Thursday, May 31, 2007

Mayor's State of the City Address (City of Rialto June 7th, 2007 $25.00 a head RSVP 909-820-2519) The City must be in great shape?

Mayor's State of the City Address

rialto seal The City of Rialto is hosting its Annual Mayor's State of the City Address on Thursday, June 7, 2007, 5:30 PM at the Tom Sawyer Pool Patio 1423 S. Riverside Ave. The Mayor's State of the City Address will be a video production that will highlight some of the major development projects in the City. The cost is: $25.00 per person. Please RSVP to (909) 820-2519.

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BS Ranch Perspective:

Let me get this straight, This is a Public Address of the State of the City, and they are Charging a $25.00 fee to be able to sit in on the Mayor's State of the City's Address. I guess this must be common practice because I have not heard of the city holding a State of the City Address Before. Either that or the City is in such a Bad State that they need to charge a Fee to have people sit in on this affair to see just how bad the City of Rialto is.

The Mayor of Rialto is being Pimped out at $25.00 per person to hear just how good the City is, but I hope that no one looks behind the Curtain, if they have to charge a $25.00 Fee to hear the State of the City!! I kind of wonder if this is a performance or if the State is the real thing?

After all we pay to see a Performance, We Get to see Elected Officials For Free Every two weeks on Television, and when it comes to the most Important Speech that the Mayor of Rialto Delivers there is a Door charge of $25.00, that makes it a Performance. Remember this a PERFORMANCE is something that is written that doesn't necessary have to be the truth about the Actual State of The City of Rialto. I would believe the Politician more if there wasn't any door charge, and they didn't try to make money as this Says Quite a Bit About The State of Rialto!!

BS Ranch

Burying One of The Nation's Finest (SB Sun 052607) Rialto Police Caption's Son Remembered

Burying one of the nation's finest
Rialto police captain's son remembered
Robert Rogers, Staff Writer
San Bernardino County Sun


Photo Gallery: 05/25: Soldier Killed in Iraq

REDLANDS - Reserved and self-effacing, Spc. William "Tony" Farrar Jr. was never comfortable with outpourings of attention.

But this was different. Farrar, 20, was killed in combat in Iraq on May 11.

His body lay in a coffin draped by an American flag in the Worship Hall of First Missionary Baptist Church on Friday.

His spirit was above, 400 mourners were told, and he was smiling. It was possibly a mild, lips-compressed expression familiar from recent pictures.

"Today we honor a hero, a hero to his country, a hero to his faith," said Scott Breckley, Farrar's uncle. Breckley read a few lines from his Bible while standing over Farrar's coffin, then completed the hour-long service.

"This is not the end, this is Tony's beginning."

In a solemn service dabbed by rays of humor and hope, mourners packed the small Redlands church to send off a local soldier whose achieved dream of joining the military was all too brief.

Farrar, the son of a Rialto police captain and a military policeman in his own right, was killed when a roadside bomb detonated near the Humvee he was driving about 30 miles south of Baghdad.

Farrar was assigned to the 127th Military Police Company, 709th Military Police Battalion, 18th Military Police Brigade out of Darmstadt, Germany.

He enlisted in the Army in September 2005 soon after graduating from Palm Springs High School.

Farrar was deployed to Iraq in November the following year.

The packed funeral procession was joined by dozens of uniformed Rialto police officers and firefighters. Farrar's father, Tony Sr., 46, is a 19-year veteran of the Rialto department.

The soldier's younger brother, 18-year-old Ken, also came to the lectern to speak about his big brother.

His voice at times cracking, Ken, who joined the Marines in December and could soon find himself in Iraq, said he knew the severity of the conflict but couldn't fathom that tragedy would strike down his "hero."

"He may have been small," Ken Farrar said of his wiry brother, who was temporarily denied admission to the Army for being underweight. "But I'd just like to be half the man he was."

Christine Rodriguez, a childhood friend of Farrar's, moved to the podium to tell of the day at church camp two years ago when Farrar accepted God into his life.

"He's in heaven right now because he decided to give his heart to God that day," Rodriguez said, crying.

Speakers also humorously spoke about Farrar's near obsession with video games and ravenous appetite, despite his slight build.

Amid the tragedy, the mood was at once solemn, proud and hopeful. A still-photo montage set to music included quotes from historical leaders such as Gen. Douglas MacArthur, Edmund Burke and President Ronald Reagan.

A procession of cars, police and fire vehicles and about 60 motorcycles ridden by Patriot Guard Riders, a nationwide group that escorts military funerals, took Farrar's body to Riverside National Cemetery, where he was buried.

Farrar was awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star for valor posthumously for his service to the nation.

The services were intimate and personal, with the short list of speakers sharply focused on the fallen young man, his sacrifice and his faith.

"This is beautiful," said Darin Good, a resident who watched the procession from across the street. "This is the way to honor our heroes."

Contact writer Robert Rogers at (909) 386-3855 or via e-mail at robert.rogers@sbsun.com.

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BS Ranch Perspective:

I Remember when I first was to meet Tony Farrar Jr. and his Brother Kenny. It was way back in 1990, when they were just little tot's. Tony Sr. and I were assigned as Explorer Coordinator's and we both were getting ready to expand the membership of the Explorer Post. We had some applicants, but we had to do some Back Round Investigations and I went to The Farrar's House to Pick Tony Sr. up to get started on the Back Round Investigations.

I met Tony Jr. and Kenny when they were getting their breakfast in order by their Father, and boy they had engergy, they could have kept a go cart going all day on very little effort due to the energy that those little boys had back then. The energy was endless until Tony Sr. Punched a VCR Tape of Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory into the VCR and pressed play it was like their power butten had been neutralized and the power was drained.

Both Tony Jr. and Kenny were stuck to the screen while Gene Wilder started singing and the Umpa Lumpa's were belting out tunes. It was rather cute. They both grew to be fine young men. It was hard to say good by to that little boy, at that funeral that day.

Tony, Cathy, and family I just want to say that you are in my prayers, and my thoughts. I have lost many friends, family, in my life time, and well I have even survived death, it isn't easy doing that either, But god Bless You, and I want to say that you are in my prayers through this hard time right now.

God Bless You,

Buck, Theresa, Melissa, Princess Leia, Hanna, and Maxwell Smart too

BS Ranch





Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Mit Romney to the Rescue (News Max ) Mit Romney's Got the Right Stuff for 2008..

Romney to the Rescue

Mitt Romney's Got the
Right Stuff for 2008

NewsMax Magazine has just released its April 2007 cover story. Please take a moment to read Ronald Kessler's exclusive story on the former Massachusetts governor. Also check out our FREE offer for our Romney edition with a special gift — Click Here Now.


By Ronald Kessler

Mitt Romney was faced with a crisis in July 1996. The 14-year-old daughter of Robert Gay, a partner in Romney's new venture capital firm, Bain Capital, had disappeared. As it turned out, she had attended a rave party in New York City and had become high on ecstasy. Three days later, her distraught father had no idea where she was.

Romney took immediate action. He closed down the entire firm and asked all 30 partners and employees to fly to New York to try to find Gay's daughter.

Romney set up a command center in a conference room at the LaGuardia Marriott just outside Manhattan. He hired a private detective firm to assist with the search and established a toll-free number for tips, coordinating the effort with the New York City Police Department, but he still wasn't satisfied. He raced through his Rolodex and called everyone Bain did business with in New York. He asked them to help his company find their friend's missing daughter.

The company's accounting firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and its law firm, put up posters on street poles with a photo of the missing teenager. Cashiers at Duane Reade Pharmacies, which was owned by Bain Capital, put fliers in the bag of each shopper.

Romney and others from the Bain Capital posse trudged through every part of New York, even scouring Central Park, and talked with everyone they could - prostitutes, drug addicts - anyone who may have seen her. They also made rounds at the local nightclubs at 3 a.m., hoping someone somewhere could identify her.

The Life and Times of Willard Mitt Romney

Mitt Romney's life has taken a number of twists and turns on the road to his presidential candidacy.

1947: Willard Mitt Romney born in Detroit on March 12. His middle name is the nickname of an NFL player.

1965: Meets 15-year-old Ann Davies at a party. They would wed four years later.

