07 Jun 2012
by rialto-now
in Bad Commerce, Budget, Ca, Centurion Security Patrol, City of Rialto, Coffee Nutz, Crime, Currupt, davidsMarketing, Deborah Robertson, Ed palmer, Ed Scott, Family, Flores Park, Grace Vargas, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Davids-Marketing/156816741049580, http://www.guardianwatch.com/, Inland Empire, Joe Baca Jr, Keith Kahn, Lazy, Mike Story, Nieghborhood Watch, Protest, Public Safety, Rialto Police Department, SWAT, The Circle Vision Quest, Tom Ammiano, www.babyelepnatbooks.com, www.careervisionbyjamie.com, wwwstoprialtowaterratehikes.com, youth
When I first moved back to Rialto I noticed how much graffiti was all over the place it was like little LA.
We rented for one year then made the decision to purchase our first home in Rialto, the graffiti was out of control.
We banded together with Lt Burkholder, Lt Crispin & Cpl Muir to get the graffiti under control. I personally held GPC the graffiti removal contractor to a hard-line of removing the graffiti ASAP. I helped GPC & the city of Rialto over obstacles such as private property right of ways and businesses that were no longer cleaning graffiti on their back walls because of retaliation against their maintenance employees. Councilman Ed Palmer and I developed a way to get property owners and leasing companies to keep their leasing signs free of graffiti.
And things were looking better……………………….. Until Now!!!!!
The city has decided to change contractors beginning last month May 2012 to save $3 a stop. Now everyone has heard the saying you get what you pay for, and we are getting just that cheaper service that has more excuses than results.
Larry De Corona the Owner of Superior Property Mainence ( http://www.4superior.com/ ) came out to the Area 1 Command Meeting stating that nothing will change but better faster services at a lower price. He tried to tell us his company can’t take care of our drainage Areas or Washes ( which is wrong ) and that they were brining in a new camera program, knowledgeable staff ect. None of his statements have shown to be true.
So I wonder why I have been calling and seeing graffiti up for days and days, poor painting, tags still showing through ect. Then I remembered something Mr. De Corona said at the meeting they are the largest graffiti removal program in LA County. Ah ha this is why who hasn’t driven around LA County and been blinded by graffiti.
Larry Decrona Owner & Managing partner in aquisition and Property Managment
Larry De Corona (pictured above) called me yesterday very upset that I am asking his company to remove the graffiti in a timely fashion. He said that they are working within the confines of the contract and that I couldn’t use his statements at the Area Command Meeting as gold. He told me that in April GPC billed the city $8K for the month of April, Superior billed the city $6K for May. This isn’t because they are so much cheaper it’s because they are slower to respond and GPC work some Saturdays in April Superior doesnt.
Mr. De Corona said something that speaks to where he is coming from a property management back ground that showed his lack of knowledge of this city or the War we wage her on Hoodlums. He said “Whats the difference if the graffiti stays up a few more days if it saves the city money”. Really did you just say that. Graffiti is a hoodlums way of saying he owns your neighborhood, street or city, and everyday it’s up there is another day to influence our teens, intimidate our communities and enrage community members.
I spoke with Tim Sullivan from public works and he told me that Superior is new and he is keeping close account of the complaints and looking at Superior’s response times and quality of work. We want to keep this from becoming a problem.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rid-Rialto-of-Graffitti/216882198324244 – We have a Facebook Page you can visit and post your problem areas with graffiti or just email them to rialtonw@aol.com and we will post for you.
Ferguson Park the Multi Million Dollar park that wont be stripped until the July Grand Opening was hit hard and it took Superior 3 days to remove this graffiti, so people’s questions on safety at our parks is still an issue and thanks to Superior the community is wondering if the new park is even worth visiting.
I have called the graffiti hotline numerous times to find MAJOR, MASSIVE tags up for days and even weeks.
The graffiti Hotline number is 909-820-2670 put this in your cell phone and call on every tag.
If you have questions, complaints or concerns please call 909-820-2602 and ask for Tim Sullivan.
