From what I understand is that Perchlorate can cause cancer and all kinds of problems through the thyroid gland, if you are or have taken to much of it into your body. So I follow the last story up with this little writing and that is to not drink the Tap-Water, from Rialto until they can safely report that they have cleaned up the wells.
BSRanch
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Critics Say Groundwater Cleanup Taking Too Long (Daily Bulletin 08222006)
I Imagine that it is hard to clean that stuff out of the groundwater, however not being an expert on the subject I can only go by what It says here in the Newspaper, and this tells me that it is taking much to long. They have 40 people or industries on the hook in courts for the Contamination being in the Rialto Water, and I was not aware that it was effecting Fontana, San Bernardino, and Colton. I thought it was just in Rialto. And the fact that it is effecting 22 Wells in Rialto is another shock to this writer, so I think they have been dragging their feet on this Issue and they need to do something fast!! It has been going on for a long time, but they only have been admitting the problem here lately, probably because of the new testing that they must report to the public. That is a great thing!!
Remember Do not drink Rialto's Tap Water!!
BSRanch
Critics Say Groundwater Cleanup Taking too long.
By Andrew Silva, Daily Bulletin Writer
By Andrew Silva, Daily Bulletin Writer
The cleanup of contaminated groundwater in Rialto, Colton and Fontana has been moving too slowly, critics contended during a state Senate hearing Monday.
However, they stopped short of demanding that three members of the board overseeing the issue lose their seats.
"This is dragging on 10 years," local activist Penny Newman told the Senate Rules Committee. "The cost is being passed by the city of Rialto to its ratepayers."
Newman is executive director of the Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice, which has been involved in environmental issues in San Bernardino and Riverside counties.
The issue landed in front of the committee after Sen. Nell Soto, D-Pomona, demanded Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's three appointees to the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board appear in person because she is frustrated with how the board had addressed the issue. The appointments are usually routine and don't require hearings.
Perchlorate, a rocket fuel ingredient also used in flares, fireworks and other products, has seeped into the soil from north Rialto, where defense related businesses and fireworks companies have operated for more than five decades.
The chemical has contaminated 22 wells serving Rialto, Colton and Fontana, though at least nine of them now have treatment equipment in place that scrubs the perchlorate from the water.
Carole Beswick, a former mayor of Redlands and now chairwoman of the Santa Ana board, defended the board's actions as it has sought a way to clean up the mess.
Perchlorate is a top priority of the board, which has been conducting a long-running investigation to determine the extent of the problem and who is responsible, she said.
The board issued a cleanup and abatement order against B.F. Goodrich Corp. in 2002 but rescinded the order after the company agreed to pay $4 million to begin treating contaminated water.
That deal expires in October and the board could reissue the order at that time.
Sen. Gibert Cedillo, D-Los Angeles, asked why the board rescinded the order instead of continuing to pursue Goodrich.
Beswick argued Goodrich and the other suspected polluter, a corporate relative of Black and Decker, were aggressively fighting the orders, and it was almost certain to wind up in court.
The board was interested in protecting the water as quickly as possible, and the deal allowed the cities to start installing wellhead treatments right away, she said.
"I'm very disturbed by this," Cedillo said. "You can't buy yourself out of a deal."
Beswick countered that it seemed the best course of action at the time to get water cleaned quickly.
Rialto is suing about 40 potentially responsible parties to recover the cost of treating and replacing water and attorneys working with Rialto said the matter is very complex and is made even more difficult because the suspected polluters are fighting so hard.
Activists said they met with Beswick last week and received assurances she is committed to the cleanup and forcing the polluters to pay.
"We will give this board another chance," said Sujatha Jahagirdar, of Environment California.
The board is already three members short, and without the current board members, the body wouldn't have a quorum.
The other appointees are Mary Cramer, of Anaheim, and Deborah Neev, of Laguna Beach.
At the end of the hearing the rules committee voted unanimously to recommend confirmation by the senate.
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Senate Recommends appointments (Press Enterprise 08212006) PERCHLORATE: The three report to Capitol for Comfermation Hearing to explain Clean Up Issu
They need to do something, that stuff in the water causes all kinds of things like cancer, birth defects and the like it is a bad thing to have in something natural that we need to have and to drink. IN stead it makes our water the slow killer!!
BSRanch
Senate recommends appointments
PERCHLORATE: The three report to the Capitol for a confirmation hearing to explain a clean-up issue.
10:00 PM PDT on Monday, August 21, 2006
By JIM MILLER
Sacramento Bureau
SACRAMENTO - A state Senate panel recommended confirming three of Gov. Schwarzenegger's appointees to the Inland area's regional water board Monday, after the members promised to renew efforts to clean up a Rialto-area perchlorate plume.
Until earlier this month, the confirmations of Carole A. Beswick of Redlands, Deborah Neev of Laguna Beach, and Mary E. Cramer of Anaheim, to the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board were scheduled to be approved to four-year terms without discussion.
Cramer is a consultant to Norco Egg, an agriculture and egg business in Norco.
Monday, however, the three had to come to the Capitol to explain themselves to the Senate Rules Committee after state Sen. Nell Soto, D-Pomona, and Inland clean-water activists complained of inadequate efforts to clean up perchlorate and asked for a formal confirmation hearing.
"I would say you've made that commitment?" asked Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, D-Oakland, following testimony about perchlorate problems in the Rialto area.
"That's fair to say," answered Beswick, the chairwoman of the water board.
In sufficient amounts, perchlorate can interfere with the thyroid gland's ability to make hormones that control metabolism and guide neurological development in children.
The Inland plume extends for several miles and has contaminated about 20 drinking water wells in Rialto, Fontana and Colton.
The California Department of Health Services has tentatively set a perchlorate public health goal at 6 parts per billion.
But levels as high as 10,000 parts per billion have been found in groundwater below the suspected source -- an area of north Rialto where defense contractors and fireworks manufacturers used perchlorate.
Schwarzenegger appointed Beswick, Neev and Cramer in December.
Beswick, a former Redlands mayor, has served on the board since 2000.
Soto said Monday's hearing was never about blocking the three members' confirmation; the board already has three vacancies.
Instead, the senator said, she wanted a venue for the members to make public assurances that they take perchlorate contamination seriously. Monday's impending hearing led to community activists' first-ever meeting with Beswick last week, they said.
"I didn't think they should be appointed just carte blanche," Soto said.
"I heard a stronger commitment than I've heard in the past."
Reach Jim Miller at 916-445-9973 or jmiller@PE.com
SB County Races Heating UP (Black Voice 08212006)
What Mr Brown is saying about Joe Baca Jr. Just is not Fair. I know that Mr Brown wants Roberson to win the Re-Election campaign for the City of Rialto, but I am one that is of the belief that her Actions on the City Council Speaks Volumes for what she has done for the city of Rialto.
The Rialto City Administration is always crying that they don't have enough money yet this year they have not said a word about money because they were able to barely pass a Utility Tax onto the people of Rialto that Saved the city From Financial Ruin. However what Four Members of that City council cannot be Returned or made right, they must go. They cost the city a great deal of money. Garcia is taking all the responsibility for saving the city of Rialto, Yet None of them have come forward and apologiesed for the Police Department Issue.
That Issue Cost The City a great deal of money. Just in Attorney fees on the side that was against them was almost $200.000 dollars. That doesn't count for the price that they paid for the Expert on Election Law that lied in court to try to get the court system to believe what the City Attorney Owens was trying to say, Yet Owens Lied and said that the Rialto Police Benefit Association and "Voice United" Lied by hiring someone to collect signatures. They collected over Three times as many needed to say that the Police Are here to stay. According to my estimations The City of Rialto Paid Between $2 and 5 Million to try and fight the Voice United and Rialto Police Benefit Assoc.