1968: Nearly killed in an auto accident while serving as a Mormon missionary in France.

1971: Graduates from Brigham Young University at the top of his class.

1975: Graduates from a joint program at Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School.

1978: Named vice president of management consulting firm Bain & Co.

1984: Founds Bain Capital, a venture capital firm.

1990: Returns to Bain & Co. as interim CEO.

1994: Runs unsuccessfully for the Senate against Ted Kennedy in Massachusetts; makes statements in support of abortion and gay rights that will later come back to haunt him.

1998: Wife Ann diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

1999: Takes over the debt-ridden 2002 Winter Olympics; goes on to spearhead turnaround of the Salt Lake Olympics Organizing Committee.

2002: Elected governor of Massachusetts with 50 percent of the vote.

2003: Pushes for a constitutional amendment in Massachusetts that would outlaw gay marriage.

2004: Publishes the book Turnaround: Crisis, Leadership, and the Olympic Games.

2005: Elected chairman of the Republican Governors Association on Dec. 2.

2005: On Dec. 14, announces that he will not seek re-election as governor.

2007: On Jan. 8, raises $6.5 million in a single day for his presidential exploratory committee.

2007: Formally announces his candidacy for the White House at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Mich. on Feb. 13.

The same day the Romney team came to New York, the hunt made the evening news. Television cameras showed photos of the girl and video of investment banker types prowling through Central Park.

The next day, a teenage boy she was with phoned in. He asked if there was a reward. But the boy got nervous and quickly hung up. Luckily, the police traced the call to a home in Montville Township, N.J.

Gay's daughter, when they found her in the basement of that home, was shivering through detox after a massive dose of ecstasy. Doctors later told Gay that he was indeed fortunate - his daughter probably would not have lasted another day.

"It was the most amazing thing, and I'll never forget this to the day I die," Gay says, adding of Romney's intervention, "I'm not sure we would have gotten her back without him."

It is often during a crisis that we gain insight into a person's real character. Romney's action demonstrated leadership, loyalty, and selflessness - attributes that Americans just might like to see in a president of the United States.

Editor's Note: Get NewsMax Magazine with our FREE Offer and gift worth $38 — Click Here Now .

Reaganesque Demeanor

People say that Mitt Romney lights up a room. But there are all kinds of ways to light up a room - fluorescent, neon, sunlight, strobe. Romney alternates between sparkle and a warm, steady glow. He is not in your face. He is low-key, self-assured, and self-contained.

That could be a metaphor for Romney's candidacy. When the subject of the 2008 presidential election comes up, Republicans talk about the prospects of the obvious front-runners, Arizona Sen. John McCain and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. But they often end the conversation by saying, "You know, I really like Mitt Romney."

The fact that Massachusetts, where only 13 percent of registered voters are Republicans, could elect Romney governor by a five-point margin (50 percent versus 45 percent for his Democratic opponent) underscores his popularity among Republicans and Democrats alike.

In the coming months, Americans will be focusing on the candidates - and most of their initial impressions will be based on how the candidates come across on TV. In this media-driven age, Romney begins with a decisive advantage.

First, he has sensational good looks. People magazine named him one of the 50 most beautiful people in America. Standing 6 feet, 2 inches tall, Romney has jet-black hair, graying naturally at the temples. Women - who will play a critical role in this coming election - have a word for him: hot.

But it's more than good looks. In an hour-long NewsMax interview at Romney's Boston headquarters, the candidate is Reaganesque: a man with a sunny, positive disposition. On his desk he has a desk plate that states "America Is Never Stuck."

Sounding like a television character from the 1950s, he is not self-conscious about saying "gosh" or "my goodness."

Romney speaks with the effortless delivery of the best news anchors, making the 60-year-old "the un-Bush," according to Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform.

Similar to Bush, Romney has had a successful business career that made him a multimillionaire.

While running for the Senate in 1994, Romney filed a disclosure statement showing assets of $16 million to $25 million. In 1992 and 1993, he collected income of $6.8 million, including fees as a director of Staples and Marriott.

If elected president, he will have to disclose his tax returns but not his assets. He will not say how much he is worth today, but his net worth is likely well into the tens of millions.

"I'll have to ask my wife how much she's worth," Romney jokes.

With looks, charisma, money, and family all working for him, can anything hold Romney back?

Perhaps the lurking problem for him is the Mormon thing - "Mitt the Mormon," as Romney sardonically refers to the issue.

Despite the media fixation on his religion, it's difficult to find national evangelical leaders who openly oppose Romney on religious grounds. Not so liberal pundits.

Jacob Weisberg, editor of Slate, the online magazine owned by the Washington Post Co., had no compunctions about writing, "Romney's religion will become an issue with moderate and secular voters - and rightly so."

He added, "Objecting to someone because of his religious beliefs is not the same thing as prejudice based on religious heritage, race, or gender." If so, Weisberg's view would open the door to anti-Semitism, anti-Catholicism, or any other bias based on religion.

Religion and Responsibility

Ann Romney:
The Mayor's Daughter Is Advocate for Kids

The first sentence of Ann Romney's official campaign biography makes her priorities clear: "Ann Romney places primary importance on her role as a wife, a mother, and a grandmother." Yet by no means is she notable for her domestic accomplishments alone:

Residence: Belmont, Mass.

Education: Bachelor of Arts degree with a concentration in French, from Brigham Young University.

Notable Accomplishments:

  • Won the MS Society's Inspiration Award, for raising public awareness about Multiple Sclerosis.

  • Helped develop the Right To Play Program (formerly Olympic Aid), an international program that uses sport and play as a way to help the world's most disadvantaged children.

  • Recipient of the 2006 Lifetime Achievement Award from Operation Kids.

  • A dedicated equestrian, she won the Gold Medal (Grand Prix level) from the U.S. Dressage Federation last year and the Silver Medal in 2005.

    Charitable Activities: Board Member, New England Chapter of the MS Society; Governor's Liaison, White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives; former board member, United Way of Massachusetts Bay; supporter of equine therapy programs for physically challenged kids; former board member, Massachusetts' Children's Trust Fund; former director of Best Friends, which gives adolescent, inner-city girls educational and community-service opportunities.

    Primary Policy Interest: Improving the welfare of children. She participates in various programs to help children, including the annual Scholastic Reading event, as well as organizations such as Partners for Youth with Disabilities, the American Red Cross, the Boston Ten Point Coalition, and the Perkins School for the Blind. Religion: Raised an Episcopalian, she converted to Mormonism.

    Early Years: Ann Davies was raised in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., and her father was the town's mayor. She dated Mitt Romney when she was a senior at Kings-wood School.

    Marriage: "I didn't want to be anywhere else but with Ann," Mitt Romney says. "I wanted to be with her all the time and couldn't imagine being anywhere else besides being with her. And so, at the senior prom, as we danced a little bit, we went outside of the school and I turned to her and said, 'Ann, would you marry me?' And she said 'Yes.'" The couple was married on March 21, 1969.

    Favorite Pastimes: Skiing and horseback riding. She credits her interaction with horses for helping her to overcome the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis she received just before Thanksgiving 1998.

    Family: The Romneys have five sons, five daughters-in-law, and 10 grandchildren.

     

  • The media love to depict Mitt Romney as having come from privilege, and that is certainly true. His father was George W. Romney, who was chairman of American Motors Corp.

    George Romney went on to serve three terms as governor of Michigan and in 1968, he unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for president. He then became secretary of Housing and Urban Development under President Nixon.

    Born on March 12, 1947, Willard Mitt Romney was named Willard for his father's friend J. Willard Marriott, a fellow Mormon who started what is now Marriott International with a nine-seat A&W Root Beer stand in Washington, D.C. From kindergarten on, Mitt preferred to be called by his middle name, which was the nickname of his father's cousin Milton, who played for the NFL's Chicago Bears in the 1920s.

    The Romneys lived in the upscale suburb of Bloomfield Hills, Mich., where Mitt attended the private Cranbrook School. He spent summers with his family in a vacation home on Lake Huron in Ontario, Canada.

    However, if the family was financially set, it had little impact on Mitt's upbringing. Like most other kids, he had summer jobs. His sister Jane, an actress in Beverly Hills, remembers that she was allowed to buy only one new dress a year.

