Budget | rialtonow

Eisenhower Sings the Praises of 2017 Senior Class

20 Apr 2017 Leave a comment

Photo taken by Career Center Teacher Nancy Samir Ibrahimi

Eisenhower has been on a big push to honor and push their students great accomplishments into the spotlight. If you get the text message updates from the schools ASB Department you would have been bombarded by not only updates on upcoming events but a constant flow of celebration messages on students being excepted into a wide variety of colleges. Some schools “say” that college is a desired goal of every student. At Eisenhower the embody the very traits that send a clear message that the school is proud of every students accomplishments.

30 students from Eisenhower High will be going to one of the largest colleges in the Inland Empire UCR Riverside. The top majors by a majority of the 30 UCR accepted student are: PreMed, Criminal Justice, Psychology, Nutritional Science, Biology, Business and Marketing.

Now the goal is to find ways to keep our young people in Rialto or at least keep them close to home. You see while these bright young people are off to seek higher learning in some awesome popular fields of study, what are we doing to provide great opportunities to bring their education and skills to businesses close to home. As it stands now Rialto leadership only cares to open opportunities for our young people to work in warehouses or at Super Walmart.

The question is how far will these parents allow the leadership of Rialto to sell away any opportunity for these young people to return home?

Congrats to all of the Graduating Seniors in Rialto.

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Easter event comes to Rialto

15 Apr 2017 Leave a comment

Rialto’s Spring Eggstravaganza April 15th. JOIN US for the Tea Cups Ride, Magic Show, Egg Hunt, Photos with the Easter Bunny and MORE!

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Former Councilman Words Reach Out Amidst Miss use of Public Funds and other Issues

31 Mar 2017 Leave a comment

Written by: David Phillips

Councilman O’Connell must spoke to me a lot about how long he thought he had to live after a accident that led to a stay in the hospital. He also knew that the work of advocating for the people and calling out wrongs came at a cost. Like any advocate worth their salt they stocked away information and resources in the event that they were unable to expose it themselves that the information still got out.

Well in the case of Rialto Mayor Deborah Robertson and her Jazz Fest Such information has been made available. Below you will see a letter from Councilman O’Connell that will make you wonder why the Mayor would try to hold yet another event using the resources of yet another non profit.

“Those who do not learn from history, are doomed to reapeat it” George Santayana

From Councilman O’Connell:

As elected officials we have an ethical responsibility to bring to the attention of our colleagues and our constituents any acts that are perceived to be in violation of our City policies, ordinances or State Law. We must do so even if it would be harmful to ourselves, or not in our best interests to do so. We do not have the luxury as elected officials of looking the other way or pretending it didn’t happen. This letter is intended to inform the City Council of the potential misuse of city funds and personnel and to seek guidance on how to proceed. As such, it this letter has been distributed to Mayor Deborah Robertson, Mayor Pro Tem Joe Baca Jr., Councilman Ed Scott, City Administrator Mike Story, and City Attorney Fred Galante. Please place this on the February 9, 2016 city council agenda to be discussed in closed session regarding legal issues and personnel.

At the City Council meeting of 3/10/15, Financial Director George Harris provided a presentation for the Council regarding an upcoming Jazz Fest scheduled for April 2015.

After the presentation, questions were asked as to whether or not the jazz fest was a city related event; since they were extensively using City resources (the City seal, this council, city personnel, selling tickets from city offices, etc.)

During the presentation, Director Harris stated that the event was not a city related event. It was a private event hosted by the Rialto Youth Collaborative, a non profit 501 c3 which he oversaw.

Director Harris stated that they had sold approximately 100 tickets, with an additional 300 tickets reserved. According to Director Harris, they needed to sell anywhere from 3000 to 3500 tickets to make enough money for this event to be successful. Otherwise he planned on canceling the event.

A few weeks later, during an organizational meeting for this event with the principals involved, we are informed that Director Harris attempted to cancel the Jazz Fest by telling Mayor Robertson that he was going to cancel the event due to the lack of sales. It’s not clear why Mayor Robertson was even participating in this event (and previous meetings) but we have been informed that at that meeting she told him no and instructed him to continue forward. At no time was this a City of Rialto event and Mayor Robertson, as a City official, did not have the authority to tell Director Harris to continue with this event.