03 Jun 2012
by rialto-now
in Budget, Burglury, Ca, Centurion Security Patrol, Crime, Currupt, Joe Baca Jr, Mayor Pat Morris, Nieghborhood Watch, Poor, Public Safety, San Bernardino PD, San Bernardino Police, Shootings, youth
Looking at the examples of how this program works in other communities is a good way to see the value in supporting these programs. Local businesses can offer all types of things to help bring the stragglers out of their houses and into their various community meetings. Elected officials attending these meetings regularly & integrating other agencies that work with yours to the meetings and programs helps show people in the community all the resources available to them. this type of knowledge is power.
Below is a great example of how a bad community can be turned around with the right type of effort.
SAN BERNARDINO – When Tim Callaghan moved into his Conejo Drive apartment nearly three years ago, some of his neighbors were halfway house tenants, suspected drug dealers and prostitutes, he said.Those neighbors are gone now, and crime has dropped in his neighborhood.What’s the source of the dramatic change?
Neighborhood Watch, he said.
“If you want the homicides to drop, if you want the break-ins to drop, you have to give the police a little help,” he said.
It’s a program that has been around since the early 1970s, and focuses on bringing together residents and law enforcement to prevent crime and improve communities. But not everyone is sold on it, some don’t trust law enforcement and others are discouraged to join due to language barriers.
Callaghan, 46, a sales associate at Games for Fun, says he often runs into people who are dubious that the program works.
“A lot of people have this black cloud image, that if they call, nothing’s going to get done,” he said.
His group began with three members, who worked together to observe and write down suspicious and criminal activity in the area.
They talked to the city about cleaning up a pile of house rubble left behind from the Old Fire at the end of the street. They reported a dangerous hole in a bridge over Cross Street.
Callaghan took it a step further by installing surveillance cameras in the area and installing burglary alarms in his apartment. He also attended San Bernardino Police Department’s community police academy – a seven-week course that teaches residents about the department.
Police came in, made arrests, served search warrants and cleared residents out of homes where criminal activity was taking place.
City workers cleaned up the burned-down house and fixed the hole in the bridge.
The number of crimes occurring in the neighborhood has dropped from 21 in the first quarter of 2011 to 12 in the same period this year, according to police statistics.
When residents around him saw the progress, his group grew from three members to 15.
“He stepped up, got a few people, who got a few more people and now it’s just rolling,” said San Bernardino police Lt. Paul Williams.
But the process hasn’t been without some challenges.
An elderly couple living on Conejo, who are members of the group, reported suspicious activity to police several months ago. That call resulted in police arresting several people, Callaghan said.
The same night, someone busted the front windows of the couple’s home. Another window was broken three weeks later. Callaghan and his neighbors worked together to replace the windows and report the crimes to police.
The vandalism stopped after they contacted officers.
San Bernardino Police Chief Robert Handy said he began holding regular meetings with Neighborhood Watch leaders when he started with the department. Police use those meetings to teach residents how to improve their neighborhoods, report illegal dumping, code enforcement issues and other matters.
“The more residents get involved, the more improvements the residents can make and we can make,” Handy said. “We’re much stronger together than we are separate.”
For information on how to start a Neighborhood Watch group in San Bernardino, call Diane Holmes at the Police Department, 909-388-4918. Reach Melissa via email or call her at 909-386-3878.
Read more: http://www.sbsun.com/ci_20769946/neighborhood-watch-has-helped-reduce-crime-san-bernardino?source=most_viewed#ixzz1wkVi4ePF
01 Jun 2012
by rialto-now
in Budget, Ca, Centurion Security Patrol, City of Rialto, Coffee Nutz, davidsMarketing, Dine 909, Edgar Montes, Family, Family Sports, Farrell’s Honors Our Military, Farrell’s Resturant, Flores Park, Fun, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Davids-Marketing/156816741049580, http://www.guardianwatch.com/, IE Gourmet Food Trucks, In & Out, Inland Empire, Keith Kahn, Mike Story, Nieghborhood Watch, Public Safety, Rialto Fire, Rialto Police Department, RUSD, SWAT, The Circle Vision Quest, Uncategorized, www.babyelepnatbooks.com, www.careervisionbyjamie.com, youth
Are you a business, community group, charitable organization, local elected official or a person seeking a local office?
Here at Rialto Now we are always looking to highlight the latest and greatest in and around Rialto. What we are offering are opportunities for you to get the word out to residents and community leaders that truly care about this City and the Inland Empire.
