www.GreenCoalition-SJV.org

The Press – Enterprise

Hemet-San Jacinto

Local News

Hemet residents show support for city at candlelight vigil 

10:00 PM PDT on Thursday, April 15, 2010 

By BRIAN ROKOS
The Press-Enterprise

About 30 people showed unflickering support for their city and Hemet's public safety workers Thursday even as they had difficulty lighting their candles during a vigil in a chilly breeze.

Three attacks in Hemet on a regional gang task force and the torching of three city code enforcement vehicles has brought unwanted attention to the city and caused people thousands of miles away to contact friends and relatives in Hemet, worried for their safety.

No one has been arrested in the attacks despite a $200,000 reward.

David Bauman / The Press-Enterprise

Hemet Police Chief Richard Dana speaks to members of the Green Coalition of San Jacinto Valley in Weston Park at Thursday's vigil.

"We cannot allow these things that have happened recently to take over our community," Wiggs Mendoza told the crowd as he stood on a picnic table in Weston Park's fading sunlight. Mendoza is president of the Green Coalition of the San Jacinto Valley, which organized the event.

He urged residents to look out for their neighbors.

Hemet resident Jan Wright said she turned out to show support for police and firefighters. She hoped the vigil would "send a message to the rest of the residents that it is safe to walk the streets of Hemet."

The group had walked the three blocks from First Presbyterian Church on Kimball Avenue to the park on Florida Avenue. There, they were addressed by Police Chief Richard Dana, Fire Chief Matt Shobert and City Council members Robin Lowe and Jerry Franchville.

"What the men and women (officers) need more than anything is to know that the community cares about them," a grateful Dana said. "They don't get a lot of thanks."

As the participants huddled to block the wind while they lit their candles, the Rev. Larry Thorson, First Presbyterian's pastor, led them in prayer. Mendoza had brought 230 candles, hoping for a larger turnout.

The 18-month-old Green Coalition is usually associated with its electronic-waste disposal drives.

"Our mission is to create a sustainable community," Mendoza said before the walk. "Sustainability includes making sure that your community has a low perception of crime and is safe both in houses and the streets."

He said Thursday's vigil "is just the start. We are going to continue these types of activities. This is how we can take back our community -- by supporting our police and fire officials."

From 4 to 10 p.m. today at the Western Science Center in Hemet, donations to rebuild the Hemet police shooting range will be accepted at a free evening of entertainment. The range burned Monday, and it's unclear whether the fire is linked to the attacks.

The center is at 2345 Searl Parkway. Information: 951-660-4910.

Reach Brian Rokos at 951-763-3464 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Coalition aims for change

GOALS: A central issue for organization focuses on how to make the Valley sustainable.

By CHARLES HAND / The Valley Chronicle

Published: Friday, April 2, 2010 4:51 PM CDT

A relatively new organization hopes to change the way others look at the San Jacinto Valley by changing the way residents look at the Valley.
Along the way, they hope to provide a better quality of life for those living here.
The Green Coalition of San Jacinto Valley is sponsoring a bicycle ride this month intended to draw attention to the fact that there are few bicycle paths in the Valley and most of those that do exist are intended for short recreational rides, rather than getting from one point to another.
Its name notwithstanding, the Green Coalition is not about fighting climate issues, said Green Coalition President Wiggs Mendoza.“It’s not about global warming. It’s about our little community,” he said.
A central question for the Green Coalition, he said, is “How do we make our city sustainable?”
That was also a question central to the development of a new general plan for Hemet, which is nearing the end of a years-long process, and Green Coalition representatives were on the citizen advisory committee that met for months to develop recommendations for the proposed plan, he said.
Also within the issue of sustainability are several others, he said, not all strictly related to living green.
For instance, the growing presence of abandoned shopping carts, which Mendoza said is among the products of the growing problem of housing foreclosures, damages the quality of life and should be collected before they can accumulate or kept on the premises of the businesses that use them.
San Jacinto has a law requiring all stores that use carts to take responsibility one way or another.
Both outsiders and those living here are affected in their attitudes toward their community by those abandoned carts, Mendoza said.
“What would people think looking from the outside?” he asked. “How do we present our city?”
The Valley attracts people looking for cheap housing when it should seek to attract people who want to live in an attractive community, Mendoza said.
Whatever the issues facing the community, they can best be solved through market forces, Mendoza said.
“We decided early we had to fight on the market level,” he said.
That is why, when the Green Coalition organized an e-waste collection program, they sought out not vendors willing to properly dispose of the discarded TVs, cell phones, and other devices, but who would look first at ways to recycle the castoffs.
It came as a surprise to Green Coalition members helping at the collection sites that some of the devices turned in for disposal were still working.
There should be a way to recycle working devices before they even reach the disposal level, he said.
Even helping people through tough economic times is a market issue, with people trying to reduce their spending able to find savings by using less water and making their homes more energy efficient.
“Green living is a lifestyle for everyone, kids to seniors, wealthy or modest, students and professionals,” says a flier advertising the group.
The group is also working with a San Jacinto school to develop a green science fair as a way of acquainting a new generation of residents with the issues facing both the earth and the community.
The Green Coalition has about 58 individual members and three or four corporate members.
Early members are still being trained in the goals and concepts behind Green Coalition and still help to formulate those goals and concepts, Mendoza said.
The first meetings were held in 2008 and the organization qualified as a 501c(3) organization just last year.
Information on The Green Coalition is available through its Web site at greencoalition-SJV.org.

By WIGGS MENDOZA

Published: Friday, February 12, 2010 1:34 PM CST The Valley Chronicle

On Jan. 30-31, the Green Coalition of San Jacinto Valley hosted an electronic waste (e-waste) event at the Ramona Bowl. From that event, we collected over 45,000 pounds of electronic waste from valley residents!

E-waste is comprised of TVs computers, monitors, radios, cell phones, and almost anything that might have an electronic component or has an electrical cord.

As the rate of electronic products grow and as awareness of technology’s harmful impacts on the environment spreads, e-waste is becoming one of the America’s most critical environmental issues.

Here in the valley, there is a growing trend of residents who dispose their electronics in the regular trash bins or by simply leaving it by the curb. Unfortunately, these disposal methods are haphazard today.

Due to the e-waste toxic content, improper disposal can lead to leaks of more than 100 chemicals that are harmful to our health and environment. Moreso, carelessly disposing e-waste by leaving it by the curbside or sidewalks trashes our beautiful valley.

To further proper disposal, we also selected to partner with a recycler who can actually recycle most of the e-waste material to local manufacturers compared to those who dumped it onto developing countries.

The Green Coalition would like to thank valley residents who brought their e-waste to our event. The collection of 45,000 pounds of e-waste is not only evidence of how much trash we can accumulate nowadays, but rather it is an indication that there are more residents who care about our valley and who are willing to hold off until the proper opportunity comes to dispose of toxic waste. Let’s continue to keep the San Jacinto Valley clean, green and safe. Don’t trash our valley!

Wiggs Mendoza is president of the Green Coalition of San Jacinto Valley. 

Keeping the San Jacinto Valley
Clean, Green and Safe

www.greencoalition-sjv.org

By DIANE A. RHODES
Special to The Press-Enterprise

Published on 10:30 PM PST on Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Matthew Isaac believes the next big industrial revolution will be the result of something small -- very small.

"Nanotechnology is so much bigger than computer technology," said Isaac, executive director of economic development and corporate training at the San Bernardino Community College District. "It is an enabling technology that will revolutionize the way we manufacture and design products and the way we develop and deliver medicine."