RC CitizenView

Catherine Shea of Alta Lorna was named to the 2008 spring semester dean’s list at Simmons College in Boston. She is a senior at Simmons, and is a biochemistry major.

To qualify for dean’s list status, undergraduate students must obtain a grade point average of 3.5 or higher, based on 12 or more credit hours of work in classes using the letter grade system.

Student Handbook: Simmons Schools

Dean’s List

The Dean’s List was established to recognize undergraduate students’ academic excellence. To be included on the Dean’s List, which is compiled each semester, a student must have obtained a semester GPA of at least 3.50, have earned at least 12 credits using the letter grade system, and shall not have been found guilty of violating the Honor Code of Responsibility during that semester.

Congratulations Catherine.

Rancho has a chance to show how much it appreciates members of our community serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. Honoring Service Men and Woman by placing banners in prominent places in our city should be funded by the community. If we really appreciate their service, we would endeavor to honor every one of them with a program funded by the service clubs of the city. No family members should be asked to foot the bill for our demonstration of appreciation for their service.

Serving members are not inclined to claim their place of honor, but will be thankful it was given. The fact that we don’t know the name of all those serving illustrates this fact.

The program can be a real tribute to all who serve by having the candidates nominated by their neighbors for a banner. The family members can then approve of the honor for their service member, but should never be asked to pay for the honor.

Don’t make this program any different from the other honors given by the city to its citizens. These proclamations of appreciation for service to are community result from nominations by others, and not sold to the recipients.

Many families have paid to have their service member recognized for their service, many will not. When your community recognized your service with some token, like these banners, you are honored. When you’re allowed to purchase the token it diminishes the honor.

How many names on the Vietnam memorial were paid inclusions? If we are honoring these men and woman then let us bestow the honor, not just provide the poles.

Let’s get it right this time.

Mayor Don Kurth of Rancho Cucamonga has published a new website DonKurth.com.

The websites stated purpose looks to be a vehicle improved communication and be more responsive to the citizens of Rancho Cucamonga. The new website will also raise the mayors profile is a bid for the 63^rd assembly seat. If mayor Kurth is to run for the seat, we should see signs here at his new website.

Over the next few months, I will be creating a portal that will build a communication conduit between the citizens of Rancho Cucamonga, and myself.

You will be able to obtain access to vital information for all things “Rancho Cucamonga,” as well as communicate with me regarding issues and concerns that are important to you - the Citizens of Rancho Cucamonga.

For something to look forward to, please revisit my site a few days before the next City Council Meeting. Click on the Rancho Cucamonga link above to find the upcoming City Council Meeting Agendas and to view streaming video of past and current City Council meetings. If there are issues of concern to you, please give me your feedback.

Please be my guest and preview the pages I have set up for you. I strongly feel this website is just as much yours as it is mine. In fact, I feel more comfortable in calling it “our” website.

Please enjoy your stay.

Don Kurth, Mayor, Rancho Cucamonga.

One item I would like to see published on the Don Kurth site are the 640 form reporting campaign contributions and expenditures. I submitted a couple of questions a few days ago without any response from the Mayer, well see if he really intends to respond to questions submitted.

Jeffrey Kaye reports on how one California community, Rancho Cucamonga, is feeling the impact of problems in the national economy.

If you missed the program last night on the plight of the economy in Rancho Cucamonga click on the image to play a streaming video of the program.

Rancho locals featured in the program are; JOHN VLASIC RON VANDENBROEKE MARIO VALDOVINES KAREN DEAL PAUL BIANE and “JIM HASTON” who real name is Jim Hampton.

For a complete transcript of the program, along with additional links including an audio download Click Here.

AB 2076 Opposed by Sen. Dutton of Rancho Cucamonga. Prohibiting the use of the only verification system available to employers to check for fraudulent documentation.

This is hard to believe that on the one hand we want to hold employers responsible for only hiring document workers and at the same time prohibit them from using the only verification system available.

From the Redlands Dally Facts:

Sen. Bob Dutton, R-Rancho Cucamonga, is asking his fellow legislators to oppose AB 2076, a bill that is now before the Senate Labor and Industrial Relations Committee.

