Rialto-PD: August 2006

Thursday, August 31, 2006

Perchlorate Limits Proposed (SB Sun 082706)

Perchlorate Limits Proposed
Jason Pesick SB Sun Writer

The California Department of Health Services proposed Monday limiting the maximum allowable level of perchlorate in drinking water to 6 parts per billion.

The limit was not surprising, but some environmentalists said it is still too high.

Perchlorate, which has contaminated drinking water in Rialto and some other cities in Southern California, is a chemical used in the production of explosives, such as rocket fuels and fireworks. Studies suggest it can interfere with the functioning of the thyroid gland, mental development and metabolism.

A public comment period will last until Nov. 3, and there will be a public hearing in Sacramento on Oct. 30. If the department does not make any changes to the proposal after the public comment period, the Office of Administrative Law will decide whether to allow it to become law.

The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment set a public health goal in 2004 of limiting perchlorate levels to 6 parts per billion. The office determined this was a low-risk maximum level for public health - so the choice of this as the limit was not a surprising one.

"It's not outside a reasonable range of regulatory possibilities, and it does seem to include some conservatism," Kevin Mayer, the regional perchlorate coordinator for the Environmental Protection Agency, said.

Mayer said the EPA does not have formal regulatory standards for perchlorate. It does have a reference dose that corresponds to about 20 parts per billion a day for adults from all sources, not just drinking water. Mayer said most perchlorate is consumed with water, but there is also perchlorate in other sources, such as some foods.

Davin Diaz of the Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice, said he was not happy with the proposal.

"I believe that the standard for perchlorate should be 1 part per billion,' he said.

He added that when 6 parts per billion was set as the goal in 2004, not as much scientific evidence was available on the dangers of perchlorate.

He also pointed out that Massachusetts recently set a perchlorate limit of 2 parts per billion.

Most local water officials said even if the proposal becomes law, it will not have a significant effect on their operations because they already treat water down to undetectable levels of perchlorate.

"For us, it doesn't make a lot of difference," Anthony Araiza (cm cq), the general manager of the West Valley Water District, said. The West Valley Water District is one of the water providers to Rialto.

Eric Fraser, the director of water for the city of Colton, said this proposal validates Colton's strategy of treating water so that the perchlorate levels are undetectable.

I just don't know about you? but Perchlorate, 20 parts per billion or 1000 parts per billion, doesn't matter, this stuff causes a very serious Cancer!! Thyroid cancer is a very serious cancer that I don't know what the level of treatment is other then chemo therapy, that is very serious, where you loose all everything, that you have in our body, The Chemo Therapy also causes you to loose your hair and you cannot seem to have much luck at picking up on the girls when you are at the Perchlorate mixer? however you can always tell what stage the person that you are with is at. sad sick joke. sorry

The trouble is that this ladies and Gentlemen is in our back yard and all Rialto City Council is worried about is how much it is going to cost them to clear it out of their water supply, Not how can we help the people of Rialto, there are already sick people, the water has been contaminated for a while they have not bothered to tell you it is just how contaminated the water is that they say oh? By the way, the water that you have been drinking well he he...Thank You so much for voting for me, and I was humane once too, but today. today I forgot how to be human, because there are to many sick people out there I have to checked my sickness at the door. so that is why I did what I did. there are so many reasons for is to be happy or unhappy or happy.

I am happy that we are able to bring the water back to the people at a money saving cost, that makes it easer and more cost effective way to deliver it to you, but even at 20 parts per billion it will cost us some 6 to maybe 8 million to rid you of the water connection to the water problems.

Why is the water company just saying the things that we want then to say like we got your back!!

I am sorry for the people that live in Rialto! We will fight for you? (Says the City Council, Even thought the fighting that they have done so far has COST MONEY). Why The City of Rialto's Administration by fighting rather then filtering or fixing the Perchlorate content in the water system Will Guarantee higher Prices of water by the end of the year. Just like OIL the Water in Rialto will be PRICED BY THE GALLON!!

In FACT Rialto's City Council and Water people will make the cost of water go up maybe Three (3) to Four (4) that what it needs to be because we feel that the fight is worth it and it is not Rialto's fault that World War One (WW1/WW2) World War 2 came along and the War department felt that it was the best place to store munitions in California was right in Rialto, Well in the County area, North West of Rialto approximately seven miles, because lets face it the Airport was almost four miles North of Down Town Rialto!! Back then yet people that were in the service went to the Airport and kept things going, the Service bunkers that stored the Alarming amounts of Ammo were kept clean by some of the base's young recruits, and pilots. They had no idea then what would happen to the ground water today!

Rialto City Council, (Scott, Hanson, Roberson, Sampson, Vargas along with the City's Admin. Garcia. City Attorneys Owens, City Clerk Barbara McGee) They all need to come to the reality that the Water system is better fought in a group!! Tag on with the County, Tag on with Fifth Th (5th) District, Josie Gonzales, along with their Attorneys. Use Owens the bone head with their attorneys and go after the federal Government they are the ones that put the Ammo, in the hole their and they are the ones that will ultimately have to pay!! how is this so clear to me and not to those that are paid to run the city of Rialto???

BSRanch

String of Resignations Worries City (San Gabrial Vallley Tribune 083106)

String of Resignations Worries City
By Nisha Gutierrez San Gabrial Valley Tribune 083106

BALDWIN PARK - The latest resignation from a member of the city's executive team has left some city officials concerned about the lack of permanent directors running Baldwin Park.

Matthew Lamb, the city's head of the community development department, submitted his resignation letter Aug. 21 and will be in Baldwin Park until Sept. 21. He has been with the city since January.

Lamb's resignation follows that of former Police Chief Mark Kling who quit earlier this month to take the top spot at the Rialto Police Department.

Baldwin Park officials said the finance, public works, human resources and police departments are now managed by interim directors. However, the city plans on making its interim police chief, Edward Lopez, permanent once contract negotiations are completed.

Lamb could not be reached for comment Monday but Kling said he left for a better opportunity.

Mayor Manuel Lozano said the string of resignations is raising questions.

"I will be requesting a formal investigation into these occurrences to be able to address particular concerns and issues," he said.

Councilwoman Marlen Garcia said she is also worried about the resignations and called Lamb "a tremendous loss for the city."

