Temecula Valley News, May 15, 2020

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San Jacinto Unified School District selects new superintendent, AVO-6

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AND THE SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES

Volume 20, Issue 20

Signs of life in Old Town Temecula emerge as merchants begin to reopen

May 12, 2020

Melendez takes lead in 28th Senate District race Kim Harris MANAGING EDITOR

Republican Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez has secured the lead in the race for California’s 28th Senate District seat left vacant by former Sen. Jeff Stone, who accepted a national appointment from President Donald Trump in 2019.

After taking the top spot in California’s March primary, Melendez is running against Democrat Elizabeth Romero for the seat in the special election called by Gov. Gavin Newsom Nov. 15, 2019.

As of press time, Melendez had secured 95,378 votes while Romero had 75,248 of the votes counted.

Riverside County mailed 499,932 ballots to registered voters for the by-mail election.

To date, 170,961 votes were returned to the registrar’s office.

For the most up-to-date numbers, visit www.myvalleynews. com.

Megan MacIntyre, owner of the Under the Willow women’s clothing store in Old Town Temecula, sets up a display of garments and accessories for curbside shopping as coronavirus restrictions are eased in Riverside County. See the story and more photos on page B-1.

Valley News/Shane Gibson photo

San Jacinto Healthcare celebrates Mother’s Day with drive-by

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Tony Ault STAFF WRITER

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The term “drive-by” doesn’t say enough for the 71 residents and mothers who were able to see their children and families, albeit through a window, Wednesday, May 6, at the San Jacinto Healthcare facility in San Jacinto.

It was kisses and waves being thrown as this drive-by was one of great love and joy for all.

Residents and families alike show their joy as they connect through windows and doorways due to restrictions necessary to protect residents from the coronavirus.

It was the scene for families throughout the valley before Mother’s Day since the coronavirus stay-at-home order rendered

by Gov. Gavin Newsom, March 19, came into effect, causing many older adults to cease in-person contact with their families.

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Families prepare to visit loved ones at the San Jacinto Healthcare nursing home during a Mother’s Day parade in Hemet, Wednesday, May 6. Patients at the nursing home have been quarantined since the beginning of lockdown orders due to the COVID-19 pandemic and loved ones were given the opportunity to visit their family members from the outside of the nursing facility.

Valley News/Shane Gibson photo

Riverside County wants young adults to get tested for COVID-19 Jeff Pack STAFF WRITER

Citing a belief that young adults in Riverside County are underrepresented in testing data, the Riverside County University Health System is asking residents ages 25 and younger to be screened.

There is no cost to the person being tested at either the county or state-operated facilities.

“We would like to get a more complete picture of the illness as it has spread among young people,” Kim Saruwatari, director of public health for Riverside County, said. “This will help us better understand who in the community has the disease and how it might be moving among children and families.”

The county reported that see TESTING, page A-7

Riverside County’s public health department is requesting that young adults and minors ages 25 and younger get tested at one of the county or state’s COVID-19 testing facilities. To date, just more than 6% of everyone in that age group has been tested.

Valley News/Shane Gibson file photo

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Valley News • www.myvalleynews.com • May 15, 2020

Local

Village News Inc. awarded $75,000 grant from Facebook Journalism Project Will Fritz ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Village News Inc., the company that owns the Fallbrook/Bonsall Village News, Valley News and Anza Valley Outlook, has received a $75,000 grant from a project supporting local journalism and operated by Facebook.

Village News Inc. joins other California news organizations including Voice of San Diego, the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Chronicle and San Jose Spotlight, in receiving money through the Facebook Journalism Project’s COVID-19 Local News Relief Fund Grant Program.

Twenty-six newsrooms in California were selected to receive more than $2.2 million in grant money, it was announced Thursday, May 7. Out of more than 2,000 applications, approximately 200 news organizations across the country

were selected to receive nearly $16 million in grants stemming from $25 million in local news relief funding announced in March as part of Facebook’s $100 million global investment in local news, per a statement from Facebook.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has showcased the importance of local news to communities, especially during crisis situations,” Facebook’s statement said. “From sharing critical, time-sensitive information on the pandemic to asking tough questions to community leaders, local news organizations play a critical role in keeping communities informed and engaged.”

Village News Inc. publisher Julie Reeder said the company is excited and thankful to receive the grant money, which will help fund operations during a time when advertising has dropped by more than half.

It is especially helpful because

“COVID-19 is the reason we have to work overtime writing and delivering news, and virus-related stories needed to be in front of the paywall,” Reeder said.

Village News Inc. has released a Spanish-language newspaper, Nuestra Vida Hoy, to communicate important coronavirus resources and information to the Spanish-speaking community in the area.

The company has also been conducting free webinars to help local business owners and managers with marketing online until they can reopen physical stores and offices.

And now that Village News Inc. has been selected to receive the Facebook Journalism Project’s grant money, the company will be using some of the funds to give back to the community.

“In addition, because we are receiving this grant, we are forming

our own stimulus packages of advertising to offer small businesses who haven’t been able to afford advertising,” Reeder said. “It’s a way we can pass on the blessing to other businesses and further strengthen our community.”

According to Facebook, four in five of the news organizations receiving grant money are independently owned – as Village News Inc. is.

Grant recipients were selected through a process led by the Local Media Association and The Lenfest Institute for Journalism and with significant contributions from the Institute for Nonprofit News, Local Independent Online News Publishers, Local Media Consortium and the National Association of Broadcasters.

Remaining funds from Facebook’s COVID-19 News Relief Fund Grant Program will be used throughout 2020 to support

projects focused on longer-term sustainability in local journalism, the company said.

The grants announced are in addition to a previous $300 million commitment the Facebook Journalism Project made “to serve journalists around the world through diverse and inclusive programs and partnerships.” Facebook has several program tracks to help fund local journalism including the Local News Accelerator, Community Network and Instagram Local News Fellowship.

These programs help bring news organizations together across the country to learn from one another and collaboratively develop strategies to improve their business both on and off Facebook,” the company said.

Will Fritz can be reached by email at wfritz@reedermedia. com.

Menifee continues fast growth and maintains ‘fastest growing city’ title MENIFEE – Recent population statistics from the California Department of Finance showed Menifee’s 2020 population at 97,093 residents, which is a 2.5 % rise in population since 2019. This increase maintains Menifee as the fastest growing city in southwest Riverside County for the third consecutive year, the sixth fastest growing in all of Southern California and 12th in California by the

increase of individuals.

Although California continues to see the slowest growth rate in the state’s history, as stated by the DOF, at 0.2%, Menifee continues to grow at top ranking pace. Menifee tops as the fourth fastest-growing city in Riverside County, but tops neighboring southwest Riverside County cities by over double.

“Menifee is catching the attention of residents and businesses

who are looking at Menifee for opportunities to expand and increase their quality of life. We are proud to be the fastest growing city in southwest Riverside County,” Mayor Bill Zimmerman said. “Menifee is safe community, with brand-new beautiful shopping centers, lush parks and many new housing options and because of that people are flocking to the city.”

“Growing at such a fast pace

does not come without challenges,” Armando Villa, city manager of Menifee, said. “However, with the start of the city’s own municipal police department, enhancements in fire department equipment and services, as well as investments in infrastructure and amenities thanks to Measure DD, we will continue to maintain the quality of life that our residents and businesses have come to expect and enjoy.”

For more information about Menifee’s booming demographics, contact the Economic Development Department at 951-672-6777 or email EconDev@cityofmenifee. us. To view the report published by the California Department of Finance, visit http://www.dof. ca.gov/Forecasting/Demographics/Estimates/e-1/documents/E1_2020PressRelease.pdf.

Submitted by city of Menifee.

Deadline to file with Riverside County for unclaimed property tax refunds fast approaching RIVERSIDE COUNTY – Owners of residential or business property in Riverside County have until Aug. 3 to file for unclaimed property tax refunds.

County Chairman V. Manuel Perez and Treasurer-Tax Collector Jon Christensen issued the reminder to give taxpayers sufficient time to file for refunds and not be caught short by the deadline.

“During these challenging times, it is even more important for these funds to go back to the rightful owners,” Perez said.

Filing instructions and a list of all unclaimed property tax refunds from tax year 2015 and previous years are available on the treasurer-tax collector’s website at http://www.countytreasurer.org/ TaxCollector/UnclaimedMoney/

PropertyTaxUnclaimedRefund. aspx.

According to Christensen, 609 refunds totaling $651,006.30 remain unclaimed. Most refunds stem from valuation reductions by the county assessor and are related to corrections or cancellations to the tax roll after taxes were already paid.

Under California law, property

tax refunds unclaimed for four years after the payment date – or one year after a requested claim form has been mailed back to a taxpayer by the county, whichever is later – may be transferred to the county general fund by order of the board of supervisors. After Aug. 3, any unclaimed money shifts to the general fund and no longer can be claimed.

Completed claim forms and supporting documentation should be emailed to PropTaxUnclaimed@ rivco.org or mailed to: Riverside County Treasurer-Tax Collector, Attn: Property Tax Unclaimed Refunds, P.O. Box 12005, Riverside, CA 92502-2205.

Submitted by the office of the Riverside County Treasurer-Tax Collector.

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May 15, 2020 • www.myvalleynews.com • Valley News

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Local Temecula votes to send draft recovery plan, advocacy letter to county

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Pictured in a meeting held over Zoom in April, the Temecula City Council again takes to the internet to vote on sending a draft coronavirus recovery plan and advocacy letter to Riverside County officials.

Valley News/Courtesy photo

Will Fritz ASSOCIATE EDITOR

The Temecula City Council unanimously voted Tuesday, May 12, to approve a draft recovery and reopening plan to be sent to Riverside County officials.

The city’s proposal for reopening was based largely on California’s four-stage Resilience Roadmap put forward by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office and was drafted with input from local business leaders to include content specific to Temecula-area businesses like the Promenade Temecula and the tourism industry.

As noted by the city council, state officials currently hold that California is in “early stage 2” of the four-stage plan.

According to the state’s website, that means “retail (curbside and delivery only), related logistics and manufacturing and essential businesses can open with modifications.”

The city also drafted an advocacy letter to be sent to county officials, the stated purpose of which is to “provide general direction and preferences for local recovery and reopening efforts

and directed staff to return with a recovery and reopening plan for their consideration.”

“We know that you too are envisioning a reopening of our region to alleviate community suffering,” according to a draft of the cover letter for the proposal approved by the council, addressed to Riverside County Board of Supervisors Chairman V. Manuel Perez. “As such, we remain ready to stand with you in action and advocacy to get our community back on its feet. To start, we are sharing our Community Recovery and Reopening Plan with you. In partnership with our community leaders, and local business and tourism industry, we have spent weeks discussing and developing thoughtful recommendations for your consideration and community use. Those efforts are reflected in the attached plan which is a living and breathing document subject to change in a world where change is rapid and inevitable.”

The council also asked for language to be added to the advocacy letter declaring it to be the city’s belief that all businesses are “essential,” though that declaration would have no legal effect on what

businesses are allowed to remain open.

Though the council opted not to include such language in its advocacy letter, Councilmember Mike Naggar also called for Temecula, Murrieta and the Temecula Valley Wine Country to be designated as a sub-region for potential reopening of businesses sooner than surrounding areas, stating that it may be possible for the local area to meet the governor’s criteria that no coronavirus deaths have occurred in the last 14 days for areas to be able to move further into phase 2.

While there have been reported deaths in Murrieta in that time frame, Naggar said he thinks that would not be a difficult bar to reach moving forward – there have been no reported coronavirus deaths at all in Temecula so far.

The unanimous vote comes after a somewhat contentious city council meeting recently, in which council members voted 3-2 to carry on with this year’s July 4 fireworks show over the objections of councilmembers Matt Rahn and Zak Schwank.

Will Fritz can be reached by email at wfritz@reedermedia.com.

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Murrieta’s Jonny West advances to ‘American Idol’ Top 7

Jonny West performs his rendition of “Amazing Grace” as his mother wipes a tear from her eye during the Sunday, May 10, episode of “American Idol.” West will next compete in the series finale Sunday, May 17.

Valley News/Courtesy photo

Jeff Pack STAFF WRITER

While one local singer didn’t quite make it, another finds himself as one of the frontrunners to win “American Idol” Season 18 on ABC, according to judge Katy Perry.

Perry told Murrieta’s Jonny West that she thinks he could win the whole thing.

“I’m 100% sold,” Perry told West after his performance of “Amazing Grace” performed with his own twist on the traditional classic. “I personally think you should win this competition, and even if you don’t, I bet you will have the biggest career.”

After he finished the song, West received hugs from his mother and grandmother.

“Thank you, that’s the craziest thing I’ve ever heard, so, thank you,” West told Perry.

“You have God-given songwriting talents,” judge Luke Bryan said. “When I am watching you are capturing every bit of my attention. If you’re doing that to me, you’re going to make people at home do that.”

“I don’t know too many people that can write the second verse,

Mother’s Day version, of ‘Amazing Grace,’ OK?” judge Lionel Richie told West. “That might have been a challenge even for me. You have a future in the business, enjoy the ride, and we are so happy you came to the university of ‘American Idol’ to get your confirmation.”

West advances to the Top 7 of the singing competition, which will have its series finale Sunday, May 17, at 8 p.m. PST. The 17-year-old Temecula singer, Makayla Phillips, wasn’t so fortunate; she was eliminated from the competition after making the Top 11 in the show, thanks to a save from the judges.

“My ‘Idol’ journey is over,” Phillips said in a video statement she posted on her Instagram account. “But my personal journey is not over. Thank you guys, so, so, so much for all your support, your votes, all your endless love.

I would not be where I am without any of you. I am just so incredibly thankful for everything you guys have done for me.

“I just can’t wait for what’s in the future. I love you guys, stay true to yourselves and never give up,” she said.

Phillips goes out of the competition a week after Menifee’s Olivia

Ximines, 16, was eliminated after reaching the Top 20.

The Top 7 performers – based on votes from across the country – performed two songs each, one from the Disney songbook and the second dedicated to the mother figures in their lives as a Mother’s Day tribute. For his Disney performance earlier in the show, West sang “Almost There” from “The Princess and the Frog” from his apartment in Studio City.

“I have to say to you Jonny, you’re our casual assassin,” Richie said after his Disney performance.

“You understand me? You make it look so effortless. Amazing job.”

“The whole time you were performing, Jonny, I just kept thinking, my god, this guy is just a pro,” Bryan told West. “You’re an artist and deliverer, way to pick the right song.”

West joins fellow Top 7 contestants, Arthur Gunn, Just Sam, Louis Knight, Julia Gargano, Francisco Martini and Dillon James in the finale.

Jeff Pack can be reached by email at jpack@reederemedia. com.

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Local

Murrieta City Council reports on city coronavirus response through May 5 Tony Ault STAFF WRITER

The Murrieta City Council provided a lengthy COVID-19 virus update to the general public during a specially called meeting May 5, at 1 p.m. in lieu of the regular meeting that same evening.

Each councilmember, led by Mayor Gene Wunderlich, gave reports on the different aspects of COVID-19 activities that have and are taking place in the city.

Wunderlich began with a review of the federal government’s declaration of the COVID-19 outbreak in the nation that has come into the city, who brought the council up to date on the latest federal legislation passed in respect to the raging coronavirus pandemic.

He reviewed the four major pieces of legislation passed by the government to help the people and businesses across the country including the massive $2.5 trillion economic relief package.

Wunderlich said the $150 billion set aside for state and local government in the act, however, “does not address the increase of spending or the unavoidable shortfall of revenues faced by many cities.”

He said that relief is only set aside for cities with over 500,000 population and only 36 cities in the nation fall under that category.

“Murrieta is not one of them,” Wunderlich said.

He concluded that the city as of May 5 has already lost $167,000 in revenue in addition to personal costs since the stay at home order

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The city of Temecula reluctantly approved two measures that would make it easier to build accessory dwelling units and will allow higher density developments if certain conditions are met.

The two measures were both imposed on the city by the California state legislature – they’re not local decisions. But they will have local impacts.

The first of the two measures, both approved at the city’s April 28 meeting and quickly overshadowed by the council’s discussion on local public health orders, is

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gram presented an update on the city’s fire and police departments facing the coronavirus outbreak problems. He said both departments have been working together to keep their focus on the residents’ law enforcement needs and have added 11 more dispatchers to join with the neighboring city of Menifee’s new police departments dispatch needs after July 1 when they take over from the sheriff’s department. He said the police crime statistics have actually decreased slightly since the coronavirus stay at home order was issued. Ingram lauded the police department’s many community involvement activities they have engaged in to assure the public they are there to protect them during the pandemic.

The fire department took action to keep their staff and the public safe by suspending a number of community programs that brought larger numbers of people and closed the fire stations to the public. But business inspections continued. They updated all their personal protective equipment and created new safety procedures specifically for the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ingram said the department found its response times improved because of the less traffic on the roads, but their call volume increased with people fearing they might have the disease and because of that had the dispatchers question the caller more about

their symptoms. Two of the department’s training rooms were converted into an active Emergency Operations Center for the duration of the crisis.

Councilmember Cristi White gave an update on the city’s parks, facilities, programs, the library and city hall. She said by public health order all the parks playing fields, restrooms and other facilities were closed to public use. But, the trails, bike paths, bridle trails and tennis courts remained open to the public with social distancing required.

She said plans have already been made when the coronavirus shut down ends, including the opening of a remote control race track at Mapleton Park and a senior oriented outdoor recreation area at B Street Station.

She cited a four-times increase in meal distribution since the pandemic stay at home order began.

Fifty new older adults were added to the food distribution list since March. A day camp was established for five staff member’s children. The Youth Arts Program was transitioned to Instagram where the art is displayed. The library’s Online Story Books and ZIP Books continued and a 3D printing of ear plugs was done as a public service.

The City Hall painting program continues with virtual meetings and development plan drops and permit issuance.

Tony Ault can be reached by email at tault@reedermedia.com.

Temecula passes new ordinances governing ‘granny flats,’ density bonus rules Will Fritz ASSOCIATE EDITOR

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was made in March. He said the federal treasury may not see those things as a “necessary expenditure” worthy of compensation.

Wunderlich said the city has contacted Rep. Ken Calvert to cosponsor House Resolution 6467, the Coronavirus Community Relief Act, and Sens. Diane Fenstein and Kamala Harris to co-sponsor companion legislation “to provide proportional direct and flexible relief for cities who have populations of less than 500,000.”

He said similar requests for extra funding for the city’s coronavirus revenue shortfalls has been sent to Gov. Gavin Newsom.

He also encouraged city residents to be sure to send in their census information so the city can receive more funding benefits for the increase of residents.

He turned a transportation update over to Mayor Pro Tem Scott Vinton who said the city’s $3.4 million slurry seal program is now 80% complete despite early spring rains and the coronavirus stay at home order. He showed a map of the many streets and parking lots that have already been covered with slurry and sealed at an expenditure of $2,269,564. He said on the horizon was the $47 million Keller Road intersection that will improve access to the Loma Linda University and Kaiser medical offices. The city has requested a $25 million BUILD grant to help this project get underway.

Councilmember Johnathan In-

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the result of a series of bills signed into law in October by Gov. Gavin Newsom to address California’s ongoing housing crisis.

Two of the bills, Assembly Bill 881 and Assembly Bill 68, place restrictions on development standards that city can apply to junior accessory dwelling units, which are defined as units between 250 and 500 feet, and accessory dwelling units, which are anything larger than that – both of which are sometimes referred to as “granny flats.” Assembly Bill 587 authorizes cities to allow an affordable ADU built by a nonprofit to be sold separately from a primary home. Assembly Bill 670 invalidates covenants, conditions or restrictions imposed by homeowners associations that prohibit or “unreasonably restrict” accessory dwelling units. And Senate Bill 13 allows an ADU owner to request a delay in enforcement of some building code violations as long as the violations don’t impact health or safety.

Those bills all became law in January, making it necessary for Temecula and other local cities to update their rules on ADUs and JADUs What the ADU/JADU measure enacted by the city will allow for single-family lots, per a city staff report, are one attached or detached ADU and one JADU on a single-family lot with an existing or proposed single-family dwelling.

The city ordinance stipulates that ADUs and JADUs must have a setback of no less than 4 feet from side and rear property lines.

It also said that existing accessory structures or garages converted for ADU/JADU use must not exceed 1,200 square feet, attached units may not exceed half the square footage of a primary structure, new detached units may not be more than 800 square feet and 16 feet in height, and all ADUs and JADUs must have their own private entrance, though JADUs may share bathroom facilities with the primary residence.

The ordinance also allows ADUs within portions of existing multi-family dwellings in spaces not currently used as livable space, like storage rooms, boiler rooms, attics and others.

Perhaps the way the ordinance will most impact local neighbor-

NEWS for your city TEMECULA MURRIETA

hoods – and the point the council expressed the most displeasure with – is parking.

No on-site parking is required for JADUs, and no on-site parking is required for ADUs that are constructed within the existing primary structure, converted from an existing accessory structure, converted from an existing garage or within a half-mile of public transit.

Additionally, an ADU that is less than 750 square feet is not subject to the city’s development impact fee.

“Thank you, state of California,” Temecula Mayor James Stewart said, a tinge of sarcasm in his voice, in reaction to learning of the lack of parking requirements.

The second housing-related ordinance passed by the city – again, reluctantly – drastically increases the density allowed for projects with affordable housing.

Assembly Bill 1763, which also went into effect at the beginning of 2020, adds a new category of housing projects that are eligible for what’s known as a “density bonus.” Existing California law already encouraged low- and moderate-income housing by allowing higher density to be built when those units are being provided. AB 1763 now allows developments with 100% of units dedicated to low-income housing to be eligible for a density bonus of at least 80% of the number of affordable housing units – functionally allowing a development with 100 low-income units to add another 80 market rate units.

The density bonus rule change also will allow higher densities and less-stringent parking requirements for developments located near public transit, something the councilmembers decried as they acceded to state requirements and passed the ordinance.

“Again, Sacramento (is) imposing itself on all of our local land use decisions,” Councilmember Mike Naggar said, adding, “I understand what Sacramento is trying to do and there’s many ways to do it, but destroying a city by taking over our zoning is not the way to do this.”

Both ordinances passed unanimously.

Will Fritz can be reached by email at wfritz@reedermedia.com.

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Local CELEBRATES from page A-1 Hail Marcos, the facilities activities director, thought up the Mother’s Day event.

“Wow! You should have seen they (the residents) were very, very happy,” Marcos said. “Even our staff and nurses were so very

pleased. It meant so much to them.”

Marcos said so many of the residents’ families joined in to show their love for the residents. It also was a way of recognizing National Nurse’s Week.

Marcos said the event was so successful the facility hopes to

have more of them on different occasions to cheer up their residents.

San Jacinto Healthcare is located at 275 N. San Jacinto St. in San Jacinto.

Tony Ault can be reached by email at tault@reedermedia.com.

Kathie Gates prepares to visit her mother Joyce during a Mother’s Day parade while practicing social distancing at the San Jacinto Healthcare nursing home in Hemet.

Valley News/Shane Gibson photos

Gaby Romero, a patient at the San Jacinto Healthcare nursing home, reacts as a parade of cars including her family visit her from the outside of the skilled nursing facility in Hemet.

Families are given the opportunity to visit loved ones at the San Jacinto Healthcare nursing as visitations have been prohibited since lockdown orders due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A window separates Robert Romero and his mother Gaby as he visits her at the San Jacinto Healthcare nursing home.

Pam Brown visits her aunt, Linda, who she has been unable to visit in person at San Jacinto Healthcare since the lockdown orders due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Local Soboba tribal members support cause Mike Hiles SPECIAL TO VALLEY NEWS

Carmelita Vallejo has long championed social causes and did not let the current global pandemic stop her from organizing a family prayer gathering Monday, May 5, to acknowledge the National Day of Awareness for Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls.

“This is just another important thing I need to bring awareness to as I support the cause and pray for them,” Vallejo, who is a member of the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians, said. “We will support our sisters and lift each other up. This is especially important for the next generation – they need to know about this now.”

In 2016, there were 5,712 reports of missing American Indian and Alaska Native women and girls, though the U.S. Department of Justice’s federal missing persons database, NamUs, only logged 116 cases. Often, these disappearances are connected to crimes of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking and sex trafficking.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention said that murder is the third-leading cause of death among American Indian and Alaska Native women and that rates of violence on reservations can be up to 10 times higher than the national average.

American Indians and Alaska Natives are two and a half times more likely to experience violent crimes and at least two times more likely to experience rape or sexual assault crimes in comparison to all other ethnicities, according to the DOJ’s Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Underreporting, racial misclassification, potential gender or racial bias and a lack of law enforcement resources required to follow through and close out cases appropriately, are just some of the challenges faced when working on these cases. Hopefully, awareness of these and other contributing factors can help reduce and eventually eliminate the widespread problem.

“This is why we need to support MMIW and make sure there are no more stolen sisters,” Vallejo said. “Four out of five indigenous women and girls experience violence today, and I believe by bringing awareness, we will be more cautious of our surroundings and teach our youth to do the same.”

Before the stay-at-home recommendations, Soboba Youth Council members had plans for a rally.

After that event had to be canceled, Vallejo and her family decided to get together to bring help educate their community about this plight.

About 35 family members and the

Soboba Youth Council gathered near the temporarily closed Soboba Casino for a short afternoon ceremony.

Soboba Youth Council Vice Chairman Edwin Muro gave an opening prayer in the Luiseño language. Vallejo translated it: “May our missing sisters feel our breath on their faces from all four directions; may they inhale our love, capture our strength and find their way home. Creator, hear our prayers today.”

Three generations of Vallejo’s family were represented, including elder Connie Briones, 66, and the youngest children: Ava’vash Briones, 2, Maylene Briones, 3, and Mayla Briones 4.

“We need to be careful and stay together, like what we are doing today,” Connie Briones said.

Aurelia Mendoza was eager to show her support for MMIW and for her tribe. Tanya Briones Rivera attended with her seven children and three foster children.

“It’s important for justice to be served for all Native American women,” Briones Rivera said.

“My kids have learned all about it and have been taught to be aware of their surroundings and be cautious with people.”

Antonia Venegas said a few words from the heart.

“We are gathered here to show support for those who have lost a loved one and that includes a few women from Soboba,” she said.

“We are wearing our colors to show we support families all over with women of all ages and to let them know they are always in our prayers.”

The MMIW movement uses red as a symbol of solidarity as it is believed in various tribes that red is the only color that spirits see. Vallejo said that by wearing red, it is hoped that the spirits of all the women and girls will be called back so their families may have peace. Soboba Youth Council Chairwoman Iyana Briones also spoke.

“We care for each and every one of these women and girls and we pray for the ones who are gone,” she said. “The girls wear red and the boys wear black as a way to show no one is alone.”

Each year since 2017, May 5 is recognized as the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Native Women and Girls.

The date was selected because the Montana congressional delegation persuaded the U.S. Senate to pass a resolution declaring the national day of awareness on the birthdate of Hanna Harris, a 21-year-old member of the Northern Cheyenne tribe who went missing July 4, 2013, and was later found murdered.

Carmelita Vallejo and her family gather for prayer Monday, May 5, the National Day of Awareness for Valley News/Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians photos Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

Carmelita Vallejo of Soboba opens the prayer gathering by lighting sage.

The national day of awareness highlights the need for ongoing grassroots advocacy and changes to the laws, policies and increased allocation of resources to end these injustices.

The Soboba group was further unified as bird singers and dancers shared a few songs during the ceremony. Vallejo, who lives on the Soboba Reservation near San Jacinto, thanked everyone for

coming and said she hoped their prayers were heard.

For more information, visit #MMIWGActionNow and Inland Empire Media Group on Facebook.

Edwin Muro opens with a prayer in his native language of Luiseño.

TVUSD board officially approves ‘held harmless’ grading policy during pandemic Soboba Youth Council attends a prayer gathering to support the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, including from left, Jesse Garcia, Ciara Ramos, Edwin Muro, Emma Organ, Roo Briones, Jeremiah Ramos, Iyana Briones and Leah Lopezk and standing in back is the council’s cocoordinator, Andy Silvas.

Will Fritz ASSOCIATE EDITOR

The Temecula Valley Unified School District’s board of educa-

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tion officially approved a resolution not to allow students’ grades to be negatively impacted by work submitted during coronavirusrelated school closures.

The district had said as far back as April – when it started to become clear that students would not be returning to campuses after spring break due to the ongoing pandemic – that it would be implementing a “held harmless” policy for work completed through distance learning, but the board’s resolution at its May 5 meeting was the first time board members actually took a vote on the matter.

The resolution, which was approved unanimously, states that teachers will “assign final grades based on students’ grades when the school shutdown occurred, with opportunities to increase the final grade.”

Any assignment given March 13 or before, according to the resolution, may contribute to students’ “baseline” grades, meaning any work submitted once distance learning began will essentially function as extra credit.

