California Recreational Marijuana Law Threatens Inland Empire Youth & Tramples on the Rights of Drug Free People

02 Jan 2018 Leave a comment

Since 1996 California has been slowly pushing harmful drugs into local communities. Not even the extremely liberal Obama administration would do anything to legalize Marijuana Federally, all the liberals did was stop enforcing Federal Drug and Immigration Laws.

Another issue is Pot Heads desire to smoke Marijuana doesn’t just effect them. Even before the 1st of the year Marijuana users have openly smoled this harmful drug without any fear of punishment. Shopping centers and neighborhoods have stuck of Marijuana’s awful smell. Shopping on Christmas Eve at the Food 4 Less in Rialto on Foothill we witnessed a male smoking Marijuana and driving, when we called dispatch we were told its not a crime and were hung up on. A few days later we were near the Del Taco on South Riverside Ave and a mother with a small child exhalled her Marijuana smoke into our window. The question is where does Marijuana users rights begin and others end? Is their right to get high more important than others right to not be exposed to such a harmful substance?

“If anyone gets hit by an Camary L.P. 3BIM196 let me know we can sue Rialto Police since dispatch told me it’s not illegal to drive a car and smoke weed and hung up on me”

Rialto is not immune to the problems that come with Marijuana use in California. Here is a brief list of some of the things Marijuana Legalization has brought to Rialto and the surrounding communities:

  • Back in August 2015 at an Area Command Meeting for Area’s 1&2 in the city of Rialto Officer Nick Partcher part of Rialto Police SCAT team the team responsible for gang, alcohol & drug enforcement said that Marijuana use is now just as big a problem with local youth as Alcohol use. That year youth Marijuana use exceeded both Alcohol and Tobacco use combined. (Rialto Now)
  • Back in May 2011 a home selling Marijuana turned shootout left two people dead in Rialto. The incident unfolded on the 900 block of North Beechwood Avenue at about 8:45 p.m. Wednesday. (ABC7)
  • Downey Police Officer Shot Three Times During Undercover Operation in San Bernardino. (KTLA)
  • Only On 2: Investigation Reveals Medical Marijuana Is Getting Into School Kids’ Hands. (CBS2)
  • SAN BERNARDINO >> SWAT officers served a high risk search warrant Friday at a medical marijuana dispensary where they found cocaine and a gun, police said. (SB Sun)
  • A 23-year-old woman has been arrested in connection with a February robbery attemptand shootout that left a security guard dead at a marijuana dispensary on the boarder of Rialto & San Bernardino, authorities announced Monday. (KTLA)
  • The pedestrian killed after being hit by a pickup has been identified as a 90-year-old Moreno Valley resident, the Riverside County Sheriff/Coroner’s office reported Sunday, Dec. 31 whose driver may have been under the influence of drugs. (PE)
  • Fontana Mayor Celebrates Drug Filled Rave As Three People Die, (Rialto Now)
  • December 2015 Amazon temp agency could not fill all of the jobs they had do to people not being able to pass a simple drug test. Over 60 percent of those who failed did so because they could not put their bong away. Even being given multiple chances to return and try again they could not pass the test.

In a message from the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy to local prevention providers. This data and reports further confirm what prevention providers have been warning ever since the lie of Medical Marijuana began to take shape youth use is on the way up. One area where prevention providers have been looking to get to is kids in Elementary and they have been getting resistance due to the thought that these kids are to young to be involved in drug use. This study show a major increase in drug use among youth 12 and older meaning kids in 6th grade are being introduced to drugs.

Another thing that the data shows is a driving force behind an increase in youth use is the widespread use in adults. This matches what the Rialto Community Coalition found in February during their Strategic Planning Session was that one of the biggest reasons youth use drugs especially Marijuana is because  of the lax attitude from adults. The investigative reports from David Goldstein on medical marijuana dispensary’s acting as a hub to get Marijuana to youth should be an eye opening period for parents. Now people can have plants on their property and can have an ounce on their person without getting into trouble.

