Rialto considers farmers market
Article Launched:03/07/2007 01:00:00 AM PST
RIALTO - City officials agree that the key to energizing downtown is getting shoppers on the streets, so they are talking with downtown business owners about holding a farmers market.
"It's a really nice project in a community," said Oscar de Leon, manager of the seven-year-old Claremont farmers market, which is held in that city's downtown on Sundays.
At the last Rialto downtown Business Improvement District Association meeting, Frank Roque, a representative of the Southland Farmers' Market Association, said he would like to locate a market at the corner of Rialto and Riverside avenues that would offer fresh products grown by local farmers. He also said the association would like to find a large building in the city to use as its home base.
The market, which would be similar to markets in Fontana, Palm Springs or Grand Central Market in Los Angeles, would probably not get off the ground until next year if approved.
- Jason Pesick, (909) 386-3861
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BS Ranch Perspective:
The last time that Rialto had a Farmers market the first few times they had huge crowds of people, and they started out a Success, but then the people that were there discovered that they could get the Produce and the other things that they were purchasing there for a whole lot less at Stator Bro's Market in the same city on their Shopping spree, and they didn't have to fight the crowds at the downtown Farmer's Market. We didn't have any fights or bad things happen. I think that out of one year and about two Wednesday's that followed the next season of Summer Fun, they cancelled it due to lack of participation and no money coming in. As soon as people was not making any money for produce sales they didn't come down for the Market at all. The only Farmers Market that was worth the time and effort was the Redlands Farmers Market, they had a very successful one.
BS Ranch
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Wanted: New PD Digs (SB Sun 030907) Leaks, Mice, Plaque Rialto Police HQ!!
LEAKS, MICE PLAGUE RIALTO POLICE HQ
Wanted: New PD digs
Jason Pesick, Staff Writer
San Bernardino County Sun
Article Launched:03/09/2007 12:00:00 AM PST
RIALTO - The Police Department is a sight to behold. Boxes and old filing cabinets sit throughout the hallways. Records are kept in outdoor bunkers. Much of the staff works out of trailers. Mousetraps dot the dingy hallways.
"We've seriously outgrown this facility," police Capt. Raul Martinez said on a tour of the station Thursday.
That sentiment, which seemed to be shared by everyone Martinez ran into as he walked the police grounds, is not surprising coming from members of the rank and file.
But now the City Council agrees - only a year and a half after it voted to disband the Police Department and contract with the Sheriff's Department, a decision it later reversed - it's time for a new building.
At Tuesday night's council meeting, when Chief Mark Kling received approval for new vehicles, equipment and new paint and flooring for the current building, the council overwhelmingly declared support for a new building.
Councilman Ed Scott, who was among those who had voted to eliminate the Police Department, said he wants the council to decide to build a new station this year - prompting a chorus of support for the idea.
The current station was built about 35 years ago, when Rialto was a much smaller city. In the next 25 years, the city is expected to grow by 65 percent, to about 165,000 residents.
Records Supervisor Glenda Montgomery said records employees have to keep files under their desks. She also pointed out a number of makeshift records-storage areas, including a packed closet and a storage bunker in the parking lot employees have to run back and forth to.
"We do that every day," she said.
Rooms that used to be closets now serve as offices.
Police Cpl. Steven Mastaler said that in the winter he needs to install a floor heater in his office.
"I like it cold, but sometimes it's just too cold," he said.
The building also has leaks. Noretta Barker, a law-enforcement technician working in dispatch, said that when the holding cells upstairs flood, the water leaks into the dispatch area in the basement.
The drab facility also makes recruitment a challenge, Martinez said, and the Police Department is hiring both sworn and non-sworn employees.
The city is planning to raise money for a police facility. A study from October estimates the city will need $15million for an expansion of the police station, said Chief Financial Officer June Overholt. Much of that money will come from increasing development-impact fees, she said.
At a recent community meeting at the Rialto Senior Center, Kling, who started as chief a little more than six months ago, said he found the police facilities to be subpar when he took the post.
"If you're going to expect a professional department, then, you know what? It starts at home."
Contact writer Jason Pesick at (909) 386-3861 or via e-mail at jason.pesick@sbsun.com.
--
BS Ranch Perspective:
The Police Department has been looking to be rebuilt since I started there back in the late 1980's. Only they were looking at a design the size of the Station that currently is similar to that of Fontana's Main Police Station. Back then Chief Ray Farmer had placed a Ballot on the voter's plate to look at, for a 1/2 cent tax, to be added to the utilities to pay for the construction of a new Police Facility at the current Location where the Police Station stands. The City Council at the time took a small amount of land from the Lumber Yard that is located just to the West of the Police Station, by way of Imminent Domain. The Police Department Quickly fenced that area off and made it into an Employee Parking lot, which is where the Employee's Park today. The Driveway Apron that is located where the entrance to the West lot or the Rear of the Current Station was to be the entrance to the Underground Parking for the Police Units, and they were going to be able to place them all down there. the Prisoner's were all going to be loaded and unloaded into the station from a Secure Sally port, that would prevent escape or Lynching of a Prisoner, while you were taking them into the station from the scene of arrest or moving them from the station to transport them to Jail for booking.
The whole thing was going to be great, I mean Traffic would not have to be housed in a building down the street from the current station, and The Detectives would be on their own floor, but in the same building as the rest of the people that they work with! It would also house the C.A.U. Offices (Crime Analysis Unit's), along with purchasing and the Law Enforcement Tech.'s and Human Services, all in the same building, could you imagine that has not been that way since before 1987. It would be great and Rialto Police department would be more like a Police Station and not a Division of a major Police Agency.
BS Ranch!
Wanted: New PD digs
Jason Pesick, Staff Writer
San Bernardino County Sun
Article Launched:03/09/2007 12:00:00 AM PST
RIALTO - The Police Department is a sight to behold. Boxes and old filing cabinets sit throughout the hallways. Records are kept in outdoor bunkers. Much of the staff works out of trailers. Mousetraps dot the dingy hallways.
"We've seriously outgrown this facility," police Capt. Raul Martinez said on a tour of the station Thursday.
That sentiment, which seemed to be shared by everyone Martinez ran into as he walked the police grounds, is not surprising coming from members of the rank and file.
But now the City Council agrees - only a year and a half after it voted to disband the Police Department and contract with the Sheriff's Department, a decision it later reversed - it's time for a new building.
At Tuesday night's council meeting, when Chief Mark Kling received approval for new vehicles, equipment and new paint and flooring for the current building, the council overwhelmingly declared support for a new building.
Councilman Ed Scott, who was among those who had voted to eliminate the Police Department, said he wants the council to decide to build a new station this year - prompting a chorus of support for the idea.
The current station was built about 35 years ago, when Rialto was a much smaller city. In the next 25 years, the city is expected to grow by 65 percent, to about 165,000 residents.
Records Supervisor Glenda Montgomery said records employees have to keep files under their desks. She also pointed out a number of makeshift records-storage areas, including a packed closet and a storage bunker in the parking lot employees have to run back and forth to.
"We do that every day," she said.
Rooms that used to be closets now serve as offices.
Police Cpl. Steven Mastaler said that in the winter he needs to install a floor heater in his office.
"I like it cold, but sometimes it's just too cold," he said.
The building also has leaks. Noretta Barker, a law-enforcement technician working in dispatch, said that when the holding cells upstairs flood, the water leaks into the dispatch area in the basement.
The drab facility also makes recruitment a challenge, Martinez said, and the Police Department is hiring both sworn and non-sworn employees.
The city is planning to raise money for a police facility. A study from October estimates the city will need $15million for an expansion of the police station, said Chief Financial Officer June Overholt. Much of that money will come from increasing development-impact fees, she said.
At a recent community meeting at the Rialto Senior Center, Kling, who started as chief a little more than six months ago, said he found the police facilities to be subpar when he took the post.
"If you're going to expect a professional department, then, you know what? It starts at home."
Contact writer Jason Pesick at (909) 386-3861 or via e-mail at jason.pesick@sbsun.com.
--
BS Ranch Perspective:
The Police Department has been looking to be rebuilt since I started there back in the late 1980's. Only they were looking at a design the size of the Station that currently is similar to that of Fontana's Main Police Station. Back then Chief Ray Farmer had placed a Ballot on the voter's plate to look at, for a 1/2 cent tax, to be added to the utilities to pay for the construction of a new Police Facility at the current Location where the Police Station stands. The City Council at the time took a small amount of land from the Lumber Yard that is located just to the West of the Police Station, by way of Imminent Domain. The Police Department Quickly fenced that area off and made it into an Employee Parking lot, which is where the Employee's Park today. The Driveway Apron that is located where the entrance to the West lot or the Rear of the Current Station was to be the entrance to the Underground Parking for the Police Units, and they were going to be able to place them all down there. the Prisoner's were all going to be loaded and unloaded into the station from a Secure Sally port, that would prevent escape or Lynching of a Prisoner, while you were taking them into the station from the scene of arrest or moving them from the station to transport them to Jail for booking.
The whole thing was going to be great, I mean Traffic would not have to be housed in a building down the street from the current station, and The Detectives would be on their own floor, but in the same building as the rest of the people that they work with! It would also house the C.A.U. Offices (Crime Analysis Unit's), along with purchasing and the Law Enforcement Tech.'s and Human Services, all in the same building, could you imagine that has not been that way since before 1987. It would be great and Rialto Police department would be more like a Police Station and not a Division of a major Police Agency.
BS Ranch!
Pedestrian Alert in Rialto (SB Sun 031107)
Pedestrian alert in Rialto
Drivers blameless in two deaths
Jason Pesick, Staff Writer
San Bernardino County Sun
Article Launched:03/11/2007 12:00:00 AM PST
RIALTO - Look both ways before crossing the street. Use crosswalks. And remember that cars have the right of way.
Sound like simple rules, but police say they bear repeating after two pedestrians were killed and another injured in the last two weeks.
"All three of them, the pedestrian was at fault," said Rialto police Sgt. Jim Kurkoske.
Police suggested to the City Council more time should be spent educating people about traffic safety, particularly school kids.
A 17-year-old high school student recently sustained moderate injuries when struck while crossing the street near the intersection of Rialto and Arrowhead avenues.
On March 2, a woman was hit crossing Foothill Boulevard near Willow Avenue. A few days earlier, on Feb. 27, a man was hit crossing Riverside Avenue near Etiwanda Avenue.
The two who died were both inebriated, Kurkoske said.
It's not a crime for a driver to hit a pedestrian if the driver is not at fault, Kurkoske said. But because the driver who hit the pedestrian near the intersection of Foothill and Willow drove away, he or she has committed a felony.
The driver was in a red, 1980s-style hatchback that might be an Audi, Kurkoske said. Anyone with information should call Officer Ron Russo at (909) 421-7200.
The two pedestrians who have been killed were the only pedestrian deaths this year. Last year, four died, Kurkoske said.
At Tuesday night's City Council meeting, Councilman Ed Scott asked Police Chief Mark Kling about what could be done to limit dangers.
"It's simple, and it's community education," Kling answered.
Kurkoske said pedestrians have to remember to enter the road legally, use crosswalks and keep in mind that cars otherwise have the right of way.
Avoiding being hit by traffic starts with parents teaching their children traffic safety and telling them not to play in the streets, he said.
--
BS Ranch Perspective:
Those Vehicle Vs. Pedestrian Accidents are bad to work. There are many bits and pieces of ground meat that is left on the pavement and it is not a great thing to work. There is some kind of thought that the Ped. Always has the right of way in the street which is wrong. The Car more times then not has the Right of way, and the Ped. Doesn't The exceptions are when there is a Cross Walk that is clearly marked with two marked lines and the Ped is walking within the two marked lines. The second is when you are walking against a Green Signal and a person Runs a red Light and strikes the Pedestrian as they are crossing against a green. Then the Car or Driver is in violation of 22350(a). failure to stop behind the limit line against the red signal.