The resolution also said district administrators will “collaborate

with school administrators and teachers to develop and regularly review guidelines for attendance during instruction and the assignment of homework through distance learning and alternative means.”

The last day of in-person classes was Friday, March 13. Spring break had previously been scheduled to begin a week later, after Friday, March 20, and TVUSD initially held that classes would resume April 6 after the planned break was over. However, Riverside County health officials ordered March 17 all schools in the county to remain shut until April 30. The same day, when Gov. Gavin Newsom said it was uncertain if schools would be able to reopen at all during the current school year, it started to become clear that closures would last much longer than anticipated. That was made official when county health officials announced April 2 that schools would stay closed through June 19, effectively ending the school year.

Will Fritz can be reached by email at wfritz@reedermedia.com.

May 15, 2020 • www.myvalleynews.com • Valley News

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Local

City council agrees all San Jacinto businesses can open with COVID-19 safety precautions Tony Ault STAFF WRITER

The San Jacinto City Council, after a sometimes-angry discussion, voted to have the city manager inform all city businesses they can be open at their own discretion, still maintaining 6-foot social distancing and using face masks and other coronavirus recommended precautions.

The unanimous 5-0 vote, May 5, followed a discussion spurred on by city manager Rob Johnson’s COVID-19 update.

“Based on the data and information that we now have, it is my assertion that it is time for the city to begin taking the initial steps toward economic and social recovery – gradually, incrementally, thoughtfully and safely,” Johnson said. “Essentially, I believe we are ready to start taking ‘small steps.’

“However, the city does not currently have this authority. I remain hopeful that the governor and/or the county will soon provide flexibility to the city to implement its own strategy in the near future, and I anticipate that some form of adjustments are forthcoming in late

April or early May.” The discussion online began with Councilmember Russ Utz saying, “This is a delicate topic for all of us. Everyone who owns businesses is terrified. We have lost over 100 jobs in San Jacinto. Those jobs are lost... The business owners are losing everything.”

Mayor Pro Tem Crystal Ruiz strongly voiced her opinion about the nonessential business closures, which have covered the last almost eight weeks as ordered by the state and the county medical officer.

“This is absolutely beyond ridiculous. People should be allowed to go to church,” she said.

She expressed her greatest concern about churches being termed “nonessential.”

Then she turned her attention to the Riverside County Board of Supervisors, who only two hours before the city council meeting began, tabled a six-hour hearing on whether or not all county businesses should be allowed to open.

“The county supervisors were cowards today,” she said. “They should have had the courage to do what the people wanted.”

Most of the county and city resi-

dents appearing before the board of supervisors wanted the ordered business closures opened again with the proper COVID-19 safety precautions taken.

The board was to resume their special meeting Thursday, May 7, after Gov. Gavin Newson’s COVID-19 update on television.

Mayor Andrew Kotyuk urged the area business owners and others to look at the most recent data on the coronavirus pandemic and make their choices on what they can do to keep it under control.

“Then you have the freedom to do what you want.” He said, “I support the orders to be more relaxed and let the community do as they choose.

“We should not stand in the way of our citizens,” Utz said.

“They (the business owners) can use common sense,” Ruiz said.

“The city would love to see them open up.”

Councilmember Alonso Ledezma, who after having some difficulty unmuting his mobile line to the meeting, said. “I am a business owner myself, and I know businesses are really getting hurt.

Everybody is suffering. At least let

sider the ramifications of opening and operating a business and make their own decisions and those businesses and places of worship that choose to gather in large groups or plan to open indoor eating areas should understand the current state and county orders remain in place.

The order said that the city’s nonessential businesses have complied with the national, state and county mandates to flatten the curve with the city’s curve being flat since testing began in April, citing the day’s current coronavirus infection rate at only one-tenth of 1%, or 0.158%, of the population being infected.

The remainder of the meeting saw the approval of eight consent items including one a letter being sent to Gov. Gavin Newsom, advising him of the city’s economic and financial difficulties being caused by the coronavirus shelter in place orders and requesting some compensation for the city’s serious revenue shortfalls. The contents of the letter were also approved by many of the southwest Riverside County city mayors.

Tony Ault can be reached by tault@reedermedia.com.

them open. Let’s get our life back.

We need to get going here.”

Councilmember Joel Lopez, who also came into the discussion late, said, “I totally agree with lifting the restrictions, but we should still be careful what we are doing.”

Following the discussion, Ruiz made a motion to refer the council decision to the city manager with Ledezma making the second.

Kotyuk clarified the council’s direction Thursday, May 6, in a Facebook statement, saying “The city council of San Jacinto was clear to state that it has not issued a stay at home order and supports being open for all businesses.”

The direction to the city manager included these five statements: the enforcement of state and county orders is not a local priority; through the month of May, safety standards of wearing a face mask, washing hands and social distancing are required and will be revisited at the end of the month; those with compromised immune systems and/ or underlying conditions should remain at home and continue to shelter in place; those businesses with state license or certification requirements should carefully con-

Gov. Newsom issues executive order to protect public health by mailing every registered voter a ballot ahead of the November general election SACRAMENTO – Recognizing the threat COVID-19 continues to pose to public health, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order to ensure that Californians can exercise their right to vote in a safe and accessible manner during the general election in November.

The order requires that each county’s elections officials send vote-by-mail ballots for the general election, Nov. 3, to all registered voters. Californians who may need access to in-person voting opportunities – including individuals with disabilities, individuals who speak languages other than English, individuals experiencing homelessness and others – will still be able to access in-person voting opportunities.

“Elections and the right to vote are foundational to our democ-

racy,” Newsom said. “No Californian should be forced to risk their health in order to exercise their right to vote. Mail-in ballots aren’t a perfect solution for every person, and I look forward to our public health experts and the Secretary of State’s and the Legislature’s continued partnership to create safer in-person opportunities for Californians who aren’t able to vote by mail.”

The administration will continue to work with the Legislature and the Secretary of State to determine how requirements for in-person voting opportunities and other details of the November election will be implemented, while preserving public health and giving county elections officials needed flexibility. If by May 30, counties do not yet have clarity for in-person voting op-

TESTING from page A-1

ported that Hemet had the highest number of cases in southwest Riverside County with 216 and 14 deaths. The city of Lake Elsinore had 124 cases with seven deaths.

As of press time Tuesday, Temecula had 115 cases and Canyon Lake reported 12 and both cities had no deaths reported.

Murrieta had 107 COVID-19 cases and five deaths. Meanwhile Menifee had 129, San Jacinto had 95, and Wildomar had 58 cases of coronavirus and each city reported that four people had died from the virus.

The county reported number totals for unincorporated areas including French Valley at 39 cases, Anza at six, Winchester at one, Valle Vista at 10, Lakeland Village at 31 and East Hemet with 17 cases.

Only Lakeland Village had reported that a resident died from the virus.

The report came just three days after Dr. Cameron Kaiser, public health officer of the Riverside County University Health System, signed a revised health order for the county at the behest of the Riverside County Board of Supervisors.

After pushing back a decision during a regularly scheduled meeting of the Riverside County Board of Supervisors Tuesday, May 5, the supervisors voted to rescind and amend extended orders by Kaiser Friday, May 8.

The unanimous decision to approve the motion as recommended, and the subsequent signing by Kaiser, terminated and amended extended health orders put in place Kaiser just a week earlier.

The result of the vote rescinded Kaiser’s ban on short-term rentals, restrictions on golf courses and ends social-distancing practicing requirements as well as the mandating of face coverings for residents when outside their homes.

The motion included an amendment pertaining to removing vocational schools from the school closure orders while keeping public schools closed.

Jeff Pack can be reached by email at jpack@reedermedia.com.

residents 18 and younger represent nearly 25% of the county’s population, but so far, only 6.6% of the testing appointments were for a person in that age bracket.

“More than 71,000 people have been tested in Riverside County – at the county- and state-run testing sites, clinics, hospitals and private facilities – and health officials say it is important that all segments of the population get tested to help determine the spread of coronavirus in the community,” according to a press release from the county.

The county currently operates drive-up testing sites in Indio, Perris, Riverside and Lake Elsinore.

Appointments are required, along with parent permission for minors.

To make an appointment, call 800-945-6171.

Appointments are also required at the eight state-operated walk-up testing sites which include Hemet, Norco, Perris, Mecca and Desert Hot Springs. Visit https://lhi.care/ covidtesting or call 888-634-1123 to book an appointment at those facilities.

“Testing is for everyone, regardless of immigration status or insurance, and it is free,” V. Manuel Perez, Riverside County board chair and 4th District supervisor, said. “Testing has been expanded to be available for those with and without symptoms, and we encourage our young people to get themselves tested at one of our many testing sites.”

As of Tuesday, May 12, more than 75,000 Riverside County residents have been tested for the coronavirus, which accounts for more than 2% of the county’s population of nearly 2.5 million.

To date, 225 have died from the virus and the case total to 5,248 confirmed cases of coronavirus.

There were 185 county residents hospitalized with COVID-19 and the total number of people who have recovered from the virus stood at 2,911.

That same day, the county re-

portunities and other details of the November election, it may be necessary to issue a further executive order addressing these issues.

“California will not force voters to choose between protecting their health and exercising their right to vote. I thank Gov. Newsom for taking decisive action now, to preserve voting rights and provide sufficient time to properly prepare for the general election,” Secretary of State Alex Padilla asid. “Today we become the first state in the nation to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic by mailing every registered voter a ballot. We are meeting our obligation to provide an accessible, secure and safe election this November. Sending every registered voter a ballot by mail is smart policy and absolutely the right

thing to do during this COVID-19 pandemic.”

“Today’s executive order is a critical first step to ensuring California’s November 2020 election is safe and accessible,” Jonathan Mehta Stein, executive director of California Common Cause, said.

“While other states are fighting for access to vote-by-mail ballots, Gov. Newsom has ensured that for California voters and we can now push ahead, together, on the difficult work of ensuring in-person voting sites for voters with language needs, voters with disabilities, voters without reliable access to mail and other voters who need in-person voting to access their vote.”

Submitted by the office of the Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Gov. Gavin Newsom Valley News/Courtesy photo

Your Response Matters!

Here’s a quick refresher of what it is and why it’s essen�al that everyone is counted.

DETERMINES COMMUNITY FUNDING.

IT’S ABOUT FAIR REPRESENTATION.

TAKING PART IS YOUR CIVIC DUTY.

IT’S IN THE CONSTITUTION.

The census counts every person in the United States. This will determin our community’s fair share of more than $675 billion per year in federal funding spent on schools, roads, public works, and other vital programs.

Comple�ng the census is mandatory: it’s a way to par�cipate in our democracy and say “I COUNT!”

Every 10 years, the results of the census are used to reappor�on the House of Representa�ves, determining how many seats each state gets.

The U.S. Cons�tu�on mandates that everyone in the country be counted every 10 years. The first census was in 1790.

Want more news?

See breaking stories & more at www.myvalleynews.com

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Valley News • www.myvalleynews.com • May 15, 2020

Local

Census data determines how billions of dollars in federal funds are distributed to vital programs MENIFEE – Menifee is encouraging all residents to participate in the 2020 census to ensure everyone in the community is accurately counted during the nation’s oncea-decade count of every person in the United States.

The results of the 2020 census will help determine how hundreds of billions of dollars in federal funding flow into communities, including Menifee, every year for the next decade. That funding shapes many different aspects of every community throughout the U.S. from highway planning

funding for our community.”

Residents should have received an invitation in the mail in April to participate in the census. There are three ways to respond: online – use the code in the mailed invitation or the home address at https:// www.2020census.gov; mail – send back the paper questionnaire the residence received or phone – call a toll-free number with numerous languages available.

As of May 7, Menifee’s self-response rate was 66.8%, compared to Riverside County’s responserate of 56.7%.

and public transit to educational programs and housing assistance.

“It’s critical that each and every person living in the city of Menifee be counted for the census,” Mayor Bill Zimmerman said. “The 2020 census will shape so many aspects of our community over the next decade – including education, transportation, health care and more.

The state of emergency that we are experiencing right now only further reiterates how important it is to have an accurate count of who is living in our city so that we can receive our fair share of federal

The U.S. Census Bureau is adapting or delaying some of its operations to protect the health and safety of its staff and the public. Field operations have been suspended until officials reassess the COVID-19 situation. Updated information on the Census Bureau’s plans can be found here.

The official 2020 census has been extended until Aug. 15, due to the pandemic.

The 2020 census will be used to determine how more than $675 billion in federal funding is distributed to states and communities.

These funds are spent on schools, hospitals, roads, public works and other vital programs.

The census also determines the number of seats each state gets in Congress and how state and local officials draw boundaries for congressional districts, state legislative districts and school districts.

For more information on the 2020 U.S. census, visit http:// www.2020census.gov. Information is also available at https:// cityofmenifee.us/Census-2020.

Submitted by city of Menifee.

Stay safe bicycling, despite fewer vehicles on roads, CHP says stay alert to keep everyone safe.”

Barbara Rooney, director of California Office of Traffic Safety, said the current slowdown in travel and other activities because of the virus does not change the fact that “the same safety rules and habits still apply” for cycling.

The CHP cited statistics showing that over the last five years, 792 bicyclists were killed and more than 56,000 injured statewide in traffic crashes.

“The data also show that riding on the wrong side of the roadway and right of way violations are the major causes of bicycle-involved crashes,” according to an agency statement.

City News Service SPECIAL TO VALLEY NEWS

Though traffic volume may be down in Riverside County and elsewhere due to the coronavirus crisis, it still pays to ride safely and responsibly when bicycling, California Highway Patrol officials said Friday, May 1, recognizing the start of National Bicycle Safety Month.

“In this uncertain time, more people are out on the streets biking for exercise, recreation, mental health and affordable transportation,” Warren Stanley, commissioner of CHP, said. “Bicyclists, pedestrians and motorists must

All five Riverside County CHP offices – Beaumont, Blythe, Indio, Riverside and Temecula – will be making bicycle helmets available to children for free as part of Bicycle Safety Month. Parents and guardians are encouraged to contact their nearest office for more information.

According to Caltrans, traffic volume on state highways, freeways and other roads has plummeted 35% since Gov. Gavin Newsom issued his stay-at-home order for COVID-19 mitigation March 19.

The increase in cycling activity has not been quantified by state agencies.

“Motor vehicle drivers are reminded to give bicyclists extra room when passing – at least 3 feet is required by law,” according to the CHP. “When turning right, drivers should look over their right shoulder to scan for bicyclists, especially when crossing into a designated bike lane. Before opening a car door, drivers should always look for passing bicyclists, especially when next to a bike lane.”

Additional information about bicycling safety is available at https://www.chp.ca.gov/programs-services/services-information/bike-and-ped-safety.

Valley News/Courtesy photo

Riverside County approves funding agreement with RCTC for Mayberry Avenue sidewalks Joe Naiman WRITER

tentatively provide a $136,125 match using gas tax revenue.

Sidewalks would be constructed on the north side of Mayberry Avenue between Peartree Lane and Casino Road. It would complete a gap as sidewalks exist for approximately 1,200 feet west of Peartree Lane and for approximately 1,300

corporated Hemet.

A 5-0 Riverside County Board of Supervisors vote, Tuesday, May 5, approved the agreement in which the RCTC will provide $408,375 of Bicycle and Pedestrian Facilities Program funding.

The project has an estimated cost of $544,500, and the county will

Riverside County approved a funding agreement with the Riverside County Transportation Commission to construct approximately 1,200 feet of sidewalk along Mayberry Avenue in unin-

feet east of Casino Road. The sidewalks will improve pedestrian access to Valle Vista Elementary School and Exchange Club Park as well as to various residential neighborhoods.

The funding agreement terms require the county to complete the work within two years after

execution of the funding agreement. The final county match will be determined before when the project returns to the board of supervisors for the authorization of advertisement for bids.

Joe Naiman can be reached by email at jnaiman@reedermedia. com.

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INTERN time, the Peace For the first home more than Corps has sent globally due to outside the emergencya Controlled a triage tent setup helmets called 7,000 volunteers prepares to enter Gibson photo tent wear respirator outbreak. While Greg Davidson the screening Valley News/Shane the coronavirus physician assistant volunteers staff working in emergency room tests are conducted. TVH and airborne particulates. working hard and they’ve been sending and they weren’t Temecula Valley Hospital against aerosolized staff at TVH are precautions to COVID-19 screenings to protect themselves patients, the back, some said for COVID-19 necessary department where in treating day-to-day their taking or CAPR for short, they serve exactly screened takes a look at hospital has changed some of back to the Air Purifying Respirator, keep the community is ties, Valley News upon their arrival effort to combat safe in these trying times.

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Shane Gibson the scenes to keep and respond to the growing page A-5 working behind see page A-7 PHOTOJOURNALIST virus. While at see HOSPITAL, and the comof the COVID-19 of the virus, to patients, caregiverssafe. cases continue the front line response munity as a whole As COVID-19 fully operational the Temecula While TVH is increase throughout communiValley and surrounding people turned up More than 100 Candlein for the annual Community 30, Nov. light Tribute Saturday, ......AVO-1 City Hall to reAnza Valley Outlook front of Temecula ones who died.

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Sports ................................ C-5 the same thing erent said. “We allow be altered, diff ....................... traditions and Wine & Dine Sid Hamilton the eight to 10 on The years of family now unable to anywhere from are If it’s any more fond memories same ways that patio at a time. the we have to direct be furthered in A-8 than eight or 10, to If they would see VIGIL, page Vigil at City Hall which has them to the tables. at the tables Madeline’s Grill, Community Candlelight Gibson photo there Pack photo Temecula’s Mad like to wait out they want to eat Valley News/Shane 19th annual Temecula Valley News/Jeff lot at Old Town if gather for the and delivery food. in the parking or they choose

Watson and Infrastructure and fish habitat quality in the sometimes- Julie of Wood Environment water quality the ASSOCIATED PRESS improve water Kate Buckley The surveys, Fish Survey, in an effort to on Aquatic scientist survey studies at the lake troubled lake.

24, The Lake Elsinore and more photos fish Duncan Hunter 4, a second Sept. and hip waders consisting of three fish-capturing Dec. 1. See story News/Shane Gibson photos one of several California Rep. Lake first Sept. with a date yet to be Civic Center, clad in T-shirts fight against Valley designed to help at the Temecula a third Elsinore shoreline. gave up his yearlong charges and along the Lake catch, measure, events, was San Jacinto Water- and Harris of cityhood celebration and City Council ap- Kim 3, 30th anniversary page A-5 federal corruption EDITOR Their goal? To sh in the city’s Elsinore both short Lake Elsinore Tuesday, Dec. for Temecula’s see SURVEY, with Social MANAGING fi Authority identify improve People gather pleaded guilty tag and release proved an agreement at the counname of sheds campaign funds, projects dawned hot and namesake lake all in the to misusing his for the six-term page C-1. and long-term The morning a Work Action Group24, meeting to Sept. 24, when paving the way down. to sticky Tuesday, cil’s Tuesday, Sept. step scientists conservation. outreach services Republican to volunteers and provide street both within slew of see page D-6 homeless individuals in the surroundthe city limits and Jeff Pack ing area.

STAFF WRITER

Will Fritz ASSOCIATE EDITOR

ula Valley off retiring Temec City leaders sendent with celebration Chamber presid

see page A-4

Since May 1, Valley News has been transitioning to a subscription-based newspaper. You will be able to find our print edition in your local RiteAid, CVS, and most grocery stores in the coming weeks for only $1. It will also be in a few hundred of the lobbies and shops where we’ve distributed it over the past 20 years while we transition over the next few weeks.

Please remember that your dollar helps pay for printing, distribution and the salaries of writers, photographers, administrators, etc., all who are members of the communities we serve. Valley News employs about 25 people and another dozen or so independent contractors. After covering the Valley for 20 years, we know how generous people who live here are, and our hope and belief is that there will be wide support for Valley News.

Thank you for the privilege of documenting our lives in the Valley.

Despite the present challenges, we are excited about the future.

– Julie Reeder, Publisher

unity

at Comm lost loved ones Locals mourn e Candlelight Tribut

INDEX

D-4 Business ................................... D-8 Business Directory................. C-2 .................

Calendar of Events D-7 Classifieds ............................... D-6 ...................

Crimes & Courts C-8 Education ............................... C-1 ........................

Entertainment ...... C-5 Faith .................................. ... B-5 Health .................................. B-1 .....................

Home & Garden ..... A-1 Local ..................................

B-7 .........................

National News ................ D-7 Opinion.................... ....... C-5 Pets ..................................

B-2 Real Estate ............................. B-7 ........................

Regional News .... D-1 ..................................

Sports C-6 ..........................

Wine & Dine

INDEX

Local businesses

do what they can

to survive

........................

C-1

...... C-4

Faith ..................................

.. B-3

Health ..................................

Home & Garden

..................... B-6 ..... A-1

Local ..................................

National News

.........................

B-1

................ B-2

Opinion....................

....... C-5 Pets ..................................

B-5 Real Estate .............................

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Center. he had become He said since of major retail mayor a series have been stores, restaurants, road improveopened and many place. He thanked ments had taken his Rob Johnson, City Manager of the Soboba staff, members Indians and the Band of Luiseño page A-6 of office at the see SAN JACINTO, during his term photo

TEMECULA Regional News

........................

.... D-1

Sports ..................................

Wine & Dine

..........................

C-6

a bright Russ Utz paints San Jacinto Mayor Address.

State of the City

picture of his

city’s progress

Tony Ault

PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID HEMET, CA PERMIT #234

y shopping

off shortened holida

see BUSINESSES,

Jeff Pack STAFF WRITER

and cranky Some sleepy eyesBlack Friday, on faces appeared of residents at but the thousands malls were hitting of local stores and deals – instead on savings and – for the most hitting each other part. surfaced of Late Friday, video inside the Murtwo men fighting apparently rieta Walmart location, of the men conover what one disrespect of an sidered to be the elderly woman. posted by Ryan In the video the two men a Kimberly Mountain, and the other in – one a Marine – were standing retired Marine Thanksgiving night a checkout line woman allegedly when an elderly bumped into one and repeatedly of the men. made a comment When the man see FRIDAY,

page A-5

page A-3

tape sit serving takeout Tables and caution skeleton crew to continue a stayed open with

reopening, Schools await learning

e prepare for distanc

VALLEY NEWS

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Education ...............................

Entertainment

Tony Ault STAFF WRITER

Russ Utz San Jacinto Mayor staff and manager praised the city growth in refor the city’s recent and creating an to tail development more attractive environment residents during businesses and the past year. residents and the His message to community retail and commercial State of the 2019 came during the Sept. 26, City address Thursday, Resort Event in the Soboba Casino

community died, Nov. 30.

Members of the ones who have remember loved

Black Friday kicks season

ed by

State of City’ report

................... D-8

Will Fritz ASSOCIATE EDITOR

USPS Postal Customer

Crimes & Courts

Alice Sullivan retiring President/CEO Sept. 30. of Commerce, Resort & Casino, Valley Chamber photo at Pechanga Shane Gibson leading the Temecula of the community After 29 years with members during a party is celebrated

Positive ‘San Jacinto Mayor Russ Utz

D-4 Business .................................. . D-6 Business Directory................. ................. C-2 Calendar of Events D-6 Classifieds ...............................

VALLEY NEWS

INDEX

USPS Postal Customer

owners and govLocal business commemorated ernment officials Alice Sullivan of the retirement Temecula Valley who has led the for almost Chamber of Commercehas been an as long as Temecula with a celebraincorporated city Resort Casino tion at the Pechanga 30.

Monday, Sept.

Grand Ballroom in May that Sullivan announced after servVALLEY STAFF planned to retire school students she the Temecula community for Murrieta high facili- ing led the years – she has just a will tour two manufacturing center almost 30 innovation May 1990, city’s since chamber ties and the the city officially as part of the city’s few months after Friday, Oct. 4, December 1989.

Day event. incorporated in Manufacturing her presence And she’s made nearly three see page D-5 known over those up to almost decades, showingmeeting during every city council local shopthat time, launching spinning off the ping initiatives, committee into tourism chamber’s page A-2 see RETIRING,

Murrieta to host 100 teens for ‘Manufacturing Day’ event

PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID HEMET, CA PERMIT #234

Find Valley News at these additional NEW locations: Will Fritz ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Business

Courtesy photo

Shoppers packed

Promenade Temecula

on Black Friday

last week.

part of the Murrieta High School, Murrieta Valley officials’ orders.

30 per county

Valley Unified

School District,

will remain closed

Valley News/Shane

districts first When local school closures as announced temporary the coroagainst part of the fight they expected navirus pandemic,only last until to the closures month. sometime next County Southwest Riverside variously anschool districts dates spanning nounced reopeningMarch to midof from the end Riverside UniverApril, until the March 17, sity Health System,in the county ordered all schools April 30. The until to remain shut Gov. Gavin same day, California uncertain if it was Newsom said be able to reopen schools would current school at all before the but he issued year ends in June, no official order. page A-6 see SCHOOLS,

until April

LAKE ELSINORE

Gibson photo

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Section

BUSINESS May 15 – 21, 2020

www.myvalleynews.com

Volume 20, Issue 20

Signs of life in Old Town Temecula emerge as merchants begin to reopen

Fourth Street Antiques manager Linda Conceicao reopens for business May 9, in Old Town Temecula as some Riverside County coronavirus restrictions are eased.

People shop around several antique stores in Old Town Temecula as coronavirus restrictions are eased on retail businesses in Riverside County.

Valley News/Shane Gibson photos

A stream of motorists travels along Old Town Front Street after weeks of minimal activity at Temecula’s tourist destination due to the coronavirus lockdown.

Jeff Pack STAFF WRITER

It was not quite a Black Friday level of frenzy in Old Town Temecula as last weekend was the first time since early March that retail businesses could reopen.

But it was a start.

Mike Freeville, owner of Granny’s Attic and Old Town Antique Faire, said it was a good start to the reopening process and shoppers were thrilled to have a chance to peruse.

“They were overjoyed that we would let a couple of them in, you know, as long as they kept their distance and their masks,” he said.

“But yeah, overwhelmingly glad that they were able to do some shopping.”

On Thursday, May 7, Gov. Gavin Newsom and Dr. Mark Ghaly, secretary of California Health and Human Services, broadly outlined the changes under Phase 2 of the governor’s multipoint plan for reducing regulations and restarting the state’s economy, while stressing the virus is no less dangerous.

The changes do not add to the state mandates in place for residents conducting everyday affairs, but they do call for workplace adjustments as businesses reopen.

The state relaxed its health order Friday, May 8, allowing “lowrisk’’ businesses such as clothing and bookstores, music shops, toy stores, sporting goods stores and florists to reopen with curbside service only.

Newsom said the state will consider petitions from individual counties that want to go further and allow other businesses to open, but the decision will be based on strict guidelines.

“Of course, we’re open to argument, interested in their unique conditions and circumstances, and we’ll try to provide some flexibility,’’ Newsom said.

There is still a lot of gray area within those orders. So, Freeville and other antique stores in Temecula like Fourth Street Antiques and The Barn Yard also had their doors open Friday to varying degrees.

Barnyard Chicks and Under the Willow, a gift shop and clothing retailer were also open.

“My store is big enough and I mean there’s not a ton of people, but the ones that call are just over overwhelmed, you know, thinking you have somewhere to go for a little bit,” Freeville said. “If a liquor store can sell milk and be allowed to be open, we do too. We have tools, we have coverings and face masks.”

There was a renewed hope with other business owners in Old Town, some that have been open and some that only recently opened their doors.

“We reopened the stores almost two weeks ago and we’ve seen more and more people coming through,” Tom Curry of Temecula Olive Oil Company said. “We’ve definitely seen traffic building, people ready to get out and about.

I think with the weather and just

A rap artist films a music video in Old Town Temecula as coronavirus restrictions were eased in Riverside County.

People enter retail businesses opening in Old Town Temecula after coronavirus restrictions are eased in Riverside County.

being cooped up, people are getting a little stir crazy.”

Curry said the company closed all seven of its retail locations March 16. The company had an already robust e-commerce platform to help them weather the storm, Curry said.

“It’s kind of kept our head above water,” he said. “We’ve been playing in that arena for a while, so it’s been helping us.

“I think we’re still learning.

We’re going to definitely see that the environment is going to be different. Retail is going to be a lot different than it was two months ago. We’re going to try to be nimble and meet the needs.

I think what this shows us is that the unexpected should be expected because no one saw this coming,” Curry said.

Still, Curry said, they were encouraged by people coming through the doors recently.

“The community has been embracing it,” he said. “Everyone that’s coming in, is like, ‘Oh, thank you for opening,’” he said. “So, it’s been really encouraging. We’re getting a lot of support from the community and it’s really nice.”

He said he thinks the nicer weather is helping.

