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Judge overturns $113.4 million jury award for abused former Yucca Valley boy – San Bernardino Sun
https://www.sbsun.com/...ca-valley-boy/?utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_content=tw-sbsun[11/5/2019 4:42:52 PM]
LOCAL NEWS
Judge overturns $113.4 million jury award forabused former Yucca Valley boyLawyer for family dumbfounded that jurist held county social workerblameless for beatings that rendered 5-year-old a quadriplegic
Judge overturns $113.4 million jury award for abused former Yucca Valley boy – San Bernardino Sun
https://www.sbsun.com/...ca-valley-boy/?utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_content=tw-sbsun[11/5/2019 4:42:52 PM]
By JOE NELSON | [email protected] | San Bernardino SunPUBLISHED: November 5, 2019 at 4:39 pm | UPDATED: November 5, 2019 at 4:39 pm
A San Bernardino Superior Court judge has overturned a record $113.4 million jury award to a 10-year-old boy who suffered severe brain damage and was rendered a quadriplegic from beatings by hisfather’s girlfriend.
Judge Bryan Foster determined on Oct. 30 that county social worker Karen Perry was in “no wayresponsible” for the injuries inflicted upon Noah Reed, and thus invalidated the jury’s decision to holdthe county responsible financially for the boy’s life-changing injuries. Noah was 5 at the time of theabuse at his Yucca Valley home in 2014.
Foster concluded that the “evidence establishes that there was full compliance with all mandatoryduties required by the county.”
“There is no substantial evidence to support the jury’s finding of violation of the mandatory dutiesalleged,” Foster is quoted as saying in a news release.
Noah Reed at age 10. A jury on July 3, 2019, awarded Noah Reed and his mother $113.4 million after a trial stemming from a civillawsuit alleging negligence against the San Bernardino County Department of Children and Family Services. A judge reversed thejury award on Oct. 30. (Courtesy Matthew Whibley, attorney for Laurell and Noah Reed)
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Judge overturns $113.4 million jury award for abused former Yucca Valley boy – San Bernardino Sun
https://www.sbsun.com/...ca-valley-boy/?utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_content=tw-sbsun[11/5/2019 4:42:52 PM]
Perry worked as a social worker for the county from Feb. 18, 1994, until Nov. 11, 2017. She is nolonger employed by the county, spokesman David Wert said.
Family attorney dismayed
Foster’s ruling left attorney Matthew Whibley, who represented Noah and his mother, Laurell Reed, dumbfounded.
“This ruling is completely inconsistent with the rulings he made during the trial, and it makesabsolutely no sense to any of us,” Whibley said in a telephone interview Tuesday. He said he plans toappeal Foster’s ruling.
During trial, Whibley said, Foster indicated there was evidence to suggest Perry violated hermandatory duty to report the abuse, and that it was for the jury to decide if, in fact, she did.
According to Whibley, the judge also said evidence suggested Perry failed her duties to open a caseplan and follow up with the family. Foster left it to the jury to decide if, in fact, she did.
“The transcripts will show that (Foster) continuously denied the county’s attempt to get rid of the case.He continuously said it was for the jury to decide,” Whibley said. “There was nothing irregular thathappened during the trial. It was a clean and normal trial. (Foster) had three or four opportunities priorto this ruling to throw this case out.”
Jurors heard evidence that Perry failed to properly investigate and follow up on allegations of childabuse reported by a sheriff’s deputy and the mother of Hannah Thompson, the woman who beatNoah into a coma, leaving him a quadriplegic and blind in his right eye.
Judge overturns $113.4 million jury award for abused former Yucca Valley boy – San Bernardino Sun
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Social worker made referrals
Instead, Perry referred Thompson and Noah’s father, Christopher Reed, to various county servicesand closed the case. Jurors found that Perry failed to make reasonable efforts to perform her dutiesas required by the state Child Welfare Services Manual of Policies and Procedures.
Thompson was convicted of child abuse in 2013 and sentenced to 15 years in prison. Reed pleadedguilty to misdemeanor child abuse and was sentenced to 90 days in jail, a one-year battererintervention program and three years probation.
Noah and his mother, now living in upstate New York, were awarded $100 million for past and futurepain and suffering, $9.9 million for future medical expenses, $2.9 million for loss of future earnings,and $602,625 for past medical expenses.
Jurors found the county Department of Children and Family Services 85% responsible for the harmdone to Noah, Thompson 5% responsible, and Reed 10%.
Foster, however, determined on Oct. 30 that sheriff’s deputies and county social workers found noevidence of abuse or neglect when responding to the Reed residence in September and October of2013, and in accordance with the law, the county closed the case.
“Nothing more was heard until May 2014, when Thompson severely beat Noah,” according to thecounty news release.
Boy abused for more than a year
Noah had bruising all over his body and was severely malnourished when admitted to a hospital. Acriminal investigation subsequently determined Thompson had physically abused Noah for more thana year and the boy’s father failed to intervene, Whibley said.
“Clearly, the jury was outraged by what had happened to Noah, as was the county, and mistakenlydirected that outrage toward the county,” spokesman Wert said in the news release. “The judgeagreed the jury’s decision was in error.”
Whibley said Foster was the one who drafted the jury verdict form and jury instructions and repeatedlyrefused to dismiss the case, believing it had merit and maintaining it was for the jury to decide.
“Then he completely changes his tune. He’s a completely different judge. It makes zero sense,”Whibley said. “The fight is not over. One day we will get justice, one way or another, for Noah Reed.”
11/6/2019 Governor Newsom’s ‘Statewide Expert’ on homelessness visits San Bernardino County - Inland Empire Community News
iecn.com/governor-newsoms-statewide-expert-on-homelessness-visits-san-bernardino-county/?fbclid=IwAR1ZzZD3vtoI_oSumz5VUj3IYJB4x28EDqd… 1/3
Governor Newsom’s ‘Statewide Expert’ onhomelessness visits San Bernardino County
Darrell Steinberg, Sacramento’s mayor, co-chair of Governor Gavin Newsom’s Homeless
and Supportive Housing Advisory Task Force, and co-author of the seminal Mental
Health Services Act (MHSA), visited San Bernardino County this week to hear from
residents and experience first-hand how San Bernardino County Behavioral Health’s
(DBH) MHSA-funded programs and services have lifted people out of homelessness,
poverty and addiction.
Steinberg’s visit was part of his plan to tour different counties around the state to observe
best practices and strategies relating to homelessness and behavioral health prevention,
diversion, and intervention. Steinberg will use the information, coupled with input
received from local governments and constituents, to inform the state’s work on
homelessness and its mental health system. Just hours prior to Steinberg’s visit to the
county, the Department of Health Care Services announced a new framework for Medi-
Cal reform through CalAIM (CA Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal), a program
By Community News - November 5, 2019
From left: 5th District County Supervisor Josie Gonzales, Darrell Steinberg, Sacramento’s mayor, co-chair of Governor Gavin Newsom’sHomeless and Supportive Housing Advisory Task Force, and co-author of the seminal Mental Health Services Act (MHSA), and Dept. ofBehavioral Health Director Veronica Kelley.
11/6/2019 Governor Newsom’s ‘Statewide Expert’ on homelessness visits San Bernardino County - Inland Empire Community News
iecn.com/governor-newsoms-statewide-expert-on-homelessness-visits-san-bernardino-county/?fbclid=IwAR1ZzZD3vtoI_oSumz5VUj3IYJB4x28EDqd… 2/3
seeking to leverage Medicaid to help address the challenges facing California’s most
vulnerable residents, such as homelessness and behavioral health care access.
While here, Steinberg toured an MHSA-funded recreational vehicle transformed into a
mobile health clinic providing physical and behavioral health care, often to those
experiencing homelessness, and visited a Transitional Age Youth Center to speak with
formerly homeless youth who, through support from MHSA-funded programs, accessed
behavioral health treatment and supportive housing and are now thriving. His tour also
included a visit to a crisis residential and stabilization treatment center, a supportive
housing project, and a roundtable discussion with County leaders and community
partners.
“As the author of the Mental Health Services Act, it was incredibly rewarding to see
how successfully San Bernardino County is deploying these critical resources,” said
Steinberg. Addressing unsheltered homelessness must be a top priority for local
governments across our state, and San Bernardino programs are a model for other
jurisdictions to utilize MHSA to address the crisis.”
“San Bernardino County was honored to welcome Mayor Steinberg to our community,”
said Board of Supervisors Chairman Curt Hagman. “We work hard as a county to
improve the quality of life of our residents and were pleased to have the opportunity to
showcase these efforts and engage in discussion about the success stories as a result of
MHSA funding.”
“I was proud to demonstrate to Mayor Steinberg the great programs and projects our
county is implementing thanks to the MHSA funding we receive,” said Fifth District
Supervisor Josie Gonzales, who chairs the San Bernardino County Interagency Council on
Homelessness. “I am hopeful that the Task Force will continue working with local
jurisdictions to ensure they have the flexibility to continue to delivery vital services specific
to needs of our chronically homeless population.”
11/6/2019 Governor Newsom’s ‘Statewide Expert’ on homelessness visits San Bernardino County - Inland Empire Community News
iecn.com/governor-newsoms-statewide-expert-on-homelessness-visits-san-bernardino-county/?fbclid=IwAR1ZzZD3vtoI_oSumz5VUj3IYJB4x28EDqd… 3/3
“MHSA disrupted the status quo surrounding behavioral health care in our state and
allowed behavioral health providers like DBH to expand our service delivery model to
include preventive and supportive services to address homelessness in persons living with a
debilitating mental illness, which has significantly changed the trajectory of this disease,”
said DBH Director Veronica Kelley. “DBH is thankful for leaders like Mayor Steinberg
who are passionate about the needs of some of the most vulnerable people in our
community and willing to speak on and work towards creating a world where everyone is
able to achieve optimum wellness.”
Since its inception in 2005, MHSA funding has allowed DBH to house over 600 people
and expand preventative services to over 150,000 additional people annually.
Steinberg is the founder of Steinberg Institute and is the original co-author of Proposition
63 (also known as the MHSA), a voter-approved proposition intended to reduce the long-
term adverse impact on individuals, families and state and local budgets resulting from
untreated serious mental illness. Governor Newsom announced Steinberg’s role as co-chair
of the Homeless and Supportive Housing Advisory Task Force on May 21, 2019 and
named him a ‘statewide expert’ on homelessness July 16, 2019.
In July, Dr. Thomas lnsel, the internationally-renowned neuroscientist and psychiatrist
appointed by Governor Gavin Newsom to be his special advisor on mental health also
visited San Bernardino County.
Community News
When will San Bernardino County election results be available? – Daily Bulletin
https://www.dailybulletin.com/...utm_content=tw-ivdailybulletin&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_medium=social[11/5/2019 4:43:38 PM]
By JENNIFER IYER | [email protected] | Redlands Daily FactsPUBLISHED: November 5, 2019 at 2:58 pm | UPDATED: November 5, 2019 at 2:58 pm
Anyone expecting to see initial San Bernardino County results from the Tuesday, Nov. 5, election afew minutes after polls close at 8 p.m. will have to wait a little longer than in previous elections.
The Registrar of Voters is tentatively scheduled to post the first results at 8:30 p.m. to “better complywith state law and avoid potentially influencing voters who may still be standing in line” after polls
Election staff member Anthony Coles sets up new voting booths in the hallways of the San Bernardino County Registrar offices toaccommodate the large amount of voters that came late in the evening in San Bernardino on Tuesday, November 6, 2018. (Photo byStan Lim, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
LOCAL NEWS
When will San Bernardino County election resultsbe available?
