MONDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2014 - DECEMBER 21, 2014
riversideindependent.com
VOLUME 1, NO. 33
Ride-Sharing App Uber: Sexual Offenses Downtown Against Passengers and Lawsuit for Protesters Insufficient Background Checks Say They’ll Gather by jennifer schlueter Again By Vickie Vértiz
the nation at the second White House College Opportunity Day of Action. Attendees included: •Kenneth M. Young, Riverside County Superintendent of Schools •Dr. Judy D. White, Superintendent, Moreno Valley Unified School District •Timothy Ritter, Superin-
Like many other seasonal activities across the country, the Festival of Lights was interrupted by civil unrest after a grand jury failed to indict police officer Darren Wilson who gunned down unarmed black teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. Demonstrators are bringing attention to the hundreds of black men who have been killed at the hands of law enforcement officers who have gone unpunished in this country. At a recent Riverside demonstration, a crowd of at least fifty protesters were marching down Main Street and into a busy intersection when a driver barreled through the crowd. While no serious injuries were reported, video available on various websites shows a car aggressively pushing through a crowd of innocent bystanders. According to The Press-Enterprise, Riverside police say they have little information about the driver or the car they are looking for. The Enterprise talked to protestor David Mukuria, who held a megaphone and led the crowd in some of the chanting. He told the paper that the diversity of the crowd showed that the issues of state violence are beyond issues of race. “We [are] here to protest police accountability,” he told the paper. “It [is] not a
Please see page 4
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Travis Kalanick, founder-CEO of Uber, at the 2014 Launch Festival .
While Uber has been banned in Portland, Nevada, Delhi, Spain, Thailand, etc. for unfair and illegal business practices as well as a rape incident, several other cities and countries are also investigating a potential
boycott of the app that is competing with taxi services. According to the official website, Uber currently provides 52 countries with a (mostly) cheaper alternative for cab rides with private drivers and their cars. As convenient
- Photo by JD Lasica
as the services are, stories about (sexual) assaults and kidnappings by Uber drivers, some of them with a felony background, are surfacing from numerous viPlease see page 4
President Obama Praises Riverside County Education Collaborative In comments at today’s White House College Opportunity Day of Action in Washington, D.C., President Obama recognized the Riverside County Education Collaborative (RCEC)--an innovative partnership in the Inland Empire that was formed in response to the White House request to help more students prepare for and graduate from college. “The Riverside County
Education Collaborative in California has set a goal of increasing FAFSA completion by 30% and they are working to ensure that fewer students need remedial classes when they get to college,” President Obama said. A contingent of seven Riverside County educators joined President Obama, Vice President Biden, the First Lady, college presidents, and hundreds of education leaders from around
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Free Screening of ‘The Wizard of Oz’ at Union Station Saturday, Dec. 20 Celebrate the holiday season with a free, all-ages screening of the beloved, classic film “The Wizard of Oz” at Union Station on Saturday, Dec. 20. The screening will take place inside the station’s majestic Historic Ticketing Hall and is the finale to the station’s milestone 75th anniversary celebration and a part of Metro Presents, a series of free arts and cultural programs at the iconic station. The film will be shown at 5PM in the Historic Ticketing Hall and will be preceded at 4:30PM by a costume contest for those who want to embellish their experience by dressing up as their favorite ‘Wizard’ characters. Prizes will be awarded to the best dressed. Seating is limited but Metro customers who show
their TAP cards at check-in will gain access to preferential seating. Guests may bring food, but alcoholic beverages will not be allowed. Union Station is accessible via Metro Rail, Metro Bus and several municipal bus lines. Use the Trip Planner atmetro. net for routes and connections. Car and bicycle parking are also available on site. "We’re ecstatic about presenting one of the most iconic movies in film history at one of the most iconic of L.A. landmarks," said Maya Emsden, Deputy Executive Officer in Metro Countywide Planning. “’The Wizard of Oz’ screening and costume contest is certain to animate Union Station’s historic ticketing hall in an unusually fun and festive way. As always, we hope we’ll
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entice people to take transit to the event, perhaps some for the first time." The program is produced in collaboration with Street Food Cinema. Metro is a multimodal transportation agency that is really three companies in one: a major operator that transports about 1.5 million boarding passengers on an average weekday on a fleet of 2,000 clean air buses and six rail lines, a major construction agency that oversees many bus, rail, highway and other mobility related building projects, and it is the lead transportation planning and programming agency for Los Angeles County. Overseeing one of the largest public works programs in America, Metro is, literally, changing
the urban landscape of the Los Angeles region. Dozens of transit, highway and other mobility projects largely funded by Measure R are under construction or in the planning stages. These include five new rail lines, the I-5 widening and other major projects. Stay informed by following Metro on The Source and El Pasajero at metro.net, facebook.com/ losangelesmetro,twitter.com/ metrolosangeles and twitter. com/metroLAalerts and instagram.com/metrolosangeles. Street Food Cinema is the hit outdoor entertainment event series that combines four carefully curated experiences into one amazing event with popular outdoor movies, street food, audience games, music and more.