Based on that directive, Director Harris continued forward holding the event in April. The event was a total loss, eventually selling only the original 400 tickets according to Director Harris.

According to Director Harris, the final result ended in a $30,000 loss for the charitable organization the Rialto Youth Collaborative, an outstanding bill to a contractor of $6,000.00, and an approximate $40,000 unpaid bill owed to the City of Rialto. It is this $40,000 that we as elected officials are responsible to account to our constituents. At no time was Director Harris given the authority by the City Council to spend this $40,000, nor could anyone else have authorized the use of City personnel or property because it would require council approval.

During the public presentation on 3/10/15, Director Harris clearly stated he would need to sell at least 3,000 tickets to cover the event. He also stated he would pull the event in case he didn’t reach the required tickets sold. Apparently he tried to cancel the event but when he was told no by Mayor Robertson, his only hope was to sell the 2,600 tickets on the day of the event itself to prevent a total loss. He did so by gambling city assets that he had no direct authority to use.

Also, during meetings with Mike Story, Director Harris was told by members of the City Council and Mike Story to immediately stop using city resources & employees to support this event. He was directed to remove the City Seal, discontinue using city telephone numbers and staff to sell tickets, etc. Director Harris did the opposite, even though he stated that he fully understood the direction of the Council. He continued advertising on city property, using city personnel to sell tickets over the phone and on city property.

As elected officials for the City of Rialto, we are entrusted with the duty to ensure that all assets of the City are used in a legal and transparent manner. Regardless of the amount spent, the fact that it was city funds and spent in direct opposition to the direction of this City Council makes this a serious issue. Additionally, based on Director Harris’s statement that he decided to use city funds because he was underwater in the event and that was the only way to attempt to make his money back. This logic shows a reckless and potential illegal use of city funds and resources.

Based on the information received that Mayor Robertson had a direct involvement with this Jazz event, her attending numerous meetings of this event, and her directing Director Harris to continue when he attempted to stop the event (regardless of its impact), it would appear that she was not impartial to its final outcome regardless of the impact it might have on this city. Based on this involvement, it is respectfully requested that she excuse herself from any deliberation on this matter.

We have serious concerns in regards to Director Harris using and accessing the charitable funds from the Rialto Youth Collaborative, but our responsibilities as elected officials require us to focus on Director Harris’s failure to follow the Council directions, potential abuse of city resources and the fact that the funds have to this date not been paid back to the City. As such, it is our recommendation that this letter and a more detailed report be forwarded to the District Attorney and any other appropriate agency for investigation. Even though this is not an easy recommendation, we believe that it’s an appropriate one. The public has a low level of trust of elected officials and they demand complete transparency and responsibility of us all. Failure to act on this item, might be perceived by the public as acquiescing or being complicit in the use of these assets. It was later learned that Mayor Robertson diverted at least $10,000 from the Jazz Festival to another foundation she is on with Greg Bell. Mike Story got involved and had the money returned. (Why would Mike Story get involved? It was not a City event). Then it was learned that the night before the event, Mike Story called up Table Rock and tried to get them to donate $50,000.00 to the event so that it would not go bust. (Again, why would he get involved, another misuse of City resources)

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Internal Affairs Investigation Ruins K9 Partner “Jordy’s” Career

25 Mar 2017 7 Comments

Initial reports are that the city has paid over $6000 in boarding fees for former officer Glen Andersons partner Jordy. He was kept at Adlerhorst in Jurupa for ten months at $25.00 per day. This poor hardworking police dog is one of the greatest victims of whatever the Police Chief had an issue with former officer Glen Anderson.

The department purchased a new dog costing around $11,000 from Adlerhorst using money from the police department that could have been spent elsewhere if the Police Chief had not cut ties with the Friends of Rialto Police K9 program. Reports are that K9 Jordy was given back to Adlerhorst for another dog the a new K9 officer choose. Rialto Police added two officers since officer Glen Anderson was fired. These officers will be going through the basic class which cost is approximately $5,000 each costs that the Friends would have normally paid. Due to the length of time Jordy sat at the kennels he was no longer desirable for purchase by any other police agency and was sold to a private party.

