Just shy of a year after the Mountain Top Café near the confluence of state highways 2 and 138  was forced to shut down for nine months because of a fire, its significance as a celebrated establishment near the gateway between San Bernardino County and Los Angeles County was marked with a ribbon cutting by the Phelan Chamber of Commerce on January 4.
Fire department logs show that a distress call from the restaurant went out at 5:15 p.m. on January 13, 2012 and that firefighters were en route to the scene at 5:16:39 p.m. Four engines, two from Wrightwood and two from Phelan, including a water tender and units that were diverted from a vehicle fire at Sheep Creek Road and Highway 138, responded to what was described as an electrical fire in the roof. The fire was confined to the dining area due to an aggressive interior attack by firefighters and the blaze was put down by 5:28 p.m. The Gas Company was on scene at 6:06 p.m.
Damage was extensive enough to keep the café shuttered until October, when it reopened.
The Mountain Top Café was constructed in 1940 by John Lovett, who also built the Mountain Top Service Station in 1937.

VICTORVILLE—Over the objections of a handful of teachers, the Victor Valley Union High School District Board of Trustees approved three percent cuts in the contracts for classified and management employees.
Those reductions are being made as administrators are working to stave off a state takeover of the cash-strapped district.
The four percent downscaling of the district’s certificated personnel, i.e., teachers, was greater than the three percent paring done to management and groundskeepers, secretaries, cafeteria workers, bus drivers, librarians and instructional assistants, prompting protest from some of the teachers.
Superintendent Elvin Momon called the reductions “painful” but necessary.
“I ask each of you to stand with me, the administration and our board of education to problemsolve, collaborate and fight with every ounce of energy and integrity the challenge of state takeover,” Momon pleaded in a letter to district employees last week.
In addition to the 4 percent salary cut teachers are sustaining, they are also having a 30 percent reduction in sick days and a 40 percent reduction in bereavement time off being imposed on them. The district has also upped the teachers’ contribution toward their medical visit and prescription coverage.
Teachers bemoaned that they, more than the district’s other employees, are bearing the onus of the district’s pay and benefit reductions.
The board voted 4-1, with Timothy Hauk dissenting, to implement the contract changes, which will last, at least until June 30, 2015.
The cuts will apply only to those district employees who are still working for the district after the end of the current school year. Just before Christmas, the school board voted to hand out preliminary layoff notices to 80 district employees, including 37 teachers and eight counselors as well as 35 non-instructional workers including information technology specialists, clerical staff and custodians. The non-instructional staff will be let go as of April 26. The remainder of the layoffs will come in June.
Finances in the district have deteriorated to the point that if the district has not put together a game plan for reducing its deficit spending by February 15, the process of turning the district over to a state receivership will be initiated. District officials said a state takeover would likely result in a curriculum devoted solely to core educational courses with the elimination of most or all electives. Included in the layoff notices were two for teachers in the district’s popular cadet program.

NEEDLES — While teachers and other district employees in the Victor Valley Union High School District were preparing to lose their jobs or accept substantial pay and benefit cuts so that district can avoid a takeover by the state, 175 miles across the desert teachers in the smaller Needles Unified School District are about to receive five percent across-the-board pay raises approved by the school board on December 19.
The revenue for the pay hikes will come from money coming to the district by way of Proposition 30, which was approved by voters statewide in November.
While many parents in the district and others expressed concern that the district should use the entirety of the Proposition 30 windfall for education improvements such as class size reductions, reading programs, library enlargement, increasing electives at the high school, buying books for the middle and elementary school libraries, increasing Regional Occupational Program classes at the high school, and rehiring previously laid off teacher aides at the elementary level, district superintendent Mike Davitt said the district could legally utilize the money for upping teacher salaries despite the way in which Proposition 30’s promoters had emphasized in ads that went to voters that the proposition was intended to shore up educational resources that had been cut back because of the statewide budget crunch.
Davitt said teachers deserved the raises the district is now able to give them, since they have stuck by the district over the last four years when raises could not be afforded.
Nearly half of the Proposition 30 money, which is to come from temporary tax increases, will be utilized for yet-to-be-determined school improvement programs.

On Saturday January 19, Diesel Injection Service will commemorate its relocation to Colton within the San Bernardino Valley Enterprise Zone with a grand opening celebration from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Colton Mayor Sarah Zamora, Councilmember Isaac Suchil, the Colton Chamber of Commerce and company officials are scheduled to christen the new facility, located at 1690 Ashley Way in Colton with a ribbon cutting. K-Frog 95.1 FM will host a live remote broadcast as the official emcee of the celebration, which will include music, food, raffle prizes and exhibit booths for the local community to come out and enjoy. Many local residents are expected to attend.
Established in San Bernardino in 1951, Diesel Injection Service is a Southern California leader in commercial and non-commercial diesel fuel injection pumps, injectors and other performance products. To accommodate recent growth, the company expanded into the new 22,000-square-foot facility off the I-215 late last year.
In addition to freeway visibility and proximity to clientele, Diesel Injection Service selected the site to remain in the enterprise zone. The company currently employs 17 service, sales and administrative workers and will pursue the enterprise zone program as a tool to hire more employees as growth permits.
The new facility features a 5,500 square-foot showroom, a 3,300 square-foot injection pump and injector department and a 6,700 square-foot fleet service department. As an authorized Bosch drive-in diagnostics and repair service center, Diesel Injection Service also offers fleet services.
The San Bernardino Valley Enterprise Zone is one of 40 existing enterprise zones established by the California Department of Housing and Community Development to encourage investment, growth, development and job creation in economically distressed areas of the state. The enterprise zone program grants employers tax credits and incentives for pro-growth business investments that improve economic activity within designated zone areas.
The San Bernardino Valley Enterprise Zone is located in Southern California and includes the city of Colton, city of San Bernardino and unincorporated portions of San Bernardino County.  In addition to the tax incentive it offers, the San Bernardino Valley Enterprise Zone also features a highly developed network of road, rail and air transportation infrastructure, a skilled and educated workforce, affordable commercial and residential real estate, and many other pro-business programs that make the area a highly competitive location for business. Those wanting more information about the San Bernardino Valley Enterprise Zone can find it at www.SBVEZ.com.

Bloomington residents who receive sewer service from the city of Rialto will no longer pay three times the standard rate, beginning the first billing cycle of 2013.
During a Dec. 11, 2012 public hearing, the Rialto City Council approved recommendations from the Rialto Utilities Commission which included reducing the 300 percent extra-territorial sewer fee to 130 percent of the standard rate.
In the months leading to the decision, San Bernardino County conferred with the city of Rialto to resolve the issue that affects over 100 Bloomington residences.
“I want to thank the city of Rialto for its leadership and cooperation with the county of San Bernardino in considering a fair approach to managing sewer rates for unincorporated residents,” wrote 5th District Supervisor Josie Gonzales in a letter to Bloomington residents.
Eric Scott, member of Bloomington’s Municipal Advisory Committee, is one resident who will see an average sewer bill savings of $55.18 per month in 2013.
“[Bloomington residents] I’ve spoken with are quite relieved. The original proposed rate increase was substantial, and would have severely impacted Bloomington families. This demonstrates the importance of clear and consistent communication between Bloomington and her neighbors, including Rialto,” said Scott.
Following the council’s decision, Rialto Mayor Deborah Robertson said, “The city council recognized this was an important issue for residents in the Bloomington area who had previously paid three times the standard sewer rates for their service.”
Recommendations were also approved to apply all previous “standby” charges paid by property owners located within the city of Rialto as a credit to currently owed sewer connection fees.