As homeless assistance projects go, the Step Up homeless faciltity, which had been converted from the former Good Nite Inn in Redlands was an overwhelming success. Insofar as other efforts to formulate a solution to moving people off the streets into a dignified living setting, Redlands city officials had achieved what scores, indeed hundreds and thousands, in actuality, almost all of other elected officials in California had been unable to attain: the application of money into a program where the money wasn’t squandered or eaten up by short-term solutions or consultants and service providers who used the money for salaries or expenses and misdirected the money from those it was intended to help: the destitute.
What Redlands had done was brilliant in its simplicity and workability. The city had taken the Good Nite Inn, a struggling and failing hotel, acquired it using state and federal money, converted it into primitive but yet dignified apartments, each with modest living room, bedroom, bathroom and kitchenette, and then filled it with the denizens of the streets, those who would otherwise be living in alleyways or parks or under freeway on-or-offramps or railroad trestles. Moreover, the city had done it in a relatively short period of time, from conception to occupancy. Continue reading →

Palm Desert-based E-Group PS is seeking permission from the City of Twentynine Palms to undertake a dual industrial/residential project on 477-acre site proximate to the Twentynine Palms Cemetery.
Represented by Terra Nova Planning, which has taken up the cause of preparing for the project presentation and environmental certification effort for at least one other solar project in the 27,000-population 59.1-square mile city, E-Group is asking Twentynine Palm’s planning and building division to consider its proposal to establish a 50-megawatt solar field featuring 160,000 solar panels on the northern 241 acres of the project site North of Two Mile Road and west of Noel Knolls Road and construct 236 homes on the southern 236 acres of the project site.
According to E-Group PS principal Robert Smith, his company had hoped to work directly with the City of Twentynine Palms in refining the project and tailoring its plans to meet local development standards and mitigate the project in accordance with the needs of local residents and businesses. Continue reading →

A rash of use of force incidents, including three that resulted in the deaths of civilians, bedeviled the sheriff’s department this month.
The violent nature of the encounters has provoked loud and repeated charges that sheriff’s deputies are using an excessive and unnecessary degree of force and has tested unto breaking Sheriff Shannon Dicus’s stated commitment to release the relevant footage of the bodyworn video cameras all of his deputies have recently been outfitted.
The most recent such contretemps to come to public attention was the March 26 arrest of a Hesperia-based entrepreneur the sheriff’s department maintains was involved in an armed robbery two days previously. That arrest involved deputies from the Hesperia Station and took place roughly ten blocks from the man’s place of business, a tattoo parlor located at 16138 Main Street next to Ararat Market Avenue on the north side of Main between Third Avenue and Fifth Avenue. Much of the department’s takedown of Alonso was captured on video by a passerby and mounted onto a social media platform, thereafter going viral.
In the video, at first three deputies can be seen grappling with the man, identified as Christian Cardenas Alonso, a 36-year-old resident of Adelanto, at the side of the roadway behind Alonso’s maroon- or burgundy-colored 1964 Chevrolet Impala, bearing the license plate number 72IX939. Alonzo is face down on the pavement, with the deputies kneeling at various angles over him. At several points, Alonso’s head is being scraped or raked with force against the pavement on the shoulder of the road. A fourth deputy then comes into the video’s frame of focus to assist in making the arrest. Throughout the ordeal, Alonso sustains repeated blows to his head. Continue reading →

In anticipation of the 25 percent escalation of the minimum wage for their workers in California to take place next Monday, fast-food outlets throughout the county have already begun laying off workers en masse. It is anticipated that thousands more of those in that sector within San Bernardino County will be out of work by May.
The trend in the loss of jobs is an unwelcome manifestation of the move to increase pay for workers traditionally considered to be at the bottom of the pay scale in the Golden State.
On April 1, workers in that part of the restaurant industry providing what is defined as fast-food, will see their pay jump by $4 – a substantial 25 percent – from $16 to $20. For franchises and the companies themselves – McDonald’s Jack in the Box, Burger King, In-N-Out, Taco Bell, Del Taco, Baker’s, Wendy’s, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Church’s Chicken, El Pollo Loco, Juan Pollo, Chick-Fil-A, Popeyes, Arby’s, Panda Express, Subway and others of that nature – the expense of rising minimum wages is one they are already staggering under.
Under the law, fast-food operations were considered to be part of the remainder of the economy, subject to the same conditions, vicissitudes, regulations and wage rules as all other businesses. Over the years, the minimum wage has escalated in California. On March 1, 1997, the minimum was $5.00. As of September 1, 1997 it grew to $5.15. As of March 1, 1998 it rose to $5.75. As of January 1, 2001 it became $6.25. On January 1, 2002 it reached $6.75. Upon January 1, 2007 it climbed to $7.50. On January 1, 2008, the minimum wage stood at $8.00. On July 1, 2014, workers could be paid no less than $9.00 per hour. That minimum was raised to $10,00 on January 1, 2016. As of January 1, 2017, it became $10.50. A slight bump to $11.00 came on January 1, 2018. On January 1, 2023, the state minimum wage leapt to $15.50. A relatively minor increase to $16 per hour went into effect on January 1 of this year. Continue reading →

