San Bernardino County Sun (http://www.sbsun.com)

Bribery charge dismissed against Mark Kirk in Colonies corruption case

By Joe Nelson, The Sun

and Richard K. De Atley, The Press-Enterprise

Wednesday, July 5, 2017

A bribery charge in the San Bernardino County Colonies publiccorruption case was dismissed Wednesday against Mark Kirk, the one-time chief of staff for former county Supervisor Gary Ovitt in 2006when supervisors approved a $102 million settlement favorable to theland developer.

Judge Michael A. Smith tossed out a charge that alleged Kirk askedfor or received a bribe, agreeing with defense attorney Peter Scalisithat there was insufficient evidence to show corrupt intent on Kirk’spart when his political action committee, Alliance for EthicalGovernment, received a $100,000 contribution from Rancho

Cucamonga investor group/developer Colonies Partners LP in the months after the settlement vote was taken.

But during an afternoon hearing, Smith sustained charges of improper influence of a public official and conflictof interest, meaning those charges will remain before jurors in the trial, which is now in its seventh month oftestimony.

“Mr. Kirk was relieved that Judge Mike Smith found that there was no corrupt intent on the part of Mr. Kirk andthat Judge Smith dismissed the charge of bribery,” Scalisi said following Wednesday’s proceedings.

Smith will not be ruling on Scalisi’s request to dismiss a charge of aiding and abetting former county supervisorsPaul Biane and Bill Postmus in the misappropriation of public funds until Tuesday, when Scalisi returns fromPortland, where he has a federal case being heard.

As to Smith’s refusal to dismiss the other two charges against his client, Scalisi said he was reserving commentuntil Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Smith will oversee finalizing jury instructions and consider dismissal motions for the other threedefendants — Biane, Rancho Cucamonga developer and Colonies co-managing partner Jeff Burum, and formerassistant assessor Jim Erwin — on Thursday, Friday and Monday.

The motions to dismiss are routine after the prosecution rests its case, which it did last week. It allows the judgeto consider the strength of the case before it moves into defense presentation of witnesses, final arguments andjury deliberations.

The defense is scheduled to begin presenting its case to jurors on July 12.

Prosecutors from the District Attorney’s and state Attorney General’s offices are jointly prosecuting the case.They allege three county officials took $100,000 bribes, which were reported as campaign contributions, from

Burum to gain county Board of Supervisors’ approval for a $102 million court settlement over flood-controlwork at Colonies Partners’ 434-acre residential and commercial development in Upland.

All the defendants have denied any wrongdoing, saying the contributions, which were from Colonies Partners,were public donations to legal political action committees and were part of the Colonies’ attempts to mendfences after the contentious legal dispute. The contributions were available online for public review.

The prosecution’s case has depended primarily on circumstantial evidence and the testimony of Postmus, aformer county assessor, and his former assistant assessor, Adam Aleman, who both struck plea deals withprosecutors to cooperate and testify in exchange for lighter sentences.

Postmus was chairman of the Board of Supervisors when it approved the Colonies settlement 3-2 in November2006.

In making his arguments for Kirk on Wednesday, Scalisi asked Smith to dismiss all four charges against hisclient.

“We’re asking the court essentially to enter a judgment of acquittal ... for lack of sufficient evidence,” Scalisisaid as he began.

“I think the most compelling evidence ... would be the testimony of Gary Ovitt. I think we can all agree that Mr.Ovitt has a very distinguished political career” Scalisi said, adding that the former supervisor “Came across asan honest, forthright, good witness who just here to tell the truth, no matter who questioned him.”

“He would have normally been a defense witness,” Scalisi said of Ovitt, who was called by the prosecutors.

During his testimony in February, Ovitt said he had publicly supported reaching a settlement before voting on it,and that Kirk was merely in line with his thinking.

“He really didn’t give me any advice ... we really were at a point now where it was my decision to make,” Ovittsaid of his vote to settle the matter.

But on Wednesday, Deputy Attorney General Melissa Mandel reminded Smith that Kirk’s official duty was to“make an objective decision on appropriate factors”

While she did not dispute that Ovitt was always in favor of settling the Colonies case, “There’s Mr. Kirk’sinfluence — acts to insert himself into discussions of Colonies.”

Mandel said evidence showed Kirk was involved in meeting with Burum’s public relations team; communicatedregularly with Burum as Ovitt’s chief of staff; especially around the time of the settlement, and communicatedwith Postmus as well, when Postmus chairman of the Board of Supervisors. Kirk also told former CountyCounsel Ronald Reitz the Colonies litigation was a “political issue,” and used his influence as Ovitt’s chief ofstaff to influence others to lean toward settling the Colonies litigation, Mandel said.

Mandel also noted that after Ovitt was elected supervisor in 2004 and briefed on the Colonies litigation, Kirksent Ovitt an email urging him to persuade his colleagues on the Board of Supervisors to allow Kirk to sit in onColonies litigation talks during closed session meetings, Mandel said.

“And all those acts were to get the settlement done. It wasn’t just about influencing Mr. Ovitt,” Mandel said.

Scalisi said Ovitt, during his trial testimony, was “crystal clear” about his decision approving the Coloniessettlement was his own decision, and not Kirk’s. After attending an orientation on the Colonies litigation afterbeing elected supervisor, Ovitt was even more firmly in favor of settling the case, Scalisi said.

“Jeff Burum already knows he’s got Gary Ovitt’s vote,” Scalisi said. Therefore, there was no reason for Burumto bribe Kirk, he said, adding that the prosecutors had not presented any evidence to show Kirk “unduly

influenced Ovitt’s vote.”

URL: http://www.sbsun.com/general-news/20170705/bribery-charge-dismissed-against-mark-kirk-in-colonies-corruption-case

© 2017 San Bernardino County Sun (http://www.sbsun.com)

San Bernardino County Sun (http://www.sbsun.com)

Ontario airport allow Lyft, Uber service starting today — here’s how much it’ll cost

By Liset Márquez, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin

Wednesday, July 5, 2017

ONTARIO >> The Ontario International Airport Authority announceda deal Wednesday to allow Uber, Lyft and other ride-hailing servicesto pick up and drop off passengers at ONT.

In announcing the OIAA action, airport officials noted the first app-based providers to complete the permit process are Lyft Inc. and UberTechnologies Inc.

Lyft already began operating at ONT Wednesday, according to acompany spokesperson. Uber also was expected to begin offering theservice at ONT later in the day.

Up until Wednesday, ride-hailing companies were not part of the airport’s ground transportation policy.Previously, OIAA officials had said they would only give the green light after they ensure the setup would befair and equitable to other transportation services operating at the airport.

Under the terms and conditions of the new permit system, the ride-hailing services will pay a $3 per trip fee forpickups and drop-offs. That fee will be calculated in a passenger’s trip, the authority stated.

“While many (people) drive themselves or use existing taxi, limousine and shuttle services, market demand foronline, app-based services has increased in recent months,” OIAA Commissioner and San Bernardino County4th District Supervisor Curt Hagman said in a statement. “I am confident the permitting of this popular mode oftransportation will be well-received by airline passengers and enhance their travel experience.”

Ontario airport will designate areas near each passenger terminal and the USO lounge for pickups and drop-offs.

“This is important for us because it’s been the most often requested customer service that our passengers havemade,” interim CEO Mark Thorpe said Wednesday.

The authority said the fee will help staff recover costs to operate, administer and maintain the airport roadways.The fee is not unlike what other airports charge ride-hailing services. According to the staff report:

• Los Angeles International Airport charges $4 per trip for drop-off and pickup.

• At Burbank Hollywood Airport, drivers must wait for customers in a parking garage and pay a short-termparking fee that is a minimum of $3.

• John Wayne Airport passengers commuting via ride-hailing services pay a $2.25 fee per trip.

• In April, Long Beach Airport initiated a six-month pilot program in which ride-hailing companies pay $3 pertrip.

Limousines, town cars and charter buses — which are regulated by the California Public Utilities Commission— are required to make a $543 annual payment to the airport or a $12 per vehicle, per trip fee, the staff reportsaid.

Prior to the vote, Ted Weggeland, founder of the Raincross Corporate Group, which operates the RiversideConvention Center, told commissioners that the convention business in the Inland Empire was “at a distinctdisadvantage” by not allowing ride-hailing services into Ontario International Airport. Wednesday’s move nowputs the IE “on a level playing field with other regions, other convention and visitor bureaus,” he said.

In a statement, Lyft cheered the move that allows it to provide “affordable and reliable rides available forOntario International travelers. Lyft has become a preferred choice of ground transportation at airports across thecountry, and we look forward to serving passengers at ONT.”

URL: http://www.sbsun.com/business/20170705/ontario-airport-allow-lyft-uber-service-starting-today-heres-how-much-itll-cost

© 2017 San Bernardino County Sun (http://www.sbsun.com)

San Bernardino County Sun (http://www.sbsun.com)

Ontario airport losing its CEO — here’s why

By Liset Márquez, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin

Wednesday, July 5, 2017

ONTARIO >> Seven months into locals controlling OntarioInternational Airport, its CEO, Kelly Fredericks, is stepping down, itwas announced Wednesday.

Coming out of a closed-door session Wednesday morning, the OntarioInternational Airport Authority announced Fredericks’ departure iseffective immediately. Mark Thorpe, who was hired in August as chiefdevelopment officer, will serve as interim CEO.

In a statement, OIAA President Alan Wapner alluded to a conflictbetween Fredericks and the commission.

“Both the commissioners and Kelly acknowledge that their approaches to the direction and management ofOIAA differ and that it would be mutually beneficial to part ways as OIAA moves to the next phase of theairport’s development,” Wapner is quoted as saying.

Following a five-month search, the authority hired Fredericks away from the East Coast in January 2016.

The next month, the authority finalized the details of Fredericks’ five-year deal, giving him an annual salary of$398,500 — and bonuses which could have pushed it over $500,000 a year. He started in March 2016, leavinghis position of president and CEO of the Rhode Island Airport Corp., operator of T.F. Green Airport, acommercial airport serving Providence and the New England region.

