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

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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Comic Con Comes to the Inland Empire

 

For tickets to the Ontario event go to http://vor.us/99c4c

COMIC CON REVOLUTION COMES TO

THE ONTARIO CONVENTION CENTER

 

Ontario and the Inland Empire Get Their Very Own Comic Con at

The Ontario Convention Center in Ontario California Saturday May 13, 2017

 

Ontario, California March 8, 2017 – The Ontario Convention Center located at 2000 E Convention Center Way, Ontario, California will be the home of Comic Con Revolution.  The Inaugural 1-day event at the Ontario Convention Center will be held on Saturday, May 13, 2017.  The show brings Heroes, Villains, Princesses, Pirates, Aliens and so much more to the Inland Empire.

Comic Con Revolution is an event for long time comic collectors as well as first timers and families who want to experience the excitement.  Hardcore fans will recognize many of the names on the guest list while families and first time comic convention attendees will quickly see what makes these events so much fun.

Attending comic cons can be expensive – we want to make it affordable.  Comic Con Revolution offers a variety of pricing options so that the entire family can enjoy the experience.  Adult tickets are $25, teen tickets (13-17 years-old) are $15 and kids 12 and under are free with the purchase of an adult ticket.  One adult ticket allows for up to two free children’s ticket.

For tickets to the Ontario event go to http://vor.us/99c4c

“We are very excited to bring an authentic comic con experience to the City of Ontario and the Inland Empire community as a whole,“ said Atomic Crush Events co-founder Mike Scigliano.  He added, “The team behind Comic Con Revolution is working overtime to bring you an amazing experience.  Come join the revolution!”

“We are thrilled to welcome Atomic Crush Events to the Ontario Convention Center” said Michael Krouse, President and CEO, of Ontario Convention Center.   “Finally our very own Comic Con!  We know visitors to this event will be in for a treat with the planned program, exhibitors, and camaraderie of fellow collectors.”

Comic Con Revolution, a family friendly environment, will feature a full day of programming and events which includes panels featuring screenwriter Doug Jung who wrote the scripts for movies including Star Trek Beyond.  Other panels include creating comics, creator & comic spotlights, cosplay panels, kid’s panels, and capped off with a Cosplay Contest.  Our show floor will feature exhibitors & vendors who sell movie memorabilia, toys, t-shirts as well as full guest list of top industry talent.

For tickets to the Ontario event go to http://vor.us/99c4c

Guests currently scheduled to appear include Karl Altstaetter (Mirror), Tim Bradstreet (Marvel Comics Covers), Sandy King Carpenter (Producer Ghosts of Mars, Vampires), Matthew Clark (Injustice: Ground Zero), Mike Collins (ABC’s of Halloween), Neo Edmund (Clan of the Vein), Joshua Hale Fialkov (The Life After), Derek Fridolfs (Li’l Gothams), Joel Gomez (La Muerta), Steven Gordon (X-Men Evolution Animated Series), Travis Hanson (Life of the Party), Ray-Anthony Height (Midnight Tiger), Doug Jung (Screenwriter Star Trek Beyond, God Particle, Scalped), Scott Koblish (Deadpool), Mike Kunkel (Herobear), Hope Larson (Batgirl), Livesay (Dr. Strange), Scott Lobdell (Red Hood & the Outlaws), Pamela Lovas (Regular Show), Raychul Moore (Cosplayer & Gamer), Todd Nauck (Spider-Man), Whilce Portacio (Comic Legend), Livio Ramondelli (Transformers), Paolo Rivera (Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.: 1953), Patrick Scullin (Super Siblings), Beth Sotelo (Grump), Cat Staggs (Wonder Woman), Art Thibert (Superman), Gus Vazquez (Big Hero Six),  Vivid Vidka (Cosplayer), Dave Wagner (Dot Problems) and Tommy Walker (Actor on Netflix’s Daredevil) .  Additional announcements will be made as guests continue to confirm and support the show.

For tickets to the Ontario event go to http://vor.us/99c4c

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Rialto High Cheer Squad Hold 1st Place As State Champions Two Years In A Row

Photo provided by Rialto High ASB

Photo provided by Rialto High ASB

Varsity cheer placed first at the CheerPros State Championships on January 29th at Citizen’s Bank Arena. Back to back titles. Their next stop will be USA Nationals on March 25th to defend their national title.