How does it work:
- We formulate a series of questions that are directly related to your and your industry. We then email those questions to you at an email address you provide. You in turn answer those questions, then email it back to us with any pictures, contact links, phone number ect. We run grammar, spelling and check to make sure all words are clean don’t infringe on another persons rights and we post it.
What if I don’t like some of your questions:
- That hasn’t happened but if you don’t like them don’t answer them. Of course the more interesting content we have and pictures we provide will make your post the most viewed.
- These “SPOTLIGHTS” are designed in a way to inform the public on the given topic host, they are never intended to portray the business in a negative light.
How can I control any ads that may appear on my post:
- You can make special requests to have certain adds not shown on your post. The best way is to pay to advertise on your own post we never put more than one ad per post. Ads range from $10 – $50. Ask us for the details.
Who can request to have a “SPOTLIGHT” done for them:
- Anyone that their business deals with the city of Rialto, sells to people who reside in Rialto, business/organization/political figure or person running for political office/community group/ non-profit or any host group located within Rialto.
Here are a few of the “SPOTLIGHTS” we have already done:
So if your intrested in a “SPOTLIGHT” please email:
davidsmarketing@aol.com and put in the subject line “SPOTLIGHT”
31 May 2012
by rialto-now
in Budget, Burglury, Ca, Centurion Security Patrol, City of Rialto, Coffee Nutz, Crime, davidsMarketing, Family, Family Sports, Flores Park, Fun, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Davids-Marketing/156816741049580, http://www.guardianwatch.com/, IE Gourmet Food Trucks, In & Out, Inland Empire, Lewis Properties, Mike Story, Nieghborhood Watch, Public Safety, Rialto Fire, Rialto Police Department, SWAT, The Circle Vision Quest, Uncategorized, www.babyelepnatbooks.com, www.careervisionbyjamie.com
Hello readers here is our review of the area command meeting in area 1. This is Lt Karol’s second meeting since his promotion and assignment as area 1 commander for Rialto. Lt. Karol ran this meeting alot like one of our favorite retired Lt Crispin, the meeting was very comfortable and flowed nicely.
Lt Karol Area 1 Commander opening up his 2nd meeting
Topics were well covered and residents were given and opportunity to comment and vent without being chased out of the room because they didn’t entirely agree with the presenter. Not every presenter spoke because the presenters that did speak were important to the people sitting in the audience.
I wasnt entirely sure how the chosen venue would suit this meeting when I first heard about it, but after the meeting was over the only critique is that it was hard to find out which room the meetin was in because Sunrise Church is such a large facility. Proper signage would help negate this issue. The people who attend there who were there for bible studies and other groups were very nice, hospitible and helped you find the right room.
Larry Decrona Owner & Managing partner in aquisition and Property Managment
First up was Larry from Superior Graffitti Removal – They are the new graffitti removal company and they are promising to do more for less. How many of you have ever paid less for for a service or product and been at all happy with the end result? My fear is that they will relize this city is more work than originally factored and come back to council looking for money &/or allow their service drop off due to the additional expense of serivcing our city. They promise next day service & a national reporting serivce that is free to the city. They say that if you call on graffitti and they cant remove it or refuse to because of some strange rules they will call you and inform you. Well I debunked that this week I called on three spots this week no removal and no call. Go to the community Graffitti page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rid-Rialto-of-Graffitti/216882198324244 give it a “LIKE” and join the discousion.
They say they are the largest graffitti removal company in LA County, like that was a badge of honor. LA County has a reputation of throwing bad money after good and has graffitti blanketing their communities. Where is the graffitti removal response? You can find them at http://4superior.com .
Scott Enoch with City of Rialto Parks and Rec
Scott Enoch with Parks and Rec seemed a little unprepared for the types of questiones he recived. He spoke about the cataloge that the city puts out to inform the community about services they provice and annonced the dedication cerimony at Freguson park that will take place Saturday July 14th. Whats funny is the football feilds wont be stripped until just before the dedication and grand opening of the park because they want it to look nice, yet the park is already open. In my opinion it sends the message that the city dosent care about the comunity just the press and media that wont show up for the event. The only time media covers Rialto is for bad things very rare to hear about positive things in the Sun or ABC 7 in reference to Rialto.
