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Listen To Your News		Thursday, June 17, 2010		News Archive

Mark Nuaimi

YUCCA VALLEY TOWN COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING TO HIRE NEW TOWN MANAGER, ATTORNEY The Mayor of the City of Fontana, Mark Nuaimi, has been selected as the new Yucca Valley Town Manager. Nuaimi announced his plans to step down from his seat on the Fontana City Council Monday. Prior to accepting his position with Yucca Valley, Nuaimi was unemployed since December of last year, when he lost his job as assistant City Manager of Colton due to a budget crisis. Nuaimi, served on the Fontana council for 14 years. Mark Nuaimi said he will not be moving from his home in Fontana and expects to start in Yucca Valley July 6. The Yucca Valley Town Council has called a special meeting for this evening at 5:00 to formalize his contract. The Council will also appoint Lona Lamon of Aleshire and Wynder as the Town and Redevelopment agency Attorney. In closed session, they will discuss anticipated litigation. That meeting will be held in the Ocotillo room of the Yucca Valley Community Center.

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Bill Neeb Chad Mayes George Huntington Lori Herbel Frank Luckino

YUCCA VALLEY TOWN COUNCIL MEETING PART 2: A BARELY BALANCED BUDGET The Yucca Valley Town Council met in a busy regular session Tuesday night. Reporter Tami Roleff broke her report into two parts, yesterday: a ban on medical marijuana, today: a barely balanced budget... In other business at Tuesday’s meeting of the Yucca Valley Town Council, the Council unanimously approved a proposed 2010-11 budget. At its earlier meeting, the budget still had a deficit of about $35,000. In order to balance the budget, merit pay increases for Town employees were deferred, saving $12,000.

In addition, the Town was notified that projected revenues from sales tax had increased by $25,000, which means that no further cuts were needed to balance the budget. In other business, local residents proved the adage that the squeaky wheel gets the grease, or rather, the potholed road gets repaired. After complaining 5 years ago about the poor state of Cholla Road at Buena Vista, residents again asked the Council to include road repairs in the latest Capital Improvement Plan. Staff will present estimates for repairing Cholla and San Marino Avenues to the Council at its meeting in August. Finally, the Council approved assessments for landscape and lighting maintenance districts, and street and drainage maintenance districts, and accepted a program update from the Animal Care Joint Powers Authority on the proposed site for the future animal shelter.

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SHERIFF LOOKING FOR WAYS TO TRIM BUDGET
The Sheriff's Department is considering eliminating take-home vehicles for some investigators and having deputies work 12-hour shifts three days a week in order to shore up its budget and cut overtime costs. Sheriff’s and County officials met with members of the County Safety Employee Benefit Association or SEBA Wednesday to discuss the proposals, which will continue indefinitely. Monday, SEBA rejected a concessions package that would have required members to defer a pay raise for the second year in a row and reduce pension benefits for future hires. That prompted a drastic restructuring of the Sheriff's Department, and the proposals on the table have some of the rank and file worried that public safety will suffer and response times will be delayed. Deputies shifting from a four-day-week, 10-hour-day to a three-day-week, 12-hour-day schedule would present a 20 percent savings. The change would free up deputies to work at the West Valley Detention Center which racks up an average of 6,000 hours of overtime per month in order to meet the state-mandated ratio of deputies to inmates. Also on the table for discussion is a proposal to have investigators who are not on call park their take-home vehicles at headquarters in San Bernardino, which could save on fuel costs.

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"GAY PRIDE DAY" PLANNED IN JOSHUA TREE JUNE 26TH
The community of Joshua Tree will host "Joshua Tree Gay Pride Day" on Saturday the 26th. Reporter Dan Stork says the event will feature entertainment, vendors, and information...
Joshua Tree Gay Pride Day, with the theme "In the Name of Equality" is Saturday June 26. The day’s family-friendly programming begins in the afternoon with the summer Joshua Tree Gallery Crawl that includes The Red Arrow Gallery, True World Gallery, JTAG, Windwalkers, Woods In The Desert Art Gallery, Mt. Fuji General Store and the multi-media Shangrila installation. The ‘equality’ theme will be played out along the way with works relating to the freedoms denied lesbian, gay, bisexual & transgender people. At 6 p.m. the activities move to the Art Queen complex on Highway 62, just to the east of the center of Joshua Tree. Refreshments, vendors, community groups doing outreach, and more will be at the outdoor venue; plus lots of live music including Quinn & Hood with Patti Leary, Shari Elf & The Kittens, My Bear Hands & Santina Giordano. DJ Darin Rich will spin more music between the live sets. Joshua Tree Gay Pride is organized by Courage Campaign’s Team Morongo Basin, a non-profit, grass roots, advocacy group. Organizer Mike Lipsitz said "We’ve been overwhelmed by the generosity and encouragement we’ve received from all across the Basin," He added, "Everyone is invited to come on out and see how different we aren’t."