When will San Bernardino County election results be available? – Daily Bulletin
https://www.dailybulletin.com/...utm_content=tw-ivdailybulletin&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_medium=social[11/5/2019 4:43:38 PM]
Voter registration reaches 1 million in SanBernardino County for the first time
Ethics questions emerge over doctoredcampaign flier for Rialto water districtdirector
Embattled Rialto water district boardyanks contracts from agenda as stateaudit heats up
San Bernardino primary election set forMarch; four council seats up for grabs
San Bernardino County Supervisor DawnRowe plans to seek full term in 2020
RELATED LINKS
close, according to an email from the county.
Results in Tuesday’s election cannot be posted until allvoting locations close, according to the county.
There are only three races on the ballot Tuesday, and theyare for seats on governing boards for the CucamongaValley Water District, West Valley Water District and VictorValley Union High School District.
The deadline to certify results is Nov. 25.
Information: SBCountyElections.com or 909-387-8300.
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11/6/2019 Climate change could cause Mojave River Dam to fail, flood thousands - Los Angeles Times
https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2019-11-06/mojave-river-dam-flood-climate-change 1/11
CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
Army Corps raises failure risk rating of Mojave River Dam
Victorville residents Charles Pritchett, left, and Kyle Carroll enjoy the solitude of the Mojave River just downstream from theMojave River Dam on Nov. 5, 2019. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
By LOUIS SAHAGUNSTAFF WRITER
NOV. 6, 20195 AM
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11/6/2019 Climate change could cause Mojave River Dam to fail, flood thousands - Los Angeles Times
https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2019-11-06/mojave-river-dam-flood-climate-change 2/11
HESPERIA, Calif. — Federal engineers have found that a dam protecting the high desert
communities of Victorville, Hesperia, Apple Valley and Barstow falls short of national safety
standards and could erode and collapse in an extreme flood, inundating thousands of people.
Officials for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Tuesday that they had raised the risk factor for
the Mojave River Dam from “low” to “high urgency action” because of “performance concerns”
discovered at the 48-year-old structure, which joins a growing inventory of California dams
showing signs of severe stress.
The Corps is considering strategies to shore up the dam and also counter the impacts of extreme
weather shifts due to climate change, said Gary Lee, chief safety engineer for the Army Corps’ Los
Angeles District, during a tour of the structure on Tuesday.
“This dam was built in 1971, when climate change was still an unknown phenomenon,” he said.
“Climate change creates more uncertainty, which, going forward, will be taken into account.”
Failure of the 200-foot-tall earthen dam on the northern flanks of the San Bernardino Mountains
would send water rushing down the river channel, inundating 16,000 people and $1.5 billion in
property as far away as Baker, more than 100 miles northwest.
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11/6/2019 Climate change could cause Mojave River Dam to fail, flood thousands - Los Angeles Times
https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2019-11-06/mojave-river-dam-flood-climate-change 3/11
Flood flows have never spilled over the top of the dam, but a series of storms in 2005 raised the
water level behind it to a record 77 feet — about 72 feet below its concrete emergency spillway.
The agency is evaluating interim risk-reduction measures associated with a potential overtopping
of the dam and anticipates some of those measures will be in place prior to this year’s winter rains.
One possible solution would be to harden the dam to prevent water flowing over the top from
eroding it, causing it to collapse, Lee said. “Another approach would be to raise the dam by at least
three feet.”
“At this point,” he added, “we don’t know what the costs will be.”
The reclassification of the dam in San Bernardino County comes amid growing concerns that
California’s major federal flood-control systems were based on 20th century assumptions and
hydrological records that do not consider “whiplashing shifts” in extreme weather.
Some researchers argue that in a warming world, the state could be hit more frequently by storms
that were previously regarded as once-in-a-lifetime events.
These cycles, they say, will seriously challenge the state’s ability to control flooding, as well as to
store and transport water.
“The risks of catastrophic flooding are not as rare as they once were,” Daniel Swain, a UCLA
climate scientist said, “and they will be less rare in the future.”
In recent years, the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Department of Interior have sought to
raise awareness of the threat of megastorms and promote emergency preparedness. Part of the
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11/6/2019 Climate change could cause Mojave River Dam to fail, flood thousands - Los Angeles Times
https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2019-11-06/mojave-river-dam-flood-climate-change 4/11
challenge, however, has been characterizing the frequency and scale of such storms.
When scientists speak of a 900-year storm, that does not mean the storm will occur every 900
years, or that such a storm cannot happen two years in a row. It means that such a storm has a 1 in
900 — or 0.1% — chance of occurring in any given year.
The estimates used previously by federal engineers were intended to protect the region from a
storm like the one that hit California during the rainy season of 1861-62, when a series of intense
storms hammered the state for 45 days and dropped 36 inches of rain on Los Angeles.
Until recently, it was thought that an 1861-62 flood was likely to occur every 1,000 to 10,000 years.
New research, however, suggests the chances of seeing another flood of that magnitude over the
next 40 years are about 50-50.
In early 2017, a concrete spillway at the Oroville Dam disintegrated during the release of water
after heavy rains. The subsequent erosion of the dam’s emergency spillway triggered the
evacuation of more than 180,000 people.
CALIFORNIA
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says Whittier Narrows Dam is unsafe and couldtrigger catastrophic flooding
Sep. 14, 2017
The same year, the Corps discovered that 60-year-old Whittier Narrows Dam, built in a natural gap
in the hills east of Los Angeles, was structurally unsafe and posed a potentially catastrophic risk to
more than 1 million people along the San Gabriel River floodplain.
The Corps estimates it will cost roughly $600 million in federal funds to upgrade the Whittier
Narrows facility, which has been reclassified as the agency’s highest priority nationally because of
the risk of “very significant loss of life and economic impacts.”
Federal engineers earlier this year announced that a significant flood event could compromise the
concrete spillway of 78-year-old Prado Dam beside the 91 Freeway on the border of Riverside and
11/6/2019 Climate change could cause Mojave River Dam to fail, flood thousands - Los Angeles Times
https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2019-11-06/mojave-river-dam-flood-climate-change 5/11
Orange counties and potentially flood dozens of communities along the Santa Ana River from
Disneyland to Newport Beach.
An $880-million effort to increase storage capacity for floodwaters and sediment at Prado Dam has
been underway since 2002. It includes raising the spillway crest by 20 feet to an elevation of 563
feet, replacing outlet systems, increasing the reservoir area, building new dikes and improving the
wetlands behind the dam.
The retrofit operations on the spillways at both Whittier Narrows and Prado dams could begin as
early as 2021, officials said. In the meantime, both dams continue to be fully functional and
operable during storm events, said Dena O’Dell, a spokeswoman for the agency.
CALIFORNIA
Engineers up failure risk for dam protecting Disneyland, dozens of Orange Countycities
May 17, 2019
Los Angeles County officials are seeking to take ownership of 40 miles of flood-control channels
along the L.A. River from the Army Corps as part of an effort to expedite maintenance and water
conservation improvements as climate change increases the frequency of extreme weather.
The move was spurred by concerns that the Army Corps’ World War II-era channels, including a
lush soft-bottom stretch of the Los Angeles River between Griffith Park and downtown, have not
been adequately maintained because of dwindling federal funds, county officials said.
Now, given the threats posed by the Whittier Narrows, Prado and Mojave River dams, the Army
Corps is collaborating with Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, and
several dozens of municipalities, to raise flood-risk awareness and develop emergency plans,
including evacuation blueprints, before repairs to the dams are completed.
That won’t be easy along the Mojave River, which flows north for 90 miles from the Forks Dam
near Silverwood Lake. For nearly all its distance, the river flows underground, prompting some to
call it the “upside-down river.”
11/6/2019 Climate change could cause Mojave River Dam to fail, flood thousands - Los Angeles Times
https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2019-11-06/mojave-river-dam-flood-climate-change 6/11
“We’ve long known about the water that dam holds, so we don’t have any homes in portions of the
flood zone within our jurisdiction,” Rachel Molina, a spokeswoman for Hesperia, said. “But there
are homes in areas adjacent to the dam, which is the responsibility of the Army Corps, in
unincorporated county land.”
In Victorville, which is along the middle reaches of the river, the news about the dam coincided
with a grand opening celebration of the city’s $7-million Mojave Riverwalk project, which includes
11 miles of bikeways running from Victor Valley Regional Park west to Mojave Narrows Regional
Park.
Victorville officials on Tuesday declined to comment on the matter.
CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT CALIFORNIA
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Louis Sahagun
Louis Sahagun is a staff writer at the Los Angeles Times. He covers issues ranging from religion,
culture and the environment to crime, politics and water. He was on the team of L.A. Times writers
that earned the Pulitzer Prize in public service for a series on Latinos in Southern California and
the team that was a finalist in 2015 for the Pulitzer Prize in breaking news. He is a CCNMA: Latino
Journalists of California board member, and author of the book, “Master of the Mysteries: the Life
of Manly Palmer Hall.”
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11/6/2019 Conservation is an investment in growth of our desert - News - vvdailypress.com - Victorville, CA
https://www.vvdailypress.com/news/20191106/conservation-is-investment-in-growth-of-our-desert 1/2
By Ryan OrrPosted at 5:48 AM
Halloween marked the 25-year anniversary of the signing of the DesertConservation Act, which established the Mojave National Preserve, Joshua TreeNational Park and Death Valley National Park.
While there may be a tendency for those of us that have spent most of our livesin the desert to take these beautiful landscapes for granted, it’s important toremember that hundreds of thousands of people travel from all over the world tocatch a glimpse of the wonders that lie in the Victor Valley’s backyard.
Far too often, protection of our public lands and conservation initiatives arefalsely vilified as barriers to growth. Quite the opposite is true.
The Mojave National Preserve and other natural desert wonders represent aneconomic boon to the communities that surround them. The Victor Valley isconsidered a gateway community to these recreational wonderlands. In 2018alone, 787,000 visitors spent an estimated $46.5 million in local gateway regions,including the Victor Valley, while visiting just the Mojave National Preserve.
This influx supported a total of 588 jobs, $22.2 million in labor income, $36.7million in value added, and $58.8 million in economic output in local gatewayeconomies surrounding the Mojave National Preserve.
These numbers are increasing at a rapid clip every year. The economic benefit ofdesert travel, including visitor spending, industry earnings and governmentrevenue went from $5.5 billion to $7.62 billion in 2018. Travel industry-generated employment in the California desert region has increased by morethan 35 percent since 2010 alone, with more than 73,000 employees in 2018.
Conservation is an investment in growth of our
desert
11/6/2019 Conservation is an investment in growth of our desert - News - vvdailypress.com - Victorville, CA
https://www.vvdailypress.com/news/20191106/conservation-is-investment-in-growth-of-our-desert 2/2
While Mojave National Preserve may be our crown jewel due to its size, beautyand proximity to our local communities, the Victor Valley is less than a fewhours away from countless other national treasures including: The Mojave TrailsNational Monument, Sand to Snow National Monument, Castle MountainsNational Monument, Joshua Tree National Park, Death Valley National Park andSequoia National Park, just to name a few.
While the numbers surrounding the Mojave National Preserve speak forthemselves, they can safely by multiplied hundreds of times over whenconsidering how many folks visiting these other destinations stop to fill up, eat,play or stay in the Victor Valley, leaving no question that conservation is goodfor our local economy.
Ryan Orr is a Victor Valley Chamber of Commerce board member.
