30 Jan 2015
by rialto-now
in Budget, Ca, city attorney, City of Rialto, Colton, Crime, davidsMarketing, Deborah Robertson, Ed palmer, Ed Scott, Inland Empire, Joe Baca Jr, Mike Story, Public Safety, Rialto, Rialto, Rialto Fire, Rialto Police Department, Ron Pharris, San Bernardino, Shawn O'Connell, Veolia
Tags: City Council, city of rialto, Councilman
Hello Rialto Now readers and fans. If you were watching from the audience or watching on TV it looks like every council meeting will go on and on no matter how short the agenda may appear. This meeting had six tab items in total and even had one pulled and at 9pm they only moved through half of the tab items.
Consent Calendar
Two items were pulled from the Consent Calendar for seperate approval or vote.
C.1 the regular city council meeting minutes from the meeting January 13th 2015 had a seperate vote and Councilman Ed Palmer voted no. We plan to reach out to Councilman Palmer this weekend and find out why he voted no on these minutes and we will update so stay tuned.
E.4 was pulled to explain that the City Treasurer wanted approval from the City Council to allow a few select investments go beyond the 5 year maturity limit to retain maximum benifit and a larger profit.
Tab Items & Public Hearings
Tab.1 was approving the ability to move forward with the Lytle Creek Development project. the developers need approval from the City to present the anexation application to the Local Agency Formation Commission for San Bernardino County this project in its entirety consitsts of 4 neighborhoods. Neighborhoods two and three will be anexed to the city of Rialto and Neighborhoods one and four will remain in the county of San Bernardino. Now let me first say I am not a fan of this project it has destoryed Rialto’s Country Club Area & Golf Course as well as extremely reduced property values in the Country Club Area. Nonetheless the developer has spent years and money going through stall tactics and lawsuits to finally get to this point. It appeared that even though there were questions about the real intentions of the project it was going to be approved to recive county approval, that is until Councilman Ed Scott spoke up. Councilman Ed Scott stated that since the developer had not come to him and meet with him privatly that he wanted to table this vote for two weeks. So this will be the second time just two months into a four year city council term that Councilman Ed Scott wants to delay things because he is unprepared. Also why should a developer be having special secret meetings with City Council Members? I know Councilman Ed Scott took alot of money from developers to get elected and that is one of the many reasons that I feel uncomfortable with Councilman Ed Scott acting as the Gate Keeper to Development here in Rialto. Councilman Shawn O’Connell had no problem voting to continue the item for two weeks but did say that when he has a question on an agenda item he calls city staff prior to the meeting and gets answers verses dropping them on staff in the meeting and creating delays. Councilman Ed Plamer said that this action has been delayed for far to long and voted no on continuing the issue for two more weeks.
Tab.2 was to approve one of the many warehouses that will be dropped in the city of Rialto. Niagra Bottling Company wants to bring a $200,000,000.00 bottling and packing warehouse to the Renaissance plan development operated by Niagra Bottling Company. Below is a image of the many diffrent companies they bottle and create water for:
As you see they bottle water for alot of different companies and they have a history of giving back. Thier were questions if they would add language holding the city of Rialto Harmless form any actions this project would ensue. I was unsure why they said that until I began reciving phone calls apperently WVWD and City of Colton are suing Niagara becuase they are taking too much water from the Basin appreently. That dosen’t bother me much they need to get the water from somewhere so I can buy it from Costco. Makes me wonder though how can Niagara turn nasty IE water into what I love to drink???? Oh this is the Tab item where Councilman Ed Scott tried to make it sound like he was the only one that executives from Niagara Bottling reached out to. It wasn’t until Councilman Shawn O’Connell said that the Niagara Reps reached out to all of the Council and Mayor.
