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Local Documentary Producer Shows Off Local Political Knowledge

13 Apr 2016 Leave a comment

We have all watched those questions on the street videos from cities like Newport Beach, Los Angels and New York. We all laugh and say those people are so ________ and go about our day. What if one of those videos were shot here locally, closer to home would our local community fare any better? As someone who has attended local schools even college I did not have a mountain of faith that our community was plugged into what is really going on here and in our nation. The mere fact that a Socialist like Bernie Sanders has garnered so much support proves people have ZERO idea what makes this country survive and thrive.

People who are seen as leaders locally like Leticia Chavez, Tim Prince, Joe Baca, Curt Hagman and Janice Ruthaford know very little about how to do the will of the people or even teach people how government works and allow those people to form their own opinions. These people and many others that hang on their every word and action use hate and division to force people into lining up with them so that they can line their own pockets.

Last year local film maker Miles Orlenas filmed people in the city of Fontana and asked them a series of questions looking to see how much REAL knowledge they had about the American Government. Watch, enjoy and SHARE………..

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Rialto City Council Meeting Tonight

22 Mar 2016 Leave a comment

Well after a month between meetings we are back from Washington and ready to get back to the business of spending your money. This agenda is super top heavy with lots of Proclamations and Awards for all types of things. One that stands out to us is:

5 16-180 Proclamation-National Public Safety Telecommunications Week Mayor Deborah Robertson

What are we Proclaiming here? With wait times on the phone being as much as 30 minutes and residents reporting that they have called dispatch only to get a recorded message. Yes we know their job isn’t easy but when do we get off that excuse and ask the Police Department to get dispatch under control?

Vice President Gonzalez said something about the West Valley Water Board agendas that makes sense all over especially in Rialto. Millions of dollars is hidden and spent in the Consent Calendar. As you can see below the three we highlighted below are all things that should be examined individually not all at once hidden is a blanket motion. Here is how we break each one down:

E.6 – Request City Council to Approve Amendment No. 1 to the Exclusive Right to Negotiate Agreement with Fernando Acosta for the Development of Approximately 8 Acres of Property Located at the Northeast Corner of Ayala Drive and Renaissance Parkway.

Fernando Acosta is being given exclusive right to negotiate on the cities behalf on a portion of land that has 3 major owners and one that fell under our scrutiny when Cal Trans was using it as a construction storage facility and was full of blight and graffiti. Why is Fernando being given Exclusive Right to Negotiate? Is it because Ed Scott has majority power on the council right now and he is a donor to Ed Scott’s Campaign? Fernando live in the Flores Park Community but is never seen participating in the community efforts and his businesses only help organizations that are close to the Baca Foundation. Even local schools that are struggling to provide for low income kids cant get Fernando’s support. But were giving him access to what would be a multi million dollar deal?

E.10 – Request City Council to Approve an Increase to the Purchase Orders for Fritz Ford for Vehicle Parts in the Amount of $5,000, for a Total Not to Exceed Amount of $20,000.

Pay close attention to how staff spelled FRITTS FORD. We pay these people a lot of money and they can’t even spell the name of a business right especially a business that is Outside of the city of Rialto and is getting $20,000 of our tax money.

E.12 – Request City Council to Authorize an Increase to the Purchase Order with the Daily Journal for Advertising Services in the amount of $15,000 for a total amount of $30,000 in the 2015-2016 Fiscal Year

This one steams me how much are we paying for a subscription to a legal paper? This paper is just a news site for the legal world. Isn’t this something our well paid city attorney should be signing up for? The city claims it has no money for youth development and enrichment and the mayor is attacking groups like the Rotary and Chamber of Commerce all while wasting $30,000 a year on a digital newspaper subscription?

TAB 5 – Request City Council/Rialto Utility Authority to Approve a Third Amendment to the Agreement with West Valley Water District for Operation and Maintenance of Groundwater Contamination Treatment Systems for the 2015/16 Fiscal Year in the Amount of $68,381.69.

