San Bernardino's $36.7 Million City Housing Plan

(SAN BERNARDINO, Calif.) In recent months the nation and The City of San Bernardino have been rocked by financial and economic challenges that have severely affected the employment in our city.

The housing market has crashed.  Home prices have declined by more than half (53.18 percent) from one year ago, according to a DataQuick Survey for July 2009.  Recent trends show home sales and home prices showing a slight increase however, the housing industry was the region’s number one employer. Many companies have laid off employees and in too many cases, gone out of business.

“That has put good people with great jobs out of work,” said Emil Marzullo, the interim executive director of the San Bernardino Economic Development Agency.  He added, “Our unemployment rate has gone from a low of 4.5 percent in 2006 to a little more than 14.5 percent today.  That means 3 out of every 20 people are out of work.”

Our incomes have declined significantly. “Some of our unemployed friends and neighbors have found new jobs and some of them haven’t.” Marzullo said. “Some of our friends and neighbors are receiving unemployment insurance.  That insurance pays about half of their previous salary up to $1,935 a month in payments.”  

People who earned more than $3,891 a month can receive much less than half their previous income.  Losing half your salary or more can mean real problems meeting financial obligations. 

As we have heard many times, the root of our problem was easy to get sub-prime mortgages.  These mortgages started with low interest rates and low payments.  These low payments became larger payments in as little as six months.  Within two years these low payments became even larger payments, often too large for people to pay.

During the dramatic increase in home sales and home prices, driven by easy credit at high rates, sub-prime mortgages increased by five times (from 4.5 percent to 20 percent) according to Inside Mortgage Finance, 2007. 

According to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), in 2006 a little less than half (44.2 percent) of loans made in San Bernardino were sub-prime mortgages.  In some areas of San Bernardino more than half (59 percent) were sub-prime mortgages.

This has led to San Bernardino having one of the highest foreclosure rates in the nation. According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) our area has the second highest foreclosure rate in California, about 3 out of every 25 homes or 11.8 percent.

RealtyTrac, an Irvine based company that tracks foreclosures nationwide, shows 4,327 foreclosed properties in San Bernardino from January 1, 2008 to June 30, 2009. Foreclosures have dramatically affected every ward in San Bernardino.

Current Number of Foreclosed Homes in San Bernardino 

But the foreclosure problem isn’t over yet. HUD projects that the City of San Bernardino still has a little less than half of its current mortgages (44.2 percent) as sub-prime mortgages.  HUD rates the risk of foreclosure and abandonment on a scale of one to 10 with 10 being worst.

According to HUD the city of San Bernardino averages a 9.2 risk factor with a projected average citywide foreclosure and abandonment rate for the next 18 months of three out of every 25 homes (12 percent).

What Is The City of San Bernardino Doing To Fix Our Housing Market?“These problems have brought more problems and more opportunities.  To take advantage of the opportunities and to help stabilize the housing market The City of San Bernardino Economic Development Agency has developed a very aggressive and well thought out plan to stabilize our housing market and help the entire city move forward,” said Marzullo.

On October 20, 2008, the agency’s Integrated Housing Strategy was approved by the city council acting as the Community Development Commission of the City of San Bernardino. 

“Included in the Strategy is the key goal of single-family homeownership and neighborhood revitalization, designed to enhance residential neighborhoods and promote home ownership,” said Marzullo.

He added, “We will help to meet this goal by reducing the harmful effects caused by our current foreclosure crisis.”

The City of San Bernardino’s Economic Development Agency has marshaled its resources and sought to find additional funding.  “We are using $36.7 million for this plan.  $8.4 million from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Neighborhood Stabilization Program and $28.3 million from agency funds,” said Marzullo. 

Use of funds

EDA Fiscal Year 2009 - 2010 Budget Line Items
Expenditure Detail - Capital Expenses
Development Capital Expenses Housing Budget
Program Description	Amount
Utility Rebate Program Low Income	$75,000
Old-timers	140,000
Casa Ramona/Highland Standby Loan Guarantee	360,000
49th Street Telacu property acquisition/relocation/demo	500,000
Residential revitalization opportunities	2,000,000
Single Family Beautification Grant NHS-3 yr annual	2,100,000
5th and Meridian Project	2,500,000
City Wide Housing Down Payment Assistance Program	3,490,000
Highland and Medical Center Senior Housing	4,400,000
Annual Notice of Funds Available	6,000,000
HOME - Affordable Housing Projects	6,943,186
Neighborhood Stabilization Program	8,203,588
Total budgeted for housing projects	$36,711,774

The Neighborhood Stabilization Program funds come from $3.92 billion authorized by Congress in 2008 as part of the stimulus programs to address abandoned and foreclosed residential properties nationwide.

“The agency has also applied for additional $9 million from the Neighborhood Stabilization Program funds and shall continue to explore opportunities and request funds to help fix San Bernardino’s economic and housing issues,” said Marzullo.

The Plan – An Integrated Housing Strategy
The agency has made many programs available to help San Bernardino residents:
1.    Exterior Beautification Grants providing up to $10,000 for homeowners in San Bernardino.
2.    $25,000 Single Family Rehabilitation Loans for homeowners in San Bernardino.
3.    10 percent down payment assistance to buy a home in San Bernardino.
4.    Buying, rehabilitating and selling foreclosed properties to homeowners.
5.    Purchasing and demolishing blighted and abandoned housing where crime is a problem.
6.    Receivership Program created to enhance homeownership and revitalize neighborhoods.
7.    Annual notice of funding availability for large scale projects 
8.    Building 80 units of Senior housing at the South West corner Highland & Medical Center Drive by Meta Housing, Inc., to help revitalize the area.
9.    The demolition of up to 184 apartments from the 19th and Sunrise area and the selection of Mary Erickson Community Housing to acquire, rehabilitate and manage the remaining 100 units of rental apartments.

Program Descriptions:

1.    Beautification Grants provide up to $10,000 for homes in San Bernardino.
The bad news is that 3 in every 25 homes in the city have been foreclosed. The good news is that 22 homes in every 25 are still owned and occupied. To help those city residents improve the outside appearance of their homes and revitalize the city’s neighborhoods, homeowners can receive a grant of up to $10,000 per property for exterior home improvements. 

Before Beautification Grant

Homeowners can receive an additional $5,000 if they match the grant with the same amount of their own funds. Based on the homeowner’s match, the total beautification activity could equal a maximum of $20,000 per project ($15,000 in agency funds plus $5,000 in homeowner funds).

The Neighborhood Housing Service of The Inland Empire, Inc. (NHSIE) runs this program for the agency.

After Beautification Grant


These Beautification Grants can be used for:
•    New energy efficient window and front door replacements. 
•    New driveway or repairs.
•    New garage door
•    Exterior painting
•    New drought tolerant landscaping including automatic sprinklers and planting materials for the front yard only
•    New front yard fencing with wrought iron, vinyl, wood or block fencing
•    New parkway enhancements, i.e. stamped concrete, trees and drought tolerant landscape materials.

