The County Grand Jury said the County Human Services Department isn’t cooperating with the District Attorney’s Office in prosecution of welfare fraud cases. In their recently released report, the Grand Jury noted, “We learned from the District Attorney’s Office they are not able to prosecute cases, as they have been in the past, because they do not get cooperation from the Human Services Department who can provide the evidence needed.” The Grand Jury targeted how the Human Services Department dealt with prosecutors in their investigations and prosecutions of cases involving EBT card fraud. Similar to ATM cards, EBT cards are used for cash benefits or to electronically purchase food. An epidemic of EBT card fraud, in which people are selling their cards for cash, has swept the nation, prompting law enforcement to team up with state and federal agencies to crack down on offenders. One of the most popular ways cards are being sold is via popular Internet auction and classified ad websites such as Craigslist and eBay. The Grand Jury said that the District Attorney’s Office invited members of the Human Services Public Integrity Division to participate in a warrant sweep in connection with roughly 850 cases, but Human Services was unwilling to participate.

A series of circumstances has our Hi-Desert Medical Center losing money at an alarming rate. Managing Editor Tami Roleff was said the Hospital Board heard the bad news at this week’s meeting…
The Hi-Desert Medical Center faces many challenges in the Morongo Basin. It’s a small, public hospital in an area where County hospitals are so far away that it becomes a “safety net hospital” for area residents. The Morongo Basin population skews “young,” meaning that 80 percent is under age 64, and only 12 percent of the population would qualify for Medicare. The remaining population relies on private insurance or MediCal, and an unfortunately high percentage is uninsured. These uninsured patients—many of whom can’t afford to pay for their care at all—place quite a strain on the hospital’s finances by using the emergency department as their primary care provider, since hospitals are required by law to treat all emergency department patients regardless of their ability to pay. The medical center’s Board of Directors heard at its meeting Tuesday night that its year-to-date operating loss for the last 11 months for fiscal year 2012 was more than $4 million. Even with non-operating income and expenses included, its year-to-date loss is about $2.5 million. Nearly every department at the hospital—except for labor and delivery and the Continuing Care Center—had fewer than anticipated patients, which contributed to the shortfall. For fiscal year 2013, the hospital expects to have a net operating loss of almost $2 million, despite removing a 2 percent merit increase for hospital employees from its budget.

A Twentynine Palms man who was convicted of domestic battery in May was arrested Monday—for domestic battery. According to a Sheriff’s report, a woman called the Sheriff’s department about 10:20 Monday morning saying Michael Carreon, 20, tackled her when she tried to leave a home in the 74300 block of Chemehuevi Drive. The woman asked for a deputy to keep the peace while she collected her things to leave. After an investigation, Michael Carreon was arrested for investigation of domestic battery. He was booked into the Morongo Basin Jail with his bail set at $25,000. In May, Carreon pled guilty to domestic battery after he slugged his girlfriend in the stomach and shoved her. Carreon was sentenced to 45 days in County Jail with a year-long program for domestic batterers. Carreon was in Joshua Tree court yesterday requesting his report date to jail be delayed until August 3.

After a high-speed chase through neighborhoods, a traffic stop Wednesday afternoon resulted in the arrest of a Twentynine Palms woman for failure to yield and a felony warrant. About 4:45 yesterday, a deputy attempted to stop Tina Louise Maurer, 33, for broken tail lights near Mesquite Springs Road and Highway 62. According to Sheriff’s Sergeant Jason Radeleff, Maurer fled northbound on Mesquite Springs Road at a high rate of speed and blowing through stop signs. When Maurer attempted to make a left turn onto Old Chisholm Trail, she lost control of her car and crashed into a street sign. She attempted to flee on foot, but was pursued and caught by the deputy. Maurer is a fugitive who did not appear in court last month for a burglary charge and so has a $75,000 felony warrant out for her arrest. Tina Maurer was arrested on the warrant and also for investigation of felony failure to yield. She was booked into the Morongo Basin Jail with her bail set at $100,000.

A pair of earthquakes, the first moderate and the second small, just one minute apart, rattled the communities of the Morongo Basin today. According to the USGS, the first 3.9 magnitude temblor struck at 10:54 this morning, the second, a 2.6, hit at 10:55. The twin quakes were felt as a sharp jolt followed my a rolling motion at the Z107.7 studios in Joshua Tree, they were centered 2 miles and 3 miles respectively SSE of Yucca Valley. There were no reports of damages or injury.

The Yucca Valley High School Soccer Team beat hometown rival Twentynine Palms yesterday. Yucca Valley High School 6, Twentynine Palms 0. Yucca Valley High School Senior Lukas Rodriguez had an outstanding night scoring the hat trick with three goals and also had two assists. Seniors Sean Feehan, Michael Prince and Austin Hitchcock all had a goal in the contest. Sophomore Logan Vallo had two assists and Junior Haemish O’Donnell had one assist.