When Fredericks arrived, the airport’s ownership was in transition, from Los Angeles World Airports to localhands, a deal that was finalized Nov. 2 when Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti pronounced: “There it is, take it.”

Terms of Wednesday’s separation agreement were not released. Commissioners declined comment during andafter Wednesday’s special meeting.

But there were some hints to issues between Fredericks and commissioners leading up to the announcement. OnJune 17, the authority held a special Saturday meeting, the second time commissioners met that week. At thatmeeting, the commissioners had only one item on the agenda, a closed session to discuss a performanceevaluation of Fredericks.

In addition, commissioners openly criticized their CEO on several occasions, including expressing frustrationfor being sent agenda packets for meetings without the proper staff reports attached.

At another meeting, Commissioner Lucy Dunn, president and CEO of the Orange County Business Council,chided Fredericks for not following the authority’s direction on how to proceed with selling a 147-acre propertydeemed surplus. Discussion on the item was put on hold.

The authority also postponed an April 27 vote on the facility’s master plan, after commissioners raised concernsabout a lack of financial details in the agreement.

At its last meeting, Fredericks asked for an extension to finish the 2017-18 operating budget, although Wapnerindicated at the meeting he didn’t think staff did anything wrong.

Since March, the authority has held seven meetings, with five being special meetings. In some cases,commissioners only had 24 hours to prepare.

At the end of Wednesday’s special meeting, Commissioner Curt Hagman noted the inconsistency and asked thata regular time and day be set for the monthly meetings.

An advocate for local control, Assemblyman Freddie Rodriguez, D-Chino, said by phone Wednesday he wassurprised by the change in leadership but didn’t think it would affect operations.

Rodriguez co-authored a 2015 bill to allow the city of Ontario to issue revenue bonds to finance the acquisitionof the struggling airport from Los Angeles World Airports.

“No matter what the direction is, they are always doing what’s best for the airport,” he said, adding he didn’tthink the turnover will slow the airport’s progression.

As an avid user of the airport, flying on a weekly basis to Sacramento, Rodriguez said Fredericks has madesubstantial changes in his 16 months with the authority.

“I don’t just see it in the black and white numbers, but I’ve seen an increase in folks using the airport that I’venever seen before,” he said.

In Fredericks’ time, Ontario’s airport and the OIAA made a number of changes, including:

• A deal with a Chinese charter company to fly into ONT

• More international flights from Mexican economy carrier Volaris

• A plan to bring new restaurants to the airport

• New parking prices and valet parking

• A push to woo JetBlue back

“On behalf of the OIAA, I commend Kelly for his leadership in successfully transitioning Ontario InternationalAirport to local control,” Wapner said in the statement. “During more than 16 months at the helm, Kelly and histeam made significant progress in furthering our mission to make ONT one of the most competitive, efficient,innovative and customer-friendly passenger, cargo and business airports in the United States.”

In the statement, Wapner said: “We thank Kelly for his service and wish him well in his future endeavors.”

URL: http://www.sbsun.com/business/20170705/ontario-airport-losing-its-ceo-heres-why

© 2017 San Bernardino County Sun (http://www.sbsun.com)

Statement by OIAA President Alan D. Wapner on KellyJ. Fredericks stepping down as CEO of ONTPosted: Wednesday, July 5, 2017 2:56 pm

ONTARIO, Calif. - July 5, 2017 - The following statement was issued today by Alan D. Wapner, Presidentof the Ontario International Airport Authority (OIAA), following a meeting of the OIAA Commission:

"Today (7/5/17), Kelly J. Fredericks stepped down as the Chief Executive Officer of the OntarioInternational Authority. Both the Commissioners and Kelly acknowledge that their approaches to thedirection and management of OIAA differ and that it would be mutually beneficial to part ways as OIAAmoves to the next phase of the airport's development.

"On behalf of the OIAA, I commend Kelly for his leadership in successfully transitioning OntarioInternational Airport to local control. During more than 16 months at the helm, Kelly and his team madesignificant progress in furthering our mission to make ONT one of the most competitive, efficient,innovative and customer-friendly passenger, cargo and business airports in the United States. The airport isa key economic engine for the Inland Empire and Southern California, and plays a critical role in meetingthe air transportation demands of one of the fastest-growing regions in the country. We thank Kelly for hisservice and wish him well in his future endeavors.

"In a related action, the Commission appointed Mark Thorpe, OIAA Chief Development Officer, as InterimCEO. Mark joined the OIAA in August 2016 with extensive experience in air service development at DallasFort Worth International Airport and at Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA). While at LAWA, before thetransfer of ONT, he was instrumental in attracting multiple airlines to begin service at Ontario."

San Bernardino County Sun (http://www.sbsun.com)

Fire burns 6 acres in Cajon Pass, jams 15 Freeway for miles

By Doug Saunders, The Sun

Wednesday, July 5, 2017

CAJON PASS >> Firefighters have stopped the forward progress of a fire in the Cajon Pass before it could getout of control, officials said Wednesday afternoon.

San Bernardino National Forest officials said the fire held at 4 and one half acres and freeway lanes began toreopen shortly after 5:30 p.m.

San Bernardino County Fire Department spokesman Eric Sherwin said the additional incoming second alarmresources were canceled shortly after 2 p.m.

Nonetheless, the Cleghorn fire snarled traffic for miles in both directions on the I-15.

The fire was reported shortly after 1:30 p.m. off the northbound side of the 15 south of the Cleghorn Road exitand began climbing a hillside, San Bernardino National Forest officials said in a tweet.

Hand crews could be seen on the hillside, working inside the red stripes of fire retardant dropped by aircraft tostop the blaze from spreading.

One northbound lane was closed because of the firefighting activity.

A Caltrans traffic map showed that, for hours, the northbound lanes were jammed all the way through the15/215 junction in Devore to the Sierra Avenue entrance in northern Fontana, while the southbound lanes werebacked up through Ranchero Road in Hesperia.

It’s been nearly a year since the horrific Blue Cut fire in the same area consumed thousands of acres of desertlast August. That blaze destroyed more than 300 structures, about a third of which were homes.

The cause of the Cleghorn Fire is under investigation.

The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Officials who are the lead agency investigating the cause of the Blue CutFire said they have no new developments in the case.

Anyone with information regarding the 2016 Blue Cut Fire is asked to call 909-387-8313 or through the WeTiparson hotline at 1-800-47-ARSON (27766).

URL: http://www.sbsun.com/general-news/20170705/fire-burns-6-acres-in-cajon-pass-jams-15-freeway-for-miles

© 2017 San Bernardino County Sun (http://www.sbsun.com)

San Bernardino County Sun (http://www.sbsun.com)

Illegal fireworks’ Inland toll: injuries, structure damage and thousands in fines

By Brian Rokos, The Press-Enterprise

Wednesday, July 5, 2017

Illegal use of fireworks and explosives kept some Inland fire andpolice departments and emergency rooms busy on the 4th of Julydespite officials’ safety campaigns that included threats of heavy finesand enforcement operations that confiscated literally tons offireworks.

Authorities responded to hundreds of reports of illegal fireworks andwrote scores of citations — 62 in Riverside alone.

Firefighters also rushed to blazes on hillsides, in homes and atcommercial buildings; the largest, in the Lake Mathews area, charred about 200 acres, while another in JurupaValley burned a barn and killed dozens of chickens and lambs as well as two dogs. Some of those fires wereimmediately attributed to fireworks, including one that damaged a 115-year-old house in Corona, while thecauses of most remain under investigation. One in the San Bernardino Mountains was started by a car fire.

In the most serious injury reported, an 8-year-old boy had one hand blown off and surgeons were trying to savehis other hand after four boys in San Bernardino lit what one of them described as a “bomb.” Two of the threeother boys also were hospitalized.

The stepfather of one of the boys could face child-endangerment charges, police said.

“In regard to the number of fires and injuries directly related to fireworks, this was one of the more destructiveyears in recent memory,” said Eric Sherwin, a spokesman for the San Bernardino County Fire Department.

Fire officials say their safety message is being heard but not acted upon enough.

The 62 citations at $1,000 a pop in Riverside came despite a public relations push from the city urging residentsnot to set off fireworks, all of which are illegal in Riverside without a permit. Police confiscated 150 pounds offireworks Tuesday.

“Most of the people who were cited knew about the PR push, so we knew that the message is getting out there,”Railsback said. “I think we still have people who are not going to adhere to the message, but I believe that a lotdid.”

San Bernardino County firefighters responded to 53 vegetation fires between 4 and 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sherwinsaid, some of which were sparked by fireworks. He said medics treated people — mostly children — for burnsand hand and eye injuries. In some instances, Sherwin said, there was not proper supervision.

“We are fortunate that we had hundreds of thousands of people that enjoyed the Fourth of July responsiblywithout accidents taking place. Our message is being heard. I wish it was understood and respected by a muchlarger audience,” Sherwin said.

Sherwin reminded residents that the safest way to enjoy fireworks is to go see a public show.

In Rialto — where firefighters responded to 21 vegetation fires, three structure fires and two injury calls thatwere reported as being related to fireworks — Fire Chief Sean Grayson was asked if he thought the safetywarnings were being ignored.

“I think that we’ve had a slow decline in illegal fireworks use and a marked increased in citations andconfiscations, which we count as a good thing. We strive every year to make it incrementally better,” he said.

Brush, barn, other buildings burn

Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department firefighters, whose jurisdiction includes the county’s unincorporatedland and 22 cities without their own fire departments, responded to 69 fires Tuesday, according to a newsrelease.

Three of the fires were commercial structure fires, eight were residential structure fires, 22 were wildland firesand 36 were other fires, including debris fires, the news release said.

Spokeswoman Tawny Cabral said that, although officials don’t yet know how many of the incidents werefireworks-related, responding to fireworks-related calls took up a large chunk of firefighters’ time.

Officials did blame fireworks for a 9-acre fire in Winchester.

