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
When you hear the word NOS what comes to mind? For most of you it probably is the illegal street racing scene or even the Fast & Furious movie series. NOS is a pressurized non flammable gas that is used to inject a high amount of oxygen into a vehicle to increase speed it is commonly referred to as the poor mans turbo. The word NOS has much more dire meanings to some local folks than a movie or an illegal activity.
NOS has medical applications as stated below:
Mixed with oxygen and used for medical purposes (using tanks and cylinders) nitrous oxide is seen as a safe product to use.
What has parents, doctors and Public Safety official’s concerned in the recreational use of this harmful chemical is the effects it can have on a persons body when used without medical approval and monitoring. The risks are below:
Short term risks can include brain damage, asphyxiation, tissue damage, lung damage, hearing loss, choking and accidents.
Long term risks may include addiction and dependency, spinal chord damage, vitamin B12/folic acid depletion, decreased fertility, decreased immunity to infections, bone marrow damage, and emotional and mental health problems.
Youth abuse this as a drug by filling balloons from pressurized canisters and inhale the substance. It has a growing popularity within the house party element and is hard for Law Enforcement to detect because it doesn’t leave a smoke or other distinct way to detect the drug use. Also training on this drug is just hitting the law enforcement main stream and with cameras and other technology needs taking center stage not many agencies have tasked officer to receive this training.
This tragedy has hit Rialto & the Inland Empire when Councilman Ed Scott’s son fell victim the consequences of this drug when the car he was ridding in was involved in a crash where the driver was found to be under the influence of the NOS chemical.
The main problem is news agencies have been stonewalled but several agencies have now agreed to provide records so we should see more data start to come in. Areas where use is concentrated is areas where teens normally gather and being in a vehicle isn’t suspicious. Some local areas where this NOS use has been seen is Inland Center Mall parking lot, Orange Show Events Center, Ontario Mills & local parks and house parties. Jerry Eaves Park on Ayala Ave in Rialto has been a hot bed of suspicious use and apparent NOS use as in random parking stalls you will find used balloons making you wonder if a random party took place there.
Anthony Ybarra from Inland Empire Youth 4 Today said “Youth are not being taught what this stuff is doing to your body and the risks involved” “Plus more and more adults in youth’s lives are too busy leaving the door open for negative people to get a young persons life and lead them down the wrong road” to reach them click here
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)
As the construction of yet another Mc Donald’s fast food restaurant nears completion on the corner of Cedar & Foothill in Rialto we ponder the Question does Rialto need five Mc Donald’s? Now I know what your going to say Rialto doesn’t have five Mc Donald’s and I am here to tell you soon we will. Below is a map:
The red dots are the three that come up when you Google Mc Donald’s in Rialto. Baseline, Foothill & Riverside Ave all have Mc Donald’s but there is also one inside of the Walmart across the street from the Riverside Ave location so that makes four. Number five is part of multiple deals to further burden the North West Corner of Cedar & Foothill. One of our readers posted this photo saying “Do we really need another Mc Donald’s in Rialto #healthyrialto
The multiple deals that happened to further burden the poor people of Rialto was put under the heading were trying to make things safer for Rialto. Later they admitted that it had little to do with safety and a lot to do with TAXES……. When a local community member from Flores Park Neighborhood Watch asked why this development was getting a new stoplight and cement median extension the council responded Neighborhood Watch Groups don’t make money Gas Stations & Mc Donald’s do!
Tonight the Planning Commission is going to show this off as a win during their annual report, is this a win in your eyes?
Who is to blame for the traffic problems here in Rialto? Well to determine this we need to look at how we arrived here. Rialto Police Department is looking to secure another traffic grant in the amount of $202,070. This grant is primarily to be used for DUI, seat belt and distracted driving enforcement. It can be used for other things but since we use this grant primarily for DUI enforcement Rialto Police stick to this use.
We were told at the last coffee with the chief meeting in a side conversation that the city of Rialto has been removing job openings from the list when it comes to staffing new officers. So with promotions and retirements the department is stretched to fill spots. Another area of contention is the lack of employee benefits that a officer can obtain here in Rialto verses other local departments. So what ends up happening is we train officers they get the fast paced experience that Rialto has to offer then they lateral into another agency and we are short another officer.
So the chart above is from Tab 7 on the agenda for the meeting on August 11th. We have pasted the paragraph in the chart below so you can clearly see what Rialto Police say we have in regards to traffic personnel. Now unless we have been lied to I thought we had a traffic Cpl. but with that being said does the total number of sworn personnel being six make you feel good about the cities ability to control traffic here? Now lets look at the rest of the paragraph. We could have three more officers working traffic but the problem “is not known due to budget issues”.