"We are out there recruiting people but they see all the challenges taking place at City Hall and no one wants to touch Baldwin Park," Garcia said. "I truly believe this is another example of upper management at City Hall that has been ineffective."

Vijay Singhal, the city's chief executive officer, attributes the shortage of permanent directors and spike in resignations to competitiveness.

"The city has had a very hard time recruiting department heads in the past," Singhal said. "The finance director position has been vacant for almost two years and before Matt Lamb, community development was vacant for a long time, the problem is we are not able to attract quality candidates and it's been that way for a long time, not just recently."

Singhal said permanent employees are hard to find because Baldwin Park has been perceived as unstable for many years and more importantly because the city is not willing to pay competitive wages.

"The chief left because he got a very good job that pays very well and it offers more civil service protection," Singhal said. "As for Lamb he said he is going to the private sector and they pay so much more."

Other city officials agree the reason for employees leaving has to do with money.

"It's tough being in a city like Baldwin Park where you provide great training for people that work in the public sector and then private sectors offer to pay them more than we can ... it's about private sectors swooping in and taking our people," Councilman Anthony Bejarano said. "They got offers they could not refuse and I doubt it has anything to do with city management."

Most city officials maintain having interim directors does not negatively affect the way the city operates because the people in the interim positions are highly qualified, but they say they would still like to find out why people are leaving Baldwin Park.

"I am concerned as mayor of Baldwin Park about what's going on and I hope it stops," Lozano said.

nisha.gutierrez@sgvn.com

(626) 962-8811, Ext. 2109

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

The string of Resignations grow fear into the city council's Hears and minds? why? Well it looks like the biggest reason that is sited as to why the New Chief Mark Kling left Baldwin Park and came here to Rialto was because of the Benefit Package!! Kind of makes you stand back and go HUMMM....What do you think the Police Officers that are currently working for Rialto that are on Probation going to do. They have gotten the best Training ever, because they will never have to work this hard for any other city that they work for, so when they get off their Probationary status they will think long and hard about that 3% @ 50 Retirmenent Plan, See the longer that they stay and work for Rialto's 2% @50 or 55 I am not even sure of what the cut off is for the 2% but I Know that they should be worried about loosing most of the people that they have because they don't have the current Retirment system. Having the New Chief is great and everything, but if he doesn't Back the Police Officers on this they might not back him so well.

I am just saying that Rialto should think about this. Think about the Three percent at Fifty Reteirement plan, for the employee's because sooner or later they will start to think about that. Riverside Police Department Officers will not go to Rialto PD, because they don't want to give up that retirement that they are currently getting. I don't Blame them one bit!!

BSRanch

Police Chief has Big Plans (Press Enterprise 082306) RIALTO: The new boss wants to step up recruitment to rebuild the city's department..

Police chief has big plans

RIALTO: The new boss wants to step up recruitment to rebuild the city's department.

10:00 PM PDT on Wednesday, August 23, 2006

By MASSIEL LADRÓN DE GUEVARA
The Press-Enterprise

Police blueprint

A plan authored by Rialto City Administrator Henry Garcia and interim Police Chief Frank Scialdone to overhaul the city's Police Department calls for:

Replacing the deputy chief position with two captains -- one to oversee all police operations, and the other to handle administration.

Dividing the city into three sections, with each commanded by a lieutenant.

Filling vacancies and buying police equipment.

Realigning beats.

Improving computer technology.

RIALTO - The man chosen to rebuild the city's Police Department began his first week on the job Monday with a goal of stepping up Rialto's recruitment program.

Chief Mark Kling, former head of the Baldwin Park Police Department, has spent his time meeting with officials, officers and interim Chief Frank Scialdone to get acquainted with programs and top issues.

Feedback from supervisors made it clear recruitment is the department's paramount issue so it will get immediate attention, Kling said.

"We are going to fire up the recruitment machine and start getting qualified officers," Kling said.

The department staff is down 25 percent, Scialdone said.

At full staff, the department has 115 officers. There currently are 88, Scialdone said.

To get prospective officers to the interview and background stage quicker, Scialdone said he has worked with human resources to cut the process down three to four months.

In the past, applications from officers working for other departments were held until there were 30 to process them all at once.

"Now, as soon as an officer from another department applies, the application is processed immediately," Scialdone said.

Kling said he agrees applications shouldn't be held and will meet with human resources this week to see if there are any other ways to expedite the process.

"A lot of Chief Scialdone's ideas ... will continue because I believe in the processes that he has started," Kling said.

The efforts made at Rialto's East Jackson Street and Willow-Winchester area have been good, Kling said.

East Jackson Street was the setting of high-profile raids in March that focused on crime and living conditions in apartment buildings.

The Willow-Winchester area also was plagued with crime and poor living conditions. It is now part of a $38 million project that will rehabilitate condominiums and offer social programs to residents.

As chief, Kling said he will work to continue those good efforts.

Getting to know officers' expectations of him also is important, Kling said, so he'll meet with small groups in the coming week.

Scialdone, whose last day was Wednesday, said he will be pushing Kling toward community policing, which encourages city officials, social service providers and the community to work with police to prevent crime.

Lt. Joe Cirilo, who has been with the department 27 years, said he believes Kling is going to bring the organization focus and direction.

"He comes with a lot of energy and excitement, and that is transcending to the organization because we see a leader who is ready to take this department on ... and elevate the standard to make us a premier organization once again," Cirilo said.

Rialto's new top cop helped rebuild the Baldwin Park Police Department when he was appointed chief there in April 2001, officials there said.

The year before, the Baldwin Park City Council was looking at disbanding the city's department and contracting with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

The council narrowly voted to keep the department despite recruitment problems and a lack of unity.

Today, the experience of getting Baldwin Park to that point will help in Rialto, Kling said.

Cirilo said the renovation of the Baldwin Park Police Department is a good indication of what will happen in Rialto's department.

"The city of Baldwin Park was under similar conditions and (Kling) took an organization that nobody had any hope in and he turned it around," Cirilo said.

"He said he would bring that same effect here ... and we look forward to the challenges that face us and we look forward to working with him."

