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GRID alternatives provides exhibition of Soboba projects | Page A3
Weather: 70o/45o | Volume V | Issue II
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Are you registered for alert RivCo in Murrieta? | Page C4
Thursday, January 12 - January 18, 2023
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CLERGY CORNER Almost a hero
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CALIFORNIA | Page D1
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C VALLEY BEAT
Creep I.E. Con returns this February
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California deluge forces mass evacuations, boy swept away See more on page D1
California budget: More for homelessness, less for climate SOPHIE AUSTIN AND JANIE HAR | AP NEWS
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alifornia Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday proposed a $297 billion budget, prioritizing money to address homelessness and education while cutting some climate spending amid a projected $22.5 billion budget deficit. The proposed budget, which would take effect July 1, is about $9 billion less than the current fiscal year, when Newsom had a massive surplus. One of the reasons why California isn’t bringing in as much revenue as expected is because wealthy taxpayers are making less money because of a weakened economy and stumbling stock market. Newsom’s proposed budget will change as tax revenues come in later this year and won’t take effect until July 1. HOW DOES NEWSOM WANT TO COVER THE SHORTFALL? Through a combination of de-
layed spending, shifting expenses and cuts. Newsom wants to delay $7.4 billion of spending, pushing it to future years. He wants to shift $4.3 billion of expenses to other accounts outside of the state’s general fund and limit borrowing to account for another $1.2 billion. Newsom is proposing $9.6 billion in cuts. Of those, $5.7 billion would be permanent reductions. The rest of the cuts — $3.9 billion — could come back if the state has more money in the budget than currently anticipated. The cuts are spread throughout the budget, including scaling back some of Newsom’s ambitious climate proposals. But most of the state’s major programs and services, including public education and major health care assistance programs, were not affected. HOUSING AND HOMELESSNESS Even with revenue shrinking, Newsom is allocating more money to addressing homelessness.
His proposal includes $3.4 billion for homelessness, with $400 million to clean up tent encampments and $1 billion for cities and counties to reduce the number of people living outdoors. He has stated repeatedly to local officials that they won’t get money until they submit bolder plans to reduce homelessness and residents start seeing a difference on the streets. Newsom is not backing down from building more housing given that the state’s homelessness crisis is tied to a severe lack of new construction. His administration has pushed policy changes to streamline new home construction and has become more aggressive in ordering cities and counties to build more homes. But the proposed budget includes a $350 million reduction in loans, technical and other assistance for new homebuyers. CLIMATE CHANGE AND ENVIRONMENT California has already set its
UPCOMING PROPOSALS:
California Gov. Gavin Newsom delivers his budget proposal in Sacramento, Calif., Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023. California faces a projected budget deficit of $22.5 billion for the coming fiscal year, Newsom announced Tuesday, just days into his second term. It’s a sharp turnaround from last year’s $98 billion surplus. | Courtesy Photo of AP/José Luis Villegas
sights on achieving carbon neutrality by 2045, meaning the state will remove as many carbon emissions from the atmosphere as it emits.
But Newsom has proposed reducing what the state plans to spend on climate over a five-year
See PROPOSALS on page B4
Updates on Resolutions from the Hemet City Council RUSTY STRAIT | SENIOR REPORTER
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fter the preliminaries, the City Attorney reported from a closed session which lasted two hours, discussing labor negotiations, existing litigation, anticipated litigation and city manager appointment. Contrary to the usual long-winded presentations, only one was presented. Cpl. Hill of the Hemet Police Department accepted the Proclamation declaring January 9, 2023, to be National Law Enforcement Day. The City Attorney reported out of the closed session that none of the four items considered were resolved. The Council agreed to review and discuss the Commercial Container Development concept for the retail and service industry and residential use and provide direction to staff. This was followed by a brief public hearing session to consider formation from
which came the following: 1. Resolved to proceed with a resolution of the City of Hemet Approving the Engineer’s Report for the formation of Hemet Landscape Maintenance District No. 112 (PM 37196/CUP 16006) and Levy and Collection of Assessments within such District for Fiscal Year 2023-2024 and Confirming Diagram and Assessments pursuant to the Landscaping and Lighting Act of 1972 part 2 of Division 15 of the California Streets and Highways Code and as provided by Article XII of the California Constitution; and, a Resolution of the City of Hemet Approving the Engineer’s Report for the formation of Hemet Streetlight Maintenance District No. 112(PM 37196/CUP 16-006) and Levy and Collection of Assessments within such District for Fiscal Year 2023-2024 and Confirming Diagram and Assessments pursuant to the Landscaping and Lighting Act of 1972 part 2 of Division 15 of the California Streets and Highways.
