California’s biggest county could severely restrict solar energy projects - Los Angeles Times https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-san-bernardino-solar-wind-20190227-story.html[2/27/2019 1:41:28 PM] BUSINESS California’s biggest county could severely restrict solar energy projects By SAMMY ROTH FEB 27, 2019 | 12:05 PM ADVERTISEMENT > LIVE COVERAGE: MICHAEL COHEN TESTIFIES IN PUBLIC HEARING TOPICS SEARCH Play online for FREE! Solitaire, Sodoku, Mahjong!
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California’s biggest county could severely restrict solar energy projects - Los Angeles Times
A view of a smaller-scale commercial solar project in Lucerne Valley, Calif., seen on Feb. 25, 2019. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Brian Hammer thought he and his wife would retire to the abandoned Lucerne Valley farmhouse theybought nearly a decade ago in the rural high desert northeast of Los Angeles. They paid the full $55,000asking price, then rehabbed the house themselves, stripping it down and installing new wiring, plumbingand appliances.
Now Hammer worries all that time and money was wasted.
California’s biggest county could severely restrict solar energy projects - Los Angeles Times
An energy developer is planning to build a 483-acre solar farm that Hammer says would come within afew dozen feet of his house. He doesn’t want to live next to an industrial energy project, which he sayswould destroy the area’s rural character, fuel dust storms and harm the Mojave Desert ecology. Those arecommon concerns among residents of rural San Bernardino County, who have been fighting for years toblock large solar farms even as California ramps up its renewable energy targets.
“It’s been soul-crushing to think that our blood, sweat and tears were poured into this, and it can be takenaway with the disturbance of the land,” Hammer said as he stood in the yard behind the house, trying toimagine how a field of solar panels beyond his fence would affect the 360-degree views of a valley ringedby mountains.
Brian Hammer at his 14-acre property in Lucerne Valley, Calif., on Feb. 25, 2019, where he and his wife still hope to retire. Hammer says the Ord Mountain solar farm,proposed by NextEra Energy Resources, would come within 30 feet of the edge of the property. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
San Bernardino is California’s largest county by area and a hotbed for the state’s solar industry. But localofficials may pump the brakes on solar this week, which developers say could disrupt ambitious climatechange policies passed by state lawmakers.
The county’s Board of Supervisors is slated to vote Thursday on a policy that would prohibit largerenewable energy projects on much of the unincorporated private land governed by the county. The newrestrictions would add to existing regulations that solar and wind developers say have made it difficult tobuild on federal land, which makes up the vast majority of the county’s 20,000 square miles.
As local residents have told the supervisors in public comments, the restrictions would protect theirquality of life. Many locals say California should shift its focus from land-intensive solar farms to smallerinstallations on rooftops and parking lots. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory estimates thatrooftop solar could meet 74% of California’s energy needs.
“We like solar. In fact, I'm probably going to try to get some panels here at my place," said Chuck Bell, afarmer who serves as president of the Lucerne Valley Economic Development Assn., as he drove his Fordpickup truck past a solar farm this week. “Let’s figure out how many megawatts we can produce [onrooftops and parking lots], and then figure out what do we really need to do in the California desert.”
Chuck Bell, a farmer and president of the Lucerne Valley Economic Development Assn., drives along Lucerne Dry Lake, where the Australian construction giant Lendleasehopes to build a 664-acre, 100-megawatt solar farm known as the Calcite project. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
From the solar industry’s perspective, the proposed restrictions in San Bernardino County are a case studyin how local governments can make or break plans crafted in Sacramento.
Legislators passed a bill last year requiring California to get 60% of its electricity from renewable sourcesby 2030, and to eliminate the burning of fossil fuels for electricity by 2045. State officials also hope to put5 million electric vehicles on the road by 2030, up from an estimated 550,000 EVs that have been sold inCalifornia to date.
Those policies are meant to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, which fuel rising seas, bigger wildfires,worsening droughts and more dangerous heat waves.
Meeting the state’s goals will require significant new solar and wind power facilities to be built, along withbatteries to store that zero-carbon energy for use when the sun isn’t shining and the wind isn’t blowing.
Some of the renewable power will come from solar panels on rooftops and parking lots — starting in 2020,California will require all new homes to be built with solar power. But so far, the vast majority ofCalifornia’s renewable energy has come from sprawling solar and wind farms, which are generally cheaperthan rooftop solar because of the economies of scale involved.