The questions Mr Enoch wasnt ready for was about the violence, crime, debachury and filth that currently resides in our parks. People complained about the janitorial services that Mr Enoch had never met or seen in his life. People described to cleaning staff as 2 mexican ruffians pulling up in a lifted black truck and doing very little cleaning. Bathrooms cleanliness was also a issue sticky and trashed almost all the time, waste baskets with busted out bottoms, gangs taking over our parks and much more.
If you want to know more about our parks you are directed to the parks and rec commision meeting 3rd tuesday of every month. Also if you have issues with broken or damaged park equipment call public works and or Parks and Rec.
Sergio is with Public Works and is a Traffic Engineer
Public works was next and they had a traffic engineer out to speak to the public. 2 new traffic signals were installed 1 at Valley/Cactus and the other on Rverside Ave in front of Fire Station 202. Cactus south bound is sceduled to be widened, Ayala north bound will be widened, Linden north bound to Carter and a new signal will begin the planning phases at Linden and Riverside Aves. This intersection is the source of many accidents and fatilities in the past and is well over due. Also Pepper will be extended to the 210 freeway.
Mike Story is the City Manager addressing some issues within the city
Last was Mike Story the city manager for the city of Rialto. First off read his monthly report its full of great information. Mr Story spoke about some of the issues that were being brought up. In and Out in Rialto will happen at its latest is 2013, the city is getting leaner but its finding ways to to the same with less. Mr Story is a straight shooter with a positive outlook as long as we can remain together during the lean years. Super Walmart is finally moving along, Mr Story spoke about ways his department is making Rialto more business freindly without giving away the farm. San Bernardino has done just that with the new Amazon Wharehouse, Kohls Distribution center, Regal Cinema project in downtown and many more they earn so little on tax revenues and have nothing to pay for toads damaged by truck traffic or crime that follows these developments. Mr Story is using quick building permits, defered project payments and more to help developers.
Finally Lt Karol closed the meting with some recent crime trends in the area and city:
- Ding Dong Break In – Somone comes up to your door and knocks and rings the bell if none awnsers another person access your backyard smashes in your slider and ransacks your home in and out in about 2 mins. If your home awsner from inside you dont have to awnser the door but with them knowing somones home they normally move on.
- Front Door Kick In – Yes its back they caught 2 males who had been victimizing homes on the south end of area 1. Key here is to report people that dont belong in your neigborhood.
- Into the Garage – Do you leave a garage door opener in your car? If yes then you could be a waiting victim of this breakin.
22 May 2012
by rialto-now
in AFL-CIO, American Cancer Society, American Water, Bad Commerce, Budget, Burglury, Ca, Cancer, Centurion Security Patrol, Crime, Currupt, davidsMarketing, Uncategorized
Thank you to every resident who when given the opportunity to sign these petitions. To those of you who didn’t sign when given the opportunity is it because you agree with a thirty year contract where the company is GAURENTEED 30% a year profit among other things or was it because you don’t agree with the petition process or you don’t like the union backing the petition?
No matter what you think its ok your entitled to your opinion and pay my water bill……… Just kidding but if you like the plan…………… ok, I don’t. If it was because you don’t agree with the petition process I don’t really either but this issue was to big for me to let my issues get in the way of reversing a bad deal. If it’s the issue with the union I too have issues with unions ask anyone that has met me for more than a minute, my layoff in 2010 destroyed me and hurt my family, then to make matters worse they hand off my job to a district favorite 3 months later, again this issue was way to big to let my personal crap get in the way.
The same thing can be said about the prop 218 vote yes the rates need to be increased slowly with the right company and under a contract Rialto can afford to back out of if its turns out horribly wrong. The prop 218 vote is important because we must show the city council and mayor that when they refuse to listen to the residents we do what is necessary to fix their bad decisions. The people must continue to put pressure on our council and absent mayor and remind them who they work for and that ignoring us isnt healthy for political careers.
