Tuesday, January 28, 2020
Member Only
Norton Regional Event Center
1601 E. Third St., Suite 138
San Bernardino, CA 92408
Minutes
Present: Patti Arlt, Deborah Barmack, Peter Barmack, Carole Beswick, Mike Burrows, Ken Coate, Kevin Dyerly, Louis Goodwin, Mark Kaenel, Lowell King, Dan Little, P.T. McEwen, Dan Murphy, Bansree Parikh, Keven Porter, Catherine Pritchett, Thomas Rice, Michael Rivera, Dan Roberts, Dan Schenkel, Kristine Scott, Dominique Tan, Pete Van Helden, Ray Wolfe and Frank Zabaleta.
Announcements: 1) Congressman Aguilar’s office will assist with tour options for those participating on the Washington, D.C. trip. Please contact Carole Beswick if interested. 2) A second Inland Empire “leaders” lunch was held Friday, January 24, 2020. The meeting was productive, and the group is focused on understanding and being supportive of each other’s priorities. Further meetings are planned with the next one in March. 3) The meeting on February 4, 2020 will be a tour of the new Loma Linda Medical Center facilities. Please e-mail Deborah Barmack if you plan to attend. Hard hats will be supplied, and comfortable shoes advised. 4)The Greater Ontario Business Council will present their Vision 2020 on Fri, January 31, 2002 from 7:30 a.m.-11:00 a.m. at the DoubleTree Ontario, 222 N. Vineyard Ave. Rsvp to jlimon@ontario.org.
M/S/P: Minutes from January 21, 2020.
Membership is proposed for East Valley Water District. John Mura, General Manager/CEO would serve as their representative. For more information please see their web site at https://www.eastvalley.org/
Committee Chairs presented their priority issues.
Economic development
- Support for federal workforce training initiatives and programs that will successfully serve Inland Empire employers and workforce.
- Support for access to capital and credit for businesses in the Inland Empire.
- Awareness regarding Tariffs/Trade impacts on region. (Concern for disproportionate impact of Tariffs/Trade issues on the region.
- Support increased federal funding for workforce training initiatives and programs to address the shortage of qualified aircraft mechanics in the Inland region.
Education
- Support continuing protections for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) students, as well as establishing a pathway to citizenship.
- Support reauthorization of the Higher Education Act to ensure economically disadvantaged and non-traditional students have opportunities to earn college degrees and fill and attract high-skilled, high-demand jobs.
- Support for Basic Assistance for Students in College (BASIC) Act (S. 2225 and H.R. 4968).
- Support increased funding for Individual with Disability Education Act (IDEA) Formula Grants.
Environment
- Water – Support for increased funding for water supply, water quality, and water storage projects.
- Salton Sea – Support for inter-agency cooperation to resolve issues in line with the Salton Sea Management Program.
- Air Tanker Base Funding – Support for increased funding to USFS for air tanker bases, with a focus on dedicated funding at SBD.
Health care
- Delay or Eliminate disproportionate-share hospital (DSH) cuts.
- Substantially modify or rescind the proposed Medicaid Fiscal Accountability Regulation (MFAR) Rule.
Judicial
- Support appoint of qualified candidates to fill existing judicial vacancies in the Central District of California, especially in the Eastern Division, serving the Inland Area.
- Support new judgeships which are urgently needed in the Central District, beyond filling the existing vacancies, to bring the Court back to its fully authorized strength.
Transportation
- Compliance with the air quality act and threat of loss of transportation funds.
- Autonomous vehicles in the need for policy planning before they are here.
- Gold line extension to Ontario airport, as opposed to alternates proposed by SBCTA.
Suggestions for appointments were requested from all committees. Members will be asked to e-mail by no later than Friday, January 31, 2020 their preferred top 3-5 issues.
Meeting adjourned at 8:35 a.m.