This awesome police dog and a former Military Veteran (K9 Military Dog) was locked up, had to spend his birthday in a cage all because of an issue our Police Chief had with one of his officers. Whether officer Anderson was fired for a good reason or for a power struggle the Dog paid the ultimate price for something that was out of his control. The blame falls to Chief Deanda since his actions against former officer Anderson led to Jordy’s lockup.

It’s not just Rialto Now that is worried about Jordy one of our biggest critics since we began writing about the issues at the PD commented this on one of our last articles:

“The only person i feel sorry for is the dog Jordy. woof woof. Free Jordy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Mark Peterson

The people of Rialto have the added burden of costs that are not needed because of the chief’s actions against the Friends of Rialto Police K9’s.

We have received some heat for these stories. These stories are not meant to be done put of spite but to inform the people of Rialto about what is going on in your city. Lets look back at some of the things we have highlighted that if we didn’t write about our failed leaders would have been able to hide their failures and get away with the consequences we the people have to pay:

Selling off Rialto’s water – We were key in trying to shut this action down working to highlight that the cities scare tactics were nothing more than just that scare tactics. We also pointed out that NONE of the improvements would ever be made. Five years later we keep electing the same people and all that has been done is our rates are skyrocketing and some of the water meters have been replaced. Almost every single improvement is YEARS behind schedule and our leaders could care less.
Money moved around to pay for pet projects – We have been harping on the money movement game for years. It wasn’t until former councilman Shawn O’Connell saw it for himself did it come to a stop temporarily. Were now doing it again and allowing our leaders to get away with it.
Councilman Trujillo & Sanctuary Cities – Had it not been for this blog newly elected Councilman Trujillo would have held his sanctuary city meeting and Fontana Herald reporter would have reported it in a much different light. If not for this blog we would be in jeopardy of loosing MILLIONS in federal dollars.

So when we write about these actions it is up to you to dig into them for yourself and look at each situation with clarity and not allow personal relationships to cloud your judgement.

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Rialto identified as one of the most difficult cities in SB County to obtain public records.

19 Mar 2017 4 Comments

by rialto-now in #CA31st, and the unincorporated communities of Bloomington and Muscoy, Budget, Ca, City of Rialto, Colton, Fontana, Grand Terrace, Inland Empire, Rafael Trujillo, Rialto, San Bernardino, Shawn O'Connell

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY BEAU YARBROUGH — SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA NEWS GROUP

In an article penned by Beau Yarbrough we see that Rialto is one of four cities in San Bernardino County to not respond or fufill California Public Records Act requests from San Bernardino Sun reporter. Out of 24 cities that were requested Adelanto, Fontana, Grand Terrace & Rialto never filled the request or even responded.

This should not come as a surprise to anyone that has ever requested documents from our city or its many departments. Rialto is one of the most secretive cities in the county, even our blog has been a sore spot for the city leadership as items that used to be kept quite now float to the surface on the pages of our blog. Councilman will demonize us and city leaders may curse us under their breath but the simple fact is that Rialto residents have very little idea what goes on at city hall.

To be completley honest we have never filed one of the California Public Records Act requests because we have known for a long time what Beau Yarbrough has found out they are Dead on Arrival. Here at Rialto Now we rely on honest people giving us information or using on the spot video to prove what has been said in secret. The best example of this would be newly elected Councilman Rafeal Trujillo and his secret Rialto Sanctuary City Meeting. Had we not had video proof of what was going on few would have believed what we were telling them.

Former Councilman Shawn O’Connell used to say that before he was on the council the city would ignore his advocacy groups Freedom of Information Act requests until they began to serve them in open public council meetings and still had to pressure staff to get the information requested. This election the issue of a lack of information that is readily available to city residents is severely lacking. We also found out in this election that the person who is responsible for this information seems to have little time to process requests.

It will be interesting to see how the city responds to the SB Sun article.