    "I always hated the word 'privileged' and I never thought we were," she says. "My dad grew up with nothing. His father went bankrupt twice when my father was a kid."

    George Romney died on July 26, 1995, at the age of 88. He imparted deep values to his family, values that the Mormon Church emphasizes - strong families, honesty, giving to charity, respect for human life, hard work, and clean living.

    Religion was central to young Mitt's upbringing.

    "The Mormon church is very much about service, because we don't have a paid ministry," Jane Romney says. "So everybody pitches in. Everybody gets called to serve in some way."

    When Mitt Romney was a senior in high school, he met Ann Davies, the attractive daughter of the mayor of Bloomfield Hills. Davies attended Kingswood School, the sister school of Cranbrook. She and Romney came to the party with dates but left together. Soon they were going steady. She was 15 and he was 18.

    Romney went off to Stanford, where he and Davies continued to see each other. After his freshman year, Romney left for France to begin a 30-month stint as a Mormon missionary, just as his father and Marriott had done. Romney lived in a seedy hotel in Le Havre.

    Tragedy Strikes

    In the summer of 1968, 21-year-old Romney was driving a Citroën in the rain on a mountainous road near Bordeaux with five other missionaries. As they rounded a curve, a Mercedes, possibly passing another car, veered over the median. The Mercedes, traveling at 70 mph, slammed almost head-on into Romney's car. Viola Anderson, the wife of his mission president, suffered crushed lungs and died. Romney was thrown from the car.

    "He was unconscious from a blow to the head," Jane Romney says.

    A police officer who came on the scene thought Romney was dead. On his passport, he wrote in pencil, "Il est mort" ("he is dead"). Fortunately, Romney had suffered only a broken arm.

    While Romney was in France, Davies, an Episcopalian, decided to convert to Mormonism. She began attending Brigham Young University, which is affiliated with the Mormon church. Upon his return, Romney transferred to the school as a sophomore to be with her.

    They were married on March 21, 1969. She was 19 and he was 22.

    An English major, Romney graduated in 1971 with a 3.97 grade-point average. Because he ranked at the top of his class in the College of Humanities, he was chosen to speak on graduation day.

    After a series of student and missionary deferments, Romney became available for military service in 1970. He drew a 300 in the draft lottery, but no man who had a number of 196 or higher was called from that particular drawing.

    Mitt decided to attend Harvard Business School, but his father thought he should obtain a law degree, so he enrolled in a joint program at Harvard Law School. In 1975, he graduated from Harvard Law cum laude and from Harvard Business School, where he was named a Baker Scholar and was in the top 5 percent of his class. One of his classmates at Harvard Business School was George W. Bush.

    The Romneys eventually settled in Belmont, Mass., a suburb of Boston that adjoins Cambridge. They own a Colonial-style home on 2.4 acres of land on Marsh Street. The home is worth $3.3 million.

    The Romneys have five sons - Taggart, Matt, Josh, Benjamin, and Craig.

    Convinced that being a consultant would prepare him to be a top manager, Romney joined Boston Consulting Group. In 1978, Bain & Co., another management consulting company, lured him away and named him vice president. His colleagues included future eBay CEO Meg Whitman.

    Editor's Note: Get NewsMax Magazine with our FREE Offer and gift worth $38 — Click Here Now.

    Business Acumen

    While he was successful, Romney's role of recommending strategy rather than implementing it frustrated him. He was about to join a Chicago corporation when William Bain, the founder of Bain & Co., persuaded him to start a sister company where Romney would have operational control.

    After raising $37 million in startup funds, Romney founded Bain Capital, a venture capital firm, in 1984. For the most part, the company looked for troubled companies that had good potential if management was improved.

    Romney had an eye for identifying future success. Notable was Romney's investment in Staples, which had not yet opened its first office supply store. Thomas G. Stemberg, its founder, told Bain Capital that companies spent more on office supplies than they realized. He also cited the growing number of self-employed people who work at home and would patronize a discount stationery store.

    Romney decided he would test Stemberg's claim himself.

    "He had his associates do a survey on how much people were spending on office supplies," Stemberg tells NewsMax. "They'd call people and ask for the office manager and ask what they spend. They thought they were spending $200 an employee."

    That was a fifth of what Stemberg claimed they were spending, and Romney told him that.

    "Mitt then went back and actually had his guys check the invoices as well, and they found out I was right," Stemberg says, noting Romney's legendary attention to detail.

    Romney agreed to put $600,000 of Bain Capital money into the new venture. "He made eight times his money in three years," Stemberg says.

    Bain Capital went on to help launch or acquire Domino's Pizza, Sealy, Brookstone, and The Sports Authority. Each time Romney looked into an opportunity, he submerged himself in data, analyzed the business, and then was willing to take risks if his instincts told him he was on the right track.

    Because of these and other successful investments, Bain Capital now manages $40 billion.

    By 1990, Bain & Co., the mother ship, was in dire straits because of excess debt. Founder William Bain asked Romney to return to the company as interim CEO to straighten things out.

    Romney tightened expenses, renegotiated loans, and improved morale. He returned the company to profitability within a year before returning to lead Bain Capital.

    In 1994, Romney decided to run for the Senate against Democrat Ted Kennedy. It was an audacious move, and Romney spent $6.1 million of his own money on the campaign. He felt liberal social programs of the 1960s and 1970s had created a permanent underclass and fostered poverty rather than eliminating it.

    Romney managed to win 41 percent of the votes to Kennedy's 58 percent. Generally, that's not a good showing, but it was remarkable considering he was running as a Republican in a staunchly liberal state - against a Kennedy, no less.

    In his effort to unseat Kennedy, Romney campaigned hard to win independent voters. But now some of his campaign statements have come back to haunt him as he runs nationally.

    In December 2006, Bay Windows, a Boston-based gay and lesbian newspaper, republished excerpts from an interview it did with Romney in which he stated that the gay and lesbian community "needs more support from the Republican Party" and that it should be up to the states to decide whether to allow same-sex marriage.

    A letter he wrote to a pro-gay organization also surfaced, in which Romney said he supported "full equality for America's gay and lesbian citizens."

    Sanctity of Marriage


    Mitt with wife Ann and
    their children

    When Romney made the comments in 1994, gay marriage had not yet become a serious issue. But in 2003, when the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, in a 4-3 decision, ruled that marriage in the commonwealth would no longer be limited to unions between men and women, Romney pushed for an amendment to the state constitution that would outlaw gay marriage.

    In a recent interview in his corner office at his campaign headquarters, Romney sticks by his position condemning discrimination against gays and lesbians.

    "I can tell you this, which is I believe gay individuals should enjoy tolerance and respect," Romney says. "They should have equal opportunities in housing and employment. We shouldn't discriminate against people based upon their sexual preference or orientation."

    Romney's position is the same one staked out by President Bush.

    "At the same time, I believe that marriage should be reserved for a relationship between one man and one woman. For me, that's not a matter of discrimination," Romney adds.

    He also supports Bush's effort to ban gay marriage by an amendment to the U.S. Constitution - which separates him from Giuliani and McCain, who oppose such a change.

    Another potentially damaging piece of baggage from the 1994 campaign is his comment about abortion made during a debate with Kennedy. Romney said, "I believe that abortion should be safe and legal in this country. I believe that since Roe v. Wade has been the law for 20 years, we should sustain and support it."

    Romney now says that, like President Reagan, he has changed his views and position on abortion.

    During the debate over stem-cell research, Romney met with experts from Harvard at his State House office.

    "It was during that discussion, which related to something called embryo farming, which is taking donor sperm and donor eggs, creating embryos, experimenting on them and then destroying them in 14 days, that it came home very forcefully to me that the Roe v. Wade mentality had cheapened the respect for human life in this country," Romney says. "And for that reason, I made it very clear that I am pro-life."

    The switch has made some social conservatives question Romney's sincerity. For example, John Haskins, associate director of the Parents' Rights Coalition, brands Romney a "placebo-conservative." Others see his switch as a plus, however.

    "He feels passionately that the value of human life begins at conception," says South Carolina state Sen. Jim DeMint, a Republican who supports Romney. "The idea that he might have changed his mind [on Roe v. Wade] is very appealing to me, because we're not going to win that debate unless people change their minds and think it through."