California set a goal of 100% clean energy, and now other states may follow its lead »
San Bernardino County is critical to the state’s climate fight because it has some of the strongest and mostconsistent sunlight in the world, said Shannon Eddy, executive director of the Large-scale Solar Assn., aSacramento-based trade group.
The county is also really, really big. San Bernardino County has more land area than nine U.S. states and istwice as large as California’s next-biggest county, Inyo.
A view of a smaller-scale commercial solar project in the foreground in Lucerne Valley, Calif., on Feb. 25, 2019. A much larger solar project has been proposed for some ofthe open land in the distance. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
San Bernardino County wouldn’t be the first local government to restrict renewable energy productionfacilities. In 2016, Los Angeles County prohibited large wind turbines in unincorporated areas, includingthe rural high desert. Other desert counties have land-use plans that solar and wind developers findstifling.
“Where will California put the projects it will need to meet its clean energy goals if the counties keepsaying no to solar and to wind?” Eddy asked. “San Bernardino is an emblem, but this is a broader problemacross the state.”
The proposal going before county supervisors on Thursday would prohibit utility-scale renewable energyprojects within the boundaries of Community Plans that have been adopted by more than a dozenunincorporated towns, including Joshua Tree, Lucerne Valley and Morongo Valley. Construction of bigsolar and wind farms would also be banned in so-called Rural Living zones.
A county spokesman said the proposal, known as Renewable Energy Policy 4.10, would block new solarand wind farms on slightly more than 1 million acres, out of nearly 2 million acres governed by the county.But Tim Mason, policy director for the Large-scale Solar Assn., said one solar company estimates theamount of “developable” land across the county — taking into account on-the-ground conditions andexisting restrictions on federal lands — would decrease to 90,000 acres under the new policy from360,000 acres, in a county of nearly 13 million acres.
California’s biggest county could severely restrict solar energy projects - Los Angeles Times
A view of a smaller-scale commercial solar project in Lucerne Valley, Calif., seen on Feb. 25, 2019. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Some locals say the proposed restrictions may not be tough enough.
Morongo Valley resident Pat Flanagan, who serves on the board of the Morongo Basin Conservation Assn.,is worried developers could still ask county supervisors to carve out exceptions to the policy. She’s also notconvinced solar farms should be allowed in the handful of already disturbed areas the county haspreviously suggested may be appropriate for large renewable energy projects.
Earlier this week, Flanagan stepped off the blacktop near Highway 247 in Lucerne Valley and crouched
California’s biggest county could severely restrict solar energy projects - Los Angeles Times
down to examine the salt brush scrub that dominates this part of the Mojave Desert. She was surroundedby land where the Australian construction giant Lendlease wants to build the 664-acre, 100-megawattCalcite solar farm.
“People get away with deciding this is good for putting all this solar on because this doesn't havespectacular plants,” said Flanagan, who has a bachelor's degree in biology.
Robin Kobaly, left, a botanist and executive director of the SummerTree Institute, and Pat Flanagan, board member of the Morongo Basin Conservation Assn., walk amid adust storm on the Lucerne Dry Lake on Feb. 25, 2019 in Lucerne Valley, Calif. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Soon Flanagan’s attention was drawn to a dust storm forming across the highway, at the base of the
California’s biggest county could severely restrict solar energy projects - Los Angeles Times
Granite Mountains. Whipped by wind, dust particles flew high into the air, making breathing moredifficult as the particles approached the highway.
Like other local residents, Flanagan says existing solar projects fuel bigger dust storms because theydestabilize the soil.
A Lendlease representative didn't respond to a request for comment. A spokesman for Florida-basedNextEra Energy Resources, which is developing the Ord Mountain solar project that would be built next toHammer’s property, declined to comment.
California’s biggest county could severely restrict solar energy projects - Los Angeles Times
Long-distance power lines run through the Lucerne Dry Lake area, where several large solar projects have been proposed, in San Bernardino County, as seen on Feb. 25, 2019.(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Renewable energy has been a source of tension in California's deserts for years, with nearly all large solarand wind projects facing opposition from unhappy local landowners, environmental groups or both. Thebiggest battles have been fought over potential harm to wildlife, such as birds getting sliced apart by windturbine blades or desert tortoises and other critters losing habitat to sprawling fields of solar panels.
Although most major environmental groups support the construction of renewable energy projects in thedesert, they’ve tried to steer developers toward previously disturbed lands near existing power lines.