To be eligible to receive this grant you must:
1.    Be a resident of San Bernardino. 
2.    Make less than $77,400 a year for a family of four (120 percent of the area median income adjusted for family size).
3.    Have owned and lived in your home for at least one year and made that your principal place of residence.
4.    Complete a Beautification Grant application.
5.    Attend a property maintenance class created and given by The Neighborhood Housing Service of The Inland Empire, Inc. (NHSIE)
6.    Sign a ten-year maintenance covenant (an agreement added to your title) that says you will keep your property looking attractive.
7.    Agree to live in the house for at least one additional year as your principal place of residence.
8.    Homeowners cannot receive a Beautification Grant and a Single Family Rehabilitation Loan.

“This program is designed to help make our neighborhoods look and feel better,” said Marzullo. “The program has such a big demand that our partner has placed a hold on new applications. Because of the demand, the agency is looking for additional partners to allow us to take more applications and get more money into the hands of residents faster.”

San Bernardino City homeowners who want more information on Beautification Grants or to be put on the waiting list can call The Neighborhood Housing Service of The Inland Empire, Inc. (NHSIE) at (909) 884-6891. 

2.    $25,000 Single Family Rehabilitation Loans for homeowners in San Bernardino.
Beautification Grants make the outside of the home look great, but sometimes our homes need new roofs, have termite damage or need work inside the home.

To help homeowners with these problems the agency has a Single Family Rehabilitation Loan of up to $25,000, or 25 percent of the current fair market value of the home, whichever is less. The loan has a 3 percent simple interest rate and all payments are postponed until the homeowner sells or refinances the home.

 “This loan was created to help homeowners keep their homes in good repair without increasing the financial burden that could make them lose their homes,” said Marzullo.

“This is a program that helps to stop foreclosures by fixing problems before they become too much for a homeowner to handle,” he added.

These Single Family Rehabilitation Loans can be used for:
•    A new roof
•    Exterior and interior painting, including lead removal or covering. If lead is found in your home the agency will fund the entire amount to remove the lead from your home. This keeps you and your children safe from lead poising.
•    New energy efficient windows
•    New carpet and/or flooring
•    New high efficiency heating and air conditioning systems
•    Electrical work
•    Sewer repair or sewer installation
•    Termite repairs
•    Exterior concrete such as sidewalks, driveways, curbs, gutters, handrails or ramps
•    New door or window screens or repairs
•    New bathtub, shower, toilets, or repairs
•    Foundation or structural repairs
•    Fencing

To be eligible to receive these grants you must:
i.    Live in the City of San Bernardino
ii.    Make less than $77,400 a year for a family of four (120 percent of the Area Median Income adjusted for family size.)
iii.    Have owned and lived in your home for at least one year and made that your principal place of residence.
iv.    Complete a Single Family Rehabilitation Loan application.
v.    Attend a property maintenance class created and given by The Neighborhood Housing Service of The Inland Empire, Inc. (NHSIE)
vi.    Agree to live in the house for at least 10 years as your principal place of residence.
vii.    Homeowners cannot receive a Beautification Grant and a Single Family Rehabilitation Loan.

“The program has such a big demand that our partner has placed a hold on new applications. Because of the demand, the agency is looking for additional partners to allow us to take more applications and get more money into the hands of residents faster.”

San Bernardino City homeowners who want more information on Single Family Rehabilitation Loans, or to be put on the waiting list can call The Neighborhood Housing Service of The Inland Empire, Inc. (NHSIE) at (909) 884-6891. 

3.    10 percent down payment assistance to buy a home in San Bernardino
“The best way to get rid of foreclosed homes in San Bernardino is for families to buy them and live in them,” said Marzullo.  “ It seems simple, but with home prices down to an average of $70,000 there has never been a better time for families to buy a home.”

Marzullo may be right.  Homes that sold for more than $380,000 a few years ago are priced as low as $100,000.

Lower home prices make housing more affordable.  A family making $30,000 a year can afford to buy a $140,000 home. According to Bank of America, with a $7,000 down payment and a 5.298 percent annual interest rate, on a 30-year fixed interest rate loan the payment would be $724.17.

The San Bernardino County Housing Authority says market rent for a three-bedroom apartment is $1,583 a month.  That means buying a home with a fixed mortgage so that monthly payments never increase can save a homeowner thousands of dollars a year over rent payments. 

“We also know from experience that this housing price drop won’t last forever. Home values in San Bernardino will appreciate again at a more normal 1 to 3 percent a year.  That increase in home value builds family wealth that can be used in the future for children’s college education or retirement,” said Marzullo.

The Homeowners’ Assistance Program provides first time homebuyers with up to 10 percent of the home purchase price. For a $100,000 house that amount would be $10,000; for a $200,000 house the amount is $20,000.

The interest rate on the loan is 3 percent simple interest.

To qualify you must:
1.    Purchase a home within the city limits of San Bernardino.
2.    Not have owned a home within the last three years.
3.    Make a cash investment of $1,000 towards the purchase price of the home.
4.    Earn less than $77,400 a year for a family of four (120 percent of the Area Median Income adjusted for family size.)
5.    Occupy the home as your primary residence for the forty-five year term, or if you sell the home before then, share the equity increase with the agency.
6.    Attend a 16-hour Homebuyer Education course given by Neighborhood Housing Services of the Inland Empire.
For more information on the Homeowners’ Assistance Program can call the City of San Bernardino’s Economic Development Agency at (909) 663-1044 and ask for Lisa Conner. 

4.    Buying, rehabilitating and selling foreclosed properties to owners who will live in the homes
 “The agency has created or found ways for people to buy homes in the City of San Bernardino. This program allocates $3.7 million of Neighborhood Stabilization Program funds to empower agency-approved companies to purchase and rehabilitate some of the 4,327 foreclosed properties in our city.
These companies have been retained through a Request for Production/Qualifications (“RFP”) process and are checked by agency staff and approved by the City Council.

They are community development corporations, builders, developers and contractors.

Upon rehabilitation, the homes will be made available for purchase to qualifying households whose make less than $77,400 a year for a family of four (120 percent of the Area Median Income adjusted for family size).

Expected home sales prices are from $100,000 to $250,000. Buyers can also use the agency’s Homeowners Assistance Program providing a 10 percent down payment for those who qualify. For a $100,000 home that would be $10,000 to purchase the home.

For more information or a for list of available homes please call the City of San Bernardino’s Economic Development Agency at (909) 663-1044 and ask for Shannon Johnson.

5.   Purchasing and demolishing blighted and abandoned housing where crime is a problem
“Some of the abandoned or foreclosed homes and multi-family housing in our city are in physical conditions too costly for rehabilitation,” said Marzullo. “With a budget of $920,000 from federal Neighborhood Stabilization Funds and $1.00 million from the agency’s funds,  this program will allow for the acquisition, demolition and future home building on these sites.”

Generally, these sites fall under two primary categories: those that have become a blighting influence on the immediate area and pose a serious health and safety risk, and those which offer a unique opportunity to create catalytic projects that will help to further private investment.

“When the economy recovers these vacant lots will be ready for redevelopment of new single family homes,” said Marzullo.

Meridian Project
A current example of this includes the Fifth Street and Meridian Avenue project (“Meridian Project”) that was approved by the commission on September 15, 2008.  $2.5 million is approved and budgeted for the acquisition, demolition and preparation for development.

In the first phase of the project the agency acquired nine of the 18 residential complexes along Fifth Street immediately east of Meridian Avenue. 

The remaining nine privately owned properties are currently being appraised to find their highest and best use value.  Once the appraisals are complete CPSI, our relocation firm hired to assist the agency in this project, will prepare offers for presentation to the homeowners on behalf of the agency. 

