Tuesday Posted Dec 20, 2016 at 3:47 PM Updated Dec 20, 2016 at 3:47 PM By Rene Ray De La Cruz Staff Writer Follow APPLE VALLEY - Yvette Santa Maria called San Bernardino County Sheriff's Dep. Kevin Riberich "an angel" just before he escorted her family on a shopping spree at Target. Santa Maria's children, Yiraitza and Austin Chiquete, were all smiles when Riberich surprised them with the $1,000 shopping journey on Tuesday at the Target store on Bear Valley Road in Apple Valley. "Thank you so much," said 13-year-old Yiraitza "Edie" Chiquete as she gave Riberich a big hug and wiped her tears away. "I can't believe it." Santa Maria, a single mother of three, said there were "no words" to properly describe how her family felt when their Adelanto apartment was burglarized and intruders made off with the family's possessions around Thanksgiving Day. The burglars took personal items worth more than $13,000, such as Austin's Disney movies, Edie's curling iron, jewelry and jazz shoes, and 15-year-old Moises' clarinet. Riberich said he remembers Austin asking, "Mommy why did they take my jackets? Mommy, why would they take my movies?" The deputy said at one point he was about to drive Austin to the store himself when the deputy thought the boy's bike had been stolen. Angel with a badge comes to local family's rescue
Transcript
TuesdayPosted Dec 20, 2016 at 3:47 PMUpdated Dec 20, 2016 at 3:47 PM
By Rene Ray De La Cruz Staff Writer
Follow
APPLE VALLEY - Yvette Santa Maria called San Bernardino County Sheriff'sDep. Kevin Riberich "an angel" just before he escorted her family on a shoppingspree at Target.
Santa Maria's children, Yiraitza and Austin Chiquete, were all smiles whenRiberich surprised them with the $1,000 shopping journey on Tuesday at theTarget store on Bear Valley Road in Apple Valley.
"Thank you so much," said 13-year-old Yiraitza "Edie" Chiquete as she gaveRiberich a big hug and wiped her tears away. "I can't believe it."
Santa Maria, a single mother of three, said there were "no words" to properlydescribe how her family felt when their Adelanto apartment was burglarized andintruders made off with the family's possessions around Thanksgiving Day.
The burglars took personal items worth more than $13,000, such as Austin'sDisney movies, Edie's curling iron, jewelry and jazz shoes, and 15-year-oldMoises' clarinet.
Riberich said he remembers Austin asking, "Mommy why did they take myjackets? Mommy, why would they take my movies?" The deputy said at onepoint he was about to drive Austin to the store himself when the deputy thoughtthe boy's bike had been stolen.
"It was so upsetting to our family and the mess we had to endure to pick up upafterwards was just the worse," Santa Maria said. "I told them that we'll be fineand that we'll make it through as a family."
Riberich, who is also a family man, said after taking hundreds of burglary reportsin his 11 years on the job, nothing has affected him as profoundly as SantaMaria's family.
"I wanted to make sure the kids could have a good Christmas so I contacted myunion (the Sheriff's Employees' Benefit Association)," said Riberich, while SantaMaria and her children shopped. "The union listened to my story and were ableto pull together the $1,000 shopping spree here at Target."
Riberich said SEBA, which has a long-standing tradition of taking children on$200 shopping sprees through its "Shop with a Cop" program, decided to goabove and beyond with $1,000.
As Santa Maria pushed her cart down one of the many toy aisles, Austincarefully selected a variety of miniature vehicles such as a truck, race car andtractor.
"Maybe I should get a police car," said an excited Austin as Target employeesassisted the family with multiple carts. "I like this toy. I saw it on TV."
Holding a Starbucks drink, Austin's sister carefully browsed through the movie,shoe and clothes aisle while she smiled and said, "I can't believe this ishappening."
At the end of the shopping spree, SEBA surprised Santa Maria with an additional$500 gift card for her to use to buy presents for her children.
"I didn't realize how much our situation impacted the deputy, but I'm glad thatsomebody did care," said Santa Maria, whose family has relocated to Hesperia."We felt so alone, but it brought joy to our family that he cared."
Santa Maria said Riberich's actions prove that many in the Sheriff's department"do care about humanity" and that "they do care and try to do the best that theycan."