Rialto Police Chief Cuts Ties With Friends of Rialto Police K9 Program

19 Mar 2017 5 Comments

by rialto-now in #CA31st, and the unincorporated communities of Bloomington and Muscoy, Budget, Ca, City of Rialto, Colton, Currupt, Fontana, Grand Terrace, Inland Empire, Public Safety, Rialto, Rialto Police Department, San Bernardino

Earlier this week our offices received a letter that is addressed to Rialto Police Chief Randy Deanda, Mike story and city of Rialto.

This letter goes into detail about the knowledge of the city of Rialto approving the work done on the K-9 obstacle course and yard. It also goes into detail about an interaction with our police chief and the president and founder of friends of the Rialto Police K-9 Association.

The letter details a complaint where Chief Randy Deanda banged on Greta Hodges door and personally delivered a letter stating that the friends of the Rialto Police canines were no longer to be involved with Rialto Police canines the letter also stated that Randy Deanda had spoken to Rialto city council members and that they all agreed with the chief on this decision the letter also goes into the fact that Chief Deanda apparently brought a witness with him Captain Wilson from the police department to verify that he delivered the letter.

The letter details that Chief Deanda opened a internal affairs investigation and officers interrogated Greta Hodges founder of The Freinds of Rialto Police K9 on the telephone and at the canine obstacle course the letter states. As of June 20th 2016 the police department no longer need the services of the friends of the Rialto Police canines a group that has funded canine operations in the city of Rialto for decades. It’s hard to Fathom with a basically cash balance budget that we would be in a position to start funding K9 purchases and operations when there’s a non-profit organization willing to do the work and provide the funding. It’s also odd that a police chief can by himself without any written Authority from city council mayor or the city administrator tear up or sever ties with an organization like this. The letter also states that Chief Deanda said that the Police Departments budget has approved and they no longer need the help of the Friends of Rialto Police K9’s. This is confusing as Rialto is looking at yet another extension of the Utility Users Tax or the creation of a Public Safety tax to provide police services.

Another point of reference that the letter spells out is the way that the Chief’s actions have hurt the Friends of Rialto Police K9 with other officers, vendors, donors and the city leadership. This action by Chief Denada has created what some say an unnecessary division among the Friends and the Police Department.
From what we can surmise is that this all began with whatever issues lye between Chief Deanda and Former K9 officer Glen Anderson who was fired last month after a lengthy IA investigation.

Another victim of this situation is former officer Glen Anderson’s K9 partner Jordy who has been stored at the Alderhorst training facility for almost a year now. It is very concerning for some in the community and The Friend’s of Rialto Police K9 that this powerful skilled dog has been allowed to be an additional victim of this sad series of actions.
We looked further into the authority of the Chief to be able to cut ties with this organization and it appears it is up to him but it is odd that this type of decision would not be made public.

Poll Question on Warehouses?

08 Feb 2017 1 Comment

by rialto-now in #CA31st, Ana Gonzales, and the unincorporated communities of Bloomington and Muscoy, Andy Carrizales, Aquenetta warren, Bad Commerce, Budget, Ca, City of Rialto, Colton, Currupt, Deborah Robertson, Fontana, Grand Terrace, Inland Empire, jobs, Rialto, Rialto, San Bernardino, warehouse, youth

Fontana Mayor Warren finds herself under a recall effort.

07 Feb 2017 Leave a comment

The Inland Empire First PAC has filed papers seeking to recall Acquanetta Warren. On Tuesday at a small meeting Cathie Ritchie Served Mayor Aquenetta Warren with Recall papers on Tuesday afternoon before the City Council meeting. As you will see below she simply tosses the paperwork aside.

The members of the political action committee, Inland Empire First are the ones who began this recall effort. The reasons for the recall were spelled out on their recall signature paperwork:

Mayor Acquanetta Warren has not performed her duties as Mayor of Fontana with the best interests of her constituents in mind and continues to waste Taxpayers money to try and further her own political interest and ambitions. During her time on the Council, the following issues have become prominent in the City:

1. Mayor Acquanetta Warren has received political contributions totaling $100,000’s to insure that the desires of special interest groups and land developers come before the needs of Fontana Residents.

2. Mayor Acquanetta Warren has supported reckless residential and warehouse development which has downgraded the quality of life, decreased neighbor safety, overcrowded our schools, increased traffic, and increased air pollution for Fontana’s residents.