This final item is an TAB item (what the items above should be on) and what makes it stand out is the fact that the current President and Vice President of West Valley Water Board spent months telling us that their Groundwater Contamination Treatment Systems are not functioning properly in an effort to damage former General Manager Butch Ariza’s reputation. So the question is are we paying over $68,000 for treatment systems that are not functioning?

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City of Rialto Travel Under Community Scrutiny

22 Feb 2016 1 Comment

Travel spending in Rialto has been an issue for years. At one time it was so bad that City Council had to request a special audit and change policies that allowed Elected Officials in Rialto to take what many called lucrative vacations at the cities expense. Since Councilman Ed Scott came back to the council things have began to move back towards the old days.

Now we ALWAYS question travel because we never see ANY benefit for it. Nobody gives a briefing on what they learned at the training and even when the city goes to ICSC the International Convention for Shopping Centers where developers meet protective cities we still get Mc Donalds, Chipolte (2) more tire centers and fast food like Carls Jr and Wendys. Where is our innovative development? Is the In and Out pad or last and only option?

Now we have used the years of advocating for the public to understand each line item of most expense request forms but this is another example of the we don’t care how your money gets spent attitude.

First off is we pay people very good money to fill out a simple form and apparently Commissioner Britt is stuck in a time warp of some sort because his whole week is stuck in one day Tuesday, March 10, 2016 – Friday, March 10, 2016
Second is this part of the form Individual requesting travel and/or training authorization: you see in speaking with Mr. Britt he knew nothing of this form or even some of the money that is being requested on his behalf.
So the $265 & $495 are the registration fees for this event ok that’s easy.
Meals are $95 ok……….
Only one Commissioner is getting lodging at the cost of $400 for a Conference in Long Beach?
Thank God nobody is flying to Long Beach
What is that $80 other charge? It is for a Reception & Banquet? How does this bring value to Rialto? Why are my tax dollars being spent this way?
What will the commissioners be doing at this conference?

?????Love, Companionship & Intimacy for Today’s Senior?????

Most of these are at an additional cost:

Love, Companionship for Today’s Senior (3/8/16) $24

NAYS Youth Sports Administrators Academy (3/8/16) $376

From Coves to Marketplaces – Anaheim Walking Workshop (3/8/16) $36

More to Aquatics Than Just Water (3/8/16) $48

Mini SuperCal: Energizing Supervision (3/8/16) $48

There is a Mayors Session I wonder if Mayor Robertson will be at this one?

All three days is full of workshops with additional costs you can view them here file:///C:/Users/Marketing/Downloads/Conference_Registration_Form.pdf

The people of Rialto need to start asking for more accountability when it comes to our money. What does this provide for Rialto? Who else is going? How many PAID staff are attending this Conference and are they staying in hotels too?

If this upsets you please email these people:

Perry Brents – pbrents@rialtoca.gov

Mike Story – mstory@rialtoca.gov

Councilman O’Connell – soconnell@rialtoca.gov

Mayor Pro Tem Baca – jbaca@rialtoca.gov

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Rialto City Treasurer Calls Mayor & City Clerks Events Gift of Public Funds

07 Feb 2016 Leave a comment

Newly elected Rialto mayor Deborah Robertson sits down for an interview at her home in Rialto on Friday, Nov. 9, 2012. Robertson made history this November election with becoming Rialto’s first black mayor. (Rachel Luna / Staff Photographer)

What is the given tag line when T.V. cops are looking to find a criminal act? Follow the money. Well the publicly elected person that oversees the cities finances has called a foul on Mayor Deborah Robertson & City Clerk Barbara McGee. Accusations of gifts of public funds and misuse of city employee’s duties has led Edward Carrillo to file a complaint with the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Public Integrity Unit on the actions of the Mayor and City Clerk when it comes to private events that get thousands of public tax dollars to fund them.

If the mayor had your neighbors roof repaired and repaired their bathrooms would that be a proper use of tax dollars? Below is a snap shot of one of many pages to Edward Carrillo’s complaints to the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Public Integrity Unit asking for an investigation into these tactics.

