San Bernardino Press MONDAY, JULY 28, 2014 - AUGUST 3, 2014
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New proposal could improve marijuana dispensary regulation by Vickie Vértiz The City Attorney of San Bernardino, Gary Saenz, announced a new proposal to strengthen their medical marijuana dispensary ban. The San Bernardino Sun reported that is proposal includes allowing and regulating a small number of dispensaries in the city. Saenz wants a council committee to be created and begin studying alternative ways to enforce the ban. “We will present a plan which essentially acknowledges the futility and high cost of attempting to completely eradicate marijuana dispensaries with our current system, by which we will continue to spend hundreds of thousands and eventually millions but will never significantly achieve success,” Saenz said, who read from a statement on Monday, July 24. “Instead, by conceding to California’s policy of allowing marijuana use for medical purposes, and permitting dispensaries that are highly regulated, we can move the distribution of medical marijuana from the black market to the regulated market.” Saenz believes that marijuana market regulation does not pre-
a medical professional. These regulations aim to prevent and reduce severe concussions in young football players. The rules, supported by the California Interscholastic Federation and sponsored by Assemblyman Ken Cooley (DRancho Cordova), will be enforced starting January 1, 2015. Please see page 4
Please see page
Know that it is now time for you to leave the city of San Bernardino.” The Sun reported that Saenz assured illegal medical marijuana dispensaries of their pending eradPlease see page 2
California approves bill to minimize concussion risk for youth footballers by Jennifer schlueter With more and more football players suing the National Football League because of severe head injuries and the increasing awareness of the public about the tragic aftermath of such concussions, the NFL and college leagues reacted by limiting full-contact practices, which has already proven to reduce concussions. Last Monday, Gover-
nor Jerry Brown signed the AB2127 law, which will prohibit full-contact practices taking longer than 90 minutes a day in middle and high schools. Full-contact practices will be limited to twice a week, and completely banned during offseason. Furthermore, if a head injury is suspected, players cannot return to the game at all or before gaining approval from
San Bernardino City Unified starts school year with one more new school and renames another campus in honor of former mayor San Bernardino City Unified School District (SBCUSD) will welcome students back for classes on Monday, August 4, the same day it opens the new H. Frank Dominguez Elementary School and the renamed W. R. “Bob” Holcomb Elementary School. Dominguez Elementary School, located at 135 S. Allen Street, will serve 408 students in grades kindergarten through six. It is named for Vanir Group of Companies founder H. Frank Dominguez, who passed away in 2004 and left a legacy of community and philanthropic service. Dominguez Elementary will be an exploratory school, where students will begin learning about potential careers while developing 21st-Century skills, like creativity, communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and civility, said Principal Alejandro Hernandez. “We’re not going to put limits on our students,” said Hernandez, who previously served as principal of Muscoy Elementary School. “Our job is to help them explore the world and find their passion, whether it be engineering or culinary arts.” Dominguez Elementary will hold a weeklong open house for parents and students starting on
Marijuana plants - Courtesy Photo
clude the local efforts to run illegal dealers and growers out of town, especially “and, most importantly, real property owners who persist in defiantly allowing their property to be used in violation of San Bernardino’s land-use regulations.
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President signs executive order Judy Chu visits Southwest border in Texas banning discrimination against Congresswoman Judy Chu action to approve the suppleLGBT workers (D-CA), along with a delegation mental spending necessary to of Members of Congress, visited the Southwest border in Texas last week. The trip included visits to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection station in McAllen, Texas, and a Department of Health and Human Services facility where unaccompanied children are being transferred and housed in Lackland, Texas. The delegation also met with local advocates who are assisting in the minors’ crisis. “Today, I saw firsthand the humanitarian crisis at our Southwest border and heard directly from law enforcement on the front lines. Seeing the legal process on the ground and hearing the heart-wrenching stories of the children makes it clear – Congress must maintain the due process protections for unaccompanied children in the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act,” said Rep. Chu. “I urge swift Congressional
address the desperate situation at the border while leaving legal protections intact.” Since 2011, the number of unaccompanied minors attempting to cross the Southwest border has drastically increased. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) predicts that an estimated 90,000 unaccompanied children will attempt to enter the country by the end of this year. Many of the children attempting to cross into the U.S. are fleeing extremely violent environments in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras – collectively known as the Northern Triangle of Central America. Drug cartel and gang-related activity are the main cause for most of the violence occurring in the region. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, as many as 58 percent of the minors could qualify for international protection.
