Rialto Plan Aims to Fix City's Infrastructure (Daily Bulletin 100906)

Rialto Plan Aims to Fix City's Infrastracture
By Jason Pesick, Daily Bulletin Staff Writer Article Launched: 10/09/2006 12:00

RIALTO - The long-awaited widening of the Riverside Avenue bridge above the 10 Freeway is one of 131 projects the city hopes to complete in the next five years.

The $31 million project was included in the 2007-11 Capital Improvement Program the City Council approved Tuesday night. The annual document lays out $106 million in major purchases and construction projects.

The plan, which city officials stress is dynamic and subject to change, focuses on upgrading the city's infrastructure, improving facilities, public safety and the city's appearance. Most of the funding, $57 million, will be used for transportation and flood-control projects, while about one-quarter is aimed at redevelopment proposals.

"The focus over the last couple of years has been transportation," said Mike Story, Rialto's development services director.

Cheryl Donahue, a spokeswoman for San Bernardino Associated Governments, said the Riverside Avenue bridge project is scheduled to begin in the summer of 2008 and will likely take 20 months to complete. She said the city first started doing work on the project in 1997, but a lack of funding and environmental requirements have delayed the project.

"This is one of the interchanges where traffic actually

backs up onto the freeway," Donahue said.

At Tuesday's City Council meeting, Mayor Grace Vargas said the project has increased from about $11 million since 1997.

"All of our projects are seeing just gigantic increases in costs," Donahue said. She said the widening of 215 Freeway in San Bernardino increased in cost from $250 million to $640 million. She attributed the increases to building material shortages, which are in large part the result of the tremendous amount of construction taking place in China. She also said contractors have tended to be more selective in which projects they take.

The entire $106 million figure for the program represents money already allocated to projects currently under way, funding from a number of different sources, including grants and money that will be spent during the next five years.

Aside from the road-widening project above 10 Freeway, $18.3 million is dedicated to the Willow Winchester Neighborhood Revitalization Project, which will refurbish a condominium complex in an effort to decrease blight in the area.

The city will continue to revitalize its downtown street-scape by spending nearly $1.5 million in the next three years. It will also spend $8 million to spruce up Foothill Boulevard and the surrounding buildings.

The city will also spend $2.5 million to extend Pepper Avenue to the 210 Freeway.

Another major project is the $7.4 million plan to prepare a site for for a new $100 million regional biosolids processing facility.

Many of the projects are improvements to city buildings, such as the Senior Center. For example, the plan calls for replacing roofs and air-conditioning units in city buildings.

The city also plans to purchase a number of public safety vehicles. These purchases include $180,000 for a new ambulance, $825,000 for two fire engines and more than $5 million for 29 police vehicles through 2011.

The soccer fields at Jerry Eaves Park will be illuminated thanks to a $900,000 grant from the county. Rialto Park will also receive a $2.5 million upgrade.

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BS Ranch Perspective:

The plans outlined in this article are very strong and imaginative! They are very good Ideas, but some they have already been told to pound sand by the environmentalist groups that they will take them to a very pricey court battle, I am talking of coarse about the Pepper Ave Extension and Onramps to the Interstate 210 freeway! They need to be done, because the City needs more of a reach to the Freeway then just Riverside, Ayala, & Alder Avenues! Pepper would be great and it would also give that eastern reach to the on ramp. Plus they can extend complete the extension also to the Frontage Road (Highland Ave) if they would Extend Pepper fully to the next step, that would also relieve that traffic off of the Frontage road, from Easton Ave. Off of Riverside.

I do realize that the Fire Engines that they got when the Utility tax was voted in was five years ago, and that one or two are ready to be rotated out and new ones rotated in, but there is still the problem of the equipment for the Police Department! The radio's that they have are good and it is better now that the Police Officers have their radio's Issued to them. I do feel that they should get all the money's worth with the radios and get the Direct Connect telephone service with them, because without that you are wasting money and the police Officers time.

Most of the Ideas are good ones, I feel that they are missing a few things however again it's the support of the Police Department.

BS Ranch

Area's Rehabilitation Begins (Press Enterprise 100906) Rialto: A $37Million Effort to upgrade a blighted neighborhood gets under way

Area's rehabilitation begins

RIALTO: A $37 million effort to upgrade a blighted neighborhood gets under way.

10:00 PM PDT on Monday, October 9, 2006

By MASSIEL LADRÓN DE GUEVARA
The Press-Enterprise

A bulldozer punched through the wall of an apartment in Rialto's Willow-Winchester area Monday to mark the beginning of the neighborhood's rehabilitation.

It was a moment four years in the making, said John Dutrey, Rialto's housing specialist.

The area had been a problem for several years because of crime, blight, homicides and gangs, but in 18 months it will be a beautiful community where families will be safe and can enjoy a community center, Dutrey said.

Rialto and nonprofit Southern California Housing Development Corp. invested $37 million to purchase the 160 apartment units in the area to rehabilitate them, place onsite management and build a community center.

The center will offer such after-school activities as arts and crafts and computer classes, and English as a second language classes will be offered at no cost to adults, Dutrey said.

A coin-operated laundry and basketball courts also will be available to residents of the apartment units, said Julie Mungai, senior project manager for the nonprofit group.

The goal is to help low-income families live in a safe neighborhood, Mungai said. Rent will range between $350 and $850 for the two- and three-bedroom units.

Bridget Boyd, who has lived in the Willow-Winchester area on and off since 1976, said the project is the answer to her prayers for the community.

"We will be able to be proud to live here again," she said.

Several residents expressed a desire to volunteer at the community center when it opens to ensure children have somewhere fun and safe to spend time.

Margiteen Rawls, who lives across the street from the Willow-Winchester project area, said she would love to volunteer at the center.

"So many little kids are getting killed out on the streets that it'd be wonderful for them to have a place to be safe from the outside craziness," Rawls said.

Mayor Grace Vargas said although it will be an expensive project, the investment is well worth it.

"Residents are going to be able to be safe, children will be able to play outside and it will eliminate calls to police officers so they can be somewhere else patrolling the city," she said.

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

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BS Ranch Perspective:

History is going to repeat itself with these apartments or Condo's what ever they are being past as these days! They are right North of the Eisenhower High School, which is a breeding ground for the Drugs to start and get going, that area was once swept through in 1994 and we spent a whole week preparing for the one night of raids. That was back when welfare was supporting many of the apartments that were there and they were cleaned out when the raids were done. No Rent then there was no apartment. The Police Department went in with SWAT, County Welfare, Probation, Parole Officers, and there was drug warrants served, the area was called drug free went we finished, but the whole thing took a month to complete. Now the city wants to invest and take the property over as imminent domain, and rejuvenate the property and then allow a private firm, Non Profit Organization Operates the Management, and Oversees the Renting of each place.

I am a skeptic, I feel that the gangs will work their way in slowly and the management will get shot any time that they move against the gang that is in control of the neighborhood. IT is going to still be a fight.

BS Ranch

Rialto Begins Rental Project (SB Sun 101006) Rialto begins to bulldoze walls to start project for rentals.

Rialto begins Rental Project
Jason Pesick, SB Sun Staff Writer

RIALTO - A bulldozer knocked down the wall of a blighted condo Monday, symbolizing the start of the Willow-Winchester Neighborhood Revitalization Project to remake a troubled neighborhood.

The groundbreaking marked the beginning of an 18-month construction process that will rebuild housing on nine acres in the high-crime area near the intersection of Willow Avenue and Winchester Drive.

"I stayed, and I prayed, and this is the result of my prayer," said resident Bridget Boyd, who grew up in the neighborhood.

The $31 million project - $13.3 million of which will come from the city - aims to transform 160 individually owned condominium units into an affordable rental-housing community. The community will be developed and managed by the Southern California Housing Development Corp., a nonprofit developer. The rest of the money will come from a number of lenders, the county and the state.

For years, nearly all of the units had different owners, and only 13 of them actually lived in the condos. Most of the rest were absentee landlords who did not maintain the property well, SoCal Housing and Rialto officials said.

