Complaint filed against Mitzelfelt Campaign

This article was hidden on page A5 of the Desert Dispatch...not a front page story like the ones we saw against Rita Vogler when Mitzelfelt's crew filed....go figure. All complaints against Vogler have been resolved and dropped by the way. (you wouldn't read this in the Daily Press either.) Notice that the last paragraph states that the official from Young Homes was out of the office on MONDAY...apparently Ryan Orr or no one else from the Daily Press attempted to reach this 'official' from Young Homes the rest of the week...

by Ryan Orr

APPLE VALLEY - A complaint has been filed against the campaign of San Bernardino County 1st District Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt alleging that a developer has set up phony corporations to make contributions. The complaint, filed by concerned Apple Valley citizen Sharon Gilbert, states that "it appears that Young Homes has set up phony corporations to make campaign contributions so that it does not appear that those contributions are coming from a developer."

Two business that have made contributions to Mitzelfelt's campaign for supervisor list their address as that of Young Homes, but Gilbert - who even included pictures - says no such businesses exist at the location.

"It does not appear these businesses exist for any reason other than to make campaign contributions to Brad Mitzelfelt," she states in the complaint.
The representative from Young Homes that could comment on the situation was out of the office Monday.

Dr. Ralph Baker says what!

Since George Air Force Base closed it seems that there has been more than just the closure of the base to think about.

More than a dozen years ago the school population at the Victor Elementary School District were those children of military personnel stationed at the base.

Today: The majority of the children belong to parents who are affiliated with the prisons in the high desert and not as employees but as inmates!

Dr. Ralph Baker referred to the children as 'clients' as he discussed major changes in the school.

“The well-disciplined and orderly part of our population has been replaced with a percentage of our population that are either attached to somebody within the prison, or that person has been released from a prison to this area,” Baker said. “They tend to be more anti-authoritarian." Baker explained this to Daily Press reporter, Rachel Byrd.

In the Hesperia school district, there are more than 5,000 'English language learners' and 56 percent of the population is Hispanic.

The times they are a-changin my friends....

China builds secret nuclear submarine base

IS ANYONE REALLY SURPRISED? REMEMBER THIS IS COMMUNIST CHINA....








Researcher spots China's new nuclear sub on Google Earth
A satellite image of China's new nuclear ballistic missile submarine is available on the Google Earth Internet site.

A satellite image of China's new ballistic missile submarine. [See DigitalGlobe images on Google.] FAS.org

Hans M. Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), spotted the images, photographed by the commercial Quickbird satellite in late 2006.

One photo is of what is apparently the new Type 094 Jin-class SSBN at the Xiaopingdao base near Dalian, FAS reported.

The Jin-class is about 35 feet longer than the Xia-class SSBN, "primarily due to an extended mid-section of approximately 115 feet (35 meters) that houses the missile launch tubes and part of the reactor compartment," according to the report.

The extended section is to make room for the larger Julang-2 ballistic missile and may also be due to the size of the reactor.

In late 2006, the U.S. Office of Naval Intelligence projected China could build five Jin-class SSBNs. The estimate was not cited by the Pentagon's May 2007 annual report on China military power.

BEIJING, China — Fox News reported that China has secretly built an underground nuclear submarine base in the South China Sea.
Satellite photos of the base obtained by FOX News show a large harbor and massive tunnels that defense experts say could shelter many nuclear subs.
Pentagon officials indicated that they have been aware of the base for at least two years.
By 2010, China will have five operational 094-class nuclear submarines capable of carrying 12 nuclear missiles each, according to press reports.
According to the Defense Department, China has 57 attack submarines, but the satellite pictures suggest their 094-class nuclear submarine may already be available.
Stephen Yates, a senior fellow at the American Foreign Policy Council, told Fox News, “It’s very significant to have further visual evidence of the kinds of military build-up that they’ve been engaged in for some time.”
The report comes on the heels of recent remarks by the commander of U.S. Pacific Command citing an apparent disconnect between what China says and what it is doing.
“They profess to seek a peaceful rise and harmonious integration,” said Navy Adm. Timothy J. Keating in a recent interview. “We are all for that. But they have to show us, in our view, how they intend to achieve that while developing these certain weapons. We think there is some contradiction in the stated goals versus the practices we are observing.”
In March, Keating told the Senate Armed Services Committee he sees headway in breaking down longstanding divisions between the two countries, but remains troubled by China’s lack of transparency about its military programs.
The Defense Department recently released its 2008 China Military Power Report, noting that China spent more than three times its announced defense budget last year and is developing new capabilities that could have global implications.
Calls to the Chinese Embassy seeking comment on the revelation were not returned.

VOGLER GETS ENDORSEMENT FROM SUN NEWSPAPER

SUNDAY MAY 4, 2008 ENDORSEMENT FROM THE SUN NEWSPAPER...