11/6/2019 Castaneda takes lead for VVUHSD seat - News - vvdailypress.com - Victorville, CA
https://www.vvdailypress.com/news/20191105/castaneda-takes-lead-for-vvuhsd-seat 1/2
By Martin Estacio Staff Writer Posted Nov 5, 2019 at 12:01 AMUpdated Nov 5, 2019 at 10:31 PM
Community college instructor Caleb Castaneda took the lead at the polls for aBoard of Trustees seat at the Victor Valley Union High School District.At print deadline, Castaneda has received 504 votes , almost half of the total1,042 votes that were counted, according to unofficial consolidated electionresults posted by the San Bernardino County Registrar of Voters.If Castaneda secures a victory, he will represent Area 2 of the Board whichencompasses Victor Valley High School and Hook Junior High School.The seat was vacated after incumbent Timothy Hauk resigned in February.Castaneda would serve the remainder of the four-year term.According to his campaign website, he was the only Democrat running in therace, and he works as an associate professor of philosophy at Victor ValleyCollege and Chaffey College, according to his Facebook profile.The other two candidates are Lisa Crosby, former VVUHSD Trustee andsubstitute teacher; and registered nurse and Victorville Rotary Club member, J.Margaret Cooker.Cooker originally ran against Hauk in November 2018.In March, the Daily Press reported that Hauk had sold his home about a monthbefore he was elected last year, much to Cooker’s dismay.An eligible candidate for trustee must reside within their area’s boundaries,according to the District.The Board later declared they would be filling the seat and was forced to hold thespecial election which cost the district about $176,000.Crosby received the second highest votes with about a third of the votes with344. Votes for Cooker tallied at 194, according to the unofficial results.The unofficial results showed that only about 8%, or 5,778, of the eligible 72,476registered voters cast their ballots. Officials results are to follow Thursday andare available online.The consolidated election also included two water districts in Rialto and Rancho
Castaneda takes lead for VVUHSD seat
11/6/2019 Castaneda takes lead for VVUHSD seat - News - vvdailypress.com - Victorville, CA
https://www.vvdailypress.com/news/20191105/castaneda-takes-lead-for-vvuhsd-seat 2/2
Cucamonga looking to fill seats.Martin Estacio may be reached at [email protected] or at 760-955-5358.
Follow him on Twitter @DP_mestacio.
Redlands leaders hire new city manager: Charles M. Duggan Jr. – San Bernardino Sun
https://www.sbsun.com/2019/11/05/redlands-leaders-hire-new-city-manager-charles-m-duggan-jr/[11/6/2019 7:27:14 AM]
By JENNIFER IYER | [email protected] | Redlands Daily FactsPUBLISHED: November 5, 2019 at 7:07 pm | UPDATED: November 5, 2019 at 7:09 pm
Almost a year after it fired the city’s top administrator, theRedlands City Council on Tuesday, Nov. 5, announced it hashired a new city manager.
With a unanimous vote Tuesday, the council approved anemployment agreement with Charles M. Duggan Jr., whocurrently works for the Marin Municipal Water District in Northern
LOCAL NEWS
Redlands leaders hire new city manager: CharlesM. Duggan Jr.It's been a year since the City Council fired the previous city manager
Redlands leaders hire new city manager: Charles M. Duggan Jr. – San Bernardino Sun
https://www.sbsun.com/2019/11/05/redlands-leaders-hire-new-city-manager-charles-m-duggan-jr/[11/6/2019 7:27:14 AM]
California as the Administrative Services DivisionManager/Treasurer.
Duggan will take the reins at Redlands City Hall on Jan. 13, 2020.Under terms of his contract, Duggan will earn $270,000 a year.
Duggan did not attend the meeting Tuesday and was notimmediately available for comment.
In a statement released by the city, however, Duggan discussedsome of his goals.
“The great pride exhibited by the residents, elected officials and city staff is what first drew me to thiswonderful community, and I look forward to being an active resident, partner and leader,” Duggan saidin a news release distributed after the council’s vote Tuesday. “My initial goals will be learning thevalues of the community; working for the citizens with and through their elected officials; listening toresidents’ views on the future of Redlands and being a part of a team focused on providing the verybest service that local government has to offer.”
Previously, from 2006 to 2017, Duggan served as city manager for Auburn, Alabama which has auniversity and population similar in size to Redlands.
Mayor Paul Foster, reading from the release Tuesday night, said the council sought a candidate whocould provide “effective, efficient leadership and who will guide the city staff as we embrace theopportunities and challenges that are opening before us.”
The council started with 44 applicants, and by the end of October had pared it down to two. Afterchoosing one, the council extended an offer contingent on background checks and on both sidesreaching an agreement on the contract that was approved Tuesday.
Charles M. Duggan Jr.
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Redlands leaders hire new city manager: Charles M. Duggan Jr. – San Bernardino Sun
https://www.sbsun.com/2019/11/05/redlands-leaders-hire-new-city-manager-charles-m-duggan-jr/[11/6/2019 7:27:14 AM]
Redlands pares city manager candidatesdown from 40 with public input
Judge seeks proof of malice, but letslawsuit by fired Redlands official proceed
Redlands paid fired city manager morethan $800K, 5th highest in state
Redlands assigns interim city manager amore permanent role
Redlands fires city manager followingsexual harassment claims
RELATED LINKSThe council sought input from the public through a survey,and through panels chosen by Assistant City ManagerJanice McConnell that included former council members,representatives of employee labor unions, business leadersand community members.
On Nov. 6, 2018, the council fired the previous citymanager, N. Enrique Martinez, following sexualharassment claims by the city’s former human resourcesdirector. The city has never given an official cause for histermination, and Martinez has denied theallegations against him.
He and his two minor children have sued the city for lifetimemedical benefits they say they were promised in hiscontract.
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Tags: government, Top Stories RDF
11/6/2019 Dollar Tree store will move next door to Chuze Fitness at former Ralphs location in northwestern Fontana | Business | fontanaheraldnews…
https://www.fontanaheraldnews.com/business/dollar-tree-store-will-move-next-door-to-chuze-fitness/article_1d96e3ea-fff1-11e9-94e2-5f795e3af04f.html 1/3
https://www.fontanaheraldnews.com/business/dollar-tree-store-will-move-next-door-to-chuze-�tness/article_1d96e3ea-�f1-11e9-94e2-5f795e3af04f.html
Dollar Tree store will move next door to Chuze Fitness at former Ralphs location innorthwestern FontanaNov 5, 2019 Updated 21 hrs ago
Chuze Fitness and Dollar Tree will occupy the former Ralphs building in northwestern Fontana next year.
11/6/2019 Dollar Tree store will move next door to Chuze Fitness at former Ralphs location in northwestern Fontana | Business | fontanaheraldnews…
https://www.fontanaheraldnews.com/business/dollar-tree-store-will-move-next-door-to-chuze-fitness/article_1d96e3ea-fff1-11e9-94e2-5f795e3af04f.html 2/3
Progressive Real Estate Partners, an Inland Empire retail brokerage �rm, announced recently that it has executed a lease with
Dollar Tree for a 12,430 square-foot space at 14574 Baseline Avenue in northwestern Fontana.
The store will be located in the well-established Morningside Marketplace shopping center.
Dollar Tree will occupy a portion of the former Ralphs Grocery store which closed in early 2013. Chuze Fitness (previously
announced) will occupy the balance of the Ralphs space. Both are expected to open by mid-2020, making it the �rst time in
seven years that the neighborhood center will have an anchor presence.
Progressive Real Estate Partners’ VP of Retail Leasing and Sales Paul Su exclusively marketed the property and represented the
lessor. Lee Clay Park of Edge Realty represented Dollar Tree.
Dollar Tree is a well-known leading operator of discount variety stores, o�ering a constantly changing assortment of
merchandise including housewares, cleaning supplies, seasonal décor, party items, toys, gifts, craft supplies and food, all at a
price point of $1 (or less). The company has more than 15,000 stores and operates under the brands of Dollar Tree, Family
Dollar and Dollar Tree Canada.
The 90,000 square-foot Morningside Marketplace is situated at a busy four-way signalized intersection with visibility on both
Baseline and Cherry avenues with a combined average daily tra�c count of over 50,000 cars, Su said.
In spite of not having the bene�t of an anchor tenant for an extended period of time, the shop and pad space is almost 100
percent leased to a variety of food and service users, including Chase Bank, Great Clips, Chevron, KFC, Pizza Hut, Baskin Robbins
and Wienerschnitzel.
The center also enjoys strong demographics of more than 253,000 residents with an average household income of more than
$85,422 within a �ve-mile radius, Su said.
11/6/2019 Dollar Tree store will move next door to Chuze Fitness at former Ralphs location in northwestern Fontana | Business | fontanaheraldnews…
https://www.fontanaheraldnews.com/business/dollar-tree-store-will-move-next-door-to-chuze-fitness/article_1d96e3ea-fff1-11e9-94e2-5f795e3af04f.html 3/3
“We’re excited to welcome Dollar Tree to the center. Today’s value minded customer appreciates the wide assortment of every
day merchandise available at the store, making it a perfect addition to the retail mix at Morningside Marketplace,” Su said.
“Furthermore, the community has waited a long time for the former Ralphs store to be leased and we couldn’t be more pleased
that both Dollar Tree and Chuze Fitness recognized the strength of the center and will be opening soon. It’s also good news for
the other shopping center retailers to �nally have new anchor tenants which will help drive more tra�c and sales to the
property."
11/6/2019 Kaiser Permanente hosts groundbreaking ceremony for Hesperia Medical Office Building - News - vvdailypress.com - Victorville, CA
https://www.vvdailypress.com/news/20191105/kaiser-permanente-hosts-groundbreaking-ceremony-for-hesperia-medical-office-building 1/3
By Rene Ray De La Cruz Staff Writer Posted Nov 5, 2019 at 12:01 AMUpdated Nov 5, 2019 at 9:12 PM
HESPERIA — The sun glistened off a row of shovels, as Kaiser Permanente andlocal officials officially broke ground on the health care provider’s 54,000 squarefoot medical facility.
Calling the groundbreaking a “historic” event, Kaiser Executive Director ofNational Facilities Willy Paul told the audience the medical facility is the first ofa “new generation of medical buildings” that will incorporate a new medicaldesign and state-of-the-art technology.”
The new three-story Hesperia Medical Office to be built on Escondido Avenueand west of the Walmart Supercenter on Main Street is scheduled to open in2021.
The facility is part of a new wave of Kaiser Permanente medical offices that willuse technology and space to enhance the care experience and make gettingmedical care easier and more convenient, Paul said.
The new facility will provide Kaiser members expanded access health services,supported by the latest medical technology including telemedicine capabilities.The building will include 30 provider offices, primary/specialty care services,family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, OBGYN, cardiology, and physicaltherapy.
The medical office building will also feature a pharmacy, laboratory, diagnosticimaging, nurse clinic, optometry and optical dispensing, and conference center.
Kaiser Permanente hosts groundbreak ing
ceremony for Hesperia Medical O�ce Building
11/6/2019 Kaiser Permanente hosts groundbreaking ceremony for Hesperia Medical Office Building - News - vvdailypress.com - Victorville, CA
https://www.vvdailypress.com/news/20191105/kaiser-permanente-hosts-groundbreaking-ceremony-for-hesperia-medical-office-building 2/3
Kaiser officials told the audience the medical facility will be convenient for thethousands of members who travel to larger Kaiser medical facilities in Fontanaand Ontario.
“Members and patients are at the center of everything we do,” said GregChristian, Senior Vice President, Area Manager for Kaiser. “We are committedto providing innovative care and convenient access to health care for ourmembers who live and work in the High Desert.”
“The Hesperia Medical Offices will meet Kaiser Permanente’s vision for thefuture,” said Dr. Timothy Jenkins, Area Medical Director for Kaiser. “Ourevidence-based, integrated approach to health innovation is designed to producebetter outcomes and focuses on four key areas: empowered member experience,personalized care, care setting redesign, and community health.”
While visitors enjoyed lunch under a tent, a construction crew continued towork on the property that included the already excavated medical buildingfoundation and lower level that resembled a massive 200-foot long and 30-footdeep swimming pool.
