Public Safety | rialtonow

West Valley Water District Board Calls Special Meeting

12 Oct 2015 Leave a comment

by rialto-now in American Water, Burglury, Ca, City of Rialto, Colton, Currupt, Fontana, Inland Empire, Rialto, Small Business, Taxes, Veolia, Water

So in today’s era of the Great California Drought and the massive amount of influence that local water boards have on the use and cost of your families water more attention is being put on Elected Boards that have a direct influence on our most valuable utility water. Most water companies are overseen by a Utility Commission but the final body to approve changes lies with Elected Council members and Mayors. Well in Rialto there is a strange mixture of utilities when it comes to the delivery of water and sewer services. This isn’t a perfect boarder but basically if you live south of Baseline Ave your serviced by Rialto Water Services north of Baseline you are part of West Valley Water.

West Valley apparently had a very turbulent board meeting according to Board Member Linda Gonzalez on Board Vice President Clifford Young’s Facebook page:

Now Mrs. Gonzalez telling people to check the minutes was a weird statement due to the fact that the only minutes that had been published were up to 9-3-15. Never the less we hear that there is a special meeting that was called and here is the meat of the agenda:

BUSINESS MATTERS

Consideration of:

1. Appointment of Special Counsel.

2. Appointment of Confidential Assistant to Report Directly to the West Valley Water Districts Board of Directors.

3. Appointment of Treasurer for the West Valley Water District Board of Directors.

4. Begin Conducting an Independent Review of all West Valley Water Districts Contracts.

5. Independent Review of all Contracts during the Tenure of Prior West Valley Water Districts General Manager. Consideration of Possible Suspension of all District Contracts Independent of Contracts Directly Critical to the Delivery, Safety and Operation of Water Services to the District.

ADJOURN

Rumors are flying about the reason for the special counsel that the board is looking to hire as well as why does the WATER BOARD need a Confidential Assistant? Were also wondering why this board is now calling into question EVERY SINGLE contract that was signed during the tenure of Mr. Butch Ariza the former General Manager of the WVWD. A lot of this smells of political leveraging against Mr. Ariza due to the fact that he is running for a seat on the water board. It’s horrible because public safety doesn’t even seem to matter as they look to suspend “Suspension of all District Contracts Independent of Contracts Directly Critical to the Delivery, Safety and Operation of Water Services to the District” This is horrible and has us wondering what is the motive for such a bold move?

Our 2 cents is they know that they fly way under the public radar and they think you don’t care enough to get upset. Well it should be on your radar because these people are well compensated for their time sitting on this board. According to the link on the WVWD website that each board member can be compensated at least $13,000 each year and the General Manager can approve for them to go over that amount if need be. See the info below if you wish to attend tomorrows SPECIAL BOARD MEETING:

WEST VALLEY WATER DISTRICT

855 W. Base Line Road, Rialto, CA

SPECIAL BOARD MEETING

AGENDA

Monday, October 12, 2015- 12:00 p.m.

“In order to comply with legal requirements for posting of agendas, only those items iiled with the District Secretary’s office by noon, on Wednesday prior to the following Monday Special Board meeting, not requiring departmental investigation, will be considered by the Board of Directors.”

OPENING CEREMONIES

Pledge of Allegiance

Call to Order

Roll Call of Board Members

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION:

Any person wishing to speak to the Board of Directors on matters listed or not listed on the agenda, within its jurisdiction, is asked to complete a Speaker Card and submit it to the District Clerk. Each speaker is limited to three (3) minutes. Under the State of California Brown Act, the Board of Directors is prohibited from discussing or taking action on any item not listed on the posted agenda. Comments related to noticed Public Hearing(s) and Business Matters will be heard during the occurrence of the item.

Rialto Unified School District Hears Parents Concerns and Responds With Help

09 Oct 2015 1 Comment

Dollahan Elementary gets a RUSD Public safety Officer

Parents at the local school of Dollahan Elementary watched school drop off and pick up times become a major issue. The issues were wide spread out on the street Etiwanda Ave, in the City Park that is in front of the school (Flores Park) and inside the enclosed oddly shaped parking lot. We have covered numerous stories of issues that almost led to dire consequences and we fielded a lot of calls from the city, school district and police.

