The Sun, San Bernardino, Calif. back issues from September 2008:
Blimp could revolutionize travel
Sep 01, 2008; ... Tucked in a warehouse along the Rio Hondo River in Montebello,one of the world's few blimp companies is building a bulbous-looking, super- light flying cruise ship that company officials saycould revolutionize air travel. Called the Aeroscraft, the ship would be capable of flying ...
Detectives intensify search to crack missing-woman case
Sep 01, 2008; ... SAN MARINO - Homicide detectives, analysts and pathologists re-examined a potential crime scene Friday in hopes of solving a 23-year-old missing-persons mystery that has garnered internationalattention. The search for clues in the disappearance of John and Linda Sohusled them to ...
Man, 18, dies in stabbing; juvenile arrested
Sep 01, 2008; ... NEEDLES - An 18-year-old man is dead, and a 15-year-old boy is incustody following a stabbing late Saturday. Brion Lopez, 18, of Needles was found lying in the road of the 40Freeway and Lilly Hill overpass at 11 p.m. after police and fireresponded to calls about a body in the ...
College's among largest in U.S.
Sep 01, 2008; ... Pomona College has a $1 billion-plus endowment, but that doesn'tguarantee success, campus officials said. "It's not the size of the endowment but what we're able to dowith it," said Karen Sisson, vice president and treasurer of PomonaCollege. The Chronicle of Higher ...
Baca speaks at convention
Sep 01, 2008; ... Rep. Joe Baca, D-San Bernardino, gave a ringing endorsement lastMonday of Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign during a speechon the floor of the Democratic National Convention in Denver. Baca, the chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, saidObama was the better ...
San Manuel's PAC active in California
Sep 01, 2008; ... Political action committees are formed to raise and spend moneyon political issues. They often are created to advance a political agenda or furtherthe interests of particular businesses or industries. The PAC in this week's spotlight is that of San Manuel Band ofMission ...
S.B. County gets kudos for seeing through the smoke
Sep 01, 2008; ... The Inland Valley Drug Free Community Coalition supports SanBernardino County's decision to ask the state Supreme Court tointervene on State Attorney General Brown's demands that people beallowed to smoke pot. San Bernardino County was not fooled by asmall group of pro-pot users who ...
Give your mayor a nice surprise
Sep 01, 2008; ... Leadership can be lonely. When you're the mayor, people who talkto you very often want something from you. That's why Portland,Ore., Mayor Tom Potter was so surprised when one citizen - aprominent international figure - asked what he and his network oflocal leaders and activists could do ...
Costs of war
Sep 01, 2008 ... In a Aug. 16 story, "Nuaimi optimistic for Fontana," Mayor MarkNuaimi states that Fontana is dealing with 1950s infrastructure andthat we need 21st century infrastructure. He says we have twoantiquated 10 Freeway interchanges at Cherry and Citrus avenues. Hesays that we need an ...
Running for the summit
Sep 01, 2008 ... More than 550 runners on Monday turned the holiday into ExtremeLabor Day as they ran in the 43rd annual Mt. Baldy Run to the Top. The eight-mile race to the summit of 10,064-foot Mt. Baldy coversa 4,000-foot elevation gain, starting at the parking lot of the Mt.Baldy chairlift at ...
Tunnel made to be broken
Sep 01, 2008; ... A costly 44-mile pipeline designed to help carry water fromNorthern to Southern California will probably break one day. That's not a surprise. The Inland Feeder Project, recently givena share of the spotlight when a technological beast called a tunnel-boring machine breached the ...
LL feeling budget threat
Sep 01, 2008; ... LOMA LINDA - The city's financial picture could get cloudierbecause of the state budget crisis. City Manager Dennis Halloway said the city might lose $870,770 ifthe state decides to take local government funds to balance thebudget. One of many proposals being floated in ...
Colton students need more space
Sep 01, 2008 ... Where's high school No. 3? As a senior at Colton High School, a public education facilityovercrowded with students, I have grown skeptical of the district'sintention to build a third high school. I have appreciated the efforts at modernization, but every year Iobserve a ...
