State of the City

The sluggish economy will force budget cuts throughout city departments, Corona Mayor Jeff Miller announced Wednesday following his State of the City speech this week.
Despite the cuts, Miller told an audience of 400 people Tuesday that Corona residents are still going to see large-scale traffic improvement projects, major commercial developments and a drive for more affordable housing in the aftermath of the mortgage industry meltdown. The State of the City speech was hosted by the Corona Chamber of Commerce.
Even as the community faces the same factors weighing down the economy nationwide, Corona is well-positioned to weather the storm, Miller said.
"Sales-tax revenues are down. We anticipate that there will be 5 percent cuts across the board in every department, and each department is working through how they are going to achieve these cuts without affecting service to our residents," Miller said.
But years of fighting for transportation funding and economic development planning has prepared the city to move forward with new projects even as other communities slow down.
"We've been fighting for transportation dollars for seven years," said Miller. "So the money has become available, and we're focused on these big projects in Corona."
The city is in the midst of the Magnolia Avenue overpass and Green River Road bridge replacement projects, he said. A new lane was recently added to a portion of Highway 91 at Serfas Club Drive in Corona.
In the next year or two, the city is also gearing up for the Foothill Parkway extension and the expansion of the Highway 91 and Interstate 15 interchange, he added. The state has pledged $2.2 million in Prop. 1B bonds to improve connections between highways 91, 71 and Interstate 15 and to add onramp auxiliary lanes to Highway 91, Miller said.
The city is also focused on economic development in the downtown area, Miller said. Taking advantage of the falling property values, the city has bought or facilitated land deals for redevelopment projects in the Corona Mall and the Edwards/Corona Plaza on Main Street.
Toward that end, the city has facilitated nearly $40 million in private land deals for the future mixed-use development of retail, office and residential developments for the downtown, he said.
Phase II of the Dos Lagos shopping center is slated to begin this year, adding about 200,000 square feet of retail space to the city, Miller said. The upcoming Phase II of the Crossings development will add another 300,000 feet of retail space, create jobs and expand the city's sales-tax base.
Miller also acknowledged there are economic hardships ahead.
"The presentation by Mayor Miller was very upbeat, but the economic picture can't always be rosy," said chamber President and Chief Executive Officer Bobby Spiegel. "(Miller) also showed us what the city is doing to help people on a personal level to get through these difficult times."
Spiegel said he was glad to learn about the city's upcoming program to waive permit fees and encourage homeowners to protect their property values with home-improvement projects.
The business community was also encouraged by news of ongoing office developments to serve companies that may want to come to Corona, Spiegel said.
Reach Paige Austin at 951-893-2106 or paustin@PE.com