“We’ve been working on this project since I was a councilman and mayor all theway back to 2009,” Thurston “Smitty” Smith told the Daily Press. “Thanks toKaiser, this project is finally coming to fruition and it’s going to benefitthousands of Kaiser members living here in the High Desert.”
Councilwoman Brigit Bennington echoed Smith’s sentiments and said themedical facility will benefit fellow Kaiser members and the area’s economy.
In September, McCarthy Building Companies relocated 14 endangered JoshuaTrees on the property as part of the Joshua Tree Relocation Plan to preserve theendangered species, the Daily Press reported.
“We are delighted to play a role in this important project, helping to bringworld-class medical services to the Hesperia community,” said David Alford,Project Director of McCarthy Building Companies. “We’re thrilled to becollaborating on another project with Kaiser Permanente for this new healthcare facility and assisting the health care provider in offering quality medicalservices to those within our own backyard.”
11/6/2019 Kaiser Permanente hosts groundbreaking ceremony for Hesperia Medical Office Building - News - vvdailypress.com - Victorville, CA
https://www.vvdailypress.com/news/20191105/kaiser-permanente-hosts-groundbreaking-ceremony-for-hesperia-medical-office-building 3/3
Existing Kaiser facilities for the health care provider’s nearly 75,000 membersliving in the High Desert area include the High Desert Medical Offices on ParkAvenue in Victorville and the Mental Health Medical Office on Main Street inHesperia.
The Target store on Bear Valley Road in Apple Valley also includes a new KaiserPermanente-staffed clinic for its health care members and Target guests.
For more information, visit www.healthy.kaiserpermanente.org.
Reporter Rene Ray De La Cruz may be reached at 760-951-6227,
[email protected], Instagram@renegadereporter, Twitter
@DP_ReneDeLaCruz.
Montclair Place mall’s new electronic sign is up and flashing – Daily Bulletin
https://www.dailybulletin.com/...utm_content=tw-ivdailybulletin&utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com[11/5/2019 4:43:10 PM]
LOCAL NEWS
Montclair Place mall’s new electronic sign is upand flashing
Montclair Place mall’s new electronic sign is up and flashing – Daily Bulletin
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By DAVID ALLEN | [email protected] | Inland Valley Daily BulletinPUBLISHED: November 5, 2019 at 3:09 pm | UPDATED: November 5, 2019 at 3:10 pm
The new, electronic freeway sign at Montclair Place mall was turned on last week. Have you seen it?Given that it’s electronic, if you’re driving past, you’re probably not going to miss it.
“It looks good. It looks like a sign you’d see in Vegas. It gets your attention,” Mayor John Dutrey toldme after his first view of the sign.
A new electronic sign at Montclair Place lights up the evening sky in Montclair on Friday, Nov. 1, 2019. (Photo by David Allen, InlandValley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
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Montclair Place mall’s new electronic sign is up and flashing – Daily Bulletin
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You might respond by wondering if Montclair needs a sign that provokes comparisons to Las Vegas.But then you might remember the mother quoted here a few weeks ago who said her son, when hewas little, always blurted out “There’s Las Vegas” when he saw the previous mall sign with its neonswirls.
I’d written about the old sign’s removal in August and the new sign’s impending arrival, and had evenseen a drawing, but the real object still caught me by surprise. Not the height, which is 95 feet, but thewidth, which is 25 feet. The slim profile makes the flashing sign less objectionable than it might havebeen.
Dutrey told me he had a similar reaction to the reality versus the drawings.
“It’s vertical. A lot of those reader signs are horizontal. The mall’s owner, CIM, they were trying to gowith something different from the reader signs you usually see,” Dutrey said. “Because it’s vertical, itstands out.”
Rather than the giant tennis court I had envisioned, it’s more like a stick of gum.
A bright, towering stick of gum, granted.
All that jazz
1 of 3A new electronic sign at Montclair Place greets communters as they pass by on the 10 Freeway in Montclair on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2019. (Photo byDavid Allen, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
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By
Montclair Place mall’s new electronic sign is up and flashing – Daily Bulletin
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Carl Schafer, who taught music in the Ontario-Montclair School District for 38 years before hisretirement, is planning to move to Tucson, Arizona in the near future with his wife, Martha. But beforeleaving, he hosted a farewell party — and generously provided the music.
The jazz musician, 87, assembled an eight-piece band of friends to back him Friday night, Nov. 1, atClaremont Community School of Music‘s Huff Recital Hall. They romped through “Besame Mucho,”“Lullaby of Birdland,” “Tuxedo Junction” and other classics before an appreciative audience of morethan 100, including one newspaper columnist with whom he’s corresponded over the years.
Carl Schafer plays saxophone at his retirement concert Nov. 1 in Claremont. (Photo by David Allen, Inland Valley DailyBulletin/SCNG)
Montclair Place mall’s new electronic sign is up and flashing – Daily Bulletin
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Schafer serves on the board of the music school, which has grown to nearly 1,000 students, one ofthe ties he’s having to cut as he prepares to depart. Another tie is to the musicians on stage with himFriday, with whom he’s played at senior centers and at Sunday afternoon concerts on the patio ofClaremont’s Blue Fin Sushi.
But the Schafers, who live in Upland, want to live closer to family. One son lives in Tucson, the otherin England. Moving to Arizona seemed more practical.
Alternating between saxophone and cornet, Schafer offered commentary between songs. He metMartha in music class at Santa Barbara High. He first saw her wearing a pink angora sweater whilecarrying a standup bass, an apparently unbeatable combination.
“When she walked to school, I carried her bass,” Schafer recalled. “Sixty-seven years later … “
He sang the Gershwins’ “S’Wonderful” to her and, later, “I’ll Be Seeing You” for his friends: “I’ll beseeing you/in all the old familiar places/that this heart of mine embraces … “
Earlier he’d surveyed the audience — filled with old friends from Ontario-Montclair, Mt. San AntonioCollege, the music school and elsewhere — with satisfaction.
“They say when someone’s dying, their life passes before them. I’m not dying,” Schafer clarified, “buta big part of my life is passing before me.”
Just the best parts, I hope.
‘Motherless Brooklyn’
Jonathan Lethem has 11 novels to his credit, many acclaimed, but the Claremont resident’s“Motherless Brooklyn,” released Friday, is the first to be adapted for a film. He hosted a pre-releasescreening Oct. 30 at the Laemmle Claremont 5 for students at Pomona College, where he teachescreative writing, and for invited guests, including yours truly.
First there was an announcement from a burly man from Warner Bros., the studio behind the movie.In a friendly way, he told us our phones would be confiscated if we took photos or video and that toensure compliance we would be watched by him and two colleagues in the dark through “infraredcameras.”
This seemed like the sort of comical bluster one of Lethem’s hapless detective characters might havespouted. I turned to a friend and said, “I hope they film my good side.”
Montclair Place mall’s new electronic sign is up and flashing – Daily Bulletin
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A field trip to the LA Central Library,‘Library Book’ in hand
’50s icon Mission Drive-In in Montclair togo dark at year’s end
Teen interviewed Rolling Stones, fledfrom fans, at 2nd San Bernardino Swingconcert
They came from a land Down Under tovisit sister city Upland
Does La Verne appreciate this TV-inspired joke? Why, Shirley
RELATED ARTICLES
The movie involves a detective with Tourette’s prone to tics and awkward exclamations who getsinvolved in a “Chinatown”-like plot concerning political power and housing development. I liked it,although not enough to surreptitiously record it.
It’s important to note that the novel, which won a National Book Critics Circle Award, has little incommon with the noir movie other than the detective characters and the title.
“My characters were goofballs. This is the sort of movie they wished they would be in,” Lethem jokedduring a Q&A afterward. But he gave Edward Norton, who wrote, directed and stars, a free hand to dowhatever Norton wanted with the source material — “books and movies don’t have to have a lot to dowith each other,” Lethem said — and didn’t seem dissatisfied with the results.
After 20 years of development — the novel was optioned by Norton before its 1999 publication — Lethem admitted, “I’m still in disbelief that this got made.”
Valley Vignette
Pilgrim Place, a retirement village in Claremont largelymade up of religious leaders and missionaries, on Fridayand Saturday, Nov. 8-9, hosts the annual Pilgrim PlaceFestival, a destination for Southern Californians since 1949.Activities, food, handmade arts and crafts and recycledgoods are highlights. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 625Mayflower Road. Admission is free and all proceeds fromsales support care for poorer residents in the nonprofitvillage.
David Allen writes Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, pilgrim.Email [email protected], phone 909-483-9339, visitinsidesocal.com/davidallen, like davidallencolumnist onFacebook and follow @davidallen909 on Twitter.
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Mountain View Avenue near Redlands closing for a year north of the 10 Freeway – Redlands Daily Facts
https://www.redlandsdailyfacts.com/...ontent=tw-RedlandsNews&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_source=twitter.com[11/5/2019 1:36:20 PM]
LOCAL NEWS
Mountain View Avenue near Redlands closing fora year north of the 10 Freeway
Mountain View Avenue near Redlands closing for a year north of the 10 Freeway – Redlands Daily Facts
https://www.redlandsdailyfacts.com/...ontent=tw-RedlandsNews&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_source=twitter.com[11/5/2019 1:36:20 PM]
By JENNIFER IYER | [email protected] | Redlands Daily FactsPUBLISHED: November 5, 2019 at 1:31 pm | UPDATED: November 5, 2019 at 1:31 pm
Mountain View Avenue will be closed for about a year north of the 10 Freeway between Redlands andSan Bernardino due to utility work to prepare for additional lanes.
The road is closed between Coulston Street and Victoria Avenue for the relocation of water, sewerand high-pressure gas lines, according to the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority. In thatarea, Mountain View is a dividing line between the two cities.
The widening project between San Bernardino International Airport and the freeway is being done bythe Inland Valley Development Agency, which oversees development around the former Norton AirForce Base.
Mountain View Avenue, a dividing line between Redlands and San Bernardino, is seen here closed at Coulston Street, north of the 10Freeway, on Nov. 4, 2019. Utility work is expected to keep the road closed to Victoria Avenue through fall 2020. (Photo by JenniferIyer, Redlands Daily Facts/SCNG)
1 of 3Mountain View Avenue, a dividing line between Redlands and San Bernardino, is seen here closed at Coulston Street, north of the 10 Freeway, onNov. 4, 2019. Utility work is expected to keep the road closed to Victoria Avenue through fall 2020. (Photo by Jennifer Iyer, Redlands DailyFacts/SCNG)
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Mountain View Avenue near Redlands closing for a year north of the 10 Freeway – Redlands Daily Facts
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Work on San Bernardino-to-Redlands railline will close these streets beginningNov. 5
14th week of 60 Swarm to close 12 milesof westbound 60 Freeway in InlandEmpire
High-speed train from Victor Valley to LasVegas could start construction in 2020
Highway 243 to reopen between 10Freeway and Idyllwild
Here’s a list of upcoming street, laneclosures for work on the rail line betweenSan Bernardino and Redlands
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The widening project includes adding lanes so there will be two lanes in each direction; improvedaccess to private properties and a nearby Southern California Edison generating station; intersectionupgrades; and replacement of the Mission Creek Bridge.
Businesses along the road are open during construction.
The development agency is also working with Loma Lindaand Caltrans to alleviate congestion at the Mountain Viewfreeway off-ramps. That work is expected to last throughSeptember 2020.