Well the school district has had the appropriate reaction to our pleading for more safety at this Elementary school. Monday September 28th Rialto Unified School District Public Safety Department has had a Public Safety Officer on site keeping things safer inside of the school parking lot. You may ask what has changed by adding a Public Safety Officer? Well here are the changes:

No longer do parents double and triple park bringing the traffic flow to a dead stop.
The angry pushy bus drivers no longer come into the parking lot blaring their horns.
Areas that are labeled for buses or Day Care Vans no longer have parents parking there.
Staff and District vehicles are no longer driving on the side walks while kids are preparing to leave for the day.
Parents and children are now safer inside the parking lot.

What hasn’t changed is the total disregard for parking rules in Flores Park and traffic on Etiwanda Ave where the issue of angry parents and fighting over traffic supremacy and the ZERO enforcement of traffic by the city or police. Parents still speed up and down local neighborhood streets, road rage controls Etiwanda Ave, the crossing guard is nearly taken out on a daily basis and the city should remove all of the red curb paint and handicap markings because nobody pays any attention to them and Rialto PD seems to have an issue enforcing the CVC code.

One of the latest issues that sits solely on the shoulders of the city is the sidewalks. When Marcus Fuller was the Public Works Director residents complained about the 1000’s of lifted sidewalks in the Flores Park Area. Mr. Fuller’s remedy was to grind some of those sidewalks and the others they used black asphalt to create ramps. So like everything else Mr. Fuller did in Rialto it was a halfway attempt to fix a problem and now things are worse than before. Here is why:

When the asphalt was laid down it was allowed to spill over and damage residents lawns and properties.
The asphalt didn’t fuse together correctly so it has began to fall apart and denigrate.
Since parents that don’t want to fight the traffic that the police can’t get under control they walk their kids and there has been a recent spike in people falling and injuring themselves.
With speeding up and down residential streets at an uncontrolled high, the neighborhood street that should be a safe place for kids to ride bikes and skateboards isn’t an option so the kids have been pushed onto sidewalks. The pitted and uneaven sidewalks have left local children with an increase in injuries.

Calls and conversations with the new Public Works Director Robert Eisenbeisz have left us with no solutions. The only thing Mr. Eisenbeisz has said is that “IF” measure “I” money comes in from SANBAG then we can look at Etiwanda Ave.

Normally this is where I would tell people to speak up and demand action but that doesn’t work anymore. If your not in the political favor of Mayor Robertson or the “Liberal Park Councilman” Joe Baca Jr. or the “Pay For Me To Travel One More Time Councilman” Ed Scott your not getting ANYTHING!!!! The city leadership doesn’t seem to care about the community, the brown act or just being transparent. The city and the many departments don’t do anything all they do is point the finger at someone else.

So what is ironic about this is the School District is the only party here that had an appropriate response to issues within their sphere of influence and a level of appreciation goes out to the Public Safety Department for their quick and timely response.

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Rialto Unified School District Employee Almost Hits Small Child

25 Sep 2015 Leave a comment

A common sight at Rialto Schools with cars using sidewalks as places to park.

Traffic concerns have always been an issue at Rialto Schools then traffic got worse when former Public Works Director for the City of Rialto Marcus Fuller began increasing speed limits on residential streets around Rialto schools. Couple that with the school district not taking an active role in keeping kids safe and pushing that responsibility to Rialto Police who are working to re-hire police officers after the housing market crash that destroyed budgets all over the state.

Recently at the September Coffee with the Chief we were blessed to hear that not only is crime lower than any other neighboring city in the IE but that Chief Farrar and his staff have a goal of beefing up the understaffed traffic unit. Most of the questions for the Police Chief were questions that the RUSD Public Safety Chief and New Superintendent should have been there to answer instead of hanging out with a special interest group. All the parents in attendance wanted to know what was going to be done about traffic at Rialto schools.

Chief Farrar said that his staff of Sworn Traffic Officers and Non Sworn Parking Enforcement staff would be looking at ways to begin enacting change while waiting for new officers for the traffic department.

