FREE
CV teacher accused of molesting student arraigned
Menifee to host Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day ceremony
PG 02
PG 28
VISIT HEYSOCAL.COM
MONDAY, MARCH 24- MARCH 30, 2025
I
VOL. 11,
NO. 216
San Bernardino, Riverside counties seek public input on budgets
Overdose awareness walks planned countywide in April, June
By Joe Taglieri
By City News Service
joet@beaconmedianews.com
t’s budget approval time in Riverside and San Bernardino counties, and officials seek input from the public on spending priorities. Budget expenditures in 2025-26 for San Bernardino and Riverside counties totaled $10.2 billion and $9.6 billion, respectively. Public meetings and presentations in San Bernardino County will provide residents with the opportunity to learn about the county’s financial outlook and share feedback before the upcoming fiscal year’s budget is finalized and adopted by the Board of Supervisors. Key dates in the budget process are: - Tuesday, March 25 budget overview — Matthew Erickson, the county’s chief financial officer, will present the budget schedule and fiscal outlook to the Board of Supervisors. - May 6 budget workshop and fiscal overview — the board will hear a preliminary budget presentation for fiscal year 2025-26. - May 20 budget book available — the recommended budget book for 2025-26 will be provided to supervisors. The book will be publicly viewable at main. sbcounty.gov/about-cao/ finance-budget. - June 10 budget hearing and adoption — “residents will have the opportunity to provide comments on the recommended FY 2025-26
T
o highlight the perils of drug abuse and how communities can help with prevention, three community events are planned throughout Riverside County, the first next month in Riverside, where a walk and other activities are scheduled. The One Life, One Heart Overdose Awareness Walk is scheduled for 8 a.m. on April 12 in Fairmount Park, 2601 Fairmount Blvd., according to the Riverside University Health System. “These walks are more than a remembrance,” Riverside County Board of Supervisors Chairman Manuel Perez said. “They are a call to unite, support one another and build a community where hope replaces loss and recovery is within reach for all.” A 5K walk is planned, along with a resource fair, featuring information on the threat from fentanyl and other controlled substances. There will additionally be free lunches. See Overdose awareness Page 27
| Photo by SteveAllenPhoto999/Envato
budget during the board meeting before the final budget is adopted,” according to a county statement. - December 2025 final budget book published — the adopted budget book will be published. Meeting dates and location County board meetings are held in the Covington Chambers on the first floor of the County Government Center, 385 N. Arrowhead Ave. in San Bernardino. Board of Supervisors meetings regularly take place on Tuesdays and start with a closed session at 9 a.m., then a public session at 10 a.m. Live online access to view scheduled board meetings
and archived board meeting videos are available on the county’s the county’s broadcast channel’s website, main. sbcounty.gov/county-meetings-events. For the meeting Tuesday, alternate locations to address the board via interactive video will be available at the Bob Burke Joshua Tree Government Center, 63665 Twentynine Palms Highway in Joshua Tree. The Jerry Lewis High Desert Government Center, 15900 Smoke Tree St. in Hesperia., will also have teleconferencing. Officials said those locations may close because of inclement weather, a techSee Budgets Page 28
nology failure or unforeseen emergencies. If the teleconferencing sites will be unavailable, a notice will be posted at the sites by 9 a.m. on the meeting date. To submit written public comments, email BoardMeetingComments@cob. sbcounty.gov, visit publiccomments.cob.sbcounty.gov or send U.S. mail to San Bernardino County Clerk of the Board of Supervisors, 385 N. Arrowhead Ave., 2nd Fl., San Bernardino, CA 92415. Additional information on the San Bernardino County budget process is online at main.sbcounty.gov/aboutcao/finance.
Supervisors OK agreement to enhance walking, bicycling opportunities By City News Service
R
iverside County supervisors Tuesday approved an agreement with an Inland Empire nonprofit to manage a program intended to enhance pedestrian and bicycle safety, while encouraging greater use of nonmotorized transportation in Coachella, Hemet and San Jacinto. In a 5-0 vote without comment, the Board of Supervisors authorized the compact with the Southern California Mountains Foundation, also known as the Urban Conservation Corps of the Inland Empire, to handle a program funded via a $60,000 Active Transportation Project grant from the California Department of Transportation. Under the agreement, the organization will oversee See Safe routes Page 27
OUR 2025 SUMMER CAMP GUIDE IS HERE!