3. Both violent and property crimes including arson, mailbox theft, gang related murders have increased in our city and neighborhoods – Mayor Acquanetta Warren has supported Subsiding nearby Cities (Rialto, Colton, and Redlands) with Fontana public safety Programs on the backs of Fontana taxpayers, putting Fontana Residents in danger.

4. Government accountability and waste are out-of-control – Mayor Acquanetta Warren regularly takes expensive trips at taxpayers’ expense, costing Fontana residents $10,000’s annually, with no reporting for how it benefits Fontana.

One of our favorite moments with Fontana Mayor Warren was when she was celebrating the drug filled rave that was taking place in her city where two young lives were lost.

It has long been the case for the city of San Bernardino to look at tax revenue over public safety or general health of events. Lives have been lost property has been damaged and all for a few easy tax dollars. Mayor Warren has taken this idea to Fontana now with using the speedway as a way to host these events.

To make matters worse the media sources like the SB Sun, Fontana Herald and The IE Voice have turned this into a racial issue. Bringing up the fact that Mayor Warren is a Black Female.

“A group called the Inland Empire First PAC has filed papers seeking to recall Acquanetta Warren, Fontana’s first female and first African-American mayor.” – SB Sun Jim Stienberg

“While Mayor Warren was giving this good news, Sierra Club members marched outside in costumes like “Smoggy the Bear” which reminded me of the way the Klan would go marching down the streets of Fontana not that long ago in their white sheets with hoods over their faces so know one will know who they are. To the Black community the reputation of the Sierra Club has been one of elitism with a racial history of not being inclusive when it comes to our issues or having us as members.” – The IE Voice Hardy Brown

So it looks like were using the old standby when the facts are not in our favor pull out the ole race card. Well Mr. Brown normally the old Klan reference is used to cut at white people but now they are using a race blanket to hurt other minorities.

The issues with Mayor Warren and her failed roll as Fontana’s leader has done something that no other issue has done brought people from all walks of life and political affiliations together under one common cause. Republicans, Democrats, White, Black, Latino and a wide range of income levels have come together on this issue. Mayor Warren has to go now.

The Digital 1st Media group Editorial Board wants you to believe that this recall lacks merit. In the editorial piece they published they said:

“Our view has long been that recalls are for getting rid of officeholders who have been guilty of malfeasance in office. Political differences should be settled in the next election, not with a recall attempt.” “This editorial board has endorsed Warren in all four of her runs for council or mayor in Fontana, as the city has grown more dynamic under her leadership.” – PE & SB Sun Editorial Board

Mayor Warren has broken the law and trust of the people but Mike Ramos our County District Attorney routinely turns a blind eye to local elected officials breaking and bending the law for their own personal gain. Mayor Warren has been tied to many cases where she used her position in Fontana to get campaign donors out of tight legal spots and has her own best interest in mind when making decisions not the community.

It is time for the media to get out of the way and let the people use the system the way they see fit. Let this blog be the first media type source to tell you this recall is well overdue.

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Community Members Say Now is the Time for a Recall

05 Feb 2017 Leave a comment

Written by Carlos Bravo

Some people call Karen Larson Coleman “Brave.” Not me. I call anybody, that speaks truth to power, “Fontana.” Because this is exactly what being a part of THIS community is all about!!
“Fontana’s mayor needs to be recalled

Re “Attempted recall of Fontana mayor a waste of effort” (Editorial, Jan. 19):

Written by Karen Coleman
You called the recall effort of Fontana Mayor Acquanneta Warren a waste of time and silly. Do any of you live in Fontana and if so have you traveled our streets?
Have you attended a mayor’s round table meeting to supposedly discuss plans for future downtown renovations and not been allowed to speak.
The audience sat at round tables and were not allowed to speak or if they did speak they would be removed by police officers standing at the exits.
The abuse of power this mayor has forced upon the citizens of Fontana is not silly. Have you heard or listened to her declare war on her enemies? She is a bully!
I could fill a page of your newspaper with stories of abuse but whenever I have contacted your offices no one was interested in covering those stories.
Can Fontana take another 22 months of Warren and her cronies turning our city into a warehouse slum? Huge trucks and dirty air for our children to breathe. Can we take 22 more months of her traveling all over the country with no accountability?
She has broken the camel’s back and we cannot waste another day watching our city go down the drain. Why would any reputable newspaper support this kind of behavior?
– Karen Coleman, Fontana”