The project is a priority for the agency as a result of the blighting effects the current apartment complexes are having on the immediate area, which is generally comprised of single-family residences. 

Given the high number of bank owned properties and the overall state of housing prices, the agency has a unique opportunity to acquire these properties at drastically reduced prices in order to obtain site control for future development. 

After the properties are demolished, the agency will issue a request for proposals to the development community in an attempt to seek the best redevelopment solution on an open and competitive basis.

In June of 2009 the agency demolished four fourplexes located on West Fifth Street.  The agency is currently demolishing another five fourplexes at the site.  The families living in these fourplexes have been successfully relocated to decent, safe and sanitary replacement sites and received relocation benefits.

19th Street and Sunrise
There are currently 244 low-income apartment units in 61 fourplexes and 10 vacant lots at the 19th and Sunrise project area.

The agency is purchasing 46 properties with up to 184 apartments for demolition.  As the housing market improves the agency will build up to 65 units of senior housing and between 40 – 55 single family homes.

When the project is complete the area will have 205 to 215 units of housing – 144 fewer apartments and 31 to 41 fewer housing units than when the agency started.

A more complete description of the entire project is below.

For more information on the purchase and demolition of blighted housing please call the City of San Bernardino’s Economic Development Agency at (909) 663-1044 and ask for Carey Jenkins. 


6.    Receivership Program created to enhance homeownership and revitalize neighborhoods.
“Because of the way so many mortgages were made and sold in pieces to investors in the last few years, sometimes finding the true owner of a foreclosed property can be very difficult.  It can be more difficult to make the banks or other owners board up or repair their property when we do find them,” said Marzullo.

To take control of these properties and make sure they are repaired, maintained and resold the agency has created, tested and is ready to implement a Receivership Program. It works like this: After the city’s Code Enforcement team has documented a series of violations with a particular property and the owner refuses to obey after being given reasonable notice and opportunity, the city makes a request to the courts to have a receiver appointed to make the necessary repairs.

The Receivership Program is a great way to meet agency and city residents’ worries about these vacant and foreclosed properties.  The agency also has the added benefit of beautifying existing blighted housing stock without having to worry about how to fund the repairs.

This program is most effective in neighborhoods where there are one or two blighted properties on an otherwise nice street, the homes are priced above $150,000, and home prices are generally rising. “We have seen home prices stop their decline in recent months and we expect to see prices start to rise sometime in the future,” said Marzullo.

The agency has used the Receivership Program twice.  “We believe that as home prices rise we will have more of an opportunity to use the program to rid neighborhoods of problem homes faster. This is another tool to help us solve the problem of foreclosure and blight in the City of San Bernardino,” Marzullo said.

To make a complaint about a blighted vacant property call the City of San Bernardino’s Economic Development Agency at (909) 663-1044 and ask for Shannon Johnson. 

7.    Annual notice of funding availability for large scale projects 
One of the issues the agency has had in the past is setting specific housing goals and then finding the resources to meet those objectives.  Through the Neighborhood Stabilization Program and agency funds we have been able to do just that.

The agency sent an invitation to housing companies, investors and developers and asked them to present their ideas to work with the agency on specific housing goals in San Bernardino with a determined financial contribution by the agency.
  
We called this invitation the annual notice of funding availability (NOFA). It was established to meet a number of key affordable housing objectives.

•    One, it allows for an orderly allocation of funds on a regular basis.  It also allows the agency to look at similar projects on the same merits, at the same time. 
•    Additionally, it will help meet the city’s overall housing creation goals for example, higher quality affordable housing stock and better on-site management of multifamily housing. 
•    Finally, it creates development opportunities within the city and generates interest from a greater number of potential community development corporations, developers, investors and potential partners.

Last year marked the agency’s first opportunity to provide a regular allocation of funds to address the general housing goals stated above.  With this in mind, the agency identified up to $6 million to be allocated toward two specific project types:
 
a)    New construction of senior housing between 80 and 120 units, and
b)    Acquisition and rehabilitation of existing problem multi-family rental housing of more than 40 units.

After a thorough review of the proposals received the agency ranked and selected two projects.

a)    Meta Housing, Inc. was selected to build 80 units of senior housing at the South West corner of Highland & Medical Center Drive.
b)    Mary Erickson Community Housing (MECH) was selected for the acquisition and rehabilitation of existing problematic multi-family rental housing.

To follow is information on the two projects.

a)    Meta Housing, Inc. - 80 units of senior housing at the South West corner of Highland & Medical Center Drive

This project transforms a blighted automotive site into 80 units of high quality, affordable housing for seniors, obtains a one-acre parcel of land for future sale or development opportunities, and creates a future stream of income that can be used for future developments including senior or single-family housing.  

There will be three separate floor plans. The first is a one-bedroom unit of approximately 589 square feet with a patio or balcony. The two other plans consist of 2-bedroom units of approximately 828 square feet and 971 square feet, also with patios or balconies.

An outdoor patio area with shade trees, a fountain, barbecue grills, a swimming pool and adequate areas for relaxed seating will enhance the exterior of the facility. A walking path around the perimeter of the building will allow residents the opportunity for exercise while at the same time providing them with a sense of security as the path will be within a decorative 6-foot wrought iron fence that surrounds the project. 

Meta Housing, Inc., is a Los Angeles, California based company that specializes in the development of affordable and market-rate apartment communities for families and seniors. Since 1969, the organization has been responsible for successfully developing more than 10,000 single-family and multi-family residential units throughout Southern California.

The total development cost for the project is $17.5 million. The agency’s agreed upon subsidy for the project is $4 million.   As a result of this development, the agency will retain the one-acre parcel and receive a deferred payment loan, secured by a second trust deed against the project.  

For more information on this project call Carey Jenkins at the City of San Bernardino Economic Development Agency at (909) 663-1044.


b)    The demolition of up to 184 apartments from the 19th and Sunrise area and the selection of Mary Erickson Community Housing to acquire, rehabilitate and manage the remaining 100 units of rental apartments.

The 19th and Sunrise area has a history of police and code enforcement involvement and is a blighting influence on the surrounding community.

A major problem with the area is that it has changed owners over the years. When it was built there was one owner of the 61 multifamily fourplexes.  The owner had the resources to maintain the properties in good condition, rent to good people and evict those who were not. 

About 20 years ago that company sold the multiplexes and now we have many different owners with many different standards for renting.  Some have no regard for their properties and have allowed them to decline into unlivable conditions.

A number of the properties are rented to people who cannot rent anywhere else.  Some are forced to pay first class rents of $1,200 or more a month for very poor quality housing.

The agency and council agreed the time is right to immediately stabilize the area of the city adversely affected by this poorly maintained and operated residential housing complex.

The agency’s plan is to use a non-profit housing developer to purchase and rehabilitate 100 units of apartments for rent.  The Agency is purchasing the remaining 46 properties with up to 184 apartments set for demolition. 

The vacant land will be used to build new single family housing and senior housing in the next few years as the housing market improves.

There are currently 244 low-income apartment units within 61 fourplexes and 10 vacant lots at the 19th and Sunrise project area.

Aerial photo of the 19^th and Sunrise Project Area

When complete the 19th Street and Sunrise area will have:
o    100 units of rental apartments for families of four that make up to $53,300 a year.
o    40 – 55 single family homes for sale to families of four who make up to $77,400 a year.
o    65 units of senior apartments for rent to households that make up to $42,650 a year for a family of two.

