• Brown Signs, Wildomar Funding Restored

After some incredibly shady politicking, Wildomar has it's missing VLF funds restored to the budget. This came as part of some political wrangling/horse trading (commonly known as bribes and corruption outside the halls where legislative sausage is hand crafted to the point absurdity... AKA the real world).

Red arrow points to Wildomar mayor pro-tem Ben Benoit.

It took the passage of an onerous tax increase, on the backs of the driving-public, to get Brown to finally agree to give back Wildomar's money. This will be felt by way of increased gas tax (12 cents per gallon starting in November) and an increase in vehicle licensing (SB1), (including a new fee on electric vehicles of $100 per year, $65 for the rest of us). 

The bill barely got enough votes to pass, and Senator Richard Roth, along with 29 year old Assemblywoman Sabrina Cervantes, traded their votes for a bag full of goodies, which included the purloined VLF funds from four Riverside County cities being rightfully restored (Wildomar, Menifee, Jurupa Valley and Eastvale).

After the signing. You can see a glimpse of Bridgette Moore on the far left.

Brown has long been punishing Riverside County for unfavorable vote totals of the past

It's a well publicized story, direct from the mouth of our state assembly member, Melissa Melendez, that Brown made it clear that his refusal to restore the money, was payback for the way Riverside County voted for him... or should it be said, voted AGAINST him?

Link to blog detailing Melissa Melendez's comments on the topic from 2015.

I asked Councilmember Bridgette Moore, who was in attendance for the event, for her take on the signing. 

"Today is an important day in Wildomar's history as Mayor Pro Tem Ben Benoit, and I were invited to watch Governor Jerry Brown sign Senate Bill 130. Which will annually restore the equivalent revenues lost June 29, 2011 when the Governor signed the bill which took away our Motor Vehicle License Fee Revenue of $1.8 million a year!" — Bridgette Moore

Here you see Ben Benoit shaking Governor Browns hand.
My apologies for the low definition images.
I'm just grateful that they were shared with me.

For those that would like a less opinionated version of this news story, please visit the Sun News and Review story on it at this link.

Below is ABC's clip on the story. Have to love some of the governor's characterizations. "I'm glad I'm going to give you a little more money that you can play with," and, "We're here for a lot of reasons, but mostly because the people of these towns have been neglected too long."
 

Whoa, thanks for the honesty there governor.

Here's just a random thought on the topic

Yes, we're glad to have that money back, so now the city will be able to finally get some breathing room. 

At the same time, $2M million dollars to the city isn't like $2M to you or me. If that money suddenly was in our bank accounts, it would be party city. Not so much when spread out over the needs of 35,000 people in 24 square miles.

But that won't stop the people from forming wish lists a mile long. Come to think of it, I have one to add to the list myself.

How about fixing the white vinyl fencing on Cervera in Windsong Valley... and let's not use the same contractor the next time, that did the Stevie Wonder style fix the last time.

Looks like someone never heard of a fence post level.

Imagine if a person in the private sector did this kind of work, no matter how nice a guy he is he'd never get another job in that town repairing fences. It's time to start demanding higher standards. I know that some people say "I don't wanna be no Orange County." Fine, but I also don't wanna be no Hooterville or Petticoat Junction neither.

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"Ya gots to work with what you gots to work with."
– Stevie Wonder 

Wildomar Rap suggests working a little harder with what ya gots to work with all the same.