Complaint lodged against Cadiz project

By JENNIFER DENEVAN
Needles Desert Star

SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY - Independent environmentalist Ruth Musser-Lopez of Needles recently reported she has lodged a complaint in regards to the Cadiz Valley Water Conservation, Recovery and Storage Project with San Bernardino County District Attorney Michael A. Ramos' Public Integrity Unit and the California Attorney General.

She alleges the conduct of the Santa Margarita Water District is in violation of the Ralph M. Brown Act, better known as the open meeting law. In her complaint, she alleges the water district threatens to violate the Brown Act and the constitutional rights of San Bernardino County citizens by holding a ruse California Environmental Quality Act hearing in Joshua Tree located outside of the district's jurisdiction.

The project would extract 50,000 to 75,000 acre feet of the east Mojave groundwater in San Bernardino County. It would be diverted west to Orange County via the Colorado River aqueduct. A potential customer for the water is the Santa Margarita Water District. Musser-Lopez' complaint alleges the district wrongfully identified itself as the “lead agency” on the CEQA review for the project. Musser-Lopez asserts San Bernardino County citizens didn't elect Santa Margarita Water District officials nor have a say in the formation of the Orange County District. By representing themselves as having authority over CEQA documents pertaining to projects within the jurisdictional limits of San Bernardino County, Orange County water district is engaging in a violation of the Brown Act, according to Musser-Lopez' complaint.

Her complaint also explores how SMWD and its board of directors, along with their attorneys, acted willfully, purporting to be authorized to schedule Draft Environmental Impact Review hearings at locations not easily accessible to the east Mojave communities that will be most affected by the project. By holding the meetings in Joshua Tree, Calif., east Mojave citizens would need to drive 300 miles round trip, creating an undue hardship and an injustice to the disabled and elderly, according to Musser-Lopez.

She claims the meetings are discriminatory and inflict undue hardship, handicaps and discourage the expression of the citizens to participate by oral statements and comments and violate government codes and certain protections and prohibitions contained in section 202 of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

Musser-Lopez claims all of these allegations have caused irreparable harm to her and San Bernardino County citizens. “We can't control SMWD because we didn't create it and they don't belong here,” she said in a prepared statement.

Jeff Williams, board president for the Needles Chamber of Commerce, said the board opted to formally support the project because of what it could mean economically for Needles. It could translate to several jobs and certainly means Cadiz project workers would come into town for food and lodging - both of which would help generate revenue for the city.

Courtney Degener, of Cadiz Inc., said she hasn't seen the complaint but disagrees with all the allegations being made in a press release about Musser-Lopez' action. She claims Cadiz has gone through the proper processes and has abided by all the California Environmental Quality Act requirements.

She said Cadiz has followed all CEQA laws including selection of the lead agency and not selecting San Bernardino County as that lead agency. Cadiz will also work with San Bernardino County through all the permitting processes and keep them in the loop about the project, Degener said.

Regarding meeting places, Degener said it's difficult to select a meeting location anywhere in these areas because it's a long drive for anyone coming or going. “It's just the vastness of the area,” she said.

While there aren't any meetings or open houses planned for the Needles area, Cadiz is encouraging all residents to submit any comments or concerns, Degener said. The CEQA process ensures all written comments are given as much consideration as comments made at meetings, she continued. The comment portion of the process has been extended to March 14.

Written comments, including a return address and contact name, may be sent: c/o Tom Barnes, ESA, 626 Wilshire Boulevard, Ste. 100, Los Angeles, CA 90017; telephone 213-599-4300, Fax: 213-599-4301, or by email to: cadizproject@esassoc.com

San Bernardino County: Board considers new boundaries

Proposed San Bernardino County redistrict map. (San Bernardino County)

by Imran Ghori
Press-Enterprise

San Bernardino County -- Supervisors will take up a redistricting ordinance today but remain split on the plan, which has drawn criticism from some mountain and Latino residents.

The board approved a draft proposal on a 3-2 vote last month at its fourth meeting since May on how to draw the county's supervisorial district boundaries.

The new map shifts parts of the San Bernardino Mountains -- from Lake Arrowhead to Running Springs -- from the 3rd District to the 2nd District.

The proposed map would also move Barstow, Lucerne Valley and Twentynine Palms from the 1st District to the 3rd District and half of Upland from the 2nd District to the 4th District.

The county's consultant, National Demographics Corp., recommended the option out of five maps considered as the best able to meet different county criteria.

Changing demographics from the 2010 census required the county to decrease the size of the High Desert 1st District, which saw the largest population increase, while adding to the 4th District, which needed to grow the most to ensure the districts are equally balanced, according to county spokesman David Wert.

Supervisor Neil Derry, who represents the 3rd District, voted against the plan along with 1st District Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt. Both remain opposed.

Derry had proposed two alternatives that would move all of the San Bernardino Mountains into his district -- an option supported by a large group of mountain residents who spoke at the public hearings of wanting to unify the area under one district.

"The public has come out and spoken and been routinely ignored," Derry said of the plan favored by the board majority.

Board Chairwoman Josie Gonzales, who represents the 5th District, said she is satisfied that the plan is as fair as it can be given the different regulations governing redistricting.

"We go into the redistricting process knowing we're not going to make everybody happy; that includes ourselves, the supervisors," she said.

Gonzales said she believes the mountain area is better served by two representatives on the board instead of just one.

The plan also came under fire earlier this month from Rep. Joe Baca, D-Rialto, who joined a Latino advocacy group in accusing the county of refusing to create a second Latino majority district.

County numbers, however, show that Hispanics would have a majority in two districts in the proposed plan -- 57 percent in the 4th District and 69 percent in the 5th District.

The group, the League of United Latin American Citizens Inland Empire chapter, held a news conference to criticize the county plan but did not contact county officials, Wert and Gonzales said.

"I'm at a loss as to why they've not contacted me or the CEO," Gonzales said. "We'd be happy to listen to them."

Gonzales sent a letter last week to Joe Olague, president of the group's Inland Empire chapter, inviting him to submit the group's proposed maps. In his response, Olague reiterated the group's criticisms but did not offer its maps.

Wert said the figures cited by the group in criticizing the Latino population represented in the districts are false.

The board meets at noon at the County Government Center at 385 N. Arrowhead Ave. in San Bernardino.

New Fire Tax Could Affect Thousands of San Bernardino Residents

Irony: Fee is assessed on structures--protection Cal Fire does not provide.

Dan Wilson
Best Syndication

SAN BERNARDINO Calif. – Today the County Board of Supervisors made their position known on the fire tax by passing a unanimous resolution in opposition to it.

According to George Watson, Chief of Staff for Supervisor Neil Derry, the resolution calls for resending [sic] of the tax. “I am committed to waging an ongoing and sustained battle against this illegal tax,” Supervisor Derry said.

