San Bernardino County sheriff's deputy convicted in videotaped beating of Apple Valley man reinstated

9/14/2018 San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputy convicted in videotaped beating of Apple Valley man reinstated – San Bernardino Sun

 NEWS

 San Bernardino County sheriff’s
 deputy convicted in videotaped
 beating of Apple Valley man
 reinstated

 By JOE NELSON | jnelson@scng.com | San Bernardino Sun
 PUBLISHED: September 13, 2018 at 7:01 pm | UPDATED: September 14, 2018 at 12:11
 am

 

https://www.sbsun.com/2018/09/13/san-bernardino-county-sheriffs-deputy-convicted-in-videotaped-beating-of-apple-valley-man-reinstated/ 1/5

9/14/2018 San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputy convicted in videotaped beating of Apple Valley man reinstated – San Bernardino Sun

 Charles Foster appears in San Bernardino Superior Court during his trial last
 year, when Judge Dwight W. Moore vacated the jury’s verdict finding Foster
 guilty of felony assault under the color of authority. Instead, Foster was able to
 plead out to a misdemeanor count of disturbing the peace and was given one
 year of informal probation. He was recently hired back on with the Sheriff’s
 Department as a corrections officer.

 A San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputy who was convicted in connection with
 the videotaped beating of an Apple Valley man in 2015 and successfully appealed
 his termination has been reinstated by the department.

 Charles Foster, 37, is now assigned to the sheriff’s Corrections and Detentions
 Bureau, according to Sgt. Marc Bracco. However, Bracco could not disclose when
 Foster was reinstated, citing legal reasons.

 “Anything related to his civil service hearing or discipline cannot be commented
 on due to California laws …,” Bracco said. “That’s all we can say on the matter.”

 Foster’s attorney, Heather N. Phillips, however, said she was informed of Foster’s
 reinstatement in April.

 “We received the decision on his administrative appeal on April 17, 2018,” Phillips
 said in an email Thursday. “His termination was voided as though it never
 occurred and he was returned to work based on a nding that termination was
 excessive discipline.”

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9/14/2018 San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputy convicted in videotaped beating of Apple Valley man reinstated – San Bernardino Sun

 Phillips said Foster has returned to full duty at the same pay rate he was receiving
 when he was placed on leave last year.

 Speci cally, Foster is working at the High Desert Detention Center in Adelanto,
 said Miles Kowalski, the Sheriff’s Department’s general counsel.

 Lolita Harper, a spokeswoman for the Sheriff’s Employees’ Bene t Association
 (SEBA), the union representing sheriff’s deputies, said Foster is “proudly serving
 the community as a SEBA member.”

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 “He endured a three-year-long legal and administrative process and was
 successful in his battle for reinstatement. He is grateful to be continuing his
 career with the Sheriff’s Department,” Harper said in a statement Thursday.

 Foster and former Deputies Nicholas Downey and Michael Phelps were each
 charged in September 2015 with one felony count of assault by a public of cer for
 the April 9, 2015, videotaped beating of Francis Jared Pusok, a convicted felon
 with a laundry list of offenses, including evading police. The beating was the
 culmination of a three-hour pursuit on foot, in car and horseback through the
 High Desert cities of Apple Valley, Victorville, and Hesperia.

 An NBC news crew, hovering 8,000 feet above in a helicopter, recorded video of
 Phelps and Downey swooping down on Pusok a er he fell off a horse he had
 stolen from Deep Creek Hot Springs in Apple Valley. Downey and Phelps
 repeatedly punched and kicked Pusok while yelling “Stop resisting!” Several more
 deputies arrived and assisted in detaining Pusok. While their actions also came
 under scrutiny by the District Attorney’s Of ce, the other deputies were not
 charged with any crimes.
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9/14/2018 San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputy convicted in videotaped beating of Apple Valley man reinstated – San Bernardino Sun

 During the trio’s trial last year, the jury deadlocked 8-4, in favor of conviction, on
 Phelps and Downey. But instead of having a second trial, Downey and Phelps
 entered into plea agreements with prosecutors, each pleading no contest to one
 misdemeanor count of disturbing the peace. They each were sentenced to one
 year of unsupervised probation.

 Foster was convicted at trial. However, at the time of his sentencing, Judge Dwight
 W. Moore granted a motion for a new trial led by Phillips. Moore concurred with
 Phillips that the jury reached its guilty verdict based, in part, on an improper jury
 instruction given by prosecutor Robert Bulloch and, in part, based on
 in ammatory comments on Foster’s audio belt recorder.

 Moore found that the evidence presented did not prove Foster’s guilt beyond a
 reasonable doubt.

 Instead of going to trial a second time, Foster opted to enter into the same plea
 agreement as Downey and Phelps, pleading no contest to one misdemeanor count
 of disturbing the peace. He was sentenced to one year unsupervised probation.

 Foster was discharged from probation on May 18, Deputy Chief Probation Of cer
 Kimberly Epps said.

 Within weeks of the videotaped beating, the county approached Pusok, offering
 him a settlement of $650,000, which Pusok accepted. His attorney, Jim Terrell,
 was not pleased hearing of Foster’s reinstatement.

 “Truth be told, the entire judicial system is broken in San Bernardino, from the
 top to the bottom. The federal government needs to evaluate and assist the
 citizens of San Bernardino,” Terrell said in a statement Thursday.

 Terrell blamed Judge Moore for vacating Foster’s conviction and outgoing District
 Attorney Mike Ramos for undermining his own prosecutor, Robert Bulloch, while
 the jury was still deliberating. Bulloch’s comments during his closing argument at
 trial about the Sheriff’s Department fostering a “culture of violence” prompted a
 swi apology demand by SEBA. Both Ramos and Bulloch capitulated.

 Terrell said Bulloch was forced to apologize for “telling the truth.”

 “Robert Bulloch is a hero. He was truthful,” Terrell said.