Tab.3 was yet another warehouse in Rialto and though its going to bring jobs its also going to bring problems like increased truck traffic large buildings that normally have empty streets that attract street racing, drug use/sales and opportunities for other elicit behaviors. What is even worse is that this warehouse will be giving extra sales tax revenue to………. ONTARIO!!!!!! Yes our city has been working on this project for almost 10 years and have yet to figure out how to work a sales tax benifit for Rialto but man o man we sure know how to send that tax money elsewhere. Maybe we need San Bernardino to come in and show us how to secure a tax base from warehouses.
Take what you wish from this weeks Council Meeting but I think its time we show up more often and keep their eye on the ball.
Can’t make the council meetings follow us on Twitter and get the high points of each meeting we cover.
http://www.twitter.com/rialtosnow or #rialtocitycouncil
26 Jan 2015
by rialto-now
in Ca, davidsMarketing, Rialto
Tags: City Council, city of rialto, deborah robertson, Rialto, rialto police department
Being plugged in is very important to a healthy thriving community. Here at Rialto Now we are here to fill the gap that the print media leaves by not adequetly covering Rialto and to act as a education tool for the community.
This week is a busy week here in the city of Rialto. There are opportunities to get information from regular meetings and then we have some special meetings and events coming up this week. Here is a list of what’s going on this week:
Monday – Area Command Meeting Area’s 3 & 4: January 26, 2015 – St. Catherine of Siena Church, 339 N. Sycamore Avenue, 7:00 – 8:30 pm. For additional information please contact Lieutenant Bill Wilson at 909-421-7276 or email to wwilson@rialtopd.com / Lieutenant Jim Kurkoske at 909-820-2568 or email to jkurkoske@rialtopd.com.
Tuesday – Rialto City Council Meeting
Wednesday – Rialto’s Certified Farmers’ Market is held every Wednesday, 10:00 am – 2:00 pm. Farmers’ Market is located at City Hall where vendors sell a variety of fresh vegetables, fruits and nuts at a reasonable cost to consumers. Come out and see what our local growers have to offer.
Thursday – Mayor Deborah Robertson and City Council invite Rialto residents to attend the first community forum of 2015 on Thursday, January 29, 2015, from 6:30 to 8:30 pm. The meeting will be held in the City Hall Council Chambers located at 150 South Palm Ave. City Department Heads will be available to receive comments and answer questions from the residents. Mayor Robertson and City Council are looking forward to candid dialog with community members to help understand and take into consideration perspectives from residents as the City Council prepares for the 2015/2016 Fiscal Year. Mayor Robertson and the City Council understand the success of the City of Rialto is directly related to meeting the needs of our community. Come share your thoughts on issues that matter to you and our community. For additional information, contact Angela Perry or Pam Kennedy at (909) 421-4991, or visit our website at http://www.rialtoca.gov.
Saturday – On January 31, 2015, the City is hosting it’s first annual Rialto Police Officer Memorial 5K Run/Walk. This event takes place at the Rialto Police Department, 128 N. Willow Avenue, Rialto, CA on the south lawn. Sign ups begin at 7:00 am and the Race starts at 8:00 am. An awards ceremony and festivities will take place after the race. Please click here to register.
Follow all that is going on with rialto on our Facebook Page http://www.facebook.com/rialtonow
26 Jan 2015
by rialto-now
in Ca, City of Rialto, Currupt, Inland Empire, Rialto, Rialto
Tags: City Council, Lytle Creek Project, Rialto, Rialto City Council, Rialto Residents
At this weeks City Council Meeting Rialto Residents will be able to voice their thoughts on a variety of issues that require a public hearing. Tab 1 is the Lytle Creek Project that destroyed the beauty of the Country Club Area, Ruined Property Values and Removed the only golf course rialto had. Tab 2 & 3 are approvals to give away vital retail land to massive warehouses. The current landscape of warehouses brings rude truck drivers that refuse to obey simple traffic laws, higher crime and increased vandalism.
When the 210 Freeway was under construction the Rialto City Council placed a moratorium on building along the freeway and other cities built and now are reaping the benefits of a increased tax base. Rialto shuts down an airport to bring in more warehouses? How does that give the Rialto resident the ability to spend their money here versus taking it elsewhere.
