Riverside, CA

Published: 7/24/2023

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Contact:

Phil Pitchford

Public Information Officer

951-826-5975

ppitchford@riversideca.gov

City of Riverside Names Patricia Link Building Official

Seasoned professional has 22 years of experience in building department administration.

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – The City of Riverside has named Patricia Link to the position of Building Official.

Link has more than 22 years of experience in building department administration including permit processing, plan check and inspection services. She has spent the past four years as the Assistant Building Official in Riverside, including a recent 10-month assignment as Acting Building Official.

Link previously served as the Building Safety Manager for the City of Fullerton and Permit Services Supervisor for the City of Santa Ana for a total of eight years. She began her public sector career working for the City of Corona for more than 10 years as a Permit Technician, then advancing to the position of Building Inspector.

“I am honored to be selected for this important role,” Link said. “I look forward to putting my experience and passion to work for the residents and business community in Riverside, my hometown.”

Link holds multiple state and national code certifications including Building Official from the International Code Council and is an active member of California Building Officials (CALBO) serving on the Membership and Outreach Committee to enable workforce development and growth industry-wide. More recently, she successfully completed the CALBO Building Officials Leadership Academy (BOLA).

Notable projects Link has led include: One Stop Shop and virtual permitting software implementations in Santa Ana, Fullerton, and Riverside; facilitating large-scale residential mixed-use development projects in downtown Santa Ana including Prisma, The Marke and One Broadway; various restaurant revitalization projects in downtown Fullerton; and Main & Ninth and the Mark in Riverside.

“Tricia is an incredible leader and thoughtful practitioner. Her goal is to help every project move through the building process efficiently and resolve any problems encountered quickly. She is an industry leader with her approach to Code interpretation, implementation and streamlining efforts,” Community & Economic Development Director Jennifer Lilley said. “We are so fortunate to have her continue her career in her hometown of Riverside.”

Link also has extensive experience and success in delivering high quality customer-centric development services for large-scale agencies including Riverside. She understands the importance of ensuring a robust, high performing workforce, facilitating local investment, and bringing innovation and vision to this effort.

“As a recent graduate of the CALBO Leadership Academy and through her current leadership role in CALBO, Patricia Link has demonstrated her ability to represent the City’s interest statewide,” Assistant City Manager Rafael Guzman said. “Her experience as the acting building official only demonstrated what already was becoming evident: she is the most qualified person for this important job in our organization.”

Link received her Bachelor of Arts degree in History from California State University, San Bernardino, and holds a Certificate in Construction Technology from Norco College.

Born and raised in Riverside, Patricia is honored to work and serve in her own community where she and her family reside.

The 10 highest paid officials in Riverside County government last year were working in public health and ― in one case ― public safety, according to a report released today by the California State Controller’s Office.

The agency published its 2022 “Government Compensation in California” analysis, showing how taxpayer funds were spent in the previous year, and who was receiving what for being on the public payroll.

The data is available at www.publicpay.ca.gov.

The individual who received the largest income in county government was Director of Behavioral Health Dr. Matthew Chang, whose composite compensation last year totaled $566,374, the report said.

That amount included base pay and a lump sum disbursal, which wasn’t specifically defined on the web portal but could have been banked vacation and sick leave time that wasn’t used, but cashed out, according to the controller’s office.

The second-highest paid was the chief deputy director of the Sheriff’s Department, who was not named. The individual received a base salary of $189,565, but received a lump sum payout of $341,390, according to the report.

Sheriff Chad Bianco’s income, in contrast, totaled $298,990. In government speak, when a subordinate makes more than the superior, it’s called “compaction.” The Board of Supervisors in 2014 hiked executive salaries in an attempt to fix disparities. A similar proposal to raise elected officials’ salaries was made by the Department of Human Resources last December, but the board rejected it, saying it was not justified.

Riverside University Health System Associate Chief Medical Officer Dr. Arnold Tabuenca landed in the No. 3 spot, taking home $507,748 in 2022, the report said.

A senior psychiatrist in the county Department of Mental Health followed at No. 4 with $506,624 in total compensation, while the assistant director of the Department of Public Social Services was at No. 5 at $503,998.

At No. 6 was the chief of psychiatry in the Department of Mental Health, receiving $493,506. Just behind that person was a senior staff psychiatrist assigned to county correctional facilities, whose annual comp was $491,044.

RUHS CEO Jennifer Cruikshank was at No. 8 among county government’s highest paid last year, procuring $460,899. The balance of the top 10 was comprised of two Department of Mental Health staff psychiatrists, whose total compensation ranged from $444,000 to $447,352 in 2022.

Not one elected county official appeared in the top 50 of the controller’s list. Chief Executive Officer Jeff Van Wagenen was at No. 37, with total compensation of $362,100, according to the report.

Board members were way down the list for annual compensation packages, making less than many deputy district attorneys, sheriff’s sergeants, even the deputy director of transportation, according to figures.

