I WAS HITCHHIKING OUT THE RAMONA EXPRESSWAY, standing to the side of some eucalyptus trees. The sun was slight summer south, so I was full under it. I stood there near an hour after I was left off by this guy pulling a set of hay barges. Alfalfa he was carrying, the sweet-smelling kind they grow in those drained marshes out near the lake.

It was past noon and pushing one o’clock, with the sun getting hotter and hotter, beating down on my head. I told myself, if none of the coming line of cars stopped, I was going over to the shade on the other side of those trees to lie down and take a nap until it got cooler. The first one of the bunch pulled right over when he saw me though, off onto the shoulder, blowing dust and all, a blond guy in a pickup truck. I climbed in. He looked to be about my age, with the sun glaring in his face through the windshield. He wore glasses. He waited for the last of the cars that had been behind him to pass, and he pulled out onto the roadway. “I’m Larry,” he said. Continue reading →

Amid widespread suspicion that he possessed blackmail material that would prove extremely problematic for some of his political masters on the board of supervisors if it were to be publicly revealed, Leonard Hernandez during his negotiations with the county over his departure as county chief executive officer in August was able to induce the county to provide him with a severance package worth more than $650,000.
Hernandez rose from being a part-time page at the Chino Branch Library in 1998 when he was a student at Cal State University Fullerton to a full-fledged library employee eventually entrusted with supervising operations at the Fontana library, then to the position of county librarian and manager of the county museum. In 2015, he was selected by then-Chief County Executive Greg Devereaux to serve as the county deputy executive officer overseeing the library system, the museum, the registrar of voters office, the county’s agricultural department and its division of weights and measures. In one of Devereaux’s last actions before he was forced out as county CEO by Supervisor Curt Hagman in 2017, he elevated Hernandez to the position of acting county chief operating officer. Months later, Hernandez was confirmed in the COO role by then-acting CEO Dena Smith. Under the county’s next chief executive officer, Gary McBride, Hernandez established himself as a ruthless operator, becoming known as the affable McBride’s enforcer and hatchet man, one who was not only willing to but seemed to relish handing out pink slips to employees deemed out of step with the county’s goals and production quotas.
In September 2020, the board of supervisors as it was then composed put McBride out to pasture, using window dressing to confer on him a temporary assignment as the special projects coordinator for county programs relating to the COVID-19 pandemic response to be carried out with federal and state grants. Hernandez was made CEO, officially effective the following month. Continue reading →

Twentynine Palm’s five-year experiment with its downtown Tourism Business Improvement District has come to an end, following a 3-to-2 vote against maintaining the taxing arrangement that funded the program.
In 2018, the city council approved a proposal by city staff to establish the Twentynine Palms Tourism Business Improvement District to levy and collect assessments from all hotels, motels, and vacation home rentals, and any other businesses within the 59.1 square-mile boundaries of the city accommodating visitors which were already subject to the city’s transient occupancy tax, i.e., bed tax. The funds raised were used to promote tourism within the city.
As a consequence, all motel, hotel and vacation rentals were subject to a 1.5% charge that was tacked on to the bills of those staying in those facilities.
California’s Parking and Business Improvement Area Law, which was passed in 1989 and was incorporated as Section 36500 et. sequitur of the California Streets and Highways Code, authorizes cities to establish business improvement areas for the purposes of promoting tourism. Continue reading →

Following an initial report that Morongo Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Patricio Vargas was critically injured in a high-speed automobile collision, word has reached the Sentinel that he was shaken up as a result of the mishap but is essentially physically intact in its aftermath.
Vargas was traveling south in his SUV on Utah Trail at approximately 10:25 this morning when he was clipped by another vehicle.
Vargas’s vehicle suffered extensive damage to its front end.
The driver’s side air bag deployed, which based upon photos examined by the Sentinel, likely accounts for Vargas having eluded serious injury or death.
Based upon limited information available to the Sentinel, Vargas’s vehicle went head into the right side of another SUV that was traveling west on Amboy Road.
The Morongo Unified School District headquarters is located at 5715 Utah Trail, which is roughly one mile distant from the scene of the accident.

Joseph Hughes, who has been Highland’s city manager since 2006, will retire on December 29, he revealed this week.
Upon Hughes publicly declaring his intention, the Highland City Council authorized the hiring of a headhunting firm to recruit his replacement.
Hughes, is considered the municipality’s second city manager, having succeeded Sam Racadio in the top administrator’s spot in 2006. Robert Covington, who had previously been San Bernardino County administrator, served as the city council’s guide in managing operations during Highland’s first three months in existence, but is not listed as having been Highland city manager.
Both Hughes and Racadio began with the City of Highland in 1988, shortly after the city’s November 1987 incorporation. Hughes moved into the city manager’s post partly on the strength of his performance in his first sixteen years with the city and partially due to Racadio’s endorsement of him as his successor. Continue reading →

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME CASE
NUMBER CIVSB 2319460
TO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS: Petitioners: XIAOMIN LIU [and] JIANYING ZHANG filed with this court for a decree changing names as follows:
YUANFU ZHANG to JACK ZHANG
THE COURT ORDERS that all persons interested in this matter appear before this court at the hearing indicated below to show cause, if any, why the petition for change of name should not be granted. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing.
Notice of Hearing:
Date: 10/16/2023
Time: 08:30 AM
Department: S24
The address of the court is Superior Court of California, County of San Bernardino, 247 West Third Street, San Bernardino, CA 92415
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that a copy of this order be published in the SBC Sentinel in San Bernardino County California, once a week for four successive weeks prior to the date set for hearing of the petition.
Dated: 08/17/2023
Judge of the Superior Court: Brian S. McCarville
Published in the San Bernardino County Sentinel on August 25 and September 1, 8 & 15, 2023.