Riberich's generosity prompted SEBA to launch the "Everyday Heroes"campaign as a resource for its members who want to help needy victims, saidSEBA spokeswoman Lolita Harper.
Through the new campaign, thousands of dollars will be set aside throughout2017 to be made available for SEBA members who want to give back to thecommunity.
"We raise more than $200,000 annually on our SEBA 'Shop with a Cop' programbut as wonderful as it is, it is limited to the month of December," said Sheriff'sDetective Laren Leichliter, who is also the president of SEBA. "We recognizevictims of crime need help all throughout the year, so we created this specialcampaign to help our SEBA members help others."
Rene Ray De La Cruz may be reached at 760-951-6227, RDeLa or on Twitter .
• Social Security• Board of Supervisors• 2nd District Janice Rutherford• 3rd District James Ramos• Animal Care & Control• Code Enforcement• Assessor
Kids go shopping with cops
Mario Aguayo with Ninjago Legos he found while shopping with Twin Peaks Sheriff’sStation Deputy William Zerbe. (Photo by Douglas W. Motley)
Friday, Dec 16, 2016
By Douglas W. Motley
Some 50 lucky mountain area kids – 25 from Big Bear and 25 more from the Crestline, LakeArrowhead and Running Springs communities – got a chance to shop with a cop on Sunday,December 11 as the San Bernardino County Safety Employees Benefit Association (SEBA) hosted its15th annual Shop With A Cop program.
Upon their 8 a.m. arrival at the WalMart store in Highland, each of the 50 exuberant shoppers waspersonally escorted throughout the cavernous retail establishment by a shopping carttoting sheriff’sdeputy or other public safety officer. “The children arrive at WalMart, we match them with a member ofpublic safety, and they do the shopping,” explained event coordinator Deputy Michael Tulisiak.
“This is really cool,” said an exuberant Mario Aguayo, 13, who attends Mary Putnam HenckIntermediate School in Lake Arrowhead. Mario, who was being escorted by Twin Peaks Sheriff’sStation Deputy William Zerbe, was encountered in the clothing aisle, picking out some new shirts forhimself and his cousin. Next, Mario and Deputy Zerbe headed for the toy department, where Mariopicked up several sets of Ninjago Legos. “I like Legos. It’s fun to build and create stuff with them,” hesaid.
Explaining that each kid gets to pick out and take home up to $200 in gift items for themselves andothers, Zerbe said volunteers from the Twin Peaks station included not only deputies, but members ofthe station’s Citizens On Patrol and Search and Rescue Team. Noting that this was his first timevolunteering for the Shop With A Cop program, Zerbe said he always wanted to do it, but that he hadalways been assigned to patrol duty during previous events. “I love helping kids out this time of theyear,” Zerbe added.
Beaming with pride, San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon told The Alpenhorn News, “We dothis all over the county. Today, we are here and in Barstow, and next week we’ll be in RanchoCucamonga and Ontario,” he said adding, “It’s great to see the smiles on kids’ faces and to make animpact on their lives.”
Also enjoying the free shopping spree was nineyearold Julian Hahn of Crestline. Julian, who is afourth grader at Valley of Enchantment Elementary School, was seen picking out toys for himself andhis brother, as well as gifts for his mother. High on Julian’s shopping list was a pair of Razor ShoeSkates, which he found in the store’s toy section. “They make sparks when you lean back on them,” hesaid excitedly. Twin Peaks Deputy Jason Mascetti, who accompanied Julian commented, “It feels goodto give back to the community.”
According to SEBA President Laren Leichliter, over 50 members of the law enforcement community,including sheriff’s deputies, probation officers, city police, Highland Fire Department and San Manuelpolice and fire departments, volunteered this year to play host to the deserving young people whomight have otherwise had a less than merry Christmas.