BS Ranch
Drivers blameless in two deaths
Jason Pesick, Staff Writer
San Bernardino County Sun
Article Launched:03/11/2007 12:00:00 AM PST
RIALTO - Look both ways before crossing the street. Use crosswalks. And remember that cars have the right of way.
Sound like simple rules, but police say they bear repeating after two pedestrians were killed and another injured in the last two weeks.
"All three of them, the pedestrian was at fault," said Rialto police Sgt. Jim Kurkoske.
Police suggested to the City Council more time should be spent educating people about traffic safety, particularly school kids.
A 17-year-old high school student recently sustained moderate injuries when struck while crossing the street near the intersection of Rialto and Arrowhead avenues.
On March 2, a woman was hit crossing Foothill Boulevard near Willow Avenue. A few days earlier, on Feb. 27, a man was hit crossing Riverside Avenue near Etiwanda Avenue.
The two who died were both inebriated, Kurkoske said.
It's not a crime for a driver to hit a pedestrian if the driver is not at fault, Kurkoske said. But because the driver who hit the pedestrian near the intersection of Foothill and Willow drove away, he or she has committed a felony.
The driver was in a red, 1980s-style hatchback that might be an Audi, Kurkoske said. Anyone with information should call Officer Ron Russo at (909) 421-7200.
The two pedestrians who have been killed were the only pedestrian deaths this year. Last year, four died, Kurkoske said.
At Tuesday night's City Council meeting, Councilman Ed Scott asked Police Chief Mark Kling about what could be done to limit dangers.
"It's simple, and it's community education," Kling answered.
Kurkoske said pedestrians have to remember to enter the road legally, use crosswalks and keep in mind that cars otherwise have the right of way.
Avoiding being hit by traffic starts with parents teaching their children traffic safety and telling them not to play in the streets, he said.
--
BS Ranch Perspective:
Those Vehicle Vs. Pedestrian Accidents are bad to work. There are many bits and pieces of ground meat that is left on the pavement and it is not a great thing to work. There is some kind of thought that the Ped. Always has the right of way in the street which is wrong. The Car more times then not has the Right of way, and the Ped. Doesn't The exceptions are when there is a Cross Walk that is clearly marked with two marked lines and the Ped is walking within the two marked lines. The second is when you are walking against a Green Signal and a person Runs a red Light and strikes the Pedestrian as they are crossing against a green. Then the Car or Driver is in violation of 22350(a). failure to stop behind the limit line against the red signal.
BS Ranch
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Two Volunteer NYPD Officers Shot, Killed (AP March 15th 07) Two others dead in shooting.
Two Volunteer NYPD Officers Shot, Killed
Two others dead in shootings
Posted: March 15th, 2007 09:04 AM EDT
Courtesy of WABC-TV
Volunteer Officers Nicholas Todd Pekearo and Eugene Marshalik
AP Photo/Charles Edouard Jottras
NYPD officers look at the body of the gunman who shot and killed two volunteer officers and two others, March 14.
A gunman rampaged through a strip of restaurants and bars in a trendy Manhattan neighborhood, killing a pizzeria employee and two unarmed volunteer police officers before other officers shot him to death, the mayor said.
Gunman David Gavin had a fake beard, two guns and 100 rounds of ammunition, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said early Thursday.
"Tonight was a horrible night for the New York Police Department and for our city," he said. "Two men who volunteered their time to make our city the safest big city in America lost their lives helping to keep it exactly that way."
The shooting began around 9 p.m. Wednesday, the mayor said. Gavin, 32, went into a Greenwich Village pizzeria, asked for a menu and then shot an employee 15 times in the back before fleeing, Bloomberg said. Police identified the employee as Alfredo Romaro, 35.
Nicholas Todd Pekearo and Eugene Marshalik, two of the city's nearly 4,500 volunteer police officers, responded to the shooting and approached Gavin, who crossed the street and fired at them. Volunteer officers are civilians who wear uniforms, are unarmed and help patrol streets.
Gavin then exchanged gunfire with regular officers, the mayor said. Several uniformed officers suffered minor injuries.
Authorities recovered the 9mm semiautomatic pistol Gavin fired, plus a .380-caliber semiautomatic handgun in a bag with the ammunition, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said. Gavin shot at least 23 rounds.
"He appeared to be ready to take even more lives," said Kelly.
A worker in a nearby restaurant, Nikola Simic, said he saw police officers swarm toward the middle of the street where the volunteer officers were slain.
"Then we heard a shooting that was like a good five minutes," Simic said.
Police said they did not know what prompted Gavin to begin shooting.
Pekearo, 28, was a writer with a book scheduled to be published soon, the mayor said. Marshalik, 19, a student at nearby New York University, had immigrated from Russia, Bloomberg said. The mayor said Marshalik hoped eventually to join the police force.
Marshalik and Pekearo were the first New York City volunteer police officers to die in the line of duty since 1993, according to the mayor. Only five other volunteer officers have died in the line of duty in the city's history.
The street where the shooting occurred is located near NYU's downtown campus, close to Washington Square Park and near several famous bars and restaurants, including Cafe Wha?, where Bob Dylan used to perform.
Associated Press writers Samantha Gross and Jennifer Peltz contributed to this report.
Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
BS Ranch Perspective:March 15th was a terrible day in Law Enforcement History, the Texas Troopers lost a good Officer to a traffic collision and this amazing shoot out at a business in New York. With all the shooting that was going on it was amazing that there was only four lives lost. New York Police did a great job, considering the situation and how it started. The two Officers that were on scene first was the two Axillary Officers or in California they are known as Reserve Officers. It is a natural Progression Volunteer job, that gives you the perspective to see if Law Enforcement is something that you want to do for the rest of your life. Because unlike any other career, Law Enforcement is a life style and not just a career or a job.Even though my prayers go out to the families of the Auxiliary Officers and their families, the lives that they touched in a positive way by their volunteering that they did for the city that they loved so much to do what they did that they gave the ultimate sacrifice to. God Bless and God Speed my fellow Officers.BS Ranch
Texas State Trooper Killed in Crash (March 15, 07 NBCi.com).
Texas State Trooper Killed in Crash
Posted: March 15th, 2007 03:52 PM EDT
IBS/KXAS
Trooper Todd Holmes
A state highway patrol trooper was killed late Wednesday when his patrol car was struck by a tractor-trailer in East Texas, officials said.
Todd Holmes, 29, had crossed the median of U.S. 59 to pursue a vehicle when he was broadsided by the 18-wheeler, said Lisa Block, a Texas Department of Public Safety spokeswoman.
Block said a DPS accident reconstruction team was investigating the crash, which occurred in Harrison County just north of Marshall.
There were no other injuries.
Holmes, who was stationed in Gilmer, was married and had three young children, Block said.
BS Ranch Perspective:Looks like another terrible day in the life of a law enforcement Officer in Texas. I don't know Todd Holmes personally However it is terrible when any of our massive Law Enforcement's Fine Blue Line, gets weakened in any way. I pray and pay my respects to the loss to the Department, and the Family of Officer Holmes. God Speed my friend. God Speed.BSRanch
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Crews Into the Final Stretch Paving the Way for Freeway (SB Sun 092206)
Crews into the final stretch
Paving the way for freeway
Andrew Silva, Staff Writer
San Bernardino County Sun
Article Launched:09/21/2006 12:00:00 AM PDT
RIALTO - In the past few days, a gently curving ribbon of white concrete has appeared in the wide dirt trench that will cradle the new Interstate 210 extension.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Photo Gallery: 210 freeway expansion
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
With paving now under way for the final seven-mile stretch of the long-awaited freeway, the project has entered the home stretch, with promises of relief to frazzled commuters and an economic boon to the working-class communities in its path.
About 10 feet above the evolving roadway, Shane Morales leaned on a rail at the top of a crawling steel structure resembling something out of a "Star Wars" movie, as he casually piloted the Gomarco GP-4000 paving machine.
"It pretty much runs itself," the 35-year-old Riverside resident said over the whine of the 475-horsepower diesel engine just behind him.
Giant dump trucks dropped 22 cubic yards of fresh concrete at a time in front of the machine as it crept steadily along at about 15 feet per minute.
With each load, the skip-loader driver confidently sped into the pile, running the bucket to within a few inches of the front of the paver as he spread the wet gray pile so the machine could draw the concrete in evenly.
Working from Pepper Avenue west to Ayala Drive and back, the 20 workmen have laid roughly three miles of the inside shoulder, carpool lane and fast lane in each direction.
At least they've done that for the first 6-inch-thick layer. The freeway lanes will be 18 inches thick when finished, with a 1-inch asphalt-concrete layer in the middle to reduce shocks and cracks, topped by the final 11-inch-thick concrete roadway.
When finished, the I-210 extension will connect to Highway 30 in San Bernardino, providing an uninterrupted run connecting Redlands, Pasadena and Interstate 5 north of Los Angeles, all while taking some of the heat off the teeth-gnashing mess on Interstate 10.
The freeway has already proven to be an economic boon to Upland, Rancho Cucamonga and Fontana.
"The freeways have become like the rivers of old in attracting commerce," said Robb Steel, Rialto's development director.
Indeed, city officials decided to close the Rialto Municipal Airport to free up space for development that will be drawn to the new freeway.
"We want to capture our share of the regional commercial market," Steel said.
The city has already brought in two major distribution centers totaling 6 million square feet thanks to the new route.
And the airport site is envisioned as a high-quality mixed-use development, bringing residential, retail and commercial together in one walkable area.
Fontana has already seen the I-210 extension fulfill its promise as a road to riches.
The areas around the freeway have exploded with high-end development, luring businesses and middle- to upper-middle-income residents, the demographic long-coveted by the once-struggling city.
"The 210 has been the main artery pumping life into that (economic) heart," Fontana Mayor Mark Nuaimi said.
Fontana has seen houses selling for $700,000, a new auto mall, ambitious community parks in the works, and plans for a development called the Promenade, similar to Rancho Cucamonga's successful Victoria Gardens.
Professionals from the San Gabriel Valley have been able to move east to Fontana and buy nicer homes for less money without adding a ton of misery to their commutes, Nuaimi said.
Inland Empire economist John Husing sees the freeway as a chance to open entire areas of the San Bernardino Valley to economic development.
San Bernardino International Airport will be surrounded by interstates, he said, further attracting shipping and warehouse businesses. Not to mention the benefit to commuters and truckers of easing congestion on the chronically jammed I-10.
San Bernardino's long-impoverished Westside could be in for a major shift, he said.
"Muscoy is an area due for dramatic change," Husing said.
County Supervisor Josie Gonzales, who represents the area, agrees.
State Street could become a major commercial corridor, linking the Cal State San Bernardino area with Muscoy, she said.
She approved spending $300,000 to study possible improvements to State Street, including widening, curbs and gutters, and maybe street lights if residents want them.
"That's a brand-new business frontier that wouldn't be there without the freeway," she said.
Of course, there are still some bridges to be finished and plenty of work to be done before the first cars drive on the last stretch of the freeway extension late next year.
But the start of the final phase of paving "is a milestone for us," said Cheryl Donahue, spokeswoman for San Bernardino Associated Governments, which is building the freeway.
Back on the paving machine, foreman Kim Vanvolkinburg of San Diego-based Coffman Specialties praised the tight choreography of his crew as they laid a 37-foot-wide layer of concrete in a single pass.
Giant rotating screws, called augers, in front of the machine distribute the concrete as it's drawn under the paver, where vibrating mechanisms make sure the material is even.
Big steel plates leave behind an incredibly even surface, while finishers trailing behind run trowels on long poles over the concrete to precisely smooth out the base layer.