That same mentality informed the regulators who crafted the Desert Renewable Energy ConservationPlan, an Obama-era document that protects millions of acres of California desert from the Owens Valley tothe U.S.-Mexico border and sets aside smaller pockets of federal land for energy development.
Trump administration takes aim at California desert protection plan »
Energy companies have never been satisfied by the federal plan, which they say leaves too land little forsolar and wind projects and adds environmental regulations that make permitting difficult even on landsdesignated for development. They’re also frustrated by federal leasing rules, imposed by the Obamaadministration, that they say have raised the costs of renting public lands for solar and wind farms.
The ongoing battle in San Bernardino County deals with county lands that are privately owned andoverseen by the Board of Supervisors, rather than the federal government or incorporated cities.
Solar projects like Ord Mountain and Calcite that are already going through the permitting process wouldstill be allowed to proceed. So even if the supervisors vote to restrict development, Hammer could stillhave a solar farm as a neighbor.
By SANDRA EMERSON | [email protected] |PUBLISHED: February 27, 2019 at 6:00 am | UPDATED:
Election Technician Mark Espinoza performs a test run on one ofthe 19 high-speed ballot counters, in preparation for the upcomingelections, at the San Bernardino County Registrar’s office in SanBernardino on Thursday, September 6, 2018. (Photo by JenniferCappuccio Maher, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
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Cost stopped an election recount, so SanBernardino County Registrar proposes loweringfeesAt least one election — in which 8 votes separated the winner and loser —wasn't re-counted because of cost
The cost to recount ballots in San BernardinoCounty soon might go down.
Interim Registrar of Voters Bob Page isrecommending that the elections office lower itsfee for recounts by excluding overhead costs.
The proposal, presented during a special Board ofSupervisors meeting Tuesday, Feb. 26, comesafter residents complained that the county’srecount fees were higher than similar fees chargedin neighboring Riverside and Kern counties, whichdo not include costs of office overhead.
In December, Jody Isenberg of SanBernardino was told it would cost about $22,596 torecount ballots cast at polling places in the SanBernardino City Council’s fourth ward during theNov. 6 election.
Councilman Fred Shorett was re-elected by amere 8 votes over challenger Alexandra “Alex”Beltran, who was supported by Isenberg. But,because of costs, no recount was held.
Had the new rules been in place then, Page toldthe supervisors, the cost to conduct a recount inthe San Bernardino City Council race would havebeen $13,400.
But Isenberg noted that the new price of a recall inSan Bernardino County still would be much higherthan similarly sized recounts in Riverside and Kerncounties. In a letter Isenberg sent to the SanBernardino County Registrar’s Office in December,
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she said Riverside County charged $2,632 for thefirst day to recount 3,800 ballots in an Indio race,while Kern County estimated it would charge$2,567 a day to recount a race with 2,800 ballotsin Tehachapi.
“The night before the recount (in San Bernardino),we were notified we’d have to come up with$23,000,” Isenberg said Tuesday. “The whole thingkind of smacked of a clear indication that they didnot want to conduct this recount.”
Page also asked the supervisors to implement thechange by the May 7 special election in SanBernardino’s Third Ward.
A hearing introducing the fee ordinance isscheduled for March 19. The supervisors willconsider adopting the fees April 2.
Press-EnterprisePUBLISHED: February 27, 2019 at 8:47 pm | UPDATED:February 27, 2019 at 9:12 pm
Robert Jahn, the San Bernardino County sheriff’sdeputy who was critically wounded in a shooting in
San Bernardino County Sheriff’s deputy Robert Jahn, 45, was shotearly Thursday, Oct. 18, when he was fired upon in Adelanto.(Courtesy of San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Dept.)
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October, returned to duty Wednesday, Feb. 27.
Jahn is on modified duty, working a desk at asheriff’s station, spokeswoman Jodi Miller said.
Jahn was struck by gunfire that damaged some ofhis organs as he and his partner approached anAdelanto apartment complex on foot to investigateshots they heard while on a traffic stop nearby.Jahn was in critical but stable condition for severaldays after surgery. He was discharged from ahospital in late October.
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A poultry quarantine has been placed on much of SouthernCalifornia because of virulent Newcastle disease. People arebeing asked not to take their birds off their property to prevent the
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Chicken-killing Newcastle disease promptswidespread quarantines in Southern CaliforniaAbout a million birds have died so far.
