Knee Deep in the Hoopla, A-3
VALLEY
A day in the life of an aerobatic pilot, B-1
French cooking expert provides culinary camps for “epicurious” kids, A-12
A
Section
NEWS
June 5 – 11, 2015
www.myvalleynews.com
Blotter
Teen charged as adult after Lake Elsinore shooting leaves 1 dead
Volume 15, Issue 23
Up, up and away at the Temecula Valley Balloon & Wine Festival
Daniel Lane Multimedia Journalist Ryan Jawad, 16, will be charged as an adult in the shooting death of Gage Seal, a 15-year-old freshman at Temecula Valley High School. see page B-6
Local
Temecula budget focuses on future shortfalls Tim O’Leary Staff Writer Unlike past years of surpluses and robust spending plans, the Temecula City Council is tightening its belt and grappling with potential future budget shortfalls. see page A-8
People watch hot air balloons glow at nightfall during the Temecula Valley Balloon & Wine Festival on May 29.
Shane Gibson photo
see more photos on page A-6
Sports
Support goes deep for baseball instructor diagnosed with cancer JP Raineri Sports Editor A local baseball instructor, Rich Krzysiak, who has not only helped many young men in town become better hitters, players and just overall people in general, was diagnosed with neck, tongue and thyroid cancer on March 10 and the baseball community, which runs deep in this area, has certainly rallied behind him to help show their support.
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see page B-10
Local scout earns award for scientific excellence Alex Groves Staff Writer A local Cub Scout earned a distinctive honor for his explorations into the world of science. Dallas Bowden, 9, earned the Dr. Luis Walter Alvarez Supernova Award, named after a Nobel Prizewinning scientist and professor who measured the magnetic moment of a neutron. Bowden had to complete multistep process that involved crafting experiments, learning about various scientists and performing scientific demonstrations in front of his peers for the award. Bowden at first earned his Nova Award alongside his fellow Cub Scouts earlier in the year when they all participated in a science experiment at an event at the Western Science Center in Hemet. He then decided to go one step further by earning his Supernova
Award, which builds upon the initial skills acquired for the Nova Award and requires Boy Scout participants to find a mentor who is registered with the Boy Scouts of America. When Bowden was unable to locate anyone scientific who was registered with the BSA, his father Paul stepped up and became certified as a mentor who could help him. From there Bowden began his Supernova journey by doing research on Dr. Alvarez and his scientific experiments. He then picked three other scientists to research; Albert Einsten, Nikola Tesla and Alessandro Volta. One final aspect of the Supernova Award criteria was that an award candidate work with a Cub Scout from another den who also was trying to achieve his Supernova Award. However, Bowden faced a unique challenge in that he
was the only Cub Scout in the area working to attain the award. In the absence of individuals he could work with, Bowden was compelled to return to the Western Science Center to participate in another scientific experiment. This time, he conducted an experiment in front of people who came into the museum. “He was trying to teach other members of the public and community,” Paul Bowden said. “When other Cub Scouts (leaders) get their Pack in, I asked him to teach them so that they in turn could do it themselves.” It was Volta’s endeavors to better understand electrical power and his creation of rudimentary battery that inspired Bowden when he had to pick out his own experiment. Using pennies and nickels, he demonstrated how the metal objects
see SCOUT, page A-9
Nine-year-old Dallas Bowden displays his Supernova Award. Courtesy photo
Temecula’s economy roars back to life VALLEY NEWS
Upbeat outlook cited at State of the City presentation Tim O’Leary Staff Writer What a difference five years makes. Unemployment hovered around 10 percent, many companies were on the ropes and development had slowed to a crawl the last time Temecula Mayor Jeff Comerchero briefed business and community leaders at his State of the City talk. Attendance was anemic during that annual presentation. Now business is booming, unemployment has plummeted to 4.7 percent and the economy has roared back to life, Comerchero reported. Even the attendance has surged at the breakfast event held at the Pechanga Resort & Casino by the Temecula Valley Chamber of Commerce. “Today the picture is much brighter,” Comerchero told the capacity audience. “While some regions were slower to recover, Temecula’s economy turned around much faster and the momentum is continuing. Today, Temecula is well past the recession.” Comerchero pointed to many
signs that the recession, which began to grip the nation in 2008, has faded into a distant memory. Temecula now boasts more than 49,200 jobs – which nearly matches its peak figure and is more than half of all of those employed throughout Southwest Riverside County. He noted that the city’s median home value has rebounded to nearly $453,000, and more than 1,600 homes, apartments and condominiums have been approved or are in the planning stages. A plan to build as many as 1,700 units on 270 acres west of Old Town is also working its way through the review process. Tourism revenue has tripled since 2004 and now exceeds $651 million a year and employs about 7,000 workers. A big driver of that economic sector – the Pechanga complex – will soon begin a major expansion that will add another 500 hotel rooms, a second convention area, a spa, resort-style pool and two more restaurants. Comerchero cited a study that estimates the casino project will pump more than $550 million into the economy and create about 3,000 construction-related jobs.
A Mercedes Benz dealership sold more than 1,500 cars – sales revenue that exceeded $92 million – in its first year of operation. Plans have been submitted to the city calling for an Audi dealership to be built alongside it, he said. “We are grateful to all of our fine auto dealers who have produced the strong component of Temecula’s economy with hundreds of millions of dollars of sales annually and hundreds of local jobs,” Comerchero said. “We thank them all for their ongoing investments in Temecula.” Temecula Valley Hospital, which also recently marked its one-year anniversary, generates $40 million a year in payroll via its 500 jobs. He noted that the $150 million hospital has fueled the construction of seven nearby medical buildings that will total about 150,000 square feet when all of them are completed. Comerchero introduced a city custodian who credits his life to the hospital’s proximity and professional care. “Dale (Hoof) had a heart attack last year at the kitchen at City Hall, but he’s alive and healthy
again after emergency surgery and a stent was placed in his heart,” Comerchero said. “Too many times in years past a story like this had a very sad ending as heart attack victims couldn’t survive the long ambulance trip to Riverside for the acute care they needed to make them well.” Comerchero also noted that the city has $50.6 million in place and it is simply waiting for a green light from the state before it begins to upgrade the overworked freeway exit and entrance ramps at Temecula Parkway. “This improvement is at the top of our priority list as we know it’s critically needed by our residents on the south side of town,” Comerchero said. He said the surge of activity on many fronts is a testimony to the faith and heart, and the confident planning and persistence, Temecula’s leaders and residents have exhibited through thick and thin. “Although many of these changes came about in the middle of very difficult economic times, never did
see TEMECULA, page A-7