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Listen To Your News		Thursday, March 17, 2011		News Archive

CRIME DOWN IN COUNTY SHERIFF JURISDICTIONS
Crime dropped in 2010 in the areas patrolled by the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, according to statistics released by the department Wednesday. The Sheriff's Department has 10 county stations and 14 contract city stations. The crime rate dropped 6 percent across the board in those jurisdictions, according to the department's numbers. Calls for service were down 7 percent over last year, deputy reports were down 5 percent and adult bookings dropped 3 percent. The crime rate fell in sixteen of the department's jurisdictions. The crime rate rose in the remaining six. The Big Bear Lake station experienced the most dramatic change in 2010 stats, with the crime rate dropping 25 percent over 2009 numbers. The Morongo Basin stations all had double-digit drops in overall crime statistics.

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ATM BREAK-IN AT YUCCA BOWL
Authorities are looking for a suspect who broke into an ATM machine in Yucca Valley. Sheriffs' officials said employees at Yucca Bowl reported a break-in about 5 Monday morning. Investigators said that an unknown man entered the business and used a saw to cut through the side panel of an ATM machine in the lobby. The suspect was in and out of the bowling alley in about 4 minutes, taking around $680.00 in $20 bills. Security cameras showed the suspect wearing a light blue hooded sweatshirt, tan pants, and black shoes. Deputies found shoe impression nearby, the tracks were traced to the north east. Anyone if information on the break-in are asked to call the Sheriff's station at 760-366-4175.

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DUI SATURATION PATROL OUT FOR ST. PATRICK'S DAY
This is St. Patrick's Day and the Sheriff's Department reminds you to celebrate responsibly and always have a designated driver if you are planning on green beer. To make sure the celebration is a safe one, the Sheriff's department is conducting a special DUI saturation patrol. Managing Editor Karl Gardner has the warning...
St. Patrick's Day is a popular night out to socialize with friends, family and coworkers. However, with so many local establishments promoting alcohol sales or special promotional events, far too many drunk drivers head out onto streets, making it dangerous for everyone. As a counter measure to all the 'green beer' on sale St. Patty's Day, the Sheriff's DUI Task Force will deploy additional Saturation Patrols today in Yucca Valley, Twentynine Palms, and unincorporated areas of the Morongo Basin in an ongoing campaign to take dangerous drunk or "buzzed" drivers off the road. The extra Saturation patrols will be supplementing regular officers. The DUI patrols will be focusing in areas with high incidents of DUI collisions and arrests.

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Mike Ramos

ACCUSER WANTS TO REVIVE SEXUAL HARASSMENT SUIT AGAINST DA A former San Bernardino County district attorney's employee is seeking to revive her sexual harassment suit against District Attorney Mike Ramos that a judge threw out earlier this month. Cheryl Ristow, a former investigative technician, filed the motion for reconsideration in Superior Court on Tuesday and included an amended complaint that provides additional allegations of specific dates and locations where she says she and Ramos had sexual encounters. Ristow claims she had a 15-month affair with Ramos that ended in 2005 and says she continued to receive unwanted advances from him after they broke up. She said she began to face retaliation in 2008 when it appeared the allegations would become public. Ramos has consistently denied the allegations. Judge Frank Gafkowski will reconsider his earlier ruling at an April 26 hearing.

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COUNTY EMPLOYEES MAY PAY MORE FOR HEALTH BENEFITS
Some San Bernardino County employees may have to pay a greater percentage of their retirement costs if a proposal expected to go before the Board of Supervisors next month is approved. County officials said Wednesday the move may be necessary in order to close a budget gap expected to grow to $125 million over the next two years. County Administrative Officer Greg Devereaux said he'll be proposing to the board in April is that exempt employees - those who are not represented by unions and who can be fired at any time - pay the 7 percent for their retirement benefits that the county is currently paying. That alone would equate to a savings of about $3 million a year, Devereaux said. He said reducing employee compensation is one of only four ways to close a budget gap, with the other three being to increase revenue, consolidate services, and lay off employees or cut their hours. For the county's general and safety employees represented by unions, such changes will have to be negotiated. If an impasse is reached between the county and its labor unions, layoffs, hiring freezes or pay cuts may become a reality.