The supervisors’ pay ranged from $160,644 to $203,252 in 2022, with Supervisor Kevin Jeffries at the bottom because he has consistently declined pay raises since first taking office in 2013. He’s the most senior member of the board and will be retiring from politics at the completion of his current term in 2024.

The controller’s website indicated the average pay for a county employee last year was $66,072. County government is the single largest employer in Riverside County, with just over 27,000 positions. Roughly $1.86 billion in total wages were paid in 2022.

CNN —

Four wildfires broke out in southern California’s Riverside County over the weekend amid sweltering temperatures, with much of the state under excessive heat warnings Sunday.

The largest of the blazes – the Rabbit Fire – had burned 7,600 acres by Sunday and is 10% contained after it ignited Friday afternoon, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Cal Fire authorities reported a vegetation fire Friday in the community of Lakeview. The Rabbit Fire was first reported as 20 acres and burning with a rapid rate of spread. Cal Fire investigators are still looking into what caused it.

An incident update Sunday said at least 152 structures are threatened by the Rabbit Fire. Authorities said in the update they expect the blaze to be fully contained by Wednesday.

Firefighters made progress on Sunday and downgraded part of the evacuation order in place for the Rabbit Fire to an evacuation warning for several areas, Cal Fire tweeted.

Firefighters were also working to contain the much-smaller Reche, Highland and Gavilan fires that started in Riverside County on Friday and Saturday.

Evacuation orders for the Reche and Highland fires were lifted Sunday, according to an update from Cal Fire and the Riverside County Fire Department.

The Reche Fire has burned through more than 435 acres and is 60% contained, while the Highland fire has burned through 105 acres and is 70% contained as of Sunday afternoon.

“Those fires are pretty much wrapping up,” Cal Fire Riverside County Fire Department Information Officer Captain Richard Cordova said Saturday.

Cordova added that containment lines for the two wildfires were improving.

A weekslong heat wave will intensify this weekend and push temperatures close to 130 degrees

The Gavilan fire, located in the unincorporated Perris area of Riverside County, has burned 250 acres and is 50% contained. Evacuation warnings for that fire remain in place, authorities said.

When asked how the high temperatures impact the fires and firefighters, Cordova said, “Obviously (it) has a big impact. That is what obviously causes our wildland fires here in California with the extreme heat plus the dry vegetation that is still out there from the drought. We are expecting heavy fuel loads out there for our firefighters.”

Over 3,030 wildfires have burned more than 10,400 acres across California so far in 2023, according to Cal Fire.

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State and county totals come from the California Department of Public Health. Numbers are gathered and posted each day. Data on hospitalizations, tests, demographics and reopening plans also come from the state health department.

The number of people who have recovered from a coronavirus infection is an estimate, created by a model described in our FAQ.

Nursing home totals include skilled-nursing facilities tracked by the state public health department, as well as assisted-living facilities monitored by the California Department of Social Services.

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A wildfire in Riverside County on Thursday prompted evacuation orders and destroyed at least two residential structures, according to authorities. Meanwhile, another blaze broke out about 30 miles away in San Bernardino County.

The Riverside County blaze, dubbed the Juniper fire, was reported around 2:30 p.m. in the 19000 block of Santa Rosa Mine Road, according to Alex Izaguirre, a spokesperson for the Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department.

By 5:45 p.m., the latest update by the Fire Department, it had grown to at least 55 acres with 5% containment. Forward progress of the fire was stopped by that time, said Maggie Cline De La Rosa, another Fire Department spokesperson.

Shortly after the Juniper fire broke out, a separate wildfire ignited around 3:09 p.m. in the community of Mentone near Nice Avenue and Amethyst Street, roughly 30 miles northwest of the Riverside County fire.

The Nice fire had grown to 90 acres by 7:30 p.m. but was 10% contained, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The San Bernardino County fire was moving slowly, with no structures threatened by the blaze.

The Juniper fire prompted mandatory evacuations for residents of 88 homes south of Blue Sky Road, east of El Baquero Road, west of Maywood Club Road and north of Rocky Hills Road. An evacuation map is available here. A “care and reception center” for evacuees was opened at Pinacate Middle School, at 1990 South A St. The evacuation orders were later reduced to a warning except for the immediate vicinity of the fire.

Two residential structures were destroyed by the fire, along with several vehicles, according to fire personnel.

About 100 firefighters were battling the blaze from the air and the ground, including 19 engine companies and four air tankers, Izaguirre said.

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The blazes ignited as forecasters warned of increased fire danger from an incoming heat wave. Temperatures in the Southland are expected to soar to the triple digits this holiday weekend, and the National Weather Service has advised residents that hot, dry conditions could support rapid fire growth should a blaze ignite.

“Any spark from fireworks could easily start a fire in the tall grass crop that has cured and turned brown in recent weeks,” the agency said.

The causes of both fires remained under investigation.