Category: Inland Empire

Some Jurupa Valley students got free admission to a spring break festival, thanks to the generosity of others. The Rotary Club of Jurupa Valley and Helm & Sons Amusement joined to provide free passes so some students at Rustic Lane Elementary School could attend the Rubidoux Spring Break Spectacular on Sunday, March 19. Related Articles Local News | Why 2 major LA Metro rail projects were denied funding by California transit agency Local News | Corona sisters donate 50 sleeping bags to Turkey earthquake victims Local News | LAUSD superintendent pleads with union to resume bargaining amid mammoth strike Local News | Volunteers join Beautify Riverside for planting, cleanup work on Main Street Local News | Doug Rowand, former Arrowhead United Way president and CEO, dies at 75 Rotary offered its gift in memory of Judy Lynch, who taught for years at Rustic Lane. Davey Helm, who is running the fair, is a partner in the project. The carnival, at 5696 Mission Blvd., continues Wednesday, March 22, through Sunday, March 26.

Honesty is often demanded from politicians. It’s something Lisa Middleton learned to ask of herself. “I think the lessons that I have learned from my life are the importance of being open and honest with who you are,” said Middleton, who made history in 2017 as the first openly transgender person elected to public office in California. “And I spent far too many decades trying to hide who I was.” Being transgender “is one of the more unique parts of my identity,” she added. “And it’s something that I am proud of and I am proud to represent the transgender community and the larger LGBTQ community.” Middleton, a Palm Springs city councilmember who in 2021 became California’s first openly transgender mayor, wants to make history again as California’s first openly transgender state lawmaker, according to the LGBTQ Victory Fund and the LGBTQ civil rights group Equality California. On Tuesday, March 21, she announced her intention to run as a Democrat in 2024 for the 19th state Senate District, an open seat representing parts of Riverside and San Bernardino counties. The San Gorgonio Pass, cities in

A new partnership will soon give Rialto high school students a path to return to their home district to teach. Set to launch in fall, Teach Rialto will offer ninth graders interested in becoming educators a program of study and support services to complete before attending Cal State San Bernardino for their bachelor’s degree and teaching credential. Those students will then have priority employment opportunities in Rialto schools. CSUSB President Tomás D. Morales and RUSD Superintendent Cuauhtémoc Avila signed the first-of-its-kind pact last week. Bemis Elementary School Principal Monte Stewart watches as kindergarten teacher Lilienthal (Lilibeth) Rodriguez works with her class in Rialto on Tuesday, March 21, 2023. (Photo by Anjali Paul, The Sun/SCNG) In a news release, Morales said Teach Rialto “will play a major role … in training homegrown teachers who will take pride in giving back to their community as well as continuing the work to pay it forward. “And,” he added, “we hope it will be a model for other school districts to emulate.” Rhea McIver Gibbs is a “Rialto girl” through and through, and while Teach Rialto came to fruition

Corona residents Anusha Mahajan, 13, left, and her 15-year-old sister, Riya Mahajan, raised money for 50 new sleeping bags that were sent to the Turkey embassy for earthquake victims. (Courtesy of Dr. Shuchi Vyas) Teenage sisters from Corona heard about the Feb. 6 earthquake in Turkey and were moved to action. They raised cash to buy 50 new sleeping bags, which they donated to the Turkey embassy for quake victims. Anusha, 13, and Riya Mahajan, 15, “were shocked to hear the country they visited over the summer had such a devastating earthquake,” their mother, Dr. Shuchi Vyas, wrote in an email. “They raised awareness to the cause by making a PowerPoint slide show and sharing it with friends and family.” That effort led to the fundraising part of their project. Anusha Mahajan attends El Cerrito Middle School; Riya is a student at Centennial High School. Related Articles Local News | LAUSD strike begins, shutting down America’s second-largest school district Local News | Volunteers join Beautify Riverside for planting, cleanup work on Main Street Local News | Doug Rowand, former Arrowhead United Way president and CEO

