So as promised by former Councilman Shawn O’Connell and current Councilman Ed Palmer along with Rialto Police & Fire the enforcement of illegal fireworks has continued to improve in an effort to make 4th of July Safe & Fun for everyone.
Above is a photo from the Rialto Fire Facebook page with these words:
“Attention Rialto residents! Yard signs available. Come and get a sign for your yard to help support our “Illegal Firework- Free Zone”. Signs are available at Rialto Fire Station 201 (131 S Willow Ave) As a reminder: Fireworks that are not purchased from a licensed firework stand are illegal. Property owners will be issued a citation in the amount of $1000 if illegal fireworks are discharged on your property.”
Well last night we found out via Rialto Fire Chief Matt Fratus that this year along with improved dispatching of fire units using Rialto Police Dispatch the Fire Department is now adding a drone to identify where illegal fireworks are being used.
At about 4:35 on Thursday June 23rd a man ridding a mountain bike appeared to be hit by a late model black two door car. The driver did stop and was assisted by a parking officer on scene. Very quickly a SCAT unit arrived on scene to assist the victim.
As many of you may know the City of Rialto lost one of the biggest advocates for the community on Sunday. Normally we would be all over stories like this but because of our relationship with Councilman O’Connell we were in mourning and took a slight step back to digest what had happened. The last time I saw Councilman O’Connell he had just left Taste of Rialto and was on his way to talk to some old friends. He told me see you Saturday but sadly that would be the last time I would see our beloved brother, friend and councilman.
Councilman O’Connell invited me and my wife to sit at his table for the Friends of the Rialto Library Dinner Mystery fundraiser One Bullet One Silver Spoon. Councilman O’Connell never made that event and those of us at his table grew concerned as the evening went on. As his friends we all made attempts to locate our friend and still we were unable to locate him it was late in the night so we decided to contact the police in the AM and continue our search. As you can see from the message from the city the next day we heard what nobody wanted to believe:
Council Member Shawn O’Connell was found deceased in his vehicle Sunday morning at 11:34 am. He was found in the parking lot of a restaurant in the City of Loma Linda. He was found by Rialto Police Officers who were on their way to Loma Linda University Hospital to check on his whereabouts. The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department and Coroner responded to the location and are conducting a death investigation.
John M. Blodgett with the San Bernardino Sun wrote the best article outside of the Radio Show Let’s Talk Community audio tribute to the late councilman. Mr. Blodgett said he didn’t know Councilman O’Connell but his colleagues did and would write a follow up story. Well John you did better than the follow up article and we would like to thank you.
Councilman O’Connell was a beacon of light and had the communities respect from the moment he hit the ground in Rialto. Shawn O’Connell wanted to work in Law Enforcement but had a hard time getting his foot in the door. He didn’t allow this to stop him he put himself through the Police Academy while working part-time as a Loss Prevention officer for a local National Retail chain. He used to remark on the skills he learned getting people to cough up stolen goods and admit to what they had done would prove beneficial to him as he worked as an officer for Rialto Police Department. Shawn O’Connell gave of his time, money and reputation to further many, many causes in the local region. Each time he made a donation or helped a cause he only had one stipulation that his name be left out of it, he NEVER wanted to have his name attached to his ability to help he just wanted to be able to help.
Councilman O’Connell is the only elected official to lay out a platform of what he would do as a city councilman and complete everything within his 1st term. Councilman O’Connell was comfortable walking away from the job of being an elected official after one term because he believed that the framers of this country never envisioned that elected persons should make a career out of elected service. He only recently promised that he would serve one more term to make sure that:
The money that is being collected via Measure U (higher fees on South Rialto tank farms) would be spent wisely.
That council kept its promise to reduce the Utility Users Tax once the money was available as promised to voters.
That someone else would step up and run for his seat when his 2nd term was up in 2020.
Shawn O’Connell also looked at himself as being lucky. He felt lucky because he had a few great friends and PD brothers that helped him through his injury and change in lifestyle. He was able to do everything he did after his accident because others took the time to be there when he needed it most. So since Shawn O’Connell considered himself lucky to have such strong support from family and friends he used his experience to help other people struggling with life’s medical mishaps. What is funny is he just didn’t help the person going through the tough spot he also helped their family members. He would call family members that had a loved one going through a rough patch in life and check in on them, Shawn was always the first person to visit a friend or community member in the hospital or when they got home and he always came bearing In & Out! Yes story after story other than Shawn’s dedication to visiting and helping he also knew a good burger or shake could help take your mind off of the pain your under now.
