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Rialto Now 2020 Voter Guide

28 Oct 2020 Leave a comment

Rialto you once again have way to many people to choose from when it comes to electing new leaders. We have spent years in Rialto and we know a lion share of the people running for this years open seats. This guide is not a paid opportunity and isn’t tied to one party over the other. These seats are all ones where we need people wo don’t toe a party line but are willing to do whatever it takes to represent the people.

Some School Board Candidates were left off the image above and a couple faces got cut off this was not done on purpose we promise.

So without further to do here we go:

Rialto Mayor

For Rialto Mayor we were excited to see this race develop. You have Ed Palmer a strong former City Councilman and Small Business owner coming back to apply what he learned about this race 4 years ago. While you have Lupe Camacho looking to come in to steal the show. We feel that Ed Palmer will be the best choice for Rialto moving forward. If your worried about what will happen to Rialto’s development movement you can be rest assured that Ed Palmer did a lion share of this work already and can keep us moving forward.

For Mayor vote Ed Palmer

Rialto City Council

Nobody sitting on the council right now has my support. Councilman Trujillo made National news by trying to hold a secret meeting at City Hall about making Rialto a Sanctuary City. He has shown since that he has little to no voice and can’t stand up for Rialto when they need him. Councilman Carrizales is no better he is so tied to the Mayor that he couldn’t see or choose to not look as the Mayor gifted funds and city buildings to select people and non profits. At best he is a good looking face to stand in front of businesses he had no hand in attracting to Rialto. He also can’t vote on many business items in Rialto as he has to recuse himself time and time again.

Our picks to replace these two poor choices are Andrew Karol and Stacey Augustine.

Andrew Karol I know well and have had the pleasure of working with him for more than 10 years. My haters will be happy to know that Andy has not been shy to tell me when he thinks I am wrong or going to far. He always did it with care and tact. About 6 years ago when racial tensions were at a tipping point and a group of black lives activists were planning a demonstration in Rialto Andy led a group of officers to meet with the protestors and start conversations about how minorities and police interact with each other. Andrew Karol would make a fine Councilman that will represent everyone.

Stacey Augustine I have not known for long and there was a time I did not trust him. It wasn’t anything that Stacey did it was more about the people he surrounded himself with, I was unsure of his agenda. Stacey was the Chair of the Budget Advisory Committee that I also served on. Stacey was a fair Chair and we had a lot on meaningful conversations. As a corporate leader he also decided to bring something to Rialto that is needed and took a gamble brining it to the heart of the city. Stacey is bringing a restaurant/pool hall to downtown Rialto. Many downtown business owners have shared with me that they feel abandoned or forgotten in the Downtown Area so Stacey will bring someone with skin in the game that I believe cares.

Rialto Unified School Board

With Joe Ayala stepping away it clears space for at least one new face to sit on the school board and everyone has their candidate lined up to take a seat and do their bidding. Three seats are up this year With Nancy O’Kelly and Joseph Martinez are running for re election. I am only backing two candidates this go around and you don’t have to vote for three.

My picks are Mirna Ruiz and Joseph Martinez.

Joseph Martinez has always been kind, thoughtful and not hard to get a hold of. He has always taken my call or found time to talk about a problem even when he knew I wasn’t happy with anyone at the moment. He also knows when to stay out of the way and let staff handle things he isn’t the guy that needs to have the mic or be front and center for the photo. Martinez known for his love of STEM will be found in the background support students and staff at his favorite events. Joe is an all around good guy and the type of person you need leading your schools.

Mirna Ruiz is what every student needs on a school board. Mirna is a Special Ed Mom and a Special Ed Advocate. All to many times districts fail to do what is in the best interest of SPED students. Most of the time it is out of shear ignorance to how SPED programs work, the rest is willful defiance of a legal document. To put 2020 and this election into perspective over 400 SPED parents have sued school districts this year for lack of serivces provided. That is over 400 students that their IEP’s are so messed up that the parents had no other recourse then to sue the school. Don’t you think having someone on the board that knows a thing or two about SPED would be a good thing?