On a pleasantly warm afternoon, with the great machine vibrating beneath his feet, Vanvolkinburg looks around, smiles broadly, and says above the noise: "I love it!"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BS Ranch Perspective:
Well the final stretch is in the paper, but that doesn't mean that it will be open any time soon, they tease with the best of them with that comment! The time that they were going to open that last stretch of the I-15 through Norco, it took them a great deal of time, each time they had several reports in the news paper that said that it was going to be any day now, and it could have opened any time, but they decided against it because they had a more then seven mile movie set that could more then make its money back in time and efforts for the over time that it took to pay the men to open the freeway in a timely manor. But, if you recall, which I do, this last stretch of freeway was supposed to have been opened already nine months ago, but it was delayed as a result of a fear that the proposition that pays for the whole mess was not going to pass in the voting booth, well it did, but before then they figured what a mistake they were making and decided to correct it by making a move to start construction back up, but that short time that they were closed down, caused almost a full nine months to a year to make them behind. weird huh? or is that just my "New Math" working against them, and the "old Math" working against them?? I get so confused about the new vs. the old?
BS Ranch
Paving the way for freeway
Andrew Silva, Staff Writer
San Bernardino County Sun
Article Launched:09/21/2006 12:00:00 AM PDT
RIALTO - In the past few days, a gently curving ribbon of white concrete has appeared in the wide dirt trench that will cradle the new Interstate 210 extension.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Photo Gallery: 210 freeway expansion
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
With paving now under way for the final seven-mile stretch of the long-awaited freeway, the project has entered the home stretch, with promises of relief to frazzled commuters and an economic boon to the working-class communities in its path.
About 10 feet above the evolving roadway, Shane Morales leaned on a rail at the top of a crawling steel structure resembling something out of a "Star Wars" movie, as he casually piloted the Gomarco GP-4000 paving machine.
"It pretty much runs itself," the 35-year-old Riverside resident said over the whine of the 475-horsepower diesel engine just behind him.
Giant dump trucks dropped 22 cubic yards of fresh concrete at a time in front of the machine as it crept steadily along at about 15 feet per minute.
With each load, the skip-loader driver confidently sped into the pile, running the bucket to within a few inches of the front of the paver as he spread the wet gray pile so the machine could draw the concrete in evenly.
Working from Pepper Avenue west to Ayala Drive and back, the 20 workmen have laid roughly three miles of the inside shoulder, carpool lane and fast lane in each direction.
At least they've done that for the first 6-inch-thick layer. The freeway lanes will be 18 inches thick when finished, with a 1-inch asphalt-concrete layer in the middle to reduce shocks and cracks, topped by the final 11-inch-thick concrete roadway.
When finished, the I-210 extension will connect to Highway 30 in San Bernardino, providing an uninterrupted run connecting Redlands, Pasadena and Interstate 5 north of Los Angeles, all while taking some of the heat off the teeth-gnashing mess on Interstate 10.
The freeway has already proven to be an economic boon to Upland, Rancho Cucamonga and Fontana.
"The freeways have become like the rivers of old in attracting commerce," said Robb Steel, Rialto's development director.
Indeed, city officials decided to close the Rialto Municipal Airport to free up space for development that will be drawn to the new freeway.
"We want to capture our share of the regional commercial market," Steel said.
The city has already brought in two major distribution centers totaling 6 million square feet thanks to the new route.
And the airport site is envisioned as a high-quality mixed-use development, bringing residential, retail and commercial together in one walkable area.
Fontana has already seen the I-210 extension fulfill its promise as a road to riches.
The areas around the freeway have exploded with high-end development, luring businesses and middle- to upper-middle-income residents, the demographic long-coveted by the once-struggling city.
"The 210 has been the main artery pumping life into that (economic) heart," Fontana Mayor Mark Nuaimi said.
Fontana has seen houses selling for $700,000, a new auto mall, ambitious community parks in the works, and plans for a development called the Promenade, similar to Rancho Cucamonga's successful Victoria Gardens.
Professionals from the San Gabriel Valley have been able to move east to Fontana and buy nicer homes for less money without adding a ton of misery to their commutes, Nuaimi said.
Inland Empire economist John Husing sees the freeway as a chance to open entire areas of the San Bernardino Valley to economic development.
San Bernardino International Airport will be surrounded by interstates, he said, further attracting shipping and warehouse businesses. Not to mention the benefit to commuters and truckers of easing congestion on the chronically jammed I-10.
San Bernardino's long-impoverished Westside could be in for a major shift, he said.
"Muscoy is an area due for dramatic change," Husing said.
County Supervisor Josie Gonzales, who represents the area, agrees.
State Street could become a major commercial corridor, linking the Cal State San Bernardino area with Muscoy, she said.
She approved spending $300,000 to study possible improvements to State Street, including widening, curbs and gutters, and maybe street lights if residents want them.
"That's a brand-new business frontier that wouldn't be there without the freeway," she said.
Of course, there are still some bridges to be finished and plenty of work to be done before the first cars drive on the last stretch of the freeway extension late next year.
But the start of the final phase of paving "is a milestone for us," said Cheryl Donahue, spokeswoman for San Bernardino Associated Governments, which is building the freeway.
Back on the paving machine, foreman Kim Vanvolkinburg of San Diego-based Coffman Specialties praised the tight choreography of his crew as they laid a 37-foot-wide layer of concrete in a single pass.
Giant rotating screws, called augers, in front of the machine distribute the concrete as it's drawn under the paver, where vibrating mechanisms make sure the material is even.
Big steel plates leave behind an incredibly even surface, while finishers trailing behind run trowels on long poles over the concrete to precisely smooth out the base layer.
On a pleasantly warm afternoon, with the great machine vibrating beneath his feet, Vanvolkinburg looks around, smiles broadly, and says above the noise: "I love it!"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BS Ranch Perspective:
Well the final stretch is in the paper, but that doesn't mean that it will be open any time soon, they tease with the best of them with that comment! The time that they were going to open that last stretch of the I-15 through Norco, it took them a great deal of time, each time they had several reports in the news paper that said that it was going to be any day now, and it could have opened any time, but they decided against it because they had a more then seven mile movie set that could more then make its money back in time and efforts for the over time that it took to pay the men to open the freeway in a timely manor. But, if you recall, which I do, this last stretch of freeway was supposed to have been opened already nine months ago, but it was delayed as a result of a fear that the proposition that pays for the whole mess was not going to pass in the voting booth, well it did, but before then they figured what a mistake they were making and decided to correct it by making a move to start construction back up, but that short time that they were closed down, caused almost a full nine months to a year to make them behind. weird huh? or is that just my "New Math" working against them, and the "old Math" working against them?? I get so confused about the new vs. the old?
BS Ranch
Split or Overlay Being Considered (Union-Tribune 022207)
Split or overlay being considered
By Kathryn Balint
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
February 22, 2007
The 760 area code, which stretches 400 miles from Escondido to national forestlands in Mono County, will run out of phone numbers within 2½ years unless it is split or overlaid with a new area code.
The association responsible for giving out phone numbers proposes either dividing the 760 area code into two areas – one that would keep the 760 designation and one that would be assigned a new code, 442 – or imposing an “overlay” in which new customers would be given the 442 area code.
John Manning, director of the North American Numbering Plan Administration, said increasing use of fax machines, cell phones and Voice-Over-Internet Protocol phone service has boosted demand for telephone numbers.
Area-Code Changes:
How to weigh in
Who: California Public Utilities Commission
What: Public participation meeting
When: 7 p.m. today
Where: El Centro City Council chambers, 1275 Main St., El Centro
Web site: www.cpuc.ca.gov/760areacode
E-mail: public.advisor.la@cpuc.ca.gov
Letter: PUC Public Advisor's Office, 320 W. Fourth St., Suite 500,
Los Angeles, CA 90013
“In the past, a household had one phone number, and now every person in the household – even the children – has a cell phone,” he said.
The administration, run by NeuStar, a Sterling, Va., company under contract to the Federal Communications Commission, distributes available phone numbers within the 332 area codes in North America.
The 760 area code will have depleted all possible prefixes by fall 2009, according to administration estimates. Currently, about 60 prefixes are left out of the nearly 800 available in the 760 code.
While each area code has 7.9 million total phone numbers available, the numbers are assigned by individual phone companies, and Manning said he didn't know how many numbers are in use in the 760 area code.
The administration and the telephone companies that service 760 have come up with three options being considered by the California Public Utilities Commission. Two would split the region into two separate area codes, and one would overlay the 442 prefix over the whole region.
The alternatives calling for a division of the area code do not specify which portion would get the 442 code and which would keep 760. If the commission votes to divide the 760 code, it would decide which area keeps the 760 prefix.
The 760 area code covers a sprawling region, including Escondido, Oceanside, Vista, Encinitas, Valley Center, San Marcos, Fallbrook and Julian in San Diego County. It also covers parts of Imperial, Riverside, San Bernardino, Mono and Inyo counties.
One option for a split would separate the San Diego County territory into its own area code. A second option would combine that region in north and east San Diego County with Imperial County areas into one area code.
The telephone companies recommend the overlay of a new code, said Joe Cocke, the administration's senior area-code relief planner.
Both the split and the overlay would extend the life of prefixes available in the current 760 region by 14 years to 22 years, depending on the plan. Each has disadvantages.
In the case of a split, companies assigned a new area code must redo letterhead stationery and business cards, change advertisements and get the word out to customers. Residents would have to send out address-book updates and deal with the headaches of a new phone number.
With an overlay, every land-line caller would have to dial 1, plus the area code, for all calls – whether the number is a new number with the new area code. All cell phone callers would dial the area code and number even if the service is in the same area code.
Local calling areas and prices would not shift as a result of an area-code split or overlay, Manning said.
The PUC staff held a meeting in Carlsbad last night to explain options and take public input. The final decision is up to the five-member commission and is not expected until the end of the year, said PUC spokeswoman Susan Carothers.
“It's a factor of doing business, but it's very painful if you're a small business,” said Ted Owen, president and chief executive of the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce.
Owen said that if the area-code change is essential, businesses would prefer to have the longest grace period possible – 12 to 18 months.
The 760 area code was imposed in 1997 after a six-month grace period during which the old 619 prefix and the new 760 code worked for numbers moved to 760.
“I know there will be some folks who are not going to be happy about it happening,” said Harvey Mitchell, president and chief executive of the Escondido Chamber of Commerce. “It's expensive for everybody. However, as a practical matter, we need it to continue our growth.”
The numbering administration proposed splitting the 760 code seven years ago, but the idea was postponed when it conserved numbers by distributing them to phone companies in blocks of 1,000 instead of blocks of 10,000.
Of the four area codes added last year in North America – two in Canada and two in the United States – all were overlays, Manning said.
He said overlays are more common in small geographic areas, such as Los Angeles, while a split might be more feasible for a large area such as the 760 area code.
“When you're dealing with a large geographic area, I'd say the opportunity to do a split is better in that you can still retain some type of geographic significance,” Manning said.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kathryn Balint: (619) 293-2848; kathryn.balint@uniontrib.com
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BS Ranch Perspective:
Looks like either the population in San Diego County, Kern, and Inyo Counties are all growing by leaps and bounds that every one is demanding or purchasing Cellular phones, that they are getting new phone numbers accessing the already dwindling available phone numbers in that area, they will see what it was once like for us big city area's to go through when the area changes took effect between us, Riverside and Los Angeles Counties.
OH, what fun it is now. When I was growing up, when you called to talk to a friend and they were not home, the phone would ring for approximately 18 times before going to a ring to the Operator. Then as time past you would call your friend and a special recorded message would ring out, asking for you to leave a message after a predetermined tone or beep.
As time rolled along, the family of four got what was known as a Pager, and PageNet was born in Southern California, I don't think that PageNet is around today!, they were huge at one time, at the beginning of the 90's and through to about 95 the pager was the one, then it was LA-Cellular that took over, but it was still around a dollar a minute for a cellular call.