Information: ivdajpa.org/projects
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Tags: roads, Top Stories RDF, Top Stories Sun, transportation
11/5/2019 HI-DESERT WATER DISTRICT SERVED WITH LAWSUIT FROM A FORMER EMPLOYEE | Z107.7 FM
z1077fm.com/hi-desert-water-district-served-with-lawsuit-from-a-former-employee/ 2/3
The Hi-Desert Water District has recently been served with a lawsuit for failure to prevent
discrimination and harassment in the workplace. Reporter Ernest Figueroa outlines the details…
On September 26 former Hi-Desert Water District employee Mary Phelps �led a lawsuit in Superior
Court against the Hi-Desert Water District, and supervisor and human resource representatives for
nine workplace violations including: age discrimination, disability discrimination, and unlawful
harassment. After recovering from neck surgery Phelps, a 27-year employee of the water district, felt
attempts were made to forcibly cause her early retirement including the �ling of a negative but false
employee review. She alleges supervisors and human resource representatives behaved maliciously
and oppressively in a conscious disregard of workplace rights. Due to these violations Phelps feels
she has suffered substantial loss of earnings and employee bene�ts, and continues to suffer
emotional distress and humiliation. She is seeking �nancial damages and court costs as well
reinstatement to a comparable position. A trial has been set for March of next year.
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LOANS AT BIGHORN DESERT
VIEW WATER MEETING
TONIGHT
FIREWORKS AT THE HI-DESERT
WATER DISTRICT LAST NIGHT
CANDIDATES RUNNING FOR
HEALTHCARE DISTRICT
October 23, 2018
In "Local News"
August 22, 2019
In "Local News"
October 23, 2016
In "Local News"
HI DESERT WATER DISTRICT LAWSUIT MARY PHELPS MORONGO BASIN SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
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How San Bernardino Employer Stuck New Mom With $898,984 Bill | Redlands, CA Patch
https://patch.com/...m_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter&utm_term=health%20%26%20fitness&utm_campaign=recirc&utm_content=aol[11/5/2019 1:37:37 PM]
Health & Fitness
How San Bernardino Employer Stuck New Mom With
$898,984 Bill
Dignity Health said its employee, an ER nurse, failed to meet the deadline to add herpremature newborn to its health plan.By Pro Publica, News PartnerNov 5, 2019 3:59 pm ET
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How San Bernardino Employer Stuck New Mom With $898,984 Bill | Redlands, CA Patch
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(Shutterstock)
By Marshall Allen, ProPublica
Originally posted on Monday, November 4
Lauren Bard opened the hospital bill this month and her body went numb. In
bold block letters it said, "AMOUNT DUE: $898,984.57."
Last fall, Bard's daughter, Sadie, had arrived about three months prematurely;
and as a nurse herself, Bard knew the costs for Sadie's care would be high. But
she'd assumed the bulk would be covered by the organization that owned the
hospital where she worked: Dignity Health, whose marketing motto is "Hello
humankindness."
She would be wrong.
How San Bernardino Employer Stuck New Mom With $898,984 Bill | Redlands, CA Patch
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Bard, 30, had been caught up in an unforgiving trend. As health care costs
continue to rise, employers are shifting the expense to their workers — cutting
back on what they'll cover or pumping up premiums and out-of-pocket costs. But
a premature baby, delivered with gaspingly high medical claims, creates a sort of
benefits bomb, the kind an employer — especially one funding its own benefits —
might look for a way to dodge altogether.
Bard, distracted by her daughter's precarious health and her own hospitalization
for serious pregnancy-related conditions, found this out the hard way. Her battle
against her own employer is a cautionary tale for every expectant parent.
Bard's saga began, traumatically, when she gave birth to Sadie at just 26 weeks
on Sept. 21, 2018, at the University of California, Irvine Medical Center in
Southern California. Weighing less than a pound and a half, tiny enough to fit
into Bard's cupped hands, Sadie was rushed to the neonatal intensive care unit.
Three days after her birth, Bard called Anthem Blue Cross, which administers her
health plan, to start coverage. Anthem and UC Irvine's billing department
assured her that Sadie was covered, Bard said.
But Dignity's plan, like many, requires employees to enroll newborns within 31
days through its website, or they won't be covered — something Bard said she
didn't know at the time.
Meanwhile, believing that everything with her health benefits was on track, Bard
spent nine of those first 31 days recovering in her own hospital bed and then had
to return to the emergency room because of a subsequent infection. She spent as
much time as she could in the neonatal intensive care unit, where Sadie, in an
incubator, attached to tubes and wires, battled a host of critical ailments related
to extremely premature birth. At times, doctors gave her a 50-50 chance of
survival.
"Right from birth she was a fighter," Bard said.
How San Bernardino Employer Stuck New Mom With $898,984 Bill | Redlands, CA Patch
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Then, eight days past the 31-day deadline, UC Irvine's billing department alerted
Bard to a problem with Sadie's coverage. Anthem was saying it could not process
the claims for the baby, who was still in the NICU.
Bard, an emergency room nurse at St. Bernardine Medical Center in San
Bernardino, called Dignity's benefits department and made a sickening
discovery. Sadie wasn't enrolled in its health plan. It was too late, she was told,
she could no longer add her baby.
Dignity bills itself as the fifth-largest health system in the country, with services
in 21 states. The massive nonprofit self-funds its benefits, meaning it bears the
cost of bills like Sadie's. And it doesn't appear to be short on cash. In 2018, the
organization reported $6.6 billion in net assets and paid its CEO $11.9 million in
reportable compensation, according to tax filings. That same year, more than two
dozen Dignity executives earned more than $1 million in compensation, records
show.
Dignity is also a religious organization that says its mission is to further "the
healing ministry of Jesus." Surely, Bard remembering thinking, they would show
her compassion.
With the specter of the bills hanging over her, Bard said she literally begged
Dignity to change its mind in multiple phone calls, working her way up to
supervisors. She thought she'd enrolled Sadie by calling Anthem she told them. It
was an innocent mistake.
The benefits representatives told her information about the 31-day rule was in
the documents she received when she was hired. It didn't matter that it was six
years earlier, long before she dreamed of having Sadie, she said. The
representative also told her it wasn't just Dignity's decision, the Internal Revenue
Service wouldn't allow them to add the baby to the plan.
Under Dignity's plan, Bard could have two written appeals. She got nowhere with
either of them. "IRS regulations and plan provisions preclude us from making an
enrollment exception," Dignity wrote in its Nov. 30, 2018, response to her first
How San Bernardino Employer Stuck New Mom With $898,984 Bill | Redlands, CA Patch
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appeal.
IRS officials said they can't talk about specific cases because of privacy issues and
could not comment in general in time to meet ProPublica's deadline.
Dignity rejected Bard's second written appeal in a July 8 letter, saying the
deadline was included in a packet sent nine days before Sadie's birth. But at that
time, Bard had already been admitted to the hospital because of complications.
Dignity's letter said it "cannot make an exception to plan provisions."
But the federal regulator of Dignity's plan said such plans can, in fact, make
exceptions. An official with the federal Labor Department, which regulates self-
funded health benefits, told ProPublica that plans can make concessions as long
as they apply them equally to participants. Plus, federal law allows plans to treat
people with "adverse health factors" more favorably, the official said.
Bard scrambled, futilely, to see if any publicly funded insurance plan would be
able to cover the costs. Meanwhile, the bills began arriving: $206 in November,
$1,033 in January, $523 in February and $69,362 in April, with the biggest yet to
come. Sadie had spent 105 days in the hospital and had several surgeries — and
the bills would be Bard's alone.
Sadie's total hospital tab was nearing $1 million and climbing when ProPublica
first spoke to Bard. "I'll either work the rest of my life or file for bankruptcy," she
said.
Bard said she and her fiancé — Sadie's father, Nathan Benton — considered
delaying their wedding so he wouldn't be legally saddled with the bills as well.
The looming debt, and her employer's rejection, sent Bard reeling when she was
already suffering from postpartum depression. She went back to her job while
worrying that she might lose her home in Norco. She wept and beat herself up
again and again about missing the deadline: How could she not think of
something like that? She should've known. She should've been on top of it more.
Anthem declined to comment for this story. UC Irvine, where Bard said the care
How San Bernardino Employer Stuck New Mom With $898,984 Bill | Redlands, CA Patch
https://patch.com/...m_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter&utm_term=health%20%26%20fitness&utm_campaign=recirc&utm_content=aol[11/5/2019 1:37:37 PM]
was excellent, said that cases like Bard's are unusual but may happen in 1% to 2%
of births. The hospital tries to work with patients when they get stuck with the
bills, a UC Irvine spokesman said.
With the appeals exhausted, the $898,000 bill landed. Bard could see right away
that handling it the typical way, with a payment plan, was not going to work. If
she chipped away at it at $100 a month, settling the obligation would take more
than 748 years. "It would take so long I'd be dead," Bard said.
Bard could see no way out. On Oct. 7, she posted a photograph of the $898,000
bill on Facebook. "When Dignity Health (the company I work for) screws you out
of your daughter's insurance…" she wrote.
A week later, ProPublica, which had been flagged to Bard's case while reporting
about health insurance excesses, contacted a Dignity media representative.
The next day, Bard got a call from the senior vice president of operations for
Dignity Southern California, who apologized and said she'd heard about the
situation from the organization's media team and would help. Two days later,
Dignity added Sadie to the plan, retroactive to her birth date. It would cover the
bills.
Dignity officials told ProPublica that they'd learned about Bard through her
Facebook post. Bard said she doubts Dignity would have reversed course without
the questions from ProPublica.
Dignity said in a statement that it would review how it could better educate new
parents about the enrollment requirement. But Bard still wants to know why her
employer would make her suffer through such an ordeal. In a letter Bard received
last week, the Dignity benefits department said it had received additional
information that caused it to reverse course, but it appears to be the same
information that Bard had been telling it all along.
"We based this new decision on certain extenuating and compelling
circumstances, which, in all likelihood prohibited you from enrolling your
newborn daughter within the Plan's required 31-day enrollment period," the
How San Bernardino Employer Stuck New Mom With $898,984 Bill | Redlands, CA Patch
https://patch.com/...m_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter&utm_term=health%20%26%20fitness&utm_campaign=recirc&utm_content=aol[11/5/2019 1:37:37 PM]
More from Redlands-Loma Linda
letter said.
Bard recognizes a dark irony in her Christian employer's behavior, and it's made
her skeptical. She urged the benefits department to change its process so other
employees don't also have their benefits denied. Dignity needs to put its own
ideals into practice, she told ProPublica. "You can't put on this facade," Bard
said. "You have to live it. You have to walk the walk."
Bard said she and Benton still don't know the final total for Sadie's care. But they
sometimes call the sassy and dimpled 1-year-old, who is healthy and reaching
developmental milestones, their "million-dollar baby."
ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up
for ProPublica's Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your
inbox as soon as they are published.
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Fontana man arrested after ex-girlfriend’s home set ablaze – Daily Bulletin
https://www.dailybulletin.com/...utm_content=tw-ivdailybulletin&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_source=twitter.com[11/5/2019 1:36:29 PM]
By BRIAN ROKOS | [email protected] | The Press-EnterprisePUBLISHED: November 5, 2019 at 1:04 pm | UPDATED: November 5, 2019 at 1:05 pm
A Fontana man was arrested after he burned down the home of his ex-girlfriend just after she fled theresidence, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said.
Marlon Castro, 30, was booked into West Valley Detention Center on suspicion of residential burglary,criminal threats and arson, a news release said.
The incident happened just before midnight on Oct. 31 in the 9800 block of Arbor Avenue nearFontana. The victim reported that Castro had broken in while she was home with her two children andthreatened to burn down the home because he was angry with her. The victim was able to grab herchildren, and when she drove off, she saw smoke coming from her home. The home burned down.
Deputies were not immediately able to find Castro. But on Nov. 2, they found him near the crimescene and arrested him, the release said.