In the video below the Rialto Unified School District Grounds Maintenance truck is pulling out just as the students are prepared to be let out for the school day and the truck nearly hits a young child in a stroller shaped like a big wheel. The parent that shot this video pulled out the phone after witnessing the near accident. At Dollahan Elementary alone in just this school year three times a vehicle pulling onto the sidewalk has almost hit a parent and or child.

Were not sure what is going on at RUSD but parents from all over the district are getting a little fed up with the traffic issues and the lack of response from the district.

A child care provider for local parents for Dollahan elementary to us that even though her how day care is just down the street from the school she is now driving her kids to school. She said “people don’t look they just speed through the crossing guard for the one crosswalk is almost hit daily”

What makes matters worse is that bus drivers that pick up at Dollahan honk and yell at parents to the point of almost starting fights. So parents that don’t want to chance having an out of control bus driver approach their vehicle parents have been using Flores Park as a drop off spot where there are no staff around. School Principal Mr. Husbands has been told multiple times about the issues at Dollahan and he says it comes down to a lack of staff.

We reached out to Maintenance and Operations and Mr. Montez said that the grounds truck in (video) question isn’t a school district vehicle. Mrs. Jafri said that she would look into it but said that there are always two sides to every story. We will keep you posted as we investigate this issue more.

Video by rialto-now

Talk Like a Pirate to Get Free Stuff

18 Sep 2015 Leave a comment

Arrrr! There’s treasure to be found at Krispy Kreme Doughnuts this Saturday! Any swashbuckler who dares enter a Krispy Kreme® shop and talk like a pirate will receive a free Original Glazed® doughnut, while those who don pirate garb will score one dozen Original Glazed doughnuts for free. Offer good at participating US locations on International Talk Like a Pirate Day on Saturday, Sept. 19, with some shops doling out the treasure beginning at midnight.

The closest Krispy Kreme to Rialto is in Ontario at Ontario Mills Mall open 6am to 11pm

“International Talk Like a Pirate Day has become one of the biggest days of the year at Krispy Kreme,” said Dwayne Chambers, Chief Marketing Officer. “It’s a fun and unique way for us to share the joy of Krispy Kreme, which of course includes free Original Glazed doughnuts for all the buccaneers out there.”

Here’s how to claim your treasure:

Come in to a participating Krispy Kreme shop and Talk like a pirate for one free Original Glazed doughnut.
Come in to a participating Krispy Kreme location in full pirate costume for one free dozen Original Glazed doughnuts. Qualifying pirate costumes must include three or more of the following items: NO WEAPONS ALLOWED!
- Eye patch
- Pirate hat
- Bandana
- Peg leg
- Parrot on shoulder
- Pirate shirt/loose white shirt
- knickers
- leather belt
- Silver and gold necklaces and earrings
- Pirate hook
- Pointy black boots or ragged brown sandals

More pirate fun can be found on Krispy Kreme’s mobile website, the ArrPhone at www.krispykreme.com/arrphone, which provides everything needed for the big day. The site includes virtual accessories such as an authentic pirate tattoo that can be had at the click of a button, a pirate crew call that sends a call-to-arms, and a fun pirate name generator.

There’s more bounty to be had too. Krispy Kreme’s popular hand-decorated Kreme Filled Pirate doughnut is available for only $1.29 each. The entire crew also can throw-back a pirate-sized 24 ounce fountain drink in a specially designed reusable pirate cup for only $1.99. And, swashbucklers can bring the pirate action home with a limited-edition Talk Like a Pirate ceramic mug for only $6.99.

Visit www.KrispyKreme.com for more details.

About Krispy Kreme

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts is a global retailer of premium-quality sweet treats, including its signature Original Glazed® doughnut. Headquartered in Winston-Salem, N.C., the Company has offered the highest-quality doughnuts and great-tasting coffee since it was founded in 1937. Krispy Kreme Doughnuts is proud of its Fundraising program, which for decades has helped non-profit organizations raise millions of dollars in needed funds. The Company has more than 1,000 retail shops in 24 countries. Connect with all things Krispy Kreme® at www.KrispyKreme.com, or on one its many social media channels, including www.Facebook.com/KrispyKreme, and www.Twitter.com/KrispyKreme.

