About 110 passengers were evacuated from a Metrolink train headed from Riverside to Los Angeles after the train struck a car lodged on the tracks near Glen Avon this morning.
Police are searching for two men who were seen pushing a Toyota Corolla eastbound on Jurupa Road across the tracks shortly after 7 a.m. The two men fled the scene when the train arrived, said California Highway Patrol officer Miguel Guerrero.
The passenger side of the car became lodged under underneath the front of the train.
California Highway Patrol officers, Union Pacific police and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Metrolink division are investigating the crash.
Trains are continuing to travel along an adjacent track.
About 50 of the passengers were put on a bus that returned to Riverside. The rest continued to LA on aboard a second train that was brought to the site.
The two who abandoned the car could face hit-and-run charges, said CHP Sgt. Taylor Cooper.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
'Good Morning America' to broadcast from Mission Inn
Sam Champion, the weather reporter for ABC-TV's "Good Morning America," will broadcast live Friday from Riverside's Mission Inn from 4 to 6 a.m.
The broadcast will be shown taped in the Pacific time zone starting at 7 a.m.
The show will celebrate the Inn's 15th annual Festival of Lights and will be part of the weeklong series "Good Morning America Lights Up the Holidays."
The show broadcasts to about 7.5 million viewers every day. The anchors in New York will break away occasionally throughout the two hours to come back to Riverside for Champion's weather updates and stories on the city, including a live lighting of the festival lights.
Mission Inn Avenue, between Main and Orange streets, will be closed off during the pre-dawn broadcast hours.
Free regular coffee will be given out by the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf from 3:30 to 6 a.m., and the city will provide cinnamon rolls and reusable "green bags" to the first 200 to arrive.
-->
The broadcast will be shown taped in the Pacific time zone starting at 7 a.m.
The show will celebrate the Inn's 15th annual Festival of Lights and will be part of the weeklong series "Good Morning America Lights Up the Holidays."
The show broadcasts to about 7.5 million viewers every day. The anchors in New York will break away occasionally throughout the two hours to come back to Riverside for Champion's weather updates and stories on the city, including a live lighting of the festival lights.
Mission Inn Avenue, between Main and Orange streets, will be closed off during the pre-dawn broadcast hours.
Free regular coffee will be given out by the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf from 3:30 to 6 a.m., and the city will provide cinnamon rolls and reusable "green bags" to the first 200 to arrive.
-->
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
UPDATE
UPDATE: Man wanted in hit-and-run of pedestrian
Authorities are searching for the driver of a grey pickup who intentionally tried to run over a pedestrian and then fled the scene in Glen Avlon, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Paramedics are treating the victim for what appear to be major injuries, the CHP reported.
The incident occurred at Bellegrade and Union avenues.
Authorities are searching for the driver of a grey pickup who intentionally tried to run over a pedestrian and then fled the scene in Glen Avlon, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Paramedics are treating the victim for what appear to be major injuries, the CHP reported.
The incident occurred at Bellegrade and Union avenues.
Pedestrian hit by truck in Glen Avon
JUST IN: Pedestrian hit by truck in Glen Avon
A pedestrian was hit by a pickup truck this afternoon in Glen Avon, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The pedestrian was walking at Union Street and Bellegrave Avenue when they were struck by a grey Chevrolet pickup at about 1 p.m.
There is no word on the extent of any injuries.
CHP and paramedics are still responding to the scene.
A pedestrian was hit by a pickup truck this afternoon in Glen Avon, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The pedestrian was walking at Union Street and Bellegrave Avenue when they were struck by a grey Chevrolet pickup at about 1 p.m.
There is no word on the extent of any injuries.
CHP and paramedics are still responding to the scene.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Good News For Crackheads ?
Lowered crack terms could free 20,000 early
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. Sentencing Commission is considering retroactive changes that could mean shortened sentences for nearly 20,000 federal prisoners convicted of crack cocaine related offenses.
The commission heard Tuesday from a federal judge and advocacy groups who favor making the change retroactive, and from the Justice Department and others who oppose it.
Guidelines that went into effect November 1 already have reduced the disparity between sentences for crack possession convictions and convictions for possessing cocaine in powder form.
Before the changes, a criminal found guilty of having one gram of crack cocaine would receive the same penalty as someone with 100 grams of the powder version.
Advocates for the sentencing change long have argued that disparity especially hurts African-Americans. Depending on various factors, the new guidelines will shorten sentences for crack cocaine by about 25 percent. Watch the both sides make impassioned pleas »
Making the change retroactive would affect an estimated 19,500 prisoners. If the commission approves it soon, about 2,500 prisoners could go free within a year.
So far the commission has received about 33,000 written comments regarding its proposal. There is no set timetable for action.
If the proposal is approved, a judge would examine each eligible prisoner's case. The judge would decide -- based on factors such as the defendant's history and the circumstances of the arrest -- whether to cut the sentence and by how much.
"To those in our society who sometimes believe that our society really doesn't care about them, I think it's important that we send a message that we do," U.S. District Court Judge Reggie Walton said in his testimony. "While we're not going to tolerate aberrant behavior on the part of anybody ... we're going to treat everybody who comes into our court of law equally."
He added, "I do think that fundamental fairness in the end has to control the decision and should dictate whether this becomes retroactive or not."
The Justice Department argued that releasing that many prisoners years earlier than planned could have a dramatic impact on society, especially at a time when rates of violent crime have risen in many parts of the nation.
"I am concerned that if indeed you make the penalties retroactive with regard to the changes in guidelines, that we are going to see an influx of the very people who are most likely to re-offend and are most likely to upset these fragile neighborhoods," said Gretchen Shappert, U.S. attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
She told the commission that the impact on communities would be "swift" and "sudden" if the changes were made retroactively.
Commissioner Ruben Castillo responded that judges would be expected to use their discretion and to take into account such factors as a defendant's violent history when deciding how to proceed.
Attending the session were at least a dozen families whose relatives could be released early if the commission votes for the proposal.
Karen Garrison, whose twin sons are serving sentences of more than 15 years for crack cocaine possession, told CNN she is hopeful the commission will act.
"I try not to be frustrated because I can't concentrate," she said. "I won't be able to hear the things I need to hear to understand what is going on," she added. "And if I get frustrated it goes into being anxious, maybe even a little bit angry and I can't give in to those things."
Her sons, who have continually vowed they are not guilty, could see their sentences reduced by several years.
"I don't feel anything at this point," Garrison said. "It is like waiting and see. I have been doing that for almost 10 years, just waiting and see."
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. Sentencing Commission is considering retroactive changes that could mean shortened sentences for nearly 20,000 federal prisoners convicted of crack cocaine related offenses.
The commission heard Tuesday from a federal judge and advocacy groups who favor making the change retroactive, and from the Justice Department and others who oppose it.
Guidelines that went into effect November 1 already have reduced the disparity between sentences for crack possession convictions and convictions for possessing cocaine in powder form.
Before the changes, a criminal found guilty of having one gram of crack cocaine would receive the same penalty as someone with 100 grams of the powder version.
Advocates for the sentencing change long have argued that disparity especially hurts African-Americans. Depending on various factors, the new guidelines will shorten sentences for crack cocaine by about 25 percent. Watch the both sides make impassioned pleas »
Making the change retroactive would affect an estimated 19,500 prisoners. If the commission approves it soon, about 2,500 prisoners could go free within a year.
So far the commission has received about 33,000 written comments regarding its proposal. There is no set timetable for action.
If the proposal is approved, a judge would examine each eligible prisoner's case. The judge would decide -- based on factors such as the defendant's history and the circumstances of the arrest -- whether to cut the sentence and by how much.
"To those in our society who sometimes believe that our society really doesn't care about them, I think it's important that we send a message that we do," U.S. District Court Judge Reggie Walton said in his testimony. "While we're not going to tolerate aberrant behavior on the part of anybody ... we're going to treat everybody who comes into our court of law equally."
He added, "I do think that fundamental fairness in the end has to control the decision and should dictate whether this becomes retroactive or not."
The Justice Department argued that releasing that many prisoners years earlier than planned could have a dramatic impact on society, especially at a time when rates of violent crime have risen in many parts of the nation.
"I am concerned that if indeed you make the penalties retroactive with regard to the changes in guidelines, that we are going to see an influx of the very people who are most likely to re-offend and are most likely to upset these fragile neighborhoods," said Gretchen Shappert, U.S. attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
She told the commission that the impact on communities would be "swift" and "sudden" if the changes were made retroactively.
Commissioner Ruben Castillo responded that judges would be expected to use their discretion and to take into account such factors as a defendant's violent history when deciding how to proceed.
Attending the session were at least a dozen families whose relatives could be released early if the commission votes for the proposal.
Karen Garrison, whose twin sons are serving sentences of more than 15 years for crack cocaine possession, told CNN she is hopeful the commission will act.
"I try not to be frustrated because I can't concentrate," she said. "I won't be able to hear the things I need to hear to understand what is going on," she added. "And if I get frustrated it goes into being anxious, maybe even a little bit angry and I can't give in to those things."
Her sons, who have continually vowed they are not guilty, could see their sentences reduced by several years.
"I don't feel anything at this point," Garrison said. "It is like waiting and see. I have been doing that for almost 10 years, just waiting and see."
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Mira Loma residents against warehouses (and jobs)
Mira Loma residents against warehouses
Community feels ignored
By Andrea Bennett, Staff Writer
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MIRA LOMA -- Members of a small, mostly Latino community in Mira Loma, who say they are tired of being ignored by Riverside County officials, unveiled two banners Wednesday to present their statement loud and clear: No more warehouses.
Already amid heavy diesel truck traffic and polluted air, the 101-home community objected to six more warehouses proposed next to a neighborhood already saturated with such facilities. When a petition presented to the Board of Supervisors and the Planning Commission on June 27 and later a letter requesting a response from the county went ignored, residents attempted to voice their opposition in a visual way.
Residents placed the banners on two of the houses at the entrance to the neighborhood just east of Etiwanda Avenue and north of the 60 Freeway.
"The community hopes to finally get some response from the county," said Claudia Mendez of the Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice, which helped the residents organize. "To express concern and get absolutely no response is really insulting, and the county should realize this is important to them and they are not to be ignored."
Residents, who thought they had squashed plans for the development after a protest in October, expressed frustration at being poorly informed of the proposal's return. The county mailed notices of the proposal to homes in the Mira
Loma Village. As most residents predominantly speak only Spanish, few residents were aware the project was still pending when advocates from the CCAEJ came knocking on their doors four months ago.
"The majority of residents told us they were already fed up with the pollution and traffic," Mendez said. "Four out of the six are megawarehouses and the other two are smaller commercial buildings, and they will be abutting the houses with just a brick wall between the homes and the warehouses. There's no buffer zone. They're right up against the homes."
The organization found, in recent research from a USC Asthma Study, that more than 800 trucks pass along major streets adjacent to the neighborhood each hour, Mendez said. Pollution levels at the location were measured at up to 156,000 particles per cubic centimeter, according to a CCAEJ press release.
"The particulate pollution increases the rate of asthma, lung and respiratory illnesses, and even mental health issues when small children or pregnant mothers are breathing it," Mendez said. "Etiwanda (Avenue) is already inundated with trucks, the traffic is ridiculous and the homes are already surrounded a sea of warehouses." Edgar Rojas, community organizer with CCAEJ, said the community is already suffering the effects of such pollution, though no official study was conducted.
"We know of several families who have kids with asthma and children with their lungs damaged. In the future, we are going to conduct a survey," Rojas said. "The level of pollution in our community does not correspond with the level of pollution where the supervisors live. They live in very clean areas."
Laura Borrayo said her two daughters, ages 3 and 5, have been impacted the pollution. "My girls don't grow up playing in the backyard like other little kids because every day there is black soot in my yard from diesel emissions," she said through a translator. "My older daughter has twice been diagnosed with the beginnings of asthma and they provided her with a breathing machine, and she is only 5."
Borrayo said she is convinced that her daughter's developmental disability, that of two children next door to her, and other children on her street, are linked to the pollution surrounding her home of seven years.
Charles Lanathoua said more warehouses will mean more trucks and more pollution for his home of 32 years.
"The pollution is terrible here from the trucks and the smoke, and many kids and elderly people are living here," he said. "We even have to clean the clotheslines before we can put clothes to dry here."
Six block leaders representing the entire community on June 27 presented a 176-signature petition to the county requesting that officials not move forward with the proposal to build the warehouses, Mendez said.
Mendez said the petition, letters and phone calls have gone unanswered for months.
Second District Supervisor John Tavaglione's office said the supervisor was out of town and unable to comment on the concerns of Mira Loma Village residents.
Rojas said the banners, for which many residents donated $1 to $20 to make, will likely be followed other actions of protest until the community receives some indication that their voices are heard from county officials and representatives. "When they don't respond, it is as if they are saying we are not important," Rojas said. "We will probably protest at other levels of government because we are not happy with no response."