Twin Peaks Sheriff’s Station spokesman Gilbert Flores said each of the recipients were recommendedby deputies, schools, churches and other community organizations. He said the station’s annual
NEWS LOCAL CALENDAR SPOTLIGHT FEATURES OPINION NOTICES CONTACT facebook
Share Kids go shopping with cops San Bernardino Mountaingroundwater dwindling
School district leadership crisisdeepens
Park district moves closer toCrestline Park
Brown appoints CongressmanXavier Becerra to State AttorneyGeneral
Pine Rose outdoor weddingsdisturb neighbors
Lake Arrowhead MunicipalAdvisory Council talksemergency traffic jams
California graduation rates underaudit
Firefighters Double Down AtTheir Annual Fireman’s Bonfire
A tantalizing ‘Taste of LakeArrowhead’
Blue Jay Christmas Paradedraws festive crowd
Crestline Lioness Club sellingSee’s Candies
Man Allegedly Commits SecondAssault While Deputies AreInvestigating First Assault
Pair of Car Thieves Arrested.Suspected of AdditionalBurglaries and Car Thefts
Public’s Help Sought in RunningSprings Murder
Alpen Calendar of Events –December 15 to December 22
Zee Place for holiday and homedécor
It’s Beginning To Look A Lot LikeChristmas
A growing need for ethnic studies
PART III: STATUE OFRESPONSIBILITY BALANCESSTATUE OF LIBERTY
Holiday Sweets to Give or Keep!Make Ahead Christmas HostessGifts
Surviving sustainably in snowcountry
Boys and Girls Club of theMountain Communities
From the Editor’s Desk
• Auditor / ControllerRecorder• Registrar of Voters• County Parks• TreasurerTax Collector• Public Works
• Superior Court
This Week's HighlightsFront Page
Top Stories
My Town
Sheriff's Log
What's up!
Zee Place
Uncle Mott
Keeping it Real
A View from the Right
In the Kitchen with Cathy
Sustainable Living
Kool Kids
from the desk
“Feasts For Families” is scheduled for 5 p.m. on Friday, December 16. The annual event usuallyprovides 25 prechosen local families with holiday meal gift boxes, as well as hot chocolate, cookiesand toys.
A total of 15 WalMart stores countywide participated in this year’s Shop With A Cop program, witheach store hosting approximately 50 kids. The entire program was funded by more than $100,000 incharitable donations. Donors, Tulisiak said, included WalMart, Morongo Casino, the Pechanga Bandof Luiseno Indians, San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, the James Ramos family and Sheriff JohnMcMahon.
Jury selection complete in San Bernardino County’s Colonies corruption case
Trial set to begin Jan. 4
By Joe Nelson, The Sun
Tuesday, December 20, 2016
Jury selection for San Bernardino County’s biggest public corruptiontrial wrapped up Tuesday, paving the way for opening statements Jan.4.
In the Colonies case, Rancho Cucamonga developer Jeff Burumstands accused of bribing four former top county officials more than adecade ago to settle a nearly fiveyearold lawsuit he filed against the
county in 2002.
Burum and three other defendants — former county Supervisor Paul Biane, former Assistant Assessor JimErwin, and Mark Kirk, former chief of staff for former county Supervisor Gary Ovitt — admit no wrongdoingand maintain their innocence.
“Mr. Burum is very pleased that a trial is moving forward,” said Burum’s attorney, Stephen Larson, on Tuesday.“We are very confident that the evidence will demonstrate his complete innocence. We are grateful that wefinally get to go to trial.”
Officials at the District Attorney’s Office, which is jointly prosecuting the case with the state Attorney General’sOffice, declined to comment.
Former Board of Supervisors Chairman Bill Postmus, initially a targeted defendant in the case, entered into aplea bargain with prosecutors in March 2011, pleading guilty to 10 felonies in connection with the Colonies caseand a companion corruption case in which he was accused of abusing his elected office of county assessor. Hehas agreed to testify against the other defendants at trial.
Burum is accused of paying a total of $400,000 in bribes to Postmus and the other three defendants to facilitatethe $102 million settlement in November 2006 between Burum’s Upland investor group, Colonies Partners LP,and the county. The settlement ended nearly five years of heated litigation over who was responsible for floodcontrol improvements at Colonies’ residential and commercial development in Upland, Colonies at San Antonioand Colonies Crossroads, respectively.
The bribes, prosecutors allege, were disguised as contributions to sham political action committees controlled bythe defendants or members of their staffs.