The San Sevaine Trail Project is another step closer to reality after the Rancho Cucamonga City Council last week approved an agreement with Caltrans to maintain part of the future trail. The multi-use trail project is a partnership with the city of Fontana, where the trail starts. Parts of the trail will run through Caltrans property as it passes under the 210 and 15 freeways. “The San Sevine Trail project is the first of hopefully multiple segments of a trail,” said Jason Welday, director of engineering services and city engineer for Rancho Cucamonga. Rancho Cucamonga will be responsible for maintenance and upkeep of the parts of the trail crossing Caltrans property in addition to the parts of the trail in the city. The council at tis March 15 meeting moved to approve the agreement as part of the consent calendar. The project means more than a mile of multi-use trail for running, walking, and biking, will be added to Rancho Cucamonga early next year. The trail will extend from the Pacific Electric Trail, where it meets the Etiwanda Creek Channel in Fontana, to Banyan Street in

Q: Edward Torres said he commutes home in the evenings on the 60 Freeway eastbound through Moreno Valley. Between Day and Heacock streets, he said, traffic usually slows and semi-trucks will move into the left lane and stay there all the way to the Badlands. This slows down the fast lane, and cars go around the trucks on the right or in the carpool lane. He asked if the trucks are allowed to remain in the left lane. “I’ve also noticed truck drivers being more aggressive the last few years, driving at higher speeds (some as fast as 70 or 80 mph), moving into the carpool lane, cutting off traffic to move to the left, and remaining in the left lanes to pass other truck traffic” Torres wrote. “It seems there are commercial drivers who don’t drive with the same level of professionalism most do.” A: To answer Torres’s question, trucks should not be driving in the fast lane anywhere in the Inland Empire. All commercial semi-trucks are required to drive in the rightmost lanes of the freeway and follow the 55 mph speed limit

Southern California is in for more wet weather this week as yet another atmospheric river — the latest of several to soak the region with rain and snow since December — was headed south and poised to strike Tuesday. The unseasonably cold weather front was expected to arrive late Monday — the first day of spring — with strong winds from the Northwest. It was likely to grow stronger and peak sometime on Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service. Along with accumulations of rain and snow across much of the already saturated region, forecasters warned of strong winds, hazardous seas and heavy surf along the coast. Officials also urged motorists to be careful driving on wet roads and wary of street flooding in some areas; driving conditions in some mountain areas would be “dangerous to impossible,” the weather service said. While it’s not unusual for Southern California to see lots of moisture in the winter, the sheer number of atmospheric river systems over the past several weeks is uncommon. “We at the Weather Service don’t keep a formal count of these atmospheric rivers,” said

Volunteers joined Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson and others to beautify Main Street in downtown Riverside on Saturday, March 18.  Riverside Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson, left, shares a laugh with the Rivers & Lands Conservancy’s Rachael Hamilton as they plant California native plants on the Main Street pedestrian mall during the Main Street Cleanup & Planting project in Riverside on Saturday, March 18, 2023. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG) Volunteers Alton Randle, left, and Miles Ward collect trash along Market Street as part of the Main Street Cleanup & Planting project in Riverside on Saturday, March 18, 2023. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG) The Rivers & Lands Conservancy’s Michael Viramontes, left, shows volunteers how to plant California native plants on the Main Street pedestrian mall during the Main Street Cleanup & Planting project in Riverside on Saturday, March 18, 2023. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG) Volunteers collect trash on Riverside’s Main Street pedestrian mall Saturday, March 18, 2023, as part of the Main Street Cleanup & Planting project. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG) Volunteer Alesia Jester plants California native plants on the

Temecula historian Darell Farnbach died Tuesday, March 14, 2023. A memorial is set for Wednesday, April 12, 2023. (Courtesy of Rebecca Farnbach) Temecula historian Darell Farnbach, a longtime city resident and former Citizen of the Year, has died at his home in Temecula. He was 80. Farnbach was a founder of the nonprofit Vail Ranch Restoration Association, which formed in the mid-1990s when development threatened the historic Vail Headquarters. In 1867, Vail Headquarters was a trading post and is now the site of restaurants, stores and community events. Farnbach, an Army veteran, died of congestive heart failure Tuesday, March 14. Farnbach was a plaintiff in a successful lawsuit against developers who sought to demolish the Vail Headquarters in Temecula. After years of restoration and preservation, Vail Headquarters opened in 2016. “When we found out that the historic Vail Headquarters was in danger of being obliterated, we just said, ‘No, this can’t happen,’” Rebecca Farnbach said, reminiscing on her husband’s reaction to hearing the news. “And he was the lead guy on all the restoration and worked with the city of Temecula in the planning, worked

