Rialto Fails To Get Community Input on New Park Improvements 

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There is nothing worse than not being included. This is the same theme that is constantly brought up in this community and it seems like we have yet another example.

From the message below the people living in the 1 mile radius from Frisbie Park were not included in the survey that asked residents what they would like to see in their neighborhood park. Now the right thing to do would be to stop the progress and put the survey back out to get the communities real opinions right? Well according to the message below that doesn’t seem to be what is going to happen unless the community floods the city council chambers tonight.

Why is it that we have to hold our elected leaders hands with every decision that requires just a little common sense?

City Administrator Mike Story said this about the Park Project:

“Survey was done. It was sent out to a large radius of both park projects. There was also a community meeting to get input. Tonight is to review the plans that were prepared with input from community and sub committee.”

City Administrator Mike Story refutes the statement from Omar Menjivar:

“That is incorrect. Perry in community services has the list of all the people who survey was mailed to. The survey was also available on line.”

This message was sent to use from Tennis Coach Omar Menjivar:

Hello Tennis Friends,
This Tuesday, February 28, 2017 at 6:30p.m. there will be a city Council meeting in the City of Rialto at 150 S. Palm Ave, Rialto, CA 92376.  They will be talking about the Frisbie Park renovation project.

Frisbee Park is located at 1902 N. Acacia Ave, Rialto, CA 92376

A few months ago I shared with you all that there will be a series of meetings in order for the community to express their ideas and concerns about this park.  During the month of January and February everyone that lives within 1 mile radius from Frisbie Park should’ve received a survey where you could’ve shared what you like to have in Frisbie Park for you and your family to enjoy in the future.  Unfortunately many of us that live within this 1 mile radius from Frisbie Park did not receive the survey.
The City Counsel is nearing the final stages of setting on paper what will be part of the final renovation project.  I was informed that there is many things being left out from this project, including the addition of Tennis Courts.  Today I got to speak with two city counsel members and I shared with them that Frisbie Park has the great potential of becoming a complete Community Park for everyone in the community, instead of just a park for Baseball and the Softball community.  Madame Mayor Deborah Robertson and Counsel member Andy Carrizales ask me to show up to the next city counsel meeting along with everyone in the Tennis Community to advocate to have tennis courts added into the renovation project.  However, they emphasized that the tennis community must show up and speak out for their tennis courts.
I will speak in front of the city counsel and I will talk about the following points.

1. We need a community park to the East of the City of Rialto (Frisbie Park is the perfect location)

(so far we have two community parks. One to the far North at Fergusson Park and one to the far South at Rialto City Park)

2. Our Tennis Community has grown in the past year from 5 kids in the tennis program to 50 kids.

(By the end of this year I’m projected to reach more than 100 kids to be in the tennis program. WE NEED MORE TENNIS COURTS)

3. Our Tennis Program is reaching mile stones. For the first time in many decades we have a team that was League Finalist.

(GOOOO Acing Pandas 1 for being League Finalist for the 10 & Under Jr. Team Tennis League)

4.  The USTA has grants to help the City of Rialto build tennis courts for our community.

THE CITY DOES NOT HAVE TO PUT IN ALL THE MONEY TO BUILD THE TENNIS COURTS
I’M MAKING A CALL OUT TO EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU TO SHOW UP THIS TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2017, TO SHOW YOUR SUPPORT FOR THE TENNIS COMMUNITY.

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I would like to see someone else from our tennis community speak in front of the city counsel and advocated for more tennis courts and to ensure that Frisbie Park becomes a true community park.
Omar Menjivar

School of Tennis Rialto, CA

Certified USTA Tennis Instructor

schooloftennis@att.net

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Wrapping Up Eisenhower High School Football 2016 Season

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It has been a long time since Eisenhower has seen the winning glory days of the 90’s. The hiring of Varsity Head Football Coach Brown is the hope that those days are around the corner. In our interview with coach brown this summer he laid out a program that brought back the student athlete culture that many past Eisenhower graduates remember. Eisenhower boys Varsity Football 2-8 overall they split the two preseason games and won only one game against local rival Rialto High School. (See highlights below)

The game against Rialto High was a great game that really highlighted Eisenhower’s strengths. Eisenhower would suffer some injuries that would prove to make the remaining regular season difficult. Loosing their starting center and some other players to season ending injuries would be the beginning of a ruff season for Eisenhower High School. As Eisenhower prepared to face off against power house football team from Redlands School Citrus Valley High School learning to use back up players in a role as important as center would prove to be too much.

