FREE
2 young men allegedly in Desert Hot Springs murder plead not guilty
Hemet broadens surveillance camera network
PG 02
PG 24
MONDAY, FEBRUARYY 05- FEBRUARYY 11, 2024
VISIT CORONANEWSPRESS.COM
VOL. 8,
NO. 158
Riverside County, other jurisdictions settle lawsuit against Tesla
4th District Homeless Symposium held Thursday in Indio
By City News Service
By City News Service
T
he Riverside County Housing and Workforce Solutions Department on Thursday hosted a 4th District Homeless Symposium to facilitate a discussion on creating housing and addressing homelessness. The symposium got underway at 9 a.m. at the Coachella Valley Rescue Mission, 47470 Van Buren St. It featured presentations from officials with Riverside County, the Coachella Valley Association of Governments and three local cities: Palm Springs, Desert Hot Springs and Palm Desert. “Homelessness and housing has been one of my top priorities and it has been the last seven years supporting those efforts of Riverside County. It’s been seven years already,” Perez said during his opening remarks. “And obviously, although we’ve been working on these efforts for quite some time, there’s still a lot more to do.” Perez’s opening remarks were followed by a presentation from the Riverside County Housing and Workforce Solutions Department on the Homeless Action Plan, according to Perez. The presentation went over how many people have been assisted and plans for the future. Other discussions scheduled through the morning
See Homeless Page 23
| Photo courtesy of Pixabay (CC0 1.0)
A
lawsuit filed by the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office and two dozen other prosecuting agencies statewide against Tesla Inc. over environmental violations was settled under a $1.5 million agreement that requires changes in the company’s operations to safeguard public health, it was announced Thursday. The settlement was certified last month by San Joaquin County Superior Court Judge Jayne Lee. In addition to the payout to the counties for failing to comply with state hazardous disposal laws, the terms require that Tesla institute measures which ensure
refuse processing methods meet environmental standards going forward. That will entail a new training program for employees and the retention of a third-party auditor to conduct annual inspections of trash containers at 10% of its facilities over the next five years, prosecutors said. Riverside County is slated to receive $100,000 of the settlement payout. According to the District Attorney’s Office, Tesla came under scrutiny in 2018 when the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office conducted an undercover probe, checking trash receptacles at the electric car company’s service centers, during
which it was confirmed there had been “illegal disposal of hazardous used lubricating oils, brake cleaners, used lead acid batteries and other batteries, used aerosols, used antifreeze, waste solvents and other cleaners, electronic waste, waste paint and contaminated debris.” “District attorney investigators from Alameda, Monterey, Orange, Placer, Riverside, San Diego and San Joaquin counties then conducted additional inspections at Tesla’s car service centers throughout California, and found similar unlawful disposals,” the agency said. At the manufacturer’s Fremont factory in Alameda
County, inspectors discovered “weld spatter waste, which at times contains copper, ... waste paint mix cups produced during paint repair operations and used wipes contaminated with primer coat generated by wiping the surfaces of coated vehicles,” according to the District Attorney’s Office. There are 57 Tesla servicing centers statewide and 18 solar energy facilities, five of which are in Riverside County, prosecutors said. The suit acknowledged that when Tesla was notified of the deficiencies in its disposal operations, it took immediate steps to implement remedies.
State AG sues SoCal construction company for alleged failure to pay wages By City News Service
S
tate Attorney General Rob Bonta on Thursday sued a Southern California construction subcontractor, alleging ongoing wage and hour violations. The lawsuit alleges that Riverside County-based West Coast Drywall & Paint, which has a satellite office in San Diego County, failed to pay employees wages owed, overtime wages, provide accurate and complete itemized wage statements, reimburse for tools and equipment, and provide mandated breaks for its field employees since at least August 2019. “Workplace laws are essential for the benefit and safety of California workers,” Bonta said Thursday in announcing the suit from Los Angeles. “The California Department of Justice is here to protect workers from exploitive businesses like West Coast Drywall & Paint. Bottom line, if you are a company that is taking advantage of workers, we will prosecute you. My office will See Wage violations Page 23