This all was because of what Roberson, Mr. Hardy Brown's Girl, and Joe Sampson, Hardy Brown's Main Man in Rialto. They both must go and Rialto Needs to clean house and make new blood in the council and city government. What they did was inexcusable, they should not be allowed in city politics if they are going to waist money like that. That money would have been the First Year of the 3% @50 that the Rialto Police Benefit Assoc. Has been fighting for so badly. They just keep pissing the money away just like it was water and they don't care. Yet when it comes to making the Police Department a more secure better place to work they don't want to do that!! The 3% @50 would give that opportunity to make Rialto Police Not only come into the 21st Century but be a part of the rest of the agencies that are already taking care of their people!!
BSRanch
PS: Vote for Joe Baca Jr. He will do a better job then Robertson and or Sampson, they just pissed away $2-$5 Million dollars to fight the Police Department and try to contract the Law Enforcement with a Statistically Lesser Law Enforcement Body...
| SB County Races Heating Up |  |
| Monday, 21 August 2006 | ||
| San Bernardino County has some interesting elections happening this November within four cities: Fontana, Rialto, Redlands and San Bernardino. I will review Riverside next week because of the extension of the filing date. To begin with, Fontana has never elected an African American to serve on their Board of Education and Emory James has tossed his name into the ring to change that. Acquanetta Warren broke that trend when she was appointed to the city council and later won the seat during an open election. Seeking re-election is the energetic and progressive thinking Mayor Mark Nuaimi Rialto has an interesting scenario, vying for the two city council seats are incumbents Deborah Robertson and Joe Sampson and wannabes Joe Baca, Jr. and others are out to unseat them. Joe Baca Jr. is trying to see what he can do to bounce back from being trounced, rejected and spanked at the polls in June. I believe he is in for another trouncing because the voters are looking for people with a commitment to serve them and not themselves. Joe Jr. is like a fly flying around the room looking for something to land on. Well Joe Jr., Rialto is a thriving, progressive growing city looking for people to help create businesses and jobs for others and not one who needs a job. 
The whole Rialto election is interesting because of the primary election where the voters pounced all over two Bacas by rejecting them in favor of Gloria Negrete McLeod and Wilmer Amina Carter. Joe Sr., who is seeking re-election to Congress suffered a mild heart attack recently and is trying to find his way back into the good graces of the voters. He has developed new email letters and is singing a new song against the war, prescription drugs, immigration and a host of other issues. He also lost all of his appointees on the executive board of the Central Committee. San Bernardino City Council has a vacancy created by the resignation of Gordon McGinnis. Seeking to occupy the 3rd Ward seat is Gwen Terry who is a member of the Police Commission. She is supported by McGinnis and Rikkie Van Johnson, Councilman of the 6th Ward. This seat is critical to this seven member council where the vote has been four to three on many key issues. The 3rd Ward usually has a low voter turnout but it will be higher because of the statewide election. College student, Randy Lally is also running to fill the seat but has little chance to beat out Gwen Terry. The San Bernardino City School Board has a crowded field and the four incumbents are seeking re-election with some challengers wanting to replace them. In my opinion all of the incumbents Lynda Savage, Antonio "Tony" Dupré and Elsa Valdez should be returned with the exception of Theresa Parra. Her negative stance in wanting to help African American students achieve goes against the oath she took to see that all students be given the chance to reach their full potential. When a person has an "I'll keep you in the ditch mentality," they forget they have to stay in the ditch with you and no one moves forward. I say let her stay in the ditch while we pull the kids out of their low achieving rut. The voters will have to decide who should replace her. Dr. Amos Isaac is seeking to integrate the Redlands City School Board. He has tried several times before and maybe this will be the time he succeeds in his quest to diversify that educational system. One of the many things I like about Amos is he never gives up no matter what the odds. That is how he earned his doctorate during a time when Blacks were not welcomed in schools of higher learning. Our kids need to see more people like Dr. Isaac trying to make our communities better. Another quality he has is his ability to work with all people regardless of background. So you see things will be heating up as we move closer to November. | ||
County Waits on Six Fire Chopper (Daily Bulletin 08212006) Helicopters Inegral In Flight Blazes...
This Chopper does it all according to the Sheriff Pilots, and it will be nice when they get here. but I still cannot stop but think where they will be moved to when the Rialto Airport Closes. Every time I read About the Sheriff Chopper known as 40-King or these Fire Choppers, I stop and think well they will not be home to Rialto for long!! They will be moved pretty quick to a brand new facility. When the Sheriff's Aviation Facility at Rialto is not that old of a Facility!! In fact it is one of the newest Hangers there and well it just amazes me that all that money and time is going to be gone!! All because the Airport is not making them enough money. Well I say that they have not figured out how to market the airport to make them money. There was a time when I first got here that the Airport was buzzing with activity every day there was Chopper Schools that were teaching Chinese Students and Japanese Students how to fly choppers, but now they have either all closed or moved to Chino Airport because Chino Knew how to market to those schools better or because The Home Offices for those Schools were in Chino's Airport and the Deals that they were getting from Japan were all taken away. The Apartments that they had at What used to be called the Racquet Ball Court Apartments where all taken away. Back then it only cost $570.00 a month for a Two bedroom 1.5 Bath apartment. Now for the same apartment it more then likely costs three times that amount.
I don't miss those days of living in those apartments. Every weekend there was parties that they didn't quit down, I think that they had the security Guards in the party drinking Beers, because it didn't matter how much you complained about the party they kept it going. A sad but true tail, because I lived in those apartments for 8.5 months.
Anyways it is sad that they want to close an airport for a piece of property that they feel will be like the Victoria Gardens, but I don't think hat the population in Rialto will support the Shopping Center like that and Unless it has an Off Ramp and it is connected right to the freeway like the Victoria Gardens they will not work for commerce. So I feel that it will not work and Rialto will have a large commercial area that will be like the Down Town Area. with Mattress Stores, & broken down Electronic Stores and a card or Some Kind of Hobby Store that might make it other then that it will be like I said Down Town Rialto!!
Branch
County Waits on Six Fire Chopper
Helicopters Integral in Fighting Blazes
By Joe Nelson, Daily Bulletin, Staff Writer
Helicopters Integral in Fighting Blazes
By Joe Nelson, Daily Bulletin, Staff Writer
RIALTO - The red-and-white helicopter hovered above the shimmering pond, its spinning rotor blades blowing ripples across the water.
An orange bucket suspended from the aircraft by steel cables dipped into the pond and slowly submerged as the helicopter descended.
Within seconds, San Bernardino County sheriff's pilot Chuck Abney took to the skies again.
He steered the Eurocopter AS350 B3 over the wash, swooped over a narrow, rocky dirt road and with the push of a button, released the water. It fell from the bucket in a scattered mist, coating the strip of ground below.
Deputy Al Daniel, also a pilot, stood on the ground below and monitored Abney's pass over the area south of the Lytle Creek wash that sheriff's pilots often use for water-dropping exercises.
"That was great!" Daniel mouthed into his handheld radio to the seasoned pilot of 30 years. "Good job, Chuck!"
In the last year, the Sheriff's Department has acquired five of the all-purpose Eurocopters at a cost of $2.6 million each. A sixth is expected to arrive by Aug. 28.
While the primary purpose of the helicopters is air patrol, their water-dropping capabilities have played a vital role in firefighting this season and will continue doing so, sheriff's Lt. Tom Hornsby said.
