Temecula Valley News

Page 1

Local Junior PGA Corey Pavin Invitational Toyota Tour Cup held in Temecula, B-1

Murrieta Valley Unified School District names Teacher of the Year, C-7

VALLEY

NEWS

A

Section

Your Best Source for Local News & Advertising

Serving Temecula , Murrieta , L ake E lsinore , M enifee , Wildomar , H emet, San Jacinto and the surrounding communities June 30 – July 6, 2017

www.myvalleynews.com

Local Shenkman brings change to city councils

Volume 17, Issue 26

Night in the life of an astronomer

Will Fritz VALLEYSTAFF@REEDERMEDIA.COM

Kevin Shenkman is a Malibubased, Tesla-driving father of four young girls, a kid from Michigan who moved out to Southern California, “as quickly as I could.” see page A-3

Local San Jacinto to add 3 more deputies to police force Tony Ault TAULT@REEDERMEDIA.COM

Even though the Riverside County board of supervisors is contemplating cutting some its Sheriff’s Department substations because of costs, the contract city of San Jacinto will add two special deputies and a traffic enforcement officer to its ranks. see page A-4

Entertainment Luciano makes Top 18 on ‘MasterChef’ Stephanie Lai VALLEYSTAFF@REEDERMEDIA.COM

Huntington Beach is speckled with red and blue cooking contestants and lifeguards on the latest airing of “MasterChef.” Murrieta resident Dino Luciano competed with 18 other contestants on the beach in a catering event for 101 lifeguards.

Palomar Observatory docent and tour guide Mike Bertin, leads a tour of the 200-inch Hale Telescope. The telescope is responsible for a number of discoveries and breakthroughs since it first saw light in 1949. See story and more photos on page C-1. Shane Gibson photo

Murrieta presents draft district maps as council speaks out against district-based elections

see page C-3

VALLEY NEWS

PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID HEMET, CA PERMIT #234

INDEX Local ........................................ A-1 Sports ...................................... B-1 Pets........................................... B-3 Health ...................................... B-4 Business ................................... B-6 Entertainment......................... C-1 Wine Country.......................... C-4 Dining ...................................... C-5 Calendar of Events.................. C-6 Education................................. C-7 Real Estate .............................. D-1 Home & Garden...................... D-1 Business Directory.................. D-5 Opinion ................................... D-6 Blotter....................................... D-6 Classifieds................................ D-7

The “Yellow” draft map of districts for the city of Murrieta proposes five districts with a total deviation of population ranging from plus 495 in district four to minus 475 in district 3.

The “Green” draft map of districts for the city of Murrieta proposes five districts with a total deviation of population ranging from plus 948 in district five to minus 657 in district four. Courtesy images

Will Fritz VALLEYSTAFF@REEDERMEDIA.COM

elections. It has 90 days – until Aug. 6 – to officially adopt districts, if it chooses to do so. If not, it will remain open to a lawsuit. The CVRA, first passed in 2001, is meant to protect minorities from having their interests overridden by the majority. However, Johnson said there is no way to create a district with a majority Latino – or any other “protected class” – population. “No surprise, there are not any large neighborhoods that are over-

Murrieta city council heard the third of four public hearings June 20 regarding a possible move to district-based elections. Two possible draft maps, known as the “green” and “yellow” maps, were presented by Christina Cameron, who is a partner at city attorney Leslie Devaney’s law firm, and Douglas Johnson, who as president of National Demographics Corpo-

ration has drawn up districts for various local governments throughout California. In March, the city of Murrieta received a letter from attorney Kevin Shenkman alleging the city was violating the California Voting Rights Act by electing its city council at-large. The only way for the city to avoid a lawsuit is to establish city council districts. The council adopted a resolution to do just that May 8 by holding a series of public hearings on district

whelmingly a protected class of Latino, Asian-American or African-American,” Johnson said. In both draft maps, councilman Randon Lane and Mayor Rick Gibbs will find themselves in the same district, while an area mostly south of Murrieta Hot Springs Road will be without an incumbent councilmember. However, both Gibbs and councilmember Alan Long will be termed out in 2018.

see DISTRICTS, page A-6

Sara’s story: Surviving sex trafficking in Southern California Julie Reeder JREEDER@REEDERMEDIA.COM

Editor’s note: This story is the second in a series on prostitution, pornography and sex trafficking throughout Southern California. The names of those quoted in this story have been changed to protect those affected by this crime. Be advised that this story contains disturbing content and is not intended for children. “Human trafficking is the fastest growing criminal industry in the world,” US Department of Health and Human Services reported. Sara is now age 23 and safe with

her three children in another state thanks to a program within the Justice Department that helps trafficked victims. Sara’s sons, seven and four, were also victims of trafficking and prostitution. Sara was taken from her family in South America when she was 14 and sold to a man in San Diego County who bought her to work in a strip club and brothel. She had to work the strip club and have sex with customers. She and the other girls lived in the back and had to be quiet; if any of them got out of line or made any noise, they would

see TRAFFICKING, page A-6 Thinkstock/Favor_of_God photo


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.