June 2009 Archives
The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors has restored $65,000 for the 4-H program, which has long provided youths diverse educational opportunities about the farming and ranching industries.
The action came at Tuesday's board meeting with the adoption of the county's 2009-10 budget.
The 4-H program is administered by the Cooperative State Research Education and Extension Service through the U.S. Department of Agriculture and focuses on experential learning programs designed to facilitate personal development. It also instills good citizenship and healthy living in its students and encourages the application of science and technology in its field of study.
"It is especially critical that during these very difficult times that our county leverages our assets so that we can soften the blow of our budget cuts," Third District Supervisor Neil Derry said in a news release. "This is a phenomenal program for our young people and worthy of preserving on its merits alone."
The county receives $8 million from outside sources for every one dollar it puts into the program.
Police have identified an 83-year-old Rialto woman they say was brutally killed inside her ransacked home.
Neighbors found longtime Rialto resident Elizabeth Benson dead in her East Huff Street home about 9:10 a.m Friday. She was last seen alive by a neighbor in her front yard about 9:30 p.m. Thursday, said Rialto police Lt. Joe Cirilo.
"This was a very heinous crime by a person who had very little disregard for this elderly person," Cirilo said. "What kind of person would create a crime like this? It was n 83-year-old woman who didn't have a chance."
The slaying has left the tight-knit neighborhood in shock. Benson had lived in her home for 40 years, said neighbors. Everyone looked out for one another.
Homicide investigators spent all night processing an extensive crime scene, and the last of the investigators left Benson's residence about 9 a.m. today, Cirilo said.
No suspects have been identified, but police are developing theories as to motive.
"Obviously the suspect went there for a purpose. What that purpose is we just don't know yet," Cirilo said. "We do know there was some intention for the suspect to go in there."
A neighbor noticed the light still on in Benson's home Friday morning and the newspaper still in her driveway. The neighbor had a key to Benson's home and let herself in. She found Benson's lifeless body and called 911.
Benson's daughter and neighbors described Benson as a strong and independent woman who cut her own lawn and changed the oil in her vehicle herself.
"She was very independent," Cirilo said.
He said crimes against the elderly and children always strike an emotional chord.
"When it comes to children and the elderly, it really hits home, because we all have grandparents," Cirilo said. "Nobody deserves to go out in this fashion. This was a terrible, terrible crime."
Police are urging anyone with information to call them at (909) 820-2550 or the WE-TIP hotline at (800) 78-CRIME.
The following guests will be speaking at the upcoming Democratic Luncheon Club of San Bernardino meetings:
* June 26: Fifth District San Bernardino County Supervisor Josie Gonzales will talk about the progress of ethics in the county
* July 10: Joseph Williams, CEO of YAP Inc., will give an overview on the Youth Action Project.
The club meets at noon on Fridays at 136 Carousel Mall, in San Bernardino, on the lower level near the central glass elevator.
For further information contact Mark Alvarez at (909) 882 5819.
A portion of Lake Gregory Drive in front of the new Crestline Library, currently under construction, will be getting a makeover.
The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved the road approvements, which call for creating a 250-foot decomposed granite walkway on the west side of Lake Gregory Drive to provide pedestrian access to the library. In addition, about 1,300 square feet of pavement will be repaved and new road striping added, including a left turn lane into the library.
"The new Crestline Library is going to be a gem that attracts visitors from throughout the mountain communities, and these road improvements are key to ensuring residents have easy and safe access to their new library," Second District Supervisor Paul Biane said.
County public works estimate the street improvements will cost $100,000.
The new 7,641-square-foot library will include a multipurpose room, children's reading area, computer lab, and study areas. The site is within easy walking distance of the Crestline Village Park, Crestline Skate Park, and the outer Lake Gregory walking trail.
joe.nelson@inlandnewspapers.com
San Bernardino County Regional Parks has teamed with the Lake Gregory Yacht Club in announcing the creation of a dedicated area on Lake Gregory for slow-speed electric boats and remote control sailboats.
