Knee Deep in the Hoopla, A-3
Two Wolfpack seniors announce college football commitments, D-5
VALLEY
A
Section
NEWS
August 28 – September 3, 2015
Local
Storm nixes this year’s Grand Prix in light of drought
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www.myvalleynews.com
Volume 15, Issue 35
Reptile Recon slithers into MMHS, bringing education, fun to students’days
LAKE ELSINORE—Lake Elsinore Grand Prix race organizers Storm Events and Podium Productions regretfully announced the postponement of the Lake Elsinore Grand Prix this November. The postponement is due to California’s severe drought conditions. Both parties plan to continue the race in November 2016. see page A-4
Entertainment
Barn Stage Company brings Broadway shows to Temecula Ashley Ludwig Staff Writer Jeremy Scott Lapp and Jordan Beck continue their 2015 Cabaret at the Merc Summer Series downstairs in the Truax Building this week. Next up is the awardwinning irreverent musical “Urinetown,” chosen for the timely subject matter, a fictional drought-afflicted city. Lapp discussed the show, the launch of Barn Stage Company, and the location this where group now calls home. see page B-1
Local
Motocross team struts their stuff on ‘America’s Got Talent’ Kim Harris Managing Editor Temecula residents and freestyle motocross team, Metal Mulisha Fitz Army, have been named to the Top 36 contestants and have moved on to live showings of NBC’s hit reality-competition series, “America’s Got Talent.” see page A-6
Real Estate
Sisters open boutique real estate agency in French Valley Kim Harris Managing Editor For sisters Kristi Roberts and Paula Goodspeed, going into business together was a no-brainer. The two brokers were always close as children, born only 14 months apart, they were inseparable.
Carson Vinole, 14, holds a ball python during a reptile showing hosted by the Murrieta Mesa High School Reptile Recon club at Old Town Temecula Aug. 15. Shane Gibson photo
Kim Harris Managing Editor When most people hear the word reptile, their thoughts go immediately to childhood fears of venomous snakes, slimy frogs or even to a certain gecko peddling
insurance on those commercials which have become commonplace in recent years. But for students at Murrieta Mesa High School, those cold-blooded creatures are more than just a scary myth or spokesreptile for an insurance company. They are intriguing and misunder-
stood creatures, according to club founder Samantha Hershowitz. Hershowitz said she was looking to make new friends who shared her uncommon interest in reptiles so last year she hatched the idea of a school group focusing on reptiles that would promote education and
Tim O’Leary Staff Writer Regional concerns that have been simmering for two and a half years are starting to boil over regarding the soaring costs of law enforcement services. The concerns have prompted the leaders of 17 cities throughout Riverside County to band together in hopes of finding a solution. “We’re getting people to listen,” Temecula Mayor Jeff Comerchero said during a July 28 council discussion of the issue. “The point is, how do we deal with it and how do we fix it?” The 17 cities that contract with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department for police services have banded together behind a common strategy. City leaders are speaking out and pressing for greater
involvement in the county’s cost assessment process. They are all keeping one alternative – tax increases or new fees – as a last resort. The cities are also monitoring steps by the county to analyze its public safety expenses and billing procedures. At the same time, a newly-appointed county supervisor said he is crafting a proposal that he plans to soon present to Sheriff Stan Sniff and others. “It’s got to be resolved,” said Chuck Washington, who was appointed to the countywide board in March. “That’s a challenge.” Gov. Jerry Brown picked Washington to succeed Jeff Stone on the five-member board. Stone, a former Temecula councilman and mayor, completed more than two terms as a county supervisor before he was elected to the state Senate
on Nov. 4. Washington can approach the police cost issue from a unique perspective. He represents the county now, but he is the only person to be alternately elected to the Murrieta and Temecula city councils. Murrieta has its own police department. Temecula contracts with the county for police services. “There’s a balance that can serve both interests,” said Washington, who declined to detail his proposal until after he meets with Sniff. Moreno Valley initially signaled its concerns over spiraling contract costs during a council study session in March 2013. The discussion unfolded following a five percent increase in the contract’s cost and a further assessment to help pay for a countywide communications system. About that time, the need to
balance the budget prompted that council to cut $6 million from its police services contract. That forced the city to eliminate 27 police officer positions through layoffs, attrition or by failing to fill existing vacancies. The action occurred as Moreno Valley was reeling from a sharp drop in revenues that unfolded after the recent recession began in 2008. The city’s general fund revenues dropped $17 million during that period from its fiscal year 2008-09 level of $96 million. The concerns have intensified there and in other contract cities since then. Moreno Valley revisited the issue again in September 2014. The city’s police budget was trimmed by another $1 million that fiscal year, a
see POLICE, page B-3
Local boys learn about unity at the 2015 Boy Scout World Jamboree in Japan Kim Harris Managing Editor
Education
Temecula schools harness power from the sun Shelli DeRobertis Writer
see page C-5
see REPTILES, page A-7
Rising police costs spur regional concerns
see page C-1
A newly installed solar carport system was completed just in time for Temecula Luiseno Elementary School to begin bustling with students and staff again on Aug. 12 when they returned back to school.
awareness of reptiles and amphibians and MMHS Reptile Recon was born. “I chose to get involved because all of the other kids around me where doing things and it seemed to
Will and Matthew Dull, Boy Scouts with Troop 308, comprised of Scouts from all over Southern California, pose with a copy of Valley News at the Boy Scouts World Jamboree held at Kirara-hama, Yamaguchi City and Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan in August. Courtesy photo
Will and Matthew Dull are both like any other teenage boys. They love the great outdoors and all of the activities being an outdoorsman offers so when the two had the chance to represent the Boy Scouts of America’s Tahquitz District, they jumped at the chance. “My dad went to the 2011 World Jamboree in Sweden and he came back totally in love with the idea of International Scouting,” Will, who is an Eagle Scout, said. “The idea of going to Japan and meeting these people from all over the world was really exciting.” The 23rd World Scout Jamboree took place from July 28 to Aug. 8 in Kirara-hama, Yamaguchi City and Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. The
see SCOUTS, page A-4