Monday, November 27, 2006

Further 210 extention to be done in '07 (Daily Bulletin 112407).

BS Ranch Perspective:

The work that they have been doing has been progressing right along, it is a wonder that they are saying that it will not be done for another year, now. The Bridges in the wash and many of them that are in the city area of San Bernardino seem to be running ahead of schedule. The bridge work that has been in the wash they are putting the top on and they will soon be placing the cross for the concrete roadway that will cross the was there and well that will fill the street or freeway road lanes and that will be done. I guess the only thing that is left is the bridges that I have just thought of that they are really just started construction on now. and these are the bridges that take the freeway across Muscoy, and the I-215, those are partially done, but not all the way. They are just working on them, but the way that they are going I predict that they will get done with them in the summer of Next year!! Which will still be ahead of schedule or ahead of the new schedule by a couple of months. The old schedule the freeway would have just opened to commuters. but they closed it for that three months, and the rains that placed it so much more behind.

I really cannot wait for it to open and start using it. because It will save time and make the neighborhood quieter with the traffic noise.

BSRanch

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Further 210 extension to be done in '07
Jeff Horwitz, Staff Writer
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin

The freeway extension that will shave minutes off many county residents' commutes will be here in a year.

Since2003, regional transportation agency San Bernardino AssociatedGovernments has been working on the remaining eight miles separatingthe current end of the 210 Freeway in Rialto from San Bernardino, whereit will connect with Highway 30. It has already completed more than adozen bridges and overpasses for the $313 million project, and pavingof the highways in between is well under way.

But one massive bridge is still under construction, SANBAGspokeswoman Cheryl Donahue said, a 558-foot span across Lytle CreekWash that, when complete, will contain nearly 4 million pounds of steeland be supported by 7-foot concrete pillars sunk 115 feet into theground.

That bridge should be finished by early spring, and all theremaining highway, lighted and striped, will be open to traffic byabout this time next year, Donahue said.

Recently, the work has even been on budget, with contractssigned two years back shielding the project from "the huge increases inconcrete and steel prices, with all the work going on in China,"Donahue said.

While construction has gone smoothly, however, the projectis a year behind its original schedule. The holdup was largelyenvironmental, with a year's delay before SANBAG could get theappropriate clearances and permits for the project.

In the area of the Lytle Creek Wash, the freeway's pathtraversed some of the same ground favored by the endangered SanBernardino kangaroo rat and the Santa Ana River woolly star, a plantwith lavender flowers.

Along with other environmental impact mitigation measures,Donahue said, crews staked out the construction areas in an overnightrat relocation operation, armed with live traps baited with bird seedand rolled oats. Fourteen kangaroo rats were caged and brought to asafer habitat.

With the freeway's completion next year, Donahue said, thearea's human inhabitants will also see a changed environment. Studiesand common sense suggest that the freeway will alleviate traffic on the10 Freeway, which runs largely parallel to the 210 extension.

It will also reduce congestion on north-south surfacestreets, Donahue said, because residents of the foothill communitiesalong the northern edge of the San Bernardino Valley will no longerneed them to get to a freeway.

Along with cars, Donahue said, her agency also expects thefreeway to bring money. Home prices usually go up when commutes areeasier, she said, and commercial areas adjacent to freeways tend toprosper.

"We'll see what it does for economic development in Rialto and San Bernardino," Donahue said.

Jeff Horwitz can be reached at (909) 386-3856.

'06 Victor Eyes Seat as Rialto Mayor! (SB Sun 112206)

BS Ranch Perspective:

Looks like Robertson has her eye on Grace Vargas's Seat! I don't know if there is anyone that will be able to beat the 46% of the vote that she got over the rest of the candidates for City Council, I cannot see how she was able to pull in that many Votes since she was one of the Fab Four that wanted to Sell the Police Department to the County. Then when the contract was Ironed out she was right there saying that she was marginal at best and that the Police Department is the way to go, etc etc! I don't know where she really is on an Issue. I realize that she received calls of "Treats" due to what She called Racially Motivated Comments" due to the Police Departments/Sheriff Department Contract Battle, in which she was in total Agreement with.