The end result will deliver 205 to 215 units of housing – 144 fewer apartments and 31 to 41 fewer housing units than when the agency started.

Agency staff has determined the best method for acquiring; rehabilitating and operating apartments for rent would be through a non-profit company that could perform all of these functions on the agency’s behalf. The agency selected Mary Erickson Community Housing through a competitive application process.

Mary Erickson Community Housing is a non-profit agency specializing in housing, with greater capacity than the City of San Bernardino Economic Development Agency for rehabilitating and professionally managing apartments for low to moderate-income families.

Mary Erickson Community Housing was founded in 1991.  Its namesake was a retired schoolteacher who was devoted to the principals of community participation and well being. The company established its first affordable housing complex in San Clemente and has since grown to include multiple properties serving hundreds of diverse, hard working, low income families in Southern California including: Moreno Valley, Corona, Loma Linda, Riverside and now San Bernardino.

Preventing future multiple owners
To make sure the rental apartments can never be sold to individual owners and create unsafe and unregulated conditions again, as the properties are purchased the deeds will be changed to make them each one parcel.
•    15 separate apartment complexes on the north side of 19th Street will become one complete parcel. (The north area in blue.)
•    10 fourplexes on the South Side of Sunrise Lane will become one complete parcel. (The south area in blue.)

Current and Future Residents
Current residents will be asked to apply to live in the newly renovated apartments. MECH will have active on site management, new rental agreements and new rules designed to keep the neighborhood safe and attractive.

Mary Erickson Community Housing also provides life skills education to help all residents gain skills to better manage their families and finances.

Phase 1
Currently, Mary Erickson Community Housing is purchasing the vacant, foreclosed and boarded up properties in the19th and Sunrise area.  (The blue areas on the map.)

MECH has already acquired three properties and expects to begin construction in the coming weeks to rehabilitate those apartments. Phase 1 is complete when the 15 separate apartment complexes on the north side of 19th street and the 10 fourplexes on the south side of Sunrise Lane are acquired and rehabilitated. The initial allocation of NSP funds for this component is $2.1 million plus $1 million in Agency funds.

For its investment with MECH for the apartments, the agency will receive half (50 percent) of any “surplus cash flow” after all operating expenses and debt service payments have been made on each property acquired, rehabilitated and placed into service by MECH.

Phase 2
Concurrently, the Agency is also purchasing properties in the area bounded by 19th Street to the north, Sunrise Lane to the south, Guthrie to the east and Argyle to the west. These are the green and gold areas on the map. These properties will be acquired and demolished.  The initial cost to the Agency is $1.6 million.

Phase 3
When cleared and available the agency will prepare 12 parcels of the land for senior housing and issue a request for proposal to build 65 units of senior apartments. The project will be funded from future agency and developer funds.

Phase 4
In the future as housing demand returns the agency will issue a request for proposals to build 40 – 55 single family homes. The project will be funded from future agency and developer funds.  The number of homes depends on the lot size for the homes.

For more information on this project call the City of San Bernardino Economic Development Agency at (909) 963-5020 and ask for Sam Hughes.

Summary
“The City of San Bernardino has a rich history and a bright future. We are a growing city of more than 205,000 people. We are also a diverse city with many different ethnic groups speaking several different languages,” said Marzullo.

He added, “Our diversity doesn’t stop with ethnic diversity. We are also an economically diverse city. Who lives in San Bernardino? Our friends and neighbors are people of all occupations and incomes.

“They are college presidents, truck drivers, teachers, cashiers, servers, rocket scientists, waiters, college professors, hosts, dishwashers, police officers, cooks, machinists, carpenters, house cleaners, brain surgeons, bartenders and corporate presidents.”

San Bernardino also has more than 30,000 college and university students attending such diverse campuses as Valley College, California State University and The Art Institute of California-Inland Empire.

Like many cities, San Bernardino area residents’ annual salaries vary from a low of zero for some college students to millions of dollars a year for company presidents and business owners.

“All of our residents need a safe, clean, quality and affordable place to live. It is the job of the Economic Development Agency and its Housing and Community Development Department of The City of San Bernardino to make sure that is possible to the best of our ability,” said Marzullo.

The agency has these programs to help solve our housing problems:
1.    $25,000 Single Family Rehabilitation Loans for homeowners in San Bernardino.
2.    10 percent down payment assistance to buy a home in San Bernardino.
3.    Buying, rehabilitating and selling foreclosed properties to owners who will live in the homes.
4.    Purchasing and demolishing blighted and abandoned housing where crime is a problem.
5.    Receivership Program created to enhance homeownership and revitalize neighborhoods.
6.    Annual notice of funding availability for large scale projects 
7.    Build 80 units of senior housing at the SW corner Highland & Medical Center Drive and revitalize an important part of our city.  Meta Housing, Inc. selected build and mange the complex.
8.    The demolition of 184 apartments from the 19th and Sunrise area and the selection of Mary Erickson Community Housing to acquire, rehabilitate and manage the remaining 100 units of rental apartments.

“These projects require experienced professionals who search out funding opportunities and match them to the needs of our city; cerate and mange programs; and review and conform to the thousands of pages of rules, regulations and laws from city, state and federal agencies. We are lucky to have some of the best housing professionals in the state working for San Bernardino’s Economic Development Agency, said Marzullo.

Rest assured the Economic Development Agency in the city of San Bernardino continues to find new ways to improve housing.  For more information on any of these programs please call the EDA office at (909) 663-1044.

-end-

HECT Prepares Students for Teaching Careers

Tina Luk, a senior at Rowland High School, reads a story to preschoolers during her Careers with Children course. Tina and thousands of other teens in California high schools who take Careers with Children and other courses in the Child Development and Education pathway, offered by Home Economics Careers and Technology, are learning skills that will help prepare them for careers as teachers, pediatricians, counselors and many other occupations that involve working with children. Photo by Chris Sloan.

Jennifer Anaya and Brittany Clark help Rilee (center), decorate a paper pumpkin during their Careers With Children course at Rowland High School. At Rowland High, teenagers enrolled in Careers with Children greatly outnumbers the enrollment at its on-campus Rainbow World preschool, so the younger children often enjoy better than one-on-one attention from their teenage "teachers." Photo by Chris Sloan

Tenth-grader Ashley Medrano of Rowland High School helps Angelito decorate a pumpkin. Behind Ashley is professional teaching assistant Yolanda Walker, the head supervisor of Rainbow World Preschool, located on the campus of Rowland High. Second-year students in Careers with Children assist with supervision of the first-year "teachers."  Because Careers with Children is a popular course at Rowland High School, the school has an instructional aide to supervise the preschool as well as a teacher to teach the course in a separate classroom. Having an aide gives both teens and preschoolers more instructional time. Photo by Chris Sloan

Joaquin, a student at Rainbow World Preschool on the campus of Rowland High School, works with Jennifer Anaya and two of her male classmates in Careers with Children. Men who can teach young children are in especially high demand, but Careers with Children and other courses in the Child Development and Education pathway will also prepare teens for careers such as secondary teacher, school principal and pediatrician. Photo by Chris Sloan

(SACRAMENTO Calif.) Education, particularly the education of children and teens, will likely always be a high-demand career, simply because each year there are millions of children to educate.