 Tags: Top Stories IVDB, Top Stories PE, Top Stories RDF,
 Top Stories Sun
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9/13/2018 ‘Planets on Parade’ at museum | Entertainment | highlandnews.net

 https://www.highlandnews.net/entertainment/planets-on-parade-at-museum/article_6aa89de2-b775-11e8-
 86a9-d78b2925f3ab.html

 ‘Planets on Parade’ at museum
 4 hrs ago

 The night sky is the newest exhibit at the San Bernardino County Museum.

 Just before the fall equinox, the museum launches a new partnership “Cosmic Nights” with the
 San Bernardino Valley Amateur Astronomers (SBVAA) to feature telescope viewing from 8 to 10
 p.m. Friday, Sept 21.

 NEXT Don't Miss! - 9/13 Preview 

 Autumn begins on Saturday, Sept. 22.

 “We’ll have Mars, Saturn, Jupiter, Venus and the moon to observe, so it is truly a ‘Planets on
 Parade’ event,” says sbvaa.org.

 The event takes place outdoors, weather permitting, and guests are advised to wear
 comfortable clothing and shoes. Museum galleries will be open during the event and regular
 admission applies.

 The club will set up on the west side of the museum, which is at 2024 Orange Tree Lane o
 California Street at Interstate 10 in Redlands.

https://www.highlandnews.net/entertainment/planets-on-parade-at-museum/article_6aa89de2-b775-11e8-86a9-d78b2925f3ab.html 1/1

9/13/2018 Fontana church will honor local contributors | News | fontanaheraldnews.com

 https://www.fontanaheraldnews.com/news/fontana-church-will-honor-local-contributors/article_8ea44482-
 b791-11e8-86c4-afbd61baf1e8.html

 Fontana church will honor local
 contributors
 4 hrs ago

 Ephesians New Testament Church will be holding its Community Awards Luncheon on Sept. 22 at 11 a.m. at
 the Hilton Garden Inn Fontana, 10543 Sierra Avenue.

 "This is the semi-annual luncheon where we honor individuals that have made signi cant contributions to
 the overall quality of life of the Fontana community," said Pastor Emory James. "The luncheon seeks to
 exhibit and say thank you to those that serve us as ideal citizens and role models for our youth. We hope
 that their continued work will inspire others to serve this community."

 This year, the committee has chosen six individuals:

 • Josie Gonzales, a member of the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors and a former member of the
 Fontana City Council.

 • Michael Tahan, a member of the Fontana City Council.

 • Danny Marquez, the board chairman for Veterans Partnering with Communities in Fontana.

 • Idilio Sanchez, chairperson of the Fontana Planning Commission and the president of ABS Collision Center
 in Fontana.

 • Jasmin Hall, a board member of the Inland Empire Utilities Agency.

 • Pastor Samuel Dawkins of Westside Baptist Church in Fontana.

https://www.fontanaheraldnews.com/news/fontana-church-will-honor-local-contributors/article_8ea44482-b791-11e8-86c4-afbd61baf1e8.html 1/1

9/13/2018 San Bernardino County Firefighters Get $355,000 for Hazmat Training - Mountain News : News

San Bernardino County Firefighters Get $355,000 for
Hazmat Training
Posted: Thursday, September 13, 2018 9:00 am

A federal grant of $355,148 has been awarded to the San Firefighters $355k (from Aguilar)
Bernardino County Fire Protection District (SBCFPD),
 Rep. Pete Aguilar
according to a Sept. 5 announcement from Rep. Pete Aguilar.
A democrat, Congressman Aguilar is the U.S. Representative
from California’s 31st Congressional District and a native of Fontana.
The funding, which will be used to provide hazardous materials training for San Bernardino County
firefighters, comes from the Federal Emergency Management Administration’s (FEMA) Assistance to
Firefighters Grant (AFG) Fire Prevention Operations and Safety Program.
“California is facing an exceptionally challenging fire season, and we need to do all we can to make sure
that our local firefighters have every resource they need,” said Rep. Aguilar.

He continued, “Earlier this year I hosted a workshop to connect local fire departments with critical federal
resources because we need to make sure they’re equipped to handle any emergency. San Bernardino County
firefighters have demonstrated their heroism time and time again, and I’m proud to announce these funds
that will provide training to help keep them safe and help keep our community safe.”

Ben Wurzell, media specialist for county fire explained, “Our mountain communities will benefit from the
training by making more Hazmat responders readily available to respond to any type of hazardous materials
incident.”

Which firefighters from Lake Arrowhead and other mountain communities and how many will receive the
training is not yet determined. “At this point, we do not have specific information on which personnel will
be selected to receive the training,” Wurzell said.

“Firefighters from all over the San Bernardino County Fire Protection District will receive the training.
Priority access will be given to fire suppression personnel. If additional openings are available, they will be
offered to local fire departments who participate in hazardous materials response,” Wurzell added.

The program is already in place, according to Wurzell. “This funding will allow the Fire Protection District
to put more personnel through the training.” The educational sessions are scheduled to take place in various
locations throughout the county, he said.

