Jeff Pelline's Sierra Foothills Report

“The decision is clear for Nevada County District Attorney Clifford Newell: He needs to step down,” according to the Sacramento Bee.

“He is hip-deep in legal and financial quicksand because of his own involvement, however unwittingly, in a “hard money” lending scam. With his appalling lack of discretion, he has irreparably damaged his ability to administer fair and impartial justice for those he is sworn to serve, too many of whom have been victimized by hard money brokers.

“A yearlong investigation by The Bee’s Robert Lewis and Charles Piller found that Newell, trying to keep his summer camp going, borrowed $2.4 million from two hard money lenders – real estate brokers who pool money from investors seeking high rates of return, then lend the cash at high interest rates to developers and others who can’t get a conventional loan from a bank or savings and loan.”

The rest of the editorial is here.

Newell will not step down. His involvement in the hard-money loans has been well known before the Bee’s “yearlong investigation.” But I wonder if The Bee will get some subscriptions from our right-wing reitrees at The Union’s expense. It’s a tough time for newspapers.

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“Anthony Weiner said Monday afternoon that he saw no reason to resign from Congress, setting in motion the final act of a political sex scandal: The struggle for survival,” according to Politico.com

“At first blush, he’s got powerful political currents running against him: His initial false claim that he was a ‘victim’ and hours of televised lies, his shortage of congressional allies, his very public persona, and a Republican leadership eager to make the case a partisan test.

“But Weiner, who accepted his public drubbing with remorse Monday, appears to have the requisite mix of shame and shamelessness – as well as a wife who, friends say, has remained by his side. And many have survived in office for much more egregious underlying offenses, including some in much less forgiving precincts than a liberal New York City district — such as Louisiana Sen. David Vitter and South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford.”

The rest of the article is here.

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“The war in Afghanistan is increasingly becoming the war no one wants,” according to the Huffington Post.

“Opposition to the conflict is now mainstream, with the vast majority of the American public favoring a substantial drawdown of U.S. troops. With the death of bin Laden, the growing cost of operations and frustrated constituents, an increasing group of congressional lawmakers is also voicing concerns. Even within the Obama administration, there are reports of some aides pushing for a strong drawdown.

“The most dramatic display of this shift came in the House last week when 204 lawmakers — 178 Democrats and 26 Republicans — voted for Rep. Jim McGovern’s (D-Mass.) legislation requiring President Obama to present a plan ‘with a timeframe and completion date’ for the transfer of military operations to Afghan authorities

“The measure fell just 12 votes short of passage. A similar amendment in the last Congress received 138 votes in support and only seven supporting votes cast by Republicans.

“‘I was surprised that so many people had the guts to vote for it,’ McGovern told The Huffington Post. ‘If there were a secret vote here, I think the vote would be even higher. I’ve had a number of people — some Democrats, but a lot of Republicans — come up to me after the vote and say they wish they could have been with me. The American people are ahead of the Congress on this issue, and they’re way ahead of the administration.’”

The rest of the article is here.

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When newspapers get out-reported in their own backyard, sometimes it’s best to let sleeping dogs lie.

After the Sacramento Bee’s year-long investigation of hard money loans in our county, The Union’s headlines have been:

•”Lester: ‘I did nothing unethical”

•”Newell: No conflict in prosecuting real estate fraud cases”

It sort of sums up the insular, “tight knit” nature of our community.

The Union had access to much of the same information over the years from unhappy investors.

To its credit, it nibbled at the edges, given the more limited resources and philosophy of being a “community” newspaper.

Rather than chasing down the hard-money loan story “too little, too late,” a much better one is at hand: An in-depth investigation of Citizens Bank.

This blog has nibbled at the edges of that one, often being out in front.

A full-time, paid journalist could unearth many interesting nuggets, to be sure.

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