    Romney has vetoed bills that authorized embryo farming, therapeutic cloning, and access to emergency contraception without parental consent. He is a critic of liberal judges who legislate from the bench, and he says he would like to see the court return the abortion issue to the people to decide.

    "President Bush has done a fine job in bringing to the Supreme Court Justice [John] Roberts and Justice [Sam] Alito," Romney says. "Those are exactly the kind of individuals you'd hope would come to the bench."

    Olympics Hero


    Romney saved the 2002 Winter
    Olympics from bankruptcy

    In 1998, Utah state leaders approached Romney about taking over the scandal-ridden 2002 Winter Olympics. More than $1 million in bribes had been paid to members of the International Olympic Committee organizers. Before the scandal erupted, the Salt Lake Olympics Organizing Committee (SLOC) had a projected shortfall of $397 million.

    Romney accepted the position and asked Fraser Bullock, one of the seven original partners of Bain Capital, to become his chief operating officer.

    Romney traveled all over the world to gather support, as he cut back on SLOC expenses. Without foundation, Woody Paige, a Denver Post columnist, blasted the Winter Olympics as a "massive Mormon marketing scheme."

    With Romney at the helm, the games ended with a surplus of $56 million. The surplus money went to fund future Olympics.

    It was during his busy days guiding the Olympics that Romney received a call from Barbara Anderson, executive director of Massachusetts Citizens for Limited Taxation.

    "I know you're busy with the Olympics right now," said the message she left on his answering machine, "but when you get back please save the commonwealth."

    It was Anderson's way of telling him she wanted him to run for governor.

    "There was no one else on the horizon, and with the legislature almost entirely Democratic, we felt it was necessary to have a grown-up in the corner office," she says.

    Erasing the Deficit

    With the Olympics success under his belt, Romney ran for governor of Massachusetts in 2002 on a platform of fiscal conservatism, promising to erase the state's $3 billion deficit.

    As the new governor, Romney consolidated state agencies, cut employees, and closed what he called loopholes in the corporate tax code. He also tackled the most difficult public policy issue of all, health insurance.

    With input from the Heritage Foundation, Romney came up with a way to provide universal health insurance by requiring that everyone buy coverage, just as drivers are required to buy car insurance. If they don't, they lose their personal exemption on their state income taxes and part of their state tax refund. The idea was that in a reformed marketplace, everyone has the responsibility to have health insurance - no more free riders.

    For those who cannot afford coverage, Romney cobbled together funds from Medicaid and the state's free-care pool to make sure everyone is covered.

    By merging individual and group plans, Romney covered more healthy individuals, lowering prices.

    Of course, there are plenty of skeptics.

    "I am very pessimistic that it will work," says Merrill Matthews Jr., director of the nonprofit Council for Affordable Health Insurance, based in Alexandria, Va. Matthews says employers might drop coverage if the state has a program, thereby increasing the number of uninsured. He also questions whether insurers will offer coverage at competitive rates.

    Over time, the efficiencies Romney imposed on the health-care delivery system are expected to offset the additional $200 million needed from the state budget to finance the plan.

    Romney likes to contrast his health-care plan with the one proposed by Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y. "My plan is based on personal responsibility and allowing the free market to work in a more effective manner," he says. "Her approach was to build a large government bureaucracy and provide more controls to help the health-care system work."

    He adds with a smile: "Perhaps the biggest difference between our two plans was that mine got passed, and hers didn't."

    States such as Iowa, California, and New Jersey are looking into adopting the Massachusetts approach, and Bush is pushing other states to look into it. To conservatives who bristle at the idea of an imposed plan, Romney says, "The key factor that some of my libertarian friends forget is that today, everybody who doesn't have insurance is getting free coverage from government."

    As governor, Romney did not go unscathed in the heavily Democratic state of Massachusetts.

    Democrats like Massachusetts Senate President Robert E. Travaglini criticized Romney for opposing state funding of stem-cell research. Travaglini says Romney took conservative stands in order to improve his chances of winning the GOP nomination for president.

    "He started running for president the day he was elected to office," echoes Philip W. Johnson, chairman of the state Democratic Party.

    House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi assailed Romney for failing to deliver on his promise that he would attract new jobs to the state. In fact, while Romney was in office, the unemployment rate fell from 5.7 percent to 4.9 percent.

    Romney wasn't able to accomplish all that he hoped, due to opposition from the overwhelmingly Democratic legislature. For example, Romney discovered that collecting tolls on the Massachusetts Turnpike cost 30 cents for every $1 collected, in part because the toll collectors' union contract, which gives the collectors an average $56,300 a year in wages plus $9,880 in benefits. The Massachusetts legislature did not want to take on the union and lose a source of political patronage, however.

    Romney's bottom line in Massachusetts: He erased the budget deficit he inherited when he took over, just as he'd done with the Olympics.

    When Romney left office on Jan. 4, 2006, the Bay State had a balanced budget plus a "rainy day fund" - all without ever raising taxes.

    The Mormon Factor

    On Oct. 26, 2006, Romney met with 15 evangelical leaders at his home in Belmont. The meeting was set up by Mark DeMoss, son of the late billionaire Arthur DeMoss. A public relations consultant, DeMoss represents many evangelicals. The attendees included Gary Bauer, Franklin Graham, Jerry Falwell, and the pastors from several evangelical megachurches, such as Paula White of Without Walls International Church, based in Tampa, Fla.

    "Our discussion was open and frank," says Richard Land, who heads the policy arm of the Southern Baptist Convention.

    "Evangelicals know that they're not electing a theologian in chief, but a commander in chief. If they agree with Romney on social issues, his Mormonism won't be a hindrance, especially if he's the only viable social conservative in the mix," he says.

    Says Falwell: "There's no question that there are strong feelings about Mormonism. But we're not electing a Sunday school teacher, we're electing a president. I do not believe [Romney's] church affiliation will hinder his being a viable candidate among evangelicals." Mormons are fiscally and socially conservative, and 95 percent of them voted for Bush in the last election. Mormons consider themselves Christians, but many evangelicals disagree. For one thing, Mormons view Jesus Christ, the "Heavenly Father," and the Holy Spirit as three separate beings. They also believe Jesus visited North America after the resurrection.

    In fact, the Southern Baptist Convention lists the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - the Mormons - under "Cults and Sects."

    "The term 'Christian' means different things to different people," Romney says. "And so I don't try and describe my faith in terms of categories. Instead I tell them what I believe. And I believe in God. I believe in marriage. I believe in family. I believe in helping people, in service and compassion. I believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God and is my savior.

    "But there are people of other faiths who don't believe that, and that's of course their right. But I don't try and describe my faith other than in terms of the fact that it has made me a better person than I would have been, and it has made my kids better than they would have been."

    Of course, any religious beliefs sound strange to those who are not familiar with them. What matters most, Romney argues, is not his religious beliefs but his agenda for America.

    Political Priorities

    Romney emphasizes four priorities if elected president: defeating the jihadists, competing with Asia, stopping runaway spending, and affirming America's culture and values.

    In his NewsMax interview, Romney says he wants to see more money devoted to stopping the next terrorist plot through additional funding for the FBI and CIA. In running the Olympics, he became heavily involved in security issues to make the event safe, says David M. Tubbs, a former FBI agent who was in charge of security at the games.

    "Fundamentally, the most important thing you can do to secure this homeland is to keep a bomb from going off," Romney points out. "And the only way you can do that effectively is through intelligence work and counterterrorism. And that means more FBI agents, more careful screening, more tracking of people who represent potential threats."

    The FBI has only about 4,000 agents working counterterrorism, compared to New York City's 40,000 police officers.

    Romney also favors a tougher immigration policy, investing in technology, extending health insurance to all Americans, achieving energy independence, and improving education by measuring progress and "making teaching a true profession."

    He has staked out more conservative positions than Giuliani and McCain on immigration policy and abortion. As governor, he decided that 30 state troopers should be trained to arrest illegal immigrants in the state.

    On another bedrock issue for conservatives, he believes McCain was on the wrong side. "He voted against the Bush tax cuts," Romney points out. "I was in favor of the Bush tax cuts."

