Jordan Romero Book Signing: September 10th

Big Bear Lake, Ca, September 1, 2010, 9:00am - Young mountaineer Jordan Romero will be at the Big Bear Book and Bean this Friday, September 10^th from 6:00 to 8:00pm. to autograph his new book, THE BOY WHO CONQUERED EVEREST.   The book is a full color scrapbook-style storybook (intended for readers ages 8-15) and includes nearly 200 photos covering four years of Team Jordan’s climbing adventures, from Mount Kilimanjaro through Mount Everest. The conclusion is Jordan’s message to kids to set BIG goals and follow their dreams. The Big Bear Book and Bean is located at 634 Pine Knot Avenue in The Village of Big Bear Lake. For more information, or to pre-order the book, contact the Book & Bean at (909) 878-4083.

Two New Members Have Joined Bear Valley Community Healthcare District CEO Search Committee

 Bear Valley Community Healthcare District is happy to announce that two new members have joined the CEO Search Committee. The Committee welcomes BVCHD Board of Directors Member Brad Summers who joins the Committee in the place of BVCHD Board of Directors Member Michael Hartstein. Also joining the Committee is community member Barbara Espinoza, who will become a BVCHD Board of Directors Member in November 2010. Don Whiteside of HFS Consultants has made quick progress in the search for the future Chief Executive Officer and has said “I continue to be optimistic about the outcome, and am happy with the caliber of candidates we are talking to.” Anyone wishing to give direct feedback or suggestions about the search or candidates can contact Whiteside at- BearValleyCEOsearch@gmail.com.
The Bear Valley Community Healthcare District CEO Search Committee is as follows: Ron Peavy,  Brad Summers, Vahan Demlakian, Jim Gonzales, Jack Briner, Micki Plummer, Barbara Espinoza, Rudy Shutta, Uli Crezee, Nancy McGivney, Larry Cooke, and  Renee Marquez.

Bear Valley Community Healthcare District Regular Meeting Cancelled

Big Bear Lake, CA, August 24, 2010, 8:00am – The Bear Valley Community Healthcare District’s Regular Board Meeting scheduled for this evening, Tuesday, August 24, 2010 at 5pm for closed session and 6:30pm for open session has been cancelled.

Update: Candidates Running in Upcoming November Election

Big Bear, Ca, August 18, 2010, 10:00am - The candidates who have filed for positions specific for the Big Bear Valley include three available seats for the City of Big Bear Lake City Council.  Candidates include David Caretto, Rick Herrick, Carol Mulvihill, Jay Obernolte, Barbara Willey, and Peter Greco who filed during the extension period.  Incumbents Darrell Mulvihill and Michael Karp did not file papers.  Candidates for Bear Valley Unified School District’s two available seats are Mary Beth Bonkowski, Christine Giddens, Belinda Masse-Rainwater, Kenneth Turney, Al Waner and Larry Winslow.  Incumbent Debra Sarkisian is not running for re-election.  Big Bear Community Services District has one seat available for short term and the candidates who filed include Patricia Miller, Paul Terry and Bob Ybarra.  Candidates running for one of the three seats for CSD for long term are John Day, John Green, Marge McDonald, Jeff Newsome, Denise Proffer, and James Smith.  Big Bear Airport District board has two seats available and Steven Baker and Gary Stube have both filed papers.  Incumbent Jay Obernolte is running for City Council.  Bear Valley Community Health care District candidates for two available seats are Barbara Espinoza and James Gonzales.  Michael Perry had filed but has withdrawn from the race.  All three incumbents for the Municipal Water District Divisions one through three have filed unopposed to include Todd Murphy for Division 1, Paula Fashempour for Division 2, and Skip Suhay for Division 3.  The election will take place on November 2nd.

Bear Valley Community Healthcare District Special Meeting, August 16th

Big Bear, Ca, August 16, 2010, 12:00pm The Bear Valley Community Healthcare District will hold a special meeting tonight, August 16th. A closed meeting will take place from 5:00pm to 6:30pm, with the open meeting to begin at 6:30pm.  Items for discussion during closed session include: conference with legal counsel over a claim from the legal counsel of Vi Colunga, conference with Labor Negotiators, and public employee evaluations.   Items discussed during open session will include employee recognition for five employees including Scott Rogers, the Director of Radiology, IS & Plant Operations, who has been with the hospital for 30 years.  Other items include various committee reports, expenditure reports, and an update on the Mom and Dad Project grant process.  As always public comment will be available before both closed and open session.