Democrat and Lake Elsinore City Councilmember Tim Sheridan called Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Corona, an “absentee representative” who favors special interests. (Courtesy of Tim Sheridan) Say “rematch” and “2024” you’ll probably think of the White House. But another familiar pairing could decide an Inland congressional seat’s fate. Democrat and Lake Elsinore City Councilmember Tim Sheridan announced Monday, March 20, that he plans to challenge Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Corona in 2024 in the race for the 41st Congressional District seat encompassing parts of western Riverside County. “I’m running for Congress because we need a new representative who will serve the people of our communities and not the special interests in Washington,” Sheridan said in a news release. Jason Gagnon, Calvert’s campaign spokesperson, said via email: “Riverside County voters have already rejected Tim Sheridan and his radical tax and spend liberal agenda twice before.” “Congressman Calvert has a proven record of delivering results time and again for his constituents and is confident he will be elected once again.” Sheridan ran against Calvert in 2014 and 2016. He lost both times, receiving 34% of the vote in 2014 and

Some San Bernardino County mountain communities are under an evacuation warning beginning Monday, March 20 at 8 p.m. ahead of a storm that is expected to bring heavy rain and snow to the region. The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, known locally as the Yucaipa Police Department, announced on Monday that the communities of Oak Glen, Forest Falls, Mountain Home Village, Angelus Oaks, and Northeast Yucaipa are under an evacuation warning because of potential mudflows. These areas are of concern because they contain burn scars from the El Dorado and Apple fires in 2020, according to San Bernardino County Fire Department representative Eric Sherwin. In anticipation of a heavy incoming storm tomorrow, there is a potential for mud and debris flow. The communities of Oak Glen, Forest Falls, Mountain Home Village, Angelus Oaks, and Northeast Yucaipa are subject to an evacuation warning beginning Monday, March 20, 2023, at 8 pm. pic.twitter.com/PTtRK7MPUP — Yucaipa Police (@YucaipaPD) March 20, 2023 “Stay aware that the warning may upgrade to an order if we begin getting debris flow that could become a life safety hazard,” Sherwin said. Emily Holshouser

A teenage boy died and another teen was arrested on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter after a gun accidentally discharged while a group was horseplaying, authorities said. The Menifee Police Department responded to the 27700 block of Watson Road at around 8:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 19, with officers finding four teenagers who had been playing with a gun when the weapon went off, killing one of them, authorities said. Investigators said the teens did not believe the gun was loaded. Jesse Duncan, 19, pulled the trigger with a shot striking a 17-year-old in the abdomen, police said. Duncan and the other teens called for help and remained on scene. All four knew one another. Duncan was arrested on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter and booked at the Cois Byrd Detention Center. The victim’s identity was not immediately released. Emily Holshouser | Reporter Emily Holshouser is a Los Angeles-based reporter who came to California from North Carolina in 2018. Emily began her career at the Cal State Northridge Daily Sundial, where she covered cops, protests, and utilities. She previously worked at ABC7 as an assignment desk editor

San Bernardino has long called itself “The Gate City,” while Chino boasts being “Where Everything Grows.” Norco can only be “Horsetown USA.” But years ago, the city of Beaumont proudly told one and all that it was “The Zone of Ozone.” Given what we now know today of ozone’s role in air pollution, that would seem to be a pretty dreadful nickname. But Guy Bogart beginning about 1928 wouldn’t hesitate to tell you that being in the Zone of Ozone was a very healthy situation. He was mayor, a council member and Chamber of Commerce president for Beaumont, and the most indefatigable promoter any city could ever hope to have. Until his death in 1957, Bogart seemed to spend every waking minute telling anyone who would listen about the attributes of his adopted hometown in Banning Pass. Undoubtedly, he chose his ozone nickname because in the early years of the 20th century, ozone was praised by many for providing a health benefit in a variety of ways. Many readily accepted the unproven use of ozone to treat all types of problems. There was even the