And so will other careers that involve working with children, such as pediatricians, nurses, social workers, counselors and recreation planners. Not to mention, in 10 years, most of California’s current teenagers will be parents themselves, interacting daily with children on a personal level.

Instruction offered through the Home Economics Careers and Technology (HECT) program in California schools is helping to fill that demand. Its graduates have hands-on experience teaching students from preschool through fellow high school students.

“Regardless of what field you’re considering, every student can benefit from at least one child development course,” said Janice DeBenedetti, state consultant to the HECT program. “It helps prepare them for many rewarding careers, and gives them an advantage if they become parents later in life.”

“Students learn techniques for working with children,” said Pat Hakim, who teaches Child Care Occupations at Rowland High School in Rowland Heights. “They also learn how to manage their careers, finances and education after they graduate.” The course is also known as “Careers with Children” at many schools throughout the state.

At most schools, ninth-graders who have any interest in taking any courses offered through their Home Economics Careers and Technology department begin with a course titled “Life Management.” Students interested in culinary arts, fashion or other courses their school offers in a Home Economics Careers and Technology program would also take this course.

In a “Life Management” course, students learn about many aspects of living independently, such as managing finances and credit, searching for employment, consumer studies, menu planning and dealing with conflict. Most “Life Management” courses also teach parenting skills.

From Life Management, the students can then move into one of the career pathways offered by the school’s Home Economics Careers and Technology department. A career pathway is a set of courses providing a student training in a specific career area.

Child Development and Education, as the career path focusing on education is known at most of these schools, is a lot more than playing with kids.  While high schools that offer this program usually have an on-campus preschool, experience in preparing and teaching lessons is only a portion of the training they receive.

The Child Development and Education career pathway typically starts with a course called Child Development. There’s a great deal of academic learning in this course as students will spend most of the first semester learning about pregnancy, childbirth and newborns, and all of the second semester learning about child development.

Child Development may also include other learning projects.  For instance, at Rowland High School, students spend several weeks preparing a report on the “Cost of a Baby,” after researching the costs of health care during pregnancy and childbirth, baby furniture and other supplies and clothes needed for mom and baby.

After the introductory courses, students who want to further study Child Development and Education can move into a course, usually known as Careers with Children, where they actually work with children. Students usually can take this course for two years, with increased responsibilities placed on the advanced students.

Typically, first-year students are charged with supervising the learning centers where preschoolers engage in their activities. Second-year students serve as supervisors to the first-year “teachers.”

“We observe and we help them out with whatever they need,” said Gabriela Huerta, a 12th-grader at Rowland High School in Rowland Heights. “We also give them suggestions on how to do things.”

Rowland has 158 students enrolled in its course where students work with children, and less than 20 in the preschool, so the teens are divided into two groups per period. Each group of teens spends every other day working with the younger children.

First-year students spend their alternate days learning more about child development and strategies for working with children. For instance, they will learn about the state standards governing what preschool students should learn to be well prepared for kindergarten.

This helps them to plan appropriate lessons, which is what the second-year students spend their non-teaching days doing. Lessons for preschoolers typically involve playing with toys, but the teens must select the toys and guide the younger students in using them with a specific teaching goal in mind.

“We have to make sure they know their numbers, their colors, their letters and their shapes,” said Gabriela’s second-year classmate Marlene Robles, as she watched a first-year student help a group of young children solve puzzles, handmade by the teens, that required placing certain colors and shapes in the correct spot on the puzzle mats.

Despite the budget cuts, Rowland has resources through the La Puente Valley Regional Occupations program to hire a teacher, Pat Hakim, and an instructional aide, Yolanda Walker. While Hakim provides instruction to half of the teens in her class, Walker provides the adult supervision necessary for both the other teens and the preschoolers.

 Not all schools can afford instructional aides for this course, so to allow time for high school students’ instruction, they reduce the preschool’s calendar to several days a week or less than a full school year.

Many schools, in addition to Life Management, Child Development and Careers with Children, add additional courses. One of these is “Parenting,” a course that would help any student who plans to someday become a parent, but gives special insight for those who want to make a career for working with children.

A “Child Psychology” course offered by some high schools gives high school students insight in how young children think and how to better relate to them, but also provides enough science instruction to fulfill a college preparation requirement of the University of California and California State university college systems.

That’s especially important for those seeking careers as teachers, or in other professions where they will work with children, but first must obtain a bachelor’s degree. 

Also, many high schools have worked out agreements with their local community college, allowing students who complete a second year of the “Careers with Children” course, complete with development of a portfolio, to also receive college credit.  In some cases, such as at Rowland High School, the training satisfies the community college certification program for teaching assistants.

The agreements also give students who wish to pursue careers as classroom teachers a head start on their college education. Preschool teachers usually must have an associate degree, and in some cases, a bachelor’s degree. The state of California requires most kindergarten through 12th grade teachers to complete a bachelor’s degree and one additional year of education courses, including student teaching.

College preparation is also important for the many students who take this course who are interested in children’s health care or counseling, as these professions require at least a post-secondary certificate, often a college degree, and for those interested in becoming pediatricians, post-graduate study at an accredited medical school.

 There are more than 750 schools offering the Home Economics Careers and Technology program in California, serving more than 300,000 students. Many of these also offer the co-curricular student leadership and career development program FHA-HERO. For more information, call State Consultant Janice DeBenedetti at (916) 323-5025.

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Senator Gloria Negrete McLeod tours Salvation Army Shelters

Top photo: A worker masks the trim in one of the rooms at The Salvation Army’s new Hospitality House emergency family shelter. Photo by Carl Dameron

Bottom photo: The Salvation Army’s Capt. Nancy Ball, executive director, and Brian Cronin, advisory board member show State Senator Gloria Negrete-McLeod one of the rooms under remodel at The Salvation Army’s new Hospitality House emergency family shelter on Tenth Street. Photo by Carl Dameron

(SAN BERNARDINO, Calif.) State Senator Gloria Negrete McLeod recently toured the buildings and programs of The Salvation Army, San Bernardino Corps.

The senator visited the current location of the Corps headquarters, church and Hospitality House emergency family shelter, and the shelter/training center for Path to Prosperity. She also toured the building under remodel on Tenth Street where The Salvation Army plans to move its Hospitality House next year.

“What an ambitious project,” she said of the renovation underway at the new shelter. “I marvel at The Salvation Army’s ability to provide these programs and upgrade their Hospitality House shelter, given the economic conditions of the area, our country and the world.”

Capt. Nancy Ball, executive director of the San Bernardino Corps, guided this tour. Assisting Capt. Ball were Salvation Army Advisory Board members Carl Dameron and Brian Cronin, and shelter directors Roosevelt Carroll of Hospitality House and John Fletcher of Path to Prosperity.

The tour began at the existing emergency family shelter. The Salvation Army has used this building as its headquarters and church for more than 50 of its 122 years in San Bernardino. 

Two years ago The Salvation Army had to relocate its shelter services here, when the California Department of Transportation acquired and tore down the former location to make way for the Interstate 215 widening.

