San Bernardino County

A $1.4 million award of damages to the owners of a San Bernardino adult cabaret has been thrown out by the state Supreme Court. In a unanimous ruling, the state high court said that an appellate court had answered the wrong question when it decided the City of San Bernardino was liable for Flesh Club’s expenses and lost income during a 53-month period when the cabaret was shut down. » read more | add to cart

An environmental impact report is necessary for a 120-unit senior housing facility in the City of Grand Terrace, the Fourth District Court of Appeal has ruled. The unanimous three-judge appellate panel upheld a trial court judge’s ruling that a mitigated negative declaration for the project was inadequate. » read more | add to cart

An eminent domain action’s impact on the future development of the remaining private property — which needs rezoning for development — may be considered by a jury that is determining the fair market value of the taking, the state Supreme Court has ruled. » read more | add to cart

Concluding that Fontana has dodged its affordable housing obligations since 1987, the Fourth District Court of Appeal has blocked the Fontana Redevelopment Agency from issuing $40 million in tax allocation bonds because the agency has exceeded its debt limit. The court also declined to “validate” a settlement between Fontana and the state Department of Housing and Community Development concerning a $67 million shortfall in affordable housing funds, and the court makes clear that Fontana has been avoiding is affordable housing obligations since 1987. » read more | add to cart

San Bernardino County has agreed to deal with greenhouse gas reduction in its general plan as part of a settlement agreement in a high-profile lawsuit filed by the state attorney general’s office.
» read more | add to cart

The scene is a minor-league baseball stadium somewhere in the Inland Empire. The broadcasters are Ralph and Jim, a pair of middle-aged sportscasters, who are calling a Class-A game for local radio listeners.

» read more | add to cart

San Bernardino County is using redevelopment tools to help a rural community devastated by the Southern California firestorms of 2003 rebuild. The effort is one of the first times a California redevelopment agency has formed a project area specifically to aid recovery from a natural disaster.

» read more | add to cart

In an important water rights ruling, the state Supreme Court has held that farmers’ long-standing water rights superceded water claims by downstream cities. The unanimous court ruled in favor of seven alfalfa and dairy farmers in the Mojave Valley that had refused to join a pact that allocated water to more than 200 farmers, cities and other entities without regard to historical water rights. "This preserves the farmers’ position at basically the top of the water chain," Robert Dougherty, t...

» read more | add to cart