Initially the tax was to be $150 per household living in the wildland areas serviced by Cal Fire. First District Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt tells Best Syndication that the money goes to the state’s fire protection agency. “The irony is that Cal Fire does not provide structure protection, although the fee is assessed on structures”, Mitzelfelt said.

The tax / fee could be assessed against tens of thousands of residents of San Bernardino County. The good news is that the fee was lowered from $150 to $90 per year and there are discounts available for residents who provide defensible space between their home and brush and trees.

Those with the lowest incomes could be weighed-down the most. “The High Desert has the highest unemployment in the region and our residents cannot be burdened with additional taxes when so many are struggling to make ends meet”, Supervisor Mitzelfelt said.

“This is an example of the majority in the Legislature’s irresponsible, unfair, and possibly illegal effort to balance its out-of-control budget on the backs of local residents, who already pay taxes and fees for this service.”

Watson tells Best Syndication that the assessment is on habitable structures only, not garages or sheds. According to David Zook, spokesperson for Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt, the fee will be assessed on “inhabitable” structures.

“When the legislature passed the bill it was meant to cover a shortfall in the Cal Fire budget, but because the way it was written the money could go to local fire agencies”, Watson told Best Syndication.

California Governor Jerry Brown may change that. According to Chief of Staff Watson the governor wants to make sure the money goes to the state and not the local agencies.

County Route Marker Program gets its kickoff on Route 66

Highland Community News

San Bernardino County, CA -- No highway in the world has captured the hearts and minds of travelers as much as Route 66, which is why the County of San Bernardino plans to designate a portion of this roadway "County Route 66" as it establishes the County Route Marker Program.

Board of Supervisors Vice-Chairman Brad Mitzelfelt initiated the program after noticing route markers in other California counties. A portion of historic Route 66 in his First District was the natural choice to launch the program, with other routes to be added in the future.

"Marking specially designated roadways will help motorists navigate the largest county in America by creating route numbers that won't change as drivers enter and exit city and county areas," Vice-Chairman Mitzelfelt said. "Signage along the route will highlight and celebrate sites of cultural and historical interest, generate tourism, and promote the county's image."

Vice-Chairman Mitzelfelt is using $45,000 of his office's discretionary funding to pay for the signage on the route. No federal dollars or other funding sources will be tapped for this effort.
More than 250 miles of this iconic highway run the length of San Bernardino County from Upland through Needles, making a portion of Route 66 by far the most appropriate place to launch the County Route Marker Program, the first to be added in the state since 1983. Signs placed at various intervals along the route will serve as "bread crumbs" for travelers to follow as they explore significant landmarks.

County Route 66 will begin on National Trails Highway in the unincorporated community of Oro Grande at the border of the City of Victorville, continue north onto Main Street in the City of Barstow, continue east on Interstate 40, travel north on Nebo Street near Barstow, head east on National Trails Highway, and then north on Goffs Road to its junction with US-95.

Cultural and historical sites along this alignment include the City of Barstow and the communities of Daggett, Newberry Springs, Ludlow, Amboy, Cadiz, Chambless, Essex, and Goffs, as well as the Mojave National Preserve. This alignment can be expanded to include additional portions of or all of Route 66 at a later date.

The California County Route Marker Program was established in 1958 to mark county routes of major importance and public interest that are constructed and marked to sufficient safety standards. San Bernardino County will become the 43rd of California's 58 counties to participate in the program.

The program requires the county and the cities through which the routes pass to adopt resolutions formally establishing a specific county route. The City of Barstow next month plans to consider a resolution to establish County Route 66, which would authorize the posting of signs within city. Once Barstow acts, the Board of Supervisors will consider adoption.

"I appreciate Barstow's partnership in this initial effort establishing a County Route Marker Program in San Bernardino County," Vice-Chairman Mitzelfelt said. "I have no doubt other cities will want to establish similar partnerships for roadways through their communities."

The county has received letters of endorsement from the California Historic Route 66 Association and the California Route 66 Museum.

Historic Inland Empire cemetery receives federal funds

Leticia Juarez
KABC-TV Los Angeles

ORO GRANDE, MOJAVE DESERT (KABC) -- A historic cemetery in Oro Grande near Victorville has been called a little-known treasure. It has some 100 graves, the final resting place of mostly miners and their families. There is a much-needed facelift in its future.

A steady wind blows through the Oro Grande Cemetery where flagstones outline the final resting places and weathered white crosses mark the area for the inhabitants buried there. It is a place forgotten by time.

Joe Manners is the unofficial caretaker of the century-old cemetery, and its champion.

For more than two decades, he has been after San Bernardino County to fund its upkeep and repairs.

"Some of that history, we should have something in Oro Grande to remember that Oro Grande was a boom town when Victorville was a ranch," said Manners.

On Wednesday the county approved a $15,000 grant to build a parking lot and decorative fence to beautify the historic site. Prior to the funding approval the county used ground-penetrating radar to locate unmarked graves to ensure the area would not be disturbed by the construction.

"We were able to get some community development block-grant funding from the federal government -- a small grant, but enough to do some basic improvements," said Brad Mitzelfelt, San Bernardino County First District supervisor.

There are between 90 and 100 graves in the Oro Grande Cemetery. Many belong to the original founders of this once-booming town.

The gold-mining town is one of the earliest settlements in San Bernardino County and the final resting place for several of Oro Grande's military heroes.

"When Memorial Day comes around, the VFW in Adelanto comes and clears all the weeds and gets the place cleaned up and they do a Memorial Day service," said Manners.

The county hopes to finish its improvement project by Memorial Day in time to honor and remember the pioneers and founders of this desert community.

1,000 skilled laborers to get work building new solar plant

Environmentalists to get $1 million per tortoise

Joe Nelson
San Bernardino Sun

About 1,000 skilled laborers from across San Bernardino County will be recruited to work on the world's largest solar complex near the Nevada border under a labor agreement ratified Thursday between the builder and California labor unions.

BrightSource Energy and Bechtel Corp., both located in the Bay Area, have teamed up to develop and build the Ivanpah Solar Electricity Generating System in the Ivanpah dry lake bed, east of the 15 Freeway and north of the Mojave National Preserve, about five miles southwest of Primm, Nev.

Construction of the 440-megawatt complex, which officials say will nearly double the amount of commercial solar electricity produced in the U.S., is slated to begin in late spring or early summer 2010 and wrap up in mid-2012.

It will be the first major solar project in California in two decades.

The solar complex will generate an estimated $400 million in local and state tax revenues over the plant's 30-year life cycle, and $250 million in construction wages from 2010 to 2012, BrightSource spokesman Keely Wachs said.

"There's going to be a big boom here. There's going to be a lot of economic benefits," Wachs said.

