26 Nov 2016 Leave a comment
ME201 was first on scene and crews made quick work of an attic fire on the 100 block of S. Acacia Ave in Rialto this morning.
One family was displaced and one firefighter was transported to a local hospital with a minor injury. Cause of the fire is under investigation.
Thank you San Bernardino County Fire Engine 229 for the assist. #rialtofirefighters #rialtofire #atticfire #ME201 #SleeplessKnights
This story was taken from the Rialto Fire Facebook page like their page for all the updates.
24 Nov 2016 Leave a comment
If you’re thinking of deep-frying a turkey this year, the Rialto Fire Department wants to remind everyone to BE SAFE and follow these tips:
1. Stay Away from The House – Set up the turkey fryer more than 10 feet away from your home and keep children and pets away. Never leave it unattended.
2. Find Flat Ground – The oil must be even and steady at all times to ensure safety. Place the fryer on a flat, level surface and carefully gauge the amount of oil needed.
3. Use a Thawed and Dry Turkey – Make sure your Thanksgiving turkey is completely thawed and dry. Extra water will cause the oil to bubble furiously and spill over. If oil spills from the fryer onto the burner, it can cause a fire.
4. Monitor the Temp – Use caution when touching the turkey fryer. The lid and handle can become very hot and could cause burns. Also be sure to keep track of the oil’s temperature as many fryers do not have their own thermostats.
5. Be Prepared – Have a fire extinguisher (multipurpose, dry-powder) ready at all times in the event that the oil ignites.
http://foxbaltimore.com/news/local/thanksgiving-cooking-safety-cpsc-demonstrates-dramatic-cooking-fires
22 Nov 2016 Leave a comment
Young Visionaries Youth Leadership Academy held their annual Thanksgiving Food Giveaway last weekend to help needy families who may not have a Thanksgiving dinner. Young Visionaries led by CEO Terrance Stone worked with Community Action Partnership. City of Rialto, Rialto Middle School, Walmart and a whole host of community resources to put on this event Saturday. The event is more than just a food giveaway it is a full event with Vendor Booths, a mechanical bull and live music.
It is events like this that do two things. Remind those of us that have enough food to eat to be thankful for what we have and the need that still exists in the Inland Empire. A big thanks goes out to these awesome community partners that work hard to bring happiness to the live of those in need.
For more info on how you can help go to http://yvyla-ie.org/site/
19 Nov 2016 Leave a comment
Well the corruption that comes along with electing the wrong people normally comes after the new people are sworn in but not in Rialto apperently and not with this rag tag crew of Council Members and Mayor. On Tab 5 of the Rialto City Council agenda for the November 22nd meeting city council members will be giving themselves a raise of $713.11. Currently Our city council makes $918 a month plus medical, dental and vision benefits will be making $1,631.11 the Mayor is by the ordance required to make 150% more than city council so Mayor Robertson will be giving herself a raise from $1,377 to $2,446.66 and increase of $1,069.66 who also gets medical, dental and vision benefits.
The language that gives them this power is listed on the cit council agenda and pasted below:
WHEREAS, the Rialto Municipal Code at Sections 2.12.030 provides that the Mayor receives compensation based on one-hundred fifty percent of the compensation paid to the council members;
The Rialto Municipal Code, at Section 2.12.040, entitled “Council Members,” shall be amended in its entirety to read as follows, with the revised language displayed in redline format: “Under the California Government Code Section 36516(c), each member of the city council (including the Mayor) shall receive compensation in the amount of one thousand six hundred thirty-one dollars and eleven cents ($1,631.11) per month.”
We spoke to City Administrator Mike Story and he cleared up a lot of things for us:
We talked to a few people about this raise and they were not at all happy about it:
“The city dumps us into a bad water deal, leaves us with torn up streets and taxes us on our trash but they want raises no way” Amber
“Until we give our employees an increase in pay we should not even be thinking about council raises” Councilman Ed Palmer
“We don’t have money for K9 training, we backed out of the Regional Helicopter Program and cut our hiring more public works people but we have money for Council raises?” Javier
“I never looked at what the compensation for city council was the pay wasn’t my motivation for running. I don’t think that city council pay should be increased and if I was allowed to vote on this item I would vote no.” Andy Carrizales Councilman Elect
“We should have a county measure to restrict cities in our counties from raising their pay arbitrary.” Matthew
One thing that everyone wondered was why would Rafael Trujillo leave a higher paying position as a Water Board Director with West Valley Water? Now we know it’s because he will be walking into a massive pay increase which he was aware of since he is highly tied to Mayor Robertson, Council Member Ed Scott and Council Member Joe Baca Jr.
