12/3/2020 San Bernardino County’s 2 charter change measures both pass – Daily Bulletin LOCAL NEWS •• News San Bernardino County’s 2 charter change measures both pass By RYAN HAGEN || [email protected] || TheThe SunSun PUBLISHED: December 2, 2020 at 1:53 p.m. || UPDATED:UPDATED: December 2, 2020 at 1:56 p.m. Voters approved two ballot measures that make significant changes to the San Bernardino County charter, election results certified Monday,Monday, Dec.Dec. 1,1, show.show. Measure K, which promises to slash county supervisors’ pay and benefits combined to $60,000 per year and limit them to just one term, had a convincing victory by Election Day. The proposal finished with more than 66% of the vote. But Measure J, a comprehensive charter change, had teetered between passing or not each time more votes were counted. A week after Election Day, it was up by 163 votes outout ofof 604,403604,403 votesvotes counted,counted, givinggiving itit 50.01%50.01% ofof thethe votevote atat thatthat time. Final results show it won with 50.72% of the vote. County officials said earlier that, once it was clear whether Measure J had passed, they would look at how to incorporate both it and Measure K. Two of the changes made by Measure J — setting supervisors’ pay at 80% of a Superior Court judge’s salary and limiting supervisors to three terms in office — probably will not go into effect because there are more votes for Measure K’s competing pay proposal. Measure J would also require that the county maintain a stockpile of supplies and equipment for a disaster or emergency, that the county public health officer’s orders be reviewed by the Board of Supervisors, and that outdated language such as presuming that the head of the board is male be removed. https://www.dailybulletin.com/2020/12/02/san-bernardino-countys-2-charter-change-measures-both-pass/?utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_s… 1/3 12/3/2020 San Bernardino County’s 2 charter change measures both pass – Daily Bulletin A third proposed ballot measure in San Bernardino County, Measure U, received lessless thanthan 48%48% ofof thethe votevote andand willwill notnot gogo intointo effect.effect. Measure U wouldwould havehave endedended aa taxtax ofof $157.26$157.26 perper yearyear onon parcelparcel ownersowners inin SanSan Bernardino, Upland, Needles, Twentynine Palms and unincorporated parts of San Bernardino County that went toward fire protection. As a result, fire officials said, they would have had to cut $41.5 million from their budget, potentially closing 19 firefire stations.stations. Newsroom Guidelines News Tips Contact Us Report an Error Tags: 2020 Elections,, Elections,, government,, Top Stories IVDB,, Top Stories RDF,, Top Stories Sun SPONSORED CONTENT CBD Oil Is Flying Off The Shelves And You Can Get A Free Bottle Here By Green CBD Click Here To Claim Your Bottle Ryan Hagen | Reporter Ryan Hagen covers San Bernardino County and politics for the Southern California News Group. Since he began covering Inland Empire governments in 2010, he's written about a city entering bankruptcy and exiting bankruptcy; politicians being elected, recalled and arrested; crime; a terrorist attack; res; ICE;ICE; ghtsghts toto endend homelessness;homelessness; ghtsghts overover thethe locationlocation ofof speedspeed bumps;bumps; andand people's best and worst moments. A graduate of Pepperdine University, he https://www.dailybulletin.com/2020/12/02/san-bernardino-countys-2-charter-change-measures-both-pass/?utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_s… 2/3 12/3/2020 As hospitalizations rise, San Bernardino County limits ambulance dispatches - Los Angeles Times ADVERTISEMENT CALIFORNIA As hospitalizations rise, San Bernardino County limits ambulance dispatches San Bernardino County Department of Public Health workers at a community drive-through sample collection event this year. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) By COLLEEN SHALBY | STAFF WRITER DEC. 2, 2020 | 3:42 PM https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-12-02/as-hospitalizations-spike-911-dispatchers-stop-sending-ambulances-to-every-caller-in-san-bernar… 1/9 12/3/2020 As hospitalizations rise, San Bernardino County limits ambulance dispatches - Los Angeles Times As COVID-19 hospitalizations continue to spike, ambulances in San Bernardino County are no longer responding to every sick person who calls 911. People with relatively minor ailments will still have paramedics come to their aid, who will assist them on the spot or perhaps recommend that they go to urgent care. But ambulances will be reserved for people with life-threatening emergencies such as a heart attack or trouble breathing due to COVID-19. The decision was made by San Bernardino County officials Thanksgiving morning as the volume of 911 calls increased by 25% over a 24-hour period, driven by the COVID-19 surge. ADVERTISING “We don’t have enough ambulances in the system to support the volume of 911 calls coming in,” said Eric Sherwin, public information officer for the San Bernardino