At this shelter Senator Negrete McLeod saw:
•    The Corps offices and chapel
•    A large multi-purpose room that provides overnight shelter to women and children, who are the vast majority of guests in the Hospitality House. The families sleep on mats on the floor.
•    A smaller room which also serves multiple purposes, one of which is to house men. Throughout the year, this includes husbands and single fathers. In cold weather, other single men also sleep there.
•    A small kitchen where up to 250 meals are served daily, and more on major holidays.
•    A tiny room that serves as the shelter’s current tutoring center. Tutors from San Bernardino City School District help the shelter’s school-age children here with homework.

Moving on to the Path to Prosperity shelter across Sixth Street from the rear of the main Corps building, the senator learned about this program, which shelters 27 men and helps them enroll in colleges (usually San Bernardino Valley College) or find a job. She toured the community room, a classroom and two bedrooms in this shelter.

When the tour group arrived at the new shelter on Tenth Street, the senator learned how vast changes in living conditions would soon take place for the Hospitality House guests, who usually stay up to three months but can stay up to a year in some cases. She saw how the new shelter will have:

•    A reception area/community room that is almost as large as the main room on Fifth Street

•    21 bedrooms, allowing each individual family to have their own (or two adjoining rooms if they have a large family)

•    9 bathrooms with tub showers, which will afford the families m ore privacy and make it easier for parents to bathe young children

•    A kitchen three times as large as the one on Fifth Street, with separate areas for storage, preparation and serving/cleanup

•    A large dining room adjacent to the kitchen

•    An office that will allow the shelter director and staff to maintain confidential records and to keep the shelter premises safe with security cameras

•    Two rooms, together about six times the size of the current tutoring center, that will greatly expand the educational services available to the resident children. One room will be a media center where children can watch educational videos or work at study tables; the other will have a computer lab for children (and during the day, adults) and an area where tutors, parents and children can work together. The Salvation Army will rely on a $25,000 grant from Target to furnish these two rooms.

The Salvation Army also hopes, in the future, to build four to six transitional housing apartments on the new shelter property. These apartments would shelter families from three months to two years when their needs warrant additional help before living independently. The parents in these families would have resources similar to those offered to the single men in the Path to Prosperity program.

The Salvation Army needs additional funding to reach that goal, and has applied for a Housing and Urban Development (HUD) grant called Continuum of Care. As a state official, Senator Negrete McLeod has no more say in how federal HUD grants are allocated than does the general public, but she did offer to lend her support by endorsing The Salvation Army’s goal.

“I will help in any way I can,” she said. “San Bernardino has a definite need for this.”

The Salvation Army is an evangelical part of the Universal Christian Church, and also offers evangelical programs for boys, girls and adults. One of the largest charitable and international service organizations in the world, The Salvation Army has been in existence since 1865 and in San Bernardino since 1887, supporting those in need without discrimination. Donations may always be made online at www.salvationarmyusa.org or by calling 1-(800)-SAL-ARMY.

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Kenn Young's Inland Empire African American Chamber Speech

African American Chamber

October, 2009

Kenneth M. Young

Riverside County Superintendent of Schools

With approximately 425,000 students, Riverside County is the 4^th largest region of public education in the largest state in the nation. This is more students than the total student enrollment in 17 states.  Our 23 local school districts spread across seventy-two hundred square miles of diverse topography, communities and demographics. The Riverside County Office of Education fulfills an important intermediate agency role, serving both the California Department of Education and local school districts.  Our major programs include Alternative Education (including juvenile hall), Special Education for the Severely Handicapped, and ROP/Career technical Training.

The county’s student population has changed significantly during the past decade. The enrollment of our Hispanic students has reached almost 56%.  Our white student population is 28%, 7-1/2% are African-American students, about 2-1/2% are Asian, and the remaining students are comprised of a handful of other nationalities. This past school year, for the first time in decades, student enrollment in our county dropped by approximately 1,600 students—largely as a result of foreclosures and unemployment.  That’s a major trend shift when we consider that during the prior year’s slowdown, Riverside County still increased by approximately 9,000 students over the 2006-2007 school year, where we grew almost 20,000.

Each year, students across California participate in what are often referred to as “high stakes testing”. These are a series of standardized tests intended to assess each student’s academic level and progress in school. The results of the tests are released by the state at different times during the year. I would like to highlight the outstanding results of Riverside County’s students on the high stakes tests for the 2008-2009 school year.

In 1999, California adopted a set of statewide content standards, followed by an aligned curriculum and assessments through the Public Schools Accountability Act. This system has become know by its measuring stick, the Academic Performance Index, or API.  The API is made up of a collection of assessments in four subject areas with an overall scoring range between 200 and 1,000.  The state’s goal is for every school in California to have an API score of at least 800. 

For the 2008-09 school year, the average API score for all students in all public schools within Riverside County was 757.  This is a 17 point increase over the prior year—the highest increase of any county in the State of California with at least 80,000 student enrollment, and a 166 point increase since the API was introduced in 1999— the 2^nd highest increase of any similar sized county in the state.

The API score for our African-American students in all public schools within Riverside County was 727, the highest score of any similar sized county in the state.  This is a 16 point increase over the prior year and a 223 point increase since the API was introduced in 1999— the highest increase of any similar sized county in the state.

The United States Department of Education’s high stakes tests are essentially comprised of using each state’s adopted reading (English Language Arts in California) and mathematics standards and assessments, and then establishing a “proficiency” measurement at the state level to determine the percentage of student proficient in these two subjects.  Additionally, every state is required to establish student proficiency goals each year, also know as Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) targets, with the USDE’s mandate that all students in all schools be 100% proficient in both ELA and mathematics by the year 2014. 

For the 2008-09 school year, the AYP percent proficient rate in ELA for all students in all public schools within Riverside County was 52.0%. This is a 5.4% increase over the prior year—the highest increase of any similar sized county in the state, and a 24% increase since the AYP was introduced in 2002— the highest increase of any similar sized county in the state.

The AYP percent proficient rate in ELA for our African American students in all public schools within Riverside County was 46.3%. This is a 5.3% increase over the prior year and a 25.7% increase since the AYP was introduced in 2002— the highest increase of any similar sized county in the state.

For the 2008-09 school year, the AYP percent proficient rate in mathematics for all students in all public schools within Riverside County was 53.9%. This is a 4.0% increase over the prior year and a 23.1% increase since the AYP was introduced in 2002— the 3^rd highest increase of any similar sized county in the state.

The AYP percent proficient rate in mathematics for our African American students in all public schools within Riverside County was 43.9%. This is a 5.3% increase over the prior year and a 23.3% increase since the AYP was introduced in 2002— the 4^th highest increase of any similar sized county in the state.

Another area of major interest related to educational outcomes is Riverside County’s high school graduation rate.  For the 2008-09 school year, Riverside County’s high school graduation rate was 80.5%, the 8^th highest of any similar sized county in the state.  From these highlights of our county’s 2008-2009 high stakes testing results, we can clearly see that in Riverside County, we are continuing our quest to create a culture of education to ensure the success of all students.

There are essentially two ways to tackle the dropout issue, prevention and reclamation.  Everything we’ve been talking about so far today relates to preventing students from leaving school prematurely by keeping them engaged and connected to their school through an interesting, challenging, relevant education. When students do leave school early, the vast majority of them don’t come back. This past school year, the Riverside County Office of Education opened the first recovery program for dropouts on a large scale called “Come Back Kids”. The program operates on the new regional learning center located next to the Mt. San Jacinto College campus in San Jacinto. The center is a joint project with the college where RCOE operate a variety of classes for students during the day and the college operates programs on the campus in the evening. Come Back Kids involves an outreach effort to locate and invite disengaged students to come back to school in a completely different learning environment than they experienced when they were unsuccessful, and reengage with their potential. We anticipate bringing back between 50 and 100 dropouts a year through this center.

