The Loma Linda Chamber of Commerce presented the 23rd Annual State of the Community Luncheon on Dec. 12, at the Loma Linda Senior Center. T. Milford Harrison, former Loma Linda mayor from 1980-92, was the Master of Ceremonies for the luncheon. Dr. Richard Hart, president of the Loma Linda University (LLU), was the first speaker introduced. Dr. Hart shared that the Inland Empire Health Plan, one of the primary health providers for the Inland Empire, will have over 1.2 million lives that they are caring for by the end of this year. That is 25 percent of the entire Inland Empire population. “We have got a large medical population that we need to care for,” said Dr. Hart. “But it also is a tremendous opportunity to provide more effective primary and specialty care for them.” The San Manuel Gateway College was also introduced by Dr. Hart. It is a new opportunity for students in the Inland Empire who are looking to enter certificate programs such as dental, medical, and pharmacy assisting. David Matza, field representative for Senator Mike Morrell of the 23rd District, shared what Sen. Morrell had recently been working on. According to Matza, Sen. Morrell was against Senate Bill 270, a bill that would require bags used by businesses to meet certain environmental criteria, since he felt it was a burden on businesses as well as consumers. The bill was signed in by Gov. Brown on Sept. 30. Senator Morrell had proposed SB 997, also signed into law by Governor Brown on Sept. 30., now allowing citizens to make voluntary contributions to the California Fund for Senior Citizens through their income tax. San Bernardino County Supervisor James Ramos shared his thoughts on the education in the community. “In working for the community as a whole, I think that education is a vital importance to any community in moving forward.” “There was a disparity between the definitions that schools were using for homeless and what HUD (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development) was using,” said Supervisor Ramos. “San Bernardino County schools identified over 30,000 homeless students within our system. HUD identified an estimated 2,300.” Supervisor Ramos believes that the homelessness in the county requires immediate attention. “If we don’t start to tackle the homeless youth in San Bernardino County, getting them the resources they need or even identifying how big of a population it is…how are we going to create that workforce to move forward in San Bernardino County?” According to Ramos, San Bernardino County has moved forward in support of SB 2653, also referred to as the Homeless Children of Youth Act of 2014, which would bring the definitions of “homelessness” by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and San Bernardino County schools closer together. Mayor of Loma Linda Dr. Rhodes Rigsby gave a presentation to update the audience on the progress of the city. Mayor Rigsby shared various road and construction projects with the community and also welcomed new ideas to solve the issue of housing to the audience. “Student housing is always a challenge in this community and anything that upgrades the opportunities for that is welcome,” he said. According to Mayor Rigsby, the city is also planning on building a new Holiday Inn Express on Redlands Boulevard that will be around 300,000 square feet and will serve as a tax source for the city. Mansfield Oil is a fuel company that delivers oil to fleets of cars. According to Mayor Rigsby, Mansfield Oil has chosen to stay in Loma Linda. The tax revenue that Mansfield Oil brings in from other cities in California will be directed back to Loma Linda. James Rich, public affairs officer for VA Loma Linda Healthcare, shared that legislation passed that has increased the VA budget to hire more staff. The VA will hire 200 new physicians, extend clinic hours, and has introduced new changes to solve the issue of parking that the Loma Linda Hospital is facing. According to Rich, the new parking and construction changes will help local businesses, since employees at the hospital will be less apprehensive to leave their parking spots. Rich also shared that the Behavioral Health building has been completed and that a new outpatient facility has been built. Doug Herrmann, headmaster of Loma Linda Academy (LLA), shared some of the recent developments within the academy. According to Hermann, LLA has an increase to 1,250 students this year. Herrmann commented that this was a “nice change” from the decreases they have seen in previous years. Loma Linda Academy was also named number five of the top 10 metros with lowest enrollment of private schools. Only 6 percent of students are enrolled in private education. The final speaker was Scott Stockdale, president-elect of the Loma Linda Chamber of Commerce and the owner of University Realty, the largest real estate company in Loma Linda, answered many of the questions the community had about the current housing market. According to Stockdale, the values of homes have gone up 17 percent this year and there is an average interest rate on mortgages of 3.8 percent. He also emphasized that homes in Loma Linda are still well in affordability for buyers. “Loma Linda is still a bargain,” said Stockdale. “It is a great place to live and work.”