Fire Chief Mark Hartwig said, “The men and women of the San Bernardino County Fire Protection District
are extremely grateful to Congressman Aguilar and FEMA for their support of San Bernardino County by
awarding our agency the grant. This grant will help us continue to protect our citizens by providing
additional hazardous materials training to our team. Funding will allow the Fire Protection District to bolster
our Hazmat capabilities by over 40 percent daily. Additionally, in conjunction with the California State
Office of Emergency Services, the Fire Protection District will also be able to assist on any type of Hazmat

http://www.mountain-news.com/news/article_18ed2d9e-b778-11e8-8e6c-37cd55831527.html?mode=print 1/2

9/13/2018 San Bernardino County Firefighters Get $355,000 for Hazmat Training - Mountain News : News

response throughout the State of California. This is great news for the residents of San Bernardino County
and the great state of California.”
As part of his efforts to bring federal resources into the Inland Empire, Rep. Aguilar held a grant training
workshop for local fire departments earlier this year. The workshop, which was attended by representatives
from SBCFPD, focused on best practices for FEMA grant applications, including the AFG Program that
funded this award.
As a member of the House Appropriations Committee, Rep. Aguilar has been a consistent advocate for the
AFG Program and successfully fought for a funding increase in Fiscal Year 2018.

http://www.mountain-news.com/news/article_18ed2d9e-b778-11e8-8e6c-37cd55831527.html?mode=print 2/2

9/13/2018 Students read 6 million words, 19,127 books | Schools | highlandnews.net

 https://www.highlandnews.net/news/schools/students-read-million-words-books/article_b74cf558-b775-
 11e8-a902-d3a5afbef97a.html

 BREAKING

 Students read 6 million words, 19,127 books
 Hector Hernandez Jr. 6 hrs ago

 Bethanne Prince of reads to students at the California Speech-Language-Hearing Association booth at the fth annual
 Alliance for Education Reading Rally held at Cal State University, San Bernardino.
 Hector Hernandez Jr.

 For nearly 1,200 kindergarten through third-graders Friday, Sept. 7, was a day to celebrate
 reading during the Alliance for Education’s fth annual Reading Rally at Cal State University,
 San Bernardino.

https://www.highlandnews.net/news/schools/students-read-million-words-books/article_b74cf558-b775-11e8-a902-d3a5afbef97a.html 1/3

9/13/2018 Students read 6 million words, 19,127 books | Schools | highlandnews.net

 The event, sponsored by San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools o ce, aimed to
 spark a love of reading and help establish critical, strong reading habits among the young
 students from throughout the county.

 County Superintendent Ted Alejandre opened the day of reading activities by impressing on
 students the importance of literacy and congratulating them on surpassing the summer
 reading challenge to read 5 million words set by the San Bernardino County
 Footsteps2Brilliance Initiative.

 Through the program’s online reading app students collectively reported reading 6,071,500
 words, 19,127 books between June 1 and Sept. 7. Approximately 2,500 hours of reading.

 “Our goal is to promote reading, promote literacy as the key foundation to being successful in
 school and to being lifelong learners,” said Lynne Kennedy, a senior administrator for Alliance
 of Education, San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools. “We also want to support
 what our teachers are doing in the classroom to make sure that we cultivate a positive attitude
 toward reading and learning.”

 The event partnered with numerous libraries educational and community organizations to host
 reading events, story times, puppet shows and book giveaways.

 According to County Schools School Health Program Coordinator John Juniper it was an “all-
 hands-on-deck e ort.” Juniper read “The True Story of the Three Little Pigs” dressed as the wolf
 trying to clear his name.

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9/13/2018 Students read 6 million words, 19,127 books | Schools | highlandnews.net

 “I love having the students here and seeing their enthusiasm for reading and their interacting
 with the storytellers,” Kennedy said.

 The event was co-sponsored by Cal State San Bernardino with contributions and participation
 from: Auto Club Speedway, California Speech-Language Hearing Assoc., Child Assistance Fund,
 Child Care Resource Center, First 5 San Bernardino, Inland Empire Health Plan, County Fire
 Department, County Library, County Preschool Services Department, Quality Start San
 Bernardino and United Way.

 Hector Hernandez Jr.

https://www.highlandnews.net/news/schools/students-read-million-words-books/article_b74cf558-b775-11e8-a902-d3a5afbef97a.html 3/3

9/13/2018 Edison Addresses Growing Risk of Wildfires - Mountain News : News

Edison Addresses Growing Risk of Wildfires
Posted: Thursday, September 13, 2018 9:00 am
To protect customers and communities from growing risks of
wildfires, Southern California Edison (SCE) filed a proposal
Sept. 10, seeking approval from the California Public
Utilities Commission (CPUC) for safety measures to be
implemented in high-risk areas.

The proposed $582 million Grid Safety and Resiliency
Program (GS&RP) aligns with the requirements of Senate
Bill 901, which calls for wildfire mitigation plans. SB 901 is
one of the wildfire bills passed by the legislature last month SCE crews will be replacing
and currently awaiting the signature of Gov. Brown. wooden poles with fire-resistant
 composite poles.
SCE described its plans during a conference call Monday
afternoon and subsequently provided additional information.
“The devastation caused by the 2017 and 2018 wildfires leaves no doubt that wildfire risk has increased to
the point where California needs to reassess the way we collectively prepare for and prevent wildfires,” said
Phil Herrington, SCE senior vice president of Transmission & Distribution. “This includes a role for utilities
in going beyond existing state standards and traditional utility practices to incorporate leading mitigation
measures from around the world, selected based on their effectiveness.

“We are taking a holistic approach and proposing to implement measures between now and the end of 2020
that will further harden our infrastructure, bolster our situational awareness capabilities and enhance our
operational practices,” Herrington said. “We also will continue to work with state leaders on policies to
reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire damages while ensuring equitable distribution of costs.”
HARDEN INFRASTRUCTURE

SCE is planning extensive improvements to infrastructure targeted to reduce probability of wildfire activity
by standing up to weather conditions and fire outbreaks.

• Insulated Wires: SCE will replace nearly 600 miles of overhead power lines in high fire risk areas with
insulated wire by the end of 2020. Up to 10 percent of wildfire ignitions in California are from power lines.
However, in SCE’s service area, more than half of ignitions associated with distribution lines are caused
when objects such as metallic balloons, tree limbs and palm fronds come into contact with power lines.

• Additional miles of wires: SCE plans to replace about 3,400 miles of overhead line with insulated wire
between 2021 and 2025.