Robertson was in total agreement that the Sheriff Department should be the Law Enforcement Agency all the way up to when they had to cow down and say that they were in the wrong with the Way that they handled them selves regarding the Voter Laws, they kept accusing the people of "Voice United" that they were braking Voter Laws by forcing people to sign the petition under duress. Yet when it came time to tally up the signatures and say who won the signature war regarding the Petitions, the City Council along with the City Lawyer Owens Stalled!! They Purposely Stalled the outcome in hopes that there was some way that they could come up with some violation that was done by the people that were in favor of the Police Department to Stay over the Sheriff Department.

Owens Came out and said that there was a distinct violation of Voter Rules when it came to Collection of Signatures, so 4300-4900 signatures were rejected by the City clerk, a move that was not in the best interest of the citizens of Rialto, but the best interest of the wishes of the City Council and the Administrative Staff (Anything to keep the Sheriff Department Contract Dream alive). Why even when Owens, (Who is a Fully Qualified Lawyer who has passed the Bar and everything) has advised the City Clerk Barbara McGee that the Signatures that were in question were obtained in violation of of the Voter Rules regulating the collection of signatures for petitions. Mr. Owens said that the signatures collected by people that lived in the County of San Bernardino, but not the City of Rialto were in violation of these Rules. When in fact the person collecting signatures for a city has to be a Registered Voter, who lives in the County in which they were collecting signatures.

Well, to make a long story short, Owens withheld these signatures from the Citizens of Rialto, thinking that the petitions had failed yet it was brought up every meeting since they were rejected. The Sheriff was discussing the take over of Rialto City as a contract City in every County Community Speech that the Sheriff was giving, and Sheriff Penrod even included Rialto as a large portion of the State of the County Speech in which he was all set to take over the City and absorb Rialto into the County Enforcement Team when the time came.

However it was the tenacity of the people of Rialto that kept bringing the petition up in the City Council Chambers during every City Council meeting. It was then that the mayor Grace Vargas made the motion to take the petitions and have them looked over by a independent investigator. Grace Vargas said that it was a good Idea that the rejected petitions and the rejected signatures be looked at by a Independent person to see if they were in fact true independent Investigator.

The City Council elected to take them to the Registrar of Voter's since they were more up on the Voter laws then Owens was, Since he was having problems with the Voters laws since he started to deal with them when they started.

The Petitions were not at the Register of Voters for more then an hour when they got the call that Owens had been denying as not good were in fact good signatures by good signature collectors. Immediately there was 4900 signatures that were added to the 900+- signatures that we already had that were good, and that gave us 5000 signatures. Only 2900 signatures were needed to place that on the ballot. and put before the voter in the city of Rialto. The City Council Realized that Owens had broken the Election Laws, and they right away had two options one was to put it before the city as a vote the other was to put the bill into law right away. They elected to place it into an ordinance and changed the laws for Rialto right then. This historical petition for Rialto made it so that the City Council was no longer able to simply vote the Police Department away, they had to put it before the city as a vote, the second obviously was to keep the police Department!!

Now I am wondering when they are going to Get rid of Owens, who has given them this headache for so long!! Another person that needs to be taken away from the likes of duty is that of the city Administrator.

Between the two of them they make about $1,250,000.00 a year between the two (Owens $750.000.00 Garcia $500,000.00). I know that Garcia makes a little more. Now take home is about $30,000.00 a month minus the taxes. WOW, that is what I NOW MAKE IN A YEAR!!!

Robertson doesn't deserve to be The Mayor of Rialto That is true by the history that I just spelled out. It is obvious that she is not working for the best interest of the People of Rialto, I am not sure who she is working for. Let us consider this. Ed Scott is but one man who speaks with but one voice, and he had Robertson's ear, and vote all the way down to the Petitions being falsely held up, on a Voter Rule when if you read the rule that Owens was holding them on clearly states so that any 3rd grade Student can understand them regarding Voter Laws and the collection of Signatures, Yet Owens a Lawyer who is collage taught and Bar passed failed to understand the laws as they pertain to signature collection.

Who is Robertson going to listen to in order to get her feelings from. because she certainty doesn't do reading on her own, or research on her own. espeically when it was to the election laws and the collection of the signatures on petitions.