Community feels ignored
By Andrea Bennett, Staff Writer
var requestedWidth = 0;
MIRA LOMA -- Members of a small, mostly Latino community in Mira Loma, who say they are tired of being ignored by Riverside County officials, unveiled two banners Wednesday to present their statement loud and clear: No more warehouses.
Already amid heavy diesel truck traffic and polluted air, the 101-home community objected to six more warehouses proposed next to a neighborhood already saturated with such facilities. When a petition presented to the Board of Supervisors and the Planning Commission on June 27 and later a letter requesting a response from the county went ignored, residents attempted to voice their opposition in a visual way.
Residents placed the banners on two of the houses at the entrance to the neighborhood just east of Etiwanda Avenue and north of the 60 Freeway.
"The community hopes to finally get some response from the county," said Claudia Mendez of the Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice, which helped the residents organize. "To express concern and get absolutely no response is really insulting, and the county should realize this is important to them and they are not to be ignored."
Residents, who thought they had squashed plans for the development after a protest in October, expressed frustration at being poorly informed of the proposal's return. The county mailed notices of the proposal to homes in the Mira
Loma Village. As most residents predominantly speak only Spanish, few residents were aware the project was still pending when advocates from the CCAEJ came knocking on their doors four months ago.
"The majority of residents told us they were already fed up with the pollution and traffic," Mendez said. "Four out of the six are megawarehouses and the other two are smaller commercial buildings, and they will be abutting the houses with just a brick wall between the homes and the warehouses. There's no buffer zone. They're right up against the homes."
The organization found, in recent research from a USC Asthma Study, that more than 800 trucks pass along major streets adjacent to the neighborhood each hour, Mendez said. Pollution levels at the location were measured at up to 156,000 particles per cubic centimeter, according to a CCAEJ press release.
"The particulate pollution increases the rate of asthma, lung and respiratory illnesses, and even mental health issues when small children or pregnant mothers are breathing it," Mendez said. "Etiwanda (Avenue) is already inundated with trucks, the traffic is ridiculous and the homes are already surrounded a sea of warehouses." Edgar Rojas, community organizer with CCAEJ, said the community is already suffering the effects of such pollution, though no official study was conducted.
"We know of several families who have kids with asthma and children with their lungs damaged. In the future, we are going to conduct a survey," Rojas said. "The level of pollution in our community does not correspond with the level of pollution where the supervisors live. They live in very clean areas."
Laura Borrayo said her two daughters, ages 3 and 5, have been impacted the pollution. "My girls don't grow up playing in the backyard like other little kids because every day there is black soot in my yard from diesel emissions," she said through a translator. "My older daughter has twice been diagnosed with the beginnings of asthma and they provided her with a breathing machine, and she is only 5."
Borrayo said she is convinced that her daughter's developmental disability, that of two children next door to her, and other children on her street, are linked to the pollution surrounding her home of seven years.
Charles Lanathoua said more warehouses will mean more trucks and more pollution for his home of 32 years.
"The pollution is terrible here from the trucks and the smoke, and many kids and elderly people are living here," he said. "We even have to clean the clotheslines before we can put clothes to dry here."
Six block leaders representing the entire community on June 27 presented a 176-signature petition to the county requesting that officials not move forward with the proposal to build the warehouses, Mendez said.
Mendez said the petition, letters and phone calls have gone unanswered for months.
Second District Supervisor John Tavaglione's office said the supervisor was out of town and unable to comment on the concerns of Mira Loma Village residents.
Rojas said the banners, for which many residents donated $1 to $20 to make, will likely be followed other actions of protest until the community receives some indication that their voices are heard from county officials and representatives. "When they don't respond, it is as if they are saying we are not important," Rojas said. "We will probably protest at other levels of government because we are not happy with no response."
Your Local Tax Dollars At Work
Jurupa services district plans lavish galas amid $5 million shortfall
11:32 PM PST on Monday, November 12, 2007
By SANDRA STOKLEYThe Press-Enterprise
MIRA LOMA - The Jurupa Community Services District board of directors is poised to approve $21,000 for parties, including a $10,000 fete at a Jurupa-area country club for retiring directors Paul Hamrick and James Huber.
Tonight's expected action comes in the wake of news that the district is faced with a $5 million shortfall in its 2007-08 fiscal year budget.
Last month, in an effort to stave off future deficits, board members voted a substantial rate increase that will more than double customers' water bills over the next four years.
In addition to the retirement celebration, the district plans to spend $3,500 to buy Thanksgiving turkeys for its 86 employees -- $40 apiece -- and $7,500 for a holiday party for employees and spouses, also at a local country club.
At a local Stater Bros., a 20-pound turkey could be bought for $7.80 to $19.80.
The district provides water and sewer service to residents of Eastvale, Pedley, Glen Avon, Sunnyslope and parts of Mira Loma. All are unincorporated communities in western Riverside County.
Eldon Horst, the district's general manager, said he is sympathetic to concerns, but he added that the turkey giveaway and holiday party are district traditions and the retirement party would honor Huber's and Hamrick's decades of service to the district.
"Mr. Hamrick and Mr. Huber have a long career of service, and recognition for them seems appropriate," Horst said.
Board member R.M. "Cook" Barela called the proposed expenditures "irresponsible" in light of the budget deficit and rate increase.
"How will a 65- or 67-year-old on a fixed income feel about all this when they are facing a rate increase?" Barela asked.
Huber declined to comment.
Board President Kenneth McLaughlin, director Jack Smith and Hamrick did not return messages seeking comment.
Incoming director Kathryn Bogart said it is not the district's responsibility throw a retirement party for Huber and Hamrick because they are elected officials.
"I have no problem with them having a party, but not at the district's expense," Bogart said.
11:32 PM PST on Monday, November 12, 2007
By SANDRA STOKLEYThe Press-Enterprise
MIRA LOMA - The Jurupa Community Services District board of directors is poised to approve $21,000 for parties, including a $10,000 fete at a Jurupa-area country club for retiring directors Paul Hamrick and James Huber.
Tonight's expected action comes in the wake of news that the district is faced with a $5 million shortfall in its 2007-08 fiscal year budget.
Last month, in an effort to stave off future deficits, board members voted a substantial rate increase that will more than double customers' water bills over the next four years.
In addition to the retirement celebration, the district plans to spend $3,500 to buy Thanksgiving turkeys for its 86 employees -- $40 apiece -- and $7,500 for a holiday party for employees and spouses, also at a local country club.
At a local Stater Bros., a 20-pound turkey could be bought for $7.80 to $19.80.
The district provides water and sewer service to residents of Eastvale, Pedley, Glen Avon, Sunnyslope and parts of Mira Loma. All are unincorporated communities in western Riverside County.
Eldon Horst, the district's general manager, said he is sympathetic to concerns, but he added that the turkey giveaway and holiday party are district traditions and the retirement party would honor Huber's and Hamrick's decades of service to the district.
"Mr. Hamrick and Mr. Huber have a long career of service, and recognition for them seems appropriate," Horst said.
Board member R.M. "Cook" Barela called the proposed expenditures "irresponsible" in light of the budget deficit and rate increase.
"How will a 65- or 67-year-old on a fixed income feel about all this when they are facing a rate increase?" Barela asked.
Huber declined to comment.
Board President Kenneth McLaughlin, director Jack Smith and Hamrick did not return messages seeking comment.
Incoming director Kathryn Bogart said it is not the district's responsibility throw a retirement party for Huber and Hamrick because they are elected officials.
"I have no problem with them having a party, but not at the district's expense," Bogart said.
Monday, November 12, 2007
Seven arrested in illegal CD raid in Mira Loma
Seven people were arrested Sunday at a warehouse in Mira Loma in one of the biggest illegal CD busts in Riverside County history, according to the district attorney's office.
Investigators from the Riverside County district attorney's office and the Recording Industry Association of America raided the warehouse stacked with more than 100,000 pirated CDs worth about $1.4 million, said Senior Investigator Scott Michaels, of the district attorney's office.
Rodolfo Reyes and Javier Mora, both of Fontana, Miguel Robles, Javier Flores, Ruben Gonzalez and Felipe Olivares, all of Bell Gardens, and Gerardo Ibanez, of Los Angeles, face five years in prison on charges of possessing more than 100 illegal CDs for sale. Most were Latin music titles.
The defendants would package the CDs at the warehouse at 10427 San Sevaine Way and sell them to vendors for street fairs and markets in Southern California for $7 to $20, Michaels said.
The investigator said the illegal CDs look similar to legal CDs, but some have extra music.
Michaels said more arrests will be made in relation to this organization.
"This group is definitely part of a larger organized crime organization," Michaels said.
Similar to illegal drugs, Michaels said the production and sale of pirated CDs is part of a web of other crimes including street-level gang members who may force a tax on the sellers.
Brad Buckles, the executive vice president against piracy for the Recording Industry Association of America, said in a news release that these arrests "help protect the economic health of local music retailers and the continuing flow of important tax revenue."
Anyone with information about other counterfeit merchandise can call Michaels at 951-955-5430.
Investigators from the Riverside County district attorney's office and the Recording Industry Association of America raided the warehouse stacked with more than 100,000 pirated CDs worth about $1.4 million, said Senior Investigator Scott Michaels, of the district attorney's office.
Rodolfo Reyes and Javier Mora, both of Fontana, Miguel Robles, Javier Flores, Ruben Gonzalez and Felipe Olivares, all of Bell Gardens, and Gerardo Ibanez, of Los Angeles, face five years in prison on charges of possessing more than 100 illegal CDs for sale. Most were Latin music titles.
The defendants would package the CDs at the warehouse at 10427 San Sevaine Way and sell them to vendors for street fairs and markets in Southern California for $7 to $20, Michaels said.
The investigator said the illegal CDs look similar to legal CDs, but some have extra music.
Michaels said more arrests will be made in relation to this organization.
"This group is definitely part of a larger organized crime organization," Michaels said.
Similar to illegal drugs, Michaels said the production and sale of pirated CDs is part of a web of other crimes including street-level gang members who may force a tax on the sellers.
Brad Buckles, the executive vice president against piracy for the Recording Industry Association of America, said in a news release that these arrests "help protect the economic health of local music retailers and the continuing flow of important tax revenue."
Anyone with information about other counterfeit merchandise can call Michaels at 951-955-5430.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Bacon Appetizer Crescents
Bacon Appetizer Crescents
Recipe courtesy of Kraft Foods
Prep Time: 30 min
Total Time: 45 min
Makes: 8 doz. or 24 servings, four crescents each
1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
8 slices OSCAR MAYER Bacon, crisply cooked, crumbled
1/3 cup KRAFT 100% Grated Parmesan Cheese
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
1 Tbsp. milk
2 cans (8 oz. each) refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
Preheat oven to 375 °F. Mix cream cheese, bacon, Parmesan cheese, onions, parsley and milk until well blended; set aside. Separate each can of dough into four rectangles; firmly press perforations together to seal. Spread each rectangle with 2 rounded tablespoonfuls of the cream cheese mixture. Cut each rectangle into 12 wedges. Roll up wedges, starting at short ends. Place, seam-sides down, on greased baking sheet. Bake 12 to 15 min. or until golden brown. Serve warm.
Cate’s Notes: We didn’t get quite as fiddly in the assembly, nixing the crescent shape. We just stuffed and rolled. Nice and easy.
KRAFT KITCHENS TIPS
Substitute
Prepare as directed, using PHILADELPHIA Neufchatel Cheese, 1/3 Less Fat than Cream Cheese.
Jazz It Up
Sprinkle lightly with poppy seed before baking.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
High winds expected to roll in today
It is windy as hell this morning!!!
High winds expected to roll in today
By MELISSA EISELEIN
The Press-Enterprise
High winds are forecast to hit the Inland area today with 80 mph gusts that could topple big rigs and reduce visibility, according to the National Weather Service.
High-wind warnings are in effect through 6 p.m. today. Dry weather and winds also prompted the National Weather Service to issue red flag warnings through Tuesday, said National Weather Service meteorologist Mike Lavis, who is based in San Diego.
Sustained winds of 25 to 40 mph today could reduce visibility to zero and overturn big rigs, especially in the Cajon Pass and other pass areas along interstates 15 and 10, Lavis said.
California Department of Forestry units in Riverside and San Bernardino counties have put a special staffing pattern into effect. All members of hand crew units are working in both counties, officials said. In Riverside, a 24-hour bulldozer staff and an extra air tanker are also in place, said fire Capt. Julie Hutchinson.
Hutchinson cautions people to use extra care when disposing of cigarette butts and riding motorcycles in brushy areas during the red-flag warning.
"People need to use caution. No open fires and they should be on the lookout for smoke and report it as soon as possible," Hutchinson said.