• Poles: Fire-resistant composite poles will be used where appropriate when poles need to be replaced in
order to support the increased weight and diameter of the insulated wire.

http://www.mountain-news.com/news/article_855c2722-b779-11e8-b8c4-53718f8bb098.html?mode=print 1/2

9/13/2018 Edison Addresses Growing Risk of Wildfires - Mountain News : News

• Current-Limiting Fuses: SCE is installing 15,700 of these devices, which interrupt current more quickly
and avoid the potential creation of their own heat source during fuse operation when compared to
traditional, industry standard fuses.
• Remote-Controlled Automatic Reclosers (RARs): During Red Flag conditions (low humidity and high
wind), SCE uses RARs to stop affected circuits from automatically re-energizing so SCE crews can
physically inspect the lines before they are re-energized.
SITUATIONAL AWARENESS

Several projects will help to increase situational awareness.

• High-Definition Cameras: Up to 160 new high-definition cameras will enable emergency management
personnel, including fire agencies, to quickly respond to emerging and spreading wildfires, saving critical
time in assessing fire severity.

• Weather Stations and Modeling Tools: SCE will begin with 125 weather stations in 2018, ultimately
installing up to 850 weather stations. Weather station data and a new advanced weather modeling tool can
forecast weather conditions within a third of a mile. This can inform operational decisions and optimize
resource allocation during emergencies.
OPERATIONAL PRACTICES
To enhance operational practices, SCE is proposing to exceed CPUC rules.

• Vegetation Management: The CPUC last year issued aggressive new rules on tree pruning in high fire risk
areas. SCE will take it steps further by inspecting all trees within 200 feet of its electric facilities and
remove or prune trees that could strike the equipment. Herrington explained, “These trees are far enough
away from electrical equipment that they are not covered by existing clearance requirements, but close
enough to present a possible threat during high winds.”
• Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS): As a last resort, SCE proactively de-energizes portions of its system
under extreme fire conditions to keep customers and communities safe. Implementation of a number of
measures will minimize the inconvenience to customers.

• A new Emergency Outage Notification System will send customized messages before, during and after a
PSPS.
If the GS&RP is approved, the average monthly bill for a residential customer would increase by about
$1.20. Income-qualified CARE customers would see an increase of about 81 cents per month.

http://www.mountain-news.com/news/article_855c2722-b779-11e8-b8c4-53718f8bb098.html?mode=print 2/2

9/14/2018 California’s experiment with beating back mega-fires – San Bernardino Sun

 OPINION

 California’s experiment with beating back mega-fires

 California’s experiment with beating back mega-fires

 By THE EDITORIAL BOARD | opinion@scng.com |
 PUBLISHED: September 13, 2018 at 6:00 pm | UPDATED: September 13, 2018 at 6:01 pm

 

 Looking at photos of an un-thinned, un-burned control woodland in the Stanislaus-Tuolumne Experimental Forest, you see kindling,
 perfect fuel for a raging re.

 But just around the corner in the central Sierra Nevada region, reports Lisa M. Krieger of our sister paper the San Jose Mercury, are stands
 of sugar pines that have been thinned using a “clustered” approach, breaking up both the pattern of the larger trees as well as clearing
 entirely the easy-to-ignite undergrowth.

 It’s all part of fascinating and, in this age of mega- res, increasingly necessary research by the United States Forest Service into the best
 ways to control or at least damp down the number of blazes through careful logging and the setting of back res to prevent larger
 con agrations down the line.

 Krieger describes what she saw recently on a visit to the grand wildland experiment: “Bark is charred. Logs are charcoal. But a strategy of
 selective logging, followed by a mannerly ‘prescribed burn,’ has created a forest as clean and safe as a cathedral.”

 ADVERTISING

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9/14/2018 California’s experiment with beating back mega-fires – San Bernardino Sun

 “Fire will always be part of California,” ecologist Eric Knapp told her on a hike through his 1,700-acre research project. “The question is, are
 we going to burn on our terms?”

 The work he and his colleagues are doing provides some of the only hope for the future in an otherwise bleak summer re season that has
 been positively cataclysmic so far.

 And as Californians know, this is not the worst of our re seasons — the fall awaits, an even drier time, with its whipping Santa Ana winds.
 Cal Fire recently told the governor that it is just about to reach the bottom of its annual budget — before those new res that are sure to
 come have had a chance to ignite.

 That’s why we as Californians know that we are going to have to bite the scal bullet that is, for starters, the $1 billion in new anti- re
 spending proposed by the Legislature over the next ve years aimed at getting some kind of handle on the situation.

 What’s the alternative? Just last week, the Delta Fire in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest forced the closure of a nearly 50-mile stretch of
 Interstate 5 near the Oregon border. The other summer res throughout the state have taken an awful toll in lives and homes and wild
 lands. So the good news is that, aside from crackpot suggestions about stopping California’s rivers from owing to the sea or clear-cutting
 the whole state, the real experts agree on what kind of measures are necessary to limit the damage.

 We know that climate change-induced warming and drought have already expanded the dangers of wild res to every month of the year. So
 Californians need to commit to the new funding of $165 million a year for ve years to thin forests and $35 million a year for ve years to
 fund prescribed burning projects.

 The alternative to that work, which is ne-tuned in experimental forests such as Stanislaus-Tuolumne, is unthinkable. The woodlands
 burned in the Delta Fire hadn’t seen re since the early 1900s, for instance. They needed to be cleared out, and to have controlled res set
 in their acreage, but there weren’t resources to do so. Providing those resources and continuing the work on the best ways to manage our
 forests, we’ll get through somehow, relatively uncharred.

 Tags: editorials

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 The Editorial Board
 The editorial board and opinion section staff are independent of the news-gathering side of our organization. Through our staff-written
 editorials, we take positions on important issues affecting our readership, from pension reform to protecting our region’s unique
 natural resources to transportation. The editorials are unsigned because, while written by one or more members of our staff, they
 represent the point of view of our news organization’s management. In order to take informed positions, we meet frequently with
 government, community and business leaders on important issues affecting our cities, region and state. During elections, we meet with
 candidates for of ce and the proponents and opponents of ballot initiatives and then make recommendations to voters.

