Harris By ONE !!!

UPDATE: Next tally Update 11:00 PM 

It just doesn't get any closer!!

Last Update: 11/30/2006 4:48 PM
Next Update: 12/01/2006 5:00 PM

Inland houses remain too pricey for many

Last year 60 percent of Californians were homeowners, contrasting with a U.S. homeownership rate of 69 percent.

 Despite a softening housing market, Inland residents are finding it tougher to buy their first house, the California Association of Realtors said Monday.

The association reported that in the third quarter of this year, 31 percent of households in Riverside and San Bernardino counties could afford the region's median-priced, entry-level house, which costs $346,800. That was down from 33 percent in the second quarter and 38 percent a year earlier. MORE

Land developers to receive $102M after four-year legal battle

SAN BERNARDINO - County supervisors Tuesday approved a $102 million cash offer to settle the Colonies flood-control dispute.

The settlement, approved on a 3-2 vote and accepted by the Colonies Partners LP, will be the largest in the county's history. It comes after more than four years of legal strife, during which the price of a settlement quadrupled from the Colonies' original demand for $25 million it said was necessary to build a regional flood-control basin on its property. MORE

Council Closed Session: Buying 25 Acres?

Suit filed to open remote road

A long-simmering issue involving an obscure 19th-century law that grants rights of way on federal land is heading for court.

A major legal battle looms over the public's right to use a closed Inyo County road through remote Surprise Canyon to the ghost town of Panamint City in Death Valley National Park.

"Under law, the federal government must give private landowners access to their property," said Wyoming attorney Karen Budd-Falen, counsel to three groups of landholders who own property near the old mining camp. Their land is surrounded by federal land and can be reached by road only by a 132-year-old route through Surprise Canyon.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management installed a gate to close the road in mid-2001, sparking the court challenge by the landowners and off-road- vehicle groups that frequented the canyon.

Budd-Falen said the plaintiffs - the nonprofit Friends of the Panamint Valley, the Little Chief Millsite partnership, and landowner Bryan Lollich - contend the Civil War-era law granting right of way on public land must be upheld. MORE

COUNTY SUES FEDS TO PRESERVE ACCESS TO PUBLIC ROADS

San Bernardino County is suing the United States Department of Interior in an effort to preserve the public’s access to roads in the Mojave National Preserve. The County, at the request of Chairman Postmus, filed suit October 26 in Riverside Federal Court against the National Park Service for quiet title claim to the primary County Maintained Road System in the Mojave National Preserve.

Under the auspices of the Desert Protection Act of 1994, which established the Preserve, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the National Park Service and other federal agencies under the Department of the Interior have closed roads that are part of the County's Highway System across federal lands and have otherwise interfered with the actions of the County in conjunction with the regulation, operation and management of these highways.

Several attempts by the County to resolve issues of rights of way and jurisdiction with federal officials and agencies have failed. The resulting suit seeks to ensure the County’s right to conduct maintenance activities within rights of way, including making improvements and accommodating drainage ditches, shoulders, culverts and road signs. (more)

S.B. County chosen in crime program

San Bernardino County is one of 18 areas chosen last week to be part of a federal program seeking to stem a nationwide rise in violent crime.

"The Initiative for Safer Communities," sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice, intends to "seek honest answers about what works, what doesn't and why," U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said in a speech last month before announcing the 18 target jurisdictions.

According to state crime data, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department documented increases in homicide, rape and aggravated assault between January and June 2006 as compared to the same time last year. Overall, violent crime rose by 5.9 percent in that six-month period. MORE

The Thanksgiving Story

The Pilgrims who sailed to this country aboard the Mayflower were originally members of the English Separatist Church. They had earlier fled their home in England and sailed to Holland (The Netherlands) to escape religious persecution. There, they enjoyed more religious tolerance, but they eventually became disenchanted with the Dutch way of life, thinking it ungodly. Seeking a better life, the Separatists negotiated with a London stock company to finance a pilgrimage to America. Most of those making the trip aboard the Mayflower were non-Separatists, but were hired to protect the company's interests. Only about one-third of the original colonists were Separatists.