NEWSCRIME + PUBLIC SAFETY
Fontana man arrested after ex-girlfriend’s homeset ablaze
Fontana man arrested after ex-girlfriend’s home set ablaze – Daily Bulletin
https://www.dailybulletin.com/...utm_content=tw-ivdailybulletin&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_source=twitter.com[11/5/2019 1:36:29 PM]
Investigators ask anyone with information on the case to call the sheriff’s Fontana station at 909-356-6767 or contact We Tip at 800-782-7463 or wetip.com.
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11/6/2019 Apple Valley woman killed in crash - News - vvdailypress.com - Victorville, CA
https://www.vvdailypress.com/news/20191105/apple-valley-woman-killed-in-crash 1/1
By Staff ReportsPosted Nov 5, 2019 at 12:01 AMUpdated Nov 5, 2019 at 10:31 PM
An 18-year-old Apple Valley woman died Monday night when the car she wasdriving collided with a semitruck on northbound Interstate 15 south of LenwoodRoad, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The collision happened at about 11:15 p.m. when the 2001 Pontiac Bonnevillethe unidentified woman was driving drifted toward the right shoulder of theroad, officials reported.
The Pontiac then left the road into open desert before the driver turned left “inan attempt to re-enter the roadway,” a CHP statement read.
The vehicle then hit a metal guardrail on the right shoulder and entered thenumber two lane where “a 2017 Freightliner was unable to take evasive actionand collided with the Pontiac,” CHP officials said.
The woman suffered major injuries and was later pronounced dead at BarstowCommunity Hospital, The Freightliner’s driver was not injured.
The accident is under investigation by the CHP, Barstow Area. Anyone withinformation regarding the accident is asked to contact the Barstow office at 760-255-5900.
Apple Valley woman k illed in crash
Highland daycare operator arrested on suspicion of child cruelty – Daily Bulletin
https://www.dailybulletin.com/...utm_content=tw-ivdailybulletin&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=socialflow[11/5/2019 1:37:50 PM]
By RICHARD K. DE ATLEY | [email protected] | The Press-EnterprisePUBLISHED: November 5, 2019 at 8:23 am | UPDATED: November 5, 2019 at 10:44 am
A Highland licensed daycare operator was arrested on suspicionof willful cruelty to a child, with the alleged victims described as a5-month-old girl and a 1-year-old boy, authorities said Tuesday.
Rosalind Drinkard-Batiste, 53, the operator of the Drinkard-Batiste Family Child Care in the 7000 block of Nye Drive, wastaken into custody Monday after she was interviewed bymembers of the San Bernardino County sheriff’s Crimes AgainstChildren Detail, the department said. She was released on bail,jail records show.
The investigators were following on a complaint they had
NEWSCRIME + PUBLIC SAFETY
Highland daycare operator arrested on suspicionof child crueltySan Bernardino County Sheriff's deputies say the alleged victims are a 5-month-old girl and a 1-year-old boy.
Highland daycare operator arrested on suspicion of child cruelty – Daily Bulletin
https://www.dailybulletin.com/...utm_content=tw-ivdailybulletin&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=socialflow[11/5/2019 1:37:50 PM]
Positioning fire crews in high-hazardareas and upping staff is helping to getahead of wildfires
1 suspect in 3 home invasion robberies incustody, 2 suspects outstanding
Hillside fire in north San Bernardino is50% contained, evacuations lifted
Residents near Dexter fire in Riversideallowed to return home
Santa Ana winds whip through region tocreate ‘extreme’ fire warnings
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received Sunday that the two children had been victims of childabuse and endangerment.
The details of the complaint were not released by authorities, butthe department included false imprisonment in its description of the investigation.
Detectives asked that anyone with information regarding the investigation contact Detective ShaunnaAbles at 909-387-3615. Anonymous tips can be placed with the We-Tip Hotline at 1-800-782-7463.
Rosalind Drinkard-Batiste (Courtesy SanBernardino County Sheriff)
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11/5/2019 ONE ARRESTED, DEPUTIES SEARCHING FOR THREE MORE, IN ARMED HOME INVASION ROBBERY IN TWENTYNINE PALMS | …
z1077fm.com/one-arrested-deputies-searching-for-three-more-in-armed-home-invasion-robbery-in-twentynine-palms/ 1/2
One suspect has been arrested, and deputies are searching for three others, in a home invasion
robbery in Twentynine Palms in October. Just before midnight on October 17, four armed men
forced their way into a home in the 74000 block of Casita Drive. The suspects struggled with two of
the residents, and a resident �red a handgun at the suspects in self-defense, but it’s unknown if any
suspects were hit by gun�re. The suspects were able to steal multiple items before �eeing the home.
Detectives identi�ed one of the suspects as Javonte Montague, 21, a lance corporal with 1
Battalion, 7 Marine Regiment on board the Combat Center in Twentynine Palms. On Monday,
November 4, detectives detained Montague on board the Marine base. Javonte Montague was
arrested for investigation of robbery, booked into the Morongo Basin Jail, with his bail set at
st
th
Privacy - Terms
FEATURED, LOCAL NEWS, TOP STORY
ONE ARRESTED, DEPUTIES SEARCHING FORTHREE MORE, IN ARMED HOME INVASIONROBBERY IN TWENTYNINE PALMS
NOVEMBER 5, 2019 | Z107.7 NEWS | LEAVE A COMMENT
11/5/2019 ONE ARRESTED, DEPUTIES SEARCHING FOR THREE MORE, IN ARMED HOME INVASION ROBBERY IN TWENTYNINE PALMS | …
z1077fm.com/one-arrested-deputies-searching-for-three-more-in-armed-home-invasion-robbery-in-twentynine-palms/ 2/2
$100,000. Anyone with information about the three other suspects is asked to call the Sheriff’s
Department at 760-366-4175.
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DEPUTIES SEEK PUBLIC’S HELP
IN IDENTIFYING SUSPECTS IN
TWENTYNINE PALMS HOME
INVASION ROBBERY
DETECTIVES SEEK HELP IN
YUCCA VALLEY HOME
INVASION INVESTIGATION
ONE ARRESTED, ONE STILL
SOUGHT, IN BURGLARY OF
TWENTYNINE PALMS ANIMAL
SHELTER;
October 19, 2019
In "Local News"
November 4, 2019
In "Local News" August 6, 2018
In "Local News"
Privacy - Terms
11/6/2019 Man hurt and mobile homes evacuated in Tuesday blazes | News | hidesertstar.com
www.hidesertstar.com/news/article_a0887990-fb72-11e9-a2bf-3f9b013c7461.html 1/3
http://www.hidesertstar.com/news/article_a0887990-fb72-11e9-a2bf-3f9b013c7461.html
TOP STORY
Man hurt and mobile homes evacuated in Tuesday blazesBy Stacy Moore Hi-Desert Star Oct 30, 2019 Updated Oct 31, 2019
A San Bernardino County �re�ghter lays down a line as �ames burn outbuildings at a Yucca Valley property Tuesday.
Cindy Melland Hi-Desert Star
MORONGO BASIN — Two �res burned in Yucca Valley and Joshua Tree, Tuesday, injuring one man
and forcing the evacuation of mobile home park residents.
Flames were reported on a property at Cibola and Yuma trails in Yucca Valley about 9:30 a.m.
Tuesday.
11/6/2019 Man hurt and mobile homes evacuated in Tuesday blazes | News | hidesertstar.com
www.hidesertstar.com/news/article_a0887990-fb72-11e9-a2bf-3f9b013c7461.html 2/3
Battalion Chief Donny Viloria with San Bernardino County Fire said the �re started in one of the
outbuildings in the back of the property. Fire�ghters were able to stop it from moving into the main
home.
Four adults were living on the property, Viloria said. One of them, a 25-year-old man, suffered burns
on his arms and was taken to Hi-Desert Medical Center.
“It was a pretty large �re that extended partially into an attached addition to the home,” Viloria said.
Nine �re�ghters from the downtown Yucca Valley, Yucca Mesa and Joshua Tree stations responded
initially.
The county �re and sheriff’s departments and Yucca Valley’s code enforcement o�cer are all
investigating the cause of the �ames.
“There were some code enforcement issues associated with the property,” Viloria said. “A lot of it
has to do with whether there’s not enough clearance or there might be too much extra stuff on the
property.”
Crew �nds two buildings on �re
The second �re was reported at 11 p.m. in the 61900 block of Commercial Street in Joshua Tree. An
engine company from that community was �rst to arrive and found a property with four buildings,
two of which were burning.
“They get on scene and they’re confronted with large �ames from two structures,” Viloria said. “In
those initial �rst seconds, no one knows what building is occupied or not.”
It turned out the structure with the heaviest �re was an abandoned home. Viloria said it was
completely destroyed by �ames.
The other burning building was a large barn and storage structure.
Next to the abandoned home was a residence whose occupants were at home. “That was of great
concern to us,” Viloria said.
Immediately north of the property is a mobile home park, causing even more concern.
11/6/2019 Man hurt and mobile homes evacuated in Tuesday blazes | News | hidesertstar.com
www.hidesertstar.com/news/article_a0887990-fb72-11e9-a2bf-3f9b013c7461.html 3/3
As the �re raged, the Sheriff’s Department evacuated some mobile home residents.
There was so much �re burning that crews used both hoses and deck guns — high-velocity water
jets attached to the �re engines.
They were hampered by the electrical service drop line to the occupied house, which was
compromised by �re.
“We couldn’t get under it and we couldn’t put �re hoses there, so we had to have our efforts on either
side and there was a lot of cooperation between the engine companies to make that happen,” Viloria
said.
“We had a lot of high-impact human momentum,” Viloria said. “If that �re had extended into the
mobile home park, it would have been a bad, bad, bad show.”
It took about 30 minutes for �re�ghters to get the upper hand, he said. “Then there was an extensive
mop up and overhaul.”
No one was hurt and the cause of the �re remains under investigation by the �re and sheriff’s
departments.
“There was nothing that was readily apparent to what the cause was,” the chief said. “It was an
abandoned structure, so we certainly have our suspicions.”
11/6/2019 To stop adults with mental illness from losing their housing, L.A. County may intervene - Los Angeles Times
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-11-06/homeless-housing-board-and-care-homes-mental-illness 1/9
CALIFORNIA
To stop adults with mental illness from losing their housing, L.A.County may intervene
A view of Long Beach Residential, an adult board-and-care facility for adults with little income and mental illness. L.A.County supervisors are studying ways to stabilize the facilities financially and open more of them. (Allen J. Schaben/LosAngeles Times)
By DOUG SMITHSENIOR WRITER
NOV. 6, 20195 AM
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11/6/2019 To stop adults with mental illness from losing their housing, L.A. County may intervene - Los Angeles Times
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-11-06/homeless-housing-board-and-care-homes-mental-illness 2/9
The L.A. County Board of Supervisors were alarmed last year by a report detailing the rapid loss of
board-and-care homes, often the final stop before a tent on the streets for adults with little income
and debilitating mental illness.
The supervisors asked the county’s health agencies to provide a plan to stabilize the facilities
financially and open more of them. In response, the agencies hired an outside consulting firm,
which conducted a six-month study. The board will consider a motion to implement the plan at its
meeting next week.
“This needs to be escalated to the state level and key legislators need to be involved to consider
some fast solutions before we completely lose the system of care and housing,” said Lisa Kodmur,
who worked on the study by the consulting firm Sadlon & Associates.
The details of the motion are still being worked out by county staff. But their recommendations are
likely to include a mandate to improve data collection, to use unspent mental health funds from the
state for maintenance of board-and-care homes and to advocate for increased state funding levels
for them.
At its crux, the decline of board-and-care homes is out of the hands of L.A. County — and the many
other counties in California experiencing similar declines. It’s a result of a cap on state and federal
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11/6/2019 To stop adults with mental illness from losing their housing, L.A. County may intervene - Los Angeles Times
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-11-06/homeless-housing-board-and-care-homes-mental-illness 3/9
reimbursement rates, which stands at about $35 a day per resident. The licensed homes are
required to provide 24-hour staffing, three meals a day and medication management. The rate
leaves the owners of many homes operating at close to break-even and unable to keep up on the
maintenance of their aging buildings.