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9/14/2018 Candidate Profile: For Leon, fiscal conservatism and responsible development equal progress in Apple Valley - News - VVdailypress.com…

 Candidate Profile: For Leon, fiscal
 conservatism and responsible
 development equal progress in Apple…

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9/14/2018 Candidate Profile: For Leon, fiscal conservatism and responsible development equal progress in Apple Valley - News - VVdailypress.com…

 APPLE VALLEY — The question for Kari Leon was not if she would run for
 Town Council, but when.

 The 41-year Apple Valley resident and owner of Agio Real Estate is the current
 president of the High Desert Association of Realtors, a position she also held in
 2014. She previously served as a board member for the Sunset Hills Children’s
 Foundation and Victor Valley Community Hospital before its change to Victor
 Valley Global Medical Center.

 Additionally, Leon, 56, has become a regular fixture inside Council chambers in
 recent years, advocating most notably for increased safeguards for home and
 business owners who utilize Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) programs
 for energy-efficient upgrades.

 She has been active in the community for years. Her decision to enter the local
 political scene, then, was largely one of timing. The three seats up for grabs in
 2018, coupled with Barb Stanton’s decision against a re-election bid, meant the
 moment was finally right.

 “I’m very sad to see Barb leave. She’s been a great councilwoman,” Leon said.
 “She’s done a lot of good things. I decided to run after she decided not to ... I’m
 very passionate about what happens to Apple Valley.”

 Leon respects Stanton’s approach in that it occasionally conflicts with that of her
 male counterparts. Stanton has never been one to withhold an opposing view,
 which Leon sees as an asset because it’s “good to have different opinions.”

 Leon sees herself as the logical successor to Stanton in that she also has her “own
 voice” and is capable of respectful disagreements at times, while remaining “OK
 with the solutions at the end of the day.”

 Her task going forward is to convince residents that her strategy will benefit the
 town, and she has already swayed two in Mayor Art Bishop and Mayor Pro Tem
 Larry Cusack. Both men said they support her and would like to see her on the
 Council. Both also confirmed they have donated money to her campaign.

 Cusack expressed his belief that Leon is “running for the right reasons,” adding
 that he appreciates her engagement. Bishop, meanwhile, said “a number of really
 good people” are running, but Leon would make the “best addition” to the Town

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9/14/2018 Candidate Profile: For Leon, fiscal conservatism and responsible development equal progress in Apple Valley - News - VVdailypress.com…

 Council because she’s “prepared to work really hard for the citizens.”

 Leon would add that she “listens to the concerns of the people.” She supports the
 town’s acquisition effort against Liberty Utilities, for example, because 7,200
 residents passed Measure F last June, which allows the town to issue revenue-
 bond debt up to $150 million to bankroll a purchase of Liberty’s water system if
 the right to do so is won in court.

 She’s also made Apple Valley’s finances a focal point of her platform. Sustaining a
 balanced general fund and growing severely depleted reserves will ease the strain
 on each issue the Council tackles in Leon’s view.

 “I believe I’m uniquely prepared to make fiscally responsible and reliable
 decisions in regard to the town budget,” Leon said. “Over the last 12 years in this
 ever-so-challenging real estate market, I’ve had to make decisions navigating the
 challenges. So I’m hoping to bring that to the town.”

 If elected, she plans to be fiscally conservative since that method has worked well
 in her professional life. Employing the town’s motto, she explained that “A Better
 Way of Life” includes “maintaining public safety, preserving our parks and open
 spaces, (and) ensuring a balanced budget.”

 All three have proven difficult for the town of late, though. Its contract with the
 San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department accounts for 47 percent of the
 general fund, a reality former Finance Director Kofi Antobam said wasn’t
 sustainable. The Town Council voted to close Virginia Park as a cost-saving
 measure in June. And the balanced general fund arrived after cuts to staff and
 long-term employee benefits.

 But, in Leon’s view, good growth will replenish Apple Valley’s severely depleted
 reserves, and good governance will sustain the general fund.

 “To me, it always goes back to the balanced budget,” she said. “Ensuring we have
 enough funds (for) the Sheriff’s Department. I think they do an excellent job.
 Crime has gone down ... If we have a strong balanced budget, we can maintain
 paying for the services that we get.

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9/14/2018 Candidate Profile: For Leon, fiscal conservatism and responsible development equal progress in Apple Valley - News - VVdailypress.com…

 “If you look at the income (i.e. revenues), it’s property tax and sales tax. Focusing
 on where we can improve on income ... it’s important to have responsible
 development. We don’t want to just let anyone come here and do anything for
 money.”

 While 2018 has been a transitional and challenging year inside Town Hall, Leon
 remains steadfast in her optimism and excitement over the prospect of being a
 “team player” on the Council, especially if the current makeup remains intact
 after the election because “they are doing a good job.”

 “I see when people go in, the concerns that they have, and the response,” Leon
 said. “They do look at it. They do listen. After the meetings, they do talk to the
 people and try to resolve issues. I think that’s a great asset.

 “I want to keep it going in the same direction. Maintain that better way of life.
 I’ve seen the Council. They look at the issue at hand. I like the way that they do
 that. As you’ve seen with the PACE issue. Truthfully, the town saved their
 residents a lot of money and stress by waiting for the perfect time (to allow that
 program back into Apple Valley). That’s what I admire about our current Town
 Council.”

 The general election is Nov. 6. Visit www.VVDailyPress.com to see videos of
 each candidate explaining why they’re running for office and what key issues
 they’re focused on.

 Matthew Cabe can be reached at MCabe@VVDailyPress.com or at 760-951-
 6254. Follow him on Twitter @DP_MatthewCabe.