Rita Vogler has earned the opportunity to represent San Bernardino County's 1st District on the Board of Supervisors.

"Earned' is an important distinction here.

As a two-term member of the Hesperia City Council, Vogler understands how an elected body can and should work. She has a strong constituent following, evident in her being the top vote getter among all council candidates in 2002 and 2006.

She's a leader - as owner of a small business, past president of the Hesperia Chamber of Commerce and as mayor of the city as part of her council term in 2007.

And her 34 years in the High Desert certainly give her solid footing when it comes to understanding issues in the district. Her campaign has championed public safety, transportation and roads, and immigration issues - all high on the minds of the district's 350,000 residents.

Her election would represent not only a victory for grassroots leadership but an end to a troubling sense of entitlement that follows incumbent Brad Mitzelfelt.

Put "incumbent" in quotes, too, since Mitzelfelt was never elected to the job, but appointed - by the board - in January 2007 after his previous boss, Bill Postmus, was elected county assessor.

Therein lies the nagging itch that won't go away when it comes to Mitzelfelt. He was Postmus' chief of staff when the latter was county supervisor and appears to have amassed the same support network that the now-embattled assessor used to build his power base.

While there is nothing to connect Mitzelfelt directly with any possible wrongdoing on Postmus' part, there relationship is enough of a concern to make us pause.

Given the challenges of a district and county looking to move forward, "pause" isn't the word we're looking for.

We endorse Rita Vogler for the 1st District.

SHOCKING NEWS TODAY

Teens burglarize home - pregnant woman escapes


A pregnant woman in Victorville ran from her home today after three teens broke in and burglarized the house, according to authorities.

Captured and arrested: a 17-year-old boy and 18-year-old man, who were not identified -on suspicion of residential burglary. San Bernardino County sheriff's deputies are still searching for the third burglar.

The burglars repeatedly rang the doorbell at a house on Tawney Ridge Lane but the seven-month pregnant woman did not recognize them or answer the door. She heard her front window break and fled, climbing over a six-foot wooden fence to safety, according to reports. She called 911 from a neighbor's home.

A group of people caught one of the burglars near the home and another was detained by police who used a taser to subdue him.

Several items taken from the home have been recovered - in the desert.

County Loses Strip-search Lawsuit - Cost $25.5 Million

By Barb Stanton


San Bernardino County has lost another costly lawsuit to the tune of approximately $25.5 million after a class-action civil lawsuit against the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s department was finalized in a settlement by a federal court. The lawsuit alleged that thousands of strip searches at San Bernardino County jails humiliated inmates.

U.S. District Court Judge Stephen G. Larson signed a tentative agreement in late 2007. Judge Larson’s ruling has been approved by a federal court this month, and remained virtually unchanged.

Judge Larson wrote an extremely critical 15-page ruling, which said the sheriff’s department had failed to provide any solid reasons for strip searching the inmates. Larson wrote, “The intrusive nature of the search is beyond dispute, and the place and manner in which it is conducted does very little to protect the arrestees’ privacy.”

According to the plaintiffs’ lead attorney, Barry Litt from the firm of, Litt, Estuar, Harrison & Kitson, as many as 160,000 jail inmates were eligible to participate in the suit. If 160,000 ‘plaintiffs’ participate the settlement would amount to about $159 each - if the lawyers worked for free. Litt predicted that fewer than 160,000 will be able to prove that they were strip-searched illegally. And estimated that the final amount per plaintiff will be in the neighborhood of $200.

Ultimately the suit against San Bernardino County represents approximately 21,000 class-action members who will receive between $350 to $1,500 each.

Attorney Litt indicated that Judge Larson is expected to sign the finalized agreement at anytime.
Litt also has indicated that a judge would decide attorney fees at a final settlement conference but indicated that he expects to be awarded 25 percent. The attorney fees would be subtracted from the $25.5 million settlement.

The suit claims that while in custody in San Bernardino County jails inmates were strip-searched in an abusive manner. Strip-searching virtually everyone, and in groups, that allowed inmates no privacy, or dignity. Full body cavity searches for nearly all inmates entering its jails, even those who were returning from court or being transferred from other detention facilities.

The strip-searches and body-cavity searches were preformed, on occasion, in view of jail visitors and law enforcement officers of the opposite sex, with little regard for modesty. According to Attorney Barry Litt.

According to printed reports from writer, John F. Berry of the Riverside Press Enterprise, who spoke with Attorney Barry Litt, “Both men and women were often body-cavity searched in areas that could be viewed by anyone nearby, including...officers of the opposite sex and even visitors,” said lead attorney Barry Litt. “Female officers were heard to laugh that they had had their ‘thrill for the day.’ ”

The complaints state the searches were performed over 4 ½ years beginning in May 2003 at West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga and Central Detention Center in San Bernardino.