Residents of these facilities, given their often meager income and debilitating mental illness, are at
high risk for homelessness, giving the board-and-care home crisis an added layer of urgency.
Local leaders need to step up, Kodmur said.
“Someone would have to take the lead,” she said. “If the goal is to help people with mental illness
live lives of dignity and meaning, we need to create partnerships to improve the qualify of care in
these facilities. It could be a partnership among multiple entities. Nonprofits could play a role. The
county could play a role. The state Community Care Licensing Division could play a role.”
At the request of the consultants, the state’s Licensing Division, which does not separately track
homes that serve people with mental illness, conducted a survey concluding that 39 homes had
gone out of business over a three-year period, leaving only 154 homes with about 5,100 beds in Los
Angeles County.
“I am grateful that the county made this a priority and finally devoted the resources to create a
baseline inventory of how many facilities and beds we have,” said Kerry Morrison, a mental health
advocate and co-author of A Call to Action, the 2018 report that prompted the supervisors to study
board-and-care homes. “When we started researching this in 2017, we found very little data.”
In its follow-up study, Sadlon & Associates compiled interviews with 48 board-and-care operators
and 47 government agencies, service providers, healthcare associations, and residents and family
members. The consultants reported that 29% of the operators said they were considering closing.
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11/6/2019 To stop adults with mental illness from losing their housing, L.A. County may intervene - Los Angeles Times
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-11-06/homeless-housing-board-and-care-homes-mental-illness 4/9
“Facility closures are often tied to noncompliance due to not having the resources” for repairs, the
study found. The financial stress also lowers the quality of care, it said.
The consultants said the county, which is currently providing subsidies for about 2,000 board-and-
care home residents, could help by contributing more money, better organizing homeless and
mental illness services, and doing more to mobilize philanthropists.
Specifically, they recommended, the county should double the number of residents it subsidizes to
4,000, with a tiered rate paying more for those with higher needs and expand other sources of
funds for facilities serving low-income residents. The county should also set up a capital fund,
matched by philanthropic contributions, to help operators make deferred improvements to their
facilities, the consultants said.
More broadly, the study found, the county should do more to improve the qualify of life of those
living in board-and-care homes by delivering professional support services and promoting support
groups, job training and volunteerism.
To improve operator effectiveness, the county should sponsor a member association, set up a bed
tracking system and develop quality care standards.
Morrison praised the recommendations and urged the board to act on them.
“I think the stakeholder engagement process yielded some rich suggestions, and I hope the county
and the state can work together quickly to infuse funds into the system to ward off any additional
closures of our board-and-care facilities,” Morrison said.
CALIFORNIA HOUSING & HOMELESSNESS
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11/6/2019 Los Angeles sued over homeless housing money by AIDS nonprofit - Los Angeles Times
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-11-05/aids-healthcare-lawsuit-homeless-housing-money 1/5
CALIFORNIA
Los Angeles sued over homeless housing money by AIDS nonprofit
Michael Weinstein, president of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, in 2017. (Los Angeles Times)
By EMILY ALPERT REYESSTAFF WRITER
NOV. 5, 20193:56 PM
An AIDS foundation that has tangled with the city over real estate development and lambasted its handling of the homelessness
crisis is now suing Los Angeles, arguing that it was improperly turned down for funding to house homeless people.
In its lawsuit, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation accused the city of violating L.A. rules when the foundation was rejected for nearly
$25 million in funding from Proposition HHH, a $1.2-billion bond measure approved by voters.
The foundation had sought the money to build more than 200 units of supportive housing in skid row, planning for a tower filled
with “microunits.” The city gave its proposal a score of 63 out of 100, docking it points under categories including “financing
structure and cost efficiency” and “organizational structure, experience and capacity.”
The group said in its lawsuit that the city had failed to produce specific records it had requested about the bidding process, but that
a housing department staffer told the foundation that it was concerned about its “perceived lack of experience as a developer” and
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11/6/2019 Los Angeles sued over homeless housing money by AIDS nonprofit - Los Angeles Times
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-11-05/aids-healthcare-lawsuit-homeless-housing-money 2/5
its proposed method of construction.
The foundation argued that neither was a valid reason to mark down its application under city rules. The group had sought the
money under an innovation challenge launched by the city to find faster and cheaper ways to get homeless people into housing.
In a conference call with reporters Tuesday, foundation President Michael Weinstein said it was the only bidder in the innovation
challenge who already owned the needed land and had lower costs, per unit, than other bidders. Weinstein argued that the city
would fail to address the crisis if it didn’t drive down costs for such housing significantly.
“If we always do what we always did, we’ll always get what we always got,” Weinstein told reporters.
A few years ago, the group launched a new division called the Healthy Housing Foundation and started converting existing
buildings into housing, touting it as a cheaper and more efficient way to help poor tenants.
When asked about issues at one of its existing buildings on skid row — a 7th Street property where the city has fielded complaints —
Weinstein said that the city ordering them to stop work there had been “completely unjustified” and showed a lack of urgency to
“get things done.”
“We believe that the most urgent thing is to get somebody off the sidewalk,” Weinstein said. “And that’s what we’ve done and what
we will continue to do.”
When L.A. turned down an earlier appeal by the foundation over the funding decision, a city official said in a letter that it found “no
basis” for claims that the scoring process had been arbitrary or that it had violated established procedures.
The “process was fair to all applicants,” Alex Comisar, a spokesman for Mayor Eric Garcetti, said in a statement Tuesday. “While
AHF wasn’t awarded HHH funds, we appreciate their work to create more affordable housing and look forward to partnering with
them in the future.”
Rob Wilcox, a spokesman for City Atty. Mike Feuer, said the office would review the legal complaint filed by the foundation and had
no further comment Tuesday.
The foundation, a massive nonprofit that has become a political player in L.A., has frequently sparred with the city in court: It has
repeatedly sued the city over development projects that it argues will worsen traffic and fuel gentrification. It has also been a sharp
critic of how L.A. and its leaders have tried to tackle homelessness, erecting billboards this year that declare “Homelessness Kills.”
The foundation has also gathered signatures for a November 2020 statewide ballot measure that would allow cities and counties to
impose stricter restrictions on rent hikes than are currently allowed under state law.
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11/6/2019 From tikka masala to Mexican BBQ, new law lets home kitchens expand across state | CalMatters
https://calmatters.org/california-dream/2019/11/from-tikka-masala-to-mexican-bbq-new-law-lets-home-kitchens-expand-across-state/ 1/8
CALIFORNIA DREAM ECONOMY
From tikka masala to Mexican BBQ, new law letshome kitchens expand across state
BY SCOTT RODD
PUBLISHED: NOVEMBER 5, 2019
A California law allows amateur cooks to sell their food from home. Riverside County is the first to adopt it. Photo via Istock
11/6/2019 From tikka masala to Mexican BBQ, new law lets home kitchens expand across state | CalMatters
https://calmatters.org/california-dream/2019/11/from-tikka-masala-to-mexican-bbq-new-law-lets-home-kitchens-expand-across-state/ 2/8
IN SUMMARY
Riverside County is the first to take advantage of new statelaw that aims to create an entry point into the food industryfor amateur chefs — especially immigrants, women and peopleof color.
Embedded in Kulwant Sanghu’s Punjabi dishes are the lessons she learned from her elders.
“My grandpa back home in India, he used to have [a] restaurant,” she said. “And I used to watch
him all the time — how he’s doing it [and] what he’s doing.”
Now, Sanghu sells these dishes to her neighbors in Riverside County after California became the
first state to legalize home kitchen businesses this year.
The law aims to create an entry point into the food industry for amateur chefs — especially
immigrants, women and people of color. Cooks in California have been selling food under the
11/6/2019 From tikka masala to Mexican BBQ, new law lets home kitchens expand across state | CalMatters
https://calmatters.org/california-dream/2019/11/from-tikka-masala-to-mexican-bbq-new-law-lets-home-kitchens-expand-across-state/ 3/8
radar for years, and for some it’s a vital source of income, even though they risked fines and
criminal penalties. The home kitchen law creates a legal pathway for amateur chefs to sell their
wares, and lowers the risk for them to try launching a food venture.
State lawmakers left it up to counties to implement the program and regulate home kitchens. So
far, only Riverside County has started issuing permits, but proponents are optimistic the law will
expand to other counties. In October, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation that clarified technical
aspects of the law, mainly related to health oversight.
“Alameda County, San Francisco and San Bernardino are planning to start working towards an
ordinance in the coming months,” said Matt Jorgensen, co-founder of The C.O.O.K. Alliance, an
advocacy group that sponsored the 2018 home kitchen legislation.
Many are watching Riverside County as a test case. So far, the county has permitted more than 20
cooks offering a range of cuisines, including Asian fusion, soul food and Mexican BBQ.
Dottie Merki, deputy director of Riverside County’s Department of Environmental Health, says her
staff has offered guidance to other counties interested in rolling out home kitchen programs.
She recommends those counties “develop their outreach not toward restaurant owners, but
toward people who are just used to feeding their family,” and explain the additional food safety
requirements for serving members of the public.
An online platform called Foodnome has also established itself in Riverside to facilitate its
burgeoning home kitchen industry. It allows cooks to showcase their menu and specials, similar to
Yelp, and allows customers to order and review kitchens.
Founder Akshay Prabhu said he started the platform to help bring people together over home-
cooked meals.
“They’re not cooking on a huge scale,” he
said. “They’re cooking things with care
and love, and making things in small
batches. So it’s a really good way to
facilitate community.”
He says he hopes to scale the platform
statewide as more counties opt in, and
11/6/2019 From tikka masala to Mexican BBQ, new law lets home kitchens expand across state | CalMatters
https://calmatters.org/california-dream/2019/11/from-tikka-masala-to-mexican-bbq-new-law-lets-home-kitchens-expand-across-state/ 4/8
across the country if other states pass
home kitchen laws.
Foodnome has also started hosting pop-up
events to help home cooks introduce their
dishes to more customers. On a recent
Friday evening, Sanghu brought her
Punjabi cooking to the kitchen at Arcade
Coffee Roasters in the city of Riverside.
DeeDee Ballasteros stopped by with her
husband, Tomás, even though she was a
little skeptical of the home kitchen
concept at first. But when she learned the
county regulates and certifies them, she
decided to give it a shot.
After a plate of Sanghu’s chicken tikka and
basmati rice, the nutrition coach and
mother of two said she’s open to trying
other home kitchens in Riverside.
“The food was delicious,” she said.
“Definitely, I would do it again.”
But some opposition remains.
Kathy Shin, an attorney for the city of West Hollywood, says the law gives counties too much
control over kitchen programs, which could create zoning problems that cities have to deal with.
“Traffic impacts, parking, potentially noise and smells — these are all concerns that are
traditionally addressed through local land use authority,” she said.
She adds that West Hollywood isn’t necessarily against home kitchens, but says the city should
have more regulatory control.
Back in Sanghu’s kitchen, she dunks her samosas filled with peas, potatoes and herbs into a vat of
hot oil. A typical evening brings in around eight orders; on busy nights, she’ll get up to 15.
Kulwant Sanghu is one of more than 20 cooks in Riverside
County permitted to sell food from her home kitchen.
Photo by Scott Rodd/Capital Public Radio
11/6/2019 From tikka masala to Mexican BBQ, new law lets home kitchens expand across state | CalMatters
https://calmatters.org/california-dream/2019/11/from-tikka-masala-to-mexican-bbq-new-law-lets-home-kitchens-expand-across-state/ 5/8
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California’s law lets the home chefs sell up to 60 meals per week and gross up to $50,000 in
revenue per year. The limits are meant to keep kitchens from evolving into bustling restaurants in
residential neighborhoods.