Now, a Family of four, The Mother, Father, Son, & Daughter all have phones, Why we still have not allowed ourselves to get away from the old days, because the house still has its own phone for the people in the home to use. LOL..it is many times that either many of your friends don't give out both numbers and you have one or the other, and it ranks you as how friendly you are with that family, if you have all their numbers well then you can bet that you are well suited to be in like the dickens with that family.
BS Ranch..
By Kathryn Balint
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
February 22, 2007
The 760 area code, which stretches 400 miles from Escondido to national forestlands in Mono County, will run out of phone numbers within 2½ years unless it is split or overlaid with a new area code.
The association responsible for giving out phone numbers proposes either dividing the 760 area code into two areas – one that would keep the 760 designation and one that would be assigned a new code, 442 – or imposing an “overlay” in which new customers would be given the 442 area code.
John Manning, director of the North American Numbering Plan Administration, said increasing use of fax machines, cell phones and Voice-Over-Internet Protocol phone service has boosted demand for telephone numbers.
Area-Code Changes:
How to weigh in
Who: California Public Utilities Commission
What: Public participation meeting
When: 7 p.m. today
Where: El Centro City Council chambers, 1275 Main St., El Centro
Web site: www.cpuc.ca.gov/760areacode
E-mail: public.advisor.la@cpuc.ca.gov
Letter: PUC Public Advisor's Office, 320 W. Fourth St., Suite 500,
Los Angeles, CA 90013
“In the past, a household had one phone number, and now every person in the household – even the children – has a cell phone,” he said.
The administration, run by NeuStar, a Sterling, Va., company under contract to the Federal Communications Commission, distributes available phone numbers within the 332 area codes in North America.
The 760 area code will have depleted all possible prefixes by fall 2009, according to administration estimates. Currently, about 60 prefixes are left out of the nearly 800 available in the 760 code.
While each area code has 7.9 million total phone numbers available, the numbers are assigned by individual phone companies, and Manning said he didn't know how many numbers are in use in the 760 area code.
The administration and the telephone companies that service 760 have come up with three options being considered by the California Public Utilities Commission. Two would split the region into two separate area codes, and one would overlay the 442 prefix over the whole region.
The alternatives calling for a division of the area code do not specify which portion would get the 442 code and which would keep 760. If the commission votes to divide the 760 code, it would decide which area keeps the 760 prefix.
The 760 area code covers a sprawling region, including Escondido, Oceanside, Vista, Encinitas, Valley Center, San Marcos, Fallbrook and Julian in San Diego County. It also covers parts of Imperial, Riverside, San Bernardino, Mono and Inyo counties.
One option for a split would separate the San Diego County territory into its own area code. A second option would combine that region in north and east San Diego County with Imperial County areas into one area code.
The telephone companies recommend the overlay of a new code, said Joe Cocke, the administration's senior area-code relief planner.
Both the split and the overlay would extend the life of prefixes available in the current 760 region by 14 years to 22 years, depending on the plan. Each has disadvantages.
In the case of a split, companies assigned a new area code must redo letterhead stationery and business cards, change advertisements and get the word out to customers. Residents would have to send out address-book updates and deal with the headaches of a new phone number.
With an overlay, every land-line caller would have to dial 1, plus the area code, for all calls – whether the number is a new number with the new area code. All cell phone callers would dial the area code and number even if the service is in the same area code.
Local calling areas and prices would not shift as a result of an area-code split or overlay, Manning said.
The PUC staff held a meeting in Carlsbad last night to explain options and take public input. The final decision is up to the five-member commission and is not expected until the end of the year, said PUC spokeswoman Susan Carothers.
“It's a factor of doing business, but it's very painful if you're a small business,” said Ted Owen, president and chief executive of the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce.
Owen said that if the area-code change is essential, businesses would prefer to have the longest grace period possible – 12 to 18 months.
The 760 area code was imposed in 1997 after a six-month grace period during which the old 619 prefix and the new 760 code worked for numbers moved to 760.
“I know there will be some folks who are not going to be happy about it happening,” said Harvey Mitchell, president and chief executive of the Escondido Chamber of Commerce. “It's expensive for everybody. However, as a practical matter, we need it to continue our growth.”
The numbering administration proposed splitting the 760 code seven years ago, but the idea was postponed when it conserved numbers by distributing them to phone companies in blocks of 1,000 instead of blocks of 10,000.
Of the four area codes added last year in North America – two in Canada and two in the United States – all were overlays, Manning said.
He said overlays are more common in small geographic areas, such as Los Angeles, while a split might be more feasible for a large area such as the 760 area code.
“When you're dealing with a large geographic area, I'd say the opportunity to do a split is better in that you can still retain some type of geographic significance,” Manning said.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kathryn Balint: (619) 293-2848; kathryn.balint@uniontrib.com
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BS Ranch Perspective:
Looks like either the population in San Diego County, Kern, and Inyo Counties are all growing by leaps and bounds that every one is demanding or purchasing Cellular phones, that they are getting new phone numbers accessing the already dwindling available phone numbers in that area, they will see what it was once like for us big city area's to go through when the area changes took effect between us, Riverside and Los Angeles Counties.
OH, what fun it is now. When I was growing up, when you called to talk to a friend and they were not home, the phone would ring for approximately 18 times before going to a ring to the Operator. Then as time past you would call your friend and a special recorded message would ring out, asking for you to leave a message after a predetermined tone or beep.
As time rolled along, the family of four got what was known as a Pager, and PageNet was born in Southern California, I don't think that PageNet is around today!, they were huge at one time, at the beginning of the 90's and through to about 95 the pager was the one, then it was LA-Cellular that took over, but it was still around a dollar a minute for a cellular call.
Now, a Family of four, The Mother, Father, Son, & Daughter all have phones, Why we still have not allowed ourselves to get away from the old days, because the house still has its own phone for the people in the home to use. LOL..it is many times that either many of your friends don't give out both numbers and you have one or the other, and it ranks you as how friendly you are with that family, if you have all their numbers well then you can bet that you are well suited to be in like the dickens with that family.
BS Ranch..
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Caravan For U.S. Troops Shows Colors (LA Times 031007) Military families and supporters in Move America Forward speaks at Griffith Park en route to a
Caravan for U.S. troops shows colors
Military families and supporters in Move Forward America speak at Griffith Park en route to a rally next weekend in Washington, D.C.
By Valerie Reitman, Times Staff Writer
March 10, 2007
For the troops
click to enlargeKyle Crowley, an 18-year-old Marine, died in Iraq nearly three years ago. Stricken by stress and grief, his father, Mark Crowley, suffered a near-fatal heart attack about 17 months later, on the fourth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.
The elder Crowley, now 48, a sheet metal worker from the Northern California town of Tracy, wasn't healthy enough to return to work. He's been searching for meaning in his life ever since.
The one thing he's sure of, however, is that he doesn't want his son's life to have been lost in vain. That's why he joined a cross-country caravan of military families and supporters urging the U.S. to support the troops and criticizing politicians and antiwar activists for calling for troop withdrawal from Iraq before the job is done.
"Many have died for these colors," Crowley told supporters at Griffith Park on Friday as he held a U.S. flag. "If you don't support these colors, get the hell out."
The Los Angeles stop was one of two dozen rallies Crowley and others in the Move America Forward caravan will hold as they make their way to Washington, D.C., over the next eight days under the motto "These colors don't run."
About 100 supporters — including many veterans — added several dozen flags of all sizes to the caravan's collection, which the group plans to display in "a giant flag city of red, white and blue patriotism" on the National Mall next weekend.
Move America Forward is protesting the antiwar rallies planned for the fourth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. The caravan includes two other California parents — Debra Argel Bastian of Lompoc, whose son died in Iraq, and Debbie Johns of Granite Bay, whose son is serving his third tour there.
In essence, they are part of the caravan's anti-Cindy Sheehan movement. They are trying to show the counterpoint to the growing public opposition to the war.
"Cindy Sheehan is yesterday's news," said Bastian, whose son, Capt. Derek Argel, a graduate of the Air Force Academy, was killed on Memorial Day 2005. Bastian and Johns say they honor the commitment and sacrifice of Sheehan's son, Casey, who was killed in Iraq, but deplore the way his mother has acted — camping outside the White House and President Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas, to protest.
The parents contend that partisan politics is hurting the military's efforts in Iraq. They denounced House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) as an "armchair general."
Crowley said his 24-year-old daughter disagrees with him about the war. But in his view, it's us or them. "If we don't finish it, they will. If we pull out or can't win, [the terrorists] will make Sept. 11 look like a bar fight. They're radical, and their only meaning is killing innocent people."
A former Army ranger, Crowley said he could shoot an elk at 600 yards with a single shot. He wishes he could trade his own life for his son's — or any of the other 3,000-plus troops who have died.
Kyle had a twin brother who died at 4 months, a victim of crib death. Crowley and Kyle's mother divorced while he was in college, and he raised Kyle mostly alone. "So God has given me two, and taken both back," Crowley said.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
valerie.reitman@latimes.com
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BS Ranch Perspective:
Looks like the MoveAmericaForward.org is making their move on Washington heard one city at a time. I hope that the the People that truly support the troops will come out and just do that Support the troops and the job that they are doing and the job that they have currently done. The Mission that they are on is a long and dusty road, and it will take some time before we can get to the final end of the tour of their duty. They have done an excellent job so far and the losses that they sustained are ones that we done want to ever see, they are inevitable in the time of war! It just would not be a fight or war without the term casualties. Unfortunately!
Someone has to loose in this conflict, and the General that has been commissioned to do a great job that he has done One day this conflict will be done and I know that I would like our many students in school to look at this point in history and say that we went and did something that was good for the Iraq people, not something that got them killed even worse then when Saddam was in power over them.
The administration that has taken over the power of the Senate is doing every thing that they can to turn this War not into a win or loose conflict, but the newly controlled Democrats are claiming that they are wanting to take our men and woman home from the war, in an immediate Withdrawal, or a treat of non payment for the equipment, such as the tools that are needed to fight this conflict.
The non payment will force the war to be fought in a similar fashioned as the Most Famous Defeat that the U.S.A. had in any War. They were forced to make decisions at the presidents level on each battle as to whether or not they were going to get any support such as tanks or helicopters and the like. This made the Vietnam war fought in the White House when the War should have been fought in the war Zone like it should have been, instead of having approval for bomb attacks.
I pray every day that President Bush and the General in Iraq, who is in charge of the battle will get what he asks for like he has been promised, So that they don't started robbing from here to to pay this for that and the like. That could mean that the school electrical bill will go unpaid for a while and then this creates all kinds of problems too. not good. we will have to stand by and see what is happening.
Praise God for our Troops and We should all pray for no more loss of life and a quick end to the conflict so we all can get back to our normal lives.
BS Ranch
Military families and supporters in Move Forward America speak at Griffith Park en route to a rally next weekend in Washington, D.C.
By Valerie Reitman, Times Staff Writer
March 10, 2007
For the troops
click to enlargeKyle Crowley, an 18-year-old Marine, died in Iraq nearly three years ago. Stricken by stress and grief, his father, Mark Crowley, suffered a near-fatal heart attack about 17 months later, on the fourth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.
The elder Crowley, now 48, a sheet metal worker from the Northern California town of Tracy, wasn't healthy enough to return to work. He's been searching for meaning in his life ever since.
The one thing he's sure of, however, is that he doesn't want his son's life to have been lost in vain. That's why he joined a cross-country caravan of military families and supporters urging the U.S. to support the troops and criticizing politicians and antiwar activists for calling for troop withdrawal from Iraq before the job is done.
"Many have died for these colors," Crowley told supporters at Griffith Park on Friday as he held a U.S. flag. "If you don't support these colors, get the hell out."
The Los Angeles stop was one of two dozen rallies Crowley and others in the Move America Forward caravan will hold as they make their way to Washington, D.C., over the next eight days under the motto "These colors don't run."
