The board’s initial public hearing set the stage for at least two additional hearings before the supervisors in December debate the proposed maps that emerge from constituents’ opinions, staff analyses and board discussions.

The target date to finalize and approve redraws is Dec. 7, though Dec. 15 is the deadline.

Among the speakers during the hearing at the County Administrative Center was Chani Beeman with the League of Women Voters, who expressed concern about the current boundaries separating the First and Second districts in the southeastern corner of Riverside.

“Social and economic interests should be kept whole,” Beeman told the board. “This requires a more holistic approach to programming.” She asked the board to consider amending boundaries to re-unify the section of the city encompassing Canyon Crest and the Woods Streets of downtown.

Bob Halili of Jurupa Valley said the area in which he resides, within District 2, should be left alone.

“Living in the community is a positive experience,” he told the board. “We’re a diverse community, but we respect each other’s ethnic backgrounds. Keep my community together.”

Maribel Nunez with the Brown & Black Redistricting Alliance imparted the same sentiments with regard to the area tying pockets of Riverside, Highgrove and Jurupa Valley together near the Santa Ana River.

“We would like it to stay together,” she said.

Supervisor Chuck Washington acceded that it would be “frowned upon to split cities.”

“We’d like to keep them whole,” he said. “My district includes Hemet and San Jacinto. They don’t always get along, like siblings. But drawing lines that separate them would be counterproductive.”

The redistricting process was delayed five months because of the coronavirus public health lockdowns that hampered the publication of 2020 Census data by federal officials.

According to census figures, the county grew 10.4% over the last decade, with the population increasing from 2,189,641 in 2010 to 2,418,185 by 2020, a net change of 228,544.

Under the county’s balancing policy, the benchmark goal is for each supervisorial district to be as close as possible to a population of 483,637. Variances are expected, officials said.

According to the census estimates, three districts — 1, 2 and 4 — are in a deficit, while Districts 3 and 5 have surpluses.

Supervisor Kevin Jeffries represents District 1, Supervisor Karen Spiegel District 2 and Supervisor Manuel Perez District 4. District 3 is represented by Washington, and District 5 by Supervisor Jeff Hewitt.

Washington’s district has 20,744 over the benchmark, and Hewitt’s district has 34,087 more.

State and federal law require that the districts remain contiguous, meaning no gerrymandering or broken lines to fit cities and unincorporated census-designated communities into slices of one district or another.

The public will be able to weigh in again as to how mergers take place during meetings on Oct. 19 and Nov. 9.

District 4 has the largest deficit at 26,173, while District 1 has the smallest at 11,079. Spiegel’s District 2 is down 17,579, according to the county Executive Office.

If the supervisors cannot reach a majority vote on new boundaries, the issue would be put before a Superior Court judge for arbitration.

“It’s important to have as many people providing input as possible,” Spiegel said. “We will never get to a point where we make everybody happy.”

The U.S. Constitution requires a decennial Census, and in addition to local political boundaries being redrawn, federal ones are also modified, impacting congressional representation. However, that job will be left to a statewide committee.

Municipalities will decide for themselves how to divvy up wards.

In 2011, the issue of redrawing district boundaries because of population shifts resulted in multiple hearings after the 2010 Census, which showed the number of residents countywide increasing by 42% — 644,000 people — over the previous decade.

The hearings culminated in testy debates, mostly between then- Supervisors John Tavaglione, representing District 2, and Bob Buster, representing District 1. The pair argued over division of segments of the city of Riverside, concentrated in the Casa Blanca, Eastside and University neighborhoods.

The objective was to abide by apportionment targets. Two then- supervisors, Marion Ashley and Jeff Stone, surrendered whole cities as part of the redistricting. To break an impasse, Tavaglione ultimately relented to Buster’s proposal to envelope several neighborhoods that had historically belonged to the Second District.

Buster was defeated for re-election the following year. Tavaglione retired in 2018.

More information on the county’s redistricting plans, including where to email comments and concerns, can be found at http://www.rivco.org/about- county/county-boards-committees-and-commissions/county-redistricting-efforts.