On Thursday, Bechtel entered into the labor agreement with the Riverside & San Bernardino Counties Building and Construction Trades Council and the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California (SBCTC).

"This project is a great example of how the new green technology is now providing real jobs for thousands of workers," said SBCTC President Robert Balgenorth in a statement.
William Perez, executive secretary/business manager for the Riverside and San Bernardino Counties Building and Construction Trades Council in Riverside, said the agreement will pull skilled laborers from across the county.

Laborers will be dispatched out of San Bernardino, Victorville and Barstow, carpenters and millwrights out of Ontario, electricians out of San Bernardino and Victorville, teamsters and boilermakers out of Bloomington, cement masons and pipefitters out of Colton, ironworkers out of San Bernardino and operating engineers and surveyors out of Redlands, Perez said.

"Everybody going out there would be referred out of those hiring halls," Perez said.

But first, Bechtel must complete the permitting process through the California Energy Commission and Bureau of Land Management.

The project also needs to clear some environmental hurdles. Public hearings on the draft environmental impact study began this week.

Wildlife biologists found 25 desert tortoises during the study. BrightSource will pay more than $25 million to mitigate the impact on desert tortoise habitat. The 25 tortoises will be relocated to land next to the project site, Wachs said.

BrightSource claims there are no endangered species on the project site and that the 4,000-acre swath of open desert is flat and needs no grading. The only grading needed, Wachs said, will be for roads and the plant's power block.

"We feel that we have a very thoughtful mitigation strategy in place that will serve as a model for other projects that follow," Wachs said of the environmental study.

But not everyone is thrilled with the project.

San Bernardino County Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt, whose district includes most of the High Desert region, opposes the project because he feels it has too severe an impact on the environment and will benefit Las Vegas's economy more than San Bernardino County's.

"The natural labor pool for that area is the greater Las Vegas metropolitan area, and I don't think that's something can be changed, but I do think it can be offset by this labor agreement ... " Mitzelfelt said. "I haven't seen the agreement, so I don't know how binding it is and how effective it may be."

He questioned the number of desert tortoises found during the environmental study.

"It is very difficult to find 25 tortoises. They're a threatened species. In my opinion, that's a lot of tortoises," Mitzelfelt said.

Having to set aside 12,000 acres of land for tortoise habitat mitigation could affect other proposed projects for the Mojave Desert, which may have a hard time finding land of their own for mitigation purposes if so much has already been chewed up by BrightSource, Mitzelfelt said.

The county supervisor also has concerns about visual impacts. Seven 459-foot-high power towers are planned for the complex, each crowned with a 60-foot-high boiler that will glow bright white throughout the day.

"We're talking about seven 459-foot towers, the top 60 feet of which will glow like giant lightbulbs and you've got millions of cars driving past those," Mitzelfelt said. "They're probably going to be the tallest structures in the whole county."

By comparison, the Morongo Casino Resort and Spa in Cabazon is about 300-feet tall, said Andrew Silva, Mitzelfelt's field representative.

Mitzelfelt said about 90 percent of the power generated from Ivanpah will serve the San Francisco Bay Area, not San Bernardino County.

"It's not a benefit to our region. It's a benefit to the state, perhaps," Mitzelfelt said.

County Assumes Ownership of Victor Valley Museum & Art Gallery

Brad Mitzelfelt
Mitzelfelt Memo

In a move that assures the continued operation of a High Desert cultural and educational institution, the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors on November 3 accepted ownership of the Victor Valley Museum and Art Gallery in Apple Valley.

"I want to commend all of the volunteers, cities and local businesses who have built the Victor Valley Museum and Art Gallery into a vibrant and important institution in the Victor Valley during the past three decades," said First District Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt, who asked the Board to support his proposal to assume ownership of the museum. "In the current economic climate, it became impossible for the museum to meet its obligations, and I was relieved when they approached me and offered to convey the museum to County ownership."

The Victor Valley Museum had its origins in 1976 when local memorabilia and artifacts were gathered and displayed in various public buildings in the High Desert for the nation’s bicentennial celebration. Several individuals and community service groups expanded on this grass-roots effort and in 1987, Jess Ranch granted approximately four acres to the newly formed Victor Valley Museum Association. By 1993, the Association had constructed the 13,080-square-foot Victor Valley Museum in the Town of Apple Valley.

With a decline in fundraising revenues, the museum faced the possibility of closing its doors. In July, members of the Victor Valley Museum Association approached Supervisor Mitzelfelt with a proposal to convey the museum to the County.

The memorabilia and artifacts will be catalogued and the building renovated. New displays and exhibits will be developed along with new outreach and educational programs in order to bring the museum up to the accreditation standards attained by the County’s existing museum. The museum will be partially closed during that process, but the public will still have access to meeting rooms.

The one-time cost to make needed improvements to the museum is estimated at $192,953, and includes costs for staff, services and supplies, operating expenses and payment of liens, escrows and outstanding loans.

The County has received commitments from many financial supporters of the museum to continue their support. Contributions from businesses, residents and local government, including $15,000 from the Town of Apple Valley, along with fees for facility use and educational programs, will be used by the museum to meet ongoing operational costs, with the County contributing additional funds if necessary.

County Supervisor, Concerned by BrightSource Mega Solar Project Impacts, Calls for Full Review

Submitted by
David Zook
Best Syndication News


Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt – photo: Dan Wilson


SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. – The highest ranking local elected official representing the area of the proposed BrightSource Ivanpah solar project today said the mega project's environmental impacts as proposed are too great, and that its proponents should adhere to established standards of environmental scrutiny for large-scale developments.

“Huge developments that level ecologically sensitive public lands must not be allowed an alternative review process that's distorted by the political agenda du jour,” said Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt, who represents most of the Mojave Desert.

"This project is planned on land that the BLM along with a local coalition of industry and environmental groups long ago identified as habitat for protected species," Mitzelfelt said. "This solar project in its current configuration could compromise nearly twenty years of efforts to protect habitat and appropriately grow Desert communities."

Mitzelfelt, representing San Bernardino County's huge First District, said regulators will hold the habitat loss associated with the BrightSource project against other projects – including renewable energy projects in less environmentally sensitive areas closer to California labor markets – without providing offsetting economic benefits to San Bernardino County. He added that there are many renewable-energy projects he expects to support, including some solar, pending full environmental reviews.

"This project would create jobs for mostly Las Vegas and electricity for mostly San Francisco at the expense of Southern California’s Mojave Desert,” Mitzelfelt said.

News media are reporting that the project is being "fast-tracked" through environmental reviews and that it will rely on union labor from California sources up to 200 miles away. That is as opposed to the more realistic scenario that envisions the jobs going to the Las Vegas job market, which is little more than an hour’s drive away.

