ADELANTO • A former councilman ousted in November’s election was reinstated to the Adelanto City Council through an appointment on Thursday night.

The City Council unanimously chose Trinidad Perez out of 11 original applicants seeking to fill a seat left vacant when Councilwoman Cari Thomas was elected mayor.

“I am just happy,” Perez said Thursday night outside City Hall. “It’s home. This is my community and I want to continue to do some things for it. God has granted that.”

Perez said he thinks it’s experience with the city that earned him the seat: He’s spent eight years on the council and served on the Planning and Parks and Recreation commissions. The 16-year resident has also had leadership roles on Adelanto Little League, Victor Valley Boys and Girls Club and the AYSO All-American football league.

Perez, 52, was the next runner-up in the 2010 election. Perez and former Councilman Gene Piehe both lost their seats amid public outrage over recent water hikes that had doubled and tripled some bills.

To read more about Perez, see the full story in Friday’s Daily Press. Get complete stories every day with the “exactly as printed” Daily Press E-edition, only $5 per month! Click here to try it free for 7 days. To subscribe to the Daily Press in print or online, call (760) 241-7755, 1-800-553-2006 or click here.

Re-Printed from the Daily Press
January 09, 2011 1:45 PM
By: Tomoya Shimura

VICTORVILLE • Three new appointed and elected judges were assigned to Victorville Superior Court as the new calendar year began.

Judge Debra Harris transferred from Joshua Tree to take on one of Victorville’s two family court calendars. Harris, a Republican, replaces Robert Lemkau who was turned out of office and retired from the bench last month.

The Victorville resident was appointed by former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in July 2009 after she worked for the San Bernardino County Public Defender’s office for 15 years.

Judge Lynn Poncin, who was elected in June in an unopposed judicial race, begins her bench tenure in criminal court, where she was a lead family violence prosecutor. She worked for the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s office for 13 years.

On her election website, Poncin stated she would continue to protect victims of crime and give them a voice in the courtroom.

Judge Elia Pirozzi is scheduled to start his criminal court calendar in Victorville on Jan. 24, moving from Superior Court in Rancho Cucamonga, where he resides. Schwarzenegger appointed him in May 2007.

Prior to his judgeship, Pirozzi maintained law offices in Ontario and Redlands, specializing in real estate and business law. Pirozzi is a former candidate for Congress and State Assembly and former chairman of the San Bernardino County Republican Party.

Judge James Hosking, who defeated Lemkau in the June election, has been assigned to the family court in Joshua Tree.

Former Victorville judges Christopher Marshall and Bridgid McCann were transferred to San Bernardino and Rancho Cucamonga, respectively.

To read more about the new judges, see the full story in Monday’s Daily Press. Get complete stories every day with the “exactly as printed” Daily Press E-edition, only $5 per month! Click here to try it free for 7 days. To subscribe to the Daily Press in print or online, call (760) 241-7755, 1-800-553-2006 or click here.

Tomoya Shimura may be reached at tshimura@VVDailyPress.com or (760) 955-5368.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Howard P. “Buck” McKeon (R-Santa Clarita) issued the following statement in response to the new unemployment rate of 9.4%, released in a report today by the Department of Labor:

“The strength of the American economy lies in the hands of its people. Unfortunately, policies that have been put in place over the past two years have only served to stifle innovation, burden small businesses, and essentially halt the flow needed in a free market economy. The figures released today by the Department of Labor, while only slightly improved, illustrate the effect of the current failed policies of the Obama Administration and the Democratic leadership in Congress.

“The Democrats’ policies to grow a larger, more intrusive, and more expensive government have further crippled the economy and have left over 14 million people without jobs. The new Republican majority is focused on job creation, which will require creating an environment of certainty for business owners, so they can plan for the future, grow their companies, and hire new employees. We must breakdown the bureaucratic barriers that have been placed on small business, which is the strongest engine for economic prosperity. In fact, one of our first actions of the 112th Congress is to vote on a repeal of ObamaCare, the new health care law that if implemented would cost taxpayers and employers $2.6 trillion and add $701 billion to the deficit.”

Re-Printed from the Daily Press
January 06, 2011 2:59 PM
Brooke Edwards

VICTORVILLE • Through the shadow cast by investigations and financial woes, Mayor Ryan McEachron is keeping his eye on one clear goal for Victorville in 2011: breaking ground on the La Mesa/Nisqualli interchange.

“I know it’s like a broken record,” McEachron acknowledged, having campaigned on promises of the long-awaited bridge in 2008. “But we have everything in place but the funding agreement. …My highest priority for this year is to make sure that that funding agreement gets approved, we’re out to bid and we break ground.”

The project involves building a bridge over Interstate 15 connecting Nisqualli and La Mesa roads, with on-ramps and off-ramps that would provide residents with another access point and relieve traffic on Bear Valley Road.

Caltrans granted Victorville the right to oversee construction of the interchange and all design work is complete. The city has also taken possession of all land in the project’s right-of-way, McEachron said, though payment on some properties is still being decided in court.

McEachron hopes to have a funding agreement for the $93 million project approved by the Victorville City Council and county transportation board SANBAG as early as February or early March. Staff can then advertise the project and go out to bid, in a process that should take three months. That means construction could begin this summer.