The Yucca Valley High School Girls Soccer team hosted the Wildcats of Twentynine Palms High School in De Anza League play. The Lady Trojans dominated the game and finished with a 4-0 score. Junior captain, Chaylin Couzens, had three goals and one assist and sophomore Teresa Nava added a goal.

Coming up tomorrow, the Yucca Valley High School soccer teams host Shadow Hills High School. The girls match starts at 3:15, followed by the boys. The Twentynine Palms High School soccer teams host Desert Hot Springs at home. Girls at 3:15, boys at 5.

Tomorrow at 4:30 p.m., Yucca Valley Library welcomes back Buster Balloon, the Balloon Twisting Genius. Buster has visited Yucca Valley before and we all fell in love with him and his zany antics. Adults and youth of all ages will enjoy watching Buster perform. Plenty of room as Buster will be performing in the Town Community Center, Yucca Room. For information call 760-228-5455

The Copper Mountain College Board meets tomorrow. Reporter Mike Lipsitz says the meeting includes a public hearing on inconsistencies in employee contracts…
Following a closed session meeting, the Copper Mountain College Board of Trustees will convene in regular open session at 3 o’clock tomorrow in the Bell Center’s Community Room on the College’s Joshua Tree campus. The open session will begin with a public hearing on inconsistencies in the collective bargaining agreement between the Community College and the CMC Faculty Association. Then following the tomorrow’s hearing, trustees will turn to items on the action agenda, including the Financial Audit Report for fiscal Year 2010-2011.

The Yucca Valley Airport Board meets tonight at 6:30 P.M. in the Joshua Tree Room of the Y.V. Community Center. Among items of interest, the Airport Board will discuss and Up coming inspection by the State of California, K&N Aircraft Maintenance & Gemni Welding default of payment and unauthorized vehicle dismantling. There will be an opportunity for Public Comments.

Lifestream will conduct a Community blood drive in Yucca Valley tomorrow. Blood wil be taken at the Yucca Valley Town Center Mall from 3 to 7 p.m. Donors receive Gift of Life Donor Loyalty Points that may be redeemed in the online store at www.LStream.org. College students may enter to win $2,500 toward second semester tuition. Healthy individuals at least 15 years of age may donate blood. All prospective donors should be free of infections or illness, weigh at least 110 pounds, and not be at risk for AIDS or hepatitis. Donors receive a free mini-physical as part of the donation process. For more information, please call 1-800-TRY GIVING.

If you would like to have some fun helping out at Theatre 29, but don’t necessarily want to be on stage, the all-volunteer community theater group is recruiting backstage help. Managing Editor Tami Roleff puts out the call…
In addition to the many volunteers that appear on the Theatre 29 stage there are the many hard working volunteers who work behind the scenes, building sets and props, changing out the scenes, helping with costumes, running sound and lights, and more. Anyone who would like to help backstage at Theatre 29 during any of the year’s upcoming shows should come to the open auditions at 6:00 on Monday at Theatre 29, 73637 Sullivan Road (around the corner from Barr Lumber) in Twentynine Palms. Auditions for “Lost in Yonkers” are also being held that same evening in another area of the theater. Veteran Theater 29 backstage technicians, lighting and sound experts, set builders, and Directors will be on hand to welcome the new backstage volunteers and give them an orientation on how the theatre process works.

The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors reduced their benefits by nearly 40 percent yesterday, making board member compensation comparable to Riverside, Orange, and San Diego counties and saving taxpayers more than $240,000 a year. According to a county press release, Supervisors eliminated several types of benefits currently provided to members of the board, including their retirement pickups, contributions toward 401(k) and 457(b) savings plans, and medical expense reimbursements. A voter-approved County Charter amendment sets board member salaries at a fixed amount comparable to supervisors in neighboring counties. However, their benefits add nearly $121,000 to each board member’s total annual compensation. The board’s action cuts that number by more than $48,000. The 2010-11 Grand Jury concluded San Bernardino County compensation was not comparable to other counties, the board responded by directing the creation of the benefit reduction ordinance.

The Bighorn Desert View Water Agency met in a special session last night. Reporter Mike Lipsitz says they appointed a new Board member and finally approved a long-awaited water agreement…
At last night’s special meeting of the Bighorn-Desert View Water Agency Board, Directors interviewed three candidates and appointed Dennis Staley, a retired educator and 18-year resident of Landers, to fill the open board seat. Also last night, the Board gave its approval to the Ames/Reche Groundwater Storage and Recovery Agreement, which is the product of many years of negotiations between the Agency and Hi-Desert Water District, County Special Districts and the Mojave Water Agency. The agreement aims to provide for more equitable and better managed control of groundwater resources using mechanisms that are better defined than the existing Agreement, and it provides for a shared recharge facility. The County is expected to give their approval to the Agreement next month. And finally, directors voted to nominate Director Judy Corl-Lorono to the Association of California Water Agencies Health Benefits Authority.

