On Tuesday, Feb. 11, a criminal grand jury indictment was unsealed and a Banning man arraigned on 13 felony counts connected to nine arson fires in Riverside and San Bernardino counties between 2011 and 2013, the Riverside County District Attorney’s office announced. Six of the fires were in the San Jacinto Mountains. Steven Taylor Rutherford,…
The number of Californians dying from influenza this flu season has passed 200. Last week, another 56 influenza-related deaths were confirmed for a total of 202, of which four have been children. For California, another 41 deaths are under investigation. For the entire 2012-13 flu season, 106 people died from confirmed flu virus. And nationwide,…
California’s 28th State Senate District has been vacant since its creation after the 2010 Census. In 2011, in advance of the 2012 elections, the California Citizens Redistricting Committee revised the boundaries of the state’s congressional, Senate, Assembly and Board of Equalization seats. In 2012, the odd-number senate districts were on the ballot. Consequently, Senate District…
In November 2012, Rep. Dr. Raul Ruiz, a democrat, was elected to Congress and he intends to stay there. In an expensive, multi-million dollar contest, Ruiz unseated incumbent Mary Bono Mack and this year will likely face State Assemblyman Brian Nestande (R-42). During 2013, Ruiz collected more than $1.5 million in contributions, much of it…
The number of people dying from influenza continued to grow last week. In California, 52 more deaths were attributed to this season’s flu called H1N1. Nationwide the mortality in 122 U.S. cities exceeded the epidemic threshold. For California, 147 deaths have been confirmed as influenza-related and another 44 deaths are under investigation, according to county,…
On Jan. 7, Riverside County 3rd District Supervisor Jeff Stone was chosen chair of the Board of Supervisors for 2014. He succeeded Supervisor John Benoit (4th District) as chair. This is Stone’s second chair term. He also served as chair in 2009. The new vice chair is 5th District Supervisor Marion Ashley. This is an…
Riverside County Supervisor Jeff Stone is seeking residents interested in serving on county councils, boards and committees. Vacancies exist on each of the following: Advisory Committee on Substance Abuse, Advisory Council on Aging, County Service Area 36 (Idyllwild), County Service Area 149 (Wine Country), Community Facilities District Special Tax Review Board, Flood Control Commission, In-Home…
In early October 2013, a 911 dispatcher at the Cal Fire and Riverside received a medical emergency call. But she didn’t simply dispatch an ambulance — she saved a life right over the phone. The caller excitedly told the dispatcher that a person had collapsed and needed help. An engine and ambulance were immediately dispatched…
Editor’s note: In June 2013, California Secretary of Natural Resources John Laird and California State Parks Director Major General Anthony L. Jackson, USMC (Ret.), unveiled “Parks Forward,” a collaborative initiative to undertake a top-to-bottom evaluation to improve and sustain California’s State Parks System. The effort responded to several issues involving misappropriation of the agency’s funding…
To a nearly empty room in Hemet Monday night, Hemet Unified School District Supt. Dr. Barry Kayrell and Deputy Supt. LaFaye Platter discussed and explained the Local Control Funding Formula and the Local Control Accountability Plan. This was just one of several meetings throughout the district to involve parents, residents and other stakeholder groups in…
