Kiyoshi Tomono's Blog

One-cent sales tax increase proposal 7/22/08

2008-07-22T15:10:00Z

It was our big topic Tuesday on 17 News at Sunrise. A one cent sales tax increase proposal from the Kern Taxpayers Association. Mike Turnipseed says it's about our county controlling its destiny. Naysayers see another tax and possibly misspent funds.

The proposal could raise $150 million per year. It would not be self-money that is matched by the state because in order to get that, we would need to designate specifically where the money would go and the proposal might take a 2/3 vote.

Here's how Turnipseed says the money could be spent:

20 YEAR EXPENDITURE PLAN

This referendum could address three critical needs in Kern County:

• Roads ($2.0 billion)
o $500 million: Matching funds for the Thomas Roads Improvement Program (TRIP)
o $500 million: Funding dedicated to congestion mitigation and air quality
o $500 million: Funding for local roads, distributed to the cities and county, based on population.
o $500 million: Annual distributions, based on population, to all cities and the county devoted to maintenance of local roads.

• Public Safety ($ 675 million)
o $500 million: Ongoing funding of Kern County Gang Violence Strategic Plan (Prevention, Intervention and Suppression) over 20 years.
o $40 million: Match for $100 million AB 900 state grant to construct 790 beds in the new building at Lerdo Jail.
o $100 million: New fire facilities and equipment
o $35 million: Sheriff Substations and equipment

• Health Care ($325 million)
o Funds could also be used to invite U.C. Merced to establish a medical school in Bakersfield / Kern County.
o Establish a level one trauma center at KMC
o Establish a pediatric department at KMC
o Health and Wellness Issues

And here was Mike's pitch to county supes:

Chairman Rubio, Members of the Board, I am Michael Turnipseed, representing the Kern County Taxpayers Association. Thank you for the opportunity to discuss this year’s budget.

KERNTAX is a member-supported, non-profit organization, whose purpose is to bring about, through cooperative effort and communication, greater economy, efficiency, and effectiveness in government and bases its recommendations upon the analysis of facts obtained through research.

KERNTAX is politically independent, viewing matters and policies in an objective, impartial manner, and taking positions based on the Association’s adopted principles. Founded in 1939, KERNTAX has had only one bias, the best interests of Kern County taxpayers.

With all of the last minute questions about this year’s budget issues: overmatch, allocation of this year’s general fund money and setting spending priorities by departments or by programs/functions. It is not possible to have a detailed view of issues during these budget hearings. To address these issues thoroughly, the hearings should be expanded and final adoption delayed until all pending issues are fully addressed. After this year’s budget process is completed, we will be presenting a proposal to radically change and improve the current budgeting process including a public review of these issues well in advance of budget adoption.

Kern County should consider a two year budget process. This would give departments time to prepare multi-year work plans, especially since many projects overlap one or more fiscal years.

The continued use of one-time funding mechanisms appears to reduce the short term budgeting difficulties, but in reality, only sets departments up for deeper cuts and loss of positions, even when the fiscal situations improve. This is especially true for Budget Saving Incentives. For departments that have carefully managed their budgets and saved funds over many years, it is extremely painful to have their hard earned reserves spent in a one time allocation.

If the Board will not provide full funding to departments, then the Board must be prepared to prioritize functions or programs and recognize that some projects or programs will be delayed or not accomplished at all. It is easy to say “Do more with less”, but many departments have done just that for years. Many managers are already working nights and weekends to meet department workloads. Some managers may be reluctant to tell you this because they don’t want to be seen as weak or ineffective, but overextending staff over a long period of time cannot be sustained with satisfactory results.

When your board adopts new projects, from helicopters to redevelopment agencies, you must fully fund their financial needs at the time of approval.

Your board should not adopt a new program unless enough funds are available to see it through completion, or at the time of approval, make focused cuts in other programs, to fund the new activity.

These are items your board has some control over.

