San Bernardino County’s dispossessed appear to be in for a rough go of it this winter of 2022-23, which is likely to be colder than 2021-22, if the weather and storm patterns of November and early December are an accurate indication.
Moreover, a significant factor with regard to the region’s homeless is that San Bernardino County’s current sheriff, Shannon Dicus, appears to be every bit as indulgent of the more sadistic element of his department’s deputies who have been given license to persuade those who are living on the streets, beneath railroad trestles, in the nooks and crannies of freeway overpasses, beneath bridges and along the banks of the Mojave and Santa Ana rivers to simply move along.
Under the guise of “helping” the homeless in Barstow, Cajon, Chino Hills, Loma Linda, Ludlow, Mentone, Muscoy, Victorville, Yucaipa and other locations over the past two weeks, sheriff’s officers have gone into homeless encampments and shanty towns, insisting that layers of cardboard used as insulation from the ground as well as blankets, bedding, sleeping bags and tents which those who are destitute use to make it through the night are declared, in their words, “debris,” and discarded. Continue reading →

The Hi-Desert Medical Center in Joshua Tree has been designated as a level IV trauma facility.
At its November 15 meeting, the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors approved a $25,000 annual contract between the Hi-Desert Medical Center and Inland Counties Emergency Medical Agency, conferring the level IV designation, the lowest level of trauma center licensing, on the hospital.
The designation allows Hi-Desert Medical Center staff to evaluate injured patients and initiate treatment if in their professional judgment the care needed falls within the medical center’s capability. In most cases, patients will require a greater degree of treatment than Hi-Desert Medical Center can provide, and the subjects will be transferred to a higher-level trauma center.
The designation allows doctors to stabilize patients before they are transported to a larger hospital.
The Hi-Desert Medical Center is the most comprehensive medical care venue in the neck of the woods involving Twentynine Palms, Joshua Tree, Yucca Valley and the Morongo Basin. Continue reading →

By Mark Gutglueck
In a cruel twist of fate, a bicyclist on the streets of Redlands was run down and killed by a motorist, less than a day-and-a-half after the Redlands City Council, in the face of an intense and concerted protest of city residents who stood up against it doing so, voted to raise the speed limit at more than two score locations throughout the 36.43-square mile city.
On October 28, 2022, the City of Redlands released and posted traffic surveys that had been undertaken by RK Engineering Group, Inc with regard to various street segments throughout the city. Such studies, done in accordance with California Vehicle Code and standards outlined in the California Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, are generally completed in most California municipalities every seven to fourteen years under the supervision of those cities’ engineering divisions.
Conceptually and in accordance with state standards, those surveys monitor the average speed of vehicles along specific spans of roadway, such that in accordance with those speed averages, a determination of the appropriate speed limit along those roadways at those points is set. Although the average speed of cars measured during the survey period is not the sole criterion used in ascertaining the appropriate speed limit along a given span of roadway, the application of elements of the vehicle code, jurisprudence standards used in California traffic courts, case law and other considerations have resulted in those cited for exceeding the posted speed limit having their citations dismissed upon a demonstration that the posted speed is below the 85th percentile of the actual free-flow collective actual speeds of vehicles measured passing along that particular corridor. Thus, a loose standard among traffic engineers and cities has evolved where cities use a standard of the 85th percentile of the average speed along a given road as the speed limit that is to be posted. Continue reading →

The West Valley Water District’s hiring of William Fox is being hailed inside and outside the district as a major stride forward, beyond the financial misfeasance crossing into the arena of malfeasance that agency engaged in under the leadership of its two most recently departed board presidents.
Fox has both a bachelor’s degree in accounting and a Master of Business Administration degree from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. According to the West Valley Water District, he has “more than four decades of experience in auditing and public finance,” which includes being the director of finance and treasurer for the City of Vernon, chief financial officer for the Las Vegas Water District, assistant general manager of finance and risk management for the City of Glendale and internal audit manager for Southern California Edison. His most recent foray into the public sector was as the contract interim finance director with the City of South El Monte in 2020.
Of note is that in addition to being a certified public accountant, Fox holds licenses as a certified internal auditor and certified fraud examiner. Continue reading →

In a move some have said represents an illegal suspension of the California Elections Code and violation of the California Constitution, the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors has bypassed the county’s voters and appointed currently acting County Assessor Christopher Wilhite to serve as assessor from next month until January 2025.
The board in September appointed Wilhite to serve as assessor, recorder and county clerk, less than two months after the July 23 death of the incumbent assessor/recorder county clerk, Bob Dutton.
Dutton, who served as a Rancho Cucamonga councilman from 2000 until 2002, as an assemblyman from 2002 until 2004 and as state senator from 2004 to 2012, was first elected county assessor in 2014 and was reelected without opposition in 2018.
It was shortly after the 2018 election that signs of the prostate cancer that would kill Dutton first manifested, ones which he ignored. By 2020, Dutton’s cancer had advanced to the point of being inoperable and terminal, a condition he shared with only a handful of those closest to him. Despite recognizing that he would not be likely to serve out a full third term as assessor, he opted to seek reelection this year, filing for and qualifying his candidacy in February for the election to be held in conjunction with the June 6 California Primary. Based on his status as a two-term incumbent, his familial wealth and his fundraising capability, Dutton was able to ward off any opposition, despite the consideration that former San Bernardino County Fifth District Supervisor Josie Gonzales was interested in acceding to the assessor’s post and, upon creating a campaign committee for a run for the office, had accumulated $495,147.83 toward such a campaign. Similarly, outgoing Second District Supervisor Janice Rutherford was said to be interested in serving as assessor, and she had $32,437.74 left over in her dormant supervisor’s campaign account she could have readily converted toward use in a run for assessor. Continue reading →

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.

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