Eisenhower Star wide receivers and running back would prove to have some break out moments but Citrus Valley’s offense would prove to be too much for Eisenhower’s defense. Another constant throughout the season was the officiating crew as Eisenhower had to play against each opponent and the referees. Bad call after bad call seemed that the refs had a personal vendetta against Eisenhower. It wasn’t just one game it was every single game.

Cajon was a different beast and Lamario Howard had some replay worthy plays returning a kickoff for a touchdown and laying down some timely hits on defense. One thing that seemed to keep our players out of closing the gap in the 2nd half was the fact that some of the best players were playing both ways.

Eisenhower played AB Miller with much of the same results……

It was clear that Redlands is doing something right because even though their city is split three ways with three separate high schools they have teams that compete at the highest levels and win. Redlands high players were all bigger and stronger than Eisenhower players and at time drug our defensive players for additional yards as they tried to tackle them.

The game against Carter was played at Rialto High as Eisenhower’s field was closed for use. Eisenhower hoped to at least claim the city bragging rights for this season with a win against Carter. This proved to be a unreachable goal as Eisenhower lost to Carter as well. One bright spot in the 2nd half was the emergence of freshman QB Cesar Ayala taking over the helm from his senior cousin Joel Ayala he preformed well and showed some great promise. We also saw a few more freshman get some serious time in this game showing us what a developing team Eisenhower should be bringing to the field next season.

The final game of the season ended like the others but we were able to see how our future players will pick up next season. Freshman QB Cesar Ayala started the final game and his cousin the senior QB Joel Ayala came in to run some wildcat plays trying to throw off the highly developed Yucaipa High players. Yucaipa had twice as many players on their roster than Eisenhower showing that they were one of the last true football towns in the Inland Empire.

One thing that rang true was Coach Brown’s dedication to developing his players and making sure they learned as much as they could from their time on and off the field. It seems to be translating into a great run at next season with coach brown already working on developing his team for next season. Word around campus is that administration is happy to have coach Brown and his staff and can’t wait to see what nest season has in store. Other notable standouts this season were Nick Freeman at WR and Charles Matthews at RB.

We can’t wait to see what the future holds for Eisenhower football.

 

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Rialto Now Endorses For The 31st Congressional District Paul Chabot

First off we analyzed all of the candidates for this Congressional Seat and from the get go we found incumbent Pete Aguilar not the person that this region needs working for the people in Washington DC. Paul Chabot was the person that opposed Pete Aguilar in the last election 2 years ago. Paul Chabot ran a Grassroots campaign that was heavily out spent by the outsiders of the democrat party that flooded the region with money and a visit from Former President Clinton and Current VP Joe Biden. Even with all that Paul Chabot held on to make it a tough win for Pete Aguilar.

Paul Chabot came to our city of Rialto and held a Coffee event at Coffee Nuttz in Rialto. Democrats came out and asked Paul Chabot some tough questions and he answered them all unlike Pete Aguilar who has made a habit of running from the constituents when the questions get hard.

Paul Chabot has worked tirelessly for the well being of families and children. His organization has come to cities all over the Inland Empire to bring resources and collaborative partnerships to make local cities better for everyone. Why don’t you know about this? Well you see Paul Chabot and his team don’t come in with a massive team of fake people for a single event jump in front of the cameras for that perfect shot. No Paul Chabot works behind the scenes and works alongside people to create a better community for everyone. His team spreads out all over the Inland Empire to make an impact on the lives of people that matter. We need real people in congress that are interested in fixing the problems that the tax payers care about.

When we first heard about Paul Chabot’s plan for a Joint Military Base in San Bernardino we were skeptical. After listening more about his plans and watching crime skyrocket in San Bernardino this year the plan became one of the best ideas that has been brought to the region. Think about it the world is getting more dangerous and the public has become less comfortable with massive troop boots on ground solutions and more special forces and using air technology resources has become the new way to combat the evil that threatens us. Also our staff grew up in this region and the area that used to consist of Norton Air Force Base and Base Housing was a nice safe place to live and shop. Fast forward today it is full of crime, drugs and looks like a dump. The International Airport has been stalled by years due to massive corruption from Airport Board Staff.