“Americans want to be Americans,” Curry said.

Owner Min-ed Gendy of the Old Town Sweet Shop was manning the front counter as a mother and son checked out the offerings.

His wife was busy cleaning all the surfaces in the store.

“I am open but of course with limited hours, not like before,” Gendy said. “Limited hours, limited customers. But I am fighting, I am open, but fewer customers and this is the problem, right? I am hoping to reopen fully again get our customers back again.”

Gendy said he sees a light at the end of the tunnel, where there wasn’t one before.

“It’s not back to normal 100%,” he said. “But we can say about 20% to 30%.”

“Do I see the hope at the end of the tunnel here that’s coming up?” Mad Madeline’s Grill owner Sid Hamilton said while working on the patio area of his restaurant.

“Yes. There’s hope. The light at the end of the tunnel is getting shorter until we can reopen. But from what I’m hearing it’s not going to be 100%. I don’t know what the percentage is they are going to allow. Is it 50% and 6 feet apart like we did in the beginning and then they narrowed it down and got rid of that?”

Hamilton said he is interested to see what some employees are going to do when more and more businesses are allowed to reopen.

Throughout the state and country, many have been laid off.

“With employees, yes, they are happy right now and getting their unemployment check, their $600 from EDD,” he said. “But pretty soon here, they’re going to have to up and get off the couch and go back to work. And you know what, that’s reality. Are they going to go

People shop at Fourth Street Antiques in Old Town Temecula as retail businesses open after coronavirus restrictions are eased in Riverside County.

back to work?”

Hamilton said he plans on rehiring the employees he had to cut back on when the doors can reopen a little more.

“We never closed the doors because I didn’t want to throw away my food and I wanted to help the community and help the city and help the people eat,” Hamilton said. “To at least have somewhere to go and get something different or at least to get out of the house safely, come down and utilize all the curbside delivery and take out delivery services.”

He also stayed open to teach his sons and young employees about working hard for what you get in life.

“I’m trying to teach my kids, I have two boys and two stepsons and I have my cook and his son,” Hamiton said. “I’m trying to teach the young crowd that you pull your pants up at day and you go to work and you get through it and you do the best you can.

“But you know what? The world needs to rotate again and we need to get this economy back together,” he said. “We need to get our city and our counties and everybody needs to get up off of their butts and we need to get going again because it’s getting worse and worse every day.”

City News Service contributed to this story.

Jeff Pack can be reached by email at jpack@reedermedia.com,

People walk along Old Town Front Street in Temecula as retail businesses open after coronavirus restrictions are eased in Riverside County.

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Valley News • www.myvalleynews.com • May 15, 2020

Business

Michael Culton of Brubaker-Culton Real Estate and Development featured in the Southern California Edition of Top Agent Magazine HEMET – Michael Culton of Brubaker-Culton Real Estate and Development in Hemet was featured in the Southern California Edition of Top Agent Magazine in April 2020.

Top Agent Magazine is the premier real estate magazine featuring the foremost real estate agents, mortgage professionals and affiliates in the U.S., Europe, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Top Agent Magazine features the top producing and most accomplished professionals in the real estate industry, offering an indepth look at their careers and providing a blueprint for their success.

Culton, 73, started with Brubaker-Culton Real Estate and Development June 1, 1976.

His largest real estate sale was the Hemet Dodge Dealership for $4 million.

He graduated from Hemet High School, went to Mt San Jacinto College, played football and still holds the punting average record for the school. Next, he went to La Verne College. He was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the 1970 NFL draft. He married Candace Culton in 1983. They have two children, Lainie and Marc.

To be considered for a feature in Top Agent Magazine, professionals must go through a nomination and interview process. All candidates are evaluated based upon production and professionalism, as well as industry and community involvement.

“Top Agent Magazine has set itself apart as a trusted source of

real estate information and inspiration,” according to the magazine.

“Michael Culton is a stellar example of the kind of prominent leaders of real estate we are proud to feature in Top Agent Magazine.”

Information on nominations receiving this recognition can be found at http://www.topagentmagazine.com/nominate-a-real-estateagent-to-be-featured.

“It has been an honor to be one of the few chosen for the cover on this prestigious magazine. Forty-four years of real estate service has paid off,” Culton said.

For more information about Michael Culton, call (951) 658-7211, mjcultoncorp@gmail.com or visit http://www.Brubakerculton.com.

Submitted by Brubaker-Culton Real Estate and Development.

Michael Culton of Brubaker-Culton Real Estate and Development in Hemet is featured in the Southern California edition of Top Agent Magazine in April.

Valley News/Courtesy photo

‘We’re stuck’ say hairstylists frustrated over lack of information on reopening their businesses Lexington Howe INTERN

Sarah Ankerman of Ankerman Artistry in Temecula opened up her new salon on Valentine’s Day, only to close its doors a month later due to stay at home orders that began March 19.

As Gov. Gavin Newsom recently said, California may be headed for Phase 2 reopening sooner than residents think; however, it won’t include hair salons, which would not be able to reopen until Phase 3.

“I think a hair salon or a small salon or one-on-one is a lot safer than people going to Costco and being around multiple people and not having really any control over the sanitation,” Ankerman said.

“There’s no way you can wipe down every single product that

clients touch, especially in a place like Costco.”

Ankerman’s business is what helps her provide for her family, she said.

“I have a 4-year-old little girl at home, and so that’s been really hard.” Ankerman said.

As a hair stylist, she is trained in safety and sanitation practices by the state board.

“Our business is one of the most regulated when it comes to ensuring our clients safety,” she said.

Jeanette Barragan of Fallbrook owns Seven Studio, 1410 S. Mission Road, in Fallbrook. Some of her first concerns upon hearing that they would have to close was how her employees would be able to support themselves without work, alongside concerns regarding sanitation that were similar to Ankerman’s.

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“We’ve always been up to code just like hospitals because we are required to take a state board license, and for that we have to go through all the rules and regulations for disinfectant, sterilization, everything has to be submerged and sterilized,” she said.

Barragan said that clients before the pandemic were pretty considerate with not coming in if they were sick.

“Now that this is all going on, I assume they’ll be a lot more cautious,” she said.

Thankfully for Barragan, the landlord has worked with her rent.

“She sent us an email saying that our rent for May and June would be half off both months, so that’s alleviating,” she said. “If this goes on for who knows how long, there may be an issue.”

Jessica Ortiz works at Wild Hair Salon, 1430 S Mission Road, in Fallbrook, whose doors have also

been closed since March 19.

“If you get caught or fined it’s $1,000,” Ortiz said. “Plus, they’re threatening to take away your cosmetology license for two years or indefinitely if you get caught violating the governor’s orders.”

Ortiz knows of some people who are still operating behind closed doors.

“For me personally, I’m a single mom; this is my sole income for my kid,” Ortiz said. “I’m not willing to take the chance of getting that $1,000 fine and losing my license because then how would I take care of my kid?”

Ankerman said she is worried that when things do return to normal, the hair industry won’t be the same and it will look different, potentially affecting the customer’s experience.

“It’s been recommended that stylists wear gowns, facial shields, gloves,” Ankerman said. “Wearing gloves and cutting hair is very, very

difficult because the rubber grabs the client’s hair especially when it’s wet.

“It’s also being recommended that while the client is at the shampoo bowl, we cover the clients face, nose and eyes on top of them wearing a mask,” Ankerman said.

She said that she’s worried that clients will feel uncomfortable with this procedure and ultimately not get their hair done to avoid the hassle, instead try doing it themselves at home.

For Ortiz, one of the frustrations surrounding all the planning is that there really is no definite answer yet.

“We’ve been out of work since March 19 with no income, and we can’t qualify for assistance,” Ortiz said. “They’ve basically said just shut your doors, and we don’t know what to tell you.”

Lexington Howe can be reached by email at valleystaff@reedermedia.com.

Realtors say that 77% of potential home sellers are preparing to sell following end of stay-at-home orders WASHINGTON – More than three in four potential sellers – 77% – are preparing to sell their

homes following the end of stay-at-home orders, with half completing do-it-yourself home improvement projects, according to a new survey from the National Association of Realtors.

“After a pause, home sellers are gearing up to list their properties with the reopening of the economy,” Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, said. “Plenty of buyers also appear ready to take advantage of record-low mortgage rates and the stability that comes with these locked-in monthly payments into future years.”

NAR’s latest Economic Pulse Flash Survey – conducted May 3-4 – asked members how the coronavirus outbreak has impacted the residential and commercial real estate markets. Several highlights include: Five percent of Realtors said their clients are shifting neighborhood preferences from urban areas to suburban areas due to COVID-19.

About one in eight Realtors – 13% – said buyers have changed

at least one home feature that’s important to them due to COVID-19. For these buyers, the most common home features they identified as important are home offices, yard space for exercising or growing food and space to accommodate family.

Nearly three in four Realtors currently working with sellers this week – 73% – reported their clients haven’t reduced listing prices to attract buyers.

View NAR’s Economic Pulse Flash Survey report at https:// www.nar.realtor/research-andstatistics/research-reports/narflash-survey-economic-pulse.

View NAR’s Weekly Housing Market Monitor at https://www. nar.realtor/research-and-statistics/ weekly-housing-market-monitor.

The National Association of Realtors is America’s largest trade association, representing more than 1.4 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

Submitted by National Association of Realtors.

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May 15, 2020 • www.myvalleynews.com • Valley News

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Business EVMWD continues to observe local and state orders LAKE ELSINORE – In observance of ongoing “stay at home” orders from local and state government, Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District continues to provide essential water and sewer services for the community under revised conditions.

On April 29, Riverside County extended an existing order, requiring residents to wear face coverings and practice social distancing through June 19. EVMWD continues to observe both local and state guidelines while ensuring that customers have uninterrupted access to safe, reliable water supplies.

“Water quality testing and monitoring, along with critical day-to-day system operations and maintenance, continue as planned,” Greg Thomas, general manager for Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District, said.

“EVMWD has responded to the current COVID-19 crisis in several ways, recognizing that strategic action is needed to protect both the health of our employees and customers. Though we have adjusted certain procedures based on health guidelines, full district operations

and customer service are being provided 24/7.”

While EVMWD’s lobby remains closed under the current county and state orders, customers are encouraged to pay bills online at https://www.evmwd.com or via phone at 951-674-3146.

“We recognize the struggle some may face during the pandemic,” Andy Morris, president of the EVMWD board of directors, said.

“EVMWD is here to help. Customers who are experiencing adversity during this time are encouraged to reach out to our customer service team for assistance.”

EVMWD has suspended shutoffs for nonpayment to ensure that all customers have access to clean water, which is crucial for hygiene and sanitation during this time.

Special payment arrangements and financial assistance, including the Rate Assistance for Residents of Elsinore Valley program, are available to help individuals who qualify and are facing financial hardship. Customer service representatives can be reached at 951674-3146 to discuss assistance plans.

SBA makes economic injury disaster loans available to US agricultural businesses impacted by COVID-19 pandemic

EVMWD will continue to monitor the current situation and provide updates, as necessary. Traditional business operations, such as lobby access, will be restored once it is approved by local and state government.

“As always, customer safety and wellness are a top priority and each decision is made with these important considerations in mind,” Morris said.

Additional information related to the COVID-19 pandemic can be found at https://www.evmwd. com/COVID19.

EVMWD provides service to more than 155,000 water and wastewater customers in a 97-square-mile area in western Riverside County. The district is a sub-agency of the Western Municipal Water District and a member agency of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. Visit the EVMWD website at hhtps://www.evmwd. com for additional information.

Submitted by Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District.

WASHINGTON – Jovita Carranza, administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration, announced recently that agricultural businesses are now eligible for SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan and EIDL Advance programs. SBA’s EIDL portal will reopen today as a result of funding authorized by Congress through the Paycheck Protection Program and Healthcare Enhancement Act. The legislation, signed into law by the president, provided additional funding for farmers and ranchers and certain other agricultural businesses affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

“For more than 30 years, SBA has been prohibited by law from providing disaster assistance to agricultural businesses; however, as a result of the unprecedented legislation enacted by President Trump, American farmers, ranchers and other agricultural businesses will now have access to emergency working capital,” Carranza said.

“These low-interest, long-term loans will help keep agricultural businesses viable while bringing

stability to the nation’s vitally important food supply chains.”

Agricultural businesses include businesses engaged in the legal production of food and fiber, ranching and raising of livestock, aquaculture and all other farming and agricultural related industries.

Eligible agricultural businesses must have 500 or fewer employees.

The SBA will begin accepting new EIDL applications on a limited basis only to provide unprecedented relief to U.S. agricultural businesses. For agricultural businesses that submitted an EIDL loan application through the streamlined application portal before the legislative change, SBA will move forward and process these applications without the need for re-applying.

All other EIDL loan applications that were submitted before the portal stopped accepting new applications, April 15, will be processed on a first-in, first-out basis.

For more information, visit https://www.sba.gov/Disaster.

Submitted by Small Business Administration.

How Christian business owners should lead in a time of crisis BEND, Ore. – The COVID-19 pandemic is testing the leadership capacity of business owners and CEOs across the nation and world, and that’s especially true for those whose spiritual lives are fully integrated with their business lives.

Christian business leaders face the task of making difficult management decisions in uncertain times while still holding true to their Christian values.

“Leaders are charged with the threefold challenge of learning from the past, assessing the present and declaring the future,” Michael Sipe, author of the Amazon No. 1 bestseller “The AVADA Principle” and founder of the Christian executive coaching firm 10x Catalyst Groups, which provides guidance to businesses organized on a foundation of biblical principles, said. “The risk of being wrong in making those distinctions is enormous. Lives, cultures, organizations, and economies are at stake based on the competence, character and actions of our leaders.”

Rarely has that been the case more than it is now, as many businesses have had to close their doors while others operate with their employees working under stressful conditions or fulfilling

their duties remotely from home.

The question is: How do Christian business leaders navigate through unsettling times such as these so that their businesses – and the people they lead – will continue to thrive? Sipe said meeting that challenge comes down to engaging three core attributes of truly wise and effective leaders: heart, head and hands.

He offers these ideas on how to do it.

Guard your heart.

When Sipe speaks of the heart in this context, he means the metaphorical one, not the physical organ.

“Your heart includes your mind, will and emotions and is the very essence of who you are as a human being,” he said.

“When leaders fail to guard their hearts against the inherent human tendency to drift toward deceitfulness, their hearts become shallow, hard or evil. Followers will suffer and the leader’s declared outcomes will be thwarted or di-

minished.”

Christian leaders, he said, need to model love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control for those they lead.

Sharpen your mind. While having a big heart is wonderful, it’s not sufficient, Sipe said. Some people with great hearts don’t have the competence to lead.

“We must continually strengthen our minds, build our skills, and develop our competence to lead,” he said.

Some of the components of a sharp mind include leadership skills such as critical thinking, analysis, planning, communicating, delegating, hiring, firing, promoting and demoting. For Sipe, sharpening the mind also means desiring and seeking the revelation of the plans, purposes and perspectives of God. Strengthen your hands. A leader needs to act as well as talk.

“A softhearted person who’s unwilling to act is not a leader,” Sipe said. “A smart guy who’s unwilling to act is simply a hypocritical blow-hard, not a leader.

To lead effectively in challenging times, we must build the habit of effective action. We must act out of good motives. We must act wisely.

And we must act courageously, promptly and decisively.

“Clearly, we are living and leading in hard times,” Sipe said. “That makes it a time for exceptional leaders. Leaders who guard their

hearts and temper tough decisions with love and compassion. Leaders who sharpen their minds and grow in competence. Leaders who go to work with strong hands and an indomitable will to serve others and to help all we serve to come out the other side of this challenging season better in every way.”

Michael Sipe, author of the Amazon No. 1 bestselling book “The AVADA Principle,” is the founder of 10x Catalyst Groups, which helps entrepreneurs grow profitable and thriving businesses organized on a foundation of biblical principles. Sipe has also enjoyed a successful 30-plus year career in mergers, acquisitions and business development as the founder of CrossPointe Capital, a middle market investment-banking firm. In that capacity, he has consulted with and evaluated over 5,000 companies and has provided advisory services for approximately a halfbillion dollars in business sales involving hundreds of companies.

He remains active in transactional work and has been a key adviser in mergers and acquisitions projects covering a multitude of industry sectors. For more information, visit http://www.10xgroups.com.

Pets

Pets of the Week

Living Free Animal Sanctuary

Animal Friends of the Valleys

Sponsored by

Hi! I’m Jax, a 4-year-old Pitbull mix.

I’m super sweet, very gentle, friendly and happy. I’m easy to walk, and I do well with children and older adults. I like to chase my tail. Let’s go on an adventure together! Intake Number: 317767

Tanner Ross, DVM

Candace is a 1-year-old orange and white female kitty. She’s a lovely girl looking for her forever home. Come meet her today! Intake Number: 525998

A family-owned hospital specializing in fear-free care utilizing integrative healthcare, acupuncture, herbal medicine and traditional medicine.

1st Exam FREE

for a Newly Adopted Pet! Bring adoption papers to Pet Wellness Center, 23644 Clinton Keith Road, Murrieta, CA 92562 951-473-2227 | petwellnesscenter.vet

Website: www.animalfriendsofthevalleys.com 33751 Mission Trail, Wildomar, CA 92595 • Phone: (951) 674-0618 Hours of operation: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Ramona Humane Society Hi! I’m Peanut, a 3-year-old male Chihuahua mix. Aren’t I an adorable little guy and quite a cute little character? Will you give me a second chance? Let’s meet. Intake Number: 173216 / R238318

Hello. I’m a shy, reserved little 1-year-old female Tiger kitty. I came to the shelter as a stray. I am sweet and just want to feel safe and loved. Come take me home today! Intake Number: 173176 / R238297

Rudy is an 18-month-old male Terrier mix. He is a great little guy who has had a tough time. He was abandoned by his family in the backyard when they moved. He loves other dogs and is looking for a pal who wants to play with him.

He is smart and wants to please.

For more great pets up for adoption, visit Retrievers and Friends of Southern California at www.retrieversandfriends.com.

Living Free Animal Sanctuary The shelter is only open from Monday to Friday by appointment only. For more great pets available for adoption, contact the Ramona Humane Society at (951) 6548002 or visit www. ramonahumanesociety. org.

Barnaby is an almost 9-year-old male Chihuahua mix. He’s small, but mighty with a real strut to his walk, showing off his robust personality. When he is not prancing around the dog park, he likes to flop on the grass and scoot along on his side to scratch himself. He absolutely loves belly rubs and being with people.

Mason is a 1-year-old tabby male.

He is such a mellow sweetie, just looking for his forever home. He enjoys lounging around on cat towers, getting back-scratches and playing with cat wands. He will do well in a home with a relaxed environment.

For more information on Barnaby, Mason and other pets up for adoption at Living Free Animal Sanctuary, call the kennel at (951) 321-9982, the cattery at (951) 491-1898 or visit https:// living-free.org.

Courtesy photos

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Valley News • www.myvalleynews.com • May 15, 2020

Health

Three area hospitals win top Leapfrog safe health care ratings Tony Ault STAFF WRITER

Three Riverside County hospitals won “As” from the nationally recognized spring 2020 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Guide for their outstanding efforts in providing safe health care.

Named are the Temecula Valley Hospital in Temecula, the Kaiser Permanente’s Riverside Medical Center and Moreno Valley Medical Center in Leapfrog’s spring 2020 Hospital Safety Grade.

The Leapfrog Group is an independent national watchdog organization committed to health care quality and safety. The safety grade is a letter grade assigned to all general hospitals across the country and updated every six months, assessing how well the hospital prevents medical errors and other harm to patients.

Developed under the guidance of a national expert panel the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade uses up to 28 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to assign grades to more than 2,600 U.S. acute-care hospitals twice per year.

“We are very proud that both Riverside Medical Center and Moreno Valley Medical Center have earned the highest grade achievable for patient safety,” Vita Willett, senior vice president and area manager for Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Hospitals for Riverside County, said. “This recognition reflects our team’s daily commitment to prioritize patient safety and put member well-being at the heart of everything we do.”

Kaiser Permanente is recognized as one of America’s leading health care providers and not-forprofit health plans. Founded in 1945, Kaiser Permanente has a mission to provide high-quality, affordable health care services and to

Temecula Valley Hospital is one of three area hospitals receiving an A grade in the spring 2020 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Guide.

Valley News/Shane Gibson photo

improve the health of its members and the communities they serve.

The group currently serves 12.3 million members in eight states and the District of Columbia.

Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by Permanente Medical Group physicians, specialists and team of caregivers.

Expert and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the-art care delivery and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education and community support. To learn more about the hospitals, visit https:// about.kaiserpermanente.org.

Temecula Valley Hospital was also given the “A” rating by Leapfrog Group for their outstanding work in keeping their patients safe and providing the best of services.

“During this unsettling time, our health care team has been working so hard to care for our community,” Darlene Wetton, CEO of Temecula Valley Hospital, said.

“Getting an ‘A’ grade for hospital safety is the positive news we all needed to hear. It reiterates how special our team is at Temecula Valley Hospital. I am proud that our staff and physicians know that safety is a No. 1 priority, especially with everything that is happening in the world around us.”

Temecula Valley Hospital, with a 5 Star Medicare Hospital Compare rating, brings advanced technology, innovative programs,

patient-centered and family sensitive care to area residents featuring 140 private patient rooms.

Temecula Valley Hospital is the first Universal Health Services Hospital Emergency Department in the country to achieve accreditation from the American College of Emergency Physicians as a geriatric emergency department.

Temecula Valley Hospital specializes in advanced cardiac services, stroke care, general and surgical specialties and orthopedics as a recent Blue Distinction Center Designation for quality in knee and hip replacement surgeries. Temecula Valley Hospital is nationally recognized for patient safety by the Leapfrog Group, with a 2017 Top Hospital Award and seven “A” grades for patient safety. For more information, visit

https://www.temeculavalleyhospital.com/about/news.

Leapfrog expressed gratitude.

“As the nation copes with a challenging pandemic, our gratitude extends to hospital leadership and health care workers everywhere for their tremendous dedication,” Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group, said. “We hope this ‘A’ rating helps to thank the people who work and volunteer for the Temecula Valley Hospital, Riverside Medical Center and Moreno Valley Medical Center. They are role models in putting patients first, and their service has been extraordinary in our country’s time of need.”

To see full grade details for the hospitals and access patient tips for staying safe in the hospital, visit http://www.hospitalsafetygrade. org and follow The Leapfrog Group on Twitter and Facebook.

Founded in 2000 by large employers and other purchasers, The Leapfrog Group is a national nonprofit organization driving a movement for giant leaps forward in the quality and safety of American health care. The flagship Leapfrog Hospital Survey and new Leapfrog Ambulatory Surgery Center Survey collect and transparently report hospital and ASC performance, empowering purchasers to find the highest-value care and giving consumers the lifesaving information they need to make informed decisions. The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, Leapfrog’s other main initiative, assigns letter grades to hospitals based on their record of patient safety, helping consumers protect themselves and their families from errors, injuries, accidents and infections.

Tony Ault can be reached by email at tault@reedermedia.com.

KPC Health to safely reopen seven Southern California hospitals for elective procedures, important health care services SANTA ANA – KPC Health announced the safe reopening of its seven full-service acute care hospitals in Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties Thursday, April 30, for elective non-emergent, non-COVID-19 procedures and treatments. The hospitals include Orange County Global Medical Center, Chapman Global Medical Center, Anaheim Global Medical Center, South Coast Global Medical Center, Hemet Global Medical Center, Menifee Global Medical Center and Victor Valley Global Medical Center.

The reopening is being implemented with thorough quality control protocols, in accordance with the latest guidelines from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services as a part of Phase One of President Donald Trump’s “Guidelines for Opening Up America Again” and California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s “Plan to Resume Delayed Health Care that was Deferred as Hospitals Prepared for COVID-19 Surge.”

“KPC Health’s Global Medical Centers have deployed significant resources to ensure preparedness and patient safety and meet all

state and federal guidelines to resume providing important health care services that our communities depend on. Patients should be highly confident in the safety and quality of our hospitals,” Dr. Kali P. Chaudhuri, founder and chairman of KPC Health, said.

“Since early March, all KPC Health hospitals have operated under the Hospital Incident Command System structure, activated Level 1 Triage and deployed extensive resources for the anticipated surge, quarantine and treatment of COVID-19 patients. These efforts have been highly successful and

put us in a position to establish appropriate protocols for the safe delivery of non-COVID-19 related care,” Peter Baronoff, CEO of KPC Health, said.

“Like many hospitals, we have observed a significant decline in patients coming in for common health issues, such as chest pain, appendicitis, gall bladder disease and arthritic joints. Postponing treatment for these types of illnesses could have serious health effects, and even cause death. It is critical that we provide patients with a safe place to go for basic health care services so that we do

not exacerbate the public health challenges we are already facing,” Dr. John Heydt, chief clinical officer of KPC Health, said.

KPC Health owns and operates a group of integrated health care delivery systems consisting of acute care hospitals, Independent Physician Associations, medical groups and various fullyintegrated, multi-specialty medical facilities.

Submitted by KPC Health.

Maintain sun protection and skin cancer awareness during the COVID-19 pandemic NEW YORK CITY – The spread of the coronavirus has sparked concern worldwide and prompted many leaders to take decisive action to contain the virus. Several states have mandated citizens to stay home from work, socially distance and remain indoors, meaning people have found their time outside has been drastically reduced. Although they may not be exposed to direct sunlight as often, The Skin Cancer Foundation advised everyone to remain vigilant in regard to protecting their skin and checking their body for suspicious lesions.

While spending most of the time indoors, it’s instinctive to gravitate toward places at home that receive natural light, like windows and skylights. It’s important to exercise caution while enjoying this little slice of the outdoor world, however – sunlight streaming through glass can still harm the skin. Two types of UV light are proven to contribute to the risk for skin cancer: ultraviolet A, which has a longer wavelength, and ultraviolet B, which has a shorter wavelength. UVA and UVB rays can cause sunburns and tanning, but UVA rays penetrate deeper into the skin, which can contribute to signs of premature aging, like dark spots and wrinkles. They’re also better at finding people.

“UVA rays can penetrate window glass, meaning you can still be at risk of exposure while inside,” Dr. Deborah S. Sarnoff, president of The Skin Cancer Foundation, said.

“Even when home, it’s important to be cognizant of UV radiation and apply sunscreen to the face and exposed areas of the body.”

While spending most of their time indoors, it’s instinctive for people to gravitate toward natural light sources, like windows and skylights; however, it’s important to exercise caution as sunlight streaming through glass can still harm skin.

Valley News/Courtesy photo

The Skin Cancer Foundation recommended using a sunscreen with an SPF of at least 15 or higher for daily use, especially if people are going to be working right by a window. Try placing the sunscreen bottle in the bathroom beside the toothbrushes so it is easily accessible while getting ready in the morning, as it might be difficult to remember to apply otherwise.

For indoor workers who receive a significant amount of incidental sun exposure, it’s important to reapply sunscreen, especially before going

outside for breaks or errands. Gain additional protection by pulling down the window shade during peak sun hours from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., installing UV-protective window film and covering up with clothing.

While preventing skin damage that can lead to skin cancer is imperative, now is also a good time to revisit skin cancer warning signs and perform at-home skin exams.

The Skin Cancer Foundation recommended residents examine their skin head-to-toe every month, and all they need is a bright light, a full-

length mirror, a hand mirror, two chairs or stools, a blow-dryer, paper and a pencil. They should look for anything new, changing or unusual on the skin and reach out to a dermatologist if they see something concerning. Learn more about skin cancer warning signs and how to perform a self-exam at https://www.

TheBigSee.org.

If a resident’s dermatologist is no longer seeing patients in the office or is extra busy due to COVID-19, see if the doctor offers any teledermatology options. Teledermatology

is a rapidly developing subspecialty using the latest technology to allow patients better access to high-quality dermatologic care without traveling to the clinic. If there’s a medical emergency, people should still try to get in to see a dermatologist as soon as possible. But for non-emergencies, they can use teledermatology to help when it comes to skin cancer.

First, take photos of anything new, changing or unusual on the skin and monitor it over time. There are apps that will send a monthly reminder to check on the spot to see if it has evolved.

Share the photos with the dermatologist who can look them over virtually and provide advice over the phone. They will determine if the person needs to come into the office or not.

If they’ve recently been treated for skin cancer, their dermatologist can provide follow-up care over the phone or via video sessions.

The Skin Cancer Foundation is the only global organization solely devoted to the prevention, early detection and treatment of skin cancer.

The mission of the foundation is to decrease the incidence of skin cancer through public and professional education and research. Since its inception in 1979, the foundation has recommended following a complete sun protection regimen that includes seeking shade and covering up with clothing, including a wide-brimmed hat and UV-blocking sunglasses, in addition to daily sunscreen use. For more information, visit https://www.

