MONDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2014 - OCTOBER 19, 2014
riversideindependent.com
Banning books still in style by Vickie Vértiz Inappropriate content for the age group was the reason for banning The Fault in Our Stars by a Riverside schools committee from its middle school library. This move was in response to a parent complaint about the teen love story content being too risqué for the middle schoolers. A similar parent complaint in the Cucamonga School District also banned the Pulitzer Prizewinning novel, forcing the Rancho Cucamonga Middle School library to implement a book audit, reported the Los Angeles Times. The Riverside Unified School District book reconsideration committee heard testimony, discussed and voted on the matter in the afternoon of Monday, September 29. A 6-1 decision removed every copy of the John Green novel from library shelves at Frank Augustus Miller Middle School. They also decided to deny other middle schools the ability to buy or accept the book as a donation, said the Times. However, the book will be allowed to be in high school libraries, committee chairwoman Christine Allen told the Times. Allen is the librarian at Arlington High School, where the committee met to discuss the matter. All it took was one parent, identified as Karen Krueger, to ask the committee composed of teachers, parents, a principal, and
tim not to tell anyone who they are talking with. After obtaining the serial numbers to the Green Dot cards, the money deposited to the card is immediately removed by the suspect. The caller is not connected with the Riverside Superior Court or the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department. No RivPlease see page 4
Please see page 2
at a middle school library because the plot involved teenagers dying of cancer, using explicit language, and having sex. In the age of Please see page 2
Police warn of fraudulent scam calls The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department would like to warn the public of fraudulent scam phone calls. Recently, various frauds have occurred in the Riverside County area where criminals contact victims by telephone to impersonate law enforcement officials or utility company officials. Court Scam: In the first type of scheme, the caller claims to be
a member of law enforcement, or the court system. The victim is told he or she has a warrant for failing to appear for jury duty. The caller demands payment for the warrant via credit card information, or a Green Dot card. The suspect typically remains on the phone with the victim while he or she travels to the store to obtain the Green Dot card. The suspect further instructs the vic-
Bill to mandate child-abuse training for teachers signed into law Assemblyman Mike Gatto’s (D-Los Angeles) bill to strengthen training requirements and prevent child abuse in schools was signed into law by Governor Brown Monday. The legislation would require all school employees to be trained according to standards developed by the Department of Education in the proper identification and reporting of child abuse, so that abuse can be stopped in its tracks. Gatto’s AB 1432 addresses the lack of training on how to recognize and report child abuse in K-12 settings. The California Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act requires certain professionals, known as mandated reporters, to report to law enforcement or protective services known or suspected instances of neglect, or physical, sexual, or emotional abuse. Despite these requirements, current law does not require school districts to train personnel on detecting and reporting child abuse, nor does it inform them of their responsibilities or that failure to report is a misdemeanor punishable by jail time. Gatto’s legislation addresses this problem by requiring school employees to complete reporting training. The Assemblyman has been working closely with child advocates and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom
John Green’s book was banned from from a Riverside middle school library -Courtesy Photo
a librarian and instructional services specialist, to have the book removed or that it be made available only with parental consent. Krueger did not think the book should be made available
VOLUME 1, NO. 24
2 | OCTOBER 13, 2014 - OCTOBER 19, 2014
Inland Empire counties among winners of federal workforce investment act grant State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson announced that 198 community colleges, school districts, libraries, and nonprofits will share more than $86 million in federal grants to help adults find meaningful jobs and become better informed citizens. “These funds will help adults learn to read, write, and speak English so they can find good jobs to support their families and become more productive members of their communities,” Torlakson said. The Workforce Investment Act, Title II: Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (WIA) funds classes in Adult Basic Education, high school subjects, English as a Second Language, and citizenship. To be eligible for the classes, students must be at least 18 years old, not currently enrolled in
school, and lacking in jobs skills and fluency in English. In addition, they must not yet have a high school diploma. The WIA is a competitive grant. The $86 million available in this round of funding went to local educational agencies, libraries, and nonprofits—including $28.3 million to those located in Los Angeles County; $12.5 million to the Bay Area; $8.7 million to Orange County; $7.5 million to San Diego County; $11.5 million to Sacramento Valley counties; $8.5 million to Inland Empire counties; $4.8 million to San Joaquin Valley counties; and $1.5 million to the Central Coast counties. For a complete list of grantees, visit the California Department of Education’s Funding Results Workforce Investment Act, Title II: Adult Education and Family Literacy Act Web page.
Change lives. Make wishes come true.
Become a Make-A-Wish ®
VOLUNTEER
Volunteers for Make-A-Wish give their time and talents to help bring hope, strength and joy to children who are battling life-threatening medical conditions. We have a special need for volunteers in the Inland Empire to help local children.