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17th Annual Rialto Family Festival

18 Sep 2015 Leave a comment

On Saturday, September 19, 2015, from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm,the City of Rialto Human Relations Commission will host the 17th Annual Rialto Family Festival, 22nd Annual Pollution Prevention Fair, Community Shredding Day at Rialto City Hall located at 150 S. Palm Ave.

The Human Relations Commissions’ goal of the Rialto Family Festival is to recognize and celebrate the diversity of our community and promote healthy lifestyle through food, fitness and fun.

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What do you think about San Bernardino & their progress out of Bankruptcy?

14 Sep 2015 Leave a comment

On Friday Cassie Mac Duff a reporter for the Press Enterprise penned an article on the apparent signs of San Bernardino on a upward rebound. A lot was talked about in the article but a lot was conveniently left out or avoided. In Cassie Mac Duff’s defense interviewing elected officials is beyond difficult because many of them are very corrupt and want to control the article or go off the record every 10 seconds. So if you want to get statements from them that they wont deny later you must play but a bad set of rules. My biggest beef with this article is the Liberal way the writer and Mayor of San Bernardino talk about economic progress.

Here is what they call progress:

New Superior Court high-rise
Transit Center and
New health clinic nearing completion.

Two of these things are government buildings built with TAX DOLLARS not hubs for economic growth. The New Health Clinic is an extension of Loma Linda University health and if we don’t keep pumping Billions of TAX DOLLARS into peoples pockets this massive clinic will be nothing more than an empty building.

Probably the only thing I agree with in this article is the cities creation of a monthly Food Truck Festival and the city staffer that is responsible for spearheading this effort is Brenda Leggitt and her team. They listen to the public and do their best to bring the best trucks to the city of San Bernardino.

Here is info from the Press Enterprise article on the food truck event:

“The food truck craze has also hit San Bernardino. The third Thursday of each month, the City Hall parking lot is roped off for a Food Fest, with food trucks and live bands. Even with the summer heat, the event attracts 2,500 to 2,600 people, not just office workers from the surrounding government buildings, but families now, Mayor Carey Davis told me on Friday. The monthly event has grown from five trucks to nine, Davis said, featuring gourmet grilled cheese, chicken and waffles, barbecue, salads and, of course, cupcakes. I stopped by last month and saw people lined up at every truck.”

I guess Mayor Davis believes that people who rife the bus and can’t afford cars can afford to eat out all the time because they left some land vacant for lunch spots and retail development. In that area you have the Old Carousel Mall & adjoining smaller retail pads that are vacant ghost towns and the Inland Center Mall just south of there that still has issues securing retail tenants.

“Omnitrans, the bus agency, left two acres vacant next to the transit center for commercial development such as lunch spots and retail shops. Those are needed. Downtown San Bernardino doesn’t have a lot of options apart from a McDonald’s, a Starbucks and a HoneyBaked Ham (which makes a terrific ham-and-cheese, by the way).”

So the newspaper article and Mayor Davis want you to believe that the area around the transit center is void of food options. So I guess the Mayor forgot about the Taco Bell, Del Taco, Chinese Food Resturant & of course the In & Out that was moved up the street to make room for the 215 freeway extension? In & Out should be irate that they were left out of consideration given how popular they are. This area is full of homeless people, homeless people don’t shop for food they beg for it so who is going to patronize these businesses?

What is a major part of San Bernardino’s demise is the rampant crime and drug use that thrives within the city. Three to four times a week someone is violently attacked, San Bernardino’s lax stance on Marijuana has allowed other drugs to come back into popularity including Meth and San Bernardino is the go to place for harmful toxic drug fests with no regard to the public safety. Also it looks like San Bernardino opened up a Airport to never fly planes out of it. Look below the Mayor touts an aircraft dismantler as a sign of progress San Bernardino International Airport. I don’t know about you but my idea of progress and a International Airport is I don’t know maybe Commercial Flights?