What do you get when your student is a Cheerleader from Rialto? Back to Back State Champions that’s what!!!!!!! Both Junior Varsity and Varsity cheer squads will be moving on to the National Championship.

Congratulations to both our varsity and junior varsity competition teams. They will both be heading to nationals in March!

Congratulations to both our varsity and junior varsity competition teams. They will both be heading to nationals in March!

Once again the dedicated cheer team at Rialto High School took the California State Championship and came out on top earning a 1st place finish.

Now our powerful girls head off to Nationals to defend their National Championship in March.

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

mayor-hates-trump

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

wp-1483861809617.jpg

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
twitter.com/MayorDRobertson
Mayor Pro Tem Joe Baca Jr.
twitter.com/JoeBacaJr
City Council Member Ed Scott
City Council Member Rafael Trujillo
City Council Member Andy Carrizales
twitter.com/Andy4Rialto

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Councilman Rafael Trujillo Holds Secret Meeting To Make Rialto a Sanctuary City

rialto-front

On a rainy day in the Inland Empire most people were cleaning out from the Christmas rush and finishing out a last day of work before 2016 ends and 2017 began. One of Rialto’s newest council members was formulating a plan to break federal law and put Rialto’s ability to obtain Federal Funding in serious jeopardy.

In Rialto voters chose two candidates to replace the two seats left vacant by one councilman’s untimely death early this summer and another choosing to run (unsuccessfully) for Rialto’s Mayor. One of those choices (Rafael Trujillo) has spent his young lifetime working as an aide to State and Federal leaders who would routinely select the audience they choose to speak to and keep their conversational statements from public view. He also has a history of filling elected spots others vacated early and pretending to be the champion of the people.

rafael-trujillo-exposed

Some seemed confused about what a sanctuary city is like Victorville City Councilwoman Blanca Gomez (yes all the way from victorville) So we thought we would share the definition:

A sanctuary city is a city in the United States or Canada that has adopted a policy of protecting undocumented immigrants by not prosecuting them solely for violating federal immigration laws in the country in which they are now living illegally. … The designation has no precise legal meaning.

President elect Donald Trump has said that being a Sanctuary City is the quickest way to loose federal funding.

Well Mr. Trujillo was tested by fire and he seemed to crumble under the weight of his plans for Rialto when the opposition came out to challenge him. Rafael Trujillo had planned to hold a private meeting with Maribel Nunez and organizations like TODEC & LULAC. None of these groups have offices located in San Bernardino County let alone Rialto and Mrs Nunez is the Executive Director at California Partnership an LA. This is important because Rafael Trujillo claimed that those who showed up for his Sanctuary City meeting were not qualified to attend because he was only listening to constituents. These groups represent only the needs of people living in this country illegally outside of California Partnership who also helps low income residents but each are large parts of the push to ignore US immigration laws. Actually the only person we could verify that was a Rialto resident was former City Clerk Candidate Ana Gonzalez everyone else was not a verified Rialto resident.

Other People who Rafael Trujillo wanted to hear from were Emilio Garcia a professional activist currently lending his voice to boycotting Driscols Berry Farms over immigrant berry pickers rights to be paid more than most other people even EMT’s working for AMR Private Ambulance Service.

Rafael Trujillo seemed really worried about the cameras because he said the meeting would only resume when the cameras went away little did we know that Rafael Trujillo invited a reporter formerly with the Fontana Herald and now with the Hispanic Publican Unidos en el Sur de California to cover (See image below)

alejandro-cano-post

The image above says it all that Alejandro Cano was there to write a puff piece on Rafael Trujillo’s plans to sneak this idea on Rialto residents. Now Rafael Trujillo was asked a question that I thought was interesting. Is his boss Norma Torres behind this effort?

Well here is where you connect the dots. Rafael who has never had a thought that was his own works for Norma Torres and Rafael invited Alejandro Cano to cover this action. Now all we need to do is connect the three Sanctuary Cities, Alejandro Cano, Rafael Trujillo and Norma Torres hmmmm.

alejandro-and-norma

Yes Alejandro Cano seems to work very closely to both Norma Torres and Rafael Trujillo. So close in fact that he wrote this article of Norma Torres swearing in her son who was recently elected into the Pomona City Council. At this meeting Norma Torres was quoted as saying “On the issue of immigration and the political ideas of President-elect Donald Trump, Torres said that now more than ever the Council must support local, state and federal authorities in their readiness to confront Trump’s radical policies“. So it begs to question was Arthur Schaper (the person who shot this video) onto something or is Rafael Trujillo taking liberties with his employment in the Congressional office of Norma Torres?