SkinCancer.org.

Submitted by The Skin Cancer Foundation.

May 15, 2020 • www.myvalleynews.com • Valley News

B-5

Health Heart surgery at Temecula Valley Hospital breathes new life into local man TEMECULA – “I couldn’t even make it up the stairs. I’d stop halfway up. I couldn’t breathe and felt a squeezing on my heart,” Tom James, local resident and Temecula Valley Hospital patient, said. “I went like that for over a month. I wasn’t going anywhere, let alone a hospital, during the COVID-19 quarantine.”

The pain continued to get worse. James’ wife of 45 years, Laurie James knew he needed to get into the hospital for a procedure for his heart. With a history of heart complications, she said she worried daily.

The couple, both over the age of 65, did everything they needed to do to be safe. They stayed in the house for over two months.

They had their groceries delivered. They visited with family, including their three sons and their families, outside, 6 feet away from one another.

It took a call from the doctor to convince Tom James to have surgery. Cardiologist Dr. Jeffery Chung called one evening and pleaded to him to get in for a heart procedure at Temecula Valley Hospital. Chung reassured him that the hospital was safe and had

implemented additional safety protocols during COVID-19.

Darlene Wetton, CEO, Temecula Valley Hospital, said she knows there is a big misconception in the region about quarantine procedures.

“At this time, when home isolation is often encouraged, we want to remind the community that this is not the same as medical isolation,” Wetton said. “Unfortunately, we have begun to see patients that have waited too long to come to the emergency department for their life-threatening conditions, due to an understandable fear of being exposed to COVID-19. We would like to stress to the community that prolonged medical isolation for concerning symptoms may have detrimental effects on your health and we encourage you to seek immediate medical care in these situations.”

Tom James underwent his emergency surgery, and he said he couldn’t believe how safe the hospital was when he arrived. The hospital was clean, the team safe and professional, it was nothing like what he had imagined during a pandemic, he said.

“The team was amazing, every-

thing was absolutely wonderful,” Tom James said. “We pulled up to the hospital. I went in after they checked my temperature, and we followed the safety protocols, including no visitation at this time within the hospital.”

After Tom James had his procedure by cardiologist Dr. Steve Jin to clear his blockage, he said, “I called Laurie once I was in recovery and told her the surgery gave me a new life.”

Now, Tom James is feeling great, he said. He is back at home with a new perspective on life. He said he hopes his story can help others to not be afraid to go in and get the treatment they need and to trust the health care professionals.

“I am so glad I finally went into Temecula Valley Hospital. Before my surgery, I was thinking every day was my last. Temecula Valley Hospital saved my life,” he said.

“I am playing out in the pool now.

It is a miracle.”

Temecula Valley Hospital, with a 5 Star Medicare Hospital Compare rating, brings advanced technology, innovative programs, patient-centered and family sensitive care to area

Tom James, who underwent emergency heart surgery at Temecula Valley Hospital, poses for a photo with his wife Laurie James.

Valley News/Courtesy photo

residents featuring 140 private patient rooms. Temecula Valley Hospital is the first Universal Health Services Hospital Emergency Department in the country to achieve accreditation from the American College of Emergency Physicians as a Geriatric Emergency Department.

Temecula Valley Hospital specializes in advanced cardiac services, stroke care, general and surgical specialties, and orthopedics as a recent Blue Distinction

Center Designation for Quality in knee and hip replacement surgeries. Temecula Valley Hospital is nationally recognized for patient safety by the Leapfrog Group, with a 2017 Top Hospital Award and seven “A” grades for patient safety.

For more information, visit https://www.temeculavalleyhospital.com/about/news.

Submitted by Temecula Valley Hospital.

Caring for your mental health in a time of pandemic Ashley Hutchinson SPECIAL TO VALLEY NEWS

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the Center for Disease Control said one in five Americans had a diagnosed mental illness.

With staggering statistics pointing toward more than 50% of Americans being diagnosed with a mental illness in their lifetime, it is sobering to realize that around half of American counties have not a single psychiatrist or psychotherapist to provide crucial mental health care services.

I point these facts out not to be doom and gloom about the current state of mental health care in our great country, but to paint a broader picture of what may be an obstacle for far too many during this trying time.

It becomes overwhelming to think about how the novel coronavirus pandemic and quarantine will likely contribute to even higher numbers than the ones I have shared above. However, I have hope to share with you all in the form of the beauty that is psychotherapy and community resources. Therapy is for all people. I often tell patients that if you have air in your lungs and a beating heart, therapy is for you.

With numerous modalities of treatment in modern mental health care, you are likely to find a therapist who practices a form of therapy that is a complementary match to suit your needs. I personally practice a few forms of therapy including one of my personal favorites, dialectical behavioral therapy. DBT was

created by a psychologist named Dr. Marsha Linehan of the University of Washington during her own struggles with borderline personality disorder. Linehan did something beautiful with her pain and used her experiences to aid in the treatment of an innumerable amount of people.

DBT is considered one of the most widely respected psychotherapy modalities in modern mental health care as it is used to treat a broad range of diagnoses including addiction, trauma, personality disorders, depression and anxiety.

DBT combines various ideas like mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotional regulation and validation of one’s experiences.

One of most poignant idea from DBT everyone can apply to the current pandemic and quarantine is

the practice of radical acceptance.

Radical acceptance teaches us that acceptance does not equal agreement. People do not have to agree or even like a situation to accept that “it is what it is.” When they stop grappling with the illusion of control and offer up the burden of control to their higher power or the universe, they feel more at ease and less overwhelmed.

A dialectic is two seemingly opposite things that can both be true. For example, the use of “and” versus “but” becomes an important balancer between two oppositional thoughts or emotions. We can balance two diametrically opposed thoughts such as “I am terrified of this virus, and I am accepting the reality that I have no control over the virus’ spread” with the use of radical acceptance.

In the coming weeks, practice radical acceptance. Be gentle with yourself, with others and know that you are not alone. You are a worthwhile person experiencing a collectively traumatic situation with the rest of humanity. Cut yourself some slack and remember that your life matters, as does your mental health.

This article is not a replacement for mental health care treatment. If you are currently experiencing a mental health care crisis, call 911 or get to your closest emergency room.

Ashley Hutchinson is a Temecula Valley clinical therapist, social worker and an alumna of the Loma Linda University School of Behavioral Health.

TOPS tips for staying healthy while staying home MILWAUKEE – At a time when social distancing is the new reality, it’s easy to feel alone and disconnected. That’s why it’s important now more than ever to practice self-care, finding balance between staying informed while taking time to unplug and reset.

TOPS Club, Inc., Take Off Pounds Sensibly, the nonprofit weight-loss support organization, offers several tips on how to make these extended periods at home more enjoyable, while creating or sustaining habits that can lead to a healthier you.

Just because you have to stay home doesn’t mean you can’t keep moving. There are a variety

of exercises that can be done from the couch or a chair. Search online for free streaming workouts and classes. No equipment? Use household items: a 16-ounce can of soup or beans is 1 pound, while a 72-ounce bottle of laundry detergent is 5 pounds. Also consider doing sets of stair climbs. No matter what type of movement is chosen, start slow if you’re not accustomed to regular physical activity – and listen to your body.

If you have a scale, weigh yourself weekly to stay accountable.

Put on your chef’s hat and make good-for-you recipes you never had time to before.

Do some early spring cleaning.

Start with a drawer or closet and move on to different areas of the home. Decluttering certain areas of your home can be a great stress reliever.

Incorporate more immuneboosting foods into your diet.

Choosing fatty fish such as tuna, mackerel, sardines and salmon will help increase the intake of anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids. Citrus fruits, including oranges, lemons and grapefruit, are naturally high in vitamin C and potassium. And don’t forget to stay hydrated with plenty of water.

Stress and uncertainty can lead to emotional eating. Combat this by identifying and accepting the

emotions that you try to soothe or boost with food. How can you feed your feelings without food? Consider exercise, soaking in the tub, deep breathing or reading a book.

Call a supportive family member or friend. Before grabbing something to eat, ask yourself, “Am I really hungry?”

For more weight loss tips and inspiration, visit http://www.tops. org.

Visitors are welcome to attend their first TOPS meeting free of charge. Membership is affordable at just $32 per year, plus nominal chapter fees. To find a local chapter or become an online member, view http://www.tops.org.

TOPS Club Inc. is the original weight-loss support and wellness education organization. Founded in 1948, TOPS is the only nonprofit, noncommercial weight-loss organization of its kind. TOPS promotes successful weight management with a “Real People. Real Weight Loss.” philosophy that combines support from others at weekly chapter meetings, healthy eating, regular exercise and wellness information. TOPS has about 100,000 members – male and female, age seven and older – in its network of thousands of weightloss support chapters throughout the United States and Canada.

Submitted by TOPS Club.

How unconventional parents raise next generation’s leaders DENVER – The American family structure has shifted dramatically in the past 50-plus years. Less than half of U.S. children are raised in a traditional setting – nearly a 30% drop since the early 1960s.

What that means in terms of quality of life for children from nontraditional families – chances of a stable upbringing, career success, etc. – isn’t always clear. But a nontraditional family structure can provide parents a great opportunity: To teach values, such as gender equality, that their children can someday apply in the workplace and with their own families.

“Growing up in a nontraditional family can help children gain sensitivity and compassion for other cultures and lifestyles, and it helps them break free of the gender stereotypes that pervade our society,” Andreas Wilderer, a stay-at-home father and author of “Lean On: The Five Pillars Of Support For Women In Leadership,” said. “They will not distinguish between ‘men’s work’ and ‘women’s duties.’ Such biases have held back countless people from reaching their potential. In a nontraditional family, parents have a prime opportunity to teach their children by example that they need not fit into anybody’s mold. They can help their children to feel more comfortable while coping with a

lifestyle much different from that of some of their friends.”

Nontraditional families come in many forms – a single-parent home, a blended family led by secondmarriage parents, a same-sex marriage with children or parents like Wilderer and his wife who are taking on nontraditional roles. There are an estimated 2 million stay-athome fathers in the U.S. Wilderer offered three ways parents in nontraditional homes can help their children’s confidence as well as their understanding of gender equality.

Take them on a business trip.

“The mystery of why mom goes away on business is removed,” Wilderer said. “Your son or daughter should feel your enthusiasm and dedication for what you do.

It’s a great opportunity to instill a healthy work ethic and attitude, while also demonstrating that any job includes routine moments that aren’t exciting.”

Involve them in planning family activities. It could mean vacations, meals during the week, summer camps, etc.

“When you give children that opportunity, you strengthen your bond with them,” Wilderer said.

“When the children feel they are active participants in the family’s planning and know that someone

cares enough to listen to them, their confidence will deepen, and they’ll better understand their family model and their place in it.”

Hold open, honest family meetings.

Problems come up, as with any family. How they are addressed in a nontraditional family can be tricky.

Wilderer said communication, in the form of regular family meetings where both the good and the bad are aired, is essential.

“Give your children a voice more and more as they grow,” he said.

“Meet as a family at least once a month, go over the good things that happened and the most challenging things. Of key importance is expressing feelings and finding solutions. Through it all, remain respectful and open to one another.

“Taking the right steps to help your children cope with a nontraditional family lifestyle is no small matter,” Wilderer said. “As adults in the household gain confidence in themselves through their roles, the children likewise will gain their own confidence. And when the kids are grown up, they will have no misgivings about managing their businesses and families the same way.”

Andreas Wilderer is the author of “Lean On: The Five Pillars Of Support For Women in Lead-

ership.” A business leader and entrepreneur, Wilderer worked in the event and marketing field and in 2016 founded GLOBULARiTY LLC, a business coaching company that helps leaders grow and learn how to strengthen their adaptability quotient. While working on his business pursuits, Wilderer stayed at home and cared

for his two children while his wife pursued her career. Recognizing that women can be providers and men can be nurturers, Wilderer began focusing on coaching female leaders while teaching men how to actively support them. He is also a Gallup-certified strengths coach. For more information, visit www.andreaswilderer.com.

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Valley News • www.myvalleynews.com • May 15, 2020

Wine & Dine

Be Good Restaurant and Experience moves into vacant Rosa’s Cantina location

Be Good Restaurant and Experience, located at the old Rosa’s Cantina in Old Town Temecula, is undergoing remodeling in anticipation of tentative June opening.

Valley News/Jeff Pack photos

Jeff Pack STAFF WRITER

Now that things are opening up a little bit and people are moving about a little more, a trip to Old Town Temecula might have residents wondering what all the construction happening at the old Rosa’s Cantina is all about.

Well, several months after the landmark Mexican food restaurant closed for good, Anthony Bennett and Michael Criscione have swept in to create something new in the space – Be Good Restaurant and Experience, which is expected to open in the next several weeks.

“We’re shooting for the ultimate dining experience,” Bennett said.

“Mexican American food, coastal twists, some seafood mixed in.

The dining experience is going to be a handful of stuff. Concepts that we’ve thrown together that are gonna be very unique. We want to kind of help revive the Old Town Temecula area as well.”

“There’s a lack of entertainment in Old Town specifically,” Criscione said. “Other than CoinOp that just opened, which is awe-

some, but other than that, you have maybe your karaoke on a Tuesday, a live band on a Saturday or Sunday. We wanted to bring some additional entertainment and focus in on the dinner and show concept.

We have a lot of different concepts going in here, but the ultimate dining experience is what we’re shooting for.”

The experiences will be all over the map, something for everyone, they hope.

“Some of the concepts that we have going in is a murder mystery kind of show. My background is escape rooms,” Bennett said. “So it’s a pretty fluid transition for us.

We’re going to be including comedy shows, magic shows, dueling piano shows, several do it yourself workshop classes, culinary stuff and craft cocktail classes.”

Rosa’s Cantina was established in 1991 by Mike Theising, his wife Rosa and son Mike Jr., promising to serve “only the highest quality authentic Mexican food available for their customers at reasonable prices.” The restaurant closed its doors Sunday, Aug. 25.

There hasn’t been a tenant since

the closing.

Bennett, who recently bought a house in Temecula and owns Brainiacs Escape Room, and Criscione, who lives in Orange County, said Theising came by for a visit to see how the revamp was coming along.

On Friday, workers were installing what appeared to be a covered patio area facing Old Town Front Street and the corner of Main Street.

Work was also being done on the inside, but due to the construction going on, a tour of the place wasn’t possible.

“We want this to be somewhere where people just can go have fun,” Bennett said. “Like if it was date night or hanging out with the kids. Where food is important, but what’s more important to us is just the great experience, great customer service all the way down to our show. We want to treat people like they are family when they start there and then all the way to the entertainment.”

They said they have hired a local

general manager and a local chef to develop the menu.

“We already knew coming into the establishment that there was going to be a lot of the ‘Hey, I miss Rosa’s’ thing,” Criscione said. “We wanted to kind of pay homage to that by integrating the Mexican food into the menu.

“That’s when we hired our chef, and we developed a menu based on that concept,” Bennett said.

“Food that you would normally go to an improv and eat, mixed with Mexican food.”

“Gastro Cantina,” they both said with a laugh.

Admittedly, it’s been quite a process to get the place remodeled since signing the lease on the property. They said they are shooting for an early June opening but given the current situation, they couldn’t exactly say when it would be open.

“It feels like it’s been a week away for the past six months,” Bennett said jokingly.

Jeff Pack can be reached by email at jpack@reedermedia.com.

A construction worker can be seen through the beams as he installs roofing on the covered patio portion of the restaurant on Old Town Front and Main streets in Old Town Temecula.

Pechanga announces target date for reopening Jeff Pack STAFF WRITER

Pechanga Resort Casino announced via social media that the casino resort has a target reopening date of June 1. The casino resort has been closed to the public since March 14.

“We are incredibly excited to announce that our target reopening time frame has been set for June 1, 2020,” according to the post on Facebook. “Our promise has always been and will always be to exceed expectations. Our reopening will be centered around the health and safety of our team members, guests, community and the tribe. Operations and amenities will be limited at first, and our new health and safety protocols will be paramount.”

On April 27, the tribe opened its golf course, Journey at Pechanga, to golfers and reopened the property’s RV resort on a limited basis Tuesday, May 5.

To provide more information on

the planned reopening, the casino resort directed followers to a webpage with more information.

“Nearly two months have passed since we announced the temporary closure of the Pechanga Resort Casino to help fight the spread of COVID-19 and to protect the health and safety of our team members, guests and the tribe,” according to a statement on the link pertaining to the reopening time frame. “Not knowing how long the temporary closure would persist, we chose not to speculate about when the property would reopen until there were clear indicators from the state and local officials that it was practical to begin planning for a target reopening date. We are very excited to announce that time has arrived.

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Valley News/Jeff Pack photo The casino resort has been shut down entirely March 14.

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The statement indicated that there will be many changes in place when guests are invited back into the casino and resort property.

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the casino has purchased touchless and non-invasive temperature checks to place at all entrances to help scan guests for temperatures.

There will also be more hand sanitizing stations and more frequent sanitizing of high touch areas.

Restaurants will be arranged to allow for physical distancing.

The spa and pool will remain closed until the next phase of reopening and the casino resort won’t host any concerts or major events on property in the near term.

“We will be assessing the situation to determine when we might be able to host large public concerts and events,” according to the resort’s statement. “We will keep you informed of more information pertaining to the reopening timeframe as it becomes available. We look forward to welcoming you, our valued guest, back to Pechanga Resort Casino.”

More information can be found at https://www.pechanga.com/ covid.

Jeff Pack can be reached by email at jpack@reedermedia.com.

M ay 1 5 , 2 0 2 0 • www. myvalleynews. com • V alley N ews

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Entertainment

Virtual and 3D tours of the Menifee Valley Historical Association Museum upgraded for viewing Tony Ault STAFF WRITER

Menifee parents seeking both an educational and fun activity for their out-of-school students due to the coronavirus “stay-at-home” order have a new virtual tour they can take of the Menifee Valley Historical Association Museum.

Menifee’s museum itself is closed due to the coronavirus, but little is lost in the virtual visit now available at the museum’s website at https://www.menfeehistory. com/history-museum. The virtual visit is available both by using a cursor to roam around the museum and viewing all the displays or by listening and taking tour of the museum itself narrated by Menifee Mayor Bill Zimmerman or a study of the area’s geology narrated by Bob Kent, museum docent and geologist.

Students by clicking on the “Discover Menifee’s Past” linking the museum on YouTube will not only find the guided tours with worksheets and information guides on things like California wildflowers to photos and infor-

mation about the early days of Menifee and the Valley. Parents can view their children’s finished worksheets to see what they have learned.

The museum website also explores the 12 different historical landmarks found in the city and other areas outside of the Menifee and information about the Indian tribes living in early California.

Museum officials said information on the website is being uploaded each day that will maintain the interest of students and those of all ages interested in Menifee’s history.

The officials invited viewers to “take a picture and share it on our Facebook page.”

The Menifee Museum was opened at 26301 Garbani Road in Menifee in 2016 between Murrieta and Evans Roads next to the Menifee Valley Middle School.

The mission of the Menifee Valley Historical Association that supports the museum is to “identify, preserve and promote the historic legacy of the Menifee Valley.”

The Menifee Valley once extended into parts of Murrieta,

Canyon Lake and Lake Elsinore all linked by old Highway 395.

The museum itself has been closed since COVID-19 was declared a pandemic and the state and Riverside County health agencies sent out a “Stay-at-Home” order closing all schools and nonessential businesses.

Many of the loaned and donated exhibits in the museum were carefully collected and preserved by some of the pioneer families of Menifee and Canyon Lake since 1898.

The museum once it is reopened after the stay-at-home orders are lifted will return to its regular 1-4 p.m. Sunday public openings.

Meanwhile, the museum docents and friends Elinor, Betty, Ina May, Bill, Shirley, Mike and Katie said, “Please take care of yourselves and your neighbors. We look forward to seeing you at the Menifee History Museum when we reopen.”

Information can be found on the museum at https://www.menifeehistory.com or call 951-708-6842.

Tony Ault can be reached by email at tault@reedermedia.com.

enifee alley istorical ssociation is offering virtual tours of its muse um f or those looking f or an ed uca tional and f un act ivity d ue to the st ate of Calif ornia’ s st ay- at- home ord er. V alley N ews/ C ourtesy photo

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Section

SPORTS May 15 – 21, 2020

www.myvalleynews.com

Volume 20, Issue 20

MARTIAL ARTS Local martial arts studio takes viral training videos to a superhero level

Sensei Jose Rodriguez, right, stands with Brandon and Lucas Chung as well as United Studios of Self Defense celebrity superhero trainers during an event before the coronavirus pandemic.

Valley News/Courtesy photos

JP Raineri SPORTS EDITOR

During such a time of uncertainty for small businesses, and with martial arts studios still being deemed nonessential during the slow reopening of California, the United Studios of Self Defense in Temecula is taking their approach to staying open, virtually, to a whole level. USSD Sensei Jose Rodriguez and his staff have brought in some serious help in the form of superheroes to run their virtual classes. From Spider Man, Power Rangers, Kung-Fu Panda, Deadpool and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, families are being treated to “ninja training” during their time at home.

“We use the suits as a way to send a message to kids about selfcontrol, patience, doing the right thing, bully prevention and how to use karate as an activity that helps promote self-discipline and respect,” Rodriguez said. “Since the coronavirus quarantine started, we thought it would be a really fun idea to teach some of our virtual karate classes in the Ninja Turtle suits to put a smile on the faces of our younger students who are struggling with dealing with the quarantine. It has been so rewarding to see how the Ninja Turtle suits can brighten the kids’ days.”

Rodriguez has lived in Temecula his entire life and said he feels very connected to the community.

“I was raised in Temecula and my mom was a small-business owner of a taco shop in Old Town Temecula in the early 90s. I have been a small-business owner in Temecula since 2008, and I currently own two martial arts studios in Temecula and Murrieta,” he said.

The day the government an-

nounced the closure of businesses, everyone at USSD went into creativity mode and designed an entire online training curriculum the same day for their students.

“We now teach all of our karate classes virtually via Zoom, FaceTime and Google Duo,” Rodriguez said. “We offer classes every single weekday Monday-Friday ages 4 to adult.”

With an extremely popular online presence already in place, before the pandemic, students have taken their new style of virtual training seriously. Of course, with

United Studios of Self Defense team members Ashley Wilch, Kristin Osorio and Will Biehl hang with members of the Power Rangers at 2019’s Temecula Greek Festival.

the creative ways Sensei Jose and his staff have come up to keep the communication between students and teacher’s fun, yet instructional, it is no wonder why they are seeing an increase in online interaction from their families.

To help the community during the coronavirus pandemic, USSD started an initiative to help local businesses in the area by offering two free weeks of karate plus a personal one-on-one FaceTime call with one of their special guest superheroes to anyone who shops at a local business and shows them their receipt. USSD is nominating and shouting out 10 new businesses per day on their social media plat-

Sensei Jose Rodriguez and assistant Austin Coutts of the United Studios of Self Defense in Temecula host a karate training demonstration a local school with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

forms for people to support.

“We feel extremely humbled that we are able to impact the lives of our USSD families and community through the magic of the martial arts,” Rodriguez said.

“It is becoming evident that we all need to do our part to encourage the youth in our area to overcome emotional and mental obstacles and to become the best version of themselves during this trying time of quarantine.”

For families who have been negatively impacted by COVID-19 and cannot afford online karate

classes, USSD has started up a YouTube channel called “Karate for Kids.” The videos are free and offer a fun and interactive way for children to learn karate at home and keep them fit and busy during quarantine.

For more information about the United Studios of Self Defense in Temecula, visit their Facebook page. Sensei Jose Rodriguez can be reached by email at ussdtem@ yahoo.com, or by calling 951-7953998.

JP Raineri can be reached by email at sports@reedermedia.com.

Raphael the Ninja Turtle hosts a recent online training session with students of the United Studios of Self Defense in Temecula.

Community pools permitted to operate without virus-related restrictions City News Service SPECIAL TO VALLEY NEWS

With rolling heat waves signaling the onset of summer-like weather, community pools can be used in Riverside County without coronavirus-related restrictions, but health officials posted a set of guidelines that they urged pool operators to observe to lessen COVID-19 exposure risks while swimmers enjoy the water.

The county Department of Environmental Health issued the guide-

lines following complaints during Tuesday’s Riverside County Board of Supervisors meeting about previous limits on water sports, stemming from the county’s local emergency orders. Supervisor Kevin Jeffries pressed health officials to make clarifications about pool gatherings and activities amid intense heat. Most areas of the county are seeing temperatures in the upper 90s recently, with daytime triple digit temps dominating the Coachella Valley and the lower deserts to the east.

“While we are staying in place, we want residents to benefit from as much safe activity outdoors as possible,” board Chairman V. Manuel Perez said. “These guidelines are a sensible way to do that with community swimming pools.”

The Department of Environmental Health said that there are no remaining limits on community pool operators, but they were asked to take the following precautionary steps: stress the need for social distancing, keeping swim-

mers and poolside observers 6 feet apart; decline large pool parties and discourage other gatherings, outside of families from the same household; provide hand sanitizer to guests; keep plenty of soap and paper towels on hand; provide time slots for activity to limit crowding; assign staff members to sanitation details for disinfection of the pool area; limit spa usage to one person or small groups from the same household at a time and post signs urging users to wash their hands regularly, cover their face when

coughing or sneezing and leave the pool immediately if experiencing any symptoms associated with COVID-19, the flu or other illnesses.

The coronavirus pathogen does not migrate in water, officials said, but properly maintained chlorine levels in pools and spas are a must. Additional information is available at http://www.rivcoeh. org/OurServices/PoolsSpasWaterFeatures. The county Emergency Operations Center can be reached at 951-955-5087.

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Valley News • www.myvalleynews.com • May 15, 2020

Sports

CrossCreek Golf Club opens for business JP Raineri SPORTS EDITOR

The CrossCreek Golf Club in Temecula is now open after closing for the last five weeks to help slow the Valley News/Courtesy photo spread of the coronavirus.

The CrossCreek Golf Club in Temecula is back up and running and ready to serve customers. The golf course had been closed to help slow the spread of the coronavirus, but it is now open and thrived during the break in play.

“CrossCreek is in as good of condition as it has ever been,” Dave Garner, general manager of CrossCreek Golf Club, said. “Rated by many in Southern California as one of the top public courses, CrossCreek employees work hard every day to provide our customers with the best service available in any industry, and we are excited to be back at it.”

Players must follow rules laid out by the Riverside County Health Department, under recommendations of the Park and Play program from the National Golf Course Owners Association. The Park and Play program should

give golfers confidence that they can drive to the course, park their cars, get to and around the course and back to the parking lot in as safe an environment as possible.

“We want you to know that CrossCreek takes the safety of our customers and employees very seriously and is doing our part to be a role model to the industry,” Garner said. “With a few appropriate changes, CrossCreek is looking forward to seeing everybody back on the course and enjoying the most beautiful golf course in all of the Temecula Valley.”

All tee times must be made in advance. Tee time intervals will be increased to spread out players on the course. CrossCreek is located at 43860 Glen Meadows Road in Temecula. To find out more visit http://www.crosscreekgolfclub. com or call the golf shop to book tee times at 951-506-3402.

JP Raineri can be reached by email at sports@reedermedia. com.

Great Oak’s Cole Sawires-Yager awarded 2020 CIF ScholarAthlete of the Year scholarship JP Raineri SPORTS EDITOR

The 2020 CIF Scholar-Athletes of the Year were announced recently, and Great Oak High School senior Cole Sawires-Yager was awarded a $1,000 scholarship as a representative of the Southern Section. Sawires-Yager was a dominate fixture in both the cross-country and track and field programs over the last four years at Great Oak. Now he will be taking his talent to the University of California Berkley this fall.

Since 1982, the scholarship award identifies student-athletes who excel in the classroom, athletics and are strong contributors to their schools and communities.

Sawires-Yager, along with 20 other CIF Section winners, was selected from a pool of 374 candidates representing 1,606 CIF member schools and more than 830,000 student-athletes statewide.

“Our CIF scholar-athletes embody the principles of educationbased athletics,” Ron Nocetti, executive director of CIF, said.

“On behalf of the entire CIF family, I congratulate all of our scholar-athletes. They are certainly examples of all that is positive during these challenging times.”

A complete list of winners can be found at http://www.cifstate. org.

JP Raineri can be reached by email at sports@reedermedia. com.

Cole Sawires-Yager, pictured here out in front, a senior at Great Oak High School, was awarded a $1,000 scholarship when the 2020 CIF Scholar-Athletes of the Year were announced recently.

Valley News/Chuck Utash/DyeStat photo

CIF Southern Section high school sports update JP Raineri SPORTS EDITOR

The CIF Southern Section Executive Committee held their final meeting of the school year recently and made recommendations on the action items that will be voted on at their upcoming CIF Southern Section Council meeting Thursday, May 21.

