer a few hours of silence on their special day.
Well you didn’t listen to iePolitics when we told you that Mark Uffer is a liar and look what it has gotten you. And you didn’t listen to iePolitics when we told youMike Ramos is a liar. If any of you are living under a rock and don’t know about the affidavits, I suggest you ask another district. Although the information hasn’t been released to the general public yet, I know for sure it is on the Fifth Floor. And you all are going to look like complete fools for believing the only person who can lie as much as Adam Aleman. Continue reading
As written about earlier in the year, the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors has canceled almost half of its meetings for the year, opting to meet only 27 times in the entire 12 months of 2010. I still think that should only entitled them to .519 percent of their paychecks and benefits, but who am I to question their dedication to their jobs and the voting public, right? Continue reading
That’s right. Today is Teflon Day! I kid you not. Look it up for yourself.
I knew it had to be a special day. Why? Because the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors were too busy to bother to meet today to conduct the people’s business and I knew it had to be something really, really important to keep them away from that.
So, I hope everyone had a very good Teflon Day. Here’s to another “no stick” day tomorrow!
One thing is certain. San Bernardino County’s budget problem is far more severe than anyone ever imagined. Especially the employee unions.
Looking at their websites and the information being provided to their members it appears everyone is about to be blind-sided by more bad news.
The county is clearly going to want the unions to cancel all negotiated wage and benefit increases. Yes, I said “cancel” not “defer”. A cancellation would have delayed any significant layoffs. Not anymore. Expect both. Continue reading
Here we are in April and there still has been no budget workshop. Has no one noticed that July 3 is not far off (or is the beginning of the new fiscal year June 26?) Either way, umm . . . folks on the Fifth Floor, plans to overcome the horrific budget deficit need to be made kinda soon. What are you waiting for? Oh, you’re discovering new problems each and every day left behind by Mark Uffer and his band of magic makers? Well, it’s time to come clean.
San Bernardino County’s main strength over the past several years has been touted by it’s administrative team as being in the area of “financial management”.
Apparently this hasn’t been the case. The term “smoke and mirrors” may be more appropriate.
What has been described as one financial landmine blowing up after another is the current situation at the county’s Arrowhead Avenue Government Center. The situation seems to indicate the county’s Unrestricted “General Purpose Reserve” may have vanished into thin air. It would appear faulty budget practices and assumptions have not only made the proposal to cancel all employee raises for the foreseeable future problematic, now layoffs have become a rapidly developing reality.