Also collisions have doubled and injuries are on the rise and people are still dying. The chart tells you that 22350 CVC is the number one collision factor. What is this California Vehicle Code? It is for speeding. Followed by unsafe left turns or U turns and then its for DUI.
So what are the problems who is to blame:
So we can’t staff our traffic division to proper levels but were adding more and more commercial traffic every three months by selling away prime property to major warehouse companies. Yet the traffic commission keeps approving these businesses stating that we have adequate staffing to keep the city safe from the massive increase of truck traffic.
So we see that for at least the last three years U turns have been identified as being the second most cause of vehicle collisions and atributed to 69 injuries. So has public works, engineering and the traffic commission failed to recognize that they are forcing people into unsafe driving maneuvers by installing raised cement medians.
The former Public Works Director addressed community concerns about speeding in local communities in residential areas near schools and parks by increasing the speed limit in these areas. Now you can go as fast as 40-45 MPH through most local neighborhoods Riverside Ave north of the 210 freeway is the same speed? Remember the number one cause of injuries, victims and deaths is speeding. Flores Park has been advocating for reduced speed limits and a stop sign in front of Flores Park & Dallahan Elementary for the last 5 years and the city keeps saying no. The last time they said no it was because the Neighborhood Watch Program doesn’t make money for the city.
I’m not sure about you but it looks like the Traffic Commission, Mayor, Planning Commission, Public Works and City Council have all fallen asleep at the wheel and if the community doesn’t stand up and stop this Rialto will become a traffic nightmare.
City Council meeting is August 11th at City Hall at 6 pm
PROBLEM STATEMENT Our Traffic Unit is currently staffed by a Sergeant, 2 Motor Officers, 2 Accident Investigation / DUI Enforcement Officers, 1 Commercial Enforcement Officer and 6 Parking Enforcement Civilians. Over the past several years, we lost 2 Accident Investigation / DUI Enforcement Officers due to selections to other assignments. We also lost 1 Motor Officer due to a medical retirement. The time line for the replacement of these positions is not known due to budget issues with the city. This grant will assist us in providing enforcement activities that will serve our City population that now number in excess of one hundred thousand people.
22350 CVC – No person shall drive a vehicle upon a highway at a speed greater than is reasonable or prudent having due regard for weather, visibility, the traffic on, and the surface and width of, the highway, and in no event at a speed which endangers the safety of persons or property.
21801(a)CVC – The driver of a vehicle intending to turn to the left or to complete a U-turn upon a highway, or to turn left into public or private property, or an alley, shall yield the right-of-way to all vehicles approaching from the opposite direction which are close enough to constitute a hazard at any time during the turning movement, and shall continue to yield the right-of-way to the approaching vehicles until the left turn or U-turn can be made with reasonable safety.
23152(a)CVC – It is a misdemeanor to drive under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs.
Well if you were unaware National Night Out the nationwide event to snuff out crime and to foster positive relationships between the community and Law Enforcement was on August 4th. Many cities locally took part in this years event but not as many as years past.
Rialto, Fontana, Grand Terrace, & San Bernardino all had National Night Out festival events this year. Cities like Riverside & Upland encouraged their communities to hold individual block parties and public safety personnel traveled from event to event.
On the large festival side Rialto came out as a top performer with the amount of items offered all in one area. Two of the biggest draws every year are the rides in police cars (no handcuffs required) and the Gourmet Food Trucks secured by Market Solution Services.
Probably the best music all night was the live music preformed by All Star National Anthem Performer Alexa Capelli who not only sang the National Anthem see it here but also preformed some awesome music for the crowd (see her performances on our Youtube Channel). Once she began to sing the crowd came up to the stage Leslie Parks of Rialto said “I have never heard such a powerful voice in my life” and little Stephanie Ramirez age 8 said “one day I want to be as pretty as her and sing just like her”.
Other awesome live performers brought by Lil Saint Productions were Elizabeth R Estrella and Christian Rapper Carl Fontaine. Rialto Police appear to spare no expense in putting this event together. We heard that the planning meeting was a all hands on deck type of feel.
Close on Rialto’s heels was the Lydo Apartments & ATAP After School Program that held the only large National Night Out program in San Bernardino August 4th. The San Bernardino program offered a lot of what Rialto offered and promised to step it up and put San Bernardino on the map.
Other large events were in Grand Terrace, Montclair and Fontana. Fontana held their event at Fontana Park in the area known as Summit. They had vendors, food and Mc Gruff the Crime Dog. Kids got to get there face painted and take pictures with police officer and many different vehicles. See a great photo from Edward Ornelas below.
Held on August 8th was the National Night Out event in Perris Ca. Perris Mayor Daryl Busch said residents will gain a new appreciation for law enforcement and public safety at National Night Out.