So all that you have left to do is vote, its easy this year you don’t even have to leave your house if you don’t want to. If you don’t vote you can’t complain!

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Rialto Continues Downward Spiral

02 Oct 2020 1 Comment

As the Calendar moved to October 1st Rialto proved that things are not well for the Inland Empire city. Reports came from those close to city hall that city manager Rod Foster has decided to retire from his job in Rialto with just being on the job for a little over one year.

The tension was there since the city manager became aware of possible conflict of interest issues with CDBG funds given to the mayors daughters organization. City Manager Rod Foster said the special audit, which will be conducted by the Riverside accounting firm Teaman, Ramirez & Smith, will examine federal grant funding received by all community-based organizations and nonprofits, not just Bethune Center.

Tensions have continued as Rod Foster has worked to try and deal with the $150 million in unfunded liabilities that Rialto is obligated to pay, as well as balance a budget that was on the brink of bankruptcy. Constant battling with the Mayor and trying to right the financial ship of the city while reports come out that Mayor Robertson has been fighting Rod Foster for trying to make things right. Another part to the frustration of the City Manager is the backlash the audits findings caused.

According to those close to city hall the audit of the Bethune Center-NCNW has been a source of concern for the City Manager. Supporters from that community have made it hard for him to do his job and that coupled with the barriers from elected officials his health has begun to deteriorate.

Rialto now is a city run by an all interim cast, Not one single department head is run someone looking to work long term leading Rialto:

City Administrator is now interim Stephan Erlandson
Public Works interim director Michael Tahan (Former developer and Fontana Councilman)
City Engineer interim Savat Khamphou
City Attorney interim Eric Vail
Community Services interim Sean Grayson
Rialto Fire acting Brian Park
Community Development acting Manager Karen Peterson
Building & Safety interim Justin Edson

The question is why can’t we keep good people and why are the elected officials driving away all of the talented people here?

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Another Shoe Drops For San Bernardino Mayor John Valdivia

10 Sep 2020 Leave a comment

Many of the allegations that Mayor John Valdivia made to staff in his office were substantiated in a recent investigation. Articles written by the San Bernardino Sun downplayed the bombshell report but many out in the public are wondering why he has not stepped down as San Bernardino Mayor!

San Bernardino Mayor John Valdivia made unsolicited and graphic sexual comments to a former city employee last year and repeatedly berated subordinates in private and public settings, an independent investigator has found.

The city’s top elected official also told a former employee in January that he is “always receiving gifts and not reporting them,” according to Los Angeles attorney Carla Barboza, with whom the city contracted in February to investigate sexual harassment and hostile workplace claims against Valdivia.

Released Tuesday, Sept. 8, executive summaries of the months-long probe substantiate certain allegations brought forward by former city employees Mirna Cisneros, Karen Cervantes and Jackie Aboud.

Seventeen witnesses were interviewed, however, and documents were reviewed as Barboza set out to determine whether it was more likely than not that the allegations were true.

As such, she found Valdivia repeatedly subjected Cisneros, in particular, to lewd and suggestive sexual comments in person and through text messages.

The investigation, which cost San Bernardino $68,000, confirmed Cisneros’ claim that in December, Valdivia bragged about being offered a private jet and how he would “work something out where he does not have to claim it on his forms,” referring to documents elected officials must file when they receive gifts.

A witness confirmed Valdivia went on to tell Cisneros: “There is always a way to get around everything.”

Through interviews, Barboza corroborated Cisneros’ claim that in January Valdivia told her and other staffers not to eat at a dinner recognizing San Bernardino commissioners. The investigation also confirmed that the mayor told Cisneros and others present that the dinner was all about “the John Valdivia show.”

A witness backed Cisneros’ claim that earlier this year Valdivia asked her to be vague when processing a reimbursement to the San Bernardino International Airport for a meeting. He also requested Cisneros not “name names” of whom he met with.

Valdivia told Cisneros a day later that he “always” receives gifts and fails to report them, according to Barboza.