Get Involved Today ocie.wish.org | 714-573-9474
Riverside Triathlon The Riverside Police Foundation is hosting its 3rd Annual Riverside Triathlon on October 19th at Bobby Bonds Sports Complex. This multi-sport event consists of a 5K run, 12mile bike and finishes with a 150 meter swim (3 laps). The course, which begins at University Avenue then up and back Victoria Avenue, is flat and fast. It is police controlled for the safety of all. Everybody will be honored with a medal, “however, we award place medals for individuals, teams and our Challenge Cups,” Judy Cunningham, Race Director for the event, states.
“All proceeds from the triathlon will be used to further community outreach by promoting programs that provide a service to youth,” said Riverside Chief of Police Sergio Diaz. For more information about the triathlon, visit riversidetriathlon. com. Event Schedule: 6:00 a.m. – 7:30 a.m. Registration / Packet Pick-up, 7:30 a.m. Start Line Ceremonies,8:00 a.m. Gun Start, 10:30 a.m. Awards and Recognitions. The race begins at 8:00 a.m. and should end by 10:00 a.m. See attached map for alternative routes around the course.
Banned books Continued from page 1
school shootings and multiple wars, there are far more terrible things happening all around our society that it makes this book ban seem small. Krueger told the Times: “I just didn’t think it was appropriate for an 11-, 12-, 13-year-old to read. I was really shocked it was in a middle school.” The book was released early this summer in June as a movie rated PG-13, prompting students to check the book out and read it before the premiere. Krueger has twin eighth grade children at the school, reported the Times, and after her daughter brought home the novel, she complained to the principal in May. The principal then put the book through the formal recon-
sideration process of the district. Ironically, young people can find even more explicit material easily over the Internet and other social media forms, whereas a book could be used to incite discussion over serious matters such as death and sexual behavior, not to simply remove them to not discuss issues of teen sexuality at all, for instance. Not all parents felt the same way. For instance, parent and committee member Julie Boyes, voted against banning the book. She told the Times she thought the novelist was illustrating that a dying 16-year-old girl would experience anger and desperation, making the decision to have sex so young because her life would be cut short.
Child-abuse training for teachers bill Continued from page 1
Torlakson, after recent reports showed that several cases of abuse were prolonged because school personnel were unaware of their duty to report. “Crimes that occur in schools should not be treated any differently than those that occur elsewhere in our com-
munity, unless it is to treat them with even greater care and concern,” said Assemblyman Gatto. “California law needs to make sure that school administrators at all levels of education report these most serious crimes and empower our law-enforcement experts to investigate.”
OCTOBER 13, 2014 - OCTOBER 19, 2014 | 3
hlr media EDITORIAL editor@riversideindependent.com Editor Jennifer Schlueter Publisher HLR Media Advertising advertising@hlrmedia.com Submissions:
Please send all press releases to: editor@riversideindependent.com HLR Media, LLC .All contents herein are copyrighted and may not be reproduced in any manner, either in whole or in part, without the express written consent of the publisher. The views and opinions expressed in this paper are not necessarily that of the management and staff at HLR Media, LLC 3800 Orange street Riverside CA, 92501
Phone: (626) 386-3457 Fax: (626) 600-4452
Alhambra PRESS
Baldwin Park
INDEPENDENT
INDEPENDENT
Gone Girl is a heightened but, unfortunately, accurate reflection of our culture movie review By Michael James Gonzalez It’s not surprising that this weekend’s number one movie at the box office was Gone Girl. The film stars a handsome, allAmerican male, the plot centers on a possible kidnap or even murder of a young, beautiful wife, and we are led through a maze of clues and assumptions by the media, which begins to air the police investigation 24/7. Pardon the expression, but that’s so meta. If you watched the film over the weekend and felt less like a passive viewer and more like a participant in the film, then the joke wasn’t lost on you. Consider the extraordinary amount of TV shows devoted to tabloid-crime related news stories, and you’ll realize how much our culture is obsessed with the type of narrative depicted in Gone Girl, which gives us a fly-on-the-wall glimpse into the machinations of people involved in a high-profile crime and the subsequent media frenzy once the front door shuts on the news cameras outside. The film is based on author Gillian Flynn’s bestselling novel of the same name and is directed by master craftsman David Fincher (The Social Network, Se7en). Gone Girl stars Ben Affleck as the seemingly perfect husband— who we come to find has quite a few chinks in his armor—and Rosamund Pike as the Northeastern-bred, sophisticated, equally perfect wife who disappears under circumstances that appear obvious but are anything but. We begin as Nick Dunne (Affleck) returns home to discover that a violent struggle has taken place and his wife Amy (Pike) is missing. After local police get involved, circumstantial evidence begins to point toward Nick as the prime suspect and a media circus quickly ensues. Flashback sequences begin to reveal cracks in Nick and Amy’s marriage— including money problems, a move from New York City to
the suburbs of North Carthage, Missouri due to Nick’s sick mother, frequent arguments, and infidelity—as told from the point of view of Amy’s diary. But just as Nick’s smug behavior and lies surrounding the case lead police closer to arresting him for murdering his wife, we discover that there are far more malevolent forces at work which have led to Amy’s disappearance but perhaps not her death. The 149 minute film gradually reveals the context of Nick and Amy’s complicated relationship—from their first meeting to the day she
disappears—the twists and turns throughout the police investigation, and the shocking events of the third act, which even if you see coming, you won’t know what will happen next. Fincher’s distinct directing style brilliantly fleshes out the film’s motifs-psycho-pathology set against the appearance of affluence and normality, and the investigation of truth versus the exploitation of it—with his usual chiaroscuro tones and still frames, both of which make the camera invisible but remind us that this is a dirty world we’re inhabiting.