Each year, in collaboration with the executive committee and their staff, the CIF publishes their Southern Section Goals in August for the first executive committee meeting of the year. Then, at the March Executive Committee meeting, which was moved to early May, the commissioner presented the responses to those goals and what has been accomplished the previous years. Those

responses are published online at http://www.cifss.org.

In the middle of March, when the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the initial closures of schools, there were many questions posed regarding summer programs and whether the Summer Dead Period Rule would still be in effect. The answer to that question at that time was “yes” and that same answer remains in place. A couple of weeks later, virtually all member schools closed their doors for the remainder of the school year and included the summer in those closures. Currently, the CIF is not aware of any schools who are planning to reopen their campuses this summer to conduct summer camps, organized team practices, weight room training, summer league competition, summer tour-

naments, etc.

“In this uncertain time, we have no idea on whether those circumstances will change, but if they do, that will be a decision made by the local school/school district/ private school leadership entrusted with that important decision,” Rob Wigod, commissioner of CIF Southern Section, said.

If schools are concerned with the application of the Summer Dead Period Rule this summer, if their campuses are reopened, there is an option that should be considered.

“As the end of the school year approaches, if you have not al-

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mitted to the CIF office in advance of the date that a specific school Summer Dead Period will begin.

“I hope this information is useful to you moving forward and if you have any questions, or I can help you in any way at all, do not hesitate to contact me,” Wigod said. “My staff and I are ready, willing, and able to assist you in any way we possibly can. Thank you very much for your help and support, it is deeply appreciated.

Be well, stay safe, take care and all the best to you and your families.”

JP Raineri can be reached by email at sports@reedermedia. com.

AP source: MLB owners OK plan that could lead to July start Ronald Blum THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Johnny’s Mobile Mechanic

ready done so, begin your 14 consecutive day Summer Dead Period immediately after your last day of school. In that way, you will be fulfilling the requirements of the Summer Dead Period Rule, and if there are opportunities to conduct some form of a summer program later, you will have satisfied that requirement before those activities would start. If you have already submitted your dates for your Summer Dead Period, you may revise those original dates to do what is suggested here,” Wigod said.

All that is required is the revised Summer Dead Period dates be sub-

Major League Baseball owners gave the go-ahead Monday, May 11, to making a proposal to the players’ union that could lead to the coronavirus-delayed season starting around the Fourth of July weekend in ballparks without fans, a plan that envisioned expanding the designated hitter to the National League for 2020.

Spring training could start in early to mid-June, a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because details of the plan were not announced.

MLB officials were slated to make a presentation to the union Tuesday, May 12, after press time.

An agreement with the players’ association is needed, and talks were expected to be difficult – especially over a proposal for a revenue split that would be unprecedented for baseball. Players withstood a 7

1/2-month strike in 1994-1995 to fight off such a plan.

“If you do anything that resembles a cap, that smells like a cap, you’ve given too much,” Dave Stewart, a four-time 20-game winner who is now an agent and spent two years as Arizona’s general manager, said.

“A salary cap has been a nonstarter for the players as long as I’ve been in baseball,” David Samson, president of the Expos and Marlins from 2002-2017, said. “I think when MLB is proposing a revenue split, it is with the full knowledge that the players’ union will automatically reject that.”

Each team would play about 82 regular-season games: against opponents in its own division plus interleague matchups limited to American League East versus National League East, American League Central versus National League Central and American League West versus National League West.

Postseason play would be ex-

panded from 10 clubs to 14 by doubling wild cards in each league to four.

Teams would prefer to play at their regular-season ballparks but would switch to spring training stadiums or neutral sites if medical and government approvals can’t be obtained for games at home.

Toronto might have to play home games in Dunedin, Florida.

“We’ll see where we will be in July,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom said, whose state is the home of five MLB clubs and who has talked with baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred. “We certainly look forward to Major League Baseball and all sports resuming. But again, the question is when and that will be determined on the basis of public health and public safety and the spread of this virus.”

The All-Star Game, scheduled for Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, July 14, likely would be called off.

Medical issues will be at the forefront of talks along with economics.

May 15, 2020 • www.myvalleynews.com • Valley News

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National News

NBC News apologizes for ‘inaccurately’ quoting William Barr David Bauder THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

This combination photo shows Chuck Todd at the 2018 NBCUniversal Upfront in New York May 14, 2018, left, and Attorney General William Barr speaking at the National Religious Broadcasters Convention in Valley News/AP photo Nashville, Tennessee, Feb. 26, 2020.

NBC has apologized for “inaccurately” cutting a portion of an interview with Attorney General William Barr that left a false impression with viewers of “Meet the Press.”

The apology didn’t satisfy President Donald Trump, who tweeted both Sunday, May 10, and Monday, May 11, that “Meet the Press” moderator Chuck Todd should be fired.

The news show was discussing the Justice Department’s decision recently to drop its case against Michael Flynn, the president’s former national security adviser, when Todd played a portion of an

interview that Barr gave Thursday to CBS News.

When Barr was asked by reporter Catherine Herridge what history would say about the decision, Barr replied that “history is written by the winner. So it largely depends on who’s writing the history.”

Todd said that he was struck by the cynicism of that answer.

“It’s a correct answer,” Todd said. “But he’s the attorney general. He didn’t make the case that he was upholding the rule of law.

He was almost admitting that, ‘yeah, this is a political job.’”

However, “Meet the Press” didn’t include Barr’s full answer to Herridge’s question. He went on to say, “But I think a fair history would say that it was a good deci-

sion because it upheld the rule of law. It upheld the standards of the Department of Justice, and it undid what was an injustice.”

In other words, Barr actually said what Todd accused him of not saying.

In apologizing for the mistake, NBC tweeted that it “inadvertently and inaccurately” cut the video.

“Earlier today, we inadvertently and inaccurately cut short a video clip of an interview with AG Barr before offering commentary and analysis. The remaining clip included important remarks from the attorney general that we missed, and we regret the error,” the network said in their tweet.

NBC offered no comment on the president’s tweets.

Elon Musk becomes champion of defying virus stay-home orders Tesla CEO Elon Musk has emerged as a champion of defying stay-home orders intended to stop the coronavirus from spreading, picking up support – as well as critics – on social media.

Among the supporters was President Donald Trump, who Tuesday morning, May 12, tweeted that Tesla’s San Francisco Bay Area factory should be allowed to open despite local health department orders that it stay closed except for minimum basic operations.

“It can be done fast and safely,” the president tweeted, joining many of Musk’s 34 million Twitter followers who back the defiance.

Among Musk’s biggest critics is California Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, who used an expletive to describe the CEO after his threats to relocate his operations to Texas or Nevada. She said the company is disregarding worker safety and bullying public officials.

Tesla’s factory reopened Monday, May 11, with Musk practically daring local authorities to arrest him.

The plant apparently continued operations Tuesday. The company met a Monday deadline to submit a site-specific plan to protect worker safety, which the Alameda County Public Health Department is reviewing, county representative Neetu Balram said.

The restart defied orders from the county health department, which has deemed the factory a nonessential business that can’t fully open under virus restrictions. The department said Monday it warned the company was operating in violation of the county health order and hoped Tesla will “comply without further enforcement measures” until the county approves a site-specific plan required by the state.

“We look forward to reviewing Tesla’s plan and coming to agreement on protocol and a timeline to reopen safely,” according to the

“Musk has been ranting about the stay-home order since the company’s April 29 first quarter earnings were released. He called the restrictions “fascist” and urged governments to stop taking people’s freedom.” statement.

State law allows a fine of up to $1,000 a day or up to 90 days in jail for operating in violation of health orders.

The plant in Fremont, a city of more than 230,000 people south of San Francisco, had been closed since March 23. It employs about 10,000 workers.

Public health experts have credited the stay-home orders with slowing the spread of novel coronavirus, helping hospitals handle an influx of cases. The coronavirus causes mild

UCR researcher: Nothing to fear yet from Asian giant hornets City News Service SPECIAL TO VALLEY NEWS

A University of California Riverside entomologist said that the sightings of Asian giant hornets in Washington state and Vancouver, Canada, in 2019 do not mean that they’re anywhere else in the United States, but that doesn’t mean the species or similar ones won’t settle down somewhere in the country in the future.

Professor Doug Yanega has studied the giant hornets – known in scientific circles as V. mandarinia – and has been watching developments in Nanaimo, on Vancouver Island, as well as the upper reaches of Washington, where the aggressive hornets have been spotted.

Canadian beekeepers sought Yanega’s advice after the hornet’s nest was located and destroyed in Nanaimo. The bugs are notorious for beheading honey bees in their onslaughts, according to published reports.

The 2-inch-long hornets are additionally known for attacks on humans, and according to LiveScience.com, they’re blamed for 50 deaths in Japan every year.

The insects’ curved stingers can inject a potent venom that sets off potentially deadly reactions in people who are allergic.

“There have not been any sight-

or moderate symptoms for most people. But it has killed more than 80,000 people in the U.S., with the death toll rising.

Alameda County was among six San Francisco Bay Area counties that were the first in the nation to impose stay-at-home orders in mid-March.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has repeatedly said that counties can impose restrictions that are more stringent than state orders.

The order in the Bay Area has been extended until the end of the month, but the counties plan to allow some limited business and

ings in 2020 that would suggest the eradication attempt (in Canada) was unsuccessful,” Yanega said.

In Blaine, Washington, two of the giant hornets were spotted, and according to the state’s Department of Agriculture, one of the insects was killed and captured.

But the nest from which the hornets originated was not located, Yanega said, adding that the netted hornet was a genetic mutation of the V. mandarinia species.

“The fact that the second hornet turned out to be genetically different somewhat raises the odds that there could be more of them,” the professor said. “However, right now, all authorities are doing is asking people to keep their eyes peeled in case there were queens that escaped destruction and established their own nests nearby.”

According to University of California Riverside, the hornets that surfaced in Washington were likely among the same ones that briefly formed a colony in Vancouver.

In Southeast Asia, the invasive insects are known to inhabit lowlying mountains.

Authorities suspect the hornets were either deliberately released onto the continent, or arrived like so many other bugs – as stowaways in cargo holds aboard merchant ships.

manufacturing starting May 18, the same day Detroit automakers plan to reopen auto assembly plants. Some auto parts plants were to restart production.

The Detroit automakers’ 150,000 U.S. workers are represented by the United Auto Workers union, which has negotiated for added safety precautions. Tesla’s workers do not have a union.

Musk, whose company has sued Alameda County seeking to overturn its order, threatened to move Tesla’s manufacturing operations and head-

Vehicles are seen parked at the Tesla car plant Monday, May 11, 2020, in Fremont. The parking lot was nearly full at Tesla’s California electric car factory Monday, an indication that the company could be resuming production in defiance of an order from county health authorities.

AP photo/Ben Margot photo

quarters from the state.

Tesla contended in the lawsuit that Alameda County can’t be more restrictive than orders from Newsom. The lawsuit said the governor’s coronavirus restrictions refer to federal guidelines classifying vehicle manufacturing as essential businesses that are allowed to continue operating.

No agency appeared ready to enforce the order against Tesla.

County sheriff’s Sgt. Ray Kelly said any enforcement would come from Fremont police. Geneva Bosques, Fremont police representative, said officers would take action at the direction of the county health officer.

County Supervisor Scott Haggerty, who represents Fremont, said he’s been working on the issue for weeks trying to find a way for Tesla to reopen in a way that satisfies the health officer. He said officials were moving toward allowing Tesla to re-

start May 18, but he suspected Musk wanted to restart stamping operations to make body parts needed to resume assembling electric vehicles.

Tesla has a plan to maintain worker safety, including the wearing of gloves and masks, installing barriers between workers and maintaining social distancing. Haggerty said the company initially pushed back on checking employee temperatures before boarding a company bus to get to work. But Tesla relented, he said, and agreed to check workers.

Musk has been ranting about the stay-home order since the company’s April 29 first quarter earnings were released. He called the restrictions “fascist” and urged governments to stop taking people’s freedom.

Krisher reported from Detroit. AP reporters Janie Har and Juliet Williams in San Francisco and Kathleen Ronayne in Sacramento contributed to this report.

Crossword puzzle by Myles Mellor 67. UFO crew 68. Jacob’s twin

Across 1. Robust 5. “Blazing Saddles” director 8. North American fish 12. Sumatra ape 14. Mani’s mate 15. River floaty 16. Paul’s ex 17. Spanish cordial 18. “Regrets, I’ve had ___” (“My Way” lyric) 19. A film and an Italian opera 22. Abbr. in many org. names 23. Starfleet Academy grad.

24. Actress Diana 27. Forceful 30. “Told ya!”

33. Hollywood’s Hathaway 34. Nonplussed

NEWS for your city

35. Put ___ show 36. Sci-fi film set 41. Slip 42. “The jig ___!”

43. Massenet opera 44. Sonora’s sun 45. ___ algebra 48. Reporter’s query 49. Play division 50. Keg stopper 52. Fab Four film 60. Falco of TV 61. Or __!

62. Lifeboat support 63. ___ platter (Polynesian menu choice) 64. Fibrous 65. Competent 66. Ewan McGregor, for one

Down 1. Baggins portrayer in “The Lord of the Rings” 2. “Tosca” tune 3. Close, a contract for example 4. Risk 5. The dishes served 6. Copyread 7. What every good HR is 8. Constellation elements 9. Angry state 10. Biblical shepherd 11. Moist, as a morning lawn 13. Vasco da ___ 14. Artist Picasso 20. Catchall abbr.

21. Call for 24. Wipes the slate clean 25. Lead-in 26. Knot 28. Canadian peninsula 29. New York time (abbr.)

30. Moonshine 31. Dickinson or Harmon 32. He wrote ‘The Seasons’ 37. Roger follower 38. So to speak 39. Score 40. He made “The Saint” 46. Religious building 47. Sugar cane/molasses liquor 49. Certain Alaskan 51. Zippo 52. Slangy assents 53. Part of N.E.A., abbr.

54. Cosmetic surgery, for short 55. Token taker 56. Ben Franklin’s baby 57. Burl of stage and song 58. Malay palm 59. Words to Brutus

myvalleynews.com

Answers on page C-4

Tom Krisher THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

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Valley News • www.myvalleynews.com • May 15, 2020

National News Flynn was set up by FBI, documents indicate Petr Svab THE EPOCH TIMES

The belief that Lt. Gen Michael Flynn was set up by the FBI has been backed up by a string of evidence in documents released by the Department of Justice.

Flynn, former head of the Defense Intelligence Agency and former national security adviser to President Donald Trump, pleaded guilty in 2017 to one count of lying to the FBI. On May 7, however, the DOJ dropped the case against him, saying that when the FBI interviewed Flynn Jan. 24, 2017, the investigation into him was “no longer justifiably predicated” and “seems to have been undertaken only to elicit those very false statements and thereby criminalize Mr. Flynn.”

The motion to dismiss the case was accompanied by more than a dozen documents substantiating the decision.

The FBI opened a counterintelligence case on Flynn Aug. 16, 2016. The stated reason was public information that Flynn was an adviser to Trump, had “ties” to some entities “affiliated” with Russia and visited Russia the year before.

After four months of investigating, the FBI couldn’t find any “derogatory” information on Flynn.

On Jan. 4, 2017, William Barnett, one of the agents managing the Flynn case, drafted a document to close the case, saying there were no more investigative leads to follow.

That afternoon, the former head of FBI counterintelligence operations, Peter Strzok, reached out to Flynn’s case manager, urging him to keep the case open.

The documents indicate the case manager was likely Barnett.

Former FBI Director James Comey later said in a meeting with lawmakers that he authorized the closing of the Flynn case, but that it was kept open because the bureau learned about Flynn’s calls with former Russian Ambassador to the United States Sergey Kislyak.

“I think I had authorized it to be closed at the … end of December, beginning of January.

And we kept it open once we became aware of these communications,” Comey told the House Intelligence Committee March 2, 2017. “There were additional steps the investigators wanted to consider.”

But what steps?

Flynn’s calls coincided with new sanctions imposed on Russia by former President Barack Obama in late December 2016.

Flynn’s lawyers were never given the transcripts of the calls, but the DOJ said he requested from Kislyak “that Russia avoid ‘escalating’ tensions in response to” the sanctions. Russia responded by holding off on its retaliation for several months.

The morning of Jan. 4, 2017, Lisa Page, special counsel to former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe and Strzok’s mistress, sent an email to former FBI General Counsel James Baker.

“Code section at question,” the email’s subject read, with “18 USC 953” in the body.

The number refers to the Logan Act, a 1799 law that prohibits Americans from conducting

In this Monday, June 24, 2019, file photo, Michael Flynn, President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser, departs a federal courthouse after a hearing in Washington. Trump said Sunday, March 15, 2020, that he is considering a full pardon for Flynn, who had pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about dealings with Russia’s ambassador before Trump took office.

AP photo/Patrick Semansky, file photo

diplomacy on their own with countries that the United States has a dispute with.

Less than 10 minutes later, Strzok emailed Page the text of the statute – writing “because I am awesome” – and attached a 2015 document about Logan Act from the Congressional Research Service.

“All the legislative history they cite does not involve incoming administrations,” he said in the email, quoting from the document that “viability” of the statute may involve “constitutional issues, such as freedom of speech and right to travel.”

“You are awesome. Thank you,” Page replied, and a few hours later sent the text of the statute to McCabe without any mention of the constitutional issues.

In the afternoon, Strzok texted another FBI staffer about the need to keep the Flynn case open.

“We need to decide what to do with him w/r/t (with regards to) the (redacted),” he said.

The “seventh floor (was) involved,” he said by text, referring to the FBI top leadership.

But there seemed to be no appetite at the DOJ to pursue a Logan Act violation. No one has ever been convicted of breaking the law, and only two people were ever charged, the last one in 1852.

Mary McCord, former head of the DOJ’s National Security Division, said she was not thinking about a criminal investigation at the time, according to a report from her July 17, 2017, interview with the FBI and the Special Counsel office.

“It seemed logical to her that there may be some communications between an incoming administration and their foreign partners, so the Logan Act seemed like a stretch to her,” according to the report from the interview.

“The feeling among NSD attorneys was Flynn’s behavior was a technical violation of the Logan Act, but they were not sure this would have a lot of jury appeal, or if pursuing it would be a good use of the power of the Justice Department,” according to an Aug.15, 2017, FBI report from an interview with former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates.

“Yates had the impression the FBI was more eager to pursue prosecution initially,” according to the report.

McCord did call the Kislyak calls “concerning” and Yates labeled them “problematic.” Yet

Crossword answers for puzzle on page C-3

neither of them clearly explained what was “concerning” or “problematic” about them.

“Indeed, Mr. Flynn’s request that Russia avoid ‘escalating’ tensions in response to U.S. sanctions in an effort to mollify geopolitical tensions was consistent with him advocating for, not against, the interests of the United States,” Timothy Shea, interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, in the motion to dismiss the Flynn case, said.

In any event, with no Logan Act charge incoming, the Flynn case seemed dead in the water.

But it still wasn’t closed. Nobody seems to have provided a good explanation why.

“Nothing, to my mind, happens until the 13th of January,” Comey told the House committee.

‘Flood is coming’ In fact, the week after the scramble to keep the Flynn probe open was one of the most consequential in American history, with national repercussions rippling out for years to come.

The FBI, and Comey in particular, played a central role.

On Jan. 6, 2017, Trump was briefed by the former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper as well as the heads of the FBI, National Security Agency and CIA on their “assessment” that Russia meddled in the election. They also said the Kremlin favored Trump in their influence campaign, though the NSA partially dissented from that assessment.

A declassified version of the report was released the same day, “a virtually unheard-of, real-time revelation by the American intelligence agencies that undermined the legitimacy of the president who is about to direct them,” according to The New York Times.

As an annex to the assessment was attached a two-page summary of the Steele dossier, a collection of unsubstantiated claims about supposed Trump-Russia collusion.

The dossier was supposedly written by Christopher Steele, a former British spy. He was paid through intermediaries by the Democratic National Committee and the campaign of former State Secretary Hillary Clinton. Both Steele and his employers had for months peddled the dossier to the media, the FBI, the State Department, the DOJ and Congress.

Right after the Jan. 6 meeting, Comey privately briefed Trump on the most salacious allegation from the dossier. He didn’t give him the summary.

“I said there was something that Clapper wanted me to speak to PE (President-elect) about alone or in a very small group,” Comey said about the meeting in an email Jan. 7, 2017, to senior FBI leadership, according to a May 21, 2018, release by Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

“I then executed the session exactly as I had planned,” Comey said, adding, “I said media like CNN had them (the dossier content) and were looking for a news hook.”

As it seems, the FBI was aware that information about the Trump-Comey briefing was in fact the hook CNN would use.

“Flood is coming,” McCabe said Jan. 8, 2017, in the subject of an email to senior FBI leadership.

“CNN is close to going forward with the sensitive story. … The trigger for them (CNN) is they know the material was discussed in the brief and presented in an

attachment,” he said in the email.

Less than an hour later, McCabe emailed Yates and thenPrincipal Deputy Attorney General Matthew Axelrod with the subject line “News.”

“Just an FYI, and as expected, it seems CNN is close to running a story about the sensitive reporting,” he said.

On Jan. 10, 2017, Strzok wrote to other senior FBI officials, “Per Rich, CNN to publish C material today between 4 and 5.”

That afternoon, CCN ran a story saying (incorrectly) that Trump was presented with a “two-page synopsis” of the dossier during the Jan. 6 briefing.

Shortly after, BuzzFeed released one of the versions of the dossier itself.

Within hours, the collusion narrative was imprinted on much of the nation’s psyche. More leaks were coming that would build on that foundation.

On Jan. 12, 2017, The Washington Post’s David Ignatius published a column where he said a “senior U.S. government official” told him that Flynn called Kislyak multiple times Jan. 29, 2016. Ignatius suggested that if Flynn talked about the Russia sanctions, he may have violated the “spirit” of the Logan Act. Other media followed with their own stories, repeating the Logan Act narrative.

Under the enormous pressure to distance themselves from anything Russia-related, several Trump team members, including the incoming Vice President Mike Pence, questioned Flynn about the calls. Flynn said he didn’t talk about sanctions and that’s what the team told the media.

The calls “had nothing whatsoever to do with the sanctions,” Pence told CBS News Jan. 15, 2017, in an interview the network almost wholly dedicated to questions about Russia.

With this denial, the FBI effectively had Flynn trapped. The officials knew that Pence, a man known for closely guarding his reputation, told a lie on national television and that Flynn was responsible.

Yates and some others from the intelligence community wanted to inform the Trump team of Flynn’s predicament, she said.

Her take was that the lie made Flynn “compromised” because the Russians would know he lied.

It would have possibly led to Flynn’s firing, but the outcome was uncertain. After all, Trump held Flynn in high regard.

Comey seemed aware that the “compromise” angle was weak.

It was “possible,” he testified, that the lie made Flynn blackmailable, but “that struck me as a bit of a reach, though, honestly,” he said.

Comey blocked the idea of informing the White House.

The Kislyak transcripts were the FBI’s information and he had the last word on who gets it, Yates said.

Instead, Comey had a more ambitious plan – to have Flynn interviewed by his agents.

“For some reason (Flynn) hasn’t been candid with the Vice President about this,” Comey explained the need for the interview. “My judgment was we could not close the investigation of Mr. Flynn without asking him what is the deal here. That was the purpose.”

Yet, if the bureau really wanted to know why Flynn may have lied to Pence, it took step after step that seemed to defeat that purpose.

The officials didn’t plan at all to confront Flynn about what he told Pence. They instead went to great lengths to cast the interview as a friendly chat between fellow government officials. If Flynn was to say something they knew wasn’t true, the agents would ask again, slipping in some words from the call transcripts, Strzok later told the FBI and the Special Counsel office. If Flynn didn’t catch on, they wouldn’t press again. They were not to confront Flynn about any discrepancies directly or show him the transcripts.

This approach didn’t sit well with Bill Priestap, former FBI head of counterintelligence.

“What’s our goal? Truth/Admission or to – get him to lie, so we can prosecute him or get him fired?” he said in his notes dated Jan. 24, 2017, arguing the team should “rethink” its approach.

“We regularly show subjects evidence. With the goal of getting them to admit their wrongdoing,” he said. “I don’t see how getting someone to admit their wrongdoing is going easy on him.”

The bureau was risking its reputation, he said.

“If we’re seen as playing games, WH (White House) will be furious. Protect our institution by not playing games,” he said in his notes.

His concerns were dismissed.

What’s more, Comey went forward with the interview without consulting or even informing the DOJ, which later angered Yates, she said.

When McCabe called Flynn Jan. 24, 2017, to set up the interview, Flynn readily agreed to have the agents over for a talk about the Kislyak calls. He said that the FBI probably already knew what was said anyway.

“You listen to everything they (Russian representatives) say,” Flynn said, according to McCabe’s notes from that day.

McCabe said he told Flynn he wanted the interview done “as quickly, quietly and discretely as possible.” If Flynn wanted anybody to sit in, such as one of the White House lawyers, the DOJ would have to be involved, McCabe told him.

It was some “egregious” behavior, according to Marc Ruskin, a 27-year FBI veteran and Epoch Times contributor.

“To affirmatively go ahead and say that you don’t need to have an attorney present really goes beyond the bounds of anything that most agents in the past would have considered an acceptable behavior,” he said in a phone call.

Still, Flynn agreed to talk to the agents alone.

About two hours later, Strzok and Supervisory Special Agent Joe Pientka showed up at the West Wing of the White House for the interview.

Flynn was “relaxed and jocular” with the agents, “unguarded” during the interview and “clearly saw the FBI agents as allies,” Strzok later said.

As part of the rather sprawling interview, Flynn denied talking to Kislyak about sanctions. The agents asked again: Did he ask for Russia to not engage in “titfor-tat?”

He seemed less sure.

“Not really. I don’t remember.

It wasn’t, ‘Don’t do anything,’” he said, according to the agents’ report from the interview and their notes.

Flynn said in a Jan. 29 declaration to court he still doesn’t remember talking to Kislyak about sanctions.

“I told the agents that tit-for-tat is a phrase I use, which suggests that the topic of sanctions could have been raised,” he said.

The FBI and the DOJ seemed none the wiser after the interview.

The agents came back with the impression “that Flynn was not lying or did not think he was lying,” Strzok said.

“Do you believe that Mr. Flynn lied?” Rep. Jackie Speier, DCalif., asked Comey during the committee meeting.

“I don’t know. I think there is an argument to be made that he lied. It is a close one,” he replied.

DOJ prosecutors were skeptical that Flynn just didn’t remember, according to Yates. They asked the FBI if it wanted to interview Flynn again – a common practice in cases where it seems the interviewee lacked candor.

But the FBI not only didn’t want another interview, but Yates “recalled them being pretty emphatic about it,” the report from her interview said. She said she didn’t know why.

Despite previously insisting on the opposite, Comey was suddenly all for informing the White House of Flynn’s situation.

He “said it was a great idea” for Yates to talk to the White House counsel, “and agreed a ‘lawyer to lawyer’ talk made sense,” according to Yates.

Ya t e s a n d M c C o r d m e t with Don McGahn, former White House counsel, and his associate Jan. 26, 2017. They told them that Flynn lied to Pence and that the FBI interviewed him in the White House two days before.

McCord described McGahn as “shocked” by the news. Flynn was fired two weeks later.

Reprinted with permission of The Epoch Times.

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May 15, 2020 • www.myvalleynews.com • Valley News

Bulging deficits may threaten prized Pentagon arms projects Robert Burns THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

The government’s $3 trillion effort to rescue the economy from the coronavirus crisis is stirring worry at the Pentagon. Bulging federal deficits may force a reversal of years of big defense spending gains and threaten prized projects like the rebuilding of the nation’s arsenal of nuclear weapons.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper said the sudden burst of deficit spending to prop up a damaged economy is bringing the Pentagon closer to a point where it will have to shed older weapons faster and tighten its belt.

“It has accelerated this day of reckoning,” Esper said in an interview with The Associated Press.

It also sets up confrontations with Congress over how that reckoning will be achieved. Past efforts to eliminate older weapons and to make other cost-saving moves like closing underused military bases met resistance. Since it is a presidential election year, much of this struggle may slip to 2021.

If presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden wins, the pace of defense cuts could speed up, if he follows the traditional Democratic path to put less emphasis on defense buildups.

After Congress passed four programs to sustain the economy through the virus shock, the budget deficit – the gap between what the government spends and what it collects in taxes – will hit a record $3.7 trillion this year, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

By the time the budget year ends in September, the government’s debt – its accumulated annual deficits – will equal 101% of the U.S. gross domestic product.

Rep. Ken Calvert of California, the ranking Republican on the

In this March 18, 2020, file photo, Defense Secretary Mark Esper speaks as President Donald Trump listens during press briefing with the coronavirus task force, at the White House in Washington.