CNS | Contributed

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The Grocery Outlet in Hemet has been there for as far back as I can remember. The company was established in 1946 and today claims 300 thriving stores. They stand up against Ralph’s, Kroger or Safeway any day of the week. I doubt a lot of people know anything about their origins or products. Their patrons sure know about the quality of their product.

I was in the local store last week when one of the cashiers told me it would be the last day of the current owners.

Why, I asked. It seems that the current owners Darryl and Barbara Salkele are retiring. Did that mean the store was shutting down? No, and here’s why.

Grocery outlets are not individually owned. It is a partnership company. Folks who would like to operate a food business can apply and join up with the Grocery Outlet Company by taking over an existing store or perhaps open one where there is a need.

Hemet, for instance, recently opened a new store at the busiest corner in Hemet, an area that is growing with great speed – Florida Avenue at Sanderson on the west side.

I arranged an interview with the new owners, curious to know why we would have two stores in Hemet and what made them attractive to the community. Chad and Leslie Trask, the new husband and wife management team, were anxious to tell me all about themselves, the store and the company.

They have been with Grocery Outlet for only 3 years. Why, I asked, did you choose Hemet? Chad has some relatives here but that was not his reason. He and his wife were located in Camarillo (Ventura County) prior to relocating in Hemet.

If you buy for a big name company, whether it be Levi Straus or Kroger Grocery Company you pay for all that expensive advertising. That can become quite expensive in a year’s time. That’s not the way it is with Grocery Outlet. Chad explains.

“We are 40 to 70 percent off of standard prices, offering premium gourmet items from Europe, and around the world.”

Come to find out it is no secret. “There is no middle man. We buy directly from the source. For instance, if a company wants to introduce a new product, they will start with a company like us to see how the public responds and accepts the product before they move into the more conventional markets. We are not stocked with insurance company buyouts of fire sales—nothing like that. Sometimes we get overruns, when too much of the product is brought to the market and is not being sold in certain markets. If a company buys like 1200 cases of green beans – and they are not moving fast enough elsewhere, we can buy them at a discount and they are not stuck with the overload. The prices are drastically reduced; we buy and pass the savings on to our customers. That’s a win-win situation.”

The company was originally started by the Read family in 1946 and is now a third-generation in the business.

How do they maintain the business with such large discounts?

According to the company history, the idea took off like a prairie fire and has yet to be contained. Jim Read took advantage as the stores spread across the country with 300 stores active now with more to come. Today they boast 1.5 million customers per week, which makes Grocery Outlet the nation’s largest extreme value retailer.

How did they do it?

“With the help of brilliant buyers who shop the world, traveling thousands of miles each year to find the most thrilling deals on brand name groceries. Whether it is through packaging changes, surplus inventory or product overruns, our buyers source it all – everything from fresh meat and produce to our natural and organic NOSH item to the WOW deal we can hardly believe ourselves.”

Their public relations office says, Of course, we wouldn’t be anywhere without the hundreds of local families who own and operate their own Grocery Outlet stores, allowing us to deliver superior customer service personalized to each of the local communities we serve.”

Chad explains the situation in Hemet. “It is a great community. Everyone has been extremely kind in welcoming us into the community.”

Do they plan any changes in the store?

“Anything to facilitate a good shopping experience, from the moment a customer enters the front door until they leave. We deliver a variety of gourmet foods, cleanliness and customer accommodations. All produce is fresh as are our bakery and meat products – at less cost than places like Trader Joe’s and other whole food outlets.”

Will they have a grand opening?

“You bet. Probably sometime during the first week of July. Nothing set in concrete today. Also, as to community personal involvement. We will have an Independence from Hunger program underway, starting in late June, where we team up with local non-profits. For a donation of $5, we will provide the customer a coupon for $5 on any purchase, so it really is costing them nothing. We donate that $5 to a community partner – right now, we are partnered with Valley Community Pantry.

“Our intent is to connect with the community more and more as they get to know us and we learn of their needs.” The new owners admit that it will take some time to be recognized and known here in the San Jacinto Valley; they have already been contributing toward organizations coping with the vast homelessness problem here. Here’s something new – to me, at least – when asked how they will deal with the fragrant shoplifting, Chad shrugged his sounders. “If we catch them, we with treat them with respect and invite them not to return.”