She only listened to Owens who, I think this might be a streach but I beleive that they all were taking orders from one person that was calling the shots, it was not the Current Mayor, it was either the Mayor Pro-Temp Sampson (who lost his job this last time to Baca Jr.), but he was following the one person that hates the Police Department!! That person is the only one that has an active Law Suit against the cities Police Department for Wrongful Detainment. That person is none other then City Councilmemeber Ed Scott!!

Ed Scott was the one that wanted the Sheriff Department to take over and be the law Enforcement for the area. Now Ed Scott, needs to be voted off the council. and be gone!! take my word on it along with Robertson. they really need to go, why she was relelected,?? I don't have a Clue?? Ed Scott is the one that was the puppet master and Robertson, Joe Sampson, and Whinnie Hanson were the Puppets being told what to do, how to vote what to say by Ed Scott the Puppet master!!

BSRanch

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'06 victor eyes seat as mayor
Jason Pesick, Staff Writer

RIALTO - The November election isn't even a month old, but the 2008 race for mayor of has apparently already begun.

Councilwoman Deborah Robertson announced her 2008 candidacy for mayor after she won re-election to the City Council on Nov. 7.

Robertson,who was first elected to the council in 2000, was the biggestvote-getter in the city election earlier this month, finishing with 28percent of the vote - 461 votes ahead of Assemblyman Joe Baca Jr.,D-Rialto, who won the other contested seat.

Robertson said she has made no formal announcement but thatshe plans to run for mayor in 2008 and is letting people know about it.

"I'm very goal-oriented. I've always been," she said.

Thecity's main priorities should be renewing the utility-users tax,dealing with the city's contaminated drinking water supply and workingon economic development, Robertson said.

Robertson currently works as a deputy district director for Caltrans.

Transient Burglar Arrested by Police (Daily Bulletin 12306) Katrice N. Smart Arrested!!

BS Ranch Perspective:

This is Wonderful News!!

On my previous Writing regarding this story, I said that the best way was that they had to Catch her in the act, and in some cases they did. One Victim Woke up while she was in their house!! Tuesday, the Victim woke up only to see Smart standing over him, he quickly acted and tried to detain her in his home, but she slipped out and got away. An area check and contact with an employee of the East Jackson Remodel, remembers a woman that was fitting her discription in the area of the East Jackson Apartments. An Area check found her and she was placed under arrest!!

ANOTHER GREAT JOB BY THE DEDICATED MEN AND WOMAN OF THE RIALTO POLICE DEPARTMENT!!

The Department now that deserves the 3%@50 Retirement More then any of the other departments that have it, Right Now! Espeically with what they have been through this past year!!

BSRanch

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Transient burglar arrested by police
Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin

RIALTO- She targeted homes with open or unlocked doors - casually walkinginto the dwellings late at night or in the wee hours and taking purses,wallets and other small items she could quickly make off with.

For more than a month, police suspect 21-year-old transientKatrice Nichole Smart burglarized at least 10 homes in the area ofRiverside and Etiwanda avenues, making off with mostly cash shepilfered from wallets and purses while residents slept in their beds,police said.

But sometimes the sounds of a burglar sifting throughpossessions roused residents from their slumber. One resident caughtthe suspected burglar in the act and tried to detain her, but she brokefree and ran off. On other occasions when she was caught in the act,she was able to flee before police arrived, Rialto police Sgt. ReinhardBurkholder said.

About 9 p.m. Tuesday, Smart's luck ran out. The RialtoPolice Department's Street Crime Attack Team located her at an EastJackson Street apartment, where she had been staying with anacquaintance, and arrested her.

"During an interview, she admitted to at least five of ourburglaries," Burkholder said. "And then she also told us that thepurses and wallets that she did take, she would take the money out ofthem and discard the purse or wallet into a trash can."

Before the woman's arrest, police asked employees atseveral convenience stores in the area if they'd seen anyone matchingthe description of the suspected burglar.

"One of the workers said a person fitting the descriptionhad been in the store and was causing a problem, and they startedtaking pictures of her," Burkholder said, adding that the pictures weregiven to detectives, who then circulated them around the departmentasking if anyone recognized or had contact with the woman.

Cpl. John Black recognized the woman as someone he had aprior run-in with on the street, and gave detectives a name. Furtherinvestigation led police to the East Jackson Street apartment complexwhere Smart had been staying, Burkholder said.