High winds expected to roll in today
By MELISSA EISELEIN
The Press-Enterprise
High winds are forecast to hit the Inland area today with 80 mph gusts that could topple big rigs and reduce visibility, according to the National Weather Service.
High-wind warnings are in effect through 6 p.m. today. Dry weather and winds also prompted the National Weather Service to issue red flag warnings through Tuesday, said National Weather Service meteorologist Mike Lavis, who is based in San Diego.
Sustained winds of 25 to 40 mph today could reduce visibility to zero and overturn big rigs, especially in the Cajon Pass and other pass areas along interstates 15 and 10, Lavis said.
California Department of Forestry units in Riverside and San Bernardino counties have put a special staffing pattern into effect. All members of hand crew units are working in both counties, officials said. In Riverside, a 24-hour bulldozer staff and an extra air tanker are also in place, said fire Capt. Julie Hutchinson.
Hutchinson cautions people to use extra care when disposing of cigarette butts and riding motorcycles in brushy areas during the red-flag warning.
"People need to use caution. No open fires and they should be on the lookout for smoke and report it as soon as possible," Hutchinson said.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
This is Jurupa, Not Tiajuana
Women arrested in Eastvale sweep of food vendors
10:00 PM PDT on Monday, October 15, 2007
City News Service
EASTVALE - Two women were arrested on suspicion of violating state and local health and safety regulations during a crackdown on illegal fiestas, authorities said Monday.
Beatriz Hernandez-Garcia, 33, of Eastvale, and Silvia Coronel, 54, of La Puente, were arrested Monday morning during a sweep of unincorporated communities near Riverside by members of the Inland Valley Task Force, according to the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.
The task force conducted the operation to shut down what authorities said were unlicensed and unsanitary swap meet-type outdoor vending businesses, the sheriff's department reported.
The Sheriff's Department says such fiestas pose a health threat to the public because "food vendors (are) selling food and dairy products that have not been inspected."
Garcia was arrested on suspicion of using false documents, manufacturing and selling dairy products without a license and operating a motor vehicle without a license.
Coronel was booked on suspicion of conspiracy to commit a crime, violating probation, as well as multiple violations of the Food and Agriculture Code.
Coronel was being held in lieu of $35,000 bail. No bail information was available for Garcia. -- City News Service
10:00 PM PDT on Monday, October 15, 2007
City News Service
EASTVALE - Two women were arrested on suspicion of violating state and local health and safety regulations during a crackdown on illegal fiestas, authorities said Monday.
Beatriz Hernandez-Garcia, 33, of Eastvale, and Silvia Coronel, 54, of La Puente, were arrested Monday morning during a sweep of unincorporated communities near Riverside by members of the Inland Valley Task Force, according to the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.
The task force conducted the operation to shut down what authorities said were unlicensed and unsanitary swap meet-type outdoor vending businesses, the sheriff's department reported.
The Sheriff's Department says such fiestas pose a health threat to the public because "food vendors (are) selling food and dairy products that have not been inspected."
Garcia was arrested on suspicion of using false documents, manufacturing and selling dairy products without a license and operating a motor vehicle without a license.
Coronel was booked on suspicion of conspiracy to commit a crime, violating probation, as well as multiple violations of the Food and Agriculture Code.
Coronel was being held in lieu of $35,000 bail. No bail information was available for Garcia. -- City News Service
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Things a Man Should Know About Drinking
Things a Man Should Know About Drinking
1. There is no such thing as a chocolate martini.
2. There is no shame in club soda and cranberry juice.
3. There is a reason for the scarcity of piano bars.
4. Visiting the pub will be cheaper in the long run if you tip the bartender regularly and more generously than is necessary.
5. Never order a frozen drink in a place that serves pickled eggs.
6. Actually, never order a frozen drink.
7. It's also not a bad idea to eschew the pickled pigs' feet, although their presence is fairly strong evidence that you've accidentally stumbled upon a real tavern.
8. For the sake of the children, leave the pistol at home.
9. Champagne is a place. Bordeaux is a place. Champale is not a place.
10. Grappa is to lighter fluid as ouzo is to lighter fluid.
11. Garnish matters.
12. Despite a high ratio of female clientele, an insouciant way with fried mozzarella, and their prevalence in resort towns, establishments where a waitress pours shots into your mouth from a bottle she holsters in a bandolier are fraught with peril.
13. When throwing a party, break the seals on all liquor bottles, lest guests should hesitate to open them and come to doubt your hospitality.
14. Better yet: Hire a bartender.
15. The perfect manhattan: two parts bourbon, one part sweet vermouth, bitters, and a splash of cherry juice. Over rocks or not.
16. At the holiday office party, consume one drink less than your boss.
17. Adopt a new favorite cocktail on a seasonal basis.
18. That sangria means "bloodletting" is more a cautionary note than a simple fact.
19. Dry martinis, being nothing but gin, aren't all they're cracked up to be.
20. If you still want a martini, know that you cannot actually bruise gin, so go ahead and shake.
21. On the other hand, shaking introduces air bubbles that make the martini look cloudy for a time, so stir, already, if you're so particular.
22. Drinks that give you bad breath: beer, anything sweet, anything with milk.
23. Drinks that give you good breath: gin and tonic, gimlet, vodka and cranberry, anything with citrus.
24. Instead of ordering that shot of After Shock to cap off the evening, one could just walk calmly into the street, lie down, and wait.
25. Alternatively, you could pinch the bouncer's ass.
26. Every man should know how to make at least one drink from a foreign country, preferably one taught to him by a local female with whom he has had a complicated, unresolved, and quite possibly dangerous dalliance.
27. The perfect negroni: four parts gin, one part sweet vermouth, and one part Campad shaken with ice and strained. Orange peel.
28. Citrus cocktails benefit greatly from rubbing lemon peel around the rim of the glass.
29. Jack Daniel's. Rocks.
30. Fresh orange juice. Fresh lemon juice. Fresh lime juice.
31. The perfect margarita: one part fresh lime juice, one part Cointreau, and one and a half parts tequila over ice.
32. On those chrome, hourglass-shaped bar measuring cups, the big side is the jigger. The little side is the pony. Never use the pony.
33. If you must: single-malt Scotch in a brandy snifter with a splash of water.
34. Avoid bars that use plastic cups, bars whose bathrooms consist solely of a trough-style urinal, bars with chicken wire protecting the band, bars where Patrick Swayze is the bouncer.
35. There is rarely any genuine need to shout "Skal!" "Na zdorovye!" "Slainte!" "Bottoms up!" or "Down the hatch!"
36. No one but the bouncer cares how tough you are, and he already knows you're not that tough.
37. A thought for the holidays: Gift wine should not be recognizable as having come from a grocery store.
38. Gift wine, being a gift, is not for tonight's party. Unless the host opens it.
39. Decent wine costs 15 dollars. Good wine costs 35 dollars. Nobody can tell the difference.
40. Never drink in a place that calls itself an eatery.
41. The cosmopolitan is over.
42. Rye isn't as popular as it used to be.
43. The perfect highball: one part rye to three parts ginger ale over Ice.
44. There is no upside to karaoke.
45. There is an ever-so-slight upside to a wet-T-Shirt contest, as long as you're not in it.
46. It is not necessary to request premium liquor for a mixed drink in which you cannot taste it, such as a gimlet or sour.
47. On the other hand, ascertain exactly how nonpremium the "well" liquor is before you opt against the good stuff.
48. Sitting at the bar works only for two people. Three or more requires a table.
49. Always check your fly before leaving the john.
50. If you were sitting in the john, make sure your wallet did not fall onto the floor.
51. Try to take care of the sitting thing at home.
52. Never utter the words I and love and you if you've had more than three drinks.
53. If you're a lightweight, make that one drink.
54. The perfect Shirley Temple: ginger ale over ice to fill a wineglass, splash grenadine, orange slice, lemon twist, cherry.
55. If a bartender makes you flail your arms or beg for service, well, obviously, leave.
56. Don't call the bartender Barkeep, Chief, Buddy, or Ace, unless his actual name, in fact, is Barkeep, Chief, Buddy, or Ace.
57. Even if you have ascertained your bartender's name, behaving overly familiar with him will be seen as a pathetic gambit for free drinks or, worse, proof that you have nobody to go to for affection other than a random service-industry professional who does not, in fact, know you and just wants your money.
58. Once you've fallen off a stool, there is little you can say to the bartender that will change his mind about asking you to leave.
59. Don't eat the worm.
60. If you don't smoke and you're in a bar, don't complain about other people who happen to be smoking, because, virtuous friend, you are in a bar.
61. Instead of trying to remember whether it's "beer before liquor" or the other way around, just be an adult and stick to one or the other.
62. Acceptable drinks for men: beer, wine, whiskey, cocktails that are neither sweet nor made with dairy or fruit other than lime or lemon or orange.
63. Acceptable drinks for women: whatever they want, except a certain few.
64. A certain few: the grasshopper, the Long Island iced tea, the pink lady, and any variety of spritzer.
65. Also unacceptable: drinks whose names mimic critical medical conditions or copulative acts and their secretions.
66. And while we're on the subject, drinks that are named after supposedly cute body parts, like navels, which are actually disgusting repositories for sebaceous grime: No.
67. All of that said, never question a woman's drink choice.
68. If you're the first in the group to arrive and you start a tab on your card, you deserve exactly what's coming to you.
69. Campari shaken with ice and strained into a martini glass.
70. Unless you are lounging on the Promenade Deck, do not drink from a fruit.
71. The perfect martini: There is no such thing as the perfect martini. Make it the way it tastes best to you.
72. Provided that you remember that there is no such thing as a chocolate martini.
1. There is no such thing as a chocolate martini.
2. There is no shame in club soda and cranberry juice.
3. There is a reason for the scarcity of piano bars.
4. Visiting the pub will be cheaper in the long run if you tip the bartender regularly and more generously than is necessary.
5. Never order a frozen drink in a place that serves pickled eggs.
6. Actually, never order a frozen drink.
7. It's also not a bad idea to eschew the pickled pigs' feet, although their presence is fairly strong evidence that you've accidentally stumbled upon a real tavern.
8. For the sake of the children, leave the pistol at home.
9. Champagne is a place. Bordeaux is a place. Champale is not a place.
10. Grappa is to lighter fluid as ouzo is to lighter fluid.
11. Garnish matters.
12. Despite a high ratio of female clientele, an insouciant way with fried mozzarella, and their prevalence in resort towns, establishments where a waitress pours shots into your mouth from a bottle she holsters in a bandolier are fraught with peril.
13. When throwing a party, break the seals on all liquor bottles, lest guests should hesitate to open them and come to doubt your hospitality.
14. Better yet: Hire a bartender.
15. The perfect manhattan: two parts bourbon, one part sweet vermouth, bitters, and a splash of cherry juice. Over rocks or not.
16. At the holiday office party, consume one drink less than your boss.
17. Adopt a new favorite cocktail on a seasonal basis.
18. That sangria means "bloodletting" is more a cautionary note than a simple fact.
19. Dry martinis, being nothing but gin, aren't all they're cracked up to be.
20. If you still want a martini, know that you cannot actually bruise gin, so go ahead and shake.
21. On the other hand, shaking introduces air bubbles that make the martini look cloudy for a time, so stir, already, if you're so particular.
22. Drinks that give you bad breath: beer, anything sweet, anything with milk.
23. Drinks that give you good breath: gin and tonic, gimlet, vodka and cranberry, anything with citrus.
24. Instead of ordering that shot of After Shock to cap off the evening, one could just walk calmly into the street, lie down, and wait.
25. Alternatively, you could pinch the bouncer's ass.
26. Every man should know how to make at least one drink from a foreign country, preferably one taught to him by a local female with whom he has had a complicated, unresolved, and quite possibly dangerous dalliance.
27. The perfect negroni: four parts gin, one part sweet vermouth, and one part Campad shaken with ice and strained. Orange peel.
28. Citrus cocktails benefit greatly from rubbing lemon peel around the rim of the glass.
29. Jack Daniel's. Rocks.
30. Fresh orange juice. Fresh lemon juice. Fresh lime juice.
31. The perfect margarita: one part fresh lime juice, one part Cointreau, and one and a half parts tequila over ice.
32. On those chrome, hourglass-shaped bar measuring cups, the big side is the jigger. The little side is the pony. Never use the pony.
33. If you must: single-malt Scotch in a brandy snifter with a splash of water.
34. Avoid bars that use plastic cups, bars whose bathrooms consist solely of a trough-style urinal, bars with chicken wire protecting the band, bars where Patrick Swayze is the bouncer.
