Riverside County supervisors back new joint powers
authority to find solutions to power shortfalls
By City News Service
RiversideCounty
supervisors Tuesday approved a compact to establish a new governing authority comprised of the county and multiple cities within the Coachella Valley that will be responsible for developing plans to ensure desert communities secure affordable electricity in the future.
"This is years in the making," Board of Supervisors Chairman Manuel Perez said. "It's going to cost $1.5 billion to build up and improve the generation and transmission (capacity), improve the power grid to provide electricity in the eastern Coachella Valley. Our goal is to keep costs as low as possible."
The board's 5-0 vote Tuesday to join the proposed Coachella Valley Power Agency-Joint Powers Authority, or CVPA-JPA, lays the groundwork for eventually setting up an independent entity for acquiring, or possibly generating, electricity to sustain wide swaths of the valley. For now, however, the CVPA-JPA is proposed to function as a coordinate branch of the Imperial Irrigation District, which has been supplying the power needs of a large segment of eastern Riverside
County for almost a century. "Growth is occurring in the Coachella Valley at a tremendous pace, and frankly, the power needs have not kept up with that," Coachella Valley Association of Governments Executive Director Tom Kirk told the board. "Something has to change. We've been wrestling with this issue for a number of years. We're concerned that IID's power system is not keeping up with demand, and we're concerned that (county residents) are not receiving representation. This JPA would not replace IID, but would work with it to address issues specific to the Coachella Valley."
CVAG took the lead in initiating the JPA concept, and its staff are slated to be at the forefront of fulfilling the new governing body's administrative needs.
The JPA would supplant the Coachella Valley Energy Commission, which IID formed in 2021 in response to complaints from the agency's Riverside County energy recipients about not having direct input on the IID Board of Directors. The CVED has only offered advice; the new JPA would be positioned to vote on plans for projects, as
well as pass resolutions advocating new ones.
Under the California Government Code, to found a JPA, at least three voting members are needed. The La Quinta City Council formally approved adding a representative last month, and with the county's support Tuesday, only one other prospective member is needed to enact the JPA. That's expected to happen Wednesday, when the Indio City Council will take up the proposal.
Going forward, multiple entities will be eligible to
Riverside County board OKs rate hike for sheriff's services to cities
By City News Service
The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday authorized Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco to hike the blanket rate charged to 16 cities and other contract entities for the use of patrol deputies and support services associated with operations.
In a 5-0 vote without comment, the board signed off on the sheriff's 7% increase in the base hourly rate charged for the use of patrol personnel. The augmentation, which officials said is needed to recoup higher costs incurred by the department, will be retroactive to July 1, 2024.
Under the revised rate schedule, the cost of a sheriff's patrol deputy will rise from $214.47 per hour to $229.55 per hour.
"Each year, the Sheriff's Department does an analysis of just its patrol operations and determines real costs effectively through its sheer size," according to an agency statement posted to the board's agenda. "The fully supported contract law enforcement rates include the entire systemic costs involving the running of the department."
Last year's hike was about 2.5%, driven in part by
State Supreme Court rules Raymond Lee Oyler's death sentence valid
By Paul J. Young, City News Service
The arsonist who ignited a monster wildfire near Banning that claimed the lives of five federal firefighters nearly 20 years ago will remain on California's Death Row, following a state Supreme Court ruling published Monday that found no validity to his arguments challenging procedural and other aspects of his trial.
"We conclude that the cumulative effect of these assumed errors does not warrant a reversal (of the death sentence)," according to the unanimous seven-judge decision. "We
See Death sentence Page 28
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The Hunter Substation relays electricity to households and businesses in northern Riverside. | Photo courtesy of the city of Riverside