The Lake Arrowhead Community Services District is seeking federal assistance in dealing with its perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances contamination problem.
Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS, and perfluorooctanoic acid, known as PFOA, compose a family of more than 5,000 man-made and mostly unregulated chemicals that have been produced since the 1950s. They are commonly referred to as “forever chemicals” because they are resistant to degradation in the environment and when degradation occurs, it results in the formation of additional PFAS compounds or constituents.
The precise source of the contamination has yet to be established. In October 2023, the California Environmental Protection Agency published a finding that Lake Arrowhead had a total PFAS concentration levels of 26. It has been theorized that Lake Arrowhead’s PFAS contamination is a byproduct of its Grass Valley Wastewater Treatment Plant which processes the sewer effluent from Lake Arrowhead and recycles water to irrigate the golf course at the Lake Arrowhead Country Club. The theory is that the inadequate filtration of the water has resulted in eliminating other contaminants while compounding the concentration of PFAS. Continue reading →

SUMMONS – (CITACION JUDICIAL)
CASE NUMBER (NUMERO DEL CASO) CIVSB2313029
NOTICE TO VICTOR BELTRAN; MONICA MARIA BELTRAN; and DOES 1 through 50, inclusive
YOU ARE BEING SUED BY PLAINTIFF:
(LO ESTA DEMANDANDO EL DEMANDANTE):
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA EDISON COMPANY
NOTICE! You have been sued. The court may decide against you without your being heard unless you respond within 30 days. Read the information below.
You have 30 CALENDAR DAYS after this summons is served on you to file a written response at this court and have a copy served on the plaintiff. A letter or phone call will not protect you. Your written response must be in proper legal form if you want the court to hear your case. There may be a court form that you can use for your response. You can find these court forms and more information at the California Courts Online Self-Help Center (www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp), your county law library, or the courthouse nearest you. If you cannot pay the filing fee, ask the court clerk for a fee waiver form. If you do not file your response on time, you may lose the case by default, and your wages, money, and property may be taken without further warning from the court.
There are other legal requirements. You may want to call an attorney right away. If you do not know an attorney, you may want to call an attorney referral service. If you cannot afford an attorney, you may be eligible for free legal services from a nonprofit legal services program. You can locate these nonprofit groups at the California Legal Services Web site (www.lawhelpcalifornia.org), the California Courts Online Self-Help Center (www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp), or by contacting your local court or county bar association. NOTE: The court has a statutory lien for waived fees and costs on any settlement or arbitration award of $10,000 or more in a civil case. The court’s lien must be paid before the court will dismiss the case.
¡AVISO! Lo han demandado. Si no responde dentro de 30 dias, la corte puede decidir en su contra sin escuchar su version. Lea la informacion a continuacion
Tiene 30 DIAS DE CALENDARIO después de que le entreguen esta citación y papeles legales para presentar una repuesta por escrito en esta corte y hacer que se entreque una copia al demandante. Una carta o una llamada telefonica no le protegen. Su respuesta por escrito tiene que estar on formato legal correcto si desea que procesen su caso en la corte. Es posible que haya un formulano que usted puede usar para su respuesta. Puede encontrar estos formularios de la corte y mas información en el Centro de Ayuda de las Cortes de California (www.sucorte.ca.gov), en la biblioteca de leyes de su condado o en la corte que le quede mas cerca. Si no puede pagar la cuota de presentación, pida si secretario de la corta que le de un formulario de exencion de pago de cuotas. Si no presenta su respuesta a tiempo, puede perder el caso por incumplimiento y la corta le podrá quitar su sueldo, dinero y bienes sin mas advertencia.
Hay otros requisitos legales. Es recomendable que llame a un abogado inmediatamente. Si no conace a un abogado, puede llamar a un servicio de referencia a abogados. Si no peude pagar a un a un abogado, es posible que cumpia con los requisitos para obtener servicios legales gratu de un programa de servicios legales sin fines de lucro. Puede encontrar estos grupos sin fines de lucro en el sitio web de California Legal Services, (www.lawhelpcalifornia.org), en el Centro de Ayuda de las Cortes de California, (www.sucorte.ca.gov), o poniendoso en contacto con la corte o el colegio de abogados locales. AVISO: Por ley, la corte tiene derecho a reclamar las cuotas y los costos exentos gravamen sobre cualquier recuperación da $10,000 o mas de vaior recibida mediante un aceurdo o una concesión de arbitraje en un caso de derecho civil. Tiene que pagar el gravamen de la corta antes de que la corta pueda desechar el caso.
The name and address of the court is: (El nombre y la direccion de la corte es):
Superior Court of California, County of San Bernardino, 247 West 3rd St, San Bernardino, CA 92415-0212, Branch Name: San Bernardino Justice Center
The name, address and telephone number of plaintiff’s attorney, or plaintiff without an attorney, is: (El nombre, la direccion y el numero de telefono del abogado del demandante, o del demendante que no tiene abogado, es):
JENUS K. NOURAFCHAN. Esquire
LEVY & NOURAFCHAN
9454 WILSHIRE BLVD., SUITE 500
BEVERLY HILLS, CA 90212
Phone: (310) 274-9993
Fax: (310) 888-3255
DATE (Fecha): June 8, 2023
Clerk (Secretario), by Kylie Meneses
Published in the San Bernardino County Sentinel on March 8, 15, 22 & 29, 2024.

Continue reading →