During the recent Sawtooth Complex Fire that scorched more than 62,000 acres near Yucca Valley, the helicopters assisted other aircraft by dropping thousands of gallons of water in the hottest areas of the blaze. Abney used the helicopter's advanced mapping system and FLIR (Forward Looking Infrared) system to trace the footprint of the fire and pinpoint areas that were burning the hottest. The helicopters have also responded to other fires this summer in Jurupa Hills and Grand Terrace.
State-of-the-art aircraft have become instrumental to firefighting in San Bernardino County, with its steep and rugged mountain terrain that makes access for firefighters on the ground difficult. The vast expanse of desert in the Morongo Basin, combined with an assault of lightning strikes, low humidity and high winds that fanned the Sawtooth blaze, also created problems for firefighters on the ground and necessitated use of the aircraft.
The need was so great that for the first time in county history, a DC-10 jumbo jet that had been converted into an air tanker was brought in to help. It can hold 12,000 gallons of flame retardant, about 10 times what the average tanker can hold, and can drop four times the amount of retardant onto a fire in a single pass.
The five Eurocopters have replaced the Sheriff's Department's prior fleet of EC 120s. The Sheriff's Department also has two Bell UH-1H Super Huey helicopters and one Bell 212 for aerial firefighting. Each Super Huey is equipped with a 375-gallon tank for water- and retardant-dropping operations.
The Bell 212 can drop 350 gallons of water from a Bambi Bucket, a steel-framed contraption coated with vulcanized rubber that is suspended from the helicopter by steel cables.
"This is a great firefighting resource," county Fire Chief Pat Dennen said in a news release. "The helicopter will be available on initial attack and can make a difference in quickly gaining control of a fire, which ultimately can result in the saving of lives and property,"
During fire season, the Sheriff's Department contracts with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection for use of one of its Super Huey helicopters and a pilot. The helicopter is housed at the CDF's Prado Camp in Chino during fire season.
Four of the Eurocopters are housed at the sheriff's aviation hangar in Rialto, while the fifth is at a satellite base in Victorville. If all goes as planned, the sixth helicopter is expected to arrive next week from American Eurocopter's manufacturing plant in Grand Prairie, Texas, Hornsby said.
When it comes to firefighting, the Eurocopters can get to water sources much faster than an air tanker, and in a matter of seconds, have a Bambi Bucket loaded with water and ready to drop.
"It'll put a good dent in a fire," sheriff's Sgt. Vince Clancy said of the Eurocopter.
The Eurocopters are capable of reaching altitudes higher than other helicopters, and are also used in swift-water rescues, search-and-rescue operations, and transport, Clancy said.
Sheriff's pilot Abney, who also flies jumbo jets for American Airlines, noted the Eurocopter AS350 B3 hit historical highs last summer when one landed atop Mount Everest.
"I've been here since 1981, and we've never had a helicopter that did everything," Abney said.
Sunday, August 20, 2006
Mother Charged in Roadblock Shooting Case (Press Enterprise). RIALTO SHOOTING: Police Believe that Debra Molina helped her son by destrying evidence.
The over all thing is that you think what is the big deal, why are they charging her. I will explain! The Mother in this case Worked in Juvenile Probation, and she knew what particular evidence that the Police Department would be going to ask for when they notified her of her son's arrest from the Activities that they had done. They were under Investigation for a shooting that occurred and she denied them access to the home. They were allowed to enter the house and arrest the boys, but not to any of the clothing or anything like that that was placed in the hamper. If it was out of the reach of the child when they arrested him then they needed a Search warrant, which they were getting and they notified her of that fact.
Once she was notified She Knew what they wanted, so she grabbed up their clothing and started to wash it to get rid of any or all evidence that this crime had been committed by her son. That's is how she got involved in tampering with the case and the evidence of the case. So, she is guilty of this crime, she will more then likely loose her job as a Supervisor in the Juvenile Hall, which was a position that more then likely paid up to $60,000 a year. That is gone. she had a career that paid her a million over a life time and she threw it away!! for one incident that her child did, trying to mask the child's actions.
Stupid, Stupid Woman!! She should have let the children take the responsibility for their actions and they might have learned something from their actions instead of learning that their mother is just as STUPID As they are. Trying to KILL someone that they don't even know, that they never even had any contact with, because make no doubt about when you point and shoot a gun at someone you are trying to kill them when you shoot at them!!
BSRanch
Mother charged in roadblock shooting case
RIALTO SHOOTING: Police believe that Debra Molina helped her son by destroying evidence.
10:00 PM PDT on Wednesday, August 16, 2006
An Army sergeant and father of a Rialto boy charged with shooting two people at a makeshift roadblock said Wednesday his son is a good person who was raised with respect by him and his wife, a San Bernardino County Probation Department employee.
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"Maybe somebody else did the shooting and him and his friend got snagged into whatever," Alvin Molina, 47, said of his 16-year-old son, also named Alvin. He said his son was in bed when the crime occurred. "I don't know how he got crossed up in the mess he's in but it's definitely not in his character to do that."
Rialto police have said two boys set up an elaborate roadblock to snare motorists at a freeway overpass early Friday morning, using orange cones, rope and construction signs to block the roadway. Two motorists were wounded by gunfire. Police set up a surveillance and arrested Alvin Molina and friend Steve Torres, 17, the next morning.
The boys have pleaded not guilty to two counts each of attempted murder. They are being tried as adults and, if convicted, they could face life in prison.
A judge signed an arrest warrant for Molina's mother, Debra Molina, 51, charging her with accessory after the fact. Prosecutors accused her of trying to destroy evidence by washing clothing authorities say her son had been wearing during the shooting. Rialto police arrested her early Wednesday and took her to West Valley Detention Center.
Now, the elder Molina, a 30-year military veteran, is struggling to cope with the events of the past several days. His son is in Juvenile Hall and his wife, who suffered a brain aneurysm last year, was also behind bars.
"She's in a jail right now without any of her medications," Alvin Molina, who completed a 16-month tour in Afghanistan, said Wednesday afternoon. "She's got a bond for $50,000. As soon as I can raise $5,000, I guess I can get her out. I'm only laughing so I don't cry. I work very hard. I've been out to serve my country on several occasions."
Molina described his wife as a good person who has cried every day since her son's arrest. She worked the night shift while he was away on duty, he said, and they hired a baby sitter to watch Alvin and his 9-year-old brother.
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"She would be here during the day for the boys and take them to school. She was the mom and dad a lot," he said.
Michelle Scray, San Bernardino County deputy chief probation officer, said Debra Molina has been placed on leave pending a personnel investigation. Scray said she could not comment further.
Torres' parents and his 16-year-old fiancée have declined to speak to the charges against Torres. His mother has said the boys are longtime friends and described Torres as a fan of all-terrain vehicles and as someone who spoils his 3-month-old daughter.
The younger Alvin Molina has worked for a year at Family Land clothing store in Rialto, where a manager said he is a good employee.
"He's a great guy, very courteous, polite, very responsible for his age," said Fabiola Beltran. She said Molina likes to go snowboarding, ride bicycles and hang out with his friends. He often repaired small bicycles, she said.
Rialto police arrested the boys at Molina's home early Saturday, a day after Mary Perez Ortega, 52, and Alex Martinez, 24, were wounded when they slowed for the makeshift checkpoint at Cactus Avenue and the Interstate 210 overpass.
Ortega was hit in the neck by bullet fragments and Martinez was hit three times in the arm. Neither could be reached for comment.