Let’s talk about the dark side of this year’s budget.
State lawmakers are seriously considering pilfering money from local government and transportation funds to balance this year's $15.2 billion budget deficit.
As reported, as much as $3 billion could be in jeopardy, but this borrowing would only be a temporary fix for California's structurally unbalanced budget. Two voter-approved ballot measures will force any diversions to be repaid -- with interest -- within three years.
This doesn't do anything to solve the state's ongoing budget dilemma, but the chances of raiding such funds appear very high and this action will have very detrimental effects on local government. In Kern County, the consequence on local governments could reach $65 million dollars in lost funds.
The transportation and local government borrowing would come from two sources.
The first would transfer property taxes away from local governments to area schools. That would lower the amount of school spending that must come out of the state's general fund, helping balance the state's books.
Voters limited that practice in 2004 by approving Proposition 1A with 80 percent of the vote. But that measure allows lawmakers to still make such a transfer -- up to two times per decade -- provided the state repays all the borrowed funds within three years.
Ironically, this is the first year lawmakers are eligible to make the property tax transfer since Proposition 1A passed.
The second would divert gas sales tax revenues from transportation projects -- such as highway construction and mass transit -- to the state's general fund. Passing Proposition 42, voters similarly restricted that practice in 2006, with provisions akin to the limits on taking funds from local government.
These raids are allowed by law, but were never meant to deal with the structural deficit. They were meant to deal with short-term cash flow problems.
The two funds are hardly the only pots of money that lawmakers can take from cities and counties as they struggle to cobble together this year's budget, which is already three weeks overdue.

Other borrowing options contemplated have included taking unspent funds from voter-approved First 5 commissions (roughly $2.4 billion) and temporarily taking money from mental health services funded by Proposition 63. Neither of these ideas has been included in any written budget plan, yet.
But the underlying problem to all the internal borrowing -- especially monies like those from Proposition 1A and 42 -- is that there's no plan on how to repay the taken funds.
And the state legislature does not have a clue on how they are going to pay this raided money back.
On top of this, the study, "The Measure of America," applied to the United States for the first time a so-called "human development" standard previously used to evaluate developing countries from Afghanistan to Zambia. The domestic results are sobering.
Poverty, poor health and low graduation rates have put the San Joaquin Valley's 20th Congressional District, a major portion of Kern County, dead last in a new national scorecard that ranks the well-being of residents.
Even, notoriously grim Appalachia fared better than the congressional district that includes portions of Kern, Fresno, and Kings Counties.
There are significant issues in the Valley that reflect rural inequality. Kern County has always been an area that's underserved.
This brings us to a question that no one wants to ask. “What are we going to do to solve these and many other issues that Kern County faces?”
For the past six months, I have had many in depth conversations with two KERNTAX members, former County CAO’s Joe Drew and Joel Heinrichs, discussing the myriad of issues facing Kern County. Many of these issues existed during their terms of service with the county. We talked about transportation, public safety, public health, public education, the economy, and almost everything else imaginable. We have discussed unfunded mandates, and the lack of federal dollars returning to California, especially the San Joaquin Valley.
We had sober discussions on grave issues and concluded that a major discussion must occur among Kern County taxpayers about the future of the county and the quality of life which residents want for themselves, their children and grandchildren.

With this in mind, The Kern County Taxpayers Association respectfully requests that your board place on the November 8, 2008 ballot a referendum to Kern County voters to increase the local sales tax by one cent to fund solutions to transportation, public safety, and public health issues facing Kern County residents.
If approved, a one cent sales tax has the potential to generate $150 million per year in needed revenue to Kern County.

And here are Turnipseed's proposed safeguards:

• Independent Taxpayers Oversight Committee. This independent committee would be established by the Board of Supervisors through unanimous vote to provide citizen review and to ensure that all measure funds are spent in accordance with provisions of the Expenditure Plan and Ordinance. Specific terms and conditions for an Independent Taxpayers Oversight Committee will be available and periodic certified independent financial audits will be performed.

• Administrative Costs. The administering authority shall expend only the amount of funds generated from the tax that is necessary and reasonable to carry out its responsibilities for auditing, administrative expenses, staff support and contract services. In no case shall the funds expended for administrative salaries and benefits exceed one percent (1%) of the annual net amount of revenue raised by the tax.