“He also told me there’s also a new business at San Bernardino International Airport (the former Norton Air Force Base), an aircraft dismantler. The airport will host an air show Oct. 17, Davis said. I’m glad San Bernardino’s bankruptcy (declared in 2012 and still pending in court) didn’t bring everything to a screeching halt in the city. That’s not to say everything is peachy, either. The city is embroiled in a dispute with its auditors over delays completing crucial reviews. The firm blames the city manager’s office; the city manager’s office blames the auditors. The City Council is considering a lawsuit.”

The last paragraph above eludes to more issues with getting a plan to remove themselves from Bankruptcy. What is funny is the reason they are in this position is because of the mismanagement of funds and constant fighting among those in city hall. This November there is a lot of chances for change and its up to residents to step up and as Joe Britt used to say on his Radio Show “Use the mighty power of the pen”.

http://www.pe.com/articles/city-779969-san-bernardino.html

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Statewide Coalitions Call Foul On The Assembly & Senate Pushing In Last Minute Marijuana Legislation

11 Sep 2015 Leave a comment

by rialto-now in 100 Black Men, and the unincorporated communities of Bloomington and Muscoy, City of Rialto, Colton, Congressman Pete Aguilar, Crime, Currupt, Curt Hagman, Fontana, Grand Terrace, hardy brown II, Marijuana, Medical Marijuana, Nieghborhood Watch, Public Safety, Rialto, Rialto, San Bernardino, youth Tags: AB 266, SB 643

So while you were looking at Gas Taxes the Governor, Senate & Assembly were working a back door deal to push further Marijuana legalization in a last minute vote on the last day of the legislative session. this effort comes on the heels of the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy’s report showing a rise in Marijuana use in teens 12-25 years of age. National Data showed the following:

“Overall, the use of illicit drugs – including marijuana – among Americans aged 12 and older increased from 9.4 percent in 2013 to 10.2 percent in 2014. This was driven particularly by the increase in adult marijuana use.“

So why would the State Legislative Body push last minute regulations when this evidence shows that young people are suffering at the hands of lies from Big Marijuana and the Pro Drug Legalization Movement? The bills in question are SB 643 & AB 266 both had last minute deals struck to change the wording and regulations of both bills to better suit Big Marijuana yet as of 10am this morning the language has yet to be updated according to Scott Chipman the Southern California Chair of CALMca (Citizens Against Legalizing Marijuana).

David Phillips the Executive Director of Inland Valley Drug Free Coalition said that one of the bills sponsors Assemblyman Tom Lackey’s office said Friday that the text would be updated by noon Friday for public review. Mr. Phillips has heard about the changes and isn’t buying it. Mr. Phillips said “One of the biggest issues is the lack of criminal penalties if the new Law isn’t obeyed. Without criminal penalties this effort only further hurts today’s youth and our communities. Even doctors and pharmacy’s can face jail & or prison time for not following regular drug laws and policies what makes Big Marijuana any different.” Mr. Phillips is referring to the shops that are shutdown then reopened days later. Drug dealers don’t care about business licenses or monetary fines and or penalties the profit for selling Marijuana makes it worth it. You have seen it in the Southern California media LA, Costa Mesa, San Diego & San Bernardino are just a few of the cites that have been dealing with the revolving door of Marijuana Drug stores.

Now is the time to once again lean on our elected official’s to speak for children and communities rather than Big Marijuana & Drug Dealers. Call your elected official’s and tell them to vote no one bills SB 643 * AB 266

Assembly Member Tom Lackey 916-319-2036

Assembly Member Cheryl Brown 916-319-2047

Assembly Member Catharine Baker 916-319-2016

Assembly Member Autumn Burke 916-319-2062

Assembly Member Ian Calderon 916-319-2057

Assembly Member Chris Holden 916-319-2041

Assembly Member Eric Linder 916-319-2060

Assembly Member Jose Medina 916-319-2061

Assembly Member Jay Olbernote 916-319-2033

Assembly Member Marc Stienorth 916-319-2040

Find your Assembly Member here

DATE: September 11, 2015

Contact: Southern California, Scott Chipman 619 990 7480 scott@chipman.info

Northern California, Carla Lowe 916 708 4111 carladlowe@aol.com
After nearly 20 years, at the last minute of the last day of the legislative session, Californians will see the “deal” lawmakers have made regarding regulation of the multibillion dollar “medi pot” industry. The obvious reason this regulation is difficult is because THERE SHOULD NOT BE a “medical” marijuana industry.