Mitzelfelt observed that large projects, including highways, power plants and a military base expansion in the area, typically have faced multi-agency reviews that have stretched for five years up to 20 years.

“You can't be responsible here while cutting every corner,” said Mitzelfelt, who added that he considers the Ivanpah project's impacts on habitat, water resources and scenic vistas "significant, unmitigatable and not worth the environmental price."

County looks to save Victor Valley Museum

Apple Valley may pitch in up to $15,000 per year to support Victor Valley Museum

By Brooke Edwards
Lucerne Valley Leader

APPLE VALLEY • San Bernardino County is working on a plan to take over the struggling Victor Valley Museum, with intentions to remodel the site and expand its representation of High Desert history.

“One of my priorities as supervisor has been to bring a county museum to the High Desert,” 1st District Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt said Friday, “so this idea brought to me by the Victor Valley Museum seemed like a natural partnership.”

The nonprofit museum approached Mitzelfelt in July with concerns over its ability to stay open, with donations reportedly down some 75 percent.

“We’ve knocked on every door in town,” said Doug Shumway, president of the museum’s board. “Even our biggest donors just couldn’t do it. They’re having to lay off people from their own staff.”

Without help, Shumway told the Apple Valley Town Council, the museum would be out of money and possibly forced to close its doors this month.

The museum offered to transfer its title to San Bernardino County in order to keep the 33-year-old community resource intact.

An estimated $250,000 to update the facility would be paid out of Mitzelfelt’s district funds. Ongoing operational costs would be borne by the County Museums Department and be offset by fundraising, with eligibility for more grants as the museum is brought in line with accreditation requirements for its displays.

Discussions are also under way with local cities to help fund operations, which Shumway said average $6,000 per month. On the agenda for yesterday’s council meeting was a plan for Apple Valley to commit up to $15,000 per year in support.

Mitzelfelt worked with the San Bernardino County Museum and County Administrative Office to develop a plan for a seamless transition.

In the first phase, the county would refurbish and upgrade existing exhibits, expand outreach programs and remodel the exterior and interior of the facility. This would result in a temporary partial closure, officials said, where residents could use portions of the facility on a limited basis.

Phase two would be intended to attract existing patrons and new ones through new exhibitions, programs, lectures, travel programs and other outreach events.

As more visitors flow to the museum through these upgrades, the county also plans to re-examine staffing levels, hours of operation and programs, to ensure the viability of the museum for years to come.

The museum was created in 1976 in the halls of the Victorville courthouse as a bicentennial project, Shumway said. It was moved to its current site, 11873 Apple Valley Road, in 1992.

“I have long admired our Victor Valley Museum and the dedicated patrons and volunteers who have kept it a viable amenity for our community,” Mitzelfelt said. “I am also glad to be able to step in at a time of need and secure the future of the museum.”

County sues to ensure Camp Rock Road access

By ABBY SEWELL, staff writer
Desert Dispatch

San Bernardino County is suing the federal government in hopes of establishing its right of way on a road crossing federal land between Lucerne Valley and Daggett.

The county is seeking to officially establish its ownership of Camp Rock Road, a county-maintained road that covers about 42 miles between Lucerne Valley and Daggett and crosses federal land, according to press release from county First District Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt’s office.

“The road supports numerous industries, such as ranching, mining, filming and recreation, and it’s a road a lot of people use to get back and forth between Lucerne and Johnson Valley and the greater Barstow area,” Mitzelfelt said Wednesday. “... Our position is that in order to maintain our roads and keep them open, we need to be able to show we have the right of way for a variety of reasons.”

In April 2003 the county filed an application with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management for a “recordable disclaimer,” which would establish its right of way on the road and give the county a legal record of its ownership. The application was never processed, and the county is now asking for a court order that would force the BLM to process it in a timely manner, Mitzelfelt said Wednesday.

“Either issue the disclaimer or don’t issue the disclaimer, and tell us why,” he said.

The county’s application showed that it has been maintaining the road since before 1976, allowing the county to claim right of way under an 1866 mining law, Mitzelfelt said. The law was repealed in 1976, but existing right of ways were allowed to stand, according to the county release.

Alan Stein, deputy district manager of resources for the BLM’s California Desert District, said the BLM had been waiting to see how court cases involving right of ways established under the old mining law played out in other states before taking up San Bernardino County’s application.

In the meantime, he said, the county continues to use and maintain the road, and in the BLM’s maps, the road shows up as being owned by the county.

“It’s not that we tried to close Camp Rock Road — we didn’t, and we didn’t try to change the use on Camp Rock Road,” Stein said. “It’s a legal issue, and the county is interested in, and has been interested in, maintaining access.”

The county filed its motion asking for a court order in the United States District Court in Riverside on Jan. 14 under the authority of board Chairman Gary Ovitt, and the board ratified the action at its regular meeting Tuesday, Mitzelfelt said.

Marine base targets off-road area for expansion

Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
San Bernardino Sun

The Johnson Valley Off Highway Vehicle Area comprises about 188,000 acres of desert playground off Highway 247 and Camp Rock Road - about 55 miles southeast of Barstow and 25 miles east of Victorville.

It is an ideal spot for the off-road enthusiast, punctuated by steep, rocky mountains, open valleys, dry lake beds and sandy washes.

It's not a place one would typically associate with America's so-called "War on Terrorism," but the Twentynine Palms Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center is pushing to expand its base onto the bulk of this shimmering desert landscape for live-fire and manuever training.

The military cites rapidly evolving defense requirements due to the "global war on terrorism," "new emerging threats" and the introduction of new weapons systems as the basis for neccessitating the Marine base expansion. An application for the withdrawal of public lands was submitted to the Bureau of Land Management by the Department of the Navy in August.

It's part of an ambitious plan by the military to acquire about 420,000 acres of BLM and non-federally owned lands to the west, south and east of the world's largest Marine base for military training purposes.

If the bulk of Johnson Valley is lost to the military (about 135,000 of about 188,000 acres), officials say it would kill the tourism dollars that pour into desert communities from off-road recreators.

What makes this situation unique is that those who oppose the base's expansion into Johnson Valley aren't necessarily opposed to the expansion plan as a whole. In fact, they support it, but would like to see the base expanded to the east and south.

"This is a very, very tough issue that we're facing, because the economy of Yucca Valley is affected by the Marine base, but it is also affected by the off-roaders," said Cheryl Nankervis, executive director for the Yucca Valley Chamber of Commerce.

One anticipated side effect of losing Johnson Valley would be an increase in illegal off-roading activity in and on the outskirts of established desert towns like Yucca Valley, Apple Valley and Lucerne Valley, officials said.

"We'll have more illegal off-roaders around town going onto private property. And that is a big concern as well," Nankervis said

At its Dec. 11 meeting, the Yucca Valley Town Council approved a resolution granting it stakeholder status in the base expansion project, meaning town officials will be kept in the loop with the latest updates on the project and its potential impacts on Yucca Valley.