One of the areas where prescription drug use has taken over our communities and youth is the raiding of Senior Citizens medicine cabinets. What scares regular non drug using people is the fact that seniors are re-living the 60’s and linning up to buy Pot. If they couldn’t be trusted to keep prescription drugs away from others what makes us think they will protect their Weed from young people? The Press Enterprise wrote a glowing article about people lining up to fry their brains and here is a list of the elderly:

  1. Craig Reinarman, a 69-year-old.
  2. Jeff Deakin, 66.
  3. 72-year-old Cathedral City resident who was among 13 people lined up at West Coast Cannabis Club in Riverside County before 6 a.m. The man, who declined to give his name, bought raw flower and five pre-rolls for $1 each in his first purchase at a marijuana store. He said he planned to smoke while watching bowl games during the day.
  4. Oakland City Councilman Noel Gallo.
  5. A 55-year-old Oakland man who would identify himself only as Big Jon, said he retired Dec. 31 and was finally free from the requirements of a commercial Class A driving license. “It’s been 32 years,” Big Jon said, adding that he’d been hearing about edibles and other products he’d like to try.
  6. Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguin.
  7. Carol Wyatt of West Oakland and Carlos Hooks.
  8. Rome VanBergen, 57.
  9. Santa Ana Councilman Jose Solorio.
  10. Toby and Shara Edwards came from Florida to get high. Residents of Pensacola, Florida – “2,000 miles and 40 years away from California,” Toby Edwards joked – they bought $85 worth of cannabis-infused candies, topical lotions and pre-rolled cigarettes. “It’s completely illegal (in Florida),” he said. “The penalties are so severe you can lose your job. They can seize your property. It just isn’t worth it. This is so different.”
  11. Santa Cruz resident Tree Island, 69.
  12. Miguel Vargas of San Jose.
  13. Rigoberto Espinoza, 28.

State Sen. Nancy Skinner, who represents much of the East Bay, including Oakland and Berkeley, spent much of her morning between Berkeley Patients Group and Harborside in Oakland. “To me this is huge,” she said. “I want responsible use, but I also want use that is legal for everybody and equitable.” Recreational legalization, she hopes, will “finally put an end” to the criminalization of marijuana, which, she said, disproportionately affected black and brown Californians. Wow how are Liberals not the racist ones?

Another issue is the prevalence of youth using vaping products that people still try to push off as safe for youth use. As you see in the text below from the Press Enterprise article now our youth have a modern way to kill their brain cells.

By mid-morning, vapor pens and edible products were among the most popular items at the shop, with a number of Baby Boomers who smoked marijuana years ago interested in trying cannabis in new forms.

To add to an already troubling problem is the fear that Mayor Robertson is setting Rialto up to have Marijuana dumped on our poor city. As it sits now Marijuana shops are illegal in the city limits. Where we see trouble is the Mayors out right refusal to vote to put the Utility Tax on an April Ballot. Also the mayors appointee to the Budget Advisory Committee said at one meeting lets find the crappy part of Rialto and turn that into our Marijuana Zone!!!!

Only question is who gets to choose where the crappy part of town is?

The bottom line is that Rialto is in a serious mess. We have the following hurdles:

  1. No Police Cheif
  2. Officers leaving the city in massive numbers
  3. only 4 officers on patrol at any given tim
  4. No City Administrator
  5. $160 Million in unfunded liabilities
  6. Utility Tax Ending in June
  7. Out of control leaders with only their own best interest in mind

The Question remains when will we say enough is enough!!!!!!

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What is going on at West Valley Water???

01 Jan 2018 1 Comment

Let me first off say that if you are a customer of West Valley Water you have to be concerned with your water provider being able to provide you with clean drinking water. Why would I say this? The entire time Clifford Young has been a Director of West Valley Water he has used West Valley funds to investigate and sue people who refuse to fall in line with his rule. Here is a short and not complete list of people he has spent rate payers money eithier investigating or suing since 2014:

  • Butch Ariza – Former West Valley Water GM and Candidate for the board Clifford used rate payer money to investigate if Mr. Ariza was legally allowed to run for the elected seat. Normally this is left to the Registrar of Voters but since Mr. Young hated Mr. Ariza he took matters into his own hands.

  • Board Member Alan Dyer – Mr. Dyer is another person that refused to go along with Clifford Young and his antics so he too was investigated with rate payer money on the validity of his residence. Now you may say this was more appropriate but no. When local Rialto City Council member Deborah Robertson investigated the validity of her fellow Council member Ed Palmer’s residence she sued him personally no taxpayer money was used.

  • Redwing and Sherill – Since this company was not connected to Mr. Young and his closest campaign contributors money and time was wasted looking over a long series of paid and unpaid bills.

  • The entire 2017 Executive Board – Given no public explanation even though the board members have publicly asked for one Dr. Clifford Young,Sr. has refused to justify yet another misuse of public funds as he descends onto another personal witch hunt.