Smart, who has several criminal convictions dating back to2003 including two petty thefts, burglary, and battery, was booked intothe West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga on suspicion ofburglary. She is expected to be arraigned Monday in Fontana SuperiorCourt.

Contact writer Joe Nelson at (909) 386-3887 or via e-mail at joe.nelson@sbsun.com.

Elusive Cat Burgler Hits at least 10 Rialto Homes..(Press-Enterprise 112106)

BS Ranch Perspective:

These Cat Burglars are the worse of all Burglaries, you usually don't sustain any damage to your home but you realize that the suspect watched you sleep, that is horror, and you realize that they could have hit you or struck you with anything before you woke up to confront them they had the drop on you the whole time. The only thing is that if you had more then one person sleeping in your house at one time that they might have felt. After all the more quite Cat Burglars are the more that they can get away with stuff, if you have however a yap or a Jack Russell Terror would solve this problem, but then a German Shepherd would also stop this problem too.

BS Ranch


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Elusive cat burglar hits at least 10 Rialto homes

BURGLARIES: The suspect has hit at least 10 Rialto homes -- some with residents sleeping inside.
10:00 PM PST on Tuesday, November 21, 2006
By PAUL LAROCCO
The Press-Enterprise

RIALTO - A slippery cat burglar hasthe attention of police after hitting at least 10 homes within the sameneighborhood over the past month, twice breaking loose from victims whoattempted to tackle her in the act.

The woman began her spate of break-ins on Oct. 19, and has used thesame technique to burglarize five other homes in the area of Riversideand Etiwanda Avenues, said Rialto police Sgt. Reinhard Burkholder.

The latest burglary occurred on Saturday, said Burkholder, who did not disclose how much property was taken.

Usually wearing a black-hooded sweatshirt, the woman enters homes inthe night by finding unlocked doors and windows. She searches primarilyfor purses, wallets and jewelry, Burkholder said, and unusually,doesn't just focus on unoccupied homes.

"She knows they're home," Burkholder said. "But she'll try to get as much as she can before anyone notices."

She has been confronted by victims during the burglaries twice, butmanaged the "wrestle herself away" as they tried to detain her,Burkholder said.

Police are looking for a woman in connection with the case: KatriceNichole Smart, 21, a transient. She is 5 feet 6 inches tall, 180pounds, with shoulder-length hair and a large gap between her upperfront teeth.

Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Carl Jones at 909-820-2596.

Reach Paul LaRocco at 909-806-3064 or plarocco@PE.com

Woman Wanted for 10+ Burglaries in the Rialto Area! (Fox News)

BS Ranch Perspective:

Now is the second most hardest part of the Investigation. You have the Suspect Identified, Rounding them up for the Arrest is the next hardest part. Identification is the First. The Third of coarse is getting the conviction! This case looks like a pretty good one however they got great Circumstantial Evidence and they have the finger prints and the like from the entrances. They just have to Catch her, and if the can Catch her in the act of entering a home, that would seal the deal and make the other cases tie in better with the M.O.! The sooner she is arrested the better, that way there are people with less loss and less property damage!!!

Good Luck Rialto Police Detectives, Police Officers and the like. this Smart Girl looks familiar to even me, with out knowing her history, it is hard to say.

BS Ranch


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Woman Wanted for 10+ Burglaries in Rialto Area

Burglary Suspect, Katrice Nichole Smart

Detectives were able to positively identify a suspect as burglarizingat least 10 different homes in the neighborhood of Riverside andEtiwanda in Rialto.

Accordingto police, the suspect enters the residences through opened or unlockeddoors. In some cases the victims are asleep inside the residence. Onnumerous cases the victims would awake to the sounds of the suspectgoing through their property, but the suspect would leave the residenceprior to the police arriving on scene. The suspect, identified viaphoto line-ups, has been identified as 21-year old Katrice NicholeSmart.

Smart is described as an African-American woman, 5'6"tall, 180 pounds, with shoulder length hair. She has a large gapbetween her top front teeth. She is known to be homeless, and has beenseen in the area of Baseline and Sycamore Avenue.

Anyone with any information regarding this incident is asked to please contact the Rialto Police Department, 909-820-2550.

