MONDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2014 - OCTOBER 12, 2014
riversideindependent.com
VOLUME 1, NO. 23
A veto sets back Riverside County cities Family by Vickie Vértiz members can Four struggling Riverside County cities are citing back-room ask court to politics for the veto signed by Governor Jerry Brown of a bill that seize guns would have restored up to $19 million to them. The veto could even lead Jurupa Valley to disfrom unstable solve altogether, according to the San Bernardino Sun. loved ones The bill was a recent attempt to reverse a decision made in 2011 by California legislators which shifted vehicle license-fee revenue from cities to law enforcement. Sponsored by Sen. Richard Roth, D-Riverside, the bill was a chance to balance the budget in the middle of the long-lasting Great Recession. The Sun said that the policy affected all California cities, but negatively affected Jurupa Valley, Eastvale, Menifee and Wildomar, which are all recently-incorporated Riverside County cities. Because they are new additions, the cities were depending more on the vehicle license fees than older neighbors, said the Sun. The cities have been forced to cut back on services, said the paper, but Jurupa Valley was hit the hardest because it became a city only two days after the bill was up for a vote, losing nearly half of the revenue it was counting on in its
Riverside residences. The case has been referred to the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office for potential prosecution. At one of the homes, located in the19000 block of White Dove Lane, investigators recovered more than 40 gallons of
After 22-year-old Rodger Eliot went on a shooting rampage this May in Isla Vista killing 6 and wounding 12 more people, officials called, again, for stricter gun control laws. California assemblywomen Nancy Skinner consequently sponsored a bill allowing guns to be seized from mentally ill individuals. The law, which was signed into effect last Tuesday, lets people demand a court order to temporarily seize guns from family members who pose a threat to the community or themselves. In order to prevent these potentially dangerous individuals from buying firearms, they will also be added to a list. Prior to his planned shooting, Eliot had legally acquired three guns, and his parents had repeatedly warned police of his unstable condition. California has recognized that “family members are the ones who most acutely understand when their loved ones are in a dangerous situation,” according to the executive director of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence Josh Horwitz, and thus, has now become the first state of the country to allow them to ask for a court order seizing firearms. In other states with similar only law enforcement officials have the right to do so. Skinner told the New York Times: “This puts California in the leadership on efforts to stop
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Gov. Jerry Brown -Photo by Terry Miller
first year of existence. Jurupa Valley has faced fiscal difficulties ever since and might run out of funds in two years. The Sun quoted Riverside County Supervisor John Tavaglione, a Republican representing Jurupa Valley and Eastvale, saying the Democratic governor is “out of touch.”
“I don’t think this was even a serious consideration for him, quite frankly … They basically thumbed their nose at us.” The Sun added that some people have even suggested the Legislature override the veto, but that strategy is not historically supPlease see page 2
HSI dismantles large-scale drug lab in Riverside
Investigators seize nearly $5 million worth of chemicals, crystal methamphetamine and marijuana Seven men, all originally from Mexico, were arrested on state criminal charges Thursday following U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations’ (HSI) discovery of a drug lab inside a residence in the Mission Grove neighborhood of Riverside and a related marijuana
grow at another home nearby. Six of the men, ages 22 to 51, are facing possible drug charges. The seventh suspect is being held for questioning in connection with an ongoing murder probe out of Sacramento. The men were detained after HSI special agents executed state search warrants at three