The wheels of justice move slow

Andy Megaw pleaded not guilty to 6 counts of child molestation this week. It seems like the this thing is going to take forever, I'm sure all party's involved would prefer this thing speed up a little.

For those unfamiliar with this case , check out the Crime and Scandals link over on right---->
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Drop....Your....Sword

Updating a past story, Naomi Valdivia, who is accused of murdering her husband with a sword, plead Not Guilty. Reason, as I guessed on 1/23/09 is self defense. It looks like her family is going to back here up on this one. Hopefully this family can get back to normal. Or as normal as it can be in a house that has swords in it.

Kids, unlike movies, when a sword is involved, the is no such thing as "just a flesh wound".

For more stories concerning Upland, see the Topic links over on the right---->
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Mi Oficina Income Tax owner might not be good at math

Did you ever hear the old phrase that "A man who is his own lawyer has a fool for his client". Well, apperently this can be applied in the world of tax preperation as well.

Upland resident Jose Alberto Garcia, Jr., 28, who is the owner and operator of Mi Oficina Income Tax and has been accused of filing false tax returns for 2001 through 2004, failing to claim the nearly $968,000 in unreported income.

To be clear, the California Franchise Tax Board is not saying that Mi Oficina did anything wrong on their customers taxes just that the owner shanked the math on his own taxes pretty badly.

Garcia pleaded guilty and is getting hit with 300k in fines and probation. Not bad, I guess he's not his own lawyer.

More details at FTB.

For more stories concerning Upland, see the Topic links over on the right---->
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State of Upland speach moved to Upland...Ya' think?

In what I can only attribute to standard governmental decision making, Upland's "State of the City" address was planned on 3/24 in Ontario at the Double Tree Hotel. W...T...F?

This is a "big yikes". Not that I cleared my calendar for this or anything but if Upland is going to spend some money, shouldn't it be here. And while I'm at it, why do they need a conference room anyway? Put JP up on the gazebo during this weeks Farmer's Market (oops, I've yet to post about the Farmers Market starting back up) and you'll get maximum # of Uplanders to attend.

Luckily, someone figured this thing out and postponed it until 4/29 and will have it Upland. I bet we lose the deposit though.

For more stories concerning Upland, see the Topic links over on the right---->
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Uplanders don't like Gay people in their yogurt shops

So, the Gay Straight Alliance of Upland High School was all set to hold a fundraiser at Yogurtime in Upland. The some customers called up and complained that they would stop coming there if the event moved forward. I know some people care what other people do in their private lives but that's not my thing (on the flip side, seeing dudes make out in public isn't my thing either). Is it really necessary to boycott a place because they hold a gay fundraiser?

I refuse to believe that Upland residents are behind these threats. Pffft...I know it wasn't Claremont either. It's got to be those Montclaireos...eons...ites...whatever. I know it was you Montclair. I told you to stay below 7th anyway! You people are only allowed in Golden Spoons.

Now is a bad time to be threatening businesses with the economy all fouled up.

Yogurtime is located in the old Miller's Outpost shopping center on 8th and Mountain. Go buy some yogurt there. I don't even know if it's good yogurt but if gay people like it, it's probably pretty good right?

I'll let IER review it if he chooses cuz that is his thing...Reviewing that is not the gay thing. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

DB's write up.

For more stories concerning Upland, see the Topic links over on the right---->
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Peppertree Elementary takes a direct hit from John and Ken

So here's the deal, fair and balanced as possible at this point. John and Ken of KFI AM 640 radio (aka the highest rated talk radio show in the COUNTRY) started the 3 o'clock by announcing that they had just received the best email in the history of the show. That's 20 plus years.

Listen here

The basics of the email were: (this is one side of the story filtered through radio show hosts) Parent of kindergarten teacher tells students to wear pink on "Pink Friday" or they won't get a toy to play with at school. Child worries about pink clothes. Mom dresses child in pink so kid can get a toy. Mom complains to Principal (TY Tibbi) who agrees that bribe kids is not a good idea. Mom tells principal that complaint should be anonymous so as to not incur retribution from teacher to student. Principal tells teacher of complaint and tells teacher the name. Teacher tells class in front of Parent and other parents that because parent (teacher identifies our hero) no one gets a toy. Parent complains to principal that it should have been anonymous. Principal takes teachers side.