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

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Rialto Police Department has not been at this low of Police Officers since the Early to Mid Eighies!! Maybe the late seventies, that is how low the employment has been!! I certantly hope that they first thing that he does, is starts to think about getting people Hired!! The City Council would not allow Scaldone hire people he was just there to Head hunt the current people and clean up the "Corruption" and Clear out anyone that didn't "Really" want to be at Rialto, so now that he has done his job, and very well I might add. Frank Scaldone is a very good Police Chief, and He is probably very burned out doing it and that is why he had left and sought to get elected to the City Council of Fontana! Just to see what it is like at the real administration side of life. I mean if you think about it many chiefs do this Farmer from Rialto did it, he was Mayor for six years before hanging up his political career and becoming a PI, Like Magnum. LOL..

Seriously, They need to hire on at least twenty (20) to twenty five (25) people! This will not be an easy task there are a few brick walls that Chief Klink will have to go over and around. The first is that the city does not offer a good retirement Plan! Sure they offer a retirment plan and it is what it is, but it is not what 98% of the rest of the Califoria Depaprtments are offering now.

See More then 96% of all the Police Departments Offer a Retirement Plan Known as a 3% @50. This means that at the age of 50 years old you get 3% of your highest earned pay at that time for the rest of your time on this planet. In other words you will make just about what you made without overtime for the rest of your life at the age of 50 years old. Instead of pushing arounda Squad car, and chasing these kids that are 16, well 15 you can retire and reep what you sown and teke care of what yourself and relaz.

The other plans out there are the Plan that San Bernardino Police Department has and that is 3% at 55, so they can retire at 55 rather then at the other one which is 50. Rialto still has the old broken down system and Rialto city has not, will not write awayfrom it and that is the famous or not so famous 2% at 50. You can retire with this package when you are 62 with a full retirment. I am sorry, but I don't think that I could be a copper at the age of 59, chasing the children that are out there, but I guess you have to stay young in your mind and continue to march and then continue to work no matter what. Maybe the City Council, Personnel Manager, City Administrator, all are wantingto keep it at the current status quo! This will make it cheaper for the city since they only pay in that 9% towards their retirement, the only thing that they loose is when the City Employee gets an early out like mine did such as an accident or a shooting where the employee is cripled for the rest of their natural life. Then they can collect 50% of their income Tax Free, if it is a 100% disablity or even a 48% disablity for that matter can be approved for a 100% tax free disablity retirement, they better not get rid of this retirment espeically for the Employee that can no longer work again, such as my self.

I can never Work again and if I were to have to pay Taxes, forget it!! We ( my wife & I would never make it!! ) the small amount of pay that we get compaired to what I used to get or what I could be getting today!! instead of what I get now, I would be so much better Off!! Why I could afford that new pick up truck!! That Dodge 3500 Ram 1 Ton Flat Bed, W/Duels!! That is my next dream truck!! well it has been my dream truck since I had my old truck. My 1963 3/4 Ton Flat Bed w/Duels!! It had a Standard cab. The 3500 that I am talking about will have a slid in locking 5-wheel hitch lock/platform. it would be like the mini version of the big rig diesel King Pin hitch plate for the fifth wheel. he he he ..

I would have the back seak on this truck it would be white..THATS RIGHT!! A Stone White Dodge truck, with a crew Cab, not the Mega Cab, but the regular crew cab six speed diesel, and oooh yea, the Jake brrreak!! brrrrrrrrrr..I will be adding all the banks super suped up equipment to give my six speed all the power that I can ! I just wish I was ready to make the purchase of said new truck.

I don't know how we got to the subject of the truck when we should be talking about retirements and the like because Chief Kling will be having to make said changes to the department and hiring is one I wish that I was one of the people that he could makea posotion for, so that I could still be involved with the police department some how and in some way. Youknowhow it is when you are away it is ard and seeing the peoope that yoisu ee for a lon g time afr om a distance and teyare to willingto see you makes that even harder to want to go back to the police department. I love the department. I miss it and I really wish that some day that the Police department would feel like they could have some of the retired people around to be saround such as doing some kind of work at the police department that was good to the Police department. womething will have to come along??

BSRanch

Firefighters put out blaze at jewelry store (Daily Bulletin 082806)

Firefighters put out blaze at jewelry store

RIALTO - A jewelry pawn shop was damaged by smoke and a firefighter was treated for heat exhaustion after a fire broke out Sunday in the business at about 9:30 a.m.

Firefighters were called to the Rialto Jewelry and Loan Store on the 800 block of East Foothill Boulevard. When crews arrived, they found smoke emanating from the store, which was located in a strip complex.

Crews attacked the blaze from the rear of the store and kept it confined to the rear storage area, according to a Rialto Fire Department press release. No employees were in the store at the time of the fire, officials said.

One firefighter, who was not immediately identified, was treated by Rialto paramedics for heat exhaustion and taken to a hospital where he was released Sunday night, said department spokesman Brian Park.

Rialto fire's investigation unit was still trying to determine the cause of the blaze, Park said Sunday.

– Gina Tenorio, (909) 386-3891

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

I hope that the Firefighter was not hurt to badly. I really think that they need to look at this as some kind of burglary that is covered up, maybe by the owner. The owner has taken or found taking so much stuff for himself what better way to finance the stuff lost then with a fire, It can be largely done. I am just really glad that in all the firefighting that no one was seriously hurt. and if it was some kind of burglary that was covered up with a fire they always look to the owners to begin with anyway!! I mean that is a gimme!!

BSRanch

Rialto Pollution Talks Go Nowhere (Press Enterprise 082906) NO DEAL: At issue is how much SB County owes the city for the clean up of Six Wells!!

Rialto pollution talks go nowhere

NO DEAL: At issue is how much San Bernardino County owes the city for the cleanup of six wells.

10:00 PM PDT on Tuesday, August 29, 2006

By NAOMI KRESGE and MASSIEL LADRÓN DE GUEVARA
The Press-Enterprise

Settlement talks over payment for perchlorate cleanup broke down on Tuesday between Rialto and San Bernardino County.

The settlement meeting was the first since last August between county supervisors and Rialto City Council members, and each side blamed the other for its acrimonious end.

County Board of Supervisors Chairman Bill Postmus and Supervisor Josie Gonzales left the morning conference with Rialto councilmen Ed Scott and Joe Sampson. Scott had asked a representative of state Rep. Nell Soto, D-Pomona, to leave, and then the two sides began to argue about the case.

At issue is whether and how much the county owes Rialto to compensate for perchlorate contamination in groundwater from the Mid-Valley Landfill in north Rialto.

City officials say they had a tentative agreement with the county for $6 million, of which $3.5 million would be repaid.