• Maintenance of Effort. Additional funds provided government agencies by this measure shall supplement existing local transportation revenues for street and highway purposes. Transactions and use tax revenue shall not be used to replace existing local road funding programs or to replace requirements for new development to provide for its own road needs.

• Termination of Taxing Authority. The retail transactions and use tax authorized by this Ordinance shall terminate upon the earlier of twenty (20) years or upon action by the State of California to divert the revenue from the special retail transactions and use tax authorized herein for purposes other than those specified in the Ordinance.

Many residents will be asking, “Why is KERNTAX doing this?”

It is the right time for taxpayers to decide on the future quality of life in Kern County.
KERNTAX developed this proposed referendum using four principles:

• Fairness: A good tax distributes the burden evenly, provides services that are useful to the general public, and is levied only to pay for needed services.

• Understandability: A good tax is visible, levied and spent by the jurisdiction closest to the voters, would be approved by voters for generally desired services, and is identified with the services it provides.

• Cost Effectiveness: A good tax pays only for those few services that can best be provided by government, and supports efficient, useful government programs.

• Benefit: A good tax pays for services that encourage growth of the private sector, is levied on consumption, and encourages capitol formation.

It is not normal practice for KERNTAX to advocate for a tax increase. But, we have come to a fork in the road, and the consequences of inaction greatly outweigh the burdens created by this action.

KERNTAX looks forward to your board referring this request to your July 29th meeting for discussion and placing this referendum on the November 8 ballot for the voters to decide this critical referendum.

Big Rig Blues: How to fix Kern County roads?

2008-07-17T23:13:00Z

****Wow....corrected the title at 3 pm July 18. Why didn't anyone tell me I was writing about big rib blues?****

Trucks rumble down Kern County roads carrying goods across the state.

But critics say we get potholes, bad air and traffic with little in return.

They say, we've become the transportation equivalent of a middleman for our neighbors to the north and south.

Congressman Kevin McCarthy is renewing his push for a half-cent, self-help sales tax that might help Kern County get matching federal funds.

It's a proposal that Kern County voters shot down in the form of Measure I in November 2006: Here's how the ballot read: To relieve congestion, improve traffic safety, and match federal and state transportation funding for (1) widening/improving State Routes 14, 46, 58, 99, 178, 202, 223 and 395; (2) fixing potholes, maintaining local roads and synchronizing signals, (3) improving high accident locations and routes to schools, (4) and improving senior/disabled transit.

So, what should we do to fix Kern County's traffic troubles?

Kimi Peck Blogs On KGET Tehachapi Dog Story

2008-06-23T17:51:00Z

My story on a dog sanctuary has touched a nerve with the sanctuary owner: http://kimi2.com/KimiPeck/Directory.html

If you're not familiar, here's a link to my story to get you up to speed:

http://www.kget.com/mediacenter/local.aspx?videoid=29354@video.kget.com

Kimi Peck says she's being persecuted by Animal Control officers and the woman who runs this Website: http://hoardingchihuahuas.com/

Peck may be forced to build a concrete kennel or give up most of her dogs. Here's the letter Peck wrote to DA Ed Jagels:

OPEN LETTER TO KERN COUNTY DA:

What's next?

Well it sure would be swell if David Price - Director of Kern County Resource Management Agency | and Denise Haynes - Animal Control Department Director / Shelter Administration Chief | had their hearts in the right place about saving the lives of little doggies. If they had a genuine thoughtful concern for animals - little homeless cats and dogs and other little creatures. That's important in their efforts to work with Kern County residents who love animals. Imagine animal sanctuary folks and rescue organization champions being well thought of by the Kern County government animal shelter folks who actually are concerned and care about the lives of animals... County officials who understand why folks care so deeply about their cats and dogs and other animal pets. It would be almost like actually working together to solve Kern County's deep, deep homeless animal overpopulation challenges. Amazing!