Below is the article from the San Bernardino County Sun Newspaper on the certification process:
County elections staff verifying signatures on Rialto petition for a vote on water outsourcing decision
Posted: 05/17/2012 04:12:14 PM PDT
RIALTO – The signatures on a petition seeking to bring a resolution to outsource this city’s water department to a vote of the people are being validated by San Bernardino County elections personnel.
The process should be completed in about two weeks, said Michael J. Scarpello, the county’s registrar of voters.
Over the objections of many residents who attended a City Council meeting on March 27, the council voted 4 to 1 to outsource the operations of Rialto’s water and wastewater department to Voorhees, N.J.-based American Water Works Co. Inc. for 30 years.
The council also approved significant hikes in water and wastewater rates – action previous councils have avoided for years.
To meet a deadline, the City Clerk’s Office opened for two hours late Saturday afternoon to accept petitions seeking to let Rialto residents have the final say on that outsourcing decision.
The petition drive was organized by the Utility Workers Union of America, which represents employees who work for American Water.
More than 6,400 signatures were turned in, although only about 3,800 valid signatures were required to place the matter before voters, said Mark Brooks, a union spokesman.
“We are confident we have far more than enough to qualify for the ballot and we look forward to certifying this whole question for the people of Rialto to decide,” Brooks said Thursday.
City Administrator Mike Story said Saturday that the administration would not comment on the petition until the signatures had been validated.
Read more: http://www.sbsun.com/ci_20648408/county-elections-staff-verifying-signatures-rialto-petition-vote#ixzz1vQaJE2ze
21 May 2012
by rialto-now
in AFL-CIO, American Cancer Society, American Water, Bad Commerce, Budget, Ca, Cancer, Centurion Security Patrol, City of Rialto, Currupt, davidsMarketing, Deborah Robertson, Ed palmer, Ed Scott, Family, Flores Park, Grace Vargas, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Davids-Marketing/156816741049580, Inland Empire, Joe Baca Jr, Layoffs, Lazy, Lewis Properties, Mike Story, Nieghborhood Watch, Poor, RDA, Sheet Metal Workers Union, Target, Terra Vista Shopping Center, The Circle Vision Quest, Uncategorized, Water, www.babyelepnatbooks.com, www.careervisionbyjamie.com, wwwstoprialtowaterratehikes.com, youth
Dear friends and neighbors:
As you know, we are fighting the American Water privatization deal in Rialto in two different ways: first, the petition we recently filed to require the City to place the American Water contract up for a vote of the people; and second, the Prop 218 process for Rialto property owners to block the rate hikes the City is trying to impose in order to pay for this misguided scheme.
I am writing to alert you to developments on both fronts.
Concerning the voter petition, the San Bernardino Sun reported today that the City has forwarded our petitions to the County of San Bernardino to certify whether we have submitted enough signatures from registered voters to qualify for the ballot. The County says that process will take about two weeks.
We expect the County to confirm that we have submitted more than enough votes to place this critical decision before the voters of Rialto. You can read the Sun’s article at the following link:
http://www.sbsun.com/ci_20648408/county-elections-staff-verifying-signatures-rialto-petition-vote
Concerning the Prop 218 process, we mailed protest cards today to all Rialto property owners. These cards provide property owners with a convenient way to tell the City that the people of Rialto reject these unfair rate hikes. We also included a postage-prepaid envelope to make it easy for impacted property owners to return the protest cards.
Under Proposition 218, if a majority of impacted property owners file protests with the City, the City cannot impose these rate hikes!
If you are property owner in Rialto – or a renter who is responsible for paying the water or sewer bill – we encourage you to return the protest card as soon as you receive it. If you receive a mailing from SOS Rialto Water, please open it immediately; sign the enclosed protest card; and return it to us in the postage-prepaid envelope.
We will deliver every protest card we receive to the City Clerk’s office before the June 12 deadline.
Please remember – Rialto property owners can block these unfair rate hikes, but only if a sufficient number of protests are filed with the City by June 12. Please return your protest card to SOS Rialto Water immediately.
Thank you again for your support in blocking these unfair rate hikes.