40 years after separation, siblings reunite
Sep 01, 2008; ... After 40 years, Audrey Dewberry's family is finally complete. The 60-year-old Montclair resident was reunited this year withher five half brothers and sisters who were put up for adoption in1968. "I never anticipated that day would ever come," Dewberry said offinally ...
Region has safe holiday
Sep 01, 2008; ... Despite a busy Labor Day weekend in the Inland Empire, localpublic-safety agencies had little to report as far as trafficproblems or crime. In Fontana, NASCAR weekend roared through Auto Club Speedway,concluding Sunday with the Pepsi 500. Traffic dispersed relatively ...
County again sends aid to Gulf Coast city
Sep 01, 2008; ... A six-member team from the San Bernardino County Fire Departmentwill be sent to Gulfport, Miss., today to provide assistance in theaftermath of Hurricane Gustav. "Our fire chief has been in constant contact with the fire chiefin Gulfport, and it looks like they will need our ...
Plane crash 10 years later
Sep 01, 2008; ... YUCAIPA - As his flight made its final approach to Seattle, DavidWilkins looked at his watch. It was 6:30 p.m., Sept. 2, 1998. "Monte's over the Atlantic Ocean now," Wilkins remarked to hiswife sitting next to him. The couple was unaware that tragedy was about to ...
Inquiry or witch hunt?
Sep 01, 2008; ... SAN BERNARDINO - A bitter clash between a retired lieutenant andtop police administrators beginning in February 2007 has drawn theattention of state investigators. Retired Lt. Don Soderbloom alleges that Police Chief MichaelBilldt initiated investigations into his conduct in ...
Prosecutions of illegal immigrants, deportations on rise
Sep 01, 2008; ... Fueled by a broad crackdown by immigration officials, federalprosecutions of illegal immigrants with felony records in SouthernCalifornia are on pace this year to hit a level not seen in nearly adecade. So far this fiscal year, there have been 657 federal prosecutions- up more ...
Dorms benefit from 'green' distinction
Sep 02, 2008; ... CLAREMONT - Grimaces, smiles and some nervousness were all ondisplay as Pitzer College students arrived for the start of the fallsemester, which begins today. Parents and students grimaced, dragging large luggage up thesteps of Pitzer Hall last week, but smiled after they were ...
Grand Terrace celebrates late poet laureate
Sep 02, 2008; ... GRAND TERRACE - "O, Terrace, my Terrace," doesn't quite have thesame ring as the lines from Walt Whitman's "Leaves of Grass." But it still made the late Thomas Frederick Teorey famous, atleast in local circles. Teorey, who died in 1995 at age 77, penned the city's ...
Workers lay groundwork for L.A. County Fair to shine
Sep 02, 2008; ... POMONA - The soda fountain won't assemble itself. So Sal Abarca works in the midday sun, tinkering with the nozzleswhile an assistant hooks up the CO2 tanks. With the L.A. County Fair starting Friday, this Pink's Hot Dogstand is a work in progress. So is the ...
Air patrol officers scan city from the skies to fight crime
Sep 02, 2008; ... ONTARIO - Seven hundred feet in the air, patrol officers have abird's-eye view of crime. Any suspicious activity - a car speeding down an alley, a personfleeing from a location - can be spotted, either through a daytimecamera that allows them to get as close as 100 feet or an ...
County standards are already on the record
Sep 02, 2008 ... The last San Bernardino County grand jury reported on someemployees' questionable conduct in the Assessor's Office. Not to beoverlooked is that previous grand juries reported on guys gone badin other county departments. However, the spotlight seems to have been brighter on the ...
Political stunts do little for reforms
Sep 02, 2008 ... It's not surprising that, after three weeks, the U.S.Immigrations and Customs Enforcement Agency has killed its absurd"self-deportation" program. This scheme - which will go down in the annals of the greatunderperformers of all time, alongside New Coke, the Pinto, Olestraand the ...