For a copy of the report click here

Read the full story here

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Trailers for homeless with coronavirus symptoms set up at Glen Helen Regional Park Looks Like a Scam

17 Apr 2020 Leave a comment

by rialto-now in #CA31st, Ana Gonzales, and the unincorporated communities of Bloomington and Muscoy, Andy Carrizales, Aquenetta warren, Assembly Woman Eloise Reyes, Budget, Ca, Colton, Congressman Pete Aguilar, Corona Virus, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Deborah Robertson, Ed Scott, Fontana, Grand Terrace, Henry Nickel, Inland Empire, Joe Baca Jr, Josef (Joe) Britt, Rialto, San Bernardino

About 20 trailers set up at Glen Helen Regional Park will play a key role in slowing the novel coronavirus spread among the local homeless population and community.

The trailers, purchased by the state, arrived Thursday, April 9, at the park near the Cajon Pass in San Bernardino County. They will house homeless individuals and families who have tested positive for COVID-19 or are suspected to have the illness.

“When our medical experts give us their very best educated medical advice, that advice applies to everyone equally,” Supervisor Josie Gonzales said referring to the guidance from public health. “We must not discriminate because the virus does not discriminate.”

The trailers are part of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s $150 million emergency funding package to shelter homeless people during the coronavirus pandemic. Fifteen trailers were set up this week at Riverside Municipal Airport for the same purpose.

The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department’s Homeless Outreach and Proactive Enforcement, or H.O.P.E. team, has placed 26 people — some with families — in a hotel on Hospitality Lane in San Bernardino, county spokesman David Wert said.

The move has drawn the ire of San Bernardino city officials who say they were not consulted during the planning process.

Councilman Henry Nickel called the relocation of out-of-town homeless people to a city already overburdened by the population “negligent” and “irresponsible.” Even before the coronavirus pandemic swept the region, San Bernardino was stretched thin on resources for the city’s most vulnerable, he said.

In a phone interview, Nickel said city leaders still are unclear how the county plans to transition the homeless individuals out of the hotels; provide security at the facility; ensure the population doesn’t “migrate into our community”; and what impact the temporary move will have on residents’ long-term health and safety.

“It’s unacceptable,” Nickel said. “What the county has done is just unconscionable. The fact they never notified the city before engaging in this decision, to me, shows bad faith.

“We cannot trust the county in terms of their homeless operations if this is the behavior they’re going to engage in.”

For The Full Story Click Here

Coronavirus Effects Rialto Economy

13 Mar 2020 Leave a comment

by rialto-now in #CA31st, Ana Gonzales, and the unincorporated communities of Bloomington and Muscoy, Andy Carrizales, Ca, city attorney, City of Rialto, Colton, Corona Virus, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Currupt, Ed Scott, Fontana, Grand Terrace, Inland Empire, Joe Baca Jr, Public Safety, Rafael Trujillo, Rialto, San Bernardino

The Rialto City Council scheduled an emergency meeting to address the Corona Virus outbreak. The enacted an emergency declaration that gave the City Manager supreme powers over events, staffing and public safety. City Manager Rod Foster took this meeting to remind us that even though he works here he is not effected by the decisions made in the city of Rialto as he lives in a wealthy area of Orange County.

Some say that the action is premature given that the school district is on spring break and that there are no confirmed cases in Rialto or San Bernardino County. Others say that we must be early to keep the citizens safe. Councilman Ed Scott (who will comment some inappropriate comments on this post) spoke about being one of the people that is a high risk for having an extreme reaction to this virus given his advanced age and long list of medial conditions. Ed Scott spoke to racial profiling as his wife who is Asian decent were verbally attacked and berated at San Manuel Casino because this Corona Virus originated from China. It was sad to hear that still we are so ignorant because these type of things must stop.

Councilman Ed Scott and Councilman Joe Baca Jr. spoke about the threat to seniors and how we would handle our senior center operations. Councilman Joe Baca Jr. asked that city facilities be deep cleaned and that the senior center would take priority. Councilman Ed Scott said that the City of Fontana told him that they were restricting their senior center to only seniors. That is interesting because that building is a public building and is a community center as well. Many of the people who use that facility rely on the computers and other facilities to function in a tech world.