The disorganized ownership-and- management scheme helped foster one of the

city's most dangerous areas, averaging two to three homicides and 700 calls for police service a year, said Housing Director John Dutrey.

For the past five years, the neighborhood has been the top crime district in the city, said police Lt. Randy DeAnda. He compared the neighborhood to the Glenwood Apartments, a once high-crime housing complex that SoCal Housing also recently renovated and turned into affordable apartments now known as Renaissance Village.

Boyd said she moved into a condo in 1976 with her mother and stayed for 20 years before moving out. She said it was a beautiful place when she was growing up.

More recently, however, Boyd said she moved back into the same unit she grew up in and described the area as like a "war zone."

Upon her return, she said her reaction was to say, "Jesus, what happened? Who did it?"

She said she wanted to leave right away but stayed until now. She plans to move back in once the renovation is complete.

The Rialto Housing Authority used eminent domain to acquire many of the units at a cost of about $80,000 per unit, Rialto Economic Development Director Robb Steel said. The city had to go to court to acquire two of the units, he said. Many of the residents have either been permanently relocated or will be able to move into the completed units, according to the city and SoCal Housing.

Even though the city ended up contributing more than twice the amount it originally intended to contribute to the project, the mayor and City Council members praised the project.

"We are here to celebrate the victory against crime and blight," Mayor Grace Vargas said. She added that the area used to give her the chills.

Monday's groundbreaking ceremony under a white tent brought an air of sophistication into this gritty neighborhood. Tuxedo-clad workers served hors d'oeuvres to a crowd that included only a half dozen community residents among city employees, officials and SoCal Housing representatives.

Once completed, the complex will have 152 two- and three-bedroom units with rents ranging from $350 to $850 a month, said Julie Mungai, a senior project manager at SoCal Housing.

She said a 6,300-square-foot community center will serve the entire city by offering services such as after-school programs. She said there will also be a children's playground and basketball court.

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BS Ranch Perspective:

History does Repeat itself, they will reduce Calls for Service for a time, how ever History will repeat itself, the area that was used for, and multiplied crime, was the prefect location. The High School was just South of the Complex with a large wall that was easily climbed and gotten over, Much easer for the crime factor than the Officer chasing the criminal. They know that area better then we do, When you live in an area, you have the tenancy to get to know all the cracks in the walls and the ways to sneak around!

The city will learn that the money that they are wasting there would have been better spent on a Retirement plan that was 3% at 50 years of Age vs. 2% at 50 years of age. There is a huge difference in that one percent!!

BSRanch

DUI Suspect Rearrested After Crash (SB Sun 100706)

RIALTO
DUI suspect rearrested after crash

A man arrested on suspicion of drunken driving was re-arrested hours later after he crashed into a car and threatened to hurt the driver if he called police, officers said.

Shay Ralph Johnson, 23, of San

Bernardino was booked on suspicion of felony drunken driving, felony hit-and-run, terrorist threats and violating parole, said Rialto police Sgt. Vince Licata.

Rialto police initially arrested Johnson about 2 a.m. Friday in the 100 block of East Foothill Boulevard. His wife pulled up while he was being given sobriety tests.

Officers brought him to the station for more tests and to sober up, Licata said. Johnson and his car were released to his wife about 5:30 a.m.

The woman drove to where she had left her car to obtain an item and then planned to drive her husband home in his car. But he began arguing with her and demanded he drive.

When she insisted he couldn't drive, Johnson threatened to hurt her and then kicked her out of the vehicle, Licata said. The woman got into her own car and began following her husband.

"He smashes into a vehicle, launches that vehicle into a couple parked cars," Licata said. "He goes over to the driver and threatens him with violence if he calls the police."

The other driver received moderate injuries and complained of pain to his neck and back. He was taken to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton for treatment.

Johnson ran to a pay phone and called a friend to pick him up.

Police went to the man's home in San Bernardino and arrested him again. He was booked into West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga.

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BSRanch Perspective:

The Responsiblity for someone to take custody of a person that is intoxicated from a police station to take them home on their citation is and can be a tragity, and this can and will come back to bite the city of Rialto, espeically if there were people hurt! See the law clearly states that you take them into custody and hold them until they are sober enough to operate a motor vehicle safely, well in this case they decided that he was cooperative and nice that they would give him a brake and allow him to call his girl friend, to come pick him up and take him into her custody! She signs paper work stating that she is taking full responobilty for everything that he does, so if he were to get into another car and cause an accident that person is liable and can be held responcible for all the actions that this person has taken. If this is the case then this citation Release is now going to be tested in the State of California. There are many Departments that have this polocy, and they will rethink it when this case is done. I will say that and the citation release polocy will be a thing of the past once again!! because of one mans actions! to ruin it for everyone!!

BSRanch

Rialto Plans to Spend$106Million for Improvements (Daily Bulletin 100606)

Rialto plans to spend $106M for improvements

Jason Pesick, Staff Writer

Article Launched:10/06/2006 01:00:00 AM PDT

RIALTO - The long- awaited widening of the Riverside Avenue bridge above Interstate 10 is one of 131 projects the city hopes to complete in the next five years.

The $31million project was included in the 2007-11 capital- improvement program the City Council approved Tuesday night. The document lays out $106million in major purchases and construction projects.

The plan, which city officials stress is dynamic and subject to change, focuses on upgrading the city's infrastructure, improving facilities, public safety and the city's appearance.

Most of the funding, $57million, will be used for transportation and flood-control projects, while about one-quarter is aimed at redevelopment proposals.

"The focus over the last couple of years has been transportation," said Mike Story, Rialto's development services director.

Cheryl Donahue, a spokeswoman for San Bernardino Associated Governments, the county's transportation authority, said the Riverside Avenue bridge project is scheduled to begin in the summer of 2008 and will likely take 20 months to complete.

She said the city first started doing work on the project in 1997, but a lack of funding and environmental requirements have delayed it.

"This is one of the interchanges where traffic actually backs up onto the freeway," Donahue said.

At Tuesday's council meeting, Mayor Grace Vargas said the project's cost has increased from about $11 million since 1997.

"All of our projects are seeing just gigantic increases in costs," Donahue said.

She said the widening of Interstate 215 in San Bernardino increased in cost from $250million to $640million.

She attributed the increases to building material shortages, which are in large part the result of the tremendous amount of construction taking place in China. She also said contractors have tended to be more selective about which projects they take.

The entire $106million figure for Rialto's program represents money already allocated to projects currently under way and funding from a number of sources, including grants and money that will be spent over the next five years.

Aside from the road widening project above I-10, $18.3million is dedicated to the Willow Winchester Neighborhood Revitalization Project, which will refurbish a condominium complex in an effort to decrease blight in the area.

The city will continue to revitalize its downtown streetscape by spending nearly $1.5million over the next three years. It will also spend $8million to spruce up Foothill Boulevard and surrounding buildings.

The city will also spend $2.5 million to extend Pepper Avenue to the Interstate 210 extension.

Another major project is the $7.4million plan to prepare a site for a new $100million regional biosolids-processing facility.

Many of the projects are improvements to city buildings, such as the Senior Center. For example, the plan calls for replacing roofs and air-conditioning units in city buildings.

The city also plans to purchase a number of public-safety vehicles. The purchases include $180,000 for a new ambulance, $825,000 for two fire engines and more than $5million for 29 police vehicles through 2011.

The soccer fields at Jerry Eaves Park will be illuminated thanks to a $900,000 grant from the county. Rialto City Park will also receive a $2.5million upgrade.

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BS Ranch Perspective:

It seems that they are finally going to do what Fontana did about 10 years ago, and Rialto had slated to do 10 years ago but the Sierra Club, the one true friend to the Environment, stopped the expansion of the I-10/Riverside Crossing Bridge because of an Insect that is a natural Migrant to that area, but there is plenty of open areas down in the south end that have been built on without any stoppage from the Sierra Club, only when the City or Government wants to do anything is when they start to place a stoppage or argument, which I don't under stand.