About 100 supporters — including many veterans — added several dozen flags of all sizes to the caravan's collection, which the group plans to display in "a giant flag city of red, white and blue patriotism" on the National Mall next weekend.
Move America Forward is protesting the antiwar rallies planned for the fourth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. The caravan includes two other California parents — Debra Argel Bastian of Lompoc, whose son died in Iraq, and Debbie Johns of Granite Bay, whose son is serving his third tour there.
In essence, they are part of the caravan's anti-Cindy Sheehan movement. They are trying to show the counterpoint to the growing public opposition to the war.
"Cindy Sheehan is yesterday's news," said Bastian, whose son, Capt. Derek Argel, a graduate of the Air Force Academy, was killed on Memorial Day 2005. Bastian and Johns say they honor the commitment and sacrifice of Sheehan's son, Casey, who was killed in Iraq, but deplore the way his mother has acted — camping outside the White House and President Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas, to protest.
The parents contend that partisan politics is hurting the military's efforts in Iraq. They denounced House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) as an "armchair general."
Crowley said his 24-year-old daughter disagrees with him about the war. But in his view, it's us or them. "If we don't finish it, they will. If we pull out or can't win, [the terrorists] will make Sept. 11 look like a bar fight. They're radical, and their only meaning is killing innocent people."
A former Army ranger, Crowley said he could shoot an elk at 600 yards with a single shot. He wishes he could trade his own life for his son's — or any of the other 3,000-plus troops who have died.
Kyle had a twin brother who died at 4 months, a victim of crib death. Crowley and Kyle's mother divorced while he was in college, and he raised Kyle mostly alone. "So God has given me two, and taken both back," Crowley said.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
valerie.reitman@latimes.com
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BS Ranch Perspective:
Looks like the MoveAmericaForward.org is making their move on Washington heard one city at a time. I hope that the the People that truly support the troops will come out and just do that Support the troops and the job that they are doing and the job that they have currently done. The Mission that they are on is a long and dusty road, and it will take some time before we can get to the final end of the tour of their duty. They have done an excellent job so far and the losses that they sustained are ones that we done want to ever see, they are inevitable in the time of war! It just would not be a fight or war without the term casualties. Unfortunately!
Someone has to loose in this conflict, and the General that has been commissioned to do a great job that he has done One day this conflict will be done and I know that I would like our many students in school to look at this point in history and say that we went and did something that was good for the Iraq people, not something that got them killed even worse then when Saddam was in power over them.
The administration that has taken over the power of the Senate is doing every thing that they can to turn this War not into a win or loose conflict, but the newly controlled Democrats are claiming that they are wanting to take our men and woman home from the war, in an immediate Withdrawal, or a treat of non payment for the equipment, such as the tools that are needed to fight this conflict.
The non payment will force the war to be fought in a similar fashioned as the Most Famous Defeat that the U.S.A. had in any War. They were forced to make decisions at the presidents level on each battle as to whether or not they were going to get any support such as tanks or helicopters and the like. This made the Vietnam war fought in the White House when the War should have been fought in the war Zone like it should have been, instead of having approval for bomb attacks.
I pray every day that President Bush and the General in Iraq, who is in charge of the battle will get what he asks for like he has been promised, So that they don't started robbing from here to to pay this for that and the like. That could mean that the school electrical bill will go unpaid for a while and then this creates all kinds of problems too. not good. we will have to stand by and see what is happening.
Praise God for our Troops and We should all pray for no more loss of life and a quick end to the conflict so we all can get back to our normal lives.
BS Ranch
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
High Re-Arrest Rate for Illegal Immigrants (Main News) New findings come to U.S. is struggling to deport criminals.
High re-arrest rate for illegal immigrants
New findings come as U.S. is struggling to deport criminals.
By Marisa Taylor - Mcclatchy Washington Bureau
Last Updated 1:24 am PST Tuesday, January 9, 2007
Story appeared in MAIN NEWS section, Page A6
Illegal immigrants are being released from prison only to be arrested on new charges despite government efforts to deport them and keep them out of the country.
The findings are part of an audit by Justice Department Inspector General Glenn Fine that suggest authorities are still struggling to deport illegal immigrants who commit crimes, even though most state and local authorities are notifying immigration authorities of the imminent release of prisoners.
Fine's office analyzed the cases of 100 immigrants who had served time in prison and found 73 of them were re-arrested for committing a crime after being released.
On average, each immigrant was re-arrested six times, ranging from traffic violations to assault.
Fine's office couldn't determine how many illegal immigrants had been re-arrested overall because immigration authorities don't keep track. If the sample was any indication, "the rate at which released criminal aliens are re-arrested is extremely high," the report said.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials questioned whether the audit's small sample should reflect negatively on their agency's efforts to deport criminal immigrants. The audit did not determine whether ICE failed to deport the immigrants after being notified by prison officials.
But Heather Mac Donald, a fellow with the conservative Manhattan Institute, said ICE continues to have problems with deporting criminal immigrants because the agency doesn't always have enough detention space to hold immigrants once they're released from prisons.
"What this speaks to is the fact that we're not up to speed on immigration enforcement in general," she said.
Last year, Homeland Security's inspector general said immigration authorities expected that most of the 300,000 illegal and legal immigrants eligible to be deported would be released. Federal officials said they would need 34,000 additional beds at a cost of $1.1 billion to detain and remove all of them.
David Martin, a University of Virginia law professor and former top immigration official, said he was surprised that the re-arrest numbers in the most recent report were "so high."
U.S. immigration officials appeared to be making progress working with state and local officials who now notify them before a criminal immigrant is released, he said. That way, the immigrant is quickly deported.
Congress requested the audit because of questions about compliance with a federal program meant to reimburse cities and states for the costs of incarcerating illegal immigrants.
California, New York, Texas, and Florida receive the most funding. States and cities often are not completely reimbursed for what they spend on prisoners because the program doesn't get enough funding, the audit said.
--
BS Ranch Perspective:
I don't think that this plan is working to well, it seems that they are just spinning their wheels, by giving the criminals to the Border Patrol to Deport back to their home Country only to have them sneak back into the country and be arrested again on the same charges as they were arrested before. It looks as if they are unemployable and are making their way, any way that they know how, and that way is in the criminal element, but they are so dumb that they get caught every-time that they go out and do a crime, the only other thing that could be going on is that they are to come bake into the country only to be used as decoy's for crimes that are being committed in the same area that they are caught, and that is why they are caught, over their other accomplice. they either are home sick and figure to go home for free of charge, only to sneak back in a matter of a week before getting caught doing another crime. weird huh?
BS Ranch
New findings come as U.S. is struggling to deport criminals.
By Marisa Taylor - Mcclatchy Washington Bureau
Last Updated 1:24 am PST Tuesday, January 9, 2007
Story appeared in MAIN NEWS section, Page A6
Illegal immigrants are being released from prison only to be arrested on new charges despite government efforts to deport them and keep them out of the country.
The findings are part of an audit by Justice Department Inspector General Glenn Fine that suggest authorities are still struggling to deport illegal immigrants who commit crimes, even though most state and local authorities are notifying immigration authorities of the imminent release of prisoners.
Fine's office analyzed the cases of 100 immigrants who had served time in prison and found 73 of them were re-arrested for committing a crime after being released.
On average, each immigrant was re-arrested six times, ranging from traffic violations to assault.
Fine's office couldn't determine how many illegal immigrants had been re-arrested overall because immigration authorities don't keep track. If the sample was any indication, "the rate at which released criminal aliens are re-arrested is extremely high," the report said.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials questioned whether the audit's small sample should reflect negatively on their agency's efforts to deport criminal immigrants. The audit did not determine whether ICE failed to deport the immigrants after being notified by prison officials.
But Heather Mac Donald, a fellow with the conservative Manhattan Institute, said ICE continues to have problems with deporting criminal immigrants because the agency doesn't always have enough detention space to hold immigrants once they're released from prisons.
"What this speaks to is the fact that we're not up to speed on immigration enforcement in general," she said.
Last year, Homeland Security's inspector general said immigration authorities expected that most of the 300,000 illegal and legal immigrants eligible to be deported would be released. Federal officials said they would need 34,000 additional beds at a cost of $1.1 billion to detain and remove all of them.
David Martin, a University of Virginia law professor and former top immigration official, said he was surprised that the re-arrest numbers in the most recent report were "so high."
U.S. immigration officials appeared to be making progress working with state and local officials who now notify them before a criminal immigrant is released, he said. That way, the immigrant is quickly deported.
Congress requested the audit because of questions about compliance with a federal program meant to reimburse cities and states for the costs of incarcerating illegal immigrants.
California, New York, Texas, and Florida receive the most funding. States and cities often are not completely reimbursed for what they spend on prisoners because the program doesn't get enough funding, the audit said.
--
BS Ranch Perspective:
I don't think that this plan is working to well, it seems that they are just spinning their wheels, by giving the criminals to the Border Patrol to Deport back to their home Country only to have them sneak back into the country and be arrested again on the same charges as they were arrested before. It looks as if they are unemployable and are making their way, any way that they know how, and that way is in the criminal element, but they are so dumb that they get caught every-time that they go out and do a crime, the only other thing that could be going on is that they are to come bake into the country only to be used as decoy's for crimes that are being committed in the same area that they are caught, and that is why they are caught, over their other accomplice. they either are home sick and figure to go home for free of charge, only to sneak back in a matter of a week before getting caught doing another crime. weird huh?
BS Ranch
Service Dogs Helping With Invisible Disabilities (NBC9 News Colo.)
Service dogs helping with invisible disabilities
reported by: Paula Woodward , 9Wants to Know Investigative Reporter
written by: Amy Herdy , Investigative Producer
posted by: Jeffrey Wolf , Web Producer created: 1/2/2007 9:44:09 PM
Last
KUSA - Michelle Penfold has a different answer when folks ask if they can pet her dog.
"I'llsay, 'Well if you'd like to pet my arm first, you're more than welcometo,'" Penfold, 40, said with a laugh. "Because that's how it is for me- she's a personal part of my body. And that's how I explain it topeople - and I say it in a nice way."
Penfold's 8-year-oldBorder Collie mix, Splash, is a trained psychiatric service dog, oremotional support service dog, a term most handlers prefer.
Forthe past four years, Splash has assisted Penfold, who has an anxietydisorder, by alerting her to the onset of an anxiety attack and calmingher during it.
While the use of service dogs for the blind andhearing impaired has long been accepted, the use of trained servicedogs for those with an invisible disability is only now on the rise.The Psychiatric Service Dog Society estimates there are 2,000 of suchdogs in the U.S., and the issue brings with it many challenges. Ownersof an emotional support service dog often face an array of questionsfrom a curious public about their dog, and can also encounteropposition from some service providers who mistake the canines forpets, and not working animals.
In addition, confusion aboundson whether emotional support service dogs are recognized under the law.In Colorado, where the law concerning service dogs is consideredoutdated by many disability rights experts, service dogs are allowedpublic access only for those with physical disabilities. This istrumped by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which allowspublic access for trained service dogs for any type of disability.
Asa manager of volunteer services at Exempla Good Samaritan MedicalCenter in Lafayette, Penfold takes Splash with her to work every day,and the two make rounds at the hospital. Penfold carries copies of theADA that include an 800 number to the U.S. Dept. of Justice ADAinformation line (800-514-0301). Both at work and out in public afterhours, she patiently explains to curious onlookers that Splash is not apet.
"And then they get it - and it's like, 'Oh, okay,' andthen that starts the dialogue about educating them about what a servicedog does," Penfold said.
It is not always that easy.
Ona recent trip out of state, Penfold said, it took more than an hour toexplain to the hotel staff that Splash was not a pet and that underfederal law, the hotel could not charge her extra for having Splash inher room.
