TMC: Thirty Miles of Corruption

It’s never a pretty outcome for the public…

WE AT TMC WANT TO ADVISE OUR DEAR READERS (Yes, all 7 of you…) that when you hear the words, “private/public partnership,” grab your wallet!  A public–private partnership (PPP) is a government service or private business venture which is funded and operated through a partnership of government and one or more private sector companies. These schemes are sometimes referred to as PPP, P3 or P³.

Earlier this year, we detailed how the Greater Riverside Chamber of Commerce (GRCC), in partnership with Mayor William “Rusty” Bailey,  has turned the State of the City Address into a for-profit event benefiting the Chamber at a substantial expense to the taxpayers and ratepayers of Riverside.  Meanwhile, the general public got to sit in the back of the bus audience for this event, while the Chamber and City bigwigs were given the center stage, celebrity treatment compliments of the Mutual Admiration Society of Riverside County.

A week later, not having had its fill of pork, GRCC had its primary public benefactor, Riverside Public Utilities, sponsor its Mega Mixer and Trade Show at the Tyler Mall.

Last night, the Chamber had its hand out again, this time for its Inaugural Celebration, titled, “A Night in Bollywood” (given the amount of plastic surgery observed at the gala, perhaps, “A Night in Dollywood,” would’ve been more appropriate, but we digress…)

CLICK ABOVE IMAGE TO ENLARGE (not that Dolly needs it)

Once again, we see Riverside Public Utilities headlining as an Emerald Sponsor (not to be confused with its earlier billings as Gold Sponsor and Premier Plus Exhibitor) of this event.  In what I’m sure is just a coincidence (sarcasm alert), the Chamber installed Bob Stockton, of Rick Engineering, as its Chairman of the Board…the same Bob Stockton who was just recently the Chairman of our Board of Public Utilities.

Bob Stockton, new Panderer-At-Large in the revolving door scheme

We’ve previously covered how former General Manager, David Wright (another recycled executive, now LADWP’s problem), and current General Manager, Girish Balachandran, sat/sit/sut on the Board of Directors of the Chamber, cutting checks with their ratepayers’ money on a almost weekly basis: a grotesque conflict-of-interest even our own ethically-challenged City Council is a bit queasy with we hear.

                           Dave “the Kingpin” Wright           Girish “The Bag Man” Balanchandran

All of this is done without any transparency to the general public or oversight.  In theory, the Chamber could host an event every day, and Girish Balachandran would seemingly be all-too-willing to write a check up to $25,000 (his maximum authority) for each one…well, until he ran out of your money.

But enough of the hyphens and run-on sentences, let’s shine the light on how the game works!

You pay your utility bills/taxes —> City/RPU funds the Chamber (and other favorite non-profits as part of an influence peddling scheme, but more on that later) —> the Chamber pushes its business-first agenda and supports local candidates —> the City Council continues to keep the GRCC on the public dole through an ever-expanding assortment of schemes (e.g. the no-bid Keep Riverside Clean and Beautiful contract) —> lather, rinse, repeat!  They get an Indian dinner, you get the cheque!

The Chamber is Watching You! (Click Image to Enlarge).

The game ends one of two ways: the City eventually goes bankrupt, a la San Bernadino and Stockton…or you get sick of the corruption and demand change.  On that note, City elections are June 2, 2015 .  Whom will TMC endorse!?  Stay tuned….

WHAT ABOUT ME?  The County of Riverside would of course not want to be left out of this party.  As you can see here, Riverside County Economic Development and Regional Medical Center both bought $1000 tables for the Mayor Bailey’s State of the City Address.  Yes, that’s the same Regional Medical Center that ran a $36 million shortfall just last fiscal year.  They must be feeling better (sic) because they were also an Emerald Sponsor of last night’s, “A Night in Bollywood,” boondoggle.  It’s heartwarming to know an institution drowning in a sea of red can continue to show its support for its local Chamber of Commerce….run by our Queen Cindy Roth, who just so happens to be married to Senator Richard Roth (31st District – cities of Riverside, Corona, Moreno Valley, Norco, Eastvale, Jurupa Valley, Riverside, and Perris).

CLICK ABOVE IMAGE TO ENLARGE

         

Queen Cindy                          King Richard

“Let Them Eat Cake!” (or should that be Gulab Jamin?)

The Riverside County Transportation Committee, another in that miasma of Joint Powers Agreements the City is involved in (this one for, “coordinating highway and transit planning and identifying projects for state and federal funding [and] responsibility for all aspects of regionwide planning for Riverside County’s mobility”), also sponsored the Mega Mixer…because as you know, most folks go to the mall to hear about County transportation issues.

And the deadbeat goes on…la dah dada dee, la dah dada dah. (CLICK THIS LINK TO WATCH YOUTUBE)

TMC, RATED RIVERSIDE’S MOST “DEMENTED,” “MENTALLY WHACKED,” “OFFENSIVE,” “INAPPROPRIATE,” “HURTFUL,” “MEAN SPIRITED,” “DISTASTEFUL,” “EMBARRASSING,” “HORIFFIC,” “SLANDEROUS” AND MEZZSPELLED, “MISSPELLED” AND “OPINIONATED” BLOG SITE!  TEMPORARILY BLOCKED BY THE CITY OF RIVERSIDE AT PUBLIC ACCESS SITES WITHIN THE CITY, THEN UNBLOCKED.  I GUESS YOU CANNOT DO THAT ACCORDING TO THE ACLU.  RATED ONE TWO ONE STAR OUT OF FIVE IN TERMS OF COMMUNITY APPROVAL RATINGS..  TMC IS NOW EXCLUSIVLY EXCLUSIVELY ON FILE WITH THE COUNTY OF RIVERSIDE’S DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE (WE BELIEVE THIS WILL END SOON, SINCE THE FOCUS IS NOW ON THE IMPROPRIETIES OF MR. “Z”, WE TRIED TO TELL YOU, BUT NOBODY LISTENED), AND DON’T FORGET WE ARE PROSSIBLY POSSIBLY ON FILE WITH THE CITY OF RIVERSIDE’S POTENTIAL SLAPP SUIT LIST… A STRATEGIC LEGAL MANEUVER THAT CAN BE DONE ONLY IN RIVERSIDE WITHOUT A CONTRACT… AGAIN, THANK-YOU COMMUNITY OF RIVERSIDE AND THE CITY OF RIVERSIDE EMPLOYEE’S FOR YOUR SUPPORT!   COMMENTS ALWAYS WELCOMED, ESPECIALLY SPELL CHECKERS!  WE JUST CAN’T SPELL!  EMAIL ANONYMOUSLY WITH YOUR DIRT BY CONTACTING US AT:   THIRTYMILESCORRUPTION@HOTMAIL.COM