Police took evidence from the Molina home, including clothes, shoes and a 9mm gun belonging to the elder Alvin Molina that was stored in his nightstand. The gun did not appear to have been disturbed, he said. Police have said they do not know whether the weapon was used in the shooting.
The younger Molina, who attends Eisenhower High School, recently returned from a weeklong trip to Hawaii with a group that organizes trips for dependents of soldiers who have been deployed. The organizers were impressed by Alvin and said he showed leadership skills, his father said.
"He's been a good son for me," Alvin Molina said.
Reach Lisa O'Neill Hill at 951-368-9462 or loneillhill@PE.com
Dog Owners, Beware of Bill (Press Enterprise 08202006) TIME LIMIT: for keeping a pooch tied up too long. SB 1578 would impose fines and even jail time
The other side of this is that when a dog is chained or tied to a tree or a post for a long period of time they do become angry. Sometimes if children have access to the animal they tease them and then they end up either making them get tangled up and their space becomes less to run around. It is not fair to the dog. Not just that being Tied up just out of the reach of a humans touch, which is really what a dog craves is why they become angry and then mean. It is not good for the animal. SO BEWARE OF THE BILL!!! Why don't the writers of this ARTICLE BE TIED UP FOR AN HOUR!! JUST ONE HOUR AND SEE HOW THEY COME OUT OF IT MAD, ANGRY? I just think that they are not so much a caring animal lover. I have been in contact many times with animals that are tied up all the time. They are angry and mad and become Vicious very easily. If you don't have a yard to keep an animal or you have a small area, you can allow your dog to go into that area, and the bill says that you can tie your dog up but you have to allow the dog time off the tether, because it is not healthy for the animal to be tied up!!
BSRanch
Dog owners, beware of bill
TIME LIMIT: For keeping a pooch tied up too long, SB 1578 would impose fines and even jail time.
10:00 PM PDT on Friday, August 18, 2006
A proposed state law would outlaw chaining or tethering a dog for more than three hours per day, a practice that some regard as animal cruelty and others see as the only way to keep unsupervised animals from escaping an owner's yard.
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The bill, SB 1578, would impose a maximum fine of $250 for infractions, and up to $1,000 for misdemeanor violations. A misdemeanor also could be punishable by up to six months in county jail.
State Sen. Alan Lowenthal, D-Long Beach, authored the bill at the request of the California Animal Control Directors' Association, a nonprofit organization that represents city and county animal shelters and their employees. Lowenthal introduced the bill in February, and it has progressed through committee hearings in the state Senate and Assembly.
The next step is a vote by the full Assembly. As the Legislature's session winds to a close, all bills must be submitted to Gov. Schwarzenegger by Aug. 31.
"Long-term tethering is one of the leading causes of aggression in dogs," Lowenthal said by phone Friday, citing reports from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"The primary cause of creating viciousness is keeping a dog tied up with no exercise," he said. "There are inexpensive, reasonable alternatives" like pulley systems sold in pet stores that allow dogs to wander a larger area, Lowenthal said.
In the unincorporated area of Mead Valley, west of Perris and east of Corona, "Beware of Dog" signs are commonplace. Theft in the area is a major problem, so many residents own dogs.
Guillermo Ahumada, 24, said many dogs used to roam the community's streets because residents didn't confine the animals, and they would get loose. Now, he said, more residents are restraining their dogs, and it has made the streets safer.
"I would like to keep my dog unleashed, but when I'm not here, he stays tied up," said Ahumada, whose husky was tied to a minivan in the driveway Friday afternoon.
Adonis Burton, 20, frequently visits his grandmother's house, where a pit bull is tied up in the front yard. He said keeping the dog leashed on the property is a safety issue for visitors and the dog itself, along with the children and other animals who live at the house.
"People want to be safe, because you don't know what the animals are thinking," Burton said.
Jose Robles, 42, purchased a Rottweiler a year ago after someone stole a $5,000 motorcycle from his front yard. He said he ties his dog up only when visitors come onto the property and when he leaves. The dog, he noted, doesn't like it.
But Robles said he would favor the proposed law. "It's better for the dogs," he said in Spanish.
Lowenthal said opposition to his bill has come primarily from rural and agricultural groups.
Murrieta resident Melinda Suglio runs a dog-training business, The K-9 Game Plan, and belongs to the International Association of Canine Professionals, based in Montverde, Fla.
"I'm against chaining dogs," Suglio said. Tethering dogs deprives the animal of mental stimulation and thwarts its natural inclination to move away when it feels menaced, she said.
"People don't realize that any pet can be aggressive when it's put in an environment where it feels threatened and can't retreat," she said. "I don't think the majority of people understand that chaining a dog is so miserable for the dog."
Chaining up a dog also creates stress and defensive responses "to any perceived encroachment to its territory or possessions," she said. "The natural fight or flight response that's afforded to most animals in stressful situations is denied. Basically, he can only retreat the length of the chain."
Confined dogs can even lash out at humans who come to its aid, such as when the animal's neck or paw becomes tangled in the restraint, Suglio said.
Author, dog trainer and canine behavior expert Matthew Margolis, known to many as Uncle Matty, said Lowenthal's bill would be difficult to enforce and offers few alternatives to dog owners. "The state's not going to pay for (every owner to build) a dog run," he said.
Margolis said there should be greater restrictions on pet ownership, so that people provide proper care and humane treatment for their animals.
"You have to have a license to drive a car. You should need a license to own a dog," Margolis said by phone.
What about the owners who say: "I don't have a fence. I work all day," Margolis said. Dogs "should be in a fenced-in yard with water," he said.
Further, the bill is impractical on a statewide level, and would be better suited to California's city and county governments to craft to each area's specific rural, urban or suburban characteristics, Margolis said.
Staff writer Sonja Bjelland contributed to this report.
Area Tackles Blight, Crime (Press Enterrpise 08202006) Rehabilitation Project comes with a $38 million price tag.
This is the same thing that was done in the 200 Block of N. Glenwood Ave, What was used to be called "The Woods", Which you don't hear much about al all today. This Non-Profit agency does a background on each tenant and when they do not comply with the rules they are thrown out right away, that is the difference between the area that falls with what is going on in San Bernardino, San Bernardino's Operation Phoenix, is the same type of project, they are taking over the area and making the apartment owners comply with the rules that are set forth by the Operation Phoenix. They are a very structured plan that doesn't allow for mistakes and non-payment or slow payment of rent and the like. I think we will have to take the wait and see attitude to see.
BSRanch
Area tackles blight, crime
Rehabilitation project comes with a $38 million price tag
09:05 AM PDT on Saturday, August 19, 2006
RIALTO - When Jeneva Robinson moved into her apartment in Rialto's Willow-Winchester area three years ago, she started carrying a gun in her bathrobe.
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"There were too many people drawing their guns on me," she said.
At the time, two to three homicides happened yearly in the 160-unit complex, said John Dutrey, Rialto's housing specialist. That's when the council asked staff to put together a project that would improve the area, he said.
After searching for Rialto's most troubled neighborhood, city officials and the nonprofit Southern California Housing Development Corp. began buying condominiums with the goal of rehabilitating the area.
Three years later, the $38 million construction and rehabilitation of low-income housing will start in September.
Getting to that point was the most difficult effort for the nonprofit because there were more than 100 owners who had to be dealt with, said John Seymour, director of acquisitions for the Southern California Housing Development Corp. The project, which will be done in two phases, will be gated, have an onsite manager and a community center. The goal for the Willow-Winchester area is similar to the city's goal for East Jackson Street, which was the site of high-profile March raids that uncovered crime and substandard housing conditions.