County officials say there was never a deal.

"I think things have pretty well broken down, is what it looks like to me. Unfortunately, the settlement demand on the county will increase in the coming months and years," said Robert Owen, Rialto's city attorney. "Ultimately the county is going to have to pay for their fair share."

The city and its utility sued the county and 41 other agencies and companies in January 2004 over perchlorate contamination in groundwater. Perchlorate, a component of rocket fuel and fireworks, is believed to interfere with thyroid function and brain development. Fetuses and newborns are most at risk.

The chemical has contaminated six of Rialto's wells.

Soto, whose district includes Rialto, is chairwoman of a state Senate committee on perchlorate. Her spokesman, David Miller, said a staffer contacted the county and asked about sitting in on the Tuesday meeting.

Scott said the city told county officials it didn't want the meeting to be confidential. But Scott said it wasn't proper for a third party to be in the room during the talks.

"It was a misunderstanding. I think the bottom line is, we share their commitment to getting the perchlorate out of the drinking water," Miller said.

Bob Page, Gonzales' chief of staff, said the two sides argued over providing information and whether each had returned the other's calls.

City officials say that in a closed-door meeting with Postmus and Gonzales last August, they reached a tentative agreement for the county to pay a $6 million settlement.

Over the course of a year, the two sides said, talks turned to the county paying $2.5 million, plus a $3.5 million advance on future legal costs that would be repaid from money recovered from other defendants.

But Gonzales said there were contingencies because the county didn't have the money.

The $2.5 million payment was contingent upon approval from the county's insurer, Page said. Gonzales said the $3.5 million advance was contingent on the sale of county land in Ontario.

The county hoped to get $52 million to $54 million but only got $47 million, she said, not enough to fund the advance.

"I told them that when they have their priorities straight and are serious on moving forward they could call me and I would reschedule," Gonzales said. "Ed Scott said he would call my office."

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

Reach Naomi Kresge at 909-806-3060 or nkresge@PE.com

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Why does Rialto have to go into this Fighting to see who is Going to pay!! Right away all we have seen is who is going to pay, and we havn't seen any of Rialto talking about their Six Wells as if they are going to see about the cheapest way to clean them up!! Unless I am missing it and the CHEAPEST WAY TO CLEAN UP THE PROPBLEM IS NOT TO START TO CLEAN IT UP, BUT TO SEEK REEMBURDMENT FROM EVERYONE!!

See they are not thinking about the public! The people that have to drink it every day! The children that have to drink it evry day. The small children that will be running the chity council because they cannot run for President of the United States because they have Cancer of the Tyroid all because there is Perchclorate in the water, and they neglected to find a way to clean it out fo the water before they started to fight for it to be cleaned from thewter. I am sorry. !!

Starts to make you wonder is Bottled water good for you is Perchclorate in that Water, or is it gone? I can tell you that there is a better chance that it is gone from there or not, see what do we actually know?? about the water that we drink? Perchlorate was supposed to be gone from there yet it was right in the water ready to kill us on the thyroid cancer all because we stored ammo during WORLD WAR ONE and TWO!! Well, we pray that they figure it out and not fight about who is gonna pay for every thing. They should be fighting over who can pay for the whole thing and be the hero!! WHO? WHO, WANTS TO BE THE HERO!!

I KNOW IF I WAS RIALTO OR SAN BERNARDINO, SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY I WOULD WANT TO BE JUST THAT!! THE HERO!!

BSRanch

Rialto, County to Jaw Perchlorate Suit (Daily Bulletin 082706)

Rialto, County to Jaw Perchlorate Suit
By Jason Pasick, Daily Bulletin Staff Writer

Leaders from Rialto and San Bernardino County will get together Tuesday to once again discuss the city's lawsuit against the county, the U.S. Department of Defense and a number of corporations.

The 2004 lawsuit claims the county is responsible for contributing to efforts to clean up perchlorate flowing from land the county owns but did not contaminate itself.

Perchlorate is a chemical used in the production of rocket fuel and fireworks, materials that were produced in the area in the '50s and '60s. The chemical can limit thyroid function and is thought to be potentially dangerous to developing fetuses and children.

County officials say the county, which is under cleanup orders from the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board, has spent about $7 million investigating and cleaning water contaminated with perchlorate. The total cost of cleaning the contamination has been estimated at $200 million.

City and county officials failed to resolve their differences last year, with the county rejecting a deal that called for it to pay $6 million to Rialto in exchange for being dropped from the suit. A portion of that money would have been repaid to the county if the city won its lawsuit against the remaining defendants, the Department of Defense and some 40 other companies.

A June 8 letter from 5th District Supervisor Josie Gonzales to Rialto Mayor Grace Vargas said: "What has become clear is that we need to work toward a resolution with all the parties of the lawsuit, not just between the City and the County."

Gonzales' district includes Rialto.

Bob Page, Gonzales' chief of staff, said Friday that the county's insurance company will not compensate the county for a settlement with the city. In part, Page said, that is because the scientific investigations have shown that the county is not responsible for more of the contamination than it has already claimed responsibility.

It is also not clear what has changed in the past year that would convince the two sides to reach a settlement.

Rialto City Councilman Ed Scott, who, along with Councilman and Mayor Pro Tempore Joe Sampson, will be negotiating on the city's behalf, said he is not optimistic the two parties will reach an agreement. "I'm hoping they'll sit down with us in good faith," Scott said.

Gonzales and Board of Supervisors Chairman Bill Postmus will be the elected representatives representing the county.

Page said the county is not likely to budge much from the position it took last year.

"I don't know if there's anything additional we're willing to do," he said.

When asked about the county's contention that it should not settle because of restrictions from its insurance company, Scott said, "That's not really Rialto's problem."

City officials have also charged the county with working with the other defendants against the city. "They have assumed the role of the lead party in that lawsuit," Scott said.

Page said it is only natural for the county to be in communication with the other defendants and for the county's attorneys to talk with the other defendants' attorneys.

"We are a defendant in a lawsuit," he said.

Both sides have accused the other of wasting money by not working together to clean up the perchlorate.

Both sides also say they have always recognized the importance of continuing discussions, but Scott said the city initiated this meeting.

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I hope that they are getting together to find out how to come together as one and fight this problem, and not fight to see who is doing to pay the whole bill. If that happens then nothing will get done and the people in the County, and the City s will loose. So they should lay down the guns and come together and pick up the hand tools and fix this problem once and for all.