The issue of access with an emotional supportservice dog is one that arises often. Legal experts say that anemotional support service dog, like any other working animal, isallowed anywhere their owner goes.
"The law generally supportsthat," said Tim Fox, a Denver attorney who specializes in disabilityrights. "The ADA has a couple of requirements. One is that the personis disabled and the second is that the animal constitutes a serviceanimal. But assuming those two requirements are met, then people willhave virtually unfettered access to all businesses."
As far as what constitutes a service animal, Fox said the ADA requires some level of training.
"Courtsoften try to distinguish between simply a pet and a service animal," hesaid, "and the biggest distinction that they look to is whether there'sbeen any training of the service animal."
This training, Foxsaid, does not need to be done by any kind of professional trainer, nordoes it require any certification or any documentation.
State law in Colorado, however, is different.
"Generallythe state law is pretty antiquated," he said. "It was written manyyears ago and hasn't been updated since then. And it is limited in itsprotection to service dogs and not other types of animals, and onlydogs that assist persons that are visually impaired, hearing impaired,or have physical disabilities."
For example, Fox said, "Underthe language of the statute as it exists right now, it would not applyto somebody with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder," a disabilityrecognized under the federal law.
"Some states have better state laws," he added, "but Colorado's law really needs to be updated."
Becauseof a legal doctrine called preemption, Fox said, any time a federal lawconflicts with a state law, the federal law takes precedent.
"Soif the Colorado state law, for example, permitted a business owner tokeep out a service animal, but the ADA did not, the ADA would win."
Inaddition, Fox said, when presented with a service dog, businesses areprohibited from going into personal details of someone's life. They canask two things: Is this a service animal and what does it do for you?
Theowner does not have to provide any kind of documentation orcertification, he said, and the dog does not have to wear a vest or anykind of markings, although taking such actions can be a good precautionto prevent hassles, he said.
If refused service somewhere, Foxsaid, a service dog's owner can call local police but they will havelittle recourse to enforce a federal law. In such cases, he suggestedcalling an attorney.
Pat Schwartz, who owns Golden KimbaService Dogs in Lafayette, agrees that Colorado law regarding servicedogs needs to be changed to address emotional support service dogs. Inaddition, says Schwartz, who has been training disability dogs for sixyears, the federal law needs to be specific about what kind of trainingis required to constitute a service dog.
"There's no national standard," she said, adding that certain groups were working on one.
The61-year-old Schwartz, who is certified by East Coast Assistance Dogs ofHobbs, New York, has stringent standards for the certification of aservice dog, she said. Training of a disability dog typically takes twoyears, she said, beginning with socialization and extensive obediencetraining before specializing in the type of service the dog willprovide. Due to that intensive training, Schwartz said, she typicallytrains only three dogs in her home at a time.
To be certifiedby Schwartz, she said the dog and client must pass the Assistance DogsInternational public access test - and recertify under the ADI testevery year.
Schooling of these puppies ideally begins in the whelping box, she said.
"It'sgood to put things like balls of aluminum foil, metal spoons and keyrings in the box," Schwartz said, "to get them used to the unusualtaste of metal and not be shy of it" so that later, they will retrieveany object for their owner.
In addition, she said, tug toysare tied to the edge of the box to encourage the motion that will lateropen doors or pull an owner to safety.
When training a new dogwith a client, she will see that client once a week, she said, or twicea week if the client is retraining their own dog.
WhenSchwartz places a full trained dog with a new client, that client goesthrough two weeks of intensive training in their home, she said. Thecost for a fully trained emotional support service dog is $3,000,Schwartz said, while a fully trained physical disability dog can runfrom $5,000 to $7,000.
There are scholarships, endowments and grants available to help with the cost, she said.
The benefit, she said, can be immeasurable.
Schwartzsaid that services an emotional support service dog can provideinclude: Reminding an owner to take their medication, and bringing itto them; dialing 911 on a specialized phone in an emergency or giving abark alert during an emergency; lead the owner to safety if they arehaving a panic attack; help prevent crowding in public and alert theowner to a panic or anxiety attack, as well as comfort them during suchan attack
In addition, Schwartz said, the dogs bring the world to a person who is isolated.
"Aperson with severe depression has to get up out of that bed, has towalk that dog, has to feed that dog," Schwartz said. "They also have toleave the house to purchase the food for the dog. And we do not allowanyone to care for the dog except for the client who has bonded withthe dog."
There is one additional thing Schwartz tells all her clients to consider.
"Aperson who has a psychiatric illness has to realize that once theyaccept the responsibility of a psychiatric service dog--yes, they willhave tremendous love, and tremendous solace, and probably theirpsychiatric condition will improve," she said. "However, they are nolonger invisible. Everyone looks at you. Everyone looks at service dogswhen they're out in public."
That is a situation that Beverly Kondel and Debora Johnson both know first hand.
Thetwo women, both military veterans, met at the Denver Veteran'sAdministration Medical Center. Both are disabled under the U.S.government for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, caused by militarysexual trauma, and both women use trained emotional support servicedogs to cope with everyday life.
"If it weren't for her," saidthe 51-year-old Kondel, referring to her 8-year-old service dog,Jasmine, "I'd be living a life of solitude in my home, and having tomake appointments to get food in the house and waiting for handoutsfrom people to give me clothes because I couldn't go shopping. That'snot a fun way to live. Not at all," she said. "And she's changed thatfor me."
Johnson, 55, owns a 3-year-old Standard Poodleemotional support service dog, Stryder. She echoed Kondel's thought,adding that the women learn to cope with the extreme mood swings oftheir disorder in part for the sake of their dogs. They are mindful tokeep calm when confronted about their dogs in public by someone whodoes not know the law, Johnson said, because if they were to create anangry scene and be arrested, their dogs could be taken.
"Thesedogs help us keep our temper problems and our PTSD under control. Wehave to," she said. "If we love our animals and devote ourselves tothem the way they are devoted to us, we have no choice."
Kondel said the public reaction she gets to her dog is mixed, in part due to the fact that Jasmine is a Jack Russell Terrier.
"Youknow, most people are nice about it, but then there are some peoplethat just don't get it - and especially because she's so little," shesaid. "So it's really hard to make them understand that she really canhelp me. But I don't want to go into a long dissertation with astranger about what's wrong with me."
So, despite the factthat Jasmine alerts her to anxiety, reminds her to take medication andcalms her during a panic attack, Kondel said, she simply tells peoplethat her dog takes care of her.
To try and prevent questions,both Jasmine and Johnson's dog, Stryder, wear vests that say, "ServiceDog" at all times when they are in public, the women said, and theyboth carry copies of the ADA.
That has not prevented them frombeing refused service in Denver restaurants when accompanied by theirdogs, they said, and each has been hassled in other public places inthe Denver-metro area, ranging from airports to hospitals.
InSeptember, Johnson flew to Ohio to attend a funeral, she said, andalerted the airline and hotel before the trip that she would beaccompanied by a service dog. She also carried copies of the ADA.
Everythingwent fine, she said, until her final flight from Chicago to Denver onUnited Airlines. Forced to sit in a cramped area, her service dog,Stryder, finally stood up to stretch, and two off-duty flightattendants loudly protested his presence, she said, talking about thesituation in a derogatory way to other passengers.
"He had satthere for more than an hour, while the plane was delayed in take-off,"Johnson said, "not moving, and for 45 minutes while the plane was inthe air."
Since Stryder wears a full leather harness with ahandle to help Johnson walk at times, she decided to take it off duringthe flight so he would be more comfortable, she said. His vest, regularcollar and leash remained, she said, yet after the flight, she wastaken onto the concourse by other United Airlines staff and lecturedfor not making better seating arrangements and for taking off hisservice dog "markings."
Johnson showed them a copy of the ADA, she said, and asked for police several times, yet the staff would not call them.
"Itwas horrifying," said Johnson, who was in a wheelchair. "To be takenout to the concourse and lectured to, like I'm some kind of moron, andto be told the rules when they didn't even know what the rules were."
On September 14, Johnson filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Transportation.
OnSeptember 15, she received a phone call from Judith Bishop, vicepresident for United Airline's customer contact center, who apologized.
"She was very friendly and sounded very sincere," Johnson said.
Yetthat apology was negated, Johnson said, by a letter she received inOctober from another United customer relations representative who saidthat United was not in violation of any laws during the situation.
"I still felt like I was being berated (by the letter)," Johnson said.
Contacted by 9NEWS, United spokeswoman Robin Urbanski said she was very sorry about the way the situation developed.
"Wedidn't mean to re-offend her with the letter," Urbanski said, "andwe'll use this case as a training example for our crews."
In Kondel's case, the police were called, but they contributed to the problem, she said.
Whilevisiting a friend last year at the Denver VA Medical Center, Kondelsaid, she was told by a nurse she could not bring her dog into thehospital.
Despite explaining to the nurse that Jasmine was aservice dog, Kondel said, the woman called VA police. Kondel tried totell them that Jasmine was a service dog for her PTSD, she said, butthe police officer told her to leave.
A Sept. 20, 2005 VApolice report of the incident says in part, "The dog in question wasrather small, and was attached to a standard pet leash. The dog waswearing some kind of vest, however no service dog identifiers werevisible."
The report also stated that Kondel was asked for, and could not provide, certification for the dog.
Under the ADA, neither standard is legal.
Aspokeswoman for the VA said that at the time of the incident, VA staffthought that Kondel's dog was merely a "companion animal."
"It'scompletely within our policy to allow service animals," ChristinaWhite, a VA public affairs officer in Denver, told 9NEWS. "We're sorryabout the situation."
Resources:
To contact Pat Schwartz of Golden Kimba Service Dogs, call 720-890-8278 or e-mail GoldenKimba@aol.com.
For more information from the U.S. Dept. of Justice concerning service animals, go to http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/animal.htm.
For the Psychiatric Service Dog Society, go to http://www.psychdog.org/.
For Assistance Dogs International, go to http://adionline.org/.
For the International Association of Assistance Dog Partners, go to http://www.iaadp.org/.
--
BS Ranch Perspective:
This is an amazing story, as well as being a very heart felt or onethat tugs at the heart strings, I am lucky to have my three Dogs get along all the time, let alone grab me a soda pop, from the fridge,or some kind of snack from the fridge without pulling a half apackage of cold cuts out for their own consumption. ha ha!
I know that the dog that is in the story went through a great deal oftraining before filling in as a part of the woman in the story's life.Then on the other hand the Woman would not have been anywhere if itwasn't for the love and nurturing that she had to take to bet used tothe dog. I mean, what if she was never around a dog, and didn't likethe fur, or was allergic to the hair and the dog fur all over the houseall the time I suppose that right, or was it the left, that she mighthave to grow to hate all over since that portion of her body isbringing her headaches and all kinds of cleaning issues! The furconstantly in her face and on the ground. Yet, they would have to cometo a Central understanding after all they had to work together, she washer left arm, the Dog did so many things that the woman was not able todo before without her, that the bad would definitely out weigh thebad!!
Take for example at my house my Three dogs are all the time constantlyfighting for the attention of the house people. They love their housepeople, and they will pick up a back of chips for you but don't expectto See the chips because some if not all of them will be devoured bythe dog, if not dogs! Well, if the one would be able to fight off theother two, the Bag of Goodies were all theirs.
Watching a show on the Television, called Cesar Melon has put some newperspective in the training of our animals, and his techniques are allpracticed over here at the Ranch, now even though I have limited use ofmy Right Arm, doesn't mean that we have our dogs trained to do anythingspecial for help as for as it goes, with any of the threePuppies, or now Doggies living on the Ranch here. In Fancy they aremore like Eye candy for the Ranch then they are for the Ranch, and theworld Wide Web, and Classic. They are my fun Living puppies, and well,I Love them so!!