Again, this is one side of the story and there may be a perfectly reasonable explanations for all of this. My questions still are...Why is the teachers union using kids to get attention? It looks foolish. For one, I would have worn a Berka to school if I thought I would gain favor with a teacher. Two, kids know nothing about the topic. Teachers should have told there students not to wear pink and that protesting was the teachers job and the kids should stay out of it. If the teacher gets laid off, have the kids failed? Also, I may get laid off soon so if the teachers can have the students wear green next Friday for me that would be great. Green for money right? It's better than pink for pink slips.

So, any Upland teachers want to give me their side of the story...leave a comment.

Edit, to add a little more balance I will says this, even if all of this is true, the principal and teacher are not the devils that J&K would have you believe. It's pretty standard for a boss to tell a subordinate who complains about them. It's kind of up to the subordinate to not let on that they know and just fix the issue. Also, I imagine when belong to a union as strong as the Teacher's Union, going against the union will cause problems so a class with kids with no pink shirts would have been looked upon harshly by the Union.

For more stories concerning Upland, see the Topic links over on the right---->
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Peppertree Elementary runs afoul of Jon & Ken

If you haven't heard, today was "Pink Friday" at schools in California. Teachers have asked their students to wear pink in support of teachers.

A parent of a kindergarten student at Peppertree emailed John and Ken at KFI AM 640, to complain about the teacher "bribing" her kid to wear pink by promising a toy. I'll have more details tonight.



For more stories concerning Upland, see the Topic links over on the right---->
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Trouble at St. Anthony's Church

Don't look now but there's trouble in a Catholic church. I'll give you a minute to recover from the shock....OK, it could be worse right?

Apparently Pastor Charles Schultz isn't exactly a "Mother Theresa". The following are a partial list of complaints from both parishioners and staff:

-Using profanity
-Being a bully
-Made a derogatory remark
-"Schultz took his thumb and pushed it into the girl's spinal cord"
-"grabbed a 15-year-old girl by both arms because she was not praying correctly"

Bishop Gerald Barnes of the Diocese of San Bernardino has placed this guy on six month leave while he decides what to do with him but it appears Upland is not in his future...other than Upland PD anyway.

Really??? You need more than an hour to consider this Bishop? Schultz's strengths clearly are not in dealing with the public. Maybe a Union Boss or Sports Agent. Surely they can find something for him in another city where he works behind the scenes.

I don't belong to the church but I heard that people were told that Schultz was taking a medical leave. Yikes!! Why is the truth so hard to say. Disiplinary action does not equal Medical Leave. People apparently loved Father Ned but he may have been forced into retirement to make way for this guy. Another Yikes. Schultzy may have a history of bad behavior. Yikes three, you're out.

DB has the details.

For more stories concerning Upland, see the Topic links over on the right---->
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Daily Bulletin makes Journalism history!!!

It's 9:15 on Friday night 3/6 and on DB's site, they are already reporting crimes that won't happen until tomorrow. They are not even being vague at all they are getting pretty specific.

Surely there has got to be some kind of X Prize for time travel that they are going to get. If some fools can get $10 mil for getting into space or making a car get over 100 MPG, time travel should net them at least $100 Mil.

If you know someone named Deanna Anderson of Rancho Cucamonga, tell her to lock her keys in her car for the weekend...she'll owe you one.


Who knew they had Dr. Emit Brown on staff over there.

For more stories concerning Upland, see the Topic links over on the right---->
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Red Light Cameras go dim....maybe

I hate these red light cameras (Upland locations after the jump) in Upland. No, it's not the Big Brother thing and it's not that I want to run red lights. It's the lies that they inspire.

DB has a story about Upland considering getting rid of these things because they are costing the city money. Also in the report, Police Chief Steve Adams says that these were put in place for "Public Safety" and when they were installed we were all told of the studies that proved that these save lives.

