Young inventors, scientists, engineers compete at Riverside County Science and Engineering Fair
City wants Corona residents to vote on public artwork projects Pg 14
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Thursday, March 02-March 08, 2023
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Riverside County DA calls for crackdown on fentanyl dealers By City News Service
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iverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin on Tuesday joined the father of a college student who died from fentanyl poisoning, along with a federal law enforcement official, in calling on the state Legislature to pass laws that would mandate warnings to drug suppliers that they could face murder charges if what they sell kills someone. "We want to tell our lawmakers, the governor — help us," Hestrin said. "Help the people of our state. Pass the laws that give us the tools to protect our citizens. It's as simple as that." Hestrin, DrugInducedHomicide.com founder Matt Capelouto of Temecula and Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent Bill Bodner held a news briefing at the DA's headquarters in downtown Riverside to appeal to the Legislature to give consideration to Senate Bill 44, authored by Sen. Tom Umberg, D-Anaheim, and SB 13, authored by
Riverside County DA Mike Hestrin — at podium flanked on his right by DEA Special Agent in Charge Bill Bodner and on his left by Matt Capelouto, whose daughter died after ingesting a fatal dose of fentanyl — speaks with reporters. | Photo courtesy of the Riverside County District Attorney's Office/YouTube
Sen. Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh, R-Beaumont, which are nearly identical. The proposals would mandate advisements to drug dealers, stating they understand upon conviction of dealing controlled substances that they could be prosecuted for seconddegree murder if the
products they distribute in the future cause a person's death. The advisement would be on par with Watson warnings that individuals convicted of driving under the influence must sign upon conviction of a DUI. "No laws are in place to ensure dealers will be
City of Corona puts out call to nonprofits for event co-sponsorship requests
held accountable. They don't exist (in California)," Capelouto said. "(SB 13 and SB 44) will save lives in our state and in our communities." SB 13 is known as "Alexandra's Law," in memory of Capelouto's daughter. It and SB 44 are under review by the Senate Committee on
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orona officials are asking nonprofit organizations to submit requests for co-sponsored events, and applications are due by March 30, the city announced. The city is currently creating its budget for co-sponsored events scheduled in the next fiscal year beginning July 1 and ending June 30, 2024. "The Co-Sponsorship program is administered by the Community Services Department and is intended to facilitate non-profit community events open to the public," said Jose Coria, community services events program coordinator. "This program provides a one-time award in the form of a fee waiver to offset costs associated with City permits and services in support of the requested event." Established in 1998, "this program has supported many events over the years," Coria said in an email to the Corona News Press. "Every year we support anywhere between 20-35 events. Some to make note of are the Relay for Life, Lobsterfest, Cinco De Mayo Parade, Jingle Bell Run, Day of the Child, and Memorial Mile March." This program is not the same as the recently approved Community Based Organization grant funding, which will be made available through a separate application process, according to the See Co-sponsorship Page 28
Public Safety. "The committee has an opportunity to save lives," Capelouto said. "They can lead the way and take a step toward protecting thousands of Californians. If not, more will die, with zero accountability from the person who killed them. That's not acceptable to See Fentanyl dealers Page 28
Report: Riverside County's unfunded pension gap widening again, but outlook positive
By Joe Taglieri joet@beaconmedianews.com
me, and it shouldn't be acceptable to any Californian who cares about the safety of our community." Bodner said the DEA has investigated cases "where a single drug dealer poisoned or killed multiple victims in the span of a couple of days." "The DEA will continue to work with local law enforcement agencies to ensure those lost to fentanyl have a voice," he said. The bills now before the Legislature bear strong similarities to proposals introduced at least twice by former Sen. Melissa Melendez, R-Lake Elsinore, in 2021 and 2022. Her legislation was also dubbed "Alexandra's Law" and had the support of multiple district attorneys statewide. The proposals never reached the Senate floor due to lack of backing from Democratic lawmakers, who have super-majorities in the Assembly and Senate.
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By City News Service
iverside County supervisors Tuesday signed off on a report indicating that county government's unfunded pension liabilities are growing again, largely due to poor investment returns at the state level, meaning higher near-term costs to the county. "We're still making progress, albeit slowly," county Chief Financial Officer Don Kent told the Board of Supervisors during a hearing on the 2023 Pension Advisory Review Committee report. "Pension costs will continue to increase ... for at least the next decade." The report said that the county's retirement apparatus is now 86.6% funded,
compared to 76.4% a year ago. The key metric that reflects a sound pension system is considered 80% funded status. The county's unfunded pension gap is $1.88 billion, compared to $3.08 billion estimated in the 2022 report, according to PARC. The figures are based on calculations that end in fiscal year 2020-21, the most recent period for which confirmed data is available from the California Public Employees' Retirement System. PARC estimated liabilities going forward, indicating the pension deficit will expand to See Pension gap Page 15