I guess what they do, is threaten the large company that is getting ready to build a huge complex that they will close down the construction with law suits and a request for an environmental study, which takes a long time. Then the business gives a very large donation to the Sierra Club and all litigation is dropped, and they go away!! But the government doesn't play that game because it is Tax payers money.

The Sierra Club, should figure out that people should be wanting to give to their cause willingly and not through Non-Profit hijacking of their money and their company.

I think that the Sierra Club should Be Forced to pay for the $11 million difference from yesterday to today's cost in the expansion since the 1 acre of land that will be used to build on will be made better more access to cars and less accidents and loss of human life.

BS Ranch

Convicted Murderer From Rialto Sentenced to Death (Daily Bulletin 100506)

Convicted murderer from Rialto sentenced to death

By Melissa Pinion-Whitt, Daily Bulletin Staff Writer

Article Launched:10/05/2006 12:00:00 AM PDT

Louis Mitchell Jr., who grinned a month ago when jurors recommended he receive the death penalty, was not beaming during his sentencing Wednesday.

The convicted murderer stared forward, stone-faced and silent as a judge sentenced him to death, rather than life in prison.

"The weight of the evidence overwhelmingly supports the jury's verdict," San Bernardino Superior Court Judge Brian McCarville said.

The judge said Mitchell's victims were "particularly vulnerable" at the time they were shot and killed.

The 36-year-old Rialto man, who tested positive for PCP the day he was arrested, may have also been under the influence of drugs the day before when he went on a shooting rampage in Colton and San Bernardino.

But evidence of that was "tenuous at best," McCarville said.

McCarville sentenced Mitchell to death for the Aug. 8, 2005, murders of Mario Lopez, 59, and Patrick Mawikere, 20, at the California Auto Specialists auto dealership in Colton, where the two worked. He also imposed a death sentence for the fatal shooting of 16-year-old Susano Torres at a San Bernardino apartment complex.

Mitchell received life with the possibility of parole for the nonfatal shootings of Juan Bizzotto and Jerry Payan, who were wounded

at the car dealership, and Torres' 19-year-old brother, Armando Torres. He received a sentence of 25 years to life in prison for use of a firearm on each count.

Mitchell was arrested the day after the shootings on 19th Street in San Bernardino after threatening three people with a gun.

Payan, 37, said he and Bizzotto have undergone numerous surgeries and continue to receive therapy. Payan, who worked as a sales manager at the dealership, suffered a bullet wound to his arm and cuts to his legs from smashing through the glass of the business.

But the mental wounds will likely take longer to heal, Payan said.

Bizzotto is still traumatized because he watched all his colleagues get shot, he said.

"The best I can do is just talk to him all the time," Payan said. "We're going to stay close to each other. He lives down the street from me. We're going to pull through this somehow."

Mitchell's relatives and members of the victims' families were among about 15 people scattered throughout the courtroom Wednesday.

The judge's ruling generated no verbal reaction from the audience after McCarville warned relatives that the outbursts heard during the jury's verdict were unacceptable.

Outside the courtroom, family members embraced and wiped away tears. Lopez's mother declined comment, as did Mitchell's father.

Payan said the judge's decision gave the families a bit of closure.

"This is the end for him," he said. "It's not the end for us."

Contact writer Melissa Pinion-Whitt at (909) 386-3878 or via e-mail at melissa.pinion-whitt@sbsun.com.

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BS Ranch Perspective:

I just wanted to write a thanks to those that were able to serve on the Jury. They heard the evidence and well if what they heard was enough to convict this man of Murder then the Evidence was there and they did a good job. My heart and prayers go to the family of the victim, it isn't much for them to get for the loss of a family member, but in today's day and age when you see and read about so many murders that are unsolved, even with all the technology that we have to convict or find the murderer to convict. It is sad and brings a tear to my eye. God bless those that see loss every day, especially in this case. God Bless,

BS Ranch

Rialto Ought to Seek Cooperation on Perchlorate (Daily Bulletin!!100406)

Rialto Ought to Seek Cooperation on Perchlorate

Rialto may have a case against San Bernardino County in expecting it to help resolve the issue of perchlorate contamination polluting city wells. But it is going about the process of seeking compensation for its efforts entirely the wrong way.

Rather than suing the county once again, as it did last week, Rialto needs to gain the county’s cooperation in going after the real culprits – the companies that actually leaked the pollutant into the groundwater. And we don’t see how filing another lawsuit will achieve that salutary effect.

Having failed to get satisfactory results from a lawsuit it filed in 2004 against the county and 41 other entities, Rialto now has veered off on a sidetrack to go after the county alone in a lawsuit filed in state court. The city claims the county is in violation of a 1998 agreement to hold the city harmless in the county’s expansion of the Mid-Valley Sanitary Landfill in the north end of town. What that means exactly is up to legal conjecture, what with the county insisting it is providing clean water to residents, and the city insisting the county owes it for perchlorate-related costs so far.

But let’s remember, though the county bought the landfill, it

isn’t the one that did the dumping. And it’s beyond us why Rialto would want the county to take the fall, when the real bandits are getting away.

Whatever the case, it is city residents, whose water bills include a surcharge to fund the cleanup effort, who are paying the costs of the city’s inability to get the true polluters to pay the damages.

More to the point, perhaps, is the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board’s 2003 order to the county to investigate and clean up perchlorate contamination flowing from its property. That is what Rialto should be pressing with the county – not some new lawsuit, which remains a sideshow to the ongoing federal litigation.

The city’s initial lawsuit targets not only the county, but the U.S. Department of Defense and 40 corporations suspected of dumping the chemical used in the manufacture of fireworks and explosives into the groundwater decades ago. It is those companies that should be in Rialto’s, and the county’s, sights. It is those companies that should be paying the estimated $200 million to $300 million worth of cleanup and treatment costs, without leaving it to ratepayers to pony it up over the next 50 years.

We’d bet Rialto would have a lot better luck in pursuing that outcome, if it were to bring the county on board in seeking reimbursement from the companies at fault. Cooperation tends to work better than holding a stick over someone's head.

But neither is the county innocent. It needs to fulfill its obligations and stop playing an adversary role. Most important, it must step up to the plate to help Rialto recoup its losses. Let’s just say it’s for the sake of ratepayers more than it is Rialto’s.

Disagree? We’d like to hear from you. Write us at letters@dailybulletin.com.

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BS Ranch Perspective:

This is the most insightful article that I have seen on this subject, and they seem to be more informed then the others that seem to just put the story out there! I have said that Ed Scott and Mr. Owens, Mr. Garcia all are in the wrong here. they need to sit at the table with the County Supervisors, and the County Lawyer's and Engineers along with the people that have the power in the county to figure out how to come to some kind of an understanding to which they are working together and not against each other on the Perchlorate situation. The Powers that Be in Rialto are making the Perchlorate situation Cost the City and County of Rialto & San Bernardino a whole lot more than it should! They better pull their suits and start paying their half, and shut up before the judge in the case makes the city responsible for the whole thing and walks away, leaving the city of Rialto, Owens, Garcia, Scott, Sampson, Hanson, Robertson and Vargas all pay the bill with the newly failed renewal of the Utility tax!! The city will be going backwards again, all at the cost of the people that I have been writing to get rid of, Owens, Gonzales, Scott, Sampson, and Robertson the city would be better off.

BSRanch

San Bernardino Puts Its Best Foot Forward (Press Enterprise 100306)

San Bernardino puts its best foot forward

10:00 PM PDT on Tuesday, October 3, 2006

By DEVONA WELLS
The Press-Enterprise

Bring your business to San Bernardino, and you'll find a rapidly growing state university, the region's most successful dining and entertainment spot and "an extraordinarily beautiful environment."

The platitudes come courtesy of a 41-page pitch designed to help the Economic Development Agency sell the city to prospective companies.

Compiled by Inland economist John Husing, the report plays up various San Bernardino attributes, from its successful Hospitality Lane restaurants to an abundance of underground water to the region's Mediterranean climate.