Students from the California School for the Deaf, Riverside, are regional Academic Bowl champions. They won first place in the east regional tournament of the Gallaudet University Academic Bowl on Saturday, March 11. The team wasn’t able to compete in the west regional contest so it traveled to face deaf schools on the east coast, a school news release states. California School for the Deaf, Riverside students Ty Willey, Jada Zarembka, Trevin Adams and Jaden Gamache march Monday, March 13, 2023, in a parade to celebrate their victory in regional competition for the Gallaudet University Academic Bowl. (Courtesy of California School for the Deaf, Riverside) California School for the Deaf, Riverside, football player Xavier Gamboa holds a poster during a Monday, March 13, 2023, parade to celebrate the school’s regional victory at the Gallaudet University Academic Bowl. (Courtesy of California School for the Deaf, Riverside) Members of the California School for the Deaf, Riverside, Academic Bowl team are seen on campus Monday, March 13, 2023, after a parade marking the squad’s regional victory at the Gallaudet University Academic Bowl. (Courtesy of California School for the

Doug Rowand, 75, former president and CEO of Arrowhead United Way and U.S. Air Force veteran, died Feb. 16, 2023. Doug Rowand, former president of Arrowhead United Way. (Courtesy photo) Rowand who led that organization for 23 years, and spent three years on the Board of Directors, was known as a community advocate and leader of local nonprofit organizations — including a domestic violence shelter, a gang intervention program, Volunteer Center of the Inland Empire, Highland Senior Center, Highland Area Chamber of Commerce, the Emergency Food and Shelter Board, and was a past chair of the United Ways of San Bernardino and Riverside counties. “I’ll always remember his efforts to help the region after fires and floods,” Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-San Bernardino, said by email Friday, March 17. “The region will miss his service.” Rowand spent nine years volunteering before joining Arrowhead United Way. His commitment to helping the community and nonprofits in the region earned Rowand recognition, including Citizen of the Year by the Highland Area Chamber of Commerce. He was also one of the founders of Inland Empire Health Plan that serves Riverside

Nestled in the eclectic storefronts in downtown Upland, an unassuming brick building is poised to welcome a new prohibition-era speakeasy and social club, Barcuso. It’s one of 10 new restaurants and breweries set to open in Upland in the coming months as the city works with businesses to revitalize its historic commercial district. Business owners are busy updating façades and retrofitting buildings to bring back what Robert Dalquest, development services director, called the “urban core,” or city center. “We are trying to get as many retail restaurants down here as possible so people will want to come down here to hang out, grab a bite to eat and shop,” Dalquest said. Pro-Five Brewing Company is preparing to open in downtown Upland. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun/SCNG) A public notice at the site of a future eatery in downtown Upland on Thursday, March 16, 2023. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun/SCNG) Luis Acuna, owner of The Local Baker & Cafe, at the restaurant on Thursday, March 16, 2023 in downtown Upland. The eatery recently had its faced updated. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun/SCNG) Pro-Five

A recent bump in pay for the general manager of a Chino water agency has boosted his base salary beyond what some city managers in the region earn to manage more people and larger budgets. Shivaji Deshmukh, general manager of the Inland Empire Utilities Agency, now makes $340,000 — more than city managers in Ontario, Fontana and Rancho Cucamonga, among other cities. According to the IEUA, it is Deshmukh’s first merit pay increase since he was hired in March 2019. His salary was previously $311,000 before it was kicked up to $320,771 last year after he received a performance award comprising 10% of his salary and a 3% cost-of- living increase. His newly adjusted salary amounts to a 6% increase in base pay. Deshmukh’s salary and benefits are competitive with other municipal water districts that are member agencies of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, IEUA spokesperson Andrea Carruthers said. The IEUA is a regional wastewater treatment agency and wholesale distributor of imported water serving approximately 935,000 people over 242 square miles in western San Bernardino County. As of Feb. 15, Shavaji was managing

