MONDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2014 - DECEMBER 14, 2014
riversideindependent.com
Record-Breaking Storm Still No Relief for California’s Drought By Jennifer Schlueter
meteorologist Eric Bolt from the National Weather Service told Voice of America (VoA). In Glendora and other mountain communities, residents and city departments feared mudslides resulting from desolated hillsides due to previous wildfires. A few evacuations were issued; though, soon lifted because the slides weren’t as bad as expected and cities and residents were well prepared with barricades and 18,000 distributed sandbags.
meeting in Riverside since last June as to create a plan to fight poverty in the city, generally, but especially in the Eastside. The group is known as the Eastside Anti-Poverty RoundPlease see page 4
Please see page 3
- Photo by Terry Miller
However, despite last week’s downpour, California is still experiencing a severe drought. “We certainly hope that the rainfall we have now pushes us toward normal — but we’re still below normal.… We’re just trying to get to average,” said spokesman for the California Department of Water Resources to the Los Angeles Times. Whereas downtown Los Angeles normally receives Please see page 4
Poverty in the Eastside To Be Addressed and Studied for Solutions By Vickie Vértiz The Eastside has long been a diverse and hardworking neighborhood in Riverside. Distinguished Professor at UC Riverside, Susan Straight has documented the lives of that community where she grew up, along with photographer
Doug McCulloh. Now, the city of Riverside is also bringing its attention to the Eastside. The Press Enterprise reported that leaders in housing, education, employment, homelessness, and the roots of poverty have already been
“Know Your Limit” Launched for Less Drunk Drivers The Riverside Police Department (RPD) has noticed an increase in DUI arrests and traffic collisions involving impaired drivers. The Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) provided funding to conduct DUI checkpoint and additional DUI patrols throughout the city in efforts to reduce drinking and driving. Officers have been provided additional training in DUI enforcement and investigation; however, this has not deterred drivers from getting behind the wheel and driving while intoxicated. The Riverside Police Department has launched a new program called “Know Your Limit.” This program deploys RPD officers on foot into Riverside’s various entertainment districts where they contact club and bar patrons outside the businesses. Patrons are asked if they would like to volunteer to be checked with a breathalyzer device to see what their current blood alcohol content (BSC) level is. The officers explain that it’s an educational program designed to raise awareness of how little alcohol it takes to register a 0.08 percent BAC. During the contact the volunteer is asked if they feel the effects of any alcohol and if they would be safe to drive a vehicle. The patron then blows into the breathalyzer device and is shown the results. At the end of the volunteer’s participation in the program, they are provided the tube from the breathalyzer as a reminder, a sticker or an educational card that provides information on alcohol con-
Monrovia residents brace for the storms with K-rails and sandbags near the Madison Fire area.
Last week, drought-stricken California finally received some much needed rain for two straight days along with delayed and canceled flights, traffic chaos, destroyed power lines, and mudslides. The subtropical storm that emerged south of Hawaii broke December 2 records of the past 50 years in “downtown Los Angeles, Los Angeles International Airport, Long Beach Airport and communities such as Antelope Valley, Palmdale and Camarillo,”
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Victorian Christmas Open House at the Heritage House Once again it’s time to step back and experience the spirit of a traditional Victorian Christmas as one would have seen in the 1890s. Riverside Metropolitan Museum’s Heritage House will host its Victorian Christmas Open House on Sunday, December 14, Visitors will be treated to the house beautifully decorated with period appropriate finery. Crystal, silver, and china will glow on the table. Scents of cinnamon and cloves, rosemary, pine, and roses will fragrance the air. Boughs of greenery and hand-made decorations will be tucked into every nook and corner. Children will catch a glimpse of Father Christmas (Jim Ferguson) as he makes his presence known around the house. Father Christmas comes from the English influence that was strong in River-
side in the 1890s. He is older, gracious, sedate, carries a cane and distributes small Victorian style favors to children from the basket he carries There will be a unique range of musical entertainment for your enjoyment. This year’s entertainers include Bob Palmer playing the autoharp, The “Dudes of Four Tune” singing barbershop selections, Norm Zix on the piano and Christie Winter plucking the hammered dulcimer, Laurie Meinhold will play piano and vocalist, Victoria Blod, will perform. The Inland Recorder Society will be playing in the Carriage House and the Ramona High School Choir Carolers will wander the grounds singing Christmas favorites. Actor/Director, Paul Jacques will join us this year to read “A Visit from Saint Nicholas” for all to enjoy.