In 1996 Prop 215 voters did not vote for a big marijuana industry. They didn’t vote for drug dealers operating behind glass doors in local business districts. They did not vote for hash oil labs or the hash oil laced candies, cookies and sodas that provide dangerously high levels of THC. They did not vote for drug culture advertising to youth and young adults.

The fact that California is now the largest supplier of marijuana to the rest of the country is tribute to a legislature that has been unwilling to address the reality that “medical marijuana” is a rues in support of just plain drug trafficking and dealing. With the “Emerald Triangle” providing 60% of all the marijuana in the country we now are the drug cartel for the US.

Through inaction and tacit and institutional approval, elected local, federal and state officials have created a huge illicit drug industry, drug addicted population, and drug harmed society. Now the answer to the public health and safety hemorrhage created by government is a government band aid?

What is needed would be to get back to what the voters approved in Prop 215 only. If a band aid is all that can be applied then a proper band aid would at least include:

Local control maintained – of course! This has already been upheld by the CA Supreme Court. It is not a real concession to allow local control to continue. It must be considered a given.
Raise age of use/purchase to 21! – The science would argue for 25 when the brain is fully developed! How can there be a big concern about under 21 tobacco smoking and not marijuana smoking? More kids and college students are smoking pot than cigarettes.
If this is “medicine” treat it like medicine – use the CURES system like every other pharmaceutical This would include limiting the THC level to the levels of FDA approved cannabis based drugs such as Dronabinol (marinol).
Limit the number of recommendations a doctor can make for marijuana and a proven connection between the ailment and the marijuana being recommended. Require a second opinion from a specialist in that medical area.
Eliminate advertizing especially to youth, including product placement in print and onscreen use in film and television. NO PORN STAR SPOKESPEOPLE PLEASE!
Eliminate packaging mimicking well known products like candies/cookies/sodas and other well known edible products.
Require full compliance with the Sherman Food and Cosmetic Act. All other industries must, so why not the pot industry?
Include tracking from seed to sale. Where is it coming from and where is it going? Every “patient” must be registered and have purchase records kept. That is a pharmaceutical industry standard.
Eliminate all private grows and sales. These are just drug dealers operating for a profit. Establish state run grows and distribution in each county. At least require full non-profit status. Anything less is drug dealing pure and simple.
Enforcement must be real and not left up to localities. The feds have said they won’t interfere in a state that has strong effective pot regulations. Well, if state regulations are not being followed the state should ask for federal enforcement help. This would be real enforcement with real consequences. The state ABC is an example of an agency with almost no enforcement (or investigations). We have no confidence that local enforcement will materialize.
Eliminate illicit deliveries that don’t come from a properly regulated (all of the above) establishment. Call for federal enforcement against unregulated delivery services.
Eliminate the sale of hash oil products – BHO explosions are epidemic now. Where does the BHO come from? Illegal labs of course. And nearly 50% of sales are high strength BHO infused products
Create a drugged driving test and track and publish the negative impacts such as child fatalities related to marijuana (Arizona does it) and fatality crashes where marijuana is involved, and arrest percentage numbers of those testing positive for marijuana. Don’t allow permits until these tests and tracking procedures are in place and functioning.
Establish an education system for parents, kids and teens on the science behind the harms of marijuana. (This could be dangerous as the PC anti drug war crowd would likely be assigned by Gavin Newsom to create and control the curriculum.)

Does this sound like a lot of regulation? Yes it is and yes it all should be done. There is nothing required above that is not already in place for other industries that have the potential to negatively impact public health and safety. If the goal is to protect health and safety there can be no half measures.