Join your fellow community members in telling the Mayor that there will be no raises until some promises are filled https://www.facebook.com/events/907011846096289/
17 Nov 2016 Leave a comment
This election meant a lot more to people than who would make the hard decisions on behalf of our city or even the presidential election. This was an election that would show if Rialto moving forward or falling backward.
Many saw the last four years under the leadership of Councilman Shawn O’Connell as a breath of fresh air, never did the community have such a strong voice in city hall. Now that has clearly come to an end as money and influence drove the results of this years elections with a bulk of Ed Scott’s Candidates winning on November 8th. Now Ed Scott and Deborah Robertson can travel on the taxpayers dime, verbally abuse employees and contractors and further use the cities general fund as their own personal slush fund.
One of the greatest concerns is the election of appointed Director Rafael Trujillo, re-election of Mayor Deborah Robertson and City Clerk Barbara McGee.
An image that was found on the page Rialto Watch Dogs shows an empty seat https://www.facebook.com/rialtowd/?fref=ts
Rafael Trujillo who was appointed to the West Valley Water Board two years ago to fill a vacancy lost the opportunity to be elected to the board. Once Director Olinger left the water board Rafael was once again appointed to the water board in the summer of 2016. With the passing of Councilman O’Connell and Councilman Ed Palmer choosing to run for Mayor instead of his City Council seat Rafael lost all passion working for the people of the West Valley Water District and put in for Rialto City Council. Rafael proved that he is purely looking out for himself and is not passionate about working for anybody outside of his own personal interests. Rafael also has serious problems following the Brown Act when he was on the West Valley Water Board and he clearly has not learned his lesson as he had a robo call for his campaign come out of City Hall.
Newly elected Rialto mayor Deborah Robertson sits down for an interview at her home in Rialto on Friday, Nov. 9, 2012. Robertson made history this November election with becoming Rialto’s first black mayor. (Rachel Luna / Staff Photographer)
Mayor Deborah Robertson disappointed a lot of the people that supported her into office four years ago with a long list of putting her own interests before those of the city, abusing taxpayer money with questionable travel practices, creating a realm of political favor when it came to appointing commissioners and only allowing her inner circle access to helping Rialto residents, bringing Councilman Ed Scott back into city hall, misusing general fund money, calling our police names and throwing employees under the bus to save her own political skin.
Barbara McGee has been our City Clerk since 1997!!!!!!! She is in total lockstep with the Mayor in all of her bad ideas. Mrs McGee also has had issues in how she treats staff and a couple years ago made an almost $100,000 mistake with Rialto Network funds forcing City Council to use General Fund money to repay PEG funds that Mrs McGee improperly spent. Mrs McGee has locked many groups out of working within the confines of her Healthy Rialto program that caters to a select few during a time where many Rialto residents are working and not allowed to participate.
June Hayes is a person that is so firmly attached to Ed Scott that he even funded her entire campaign. We know this because Linday Fretter and Junes Hayes campaign signs went up at the same time by the same people and when Ed Killgore the incumbent June Hayes was running against questioned June Hayes about outright lies in her campaign mailers she was clueless that mailers had gone out from her campaign. June Hayes has already used her seat as a Utility Commissioner to travel the country on the taxpayer dime and has made herself great friends with many special intrests with no clear boundaries. Now she actually has a seat on a Municipal Water Board.