In 2008 it is clear that Kern County Animal Control has some very real challenges from top to bottom. Very real challenges in the full view of residents, and in the harsh glare of troublesome public disclosures. Kern County's animal shelter is critically underfunded, disorganized and incapable of humanely dealing with the growing number of animals coming into its kennels. The result is illness, suffering and death.

So, let's not see Kimi Peck - who for years has worked to save animal lives - be a divisive target and a simple, easy diversion to get the spotlight to move off of Kern County Animal Control difficulties, budgets, facilities, officials, administrators and staff.

David Price has a lot on his plate.

We don't want Kern County Animal Control to get a chance to say: Look... Look over here at Kimi Peck and her house full of doggies she has saved.

And then say: No. No - don't look behind that curtain at Animal Control with their lack of a budget, need for an adequate staff and smart leadership to accomplish what needs to be done in Kern County.

June 2008 - last week Ch 17 and Ch 23 from Bakersfield have had a field day listening to folks from Burbank and one neighbor attack Kimi Peck. The reporters don't get it. They don't get it at all.

Here's the deal -- we're seeking some difficult work by reporters and journalists who will contact us and dig deeper into this story. Who are these troublemakers from Burbank? What is going on at Animal Control that calls for reform and changes? Have the Burbank folks contacted the Kern County Officials? The press? TV Reporters? Is that one complaining neighbor incahoots with the Burbank folks under their direction? So far we've see just the easy story. The no effort story. The typical story from TV reporter Kiyoshi Tomono and others: Kimi Peck has a lot of homeless doggies she takes care of at her house in the hills above Tehachapi. Isn't she something! Boy, she's got trouble now!

There is more to the story. It's as if Kern County officials don't want that investigative light heading their way. No way. Not at all.

The Big Story: What's happening with Kern County Animal Control?

The side story:
Look over here. Look. See, Kimi Peck has a lot of homeless doggies.
Let's get code enforcement after her and cause her more trouble!
Let's get her to jump over some compliance hoops for us. Yeah, that'll be fun!

Kimi Peck

Newport Television, parent company of KGET-TV, Announces Restructuring

2008-06-19T12:56:00Z

NEWPORT TELEVISION, THE PARENT COMPANY OF KGET-TV MADE A RESTRUCTURING ANNOUNCEMENT, WHICH INCLUDES A REDUCTION IN WORKFORCE.

THE LAYOFFS INVOLVE 56 STATIONS IN 25 COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND INCLUDES SOME STAFF REDUCTION HERE AT KGET.

A NEWPORT TELEVISION SPOKESPERSON SAID THIS WAS A DIFFICULT BUT NECESSARY STEP TO ENSURE THAT EACH STATION HAS THE RIGHT TEAM TO COMPETE OVER THE LONG-TERM.

WE ARE EXCITED ABOUT THE STRENGTHS OF EACH OF THESE STATIONS AND WE ARE COMMITTED TO PROVIDING THEM THE STRATEGIC AND FINANCIAL RESOURCES THEY NEED TO DELIVER THE ABSOLUTE BEST PROGRAMMING TO THEIR VIEWERS AND TO GROW AND IMPROVE OUR NEWS PRODUCT.

NEWPORT SAYS THE REDUCTION AFFECTS ROUGHLY SEVEN PERCENT OF ITS EMPLOYEES NATIONWIDE.

Can toads, frogs and other animals predict earthquakes?

2008-05-22T12:07:00Z

Some say cats and dogs act funny. Others say toads and frogs invaded China shortly before last weeks' devastating earthquake. So what do you think? Can animals predict earthquakes? One of the geologists we talked to says it's not out of the realm of possibility.

I'll add my two cents by saying my family (on the other hand) firmly believes that animals have that sixth sense. Our family cat and dogs have always acted funny, my sister says, before major earthquakes. They also believe the dry, windless earthquake weather theory.

Here's a story from the Associated Press:

BEIJING (AP) — First, the water level in a pond inexplicably plunged. Then, thousands of toads appeared on streets in a nearby province. Finally, just hours before China's worst earthquake in three decades, animals at a local zoo began acting strangely.