Orange County RegisterPUBLISHED: February 27, 2019 at 3:29 pm | UPDATED:February 27, 2019 at 3:34 pm
With virulent Newcastle disease killing a growingnumber of Southern California chickens, stateVeterinarian Annette Jones announcedWednesday a poultry quarantine for all of LosAngeles County and large portions of SanBernardino and Riverside counties.
The highly contagious respiratory virus is nearlyalways fatal for all poultry and has most affectedchickens in the current outbreak. Though thenumber of infections went down for several monthsafter the disease was identified, in May, thenumber of cases has increased since November.
In addition to the latest quarantines, communitiesin the three counties continue to have mandatoryeuthanasia decrees for all poultry. With past andcurrently planned euthanasia orders, the diseasewill have led to the death of 1 million birds. Thenumbers of birds euthanized has doubled sinceJan. 25.
“There are no human health concerns providedthat any meat or eggs are cooked properly,”according to Wednesday’s announcement by thestate Department of Food and Agriculture.
“People who come in direct contact with the virusmay develop conjunctivitis-like symptoms or run amild fever.”
spread of illness that can be deadly to the animals. (Photo by RickSforza, The Sun/SCNG)
The quarantine requires owners to report sick birdsto the Department of Food and Agriculture, allowtesting, cease exhibitions, stop shipping andreceiving of birds and increase biosecurity.
“The primary way that (Newcastle Disease)spreads is by people moving sick birds,” Jonessaid. “Extending the prohibition of bird movementacross a larger area is the next logical step inbeing able to stop the spread of the virus and toeradicate the disease.”
Beside Los Angeles County, the quarantinereaches from the western boundary of RiversideCounty to the Salton Sea — including theCoachella Valley. It also includes western SanBernardino County extending as far east as theYucca Valley. A map of the quarantined areas canbe found at bit.ly/2KQurJu.
While quarantines have been announced for 18communities at various times since May, thoseissued Wednesday are the most sweeping yet.
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Cases had been mostly backyard show chickensuntil late December, when infections first wereidentified at a commercial chicken operation. OnFeb. 16, the most recent instance of infection at anindustry operation was identified, bringing thetotals to four in Riverside County and two in SanBernardino County. The Department of Food andAgriculture does not release the names oraddresses of infected operations.
Worst since 2003
Cities and communities with mandatory euthanasiaorders are Compton and Whittier in Los AngelesCounty; Eastvale, Menifee, Mira Loma/JurupaValley, Norco, Nuevo, Perris and Riverside City inRiverside County; and Fontana, Hesperia,Highland, Muscoy and Ontario in San BernardinoCounty.
Thecurrent
outbreak is the first time a commercial flock in thestate has been infected since 2002-2003, when
nearly 4 million birds on 2,500 premises wereeuthanized. That outbreak touched 22 commercialpoultry operations.
The USDA recommends bird owners avoid visits toother bird owners or poultry farms during anoutbreak. Those who do make visits shouldchange clothes and clean their hands and shoesbefore entering their own bird area. Egg trays,crates, vehicles and tires should be disinfected.
Owners who believe their birds may be infectedare asked to call the Department of Food andAgriculture sick bird hotline at 866-922-2473.
Martin WisckolMartin Wisckol covers coastal environment and development. Previously, he spent two decades as politics reporterand columnist for the Orange County Register. He’s also held reporting positions in Miami, Jacksonville, Detroit andhis hometown of San Diego, with an emphasis on land use and urban planning. He is a lifelong surfer and has spentmost of his life on the coast. His work has been honored by the Society of Professional Journalists, the NationalHeadliner Awards, the California Newspaper Publishers Association, the Florida Press Club and the AmericanPlanning Association Florida Chapter.
Follow Martin Wisckol @MartinWisckol
Tags: environment, health, Top Stories Breeze, Top Stories IVDB, Top Stories LADN,Top Stories LBPT, Top Stories OCR, Top Stories PE, Top Stories PSN, Top Stories RDF,Top Stories SGVT, Top Stories Sun, Top Stories WDN
This Friday, Nov. 3, 2017 photo shows jars of medical marijuanaon display on the counter of Western Caregivers Medicalmarijuana dispensary in Los Angeles. There will be no legal potparty in Los Angeles on Jan. 1. California kicks off recreationalsales on New Year’s Day, becoming the largest state in the nationwith legal cannabis for adults. But Los Angeles officials announcedFriday, Dec. 22, 2017, that dispensaries in the city won’t be part ofthe celebration. The city won’t begin accepting applications to selllegal recreational pot until Jan. 3, 2018, and it could take weeksbefore those businesses are properly licensed with the city and
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Judge halts licensing process for 7 commercialcannabis businesses in San BernardinoThe temporary restraining orders allow the businesses to contestallegations made in a lawsuit against the city
San Bernardino SunPUBLISHED: February 27, 2019 at 12:52 pm | UPDATED:February 27, 2019 at 1:16 pm
A week after San Bernardino city leaders approved16 commercial cannabis businesses, a local judgehalted the licensing process for seven of them.