AMENDED ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME CASE
NUMBER CIVSB 2319794
TO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS: Petitioner: MUNA WAGAW filed with this court for a decree changing names as follows:
AMEN ABDI REDI to AMEN ABDI
[and]
HABIB ABDI REDI to HABIB ABDI
THE COURT ORDERS that all persons interested in this matter appear before this court at the hearing indicated below to show cause, if any, why the petition for change of name should not be granted. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing.
Notice of Hearing:
Date: 10/09/2023
Time: 08:30 AM
Department: S33
The address of the court is Superior Court of California, County of San Bernardino, 247 West Third Street, San Bernardino, CA 92415
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that a copy of this order be published in the SBC Sentinel in San Bernardino County California, once a week for four successive weeks prior to the date set for hearing of the petition.
Dated: 08/24/2023
Judge of the Superior Court: Brian S. McCarville
Published in the San Bernardino County Sentinel on August 25 and September 1, 8 & 15, 2023.

Continue reading →

FBN 20230008268
The following entity is doing business primarily in San Bernardino County as
VPOWERFUTURE 9350 THE RESORT PKWY UNIT 7917 RANCHO CUCAMONGA, CA 91730: VAHID V MEHR 9350 THE RESORT PKWY UNIT 7917 RANCHO CUCAMONGA, CA 91730
The business is conducted by: AN INDIVIDUAL.
The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on: N/A.
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/ VAHID MEHR
Statement filed with the County Clerk of San Bernardino on: 8/16/2023
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 J7550
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 August 18, 25 and September 1 & 8, 2023.

FBN 20230008136
The following entity is doing business primarily in San Bernardino County as
CACHETON TRUCK BODIES & REPAIR/MOBILE SERVICE 8191 CALABASH AVE SP. 14 FONTANA, CA 92335: CACHETON TRUCK BODIES & REPAIR/MOBILE SERVICES 8191 CALABASH AVE SP. 14 FONTANA, CA 92335
The business is conducted by: A CORPORATION registered with the State of California under the number 5854409.
The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on: July 19, 2023.
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/ JOSE RODRIGUEZ, President
Statement filed with the County Clerk of San Bernardino on: 8/11/2023
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 J7550
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 August 18, 25 and September 1 & 8, 2023.

FBN 20230008157
The following entity is doing business primarily in San Bernardino County as
INTERNATIONAL HOMEOWNERS UNION 1482 BUSSEY STREET SAN BERNARDINO, CA 92405: CAPITALLIANCE LLC 1482 BUSSEY STREET SAN BERNARDINO, CA 92405
The business is conducted by: A CORPORATION registered with the State of California under the number 5119516.
The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on: N/A.
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/ HENRY NICKEL, Chief Executive Officer
Statement filed with the County Clerk of San Bernardino on: 8/14/2023
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 J7550
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 August 18, 25 and September 1 & 8, 2023. Continue reading →

A late report reaching the Sentinel today is that John Schubert, the chief financial officer with the Ontario International Airport Authority since 2019, has been relieved of his position.
Efforts to confirm Schubert’s termination and learn the reasons for his departure were unsuccessful at press time.
On April 1, 2019, Schubert, who had been the been senior director of finance for the Tucson Airport Authority since 2008, was installed as the overseer of the financial end of operations at Ontario International Airport
An Illinois native, Schubert holds a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from the University of Arizona where he majored in accounting. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, American Association of Airport Executives and the Government Finance Officers Association. He was formerly licensed as a certified public accountant in Arizona.
Prior to relocating to California, Schubert’s career involved more than two decades within the fields of financial management, operations and technology. Prior to his employment with the Tucson Airport Authority, Schubert managed audit and consulting services for a variety of nonprofit clients in his work for a Tucson-based certified public accounting firm. Previously, he had been controller of a software development start-up and chief operating officer of two social service agencies with more than 1,000 employees and annual budgets totaling $35 million. Continue reading →