Pffft! BS, we all know this is a money grab. Those things are there to make money and nothing else. If no one ever ran a red light when those were installed and they made no money, they'd be down tomorrow.

Chief Adams also says in the same report that the reason we need to dump these things is because they are costing Upland money. Now, it sounds like a price is being put on our safety.

Here's the real scoop. Upland threatens to cancel contract. Redflex (those turncoat camera operators) sends a sales guy over to calm everyone down. $8.9k (or a figure more like $5.6k) credit is extended, cameras stay up. Standard play.

Upland Red Light Camera Locations:
Euclid and Foothill
Mountain and Foothill
Mountain and Eighth

DB's Report.


For more stories concerning Upland, see the Topic links over on the right---->
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Mr. Sundstrom is....inappropriate at best

OK, well, here's another pervert that somehow got an all access pass to our local schools. 47 year old Daniel Harold Sundstrom, a teacher assistant at Pioneer Jr. High was sentenced today to 270 days in Jail after pleading no contest to attempted sexual battery of a 14 year old female student.

This guy is married with has kids (at least one) and yet he was on Myspace telling this 14 girl he wanted to have sex with her. WTF? Hasn't this guy seen Dateline?

It's about time to start taking someone to task over at Upland USD. Background checks...your not doing them right.

One silver lining that has come out of this is that girl is obviously super brave. Credit to her for pointing out this guy.

I also feel bad for the family of this guy. Total victims here.

Inside Socal has more details plus a picture of this guy.

One note, for me this story does not taint all Upland teachers. It does show there might be a problem here but in no way am I saying that all or even a majority are perverts. I know one teacher here and I went to school here k-12 and not once have I run across anyone that is even capable of this.

For more stories concerning Upland, see the Topic links over on the right---->
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What went down at Barbee's Pizza?

When I was a kid, in the eighties, living in Upland, there was one place to get the best pizza in town, Barro's Pizza. I still remember my dad and I driving home with a large pepperoni and me poking open one of the vent holes on the pizza box just to get a smell of that perfect pie.

Located on 16th and Mountain (another location on Baseline and Archibald), Barro's really had no competition for the best pizza in town. At some point, Barro's was sold to John Barbee, who changed the name to...duh, Barbee's. No big deal, pizza was the same and the name was close.

Everything was moving along swimmingly for Upland and Barbee's Pizza. I would frequently see John Barbee around town, in the store, or towing his boat. Things were great, in fact, he expanded. He bought the corner unit and built Loco Gringo. Still everything is cool...or so it seemed.

Then boom, Friday morning, July 10, 2004 the following happens...

Pizza Joint Busted (Ed. note: Nice headline Daily Bulletin)

UPLAND - The herb sold to certain customers by a local pizza restaurant over the past several months wasn't oregano, according to the Upland Police Department.

Officers from the Upland/Ontario Narcotics Task Force arrested John Barbee, 39, and Shaun Stacy, 19, both of Upland, and Andre Dennis, 25, of Hawthorne early Friday morning for selling marijuana out of a restaurant owned by Barbee.

Barbee owns Barbee's Pizza, 1667 N. Mountain Ave., and Loco Gringo, a nearby Mexican restaurant, Upland police said.

The narcotics task force began their investigation into possible marijuana sales out of the pizza business in March. Undercover narcotics officers made several marijuana purchases over the...

The website I found this at wants $200 to show me the rest of the article. No deal.

Anyway, I heard through the grapevine that the arrest went down "Cops style" and Barbee went running out the backdoor of his restaurant to evade police...allegedly.

I can't find out anything else about this story so if any of you have any other details let me know.

There is now another Pizza place there but I haven't tried it yet.

For more stories concerning Upland, see the Topic links over on the right---->
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Andy Megaw in the paper again

Look, I know your game Daily Bulletin. Your putting non stories about this case in your paper just to keep the story alive.

Well, not needed. Here is this weeks update which as far as I am concerned, brings nothing new to the table.