2. Resolved to proceed with the Adoption of the Following Resolutions; a Resolution of the City of Hemet Approving the Engineer’s Report for the formation of Hemet Landscape Maintenance District No. 113 (CUP No. 19015) and Levy and Collection of Assessments within such District for Fiscal Year 2023-2024 and Confirming Diagram and Assessments pursuant to the Landscaping and Lighting Act of 1972 part 2 of Division 15 of the California Streets and Highways Code and as provided by Article XII of the California Constitution and, a Resolution of the City of Hemet Approving the Engineer’s Report for the formation of Hemet Streetlight Maintenance District No. 113 (CUP No. 19-015) and Levy and Collection of Assessments within such District for Fiscal Year 2023-2024 and Confirming Diagram and Assessments pursuant to the Landscaping and Lighting Act of 1972 part 2 of
See CITY COUNCIL on page A4
HEMET CITY COUNCIL: From top to bottom, Mayor Joe Males (District 4) , Council Member Karlee Mayer (District 1), Council Member Jackie Peterson (District 2), sitting; Council Member Linda Krupa (District 5) and Mayor Pro Tem Malcolm Lilienthal (District 3). | Courtesy Photo of hemetca.gov
Family of slain California deputy Background check missed Virginia deputy's red flags before killings calls for judge to resign AP NEWS | CONTRIBUTED
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he family of a slain Southern California sheriff ’s deputy on Friday demanded the resignation of a judge who had previously released the lawman’s shooter despite a violent criminal record. Riverside County Deputy Isaiah Cordero, 32, was fatally shot Dec. 29 during a traffic stop in the city of Jurupa Valley, east of Los Angeles. Cordero had pulled over a pickup truck and the driver, 44-yearold William Shae McKay, pulled a gun and shot the deputy as he approached the vehicle, authorities said. Law enforcement pursued McKay in a “massive manhunt” that included a chase along freeways in two counties. McKay was killed during a shootout with deputies after the truck crashed. Sobbing throughout her eulogy Friday during a memorial service,
Rebecca Cordero said she last saw her son on Christmas Eve. “We do not know how we are supposed to carry on without you,” she said. “Your selflessness and determination will not be forgotten.” Although Cordero was officially killed by gunfire, Rebecca Cordero blamed the current political climate and anti-law enforcement sentiments, as well as San Bernardino Superior Court Judge Cara D. Hutson. Requests for comment were sent Friday to Hutson and the court’s spokesperson. “The actual cause of death: disdain, disrespect, disregard, a dysfunctional system that has unfairly been politicized,” Rebecca Cordero said. McKay had a long and violent criminal history stretching back to before 2000 that included kidnapping, robbery and multiple arrests for assault with a deadly
See RESIGN on page A4
STEPHANIE DAZIO | AP NEWS
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background investigator failed to check a wouldbe trooper's mental health history, allowing him to be hired for the Virginia State Police the year before he sexually extorted and kidnapped a 15-year-old girl and killed three members of her family in California, officials said. Col. Gary Settle, the Virginia State Police superintendent, wrote in a Dec. 30 letter to the state's inspector general that the hiring of Austin Lee Edwards, of North Chesterfield, despite his 2016 involuntary admittance to a psychiatric facility, was “the direct result of human error” and appeared to be an isolated incident. Edwards was hired by the state police in July 2021 and resigned nine months later. He was then hired as a deputy sheriff in Washington County, Virginia, last November, just nine days before the killings in California.
The slayings — and their connection to Virginia — prompted Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin to ask the state's inspector general for a “full investigation.” Edwards had posed online as a 17-year-old boy while communicating with the 15-year-old girl in California, a form of deception known as “catfishing.” He asked her to send nude photos of herself and she stopped responding to his messages. On Nov. 25, Edwads killed the girl’s mother and grandparents, then set fire to their home in Riverside, a city about 50 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles. Edwards died by suicide during a shootout with San Bernardino sheriff ’s deputies the same day. The girl was rescued. Riverside detectives are still investigating what prompted Edwards to drive across the country and whether he planned the killings in advance. Settle's letter was first reported
See KIDNAPPED on page A2