Two juries will serve during the trial, one for Erwin and another for the other three defendants. That is becauseprosecutors contend that some of the statements Erwin is alleged to have made to friends, colleagues andreporters are inadmissable against the other defendants and therefore cannot be introduced to their jury.
Erwin’s jury is composed of nine women and three men. Opening statements for Erwin’s jury begin at 9 a.m.Jan. 4 before Judge Michael A. Smith, Erwin’s attorney, Rajan Maline, said.
“All four defendants are going to be vindicated,” Maline said following Tuesday’s court proceedings. “We’vebeen looking forward to this day for a long time.”
Six men and six women comprise the jury for the other three defendants, Larson said.
Both juries will have six alternate jurors, and the trial is expected to last six months.
County offers job help to San Bernardino city residents
By Ryan Hagen, The Sun
Tuesday, December 20, 2016
SAN BERNARDINO >> The city’s residents can now get job trainingand placement help through the county, thanks to a vote takenTuesday by the county’s Board of Supervisors.
The city provided the help directly through the San BernardinoEmployment and Training Agency until March, when the CityCouncil shut down its program for budgetrelated reasons.
The state then requested that the county provide the services under theWorkforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.
San Bernardino residents are eligible to receive employment and training assistance at the East Valley America’sJob Center of California at 658 E. Brier Drive, Suite 100, in San Bernardino.
Services include career planning and counseling, onthejob and vocational training, personal coaching, resumeassistance and workshops on interviewing and dressing for success.
Interested employers or job seekers can get more information at 800451JOBS or www.csbwin.org.
“We’re honored to provide these vital services as part of our steadfast commitment to the city of San Bernardinoand its residents,” said James Ramos, chairman of the Board of Supervisors, in a news release. “This kind ofemployment assistance is vital for residents and the city. We welcome the opportunity to take on this criticallyimportant responsibility.”
The vote was 40, with Supervisor Josie Gonzales absent.
Mike Gallo, who serves on the Workforce Development Board as well as the San Bernardino City UnifiedSchool District Board of Education, praised the vote.
“The assistance provided by the WDB will be a tremendous asset for the city, improving our quality of life andtransforming our community,” Gallo said. “Creating opportunities through career pathways and vocationaleducation for our youth and adult job seekers is essential to growing our economy.”
MondayPosted Dec 19, 2016 at 8:49 AMUpdated Dec 19, 2016 at 8:49 AM
By Daily Press Editorial Board
Public school districts and those who work for them would do well to rememberone thing: All their facilities and salaries, and a good portion of their pensions,are paid for by the taxpayers.
The taxpayers have been very generous too. Teachers and administrators arevery well paid in California, and taxpayers generally will dip into their pocketstime and again to ensure facilities are top notch.
Despite that, some school districts just keep trying to get a little more, even if itmeans they end up double charging taxpayers.
So it has been with the Hesperia Unified School District, which until recentlywas charging thousands of dollars for some nonprofit groups to use HUSDfacilities.
Years ago, school districts never would have thought of doing such a thing.Schools were public facilities in every sense of the word - their playgrounds,athletic fields and even auditoriums were used by residents at their will.
Little League teams practiced on school fields, as did Pop Warner, AmericanYouth Soccer Organization and other teams.
Adult recreational leagues frequently made use of school facilities, and young andold used tracks, tennis courts and baseball and softball diamonds.
But school districts seem to be forgetting where all their money comes from.Thus Hesperia and other districts had taken to charging nonprofits exorbitantamounts to use tennis courts, athletic fields and the like. One group had a bill of$11,000 to use tennis courts, an amount that caused the group to cancel itsprogram.
Thanks to Staff Writer Matthew Cabe's investigative series earlier this year, thatnow seems to be changing - at least partially - at HUSD.
HUSD has devised three categories for nonprofits to determine how much theypay. Groups that promote HUSD students, such as the Boy Scouts, Girl Scoutsand YMCA, can use facilities free of charge. Nonprofits that use facilities in amanner that results in wear and tear are charged based on that wear and tear andwhether or not district employees are required to open, close or clean upfacilities.
We agree with HUSD Board member Cody Gregg, though, and would prefer amore uniform policy. While we salute HUSD for addressing the issue andlowering fees, we still think fees of any kind amount to double billing of thetaxpayers.