The Pilgrims set ground at Plymouth Rock on December 11, 1620. Their first winter was devastating. At the beginning of the following fall, they had lost 46 of the original 102 who sailed on the Mayflower. But the harvest of 1621 was a bountiful one. And the remaining colonists decided to celebrate with a feast -- including 91 Indians who had helped the Pilgrims survive their first year. It is believed that the Pilgrimsthanksgiving" observance. It lasted three days. would not have made it through the year without the help of the natives. The feast was more of a traditional English harvest festival than a true " MORE

Forty-Three Years Ago Today: The Death of a President

Forty-three years ago today the entire nation went into shock! This was the kind of shock reserved for the most treacherous of occasions such as an attack on an American landmark or the assassination of an American idol. Forty-three years ago today a sitting American president, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, was killed by a sniper’s bullet in Dallas, Texas and our government’s leadership changed hands on the premier Air Force jet, Air Force One, before the plane left Dallas for the sad return trip to Washington D.C.. MORE

Harris Ahead by 3 Votes !!!!

Last Update: 11/20/2006 5:18 PM
Next Update: 12/05/2006 5:00 PM

COUNCIL MEMBER - CITY OF TWENTYNINE PALMS
Vote For 3	6 of 6 Precincts Reporting
CANDIDATE VOTES PERCENT KEVIN COLE 1214 18.16% STEVE SPEAR 1018 15.23% JIM HARRIS 944 14.12% STEVE FLOCK 941 14.07% DAWN BENTON Jr. 902 13.49% SHERRIE GIBSON 806 12.06% MARK W. CLEMONS 573 8.57% CHRISTOPHER J. CURTIN 278 4.16% Write-In 10 0.15%

Twentynine Palms unemployment rate tops county average

Employment Development Department's October unemployment numbers for Twentynine Palms have us with numbers higher than the county, state and national averages. The City unemployment rate for October was 4.8% down from 5.1% in September.

The State of California's unemployment rate is at a record low of 4.5% with county rates at 4.4%. The National rate remains at a low 4.4%.

Unemployment rates do not reflect those who remain unemployed and have timed out of the E.D.D. unemployment compensation program.

Conservatives Kinder, Sexier Too

...Over the past 15 years, it is the Democrats, not the Republicans, who have emerged as the party of upper-income America. In 2000, Al Gore beat George Bush among the 4% of voters who described themselves to exit pollsters as "upper class." In 2004, John Kerry won nine of the 10 richest zip codes in the United States.

As for sex — well, it turns out that it's Republican (and especially Republican women) who have it more often and better. The two strongest predictors of Republican affiliation in America are (1) marriage and (2) church attendance. These are also the strongest predictors of female sexual satisfaction. The authoritative 1995 University of Chicago survey Sex in America found that conservative Protestant married women were the group most likely to report that they "nearly always" orgasmed during sex. Married women of all religions were almost twice as likely as unmarried women to describe their sex lives as "extremely satisfying."

So if offered the choice, reader, you'd be wiser to choose Democratic money and Republican sex... MORE

Glenn Eugene Allred, 23

On 11-17-06 at 9:49 PM, Glenn Eugene Allred, a 23 year old resident of Yucca Valley was a passenger in a 1997 Honda Civic eastbound on State Route 62 in Joshua Tree when for an unknown reason the vehicle left the roadway and collided with a dirt embankment and overturned.

Paramedics responded and transported him to Hi-Desert Medical Center where he was pronounced deceased at 10:45 PM.

The California Highway Patrol is investigating the collision.

Corrupt ex-California municipal planner must repay £48,000

London GB-- A CORRUPT senior municipal planning officer who pocketed backhanders to pay for his wife's breast implants and fertility treatment has been ordered to pay back £48,000.

Andrew Rigby, of California, Baldock, was jailed for 18 months earlier this year after pleading guilty to misconduct in a public office and concealing the proceeds of his crime when he worked for the London Borough of Enfield.

The greedy council official had changed planning records and pushed through controversial extensions, accepting nearly £60,000 from grateful applicants, during nearly three years of shady dealings. MORE

Dude, Your Butt Is Ringing

Cell phones, complete with a charger and data chips, were found in the body cavities of four inmates at a maximum-security prison, and they had used the phones to direct criminal activities on the street, officials said Wednesday.