The marketing report, part of the agency's effort to become more visible, will accompany officials to today's Palm Springs conference put on by the International Council of Shopping Centers. Maggie Pacheco, the agency's executive director, said the city's presence at the event will mark the first time San Bernardino has had a booth at the group's desert or Las Vegas conference -- both popular networking events -- since she got to the city in 1999.

Mayor Pat Morris has identified economic development as key to revitalizing the city, which has struggled to remake its downtown and to turn renters into homeowners. But home builders have recently proposed several projects, including houses expected to sell for more than $1 million, from the foothills to downtown.

And developer LNR Property Corp. has submitted plans to city officials to tear down the Carousel Mall and to replace it with townhomes.

The city's Hospitality Lane, along Interstate 10, boasts several national chains, including Best Buy, Sam's Club and Claim Jumper. Numbers used to tally sales at San Bernardino stores and restaurants were pulled from 2005 state Board of Equalization tax statistics compiled before some dining spots at Rancho Cucamonga's Victoria Gardens shopping center had been open a full year.

Husing couldn't be reached for comment Tuesday.

The report, which Pacheco said cost about $15,000, touches on San Bernardino's central location amid the Inland area's booming industrial and office real-estate markets. It also lists business resources, such as city-grant and tax-rebate programs, and colleges in and near San Bernardino.

Reach Devona Wells at 909-806-3052 or dwells@PE.com

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BS Ranch Perspective:

Looks like the San Bernardino Mayor is at it again, making San Bernardino, Once in the top 10 for murder in the Whole United States, and now he is turning the whole city around making it more appetizing for executives to look at for their companies to move here. the more companies that he gets here, especially larger ones the more that the FAA and Los Angeles City will be forced to help San Bernardino get their Airport working as an International stop! Which when that is done then the growth will be fast and furious, around there, Riverside and well Moreno Valley will be the new Inland Empire. LOL..

BS Ranch

PS: Good Job Mayor Morris!

Fontana Police Seek Information on Robbers

Fontana Police Seek Information on Robbers
Wes WoodsII Daily Bulletin Staff Writer 092606

FONTANA -- Police are looking for information about a pair of men who robbed two men in a city park Sunday.

The robbers, both male, approached two Fontana residents in Jack Bulik Park, at 16581 Filbert St., around 8:15 p.m. and asked them what time it was, a Fontana Police Department news release said.

While the victims were distracted, the robbers demanded the victims' property and showed a firearm, police said. After the perpetrators took a wallet with money and jewelry worth about $280, they ran westbound through the park toward Cypress Avenue.

Both men are about 5 feet 4 inches tall, 140 pounds and between the age of 17 and 20. They wore white T-shirts and blue jeans, police said. One man had black hair, and the other man's hair color was unknown, police said.

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BS Ranch Perspective:

I know that there is not much opinion that anyone can give to a Robbery Description, but Lets have a second look at the description that is given, they are kind of vague, and there is not a photograph or Sketch of the suspects, to use as a reference either. I just pray that they get caught before they start robbing more people!!

BSRanch

Bloomington Awaits Incorperation (Daily Bulletin 092606)

Bloomington Awaits Incorporation
Andrew Silva, Daily Bulletin Staff Writer 092606

BLOOMINGTON -- The signatures are in and now the waiting begins for those hoping to turn Bloomington into a city.

On Monday, the Bloomington Incorporation Commission, or BIC, submitted 2,106 signatures to the agency that eventually will decide the community's future, said Eric Davenport, one of BIC's leaders.

Cityhood supporters needed to obtain valid signatures from 25 percent of the registered voters in the proposed city.

Roughly 1,800 signatures are needed, though the exact number will be determined by the county Registrar of Voters.

The registrar has 30 days to determine if enough valid signatures have been filed. If the number is short, cityhood proponents will have another 15 days to fill the gap.

If the petition is successful, it sets up a meeting in mid-November at the Local Agency Formation Commission, which rules on annexations and incorporations.

Fontana is looking to annex 289 acres of Bloomington, which is scheduled to come up for a commission vote Nov. 15. Cityhood supporters say the annexation could doom their effort because of the lost tax base.

It remains to be seen if Fontana will hold off on its annexation effort, in order to allow Bloomington's incorporation effort to run its course.

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BS Ranch Perspective:

It might be that Fontana is going to race the clock to dash the dreams of the residents of Bloomington, and make it impossible to give them the City Hood that they want! Which is a Shame! I would consider moving to the new city just to get more land and a nicer new home, but they want to make the larger lots a thing of the past, and by Fontana Racing to block the Annexing of Bloomington area, so that they cannot possibly have the tax base to hold a city that would hold a candle to their own. see if they loose to much of the city then the Tax Base becomes impossible to support the newly founded city of Bloomington!

With that they will be at the mercy of the annexing of land from Rialto and Fontana, and the smaller lots and they will loose the charm that Bloomington is!, and well was at one time!! That my friend is to bad! I have and will keep on praying for them, because they re a super area, I just wish I could afford some of the Bloomington land so that I could live there and possibly at one time have and ride horses, but they will annex it all away and it will be small little lots that will not only take away from the charm of Bloomington, but it will ruin the whole concept that they had in mind for the little city!!

BSRanch

Rialto, County Square Off Again (SB Sun 092606) Lawsuit focuses on perchlorates

Rialto, County Square off again
Lawsuit focuses on perchlorates
Jason pesick, SB Sun Staff Writer 092606

The city of Rialto plans to file another lawsuit against San Bernardino County in connection with the city's perchlorate contamination problem.

The latest lawsuit, which the city plans to file today in state court, claims the county is violating a 1998 agreement made when the county was expanding the Mid-Valley Sanitary Landfill. The landfill is leaking perchlorate, according to City Attorney Bob Owen.

Owen said that when the county sought to expand the landfill, it agreed that the city would not be responsible for costs associated with the environmental impact of the landfill expansion, including potential lawsuits.

In 2004, the city sued the county and 41 other entities, including the U.S. Department of Defense and a number of corporations, in an effort to force them to pay to clean up the contamination the city says was caused during landfill operations in the city's north end.

Bob Page, Supervisor Josie Gonzales' chief of staff, said the agreement requires the county to protect the city only if it is sued. In addition, he said, the city is not incurring financial damage.

"We haven't financially damaged the city in any way," he said.

Scott Sommer, Rialto's external counsel in its perchlorate lawsuits, said the 1998 agreement is broader than merely forcing the county to protect Rialto against lawsuits. He contends the agreement covers the city's expenses for clean-up efforts.

He said the city paid for perchlorate cleanup for years before the county began its cleanup effort. City residents have a surcharge on their water bills to fund the cleanup effort.

Perchlorate is a chemical used in the production of explosives, rocket fuels and fireworks and can cause thyroid problems in humans.

The new lawsuit is narrower than the 2004 federal suit because it is filed only against the county and focuses on the county's alleged violation of the 1998 agreement.

The Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board issued an order compelling the county to investigate and clean up perchlorate contamination flowing from its property in 2003.

Last year, city and county officials agreed to a tentative settlement deal to the overall federal lawsuit in which the county would have paid the city $2.5 million, but the settlement was never implemented. City and county officals met again on the issue in late August, but the meeting devolved into a shouting match.

Page said the county is protecting the city's residents because it is providing them with clean water. He charged that Gonzales is focused on cleanup not lawsuits.

Owen said the City Council voted to file the suit during the closed session of last week's meeting. He said the council voted to proceed because Gonzales has refused to negotiate with the city.

Reached at home Monday, Rialto Mayor Grace Vargas, one of Gonzales' political allies, said she did not want to comment on the lawsuit or whether she voted in favor of filing the suit. She said she prefers to work with the county. "We get more done, I believe, if we work together," she said.

Councilman Ed Scott said he does not recall Vargas raising serious concerns against the lawsuit. "There was no opposition to it," he said.

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BS Ranch Perspective:

Well, now it looks like the Mayor feels like I do on this matter, that the county and the City could get more done if they would cooperate with each other instead of trying to get something for nothing, which it appears to this author that the City of Rialto is trying to accomplish. It seems to me that the city is trying to get the county to foot the bill for the perchlorate contamination in the water when it might be their business that has been the largest contributor, and not the counties. But again that is just my opinion. Which really doesn't matter in this cause.