By the very nature of their use, school facilities endure wear and tear virtuallyevery day. Since the bulk of these nonprofits are providing activities for ouryouth, a better practice would be to welcome them with open arms and no fees.
It's hard enough to keep children off the streets nowadays without making itdifficult for groups trying to serve a need and keep youngsters occupied. Theyshouldn't be forced out of business by high fees that they shouldn't have to pay.
Public school districts need to give the taxpayers more reasons to support theminstead of more reasons to advocate for charter schools or a voucher system.Eliminating facilities fees would be a good place to start.
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin (http://www.dailybulletin.com)
LA County population surges from 2015 to 2016
By City News Service
Tuesday, December 20, 2016
LOS ANGELES >> Los Angeles County’s population grew by over43,700 people from July 2015 to July 2016, the largest increase of anycounty in the state during that time, for a total population of over10.229 million, the state Department of Finance reported today.
Orange County’s grew by over 20,100 during the same period, fourthmost in the state.
Population estimates for all 58 counties and the state as a whole werereleased by the Department of Finance.
With 25.99 percent of the state’s population, Los Angeles Countyremained by far the state’s most populous, with San Diego Countycoming in second at over 3.3 million and 8.39 percent of thepopulation and Orange County third with over 3.181 million and 8.08percent of the state population.
Although its total population growth was the highest, Los AngelesCounty’s rate of growth was average, as its 0.43 percent increase was36th among the state’s 58 counties.
Orange County’s 0.64 percent increase was 26th highest. Yolo Countyexperienced the greatest percent change, a 1.97 percent increase.
Los Angeles County experienced more than 122,500 births and 63,400 deaths during the year, with a net loss ofover 15,300 to migration. The numbers include estimates on undocumented immigration and migration.
Orange County experienced over 37,200 births and 19,700 deaths, with a net gain of over 2,500 due tomigration.
During the year, the statewide population grew by around 300,000 to 39.35 million.
The department also reported that California’s birth rate fell to 12.4 per 1,000 people, the lowest in state history.The death rate rose to 6.7 per 1,000 due to the aging the of the baby boomer population.
Population estimates are developed using data from a variety of sources, including birth and death countsprovided by the Department of Public Health; number of driver’s licenses and driver’s license address changesfrom the Department of Motor Vehicles; housing unit data from local governments; school enrollment data fromthe Department of Education; and federal income tax return data from the Internal Revenue Service, accordingto the Department of Finance.
Holiday travelers welcome changes — including valet parking — at ONT
By Neil Nisperos, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
Tuesday, December 20, 2016
ONTARIO >> Ontario International Airport, under new ownershipsince November, is undergoing change, and according to holidayvisitors, it’s welcome.
Since the city of Los Angeles transferred ownership and managementto the locally based Ontario International Airport Authority:
• The new owners have ushered in new amenities, including a coffeeshop and retail kiosk.
• Southwest Airlines has expanded flights.
• Music is now being piped into the terminals.
• Public parking has been expanded into what had been a former employee lot.
Also new at ONT for the holiday season is valet parking for passengers of the two busiest airlines, Southwestand American, at Terminal 4, officials said. The introductory rate is $20 per day. Additional selfparking isavailable with the reopening of Lot 3 at the rate of $13 per day, according to airport officials. The daily rate forLot 5 is $9, and $18 for lots 2 and 4.
On Tuesday in Terminal 4, visitors who had used the airport prior to the handover said they’re happy about localcontrol and excited about future growth potential with expanded flights and further development.
Maria Reyna, 66, who splits homes in Palm Desert and Playa del Rey, was at ONT on Tuesday to pick up hervisiting son, Harvey Magana, 45. Reyna is retired after 28 years as a LAX and ONT customs, border protectionand fraud protection officer.
“It’s wonderful, and it’s so clean and beautiful, but my prayer continues to be that these important airports keepgrowing and the most important thing is that they have full control, so they can create more jobs for the locals,”Reyna said. “It’s amazing when you have a clean, safe airport, but Ontario needed to have that under theircontrol.”
Deon Stowers, 49, of Eastvale has occasionally used ONT to travel and he calls it his favorite airport. Stowerssaid he’s looking forward to the new management reducing ticket prices.