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Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), vice chair of the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus (Equality Caucus), released the following statement after President signed an executive order last week prohibiting federal contractors and agencies from discriminating against employees on the bases of sexual orientation and gender identity: “With Republicans still unwilling to bring up the Employment Non-Discrimination Act in the House – despite bipartisan support during passage in the Senate – the President was right to act to protect LGBT workers in the federal government from being discriminated against. We should be using every avenue available to fight discrimination – it’s just the right thing to do. “Nevertheless, this does not free Congress from the responsibility to pass ENDA and protect all workers from discrimination and we must continue to call for such action, and work to narrow the exemption granted to religious organizations.” Schiff earlier led an effort urging President Obama to issue such an Executive Order. The announcement is an important step towards ending discrimination against LGBT employees and ensuring that
they are judged based on the quality of their work and not because of who they are or who they love. The executive order, when implemented, will only protect employees of federal contractors and federal agencies. Schiff is an original cosponsor of the bipartisan Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which passed the U.S. Senate in November 2013. ENDA currently has 205 cosponsors in the U.S. House of Representatives. The Employment Non-Discrimination Act would establish basic protections in the workplace to prevent discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. There are currently only 18 states (including California) and the District of Columbia that prohibit discrimination on bases of sexual orientation and gender identity, and an additional 3 states that prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. ENDA would provide a basic level of protection against workplace discrimination in a manner modeled closely on Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and would apply to private employers as well as local, state, and federal government employers.
SBCU new school year Continued from page 1
July 28 from 9 to 11 a.m., Monday through Friday. The former Little Mountain Elementary campus, located at 1345 West 48th Street in San Bernardino’s north end, has been renamed W. R. “Bob” Holcomb Elementary School in memory of the man who went on to become the city’s longest-serving mayor. Holcomb, who championed civil rights and helped bring Cal State San Bernardino
to the city, died in 2010. Superintendent Dr. Dale Marsden believes both schools will be a renewed source of pride and hope for San Bernardino. “The namesakes of these two schools were great community leaders who dedicated their lives to instilling hope in our city,” Marsden said. “Their legacy will remain alive as students learn about them and are inspired to aim for a bright future of their own.”
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Largest US food distribution company sued for holding perishable food in unrefrigerated sheds The nation’s largest food distribution company, Sysco Corporation, will pay nearly $20 million dollars in a consumer protection settlement for illegally holding perishable foods, such as seafood, milk and raw meat, in unrefrigerated, unprotected storage sheds. This is the largest settlement of a food safety prosecution in California history. This case was investigated by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) and prosecuted by The California Food, Drug and Medical Device task force, made up of the District Attorney’s Offices of Orange, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Alameda, Marin, Solano, Napa, Sonoma, Monterey and Shasta Counties. The case was filed in Santa Clara County. Deputy District Attorney Tracy Hughes of the Consumer Protection Unit prosecuted this case for the Orange County District Attorney. Circumstances of the Case: Sysco is the largest food distribution company in the nation and among the largest worldwide. California law requires food distribution companies to register all vehicles and sites used to transport or store food with CDPH, which regulates food distribution and storage of perishable items to protect consumers from unsanitary conditions and food-borne illness. Beginning in or after 2010, Sysco used unregistered storage facilities and vehicles to store and transport smaller food shipments to commercial restaurants, schools and hospitals. Sysco trucks routinely delivered food orders to unrefrigerated mini-storage units, the same type in which people store extra furniture and other household items. Most of these units had no refrigeration and some were unsanitary. The shipments included products such as seafood, pork, beef and dairy products, all of which are extremely perishable. These smaller orders were dropped secretly at these unreg-
istered locations for employees to transport later to commercial customers. Sales representatives transported these smaller shipments in personal, unrefrigerated vehicles, also in violation of California law. The practice was uncovered by a reporter in Northern California. State inspectors subsequently found that Sysco had used at least 22 unregistered storage sites throughout California. Food coming through these sites reached commercial customers, and ultimately consumers, throughout the state. Furthermore, Sysco engaged in misleading advertising, falsely claiming to use only “state of the art distribution warehouses,” and
go “above and beyond government regulations.” Sysco trucks also bear the slogan, “Quality Assured.” Sysco has agreed to strict injunctive terms to cease the unlawful and unsafe practices. As terms of the settlement, they will be required to pay $15 million in civil penalties, $3.3 million to fund a food inspection program administered by the CDPH, Food Safety Division, and to implement a company-wide food safety and food safety education program. Sysco will also provide $1 million worth of fresh food to California food banks to be distributed based on need. Approximately $55,000 of fresh food will go to Orange County food banks.