Sanghu says her kitchen business supplements the income from her full-time job at a medical
device company. But she imagines it could someday lead to something more.
“Maybe in the future, I’d like to go to college to learn [to] do the preparation and all those things
the professional way,” she said. “So maybe later on, I can have my own restaurant.”
John Hudson, manager of Simple Simon’s Bakery and Bistro in downtown Riverside, believes the
home kitchen program is a great first step for amateur chefs looking to open their own place.
“Opening a restaurant is not only costly, but sometimes impossible to keep it going,” he said. “And
if you don’t have a good product, then you’re not going to make it. And this is a good way for
people to figure that out.”
The California Dream series is a statewide media collaboration of CalMatters, KPBS, KPCC, KQED
and Capital Public Radio with support from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the James
Irvine Foundation.
Southern California fires have cost $125 million already and the forecast looks grim – Daily Bulletin
https://www.dailybulletin.com/...tm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_content=tw-ivdailybulletin[11/6/2019 7:18:59 AM]
NEWS
Southern California fires have cost $125 millionalready and the forecast looks grimDry, windy weather is expected to continue through the end of the year
Southern California fires have cost $125 million already and the forecast looks grim – Daily Bulletin
https://www.dailybulletin.com/...tm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_content=tw-ivdailybulletin[11/6/2019 7:18:59 AM]
By JASON HENRY | [email protected] | Pasadena Star NewsPUBLISHED: November 5, 2019 at 6:16 pm | UPDATED: November 5, 2019 at 6:16 pm
Firefighting efforts across Southern California have already cost local, state and federal agenciesmore than $125 million and a reprieve is not expected anytime soon, according to the NationalInteragency Fire Center.
The agency’s Southern California Geographic Coordination Center expects a critically high firepotential in the region over the next few weeks due to a dangerous combination of above-averagetemperatures, strong winds and extremely dry vegetation, according to a seasonal outlook releasedNov. 1.
There also is a high likelihood of below-normal rainfall this winter, the report states.
“This may be a long fall and winter across California for both the firefighting community and the
A house is engulfed in flames as the Saddleridge Fire burns in Porter Ranch Friday morning.(photo by Andy Holzman).
S
D
Southern California fires have cost $125 million already and the forecast looks grim – Daily Bulletin
https://www.dailybulletin.com/...tm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_content=tw-ivdailybulletin[11/6/2019 7:18:59 AM]
general public in terms of coping with the threat of fires,” the outlook states.
Fires ramped up late this year
In 2017 and 2018, California experienced the deadliest and most destructive fires in its history, thanksin part to the lasting damage caused by a drought lasting more than seven years, according to theCalifornia Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. But most of the fires occurred during thesummer months.
Last year, Cal FIRE spent $434 million from its emergency fire suppression fund fighting fires in thefirst two months of the season, and went on to spend an estimated $635 million by the end.
So far, Cal FIRE has spent about a quarter of its emergency fund this year.
That’s largely because this season started out slower and didn’t begin to ramp up until September andOctober, when dry winds began to kick up.
“Relatively speaking, this was a slow fire year across the nation,” said Christine Schuldheisz, aspokesperson for NIFC. “We were below the 10-year average for fires and below the 10-year averagefor acres as well.”
Schuldheisz, however, noted that the Thomas fire, the second largest in California history, started inDecember.
“We’re not out of the year yet,” she said.
How this year compares
M
By
Southern California fires have cost $125 million already and the forecast looks grim – Daily Bulletin
https://www.dailybulletin.com/...tm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_content=tw-ivdailybulletin[11/6/2019 7:18:59 AM]
Roughly 63,000 acres have burned so far in Southern California year-to-date, compared to about200,000 acres by this time last year, according to NIFC.
The comparison doesn’t include the destructive Woolsey Fire near Thousand Oaks, which burnedmore than 1,600 structures and 96,000 acres last November.
In Cal FIRE’s jurisdictions, firefighters are dealing with roughly the same amount of fires in 2018 and2019, but last year’s blazes burned about five times more acreage.
Scott McLean, a spokesman for Cal FIRE, attributed this summer’s less damaging fires to moremoderate weather and an increase in fire preparation. But now, with low humidity and fierce SantaAna winds, the agency is starting to see heavier fires..
“We have to be prepared,” McLean said.
On average, the state agency is seeing fires start earlier than usual and continue later into the year.
Climate change is believed to be the culprit. The length of fire seasons in California has increased by84 days since the 1970s, according to research by LeRoy Westerling, a professor at UC Merced.
What local fires have cost
Los Angeles County has experienced the most costly fires in the region, according to a report byNIFC.
The Saddleridge Fire in the San Fernando Valley in early October is estimated to have cost $29million to suppress. It killed three people, destroyed 24 structures and burned roughly 9,000 acres.
Dry northeast winds fueled the fire early on. The cause is unknown, but it is believed to have startedbeneath a high-voltage power line near the 210 Freeway in Sylmar.
Last week’s Getty Fire, which threatened neighborhoods and is still smoldering on Los Angeles’Westside, has cost nearly $9 million to battle so far. Thirteen structures were destroyed andthousands were forced to evacuate.
The Horseshoe and Tenaja fires in September in Riverside County have racked up costs of more than$2 million and $4 million, respectively.
One of the region’s most destructive, the Sandalwood Fire in Calimesa, destroyed 72 structures andmore than 1,000 acres. It is estimated to have cost $3.1 million to contain, according to NIFC.
Southern California fires have cost $125 million already and the forecast looks grim – Daily Bulletin
https://www.dailybulletin.com/...tm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_content=tw-ivdailybulletin[11/6/2019 7:18:59 AM]
The deadly fire was started by a trash truck dumping a burning load near the 10 Freeway. Santa Anawinds pushed the blaze through the Villa Calimesa Mobile Home Park and forced more than 500residents to evacuate. Three people were killed.
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Jason HenryJason Henry is an investigative reporter with the Southern California News Group. Raised in Ohio, Jasonbegan his career at a suburban daily near Cleveland before moving to California in 2013. He is a self-identified technophile, data nerd and wannabe drone pilot.
Follow Jason Henry @JasonMHenry
Tags: Environment, Saddleridge fire, San Fernando Valley, Sandalwood fire, SoCal Watchdog,Thomas Fire, Top Stories Breeze, Top Stories IVDB, Top Stories LADN, Top Stories LBPT,Top Stories OCR, Top Stories PE, Top Stories PSN, Top Stories RDF, Top Stories SGVT,Top Stories Sun, Top Stories WDN, wildfires, Woolsey Fire
11/6/2019 Opinion: California needs fire towers staffed with lookouts - Los Angeles Times
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2019-11-06/california-lookouts-fire-watchers 1/6
OPINION
Opinion: California needs to restore an effective firefighting tool: Towers staffed withlookouts
The Morton Peak Fire Lookout in the San Bernardino National Forest is sta�ed by volunteer fire watchers, who stepped in as state funding for paid watchersdwindled. (Susan Spano / Los Angeles Times)
By MICHAEL GUERIN
NOV. 6, 20193:01 AM
Even in our technologically advanced age, most reports of fires are called in by observant folks, often using cellphones. The ubiquity
of these devices means an increased ability to detect wildfire more quickly. But a fair portion of California still has poor or no
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11/6/2019 Opinion: California needs fire towers staffed with lookouts - Los Angeles Times
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2019-11-06/california-lookouts-fire-watchers 2/6
cellular coverage. Utilities that shut down power as a wildfire-prevention measure in fire-danger zones also render cellphones in
many areas unusable as cell towers lose power.
And as crowded as California can seem, large areas of the state are relatively unpopulated, not dense with residents or hikers who
might quickly report a fire. Yet a key firefighting tool that existed in the pre-cellphone era is missing — watchers who were paid to
scan the horizon for fires.
At one point, there were more than 9,000 lookout towers in the United States, placed atop hills and mountains where individuals —
also referred to as lookouts — worked alone each summer to watch for and report fires. They were adept at recognizing a tiny puff of
color against the backdrop of trees, hills or brush for what it can be — the start of what may be the next big fire. An estimated 500
are still staffed across the nation.
California once had about 600 such towers, under federal, state and local control, scattered around forest and wildland ridges and
high points, placed specifically for the broad field of view each site afforded. In the Angeles National Forest and surrounding county
wildland areas, 24 lookouts watched for our safety.
The state alone employed watchers in as many as 77 towers at one time. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
now operates 38 towers, and they are only staffed by employees on occasion. None of these is in Southern California.
In the 1970s and 1980s, there was a growing belief that air pollution had decreased visibility at some sites, and the creep of suburbia
and population into the hills and valleys made these watchers seem less necessary. Then there were the cost savings, however
modest.
To help address California’s 2003 budget shortfall, the agency that became Cal Fire offered up the remaining state lookout staffing
for a whopping saving of $750,000. By then most towers in the southern national forests and those operated locally by counties or
Cal Fire were gone, repurposed or used as museum pieces.
Today, the U.S. Forest Service mainly hires lookouts for towers in its far northern forests.
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11/6/2019 Opinion: California needs fire towers staffed with lookouts - Los Angeles Times
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2019-11-06/california-lookouts-fire-watchers 3/6
Enter the volunteers, including me. Each summer day we staff 11 towers in the Angeles, Cleveland and San Bernardino national
forests. Volunteers also watch from at least 16 Forest Service and Cal Fire towers in Central and Northern California.
We spend thousands of hours each fire season watching over the wildland — and the wildland-urban interface in which many of us
live. We constantly scan the landscape with binoculars, watchful humans in constant touch with the dispatcher who can
immediately send in the firefighting cavalry. As I scan for “smokes” I often gaze at the peaks that used to have staffed towers, and
calculate how much more land we watchers could help protect.
Given our increasingly devastating fire seasons in California, the state should consider reintroducing a wider system of lookout
towers, staffed by both paid personnel and volunteers. While budgets may be stretched, staffing an existing tower is not
prohibitively expensive.
U.S. Forest Service seasonal lookouts make about $16,000 per summer. By comparison, the valuable Boeing 747 Air Tanker often
seen dropping water and fire-retardant substances on California’s devastating fires costs $16,500 an hour to operate.
Many states have ended their lookout programs, but Pennsylvania decided to refurbish its lookout towers and invest in new ones.
The state recently built 16 new towers for $6 million, each to be staffed during periods of high danger.
Other detection technologies such as satellite and automated camera systems that might sense a smoke plume could be vital in
detecting these seemingly endless fires. But the technology is not infallible.
For instance, the fire-detection camera that may have been closest to the origin of last year’s deadly and destructive Camp fire in
Northern California’s Butte County might have been able to provide an early alert, but its alarm had been turned off as a result of
many false alarms, according to news reports.
Few first reports of fires come from cameras, a Cal Fire spokesman said. They are most often used to monitor fires already reported.
Volunteers from the Forest Fire Lookout Assn. are working with researchers to refine these capabilities, and California Gov. Gavin
Newsom has allocated $1.6 million for a prototype system for satellite-based detection.
Lookouts and their towers should not be regarded as a sentimental anachronism. They are a critical tool awaiting California’s
renewed investment — and might help reduce the state’s fire-suppression costs, which reached $635 million during the 2018-19
fiscal year.
Automation may get to a point where it can more easily detect small fires, but it is not there yet. We still need to rely on old-
fashioned human lookouts who are trained to “catch them small.”
Michael Guerin had a 38-year career in public safety and emergency management. He chaired the state panel that made fire
service and emergency management recommendations after the 1991 Oakland Hills firestorm.
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