    While Romney has generally supported Bush, he criticizes his creation of the Medicare drug prescription benefit without finding ways to pay for it.

    Promising to build "a new American dream," Romney formally announced his candidacy on Feb. 13 at the Henry Ford Museum in his home state of Michigan. He cast himself as an optimistic and forward-thinking Washington outsider with the experience and vision to lead the country into a new age.

    With former Virginia Sen. George Allen out of the race, Romney stands as the clear conservative alternative to McCain and Giuliani. Overwhelmingly, Republican insiders believe that Giuliani cannot win the nomination because of his liberal stance on social issues like abortion and gays, and that McCain will never excite the party's base.

    'Spectacular Candidate'

    In the make-or-break caucus state of Iowa, a majority of Republican county chairmen who responded to queries from Roll Call in January said the one presidential candidate who is exciting the base is Romney.

    Romney's fans range from Kathryn Jean Lopez, editor of National Review Online, to Ann Coulter, to talk-show host Laura Ingraham. While governor of Florida, Jeb Bush gave his blessing to key staffers to migrate to the Romney camp.

    Grover Norquist notes that Romney was the first major candidate to sign Americans for Tax Reform's pledge to oppose any effort to raise marginal income tax rates. Norquist says Romney is moving to "place himself dead center of the Reagan coalition." If he succeeds, Norquist says,"He will be the strongest candidate for the nomination."

    When asked which Republican candidate she fears the most, Donna Brazile - who managed Al Gore's 2000 presidential campaign - replies, "Mitt Romney." Asked whether Romney's religion will hurt him, Ted Kennedy said recently, "The answer is no. We've moved on. That died with my brother Jack."

    Romney is "a spectacular candidate," says Republican strategist Mary Matalin, a former aide to Vice President Dick Cheney. "He is methodical, and he's definitely got the happy warrior thing. He's substantive, and he's got executive skills. And he's 21st century, too." Romney's Mormon religion will turn out to be a plus, she says, because people "like that have a source of strength."

    In addition to his strong base among influential Mormons, Romney can tap into his immense business network for the race that counts in the primaries: raising money. By the end of last December, political action committees affiliated with Romney had raised $8.75 million.

    In one day, Jan. 8, Romney raised another $6.5 million for his exploratory committee by enlisting contacts such as Whitman of eBay. The effort was dubbed the "National Call Day" and employed a telemarketing operation armed with new software designed exclusively for the Romney campaign.

    Romney says that while he has a great deal of respect for Sen. McCain and former mayor Giuliani, there are major differences between them.

    Unlike McCain and Giuliani, Romney says. "I have worked in the world of employers and employees for all of my career. I understand what makes us more competitive as a nation, what makes us less competitive. I know why jobs grow and why they're eliminated."

    Romney said he is "very concerned about the America that my grandkids will enjoy, and your grandkids will enjoy. It can be a stronger, more vibrant nation, or it can become the France of the 21st century - starting off as the economic superpower, military superpower, ending still a great nation, but not the world's superpower. The choices we make today will determine whether America is a more prosperous and secure place for our grandchildren. I can help do that."

    Among former presidents, Romney admires Dwight D. Eisenhower. Besides taking on communism, "He was a person whose leadership during World War II made him someone the entire nation revered and respected," Romney says. "And there's nothing wrong with having heroes in positions of prominence."

    Having rescued the commonwealth of Massachusetts, the Winter Olympics, Bain & Co., and his partner's daughter, Romney could well be talking about himself.

    Ronald Kessler, chief Washington correspondent of NewsMax, can be contacted by going here. Pamela Kessler contributed to this article.

    Armored Vehicle Bulks Up Rebuilding Rialto Police Department (Press Enterprise)

    Armored vehicle bulks up rebuilding Rialto police department

    10:00 PM PDT on Monday, May 28, 2007
    By MASSIEL LADRÓN DE GUEVARA
    The Press-Enterprise

    Rialto officials say they want to send a clear message to the city's Police Department: you are here to stay and we support you.

    The Rialto City Council's latest effort to convey the message came in the form of an 8-ton, diesel-powered, bullet-resistant BearCat armored vehicle.

    The $215,000 vehicle is the first of two components, said Chief Mark Kling. In July, the department will receive a large communications vehicle that will be deployed with the BearCat, he said.

    Story continues below
    Greg Vojtko / The Press-Enterprise
    Rialto Police officers look over a new BearCat armored vehicle. They will use it to serve high-risk search warrants and for the SWAT team. The City Council sees the purchase as a sign of support.

    "Planning and preparation are the two keys to success and we are acquiring the tools necessary in the event a catastrophe occurs," Kling said.

    The communications vehicle will be equipped with televisions, fax machines, telephones and other such equipment, Kling said.

    The council's agreement to purchase the vehicles speaks volumes of its commitment to the department, Kling said.

    "We are getting the type of equipment and support that we need to rebuild our police department into the premier department it was," he said.

    The council voted 4-1 in September 2005 to disband the Police Department because of what the members said were chronic problems. The council had planned to contract with the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department for Rialto's law enforcement.

    In March 2006 the City Council ended its attempt to disband the department because the effort seemed hopelessly stalled and it appeared the issue could be taken out of their hands and put to a citywide vote.

    Councilwoman Winnie Hanson said once the decision was made to retain the department, the council's support has been complete.

    "The council and Police Department went through a greatly painful situation and we are now moving forward with an enthusiastic push of support," Hanson said. "If we are going to have a police department we don't want them to be understaffed or under-equipped."

    Sgt. Jim Kurkoske said the BearCat has done wonders for the morale of the SWAT team, to which the vehicle is assigned.

    "Knowing the council approved a $215,000 piece of equipment shows they and the city have confidence in our department and that we will be around," Kurkoske said.

    The SWAT team has been using an armored vehicle donated by a bank several years ago, Chief Kling said.

    The Colton Police Department purchased an armored vehicle in 2006 with asset-seizure funds for about $200,000. The Palm Springs department purchased a Lenco BearCat armored vehicle for a little more than $200,000 the same year.

    Although the Colton Police Department has promised to lend its armored vehicle to neighboring agencies, Kling said it benefits Rialto residents and the department to have its own vehicle.

    The vehicle was purchased with developmental impact fees, said Kirby Warner, assistant city administrator.

    Reach Massiel Ladrón De Guevara at 909-806-3054 or mdeguevara@PE.com

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    BS Ranch Perspective:

    I was looking at this machine that the City Council spent some $215,000.00 dollars for and the Title of this story that the City Council is working to Rebuild the Rialto Police Department, after the whole Vote Against the Police Department, and the Contract with the San Bernardino Sheriff Department.  I Look at the Parking lot at the Sidney A. Jones Building and I notice one thing, that back in 1990 the Police Department was out grown the Facilities that they were in. When I had started I was Changing into my Uniform in the Hallway, blocked only by a dress blind so that the woman of the department that were walking by didn't get to see if we were Tight White Underwear or The Boxer Shorts when it came to our underwear, back then the Boxer Brief were not made just yet!

    Well, we tried back then to get a deal passed to get a grant passed by the voters to get a new station financed however We were unable to get it passed. So in stead of getting a new station they realized that they could afford a modular, or temporary Office building, and it has been there along side the station since 1990. The Investigations Modular Office Space came in 1991 or 1992. Now, they are moving another modular Building into the parking lot against the modular building known as Rialto Investigations.

    When is the City Council really going to wake up and say that they are really going to take care of the Police Department, and take them out of the Almost 20 year Apartment Buildings (known as Modular, Temporary Office Space) and Build them that Police Station that they were planning to build back in 1990, Which by now will have to be re designed since the department will have to allow for a City that will have a Population of close to 200,000 thousand people in it when they get all the land that they are due and the Airport Renaissance is all done, then they will need that new station.

    The SWAT Truck, Will Save lives, but they will not handle calls for service with that piece of equipment. If you were to go to each officer and ask them if they wanted a SWAT BearCat Armored Vehicle or a brand new Police Station let me see which one that they will answer!!