We ran a poll to see who the people of Rialto thought was the most influential person in Rialto for 2015 Shawn came in a close 2nd to a equally great man and police chief Tony Farrar. We had almost 30 people that the community was considering as the most influential person in Rialto in 2015 and Shawn still rose to the top. Shawn was flattered but never wanted such a recognition he would have preferred to have remained behind the scenes.
We want to know your stories. How did Shawn’s life effect you? What did Shawn show you that made an impact in your life? Tell us in the comments below.
This weekend is going to be like every other weekend this summer in the Inland Empire full of fun.
The fun were showing off in this post is the 23rd Annual Run Whatcha Brung Car Show & Cruise Night. This car show is the annual kick off to the summer car shows here in Southern California as well as one of the only shows that opens up registration to anyone who wants to show off their ride. Normally cars are limited to sports cars or classic cars but the Rialto Rotary club wanted something that was cool, unique and allowed everyone to enjoy the weekend the way they wanted to.
Years past the Friday night before the car show were held at the Rialto Airport where the cars would park cruise and take part in contests like burn out and open header. The Friday night event got everyone ready for an awesome day in Downtown Rialto for the Show & Shine on Saturday.
Well insurance costs and the cities decision to close the Airport killed off the Friday Night event. In an effort to bring back the fun of Friday Night activities and to showcase Route 66 that cuts right through the heart of town city Administrator Mike Story and the Rotary Club came up with the idea of a Cruise Night on Route 66. A lot of work and resources go into shutting down Foothill Blvd but the task has proved to be well worth the effort with attendance growing each and every year.
Victor who comes from Pomona every year says that “this is what movies show Route 66 used to look like when our parents used to cruise the local streets on weekend nights”
What else is awesome is local businesses like Coffee Nutz/Cone Creamery, Brothers Pizza, KFC and Baskin Robins capitalize on the boom in people walking up and down the street in Rialto on a warm summer night and bring out speakers and fun for all ages. One of the businesses that has looked to create a safe yet fun place for local teens Coffee Nutz brought out an import night last year working with Inland Empire Youth 4 today. This year the owner of the coffe/ice cream shop is teaming up with local hip hop icon and graffiti artist Wet Paint Larry who is popular for his Sloppy Parlor apparel and positive modeling of how to be Rialto Proud for youth in the region.
Another great addition to this years cruise is Lighting McQueen will be making an appearance at Ned’s Hardware at 312 West Foothill
Over the last few months the Inland Empire Taxpayers Association has taken a interest in the race for the 31st Congressional District. They seem to have it out for one candidate Paul Chabot and the attacks now have moved from negative mailers to a robo call that will go out to voters in the 31st Congressional District days before the June 7th primary on Tuesday.
Earlier today Paul Chabot put out a message to supporters:
Friends. A fake anti tax organization supporting my opponent is about to run a negative robo call against our campaign. The fake anti-tax organization is called the Inland Empire Taxpayers Association run by Ross Sevy a District Rep for Assemblymember Obernolte and Chris Mann a Deputy Chief of Staff to San Bernardino County Supervisor Josie Gonzales. They are hired guns who take money and promote slanderous and libel ads. We will hold these individuals legally accountable for what they have already posted on their website. I call upon Jay Obernolte and Josie Gonzales to stop allowing tax payer staff to moonlight running special interest political action committees. The Inland Empire Taxpayers Association has lost all credibility and its very existence reminds voters of rampant political corruption in our region.
They have now taken in over 20K to run an unethical and dishonest campaign of hate and ignorance.
I worked with voters in 2015 to defeat a tax that this same so called anti tax organization actually took money to help promote. We defeated their dishonest campaign by 77 percent in 2015.
Together I will fight corruption in San Bernardino County and in Washington when elected.
Looking at the Inland Empire Taxpayers Association Facebook page it looks like Paul Chabot may be right. Here are just a couple reasons why:
The Inland Empire Taxpayers Association has endorsed and is actively working to pass Measure D in the City of Colton! This is a common-sense measure that will allow the City to maintain service levels without raising taxes or fees. In fact, it guarantees that electric utility rates will not increase for at least 5 years. – What measure D does is allow the city to raid the public utilities fund to cover up the lack of money that exists to provide essential services. Cities that have done this have had to sell off their utility departments and provide less than adequette services due to no extra funds to make much needed repairs and upgrades Colton voters will vote on this come June 7th.
In 2015 the Inland Empire Taxpayers Association supported a tax increase on residents in Rancho Cucamonga that was defeated by 77 percent by the voters.