Long Beach Office 3780 Kilroy Airport Way Suite 360 Long Beach, CA 90806 Ph. (562) 472-0071 Fx. (562) 689-0071 Los Angeles Office 5701 South Eastern Avenue Suite 100 Los Angeles, CA 90040 Ph. (323) 727-1144 Fx. (323) 727-9198 www.heger-industrial.com Lic. #00814086
4 | OCTOBER 13, 2014 - OCTOBER 19, 2014
HUD awards $14.1 million to protect children and families in California from dangerous lead and other home hazards The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today awarded more than $14.1 million in grants to four local and state government agencies and research institutions to protect children and families in California from the hazards of lead-based paint and from other home health and safety hazards (see chart below). The grant funding announced today will reduce the number of lead-poisoned children and protect families by targeting health hazards in lowincome homes with significant lead and/or other home health and safety hazards. In addition, some of these grants will support research on increasing the effectiveness of hazard reduction methods. These programs have a demonstrated history of success, filling critical needs in communities where no other resources exist to address substandard
housing that threatens the health of the most vulnerable residents, and filling research gaps essential for being able to reduce hazard reduction costs. As HUD approaches its 50th anniversary next year, HUD Secretary Julián Castro is focused on advancing policies that create opportunities for all Americans, including helping children and families secure quality housing by protecting them from the hazards of lead-based paint and other home health and safety hazards. “No person should ever be in harm’s way when cooking dinner in their kitchen or playing with children in the living room,” said Castro. “These grant awards will help communities eliminate home-related hazards and give families new opportunities to thrive. Housing is a critical source of stability, and HUD is committed to helping
Free Community Outreach Class on Citizenship The University of the West (www.uwest.edu) through its Office of Extended Studies (site.uwestonline.com) is pleased to offer a free online class helping immigrants to prepare for U.S. Citizenship. Becoming a U.S. citizen is a privilege offered to all immigrants who possess a “green card”, and who have
lived in the U.S. for at least 5 years. This free class is 100% online and uses materials provided by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Prospective citizens can start and finish the 11 lessons at their own pace. To register for this free online class, please email extendedstudies@uwest.edu.
ensure that all Americans have a healthy safe place to live.” “Home is where a family should feel safe and the HUD Healthy Homes and Lead Control programs will be used by local groups to help reduce lead paint hazards, among other housing-related health issues,” said HUD Regional Administrator Ophelia Basgal. “I applaud the HUD grant recipients for their leadership in working to keep California families safe: the State of California Community Services Development, Alameda County, the City of Los Angeles, and the San Diego Environmental Services Department.” HUD’s HUD’s Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Control promotes local efforts to eliminate dangerous lead paint and other housing-related health hazards from lower income homes; stimulate private sector investment in lead hazard
control; support cutting-edge research on methods for assessing and controlling housing-related health and safety hazards; and educate the public about the dangers of hazards in the home. The funding announced today directs critical funds to cities, counties and states to eliminate dangerous lead paint and other housing-related health hazards in thousands of privately-owned, low-income housing units. Today’s funding also directs funds to public and private universities and research organizations to improve methods to detect lead paint in the home, assess the effectiveness of lead laws, improve home fall protection for the elderly, improve sustainable pest management strategies, evaluate the health effects of smoke-free policies, and assess home air cleaning in reducing childhood asthma.
Fraudulent scam phone calls Continued from page 1
erside County Court or Sheriff’s Department employee will ever contact the public and ask for financial information or payment in lieu of attending court proceedings, or to make up for failure to appear for jury duty. Utility Scam: In the second scheme, the caller claims to be from a utility, or service provider-type company. The victim is told their bill is overdue, or a meter needs to be replaced at the victim’s expense. The caller demands immediate payment for the overdue bill, or installation of a new meter. If payment is not received, the victim’s service will be shut off. The caller demands credit card information or a Green Dot card as described in the first scheme. The caller is not connected with any utility or service providers. Victims are encouraged to advise the caller they will call
the utility company directly, and discontinue the call. The victim should then contact the utility company themselves through legitimate and verified numbers. It should be noted there are several technologies and methods that allow callers to conceal what number they are calling from, or to give the appearance they are calling from the Sheriff’s Department, court, service provider or utility company. Anyone receiving a telephone call from a person claiming to be a Riverside County Court or Sheriff’s Department employee or other law enforcement official seeking money should refuse the demand and report the incident to your local Sheriff Station or Police Department. Citizens may also submit an anonymous tip using the Sheriff’s CrimeTips online form.