As bodies are pulled from the wreckage of Monday's quake, Chinese online chat rooms and blogs are buzzing with a question: Why didn't these natural signs alert the government that a disaster was coming?

"If the seismological bureau were professional enough they could have predicted the earthquake ten days earlier, when several thousand cubic meters of water disappeared within an hour in Hubei, but the bureau there dismissed it," one commentator wrote.

In fact, seismologists say, it is nearly impossible to predict when and where an earthquake will strike.

Several countries, including China, have sought to use changes in nature — mostly animal behavior — as an early warning sign. But so far, no reliable way has been found to use animals to predict earthquakes, said Roger Musson, a seismologist with the British Geological Survey.

But that has not stopped a torrent of online discussion. Even the mainstream media has chimed in, with an article in Tuesday's China Daily newspaper questioning why the government did not predict the earthquake.

Online commentators say the first sign came about three weeks ago, when large amounts of water suddenly disappeared from a pond in Enshi city in Hubei province, around 350 miles east of the epicenter, according to media reports.

Then, three days before the earthquake, thousands of toads roamed the streets of Mianzhu, a hard-hit city where at least 2,000 people have been reported killed.

Mianzhu residents feared the toads were a sign of an approaching natural disaster, but a local forestry bureau official said it was normal, the Huaxi Metropolitan newspaper reported May 10, two days before the earthquake.

The day of the earthquake, zebras were banging their heads against a door at the zoo in Wuhan, more than 600 miles east of the epicenter, according to the Wuhan Evening Paper.

Elephants swung their trunks wildly, almost hitting a staff member. The 20 lions and tigers, which normally would be asleep at midday, were walking around. Five minutes before the quake hit, dozens of peacocks started screeching.

There are a few possible reasons for such behavior, said Musson, the seismologist. The most likely is that the movement of underground rocks before an earthquake generates an electrical signal that some animals can perceive. Another theory holds that other animals can sense weak shocks before an earthquake that are imperceptible to humans.

Zhang Xiaodong, a researcher at the China Seismological Bureau, said his agency has used natural activity to predict earthquakes 20 times in the past 20 years, but that still represents a small proportion of China's earthquakes.

"The problem now is this kind of relationship is still quite vague," he said.

In winter 1975, Chinese officials ordered the evacuation of the city of Haicheng in northeastern Liaoning province the day before a 7.3 magnitude earthquake, based on reports of unusual animal behavior and changes in ground water levels. Still, more than 2,000 people died. Strange environmental phenomena including changes in well water levels, were also reported a year later before a 7.6 magnitude earthquake in Tangshan in northeastern China that killed 240,000, Musson said.

A team of Chinese seismologists was sent to the region but didn't find any evidence to suggest an earthquake. As the seismologists were going home, they stopped for the night in Tangshan and were killed in the quake.

Same-sex marriage ban overturned

2008-05-16T00:40:00Z

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - It was a jolt of energy for a crowd of about 150 people wilting in the midday heat outside the California Supreme Court building in San Francisco.

Word that the Republican-controlled state high court had voted 4-3 to overturn a state law banning same sex marriage. It touched off a raucous celebration. People jumped for joy, cheered and cried. Horns on passing cars honked -- and congratulations were shouted to same sex couples.

The long wait for Shelly Bailes and Ellen Pontac illustrates the jubilation. They've been together more than 34 years, but had to hide their relationship while their four children were in school. Otherwise, Pontac says, their kids would have been taken away, adding "that's why this is such a big deal."

Meanwhile, religious and social conservative groups are trying to put a measure on the November ballot that would enshrine laws banning gay marriage in the state constitution.

The conservative Alliance Defense Fund says it plans to ask the state justices for a stay of today's decision until after the fall election.

I'm Getting Old: Mosquito Ringtones

2008-05-14T13:50:00Z

Parents and teachers, this is the latest fad: cellphone ringtones that you and I can't hear.

