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CASINO NIGHT IS COMING AGAIN SOON!

Visitors to Dr. Hemchand Kolli’s office at 1215 Wabash Ave., Redlands, no longer have to look at art prints, old magazines or blank walls while they wait to be seen: patient Ronald Caraway has lent nearly two dozen of his original oil or acrylic paintings and drawings to the office. Each room has at least two of his works, and several more adorn the hallways. Some are variations of, famous artworks – for example, “Corona Lisa,” based on Leonard Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, but Caraway’s image is masked and holding a roll of toilet paper. “I painted that during the pandemic,” Caraway explains.

“I give tours of all the unoccupied rooms and the halls frequently, says Darin Fournier, the office manager. “We get comments from the patients all the time,” he added. At this time no providers are in the office on Tuesdays so visitors that day get the full tour.

Other employees have expressed similar liking for Caraway’s artwork.

Caraway, who is African-American, paints people of African ancestry in most of his art, such as two little Black girls in his original “Halloween Watch,” which hangs in the office’s lobby. One of his favorite forms of art is copying Rockwell’s Saturday Evening Post covers, which depicted African-Americans to subservient roles and which works he “updates” by including African-Americans in larger roles somewhere in his versions. “I highly regard Rockwell’s art,” Caraway says; “I’m not spoofing him.” One of his paintings he calls “Gracing the Problem,” based on Rockwell’s “Saying Grace.” Another is titled “The Appeal: Mommy Will Fix It,” based on Rockwell’s “Shiner.” Still others pay homage to Surrealist Salvador Dali, as well as Auguste Renoir, Henri Toulouse-Lautrec and Rembrandt; at least one is based on past TV program characters. There are also restful landscapes and still lifes.

Caraway is a member of the Redlands Art Association, the Riverside Community Art Association and the Corona Arts Colony. As of this coming July he will have his artwork hanging in all three galleries. His other works can be seen on Instagram at either roncaraway or ronaldcaraway96

All of Caraway’s paintings are for sale, including those at his Mentone home. Interested purchasers may call 909-556-2884.

Counsel for C.O.M.E.T. (Community of Mentone Empowered Together) recently dropped off COMET’s Motion for Summary Judgment, against the City of Redlands, for filing in San Bernardino Superior Court. “A Motion is a written document – this time several documents – which is then set for hearing; ours will be heard July 11,” explained COMET’s counsel. “This type of Motion attempts to obtain judgment without going to trial,” she explained.

“The judge threw out our cause of action for Civil Extortion, based on his ruling on a different kind of civil extortion than we had pled,” she added, “so all we had left was a cause of action for fraud. Our Motion details, and provides tangible evidence of, Redlands’ fraudulent 1956 annexation of part of Mentone’s Section 7 and its Sections 18-22, which was not contiguous to Redlands’ city limits, in order to connect the city limits to the then-Lockheed facility. The contiguity statute required and still requires such connecting strips to be at least 200 feet wide at their narrowest point and no longer than 300 feet; Redlands’ strip was 2-3 miles long, but didn’t stop at the Lockheed facility. The rest of the strip took jurisdiction over much of Mill Creek. A newspaper account at the time titled that Mentone territory Redlands’ ‘East Lugonia’ and also quoted that the strip would ‘skirt’ Mentone.

“Another such ‘strip’ in 1965, in order to connect its water processing property out Mill Creek road to property in or near the Creekbed that it had already annexed, also violated the contiguity law by utilizing a residential property that was too narrow and too long.

“The Motion also details Redlands’ fraudulent enactment of its 1997 Measure U, a ‘slow-growth initiative,’ which is actually being used to enlarge Redlands’ borders deeply into Mentone territory [Ed.’s note: and San Timoteo Canyon]. The Motion also details Redlands’ enforcement of Measure U by its insistence on ‘pre-‘annexation ‘agreements,’ or annexation ‘Agreements,’ both of which force Mentone territory into Redlands’ city limits, just in order for Mentone property developers to obtain water and sewer service to new developments. Those ‘agreements’ are unenforceable under California law,” she added.

“The Motion asks the Court to make such findings of fact and order judgment against Redlands. As for monetary damages, they are considered mostly incalculable. What Mentone wants from Redlands is for it to agree to stop taking our territory and to give back what it has taken. We also want LAFCO (the San Bernardino Local Agency Formation Commission) to take us out of Redlands’ sphere of influence, so that we may govern ourselves,” she concluded.

Readers who wish to read the entire Motion or other documents in the case may download them at portal.sb-court.org/portal, at $.50 per page, or obtain them in pdf format, without exhibits, by contacting attorneyjoycerapp2@aol.com.

Other recent developments include LAFCO’s attempts to obtain more documents and answers from COMET via its three Motions to Compel, set for June 2. “LAFCO’s motion to compel further documents was served and filed a day too late, according to the law, and COMET’s answers to the repetitive sets of questions were as complete as they could be at the time,” stated COMET’s counsel.

The Lifestream Bloodmobile will be parked at the Mentone SdA church, 1230 Olivine, Mentone, from 10 to 1 or as long as people come. Reservations are suggested to avoid waiting in line: call 866-623-2692 or make an appontment at LStream.org. However, walkins are welcome, too. A short screening process precedes donating.

Blood supplies are very low and anyone over 115 pounds of weight can donate. Snacks are provided and lap blankets are given to donors.

See you there?

MM previously reported that Gabriel De La Rosa had passed away from COVID; however, according to his wife, Angie, he was over it and it will not be on his death certificate. Gabe had suffered from COVID and was in the hospital; MM simply assumed that COVID ahd taken his life. MM regrets the error.

