Colton man in wheelchair falls into hole

Horrible incident but thank God he came out ok. Rialto Fire on scene assiting.

COLTON – Firefighters on Thursday rescued a man in a wheelchair who fell into a 6-foot-deep hole that was left covered with a weathered and unsecured piece of plywood, Colton fire officials said.Charles Walker, 67, of Colton was in his motorized wheelchair on a Wildrose Avenue sidewalk when he rolled across the plywood covering the hole over an open electrical vault, Colton Fire Department spokesman Tom Debellis said.

“The plywood appeared to be weathered,” Debellis said. “Mr. Walker was taken to the veterans hospital in Loma Linda just for precautionary measures.”

Walker didn’t have any obvious injuries, acting Fire Chief Tim McHargue said.

Firefighters used a hoist to lift Walker’s motorized wheelchair out of the electrical vault after they pulled him to safety.

“He was talking to us, and he was glad we were there,” McHargue said. Not including Walker’s weight, the board probably collapsed under 300 to 500 pounds from the wheelchair, McHargue said.

“We don’t have any information at this time who left the plywood covering the hole,” Debellis said.

City workers had been working on the underground vault earlier in the day, according to sources at Colton Public Utilities.

“Until this is completely investigated the city of Colton has no comment on this matter,” City Manager Rod Foster said in a phone interview Thursday evening.

Colton work crews secured the hole, Foster said.

San Bernardino and Rialto firefighters assisted in the incident.

Read more: http://www.sbsun.com/ci_20808805/colton-man-wheelchair-falls-into-hole#ixzz1xDAqp5YZ

Graffiti Removal, How important is it to you?

When I first moved back to Rialto I noticed how much graffiti was all over the place it was like little LA.

We rented for one year then made the decision to purchase our first home in Rialto, the graffiti was out of control.

We banded together with Lt Burkholder, Lt Crispin & Cpl Muir to get the graffiti under control. I personally held GPC the graffiti removal contractor to a hard-line of removing the graffiti ASAP. I helped GPC & the city of Rialto over obstacles such as private property right of ways and businesses that were no longer cleaning graffiti on their back walls because of retaliation against their maintenance employees. Councilman Ed Palmer and I developed a way to get property owners and leasing companies to keep their leasing signs free of graffiti.

And things were looking better……………………….. Until Now!!!!!

The city has decided to change contractors beginning last month May 2012 to save $3 a stop. Now everyone has heard the saying you get what you pay for, and we are getting just that cheaper service that has more excuses than results.

Larry De Corona the Owner of Superior Property Mainence ( http://www.4superior.com/ ) came out to the Area 1 Command Meeting stating that nothing will change but better faster services at a lower price. He tried to tell us his company can’t take care of our drainage Areas or Washes ( which is wrong ) and that they were brining in a new camera program, knowledgeable staff ect. None of his statements have shown to be true.

So I wonder why I have been calling and seeing graffiti up for days and days, poor painting, tags still showing through ect. Then I remembered something Mr. De Corona said at the meeting they are the largest graffiti removal program in LA County. Ah ha this is why who hasn’t driven around LA County and been blinded by graffiti.

Larry Decrona Owner & Managing partner in aquisition and Property Managment

Larry De Corona (pictured above) called me yesterday very upset that I am asking his company to remove the graffiti in a timely fashion. He said that they are working within the confines of the contract and that I couldn’t use his statements at the Area Command Meeting as gold. He told me that in April GPC billed the city $8K for the month of April, Superior billed the city $6K for May. This isn’t because they are so much cheaper it’s because they are slower to respond and GPC work some Saturdays in April Superior doesnt.

Mr. De Corona said something that speaks to where he is coming from a property management back ground that showed his lack of knowledge of this city or the War we wage her on Hoodlums. He said “Whats the difference if the graffiti stays up a few more days if it saves the city money”. Really did you just say that. Graffiti is a hoodlums way of saying he owns your neighborhood, street or city, and everyday it’s up there is another day to influence our teens, intimidate our communities and enrage community members.