The cause was undetermined for a brush fire that started about 3:20 p.m. near Van Buren Boulevard and JurupaRoad in Jurupa Valley. A barn-type structure quickly caught fire, and Cal Fire said 30 chickens, 23 lambs andtwo dogs were killed.

The Jurupa fire burned 40 acres and was 75 percent contained by Wednesday evening.

A fire reported about 5 p.m. Tuesday on Tin Mine Road near La Sierra Avenue in the Lake Mathews area grewto 205 acres — though earlier Wednesday, it was estimated at 390 acres — and is 100 percent contained. Nostructures were threatened. The cause of that blaze, dubbed the Eagle fire, also remains under investigation.

A house fire in Jurupa Valley caused $1.4 million in damage and sent two firefighters to the hospital withundisclosed but non-life-threatening injuries, fire officials said. The fire was contained to the second story, butbecause of extensive smoke and water damage, the home was deemed a total loss.

More citations

Riverside wrote more than three times as many citations Tuesday as it did in on Independence Day in 2016.

Railsback attributed the increase to a change in policy. In the past, only the Fire Department was able to issuecitations for illegal fireworks. This year, fireworks citations were considered “administrative citations,” or aviolation of a city ordinance. That allowed police to issue citations and also raised the fine from $500 to $1,000.

Firefighters and police worked together during the enforcement period, Railsback said. Police helicoptersscanned the city for fireworks.

In Corona, police and firefighters issued more than $13,000 in fines Saturday through Wednesday, and blamedillegal fireworks for one structure fire and multiple vegetation fires in recent days.

In one fire, a bottle rocket lit up a palm tree, and embers dropped onto the roof of a historic 115-year-old house.

“It’s unfortunate that some of our residents don’t consider the negative impact on our community when theycommit these types of crimes,” Fire Marshal Cindi Schmitz said in a news release.

In San Bernardino, where all fireworks are illegal in most parts of the city, police seized nearly 7,000 pounds ofillegal fireworks -- 3,000 on the evening of the Fourth alone -- and issued 130 citations in an enforcement effort.

‘Better than some years’

In Rialto, none of the Rialto house fires was serious enough to displace residents, Grayson said. The fireworksinjuries were simply burns.

“For Rialto, it was much better than some years, but it was still a high fire volume, unfortunately,” Grayson said.

Grayson said the fire and police departments wrote some citations for possession of fireworks, but he didn’tknow how many.

The Redlands Fire Department wrote 11 citations with $6,000 in fines, city spokesman Carl Baker said. Therewere more reports of illegal fireworks than that, but officials had to witness the violation in order to write acitation, Baker said.

“As you can imagine, people stop or run away when we are in the area,” Baker said.

There was one fire in Redlands; details were not immediately available.

Upland interim Fire Chief Dave Corbin said firefighters did not respond to any fireworks-related fires orinjuries. Police Lt. Marcello Blanco said officers “responded to numerous reports of fireworks seen or beingshot off.”

Blanco said he did not believe that any citations were written.

Hemet Fire Department Battalion Chief Jamie Majchrzak said no brush fires, structure fires or fireworks-relatedinjuries were reported in the city Tuesday. Firefighters had a presence throughout the city, in case they wereneeded.

Non-fireworks fires

A car fire sparked the Silver fire near Silverwood Lake State Recreation Area in the mountains off Highway 138on Tuesday afternoon, officials said. Hundreds of Fourth of July visitors were forced to evacuate.

That fire burned 13 acres and was 60 percent contained by Wednesday evening.

In Pomona, the Golden Ox restaurant burned Tuesday, with flames seen shooting out from the hood above thecooking area, the Los Angeles County Fire Department said.

Staff writers Ali Tadayon and Beatriz E. Valenzuela contributed to this report.

URL: http://www.sbsun.com/lifestyle/20170705/illegal-fireworks-inland-toll-injuries-structure-damage-and-thousands-in-fines

© 2017 San Bernardino County Sun (http://www.sbsun.com)

7/5/2017 Fulfilling promise, Adelanto boosts fire protection services

http://www.vvdailypress.com/news/20170705/fulfilling-promise-adelanto-boosts-fire-protection-services 1/2

By Shea Johnson Staff Writer

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Posted at 9:32 AMUpdated at 9:32 AM

The addition of a second engine will allow County Fire to managethe call load in the city, about 6,000 each year.

ADELANTO — City officials fulfilled a promise to increase fire protection services, backed bya proposed budget that calls for operating a three-person second engine in the city for the firsttime since 2013.

As of Saturday, an additional San Bernardino County Fire captain, engineer and firefighterparamedic “will augment existing staff and operate out of Station 322 on Rancho Road,”officials said in a statement. It doubles the amount of current staff.

“Our Council told the residents that public safety is a top priority,” Mayor Rich Kerr said in astatement, “and since our fiscal status has improved, this action shows us living up to thispriority.”

For months, talks from the dais about bolstering fire services had ramped up. In February,officials publicly hinted that fire protection would be among the first budget line items toreceive attention as soon as a surplus began to flow.

Then on June 28, the Council approved a proposed draft spending plan for fiscal year 2017-18that projected $17.2 million in revenue, up from the estimated $13.7 million collected a yearbefore — a sizeable increase for Adelanto, ushered by the early returns of its commercialcannabis industry.

The draft plan suggests nearly $10.7 million in public safety costs, including police, and anearlier city staff report showed the city’s new contract with County Fire would cost $4.15million after it spent $2.24 million last fiscal year.

The budget does project a nearly $450,000 deficit as costs rise, but it’s possible that it will flipfrom red to black by the time the Council officially adopts the budget July 12.

Ful�lling promise, Adelanto boosts �re protectionservices

7/5/2017 Fulfilling promise, Adelanto boosts fire protection services

http://www.vvdailypress.com/news/20170705/fulfilling-promise-adelanto-boosts-fire-protection-services 2/2

After not being used for four years, the second engine has been maintained and used as a back-up in situations when the main engine was out for repairs. Necessary fire and medicalequipment upgrades are expected to cost roughly $30,000.

“But that figure pales in comparison when you consider the cost for a new Type 1 engine isabout $720,000,” Kerr added.

The addition of a second engine, meanwhile, will allow County Fire to manage the call load inthe city, about 6,000 each year, which has far exceeded the capability of a single engine taskedto cover 50-plus square miles and serve more than 30,000 residents, according to Dan Mejia,assistant fire chief for County Fire.

″...(B)y increasing the staff 100 percent and adding an additional engine,” he said in astatement, ”(it) will reduce response times and residents won’t have to wait for help to arrivefrom a neighboring city if assistance was needed.”

Shea Johnson can be reached at 760-955-5368 or SJohnson@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on Twitter

at @DP_Shea.

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By DOUG SAUNDERS | dsaunders@scng.com | The Press-EnterprisePUBLISHED: July 6, 2017 at 6:34 am | UPDATED: July 6, 2017 at 7:38 am

Mother accused of leaving 4 children in car in 101 degree temps in Victorville

A Los Angeles woman suspected of leaving four young children in a car in

extreme temperatures was jailed Wednesday.

LOCAL NEWS

Mother accused of leaving 4children in car in 101 degreetemps in Victorville

Danessha Janee Williams, 28, was booked into the High Desert Detention Center

in Adelanto for suspicion of child cruelty. She’s being held in lieu of $100,000 bail.

Shortly before 12:30 p.m. deputies were called to the 15400 block of Vallejo Street

for a report of children in a car. According to authorities the children — one 3-

year-old girl, two 2-year-old girls and a 1-year-old boy — had been in the car

unsupervised with the engine off and the windows rolled up for about 30

minutes.

“The children were in the back seat and no car seats were located in the vehicle,”

of�cials said in a written statement.

ADVERTISING

Williams tried to drive the car away but was quickly detained.

The children were medically evaluated by �re�ghters and released to the custody

of a family member.

Anyone with information is asked to call sheriff’s of�cials at 760-241-2911.

Doug Saunders

Doug has covered crime and public safety in the Inland Empire

Tags:  Echo Code, investigation, Top Stories PE

By Shea Johnson Staff Writer

Follow

Posted Jul 5, 2017 at 4:24 PMUpdated at 8:15 AM

“In the climate we have today with some violent crimeson the rise, we are suspending the program indefinitely,”Victorville Sheriff’s Capt. Jon Schuler wrote toCouncilwoman Blanca Gomez.

VICTORVILLE — The city Sheriff’s Station’s “Coffee with a Cop” program isover, really before it even started. After a soft launch last month, spokeswomanMara Rodriguez confirmed Wednesday, “at this time it has been decided tosuspend the program indefinitely.”

This particular partnership between the San Bernardino County Sheriff’sDepartment and the city was urged by Councilwoman Blanca Gomez, followingsimilar programs in other cities, to draw into conversation members of lawenforcement and the community, and to do so in an informal setting.

In an email to Gomez, Sheriff’s Capt. Jon Schuler, who leads the VictorvilleStation, acknowledged that the first event at Starbucks on Roy Rogers Drive“went fairly well.”

But Schuler also emphasized the rationale for halting the program, includingnoting that the majority of attendees had been members of an Old Townrevitalization coalition and that “the topics of discussion or concerns were itemson the table being worked on and noted.”

For start-up Victorville community program,end is result of precious police resources

Additionally, Schuler worried that “Coffee with a Cop” could put a strain onSheriff’s resources, describing his view of a public perception that the eventcycles deputies out of patrol and reduces presence and response times in the city.

“In the climate we have today with some violent crimes on the rise, we aresuspending the program indefinitely,” Schuler wrote to Gomez. “We have ahealthy partnership with the citizens of Victorville and will continue in ourefforts to maintain their trust, and use our resources wisely.”

For Gomez, the cancellation is a step backward for community engagement andshe suggested that an early Monday scheduling likely impacted the ability formore than roughly a dozen people to attend, addressing one of Schuler’s points.

Gomez also said that a single deputy’s appearance would suffice to keep theprogram meaningful, rejecting the premise that a handful of deputies would beneeded to participate.