Mike Kelliher, chairman for the business advocacy task force of the Yucca Valley Chamber of Commerce, told councilmembers at the meeting that the base's expansion into Johnson Valley would mean a loss in revenue from film productions, as well as profit losses for off-highway vehicle suppliers, hotels and motels, restaurants and gas stations.

He said grant money associated with off-highway vehicle enforcement would dwindle from $50,000 a year to $5,000 a year.

"If the base decides to move with the plan of taking the Johnson Valley OHV area, it will create a double-edge sword for our community and the enforcement of OHV's," Kelliher said.

Marine Capt. Carl Redding stresses that nothing is set in stone. The Marines have held a series of public scoping meetings this month and will continue to take public comment until Jan. 31 on the project.

"We're going to take all the comments into consideration and go from there," Redding said.

Once the public comment period closes, an environmental impact statement will be prepared.

First District Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt, a former Marine and Desert Storm veteran, doesn't want to see the towns he represents at the county level hurt financially from the base's westwar expansion. And while there are some serious issues that would need to be mitigated if the base were to expand to the east, he still prefers that option.

One reason is because the area to the east is not being used, and the other reason is because it could serve the military's need for training, as it did from 1942-1944 and again in 1964.

"It would certainly be preferrable to me because those lands are not being used right now and Johnson Valley is," Mitzelfelt said.

The primary issue with the base expanding to the east would be Amboy Road, a county-maintained road that connects the eastern Mojave Desert to the Morongo Basin. It would require some kind of mitigation, perhaps a realignment of the road so the public could still use it, Mitzelfelt said.

"It will be a multi-year effort, and it will be a challenge," he said. "I want to see the Marines get their needs taken care of, but I want to minimize the impacts on the public."

County Efforts Help Secure Funds for Increased Desert Fire Protection

by David Zook
Best Syndication News



Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt.
BARSTOW – San Bernardino County First District Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt today announced success in an effort by San Bernardino and other Western counties to secure additional federal funds to offset the costs of providing services in areas with large federal land ownership and low property tax base.

The Supervisor said he intends to ask the Board of Supervisors to use these funds, which could amount to $5.6 million over four years, to build and staff a much-needed fire station along a remote portion of Interstate 40, along with other fire and emergency service improvements. Mitzelfelt has proposed that a new County fire station be built in the area between Ludlow and Amboy, where accident response times from the Barstow, Baker or Needles areas can be as long as 45 minutes to an hour.

The additional funds are a result of the President’s October 3rd signing of the financial institutions “bailout” legislation, which included an unprecedented allocation of full funding for the Department of Interior’s Payments In Lieu of Taxes program (PILT). PILT partially assists counties in funding local services in areas dominated by federal lands, like the Mojave Desert, but it has not been funded to the level authorized by statute since its inception in 1976.

Supervisor Mitzelfelt serves on the National Association of Counties (NACo) Public Lands Steering Committee. The committee has directed the advocacy efforts of NACo, who along with San Bernardino County's public lands consultant and Director of Legislative Affairs and other Western counties helped secure the additional dollars.

"I'm gratified to see our efforts over the past eight years to increase PILT funding helped elevate this issue to a high-profile position within a high-profile legislative package,” Mitzelfelt said.

This progress may be considered the most recent in a series of steps by Mitzelfelt to improve fire safety in outlying areas. Supervisor Mitzelfelt's efforts to plan a fire station to serve Interstate 40 in the area between Ludlow and Amboy first moved ahead on June 24 when Mitzelfelt secured Board of Supervisors approval for $300,000 to go toward design work for the station.

A second proposed station in Goffs would augment fire protection and rescue services to the eastern Mojave Desert and the transportation corridors of I-40, Highway 95 and Route 66 (National Trails Highway). The station would also provide the communities of Baker, Needles, Havasu Lake and Kelso with additional backup resources. The proposed Goffs station took its first step in August when the Board of Supervisors approved the sale of surplus land to the San Bernardino County Fire Protection District. Goffs is situated 30 miles west of Needles and 50 miles east of Amboy.

Supervisor Mitzelfelt credits increased safety along the interstate corridors between Nevada and California to the County’s fire station in Baker that opened in two years ago, along with increased staffing and equipment. These resulted from significant General Fund support. He also credits mutual aid with other agencies, including the Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow Fire Department, which responds to hundreds of calls off the base per year. Mitzelfelt recently recognized Base Fire Chief Robert Wyman for his department’s recent selection as the Best Large Fire Department in the Defense Department.

Finally, the Board of Supervisors on September 16 approved a proposal by Supervisor Mitzelfelt to donate a surplus fire engine to the Yermo Community Services District (CSD). The CSD, which provides fire protection services in Yermo and the surrounding area – including the County’s Calico Ghost Town Regional Park – was in need of an additional fire engine after recent breakdowns of other equipment.

Construction begins on Victor Valley fire station

Joint city-county station will serve Hesperia's west side and Oak Hills

Dignitaries including Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-41), Assemblyman Anthony Adams (R-59) and First District Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt, break ground on San Bernardino County Fire Station 305 Tuesday morning. Photo by Peter Day

Beau Yarbrough
Hesperia Star

Construction on Hesperia's fifth fire station began in earnest Tuesday morning.

Firefighters, dignitaries and construction workers converged on a 3.5-acre lot on Caliente Road, west of Interstate 15, the future site of San Bernardino County Fire Station 305.

The new fire station will be the city's first since Station 304 at Eucalyptus Street and 11th Avenue was built in 1991, and the first built in cooperation with San Bernardino County.

"We've got a great relationship with the county fire department," said Leonard, himself a retired city and county firefighter. "I see great things in our future."

Both the city and county benefit from the new jointly built station, as its future coverage area will include both Hesperia and Oak Hills (which is the county's jurisdiction).

"Our current station in Oak Hills is inadequate; it needs to be replaced," said San Bernardino County Fire Department Division Chief Dan Wurl. "This station is going to be one that supports the troops out there, doing the job we ask them to do."

Money for the project was in question at one point: Before leaving office as First District Supervisor in late 2006, Assessor Bill Postmus proposed using $2.8 million intended for Station 305 to refurbish the assessor's San Bernardino office. In the uproar after the proposal became public, supervisors yanked the proposal off their agenda before it ever came to a vote.

In addition to local dignitaries and fire officials, Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-41), Assemblyman Anthony Adams (R-59) and First District Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt were also on hand to mark the occasion.

"All of us know, as we see the fires raging this very day," Lewis said, "The challenges ahead. ... We know that we're all in this together."

Lewis said building new stations in Southern California was especially important as the region is gripped by "a drought that seems to go on forever."