To add insult to injury the only candidate that had any hope of doing some good in Rialto Andy Carrizales has been witnessed making statements that his campaign promises were only there to get him elected. The one that has upset residents to most was a statement claiming he has no real intention of working to repair Rialto city streets. We spoke to Andy Carrizales and he denied ever making any statement about going back on campaign promises. He told us that he was one of the first people hitting the streets for his run for city council and the residents put potholes and street repairs on his agenda because that was the one issue that rose to the top almost every time. “I went out and hit the streets and had a pad of paper and a pen and wrote down the residents concerns potholes came out on top”
Our last hope out of this election is that newly elected Assembly Member Eloise Reyes will do what Cheryl Brown stopped doing and speak to the people. Rialto needs someone like Eloise Reyes to stand up against the flood of warehouses that Mayor Robertson and Ed Scott are burying us in. Truck traffic and pollution are taking over well established neighborhoods and the Mayor and Council could care less. The people of Rialto are also looking for Eloise Reyes to help them bring opportunities to create an art hub in Rialto where local talent like Wet Paint Larry can launch off here putting Rialto on a national map and showing Rialto youth that they can do something great.
Many are ALREADY making the prediction that this is the point where Rialto begins a very sharp decline.
17 Nov 2016 2 Comments
On November 8th this writer was invited to participate in a strategic planning session for one of Rialto Unified School Districts Elementary Schools. I was excited to be a part of being part of shaping the future and moving the needle of change for children where they are most molded into their future self’s. I was also excited because I have a new found respect for Rialto Unified Superintendent Dr. Avila and his vision for being more aware of how to capitalize on teachable moments rather than allowing them to pass on by just to remain on a long term path to a distant future.
As I sat and listened to Dr. Avila and his team explain what we were being tasked with re-thinking our preconceived ideas of education and the school in question so that we could create a place that parents and students wanted to be. Once Dr. Avila left the mood changed rather quickly and the teachers who had been around for years fought any outside thinking or avoided any changes. They were building what was already there and I thought why are we wasting time and resources on nothing?
You see this is the greatest problem with innovative thought in public education its not that we cant afford it, the issue is older teachers don’t want to change and they don’t have to. Because they have tenure they can fight change for years and the only person that suffers is the children.
Now I’m going to let you in on the big secret there was one word that that got me attacked and shut down by half the room was that we would Guarantee that each child with find a love for learning. The word Guarantee scared the crap out of them “I can’t make a Guarantee I will get sued” or “that is a business term not meant for the classroom”. What is funny is that because public educators are so quick to take the easy road to the end of the school year millions of parents spend thousands of dollars each year for private education. What is the difference? Private schools must work as hard as possible to make sure that the student has the opportunity to fully blossom into their future self. These teachers actually told me in front of the whole group if you want that education you have to pay for it!!!!!! Man what are my tax dollars for anymore? As of February 1st 2016 Rialto Unified is paid $9,293 per student.
| 36 | 67850 | Rialto Unified | 232,519,852 | 25,022.2 | 9,293 | Unified |
At on of the more popular private schools in the region parents of elementary students would pay:
Grades K-5: $7,677 | Grades 6-8: $8,292 | Grades 9-12: $9,708
So tell me again how being innovative and giving parents the impression that your there to do you absolute best is so much more expensive?
So as I came across this video from Viral Thread it made me wonder why these teachers wouldn’t want the chance at experiencing what these teachers are the joys of making a difference. Another thing is that both the Vice Principal and Principal allowed this to happen they never stepped in.
Where do we go from here? Did we bring Dr. Avila to Rialto only to make the same mistakes over and over again or are we ready for change that will shape our children and our region?
08 Nov 2016 Leave a comment
An image that was found on the page Rialto Watch Dogs shows an empty seat https://www.facebook.com/rialtowd/?fref=ts
Today word went out that Robo Calls from the number 820-2525 went out from Congressman Pete Aguilar telling Rialto Voters to vote for Rafael Trujillo for Rialto City Council. Nothing surprises us anymore the level of corruption that Mayor Robertson allows to go on at City Hall. She had ticket sales going on at city hall for the Jazz Fest that claimed a $90,000 loss to Rialto General Fund and the missuse of city accounts costing the Rialto General Fund $10,000.
Congressman Pete Aguilar is not new to playing games and not playing by the rules, his campaign has gotten so bad that signs have sprouted up this year refering to Pete as a AguLIAR. Pete Aguilar’s campaign has been at the heart of many police reports on claims of stealing or destroying Paul Chabot’s campaign signs.