The government’s $3 trillion effort to rescue the economy from the coronavirus crisis is stirring worry at the Pentagon. Bulging federal deficits may force a reversal of years of big defense spending gains and threaten prized projects like the rebuilding of the nation’s arsenal of nuclear weapons. Esper says the sudden burst of emergency spending to prop up a stalled economy is bringing the Pentagon closer to a point where it will have to shed older weapons faster and tighten its belt.

AP photo/Evan Vucci, file photo

House Appropriations defense subcommittee, said defense budgets were strained even before this year’s unplanned burst of deficit spending.

“There’s no question that budgetary pressure will only increase now for all segments of our federal budget, including defense,” Calvert said.

For military leaders, the money crunch poses an economic threat that could undermine what they see as spending crucial to U.S. security.

One prominent example is the Trump administration’s plan – inherited from the Obama administration – to pour hundreds of billions of dollars into replacing every major element of the nuclear weapons complex, from some of the warheads designed and built

by the Energy Department to the bombers, submarines and landbased missiles that would deliver the warheads in combat.

Until now there has been a consensus in Congress supporting this nuclear modernization program, which includes replacing the aged communications systems that command and control nuclear weapons. Some House Democrats sought last year to block funding for the next-generation intercontinental ballistic missile, to replace the Minuteman 3, but they gave in and the project survived.

Nuclear modernization is a fat target for budget cutters. Mackenzie Eaglen, a defense specialist at the American Enterprise Institute, foresees the possibility of calls by some in Congress to reduce the planned fleet of Columbia-class

nuclear ballistic missile submarines from 12 to perhaps nine. The Navy has estimated the total cost of this program at about $110 billion, with each boat costing $6.6 billion.

The Navy several years ago accepted a two-year delay in the Columbia program, and according to a Congressional Research Service report in April, the first sub is now scheduled to enter service in 2031 and the number of subs in the fleet will drop to 10 for most of the 2030s as the current fleet of Ohio-class subs is retired.

Esper said nuclear modernization, at a price approaching $1 trillion, is too important to put off, even in an economic crisis.

“We’re not going to risk the strategic deterrent,” he told a Pentagon news conference May 5, referring to the overall nuclear arsenal, whose stated purpose is to deter a nuclear attack on the U.S. or its allies. “My inclination is not to risk any of the modernization programs. It’s to go back and pull out more of the legacy programs.”

But others, including supporters of nuclear modernization, said it’s an obvious target for reductions.

The Congressional Budget Office estimated the first 10 years of the modernization plan will cost nearly $500 billion, and that over a 30-year span the total would hit $1.2 trillion, including the cost of sustaining the current force.

In all, the administration’s proposed nuclear weapons budget for 2021 would approach $46 billion.

“There’s going to be a temptation to cut crucial programs like this because of the trillions and trillions of dollars that are being borrowed for the coronavirus stimulus,” Fred Fleitz, president of the Center for Security Policy, said. He said he supports fully rebuilding the nuclear weapons complex.

If Esper succeeds in shielding nuclear modernization, he likely will have to overcome obstacles to accelerating the elimination of older weapons programs, all of which have political constituencies.

Even the oldest of the Air Force’s aircraft have their strong defenders on Capitol Hill. For example, Sen. Martha McSally, an Arizona Republican and former Air Force pilot, has already reminded Air Force leaders she will fight reductions in A-10 Warthog planes. She said the Pentagon’s 2021 budget proposal would “prematurely phase out” 44 of those planes, which are used for supporting ground troops and first entered service in the 1970s.

Among other candidates for a faster phasing out or retirement are the B-1 non-nuclear bomber and the Air Force’s MQ-9 Reaper attack drone. The Reaper is vulnerable to modern air defenses. Other candidates are the Army’s Bradley Fighting Vehicle, which may give way to a new-generation combat vehicle, and some older Navy warships.

In the face of these pressures, many in Congress are already brushing off the idea that the coronavirus crisis should force a spending slowdown. Sen. Roger Wicker, a Mississippi Republican whose state is home to a major shipbuilding facility at Pascagoula, advocated for a $20 billion boost to the Pentagon budget.

“In terms of the $3 trillion we’ve spent on our economy, it strikes me it’s a relative bargain to try to come up with $20 billion, only $20 billion, to get us back where we need to be where the top military leaders in our country tell us will keep us safe,” Wicker said at a hearing recently.

Pelosi unveils $3T coronavirus aid package for Friday vote

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill, Thursday, May 7, 2020, in Washington.

AP photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta photo

Lisa Mascaro THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi unveiled a more than $3 trillion coronavirus aid package Tuesday, May 12, encouraging Congress to “go big” with aid to cash-strapped states and struggling Americans.

The Heroes Act provides nearly $1 trillion for states, cities and tribal governments to avert layoffs and another $200 billion in “hazard pay” for essential workers, according a summary. It will offer $1,200 direct cash aid to individuals, up to $6,000 per household.

There is $75 billion more for virus testing.

A vote is expected Friday, May 15.

Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said Tuesday it appears the sweeping Democratic-led bill “will be ready” to call lawmakers back to Washington for the vote.

“This is an unprecedented time in our history,” Hoyer said about the virus outbreak and economic shutdown. He said Congress needs to act in “unprecedented ways.”

But the legislation is heading straight into a Senate roadblock.

Senate Republicans are not planning to vote on any new relief until June, after a Memorial Day recess.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said there is no “urgency” to act.

The new package, the fifth since March, is expected to carry another eye-popping price tag. President Donald Trump has signed into law

nearly $3 trillion in aid approved

by Congress.

Its centerpiece is likely to be money to states and cities that are struggling to avoid layoffs in the face of skyrocketing health care costs and plummeting tax receipts during the economic shutdown.

There will money for virus testing and another round of direct cash payments and unemployment benefits for Americans, Pelosi said.

She has not disclosed the cost.

As states weigh the health risks of reopening, McConnell said the nation needs to “regroup and find a more sustainable middle ground between total lockdown and total normalcy.”

The Republican leader on Tuesday called the emerging Democratic bill a “big laundry list of pet priorities.”

On a conference call with House colleagues Monday, Pelosi urged Democrats to “go big,” according to person unauthorized to discuss the private caucus call and granted anonymity.

“To those who would suggest a pause, I would say the hunger doesn’t take a pause, the rent doesn’t take a pause,” Pelosi said late Monday on MSNBC. “We have a big need. It’s monumental.”

One provision holding up the package is how best to funnel direct cash to households. A proposal from Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., a co-chair of the Progressive Caucus, could be crucial to winning votes from the more liberal lawmakers. It would provide three-months of guaranteed

paychecks for those making less than $100,000 a year.

Hoyer said the Jayapal proposal remains “under consideration.”

With the Capitol still partly closed, Hoyer, D-Md., told lawmakers on the call there would be 72-hour notice before returning to Washington for the vote, which could come Friday, the person said.

But Senate Republicans are in no rush to spend what could be trillions more on aid.

“I don’t think we have yet felt the urgency of acting immediately,” McConnell told reporters Monday at the Capitol.

McConnell said he has been in close contact with the White House, assessing the aid Congress has already approved in response to the virus outbreak and next steps.

Trump was expected to meet Tuesday, after press time, with a group of Senate Republicans.

“If we decide to go forward, we’ll go forward together,” McConnell said.

His priority is to ensure any new package includes liability protections for health care providers and businesses that are reopening.

Senate Republicans are not expected to act on any further aid until after the Memorial Day recess, according to a senior Republican aide unauthorized to discuss the planning and granted anonymity.

The Senate is set to recess at the end of next week for a previously scheduled break, with senators scheduled to return June 1.

The Senate recently reopened its side of the Capitol while the House remains largely shuttered due the health concerns.

Senators have been in session, voting on Trump’s nominees for judicial and executive branch positions and other issues. The Senate majority, the 53-member Senate Republican conference, is meeting for its regular luncheons most days, including Tuesday, spread out three to a table for social distance. Democrats are convening by phone. Many senators, but not all, are wearing masks.

At least a dozen Capitol police officers and other staff have tested positive for the virus, and at least one senator, Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, is in isolation at home after exposure from a staff member who tested positive. Other lawmakers have cycled in and out of quarantine.

From home, Alexander, the chairman of the Senate Health Committee, convened a highprofile hearing Tuesday with Dr. Anthony Fauci and others on the virus.

Alexander told colleagues that ensuring adequate testing will the key to reopening the economy and schools.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer warned that if Trump and congressional Republicans “slow walk” more aid they will be repeating President Herbert Hoover’s “tepid” response to the Great Depression.

“It should be big, and it should be bold,” Schumer said Monday.

Board moves forward with study of eviction moratorium tied to COVID-19 City News Service SPECIAL TO VALLEY NEWS

Riverside County Board of Supervisors directed staff to research possible implementation of an eviction moratorium in unincorporated areas during its May 5 meeting.

Chairman V. Manuel Perez proposed criteria that the county might adopt to relieve renters from immediately meeting obligations to landlords when the statewide emergency comes to an end.

Several cities in Riverside County, including Palm Springs and Riverside, have put moratoriums in place.

“The loss of wages caused by the effects of COVID-19 impacts a tenant’s ability to pay rent when due, leaving tenants vulnerable to eviction and homelessness,” Perez said in documents posted to the board’s agenda. “Workers who experience a loss of income as a result of illness, layoffs, reduced hours or the need to

care for a sick or otherwise dependent family member are more likely to be unable to stay current on rent payments.”

Perez expressed concern that displaced tenants will further saddle the county with people in need of subsidized housing. He said that the county’s Housing Authority is already loaded with a waiting list of 90,000 applicants for housing assistance.

“More than 800 families currently have a voucher and are unable to find a landlord who will take it,” he said.

Gov. Gavin Newsom issued two executive orders in March establishing limits on how evictions can be carried out amid the coronavirus state of emergency, but the orders left unaddressed how some procedures should be handled, leaving counties and cities with the discretion to set rules.

In a March 16 order, Newsom directed that if a tenant’s failure to pay rent is due to a substantial loss of in-

come directly related to illness or the government’s mitigation measures – specifically, Newsom’s stay-at-home order – evictions cannot proceed until at least May 31, when the executive order expires. However, lessees must show documentation proving need.

Newsom’s action coincided with a Riverside County Superior Court administrative order March 16, declaring that all unlawful detainer hearings – eviction proceedings – would be postponed 60 days.

Newsom followed up with an order March 27, extending a tenant’s time to respond to an eviction lawsuit from five to 65 days.

However, certain conditions apply, including documentation indicating that the reason for failing to pay rent stemmed from being sick, out of work because of the emergency or taking care of a child unable to attend school because it was shut down under a local emergency order.

That executive order expires May

31, as well, and it makes no provision for how and when a tenant is obligated to pay overdue rent.

The California Judicial Council implemented procedures that further relax eviction requirements imposed on renters in default, banning automatic judgments against them because they fail to appear in court to defend against a landlord’s suit during the statewide emergency.

Similar protections are available to homeowners who are at risk of foreclosure.

The coronavirus relief bill, signed into law by President Donald Trump in late March, prohibits foreclosure proceedings on any federally backed mortgages until May 18, and borrowers can seek forbearance for up to 12 months.

Perez is seeking the board’s agreement to begin drafting a county moratorium that would incorporate some or all of the following criteria: establishing a timeline for when ten-

ants are expected to pay part or all of their rent after Newsom’s emergency orders expire; providing guidelines for the potential payment of back-due rent over time: setting guidelines for when or whether a landlord is eligible to seek interest or late fees on overdue rent and specifying potential limits on no-fault evictions – or when a tenant is current on rent, but the property owner still wants him out – during and immediately after the coronavirus crisis.

Supervisor Kevin Jeffries asked, and the board agreed, to remove commercial properties from the Executive Office study, which is expected to be returned to the board in the next 60 days.

Jeffries, a property owner who has disqualified himself from board actions because of potential conflicts, said he envisioned a number of “downsides” to the prospective county moratorium but welcomed the study.

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Valley News • www.myvalleynews.com • May 15, 2020

Opinion Editor’s Note: Opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of the Valley News staff. We invite opinions on all sides of an issue. If you have an opinion, please send it as an e-mail to valleyeditor@reedermedia.com, or fax us at (760) 723-9606.

Maximum word count 500. All letters must include the author’s name, address and phone number. The Valley News reserves the right to edit letters as necessary to fit the publication’s format.

Open California

Assemblymember Marie Waldron SPECIAL TO VALLEY NEWS

We all miss going out to eat, seeing our family dentist and sporting events. Small businesses have taken a huge hit, and we must ensure they recover. The governor just released Phase 2 reopening, based on successes with social distancing and smoothing the curve.

California’s economy should reopen quickly. By using social distancing and other protections, most businesses can reopen while keeping customers safe. As a

Letter to the Editor

member of the Joint Task Force on Business and Jobs Recovery, I’ll be working on initiatives to help restore California’s economy. First of all, the state should Improve its small business loan program to provide forgivable loans to businesses that cover payroll, rent, health insurance premiums and other costs. Secondly, we need to provide unemployment insurance relief for small businesses.

The huge spike in unemployment insurance applications will also increase these taxes paid by businesses. California businesses have already lost billions – they shouldn’t be penalized because the government ordered them to shut down and lay off workers.

Many businesses took advantage of federal Paycheck Protection Program loans, which provide forgivable loans to small businesses under certain conditions.

Under federal law, the loans are not taxable, but under California law, they are. Those loans should be exempt from state income taxes.

We also need to take action to suspend enforcement of new rules and regulations if they are unrelated to COVID-19 and don’t impact health and safety. Other initiatives would shield businesses from lawsuits over COVID-19 exposure, including essential businesses that remained open, along with removing hiring barriers by suspending Assembly Bill 5.

This unprecedented emergency will have long lasting repercussions. But now it’s time to focus on recovery. If you’d like to share your thoughts about the pandemic, please visit my website to take a short survey at http://www. ad75.asmrc.org.

Assembly Republican Leader Marie Waldron, R-Escondido, represents the 75th Assembly District in the California Legislature, which includes the communities of Bonsall, Escondido, Fallbrook, Hidden Meadows, Pala, Palomar Mountain, Pauma Valley, Rainbow, San Marcos, Temecula, Valley Center and Vista.

To the editor, In 2017, my grandmother suffered a stroke that left her completely paralyzed on the left side of her body. As time has progressed, she has been confined to her bed, where she is dependent on oxygen tanks and feeding tubes. My grandmother is one of the many immunocompromised people who are the most susceptible to COVID-19.

As the cases of COVID-19 continue to spike around the world, it is imperative that we find a solution to protecting the public health and safety of our communities. We are calling on Adm. Brett Giroir, M.D., the 16th assistant secretary for health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, to establish a coordinated plan in which the number tests and testing services increase, so that the spread of the virus can be monitored and treated in a timely manner. We’ll need to

be able to test everyone who has been exposed and test for antibodies to know who has already had COVID-19, and we will need a national, coordinated network that can conduct monitoring of confirmed cases and those they have been in contact with.

I am a student at the University of California San Diego and an intern with California Public Interest Research Group Students. We have gathered more than 1,000 petitions from the Student PIRGs statewide on this campaign, and now we know that getting there will take a massive push working with health professionals, states and federal agencies. We as an organization urge that a revamped plan for testing is formed, so that individuals like my grandmother are better protected and so civic life can be resumed soon.

Edric Gagui

WHO official: Sweden’s policy of individual responsibility ‘a model’ for the rest of world John Miltimore SPECIAL TO VALLEY NEWS

The World Health Organization praised Sweden as a potential “model” for battling the COVID-19 virus sweeping nations around the world recently.

Sweden, unlike most other nations, has avoided the hardline approach to the novel coronavirus pandemic that has resulted in mass economic shutdowns and vast unemployment. Bars, restaurants, libraries, public pools and most schools remain open in the nation of 10 million, which has drawn fire from critics skeptical of the state’s “laissez-faire” approach.

On Wednesday, however, the WHO’s top emergencies expert said Sweden’s social distancing policies are often misunderstood.

“I think there’s a perception out that Sweden has not put in control measures and just has allowed the disease to spread,” Dr. Mike Ryan told reporters. “Nothing can be further from the truth.”

Ryan said the biggest difference between Sweden and most nations is that the Swedes are encouraging voluntary participation with its citizens while focusing government resources on at-risk populations.

“What it has done differently is it has very much relied on its relationship with its citizenry and the ability and willingness of its citizens

to implement self-distancing and self-regulate,” Ryan said. “In that sense, they have implemented public policy through that partnership with the population.”

Partnership is the key word. Sweden isn’t simply issuing sweeping orders and fining or arresting those who disobey. Instead, Swedish leaders are seeking to work in cooperation with its citizenry. They are giving them information and asking them to behave responsibly.

As my colleague Dan Sanchez pointed out, this approach once was part of the fiber of the American system.

“Measures based on individual responsibility used to be part of the American model, too, as codified in the Bill of Rights. Yet we have developed a culture of reflexively giving up that responsibility and those rights whenever we get scared: of terrorists, of economic hardship, of a virus,” Sanchez said.

Many seem to believe that voluntary actions are somehow less effective than government dictates, but this position is simply not true.

Human cooperation and voluntary action are essential ingredients to a vibrant, prosperous culture.

“The hallmark of civil society is cooperation, which is what we should all be thinking about at times like these. The coronavirus defines our collective life at present, but cooperation defines our collective life

as a rule. Always,” economist Ant Davies and political scientist James Harrigan said. “When our knee-jerk reaction to immediate problems is to coerce, as is so often the case, we push the obvious solutions to our problems into the background. And still, people cooperate.”

It’s a lesson we’ve simply forgotten. As the economic destruction from our latest collective panic grows, we are seeing the price of our impulse to use raw government force as a means to an end. In the U.S. alone, 30 million people have filed for unemployment. Food production and distribution is being disrupted; slaughterhouses are closing and stocks are being euthanized. The costs, in the U.S. and around the globe, will be severe.

Sweden, on the other hand, has avoided some of the economic destruction other countries are facing, though like its neighbors, the nation is still projecting a contraction in gross domestic product and increased unemployment.

Importantly, however, Sweden is also wildly outperforming models predicting COVID-19 deaths. A recent study predicted that “current Swedish public-health strategy will result in a peak intensive-care load in May that exceeds pre-pandemic capacity by over fourtyfold, with a median mortality of 96,000.”

As we head into May, Sweden’s COVID-19 death toll stands just

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over 2,500. Hospitals are not being overrun. Meanwhile Anders Tegnell, Sweden’s top epidemiologist and the architect of its COVID-19 response, told USA Today that its capital is nearing herd immunity.

“We think that up to 25% people in Stockholm have been exposed to coronavirus and are possibly immune,” Tegnell said. “A recent survey from one of our hospitals in Stockholm found that 27% of staff there are immune. We could reach herd immunity in Stockholm within a matter of weeks.”

Sweden’s results speak for themselves, which is no doubt why the WHO touted the Scandanavian country as “a model” for the rest of the world as humans seek to return to normalcy.

“I think if we are to reach a new normal, Sweden represents a model if we wish to get back to a society in which we don’t have lockdowns,” Ryan told reporters.

It is not to say Sweden’s approach

is without costs or trade-offs. Nothing in life is. While Sweden’s per capita death toll is better than most of its European neighbors – France, the UK, Belgium, Italy, Spain and the Netherland, among them – it also has a higher per capita fatality rate than its Scandanvian neighbors, Norway and Finland. It’s even possible that Sweden will reach the dire morbidity projections of the modelers, though highly unlikely.

Whatever the future holds, the world owes Sweden thanks. The Swedes have shown us a better way. They’ve reminded us that the proper role of the state is to inform individuals and work with them, to seek voluntary action and cooperation instead of resorting to blunt force and edicts.

Perhaps most importantly, Sweden showed that viruses are medical problems, not political ones. When we start to see them as the latter, everyone loses.

Open letter from 151 scholars to California governor: ‘Suspend CA AB-5 Now to Hire Gig Workers During Pandemic’ OAKLAND – A group of 151 economists and political scientists is calling for the immediate suspension of California’s Assembly Bill 5, a law that was passed in 2019 to regulate the use of independent contractors in a variety of activities. The “Open Letter to Suspend California AB 5” is addressed to California Gov. Gavin Newsom and all members of the California state Legislature and calls for the immediate suspension of the law, which prevents individuals from working part time in a variety of indispensable positions, especially during the coronavirus crisis.

The open letter is signed by such notable scholars at Nobel Laureate Vernon Smith of Chapman University, John Taylor of Stanford University, Lee Ohanian of University of California Los Angeles, David Teece of University of California Berkeley and other economists and political scientists, each affiliated with a California college, university or think tank.

“By prohibiting the use of independent contractor drivers, health care professionals, and workers in other critical areas, AB-5 is doing substantial and avoidable, harm to the very people who now have the fewest resources and the worst alternatives available to them,” Williamson Evers, Senior Fellow at the Independent Institute and initiator of the open letter.

AB 5 unintentionally has pushed all of the risks and all of the costs of a vibrant gig economy onto lower- and middle-income individuals, those who would benefit most from flexibility to work around the restrictive policies, according to the open letter.

Blocking work that is needed and impoverishing workers laid-off from other jobs may not be the intentions of AB 5, but the law is having these unintended consequences and needs to be suspended. The current situation of voluntary and mandatory self-isolation has created an immediate need for flexible and low-cost

ways of delivering goods to people.

Hiring laws, especially for firms with more than 50 employees, mean that companies are unwilling to make long-term commitments to traditional jobs. Employment decisions hinge on the costs of distributing risk. While employers are not hiring, gig workers could shoulder myriad tasks that are needed to flatten out the effects of the temporary emergency.

“It doesn’t really matter how great the pay is, how predictable are the hours, nor how generous the benefits may be, if the law prevents a job from existing in the first place,” Evers said. “We aren’t sure what our economic needs and capacities are going to be even two months from now. But hiring someone in a traditional job, with hours and benefit requirements, is too expensive to contemplate given that employers do not know whether they will be able to fill any permanent jobs at all and, if so, when.”

A mountain of work needs to be done, deliveries made and people stranded at home helped to receive groceries and medications. Meanwhile, furloughed Californians stand on the verge of being wiped out financially because the law prevents them from working part time in a variety of indispensable positions.

Read the entire letter and list of signatories at https://www.independent.org/news/article.asp?id=13119.

Williamson M. Evers, Ph.D., is a Senior Fellow, director of the Center on Educational Excellence and assistant editor for “The Independent Review: A Journal of Political Economy at the Independent Institute.”

The Independent Institute, 100 Swan Way, in Oakland is a nonprofit research and educational organization that promotes the power of independent thinking to boldly advance peaceful, prosperous, and free societies grounded in a commitment to human worth and dignity. For more information, visit http://www.

Independent.org.

May 15, 2020 • www.myvalleynews.com • Valley News

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Opinion Editor’s Note: Opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of the Valley News staff. We invite opinions on all sides of an issue. If you have an opinion, please send it as an e-mail to valleyeditor@reedermedia.com, or fax us at (760) 723-9606.

Maximum word count 500. All letters must include the author’s name, address and phone number. The Valley News reserves the right to edit letters as necessary to fit the publication’s format.

Beware a second-wave attack on liberty James L. Caton AMERICAN INSTITUTE FOR ECONOMIC RESEARCH

The recent weeks have revealed a failure to engage in constructive dialogue, especially in regard to the meaning of data. Governors locked down entire states. Media has largely been accepting of the premises supporting the lockdown.

Institutional actors who consider themselves guardians of the existing order have largely supported this policy and denounced those who would like to have a discussion about the facts.

Consider that the recent video from Drs. Erickson and Massihi in Bakersfield was quickly denounced by the American College of Emergency Physicians and the American College of Emergency Medicine without any consideration of the arguments presented in the video. You don’t have to agree with everything these doctors present to support their right to question the effectiveness of the shutdown.

Meanwhile, the Imperial College Study, which grossly overestimated the worst-case scenario, has received little in the way of question from the medical establishment. Researchers used the Imperial College model for a study that suggested that with no shut down in Sweden the country would face many tens of thousands of deaths from COVID-19. And even in the best case, this model predicted that by May 1 Sweden would experience 12,000 to 13,000 deaths.

Without lockdown, Sweden has experienced less than 3,000 deaths.

On a per capita basis, Sweden is faring much better than the UK given the progress of the spread counted from the first day that 0.001% of the population had died from COVID-19. The studies were wrong. After being regarded with suspicion by many in the press, Sweden has now received praise from the World Health Organization for its approach. Only time will tell how the media integrates

the statement from the WHO into a narrative that has until now opposed it. And still, I leave out the impressive results of containment in South Korea and Japan, both of which led the free world in terms of their successful slowing of the spread of absent draconian measures and both of which have been largely ignored by the American media.

In observing the national media and public response, I notice an attitude among many that we need not only to “flatten the curve,” but eradicate it. We are to submit to directives without question. Internalize the lockdown ethos without concern for its actual effectiveness.

For weeks, much of the nation has been locked down, putting off the spread throughout most of the U.S. In the background, we hear the continual humming of major media outlets telling us how terrible COVID-19 is. Reminding us that the virus has increased its spread from thousands to hundreds of thousands and now millions across the U.S. And despite this continual bombardment by media outlets, interpretation of the data is lacking. Deaths have surpassed Dr. Anthony Fauci’s lower estimate of 60,000, though no one seems certain what levels of spread would represent success or failure.

Should we be concerned about a virus that is twice as deadly as the seasonal flu? Five times as deadly?

Where is the limit? The upper limit for annual flu deaths presented by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention is 62,000. And about 3 million people die each year in the U.S., averaging around 8,000 per day. So would 100,000 deaths be bad, but not terrible? Or are we mostly concerned to avoid overloading capacities of medical systems in metro areas?

I don’t know, and national headlines show no interest in discussing these questions. Those who directly question the dominant narrative are immediately denounced, like the doctors in Bakersfield

whose actions were purportedly motivated by “their personal financial interests without regard for the public’s health.” Their discussion, quietly removed from YouTube. Serious and reasoned critiques questioning the lockdown narrative, ignored. Those who predict that the apocalypse is coming are touted by media as providing reason to be fearful.

Slogans like “Stay the f#$* home!” reinforce a hysteria bundled with an unwillingness to identify and communicate the facts surrounding the epidemic.

The disease must spread. Wise policy and adoption of social norms that promote care can prevent the spread from causing unnecessary deaths.

The elite who collectively run the social order – leading intellectuals, politicians, owners of media, journalists, etc. – coordinated around a plan of mass lockdown, come hell or high water. For weeks, the public has been cooperative as uncertainty was initially very high. This cooperation comes at a cost. The effect of two weeks of lockdown has been recorded in the change in real gross domestic product in the first quarter.

Real GDP fell at an annualized rate of nearly 5% from only two weeks of lockdown. We have at least another four weeks to include for most states. And there is still much uncertainty about the course of exit from lockdown. The unemployment rate jumped to 4.4% by the end of March and is expected to be in the double digits next month. In the last four weeks, 30 million have signed up to receive unemployment insurance. These claims alone represent 18% of the civilian labor force.

Uncertainty surrounding reopening could make recovery drag on for many months. Spread has been largely contained in the United States. Only in a few areas does there exist a noticeable COVID-19 outbreak leading to a pronounced increase in COVID-19 related deaths: New York, New England,

Louisiana and Michigan. Medical systems have been overwhelmed in these regions. Intensive care units in New York have lacked supplies necessary to efficiently serve all patients in need. Weekly deaths over the last month are significantly elevated in regions struck

by COVID-19.

Many other metropolitan areas are ripe for spread of COVID-19 and will likely experience similar tests with reopening. It is unavoidable.

We must allow the spread, a fact that epidemiologists guiding policy in Sweden are not shy to confront. Are we as prepared as Sweden to prevent this process from generating unnecessary tragedy? Can we do so responsibly, sheltering the vulnerable? Can we avoid overwhelming the medical system? Can a responsible spread occur without shutting down the economy?

This week and next, we will begin to see the answer to these questions. Many states in the U.S. intend to begin reopening with the caveat that lockdown might resume depending upon the change in the rate of spread.

The end of lockdown is something to celebrate, but we must take precaution if civil liberties are not to suffer more excoriation from the popular press. Those who are weary of this should be ready to carefully interpret the data and challenge narratives that misconstrue the facts surrounding COVID-19, the lockdown and the return of daily liberty.

Spread will resume with the end of lockdown. The media outlets touting reasons to be fearful will remind us why they were right when the number of deaths increased. It’s quite likely that as other metropolitan areas experience spread – which is bound to occur – fear and regret lead to calls for economically damaging lockdowns that don’t effectively confront the problem of spread.

To move on, the spread must occur. If we employ smart policy,

An open letter to Inland Empire entrepreneurs and small-business owners “Could be worse. Not sure how, but it could be,” Eeyore said.