Stowers, a Jehovah’s Witness who frequently sits at the terminal sharing written material with travelers, wassitting near the new Jake’s Coffee popup stand, which is a short walk from the new Hudson retail kiosk at thewest end of Terminal 4.
“That’s really nice that they added (the shops) and from what I’ve been getting, a lot of people who come andgo, they really love the convenience of it,” Stowers said. “You can really tell the airport is changing a lot anddoing things on their own to enhance the experience of being here.”
Sitting near the coffee shop nearby was Oakland resident David Garcia, 24, who grew up in Covina and was lastat ONT in August.
“I would rather fly out of here than Burbank,” Garcia said. “I think LAX is a total mess. It’s like three airportsmerged into one with so many flights going in and out. (Ontario is) such a breeze going into security and comingout of your terminal and getting picked up. And since my family is all in the San Gabriel Valley, this is prettyclose compared to Long Beach or Burbank.”
He’s all for local control, Garcia said.
“I think the Inland Empire, from what I’ve seen, is more underserved in a lot of services compared to L.A.County, so I think it’s a good idea,” he said.
In the coming year, OIAA officials say they hope to approve rideshare services such as Uber and Lyft tooperate at the airport, in addition to a comprehensive ground transportation plan.
“We’re working on a lot of different things that we hope will transform the airport in future months and years,but at the same time, we’re focused on making sure the airport is as safe as possible, that operations are assmooth as possible, and we’re making it as costeffective for the airlines to operate at Ontario,” Dan Adamus,chief marketing officer for OIAA, said.
SB arrives at right decision on homeless housing project20161221 08:06:45
It took a while, but the San Bernardino City Council made the rightdecision Monday in finally approving a muchneeded, privately fundedhomeless housing project in the city. When completed, Mary’s Village willbe able to house 115 homeless men in a “villagetype” facility that willprovide comprehensive services geared toward empowering them tobecome selfsufficient.
The project, an effort of Mary’s Mercy Center, which operates similarfacilities serving homeless women, was initially approved by the council inJuly. But in August, during what was expected to be a procedural vote,the council inexplicably reversed itself, with Councilman Benito Barrioschanging his mind for the vaguest of reasons and Councilman John
Valdivia, who wasn’t at the initial meeting, arguing strongly against it.
Mary’s Village was thus put on hold, until being momentarily revived on Oct. 10, apparently after Barrioschanged his mind.
However, the council was unable to fully revive the project at the time, as Barrios didn’t show up to the meeting.
But, at last, on Nov. 7, the council finally approved the project again, with Barrios reluctantly agreeing that thebenefits outweighed any concerns.
On Monday, the council, with Valdivia absent, unanimously approved the project once again during the samesort of procedural vote that they should have made four months ago. That said, we are pleased that Barrioscommitted himself to seeing the project get approved and that the council, with the exception of Valdivia, wasable to unite to approve a project that could help a lot of people.
We must keep in mind that there are hundreds of unsheltered homeless individuals in the city, many of whomhave been homeless for significant amounts of time, for a litany of reasons that potentially can be addressed ata place like Mary’s Village.
Of course, no single project holds all the answers. Solutions to the homeless problem shouldn’t be SanBernardino’s responsibility alone — and governments across the region must do what they can to help alleviateit. Part of that means knowing when to get out of the way of private organizations trying to do their part — andSan Bernardino did just that.
Sen. Tony Mendoza (DArtesia) is among those fined this year bythe state Fair Political Practices Commission for campaign financeviolations. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)
APPLE VALLEY - Prompted by the passage of Proposition 64 and commentslodged by medical marijuana proponents, Councilwoman Barb Stanton hasasked for a discussion on removing deliveries from the town's moratorium onmedical marijuana.
Stanton - a vocal medical marijuana and Prop 64 advocate - expressed concernfor citizens "who aren't participating in an activity that they shouldn't be" whenshe broached the subject during the Dec. 13 Council meeting.
"Right now ... any citizen receiving a delivery is breaking the law, in essence,"Stanton said. "I don't believe any of our citizens should be put in that position forsomething that is fully available to them. So in the short term ... I'd like toconsider just taking out the deliveries from any ban. We would allow thedeliveries while we construct whatever we're going to do."
