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On December 1st 2015 the Rialto Community Coalition took a vote to move down the road of creating a city ordinance that would take away legal rights of law abiding adults. The organization that oversees the Rialto Community Coalition a group of community residents and leaders focus was Drug and Alcohol Prevention has now been given approval from the County of San Bernardino to also focus on Tobacco use. So Mental Health Systems the organization that oversees the Rialto Community Coalition has decided to partner with the Lung Association and IPS another private company tasked with drug and alcohol prevention to take away peoples right to smoke cigarettes outdoors. In documents we have received from Mental Health Systems the organization works county wide with a contract that is over $1 million to provide services to various cities throughout the county. Couple that with the $150 Thousand that the Lung Association and IPS are working though and it seems like that money should be better spent helping people off the addiction to Tobacco, provide education on the dangers of E-Cigarettes and leverage more retailers to not sell the product within the city limits. But no they sat down at Brothers Pizza in a Strategic Planning Meeting that was not open to the public looking at how they can further restrict the legal rights of people 18 years of age and older.
The meeting was held in a back room of Brothers Pizza that was set up for 15 people and only had 10 if you include all the paid staff employees from the various organizations looking to spend their government grant money. Now members like Pat from Rialto Unified School District Public Safety claimed that the meeting was open to the public yet only if you agreed with smoke free parks law. The communications with Michael Townsend asked that only those who supported the issue to attend. The email notifications also asked that members NOT distribute openly with the public.
David Phillips was basically the lone member speaking out against this effort and advocating for the community. Leader and Facilitator of the Rialto Community Coalition from Mental Health Systems said that this was not an attempt to go behind the communities backs and that the city leaders would solicit the communities opinion on weather Tobacco Free Parks were something that the community wanted. What is funny is the city never surveys the community when they are going to create yet another Ordinance to further restrict people by creating their own set of laws. Pat a self identified public safety officer with the school district claimed that this Ordinance would also deal with marijuana use in the parks. What is funny isn’t marijuana use already illegal? Why would we need a separate city law to deal with this?
I am not a fan of Tobacco use but I also know that if we make something legal and then make engaging in this very practice illegal we are heading down a slippery slope of government control and abuse. If this is so good for the community why is there no talk of how to first involve the community. The meeting was to look at ways of leveraging various elected officials to see things their was verses what the community really wants. What was very sketchy was the way the Rialto Unified School District Public Safety Officer made it clear that she would during work hours speak to her boss Eisenhower High School Principal and new Parks and Recreation Commissioner Scott Sparks about this effort to see where he was leaning on an issue that the public HAS NOT EVEN BEEN POLLED ON.
If they have worked this hard to avoid your opinion do you think they really care???????
This video we recorded for them says they care about what you think, is that true???????
rialtonow 