"Adding this capability to Lake Gregory increases the opportunities for broadband public use by adults and children," said Tom Potter, county regional parks director. "There is a large contingent of RC boaters throughout Southern California. We believe the addition of a dedicated area for this activity at Lake Gregory, along with the publicity and coordination by the Lake Gregory Yacht Club, should bring interested visitors to our mountain lake and increased commerce in Crestline."
Dave Mindel, commodore of the Lake Gregory Yacht Club, said the club is looking forward to working with Lake Gregory Park Superintendent Bart Ryder and his staff to provide the optimum location for RC boating.
A Montclair-based nonprofit that provides vocational training, recreational activities, and other forms of support to more than 600 adults with developmental disabilities will get a $3,000 boost from the county.
On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors approved the allocation to OPARC. The money comes from the Board of Supervisors' priority policy needs budget and will benefit OPARC's speech pathology program, which aims to help adults with developmental disabilities enhance their ability to communicate.
"OPARC helps pave the way for disabled adults to live productive, independent lives by providing them with specialized support, job training and other services," Second District Supervisor Paul Biane said.
OPARC operates the Adult Development Centers in Rancho Cucamonga, Ontario and Montclair. The organization trains adults with vocational and developmental disabilities to perform jobs such as assembling and packaging. Clients are assigned a job coach who oversees their work. OPARC aims to increase clients' self-respect and their ability to interact with others. The organization also provides transportation services for disabled seniors.
The county is allocating nearly $4 million for senior meal programs.
On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors authorized $3.86 million for the programs. The County has contracted with senior centers to operate two programs: one for home delivery of meals and the other to provide meals at the senior centers.
"These programs serve thousands of seniors, many of whom are on fixed incomes and often struggle with monthly expenses," First District Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt said in a news release. "The meals themselves are important, but just as important is the opportunity to interact with others."
In the High Desert, more than 123,000 meals have been served to 2,214 seniors through May 30. Countywide, the programs provided 281,540 communal meals and 316,644 home-delivered meals in the last year.
For information on senior nutrition programs in your area, call (909) 723-1500.
Investigators from the San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office paid a visit Wednesday to the fifth floor of the San Bernardino County Government Center on Arrowhead Avenue, said Lynne Fischer, a county spokeswoman.
Investigators have launched "multiple investigations" on current and former county officials based on various tips they received in the last year. Perhaps the biggest investigation surrounds alleged malfeasance at the Assesor's Office under the reign of former Assessor Bill Postmus.
Investigators have made several visits to the Government Center in the last year, making inquiries with various staff as part of the ongoing investigation. The fifth floor houses the offices of County Administrative Officer Mark Uffer and the five elected county supervisors - Gary Ovitt, Neil Derry, Paul Biane, Brad Mitzelfelt and Josie Gonzales.
Fischer said no documents were seized during the visit. She said she wasn't at liberty to discuss the nature of the visit, other than it didn't have anything to do with any of the offices housed in the Government Center.
"There's multiple ongoing investigations, and our county management, of course, continues to cooperate with investigators," Fischer said.
A grand jury and county-commissioned investigative report concluded that Postmus ran a political machine from his elected office in 2007 and 2008, bringing in about a dozen political allies and friends to work as his executive support staff. Widespread timecard fraud has been alleged because several of Postmus's staff were allegedly paid for 40-hour work weeks but didn't put in the full 40 hours.
Four arrests have already been made and criminal charges have been filed against three of Postmus's former executive support staff including Rancho Cucamonga City Councilman Rex Gutierrez and former assistant assessors Adam Aleman and Jim Erwin.
Postmus has not been chaged with a crime, but was arrested in January on suspicion of possession of methamphetamine during a search of his Rancho Cucamonga home. Investigators from the District Attorney's Office served a search warrant at his home as part of their ongoing investigation.
Susan Mickey, spokeswoman for the District Attorney's Office, said she couldn't comment due to the ongoing investigations.
joe.nelson@inlandnewspapers.com
The county has appointed Granville "Bow" Bowman as its new public works director.