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JOSHUA TREE MAC TO HEAR DETAILS ON NEW JOSHUA TREE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
The Joshua Tree Municipal Advisory Commission, the Joshua Tree MAC, will meet tonight. Reporter Dan Stork said the plans for the new Joshua Tree Elementary School will be revealed...
At Thursday's meeting of the Joshua Tree Municipal Advisory Committee, Ron Smith will talk about the project to build a new Joshua Tree Elementary School. Smith is the director of Facilities and Risk Management for the Morongo Unified School District. He will address how the district got to the position it's in, where the new school will be located, when the project will start, when it will be finished and what it will look like. He will also be available to answer questions about the project. In addition to the guest speaker, there will be service updates from the Morongo Basin Ambulance Association, San Bernardino County Fire Department, San Bernardino County Sheriff's department, and the California Highway Patrol. The meeting starts at 7 p.m. on March 17th, in the Joshua Tree Community Center at 6171 Sunburst Avenue.

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MOJAVE DESERT LAND TRUST NAMED "CONSERVATIONIST OF THE YEAR"
The Joshua Tree based Mojave Desert Land Trust was honored with the 2011 "Conservationist of the Year" award by the Western Section of The Wildlife Society on February 10. The award was presented at the Riverside Convention Center for the Land Trust's conservation and stewardship programs. The land conservation programs have preserved more than 28,000 acres of wildlife habitat throughout the California desert. Since 2006, the Land Trust's inholdings acquisition program has acquired 520 parcels to date, the majority of those lands sited inside the boundaries of a desert national park (Death Valley, Joshua Tree or Mojave National Preserve) or within designated wilderness areas managed by the Bureau of Land Management throughout the desert. Land Trust Executive Director Nancy Karl said, "The Wildlife Society's "Conservationist of the Year" award is a great honor for the Land Trust. Our work to protect intact ecosystems by acquiring in-holdings is stitching together desert national park lands and wilderness areas parcel by parcel. It's great to be acknowledged by such a prestigious organization."

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WE REVIEW THE CHILDREN'S PLAY "PINOCCHIO" AT THEATRE 29
The Classic children play "Pinocchio" opened last week for a 5-week run at theatre 29. Reporter Tami Roleff was in the audience and offer this theatrical review of the show...
The classic children's story of Pinocchio comes to life at Theatre 29. First-time director John Wright has done a wonderful job of entertaining the young and young at heart in the theater's newest production, Pinocchio. The story is about the puppet maker Geppetto, played by Marv Schmelling, who yearns for a son. 13-year-old Lizzie Schmelling does an awesome job of playing a puppet who wants to be a real boy. Bobbie Lowder as the beautiful Blue Fairy tells Pinocchio that if he is good, he will become a real boy, but if he tells lies, his nose will grow. During Pinocchio's adventures he meets such characters as the Fox and the Cat, delightfully played by Brendan Ellis-Gonzales and Tinkie Hess. Alex Gomez is positively evil as the Coachman. Also perfect in their parts are Shane Cozart as Candlewick, Cyrus Short as the Fire Eater, Ed Manson as the Carnival Barker, Izrael Tuli as the Harlequin and Alana Charles as Columbine. The costumes are gorgeous thanks to the efforts of costume designer Kathryn Ferguson, and the sets, especially the scene with the whale, are very well done. A special pat on the back goes to those responsible for Cricket. Pinocchio plays 7:00 Fridays and Saturdays through April 9, with a Thursday performance March 24 and a Saturday matinee April 2. Tickets are $12, $10, and $8 and are available by calling the box office at 760-361-4151 or by visiting the website at www.theatre29.com. Pinocchio is just perfect for children of all ages.