35. There is rarely any genuine need to shout "Skal!" "Na zdorovye!" "Slainte!" "Bottoms up!" or "Down the hatch!"
36. No one but the bouncer cares how tough you are, and he already knows you're not that tough.
37. A thought for the holidays: Gift wine should not be recognizable as having come from a grocery store.
38. Gift wine, being a gift, is not for tonight's party. Unless the host opens it.
39. Decent wine costs 15 dollars. Good wine costs 35 dollars. Nobody can tell the difference.
40. Never drink in a place that calls itself an eatery.
41. The cosmopolitan is over.
42. Rye isn't as popular as it used to be.
43. The perfect highball: one part rye to three parts ginger ale over Ice.
44. There is no upside to karaoke.
45. There is an ever-so-slight upside to a wet-T-Shirt contest, as long as you're not in it.
46. It is not necessary to request premium liquor for a mixed drink in which you cannot taste it, such as a gimlet or sour.
47. On the other hand, ascertain exactly how nonpremium the "well" liquor is before you opt against the good stuff.
48. Sitting at the bar works only for two people. Three or more requires a table.
49. Always check your fly before leaving the john.
50. If you were sitting in the john, make sure your wallet did not fall onto the floor.
51. Try to take care of the sitting thing at home.
52. Never utter the words I and love and you if you've had more than three drinks.
53. If you're a lightweight, make that one drink.
54. The perfect Shirley Temple: ginger ale over ice to fill a wineglass, splash grenadine, orange slice, lemon twist, cherry.
55. If a bartender makes you flail your arms or beg for service, well, obviously, leave.
56. Don't call the bartender Barkeep, Chief, Buddy, or Ace, unless his actual name, in fact, is Barkeep, Chief, Buddy, or Ace.
57. Even if you have ascertained your bartender's name, behaving overly familiar with him will be seen as a pathetic gambit for free drinks or, worse, proof that you have nobody to go to for affection other than a random service-industry professional who does not, in fact, know you and just wants your money.
58. Once you've fallen off a stool, there is little you can say to the bartender that will change his mind about asking you to leave.
59. Don't eat the worm.
60. If you don't smoke and you're in a bar, don't complain about other people who happen to be smoking, because, virtuous friend, you are in a bar.
61. Instead of trying to remember whether it's "beer before liquor" or the other way around, just be an adult and stick to one or the other.
62. Acceptable drinks for men: beer, wine, whiskey, cocktails that are neither sweet nor made with dairy or fruit other than lime or lemon or orange.
63. Acceptable drinks for women: whatever they want, except a certain few.
64. A certain few: the grasshopper, the Long Island iced tea, the pink lady, and any variety of spritzer.
65. Also unacceptable: drinks whose names mimic critical medical conditions or copulative acts and their secretions.
66. And while we're on the subject, drinks that are named after supposedly cute body parts, like navels, which are actually disgusting repositories for sebaceous grime: No.
67. All of that said, never question a woman's drink choice.
68. If you're the first in the group to arrive and you start a tab on your card, you deserve exactly what's coming to you.
69. Campari shaken with ice and strained into a martini glass.
70. Unless you are lounging on the Promenade Deck, do not drink from a fruit.
71. The perfect martini: There is no such thing as the perfect martini. Make it the way it tastes best to you.
72. Provided that you remember that there is no such thing as a chocolate martini.
Pedley water price hike
Jurupa district's customers to pay more for water
10:00 PM PDT on Tuesday, October 9, 2007
By SANDRA STOKLEY
The Press-Enterprise
As a standing-room-only crowd looked on, directors of the Jurupa Community Services District voted Tuesday night to more than double water rates over the next four years to eliminate a $5 million budget deficit.
During a required public hearing, the majority of speakers blamed the directors and district officials for not anticipating the increased cost of buying and treating water, which officials say is forcing the increase.
"That you are asking this community to pay for your fiscal irresponsibility and mismanagement is unacceptable," said Robert Brewer, a Pedley resident.
Other speakers said they simply will not be able to pay the increase.
"I'm 70 years old and I can't go out and get a part-time job to pay my water bill," said Bob Brumfield.
Directors approved the increase 4-1.
Director R.M. "Cook" Barela, who cast the dissenting vote, called for a moratorium on so-called "will serve" letters that guarantee water service to developers. Barela also called for an outside audit to determine what factors had led to the $5 million deficit.
"This rate increase should have been approved five years ago and it was not," Barela said.
Directors had not raised water rates since 1993.
A family that pays $33.77 a month will see that amount rise to $44.53 in 2008, an increase of almost 32 percent, according to figures provided by the district. By 2011, the same family will pay $72.65.
The community services district provides water and sewer service in Eastvale, Glen Avon, Pedley, Sunnyslope and parts of Mira Loma. All are unincorporated communities in western Riverside County. The district serves an estimated 22,500 customers.
The rate increase comes amid growing concern about the long-term effect Southern California's drought will have on Inland water supplies and prices.
In announcing an estimated $5 million deficit in the 2007-08 budget, General Manager Eldon Horst attributed the shortfall to the increasing cost of producing and treating drinking water to remove harmful contaminants, higher energy costs and hiring additional staff to maintain the district's water system.
Other Riverside-area water customers are confronting higher water bills.
In March 2006, customers of Riverside Public Utilities were hit with a 64 percent increase spread over five years. That averages about 12 percent a year for five years.
10:00 PM PDT on Tuesday, October 9, 2007
By SANDRA STOKLEY
The Press-Enterprise
As a standing-room-only crowd looked on, directors of the Jurupa Community Services District voted Tuesday night to more than double water rates over the next four years to eliminate a $5 million budget deficit.
During a required public hearing, the majority of speakers blamed the directors and district officials for not anticipating the increased cost of buying and treating water, which officials say is forcing the increase.
"That you are asking this community to pay for your fiscal irresponsibility and mismanagement is unacceptable," said Robert Brewer, a Pedley resident.
Other speakers said they simply will not be able to pay the increase.
"I'm 70 years old and I can't go out and get a part-time job to pay my water bill," said Bob Brumfield.
Directors approved the increase 4-1.
Director R.M. "Cook" Barela, who cast the dissenting vote, called for a moratorium on so-called "will serve" letters that guarantee water service to developers. Barela also called for an outside audit to determine what factors had led to the $5 million deficit.
"This rate increase should have been approved five years ago and it was not," Barela said.
Directors had not raised water rates since 1993.
A family that pays $33.77 a month will see that amount rise to $44.53 in 2008, an increase of almost 32 percent, according to figures provided by the district. By 2011, the same family will pay $72.65.
The community services district provides water and sewer service in Eastvale, Glen Avon, Pedley, Sunnyslope and parts of Mira Loma. All are unincorporated communities in western Riverside County. The district serves an estimated 22,500 customers.
The rate increase comes amid growing concern about the long-term effect Southern California's drought will have on Inland water supplies and prices.
In announcing an estimated $5 million deficit in the 2007-08 budget, General Manager Eldon Horst attributed the shortfall to the increasing cost of producing and treating drinking water to remove harmful contaminants, higher energy costs and hiring additional staff to maintain the district's water system.
Other Riverside-area water customers are confronting higher water bills.
In March 2006, customers of Riverside Public Utilities were hit with a 64 percent increase spread over five years. That averages about 12 percent a year for five years.
Sunday, October 07, 2007
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Friday, September 21, 2007
KZSW Update
Storm Update
Storm expected to arrive Friday night--finally
11:38 AM PDT on Friday, September 21, 2007
By JOHN ASBURY
The Press-Enterprise
The storm that forecasters have been promising all week may finally arrive tonight, bringing an unexpected September thunderstorm and snow to some mountain communities.
Though it's hard to tell from the mild weather and blue skies over most of Riverside and San Bernardino counties, the Canadian cold front is drifting off the San Clemente Islands and is beginning to move into Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.
Chilly temperatures and rain are expected to move in the area tonight and last through Saturday evening. Meteorologists have said it will likely be the worst storm to hit Southern California in September in 20 years, drenching the region accustom to hot temperatures and Santa Ana winds.
"As storms go this is fairly ordinary, but for September this is remarkable," said Philip Gonsalves, a forecaster with the National Weather Service.
The unusual cold front was pulled down through Southern California by a low pressure system and cool temperatures through polar winds, Gonsalves said.
The storm will cover most of Riverside and San Bernardino counties, but rain totals will vary from a half-inch in the deserts to 3 inches in the mountains.
Next week should provide a slight warm-up, but it may be short-lived, Gonsalves said. A cooling trend should be expected for the next several months.
11:38 AM PDT on Friday, September 21, 2007
By JOHN ASBURY
The Press-Enterprise
The storm that forecasters have been promising all week may finally arrive tonight, bringing an unexpected September thunderstorm and snow to some mountain communities.
Though it's hard to tell from the mild weather and blue skies over most of Riverside and San Bernardino counties, the Canadian cold front is drifting off the San Clemente Islands and is beginning to move into Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.
Chilly temperatures and rain are expected to move in the area tonight and last through Saturday evening. Meteorologists have said it will likely be the worst storm to hit Southern California in September in 20 years, drenching the region accustom to hot temperatures and Santa Ana winds.
"As storms go this is fairly ordinary, but for September this is remarkable," said Philip Gonsalves, a forecaster with the National Weather Service.
The unusual cold front was pulled down through Southern California by a low pressure system and cool temperatures through polar winds, Gonsalves said.
The storm will cover most of Riverside and San Bernardino counties, but rain totals will vary from a half-inch in the deserts to 3 inches in the mountains.
Next week should provide a slight warm-up, but it may be short-lived, Gonsalves said. A cooling trend should be expected for the next several months.
Homeless Cracheads
Survey: Nearly half of Riverside County homeless substance abusers
10:00 PM PDT on Thursday, September 20, 2007
By DOUG HABERMAN and DOUG QUAN
The Press-Enterprise
More than half of Riverside County's homeless population have been homeless for one year or more, 47.5 percent said they are substance abusers and almost one-third reported symptoms of mental illness, a new survey found.
A census conducted in January counted 4,508 homeless people in the county, compared with 4,785 in 2005.
The county Department of Public Social Services then conducted interviews with 630 homeless people from March through May.
The interviews revealed that 85 percent had a monthly income of $1,000 or less, 92 percent were born in the United States and 22.5 percent of the men and 2 percent of the women were armed forces veterans.
The survey results will help the county and its contractors who serve the homeless determine where to direct their resources in meeting the population's needs, county homeless programs manager Ron Stewart said Thursday.
The Community Action Partnership of San Bernardino County will present the findings of its 2007 homeless count and survey to the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors next week.
The findings will show a 39 percent increase in San Bernardino County from the last count in 2002, which found 5,270 homeless people, according to a recent news release and the county's report on the 2002 count.
Pastor Wade Kyle with Path of Life Ministries, which runs two homeless shelters in Riverside and another at March Air Reserve Base, said these kinds of surveys are useful to service providers.
"It helps us to tailor our approaches and how we use resources," he said. "We do look at the data."
One of the trends he is seeing that may not be so evident in the surveys is a major upswing in families left homeless after their houses went into foreclosure, Kyle said.
"This is new," he said.
In February 2006, Riverside County's Department of Public Social Services began working with cities and homeless service providers to draft a 10-year plan to end homelessness.
A plan should go to the Board of Supervisors in mid-October.
Among other things, the draft plan calls for an increase in emergency shelter beds, temporary housing units and low-income housing. It also calls for better homeless prevention strategies, including the expansion of street outreach teams.
In July, the Coachella Valley Association of Governments adopted its own three-year plan to address homelessness. It focuses on the creation of one-stop service centers with access to mental health, job, transportation and education assistance.
One center would be built in the western Coachella Valley, another in the eastern part of the valley.
Reach Doug Haberman at 951-368-9644 or dhaberman@PE.com.
10:00 PM PDT on Thursday, September 20, 2007
By DOUG HABERMAN and DOUG QUAN
The Press-Enterprise
More than half of Riverside County's homeless population have been homeless for one year or more, 47.5 percent said they are substance abusers and almost one-third reported symptoms of mental illness, a new survey found.
A census conducted in January counted 4,508 homeless people in the county, compared with 4,785 in 2005.
The county Department of Public Social Services then conducted interviews with 630 homeless people from March through May.
The interviews revealed that 85 percent had a monthly income of $1,000 or less, 92 percent were born in the United States and 22.5 percent of the men and 2 percent of the women were armed forces veterans.
The survey results will help the county and its contractors who serve the homeless determine where to direct their resources in meeting the population's needs, county homeless programs manager Ron Stewart said Thursday.
The Community Action Partnership of San Bernardino County will present the findings of its 2007 homeless count and survey to the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors next week.
The findings will show a 39 percent increase in San Bernardino County from the last count in 2002, which found 5,270 homeless people, according to a recent news release and the county's report on the 2002 count.
Pastor Wade Kyle with Path of Life Ministries, which runs two homeless shelters in Riverside and another at March Air Reserve Base, said these kinds of surveys are useful to service providers.