BSRanch

Clinics Prepare to give flue Shots (Press Enterprise 092306) INLAND AREA: The time has come for residents to get ready for the influenza season..

Clinics prepare to give flu shots

INLAND AREA: The time has come for residents to get ready for the influenza season.

10:00 PM PDT on Saturday, September 23, 2006

By MARY BENDER
The Press-Enterprise

INLAND FLU SHOT CLINICS DURING OCTOBER Oct. 16, 9 a.m.-11 a.m., Rialto Senior Center, 1411 S. Riverside Ave. Oct. 18, 9 a.m.-11 a.m., Redlands Mall, 100 Redlands Blvd. Oct. 20, 9 a.m.-noon, Highland Senior Center, 3102 E. Highland Ave. Oct. 23, 9 a.m.-11 a.m., Victor Valley Public Health, 16453 Bear Valley Road, Hesperia Oct. 24, 10 a.m.-noon, Trona Community Senior Center, 13187 Market St. Oct. 25, 10 a.m.-noon, Big Bear Senior Center, 4251 Big Bear Blvd., Big Bear Lake. Call for an appointment, 909-584-0323 Oct. 26, 9 a.m.-11 a.m., Chino Community Center, 5443 B St. Oct. 27, 9 a.m.-11 a.m., Clinical Services Building, 799 E. Rialto Ave., San Bernardino Oct. 30, 9 a.m.-noon, Elks Lodge # 643, 6166 Brockton Ave., Riverside Oct. 31, 10 a.m.-1 p.m., Sun City Civic Association, 26850 Sun City Blvd. Oct. 31, 9 a.m.-10:30 a.m., Joshua Tree Community Center, 6171 Sunburst Road Oct. 31, 1:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m., Yucca Valley Elks Lodge, 55946 Yucca Trail Oct. 31, 1:30-3:30 p.m., Needles Senior Center, 1699 Bailey Ave. ADDITIONAL FLU SHOT CLINICS WILL BE HELD IN BOTH COUNTIES DURING NOVEMBER

Inland health care providers are gearing up for the coming flu season with dozens of clinics during October and November, at which residents can be vaccinated against this year's expected strain of the influenza virus.

"Traditionally in Riverside County, influenza season starts in December," said Barbara Cole, director of disease control for the Riverside County Department of Public Health. "It tends to start peaking in January or early February."

That's why autumn is the traditional season for inoculations, Cole explained.

"Every year, more than 225,000 people in the United States are hospitalized, and more than 35,000 die due to influenza and its complications," said Norma Arceo, spokeswoman for the California Department of Health Services, citing statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

More precise numbers for Riverside and San Bernardino counties aren't available because influenza infections aren't tracked in California or listed as contributing factors on death certificates, Arceo said.

"It's always a mystery as to when the influenza will hit California. We never know when it's going to start," Arceo said.

"We all know that the most vulnerable populations are the elderly and children," she said. "So our goal is to immunize individuals who have close contact with these populations."

This year's vaccine is a mixture of two strains of influenza A that have "Wisconsin" and "New Caledonia" in their scientific names, and one strain of influenza B with "Malaysia" in its name, Arceo said.

Public health officials recommend that women who will be pregnant during flu season should be immunized, along with health care workers, law enforcement officers, "residents of nursing homes and long-term care facilities, those who have chronic medical conditions like AIDS and diabetes, and individuals who live with or care for an adult over age 60," Arceo said.

This year, the flu shot is advised for children ages 6 months to 59 months, Cole said. Children's flu shots contain a lower dosage than those for adults.

The state ordered 697,480 doses of this season's influenza vaccine from the CDC for distribution to local agencies that will conduct flu shot clinics -- excluding Los Angeles County, which is so populous that it orders its own supply from the CDC, Arceo said.

"On Sept. 18, we started to distribute them to the counties. This is for the low- or no-cost (clinics)," she said. "This is just a minor percentage of what's needed for the entire state."

Private-practice physicians dispense the bulk of flu shots each year to patients who have health insurance, Arceo said, and those doctors obtain their own supply of the vaccine.

Each year, flu shot clinics are a big draw at the James Simpson Neighborhood Senior Center in Hemet, said Tracy Scott, who manages the senior center. The city has a sizable population of retired and elderly residents.

"It's a madhouse. We block off the streets," Scott said. "People are waiting at the door when we get here. They need to arrive early."

The city-run center offers patrons the option of walking in or receiving the shot in their cars, in the "drive-thru clinic," Scott said.

According to the CDC, the nasal-spray version of the flu vaccine is recommended only for healthy people ages 5 to 49 years old. That's because the spray is a "live attenuated influenza vaccine," meaning it contains a weakened form of the flu virus.

By contrast, the injectible version of the flu vaccine contains a killed version of the influenza virus, Cole said.

People who are allergic to eggs probably shouldn't get the vaccine, since each year's strain of the virus is grown in chicken eggs, health officials said.

It takes the vaccine about two weeks to activate, and in the interim, the recipient is susceptible to catching the flu, according to the CDC.

Reach Mary Bender at 951-893-2103 or mbender@PE.com

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BS Ranch Perspective:

Now that the season is upon us, the question looms, is there enough Flue Vaccine for everyone that wants to get a shot? In years past there has been problems with the supply of the Influenza liquid gold that cures all, or supposedly does!

I am mostly posting this on my BLOG so that everyone gets the dates and can get the shots if they want them!!

Please get your Flue shots today, it cannot hurt anything, and if anything it just might save a life. Maybe yours!

BS Ranch

Dial 2-1-1 for SBC Social-Services Programs (Daily Bulletin 092306)

Dial 211 for SBC Social-Services Programs
By Stephen Wall, Staff Writer

Starting this week, hundreds of local health and social-services programs can be easily accessed by San Bernardino County residents by simply picking up the phone.

A toll-free 211 call system was launched Wednesday to help residents navigate an often confusing maze of programs and services, including drug treatment, domestic-violence counseling and health care.

The new system is expected to drastically reduce the overload on the 911 network and provide an invaluable resource during natural disasters, officials said.

"San Bernardino County has never had a comprehensive database of all the county, city and nonprofit organizations in the county," said Gary Madden, 211 director for Inland Empire United Way, which provides the service from its call center in Rancho Cucamonga.

There are now about 600 agencies in the network's database offering about 1,100 programs, Madden said. The database is about 60 to 70 percent complete and is growing daily, he said.

The free and confidential service is available to residential and most cell-phone users, Madden said.

Businesses must have their phones programmed to access the 211 system, he said.

By dialing 211, the caller is connected to an English-and Spanish-speaking operator who will assess the situation and provide information and referrals. The service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Translations can be provided in more than 150 languages.

"The 211 system should have a major impact in the ease in which the residents of the county can access services," 2nd District County Supervisor Paul Biane said in a prepared statement.

The budget for the service this year is $800,000, with funding coming from San Bernardino County, First 5 San Bernardino, United Way and Bank of America.

United Way is applying for grants to expand the database and provide services to city and county offices, Madden said.

The 211 service has been implemented in 40 states and serves 185 million Americans, Madden said.

San Bernardino County is the eighth county in California to have 211 coverage. Riverside County's service was activated in July 2005.

Kent Paxton, Children's Network officer for San Bernardino County, said the 211 service is an excellent concept.

"Unfortunately, our health and social-service system is all over the map," Paxton said. "Typically, it's not unusual for someone to have to make three or four different calls to get where they need to be. 211 cuts through that lengthy process."

For more information on the service, call United Way at (909) 980-2857 or visit www.211sb.com.

Contact Stephen Wall at (909) 386-3916 or by e-mail at stephen.wall@sbsun.com.

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BS Ranch Perspective:

This is a long time coming, this should have been around a long time ago! I am glad that it is here now, better late then never I always say! I hope that the program is a total success, and the 2-1-1 dial in Social Service Program works well, because this is something that has been needed for a very long time, the people, & Victim's of Social Crimes such as Rape, or even that of Child Molest, now have a place to call for help other then the regular 9-1-1.