Bowman, an experienced civil engineer who has served as public works director for several jurisdictions over the course of his career, was appointed to the position on Tuesday by the Board of Supervisors. Bowman succeeds Vana Olson, who retired in March.
Bowman previously served as Malibu's public works director. Prior to that, he served as public works director for San Diego County, Clark County, Nev., and the city of Oxnard. He also worked in the private sector as a senior vice president for Kercheval Engineers, a major Southern California engineering firm.
"The County of San Bernardino is extremely fortunate to have someone with Bow's level of experience and enthusiasm running this very important department," said County Administrative Officer Mark Uffer in a news release. "As the nation's largest county outside of Alaska, San Bernardino County has a host of large-scale public works projects to supervise. We needed someone with Bow's resume to come in and hit the ground running."
Bowman is a registered civil engineer in California, Nevada, and Arizona, and is also a licensed surveyor in California and Nevada.
Bowman has been honored with numerous awards and recognitions, including Nevada Engineer of the Year, Nevada Public Works Man of the Year, and as one of the Top Ten Public Works Directors by the League of California Cities and the National Association of Counties.
The City of Oceanside will not be hosting its Fourth of July fireworks display this year due to budget constraints.
Oceanside officials want to get word out to as many residents of the Inland Empire as possible, being that many Inland Empire residents travel to Oceanside for the fireworks show.
joe.nelson@inlandnewspapers.com
Sheriff's homicide detectives are investigating the fatal shooting of a man whose body was found about 6 a.m. this morning on Cajon Boulevard, south of Cleghorn Road, in Devore.
Sheriff's deputies found the Latino man, who has not yet been identified, dead of a gunshot wound. Evidence found at the scene indicates the wound was not self-inflicted, according to a sheriff's news release.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Sgt. Tony De Cecio or Jason Radeleff at (909) 387-3589. Those who wish to remain anonymous can call the WE-TIP hotline at 1-800-78-CRIME (27463).
Three people died overnight in traffic-related incidents, according to the San Bernardino County Coroner's Office.
About 1:20 this morning, 16-year-old Crystal Smith, of Hesperia, was struck by a 2005 Chevrolet Cavalier while she was crossing Highway 395 near Chamberlain Way. She was taken to Victor Valley Community Hospital, where she died at 3:10 a.m.
About 7:30 p.m. Friday, Karen Hernandez, 65, of Apple Valley, was driving a 1997 Chevrolet S10 pickup south on Interstate 15, south of Sierra Avenue in Fontana, when she veered off the roadway and lost control of the vehicle. The pickup rolled several times and came to rest on an embankment. Hernandez was pronounced dead at the scene at 7:41 p.m., coroner officials said.
About 7:10 p.m. Friday, Fabian Cirenio, 31, of Ontario, was driving a white 2002 Dodge Intrepid west on Mission Boulevard in Ontario at about 85 to 90 mph, weaving in and out of traffic. He lost control of the vehicle about 645 feet west of Baker Avenue and collided with a tree on the right shoulder. He was pronounced dead at the scene, coroner officials said.
The United States Senate on Tuesday unanimously passed legislation introduced by Rep. Joe Baca (D-Rialto) to designate the Friday after Thanksgiving as Native American Heritage Day, Baca's office announced today.
The Native American Heritage Day Act of 2009 encourages the establishment of a day to pay tribute to American Indians for their many contributions to the country.
The bill will now go to President Barack Obama's desk for signing into law.
"Native Americans have consistently enriched American culture throughout their proud history," Baca said in a news release. "It is important that we recognize the significant contributions of the Native American community, and ensure everyone is properly educated on their heritage and achievements."
Former San Bernardino County Assessor Bill Postmus was served in court today with a lawsuit alleging he and former members of his executive support staff bilked county taxpayers out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
"I'm looking forward to the discovery process . . . and exposing the Board of Supervisors for their misdeeds," Postmus said following his court hearing, which was continued until July 21.