On Wednesday, Feb. 27, San Bernardino SuperiorCourt Judge Janet M. Frangie issued temporaryrestraining orders against business owners whoseplans are alleged to be in violation of city law orthe general plan. Those companies are OrgantixOrchards, AM-PM Mgmt. Inc., Orange ShowCultivators, Nibble This LLC (two separatelocations), Blunt Brothers and Accessible Options.
A Bud and Beyond also is alleged to benoncompliant, but it was not awarded a license lastweek.
Frangie’s decision grants those seven businessesthe opportunity to contest the allegationspresented in a lawsuit against the city filed byrejected applicant Washington LLC, which isheaded by cannabis activist Stephanie Smith.
Another temporary restraining order hearing isscheduled for 8:30 a.m. Friday, March 8, in SanBernardino Superior Court before Judge DavidCohn.
“I do have a concern,” Frangie said in courtWednesday, “for the nonparties here who thinkthey have a permit, think they’ve been approved
state. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File)
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and … they start doing things when, ultimately, if(Washington LLC) is successful, they now havebeen damaged in going forward and getting otherthings they need to do to open.
“That concerns me.”
While the temporary restraining orders halt thelicensing process for some, businesses with nosuch compliance issues can continue the process,though it remains unclear how long that processwill take to complete.
Frangie, who heard the case Wednesday in placeof Cohn, who was on vacation, shared particularconcern over the city violating its law as it relatesto prohibiting such businesses from being close toschools, churches, community centers and othersensitive uses of land.
“If the permits were issued to businesses wherethey violated the ordinance on areas of sensitiveuse,” she said, “that would be sufficient for thecourt to stop the process, look at it and ask if thereis a violation. The ordinance has a reason forhaving that (mandate).”
On
Judge halts licensing process for 7 commercial cannabis businesses in San Bernardino – Daily Bulletin
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Monday, Feb. 25, a few days after being arrestedduring a raid by San Bernardino police at herPacific Palisades home, Smith sued the city to haltthe licensing of the commercial cannabisbusinesses.
Smith, California’s self-proclaimed “cannabislandlord,” has pleaded not guilty and will nextappear in court on Monday, March 4, for asettlement conference.
In the lawsuit against San Bernardino, Smithalleges corrupt practices involving a “pay for play”scheme.
“The effects of the ‘pay for play’ corruption led tothe City issuing a large number of licenses thatwere illegal, not just because of the ‘pay for play,’but also because the licenses violated state andcity law,” the lawsuit alleges.
Wednesday’s decision in response to the lawsuitwas the right call, Smith’s attorney, Ben Eilenberg,said.
“By issuing the temporary restraining orders(Wednesday),” Eilenberg added, “Judge Frangieinherently made a finding that we are likely tosucceed on the merits of the case and we agreewith her, and we hope Judge Cohn does too.”
Brian WhiteheadBrian Whitehead covers San Bernardino for The Sun. Bred in Grand Terrace, he graduated from Riverside NotreDame High and Cal State Fullerton. For seven years, he covered high school and college sports for The OrangeCounty Register. Before landing at The Sun, he was the city beat reporter for Buena Park, Fullerton and La Palma.
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It’s only a matter of time before residents argue Prop. 64 gives
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Fontana changes marijuana policy, drops cost ofresidential cultivation permit to $25On Tuesday, Feb. 26, city leaders adopted a new policy that eliminatesmany restrictions previously placed on home growers
San Bernardino SunPUBLISHED: February 27, 2019 at 2:39 pm | UPDATED:February 27, 2019 at 2:42 pm
Fontana residents 21 and older who want to growcannabis at home now have to pay only $25 toreceive a Residential Indoor Marijuana Cultivation,or RIMC, permit.
On Tuesday, Feb. 26, city leaders revised theirmarijuana policy to eliminate certain restrictionspreviously placed on home growers.