BS Ranch

Former employee files lawsuit vs. city, violation of 1st ammendment

Former Employee Files Lawsuit vs. City, cites violation of 1st Amendment
SB Sun, Jason Pesick, Staff Writer 092206


RIALTO -- A former city engineer says he was terminated from his job for exercising his First Amendment rights when he acted as a whistle-blower.

Fuad Modiri, who had complained that the city and his former superior were incompetent and mismanaged public funds, is suing the city and his former boss, Robert Harary, saying his civil rights were violated when he lost his job.

The question the lawsuit presents: Does a whistle-blower have the right to say his employers are incompetent and wasting public funds without being fired, even if he is correct?

Modiri filed his suit in July. He wants his job back and is seeking damages, saying the city and Harary violated his rights of free speech, association and assembly under the First and Fourteenth amendments of the Constitution.

The city says that Modiri was terminated because his work was unsatisfactory.

The case, which will not go to trial for months, raises questions related to the extent of an employees's First Amendment right to speak out about issues of public concern.

Modiri's suit cites four major policy decisions Rialto officials made as examples of incompetence and mismanagement:

* Ignored his concerns that it was not safe to open the Alder Avenue exit of the Interstate 210 extension.

* Failed to comply with the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, which requires cities to meet certain environmental guidelines.

* Bungled an agreement with a contractor, which cost the city $320,131.

* Lost a $2.5 million federal grant by failing to meet grant guidelines.

Ed Zappia, who is defending the city and the former public works director Harary, said Modiri was a well-liked guy, but a marginal-to-poor employee.

In each case, Modiri says he spoke out to other government employees inside and outside Rialto and sometimes to private citizens.

His attorneys claim his speech is constitutionally protected because as a private citizen he spoke out about issues important to the public.

Peter Scheer, the executive director of the California First Amendment Coalition, said the case law on these types of cases is not settled.

"It's notclear just where the line is," Scheer said.

He said speech that stays within the office about an internal matter is not protected. He said even if speech is about public money or incompetence it probably wouldn't qualify as protected.

Scheer said the more people outside the office Modiri went to, the stronger his case, because public speech is protected. The speech not only has to be about a subject that affects the community, but it must also interest a typical resident, he said. Speaking out about the war in Iraq serves as a good example of protected speech.

Mike McGill, Modiri's attorney, said the First Amendment protects his client as a whistle-blower on a matter of public concern. McGill said the public needs to be able to expect that people knowledgeable about issues of public concern will inform them of those issues.

Zappia said Modiri is trying to portray discussions he had with other employees and officials in the regular course of his work as protected speech. For example, he said what Modiri claims to be whistle-blowing about the Alder Avenue off-ramp of the I-210 extension was actually typical of discussions government employees have about a new project.

He cited the Supreme Court's 2006 Garcetti v. Ceballos opinion, arguing that discussions between engineers about an off-ramp do not count as protected speech because they are discussions that take place in the normal course of work.

He said that even if Modiri talked to nongovernment employees about these issues, his speech is not protected because he was talking about issues related to his job.

Scheer said the Supreme court only made the issue more confusing with its recent opinion.

"We'll just have to see where it goes," he said.
====================================================

BSRanch Perspective:

This is an interesting case now isn't it. The employee that is let go because they are a "poor employee" right about the time that they are pointing out serious safety issues that ultimately had to be addressed by them because they were in a heated rush to get that intersection opened up, so that they were driving their Trucks to the County Dump Facility!

However when you have an employee that is the one that points out a safety issue to you doesn't seem to be the one that is trying to slow you down, but the one that is concerned for the public Safety!! I always thought.

This is that Bait Switch and slander. position that is going to be taken in court. He was a great employee, and I suppose that all his work evaluations all show that he is a meets or exceeds employee, but then when he suddenly pointed out the opening of Alder Ave, then he suddenly didn't get such a great millage.

I guess then he was let go, but then all he will have to do is get the evaluations in court and show that there is an inconsistency in what they are reporting even to the press.

We here at the BSRanch will keep him in our prayers!!

BSRanch

Sorry about the lack of Up-Dates

I have a Problem that I suffer through as many people do in life, but mine happens to be that I have a Nerve Pain Disorder that causes me to have a great deal of pain, this is why the sudden absents from the Rialto-PD Blogger window, I am sorry for the lack of UP-Dated Information and I am back now and working hard at keeping my Blogger window up to date, or as up to date as I am able to do. I am sorry for the delay's in the updated information that is if you are reading my updates. The Pain problem is a side effect left from my accident, that I had the last night that I worked a full shift at RPD. No it was not in 1955 when this picture was taken, but in a way if feels like it, but no it was not. This picture is that of Day Watch or Watch II going getting ready to go out from the original station that was located in Rialto on the corner of Riverside Ave, at Rialto Ave. where the small city Park is today. Have a great day!! Hug your loved ones and tell them how you feel about them after all it could be the last!!

BSRanch

Several Drviers Get Caught in Courthouse Sting: (Fontana Herald News 092106)

Several drivers get caught in courthouse sting

By SHELLI DEROBERTIS

Several drivers learned a painful lesson last week: When you're told not to drive, don't.

The Fontana Police Department conducted a police sting on Sept. 14 at the Valley Municipal Courthouse in Fontana to catch drivers who were driving on a suspended or revoked license.

A total of eight tickets were issued, one of which included an arrest, and all of the violators had their vehicles impounded.

The sting was conducted as part of the Speed and Alcohol Violator Enforcement program (SAVE), and targeted DUI offenders because many of them are observed driving immediately after leaving the court and being ordered not to.

All unlicensed drivers were subject to a stop during the operation, regardless of the reason for their revocation or suspension.

"The whole idea is our traffic unit is trying to make the city streets safer for all the licensed, law abiding citizens," said Fontana police Sgt. Doug Wagner.

Officer Brian Heaviside was one of six motorcycle cops who participated in the two-and-a-half hour sting. "If an unlicensed driver is ticketed for being unlicensed, it's a 30-day tow," he said.

That was the case for Eustacio Ocho Mondoza of Rialto. Inside the courthouse he had just been given a $374 fine for driving without a license, and then he got into a blue Toyota Camry and drove off.

Heaviside pulled Mondoza over on Alder Avenue, within a couple hundred yards of the courthouse, and found he had a prior citation for not having a license, so his car qualified for a 30-day impound.

Mondoza was not happy. "It's my daughter's boyfriend's car," he said. He admitted that he was in the country illegally and could not get a license.

The average price it costs to get a vehicle out of impound after 30 days is

$1,000.

Jose Lopez from Ontario watched his truck get towed away after he was issued a citation for driving with an expired license.

"He is technically unlicensed because it is expired," Officer Doug Locey said as he wrote the ticket.

"He has to go to the DMV and re-apply for a license. If it's questionable and he can't prove his citizenship, he won't get his license. He has to provide a valid license to get his truck out, or after 30 days it will go into lien sale," Locey said.

"I came here for a ticket," Lopez said. "My last ticket was for no license."

He said he has been a licensed driver for 11 years, but his license expired a year ago. "I need to check it out at the DMV," Lopez said.

Albert Lara of Ventura drove to court even though his license was suspended for not paying child support.

He said he had started making his child support payments, but he didn't know how long it would take for the system to be updated.

"People gotta drive," Lara said. "It's either I come to court or I get a warrant."

Lara was given a ticket and his car was towed.

The SAVE program was implemented by the Fontana P.D. to increase the number of DUI arrests and reduce the number of alcohol and speed related fatal and injury collisions.

According to the Office of Traffic Safety, unlicensed drivers are the most dangerous on the road.

The OTS also reports that individuals with licenses that have been revoked or suspended due to a DUI are the No. 2 reason for fatal collisions.

"Most of the traffic accidents that are investigated involve unlicensed drivers," said Heaviside.

(In the photo above, a car gets towed away during the sting operation. Photo by Shelli DeRobertis.)

