Anthony Indelicato took his first vacation in five years last month. It didn’t turn out too well. Anthony suffered a seizure in Cabo San Lucas. It cost over $35,000 to get him back to the States after a week of bureaucratic delays. He stayed in local hospitals another two weeks. Anthony’s is a typical family-run business. Small enterprises like his make up over 73% of U.S. businesses.

The City of Rancho Cucamonga has prepared a “wish list” of projects that could be ready to begin construction in 2009 if funding is provided by the Obama administration. In a letter to the city’s congressional representative, David Dreier, city officials have asked for consideration of 32 projects representing expenditures of $106 million and creation of at least 706 jobs. Here is Rancho’s wish list:

Rancho Cucamonga so far has weathered the economic storm like a yeoman. Even though some reserves have, and will be spent, the city is moving forward with several projects that will put lots of people to work. Here are some highlights:

The Pacific Electric trail for walkers, joggers, and bikers will be completed this year. The trail will be finished from Amethyst to Grove, at the Upland border. It will also touch Fontana on the east end.

In case you didn’t notice, political signs were not a huge issue in the last election because of a new political sign ordinance. For private property owners, only one sign per candidate was allowed per lot. That includes large commercial properties like Lewis Properties in Terra Vista. On public property, no signs are allowed, but the city looked the other way when it came to signs that were placed in the public right of way; for example, in the bushes away from the sidewalk on corners like Baseline and Day Creek. Of course, signs are never tolerated on telephone poles, light posts, utility boxes, etc. But the city did not enforce the new rules near busy public right-of-ways near residential areas. Case in point: busy Milliken Avenue around intersections north of Foothill and south of Banyan.

Along the nationally recognized historic Route 66 sits an abandoned gas station that is fenced off and boarded up. To the immediate passerby, it may appear to be a nuisance or an unsightly building. But really it is much more than that. There the building sits with its integrity fully intact and a story of rich, diverse history to tell.