THE VALLEY BEAT
C4
Thursday, February 16 - Wednesday, February 22, 2023
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MURRIETA, CA
Southwest Riverside High Schools Compete For 41st Mock Trial Title High schools from Murrieta, Corona, Hemet and Temecula compete Thursday in the 41st annual Mock Trial at the Larson Justice Center in Indio. CITY NEWS SERVICE | CONTRIBUTED
H
igh school teams from Corona, Hemet, Murrieta, Riverside and Temecula will match wits and effort their best legal maneuvering Thursday for a chance to win the title in the Riverside County Mock Trial Competition. The 41st annual event began during the last week of January at the Larson Justice Center in Indio, the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta and the Riverside Hall of Justice. Since then, the field of competitors has narrowed to eight teams -- Great Oak High School in Temecula, Hemet High School, MLK High School in Riverside, Murrieta Valley High School, Notre Dame High School in Riverside, Poly High School in River-
side, Ramona High School in Riverside and Santiago High School in Corona. The "Elite Eight Round" will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Riverside Hall of Justice. The semifinals will follow with four teams on Tuesday, and the final round is scheduled for Feb. 23 at the Riverside Historic Courthouse. Notre Dame High won the competition for the first time last year, topping the legacy champions, Poly High, whose teams have claimed the greatest number of firstplace titles since the competitions began locally in the early 1980s. Nearly 400 students from around 20 high schools started out in the county's mock trials, which were in-person this year, after being held virtually in 2021 and 2022
to comply with school districts' COVID-based health policies, according to the county Office of Education. The 2020 competition was held prior to the school closures. The Office of Education, in partnership with the Constitutional Rights Foundation, Riverside County Bar Association and the Superior Court, sponsor the competition annually. The county began holding student-level mock trials in 1983. Nearly 15,000 youths have participated since then, according to organizers. This year's contest has challenged participants to successfully argue the fictitious case of People v. Franks, involving a cruise ship actor accused of beating and robbing a fellow performer, but with a host of evidentiary variables.
Teams: Great Oak High School in Temecula, Hemet High School, MLK High School in Riverside, Murrieta Valley High School, Notre Dame High School in Riverside, Poly High School in Riverside, Ramona High School in Riverside & Santiago High School in Corona. | Courtesy Photo of Shutterstock
Teams consisting of eight to 25 students play the parts of deputy district attorneys, defense attorneys, bailiffs, witnesses, clerks and investigators. Contestants are given an allotted time,
generally four to six minutes, at each stage of a proceeding, including opening statements and closing arguments and cross-examinations. Practicing attorneys and judges assess stu-
dents' performance and award points in accordance with criteria established for the competition. Students from public and private high schools are permitted to take part.
Winter weather expected to bring more snow to SoCal mountain communities JOSH DUBOSE, SHELBY NELSON | CONTRIBUTED
M
ountain communities in both San Bernardino and Riverside counties are bearing the brunt of the latest storm rolling into Southern California, but some people opted to use the cold Valentine’s Day weather to hit Mountain High Resort in Wrightwood.
CASA BLANCA from C3
development would aggravate congestion at a choke point. The location is down the street from Indiana Avenue and the often-jammed 91 Freeway, and runs along busy railroad tracks. More than 100 trains cross Madison Street daily, Conder said. Mendoza-Collins said residents also worry the complex would increase crime, noise and pollution as well as induce apartment dwellers to park in front of houses and driveways. Ramirez countered that Gilbane would provide more parking spaces than required. The company has pledged to address all the community’s concerns, he said. Thus far, Ramirez said, that offer has been “met with resistance.” Casa Blanca residents say they have genuine concerns. Patricia Fuentes, who lives nearby and has posted signs against the project, said she will sell and move if the apartments are built. “There isn’t enough
FOOD
from C2 during the holidays, but those drastically decrease after the first of every
“We wanted to do something different because I checked the restaurants and everything is booked and really hard to reserve,” said Los Angeles resident Brandon Burgos, who headed up to Wrightwood with Mari Raya for the day. “I didn’t want to look anymore, so I said, ‘Let’s just go to the snow.’” The couple were not the only ones opting for a different type of Valentine’s
Day. “It’s actually my first time snowboarding and I’m not going to lie, I fell at least 100 times up there, but ultimately it was a really fun experience,” Los Angeles resident Ashli West told KTLA. While it was a spectacular day at the resort, the sunny skies are not expected to last long. “It’s been closer to spring conditions, but with this
cold front coming in, we do expect to make some snow,” Zach Longacre, with Mountain High Resort, said. A bitter cold front is moving through the local mountain communities, bringing fresh snow that visitors to the area can enjoy for the President’s Day weekend ahead. “The storm is coming down directly from the north,” Alex Tardy, with the National Weather Service,
told KTLA. “So, it’s a cold storm, probably the coldest one we’ve seen all year.” Parts of the Inland Empire, like Riverside Fontana and Corona are expected to see freezing temperatures by midnight. Tardy said the storm will be fast, but it’s expected to pack a punch in a span of about two hours in areas like Wrightwood, Lake Arrowhead and Big Bear, which may see get about
two inches of snow. Most areas impacted by the storm, according to Tardy, are going to see winds as high as 50-60 miles an hour, which will have the potential to blow down trees and power lines. Many people in the mountains say they’ll make sure to get out before the storm rolls in, so they can avoid dangerous road conditions.
