While the November 8 election did succeed in creating a significant changeover in terms of the composition of the the San Bernardino City Unified School Board, it did not cure the one-person deficit within its ranks that has existed for nearly a year at this point.
Margaret Hill, the venerable educator involved in local schools for nearly five decades, most of those as a teacher and administrator with San Bernardino City Unified before she was elected after her retirement to the district’s board in 2012, died on December 19, 2021.
That reduction of the board to six-sevenths strength had a profound and an up-to-the-present impact on the district and its dynamics.
Earlier in 2021, Harry “Doc” Erwin, then the superintendent of the Bakersfield City School District who before that had been the superintendent of the Greenfield Union School District in Monterey County, was persuaded to take the post of superintendent with San Bernardino City Unified as of June 1, 2021. San Bernardino City Unified had been seeking a leader since Dale Marsden’s abrupt December 2019 announcement that he would leave as superintendent in March 2020. Continue reading →

By Mark Gutglueck
All three incumbents up for reelection to the board of the Trona Joint Unified School District will remain in place, according to the San Bernardino County Registrar of Voters.
Trona, an unincorporated community of 1,800 in the west Mojave Desert at the periphery of Searles Dry Lake near the mouth of Death Valley east of the Kern County border and south of the boundary with Inyo County, is the northwesternmost populated area within San Bernardino County.
Priscilla Benadom, Cathy Heseman, and Skylar Wayne McCullar sought reelection in the November 8 balloting. Shannon Nichole Stephens and Victoria Flores were challenging them.
Tallying of the vote shows that Heseman, with 268 of the 968 votes cast, or 27.1 percent, led the pack, followed by Benadom, with 227 votes or 22.95 percent. McCullar captured third place, also gaining reelection, with 215 votes or 21.74 percent. Stephens polled 141 votes or 14.26 percent and Flores gathered 138 voter endorsement for 13.95 percent.
Benadom, Heseman and McCullar will remain on the board with their colleagues, Samantha MacLean and Sandy Sprouse.

By Mark Gutglueck
The fentanyl overdose death of an Upland High student last weekend entailed elements that virtually all of those involved in the fatality, even at the most removed and indirect levels, are loathe to have fully explored for a variety of reasons, from potential criminal culpability to political correctness to philosophical discomfort to deep personal grief. Simultaneously, family members, school district officials and police investigators are all stymied by questions about what occurred, what responses are appropriate and socially acceptable and how much information can and should be released. Consideration extends to the balance between the courtesy of being respectful to family members grieving their loss versus the necessity of making efforts to prevent the victim’s misfortune from being visited upon others. Continue reading →

FBN 20220010587
The following entity is doing business principally in San Bernardino County as ALL AMERICAN REAL ESTATE & CONSULTING 61711 TWENTYNINE PALMS HWY JOSHUA TREE, CA 92252: THEODORE R AMIDON 9964 SILVER MAPLE WAY HIGHLANDS RANCH, CO 80129
The business is conducted by: AN INDIVIDUAL
The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on: DECEMBER 12, 2006
By signing, I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. A registrant who declares as true information which he or she knows to be false is guilty of a crime (B&P Code 179130. I am also aware that all information on this statement becomes Public Record upon filing.
s/ THEODORE R AMIDON
Statement filed with the County Clerk of San Bernardino on: 11/16/2022
I hereby certify that this copy is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office San Bernardino County Clerk By:/Deputy J3108
Notice-This fictitious name statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the office of the county clerk. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before that time. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state, or common law (see Section 14400 et seq., Business and Professions Code).
Published in the San Bernardino County Sentinel on 11/18, 11/25, 12/02 & 12/09, 2022.

NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF: ARMANDO CARLOS RUIZ
CASE NO. PROSB2201606
To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the will or estate, or both of ARMANDO CARLOS RUIZ
A PETITION FOR PROBATE has been filed by WILLIAM RUIZ in the Superior Court of California, County of SAN BERNARDINO.
THE PETITION FOR PROBATE requests that WILLIAM RUIZ be appointed as personal representatives to administer the estate of the decedent.
THE PETITION requests authority to administer the estate under the Independent Administration of Estates Act. (This authority will allow the personal representative to take many actions without obtaining court approval. Before taking certain very important actions, however, the personal representative will be required to give notice to interested persons unless they have waived notice or consented to the proposed action.) The independent administration authority will be granted unless an interested person files an objection to the petition and shows good cause why the court should not grant the authority.
A hearing on the petition will be held in Dept. No. S-36 at 9:00 a.m. on DECEMBER 22, 2022 at Superior Court of California, County of San Bernardino, 247 West Third Street, San Bernardino, CA 92415, San Bernardino District.
IF YOU OBJECT to the granting of the petition, you should appear at the hearing and state your objections or file written objections with the court before the hearing. Your appearance may be in person or by your attorney.
IF YOU ARE A CREDITOR or a contingent creditor of the decedent, you must file your claim with the court and mail a copy to the personal representative appointed by the court within the later of either (1) four months from the date of first issuance of letters to a general personal representative, as defined in section 58(b) of the California Probate Code, or (2) 60 days from the date of mailing or personal delivery to you of a notice under Section 9052 of the California Probate Code.
Other California statutes and legal authority may affect your rights as a creditor. You may want to consult with an attorney knowledgeable in California law.
YOU MAY EXAMINE the file kept by the court. If you are a person interested in the estate, you may file with the court a Request for Special Notice (form DE-154) of the filing of an inventory and appraisal of estate assets or of any petition or account as provided in Probate Code section 1250. A Request for Special Notice form is available from the court clerk.
Attorney for William Ruiz:
ANTONIETTE JAUREGUI (SB 192624)
1894 S. COMMERCENTER WEST, SUITE 108
SAN BERNARDINO, CA 92408
Telephone No: (909) 890-2350
Fax No: (909) 890-0106
Published in the San Bernardino County Sentinel on November 25, December 2 & December 9, 2022.

Continue reading →

Congressman Pete Aguilar this week continued his meteoric political rise, achieving what is widely considered to be the third highest-ranking position among Democrats in the House of Representatives.
For Aguilar, the accomplishment was welcome but somewhat bittersweet, as it comes within two weeks after late returns in a handful of close congressional races confirm that Republicans will hold a majority of the House seats during the 118th Congress that is to convene on January 3, 2023 and last until January 3, 2025, a change from the current 117th Congress, wherein the Democrats had a House majority.
On Wednesday, November 30, House Democrats selected Aguilar as House Democratic Caucus chairman. His advancement was part of a complete makeover of the Democratic leadership in the House, as he is replacing Steny Hoyer of Maryland, who was the majority leader during the 117th Congress; Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York is to replace Nancy Pelosi, who was Speaker of the House, as the Democratic Party leader; and Congresswoman Katherine Clark of Massachusetts is to replace James Clyburn of South Carolina as Democratic Whip on January 3. Continue reading →

Less than a month after Jesse Armendarez’s November 8 electoral victory over Luis Cetina in the race to fill the Second District supervisorial position for the coming four years, a few details have emerged about how he will staff his office.
Of major note is that reports are Fontana Mayor Acquanetta Warren is to have a prominent staff position in the Second District once Armendarez is sworn into office in January.
In addition, Neil Derry, who served as Third District supervisor for four years until he left office a decade ago, is to come in and guide, for six months or thereabouts, Armendarez’s assumption of the Second District reins from outgoing Supervisor Janice Rutherford.
Armendarez appears determined, at least initially, to rely upon old hands in taking on the supervisor’s role, ones who have considerable governmental experience, notably in elected roles. Continue reading →

By Mark Gutglueck
Congresswoman Norma Torres was hoodwinked into arranging a federal clean energy grant for the City of Fontana that elected city officials there intend to use to defray the partial cost of a no-bid energy efficientization contract intended as a payoff to an entity who has committed to bankroll their political campaigns and retire their electioneering debts, Torres’ staff has acknowledged.
Torres did not know, the Sentinel was assured, about Fontana’s previous history in opting out of the open bidding process so that contracts for three clean energy projects were given to a developer favored by the city council majority. Continue reading →