    Lets Take Care of the Patrol Officers. The Swat Team could have continued to have used that Armored Vehicle that they had already that the hardly used. Please Don't get me wrong, That Bear Cat is nice, but there are only about 12 to 20 Officer's that will be able to drive that truck. The rest of the Officers will only be able to drive Patrol Cars. There are only two or three that are allowed to Drive the Motor Home Command Post Vehicle that they purchased some six years ago. I have seen the Command Post (Motor Home) Used by City Hall more then by the Police department. But that doesn't mean that they don't use it on call outs at night and the like. I am just saying that they are not using their spending sense wisely, they need to do something to get a police station that everyone is housed in, Give the City some pride.

    BS Ranch

    Cracks in 210 Planning Lead to Shaky Finish (Daily Bulletin 052807)

    Cracks in 210 planning lead to shaky finish

    Somehow, a major interstate that has been on the drawing board for 60 years now won't be really finished when it's finished, according to San Bernardino County's transportation agency.

    Come to find out, when the 210 Freeway fully opens later this year, and the extension to Highway 30 in San Bernardino is finally finished (at a still undetermined date), access to and from another major artery running through the region will be severely limited - making the 210 less than the lifesaver for commuters it should have been.

    But don't fret. San Bernardino Associated Governments, or Sanbag, reassures the public that the opening of the long-awaited interstate won't be delayed. You can count on that.

    It's just that two major connectors between I-210 and Interstate 215, which would have stood to make the lives of motorists that much easier because of uninterrupted travel, won't be ready for yet another 3 to four years.

    A geologist who was working in the area after the contract to build the freeway was awarded back in late 1999 or early 2000 just happened to notice a major problem that could, er, radically shake up freeway construction plans.

    Seems two

    presumably well-known earthquake faults, the San Andreas and San Jacinto, which have been in existence since long before the freeway was a sparkle in some engineer's eyes, might someday pose the danger of a fault rupture to any large piece of concrete in their vicinity.

    "If the geologist hadn't seen it," said Sanbag's director of freeway construction, Darren Kettle, "(the freeway) might have been built like that."

    So now, the agency has set about redesigning the elevated "flyovers" to compensate.

    Thank heaven for accidents of mercy. But we would have thought that that, er, connection would have been made before then.

    "The San Andreas Fault and San Jacinto Fault being so close to the freeway and the nature of the soils means those elevated columns would need to be designed to withstand the seismic problem that could be produced by those two faults," Kettle said.

    Such major brainstorms can be awesome, when they come with the requisite amount of foresight. But in this case, it's more like shock, and after-shock.

    While we're glad that extra precautions are being taken now that the potential danger has been noted, how is it that no one took into account the existence of the San Andreas and San Jacinto faults long before now - at least, in time to mitigate for the 210's final grand opening?

    As it is, when the 210 officially opens later this fall, it will not be possible to go directly from the 210 east to the 215 Freeway south, nor will it be possible to go from the northbound 215 to the westbound 210.

    Get ready for the delays
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------
    BS Ranch Perspective:

    Let me see, and Engineer that works for any of these planning outfits make a great deal of money, and they cannot figure out that they are in a seismic active area as the Inland Empire? The Inland Empire has only had an Earthquake every year in some cases two, and there has been a major quake, or what was considered to be a major quake within every 7 years.

    Reading this article about the "Cracks" in the development, has raised a few questions of my own. Such as, if this has been in the planning stages for the last Sixty (60) Years then some one, did what? Planned it the Sixty years ago, and then they closed the file on it, and dusted it off when they started to decide to start the Construction on it.

    Now that they are 89% done with the last portion of the 210 Extension that will complete stretch form Valencia to Redlands, it is now  that they come to the conclusions that they are going to be late finishing the Freeway?  This is so puzzling since they had so many opportunities to see the problems with the construction that they had already done and it is now that they find that it there is going to be delays, Even after the announcements that they were going to open it at the end of June, beginning of August!!

    I am not happy, Especially being one that lives on the Detour that sends the Traffic Right in front of my house, until the figure out what they are going to do to finish this job.

    SANBAG has stated that there will not be a delay, will you believe them? or the reality of what really happens??

    BS Ranch

    Higher 9/11 Death Toll Raises Questions (Assoc Press 052507) BS Ranch Rant....

    Higher 9/11 Death Toll Raises Questions


    Updated: May 25th, 2007 12:03 PM EDT

    E-Mail This Story
    By AMY WESTFELDT
    Associated Press Writer

    NEW YORK --

    Family members of ground zero workers who died after breathing in toxic dust from the collapsed World Trade Center say they want their relatives officially recognized as victims of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

    The official list of victims grew by one this week after the city agreed to include a New York attorney who died of lung disease months after the attack, confusing Sept. 11 family members about what distinguished this death from the scores of others attributed to the aftermath.

    The city medical examiner's office said Thursday that Felicia Dunn-Jones' death was the only Sept. 11-related fatality it has been asked to review and definitively link to the twin towers' collapse. In the future, spokeswoman Ellen Borakove said, the medical examiner will review any case if a family makes such a request.

    "We certainly never turn anybody down," she said.

    That raises the prospect of an ever-increasing death toll nearly six years after the attacks. The count now stands at 2,750 after the inclusion of Dunn-Jones. It's up to Chief Medical Examiner Charles Hirsch to decide whether to reclassify any deaths.

    "It's his definition that we will follow in this city," said Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

    A police union leader said first responders who became ill and died after working at ground zero should also be added to the city's official victim list.

    "First responders who expired as a result of their 9/11-related injuries should in fact be given that same honor," said Michael Palladino, president of the Detectives Endowment Association.

    Those responders would include 34-year-old James Zadroga, a police detective who became sick and died of respiratory disease after working hundreds of hours in the ground zero cleanup. A New Jersey medical examiner has ruled his 2006 death was "directly related" to his work at ground zero and exposure to trade center dust.

    Zadroga's father said he wanted the city to review his son's case.

    "I'm going to go through the process, definitely," Zadroga said. "All these guys were heroes there. They're all dying."

    David Reeve, whose wife, Deborah, died last year of an asbestos-related cancer after working for months around ground zero and at the morgue, said he would like her to be recognized as an attack victim.

    Attorneys wondered whether the official listing of Dunn-Jones, a 42-year-old civil rights attorney who fled the collapsing towers from her office a block away, would make a difference in lawsuits accusing the city of negligence for failing to protect workers and residents from toxic air at the site.

    "I have clients who are starting to call saying, should we dig up the bodies and have autopsies and have tissue samples," said David Worby, who represents 10,000 plaintiffs in a negligence lawsuit against the city. He said at least five of his clients recently died of sarcoidosis, the same disease that killed Dunn-Jones.

    Bloomberg said that Dunn-Jones' case is different from those of workers who toiled for months at the site.

    "This one case ... the woman was killed as a result of being there at the time of the attack," he said. "Think of it as though somebody had gotten - had a beam fall on them and it just took a little while for them to succumb to their injury. Not somebody who was injured the next day if a beam fell on them during the cleanup. That's a very different situation."

    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    BS Ranch Perspective:

    I believe that they are injured and not able to work as a result of what happened that day, that faithful day that the United States finally came together and agreed that the Terrorists and all that give them help in any way should pay for what was done. But that was just five short years ago. When that Five Years started both the Right and Left came together in Congress and Bush, all said that this was going to be a "Different Kind of War! It was going to be, a War that was not going to be short lived it was going to take time and then the question was posed if everyone had the time for that, and if they agreed to do that?

    Well the Outcome of that was that there was going to be a huge amount of patients, and there was going to be a great deal of people behind them that wanted, the United States to beat Terrorists.  Now Five years later the Election is coming up, and people are saying that there was all kinds of lies, being told by the Right. That the Left NEVER WAS FOR THIS WAR? When that is the obvious lie. Now that they got the gratitude that they wanted from this whole war, The whole sum of the whole has not been met. I guess we can come home with our tails between our legs and say that OH Well, They WON!! 

    The just short of 6700 Americans that lost their lives in Combat, and the day of the World Trade Center Attack, were all just lives that we can live without, they were lives that were ones that were lives that we didn't want to fight for any more. It is those people that we should just be glad that it wasn't us, wasn't our Family, and or that it wasn't the Fire Fighters, and Police Officer's, in Your City, Town or County!!

