Rialto Now was started because we saw two big problems:
1.Local media refused to give Rialto the coverage it deserved.
2.Local elected officials ran around like nobody was watching their dirty dealings.
We can say that hundreds of people visit this page every week and we have seen major changes in the way elected officials are held accountable. Another big issue we saw that needed attention was our growing problem with drug and alcohol use especially in our young people. We banded together with the Rialto Community Coalition and working with the community policing Cpl. Cameron Nelson & Mental Health Services Program Facilitator Michael Townsend Rialto has made major strides in making positive change in our communities overall health. One major outside player in helping us get up to speed on resources to help support a healthy community is Paul Chabot. Paul Chabot is a leader with Drug Free California, Inland Valley Drug Fee Council & Drug Free Rancho Cucamonga. Paul has been a front line advocate to keep drugs away from our children as well as a working in the military and in law enforcement laying his life on the line for people he does not know.
So what happens when he decides to run for Congress? His opponent decides to take a million dollar hand shake from the democrat party and attack Paul Chabot with lies that he hates children and schools. Then he has the gall to write an op-ed in the Press Enterprise about his ability to work with both sides. Well Mr. Aguilar have you forgotten when your Quality Life Department at City Hall almost shut down a bake sale for the popular No Kid Hungry campaign? Here is what happened and the stress that this mayor’s city put on local people trying to help hungry kids:
Hey guess what??! After having the bake sale for 7 years, and the last three years alone at Ed Hales Park in downtown Redlands…the City of Redlands has just turned us down citing that city parks are no longer allowed to sell “merchandise”. I am beyond angry. Never mind the fact that the WEEKLY market night occurs all the way through State Street and there are dozens of vendors that sell food and merchandise all along the street and everyone passes through Ed Hales to eat food. I am absolutely speechless. So now I have no location.
Oh…but they will give me a park permit, I just can’t sell anything.
Absolutely livid.
It’s official. The City of Redlands will not allow our event at our usual location of Ed Hales Park. This is pretty disappointing. I now need to work quickly to secure a new location, especially within the next couple of days because I have 1000 flyers that are due to be printed and distributed at next weekends Take the Cake Bake Off and they will need to be edited with a new location.
Redlands mall said no. I authorized our flyers yesterday taking a gamble…lost that gamble. Feeling officially defeated and ready to throw in the towel.
From Toni Momberger regarding our inability to get approval from anyone on securing a location for the bake sale: Kristina Hernandez at the Redlands Daily Facts is working on a story about this. If anyone wants to comment. Contact her by email at kristina.hernandez@langnews.com
Please feel free to contact Kristina if you would like to share your opinion, or are familiar with our past events, have been a volunteer, etc. Please share too.
Talk about exhausting…how about this new update…
Out of nowhere I got a call from the city’s Quality of Life department today. They want to try to accommodate us by letting us have the sale not at Ed Hales Park but, wait for it….in the street directly in front of the park. This would require blocking off a section of street to have the event. This street encroachment is not covered under th…e park municipal code they’ve been citing therefore would be allowed. I have a tentative meeting on Monday with a rep and a city engineer to work it out. Nothing finalized but it looks like we’re going to be back at Ed Hales…sort of. My head hurts just thinking about it but it is a step back in the right direction.
Oh boy did I cause a stir. An article about our location situation came out today in the Redlands Daily Facts (front page!). The Quality of Life director immediately contacted the reporter…the reporter then called me…then a revised story was issued online. Needless to say, I’m done arguing over their poor communication and politics, but in the end our location is now 100% approved at Ed Hales Park.
Who’s ready for a bake sale?!
rialtonow 