The discovery was made Tuesday at the prison in Zacatecoluca, in central El Salvador, after suspicious officials took X-rays of the inmates, federal corrections chief Jaime Villanova said. MORE

Longoria Considered Running for Political Office

"Desperate Housewives" star Eva Longoria considered running for political office but decided against it because she feared people wouldn't be able to separate her from her racy character.

The 31-year-old star met with a group of Latino leaders in Washington, DC, on Wednesday to stress the importance of arts programs featuring Latino actors.

She started her speech by saying, "I'm here today to announce my candidacy for president. ... Oh, wrong speech! In the last two years, I've had an affair with the gardener and a teenager, I've faked a paternity test, my husband went to prison, and I threw him out of a window. I would probably win (political office in) California!"

Longoria has been active in politics, including the 2004 presidential race, during which she helped to educate Latino leaders about candidates, participated in a bus tour and met with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. MORE Official Fan Web Site

County's Loss Is Pot Smokers Gain

SAN DIEGO - Medical marijuana patients around the country scored a major win today, as a California Superior Court judge issued a preliminary ruling that state medical marijuana laws can co-exist with the federal law that prohibits all use.

Following oral arguments by the American Civil Liberties Union, Americans for Safe Access and the Drug Policy Alliance, as well as the California Attorney General's office, a San Diego Superior Court judge appeared poised to reject the contention of three California counties - San Diego, San Bernardino and Merced - that the state's medical marijuana laws are invalid because of a conflict with federal law. While no final opinion was issued, a tentative ruling released prior to the hearing dismissed the counties' arguments in their entirety. MORE

marijuana

BSU track and field team signs top recruit

Boise State track and field coach Mike Maynard announced the signing of Trevor Kraychir to a national letter of intent Wednesday.

Kraychir, a senior at Twentynine Palms High in Twentynine Palms, Calif., is one of the top-ranked high school throwers in the nation. Last season Kraychir posted the third-best 25-pound weight throw (74-11) and the third-best 35-pound weight throw (56-1) in the nation. Track

Banner Ads

At the request of so many of you in the business world we are going to be offering banner ads for those who would like to advertise on Cactus Thorns. With as many as 130,000 hits per week we can provide an effective advertising campaign for you.

We will be testing for the next couple of days.

Dust Bowl to be investigated

I got a chance to watch Tuesdays Council Meeting last night on channel 6.

Finally the city is going to look into the environmental pillage of the hill across the highway from from Stater Brothers Market. After Tuesdays high wind induced dust storms and the hill contributing to the millions of pounds of particular matter suffocating the town the Council said enough is enough.

The who, what and whys of this ecologic disaster have yet to be asked but in the end the council will be asking who is culpable and who will pay for its reclamation.

Kelso jail back in old home next to depot

KELSO - The old jail has arrived back home after a 12-year stay in a backyard in Hinkley.

It now sits near the 82-year-old Kelso Depot, where a half-century ago it held a variety of miscreants during the heyday of the mid-Mojave rail stop.

"We're glad to get it back, as it adds to the authenticity of the historic landscape," said Linda Slater, a ranger with the Mojave National Preserve, which operates the depot as a museum and visitors' center.

The Union Pacific Railroad opened the stately depot in 1924. It was closed in 1985 and was destined for demolition until a group of citizens rallied to save it.

"The building has been renovated virtually as it was when the Union Pacific closed it," said Slater, who along with other park officials searched far afield for authentic artifacts, century-old photographs and original furnishings to restore its original character. MORE

Why never ask for Gary's Endorsement

On the last two election cycles Gary Daigneault has a 1 in 5 batting average in Twentynine Palms' elections and the Desert Trail isn't any better. Talk about out of touch with the People.

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Solution: Do more blogging on Cactus Thorns.

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We're Flock-ed Now !!

The headline above is an inside joke with Steve Flock and I. Please take no offense.