Rafael Trujillo may think he needs all the help he can get since he has ran for many offices and NEVER won. He tried to bully his way into a city council seat when Mayor Robertson vacated her seat and was appointed to the West Valley Water Board only to once again loose in the election. He was recently re-appointed this summer and now he is ready to jump ship for a chance at City Council.
This photo was found at http://downwithtyranny.blogspot.com/2014/05/race-for-inland-empire-congressional.html
Think of this photo and the one above as you look to either man for leadership. Both care more for their special interest ties than they do the people.
05 Nov 2016 Leave a comment
With Nine people looking for your vote on Tuesday were looking to see who is rising to the top in the minds of our readers. Were not going to list all Nine because a few have been tossed in to make a mess of things. Below is a poll where you tell us what your top two choices are. We can’t see who voted we just want to see where our readers fall on these candidates. If you don’t see your candidate feel free to add them to the poll.
02 Nov 2016 Leave a comment
It is rare that you find incumbents in today’s political climate worth throwing your support behind. Jesse Sandoval and Lydia Salazr-Wibert are two incumbents that have earned the opportunity to represent the residents of Fontana. Looking at the list of challengers you would think that there is a need for change but for the most part the wide range of challengers comes from frustration with what Fontana’s Mayor has done to the cities reputation and the potential purchase of a third mindless vote on Fontana city council.
Jesse Sandoval:
Jesse has lived in Fontana since 1967 and has been an elected Councilmember since 2012. Jesse has been married to his wife Mary (a school board member) for 30 years and raised 3 children and at least one grandchild. Jesse worked for the FUSD for 20 years and now works for the City of San Bernardino. Jesse has always had a reputation for being an active parent and has been involved in School Site Council and PTA. Jesse also has worked as a Commissioner for Parks & recreation, sponsorship of the annual Veteran’s Day Essay Contest and Coaching Youth Athletics. Jesse has been active with groups like Southwest Little League, Fontana Pop Warner, Jr all American Football and Fontana Girls Softball. As a councilman he is also an active part of the Senior Community in Fontana. He leads the Fontana Senior Softball Team and spends frequent hours conversing and dinning with the seniors that frequent the Fontana Community Senior Center. Jesse is a great person to re-elect as Fontana’s Councilman because he has proven over the last four years that he:
Lydia Salazr-Wibert:
Lydia Salazar-Wibert was elected to the Fontana City Council in November 2012. Her current term will expire in November 2016.
Prior to joining the City Council, Mrs. Salazar-Wibert was an active member of the Fontana community and has been for 26 years. She served on the Parks and Recreation Commission for 11 years and has been a Fontana Police Volunteer for 17 years. Mrs. Salazar-Wibert has been an active community member supporting schools and also Veteran’s groups
Mrs. Salazar-Wibert is married with 9 children. She is employed with the Fontana Unified School District as a Child Welfare and Attendance Liaison. In her employment, she addresses the needs, welfare, and attendance of the children. With her personal and work experience with children she understands how important a supportive family is. With her knowledge of the city, she helps families needing support to find any available resources to help them thrive.
Lydia has and continues to be actively involved and participates in a number of community organizations like those listed below, but not limited to:
Lydia has received several awards for her outstanding volunteerism (excellence, leadership and dependability) and volunteer of the year from the Fontana Police Department. She has also been recognized as a Woman of Distinction for the 63rd Assembly District. The City of Fontana has also recognized Lydia for her contribution of volunteer work to the community.
Mrs. Salazar-Wibert is the co-founder of the Fontana Santa’s Toy Giveaway Program that has been serving thousands of Fontana children every Christmas for the last seventeen years. This community event involves hundreds of volunteers that bring Christmas joy to the families of this community.
In 2014, Mrs. Salazar-Wibert and the Fontana Unified School District started the “Make a Difference Day” in the City of Fontana. With hundreds of volunteers, they collected clothes for the Fontana Unified School District clothes closet, facilitated food collection for local churches, held a resume and application workshop for high school students, and cleaned up a local high school.
Both are a great choice for Fontana
"The Circle Vison Quest" by Eugene Panis
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