Weekly News Roundup: January 20 Edition

There isn't too much Yucaipa news this week (a good sign, I think).

First off, Yucaipa made the national news this week. Not for any major accomplishment, of course, but for this "news of the weird":

January 16: A pair of troublesome dogs were saved from the pound when a Yucaipa couple, Roger Bowman and Debbie Vasquez, saw what they believe to be the image of Jesus in their doggie door. They took it as a sign that they should keep Max and Hercules.

• Press-Enterprise: Dirt of Divine? (with video)
  
• CBS4: Divine Doggy Door Saves Precocious Pooches
• WCSH6 (Portland, Maine): Jesus' Image in a Doggie Door?
• Local 6 (Florida): 'Jesus' Image in Doggie Door Saves Pets

Of course, the bloggers weighed in.

I've looked at the picture and I don't really see a divine image, myself. I suspect that Roger and Debbie were just looking for a good reason to keep the dogs (but don't tell them that).

OK, on to the serious news:

January 20: San Bernardino Sun, "Is latest freeze final squeeze on waning crop?" and "Freeze threatens I.E.'s remaining citrus crop" (the articles look the same, but with different headlines)

The big freeze is big news, causing severe damage to Redlands' orange groves. This was the jumping off point for an article about the decline of agriculture in the area.

Yucaipa became home to a significant egg industry. It was so prevalent that residents there would say the city's "official bird" was the common house fly, recalled county Supervisor Dennis Hansberger, who represents the 3rd District.

"When I was young, there were 52 egg ranchers in Yucaipa," said the 65-year-old Hansberger, who grew up in Redlands and Yucaipa. "Now, there are two or three."

Today, there are about 3.3million egg-layers, as they are termed, in the county. But that figure is less than half of what once could be found, Gardner said.

The need for room to build was particularly tough on the poultry industry. With more people coming, the sights and smells of the coops became a growing issue.

January 18: Yucaipa News Mirror "Three picket local business over the death of bulldog"

Earlier this week several people picketed in front of the Holly Woof-Woof pet salon in protest over the death of champion English bulldog Bee Gee, owned by Randy and Rochelle Davidhizer. The dog collapsed while being groomed. Part of the dispute appears to be whether it was appropriate to muzzle the dog or not. It's a sad story, whether the groomer was at fault or not.

City News

January 20: Yucaipa News Mirror, "Yucaipa city management staff get significant raises"

The Yucaipa City Council has approved without public comment raises for most of the city staff's management and supervisory positions to bring them more in line with the salaries that other cities pay for roughly the same work.

January 18: Yucaipa News Mirror, "City in action at Economic Development Advisory Committee"
The Yucaipa EDAC met on January 11 and discussed economic development of uptown., including financial assistance for facade improvement and parking. They noted that development appears to be slowing, at least based on the decline in building permit applications (from 250-300 down to 40 in the last half of 2006). New construction includes a KB development on Seventh Street, a William Lyons development on the west side of Chapman Heights, a tract on Tennessee Street, a retirement home on Oak Glen, and a new Beaver Medical Clinic in Yucaipa Valley Center. The Live Oak Canyon - I-10 development is progressing:

Tooker confirmed the city has approved eminent domain to obtain the “slivers of right-of-way” needed to complete the Live Oak Canyon interchange. He also reported the Wildwood Canyon Interchange has become alive as a project and is currently 63 percent funded through Measure I. While the construction may be over a decade away, it will serve the community, he added.

There is also some preliminary work being done for a proposed Target SHopping Center where there is now the Christmas tree farm on Live Oak Canyon road.

David Palmer reported commitments have been received adding major anchors to the shopping center, which will be larger than the Citrus Plaza in Redlands. Included is a theater element - which is maintaining a strong interest, but no home improvement center

Note: I really really hope they upgrade the intersection at I-10 before any shopping center goes in there. I have visions of the traffic mess a major shopping center (larger than Citrus Plaza!) will cause.

Read the whole article for more details. The next scheduled meeting is April 12.

January 18: Yucaipa News Mirror, "YMRA leader gives membership bad news"

The Yucaipa Mobilehome Residents Association announced that the plaintiffs, Valley Breeze, had won in their litigation against the city.

The Rent Control Commission denied Valley Breeze any rent increase on the grounds that the application was incomplete. This decision was eventually upheld on appeal to the Yucaipa City Council. At that time, Valley Breeze attempted to provide further documentation. According to the city's rent control ordinance, however, the council could only consider facts submitted during the hearing before the Rent Control Commission.

The second part of the lawsuit had to do with how to determine the appropriate "inception year" for rent increases.

For more background information, read Chapter 15.20 of the Yucaipa Municipal Code "Mobilehome Park Rent Stabilization Program" and answers to frequently asked questions about the code.

Human Interest Stories

January 19: San Bernardino Sun, "Literacy specialist dedicates herself to helping others" is a nice profile of Debbie Seawright, who runs the Yucaipa library's literacy program.
"Pairing readers with tutors" looks at the program itself.

Tags: Yucaipa, news