Postmus, who has not been charged with a crime, has been making regularly scheduled court appearances since his Jan. 15 arrest on suspicion of possession of methamphetamine. He posted bail shortly after his arrest.
He said he has been battling an addiction to methamphetamine for the last three years, and is currently wrapping up his third stint in a drug rehabilitation program.
Susan Mickey, spokeswoman for the District Attorney's Office, said that once a person posts bail, they are given an arraignment date, and if criminal charges have not been filed by the arraignment date, a new date is scheduled. She said the District Attorney has three years to file charges.
Investigators with the District Attorney's Public Integrity Unit have been investigating Postmus and former members of his executive support staff after allegations surfaced last year that Postmus was running a political operation from his elected office. Other allegations include widespread timecard fraud and drug abuse.
The county is alleging fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, improper expenditure of public funds, unjust enrichment and civil conspiracy in its lawsuit. Also named as defendants in the lawsuit are former assistant assessors Adam Aleman and Jim Erwin, former taxpayer advocate Gregory Eyler, former intergovernmental officer and Rancho Cucamonga City Councilman Rex Gutierrez and Michael Richman, a political consultant who secured a controversial $49,200 purchase order contract with the Assessor's Office for public relations work.
Aleman, who has been charged with six felonies including preparing false evidence, offering false evidence, a public records violation and vandalism, also appeared in court today for a pretrial hearing, which was continued until June 30.
joe.nelson@inlandnewspapers.com
The Board of Supervisors today ratified a resolution to ban commercial vehicles from a stretch of Redwood Avenue in Fontana after a resident complained they were a nuisance and a public safety issue.
Commercial vehicles will no longer be able to traverse the stretch of Redwood Avenue between Arrow Route and the city limits.
The county's public works department investigated the resident's complaint and determined there are no businesses in the area to warrant commercial vehicle traffic, according to news release issued today by Supervisor Paul Biane, whose district includes Fontana's unincorporated pockets.
In addition, the city of Fontana has banned commercial vehicles on the northern portion of Redwood Avenue between the county border and Foothill Boulevard.
"There are a number of alternate routes truck drivers can use that do cause public safety issues in residential neighborhoods," Biane said in the news release.
Signs will be posted on Redwood Avenue to warn drivers of the new regulations. Trucks traveling the road for local deliveries, trash collection and utility service are exempt.
Residents should report violations to the California Highway Patrol at (909) 980-3994.
The San Bernardino County Safety Employees Benefit Association, the labor union representing sheriff's deputies, district attorney's investigators and coroner investitagators, has agreed to forgo salary increases of between 3 percent and 3.25 percent for one year.
The deferrals will save the county about $5.7 million.
According to union president William Abernathie, the union's four bargaining groups voted as follows:
* Specialized Peace Officer Supervisory Unit: 85.25-percent voted "yes" and 14.75-percent voted "no."
* Specialized Peace Officer Unit: 55.03-percent voted "yes" and 44.97-percent voted "no."
* Safety Unit: 76.70-percent voted "yes" and 23.30-percent voted "no."
* Safety Management Unit: 92.90-percent voted "yes" and 7.10-percent voted "no."
"I am very proud of my members; not only for their day-to-day dedication of putting their lives on the line, but also their willingness to put other county employee jobs before their own," Abernathie said in a news release issued today.
The Safety Employees' Association also represents probation officers, welfare fraud investigators, and hazardous materials investigators.
Layoff notices were issued this week to about 45 San Bernardino County employees, whose jobs will be eliminated in June due to budget cuts and restructuring, officials said.
The up side is that many of the affected employees, perhaps even all if the county has its way, will still be collecting paychecks, though they'll likely be smaller.
County spokesman David Wert said all the employees issued layoff notices on Tuesday have "bumping rights," meaning their seniority allows them to "bump down" to lower positions available in the county for lesser pay, depending on their qualifications.
Though each employee who lands a job in another county department will likely be making less money, they'll be able to retain their benefits, Wert said.