The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association instructed the Inland Empire Taxpayers Association to remove the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association logo from their site. The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association as you may know is the largest anti tax association that has worked tirelessly to protect California residents from the dangers of eliminating Prop 13 in California (On June 6th, 1978, nearly two-thirds of California’s voters passed Proposition 13, reducing property tax rates on homes, businesses and farms by about 57%.)
Many thing stick out as outright lies from the Inland Empire Taxpayers Association here are the top lies on their attack website on Paul Chabot:
Paul Chabot was a no show on Parole votes – Paul Chabot was there at the votes in question but had not had the time to review the case or be present for the testimony because Paul was serving our country in Iraq so instead of voting without all the information he abstained.
Claiming that Paul Chabot is just chasing another government paycheck – Wrong once again, if Paul Chabot is wrong for running the Freestyle Foundation then so is Mental Health Systems, Reach Out, ICSC and the other organizations that take millions in State and County money to run Drug and Alcohol programs in the local region. Mental Health Systems is paid over 3 million each year to run anti drug coalitions in a hand full of cities in San Bernardino County. The Inland Empire Taxpayers Association claims that Paul Chabot makes over a 100 thousand each year for running anti drug programs but that is the entire budget for Drug Free RC, Inland Valley Drug Free Coalition and Drug Free California.
The Inland Empire Taxpayers Association uses a highly edited video to turn Paul Chabot’s words against him. Paul is asked in a TV interview why Marijuana is still illegal and labeled a schedule 1 narcotic according to the Federal Government. Paul lays asks why we make other things illegal like LSD, Heroin & Child Porn. The Inland Empire Taxpayers Association uses this short clip to insinuate that Paul Chabot is for Child Exploitation???? The problem is medical marijuana has led to a sharp rise in youth access and abuse. Many local Law Enforcement Agencies have seen Marijuana surpass both tobacco and alcohol use in people under the age of 18.
Finally why are employees of the County being allowed to act as hired guns who take money and promote slanderous and libel ads? What happened to the days of making sure the staff of agencies that are there to act on the communities best interest? Are the top staff of Jay Obernolte and Josie Gonzalesspending tax payer time attacking residents running for public office? We can tell you that we did over hear a conversation between Joe Baca and Dan Flores a senior staff member for Josie Gonzales at the City of Rialto Memorial Day event complaining about the Memorial Day event in Bloomington where Paul Chabot just happened to be one of the Military speakers:
It appears that this election cycle will be one of the dirtiest elections in as many years and its not just on the presidential side of things.
We posted a video on our Facebook page about this weekends events. For more info and a deeper look at what is going on here is what we showed off.
It’s HOT this weekend don’t forget about the cooling centers:
Love to garden and your looking for tips, soil and summer landscape workshops go to the Rialto Community Garden:
Summer Reading Program Kick-off Party is this Saturday at 10:00 am. Friends of the Rialto Library will have a face painter give us Superhero mask, sidewalk chalk and popcorn. Come and join us to sign up for a great SRP season. They want you! BRING WATER it is going to be hot!
Latin Concert & Sounds of Rialto Featuring VILMA DIAZ y la SONORA Saturday, June 4th 4:00 – 9:00 pm Free Concert!!!! Rialto City Park
130 E. San Bernardino Ave. For more information call Rialto Community Services at 909-421-4949
Friends of the Library presents: “One Sliver Spoon, One Silver Bullet” June 4, 2016 Rialto Senior Center 1411 S. Riverside Ave. Rialto, CA Doors open at 6:00 pm Tickets:$18 in Advance and $20 at the Door Tickets may be purchased at the Rialto Branch Library at 251 E. First Street, Rialto CA
Don’t forget to vote on Tuesday June 7th for the best person to represent Rialto in Washington D.C. Paul Chabot
We attended the Memorial Day event today at the rialto Cemetery. As we have more video to show off we would like to start off with a post and a message from Congresswoman Norma Torres.
First off we analyzed all of the candidates for this Congressional Seat and from the get go we found incumbent Pete Aguilar not the person that this region needs working for the people in Washington DC. Paul Chabot was the person that opposed Pete Aguilar in the last election 2 years ago. Paul Chabot ran a Grassroots campaign that was heavily out spent by the outsiders of the democrat party that flooded the region with money and a visit from Former President Clinton and Current VP Joe Biden. Even with all that Paul Chabot held on to make it a tough win for Pete Aguilar.
Paul Chabot came to our city of Rialto and held a Coffee event at Coffee Nuttz in Rialto. Democrats came out and asked Paul Chabot some tough questions and he answered them all unlike Pete Aguilar who has made a habit of running from the constituents when the questions get hard.