I spoke with Tim Sullivan from public works and he told me that Superior is new and he is keeping close account of the complaints and looking at Superior’s response times and quality of work. We want to keep this from becoming a problem.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rid-Rialto-of-Graffitti/216882198324244 – We have a Facebook Page you can visit and post your problem areas with graffiti or just email them to rialtonw@aol.com and we will post for you.

Ferguson Park the Multi Million Dollar park that wont be stripped until the July Grand Opening was hit hard and it took Superior 3 days to remove this graffiti, so people’s questions on safety at our parks is still an issue and thanks to Superior the community is wondering if the new park is even worth visiting.

I have called the graffiti hotline numerous times to find MAJOR, MASSIVE tags up for days and even weeks.

The graffiti Hotline number is 909-820-2670 put this in your cell phone and call on every tag.

If you have questions, complaints or concerns please call 909-820-2602 and ask for Tim Sullivan.

Update on the American Water Petitions and Prop 218 Protest Letters

Dear friends and neighbors:

As you know, we are fighting the American Water privatization deal in Rialto in two different ways:  first, the petition we recently filed to require the City to place the American Water contract up for a vote of the people; and second, the Prop 218 process for Rialto property owners to block the rate hikes the City is trying to impose in order to pay for this misguided scheme.

I am writing to alert you to developments on both fronts.

Concerning the voter petition, the San Bernardino Sun reported today that the City has forwarded our petitions to the County of San Bernardino to certify whether we have submitted enough signatures from registered voters to qualify for the ballot.  The County says that process will take about two weeks.

We expect the County to confirm that we have submitted more than enough votes to place this critical decision before the voters of Rialto.  You can read the Sun’s article at the following link:

http://www.sbsun.com/ci_20648408/county-elections-staff-verifying-signatures-rialto-petition-vote

Concerning the Prop 218 process, we mailed protest cards today to all Rialto property owners.  These cards provide property owners with a convenient way to tell the City that the people of Rialto reject these unfair rate hikes.  We also included a postage-prepaid envelope to make it easy for impacted property owners to return the protest cards.

Under Proposition 218, if a majority of impacted property owners file protests with the City, the City cannot impose these rate hikes!

If you are property owner in Rialto – or a renter who is responsible for paying the water or sewer bill – we encourage you to return the protest card as soon as you receive it.  If you receive a mailing from SOS Rialto Water, please open it immediately; sign the enclosed protest card; and return it to us in the postage-prepaid envelope.

We will deliver every protest card we receive to the City Clerk’s office before the June 12 deadline.

Please remember – Rialto property owners can block these unfair rate hikes, but only if a sufficient number of protests are filed with the City by June 12.  Please return your protest card to SOS Rialto Water immediately.

Thank you again for your support in blocking these unfair rate hikes.

Sincerely,

Mark Brooks

SOS Rialto Water and Utility Workers Union of America

Won this (Water) Battle, Yet Still forging on the War Front

Below is the form email that went out from SOS Water, the organization that is spearheading the drive to allow City of Rialto Voters to vote on the decision to outsource our water and waste water systems. I hope this push proves a few things to the city council and mayor of Rialto:

  • Simple transperity isn’t enough when it comes to our water and a 30 year contract – Besides people who either work for the city, sit on a city commission/board or belong to a group or organization that is owned by the city government no one things that the information meetings were informative, they were more confusing. No other proposals were shown, staff presenting the information came off cocky and rude & people were left with more questions than answers.
  • When the people (Rialto Residents) speak listen – 80+ people signed up to speak on the impending vote on water services & the city council choose to instead listen to Union reps, possible future business owners, labor lobbies & inappropriate city mouth pieces (Ref June Hayes calling one of the speakers a card carving communist). When Rialto business owners and residents filled 4 rooms and spoke their piece and you still chose to ignore it, you work for us remember that.
  • For years this city government has made a choice to ignore the water system, now when RDA funds are gone we make a made dash for the first person willing to pay us off. How is this fair to the city? Why should the residents pay for your lack of leadership. It was best said today as Governor Brown was making his latest pitch for higher taxes he ask a reporter if she didn’t like his plan what did she think he should do and she said “THATS YOUR JOB”. IF the city water is in such disrepair then let’s get to work fixing it. Start off by using the 30 million dollars the Utility owes you and let’s get to work. Then lets talk about slow graduated increases that will hurt less over time to obtain the remainder of the money and finish the work. By the councils own admission this alone will bring business here that was avoiding us because of our water systems age and disrepair. I don’t agree that is why they are avoiding us but that’s for another post.
  • SOS is comprised from people out-of-state that have seen American Water at work and know first hand what type of service they provide. This doesnt bother me one bit because without the hard work and passion of the people of Rialto their efforts would have died out eons ago.