Edward Carrillo says that the money spent over the years on events like those below were a misuse of public resources for their personal gain or benefit. So in a scramble to make these charges null and void the Mayor is trying to get the city council to call her events city events and not just into the future but PRIOR events as well. Mayor Robertson believes that if she can get two of her colleagues to go along she can skirt the investigation by the public integrity unit. What this has done is force the Mayor, City Clerk and other Council Members to try and cover their tracks.

The sad part is Mayor Robertson is lumping these events geared to promote her in a positive light in the community with real city events that are of a community interest.

State of Women Conference – ($9,000)

Run Around the Rocks – ($1,500) **Now we know why the Mayor skipped the Rialto Police Fallen Officer Memorial 5K

Below are a few of the many REAL public events that Mayor Robertson is using as leverage to get her private events approved. What is sad is in the two events above that shows another $10,500 that could be used to highlight Rialto Athletes or Really make a summer series that people want to attend.

Sports Hall of Fame – is a dynamic recognition ceremony that honors athletes that have brought honor and fame to the City of Rialto. The Athletes recognized range from individuals to championship teams.($3,800)

Summer Series – this event is designed to keep children entertained in a safe, affordable, productive environment during the summer months while school is out. There are combo movies/concert series, as well as other events in the parks with a variety of activities, like “Bark in the Park”, “Sounds of Rialto” and Pool Activities covering May through August.($9,000)

The answer is simple:

Mayor Robertson should remove herself from the room as she has a conflict of interest in this item.
Council should make a motion to approve all of the events except for the State of Women Conference & Run Around the Rocks
Any Council member that try’s to help the mayor avoid a investigation by voting these two events in should be put on notice that this will effect re-elcetion.

Roberto told us “its not fair that the people we elect spend more time trying to hurt us rather than help us.

Cindy said in a quote “I voted for Mayor Robertson as did my family and she not only helped put her opponent back on council but she is doing the same things we expected from him (ed scott)”

Speaking of the election when looking for a photo for this story we stumbled on a story that Josh Dulaney did on the win over Ed Scott.

Robertson didn’t hesitate in saying she will bring a different kind of leadership than Vargas, who had a reputation for being swayed by other council members when it came time to vote.

“There’s a difference between Grace and I,” she said. “Grace was there and Grace was led. I’m there and I’m very comfortable with leading.”

Robertson pledges to bring transparency to City Hall, and says the top priorities are jobs, economic development, a healthy community and open space issues.

How is spending public money on non city events transparency? How are you leading if you are not listening to your colleagues?

Email Drobertson@rialtoca.gov and let the mayor know what you expect out of her as Rialto’s Mayor

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Next Community Clean Up Is Saturday January 23rd

23 Jan 2016 Leave a comment

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West Valley Water District Cuts Rates & Approves Rebates

18 Jan 2016 4 Comments

In a post to the Bloomington MAC Facebook Group newly elected Board Member Gregory Young announced that the board had voted to reduce rate payers rates and rebate the money they saw as excessive. Here is his statement:

“I am pleased to introduce my new after meeting report on what actions were taken this evening. I will be doing this for every meeting I am at in the future. The big news from tonight’s meeting is that we voted unanimously to rescind the scheduled rate increases for 2016 and 2017. Having run to repeal these increases, I am so pleased to have fulfilled my promise to you to stop these increases. Additionally, we also voted unanimously to rebate back to you the increases from 2015. A big night for you the ratepayers of the district!”

According to Director Young we found out the following:

“The total amount to be refunded is ruffly $3 million.”

“The rebate will come in the form of a check that should be mailed out sometime after March 1st.”

“The exact amounts will vary as will the exact time people will receive it.”

We also asked about people who payed for water in West Valley Water District in 2015 and have moved if they would see a refund?

“In terms of those who may have moved, staff is working on addressing that situation. Obviously, most people who move don’t tell us where they go so that makes it difficult to provide the rebate to the appropriate party. The public affairs committee will be looking into the whole process in the coming months.”

As we watched the many City of Rialto rebate programs avoid looking to include people who paid and struggled avoid looking to repay everyone it is nice to see West Valley Water working to repay those who may have moved.

Moves like this bring up more questions because of the rules on raising water rates under prop 218. Prop 218 is used as a way to limit rate increases that are not needed to provide utility service. So why were the rate increases approved? Why were the necessary?