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9/13/2018 More spending OK'd for Green Tree Boulevard extension - News - VVdailypress.com - Victorville, CA

 More spending OK’d for Green Tree Boulevard
 extension
 By Shea Johnson
 Staff Writer
 Posted at 3:24 PM
 Updated at 3:24 PM
 VICTORVILLE — The City Council recently authorized spending another
 $850,000 on right-of-way acquisitions for the Green Tree Boulevard Extension
 Project, raising the total allocated for procurement to $2.8 million.

 The acquisition process is making “good progress,” according to City Engineer
 Brian Gengler. Four years ago, 20 parcels were identified as needing to be
 acquired before construction could begin on the city’s segment of the wider
 Yucca Loma Corridor.

 The city has through June 30 to secure any remaining properties, although it’s
 possible they may extend the timeline as they had before. Gengler acknowledged
 it was “difficult” to predict when the right-of-way phase will finish. Its
 completion, coupled with wrapping up the 95-percent resolved design for the
 project, will launch the construction phase, although financing has not been
 secured.

 City Manager Keith Metzler said on Sept. 4 the city will ultimately be on the
 hook for 49 percent of the $46 million project, relying on development impact
 fees and Measure I funds to pay it off.

 The project will extend Green Tree Boulevard about a mile from Hesperia to
 Ridgecrest roads. It’s the final stage of the further-reaching Yucca Loma
 Corridor, which will create a third arterial connection from Apple Valley to
 Interstate 15 via the Yucca Loma Bridge.

 Debt policy consultant hired

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9/13/2018 More spending OK'd for Green Tree Boulevard extension - News - VVdailypress.com - Victorville, CA

 The Council on Sept. 4 signed off on one element of the settlement terms agreed
 to by the Securities and Exchange Commission when it approved a $185,000
 contract for debt policy consulting services.

 Assuming SEC approval, the contract with Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP would
 seem to satisfy the city’s mandated step to retain and fully cooperate with an
 independent consultant who will review Victorville’s current debt management
 policy as it pertains to internal control procedures, municipal securities
 disclosures, and current accounting and recordkeeping for municipal bond
 proceeds.

 “He just wants to get it done and get this all behind us,” Deputy City Manager
 George Harris II said of the consultant, “just as much as we do and help us get
 there.”

 The settlement reached and finalized in July put an end to five-year litigation
 that had accused the city, its airport authority and Metzler of involvement in an
 allegedly fraudulent municipal bond offering in 2008 connected to Southern
 California Logistics Airport.

 Spending nearly $20 million in legal fees, the city and SCLAA agreed to a
 judgment alleging negligence — without admitting nor denying the claim — and
 the SEC dropped fraud-related claims against the city, airport authority and
 Metzler, effectively dismissing Metzler from the action entirely.

 City joins Interagency Council on Homelessness

 The majority Council appointed Metzler, the city manager, to San Bernardino
 County’s Interagency Council on Homelessness, tapping Deputy City Manager
 Sophie Smith as an alternate.

 The Sept. 4 move effectively provides the city with “a seat at the table,” Metzler
 said, after the agency invited the city to apply in May following its vote three
 months earlier to increase its membership from 10 to 12 cities.

 The agency, ICH, is responsible for oversight and implementation of the county’s
 10-year strategy to end homelessness and also tasked with directing $10 million
 in annual funding for housing services.

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9/13/2018 More spending OK'd for Green Tree Boulevard extension - News - VVdailypress.com - Victorville, CA

 The city has routinely ranked each year within the county near the top in
 homeless population and city officials viewed the entry into ICH as a new
 opportunity to bolster efforts to tackle the crisis.

 Shea Johnson can be reached at 760-955-5368 or SJohnson@VVDailyPress.com. Follow
 him on Twitter at @DP_Shea.

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9/14/2018 Riverside County keeps details about public fraud away from public – Press Enterprise

___

 NEWSPOLITICS

 Riverside County keeps details
 about public fraud away from
 public

 Riverside County supervisors hold a meeting at the County Administrative Center in
 downtown Riverside in this May 2017 file photo.

 By JEFF HORSEMAN | jhorseman@scng.com | The Press-Enterprise
 PUBLISHED: September 13, 2018 at 3:27 pm | UPDATED: September 14, 2018 at 8:01
 am

 

 Since 2009, Riverside County employees who see waste, fraud or other on-the-job
 malfeasance have been able to call a hotline or le an online report anonymously.

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9/14/2018 Riverside County keeps details about public fraud away from public – Press Enterprise

 What’s also undisclosed is what waste, fraud, and abuse is uncovered through
 those reports to “Fraud Hotline 24/7!” The county isn’t sharing that information
 with the public.

 On Sept. 5, the county denied a California Public Records Act request from The
 Press-Enterprise to look at past hotline information, saying disclosing such
 records would discourage employees from reporting bad behavior. The speci c
 request was to see reports, correspondence and other paperwork related to
 completed investigations connected to hotline tips.

 The county’s refusal to release details about concluded hotline investigations –
 information about publicly paid of cials working on behalf of taxpayers – evoked
 mixed reactions from experts in government transparency.

 The county’s argument that disclosing details about past hotline cases would
 discourage future tipsters doesn’t y with the executive director of the First
 Amendment Coalition, a San Rafael-based nonpro t that advocates for open
 records. But a representative of the Sunlight Foundation, another nonpro t that
 pushes for government transparency, thought the county was on a more solid
 footing.

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9/14/2018 Riverside County keeps details about public fraud away from public – Press Enterprise

 Riverside County Supervisor Chuck Washington (File photo).

 Supervisor Chuck Washington, who chairs the Board of Supervisors, defended the
 county’s response, although he also said there might be a way to share
 investigation results without compromising tipsters’ anonymity.