County Fire Department. “The hospital emergency departments are being impacted both from ambulance traffic and people driving themselves to the emergency room. That creates a backup in the system.” https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-12-02/as-hospitalizations-spike-911-dispatchers-stop-sending-ambulances-to-every-caller-in-san-bernar… 2/9 12/3/2020 As hospitalizations rise, San Bernardino County limits ambulance dispatches - Los Angeles Times Ambulances have waited for up to five hours to deliver patients to a bed, Sherwin said, and cannot answer other calls during that time. California law typically requires that an ambulance be dispatched for every 911 call, no matter the level of emergency. That means someone calling about a headache or a sore throat is as entitled to an ambulance as someone suffering a major injury. In June, the state gave San Bernardino County permission to waive that requirement if necessary. SPONSORED CONTENT When Life Gets Messy, Get the Carpet That Holds Up [Learn More] By STAINMASTER® From easy-to-clean carpet that’s perfect for families to extra durable carpet options that meet your pets' needs, we have a carpet for you. The goal now is to save ambulances for patients in dire situations. The policy will be in effect for as long as necessary and applies to all 20,000 square miles within the county. Coronavirus-related hospitalizations have reached their highest number in the county since the start of the pandemic. On Monday, 856 confirmed coronavirus patients were hospitalized in San Bernardino County. Of those, 177 were in intensive care. Similar records are being set throughout the state. There are 8,240 hospital patients statewide with a confirmed case of coronavirus — twice as many as two weeks ago. ADVERTISEMENT Los Angeles and Riverside counties also hit their highest number of hospitalized patients after a surge in coronavirus cases. https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-12-02/as-hospitalizations-spike-911-dispatchers-stop-sending-ambulances-to-every-caller-in-san-bernar… 3/9 12/3/2020 As hospitalizations rise, San Bernardino County limits ambulance dispatches - Los Angeles Times Riverside County is considering a similar change in its ambulance policy if the strain on resources worsens. CALIFORNIA COVID-19 PANDEMIC The stories shaping California Get up to speed with our Essential California newsletter, sent six days a week. Enter Email Address SIGN ME UP You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. Colleen Shalby Twitter Instagram Email Facebook Colleen Shalby is a reporter for the Los Angeles Times. She previously worked at PBS NewsHour in Washington, D.C. She’s a graduate of George Washington University and a native of Southern California. Latest in California https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-12-02/as-hospitalizations-spike-911-dispatchers-stop-sending-ambulances-to-every-caller-in-san-bernar… 4/9 12/3/2020 San Bernardino County coronavirus hospitalizations double in 13 days – San Bernardino Sun LOCAL NEWS •• News San Bernardino County coronavirus hospitalizations double in 13 days By RYAN HAGEN || [email protected] andand NIKIE JOHNSON || [email protected] || TheThe SunSun PUBLISHED: December 2, 2020 at 1:02 p.m. || UPDATED:UPDATED: December 2, 2020 at 1:021:02 p.m.p.m. ThisThis criticalcritical coveragecoverage isis beingbeing providedprovided freefree toto allall readers. Support reporting like this with a subscription to The Sun. Special Offer: 99¢ for the first 3 months. Support local journalism Twice as many people are hospitalized in San Bernardino County with COVID- 19 thanthan 1313 daysdays earlier,earlier, andand thethe numbernumber isis upup 265%265% fromfrom oneone monthmonth ago,ago, statestate statistics show. The 883 hospitalized with confirmed cases Tuesday, Dec. 2 — the most recent day for which statistics are available — is the highest ever. Every day since Wednesday, Nov. 25 — when the county tied a record set July 25 — has had more people in the hospital with COVID-19 than the day before and, consequently, the most ever up until that point. In addition, the number of those people in intensive care — 192 — is just shy of thethe recordrecord 197197 peoplepeople inin intensiveintensive carecare JulyJuly 22.22. https://www.sbsun.com/2020/12/02/san-bernardino-county-coronavirus-hospitalizations-double-in-13-days/?utm_content=tw-sbsun&utm_me… 1/4 12/3/2020 San Bernardino County coronavirus hospitalizations double in 13 days – San Bernardino Sun The number of new coronavirus cases in the last day — 2,551 — is the second- most ever, after three lower-than-average days in the wake of Thanksgiving. Seven deaths from COVID-19 were reported Wednesday, Dec. 2, breaking a nine-day streak with no deaths reported. County officials said Tuesday that therethere werenʼtwerenʼt anyany glitchesglitches inin thethe systemsystem butbut thatthat itit cancan taketake timetime toto reportreport aa death, contributing to delays between spikes in hospitalizations and spikes in deaths.