We hear you. For the entrepreneurs and small-business owners in our community, particularly those we work with day in and day out, we wanted you to be aware that we hear and understand your frustration with the uncertainty that you are dealing with. Many of the team members at the Inland Empire Center for Entrepreneurship are themselves business owners, so the uncertainty and challenges hit close to home for us as well. Several of us have had to close businesses or put them on hold. This is an unprecedented time for business. This is not business as usual.

The good news in all this? The government is here, and they want to help. In the face of the last recession, such support was never there – the majority of the attention went toward the “too big to fail” category. Not this time around. It speaks volumes that our government is placing such a high priority on assisting small businesses.

Unfortunately, the Small Business Administration programs were promoted via numerous media channels as if they were ready to go at the push of a button. They were not. The SBA, with programs such as the Economic Injury Disaster Loan, have never had to deal with the scope of such a pervasive national disaster. The SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program is a new program being launched in real time with no time for testing or fine-tuning. The process for setting up brand-new procedures, taking in applications, reviewing docs, setting up accounts, making sure all info is secure and delivery of the final product takes time.

Despite these challenges, the dedicated team of SBA professionals is delivering in a big way – overall, there has been outstanding progress and help reaching businesses – more and more every day. For example, in California, the SBA and its participating lenders processed nearly 113,000 PPP loans – $33.4 billion – in just two weeks. According to the SBA, they processed more loans in that period than in the previous 14 years.

What can you do? Stay persistent and keep communicating with

your lender if you are applying for any of these programs. Creatively do whatever it takes to gain access to the resources your business needs – just like the small-business owner in Los Angeles who avoided the big lenders and sought out a small community lender in North Carolina to get his loan. Reach out to your peers and programs like ours for support – we are listening and helping business owners every day through our SBA-supported programs like the Women’s Business Center and Small Business Development Center. Our counseling services and webinars are some of the tools you can use to navigate these difficult times.

Don’t forget this – right now, you are the most important asset for your business. We believe the starting point for navigating the challenges is your resolve to survive and come out on the other side. As an entrepreneur, you already understand that NO is not really an option. You have operated a business long enough to know it takes an ownership mindset, drive for results and the never-ending process of learning and adapting. This is what makes business owners unique from the rest of the population.

Will you come out on the other side? This situation will pass – just like the last recession. But will your business still be around?

We cannot predict the future, and we know that some luck will be needed for every business. But we are betting on you.

There are always options, and you need to focus and analyze your true options – what is actually ready today and in your control that will put you in a better place for your business. Many of you survived the Great Recession, when there were no loan or grant programs to help. It is possible to get through this time, but it may be the hardest challenge you will ever face as a business owner. We know that some businesses may be closed completely – yet if you have the ability to partially open and have the ability to forge on, pivot or hold steadfast and be in some aspect of control, then do it.

Take control and do those things that will keep you in operation and have you better positioned when

one of the SBA or other support programs become available to you.

A final thought about the power of you. For many of you, when you first started your business, if we had told you that “you would not last four weeks let alone eight weeks,” the entrepreneur in you would have done everything in your power to prove us wrong.

Entrepreneurs and small-business owners are the strength of our economy and our nation. We need you now more than ever to dig in and hang tough. And remember we always stand for the entrepreneur and business owner – we are always here for you.

Sincerely, Mike Stull Director of the Inland Empire Center for Entrepreneurship at California State University of San Bernardino and department chair of management at the Jack H. Brown College of Business and Public Administration Stacey Allis Assistant director of the Inland Empire Center for Entrepreneurship Michelle Skiljan Director of women’s entrepreneurship at the Women’s Business Center Paul Nolta Interim director of business development of the Small Business Development Center Jeff Williamson Director of international trade of the State Trade Expansion Program Steve Abbott Entrepreneur-in-residence of new venture development at the Inland Empire Center for Entrepreneurship

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NEWS for your city TEMECULA MURRIETA

we will allow the virus to spread among the young and shelter our old. We must encourage those with preexisting conditions – high blood pressure, heart disease and so forth – to isolate in order to avoid contracting the virus.

If we could relive the last month and a half, we would have been much wiser if we isolated the elderly who live in care homes and strongly encourage other vulnerable populations to shelter in place. We could have avoided situations where care home populations were more than decimated

by COVID-19. Instead, Congress passed a $2.2 trillion spending package paying people not to work. They would have done better to just pay the unemployed a lump sum and allow them to get on with their lives.

We can’t turn back time to reverse the ignorance from which we suffered. We can’t undo the massive expansion of the deficit and the poor incentive structure that the “Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act created. On the bright side, the medical systems had an extra month to prepare for the virus. And we have developed a culture of concern about the spread.

This caution may be enough to moderate downside risk as we restore freedoms suspended overnight by governors and mayors across the country. And it is not too late to support the vulnerable who must continue sheltering. We must if we are to avoid a second-wave attack on liberty by a free press that shows little interest in defending it.

James L. Caton is an assistant professor in the Department of Agribusiness and Applied Economics and a Fellow at the Center for the Study of Public Choice and Private Enterprise at North Dakota State University. Caton earned his doctorate in economics from George Mason University, his master’s degree in economics from San Jose State University and his bachelor’s degree in history from Humboldt State University.

myvalleynews.com

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Valley News • www.myvalleynews.com • May 15, 2020

Faith

Consider these 6 verses on God’s peace

Zachary Elliott SPECIAL TO VALLEY NEWS

The coronavirus has dominated the news, interrupted our lives and dented some pocketbooks. It has caused fear, sickness and sadly, death in some cases. Unfortunately, these are inescapable realities at the moment.

However, even with all of these negatives, doom and gloom don’t have to be what dominate our minds and our hearts. We’re better than that, and we have real lives to live.

So, I say we focus on the peace of w w w . m y v a l l e y n e w s . c o m

VALLEY

NEWS

ANZA VALLEY OUTLOOK Serving the communities of Temecula, Murrieta, Wildomar, Menifee, Sun City, Lake Elsinore, Hemet, San Jacinto, and Anza weekly.

JULIE REEDER, Publisher

Editorial

KIM HARRIS, Managing Editor WILL FRITZ, Associate Editor J.P. RAINERI, Sports Editor SHANE GIBSON, Staff Photographer TONY AULT, Staff Writer DIANE SIEKER, Staff Writer JOE NAIMAN, Writer JEFF PACK, Digital Editor/Writer ROGER BODDAERT, Writer STEPHANIE PARK, Copy Editor HALLE KOWALEWSKI, Intern LEXINGTON HOWE, Intern

God instead of the fear of the world.

Here are six verses on God’s peace and what they teach us.

In Psalm 46:10-11, “He said, ‘Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.’

The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.”

The coronavirus is not God. This verse teaches us to be still and let God be God. His plan and his purpose will prevail throughout the whole earth. He will be exalted and he will build his church… starting with you.

In John 14:27, Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

Peace is a gift from God. It doesn’t come from the store, our circumstances or the government.

True peace can only come from Jesus. Take a moment and ask him for some.

In John 16:33, Jesus said, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart. I have overcome the world.”

God never promised us a perfect problem-free life. But he did promise us victory in life through him.

Problems in life will persist but the peace that comes in Jesus is eternal.

Colossians 3:15 said, “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.”

It’s easy to let fear rule your thoughts and heart. But that’s not what God has for you. Letting Jesus rule in your heart promotes peace.

It starts by being thankful for what you have. Take a moment and thank him right now.

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Anza Valley Outlook and Valley News Published weekly Mail to Corporate Office 111 W. Alvarado St. Fallbrook, CA 92028 (951) 763-5510 FAX (760) 723-9606 Corporate Office: (760) 723-7319 OUR E-MAIL ADDRESSES: valleyeditor@reedermedia.com info@reedermedia.com sales@reedermedia.com circulation@reedermedia.com

Roger Cohen SPECIAL TO VALLEY NEWS

Have you ever wanted to give someone a “piece of your mind?”

Did the car in front of you make you upset? Have you ever had a relationship that ended badly? Possibly you fought with family about money? Do you have that relative that borrows money but never repays you? Did you use social media this week to tell off people who had different views?

Did you burn a bridge lately with opportunity and others?

Life is about building relationships. Humanity works together, sometimes with efficiency and sometimes with animosity. What I have learned is when time passes, a burnt bridge will often come back to haunt you.

In the Bible, Leviticus talks about the relationship humanity has with God. In Leviticus 26:14-16, God said, “But if you do not obey Me and do not observe all these commandments, if you reject My laws and spurn My rules, so that you do not observe all My commandments and you break My covenant, I in turn will do this to you.”

Relationships require time, commitment and nurturing. When we have a partner in life, we can’t only tell them we “love them” on the day

we got married. We have to nurture life, love and relationships.

The Bible in Leviticus teaches society all of the moral and ethical requirements needed to interact. It teaches us we should not charge interest to those we are related to as a family. It shows us how people should cooperate with one another.

In 30 verses following Leviticus 26:14-16, the Bible details the problems with falling out of a relationship with God and ignores certain ethical principles. The preceding 10 verses confirm how society will flourish if they are in a relationship with God. The relationships we build in the community are compelling. Our relationship with God is vital, and that relationship will build strong community bonds between families and friends. We must cherish our relationships.

While this perspective may seem obvious with the tangible and physically present people we live with, such as our immediate family, it is less evident with those we don’t see.

We also must cherish our relationships with those in the community we don’t know and not “burn our bridges” with those we don’t know.

Most importantly, we must nurture our relationship with the divine and love the Lord with all our heart and soul.

Roger Cohen is a military veteran and a university lecturer in Southern California, specializing in ethics, religious studies and political science. To learn more, follow him at www.facebook.com/ProfessorRoger.

Congregation B’nai Chaim offers services to Jewish and interfaith families and is located at 29500 Via Princesa in Murrieta. For more information, visit www.bnaichaim. com.

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Philippians 4:6-7 said, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Prayer is the road peace travels on. If we’re not praying about our problems it means we’re either thinking about them too much or we’re just talking to other people.

I’m all for getting advice but the real conversation needs to happen with God. When we seek him in prayer it points our hearts and minds to him and he fills us with a peace that passes understanding. Who doesn’t want that?

Isaiah 43:1-3, “But now, this is what the Lord says – he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.”

God knows your name and your difficulty. It means that every time you go through a struggle he’s calling out to you and reminding you that he’s always there. That’s why he’s called our redeemer and savior.

He rescues us through the trial.

Zachary Elliott is the lead pastor of Fusion Christian Church in Temecula. For more information, visit https://www.fusionchristianchurch. com, https://fourminutefaithbuilder. com or find them on Instagram.

Don’t burn bridges! Foster relationships with God and community

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Local

Heavenly Horse Haven still needs help

Volume 20, Issue 20

Subscribe online at:

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Living Hope Christian Fellowship holds drive-up services

Diane Sieker STAFF WRITER

The number of animals adopted from the Heavenly Horse Haven equine rescue in Anza has remained steady; however, despite fewer mouths to feed, the physical work required to care for the remaining stock is continuing to take its toll on owner Gina Perrin. see page AVO-2

Local

Father accused of throwing young daughter to her death City News Service SPECIAL TO VALLEY NEWS

A father who allegedly tossed his 1-year-old daughter to her death from a cliff after stabbing a passerby attempting to rescue her from a car crash on Route 74 is behind bars on suspicion of murder. see page AVO-3

The Rev. Kevin Watson gives a Mother’s Day sermon at the Living Hope Christian Fellowship of Anza’s drive-in service Sunday, May 10, at the Anza Community Hall.

Anza Valley Outlook/Diane Sieker photo

Diane Sieker STAFF WRITER

Kevin Watson, pastor of the Living Hope Christian Fellowship of Anza, led his congregation in

Local

Bobcats name valedictorian and salutatorian

prayer and worship in a drive-in church service Sunday, May 10, at the Anza Community Hall parking lot.

In keeping with California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s stay-at-home

order banning church assemblies in the interest of public health during the coronavirus outbreak, organizers respected social distancing by holding the event in the parking lot.

Diane Sieker STAFF WRITER

Prickly globes dangle from winding tendrils, surrounded by bright green leaves. A springtime phenomenon, the wild fruit demand attention as they dangle from vines wrapped among the redshank branches throughout the Anza Valley.

Oddly named, the wild cucumber or manroot, Marah macrocarpa is a relative of the garden cucumber, watermelon and squash.

Unlike these domesticated vegetables, all parts of the wild cucumber plant are toxic to some degree. It is a climbing and trailing perennial that emerges from a large woody or fleshy underground root that can weigh in excess of 100 pounds. One root, excavated at the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Gardens, weighed 467 pounds. It is because of this root that this vine

The Hamilton High School announced the names of the class of 2020’s valedictorian and salutatorian who will represent the senior class at their planned commencement ceremony Tuesday, May 26.

PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID HEMET, CA PERMIT #234

see page AVO-4

Wild cucumbers dangle fruit from their brilliant, green vines.

Anza Valley Outlook/Carolyn Leon photo

Veteran showcase: Carl Virden ANZA VALLEY OUTLOOK

see SERVICES, page AVO-3

Wild cucumbers display prickly fruit

Tony Ault STAFF WRITER

USPS POSTAL CUSTOMER

Watson’s message reflected on the sanctity of motherhood and celebrated Mother’s Day. Church members responded

Diane Sieker STAFF WRITER

Carl Virden grew up in Redondo Beach.

When he was 19 years old, he was drafted into the Army Aug. 8, 1967.

“I had just been married July 8, thinking the draft had missed me,” he said.

After only one month of wedded bliss, Virden was off to boot camp. His basic training was at Fort Ord, which closed in 1994 due to base realignment and closure action.

“Before I was drafted, I had been working at North American Aviation in a warehouse filling parts orders for the space program,” he said. “After basic training, where I learned that I could endure much more than I ever thought possible, I got orders to report to Fort Knox, Kentucky, for on-job training in company supply with the 132nd Armor.”

Shortly after his assignment, he received a two-week Christmas leave. The plan was to move his wife to Kentucky where they would live off-post in the small town of West Point, Kentucky, on the Ohio River.

“However, she had just totaled our 1961 Chevrolet Corvair, so our plan seemed doomed,” Virden said.

Luckily, his uncle met him at LAX airport and, still in his dress greens, drove him straight to a wrecking yard in Compton and bought a stripped Corvair body.

“My uncle and I worked for four days straight building a road-worthy car out of the wrecked car and the stripped body. A few days later, pulling a 12-foot enclosed trailer, we were on our way to Kentucky,” he said.

The trip took four days, and the car held together. A few months later, Virden got orders for Vietnam.

“I arrived at the Long Bin, Vietnam, replacement center in late June 1968. I will never forget the moment I stepped off that see VIRDEN, page AVO-4

Carl Virden was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1967.

Anza Valley Outlook/Courtesy photo

see FRUIT, page AVO-2

AVO-2

Anza Valley Outlook • www.anzavalleyoutlook.com • May 15, 2020

Anza Local

Heavenly Horse Haven still needs help

This horse is in retirement at the Heavenly Horse Haven in Anza.

Diane Sieker STAFF WRITER

Some of the horses at the Heavenly Horse Haven are boarders.

Anza Valley Outlook/Diane Sieker photos

It seems that even rescued horses can have a sense of humor.

FRUIT from page AVO-1 is one of the first plants to regrow after a wildfire.

Wild cucumbers are perennial broadleaf vines that produce distinctive greenish, round to oblong spiny fruit capsules that contain seeds. They grow in open areas in forests, shrubland and riparian habitats throughout much of California to 6,000 feet of elevation. Aboveground growth may

die back in the summer if water is limited. Several native Marah species occur in California, including Cucamonga man-root, Marah macrocarpus and Marah oreganus.

These plants have clinging tendrils that climb, entwining shrubs and trees. Each leaf is several inches in diameter and has five to seven lobes.

Tendrils used for anchoring the plant grow opposite the leaves.

The white, five-petaled male and

female flowers are separate but grow on the same plant. The male flowers appear on specialized stems, and the somewhat larger female flowers from which the fruit develops arise at the base of the stem.

As one of the plant’s most noticeable features, the fruit is a green, egg-shaped gourd that grows up to about 5 inches long and is densely covered with stiff, flattened spines. It is often fleshy and melon-like inside with a rind and a spongy interior. Each gourd contains four to 16 oblong, brownish seeds.

The wild cucumber begins sending up shoots in December and may bloom in January, continu-

The number of animals adopted from the Heavenly Horse Haven equine rescue in Anza has remained steady; however, despite fewer mouths to feed, the physical work required to care for the remaining stock is continuing to take its toll on owner Gina Perrin.

Perrin said she is in desperate need of volunteers to assist at the ranch, due to her ongoing health issues.

She was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a progressive nervous system disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, causing loss of muscle control. ALS is often called Lou Gehrig’s disease, after the baseball player who was diagnosed with it.

Her condition is worsening, she said, and she cannot manage all the work required of the large rescue facility. Volunteers are needed to exercise and groom the horses, to clean stalls and to give medication and feed.

The Heavenly Horse Haven equine rescue ranch is looking for loving homes for their adoptable animals, which are primarily horsing through April and May. It is a common plant to find in dry areas of chaparral, washes, roadsides and may also be found in coastal sage scrub and foothill woodland environment.

Native American tribes in Southern California used wild cucumber in a wide variety of ways.

The Kumeyaay ground the seeds into a black paste that was used for face paint and a topical application of leaves was used to relieve pain and inflammation.

The Luiseño made a grease base for paints out of the seeds, and the Chumash used parts of the plant medicinally and utilized the large, hard seeds as gaming pieces or strung them into necklaces.

es, and donations for their care.

Many of the animals at Heavenly Horse Haven were acquired by the rescue in poor condition and in need of rehabilitation. Others were owner-relinquished in perfect health and in various phases of training. The horses are assessed and vetted, and their individual needs are met. Additional training is provided if needed. When they are ready, they are offered for adoption to their forever homes.

Besides horses, ponies and miniature horses, the ranch is home to an emu, dogs, donkeys, llamas, alpacas, goats, poultry and pigs.

The continued legacy of Heavenly Horse Haven is now in the hands of those that care about animals as much as Perrin does.

Heavenly Horse Haven is located at 58290 Marlis Lane in Anza. Their phone number is 951551-3561. They can be reached by email at info@heavenlyhorsehaven.org.

For more information about Heavenly Horse Haven, visit http://www.heavenlyhorsehaven. org or on Facebook.

Diane Sieker can be reached by email at dsieker@reedermedia. com.

Other tribes used the pulverized root or seeds to catch fish. It was discovered that when this powder was cast into rivers or tide pools, it would stun fish and they would float to the surface for easy collection. The oil from the seeds was used to reverse baldness – chemicals in wild cucumber have pharmacological similarities to chemicals used in modern baldness treatments.

There are no records of wild cucumber being used for food. The plant tastes bitter, and all parts of the plant are mildly toxic.

Diane Sieker can be reached by email at dsieker@reedermedia. com.

Shop Local SAVE LOCAL Use your card & let the

Wild cucumbers prefer climbing redshank shrubs.

Anza Valley Outlook/Carolyn Leon photos

SAVINGS ADD UP. [Left] This redshank branch is covered with wild cucumber vines and fruit.

Local merchants, like Lorraine’s Pet Supply, are teaming up with your local cooperatives to offer you discounts. Just take your Co-op Connections Card wherever you go. Pull it out anywhere you see a Co-op Connections sticker. And say hello to savings.

The card is yours. The savings are yours. All because you’re a member of a Touchstone Energy cooperative. And we’re always looking out for you. To learn more, visit www.anzaelectic.org.

[Right The sharp spines warn animals not to touch the wild cucumber fruit.

M ay 1 5 , 2 02 0 • www.anza valleyoutlook.com • Anza V alley Outlook

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Anza Local Father accused of throwing young daughter to her death from cliff arrested City News Service SPECIAL TO ANZA VALLEY OUTLOOK

A father who allegedly tossed his 1-year-old daughter to her death from a cliff after stabbing a passerby attempting to rescue her from a car crash on Route 74 is behind bars on suspicion of murder.

Adam Slater, 49, of Palm Desert was arrested Thursday, May 7, following a short stay at a hospital where he was treated for injuries connected to the crash that happened Wednesday, according to Riverside County Sheriff’s Sgt.

Ben Ramirez.

Jail records show he was booked at the Indio jail on suspicion of murder, attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon, where he remains on $1 million bail.

He was charged with first-degree murder Monday, May 11.

Before the events on Highway 74, a stabbing was reported about 8:30 a.m. Wednesday in the 41000 block of Washington Street, outside the Southwest Community Church in Indian Wells, where deputies located an injured woman who was taken to a hospital with

non-critical injuries, authorities said.

KESQ-TV reported Slater and the woman – who was six months pregnant at the time of the attack – were married, and the 1-year-old daughter was theirs together. The woman has since been released from the hospital after suffering multiple stab wounds, the outlet reports.

Following the alleged attack, authorities said Slater sped away in a vehicle with the child.

Deputies learned soon afterward that a rollover crash reported about

9 a.m. near the community of Pinyon Crest on Highway 74 could be connected to the original call.

According to sheriff’s officials, passing motorists attempted to help Slater and his daughter escape the wreckage, but Slater allegedly stabbed one man attempting to help rescue his daughter.

“The suspect then took the girl from the arms of the male he stabbed. Multiple witnesses saw the suspect take the child and throw her over a steep cliff into a ravine,” the sheriff’s department said.

The child, whose name was not released, died from her injuries at the scene, officials said.

Authorities said Slater then ran down into a canyon, where deputies later detained him after a short foot chase.

It was unclear if the man he stabbed required medical treatment.

Officials did not disclose a motive in the crime, nor was the cause of the crash immediately known, if any other vehicles were involved or if drugs and/or alcohol were a factor.

SERVICES from page AV O- 1 enthusiastically to his message.

Churchgoers gathered in their cars and the beds of pickup trucks as the service was presented via a sound system and video.

“So happy to see our first church day, even if it is in a parking lot,” J.L. Thomas said during the live feed of the sermon played on social media.

It was the first drive-in event presented by Living Hope. Previous services had been offered by video since the state order prevented normal assemblies.

Since the stay-at-home order was issued March 19, more than 4 million people have been thrown out of work in California.

Newsom signed the order to slow the spread of the coronavirus in the state.

California is opening back up in stages. The phase that could reopen salons, gyms, movie theaters and in-person church services could be months away, Gov. Gavin Newsom said.

To discover more about Living Hope Christian Fellowship of Anza, visit them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ LivingHopeAnza.

Diane Sieker can be reached by email at dsieker@reedermedia. com.

The parking lot is packed with churchgoers at the Living Hope Christian Fellowship of Anza’s drive-in service at the Anza Community Hall.

Anza V alley Outlook/ D iane Sieker photos

This family enjoys the message from the bed of their truck at the Living Hope Christian Fellowship of Anza’s drive-in service at the Anza Community Hall.

Dan Robinson listens to the sermon at the Living Hope Christian Fellowship of Anza’s drive-in service at the Anza Community Hall.

Teri Crutchfield listens to the pastor’s words at the Living Hope Christian Fellowship of Anza’s drive-in service at the Anza Community Hall.

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Anza Valley Outlook • www.anzavalleyoutlook.com • May 15, 2020

Anza Local Hamilton Bobcats name class of 2020’s valedictorian and salutatorian Tony Ault STAFF WRITER

Hamilton High School announced the names of the class of 2020’s valedictorian and salutatorian who will represent the senior class at their planned commencement ceremony Friday, May 15.

The Anza Valley high school VIRDEN from page AVO-1 Continental airliner. It was as though I had been instantly wrapped in a hot, wet blanket.

Being a beach boy, I had never experienced real heat or humidity,” Virden said.

His next duty was with the 716th Military Police Battalion in Cholon, a quarter in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

“The Tet Offensive had taken place a few months earlier, and I was a replacement for one the

recognized Megan Necochea as the 2019-2020 valedictorian for her persistence and hard work, a 4.2619 GPA and a SAT score of 1360.

Necochea has been actively involved in the Interact Club, National Honor Society, Pre-Health Club, Mathletes and the California Scholarship Federation. She has

played soccer for four years in high school. Nechohea will complete six Advanced Placement classes and three concurrent courses while enrolled at Hamilton High School.

After high school, she plans to attend Seattle Pacific University and major in English and creative writing.

Representing Hamilton High as

the salutatorian is Taylor Ludwig with a 4.1395 GPA and a SAT score of 1110.

Ludwig will complete six AP classes and two concurrent courses in her tenure at Hamilton High.

She has also been an active member of the Interact Club, National Honor Society and Pre-Health Club. She played volleyball while

enrolled at Hamilton High. Taylor plans to attend Mt. San Jacinto College and transfer to University of California Irvine or San Diego State University to pursue a degree in business.

Tony Ault can be reached by email at tault@reedermedia.com.

27 killed and 45 wounded in the 716th,” he said. “Though my military occupation status was in company supply, I was assigned to 12 hours on, 12 hours off guard duty as an acting MP at various Army officers’ and enlisted men’s quarters. It was mostly boring but also with some excitement during the next couple of months until I was assigned to the company supply room.

“Still pulling MP guard duty from time to time, my tour in Vietnam was pretty mundane with

the exception of some Viet Cong rockets being fired into the city during the nights,” Virden said.

Midway through his Vietnam tour, he took a seven-day R & R in Hawaii where he rented a new 1969 Chevy Camaro and a new Datsun 1600 sports car to tool around on the island.

“When I got back to Vietnam I went to the Saigon PX and ordered a 1969 Camaro SS to be delivered at Les Vogel Chevrolet in San Francisco when I was to exit from the Army. I still have that

Camaro today,” he said proudly.

After his military service, he attended community college under the GI Bill and received an associate degree in construction technology, after first studying civil engineering. He became a union carpenter in 1972 and retired in 2004.

After his retirement, Virden caught the acting bug, working in films, TV shows and commercials over the next 10 years. He became a member of the Screen Actors Guild.

“In 2015 my wife, Karen, decided Lake Riverside Estates was the place we ought to be. So here we are, enjoying paradise,” he said.

He and his wife fit are wellrespected in the tight equestrian community, sharing their knowledge of horses and organizing events.

Diane Sieker can be reached by email at dsieker@reedermedia. com.

www.anzavalleyoutlook.com

ANZA VALLEY OUTLOOK Serving Anza, Aguanga, Garner Valley, Sage, and surrounding Southwest Riverside County communities.

JULIE REEDER, Publisher

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KIM HARRIS, Valley News Managing Editor WILL FRITZ, Associate Editor J.P. RAINERI, Sports Editor SHANE GIBSON, Staff Photographer TONY AULT, Staff Writer DIANE SIEKER, Staff Writer JOE NAIMAN, Writer JEFF PACK, Writer ROGER BODDAERT, Writer STEPHANIE PARK, Copy Editor HALLE KOWALEWSKI, Intern LEXINGTON HOWE, Intern

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Anza Opinion Editor’s Note: Opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of the Anza Valley Outlook staff. We invite opinions on all sides of an issue. If you have an opinion, please send it as an email to anzaeditor@reedermedia. com, or fax us at (760) 723-9606. Maximum word count 250. All letters must include the author’s name, address and phone number. The Valley News/Anza Valley Outlook reserves the right to edit letters as necessary to fit the publication’s format.

No scientific evidence shows that mass lockdowns work

Harold Pease, Ph.D. SPECIAL TO ANZA VALLEY OUTLOOK

Two Bakersfield California physicians, Drs. Dan Erickson and Arten Massihi, recently said, “We’ve seen 1,227 deaths in the state of California. That means you have a 0.03 chance of dying from COVID-19 in the state of California,” and for the state of New York, the highest in the land, “19,410 out of 19 million people, which is a 0.1% chance of dying from COVID-19…” It is, of course, of those infected. But it remains less than the seasonal flu of 2017-2018 when there was “about 62,000 deaths, or 0.13 chance of death from flu in the United States. So the lethality of COVID-19 is much less” – even in New York City. The seasonal flu even had a vaccine to limit

contagion, COVID-19 did not.

The doctors explained how the immune system works and how it naturally adapts to the environment.

“When you’re a little child crawling on the ground, putting stuff in your mouth, viruses and bacteria come in, you form an antigen antibody complex, you form IgG, IgM, this is how your immune system is built,” Erickson said. “When you take human beings and you say go into your house, clean all your counters, wipe all of them down, you’re going to kill 99% of viruses and bacteria. Wear a mask, don’t go outside. What does that do to our immune system? Our immune system is used to touching. We share bacteria, staphylococcus, streptococcal bacteria, viruses.

We develop an immune response, dealing to this stuff.”

So why is sheltering in place not always good?

“When you take that away from me,” Erickson said. “My immune system drops as I shelter in place… You keep me there for months, it drops more. Sheltering in place decreases your immune system and then as we all come out of shelter in place with a lower immune system, and start trading viruses, bacteria, what do you think’s going to happen. Disease is going to spike. And then you’ve got disease spike amongst the hospital system.”