It is the county's plan to fill approximately 45 vacant positions with the employees who received layoff notices.
"It's quite possible that when all the bumping is done that no one will actually be out of a job," Wert said.
Among the offices or departments affected include the Assessor's Office and the information services department.
Interim county Assessor Dennis Draeger said he issued layoff notices Tuesday to 12 of 14 employees whose jobs will be eliminated on June 19 to help trim his office's budget by $1.3 million. The other two employees are on vacation and have yet to be notified, he said.
The 14 people being laid off work in the office's administrative, valuations, assessment services and data systems divisions, Draeger said.
"It wasn't pleasant. It's tough," Draeger said of the layoffs. "You're affecting people's lives and their families. Unfortunately, you can't spend more money than you have."
He said the county's human resources department has already started the ball rolling, fielding requests for jobs from employees being laid off.
"The county's going to make a real effort to place these employees in vacant positions," Draeger said.
He said he and his staff will put a plan together to pick up the slack left by the eliminated positions. They've already adjusted to the increased workload due to the flagging economy.
Last month, the Assessor's Office reviewed the value of 220,000 properties across the county and lowered the value on 168,000 of them to reflect current market conditions, Draeger said.
Wert said these types of layoffs occur almost every year around budget time, and the employees almost always land on their feet. He said it typically takes about two weeks for the "bumping process" to run its course.
"It's very rare someone winds up without a job at the end of the day," Wert said.
Bob Blough, general manager for the San Bernardino Public Employees Association, couldn't be reached for comment.
joe.nelson@inlandnewspapers.com
The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday doubled the county's contract with attorney John C. Hueston so he can take the lead in a lawsuit against former Assessor Bill Postmus.
The board unanimously agreed to increase the county's contract with Hueston's firm, Irell & Manella LLP, from $250,000 to $500,000.
The county's attorneys will serve as co-counsel on the case and work alongside Hueston.
Postmus, four of his former executive staff members and a political consultant he helped secure work for through a controversial purchase order are being sued by the county, which is trying to recoup hundreds of thousands of dollars it is claiming Postmus and his former staff bilked from taxpayers through alleged timecard fraud.
The suit alleges fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, improper expenditure of public funds, unjust enrichment and civil conspiracy.
In an e-mail, Postmus said the lawsuit "remains a politically-motivated attempt to silence the board of supervisors' political opponents - a board that has become ensnared in a myriad of alleged wrongdoings."
"I look forward to the discovery phase of this litigation related to this ridiculous action brought against me and my former staff," he said. "The truth will be exposed as it relates to the actions of the county board of supervisors."
The county retained Hueston in January as special counsel regarding administrative actions and civil actions in connection with the investigation and possible removal of Postmus from his elected office.
The county's contract with Hueston is being funded from general fund contingencies.
The city of Hesperia will take the lead in the design, development and construction of a new county government center in the High Desert.
The $29.2 million, 66,900-square-foot High Desert Government Center will be located on the northwest corner of Smoke Tree Street and Seventh Avenue. Construction is slated to begin in the summer and completion is expected in September 2010.
The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors today voted unanimously to enter into the agreement with the city.
"Right now we're on schedule and actually under budget," Gerry Newcombe, the county's deputy administrative officer, told the board at this morning's meeting.
First District Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt, whose district includes the High Desert, said the time is just right for such a project due to the flagging economy. It could mean more jobs and a better price for the real estate.
The new center, which will be built in conjunction with Hesperia's new police station, will make access to county services more convenient for High Desert residents and create more efficiency, officials said.
"I am very excited to move this project forward," said Mitzelfelt. "High Desert residents deserve to have easy access to county services without having to drive to San Bernardino."
The center will include offices for the recorder, fire department, code enforcement, environmental health, veterans' services, assessor and public works, among others.
The city of Hesperia will pre-qualify, bid and select contractors for the project and invoice the county for reimbursement of all expenditures incurred. The county will make quarterly advances to the city.
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