“At a time when the California economy is in a down-turn and many citizens are looking for work, the Legislature is in the process of passing a bill that would remove a method of verifying the legal status of potential workers, making it easier for illegal immigrants to obtain those jobs,” he said.

AB 2076 would prohibit state agencies and local governments from using the federal “E-Verify” system to determine if potential job applicants are legally eligible for employment. The bill would also discourage private sector companies from using the system.

AB 2076 has passed the Assembly and is now under consideration by the Senate Labor and Industrial Relations Committee, with the hearing set for today.

E-Verify is a free and voluntary, Internet-based program used nationwide. The system uses information from databases maintained by the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration, which allows employers to check the validity of information provided by the job applicant.

“With the state budget facing a huge deficit and with us looking for more ways to save taxpayer dollars, why should we prohibit using a system that is free and easily available? Not only does it save time and dollars, but it helps to protect jobs for those citizens who are here legally,” Dutton said.

How does a bill like this pass the assembly? Rex Gutierrez stated that he would like to move on to something bigger. He would be moving on to a bigger mess than he imagined given this sort of legislation passing the body. Let’s hope that the Senate can apply some sanity to the process.

Campaign contributions and expenditures for political campaigns are public record, reported regularly in California on Form 460. The financial reporting requirement for political campaigns is detailed on the California Form 460 found here:

Reports state the preceding six months activity.

Mayor Don Kurth June 2007

Mayor Don Kurth (1)June 2007

Mayor Don Kurth December 2007

Mayor Don Kurth (1)December 2007

Diane Williams June 2007

Diane Williams December 2007

Dennis Michael June 2007

Dennis Michael December 2007

Sam Spagnolo June 2007

Sam Spagnolo December 2007

Rex Gutierrez June 2007

Rex Gutierrez December 2007

Many of the 460 reports are posted on the office related websites, however Rancho Cucamonga has not yet made these reports available online. A request to the city clerks office is still required to obtain them. The first half of 2008 reports will be posted once they are available in July. Return for an update. If the reports become available on the Rancho Cucamonga City web site a link will be made to the reports.

Rancho Cucamonga Record’s Coordinator Carrie Pincott has been very responsive in providing the public record of campaign contributions Form 460s for our Mayor and City Council members.

I have posted the last two reposts made available here on this site. I hope that the candidates will post these reports on their own websites, or have the city make them available online. The more transparent the campaigns are the more confidence there is in the process. Mayor Kurth has published a new website promising to provide more information to the citizens of Rancho, I expect that he would include the 460 reports. For now, the reports will be here at CitizenView.

There are many reasons for prompting individuals to make campaign contributions to political campaigns. There is no question that at the least the contributors will have access to the candidates. Stay informed to make sound decisions.

Will anyone listen to straight talk if it’s not what they want to hear? McCain addresses the price of oil and gasoline head on.

McCain has taken the brave but dangerous path of telling us what we need to know.  Oil may well be $200.00 a barrel, with gasoline at $7.00 a gallon, if we do nothing.  Remarks By John McCain On Energy Security

Doing nothing about the price of gasoline includes placing a windfall profits tax on American oil companies. It may make some feel good but you can forget getting any relief in gas prices from that move.

There are two things that can influence fuel prices in the near term, conservation, and the prospect that supply will increase faster than demand in the future.

Conservation is a hard sell for politicians because it places some responsibility on individuals. There is no single sweeping government program politicians can take credit for, like the corn based ethanol program.  They can ignore the nasty consequences of driving up fuel and food prices further because they have taken action.  Conservation is the only measure available for lowering oil costs in the near term. At a recent hearing of the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming chaired by Rep Markey while democrats railed against the oil companies Amy Meyers Jaffe, an expert on energy markets at Rice University, stated that one the biggest obstacles in addressing the problem was misinformation delivered to constituents by legislators.  Telling them what they wanted to hear rather the truth.  I would have gone further and stated that if legislators would stop lying to their constituents the problem would be manageable.