The main constant here is that all of these Investigations or Suits have amounted to NOTHING!!!! Dr. Clifford Young,Sr. has not produced one shred of public evidence that these actions were warranted and no actions have come from the misuse of public funds. Normally when money is spent from the public funds there is some report able action that comes along even if it is a net loss something is brought forward. Not in the world of Mr. Young he uses the public’s funds at his own desire with no public accountability.
Here are a few more times where Mr. Young has repeatably taken liberties with the public’s funds:
  • Sources report that Mr. Young has all of his fellow directors book hotel stay’s and conference registrations with his personal credit card so that he can stack up extra cash back bonus points. Then he and the other directors are reimbursed from the Water District leaving Mr. Young with a windfall of cash back points. You may say who cares they don’t go to that many things right? WRONG they pad their pockets by attending meaningless meetings and functions so that they can earn more money. They are paid a fixed amount per event they attend on behalf of the Water District no matter how long they stay. Instead of using a district credit card to pay for expenses, Young uses his personal credit card for such expenses so he could earn credit rewards and Marriott points. It led to former district CFO Suzanne Cook being fired after bringing the matter to Young’s attention. Cook sued the district in July, and the case is still pending, court records show. (Sun)
  • Clifford Young is now on his fourth General Manager and Third Legal Counsel Firm in the four years since he has been a Director with West Valley Water. Let me tell you these contracts are not cheap to begin with and the clauses for removing them before their contract is up isn’t cheap either.
  • Since Mr. Young has been on the board he has not only raised Directors ability to make more money but has further limited the communities ability to interact with the Water Board click here to read more.
  • Lawsuits Clifford Young and West Valley Water currently find themselves up against the future liability of workplace harassment lawsuits as spelled out by Hardy Brown Senior (click here)
  • Six figure no-bid contracts are awarded to friends of the board.
  • Young routinely forced staff to hire colleagues from his former job at CSUSB, including paying one a salary of $260,000 a year with no job description.
  • Young regularly expensed alcohol and charged it to the agency & regularly expensed meals for his wife and charged the agency against policy. (click here)

What we found alarming when we first began reporting on West Valley Water and the mess that resides in the Elected body was the strong desire to control the release of information about what is going on there. Board Director Greg Young once tried to have Joise Gonzales the local Board Supervisor to silence us (see here) add to that the constant threats by Clifford Young to Sue Us for slander (never happened) there is a strong move to silence the media going on here and now we see why.

For the longest time Clifford Young was able to keep under the radar of bigger media sources (even though we tried hard to nudge them into looking into West Valley’s actions). Well with the recent elections where Clifford Young was able to fully secure 4 out of 5 board seats on the West Valley Board and has his eye on getting Mr. Olinger out of the Board in the coming election to secure complete control he forgot that his friend and now board director Mike Taylor has already secured a steady stream of media attention with his actions in Baldwin Park. Mr Young also lost sight of Mr Taylors bad deeds seeping into Rialto:

  1. When Baldwin Park rehired Michael Taylor as its police chief, the city included a provision in his contract that makes him exceedingly difficult to fire. Taylor can only be terminated from his $234,000-a-year job, according to the agreement, if he commits a felony. Baldwin Park leaders also prohibited themselves from giving Taylor annual performance evaluations. The agreement allows the council to place Taylor on administrative leave — but with pay. The contract term is only for one year. But if the council doesn’t renew it, Taylor gets a severance package worth three months’ salary.
  2. Taylor was recently elected board member at West Valley Water District in Rialto, about 39 miles from Baldwin Park, soon after returning as police chief. One of Taylor’s first actions as a new director on Dec. 7 was to vote for a new attorney to serve the district: Robert Tafoya, the Baldwin Park city attorney who weeks earlier presented the chief’s employment contract to that city’s council for approval.
  3. Taylor has taken money from a drug operation in Baldwin Park where he is the police chief to fund his campaign for West Valley Water Board. Taylor who received help from local republican and tea party groups on his campaign are the same groups who claim to be against drug legalization in California.
  4. Taylor is also accused of moving money around as a way to cover the origins of said money. In another story by the legal lens businesses that are known for using campaign contributions as a way to secure favorable contrasts within the city of Baldwin Park are now spending money here in the West Valley Water Races.
  5. A person of interest in the character assassination of Kareem Gongora when Kareem was running for special election for Fontana Unified School Board is the listed Treasurer for Mike Taylor. The same campaign that shifted money around and took drug money to win a campaign.
  6. Board President Clifford Young has misappropriated public funds and routinely engages in unfair hiring practices, with no regard to staff concerns and district policies and procedures. (Sun)
  7. Young, according to a memo, demanded the district hire people that he worked with at Cal State San Bernardino or had personal affiliations with. (Sun)
  8. Young awarded no-bid contracts to friends, including political lobbyist William Lowery and public relations expert Patrick O’Reilly. Additionally, Young received more than $42,000 in reimbursement for travel, meals and incidentals and more than $43,000 in director fees. He does not provide line item receipts to “ensure that the district is not paying for prohibited expenses such as alcohol,” (Sun)

So Rialto you have one question to ask yourselves. Why do we keep accepting this type of behavior and failed leadership? Don’t the people of West Valley Water deserve better? Where is the DA’s of Riverside, San Bernardino and LA Counties at? Are they going to allow failed leadership to break the rules with ZERO accountability?