By the way, they are hiring. Just sayin’ rustystrait@gmail.com.

Rusty Strait • Senior Reporter

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I had two reasons for protesting Joe Males being on the ballot. When he took out his candidate papers, he was not a resident of the district he was claiming to represent and he did not return a complete set of election forms required of all candidates. A search of official forms filed with the City revealed Males’ application was missing the State mandated Form 501, which required him to state under penalty of perjury that he was a resident of the district he was seeking. He couldn’t legally submit that form since he didn’t live in the district. Second, the papers he turned in to the City, according to the City Clerk, were not received until after the legal date for filing.

On September 29th, the City Clerk sent an e-mail to candidates and four Council members that there had been an error extending the nomination period and accepting papers from a 3rd candidate for District 4 was a violation of City and State election rules. Aware of the problem, the four sitting council members could not reach a majority decision that would have directed City Staff to proceed with corrective measures before ballots were sent out with an unqualified last-minute candidate listed for District 4.

With an offer of help from Attorney Priscilla Madrid, and yes, she is Mike Madrid’s daughter, I chose to ask the court to correct the error made since a “2-2” City Council couldn’t agree on setting the record straight.

At a hearing in Riverside Superior Court before the election, Joe Males attorney, attorney for the City of Hemet, and an attorney for the County Registrar of Voters all made arguments that “so close to the election changing the ballot would be confusing for voters in District 4.” The judge agreed. He allowed that the election would go forward with the ballots as they were and directed my attorney and I to wait and see what happened after the election.

Of 6,339 votes cast in District 4, Joe Males won the election with 3,605 votes over Mike Madrid’s 1,959 votes and Vishwajit Shinde’s 775 votes.

Available to anyone who wants to check the City of Hemet Election website are campaign funding reports on each candidate’s “Form 460”. As of 9/19/2020, the filed reports reveal that Joe Males received $12,700 in cash campaign donations; he reported no loans, and no funds of his own used for his campaign.

The forms show the Hemet Fire Fighters Association (a Union) made a $5,000 cash donation to Males and two other Council candidates on the ballot. Following the HFFA, Males received another $6,000 in three large cash donations, one of $3,000, one of $2,000, and one of $1,000. As of 10/17/2020, Mike Madrid reported $6,823 in cash donations, $4,000 of that was a personal loan to his campaign from his own funds. The largest single cash donation Madrid received was $900, his average campaign donation from all individuals who contributed was $145. V. Shinde reported $0.00 in campaign donations from others. Those official records show Joe Males took more than twice the CASH contributions than Madrid.

After the election, my protest went to the French Valley Court, then back to Riverside Superior Court. When trial before the judge finally took place, it was over in less than 30 minutes since the fact could not be denied that Males was not a resident of the district when he applied for office. The judge never got to the fact that papers had been submitted to and accepted by the City Clerk after the deadline before he found the election of Joe Males invalid.

In the pursuit of transparency, I’d like to set the record straight. The truth is the Hemet-San Jacinto Action Group had nothing to do with me taking my protest to court in the first place. I am not, and never have been a member of that group.

They have done nothing but work to improve life for everyone in the valley for many years, including support of Measure U to raise funds for Public Safety in Hemet. They do not try to control either Hemet or San Jacinto governments.

The group nor its members did not contribute a single penny to my attempt to set the record straight.

There has been talk about ‘Good Old Boys,’ ‘Big Money,’ and ‘who runs the city’, so for transparency sake, here is something to think about: The Hemet Fire Fighters Association contributed $5,000 each to Joe Males, Karlee Meyer, Michael Perciful, then $1,500 to Treasurer candidate Gladys Savage for a total of $16,500. Hemet Land Management (Wayne Minor) contributed $6,000, Joanne Morello contributed $6,000, California Real Estate PAC $5,000, and Wayne Minor Motor Sports another $1,000. None of these names appear on the membership roster of the Hemet-San Jacinto Action Group.

For transparency, it also should be pointed out that the Hemet Fire Fighters Association paid another $10,000 to Joe Males to help him with his legal fees. (HFFA Form 460 for the period from 10/18/2020 thru 12/31/2020 pg. 5 of 8).

