Weekly News Roundup: July 7 Edition

I hope everyone had a fun and safe Independence Day holiday.

City News

A tragic car chase began in Yucaipa at 1am last Wednesday morning. San Bernardino County sheriff's deputies attempted to pull over 19-year-old Los Angelino Adrian Soto around Avenue G and 6th Street. Instead of stopping, he headed west on I-10. The chase continued at high sepeed into Los Angeles County, with Soto shooting several rounds into the air. When the Jaguar was finally stopped, Soto called his family and friends to tell them goodbye, then shot himself before the CHP approached the car. Three passengers were detained by the CHP. There are many articles:

• Los Angeles Times: Man dies of self-inflicted gunshot after police chase
• KNBC4: 1 Dead, 2 Arrested after Long Chase Involving Jaguar
  
• My Fox Los Angeles: Pursuit Suspect Calls Relatives to Say 'Goodbye' Amid Chase

The Yucaipa/Calimesa News Mirror reports that the fire at the USA Cleaners in the Stater Bros. shopping center probably started as an electrical fire at the swamp cooler on the roof.

The San Bernardino County Sun reports on the four Panorama Drive homeowners facing loss of part of their property by eminent domain for the creation of flood control basins.

Yucaipa Planning Commission has approved the application for a 60 acre residential project on what was once the Mexican Era Jackson Ranch - now on the northeast corner of Ivy and Jefferson on the North Bench (map). It does not as yet have a water supply to provide sufficient pressure to fire hoses, and the project will be on hold until the developer rectifies the situation.

According to the News Mirror, the city council approved a $340,000 contract to coordinate the traffic signals on Oak Glen Road between Bryant and Calimesa Blvd. It was awareded to Oak Engineering of Pomona who had the lowest bid - which is 10% higher than the city engineer's estimate. $150,000 of the project will be paid by federal grants.

State Assemblyman Paul Cook has announced that eight bills he has sponsored have been approved by the assembly and move onto the senate.

• AB 282 – Stolen Valor Act 2007- This bill would make it a misdemeanor to misrepresent oneself as an honoree of a military medal or decoration. This bill passed the Assembly without a single ‘no’ vote. It awaits referral to a policy committee in the Senate.
• AB 339 – Manufactured Homes Escrow Clarification – This is a measure to clarify escrow laws for manufactured homes. As the result of a recent court decision, ANY letter disputing the terms of sale will result the halt of escrow, even if this is not the intention of the buyer. AB 339 provides that a letter of dispute must be explicit in wanting to stop escrow. This bill passed the Assembly without a single ‘no’ vote. It has been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee and awaits a hearing date.
• AB 455 – Contractors’ State License Board Quorum – This bill would now require an agreement of a majority of the sworn members of the Contractors’ State License Board to constitute an action. Current law allows for as few as 5 members (out of 15) to make decisions for the entire board if a bare quorum of 8 members is present. This bill passed the Assembly with strong bipartisan support and will be heard in the Senate Business, Professions, and Economic Development Committee on June 11.
• AB 456 – Construction Management Education Account Continuous Appropriation – This bill would provided for the continuous appropriation of the Construction Management Education Account of the CSLB instead of an annual appropriation by the Legislature. This bill passed the Assembly without a single ‘no’ vote. It awaits referral to a policy committee in the Senate.
• AB 1067 – Adult Materials in Stores – Storeowners would be required to cover adult material in stores where children may be present. This bill passed out of the Assembly without a single ‘no’ vote. It has been referred to the Senate Public Safety Committee and will be heard on June 19.
• AB 1069 – Abandoned Vehicle Abatement Program - Mobilehomes would be added to Abandoned Vehicle Abatement (AVA) and unused funds provided by the state to the AVA would not have to be returned to the state. This bill passed out of the Assembly Transportation Committee on April 16. The vote was 12-0 with amendments to specify that money can only be used for mobilehomes that pose a hazard to motorists. This bill passed the Assembly without a single ‘no’ vote. It awaits referral to a policy committee in the Senate.
• AB 1525 – BPPVE Extension Act – The Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education is set to expire on June 30, 2007, and this bill would allow the extension of the Bureau through January 1, 2008 when a more extensive plan for the Bureau can be implemented. This bill passed out of the Assembly and will be heard in the Senate Business, Professions, & Economic Development Committee on June 11.
• AB 1662 – Overseas Ranked Ballot – This bill would allow overseas voters, including military personnel, to vote in runoff elections, providing a space on the absentee ballot to rank all candidates. It passed 6-0 out of the Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee April 17, with amendments to restrict the use of the ranked ballot to those runoff elections that are within 90 days of the original election. This bill did not receive a single ‘no’ vote as it passed from the Assembly to the Senate. It now awaits referral to a policy committee in the Senate.

Schools News

The Yucaipa/Calimesa News Mirror profiles the new Yucaipa-Calimesa School District superintendent Sherry Kendrick. Kendrick has a doctorate in education from USC and has served as principla at Park View Middle School, Yucaipa Middle School (now Yucaipa High School Ninth Grade Campus), assistant principal at Yucaipa High School and, most recently, as the district's superintendent of human resources.

“With some of the issues from the past now resolved, my primary focus will be on teachers and re-establishing the trust we once had,” said Kendrick

At the June 26 meeting of the Yucaipa-Calimesa board of education, a number of promotions and reassignments were made.

• Yucaipa High School Assistant Principal Elizabeth Chronister will be the new principal at Yucaipa Elementary
• Yucaipa Elementary School principal Julie Lattuca has been reassigned to the District Education Center
• Dana Carter was promoted to assistant principal of Yucaipa Elementary and will also serve as the assistant principal at Valley Elementary
• Valley Elementary assistant principal Mike Gordon who will head the new Inland Leaders Charter School
• Park View will have two new assistant principals, science teacher Joe Malatesta and Frank Tucci, formerly assistant principal at Calimesa Elementary and Ridgeview
• Former Park View assistant principal Kristie Marino will serve a s assistant principla at Ridgeview and Dunlap
• Former Park View assistant principal Micahel Bennett will serve at Cayon as both assistant principal and English teacher.
• James Cherry will be assistant principal at both Calimesa Elementary and Wildwood
• The Yucaipa High School assistant principal position is still open. It is listed on EdJoin with a submission deadline of July 19.

Check out all the Yucaipa education positions open on EdJoin.

As reported last week, the board of education has also approved a new budget for the 2007-2008 school year of $71 million.

The San Bernardino County Sun profiles the new Yucaipa Inland Leaders Charter School.

Inland Leaders will be different from most elementary schools, Gordon said, because lesson plans will be crafted to include aspects of how to make a moral decision.

"For part of my lessons, one of the first things I'm going to do is teach them to be a more contributing part of their families," incoming third-grade teacher Briana Graham said.

Tags: Yucaipa, news