Support Santiago
Sep 02, 2008 ... I'm writing this letter in response to the Aug. 16 article"Nuaimi optimistic for Fontana." I find it gravely disturbing that the basic principle thiscountry was founded upon - government for the people by the people -upsets Nuaimi. Angel Santiago, a two-term elected ...
Redlands City Council to consider filling treasurer's post
Sep 02, 2008; ... REDLANDS - In the wake of former city Treasurer Mike Reynolds'Aug. 20 retirement, the City Council must find a replacement. On Aug. 28, Reynolds pleaded guilty in San Bernardino CountySuperior Court to felony forgery and altering records. Reynolds, 59, must repay $37,880.96 ...
Thieves left dog to die
Sep 02, 2008; ... RIVERSIDE - With trembling hands and tears in her eyes, MaryMichael clutched tightly several photos of her dog, Rebel, who diedafter car thieves left her in a locked, hot vehicle and refused tohelp. Michael called for justice as a woman charged with the Aug. 16vehicle theft and ...
Claim finds fault in police search
Sep 02, 2008; ... POMONA - Family members of a woman found stabbed to death inFebruary in a van parked outside Pomona Superior Court have filed aclaim for damages against the city. The three family members named in the claim said police told themthe van had been searched and that there were no ...
Police have lead in burglaries
Sep 02, 2008; ... ONTARIO - Police said they are one step closer to catching apanty burglar who plagued residents of the Casitas Apartments duringthe past year. Hugo Nunez Ramirez is wanted as a "person of interest" by thePolice Department in connection with the 38 reported underwearburglaries at ...
Convicted contractor arrested again
Sep 02, 2008; ... His first victims hadn't recovered before he bailed out of jailand apparently did it again. Tim Shaeffer has never held a contractor's license. Yet, he ownsDynamic Design Systems in Redlands and has made a living as acontractor for decades. In that time, he racked up three ...
Going to heart of Sarah Palin story
Sep 02, 2008; ... Posted Monday Back from a long weekend ... Let's jump right into the Sarah Palin story. Gotta tell you, it makes the race even more interesting forpolitical junkies and those of us in the news business. As someonewho deals with spin controllers all the time, I'll be ...
150 needy get free eye exams, glasses
Sep 02, 2008; ... YUCAIPA - Some came because their eyeglass prescriptions hadexpired, while others came because they had none at all. But when both groups left Set Free Church in Yucaipa, they couldall see much clearer. About 150 people from ages 2 to the mid-60s attended the ...
Red County blogger named Palin first
Sep 02, 2008; ... Red County blogger and editor Jessica Austin appears to have ledthe blogosphere in announcing presidential candidate Sen. JohnMcCain's pick of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate. "She was first," said Scott W. Graves, president of the PartisanMedia Group, which runs a ...
Empty offices, bad timing
Sep 02, 2008; ... REDLANDS - Commercial office buildings have been popping uparound Redlands in recent months. The buildings could be the sign ofstrong economic times, were it not for one problem: Many of the buildings are empty. Redlands-based economist John Husing said the empty buildings ...
Union bashes chief
Sep 02, 2008; ... SAN BERNARDINO - Police Chief Michael Billdt and four other cityofficials will not be not be forced to answer questions under oathto the City Council. But Billdt now must face the ramifications of his own officerspublicly criticizing his leadership. The city's police union is ...
Cal State tries to draw Latinos
Sep 02, 2008; ... SAN BERNARDINO - Cal State San Bernardino officials have engagedin an aggressive outreach program to attract Latino students into anew doctoral program in educational leadership. The move comes a few months after a group of prominent Latinoeducators and politicians met with ...
Students return to campus
Sep 02, 2008; ... Backpack, check. Gym shorts, check. Folder and class schedule,check. Tuesday marked the first day of the fall semester for high schooland eighth grade students at the Colton Joint Unified SchoolDistrict. For some, returning to school is an exciting time. For othersit's ...
Highland building fire spreads to 80 acres
Sep 02, 2008; ... Video: Structure fire ignites 80-acre brush fire HIGHLAND - A fire that started in abandoned buildings by theSanta Ana River wash grew to 80 acres before firefighters were ableto stop its progress. Winds blowing to the east spread the fire northeast from itsstarting point ...