Aside from that massive undertaking, McEachron said he hopes the city will concentrate less on public projects in 2011 and more on getting private businesses to flourish.

“I’d like to see us get back into the mode of economic development and creating jobs,” McEachron said, with his eyes on Southern California Logistics Airport and the Foxborough Industrial Park.

While there’s “nothing specific on the horizon,” he’s hopeful that the city’s new wastewater treatment plant will allow it to attract more clients like Dr Pepper Snapple Group to SCLA.

Construction should also start during the first quarter of this year on two new Walgreens stores and two long-discussed Walmart Supercenters, at Dunia Plaza and along Palmdale Road at Highway 395.

To read about other items also on the agenda for 2011, see the full story in Thursday’s Daily Press. Get complete stories every day with the “exactly as printed” Daily Press E-edition, only $5 per month! Click here to try it free for 7 days. To subscribe to the Daily Press in print or online, call (760) 241-7755, 1-800-553-2006 or click here.

Brooke Edwards may be reached at (760) 955-5358 or at bedwards@VVDailyPress.com.

Re-Printed from the Daily Press
December 28, 2010 8:08 AM
Brooke Edwards

VICTORVILLE • After 38 years on Victorville’s City Council, Terry Caldwell may be ready to try his hand at another political office — though he isn’t saying just yet which office that might be.

Caldwell, 72, announced just before the filing deadline that he wouldn’t be running for reelection on Victorville’s Council this past November, citing his age and desire to spend more time with his family as contributing factors. But since stepping down from the dais Dec. 7, Caldwell has said publicly several times that he might be considering a run for a new position.

William Buck Johns, president of Inland Energy, the company behind several of Victorville’s energy ventures, has told community members that he plans to support Caldwell in a bid for 1st District Supervisor Brad Miztelfelt’s seat in 2012.

To read more about Caldwell, see the full story in Tuesday’s Daily Press. Get complete stories every day with the “exactly as printed” Daily Press E-edition, only $5 per month! Click here to try it free for 7 days. To subscribe to the Daily Press in print or online, call (760) 241-7755, 1-800-553-2006 or click here.

Reprinted from The Press-Enterprise

Throughout his campaign for the coveted chairmanship of the House Appropriations Committee, Inland Rep. Jerry Lewis has repeatedly insisted that he has support from the fiscally conservative Tea Party movement. Now he has it in writing from one leader of a national Tea Party group.

Lewis’ detractors have questioned his commitment to cutting spending, which will be job number one for whomever Republicans tap to head the committee that holds the federal purse strings. They have pointed to his history of steering millions of dollars annually to projects in his district, four-fifths of which is in Bernardino County and the rest in Riverside County, through the use of earmarks. Read the rest of this entry »

Reprinted from the Hesperia Star

November 08, 2010 12:38 PM
Peter Day
Star Editor

About an hour before the polls closed last Tuesday, the Voglers’ recent repeated personal attacks on Councilmember Thurston “Smitty” Smith finally struck a nerve so deep that the response almost literally shook council chambers.

During the public comment period, Smitty’s wife Margaret Smith took to the podium to share her concerns. All was silent as Smith talked about the pain and anguish she felt as a result of the attacks by Councilwoman Rita Vogler and her husband Al Vogler, the latter sponsoring the large “NO” billboards on Main Street and three mailers.

“Vogler, I just want to publicly tell you how pathetic you, your spouse and your daughter are,” she said. “The lies and manipulation about me, my husband and my deceased son are unfathomable. You attempt to portray yourself as a caring and giving individual where nothing, nothing could be further from the truth. Read the rest of this entry »

Reprinted from the San Bernardino Sun.
Michael J. Sorba, Staff Writer

VICTORVILLE – Federal and local investigators continue to request stacks of documents from the city as part of ongoing probes into bond sales and financial records.

Requests for information have become so intensive that three full-time workers are dedicated to processing them, said Councilman Ryan McEachron.

“It’s more or less an ongoing investigation and no outcomes at this point have been shared with city staff,” McEachron said. “I’m not sure how much longer this will go or how long it will take them to come out with any kind of a report.”

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission launched its investigation in August, directing city employees to stop deleting e-mails or throw away paper records, including document drafts and Post-it notes, said city spokeswoman Yvonne Hester.

The SEC has declined to comment on the matter. McEachron says the agency is focused on bond sales that took place between 2005 and 2008. Read the rest of this entry »

Reprinted from the Daily Press.

Possible replacements include Sharon Runner, Steve Knight
November 05, 2010 8:41 AM
Natasha Lindstrom

SACRAMENTO • Sen. George Runner’s winning bid on the state Board of Equalization has set the stage for a local special election this spring to decide who will serve the remaining two years of his legislative term.

Nobody has officially jumped into the race, but likely candidates include former Assemblywoman Sharon Runner — Runner’s wife — and Assemblyman Steve Knight, R-Palmdale.

“My name’s in the hopper, and I want it to be in the hopper, but I also want to support a person who will win this seat and who we can get behind. The discussions are just starting…. but obviously I am the sitting assemblyman in the biggest portion of the 17th Senate district,” Knight said by phone Thursday. “My focus is we need a good, strongleader, we want a leader from the High Desert, and we want to keep it in the Republicans’ hands.” Read the rest of this entry »

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