BSRanch

__________________________________________________________

Rialto Firefighters Battle Blaze at Pawn Shop (SB Sun 082806)

Rialto Firefighters battle blaze at pawn shop
Staff Reports SB Sun 082806

A jewelry pawn shop was damaged by smoke and a firefighter was treated for heat exhaustion after a fire broke out in the Rialto Jewelry and Loan Store about 9:30 a.m. Sunday.

Firefighters were called to the store on the 800 block of East Foothill Boulevard. When crews arrived, they found smoke emanating from the store, which was located in a strip complex.

Crews attacked the blaze from the rear of the store and kept it confined to the rear storage area, according to a Rialto Fire Department news release. No employees were in the store at the time of the fire, officials said.

Rialto Fire's investigation unit was still trying to determine the cause of the blaze, Park said Sunday.

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BSRanch

Monday, August 28, 2006

Fly Away Airfield (Cassie MacDuff Press Enterprise)..Rialto Airport's closing is seen as a good thing, Why do I see it as BAD??

It all seems surreal to me that Rialto has been working on closing the Airport Only Ever since the Loud Ed Scott has become on the City Council. He has come on the Council with to objectives in mind. One was to close the Rialto Airport, and the other was to close the Rialto Police Department, and Contract for Law Enforcement. Now that he failed on the first one he did some semi dirty dealing on the second one to get the Airport Closed, the first time in History that an airport has been closed by Legislation, Against the FAA's Request to keep it open!! Now do you think that Ed Scott will let go of the Purse strings and pay for the Retirement system that the Police department wants and needs?? The Rialto Police Benefit Assoc. Has been asking for the Retirement System to be increased to that of what the neighboring cities in the state have. Over 90% of the state have this retirement system and yet every time Rialto has claimed that they cannot afford it.

When they were going after the vote to get the Utility Tax, the City Council told the Rialto Police Benefit Assoc. that they would give them the Retirement Package that they wanted if they got the Utility tax that they wanted. Well Once the Utility Tax was passed, the Utility was Only Passed for 5 years. however. The City Council and the City Administrator, Garcia felt that they would not have the money over time because they have so many people that are ready for retirement, and they don't and cannot pay for that many people that are ready for retirement and they don't want to have that many Positions that open up at one time with nobody to fill that position when they go.

I can see his part on that however, it is not fair to those that have been to in the department for the whole time, and now they are getting the mine or the Shaft because they cannot retire when they want to because they are forced to work when other people of the same age in other agencies are retired with full money. Not fair.

BSRanch

Fly Away, Airfield

10:00 PM PDT on Saturday, August 26, 2006

CASSIE MACDUFF

In 1947, Midwesterner Sam Miro visited inland Southern California. A patch of land near Rialto caught his fancy as the ideal place for a small airfield.

Miro bought 60 acres and moved his family out West, grading the dirt and oiling it down for a makeshift runway on the outskirts of town.

In 1967, with the 210 freeway rumored to be soon going through, Miro's airstrip caught Rialto's fancy as an ideal catalyst for economic growth.

The city bought the private airport, expanding it over the ensuing years to encompass nearly 450 acres.

Today, Rialto Municipal Airport is home to an aircraft-painting company, a renowned restorer of World War II-era aircraft, the Sheriff's Aviation Division and an air ambulance service, among others.

By the end of next year, the last planes and helicopters may fly out of Rialto for the last time.

Forty years after the city saw the airport as the key to economic growth, it's now seen as standing in the way, now that the freeway is being built.

A Congressional act has cleared the way to close the airport to make way for a tax-generating, 1,100-acre community with homes, stores, parks, schools and workplaces on the airport and surrounding land.

Rich Scanlan, the airport's manager for 15 years, says the city made the right decision. He tracks forecasts for general aviation and said the number of private pilots is expected to remain flat or even decline over the next decade.

But the closure of Rialto airport worries the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, which says airfields in Bakersfield, Oceanside and Upland also are threatened by development.

Bill Dunn, the group's spokesman, said developers drool over airports as the last pieces of flat, developable land, and city officials think only about the revenue. But closing an airport is like closing an entrance to the city, he said. And once closed, it cannot be replaced.

Still, the closure has few detractors in Rialto. Few residents opposed it, once assured their homes weren't targeted for eminent domain. And most airport tenants see it as possibly benefiting them.

The city must pay to relocate them, and many who agree to move eight miles east to San Bernardino International Airport (the former Norton Air Force Base), will get new hangars and buildings.

Rialto is the biggest winner because it will get 55 percent of the net proceeds of the land sale (certain to be in the millions of dollars), plus new property and sales tax from the planned development.

But it also will be a big shot in the arm for San Bernardino International, which has been struggling for 15 years to redevelop.

The former Norton air base will get 45 percent of the net proceeds. Some will be used on relocation costs, but the rest can be used on other airport improvements, said Don Rogers, executive director.

Having small planes won't hamper efforts to attract commercial and cargo flights to the former air base, Rogers said, because small planes will be stored northeast of the landing strip, larger craft at the west.

Rialto has been working on the plan for two years. Another two will be needed to move the tenants. The next three decades will reshape the city where Sam Miro's airfield once lay.

Cassie MacDuff can be reached at 909-806-3068 or cmacduff@PE.com

Saturday, August 26, 2006

New Courthouse OK'd (SB Sun 082506) State Panel Greenlights $320 million San Bernardino Project

This is something that has really been needed for a long long time!! The court building still has an Elevator Operator because the Elevator is so old it is one of the first Otis prototypes that came out, and they needed an experienced person the guy that operates the Elevator is a third Generation Elevator Operator, and it was not an easy job to get, there was a whole claim of nepotism and every thing when the grandson, got the job from the original person that operated that Otis. The Otis company was so proud that they gave them a whole years Bonus, of $12,500. Oh, that family was proud, ate steak for a week. LOL...

No, the great White Elephant as the Court Building has been known to be called among the people that have to work and testify there, I guess it is called that because it smells like a elephant just took a leak in the halls. I mean all year round, it is like you are in the bladder of the elephant. ewe!!..

I am glad that they Court is Going to be Rebuilt. Part of me is happy and part of me is sad. Just the way it is.