According to sources the Water District operates with a $25 million surplus in the bank but really only $15 million cushion for unknown expenses. If we had a major earthquake or if a Natural Gas well started spewing toxic gasses into the air driving people from their homes and businesses waiting on the Federal Government isn’t going to work in the short term. So having a buffer to work from is vital.

Previous board members looked at the Bond Rate Governance and the fact that homes were going empty at alarming rates during the housing crisis they decided that a rate increase was needed to make sure the District could continue to provide water services to its customers. Some on the inside at the time say that previous board members may have gone a little bit overboard but their overall intention was to make sure the Water District remains solvent.

Clearly this is a win for rate payers that paid some of the highest water rates in the area but what is unclear is where this leaves the district with a emergency fund in which to provide for residents water needs in the midst of a crisis.

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Rialto Police Honors 12 Officers for their Promotions At Council Meeting

13 Jan 2016 Leave a comment

Police Chief Randy Deanda Sworn in as Rialtos’s new top cop photo credit Rialto Network

As the city moves further into the next chapters of its history the Police Department has also turned a page and moved into a new chapter in providing police services to the community of Rialto. Up until recent history we have looked outside of our own Department and Even County looking for the person that will lead one of our most vital Public Safety agencies. Now as City Council moves to hire the next Police Chief we see yet another strong man coming from within our Police Department ranks. Replacing outgoing Chief Tony Farrar is former Police Captain Randy Deanda a long time officer within the Rialto Police Department. Chief Deanda is a man of strong Character and resides locally but not only since taking the helm but has lived for a long time and raised his family locally so he understands what we as a community are going through. Even though we have not always seen eye to eye Chief Deanda has always been willing to speak to those in the community in his previous roles listen to others opinions. We are lucky to have Randy Deanda as Rialto’s Top Cop.

The full Promotion class photo credit Rialto Network

Another awesome part about Chief Deanda taking the helm is that there was a flurry of Promotions from within our own department twelve sworn promotions. We will start with the Corporals and work our way up, all of these officers are fine people. You will see comments next to some of the names. Some we know a lot about others we only know by the badge they wear on their chest.

Photo from the Rialto Police Promotion Ceremony Photo Credit Rialto Network

Corporal Pouching – Cpl Pouching is a long time officer of Rialto Police Department we know him from his work on Patrol, as a former K9 Officer and most recently as a member of our traffic division a great guy with knowledge to lead the next generation of Police Officer.

Corporal Hince

Corporal Russo on his Police Bike

Corporal Russo – Corporal Russo has been for as long as I can remember one of Rialto’s finest Traffic Cops. He has won multiple awards for his work with Under the Influence drivers and has made himself available to many community groups and our youth to stress the importance of safe driving habits.

Corporal Farmer – Quiet, strong man from a Rialto blood line who’s father is a Former Police Chief, Council member and Mayor. Corporal Farmer most recently was working in the Detectives Division and has been part of closing out some of Rialto’s most notorious Cold Cases.

Sargent Nelson posing for a picture at Rialto’s National Night Out with Former Traffic Sargent Shepard

Sergeant Nelson – Sargent Nelson is almost a carbon copy of probably one of our most favorite Police Officers. Sargent Nelson who now oversees the traffic Division was the Corporal that brought the Community Policing vision back to Rialto. When he was tasked with overseeing Community Policing I wondered when he slept. He made himself available what was almost 24/7 he was a valuable resource and a workman to help make residents feel safe and heard. He was the ultimate advocate for the community.