The end result was the meeting was shut down and the actions were halted for now. Rialto residents that don’t support Sanctuary City for Rialto include Councilman Ed Scott and Councilman Joe Baca Jr. Other vital members of the Rialto community that are opposed are Ed Palmer, Ray Farmer and other residents that were in the crowd of anti Sanctuary City Protesters.

Ray Farmer “If this is true we are drifting into dangerous waters, I want to know more about this and who is involved, as a long time Rialto residence , I am very concerned,!

To view all the video on this event go to the following alternative media sources:

Arthur Schaper – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3axGiyZUvqdDwSibAxACxw

We the People Rising – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC51_X0HFgp1AKG71u8Tu59w

Gindall 61 – https://www.youtube.com/user/grindall61

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Local Elected Officials Want To Increase Their Own Pay While Residents Are Busy Planning For Thanksgiving

mad-3-want-money

Well the corruption that comes along with electing the wrong people normally comes after the new people are sworn in but not in Rialto apperently and not with this rag tag crew of Council Members and Mayor. On Tab 5 of the Rialto City Council agenda for the November 22nd meeting city council members will be giving themselves a raise of $713.11. Currently Our city council makes $918 a month plus medical, dental and vision benefits will be making $1,631.11 the Mayor is by the ordance required to make 150% more than city council so Mayor Robertson will be giving herself a raise from $1,377 to $2,446.66 and increase of $1,069.66 who also gets medical, dental and vision benefits.

The language that gives them this power is listed on the cit council agenda and pasted below:

WHEREAS, the Rialto Municipal Code at Sections 2.12.030 provides that the Mayor receives compensation based on one-hundred fifty percent of the compensation paid to the council members;

The Rialto Municipal Code, at Section 2.12.040, entitled “Council Members,” shall be amended in its entirety to read as follows, with the revised language displayed in redline format: “Under the California Government Code Section 36516(c), each member of the city council (including the Mayor) shall receive compensation in the amount of one thousand six hundred thirty-one dollars and eleven cents ($1,631.11) per month.”

We spoke to City Administrator Mike Story and he cleared up a lot of things for us:

  1. The City Administrator asks City Council at every regular election cycle if the elected body would like to add a pay increase for city council to the agenda, every 2 years.
  2. Last time this was done was 2008 and according to Mr. Story the increase was approved.
  3. Mayor Robertson, Ed Scott & Joe Baca Jr. all approved of having the pay increase on tonight’s agenda.
  4. The decision must be made tonight the incoming council members CANNOT vote on the pay increase.

We talked to a few people about this raise and they were not at all happy about it:

“The city dumps us into a bad water deal, leaves us with torn up streets and taxes us on our trash but they want raises no way” Amber

“Until we give our employees an increase in pay we should not even be thinking about council raises” Councilman Ed Palmer

“We don’t have money for K9 training, we backed out of the Regional Helicopter Program and cut our hiring more public works people but we have money for Council raises?” Javier

“I never looked at what the compensation for city council was the pay wasn’t my motivation for running. I don’t think that city council pay should be increased and if I was allowed to vote on this item I would vote no.” Andy Carrizales Councilman Elect

“We should have a county measure to restrict cities in our counties from raising their pay arbitrary.” Matthew

One thing that everyone wondered was why would Rafael Trujillo leave a higher paying position as a Water Board Director with West Valley Water? Now we know it’s because he will be walking into a massive pay increase which he was aware of since he is highly tied to Mayor Robertson, Council Member Ed Scott and Council Member Joe Baca Jr.

Join your fellow community members in telling the Mayor that there will be no raises until some promises are filled https://www.facebook.com/events/907011846096289/

 

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Pete Aguilar and Rafael Trujillo Run A Robo Call From City Hall Phone Lines

An image that was found on the page Rialto Watch Dogs shows an empty seat https://www.facebook.com/rialtowd/?fref=ts

An image that was found on the page Rialto Watch Dogs shows an empty seat https://www.facebook.com/rialtowd/?fref=ts

Today word went out that Robo Calls from the number 820-2525 went out from Congressman Pete Aguilar telling Rialto Voters to vote for Rafael Trujillo for Rialto City Council. Nothing surprises us anymore the level of corruption that Mayor Robertson allows to go on at City Hall. She had ticket sales going on at city hall for the Jazz Fest that claimed a $90,000 loss to Rialto General Fund and the missuse of city accounts costing the Rialto General Fund $10,000.