Fatal Hit and Run Traffic Collision Update - $10,000 Reward Offered On Monday, August 10, at about 2AM, members of the Riverside Police and Fire Departments responded to reports of a collision involving a vehicle vs. a bicycle near the intersection of Magnolia Ave. and Beechwood P1. D'Andre Sutherland, a 27-year-old Riverside resident was located by a passing motorist after he had been struck by a vehicle. Sutherland was transported to Riverside Community Hospital where he was pronounced deceased due to his injuries. The vehicle that struck Sutherland did not stop after the collision and fled the scene. The vehicle sustained significant frontend and windshield damage. It was last seen traveling north on Magnolia from Beechwood.
Members of the Riverside Major Accident Investigations Team (M.A.I.T.) and detectives from the Riverside Police Traffic Investigations unit conducted an extensive investigation to locate and identify the hit and run driver who struck Sutherland. Detectives have yet been able to identify the suspect or vehicle involved in the collision with Sutherland through their investigation. Riverside City Council working with the Riverside Police Department has authorized a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the unknown driver. Anyone with information regarding the incident is urged to call Riverside Police Traffic Detective F. Soria at (951) 826-8720.
DECEMBER 15, 2014 - DECEMBER 21, 2014 | 3
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Downtown Protestors Continued from page 1
race thing. We [are] here for every age, every race … we want to collectively implement change. This is a very loud reminder of what is going on in millions of American lives.” During the demonstration, the crowd marched to the statue of the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King Jr. and wrote the names of people injured or killed by police in chalk on the ground, according to the paper. At the foot of the statue, the paper said that protesters draped a banner that read, “Power to the People.” Since the festival opened the day after Thanksgiving, neighbors have reported that Main Street has been very con-
gested at the intersection at the Mission Inn. But despite the violent act against them, the intergenerational and multiethnic protesters have not been deterred. Protesters will be gathering once more, said the paper. The next protest is scheduled to be held Saturday, December 20th and once again, will occur during the Festival of Lights downtown. The Enterprise said that the motorist ran over the toes of one protester which the victim claimed on a social media posting. The video clearly shows a handful of people in the street who part once the sedan plows through them. However, police could not confirm the injury. “No one was
injured,” said Lieutenant Christian Dinko to the paper on Sunday. He and other officers had been told those were the latest reports. Dinko said police are looking for the offender, though they are challenged with the limited description of the car: a dark sedan that could be a BMW. A photo of the car featured in The Press-Enterprise shows that the car had BMW hubcaps. This can be confirmed by watching the video frame by frame. The vehicle also suffered damages, said the paper. A protester apparently handed police the outer shell of a side view mirror that likely tore off when the car smashed into protesters.
Ex-“Cake” Drummer Sentenced 15 Years to Life A former drummer for the alternative rock band “Cake” was sentenced on Dec. 8 to 15 years to life in state prison for molesting a girl in 2009, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Fred Wapner sentenced Peter Ivan McNeal, 48, and ordered him to register as a sex offender for life. In March 2013, jurors found McNeal guilty of one count of oral copulation of a child 10 years old or younger. Deputy District Attorney Elena Abramson said McNeal molested the girl on Thanksgiving 2009 at a Laurel Canyon home where he was a guest. The case was investigated by the Los Angeles Police Department.