On social media and in public meetings, there has been support for the accomplishments of the “new” City Council. So it’s clear, the changes include the City Clerk resigned, the City Attorney was fired and quickly replaced by an appointment instead of a bid process, the Fire Chief has taken early retirement, and three long time city employees have left their jobs.

The seven-member Measure U Committee, “watchdog” of how the City Council spends Measure U funds, had five new faces appointed. Of those appointed, one last minute name did not have any application documents on the City website, another last minute application was missing any information about qualifications or background, and another applicant had their original application from February 2020 modified to add “Measure U” to the application in time for the “new” Council to appoint them to watch over the Council as they spend those Measure U funds any way they decide.

In closing, also to set the record straight, I have no issue with Joe Males. It’s not personal, but rules are rules and the City Council more than anyone should follow them. Regarding who seems to be influencing a majority of the City Council, the facts speak for themselves, a Union Group, a Real Estate PAC, two businesses owned by one individual, and one other individual have contributed a total of $34,500 to support three council candidates and getting their City Treasurer candidate elected last November. The “new” Council has sole control of over $10 Million a year in Measure U Public Safety money and has appointed five new members to the seven-member “watchdog” Measure U Citizen’s Oversite Committee. Three of those five apparently hand-picked at the last minute by members of the “new majority” Council.

According to census figures, about 85,500 residents live in Hemet. Last November, three council seats, the majority needed to control the City and its budget, were filled with just 8,798 votes. 3,605 of those votes went to a candidate that should not have been on the ballot. Those facts are the basis for my concerns, but it’s not just my fight anymore. It should be up to other ordinary people like me who live in Hemet to keep an eye on how their government is run.

Ken Graff, Hemet

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The news about most of the sports we use to distract ourselves from our present conditions being unable to find a safe way to continue this fall floods the airways and social media. It has been crowded out by news about Trump’s attempts to suppress voting by artificially creating a financial crisis in our postal service. Even occasional good news such as the selection of a highly capable woman of color to run for Vice President has crowded out the topic of global warming.

But the overwhelming effects of climate change affecting the daily lives of so many has been front and center in the news. As I write this, the temperature outside my house is well over 100 degrees. Three major wildfires just in Southern California have made the national news. The haze in our valley has been obvious. Last week’s tropical storm Josephine was the tenth named storm of this season and beat the previous record for the arrival of a tenth major storm by nine days. Scenes of flooding along the east coast have been part of the nightly news for several days.

From Scientific American – “With 2020 more than halfway over, it is clear that this year will rank among the hottest in recorded history and possibly break the all-time record set in 2016. If 2020 does top the list, it will do so without the major El Niño event that boosted global temperatures four years ago—and thus will provide an important marker of the power of the long-term warming trend driven by human activities that emit greenhouse gases.”

From Science Daily – “Past evidence supports the complete loss of Arctic sea-ice by 2035.” Science Daily confirms my point that less attention is being given because of the pandemic. After 16-year-old Greta Thunberg gave her historic presentation to the United Nations in September of 2019 “web searches for ‘climate change’ soared to levels not seen in years, and environmentalists cheered a new surge of activism.” The article goes on to say, “With a global pandemic monopolizing news coverage, searches around environmental issues have plummeted to new lows, according to Google Analytics data.” This article goes on to say that this diversion of attention to global warming could be disastrous for our future.

Global warming needs our immediate attention. If we do not address it, its effects will be far worse that the current pandemic. Trump has clearly demonstrated that he is incapable of responding to a crisis. And the Republican-controlled Senate hasn’t done any better. We cannot afford to wait four more years to reverse our plunge into a climate change disaster.

Change is coming one way or another. Your vote will determine the direction of that change. When you vote in November, you are literally voting for the survival of our democracy, our nation and our world.

Make sure your vote counts and return your vote early. Don’t let Trump’s knee-capping of the United States Postal System keep your voice from being heard.

Dick Gale, President

Democrats of Hemet-San Jacinto

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Delicious foods, fine music and excellent wines and beer on tap

The 27^th annual Autumn Elegance fundraiser was once again sponsored by the Hemet-San Jacinto Exchange Club, as well as Friends of Valley-Wide Foundation and the Soboba Foundation. This is a critical event for raising funds to support the Valley-Wide Recreation District in park expansion, new equipment and various programs. 