BSRanch

New Courthouse OK'd
State panel greenlights $320 million SB Project
Selicia Kennedy-Ross, SB Sun Staff Writer

SAN BERNARDINO - The state Judicial Council unanimously voted Friday to build a new $320 million courthouse on a vacant parcel downtown, marking it a "high priority project.''

The move by the Judicial Council of California, the policy-making body for the state court system, will help restructure and unify the state and county court systems.

The council approved the San Bernardino Justice Center project as part of a host of projects totaling $1.3 billion, said Mayor Pat Morris, a former Superior Court judge who once served on the council.

San Bernardino County was the most in need of a new courthouse, Morris said.

"We've got the highest level of case loads, the oldest, most decrepit courthouse and more than any other county in the state we have a deep need for more judges," he added.

The new court building would likely be an eight-story, 36-room courthouse built on a 7.5-acre parcel at Arrowhead Avenue and Third Street.

On Monday, the San Bernardino City Council voted to donate the $5 million parcel to the state and waive all permit fees to help pave the way for construction of the new courthouse.

Although the Judicial Council has given the project the green light, it must still go through the state Department of Finance, then be approved by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and survive the state budget process.

The new courthouse could be a reality within the next four years. Once built, the existing Central Courthouse would remain in use for civil cases only.

"This substantially raises San Bernardino's profile as a government center," Morris said. "It will be a mighty symbol of importance for the city where justice is administered in this county."

A new justice center would also help with San Bernardino's downtown revitalization by attracting more business and employers to the area, especially law firms and legal support professionals, said Emil Marzullo, economic development adviser to the mayor.

New Chief in Town (Redlands Daily Facts 082506) Lopez to lead Baldwin Park

I cannot help but say Congradulations to the new chief of Baldwin Park, but if they didn't even put the job up for outside interest, it says that they wanted Lopez to take the job from the begining, and the Bells in my head are ringing really loud!! I don't know what they are saying but there are Bells and Whistles.

The Baldwin Park City Council wanted Lopez to take over for Kling for a long time it shouds like, and was that because Kling was allowing Lopez to run the department While he sat back and thought well Capt. Lopez that is a great Idea. Lets do that!!

Or, was there some scandal in Baldwin Park the kind of Scandal that Involves the Chief of Police, after all he says this is his last place that he will be working for a long time to come, yet his last place of that he was Chief only lasted a little over 6 years. I have bit my tounge long enough. I have to get my feelings out on this guy. these are some of my concerns reading this article.

Rialto somehow got a guy that is going to bring trouble here. There has been some rumors about him already, yet the News Paper and the City Council at Baldwin Park were all sweet talking him, now that he is gone they announce the replacement, and it was all done clean. as if they had planned it out due to a scandal in their city. Possibly. Well Like all good soups, the rot always boils to the surface sooner or later!!

BSRanch

New chief in town
Lopez to lead Baldwin Park police

By Nisha Gutierrez Staff Writer

• Slideshow: Baldwin Park Police Chief

BALDWIN PARK - The new chief of police said he is happy to be at the height of his career in the city of Baldwin Park.

"This is home," said Ed Lopez, the newly appointed interim chief at the Baldwin Park Police Department."I have been in this department for 25 years ... it's a good feeling."

On Aug. 16 the City Council promoted Lopez, who had been a captain at the department for five years, to interim chief of police to fill the spot Mark Kling vacated when he became chief in Rialto.

City officials said Lopez's position will become permanent when his contract negotiations are completed.

Council members said no other candidates were interviewed for the chief's spot and said the vote to hire Lopez was unanimous.

"Chief Lopez is very familiar with the department, he has been here for more than 20 years and has experience from every level all the way to the top," Councilman Anthony Bejarano said. "The great thing is that Mark Kling allowed for the captains to get the necessary experience to succeed him as chief ... Lopez is ready to take over the position."

Lopez, who turns 50 on Sept. 11, said his love for law-enforcement began when he was a child.

"Ever since I was a kid I wanted to be a police officer because of the excitement that was involved with it," Lopez said. "It's a combination of the adrenaline the job gives you and being able to help people."

Before becoming a police officer, Lopez said he spent a few years in the Army in the 1st infantry division.

In 1979 he began working as a reserve police officer for the Garden Grove Police Department and two years later he was hired in Baldwin Park.

"I worked patrol and I have really done just about every assignment," Lopez said. "I have worked narcotics, gang investigations and the detective bureau."

City officials said Lopez's experience made him the obvious pick to lead the department's 131 employees.

"This is a person who knows Baldwin Park and was one of the original people to begin cleaning up the gang infestation and drug dealers we used to have here," Mayor Manuel Lozano said. "He comes from within the ranks and he is popular among all the officers and that is important for all of us."

Lopez said he hopes to follow in Kling's footsteps.

"Kling left the department good, he was very innovative and creative and he raised the level of the morale in the department," Lopez said. "I hope to be able to sustain that and further it along ... I'm also taking a look at the department from basics and \ figure out if there is anything we can do more efficiently and effectively."

City officials said they are confident Lopez will lead the city and Police Department in the right direction.

"He has been in the position of captain for quite some time and he was groomed to take on the chief's role," Councilwoman Marlen Garcia said. "I think he will do a great job."

nisha.gutierrez@sgvn.com

(626) 962-8811, Ext. 2109

Friday, August 25, 2006

New Police Chief Raising morale at Rialto P.D. (Daily Bulletin 082406)

This is the same story that was printed on the sun, however this is on a different paper, The Daily Bulletin and the SB Sun must be owned by the same people. I mean that the article is the same word for word. The only thing that is different is that the Title is changed to protect the writer from copy write violations..LOL..

The title on this one has me laughing because the Chief is supposed to be sworn in on Sept. 4 during the city council meeting and they have him already adding to the morale of the department. That is great!! The man has not gotten a paycheck or at least we don't know that he has gotten a paycheck from the city yet, and he is a morale builder from way back..that is great..

Kling is doing a great job and if you don't beleive that just ask the newspaper that doesn't even know that he has not started working there yet, becuase they copied the story word for word from the other competition. LOL

BSRanch

New Police Chief Raising Morale at Rialto P.D.
By Jason Pesick, Staff Writer, Daily Bulletin 082406

RIALTO -- The city's new police chief was inspired as a child to become a police officer by watching episodes of "Adam-12," the police television series of the '60s and '70s.