BS Ranch.
reported by: Paula Woodward , 9Wants to Know Investigative Reporter
written by: Amy Herdy , Investigative Producer
posted by: Jeffrey Wolf , Web Producer created: 1/2/2007 9:44:09 PM
Last
KUSA - Michelle Penfold has a different answer when folks ask if they can pet her dog.
"I'llsay, 'Well if you'd like to pet my arm first, you're more than welcometo,'" Penfold, 40, said with a laugh. "Because that's how it is for me- she's a personal part of my body. And that's how I explain it topeople - and I say it in a nice way."
Penfold's 8-year-oldBorder Collie mix, Splash, is a trained psychiatric service dog, oremotional support service dog, a term most handlers prefer.
Forthe past four years, Splash has assisted Penfold, who has an anxietydisorder, by alerting her to the onset of an anxiety attack and calmingher during it.
While the use of service dogs for the blind andhearing impaired has long been accepted, the use of trained servicedogs for those with an invisible disability is only now on the rise.The Psychiatric Service Dog Society estimates there are 2,000 of suchdogs in the U.S., and the issue brings with it many challenges. Ownersof an emotional support service dog often face an array of questionsfrom a curious public about their dog, and can also encounteropposition from some service providers who mistake the canines forpets, and not working animals.
In addition, confusion aboundson whether emotional support service dogs are recognized under the law.In Colorado, where the law concerning service dogs is consideredoutdated by many disability rights experts, service dogs are allowedpublic access only for those with physical disabilities. This istrumped by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which allowspublic access for trained service dogs for any type of disability.
Asa manager of volunteer services at Exempla Good Samaritan MedicalCenter in Lafayette, Penfold takes Splash with her to work every day,and the two make rounds at the hospital. Penfold carries copies of theADA that include an 800 number to the U.S. Dept. of Justice ADAinformation line (800-514-0301). Both at work and out in public afterhours, she patiently explains to curious onlookers that Splash is not apet.
"And then they get it - and it's like, 'Oh, okay,' andthen that starts the dialogue about educating them about what a servicedog does," Penfold said.
It is not always that easy.
Ona recent trip out of state, Penfold said, it took more than an hour toexplain to the hotel staff that Splash was not a pet and that underfederal law, the hotel could not charge her extra for having Splash inher room.
The issue of access with an emotional supportservice dog is one that arises often. Legal experts say that anemotional support service dog, like any other working animal, isallowed anywhere their owner goes.
"The law generally supportsthat," said Tim Fox, a Denver attorney who specializes in disabilityrights. "The ADA has a couple of requirements. One is that the personis disabled and the second is that the animal constitutes a serviceanimal. But assuming those two requirements are met, then people willhave virtually unfettered access to all businesses."
As far as what constitutes a service animal, Fox said the ADA requires some level of training.
"Courtsoften try to distinguish between simply a pet and a service animal," hesaid, "and the biggest distinction that they look to is whether there'sbeen any training of the service animal."
This training, Foxsaid, does not need to be done by any kind of professional trainer, nordoes it require any certification or any documentation.
State law in Colorado, however, is different.
"Generallythe state law is pretty antiquated," he said. "It was written manyyears ago and hasn't been updated since then. And it is limited in itsprotection to service dogs and not other types of animals, and onlydogs that assist persons that are visually impaired, hearing impaired,or have physical disabilities."
For example, Fox said, "Underthe language of the statute as it exists right now, it would not applyto somebody with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder," a disabilityrecognized under the federal law.
"Some states have better state laws," he added, "but Colorado's law really needs to be updated."
Becauseof a legal doctrine called preemption, Fox said, any time a federal lawconflicts with a state law, the federal law takes precedent.
"Soif the Colorado state law, for example, permitted a business owner tokeep out a service animal, but the ADA did not, the ADA would win."
Inaddition, Fox said, when presented with a service dog, businesses areprohibited from going into personal details of someone's life. They canask two things: Is this a service animal and what does it do for you?
Theowner does not have to provide any kind of documentation orcertification, he said, and the dog does not have to wear a vest or anykind of markings, although taking such actions can be a good precautionto prevent hassles, he said.
If refused service somewhere, Foxsaid, a service dog's owner can call local police but they will havelittle recourse to enforce a federal law. In such cases, he suggestedcalling an attorney.
Pat Schwartz, who owns Golden KimbaService Dogs in Lafayette, agrees that Colorado law regarding servicedogs needs to be changed to address emotional support service dogs. Inaddition, says Schwartz, who has been training disability dogs for sixyears, the federal law needs to be specific about what kind of trainingis required to constitute a service dog.
"There's no national standard," she said, adding that certain groups were working on one.
The61-year-old Schwartz, who is certified by East Coast Assistance Dogs ofHobbs, New York, has stringent standards for the certification of aservice dog, she said. Training of a disability dog typically takes twoyears, she said, beginning with socialization and extensive obediencetraining before specializing in the type of service the dog willprovide. Due to that intensive training, Schwartz said, she typicallytrains only three dogs in her home at a time.
To be certifiedby Schwartz, she said the dog and client must pass the Assistance DogsInternational public access test - and recertify under the ADI testevery year.
Schooling of these puppies ideally begins in the whelping box, she said.
"It'sgood to put things like balls of aluminum foil, metal spoons and keyrings in the box," Schwartz said, "to get them used to the unusualtaste of metal and not be shy of it" so that later, they will retrieveany object for their owner.
In addition, she said, tug toysare tied to the edge of the box to encourage the motion that will lateropen doors or pull an owner to safety.
When training a new dogwith a client, she will see that client once a week, she said, or twicea week if the client is retraining their own dog.
WhenSchwartz places a full trained dog with a new client, that client goesthrough two weeks of intensive training in their home, she said. Thecost for a fully trained emotional support service dog is $3,000,Schwartz said, while a fully trained physical disability dog can runfrom $5,000 to $7,000.
There are scholarships, endowments and grants available to help with the cost, she said.
The benefit, she said, can be immeasurable.
Schwartzsaid that services an emotional support service dog can provideinclude: Reminding an owner to take their medication, and bringing itto them; dialing 911 on a specialized phone in an emergency or giving abark alert during an emergency; lead the owner to safety if they arehaving a panic attack; help prevent crowding in public and alert theowner to a panic or anxiety attack, as well as comfort them during suchan attack
In addition, Schwartz said, the dogs bring the world to a person who is isolated.
"Aperson with severe depression has to get up out of that bed, has towalk that dog, has to feed that dog," Schwartz said. "They also have toleave the house to purchase the food for the dog. And we do not allowanyone to care for the dog except for the client who has bonded withthe dog."
There is one additional thing Schwartz tells all her clients to consider.
"Aperson who has a psychiatric illness has to realize that once theyaccept the responsibility of a psychiatric service dog--yes, they willhave tremendous love, and tremendous solace, and probably theirpsychiatric condition will improve," she said. "However, they are nolonger invisible. Everyone looks at you. Everyone looks at service dogswhen they're out in public."
That is a situation that Beverly Kondel and Debora Johnson both know first hand.
Thetwo women, both military veterans, met at the Denver Veteran'sAdministration Medical Center. Both are disabled under the U.S.government for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, caused by militarysexual trauma, and both women use trained emotional support servicedogs to cope with everyday life.
"If it weren't for her," saidthe 51-year-old Kondel, referring to her 8-year-old service dog,Jasmine, "I'd be living a life of solitude in my home, and having tomake appointments to get food in the house and waiting for handoutsfrom people to give me clothes because I couldn't go shopping. That'snot a fun way to live. Not at all," she said. "And she's changed thatfor me."
Johnson, 55, owns a 3-year-old Standard Poodleemotional support service dog, Stryder. She echoed Kondel's thought,adding that the women learn to cope with the extreme mood swings oftheir disorder in part for the sake of their dogs. They are mindful tokeep calm when confronted about their dogs in public by someone whodoes not know the law, Johnson said, because if they were to create anangry scene and be arrested, their dogs could be taken.
"Thesedogs help us keep our temper problems and our PTSD under control. Wehave to," she said. "If we love our animals and devote ourselves tothem the way they are devoted to us, we have no choice."
Kondel said the public reaction she gets to her dog is mixed, in part due to the fact that Jasmine is a Jack Russell Terrier.
"Youknow, most people are nice about it, but then there are some peoplethat just don't get it - and especially because she's so little," shesaid. "So it's really hard to make them understand that she really canhelp me. But I don't want to go into a long dissertation with astranger about what's wrong with me."
So, despite the factthat Jasmine alerts her to anxiety, reminds her to take medication andcalms her during a panic attack, Kondel said, she simply tells peoplethat her dog takes care of her.
To try and prevent questions,both Jasmine and Johnson's dog, Stryder, wear vests that say, "ServiceDog" at all times when they are in public, the women said, and theyboth carry copies of the ADA.
That has not prevented them frombeing refused service in Denver restaurants when accompanied by theirdogs, they said, and each has been hassled in other public places inthe Denver-metro area, ranging from airports to hospitals.
InSeptember, Johnson flew to Ohio to attend a funeral, she said, andalerted the airline and hotel before the trip that she would beaccompanied by a service dog. She also carried copies of the ADA.
Everythingwent fine, she said, until her final flight from Chicago to Denver onUnited Airlines. Forced to sit in a cramped area, her service dog,Stryder, finally stood up to stretch, and two off-duty flightattendants loudly protested his presence, she said, talking about thesituation in a derogatory way to other passengers.
"He had satthere for more than an hour, while the plane was delayed in take-off,"Johnson said, "not moving, and for 45 minutes while the plane was inthe air."
Since Stryder wears a full leather harness with ahandle to help Johnson walk at times, she decided to take it off duringthe flight so he would be more comfortable, she said. His vest, regularcollar and leash remained, she said, yet after the flight, she wastaken onto the concourse by other United Airlines staff and lecturedfor not making better seating arrangements and for taking off hisservice dog "markings."
Johnson showed them a copy of the ADA, she said, and asked for police several times, yet the staff would not call them.
"Itwas horrifying," said Johnson, who was in a wheelchair. "To be takenout to the concourse and lectured to, like I'm some kind of moron, andto be told the rules when they didn't even know what the rules were."
On September 14, Johnson filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Transportation.
OnSeptember 15, she received a phone call from Judith Bishop, vicepresident for United Airline's customer contact center, who apologized.
"She was very friendly and sounded very sincere," Johnson said.
Yetthat apology was negated, Johnson said, by a letter she received inOctober from another United customer relations representative who saidthat United was not in violation of any laws during the situation.
"I still felt like I was being berated (by the letter)," Johnson said.
Contacted by 9NEWS, United spokeswoman Robin Urbanski said she was very sorry about the way the situation developed.
"Wedidn't mean to re-offend her with the letter," Urbanski said, "andwe'll use this case as a training example for our crews."
In Kondel's case, the police were called, but they contributed to the problem, she said.
Whilevisiting a friend last year at the Denver VA Medical Center, Kondelsaid, she was told by a nurse she could not bring her dog into thehospital.
Despite explaining to the nurse that Jasmine was aservice dog, Kondel said, the woman called VA police. Kondel tried totell them that Jasmine was a service dog for her PTSD, she said, butthe police officer told her to leave.
A Sept. 20, 2005 VApolice report of the incident says in part, "The dog in question wasrather small, and was attached to a standard pet leash. The dog waswearing some kind of vest, however no service dog identifiers werevisible."
The report also stated that Kondel was asked for, and could not provide, certification for the dog.
Under the ADA, neither standard is legal.
Aspokeswoman for the VA said that at the time of the incident, VA staffthought that Kondel's dog was merely a "companion animal."
"It'scompletely within our policy to allow service animals," ChristinaWhite, a VA public affairs officer in Denver, told 9NEWS. "We're sorryabout the situation."
Resources:
To contact Pat Schwartz of Golden Kimba Service Dogs, call 720-890-8278 or e-mail GoldenKimba@aol.com.