Take a listen to the tones on this page and let me know how far you get. I cutoff somewhere around 20-30 years old. That makes me sad.

http://www.freemosquitoringtones.org/

Non-traditional students: Going back to school

2008-05-13T20:21:00Z

More and more baby boomers (and beyond) are going back to school for personal or financial reasons. Some have hit dead ends in their jobs, or others are just looking for a change of scenerey. Some want to be lifelong learners. So....they are going back to college. This time, perhaps minus the toga parties. How about you? Do you have any stories about going back to school after taking a break?

Lawmaker vehicles under fire for not being 'green'

2008-05-01T12:22:00Z

An amendment to last year's energy bill may force lawmakers like Congressman Kevin McCarthy to select a more fuel-efficient vehicle.

The LA Times reports Mccarthy drives a 2007 Chevy Trailblazer leased at taxpayer expense.

The paper reports the vehicle is near the bottom of the list of vehicles leased by California's house members because it gets about 16 miles to the gallon and releases relatively large amounts of carbon dioxide.

The new law requires house members who lease vehicles through their office budgets to drive cars that emit low levels of greenhouse gases, like the hybrid Toyota Prius.

But the law has some lawmakers up in arms, who say the Prius isn't even built in the US.

For the LA Times story: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-na-cars1-2008may01,0,5368045.story

What do you think? Will this make a difference by setting an example, or is it a waste of money?

Missing evidence starts controversy over gang member shooting

2008-04-18T13:08:00Z

The Police Department says Leon Anderson Junior used two guns to shoot Officer Eddy in the chest and leg but the department says one of the guns and all of the bullets Anderson fired were never found.

The police department said it's clear: Leon Anderson Junior shot and wounded Officer Dennis Eddy during a foot chase before Anderson was shot and killed by another officer.

Sgt. Greg Terry said, "He was shot twice by Leon Anderson and the evidence shows what took place in both of those exchanges."

Anderson's father believes his son never fired a shot and the gun was planted.

Leon Anderson Senior said, "No more police policing themselves, because this is a cover-up."

The shooting review board says Anderson used a .32 caliber gun to shoot Eddy in the chest, because that's the size of the slug recovered from the officer's bullet-proof vest.

No .32 caliber gun was found at the scene of the shooting.

Sgt. Terry said, "The tumbleweeds, the furniture, the vehicles, the overgrowth, all of that, the vacant lot and the fields, all of that where the initial shooting took place, the environment was full of things to explain why we didn't find it that night."

After a short chase, officers shot and killed Anderson when they said he raised a .38 caliber gun at them.

Six spent casings were found inside a revolver, but none of the matching bullets were ever found.

Sgt. Terry said, "If you look at the physical location that this shooting took place, when he was shooting at officer Cooley, the backdrop for that is a vacant lot that goes into an intersection down the street. That bullet could have gone into the ground, because at the time Mr. Anderson was shooting at Officer Cooley, he had gone down to a knee."

The police department initially said the bullet and gun matched.

Sgt. Terry said, "We believed initially that the gun with him was the only gun used, it was later during the investigation that the bullet used was not from a .38."

Sergeant Greg Terry says there was gunshot residue all over Anderson's hands and then there's the eyewitness accounts.

Sgt. Terry said, "The fact that we haven't recovered that firearm does not change the facts. The facts are, Mr. Anderson shot Officer Eddy with a .32 caliber."

The family has called for a federal investigation.

Men considering legal action in Oildale arrest

2008-04-09T19:41:00Z

Xavier Zamora says he's an amateur moviemaker.

Which is why the 23-year-old grabbed a video camera when he heard a commotion outside his Oildale home last month.

What he caught on camera was a 3-minute struggle between five Bakersfield police officers and a fleeing felon.

Zamora's actions and, officers say, his refusal to stay a safe distance from the confrontation, landed him in jail.

Both Zamora and the man captured in the video, 25-year-old Leonard Marella, say they are considering legal action against the police department.

Officers Search

Officers say they were in Oildale searching for a home invasion robber who broke into a home, beat an elderly man with an ax handle and fled after stealing the man's handgun.

When officers approached Leonard Marella March 11, he ran.

Marella admits he's a former gang member. He shows areas on his neck and arms where he says he had gang tattoos removed.

He is no stranger to the court system.