Now, permits no longer cost $411 and people whowant to grow cannabis at home need not undergoa criminal background check, agree to have theirhomes inspected by the city or provide the city alandlord’s permission to grow at the property.
The result of a lawsuit brought against the city in2017 by the American Civil Liberties Union ofCalifornia and the Drug Policy Appliance, thesweeping changes were unanimously approved bythe council.
“It didn’thave tocome tothis, butyou allwanted
them the “right” to smoke marijuana in a home association. This isincorrect, and associations can pass rules or use restrictionsbanning marijuana smoking or marijuana plants in the association.Marijuana flowers bloom at Riverview Farms and MontereyCannabis Co., in the Salinas Valley, on May 5. (Photo by RayChavez/Bay Area News Group)
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2 Upland boy dropped from second floor continuesto recover, while mother is held without bail
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California’s ‘cannabis landlord’ pleads notguilty, released on bail
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to be as
restrictive as possible and stepped over the line,the judge said so himself,” Mike Harris, whobrought the lawsuit against the city two years ago,told council members Tuesday. “It violated statelaw, and you really shouldn’t have done it.
“It was upsetting to have to bring this forward …but I felt you were in the wrong.”
In November, a San Bernardino Superior Courtjudge ruled in favor of Harris, ordering Fontana torevise its ordinance and pay $106,916 in legalfees.
In addition to lowering the cost of an RIMC permit,Fontana permitted multiple cultivation sites at anindividual residence, with a maximum of six plants,per state law. Additionally, personal cultivators willnot have to grow in separate, locked rooms andaway from certain chemicals.
“The city doesn’t have to embrace cannabis,”Harris said, “but (it doesn’t need) to be punitive orlook at people who use it as anything other thansomebody who’s just having a beer, which isactually more harmful.”
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said.
“He was found with gunshot wounds to the head,”San Bernardino police Detective Jose Castro said.
The man was identified as 29-year-old TreionFentroy of San Bernardino.
Police received a call around 1 a.m. from someonein the 3500 block of Rainbow Lane for gunshots inthe area, Castro said.
Officers took the vehicle for further investigation,canvassed the neighborhood, and intended to lookaround the area again for clues and possiblesurveillance video.
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Tags: homicide, shooting, Top Stories PE, Top Stories Sun
Press-EnterprisePUBLISHED: February 27, 2019 at 5:01 pm | UPDATED:February 27, 2019 at 7:56 pm
The woman found dead in the Cajon Pass onTuesday is a 42-year-old transient from SanBernardino, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’sDepartment said Wednesday, Feb. 27.
The woman’s name will not be publicly releaseduntil her relatives are contacted, sheriff’sspokeswoman Jodi Miller said.
Someone discovered the body about 10 a.m. inthe area of Lone Pine Canyon Road east ofHighway 138, according to a sheriff’s newsrelease. An autopsy was planned.
Investigators ask that anyone with information onthe woman call Detective Gerad Laing at 909-387-
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Woman’s body discovered in Cajon Pass;no identification yet
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3589 or leave tips anonymously with We Tip at800-782-7463 or the website wetip.com.
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Brian RokosBrian Rokos writes about public safety issues such as policing, criminal justice, scams, how law affectspublic safety, firefighting tactics and wildland fire danger. He has also covered the cities of San Bernardino,Corona, Norco, Lake Elsinore, Perris, Canyon Lake and Hemet. Before that he supervised reporters andworked as a copy editor. For some reason, he enjoys movies where the Earth is threatened with extinction.
Tags: homicide, Top Stories IVDB, Top Stories PE, Top Stories RDF, Top Stories Sun
Press-EnterprisePUBLISHED: February 27, 2019 at 8:03 pm | UPDATED:February 27, 2019 at 9:10 pm
A Perris woman was arrested Tuesday, two daysafter authorities believe she ran over a man in awheelchair in Highland and drove away, the SanBernardino County Sheriff’s Department saidWednesday, Feb. 27.
Desiree Shante Every, 37, was arrested onsuspicion of hit and run causing injury, a felony.She was released Wednesday after posting$50,000 bail, according to Superior Court records.
The collision happened about 2:30 a.m. Sunday atBaseline Street and Sterling Avenue. A man in awheelchair entered the road at that intersectionand was struck by a vehicle headed west on
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Baseline, a sheriff’s news release said. The victim,who suffered life-threatening injuries, has not beenidentified.