No discord, drive-bys
Sep 02, 2008; ... FONTANA - Some call it a peaceful place. Others call it an answerto prayer. But when they tell friends and family where they live, they allcall it the same thing. Nuaimi Lane. Up on the north end, tucked between Citrus and Summit avenues,several families enjoy life ...
Board caved
Sep 03, 2008 ... Sheriff Gary Penrod believes that "federal law supersedes statelaw." (Re: "Brown doesn't end pot debate," Aug. 27.) Even though heis not a lawyer, the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisorsconsiders Penrod's legal advice superior to those of CaliforniaState Attorney General Jerry ...
Rialto site nearing Superfund status?
Sep 03, 2008; ... The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Wednesday thatit is proposing to name 160 acres in Rialto a Superfund Site. The site is the source of hazardous chemicals, perchlorate andtrichloroethylene, or TCE, flowing through the Rialto-Colton Basin,contaminating the water ....
SB Council grounds any funds for police helicopter
Sep 03, 2008; ... SAN BERNARDINO - Police here will have to rely on the sheriff'shelicopter for air support after the City Council decided to usemoney for personnel instead. The decision was made Tuesday, when the City Council finallyapproved a budget for the fiscal year that ends June 30 ....
Council again nixes plan to transform Flesh Club
Sep 03, 2008; ... SAN BERNARDINO - Once again, the City Council has said "no" tothe Flesh Club. A new chapter - albeit a minor one - of the seemingly never-ending story of the Hospitality Lane cabaret was written Tuesdaynight. Flesh Club operators wanted the council to reverse ...
Crime and Public Safety 9-04-2008
Sep 03, 2008 ... RUNNING SPRINGS Man pleads not guilty in death of brother Eighteen-year-old Running Springs resident Stephen Lasky pleadednot guilty Wednesday in San Bernardino Superior Court to threecounts of attempted murder and one count of gross vehicularmanslaughter in connection with ...
Wal-Mart expansion a welcome addition
Sep 03, 2008 ... I live in Redlands and cannot wait for Wal-Mart to build its newstore. I've been to the one way out in Beaumont, and being able to buygroceries and everything else I need in one stop is so very nice. Itwould be a blessing for the residents of Redlands. It is ...
Gang tagger shoots father
Sep 03, 2008; ... FONTANA - Police say two taggers who shot a 41-year-old man lateTuesday in a Southridge neighborhood are members of a gang well-known to the department. "We believe it's a gang crew, a plain, outright street gang,"said police Sgt. Jeff Decker. The two taggers approached the ...
Gift to help buy books
Sep 03, 2008; ... Darrell Rosenbrock believes reading is vital for children. It's this belief that inspired the San Bernardino man to starthis "Marathon for Books" program. "It's extremely important that we help the young kids have anopportunity to read," Rosenbrock said. "Once you get them ...
Jury finds man guilty on all counts in 'Honey' Jordan slaying
Sep 03, 2008; ... SAN BERNARDINO - A jury found Hector Miguel Aguirre guilty on allcounts and special allegations in the brutal carjacking and deadlyshooting of Hannah "Honey" Jordan in a strip mall parking lot in2001. Aguirre attacked the 54-year-old Jordan as she got into her car,which was ...
Budget woes driven home
Sep 03, 2008; ... YUCAIPA - DeAnne Shepler and her husband, Kevin, consider theirfamily of seven as being middle class. Like many in the middle,DeAnne and Kevin find their income barely keeping up with the highcosts of food, gas and other living expenses. And now when they can least afford it, ...
Corrections 9/3/08
Sep 02, 2008 ... An A5 story published Monday incorrectly stated the date of theopening of the ...
Traffic Report
Sep 02, 2008; ... DEVORE: A vehicle overturned on the southbound 15 Freeway off-ramp at Glen Helen Road at 12:56 p.m. The California Highway Patrolreceived a report that the driver was trapped inside but eventuallyescaped. The car caught fire, igniting nearby trees. There were noreported injuries ....