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Home-baked cookies and hot-mulled cider will be available for sampling. Visitors can enjoy making holiday ornaments and the Living History Players will be back to help set the mood. Frank Miller will make another appearance in the guise of Bill Hughes, Catharine Bettner will be interpreted by Leslie Hettinger, Mollie Vanderzyl will portray Catherine’s sister-in-law, Frances Bettner Ludlow, Nicole DeSilva is Mrs. Ludlow’s granddaughter, Julia Elektra Ludlow, Robert Bettner will be played again this year by Derek DeSilva and Les Martin will portray Bert McCumsey, Pacific Electric Conductor. We’ll even have a trolley car for Mr. McCumsey! Ted Richter will also portray a trolley conducter and Citrus Historian, Joe Hamlin, of the California Citrus State Historical Park will be interpreting the barn area with it’s “orange sizer” and other citrus artifacts. The Christmas Open House committee includes Robin Whittington and Jo Matza, co-chairs. Members, Kathy Sinkovich, Mollie Vanderzyl, Evie Allen, Eleanor Colombo, Kris Streich, Toby Morrelli, Charlotte Kaukani, JoAnn Coble, Peggy Barnhart and Carolyn Rumble. Staff members, Brenda Flowers and Lynn
Voorheis assist the committee. These local authors will discuss and/or sign their books: Steve Lech (Pioneers of Riverside County: The Spanish, Mexican and Early American Periods and Riverside's Mission Inn (Images of America) with Kim Jarrell) Glenn Wenzl (Anecdotes on Mt. Rubidoux and Frank A. Miller, Her Promoter) Joan Hall (Riverside’s One and Only Buffalo Heart and Riverside’s Invisible Past) Sponsors for the Victorian Christmas Open House include: • Lowes on Magnolia • Home Depot on Indiana • Teufel Holly Farms • Stater Bros. Heritage House will be decorated from December 5 through January 5 (Twelfth Night). If you cannot make Christmas Open House, plan on stopping by on any Friday, Saturday, or Sunday from noon to 3:30 p.m. for a tour and a view of a Victorian Christmas. Please note the house will be closed December 26th. Heritage House is located at 8193 Magnolia Ave. in Riverside. Free parking is available at the YWCA. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, call (951) 826-5273 or visit www.riversideca.gov/museum.
Joyful Jingles Luncheon Jingle all the way to the Dales Senior Center for a special holiday luncheon, Dec. 10 at 11:00 a.m.1 p.m. Enjoy live entertaiment, dancing, and a delicious lunch including chicken fettuccini alfredo, vegetables, garlic bread,
and dessert. Register early for an opportunity to win a special gift! Cost is $3 per person. For further information, contact Kristen Reid at kreid@riversideca.gov or (951) 826-5303
DECEMBER 8, 2014 - DECEMBER 14, 2014 | 3
hlr media EDITORIAL editor@riversideindependent.com Editor Jennifer Schlueter Publisher HLR Media Advertising advertising@hlrmedia.com Submissions:
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Pair Charged with Attacking Actor on Thanksgiving Two men were charged today with attacking an actor on Thanksgiving Day in Hollywood, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced. Dusan Lilic (dob 3/1/88) and Nikola Ilic (dob 5/5/91) were charged in case BA431882. Lilic faces one count each of assault with a deadly weapon, driving under the influence causing injury, driving with a .08 blood alcohol content causing injury, battery with serious bodily injury and assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury. Ilic is charged with one count of battery with serious bodily injury and assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury. Both men are scheduled to be arraigned today in Department 30 of the Foltz Criminal Justice Center. Prosecutors said Corey Sligh was walking to a store on Nov. 27 with his girlfriend and a friend to deliver Thanksgiving dinner to another friend when they saw a car driving erratically in the parking lot. Sligh was concerned the defendants were going to hurt someone and he asked Lilic to stop and leave. Lilic opened the car door, striking Sligh, prosecutors said. Sligh was then hit by the car. The vehicle drove away, but Lilic and Ilic returned and began beating Sligh, who suffered a broken arm and other injuries, prosecutors added. If convicted as charged, Lilic faces up to seven years in state prison, while Ilic faces a maximum fouryear prison term. The case remains under investigation by Los Angeles Police Department’s West Traffic Division.