"It helps us to tailor our approaches and how we use resources," he said. "We do look at the data."
One of the trends he is seeing that may not be so evident in the surveys is a major upswing in families left homeless after their houses went into foreclosure, Kyle said.
"This is new," he said.
In February 2006, Riverside County's Department of Public Social Services began working with cities and homeless service providers to draft a 10-year plan to end homelessness.
A plan should go to the Board of Supervisors in mid-October.
Among other things, the draft plan calls for an increase in emergency shelter beds, temporary housing units and low-income housing. It also calls for better homeless prevention strategies, including the expansion of street outreach teams.
In July, the Coachella Valley Association of Governments adopted its own three-year plan to address homelessness. It focuses on the creation of one-stop service centers with access to mental health, job, transportation and education assistance.
One center would be built in the western Coachella Valley, another in the eastern part of the valley.
Reach Doug Haberman at 951-368-9644 or dhaberman@PE.com.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Inland Empire Local TV News ?!?!
This is channel 327 on Charter (in Pedley). This is the first I’ve heard of this, and it sounds GREAT. I love local news, and am going to start DVR’ing this news show right away so I can check it out!
Low-power station KZSW covers Inland life
By RODD CAYTON
The Press-Enterprise
John Roberts says he believes many Inland residents are tired of “local” television news overflowing with stories from cities 50 or more miles away.
Roberts, chief operating officer at Temecula’s KZSW-TV, says he envisions the station as the Inland region’s local station. KZSW is now on four local cable carriers, and its programming is available to more than 120,000 homes, Roberts said.
What’s gotten the station positive reviews thus far is its weeknight newscast. The station puts on as much local news as it can into its one-hour 6 p.m. newscast, which repeats at 7 and 10 p.m., then moves to regional, national and international news.
KZSW-TV cameraman Nils Geisse counts down for news anchor Bill Lorin during the 6 p.m. newscast, which repeats at 7 and 10 p.m. In the long term, the station hopes to expand its newscast to weekends and add a morning show to its repertoire.
KZSW is a low-power station, a classification the Federal Communications Commission established in 1982 for stations whose transmitters have less than 150,000 watts of power. Such stations typically only serve a limited local area; KZSW’s signal, at 10,000 watts, doesn’t get carried far out of Murrieta, Roberts said.
Roberts said KZSW is in 54 Inland communities, mostly framed by Banning, Corona, Ontario and Temecula.
Verizon Picks Up KZSW
One carrier that’s agreed to add KZSW to its lineup is Verizon. Bill Binford, the director of programming for the phone company’s FiOS TV outlet, said Roberts last year convinced him that KZSW would be a great addition to Verizon’s lineup and the first low-powered station to utilize Verizon’s fiber-optics.
“We don’t carry them all,” Binford said of low-power stations. “We seek those out that are serving their communities in a special way.”
Roberts sought Binford out, flying to San Francisco to speak to Binford.
“Later, he gave me the story of the Inland Empire and how it’s ignored by the Los Angeles and San Diego markets, and would make (a good addition to) our lineup,” Binford recalled.
Chris Bailey, director of sales and marketing in the region for Charter Communications, said the company shows KZSW in several cities, including Riverside, Norco, Rancho Cucamonga and parts of San Bernardino, as well as unincorporated areas in Riverside County.
He said the local news program is part of what attracted Charter to the station, Bailey said. Charter has gotten positive feedback from viewers since it added KZSW on Aug. 1.
Ann Schick, director of marketing for FiOS, said KZSW helps Verizon meet its goal of providing customers with programming that meets their needs, specifically local news and weather forecasts.
Over the long term, KZSW chief executive Kevin Page said, news offerings will be expanded to weekends and a morning show. Page said the station listens to ideas for new local programming and will pick up those shows if they increase KZSW’s distribution prospects or drive higher ad revenue.
Like big Los Angeles stations, Page said, KZSW will break away from regular programming to keep viewers informed on a breaking story. Last year’s wildfires were an example of that, he said.
There are more low-power stations nationwide than there are full-service stations, said Michael Couzens, an Oakland-based communications attorney and former FCC staff lawyer. He said many of the low-power variety have been successful, largely as avenues for Spanish-language, shopping or religious programming.
Story continues below
Frank Bellino / The Press-Enterprise
Reporter Kitty Alvarado, right, reacts as photojournalist Paul Syrbu edits KZSW’s top story a half-hour before its newscast.
“The biggest challenge these stations face is that they’re not assured of cable carriage,” he said. “In markets that are a pretty good distance outside central cities, cable penetration is very high, and cable households probably throw away their broadcast antennas.”
Couzens said KZSW is offering a unique proposition, even from most other low-power TV stations. The local news will continue to be KZSW’s main Inland selling point, he said.
Region Gets ‘Short Shrift’
“KABC is a great station, but it covers all of Southern California,” Couzens said. “San Diego is a huge market, maybe 2 million. Are (stations based there) going to cover Temecula or Murrieta? Probably not. Even Riverside gets short shrift unless there’s a tragedy.”
He said KZSW is poised for success because Inland residents are receptive to the “hyper-local” news it offers.
The Inland region is considered part of the Los Angeles TV market by Nielsen Media Research, which measures ratings for TV programs. Palm Springs was established as a separate market when network affiliates started there about 20 years ago.
“It’s much more difficult for new stations to pop up, in the cable era,” Roberts said.
Riverside and San Bernardino counties combined have a higher population than San Diego County, but Roberts said he doesn’t expect to see the Inland region become its own Nielsen market.
Couzens, the FCC attorney, agrees but said he believes a separate market for the Inland region would make sense, noting the Inland area is considered a separate market for radio ratings.
Low-power station KZSW covers Inland life
By RODD CAYTON
The Press-Enterprise
John Roberts says he believes many Inland residents are tired of “local” television news overflowing with stories from cities 50 or more miles away.
Roberts, chief operating officer at Temecula’s KZSW-TV, says he envisions the station as the Inland region’s local station. KZSW is now on four local cable carriers, and its programming is available to more than 120,000 homes, Roberts said.
What’s gotten the station positive reviews thus far is its weeknight newscast. The station puts on as much local news as it can into its one-hour 6 p.m. newscast, which repeats at 7 and 10 p.m., then moves to regional, national and international news.
KZSW-TV cameraman Nils Geisse counts down for news anchor Bill Lorin during the 6 p.m. newscast, which repeats at 7 and 10 p.m. In the long term, the station hopes to expand its newscast to weekends and add a morning show to its repertoire.
KZSW is a low-power station, a classification the Federal Communications Commission established in 1982 for stations whose transmitters have less than 150,000 watts of power. Such stations typically only serve a limited local area; KZSW’s signal, at 10,000 watts, doesn’t get carried far out of Murrieta, Roberts said.
Roberts said KZSW is in 54 Inland communities, mostly framed by Banning, Corona, Ontario and Temecula.
Verizon Picks Up KZSW
One carrier that’s agreed to add KZSW to its lineup is Verizon. Bill Binford, the director of programming for the phone company’s FiOS TV outlet, said Roberts last year convinced him that KZSW would be a great addition to Verizon’s lineup and the first low-powered station to utilize Verizon’s fiber-optics.
“We don’t carry them all,” Binford said of low-power stations. “We seek those out that are serving their communities in a special way.”
Roberts sought Binford out, flying to San Francisco to speak to Binford.
“Later, he gave me the story of the Inland Empire and how it’s ignored by the Los Angeles and San Diego markets, and would make (a good addition to) our lineup,” Binford recalled.
Chris Bailey, director of sales and marketing in the region for Charter Communications, said the company shows KZSW in several cities, including Riverside, Norco, Rancho Cucamonga and parts of San Bernardino, as well as unincorporated areas in Riverside County.
He said the local news program is part of what attracted Charter to the station, Bailey said. Charter has gotten positive feedback from viewers since it added KZSW on Aug. 1.
Ann Schick, director of marketing for FiOS, said KZSW helps Verizon meet its goal of providing customers with programming that meets their needs, specifically local news and weather forecasts.
Over the long term, KZSW chief executive Kevin Page said, news offerings will be expanded to weekends and a morning show. Page said the station listens to ideas for new local programming and will pick up those shows if they increase KZSW’s distribution prospects or drive higher ad revenue.
Like big Los Angeles stations, Page said, KZSW will break away from regular programming to keep viewers informed on a breaking story. Last year’s wildfires were an example of that, he said.
There are more low-power stations nationwide than there are full-service stations, said Michael Couzens, an Oakland-based communications attorney and former FCC staff lawyer. He said many of the low-power variety have been successful, largely as avenues for Spanish-language, shopping or religious programming.
Story continues below
Frank Bellino / The Press-Enterprise
Reporter Kitty Alvarado, right, reacts as photojournalist Paul Syrbu edits KZSW’s top story a half-hour before its newscast.
“The biggest challenge these stations face is that they’re not assured of cable carriage,” he said. “In markets that are a pretty good distance outside central cities, cable penetration is very high, and cable households probably throw away their broadcast antennas.”
Couzens said KZSW is offering a unique proposition, even from most other low-power TV stations. The local news will continue to be KZSW’s main Inland selling point, he said.
Region Gets ‘Short Shrift’
“KABC is a great station, but it covers all of Southern California,” Couzens said. “San Diego is a huge market, maybe 2 million. Are (stations based there) going to cover Temecula or Murrieta? Probably not. Even Riverside gets short shrift unless there’s a tragedy.”
He said KZSW is poised for success because Inland residents are receptive to the “hyper-local” news it offers.
The Inland region is considered part of the Los Angeles TV market by Nielsen Media Research, which measures ratings for TV programs. Palm Springs was established as a separate market when network affiliates started there about 20 years ago.
“It’s much more difficult for new stations to pop up, in the cable era,” Roberts said.
Riverside and San Bernardino counties combined have a higher population than San Diego County, but Roberts said he doesn’t expect to see the Inland region become its own Nielsen market.
Couzens, the FCC attorney, agrees but said he believes a separate market for the Inland region would make sense, noting the Inland area is considered a separate market for radio ratings.
Why does Jurupa water smell?
Jurupa to link to Norco, Corona water supply
10:00 PM PDT on Wednesday, September 19, 2007
By PAIGE AUSTIN
The Press-Enterprise
Corona, Norco and Jurupa will test a new pipeline that connects Jurupa to the Norco and Corona water supply systems, an action that officials say will protect the communities in case of disaster.
Residents in Corona will notice a slight chlorine taste and odor from the disinfectant used in the Norco and Jurupa water supplies.
The temporary inconvenience is a small price to pay for the safety and security of the community in the event of a major disaster, said West Curry, operations manager for the Corona Department of Water and Power.
"We'll be able to move water back and forth between the agencies," Curry said. "In a disaster like (Hurricane) Katrina or a major earthquake, we'll be able to supply their communities' needs and they can do the same for us."
Around the nation and the state, cities are doing more to prepare for major disasters since Hurricane Katrina, which left entire communities without drinkable water for days, he added.
This project is one of many under way to better protect the region in case of water emergencies, said Norco Public Works Director Bill Thompson.
Today through Oct. 24, the agencies will essentially be conducting a test run of the new piping connection, Thompson said.
During that time, the city of Corona will adopt Norco and Jurupa's use of free chlorine as a disinfectant. It might taste different to Corona residents but has no health impact, Curry said.
Dialysis treatment centers within the city will temporarily alter the chemicals they use to purify their materials, but all medical providers have been notified, Curry added.
Because Corona's usual disinfectant includes ammonia, fish owners in the city typically use metabisulfite to treat their tanks and koi ponds.
During the city's temporary switches in disinfectants, fish owners wouldn't need to use as much metabisulfite as they usually do, Curry said.
However, he added, they could use the same amount of the metabisulfite without causing any harm to the fish.
For more information about the project, call 951-736-2234.
Reach Paige Austin at 951-893-2106 or paustin@PE.com
10:00 PM PDT on Wednesday, September 19, 2007
By PAIGE AUSTIN
The Press-Enterprise
Corona, Norco and Jurupa will test a new pipeline that connects Jurupa to the Norco and Corona water supply systems, an action that officials say will protect the communities in case of disaster.
Residents in Corona will notice a slight chlorine taste and odor from the disinfectant used in the Norco and Jurupa water supplies.
The temporary inconvenience is a small price to pay for the safety and security of the community in the event of a major disaster, said West Curry, operations manager for the Corona Department of Water and Power.
"We'll be able to move water back and forth between the agencies," Curry said. "In a disaster like (Hurricane) Katrina or a major earthquake, we'll be able to supply their communities' needs and they can do the same for us."
Around the nation and the state, cities are doing more to prepare for major disasters since Hurricane Katrina, which left entire communities without drinkable water for days, he added.
This project is one of many under way to better protect the region in case of water emergencies, said Norco Public Works Director Bill Thompson.