#RecalLMayorWarren #WarehouseWarren #Fontana #MyFontana #IntegrityMatters #CharacterCounts #VocalMajority

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Mayor Robertson not a Fan of Trump but wants Taxpayers to pay for her to watch Trump Inauguration

10 Jan 2017 4 Comments

“Request City Council to approve travel and training request for Police Chief Randy De Anda and Lieutenant Paul Stella to accompany Mayor Deborah Robertson as security detail during the United States Conference of Mayors Winter Meeting in Washington, DC, January 17-19, and the Presidential Inauguration on January 20, 2017.”

The above image is an image pulled Tuesdays City Council Meeting Agenda Consent Calander from Mayor Deborah Robertson’s Re-election twitter account. As you can see the Mayor wasn’t a fan of President Elect Trump. As you see in the text above the Mayor is telling you that she wants a protective detail to go watch a Inauguration of a candidate she didn’t like. Looking at the Chart provided with the agenda there is no allocation for Chief Deanda or Lt Stella yet there is a base amount for the Mayor to attend the Mayors Conference by her self. We know that Councilman Ed Scott was given his ticket to the Inauguration by Congressman Pete Aguliar but who is picking up the travel and stay for Councilman Scott on this trip:

US Conference of Mayors – Winter Meeting Washington, DC January Mayor $3,200.00 estimate per person

Legislative Meetings (various) Washington, DC Per Year Mayor & 1 Council $5,000.00 estimate per person

So were paying $7,397.04 for the Chief and an Lt, plus a minimum of $3,200 for the Mayor and another $5,000 for Council Member Scott for a minimum of $15,597.04!!!!!!

Mayor Robertson used the Republican Nominee Trump as a way to hurt people running for election here locally. Here are a few of the examples:

Candidates that were republican or had a more conservative leaning Mayor Robertson used this to turn people away from them. She was heard routinely saying those trumpsters are going to take away everything.
Mayor Robertson poisoned voters minds when they were considering candidates like her opponent Ed Palmer, City Council Candidate David Phillips and Congressional Candidate Paul Chabot. It was so bad that it was routine for a public event for a Mayor Robertson supporters trying to shut down these candidates when they tried to speak.
Mayor Robertson not only hurt Republican candidates but committed democrats who failed to fall in line with her tactics or policies.
Lynn Hirtz – Democrat running for city council was tied to Donald Trump by Mayor Robertson.
Ana Gonzalez – Bernie Sanders Democrat supporting Hilary was tied to Donald Trump by Mayor Robertson.
Joe Britt – Running for City Council was tied to Donald Trump by Mayor Robertson.
Ed Killgore – Democrat running for reelection to the water board was tied to Donald Trump by Mayor Robertson.

If the Mayor is so upset over the Election of President Donald Trump why does she have to go and why are the taxpayers paying for it? Mayor Robertson even had former Assembly Member Cheryl Brown calling out people who challenged Mayor Robertson at Democrat meetings as trumpsters that needed to be stopped. What makes matters worse is Mayor Robertson is the Mayor of Rialto a struggling working class city. Our people are hard working but a majority of our families are still struggling or just getting by. Most of our ids will never stay in a $400 a night hotel room, eat lavish meals and fly all over the country. The sad reality is that less than 50% of Rialto youth will never even go on a field trip and when they do it is to s neighboring city that offers more than Rialto.

Reach out to your leaders and let them know that Rialto needs to bring travel costs under control and leave Chief Deanda and Lt Stella home so that they can do their jobs.

Mayor Deborah Robertson

Cell = 909-721-4092 909-644-8520

email = drobertson@rialtoca.gov

twitter.com/MayorDRobertson

Mayor Pro Tem Joe Baca Jr.

cell= 909-725-3838

email = jbaca@rialtoca.gov

twitter.com/JoeBacaJr

City Council Member Ed Scott

cell= 909-746-7643

email = escott@rialtoca.gov

City Council Member Rafael Trujillo