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*El Chicano 05/15/25

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EL CHICANo Weekly

Vol 62, NO. 30

May 15, 2025

Loaded Porta-Potty Stolen in Broad Daylight, Found in San Bernardino Homeless Encampment

IECN.com

UC Riverside Addresses Teacher Shortage in San Bernardino Pg. 5

PHOTO ALAN STANLY The Enterprise Building’s security camera system capturing a loaded porta-potty being stolen by two men at 6 AM on May 11th, 2025.

By Manny Sandoval

A

porta-potty placed outside The Enterprise Building in downtown San Bernardino to combat public urination and defecation was stolen just after 6 a.m. on May 11—hauled off in a UHaul by two individuals captured on surveillance cameras.

Teamsters Hispanic Caucus Secures Signatures to Rename Seccombe Lake Park Pg. 8

Business owner Alan Stanly says his team was alerted by on-site security at 6:20 a.m., and footage confirmed the theft at 6:16 a.m. “We had a camera on the porta-potty, and

PHOTO ALAN STANLY The porta-potty located at a nearby homeless encampment thought it found a new home near 13th and E street—before a local San Bernardino muralist spotted and reported it.

they stole it in broad daylight,” said Stanly. “We got clear images of the two thieves and their license plate, and police sent out a CSO officer right away. We handed everything over.” The next day, May 12, officers visited The Enterprise Building to collect further details and begin the search. A local muralist who had previously cleaned graffiti off of the toilet recognized it at an encampment near 13th and E streets—close to the McDonald’s Museum. “He noticed the same graffiti tags and unique markings. He knew we were look-

ing for it and spotted it near a large encampment,” Stanly said. Stanly emphasized the absurdity and urgency of the theft. “If ever you wondered whether there's value in a porta-potty— someone literally stole a full one, on its side, loaded into a U-Haul,” he said. “That’s proof of demand.” The porta-potty, originally placed by the City of San Bernardino for the March 2025 Beyond Wonderland rave, significantly reduced waste issues near Stanly’s properPorta-potty cont. on next pg.

CSUSB Students Remove 500 Pounds of Trash from Santa Ana River, Urge IE Residents to Rethink Pollution Francisco Huerta, a junior majoring in social work, helped launch the Eco Social Workers group through the assignment, which challenged students to create realworld community impact. “We decided to focus on the environment and the Santa Ana River—it runs through Riverside and it’s really dirty,” said Huerta. “It was jarring because it was a nice park, but once we hiked down to the river, it was eye-opening to see how much trash was left behind.”

More Than 300 Walk in Inland Empire Community Rain for Mental Health Newspapers at San Bernardino’s Office: (909) 381-9898 First-Ever NAMI Walk, Editorial: iecn1@mac.com Advertising: sales@iecn.com Raising $20K Legals : iecnlegals@hotmail.com Pg. 8 HOW TO REACH US Inland Empire Community Newspapers Office: (909) 381-9898 Editorial: iecn1@mac.com Advertising: iecn1@mac.com Legals: iecnlegals@gmail.com

PHOTO FRANCISCO HUERTA CSUSB Eco Social Workers and IE Waterkeeper members holding a debrief after collecting 500 pounds of trash from inside the Santa Ana River at Martha McLean-Anza Narrows Park.

By Manny Sandoval

W

hat began as a class project at Cal State San Bernardino has evolved into a meaningful environmental initiative after a group of social work students removed nearly 500 pounds

of trash from the Santa Ana River in less than two hours. The effort took place in February at Martha McLean-Anza Narrows Park as part of a Social Welfare Policy course taught by Professor Andrew Godoy. Student

The cleanup was conducted in partnership with IE Waterkeeper, a Riverside-based nonprofit dedicated to protecting local waterways. Over the course of 90 minutes, Huerta and three classmates collected glass shards, broken beer bottles, sharp-edged plastic containers, and even two shopping carts submerged in the riverbed. “We didn’t see any unhoused people while cleaning, but there was a camp nearby,” Huerta noted. “Most of the trash appeared to come from people hanging out there. It’s nice to see people admiring the beauty of nature—and disheartening to see they don’t Eco Social Workers cont. next pg.


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