People in the community please come out and demand that this city council finally keep its word to the residents of Rialto.
14 Jan 2015
by rialto-now
in Andy Carrizales, Assemblymember-Elect Cheryl Brown, Burglury, Ca, City of Rialto, Community Coalition, Crime, davidsMarketing, Dr. Michael Neeki, Ed palmer, Inland Empire, Public Safety, Rialto, Rialto, Rialto Police Department, SCAT, Shawn O'Connell, SWAT, youth
Tags: Chief Farrar, Colton, Crime Stats, Redlands, Rialto, rialto police department, San Bernardino
Hello Rialto Now readers!!!!! An awesome time was had by all at the first Coffee With The Chief in Rialto for 2015. Why was it awesome you ask? Well first off its kinda nice to have a strong yet open Chief of Police. So many people hold Police Chiefs and their command staff on such a high pedestal that they become “LIKE” gods. When they are simply men and women that will risk their lives for complete strangers. Now that fact isn’t something to be taken lightly but it also isn’t a reason you can’t stop and ask them a question.
Today’s Coffee With The Chief covered a lot of areas today. It was held at the Coco’s restaurant on Valley and Riverside Ave’s and the waitress was super nice as she took care of each persons order and kept the coffee flowing. Chief Farrar was in attendance along with Cpl. Marquez, two Detectives, three Lieutenants and Captain Deanda. Chief Farrar began by welcoming everyone and went over these topics:
- Crime Reduction – Overall Crime was down by 20% in 2014. Chief Farrar said that crime had been dropping for a while now and does expect crime rate to level off.
- Women’s Law Enforcement Fitness Challenge – On March 21st Rialto Police Department will be taking any females interested to the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department physical agility course and going over the physical agility course portion of the tests and training to become a Sworn Police Officer. Chief Farrar said its his goal to attract more females into Police Work and hoped that this event would be the catalyst to attract them. The most difficult portion Chief Farrar said was scaling the 6ft wall and that they would help the women learn a technique that would lend them success on this obstacle.
- How does Rialto Compare in Crime Stats to other cities? – Chief Farrar said that he has been asked this multiple times and has been reluctant to venture down this road because of the differences each local city faces. He decided to look into it finally and the results were promising. Chief Farrar compared Rialto to three other cities that touch rialto, have police departments (not sheriff) and are of comparable size. Cities he used where Fontana, Redlands, Rialto & San Bernardino. Rialto had a lower overall crime rate than all cites that were used. Redlands had a lower violent crime rate than Rialto. Even though Rialto has more residents than Redlands.
- Promotions – Chief Farrar said that the Department is looking to do some more promotions in the next 4-5 months these promotions will add two more captains.
- Work Load Study – Rialto Police Department will be doing a Workload Study to better evaluate if the work load is being evenly distributed. Rialto Police is now at 103 Sworn Police Officers and is only down 3 budgeted Sworn Positions. Chief Farrar hoped that the workload study would give them a clear idea of where to look to add more resources and or staff.
- Rialto Police Appreciation Awards – On February 20th Rialto Police will be recognizing staff and community members.
- 20/20 Interview – Captain Randy Deanda was interviewed by ABC News 20/20 show about the Judith Oakes case. Judith Oakes is the former Rialto Unified School District employee that was caught and convicted of stealing school lunch money down her bra to the tune of over 1 million dollars.
- Request a Training – Rialto Police Detectives went over the police program that offers training to local businesses on how to best protect themselves from becoming a crime victim.
- Cold Cases – Rialto Detectives also let us know that they are waiting on the DA’s office to approve the case files they have on two cold cases in Rialto. Since 2013 the Detectives Office has closed 8 cold cases.