“Sgt. Muir on-duty taking the time to interact with some kids in our community by buying them an ice cream at George’s Burger.” Photo Credit Rialto PD Facebook

Sergeant Muir – Now Sargent Muir has been a Sargent for a few months now but we are not at all upset at him being included in this batch of promotions. Sargent Muir can’t be thanked or honored enough for what he has done for this community. Rialto is a better place because of the hours of dedicated work he has put in. To the criminal he is your worse nightmare, to the child he is a welcomed face in the midst of tragedy and to a victim he is your knight that will work diligently to see that justice is done. Our owner David Phillips tells us stories all the time of this living legend. David has gone on countless ride-a-longs with Sargent Muir when he was a Corporal and tells us how Sargent Muir would adapt to each call effortlessly and seemed to be a master of each situation. Our favorite story is when a local African American community member told Sargent Muir that someone had drawn a swastika in her wet cement and she didn’t notice until it was dry Sargent Muir came to her house on his personal time and patched her driveway. Dedicated Father, Friend, Cop and Solider there is no other like Sargent Muir (Sargent Muir is who we refer to when we’re talking about Sargent Nelson)

Sergeant Balawag

Sergeant Gerard

Lieutenant Lane

Lieutenant Smith – Is a great guy with a lot of passion and heart. The former Sargent of the Traffic Division and Risk Management he is a great person to step into this promotion. He is also the new area commander for the northern section of the city. He is probably the best person to fill the shoes of the three people that have held that job before him. Most recently Kathy Thompson, Andy Karol and Craig Crispin. A great promotion and a awesome show to the community that Rialto Police wants to see the Area Command program live on.

Captain Wilson – Another great guy who has a very easy way about him. A former Area Commander and a person that will listen and talk to anyone that asks. He and Captain Karol have always worked so well together they will be an awesome team that helps launch Rialto PD as one of the Top Law Enforcement agencies in California.

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Your 2016 Update On The City Care Of Councilman Shawn O’Connell

11 Jan 2016 Leave a comment

Councilman Shawn O’Connell continues his track record of meeting all of his campaign promises and keeping the community informed with his 2016 Rialto Year Update. Councilman O’Connell is the only elected official to who not only worked diligently to make good on what he said on his first run on the good ole campaign trail, he has done everything he promised with a year to spare in his political career.

To top it off Councilman O’Connell one of Rialto’s most influential people in Rialto in 2015 has just released his yearly update for 2016 which you can see below is an update of what is vital to residents, what has been done and what is coming up. Councilman O’Connell normally releases these Press Releases before each area command meeting as a way to give the community an honest and unbiased look at what is vital to the community.

So as we said Councilman O’Connell releases these Press Releases before each Area Command meeting series and tonight kicks off the first Area Command for the South Part of the city. They will be discussing things to consider during an “Active Shooter” incident. Several Rialto Police Department SWAT officers who responded to the Inland Regional Center incident in San Bernardino will be in attendance and provide insight on their experiences that day.

Join Rialto PD and Various City Department heads this week to get your information for 2016.

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Little League and Softball skills expo

08 Jan 2016 Leave a comment

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Young Rialto Resident Shows The True Spirit Of Christmas

26 Dec 2015 4 Comments

Tyler and his family as they drop off the boxes of toys at the Rialto Fire Station

Via the Rialto Fire Department Facebook Page we came across a young man who took his own time to plan a party that not only showed that he understands the meaning of Christmas but he took the time to share this with his classmates as well.

Tyler Nguyen is a 4th grader at Simpson Elementary School in Rialto. He comes from family who does volunteer work locally and in Downtown LA’s Skid Row district. His Christmas party was a toy drive also to benefit SoCal Firefighters’ Spark of Love. Tyler’s Mother coordinated with Rialto Fire to have Tyler visit the station and collect a box for his drive. Instead of getting presents for himself, all guests brought toys and sports equipment for undeserved kids for the holiday. Tyler and his friends enjoyed holiday crafts and home-cooked Vietnamese food. He helped with decorating, cooking, and entertaining his guests. With the generosity of family and friends, Tyler was able to collect 3 boxes full of toys. This was his first community service project and his family were very proud of him. On Monday, after his party, Tyler, his mom, and grandma went to deliver the toys to the fire department. The goal was to introduce Tyler to serving others and we brainstormed to find a creative way. This was also a great way for Tyler’s friends to get involved. Tyler and his family plan to continue this new tradition because they received great support from friends and family.

Tyler is just one of the many young people that are part of our community. This young man and his family are part of what makes Rialto great. It is people like these that show us what is of value and proves it is up to us the people in the community to support our fellow man.

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