"This is exactly what leadership is," Adams said. "It's putting aside personal interests in the pursuit of common goals."

"When a fire truck shows up to your home," Mitzelfelt said, "It doesn't really matter what the logo on the side of it says."

The 18,478 square foot station has a price tag of $6.4 million and should be completed in a year.

Hesperia's first fire station, Station 301, will also be remodeled this fiscal year, Leonard said.

County funds repairs for ‘railroad bridge’

Residents still waiting on Rock Springs Road motorist bridge


RYAN ORR
Daily Press




Vehicles travel on Rock Springs Road next to the railroad bridge over the Mojave River. The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors Tuesday approved $100,000 to repair the railroad bridge. Reneh Agha / Staff Photographer

VICTORVILLE — With no word on a Rock Springs Road “bridge” to bypass the Mojave River during flood season, the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors Tuesday approved $100,000 to repair the railroad bridge just north of the road.

For years Rock Springs Road — connecting unincorporated Apple Valley to Hesperia — was washed out during heavy rains, cutting off at least 11,000 motorists who use the road daily.

In 2005, the county constructed a new reinforced concrete culvert underneath Rock Springs Road, which diverted some of the river’s flow toward the railroad bridge, causing damage, said David Zook, spokesman for San Bernardino County 1st District Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt.

The affected portion of the railroad structure now must be reconstructed by using deeply driven steel piles to replace the original timber piles, according to the Board of Supervisors’ agenda.

The county will contribute $100,000 from the County Road Funds budget to the railway project. In return, BNSF will design and construct the project and release the county from liability for any further damages to the affected portion of the railroad bridge.

“A request for funding to construct the (motorist) bridge for Rock Springs Road has been a part of our federal legislative platform for several years,” Zook said.

As recently as January, Rock Springs Road was closed for more than a day due to flooding. However, since the construction of the new culvert the road hasn’t been “washed out” and reopens as soon as water recedes, Zook said.

The San Bernardino County Public Works Department estimates that the road has been closed five times since 2005 as a result of flooding.

The 2005 project was built with $1.1 million in federal funds awarded in response to the flooding, and the county was prohibited from using it for any reason other than simply repairing the road, Zook said.

In a previous interview Mitzelfelt said he has been wanting to build a bridge over the river on Rock Springs Road since he was appointed, but the cost is too high.

Original estimates to build a permanent bridge when it was washed out in 2004 came in at $15 million.

Zook said the county has requested a $2 million earmark from its congressional delegation to get the project started and estimates the entire project will cost $20 million.

“However, the appropriations have not been made yet and we don’t expect Congress to complete that process until after the presidential election,” Zook said.

Goffs is a step closer to getting a fire station

Submitted by David Zook
Best Syndication News





Satellite view of Goffs, California. The red square indicates the 40 acre parcel to be transferred to San Bernardino County Fire for the location of a proposed fire station to serve the East Mojave.




SAN BERNARDINO - A much-needed fire station to provide coverage on Interstate 40 and the remote eastern Mojave Desert took its first step toward becoming a reality today when the Board of Supervisors approved the sale of surplus land to the San Bernardino County Fire Protection District.

"On the remote stretches of Interstate 40, rescue personnel have to come from as far away as Needles or Baker," said First District Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt. "Getting a fire station in the eastern Mojave Desert has been a priority of mine since taking office, and is essential for the safety of the traveling public."

The County Department of Public Works has owned 40 acres in the Goffs area as a borrow site to excavate material used for maintenance of county roads. It is no longer being used for that purpose and is being made available to be used as a site to construct a new fire station. The land was declared surplus today and is being sold to the San Bernardino County Fire Protection District for $20,000, or $500 per acre.

Goffs is situated 30 miles west of Needles and 50 miles east of Amboy. Supervisor Mitzelfelt and County fire officials continue to work toward planning a fire station to serve Interstate 40 in the area between Ludlow and Amboy. On June 24, Supervisor Mitzelfelt secured Board of Supervisors approval for $300,000 to go toward design work for the staion.

The proposed station in Goffs would augment fire protection and rescue services to the eastern Mojave Desert and the transportation corridors of I-40, Highway 95 and Route 66 (National Trails Highway). That would also provide the communities of Baker, Needles, Havasu Lake and Kelso with an additional resource for rescue.

San Bernardino County is the largest county in the lower contiguous 48 states. Most of the area is composed of a vast wilderness called the Mojave Desert. It can be very difficult to get emergency services to this sparsely populated area.

Wind rips off roof

By Jimmy Biggerstaff
Hi-Desert Star






MORONGO BASIN — Heavy rain in Twentynine Palms and the Joshua Tree National Park Monday caused road closures, washouts and wind damage to several structures.

A powerful and well-formed dust devil took the roof off a house on Ocotillo Road in Johnson Valley about 2 p.m. Monday, including plywood and cross members on one side. The home’s carport also was damaged.

John Jones, a local emergency medical services volunteer, was about a mile away from the meteorological oddity, and confirmed it was not a tornado. Jones described the funnel as about 250 feet high and 300 feet wide.

The thermal originated from the ground, not from clouds, Jones said.

Johnson Valley’s fire station sustained damage to a light fixture and television antenna.

Megan Blaney, a public information officer with the San Bernardino County Fire Department, said the emergency operations center [EOC] in Rialto was activated in response to an emergency declaration by the City of Twentynine Palms.

The EOC was still active Tuesday afternoon.

Robert Eland, the field representative for county supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt, was at work in Twentynine Palms Tuesday assessing damage to help determine how San Bernardino County could best help Twentynine Palms with clean-up and recovery efforts.

Park closes road, camps

Strong thunderstorms across the north central area of Joshua Tree National Park damaged a number of park facilities. The storm forced park officials to temporarily close a number of park facilities. Roads and camping areas affected by the closures are open to day-use hiking.

Due to flash flood damage, the following park facilities are closed until further notice:

The Indian Cove Area, including;

• Indian Cove Road south of Indian Cove Ranger Station


• Indian Cove Campground


• Indian Cove group campsites


• Rattlesnake Canyon Day Use Area

Additionally, Park Route 12 is closed from the park’s North Entrance south five miles to the Pinto Wye Junction.

While 0.77 inches of rain were recorded at park headquarters in Twentynine Palms, rangers estimate that storm-affected areas in the park may have received from 3 to 5 inches of rain

Torrential floodwaters were observed crossing one section of park road just south of the North Entrance, resulting in the complete loss of 30 feet of roadway, according to Joe Zarki, the park’s public information officer.

The North Entrance Road will be closed for about 48 hours while temporary repairs are made, Zarki wrote in an e-mail Tuesday.

In the Indian Cove area, floodwaters scoured steep drop-offs along the edges of about one-third of the road leading to Indian Cove Campground and significant flood damage occurred in portions of the campground as well.