“It is a great, and I want to emphasize great, outreach effort on the part of our public safety folks to show all the varied aspects of their jobs,” Busch said. “Most people only see police on motorcycles or in patrol cars, but this event provide the chance to view the full spectrum of services they provide to our community.”
Perris officials we’re on hand to accept a plaque for their continuing support of law enforcement and public safety. The day’s activities included static displays, food and drink vendors, as well as games and jumpers for children. Taken from http://www.cityofperris.org/news/2015_stories/08-04-15_national-night-out.html
There were cities that went with the smaller block parties but Riverside had over 20 block parties going on all over the city. Upland also went the block party route and Councilwoman Carol Timm posted on Facebook pictures of her and public safety officials going from block party to block party.
Some remarked that it is vital that Upland gets in and around the community as the Pro Drug Lobby is currently working to attack the Ordnance that Upland has to ban Medical Marijuana shops in the city of Upland.
No matter what city your in one thing is true we need to stop fighting our Public Safety officers and we need to collaborate together to help make everyone’s life more enjoyable.
Can one person really make a difference? Well, I guess it all depends on the person’s position and the scale of the change. In Rialto they made a change to the top level official in Rialto Unified School District, but what Rialto parents and community members are looking for may not happen right away if at all.
Credit RUSD twitter account
Rialto Unified has been full of scandals and challenges over the years. Some of them you can read about in the article Beau Yarbrough from The Sun Newspaper wrote about the Superintendent’s first day of school tour (a tour only some news media was informed about apparently) read his article here. What Beau’s article misses to point out is the rampant culture of abusive staff, the constant struggle between parents and local administrators, loss of thousands of dollars in local control funding to RUSD elementary sites and the issues that come with having schools that are policed by over taxed and dangerous cities like Colton and San Bernardino.
We were not able to be a part of this First Day of School tour with new Superintendent Cuauhtémoc Avila but at National Night Out we were able to speak with Scott Sparks, Principal of Eisenhower High School and some of the many staff from around the district. All were ready to meet their students Wednesday morning. We asked Mr. Sparks if he was ready for the first day, he said with much enthusiasm that we’re ready and excited for the students. Eisenhower has been a shinning jewel for the RUSD. Mr. Sparks in his third year as Principal of Eisenhower High has been reaching out to the community to seek out the best learning experience for the students in his care. He is also lucky to have stories of concerned staff helping children outside of work hours. Like when Mark Steeter, a teacher at Eisenhower High School ended up saving a toddler’s life on his 30th wedding anniversary trip over Memorial Day weekend.
One statement Beau got from new Superintendent Cuauhtémoc Avila was that he had changes but he wanted to move slowly. This isn’t sitting well with parents who are struggling. Many parents of special education students were looking for new Superintendent Cuauhtémoc Avila to make quick changes and help them get a proper education for their children.
It looks like we are in a wait and see pattern with new Superintendent Cuauhtémoc Avila. Only time will tell in we see positive changes and results for our students in Rialto Unified School District.
A large group of city officials, elected officials, community members and family gathered at the Johnson center meeting room to honor Mike Story city of Rialto City Administrator for his recognition of Mr. Story’s dedication to the community of Rialto.
Story after story was told about the Rialto Man of Distinction award recipient and they all spoke to a man of high moral character and a work ethic that never made Mr. Story feel like he was too good to help out his fellow city employee. Mayor Deborah Robertson spoke about Mr. Story and his dedication to making sure that Frisbee Park host site for the Rialto Jazz Fest be kept looking nice. Something very odd happened at this event that you would not normally see. Elected official after elected official gave Mr. Story the credit for bringing Rialto into a functional balanced budget something not all cities can say in todays climate.
As each speaker came to the podium a slide show played in the background showing Mr. Story in his various roles around Rialto. Many of the speakers spoke of Mr. Story wearing many different hats in his employment with Rialto and looking at the pictures he has worn a lot of aprons too!!!!
Mike story speaking to Greta Hodges long time Rialto resident and chair of the Friends of Rialto K9 Association.
Mike Story speaking with City Councilman Shawn O’Connell both men were smiling and having a good conversation. Councilman Shawn O’Connell spoke about Mr. Story’s character and dedication to being ethically balanced. Councilman Shawn O’Connell also spoke to Mr. Story being a person that works to make sure that city government is transparent and fair.
Mr. Story with Councilman Shawn O’Connell and Fire Chief Matt Fratus prior to the event beginning. Rialto Fire Chief Matt Fratus said he is newer to rialto but having worked in other cities under a lot of other city administrators that Mr. Story’s character makes working for the community a lot easier.
So next time your out and about say hello to Mr. Story and tell him how thankful you are that he is working so hard to make Rialto a better place to be.