The investigation led detectives to Every, who wasarrested at the Highland sheriff’s station.
Every has an active case after receiving a ticketaccusing her of driving at an unsafe speed inNovember, according to Riverside County SuperiorCourt records. She has convictions for unsafespeed (two), driving without wearing a seat belt,driving faster than 65 mph and talking on a phonewithout using a hands-free device, records show.
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Tags: crash, hit-and-run, Top Stories PE, Top Stories Sun
By CITY NEWS SERVICE |PUBLISHED: February 28, 2019 at 5:59 am | UPDATED:February 28, 2019 at 6:01 am
RIVERSIDE — A low-pressure system could bringlight rain to parts of Riverside and San Bernardinocounties Thursday, before another storm systembrings a potential for heavier rain through theweekend, forecasters said.
The storm system moving inland Thursday isexpected to drop less than one-tenth of an inch ofrain, if any, throughout the county, according to theNational Weather Service.
The chance of measurable precipitation in mostparts of the Inland Empire has been set at 20percent, with a 30 percent chance in the RiversideCounty mountains. The rain chance in the SanBernardino County mountains is 20 percent.
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Light rain Thursday in Inland Empire gettingheavier over the weekend
The Coachella Valley is not expected to see anyrain until Saturday.
After the first storm makes its exit Thursday night,conditions will be dry Friday until another stormsystem rolls into the region Friday night or earlySaturday, forecasters said.
Rainfall totals from the weekend storm will rangefrom a quarter-inch to a half-inch in the Riversidemetropolitan area and Lake Elsinore, up to six-tenths of an inch in Temecula and the SanGorgonio Pass near Banning and less than one-tenth of an inch in the Coachella Valley, accordingto the NWS.
San Bernardino rainfall totals from Saturday’sstorm are expected to be between a half-inch andan inch.
The mountains could get anywhere between three-quarters of an inch to 1.25 inches of rain over theweekend and snow levels will drop to 7,000 feet bySaturday night, forecasters said.
A chance of showers is expected to linger in theregion until late Sunday night.
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It is unlikely that flooding, mud and debris flows willdevelop around the Cleveland National Forest andthe Temescal Valley, according to the RiversideCounty Emergency Management Department.
A wide area skirting the eastern boundary of theCleveland National Forest was left exposed topotential flood and mud damage because of the23,000-acre Holy Fire in August. The arson blazedenuded steep terrain below Santiago Peak,permitting water to flow unchecked onto lowerslopes where subdivisions are situated.
Heavy rainfall on Valentine’s Day resulted insignificant flooding, prompting street closures andevacuations. A homeless woman died Feb. 14when she was swept away by a heavy water flowin a concrete stormwater channel in Riverside, andseveral homes in Lake Elsinore were damaged bythe downpour.
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Tags: Top Stories IVDB, Top Stories PE, Top Stories RDF, Top Stories Sun, weather
| Orange County RegisterPUBLISHED: February 26, 2019 at 1:37 pm | UPDATED:February 27, 2019 at 4:35 pm
Neon-colored jail clothes signifies immigration inmates at the TheoLacy Facility in Orange. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange CountyRegister/SCNG)
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Immigrant detainees treated like prisoners inCalifornia, Attorney General report saysReport finds range of conditions, but many lack access to lawyers, family,adequate medical care
Immigrants held in California detention centersoften are moved far from their families, giveninadequate access to medical care or lawyers, andkept in their cells up to 22 hours a day.
Those were some of the findings in a 147-pagereport issued Tuesday by the California AttorneyGeneral, the first to be issued as part of a 2017state law that calls for regular reporting on howimmigrant detainees are treated in California.
Though the report found conditions vary amongthe state’s detention centers – with some placesdescribed as providing decent food, for example,while others were cited for food-related healthviolations – a common theme is that detainees aretreated like prisoners even as they await their dayin court and are not in the facilities as a result ofcriminal convictions.
The goal of the report – which faced legalopposition from the federal government and lack ofcooperation in some instances from ICE – was to“shine a light on how (detention) facilities areoperated and the conditions under which theymaintain their detainees,” said California AttorneyGeneral Xavier Becerra.
Officials visited 10 facilities, including the AdelantoICE Processing Center in San Bernardino, mostlyin one-day inspections. But officials alsoconducted more in-depth investigations at three ofthe publicly-operated facilities, including the TheoLacy Facility operated by the Orange CountySheriff’s Department, which state officials said was“very cooperative” in the review. Three facilitiesthat were inspected for the report don’t currently
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During the past three years, California has housedsome 74,000 immigrant detainees, ranging in agefrom 13 to 95. Though most of the detainees arefrom Mexico and other Latin American countries,the population includes people from more than 150countries.