Ultimately, she concluded that the push to initiate “Coffee with a Cop” was aresponse to community concerns, adding that she had expected it to withergiven her long-held claim that the majority Council has routinely sought tomuzzle her efforts as she has skirted political conventions.

The narrative has been denied by her colleagues.

“The next four years, anything I bring up is probably going to be shut down,unless I can tell someone (on the Council) ‘OK, you bring it up,’” she said, addingthat the only recourse now for the community is to be outspoken about “Coffeewith a Cop” if it’s important to them.

Shea Johnson can be reached at 760-955-5368 or SJohnson@VVDailyPress.com. Follow

him on Twitter at @DP_Shea.

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Inland Valley Daily Bulletin (http://www.dailybulletin.com)

Who’s moving into the new building at Montclair Place

By Neil Nisperos, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin

Wednesday, July 5, 2017

MONTCLAIR >> Efforts to boost visitor traffic at the Montclair Placeshopping mall got a big push forward with the recent PlanningCommission approval of a new 12-theater multiplex, an 18-lanebowling alley and three new restaurants on the east side of the mall.

The two-story, 144,354-square-foot entertainment and dining area isplanned to replace the old Broadway department store just east of theBarnes & Noble store, facing the 10 Freeway.

The 71,000-square-foot multiplex, which is expected to include at least one IMAX theater and a full bar andlounge, will be located on the second floor, officials said.

City officials say Los Angeles-based property management company CIM, which owns the mall, has not set atime line for the demolition of the Broadway building. CIM officials could not be immediately reached forcomment.

“I believe it will have a big impact on traffic at the (Montclair Place) during both weekdays and weekends,” CityManager Ed Starr said. “The focus for any mall has to turn into an experiential environment and that is what thisis targeting, not only looking at theaters, which is common at malls, but it will have other things, like restaurantsand the introduction of a bowling alley.”

Officials have yet to announce the name of the incoming theater company, but Starr said a deal has been signed.

The 45,000-square-foot bowling alley will be located on the first floor of the new building, Starr said. The threenew sit-down restaurants will also be on the first floor.

“Assuming this all goes forward, this is great news for Montclair Place, because the mall is in desperate need ofnew life and excitement, so the decision to make a significant capital improvement with restaurant andentertainment uses at the east end of the mall is a great step toward the revitalization of the mall,” said BradUmansky, president of the Rancho Cucamonga-based commercial real estate firm Progressive Real EstatePartners.

CIM, Starr said, indicated to the city it would not be able to open the new building by late 2018, but he addedthat the project could be completed by then if demolition and construction begin “now rather than later.”Construction of the bowling alley, restaurant and movie multiplex would likely take place concurrently, for aconstruction time frame of about 1 1/2 years after demolition, he said.

Starr said two stand-alone restaurants are also planned to be built between the area of the old Broadway buildingand Central Avenue east of the mall.

Longtime Montclair Councilman Bill Ruh said the city has been without an indoor movie theater for at least 20years and remembers Montclair Cinemas — two buildings which housed eight theaters — southwest of the mall

property in the ’70s and ’80s. The theaters near the mall were closed by 2000.

A prominent Southern California outdoor drive-in, called the Valley Drive-In, operated from 1948 to 1980 onCentral Avenue and Holt Boulevard. The drive-in featured the world’s largest neon mural, according to thewebsite of local humorist and author Charles Phoenix, who grew up in Ontario.

Another theater business called the Montclair Triplex was located on Holt Boulevard and Monte Vista Avenue,and one called Montclair 6 was located on Central Avenue and San Bernardino Road.

Montclair does have an outdoor theater. The Mission Tiki Drive-In Theatre and Swap Meet currently operates at10798 Ramona Ave.

Montclair is also home to the oldest surviving bowling alley in the Inland Empire, the Bowlium, which openedin 1958 at 4666 Holt Blvd.

“It will be a boost because now (the mall is) going to have the draw and there will be people who will be goingto the movies and the bowling alley, and they’ll go in and shop,” Ruh said.

The new project, Ruh said, would be the most significant change the mall has seen in many years.

“It certainly signifies a new direction for Montclair Place because the emphasis is on entertainment, which iswhat people really want,” Ruh said. “For a long time, we didn’t have a movie theater in Montclair like we didyears ago, but we will again.”

The entertainment and dining area project comes after mall management moved the food court to the centralarea of the mall’s second floor this summer, branding it as the Moreno St. Market food hall. CIM has alsointroduced a public art program with murals visible throughout the Montclair Place property in an effort togenerate more visitor traffic.

URL: http://www.dailybulletin.com/business/20170705/whos-moving-into-the-new-building-at-montclair-place

© 2017 Inland Valley Daily Bulletin (http://www.dailybulletin.com)

SBIAA approved 2017-18 following year of markedgrowthBy Hector Hernandez Jr. | Posted: Wednesday, July 5, 2017 3:42 pm

The San Bernardino International Airport Authority (SBIAA) Commission, following a review of theairports development projects and significantly increased airport activity in the 2016-17 fiscal year,approved a $61,628,173 budget for 2017-18, during its June 28 meeting.

The budget, presented to the SBIAA commission by Director of Finance William Garay, projected$52,849,079 in fund uses. These include $18,065,558 in the General Fund, $8.059,630 for propertymanagement, $18,348,134 for capital projects and $2,799,387 for fixed base operations (FBO).

The new budget follows a fiscal year that saw a second year of strong increases in activity throughout theairport's various operations, as reported by Executive Director Michael Burrows.

Annual airport operations totaled 47,780 in 2016, up from 40,217 in 2015 and 29, 344 in 2014. Airportoperations through May 2017 at at 23,145 with an increase of annual operations of 29 percent over 2016 for2017.

Lease revenues through May 2017 are at $5,315,611, up 46 percent, and landing, fuel and airport chargesare at $433,207, up 48 percent.

Annual air taxi (corporate jet) operations increased to 4,706 in 2016, up from 1,922 in 2015 and 532 in2014.

The number of flights clearing U.S. customs is at 92 in May 2017, almost twice last year's activity, Burrowsadded. FBO ramp activity is also up averaging 435 a month since January.

The increases were attributed to increased visibility within the aviation industry following increasedmarketing efforts and the completion of several capital projects including the new Sheriff's Aviation facility,phase 3 of the general aviation infrastructure improvements and a flight school. The airport is now also thehome of five aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (MROs) companies.

The commission also approved a new contract for Burrows to continue as executive director for bothSBIAA and the Inland Valley Development Agency, as an annual salary of $246,750, 50 percent of which tobe paid by IVDA.

San Bernardino County Sun (http://www.sbsun.com)

Heat wave has Southern California in its grip

By City News Service

Thursday, July 6, 2017

LOS ANGELES — The Southland slipped into the grips of anotherheat wave today, with Los Angeles County temperatures forecast toreach triple- digit territory in several communities and to be evenhigher Friday and over the coming days.

National Weather Service forecasters said the high heat that willplague the region for the next several days is the result of an upper-level high- pressure system parked over parts of the southwesternUnited States.

“Very warm overnight temperatures are also expected during this heatwave, increasing the possibility of heat stress. The warmest overnight lows will be in the foothills and lowermountain areas where lows in the mid-70s to mid 80s will be common,” according to an NWS statement.

“It is still too early to predict just how long this heat wave will last. However, the mountains and deserts willremain well above normal through Sunday and possibly into early next week.”

A heat advisory will be in force until 9 a.m. Friday in the San Gabriel Mountains, the Santa Monica MountainsRecreational Area and the San Fernando and San Gabriel valleys, immediately followed by a more seriousexcessive heat warning scheduled to last until 9 p.m. Saturday. The excessive heat warning will be in effect inthe Antelope Valley at the same time.

“The very high temperatures will create a dangerous situation in which there is an increased threat of heatrelated illnesses. The extended heat wave will also bring elevated fire weather conditions through the weekend,”the statement said.

Forecasters urged Southland residents to protect themselves and their loved ones from what will be oppressiveheat. People who work outside should schedule strenuous activity for early morning and evening hours, wearloose- fitting clothing, drink lots of water and take frequent breaks.

Residents are also urged to check on relatives and neighbors and never, ever leave kids, seniors or pets in aparked car, even with the windows cracked open, because a vehicle’s interior can quickly reach lethal levels inthe heat.

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health issued similar recommendations and also urged peopleliving without air conditioning to take advantage of cooling centers, shopping malls and libraries to stay cool. Alist of cooling centers is available online at www.publichealth.lacounty.gov or by calling 211.

The NWS forecast sunny skies in Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties today and highs of 77 at LAX andin Torrance; 79 in San Pedro; 83 in Big Bear; 86 in Avalon; 87 in Downtown L.A. and Long Beach; 94 in SanGabriel and Whittier; 95 in Pasadena and on Mount Wilson; 96 in Burbank and North Hollywood; 97 in Van

Nuys; 98 in West Covina and Rancho Cucamonga; 99 in Ontario; 100 in Redlands; 103 in Santa Clarita,Northridge and San Bernardino; 104 in Woodland Hills; 106 in Palmdale; and 108 in Lancaster.

Temperatures will rise only marginally in the Antelope Valley Friday but climb substantially in othercommunities. Downtown, for instance, will go from 87 today to 96 Friday, Pasadena from 95 to 102, SanGabriel from 94 to 104, Woodland Hills from 104 to 110, and Saugus from 103 to 108.

Sunny skies were also forecast in Orange County today, along with highs of 73 in Laguna Beach and SanClemente; 74 in Newport Beach; 89 in Irvine; 91 in Mission Viejo; 92 in Anaheim. 94 in Yorba Linda; and 95 inFullerton. Orange County temperatures will also be higher Friday, when Fullerton will hit 100 and Yorba Linda101.

