October 2, 2023
TOP STORIES
SACRAMENTO - Gov. Gavin Newsom has chosen Laphonza Butler, the president of EMILY's List, to fill the seat of the late Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein. She will be the third Black woman to ever serve in the Senate.
WASHINGTON - Get ready to not freak out. On Wednesday, Oct. 4 at 2:20 p.m. EDT, every TV, radio and cellphone in the United States should blare out the distinctive, jarring electronic warning tone of an emergency alert.
WASHINGTON− The country came within two hours of a federal government shutdown Saturday.
Pumpkin patches and haunted hayrides are starting to appear across the country as late summer transitions to early autumn.
HIGHLAND – (INT) – San Bernardino County’s H.O.P.E. team has reached out to the homeless on the streets of Highland.
INLAND EMPIRE - (INT) - Southland weather is primed for another flip-flop.
SOUTHLAND – (INT) – There’s no solid indication that soaring gasoline prices are about to downshift.
INLAND EMPIRE – (INT) – More West Nile virus is being detected in Riverside County mosquitos.
ONTARIO – (INT) – The accent was on the positive at San Bernardino County’s 2023 State of the county.
RIVERSIDE – (INT) - UC Riverside’s School of Medicine (SOM) is celebrating a major milestone.
THERMAL – (INT) – Evacuation warnings for three mobile home parks near the Lawson Dump site in Thermal were lifted Wednesday September 27th.
INLAND EMPIRE – (INT) – The Riverside University Health System (RUHS) is about to begin dispatching five mobile clinics.
CHINO – (INT) – School superintendents and local boards of education are being reminded of the state’s court-ordered gender identity disclosure policy.
SACRAMENTO – (INT) – “Book bans” in schools could become illegal in California.
RIVERSIDE – (INT) – Formal charges were filed against a former Riverside County sheriff’s correctional deputy who was caught with more than 100 pounds of packaged fentanyl pills.
RIVERSIDE – (INT) – Riverside celebrated ‘A Day of Climate Action’ Saturday September 23rd.
INLAND EMPIRE – (INT) – Thirty-three California schools have been chosen as National Blue Ribbon Schools. Four are in the Inland Empire.
FOREST FALLS – (INT) – Caltrans says that Route 38 between Big Bear and the San Bernardino Valley is a disconnect in the wake of damage from Tropical Storm Hilary.
INLAND EMPIRE – (INT) – It’s no secret that the Inland Empire is one of the fastest growing metropolitan regions in the country.
EUREKA – (INT) – Northern Californians have come through another moderate earthquake.
LAS VEGAS - Police have arrested a man in connection to the fatal drive-by shooting of hip-hop icon Tupac Shakur.
SANTA MONICA - Social media giant Snap is laying off 170 workers, admitting to struggles.
SAN FRANCISCO – (INT) - The Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) is out with its 25th annual public opinion survey.
SACRAMENTO – (INT) - New gun safety measures are being enacted in California.
SACRAMENTO – (INT) - Driven by homicides and aggravated assaults, violent crime in California has been ticking up since 2019.
SACRAMENTO – (INT) – California’s new pathway to deliver mental health and substance use disorder services to the most severely impaired rolls out in Riverside County October 2nd.
OAKLAND – (INT) – California has reached a 93-million dollar settlement with Google.
SOUTHLAND – (INT) – Signs of an El Nino are growing stronger setting up the possibility of a wet winter in Southern California.
SACRAMENTO – (INT) – With a new outbreak of COVID making the rounds, state health officials are urging Californians to get an updated vaccine and a flu shot.
SACRAMENTO - The California Legislature has passed a first-of-its-kind bill that bans four food additives linked to potential health issues.
SACRAMENTO – (INT) – Nearly 27-hundred homeless individuals across the state will be offered services to help them move out of encampments and into permanent housing.
SACRAMENTO - The California DMV is offering digital driver’s licenses.
SACRAMENTO – (INT) – State officials are releasing 239-million dollars to enhance the development of more than 5-thousand so-called ‘climate-friendly’ homes.
A hiker suffered a medical emergency and perished on Mt. San Jacinto Saturday. CalFire said the victim died before help arrived. A rescue helicopter was unable to respond because of poor weather conditions along the San Jacinto Peak Trail above Pine Cove. (INT)

The CARE Court program launches Monday in Riverside County, one of the first of its kind in California. It’s designed to provide critical resources for people, including those experiencing homelessness, struggling with severe mental illness, and their families. (INT)