"As far as crime, the Willow-Winchester area was No. 1 and East Jackson Street is No. 2," Dutrey said.
Residents of Willow-Winchester's 160 units who were involved in gangs, drugs and vandalism, and refused to pay rent were evicted, Seymour said.
Residents who paid the rent and obeyed the law were moved to the site of the second phase of the project, Dutrey said.
Once the first phase is completed they will be relocated to the rehabilitated area and the second phase will begin, he said.
The first phase completion date is unclear, but the goal is to have the project done by January 2008, Dutrey said.
Rialto's building division is ready to issue work permits for the first half, said Chaz Ferguson, the city's chief building official.
Fifty units will be converted from two-bedroom to three-bedroom units with two baths, to accommodate families, Ferguson said.
Two buildings will be demolished to make room for a community center, an onsite management office, laundry room and a workshop for maintenance staff, he said.
The community center will offer after-school activities to neighborhood children, such as arts and crafts and computer classes through the nonprofit, Dutrey said. English as a second language classes will be offered at no cost to adults, he said.
The addition of a community center is exciting, Robinson said.
"I think that's exactly what is necessary for this place," she said.
Robinson said she has volunteered to teach etiquette classes and run a before-school program at the community center to help children get ready for classes.
"When I was a kid, I couldn't even find a rubber band to put my hair up into a ponytail and I had to go to school with no socks," Robinson said.
"I don't want that to happen to any of these kids ... I will be here to help them get their hair done and get them ready."
Robinson said she also volunteered to teach geriatric aerobics.
The Willow-Winchester area will have grassy areas where children can play, Seymour said.
"When you go into a community where there are after-school programs, management and police involvement with owners, people start to take ownership and feel prideful of where they live," Seymour said.
Reach Massiel Ladrón De Guevara at 909-806-3054 or mdeguevara@PE.com
Saturday, August 19, 2006
Los Angeles Challenges Kern County's Sludge Ban (ABCturnto23.com Aug. 18, 2006).
Well isn't this great, Kern County has a ban on Humus, and now it's being pointed out that Rialto is Converting the Sludge into a Fuel that is being burned off to heat water into steam, and then Steam will drive the turbine of a power plant and produce power to electrify a city the size of Rialto. So I guess the poo poo today will be the electricity tomorrow!!
BSRanch
LA Challenges Kern County's Sludge Ban
KERO23TV ABCturnto23.com
KERO23TV ABCturnto23.com
BAKERSFIELD -- Los Angeles is challenging a recently passed law in Kern County that will halt the city from dumping virtually all of its treated human waste on farm fields near Bakersfield.
The city filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday calling the ban on sewage sludge "arbitrary and irrational." The lawsuit also contends that it is forcing the city to seek alternative ways to dispose the sludge "at a cost of millions of dollars and great environmental harm."
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Other plaintiffs named in the lawsuit include two Southern California sanitation districts, farmers who spread the biosolids on their land to grow crops for livestock, and businesses that transport the sludge.
The ban was overwhelmingly approved in June by Kern County voters who were convinced the unsavory mixture fouls the air and endangers the quality of groundwater. The ban takes effect at the end of the year.
Anticipating the ballot measure would pass, Los Angeles officials earlier this year said they had lined up farms in Arizona willing to accept the city's sludge.
The lawsuit claims the environment in Kern County will be all the poorer without the fertilizer that is spread on the 4,200-acre Green Acres Farm owned by the city of Los Angeles. The city was required to perform a $16 million upgrade of its wastewater processing equipment in order to spread its sludge at Green Acres, but the ban makes that expense pointless, the lawsuit said.
A Democratic lawmaker who supported the ban suggested the lawsuit exposes the hypocrisy among Los Angeles city leaders, including Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who tout the city's conservation efforts.
"He has a huge amount of credibility on the line with us," said state Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter. "In his State of the City address, he said that Los Angeles would be the greenest, cleanest city in America. Is he going to do that at the expense of Kern County?"
Florez said he hopes to meet with Villaraigosa next week to convince him that the city has other alternatives. Florez pointed out that a facility to open in Rialto, east of Los Angeles, in 2008 would convert sewage sludge into a fuel that can be used by power plants.
Southern California sewage districts trucked about 470,000 tons of sewage sludge to Kern County last year.
Copyright 2006 by TurnTo23.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
2 Boys Accuesed of Violent Prank (SB Sun 081706) Mother Suspected of Tampering with Evidence.
You have to feel for this family, but on the other hand, you know that it was her love for her children hat drove her to try to what she thought was protecting them, when she should have thought about the people that they put in the hospital!! After all if you sit and ponder the circumstances for which they got to this point and you then put different endings to the case then you need to know that she is just Tampering with Evidence at this point. If one of the boys got a good enough of a shot off and killed one of the people that were at that make shift road block, they would have been held on FIRST DEGREE MURDER!! Then her Evidence Tampering in the case would have propelled itself to Accessory after the fact, so the mother would have been facing Accessory to Murder Charges, if it had gone that far!! We praise God that it didn't and the Victim is going to be alive and there is no apparent threat of death.
The case would be so much more dangerous. if it were. They should throw the book at them. The probation officer would have and could have and should have been on the side of the law and not let her emotional side get to her. She working in Juvenile Hall, must not have thought that she would have got caught, but WOW!! To throw away her whole career like that!! All those years gone!! Just like that, if she is fired then she only gets unemployment, and she has to show that she has been looking for other work in order to collect on the Unemployment, in order to receive it. If not she will not get hired anywhere. Now that she is arrested on a felony, it will be very hard for her to get a job, to go from a very respected position like that to nothing. From something to nothing just like that!!
I am sorry, but I just want the book thrown at them all the way hard!!
BSRanch
2 Boys Accused of Violent Prank
Mother Suspected of Tampering with Evidence
By Joe Nelson and Melissa Pinion-Whitt, SB Sun Staff Writers Aug. 17, 2006
Mother Suspected of Tampering with Evidence
By Joe Nelson and Melissa Pinion-Whitt, SB Sun Staff Writers Aug. 17, 2006
RIALTO - In a four-day period, Alvin Molina Jr. watched helplessly as both his son and wife were arrested on suspicion of crimes he is still trying to fathom.
The National Guardsman who recently returned from a 16-month deployment in Afghanistan and whose wife, Debra Molina, is a supervising probation officer at San Bernardino Juvenile Hall, is still trying to understand what went wrong.
"I'm devastated. My wife and son are in jail. Where does it end?" Molina said Wednesday at his home. "I'm pretty distraught. There's got to be a mix-up with this somewhere."
Police arrested Debra Molina, 51, about 8 a.m. Wednesday at her home on suspicion of tampering with evidence sought in a criminal investigation involving her 16-year-old son, Alvin Molina III. She was booked into West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga, where she was being held in lieu of $50,000 bail, said Cpl. Kurt Kitterle of the Rialto Police Department.
The Molinas' son and his longtime friend, Steve Torres, 17, are each charged with two counts of attempted murder in the Friday-morning shootings of Mary Ortega and Alex Martinez on Cactus Avenue near the Interstate 210 extension in Rialto. They also face special allegations of premeditation and using a gun in the crimes that make them eligible for life in prison if convicted. They pleaded not guilty Tuesday in Fontana Superior Court during their arraignment, prosecutor Lyle Scollon said.
An elaborate prank orchestrated by the two boys was believed to be the basis for the shooting. They took orange cones, pylons and road construction signs that were being used for construction work and blocked off Cactus near the I-210 extension about 1:30 a.m. Friday, according to police reports filed in court in support of an arrest warrant.