A Yucca Valley man is behind bars after steel knuckles were found in his possession. According to a Sheriff’s report, dispatch received a call about 9:45 Sunday night about 1989 Volvo almost sideswiping another car in the area of Pueblo Drive and Borrego Trail in Yucca Valley. The Volvo’s driver, later identified as Tommy Marquez, 27, got out of his car and started walking toward the car he almost sideswiped, which is when the driver called police. A few minutes later a deputy located the Volvo being driven southbound on Church Street. After a search, the deputy found steel knuckles on Marquez, which is a felony. Tommy Marquez was arrested for investigation of being in possession of a dangerous weapon and booked into the Morongo Basin Jail, with his bail set at $25,000.

A Twentynine Palms parolee was arrested early Tuesday morning for possessing marijuana and ammunition. During a security check of a business in the 73600 block of 29 Palms Highway in Twentynine Palms about 1:30 Tuesday morning, a Sheriff’s deputy noticed the business had been broken into. An investigation led the deputy to the home of Darkise Gorman, 28, of the 6500 block of Smoke Tree. After determining that Gorman was on parole, the deputy conducted a search of the residence looking for evidence of the stolen goods. During the search, the deputy found marijuana and a 12-gauge shotgun shell. Darkise Gorman was arrested for investigation of being a felon in possession of ammunition and violation of his parole. Darkise Gorman was booked into the Morongo Basin Jail with his bail set at $35,000. The stolen items—flat screen TVs, XBox 360s, and Play Station gaming consoles—were not found.

A minor traffic accident in Twentynine Palms sent two people to the hospital yesterday afternoon and resulted in the arrest of a Twentynine Palms man. Shortly after 5 p.m. Charles Little, 53, was making a left turn from southbound Lupine Avenue onto eastbound Highway 62, when he pulled out in front of a westbound SUV being driven westbound on the highway and broadsided the SUV. Little suffered a severe cut to his head, and the driver of the SUV suffered minor injuries. Both Little and the woman were taken to Hi-Desert Medical Center. Charles Little was arrested for investigation of driving under the influence resulting in bodily injury. He was booked into West Valley Detention Center with his bail set at $100,000.

The Twentynine Palms City Council met last night with a busy agenda. Reporter Dan Stork breaks his report into two parts. Today, accessory structures and a pedestrian walkway. Tomorrow, Project Phoenix and the redevelopment agency…
The Twentynine Palms City Council began its meeting with an appreciation of Steve Whitten’s year of service on the Planning Commission. The Council then turned to a reconsideration of a code amendment on accessory structures. The Planning Commission had rejected Council member Jay Corbin’s shortened version of the rules that it had developed, and returned its measure to Council in a slightly lengthened form. Corbin moved his version as the final word, but only Mayor John Cole agreed with him, and the motion failed.
Then the Planning Commission’s version was enacted into the code with minor language tweaks, by a vote of 3-2, Cole and Corbin dissenting. Acting under a state-imposed deadline following the court decision that promises to disband all Redevelopment Agencies on February 1, the Council unanimously named the city as the successor agency and successor housing agency to the Redevelopment Agency. City Manager Richard Warne addressed the impact on Project Phoenix – we’ll report on that in a separate story. The council then directed staff to develop plans for a pedestrian trail and sidewalk from Highway 62 to Joshua Tree National Park headquarters, along National Park Drive. Council liked the idea of a meandering walkway, but opted for a straight path out of considerations of construction, land acquisition and maintenance expenses.

A visiting mountain lion brought a state game warden to the Flamingo Heights area Monday. Residents said the big cat, thought to be an adult female at about 90 pounds, took a rest under a pick-up truck at a residence. After about an hour, a game warden, state biologist, and Sheriff’s deputy were able to flush the cat out from under the truck and back out into the open desert.

The man who led Sheriff deputies on a car chase through the desert that started a fire in Yucca Valley in July was arraigned in Joshua Tree Court Monday. Kristofer Shoup, 23, of Sugarloaf, was arrested Friday at his home on multiple warrants by a Special Enforcement unit of the Sheriff’s Department. July 9, a deputy attempted to make a traffic stop on a white pick-up truck driven by Shoup. Shoup sped away and led the deputy through residential neighborhoods in Yucca Valley. While trying to escape Shoup drove his truck out into the open desert at Carlyle and Tamarisk, where the truck became stuck in the sand and caught fire, sparking a 10-15 acre brush fire. Fast response by firefighters kept the fire from spreading to nearby homes. Shoup managed to escape a massive manhunt for him then and for the next six months. Kristofer Shoup pled Not Guilty to evading a police officer with wanton disregard for safety; two counts of possession of a controlled substance; causing a fire of a forest, and driving with a suspended license. His bail is set at $200,000.

The Morongo Valley Community Services District has fired its general manager. In a special closed session meeting Monday, the CSD held a performance evaluation of their general manager, Meg Foley, and gave her a vote of “no confidence,” and terminated her. The District’s Board President Chuck Osborne said he couldn’t give out information on why Foley was terminated in a special meeting after working for the Community Services District for the last five or six years. As the general manager, Foley also served as the community service district’s Board secretary and was responsible for the district’s office administration, human resources, grant writing and administration, budget & policy oversight and representation of the community on the County and State level.