Paul Chabot has worked tirelessly for the well being of families and children. His organization has come to cities all over the Inland Empire to bring resources and collaborative partnerships to make local cities better for everyone. Why don’t you know about this? Well you see Paul Chabot and his team don’t come in with a massive team of fake people for a single event jump in front of the cameras for that perfect shot. No Paul Chabot works behind the scenes and works alongside people to create a better community for everyone. His team spreads out all over the Inland Empire to make an impact on the lives of people that matter. We need real people in congress that are interested in fixing the problems that the tax payers care about.
When we first heard about Paul Chabot’s plan for a Joint Military Base in San Bernardino we were skeptical. After listening more about his plans and watching crime skyrocket in San Bernardino this year the plan became one of the best ideas that has been brought to the region. Think about it the world is getting more dangerous and the public has become less comfortable with massive troop boots on ground solutions and more special forces and using air technology resources has become the new way to combat the evil that threatens us. Also our staff grew up in this region and the area that used to consist of Norton Air Force Base and Base Housing was a nice safe place to live and shop. Fast forward today it is full of crime, drugs and looks like a dump. The International Airport has been stalled by years due to massive corruption from Airport Board Staff.
Wikipedia entry on the SB Int Airport has this to say about the demise of the Airport:
An audit completed June 2011 at the request of a grand jury investigation found examples of potential mismanagement and financial irregularities.In September 2011, as part of a special joint corruption task force, the FBI raided the offices of the airport and the home of airport developer Scot Spencer to secure internal documents. In late September 2011, Don Rogers, the Director of the SBIA Authority (SBIAA) resigned.The grand jury report questioned a relationship between Rogers and Spencer, including a settlement of a legal claim by companies owned by Spencer against the SBIAA for almost $1 million without ascertaining whether Spencer’s companies suffered damages equivalent to such an amount.
The good ole San Bernardino Sun also reported on this corrupt land of stolen federal money:
More than 80 FBI agents filled a 26-foot U-Haul truck with records – including computers and mobile phones – as part of an investigation into mail and wire fraud, bribery, conspiracy and money laundering, and theft and fraud related to federal funds.
June 7th is the primary and you have these choices: Pete Aguilar, Sean Flynn, Joe Baca, Kaiser Ahmed & Paul Chabot
The top 2 candidates to obtain the most votes will compete in the general election in November we say your vote should be for Paul Chabot.
This election season is going to be one for the record books. Not since President Obama first ran for president have such a large number of people moved to exercise their right to get out and vote for who they think should be our next elected leader.
In this article were looking at the race for the 31st Congressional District. The person currently holding that seat is Pete Aguilar of Redlands. Pete Aguilar is finishing out his first term as a Congressman and has been labeled the as someone who will be one and done by the website 2016donkeys.com the website lists political leaders that have failed to represent the people. The list of people include “Freshmen Graham, Ashford and Californian Pete Aguilar have all been nominated for “The Brad Schneider: For most likely to be one-and-done,” a reference to the one-term Illinois Democrat defeated in 2014″.
Pete Aguilar has done very little to work for the people of the 31st District. He has worked hard to be a rubber stamp for the Democrat establishment that has sold away our safety and freedom without any concern for the consequences. Below are a list of issues voters find important and how Pete Aguilar stood on each issue.
Iran Nucular Deal – Pete Aguilar stood against the will of the people and his district and voted with establishment Democrats and supported the dangerous deal with Iran. Pete Aguilar was quoted in a story in the Press Enterprise saying “There is no such thing as a perfectly negotiated agreement, and the (deal) is no different. However, it is the best diplomatic solution available to the international community and I will vote to support the agreement.”
No Rate Regulation of Broadband Internet Access Act – This act was penned to keep the Obama administration from allowing major internet providers to levy higher fees on people using the internet Pete Aguilar stood against providing affordable internet and with the greedy lobbyists.
1) If an abortion results in the live birth of an infant, the infant is a legal person for all purposes under the laws of the United States, and entitled to all the protections of such laws.
2) Any infant born alive after an abortion or within a hospital, clinic, or other facility has the same claim to the protection of the law that would arise for any newborn, or for any person who comes to a hospital, clinic, or other facility for screening and treatment or otherwise becomes a patient within its care.
Student Success Act – Pete Aguilar voted NO
Resilient Federal Forests Act of 2015 – Pete Aguilar voted NO on the following:
Requires the President to establish the Wildfire Suppression Operations Account in the event of a major disaster for wildfire on federal lands (Title IX, Sec. 902).
Authorizes the President to appropriate funds from the Wildfire Suppression Operations Account to conduct wildfire suppression operations after previous funds have been exhausted (Title IX, Sec. 902).
Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to issue a “categorical exclusion” to certain forest management activities reducing the risk of wildfire, including, but not limited to, the removal of juniper trees, conifer trees, or invasive weeds (Title I, Sec. 106).
Defines “categorical exclusion” as an exception to certain requirements for a project or activity relating to the management of National Forest System lands, including, but not limited to, the following requirements (Sec. 2):
The requirement to report the project’s environmental impact;
The requirement to report the project’s alternatives; and
The requirement to report the project’s irreversible resource commitments.
Requires a plaintiff who challenges a forest management activity to post a bond or other security equal to the anticipated costs of the action estimated by the Secretary of Agriculture (Title III, Sec. 302).
Requires the court to return the bond or security to the plaintiff if the court rules in his or her favor on the action challenging the forest management activity, plus interest from the date the bond was provided (Title III, Sec. 302).
Prohibits a court from issuing a restraining order or preliminary injunction with respect to a decision to conduct a salvage operation or reforestation activity in response to a catastrophic event (Title II, Sec. 203).
Highway and Transportation Funding Act of 2015 – Pete Aguilar voted NO on expanding money for Americas crumbling transportation infrastructure while representing a district that is in dire need of transportation dollars.
Enforce the Law for Sanctuary Cities Act – Pete Aguilar voted NO on protecting Americans from the dangerous illegal aliens that come here not looking for a better life but to make victims out of the citizens of the USA. Sanctuary cities have shown to be a safe haven for criminal illegal aliens that look to further victimize good honest people.
Pete Aguilar has done very little to help the people of the 31st District find solution to the issues they face on a day to day basis. He is very good though at flying his family to member only parties on the white house lawn and flying home to take pictures and receive awards from the many governing boards that only operate to make the communities life harder. Below are a few videos of Pete in action here at home.
Pete Aguilar failed job fair:
Pete Aguilar out at do nothing event while a colleague assaults a person recording
Pete Aguilar talks about the importance of improving our transportation infurstructure in Colton while voting NO on the Highway and Transportation Funding Act of 2015
Ronnie Lott and father Roy Lott hug before reveling the Hall of Famer trophy
On Monday May 9th Ronnie Lott came to Eisenhower High School to present his former High School Eisenhower High with a Hall of Fame plaque. The Pro Football Hall of Fame and Ford Motor Company paid tribute to Ronnie Lott at his high school alma mater on Monday afternoon as part of the Hometown Hall of Famer™ program. An audience of 500 attended the ceremony at Eisenhower High School near Lott’s childhood home. The crowd included students, teachers, the school’s marching band, friends and others.
He also came to motivate and inspire the youth in Rialto to know that they can become anything they want the skys the limit for them. Ronnie Lott who mastered life in school, sports and now in the world of business is proof that you can come from a city like Rialto and still do big things in life.
The event was kicked off by the National Anthem preformed by the Eisnhower Band.
The event was well attened our staff was blessed to be seated right next to Ronnie Lotts wife. A very nice down to earth woman who took some time to chit chat with us (off camera). Also in attendance were Police Chief Randy Deanda, Terrance Stone, Joe Baca Jr, Deborah Robertson, Nancy O Kelly and other VIP’s. Mr Sparks the current Principal of Eisenhower High kicked things off.
“Ford Motor Company is proud to participate in Ronnie Lott’s return to his hometown. Both Ford and the Pro Football Hall of Fame are committed to excellence and have a deep appreciation for legacies,” said Tom Suttles, Regional Manager- Ford Customer Service Division.
Mike Myers from the NFL Hall of Fame said that it was an honor to come back to where it all started for Ronnie Lott on his road to Canton Ohio.
Next was a person that was very special to Ronnie Lott his father Roy Lott. Mr. Roy Lott had the honor to introduce his son in this moment just as he had the opportunity to do in Canton Ohio as Ronnie Lott was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame. Roy Lott spoke about his son and his dedication to not only sports but to his studies and his fellow students. Roy Lott spoke about his accomplished son as he beemed with pride.
Finally the man of the hour was introduced and as he walked out the gym at Eisenhower High School Erupted in cheers as the Hall of Fame player met his father on the stage and they hugged then they removed the cloth cover to reveal the Hall of Famer plauqe.
After the event was over we had an opportunity to get media only access to Mr. Ronnie Lott and he spoke alot about what his visit would mean to the student body and the greater Rialto community.
It was an honor to be a part of this memorable event and we would love to give a BIG THANK YOU to the Activities Director and the Athletic Director Mr & Mrs Pulido. We would also like to thank Mr Sparks for allowing us so much access this year to his campus so we can be a part of covering the awesome side of what is going on at Eisenhower High School.
rialtonow 