 

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Rialto Police Benefit Association Helps Pay It Forward.

19 Dec 2017 1 Comment

by rialto-now in #CA31st, Andy Carrizales, Ca, City of Rialto, Colton, Fontana, Grand Terrace, Inland Empire, Public Safety, Rialto, Rialto, Rialto Police Department, San Bernardino, youth

Sgt Royce is more than just a highly decorated employee of Rialto’s Police Department. He is also the current President of the Rialto Police Benefit Association (the police officer union). When we reached out to him to try and secure some way to help a local family in need he said what do you need.

This is nothing new in our experience with the police officers union or Sgt Royce. The Police union routinely looks for ways to help the community through a wide array of channels. Were eternally grateful for the generosity demonstrated to the Rialto Community.

So here is what you do just click this link and safely and securely tell us who you would nominate and why? There are no stipulations we just want to know who you think would like a SURPRISE this year right before the holidays.

We would like to thank the following people this year for helping us give back to you our readers:

Coffee Nuttz

Lou Worthy Realtor 

Rialto Police Benefit Association

Our Secret Santa

The Nguyen Family Holds Its 3rd Annual Spark of Love Toy Drive

18 Dec 2017 Leave a comment

This past Saturday friends, family, neighbors and some Public Safety Hero’s got together to eat some food, make crafts and most importantly collect toys for kids in need. Tyler and his family hooked up with the Spark of Love Toy Drive effort that was created and ran by local fire agencies and ABC 7 news. Each year Tyler and his family get boxes from station 202 in Rialto and fill them full of new unwrapped toys.

In his 1st annual toy drive the Family collected 70 toys, This year they are on their way to collecting 150 toys 3 boxes full of a little something awesome for local kids.

What we thought made this toy collecting event special is the family turns it into a party where everyone has a good time eating and talking about what has gone on as another year closes and another one opens. Tyler’s entire family his mother, aunts and grandparents all get involved in making this event a success. This family is not new to giving back since they help out at Southern California shelters and soup kitchens as a way of sharing the good blessings their family has had through the year.

One big hit was the rides people at the event got in the Fire Trucks. Kids were smiling from ear to ear as Fire Trucks gave people rides before these men and women could get back to work. The event had Dinner, Dessert and Hot Coco Bar as well as craft table for the kids and some awesome family and friends conversation.

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!!!!

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Those Who Do Not Learn From History Are Doomed To Repeat It

07 Dec 2017 Leave a comment

For 15 years the city council has been using the Utility Users Tax (UUT) to supplement our cities ability to operate. It didn’t begin this way the 1st time the UUT was put into place as a way to enhance services and provide a bridge to increased tax revenues that would replace the UUT giving the city the ability to allow it to sunset and go away. Well since then some very big things took place making that a hard pill to swallow, here is what has made that impossible:

  • The recession happened – The ever so wise politicians decided that everyone deserved to be able to purchase a home even if they could not afford it. So they created things like State your own income, 4 year interest only loans and allowed people to sell torn up houses for 10 times what they were really worth. Was it any surprise the whole thing fell down around itself and left cities in a very poor place?
  • RDA Money Taken Away – Gov. Brown in all his wisdom decided to take away Redevelopment money away from California cities. This money helped them grow their city and promote why people should spend their tax dollars there verses other cities. This money also made it possible to afford to give developers sweet deals to bring development to local cities.
  • The City’s PERS contract enhancement in 2010 – As a way to entice employees to sign a new employment contract without a raise as a way to say you will have a sweeter retirement later on.
  • Poor investment performance at CALPERS – This has led to the increased PERS cost in the City of Rialto.
  • Retail has come but – The retail stores and shopping are finally coming but not in the numbers that we were told. The new Lewis Shopping Center will bring no more than the new Super Walmart in the south end. Also Mayor Robertson’s warehouses are bringing more problems and not more money. Still many of the warehouses pay tax to cities like Ontario with agreements that cripple small towns like ours.