Dear friends and neighbors:

On Saturday, May 12, we filed our petition with the City Clerk with substantially more than enough signatures to place the water privatization scheme before the voters of Rialto.  Under California law, this means that the City will be required to present this critical issue to a vote of the people.

We needed 10% of the registered voters of Rialto to qualify for the ballot – or just over 3,600 signatures.  Instead, we turned in more than 6,400 signatures!

The people of Rialto really came through to let City Council know that the voters of Rialto deserve to have the final say on this misguided 30-year privatization scheme.

The next step is that the City will review our petition to verify that we have submitted a sufficient number of valid signatures.  After that, this issue should be presented to a public ballot sometime over the next few months.  We will need to re-double our efforts to make certain this water privatization contract is defeated at the ballot box.

In addition, in the next few days we will be sending Prop 218 protest cards to all Rialto property owner who are affected by the huge rate hikes that the City Council is trying to push through to finance this deal.  If a majority of property owners protest these rate hikes, then the City cannot impose the rate increases and the entire water privatization scheme fails.

We will keep you posted on both of these efforts as we move forward.

Congratulations again for all of your hard work and for standing up for the future of Rialto.

Mark Brooks

SOS Rialto Water

P.S.  I am posting below a link to the news story in the Sunday’s San Bernardino Sun concerning our success in getting the petition filed, and another link to a guest editorial from SOS Rialto Water members that was printed in the Sun on May 9.

http://www.sbsun.com/ci_20612243/more-than-6-000-rialto-residents-sign-petition

http://www.sbsun.com/pointofview/ci_20585383/rialto-voters-deserve-say-american-water-deal

 

Signature Collectors be proud Final signature count is……

Josef Britt
We the People have spoken. The final count is into the Rialto City Clerks Office.The Referendum Petition that we fought so hard for, 3 weeks of door to door asking all Rialto Voters to please sign and you did. We were hoping for min of 3500 and topping out 5000 for padding and our numbers are 6418, You did it. We the People of Rialto have spoken. Here’s a camera shot of the receipt I took in front of the Clerks office 5:00pm. Now let’s start to rebuild Rialto to the Jewel that it should be. Rialto you did it. Thanks! Joe Britt

Up Coming Events

City of Rialto — Notice

The Rialto City Clerk’s Office, located at 290 W. Rialto Ave., CA. 92376, will be open on Saturday, May 12th, 2012 from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm.

 

 

Vote By Mail Ballots – Rialto Drop-Off Site

The Rialto City Clerk’s Office is a designated Vote-By-Mail Ballot Drop-Off site for the Presidential Primary Election June 5, 2012. For more information, please contact the Rialto City Clerk’s Office at (909) 820-2519, or the Registrar of Voters at (909) 387-8300/Toll Free (800) 881-VOTE / TDD (909) 387-2788.

 

Fire Station 202 Grand Opening

The City of Rialto Fire Department Cordially Invites You to Attend on Saturday, May 12th at 10:00 am 1700 N. Riversde Ave.

Job and Resource Fair

The City of Rialto is hosting a Job and Resource Fair in partnership with the County of San Bernardino Workforce Development Department.

Date: Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Time: 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM

Location: Cathedral of Praise

1521 S. Riverside Ave

Rialto, CA 92376

Employers will be recruiting for full-time and part-time employment. Come professionally dressed, bring copies of your resume and be prepared to speak to employers on site.

Greetings Homeless Network Providers, Please see the calendar below for a list of Community Action Partnership of San Bernardino County events coming soon. Thank you.

6th Annual Community Garden Open House

Saturday, May 19th

From 10:00 am – 1:00 pm

539 N. Acacia Ave.

(Behind Grace Lutheran Church)

FREE MULCH!