The other is to place in motion a credible plan that will make available new sources of oil.  It is true that there are vast quantities of fossil fuel in North America; however, they will not be available to refine gasoline for years if not decades.  Oil shale for example will take a decade to develop the large-scale extraction technology now only a demonstration project.  Oil shale production will require a huge investment by oil companies, which is another reason to not to raise their taxes.  The prospect of increasing supply in the future will help lower expectations for oil prices, and move prices lower.  The sentiment in the oil market has an enormous effect on today’s oil prices.

Obama grudgingly admits that is there is little that can be done about gas prices at the pump in the near term, but keeps up the rhetoric implying that an Obama win will offer relief.

Do not drink the Kool-Aid, insist that your legislators face facts and take responsible action on your behalf. You may even want then to pay for their own gasoline on occasion.

The State and Local Government are taking $0.70 from the $4.43 you pay at the pump.  Add another $0.18 for the Federal government and that $0.88 a gallon.

The democrats rail against the big oil companies who produce, refine and deliver product to the gas pump. Democrats propose windfall profit taxes on these companies.  To what end will there additional taxes benefit the consumer?  New taxes will not lower the price of gasoline, in fact higher taxes in the form of state sales taxes are contributing to higher prices.  This is a tax windfall for sate and local governments without any additional costs to the state.

The elements that make up the retail price of Branded Gasoline sold at the pump is detailed in the table below. You may notice that after the crude oil is sold to the refiners, Exxon Mobile, Chevron, etc that the largest bite of the June 9th price of gas goes to taxes, at $0.70 a gallon. The refiner takes $0.51 a gallon for producing the product.  Recently the presidential campaigns suggested that there be a moratorium on the Federal tax of $0.18 a gallon.  The real money is in state and local taxes where the sales tax increases the tax bite as the retail price increases, a windfall for state and local government.  I have not heard any proposal for a rollback of the “Windfall Sales Taxes” only additional taxes on oil companies.

The complete sorce for this data and Estimated 2008 Gasoline Price Breakdown & Margins Details was found at website of The California Energy Commission With more information found at

Retail Gasoline Price: The weekly average price for California from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) (http://www.eia.doe.gov/oil_gas/petroleum/data_publications/wrgp/mogas_home_page.html).

Yahoo Real Estate sites 1582 properties in some stage of foreclosures in Rancho Cucamonga. Visit this site and see the home in your neighborhood mapped and in foreclosure. This is a very sobering view of the condition of the local real estate market.

It may well be some time before this glut of homes are either sold or have loans repackaged to save them from the auction block. The Fed has finished lowering interest rates in an effort the slide in the US dollar, so no relief will come for adjustable rate mortgages.

Mayor Don Kurth, Rex Gutierrez, and Dennis Michael all look to be on the move in 2010. The campaigning will start soon with fund raising already begun for the assembly seat expected to be vacated by Assemblyman Bill Emmerson.

Rex is a little more candid about his intentions to run for the 63^rd district assembly seat. He stated that he is looking for a bigger challenge that the Rancho City council.

“It’s time to take on a bigger challenge,” said Gutierrez. “I’ve been on the council off-and-on since ‘92. I’ve been through the thick and thin and developed a lot of relationships. I need to show my skills and utilize my talent at a higher level.”

Mayor Kurth is a little cagier about his intentions.

“My current intention is to run for mayor again,” he said. “I enjoy serving as mayor. Public service seems to suit me, but you do look around for other opportunities.”

The real concern for these two will be who will get the political funding to make a successful run for the seat. There is little change of a viable challenge from the democrats in the district. Republicans will assuredly hold the seat until the gerrymandered district is threatened by a dramatic change in the way district boundaries are drawn.

The party insiders will have to make a choice for all of us, who will have the shot at the seat. So the real politicking will be done early in the season to will their favor. Surely one of them will move on to the assembly.

Council Member Dennis Michael will be waiting to see how things shape up with the Mayor. His recent performance as stand in for Kurth gives him a taste of the center seat on the council. The appetite for a robust local election season will be satisfied soon enough in Rancho Cucamonga.