So last council meeting our city council and mayor were supposed to look at the cities financial future with the community present. According to Mike Story and Robb Steel at the last Budget Finance Committee meeting that city council had the following issues with the Budget Finance Committee’s recommendation:

  • The Budget Advisory Committee didn’t formally recommend what the committee thought city council should do with the cities surplus. Should it remain at 50%?
  • City Council wants to know if the committee would bless spending the cities reserves?
  • City Council doesn’t feel right declaring a state of physical emergency when we have a budget reserve.
  • City Council wants to increase the amount on businesses to as much as 12% and lower it on residents to 6%.
  • City Council no longer believes that Seniors alone should be exempt from paying the tax only low income seniors.

The reason we titled this story “Those Who Do Not Learn From History Are Doomed To Repeat It” the popular saying by George Santayana because we find ourselves walking down a similar path. The last time the Utility Users Tax was placed on the ballot for renewal Deborah Robertson was the lone wolf standing in the way. She was throwing a fit and holding her vote hostage until she got what she wanted. This year she is the problem once again but this time it doesn’t seem like public safety is going to blink. You see we have the #1 fire department in the State if not the Country you are more likely to survive a cardiac arrest event here than anywhere else. Also here in Rialto our paramedic program provides an income for the city budget offsetting fire costs, in every other city in the region these services are paid out to minimum wage workers for a private ambulance agency.

Keeping to the topic of public safety lets not forget that it was former police chief Farrar who did the 1st study on the use of body cameras on police officers. That study led to such amazing results that Rialto was one of the 1st agencies in the USA to use body worn cameras department wide. As you can see from the image above officer use of force has dropped as well as citizens complaints of use of force. Also Rialto is one of the few agencies that still has an active Community Policing program and youth intervention programs that are producing results.

Sadly the writting on the wall with everything going on right now is that our city council is playing chicken with our public services and a massive looming debt. Many members of the Budget Advisory Committee see the Mayor and Councils actions as dangerous ways to run a cities finances. One member said that looking at $170 Million pension and health debt over the next 10 years, not moving the Utility User Tax to a vote and even discussing spending reserves is a dangerous course of action. Another member said that council is saying I know I’m get a pay cut next year but I am taking the expensive vacation anyway, this is no way to budget.

So where are things now? Well Council refuses to address the public again with this topic or even the new information on just how bad our budget looks like if we don’t act now. The Budget Advisory Committee on December 18th will hear just what council and the mayor are looking for in regards to spending reserves and playing with the reserve limits. The topic of making seniors pay for the UUT when they have not been required to in the past will also be discussed. The Budget Advisory Committee is a public meeting even though staff refuses to use the cameras in the room and stream the meetings on You Tube the meetings are public. They start at 6 pm and end at 8pm.

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Eisenhower High School gets Soled Out for Dunn Elementary Kids

04 Dec 2017 Leave a comment

by rialto-now in #CA31st, Budget, Ca, City of Rialto, Colton, Eisenhower High, Fontana, Grand Terrace, Inland Empire, joseph williams, Own It Rialto, Rialto, rialto unified school district, RUSD, San Bernardino, youth

It doesn’t surprise us anymore when we hear about awesome amazing things happening at Eisenhower High School. For those who grew up and attended Eisenhower High School we didn’t have as much to be proud of. Well current Principal Scott Sparks has worked hard to change all of that from community service to classroom education and sports Eisenhower is working hard to produce awesome adults that are guaranteed to make an impact on the world.

Now I can tell you right now that Scott Sparks would tell us that he is only a small part of what has been happening at Eisenhower, and while that may be true he isn’t just sitting back with his feet up. Scott Sparks has worked hard to bring in leadership that shares his vision and work hard to make that vision possible. From staff in the office to ASB and Sports Eisenhower has swallowed up some serious professionals invested in making tomorrow bright for students that want the help.

We didn’t record this video this was taken from Rialto Unified’s Facebook Page. If you would like to be kept in the loop with what is going on in our kids schools go to www.facebook.com/rialtounified

Rialto Now Hosts Christmas Giveaways

04 Dec 2017 Leave a comment

by rialto-now in #CA31st, 100 Black Men, AFL-CIO, American Cancer Society, Ana Gonzales, and the unincorporated communities of Bloomington and Muscoy, Andy Carrizales, Assembly Woman Eloise Reyes, Ca, Colton, Fontana, Grand Terrace, In & Out, Inland Empire, Rialto, San Bernardino, youth

Christmas is here and we know that not everyone gets excited about that. Many people in our city and region still struggle every single day but the pressure of the holidays is even worse. Having a family to feed is tough enough without having to worry about Christmas presents and food.

Well have no fear Rialto Now is here to bring a little light to the holidays. Throughout the month of December leading up to Christmas we will be doing a series of giveaways. Some of them you can win something for yourself and others are where you will nominate and get a chance to bless someone else in need.