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BSRanch Perspective:

The sting was a success, if they got one unlicensed Driver they would have made a successful road block. There might need to be something done, the new Law that goes into effect in January 1st, 2007, that will require the Insurance company send a notice to the Department of Motor Vehicles, that you have cancelled your Insurance, which will make your license status instantly Suspended! This might be a good law, however this also might be a very bad law in one way. You decide to change your Insurance Policy to another Insurance company. Say for example the other insurance company had sent the insurance notice late to the Department of Motor Vehicles, suddenly you have insurance but your license is suspended not at anything that you have done! But for the stuff that the Insurance company has done, because they had sent the information late to the DMV.

So, what is the right answer, driving is a privilege, and it is one that needs to be upheld to the drivers that keep their nose clean. There is one thing that can and should be changed. It is hard to say who or what is driving around with out Insurance, and it is terrible if you are, and your license should be revoked and taken away!! but you should not be held responsible for the violations that the Insurance company does such as the mis-reporting that I have given with my example. I am not saying that this will happen, and more then likely there will be some victims that should not be held responsible for the problems that were given to them by their Insurance company.

Getting back to the Sting, this was something that was brought up to me several times by citizens as to why this doesn't get done, because they heard their case being heard, and they saw the defendant drive in and park in the court house. So, what they did was backed up and caught the repeat offenders that were driving in their cities, while taking care of the problem that they were there to take care of. I am sorry that they lost their truck, license and driving privileges for more then a year now! but that is what happens when you are caught driving without a license. or allowing your license to expire. I feel for these people I do, because I know how important a license is to people that don't have one. especially when you need one to get medications and the like or doctor visits and the like these doctor visits and that are not easy to do or make when they need to pick up groceries or medications for family members and the like. It is a very necessary piece of equipment that automobile.

BSRanch

Rialto Man Suspected of Insurance Fraud (Daily Bulletin 092006)

Rialto Man Suspected of Insurance Fraud
Wes Woods Daily Bulletin 092006

RIALTO -- A Rialto man was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of felony insurance fraud after a surveillance tape showed him lifting wooden pallets into the back of his truck.

Vinicio Godinez, 25, of Rialto, turned himself in to district attorney investigators Monday and was arrested on suspicion of the charges without incident. He was booked into the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga where his bail was set at $25,000.

Godinez was released on his own recognizance, said San Bernardino County District Attorney's Workers' Compensation Fraud Unit investigator Nancy Lewis.

Springfield Insurance referred the case to the county, Lewis said.

She said insurance cases are common in San Bernardino and Riverside counties, and each have their own workers' compensation fraud unit.

========================================================

BS Ranch Perspective:

When I had my Motorcycle accident and was disabled by 100% It was and is hard for me to move things around, but I can and do get things done, but it is very difficult and painful for me.

However when you are disabled and offwork and you are out collecting pallets and then you stack them 20' high then tie them down, I would only be tieing them down and that was all..

Well, I am glad that the guy got in trouble and he hung himself!!

BSRanch

Council Candidate Leverages State Title (SB Sun 092006) Lines blur between lame duck assemblyman duties, local polititcs

Council candidate leverages state title
Lines blur between lame-duck assemblyman duties, local politics
Jason Pesick, SB Sun Staff Writer

When you are running for office, it's good to have a political title, even a lame-duck one.

Take Assemblyman Joe Baca Jr., who's had a tumble from his lofty state office and is now seeking election to City Council in Rialto.

The Legislature is no longer in session. But Baca still has his title until Dec. 4.

As Election Day draws closer, the candidate is putting himself front-and-center with the voters of Rialto, using every advantage he can exploit - including drawing on his Assembly office to leverage public events, using his dad's name - Rep. Joe Baca - and even borrowing dad's staff, who "volunteer" to help Joe Jr.

That Assembly title looked good on banners at the Boys and Girls Club in Rialto last week.

And it sounded good Wednesday at a Town Hall meeting for small businesses in the Community Room of the Rialto Park and Recreation Center. The invitation was from Assemblyman Baca.

Nothing political, of course.

And there are other fringe benefits to being a Baca, especially when your dad is a congressman from - oh yes, Rialto.

Professional staffers from Rep. Baca's office are willing - make that eager - to volunteer to help you out.

Rafael Hernandez Trujillo sent out the press release for last week's child-safety event at the Boys and Girls Club. The news release lists him as a press secretary for the younger Baca.

But Trujillo is an employee of Rep. Baca, the assemblyman's father.

A May 18 article in "The Hill," a publication based in Washington, D.C., reported that former staffers for Rep. Baca said the congressman sent them to California in 2004 to campaign for Joe Baca Jr. in his primary campaign for the state Assembly.

In response to questions about why he is working for both Bacas, Trujillo said he often works for Baca Jr. during his lunch hour or after work.

"The congressman doesn't have anything to do with that. It's on my own time," he said.

And Trujillo must have spent his own time to attend Thursday evening's Stranger Danger Camp at the Boys and Girls Club. Baca co-hosted the event with the Rialto Police Department. Rialto Mayor Grace Vargas and San Bernardino County Supervisor Josie Gonzales also attended. The event aimed to teach children how to be safe and to teach parents about Megan's Law, a database of sex offenders.

"Timing is everything," said Councilman Ed Scott, referring to the approaching election. Scott said that although he supports the safety program and its goals, helping a City Council candidate put on an event may not be an appropriate use of police resources.

Inside and outside the Boys and Girls Club were signs that read "Joe Baca Jr., Assemblyman 62nd District." He told his audience "Congressman Baca" got the funding for the building.

Rialto police Lt. Joe Cirilo and a contingent of police officers represented the department at the event. Cirilo is a member of the Boys and Girls Club's executive board and is also the department's community-relations officer.

When asked if he worried it might appear the Police Department was supporting Baca, Cirilo said, "That's not why I'm here." He said he was there to discuss children's safety.

The town-hall meeting was aimed at the local business community. It backfired a bit. The Rialto Chamber of Commerce was listed as co-sponsor, but the chamber's executive director, Roslyn Garner, said the organization never gave permission to be listed as a sponsor.

Garner sent a letter to Baca on Friday asking him to remove the chamber's name from the event.

"We are very concerned about this misrepresentation of the Rialto Chamber of Commerce's position related to this item at a time when you are running for the Rialto City Council," she wrote.

Larry Thornburg, Rialto's director of Recreation and Community Services, said it is the city's practice to allow other government entities to use facilities at no cost. "A political event wouldn't be acceptable."

Garner said the chamber does not endorse political candidates and doesn't want to get involved in city politics.

In addition, Garner said Baca is no longer a member of the chamber because he did not pay his dues this year.

===============================================================

BSRanch Perspective:

I am not one that votes for the Baca's, in any of the general elections, however in this election; The BSRanch is fully endorcing Joe Baca Jr. for his bid of Rialto City Hall!! I hope that he will replace any or all of the Incombents that are trying to get re-elected for their bid at Rialto City Hall! I pray that Joe Baca Jr gets on the Rialto City Council, and then I hope he does he makes his first campaign promise to fire or try to get a vote to get rid of the City Admin. Garcia, and the City Attorney Owens, they get entirely to much pay, and should be let go.

BSRanch

Commercial Flights Could Go To San Bernardino (KCBS2 092006)

Commercial Flights Could Go To San Bernardino

(AP) SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. Commercial airline traffic could touch down at San Bernardino International Airport within two years.

San Bernardino Mayor Pat Morris and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa discussed the air field's future as a prime location to take overflow from the crowded Los Angeles International Airport 70 miles away.

Morris said the discussion focused on the role San Bernardino International Airport might play as air travel increases
and as Los Angeles and Ontario International airports reach their limits.

The San Bernardino air field, once Norton Air Force Base, has long been touted by regional economists and civic leaders as a potential spring for renewed economic growth in San Bernardino and surrounding cities.

