Redlands School District Giving Golden Parachutes To 149 Employees

The Redlands Unified School District is shedding 149 employees this calendar year, all of whom are leaving voluntarily, based upon the district offering, and their accepting, supplementary retirement plans, otherwise known as “golden handshakes” or “golden parachutes.”
The action comes as school districts throughout California are contracting in the face of diminishing revenues and enrollments, and as other districts are engaging in layoffs of their personnel.
Between 2020 and well into the 2022-23 school year, school districts were being artificially protected from harsh economic circumstance by special augmentation money provided to them by state and federal government in the form of federal COVID relief aid passed to them through the state government along with state money directed to them for that purpose. That funding however has been drawing to a close. A year ago, many of the state’s school districts were beginning to wean themselves from that temporary funding, as was reflected in the layoffs of 316 certificated employees. With all of the COVID funding drawing to an end at the close of the 2023-24 school year, the state’s school districts are getting much more serious about reducing their expenses, meaning primarily payroll. Throughout California as of the end of February, 1,400 teaching positions had been eliminated with indications that number would triple. Under California rules intended to protect teachers and other school workers, school districts are required to submit their plans for layoffs and position eliminations to the state superintendent of schools office by March 15 and finalized those lists by May 15 to give teachers an opportunity to seek teaching positions elsewhere. It is believed that statewide by the middle of May, something like 4,200 of the state’s 307,400 teachers will be laid off. In addition to teachers, who are among the school systems certificated workers, schools employ so-called classified workers, ones who do not have teaching certificates or educational credentials, but who perform necessary tasks such as clerical work, maintenance, running cafeteria, bus driving and the like. Schools are eliminating substantial numbers of those employees as well. Continue reading

20 Arrested In Needles Raids

NEEDLES—The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, utilizing officers drawn primarily from its Colorado River Station and its Inter-Regional Narcotics Enforcement Team, assisted by the San Bernardino County Probation Department, arrested 20 Needles residents during a series of search and arrest warrant executions throughout the 31.08-square mile city on March 7.
The joint operation utilized 33 law enforcement personnel divided into three teams, which executed ten search warrants. The 20 subjects – eleven men and nine women – taken into custody were arrested for various crimes, including maintaining a residence for the use of narcotics, possession of narcotics, possession of stolen property, active felony warrants, and possession of manufacturing equipment to make fraudulent credit cards.
“This operation was conducted to combat the ongoing battle of violent crimes occurring in the city, coupled with the sales, distribution, and use of fentanyl, which is a known narcotic that is consuming lives daily in our community,” according to the sheriff’s department. Continue reading

United Parcel Service Eliminates An Entire Shift – 333 Employees – At Ontario Airport

United Parcel Service will lay off 333 of its workers now employed at its Ontario International Air Hub a little over five weeks from now, the Sentinel has learned.
Rumors to the effect that the cargo handler was going to engage in some downsizing locally had begun to spread in February, after dire developments and announcements in late January. Confirmation of that came in a notice the company made to the California Employment Development Department on March 6.
According to information available to the Sentinel, the action that United Parcel Service will take extends to the total elimination of a single shift at the hub.
“We often evaluate our operations and flex our network to meet volume demands,” United Parcel Services announced on March 13. “This allows us to continue delivering industry-leading service while also maintaining competitive prices.”
While many sectors of the U.S. and international economy suffered during the COVID pandemic that hammered society beginning in March of 2020, cargo transport and both internet sale/telephone sale delivery of products increased, an economic reality that was reflected locally. Continue reading

San Bernardino Settles Lawsuit Over Gun-Toting Man Shot At The Scene Of His Previous Robbery Arrest

The City of San Bernardino has announced that an agreement has been reached to settle for $4 million a $100 million lawsuit stemming from a 2022 officer involved shooting, filed by the estate of Rob Marquise Adams.
“San Bernardino agreed to the settlement recognizing the costs and attorneys’ fees to take a federal civil rights case to trial, as well as the risks associated with a civil jury, given the current climate in the courts,” said attorney Steven Rothans, who represented the city with regard to the matter.
The incident in question occurred on July 16, at which time Adams was apparently on the prowl in the back parking lot shared by several commercial establishments, including an illegal online gambling business located in the 400 block of West Highland Street as well as Golden State Medical & Oxygen Service at 424 West Highland Avenue, one of an abundance of areas in San Bernardino where illegal activity proliferates. That parking lot is a locale at which a concentration of vice activity, including drug dealing and pimping, is known to take place. Continue reading