Clearly this outbreak has made us forget the poor and disadvantaged. Mayor Robertson also pointed out that 80% of the management staff are coming from a county that has had a large number of Corona Virus cases in Orange County. Maybe we should have thought about that when choosing people who live nowhere near Rialto. The reason this is an issue is when it comes to asking people to telecommute what happens if your Director of Emergency Services gets stuck over an hour an way?

The council called for Social Distancing in light of the virus outbreak and were unaware on how we could do this without hurting our new and “vibrant” economy. Rialto Flooring posted a video this morning the day after this meeting of a very empty downtown which they said was extremely rare. The mayor suggested that people utilize the delivery services or ordering out.

Ex-Rialto police officer sentenced to 2 years in prison for having unregistered firearms, silencers

13 Mar 2020 1 Comment

A Corona lawyer and former Rialto police officer was sentenced Thursday to two years in federal prison after unregistered weapons and bomb-making materials were found in his possession.

Sergio Lopez de Tirado, 44, was sentenced for possessing unregistered firearms, silencers and a hand grenade that were found inside his truck during a law enforcement stop, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced Thursday.

He plead guilty in April 2019 to one count of possession of unregistered firearms and a destructive device.

Law enforcement officials found Lopez de Tirado asleep and apparently intoxicated in the passenger seat of a pickup truck that was parked with its door open, blocking a Norco driveway, on Dec. 21, 2018.

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Two Council Members Enter Runoff For 5th District seat on the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors

05 Mar 2020 10 Comments

by rialto-now in #CA31st, and the unincorporated communities of Bloomington and Muscoy, Ca, City of Rialto, Colton, Congressman Pete Aguilar, Currupt, Ed Scott, Fontana, Grand Terrace, Jesse Armendarez, Joe Baca Jr, Rafael Trujillo, Rialto, San Bernardino

Rialto Councilman Joe Baca Jr and Fontana Councilman Jesse Armendarez have finished in the top two spots in the Election to replace termed out Supervisor Josie Gonzalez. In the presidential primary election on March 3, Baca Jr. received 12,442 votes (39.38 percent of the total) and Armendarez gained 8,624 votes (27.30 percent), according to final unofficial results released by the San Bernardino County Registrar of Voters Office.

This election had four people running for the newly open seat. Business Owner Nadia Renner & Colton School Board Member Dan Flores both finished at the bottom of the race. Since nobody obtained more than 50% of the total vote the top two vote getters will be in a runoff in the November Presidential Election. One interesting portion of this race was how people decided how and when to enter the race.

Dan Flores more than just a School Board Member for the Colton Joint School District he was Supervisor Josie Gonzalez Chief of Staff. Dan Flores was seen as the heir to the throne when it came to the 5th Supervisors Seat. Dan spent the longest building his campaign and seemed to have support from many areas across the district, that was until the filling period loomed in the distance. Councilman Joe Baca Jr has been seeking an exit to teaching and being a Council Member on the Rialto City Council and it seems he found his out. Even though Rialto seems to be booming with economic activity, there are a lot of looming issues that the current council has been ignoring or kicking down the road. Councilman Jesse Armendez is an entirely different situation because he only got into local politics to be a paid puppet for Fontana Mayor Aquenetta Warren. Fontana Mayor Warren has spent the last six years buying elections and putting people on boards so she can feed contracts to her donors and control elected bodies.

Most people we spoke to thought both Councilmen were grasping at straws entering this race. Joe Baca Sr has done much damage to the Baca dynasty name and Joe Baca Jr seems like a vanilla local elected official looking for new power and a bigger paycheck. Jesse Armendarez looked even worse, with very little elected experience and little to no name recognition outside of the Fontana political structure. Yet both Councilmen used some divisive tactics to overcome the other two running for Supervisor to. Joe Baca Jr used his ability to fund raise from local and regional Democrats as well as using his name recognition to overcome his opponents. Jesse Armendez tactics were business as usual for an Aquentta Warren Campaign. Using the force behind the Inland Empire Business Alliance coupled with some lies in the campaign Jesse finished in the top two.