The Small Business Administration (SBA) will open a disaster loan outreach center to help those in the San Bernardino Mountains impacted by Tropical Storm Hilary in August. The center will be in operation October 3rd at the Angelus Oaks Fire Station. (INT)

A 31-year-old transient wanted for violating his post-release supervision is in stable condition after being rescued from a flaming Hemet-area home. Alexander Mettey holed up inside the home on Howard Road early Thursday after several other people had surrendered, according to a sheriff’s statement. Mettey smashed out several windows attempting to escape the fire. Lawmen forced their way into the residence, found him unconscious and brought him to safety. (INT)

Governor Newsom signed nine bills Wednesday September 27th – providing stronger protections for reproductive health care. They cover those delivering abortion care, expanding the health care workforce, and protecting patient reproductive health care information. (INT)

Several pieces of legislation will strengthen protections and supports for LGBTQ+ Californians, including measures to better support vulnerable youth, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond said Monday. He declared that small group of extremists have continued to levy attacks on California’s schools, targeting LGBTQ+ students. These measures will protect all members of the LGBTQ+ community, he said. (INT)

State funding will enable San Bernardino County to better gear-up for winter in the local mountains. 2-and-a-half-million dollars will be spent to purchase heavy snow removal equipment. It will be permanently stationed in Angelus Oaks, Forest Falls, and Crestline to provide rapid disaster response. (INT)

The Inland Empire is one step closer to developing a regional hub for the homeless on unused state property at Patton State Hospital. Assemblyman James Ramos introduced the measure which will return to the Assembly for concurrence in Senate amendments. It could head to the governor as early as Friday. (INT)

Upgrades are beginning on a stretch of Highway 74 through Hemet. The nearly 52-million dollar project calls for repaving, enhancing bike lanes and 29 bus pads and installing a Traffic Management Systems (TMS). The project extends from Green Acres to Valle Vista. (INT)

Homicide detectives are withholding details about an assault that left a man dead inside a Mead Valley residence. First responders found the victim Friday evening at an address on Alexander Street with a gunshot wound. (INT)

Tribal families throughout California are coming together to confront what they say is a crisis of missing and murdered indigenous people. An informational event was held Saturday at the Soboba Indian Reservation at San Jacinto to bring awareness, build back trust, foster relationships and improve public safety on and near tribal lands throughout the state. (INT)

A crime scene investigation is underway after a man’s body was found in the Santa Ana Riverbottom in Jurupa Valley. The victim, Oscar Aguilar, 52, of Riverside was found Wednesday suffering several gunshot wounds. The area south of Van Buren Boulevard and Clay Street was cordoned off. (INT)

Governor Newsom signed legislation Thursday September 28th increasing the minimum wage for fast-food employees to $20 per hour, beginning April 1, 2024. The legislation authorizes the Fast Food Council to set fast-food restaurant standards for minimum wage, and develop proposals for other working conditions, including health and safety standards and training. (INT)

Sheriff’s investigators are compiling evidence in the deadly fentanyl poisoning of a Perris youth. A search warrant served Monday September 25th at a Perris address led to the arrest of Daniel Ramirez, 21, on suspicion of murder. The teenage victim, whose name was not released, had ingested fentanyl and died a few days after he was found on May 21st. (INT)

The Oro Grande Cemetery, the oldest cemetery in San Bernardino County north of Victorville, has been added to its group of historic sites. Oro Grande Cemetery‘s first recorded burial occurred in 1852. The site has since been designated as a California Point of Historical Interest. (INT)

CalFire is stepping up the number of personnel assigned to ten engine companies in Riverside County as the peak of the fire season approaches. Four fire fighters instead of three per engine marks a 25 percent increase in response crews. With an unprecedented growth in grass and brush due to last year's rains, the Inland Empire faces an elevated risk of rapidly spreading fires. (INT)

Thousands are expected for the Same Same But Different (SSBD) Festival at Lake Perris September 28th to October 1st. The annual multi-genre music and arts festival features beach-side camping, a variety of music genres, and interactive workshops led by field experts. (INT)

Calls and online reports of elder abuse in Riverside County are growing. Riverside County’s Adult Protective Services opens approximately 19,000 investigations per year. One in five of Riverside County’s 2.5 million residents is age 60 or older—a population projected to expand by nearly 250% in coming decades, according to the California Department of Aging. (INT)

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