Remote Surveillance Trailer in San Bernardino, CA

Mines approved with less public input and more environmental risk under Trump

The Trump administration is rushing to permit mines on federal public lands across the west without safeguards to protect our land, air, and water. Mine projects are being fast-tracked without public comment periods or proper environmental studies. Tribal consultation and endangered species protections are under attack.

State laws and regulations are more important than ever to hold the line in the face of federal deregulation and corruption. But one county in California is considering giving up its control over any project that the Trump administration approves.

California law requires that mining projects, including those on federal public lands, go through county permitting to minimize environmental impacts. Mining projects must comply with the Surface Mining and Reclamation Act and the California Environmental Quality Act, as well as other state laws and regulations that require tribal consultation, protections for endangered species, and for the Western Joshua tree.

Taken together, these laws and regulations ensure tribes and the public are informed of potential impacts, and that decision-makers have the best information to protect California’s public lands.

San Bernardino County is considering revising its mining regulation. The County calls this a standard update, but sloppy drafting risks giving up local oversight for projects that have approval from Washington D.C.

Because federal requirements are weaker than California’s, this means new mining projects will be approved without the public’s knowledge, and with serious impacts to treasured public lands, air, and water. These changes could make it easier for companies like Dateline Resources to mine in Music Valley, on the border of Joshua Tree National Park.

The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors is holding a public hearing on the revised mining regulations at 9 a.m. on Tuesday August 18^th. This is the first of two readings of the mining regulations ordinance.

For even more impact, you can give your oral comment in person or virtually at 385 N. Arrowhead Ave., 1st Floor, Covington Chambers, San Bernardino, CA 92415 or remotely by telephone. Online registration is available by clicking “Register to Speak.”

People who are not San Bernardino residents can help by spreading the word. Please reach out to friends in San Bernardino County to let them know what’s happening.

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History

A series of FBI raids this week involving San Bernardino County elected officials and a Chinese-language media company are part of growing probes into public corruption and foreign influence in Southern California, law enforcement sources say.

FBI agents executed warrants across Southern California, searching the homes and offices of a San Bernardino County supervisor, an Ontario City Council member and the offices of EDI Media, a well-known Chinese-U.S. media producer based in West Covina.

The feds also raided a Beverly Hills mansion owned by a Chinese family and obtained records at Ontario International Airport.

FBI officials confirmed the search warrant addresses but did not name the individuals subject to the searches, saying the affidavits for the warrants are under seal. The FBI and U.S. Attorney’s office declined to comment on the reasons for the investigations, citing the sealed warrants. No one was arrested.

But the raids come amid deepening federal investigations into allegations of connections between local government officials and agents of the Chinese government. None of those targeted by the FBI activities returned calls seeking comment.

In May, the former mayor of Arcadia pleaded guilty to accusations that she was directed by the Chinese government to promote propaganda in the United States. Authorities alleged she helped run a website called U.S. News Center that branded itself as a news source for Chinese Americans and “executed directives” from the Chinese government.

A month earlier, FBI agents searched Lancaster City Hall as well as the homes of two council members.

Authorities did not reveal details of that investigation. But a source who has reviewed a warrant told The Times that it sought communications between city officials and the Chinese auto manufacturer BYD. The company runs a major bus manufacturing facility in the city. BYD did not return calls seeking comment. Details of the warrant were first reported by the California Post.

That investigation is still ongoing and no one has been arrested.

This week, FBI agents searched properties connected to San Bernardino County Supervisor Curt Hagman, Ontario Councilmember Alan Wapner, attorney Frank Lizarraga and the home of James Su, chief executive of EDI Media, and his office in West Covina. It’s not clear whether they were the targets of the investigation.

Su’s media company, which includes several L.A.-based media groups, including the Chinese-language website iCity News, had to register as a foreign agent in May 2022 because it formerly the U.S. version of a newspaper considered a “foreign mission” of the Chinese government.

Su $500 to the campaign of the former Arcadia mayor, Eileen Wang, on Oct. 10, 2022.

Andrew Cowan, an attorney for Su, on Wednesday said his client is an American citizen who made campaign donations across the political spectrum and does not have any idea why he was served with search warrants by the FBI. Cowan said that of those people connected with the properties searched, Su is only familiar with Hagman.

Wang is now awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty. Prosecutors have painted her case as part of a wider scheme to influence local politics around the nation and the Chinese population here.

FBI agents could be seen searching the massive 21,000-square-foot Beverly Hills mansion at 613 N. Canon Drive on Tuesday. It was sold by a Kurdish general, Mansour Banzani, to a Chinese mainland family in 2023 for $24.6 million, according to public records. The sale was to two companies, one registered in Delaware.

The public corruption allegations in Arcadia rocked the world of local L.A. County politics, and some officials said they are bracing for what comes next.

As Tuesday’s raids unfolded, U.S. Rep. Norma Torres (D-Pomona) said in a statement she was “deeply troubled by the reports the FBI has executed warrants against elected officials in San Bernardino County. I am awaiting further information, but our community has zero tolerance for any corruption at any level of our government.”