Donated by BURRTEC Waste (Bring your own bags & shovel!)

There will also be: Plant and Vegetable Sale Information Booths Garden Tours Free Kids Craft               Butterfly Lady & Orchid Society

For more information call 421-7222.

SUNRISE CHURCH-1:00PM 690 W ETIWANDA AVE, RIALTO, CA 92376 MONDAY  MAY 21,  2012 USDA Commodities Distribution

Area Command Meeting – Area #1

For mor information please contact Lieutenant Karol at 909-820-2526. Meeting times are from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm.
When
Thu May 24 7pm – 8:30pm Pacific Time
Where
Sunrise Church 2759 N. Ayala Ave

10th Annual Memorial Day Tribute

On Monday, May 28, from 10:00 a.m.- 1:00 p.m., the City of Rialto will host its 10th Annual Memorial Day Tribute at the Rialto Park Cemetery 200 N. Willow. Last year over 300 people attended and it continues to grow each year. If you have any further questions, please contact the Rialto City Clerk’s Office at (909) 820-2519. Rialto Residents, who are World War II Veterans, please contact the City Clerk’s Office for a special honor at the Memorial Day event. Please click here to view the prior year’s event.

8th Annual Taste of Rialto

Thursday, June 7, 2012
  • 5:00pm
  • Downtown Rialto – Northeast Corner of Riverside & Rialto Ave.
  • Food, Beer and Wine Tasting – Come enjoy an evening of good food, music and fun!  50’s theme – tickets $25.00

Area Command Meeting – Area #3

WhenWed, June 6, 7:00pm – 8:30pm
WhereSimpson Elementary School 1050 S Lilac Avenue (map)
DescriptionFor more information please contact Lieutenant Hardin at 909-820-2634. Meeting times are from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm.
Area Command Meeting – Area #4
WhenWed, June 20, 7:00pm – 8:30pm
WhereBoyd Elementary School 310 E Merrill Avenue (map)
DescriptionFor more information please contact Lieutenant Hardin at 909-820-2634. Meeting time are from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm.

Why Can’t Rialto Vote on Who runs the Water & Waste Water Systems?

Ok everyone we have recived the phone calls from both sides and with an issue like this in these economic times it can be hard to decifer the honesty and mistruths in both messages.

On one hand you have SOS Save our Water with a petition drive to undo the decision by the City Council and Mayor to sell off our water and waste water systems to American Water. The only Council Member to vote against this twice was Joe Baca Jr. who is running for Assembly.

I spoke to somone down at the city and this is the best I can decifer from both messages.

SOS Save Our Water (AKA AFL-CIO) – The union that represents the water workers dosen’t like this deal. So what they are doing is they have begun over the last couple weeks began circulating a petition to put on the ballot for the voters to decide on wheather they want American Water to actually take ownership of our systems. It does not effect water rates increasing, it just reverses councils decision. In my opinion this is a bad deal with the wrong company. Its just a last ditch effort to sell or water off for 30 YEARS for a small one time payment of 30 million dollers.

 

 

 

 

 

City of Rialto, Edward J Carrillo, Scott Beard, Midge Zupanic, Mayor Grace Vargas, Bill Perez & Randall Lewis – This group has Robo Called, wrote in the voice of the people and mailed out letters. They want you to believe that without American Water no upgrades will ever be done and the city will crumble around itself. Ok maybe the city falling apart was my adding of dramatics but not without a little help from the city goverment. There are other companies out there with better deals for residents, its the 30 million doller pay back that has council salivating. They keep calling the 30 million dollers Redevelopment money, they had better be careful lest the state takes ownership of that money as well. If all else fails let the current employees do their job and slowly upgrade our systems. What your telling us is the people the city employed to do the job can’t meaning you don’t know how to hire the right people. Also I really dont understand how a private company can get better deals on materials and supplies but a City can’t. Cities have resources like legislators, County Supervisors and others that can help them get those great prices on supplies. Hey if Lewis Comercial Properties want to build here so bad why can’t they or Ron Pharris help the city barter for reasonable prices. With the right protection and projects Rialto is a reat place to bring your business because so many of us shop well outside our community for entertainment and day to day needs.