Park service officials estimate it will take about two weeks to make the necessary repairs before the Indian Cove Campground and Indian Cove Road can be reopened for public use.

The park’s other main entrances, the West Entrance, five miles south of the community of Joshua Tree, and South Entrance, near Interstate 10, remain open for public use.

Park trails are open, but hikers and equestrians should exercise caution as many trails have not yet been assessed for flood damage.

“Please observe all road closures,” Zarki said. “These have been put in place for your safety.”

County sets aside funds for new Interstate 40 fire station

By Abby Sewell
Desert Dispatch






San Bernardino County has committed to building a new fire station on Interstate 40 between Barstow and Needles.

In the county’s 2008-09 budget, approved by the Board of County Supervisors on Tuesday, $300,000 was earmarked for design work on the new station. Andy Silva, a spokesman with 1st District Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt’s office, said the exact location has not been determined, but Ludlow and Amboy have both been floated as possible sites. The size and other specifications of the station will be worked out in the design phase.

County spokesman David Wert said the county saw a need for a station, despite the sparse population of that stretch of I-40, because of the great distance between fire stations on the interstate. There are no fire stations, county or volunteer, on the 124 mile stretch of I-40 between Newberry Springs and Needles.

San Bernardino County Fire Department representatives did not return calls for comment, but Newberry Springs Fire Department Assistant Chief Steve Miller said the new station would take some pressure off his all-volunteer department, which currently responds to fires and collisions in Ludlow.

“It will certainly be a help in reducing response times out there on the 40,” he said.

The stretch of National Trails Highway between Amboy and Essex is in an even worse position than Ludlow, Miller said. The “no-man’s land” is between 60 and 80 miles from the closest fire stations in Newberry Springs, Needles, Baker and Twentynine Palms.

The most recently built county fire station, in Baker, was completed in 2006 and cost $3.5 million, Silva said. Wert said the county does not currently have an estimate on the cost of the I-40 station, but it will likely be in the same range.

“It’s definitely going to happen, and that’s good news for everyone who travels on Highway 40 and surrounding areas,” he said.

Wert said the county will begin the project this fiscal year. By the end of the summer, the county will start receiving bids for the design work, and construction could begin in the next year, Wert said. The county’s contingency fund, reserve fund, and capital improvements fund are all possible sources of funding for the project.

Needles in a haystack

Lost in California shuffle, town's City Council considers secession





By SCOTT WYLAND
Las Vegas Review-Journal







NEEDLES, Calif. - Doomsayers predict a chunk of California will break off into the ocean after a cataclysmic earthquake.

But long before that happens, the Golden State might lose a splinter on its east side because of a political storm.

Some city leaders in Needles, a small border town cradled by three states, want to secede from California and merge with Nevada. Given the geography, Clark County probably would inherit the town and its 5,000 residents.

Those screaming for secession say they are fed up with San Bernardino County being so tight with funding. Needles' size and remote location at California's eastern edge have marginalized it politically, they contend.

Resentment boiled over when the county came through with considerably less aid for a struggling city-run hospital than the City Council had expected.

Council members went beyond idle grousing. They voted last week to form a nine-person panel to study the pros and cons of seceding.

"I think it's doable," Councilman Roy Mills said. "It's something Needles needs to pursue."

Mayor Jeff Williams, however, thinks switching to Nevada is an unrealistic course, fraught with hurdles.

Both state legislatures must approve, as well as a majority of voters from both counties, Williams said. Plus, Congress must sign off on it because the state line would be redrawn.

Williams worries that any attempt to annex Needles into Nevada will be a futile exercise that will alienate San Bernardino County and make Needles residents look foolish.

"It's like our council threw a fit like a child," Williams said. "They are thinking with their emotions and not their minds."

He questioned whether Clark County would adopt a city that would go this far to embarrass its home county because it didn't get its way.

'stepchild syndrome'

On the other side of the state line, Clark County Manager Virginia Valentine said information was too sparse now to seriously discuss annexing Needles.

The revenue the county would gain by taking Needles would have to justify the added costs, Valentine said. "It would have to be in the interest of Clark County residents."

Needles should study all the ramifications closely before making such a drastic move, she said. City officials might discover drawbacks, such as the Nevada Legislature possibly wielding more power over cities than California lawmakers do.

As an alternative to breaking from the state, the city is looking at how Needles might form its own county within California.

However, Williams and Mills both say that option would have a different set of snags, and fewer advantages. Because a California county must have at least 10,000 residents, Needles would have to merge with either Barstow or Blythe, Williams said.

And a county that small would be overshadowed by relative giants like San Bernardino, Mills said. "My personal preference would be to join Nevada."

Needles would benefit from Nevada's wellspring of gaming revenue, and the town could add slot machines and perhaps a casino or two, Mills said.

Nevada could tap into the stream of travelers who drive through Needles, he said, noting that the nearby state-border station tallies 4 million cars yearly.

Nevada also would be more likely to upgrade a stretch of Interstate 40 that runs through Needles, a project that is decades overdue, Mills said.

If Needles joins Nevada, it would be 115 miles from the Clark County seat in Las Vegas, he said, compared with 215 miles to the current seat of San Bernardino County.

"We're so far removed out here, we don't even feel part of it," Mills said. "The red-headed stepchild syndrome."

pros and cons

Needles is Mayberry with a rugged, desert edge and 125-degree summer heat.

It derives its name from spirelike rock formations. The town sprang from the railroad built across the Colorado River in the late 1800s. A chunk of Route 66 stretches through the town, the architecture of which denotes a hodge-podge of eras: turn-of-the-20th-century buildings, tract houses and 1960s eateries.

At the local Burger Hut, two Bullhead City, Ariz., construction workers munched on fast food and tossed out opinions about Needles joining Nevada.

It wouldn't hurt if California, one the country's largest states, got a bit smaller and Nevada got a little bigger, said Louie Vasquez, 51.

Needles could bring in gambling and save folks a drive to Laughlin, Vasquez said. "I'm not a gambler, but I'm sure that people would like to see it."

Everyone could use another casino, said James Medina, 24, as long as generic gaming dens didn't nudge out the distinct local restaurants.

"I enjoy places like this," he said, motioning to Burger Hut.

Down the road at the county-run library, Becky Court, a patron, talked of how she receives money from the state and must be a California resident to qualify.

If Needles joined Nevada, she'd have to move 90 miles to the nearest California city, Court said. "I love it here and don't want to move."

Tena McGee-Scott, a library employee, said secession was the silliest idea she'd ever heard. Yes, Needles could set up casinos if it joined Nevada, and, yes, the city could use the money, she said. But she questioned whether that was really good for Needles.