URL: http://www.sbsun.com/general-news/20170706/heat-wave-has-southern-california-in-its-grip

© 2017 San Bernardino County Sun (http://www.sbsun.com)

S

Op-Ed It's magical legal thinking to say Trumpcan't reverse Obama's national monuments

By Todd Gaziano and John Yoo

JULY 6, 2017, 4:00 AM

uppose President Trump declared much of California, Nevada and Oregon — states that just

happened to vote against him — off-limits to economic development and recreational use. Suppose he

barred all mining, grazing, agriculture and even camping from these states’ federal lands (roughly

46% of California, 85% of Nevada and 53% of Oregon) under a law to preserve national monuments of scientific

and historical interest.

According to some environmentalists and legal scholars, we would have to live with this result. They believe a

president can permanently designate federal land as a monument and restrict its uses — even if we’re talking

about millions of acres (138 million acres in the example above), far removed from any real historical or

scientific significance, and over the objections of the states involved.

The northernmost boundary of the proposed Bears Ears region in Utah on May 23, 2016. President Donald Trump signed an executiveorder on April 26 directing his interior secretary to review the designation of dozens of national monuments on federal lands. (FranciscoKjolseth / Associated Press)

But a presidential power to create permanent national monuments flies in the face of the plain text of federal

law, the conventional relationship between presidents and Congress and historical understandings of executive

power. Trump has the right to reverse the national monuments created by previous presidents without an act of

Congress, but by the same token, the Constitution creates a check by allowing future presidents to reverse

Trump too.

In late April, Trump announced a plan to reconsider the size of recently designated national monuments,

principally those that withdrew vast amounts of land in the West and in the oceans near Hawaii and New

England from some forms of economic development. His orders sparked a firestorm of criticism from

environmentalists and sympathetic public officials, who have argued in these pages that Trump cannot undo a

national monument once declared by a past president.

The power to create national monuments derives from the Antiquities Act of 1906. It’s a broad presidential

power, although monuments must be limited to the smallest area necessary to preserve landmarks and other

objects of interest. Like many federal laws, the Antiquities Act delegates authority to the executive branch but

does not address how to undo the use of the power. Those who defend permanent, unchangeable national

monuments argue that the act’s silence on reversal means reversal is impossible. But there is no reason to

believe that the Antiquities Act can uniquely evade the fundamental principles that apply throughout our

government and laws.

Almost every grant of power, by Constitution or statute, implicitly also includes the power of reversal. Congress

has no express authority in the Constitution to repeal a law, but it does so by passing new laws. The Supreme

Court doesn’t have express authority to overrule a past precedent, but it does so in a later decision. As the

federal courts have recognized, the president can fire Cabinet officers or abrogate treaties (both of which

require Senate advice and consent), even though the Constitution doesn’t mention it. No Congress, Supreme

Court or president can bind their successors from using their branch’s constitutional powers.

The courts have applied the same legal principle of reversal when Congress delegates lawmaking power to the

executive branch, as in the Antiquities Act. For example, agencies granted authority to issue regulations also

can revoke or modify them, and presidents often repeal executive orders, many of which are based on statutory

powers. The courts have never held that the underlying statutory authority once used cannot be revoked.

Indeed, those who claim that the Antiquities Act does not grant a reversal power cannot find a single case in

another area of federal law that supports that contention. To override the norm, legislators have to clearly limit

reversal powers in the original law; the plain text of the Antiquities Act includes no such limits.

“It’s simply unrealistic to pretend that acts created

by unilateral presidential decrees cannot beundone in the same manner.

Those who consider monument proclamations sacrosanct place most of their hopes in a cursory legal opinion

issued by U.S. Atty. Gen. Homer Cummings in 1938. No court has ever approved of the Cummings opinion. Our

research explains the many holes in its reasoning, including Cummings’ mistaken reliance on an 1862 attorney

general opinion that interpreted a different law, with utterly different facts, and, in any case, reached a

conclusion contrary to Cummings’ position.

In a letter to the Interior Department, California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra asserts that Trump cannot legally

revoke or reduce six national monuments in California. Besides his reliance on Cummings’ flawed opinion,

Becerra’s statutory citations don’t help his case. He primarily cites ambiguous comments made in House

committee deliberations related to the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976. But that is a separate

statute, on a different subject, that did not alter the text or plain meaning of the Antiquities Act. If that’s the

best that California officials have on their side in this debate, they should lose.

Californians and others who want to maintain national monuments without change should focus on the merits

of the designations rather than magical legal thinking. No president is likely to significantly disturb a national

monument that enjoys strong local support. The public comment period for land-based monuments, including

all those in California identified for review, is open until July 10. Comments on marine monuments under

review are due by July 26.

Prior presidents acted unilaterally to create or vastly expand several national monuments. It’s simply

unrealistic to pretend that acts created by unilateral presidential decrees cannot be undone in the same

manner.

Todd Gaziano is the executive director of the Pacific Legal Foundation’s D.C. Center and its senior fellow in

constitutional law. John Yoo is a law professor at UC Berkeley and a visiting scholar at the American

Enterprise Institute. They are the authors of an AEI paper on national monuments.

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook

Copyright © 2017, Los Angeles Times

This article is related to: Donald Trump, Xavier Becerra

By Brian McDonald / Contributed ContentPosted Jul 5, 2017 at 10:20 AMUpdated Jul 5, 2017 at 10:20 AM

On April 26, President Trump signed an executive order instructing theDepartment of the Interior to review the designation of more than two dozennational monuments.

This action immediately jeopardizes two California desert national monumentsdesignated in 2016: Sand to Snow and Mojave Trails. These remote and uniqueecosystems are the ancestral home to the Mojave, Chemehuevi, Cahuilla,Cocopah, Quechan and other desert peoples who have inhabited and stewardedthe lands since time immemorial.

These lands contain artifacts, rock art panels, sacred sites, and ancestral remains— all material representations of our peoples’ handprints and footprints acrossour California homeland. The extraordinary diversity of flora and fauna foundwithin these national monuments has been used by our ancestors for centuries,and continues to be accessed, for subsistence, medicine and the production ofclothing, housing and basketry.

What’s more, the area remains a pristine desert landscape. The dark night sky inthe Mojave Desert is a stunning sight abundant with stars, bright planets and thewide dusty ribbon of the Milky Way. The desert also provides endlessopportunities for recreation, ranging from camping and hiking to 4x4 touringand stargazing.

It is a habitat considered critical for the survival of the endangered deserttortoise. Over the past century, desert tortoises have been decimated by habitatloss, trampling, shootings, vehicle strikes, disease, collecting, relocation effortsand predation by ravens, coyotes and dogs.

Make your voice heard on our desert nationalmonuments

The wide-ranging uses and priorities of stakeholders make it incumbent uponthe Interior Secretary and Department of Interior to conduct a thorough reviewto address the needs and concerns of these diverse communities, from tribalgovernments to conservationists to off-roaders.

The importance of conserving these monuments for the benefit of futuregenerations demands that we, as Californians, ensure our needs and concerns areheard.

Please join groups such as the Tribal Alliance of Sovereign Indian Nations(www.TASIN.org) to request that the Secretary maintain the existingdesignation and boundaries for the Sand to Snow and Mojave Trails NationalMonuments, and to extend the Department’s review period to allow sufficienttime to properly consult with all impacted stakeholders and evaluate the nationalmonuments in the thorough and deliberate manner they deserve. Thedeliberations that led to the designation of the 27 monuments under reviewcollectively took scores of years — it is not realistic to conduct an adequatereview in only 120 days.

In the case of Mojave Trails and Sand to Snow, several tribes weighed in tosupport the designations, as did thousands of other stakeholders includingelected officials, Latino leaders, business organizations and owners, veterans,clergy members, historians, archaeologists, scientists, artists and conservationorganizations. The record of support from these stakeholders is impressive andshould weigh heavily in any decision made by the Department of Interior aboutour California Desert monuments.

There are myriad ways to have your comments heard, but here is just one thatmight make sense: the Mojave Desert Land Trust has set up a page atwww.mdlt.org/desert-defenders to collect comments to submit to the

Department of the Interior.

The comment period ends Monday. Please make sure your voice on behalf ofprotecting our shared public lands is heard.

Brian McDonald is a member of the Chemehuevi Indian Tribe and Vice Chair for the

Tribal Alliance of Sovereign Indian Nations. He lives in La Quinta.

San Bernardino County Sun (http://www.sbsun.com)

Speak up to keep desert national monuments intact

By The Editorial Board, San Bernardino County Sun

Friday, June 30, 2017

The Inland Empire’s two new desert national monuments were worthyof the designation last year. They remain so today and should remainso long into the future.

But protections for Mojave Trails and Sand to Snow nationalmonuments are in jeopardy, with their monument designations underreview by the U.S. Interior Department.

If you want to speak up for some of California’s newest nationalmonuments, you have just over a week to do so.

July 10 is the final day that public comments will be accepted on the 27 national monuments whose designationsare being reviewed under President Trump’s April executive order. Six of the 27 are in California. Three,including part of San Gabriel Mountains National Monument, lie in the Inland Empire.

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke is conducting the unprecedented review to determine whether to shrink or de-listsome or all of the monuments.

Our view is that these tracts in the local desert and mountains are well-founded national monuments whosestatus should be maintained and whose acreage should remain intact. They harbor significant natural, historicaland cultural features worth protecting.

Conserving public lands for the use of all and, perhaps even more important, for the enjoyment of generations tocome has been part of our American heritage since the late 19th century.

And economically, these public lands work. A study released this month by Headwater Economics found thatthe local economies expanded following the designation of all 17 western national monuments studied. (Ourlocal monuments are too new to have been included, but California monuments Carrizo Plain and GiantSequoia, both being reviewed by Interior, were among those that boosted their local economies.)

And an Interior Department study found that together, Joshua Tree and Death Valley national parks and MojaveNational Preserve drew 4.3 million visitors to the California desert last year, contributing nearly $340 million tothe economy and supporting 3,690 jobs.

Submit your comment online at www.regulations.gov by entering “DOI-2017-0002” in the search bar andclicking “Search,” or by mail to Monument Review, MS-1530, U.S. Department of the Interior, 1849 C StreetNW, Washington, DC 20240; or at monumentsforall.org, which will pass comments along to Interior.