Wikipedia entry on the SB Int Airport has this to say about the demise of the Airport:

An audit completed June 2011 at the request of a grand jury investigation found examples of potential mismanagement and financial irregularities. In September 2011, as part of a special joint corruption task force, the FBI raided the offices of the airport and the home of airport developer Scot Spencer to secure internal documents. In late September 2011, Don Rogers, the Director of the SBIA Authority (SBIAA) resigned. The grand jury report questioned a relationship between Rogers and Spencer, including a settlement of a legal claim by companies owned by Spencer against the SBIAA for almost $1 million without ascertaining whether Spencer’s companies suffered damages equivalent to such an amount.

The good ole San Bernardino Sun also reported on this corrupt land of stolen federal money:

More than 80 FBI agents filled a 26-foot U-Haul truck with records – including computers and mobile phones – as part of an investigation into mail and wire fraud, bribery, conspiracy and money laundering, and theft and fraud related to federal funds.

June 7th is the primary and you have these choices: Pete Aguilar, Sean Flynn, Joe Baca, Kaiser Ahmed & Paul Chabot

The top 2 candidates to obtain the most votes will compete in the general election in November we say your vote should be for Paul Chabot.

 

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Rialto City Council Approves Plans To Destroy A Majority Of The Last Standing Historic Orange Grove

On an early Tuesday morning our staff decided to take a look at the agenda for today’s city council meeting. Once we opened the agenda packet we were both glad and sad at the same time. The agenda includes nine proclomations, fifteen consent calander items and eleven tab items. The highlight of the agenda is the Proclamation-Mary McCombs 100th Year Birthday. You may not know Mrs McCombs but she is one of the last living Woman Veterans from World War II (you can see her in a video below).

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One very sad side of tonight’s agenda is the approval of destroying 7.5 acres of historic orange grove to build high end condos with no private yards in an area already struggling with crime issues. The area has had 92 different crimes in the first four months of this year and most of them were drug or property crimes. Adams Acres owner John Adams told us that the Orange grove and farm has been operating at a loss since 1960 but his family kept running it to keep the historical monument and orange trees part of the Rialto landscape. The property in total is ruffly 9.5 acres and Mr. Adams is selling off 7.5 of those acres and keeping 2 acres of fruit trees and vegetable gardening land. The main portion of the trees on the land that is being sold to the developer of Crestwood Communities is Valencia Oranges that are mainly used for juice and don’t carry a high price in the market. There will be over 600 fruit tress on the remaining 2 acres containing 200 varieties of fruit. Mr. Adams has other off site gardens where they grow vegtables at other locations in the city of Rialto, but nothing with so much historical importance.

I bet you said to your self recently we don’t have enough tire shops in Rialto, right? No your probalby tired of Rialto holding the record for having the most indoor swapmeets, Mc Donalds and Tire Shops. Well if you liked to hand car-wash on Foothill near Eucalytus because the city in all it infinite wisdom has approved yet another tire shop that will run from the corner of Eucalytus all the way to the Exudoz Car Dealership. Ledesma 2

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Rialto Now “Spotlight” on Former Rialto Unified Student Anahi Velasco

Covering Rialto one story at a time Rialto Now on Facebook “LIKE” us!

Anahi Velasco

When it comes to what types of stories drive traffic (people reading our blog) negative or stories of gloom and doom are the ones that drive people to your site. Even the larger media sources know that a hard hitting story of corruption or illegal activities will be very highly seen. What I love about our audience is that these “Spotlight” stories are all positive and you guys and gals read them just as much as the latest scandal to hit a local area here in Rialto.

We met Anahi Velasco through the personal Social Media post of Rialto Unified School District Public Relations Director Syeda Jafri she took a picture of some former students at Coffee Nutzz in Rialto and spoke about how Rialto grads are effecting and changing the world we live in. Well we reached out to Anahi and asked if she would participate in our “Spotlight” and she jumped at the chance.

Here you go:

Rialto Now – Who raised you? What were the occupations of your parents/caregivers?

Anahi Velasco – My parents worked hard to provide everything they could for us to succeed. My mom has generally worked at factories and my dad has been on disability since I was like 10 years old or so. We also created our own family-run business in San Bernardino to be able to afford a roof on our heads, food on the table and clothes on our back. I started working there when I was 12 and stopped when my school load increased dramatically during my junior year in high school.