The 1st giveaway will begin on Wednesday December 6th at 10 am on our Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/rialtonow

If you would like to participate and provide a giveaway simply email rialtosnow@gmail.com

What’s New in Rialto?

15 Nov 2017 9 Comments

by rialto-now in #CA31st, and the unincorporated communities of Bloomington and Muscoy, Ca, City of Rialto, Colton, Fontana, Grand Terrace, In & Out, Inland Empire, Rialto, Rialto, San Bernardino

So as everyone has seen there is a lot of dirt movement going on in Rialto. Some of it seen as good forward progress some has residents furious that their concerns seem to be falling on deaf ears.

On Baseline and Willow the old Carrows is being transformed into a Billy “T”s restaurant.

 

On Foothill and Cedar Avenues the last open field is getting a new shopping pad that will be anchored by a Smart & Final.

The Rancho Verde Plaza shopping center (Riverside Ave north of the 210 freeway) will soon have several new businesses.

Planet Fitness continues to renovate a portion of the former Ralphs building. AutoZone will open a new auto parts store in a building fronting Riverside Avenue that was vacant for many years. The Maple House Chicken and Waffles restaurant recently opened at 2026 North Riverside Avenue this is their second restaurant in the Inland Empire (Ontario).

This project where the Planet Fitness is going in is causing North End Residents to fume on social media. Residents are still questioning why the city refuses to give the North end residents a fresh food option. As of right now the north end of the city (above the 210 freeway) is a fresh food desert. Even the old Fresh & Easy is being turned into a Dialysis Center.

The City met with the developers of Rialto Marketplace (NewMark Merrill) to discuss the proposed development of a retail center on Successor Agency parcel of approximately 15 acres located between the former and new WalMart buildings. The developer proposed two development options that included retail, entertainment and restaurant opportunities. NewMark Merrill is soliciting tenant interest for the project.

The City met with the developers of the Renaissance Marketplace (Lewis Retail) to obtain updates on new tenants, potential restaurant pad users, and
construction status. Lewis announced that Cinemark Theaters will open in July 2018 and the first phase of the retail center north of Renaissance Parkway will open in early 2018.

The City met with the owners of the former Wal-Mart (Pacifica). Pacifica proposes to carve the old store into three smaller modules for specialty retailers and develop 2-3 freestanding pads including a fast casual restaurant. Pacifica intends to submit entitlement applications later this year to construct the pads, obtain user approval and conduct tenant improvements.

The City met with the developer of the Renaissance East (Fernando Acosta) retail development at Ayala Drive and the 210 Freeway. Cracker Barrel
proposes its second California restaurant for opening in September 2018. The City met with a prospective hotel developer exploring options for a Holiday Inn Express or Hampton Inn. The City Council will consider the entitlements for the project on November 14, 2017. The City expects construction to commence in January 2018. Fernando Acosta is the owner of the Popeyes fast food restaurant on Baseline and Ayala. Mr. Acosta also was to person who brokered the In & Out development.

The City met with the developer of the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (Fountainhead) at Easton Avenue and Riverside Avenue. The developer
communicated escrow will close in early November with construction commencing immediately thereafter. Fountainhead expects to complete
construction within 90 days.

The City met with Aldi and Panera Bread to discuss current and future projects in Rialto. Aldi intends to construct a store at the northeast corner of Foothill Boulevard and Cactus Avenue, adjacent to WSS. Panera will construct a new restaurant in Renaissance Marketplace and may add one additional store in south Rialto.

Meet West Valley Water Board Candidate Robert Bourland

03 Nov 2017 Leave a comment

Welcome to our individual interviews with Candidates running for local elections. All candidates were given the same questions and allowed the freedom to answer as they see fit. We did not alter any of the responses so you are hearing things directly from them.

In this interview we are introducing you to Robert Bourland. Mr. Bourland is a person we didn’t know a lot about and he was appointed to the West Valley Water Board by the Board of Supervisors to fill the appointed spot that Rafael Trujillo vacated after he was elected to city council. Mr. Bourland was the successful candidate and appointed to this position by the San Bernardino County Supervisors after an exhaustive search and interview process over a number of other potential candidates.

There are a couple of candidates that have an extensive background in providing utility services to this region and Robert Bourland is one of those candidates, enjoy.

First, I’d like to express my appreciation for bringing out the real issues the voters should be looking at and not the partisan political statements, the slander that’s been so freely flowing and the made-up promises that cannot be delivered unless appropriate due-diligence is done, contrary to some of the political propaganda being propagated.

 

1)      Tell us about yourself where did you grow up, go to school and work before?