 County government is Riverside County’s top employer. More than 20,000 people
 work for the county, which has an annual budget of $5.5 billion and runs, among
 other things, a sheriff’s department, a hospital and provides public services
 ranging from libraries to marriage licenses to animal shelters.

 The 24-hour hotline exists to help the county “(maintain) the highest level of
 ethics and integrity in all county operations,” according to an explanation on a
 website where employees can le and track complaints online instead of calling.

 The county does publish some data about complaints made to the hotline. Ninety-
 one incidents were reported in scal 2017-2018 – up from 40 in scal 2016-17 –
 with seven still under investigation as of June 30.

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9/14/2018 Riverside County keeps details about public fraud away from public – Press Enterprise

 But potentially embarrassing, and informative, details about the activities
 uncovered and the people involved is not disclosed in those annual reports, which
 also are nanced by taxpayers.

 “The records are con dential because employees and others would be less likely
 to bring the information forward, concerned about possible repercussions if
 ling a report could lead to them being publicly identi ed,” wrote spokesman Ray
 Smith in the county’s denial of the request for hotline information.

 “Even in cases in which names are not disclosed, the information itself could
 identify those ling the reports because few people might have access to the
 speci c information contained in the complaint.”

 “Releasing the complaint les and related records could have a chilling effect and
 dissuade people from bringing the information forward, and would therefore be
 against the public interest. Such a chilling effect would defeat the primary
 purpose for which the system was established.”

 “Strike a balance”

 First Amendment Coalition Executive Director David Snyder disagrees with the
 county’s denial, saying the information should be public when its connected to
 acts deemed to be unacceptable a er a formal investigation. Mere accusations, he
 argues, shouldn’t be made public.

 “As long as the complaint has some grounding in fact, the records should be
 disclosed,” Snyder said.

 “If the complaint is against a high-ranking of cial, the standard for disclosure is
 even more generous.”

 The county could redact names to shield tipsters and even withhold “fact
 patterns” that would identify the source of the complaint, Snyder added. “The
 solution under the Public Records Act is not to withhold the record in its entirety.”

 But Katya Abazajian, open cities director for the Washington, D.C.-based Sunlight
 Foundation, said the county’s argument has merit.

 “By asking for emails and similar records, I can see how that would discourage
 people from ling complaints,” she said.

 But Abazajian added: “If there are investigations where action was taken, or
 improvements had to be made, I don’t see why those wouldn’t be public.”

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9/14/2018 Riverside County keeps details about public fraud away from public – Press Enterprise

 Washington, who said he has “a long track record of ghting for transparency in
 government,” said there are cases where withholding information is in the
 public’s bene t.

 “Let’s say we are trying to acquire land to build a public facility,” he said. “Should
 it be known the government is buying up property, all of a sudden the price of the
 property goes up and (the higher price) harms taxpayers.”

 But regarding investigations launched from the hotline, Washington said: “I guess
 what we need to do is gure out a way that we can give you some of what you’re
 asking without sabotaging our own effort to identify waste, fraud, and abuse.”

 Tags: Top Stories PE

 Jeff Horseman
 Jeff Horseman got into journalism because he liked to write and stunk at math.
 He grew up in Vermont and he honed his interviewing skills as a supermarket
 cashier by asking Bernie Sanders “Paper or plastic?” A er graduating from
 Syracuse University in 1999, Jeff began his journalistic odyssey at The
 Watertown Daily Times in upstate New York, where he impressed then-U.S.
 Senate candidate Hillary Clinton so much she called him “John” at the end of an
 interview. From there, he went to Annapolis, Maryland, where he covered city,
 county and state government at The Capital newspaper before love and the
 quest for snowless winters took him in 2007 to Southern California, where he
 started out covering Temecula for The Press-Enterprise. Today, Jeff writes about
 Riverside County government and regional politics. Along the way, Jeff has
 covered wild res, a tropical storm, 9/11 and the Dec. 2 terror attack in San
 Bernardino. If you have a question or story idea about politics or the inner
 workings of government, please let Jeff know. He’ll do his best to answer, even if
 it involves a little math.
  Follow Jeff Horseman @JeffHorseman

 SPONSORED CONTENT

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 house ASAP (It's so
 simple) 
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9/13/2018 Los Angeles Times

 Tumult atop social services division
 Director of Riverside County agency leaves amid allegations
 of inadequate follow-up on child abuse cases.

 SOCIAL services chief Susan von Zabern left her Riverside County job this week,
 officials said. (Irfan Khan Los Angeles Times)
 BY NINA AGRAWAL, MATT STILES AND LAURA NEWBERRY
 Riverside County’s top social services official has left her job amid allegations that social
 workers in her department failed to report and adequately investigate child abuse and
 neglect claims.

 Susan von Zabern, director of the Department of Public Social Services, left county
 employment Monday morning, a county spokesman said Wednesday.
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9/13/2018 Los Angeles Times

 Von Zabern’s departure, first reported in the Press-Enterprise, follows the posting of an
 agenda item by the county Board of Supervisors late last month about two lawsuits
 alleging botched child abuse investigations.

 In one case, a 2-year-old girl was found to have been living with a deceased infant for
 nearly a month, according to a lawsuit. The other suit alleges that an adolescent girl was
 repeatedly sexually abused by her mother’s boyfriend and impregnated by him at age 13.
 The county, represented by an outside law firm, has denied all allegations in both suits in
 court filings.
 Riverside County spokesman Ray Smith declined to comment about the circumstances of
 Von Zabern’s departure and whether it was related to the two cases, citing personnel
 privacy issues and pending litigation.
 A woman who answered the phone at a number for Von Zabern’s home hung up after a
 Times reporter identified himself.
 In separate civil lawsuits filed in November 2017 and March 2018, attorney Roger Booth
 alleged that county workers failed to protect the children despite multiple opportunities to
 intervene. The suits say several county social workers violated the state Child Abuse and
 Neglect Reporting Act and breached their “mandatory duties,” including by failing to
 report abuse to law enforcement.