Murder charges against him were dropped in the jailhouse beating death of a murder suspect in the Amanda Zubia murder case.

Marella also has drug and alcohol charges.

On that March afternoon, Marella admits he was concealing drugs. That's why he says he ran when the officers approached.

The chase took Marella and officers through front and back yards. At one point, Marella ran inside a home and offered the residents $300 to help hide him.

There weren't any takers.

As he left the house, he says he did so with his hands up, ready to surrender peacefully to police.

Another Side

Officers tell another tale. They say Marella resisted arrest and was combative. They say he refused to show them his hands, so they could be certain he was unarmed.

"You had several occasions where he fell to the ground during the pursuit, he gets up and runs away despite office telling him not to," said Sgt. Greg Terry, a spokesman with the Bakersfield Police Department. "When he goes to the ground he has his hands and arms concealed under his body, he refuses to put them out. Despite the Taser being deployed, he refuses to comply with their orders."

The Taser barb struck Marella near his right ear.

"They said down, and that's all I remember,’’ Marella said. “I heard the shot (from the Taser gun) and it was done."

Officers say after the Taser, they used baton strikes to get Marella to show his hands. When that failed, they say they deployed the police dog that bit Marella's leg.

"There's no need,’’ Marella said. “They are supposed to do justice. They shot me in the face you know, that was enough, I was down. I was out, I was unconscious."

"To do all this extra, maybe they were upset from running, or maybe because I took them on a chase, it's not necessary," he added.

The cameraman

There was another arrest that day.

Xavier Zamora, 23, was behind the camera, and he was pretty close to the struggle between Zamora and the officers.

Officer Anthony Hernandez told Zamora to get back. In the video he shot, Zamora appears to step back for about 30 seconds, then moves in for a closer shot.

In the video, Hernandez barks: "Would you get back ... I said get back ... wait over there."

As Zamora retreats, Officer Stephen Kaufman approaches him.

"I'll be taking that," Kaufman tells Zamora, apparently referring to the videocamera.

"It's my First Amendment right,” Zamora says, “I'm with an entertainment company ... I've got lawyers," Zamora told the officer.

On Monday, in an interview with 17News, Zamora said, "I was arrested for filming and charged with resisting arrest, obstruction of justice and delaying a peace officer … and in the tape, you can see that didn't happen … I thought it was freedom of the press to film whatever I wanted to film.’’

Again, Terry says you have to understand the situation from the officer's point of view.

"You have a foot pursuit, you have a guy actively resisting and possibly armed and they're trying to get him into custody," Sgt. Terry said.

"Then have another individual run up, regardless of what his intentions were, an officer had to turn his intentions to him and instruct him to back up."

Zamora was charged with felony possession of stolen property because his mother reported the video camera stolen.

Zamora's mother says her son moved out on bad circumstances and she filed the report to teach her son a lesson. She says intends to drop the charges.

The obstruction of justice charge against Zamora was dismissed.

Marella pleaded no contest to drug possession and gun charges and will go to prison for about three years and eight months.

Officers say he was armed and ditched a handgun that was later found by a 9-year-old boy.

Police say the circumstances surrounding the arrest have been investigated and found to be within policy.

Bakersifeld Boy Dies In Canal Collapse, Reported Kidnapping A Hoax

2008-03-20T12:43:00Z

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (AP) - The reported kidnapping of a

nine-year-old California boy that triggered a two-state Amber Alert

yesterday was an apparent hoax.

Police say Zane Newton died in an accidental dirt collapse in a

field near his Bakersfield home and another boy made up the

kidnapping story. Newton's body was found buried beneath the dirt

hours after the reported abduction. Police say it appears he fell

into a hole and it collapsed around him.

The boy who made the kidnapping claim told police that a masked

man had pulled up in a black car and opened fire on them. He said

Zane might have been hit by gunshots before the man took him away.

Officers searched the neighborhood, knocking on doors, and

learned the boy had been playing in the lot. They went there and

found the body.