City office said if you don’t like the American Water Deal feel free to sign the Petition, But if you want to battle the water rates only then you must mail or walk in a letter of protest with the following information.

Name, Adress or APN & Signature. These three things must be on your letter I am signing the petition and sending out a letter and I suggest that the rest of the city does the same.

If you want to sign a petition you can go to:

379 W Valley Blvd

Rialto Ca 92376

Or if you have peitions that need to be turned in also go to the Valley Location.

If you dont want to leave your home feel free to respond to this post or email rialtonw@aol.com with your address and we will come to you with a petition to sign. Or you can go to Fresh And Easy above the 210, Walmart on Riverside or call petition cordinator Mark (615) 419-2932.

——————————————————————————————————————————-

ADVERTISMENT

 

The person that really makes out on Rialto’s Water Sale

Who Really owns Rialto?????

Below is a letter from the San Bernardino Sun Newspaper from realeste developer  Randall Lewis. In it he makes it sound like what the city council did by voting to outsource our water department was a good thing. What it really boils down to is a group of lobbies that are getting well fed while the rate payer suffer for the next 30 yrs. What people like Midge Zupanic, Max & Pualine Tiddler, the Mayor and all of council don’t seem to understand is we can swallow the idea that rates may need to be adjusted, and that the repairs that THEY have failed to implement over the years need to be done. But what we don’t need to do is:

  • Promise American Water or any other company a 30 year contract that runs like a mortgage, meaning if we get a few years into this and find out they couldn’t deliver on their promises we are on the hook to re-pay 130 million early termination charge that reduces by 4 million for every year until the end of 30 years.
  • Promise American Water or any other company 30% profit every year for 30 years.
  • Use the 30 million dollar pay off to line the pockets of developers like Ron Pharris or Randall Lewis.
  • To pander to one union while stabbing another in the back.

The reason you have petitions in circulation right now is the AFL-CIO/TEAMSTERS will lose the shop because it will no longer be a union shop, the current employees are only guaranteed their jobs for a year and a half after that there is no promises of jobs. So while they are singing the praises of creating jobs in the industry of construction of the water system upgrades, they are signing the pink slips for every water and waste water employee & their families. Our Mayor and city council sold their own people down the river for the promise of a Target Shopping Center, a Super Walmart (which is still in litigation), a Lowes and then maybe we will finish the In and Out Project. Most of this money (30 million Dollar pay off) will be given to Randall Lewis for his “Target” Shopping Center. Our water employees family’s will suffer because of this councils actions and the prior ones inactions.

  • Fail to give the community the ability to decide. People have to force the city to seek out what the public thinks and wants to do.

Most of the proponents of this Sale are Elderly meaning they Qualify for the 20% discount for low-income and senior citizens. Also meaning that they wont be alive to see the end of this bad deal. Yet we will all suffer their ill-informed, illegal decision.

So when you get recorded calls from the city telling you not to sign the petition and allow democracy to decide this very important decision, or the city manager mayor and  sell Rialto down the river lobby (Randall Lewis and Ron Pharris) write letters to the sun stating how great this is and that we should be proud of this council and mayor. Listen to what their not saying. If you see them tell them what you think and ask them why we didn’t hear any of the other proposals from local companies working with local water and waste water systems. Ask them if they will repeal the brown lawn ordnance since we will no longer be able to afford to water our lawns. Ask them if they even CARE.

 

 

Rialto invests in itself

RandallLewissbsun.com

Posted:   05/03/2012 09:05:21 PM PDT

A city’s economic vitality is based in large part on its ability to create jobs and it’s commendable to see that the leaders of Rialto understand that necessity. The city has faced difficult choices and will face more in the months ahead as it positions itself for an economic recovery that will favor those communities with the infrastructure to compete for new businesses.We understand that growth requires investment, and appreciate what Rialto has done in that regard. Recently, the City Council took the difficult step of raising water rates, with the very specific intention of reinvesting in the community to help make Rialto more competitive.

However, it doesn’t end there. With the loss of redevelopment agencies, cities need to be more resourceful and visionary than ever. They need to address challenges head on and turn them into opportunities.