Rialto Now – Pets? Are you a dog or cat person?

Anahi Velasco – I’m definitely a dog person!! I have my eleven-year old Chihuahua named Mini-Mi who had a very difficult time understanding that I wouldn’t be home anymore. When I moved out my first year of college, my mom told me that she would hide under the BBQ grill and wouldn’t come out to eat. My mom had to literally put food and water under the BBQ in order for her to actually eat. It was very sad! To my surprise, she somehow got pregnant (I am saying somehow because I thought she was too old to have more puppies), and had three puppies. One of those puppies looked identical to her when she was a puppy. I decided to keep her and name her “Bella” because she was as beautiful as her mother. 

Rialto Now – What schools did you attend?

Anahi Velasco – Dunn Elementary School, Kolb Middle School and Eisenhower High School!

Rialto Now – What was your favorite year of school? What was your favorite subject?

Anahi Velasco – My favorite subject was chemistry because the teacher challenged us. Her goal was to prepare us for college, not for high school graduation. She was a great mentor for me who taught me the real value of family time. It’s because of her that I began to strengthen my relationship with my parents and opened up more conversations with them about what I’m doing at school and what I plan to do for my future.

Rialto Now – What are you passionate about?

Anahi Velasco – This is probably the most difficult question to ask me. I am passionate about so many things which is my biggest problem. If I had to choose one area that I’m passionate about though, it’d be education. In order to change the world, we need to be educated. I’m not only referring to our educational system though, I’m also talking about the education we receive at home. That education is the most important education that we’ll ever receive. 

Rialto Now – What did you love about living in Rialto?

Anahi Velasco – I loved knowing that we have people from different cultures who get along. We have respect for each other’s cultures. I especially love the community-wide events because that’s when you see everyone come together. 

Rialto Now – Where did you hang out in Rialto?

Anahi Velasco – I think I spent most of my time at Eisenhower! I had honors classes, AP classes and I was also enrolled at San Bernardino Valley College. I was at Eisenhower for most of my day to catch up on my homework, attend meetings, tutor other students, listen to my mentors or lead workshops. I had created a student-run organization with my friends and Mr. G, the former Career Center Technician at Eisenhower HS. So a lot of times I was running around on campus doing something for that organization. I also had an internship at Channel 3 with Gabriel Felton and an internship at the Rialto Unified School District, so I’d be there too throughout the week.

Rialto Now – Where was your favorite place to eat in Rialto?

Anahi Velasco – I can’t decide between George’s Burgers or a small taco place near the liquor store and the laundry mat. I love George’s Burger’s Swiss Burger and fries, yet I also loved the small talks that I had with the wonderful lady at the taco place. My mom would leave money with her so that I can stop by and eat quickly if I was going to stay at school late. She was always very kind and asked me questions about my future. She doesn’t work there anymore, but I’ll never forget her! 

Rialto Now – Who are the top 2 people that influenced you here in Rialto?

Anahi Velasco – I can’t name 2 because there have been so many people in my life that have had a huge impact on my life and it wouldn’t be fair. They know who they are.

Rialto Now – Tell us about college. What school are you at? What is your major? Best thing about college & worst thing about college?

Anahi Velasco – I’m double majoring in Communications with a concentration in Public Relations and Radio – TV – Film at California State University, Fullerton. The best thing about college is the amount of support professors and staff offer me. They are my best resources and always make time to meet with me if I need their guidance. They have experience in their fields and have lots of connections. The worst thing about college is parking and finding a nice affordable place to live (finding roommates too!)

Rialto Now – If money wasn’t an issue what would be your dream forever job?

Anahi Velasco – I don’t think I’ve ever realistically thought of money as being one of the biggest factors of what my “dream job” would be. I’ve listened to so many high-level executives say over and over again that we need to follow our passion and money would come after. So without saying any position titles or specific occupations, I’d say my dream job is to interact and engage with the youth to listen to their stories and share their triumphs. Everyone has barriers that keep them from moving forward, but only a few are successful in overcoming their barriers and using it as a motivation for their future. 

Rialto Now – What would you tell young people today that you wish you would have known when you were young?