Monday, November 20, 2006

Deborah Roinson Wins Big Announces Run for Rialto Mayor in 2008??

BS Ranch Perspective:

Well isn't this some kind of news, this woman along with Edward Scott and "Joe" Sampson, and Winnie Hanson all tried to Re-Develop the Police Department and give it to the County of San Bernardino. They wanted to allow Sheriff Penrod to try to solve the crime problems when the primary responsibility of the Sheriff is to maintain the Jail and Prisoners of the County!! They are also responsible to look for violent criminals as their second responsibility!

Deborah Robertson only came to her senses after the public had spoken. There was a massive Signature drive for a new Law that stated that the City council no longer had the sole power and decision to take the beloved Police Department of the city of Rialto and Change it without a Vote of the People of Rialto. The People of Rialto would have to vote over 50% that they would want the Sheriff Department to come in and be the law enforcer for the city.

If that Rialto City Council (Made up of Deborah Robertson: Y, Ed Scott: Y, Joe Sampson: Y, Winnie Hanson: Y, and Mayor Grace Vargas: N) had voted to go with a Law Enforcement Agency that does have it's own SWAT team that is Nationally Recognised and is a good team, they have the largest Law Enforcement Air Force in the USA with 3-5 Helicopters, 4-7 fixed wing plans of various sizes, they have the crime lab, Coroners Office, with Forensics. the Sheriff Department did away with the K-9 Division when Penrod became Sheriff or just before. Their Homicide Division is a centralized Division and responds to the Homicides that occur all over the county, and they work out of the Central Patrol Offices or the main Sheriff's Headquarters. They don't have such a great clearance record, only a 67% when the Rialto Detectives that they are trading with has a clearance rate on homicides of over 89% somewhere in that area. I am not positive on the clearance statistic for the Homicide for the Detectives of Rialto, but I do know that it is about a 25% better clearance record then the Sheriff's Department in the same area. Even the Burglaries and shootings our Detectives even though they are so much more short handed then the Sheriff Department is with all the resources that they have, Rialto does a better job then the Sheriff Department does in all aspects of the Job of keeping the Streets safer for the Citizens of Rialto.

You have to understand that this is the Safety of the people that live and work in Rialto that we are talking about here. The people that drive through, the people that Work 8-10 hours a day in Rialto and spend a majority of their time here because they work at the Warehouse such as the Toys~R~Us Warehouse or the new Target Western Distribution Center, in the North end of the city!! they have a right to be safe at work. not to mention the 90,000. to 100, 000.00 people that need to know that their City Council is looking out for their Best interest, By Making the Votes and Decisions that will make the place that they live safer and more economical to live, not more expensive and more crime riddled!!

That is just what Deborah Robinson was doing teaming up with Ed Scott, Winnie Hanson, and Joe Sampson, I am just happy now that Grace has some help on the council when Joe Baca Jr. takes over to help her. He will be an asset to the people of Rialto, he will look out to what is best for the city of Rialto I hope he will, Knowing his father like I do, I hope that he will continue to fight for the good and the better of the people of rialto. It really meant a lot to me, and a lot of people that Joe Baca Jr. stood with his father and argued for the Police Department to stay when we were down but not completely out.

I also want to Thank Owens!! The city Attorney for being such a great Strategical Genius by LOOSING EVERY COURT BATTLE AGAINST THE, (How did Mr. Owens put it?) LAWYER FROM RIVERSIDE THAT DIDN'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THE VOTER LAWS IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA. But when in Court!! OWENS LOST EVERY TIME!!! THANK YOU MR OWENS!!

PLEASE IF YOU ARE SMART, I KNOW YOU ARE!! YOU WILL THINK TWICE ABOUT VOTING FOR HER FOR MAYOR, BECAUSE OF HER POOR DECISIONS SURROUNDING THE DEPARTMENT OF THE POLICE, AND SAFETY OF THE CITY!!