Tuesday June 9th at the regular city council meeting Robert Eizenbiez and his staff laid out a confusing and hard to understand plan on how to deal with water restrictions sent down by Governor Jerry Brown. Mr. Eizenbiez a new Public Works Director to Rialto is new to his job here but not new to public service working in the largest California city to file for bankruptcy San Bernardino as an engenier and as an interim Public Works Director. City Council moved the public works presentation up to the June 9th meeting as they were waiting for over a month to hear why they should approve harsh regulations on the community of Rialto when no presentation has ever been made? Councilman O’connell said at a past meeting that he would like to see a healthy education component before they started attacking the community. Councilman Palmer wanted to see language like no watering during high winds and no watering after measureable rain for 48 hours better outlined and Councilman Scott wanted to know why we had a green lawn ordnance if we are now telling people not to water their lawns?
Very few of these questions were answered but we did learn that the city will be asking you to do their job for them and turn in your neighbors via a mobile app that could be located online. Rialto Public Works Department is touting awesome numbers in getting the message out to Rialto water customers their first workshop in March 2015 had 45 people the workshop had 70 people. Ron a local business owner who watched the meeting online said “So a city of 200,000 people an increase of 25 people shows success?” The Rialto Public Works presentation did say that people are calling about rebate programs but are saying the the rebates are too low and don’t provide enough to accomplish the goals that were set. Local marketing professionals and Political Activists say that the rebates are just there to get you to purchase new items you can’t afford. Anthony from Rialto Watch Dogs says “take the Weather based irrigation timers they only give you a $100 rebate yet a inexpensive unit that isn’t reliable will cost you $200 and that’s not including the other materials or labor to install the unit.” Even the Public Works presentation stated that rialto water customers are saying that the $350 max rebate for turf removal doesn’t do much.
Rialto Public Works Department also stated that they will be TARGETING Schools and Local Businesses in an effort to force the 28% water reduction that the Governor laid out in his latest drought plan. The public works Department Presentation says it will begin with education but they can and will levy fines of $100 to $500 for each offense in addition to monetary fines Rialto Water can install water restrictive flow device or shut off the water.
The city of Riverside has sued a state agency over water restrictions intended to combat the drought, claiming the rules are unfair because the city has ample groundwater supplies. The Southern California city argues it has been unfairly ordered to cut water use by 24 percent even though it has groundwater supplies for four years and does not rely on any imported water, according to the lawsuit filed Thursday in Fresno County Superior Court. Riverside, a city of 317,000 people, wants to be allowed to cut water consumption by 4 percent along with some jurisdictions in Northern California that rely on surface water supplies, the suit said. (http://abc7.com/news/riverside-sues-over-california-water-restrictions/776794/ )
Why does it appear that Riverside cares more about their residents than Rialto? Rialto’s City Attorney will attack a citizens right to FREE speech but not protect the communities right to not be unfairly attacked by over reaching legislation.
We made calls to Clarence Mansell the General Manager of Rialto Water Services & Robert Eizenbiez the Public Works Director for the City of Rialto. Calls to Rialto Water Services were not returned but Robert Eizenbiez did talk to us click here http://wp.me/p1Otmn-Da to see what he had to say.
Local people in the City of Rialto are kinda tired of rialto trying to build the plane while in mid flight. This means it seems like every project is thrown together and the community gets to suffer while they feel their way around ill conceived poorly planned ideas.
What are your thoughts on this ordinance? Comment below or email us at rialtonw@aol.com
At 4:39 pm on Sunday over 20 shots rang out in the Cedar Park Greens community in the Flores Park Area. Residents who were trying to report the shots fired incident were given a high call volume message and 911 calls would not connect.
The shooting was on the east side of the multi housing community. This is the same community where the two dodger fans who beat up Giants fan Brian Stow lived. Cedar Park Greens is the nasty community everyone just pretends doesn’t exist until something bad happens said Eric a local resident that walks Etiwanda daily.
“It was pretty scary happened right behind my house. We were outside enjoying this beautiful weather, I thought it was fireworks at first, until something whizzed by my friends head. Lord help us all” said Sandra.
Last reports were that there were no victims located as yet. Multiple shooters and at least three vehicles. Helicopter found couple possible shooters. Police found empty shell casings in the street. Police were checking all hospitals as parties involved left the scene.
Reports are at least three shooters according to witness statements.
So far we know that multiple “victims” were shot at and fled the scene. At least one party called police to identify that they fled the scene after being shot at and police were in route to interview them.
Three separate series of gun shots rang out through the community. With the large problem with illegal fireworks in Rialto some people were unsure at first about what they were hearing. As of 9pm no reports of injuries or arrests have been made.
rialtonow 