Free Osteoporosis Screenings Today at Medical Arts Pharmacy

Big Bear Lake, CA, August 10, 2010, 3:04pm – Medical Arts Pharmacy is holding a free screening for Osteoporosis today until 5:00pm at the pharmacy located on Fox Farm Road across the street from Interiors.  The screening is non invasive and takes five minutes to test bone density by using a high frequency ultrasound machine on the foot.  Free refreshments and snacks are available along with a free raffle.  According to Medical Arts Pharmacy “of the 10 million Americans who have osteoporosis, eight million are women.”  Osteoporosis is a condition where the body cannot manufacture enough bone material to support the body.  Men and women of all ages are welcome to receive the free screening.

Bear Valley Community Healthcare District Begins Search for Hospital CEO

Big Bear Lake, CA, August 6, 2010 – The Bear Valley Community Healthcare District is happy to report that their search for the permanent CEO for Bear Valley Community Hospital is off to a good start. Last week BVCHD recruiter Don Whiteside of HFS Consultants, Oakland, CA met with members of the District Board, representatives from the community, medical staff, and employees. A search committee has been formed to include Board of Director members Ron Peavy, and Michael Hartstein, administrative members Rudy Shutta, and Vahan Demlakian, employees Uli Crezee, Nancy McGivney, Larry Cooke, and Renee Marquez, and community members Jim Gonzales, Micki Plummer and Jack Briner complete the search committee.  This group will work with the recruiter and hospital administration to identify and help choose the finalist candidates for CEO. The District Board will interview the finalists and make a decision in early Fall.  Whiteside also reported that there has been a positive response to the initial outreach for candidates.  Anyone wishing to give direct feedback or suggestions about the search or candidates can contact the recruiter at BearValleyCEOsearch@gmail.com.

Contractors State License Board Conducts Sting Operation in Mountain Communities

Big Bear City, CA, August 5, 2010, 3:15pm – A Contractors State License Board (CSLB) sting netted 16 suspects for unlicensed contracting and related violations in Big Bear City on July 22, 2010, and CSLB is warning homeowners to take precautions when hiring people for home improvement projects. The San Bernardino County Sheriffs and District Attorney’s Office, along with the California Department of Insurance, assisted CSLB in this operation.  Members of CSLB’s Statewide Investigative Fraud Team (SWIFT) posed as homeowners and invited suspected unlicensed operators to bid on projects. If the suspects bid more than $500 for a job and did not have a license, they received a notice to appear in San Bernardino County Superior Court to face misdemeanor charges of contracting without a license and related violations. Fifteen of the 16 also face charges of illegal advertising, and six of them will answer to charges of soliciting an excessive down payment. B&P Code requires contractors to include their license number in all advertisements.  CSLB recommends that consumers always get at least three project bids from licensed professionals.  “Homeowners should also be aware that if they do hire somebody without a license, there is a tremendous risk,” said CSLB Registrar Steve Sands. “These scammers do not carry workers’ compensation insurance and the property owner could be liable if the illegal operator or their employees are injured during the project.”

CSLB urges consumers to remember the following tips when hiring a contractor:
-Be especially hesitant when approached by someone offering home improvement services door-to-door.
-Verify the contractor license by checking online at www.cslb.ca.gov, or via CSLB’s automated phone system at 1-800-321-CSLB (2752).
-Ask to see a photo identification to make sure you’re dealing with the correct person.
-Don’t pay more than 10% down or $1,000, whichever is less. There is an exception to this for about two dozen contractors who have special bonds for consumer protection that are noted on the CSLB website.
-Don’t pay in cash, and don’t let the payments get ahead of the work.
-Check references, and get at least three bids and a written contract before your project begins.

