The Chef’s Grille receives Murrieta’s first Back-toBusiness grant, B-2
Riverside County gives green light to resume youth sports, with restrictions, C-1
A
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See the Anza Valley Outlook beginning on page AVO-1
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SERVING TEMECULA , MURRIETA , L AKE E LSINOR E , M ENIFEE , WILDOMAR , H EMET, SAN JACINTO August 14 – 20, 2020
Local League of California Cities urges Congress to aid local businesses
VISI T
T HE NEW
AND THE SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES
myvalleynews.com
Volume 20, Issue 33
Supporters of law enforcement hold demonstration in Menifee
Tony Ault STAFF WRITER
A coalition of California city mayors and members of the League of California Cities are pleading Congress to get back to the conference table and provide $500 billion to be sent directly to hundreds of cities across the nation to help cover the mounting revenues shortfalls created by the coronavirus pandemic. see page A-2
Local San Jacinto City Council approves needed pedestrian and bicycle safety projects Tony Ault STAFF WRITER
The San Jacinto City Council considered necessary street safety projects to be completed within two years and extended an urgency ordinance allowing restaurants and hair care businesses to operate outside until the coronavirus pandemic subsides, during the regular city council meeting Tuesday, Aug. 4. see page A-4
Local County reports 20,000 more tests conducted over the weekend, 1,531 new COVID-19 cases Jeff Pack STAFF WRITER
Riverside County Public Health officials Monday, Aug. 10, reported 1,531 new cases of COVID-19 over the weekend bringing the total number of cases within the county to 38,131 since the county began recording data. Day by day, the county reported 536 new cases Saturday, 472 on Sunday and 523 on Monday.
A group gathers at the intersection of Newport and Haun roads in Menifee during a “Stand Up for America” rally, highlighting support for law enforcement, Friday, Aug. 7. Valley News/Shane Gibson photo
Will Fritz ASSOCIATE EDITOR
A group of nearly three dozen kicked off their weekend with a demonstration supporting law
enforcement at a major Menifee intersection Friday, Aug. 7. The protest, organized by Menifee resident Patrick Wyatt and attended by about 30 Menifee residents, including the Menifee
mayor and a city councilmember, was held at the intersection of Haun and Newport roads in the late morning and early afternoon. “I love America, and I want to see it keep being the greatest
country in the world, and I think there are a lot of forces right now trying to tear it down, so I wanted everybody, especially people in see SUPPORTERS, page A-6
Cloverlane Foundation helps disabled veterans improve their mobility Tony Ault STAFF WRITER
Korean War veteran Gerald Chase, who lives in the San Jacinto Valley, saw a growing need to assist other veterans who were physically or mentally disabled and their families. Veteran Harvey Everett “Grey” O’Toole was presented a new six-wheel power chair, June 10, at American Legion Post 53 by Maneuvering Veterans Forward. The chair replaces his manual push wheelchair. The chair came from Empire Mobility, a major supporter of Cloverlane Foundation. In 1992, Chase established the nonprofit Cloverlane Foundation in Hemet to focus on enhancing the quality of life for children, veterans and animals, by provid-
ing programs and guidance to assist those most vulnerable. More recently, he formed a division within Cloverlane Foundation, Maneuvering Veterans Forward, to serve veterans’ mobility needs. O’Toole lost one leg and the use of one hand after serving in the Army National Guard as a mechanic in the 40th Armored Division in Fort Irwin. Chase, who is a member of American Legion Post 53, noticed O’Toole was having more and more difficulty moving around in the old chair and proposed the donation of a power chair from the foundation to help him out. O’Toole said he enjoys greater freedom with the new chair. It is giving his independence back and improving his quality of life, Chase said.
Chase served in the U.S. Army from 1952 to 1954 and fought in the Korean War. He was given the Legionnaire of the Year Award in 2018-2019 from American Legion Post 53 in Hemet for his efforts helping his fellow veterans. The Cloverland Foundation was also recognized as Nonprofit of the Year from the San Jacinto Chamber of Commerce in 2018. Cloverlane Foundation offers other services as well, including connecting veterans with Hemet Valley Medical Center for local medical attention, helping veterans to obtain their benefits for their military service and working to get homeless veterans and their families off the streets. Recently, Empire Mobility was see VETERANS, page A-2
Korean War veteran Gerald Chase is the chairman of Cloverland Foundation and member of American Legion 53 in Hemet. Valley News/Courtesy photo
see page A-3
INDEX
Q&A with longtime Temecula City Councilman Mike Naggar
Anza Valley Outlook ......AVO-1
Will Fritz ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Business ............................... B-2 Business Directory............... C-8 Classifieds ............................ C-6 Education ............................ B-6 Entertainment ............. B-1, B-5 Faith ..................................... C-8 Health .................................. C-3 Local .................................... A-1 National News ...................... C-5 Opinion................................. C-7 Pets ..................................... C-6 Regional News ..................... C-4 Sports ................................... C-1 Wine & Dine ........................ B-4
Temecula City Councilmember Mike Naggar. Valley News/City of Temecula courtesy photo
Earlier this year, Temecula Councilmember Mike Naggar announced he would not seek reelection in November. Naggar has held his seat on the council the longest out of any of the four current members, having been first elected in 1999. Before that, he sat on Temecula’s planning commission. In light of his retirement, Valley News spoke with Naggar via telephone Monday Aug. 10, to discuss his many years serving Temecula. Your retirement came as a surprise for many. Why are you stepping aside now? Well, primarily, it’s because my son is starting high school and he needs his dad around. And you
know, more than most., he needs his dad because he’s autistic. He’s somewhat high functioning in certain areas and in other areas he needs someone around to teach him and to be there for those teachable moments. So there’s that, and then, you know what, I’ve put together a good body of work and I feel like I’ve accomplished everything I set out to do. And in that regard, five terms is adequate. Five terms is more than I ever expected, and I’m very satisfied with it, it’s a culmination of a good career. What are some of the highlights of your time in office? What are some of the things you’re most proud of that you’ve done in the last 20 years? Well, you know there were so many things, and yet when I think some of the things that stand out –
certainly we’ve garnered national attention with all of our inclusive programs for special needs. And that popped up and started in about 2010 so I was already over two terms in at the time. But that really stands out, we were able to get a shadow population out of the darkness and actually show other cities how it’s done, so I’m really proud of that. What a lot of people don’t realize is when I first ran for city council I ran on a platform of developers weren’t doing enough to build sustainable communities and people really forget that because we were in the middle of a building boom. But I ran on a platform of suing the county because the county was allowing developments outside of city limits see NAGGAR, page A-5