Sincerely,
Mark Brooks
SOS Rialto Water and Utility Workers Union of America
20 May 2012
by rialto-now
in Bad Commerce, Budget, Ca, Centurion Security Patrol, davidsMarketing, Deborah Robertson, Ed palmer, Ed Scott, Grace Vargas, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Davids-Marketing/156816741049580, In & Out, Inland Empire, Joe Baca Jr, Mike Story, Uncategorized, www.babyelepnatbooks.com, www.careervisionbyjamie.com, youth
Its so funny when I brought this item to council attention they said it was stalled because the State may still have an intrest in the site now its because they are giving away 2 million dollers?
Somone needs to make up thier minds and tell us really why its so stalled? All of these council members needs to be removed so we can make some real progress here.
Demise of redevelopment agencies throws a wrench into Rialto’s plans to lure an In-N-Out
Posted: 05/13/2012 01:52:33 PM PDT
RIALTO – The demise of more than 400 city redevelopment agencies statewide on Feb. 1 – including Rialto’s – has pushed projects such as a new In-N-Out restaurant all the way back to the negotiating table.Many area redevelopment officials have said that redevelopment funding and rules governing their operations were key tools to eliminating blight and attracting new development.
But now in a post-RDA California, brokers, a developer and the individual restaurants are talking to a new Rialto partner. Similar actions, to be sure, are unfolding up and down the state.
Contract terms painstakingly worked out with the Rialto Redevelopment Agency are now meaningless.
Incentives legally available to a redevelopment agency can’t be offered by the new partner in the transaction – the city of Rialto, said Robb Steel, who ran the city Redevelopment Agency and is now assistant to the city administrator and development services director.
Timing of the dissolution of redevelopment agencies has meant that “the bulk of the big expenses are in front of us,” Steel said late last week in a telephone interview about the restaurants.
The city’s tab for the improvements needed to get the three restaurant pads ready for construction is likely to be between $1.7 million and $2 million, Steel said.
At last week’s City Council meeting, council members made it clear that the general fund should be used to front the expenditures necessary to make
“The city does not have the same (economic development) tools as the Redevelopment Agency, Steel said.
For example, the now dead RDA deal with In-N-Out contained provisions for property-tax and sales-tax rebates, tools not available to a city, Steel said.
On the bright side, it might mean that in a deal with the city, In-N-Out can pay less in wages for the construction of the new restaurant, Steel said.
Under the new rules, negotiations have begun anew with the In-N-Out hamburger restaurant chain and Miguel’s Jr.
The city is also looking for a third restaurant for what would be the largest on the site of former Rialto Fire Station 202, which has moved about two blocks south and officially opened Saturday.
With the demise of redevelopment agencies, “cities are going to have to work more diligently and creatively to attract development,” said Councilman Joe Baca Jr.
In-N-Out and the other restaurants, he said, “will do a lot for the community” and “the return will exceed the investment” over time.
Mayor Pro Tem Ed Scott said the status of the In-N-Out “is the No.1 thing the community talks to me about.”
At Tuesday’s council meeting, Scott asked the city’s staff to work hard and expeditiously to get these deals accomplished.
Steel said that the In-N-Out could open in 2013.
In-N-Out officials could not be reached for comment last week.
Read more: http://www.sbsun.com/ci_20615477/demise-redevelopment-agencies-throws-wrench-into-rialtos-plans-lure-an-n-out?IADID=Search-www.sbsun.com-www.sbsun.com#ixzz1v40NiP5I
16 May 2012
by rialto-now
in Budget, Ca, Centurion Security Patrol, City of Rialto, Currupt, davidsMarketing, Dr. Harold L. Cebrun, Edgar Montes, Flores Park, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Davids-Marketing/156816741049580, Joe Baca Jr, Layoffs, Nieghborhood Watch, Protest, Public Safety, rialto unified school district, RUSD, Teachers Union, The Circle Vision Quest, Uncategorized, youth
Below is an article from the San Bernardino Sun Newspaper on Parents Protesting the way RUSD treats their Special Ed cases.
Now I wasnt one the ground at this protest but I can tell you I have used my education in Child Development & Knowledge of School District Practices a time or two to help parents who were being walked over by special education staff at RUSD as well as pushy administrators. If you have a special ed student in RUSD you have eithier had to fight for services or your rights were never properly explained to you.