URL: http://www.sbsun.com/opinion/20170630/speak-up-to-keep-desert-national-monuments-intact

© 2017 San Bernardino County Sun (http://www.sbsun.com)

San Bernardino County Sun (http://www.sbsun.com)

With California housing prices surging, developers say they can’t build enough homes

Year-over-year prices rose 5.8 percent in May and L.A. County posted a bigger increase

By Kevin Smith, San Gabriel Valley Tribune

Wednesday, July 5, 2017

A new report Wednesday showed there’s no end in sight to risinghome prices in California, which jumped again over the last year.

The CoreLogic report revealed prices for single-family attached anddetached homes rose 5.8 percent between May 2016 and May 2017.Los Angeles County saw an even bigger bump of 6.4 percent, fallingslightly short of the nationwide increase of 6.6 percent.

A shortage of available homes drove the price hikes. Developersaren’t building enough to keep pace with the demand, and it’s only

going to get worse, said CoreLogic President and CEO Frank Martell.

The firm predicts that California will see a year-over-year price increase of 9.7 percent in May 2018. Residentsof the state will feel the effects of escalating housing prices, both good and bad, Martell said.

“For current homeowners the strong run-up in prices has boosted home equity, and in some cases, spending,”Martell said in a statement. “For renters and potential first-time homebuyers it is not such a pretty picture. Withprice appreciation and rental inflation outstripping income growth, affordability is destined to become a biggerissue in most markets.”

Earlier CoreLogic figures from May show that individual cities throughout Southern California have seen farbigger price hikes.

In Canyon Country, for example, the median price in May for an existing single-family home was $609,000, up20.6 percent from a year earlier. The 91201 ZIP code of Glendale likewise saw an 18.9 percent annual increase.The 91605 portion of North Hollywood rose 15.1 percent to $535,000.

Hawthorne’s median home price rose 18.2 percent during the same period to $579,000.

Further inland, the 91737 area of Rancho Cucamonga saw a 15.8 percent increase over the year, bringing itsmedian price for an existing, single-family home to $611,000.

The 92614 area of Irvine saw a 36.4 percent increase, bringing its median price up to $970,000.

Bill Holman, vice president of land development for Christopher Homes and for Rosedale Land Partners, themaster developer of the 1,250-home Rosedale community in Azusa, said builders are caught in a regulatorybind.

“It takes so long to bring lots to market in the current regulatory environment,” he said. “And you don’t have alot of available land where you can generate new lots, so you’re faced with the more challenging role ofrecycling older lots for reuse. As you look city to city, you see they have some older warehouse uses and officebuildings that are looking tired and old.”

Those, he said, can often be revamped into new in-fill housing communities.

“Fountain Valley is going through a specific plan to re-energize some of their older warehouse properties to getsome new, mixed-use residential development,” Holman said. “There’s really no farmland left unless you’re inIrvine.”

Brookfield Residential is currently building single-family luxury homes in Rosedale that are priced from the mid$1 million range, and Tri Point Homes is building luxury units in the $800,000 to $900,000 range.

“There are about 150 homes left to be built in Rosedale,” Holman said. “They should be completed in 18 to 24months.”

Robert Smith, a Realtor with Keller Williams Realty in Valencia, said prices are continuing to rise in the SantaClarita Valley.

“We could always use more homes and that has definitely contributed to prices being strong,” he said. “Pricesare going up slowly month over month.”

Smith expects that to continue as long as the inventory of available homes remains tight.

“Buyer demand has increased from people moving in from out of the area including the San Fernando Valley,”he said. “Demand for move-up homes is strong.”

The shortage of homes has fueled construction of more apartments. A recent report from RENTCafe.com showsthat downtown Los Angeles added the second highest number of new apartments in the nation between 2010and 2016.

That equated to 7,551 units that are dispersed among 35 apartment buildings. They now account for 63 percentof the total units in the city’s inner core, according to the nationwide apartment search website.

URL: http://www.sbsun.com/business/20170705/with-california-housing-prices-surging-developers-say-they-cant-build-enough-homes

© 2017 San Bernardino County Sun (http://www.sbsun.com)

By MARK MUCKENFUSS | mmuckenfuss@scng.com | The Press-EnterprisePUBLISHED: July 6, 2017 at 5:00 am | UPDATED: July 6, 2017 at 7:32 am

UCR associate professor Robert Allen of Riverside has published a study withpredictions suggesting California’s climate may actually become 12 percent wetterbetween now and the end of the century in Riverside, CA. Wednesday, July 5, 2017.TERRY PIERSON,THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE/SCNG

NEWS

Here’s why a UC Riversideclimate researcher says toexpect more rain in California

UC Riverside climate researcher Robert Allen says California should get ready for

more rain.

Unlike other recent work in the �eld, Allen has just published a study that says

rainfall in the state will increase in the coming years if the planet continues to

warm at its current pace.

Allen, 42, is a professor of earth sciences and has been studying climate issues for

two decades. He came to UCR six years ago. His study projects that by 2100,

precipitation in California will rise 12 percent.

But Southern California rainfall won’t change much. In fact, the models predict it

will drop slightly, but the increases in the rest of the state may be more than 15

percent higher than current averages. In the winter months, those percentages go

up nearly 40 percent.

So, does that mean residents of the state can forget about conserving water and

go ahead and dig the hole for that new swimming pool? Not exactly.

Allen says the past few years, where a severe drought was followed by near-record

rain and snow, is likely the type of climate swing we can expect as we head

through the century.

“The average (rainfall) is the average,” Allen said, “but the standard deviation is

quite high. The standard deviation will increase.

“My study shows an increase in mean precipitation,” he added, “but you could

also see an increase in drought. When it does rain, it rains a lot.”

The study appears online today in the journal Nature Communications. Allen

worked with graduate student Rainer Luptowitz on the NASA-funded project.

Past studies have typically predicted a decrease in rainfall in California as global

temperatures rise — although many studies have indicated such factors are

dif�cult to assess.

Allen said it’s generally accepted that tropical areas will become wetter, as will

regions at higher latitudes. Subtropical climates will become drier. California

includes both subtropical and higher latitude regions.

“Precipitation is a much more dif�cult parameter (than temperature) to project

into the future,” he said.

By RICHARD HILLER |

AP Photo/Rich PedroncelliSenate President Pro tem Kevin de Leon, D-Los Angeles, accompanied by stateTreasurer John Chiang, right, says he will move forward with his plan to automaticallyenroll private-sector workers in state run retirement plans, during a news conference,Thursday, May 18, 2017, in Sacramento, Calif.

OPINION

Moving toward a betterretirement system forgovernment and private-sectorworkers

By RICHARD HILLER |

July 5, 2017 at 12:02 am

California’s plan to automatically enroll private-sector workers who don’t have

retirement plans into a state-run savings account, the Secure Choice plan, was

signed by Gov. Jerry Brown last year. It’s a state-mandated (but not state-funded)

program that requires private-sector employers who do not offer employer-

sponsored retirement plans to automatically enroll their employees into

individual retirement plans. And there appears to be an emerging consensus

around the optimal Secure Choice plan design — an individually controlled,

401(k)-style de�ned-contribution retirement plan structure that could mark the

dawn of a new day for responsible retirement planning.

Yvonne Walker, president of Service Employees International Union Local 1000,

the largest public-sector union in California, and chair of the SEIU Retirement

Security Committee, said, “Our members helped bring Secure Choice from

concept to reality, following through on our commitment to ensure every

Californian has access to a digni�ed retirement.”

Similarly, the California Teachers Association supported Secure Choice, noting,

“All Californians deserve to have a secure, adequate pension, which should be

provided by an employer. … If an employer does not offer pension bene�ts, an

employee should be given an option to invest their own funds into a secure

retirement plan that is not controlled by Wall Street.”

The acknowledgment from key unions representing government workers that

these de�ned-contribution retirement plans are an appropriate means to

retirement success for millions of Americans is a big step forward, since labor

unions have historically supported employer-guaranteed, de�ned-bene�t pension

plans.

This is not to suggest that labor unions representing public-sector employees

have changed their focus of supporting traditional de�ned-bene�t pension plans,

which guarantee lifetime bene�ts for their members. That support certainly

continues, largely unchanged. But their acknowledgment of the reality that

different retirement plan designs can effectively achieve income replacement

objectives and set people up for retirement is important. The objective — a secure

future and standard of living during retirement years — not the design of the

retirement plan, should be, and increasingly is, the focus.

This new focus on retirement plan outcomes — as opposed to the divisive “design

�rst” rhetoric that has permeated pension discussions in the past — is as welcome

as it is necessary. The growing consensus around de�ning a retirement plan’s

objectives �rst and then letting those goals drive the plan’s design is in the best

interest of workers, employers and state taxpayers alike. Today’s workforce differs

substantially from that of a generation or more ago. Factors like employment

patterns, life expectancy and generational realities must be considered in

retirement planning.

Even setting aside the unfunded liabilities that plague many public-sector

pension plans, perhaps the most prudent way to achieve retirement income

security for the broadest cross-section of modern workers going forward will be

through de�ned-contribution retirement plans that are focused on long-term

retirement income, while also recognizing employee mobility and managing

investment risks. With properly articulated objectives and sound plan design,

these plans can meet workplace needs while providing full budgetary

predictability — and not creating unfunded liabilities.

As workers seek out better job opportunities or relocate in pursuit of quality-of-

life improvements, retirement plan portability is growing in importance. The

days of working at the same job for several decades have largely passed. In today’s

job market and economy, workers need to be able to take their retirement plans

with them as they move from job to job. According to the U.S. Department of

Labor in 2016, the median tenure in state government employment — o�en

thought of as more stable than the private sector — was just 5.8 years.

“Objectives-�rst” retirement planning is critical for long-term success. As various

in�uential groups increasingly adopt this philosophy and move away from

entrenched design-�rst thinking, plan participants will bene�t. There will be new

retirement plan designs that better meet the needs of the modern workforce

while satisfying the economic realities for employers and all involved.