- Use of Force & Police – I asked a question about training for local community groups especially the Flores Park Neighborhood Watch in better equipping our residents on how to properly handle a situation with a officer and avoid the horrible situation on both ends. Chief Farrar said that the key is to follow the instructions to allow for a more positive outcome more often and avoid tense standoffs that should have never happened.
Below are a series of You Tube videos that show a reporter and a civil rights activist undergoing a use of force training with Maricopa County Sheriff. Chief Farrar said this is a great way to see how a situation where someone isn’t following instructions can lead to horrible consequences.
http://youtu.be/b5PuLeR7Wt8 Video 1
http://youtu.be/uVOQs8yb9P4 Video 2
http://youtu.be/tk-bXyNbsCE Video 3
http://youtu.be/yfi3Ndh3n-g Total Interview
http://youtu.be/pAJXP0okzwk Post Interview
13 Jan 2015
by rialto-now
in Ca, City of Rialto, Crime, Currupt, Family, In & Out, Inland Empire, Joe Baca Jr, Public Safety, Rialto
Tags: city of rialto, documentary Rialto Rising, Jersey Mikes, Pride Platoon, Rialto, Rialto City Council
Whats going on this week in Rialto? Well its pretty busy because its back to business here in the city and its also the begining of some great things. Read on below and see what is on tap.
Pride Platoon
Tonight is the Pride Platoon documentary Rialto Rising will be playing on KVCR at 6:30pm
Coffee With The Cheif
Coffee with the Cheif returns for its first meeting this Tuesday January 13th at Coco’s in Rialto.
Come out to hear what is new for the city of rialto in regards to our public safety and come with your questions for Rialto’s Top Cop and his admin staff.
Rialto is lucky to have a Cheif like Tony Farrar that finds connecting with the community of Rialto a priority for him and his top staff. Lets show Cheif Farrar that we appreciate his dedication by coming out Tuesday Morning and having Coffee with him.
Rialto City Council Meeting
Yes its the first city council meeting of 2015 and its going to be a roller coaster ride. Newly elected councilmember Ed Scott appears to have drawn a line in the sand with the Security Guard Company the city uses becuase he asked to remove their contract extension from the December meeting agenda and it has been continued to this meeting. This is Tab 10.
Also in the Misc section of the Agenda were sending all but one eleceted offical to Las Vegas for a ICSC Convention to the tune of 5,221.25. We need to ask ourselves why are we sending everyone and if were sending everyone why isnt the money watch dog isn’t going? Do we really need to spend over five thousand Dollars to have Rialto represented at the conference? Also the spending requests leave room for increasing the total purchase order becuase of unseen costs.
In addition to all that they will be electing a new Mayor Pro Tem and rumors are that Joe Baca Jr. will be seeking the spot to prepare for a run for Mayor in 2016. New board and commision seats will also be assigned. This will be a close one to watch because this will effect how much gets hidden in the special commision meetings and this is also where Community Development Block Grant Funds are allocated.
New Stores Opening Up
On Wednesday January 14th Jersey Mikes will be opening up in spot where the old Fire Station used to be. Jersey Mikes marketing manager Reef Colman is keep the grand opening details inside a secret circle but we do know that they are opening Wednesday and they choose only four Rialto Unified Schools to participate in a fundraising opportunity. We will keep you posted if any info comes up.
Honorable Mention
As I was doing my research on the Jersey Mikes information it was odd to see Sgt Lindsay giving Dine 909 blogger Jon Plessel a heads up on new stores coming to Rialto.
http://www.insidesocal.com/dine909/2014/12/19/chipotle-jersey-mikes-subs-wing-stop-and-major-brain-freeze-yogurt-coming-to-north-rialto/
Wonder what you have to do to get a little love and the 411? Its ok we don’t hate Jon were just jealous.