The following suspects are scheduled for arraignment in the San Bernardino County Superior Court at 351 North Arrowhead Avenue in San Bernardino on October 28, 2010, at 8:00am. Ignacio Adam Mote- Crestline, Bulmaro Solis Davila- Big Bear, Darin Keith Hibbs- Big Bear City, Roasario Romero- La Puente, Steve Edward Costley- Big Bear City, Nikolas James Strich- Erwin Lake, Jerls Wayne Houston- Big Bear Lake, Marshall Scott Richter- Big Bear City, George Alfred Johnson- Sugarloaf, Mario Dimas Ramirez- Highland, Joel Curtis Cimino- Lake Elsinore
Alvaro Morales- Big Bear City, Bradley Steven Slovick- Lucerne Valley, Edgar Dario Ramirez- San Bernardino, Oscar Quinonez Gutierrez- San Berdardino, Brian John Bowers- Big Bear Lake.

The Contractors State License Board operates under the umbrella of the California Department of Consumer Affairs. More information and publications about hiring contractors are available on the CSLB website or by calling 800-321-CSLB (2752). You can also sign up for CSLB e-mail alerts at www.cslb.ca.gov. CSLB licenses and regulates California’s more than 300,000 contractors, and is regarded as one of the leading consumer protection agencies in the United States. In fiscal year 2009-10, CSLB helped recover more than $42 million in ordered restitution for the public.

Big Bear Chamber of Commerce Offers Power Breakfast and Small Businesss Workshop

Big Bear Lake, CA, August 4, 2010, 3:02pm – Early risers can join the Big Bear Chamber of Commerce for the monthly power breakfast at the Best Western at 7am.  Guest speakers include Louisa Miller of the Small Business Development Center and Lyle Haynes, Redevelopment Director of the City of Big Bear Lake.  The cost of the power breakfast is $12 for members and $15 for non-members.  Additionally tomorrow, the City of the Big Bear Lake and the Big Bear Chamber of Commerce will be hosting a free workshop for small businesses to help them understand the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) laws, discuss compliance, and help any business ensure they meet requirements to avoid potential litigation.  The Workshop will be conducted by Dan Kaiser of Access Services Plus and is geared for any small business that operates a store front where they host clients or customers such as retail, restaurants, and services to name a few.  The Workshop will be held at the City of Big Bear Lake Civic Center located at 39707 Big Bear Blvd tomorrow, August 5th from 10am to 12 noon.  Call the Chamber at 866-4607 to register.

San Bernardino County Residents Should be Vaccinated for Whooping Cough

San Bernardino County, CA, July 30, 2010, 12:15pm – In California, pertussis, commonly known as whooping cough, has reached epidemic levels with the rising number of cases in the state making this possibly the worst outbreak of the disease in over 50 years.  Pertussis is a bacterial illness spread through the air from person to person, through close contact with droplets released when someone coughs or sneezes.  The illness starts with cold-like symptoms that get more severe after one to two weeks.  Rapid coughing fits follow, that may have a whooping sound, lasting 6 to 10 weeks.  Public health officials are reminding San Bernardino County residents about the importance of getting vaccinated.  The adolescent-adult pertussis booster vaccine, called Tdap, is now recommended for anyone 7 years of age or older who is not fully immunized including those who are more than 64 years old.  Also, women of childbearing age as well as pregnant women and anyone who is in contact with pregnant women or infants should be vaccined.  Immunity from pertussis vaccine or disease wears off, so most adults are susceptible and should get immunized to protect themselves and their families.  Infants are especially vulnerable if they are not immunized or incompletely immunized as children under the age of 12 months have more serious illness from pertussis, and they are more likely to have complications and be hospitalized than persons in other age groups.  Children can get the first pertussis vaccination at 2 months of age but they aren’t adequately protected until the series of three shots is complete at 6 months of age.  There have been 1,496 cases of whooping cough recorded in California in the first six months of this year.  San Bernardino County has had 17 confirmed cases and one death since January.  Residents should contact their health care provider for vaccine information.  San Bernardino County Department of Public Health provides the pertussis vaccine in all its clinics.  For clinic locations and schedules call 1-800-782-4262 or visit the website at sbcounty.gov/dph.

Next Page »