Besides San Jacinto, RCOE also operates regional learning centers in Riverside, Banning, and Perris near March Air Reserve Base. We are approved for state funding for two more centers this year; one here in Moreno Valley and one in Murrieta, and we’re hoping to announce another center in the Coachella Valley in the next few months.  It’s our plan to operate Come Back Kids programs at each of our regional centers across the county.  We believe these centers will be a significant support and resource to help student dropouts return to school and complete their high school education.

Since public education in our state is so heavily impacted by the state budget, I suspect everyone is interested in hearing something about the state budget today. I would prefer not to, but our circumstances require it, so I will.

Each year, California’s public education system continues to have more required of it in terms of increasing student achievement, with decreasing resources.  In the 2007-08 school-year, we were expected to meet these requirements with billions of dollars less than in the prior year.  2008-09 and 2009-10 ismore of the same.

As we look across Riverside County, we see a regional public education system that is making steady progress in improving student achievement.  These accomplishments are especially noteworthy when we consider that California’s instructional content standards are among the top three most rigorous in the nation as rated by the Fordham Foundation and that Riverside County is home to an extremely diverse language, ethnic, and economic student population within the most diverse state in the country. But again, our schools are being expected to do more with less funding—this time, far less.

I wish to also point out, however, that California has an inherent financial problem unlike other states.  For well over a century, California’s public education system was funded in much the same way as public education is funded in most other states—at the local level.  In 1972, California ranked 10^th nationally in per pupil funding—a fact made even worse by our state’s particularly high cost of living.  Thirty years ago that changed.  The funding model for California schools was completely revamped, shifting the responsibility from the local level to the state, which now determines over 80% of the funding that schools receive.

Both finance and education experts, for years, have been warning that California’s present education funding model will overburden the state budget’s financial capacity, inadequately fund our public school system, and transfer local control of public education to the state.  In testimony to their predictions, California has dropped to almost dead last in per pupil funding and hundreds of new bills, designed to control some aspect of public education, are introduced each year.  If passed, they ultimately end up as regulations in California’s mammoth Education Code—among the largest of any state.  Now, we have introduced a new achievement gap:  the gap between growing expectations for school performance and the resources that need to be invested to make it happen.

No one can deny that our national economy is in a recession that is growing to look more like a depression by the week, and it’s likely to last for quite some time.  But we must also understand that no other state in this country is even considering the types of cuts to their public education system that are being proposed in California. Solving this problem requires more than just saying “NO” to cuts or “NO” to taxes.  It means all of us must fully comprehend the magnitude of the education funding problem facing us today, how they started and the impact it will have on us tomorrow if we do not take corrective action to fix it now.  If we didn’t have the will power to solve the problem when the state had a strong economy, it is hard to see how we will have the willpower to do it in a recession.

Currently, we’re approximately $17.9 billion dollars a year below the national average and we’re almost $28 billion a year below our 1972, 10^th place ranking. If we keep this up we’ll soon be entering the funding range of 3^rd world countries.  We must be willing to make some difficult decisions and substantial sacrifices in order to create funding solutions dedicated specifically for public education.  That is an investment in the future.  California’s (and the nation’s) economy is only as strong as the education and skill level of those who work and live here.   We must have an acceptable plan for funding our public education system that will move California back to at least the national average over the next seven to ten years and at the very least, keep us there.  That must not be the ultimate goal. With all the academic gains we have made over the last decade, we cannot afford to let our public education system continue to fall behind the rest of the country in funding.  California must take corrective action now!

PASSION FOR FASHION COMPETITION FOR HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS

Kristyn Rethaford of San Bernardino, with a dress and matching purse she designed for the 2008 Passion for Fashion competition, was one of two Inland Empire high school seniors to receive a $3,000 scholarship to The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire last year. Students who graduate from high school in 2010 can submit an original fashion design or marketing plan to the 2009 Passion for Fashion competition, for a chance to win a scholarship to The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire, and entry into a national-level competition for a full scholarship.

(SAN BERNARDINO, Calif.) -- The Art Institutes’ Passion for Fashion Competition 2010 provides high school students an exciting glimpse of the highly competitive fashion industry.  They offer students interested in Fashion Design or Fashion Marketing, Merchandising or Retail Management an opportunity to win a full-tuition scholarship to study fashion at one of The Art Institutes schools, including The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire.

Eligible students can enter the Fashion Design or Fashion Marketing and Merchandising and Retail Management category at The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire. 

Open to high school seniors across North America, The Art Institutes Passion for Fashion Competition was created to encourage and reward young fashion design and fashion marketing, merchandising and retail management talent at the high school level. 

“Since it began five years ago, interest in the competition has taken off”, says Sherry West, Fashion Academic Director, The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire. 

“We saw a record number of applicants enter last year’s competition. There are so many wonderful fashion courses in high school today, and many students see a career in this industry within their reach,” said West.

The competition consists of two categories: 1) Fashion Design and 2) Fashion Marketing and Merchandising and Retail Management.

The grand prize winner in each category earns a full-tuition scholarship to an Art Institutes school to study in a fashion program.  Each grand prize winner, in partnership with Seventeen Magazine, also receives a trip to New York City to attend a Fashion Week show, attends a “meet and greet” at Seventeen Magazine’s offices, lunches with a Seventeen Magazine Style Pro and receives a $500 shopping spree. 
 
In this year’s Passion for Fashion Competition, students will be asked to create an original “evening wear” design for the Fashion Design category or an original Fashion Marketing, Merchandising or Retail Management plan for the corresponding category.
To be eligible, students must be a senior in high school, set to graduate in 2010, complete an Entry and Release Form, have a minimum cumulative G.P.A. of at least 2.0, write a short essay describing their interest in fashion and submit a finished, originally designed evening wear garment and process book, for the Fashion Design category or a create a product or plan for the Fashion Marketing and Merchandising and Retail Management category for complete details.

Please visit www.artinstitutes.edu/pr.aspx?ID=p4f10001st Call for Entries P4F Comp - Template Press Release BPC Reviewed[1].docx.

Deadline for entries into The Art Institutes Passion for Fashion Competition is November 20, 2009.  For more information on how to enter The Art Institutes Passion for Fashion Competition and for official rules, visit www.artinstitutes.edu/pr.aspx?ID=p4f1000 or contact Monica Jeffs at (909) 915-2100 at The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire.

The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire offers Bachelor of Science degree programs in Game Art and Design, Graphic Design, Web Design and Interactive Media, Interior Design, Fashion and Retail Management, and Media Arts and Animation. It offers an Associate of Science degree program in Graphic Design, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree program in Fashion Design.

The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire offers an Associate of Science degree program in Culinary Arts and a Bachelor of Science degree program in Culinary Management.

Each program is offered on a year-round basis, allowing students to work uninterrupted toward their degrees.

It’s not too late to start a new term at The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire. Courses begin Nov. 12 and classes are offered in the day, evening and on weekends for new and reentry students.