His answer, we “should lift this ban because the data is showing us it’s time to lift,” according to the physicians video at https://youtu. be/xfLVxx_lBLU. YouTube just removed the physician’s video with the message “This video has been removed for violating YouTube’s Community Guidelines.” It is not the view that the Democratic news outlets are likely to allow their people to see.

YouTube only censors political content they consider to be on the right side of the political spectrum; however, a five-minute portion of the physician’s video can be found at https://www.banned.video/watc h?id=5ea5cbfb028f5600167acf89 under the title “We Are Being Set Up For The Biggest October Surprise In American History” but it too may vanish soon by YouTube censors.

Nor will we know from the doctors that the epidemic is descending at a very rapid pace.

The doctors said, “The hospitals, their ICU’s are empty essentially, and they’re shutting down floors.

They’re furloughing patients.

They’re furloughing doctors because we just don’t have the volume. We are busy with paperwork for COVID-19.” They spoke of the pressure upon them to list COVID-19 as the cause of death when other factors could have been the cause. None of it fits the panic narrative the censors wish us to continue.

Recent studies on both coasts confirm that even under the most restrictive measures possible in New York and California, the virus slipped through. In Los Angeles, where Mayor Eric Garcetti bragged about controlling 99.9% of the population through drones, licenses plate readings and cellphones and that he would “hunt down that last 1 %,” presumably for punishment, it got through.

“A new study by researchers at the University of Southern California, tested large groups of people in Los Angeles County for coronavirus antibodies. They found that as of early April, up to 5.6 % of the entire county had contracted the illness. That means up to 320,000 adults in Los Angeles apparently had already had it.

At the time the official number of infected people was about 8,000…

The virus had spread throughout a huge population right in the middle of the most restricted quarantine in American History,” according to a “Tucker Carlson Tonight” show airing April 23, 2020.

The lockdown did not and could not stop it.

Nor had Herculean closedown measures slowed the virus in hardest hit New York. It came right through. Gov. Andrew Cuomo cited a study showing antibodies to cover 13.9 % of New Yorkers.

He said, “That means 2.7 million people (were) infected statewide.

That means with approximately 15,500 total fatalities, the death is approximately 0.5% of people infected.”

Again, it came right through.

The immune systems of most everyone handled it fine, pretty much as it does the common flu – only 81 out of a 100,000 died.

By comparison Florida’s death per 100,000 was four. And South Dakota’s death per 100,000 was only one person, according to a “The Ingraham Angle” show airing April 23, 2020.

Coronavirus deaths are serious, of course, even more so if you or someone you love, was one of the fatalities. But science has not shown that shutdowns, or stay in place measures, worked and no area forced lockdown measures more than New York City and Los Angeles. It may be the worst thing we did. We should lift the ban immediately lest we spike other worse diseases as the doctors warned.

Dr. Harold Pease is a syndicated columnist and an expert on the United States Constitution. He has dedicated his career to studying the writings of the Founding Fathers and to applying that knowledge to current events. He taught history and political science from this perspective for over 30 years at Taft College. To read more of his weekly articles, visit http://www.LibertyUnderFire.org.

ANZA VALLEY OUTLOOK LEGAL NOTICES FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File Number: R-202002610 The following person(s) is (are) doing business as: SAMANTHA MIRELES 377 W 1st Street, Perris, CA 92570 Mailing address: PO Box 827, Lake Elsinore, CA 92531 County: Riverside Samantha Anais Mireles, 377 W 1st St, Perris, CA 92570 This business is conducted by an Individual Registrant has not yet begun to transact business under the fictitious name listed above I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true any material matter pursuant to Section 17913 of the Business and Professions Code that the registrant knows to be false is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000).)

Registrant: Samantha Anais Mireles Statement was filed with the County Clerk of Riverside County on 02/19/2020 NOTICE—IN ACCORDANCE WITH SUBDIVISION (a) OF SECTION 17920, A FICTITIOUS NAME STATEMENT GENERALLY EXPIRES AT THE END OF FIVE YEARS FROM THE DATE ON WHICH IT WAS FILED IN THE OFFICE OF THE COUNTY CLERK, EXCEPT, AS PROVIDED IN SUBDIVISION (b) OF SECTION 17920, WHERE IT EXPIRES 40 DAYS AFTER ANY CHANGE IN THE FACTS SET FORTH IN THE STATEMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 17913 OTHER THAN A CHANGE IN THE RESIDENCE ADDRESS OF A REGISTERED OWNER. A NEW FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT MUST BE FILED BEFORE THE EXPIRATION. THE FILING OF THIS STATEMENT DOES NOT OF ITSELF AUTHORIZE THE USE IN THIS STATE OF A FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME IN VIOLATION OF THE RIGHTS OF ANOTHER UNDER FEDERAL, STATE, OR COMMON LAW (SEE SECTION 14411 ET SEQ., BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS CODE). I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS COPY IS A CORRECT COPY OF THE ORIGINAL STATEMENT ON FILE IN MY OFFICE. PETER ALDANA RIVERSIDE COUNTY CLERK. LEGAL: 3144 PUBLISHED: March 6, 13, 20, 27, 2020 Republished: May 1, 8, 15, 22, 2020 Address of Registrant is not the same as shown on the fictitious statement.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File Number: R-201916181 The following person(s) is (are) doing business as: NSJ REFERRAL SERVICES 7481 Spindlewood Dr., Eastvale, CA 92880 County: Riverside Marisela Leticia Gomez, 7481 Spindlewood Dr., Eastvale, CA 92880 This business is conducted by an Individual Registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious name listed above on 05/1/2019 I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true any material matter pursuant to Section 17913 of the Business and Professions Code that the registrant knows to be false is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000).)

Registrant: Marisela Leticia Gomez Statement was filed with the County Clerk of Riverside County on 12/13/2019 NOTICE—IN ACCORDANCE WITH SUBDIVISION (a) OF SECTION 17920, A FICTITIOUS NAME STATEMENT GENERALLY EXPIRES AT THE END OF FIVE YEARS FROM THE DATE ON WHICH IT WAS FILED IN THE OFFICE OF THE COUNTY CLERK, EXCEPT, AS PROVIDED IN SUBDIVISION (b) OF SECTION 17920, WHERE IT EXPIRES 40 DAYS AFTER ANY CHANGE IN THE FACTS SET FORTH IN THE STATEMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 17913 OTHER THAN A CHANGE IN THE RESIDENCE ADDRESS OF A REGISTERED OWNER. A NEW FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT MUST BE FILED BEFORE THE EXPIRATION. THE FILING OF THIS STATEMENT DOES NOT OF ITSELF AUTHORIZE THE USE IN THIS STATE OF A FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME IN VIOLATION OF THE RIGHTS OF ANOTHER UNDER FEDERAL, STATE, OR COMMON LAW (SEE SECTION 14411 ET SEQ., BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS CODE). I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS COPY IS A CORRECT COPY OF THE ORIGINAL STATEMENT ON FILE IN MY OFFICE. PETER ALDANA RIVERSIDE COUNTY CLERK. LEGAL: 3094 PUBLISHED: March 6, 13, 20, 27, 2020 Republished: May 1, 8, 15, 22, 2020 Address of Registrant is not the same as shown on the fictitious statement Address of Business is not the same as shown on the fictitious statement..

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File Number: R-202004544 The following person(s) is (are) doing business as: “NO OBJECTION” LEGAL PROCESS SERVICE 32707 Willowvail Cir., Temecula, CA 92592 County: Riverside Rodney Hermann Richter, 32707 Willowvail Cir., Temecula, CA 92592 This business is conducted by an Individual Registrant has not yet begun to transact business under the fictitious name listed above I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true any material matter pursuant to Section 17913 of the Business and Professions Code that the registrant knows to be false is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000).)

Registrant: Rodney Hermann Richter Statement was filed with the County Clerk of Riverside County on 04/27/2020 NOTICE—IN ACCORDANCE WITH SUBDIVISION (a) OF SECTION 17920, A FICTITIOUS NAME STATEMENT GENERALLY EXPIRES AT THE END OF FIVE YEARS FROM THE DATE ON WHICH IT WAS FILED IN THE OFFICE OF THE COUNTY CLERK, EXCEPT, AS PROVIDED IN SUBDIVISION (b) OF SECTION 17920, WHERE IT EXPIRES 40 DAYS AFTER ANY CHANGE IN THE FACTS SET FORTH IN THE STATEMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 17913 OTHER THAN A CHANGE IN THE RESIDENCE ADDRESS OF A REGISTERED OWNER. A NEW FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT MUST BE FILED BEFORE THE EXPIRATION. THE FILING OF THIS STATEMENT DOES NOT OF ITSELF AUTHORIZE THE USE IN THIS STATE OF A FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME IN VIOLATION OF THE RIGHTS OF ANOTHER UNDER FEDERAL, STATE, OR COMMON LAW (SEE SECTION 14411 ET SEQ., BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS CODE). I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS COPY IS A CORRECT COPY OF THE ORIGINAL STATEMENT ON FILE IN MY OFFICE. PETER ALDANA RIVERSIDE COUNTY CLERK. LEGAL: 3169 PUBLISHED: May 8, 15, 22, 29, 2020

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File Number: R-202004727 The following person(s) is (are) doing business as: 1. SNAPSHOT 3SIXTY 2. 3SIXTY HOME INSPECTIONS 3. 360 HOME INSPECTIONS 31219 Dogwood Cir, Winchester, CA 92596 Mailing address: 6373 Hazel St, Eastvale, CA 92880 County: Riverside Daryl Chris Arquero, 31219 Dogwood Cir, Winchester, CA 92596 This business is conducted by an Individual Registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious name listed above on JULY 2018 I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true any material matter pursuant to Section 17913 of the Business and Professions Code that the registrant knows to be false is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000).)

Registrant: Daryl Chris Arquero Statement was filed with the County Clerk of Riverside County on 05/07/2020 NOTICE—IN ACCORDANCE WITH SUBDIVISION (a) OF SECTION 17920, A FICTITIOUS NAME STATEMENT GENERALLY EXPIRES AT THE END OF FIVE YEARS FROM THE DATE ON WHICH IT WAS FILED IN THE OFFICE OF THE COUNTY CLERK, EXCEPT, AS PROVIDED IN SUBDIVISION (b) OF SECTION 17920, WHERE IT EXPIRES 40 DAYS AFTER ANY CHANGE IN THE FACTS SET FORTH IN THE STATEMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 17913 OTHER THAN A CHANGE IN THE RESIDENCE ADDRESS OF A REGISTERED OWNER. A NEW FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT MUST BE FILED BEFORE THE EXPIRATION. THE FILING OF THIS STATEMENT DOES NOT OF ITSELF AUTHORIZE THE USE IN THIS STATE OF A FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME IN VIOLATION OF THE RIGHTS OF ANOTHER UNDER FEDERAL, STATE, OR COMMON LAW (SEE SECTION 14411 ET SEQ., BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS CODE). I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS COPY IS A CORRECT COPY OF THE ORIGINAL STATEMENT ON FILE IN MY OFFICE. PETER ALDANA RIVERSIDE COUNTY CLERK. LEGAL: 3170 PUBLISHED: May 15, 22, 29, June 5, 2020

Notice To Readers: California law requires that contractors taking jobs that total $500 or more (labor or materials) be licensed by the Contractors State License Board. State law also requires that contractors include their license number on all advertising. You can check the status of your licensed contractor at www.cslb.ca.gov or 800-321-CSLB. Unlicensed contractors taking jobs that total less than $500 must state in their advertisements that they are not licensed by the Contractors State License Board.

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The Riverside County Clerk's office is now accepting Fictitious Business Name Statements through email without an affidavit of identification.

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Anza V alley O utlook • w w w .anza va lleyo utlook. com • M ay 15, 2020

Education

Students recognized for achievements during difficult times WILDOMAR – Riverside County superintendent Judy D. White, Ed.D., spoke at the March 5 State of Education Address luncheon.

White discussed the Riverside County Office of Education’s “Year of our Youth: Beacon of our Destiny” accomplishments. Those in attendance included educators, businesses, government, civic, faith-based and community leaders. Also celebrating the student’s achievements at the luncheon was Community Outreach Ministry, a nonprofit organization focused on giving at-risk children a second chance to be winners and champions. The group’s mission is to help break the cycle of poverty, illiteracy, drugs, violence, delinquency, gangs and incarceration in at-risk youth affected by parental incarceration.

The “Year of our Youth” luncheon recognized both students and teachers along with other faculty members who were instrumental in guiding youth to prepare for the workforce and for college as well as deepen their understanding of the importance of civic responsibility. Community Outreach Ministry co-founder Mona Davies, author of “Children’s Liberation from Incarceration Breaking Cycles New Beginnings” recommended Breaking the Cycle of Incarceration Model that she developed through a social science research project using the personal stories of children, caregivers and incarcerated parents as co-researchers.

At the luncheon, students shared stories of achievement, determination and inspiration. Their stories were also featured in the Riverside County Office of Education’s 2020 Report to the Community. The report highlighted successes of many students including Sophia Barranco, a Starlight Elementary School student.

“It feels like we are still in school,” Barranco said in a press release. “We still have the connection with our teachers to be able to ask questions,” commenting on the COVID-19 pandemic that directed nationwide school closures and distance learning.

“We are still learning, just in

Members of Community Outreach Ministry attend Riverside County Office of Education’s “Year of our Youth” address, including Bob Davies, left, co-founder and president; Yolanda Burgess, treasurer; Mona Davies, co-founder and director, and Donna Barkley, V alley N ew s/ Community O utreach M inistry p hotos coordinator.

Mona Davies, left, Community Outreach Ministry co-founder and director, and Marilyn Brown, board member of Lake Elsinore Unified School District, of the district’s Student And Family Essential Resources Program Community Collaborative attend the Riverside County State of Education Address.

a new environment with social distancing.

“I’m going to be able to share with my grandkids or kids (an explanation of) everything that happened during a pandemic,” Barranco said. “So that they can be grateful for the things they have. It helps me to be grateful and focus on things in the future.”

Community Outreach Ministry is involved in community events throughout the year and recently participated at the Lake Elsinore Unified School District’s Student And Family Essential Resources Programs Community Collaborative at Ortega High School in February. Community Outreach Ministry serves students in the

are also sponsored by the ministry and provide youth with social and life skills along with learning boundaries for safety. Children gain a sense of belonging and acceptance as they gain a sense of purpose and inspiration. At the ministry’s annual Angel Tree Christmas Party, at-risk youth receive holiday gifts and engage with role models from The California Highway Patrol and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Officers and firefighters do show and tell demonstrating safety and share about their explorer programs to inspire youth to consider future careers in law enforcement and firefighters.

Community Outreach Ministry

Riverside County school system offering practicums for handson workshops such as “Gearing Up For STEM” Mentor Protégé Workshops where protégé’s learn basic robotic assembly with their mentors and “Children’s Creative Art” Mentor Protégé Workshops where children create art objects using recycled materials and Mod Podge taught by Cynthia K. Duran of Sewing Stories. The “Breaking the Cycle of Incarceration” Mentor Protégé Workshops provides adults with resources to access comprehensive support services to meet their children’s needs for developing better outcomes at home, in school and in the community.

Year-round camping activities

welcomes, volunteers, sponsors and champions to invest in atrisk kids to help lower their risk and raise their expectations for a brighter future through mentoring workshops, camping activities and Christmas gift scholarships. Donations may be given online at https:// www.communityoutreachministry. org. Or, send text to “DONATE CHAMPIONS” to 609-212-0627.

You will receive a text back with a link to a page where you can donate. For more information call 951-698-7650 or email info@communityoutreachministry.org.

Submitted by Community Outreach Ministry.

San Jacinto Unified School District selects new superintendent SAN JACINTO – The San Jacinto Unified School District board of trustees have selected David Pyle as the district’s new superintendent, effective June 1, 2020, a decision that was ratified at the board’s regular meeting, Tuesday, May 12.

Pyle succeeds Shari L. Fox, who has served as interim superintendent since Dec. 4, 2019. In November 2019, the board accepted the resignation of Diane Perez, who led the district since 2013.

Pyle has been the superintendent at Nuview Union School District in Nuevo since 2012. He has 23 years of experience in public education and has served as a teacher in El Rancho Unified School District, assistant principal with Hemet Unified School District and principal in Nuview Union School District before taking the helm at Nuview eight years ago.

Pyle is a California native who was born and raised in San Diego and earned a bachelor’s degree in speech/communication from Long

Beach State University. He earned his master’s degree in educational administration from National University and earned a doctorate in educational leadership from Azusa Pacific University.

“His energy, excitement and emphasis on student success, building strong relationships throughout the community and responsible financial management fit perfectly with what we were looking for, and the priorities identified by our stakeholders and employees,” John I. Norman, SJUSD board president, said. “We had 31 applicants from across the country, and we are incredibly happy to welcome Dr. Pyle to SJUSD and to the families that we serve.”

His wife, Jen, is a speech pathologist at Murrieta Unified School District. His son Gavin attends Murrieta High School, his daughters Taylor and Alyssa both attend Boise State University and his daughter Shay attends San Francisco State University.

“It is with the greatest enthusi-

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David Pyle is the new superintendent of San Jacinto Unified School District.

V alley N ew s/ Courtesy p hoto

asm and appreciation that I have been selected to serve as the next superintendent of the San Jacinto Unified School District,” Pyle said.

“For the past eight years, I have admired San Jacinto as a neighbor while serving Nuview USD, and I am beyond humbled for the opportunity to serve within the San Jacinto Valley, excited for what is to come in our time together. I am looking forward to meeting the community.”

San Jacinto Unified School District serves more than 10,500 students in seven K-fifth grade

schools, including one Dual Immersion Academy. Three sixth to eighth grade middle schools, including one Leadership Academy, and three ninth to 12th grade high schools, including one comprehensive and two alternative schools.

All schools are on a traditional calendar, and the district also operates three Head Start and state preschool programs as well as a community-based adult transition program for students 18-22 years old.

Submitted by San Jacinto Unified School District.

Hannah Park inducted into The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi BATON ROUGE, La. – Hannah Park of Temecula was recently initiated into The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, the nation’s oldest and most selective all-discipline collegiate honor society. Park was initiated at San Diego State University.

Park is among approximately 30,000 students, faculty, professional staff and alumni to be initiated into Phi Kappa Phi each year. Membership is by invitation

only and requires nomination and approval by a chapter. Only the top 10% of seniors and 7.5% of juniors are eligible for membership.

Graduate students in the top 10% of the number of candidates for graduate degrees may also qualify, as do faculty, professional staff and alumni who have achieved scholarly distinction.

Phi Kappa Phi was founded in 1897 under the leadership of undergraduate student Marcus L.

Urann who had a desire to create a different kind of honor society: one that recognized excellence in all academic disciplines. Today, the society has chapters on more than 300 campuses in the United States and the Philippines. Its mission is “to recognize and promote academic excellence in all fields of higher education and to engage the community of scholars in service to others.”

Submitted by Phi Kappa Phi.

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May 15, 2020 • www.anzavalleyoutlook.com • Anza Valley Outlook

AVO-7

Regional News

L.A. County sheriff says inmates tried to infect themselves Stefanie Dazio THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Two groups of inmates at a Los Angeles County jail tried to infect themselves with the coronavirus by sharing water and a mask, and within two weeks 30 prisoners tested positive, authorities said Monday, May 11.

At a briefing, Sheriff Alex Villanueva showed surveillance videos from two dormitory units at the North County Correctional Facility in Castaic.

The footage captured inmates in one unit sharing a container of hot water and others in a second unit

sniffing a mask.

The sheriff said the inmates used hot water to try to raise their temperatures just before a nurse checked them. An elevated temperature is a symptom for coronavirus.

Villanueva said the inmates mistakenly believed that if they were infected they would be freed.

“It’s dismaying, and it’s disheartening,” he said.

In mid-April, the North County Correctional Facility didn’t have a single COVID-19 case. Days later, nine inmates were flagged as being potentially sick, according to Bruce Chase, the department’s

assistant sheriff of custody operations.

Deputies had been reviewing surveillance video trying to see if the inmates were socially distancing and using their masks when “lo and behold, we stumbled across footage that was very troubling to us,” Chase said.

The mid-April video showed a group of inmates passing around a mask and sniffing it. As authorities were investigating that incident, they found out about a second case where inmates were sipping from the same container of water in late April.

Within two weeks, 21 inmates

in the water container case had COVID-19 and nine prisoners from the mask incident were sick, Chase said.

He said there’s no evidence the mask or water container came from an infected inmate, and the prisoners may have just been trying to spread the virus if they had it. No inmates have admitted to a scheme.

Chase said his deputies need to better educate the inmates about the virus and the severity of their actions.

“We’re responsible for their care,” Chase said. “That includes protecting them from themselves.”

The sheriff’s department, which oversees the nation’s largest jail system, has released more than 5,000 inmates during the pandemic to create more social distancing.

The department has freed inmates using several qualifications, including if they are within 60 days of release. Inmates who have tested positive for the virus can be released.

Inmates who are awaiting COVID-19 test results are being held in a downtown jail’s hospital ward or being treated at a county hospital if their symptoms are more severe.

California protesters talk mental strain, importance of freedom Jamie Joseph THE EPOCH TIMES

Kiki O’Bourke was among the approximately 1,500 protesters in Huntington Beach Saturday, May 9, who urged Gov. Gavin Newsom to expedite his plan for reopening the state.

“Emotionally, it’s killed me,” he told The Epoch Times. He’s physically healthy⁠ – aside from a hernia that was supposed to be fixed in February by an operation that’s now been postponed indefinitely.

O’Bourke is worried about friends and family with mental health issues. Some of them have had “domestic problems rising” during lockdown, he said. A friend of his committed suicide recently.

Tears filled his eyes as he talked about it.

He fears losing his freedom, and that’s why he decided to protest.

He said the state’s regulations are an “overreach of power,” similar to what his father fled in Cuba.

“My dad left Cuba to get me out of there,” he said. “It’s liberty or death.”

A protester holds a sign in Huntington Beach, Saturday, May 9.

The Epoch Times/ Jamie Joseph photo

The protests in California and across the nation have come under fire for ignoring social distancing precautions. Some media reports have also criticized the organizers for hiding funding sources and allegedly acting with a political motive, with the protests said to have the flavor of 2009’s Tea Party protests.

A majority of the protesters, May 9, didn’t wear masks or

practice social distancing. Many held “Trump 2020” banners. Many waved American flags or dressed in stars and stripes. Music and chants of “U.S.A.!” drifted for blocks.

Mental health, civil rights and the need to make a living were the reasons most protesters cited for attending.

“I’ve felt very depressed some days,” Orange County nurse Mari-

anne Smith said.

Getting out to protest and call for freedom has given her a boost, she said.

“It has impacted me to be very aware of my civil rights. For the first time in my life, I’m awake,” she said.

Another protester, Dan Shabati, said the stay-at-home order bankrupted his retail business, which had thrived for 25 years.

Phase two of Newsom’s reopening plan includes retail businesses reopening for curbside service only, he said. But his business doesn’t work that way; customers want to test his products in the store. He also doesn’t operate online for that reason.

“I think it’s very controlling,” he said of the restrictions.

In the afternoon, the protesters moved from the Pacific Coast Highway and Main Street, where they caused gridlock, to the shoreline. The beach was officially open for recreational use, such as jogging or surfing. But a May 8 press release from the city had warned locals, “Beachgoers must ‘keep it

moving’ at all times” and “settling in place” is not permitted.

The Huntington Beach Police Department reported that crowds were peaceful, and they made no arrests, similar to the larger protests May 1, which had about twice as many attendees.

Orange County Supervisor Don Wagner told The Epoch Times he understands the desire to reopen and supports doing it safely. He expects some jobs to return, but some to be lost because of bankruptcies like that of Shabati’s business.

“We’re seeing the state borrowing from the federal government to cover employment benefits⁠ – that’s going to be a long-term fiscal bomb for us,” he said.

As of May 10, the Orange County Health Agency reported 3,502 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 76 deaths. Of the cases, 337 patients are residents in nursing homes and 259 are in Orange County jails.

Reprinted with permission of The Epoch Times.

Riverside County’s homeless count reveals positives, negatives City News Service SPECIAL TO VALLEY NEWS

Riverside County’s homeless population increased by nearly 3% in the last year, but the number of chronically homeless people dropped by 27%, according to the Department of Public Social Services.

The department published its findings for the Riverside County Board of Supervisors to review Tuesday, May 5, but because of an hourslong hearing on proposals to roll back the county’s coronavirus-related restrictions, the 2020 Point-In-Time Homeless Count was given only a brief look.

The data show that during January’s homeless count, 2,884 adults and youths were identified as homeless, compared to 2,811 in the 2019 count.

The number of chronically homeless persons was estimated to be 529 – down from 727 in 2019, according to DPSS. A chronically homeless person

is defined as someone who has been living unsheltered for a full year, or who has been on the street off and on at least four times in the previous three years, officials said.

Figures indicated that the number of homeless seniors – those over 60 years old – fell by 7% over the last year, but the youth homeless population – those under 21 years old – increased by 41%.

The census involved 842 volunteers searching streets, alleys, under bridges, inside shelters, at campsites and other locations to identify homeless people.

It was unclear what impacts the coronavirus emergency would have, potentially driving homeless numbers higher, depending on when economic stability returns, according to DPSS. “We are a resilient county, and we are putting the building blocks in place to emerge from this crisis stronger and more innovative than we were before,” Heidi Marshall, director of the Department of Housing, Homeless Prevention

A Riverside County Sheriff Deputy interacts with a homeless man during the 2020 Point-In-Time Homeless Count.

Valley News/Shane Gibson photo

and Workforce Solutions, said.

“By strengthening the safety net for our most vulnerable neighbors,

we are strengthening the very core of our communities.”

Additional information about

the survey is available at http:// rchi.cs.ucr.edu.

Courtesy Pantry box program delivers essentials to older, disabled adults amid coronavirus pandemic RIVERSIDE – Riverside County and its community-based partners have rushed to address growing food insecurity with the new Courtesy Pantry program, a service available to older adults and to adults with disabilities who are unable to go out to get essential food for themselves during the coronavirus crisis.

The program was launched in late March by the county’s Department of Public Social Services and Office on Aging in collaboration with the Habitat for Humanity Inland Valley and The Salvation Army.

Organizers said the program is a demonstration of how public and nonprofit agencies are repurposing staff and resources while continuing to meet the needs of vulnerable households within their communities.

“COVID-19 affected our clients’ ability to obtain food. Some of our drivers who make home deliveries were forced off the road, so we engaged the Office of Aging to help us deliver pantry boxes to those in need,” Ryan Uhlenkott, deputy director of DPSS Adult Services Division, said.

Up until now, the program has delivered over 2,300 boxes to older adults and disabled adults across

A Habitat for Humanity Inland Valley volunteer poses beside Salvation Army food boxes, which are delivered to older adults and adults with disabilities through Riverside County’s Courtesy Pantry.

Habitat for Humanity Inland Valley volunteers pose with Salvation Army food boxes, which are delivered to older adults and adults with disabilities through Riverside County’s Courtesy Pantry. Valley News/Courtesy photos

Riverside County.

The pantry boxes are distributed on a weekly basis to those who have shown the greatest need. The Salvation Army gets the food and fills the boxes. Habitat for Humanity stores, coordinates deliveries and distributes them without having to make contact.

“Because of COVID-19, a whole new set of needs emerged for vulnerable communities and we wanted to be there to help. We had the infrastructure to support

food and produce. Contents also include other essential items such as toilet paper and toothpaste, along with instructions on how to apply for benefits. The boxes typically arrive between five and seven days after requesting to be put on the list.

“I am extremely grateful for the food box delivery program,” Lynn Pierce, a Riverside resident, said. “I have been sharing the food with my neighbors, so the support is being extended into my neighborhood.”

The Courtesy Pantry is avail-

Riverside County’s desire to serve people unable to go to the store and pick up groceries for themselves,” Tammy Marine, executive director of Habitat for Humanity, said. “We are honored to work with a county so in-tune and motivated to take care of its residents. We now have some of our construction and ReStore team making deliveries and office staff coordinate communications and logistics.”

Courtesy Pantry delivers up to a two-week supply of shelf-stable

able to adults age 60 and older and adults with disabilities living in Riverside County. To check for eligibility, call 800-510-2020.

Courtesy Pantry is one option to assist older adults with meals. Riverside County has partnered with various organizations, including Feeding America in Riverside and San Bernardino counties, which also offers a mobile pantry program and other resources to provide meals to older adults.

Submitted by Riverside County.

AVO-8

Anza Valley Outlook • www.anzavalleyoutlook.com • May 15, 2020

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