Jesse Armendez worked to lure in Democrats that were undecided between the two Democrats in the race coupled with his lack of name recognition by putting out different mailers. If you were registered Democrat you got a flyer that said Jesse was a Democrat, Republicans got a mailer labeling him as a Republican. Jesse’s PAC’s also spent money sending out lies in mailers that Dan Flores a long time Democrat was a Trump Republican. Donald Trump should make sure he creates space between himself and Mayor Warren since she seems quick to use Trump hate to derail campaigns. This Campaign came down to Moderate Democrats vrs Progressive Democrats. Political power houses like Congress Woman Norma Torres and Congress Man Pete Aguilar supported Dan Flores.

After the election turmoil remains high for West Valley Water

19 Feb 2020 Leave a comment

After the dust settled after the most recent West Valley Water Board elections the turmoil has yet to settle. Many were surprised to see the current board that was left virtually in tact except for the election of new comer Channing Hawkins and that this board relinquished the seat of President to the newly elected Board Member Hawkins. So have said that this seems to be a trap to set Board Member Hawkins up to fail. We have reached out multiple times to speak with Board President Hawkins about this but have failed to speak to him.

West Valley Water District board member Channing Hawkins reaches after being voted in as President of the West Valley Water District, during a board meeting in Rialto, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2019. (Photo by John Valenzuela, Contributing Photographer)

Whatever the case Board Member Hawkins is the dully chosen Board President and seems to be on a course to make changes within the structure of the Water District. The most notable change is the live streaming of board meetings via Facebook Live and then posting a video recording to the Water Districts newly created YouTube channel. The recent implementation of these two sources have removed a large barrier between the Water Board and the Rate Payers as many people work long hours and have family obligations that make it difficult to show up to regular meetings let alone all the special meeting West Valley has had lately. Now rate payers can remain informed on what is going on without having to disrupt their already busy lives.

About the time that Board President Hawkins took the position of Board President many of the Water District Managers took that opportunity to deliver a letter of no confidence in West Valley Water GM Clarence Mansfield. The letter from the West Valley Managers demanded that he be fired because of poor leadership and alleged cronyism. This letter was put out suspiciously close to a SCNG investigation into a laundry list of problems since Mansfield was hired, they also pointed out his salary of $225k dollars as well.

As someone that has been covering this Water District long before the Southern California News Group. There have been problems for 6 to 8 years with West Valley Water Board where former Board President but still a current Board Member has been running the Water District into the ground and has been using questionable hiring practices since he sat on the Water Board. Another thing is I know Mr Mansfield and I haven’t spoken to him recently I can tell you he has learned the hard way to try and get his job done without running directly afoul of the elected people over him. He was railroaded at LA DWP years ago when questioned certain internal practices, then was made the scapegoat for the laundry list of failures in the sale of the City of Rialto’s Water and Waste Water to Veollia where he was the first GM to tackle that project. Now he is the GM for a Water District that was upside down in questionable behavior for years before he got there.

Board President Hawkins seems genuine in his interest to be transparent holding Facebook Lives to go over the agenda with constituents prior to meetings and there doesn’t appear to be any visible bias in the decisions he has led the district to make. Quite the opposite the oldest and most long standing Board Members have openly attacked Board President Hawkins for some of the preliminary moves he has taken.

Only time will tell what these changes will bring about and what if anything will change with the General Manager job for this struggling water agency.

Click here to read about Martin Piñon as Interim Human Resources and Risk Manager

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Will Socialism Save Rialto?