SB Cops Nab Suspects With Some 52 Pounds Of Meth

A chance traffic stop last week led to what turned out to be an even more significant interruption of the local narcotics trade than a methodically coordinated operation by the San Bernardino Police Department in conjunction with two other regional law enforcement agencies.
Earlier this month, on a date that has not been specified, the San Bernardino Police Department’s narcotics unit, a member of the department’s K9 unit and a police dog, with the assistance of the area’s mobile enforcement team and San Manuel Indian Tribe patrol officers, descended upon a residence in the 1100 block of West Spruce Street in San Bernardino to serve a search warrant.
More than two pounds of methamphetamine were seized by police during the raid along with an undisclosed amount of U.S. currency, according to the San Bernardino Police Department.
A suspect was placed under arrest on a felony charge. Continue reading

Frontier Airlines To Begin Flights From Ontario Airport To El Paso As Of May 17

Frontier Airlines, one of a dozen passenger carriers flying out of Ontario International Airport, will offer nonstop flights from Ontario to El Paso International Airport later this spring.
According to airport officials, the three-times-per-week service to El Paso, which is to begin on May 17, will increase the number of nonstop destinations from the Southern California gateway to 26. Ten of those nonstop flights from Ontario are offered by Frontier Airlines.
Frontier, which already flies from Ontario to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport, will increase the frequency of its flights to those destinations. Daily flights to Seattle will begin May 16, while the Houston service will be offered four times a week starting May 17.
“We are thrilled with these new nonstop routes, including our sixth destination in Texas, and look forward to extending our hassle-free Ontario experience to even more Frontier passengers,” said Atif Elkadi, chief executive officer of the Ontario International Airport Authority. “We appreciate the strong partnership with Frontier, and their continued investment in our airport. The Inland Empire has grown to become the 12th largest metropolitan area in the country, and demand for air travel from Ontario International Airport has surged. And let’s remember that Ontario International Airport is California’s favorite airport.”

Photo Finish In Jindal-Popescu 1st District LL Race

The race to represent Loma Linda’s First District on City Council is coming down to the wire, with a mere 8 votes of the 518 counted so far, or 1.54 percent, separating the leader, Ovidiu Popescu, from the incumbent, Bhavin Jindal.
If Popescu’s lead holds, it will reverse Jindal’s vanquishing of Popescu four years ago, when Popescu, who at that time was a three-term incumbent on the council, was displaced by Jindal in a five-person race for the three council positions being contested in what was then an at-large election. Popescu, who was first elected to the council in 2008 and served four years in the capacity of mayor pro tem from 2010 to 2014, placed fifth in the 2020 competition.
Since then, Loma Linda has transitioned to district elections for city council. As fate had it, Popescu and Jindal live within the same district, which set up a rematch between the two. Continue reading

Man Dead In Encounter With Sheriff’s Deputies In RC

A Rancho Cucamonga man who was slammed to the pavement in a confrontation with San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputies died after the encounter.
The sheriff’s department provides contract law enforcement services to Rancho Cucamonga, functioning as that city’s police department.
On Tuesday morning, March 19, 22 minutes after midnight, deputies were summoned by a nearby resident to the 10100 block of Foothill Boulevard, just east of the Foothill/Hermosa Avenue intersection. The resident reported that an individual was acting erratically, seeking to open apartment and vehicle doors, and that he had pulled the building’s fire alarm.
Deputies responded within minutes, where they came upon a man latter identified as Mohd Hijaz, 32.
Subsequent to the events in question, the department put out a release. It states: “When deputies arrived, Hijaz was located outside seated in a bush, while he yelled incoherently. Deputies immediately requested paramedics to respond and attempted to offer Hijaz assistance from a distance. Without warning, Hijaz advanced toward deputies, who attempted to back away from him. The deputies gave Hijaz multiple commands to stop, but he refused. The deputies attempted to detain Hijaz and a use of force occurred. Hijaz struck one deputy in the face as he advanced toward them. Hijaz was eventually detained and monitored by deputies until personnel from Rancho Cucamonga Fire and American Medical Response arrived at the location. Hijaz suffered a medical emergency on scene and was transported to a local hospital where he was later pronounced deceased.” Continue reading