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4 | DECEMBER 15, 2014 - DECEMBER 21, 2014
Uber Lawsuit Continued from page 1
olated passengers, prompting to question the app’s background check procedures. Last Tuesday, San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon and Los Angeles district attorney Jackie Lacey announced that they were suing Uber accusing them of “misleading consumers about the service’s safety, overcharging them and thumbing its nose at the law,” according to the Los Angeles Times. Not only did the company illegally demanded airport fees, but UberX passengers have been charged a $1 “Safe Rides Fee” misleadingly promoting their back-
ground checks. “Uber continues to misrepresent and exaggerate background checks on drivers,” Gascon said. He told the LA Times that the company claims to use an “industry-leading background check process,” which he titles “completely worthless” because they do not include fingerprinting. “The company repeats this misleading statement, giving consumers a false sense of security when deciding whether to get into a stranger’s car.” He added at another press conference: “It’s not our goal to shut them down. What we’re saying is the advertising is false.”
Eva Behrend, spokeswoman for Uber defends the company in a statement: “Californians and California lawmakers all agree — Uber is an integral, safe and established part of the transportation ecosystem in the Golden State.” Uber’s biggest competitor Lyft also faced a lawsuit, but settled with Gascon and Lacey “to stop picking up passengers at airports until it obtains the necessary permits and approvals, and to submit its app to a state testing agency to measure accuracy in calculating fares, a move Uber refused to make,” the LA Times claimed. Director of com-
munications at Lyft, Erin Simpson, said told the paper that this “demonstrates [Lyft’s] shared commitment to consumers and innovation.” Additionally, Lyft agreed to pay both counties a combined fee of $500,000. The lawsuit wasn’t a surprise for Thilo Koslowski, vice president and automotive practice leader at the technology analysis firm Gartner because the company is still in its infancy and growing exponentially. However, “Uber has to address these problems because if it doesn’t, it’s at risk of letting these things get out of control,” the LA Times quoted him.
Obama Praises Riverside Collaborative Continued from page 1
tendent, Temecula Valley Unified School District •Dr. Kim Wilcox, Chancellor, University of California at Riverside •Mary Ann Edwards, Mayor, City of Temecula •Tom Spillman, Dean of Counseling and Student Services, Mt. San Jacinto College •Mark Lenoir, Principal in Residence, Riverside County Office of Education “We are pleased that the President has recognized the work we are doing in Riverside County at improving college and
career readiness,” said Kenneth M. Young, Riverside County Superintendent of Schools. “We are confident that the county is on the right track and that we will continue seeing improvement among all student groups.” Later in the day, Young presented at a breakout session following panel discussions on college opportunity and the President’s address. RCEC is a grassroots movement in southern California with diverse cross-sector leadership throughout the Riverside/ San Bernardino county areas.
The RCEC formed in July 2014 in response to participation in a working session at the U.S. Department of Education. Representing members from area school districts, higher education, city/county officials, and private industry, RCEC collectively commits to the following goals geared to increase postsecondary access and attainment in our community through the 2019 school year: •Increase percentage of students applying to three or more colleges by 60%. •Increase percentage of FAFSA completions from 64% to 93% through school years 1819. •Increase the percentage of students enrolling in postsecondary education from 52% to 65%. •Decrease students needing remediation upon entering college, from 2.6% to 20%. To increase college access, the RCEC will incorporate strategies such as professional development opportunities for high school counselors on FAFSA preparation and completion, and the integration of FAFSA completion into school curricu-
lum. College applications from California’s postsecondary institutions will also be integrated into the school curriculum. In its efforts to prevent “summer melt”, the Collaborative will track postsecondary enrollment and increase its communications with those students enrolled during the summer months to help guarantee they enter the first year of postsecondary education. Finally, the collaborative will strive to reduce remediation by encouraging a college-going culture beginning at the middle school level, offering parent workshops to help increase parent involvement in their student’s education, offer special programs for students that need additional support, and ensure college level coursework is offered to students once they reach high school. Additional RCEC members not in attendance at the summit include: Darren Daniel, Murrieta Valley Unified; Michael R. McCormick, Val Verde Unified School District; Robyn Kisinger, AVID; Sandra Mayo, Moreno Valley College; Matt Cepi, California State University, San Marcos.