A 41-year-old pastor in the Inland Empire has been arrested for allegedly having sex repeatedly with a girl under the age of 14, reports Fox 5 San Diego. Matthias Anderson of Hemet, who started the New Wine Ministries in Oceanside, was taken into custody yesterday morning at 7:45 a.m. when he showed up to the girl's house, reportedly to see her, and was greeted instead by local police officers. more ›

A 20-year-old Hemet man is being charged with attempted murder after he allegedly attacked his in-laws with a samurai sword. Neighbors reported that a man, later identified as suspect Zen Timothy Singleton, was "chasing his relatives through the neighborhood with a katana samurai sword," according to the Press-Enterprise. Singleton used the sword to smash several windows in the family home. more ›

Up until Monday, Wally spent his days and nights guarding a large-scale marijuana grow operation at a home in the Hemet area. Who is Wally? Well, he is a four-foot long, 55-pound alligator who "worked" from inside a cement pond on the property, says NBC. Now Wally is calling Forever Wild Exotic Animal Sanctuary home, since both he, and the 2,285 pot plants he was keeping an eye on are illegal in California. more ›

Did you hear the one about the two guys who went for a drive with a goat riding shotgun? True story: A man was pulled over near Hemet on suspicion of drunk driving, and the California Highway Patrol officer found a goat riding in the front seat. A second man riding in the vehicle tried to run away, according to KTLA, but "fell flat on his face." Both men denied owning the goat, which led the officer to believe the animal was stolen. The goat is now residing at a Riverside animal shelter. more ›

This is really becoming a trend. Following in the footsteps of LAUSD, the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Board of Education is the latest to approve a boycott of Arizona over their controversial immigration law, banning official travel and to the state and stopping any contracts with businesses based there. Meanwhile, two Riverside County and one Orange County cities have approved resolutions in support of Arizona's law. Hemet and Lake Elsinore both approved them on Tuesday and Yorba Linda earlier this month. Next? more ›

The worst of the storms have passed, but rain continues to put a damper on utility service. Between the L.A. Department of Water and Power and Southern California Edison, over 16,000 are without power. In Los Angeles, the LADWP is reporting 2,600 without power. For Edison, 13,835 customers are without service. more ›

The Cottonwood Fire, which has burned just under 2,500 acres in the Hemet area, is now being reported as being 75% contained, and no structures have been damaged, according to abc7.com. The Morris Fire, which has consumed just under 2,200 acres in the San Gabriel Mountains above Azusa, is 95% contained and authorities revealed today that the cause of the blaze has been identified as arson, reports the Pasadena Star-News. Very late last night officials announced the Rancho Palos Verdes Fire was fully contained after burning through 235 acres, according to cbs2.com. more ›

Burning over challenging terrain that has not been scorched in decades, the Station Fire in La Cañada Flintridge grew wildly overnight, and has prompted a more extensive set of evacuations. The Pasadena Star-News reports:

More mandatory evacuations were ordered early Saturday morning for Gould Mesa Motorway, North Starlight Crest Drive, Ridge Court and Greenridge Drive, effective immediately, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

The four major fires burning in the greater Los Angeles region were especially worrisome last night, but as of 10:30 p.m., things seem to be subsiding for the most part. Here are the updates for each of the blazes from fire information officers. more ›

Four major fires have consumed around 4,600 acres across the greater Los Angeles region this past week. Here's the latest, as of 9:30 a.m., according to fire information officers for each of the blazes. Palos Verdes Fire The fire that began around 8 p.m. last night has only consumed 100 acres in a residential area prompting the evacuation of around 1,200 to 1,500 people. more ›

Three new fires broke out tonight, all in separate areas of the greater Los Angeles region. The largest of the three is the Cottonwood Fire in the San Bernardino National Forest. Located between Hemet and Idyllwild, the 400-acre blaze that began at 5:13 p.m. is 5 percent contained, said Forest Service Fire Information Officer Norma Bailey. "Right now air support is down for the night, but hand crews and engines are on duty," she explained. A voluntary evacuation is in effect for the Bee Canyon area where about 12 homes are located. more ›

So let's say you've got some high-quality homegrown all bagged up and ready to go but no one to buy it--I mean, let's face it, the economy these days doesn't leave much room for luxury items--where can you go? Well, the internet, obviously. Since the goods have a pretty fixed street value, eBay might seem out of the question, so the next logical choice for online wheeling, and, in this case, dealing, is the mecca of the mundane, aka Craigslist. more ›

Three different news stories are making the rounds today, all of which involve cars and crimes, and all of which are best defined as "things that make you go hmm?" (Are we still allowed to say that?) more ›