Within Special Ed you have all the control as the parent the school can only offer certain programs and intervetions, when its all said and done you must agree to their RECOMENDATIONS. If their rushing you call the meeting and re-scedule, when you come back let them know you will be recording the next meeting and everything will change, get an advocate there are tons of advocates that defend parents and kids on a daily basis & never just let an administrator levy a punishment against your kid because its too much work or its almost the end of the year. Because once you have been notified of your rights to challenge its almost a lost cause.
Most importantly if you feel lost contact somone for help school districts are no longer in the business of educating students they are for the most part there to keep people employed and run large budgets nothing more your children are mearly and ends to a means. I heard it all the time when I worked in public education “this place would be great if it were not for the students”.
RIALTO – More than 30 people protested the Rialto Unified School District’s policies and treatment of special education students Tuesday morning in front of the district’s administration building.
Parents, family members and those who said they were supporting parents carried signs calling for the removal of several key district administrators and the need for a state audit of the district’s special education program.
“Things have been going on behind closed doors at this district for a long time,” said Alejandra Rivera, who has a fifth-grade student in special education classes. “We thought the public should know what is going on.”
The protestors chanted, “no more abuse to special ed students” and other slogans as they walked on the sidewalk in front of the administration building on Walnut Avenue.
In interviews, several parents said that their complaints about the district’s handling of special education students has resulted in “retaliation” in the form of a visit to their home by San Bernardino County’s Child Protective Services or Rialto police.
Among the complaints, Rivera’s husband Jorge Rivera, who was an organizer for the protest, said the district is good at checking boxes showing that it provides services to special needs students, but that many times what is actually being provided has little value.
For example, his son receives speech therapy twice a week, but it is a group lesson with four other students lasting 20 minutes.
That means his son receives 10 minutes of speech therapy per week, not enough to help him overcome his many deficiencies, Jorge Rivera said.
The district has 2,257 children in special education, said Vivian Billups, attorney for the district.
Despite the financial hardships faced by the district, it has increased the number of professionals available to help special education students, she said.
The district has hired a board-certified behavioral analyst to help staffers address and understand behavioral symptoms and emotional disturbances.
The district has also hired two more psychologists and additional speech therapists, she said.
Additionally the district has been developing training for parents of special needs children and has established specialized track and field competition for special education participants, she said.
A parent advisory group has also been formed, she said.
“The district has a policy that it does not retaliate,” Billups said.
There are venues of complaint for retaliation, she said.
As to Jorge Rivera’s complaint of not enough time per student: ” … That doesn’t mean that the effort is not ongoing,” Billups said. “Just because a speech therapist isn’t two feet away doesn’t mean they are not receiving the benefit of the work.”
The speech therapist has likely developed a plan with the teacher to help the student progress, she said.
Read more: http://www.sbsun.com/ci_20630109/rialto-parents-protest-alleged-inadequate-special-education-services#ixzz1v0Vk0X8L
15 May 2012
by rialto-now
in AFL-CIO, American Cancer Society, American Water, Bad Commerce, Budget, Ca, Cancer, Centurion Security Patrol, City of Rialto, Coffee Nutz, Currupt, davidsMarketing, Deborah Robertson, Ed palmer, Ed Scott, Family, Flores Park, Grace Vargas, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Davids-Marketing/156816741049580, In & Out, Inland Empire, Joe Baca Jr, June Hayes, Layoffs, Lazy, Lewis Properties, Mike Story, Nieghborhood Watch, Poor, Protest, RDA, Ron Pharris, Sheet Metal Workers Union, SOSRialtoWater@gmail.com, Target, Taxes, The Circle Vision Quest, Water, www.babyelepnatbooks.com, www.careervisionbyjamie.com, wwwstoprialtowaterratehikes.com, youth
Below is the form email that went out from SOS Water, the organization that is spearheading the drive to allow City of Rialto Voters to vote on the decision to outsource our water and waste water systems. I hope this push proves a few things to the city council and mayor of Rialto:
- Simple transperity isn’t enough when it comes to our water and a 30 year contract – Besides people who either work for the city, sit on a city commission/board or belong to a group or organization that is owned by the city government no one things that the information meetings were informative, they were more confusing. No other proposals were shown, staff presenting the information came off cocky and rude & people were left with more questions than answers.
