Steven Cuevas

A California state Senate resources committee is considering a measure from Long Beach Democratic Assemblywoman Bonnie Lowenthal that could block a contested Temecula granite mine. The proposed Liberty Quarry would carve into the foothills a few miles south of the city.

Hot air balloonists will soon float over the Coachella Valley for the first time in more than two years. They were grounded after the owners of an olive ranch sued them for allegedly flying too close to their property. The olive farm dropped its lawsuit earlier this week, but the balloonists are saying not so fast.

A legal battle between hot air balloonists and a Coachella Valley olive farm could move to a federal court in Riverside. A judge will decide Wednesday whether attorneys for the farm can add the federal government to its lawsuit. The balloonists say it’s just a ploy by the olive farm to delay a trial it can’t win.

More homeless people live in San Bernardino County now than two years ago. A new survey indicates a 66 percent increase during that time.

Five years ago, a team of photographers created the world’s largest photograph by converting an Orange County jet hanger into a giant camera. The 30-by-111 foot image — called “The Great Picture” — is now on public view for only the second time in the U.S. Displaying the giant snapshot can be a monumental challenge. Making it was a lot harder.

Later this year, several deliveries of low-radioactive nuclear waste will pass through the Inland Empire. The truck shipments will carry retired generator parts from the San Onofre Nuclear Station in San Diego County to a disposal site in Utah.

California is shifting supervision of thousands of state parolees to local jurisdictions. Riverside County is rolling out its plan to deal with the uptick of ex-cons.

Warehouse operations employ a lot of people in the Inland Empire, and now, some of them have filed a complaint with the state stating that they routinely work amid health and safety violations.

A 10-year-old Riverside boy accused of killing his white supremacist father made his second court appearance on Friday, where the boy’s attorney was expected to enter a plea. Instead he requested more time to order a psychiatric evaluation of the child.

On Friday, the attorney for a 10-year-old Riverside boy accused of murdering his neo-Nazi father is expected to enter a plea on his behalf. The juvenile court trial has been on hold while the boy undergoes extensive mental health evaluations. The outcome could help determine his future.