Autumn Elegance 2019 just about filled the 50 table-for-six at the Soboba Event Center. The emcee was Mike Gow, Exchange Club President. Tom Wilson, event producer, was this year’s Committee Chairperson. The Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians contributed use of the new Event Center at the Soboba Casino.

Beautiful floral arrangements were generously contributed by Future Farmers of America (FFA) clubs from Hemet High School and West Valley High School. Local florists contributed as well: Elite Flowers of Hemet, San Jacinto Florist and Floral Expressions. The evening included a silent drawing for the floral arrangements at 10 pm for those who stayed to the very end of the night.

The event offered a corner set-up with table games, and Blackjack was the game of choice.

Dancers were entertained by Mr. Wilson’s Band.

Fifteen restaurants were on hand to serve some of their finest dishes, including area favorite caterer Party Planners (slbparty@yahoo.com). Their roast-beef sliders on home-made cornbread with hatch chilies and cheddar cheese were a big hit. Canyons Restaurant (https://soboba.com/dining/canyons) and Noodles Asian food from Soboba Casino (https://soboba.com/dining/noodles) were also on-hand, with their distinct cuisine.

Janet L. Sawyer and Ruben Solis, owners of Sweet Baby Janes have served their perfect pulled pork at ten straight Autumn Elegance events, and it never fails to satisfy.

El Patron Mexican Grill served chicken flautas with cheddar/mozzarella cheese, chili verde burritos, sour cream, and house sauces.

Thirteen wineries and 10 breweries delivered some of their finest wines and beers.

Cyndi Lemke, Executive Director at Hemet/San Jacinto Chamber of Commerce, said, “I always look forward to going to Friends of Valley-Wide Autumn Elegance! Every year there’s delicious food. I always find a new, amazing wine and I have so much fun seeing everyone. It’s a night to enjoy the atmosphere of friends, food and drinks, and so much fun!”

The San Jacinto Chamber of Commerce was represented by Executive Director Sharon Myers Durbin with President Veronica Hawkes and Communications Director Velma Weaver Phillips. They were there to help promote “The Mayor’s Ball,” honoring San Jacinto mayor Russ Utz, on Saturday, Nov. 9, 6–10 pm.

The Exchange Club holds “The Weekend,” March 20 -21, featuring gift raffles to support a wide variety of organizations throughout the San Jacinto Valley.

For almost 50 years, Valley-Wide Recreation & Park District has responsibly provided sports and recreation programs for the public in the San Jacinto Valley. Reach them at 901 W. Esplanade Ave, San Jacinto, CA 92582. Telephone (951) 654-1505. Website www.gorecreation.org.

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Guest commentary from Dick Gale, Head of the Democrats of Hemet-San Jacinto

Editor’s note: This week we begin a new series of opinion pieces intended to give voice to the Hemet-San Jacinto political scene.  Both Republican and Democratic parties, and that of the Libertarian Party, have been asked to comment on issues most concerning their party and their constituents. Our first article on the “Democratic side of the aisle” comes from Mr. Dick Gale, President of the Democrats of Hemet-San Jacinto. We are most grateful to Mr. Gale for his acceptance of our offer, and also that he took the time to comment. 

From the Democrats of Hemet – San Jacinto

We have been noticing an increased interest in next year’s coming election. There seems to be an increased interested in the politics, both local, state and national that determines the kind of country that we will be leaving to our heirs: that determines the quality of our education of our children, that determines the access we have to quality health care, the kind of climate we will be leaving our descendants, and the quality of our lives.

One of the services our club offers is voter registration. We believe that everyone who is eligible should vote, regardless of race, ethnicity, age, orientation or politics, so we help register all who ask. We have extra busy lately. So if you want to verify your current registration, change your address, change your party affiliation or register in California for the first time, stop by our office at 530 ½ East Florida Ave., in Hemet between the hours of 10 am and 2 pm, Tuesday through Thursday. 

It is not only through registration that we notice the increased interest in all things political: a delightful man of 92 years of age stopped by our office a few days ago and wanted help in contributing to Joe Biden. Of course we provided the help. 