Lizarraga is a well-known civil litigator and University of La Verne trustee who formerly worked for the Southern California Assn. of Governments, a planning organization that represents six counties. He is also a former Ontario city planning commissioner.

FBI spokesperson Laura Eimiller confirmed a related search warrant was served at Ontario International Airport. Wapner and Hagman sit on the Ontario International Airport Authority, with the council member acting as its president, records show. The Times learned that a subpoena was also served on Ontario City Hall for records.

EDI describes itself as the largest Chinese American multimedia company in the U.S. and says it is designed to further U.S.-China relations. It operates a series of bilingual digital platforms, a radio network and TV channels, and produces a Chinese American film festival. Since the company started in 1993, it has expanded to making more than 2,000 hours of programming annually, reaching more than 35 million people worldwide.

Some intelligence experts have been raising alarms about the Chinese government trying to curry influence among local elected leaders across the nation. In one high-profile case, federal authorities charged a woman who had served as a senior deputy to two New York governors with being a Chinese agent working to push that government’s agenda. Her cases ended in a hung jury, and she is expected to be retried next year.

Times staff writer Rebecca Ellis contributed to this report.

In summary

The Cal State chancellor has announced a new consultant role for the outgoing president of Cal State San Bernardino, Tomás Morales, who stepped down after he was sued for discrimination and harassment. Cal State settled his case as part of a $12 million settlement. For the next year, he will consult on international education programs, earning $343,920.

A California State University president who stepped down following a multi-million dollar settlement in a case accusing him of gender-based discrimination and harassment will earn a six-figure salary this coming year while he’s in between Cal State jobs.

During the transition period, former Cal State San Bernardino President Tomás Morales will provide international consulting for Cal State and work on strengthening the university’s international initiatives and global partnerships.

Morales announced his plans for departure last August and officially left the university at the end of this school year, joining an executive transition program in which he will be paid $343,920 over a year-long period starting this August. This salary is typical for Cal State executives in this program, said Cal State Chancellor Mildred Garcia, who announced Morales’ interim role at a board of trustees committee meeting Wednesday.

The board of trustees also unanimously granted Morales president emeritus status Wednesday afternoon, a title given as a gesture of appreciation for his service to the university.

Morales, and a former dean at San Bernardino’s Palm Desert campus, Jake Zhu, were accused of gender-based discrimination, harassment and retaliation in a 2023 lawsuit that Cal State recently settled for $12 million. Clare Weber and Anissa Rogers, both former San Bernardino administrators, alleged they were instructed to resign after reporting a gender pay gap and discriminatory bullying to higher-ups.

Cal State continues to deny any wrongdoing and determined Morales to be in good standing, which renders him eligible for the transition program. Executives may become ineligible if the chancellor finds they violated university policy or engaged in serious misconduct.

Weber, who alleged she was fired weeks after asking Morales for a raise over email to bridge what she called a gender-based pay gap, said the ex-president should not remain in good standing.

Male Cal State employees “are protected when they behave badly, when they mistreat women, when they harass women, when they retaliate against them,” Weber said. “The tendency is to protect the university.”

Morales’ office did not respond to a request for comment.

Morales, new campus president still high earners

During the year-long transition period, Morales will be required to submit a monthly report to the chancellor chronicling “activities and milestones completed,” according to a board document.

“President Tomás Morales has served Cal State San Bernardino with distinction for 14 years, demonstrating exceptional leadership on behalf of the university and his students,” Garcia said at the meeting.

Morales will also provide guidance and support to incoming Cal State San Bernardino president S. Terri Gomez, Garcia said at the meeting. Gomez, the current provost and vice president of Academic Affairs at Cal Poly Pomona, will assume the role on Aug. 3.

The committee approved a $426,916 annual salary, $60,000 annual housing allowance, and additional auto allowance of $1,000 per month for Gomez when she takes office.

Gomez made $338,255 in base pay in 2024, per the latest available data from Transparent California.

In 2024, 69 out of Cal State’s 118,843 employees earned a salary higher than $343,920, according to the State Controller’s Office. Morales’ salary was $527,834 in 2024 — the sixth-highest earning salary in the Cal State system, behind the chancellor and four other campus presidents. The average university salary in 2024 was $39,870, according to the office.

San Bernardino’s chapter of the California Faculty Association labor union asked Cal State to open an investigation into university administrators perpetuating gender discrimination and deny Morales executive transition benefits in a social media post yesterday.

Morales’ transition assignment will last from Aug. 3, 2026, to Aug. 2, 2027. During this period, Morales will transfer to the Management Personnel Plan, granting him the employment rights and benefits of university managers and supervisors, Cal State spokesperson Amy Bentley-Smith said.

Bentley-Smith did not respond to a request for comment on what job Morales will take after the transition period, which should have been previously decided, according to a 2022 Board of Trustees agenda item outlining the policy.

“We are deeply grateful for President Morales’ outstanding leadership at Cal State San Bernardino and systemwide,” Garcia said at Wednesday’s meeting.

No members of the board of trustees committee made any comments or asked any questions after Garcia’s announcement.

Phoebe Huss is a contributor with the College Journalism Network, a collaboration between CalMatters and student journalists from across California. CalMatters higher education coverage is supported by a grant from the College Futures Foundation.

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