Today through Oct. 24, the agencies will essentially be conducting a test run of the new piping connection, Thompson said.
During that time, the city of Corona will adopt Norco and Jurupa's use of free chlorine as a disinfectant. It might taste different to Corona residents but has no health impact, Curry said.
Dialysis treatment centers within the city will temporarily alter the chemicals they use to purify their materials, but all medical providers have been notified, Curry added.
Because Corona's usual disinfectant includes ammonia, fish owners in the city typically use metabisulfite to treat their tanks and koi ponds.
During the city's temporary switches in disinfectants, fish owners wouldn't need to use as much metabisulfite as they usually do, Curry said.
However, he added, they could use the same amount of the metabisulfite without causing any harm to the fish.
For more information about the project, call 951-736-2234.
Reach Paige Austin at 951-893-2106 or paustin@PE.com
A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall
Strongest storm in 20 years to hit Southern California
11:37 AM PDT on Thursday, September 20, 2007
By JOHN ASBURY
The Press-Enterprise
Scattered showers are moving throughout the Inland region today, as part of what is being described as the strongest September storm to hit Southern California in 20 years.
Light rain is creating slick conditions in Corona, Moreno Valley and Menifee this morning, with the brunt of the storm expected to arrive later tonight.
The National Weather Service issued a statement warning of heavy winds, rain and cold temperatures to last through Saturday. The storm moving in from Canada and Monterey is threatening possible rockslides and mudslides in the burn area from the Butler 2 Fire near Big Bear along Highway 18. Mudslides are also possible near Idyllwild after last October's Esperanza Wildfire by Highway 243.
The storm could bring snow to mountain communities at elevations above 6,000 feet. Waterspouts over the ocean and some tornadoes could also form in some areas. Thunderstorms are expected to drop anywhere from a half-inch of rain in the desert to 2 and a half-inches of rain at the base of some mountain areas.
Reach John Asbury at jasbury@PE.com .
11:37 AM PDT on Thursday, September 20, 2007
By JOHN ASBURY
The Press-Enterprise
Scattered showers are moving throughout the Inland region today, as part of what is being described as the strongest September storm to hit Southern California in 20 years.
Light rain is creating slick conditions in Corona, Moreno Valley and Menifee this morning, with the brunt of the storm expected to arrive later tonight.
The National Weather Service issued a statement warning of heavy winds, rain and cold temperatures to last through Saturday. The storm moving in from Canada and Monterey is threatening possible rockslides and mudslides in the burn area from the Butler 2 Fire near Big Bear along Highway 18. Mudslides are also possible near Idyllwild after last October's Esperanza Wildfire by Highway 243.
The storm could bring snow to mountain communities at elevations above 6,000 feet. Waterspouts over the ocean and some tornadoes could also form in some areas. Thunderstorms are expected to drop anywhere from a half-inch of rain in the desert to 2 and a half-inches of rain at the base of some mountain areas.
Reach John Asbury at jasbury@PE.com .
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Hand Washing Police
Men more likely not to wash after bathroom use
Story Highlights
One-third of men don't wash after bathroom, compared to 12 percent of women
Atlanta's Turner Field the worst: Only 57 percent of men washed up there
92 percent of people say they wash up, only 77 percent do in public restrooms
CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) -- The gender gap has widened when it comes to hygiene, according to the latest stakeout by the "hand washing police."
One-third of men didn't bother to wash after using the bathroom, compared with 12 percent of women, said the researchers who spy on people in public restrooms. They reported their latest findings Monday at a meeting of infectious disease scientists.
Two years ago, the last time the survey was done, only one-quarter of men didn't wash, compared with 10 percent of women.
"Guys need to step up to the sink," said Brian Sansoni, spokesman for the Soap and Detergent Association, which co-sponsors the survey and related education campaigns.
The latest study was based on observations last month of more than 6,000 people in four big cities.
Frequent hand washing is the single best thing people can do to avoid getting sick, from colds and the flu to germs lurking in food, doctors say. And a recent Harris Interactive survey found 92 percent of Americans said they usually or always wash up after using the bathroom.
But researchers for the American Society for Microbiology found that only 77 percent actually do, when it comes to public restrooms. That's a 6 percent decline from a similar study in 2005.
The dirty details:
Atlanta's Turner Field baseball stadium again was the worst. Only 57 percent of guys there washed up, compared to 95 percent of women.
New York was Second City to Chicago in cleanliness. In restrooms at the Windy City's Shedd Aquarium and Museum of Science and Industry, 81 percent of men and women combined washed their hands, compared to 79 percent at the Big Apple's Penn and Grand Central train stations.
At San Francisco's Ferry Terminal Farmers Market, 62.5 percent of men lathered up. Women did better, with 84 percent.
Carry sanitizer gels and wipes in case the means to wash your hands aren't handy, suggested microbiologist Judy Daly of Primary Children's Medical Center in Salt Lake City, who led the project.
"These are a marvelous addition to plain soap and water," she said.
Telephone surveys by the research firm Harris Interactive show little shift in attitudes over previous polls in 2003 and 2005. The latest was of 1,001 adults from August 17-20.
Nearly three-fourths of Americans said they always wash up after changing a diaper, 78 percent said they do so after handling or eating food; 42 percent after petting a dog or cat, 25 percent after handling money, and 34 percent after coughing or sneezing.
Find this article at:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/09/17/dirty.hands.ap/index.html
Story Highlights
One-third of men don't wash after bathroom, compared to 12 percent of women
Atlanta's Turner Field the worst: Only 57 percent of men washed up there
92 percent of people say they wash up, only 77 percent do in public restrooms
CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) -- The gender gap has widened when it comes to hygiene, according to the latest stakeout by the "hand washing police."
One-third of men didn't bother to wash after using the bathroom, compared with 12 percent of women, said the researchers who spy on people in public restrooms. They reported their latest findings Monday at a meeting of infectious disease scientists.
Two years ago, the last time the survey was done, only one-quarter of men didn't wash, compared with 10 percent of women.
"Guys need to step up to the sink," said Brian Sansoni, spokesman for the Soap and Detergent Association, which co-sponsors the survey and related education campaigns.
The latest study was based on observations last month of more than 6,000 people in four big cities.
Frequent hand washing is the single best thing people can do to avoid getting sick, from colds and the flu to germs lurking in food, doctors say. And a recent Harris Interactive survey found 92 percent of Americans said they usually or always wash up after using the bathroom.
But researchers for the American Society for Microbiology found that only 77 percent actually do, when it comes to public restrooms. That's a 6 percent decline from a similar study in 2005.
The dirty details:
Atlanta's Turner Field baseball stadium again was the worst. Only 57 percent of guys there washed up, compared to 95 percent of women.
New York was Second City to Chicago in cleanliness. In restrooms at the Windy City's Shedd Aquarium and Museum of Science and Industry, 81 percent of men and women combined washed their hands, compared to 79 percent at the Big Apple's Penn and Grand Central train stations.
At San Francisco's Ferry Terminal Farmers Market, 62.5 percent of men lathered up. Women did better, with 84 percent.
Carry sanitizer gels and wipes in case the means to wash your hands aren't handy, suggested microbiologist Judy Daly of Primary Children's Medical Center in Salt Lake City, who led the project.
"These are a marvelous addition to plain soap and water," she said.
Telephone surveys by the research firm Harris Interactive show little shift in attitudes over previous polls in 2003 and 2005. The latest was of 1,001 adults from August 17-20.
Nearly three-fourths of Americans said they always wash up after changing a diaper, 78 percent said they do so after handling or eating food; 42 percent after petting a dog or cat, 25 percent after handling money, and 34 percent after coughing or sneezing.
Find this article at:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/09/17/dirty.hands.ap/index.html
Meth is bad, mmmkay
Teens: Meth is accessible, has benefits
Kids believe drug is ‘easy’ to get, makes them feel ‘very happy,’ survey finds
The Associated Press
Updated: 5:06 p.m. CT Sept 18, 2007
WASHINGTON - Nearly a quarter of teens say it would be "very easy" or "somewhat easy" to gain access to methamphetamine, a survey released Tuesday shows.
One in three teens also believes there is only a "slight risk" or "no risk" in trying meth once or twice, according to the study by The Meth Project, a nonprofit anti-drug group that produces gritty ads to show the perils of meth abuse.
And about one in four teens said there are benefits to using meth. Twenty-four percent of teens agreed with the statement that meth "makes you feel euphoric or very happy," while 22 percent said meth "helps you lose weight" and 22 percent said it "helps you deal with boredom."
Lawmakers and government officials said the survey highlights the need for an aggressive public education campaign to inform kids about the dangers of the highly addictive stimulant.
"For kids, meth is death," said Dr. Julie Gerberding, head of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "And if we really want to do something about improving the survival of our adolescents and help them become healthy adults, we've got to tackle this problem head on."
Gerberding praised The Meth Project's two-year anti-meth ad campaign in Montana, which is credited for helping reduce meth use in the state by 45 percent since 2005. The ads use graphic images to portray the drug's ravages on young people.
By contrast, meth use among teens nationally remained unchanged over the same period, according to the annual drug use survey released last month by the Health and Human Services Department.
Getting to kids at an early stage is crucial, Gerberding said. Of the teens who have tried meth, 77 percent reported they used the drug when they were 15 or younger, the survey showed.
On the positive side, a majority of teens — 76 percent — voiced "strong" disapproval with trying meth once or twice, about the same level as those who disapproved of trying cocaine or heroin.
"What this survey shows us is that we have more work to do," said White House drug czar John Walters said. "These attitudes are troubling. We still have too many kids who say they can get their hands on this poison."
The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy began a meth prevention ad campaign earlier this month. The print and broadcast ads — including four produced by The Meth Project — will appear in eight states where meth use remains high: Alaska, California, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Oregon and Washington.
Walters said prevention efforts appear to be having an impact. He pointed to a report last December from the National Institute on Drug Abuse that showed meth use among teens declined 50 percent from 2001 to 2005.
The survey for The Meth Project was conducted by GfK Roper Public Affairs & Media and questioned 2,602 junior and senior high school students ages 12-17 at 43 schools across the country.
Kids believe drug is ‘easy’ to get, makes them feel ‘very happy,’ survey finds
The Associated Press
Updated: 5:06 p.m. CT Sept 18, 2007
WASHINGTON - Nearly a quarter of teens say it would be "very easy" or "somewhat easy" to gain access to methamphetamine, a survey released Tuesday shows.
One in three teens also believes there is only a "slight risk" or "no risk" in trying meth once or twice, according to the study by The Meth Project, a nonprofit anti-drug group that produces gritty ads to show the perils of meth abuse.
And about one in four teens said there are benefits to using meth. Twenty-four percent of teens agreed with the statement that meth "makes you feel euphoric or very happy," while 22 percent said meth "helps you lose weight" and 22 percent said it "helps you deal with boredom."
Lawmakers and government officials said the survey highlights the need for an aggressive public education campaign to inform kids about the dangers of the highly addictive stimulant.
"For kids, meth is death," said Dr. Julie Gerberding, head of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "And if we really want to do something about improving the survival of our adolescents and help them become healthy adults, we've got to tackle this problem head on."
Gerberding praised The Meth Project's two-year anti-meth ad campaign in Montana, which is credited for helping reduce meth use in the state by 45 percent since 2005. The ads use graphic images to portray the drug's ravages on young people.
By contrast, meth use among teens nationally remained unchanged over the same period, according to the annual drug use survey released last month by the Health and Human Services Department.
Getting to kids at an early stage is crucial, Gerberding said. Of the teens who have tried meth, 77 percent reported they used the drug when they were 15 or younger, the survey showed.
On the positive side, a majority of teens — 76 percent — voiced "strong" disapproval with trying meth once or twice, about the same level as those who disapproved of trying cocaine or heroin.
"What this survey shows us is that we have more work to do," said White House drug czar John Walters said. "These attitudes are troubling. We still have too many kids who say they can get their hands on this poison."
The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy began a meth prevention ad campaign earlier this month. The print and broadcast ads — including four produced by The Meth Project — will appear in eight states where meth use remains high: Alaska, California, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Oregon and Washington.
Walters said prevention efforts appear to be having an impact. He pointed to a report last December from the National Institute on Drug Abuse that showed meth use among teens declined 50 percent from 2001 to 2005.
The survey for The Meth Project was conducted by GfK Roper Public Affairs & Media and questioned 2,602 junior and senior high school students ages 12-17 at 43 schools across the country.
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Inland Empire Forclosures Increasing
Foreclosures soaring in region
Filings quadruple versus year ago
08:42 AM PDT on Wednesday, September 19, 2007
By LESLIE BERKMAN
The Press-Enterprise
The numbers of Inland families who lost their homes to foreclosure surged dramatically last month, as risky subprime mortgages strained the budgets of more households.