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TWO ARRESTS FOR THEFT IN TWENTYNINE PALMS
A call about an illegal entry found a Twentynine Palms man arrested for misdemeanor warrants. Sheriffs’ spokeswoman Vera Martinez said Tuesday evening about 7, deputies received a call that someone was scrapping metal from a vacant home in the 6000 block of Daisy Avenue in Twentynine Palms. Deputy Jeff Cooper found Christopher Hull, 32 at the location taking lug nuts off an abandoned car. Hull told Cooper he had gotten permission from a "girl" to go on to the property and get the lug nuts. The home was found to be in foreclosure, and no one was to be on the property. Christopher Hull was cited for misdemeanor warrants and released. A Twentynine Palms man was arrested for possessing stolen property after he was found with a stolen cell phone. Sheriffs’ officials said Tuesday morning just before 9, a caller in the 6500 block of Manzanita Avenue said he was the brother-in-law of a burglary victim. The caller reported that his brother-in-law’s home was broken into and a cell phone was stolen. Responding deputy Shaunna Ables located Louis Bell, 28, and found the stolen phone in his possession. Louis Bell was booked into the Morongo Basin Jail for investigation of possessing stolen property and held on $25,000 bail.

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SOBRIETY CHECKPOINT FRIDAY NIGHT IN TWENTYNINE PALMS
Sheriff's deputies will be conducting a sobriety and driver's license checkpoint Friday in Twentynine Palms. The checkpoint will be from 6 p.m. until 2 a.m. at an undisclosed location, sheriff's officials said.

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BIGHORN DESERT VIEW WATER AGENCY CONSIDERS RECHARGE PROTESTS, SETS COMPENSATION
The Bighorn Desert View Water Agency called a special meeting for Tuesday night. Reporter Mike Lipsitz was there as they took public testimony on a recharge project, discussed board compensation and accusations of violating open meeting laws...
At a special meeting and public hearing last night, the Bighorn-Desert View Water Agency heard a presentation on the environmental impact of the proposed Pipes Wash recharge facility as part the Ames/Reche Groundwater Storage and Recovery Program. The presentation was followed by a period of public comment. The proposed 15-acre recharge facility plan is designed to take advantage of existing natural topography to aid in the collection and storage of state water delivered from the Delta. The facility, if approved, is expected to restore the area’s declining water table and do it with higher quality water than presently comes from the underground aquifer. During the public comment period, the board heard from a half dozen members of the public who expressed concerns about the quality of water being delivered and impact of the recharge facility on desert wildlife, particularly the endangered Mojave Desert Tortoise. The board voted to defer a vote on the proposal for consideration of public comment. Following that hearing, the Board voted to adopt an ordinance clarifying board compensation procedures. The ordinance made no change to levels of compensation or days of service. Also, the board agreed to provide water for fire prevention efforts at Lander’s Third of July fireworks display. Lastly, the agency addressed a local citizen’s charge of a Brown Act violation. The charge was refuted by the Agency’s legal counsel in great detail.

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JOSHUA TREE MAC MEETS TONIGHT
The Joshua Tree Municipal Advisory Council, or MAC will hold its regular meeting tonight at 7:00 in the Joshua Tree Community Center. On the agenda, the MAC will receive community updates from the Fire Department, Morongo Basin Ambulance Association, the Sheriff’s Department, and the California Highway Patrol. It will also hear a report from the County Fire Department on the Ready, Set, Go Program.

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BLOOD DRIVE TOMORROW AT TOWN CENTER MALL IN YUCCA VALLEY
A blood drive in Yucca Valley Friday will give donors and extra summertime bonus. Reporter Tami Roleff says you can give the gift the life and get a T-shirt movie tickets and tickets to Knott’s Soak City tomorrow from 3 to 5...
Feed the Need to Bleed at a special blood drive Friday afternoon from 3 to 5, at the Yucca Valley Town Center Mall, 57-725 29 Palms Highway. Blood donors will receive, while supplies last, a limited edition "It Bites to Need Blood" T-shirt and tattoo transfer, and a complimentary movie ticket. Donors will also receive a discounted ticket to Knott’s Soak City in Palm Springs. The minimum age to donate blood is 15, although donors who are under the age of 17 need a signed parental consent form. Z107.7 radio will host a live remote broadcast during the blood drive. For more information, visit KCDZ FM.com and click on the link.

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TWENTYNINE PALMS CHAMBER MIXER AT BROADVIEW TONIGHT
The Twentynine Palms Chamber of Commerce, along with Basin Wide Foundation, Sky’s the Limit, and Ann and Michael Congdon, will host the June Chamber Mixer, to be held this evening from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. The event will be held at the historic Broadview, the former home of Desert Trail founders Bill and Prudie Underhill. The Mixer, which will be the last until September, will feature the progress of the Sky’s The Limit project. Food and beverages will be available to all in attendance. Also, there will be a fund-raising raffle for great prizes from local businesses. The public, supporters, members, and other businesses are welcome. The Twentynine Palms Chamber of Commerce will not hold mixers during the months of July or August. The Chamber is looking for mixer hosts for the fall. Historic Broadview is located at 73452 Sunnyslope, off Adobe Road. Please be aware the parking will be somewhat limited. For more information, or directions, call the Chamber offices at 760-367-3445.

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CUB SCOUTS SERVING SPAGHETTI DINNER AT ELKS LODGE SATURDAY
Some good comfort food for a good cause Saturday evening at the Twentynine Palms Elks Lodge. Reporter Derwood Andrews invites you...
Cub Scout Pack 71 of Twentynine Palms are making and serving a spaghetti dinner for you on Saturday June 19th at the Twentynine Palms Elks Lodge, between 5 and 8 in the evening. Call Brian at 760-880-0885 or Greg at 760-368-9197 for tickets, which are $8, $2 for kids under 10 or just show up on Saturday and pay $10 with $3 for kids. Spaghetti dinner, Elks Lodge, this Saturday.

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