    If that Attack didn't happen in New York City, They might not have been able to bounce back in the Law Enforcement, or even the Fire Department, having come from the Largest City in the United States of America. I don't know if Even Las Angles would have been able to restore themselves as quick as New York did in that time frame.

    Now the people on the Left are crying that Bush Chaney lied about the WMD's and that they were never there, but they might have been and they are what is being used on the US Military today to keep them at bay from the Insurgents crossing the border from Syria For all we know that is where they disappeared to at the request and blessing from that of Saddam.

    BS Ranch

    Monday, May 28, 2007

    Memorial Day Events


    Memorial Day events

    Riverside National Cemetery, 22495 Van Buren Blvd., will celebrate Memorial Day at 10:30 a.m., Monday in the cemetery's amphitheater. National colors will be presented by the West Coast Thunder Color Guard of the Inland Empire Harley-Davidson Owners Group. Featured speaker will be Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer Mike Vanderwood, who recently returned from deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Information and directions: (951) 653-8417.

    American Legion Post 155 and Veterans of Foreign War Post 6476 will co-host a ceremony from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Monday at Hermosa Cemetery, 900 N. Meridian Ave., Colton. It will include posting a POW flag on an empty chair to symbolize soldiers missing in action or being held as prisoners of war. VFW Post 6476 will perform a 21-gun salute. Speakers include Veterans Administration representative Charlotte Babar. Information: (909) 422-9922.

    Five veterans' organizations - American Legion posts 772, 262 and 497, Veterans of Foreign War Post 6563 and Amvets Post 1240 - will host ceremonies at 11 a.m., Monday at Green Acres Memorial Park and Cemetery, 11715 Cedar Ave., Bloomington. VFW Post 6563 will host a luncheon afterward at the post, 9190 Fontana Ave., Fontana. Information: (909) 823-2600.

    Rialto's fifth annual Memorial Day Tribute will take place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Monday at the Rialto Park Cemetery, 200 S. Willow Ave. Information: Rialto city clerk, (909) 820-2519.

    Veterans of Foreign War Post 8737 will host a short ceremony at 3 p.m., Monday to be followed by an open house with refreshments at the post, 2018 Foothill Blvd., San Bernardino. Information: (909) 889-2204.

    A short ceremony will be hosted by Veterans of Foreign War Post 1744 at 10 a.m., Monday at Mountain View Cemetery, 570 E. Highland Ave., San Bernardino. An open house from 1 to 4 p.m. will follow at the post headquarters, 1541 W. 24th St., San Bernardino. Information: (909) 887-0511.

    American Legion Post 777 will host a ceremony at 11 a.m., Monday in front of its headquarters, 194 E. 40th St., San Bernardino, followed by an open house throughout the afternoon. Information: (909) 882-3110.

    -----------------------------------------------

    BS Ranch Perspective:

    There isn't much to say there, except that you should have a look to see at what is going on and then see what is going on. With the war on terror, it would be the best thing to go out and see to it that you have a speical prayer on the Military Hero's Fighting for our Freedom in the wor on terror. God Bless

    BS Ranch


    MADD Recruiting (052607 Press Enterpise) Four Victim Advocates Seek More Inland Volunteers

    MADD Recruiting

    Four victim advocates seek more Inland volunteers

    10:00 PM PDT on Saturday, May 26, 2007
    By MELISSA EISELEIN
    The Press-Enterprise

    Angela Harris is one of four Mothers Against Drunk Driving volunteer victim advocates in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. She goes to court with families to lend moral support and helps them prepare statements that tell the judge how the drug- or alcohol-related crash has affected the families.

    The four advocates serve an estimated 4 million people in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. It is not enough, said Harris, of Moreno Valley.

    Harris, 42, is trying to rally support for MADD in an effort to get more volunteers, especially advocates who have time on weekdays to be in a courtroom with families. She hands out brochures to people she meets that explain the penalties of driving while impaired. She gives them red ribbons with the MADD logo to tie on their car-radio antennas.

    "Volunteers range from court monitors to event speakers to grant writers and fundraisers," Harris said. "You don't have to be a victim to be a volunteer. Don't wait to be a victim."

    Harris also tells people about a MADD-awareness billboard, in hopes of raising funds to put up the sign. It will picture her 2-year-old granddaughter, Emani De'Shazer, holding a banner that reads: "A drunk driver killed my father."

    Emani became fatherless in 2005 when a drunken driver killed Harris' son, Michael De'Shazer, in Rancho Cucamonga as he was riding his motorcycle to work.

    Story continues below
    William Wilson Lewis III / The Press-Enterprise
    Angela Harris, 42, shows a poster of her young granddaughter Emani De'Shazer, who became fatherless in 2005 when a drunken driver killed Harris' son, Michael De'Shazer. Harris is showing the poster along Alessandro Boulevard at a police checkpoint.

    MADD's San Bernardino chapter is also contributing to the billboard, which is estimated to cost about $6,000, said Virginia Gautier, executive director.

    Gautier started the San Bernardino chapter 22 years ago. The Riverside chapter folded in 2005. Volunteers from both counties are now working to form an Inland Empire affiliate, Gautier said.

    Personal Message

    Harris takes a poster-size prototype of the billboard with her everywhere she goes. On May 11, Harris held up the poster as she stood on the side of the road near a police traffic sobriety checkpoint in Moreno Valley. She said she wanted the people driving through the checkpoint to understand why they should not drink and drive.

    She was joined by MADD volunteers Joseph Alarcon, of Fontana, and Cheryl Acosta, of Moreno Valley.

    Alarcon, 29, brought a display with photos of some of the victims whose families have been helped by MADD. The display included a picture of his 18-year-old niece, Amber Rose Martinez, who was killed by a Hemet woman driving under the influence of drugs.

    Alarcon also displayed a picture of himself. He was 12 when the car he was riding in was hit by a drunken driver. He bears scars from the injury on his face, but the worse part is the nightmares that still wake him up at night, he said.

    Acosta's only child, Christopher Carroll, was 16 in 2002 when a Moreno Valley woman killed him as he was riding his bicycle. The woman, who had a history of drunken driving, had a suspended license when she struck Christopher.

    Moreno Valley police Sgt. Ernie Baker was glad to have the MADD volunteers at the checkpoint on Alessandro Boulevard, where nine people were arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated and two others were arrested on suspicion of felony drug possession.

    "What they do is bring a face to the message and make it personal," Baker said. "It's tragic whenever someone loses a life. ... Sometimes they (impaired drivers) don't kill. Sometimes they maim. Sometimes they cripple. It affects not only the victims, but the families, too."

    Changing Laws

    MADD incorporated in 1980 when two mothers, Candace Lightner, of Fair Oaks, Calif., and Cindi Lamb, of Maryland, joined forces to fight back against drunken driving.

    Lightner's 13-year-old daughter Cari was killed by a drunken driver as she was walking to a church carnival. It was the driver's fifth drunken-driving offense.

    Lamb and her 5-month-old daughter, Laura, were hit by a drunken driver in 1979. It was that driver's fifth offense as well. Laura became the nation's youngest quadriplegic. She died from complications at age 7, according the MADD Web site.

    In addition to helping victims and their families and educating people on the dangers of impaired driving, MADD volunteers are working to change laws concerning driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol.

    In 2000, MADD pushed government leaders to pass a federal law lowering the legal blood alcohol-concentration level to .08 percent or face the withholding of highway construction funds.

    Now, MADD is pushing for ignition interlock systems on the cars of all convicted drunken drivers. The lock would not allow drivers to start their car until they register under the legal blood-alcohol limit by breathing into the system. Currently, New Mexico is the only state with a mandatory ignition interlock law, according to the MADD Web site.

    Locally, MADD volunteers are trying to convince judges to send first-time drunken-driving offenders to MADD classes.

    Some people wrongly equate MADD with prohibitionists who want to ban alcohol. But the organization does not try to stop people from drinking, Gautier said.

    "We're here to help the victims. What you drink, where you drink, how you drink is none of our business. It becomes our business when you get behind the wheel," Gautier said.