$350K and no Park

Back on February 23, 2006 we wrote the article, "Talking about Illusion: The disappearing Quarter Million Dollars." At that time we had shown that the State had already gave a Prop 40 Grant of $233,000 to build the Bucky Bucklin Park. The City was requesting an additional $67,000 for the building of the same park. Today we read in this weeks Staff Report that the City is asking for an additional $50,000 in funds to build the park. That is now a total of $350,000. This is for a 1/3 of an acre park!

What is really strange is the proposed budget for the park fluctuates with every Staff Report and request for funds. The original $233,000 grant was approved in 2004 and still no Bucky Bucklin Park. According to this next request of $50,000 the budget for the project will be again $233,000. In less than a year the city has dumped $67,000 and now another $50,000 into the project but it still comes up to only $233,000. Is this some kind of mathematic formula used in government accounting? In the real world 233K+67K+50K=350K, but down at our city hall it is still just $233,000. Must be that New Math.

It would appear as much as $117,000 is misappropriated or misused or misplaced or missing. Bookkeeping error? Maybe, Maybe not. We are calling for a full independent audit of the Parks and Recreation Department.

Case MCVMS07828 - CURTIN -V- DAIGENAULT

It has come to our attention that there will be a hearing Monday Afternoon at the Joshua Tree Court House in Department M1 (Foster) for a civil action of harassment. Petitioner, CHRISTOPHER J CURTIN Vs. Respondent, GARY DAIGENAULT . The time is set for 1:15PM. This is a public hearing.

Case MCVMS07828 - CURTIN -V- DAIGENAULT

The Study of the Month Club

Not skipping a single beat, the lame duck City Council comes out of the recent election with yet another volly of studies. This is as the latest Study de Jure for the next council meeting.

6.4 Approval of Contract with Moore Iacofano & Goltsman (MIG) for the Development of a Park and Recreation Master Plan

STAFF RECOMMENDATION: The City Council approve a contract with MIG for the development of the Parks & Recreation Master Plan in the amount of $74,985.00.

Unable to finish a tiny little pocket park in the downtown area after more than a year since it was funded the city parks and rec wants a master plan. Finish what is planned before we plan for more.

Update: Here is the Staff Report 

LA Double Dipping Judges in Court

LOS ANGELES---In 1998, the state of California took over funding of all state trial court operations, including responsibility for payment of salaries and benefits to trial court judges, providing at least $100 million in taxpayer funds to county judges in the form of local judicial benefits.

Los Angeles County, which is home to one of the largest trial court systems in the United States, continues to pay "local judicial benefits" to its judges to supplement the compensation and benefits they received from the state. This "double dipping" by trial court judges costs Los Angeles County taxpayers an estimated $20 million per year.

Peace: November 11, 1918

Over the Top, Boys!

We call it Veterans Day today but when many of us were children it was still called Armistice Day. We were required to stand in silent respect at the exact hour of 11:00AM on each November 11th in respect for those who died in the Great War.

Once 4.7 million strong: American farm boys, factory hands, and tradesmen itchy for adventure, all called by their country to fight in World War I answered.

At the beginning of 2006, an unofficial roster of known remaining American WW I vets listed only about 24 names. Eleven months later, those ranks have dwindled to a dozen, according to Scripps Howard News Service. Perhaps another dozen who joined the armed forces after Armistice Day and served in the immediate aftermath of the war are still alive as well.

"The torch is quickly passing," said retired Brig. Gen. Steve Berkheiser, executive director of the National World War One Museum in Kansas City, Mo.

Happy Birthday Marine

"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem."

Life after Bill

Now that Postmus has defeated Williamson, it will be left up to board to find replacement.

By: Ryan Orr

SAN BERNARDINO The mission to find First District Supervisor Bill Postmus’ replacement on the Board of Supervisors is now under way. After a year of campaigning, Postmus will officially fill the role of assessor on January 8, 2007.

Ovitt said that although Postmus doesn’t play a role in making that choice he can certainly provide suggestions for who will fill his shoes. Ovitt said that the board would definitely listen to those ideas. More

50-plus caught up in Section 8 sweep

 About 10,000 people are on a waiting list for the housing-assistance program in San Bernardino County.