Riverside County posted 7,266 notices of defaults, trustee sales and lender repossessions, up 347 percent from a year earlier, and San Bernardino County posted 4,876 such notices, up 351 percent in a year, according to a report Tuesday by RealtyTrac, a foreclosure marketing firm based in Irvine.
In California, Riverside County ranked fourth and San Bernardino County ranked eighth in foreclosure activity.
"I think a lot of the loans going bad now are the highest-risk kind of loans," said Rick Sharga, RealtyTrac's vice president of marketing. "They were probably subprimes with adjustable rates and probably with 100 percent financing."
An especially telling statistic is the comparison of bank repossessions from last year, or even the prior month, to August.
In Riverside County, 21 homes were seized by lenders in August 2006. In July, 189 were seized. Last month 1,198 homes were repossessed. In San Bernardino County, 10 homes were seized a year ago. Lenders repossessed 518 in July. Last month, it was 708.
Properties with mortgages in default are increasingly being lost to foreclosure because there is not enough equity left in them to give their owners an option to sell or refinance, Sharga said.
Worse Is Ahead
Because more mortgages for subprime borrowers with poor credit or no down payment are scheduled to reset at rates that some borrowers will not be able to afford, the foreclosure picture will worsen before it brightens, Sharga said.
"There are at least two more big groups of subprime adjustable resets that will take place over the next 12 months and we will probably see a spike in foreclosure activity both times," he said.
Riverside County had one foreclosure filing for every 96 households and San Bernardino County had one filing per 134 households.
The Inland region's foreclosure pain was far more severe than for the nation on average, which had a foreclosure rate of one filing for every 510 households.
John Karevoll, an analyst with DataQuick Information Systems, which also monitors foreclosures, said the company is seeing "significantly higher default and foreclosure rates where bad loans were made" and the Inland Empire is one of those areas.
Lenders used the subprime mortgages to help people afford to buy houses as prices skyrocketed during the recent housing boom. Such loans are no longer being made but those that remain are having a lingering effect.
How long the rash of risky loans will hobble the housing market is a matter of dispute, Karevoll said. Some analysts predict the market could begin to stabilize in about six months after most of the loans reset. Others worry that by then home prices might fall enough to put other mortgages at risk of default.
The deluge of mortgage defaults has caused lenders to tighten mortgage requirements, making it increasingly difficult for people to qualify as prospective homebuyers. Real estate experts say that the shortage of buyers has further depressed home sales and pushed down home values.
A Couple's Plight
Nancy Rubi said an unaffordable mortgage and falling home prices in her Orangecrest neighborhood forced her and her husband to try to sell their house even if it means getting less than they owe their lender.
The couple refinanced two years ago to consolidate bills, she said.
They intended to refinance again before the mortgage would adjust to a higher interest rate. But in August when their rate soared from 6.7 percent to 9.7 percent and their payment from $4,200 to $5,800, they learned falling values left them too little equity to refinance.
Making matters more difficult, she said, the couple two years ago bought a larger house to have space for their four adopted children. Then they rented out their first home for $2,000 less than the mortgage payment.
Rubi said that she, a district sales representative for the California State Lottery, and her husband, a retired schoolteacher, can no longer afford both mortgages.
Although her husband held an open house seven days a week since July 20, Rubi said they couldn't get the $685,000 price they need to repay their mortgage. Their next step, she said, is to try to persuade their lender to accept less than the mortgage.
Because the couple is 30 days behind on their mortgage payments, she figures they have six to nine months to find a buyer before the house goes to foreclosure.
"We never, ever thought it would end up like this," she said.
Rankings
California counties ranked by households per foreclosure filing:
1. Stanislaus 79
2. San Joaquin 81
3. Merced 82
4. Riverside 96
5. Sacramento 100
6. Solano 106
7. Contra Costa 128
8. San Bernardino 134
Filings quadruple versus year ago
08:42 AM PDT on Wednesday, September 19, 2007
By LESLIE BERKMAN
The Press-Enterprise
The numbers of Inland families who lost their homes to foreclosure surged dramatically last month, as risky subprime mortgages strained the budgets of more households.
Riverside County posted 7,266 notices of defaults, trustee sales and lender repossessions, up 347 percent from a year earlier, and San Bernardino County posted 4,876 such notices, up 351 percent in a year, according to a report Tuesday by RealtyTrac, a foreclosure marketing firm based in Irvine.
In California, Riverside County ranked fourth and San Bernardino County ranked eighth in foreclosure activity.
"I think a lot of the loans going bad now are the highest-risk kind of loans," said Rick Sharga, RealtyTrac's vice president of marketing. "They were probably subprimes with adjustable rates and probably with 100 percent financing."
An especially telling statistic is the comparison of bank repossessions from last year, or even the prior month, to August.
In Riverside County, 21 homes were seized by lenders in August 2006. In July, 189 were seized. Last month 1,198 homes were repossessed. In San Bernardino County, 10 homes were seized a year ago. Lenders repossessed 518 in July. Last month, it was 708.
Properties with mortgages in default are increasingly being lost to foreclosure because there is not enough equity left in them to give their owners an option to sell or refinance, Sharga said.
Worse Is Ahead
Because more mortgages for subprime borrowers with poor credit or no down payment are scheduled to reset at rates that some borrowers will not be able to afford, the foreclosure picture will worsen before it brightens, Sharga said.
"There are at least two more big groups of subprime adjustable resets that will take place over the next 12 months and we will probably see a spike in foreclosure activity both times," he said.
Riverside County had one foreclosure filing for every 96 households and San Bernardino County had one filing per 134 households.
The Inland region's foreclosure pain was far more severe than for the nation on average, which had a foreclosure rate of one filing for every 510 households.
John Karevoll, an analyst with DataQuick Information Systems, which also monitors foreclosures, said the company is seeing "significantly higher default and foreclosure rates where bad loans were made" and the Inland Empire is one of those areas.
Lenders used the subprime mortgages to help people afford to buy houses as prices skyrocketed during the recent housing boom. Such loans are no longer being made but those that remain are having a lingering effect.
How long the rash of risky loans will hobble the housing market is a matter of dispute, Karevoll said. Some analysts predict the market could begin to stabilize in about six months after most of the loans reset. Others worry that by then home prices might fall enough to put other mortgages at risk of default.
The deluge of mortgage defaults has caused lenders to tighten mortgage requirements, making it increasingly difficult for people to qualify as prospective homebuyers. Real estate experts say that the shortage of buyers has further depressed home sales and pushed down home values.
A Couple's Plight
Nancy Rubi said an unaffordable mortgage and falling home prices in her Orangecrest neighborhood forced her and her husband to try to sell their house even if it means getting less than they owe their lender.
The couple refinanced two years ago to consolidate bills, she said.
They intended to refinance again before the mortgage would adjust to a higher interest rate. But in August when their rate soared from 6.7 percent to 9.7 percent and their payment from $4,200 to $5,800, they learned falling values left them too little equity to refinance.
Making matters more difficult, she said, the couple two years ago bought a larger house to have space for their four adopted children. Then they rented out their first home for $2,000 less than the mortgage payment.
Rubi said that she, a district sales representative for the California State Lottery, and her husband, a retired schoolteacher, can no longer afford both mortgages.
Although her husband held an open house seven days a week since July 20, Rubi said they couldn't get the $685,000 price they need to repay their mortgage. Their next step, she said, is to try to persuade their lender to accept less than the mortgage.
Because the couple is 30 days behind on their mortgage payments, she figures they have six to nine months to find a buyer before the house goes to foreclosure.
"We never, ever thought it would end up like this," she said.
Rankings
California counties ranked by households per foreclosure filing:
1. Stanislaus 79
2. San Joaquin 81
3. Merced 82
4. Riverside 96
5. Sacramento 100
6. Solano 106
7. Contra Costa 128
8. San Bernardino 134
IE Traffic Sucks!
Inland congestion bad, but lags behind Los Angeles
Traffic congestion in the Inland area ranks among the nation’s worst, according to a national study released Tuesday.
Drivers in Riverside and San Bernardino counties spend about 49 hours per year stuck in traffic on the way to and from their jobs – bad enough for 13th on the list of metropolitan areas with the longest average commute delays.
The Los Angeles/Long Beach/Santa Ana region was tops at 72 hours per year. Nationally, drivers waste nearly an entire work week each year sitting in traffic, according to the Texas Traffic Institute’s urban mobility report.
See the full report at the Texas Transportation Institute
Traffic congestion in the Inland area ranks among the nation’s worst, according to a national study released Tuesday.
Drivers in Riverside and San Bernardino counties spend about 49 hours per year stuck in traffic on the way to and from their jobs – bad enough for 13th on the list of metropolitan areas with the longest average commute delays.
The Los Angeles/Long Beach/Santa Ana region was tops at 72 hours per year. Nationally, drivers waste nearly an entire work week each year sitting in traffic, according to the Texas Traffic Institute’s urban mobility report.
See the full report at the Texas Transportation Institute
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
New Sheriff In Town
New Riverside County sheriff is comeback story
10:00 PM PDT on Monday, September 17, 2007
By KIMBERLY TRONE
The Press-Enterprise
Stanley Sniff, a 28-year veteran of the Riverside County Sheriff's Department who was abruptly fired last year without explanation, will replace the man who dismissed him.
Riverside County supervisors voted 3-2 Monday to appoint Sniff to replace retiring Sheriff Bob Doyle. They also agreed to seek emergency state legislation to hold a special election for sheriff.
The government code requires special elections to align with the gubernatorial election in 2010, which is when Doyle's term expires.
The next regular session of the state Legislature begins Jan. 7, and supervisors said a special election could be a year or more away.
"This is a decision that belongs in the hands of the voters," Board Chairman John Tavaglione said.
Supervisors Bob Buster and Roy Wilson voted for Undersheriff Neil Lingle, whom they said was Doyle's logical successor until an election could be conducted.
Story continues below
Doyle, 54, announced his retirement Oct. 12 to take a job on the state parole board. The announcement came less than one year into his second, four-year term amid widespread rumors about rifts between him and other county elected leaders and union officials.
Tavaglione said he was relieved by Doyle's resignation because he was concerned about complaints of turmoil within the department and a string of recent retirements by longtime leaders in Doyle's department.
After the meeting, Tavaglione said he was appalled by documentation the board recently received that suggested a "strong correlation" between employees who were promoted in rank and those who contributed to Doyle's campaign.
Contacted by telephone, Doyle said promotions are made through an examination process and that many sheriffs historically have taken contributions from department employees and there was no quid pro quo.
Doyle said he wrote the first $1,000 check to the campaign of his predecessor, Larry Smith.
The Sheriff's Department, with an annual budget of $450 million, serves unincorporated areas and 13 cities. It employs almost 4,000 full-time law enforcement officers and about 500 volunteers.
During the daylong meeting to name Doyle's successor, a bleak picture emerged of Doyle's management practices from employees and former employees wanting his job.
Loyalty Over Competence
Story continues below
Carrie Rosema / The Press-Enterprise
Los Angeles police Lt. Craig Herron, a candidate for sheriff, left, congratulates Stanley Sniff after Sniff was named to the position.
Assistant Sheriff Valerie Hill, one of five candidates to be interviewed by the board, said Doyle sent out a letter during a November leadership retreat saying he valued loyalty over competency.
The same letter, Hill said, contained orders that top sheriff's executives not speak to certain individuals, including leaders in the Riverside Sheriffs' Association, which represents thousands of deputies and investigators.
That letter has never been made public.
Hill has been with the department for 30 years and oversees the county's crowded jail system. She said Doyle approached her last year and offered her a job as assistant sheriff if she promised to retire at the end of this year.
"I thought about it long and hard," Hill said. But Hill said she changed her mind once Doyle announced his plans to leave the department.
Doyle said the timeline for Hill's departure was based on her own decision about when to retire. He acknowledged sending a letter to his executive staff but said he didn't recall demanding loyalty over competency.
The sheriff said he was absent from the November meeting for medical reasons.
Lingle said he would move the department from a culture of negativity to one of respect and work immediately to depoliticize the post of sheriff.
Describing himself as a strong, independent thinker who often disagreed with Doyle's practices, Lingle said he would not endorse political candidates or accept donations from within his department.
"I am competing against a hurt and bitterness that you and other constituencies have against the sheriff," Lingle said.
In a move that surprised even Sniff, the Law Enforcement Management Unit that represents about 400 of the Sheriff Department's higher-ranking officers publicly announced its endorsement of Sniff.
Unexpected Support
Union President Capt. Louis Fetherolf said almost half the members cast votes and nearly half the voting members cast ballots for Sniff.
Sniff, a former assistant sheriff, also received an endorsement from the Riverside Sheriffs' Association although union leaders did not put the decision to a vote of the members.
When asked by Supervisor Jeff Stone why he was fired, Sniff said no cause had been given but he believed it was because he made it known he intended to run for sheriff in 2010.