Some will say, “Finally, we got something!” But what we will likely have is another institutionalization of a drug dealing “big marijuana” industry. Some will say, “We have to do this to protect against the potential of legalization in 2016.” This band aid is a great argument for why, from now to November 8th, 2016, the voters of California should speak out in opposition and then vote against the further institutionalization and legalization of marijuana.

Adult Marijuana Use Attributed To A Rise In Youth Use

11 Sep 2015 Leave a comment

by rialto-now in Barbara A. McGee, Ca, City of Rialto, Colton, Community Coalition, Congressman Pete Aguilar, Crime, David Goldstein, Deborah Robertson, Ed palmer, Ed Scott, Edgar Montes, Edward J. Carrillo, Flores Park, Flores Park Neighborhood Watch, Fontana, Grand Terrace, hardy brown II, Henry Nickel, Inland Empire, James Ramos, Janice Rutherford, Joe Baca Jr, Josef (Joe) Britt, joseph williams, Josie Gonzales, Marijuana, Medical Marijuana, Public Safety, Rancho Cucamonga, Redlands PD, Rialto, Rialto, Rialto Fire, Rialto Parks, Rialto Police Department, San Bernardino, San Bernardino Police, SCAT, Shawn O'Connell, SWAT, The Fellas, youth

Below is a message from the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy to local prevention providers. This data and reports further confirm what prevention providers have been warning ever since the lie of Medical Marijuana began to take shape youth use is on the way up. One area where prevention providers have been looking to get to is kids in Elementary and they have been getting resistance due to the thought that these kids are to young to be involved in drug use. This study show a major increase in drug use among youth 12 and older meaning kids in 6th grade are being introduced to drugs.

Another thing that the data shows is a driving force behind an increase in youth use is the widespread use in adults. This matches what the Rialto Community Coalition found in February during their Strategic Planning Session was that one of the biggest reasons youth use drugs especially Marijuana is because of the lax attitude from adults. The investigative reports from David Goldstein on medical marijuana dispensary’s acting as a hub to get Marijuana to youth should be an eye opening period for parents.

We need to support local organizations that are taking this issue seriously and local candidates that value youth health over money from the Pro Drug Legalization Lobby. On of these organizations is the Rialto Community Coalition that meets the first Tuesday of the month from 6-7:30pm at Fire Station 202 at 1700 North Riverside Ave. Another group working locally and more regionally is Inland Empire Youth 4 Today a local network of prevention providers and business owners looking for innovative ways to engage and grow tomorrows leaders.

Today, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) released the latest National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) report which shows progress in reducing some forms of substance use – especially among adolescents. Substance use levels in many areas, however have remained relatively constant.

SAMHSA issued the 2014 NSDUH report on mental and substance use disorders as part of the kick off for the 26th annual observance of National Recovery Month. Recovery Month broadens public awareness to the fact that behavioral health is essential to health, prevention works, treatment for substance use and mental disorders is effective, and people can and do recover from these disorders.

With regard to substance use, the report found some areas of progress, particularly among adolescents. For example, the percentage of adolescents aged 12 to 17 who were current (past month) tobacco users declined by roughly half from 15.2 percent in 2002 to 7.0 percent in 2014. Similarly, the level of adolescents engaged in past month illegal alcohol use dropped from 17.6 percent to 11.5 percent over the same period. The level of current nonmedical users of prescription pain relievers decreased from 3.2 percent in 2002 to 1.9 percent in 2014 among adolescents aged 12 to 17.

Marijuana continues to be the most commonly used illicit drug. In 2014, roughly 8.4 percent of Americans age 12 and older were current users of marijuana – up from 7.5 percent in 2013. Marijuana use is especially growing among those aged 26 and older – from 5.6 percent in 2013 to 6.6 percent in 2014. The percentage of adolescents who were current marijuana users in 2014 (7.4 percent) was similar to recent years.

Although the survey shows nonmedical pain reliever use continues to be the second most common type of illicit drug use, the percentage of people aged 12 or older in 2014 who were current nonmedical users of pain relievers (1.6 percent) was lower than in most years since 2002, and about the same as in 2013. However, current heroin use increased from 0.1 percent of the population age 12 and older in 2013 to 0.2 in 2014.