The suit also claimed the searches were performed on inmates in groups and showed no difference between the severity of the criminal offense. Also, a major point of the case was the county’s policy of strip-searching inmates who returned from court with a judge’s order that they be released.

County spokesman David Wert explained, “In a public courthouse, it’s possible that any inmate-defendant may find a way to acquire drugs, weapons and other contraband.” Inmates with release orders were considered security threats because they had to return to jail for administrative processing and rode the same jail buses as inmates who were scheduled to remain in jail.

Wert went on to explain that now inmates with release orders are kept separate from other inmates so that they no longer have to be strip-searched at the jail prior to their release.

The San Bernardino County Sheriff says the policy was intended to keep inmates from smuggling weapons, drugs and other contraband into jails. The department had a blanket policy of conducting full body cavity searches for nearly all inmates entering its jails.

The County and the Sheriff’s Department has denied that jailers have acted wrongly, saying the searches were aimed at ensuring jail security .Strip-searching is a key security measure meant to keep law enforcement officers and inmates safe, according to County authorities.

San Bernardino County taxpayers will be hit hard in the wallet, and other counties are served notice to refrain from strip searches without adequate reasonable cause, which, according to Litt violates the Fourth Amendment prohibition against unreasonable search and seizure.

Since the filing of the lawsuit San Bernardino County does not conduct searches in masse or when members of the opposite gender are present, staff or civilian. Strip searches are performed only on inmates who have been arrested on drug charges or weapons charges, or there is other reasonable suspicion that they may be likely to smuggle contraband, according to county officials.

Inmates with release orders are kept separate from other inmates so that they no longer have to be strip-searched at the jail prior to their release.

Sgt. Rick Ells said, “Although it seems bizarre to you and me, drugs and weapons are smuggled into jails and prisons in underwear and in the rectum. Ells went on to say, “In an effort to control that and to make the jail safer these strip searches were conducted to try to get contraband.”

“ They weren’t done to demean - or humiliate anyone,” Ells concluded.

San Bernardino County Supervisors voted in closed session to authorize county attorneys to make the proposal and were not required to disclose the action under California’s open-meeting law, according to county official.

According to officials from San Bernardino County the Board of Supervisors didn’t report the vote, because they were in closed session. Spokesman, David Wert explained, “Under the rules of the ‘Brown Act’ they do not have to disclose the actions taken.” Although county officials have confirmed the Supervisors vote to approve the $25.5 million settlement. This ‘closed door’ decision was made in September 2007.

The County, by agreeing to settle the case, say they have avoided the risk of losing an even larger amount of money if a jury decides against it.

According to county spokesman David Wert, the vast majority of the settlement money would be paid by insurance companies - $25 million and the remaining $500,000 will be paid by the county.

Questions to Spokesman for San Bernardino County David Wert this week:

When asked, how does the County know the insurance company is going to pay this amount, Wert explained, “That’s how much the County is insured for, for this type of litigation. The County has various insurance policies. Some of these policies are through the California State Association of Counties. The County has insurance to cover the County in the event it is sued for various purposes. Wert went on to say, “In this particular instance we have insurance that will cover $25 million of the $25.5 million.

Would the policy premium be effected in the future? Wert said, “Probably not because these policies are so huge and there are so many counties that contribute to them that really San Bernardino Counties payout is not all that much in the grand scheme of these policies.”

How much would you say it cost the County to fight this? Good question - I can get that answer for you.

Has Judge Larson signed off on this suit? “I believe all the judges have signed off and it is final although I have not gotten word that it is and I can certainly check on that,” Wert stated.

Has San Bernardino County released any press releases on this issue? The County did not release any press releases on this matter.

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I believe that all citizens should be treated fairly and with dignity. We must never become so hardened that we ‘assume’ anyone is guilty until they have their day in court...and we should not take the dignity away from human beings...Our jails must maintain a balance between the sheriff’s need to maintain institutional security and the personal dignity of the people who are in the system.

Bunker demolition starts Monday

Helendale citizens are delighted - although solemn - as others citizens are, in San Bernardino County, being notified today that the demolition of an abandoned military bunker will begin Monday. The bunker a favorite handout for teens was where a teenage couple was slain in January.

The former U.S. Air Force radio relay station -- outside of Barstow and about 1 1/2 miles south of Highway 58 will see heavy equipment on the site to prepare the bunker for total removal and destruction.

It is expected to take approximately four to six weeks, and should be completed by the first two weeks in June.

The Air Force has contracted with Colton-based Earth Tech for the demolition.

On Jan. 5, 18-year-old Christopher Cody Thompson of Apple Valley and his 16-year-old girlfriend, Bodhisattva Sherzer-Potter, were shot to death, execution style, in the bunker during an attempted robbery.

Collin Lee McGlaughlin, 18, of West Covina, David Smith, 19, of Covina, and 16-year-old Cameron Thomson, also of Covina have been charged with the murders. All three are charged with murder, kidnapping and attempted robbery.