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Mark Nuaimi

TOWN MANAGER ON "UP-CLOSE SHOW" TOMORROW At this weeks Yucca Valley Town Council meeting, Town Manager Mark Nuaimi unveiled a financing plan, based on a one percent sales tax, to partially finance the Yucca Valley Sewer system and vital town infrastructure. Tomorrow at 10:00 a.m., on the Z107.7 "Up Close" show, Nuaimi will be the guest. He will outline the plan and take calls live from citizens who want to learn more about the proposal and how it works. Find out more about the proposed 1 percent sales tax from the Town of Yucca Valley Manager, Mark Nuaimi, tomorrow at ten, here on Z107.7.

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TWENTYNINE PALMS CHAMBER MIXER AT "HEADQUARTERS" TONIGHT
The Twentynine Palms Chamber of Commerce March mixer is hosted this evening from 5 to 7 by Headquarters, at 5864 Adobe Road. Food and beverages will be provided to all in attendance, and as always, members of the public are encouraged to attend! For information or directions, call the Twentynine palms Chamber at 760-367-3445.

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JOSHUA BASIN WATER DISTRICT INCREASES BUDGET, LOOKS AT 150 ACRE SOLAR PROJECT
The Joshua Basin Water District Board met in regular session last night. Reporter Mike Lipsitz said the board upped their budget and will study a proposed 150-acre solar field...
Last night Joshua Basin Water District directors approved a mid-year $30,000 budget increase which the accompanying report characterized as "good news" on account of greater than estimated revenue even after subtracting out the expense increase; Director Wilson opposed. Also last night, a contract with the District's computer network administrator was extended; Director Wilson opposed. With an eye toward conservation, directors committed to assist with an Alliance for Water Awareness & Conservation weather station at Copper Mountain College designed to collect data on landscape water use; directors Luhrs and Wilson opposed. Directors unanimously agreed to conduct a Water Supply Assessment for a proposed solar project on 150 acres in the Coyote Lake area. Concerning the Groundwater Recharge Project, directors authorized $7,000 to prepare a Prop 84 grant application; directors Luhrs and Wilson opposed. And finally, it was decided the Board would co-sponsor the annual County Water Conference at no cost to the District; Director Wilson opposed.

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YUCCA VALLEY RECREATION OFFER KNIT AND CROCHET CLASSES
Among many classes and activities offered by Yucca Valley recreation is knitting and crocheting. ROP Broadcast student Brayden Bias gets out his knitting needles...
Have you ever thought about learning how to knit and crochet? If so there are classes being held for ages 16 and up from 9 a.m. to noon on Thursday at the Yucca Valley Community Center. $2.00 per session, all skill levels welcome. For information or questions contact 760-369-7211.

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SEVEN TWENTYNINE PALMS HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL PLAYERS NAMED TO ALL-LEAGUE TEAM
Seven Twentynine Palms High School Basketbll players have been to the all De Anza League team. Chris Fui Fui was named the MVP of the De Anza. Sean Lopez and Zach Hill were named to the 1st team. Steven Rangel, Tuvalu Meile, and Richard Ewing were named to the 2nd team and Alfred Fleischer was honorable mention. Coach Larry Bowden said The Wildcats won the De Anza League Championship for the 6th straight year and the MVP was a Twentynine Palms Wildcat for the sixth straight year.

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TWENTYNINE PALMS HIGH SCHOOL GOLF BEATS COACHELLA
The Twentynine Palms High School Varsity Golf Team traveled to Coachella Valley Yesterday and shot their lowest score of the year defeating Coachella Valley High School at Trillogy with a score of 211-271. Coach Grant Whipple said the Wildcats got outstanding play from Daniel Douglas who shot an even par 36 followed by Cody Scamman 40 and Brandon Bell 41. The cats are now 5 and 1 for the year and 1 and 0 in league. The Wildcats host Shadow Hills High School at Desert Winds Golf Course today in a league match.

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