Because of the ugliness of this battle that was done between the Police and City Council, and City Administration. The City Administrator found it necessary to bring in the Fire Department's Union to fight the Police Departments Union in fighting for their vary existence. This battle has left a Scar so deep in the city that they are no longer getting along with each other. They handle calls with each other and that is about it, other then that they are just cold and not talking to each other. I worked hard to make friends across the street and this is all cold and thrown away. There are some very good men to know and get to know and be friends with on the Fire Department, Knowing this is hard to be in this battle with my Police Brothers. but I'm in it because I am a loyal soldier. This SCAR, and hate, and insults is all caused by the city council and their fight to rid the City of the Police Department, and pulling the Fire Departments Union in to fight with them. They made certain Promises to the Fire Department I know the City Administrator did Garcia is good at that. HE promised if the Utility Tax was to pass, and the RPBA (Rialto Police Benefit Association) was to help, they would give us the Retirement package that we were asking for. the 3% @50 Retirement package, all but 2 other agencies have this retirement package. Even the Smaller City Colton has the 3% @50 Retirement and Rialto Police still does not. Upland and San Bernardino City doesn't as well.

San Bernardino City has a modified Retirement plan that is 3% @ 55 Rather then at 50, and this contract year they are asking the city to change to the 3% at 50 instead of what they have. If they get it then Upland and Rialto are the only two cities. Rialto and Upland become the training cities with a lot of turn over for the rest of the cities in the area, what that means is that they would pay to train someone to be a great police officer and they would leave as soon as they get their probationary period over with, to get that 3% at 50 Retirement package, rather than stick around and hope to get it with the Department that they are at. They will go to a department that has it and they will do it, this happens over and over and over. Rialto was a training city when I started and since My accident in 1997, I would say that approximately 90% of the Department has left/ Passed away/ or Retired due to injuries caused on duty!

BS Ranch

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Deborah Robinson Wins Big Announces Run for Rialto Mayor in 2008 PDF Print E-mail
Tuesday, 14 November 2006

RIALTO


By Cheryl Brown


Image
Election Night Winners: School Board member Joanne Gilbert, Assemblymember Wilmer Carter and City Councilwoman Deborah Robertson.
Deborah Robertson handily won re-election for one of two seats on the Rialto City Council.

Incumbent Joe Sampson lost his re-election bid to former Assemblymember Joe Baca Jr. who lost his bid as the Democratic nominee for State Senate in June.

Robertson announced, "I am running for the Mayor of Rialto in '08." She said that the city of Rialto residents are owed a better community. "The city is moving in the right direction. I will be working on my platform. Projects we will see in a couple of years will bring a significant amount of mixed use development. It will bring significant amenities for our middle income lifestyle," she said.

Joanne Gilbert won by a big margin one of two seats in the Rialto Unified School District. She will be joined by John R. Kazalunas who beat Corey Jackson out by less than three percentage points.

Retail, Residental Project to be presented to Rialto City Residents.

BS Ranch Perspective:

Wow, this is a wonderful Idea!! Actually if they can get the monies and the developers to get involved that quickly sounds like they already have this underway. IT is weird that they didn't seek comment from "The Mouth" of the City Council "Ed Scott" on this matter, I suppose he said that he was abstaining from this decision making all the way because it was within a 500 foot area from his business, and he doesn't want to make anyone think that he has any input.

However Having said all the good stuff, there is no law that states that he cannot be behind closed doors pulling all the strings for his puppet's to work for him, I am not talking about the newly elected Baca, but Hanson, and Robertson. Flores Jr. Is well respected not only by the paper obviously but by this writer too!! I know Joe pretty well and He is a good Stand up guy, really one that you would want in your corner.

I do have to say that this over all is a great Idea, especially if it grabs the look of the old City Hall, Fire Station One, Police Station that was located where that park is located today! May it go forth and be built and make the downtown a better place for the Run~Whatcha~ Brung, and maybe we can make it more than a one day event, and it can be moved to a three day event again. It will be interesting to see..

BS Ranch



Retail, residential project to be presented to residents

12:35 AM PST on Wednesday, November 15, 2006
By MASSIEL LADRÓN DE GUEVARA
The Press-Enterprise

Rialto officials not only want people to shop in the city's downtown area, they want them to live there, too.

Special to The Press-Enterprise
A $26 million mixed-use development project in downtown Rialto that would include low-income senior housing units, retail space, a community center and underground parking will be presented to business owners and area residents Thursday.

Plans for a $26 million mixed-use development project are being presented to business owners and residents in the vicinity of Rialto and Riverside avenues Thursday in an effort to get feedback and keep people informed of the city's plans, said John Dutrey, Rialto housing program manager.