Congressman Pete Aguilar is not new to playing games and not playing by the rules, his campaign has gotten so bad that signs have sprouted up this year refering to Pete as a AguLIAR. Pete Aguilar’s campaign has been at the heart of many police reports on claims of stealing or destroying Paul Chabot’s campaign signs.

deafeat-aguilar

Rafael Trujillo may think he needs all the help he can get since he has ran for many offices and NEVER won. He tried to bully his way into a city council seat when Mayor Robertson vacated her seat and was appointed to the West Valley Water Board only to once again loose in the election. He was recently re-appointed this summer and now he is ready to jump ship for a chance at City Council.

 

Think of this photo and the one above as you look to either man for leadership. Both care more for their special interest ties than they do the people.

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Is Rialto City Council Lying to Residents?

We have been told by staff and city council that the truck traffic that is soon to increase once the newly built warehouses are filled will not impact residents and that measures have been put into place to push traffic towards Laurel Ave and not Ayala where the area is more dense with family homes. The result so far with just a few of the newly built warehouses in place is that the truck traffic is engulfing the Ayala & Baseline intersection and tucks are making the area very dangerous because they seem unable to obey the traffic signals or fit into the poorly designed separation medians that only allow for three cars maximum to turn left on Ayala let alone massive Big Rig Trucks.

Well after a recent community outreach meeting where residents were asked to show up and voice their concern about the Retail project that is finally kicking off the topic wasn’t the new shopping center it was the damage that the increased truck traffic was causing. Due to the widening of Ayala the grass trees and bushes at the top end of Cedar were removed. This with the increase in truck traffic has residents unable to open their windows for fresh air and some residents are forced to wash down their homes exterior walls due to all the soot and road dust that now rains down over family homes.

Staff did state that the once empty land has always been zoned for commercial warehouse use. It seems that our airport was the only thing keeping people from having harmful, toxic pollutants rain down over their homes.

Staff, Councilman Ed Scott and Mayor Deborah Robertson have all said that the trucks will be diverted away from RIALTO homes. In this first video you will see that is not the case. Not one sign or road median does anything to stop trucks from heading towards heavily populated areas.

In this video you will see another view of a diffrent area of warehouses in the old airport area where truck traffic is allowed to go wherever they wish.

What this proves is that we need leaders that want to hear from the people BEFORE they drop massive development on single family communities.

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Rialto Fireworks and Hometown Carnival

Over a thousand people came out to celebrate the 4th of July holiday at Jerry Eaves park in the city of Rialto. The Hometown Carnival featured live music, food vendors, carnival games and lots of open space to play in and set up your family’s spot to watch the 40 minute professional firework show that the city of Rialto advertised.

Our staff arrived at the park about 5:30 pm and there was already a good number of people at the park and having fun. Talking to Janet Story a Rialto resident she was really excited with the event and the turnout.

The food opportunities included:

  1. A new Gourmet Food Food truck named Delux that is Rialto based!!!!!!!!! rialto delux
  2. Kona Ice truck. rialto kona ice
  3. Roasted Corn, Chilli Cheese Fries and Roasted Peanuts.

The food Lines were long most of the event. There were games for the kids and some were free and some came at a cost. The cool part was that the pony rides were free but that led to long lines all night long. If there was one constant it was that the lines were constantly long.

There were also Watermellon and Hot Dog eating contests for young and old and true to years past they were MC’d by Mayor Pro Tem Baca Jr. As Joe Baca Jr asked the kids where they were from it was very interesting to see that this event had not only pulled people from Rialto but from sourounding cities as well. We asked Stacey who said she was from South Fontana why she chose to come to Rialto’s event verses going to the one in Fontana and she said “that with her family in town she couldn’t afford the cost of tickets for each person, Rialto made it possible for her whole family to join the event together”. Travis from San Bernardino said “my city gets more dangerous every day, I cant afford to celebrate the 4th of July in my hometown we needed a safe place to celebrate and now Rialto is that place”. Travis was right the Rialto event was as safe as any mass event could be. There were plenty of police present at the event from sworn officers on foot, bicycle and in patrol cars then there were Volunteer Police officers as well as uniformed explorers out making sure everyone had a safe time.