By taking bold steps, Rialto is fulfilling its promise of a “2nd Century of Progress.” That bodes well for the city’s economy and its ability to provide residents with the essential services they’ve come to expect.

RANDALL LEWIS

Lewis Group of Companies Upland

SOS Rialto Water – Referendum Volunteer Organizing Meetings

Dear friends and neighbors:

PLEASE COME THIS WEEKEND to help us sign up Rialto voters on our petition to repeal the City Council’s VERY BAD DECISION to contract out Rialto’s water and sewer system to for-profit American Water Company.

We only have two more weeks to collect the signatures we need to place this crucial decision on the ballot for the voters of Rialto to decide.  THIS DECISION WILL AFFECT RIALTO FAMILIES FOR THE NEXT THREE DECADES!

We will be at the Teamsters hall in Rialto this Saturday and Sunday, from 10:00 a.m. until noon to mobilize volunteers to collect more signatures to overturn the City Council’s decision. The address is provided below.

Please come to one or both of these urgent meetings!

1.      If you already have a petition packet, PLEASE COME THIS WEEKEND TO TURN IN YOUR FINISHED PACKETS AND ALSO TO CHECK IN WITH OUR ORGANIZERS ABOUT YOUR PROGRESS.  If we don’t know how many signatures our volunteers are gathering, we cannot make plans for our campaign over the next two weeks.

2.      If you have not picked up a petition packet yet, PLEASE COME THIS WEEKEND TO PICK UP A PACKET TO SIGN UP YOUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS TO STOP THIS VERY BAD DECISION BY CITY COUNCIL.  If you have already been circulating packets, PLEASE COME THIS WEEKEND TO TURN IN YOUR EXISTING PACKET OR PACKETS TO OUR ORGANIZERS AND TO PICK UP ANOTHER PACKET TO CIRCULATE!

I am also attaching a revised version of our Instructions for Petition Circulators.  If you have any questions, please call me at 615.259.1186, or Jerry at 602.684.0552.

If at all possible, please come both days this weekend to help us get across the finish line!  We will have “walk lists” for neighborhood canvassing and everything else you will need to mobilize Rialto voters against the City Council’s terrible decision to contract out Rialto’s water system and to drive up your water and sewer rates.

Thank you for everything you do.  Rialto voters will have the last say in this critical decision if we decide to WIN!

Mark Brooks

SOS Rialto Water/Utility Workers Union of America

 

 

SOS Rialto Water – Referendum Volunteer Organizing Meetings

Saturday & Sunday Mornings

April 28-29

10:00 a.m until Noon

Teamster Local 63 Hall Parking Lot

379 W. Valley Blvd., Rialto, CA  92376

Repeal the Bad Water Deal

Ok Everyone this is what it has come down to………………

There are petitions in circulation right now that ALL REGISTERED RIALTO VOTERS CAN & MUST SIGN.

There are people out there with petitions that you can sign. The best bet would be for each and every one of you to go to the:

Teamster Local 63 Hall
379 W. Valley Blvd.,
Rialto, CA  92376
Saturday from 10am-12pm you can go to the location on Valley Blvd and pick up petitions and marketing materials from staff here. Also Anne Lopez is an awesome resident and she is making herself available to those of you that just want to sign the petition. Below is her message to all of you:

I have a petition for any registered Rialto voter resident to sign.  We need 6000 signatures.  If any one is interested in signing you can reach me by email and I will come to you.  anne.67.lopez@gmail.com.  I will also be in front of Stater Brother’s on Monday April 23, 2012 from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. located at 571 East Foothill Blvd. Rialto, CA 92376.  Please come out and show you support.

In addition David Phillips will also come to you to give you the opportunity to sign a petition Email him at davidsmarketing@aol.com .

Also Anne and David Phillips will be at the next City Council Meeting Tuesday at 6pm with petitions outside council chambers.

We will be adding more locations this week so add your email address to the right and get all the updates sent directly to your email and know of every single location. Also we are looking for spanish speaking petition gathers to work our hispanic markets.

If you are a Rialto business owner and would allow signature gathers outside your business or would like to collect signatures as well let one of the contacts on here know and we will get you what you need.

If you have questions you can call:

Mark at (615) 259-1186

OR

Jerry at (602) 684-0552

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