The city is looking at building 117 low-income senior housing units, 5,222 square feet of retail space, a 3,700-square-foot community center and 148 underground parking spaces at Rialto and Riverside avenues, he said.

Funding for the proposed Crossroads Project will come from federal tax credits, private sources and the redevelopment agency, he said.

Property owners and merchants are invited to attend a meeting at Rialto City Hall, where they will be encouraged to offer opinions and ask questions before the project proceeds, Dutrey said.

"We think the future of mixed-use development will become more of a reality in the downtown area because of the surrounding retail and the proximity to the Metrolink station," Dutrey said.

The Crossroads Project would be the first mixed-use project in Rialto, said Robb Steel, the city's economic development director said.

City officials hope to bring in several more mixed-use projects, he said.

"I think it will create for the downtown a 24-hour activity center and it will be a signature building on a major corner," Steel said.

The city is negotiating with the owners of a vacant church, a single-family residence and a dog grooming business to acquire their land for the project, Steel said.

The properties were appraised and offers have been made to each owner, he said.

There has been no negative response and it probably will be a matter of reaching the best price for each property, Steel said.

Once negotiations are completed, it will take six months to a year to get permits for the project, said Rod MacDonald, partner with KDF Communities, the proposed developer of the Crossroads Project.

Construction time should about 13 months, he said.

The building's design will have some elements similar to the former Rialto City Hall, which occupied the corner of Riverside and Rialto avenues.

"There has been a movement recently in Southern California to recapture the main street, and this is a good example of that," MacDonald said.

The movement gives cities more viable downtowns and provides entertainment close to home, in some cases within walking distance, for residents he said.

Joe Flores Jr., who owns an upholstery supply store on Riverside Avenue, said he thinks the project is a good idea.

"If everything works out the way they say it's going to work out, it will be an asset," Flores said.

"Anytime you can increase retail space in the downtown and bring people in too, it's a win-win situation," he said.

Reach Massiel Ladrón De Guevara at 909-806-3054 or mdeguevara@PE.com

Friday, November 03, 2006

Dad Turns in Sons in Shooting

Dad Turns in Sons in Shooting
BSRanch Perspective:
This is a good thing, However one of the most hardest things in the world to do for a parent, to turn in his own son's in a shooting that they committed against a former gang member that was trying to turn his life around after spending a long time in prison. He was purchasing some Beer at a Market in the 900 Block of West Foothill and the suspects followed him from the store and killed him by shooting him in the back. One of the, cowards way of getting revenge.
I am just proud for what the father did and consider him a hero, even though he is, hurting pretty bad inside for what his children have done at such a young age.
We should Pray for the Father for his bravery and working is way through this and showing his children what was right from wrong by making that hard phone call and turning them in.
BSRanch

Dad turns in sons in shooting

CRIME: Officials say two more suspects are sought in the killing outside a convenience store.

10:00 PM PDT on Monday, October 23, 2006

By JULIE FARREN
The Press-Enterprise

Two teens accused of killing a 26-year-old man as he left a Rialto convenience store Wednesday were turned in by their father Monday to San Bernardino Juvenile Court, a Rialto Police Department spokesman said.

The youths, identified as Marcos Torres, 15, and Rogelio Torres, 17, were brought to Juvenile Court at about 11:30 a.m. by their father, who was not identified, said Rialto Sgt. Reinhard Burkholder in a news release.

The teens will be charged as adults, the news release said.

Raymond Garnica, of Rialto, had entered Carter's Liquor after 8 a.m. Wednesday to buy beer and a pack of gum. A store surveillance camera shows two people trailing behind him.

Garnica left the store at Spruce Street and Lorraine Way with his beer but forgot the pack of gum. He returned to the store to get the gum and gave the older suspect a dime to help him make his purchase, then left.

The suspects followed him out of the store, and according to witness reports, argued with him before one of the suspects fired at him from the middle of the street.

Police arrived to find Garnica lying on the sidewalk. He was taken to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.

Police also are looking for two more suspects.

Anyone with information can contact Detective Kurt Kitterle at 909-820-2590 or 820-2550.

Reach Julie Farren at 909-806-3066 or jfarren@PE.com