- When the people (Rialto Residents) speak listen – 80+ people signed up to speak on the impending vote on water services & the city council choose to instead listen to Union reps, possible future business owners, labor lobbies & inappropriate city mouth pieces (Ref June Hayes calling one of the speakers a card carving communist). When Rialto business owners and residents filled 4 rooms and spoke their piece and you still chose to ignore it, you work for us remember that.
- For years this city government has made a choice to ignore the water system, now when RDA funds are gone we make a made dash for the first person willing to pay us off. How is this fair to the city? Why should the residents pay for your lack of leadership. It was best said today as Governor Brown was making his latest pitch for higher taxes he ask a reporter if she didn’t like his plan what did she think he should do and she said “THATS YOUR JOB”. IF the city water is in such disrepair then let’s get to work fixing it. Start off by using the 30 million dollars the Utility owes you and let’s get to work. Then lets talk about slow graduated increases that will hurt less over time to obtain the remainder of the money and finish the work. By the councils own admission this alone will bring business here that was avoiding us because of our water systems age and disrepair. I don’t agree that is why they are avoiding us but that’s for another post.
- SOS is comprised from people out-of-state that have seen American Water at work and know first hand what type of service they provide. This doesnt bother me one bit because without the hard work and passion of the people of Rialto their efforts would have died out eons ago.
Dear friends and neighbors:
On Saturday, May 12, we filed our petition with the City Clerk with substantially more than enough signatures to place the water privatization scheme before the voters of Rialto. Under California law, this means that the City will be required to present this critical issue to a vote of the people.
We needed 10% of the registered voters of Rialto to qualify for the ballot – or just over 3,600 signatures. Instead, we turned in more than 6,400 signatures!
The people of Rialto really came through to let City Council know that the voters of Rialto deserve to have the final say on this misguided 30-year privatization scheme.
The next step is that the City will review our petition to verify that we have submitted a sufficient number of valid signatures. After that, this issue should be presented to a public ballot sometime over the next few months. We will need to re-double our efforts to make certain this water privatization contract is defeated at the ballot box.
In addition, in the next few days we will be sending Prop 218 protest cards to all Rialto property owner who are affected by the huge rate hikes that the City Council is trying to push through to finance this deal. If a majority of property owners protest these rate hikes, then the City cannot impose the rate increases and the entire water privatization scheme fails.
We will keep you posted on both of these efforts as we move forward.
Congratulations again for all of your hard work and for standing up for the future of Rialto.
Mark Brooks
SOS Rialto Water
P.S. I am posting below a link to the news story in the Sunday’s San Bernardino Sun concerning our success in getting the petition filed, and another link to a guest editorial from SOS Rialto Water members that was printed in the Sun on May 9.
http://www.sbsun.com/ci_20612243/more-than-6-000-rialto-residents-sign-petition
http://www.sbsun.com/pointofview/ci_20585383/rialto-voters-deserve-say-american-water-deal
13 May 2012
by rialto-now
in Budget, Burglury, Ca, Centurion Security Patrol, City of Rialto, Coffee Nutz, Crime, davidsMarketing, Deborah Robertson, Ed palmer, Ed Scott, Edgar Montes, Flores Park, Grace Vargas, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Davids-Marketing/156816741049580, IE Gourmet Food Trucks, Joe Baca Jr, Layoffs, Mike Story, Nieghborhood Watch, Public Safety, Rialto Fire, Rialto Police Department, rialto unified school district, RUSD, SWAT, The Circle Vision Quest, www.babyelepnatbooks.com, www.careervisionbyjamie.com, youth
Hello everyone, as we come up on summer we also tend to have spikes in certain crimes. Its hot and people tend to make bad choices when they are hot and bothered. I know that people are more likely to fight because of Alcohol, tension & did you just look at my girl…….. Lol. Another variable in this equation is teens off school for summer break coupled with parents having to work more than one job so they are less likely to be home to keep their kids busy with a little thing called all the adults are taking teens jobs & our governments lack of ability to see marijuana as harmful.
Also what is so wrong with insisting that at least one council memeber attend an area command meeting?
Everyone needs to make every effort to be at their communities area command meeting so that they can hear what the police have planned for the summer, they can convey current problems & can have an oportunity to ask additional questions of elected and law enforcement officials.
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