09 Jan 2015
by rialto-now
in and the unincorporated communities of Bloomington and Muscoy, Assemblymember-Elect Cheryl Brown, Ca, City of Rialto, Colton, Crime, Ed palmer, Flores Park, Flores Park Neighborhood Watch, Fontana, Fontana PD, Grand Terrace, Inland Empire, Lynn Hirtz, Nieghborhood Watch, Public Safety, Redlands PD, Rialto, Rialto, Rialto Police Department, San Bernardino, San Bernardino County’s regional dispatch center, San Bernardino PD, San Bernardino Police, SCAT, Shawn O'Connell, Street Crime Attack Team, SWAT
Tags: #IELEAD2015, #Isupportfirstresponders, Civil Rights Community, Michael Brown, Officer Garcia, Pay It Forward, Police officer, Police Officials, Rialto Police, San Bernardino
Today January 9th 2015 is LEAD (Law Enforcement Appreciation Day)
#IELEAD2015
If there ever was a year our Police Officials could use a “Thank You” or a “Pay It Forward” this year would be that year. Here locally Rialto Police have had a busy end of 2014 with a few deaths and some more aggressive robberies. On top of that every cop has been on edge since the Civil Rights Community decided to take their frustrations about the decision to not charge the Ferguson officer in the shooting death of Michael Brown out on police all over the Country.
Being a Police officer is not an easy thing to do. You put on a badge and a uniform and are the front lines of safety in our cities and streets. Look at San Bernardino that community has been falling apart around its self with many major crimes and Officer Garcia from San Bernardino becoming gravely shot and left fighting for his life.
Today please stop and say thank you even a simple two word phrase and a hand shake can change someone’s day.
We would also like to highlight two elected officials we caught saying Thank You to Rialto Police by purchasing doughnuts for the police today. Its nice to see our leaders “LEADING” us to do the right thing.
Knowing a lot of First Responders read this blog I would like to say Thank You for doing what you do and always working to keep us safe even if you don’t know our names. #Isupportfirstresponders #IELEAD2015
08 Jan 2015
by rialto-now
in Uncategorized
Yesterday power was out in the city of rialto from Cactus and Merrill to beyond Linden Avenue. A recording went out to parents of Dollahan Elementry School parents a school located in the Flores Park area of Rialto. The recording was to tell parents that they would need to pick up thier students early from the after school program Think Together due to power loss at the school.
**After the fact we found out that the power outage did damage to the schools computers and internet. Also it looks like the power outage also hurt the city of rialto as thier websites are down.**
According to SCE officals in the field Wednesday the power outage that effected thousands of residents and lasted more than 3 hours was caused by a failure in underground lines. Field officals said that underground lines are harder to asses so finding the problem takes longer.
05 Jan 2015
by rialto-now
in Ca, City of Rialto, davidsMarketing, Inland Empire, Josef (Joe) Britt, Public Safety, Rialto, Rialto, Rialto Police Department, yap, youth
Tags: Rialto Community Coalition
Please join us at the Rialto Community Coalition meeting on Tuesday, January 6, 2015 at 6:30PM. The meeting will be held at the Rialto Fire Station located at 1700 N. Riverside Avenue Rialto, CA 92376. Rialto Community Coalition members meet monthly to promote a healthy and safe city by changing perceptions and attitudes of underage drinking and drug use. We’d like to get more community members involved with our efforts to reduce youth access to alcohol and other drugs so please invite your friends and neighbors to join us. We will developing strategic plansand new community action projects for 2015.
As you see they bottle water for alot of different companies and they have a history of giving back. Thier were questions if they would add language holding the city of Rialto Harmless form any actions this project would ensue. I was unsure why they said that until I began reciving phone calls apperently WVWD and City of Colton are suing Niagara becuase they are taking too much water from the Basin appreently. That dosen’t bother me much they need to get the water from somewhere so I can buy it from Costco. Makes me wonder though how can Niagara turn nasty IE water into what I love to drink???? Oh this is the Tab item where Councilman Ed Scott tried to make it sound like he was the only one that executives from Niagara Bottling reached out to. It wasn’t until Councilman Shawn O’Connell said that the Niagara Reps reached out to all of the Council and Mayor.
rialtonow 