In Orange County, immigrants are housed both atTheo Lacy and at the James A. Musick Facility andare overseen by the Orange County Sheriff’sDepartment. ICE pays Orange County $118 perbed per day for use of up to 958 detainee beds.
Theo Lacy was described as providing “a highlyrestrictive environment” for detainees. Its use ofdisciplinary segregation for minor offenses “isalarming,” the report stated. Its medical care“generally ensures the safety of immigrationdetainees, but mental health resources arestretched thin.”
One of the areas officials inspected was thekitchen and its pantries. In 2017, federal inspectorsfound that Theo Lacy detainees were servedspoiled lunch meats, forced to use dirty showersand subjected to other unsafe conditions. TheOrange County Sheriff’s Department, which runsthe facility, said at the time that concerns raised inthe report had been addressed.
The latest report found that the kitchen and foodstorage areas were clean and food packages wereappropriately dated. The menu is pork-free to allowfor Kosher and Halal diets. Detainees, however,“widely complained that the food wasunappetizing, especially the processed turkeyslices served every day for lunch.”
The new report also found ongoing tensionbetween detainees and staff. While somedetainees said they were treated with respect,most of those interviewed “described the deputiesas, at best, disrespectful and at worst, abusive.”
That feeling, the report said, isn’t lost on thedeputies and others who run the centers.
“Many facility staff interviewed were aware of acommon complaint by detainees, namely that theyare treated like ‘inmates,’ even though theirdetention is not justified as punishment for acriminal conviction or pending trial on criminalcharges,” the report states.
Christina Fialho, co-founder of Freedom forImmigrants, lauded the report, saying: “What’shappening to detained individuals in Californiamirrors our immigration detention system as awhole.
“The report confirms and reinforces what we havedocumented — that California immigrant jails andprisons are rife with abuse and have led to a toxicculture of impunity fueled by taxpayer money at
Immigrant detainees treated like prisoners in California, Attorney General report says – Orange County Register
the expense of thousands of lives,” Fialho wrote inan e-mail.
Meanwhile, California State Auditor Elaine Howlealso issued a detainee-centered report, also onTuesday, looking at city and county contracts withthe the U.S. Immigration and CustomsEnforcement to house immigrant detainees. That65-page report criticizes local governments forfailing to address “serious health and safetyissues.”
The Auditor’s report found that three cities that hadcontracts with ICE – Adelanto, McFarland andHoltville – provided “little or no oversight” of privateoperators that run the detention centers. TheAuditor’s report also reviewed contracts with fourcounties and found that none ensure that that ICEfully paid the cost of detaining the immigrantsduring the audit period, July 2013 through June2018. Three of the four counties “took someaction,” related to that discrepancy, however,Orange County did not, the report stated.
It cost Orange County $1.7 million more than whatit took in from ICE during the 2017-18 fiscal year –“and it may have had to pay those excess costswith county funds,” Howle wrote in a letter to thegovernor and the state Legislature as part of thereport. Sheriff Don Barnes responded to a draftreport in a Feb. 8 letter, arguing that the $118 perdiem rate “covers all the of the direct cost and themajority of indirect costs.” Those indirect costs,(such as electricity and water,) would happen withor without the ICE detainees.
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found by federal inspectors who last fall visited theAdelanto facility in San Bernardino. A report fromthat inspection said inspectors found braidedbedsheets tied up as nooses, inadequate medicaland dental care, and improper and overlyrestrictive segregation of detainees. That report,from the Department of Homeland Security Officeof Inspector General, found “serious issuesrelating to safety, detainee rights, and medicalcare that require ICE’s immediate attention.”
In a statement issued Tuesday through a publicrelations firm, the company that owns andoperates the Adelanto facility, GEO Group, Inc.,said the company believes its facilities meet orexceed standards: “We are deeply committed todelivering high-quality, culturally responsiveservices in safe and humane environments.”
The State Auditor recommended the Legislatureconsider new legislation to ensure localgovernments improve their oversight and countiesanalyze their costs and renegotiate contracts tomake sure ICE fully pays for detaining immigrants.
Meanwhile, Becerra said the report from his officeis a first step, with more reviews to come.