 In the first suit, a minor plaintiff alleges that her mother’s boyfriend repeatedly sexually
 assaulted her. Even after police and social services officials substantiated her allegations
 in 2014 and the mother obtained a restraining order against the man, the investigation
 was closed, the suit alleges.
 The man later returned to the home and continued raping and sexually abusing the child,
 who became pregnant in 2016 and gave birth, the lawsuit alleges.
 The boyfriend is identified in the lawsuit as Deon Welch. A 29-year-old with that name
 was arrested by the Hemet Police Department in March 2017 and has been charged with
 aggravated sexual assault of a child, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s
 Department and court records. He is being held at the Riverside County jail on $2-million
 bail.
 “Faced with overwhelming evidence of ongoing severe neglect and sexual abuse and an
 unsuitable home, defendants did nothing to try to remove Welch from the home, to
 dissuade him from staying there, to alert the Hemet PD of his whereabouts or to protect”
 the girl, the lawsuit says.
 “In fact, defendants sanctioned Welch’s continued presence in the home by asking him to
 sign … a safety plan that they drafted” because he was one of the girl’s caregivers, the
 lawsuit says.

 The other suit alleges that a girl, now 4, suffered physical, mental and emotional abuse
 when she was allowed to remain at home with her mentally ill mother despite regular

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9/13/2018 Los Angeles Times

 contact with child protection and the county’s own assessment that the child was at high
 risk of abuse and neglect.
 In April 2016, after a neighbor complained of a foul odor coming from the apartment
 where the girl lived with her mother, police entered the home and found the girl hugging
 the desiccated and decaying corpse of her infant sibling, the complaint says. Her mother
 insisted the infant was not dead but was “faking it” and would soon wake up, the lawsuit
 says.
 Ten social workers are named as defendants in the two suits.
 In the sexual abuse case, Riverside County filed its own action in July against the girl’s
 mother and Welch, alleging that the pair were “actively negligent” and “primarily
 responsible” for the abuse. As such, the pair should be liable for any financial damages
 resulting from the original lawsuit, the county argued.

 The county claimed that the girl’s mother “was negligent in her supervision of plaintiff
 and failed to protect her from sexual abuse and rape.” Further, the county alleged, the
 mother concealed knowledge of the abuse and of the location of her boyfriend.

 The mother pleaded guilty this year to three felony charges of willful child cruelty, perjury
 and assisting a felony perpetrator to escape arrest or trial, according to court records. She
 was sentenced to one year in jail and four years’ probation.

 Von Zabern’s departure from Riverside County’s social services department follows the
 shocking discovery this year that a Perris couple had held their 13 children captive in their
 home and tortured and abused them for years, according to prosecutors.
 David and Louise Turpin were each charged with multiple felony counts of torture, child
 abuse, abuse of dependent adults and false imprisonment after one of their children
 escaped and reported her parents to the police in January. The children had been starved,
 deprived of medical care and in some cases shackled to their beds, prosecutors said.
 Von Zabern said at the time that the 911 call from the child who escaped, which was
 relayed to social workers, “was the first opportunity we had to intervene.”

 Von Zabern began her career with the county in 1991 in its administrative office. She
 joined the social services department in 1999 and worked her way up to director in 2007,
 according to county records. Her base salary as director was $257,400, Smith said.
 County social workers have complained for years that high attrition and staff shortages
 “presented a danger to child safety,” said Coral Itzcalli, spokeswoman for SEIU Local 721,
 which represents them.
 “On average they are paid 22% below other comparable counties and this has resulted in
 an embarrassing 21% attrition rate that ultimately puts the most vulnerable at further
 risk,” Itzcalli said in an email.
 None of the five members of the Board of Supervisors agreed to discuss the cases or Von
 Zabern’s departure.
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9/14/2018 Los Angeles Times

 Homelessness shouldn’t be a crime
 Punishment isn’t progress toward housing those with no
 place to go but the streets
 BY SHAYLA R. MYERS
 Aweek ago, the Los Angeles City Council adjourned in honor of Joe, a 56-year-old man
 who died in late August after spending five months living in a tent in Koreatown, near the
 apartment he had been evicted from earlier this year. It was a somber moment — a
 moment of recognition for one of the hundreds of people who die on the streets while
 homeless every year.

 It was also a recognition that L.A.’s progress toward building housing had come too late
 for Joe, and that it would be too late for far too many others. But what was missing was an
 acknowledgement that, in the same chambers where Joe’s life was honored, the City
 Council has repeatedly passed laws that made Joe a criminal because he had no place to
 go other than the street.
 I met Joe at a presentation I did in Koreatown on the criminalization of homelessness. He
 told the gathering about his experiences with the Los Angeles Police Department. He had
 lost all of his belongings in one of the countless sweeps of homeless encampments that
 take place every day in L.A. He just didn’t see a posted notice announcing the cleanup. He
 left his property for the morning, and when he came back, it had been thrown away.
 In the weeks before he died, Joe was caught up in more than one of these sweeps. The city
 justifies its actions in part by pointing out that people who are homeless are breaking the
 law. And they are right. Every day Joe lived on the streets of Los Angeles, he was breaking
 any number of laws that criminalize homelessness.
 When I visited Joe in Koreatown, he was in violation of city ordinances at least five times
 over. His makeshift shelter, which replaced the tent that had been taken by LA Sanitation
 the month before, was unlawfully tied to a nearby tree. It was impermissibly up during the
 day, to provide some relief from the 90-degree heat. He had a cart to carry his belongings
 — a forbidden “bulky item” — and it looked like he had more than would fit in a 60-gallon
 trash can, the amount allowed by law.
 Each of these actions is prohibited by Los Angeles Municipal Code Section 56.11. And as
 we sat on the sidewalk and talked about his experiences, we were both in violation of

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