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Riverside supervisors approve measure intended to assist undocumented immigrants
VOL. 9,
NO. 208
Riverside County board OKs tow contracts for multiple agencies By City News Service
By Paul J. Young, City News Service
T
he Board of Supervisors Tuesday approved contracts with seven tow truck companies to handle transports of inoperable Riverside County sheriff's patrol units, fire engines and other county autos over the next four years at a potential annual cost of $487,000. In a 5-0 vote without comment, the board signed off on the collective contracts requested by administrators from the Department of Purchasing & Fleet Services. The agency last summer originally sought a single vendor to handle the tow work, in keeping with past practices, but after further review, the decision was made to extend agreements to seven companies. "The decision to contract with multiple towing vendors throughout Riverside County allows for multiple contracted options as the county's potential needs exceed the capacity of any single towing provider," according to a statement posted to the board's agenda. "Utilizing multiple towing providers throughout the county's five districts ensures See Towing Page 15
District 5 Supervisor Yxstian Gutierrez attends the Board of Supervisors hearing on assisting immigrants. | Photo courtesy of Riverside County
F
ollowing a lengthy public hearing, the Board of Supervisors signed off on a measure Tuesday emphasizing Riverside County is a "safe place for all residents, irrespective of immigration status," paving the way for expansion of resources, including potential financial assistance, benefiting those who may face deportation under renewed federal immigration law enforcement. "Everybody should be protected, especially those individuals who are here because they want a better future for themselves and their families," board Chairman Manuel Perez said. "They're working hard every day, paying their taxes, giving back to society one way or another. There's no language referring to this becoming a 'sanctuary county.'"
Perez and Supervisor Yxstian Gutierrez jointly proposed an action plan to establish a one-stop web portal with information on how undocumented immigrants can receive legal and other aid, as well as directing county staff to seek out possible funding mechanisms to help the undocumented community — prioritizing so-called "dreamers" — and draft a formal resolution declaring the county's position on the status of non-citizens. "The county is dedicated to ensuring that it is a safe place for all residents, irrespective of immigration status, to work, attend school and access available and eligible resources," according to a joint statement by Perez and Gutierrez. Over more than three hours, the board heard
testimony prior to voting 4-0 in favor of the plan, with Supervisor Karen Spiegel departing early to attend a funeral. "These are us, not others," Diana Fox, executive director of the nonprofit Reach Out, told the board. "These people are the fabric of our society. We need to stand up together." A child, identifying himself only as Amman, barely able to see over the podium, told the board, "I'm talking for my friends who have stopped going to school because of immigration. I don't want their parents to go away from them. And I want them to keep going to school so I can play with them." Donna Aarons called the supervisors' proposal "a slap in the face to those of us See Immigrants Page 27
who came here legally." "Those who are here illegally cause a strain on the country," she said. "California cannot afford to provide funding and services to those who aren't here legally — housing, food stamps, cash aid. They are illegal aliens, and it doesn't matter whether they abide by the law." Paul Petrella rejected the concept of "an undocumented immigrant." "There's no such thing," he said. "Anybody who has entered our country illegally has committed a crime. There should be no socialist, leftist, un-American resistance to the law of the land. Do not disregard federal law. This is not hateful. I'm married to a Mexican woman who came here legally." Representatives from
Riverside County Superior Court web portal relaunch goes awry By Paul J. Young, City News Service
A
reconfiguration of the Riverside County Superior Court's online services portal ran into major stumbling blocks this week, stymieing members of the public, defense attorneys and prosecutors, raising concerns about when the site might be workable again. Beginning last Friday afternoon and continuing through the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend, the site's search and pay services went offline for a planned overhaul, changing the interface in order to consolidate the case management system for the criminal, civil and probate divisions, which had previously been accessible separately. The site was delayed returning to active status at the scheduled time Tuesday morning, with an "under maintenance" message showing until late that afternoon. However, even after the portal returned to functionality, some of the pages remained virtually inaccessible. Attempts to search single criminal and civil cases resulted in delays of 20 to 30 minutes — or time-outs of sessions that forced users to start over again completely. As See Court web Page 28