Doyle denied Sniff's assertion, saying he had a page of offenses the former assistant sheriff had committed for which he could be fired. Sniff said Monday he has a clean personnel record that he was willing to make public.
Sniff spoke about his desire to build department morale and increase diversity in the ranks. Sniff also said he would increase accountability among some who had not had to answer previously to misconduct although he offered no concrete examples. Sniff said he would work on shifting department loyalty away from an individual and back to the department and community where it belongs. Other candidates interviewed by the board were retired Assistant Sheriff John Boyd and Los Angeles Police Department Lt. Craig Herron.
While Doyle said he was "upset about the lies" he said were told Monday, he also said he recognized Lingle had a balancing act between the current administration and the views of some county supervisors.
"The board had a process. It was their choice to pick. I wish them well and the citizens of Riverside County well."
Reach Kimberly Trone at 951-368-9456 or ktrone@PE.com
SHERIFF STANLEY SNIFF
Age: 58
Home: Riverside
Employment: Riverside County Sheriff's Department from 1975 to 2006, where he rose from deputy police and ultimately oversaw field operations, corrections and court services divisions as assistant sheriff
Education: UC Riverside; enrolled in the University of Redlands' graduate business school to complete a master's degree in management
Military: Retired colonel in the Army Reserves
10:00 PM PDT on Monday, September 17, 2007
By KIMBERLY TRONE
The Press-Enterprise
Stanley Sniff, a 28-year veteran of the Riverside County Sheriff's Department who was abruptly fired last year without explanation, will replace the man who dismissed him.
Riverside County supervisors voted 3-2 Monday to appoint Sniff to replace retiring Sheriff Bob Doyle. They also agreed to seek emergency state legislation to hold a special election for sheriff.
The government code requires special elections to align with the gubernatorial election in 2010, which is when Doyle's term expires.
The next regular session of the state Legislature begins Jan. 7, and supervisors said a special election could be a year or more away.
"This is a decision that belongs in the hands of the voters," Board Chairman John Tavaglione said.
Supervisors Bob Buster and Roy Wilson voted for Undersheriff Neil Lingle, whom they said was Doyle's logical successor until an election could be conducted.
Story continues below
Doyle, 54, announced his retirement Oct. 12 to take a job on the state parole board. The announcement came less than one year into his second, four-year term amid widespread rumors about rifts between him and other county elected leaders and union officials.
Tavaglione said he was relieved by Doyle's resignation because he was concerned about complaints of turmoil within the department and a string of recent retirements by longtime leaders in Doyle's department.
After the meeting, Tavaglione said he was appalled by documentation the board recently received that suggested a "strong correlation" between employees who were promoted in rank and those who contributed to Doyle's campaign.
Contacted by telephone, Doyle said promotions are made through an examination process and that many sheriffs historically have taken contributions from department employees and there was no quid pro quo.
Doyle said he wrote the first $1,000 check to the campaign of his predecessor, Larry Smith.
The Sheriff's Department, with an annual budget of $450 million, serves unincorporated areas and 13 cities. It employs almost 4,000 full-time law enforcement officers and about 500 volunteers.
During the daylong meeting to name Doyle's successor, a bleak picture emerged of Doyle's management practices from employees and former employees wanting his job.
Loyalty Over Competence
Story continues below
Carrie Rosema / The Press-Enterprise
Los Angeles police Lt. Craig Herron, a candidate for sheriff, left, congratulates Stanley Sniff after Sniff was named to the position.
Assistant Sheriff Valerie Hill, one of five candidates to be interviewed by the board, said Doyle sent out a letter during a November leadership retreat saying he valued loyalty over competency.
The same letter, Hill said, contained orders that top sheriff's executives not speak to certain individuals, including leaders in the Riverside Sheriffs' Association, which represents thousands of deputies and investigators.
That letter has never been made public.
Hill has been with the department for 30 years and oversees the county's crowded jail system. She said Doyle approached her last year and offered her a job as assistant sheriff if she promised to retire at the end of this year.
"I thought about it long and hard," Hill said. But Hill said she changed her mind once Doyle announced his plans to leave the department.
Doyle said the timeline for Hill's departure was based on her own decision about when to retire. He acknowledged sending a letter to his executive staff but said he didn't recall demanding loyalty over competency.
The sheriff said he was absent from the November meeting for medical reasons.
Lingle said he would move the department from a culture of negativity to one of respect and work immediately to depoliticize the post of sheriff.
Describing himself as a strong, independent thinker who often disagreed with Doyle's practices, Lingle said he would not endorse political candidates or accept donations from within his department.
"I am competing against a hurt and bitterness that you and other constituencies have against the sheriff," Lingle said.
In a move that surprised even Sniff, the Law Enforcement Management Unit that represents about 400 of the Sheriff Department's higher-ranking officers publicly announced its endorsement of Sniff.
Unexpected Support
Union President Capt. Louis Fetherolf said almost half the members cast votes and nearly half the voting members cast ballots for Sniff.
Sniff, a former assistant sheriff, also received an endorsement from the Riverside Sheriffs' Association although union leaders did not put the decision to a vote of the members.
When asked by Supervisor Jeff Stone why he was fired, Sniff said no cause had been given but he believed it was because he made it known he intended to run for sheriff in 2010.
Doyle denied Sniff's assertion, saying he had a page of offenses the former assistant sheriff had committed for which he could be fired. Sniff said Monday he has a clean personnel record that he was willing to make public.
Sniff spoke about his desire to build department morale and increase diversity in the ranks. Sniff also said he would increase accountability among some who had not had to answer previously to misconduct although he offered no concrete examples. Sniff said he would work on shifting department loyalty away from an individual and back to the department and community where it belongs. Other candidates interviewed by the board were retired Assistant Sheriff John Boyd and Los Angeles Police Department Lt. Craig Herron.
While Doyle said he was "upset about the lies" he said were told Monday, he also said he recognized Lingle had a balancing act between the current administration and the views of some county supervisors.
"The board had a process. It was their choice to pick. I wish them well and the citizens of Riverside County well."
Reach Kimberly Trone at 951-368-9456 or ktrone@PE.com
SHERIFF STANLEY SNIFF
Age: 58
Home: Riverside
Employment: Riverside County Sheriff's Department from 1975 to 2006, where he rose from deputy police and ultimately oversaw field operations, corrections and court services divisions as assistant sheriff
Education: UC Riverside; enrolled in the University of Redlands' graduate business school to complete a master's degree in management
Military: Retired colonel in the Army Reserves
Friday, September 14, 2007
700 marijuana plants seized in Eastvale home raid
700 marijuana plants seized in Eastvale home raid
10:54 AM PDT on Thursday, September 13, 2007
The Press-Enterprise
Law enforcement officials arrested three men Wednesday night in a raid on a house in a new Eastvale development and discovered an indoor marijuana growing operation and more than 700 plants.
The house, in the 6500 block of Hollis Street near Schleisman Road, with high-intensity lights and watering equipment, had a capacity of about 3,000 plants. It also had an altered electrical meter to disguise its power use, Riverside County Sheriff's Department spokesman Jerry Franchville said Wednesday.
The operation was conducted by the West County Narcotics Taskforce, made up of the Sheriff's Department, the Riverside Police Department, the Riverside County Probation Department, the Corona Police Department, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Riverside County Department of Child Protective Services.
Ying Yochu, 36, Ming Jie Zhao, 21, and Sijian Chen, 37, were arrested on suspicion of cultivating marijuana, Franchville said.
Neighbors noticed no one seemed to live in the home and people stopped by for a few hours every few weeks, Franchville said. Someone called the WeTip line and they passed the information on to the task force, Franchville said.
The 732 plants found at the home were worth about $2.2 million, Franchville said. Others had already been harvested, he said. Plants like those found in the raid can be harvested every 90 days or so, Franchville said.
--Sarah Burge
sburge@PE.com
10:54 AM PDT on Thursday, September 13, 2007
The Press-Enterprise
Law enforcement officials arrested three men Wednesday night in a raid on a house in a new Eastvale development and discovered an indoor marijuana growing operation and more than 700 plants.
The house, in the 6500 block of Hollis Street near Schleisman Road, with high-intensity lights and watering equipment, had a capacity of about 3,000 plants. It also had an altered electrical meter to disguise its power use, Riverside County Sheriff's Department spokesman Jerry Franchville said Wednesday.
The operation was conducted by the West County Narcotics Taskforce, made up of the Sheriff's Department, the Riverside Police Department, the Riverside County Probation Department, the Corona Police Department, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Riverside County Department of Child Protective Services.
Ying Yochu, 36, Ming Jie Zhao, 21, and Sijian Chen, 37, were arrested on suspicion of cultivating marijuana, Franchville said.
Neighbors noticed no one seemed to live in the home and people stopped by for a few hours every few weeks, Franchville said. Someone called the WeTip line and they passed the information on to the task force, Franchville said.
The 732 plants found at the home were worth about $2.2 million, Franchville said. Others had already been harvested, he said. Plants like those found in the raid can be harvested every 90 days or so, Franchville said.
--Sarah Burge
sburge@PE.com
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Grumpy Diabetic
I am a grumpy diabetic.
I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes about 7 weeks ago. It came as a surprise.
I was drinking mass amounts of water at the time, about 5-6 liters a day, and having to urinate frequently, but apart from that, I had no idea anythign was wrong. And the thirst I chalked up to just being a thirsty dude during the summer.
It came up during a pre-employment physical. I did not accept the job--but I am so glad they did this test.
I am currently taking glyburide. Sometimes I get really irritable. For a while I had some really blurry vision that would come and go, along with headaches. I still get the occasional headache, but my vision seems to be ok.
I check my blood sugar once or twice a day with a Lifescan Ultra2 glucose monitor. I got it for free!
I've been trying to watch my diet, and exercise more. It's hard--I have gained 15 pounds since I started the medication.
More to come...
I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes about 7 weeks ago. It came as a surprise.
I was drinking mass amounts of water at the time, about 5-6 liters a day, and having to urinate frequently, but apart from that, I had no idea anythign was wrong. And the thirst I chalked up to just being a thirsty dude during the summer.
It came up during a pre-employment physical. I did not accept the job--but I am so glad they did this test.
I am currently taking glyburide. Sometimes I get really irritable. For a while I had some really blurry vision that would come and go, along with headaches. I still get the occasional headache, but my vision seems to be ok.
I check my blood sugar once or twice a day with a Lifescan Ultra2 glucose monitor. I got it for free!
I've been trying to watch my diet, and exercise more. It's hard--I have gained 15 pounds since I started the medication.
More to come...
Xyience Xenergy
I love beverages. I love all types of beverages. But energy drinks are among my favorite beverages. Red Bull, Rockstar, Monster, etc. I try to sample them all. I recently had the opportunity to try Xyience Xenergy. I’d never heard of it, despite the fact that they have deals with the UFC (Ultimate Fighting), Spike TV, etc.
It comes in like 6 or 7 different flavors. All of them are sugar free, evidently Xyience also makes health foods, supplements and the like for body builders / weight lifters.
I tried both the cran razz and the big apple. Both were good, the big apple tasted better (in my opinion), but both affected me the same. Initially I was unimpressed, maybe disappointed, as I felt little. Definitely no surge of energy, no jolt of power. But as my day continued, I felt energetic and motivated, and this feeling lasted for a long time, with no speedy side affects. Xyience http://www.xyience.com is definitely a great drink, a healthy drink, perhaps a bit over priced ($2.79), but good.
It comes in like 6 or 7 different flavors. All of them are sugar free, evidently Xyience also makes health foods, supplements and the like for body builders / weight lifters.
I tried both the cran razz and the big apple. Both were good, the big apple tasted better (in my opinion), but both affected me the same. Initially I was unimpressed, maybe disappointed, as I felt little. Definitely no surge of energy, no jolt of power. But as my day continued, I felt energetic and motivated, and this feeling lasted for a long time, with no speedy side affects. Xyience http://www.xyience.com is definitely a great drink, a healthy drink, perhaps a bit over priced ($2.79), but good.
Friday, June 01, 2007
Exiting Pedley
Once again it is necessary for me to exit Pedley proper, at least for a time.
I am still close enough to Pedley to visit often and report on i
I will definitely get pictures when the new McDonalds has its grand opening.
I believe the Wells Fargo in what used to be a Vons has closed, moving down the street into an actual building in the Albertsons sopping center on Limonite.
If anyone needs to find me, I will be living in a van down by the river.
Matt Foley
I am still close enough to Pedley to visit often and report on i
I will definitely get pictures when the new McDonalds has its grand opening.
I believe the Wells Fargo in what used to be a Vons has closed, moving down the street into an actual building in the Albertsons sopping center on Limonite.
If anyone needs to find me, I will be living in a van down by the river.
Matt Foley
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
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