A team of officers spread out through several neighborhoods near San Bernardino on Thursday morning as part of a crackdown on renters suspected of welfare fraud, arresting more than 50 people.

About two-dozen homes were searched by about 80 officers split into teams made up of San Bernardino County sheriff's deputies, narcotics detectives, parole officers, probation officers and agents from the federal Office of the Inspector General.

The operation was the fifth of its kind in recent months in which local authorities worked with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to investigate Section 8-housing fraud. Similar sweeps were conducted in Highland, Victorville, Apple Valley and Hesperia. MORE

New Acting County Counsel

The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday appointed Assistant County Counsel Ruth E. Stringer to serve as Acting County Counsel effective today.
Ms. Stringer succeeds Dennis L. Wagner, who was appointed Interim County Counsel on May 3, 2006, following the retirement of County Counsel Ron Reitz. Mr. Wagner is returning to private practice.
Ms. Stringer joined the county in 1978 as an Employee Relations Officer and began her career in the County Counsel’s Office in 1983 as a Deputy County Counsel. From 1989 to 2003 she served as a Chief Deputy County Counsel, and was appointed Assistant County Counsel in 2003.

LA Times: San Bernardino County voters OK tamer version of eminent domain measure

California voters rejected a statewide proposition to restrict the government's ability to seize private property, but voters in San Bernardino County approved a scaled-down version of the measure Tuesday.

Measure O, which prohibits the county from using eminent domain to take private land and transfer it to a private developer or other entity, passed by a wide margin. 

...On election day, voter turnout in the Inland Empire fell a few percentage points short of expectations, with 35% of registered voters in Riverside County casting ballots and 37% of registered voters in San Bernardino County heading to the polls.

But aside from long lines at polls Tuesday evening as voters stopped on the way home from work, and minor glitches with some voting machines, officials in Riverside and San Bernardino counties reported no major problems.

San Bernardino County spokesman David Wert said voters were allowed to cast ballots as long as they got in line by 8 p.m.

"As is the case whenever you have people show up to something, you have periods where there is no one at the polls and then suddenly 100 people will show up," Wert said.

Desert Trail: Cole and Spear retain seats

TWENTYNINE PALMS - Voters appear to have selected two incumbents and one challenger in Tuesday's Twentynine Palms City Council race.

With all six Twentynine Palms precincts reporting, the San Bernardino County Registrar of Voters had incumbents Kevin Cole and Steve Spear and challenger Jim Harris leading a field of eight council hopefuls.

This is according to semi-official results updated at 1:59 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 8. The Registrar of Voters is expected to provide another update via its Web site at 5 p.m. Monday, Nov. 13. MORE

Harris Upsets Benton

In what many believe to be a stunning upset, Jim Harris won over Incumbent Dawn Benton Jr. to take the apparent lead for the third Council seat. Harris beat out Steve Flock by only 5 votes with a 761 to 756 count.

Both Councilmen Cole and Spear easily won reelection to 4 more years.

In what had to be the longest night of 8 candidates lives the count for the local City Council Election dragged on well into the early Wednesday hours.

We commend all of the Candidates for a great 2006 Council Campaign.

Its great to live in Twentynine Palms where politics has become a full contact sport.

Results: 2006 Twentynine Palms City Council Race

*** ELECTION NIGHT FINAL SEMI-OFFICIAL RESULTS ***

Spear: Over The Top

By: Steve Spear 

This report of an out of control radio host and Chamber of Commerce Director, as well as the report of Dawn Benton reporting that he has spent over $1,000.00 only two days after the Z107.7 spending report on the radio is simply over the top.

Virtual Assault On Candidate

At 4:15 PM this evening Sheriffs Deputies responded to Council Candidate Christopher J. Curtin's home.

Curtin was with his wife and children in his yard when they were reportedly startled by the screeching of tires as a vehicle that had been waiting down the street skidded to a halt in front of their driveway, and an individual jumped from the vehicle and approached Mr. Curtin, who shielded his children from the individual.

The individual allegedly was Gary Daigneault. The Curtin Family felt intimidated by the mannerisms and tone of his discourse.

Mr. Curtin told this reporter that he feared for the safety of his family.