Corona treasurer is tireless in service to community

Dick Haley went through Marine Corps boot camp in 1965. The strenuous training seemingly prepared him for four years of military service, including 400 missions on helicopters during the Vietnam War, and a life of nonstop public service in Corona for 30-plus years.
Haley, 61, is the chairman of the mayor's airport task force to determine the safety of Corona Municipal Airport after the Jan. 20 midair collision that killed five people.
He also oversees Corona's investment portfolio of about $200 million as the city treasurer. In addition, he deals with 600 clients as an agent emeritus for the Prudential Insurance Co. He is nearing completion of his first year of study at California Southern Law School in Riverside with a goal of providing legal representation for disadvantaged people.
Haley and his wife, Christine, live in northwest Corona beneath the landing pattern to the airport. They have five grown children. His devotion to the community has been well recognized. The Chamber of Commerce named him Citizen of the Year for 1998. The Boy Scouts of the Temescal district, which includes Corona, Norco and Mira Loma, gave him the Distinguished Citizen's award for 1997.
"Dick has a great head on his shoulders and the ability to think analytically and has a lot of common sense," said Corona Mayor Jeff Miller, explaining why he picked Haley to lead the task force of nine. Haley said he hopes to have a report on airport safety done and presented to the Corona City Council by the end of May.
The Federal Aviation Administration will make a report to the task force tonight in the City Council chambers at the Corona Civic Center.
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Jerry Soifer / The Press-Enterprise
Dick Haley visits Bob's Chili and Chowder Hall at Corona Municipal Airport. Haley and his wife live in northwest Corona.
Haley has clothing for each of his varied activities. He wears a suit and tie for chamber of commerce events. He has a leather jacket to wear on the motorcycle he rode cross-country four times. He used to wear black shorts and shirt to officiate soccer games and khaki for his work with the Boy Scouts.
"He's a true chameleon," said Corona City Councilwoman Karen Spiegel. "He fits whatever crowd he's in ... He's got so much knowledge to bring to the table no matter what he's involved in."
Haley brings tranquility to whatever activity he attends. "He can come into areas where people are a little bit upset," said former chamber Executive Director Jim Bradley. "By the time he leaves, everybody has calmed down. He has that kind of personality. Everybody knows he's sincere."
Haley attributes much of what he is to his upbringing in the Boston suburb of Fitchburg, Mass., and his father, Ritchie, who died in 2002 at age 84. Haley said his father always arranged his truck routes so he could attend the high school junior varsity football games he played.
"He was always involved with us kids," said Haley. "He was always a Boy Scout leader, an adviser in the church, and involved with my sister in Girl Scouts."
Haley is a loyal Boston Red Sox fan. One of his lifelong goals is to play first base for the Red Sox. He knows that is only possible at a fantasy camp. His other remaining goal is to get a law degree. He is near the end of a very difficult first year.
"I thought with all my years in business and all my years in talking to people, it would be a snap," Haley said. "It's not. It's the most difficult thing I've ever done except for raising five kids."
Haley said he has fulfilled his other goals of raising a great family, attaining success in business, leading a good, clean and moral life, doing a good job in the Marines, and the cross-country motorcycling. Haley completed his associate of arts degree at Riverside Community College Norco campus in 2005. After his discharge from the Marines, he found it too time-consuming to work, raise a family and attend college. So he skipped college until his workload eased.
Haley combines exercise and study. He listens to law lectures on an iPod while he walks a five-mile route. Other times he walks with his wife.
"He's fun to be with," said Christine. "He has a back-Eastern sense of humor that is quite dry ... He can be pretty serious about his job, about school."
Reach Jerry Soifer at 951-893-2112 or jsoifer@PE.com

Jason Scott Officially Kicks-Off

Jason Scott officially kicked-off his campaing with more than 100 supporters at Heritage Park yesterday. It was an ice cream social and free to the public. It was a good time for all and it was nice that they had the park open with the train and the glass blowing and all....

Good luck Jason and congrats on being official!

Corona's airport safety panel holds first meeting

By PAIGE AUSTIN
The Press-Enterprise
CORONA - The mayor's Airport Safety Taskforce held its first meeting Tuesday to assess the Corona Municipal Airport's safety after January's midair crash that killed five people.
As the nine-member panel of pilots, city and business leaders met for the first time, it faced public fears fueled by a string of small plane crashes in the region. Thirteen people have died in six Inland plane crashes so far this year.
Many questions are being asked in the aftermath of the Jan. 20 wreck, acknowledged Mayor Jeff Miller at the start of Tuesday's meeting.
"We will have a report from this panel to the City Council to evaluate and decide what the next step is," said Miller as he introduced the taskforce to an audience of two dozen people, most from the aviation community.
"We do live in the flight path and we want to make sure that we live in a safe area," said taskforce Chairman Richard O. Haley.
The group will meet twice a month and release findings in June.
On March 18, the group will hear a presentation on the airport from the Federal Aviation Administration, Haley said. In a sign of the panel's concerns, the members concentrated their questions Tuesday on the airport's flight pattern and the current measures in place to make sure that all pilots follow it.
Tuesday's meeting mainly offered a factual introduction to the airport's history and operations.
The airport is home to 420 aircraft, and it sees about 158,000 takeoffs and landings each year, said Mark Wills, the city's administrative and community services manager.
There have been 53 plane crashes in Corona over the past 20 years, Wills said. Ten were fatal, killing 23 people.
The National Transportation Safety Board is still investigating the Jan. 20 midair wreck. In a preliminary report, investigators cited evidence that neither pilot took evasive action and that one plane could have been entering the landing pattern for Corona Municipal Airport while the other was already in it.
Last week, three people died when a Corona-based plane crashed after takeoff from Riverside's airport, and on Jan. 10, a pilot who took off from Corona died when he struck a hillside near Canyon Lake.
Reach Paige Austin at 951-893-2106 or paustin@PE.com