"I've been here 20 years," she said. "If I want to be in Nevada, I'll move to Nevada."

hospital funding

The local hospital is the catalyst for the rift between Needles and the county's board of supervisors.

When Life Point, the company that ran the city's 25-bed hospital, announced it would pull out of California, the county offered to take over.

But falling home values and a tightening state budget took a bite out of revenues, forcing the county to scale back on the long-term aid it could offer the hospital, said Brad Mitzelfelt, a county supervisor whose district includes Needles.

Mitzelfelt said he tried to sell his fellow supervisors on keeping the hospital at its current level of care for awhile, but to no avail.

They instead proposed eliminating the emergency room and overnight care, reducing the hospital to a large outpatient clinic, he said.

That plan was unacceptable to most City Council members, Williams said. They decided to keep it a full-service hospital, using a $1.3 million lease buyout from Life Point to cover costs until money from billing flowed in.

The city is now running the hospital on "a wing and a prayer" with no business plan, Williams said, calling that a high-risk gamble.

long odds

If history is any measure, the odds of Needles seceding are slimmer than winning a million-dollar jackpot.

Local governments' attempts to break from home states have rarely been fruitful since the 19th century.

Needles isn't the first city in a neighboring state to seek to join Nevada. In 2002, the U.S. House gave the go-ahead for Wendover, Utah, to merge with West Wendover, in Nevada, but Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., blocked the bill before it could reach the Senate.

Mitzelfelt argued that over the years San Bernardino County has funded many projects in Needles and created local jobs by putting a courthouse and other government centers there.

But he understands the city's frustration over the hospital, and wishes them the best in what will be a tough quest.

"Bordering cities should have the option of going to another state," Mitzelfelt said. "It shouldn't be an insurmountable challenge."

State Sen. Roy Ashburn, R-Bakersfield, said he backs Needles' effort to join a more business-friendly state. The city has lost bids for big retailers that went to nearby Nevada and Arizona, both of which have lower taxes and fewer regulations than California, Ashburn said.

Ashburn said he will push for California and Nevada to do a joint study on how feasible it is for Needles to secede. Ultimately, it comes down to what's in the best interest of the citizens, he said.

"It's the kind of creative thinking that needs to take place. State lines are arbitrary, and things change."

High Desert fastest growing region in county

RYAN ORR Staff Writer
Victorville Daily Press







SAN BERNARDINO — The Victor Valley is the fastest growing area in San Bernardino County and is expected to retain that title for some time.

For residents of the Victor Valley, that means an ever-changing community. However, with the rapid increase in population, it may change the 1st District more than some expect.

If the supervisorial districts were redrawn right now, 40,000 residents would have to be cut out of the 1st District and added to another, said 1st District Brad Mitzelfelt.

The districts will be redrawn after the 2010 census, when that number will probably be much larger.

That means that there are some communities currently in the 1st District — which includes the entire Victor Valley — that won’t be in two years.

The purpose is to make the district equal, so that each one comprises roughly one-fifth of the county’s population.

“The foreclosure increase is a temporary setback,” said Mitzelfelt. “We will be the fastest growing area in the community for the foreseeable future because we have the most land.”

Mitzelfelt would not speculate on which communities may be excluded when the districts are redrawn. After the 2000 census, Joshua Tree was cut out of the 1st District and Wrightwood, where Mitzelfelt resides, was added.

Despite the 2000 redistricting evening out the populations in each district, the California Department of Finance estimated in 2007 the 1st District had 445,530 residents. That’s 67,000 residents more than the county’s 5th District.

San Bernardino County’s charter calls for having five districts, which leaves out the possibility of adding a sixth.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, there were three well-organized yet unsuccessful drives to make the High Desert into its own county.

The motivation then, for what would have been called Mojave County, was not population growth, but keeping tax dollars in Victor Valley communities, said Dick Pearson, who was involved in the movement.

Mitzelfelt said that currently the High Desert benefits from being part of San Bernardino County.

“If we became our own small county, I think there would be more attention paid to our local problems. However, there would be a lot less money to solve those problems,” said Mitzelfelt, who added that some time in the future it could be more of a benefit to form another county.

The much anticipated High Desert government center will be like having a county seat in the Victor Valley, Mitzelfelt said.

The 55,000-square-foot center slated for Hesperia will house the majority of county agencies that Victor Valley residents now have to drive to San Bernardino for.

That, combined with the growth of the Southern California Logistics Airport and the jobs it will create, is proof that the Victor Valley will continue to be the fastest growing area in San Bernardino County.

Mojave River Flooding closes Rock Springs Road

2,400 gallons of water per second being released


RYAN ORR Staff Writer
Victor Valley Daily Press


Rock Springs Road has been over taken by Mojave River flood waters.
Reneh Agha / Staff Photographer

ROCK SPRINGS — Rock Springs Road has been over taken by Mojave River flood waters and now looks more like a lake, cutting off at least 11,000 vehicles per day who use it.

Due to the recent heavy rains more than 366,000 gallons of water per minute is being released into the Mojave River, which has caused the closing of Rock Springs Road.

The low-lying road which connects Apple Valley to Hesperia is often flooded out during heavy rains.

The recent storms caused the California Department of Water Resources to release water from Silverwood Lake.

“Cedar Springs Dam is not a flood control dam so any natural resources that come in, we have to let out,” said John Bunce, operations superintendent for the department.

Starting Sunday, the department began releasing 320 cubic feet of water from the dam per second, or 2,400 gallons.

By Sunday night it was up to 4,500 gallons per second being released, said David Zook, spokesman for San Bernardino County 1st District Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt.

Monday morning they increased the flow again up to 815 cubic feet per second, or 61,000 gallons, Zook added. It will continue at that rate indefinitely he said.

The Cedar Springs Dam holds water in Silverwood Lake. The lake is a state water project retaining water from the California Aqueduct.

“That water belongs to us, not the state water project,” Zook said of the natural rainfall.

The Mojave Forks Dam, located further down river from Silverwood lake but still before Rock Springs Road was reportedly releasing 5,700 cubic feet of water per second Sunday or 42,750 gallons of water.

The National Weather Service released a flood warning Sunday saying significant water was expected to be released into the Mojave River.

As a result of the alert, Mitzelfelt initiated the telephone emergency notification system to alert residents in the area of the possible flood dangers.

Zook said about 3,000 residents were notified.

Monday afternoon, eight inches of water was still flowing over Rock Springs Road, Zook said.

Zook said public works officials didn’t expect the road to be badly damaged from the flooding.

According to the San Bernardino County Department of Public Works, no other roads down stream required closure, due to the water being released.

Mitzelfelt said he has been wanting to build a bridge over the river on Rock Springs Road since he was appointed but the cost is too high.

Original estimates to build a permanent bridge when it was washed out in 2004 came in at $15 million.