Chris Carrillo, who previously worked as James Ramos’s assistant chief of staff when he was Third District San Bernardino County Supervisor, has committed to running against the current Third District supervisor, Dawn Rowe, in 2024.
In 2018, after Ramos was elected to the California Assembly, he made a recommendation to his board colleagues just before he resigned to head off to Sacramento that they appoint Carrillo as his board replacement for the two years then remaining on his supervisorial term. Nevertheless, the remaining members of the board of supervisors – Curt Hagman, Robert Lovingood, Josie Gonzales and Janice Rutherford – elected to invite applications for the post, to which 48 Third District residents responded, including Carrillo.
Despite Ramos’s recommendation, the board skipped over Carrillo, winnowing the field of 48 to 13 semi-finalists, those being former Third District Supervisor Dennis Hansberger, then-Barstow Mayor Julie Hackbarth-McIntyre, former Twentynine Palms Councilman James Bagsby, Loma Linda Councilman Ron Dailey and then-Loma Linda Mayor Rhodes Rigsby, former Chino Councilman/then-current Big Bear Councilman William Jahn, former Assemblyman/then-State Senator Bill Emmerson, Congressional Candidate Sean Flynn, then-Republican Central Committee Chairwoman Jan Leja, former San Bernardino Councilman Tobin Brinker, former Westlake Village Mayor Chris Mann, then-San Bernardino Mayor Carey Davis and former Yucca Valley Councilwoman/Mayor Dawn Rowe.
Not surprisingly, because Hagman, Lovingood and Rutherford were Republicans, 12 of those 13, all except Dailey, were Republicans. While local elected offices under California law are officially nonpartisan, in San Bernardino County, party affiliation is a major factor in who holds political office. Ramos, a Democrat, was spurned in his recommendation of Carrillo, who is also a Democrat.
The 13 semifinalists were reduced to five finalists – Rowe, Jahn, Emmerson, Flynn and Rigsby, Republicans all. Gonzales, the only Democrat on the board, made an appeal to her colleagues that at the next public hearing where they were to interview those five that they make up for the previous sleight to Carrillo by making a special arrangement to interview him. Hagman, Lovingood and Rutherford agreed to do so, but the session with Carrillo had all the earmarks of an afterthought. The momentum was clearly moving in Rowe’s direction. Gonzales, the lone Democrat remaining on the board, consigned herself to the inevitable and voted with her colleagues to have Rowe replace Ramos for the two years remaining on his term.
Carrillo contemplated and even began to prepare to run against Rowe in the 2020 election. Nevertheless, he pulled out of that race after his mother suffered a serious health challenge in 2019.
Carrillo’s mother was an attorney, as is Carrillo. They were working on some of the same cases when she grew ill. In 2020, she passed away. That same year, Rowe was elected to continue to serve as Third District supervisor.
Next year, Carrillo vowed, Rowe will not have the political cakewalk she had in 2020.
In his quest to represent the Third District, Carrillo said, he will “Put people first, family first, community first and politics last.”
A member of the board of the East Valley Water District Board, Carrillo represents Highland and a portion of San Bernardino. He was appointed to the board in 2014, and elected to the board in his own right in 2015 and reelected in 2020. In his capacity as a water board member, he championed the construction of the Sterling Natural Resource Center, which was designed to treat up to 8 million gallons of wastewater daily, which is then used to recharge the local Bunker Hill Groundwater Basin.
“Throughout my career in public service, I’ve made it a commitment to deliver for people and improve lives,” Carillo said. “Too many families in San Bernardino County are being left behind by politicians who put themselves ahead of residents. From Redlands, Yucaipa, and Yucca Valley to Barstow, Crestline, and Big Bear Valley, our communities face unique challenges. I’m running for supervisor to put people first and stand up for common sense solutions.”
Carrillo was first appointed to the East Valley Water District Board of Directors in 2014. He ran for election in his own right in 2015. Carrillo gained reelection in 2020.
As an attorney, in 2016 Carrillo represented former San Bernardino County Deputy Fire Chief George Corley in an action against the San Bernardino County Fire Protection District in which it was alleged Corley was terminated because of age discrimination. After trial, the jury rendered a verdict in which it found that Corley’s age was a substantial motivating reason for the district’s termination of his employment and awarded damages for lost earnings. When the county appealed the case, Carrillo continued to represent Corley before the state appellate court, prevailing when that panel returned a published decision upholding the trial court in Corley v. San Bernardino County Fire Protection.
As a consequence, Carrillo is on excellent terms with the union representing the county’s firefighters.
The San Bernardino County Professional Firefighters, International Association of Firefighters 395, which represents over 600 firemen and firewomen with San Bernardino County, Big Bear City, Big Bear Lake, Colton, Loma Linda, and Montclair fire departments, has endorsed Carrillo in the 2024 election.
In announcing the endorsement, Jim Grigoli, president of IAFF Local 935, stated, “Chris’s knowledge of county government will provide the experience needed to end the disastrous financial mismanagement that has cost San Bernardino County taxpayers millions of dollars in lost federal funding. Chris understands the concerns of District 3 and will be ready on day one to deliver results for local communities. The residents of District 3 deserve a new representative who will restore competence and integrity to the county board of supervisors. That’s why Local 395 is proud to support Chris Carrillo for supervisor and we look forward to helping him win.”
A Georgetown University graduate with a Master of Applied Psychology degree from Claremont Graduate University and a juris doctorate from Loyola Law School, Carrillos primary focus as an attorney is on employment litigation. He has experience in real estate and public vs. private possessory and nonpossessory law.