Anxiety is the most common psychological disorder affecting adults in the U.S. In older people, it’s associated with considerable distress, as well as ill health, diminished quality of life and elevated rates of disability. Yet, when the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, an independent, influential panel of experts, suggested last year that adults be screened for anxiety, it left out one group — people 65 and older. The major reason the task force cited in draft recommendations issued in September was that “the current evidence is insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms of screening for anxiety” in all older adults. (Final recommendations are expected later this year.) The task force noted that questionnaires used to screen for anxiety may be unreliable for older adults. Screening entails evaluating people who don’t have obvious symptoms of worrisome medical or psychological conditions. “We recognize that many older adults experience mental health conditions like anxiety” and “we are calling urgently for more research,” said Lori Pbert, associate chief of the preventive and behavioral medicine division at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School. Pbert is also a

Amelia Hernandez isn’t sure there will be any room left for her in the Inglewood of the future. Her Selwyn Jewelers store, which was handed down from her father, has operated in the city since 1962. But now her business and dozens of others could be forced to relocate to make way for Inglewood’s nearly $1.6 billion automated transit system connecting the Metro K Line to the Kia Forum, SoFi Stadium and the Clippers’ Intuit Dome. Selwyn Jewelers is one of 21 businesses located in the Inglewood Center on Florence Avenue that could be demolished to make way for a transit station and 650 parking spaces for the proposed Inglewood Transit Connector the city hopes to have running in time for the 2028 Olympics. Hernandez said her family-run business was previously forced to move by the city about seven years ago from its old address on Market Street, next to the Fox Theatre, to its current location in the shopping center. Her father, Hector Hernandez, worked his way up through the original Selwyn Jewelers company, becoming the head jeweler and then the owner. Though the

The Friends of the Murrieta Library will celebrate Women’s History Month with a program featuring some of Murrieta’s women leaders and influencers. The program is 2 p.m. Tuesday, March 21, in the Community Room of the Murrieta Public Library, 8 Town Square. It is free and open to the public. The panel of speakers will include Lisa DeForest, Murrieta mayor; Kim Summers, city manager; Celeste Scallion, principal of Vista Murrieta High School; Lorena Miranda, a police officer; Vivian Kim, owner of Envi Lashes; Jenny Pineda, a local Starbucks manager. Panel members will share their history, influence and visions for Murrieta, according to a news release. Moderator is Karen “Kiki” Fritschi. The program will include time to ask questions and refreshments provided by Starbucks and the Friends of the Murrieta Library. The Friends of the Murrieta Library provide support to the Murrieta Public Library through fundraising, advocacy and volunteerism, and they promote awareness of and support for the library. For information, call Rita Nastri, 951- 698-8640, or go to murrietalibraryfriends.org

The Ontario Chaffey Community Show Band will present “Music of the ’60s” 7:30 p.m. Monday, March 20, in Gardiner W. Spring Auditorium on the campus of Chaffey High School, 1250 N. Euclid Ave., Ontario. Admission is free, and the Woodwind Celebration ensemble will perform in the lobby starting at 7 p.m., when complimentary coffee and cookies will be available. Music from the 1960s from genres including folk, rock, swing, soul and bossa nova will be on the program. Band members who will be featured as soloists are Zelna Zamora, Greg Cosner, Holly Audet, Tom “Elvis” Hill, John Holguin, Dana Rawlings and Pat Arnold, one of the band’s assistant directors, according to a news release. The concert will also feature guest vocalist Victor Garnica will sing “By the Time I Get to Phoenix” and “It’s Not Unusual.” The program includes several hits from the film “The Graduate,” with Zelna Zamora and Greg Cosner playing a French horn duet in “Scarborough Fair” and Holly Audet playing a clarinet solo in “The Sound of Silence.” Tom “Elvis” Hill will sing two songs recorded by Elvis Presley, “Heartbreak Hotel”