When victim Ortega approached the makeshift roadblock in her Chevrolet Suburban, the boys emerged from under the overpass and started throwing rocks at her vehicle. She started driving away when several gunshots rang out. Bullets shattered the rear window of the sport utility vehicle. One bullet grazed Ortega's neck. Her passenger, Martinez, suffered gunshot wounds to his wrist. He was taken to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton for treatment. Ortega refused medical treatment, records show.
The boys pushed their luck when they returned the following night to try to pull off the same stunt. Police officers set up surveillance from 11:30 p.m. Friday to 1:30 a.m. Saturday, watching as the boys scaled the wall separating Cactus from Tahoe Street, where Molina lives. They started blocking off Cactus with the cones, pylons and rope when police moved in. The boys ran.
It didn't take long for police to find the boys, who ran into Molina's home, one of two in a small cul-de-sac.
Debra Molina identified herself to police as a county probation officer and initially gave the officers consent to search her home. When police spotted a pair of gray athletic shorts on the floor of her son's bedroom, believed to be the same ones officers saw him wearing outside, she ended the search, reports show.
In the hours that followed, she washed her son's shorts, even though she was instructed not to disturb anything in her son's room, reports show. She managed to wash the shorts despite the presence of two officers who stayed at the home to secure it while the search order was being signed.
"Debra Molina admitted that she was trying to help her son and washed the shorts," Cpl. Nicholas Borchard wrote in a report. "She stated she waited until both of the officers were in the hallway and then asked if she could use the restroom. While in the restroom she grabbed a couple of towels and other items and then went into the bedroom and picked up the shorts and concealed them under a towel."
She subsequently placed the shorts in the washing machine with the towels, the report said.
"She admitted she remembered our conversation and stated she was sorry, not fully thinking her actions through," Borchard wrote.
Scollon said in a telephone interview Wednesday that Debra Molina could face up to three years in prison if convicted, but he doesn't believe the mother of four will do any prison time.
"She has no record. It's probably a probation case," Scollon said.
Her husband said she has worked for the San Bernardino County Probation Department for about 10 years, working as a supervisor and custody specialist at juvenile hall. Her colleagues arrived at her home Monday, informed her she was under investigation and ordered her to surrender her badge.
Michelle Scray, deputy chief probation officer for the county, would only confirm Debra Molina's employment Wednesday but would not disclose how long she has worked for the county or her position title. She said it was a confidential personnel matter that is under investigation.
Alvin Molina Jr. said the stress has been taxing on his family, especially his wife, who recently underwent surgery for a brain aneurysm. On Monday, after her colleagues came to her home and relinquished her badge, she got into her car and blacked out, somehow managing to back over her foot and crash into another car parked in the driveway. She suffered a broken ankle and had a cast put on Tuesday, he said.
As for his son, the family patriarch said it isn't in his son's character to do such a thing.
Alhora Thomas, the teen's sister, agreed.
"He'd never do anything to hurt anyone," she said.
He runs track, chases girls and is pretty much "a normal kid," according to relatives.
Molina Jr. said Steve Torres rides ATVs, and goes camping and boating on weekends with his father.
"He's a well-nurtured kid," he said.
In a written statement to police, Torres admitted to participating in the prank with his friend, but denied using a gun.
"I know I've done wrong and don't feel to (sic) happy about it 'cause when everything is happening everything is fun but when the punishment comes its (sic) not," Torres wrote. "Me and Alvin both decided to throw rocks and make a road block but just as a prank not a accident (sic). I wasn't planning to hurt people or scare people. I was just planning to have fun . . . We didn't have a gun never ever ever had a gun."
Police seized a 9mm Beretta with a 15-round magazine that belongs to Molina Jr. from the family's home. It was sent to the sheriff's crime lab for ballistics testing.
The worst thing Molina Jr. said he could see his son doing is maybe breaking a window, but not barricading motorists to shoot at them.
"What the heck he was doing out on the street with his friend, Stevie, I don't know," Molina Jr. said. "But I can assure you he's not a gangbanger or a violent person."
Now, Molina Jr. must grapple with how to keep his family's spirits upbeat. He and his wife also have a 26-year-old son, Pierre, and a 9-year-old son, Amir. He's been trying to renovate his home - rooms in different stages of improvement in his modest house reflect that.
That will have to wait as Molina Jr. contemplates how he will hold the family fort down, maintain a job and figure out how to get his wife out of jail. He's trying to come up with the money to post bond on his wife's $50,000 bail.
"That's a lot of money for me. I only get so much every two weeks," Molina said. 'I'm waiting to hear from the attorney to see what we can do next."
But he remains optimistic.
"It seems like it's going to be a long road, but I got my family here to support me, so I'm happy about that," he said.
Housing Market Slowdown Hits S.B. County (Dialy Bulletin 08182006). Higher interest is forceing Property to drop in Value
This is such a bad thing, and the Federal Government thinks that they need to slow down the 'Inflation' so they are slowly increasing the Interest rate for the lending of money. That is what is slowing down the housing sales!! The Federal Government needs to leave the Federal Lending rate at a lower Rate. Right now the Average Lending Rate is about 7% and they wonder right now why the home sales are slowing it is because the people that have to purchase homes that are priced at $350,000 to $900,000 this creates just to height of a monthly payment for them to even consider. Even on a thirty year loan.
The Prime lending rate should be lower. That causes massive amounts of loans, and makes it much better for the Federal Government to earn money with a lower Interest rate when they are loaning more money out to people.
Other then that I guess they are trying to lower the home prices and actually show that they are ballooning prices and with a higher interest rate they must lower the price of the home in order to make the property more affordable for the purchaser. The Interest the way that it is will lower the home prices to what they were when I purchased my home back in 1995, that means that the price of my home or value of my home will come down from where it is now at $450,000.00 to the great price of $125,000.00 and or lower. That is what they were selling for in my area and the surrounding area, to support such an interest rate.
BSRanch
Housing market Slowdown Hits S.B. County
By Jim Steinberg, Daily Bulletin Staff Writer
By Jim Steinberg, Daily Bulletin Staff Writer
Jennie and David Garcia are testing the housing market again. This time the Yucaipa couple is asking significantly less for their five-bedroom Yucaipa home.
Their house didn't sell after a four-month effort ending in July. Maybe things will be different this time. Real estate experts were jolted by a report Tuesday that showed regional home sales slowed to the lowest level for a July since 1997.
And unlike many earlier studies where San Bernardino County seemed to be bucking the larger Southern California trend, the report showed sales were nearly as sluggish here.
The 3,216 new and existing homes sold in San Bernardino County last month were 21.3 percent fewer than the 4,084 sold 12 months earlier, according DataQuick Information Systems.
In terms of numbers, this was the poorest sales performance for a July in six years, said Andrew LePage, a DataQuick Information Systems analyst. On a percentage basis, there has not been a year over year sales decline of that magnitude since August 1992, LePage said.
Across Southern California, the number of houses sold decreased 26.9 percent.
In Los Angeles County the drop was 24.9 percent.
With a high inventory of homes for sale and declining numbers of sales, some real estate professionals and home sellers are saying San Bernardino County is now a buyer's market.
"It just switched in July. It's not a strong buyer's market. ... But it is a good time to buy a house," said Jason Bennecke, president of Highland-based Gold Key Real Estate.
Home prices are for the most part appreciating across the Southland, but at a much slower pace.
