By Mark Gutglueck
The opening of the 2022-23 School Year in the San Bernardino City Unified School District has revectored attention to the sheer number of charter schools being sponsored by the district. Coupled with the upcoming November election in which four positions on the school board are up for election or reelection, the issue of the efficacy of at least some if not all of those charter schools and their cost-effectiveness is being raised, particularly as one of the charter schools is run by the daughter of one of the board members up for reelection.
Scrutiny of that relationship has given rise to the larger issue of the degree to which the members of the school board, either directly or indirectly through their associates, political supporters or family members, have an interest in entities that are involved in providing educational or other support services to the district and its students.
Some have suggested that the conflicts or potential conflicts inherent in these relationships have compromised the educational mission and commitment of those running the district, as the financial interest of those supplying the services or goods overrides those commitments.
In May, the district’s superintendent since June 1, 2021, Harry “Doc” Erwin, was forced out of his position by board members Barbara Flores, Abigail Medina and Danny Tillman. There was an effort to window dress the situation and represent Erwin’s departure as one which he was making voluntarily. Nevertheless, on May 3, 2022, during the meeting when Erwin announced his pending departure at the close of the school year, Board Member Mayra Ceballos openly stated that she was being pressured to “show a united front and say that ‘Nothing’s happening. Mr. Erwin’s deciding to retire early.’ Well, he’s not. This is a forced retirement. Make no mistake about it.” Continue reading →

The City of Big Bear Lake has succeeded in luring San Clemente City Manager Erik Sund to take on the position of the mountain municipality’s city manager, some five months after Frank Rush departed.
Sund is to move into the position, which in the interim has been filled by Jeff Mathieu, who was city manager of Big Bear Lake prior to Rush assuming the post in 2019.
The hiring comes during what is arguably the most contentious period in the city’s 42-year history. Differences between the city’s residents and the proprietors of tourist-related enterprises have manifested in a citizen-inspired initiative aimed at instituting regulations on short-term rental units being placed on the November 8 ballot, which is countered by a recall effort against the odd-man-out on the pro-tourist-industry city council.
Sund, who has been serving as San Clemente’s city manager since May 2021, has one-third of a century experience in local government in Southern California. He previously served as the finance manager/director for the City of Long Beach, the purchasing manager for the City of Downey, and as Continue reading →

The 2020 Colton Municipal Election holds promise as being one of the most contentious, hard fought and impactful elections in the Hub City over the last half century, one that will rank along with the 1994 election in which short-lived Mayor George Fulp managed to outmaneuver Frank Gonzales and the 2010 election in which Mayor David Zamora brought the curtain down on the Chastain Political Dynasty.
Accompanying the kick-off of this year’s electioneering were charges that the regime now in place – that of Mayor Frank Navarro, is using the political/governmental machinery at City Hall to preserve itself. This triggered a refutation of those charges from City Hall.
The backdrop to the current situation is Colton voters’ 2018 passage of Measure R, which called for reducing the seven-member Colton City Council from a mayor elected at large and six council members elected by the constituents in a half dozen districts to a council consisting of an at-large mayor and four council members from as many districts. Measure R passed with 5,321 votes in favor and 4,469 opposed, a margin of 54.35 percent to 45.65 percent. Continue reading →

Isaac Paul Aguirre, who was charged with involvement in a conspiracy in the 2017 revenge murder of the wife of a prominent member of the Mexican Mafia in San Bernardino, was acquitted last month on all charges against him.
Prosecutors for five years pressed forward with investigators’ theory that five people with extensive criminal histories and gang affiliation, including Aguirre, were involved in killing Carmen Gutierrez Rodriguez, the wife of Andrew Rodriguez, as she was walking in the parking lot outside Gaby’s Cafe on North Mount Vernon Avenue on January 18, 2017.
According to investigators, Eric Moreno, Matthew Manzano, Robert Fernandez Jr., Richard Garcia and Aguirre worked in concert to send a message to Andrew Rodriguez, a fellow gang member who had been convicted of armed robbery and was contemplating cooperating with authorities as part of a deal to see his sentence reduced. Maria Del Carmen Gutierrez Rodriguez, a mother of five who lived in the North Hills Continue reading →

Joanne Nursall said her religious conviction is the primary motivating factor in her run for city council representing District 2 in Rancho Cucamonga.
“I am running for city council because God put it in my heart to be more involved in my city to make a positive difference,” she said.
Nursall is running against the incumbent, Kristine Scott, and another challenger, David VanGorden.
Nursall said, “I feel I am qualified simply because I am a citizen of Rancho Cucamonga and care about the quality and integrity of the city.”
“Among the major issues in the city right now is overdevelopment, Nursall said. “The city is becoming extremely overcrowded and with overcrowding comes more crime. To redress these issues, we must listen Continue reading →

By Steve Lambert
The 20/20 Network
Rialto City leaders are mourning the passing of former Mayor Grace Vargas, whose nearly 35 years of service to the community left a lasting legacy that will be felt for decades to come.
Vargas, who passed away on Sunday after a long illness, served as mayor from 2000-2012 and was the first woman and first Latina to hold that position. Her many contributions to the city were memorialized in 2016 with the naming of the Grace Vargas Senior Center, located at 1411 South Riverside Avenue.
Flags are being flown at half-staff at City Hall and other locations.
“Grace Vargas was a trailblazer and an inspiration to women and women of color throughout our region. We will miss her passion, her strength and her commitment to our city,” said Mayor Deborah Robertson, who served on the city council during Vargas’ tenure as mayor.
Said Mayor Pro Tem Ed Scott, “Grace had a heart of gold and was determined to help make Rialto a great city. She embodied the best of what public service is.” Continue reading →

In this year’s District 4 Big Bear Lake City Council race, Robert Barton, an attorney licensed to practice in California, New York and Washington, D.C., is seeking to employ his training and expertise in the legal realm to guide municipal operations in the mountain tourism hamlet.
“Lawyers have a duty to use their education on behalf of the public when appropriate,” Barton said. “I believe I have talents and experience that can be beneficial to the community.”
He is qualified to hold the position of city councilman, Barton suggested, because “I’m not a politician and I have nothing to gain financially by running for this office. Thus, I can do what I believe is in the best interests of all residents and business owners.”
He is running against incumbent Councilwoman Perri Melnick, herself an attorney who was appointed to the council in July 2021, and Cory Blake Miholich, an engineering contractor who runs a restaurant in the city. Barton said he is not running against them in any way except the technical sense, as they are in opposition to one another on the ballot for the same position. Continue reading →

Tom Berg is one of three candidates in this year’s Redlands District 1 election vying against the incumbent, Denise Davis.
“It’s my firm belief no incumbent should run unchallenged,” Berg said. “I believe I’d be the better candidate for the voters to choose from.”
Also competing in the District 1 race are Andrew Hoder and Rodgir Cohen.
Berg said, “As a registered civil engineer in California involved in over 40 years of managing large public works projects for governmental agencies, I believe I can serve Redlands well in contrast to the experience levels offered by my opponents.”
Berg said that “Real life and practical experience in the business world and the world of public works; plus, my long-held belief public works are a public trust” distinguishes him from his opponents. Continue reading →