17 Feb 2020 4 Comments

by rialto-now in #CA31st, 100 Black Men, AFL-CIO, Ana Gonzales, and the unincorporated communities of Bloomington and Muscoy, Assembly Woman Eloise Reyes, Ca, Colton, Congressman Pete Aguilar, Fontana, Grand Terrace, Josef (Joe) Britt, Rafael Trujillo, Rialto, San Bernardino, youth

Many of your local, state and federal leaders are leading the charge to throw the Rialto region into the arms of socialist leaders. Leading the charge is 47th Assembly District Woman Eloise Reyes. Eloise and her team of mini socialists are flooding the district pleading with young people to push the socialism king Bernie Sanders into the presidential race. Bernie Sanders is trying to sell his dream of fairness and equality with Free Education and Medicare for all to the masses.

The Washington Examiner posted and article about the woes of Medicare for all in Canada. The Canadian system is what Bernie Sanders has in mind for the United States Medicare for all. In the Canadian system people can not pay to have private insurance that would provide them quicker access to specialists and procedures. This is what Bernie Sanders plan has in mind for Americans as well.

In the Washington Examiner article “as a result, everyone must wait their turn for care paid for by the public system. Last year, Canadians faced a median wait of nearly 21 weeks to receive specialist treatment after getting referred by a general practitioner. Certain procedures come with longer waits. End-to-end, patients waited a median of 39 weeks for orthopedic surgery in 2019.”

Everyone remembers the train wreck Obama Care created with overcrowded hospitals and waiting rooms, a California website that took years to get off the ground and a lie of if you like your doctor and your plan you can keep them. After watching that hot mess of a health care fiasco Millennials claim to be craving more inept government control led by our failing leaders.

Former Officer Glen Anderson Gets Case Heard On Appeal

24 Nov 2019 1 Comment

by rialto-now in #CA31st, and the unincorporated communities of Bloomington and Muscoy, Andy Carrizales, Burglury, Ca, city attorney, City of Rialto, Colton, Crime, Currupt, Deborah Robertson, Ed palmer, Ed Scott, Fontana, Freinds of Rialto K9, Friends of Rialto K9, Grand Terrace, Inland Empire, Joe Baca Jr, Mike Story, Paul Stella, Public Safety, Rafael Trujillo, Rialto, Rialto, Rialto Parks, Rialto Police Department, rialto unified school district, San Bernardino

On November 6th former officer Glen Anderson took his lawsuit over wrongful termination to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Officer Glen Anderson’s case was dismissed on summary judgement and his legal team is seeking an appeal of that ruling to send his case before a jury.

Officer Anderson’s attorney does his best to nail down that the career of Officer Anderson was ended because the text he sent to James Freeman was then forwarded to Councilman Ed Scott. He works to show that all of the other cases leveled at Officer Anderson were because they could not legally fire Officer Anderson over the text messages alone.

The attorney for the City of Rialto claim that the claim that Officer Anderson was fired over a text message was false. The attorney for the city of Rialto states that nobody fired officer Anderson over Free Speech issues.

The text in question was sent to Political Consultant James Freeman who then in error sent that text message to Councilman Ed Scott. Once Councilman Ed Scott found out that Officer Glen Anderson was texting out the council he became irate. When speaking to Councilman O’Connell and former Councilman Ed Palmer at the time of the investigations there was a clear message that Officer Anderson needed to be dealt with over that text message.

We found the words of the Attorney for the city of Rialto puzzling because he claims that neither the Chief or Mike Story the City Manager had any knowledge of the K9 yard or its construction. The K9 yard was well known throughout the department and the community. The only way Chief Farrar or Deanda could claim not knowing about the K9 yard would be because they are lying or ignorant! City Administrator Mike Story sent years back where the K9 yard used to be located as he was on a mission to build Councilman Joe Baca Jr the 2nd most expensive park in the city Bud Bender park.

No matter if the 9th circuit allows this case go to a jury the people of Rialto should question the leadership of city hall and of the police department. Even no the current leadership of the police department allow people who broke more rules and laws continue to work and hold high ranking jobs within the Rialto Police Department still. The only difference between Glen Anderson and other officers is that the other officers protect Ed Scott and don’t hold him accountable. Remember this all started with a text message sent to Councilman Ed Scott!