The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire is one of The Art Institutes (www.artinstitutes.edu), a system of over 40 education institutions located throughout North America, providing an important source of design, media arts, fashion and culinary arts professionals. 

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Byrd says Riverside County Missed $1,000 a person in last Census

Partnership Specialist for the U.S. Census, Paula Almanza and Riverside County Auditor-Controller, Robert Byrd together recently explained the importance of the U.S Census 2010 count to a group in Riverside.

(RIVERSIDE, Calif.) Riverside County Auditor-Controller Robert E. Byrd explained the importance of the 2010 Census count as a key panelist for the Regional Convening on Census Outreach at the Riverside Marriott held recently.

“The state is missing out on a lot of dollars left on the table, not able to be accessed due to people not being counted,” said Byrd during the panel discussion. “We missed out on $1,000 a person (not counted) by not having an accurate count during the last Census,” said Byrd.

The census directs the allocation of billions of dollars to state and local governments and affects political representation.  California can lose an existing congressional seat if it does not get everyone counted.

Panelists were asked to identify the most trusted messengers in the community that could promote the importance of the Census to those with whom they are in contact.  Byrd said, “We are looking for assistance from visiting nurses, in-home heath service providers, Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts, non-profit and grassroots organizations, chambers of commerce, and members of churches.”

California has 10 of the top 50 “hard-to-count” counties in the nation.  Riverside is the 18th hardest county to count.

Eric Alborg, deputy director, Census 2010 said, “There are two characteristics that make the count difficult.  The first is units are over crowded and residents do not include the entire household. The second is the language barrier prevents people from filling out the form.”

Byrd stressed the importance of assuring people the information they provide will not harm them. “One opportunity we have is to get information into the hands of our children.  A child in a non-English speaking household can give the basic information,” said Byrd.

The census counted 33.9 million people in California ten years ago.  California is the most populated state with Texas being the next most populated at 24 million people.

 “The Department of Finance predicts a count of 38.8 million people in April of next year,” said Alborg.

The census started in 1791.  The U.S. Constitution requires a national census once every 10 years.

The census will hire 1.2 million people during the outreach process.  People interested in applying can call (866) 861-2010.

One of the most important functions of the Auditor-Controller’s office is to audit all of Riverside County’s expenses. The Auditor-Controller’s office also verifies, processes and creates more than 1,000 warrants to vendors each day and processes and drafts some 40,000 paychecks for county employees each month. It oversees the disbursement of more than $3 billion in property tax money each year to schools, special districts, cities and other local taxing agencies.

In 2002, Robert E. Byrd became the county’s elected Auditor-Controller with more votes cast than in the entire history of the office. He was subsequently re-elected to a second four-year term in June of 2006.

Committed to his community, he’s a member of Riverside Rotary, board member of the Next of Kin Registry, is on the International Relations Council for the City of Riverside, and is a member of La Sierra Academy’s Board of Trustees.

For details on the Riverside County Auditor-Controller's office call (951) 955-3800. To obtain a free copy of Financial Highlights, an annual report produced by the Office of the Auditor-Controller that recaps the county’s finances in an easy-to-read format, go to www.auditorcontroller.org .

Robert E. Byrd, CGFM, who is elected by the voters of Riverside County, heads the Office of the Auditor-Controller. The Auditor-Controller staff and management teams are dedicated to providing sound financial accounting, auditing and reporting in order to serve the citizens of Riverside County. More information is available on the Web at http://www.auditorcontroller.org .

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Rialto Resident Running for San Bernardino County Education Board

Corey Jackson, a former Rialto School District and California State University governing board member, is running for the San Bernardino County Board of Education - Area D.

Corey Jackson makes announcement:

With the encouragement of people from around the county, and with the support of my family and close friends, I am announcing my candidacy for the County Board of Education-Area D, in a bid to represent the people of the Rialto and San Bernardino Unified School Districts in 2010.

Education has been very important throughout my adult life.

I am a product of county schools. I graduated from Rialto High School.  I had the honor of serving on the Rialto Unified School District School Board of Education and on the California State University Board of Trustees representing more than 500,000 students in the State of California. I currently work in the education field as a specialist to increase access to preschool education for all children.

I have the experience, passion and love for my community to fight for the resources our school districts need to improve the education of our children.

Preschool, Special Education, Job Training, and Music programs should not be left behind as we strengthen and reform our education system.

Every child should have the support and encouragement to attend college. But those who do not must be trained with marketable skills to find a good job.

When elected your issues are my priority within San Bernardino County.

I respectfully ask for the people of our county to support my candidacy.

Please join me on FaceBook to hear more about what I plan to do for the children of our county. www.facebook.com/jacksonca

Jackson is endorsed by the following:

Barbara McGee
Rialto City  Clerk

Rikke Van Johnson
San Bernardino City Council

Deborah Robertson
Rialto City Council

Joanne Gilbert
Rialto School Board

John Futch
San Bernardino
Community College District

Raymond Delgado
Rialto Science Teacher

Christine Marquez
San Bernardino Teacher

Lloyd Sheppard
Rialto Math Teacher

Roy Rogers
San Bernardino English Teacher

Ernest Rhone IV
Rialto Master Teacher

Past Cal State San Bernardino
Student Body Presidents:
Erik Fallis
Anthony Conley

Partial list

14 HOMELESS KIDS WILL BE STYLIN’ WITH HELP FROM THE SALVATION ARMY

The school-age children who live in The Salvation Army’s Hospitality House emergency family shelter will soon be as warm and stylish as these young ones, because a donation from the Hispanic Employees’ Alliance will allow all 14 of them to shop for $100 in back-to-school clothes and school supplies at Target this Saturday. File photo from Carl Dameron

(SAN BERNARDINO, Calif.) Fourteen homeless children will soon arrive at school with brand new clothes, backpacks and classroom essentials, thanks to a donation of $1,400 from the Hispanic Employee Alliance Group to The Salvation Army, San Bernardino Corps.

The 14 children are the current school-age (kindergarten through 12th grade) occupants of Hospitality House, the emergency family shelter maintained by The Salvation Army of San Bernardino for the area’s homeless families. Shelter Director Roosevelt Carroll and volunteers will take these children to the Target Store on Orange Show Road at E Street, 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 10.

At Target, each child will each receive from The Salvation Army a $100 gift certificate to select new clothes, new underwear, new shoes and socks, and any other clothes they need for school. They’ll also get new backpacks, pens and pencils, markers and crayons.

“They will have all the basics,” Carroll said. “Since they are homeless, some of them never had brand new shoes or a brand new shirt. It has always been hand-me-downs from an older brother or sister.”

“Here at the Salvation Army, we appreciate all donations,” he added. “This one is especially appreciated because it is aiming straight for our kids, is much needed and is a blessing.”

About the Salvation Army San Bernardino Corps
The Salvation Army may be able to provide emergency services including food; lodging for homeless or displaced families; clothing and furniture; assistance with rent or mortgage and transportation when funds are available. The Salvation Army Team Radio Network assists rescue workers and evacuees in such disasters as fires.

The Salvation Army is an evangelical part of the Universal Christian Church, and also offers evangelical programs for boys, girls and adults. One of the largest charitable and international service organizations in the world, The Salvation Army has been in existence since 1865 and in San Bernardino since 1887, supporting those in need without discrimination. Donations may always be made online at www.salvationarmyusa.org or by calling 1-(800)-SAL-ARMY.


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