San Bernardino County registered is slowest year over year appreciation rate -- 11.4 percent -- since December 2002, as the median price climbed to $366,000, up from $328,000 in July 2005.
For the second month in a row, the San Diego County median price decreased. In July, the median declined 1.8 percent to $487,000. In June, San Diego median home prices declined 1 percent, the first time housing prices in that county turned negative in a decade.
"We are not near the bottom," said Christopher Thornberg, a senior economist at UCLA. "We are not going to have a feel on where this is going until the middle of next year," he said.
"Anybody who bought a home in the last year and was hoping for appreciation to bail them out is in for a rude awakening."
The significant factor for next year will be how the secondary effects of a housing decline rattles the larger overall economy.
For years, consumers have used rapidly increasing home values as a bank to borrow against to finance a wide range of expenditures including home improvement projects, new car purchases and vacations.
In a prepared statement, DataQuick President Marshall Prentice said, "the relatively large drop in sales last month may be nothing more than a statistical blip, but it could also be a sign of fast-petering demand for homes at today's prices.
"Our sense has been that many who bought homes in recent years purchased them sooner than they otherwise would have because of very low interest rates and a great sense of urgency, given the fear of being priced out forever or missing out on a great investment. That phenomenon helps explain why there's not more demand today. Whether July's data also signal something more ominous at work in the market -- something that would cause a severe correction in home values -- is unclear to us. We'll know a lot more in a few months," he said.
John Husing, a Redlands-based economist who studies the combined San Bernardino/Riverside county area, said he does not think the end of this housing boom cycle will be a repeat of the early 1990s.
That one was precipitated by the loss of 550,000 jobs across Southern California with the end of the Cold War.
Employment gains in Southern California have been strong for some time and in the San Bernardino/Riverside county area, the unemployment rate has never been lower in the last 42 years, Husing said.
"Normally, the real estate market stays strong when the underlying economy is strong," he said.
But the Garcias don't want to take a chance. They want to lock in some of that appreciation on their Yucaipa house in the past two years.
"We are afraid the market is going to go lower," Jennie Garcia said.
In March they listed their home with a real estate agent for $509,000.
"The first week we had four or five lookers. After that there was nothing. It was pretty bad," she said.
Last week they decided to make another stab at trying to sell the house, this time on their own.
The asking price is now $468,000. Two people showed up at an open house over the weekend.
"Better than nothing," she said.
After owning a Yucaipa rental for more than a decade, Dale and Marion Kirby decided to fix it up and sell it.
That was about three weeks ago. The initial price was $330,000.
"People liked the house. But they didn't like the price," Dale Kirby said.
Now the asking price is $298,000.
"The market is really slow," he said.
Said Bennecke: "If you want to sell your house you have to price it for what it is worth or maybe a little less, otherwise it will sit."
Bill Velto, broker for Tarbell Realty in Upland, said that countywide there's a six-month supply of houses on the market. But there are still many buyers.
People are moving into San Bernardino from Los Angeles and Orange counties. And eastern Los Angles County is seeing an influx of buyers who are cashing out of more expensive homes in the western part of the county, he said.
"Buyers have lots of choices," said Vivian Lake, an agent in Velto's office. "And they have time to look."
For Ontario resident Mynor Pinillos, now is the time to switch from being a renter to a homeowner.
"I'm seeing some nice homes. Some are overpriced. I'm not in a hurry," he said.
Thursday, August 17, 2006
Evidence Tampering Suspected in Shootings (Daily Bulletin 08172006)
I knew this was coming out, the two juveniles had a helper at home that was trying to erase their involvement in the crime. it is sad however because being a PROBATION OFFICER, you know what the laws of evidence are, and that if you are trying to wash the evidence from clothing that your son was "knowingly" wearing during a crime, that is Evidence tampering!!
Her career is done, and I am sorry I don't feel sorry for her. I feel that she should have been mad at her child for putting her in the position that she was in, but instead she decides to join her child in the crime and that was wrong.
So that was why in my previous BLOG Remark that no wonder why the children are acting the way that they do, because the parents are just taking the blame and trying to hide it from them, keeping the responsibility from them. So the Juveniles were crying out for some kind of Discipline attention that they were not getting!!
Bye Bye Mom!!
BSRanch
Evidence tampering suspected in shootings
Probation officer, her son and his friend arrested
By Joe Nelson & melissa Pinion-Whitt, staff writers (daily bulletin)
Probation officer, her son and his friend arrested
By Joe Nelson & melissa Pinion-Whitt, staff writers (daily bulletin)
RIALTO - In a four-day period, Alvin Molina Jr. watched helplessly as both his son and wife were arrested on suspicion of crimes he is still trying to fathom.
The National Guardsman who recently returned from a 16-month deployment in Afghanistan and whose wife, Debra Molina, is a supervising probation officer at San Bernardino Juvenile Hall, is still trying to understand what went wrong.
"I'm devastated. My wife and son are in jail. Where does it end?" Molina said Wednesday at his home. "I'm pretty distraught. There's gotta be a mix-up with this somewhere."
Police arrested Debra Molina, 51, about 8 a.m. Wednesday at her residence on suspicion of tampering with evidence sought in a criminal investigation involving her 16-year-old son, Alvin Molina III. She was booked into the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga, where she was being held in lieu of $50,000 bail, said Cpl. Kurt Kitterle, of the Rialto Police Department.
The Molinas' son and his longtime friend, Steve Torres, 17, are each charged with two counts of attempted murder in the Friday-morning shootings of Mary Ortega and Alex Martinez on Cactus Avenue near Interstate 210 in Rialto. They also face special allegations of premeditation and using a gun in the crimes that make them eligible for life in prison if convicted. They pleaded not guilty Tuesday in Fontana Superior Court, prosecutor Lyle Scollon said.
The two boys took orange cones, pylons and road construction signs that were being used for construction work and blocked off Cactus Avenue near Interstate 210 about 1:30 a.m. Friday, according to police reports filed in court in support of an arrest warrant.
When Mary Ortega approached the makeshift roadblock in her Chevy Suburban, the boys allegedly emerged from under the overpass and started throwing rocks at her vehicle. She started driving away when several gunshots rang out. Bullets shattered the rear window of the SUV. One bullet grazed Ortega's neck. Her passenger, Alex Martinez, suffered gunshot wounds to his wrist. He was taken to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton for treatment. Ortega refused medical treatment, records show.
Police say the boys returned the following night to try and pull off the same stunt. Police officers say they set up surveillance and from 11:30 p.m. Friday to 1:30 a.m. Saturday, watching as the boys scaled the wall separating Cactus Avenue from Tahoe Street, where Molina lives. The boys allegedly started blocking off Cactus Avenue with the cones, pylon and rope when police moved in. Police say the boys ran.
It didn't take long for police to find the boys, who ran into Molina's home, they say, one of two in a small cul-de-sac.
Debra Molina identified herself to police as a county probation officer and initially gave the officers consent to search her home. When police spotted a pair of gray athletic shorts on the floor of her son's bedroom, believed to be the same ones officers saw him wearing outside, she terminated the search, reports show.
In the hours that followed, police say she washed her son's shorts, even though she was instructed not to disturb anything in her son's room. Police say she managed to wash them in the presence of two officers who stayed at the home to secure it while the search order was being signed.
"Debra Molina admitted that she was trying to help her son and washed the shorts," Cpl. Nicholas Borchard wrote in a report. "She stated she waited until both of the officers were in the hallway and then asked if she could use the restroom. While in the restroom she grabbed a couple of towels and other items and then went into the bedroom and picked up the shorts and concealed them under a towel."