For more information from the U.S. Dept. of Justice concerning service animals, go to http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/animal.htm.
For the Psychiatric Service Dog Society, go to http://www.psychdog.org/.
For Assistance Dogs International, go to http://adionline.org/.
For the International Association of Assistance Dog Partners, go to http://www.iaadp.org/.
--
BS Ranch Perspective:
This is an amazing story, as well as being a very heart felt or onethat tugs at the heart strings, I am lucky to have my three Dogs get along all the time, let alone grab me a soda pop, from the fridge,or some kind of snack from the fridge without pulling a half apackage of cold cuts out for their own consumption. ha ha!
I know that the dog that is in the story went through a great deal oftraining before filling in as a part of the woman in the story's life.Then on the other hand the Woman would not have been anywhere if itwasn't for the love and nurturing that she had to take to bet used tothe dog. I mean, what if she was never around a dog, and didn't likethe fur, or was allergic to the hair and the dog fur all over the houseall the time I suppose that right, or was it the left, that she mighthave to grow to hate all over since that portion of her body isbringing her headaches and all kinds of cleaning issues! The furconstantly in her face and on the ground. Yet, they would have to cometo a Central understanding after all they had to work together, she washer left arm, the Dog did so many things that the woman was not able todo before without her, that the bad would definitely out weigh thebad!!
Take for example at my house my Three dogs are all the time constantlyfighting for the attention of the house people. They love their housepeople, and they will pick up a back of chips for you but don't expectto See the chips because some if not all of them will be devoured bythe dog, if not dogs! Well, if the one would be able to fight off theother two, the Bag of Goodies were all theirs.
Watching a show on the Television, called Cesar Melon has put some newperspective in the training of our animals, and his techniques are allpracticed over here at the Ranch, now even though I have limited use ofmy Right Arm, doesn't mean that we have our dogs trained to do anythingspecial for help as for as it goes, with any of the threePuppies, or now Doggies living on the Ranch here. In Fancy they aremore like Eye candy for the Ranch then they are for the Ranch, and theworld Wide Web, and Classic. They are my fun Living puppies, and well,I Love them so!!
BS Ranch.
Good Year for Bud Busts (122606 SB Sun) Most Marijuana seized in S.B. County in past 15 Years.
Good year for bud busts
Most marijuana seized in S.B. County in past 15 years
By Melissa Pinion-Whitt, Staff Writer
Article Launched: 12/26/2006 12:00:00 AM PST
Thedevious mountain landscape almost masked a big mystery from a randomhiker who stumbled upon 1,500 marijuana plants in the San BernardinoMountains one day in July.
While it was a significant find, sheriff's deputies familiarwith the rugged terrain ventured farther into the Angelus Oaks woodsand found about 53,000 more plants, one of the largest busts in countyhistory.
It's been a good year for San Bernardino County lawenforcement in terms of marijuana plant seizures. The Sheriff'sDepartment found and removed more than 97,000 plants, the most since1991. The county also ranked fifth in the state for plants seized withthe assistance of a state eradication group.
But members of the sheriff's Marijuana Eradication Team say they still have a lot more work to do.
"Iknow for a fact we did not find all the marijuana (that) grows in theSan Bernardino Mountains that were out there," said Sgt. John Ginter,team supervisor. "There are some that we missed. That's our goal nextyear is to try to identify more locations and eradicate more plants."
Law-enforcement officers assigned to marijuana farms saythe county's high ranking this year is due to more and more growersdiscovering the
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
San Bernardino National Forest is ideal for concealing their lucrative enterprises.
"Theremoteness of our forest lands and the availability of our watersources is the reason for the increase in the plant numbers," Gintersaid.
It's a trend reflected across the state.
TheDepartment of Justice said 2006 was a record-setting year for pot plantseizures, with 1.7 million plants removed mostly from public lands suchas state and national parks and forests. That's an increase of about540,000 plants over 2005.
The plants were worth an estimated $6.7 billion. Thedepartment's Campaign Against Marijuana Planting, or CAMP program,conducted 477 raids in 34 counties during the growing season, whichtypically starts in late July and ends as late as November, dependingon the weather.
While some local law enforcement officials believe activityis increasing, state officials say the increase in seizures is due tomore manpower, better equipment and training.
Five teams under the CAMP program were used this pastgrowing season, compared with three in 2005, said DOJ spokeswoman RobinSchwanke.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Marijuana seizures in 2006 under the Campaign Against Marijuana Planting
Total plants seized: 1,675,681
Estimated value: $6.7 billion
Raids: 477
Arrests: 27
Weapons seized: 29
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Plant seizures by county*
1. Lake - 314,603
2. Shasta - 227,488
3. Mendocino - 135,736
4. Fresno - 102,814
5. San Bernardino - 91,286
6. Riverside - 84,752
7. Sonoma - 73,460
8. Trinity - 68,544
9. Humboldt - 59,616
10. Santa Clara - 52,416
*Numbers reflect busts conducted under the Campaign Against MarijuanaPlanting, or CAMP, program. Some counties, such as Los Angeles and SanDiego, do not utilize CAMP.
Source: California Department of Justice
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Members of the team have also increased the use ofhelicopter surveillance, helping them track more growth locations andmaking them easier to access.
"Agents can be transported by helicopter into the garden,whereas before they hiked in and hiked out with the marijuana,"Schwanke said.
San Bernardino County's Marijuana Eradication Team is mostactive during the growth and harvest season, but works year-roundstaking out potential growth sites and locations of prior busts.
It's a job full of hazards. The team navigates steep androcky terrain, avoiding snakes and other wild animals. It alsooccasionally runs into pot farm workers carrying firearms.
"It's not so much to fight off law enforcement, but tofight off wild animals or people trying to invade the turf and stealthe product," Ginter said.
Sometimes plants are discovered by chance.
InJuly, firefighters battling the 61,700-acre Sawtooth Complex Fire in aremote area of Little Morongo Canyon discovered plants covering nearlytwo square miles.
Deputies have discovered they are often at a disadvantage when it comes to catching people operating the farms.
Growerspick locations ideal for spotting any intruders, especially lawenforcement. Workers camp in trees and work as lookouts on high ground.They have a couple minutes to an hour head start before officers evenspot a plant.
They plant on several sites, knowing they may have to sacrifice one or two plots in law-enforcement busts.
"It'swhat we learn from the previous grow season that we apply in the nextgrow season," Ginter said. "It's an ever-changing deal. They learn fromus just as we learn from them."
--
BS Ranch Perspective:
The S.B. County Sheriff Department is off to a great start when it comes to seizures of Grown Marijuana! I suppose if there was someone in custody that they would state that they were growing this for Medical Purposes, to sell at the legal Marijuana stores in the Bay area that are claiming to be selling this to people that suffer from real medical reasons. LOL!
Well, that is all I have to say for the Weed that keeps on growing in the mountains with its own irrigation systems and small tents near by that are meant for squatters that are just hunting for cans and the like in the area. LOL.
One thing is for sure, with the rise in Seizures it goes to show how popular the Weed is still today! Plus how much it is wanted as a marketed drug!
BSRanch
Most marijuana seized in S.B. County in past 15 years
By Melissa Pinion-Whitt, Staff Writer
Article Launched: 12/26/2006 12:00:00 AM PST
Thedevious mountain landscape almost masked a big mystery from a randomhiker who stumbled upon 1,500 marijuana plants in the San BernardinoMountains one day in July.
While it was a significant find, sheriff's deputies familiarwith the rugged terrain ventured farther into the Angelus Oaks woodsand found about 53,000 more plants, one of the largest busts in countyhistory.
It's been a good year for San Bernardino County lawenforcement in terms of marijuana plant seizures. The Sheriff'sDepartment found and removed more than 97,000 plants, the most since1991. The county also ranked fifth in the state for plants seized withthe assistance of a state eradication group.
But members of the sheriff's Marijuana Eradication Team say they still have a lot more work to do.
"Iknow for a fact we did not find all the marijuana (that) grows in theSan Bernardino Mountains that were out there," said Sgt. John Ginter,team supervisor. "There are some that we missed. That's our goal nextyear is to try to identify more locations and eradicate more plants."
Law-enforcement officers assigned to marijuana farms saythe county's high ranking this year is due to more and more growersdiscovering the
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
San Bernardino National Forest is ideal for concealing their lucrative enterprises.
"Theremoteness of our forest lands and the availability of our watersources is the reason for the increase in the plant numbers," Gintersaid.
It's a trend reflected across the state.
TheDepartment of Justice said 2006 was a record-setting year for pot plantseizures, with 1.7 million plants removed mostly from public lands suchas state and national parks and forests. That's an increase of about540,000 plants over 2005.
The plants were worth an estimated $6.7 billion. Thedepartment's Campaign Against Marijuana Planting, or CAMP program,conducted 477 raids in 34 counties during the growing season, whichtypically starts in late July and ends as late as November, dependingon the weather.
While some local law enforcement officials believe activityis increasing, state officials say the increase in seizures is due tomore manpower, better equipment and training.
Five teams under the CAMP program were used this pastgrowing season, compared with three in 2005, said DOJ spokeswoman RobinSchwanke.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Marijuana seizures in 2006 under the Campaign Against Marijuana Planting
Total plants seized: 1,675,681
Estimated value: $6.7 billion
Raids: 477
Arrests: 27
Weapons seized: 29
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Plant seizures by county*
1. Lake - 314,603
2. Shasta - 227,488
3. Mendocino - 135,736
4. Fresno - 102,814
5. San Bernardino - 91,286
6. Riverside - 84,752
7. Sonoma - 73,460
8. Trinity - 68,544
9. Humboldt - 59,616
10. Santa Clara - 52,416
*Numbers reflect busts conducted under the Campaign Against MarijuanaPlanting, or CAMP, program. Some counties, such as Los Angeles and SanDiego, do not utilize CAMP.
Source: California Department of Justice
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Members of the team have also increased the use ofhelicopter surveillance, helping them track more growth locations andmaking them easier to access.
"Agents can be transported by helicopter into the garden,whereas before they hiked in and hiked out with the marijuana,"Schwanke said.
San Bernardino County's Marijuana Eradication Team is mostactive during the growth and harvest season, but works year-roundstaking out potential growth sites and locations of prior busts.
It's a job full of hazards. The team navigates steep androcky terrain, avoiding snakes and other wild animals. It alsooccasionally runs into pot farm workers carrying firearms.
"It's not so much to fight off law enforcement, but tofight off wild animals or people trying to invade the turf and stealthe product," Ginter said.
Sometimes plants are discovered by chance.
InJuly, firefighters battling the 61,700-acre Sawtooth Complex Fire in aremote area of Little Morongo Canyon discovered plants covering nearlytwo square miles.
Deputies have discovered they are often at a disadvantage when it comes to catching people operating the farms.
Growerspick locations ideal for spotting any intruders, especially lawenforcement. Workers camp in trees and work as lookouts on high ground.They have a couple minutes to an hour head start before officers evenspot a plant.
They plant on several sites, knowing they may have to sacrifice one or two plots in law-enforcement busts.
"It'swhat we learn from the previous grow season that we apply in the nextgrow season," Ginter said. "It's an ever-changing deal. They learn fromus just as we learn from them."
--
BS Ranch Perspective:
The S.B. County Sheriff Department is off to a great start when it comes to seizures of Grown Marijuana! I suppose if there was someone in custody that they would state that they were growing this for Medical Purposes, to sell at the legal Marijuana stores in the Bay area that are claiming to be selling this to people that suffer from real medical reasons. LOL!
Well, that is all I have to say for the Weed that keeps on growing in the mountains with its own irrigation systems and small tents near by that are meant for squatters that are just hunting for cans and the like in the area. LOL.
One thing is for sure, with the rise in Seizures it goes to show how popular the Weed is still today! Plus how much it is wanted as a marketed drug!
BSRanch
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