Sheriffs Deputies are investigating and an incident number was made at 5:06PM this evening by Sheriff's Deputy Curtis Kolb.

Incident number TW063100035 is on record with the Sheriff's Department.

As this story progresses we will be the first to report the facts as provided by the Sheriff's Department.

Benton tops campaign spending limits

In a surprise letter to the candidates from Candidate Dawn Benton he revealed that he exceeded the $1000.00 limit for the City Council campaign. It did not reveal the total monies received nor the amount of expenditures. The letter was mailed on Friday November 3rd two days after the scurrilous Gary Daigneault exposé on campaign financing. Click here for copy of Form 470

Gibson: Daigneault's Sneak Attack

By Sherrie Gibson

Truly amazing, is the only way that I can describe this latest round of accusations! The radio did erroneously report that Mr. Sporkin was from Hermosa Beach and he is not. The address that was written in, “My own handwriting,” was merely a mailing address that was supplied to me by Mr. Sporkin. It did not ask for his home address, nor did it specify which business address that he needed to supply.

As I have stated on this site previously, Mr. Sporkin is licensed in Florida and he does not vote here. Further, he is not a client of mine and his listings (when they are active) are held with Libby’s Realty. This is low. To call someone a liar at the eleventh hour before the election over a business address is petty. Somewhere between the information that was supplied to me and the radio report there was a misunderstanding. That’s all. Not some grave conspiracy to deceive the voters. What’s important here is that I disclosed the individual that donated the signs; not the business address that he used.

Who is Backing Whom, Part 2

In that we decided long ago not to make endorsements for this election cycle we thought you should be reminded of the endorsements that have been made public. If you know of others please email me and I'll update this post with them.

The following groups have made endorsements:

Desert Trail: Benton, Cole, Harris

Concerned Citizens of Twentynine Palms PAC: Clemons, Flock, Gibson

Z-107.7 KCDZ-FM: Benton, Cole, Harris

We will post others as they come in.

Stumps to put on Election Night Fish Fry

The Stumps Bar and Grill will be holding a Election Night Bash and Fish Taco Fry. Everyone 21 years and older are invited to the Stumps for Free Food and you can watch the Election Results on the Big Screen.

Bring your "I Voted Sticker" and join the celebration of Democracy 29 Stumps Style.

It's Up To You

Tomorrow you will exercise your most precious Right as a Citizen. You will cast your vote. The stakes are high, the visions expressed here by the candidates are clear. It comes down to business as usual or change. If you want change you will have to decide what kind of change. We will not attempt to lead you by the hand to what we might think as the right choice. The choices are clear and you have had three months to evaluate the candidates. Its your heart, its your mind, its your future, its your vote.

We've done it. We have spent almost three months promoting Tomorrow's Election and maintained our independence and objectivity. We promised you that this site would not take sides. We followed through. We trust in the will of the voters. We trust in all of the candidates abilities keep their promises. We trust in you.

Steve Flock wants your vote

 Each candidate is allowed up to 500 words on the front page for a final argument.

By: Steve Flock 

Fellow citizens of Twentynine Palms,

Tuesday you will have the opportunity to vote in one of the most important elections in this city's history. As readers of the information presented on this site you will also be the most informed voters in our history.

Participating as a candidate has not only been a very interesting learning experience, but has also made me more convinced that Twentynine Palms needs the informed, clear thinking leadership I can bring to our city council.

Curtin gives it all for your vote

Each candidate is allowed up to 500 words on the front page for a final argument.

By: Christopher J. Curtin

I am asking for your vote this Tuesday. I believe that we need to end once and for all time the "Old Boys Network" that has held both the purse strings and the destiny of this town for far to long.

Lets start with Dawn Benton, Benton continues to work for and with Sunwest development, the largest development company in 29 Palms to date. This is a blatant conflict of interest. Kevin Cole's biggest supporter is Jay Corbin, who also wrote his candidates statement. This was told to me by Jay himself. Jay Corbin has done consultant work for more subdivisions than any other individual in 29 palms to date. I have a great deal of respect for Jay, he is a true professional and in my opinion one of the best at what he does.

However let me continue to state the facts.