So, I got suckered in.

For some history on the case, click the Scandals and Crime link--->

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Upland Murder...with a Sword

Look, nothing good come of having a sword around the house. Your either going to hurt somebody or go to the Renaissance Fair. Neither end well.

Case in point, Upland resident Naomi Valdivia, 33, is accused of killing Jose Luis Gonzales, 36, on April 26, 2008 in the apartment complex west of Upland High School with a sword. She has recently rejected a plea deal that would have sent her to prison for 13 years.

Self Defense?

I'll keep you updated.

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Get To Know Your Gov't Representative: David Drier

For the life of me, I can't figure out why we let the same people run our government year after year. Democrat or Republican. These guys just get themselves in more pockets every year until they are no longer working for votes but instead are working for donations. What a racket.

Exhibit A, David Drier. Aside from some gerrymandering, Drier has basically "owned" the same District since 1981. That's 28 years of him "representing" us. He's 57 years old so basically he's spent half his life "working for you".

Unfortunately we are what is called a safe seat for the Republicans. We have ourselves to blame. Everyone thinks gov't is a mess except for the guy that represents them. No party should own a seat this way.

Drier was the target of KFI Hosts Jon and Ken's Political Human Sacrifice back in 2004 due to his perceived soft stance on illegal immigration. It was not enough to get him unseated but it sent a message...kind of. He's still in a super safe seat.

Although he's never come out, Drier is rumored to be gay. So much so that openly-gay Democratic Congressman Barney Frank, when asked whether Dreier was passed over for the position of House Majority Leader because of his "moderate" views, told a crowd of reporters "Yes, in the sense that I marched in the moderate pride parade last summer and went to a moderate bar.” Hilarious.

My negative tone is not because of his party, not because he's gay (allegedly), and not because of his stance on illegal immigration, it's just because he doesn't feel a need to represent us anymore. He knows we're going to vote for him because...he knows we won't vote Dem.

Links
Wiki
Drier in da House
Voting Record
Contributors


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Murder victim had gang ties

Short and not so sweet because I hate reporting these.

The DB has a short report about the shooting victim that was murdered Tuesday night outside of his apartment just west of the old Mervyn's shopping center.

The victim was 29 year old Manuel Vega.

Check back tomorrow for more positive news, I promise.
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Upland Graffiti Hotline

I hate Graffiti. I wish cities were more active in catching and punishing these idiots. If you see that some fool has tagged up our fair town, please call Upland's Graffiti Hotline at (909) 931-4127 ASAP.

If you know who did it please carve the letter G into their forehead.

Taggers are one only step above the people who take shopping carts off of store property on my list of town terrorists. ...Read more!

Upland man sentenced 16 years for killing neighbor

On Friday, December 19th, Lance William Green was sentenced 16 years for stabbing Jeffery Owen Gardiner who later died from his wounds.

Green says it was in self defense and that Gardiner died due to Medical Malpractice in treating the wound.

The incident happened in sleepy little north Upland between San Antonio and Mountain just north of 19th.

I would have posted this sooner but I was trying to space out "Bad News Posts".

Full story at InsideSoCal.
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More details from the Valencia molestaion case

When I started this blog I was hoping that the worst thing I would have to write about was School Rankings, high youth sports fees and other inconveniences. Unfortunately, the case against James Andrew Megaw just keeps getting worse as details come out.

Once again I'll refer to the pro's at the Inside Socal for the details.

For all involved I just hope this things ends as quickly as possible and that justice is served.
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Valencia teacher pleads not guilty to molestation

42 year old James Andrew Megaw, pleaded not guilty the charges that he molested 3 boys and 3 girls ranging in age from 7-9. The alleged incidences took place between 2006 and 2008.

Megaw's lawyer said Megaw was in a "state of shock" over the allegations that he sexually touched these kids outside of their clothes.

These things have a tendency to snow ball and given the fact that he taught at Baldy View from 1995-1999 and Valencia from 1999-present, I would not be shocked to see more claims surface.

For more detail, check out DB's full article. ...Read more!