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| Subject: Remember when success in Iraq was making it a beacon of democracy in the midest, but just yesterday | |
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Author: Mo' Green |
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Date Posted: 11:28:25 05/03/07 Thu In reply to: Bev 's message, "Remember the rep campaigned on bringing honesty and ethics back to the government" on 10:57:00 05/03/07 Thu according to w, "success" is an "acceptable level of violence" in Iraq. > Guess they did not listen . Another dishonest , >cheating rep > >Miller earmarks aided partner >By Susan Crabtree >May 03, 2007 >Rep. Gary Miller (R-Calif.) helped secure several >earmarks in the 2005 transportation bill that would >benefit projects of his business partner, Lewis >Operating, according to House sources and an analysis >of the bill’s earmarks and San Bernardino County, >Calif., land records. > >In the years leading up to the bill’s passage, >Miller’s financial ties to the company, one of the >largest privately held real-estate development >companies in the country, have grown. The year before >the transportation bill passed, Miller borrowed $7.5 >million from Lewis Operating to purchase land from it. >Lewis Operating Corp. is also one of Miller’s top >campaign contributors; employees of the company have >donated $22,150 to Miller’s campaign committee since >his election to Congress in 1998. > >Miller also has partnered or been involved with a >number of real-estate transactions with the company in >the past five years, making $1.1 million to $6 million >in profits from deals involving Lewis Operating in >some part of the transaction, according to the >lawmaker’s financial disclosure reports. > >The FBI has been investigating several of Miller’s >land deals, particularly the sale of 165 acres to the >city of Monrovia in 2002. Miller made at least $10 >million on the deal, but has faced scrutiny for >avoiding paying capital gains taxes on the land by >telling the IRS that the city had threatened to seize >the land through eminent domain, and subsequently >reinvesting the profit into land purchased from Lewis >Operating. > >Miller has denied any wrongdoing in the matter, >arguing that he legally claimed eminent domain in the >Monrovia sale and that there is nothing improper about >his business partnership with Lewis Operating and his >role in attaining earmarks in the transportation bill >that benefit the company and some of his partnership >ventures with it. >A spokesmen for Miller did not return a call seeking >comment. > >In a written statement, Randall Lewis, the executive >vice president for Lewis Operating Corp., defended the >company’s relationship with Miller and other >government officials: “For three generations, Lewis >Group has been committed to acting according to the >highest and strictest ethical standards. And that >high standard applies to any relationships with >government officials.” > >In 2005, before Democrats took over the House >majority, Miller was the only California Republican on >the transportation panel and served as the point man >for the state’s highway priorities, according to >several GOP House sources. > >The bill included $4 million for an interchange on >Interstate 15 at Base Line Road in Rancho Cucamonga. >The interchange is immediately adjacent to the city’s >largest planned community, Victoria Gardens, a >150-acre area with 300 homes and a 1.3 million >square-foot shopping center, which anchors the city’s >redevelopment efforts, according to its website. > >The city of Rancho Cucamonga’s redevelopment agency >also touts improvements to the interchange as a major >accomplishment on the capital improvement program >section of its website. > >“This project will improve traffic circulation for >both on-ramps and off-ramps at Base Line Road, now >being utilized heavily due to development within the >project area,” a section in the agency’s 2005-2009 >implementation plan reads. > >(Miller is developing more than 382 acres in an >unincorporated foothills area of Rancho Cucamonga >known as Carrari Ranch into multi-million dollar >homes. That area is on the opposite end of town from >the Base Line interchange and would not directly >benefit from the earmark.) > >Miller also helped secure several earmarks for the >town of Fontana, where he has recently bought land >owned by Lewis Operating and sold it to the city’s >redevelopment agency. Fontana also is home to one of >Lewis Operating’s largest planned communities, Sierra >Lakes, encompassing 700 acres that includes 1,850 >homes surrounding an 18-hole golf course, clubhouse, a >62-acre shopping center and a 20-acre park. Miller >owned land along Sierra Lakes Parkway less than a mile >from the planned community. > >Sierra Lakes is just over a mile away from the former >Rialto Municipal Airport, which Miller helped close >through a provision in the same transportation bill, >the first time an airport was closed by an act of >Congress. Before the provision closed the airport, the >city of Rialto — where the airport is located — >already had granted Lewis Operating an exclusive >agreement to develop the airport land into >Renaissance, a community consisting of 2,500 homes, >parks and 80 acres of retail space on the former >airport property and adjacent land. > >Lewis Operating has multiple projects in the cities of >Fontana and Rialto, areas that received several >earmarks in the 2005 legislation. One is Valley >Trails, a 295-acre space consisting of 1,150 homes >located less than two miles away from another highway >project, the Cypress Avenue overpass, which received >$2.4 million in the transportation bill. > >Other earmarks in the 2005 bill that stand to benefit >Lewis Operating projects in San Bernardino County >include: > >• $6.8 million for Pine Avenue extension from Route 71 >to Euclid Ave. in the city of Chino. The extension is >less than a mile from the Preserve, a Lewis Operating >planned community, and less than two miles from >Parkside, another Lewis Operating planned community. > >• $1.2 million to establish an Interstate 15 >interchange at Nisqualli and Mojave River Crossing in >Victorville, Calif. The interchange is about a half a >mile from Parkview, a Lewis Operating planned >community. > >• $400,000 to widen and realign U.S. 395 in the city >of Hesperia. Lewis Operating lists The Promontory as >one of its planned communities on its website. A city >official said the company has not submitted a formal >application for the project. [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] |
| Subject | Author | Date |
| If he truly believes that its all the more reason to pull out | Bev | 13:53:15 05/03/07 Thu |