By 14, Mark Kling was a police Explorer, and by his mid-20s, he was an officer.

Now 48 -- he turns 49 on Friday -- and with a touch of gray in his hair, Kling has just taken up the task of rebuilding a police department that faced the threat of elimination by the City Council in September.

"We're going to take the department back to the premier status it deserves," Kling said in an interview Wednesday, adding that there is a core group of police employees who will not allow the department to fall apart.

Only months ago, officers were leaving the department en masse following the troubled tenure of former Chief Michael Meyers and his deputy Arthur Burgess. After a legal battle, the council reversed itself in June, adopting an ordinance preserving the department.

Now, according to department statistics from June, crime is on track to be down by 13.5 percent this year, response times are down and the City Council has provided the department with funds for new vehicles and a reorganization of the department's hierarchy.

Andrew Pilcher, the president of the Rialto Police Benefit Association, said morale is up among the officers. "We're looking towards the future," he said.

City leaders have nothing but positive things to say about the new chief, who has a doctorate from the University of La Verne.

City leaders say Kling, who started work on Monday, was hired to continue rebuilding and strengthening the department. Tuesday was the last day on the job for outgoing Chief Frank Scialdone and Deputy Chief Tim Ousley.

Kling will be officially sworn in at the next City Council meeting on Sept. 5. City Administrator Henry Garcia chose Kling from two candidates that a seven-member interview committee recommended.

Scialdone praised Kling as a good communicator with valuable experience as the former chief of police in Baldwin Park, which came close to closing that city's police department before Kling took over in 2001.

"I see him as a cop's cop who hasn't forgotten where he came from," Scialdone said.

He also complimented the Rialto police officers for their hard work during a tumultuous period. "They were doing really great police work," he said"

Kling takes over a department on the mend. Since Scialdone and Ousley were installed, morale at the department has gone up, police officials say. Until 2004, the two worked together at the Fontana Police Department, where Scialdone was chief.

One of Kling's first challenges will be to replace the officers who resigned. There are 27 vacancies, which Kling said will take two to three years to fill. He said he also plans to continue the projects Scialdone and Ousley implemented, especially the community-based policing philosophy that will restructure the department and divide the city into three geographical regions. Scialdone used the strategy in Fontana.

Garcia, the city administrator, said rebuilding the department will take three to seven years. He said implementing the new area-commander police patrol concept and department support for renewing the utility user tax will be top priorities for the department.

But he said Kling has the people skills, communication skills and creativity to succeed.

Pilcher said that after a recent meeting with Kling, the department's supervisors had positive feedback about their new chief.

Capt. Michael Taylor of Kling's old department in Baldwin Park called Kling "an inspiring person" "He's just an all-around pretty unique individual," Taylor said. He added, "It was a big loss for the city of Baldwin Park."

Taylor said once Kling became chief, he turned around the department from a "training ground" into a respected department.

Kling said he has been spending his first week learning the city and the department. "The department is in a better condition than I expected it to be when I walked in the door," he said.

He said he is optimistic the department will not fall apart again: "There is no failure option."

New Chief Settles In (SB Sun 082306) Kling Plans to Rebuild Rialto PD

Well this has been the best report on Kling that I have read so far. With Mark Klings History and Background, which really was missing on the other reports, to what is expected at Rialto and how long things might take to get done. for example the time that it will take to fill the positions that are vacant. those 27 positions will take up to seven years to fill. I think that if the Department had Implemented the 3% @ 50 Retirement plan that they might have a better chance at filling those positions faster. I don't think that Rialto will stop being a training ground until they add the Retirement plan of 3% @50, simply because most if not all the other agencies are providing that or they are giving a proximity of a 3% @ 55 instead of the old tired Report of 2% @ 50 Which turns into a full retirement package at the age of 65 which is another 15 years from the age of 50 that we are starting off from.

Now really I don't mean to sound like an old broken record, or a broken record player, well broken CD player if that will bring this more up to date, because what I am saying is that the Old Song and Dance that is being sung and Shook up too, is just tired, and how many 60 year old Police Officers do you see chasing a criminal down the street today, I have that answer for you..NONE! They are all retired before hand. Statistically from an injury on duty like mine. Or they get to be around 50 to 55 and they are chasing a suspect and they jump over a block wall and land on the other side, which just happened to be 5' on one side and the drop off including the retaining wall was over 25', without expecting that can break your back.

That is how a friend of mine was injured on the job that ended his career. He is still a golf pro, but he cannot be a police Officer. Another Deputy developed a problem with his rotator cuff, and had trouble directing traffic, and that was the end of his career, he was 48, or 49 at the time.

I tell you it happens and that is the way that it works. After all it was the Statistics that caused the implementation of the Retirement plan of 3% @50 years of age. It is a great retirement plan and if you don't want to retire at that age you don't have to. so it is some thing to think on. I am sorry that I got onto this subject when I am supposed to be welcoming in the new chief! I just feel strongly on the subject!!

I also feel that Mark Kling might be the guy that will carry the police Department into the next 10 or so years. But we will have to see. I feel that we need to get rid of the City Administrator now, one whom feels above the law, and the rest of the people that were elected into a position on the city Council that has cost the city money by trying to vote the Police Department away...Hey hey hey..time to let them go play...say good bye to Council Member Sampson and Roberson, say hey hey hey, it was fun, but the fun is alll done. Time for you to run!!!

Bye Bye, Debra, & Joe!!

BSRanch

New Chief Settles In
Kling Plans to Rebuild Rialto PD
Jason Pesick, SB Sun Staff Writer

RIALTO - The city's new police chief was inspired as a child to become a police officer by watching episodes of "Adam-12," the 1968-75 television series about two uniformed officers who patrol Los Angeles.

By 14, Mark Kling was a police Explorer, and by his mid-20s, he was an officer.

Now 48 - he turns 49 on Friday - and with a touch of gray in his hair, Kling has just taken up the task of rebuilding a police department that faced the threat of elimination by the City Council last September.

Only months ago, officers were leaving the department en masse following the troubled tenure of former Chief Michael Meyers and his deputy, Arthur Burgess. After a legal battle, the council reversed itself in June, adopting an ordinance preserving the department.

Now, according to department statistics from June, crime is on track to be down by 13.5 percent this year, response times are down, and the council has provided the department with funds for new vehicles and a reorganization of its hierarchy.

