December 2011 GOVERNMENT SPEAKS Murrieta Councilman Rick Gibbs


Red Light Cameras Decrease Your Risk


In 2005, as a response to citizen


complaints about our unsafe roads, the Murrieta Public Safety Commission brought the idea of Red Light Cameras for our city to the Police Department. Although initially skeptical, our PD did their homework and concluded that a well thought out and well run program could increase public safety.


This program has been in operation


for five and a half years and generated few complaints until the State legislature almost doubled the fine. In gathering sig- natures for a ballot initiative to ban the cameras, the proponents made claims that are not backed by empirical data. So now, the citizens of Murrieta will have the chance to weigh in during the


November 2012 election on whether the cameras stay or go.


Let’s start with the statistical facts


from January 2006 through September of 2011. At the three camera intersec- tions in our city, there were 15 broad- side collisions. At the three adjacent non-camera intersections with the same traffic volume, there were 45 broadside collisions. The Murrieta PD’s conclusion is that broadside collisions at camera in- tersections occur far less frequently.


The three camera locations were


chosen out of 15 analyzed in 2005 based on the incidence of red light violations and severity of traffic collisions at each location. Here are the results from the camera intersection analysis on Septem-


Temecula’s History is Looking to


the Future By Chuck Washington, Mayor Pro Tem


2011 could certainly be considered a “transi-


tion” year for the City of Temecula. It was just about a year ago that the City occupied the new Civic Center at Main and Mercedes in Old Town. The City’s long-time City Manager, Shawn Nel- son announced his planned retirement and other key personnel such as the History Museum Direc- tor, Wendell Ott, and Community Services Direc- tor, Herman Parker have also retired. The City’s Old Town Theater Manager position was vacated by the untimely passing of much-beloved Bruce Beers.


There’s an old saying that the only constant


in life is change, but Temecula has become well known for its traditions – among them constancy of her personnel. It has brought about a culture of stability that has allowed the City to grow and thrive.


When the recession began a few years back, Temecula’s City Council and Ex-


ecutive staff began to prepare a plan to deal with the downturn. Of utmost impor- tance was to maintain a high level of services and programs for Temecula’s citizens while cutting back on expenditures to achieve a balanced budget. In the process, early retirements were offered and Temecula’s staffing was reduced. The City cre- ated the opportunity for new leadership and city staff did not disappoint – while being asked to do more with less, they kept the bar high so that our citizens would not see a decline in service. All of the most popular programs that our citizens love were retained…and we were still able achieve a national ranking of 2nd Safest City in America.


Now the holiday season is fast approaching and the city is preparing for the


much anticipated traditions of the season. We’ll start off with a Christmas Tree Light- ing Ceremony at the Duck Pond on Thursday, December 1st and will follow that with our annual Santa’s Electric Light Parade in Old Town Friday, December 2. Other popular events back this year will be Professor Pennypickle’s Winter Wonder- land at the Children’s Museum and the Ice-Skating Rink’s Grand Opening - both on December 16. A new tradition that was started last year and will be continuing again this year is New Year’s Eve on the Square with a NYC-style countdown and Grape Drop at 9:00pm and at midnight.


Old Town will be dressed up for the holidays and hopefully that will help the


kids find Santa who can be spotted in Old Town right after Thanksgiving. All City events can found at www.temeculaevents.org.


In these trying economic times, it gives the City Council and staff great pleasure


that our decisions about how to use the citizens’ dollars have provided some respite from the day-to-day drumbeat of less than cheery economic indicators. We continue to fight the state’s efforts to take away local funding that can and has had great value for Temecula through economic development, community facilities, support of local non-profits and affordable housing to name a few. We adamantly oppose the building of a quarry in the southwest portion of the City and that fight will continue into 2012.


The City Council recently adopted a Quality of Life Master Plan that provides a


visionary roadmap to 2030 to guide decisions toward maintaining and adding those amenities, programs, and facilities that ensure the highest level of quality in our daily lives as residents of Temecula. Citizens can view this plan at www.temecula2030. org. We will continue to be responsive to the needs of our citizens and hope and pray for a Happy New Year for all.


www.ChronicleMediaGroup.com The Chronicle


ber 30, 2011. At Clinton Keith and Nut- meg, there were 16 violations a month, which means that a motorist is at risk of collision once every 45 hours; at Mur- rieta Hot Springs and Margarita, there were 20 monthly violations, which in- creases the threat to once every 36 hours; and at Murrieta Hot Springs and White- wood, the 85 monthly violations results in a threat once every 8.5 hours.


If a vote of the people does away


with this tool for police use, then you are looking at a scenario worse than what existed in 2005 when our population was 20 percent less. At Clinton Keith and Nutmeg, there were 750 monthly violations, which means a motorist was placed in jeopardy once every 58 min- utes; Murrieta Hot Springs and Marga- rita witnessed 1200 violations per month which translated to a threat once every 36 minutes; and at our worst location of Murrieta Hot Springs and Whitewood,


First Grade Logic 1. Don’t change horses


2. Strike while the 3. It’s always darkest before


4. Never underestimate the power of 5. You can lead a horse to water but 6. Don’t bite the hand that 7. No news is


8. A miss is as good as a


9. You can’t teach an old dog new 10. If you lie down with dogs, you’ll 11. Love all, trust


12. The pen is mightier than the 13. An idle mind is


14. Where there’s smoke there’s 15. Happy the bride who 16. A penny saved is


3150 monthly violations placed our citi- zens lives at risk every 14 minutes.


These are the cold hard facts. More


Murrieta citizens have died in traffic col- lisions than murders in the last several years. Our cameras were installed to help give those thousands of red light viola- tors a wakeup call and increase public safety.


Murrieta remains one of the safest


cities in the nation and our citizens have faith in our Police Department. Howev- er, the proponents tell us that the police and council cannot be trusted and they are spouting propaganda to justify their revenue enhancement scheme.


Police Departments are expensive


but they exist to protect and serve. Red light cameras lose money. But they deter threats 24/7 and greatly assist the police. Your family is safer today because of red light cameras.


17


A first grade school teacher presented her classroom the 1st half of a well-known proverb and asked them to come up with the remainder of the proverb. It’s hard to believe these were actu- ally done by first graders. Their insight may surprise you.


until they stop running. bug is close.


Daylight Saving Time. termites. How?


looks dirty. impossible Mr.


Math


stink in the morning. Me.


pigs.


the best way to relax. pollution.


gets all the presents. not much.


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