  • I have lived in Rialto since 1964. I went to Morgan elementary, Frisbie Junior High, Eisenhower High, San Bernardino Valley College and California State San Bernardino. While attending college I worked full-time at Stater Brothers grocery stores. After obtaining my Bachelor’s degree I started my career at Southern California Edison as a meter reader, ultimately retiring as an Executive. Along with serving on the WVWD board, I currently serve on the Board of Directors at Anand-PAG LLC.
  • For a more detailed review of my extensive work experience please see my LinkedIn profile: www.linkedin.com/in/robertbourland

 

2) How does your past make you a good candidate for West Valley Water Board?

  • I have over 35 years of experience in the utility industry, including water, gas and electric. Prior to my retirement at SCE, I was responsible for the entire portfolio of applications at the company including Customer Service, Transmission & Distribution, Generation, Conservation, Technology etc. This is exactly the same work that West Valley Water District does, except that SCE was on a much larger scale. I KNOW this business, how to run it, fix it, make it more efficient which ultimately leads to safer, more reliable and the most affordable water possible.
  • At SCE I ran an organization of several hundred people and was responsible for budgets of well over $200. Million (about 10 times what the WVWD budget is)
  • I currently serve on the Board of Directors of Anand-PAG LLC, a mid-size technology company
  • I have previously served as Board President of the El Rancho Verde MAC committee
  • I have previously served on the Visitors Board of Claremont College

 

 

3)      Some of you are incumbents what have you learned since being elected or appointed that you didn’t know until you sat in the elected seat?

  • Overseeing a water district is very similar to overseeing any other utility which I have spent my last 35+ years doing very successfully.  I’ve been disappointed to learn that in dealing with elected officials and “wannabe” elected officials, they are willing to say things to garner votes, instead of doing what’s right for the district, employees and ultimately the rate payers.
  • My commitment is to always focus on the issues at-hand and deal with them keeping in mind the best interests of our constituents, employees and the water district. I will not be influenced by political inclinations or other outside influences.

 

 

4) How important is transparency to you?

  • Transparency in an organization builds trust amongst employees and our ratepayers. It is a critical success factor for the newly elected board to rebuild that trust that has eroded over the past several years. I will accept nothing less than full transparency as we work towards the success of our District.

 

5) Do you believe that partisan politics have a place within a water board seat?

  • Absolutely not! Decisions made by the WVWD board should be based entirely on the facts of the matter at hand to ensure safe, reliable and affordable water to our ratepayers. As opposed to the stated view of some of the candidates (per their campaign literature), I do not believe partisan politics should have any influence, at all, on the policies adopted by this board.
  • In regards to partisanship on the board, I think it’s important to note that I’m supported by both Josie Gonzales (D) and Janice Rutherford (R).

 

6) What is your impression of the communities freedom of speech?

  • Freedom of speech is everyone’s lawful right in our wonderful country and I fully support that. I also believe that we should self-impose some moral and ethical boundaries upon ourselves out of respect for one another and our diverse beliefs. Although to-date none of this has been targeted against me, I’m abhorred at some of the campaign literature mailed during this election. Candidates should focus on what they stand for and their value proposition, not putting out half-truths and disparaging remarks about others.

 

7) What are your thoughts on budget surpluses? Should they be a certain percentage of the overall budget or are they even important?

  • As a government entity, WVWD is a not-for-profit organization. The budgeting process is intended to anticipate all costs needed for normal operations as well as unexpected events. Because WVWD is a government agency, there is no “budget surplus” built into the budget. The budget will be “even” where the incoming revenue is equal to the expected expenditures for the upcoming year.
  • What some people inaccurately perceive to be a “surplus” are in fact essential items needed for the effective operations of the water district. Examples are:

o   Government mandated reserve policies to insure liquidity

o   Emergency funds for leaks, breaks, failures etc.

o   Contingencies for expected costs that might overrun anticipated costs

o   Ongoing liabilities such as bond covenants, pension liabilities, capital improvement projects

o   Capital improvements for projects to replace the miles of pipelines that are aged and are in dire need of replacement before catastrophic failure

o   Capital improvement projects to expand and insure our water services are not interrupted

  • My commitment is to insure that the costs to obtain our water, to purify our water, to deliver our water to our constituents will be the lowest possible, which will lead to the lowest possible rates to our customers.

 

List any and all contact info people can use to get a hold of you or learn more. Also please include a photo we can use for your article. If you have any video links you would like included please Include those as well.

 

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Meet West Valley Water Board Candidate Anthony “Butch” Araiza

02 Nov 2017 Leave a comment

Welcome to our individual interviews with Candidates running for local elections. All candidates were given the same questions and allowed the freedom to answer as they see fit. We did not alter any of the responses so you are hearing things directly from them.