From Angie via email: “Gabe was President/Chairman of the Mentone Chamber of Commerce for about 2 years and formerly the Vice President. He was also the President of Mentone Area Community Association for 9 years.

“Gabe was very involved in the Mentone Area and attended many San Bernardino County Supervisor meetings over the yaers, advocating for Mentone. He also attended LAFCO, and Redlands City Council meetings.

“He was very well known in the community because he also had the Thrift Shop at 1875 Mentone Blvd. for years. It was Mentone Beach Thrift store and Mentone Beach Ministries. He helped many of the less fortunate.

“Gabe was very active in the Adopt a Highway Program. He was always helpng to clean up the highway. He would be seen at the holidays putting up the Tumbleweed Snowman and Christmas Trees.

“Gabe and his wife Angie had a singing duo, The Versatile’s, and they entertained for the Mentone Senior Center for their parties, and also, at some of the local events.

“Gabe also supported the community at all eents both monetarily and as volunteer.

“He loved to see the events like the Chili Cookoff, Mentone Days, Casino Nights, and last year’s 134th Birthday Party for Mentone become yearly events. He was hoping for a Mentone Parade someday.

“Gabe was a great, helpful, and joyful person and will be missed in the community.

“Gabe was always looing for some younger community members to step up and take his lead for a safer, cleaner, and prosperous Community that benefits all.”

“The Mentone Chamber of Commerce and C.O.M.E.T. meetings will resume TUESDAY JANUARY 25th 7 p.m. at Mill Creek Cattle Company. The Vice President will fill in until we fill the vacancy.”

MM has just learned that Gabriel “Gabe” DeLaRosa, passed away on Friday, December 31, 2021, at 1:46p.m., surrounded by his family and friends, Angie DeLaRosa told MM in response to an e-mail.

He had been battling COVID and had been in the hospital until Wednesday and then was released to home.

Gabe was the president or chairman of in all three community organizations: MACA, the Chamber of Commerce and COMET, the last of which is the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit against Redlands for taking over Mentone territory under circumstances that may render all or most annexations illegal, said COMET’s counsel.

Further details will be posted when received. So will the present status of the lawsuit.

“The City came out yesterday [Tuesday] and turned on the water,” said Raul Madrid, of MGM Construction, the developer who is assisting Perry and Sandy Karouzis with their project. Don Young, the manager of Redlands’ One Stop Permit Center, had promised the previous Thursday to have the padlock removed and the water turned back on. Another City employee had mistakenly thought that the tenant in the motorhome parked behind the building was stealing water, despite the presence of one of the City’s own temporary meters, and had padlocked it earlier in the week. The Karpouzis’ had paid $1200 to have the temporary meter installed before it was padlocked, Madrid informed MM.

The Karpouzis’ have been telling local residents that the restaurant might be open by early next year; they had received their County permit in 2009 but Redlands’ demanded fees in exchange for water service had prevented them from going forward until Madrid stepped in and negotiated the fees to install a replacement meter. The City initially charged $656,000, including a traffic study off and back onto Highway 38, but, after Madrid contacted them, came down to $64,000 and now $55,000. That amount admittedly includes $25,000 to benefit various other Redlands City departments, as well, Madrid said.

The City is also charging “frontage fees” for the Boulevard as well as the side street, Madrid added, despite the same fees probably having been paid decades ago when the previous meter was installed and piping brought right up to the building.

“The restaurant-to-be will have temporary water again: on the owner/developer’s behalf Madrid sent a sketch and argued with the City, adding that sometimes cars run over the standpipe or the metal is stolen, so the City will allow the temporary meter to be installed in the ground after all.

The next step is completion of construction and installation of a permanent meter, which will still cost $55,000. That consists of frontage fees for both streets (Ed.’s note: which were probably already paid decades ago, when the previous meter was installed), and for the City’s Development Impact Fees, which are calculated for the effect on Redlands’ infrastructure, Madrid added.

Not long after the City of Redlands issued a a temporary meter for installation and then they locked the water supply to the meter, so that Tom’s Burgers could continue construction and possibly open later this year, “Troy, the City’s construction supervisor, came and looked at my nice, neat box in the ground and approved it,” said Raul Madrid, who spoke with Troy. The temporary water meter was installed on the lateral, or pipe from the street, and the piping into the restaurant. “The City locked the temporary meter because they wanted a standpipe and a drawing of how the temporary service would look. I hadn’t provided the drawing; in building hundreds of homes in the Inland Empire, I’ve never had to submit a drawing for a temporary water connection, when the permanent meter will be in the box in the ground where the temporary meter previously was. The standpipe they want gets in the way of construction and can get damaged when the landscaping and paving are taking place.”

Perry Karpouzis, owner of the would-be restaurant on the Boulevard, began building the restaurant, sibling to Tom’s Burgers in Redlands, after obtaining his construction permit from the County in about 2009. During construction, he reported that the water meter, in place for decades for previous businesses and other buildings, was leaking. The City Water Department came and removed it, leaving the pipe from the street, and padlocking the on-off valve.

Redlands then imposed fees of $656,000 on Karpouzis, including a “traffic study” from and back to State Highway 38, also known as Mentone Boulevard, in order for him to obtain water service. On Karpouzis’ behalf, Madrid later got the city to come down to $55,000, as a fee to re-hook up the meter. He then showed the City that the pipe from the street was in place already, so that the $55,000 in fees should not apply. “Karpouzis had paid over $2500 to have the temporary meter hooked up,” Madrid advised.