Crime and Public Safety 9-3-08
Sep 02, 2008; ... YUCCA VALLEY Motorcyclist killed in off-road crash A Joshua Tree man died in an off-road motorcycle crash Monday. Bryce Wahlbeck, 24, was reported missing about 12:30 a.m. and wasfound two hours later with the help of family and friends near theintersection of Buena ...
Women's Center notches baby 100,000
Sep 02, 2008; ... POMONA - Wrapped in a white silk blanket and wearing a pinkjumpsuit, Izabella Celeen Carbajal was cradled affectionately in hermother's arms, completely unaware she had just made history. "I'm looking forward to the rest of her life and sharing everymoment with her," said her ...
Parents return to court
Sep 03, 2008; ... POMONA - A mother and father charged with murder for the Maydeath of their malnourished 2-year-old daughter pleaded not guiltyto the charges Wednesday in Pomona Superior Court. Lupe Lopez, 28, and Gabriel Garcia, 27, both of Pomona, were incustody during the brief arraignment ....
Study: Area hospitals rate poorly for breast-feeding
Sep 03, 2008; ... San Bernardino County hospitals need to do a better jobencouraging new mothers to breast-feed, according to a studyreleased Wednesday. Only 12 counties in the state had lower breast-feeding rates thanSan Bernardino County in 2007, according to the report by the UCDavis Human ...
Commission OKs restaurant, homes
Sep 03, 2008; ... HIGHLAND - The Planning Commission on Tuesday approved a newDairy Queen restaurant on Base Line and the development of 13 single-family homes across from Highland Community Park. The new Dairy Queen, to be built on the southwest corner of BaseLine and Bonita Drive, will replace ...
Food, fun, dogs at Fairplex
Sep 03, 2008; ... POMONA - Dancing dogs, fast rides and deep-fried Pop-Tarts aresome of the must-see events and must-eat foods at the 86th annualL.A. County Fair. Here are the top five things not to miss at Fairplex when itopens Friday. Bark Park: A Canine Adventure - Make gourmet dog ...
Shaken residents aren't satisfied with cops' response
Sep 03, 2008; ... POMONA - A shattered window and a bullet hole in her home is asign to Lydia Alvarez that no one is safe. About 11 p.m. Friday, Alvarez was in the back of her housewatching TV with friends and family when they heard gunshotsfollowed by screams from her 6-year-old daughter ....
THINK keeps kids safe after school
Sep 03, 2008; ... RANCHO CUCAMONGA - Sarah Hood uses a megaphone to announce theday's lesson to a crowd of Cucamonga Middle School students at theschool gymnasium. It's not clear just how many got the advice to be"respectful, responsible and ready." These students, just a year or two shy of being ...
County shuffles group of jobs
Sep 03, 2008; ... For months, business leaders sent letters lobbying San BernardinoCounty to keep 10 staffers assigned to work as liaisons with thebusiness community.Their letters of support may have helped save those countypositions. Initially, there was concern that the Economic ...
Cloud on credentials
Sep 03, 2008; ... SAN BERNARDINO - Roughly 20 years ago, a handful of local policeofficers of varying ranks enrolled in August Vollmer University,popularly known as "Augie U." Those in the Police Department at the time say the program costaround $3,000, lasted less than two years and featured ...
Chief of police helps nab suspect
Sep 03, 2008; ... REDLANDS - It was the millennium doughnut caper - sort of. And itwas the epitome of devotion to duty by a police officer. When Police Chief Jim Bueerman heard the broadcast of a theftfrom Yum Yum Donuts on Redlands Boulevard, in the back of his mindhe could already hear the ...
Chief dismisses current friction
Sep 03, 2008; ... SAN BERNARDINO - Responding to officers' demands that he bereplaced, Police Chief Michael Billdt on Wednesday issued astatement dismissing criticism of his leadership style as being theproduct of personal disagreements. The chief asserted that current friction arose from his ...
'I will be honored'
Sep 03, 2008 ... Greeted by thunderous applause, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin presentedherself to the Republican National Convention on Wednesday evening."I will be honored to accept the nomination for vice ...