In this interview we are introducing you to Butch Araiza. Mr. Araiza is a person who has basically lived his entire life in the Rialto area given back in so many ways and has worked his entire life at West Valley Water. There are a couple of candidates that have an extensive background in providing utility services to this region and Butch Araiza is one of those candidates, enjoy.

1) Tell us about yourself where did you grow up, go to school and work before?

I was born and raised in Rialto. I was in one of the first classes to go through Boyd Elementary, and then I went on to Rialto Middle School and Eisenhower High. I’ve taken courses at Valley College and Cal State San Bernardino, and while those were important in helping me learn the science behind water distribution, my real education came on the job. I started at West Valley Water District when I was 19 years old, thinking it would be a good summer job–I went on to work there for 52 years. I started out in irrigation, working to help get water to the citrus groves that used to cover the area, and I slowly worked my way up through just about every department in the district until I reached the level of Superintendent. As Superintendent I was responsible for all field operations for several years. After that I become Assistant General Manager for 10 years before becoming the General Manager. I served as General Manager for 20 years.

2) How does your past make you a good candidate for West Valley Water Board?

I have been involved in water for almost my entire life. I’ve served in the management of the District for over 35 years. I know water. And I also know this community because I’ve been involved in it my entire life too. I’ve been a member of Rialto Rotary for over 20 years, and have served as president of the club several times. I’ve been one of the organizers of the Rialto Run Whatcha Brung car show since it began. I was a member of the Rialto Planning Commissionfor 8 years, and served as Chairman for several of those. I spent over 20 years on the board of the Friends of the Rialto Police K-9s. And finally, I was a member of the Oversight Committees for the last two school bond measures for Rialto Unified School District. Almost all of that work was as a volunteer, because I care about this community.

3) Some of you are incumbents what have you learned since being elected or appointed that you didn’t know until you sat in the elected seat?

I am not an incumbent, but I have been involved with the water board for the last 20 years. The thing that has most surprised me about recent elections is the amount of partisanship that has become a part of it. In the past we’ve had people with different viewpoints on the water board, and there have been disagreements over policy, but I never once questioned that board members were making decisions based on the well being of the district. In the past four years that has changed. Certain board members have become far too involved in the hiring and firing practices of the district, and they have taken a direct hand in managing the district by directly overruling the day-to-day decisions of district management (the people who have experience in these issues, and who are paid to make those decisions). Additionally, I have seen board members do things like initiate baseless investigations just so that they could send out negative campaign literature claiming that other candidates are “under investigation.” And, of course, those investigations are dropped as soon as the campaign is over. I would encourage voters to research these issues carefully before believing anything they receive in the mail. And I hope, that if I am elected, I can help restore an ethical water board (I know that Linda Gonzalez and Robert Bourland also share this hope which is why I have endorsed them for the other open seats).

4) How important is transparency to you? 

I believe transparency is extremely important to good governance. Many of the changes that have been made to the Board of Directors’ rules and procedures since I left management are troubling to me because I feel that they decrease transparency. I support an ethics code for the board and a return to the rules of order that existed prior to last four years.

5) Do you believe that partisan politics have a place within a water board seat?

No. A board seat is a non-partisan position meant to oversee the management of the Water District. The board is there to set overall policy for the district, approve budgets, and to make sure that the district manager is doing his or her job. Those are not partisan issues. 

6) What is your impression of the communitiesfreedom of speech?

I believe that freedom of speech is the cornerstone of our democracy. Without a free discussion of the issues no consensus or compromise could be reached, and only those with the right “opinion” would be allowed to participate–a system like that is not sustainable and it’s not good for the people. On my Facebook page you can find my direct cell phone number. I put that there because I want the people in this community to be able to speak to me directly; to voice their concerns, criticisms, and even just to talk about the district. I welcome it all. Speech is very important to me.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ButchAraiza/

Cell Phone: (909) 644-2417

7) What are your thoughts on budget surpluses? Should they be a certain percentage of the overall budget or are they even important? 

The district should not have extreme budget surpluses. Of course, in any given period of time there will be times when the district is able to get good deals or somehow decrease costs resulting in a short term budget surplus, and that’s good–it’s a sign of good management. But sustained budget surpluses are a sign that rates can be decreased. Now that is not to say that the district should not have savings. If a large natural disaster struck our community, without savings the district would have no efficient way to rebuild any infrastructure that is damaged and it would be difficult to restore service to the community without taking out expensive loans. Everyone needs a rainy day fund and the district is no different. That said, the district currently appears to be in a good financial situation and I feel confident in guaranteeing that I will not vote for any rate increases unless there is some catastrophic change in that.

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