MONDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2014 - DECEMBER 14, 2014
riversideindependent.com
Record-Breaking Storm Still No Relief for California’s Drought By Jennifer Schlueter
meteorologist Eric Bolt from the National Weather Service told Voice of America (VoA). In Glendora and other mountain communities, residents and city departments feared mudslides resulting from desolated hillsides due to previous wildfires. A few evacuations were issued; though, soon lifted because the slides weren’t as bad as expected and cities and residents were well prepared with barricades and 18,000 distributed sandbags.
meeting in Riverside since last June as to create a plan to fight poverty in the city, generally, but especially in the Eastside. The group is known as the Eastside Anti-Poverty RoundPlease see page 4
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- Photo by Terry Miller
However, despite last week’s downpour, California is still experiencing a severe drought. “We certainly hope that the rainfall we have now pushes us toward normal — but we’re still below normal.… We’re just trying to get to average,” said spokesman for the California Department of Water Resources to the Los Angeles Times. Whereas downtown Los Angeles normally receives Please see page 4
Poverty in the Eastside To Be Addressed and Studied for Solutions By Vickie Vértiz The Eastside has long been a diverse and hardworking neighborhood in Riverside. Distinguished Professor at UC Riverside, Susan Straight has documented the lives of that community where she grew up, along with photographer
Doug McCulloh. Now, the city of Riverside is also bringing its attention to the Eastside. The Press Enterprise reported that leaders in housing, education, employment, homelessness, and the roots of poverty have already been
“Know Your Limit” Launched for Less Drunk Drivers The Riverside Police Department (RPD) has noticed an increase in DUI arrests and traffic collisions involving impaired drivers. The Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) provided funding to conduct DUI checkpoint and additional DUI patrols throughout the city in efforts to reduce drinking and driving. Officers have been provided additional training in DUI enforcement and investigation; however, this has not deterred drivers from getting behind the wheel and driving while intoxicated. The Riverside Police Department has launched a new program called “Know Your Limit.” This program deploys RPD officers on foot into Riverside’s various entertainment districts where they contact club and bar patrons outside the businesses. Patrons are asked if they would like to volunteer to be checked with a breathalyzer device to see what their current blood alcohol content (BSC) level is. The officers explain that it’s an educational program designed to raise awareness of how little alcohol it takes to register a 0.08 percent BAC. During the contact the volunteer is asked if they feel the effects of any alcohol and if they would be safe to drive a vehicle. The patron then blows into the breathalyzer device and is shown the results. At the end of the volunteer’s participation in the program, they are provided the tube from the breathalyzer as a reminder, a sticker or an educational card that provides information on alcohol con-
Monrovia residents brace for the storms with K-rails and sandbags near the Madison Fire area.
Last week, drought-stricken California finally received some much needed rain for two straight days along with delayed and canceled flights, traffic chaos, destroyed power lines, and mudslides. The subtropical storm that emerged south of Hawaii broke December 2 records of the past 50 years in “downtown Los Angeles, Los Angeles International Airport, Long Beach Airport and communities such as Antelope Valley, Palmdale and Camarillo,”
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