Bakersfield soldier charged with killing couple

2008-03-04T15:20:00Z

TACOMA, Wash. (AP) - A prosecutor says a Bakersfield soldier at Fort Lewis, Washington, killed a married couple - both fellow soldiers - and poured acid on their bodies in an attempt to dispose of them. The couple died Saturday.

Ivette Gonzalez Davila is also accused of taking the couple's 6-month-old girl. The 22-year-old was ordered held without bond for investigation of aggravated first-degree murder and kidnapping.

A court document says Davila took the baby to a Home Depot after the killings, bought muriatic acid, returned to the home and poured it on the bodies in the bathtub.

The baby was not harmed and is now in the care of the state's Child Protective Services.

Former Crisp & Cole Broker Responds To Allegations

2008-02-26T01:15:00Z

It's been five months since the fbi raided the homes and businesses of real estate agents david crisp and carl cole .

Former Crisp and Cole real estate agent Scott Reynolds didn't want to talk with us on camera about his former employer David Crisp, but his defense attorney says Reynolds has been talking to the authorities.

We have been in contact with the FBI and in contact with the prosecutors, I think that's an open fact right now," said defense attorney Carl Faller

The FBI will not confirm for 17 News who or what they are investigating

But it might be home purchases like the one Reynolds made at 522 Fern Valley Way.

Reynolds bought the property from David Crisp and Carl Cole in July 2006 for $414 thousand with 100-percent financing from SunTrust mortgage.

The house went into foreclosure in December, and eventually sold for $240 thousand.

That's a loss to the lender of at least $174 thousand.

"David Crisp involved a lot of folks: employees, friends, old high school friends in some land deals that he represented to be totally legitimate," Faller said. "But in retrospect they might have been a little sketchy."

Not so, says former Crisp and Cole broker Ty Stewart.

Crisp is now living with Stewart at a Southern Oaks home.

"I have worked for David and Carl from the very beginning. And I wasn't taken advantage of," Stewart said. "But I can only speak for myself."

"It's not his fault that properties have lost values. That's happened across the board; there are over a thousand foreclosures in Kern County right now, and David didn't have to do with hardly any of those," Stewart added.

"There are a lot of situations with a number of houses, where at face value, they look like they haven't been done appropriately," Faller said. "But as with anything else that is in the investigatory stage, you really have to wait until all the facts come out."

Reynold's former properties are being sold by Debbie Craig Banducci of REMAX Magic.

In fact, Reynolds is now working for Banducci as a real estate agent.

Banducci initially agreed to an on-camera interview Friday, but on Monday declined to comment on the matter.

17 News uncovered two other properties owned by Reynolds, that went back to the bank in foreclosure under similar circumstances.

If you think this doesn't affect other Kern County homeowners, mortgage broker Beth Cheatwood says think again.

"The collateral damage we're seeing isn't just confined through the real estate industry, I think it's having a ripple effect through the economy and society," Cheatwood said.

Crisp Confrontation Caught On Tape

2008-02-20T12:25:00Z

An ambush interview with embattled realtor David Crisp has become the talk of the town online.

A local radio personality grabbed a camera and confronted Crisp after spotting him at a local restaurant.

KRAB radio host Francis Mayer said when he saw Crisp eating at Woody’s Bar and Grill Monday, he had to ask him some questions.

Crisp declined to answer as he walked through the parking lot with his wife and child.

To see the video, click on the video link.

In the video, you can see the former real estate agent and his wife, Jennifer, drive off in a convertible Mercedes.

Federal investigators are investigating Crisp and several of his former real estate associates for mortgage fraud.

State authorities accuse Crisp of lying on loan documents and obtaining inflated appraisals to flip homes.

Mayer said Crisp’s actions played a major role in the downturn of local home prices.

His confrontation with Crisp has gathered hundreds of hits on KRAB’s website.

On the website, Mayer said Crisp slammed homebuyers into unrealistic goals so he could go on playing Bakersfield’s version of “Richie Rich.”

He said he confronted Crisp because he thought the community deserved answers.

The Department of Real Estate said Crisp’s attorney inquired about the progress of the investigating.

The local FBI office said its investigating is ongoing