Anahi Velasco – I wish I would have been able to recognize all of the sacrifices and huge efforts my parents make for me to succeed. I didn’t notice all of the little things until my second semester of sophomore year in high school. I sincerely wish I would have invited my parents to all of the parent meetings they held at school or back to school nights. I always felt like they were too busy or would be tired to attend, so I didn’t invite them.

During my junior and senior year in high school, they took me everywhere. If I had a meeting, they were the first to offer to take me even though I told them I could walk. I was also enrolled at San Bernardino Valley College program, so they took me to school as early as 6:30am and picked me up as late as 10:00pm.

My mom also tried her best to always provide me with snacks and food. Many times I would be so busy that I forgot to eat, but I would always be able to count on one of my backpack pockets to have some sort of snack. I didn’t expect it, but it was always there. Even to this day, when I visit my parents on the weekends, I drive back to Orange County and find snacks hidden throughout my car. I absolutely love my parents!

I know that some youth have trouble recognizing the efforts our parents back and sometimes even feel like our parents don’t understand us. Well, how could they possibly understand us if we don’t talk to them? If we don’t communicate with them and share our struggles and successes with them? It’s all about communication. We need to communicate with each other and value each other for who we are. I’m not ashamed to say that I love my parents and although I excluded them from certain events throughout middle school and high school, they were my main motivation to succeed.

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Is city council responsible for the traffic issues in Rialto?

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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.

National Night Out in Rialto & the Inland Empire

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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.

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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”.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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School starts in Rialto with new superintendent Cuauhtémoc Avila at the helm

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

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.

 

What Does Assembly Member Brown Have To Hide?

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Saturday July 11th at 10pm Coffee Nutzz on Foothill Blvd was full to the brim. Were they having an awesome sale? Releasing a new coffee flavor? No they were hosting Assembly Member Cheryl Brown’s Coffee with the Constituents. That’s awesome right? Well it was great for Andy the owner of Coffee Nutzz to open his business for this event what wasn’t so awesome were the shady ground rules Assembly Member Brown laid out for the community.

Here is the video of the shutting down of the media by a staff member:

On July 2nd Congresswoman Norma Torres held a event where people could get to speak with the congresswoman and speak to the congresswoman about issues important to them. We attended this event and it was odd everyone was pushed off into a large room and were taken into the Congresswoman one at a time. As I stood there in the room of people I knew and didn’t know I spoke to two of Cheryl Browns Representatives and asked them if the coffee event on July 11th will be this way and they said no. Well that turned out to not be true………. When I spoke to Congress Woman Torres I explained that I didn’t agree that one on one events like this were always the best course of action. Having an open discussion gives everyone and opportunity to hear and learn from each question and hear the given answer. She agreed that would be a good way to address people but she was holding this type of an event for people that wanted to speak to her about personal issues that were sensitive in nature. We both left the conversation happy and exchanged ideas and wisdom I left the experience with a new found respect for Congress Woman Torres.

So I arrived at Coffee Nutzz and saw a mixture of well known Rialto residents as well as a collection of people I have never met before. Cheryl Brown was working the room saying hello to people in attendance and it looked like the open forum that was promised. So as Cheryl Brown began to address the crowd I began recording the Assembly Members opening remarks to later post here and I got shut down by Daniel Garcia on of the Assembly Members legislative aides. According to this aide there was no recording allowed, so wait how were all the sleeping mothers and people who work nights and weekends supposed to be able to hear the words of the Assembly Member if nobody could make a recording of them? Then what happened next was an additional slap in the face she said she would be pulling people into special side meetings, wait what????????

When I spoke to Assembly Woman Brown I explained that I didn’t agree that one on one events like this were always the best course of action. Having an open discussion gives everyone and opportunity to hear and learn from each question and hear the given answer. Mrs. Brown was very rigged in her position and would not even entertain the option that an open forum would benefit anyone else. Of course it didn’t help that I had issues with Mrs. Browns Local Staff and their lack of ability to help bring resolution to a range of given situations. I decided well into the conversation that my time and Mrs. Brown’s time was being wasted so I posed for a photo that a staff member took and exited stage left.

After to talking to others about the event they too were wondering why it wasn’t a more open forum type of event.

Video

9th Annual Rialto Community Garden Open House Is This Saturday

The 9th Annual Rialto Community Garden Open House, June 6th. Free Popcorn & Drinks and Free Mulch Donated by Burrtec Waste.

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