Stanton's comments come on the heels of Prop 64's Nov. 8 victory, which wasspurred by the nearly 8 million Californians who voted to decriminalizerecreational use of marijuana.
In Apple Valley, some 75 percent of registered voters weighed in on the issue,according to San Bernardino County Elections Office data, with 13,857 residentsvoting in favor of recreational use and taxation of the drug.
Stanton calls for more discussion of medicalmarijuana in Apple Valley
While those numbers might appear staggering in a town with a relativelyconservative history, nearly the same number of residents voted againstlegalization, leading to a 296-vote win for proponents of the proposition.
Despite the slim margin, Stanton preferred to focus on the outcome while inconversation with the Daily Press on Tuesday.
"This (issue) is huge in our state," she said. "This is our prohibition. We can'tsystematically deny the voters their rights."
Stanton sees future regulation and taxation as a boon to the town's finances;however, she's not as enthusiastic as Adelanto's City Council, which sees themedical marijuana industry as the catalyst needed to jumpstart its strugglingeconomy.
"In this early stage, I believe our citizens should be of free mind," Stanton said."Even for the people delivering, our local citizens have begged for regulation.They want to tax it and regulate it, and I want our town to benefit from it. AppleValley has a lot going for it. We have a lot of eggs in our basket. This could bejust one."
Stanton said she's pushed the issue hard because she has "very conservativecolleagues," but the distance between them might not be a bridge too far,according to Mayor Scott Nassif.
Nassif told the Daily Press he was "a little surprised" Prop 64 passed in AppleValley, but he added the results aren't shocking when polls and shiftingperspectives are taken into consideration."
"There's a high republican registration in Apple Valley," Nassif said, "(but) Ithink this issue crosses over quite a bit and that includes feelings on medicalmarijuana. The perception has changed and the older groups are moving on, ifyou want to put it that way. It used to be that Apple Valley was primarily aretirement community, but the pendulum has begun to swing and our averageage has gone down."
The often impenetrable divide separating conservatives and liberals doesn't seemto apply itself to marijuana, according to Nassif, who said he spoke with anumber of people about the issue leading up to the election.
12/21/2016 Stanton calls for more discussion of medical marijuana in Apple Valley
"It wasn't that long ago (Proposition 19 in 2010) that legal pot didn't pass (inCalifornia)," he said. "But there's kind of a nonchalant attitude (towardmarijuana) even among republicans."
And so there exists room on the Town Council for further discussion that couldlead to the reaching of common ground, especially insofar as medical marijuanais concerned.
Nassif said even Councilman Curt Emick isn't as opposed as his profession -pharmacist - might suggest.
"Curt's not necessarily against the true use of medical marijuana," Nassif said."He believes it should go through the same criteria and be regulated like anyother medicinal drug. I don't even know where I stand on it, to be honest. Iknow people are benefitting from it, and I'm okay with that. I think we all kindof have that thinking, but where we're at in the big picture varies a bit."
The "big picture" for Nassif includes perceived complications related toregulation of dispensaries and cultivation, which - like delivery - remain illegalwithin town borders.
"It's a cash business," he said, "so there's virtually no regulation. That's whatCalifornia is going to struggle with and what other states have struggled with.When you have that kind of business, it's difficult to regulate and manage from asocietal and a governmental point of view."
Nassif said increased crime rates remain a concern for him, as does the industry'sability to foster economic growth in the long term given that, according toNassif, the free market eventually stabilizes surges in any industry viacompetition.
According to Town Attorney John Brown, a presentation is in the works for afuture Council meeting, during which the town's moratorium will be addressedin relation to Prop 64's passage.
And that news appears to sit well with Stanton - who doesn't want the issue "toget buried in the grand plan" - and Nassif who's approaching the issue withcaution.
12/21/2016 Stanton calls for more discussion of medical marijuana in Apple Valley
"If you can't convince me, I'm going to vote no," he said. "I don't want to runinto this blindly. I don't do that in my business and I don't do that on theCouncil. I need to know that this is the right thing for the community."
Matthew Cabe can be reached at or at 760-951-6254. Follow him on Twitter .