space, at least not for what they want to put there,” Fuentes said. “We have terrible traffic now. Terrible.” Community activist Beverly Arias warned about a potential increase in crime. While older residents likely wouldn’t cause problems, Arias said, younger people might, if the complex’s operator poorly screens renters. Crime has long been a concern in Casa Blanca, she said, and the community has worked with the Riverside Police Department to control it. It would be unfortunate if that progress were lost, she said. Riverside police spokesperson Officer Ryan Railsback said violence has broken out at various times over the years in Casa Blanca, much of it related to gangs. More recently, he said, there has been very little violence since a man, believed to be homeless, pushed a woman into the path of a train in April, killing her. “For the most part it has been quiet in Casa Blanca,” he said. Fuentes called Casa Blanca a close-knit com-
munity. “I know when my neighbor has a cold,” Fuentes said. “We have each other’s phone numbers. If they haven’t seen me for several days, they call me.” Arias, president of the Flamenco and Cultural Arts Society and a member of the Brown and Black Redistricting Alliance, wrote in a petition that the community’s Spanish name “derives from the White house which was one of the first here in the midst of what used to be citrus groves as far as the eye could see.” Many pickers who harvested fruit lived in Casa Blanca. Her petition, launched after the council’s April meeting, seeks to save three tall date palm trees along Railroad Avenue. Sixty-six people had signed the petition as of Friday, Feb. 10. Stocco said the three trees would not be removed and are just off the Gilbane property. At the council meeting, residents argued that apartments and railroads don’t mix. They said the tracks would threaten children and older resi-
dents who would live in the units. Conder agreed, citing an example of kids playing sports. “Those trains are 20,000 tons,” he said at the meeting. “You think they are going to be able to stop if some kid goes out there and tries to get the ball he hit over the fencing area?” Ramirez, the consultant, countered in an email that many safe and attractive housing projects across the nation have been built or are rising near tracks. He cited a “similar and beautiful development” in Riverside: the new Citron Apartment Homes across Merrill Avenue from the Riverside Plaza. Stocco said by phone Thursday, Feb. 9, that the Railroad Avenue development would have 28 residential buildings, including 17 for older residents and 11 for families. They would be as tall as three stories and spaced among plentiful, green open space. Buildings would be designed to reduce noise and pollution from trains, Stocco said. A 12-foothigh wall placed 10 feet behind buildings would separate homes from the
tracks, he said. “None of the homes open up to the railroad tracks,” he said, adding that 99% of windows would be oriented away from the rails. The project also would bring amenities, backers said. Murals reflecting Casa Blanca’s heritage would be painted on the buildings, Stocco said. A recreation center would welcome residents from the area, he said. Ramirez said a new sidewalk on Railroad Avenue would make walking safer. Because the project is 100% “affordable housing,” Stocco said the complex would allow the city to apply for state money to address traffic and storm drainage issues. Then there are the problems associated with the vacant strip of land. Ramirez said the project would replace homeless camps and trash. Mendoza-Collins agreed that “homeless do hang out there,” but said the site is better suited for another use, such as a storage business. Gilbane has been studying how the apartments would affect air quality,
health, noise levels, traffic, plants and cultural resources. Ramirez declined to discuss preliminary results of those studies until they are reviewed by city officials, but said the impacts are “minimal in comparison to the existing situation.” Some community leaders say Gilbane did not properly inform Casa Blanca of its plans before the April council meeting, which Ramirez denied. He said representatives discussed it at least four times in March with community groups and agencies and one meeting included Conder. Mendoza-Collins said officials “did not go to the neighbors who will be affected – the people across the street from where that project will go.” Ramirez said Gilbane would help fill the need for housing for young families priced out of today’s real estate market and house part of the area’s surging population of adults 65 and older. “These beautiful units will be available for seniors on fixed incomes and provide reliable and sustainable housing options,” he wrote.
year, according to Bhanukitsiri. "We rely heavily on the donations from our local grocery stores and regional creamery to be able to provide nutritious food items for our
clients." Statistics reported by the Urban Institute show approximately one in five adults reported experiencing household food insecurity in the spring
of 2020. That number remained the same in the summer of 2022. Experts point to factors including the pandemic and high inflation rates. The Community Food
Pantry of Murrieta Pantry representatives said their volunteers collect about 1.2 million pounds of food each year from regional supermarkets and food suppliers. The
food goes to people who have fallen on hard times, homebound seniors and others in the community in need of nutritious food items, instead of being directed to landfills.
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