Andrew Pilcher, president of the Rialto Police Benefit Association, said morale is up among the officers.

"We're looking towards the future," he said.

City leaders have nothing but positive things to say about the new chief, who has a doctorate from the University of La Verne.

They say Kling, who started work Monday, was hired to continue rebuilding and strengthening the department. Tuesday was the last day on the job for interim Chief Frank Scialdone and interim Deputy Chief Tim Ousley.

Kling will be sworn in at the next council meeting on Sept. 5. City Administrator Henry Garcia chose Kling from two candidates that a seven-member interview committee recommended.

Scialdone praised Kling as a good communicator with valuable experience as the former chief of police in Baldwin Park, which came close to closing its police department before Kling took over in 2001.

Police Chief Has Big Plans (Press Enterprise) RIALTO:The new boss wants to step up recruitment to rebuild the city's department

The things that they are talking of doing they where talking of doing that back when I was still on the beat so to speak. First off they did re-align the beat system, because we changed to the POP-System, and to do so they needed to Re-Adjust the Beat structure. They made the city into Four Sectors instead of Six Beats. The Sectors is what they are still doing today I think, I am not sure, because I have been away from the game for a while.

However when we switched to the POPS (Problem Oriented Policing System) it was a huge success, however the department ran short of manpower and they were forced to stop the POP Offices, which consisted of one Sergeant and Two Officers. The last Two Officers that were in there one of them got promoted, and rather then reassign him to another Corporal position they kept him in there because he had so many things going on in the city. Asset-Forfeitures, Where the City was to become the owners of some property that was ruined down, but never the less it was property. They also impacted several area's positively by starting a new program that had never been tried or tested in the United States before. We thought that the Cases that Rialto Police Generated from Arrests and Citations were going to be challenged all the way to the Supreme Court, rather then that happening, it was observed through the appeals courts to be done okay.

We took apartment complexes and did what was called Welfare Sweeps. We would close off an entire block surrounding an apartment complex, and set up road blocks. We then would only have one way in and one way out. If there was something wrong with a car or they didn't want to be hassled by the Police our argument was that their Escape was to simply park their car and walk in. some people did just that. Many didn't and many got tickets, for anything from Unlicensed Driver to uninsured. We Towed as many as 50 sometimes 60 cars, see before the closure of the Streets, In fact 72 hours before we would go in and start tagging the cars with 72 hour removal tags, as abandoned vehicles, or parked on a firelane ect ect..just what ever the violation was that we could find they got a ticket for. Why by the end of the night we would have 2 or 3 Drunk Driver's, 50, 60 on Warrants. 100 to 150 Welfare violations to where they were cut off from the welfare program all together. The narcotics team would go in on that morning and serve any paper that they had pending and clean up the drugs in the area. and it was a department, County wide thing that was done.

Rialto was the first to do this and we have not done one since, maybe they were challenged in another state or because the welfare laws have changed, that has made it harder to do it. Maybe it also is because we no longer have the supervisor that masterminded the whole thing, he has since retired and is gone from Rialto Police Department. In fact the POP Officers are both have since left Rialto. One has moved on to work in the area of Ojai, Ca. I think the other has gone to work or the DA's Office as a DA Investigator. The Winchester/Willow/Lilac Apartments-Condo's that have been discussed by the press before has been targeted by the POP team at one time, and we did a Drug Free Enforcement Zone, where we closed off and did the Welfare, Parole, Probation, and Warrant Service was done, Drug Task forces did Drug search warrants and made several arrests, traffic (Yea!) did over 200 tickets, and I cannot remember how many DUI Arrests, and Over 70-110 cars were towed from the complexes, and the people that drove them in. We confiscated Alcohol, Drugs, and Parole's were arrested for Weapons charges, It was a great night. Calls for service in the Winchester-Willow Condo-Apartment complexes went down over 50%, it was a job well done.

I am hoping that Kling can give that kind of policing back to the city of Rialto, so that the clean up can start all over again. The Gangs were wild in Rialto when I started in the 80's. Rialto had the highest Identified Gang Population in the Inland Empire. When someone did a robbery in San Bernardino and they got a street name on who did the robbery, chances are they lived in Rialto, and our Gang unit knew who and where they were. Rialto was that kind of town.

Yes, I am a bragger!! I Loved where I worked, I thought it was great and I had a great time working there. I miss it and I would still be working there today if I didn't have this damm accident!!

So, with this great pride that I have in Rialto, I hope and pray this. Chief Kling does a great job unlike the dud's that Garcia, and the City Council's, and City Management's from days past had hired. From the first report here Kling seems like he really is off to a great start, and they have not been hiring Officer's waiting for Kling to start so that he can hire the people that he wants on the street. From what I have heard from the people that have been working with Chief Scialdone, he would have been a good person to be at Rialto, but he also was there for more then one thing, and that was to look for the Corruption that one or a certain City Council Member was making the accusation that there was on the department, back when they were first trying to Contract with Sheriff Penrod, and the San Bernardino Sheriff's Department. Dept. Chief Hoops, could not make it clear enough that he would not be the leader of the city of Rialto, merely the overseer of Rancho, Rialto, Yucaipa, Loma Linda, Grand Terrace, Highland, and all the contract city's below Highway 138, and Cajon Pass. Hoops was looking forward to having another commander in his grasp.

The Citizens of Voice United had worked so hard, along with the Rialto Police Benefit Assoc., to see to it that Hoops, Penrod, The Rialto City Council (minus the mayor), Rialto City Administrator Garcia, City Attorney Owens, City Clerk Barbara McGee, Rialto Fire Chief Wells, and the entire Rialto City Fire Department (with the exception of a couple of quiet types) didn't get their wish and get the Sheriff's department to take over the department after all. So, now the Fire Department has to worry about those calls where they get those people that start to get threatening, and they call the Police department, or should they call the Sheriff Department. It is going to be an age old dilemma for the departments forever.

I am happy that the Voice United Team of Concerned Citizens took their time to help the Police Department out and did what they could to help us. in this time of need. I just hope that the Fire Department for what ever reason will get over what ever it was that separated them from us. and If it was something that was life threatening I am sorry about that. However if it was just the inconvenience of an old guy that felt he was more important then the people of Rialto, then I am not sorry.

BSRanch

Welcome Aboard Chief Kling!! I cannot wait to meet you, not that you read my BLOG..LOL..

BSR