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BSRanch Perspective:

The BSRancher, feels that the Closure of the Riato Airport at such a time when they are talking about opening an Internatinal Airport is a huge mistake and the last word will be said by the FAA, they will say that there is not enough small aircraft air fields for the smaller crafts to land, so there could be and could be a huge crash of small aircraft. That is the trouble they don't have a place to land and they will try to tangle up with the larger air crafts and this will and can cause such a huge headache for the Air Traffic Controler's that we will have houses more then likely in the area that has sold off as a private land, and which used ot be the airport. There might be such a crash above and at the collision site when they were open and they could have such a problem, with the hazardous air and close calls that none of the aircrafts want to land here in San Bernardino, and it would be and could be all Rialto, Ed Scott and Rep. Miller's Fault.

Wouldn't that just be to sad if the whole thing backfired on them and their whole land deals snake out their land because you have to know that they are the quick people to sell and they have to purchase them back via the Imminent domain program that is quick to be out dated, however if there is an emergency and they would figure out to be part of the emergancy, and suddenly the Rialto Airport was right back where it started from, only with better more up to date equipment and better run ways and state of the art equipment for the runways, and the like.

BSRanch

Mayors tallk Flights (SB Sun 092006) Morris, Villaraigosa Discuss SBIA's Reginal Role in Future.

Mayors Talk Flights
Morris, Villaraigosa Discuss SBIA's Reginal Role in Future.
Robert Rogers, SB Sun Staff Writer

San Bernardino International Airport is in a prime position to take on overflow from LAX, and commercial airlines could touch down on its runway within 24 months, the San Bernardino Mayor's Office said Tuesday.

The news emerged following a 75-minute meeting between San Bernardino Mayor Pat Morris and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, in which they chatted about SBIA's future, Villaraigosa's move to command his city's troubled school district and other issues their cities face.

"The airport was the issue obviously on the top of our minds," Morris said minutes after the meeting. "(Villaraigosa) is very interested and excited that our international airport is almost operational and welcomed the opening of a third runway to load and unload passengers at the east end of the Los Angeles Basin."

The meeting at Los Angeles City Hall was arranged following Morris and Villaraigosa's first meeting months ago at a Las Vegas conference.

The meeting marked the first one-on-one between the 69-year-old former judge and the upstart 53-year-old former labor organizer who has made a big splash with his progressive platform and drive to commandeer the nation's second-largest school system.

The key issue the mayors discussed was the role SBIA might play as air travel increases and as Los Angeles and Ontario International airports reach their limits, Morris said.

SBIA, once Norton Air Force Base, has long been touted by regional economists and civic leaders as a potential spring for renewed economic growth in San Bernardino and surrounding cities.

What emerged out of Tuesday's meeting was more mutual understanding than iron-clad alliance.

"There is not a substantive agreement, just an understanding of where SBIA fits into this area of mutual regional concern," said Jim Morris, Mayor Morris' son and chief of staff. "Obviously, the (passenger) cap at LAX will have an effect on passenger travel in the region."

Jim Morris said it could be 12 to 24 months before a passenger-carrying airline lands at the San Bernardino airport. But, he said, such challenges as insufficient infrastructure still stand in the way.

But air travel was not the extent of the meeting. Aides for Villaraigosa characterized the discussion as much longer than typical meetings the mayor grants and said the men met as equals.

"It was a very good discussion, about 50-50 in terms of who talked and who listened," said Diego Alvarez, Villaraigosa's associate director of legislative and intergovernmental affairs. "He likes that Mayor Morris is tackling issues in his city, and there are a lot of similarities between the men and their cities."

The conversation also focused on Villaraigosa's bitter battle for control of Los Angeles Unified School District, Morris said.

Villaraigosa succeeded, with the help of the state Legislature, in becoming the first mayor west of the Mississippi to assume partial control of his city's public school system.

The San Bernardino City Unified School District, which is ranked at the bottom nationally in terms of graduation rates, faces problems similar to those of its larger Los Angeles counterpart.

Morris said he took keen interest in what Villaraigosa had to say about wresting control of the school district but added that he had "no plans" to undertake a similar quest.

Morris did, however, stop short of saying he would never seek some control of the district.

"I'm going to watch with intense interest how his oversight of 12 schools fares," Morris said. "If he is successful, it will no doubt open the door for similar quests for reform."

Morris added that he was confident Villaraigosa's move would "bear success." He was, however, quick to emphasize that he didn't covet the same role in San Bernardino and seeks to strengthen partnerships with the school district.

"I have my hands full with public safety and economic development," Morris said. "And while I will watch with interest Villaraigosa's quest to improve the school system, I do not have my eyes on controlling the school district. I want to be a partner."

Arturo Delgado, superintendent of the San Bernardino district, said the jury is still out on whether Villaraigosa's move is good for the Los Angeles district.

"I don't know what benefit the mayor intervening would have over there. It sounds like an experiment, not necessarily a step in the right direction," Delgado said.

"I have a very good relationship with Pat Morris, and the school district right now has the right leadership and is headed in the right direction."

City Attorney James F. Penman said he was not surprised by the meeting of the two mayors or Morris' interest in Villaraigosa's unorthodox leadership because both Penman and Morris have studied former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's leadership model, thought to be the forerunner of Villaraigosa's take-charge stance.

Penman said his office has not been asked to look into the legality of mayoral control of schools in the area.

Morris said he and Villaraigosa also spoke about public-safety challenges. Morris has thrown his support behind a sales-tax hike he says San Bernardino needs to hire 40 more police officers, and Villaraigosa is scrounging funds to bolster his force by 1,000.

The mayors also discussed the need for master planning to expedite goods movement from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach through the Inland Empire and on the widespread homelessness in both cities.

"While our cities in many ways mirror each other, just in different sizes, we also find ourselves very much in sync philosophically," Morris said. "Our views resonate one with one another's."

Morris said he and Villaraigosa planned to have each other's staffs work to coordinate another meeting, but no date was set.

There still might be much to discuss.

"They talked about regional aviation needs, transportation needs, public-safety needs and what things both cities have done with regard to gangs and other challenges facing our youth," Alvarez said. "It was a wide discussion."

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BS Ranch Perspective:

The People here at the BS Ranch want to make it clear that we are neutral on what comes of the Rialto Airport, and what they are trying to get accomplished in San Bernardino is purly progress and is great for the Inland Empire! Morris, Truely is a Mayor for the Poeple of the city that he beleives in and he is trying to make them believe in him and what he is trying to get accomplished for the city!! So far I feel that Morris has got real high marks for what he has done for the city of San Bernardino as Mayor.

On that note the Neighbor of San Bernardino, Rialto, is closing their airport, and I am one that really has a neutrial feeling, I mean is that one day that the Ranch is for the closure and the next day We are against the closure. Here are some of the reason's why we are for the closure.

The building of that area for a shopping centers and housing and businesses! The new busnesses that they bring might make Rialto more compeditive with other cities and they will bring more products closer to the people that live here so they don't have to drive as far to go shopping for that product or products. See, they might bring in a Circuit City and then I can purchase the flat screen of my choice and they will be great. However then I will not have to drive as far to build up my equipment to make it better and better. It will be nice.

On the other side of the coin. If they start to land full service Airplanes at the International Airport at San Bernardino, there needs to be many Small airports for the Small twin engine and single engine cessna's to land and be stored. With the closure of Rialto's Airport they will have to move the exsisting Airplanes to another airport which would be chino, Airport. Because the closure of Rialto's Airport has the ear's and eyes of the City Managers of Redlands and they are thinking that they can close their airport as well, and then Chino Air will be it, besides that of the Airport in the High desert.

So there we go, it is not something that is so great, but it also is something that shows that the FAA is right and the Rialto Airport is needed in this area, as a Small airport. Riverside Airport, and Rialto, Chino. So I don't know what or how they will work on this next to have an airport in their city. It seems that the only way that an airport will be good for a city is if it is a Full service International airport. like San Bernardino Airport is hoping to have in the next two years!! if this is the case then there will be Five International Airports in the Southern California Area. You say Five, I say yes five. San Bernardino, Ontario, Los Angleles, Burbank, John Wayne Airport in orange county. Unless I am missing an airport somewhere that is it. because the only one that is considered to be truely International is the Los Angeles Airport, since they have non Stops to Frankfurt, and France. etc etc...

BSRanch