The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle - January 20th, 2022

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US, allies pledge unity on Russia; to do what isn’t as clear | Page B1

Weather: 71o/46o | Volume IV |

Issue III

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REAL ESTATE | Page C2

Thursday, January 20 - 26, 2022

A FAITH

CLERGY CORNER The Hero

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www.HSJChronicle.com |

B POLITICS

Complete health care coverage is a goal of the Gov. Newsom

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WORLD NEWS | Page D1

| $2.00 (Tax Incl.)

B OPINION

The Radical Martin Luther King Jr. on “Why We Won’t Wait”

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SAN JACINTO, CA.

SJ City Council Meeting Smoothly Covered by Phone RUSTY STRAIT | SENIOR REPORTER

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overing the San Jacinto City Council meeting by phone is like having a milkshake at the local malt shop, and it goes down sweet and slick. Tuesday night was no except, and it lasted a little over an hour. Before the gavel came down to open the session, there was a bit of back and forth prattle about Sacramento (meaning Governor Newsome) and how terrible they were treating local communities. The meeting opened with an invocation and pledge to the flat. Then came presentations, followed by commentary. PRESENTATIONS 1. Recognition of Former Mayor Alonso Ledezma (new Mayor Crystal Ruiz) 2. Introduction of Lt. Harding as New Police Chief; thank you to outgoing Chief Reichle. 3. Recognition of LCA Metals representative Augustin Corona (LCA manufactures metal house and building frames, considered to be the safest framing for the future. Then came the consent calendar which passed 5-0: A. Waived full reading of ordi-

nances and reading by title only. B. Received and filed Treasurer’s Report for the month ending October 31, 2021. C. Received and filed Treasurer’s Report for the month ending November 30, 2021. D. Reviewed and approved warrants and Disbursements for the Period of December 2021 in the amount of $3,907,069.78. E. Approved Ordinance of the City Council of the City of San Jacinto authorizing the levy of special taxes in a community facilities district, including certain annexation territory identified as annexation No. 4 (Tax zone No. 5), into San Jacinto Community Facilities District. F. Approved Ordinance of the City Council of the City of San Jacinto authorizing the levy of special taxes in a community facilities district, including certain annexation territory identified as Annexation No. 2 (Tax zone No. 3), into San Jacinto Community Facilities District. G. Approved Ordinance of the City Council of the City of San Jacinto levying a special tax within City of San Jacinto Community Facilities District No. 2003-1, including certain annexation territory.

H. Approved a continuing appr0pariation increase of $1,109,527 from originally designated fund balances for construction-in-progress projects encumbered as of June 30, 2021, into the FY 2021-22 Budget. I. Approved making findings that state and local officials continue to recommend measures to support social distancing due to the COVID-19 emergency and authorize virtual meetings for the City Council and all City bodies for the next 30 days. J. Approved a full local street closure of Kirby Street between Caseros Drive and Cottonwood Avenue for 5 working days. DISCUSSION ITEMS APPROVED 5-0: 1. Determine that the proposed project is not subject to environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) pursuant ato State CEQA Guidelines (Cal. Code Regs., 15000 et seq.) Sections 15061(b)(2) in that the proposed project is categorically exempt from environmental review pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Sections 15301, 15302, 15303; and Section 15061 (b)(3) Common Sense Exemption in that

it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the project may have a significant effect on the environment. 2. Award the contract to Yellow Jacket Drilling Services LLC, for the sum of $1,803,940.50. (This contract has to do with drilling a new water well to go down to a depth of 1170 feet and is expected to produce a flow of 2500 gallons of water per minute which ultimately reduces the amount of water purchased from EMWD). Among items otherwise discussed were the following: Councilman Hawkins reported on a committee meeting he attended, stating that he was getting acclimated to the Water District and how it works. He also expressed concern about brighter lights and markings at crosswalks, citing a person who was hit by a car at a poorly lit four-corner intersection. Further, Councilman Hawkins was concerned about the homeless sleeping on sidewalks and business doorways and stated that maybe he had a curious solution. He said that perhaps we could create or figure out a planned Community Research Park, since there is no place for the homeless to go. Build

RUSTY STRAIT: Senior Writer. | File Photo a park with a bungalow area with outside showers, creating a secure environment within the city limits because “we can’t force people into a shelter.” He suggested it would be better to have resources in one place for the homeless. Both Mayor Ruiz and Councilman Ayala agreed to sit down and talk with him about his idea. The City Manager gave a report and the Mayor closed the meeting at 8:04 PM, an hour and a half from opening to closing the meeting. Now if only their sister city council could find a solution to that. Just sayin’ rustystrait@gmail.

SAN JACINTO, CA.

Soboba Casino Resort Raises Minimum Wage to $17

SOBOBA BAND OF LUISEÑO INDIANS | CONTRIBUTED

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PRST STD US POSTAGE PAID HEMET, CA PERMIT NO. 69 92543-9998

he Soboba Casino Resort has been able to recruit and retain successful employees since it first opened its doors in 2019 even amid the mandatory shutdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. A recent shortage of workers at all types of businesses throughout the country led SCR management to make the decision to raise its minimum wage to $17 for its hourly employees. “The labor market in Southern California has become very competitive, and we recognize the difficulties many of our team members face with rising inflation and the cost of living in general. We very much wanted to both

be competitive and provide a living wage for our team members,” SCR Human Resources Director Gloria Baron said. Of its current 1,275 team members, a total of 1,038 will be affected by the wage increase. Not every department includes team members at minimum wage but this increase does still impact a large percentage of team members. “Our goal is to have over 1,400 employees when fully staffed,” Baron said. “We are looking to fill approximately 300 open positions in several different departments. Open positions can be found on our website at www.soboba.com/ careers.” Rene Alvarez is a recruiter for SCR and has created partnerships with many entities to let potential

employees know about the opportunities that are available to them. Aside from local community colleges and county agencies, such as the Department of Public Social Services, America’s Job Center of California and the Veterans Administration in Loma Linda also maintain strong relationships with Alvarez. SCR has always kept pace with the current California minimum wage and will continue to keep doing so. The starting rates for part- and full-time employees in many positions are the same. However, in addition to the $17 per hour wage, full-time workers receive additional benefits such as medical, dental, vision and basic

See SOBOBA on page A4

The Soboba Casino Resort has job openings at its hotel and casino. New team members will earn a starting wage of $17 per hour. | Photo courtesy of the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians

RIVERSIDE COUNTY

Teenagers used fake medical case to get nearly $600 in ‘donations,’ authorities say CHRISTIAN MARTINEZ | CONTRIBUTED

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group of teenagers and young adults solicited nearly $600 in donations in Perris with a false story about a juvenile suffering from a medical condition, authorities said. The adults, 18-year-olds Davide Nistor and Ana Maria Dumitru of Anaheim, were arrested on suspicion of soliciting and theft by false pretenses. A 16-year-old and a 14-year-old were taken into custody and released to child protective services. They carried signs asking for donations for someone with a tumor, the Riverside County Sheriff ’s Department said in a release. The signs featured photos of the purported patient. The department had received complaints about the group so-

Riverside County Sheriff's Department

liciting money on multiple days, standing in a street’s center median and close to vehicles. Deputies found the group Friday at the intersection of Perris Boulevard and Nuevo Road and determined that the story had been made up and that the photos used on the signs had been taken from the internet. Authorities seized the signs and $589.

The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department said a group of teenagers raising money for a juvenile with a medical condition had made up the story and used a photo pulled from the internet. | Riverside County Sheriff's Department

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