    Reach Melissa Eiselein at 951-567-2409 or meiselein@PE.com

    Mothers Against Drunk Driving

    Phone: 909-888-6233 or 1-800-888-6233

    Web site: www.madd.org


    BS Ranch Perspective:

    The Drunk Driving Giant is loosing members in the Inland Empire? That really surprises me, because there was many MADD Banquettes, Held each year around Christmas time to Celebrate how many DUI Arrests had been made by the Law Enforcement in the Inland Empire. In fact somebody from MADD can correct me, but I believe that it is Sergent Don Lewis that holds the most Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol or Drugs or a Combination of the two. DB Lewis & I worked together back when he got that record in that year, it was previous to 1997, unless someone had broke the record since then. Well, this isn't the reason for my typing this out (Sgt. D.B. Lewis's DUI Arrest Record) so I will get back on subject before you loose interest and drop from my BLOG.

    I am at a loss that there is a loss of people Woman, or Mom's that are not Signed up for Mother's Against Drunk Drivers. It is just Strange that they would loose people at this time. You see that there has been a decline in Arrests over all, and because of the decline there has been a lack of serious accidents over all. Over all the lack of accidents has caused Mom's to not have as much interest in the MADD organisation. With the, drop of Press related accidents from drunk drivers, which used to be weekly, and in some area's they were happening during the week, depending on how the demographics of the area was.

    Now what I am saying here is my opinion, and isn't a reflection on some test, I just hear about a DUI Related accident every now and again, and the person that is injured or Killed in those accidents lately have been the driver of the DUI Car. I know this is the wrong way to look at it, and the right way is to say that everyone should sign up, but with the DUI Arrest is beginning to become a larger and larger crime for the person that is arrested. They loose their license for a long time and it cost a great deal to get it back, they have to pay a super large penalty for the crime, plus jail time. The arrested party now carries their arrest on their license for ten years and that includes the extra payments to their insurance that they have to pay for the ten years because of the ten year record that they have to have on their license.

    MADD has done all that great work and I know that they want to do more. There still is DUI Drivers on the road Every Day, and they will probably always be drunk drivers on the road as long as they sell alcoholic beverages, and Alcoholism is a Disease. There are a lot of walking talking Alcoholics walking around whom are drunk without being detected. However they will crash and when they do, I hope that a child is not on the street in front of them. MADD will be back with a strong membership, especially if it happens here in the Inland Empire. I pray that this doesn't happen.

    In a way I am happy that the Inland Empire's Chapter of the MADD group is low on Membership, it shows that the things that they have been fighting for has been working, and MADD has done a great deal of great work, and lowered the Amount of DUI's on the Road. For this I am happy.

    BS Ranch

    Sunday, May 27, 2007

    LAFCO OKs Fontana Land Grab (Daily Bulletin 081706) Some Residents Opposed to Annexation

    LAFCO OKs Fontana land grab
    Some residents opposed to annexation
    By Leonor Vivanco, Staff Writer
    Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
    FONTANA - Welcome to Fontana.

    That's the message city officials will be sending to its 11,840 new residents.

    The Local Agency Formation Commission on Wednesday approved Fontana's application to annex 2,507 acres of county land, but not without a handful of residents voicing their opposition to becoming a part of Fontana and not having a say in the process.

    "This is our land. We should be able to do what we want," said property owner Victor Vollhardt, who joined others in arguing that residents should be allowed to vote on whether to be annexed.

    But state law allows cities to annex islands of county land without the consent of property owners if each island is less than 150 acres. That law is scheduled to end Dec. 31.

    Now, the city is preparing to roll out its welcome mat by mailing informational packets to its new residents. The annexation is expected to take place in 30 days.

    The additional residents would push Fontana past Rancho Cucamonga and Ontario to be the second-most populous city in San Bernardino County behind San Bernardino with a population of roughly 180,000.

    "What we're able to do is keep Fontana's revenues in Fontana," Mayor Mark Nuaimi said, noting local revenue that goes into county coffers can be spent elsewhere in the county.

    The city is expecting $4.2 million in new annual revenue from various sources, including property and sales taxes.

    The mayor recused himself from voting on the proposal as did county Supervisors Josie Gonzales and Dennis Hansberger in an effort to avoid a conflict of interest due to campaign contributions. Supervisor Paul Biane was absent because he was on vacation.

    A decision on annexing an additional 289 acres into Fontana was postponed until November because of efforts to incorporate Bloomington.

    LAFCO executive officer Kathleen Rollings-McDonald said property taxes will not increase due to annexation.

    The city's 5 percent utility tax on commercial properties will not be placed on property in the newly annexed areas, she said.

    Property owners will not be forced to hook into the city's sewer system if they have operating septic tanks. Residents who use the city's system will have their rates reduced to in-city charges. There will be no change in water service.

    Also, Nuaimi said parks and recreation fees will be lower, and road improvements are being planned for the annexed areas.

    Police protection will be transferred to the city from the county Sheriff's Department. But fire and emergency responses will remain the same because the city relies on the county department.

    The cost of providing city services to the annexed areas is pegged at $4 million.

    Late last year, the city set aside $3 million for its annexation efforts to pay for additional staff, including police officers.

    Even though city leaders tout Fontana's preparedness for the annexation, residents insist city officials are not ready to be responsible for the additional land.

    "They can't maintain their current infrastructure. They don't have a good policeman-per-thousand-residents ratio now. It'll be even less," Vollhardt said.

    Although the city will now assume responsibility for the area, the county is not scaling back any of its efforts for the remaining unincorporated areas.

    In theory, the county will be able to give greater attention to those areas, most notably the area around California Speedway, which is the largest chunk of unincorporated land in Fontana's sphere of influence, the area set aside for possible future annexation by the city.

    The county plans to maintain its staffing levels at the sheriff's station, serving the area around Fontana with a total of 34 positions. Also, a newly opened code enforcement office in Fontana will remain with four code enforcement officers.

    But residents are still concerned about land use and zoning issues.

    "I still think it's driven by developers and not their efforts to make better services," Vollhardt said.

    He fears land uses and zoning changes upon annexation.

    Carl Atkinson is concerned the city's code enforcement will clamp down hard on him now.

    "I'm the first on their list," he said.

    The used tire dealer said county officials told him 22 years ago that his business was an appropriate use when he bought the property. However, he has since been informed it is an illegal, non-conforming use.

    If it is illegal in the county, it will be illegal in the city.

    The city has adopted a phased-in approach to code enforcement for the newly annexed areas. The first year will be an educational process, informing landowners what they need to do to come into compliance on land use. Then the city will begin processing issues. But current county enforcement cases will not receive a grace period.

    City officials said there will be an opportunity after annexation to discuss zoning changes.

    However, the city pre-zoned its sphere of influence in 2004 and those designations are required to be maintained for two years after annexation unless the City Council makes certain findings at a public hearing to change zoning.

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    BS Ranch Perspective:

    Say Good Bye!! So long if you will to the area's that have been fighting so hard to call themselves their own city, their own city of Bloomington, Say goodbye to this, Because what was left of Bloomington in the areas that touch the Southern end of Fontana, and line up with I am assuming Linden Ave. or Further East to Cactus Ave. I am not sure in the Southern portion of the City. I just know that they will fight over the area. Rialto City Annexed a large Acreage of land in the Very Southern end and they will build a Fire Station Five/Police Annex Combination down in the Southern end to serve the New houses that are being built on the property that had been annexed and is going to be built on. They could not win the city of Bloomington as the people that currently live down in the Southern area of Bloomington Wanted to do all because they could not build any new property on any new land without being connected to a Sewage Reclaim system or a some kind of Sewage System, and the only sewage system that is down there that could be used is owned by the City of Rialto. The City of Rialto would not allow any new properties to be added to their sewage system without it being in the city. that way they can be assured that their bills are paid by adding the unpaid bills onto the property taxes or they will take the property, from the property owner and sell it via auction.

    Now, they will more then likely annex the rest of Bloomington that has not been annexed slowly but surly as properties are torn down, as no more properties can be added onto a Septic Sewage System, so the rest of the County is sunk unless the County is on their own regarding sewage systems. This is one of the reasons that the Sheriff's Department is going on about getting Law Enforcement Agencies hooked onto the Sheriff's Department for Contracted Duties of Law Enforcement. This forces a City to almost be stuck with the Sheriff to be their Law Enforcement Agency.

    So, the Sheriff of the County will push on almost literally!!

    BS Ranch