This is one of the many events our city sponsors that our volunteers are part of. We are always looking for new, qualified and enthusiastic volunteers who would like to join the Rialto Police Department

This is one of the many events our city sponsors that our volunteers are part of. We are always looking for new, qualified and enthusiastic volunteers who would like to join the Rialto Police Department

Councilman O’Connell was a topic of conversation as well because these events were part of his time on the council. He worked hard to bring the community events like this to the citizens and many staff members were happy to work on the holiday even though it meant that they would be loosing time with their friends and loved ones because “Councilman O’Connell would want us to do our best”!!!!!!!!! Many of the staff that we spoke to said that they were touched by his community mindset at the recent Grand Opening of the Bud Bender Park.

There were only two elected officials that decided to celebrate with the community they asked to serve.

Joe Baca Jr. was there once again to MC the eating contests which is always a highlight because he knows how to get the crowd going:

rialto 4th eating contest baca

The other elected official that was in attendance with the great community of Rialto was the honorable councilman Ed Palmer with his family:

rialto ed fam

This event was a great event and the central location really brought the north and south ends of the city together. Even though this was a great event it wasn’t without it’s mishaps:

  • The City Expected a smaller crowd – it was clear from the begining that the city misjudged the popularity of this years event.
  • Parking – even though Jerry Eaves park has a large parking lot one of the biggest in the city there was far from enough room to accomidate the thousands of people that attended the event. No overflow parking was thought of and people took it upon themselves to make their own parking spot in dirt feilds or even as far away as Baseline or Easton.
  • Communication – there was zero communication on the cost of games or food at the event which led to a lot of confusion.

rialto police 4th

All in all the event was a great way for everyone young and old, rich and poor and blue collar and white collar to come together and celebrate our nation and the community we all live in.

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Niagara Bottling Holds Super Secret Grand Opening Of Rialto Factory

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When a major business or development opens up in any city the business wants the community to know. Well apparently not if your  Niagara Water the flagship warehouse the future tax generator for the city of Ontario had a Grand Opening today and blocked access by normal everyday people like the ones that but their product.

Nothing seemed to odd about this grand opening until we reached the inside of the doors. The only people allowed in were the IMPORTANT people. You know these people its Mayor Deborah Robertson and Ed Scott and the staff members from local Congressional and Assembly offices the IMPORTANT people. We found it odd that we made it through the door only to have Mayor Robertson send a Niagara Water employee out to send us packing. Only makes sense that Mayor Robertson would be controlling who had access to this grand opening since she is a large part of the reason we have been flooded with massive warehouses, increased truck traffic and nothing but back breaking labor jobs for Rialto youth.

You may be asking yourself why would a warehouse in Rialto be sending tax money to Ontario? Ontario has been in this warehouse game for so long that they anticipated when they would be out of room for new warehouses so they began to structure deals that tied companies new endevors into the Ontario tax base. So our lovely Mayor in all her ill advised glory welcomed three new warehouses into Rialto and we will get ZERO tax dollars for years to come. That means all of the additional costs that come with these warehouses are ours to bare without any help from tax revenue. According to the cities website tax dollars are a big deal to the viability of the city:

Sales tax is one of the largest revenues for the City of Rialto. However, the City only receives a small portion of the total amount paid in Sales Tax. Only $.10 of every dollar spent in sales tax in the City of Rialto actually goes directly to the City of Rialto. Another small percentage goes to the City through the Measure I program. Please see the following breakdown of your total sales tax dollars.

Is Mayor Robertson your Mayor the the warehouses Mayor?

Is Mayor Robertson your Mayor the the warehouses Mayor?

So if tax money is so important to the city and we see so little of every dollar spent here why would the city welcome in businesses that have tax arrangements with other cities? Many believe it has to do with the massive amount of money the warehouse industry has given to council member Scott, Mayor Pro Tem Baca and Mayor Robertson.

The Mayor is aligning herself with a company that pumps your tap water and then puts it into bottles and then sells it back to you. This business technique reminds me of the popular movie The Lorax where multiple characters show zero regard for the environment and only care about profits.

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