Know Your Limit Continued from page 1
sumption and burn-off times as well as the common penalties for the first time DUI driver. “It was surprising for most who volunteer on how high their blood alcohol content level is,” says Lieutenant Mark Rossi of the RPD Traffic bureau. “We had one volunteer who guessed his alcohol level was at .04. His actual BAC was .12.” Participants near or above .08 BAC are advised of other options besides driving to get home safely. Subjects arrested for a firsttime DUI offense in California can expect up to six months imprisonment or three years of probation, legal costs up to $10,000, a driver’s license suspension for up to six months, and having
their vehicle impounded. “The program is not intended to be a scare tactic but instead, to provide education to the community by encouraging patrons to designate a sober driver, seek alternate transportation or stay at an area hotel/motel,” said Lieutenant Rossi. RPD is also working with the Riverside Downtown Partnership (RDP) and other business owners to make sure the program is a positive influence on their patrons. The goal of the Know Your Limit program is a positive influence on their patrons. The goal of the Know Your Limit program is to prevent people from getting behind the wheel and driving intoxicated.
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4 | DECEMBER 8, 2014 - DECEMBER 14, 2014
Record-Breaking Storm Continued from page 1
15 inches of rain per year, 2014 only recorded a meager 5.89 inches, according to VoA. The LA times quotes state water experts who claim “it would take 150% of the average rainfall for California to recover from the current drought. That would mean a total of 75 inches of rain from Oct. 1, 2014, through Sept. 30, 2015, recorded at eight stations in the northern Sierra.” Gov. Jerry Brown issued a
state of emergency in January due to the drought and asked Californians to reduce their daily water usage by 20%, because “most important [water] reservoirs contain just 39 percent to 60 percent of normal water levels,” according to abc. In August, Californians used 11.6% less water compared to the previous year, but in October that number shrank to 6.7%.
-Photo by Terry Miller
Eastside Poverty To Be Addressed Continued from page 1
table, and according to the paper, they will meet next week with the Mayor of Riverside William “Rusty” Bailey to present what their ideas are of an Eastside free from poverty, and hopefully, utilizing the existing strengths of the community. Programs that focus on the weaknesses of people and that solve problems without the input of the community rarely succeed. According to the Enterprise, the Roundtable set a 95 percent high school graduation rate, a 25 percent college graduation rate, mixed-income housing ideas, and increased literacy rates. The roundtable was started by Barbara Hanna, said the paper. She is “executive director of the Community Settlement Association, which was founded in 1911 to tackle
poverty and address the lack of educational opportunities among Eastside residents.” The Roundtable includes the national nonprofit Habitat for Humanity, the Fair Housing Council of Riverside County, the Community Action Partnership, and Path of Life Ministries. The latter organization operates homeless shelters in Riverside. Councilman Andy Melendrez, whose ward includes the Eastside neighborhood, also has been part of the group discussions said the Enterprise. Hanna admitted to the paper that “any anti-poverty plan must offer a long-term, multipronged approach that addresses the day-to-day challenges that stand in the way of people becoming self-sufficient.”
“We need to help people develop tools so they can direct their lives,” Hanna added. She emphasized that “teaching people to make a budget is a crucial way to help them successfully manage their finances,” said the paper. The Roundtable is also discussing job creation and job-training programs, outreach to residents about public benefits, preparation for school and college, and livable and affordable housing. Rose Mayes also spoke to the Enterprise. She is the executive director of the Fair Housing Council of Riverside County and is also a roundtable member. Mayes said the working poor are struggling to cover the cost of housing and food. When what some consider an inconvenience happens,
like a car breaking down, families have to choose between getting the car fixed or paying the rent. “These are some of the issues the working poor are facing,” Mayes said. Councilman Melendrez, who grew up in the Casa Blanca neighborhood west of downtown Riverside, told the paper that the idea of tackling poverty seems overwhelming. “There are a lot of issues including access to education, an awareness of the importance of health, an understanding of mental health,” Melendrez said. “There are a lot of services available. The goal has to be to let families know there is access to these services. “The more families you can reach, the better the community will be,” he added.
Covered California Free Enrollment Help Have questions about the new health care coverage options available through Covered CaliforniaTM? Certified Covered California representatives will be available to help you with Covered California and Medi-Cal enrollment on Dec. 11 from 11AM- 2:30 PM at the Casa Blanca Library. You can begin the application
process, receive an estimate on your monthly premium or just learn more about your health plan options. The Open Enrollment period started Nov.15, 2014, and ends Feb. 15, 2015, so act today. Cost: Free. For information, contact Sheila Farris0Bigg at info@ soarlife.net.