A couple of years ago when the future of our Hemet Fire Department was being determined, we jumped into the campaign to keep our fire department under local control.

We have members who are active with our local school districts and local politics. If you would like to learn more about issues-whether local or national, or to engage in a friendly discussion of issues of interest to you, or just make some new friends, please stop by. 

Dick Gale

President of the Democrats of Hemet – San Jacinto

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HSJ Chamber of Commerce event draws more and more businesses

This past Friday, October 4, the Hemet-San Jacinto Chamber of Commerce kicked off the month with their “First Friday celebration.  Attendees were pleasantly surprised by the robust crowd.

“What a great time and event to kick off the month of October and do so with a full house at DVAC (Diamond Valley Arts Center),” said Hemet-San Jacinto Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Cyndi Lemke.

“This is a great event for us to announce our annual “NAMI Walk” for NAMI, the National Alliance for Mental Illness,” said Brenda Scott, Executive Director of NAMI-San Jacinto, adding, “The walk begins at the Diamond Valley Lake Marina at 8am on October 26. We are also announcing the tentative date for the Soroptimist’s “Jingle Mingle” fundraiser which is set for December 5th at the Diamond Valley Lake Visitor Center.”

Award-winning realtor Kevin Saunders (Brubaker-Culton Realty) was on hand to help with

festivities.  “What a great event for business people and entrepreneurs to network with some of the most inflectional citizens within the valley.  I recommend that everyone attend the First Friday event every mont,” said Saunders.

Onlookers cheered as Soroptimist inductee Sandy Dee was given her pin. “I love working with our veterans and I’m very proud of the work I’ve done with the Cloverlane Foundation,” said Dee.

Readers are urged to mark their calendars for the Chamber’s next “First Friday” event scheduled for Friday, November 1 at 8am.

For more information contact the Hemet-San Jacinto Chamber of Commerce at 951 658-3211

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The parade featured dozens of local townspeople who consistently help our community in positive ways. Also there, to celebrate at the festival, was the famous band Midnight Ride, as well as the Watchmen Drum and Bugle Corps, from Riverside.

The parade began at 9:00 a.m. and the street festival followed at 10:30 a.m. However, the citizens wasted no time in enjoying the festivities. Food vendors kept the crowds satisfied with delicious food. Children had lots to do, as there was a bounce house, an easy-going mechanical bull, bubbles flying in the air, and even a stand where they could paint on canvas.

The performance began before we knew it, as the Watchmen Drum and Bugle Corps took their places. They are from Riverside, currently in the middle of the competitive season. They stopped by to perform for us, before continuing on their tour, to compete.

The non-profit organization was established in 2013 by Raymond Moreno, one of the founding members and first executive director of the corps. “His vision was to establish an environment for local high school and college musicians that would provide an opportunity to compete during the summer at a low cost. Also, learn from seasoned educators in the activity, and still earn a taste of the entire drum corps experience.” According to Moreno’s intentions described on their website.

Having an elite group like Watchmen perform and celebrate with us, who also stand for such a positive cause, was truly an honor. The crowds gathered all around them as their performance began. Many people recorded on their phones the captivating experience. Finding a good view was difficult, as more and more people continuously joined to watch and listen.

Additionally, among the vendors and activities, were people in the community who were offering tips and advice for personal and home betterment. The Eastern Municipal Water District was there, giving tips on how to save water with the extreme heat quickly approaching. Also in attendance, was Muriel Dufresne, who is the Director of Community Affairs at Golden Era Productions. She was doing good for our community by educating the citizens on the dangers of alcohol and drugs, while also providing more information on the new marijuana dispensary in San Jacinto. People doing things like Muriel, and the EMWD, are what we need more of, and always appreciate, in our valley!

All in all, the celebration was phenomenal. As people walked down Main Street, the sound and sight of laughter was a joy to experience. The drums sounding in the background, as the Watchmen warmed up before their performance, perfectly complemented the vibe of the whole event. The smell of tacos was in the air, as street vendors cooked the popular Mexican dish for the valley residents. Friends and family gathered for our national holiday, making the Independence Day Celebration, one to remember.

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