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New proposal could improve marijuana dispensary regulation Continued from page 1
ication as it is one of his top priorities as city attorney. Other strategies being employed to eliminate illegal distribution include fines and liens against property owners and landlords which Saenz reminded people would be “...aggressively imposed, enforced and collected by all appropriate legal actions.” That same Monday, a legislative review committee was agreed upon by the City Council to discuss the recommendations of the Saenz plan and additional input by city staff and local citizens. The proposal will be fully considered at the next meeting on August fourth. While opening a medical
marijuana dispensary has been an illegal act in the city since 2007, it has been difficult to enforce and apply fines due to a temporary moratorium that was extended as late as 2011. The fines being collected by the city could have been $1,000 a day per illegal dispensaries, but because the legality of the enforcement was on pause, the act was uncertain at best. Once the California Supreme Court decided unanimously that cities could prohibit dispensaries through land-use bans such as the one in San Bernardino, the city started to enforce raids on illegal dispensaries once former City Attorney James F. Penman decided to shut down every one.
The process of enforcement is costly, said Saenz, and with the current economic challenges, San Bernardino has spent “valuable and limited police, code enforcement and attorney resources with frustratingly insignificant results.” The Sun reported that the Saenz proposal also included allowing a few highly regulated dispensaries, like San Diego, San Jose and Palm Springs have, is one possibility for less-costly regulation. The Saenz proposal also highlighted the dispensary connection to gangs, in a city that has seen multiple gang-related shootings in the last few months. “Our message is loud and clear,” said a statement on the
Facebook page that belongs to the City Attorney. “It is time for illegal operators to leave San Bernardino — this City’s leadership and Police Department view these dispensaries as a public nuisance and an obstacle to our efforts to build a prosperous city. I will work closely with the Council, Mayor and Police Chief to develop an effective plan that will eliminate the operation of illegal dispensaries. This will include the liberal use of penalties, fines and liens against irresponsible property owners that will be aggressively imposed, enforced and collected. Beginning August 18, illegal pot shops will no longer be welcome in San Bernardino.”
California approves bill to minimize concussion risk for youth footballers Continued from page 1
California will then be one out of 20 states to prohibit offseasonal full-contact practices. The CIF additionally voted on limiting weekly practice hours to 18 per week. According to the LA Times, Cooley said: “AB 2127’s practice guidelines will reassure parents that their kids can learn football safely through three hours of full-contact practice … to maximize conditioning and skill development while minimizing concussion risk.” A study by Dawn Levine, a
clinical neuropsychologist and assistant director of the Youth Sports Concussion Program for Kaiser Permanente, demonstrates that one-third of the average 600 hits to a high school player’s head occur during practice. Former New Orleans Saints executive Terry O’Neil estimates that per season, high schoolers endure 100,000 concussions - 60-75 percent of them during practice, The Sports Legacy Institute claims. Levine agrees with the bill, because less full-contact practices will
reduce the number of injuries, and thus, the “risk of any longterm damage,” the LA Times reports. According to the same LA Times article, Sen. Steve Knight (R-Palmdale) and Sen. Joel Anderson (R-San Diego) voted against the bill. In Knight’s opinion, the law makes California high schoolers less competitive for college scholarships, whereas Anderson believes that legislature should not interfere with sports practices. LA Roosevelt High School football coach Javier Cid said in an interview with the Times that full-contact practices are necessary to determine starters. “Concussion can change a kid’s life,” Cooley told Reuters. “Viewed through that lens, this bill is not crazy. It’s good for kids and it’s good for parents.” For the assemblyman, the players’ health and the concerns of their families are more important than a possible impact on football practices: “I anticipate other states will follow our lead as they consider the interests of kids and families,” he said in a press release. “We have a multitude of evidence that this does not just
affect professional athletes, but that younger kids who are still developing are just as susceptible and the effects of impacts. Research has shown hits don’t have to produce a concussion to have long-lasting effects.” In 2006, Zackary Lystedt, a middle school football player, had suffered severe head injury from a game. After a three month coma, and despite several therapies, Lystedt “still walks with a cane and has limited speaking abilities,” said the Washington post. Together with his parents, he fights for stronger regulations of football practices and awareness of concussions and their consequences. According to the LA Times, Loyola High School in Los Angeles has already taken an exceptional step to detect concussions. Principal Frank Kozakowski demands every single one of his students at the all-boy Catholic school to participate in a baseline test to assess “the student’s balance and brain functions [with the help of memory and problem solving skills] so it can be used and compared with a similar exam if the student is suspected of having a concussion.”