Overall, the use of illicit drugs – including marijuana – among Americans aged 12 and older increased from 9.4 percent in 2013 to 10.2 percent in 2014. This was driven particularly by the increase in adult marijuana use.

The data released today show some signs of progress, including lower levels of nonmedical prescription drug use and teen alcohol and tobacco use; however, we still have significant challenges to address. We know that evidence-based prevention efforts are the most effective way to reduce drug use and to support the roughly 90 percent of American youth who do not use illicit drugs.

This Administration will continue to expand community-based efforts to prevent drug use, pursue ‘smart on crime’ approaches to drug enforcement, increase access to treatment, work to reduce overdose deaths, and support the millions of Americans in recovery.

Sincerely,

Michael P. Botticelli, Director
Office of National Drug Control Policy

Rialto Mayor Hands Off 1st Place Trophy For Chili Cook off Winners

03 Sep 2015 Leave a comment

by rialto-now in Assemblymember-Elect Cheryl Brown, Barbara A. McGee, Ca, Cancer, Chief Mat Fratus, City Clerk, City of Rialto, Crime, Deborah Robertson, Ed palmer, Inland Empire, Public Safety, Rialto, Rialto, Rialto Fire, Rialto Police Department, SCAT

The Battle of the Badges Chili Cook Off is an event that brings out our local public safety officers to show off their best cooking skills and compete for the title of best in Chili.

Well over the last few years Rialto Police have taken top honors at the yearly cook off held at National Night Out each year. Well this year the tables began to turn as there was a three way tie for 1st place one from the Rialto Police Department and two from Rialto Fire Department. Then Rialto Police took the second and third place spots.

The Battle of the Badges benefits the American Cancer Society with votes costing $3 each. This is one of the biggest parts of National Night Out which is the event that the Chili Cook Off has been a part of for the last five years. The chili is hot but the competition is hotter with both public safety agencies bringing their “A” game to represent for their agency.

When Mayor Robertson announced the first place trophy to the winners talk of where the trophy would reside showed the serious humor and competition that remains within this event. Councilman Palmer said “I voted for a number and so did City Treasurer Ed Carrillo makes sense that chili was made by a fellow Marine”

1st place winners were Cory Jung (fire) David Toupel (fire) and Andy Karol (police)

2nd place winner was Paul Stella (police)

3rd place winner was Bill Wilson (police)

What happens when the “I Love San Bernardino” radio show leaves San Bernardino residents out of the conversation

31 Aug 2015 Leave a comment

So if your not aware you must not of been around the blog this week but there is a radio program on Sundays at 4pm called “I Love San Bernardino” on KCAA AM 1050. Well apparently if you call you will not get through if you live in San Bernardino. On the show on the August 23rd show Host Robert Porter had Congressional candidate for the 31st district Paul Chabot on as his guest. As someone who has worked with Paul & someone Robert Porter asked to come on the show this week I asked if I could Call in. As someone who works in drug prevention I knew Mr. Porter was going to ask Mr. Chabot at least one question in regards to Marijuana. Mr. Porter does this on his show by inviting in a person named Elmo Green Meds who has given himself the label of the “POT AMBASSADOR” for the city of San Bernardino. Well Mr. Porter told me Marijuana would not be one of the questions and that Mr. Chabot did not have time for any callers.

So I informed Mr. Chabot of what I thought was a lie and watched and waited………..

Low and behold Mr. Porter did ask a Marijuana question and he did usher Elmo Green Meds into the studio to talk Marijuana. When I saw this on the online stream I called in and got through. Now I was a little bit behind the conversation because the U Stream Feed was a few minutes behind the radio feed. I was able to call in and call Mr. Porter out for lying about content and the ability to take calls. What I found interesting was many people from the I Love San Bernardino Facebook Group wanted to call in and were not allowed through.

Now I don’t live in San Bernardino and the only reason were writing about this is:

Every time we write a story along these lines the readers flock to the site.
If San Bernardino doesn’t enforce their ordnance their drug problem will become ours.
Even though the people that tried to call in all dislike me I don’t think its right for me to get through but not them.

So as we say on issues like this To Be Continued………

Video by rialto-now