She subsequently placed the shorts in the washing machine with the towels, the report said.
"She admitted she remembered our conversation and stated she was sorry, not fully thinking her actions through," Borchard wrote.
Scollon said in a telephone interview Wednesday that Debra Molina can face up to three years in prison if convicted, but he doesn't believe the mother of four will do any prison time.
‘'She has no record. It's probably a probation case," Scollon said.
Her husband said she has worked for the San Bernardino County Probation Department for about 10 years, working as a supervisor and custody specialist at juvenile hall. Her colleagues arrived at her home Monday and informed her she was under investigation, and ordered her to surrender her badge.
Michelle Scray, deputy chief probation officer for the county, would only confirm Debra Molina's employment Wednesday but would not disclose how long she has worked for the county nor her position title. She said it was a confidential personnel matter that is under investigation.
Alvin Molina said the stress has been taxing on his family, especially his wife, who recently underwent surgery for a brain aneurysm. On Monday, after her colleagues came to her home, and she relinquished her badge, she got into her car and blacked out, somehow managing to back over her foot and crash into another car parked in the driveway. She suffered a broken ankle and had a cast put on Tuesday, he said.
In a written statement to police, Torres admitted to participating in the prank with his friend, but denied using a gun.
"I know I've done wrong and don't feel to (sic) happy about it cause when everything is happening everything is fun but when the punishment comes its (sic) not," Torres wrote. "Me and Alvin both decided to throw rocks and make a road block but just as a prank not a accident (sic). I wasn't planning to hurt people or scare people. I was just planning to have fun . . . We didn't have a gun never ever ever had a gun (sic)."
Police seized a 9mm Beretta with a 15-round magazine that allegedly belongs to Alvin Molina from the family's home. It was sent to the sheriff's crime lab for ballistics testing.
Now, Alvin Molina must grapple with how to keep his family's spirits up. He and his wife also have a 26-year-old son, Pierre, and a 9-year-old son, Amir. He's been trying to renovate his home.
That will have to wait, as Alvin Molina contemplates how he will hold the family fort down, maintain a job and figure out how to get his wife out of jail. He's trying to come up with the money to post bond on his wife's $50,000 bail.
"That's a lot of money for me. I only get so much every two weeks," Molina said. ‘I'm waiting to hear from the attorney to see what we can do next."
But he remains optimistic.
"It seems like it's going to be a long road, but I got my family here to support me, so I'm happy about that," he said.
Southland Home Sales at 9-Year Low (LA Times 08172006)
This is so weird, the Federal government starts to increase the Interest rate and that is it the holiday is over. they want their money that they lost over the time that, they were forced to lower the interest, and allow the free lunch to begin. When I graduated High school the interest Rate for a home loan was 21% over a 30 year period. WOW..huh, where we have come. Lets hope that it doesn't go back there.
BSRanch
Southland Home Sales at 9-Year Low
By Annette HaddadTimes Staff Writer
9:50 AM PDT, August 15, 2006
Southern California home sales fell to their lowest level in nine years last month as price appreciation continued to take a haircut, data released today showed.
In July, 22,712 homes closed escrow in the six-county region, according to La Jolla-based research firm DataQuick Information Systems. That was a 27% drop from the year before and was the fewest number of homes to close escrow in a July since 1997.
Waning sales coupled with a rising supply of unsold homes is weighing on price appreciation. In July, the median price of a Southern California home rose 4.9% to $492,000 — the slowest rate of growth in more than six years. The price also edged down 0.2% from the record median of $493,000 set in June.
The latest figures will undoubtedly rev up the debate over whether the Southland's housing sector will be able to navigate a "soft landing" that produces only moderate price declines.
Regardless, the statistics further underscore the changing nature of the region's real estate market.
"Current trends suggest that the market is heading into a lull," said DataQuick analyst Andrew LePage.
How long the lulls lasts will depend "on a host of variables," LePage said, including interest rate changes and job and income growth. Sales volume regionally has declined for the last eight months.
The one-month drop between June and July — a hefty 22% — was the most for that period since DataQuick started keeping records in 1988, the company said.
Altogether, Southland home prices have risen just 5% since January, according to DataQuick, which assesses all closed residential transactions in the given period. A year ago, home prices had gained 13% during the same timeframe.
Last month, only San Bernardino County, where home prices are the lowest in the region, continued to post double-digit gains in home price appreciation. The median home price — the point at which half of all homes sell for less, half for more — rose 11.6% to $366,000.
Yet like most other counties, San Bernardino prices have retrenched from their peaks and growth has slowed considerably. Only Los Angeles County, at $520,000, and Ventura County, at $634,000, posted record medians in July, but at the slowest rate in half a decade.
Orange County's median rose 6.3% to $639,000 and Riverside County's gained 7.5% to $414,000. As reported last week, San Diego County, once the hottest local housing market, saw values decline 1.8% to $487,000.
Nationally, the slowdown is growing as well. The National Assn. of Realtors said today that in addition to California, 27 other states and the District of Columbia reported spring sales declines of existing homes.
Sales nationwide were down 7% to a seasonally adjusted rate of 6.69 million in the April-June quarter this year compared to a year ago, the NAR said.
Completion of Route 210 Freeway Scheduled for Late 2007
The route 210 extension was supposed to be opened by late 2005 when they started the construction, I can remember the signs originally, but now it is late 2007, and it is only now that I don't see much construction being done anywhere in Rialto, I guess is most of Rialto's is done, with the exception of the paving, and San Bernardino has the bridge work that they are working on now. I don't know if I want it there or not I guess I have to wait for it to open. I know it has created a whole bunch of heartaches for the Rialto Residents for the promises that the council has made and all the stuff that it has brought about with the Police Department and all.
BSRanch
Completion of Route 210 Freeway is scheduled for late 2007
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The long-awaited extension of the Route 210 Freeway is still on track for completion in late 2007 as planned, an official for the San Bernardino Association of Governments (SANBAG) said recently.
The freeway will ultimately connect with Highway 30 in San Bernardino, just east of Interstate 215, said Cheryl Donahue, public information officer for the association.
The final 7.2 miles starts at the freeway's present end at Alder Avenue in Rialto (just east of Fontana), and with a price tag of roughly $146.5 million, will complete a project that began in 1997 in La Verne, where the freeway used to end at Foothill Boulevard, Donahue said. The stretch from La Verne to Fontana was completed in 2001.
She added the final leg of the freeway will be opened at once, not in pieces, and that there is still much work to be done.
"We will be starting on the paving either late this summer or early this fall," Donahue said. "It's fascinating. It's done with computers and is guided so it spreads out evenly. We can pave two lanes at once. We break it up into segments and the paving is done in three separate layers."
The bottom layer of the freeway will be a concrete base, the second layer will have a thin layer of asphalt mixed with concrete, and that will be topped off with 9- to 12-inch thick layer of Portland cement, Donahue said.
"That will take some time to do the paving," Donahue said. "We'll go through then and pave the on and off ramps, and we have bridges to finish up."
The bridges include one at Highland Avenue, one at Pepper Avenue, one at California Street and a Highland Avenue undercrossing in San Bernardino, Donahue said.
She added a couple of railroads need to be retrofitted while a massive drain system beneath State Street in San Bernardino needs to be built.
This is in addition to all the signs and lights that need to be put up, Donahue said.
Also, each direction will have three lanes and a carpool lane for a total of eight lanes being built along the 7.2-mile stretch, Donahue said.
(The photo above is an aerial view of some of the construction taking place on the Route 210 Freeway. Photo by Shel Segal.)
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