Richard Hiller is principal of Retirement Policy Consulting and a senior fellow atReason Foundation. He has worked on income-focused retirement plan designsfor more than 35 years.

JULY 05, 2017 2:48 PM

The State WorkerChronicling civil-service life for California state workers

THE STATE WORKER

State workers get their raises this month. Their bosses won’t be left out.BY ADAM ASHTONaashton@sacbee.com

About 38,000 California state government managers will see a bump in their next paychecks that will match wage increases for the workers theysupervise.

The raises for managers follow a wave of new contracts that unions negotiated last year, garnering pay increases for about half of the state’sworkforce.

Supervisors and executives who don’t benefit from union bargaining will get the same wage increases as their rank-and-file employees.

Attorneys will see the highest wage increases at 5 percent. So will their supervisors, according to a pay letter describing manager raises that the stateDepartment of Human Resources published.

Managers of employees in state government’s largest union, Service Employees International Union Local 1000, will receive a 4 percent raise.

State workers typically see wage increases at the start of California’s budget year, which begins on July 1.

In 2015, the state’s payroll topped $16.2 billion for about 247,000 employees.

Salary increases in the new contracts should add more than $1 billion to that total, according to contract summaries from the Human ResourcesDepartment.

Last week’s pay memo did not detail raises for supervisors at the California Highway Patrol or at Cal Fire.

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Other raises described in the memo include:

▪ 3 percent for supervisors at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

▪ 3 percent for managers who supervise employees represented by the California Statewide Law Enforcement Association.

▪ 2 percent for managers supervising employees represented by the Professional Engineers in California Government.

▪ 4 percent for managers supervising maintenance workers represented by the International Union of Operating Engineers.

▪ 3 percent for managers supervising stationary engineers represented by the International Union of Operating Engineers.

▪ 5 percent or 2 percent for supervisors of state scientists. The pay memo does not detail which managers get the different wage increases.

▪ 2 percent for supervisors of doctors and dentists represented by the Union of American Physicians and Dentists.

▪ 3 percent for supervisors of the mental health workers represented by the California Association of Psychiatric Technicians.

▪ And, 4 percent for the health care and social services workers represented by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.

Adam Ashton: 916-321-1063, @Adam_Ashton. Sign up for state worker news alerts at sacbee.com/newsletters.

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California state workers will see wage increases of 2 percent to 5 percent this month. The state Human Resources Department last week published a memo describing raises formanagers. Manny Crisostomo - mcrisostomo@sacbee.com

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S

More than 200 state highway bridges prone toerosion from surging waters slated for repairs orreplacement

By Louis Sahagun

JULY 6, 2017, 5:00 AM

couting for evidence of erosion, the primary danger facing California’s highway bridges, is a life’s

work for Kevin Flora.

On a recent weekday morning, the state Department of Transportation engineer gunned the outboard

motor of an inflatable skiff and scooted over murky water on a mission to inspect a 53-year-old 405 Freeway

bridge that spans a stretch of the San Gabriel River — a spot loaded with trash and teeming with green sea

turtles wide as manhole covers.

Kevin Flora, an engineer with Caltrans, looks for bridge scour, which is the degradation caused by swiftly moving water. Two hundred andthirty state highway bridges are slated for repairs, reinforcement or replacement because they’re prone to scouring.

Using GPS and sonar equipment, it didn’t take Flora long to find what he was looking for: holes up to 10 feet

deep and 30 feet wide in the riverbed and around the foundations of the bridge that carries an average of

282,000 vehicles a day just north of the Orange County line.

“The problem here,” he said, raising his voice to be heard above the din of freeway traffic, “is that this bridge is

just downstream from the mouth of a paved flood-control channel that funnels turbulent stormwater into an

earthen-bottom section of the river.”

It’s among 230 state highway bridges slated for repairs, reinforcement or replacement, officials said, because

they’re prone to scouring — degradation caused by swiftly moving water.

“A bridge fails every 10 days in the United States, and it’s usually due to scour that undermined their

foundations,” said Jean-Louis Briaud, a professor of civil engineering at Texas A&M University.

“Bridges built before 1990 are the ones that fall down,” he said. “The good news is that since the 1990s, the

number of scour-related failures in California and across the nation has been going down because of regulatory

requirements prompted by the 1987 collapse of a New York state thruway bridge, which killed 10 people.”

Under legislation signed by Gov. Jerry Brown in April, California motorists will start paying higher gas and

diesel taxes in November to provide funding for, among other state transportation projects, reducing the

backlog of road and bridge repairs.

In Southern California, bridges targeted for replacement include the Trancas Creek Bridge, built in 1927, on

Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu.

On Friday, Flora’s inspection of the 65-year-old Whitewater bridge on the 10 Freeway — about five miles west

of Palm Springs — followed a circuitous route along rocky paths, braided channels surging with snowmelt and

concrete galleries covered with graffiti.

“This bridge is a big concern for us,” he said. “The riverbed has been scoured down 15 feet to the bridge’s

footing, in a river that has a habit of abruptly shifting course during storms.

“If it shifts again, it could undermine the footing,” he said. “So, we plan to reinforce the foundation with deep

piling.”

In the meantime, the bridge has been fortified with massive boulders and outfitted with highly sensitive “tilt

meters” to monitor its movement.

Louis.Sahagun@latimes.com

@LouisSahagun

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California bill would make police body cameravideos public

By Liam Dillon

JULY 6, 2017, 12:05 AM | SACRAMENTO

ew legislation from a Bay Area assemblyman would dramatically expand public access to police

body camera videos in California.

The measure, Assembly Bill 748 from Assemblyman Phil Ting (D-San Francisco), would make

public footage from police shootings and other cases considered to be in the public interest, such as police uses

of force or violent political protests.

“Right now in many communities there’s a level of distrust [with law enforcement],” Ting said. “I believe that

having more transparency, more openness will create more trust on both sides.”

Assemblyman Phil Ting (D-San Francisco), right, has written a bill that would make some police body camera footage public. (RichPedroncelli / Associated Press)

Ting’s legislation seeks to break a stalemate at the state Capitol on whether to ensure public access to body

camera videos. The technology’s use has proliferated after protests over disputed law enforcement incidents

began in earnest following the 2014 police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo.

Since then, lawmakers have been deadlocked over whether the public should be allowed to see the videos,

reflecting an intraparty split among California’s ruling Democrats over the deference given to local law

enforcement. Without statewide rules, police departments have generally considered the footage to be potential

criminal evidence that is exempt from disclosure under California’s public records laws, and they don’t make

the videos public outside of a courtroom. In some high-profile cases, such as disputed police shootings in El

Cajon and Los Angeles, law enforcement officials have publicly revealed surveillance footage in hopes of

quelling protests. The Los Angeles Police Commission is currently studying whether the LAPD should release

body camera videos.

Ting said the rules should be the same across California so everyone would know when footage would be

released.

“There is clearly a need to have clear and consistent guidelines across the board,” he said.

The legislation renews debates over whether the state should err on the side of transparency or privacy when

considering the videos’ public release. Under the bill, police departments could still hold videos back

permanently by arguing that privacy concerns outweigh the public interest or withhold them for up to three

months if they believe the release would substantially impede an active investigation.

But Cory Salzillo, legislative director for the California State Sheriffs’ Assn., said the bill ignores the unique

circumstances facing criminal and internal investigators. The decision over whether to release footage should

continue to be the in hands of local police and prosecutors, he said.

“No two cases are alike,” Salzillo said.

Other states are grappling with similar concerns. Nearly two dozen states have passed legislation regulating

public access to camera footage, according to the nonprofit Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. In

most cases, the bills have restricted some public availability of the videos. Last month, Pennsylvania lawmakers

passed a measure blocking the release of police body camera and dashboard camera videos.

Ting’s proposal, which is being introduced late in the legislative year, would have to clear both houses of the

Legislature before lawmakers adjourn in mid-September. The bill is scheduled for its first hearing next week in

the Senate Public Safety Committee.

liam.dillon@latimes.com

@dillonliam

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JUNE 28, 2017 3:14 PMLOCAL

Madera County closes fire station over failing infrastructureBY MARK EVAN SMITHmsmith@sierrastar.com

One of Madera County’s fire stations has been temporarily closed due to safety concerns over the building’s failing infrastructure, officials said in arelease on Wednesday.

Fire Station 3, located in the Madera Acres area near Avenue 18 1/2 and Road 26, was closed due to a recent review by Cal Fire Division Chief DaveAllen.

Allen said the building, a trailer manufactured in 1970 and put on the land in 1986, had simply become too unsafe, and unsightly, for its full-timefirefighter to stay in.

“We’ve had beds fall through the floor twice, once last month,” Allen said. “There’s possums and rats living underneath it, it’s just lived far, farbeyond its lifespan. When it started getting a really bad stench I said move out of there.”

During the day, Allen said the station’s lone full-time firefighter and engine are being set up at the Madera County Sheriff ’s Office, located a littleover a mile away. At night, the engine and firefighter move to Station 6 in the City of Madera, about 3.5 miles away.

“The move hasn’t affected response times or coverage area,” Allen said. “It’s simply something we’ve needed to do for a while.”

Allen said plans are underway with the Madera County Board of Supervisors and the county’s Chief Administrative Officer Eric Fleming to choose alocation in the Madera Acres area for a new station.

“The supervisors have been working hard to improve fire protection in the county,” Allen said. “The plans for design and build of this new station isall in the works.”

He said three pieces of land have been chosen for the new location, and a meeting could be held around July 10 to make a final decision. The oldstation land was being leased by the county for around $1,200 a month, Allen said.

According to the county’s website, Madera County consists of 17 fire stations, a fleet of 56 apparatus and support vehicles, and a staff including 32career firefighters, 175 paid call firefighters, and seven support personnel.

Allen added the fire departments from both the city and county of Madera, as well as Cal Fire’s Madera-Mariposa-Merced Unit, will have additionalstaff available and on call through the July 4th weekend and holiday.

