Results tagged “temecula”

We may have not been feeling them directly here in Los Angeles, but the ground is shaking somewhat east of us. Since Saturday evening, three earthquakes have rattled the Inland Empire, first in Riverside County (3.3), again this morning east of Temecula (3.6) and then this afternoon more northward in San Bernardino County (4.6). Yesterday, there was a 4.3 magnitude quake near San Nicolas Island, which is one of two Channel Islands controlled by the Military. 3.0 and 4.0 magnitude quakes are categorized as "minor" and "light," respectively.

Earlier today, Norco officials were optimistic that the La Sierra Fire would be out by now. However, the fire is currently 50 percent contained and has burned through some 175 acres, according to numerous media reports. It began in Norco near the city of Riverside. "What we didn't see before were the driving winds," explained Bill Peters of CalFire to ABC7. "The driving winds are really what create the catoshpric fires in Southern California." Three other smaller fires--located in Riverside, Redlands and Temecula--also broke out this afternoon.

A reportedly fast-moving 50 to 60-acre fire has prompted evacuations and the closure of Highway 79 in the Temucula area around Vail Lake, near the Cleveland National Forest, this afternoon. At least two homes have been damaged in the fire that began shortly before 3:00 p.m. UPDATE: Conflicting reports say it began before 4 p.m. Also, it that it has now burned through 200 acres, according to CBS2.

Update, 10:31 p.m.: The jewelry thief was shot dead

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The Shops in Mission Viejo became a crime scene today when at 5:30 p.m., a gunman robbed a jewelry store, taking two women hostage, according to a witness, and eventually being shot by sheriff's deputies. According to another witness, security guards chased the man through the mall to a parking structure where he was met by police where shots were fired. Other than the alleged robber, no one else was hurt during the incident.

• Remember when we told you that Los Angeles tap water was the best tasting in the world? Turns out that our delicious H20 might have been sprinkled with delicious drugs. The AP found that a multitude of pharmaceuticals, like antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones, have been found in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans including water in Southern California. Little Johnny has taken such a liking to water these days, I wonder what's gotten into him.
• On Friday, Newport Beach police were baffled when they found a fully clothed woman dead and packed in dry ice in an upscale hotel room near John Wayne Airport. The room was rented from known Cocaine dealer and the woman, whose body was well preserved, was apparently wanted on drug charges in Colorado.
• Before she was ousted for saying Hillary Clinton was a "monster" for some of the "underhanded" tactics used to defeat Barack Obama in the Ohio Primary, foreign policy adviser Samantha Powers took a few questions at LA City Beat. Nowhere in the interview does she disparage Clinton, but she does offer some pretty enlightening opinions, such as this opus on how to have a dignified foreign policy: "...if we could just sort of remember that there are individuals at stake, that the “human” in human rights is not an abstraction." On second thought, I'm glad she resigned. We can't have those sorts of hippie, drugged out commie type of relations with the world. It would be un-American!
• In other political news, a Democrat won a special election to fill a congressional seat left vacant in Illinois by outgoing Republican Speaker Dennis Hastert. Bill Foster claimed the seat partly on the strength of Obama, who campaigned for him. Obama supporters claimed this was a signal of things to come in what many observers said was a national referendum as John McCain campaigned for the Republican.
• An off-duty cop in Temecula allegedly shot 2 and killed 1 person over some sort of melee at a Mexican restaurant in Riverside. Guns don't kill people, crazy ass people with anger management problems do.
• A 21-year-old member of the San Fernando Valley Illegal Soapbox Federation died this morning when his adorable little vehicle collided with a light pole in Tarzana. Thing is, it may not have been so adorable. The motto of the local soapbox federation is, "Action, Mayhem, Destruction, Bodily Harm...All For Free". I'm sorry, it seems pretty tough to macho yourself out when riding in a little cart made for 6-year-olds.
• Andy LaRoche got some bad news this weekend. The Dodger third baseman who was expected to share time with Nomar Garciaparra at the hot corner this season is out 8-10 weeks with a ligament tear in his thumb after getting hit trying to catch an attempted pickoff at third during a pre-season game Friday against the St. Louis Cardinals. Learn this name kids: Blake Dewitt. He's been tearing up Spring Training pitching and flashing some great leather. He could get some time at third in LaRoche's absence.

And the "Dumbest Criminal of the Week" award goes to: The two bank robbers from Hemet who were arrested when they returned to the scene of their crime 45 minutes later. The robbery was at a Bank of America in Temecula just before 6 last night. The two men drove back into the parking lot after they had forced a teller to hand over money via a demand note--but bank staffers had jotted down the license plate number of their getaway vehicle and were already following them. C'mon, people, rob and run--don't drive in a circle!

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