San Bernardino County Sun (http://www.sbsun.com)

State bill would boost development but could harm your community: Guest commentary

By Jorge Morales and Miguel Canales

Monday, July 3, 2017

When it comes to enforcing our environmental laws and making sureresidents have a voice about what type of development happens intheir neighborhoods, everyone — rich or poor, urban or rural, coastalor inland — should be treated equally.

Sadly, California’s Senate Bill 35, by Sen. Scott Wiener, D-SanFrancisco, would create an unfair system of haves and have-nots inwhich those of us who live in disadvantaged communities in urbanand inland areas are given second-class status behind residents ofmore affluent coastal communities.

SB35 singles out working-class cities like ours, using unrealistic statehousing benchmarks as the guide, and eliminates our ability to requireproject-level environmental review for new apartment projects. Itwould completely eliminate public input on these projects. Thecommunity and environmental reviews would not be required because

the bill would deem these approvals “ministerial” actions.

To put it another way, SB35 requires our communities to provide a rubber stamp for apartment developers.

To make matters worse, Sen. Wiener has included special exemptions for coastal communities (includingportions of his city of San Francisco), and communities that fall under certain population thresholds. That meansmany coastal, wealthy communities retain local land-use authority and strong environmental protections, whiledisadvantaged communities in the inland regions of the state have those protections wiped out.

If you’re in one of the communities not fortunate enough to be exempted in SB35, here’s what that means foryou: If a developer wants to build a 100-unit apartment complex next door to your child’s school, and you’reworried about the impacts on traffic and parking — too bad. You cannot work with your local government toaddress your concerns.

In fact, this bill specifically prohibits local governments from imposing requirements to add new parking as acondition of approval if a bus stop is within one-half mile.

Your local government is virtually powerless to shape the development. Nor can your city require environmentalreviews or mitigations to minimize the negative impacts of such a development. SB35 would completely exemptthese multifamily projects from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), undermining keyenvironmental protections for disadvantaged communities.

SB35 is based on the simplistic theory that the state can issue production quotas to local agencies, includingthose for multifamily housing, and state officials can then penalize communities when units are not produced.

What’s missing from this concept is an understanding that local governments do not control the investmentdecisions of private developers, nor do we have any resources to build affordable housing. State housing moneyfor affordable housing has all but disappeared. And the state Legislature wiped out redevelopment agencies,which provided $1 billion each year for affordable housing.

Local governments like ours support affordable housing and providing an improved quality of life for ourresidents. However, we believe we can streamline and incentivize housing construction without completelybypassing our state’s environmental laws, without completely silencing local residents’ voice in the process, andwithout undermining local control over our communities.

We support various legislative efforts this year to streamline and increase housing production, especiallyworkforce housing near jobs and transit centers. In particular, we’re supporting SB540, by Sen. Richard Roth,D-Riverside, which would streamline housing project approvals by front-loading environmental reviews, as wellas SB2, by Sen. Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, and SB3, by Sen. Jim Beall, D-Campbell, which would create newsources of funding for affordable housing.

Environmental protections and your right to provide input should not depend on your zip code. SB35 is a baddeal for all Californians, made even worse because it discriminates against those of us in disadvantagedcommunities.

Jorge Morales is a member of the South Gate City Council. Miguel Canales is a member of the Artesia CityCouncil. They are, respectively, state director and vice president of the Los Angeles County division of theLeague of California Cities.

URL: http://www.sbsun.com/opinion/20170703/state-bill-would-boost-development-but-could-harm-your-community-guest-commentary

© 2017 San Bernardino County Sun (http://www.sbsun.com)

It looks like developers are building enough houses in my city. Why areprices still going up?

Q&A What you want to know about California'sfailed housing affordability lawBy Liam Dillon

JULY 5, 2017, 11:45 AM

Our story on California’s failed 50-year-old housing law generated lots of questionsfrom Times readers.

The law is the state’s primary tool to encourage housing development and address astatewide shortage of homes that drives California’s affordability problems. But, asanyone who is trying to afford a home in California knows, costs are continuing to spiralupward.

Why hasn’t the law worked? It requires cities and counties to produce prodigiousreports to plan for housing — but doesn’t hold them accountable for any resulting homebuilding. Decades of tinkering with the law has led to planning requirements that localgovernments hate so much they’ve pitched ideas such as letting prison beds counttoward low-income housing goals. And now state officials don’t have basic informationon the law’s effectiveness, including how many homes are actually built.

Here’s a sample of what Times readers told us they want to know about the law, knownformally as the “housing element,” and its effects on the state’s larger housing problems.

The law sets out homebuilding goals for each city and county over an eight-year periodto keep pace with projected population growth. The idea is that the supply of newhomes will meet the demand.

What’s the reason not enough homes are getting built?

We included a searchable table in our story for readers to see how many homes werebuilt in their communities compared to the targets. A reader from San Clemente noticedhis city had outpaced its housing goals by hundreds of new homes, but costs still wererising. Why?

Housing markets are regional. Even if there’s enough new homebuilding in one city, ifthere’s insufficient growth nearby the problem will persist. So while San Clemente metits overall housing goal, the data show, Irvine and Santa Ana missed theirs bythousands.

Also, the housing targets themselves might require reevaluation. The independentLegislative Analyst’s Office found recently that Bay Area counties were on track to meettheir overall housing goals during the current eight-year period that ends in 2023. Butthe Bay Area is adding hundreds of thousands more jobs than homes, which is drivingup the demand for housing beyond what the targets had anticipated.

California lawmakers have tried for 50 years to fix the state's housingcrisis. Here's why they've failed »

Cities don’t build houses. Developers do. Local government rules — includingneighborhood opposition to new homes — play a role in housing supply. But manyother factors, such as construction costs and mortgage interest rates for prospectivehomebuyers, matter a lot. So any state law is limited in forcing homebuilding to happen.

Reader Bruce Ross, who works for Assemblyman Brian Dahle (R-Bieber), had anobservation about demand.

He’s right. Demand for housing in inland Shasta County is nothing like it is in LosAngeles.

“The greatest need for additional housing is in California’s coastal urban areas,”concluded a 2015 Legislative Analyst’s report — one of many recent studies that found

https://twitter.com/530BruceRoss/status/880615119889223681

Why should the state be allowed to force new homebuilding againstresidents’ wishes?

the state’s housing shortage is primarily a coastal problem.

Homebuilding along the coast often isn’t as easy as inland because there’s much lessvacant land suitable for development. But there are reasons beyond housingaffordability to prioritize growth in Los Angeles and San Francisco instead of SanBernardino and Truckee.

First, that’s where the jobs are. The unemployment rate in San Francisco for instance, is2.7%, while it’s 20.5% in Imperial County. Second, if the state wants to meet its goals incombating climate change it has to build a lot more housing in cities. That’s because thestate needs people to drive much less than they do now. One of the best ways to do thatis for people to live near where they work and shop.

“The greatest need for additional housing is in

California’s coastal urban areas— independent Legislative Analyst's Office

It’s a common complaint when a new development is proposed in an existingneighborhood: Nearby residents don’t want the project because they’re worried abouttraffic, parking, school overcrowding, water supply or innumerable other concerns thatthey fear might affect their quality of life.

We wrote about one such situation in Redondo Beach where city leaders told the statethey would comply with the housing supply law by approving a 180-unit apartmentcomplex. But then when the project came before the city council, it was turned awayafter opposition from neighbors.

A number of readers wanted to know why the state should have any role in thatdecision.

Isn’t the real problem that all the new housing is getting built for the rich,not low- or middle-income people?

There can be tension between the state’s interest in having enough homes for peopleand communities not wanting those homes near them. It’s a question of balancing theneed for housing with the interests of cities and counties in shaping how theircommunities look.

It’s also not clear residents are opposed to limiting some of the existing local controlover development. A recent poll by the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of Californiafound 61% of adults surveyed were in favor of changing the state’s environmental andlocal permitting rules if it resulted in more affordable housing.

The problem is that there’s not enough housing getting built, period. Reports from thestate’s legislative analyst, the state’s housing department and McKinsey Global Institutehave argued developers need to double the roughly 100,000 homes they build each yearto stabilize housing costs.

But there is especially a shortage of housing for low- and middle-income residents.

One major issue is that the state’s housing supply law is supposed to provide data onhow many homes are being built for residents across income levels. But many citiesdon’t turn in those numbers, so the state doesn’t know. For that reason we decided touse data from California’s construction industry — which doesn’t break downproduction by affordability — in our searchable table.

Tony Kranz, a city councilman in Encinitas, wanted more details.

We can say, based on more complete data from the Bay Area and San Diego cities andcounties, that low-income housing production falls way behind new homes targeted forthose earning higher wages.

Developers in Bay Area cities and counties, for instance, nearly met the region’s goal forabove-moderate income housing, compared with building only 28% of the moderate-and low-income housing goals during the eight years leading up to 2014.

https://twitter.com/Tony_Kranz/status/881956954641358849

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Copyright © 2017, Los Angeles Times

Public dollars to subsidize low-income housing have fallen dramatically in recent years.The California Housing Partnership estimates that state and federal funding for low-income housing in California dropped 67% to $892 million annually between 2009 and2015. Without a subsidy, it’s often difficult for developers to build housing other than atthe market rate.

For these reasons, Gov. Jerry Brown and lawmakers have been talking about a packageof housing bills this year aimed at increasing funding for low-income housing andstreamlining local approval processes to make it easier for developers to build ingeneral. In the piece, we highlighted a bill from state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-SanFrancisco) that’s considered a key part of the housing package and would eliminatemultiple planning reviews by local governments that have fallen behind on theirhousing goals.

Already a subscriber? Thank you for your support. If you are not, please considersubscribing today. Get full access to our signature journalism for just 99 cents for thefirst four weeks.

ALSO

California lawmakers have tried for 50 years to fix the state's housingcrisis. Here's why they've failed

California won't meet its climate change goals without a lot more housingdensity in its cities

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